Jedi Temple, Coruscant – High Council Chamber
The serene hum of the High Council chamber was marred by tension. The sun pierced through the massive skylights, painting golden lines across the stone floor. But the light did not reach the faces of the Masters. They were troubled.
Seated in a half-circle were twelve of the Order's most powerful Jedi, and at the center stood a flickering blue hologram of the damaged Talon's Edge, captured just before its orbit collapsed. Accompanying the image was the final recording from Knight Davin Thule's neural recorder — crackling, incomplete, but unmistakably grim.
Ki-Adi-Mundi: "He was silenced. All of them. Without warning, without darkness. There is no Sith trail."
Mace Windu (grim): "Not the dark side, not the light. Something... unseen."
Yoda (tapping his gimer stick): "Veiled, this enemy is. Unknown, their methods. But deliberate, the intent."
Shaak Ti: "We recovered the wreckage. It had been cut cleanly. By vibroblades, not lightsabers. And residual traces of... Force-null fields. Almost like ysalamiri, but artificial."
Plo Koon: "That's impossible. The technology doesn't exist..."
Obi-Wan Kenobi (concerned): "What if we're dealing with something outside the binary? Not Jedi. Not Sith. Something else."
Mace Windu: "We need to elevate this. Full Assembly. Emergency classification: Anomaly Obsidian."
Yoda (closing his eyes): "A war is coming. Quiet it begins. Loud, it will end."
Feron-4 Surface – Obsidian Core Citadel
Kael stood over a wide balcony facing the construction grounds of Obsidian Prime — the capital of his growing empire. The planetary terraformation schedule was ahead of plan. He watched as arc furnaces reshaped steel bones into skyscrapers, each lined with obsidian filigree. Black domes and spires rose from the foundation, their edges alive with dark energy.
To his right, Sector Overseer Veyda, a calculating Twi'lek woman in obsidian-patterned armor, approached with a datapad.
Veyda: "Phase-2 shield array is at 63% installation. Thermal lenses are operational. City-wide EMP net will be active within 3 cycles."
Kael: "Begin construction on Obsidian Bastion II in the northern wastes. I want redundancy. Fortify the orbital cannon nest and set up phase-lag disruptors on all approach vectors."
Veyda: "And the terraformer for the agriculture basin?"
Kael: "Prioritize military-grade ration synthesis. Full self-sufficiency by solstice. Import nothing."
Kael turned, entering the tactical war room. A detailed planetary schematic hovered in the center.
Feron-4 Expansion Directive – Level 2 Military Readiness:
Orbital Defense Ring – 3/5 platforms complete
Anti-Sensor Field Arrays – Phase-1 online
Subterranean Factory Complexes – Operational under cities
Military Population Conversion Rate: 17.4%
Prototype Atmospheric Distortion Shielding: Testing initiated
Kael: "Prepare for urban-scale simulations. I want every corridor defensible. Every spire a turret."
Ascendant Forge – Sub-Level Omega
Beneath the surface, where light never reached, Ascendant Wave 3 was being forged.
Rows of recruits stood, bodies bare and minds stripped. Recruited from fringe mercenary bands, forgotten colonies, or cloned from captured DNA. Each one implanted with a sub-dermal nexus node to synchronize with Obsidian command systems.
Their instructor, Command Ascendant Kryll, a veteran of the First Wave, stalked the chamber like a predator.
Kryll: "You are not Jedi. You are not Sith. You are weapons. You are what walks when the Force turns blind."
Recruits (in unison): "We are the unspoken. We are the black edge."
One trainee collapsed from the strain. Kryll stepped over him.
Kryll: "Weakness is not discarded. It is dissected."
A blade descended. The body stopped moving.
In the observation chamber, Kael monitored the brainwave outputs. Cognitive load was 22% higher than Wave 2. Neural absorption rates for combat conditioning were exceeding thresholds.
Kael (to AI interface): "Mark Subject #31 as potential field leader. Extract dreams. I want loyalty tested through subconscious threat simulation."
Wave 3 would not be soldiers. They would be ghosts, each one forged in the anti-Force, living in the space where the Jedi could not see.
System Update:
Level: 24
Stats:
Strength: 30
Agility: 33
Midichlorian: 8,100
Available Stat Points: 0
Skills:
Veil of the Forgotten – MAX
Blink Strike – Lv. 6
Tactical Analysis – Lv. 4
Force Suppressant Grenade – Lv. 5 (MAXED)
Covert Operations – Lv. 3
Blade Mastery (Vibro) – Lv. 5
Engineering Command – Lv. 3
Empire Management – Lv. 2
Interrogation Techniques – Lv. 1
Available Skill Points: 0