In the sunset rays of the star Coruscant Prime, the Council Chamber was painted in the colors of blood. Through the massive arched window openings of the Chamber, the setting sun cast its rays onto the glossy floor with ancient ornamentation.
Located in the highest tower of the Coruscant Jedi Temple, the Council Chamber today presented a tense spectacle.
In the center of the Chamber, a holographic map of the galaxy slowly rotated. The zones of responsibility of the sector armies were highlighted in various colors. The very latest reconnaissance data, arriving at the Temple in real time, was reflected on this map. As many thousands of years ago, the Temple had become a command center.
Today, the Council had managed to convene almost in full force. Possibly for the first time since the start of the Clone Wars.
Opposite the entrance to the Chamber sat Shaak Ti. The Master, along with Plo Koon and Agen Kolar, had returned from a successful mission.
Depa Billaba was supposed to be seated next to the Togruta, but was on a mission on Mace Windu's homeworld, Haruun Kal.
Her right-hand neighbor was the ever-cheerful Kit Fisto, with his perennial smile on his face. The Nautolan had barely returned from the battle on Mon Calamari, having accomplished something truly unthinkable—reconciling ancient enemies and driving the Quarren Isolation League from the planet.
Next sat Agen Kolar.
Behind him was Adi Gallia, a Tholothian, a recognized master of starfighter combat.
Oppo Rancisis, the most experienced of the Order's strategists, and a practitioner of the ancient art of battle meditation.
Even Piell, a warrior from Lannik, whose scar across his entire face, along with his fierce gaze, struck terror into enemies.
Saesee Tiin, a male of the Iktotchi species, another experienced pilot of the Order.
Ki-Adi-Mundi, a Cerean, a Jedi Guardian.
Yoda, observing them all.
Next to them was the empty seat of Mace Windu, who had departed for his homeworld in search of his missing apprentice.
And closing the circle of participating Masters was Plo Koon, who was to depart in search of a new unknown Separatist weapon that was destroying entire battle groups of Republic ships.
The Jedi were silent. There was no point in saying anything. Watching the map's shimmering, each of them observed how the colors of many star systems changed from blue to red. The Confederacy was advancing, capturing more and more worlds.
"This is the first time I've seen the Republic surrounded by enemies," Oppo Rancisis remarked.
Adi Gallia sadly acknowledged the truth of her colleague's words. The Republic's territory was surrounded on all sides by fronts where thousands of soldiers and civilians were dying every second. Only the borders of Hutt Space and the Unknown Regions were where the Republicans were not conducting combat operations. However, the girl noted another peaceful neighbor of the Galactic Republic: the Hapes Consortium. No attack was expected from there. The ionized nebula made hyperspace travel impossible.
"As always, my friend," Agen Kolar noted.
Almost simultaneously, several warning lights flashed.
"Lantilles," said Shaak Ti.
"Ord Mantell," Plo Koon echoed.
"Taris," Saesee Tiin concluded.
"The headquarters of three sector armies have been attacked," Even Piell summarized. "We are losing the initiative in the war."
"We are unable to conduct large-scale offensives right now," Plo Koon remarked. "We don't have enough troops or ships."
The Lannik, who was never at a loss for words, snorted contemptuously, pointing a finger at the Savarin sector.
"Christophsis," he named the planet that had only recently turned blue. "The lack of support and ships didn't deter Knight Dougan."
"A commendable fact this is," Yoda remarked. "Allies he found on the planet and with their help his victory he secured."
The Lannik rolled his single eye wildly.
"Haven't you watched the HoloNews?" he asked his colleagues. Seeing the negative answer in their silence, the warrior continued. "The people of Christophsis used our old ships to break their blockade."
"Ours?" Gallia asked in surprise.
"Exactly," the Lannik remarked caustically. "Hammerheads and Thrantas, left over from the Mandalorian Wars. And note—we ourselves sold those ships as scrap."
"They are of no value," Ki-Adi-Mundi remarked. "Too old to be put into service."
"Tell that to Admiral Trench, who barely got away," Piell snorted. "Nearly a hundred ships. That's a whole squadron!"
"But they gave those ships to the Republic," Shaak Ti recalled.
"Only to a specific Jedi," Yoda corrected.
"This fact is strange," Oppo Rancisis said. "Why are they so fixated on a specific Jedi?"
"Is there a hidden meaning here?" the Iktotchi suddenly said. Those gathered looked at Tiin, who was scrolling through something on a datapad.
"I'm not saying something is wrong," he hastened to correct himself. "But it all looks too suspicious. I looked up information about him. He spent most of his life in the Unknown Regions. With the start of the war, he disappeared, and returned only two months after the Battle of Geonosis. And right when we felt a rise in the Dark Side in the Unknown Regions. Vokara Che noted that he seemed broken in the Force, but soon he goes to the front, and his first mission is such a stunning success. Where a Master and a Knight with larger forces failed, he destroys Trench's armada in a few months, holds the defense, wins over the local population, captures General Loathsom… May the Force forgive me if I'm wrong, but something is off here."
"This Knight is not the subject of this meeting," Yoda interrupted the dangerous reasoning. Some Masters wanted to object, but seeing the Grand Master's serious expression, they did not dare oppose his will. "The Hutts trouble me," he finally said.
A holographic image of a region of space appeared before the Masters' faces, all too familiar to everyone present.
"Intelligence reports that the Separatists are seeking ways to contact the leaders of the criminal underworld…"
* * *
Count Dooku, the hereditary Count of Serenno, stood silently on a small balcony of one of his estates on his homeworld. Tall, stately, with a neatly trimmed beard, he had always stood out from the general mass of Jedi. With his rebellious nature, his unblinkered view of the world… Perhaps that is why Darth Sidious chose him as his apprentice. And the master was pleased with his apprentice.
The position of the CIS improved every day. The Separatists were advancing, the Republic was defending. Darth Sidious sometimes allowed the Republicans to win, instilling in the Jedi a belief in the possible success of their endeavor. But that was only part of the Plan.
Dooku had wisely chosen his generals and Dark Acolytes.
Sev'rance Tann. A girl from the distant Chiss Ascendancy, as stubborn as she was deadly dangerous. Trained in the Dark Side, she had caused the death of more than one Jedi. She was behind most of the successful operations in the Mid and Outer Rims. Her protégé, Admiral Trench, had caused quite a stir among the Republicans. However, all efforts came to naught when the Jedi once again managed to pull off a trick with an entire fleet. The Chiss, occupied with another operation, took Trench's defeat as a personal insult. The mineral resources accumulated over the six-month siege never departed for the Confederacy's worlds, which was undoubtedly bad. But not critical.
Ventress. A born Jedi hunter. Even failures, such as on Ruul, benefited her. With every mission, the Darkness within her grew, making her even more dangerous.
Kadrian Sey. A Jedi who turned from the Light, possibly even before the Battle of Geonosis. Dooku merely made an offer, and she surrendered to his power.
Tol Skorr. Symbolic that he fell to the Dark Side on the Sith homeworld.
Sora Bulq. The Order's legendary lightsaber combat instructor. Possibly the most valuable acquisition of the CIS, after Tann.
But there were disappointments.
Artel Dark turned out to be too worthless. Dooku removed him from sight, sending him to Dagoo to run a prison.
Karok and Vainok. Good for nothing, exiled to Metalorn, where they met death at the hands of Anakin Skywalker not long ago, just last month.
Saato… time wasted.
Drawing a line in his memory, Dooku could not quite decide on the last one wishing to join. Quinlan Vos.
A Jedi spy, believing that Dooku would believe these pathetic arguments. But too valuable to kill that instant.
"I am here because I betrayed the Republic. I am here because I believe in my ideals…" That's what Vos told him. The Sith almost felt sorry for the boy. The Kiffar was a complex personality: his opinion often diverged from that of the Order. And he acted as he saw fit and right. He disregarded certain tenets of the Code if they conflicted with his habits. His affair with Aayla Secura was whispered about in the Order. Whether it was true or not, no one cared. Everyone had long since decided for them.
Small seeds of the Dark Side will sprout if thrown on suitable soil. The question is, is it worth it? Is a double agent so necessary as to spend so much time on him?
Sidious was sure of it. Something was making the master accelerate events. The Darkness in the Unknown Regions. Sidious decided it was a threat to their power and hastened to bring the front line to the Gordian Reach. The ancient Sith worlds beckoned Sidious and Tyranus. The Jedi had long forgotten them—and what remained, Dooku had erased from the Archives. But in the near future, he could not send a research armada there to fully subjugate the former Sith Space. Some planets already had Separatist forces, but that was not enough. A suitable commander was needed. Perhaps if Ventress could overcome her mania to kill Kenobi and Skywalker, turning routine missions into a personal vendetta, she could be sent there.
Or perhaps recall Sev'rance Tann from the front? The commander of the research armada must be prepared to operate in complete isolation from the rest of the CIS forces. The apparent proximity to Corporate Sector territories only gave a false sense of security. The Impenetrable Caldera was not for nothing a reliable defense for the true Sith for so many years. Or should he choose a commander not sensitive to the Force? One who would not perceive the mission as a return to the roots?
A convenient opportunity to extend Grievous's "probation" period. So far, the cyborg had successfully subdued savages in the Outer Rim. The operations of the "Sinister," although a secret to the Republic, did not impress the CIS leadership with their scale. What are a few battle groups to the Republic?
Hmm… Dooku pondered, listening to the emerging whisper of the Dark Side. The past always held many secrets that the powerful of this world preferred to hide. Like the ruler of Kiffu, Vos's homeworld. Dooku smiled at his thoughts. It was worth checking whether Vos was interested in the secret of his family's death. Besides, Kiffu would be an excellent location for a Separatist base.
Dooku closed his eyes, listening to the flow of the Force. Yes, he would do this himself. The Kiffar would become his acolyte. Such was the will of the Dark Side.