Regarding religious belief and prayer, Garfield only outlined the basic framework of Earth's faiths, focusing mainly on the practice of prayer itself.
He gave Jean Grey several important pointers, chief among them, be concise, be clear, and be sincere when asking for Garfield's help.
He spent so much time explaining that he nearly missed dinner.
After that, Garfield remained silent, continuing his daily routine without comment.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
Meanwhile, in space, a very different story was unfolding.
Though the video of Garfield's outburst in the council chamber had not circulated, rumors and legends spread anyway.
Garfield was instantly elevated to a new tier of myth.
Palpatine, holed up in his basement on Coruscant, sat motionless for hours after hearing that the council's ruling had failed.
His deputy did not dare approach him. Palpatine simply sat there, sulking.
He was angry, yes. But more remarkably, he was fighting to suppress his raging dark forces.
The dark side of the Force was inherently difficult to control.
Add jealousy to the mix, and his power teetered on the edge of a full-blown rampage.
But to avoid detection by the Jedi Order, he had no choice but to struggle against his own nature.
The Force wavered wildly. Palpatine, desperate to maintain control, also found himself venting his fury at his unknown opponent.
This is so hard, he thought.
About ten hours later, exhausted in both body and mind, Palpatine fell asleep in his chair.
When he woke, he was surprised to find his nose congested and runny.
Had he caught a cold?
Good heavens. That hadn't happened once since he began practicing the Force.
A careful examination revealed his significant weakness. He calculated that he would need a long period of recovery.
And simultaneously, based on Garfield's outburst in the council hall, he needed to devise a new plan.
"Send the order," he said. "We are entering an infiltration phase immediately. Cease all activity and await my new plan."
"Yes, Lord Sidious."
Palpatine's obedient reply was so amusing that it genuinely surprised Garfield.
But the Jedi Order's actions surprised Garfield even more.
They actually wanted to learn his lightning-control ability.
Garfield knew exactly where his power came from.
These Jedi Knights believed in the Force, the most primordial force in this universe, which possessed its own consciousness.
The world of Star Wars was not simply a group of street performers with silver glowsticks who had mastered power.
There was far more hidden beneath the surface.
For example, Jedi could be resurrected under certain special conditions. Yoda, even in spirit form, could summon lightning from empty air.
Luke Skywalker used every ounce of his strength to project himself across galaxies, and at the last moment, like Obi-Wan Kenobi, his physical body turned to nothingness.
Garfield felt that the Star Wars universe was somewhat similar to the Lord of the Rings universe, where Gandalf and his companions were gods walking among mortals, with the one God of the Ilúvatar world watching over them.
The Force was the one God of this world.
Its light and dark sides represented life and death. The Jedi and Sith were merely wielders of these powers.
The longer Garfield stayed, the more he felt a sense of being watched.
Was it because this orange cat was cute? Or was it death itself? Or had he invaded the entire world?
He had arrived without warning, caused chaos, and disrupted the original course of history. Garfield suspected he might be a target.
Realizing this, he decided to change his strategy.
He compiled his insights into the Force into a document and gave it to Yoda, along with several important instructions.
"Master Yoda, these materials are for you. Please remember: the forces of darkness are constantly eroding the light in secret. I hope you are aware of this."
"Thank you for your warning, Master Garfield. I will remember it. But rest assured—the Jedi Order is like a fortified fortress."
"Master Yoda, the easiest place to breach a fortress is from within. Beware the corruption of darkness."
Yoda frowned. His nearly thousand-year lifespan allowed him to grasp the deeper, more meaningful implications.
"Thank you, Master Garfield. I understand. When will you be leaving? We will see you off."
Yoda had actually understood his warning. She, that vixen from two years ago, was different.
Garfield stopped hiding. "I will arrange things here and then leave. About a month. Maybe three. After I leave, I will leave a portion of my fleet behind, along with several contingency plans."
"If anything happens to the Jedi Order, you may ask for help. But please remember: this authority is limited to you or Obi-Wan."
Only two people would hold that authority. Yoda did not ask why. He simply nodded heavily. "I understand. Anything else?"
"I will grant Jean Grey a portion of my power. You don't need to worry about that. Just help her if anything happens."
Yoda. "Okay."
Garfield: "You don't need to worry about High claw's operations. I will handle things from here. That is all."
Yoda: "I wonder when Master Garfield will return."
Garfield scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Maybe three to five days. Maybe years. Traveling through time tunnels is very unsafe."
Time tunnels.
In the Star Wars world, everything traveled faster than light.
Space tunnels existed, but those were *space* tunnels. Garfield was talking about *time* tunnels.
Yoda knew the essential difference between the two.
"Master Garfield is indeed formidable. Perhaps we Jedi Knights could try using the time tunnel at the peak of the Force tide."
Garfield simply smiled and said nothing more. He bid Yoda farewell with those two brief words.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
Over the next three months, Garfield upgraded Jean Grey to his follower and bestowed upon her the power of thunder.
To ensure she had a source of power after his departure, Garfield secretly left a clone on one of his industrial planets.
On that planet, Garfield concentrated his entire fleet. For safety, he also cultivated a batch of robotic dogs and birds.
He even used the precious AllSpark energy he had extracted on a Star Destroyer he called the *Hercules*.
That Star Destroyer would be his final trump card.
Before leaving, he also formulated a development plan for the continued expansion of the fleet.
Qui-Gon Jinn was left behind as well, given a special mission… find Godzilla, without participating in the early battles between the Jedi Knights and the Sith.
After arranging everything, Garfield escorted by Jean, Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, young Eggman, and Qui-Gon Jinn, opened a time tunnel and returned to the Marvel Universe.
He had barely arrived home when he heard some bad news...