The Galaxy's Dark Underbelly

Of course I knew he wasn't someone to be crossed. Tang Xiao thought to himself as a bead of cold sweat slid down from his temple. The Milky Way Galaxy was so vast—why did he have to run into the most powerful and darkest man in the entire galaxy?

He had signaled Cun Te to accept the commission earlier because he understood that he absolutely could not refuse that man.

And that dream!! Could it have been caused not by Anakin Skywalker, but by this man—Hego Damask II?! That had to be it! The eyes in the dream had been filled with darkness. Anakin Skywalker was still just a very kind little boy at this point; he should not have been so dark.

That was right... right... it was him!

Hego Damask II... who was also Darth Pregas!!

His power was calling out to him, but the problem was that he apparently did not know about it either?

Could it be... resonance?

"Aren't you heading to Mos Espa Port for something?" Cun Te asked Tang Xiao after the Falin had left.

"Forget it. Since this mission has a time limit, we should set off as soon as possible. We can go to Mos Espa afterward." Tang Xiao shook his head. "Besides, this commission came from that man. It looks like I have no choice but to make this trip."

Though he desperately wanted to meet the Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker, now that Hego Damask II had appeared before him, he no longer dared to go. He should deal with what was right in front of him first.

Back aboard the Lancer, Kunto and Spade were carrying out the final checks in the cabin. Truda had restored their ship well, and its fuel, water, and food supplies had all been replenished. Yet Tang Xiao remained distracted, staring blankly out the window.

Cun Te walked over and patted Tang Xiao on the shoulder. "You know that man from earlier?"

"You mean that Muun? Judging by his appearance, he should be from the InterGalactic Banking Clan, or IGBC. Damask Holdings Group might be one of its subsidiary groups. In any case, we absolutely can't afford to offend an existence like that," Kunto said as he worked nearby. "The InterGalactic Banking Clan's businesses span the entire galaxy. No one dares defy them. Otherwise, their collection agents' fleet will immediately arrive and seize everything on your planet!"

It would only be worse than that. Tang Xiao sighed. "Anyway, whatever he says goes. Just consider us unlucky."

Yes, Hego Damask II, also known as Darth Pregas, was a Sith Lord!

The Sith were remnants of the Sith Empire, which had waged an earth-shaking war against the Galactic Republic thousands of years ago. Like Jedi Knights, they were Force-sensitive beings capable of wielding Force power.

However, Jedi Knights wielded the power of the Light Side of the Force. They restrained their desires, held fast to their beliefs, and used the Force to do what they believed was right.

Sith Lords, on the other hand, wielded the power of the Dark Side Force. They indulged their desires, acted entirely on their own whims, and cared not in the slightest whether they brought pain and disaster upon others.

Although the Galactic Republic had ultimately won that war and the Sith Empire had been destroyed, Sith Lords still remained. Their shadows continued to haunt the dark side of the Galactic Republic, waiting for an opportunity to overthrow it at any moment.

And Tang Xiao knew that they would ultimately succeed, just over a decade from now!

Thus, he had established one central principle for his Fourth Civilization: war! He would strive to secure a place for himself in the war that would overthrow the entire Galactic Republic more than a decade from now!

Given the Fourth Civilization's and the mothership's current state, their future could be said to be boundlessly bright. If they had a hundred years to develop, they might even be able to challenge the Galactic Republic's authority head-on. But now, he had only a little over a decade!

It was absolutely impossible to develop the Fourth Civilization to the point where it could wage an interstellar war in just over a decade. Therefore, after recognizing who Hego was earlier, Tang Xiao had changed his mind.

He had accepted Hego's commission, and he no longer dared go near Anakin Skywalker. But... another path seemed to have opened before him.

The Fourth Civilization could not complete its war preparations within ten years, but the InterGalactic Banking Clan could! And Hego Damask II was one of the InterGalactic Banking Clan's foremost core figures! If he could obtain the assistance of this enormous economic entity, whose influence extended across the entire galaxy, the Fourth Civilization could prepare for war even faster.

Until, more than a decade later, it welcomed the arrival of that great war!

The price, however...

Was facing the unfathomable dark underbelly behind Hego Damask II—a Sith Lord!

His mind filled with worries, Tang Xiao looked out through the viewport, considering how he could use this commission to establish a connection with Hego. More importantly, could he afford to become entangled with such a terrifying existence now? Or should he disappear as soon as this job was done?

As the YT-1000 light freighter Lancer rose into the air, broke free of Tatooine's atmosphere, and headed into outer space, Cun Te activated the hyperdrive after leaving the gravity well. The ship entered hyperspace and vanished from the universe in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, on a hyperspace route in the Modell Sector at the edge of the Endor system, a Z-10 Explorer-class light ship was traveling through hyperspace.

"Master Qui-Gon Jinn, we will soon be leaving the hyperspace route." The pilot turned around and spoke to the two figures standing behind him, both clad in broad, rough-spun cloaks with hoods concealing the upper halves of their faces.

"Can you feel it, Obi-Wan Kenobi? The discord in the Force." One of them turned and asked.

"I can feel it, Master." The other lifted his cloak, revealing a youthful face. His short brown hair was cut close, but a thin, long braid hung from his right temple. He looked full of vitality—it was a hairstyle adopted by many Jedi apprentices.

"There are still residual ripples here. I feel that we have come to the right place. But no matter what it is, and whether it is still here or not, we must remain vigilant. Since its disturbance of the Force is powerful enough for even Master Yoda to sense, it cannot be insignificant," Qui-Gon Jinn said.

"I understand, Master. Then what should we do?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Feel the guidance of the Force rather than interfere with it. Everything in the world follows its own laws. Trying to forcefully alter them will only make them increasingly chaotic."

"So you actually do not approve of this expedition?"

"I never said that." Qui-Gon Jinn smiled.

The view outside the viewport suddenly darkened as the ship left hyperspace and returned to the blackness of space. A pale-blue gas giant appeared before them, with several moons orbiting it along different trajectories.

A series of beeps sounded from the console. The copilot pressed several buttons, and a holographic map of the entire star system appeared on the screen before them, with several objects marked in red.

"Sir, there are artificial structures here." The copilot enlarged the image. Three fan-shaped mining stations could be seen in orbit around the gas giant, while more than a dozen transport ships continuously traveled back and forth, extracting resources.

Qui-Gon Jinn frowned. "Why would anyone be mining in such a remote region of the Endor system? There are no stable or safe hyperspace routes here. Mining here would not be worth the cost."

"Perhaps those Neimoidians from the Trade Federation have come up with another way to make money. Those foul-smelling merchants have never known restraint," Obi-Wan Kenobi said with a curl of his lip.

"Do not let your emotions cloud your judgment, Obi-Wan. That is also your greatest weakness."

"I understand, Master."

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