In the setting rays of the star Coruscant Prime, the Council Chamber was painted in the colors of blood. Through the Council Chamber's massive arched windows, the setting sun cast its light onto the glossy floor adorned with an ancient pattern.
Located in the highest tower of the Coruscant Jedi Temple, the Council Chamber presented a tense sight today.
At the center of the chamber, a holographic map of the galaxy rotated slowly. Various colors marked the sectors of responsibility of the sector armies. This map reflected the freshest intelligence reaching the Temple in real time. Just as thousands of years ago, the Temple had become a command center.
Today the Council had managed to gather in almost full strength. Perhaps for the first time since the Clone Wars began.
Opposite the entrance sat Shaak Ti. The Master had returned from a successful mission along with Plo Koon and Agen Kolar.
Depa Billaba should have occupied the seat beside the Togruta, but she was on a mission to Mace Windu's homeworld—Haruun Kal.
To Shaak Ti's right sat the ever-cheerful Kit Fisto, with his constant smile. The Nautolan had barely returned from the battle of Mon Cala, accomplishing something truly unthinkable: reconciling ancient enemies and driving the Quarren Isolation League off the planet.
Next sat Agen Kolar.
Then Adi Gallia, the Tholothian, a recognized master in starfighter combat.
Oppo Rancisis, the Order's most experienced strategist and a practitioner of the ancient skill of battle meditation.
Even Piell, a warrior from Lannik whose scar across his face, together with his fierce gaze, struck fear into enemies.
Saesee Tiin, the Iktotchi, another experienced pilot of the Order.
Ki-Adi-Mundi, the Cerean Jedi Guardian.
Yoda, watching over them all.
Nearby was Mace Windu's empty seat; he had departed for his homeworld in search of a missing Padawan.
And closing the circle of participating Masters was Plo Koon, who was soon to depart in search of a new, unknown Separatist weapon destroying entire Republic battle groups.
The Jedi were silent. There was no point in saying anything. Watching the rippling map, each of them watched as many star systems shifted from blue to red. The Confederacy was advancing, taking more and more worlds.
"First time I've seen the Republic surrounded by enemies," Oppo Rancisis remarked.
Adi Gallia noted with sadness the truth of her colleague's words. The Republic's territory was ringed on all sides by fronts where thousands of soldiers and civilians died every second. Only Hutt Space—and the Unknown Regions—were the only places where the Republic was not fighting. Still, the woman noted one more peaceful neighbor of the Galactic Republic: the Hapes Consortium. No strike would come from there. The ionized nebula made hyperspace travel impossible.
"As always, my friend," Agen Kolar said.
Almost simultaneously, several warning lights flared.
"Lantillies," Shaak Ti said.
"Ord Mantell," Plo Koon echoed.
"Taris," Saesee Tiin concluded.
"The headquarters of three sector armies have been attacked," Even Piell summed up. "We are losing the initiative in the war."
"We are not able to conduct full-scale offensives right now," Plo Koon said. "We do not have enough troops and ships."
The Lannik, who never minced words, snorted contemptuously and jabbed a finger at the Savareen sector.
"Christophsis," he named the planet that had only recently turned blue. "The lack of support and ships did not trouble Knight Dougan."
"Praiseworthy, this fact is," Yoda observed. "Allies found he on the planet, and with their help his victory he anticipated."
The Lannik spun his single eye furiously.
"Have you not watched the holonews?" he asked his colleagues. Seeing no answer in their silence, the warrior continued. "The people of Christophsis used our old ships to lift the blockade."
"Our?" Gallia asked, surprised.
"Exactly," the Lannik said acidly. "Hammerheads and Thrantas, left over from the Mandalorian Wars. And note this—we ourselves sold those ships as scrap."
"They are of no value," Ki-Adi-Mundi said. "Too old to be put back into service."
"Tell that to Admiral Trench, who barely got away," Piell snorted. "Nearly a hundred ships. That's an entire squadron!"
"But they handed those ships over to the Republic," Shaak Ti recalled.
"To one specific Jedi," Yoda corrected.
"Strange, this fact is," Oppo Rancisis said. "Why are they so fixated on one particular Jedi?"
"Is there not some hidden meaning here?" the Iktotchi suddenly said. Those gathered looked toward Tiin, who was scrolling something on a datapad.
"I am not saying something is wrong," he hurried to add. "But all of this looks too suspicious. I looked up information about him. Most of his life he spent in the Unknown Regions. When the war began, he vanished—and returned only two months after the Battle of Geonosis. And at the same time that, in the Unknown Regions, we felt the dark side growing. Vokara Che noted that he seems shattered in the Force, but soon he goes to the front, and his first assignment is such a staggering success. Where a Master and a Knight with larger forces failed, he, in a few months, destroys Trench's armada, holds the defense, brings the local population to his side, takes General Loathsom captive… May the Force forgive me if I am wrong, but something is not right here."
"Not the subject of this gathering, this Knight is," Yoda cut off the dangerous line of thought. A few Masters wanted to object, but seeing the Grand Master's stern expression, they did not dare oppose his will. "The Hutts trouble me," he finally said.
A holoimage of a region of space appeared before the Masters' faces—far too familiar to all present.
"Intelligence reports that the Separatists are looking for ways to reach the leaders of the criminal underworld…"
***
Count Dooku, hereditary Count of Serenno, stood in silence on a small balcony of one of his mansions on his homeworld. Tall, imposing, with a neatly trimmed beard, he had always stood out among the Jedi. By his defiant nature, by his unblinkered view of the world… Perhaps that was why Darth Sidious chose him as his apprentice. And the Master was pleased with his apprentice.
The CIS position improved with each passing day. The Separatists advanced; the Republic defended. Darth Sidious sometimes allowed the Republic to win, instilling in the Jedi faith in a possible success of their endeavor. But that was only part of the Plan.
Dooku chose his warlords and dark servants well.
Sev'rance Tann. A woman from the distant Chiss Ascendancy, as stubborn as she was lethally dangerous. Trained in the dark side, she had caused the death of more than one Jedi. She stood behind most of the successful operations in the Mid Rim and Outer Rim. Her protégé, Admiral Trench, caused no small amount of trouble for the Republic. Still, all efforts came to nothing when the Jedi once again managed to pull a stunt involving an entire fleet. The Chiss, occupied with another operation, took Trench's defeat as a personal insult. The useful minerals accumulated over half a year of siege never left for Confederate worlds, which was, without a doubt, bad. But not critical.
Ventress. A born hunter of Jedi. Even failures, like on Ryloth, benefited her. With each assignment, the darkness in her grew, making her even more dangerous.
Kadrian Sey. A Jedi who turned from the light—perhaps even before the Battle of Geonosis. Dooku merely made the offer, and she surrendered herself 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. Perhaps the CIS's most valuable acquisition after Tann.
But there were disappointments as well.
Artel Darc proved too worthless. Dooku removed him from sight and sent him to Dagobah to run a prison.
Karoc and Vainok. Good-for-nothing, exiled to Metalorn—where death found them at the hands of Anakin Skywalker, not long ago, just last month.
Saa'to… time wasted.
Drawing a line in his mind, Dooku still could not decide about the last of those wishing to join: Quinlan Vos.
A Jedi spy, believing that Dooku would accept those pathetic arguments. But too valuable to kill on the spot.
"I am here because I betrayed the Republic. I am here because I believe in my ideals…" That was what Vos told him. The Sith almost pitied the boy. The Kiffar was a complicated person: often his views did not align with the Order's, and he acted as he believed necessary and right. He disregarded certain tenets of the Code when they clashed with his habits. Whispers spread through the Order about his romance with Aayla Secura. 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 they are thrown onto suitable soil. The only question is whether it is worth it. Is a double agent truly necessary to spend so much time on?
Sidious was certain it was. Something was forcing the Master to accelerate events. The darkness in the Unknown Regions. Sidious decided it was a threat to their power, and he urged pushing the front line toward the Gordian Reach. The Sith core worlds beckoned Sidious and Tyranus. The Jedi had long forgotten them—and what remained, Dooku erased from the Archives. But in the near term he could not send an exploration armada there to fully subjugate the former Sith Space. Some planets already held Separatist forces, but that was not enough. A suitable commander was needed. Perhaps if Ventress could rid herself of her mania to kill Kenobi and Skywalker—turning routine missions into a personal vendetta—she could be sent there.
Or should Sev'rance Tann be recalled from the front? The commander of an exploration armada must be ready to act in full isolation from the rest of the CIS. The seeming closeness to Corporate Sector territory bred only false confidence. The impenetrable caldera had not served as a reliable shield for the true Sith for so many years for nothing. Or should a commander be chosen who is not sensitive to the Force—someone who will not take the mission as a return to roots?
A convenient occasion to extend General Grievous's "probation." Up to now the cyborg had successfully pacified savages in the Outer Rim. The operations of the Invisible Hand, though remaining secret from the Republic, still did not satisfy the CIS leadership in scale. What is a handful of battle groups to the Republic?
Hmm… Dooku pondered, listening to the whisper of the dark side that had risen. The past always held many secrets that the powerful preferred to keep hidden. Like the ruler of Kiffu, Vos's homeworld. Dooku smiled at his thoughts. It is worth checking whether Vos is interested in the secret of his family's death. Besides, Kiffu would be an excellent place for a Separatist base.
Dooku closed his eyes, listening to the flow of the Force. Yes. He would do it himself. The Kiffar would become his acolyte. Such is the will of the dark side.