The Empire. How foolish those of the New Republic must have been to try to destroy it; Elenx'eke'nuruodo, for one, knew that such a thing could never be destroyed. For while the New Republic was nothing more than a glorified council of war, the Empire was much more- so much more. Something intangible, something which could not be touched, nevermind destroyed.
It was an... ideal. A fundamental principle upon which one man had build an armada of peace and order.
Every warship could be smashed, and every planet taken, and every commanding officer killed. Those once loyal could turn their traitorous hearts away from the Empire, and the New Republic could be venerated on the highest tower of Coruscant; but still, the fundamental principle of the Empire could not be destroyed. It was one which lived in the heart of every man, good and evil, moral and immoral.
Evil men sought control; good men sought peace. Both could only be achieved through strict, unrelenting order- and that was, quintessenially, the Empire. Imperial rule, had all submitted to it, would have been one characterized by peace. Yet, the rebellion, in their lacking wisdom, chose to oppose the Imperial occupation of their worlds. They did not know; they could not know.
Yet those who had known the Emperor in life had known; that only through a rule in which control was stripped away from the common man, was peace found. From a religious man's point of view, man was not meant to rule himself; was he, God would have made man with the powers of a god himself. From a pragmatist's point of view, man was not meant to rule himself, because it is within man's nature to select one of his own to follow.
Soon, soon, they would all follow one; unite under one banner, or several. As many as need be; so long as they were all of the Empire. Imperial rule could not be refused; for every empire which fell, more would rise up later. From greed, from benevolence. All lead to one path. The Empire.
But the Empire had one critical advantage above all others; one powerful element which bound together the trillions of beings and millions of worlds of which it was composed. The Emperor- and more than that, the Force.
While lower level, self-righteous bureaucrats viewed the 'sorcerors ways' of Lord Vader and Emperor Palpatine as nothing more than a supersticious hoax, a wives tale passed on to keep people in awe of the Emperor, those in that precious inner circle had known the truth. The Force had created the Empire; the Force had destroyed it; the Force would bring it forth once again.
So, in the deepest underground facilities of the SoroSuub corporation, on the planet Sullust- a planet recently having come out from Sith rule- the mysteries of the Force had been cut open, laid plain before Elenx'eke'nuruodo. Before him sat five crystals; of equal size and similar cut, but each of different hue. The special crystals of a Jedi's lightsaber. The key to unlocking the secrets of the Force.
These, in particular, had been taken from the swamps of Yavin 4, by special agents of the New Imperial Alliance. They had been taken from the lightsabers found on the corpses of the most powerful special operatives in the history of the Imperial Remnant- the Shadow Troopers.
Those who wore the Shadow Armor, a product of the brilliant Admiral Fyyar, had been imbued with the gifts of the Force- yet, only while they wore the suit. Using the Force-conductive properties of the lightsaber crystals taken from Artus Prime, the suit had become a conduit of the Force, allowing it's users to fight like a Jedi.
Admiral Galak Fyyar had had an ally, before their deaths at the hand of Kyle Katarn; a Dark Jedi, named Desann. A mighty, powerful Jedi, who had fallen to Katarn only in his own self-obsessed search for personal glory. This alien, Desann, had discovered another secret of the Force in the now-lost Valley of the Jedi; a way to permanently gift a single person with the power of the Force. The person was reborn in the Force, their eyes opened to it's glory.
And the secret lay in the crystals.
Grand Admiral Xeken's lips parted slowly, each word taking shape with supreme thought put behind it. The scientists surrounding the Admiral in that dark durasteel cavern listened with rapt attention, hanging on his every word. "The crystals... the Force sparks within them, correct?"
One scientist, a stocky Sullustan, nodded carefully to the Chiss Admiral, responding, "Yes. While these crystals possess no special qualities after being mined, once Admiral Fyyar conducted the experiments on them in the Valley of the Jedi, the Force began to eminate from them."
"A byproduct of the limitless power of the Valley, no doubt." Elenx'eke'nuruodo scratched his blue chin, staring intently at the crystals before him. "Could this be accomplished in an environment similar to the Valley?"
"No, sir." The same scientist responded, "It requires someone to channel the Force through them. With another Force user, a Jedi or Sith, we could recreate more of these crystals through molecular reproduction in combination with transfer of the Force into them. But, as it is..."
"I see." Grand Admiral Xeken turned his red-eyed gaze to the scientist. "You salvaged the Shadow Armor?"
"No..." The Sullustan began, "The suits were badly damaged by Katarn. Some where incinerated or crushed... we suspect he took command of an AT-ST during his rampage. But, we have salvaged various undamaged parts from the many suits, to form one complete suit of Shadow Armor..."
"...but?"
"But it could be unstable. The Force is an energy supply of limitless power... the multiple parts might not congrue properly, meaning that the user's control over the Force would not be complete. If he were to lose control..." The alien's voice trailed off, as if unsure how to phrase this state of failure to his commanding officer.
"It would destroy himself and this facility." Finished another Sullustan scientist, bowing his head slightly to the other.
"Thank you. Yes, Admiral, as he says, so it is."
Elenx'eke'nuruodo glanced down at the crystals one more time. "Show me."
It was an... ideal. A fundamental principle upon which one man had build an armada of peace and order.
Every warship could be smashed, and every planet taken, and every commanding officer killed. Those once loyal could turn their traitorous hearts away from the Empire, and the New Republic could be venerated on the highest tower of Coruscant; but still, the fundamental principle of the Empire could not be destroyed. It was one which lived in the heart of every man, good and evil, moral and immoral.
Evil men sought control; good men sought peace. Both could only be achieved through strict, unrelenting order- and that was, quintessenially, the Empire. Imperial rule, had all submitted to it, would have been one characterized by peace. Yet, the rebellion, in their lacking wisdom, chose to oppose the Imperial occupation of their worlds. They did not know; they could not know.
Yet those who had known the Emperor in life had known; that only through a rule in which control was stripped away from the common man, was peace found. From a religious man's point of view, man was not meant to rule himself; was he, God would have made man with the powers of a god himself. From a pragmatist's point of view, man was not meant to rule himself, because it is within man's nature to select one of his own to follow.
Soon, soon, they would all follow one; unite under one banner, or several. As many as need be; so long as they were all of the Empire. Imperial rule could not be refused; for every empire which fell, more would rise up later. From greed, from benevolence. All lead to one path. The Empire.
But the Empire had one critical advantage above all others; one powerful element which bound together the trillions of beings and millions of worlds of which it was composed. The Emperor- and more than that, the Force.
While lower level, self-righteous bureaucrats viewed the 'sorcerors ways' of Lord Vader and Emperor Palpatine as nothing more than a supersticious hoax, a wives tale passed on to keep people in awe of the Emperor, those in that precious inner circle had known the truth. The Force had created the Empire; the Force had destroyed it; the Force would bring it forth once again.
So, in the deepest underground facilities of the SoroSuub corporation, on the planet Sullust- a planet recently having come out from Sith rule- the mysteries of the Force had been cut open, laid plain before Elenx'eke'nuruodo. Before him sat five crystals; of equal size and similar cut, but each of different hue. The special crystals of a Jedi's lightsaber. The key to unlocking the secrets of the Force.
These, in particular, had been taken from the swamps of Yavin 4, by special agents of the New Imperial Alliance. They had been taken from the lightsabers found on the corpses of the most powerful special operatives in the history of the Imperial Remnant- the Shadow Troopers.
Those who wore the Shadow Armor, a product of the brilliant Admiral Fyyar, had been imbued with the gifts of the Force- yet, only while they wore the suit. Using the Force-conductive properties of the lightsaber crystals taken from Artus Prime, the suit had become a conduit of the Force, allowing it's users to fight like a Jedi.
Admiral Galak Fyyar had had an ally, before their deaths at the hand of Kyle Katarn; a Dark Jedi, named Desann. A mighty, powerful Jedi, who had fallen to Katarn only in his own self-obsessed search for personal glory. This alien, Desann, had discovered another secret of the Force in the now-lost Valley of the Jedi; a way to permanently gift a single person with the power of the Force. The person was reborn in the Force, their eyes opened to it's glory.
And the secret lay in the crystals.
Grand Admiral Xeken's lips parted slowly, each word taking shape with supreme thought put behind it. The scientists surrounding the Admiral in that dark durasteel cavern listened with rapt attention, hanging on his every word. "The crystals... the Force sparks within them, correct?"
One scientist, a stocky Sullustan, nodded carefully to the Chiss Admiral, responding, "Yes. While these crystals possess no special qualities after being mined, once Admiral Fyyar conducted the experiments on them in the Valley of the Jedi, the Force began to eminate from them."
"A byproduct of the limitless power of the Valley, no doubt." Elenx'eke'nuruodo scratched his blue chin, staring intently at the crystals before him. "Could this be accomplished in an environment similar to the Valley?"
"No, sir." The same scientist responded, "It requires someone to channel the Force through them. With another Force user, a Jedi or Sith, we could recreate more of these crystals through molecular reproduction in combination with transfer of the Force into them. But, as it is..."
"I see." Grand Admiral Xeken turned his red-eyed gaze to the scientist. "You salvaged the Shadow Armor?"
"No..." The Sullustan began, "The suits were badly damaged by Katarn. Some where incinerated or crushed... we suspect he took command of an AT-ST during his rampage. But, we have salvaged various undamaged parts from the many suits, to form one complete suit of Shadow Armor..."
"...but?"
"But it could be unstable. The Force is an energy supply of limitless power... the multiple parts might not congrue properly, meaning that the user's control over the Force would not be complete. If he were to lose control..." The alien's voice trailed off, as if unsure how to phrase this state of failure to his commanding officer.
"It would destroy himself and this facility." Finished another Sullustan scientist, bowing his head slightly to the other.
"Thank you. Yes, Admiral, as he says, so it is."
Elenx'eke'nuruodo glanced down at the crystals one more time. "Show me."