A holopad sounded in Count Dooku's study. Knowing who it was, he activated it and got down on one knee. The silhouette of Darth Sidious appeared, looking down on Dooku.
"My Master," he said.
[How are things progressing, my Apprentice?]
"Perfectly as planned, Master. Belsarius Cawl has once again proven to be the best person for the job and has turned the Khaleel warlord Sheelal into a weapon for us to use in the upcoming war."
[Good. How is the performance of the general?] Sidious asked.
"I have seen the training results, and they are impressive. Even without a shred of Force-sensitivity, General Grievous has shown tremendous potential. And Cawl is constantly recalibrating and improving different aspects of him," Dooku said.
[Grievous? Ah, a fitting name for the general. I am most pleased with the results that Belsarius Cawl has produced. He has shown his worth time and time again.]
"Yes, my Lord. What would you have me do now? Shall I begin preparations for the clones?" Dooku asked.
[Have you located a fitting specimen?]
"You have no need for concern. Our search for the Prime Cone is nearly complete. The galaxy's most dangerous mercenaries have been pitied against one another… and I sense the victor will be a bounty hunter named Jango Fett. The last of the Mandalorians… the sole survivor of the Jedi raid on Galilean. He's the perfect soldier in every way.
[And you've researched his past?]
"I have interrogated a number of his former associates, yes. In fact, I've just returned from the planet Concord Dawn, where Fett was born, and his family died. "
[Excellent. The most dangerous men are always orphans… tell me what you've learned.]
"Decades ago, the mercenary group known as the Mandalorians fractured, giving rise to a chaotic splinter group. They called themselves the ‚Death Watch 'and followed a barbarian called Vizsla, who believed that the Mandalorians should conquer the galaxy. Vizsla orchestrated a bloody coup against the True Mandalorians, who remained loyal to a reformed murderer named Jaster Mereel, who held that the Mandalorians were merely highly paid soldiers. On Concord Dawn, Jaster's alleged homeward, the Death Watch scattered the Mandalorians, and a hunt began.
It was there that the young Jango Fett was forcefully thrown into this life and watched as Death Watch killed his family. Jaster Mereel took the young boy in, seeing in him the potential for a true Mandalorian warrior. And it turned out that he was correct. As a Mandalorian, Fett continued to fight alongside Mereel and his forces into his teenage years until the Battle of Korda Six, where they were ambushed, and Fett's mentor, Jaster Mereel, died. Through his masterful skill and tenacity, he managed to carry the dead body of Mereel back to the landing zone and became the new Mand'alor—the leader of the Mandalorians.
As the new Mand'alor, Fett led the Mandalorians much as Jaster Mereel had done before him. Fett and his Mandalorians were hired to put down an insurrection on the planet Galidraan. But it turned out to have been a trap laid by the Death Watch. Vizsla and the governor had already put a plot into motion, claiming that Mandalorians were murdering "political activists", along with women and children—with Vizsla's own forces providing the body count of innocents—and begging the Jedi Council to step in and put a stop to them.
I was present that day and fought against the Mandalorians. They fought, and they lost, but when only Fett remained, using no weapon beyond his own hands, feet, and armoured body, he vengefully killed six of the Jedi, including the one who killed his friend. "
…
[I see. An impressive specimen indeed. To kill six Jedi with his own hands. Very well, Dooku. Put things in motion and see to it that they are done. And involve Cawl in the process of creating any technology. But make sure to keep things controlled.]
"I understand, my Master. It shall be done. "
The hologram ended then and there, leaving Dooku alone in his study. He stood up and turned around, looking out the window at Serrenno. The plans had already been set in motion, and he had to ensure that things ran smoothly. His thoughts turned to Belsarius Cawl and the strange creature that he was.
It was hard for him, an aspiring Sith, to get a feeling for Cawl, since his only desire seemed to be research and the path of knowledge. But it wasn't something he had to do, since he could find other ways to fund his studies or further his goals without the vast wealth and resources Dooku provided.
He couldn't deny the results he saw, though. Cawl never showed any grand desire to rule or gain power. And even Sidious had deemed Cawl one of their most valuable pieces, capable of singlehandedly ensuring they succeeded with their plans. And there were a lot of things that Cawl could do for them, he knew that.
.
(Cawl POV)
In a different dimension, cut off from any other and standing on its own, lay a man. He didn't seem special in appearance or build; he didn't give off the impression of a powerful man, let alone a brilliant one. But the truth was different, as the man hid something more mysterious than the Force itself.
This was the true Belsarius Cawl.
Ever since I died and was reborn in this new reality, I was annoyed and scared. I was a busy man in my past life and didn't have that much free time. But I did enjoy watching movies, and Star Wars was one of my favourites. The sheer potential of storytelling and adventure one could find here pulled me in initially. Too bad that it died after the initial six movies.
But that didn't mean that I ever wanted to come here. I knew that the chance of me ever being strong enough to enjoy my life was so small that it wouldn't be worth it. And as it turned out, I was right.
But I was wrong as well.
As it turned out, I was granted a special gift in the form of a small vial. The vial had a small note with the words: Essence of the Puppeteer on the side. I drank this concoction without thinking much of it, since I had found it in my pocket one day. It was then that my life changed.
This Essence, as it turned out, was an incredible set of powers that followed the theme of the Puppeteer.
I gained an instinctive knowledge of mechanics, gadgets, and certain arcane arts. I can now construct puppets from a variety of materials, ranging from ordinary wood and metal to unconventional materials like flesh or those not ordinarily usable, such as water or fire. I imagined creating a puppet out of fire, which was insane.
The puppets I built were far stronger and more resilient than their base materials would suggest. So using normal wood to construct a puppet would mean that it was strong enough to punch its way through a metal door, at least a very weak one and only after a very long time and reconstruction. But it was still possible.
Puppets can be created near-instantly from malleable substances such as water, fire, or clay. Though such instant-puppets are comparably simple, their only special ability, aside from maintaining the traits of their base material, is that they can use their malleable nature to change their forms. It was this aspect of my abilities that allowed me to survive my initial years in this galaxy, and not only that, but thrive as well.
When I manually craft a puppet, I can construct and install numerous devices and weapons within it, even when these devices would normally be too large or bulky to fit in the puppet's frame. Any installed device will not hinder the puppet's mobility in any way and will be effectively weightless inside the puppet.
Any weapon can be withdrawn from the puppet's body so long as the opening it's drawn from is large enough to withdraw the object from; in other words, if the puppet pulls a sword out, the opening must be large enough that the handguard can freely pass through. This is naturally wild, since I can essentially have a puppet hold millions of ammunition and weapons, and only have a surface big enough to take out that weapon.
When touching a puppet, I can, by channelling my own energy into it, upgrade its capabilities, making it stronger, faster, and more resilient. This process can be repeated without limit, though it is exhausting for me, and the stronger the puppet is, the more energy it takes to upgrade it further.
Channelling my energy into a damaged puppet can also repair it, as long as it hasn't been completely destroyed; however, depending on the puppet, additional materials might be needed.
This process can also be used on instant, corpse, and living puppets; the latter two can be repaired without additional materials, but at a greater energy cost. I can say without shame that I freely abused this aspect of my powers. I was reborn on a distant planet of the Outer Rim, and as an orphan, I had no money or resources except those that could be found freely. So wood and trash were abundant, and by spending my energy, I could gradually make them more powerful.
Any spells or special abilities I have can be converted into an array that you can inscribe on a puppet, allowing the puppet to activate that spell or ability instantly. This would still drain me as if I had performed the ability myself. However, I could store energy within the puppet, allowing it to activate its arrays by drawing on that energy rather than your own.
As these arrays need to be inscribed manually, instant puppets cannot use arrays unless I personally modify them.
Star Wars wasn't primarily about magic. To perform magic, I would have had to study under the Witches of Dathomir, and they weren't very friendly to outsiders, especially males. Other than that, there was the Force, which would have been awesome to use in this regard. Sadly, I am not Force-sensitive, but I have other plans that will address this in the future.
I can control puppets remotely and telepathically. Finger movement to guide them is unnecessary, though it can improve fine control. A puppet which is not actively controlled will shift into an inert state. However, I can program it to act automatically in specific circumstances, like dodging an attack, though it will react mechanically and only exactly as programmed if pre-set conditions are met, hence I need to be very specific in my programming if I want any level of successful autonomous action.
No matter how many inputs are given, though, I cannot turn a puppet sentient. However, a puppet with decades worth of programming may seem so to an outside observer.
Now, this is where things start to get very ridiculous, to say the least.
I can turn a fresh or well-preserved corpse into a puppet I can control. A corpse-puppet retains all special abilities the person or creature had in life, in addition to any device or array I install into it.
I can also activate a form of autopilot in the corpse-puppet, making it move and fight with the same level of skill it had when it was alive. However, the autopilot will not be able to operate any devices or arrays added to the puppet that the body didn't have in life. I can activate them by command, and the puppet's autopilot will compensate as best it can; however, most activations will reduce the autopilot's combat effectiveness.
And it was this ability that made me a true menace on my planet. I was deemed an abomination and a curse and a lot of other things. But I didn't care. It was all about survival, and the large number of corpses allowed me to create many powerful puppets for both protection and attack.
Now, if one thought turning corpses into puppets was outrageous, then this next part would blow someone's mind.
With careful preparation, I can turn a living creature into a living puppet. That includes humans, Muuns, Twi'leks, monsters, animals and anything in between. That's right, I can add weapons, devices, and even extremities to these puppets to turn them into a Frankenstein-esque creature or a complete abomination.
However, as the puppet is still a living creature, care must be taken that vital functions are not compromised during the modification process. Alternatively, I can choose to leave the body unchanged; however, when empowering it with my energy, I can cause slow cosmetic changes to the puppet, to ensure that others wouldn't recognise it anymore.
This part of my ability was absolutely ridiculous and had nigh-endless potential, as I thought about it.
Transforming a living being into a living puppet destroys their conscience. However, I can choose to preserve the subject's mental faculties and memories, creating a puppet that can act independently and even reintegrate into their past life. Still, a personality change will be noticed by others who knew the person or creature previously, as the puppet no longer has a true sense of self and will only strive to fulfil my orders. It was effectively a biological robot rather than a follower or subordinate.
It was this aspect that would allow me to create puppets who can use the Force in the future. Usually, approaching very powerful Force-sensitive corpses wasn't the smartest idea. And I hadn't been able to find any yet. Catching living specimens to turn into puppets was even harder, especially if they were powerful Force users. I could turn Force-sensitive children into puppets, but that was where I drew the line.
Finally, I have a pocket dimension in which I can instantly store any of my puppets and summon them at will. I can also keep materials, devices and tools in this dimension, though no living objects.
Objects stored in this pocket-dimension do not degrade, and I can channel my energy into any stored puppets to upgrade or repair them as if I were touching them.
I can, at will, possess any of my puppets, controlling them as if they were my own body and activating any mechanisms or arrays installed by instinct. Puppet bodies do not possess a sense of pain, although they do have a sense of touch and can tell when the puppet has sustained damage.
This was my favourite aspect of this power. I could essentially take over a puppet and live through it. It was how I came to create Belsarius Cawl, my Star Wars version of Warhammer 40k's Belisarius Cawl. I was a fan of Warhammer 40k in my previous life, and I gained the idea for Cawl from it. What could possibly fit better for someone with the power of puppeteering than to create a puppet version of the Archmagos Dominus of the Adeptus Mechanicus, call him Belsarius Cawl, then take control of the puppet and live my life as him and further my goals?
Now, if the puppet I'm possessing is destroyed, in my case, Belsarius Cawl, I can possess any other puppet outside of my pocket dimension. Should there be no puppets outside of my pocket dimension, or if I choose to, I will instead appear unharmed in a location of my choice that is within 100 meters of the destroyed puppet.
While I possess a puppet, my real body will be moved into your storage dimension; it will neither age nor require sustenance of any kind while in there.