Dr Doom in Star Wars

 The Outer Ring. Somewhere inside the Impenetrable Caldera.

 752 DBYA.

 14 years before the Mandalorian Purge.

 Some time later.

 Darth Doom.

 I knew that this tip from yet another agent sent by the Sith was false! I should never have believed his seemingly reasonable arguments, which turned out to be nothing but pathetic incompetence!

 No one dares to deceive Doom. No one.

 And as soon as I get out of here, that piece of trash will die.

 I think I can test my prototype Magnetic Machine on him, designed to keep Jedi lightsabers away from my body. They are made of metal, so they should be vulnerable to this kind of interaction... And on that incompetent fool, I will test its full power on a sentient being with metal implants!

 He'll learn not to waste my time on fruitless searches on this godforsaken planet in the ancient Sith territories.

 "You think you can take me so easily, you stupid toothy creature?" — I said in a confident tone, expressing all my contempt for the creatures attacking me, when the toothy mouth snapped shut on my right hand but couldn't bite through the steel.

 "Grrr?" — Surprise flashed across the creature's hideous face, and its tiny mind attempted some thought process.

 Ignoring this stupid creature, I looked around at the creatures gathered in this crevice, writing with the Dark Side of the Force, and therefore not instantly destroyed by me. Their resistance to Force effects was high.

 "But that doesn't mean you can do anything against my power!" — With brute physical force, I tore a limb from the mouth of the half-sentient creature, then concentrated the power of the Dark Side in my fingers, generously drawing it from the surrounding background of the planet, which was overflowing with the Force.

 The power burst forth in bright streams of purple lightning, overflowing with rage at such insolent creatures, at such an incompetent agent, at myself for believing him.

 "Gra-a-a-a... A-a-a-a-a!" — The vicious cries of the nearest monsters instantly turned into painful ones, for the fiercely crackling lightning not only passed through their nerves, bringing them unimaginable pain, but also literally burned their flesh, accustomed to water but not to electricity.

 However, what would have torn a normal intelligent being into small pieces, turning it into a dead, charred piece of flesh that could not be identified by any genetic analysis... These creatures simply howled and growled, trying to regenerate their wounds by urgently eating the corpses of their fellow creatures.

 Having finished firing lightning bolts, I abandoned this completely futile battle with countless creatures whose minds were so fierce and simple that they could not even be subjugated.

 Shuffling my feet waist-deep in poisonous water, I heard a constant cacophony of splashing water, the sound of eternal rain falling on the planet, and the enraged cries of these creatures... And then there was the atmosphere, which did nothing to improve my mood.

 "Gra-a-a-a!" — And of course, the main infuriating factor was these humanoids with tentacles, whose brains were again too small to understand that I was not available as prey.

 "Insolent, stupid animal!" — I spat angrily, grabbing the creature that had tried to lunge at me with its ugly body by the neck with my steel glove.

 Its tentacles, protruding from its torso, immediately tried to wrap themselves around my armour, but... It was too late. My anger at the situation gave me enough strength to use something more powerful than my previous blow. And the backdrop of the planet helped me in every way possible once again...

 "Today, you will all be defeated, defeated by the great power of Duma!" — I announced solemnly, displaying a cascade of dazzlingly bright lightning bolts in my free hand.

 They were imbued with white-hot fury, which directed them at hundreds of these vile creatures, piercing them through, tearing them into lifeless pieces and simply burning the very essence of life out of them.

 The Maelstrom of the Dark Side was as magnificent as ever in its destructive power, but in a normal situation, it could be seen by any trained and gifted individual, even from the orbit of a planet. But for now, I need to hide... Hmm... Shouldn't I be grateful to these creatures for allowing me to test my arsenal on them?

 ...No, that's ridiculous. Thank stupid animals... No, I can stoop low in my search for my mother, but clearly not that low.

 "Gra-a-a..." — The half-dead survivor tried to grab my left arm, but was immediately intercepted by telekinesis and squeezed into a small ball of flesh, then sent to the nameless monster creeping up behind me.

 The water creature knocked its mangled kin away with some kind of stick left behind by the local inhabitants, colonists from a completely different world who had crashed here and were trying to survive in the terrible conditions of this planet.

 "And again, no signs of intelligence." — I grimaced under my mask, leaning sharply and pulling the young creature out from under my feet with sheer physical force as it tried to bite through them. "No way, you snotty creature!" The crunch of the smaller creature's death caused even more rage in the adult creatures, which simultaneously rushed at me from all sides. "Liar! You won't take Duma, you pathetic monsters!"

 Powerful plasma beams, based on the principles of lightsabers, burst from the centres of my palms. However, instead of looping and lasting for a long time, I reconfigured them into something like blaster bolts, only more extensive and longer-lasting.

 They cut through the creatures around me with ease, incinerating a fifth of their bodies, but unlike the Force Techniques, they did not cause any particular pain. Even when deprived of limbs, tentacles, and parts of their heads, they continued to attack me fiercely, displaying incredible tenacity, which, combined with their low intelligence, created a truly unpleasant combination!

 I think I now know where to lure a large group of Jedi in case of an emergency!

 Meanwhile, the battle continued.

 Taking advantage of their numbers, they rushed at me, and I burned and crushed them, burned and crushed them, destroying them with numerous spears from the darkness itself, attacking them with dark clumps, but... The enemy proved to be painfully inconvenient for the Dark Side's magic. It is super effective against ordinary creatures, but those connected to the Dark Side were much more resistant to its effects.

 The armour held, the systems held, but in some places the steel was already bent and bitten through.

 They had to get out of there.

 Even after killing hundreds, thousands of creatures, more kept coming.

 Being cannibals, these monsters were attracted to the corpses of their own kind. And when they devoured them, not only did their most terrible wounds regenerate, but their own strength increased.

 "You stupid creature!" I growled angrily, grabbing the jaws of another creature with both hands and literally tearing them apart, sending bolts of lightning through my hands.

 Clenching my freed right hand into a fist, I allowed it to ignite with a green glowing mist. It was one of my recent developments, which I had nicknamed the Wild Force.

 It was not related to the concepts most familiar to Jedi and Sith. Unlike them, it was based on the so-called Spirits of the Force. These mindless creatures were embodiments of the planetary background of those worlds that were rich in the Force.

 Being a direct and even simpler way to draw power from the planet itself, their use on Force-rich worlds was very beneficial. Yes, in exchange, they often wanted to absorb the emanations of death and the Dark Side that arose during... As even the last fool would understand at this point — deaths.

 "However..." — I said with a malicious grin when I caught the edge of their insolent desire for death. "No one dares to tell the Duma! It is the Duma that tells everyone!" I barked, forcefully suppressing all desire of the Spirits of Power of this nameless planet, after which I directed their destructive power straight at the monsters.

 They clearly sensed the new threat and even stopped in their tracks... But it was too late. Enraged by their obedience to someone stronger than them — namely me — they sucked all the life out of my enemies, which was extremely nourishing for them.

 With a wave of my hands, I summoned a huge wave that swept through the Spirits and knocked the monsters over, making them easy prey. And to make sure they didn't escape, I began to hurl chunks of rock from the walls around me directly at the various exits.

 Once again destroying a dozen monsters with several black spheres that expanded dozens of times in an instant, I jumped out of the water using the Force and found myself far above the raging spirits, which to the unarmed eye looked like green clumps of ectoplasm.

 ...Yes, the potential for using my Wild Force on planets like this is great. If I ever decide to destroy a large number of Jedi in a single battle, I will definitely do it in a world full of the Dark Side of the Force.

 Finally, the ship hovering nearby flew up. I hadn't summoned it earlier because of the risk of damage from the local creatures, but now... Another powerful jump left two small dents in the ship's hull, but with one deft movement, I climbed inside.

 In orbit.

 "Hm?!" — I raised my eyebrows under my mask with interest when one of the indicators began to flash, signalling a message of the highest importance had arrived on the central computer.

 Completely unperturbed by the wet steel of my armour, which had not yet dried after the battle on the planet, as the ship was moisture-resistant, I activated the message from one of the agents I had sent to observe the actions of one of my puppets in the rebel camp.

 "So... the gnats are ready to meet. Excellent!" — I nodded with satisfaction, leaning back in the pilot's seat

 Now I need legitimacy... That's basically the only reason I got involved with Hyperbernia instead of taking the more promising Metalorn out of the shadows. According to the very liberal republican laws, once I become sovereign ruler, law enforcement agencies such as the Justice Corps will not be able to touch me on the territory of my own state. The confederate nature of the republic once again worked to my advantage and to the detriment of the Jedi... Who, at first, will also be all for my reign and rule, until they realise that I am not just another accomplice of the shitocrats, and that I demand only one thing in return for my favours: the complete submission of my subjects.

 Having left this inhospitable world, where I had only wasted my time and which was only good for executing my enemies, I directed my spaceship straight into hyperspace, in honour of which my future kingdom was named.

 Not Latveria, of course, but... Hyperbernia sounds good too.

 Although I will still rename the capital to Doomsday City.

 Middle Ring. Metallorn.

 Later.

 My future transitional government, before I replace it with loyal and intelligent people, wisely decided not to meet in Hyperbernia, but in Metallorn. As the capital of the sector and the only place of value to anyone, there were enough people here for a few rebels from a backwater world to get lost and meet the one who would allow their people to prosper in the future in ways the rest of the galaxy could not even dream of!

 After all, they did not have my genius, capable of compensating for the lack of minerals and oil with technology alone, as was the case in my Latveria.

 ...I created a fairly good self-sustaining plan that even the pathetic morons among the agents I inherited were capable of carrying out. They didn't even fail particularly badly anywhere!

 Well, it wasn't difficult to follow my instructions, and even if someone had seriously screwed up... That would have been direct proof to me that they were only polluting the gene pool of the galaxy and that such pseudo-intelligent beings needed to be destroyed as quickly as possible. Not even as a lesson to others, but simply because I don't want to increase the number of imbeciles in this galaxy.

 There are already enough creatures here whose intelligence is equal to that of a shoe polish.

 Two representatives of the rebels accompanied me to the capital's slums, which had already recovered from that memorable explosion caused by my droids in order to separate the two Jedi.

 Surprisingly, the leaders of the Hyperbernia rebels arrived in person, so I immediately proceeded to dialogue, as I knew this trio better than they did. I fiddled with them so that the Jedi would not find traces of mind control in them, because, in their opinion, I was not trained in this skill at all.

 It's convenient when your enemies are so cruelly misled.

 "Greetings," I waved my steel-clad hand, sitting down opposite the rebels, who were staring at me with wide eyes. "I assume we know each other's names, so there's no need to waste time on introductions." — I immediately took the initiative, deliberately beginning to influence their minds.

 This influence was indirect, so all emanations of the Force would soon disappear and the Jedi would not notice anything. But even so, it would greatly help me speed up the process of convincing the rebels. I could have done it with words alone, but I had already endured too much that hurt my pride and self-respect to put up with any more. It's time to move on to a new level of work, instead of hiding from everyone in the night and shadows like some kind of rat.

 "Y-yes..." — replied the dark-skinned woman, who was not particularly gifted. So she was not a representative of the Korun people, but of some other race similar to Earth's black people. "We are also glad to see you here, Mr. Doom." — Having somehow managed to control the emotions that were beginning to overwhelm her, this... Terra tried to pull herself together.

 A rather funny name, in my opinion.

 However, I had no intention of giving her time to think about it properly. Ignoring the chatter of the other two, I spoke again:

 "Let's not sully this conversation with various veiled attempts to learn as much as possible about each other. Working together and overthrowing the rotten order of Hyperborea will tell us more about each other than any conversation." "Let's not be like the Prince and the aristocrats, who only talk but do nothing to improve the lives of the common people, who are forced to live for their meaningless and senseless lives," I began in the confident, well-modulated voice of a natural leader, invisibly exerting my inner strength and the Force upon them. "Let us not be like the Prince and the aristocrats, who only talk but do nothing to improve the lives of the common people, who are forced to suffer for their meaningless, useless, and completely irrational ideas." — I clenched my fist until it creaked, holding it out in front of me to impress my listeners even more.

 "You are a powerful speaker..." — remarked the dark-skinned woman, glancing at her companions. "But we would like to hear specifics..."

 "You want specifics? I have them." — I tapped my fingers on the round table and said convincingly. " — I have an army of droids, perfect combat droids — Doomdroids. They were personally designed by me, and there is no organic fighter except the Jedi who can defeat them. Their guidance systems are perfect, their armour can withstand even a single thermal detonator explosion, and their mobility is on par with intelligent flesh-and-blood beings!" — I waved towards the window, where my creations remained.

 "That's certainly... impressive." — A few seconds later, my puppet in their camp spoke, playing the part of someone not particularly familiar with my capabilities. "But such droids must be very expensive, and there aren't many of them..."

 "Not at all!" — I smiled, flashing my eyes triumphantly. "There are hundreds of them. Thousands. All armed and incredibly dangerous! The prince's pathetic minions are nothing against them!" — I continued to praise the qualities of my robots, without exaggerating their capabilities in the slightest.

 These heroes could be super-efficient, destroying dozens of even my Dumboots, but they weren't here! Only Jedi, who for the time being would not be enemies of my public persona.

 And since these two categories of enemies are absent, ordinary intelligent beings will be exterminated with phenomenal efficiency!

 "And in exchange for the help of the droids, you want to rule our planet..." — the rebels finally woke up from my speech, and the lowest of them uttered these words with distinct disbelief. "How do we know that you will not be a worse ruler than our current prince? We cannot go against you and your droids... If they are that strong.

 "I will give you a vivid demonstration on the minions of our common enemy, and as for a ruler... We will conclude a treaty. In six months, I will restore the standard of living to what it was before. In a year, I will double it. In two years, I will increase it fivefold. In five years, it will be ten times higher. In ten years, it will be the best in the entire Middle Ring. In fifteen years, it will be the same as in the central worlds." — With my hands folded across my chest, I spoke mercilessly, pressing forward with my self-confidence and such tempting prospects.

 I had long since calculated them and recognised them as achievable. There was too much I could introduce for the locals in exchange for their absolute loyalty.

 Hyperbernia will become the pearl of its part of the galaxy, just like Latveria.

 Yes, my statement seemed too ambitious and shocking to the rebels, but I generously offered to conclude an official agreement that would be binding in the Galactic Senate.

 And if I fail to fulfil my obligations, I can be officially deposed. The Jedi, for example. They may not care about a backwater and completely ordinary world right now, but if a tyrant they hate appears there, who is considered as such not only by external forces but also by his own subjects, and who can use the Force... O-o-o-o-o...

 Then these lovers of light sabres will clearly come running like mountain goats.

 Restore justice, ha ha!

 That's what we decided. At the same time, we decided to go to Hyperbernia right away, as I suggested.

 Middle Ring. Hyperbernia.

 The capital.

 A few hours later.

 "That was incredibly reckless, Mr. Doom!" — Crouching down from the sound of a nearby shell explosion, Terra Bean, who was still reeling from the shock, began to shout as she walked beside me. "We needed some kind of plan! Not like you! Why did you decide to fly straight to the prince's palace and storm it? We haven't even signed the official documents yet!"

 "That's the coward in you talking, rebel! Cast your fear aside with me!" — I dismissed her with a confident smirk, watching my Dumbroids destroy my enemies.

 Quickly, efficiently, and mercilessly! Without hesitation, without trembling!

 After all, it was not for nothing that I suddenly decided to demonstrate the power of my droids not on some simple law enforcement patrol, but directly on the main target. Why bother with trifles?

 "See how my creations easily deal with any resistance in our path?!" — I circled the burning defensive lines of the palace in front of me.

 It was easy to suppress the few air defence points, then drop the droid landing force right in front of the stunned faces of the palace defenders. The palace was pompous but completely unfortified. The only thing protecting it was a wall similar to the one that divided the capital into areas for the rich and the poor.

 And we... simply flew over it.

 A couple of fighters tried to stop us earlier, but what chance did these wrecks have against the latest and absolutely unique ship created by the Sith and upgraded by my brilliant mind?

 "That's true, but..." — the native of Hyperbernia was forced to admit the obvious truth, but due to her innate low level of intelligence compared to mine, she was incredibly stubborn and even in such a situation tried to convince me. " — It's still too dangerous! You are our only hope!

 "I know that for sure." — I dismissed her contemptuously, folding my arms behind my back and continuing my relentless advance.

 The droids circling around us dutifully took all the defenders' gunfire upon themselves, and thanks to powerful guidance systems and pre-designated targets, all of the prince's supporters' heavy weapons simply did not have time to fire.

 As a result, even among the rebel troops in the capital, losses were minimal.

 "If you know, then why are you taking such risks! We should have come up with a joint plan, we could have called in more of our comrades!" — firing at a row of particularly daring police officers.

 "Because that is the will of the Duma." — I replied, meeting the gaze of the de facto leader of the resistance to the current monarch's repression and forcing her to lower her eyes.

 Few can withstand the gaze of the Duma!

 Having silenced the rebel, I continued on my way.

 My blitzkrieg.

 I can't call this lightning-fast seizure of power anything other than a Duma blitzkrieg.

 A perfect lightning strike against the government of this impoverished planet, whose population is surprisingly small for a planet the size of Earth.

 Yes... Even after spending years here, I still can't get used to the fact that I can so easily capture a planet with a population equal to that of a large European country.

 Just a few hundred, not even Dumbots, but their pathetic prototypes... To think that I used to think that conquering this world would be more difficult, that I would have to get involved in a long confrontation, preparing rebels as support...

 But no.

 Just like in Latveria, it turned out to be enough to storm the ruler's lair and seize power directly.

 In ten minutes of battle, I have a whole planet of sixty million people in my hands, which I can do with as I please... Incredibly surreal, but useful!

 ...And I couldn't care less about the opinion of the rebellious rabble who supposedly helped me seize power and are now shouting my name.

 I'll just rot them all in prisons and mines later. I don't need such destructive elements, who will almost certainly rebel against my methods of rule in the future. They've never been rulers, but they will undoubtedly try to express their Very Important Opinion by one means or another.

 Do I need that? No, I don't.

 I will turn Hyperborea into a second Latveria, and nothing more. A world submissive to my will, which will provide me with the necessary material base for further plans and actions, even those that are still being worked out.

 This includes a plan to conquer the galaxy, which even with my brilliant intellect cannot be created in a couple of months on the back of an envelope, but requires many years of work and reflection. As much as I would like to, in order to become the true ruler of the Galaxy, and not just a nominal leader as the supreme chancellor of the Republic, I will have to work hard.

 The outline of the plan is there, but it needs to be filled in with numerous necessary side plans that will help implement the main points, half of which have not even been created yet. For there are many necessary elements that still need to be addressed.

 There is much... much work to be done.

 But difficulties have never deterred the Duma!

 Standing in front of the massive steel doors of the palace, I did not look for a way around or any other way to get in.

 I simply concentrated the Force in my right hand and threw it forward.

 A powerful telekinetic shock to the surprise of everyone around me knocked the doors inward, and robots rushed in, unable to marvel at the power of their creator.

 "You... a Jedi?" — The three rebels addressed me in unison, bewildered, as they walked down the central corridor of the palace.

 "No. But I've learned a few tricks." — I waved them away lazily, trying to scan the building with the Force as often as possible so that the current king would not escape.

 He had to sign a renunciation in my favour before he died, so that there would be no questions about my legitimacy. I could forge it... But who knows, I don't yet know all the technical capabilities of the intelligent beings in this galaxy. And while I can be sure of digital information, when it comes to the purely material... It's not worth taking any risks.

 Ah, here it is.

 Found it.

 Turning sharply, I ran with my escort into one of the side corridors, and... Soon I simply bumped forehead to forehead with the fleeing king and his small guard.

 "It's becoming a habit of mine to overthrow insignificant kings." — I twisted my lips, showing a contemptuous smile to the man who had fallen on his backside.

 "Kill them!" he exclaimed, desperately pointing at me with his fat finger.

 I don't remember what he looks like when he's calm, but in a panic, this intelligent man is nothing more than a caricature of a pathetic, greedy, fat monarch who should be overthrown by brave revolutionaries with the looks of Hollywood stars.

 However, in response to the king's cry, the two men merely glanced at each other and threw their weapons to the floor.

 What intelligent people. They understand when it's time to surrender... It's a breath of fresh air after the widespread idiocy of the locals.

 "Valapara... Tenth. You were such an insignificant ruler that even your closest guards are unwilling to die for you!" — I shook my head contemptuously, looking down at the defeated little man who had lost all desire to resist.

 I didn't despise him for failing to resist my rather simple attacks, or even for losing the battle for his own palace.

 No.

 This nobody ruled sixty million intelligent beings in a galaxy full of enormous opportunities for every intelligent creature. For twenty whole years. Two decades, and instead of development and progress, Hyperbernia experienced only stagnation, and nothing better awaited it.

 "Sign it, worm." — I threw a piece of flimsy paper with a long-prepared document printed on it at his feet while his guards were being dealt with by my Dumbroids.

 "W-what is this?" — Not daring to look up at me, the almost ex-prince muttered cautiously.

 "Renunciation in favour of Victor von Duma. Write." — Following this, writing implements landed on the man's head... Which immediately began to work very skilfully in the monarch's swollen hands.

 The former monarch.

 "Now... I've signed!" exclaimed the fat thing, crawling towards my feet. "I've signed! Take me away from here! Rebels! Rebels in the palace!"

 "What are you talking about..." — Terra replied sarcastically, standing nearby, perhaps still reeling from my hasty decision to seize the palace and my equally hasty capture, but such a man aroused in her an almost organic revulsion.

 "As they say on my home planet..." — I said, hiding the piece of paper and taking a pistol made in the familiar Earth style from a secret compartment in my armour, pointing it at the former ruler of the planet. "The king is dead..."

***

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