Chapter 21

"Apologies, Commander. I took this blaster without permission and am willing to accept whatever punishment you deem fit," Boxe said in front of all the fighters who had just ended their evening training. apologized to Jial publicly just as they had agreed. 

"Your apology is accepted but punishment shall still be dealt out," Jial took the blaster back from her and passed it to Sidon to store with the others. "Your punishment will have to be carried out at a later date, though. The forces to the west have begun acting up. I need you to lead the 54th to suppress them and prevent them from entering our territory. Perform well enough and your punishment shall be revoked."

Boxe was surprised that Jial had given her such an out. She had expected to be put on probation at the very least.

"Understood. I shall bring you back victory," Boxe assured him, ready to get into battle and restore her honor.

"Good. You and Sidon will move out at first light," Jial gave her her orders before he walked around the town to look over the progress. 

In the nearly 2 months that they had taken control of the town, it had been turned from a town into a fort. All forces that had not surrendered to Yautja and joined their cause were either killed or escorted off the planet. At least that is what the others thought. As soon as they cleared the atmosphere, the others were killed immediately to prevent any information from leaking about Yautja's true strength. 

Each house was shared between 2-4 members, depending on how skilled they were, with those with better shots or unique skill sets such as engineering being allowed to only have one roommate staying with them.

Jial nodded at the progress that his group was making but he knew that this was not enough. He was confident that he could take over the planet himself but conquering the world was not the only issue. He planned to create something. And for that, he needed far more members.

'Looks like I will have to do that,' Jial thought reluctantly. He made his way to the Phantom before heading into the bridge and calling someone he hadn't spoken to in a while. A holographic image of a familiar Mirialan appeared before him.

"Jial!" Ac greeted warmly. "How goes the progress? I haven't heard from you in a while."

"It's been going good. We have already taken out the Toxis group and are currently warring with the other ones," Jial lied through his teeth, not willing to expose his true strength. "We plan on going against the other two groups soon and I was wondering if you could help."

Ac was surprised that they had already taken out in only a month. He thought they would need at least 3 or 4 to get rid of the first enemy.

"And what can I do for you?"

"I need materials. I plan to build a droid factory so I want some droids to make it, the materials to make it, materials to make a generator, and several different materials so I can actually make the droids," Jial told him what he wanted. He had the entire history of the Sith and Jedi in his hands. And while the Jedi rarely made droids, there were several prominent Sith that had designed some pretty amazing droids. He wanted to borrow some of their designs to create a small army.

"Jial," Ac sighed to himself, pretending to struggle with what he was about to say. "I want to help you. I really do. But we can't just..."

"I have 2 kg of Stygium crystals that I was able to get from the Toxis stronghold. They were originally planning on selling to you guys in order to gain control of Wyne but because of the sudden change of plans, they were unable to."

Ac was stunned. His boss was actually looking for Stygium for a new flagship that he wanted to design. What he needed the most was Stygium. 

"Deal," Ac did not even try to negotiate. Although he was going to take a slight loss from giving the materials that Jial needed for that much Stygium, he would most likely make up for it when his boss rewarded him. "I can have the materials there for you in a month."

"Perfect. Just let me know when you are near the planet. We will turn on the signal at the tower and disarm the turrets so they don't shoot you out of the sky."

"Haha, Jial. You were truly the right Bordok to bet on!" Ac was ecstatic. "Contact me if you find any more goods like that."

"As long as I have no use for them," Jial promised before ending the transmission. Even though he wanted to keep the Stygium secret, he knew that he had to play certain cards. They were on a planet without any resources so they needed something in order to start making profits. As long as Ac believed that only had a limited amount of it, they would be fine.

With that matter settled, Jial went back to his room to retrieve his mask before taking a speeder from the garage and leaving out of the north gates. It was time to meet with the group that had grown too large for its own good. 

---

A figure wearing a black cloak appeared before the gates of Bruldi. Several guards who were joking around with one another saw them and raised their blasters at the person. 

"Stand down! If you move one more step, you still be shot. Who the fuck are you?!"

Jial did not say anything but instead, activated the lightsaber that was in his hands. Instantly, all of the guards instinctively backed up a few steps. None of them wanted to get on the bad side of a Jedi. 

"What does a Jedi want from us?" the same person asked, this time, a lot more cordial

"I wish to speak with your boss. Do you mind escorting me inside?" Jial asked them, not bothering to clear up their misunderstanding. It actually made it easier for this part of his plan if he didn't. 

The guards whispered among themselves for a few seconds before nodding. They all lowered their blasters, allowing Jial to walk past them and into the town with two of the guards escorting him. 

Their town was even smaller than Wyne was and it was much dirtier because of it. 200 men and women with little discipline were not too keen on hygiene. When they saw the unknown figure appearing under the protection of two guards, many of them paused to take a look at the person.  Jial was led to the largest building in the town, with two guards standing outside of it. 

"This is as far as we can take you. The boss already knows who you are so you can head inside to speak with him," one of the guards that brought him here said

"Good. Hopefully, this will not take long," Jial walked through the doors with confidence in his step. When he got inside, he saw a man sitting on a large throne and several others standing on the two sides of the rooms with blasters in their hands. Jial his helmet to see that there were also 4 other individuals on the 2nd floor as well, each hiding with a blaster in their hands.

"What can we do for you, Master Jedi?" the leader asked him with a small accent. He was a Pantoran with several markings on his face. 

"I can use the Force but I am no Jedi. I am the leader of Yautja to the south of you and I have come to make you an offer," Jial told the man

"Hmm. The leader of another group has come to me? What do you want? An alliance against a bigger threat? Let me warn you, our services don't come cheap," the Pantoran already assumed what Jial wanted

"I'm not interested in hiring you. I am offering you and your men a chance to join Yautja. I suggest you take it for your only other option is death."

The Pantoran began laughing at Jial's words, not believing that someone had actually come to threaten him. 

"And you come with this threat alone?" he asked

"This is no threat," Jial assured him. "It is called aggressive negotiations. And I alone am more than enough."

The man no longer laughed, instead, anger filled his face. 

"Kill him. And throw him out for the Kusaks to eat."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jial raised his hand and lightning shot out from his fingertips. As soon as it made contact with the Pantoran, his body was burnt and the life left his body. It all happened so fast that no one could react. 

"That was the fate of the man who was strong enough to lead all of you. Do you think that the rest of you will do any better? Kneel if you accept your new positions as my men. Otherwise, I will drag your bodies outside to make an example for the others through you." 

The others looked around at one another before they got down on one knee and lowered their heads, not wanting to meet Jial's eyes.

"Good. Show me where he kept his valuables."