บท 63: Chapter 63
---Victor POV---
As we entered the Market District, the full size of this place came into perspective for my fiancées. Having never been in a modern market before, they began to have panic attacks as all the lights, sounds, and people were too overwhelming for them. Using magic to soothe their nerves, I suggested we get something to drink and acclimatize to everything. Readily agreeing, my fiancées stuck closer to me than usual as we walked over to smoothie vendor to order drinks.
Ordering the most popular smoothie they had, as none of the fruits were familiar to me, we took a seat at a large table a few yards away and began to chat. As my party was still getting used to this place, I took the opportunity to talk with Ahsoka and confirm if she had been looking for me. Taking a shot in the dark, my assumption was the Jedi Order was looking for the mysterious force user that helped the civilian transport a few months ago.
"That is correct, three of us have been scouring the sector looking for you and your vessel. We were about to call it quits when I saw your ship docking. Are you here for a specific reason?", she inquired, attempting to gather intelligence for her Master and Obi-Wan.
"My fiancées wanted to do a bit of window shopping, and I wanted to purchase raw materials we are in need of.", I answered, seeing no reason to lie, "Also, I was hoping to collect any potential bounties on the pirates I killed a few months back."
"I do not know about the pirates, but the space marines you killed certainly do. The Imperium has bounties on all their former, traitorous comrades.", she replied, "I think the going rate is five hundred thousand credits a head."
"That is good to know.", I replied, 'Based on the prices I am seeing around here, we are very well off. Hopefully that holds true when it comes to raw materials.'
Asking me about the reaction my fiancées had when we entered the market district, I informed her that it was our first time on an active space station. Stating that we were used to the typical markets you would find on rural worlds, it was just a lot to take in for them all at once. Understanding the situation, she admitted that she had a similar reaction when she first entered a space station's market.
"I know it is going to sound a bit rude and maybe stupid to ask you this, but you are not a Sith Lord, are you?", Ahsoka asked, watching my facial expressions closely.
"No, I consider myself a Gray Jedi.", I answered, looking into her eyes, "I readily acknowledge that I use both sides of the Force, something I know the Jedi Order has a distaste for. While lesser men may fall to the dark side of the Force, I will never succumb to its taint. I am a man of discipline and sheer fucking will, nothing will sway me from the path I have set before myself."
Startled by how certain I was of this, a glint of curiosity briefly glimmered in her eyes before she closed them. Letting out a relieved sigh, she appeared to be convinced that I was not an evil person. Pulling my three lightsabers off my belt, I slid them over to her so she could examine them as well. Looking at them then back to me for a moment, Ahsoka asked what this was about.
"I assumed you might also want to inspect the lightsabers I have in my possession. They were discovered in dungeons from around our home world.", I remarked, "While I am not absolutely certain how old they are, I do believe they are quite old."
Picking the green lightsaber up, Ahsoka took a moment to disassemble it so she could look for any signs of who previously owned it. Having already done so myself, I had found nothing that indicated who it might have once belonged to.
"I can confirm that these are very old, probably from the first or second iteration of lightsabers.", Ahsoka said, disassembling the other two, "I have only seen some of these parts in textbooks and the museum the High Council maintains in our headquarters. It is safe to assume you did not kill anyone for them, and that no one is going to come looking for them."
Reassembling them, she handed them back to me with a content smile.
"All that said, you should consider making your lightsaber. The technology we use nowadays is much less prone to failure, and parts are readily available through the Jedi Order.", she remarked.
"That would require joining your organization, and I have no intention of doing so. There are many good souls within the Order, but your leaders are too bullheaded for my taste. While the universe continues to change as society grows, the Jedi Order is stagnating and growing complacent.", I stated, glancing over toward the way we came from, "Your two comrades are about to enter the market."
Turning around to look where I was, Ahsoka watched as Anakin and Obi-Wan came running into the market in a panic. Confused as to why they were acting weird, she quickly remembered that she had shut off her communicator. Quickly turning it back on, Ahsoka let them know we could see them and apologized for worrying them. Telling them exactly where we were, she gave them a friendly wave causing the two men to let out exhausted sighs.
Walking over to us, once they were close, Anakin playfully drove his fist into the top of Ahsoka's head. Wincing in pain for a moment, her Master scolded her for running off on her own without backup. Telling her that they panicked when they did not see her near my ship, they thought she had been captured by us. Relieved that she was unharmed and safe, the two men turned to me with hesitant expressions.
"My name is Victor von Stark, Ahsoka explained everything to me. I apologize for making you run all over the sector looking for me.", I chuckled, motioning for them to sit at the end of the table, "These are my fiancées: Angelica, Clarice, Deirdre, Lucoa, Mylene, Olivia, and Roxanne."
"A pleasure to meet all of you.", Obi-Wan said, giving us a friendly nod, "So, how much have you told them?"
Getting her comrades up to speed, I had them examine the lightsabers themselves to see if they could tell me more about them. Giving me the same response she did for the blue and green lightsabers, Obi-Wan had a complex look on his face when he looked at the red lightsaber. While Anakin did not notice anything, something about the weapon struck a chord with the Jedi Master.
"Is something wrong?", Anakin asked him, taking a second look at the lightsaber.
"It may be nothing, but I believe this was once in the possession of a Sith Lord. Throughout my travels I have had the misfortune to come across many Ancient Sith Relics, one of those relics that felt exactly like this belonged to Darth Bane.", Obi-Wan stated, looking at my closely, "You have not experienced any unfamiliar voices in your mind, have you? Relics like these can sometimes drive those in close contact with them mad."
"No, I have not had any issues. I have used countless times without any problems.", I said, 'If it really did belong to him, that would be really fucking cool!'
"Getting back to the topic you brought up when we met on the boardwalk, about the Sith Lord we are looking for. Can you share that information with us now that all three of us are here?", Ahsoka asked.
Receiving my lightsabers back, I nodded my head and broke the news to them that they were being played for follows by the Sith Lord.
"Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is the current Sith Lord and Count Dooku is his acting apprentice.", I informed them, getting right to it, "Darth Maul was his former apprentice, till he went rogue and began acting alone."
"Wait a minute, you are saying the current Supreme Chancellor is the Sith Lord we are after?", Obi-Wan replied, skeptical of this information.
"Yes, and there are three key pieces of information you need to be aware of. First, Palpatine has a lightsaber hidden in the bottom of the statue that sits in his office. You should be able to easily confirm that when you scan the statue. You will discover a rectangular void that your scanners will be unable to see into, that is where the lightsaber is.", I told him, "Secondly, you need to get to Kamino and thoroughly review the entire process of how clone troopers are made. After Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas was killed, Count Dooku and Palpatine's allies took control of the operations there. Since they took over, they have been installing biochips into every soldier's head in preparation for Order 66. When they are ready, Palpatine will give the order, and they will massacre the Jedi Order and their allies."
"I told you something seemed off about the new clone troopers!", Ahsoka interrupted me, looking at the two men, "They act differently from the older clone troopers, but none of you believed me!"
"What of the third piece of information?", Obi-Wan asked.
"Before you can confront Palpatine, you will need to locate his cloned bodies and destroy them. He possesses the ability and knowledge of how to transfer his consciousness from one body to another in seconds. This information was given to him by his mentor, Darth Plagueis before Palpatine killed him in his sleep.", I informed him.
Leaning back in his seat, Obi-Wan began to think about what I was saying. Knowing that the High Council was already suspicious of Palpatine for other reasons, this information probably further complicated things. Not wanting to pressure them into making a move now, I suggested investigating Kamino first to lessen the number of foes they potentially might have to fight.
"Do you think the High Council will approve of us looking into it?", Anakin inquired, glancing at Obi-Wan.
"Given the information we have now, I do not believe that we should alert the High Council. That said, I do want to inform Master Yoda and Master Windu about this development.", Obi-Wan stated, rising from his seat.
"So you three are aware, we will only be on the space station for a few hours. I will contact you in a few days, in the event you need further details.", I told them, with a smile, "God's speed to the three of you."
Saying their farewells, the three Jedi quickly retired to their ship to call Windu and Yoda.
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