"We, Corellia, merchants. We, seek, furs, rare metals. Please, let, us, go home." A cylindrical robot translated one word at a time.
Beside the robot, the three previously captured armed men were sprawled on a table, groaning weakly, occasionally spitting out a word.
Tang Xiao sat across from them in the interrogation room, legs crossed, watching their performance with complete disinterest. Behind him stood T-850, expressionless, feet shoulder-width apart, hands clasped behind his back in textbook military posture.
A full standard Earth day had passed. During these 24 hours, under the AI core's orders and the marines' encouragement, the three had been forced to speak countless words for language analysis—possibly more than they had spoken in their entire lives, infancy included.
Now, over 40% of this so-called Galactic Standard language had been deciphered, allowing for basic communication. However, cracking the alphabet, script, and grammar would still take some time.
The three captives, unaware of their grim situation, continued putting on a pitiful act, hoping the youthful and seemingly compassionate Tang Xiao would show mercy and let them go.
Tang Xiao ignored their theatrics and turned to the translator droid. "Where is the capital of the Galactic Empire?"
The three looked confused. One corrected, "Galactic Republic, not Empire. Coruscant, capital."
"Then who leads the Jedi Order?" Tang Xiao asked again.
They remained bewildered and shook their heads.
Of course, during the Republic era, Jedi—though highly respected—operated behind the scenes, quietly protecting the Republic. To ordinary citizens, they were more legend than reality.
Tang Xiao thought for a moment and asked another question, "Who's the Speaker of the Galactic Senate?"
They pondered, then one finally replied, "Finis Valorum."
Tang Xiao's expression shifted. He asked one final question, "Has there been a war on Naboo?"
The three men shook their heads.
Without another word, Tang Xiao stood up and walked straight out of the interrogation room toward the bridge.
[The Administrator has left. Let's continue. Please describe this cat's appearance in the most accurate way possible.] The AI core's voice followed, as several burly marines entered the room, smirked at the prisoners, and soon, wails of agony echoed from the interrogation room.
Back on the bridge, Tang Xiao dropped into the command seat, leaning back and staring at the ceiling in a daze. He had narrowed down the current Star Wars timeline to within 30 years, but the result brought him no satisfaction.
Because within these 30 years, the galaxy would be plunged into unprecedented war and chaos, with virtually every corner dragged into conflict. During this war, the Galactic Republic—over 25,000 years old—would ultimately collapse.
Tang Xiao began organizing the Star Wars plotlines in his memory. Currently, the Speaker of the Senate was Finis Valorum, and the Naboo crisis hadn't occurred yet—this was a critical turning point.
Because the Battle of Naboo would eventually lead to Valorum's removal and Sheev Palpatine's rise as the new Chancellor. Then... under Palpatine's manipulation, ten years after the Naboo conflict, the Republic would fracture and spiral into war.
Exploited outer rim systems would form the Separatist Alliance to oppose the Republic, igniting a three-year full-scale war known as the Clone Wars, named for the Republic's use of clone troopers.
As perhaps the greatest schemer in Star Wars history, Palpatine orchestrated everything—using the war to topple the Republic, destroy the Jedi Order, and crush outer rim resistance.
Then, atop the Republic's ruins, he declared himself Emperor and transformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire. {Note 1}
Thinking of this, Tang Xiao let out a long sigh, his head pounding. He groaned, "Why does it have to be the darkest era...? There's no way I can go toe-to-toe with Palpatine... Whether it's politics, intrigue, personal power, or influence—I can't compete at all... How the hell am I supposed to survive this?!"
"Surrender to him? Join the Empire, become a pawn of the Emperor?" Tang Xiao seriously considered this option—but then sighed again, "No way. By then, the mothership would definitely be confiscated, and all the data in its database would fall right into his hands..."
"Why should I accept that?!" Tang Xiao stomped his foot and yelled at the ceiling, "AAARRGGHH!! THIS IS SO FREAKING ANNOYING!!!"
Daphne Clement and Qi Jian rushed over in concern, but Tang Xiao waved them off, telling them to get back to work. Watching their retreating backs, he muttered to himself, "I need help... Someone who can actually stand up to Palpatine... A politician, that's it! A politician!"
He realized that in the Star Wars universe—at least for now—the Senate still held real power. And what did that mean? He didn't need some superpowered warrior. No matter how strong you are, you can't beat a Death Star or a Star Destroyer! But a politician? With just a few words, they could command an entire fleet!
Tang Xiao looked at Clement and Qi Jian's backs and shook his head slightly.
They wouldn't cut it.
Clement's expertise wasn't in politics, and it was unrealistic to expect her to dabble in it. Qi Jian was a staff officer by background, just an average person with limited capability for now.
He also noticed that people of the ordinary tier were mostly young, the elite tier slightly older, and those at the master tier often in their 50s or 60s.
That meant these tiers simply reflected one's current accomplishments—with time and experience, even ordinary folks could reach master-level!
But talent development was one thing. To even get on the same stage as Palpatine—no, that wasn't right. Right now, he didn't even have the qualifications to enter the stage. To do that, he needed at least a master-tier politician!
Tang Xiao took a deep breath and began scrolling through the list of personnel he could awaken. Suddenly, he noticed something had changed! Previously, there were only three tiers: Ordinary, Elite, and Master—with three question marks afterward.
Now, one of the question marks had been revealed: Legendary!
A Legendary-tier figure!
"AI core! When did Legendary-tier characters unlock?" Tang Xiao asked in surprise.
[After your awakening, Administrator. Without significant personal power, Legendary and higher-tier individuals would not serve you. Forcing them awake could even cause chaos—individuals of this level all possess such capabilities... or worse.]
{Note 1}: This covers the main plot of the Star Wars prequel trilogy and the Clone Wars animated series.