That isn't a plan.

"First things first, you need to bomb Byss."

"...I see. Could I perhaps ask that you explain your hare-brained scheme, so that I can turn it into a military strategy?"

"If we aren't actually alone tell me.

But the Emperor has a clone there that is about to wake up and fuck everything."

...

"I see. Could you explain, ahem, 'fuck everything'. Whatever his many faults, the Emperor would be a powerful ally, if you could do to him as you have to me."

"'do to him'?

Lol. lmao even. I have a pretty high opinion of myself, but I'm not that kinda crazy."

"A pity. He would have been most useful."

"So would a blow up the Galaxy bomb.

Do not call up that which you cannot put down."

"I see."

"Byss was the Emperor's personal retreat and fortress. Deep in the Deep Core, unbelievably dangerous to reach without finding oneself smeared across hyperspace. And that was before Imperial Security webbed it with hypermines and false hyperlanes that lead to black holes and all manner of other horrors. I never gave it very much thought, but I do recall hearing it was a substantial fraction of the Emperor's privy purse, to keep one stable hyperlane open for his personal use. I do wonder what could have happened to it."

"Yeah, so I know multiple potential ways to get there, but the easiest person to ask is currently busy not ODing. Also, when I say bomb I am used to Krypt teleport attacks. With the current resources, a ground assault or ops mission may be better. It is really the clone vats that need to die."

I'll see if I can figure out a krypt gate route, but.

No steele or other kryptos around, unknown 3D bearing and we don't even know what station this Galaxy is in. Could end up going ana into hyperspace that way.

"Would this person benefit from - and accept - a medical unit. I will see about designing a search-and-destroy mission for these vats. Though the Emperor was no fool, and if I were him I would have other clones elsewhere, as well."

"Mara is Mara.

There are limitations on what he was trying to do, so for now only this clone matters."

"...I would say that I understand, but it would be foolish to lie to one with foresight. And in fact I knew her as the Emperor's Hand."

He isn't sure if Jade knows he knows, and really there's a lot he isn't sure about, but it is time to at least start working it all out. 

"Yeah so that is the top priority. But I do want to know your theory of psychohistory and why you think the Empire is a good organisation to lead the fight against the Vong."

"Come now. The Old Republic may have been a pleasant place to live for a time, but it was losing the Clone Wars. All its myriad worlds against a scant few thousand systems, and it was losing. Its inner divisions made it powerless before any united enemy. Committees do not bring safety, strong leaders do. Even the Rebels understood this. Mothma did not suffer her decisions to be questioned by bureaucrats, Organa did not wait for Senatorial deliberation to act. You will observe also that the Rebel victory came when Skywalker assassinated the Emperor.

 And as soon as they formed their Republic and nobly committed to giving soft fools like Tevv and Fey'lya a voice, they began to falter and the Remnant began to rise. Do you foresee peace and order in the galaxy to come, madam, if the Republic tries to fight the Vong? What vast armies do they command, what weapons to shatter whole mobilised planets? No, they will hesitate and falter and the shadow of the Far Outsiders will fall over the galaxy."

"Two separate things. 

First, the entire Clone Wars was just Palpatine fucking with everyone not an actual military conflict. Like seriously there is a reason he scares me.

Second, while I'll admit this Galaxy is not overflowing with options I'm not like a huge fan of the Republic per se, and democracy is pretty iffy.

Given that even keeping Mr.Puppet the galaxy down is not urgent on a scale of hours I'm mostly just exploring what various factions have on offer.

See how they match the desiderata, what peoples thoughts are ect."  

"Yes, exactly. In a sense, the Republic lost to one powerful man alone. I am glad to see you have an appropriate attitude to these ideals of mob rule. It is a contradiction in terms. The people cannot have power, it must be wielded over them: in truth a democracy is only a state in which nobody has power, still less the power to repel the Vong. And there are no other factions who have a hope. My own people, the Chiss, have strength but not the will to unite the galaxy. Who else? One of the thousands of petty warlords? The Hutt cartels? No. Only the Empire has a hope, if the Republic will submit or at least stand aside."

"I'm percolating some ideas, but I will say I have a lot of... quality of life issues with the Empire.

The slavery, torture, destroying Alderaan, that sort of thing.

Also, the racism though I'm human passing and Chuk at least comes close, so that actually seems like something you would know more about."

He shrugs. "There was certainly less slavery, and less onerous, under the Empire than there would be under the Vong. And the point has been made with Alderaan in any case. As for that... beings favour their own kin, it is only natural. It is why one must cultivate one's own strength."

"Yes, but there could be even less."

"Negotiable. Slavery is not particularly efficient in any case, if you find it distasteful." 

"I generally do. Ditto for torture. None of this needs to be solved before Byss. But I am thinking about what happens after.

Oh also, I don't need the Stars past this point, and they got me through the period where memetic breach is most likely."

Mm. They may return, then. Is Jade actually sleeping?