Chapter 8

8. I need help!

"We, Corellians, merchants. We, seek, furs, rare metals. Please, let, us, go home." A cylindrical robot translated word by word.

Beside the robot, the three armed men who had been captured were lying on the table, groaning weakly, occasionally muttering a word.

Tang Xiao sat across from them at the interrogation table, crossing his legs and watching their performance. The T-850 stood expressionless behind him, maintaining the standard military stance with feet shoulder-width apart and hands clasped behind his back.

It had been one Earth standard day. During these 24 hours, under the mainframe's demands and the marines' beatings, the three armed men were forced to speak endlessly to aid in language analysis. They might have spoken more in this one day than they had in their entire lives, including their infant cries.

The analysis of this language, known as Galactic Standard, had now exceeded 40%, allowing for some level of conversation. However, the analysis of letters, characters, and grammar would still take some time.

The three armed men, unaware of their grim future, continued to feign misery, hoping that the relatively young and amiable Tang Xiao would show mercy and let them go.

Tang Xiao ignored their performance, turning to the translation robot and asking, "Where is the capital of the Galactic Empire?"

The three men looked confused upon hearing the translation. One of them corrected, "Galactic Republic, not Empire. Coruscant, capital."

"Who is the leader of the Jedi Order?" Tang Xiao asked again.

The three men continued to look bewildered, shaking their heads to indicate they didn't know.

That made sense. During the Republic era, the Jedi, though highly esteemed, were low-key and quietly protected the Galactic Republic. To the average person in the galaxy, the Jedi were mostly just legends.

Tang Xiao thought for a moment and changed the question, "Who is the Chancellor of the Galactic Senate?"

They thought for a moment, and one of them finally answered, "Finis Valorum."

Tang Xiao's expression changed. He asked one last question, "Has there been a war on Naboo?"

The three men shook their heads.

Tang Xiao stood up without a word and left the interrogation room, heading for the bridge.

[The administrator has left. Let's continue. Please describe the appearance of this cat as accurately as possible.] The mainframe's voice rang out, and a few burly marines entered, looking at the armed men with a cold sneer.

Soon, a miserable wailing echoed from the interrogation room.

Back on the bridge, Tang Xiao sat in the main seat, leaning back and staring at the ceiling of the command center, lost in thought. He had now narrowed down the timeline of the *Star Wars* era to within 30 years, but this result brought him no joy.

Because within these 30 years, the galaxy would face an unprecedented and terrifying war and turmoil, with almost every corner of the galaxy being drawn into the conflict. In this war, the 25,000-year-old Galactic Republic would meet its ultimate demise.

Tang Xiao began to sort through the *Star Wars* plot in his memory. The current Chancellor of the Galactic Senate is Finis Valorum, and the war on Naboo has not yet erupted. This is a crucial point.

Because the war on Naboo ultimately led to the resignation of Chancellor Finis Valorum and the rise of Sheev Palpatine as the new Chancellor. Then, under his machinations, 10 years after the Naboo conflict, the Galactic Republic would completely descend into division and war.

The outer rim planets, long exploited, declared the formation of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, opposing the Galactic Republic. A full-scale war lasting three years ensued, known as the Clone Wars due to the Republic's extensive use of clone troopers.

Sheev Palpatine, perhaps the greatest conspirator in the *Star Wars* universe, orchestrated all of this. He used the war to ultimately overthrow the Galactic Republic, destroy the Jedi Order, and crush the outer rim resistance.

Then, on the ruins of the Galactic Republic, he ascended to the throne, transforming the Republic into the Galactic Empire [Note 1].

Thinking of this, Tang Xiao sighed deeply, feeling a headache coming on. He groaned, "Why does it have to be this darkest of times... I can't possibly be a match for Palpatine... Whether in politics or intrigue, whether in personal strength or influence, I am far inferior... How am I supposed to survive?"

"Submit to him? Join the Galactic Empire and become a pawn of the Emperor?" Tang Xiao began to seriously consider this option but sighed again, "Impossible. By then, the mothership will surely be confiscated, and the countless data in the database will fall into his hands..."

"Why should I?" Tang Xiao stomped his foot and stood up, shouting at the ceiling, "Aaaaaah!!! So frustrating!!!"

Daphne Clement and Qi Jian quickly approached to inquire, but Tang Xiao shook his head and told them to return to their work. He watched their backs and muttered to himself, "I need help... someone who can stand up to Palpatine... a politician, yes! A politician!"

He realized that in the *Star Wars* universe, the Galactic Senate still held the power. This meant that a single powerful individual, no matter how strong, could not stand against the Death Star or the Star Destroyers. But a politician could make countless Star Destroyers serve him with just a few words.

Tang Xiao looked at Clement and Qi Jian's backs and shook his head slightly.

They wouldn't do.

Clement's expertise was not in this area; don't expect her to enter politics. Qi Jian, as a staff officer, was also just an ordinary person, and his current abilities were still limited.

He also noticed that most ordinary people were relatively young, elite people were slightly older, and many master-level individuals were in their 50s or 60s.

This indicated that the level classification was based on current achievements. With enough time and experience, ordinary people could also become master-level figures!

However, cultivating talent was one thing, but to stand up to Palpatine, no, that wasn't the right way to put it. He didn't even have the qualifications to step onto the stage yet. He needed to first step onto the galactic stage before he could talk about standing up to anyone. For this, he indeed needed at least a master-level politician!

Tang Xiao took a deep breath and began to review the list of people who could be awakened. Suddenly, he noticed a change in the list! Previously, there were three levels: ordinary, elite, and master, followed by three question marks.

Now, one of the question marks had been revealed, showing the Legendary level!

A Legendary-level individual!

"Mainframe! When did the Legendary level unlock?" Tang Xiao asked in surprise.

[After your awakening, Administrator. If you lack the necessary power, Legendary-level or higher individuals will not be loyal to you. Forcibly awakening them might cause chaos, as each of these individuals has the ability to do so, and possibly worse.]

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[Note 1]: This is the main content of the *Star Wars* prequel trilogy and the long-running animated series *The Clone Wars*.