Rising up from a Nobleman to Intergalactic Warlord!!

(AN: I am back; recharged and ready to write! Moving forward, I will be taking a week off every few months to prevent burnout in the future.)

<Master, the weapon is charged and ready to fire.> (Luxion)

“Perfect! All hands brace for weapon discharge.”, I said, resting my index on the button, “T-minus five… four… three… two… one… FIRING!!”

Pressing the button, my ship began to subtly vibrate as a vibrant, neon blue beam of energy fired from the bow of the ship. Moments after discharging, alarms around the ship began blaring as the sensors-array went haywire from countless gravitational anomalies. Checking the sensors that monitored critical systems and hull integrity, everything came back normal, so I silenced everything and returned my attention toward the viewing window. Crossing over the star system’s outer edge, the experimental weapon’s devastating power was put on full display for everyone to see.

Atomizing everything near the beam instantaneously, the intense gravitational waves it was generating began tearing the system apart. Erasing small celestial objects entirely, anything lunar-sized was reduced to a nearly undetectable dust cloud. Planetary objects were torn asunder as their core materials were violently expelled out the side opposite to our visual view.

“Hehe, look at the rats flee!”, Liam cackled, kicking back with a bag of popcorn in hand. “Eulisia, Nias, can the Imperial Factories make something like this?”

“…no…”, Eulisia answered, watching the screen with a pale expression, “Even if we could… I doubt the Emperor would agree to let anyone have it.”

Turning to Nias, hoping she would have a more favorable answer for him, Liam discovered her unconsciously standing close to him. Poking her in the arm, hoping to rouse her from wherever her mind had gone, the engineer/saleswoman fell over and bashed her head into the floor.

“Uh… Can I get someone from the medical team up here to take Miss Nias to a bed?”, Liam requested over their internal radio.

“Make it for both of us, please.”, Eulisia added, unable to take this absurdity any longer.

Fainting on top of her colleague/rival, Nias unconsciously groaned, much to Liam’s amusement.

“So, are we going to chase after these pirates once they jump to FTL?”, Liam asked me.

“I do not think that will be necessary; they are going the wrong way if they want to escape.”, I remarked.

“Meaning?”, Liam questioned, uncertain why the direction mattered.

“Just watch; you will understand here shortly.”, I assured.

Pointing their ships toward the closest star system, which was located a quarter of a light year behind us, they jumped to FTL unaware of their fatal mistake. Warp engines functioned by creating a bubble of spacetime around the vessel; the forward part collapsed space while the rear expanded it. Since the gravitational waves I created compressed space to its absolute limit, their warp engines would experience catastrophic failure the instant they attempted to pass through the first wave. Watching dozens of light streaks begin appearing all over the horizon, Liam was very confused by what was happening.

“Victor, I am still a bit lost here.”, Liam stated.

“Those light streaks are the results of violent warp engine failures aboard the pirate vessels.”, I answered, quickly realizing he would not understand that either. “Think of them as insects and the first gravitational wave as a windshield.”

“Oh, I see now!!”, Liam responded, easily comprehending my analogy. “While I am disappointed that we will not get to collect any of their loot, it is quite pleasing to watch them pop off like fireworks.”

“The association’s reports suggest they were more into selling people than hoarding goods, so it is unlikely that we are missing out on much.”, I commented, turning my attention toward selecting our next location. “Oh, it looks like there is a Hutt Syndicate cache not too far from here. If you want, we can head there next and loot their hidden- “

Before I could finish my sentence, the sound of shattering plate glass echoed throughout the region, followed closely behind by a head-splitting screech. Snapping my gaze back to the viewing window, it took me a second to process what had happened.

“No fucking way…”, I growled as the beam swallowed the hollowed-out asteroid and punched a hole straight through the gas giant. “Attention all hands, prepare for immediate departure!”

Initiating an emergency shutdown of the cannon, I diverted the unutilized power to the carbon nanotube battery banks that provided backup/supplement power to the ship.

“Victor, what the hell was that noise?”, Liam inquired as I sent him the coordinates of our next destination.

“Yeah, I would like to know that as well.”, Samus agreed, her head still ringing from the high-pitched shrill.

Turning to Ahsoka and Bo-Katan, the two women also looked at me with concerned expressions. Realizing that I was the only one that knew what had just happened, I was very concerned they had no idea about the taboo object I had inadvertently destroyed. Bringing up a data entry about Singing Crystals for them to review, I started to recalibrate the sensor-array for departure while giving them an explanation.

“That noise was created by a Singing Crystal; it is a mineral found in and around the Belberem Federation and Grackan Empire.”, I explained. “When the mineral is damaged, it emits a transdimensional frequency that draws in creatures from a higher plane of existence called Crystal Life Forms. The noise is very similar to their death throes, so they rally to the sound to render assistance to what they believe is one of their own. While they are slow and unshielded, they are quite troublesome, as for every one of them you kill, several dozen more take its place. After an unspecified number of them die, more advanced units will begin appearing that can wipe out entire fleets of starships.”

“No offense, but do you realize how crazy that sounds?”, Bo-Katan remarked, with a skeptical look, “You are saying there is life in higher planes of existence?”

“And lower ones, yes.”, I confirmed as thousands of spatial anomalies began appearing within the star system.

Watching tens of thousands of them descend upon the collapsing system like a swarm of angry bees, their jaws fell open as they realized I was dead serious. Suggesting we get going immediately, as the effects of the Wave Motion Cannon would continue for some time, I wanted to be long gone before the advanced units arrived and they noticed our presence out here. Getting our ships turned around, we began jumping to FTL as the system’s star began to go supernova.

---An Hour Later---

Dropping out of FTL near the barren world of Ispu, Liam and his fleet hailed us as soon as we arrived. Inquiring if we needed to be concerned about them pursuing us, I assured everyone that there had never been a documented case of such a thing happening before.

“While they will not pursue us, those pests will linger in the sector for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours before returning to their dimension. Bo-Katan, please ask your sister to put out an alert warning others to be cautious of the area. So long as vessels do not drop out of FTL nearby, there should not be any problems.”, I said.

“Can do, give me a moment to draft a message.”, Bo-Katan agreed, ‘Hopefully Satine accepts my words and does not press for further details. If she learns Victor destroyed an entire star system for testing purposes… I will never hear the end of it.’

“So what should we do now?”, Liam asked, itching to kill some pirates. “Got any more leads to follow up on?”

“Yes, I do, but before we continue, I wanted to make a quick stop on the surface of the planet we are orbiting. According to a very reliable source, a recently deceased crime boss has a hidden treasure cache tucked away in a vault somewhere in this world.”, I remarked, “You game for a bit of treasure hunting?”

Catching his attention with the mention of hidden treasures, the duke enthusiastically agreed to have a poke around to see what was there. Sending Liam the approximate location of the vault, he dashed off screen to commence preparations for a planetside excursion. Closing the communication channel with a grin, I requested a contingent of guards meet us in the forward hangar before leaving the bridge with four women.

“I see that the fallen Eldar goddess and you are getting along quite well, Victor.”, Samus teased, noticing how tightly Lileath was clinging to my arm. “You know, Ahsoka and Bo-Katan, if you do not make a move on Victor here soon, you are going to get left behind. It is apparent to everyone that his popularity is certain to continue rising. Before long, women from all over are going to start popping up to get a piece of him. Better act now before it is too late!”

“My duties to the Jedi Order are far more important to me than pursuing a relationship with Victor.”, Ahsoka commented, glancing up at me. “If the Galactic Republic were not under threat of collapse, I would consider starting a relationship with you in a heartbeat. You check all my boxes for a suitable partner, and even though you act ruthlessly at times, it is always to protect those who cannot otherwise defend themselves. That is what I find most endearing about you, Victor. You possess immense power and knowledge, yet do not let yourself be blinded by arrogance and pride.”

“Well… in my case… I… I have been considering testing the waters with you.”, Bo-Katan admitted with a flustered expression, “Since I was a young girl, my goal has always been to ensure that the legacy and traditions of the Mandalorian people were never forgotten. To that end, I worked tirelessly to make that a reality and shunned any opportunity to start a family of my own. Once my goal was achieved, thanks to your assistance, I was left devoid of purpose as I was a mere fledgling compared to my comrades. After months of soul searching, Pre-Vizsla and Satine forced me into tagging along with Ahsoka in the hopes you and I might develop feelings for each other. While I was vehemently against it in the beginning, now I have warmed up to the idea of having you as a life partner.”

“Wow… that is honestly not the response I anticipated from you two.”, Samus giggled, surprised they were being honest with themselves finally.

“Awe, why do we have to start back at square one when we are already married?”, I teased them.

Instinctively punching my arm, both women busted their knuckles open on my armor. Yelping in pain, Samus nearly fell over laughing while they cradled their wounded hands. Using healing magic to mend the damage, they sheepishly thanked me before lightly kicking Samus’ armored butt for laughing at their pain.

“Hehe, all of you are quite amusing!”, Lileath spoke, giving the three women a warm smile.

“What is so funny!? We just poured our hearts out to him, and he treated it like a joke.”, Bo-Katan snapped, refusing to look at me.

“Really? I thought he was flirting with you as he holds great affection for the three of you. Unbeknownst to Victor, during my slumber aboard his city-ship, I have been periodically peering into his dreams to ascertain the type of person my savior is.”, Lileath said, giving me a knowing smile, “While I refuse to divulge everything I have learned, I assure you his teasing comes from a place of love for you. In fact, he has already contemplated names for your children!”

Just like with Amallyn and Ionica, steam began erupting from Ahsoka and Bo-Katan’s ears as their embarrassment went through the roof. Laughing off Lileath’s words, Samus gave me a smirk and requested we start with a dinner date before making plans for the future. Nodding my head in response, I warily glanced over at the Eldar goddess, unsure whether she was joking around with us or not. Unable to recall anything I had dreamt over the past few weeks, my fear was that she knew about my identity as a reincarnated person.

‘While it is not the end of the world, it is something I do not want my family to ever find out about. If push comes to shove, I will use magic to erase the memories from her to safeguard my secret. Moving forward though, shielding my mind while I sleep is a high priority.’, I thought, as we approached our shuttle, ‘Once our time in the Algrand Empire has concluded, I will take the three of you on a date somewhere nice.”

“Ahem! You mean the four of us, right?”, Lileath pressed me, “I have always dreamt of sampling the culinary marvels of other cultures but never had the opportunity to. Please do not leave out of this opportunity!”

‘Oh no… Please tell me I have not picked up a slightly more competent Aqua… If she is, I will dump her on Yvraine and make Lileath her problem to deal with. I already have an airhead Tohru tagging along with us; I do not need another one.’, I thought, sighing silently.

Saluting the soldiers onboard the craft, the four women took a seat while I climbed into the cockpit. Waiting for the hangar doors to open completely, I powered up the engines and began our descent onto Ispu.