At the depths of Coruscant, within the grand halls of the Sith, two figures sat in the shadows, watching the emergency holofeed of Supreme Chancellor Valorum's trembling announcement. The flickering blue light reflected off their robes—one draped in red, the other in dark, muted black. Darth Plagueis the Wise narrowed his eyes as he observed the sheer panic spreading throughout the Republic-controlled systems.
"Sidious," Plagueis spoke, his voice calm yet laced with tension. "Why has our plan to expose the Republic's weakness turned into all-out terror? This has gone off the rails… far too much."
Darth Sidious, still wearing the mask of Senator Palpatine, clasped his hands together, deep in thought. "The original plan," he began, his voice slow and measured, "was to exploit Senator Ranulph Tarkin's arrogance—to use his ego to provoke an attack on Stark Combine's fleet. That battle alone would have exposed the Republic's vulnerabilities without implicating us directly." His gaze darkened. "But this… this is beyond my control."
Plagueis remained silent for a moment before speaking again, his voice lower this time. "And we both know that 'Joever Bideney ,' the fool eating ice cream, is nothing more than a fabricated identity."
Palpatine nodded, his expression unreadable. "Yes. And if this false identity is hiding the true threat… then we must consider the possibility that the same person behind this chaos is the one who managed to manipulate the Jedi into imprisoning me within the Jedi Temple for an entire day."
Plagueis exhaled slowly. "Because of that setback, I was forced to meditate for an extended period—exerting my full power just to mask your presence in the Force. The Jedi were far too close to sensing your true nature." His eyes narrowed. "But now… the very balance of power is shifting in a way I did not foresee. The darkness I have spent my life shaping is being drowned by something far worse… something not of the Dark Side itself."
Sidious furrowed his brow slightly. "Then, what is your bidding, my master? Do we remain on course? Or must we create a new plan?"
Plagueis leaned back in his seat, his mind racing. His vision in the Force was murky, but he could feel the tremors in the galaxy—unnatural, unrelenting.
"The Yinchorri revolution is still in motion," Plagueis finally said, his voice measured.
"That conflict can still be used to weaken the Jedi further. But we need more than simple war—we need an inferno that engulfs everything in its path." His gaze turned toward the holofeed, where the image of Troiken's destruction played on repeat.
"This… this chaos is spreading like a wildfire against the very fabric of the galaxy. And I can feel it… something darker than anything I have Never encountered before is coming."
Sidious allowed a rare moment of silence to pass before speaking again. His lips curled into a sinister smirk. "Then let us stoke the flames, my master."
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At the Jedi Temple, within the grand halls of the High Council Chamber, only two Jedi Masters sat in silence—Master Yoda and Master Mace Windu. The room, usually filled with the wisdom of twelve, now held only them. The reason was simple: every other Jedi Master was leading extensive training across the Order. No longer were they just peacekeepers. The Jedi were now being reforged into something more—true guardians of the galaxy.
The large doors to the chamber opened, and the returning Jedi stepped forward—Master Tyvokka, Plo Koon, Qui-Gon Jinn, and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Their expressions were grim, their robes still stained with soot and battle.
Master Yoda's wise gaze studied them carefully. "Safe, you have returned. Grateful, we are," he said, tapping his cane against the floor. "However…"
Master Windu's deep voice followed, sharp and direct. "The terror in the galaxy remains. And the one responsible for all of it—Joever Bideney—is now the Republic's number one enemy." His eyes narrowed. "Master Tyvokka, explain. What did you experience?"
Tyvokka stepped forward, his tone firm despite the weight of his words. "First off, the Invincible flagship was completely overridden by an unknown force. Every screen displayed a single ominous message: 'You're all going to die down here.' That was the first sign of disaster."
Plo Koon nodded, stepping in. "Then, without warning, the ventilation systems were compromised. A plague swept through the ship, affecting nearly the entire crew. They turned into… creatures. The archives call them Rakghouls. However, the infection did not affect Jedi or any high-ranking officials."
Mace Windu's brow furrowed, his fingers steepling. "Strange. A bioweapon that spares Jedi? That is no coincidence."
Tyvokka exhaled. "It wasn't. The infection spread too deliberately. It was targeted. Whatever force was behind this—whoever orchestrated it—wanted only the common crew to fall."
Yoda hummed in thought, his ears twitching. "An experiment, this may have been. A test, perhaps, of something far worse to come."
Obi-Wan, hesitant at first, finally spoke. "It wasn't just the Rakghoul plague, Masters. There was another horror aboard the ship." He looked at Qui-Gon, who nodded in agreement. "The droid army of the Trade Federation turned on them. Every battle droid. Every security droid. They weren't responding to their Neimoidian commanders anymore."
Qui-Gon's voice was grave. "Something—someone—hacked into their systems and turned them into executioners."
Mace Windu leaned back, his expression dark. "So, in one move, this… Bideney dismantled a Republic fleet, decimated the Trade Federation, and sabotaged their entire battle droid network." His jaw clenched. "We're dealing with something far beyond conventional war. This is pure chaos."
Yoda closed his eyes for a moment before speaking again. "The Dark Side, I feel in this. But deeper still… something beyond it, there is." His eyes slowly opened. "Tell me. This 'Joever Bideney'… what else did he do?"
Tyvokka inhaled deeply. "The worst of it… was the end." His voice became grim. "We barely escaped in a stolen droid transport ship. But as we fled, we saw it."
Plo Koon nodded solemnly. "Troiken."
Mace Windu's eyes locked onto them. "Explain."
Tyvokka's gaze was distant, as if recalling a nightmare. "We saw it happen in real time. The destruction of an entire planet."
Obi-Wan, his voice quiet but shaken, spoke next. "A single faint beam of energy, traveling faster than anything I've ever seen. It struck the planet's core. And in an instant…"
He swallowed. "Troiken was gone."
Silence filled the chamber. Even the ever-stoic Mace Windu's fingers curled into fists. Yoda's ears flattened.
Qui-Gon clenched his jaw. "The Republic thinks it was Bideney's doing. His message played over every holoscreen. He called it Bideney Blast."
Mace Windu's fingers tapped against the armrest of his chair. "A weapon powerful enough to destroy a planet in an instant… yet unlike anything the Republic has ever built." His eyes darkened. "We are not prepared for this war."
Master Yoda's wise gaze slowly turned to Plo Koon. "Plo Koon, as Tyvokka's Padawan, sense I do that something more you wish to say. Speak, you may."
Plo Koon nodded, his voice steady. "Yes, Master. First, I must clarify—Master Tyvokka was shot by Trade Federation droids. Gunray, in his panic, used his remaining forces to target all of us. He was reckless and desperate."
Obi-Wan frowned slightly. "But for some reason, only a few battle droids remained truly loyal to Gunray. The rest had already turned against him."
Master Windu's expression hardened. "Then we categorize them alongside the Rakghouls. The enemy is testing its weapons—both biological and mechanical."
He steepled his fingers. "But I sense there is more you wish to speak of, Plo Koon."
Tyvokka exhaled, nodding. "There is." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Someone saved me. He was the reason I am still alive. He regenerated my organs, sealed my wounds—an ability never I've seen before. We call him… the Armored Man."
Master Yoda's ears perked. "Armored, you say?"
Plo Koon continued, "His self-proclaimed occupation was a 'beast hunter.' But that hardly describes what he truly was. He wore the most advanced armor I have ever encountered. It could phase through solid structures like a ghost. And, more importantly, it blocked my lightsaber."
Master Windu's brow furrowed. "Beskar? Like Mandalorian iron?"
Plo Koon shook his head. "No. Beskar is rare and difficult to shape. This was Not Beskar. And he was not Mandalorian—he never wore their signature helmet, nor did he follow their customs. He carried a weapon—something that functioned like a lightsaber, yet fired a continuous beam of destruction. Not a plasma sword, but as ' a blaster ."
Mace Windu's expression darkened further. "Let me guess—he's missing."
Master Tyvokka's gaze lowered slightly. "He sacrificed his life for us. He stayed behind on the Invincible, ensuring that the Rakghouls did not escape into space. Without him, we wouldn't have made it out alive."
Silence filled the chamber. Even the normally composed Masters felt the weight of the revelation.
Yoda closed his eyes, deep in thought. "A mystery, this Armored Man remains. If alive, seek him out, we must. If fallen, learn from his sacrifice, we will."
Master Windu leaned forward. "Regardless of who or what he was, we have two major concerns. One—Bideney Blast has changed galactic warfare forever. Two—this Armored Man might hold secrets that could tip the scales in either direction."
Tyvokka crossed his arms. "Then we find out if he still lives. Because if he does… we need to know what he really is."
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Jin-Woo stood at the bridge of the Invincible flagship once more, his arms crossed as he watched the chaotic aftermath of the battle. The sheer scale of devastation was beyond anything the Republic had ever seen. Entire fleets lay in ruins, planets scarred beyond recognition, and his name—Joever Bideney—had been etched into history as the greatest threat the galaxy had ever known.
Then, the familiar ping of a system notification appeared before his eyes.
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[Notification: Quest Completed]
Quest: Stark Hyperspace War [Complete]
• Description: Gain a bounty of 10,000,000 credits from the war that is about to begin.
• Reward:
1 ]Shard of Kaiburr Crystal
2 ]Companion Voucher x1
3 ]Mantle's Approach Teleportation Location Voucher x1
_Penalty for Failure: Half of Force abilities will be removed. [Averted/Nullified]
[Hidden Reward Unlocked: Due to Reaching a 1,000,000,000 Credit Bounty (100x the Initial Objective)]
1] Full Kaiburr Crystal (Grants unparalleled connection to the Force, amplifying all abilities.)
2] Blackstone Fortress Teleportation Voucher (Allows Jin-Woo to claim and teleport to the legendary, indomitable Blackstone Fortress.)
3] Supreme Galactic Infamy (New Passive Title: "Endbringer of the Republic")
4] A Sith Holocron of a Dark Lord Long Forgotten (Darth Vitiate's Personal Holocron)
5] The Right to Claim Korriban as Throneworld(The planet is currently sealed until Jin-Woo arrives.)
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Jin-Woo tilted his head back and laughed. A deep, amused chuckle that echoed through the lifeless halls of the Invincible. "Hah… Endbringer of the Republic, huh? That's a new one."
His eyes scanned through the rewards, but it was the final item that caught his attention the most—Darth Vitiate's holocron. His grin widened. "Ritual of Immortality holocron is already in my possession… but it requires Nathema's energy to unlock its secrets . And now, with this?" His fingers curled into a fist. "Double the power. Or maybe… succeed where those Sith Lords failed."