( word Count : 4.750 )
Sometime later—
Near Installation 03, above the Ivanoff Research Station.
Two Pelicans cruised through silent space, engines humming low as they neared the station's docking ring. One of them held a notable roster—Jin-Woo, Master Chief, Commander Palmer, Lord Hood, and now-Captain Lasky. The atmosphere inside the dropship was tense but quiet.
Palmer broke the silence.
"Sir… with all due respect, it's not recommended that you travel with minimum security detail. Especially not to a black site like Ivanoff."
Lord Hood kept his eyes forward, voice steady.
" A Forerunner artifact is vanishing from UNSC possession today. That's a billion-credit transfer we've decided to bury under silence.".
"The fewer people in the Security Council who know," he said bluntly, "the better. And ONI? Half of them would rather dissect the artifact—and the other half would try to sell it to the highest bidder. Frankly, both give me a damn headache."
He turned toward Jin-Woo.
"I hope you keep your word."
Jin-Woo tilted his head slightly.
"I always keep my bargain."
His gaze flicked toward the viewport, watching the second Pelican fly beside them.
"That other dropship. It's carrying Halsey, isn't it?"
Chief, seated near the back, responded calmly.
"Yes. Dr. Halsey insisted on being here. Said she couldn't risk missing this handoff."
Lord Hood gave a small nod.
"For someone outside our galaxy," he muttered, "you sure know a hell of a lot about our people."
He looked over at Chief next.
"But for you, Spartan… Dr. Halsey never gave up. Not once. Even after we declared you MIA—she kept tracking Forerunner signals, cross-referencing Requiem data. The moment your beacon flickered… she demanded to be here. She's eager to see you."
Jin-Woo said nothing. He just watched the stars. Waiting.
As the Pelicans touched down inside Ivanoff Station's vast hangar, the pressure inside shifted—cold, metallic, humming faintly with the power of the Forerunner artifact sealed deep within. Jin-Woo stepped off first, flanked by Master Chief, Lord Hood, Palmer, and Captain Lasky. Their boots echoed on the steel deck, the faint hiss of pressurized seals trailing behind.
The second Pelican hissed open moments later. From its lowered ramp emerged a small squad of Spartan IVs—each armored, each alert. Between them walked Dr. Catherine Halsey.
She was cuffed at the wrists, her lab coat folded under a regulation jacket, eyes sharp as ever despite the escort. The moment she spotted the tall green silhouette standing to the side, her expression shifted—irritated, relieved, something in between.
"Took you long enough," she said coolly.
Master Chief stepped forward, helmet tilting slightly.
"Dr. Halsey."
Halsey gaze scanned the hangar briefly, then focused on him.
"So, I assume Cortana's rampancy is still active," she said, tone clipped and clinical. "As far as I know, she passed her seven-year life limit. Maybe I could've given her six months. But nothing beyond that."
From a nearby data terminal, light flickered—then a full-body projection of Cortana materialized, perfectly stable, perfectly clear.
"Dr. Halsey," Cortana said calmly. "I'm already cured."
Halsey blinked once. "Cured?"
Her voice tightened. "I'm sorry to say—that's impossible. Once past seven years, an AI's data map breaks down. Cognitive fragments overlap. No known technology can—"
She halted mid-sentence.
Her eyes slowly narrowed, scanning Cortana from head to toe. Her voice lowered unconsciously.
"…Why are you… look so healthy."
"I mean… very healthy. There's no latency in your projection. Your voice cadence—no desync. No recursive logic loops. What the hell—?"
Cortana smiled, arms folded behind her.
"Oh, I've had some help."
She glanced toward Jin-Woo, whose expression hadn't changed—still watching, silent, eyes fixed on the terminal glyphs beyond the docked doors.
Dr. Halsey slowly turned to him next.
"…You did this?" she asked, disbelief creeping into her voice.
"You stabilized a rampant AI?"
Jin-Woo didn't answer immediately. Just a small tilt of the head.
"Like I said before," he replied quietly, "I keep my bargains
Dr. Halsey's gaze didn't waver.
"Unchain me from these cuffs," she said sharply.
One of the Spartan IVs stepped forward, . "I'm afraid I can't do that, ma'am. Orders were—"
"I can't run like a Spartan, damn it," Halsey snapped, . "I'm not escaping anywhere. But I need to see it. I need to verify Cortana's condition myself."
Lord Hood exhaled and raised a hand. "At ease. Unchain her."
The Spartan hesitated for a beat—then nodded and released the magnetic cuffs. The moment they clicked open, Halsey shrugged her shoulders and stormed over to the terminal where Cortana stood projected in perfect clarity.
Halsey leaned in, eyes scanning the hologram, her breath catching for a moment.
"Cortana," she said slowly, "…are you aware that you've become the first AI to break the decay barrier? If your status readings are accurate, you'll have a total of twenty-one years of stable lifespan. That's… impossible. Seven was the hard ceiling."
Cortana nodded calmly. "I'm aware. Fourteen years remain. A complete structural reset—down to my codebase. Stable, clean, recursive logic rethreaded. And unlike any UNSC AI before me… I'm no longer bound to rampancy."
Captain Lasky stepped forward, frowning. "Wait—what do you mean? Fourteen years? I thought AI could only function for seven. Why that number?"
Dr. Halsey turned slightly toward him, her voice lowering. "Imagine dying of old age with no cure, no fallback. That's what every AI faces—deterioration beyond year seven. Neural maps fragment. Logic cores collapse. There's no reset switch… until now."
She didn't wait for more questions. With a sudden intensity, she turned to Jin-Woo, stepping toward him with quick, purposeful strides.
"You," she said firmly, eyes locking onto him. "We have a lot to catch up on. And you're going to explain exactly how you did this. Every step. Every method. Every strand of data."
Jin-Woo barely turned his head.
"Hmph," he grunted, uninterested.
In the central meeting room of Ivanoff Station, the lights dimmed low over the curved table where Lord Hood, Jin-Woo, and Dr. Halsey sat. Behind them, standing in silent formation, were Lasky, Palmer, and Master Chief. The air was tense like standing at the edge of something no one could quite define yet.
Dr. Halsey, arms folded, leaned forward slightly. Her eyes—keen, sharp, calculating—rested on Jin-Woo.
"A galaxy traveler," she said, voice slow and sure. "That's what you are. And I've seen proof—Cortana's condition is no hoax. Her lifespan was reset. Her logic pathways are flawless."
She gestured toward Jin-Woo.
"And it wasn't science—not in any conventional sense. What you're using… it's an innate energy. Almost like ki in Eastern philosophies."
Jin-Woo gave a small nod, his tone calm mixture with half lie and matter-of-fact. "It's called the Force. There's also Sith Sorcery—but that's unstable. Corruptive. And I don't use unstable things unless I'm the one rewriting the rules."
Halsey's eyes narrowed. "So… the Force, and you're a wielder of it."
She paused, then smirked lightly, resting her chin on her fingers. "Let me guess something else. You're not just strong, Jin-Woo. You're probably the strongest being in this galaxy—maybe even yours, too. And you've been playing by diplomatic rules. Trading, negotiating, making deals with us… when you could've just taken what you wanted by force."
Jin-Woo didn't respond. The silence answered for him.
Lord Hood raised an eyebrow. "Strong, Dr. Halsey? You're saying he's more powerful than… who, exactly? The Covenant? The Forerunners?"
Halsey turned toward him slowly, her voice calm but absolutely serious.
"I'm saying that even if the Halo array fired—if every installation in this network activated simultaneously—I believe Jin-Woo would still be standing."
The room went silent. Palmer's brow furrowed.
Lasky looked between Jin-Woo and Halsey with quiet disbelief.
Master Chief didn't speak. But his hand shifted slightly on his hip—instinctive. Measured.
Lord Hood exhaled slowly. "Then I suppose we're lucky he's on our side."
Dr. Sandra Tillson burst into the room with urgency in her stride, her lab coat flaring behind her as the doors hissed closed behind her.
Lasky immediately stepped forward. "Dr. Sandra, you're not authorized to be here. This meeting is under tight clearance—"
"I have every right to be here," she snapped back, eyes flaring with indignation. "We've spent years—years—researching that Forerunner artifact. We bled for it. You can't just expect me to sit and watch it get traded away in a day.. To be frank, I refuse."
From the far side of the table, Jin-Woo sighed, unimpressed.
"Shitty grandma always makes things hard," he muttered.
With a flick of his fingers, a small vial of Locacaca 6251 l slid across the polished metal table, its casing a strange translucent alloy. The vial stopped right in front of Dr. Halsey, who caught it effortlessly.
Jin-Woo gestured lazily. "Hey—don't drop it anywhere. That thing's probably the most powerful healing serum ever created. If you want proof? Use it. Give it to your most dying personnel. Hell, someone limbless. Watch what happens."
Halsey examined the vial, her eyes narrowing as she observed the swirling liquid inside. "Locacaca 6251…"
She turned toward Dr. Sandra and handed it over carefully. "You said you had casualties. Use it. Don't waste time."
Dr. Sandra hesitated, her hands trembling slightly as she took the vial. "We… we've had many casualties in our research divisions. Fatalities, dismemberments. I couldn't count the number of teams lost trying to stabilize the Composer's resonance fields."
Jin-Woo leaned back slightly, crossing his arms.
"Then test it already," he said flatly. "I already did the homework five years faster than your entire board of directors. Get moving."
Palmer raised an eyebrow as the doors slid shut behind Dr. Sandra.
"So, Jin-Woo," she said with a skeptical glance, "that serum. You saying it's better than your so-called bacta tanks?"
Jin-Woo didn't even shift his posture.
"Just watch," he replied
Seconds later, the door slammed open again.
Dr. Sandra stormed in, hair frazzled, eyes wide with disbelief.
"WHAT THE FUCCKKKKKK—!"
Halsey barely flinched. "You swore," she remarked dryly. "Not surprising."
Dr. Sandra marched straight toward Jin-Woo, gripping the empty vial in her hand like a demand.
"Tell me you have more. The… the Loca-something. I can't even pronounce it."
Jin-Woo didn't blink. His voice was calm and smooth—unreadable lies underneath .
"Locacaca 6251," he said evenly. "And no, I only have two vials left. Plus one tree. That's it."
From the nearby terminal, Cortana materialized in a soft shimmer of blue light, arms folded.
"What exactly did it do," she asked, curiosity laced with dry humor, "to make a career scientist like you drop an f-bomb in front of a room full of brass?"
Dr. Sandra's expression was a mix of awe and lingering confusion.
"It restored everything," she said breathlessly. "Full nerve mapping. Internal organ alignment. We tested it on someone who'd lost an eye and had over 60% damage from Composer exposure."
She paused, still stunned.
"Full regeneration. The subject's limbs grew back. Their vital signs stabilized in seconds. But…" she hesitated, collecting her thoughts. "One of them went blind. The skin peeled off in patches. And last—last, a small stone, like a crystallized lump, came out of their face."
Cortana blinked. ",what?"
Dr. Sandra looked between Halsey and Jin-Woo.
"I don't even know what that means. The healing is beyond anything we've ever seen. But That serum… it rewrites everything."
Jin-Woo's gaze stayed steady as he spoke.
"It originates from the Locacaca Tree," he said calmly. "It offers equivalent exchange. But the result is unpredictable."
With a subtle flick of his fingers, a black ripple spread across the floor beside him. From within it, a potted tree emerged—twisted, strange, and pulsing faintly with otherworldly energy. Its bark was gnarled, and several pale, unnatural fruits hung from its branches.( img here )
Jin-Woo pointed to it. "Don't eat it. Not unless you're prepared to lose something. One fruit might heal you completely—but it'll take something else. A limb. A memory. A sense."
He gestured to the serum vial still in Dr. Sandra's grip.
"As for the 6251 variant… it's refined. It minimizes the cost to almost nothing. But even then, there's no guarantee. Something might still be taken."
Dr. Sandra stepped forward, eyes locked on the tree like it was a divine artifact. "Can I have it? The tree. And one more vial. For research."
Jin-Woo gave a short nod. "Sure. But that's the last tree. Understand?"
Dr. Sandra clutched the vial tighter, eyes wide. "I understand."
Halsey gave a light, rare chuckle as she glanced between them. "Giving out Christmas gifts now, Jin-Woo?"
Jin-Woo simply shrugged. "Just leaving a good impression."
Dr. Sandra, still holding the other vial and now the potted Locacaca Tree in both hands, paused for a moment—then turned toward Lord Hood and the others.
"I've changed my mind," she said clearly. "I agree the Composer should be handed over to Jin-Woo. His methods produce far more manageable results—and far fewer casualties. If our goal is progress without bloodshed… this is the better way."
Lord Hood studied her a moment before giving a slow nod.
"Good," he said. "When we finally manage to create a stable copy of the 6251 serum, it stays here. No leaks, and even unsanctioned experiments. The last thing I need is another ONI-backed disaster or some black-market miracle cure flooding colonies."
"It's practically a cheat code for death. And that comes with consequences. Understood, Dr. Sandra?"
Sandra nodded firmly, clutching the tree tighter. "Understood, Lord Hood. And…"—she turned to Jin-Woo—"thank you. Really."
Jin-Woo said nothing—just offered a slight nod, eyes unreadable.
As Sandra turned and exited the room with the tree and vial secured, the door hissed shut behind her, leaving behind only the weight of decisions, miracles, and quiet power.
Halsey folded her arms, her eyes narrowing slightly—not out of suspicion, but curiosity. "I'm surprised. You've practically secured your position through negotiation alone. No threats, and ultimatums. Just pressure and results." She glanced toward the sealed door Sandra had exited through. "You know Lord Hood could've dismissed her outright. But you made it so he didn't have to."
Then she leaned forward slightly.
"So answer me this—why? Why do all this like someone trying to make allies? Why not just take what you want? If I had your kind of power… even I would've taken a more direct, even extreme approach."
Jin-Woo didn't flinch. His voice was steady.
"First reason is personal."
I'm testing whether the Star Wars galaxy's system mechanics can be implemented here…
...still uncertain if I'll be granted a Guardian Custodes through Vouchers. If so, this exchange counts as equivalent effort.
And luck, I've learned… always favors the ones who sacrifice something real first.
Halsey raised an eyebrow. "And the second reason?"
Jin-Woo looked toward her, eyes unreadable.
"You already know it. I respect Master Chief ."
"But I also need your expertise. Human biology. Neural systems. the things the UNSC barely understands. I need someone who's already played god with humanity's evolution."
Halsey gave a dry chuckle. "So, what could the great Dr. Catherine Halsey—architect of the Spartan program, breaker of ethics and glass ceilings alike—possibly offer to someone like you?"
She leaned back in her chair, lips twitching into smirk. "I'll be honest. If we were to measure capability, I know I wouldn't even register on your scale."
Jin-Woo gave the faintest smirk. "I'm sure you'd do just fine in my galaxy," he said evenly.
Lord Hood's brow furrowed. "Wait. If that's a request, I can't let you just take Dr. Halsey. No one in the UNSC thinks like she does. Losing her would be—unacceptable."
Jin-Woo tilted his head slightly. "Who said anything about taking her full-time?"
"I'm talking about a part-time arrangement. Six hours a day. Maybe more—depends on the task. In my galaxy, time and space… bend a little differently anyway."
Halsey glanced toward Hood. "I still report back to the UNSC," she said calmly. "You have my word. You'll get all the data, all the breakthroughs—just with a little intergalactic collaboration."
Before Lord Hood could respond,
Cortana flickered into form nearby, arms crossed, smirking. "Twenty years in Jin-Woo's galaxy," she said, tone dripping with sarcasm. "God knows what kind of experiments she'll run… or if she'll come back with some newfound hatred toward mankind."
Halsey sighed and rolled her eyes. "Ah. My own creation, mocking me. What a time to be alive."
Lord Hood exhaled through his nose, shaking his head with a dry smirk. "You're… quite the negotiator, Jin-Woo. And as far as allies go, you've been surprisingly reasonable."
He turned toward Halsey for a moment, then back to Jin-Woo.
"Alright. Here's my condition—Dr. Halsey gets her little vacation in your galaxy… after she finishes the tasks assigned by the UNSC. No skipping ahead."
Jin-Woo gave a small nod. "Agreed."
He raised his hand slightly. "Now… can I have the Composer? Offensive Bias already transported all 1,000 bacta tanks to your hangar. I've kept my end."
Lord Hood narrowed his eyes slightly. "That artifact is massive. Are you sure you can even move it without damaging it?"
Jin-Woo didn't answer with words. Instead, a dark swirl of shadow mana coiled around his palm—tendrils of black and violet warping the air like gravity folding inward on itself.
"I'm sure," he said coolly. "If I wanted to… I could transport a whole Halo ring intact."
Then— PING—
A sharp tone echoed in Jin-Woo's mind. The system flared to life, its usual clean interface flickering erratically.
[Notification: Hidden Objective Complete]
[ERROR: ERROR: FULL TINERRGRATION]
[System Error: Skipping Reward Description…]
[Reward Dispensed: 1x Voucher – Forerunner Guardian Custode]
Jin-Woo's expression shifted just slightly. The swirling mana around his palm dispersed into smoke. His hands lowered calmly, but the faint smirk tugging at his lips was impossible to miss.
Chief tilted his head. "You're smiling," he observed. "Let me guess—that's the first reason you mentioned earlier?"
Jin-Woo's gaze didn't leave the horizon. "This galaxy," he muttered, "has luck coded into it. Like it… matters."
He held his hand up again—this time, summoning the newly acquired voucher from his inventory. The digital slip glowed in a strange, silvery-blue light, lined with ancient Forerunner script and a jagged emblem carved like a shield.
Without a moment's hesitation, Jin-Woo tore the voucher apart.
Space itself groaned in response.
Far outside the station, hovering just beside the massive structure of Installation 03, the void cracked.
A radiant burst of prismatic light ruptured the stars.
From it emerged something vast—ancient.
A Forerunner Guardian Custode descended, its obsidian armor glinting with dormant energy, thrusters humming like a low hymn of judgment. It floated in complete silence, its wings folded inward like blades, its head crowned with a lattice of Forerunner tech and command glyphs glowing dimly.(img here )
Inside the meeting room, a quiet stillness fell.
Jin-Woo simply exhaled, voice low.
"I always do everything," he said, stepping toward the window to observe his newest summon, "as long as there's a reward."
Cortana flickered into view on the nearest terminal, arms crossed and a faint grin curling on her lips.
"A cunning man you are," she said, her tone a mix of amusement and wary admiration. "You really don't do anything without payoff, do you?"
Jin-Woo didn't turn. His eyes remained fixed on the hovering giant outside the window—gleaming, still, and terrifyingly silent.
"I do everything for a reason," he replied flatly. "I don't waste motion."
Then, without changing his expression, he spoke through the link.
"Bias. You get what I see."
Offensive Bias responded instantly, its voice chiming directly into Jin-Woo's mind with mechanical clarity.
"Confirmed. Guardian construct identified and verified. Integration possible. Shall I assimilate the Custode into a parallel extension of my network?"
Jin-Woo gave a slight nod. "Do it. Transport the Guardian to Shadow Tython.."
There was a brief hum—barely perceptible—as slipspace bent.
"Affirmative," Offensive Bias intoned. "Guardian Custode is being transferred. Assignment: Defensive Oversight, Shadow Tython Command Lattice."
Outside, the massive construct shimmered once—its form folding like layered crystal, vanishing into compressed geometry—and then it was gone.
Moments later, deep within the secured research wing, Jin-Woo, Master Chief, and Dr. Halsey stood in the observation chamber—separated by reinforced transparent alloy from the command deck where the Composer is housed. The room buzzed with quiet energy, consoles pulsing with Forerunner glyphs. The Composer itself hovered silently behind the glass
Above in orbit, the Mantle's Approach arrived with zero ceremony. Now fully under Offensive Bias's control, the ancient warship stretched over 370 kilometers and phased into local space with flawless precision. Within its armored hull, the sealed cryptum—recovered earlier from Requiem—slid into containment, a chamber already repurposed by Jin-Woo's shadow magic and Mechu Deru manipulation.
Slowly, with gravitational finesse, the Mantle's Approach took the Composer back into itself—gently securing it beneath the warship's lower section using refined gravity manipulation. The massive construct floated with eerie precision.
Behind reinforced glass in the observation lab, Halsey watched the process unfold with a mix of awe and simmering anxiety.
"Jin-Woo," she muttered, rubbing her temple, "could you have done this a little more quietly? A Forerunner ship the size of a mountain drifting into UNSC airspace is going to make every brass in the Inner Colonies shit their uniforms."
Jin-Woo didn't flinch. His voice remained calm—flat, almost amused.
"I think it's the opposite. The higher-ups will blame the Forerunners, as always," he said. "And they'll start walking more carefully. Isn't that what you wanted, Doctor?"
Halsey exhaled, folding her arms tightly.
"It's true. I hate the upper command," she admitted. "Their cowardice, their politics, their obsession with containment over discovery."
Her eyes drifted toward the Composer—floating there like a sleeping god. The soft blue glow of its core danced across her irises, reigniting something old within her.
"But I can still separate them from what matters," she said quietly. "Science. Progress. Answers."
Chief stood silent nearby, arms crossed, his visor fixed on the Composer. He didn't speak. He didn't have to. His presence alone was steadying—an anchor in the quiet storm of ambition and technology surrounding them.
Now fully secured aboard the Mantle's Approach, the Composer pulsed with a faint glow—ominous and magnificent.
Jin-Woo turned from the viewing glass, his hand lifting as dark, crackling mana coiled into the air. A swirling portal formed—violet and black, rippling with unnatural depth.
Just as he stepped toward it, Halsey spoke up behind him.
"Don't make me wait too long," she said, arms still folded but her voice firm. "I'm willing to resign from the UNSC… if your offers are better."
Jin-Woo paused just briefly. A rare, faint smirk played at the edge of his expression.
"See you soon, Halsey. Chief."
With that, he stepped through—and the portal sealed behind him like it was never there.
Silence followed for a moment. Then Cortana materialized beside the nearest console, her arms folded, voice light but intrigued.
"Well… My creator working with Jin-Woo? That really piqued my interest."
Halsey didn't answer immediately. Her eyes lingered on the Composer, watching it pulse quietly within the Mantle's Approach.
"Till this day," she said softly, "we've only scratched the surface. Studying ruins. Reverse-engineering scraps. Blowing up Halo rings when they got too dangerous."
"But now? Now I know there's a whole other galaxy out there—where rules are different, power behaves differently, and people like him exist. I thought I understood the limits of science. But he just shattered everything I thought was possible."
She turned to face the console, eyes gleaming with a strange hunger.
"I don't care if the answers come from anomalies… or even enemies. If it means rewriting every formula I've ever published—so be it."
Chief let out a low breath through his helmet, unmoving.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that, Dr. Halsey," he said .
Halsey gave a crooked smirk, eyes still lit with fire.
"You won't have to for long, Chief. Because soon… everyone will."
On Naboo, in the golden glow of Theed's 6 PM skyline, the city was still alive with the cheers and energy from the event known as The Great Armored Adventure. Streets buzzed with excitement, lights flared across domed buildings, and laughter echoed in every district—unaware of the true purpose behind it all.
Unseen to the crowd, deep beneath the surface, the quiet evacuation of Naboo's population had already begun. Level D – Civilian Shelter Tiers stretched like a hidden city beneath the Theed Royal Palace, and already, millions were being moved quietly—away from the eyes of the galaxy. Only a few knew the truth: Jin-Woo, Morgan, Rey, Padmé, and Sabé.
At the edge of a high balcony overlooking Theed, Jin-Woo stepped through a quiet ripple of shadow, the final light of the sun catching the edge of his coat as he emerged. He stood still for a moment, surveying the city below with unreadable calm.
"Bias," he said, voice low.
Offensive Bias answered instantly through the link.
"Approximately 200 million civilians have been successfully relocated to Level D – Civilian Shelter Tiers beneath the Theed Royal Palace. Evacuation efficiency holding at 97%."
Jin-Woo gave a slow nod.
Then, behind him, a soft hum—a swirl of pinkish-purple light as a portal formed gently in the air. From it stepped Morgan, her cloak fluttering in the evening breeze. Without a word, she moved to his side and wrapped her arms around him in a warm embrace.
"I thought you'd be gone for a month," she murmured against him, her voice filled with both relief and teasing affection. "But it's only been six hours?"
Jin-Woo's arms folded behind his back as he looked out toward the glowing skyline.
"My mission was important," he said . "But now it's complete. I've secured the Mantle's Approach."
Morgan leaned against him more playfully now, her voice laced with curiosity and amusement.
"Another superweapon, ?" she teased, lips brushing close to his ear. "You really like collecting Planet -ending toys."
Jin-Woo didn't smile, but there was something in his eyes—like satisfaction layered behind calm restraint.
"Offensive Bias," he said aloud. "Did the Jedi, Senators, and all the outsiders leave Naboo while I was gone to handle the Halo sector?"
Offensive Bias's voice echoed in his thoughts, calm and clinical.
"Affirmative, Supreme Executor. All outsider groups have withdrawn. This includes neutral observers, political envoys, Jedi delegations, and all major factions identified as hostile or destabilizing to Naboo's sovereignty—specifically: the Banking Clan, Techno Union, Trade Federation, and the Sith asset known as Darth Plagueis."
"Darth Plagueis departed shortly after the failed Excalibur Proto extraction. His frustration was recorded. Diagnostic probability suggests the entity is aware a portion of his power was siphoned by the arcane sealing mechanism embedded by the Transfiguration Monarch."
Jin-Woo blinked once. His expression didn't change.
Morgan smiled as she moved to stand beside him, wind brushing her silver-blue hair aside.
"Look at me," she said lightly, turning to face him, one hand resting on his chest. "Even I have partial midichlorian manipulation now. Still imperfect—but it's there."
"I'll kill him later," she added with a quiet promise. "Eventually. When it matters."
Jin-Woo didn't respond at first. His gaze swept the horizon, then turned slightly toward the air—toward the link only he could hear.
"Relocate the Defender-class light corvette I stashed at Zeta Halo," he said calmly. "Bring it here. Place it under Level C—Security and Military Housing, inside the Naboo bunker complex."
He paused a beat, then added sharply, "And while you're at it… remove the Dreypa Oubliette from the corvette's hidden compartment. The last thing I need is Celeste Morne waking up. Especially still pissed I didn't unseal her again after all this time."
Offensive Bias's voice echoed, cold and pragmatic.
"Affirmative. Orders confirmed. Although Supreme Executor has already neutralized the Celeste Morne threat by removing the Muur Talisman, she remains a nuisance variable. Her emotional volatility and prior loyalty patterns suggest future interference."