AN: TRIPLE RELEASE, go back to 76
Under the influence of a Jedi mind trick, and the weight of his own hubris, the cloned brain of Wilhuff Tarkin had gone on a killing spree. The thousands of corporate soldiers loyal to the Tarkin family lay in ruin, their corpses still sporting fresh, smoking black holes where turbolaser fire had dropped them dead.
The sight of battle-if a slaughter could be called that-took place in the grand central rail station. This once vibrant hub for transportation was now much more quiet than it ever before. Only the noise of burning rubble, and slow drainage of broken pipes met Corvus's ears. That, and the moans of the injured. Hundreds of troopers and civilians who had escaped Tarkin's mad rampage struggled, and gasped to draw breaths. The smoky tang of blaster propellant and other chemical odors associated with was clogged their lungs, and burn wounds from blaster fire coated their forms.
Witnessing the catastrophic aftermath within this train station, Corvus took it all in. The hatred, the sorrow, as a Jedi & Force Adept, these feelings were magnified to an insane degree. The metaphysical weight of loss hit him like a truck.
Breathing deeply, Corvus accepted this weight on his shoulders, and repeated the Jedi Shadows mantra to keep his head clear, and keep himself from devolving to madness. The Darkside was ever present, its whispers were like the counsel of a demon. Several times, these intense emotions threatened to push him over the edge. Those horrific deaths were caused by Tarkin's hand, yet it was through his little push that they-the soldiers at least-died. As for the civilians, a small part of him knew Tarkin would never have shown up if not for the tracker.
Yet he was a Je'daii. To bear the burden, and responsibility of his actions was what a protector, what a man ought to do.
Exhaling that long held breath, the moon shown down upon him, and a news shuttlecraft hovered into view, recording the scene. Paying them no mind, Corvus lovingly stroked his lightsaber.
'Thank you. You have done so much for me, my friend. Can you help me once more?' Corvus sent a pulse through the Force to his kyber crystal, sending feelings of warmth and care.
'Friend. Always & Forever.' The krystal shined bright blue, its brilliance radiated in his mind.
The weight and burden of so many deaths, and heavy emotions was absorbed into his core, and he stood tall.
Regarding the broken cyber suit for but a second, Corvus then clasped his hands together, and activated the [Channel] ability that he obtained when he formed a bond with the kyber crystal. All his Lightside abilities instantly increased in power by 25%.
Sitting down in a meditative pose, Corvus hovered a few feet off the ground, and focused on his advanced understanding of [Heal]. Half a minute later, all those who had been injured within a 5 mile radius were instantly restored to their peak health.
The darkness receded, and minty green motes of light permeated the night sky. Those sinister whispers at the edge of his psyche vanished along with the birth of hope.
'Not enough, I can go further.' Corvus thought to himself.
'Hope. Justice. Love. Believe.' His kyber crystal encouraged.
Blue light visibly coated his form, and visually looked like a pulsing aura. A stray tear trailed down his cheek as his connection with the Force became more pure.
'Beautiful.' Corvus thought to himself.
The Lightside called to him like a long lost mother that was visiting him from beyond the grave, and embraced his shoulders like a warm blanket. For an infinitismally small second, he almost lost himself in the moment. The ugly woes of life: poverty, hunger, liars, cheaters, and traitors almost made him want to give it all up, and devote himself to this loving mothers embrace.
'Not yet.' A bell-like laugh seemed to echo in his mindscape, and Corvus found himself opening blazing white eyes into the dark of the night.
A halo of moonlight shone directly on him, and began to ripple, matching the blue kyber crystal aura that coated his body.
"[Revitalize]." Corvus softly intoned.
White mixed with blue, using his body as a vessel, the powers of the universe left him, and tiny balls of energy gently floated down onto those who had been slain.
Eriadu City, for the second time that day, witnessed a miracle.
~~~~~~~~~
Flying towards the central railway station, a hijacked transport zipped past skyscrapers, taking nearly lethal turns, and bypassing traffic at incredibly unsafe speeds.
Within the cruiser, the men of the Bad Batch were all hovering over their compatriot, Wrecker.
Armor scorched in dozens of places, the giant clone soldier had a broken pair of energy shield generators at his hip, and his breaths were shallow.
Hunter grimly looked down at his brother, his hands clenched into balls, and his mouth set into a firm line. All the while, a heart rate monitor had been beeping in the background.
"It's not your fault, Hunter. That was an ambush, he was outnumbered a hundred to one, he-" Echo got out, only to be roughly pushed away by Hunter.
"You wouldn't understand. We went through basic together, he was always the strongest. If we didn't have this fancy new gear, he wouldn't have gotten cocky." Hunter said in a bitter tone.
"Blame my master again, and see what happens." Yon darkly intoned with crossed arms.
"Careful now, Ragebar." Crosshair stood between Hunter and Yon.
"Life support is going critical. He has seconds left." Tech spoke up in a worried tone.
The ship then shook and shuddered as it careened around another corner.
"Tech, what's the ETA to the General's position?" Echo demanded.
"Five minutes." Tech grimly intoned, his voice quiet, clinical, withdrawn.
At that moment, the heart rate monitor started to flatline.
Hunter darkly glared at the screen, then punched it for all he was worth. The mechanical device cracked, and fell onto the deck of the transport craft.
"What are you smirking about?" Hunter snarled at Yon, and raised another fist.
Crosshair and Echo moved to hold Hunter back, barely restraining him.
"Your lack of faith in my Master." Yon said, and slowly walked up to Hunter, they were so close, their faces were less than a foot apart. "You clones want us to trust you. Then trust us."
Hunter was about to free himself from his friends' hold, but the ship suddenly dived, and slid on the ground, making everyone jolt.
"We're here. Master Corvus is just ahead." Jax said as he rushed out of the cockpit.
Hunter held back his suspicions, and was going to grab ahold of Wrecker, when suddenly a thousand motes of white-blue light penetrated the hold.
Moving to activate his personal shield, thinking it was an enemy attack, Hunter was surprised to see the balls of light pass right through him.
"What is going on?!" Hunter demanded.
Before anyone could say a word, the sound of wet coughing met his ears.
"Wrecker!" Hunter cried, and looked down at the big man.
"Watchu tiny peckers doing round me? Ey?" Wrecker scratched his head, and looked at everyone in confusion.
Yon sweetly smiled, and patted Hunter on the shoulder, then disembarked alongside Jax.
Hunter swallowed any curses that were about to leave his mouth, and he could only nod at the kid.
"We'll be out in a moment. Tell the General he has our thanks." Echo-ever the diplomat-thanked.
"No need, it is the Jedi way." Jax answered, then departed.
"Loyalty, huh." Hunter whispered to himself.
"Get up brother." Echo slapped Hunter on the back of his head, then pointed at Wrecker.
"Heh, sorry Echo." Hunter said in embarrassment.
Echo slightly inclined his head, then held out a hand to help Wrecker up, only to be caught in a bearhug by the laughing big man.
~~~~~~~~~~~
All around Eriadu City-within a 5 mile radius of Corvus's current position-all those who had a connection to Tarkin, and had been killed under his order, or by his hand rose from the dead. Corvus's 30 minute cap on the ability had been bypassed as he had acted as the conduit for the Force itself.
Among those who came back to life were not just civilians, but those corporate soldiers who had been massacred during Tarkin's cyberpsychotic rampage.
Gasping for air, Corvus found his stamina virtually left him, and he took a seat on the ruined hulk that was Tarkin's cybersuit. Although his lungs felt pure, and his cells rejuvenated, the act of casting such a large ability at his current level was not without its tolls. Drowsiness hit him like a wave, and sleep almost took him.
At this time, the people within the blown out rail station began to climb to their feet. Almost every single one of them had torn or damaged clothing.
Corvus lightly chuckled at their confused expressions. Looking down at them from his 12ft perch, they reminded him of a bunch of alcoholics that had woken up in the afternoon after a hard night/morning of partying. They staggered to their feet, and took hesitant steps, and groped around, flexed their fingers, and moved their limbs as if it was some strange, foreign concept. Through the Force, he felt as if their minds were in a sort of fog, as if they were waking from a deep slumber, and hadn't fully realized that they no longer dreamed.
One man reached for his blaster, and hesitantly raised it, pointing it at Corvus's chest. A handful of others shakily mimicked him, whilst the majority of healed/resurrected people watched on with confusion. These few soldiers seemed to be acting more on training & muscle memory than any orders or serious desire to do him harm. The news craft hovering overhead shined a light down on the broken street, silence reigned, and not a soul spoke.
Corvus looked down on these few dozen people, and somewhat admired them. The training they must have undergone should have been quite intense. That even after death, they still acted like this. Such dedication, it made him appreciate the people of Eriadu even more.
The 'stand off' didn't last long, as a fast moving transport came skidding, and sliding along the street for a controlled crash landing. Sensing the Bad Batch inside, Corvus surmised his Padawans were also tagging along.
This brief jolt of noise spooked the corporate troopers, and they opened fire.
Red bolts collided with an [Energy Resistance] shield, making it shake and shiver.
Exhausted from what had just taken place a moment ago, Corvus found moving to be extremely difficult. If he sat here much longer, his shield would burst, and death would be close at hand.
But he wasn't afraid.
A second later, his two students came out of the dark, lightsabers glowing with murderous intentions. They were about to close with this line of troops, and blend into them with reckless abandon, yet this isn't what Corvus wanted. Why waste this opportunity when given a second chance at life?
"Stop."
Infusing some of the Force into his words, his high Persuade score unknowingly was added to the mix, and everyone in the twisted, broken train station held their ground.
For but a moment, not a soul breathed, as they were under the sway of Corvus's command.
"I won't say much, as I am weary, and ready for rest, but this needs to be heard." Corvus spoke both softly, and gently, as even raising his voice felt like a strain on his body. Yet despite this, his voice carried far.
Jax, Yon, and the thousands of people present all turned to look at him.
Dangling his feet off a box-like missile launcher, he pointed down into the cybersuit's cockpit at the deceased, synth skin head that looked just like Wilhuff Tarkin.
"The Quintad are dead. You no longer belong to them. The debts you owe to their corporations are null and void. The pay you once received shall now become my burden to bear. Their factories, and assets now claimed by the Jedi Order shall enact wide sweeping reforms. Among these reforms, is the 5 day work week, paid over time, medical benefits, and paid time off among other things. Eriadu is the jewel of the galactic south, yet the skies are burnt orange with pollution." Corvus said in a sad, wistful tone, as if he was admiring the greatness of a past civilization that had created wonders now long gone.
As he spoke, many of the people present dared to show hope on their faces, yet even more wore grim, or uneasy looks. Especially the corporate soldiers, they were shifting left to right uncomfortably. Yet Corvus did not care about their worry, for they had been but tools under another man's scheme. He did not despise those trained to obey their masters, nor did he hate people trying to rise in social standing. It was human nature to strive for more, to make more money to support their families or their hobbies. If he was to reform a planet, such men would be useful to him, and beneficial to society.
"I, however, am but one man, and can only do so much on my own.
Will you help me?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AN: Read upto chapter 222 at: patreon.com/KarpQQ
I update there every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday