In a week, I managed to solve all my problems, but now I had completely run out of money.
The Twi'leks finished their pilot courses. In a couple of days, they mastered Mechu-deru, which allowed them to automatically pass the standards for grey-purple specialists.
I bought two full armor sets, two cortosis-weave vibroswords, two close-quarters combat rifles, and a lot of alchemical materials.
I spent the rest of my time preparing artifacts for the Twi'leks. A cortosis vibrosword was a poor base material, but a low-level artifact could be crafted from it.
The arrived ship dispatched us to Findar, and the journey took less than a day. I must say, I was astounded by the local sights.
The Alsakan fleet and a massive cloud of debris hovered in the planet's orbit. Dead ships of various shapes and sizes; sometimes the twisted remains stretched for several kilometers.
There were thousands of small ships near the station: they were gutting the husks and extracting anything of value.
Every Alsakan ship was heavily damaged, with sections of armor shattered. Tens of thousands of small craft patrolled the battlefield, finishing off the survivors.
The sight demonstrated just how fiercely the battles had been fought. The crew of each giant ship numbered in the tens or even hundreds of thousands.
Occasionally, one could spot the corpses of crew members floating near the wreckage.
At the center lay a half-destroyed station, which was exactly where we were. We were awaiting a gathering to plan tactical decisions to prevent Jedi terrorist attacks.
Currently, Lord SorSyn was discussing plans with other Lords and allies from Alsakan. The Sith around me were afraid of angering the Lords, so they behaved almost perfectly.
I was left to simply enjoy the view from the viewport. A single space battle had killed the population of an entire city, and there had been many such engagements here.
Previously, the planet had looked like a green-and-blue sphere; there were only three cities, and jungles covered most of the terrain.
Now it was a garbage dump covered in ship debris. The husks of ships had plowed through kilometers of earth, and the crews inside hadn't intended to die without a fight.
Even now, a battle waged below, but the Alsakan fleet was in no condition to conduct orbital bombardments. Every moment was being used to repair and prepare the orbital battlefield.
Vija looked at the other Sith, then couldn't resist asking:
"Why do we need cortosis vibroswords? A lightsaber is cheaper; you wouldn't have had to waste time on alchemy."
I stopped enjoying the view and stretched slightly. I wasn't used to being far from my home planet. My biological clock hadn't had time to adjust.
"First of all, you are not supposed to engage in combat. Secondly, the Force is the primary weapon; a lightsaber is merely a weapon of last resort. Most importantly: you don't know how to fence. By the time you learn, we'll be down on the planet, and there are enough Jedi there ready to donate their weapons."
Vaja nodded in satisfaction; she also understood that no one had taught them how to fight with a lightsaber. A blaster rifle would be exponentially more effective right now.
"Can we expect a fencing lesson?"
Why did everyone love the primitive and often ineffective weapons of the Jedi so much?
"Ask that question when you've fully mastered Mechu-deru. Right now, you are relying on innate abilities; you should meditate more often with the holocron I provided."
At that moment, the door opened, and all the Sith straightened up and bowed. SorSyn entered and immediately sat at the head table. She swept her gaze over the crowd, then amplified her voice with the Force.
"For ten years, Findar has been a battlefield between Coruscant and Alsakan. A vital hyperspace beacon is located in this system. The loss of this system will lead to the collapse of logistics across dozens of planets vital to the Empire."
She pressed a few buttons on the table. A hologram of the planet appeared, then zoomed in on the jungle region.
"Alsakan controls 239 million natives; they reside in the cities in the southern hemisphere. The entire jungle region and the local populace have received support from the enemy soldiers who survived the crashes."
Hundreds of crash sites and active battles for control over Alsakan's anti-ship defense systems were visible on the hologram.
Small depots or barracks exploded, and urban warfare had reduced entire districts to ruins.
"Alsakan does not wish to destroy the planet: it would reflect poorly on their reputation, but the situation is getting worse. Another battle occurred a month ago, and nearly an entire Kel-class battleship broke through to the surface. Thousands of Jedi were aboard, and now they are aiding the local rebels."
The holograms shifted to an image of the crash; it was clear that the ship had landed with its shields up. Now this three-kilometer behemoth lay abandoned, but almost its entire crew had survived.
"We are beginning the briefing for the upcoming combat operations. I have been assigned a support role, which is tied to my knowledge in the field of alchemy. Share your thoughts on ways to provide support to our comrades from the nine other squads."
SorSyn barely finished before one of the Sith stood up and voiced his brilliant idea.
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"Why don't we set the jungles on fire?"
I bet SorSyn was ready to kill him. She had deliberately given a verbal hint, literally stating in plain text that she would be providing alchemical support.
"Are there any other ideas?"
The Sith Lord had already decided that this subordinate would be sent to the front lines.
"Force Storm!"
SorSyn closed her eyes and continued listening.
"Let's land and kill them all."
That subordinate wouldn't be leaving the planet alive.
"Enslave the locals and send them in the front ranks."
She was utterly disappointed: these subordinates were idiots, and their ideas were completely linear.
"The natives are good at engineering work; it would be far too wasteful to use them for war. The problem is not the rebels, but the gigantic unoccupied spaces. Our numbers are insufficient to survey the entire planet. Adding our squad will not change the situation. I SINCERELY HOPE YOU GIVE ME AN INTERESTING IDEA!"
The Force around her constricted, and a murderous intent flooded the room. SorSyn had provided a hint and waited for her subordinates to offer new ideas, but now they were all silent.
Her emotions showcased just how displeased the Sith Lord was. There were no idiots in the room; they didn't want to be the ones who died.
SorSyn could only sigh; the Jedi interested her solely as laboratory props.
Eventually, our eyes met, and I clearly understood that she was waiting for me to speak up.
The whole situation was terrifying; I ought to see our Lord as little as possible, especially after I began to doubt her true identity.
"Tactical Officer Kreso Nal, your duties are to analyze intelligence information and support combat plans. Do you have any ideas?!"
What officer? There was no such position in the Sith army at all! Why me? Wait, in theory, this is what I asked SorSyn for when I bribed her.
A tactical officer is a staff position, right? It seems I will have to say something that will satisfy her as an alchemist.
"If there are dangerous animals on the planet, we could turn them into our war beasts."
SorSyn nodded almost mechanically: it was an exact replica of her own plans. She had given her subordinates a chance to prove themselves, but now she needed to intimidate another alchemist.
She had clearly picked grey-purple elite Sith, so why were the results so disappointing?
"Any other ideas?!"
SorSyn was literally threatening me with her gaze.
As an alchemist, she was already planning to dump all the work on the other Lords and subordinates.
Even if Alsakan lost the planet, she would be able to collect samples of the local flora and fauna.
"They must get their water from somewhere. We should poison all the water sources and distribute detoxification agents only to the loyal local populace. Preferably, we make the disease non-lethal, but we need it to induce weakness and severe, constant pain. The natives in the jungles are the future slaves of the Sith Empire."
This was exactly what Sith alchemy did. This plan satisfied SorSyn's desire to engage in her favorite hobby.
"What about the important facilities on the planet? Both methods will take time."
One of the Sith was unhappy with how the conversation was unfolding and was clearly envious. So he considered my words and expressed doubt.
"There are no random attacks; every strike is preceded by reconnaissance and supply runs. We need to show the enemy incompetence; we could hire the local populace to work in zones of high importance to us. We read their minds, cast illusions, and then force the Jedi to appear exactly where an ambush will be waiting."
At that moment, another Massassi spoke up.
"Maybe we just force the local populace to hand over the spies?"
Gradually, the conversation devolved into arguments and pointless discussions. I stayed quiet; there was no point in continuing to provide ideas.
SorSyn slammed the table, and everyone who was speaking finally shut up.
"I like the idea of poisoning the water and destroying the natural habitat, but I have neither the desire nor the time to hunt spies. Who is willing to take on this responsibility?"
SorSyn looked at me and practically ordered me to agree. I looked back and played the idiot.
This was definitely not a staff position anymore! I don't want to fight! I don't want to die for someone else's interests! Ideally, I'd just watch from the sidelines as idiots cut each other up with lightsabers.
SorSyn's lips twitched; she had already picked up on my cowardly thoughts.
"Lord! I am ready to..."
Lightning shot from SorSyn's finger, striking the poor fool in the head. The blood in his entire body changed its physical state to gas. Splatters of brain, internal organs, blood, flesh, and bone stained everyone in our group of Sith.
SorSyn silently narrowed her eyes and continued staring at me. My gaze shifted to the bloody stain, then I looked back at the Lord.
I sighed heavily. What a selfish Lord I have. Even a bribe didn't help.
"You may delegate the task to me."
She finally stopped threatening me and gave a quick nod. SorSyn was extremely pleased now: all she had to do was secure the resources to begin her experiments.
"I appoint you as my deputy. You will continue this meeting in my stead. Here is the data on our squad, the agreements with the other Lords, and the tactical recommendations from the Alsakan officers."
SorSyn placed a datapad on the table, leaving no time to react. She stood up from the table, opened the door, and walked out.
I still wanted to shirk the work, but now hundreds of yellow eyes were staring in my direction.
I couldn't even get properly angry. Had I been in her place, I would have dumped the work on someone else too. Why were there no competent Sith in this room? Erra would have instantly figured out the Lord's desires.
Where is that walking brain necrosis? I ought to make use of her predictions again. Today, Lord SorSyn dumps her work on me, and tomorrow she'll kill me for being someone who unraveled too many of her secrets.
I am too young to die! Better let Tritos drop dead; the old man has lived long enough in this world.
"Alright, sit still and keep quiet for now."
The sisters exchanged glances and nodded.
I stood up and mechanically straightened my military uniform. With slow steps, I headed toward the table where the Sith Lord had sat.
The Sith around me stayed quiet, trying not to look at me. They were still in shock from SorSyn's actions.
Reaching the designated spot, I sat down and looked over the crowd. Every Sith was evaluating my physical parameters and connection to the Force. Were it not for SorSyn's actions, I am certain they would have already started fighting for the position of the Lord's deputy.
"Our Sith Lord is quite persuasive."
The Sith nodded automatically; not every Sith Lord would just casually murder a grey-purple specialist.
I picked up the datapad and began reading, and I was not interrupted during this time. Half an hour later, I finally finished studying our group's specialization.
There was a problem! A gigantic problem!
There are 13 low-quality sorcerers—I am sure Erra would call them talentless—but they know something more than just basic lightning.
There were also 17 pilots here: this gives us the ability to utilize 9 shuttles. Add my transport, and we have 10 autonomous squads of 30 soldiers each. I need to requisition these vehicles from the depot.
There were no alchemists, no artillerists, no engineers, no armor crews, no beast masters, and no battle meditation masters!
The remaining 311 Sith were just beast riders. I corrected the figure and reduced the number of idiots to 310. SorSyn killed one today.
I would be angry in her place, too. What kind of statistics are these?! Maybe the Empire should stop handing out grey-purple ranks to riders?
I wonder how easy those exams are? All these Sith should have been exiled to the black-gold troops; they clearly hold no value to the Empire.
Now onto the agreements among the Lords: SorSyn had pawned the work off onto her peers. We would stay behind to guard strategic facilities in the city, while the other nine squads would run around the jungles hunting rebels.
The only thing that pleased me was Alsakan's requirement. For every 30-man squad, I had to allocate one slot for their soldier.
What am I supposed to do now? Why did I even bribe her in the first place? I'm sure even without it, she would have dumped the work on me anyway.
Not a single alchemist on the team; I will have to do everything myself...
Today is a terrible day.