Was that emotion part of the battle, or did Tan'nya speak truthfully about Dathomir being touched by the dark side? Savage swung his halberd taking advantage of its longer reach. Khae ducked and weaved to avoid his blows all while attacking the Zabrak's hands. I had no time to watch, though, as Tan'nya swung towards me, and I dodged her deadly beam.
Focusing on Tan'nya, I swept one of my vibroblades out in a feint, using the other to strike at her right arm, the same arm she was holding her lightsaber with.
Tan'nya stepped backwards to dodge both strikes and swept her lightsaber through the second blade as if to cut it in two.
When the two met, the lightsaber sparked and hissed, and the golden beam vanished.
"Huh," I observed intelligently, glancing at my blades. Bo gifted me these vibroblades back when I finished her training, was there something special about them? I advanced a step to press my advantage, but an invisible wall of Force slowed me.
"A pair of cortosis vibroblades. Where. Did. You. Get. Those. Blades?!" Tan'nya ground out, emphasizing each word, her face a mask of rage, and she held her left hand out. I felt a pressure on my neck as I was lifted off the ground. My hands went to my neck, trying to oppose her grasp on me. However, there was nothing to grasp, the Force was invisible and intangible, yet it surrounded me as it choked the air from my throat. I could do nothing to prevent it.
Khae screamed, and I heard her hit the tree next to us. She shifted, but didn't get up. Without missing a beat, Savage advanced on her and brought his foot down on her chest. He kicked her armor a few times, before plucking her vibroblade from her grasp. Painful, oxygen-deprived seconds passed as I was held in midair, and I heard my vibroblades clatter to the ground. I hadn't let go. My fingers failed to maintain their grasp.
"Stop playing with your kill and finish her." Tan'nya snarled at him. Savage rolled his eyes and grunted in acknowledgment, hefting his halberd and raising it high.
"No!" I managed, but it was more of a whisper than a yell. My throat barely worked, and I desperately wished my gauntlets had more offensive capabilities. I strained against the Force holding me, useless as it was. The strike swung true — something in the Force responded.
The halberd strike missed Khae, sliding into the ground right beside her. "Kriff! Fragging witch!" Savage roared, now upset. He moved to kick her, seemingly unaware she wasn't responsible.
"How fascinating." An imperious and unfamiliar voice called out, coldly interrupting us. Yet, the speaker was not completely foreign. I recognized her from somewhere. I tried to recall where I could place it. But my exhausted and depleted mind just fed me useless glimpses of memories; instead of her name, I recalled gleaming durasteel and cold glass in a dark rainstorm. In the rain was the body of one of my subordinates, dead.
"Your attachment to your subordinates will be useful." Her words jarred me back to my present asphyxiation. Both Savage and Tan'nya stilled at her voice, so she clearly outranked them.
The woman approached and pulled my helmet off, grabbing my chin. She twisted me around, to look me in the eyes. Her own red eyes held great interest, and after a moment, I felt my throat open, the Force holding it unconstricted. I gasped a breath of fresh air, taking in my surroundings, and noticing her characteristically Chiss-blue skin tone and dark outfit for the first time. Sev'rance Tann. No longer starved for oxygen, I recognized her.
I would have taken a swing at her, but Tan'nya had already secured my arms behind my back. So I just jerked in my bindings uselessly. Tann grabbed hold of my head with both her hands, and she stared into my eyes for a long time. I stared back, defiant. What greater evil could this bitch do to me that Being X hadn't inflicted on me long ago.
Suddenly, I felt a profound sense of vertigo, as if I was falling in an indeterminate void of space, and my body jerked to resist it. When I recovered, Tann wore a broad smile of triumph.
"Very strong for a force-sensitive, judging by that reaction." She mused aloud, walking over to Khae's fallen form.
"What are you talking about?" I coughed out, still weak and confused, taking in small gasps of air.
"A force-sensitive mind will automatically defend itself from mental intrusion. It's a crude tool to determine whether someone is force sensitive or not. The Jedi rely on more sensitive tests, and Midi-chlorians certainly have their uses, but none of the feeble-minded are worth the effort of training."
I barely heard a word that Tann just said. I sat in a stupor as the enormity of the disaster crashed into my exhausted body.
Tann took a knee and grabbed Khae's bound form, removing her helmet. She performed the same test, and I was able to watch it from another perspective. Nothing happened at first, and a long minute passed, while I regathered my wits. Without preamble or warning, Khae shuddered loudly and flinched violently in her bonds.
"Wonderful." Tann mused, standing up and dusting herself off. "Two for the price of one, quite an excellent haul, my apprentice. Your plan worked splendidly."
"You honor me with your patronage, master." She said above me, the slight change in her tone indicating that she gave a nod halfway through the words.
"Return to the Infiltrator and prepare the cloaking field. I'll take care of the prisoners." Tann said, as she walked over to me.
I felt a cold piece of metal, the barrel of a blaster, on my neck right before it went off.
Raxus Secundus, Mandalore Diplomatic Residence
Korkie Kryze
Straightening my collar, I looked over at Soniee for support. I had discussed the general shape of the idea during many of our nights together. Initially, I wanted to propose something much bolder, a sweeping set of rules and protections against the ravages of the war. However, no one I spoke to said such a thing was possible, given that protecting civilians or prioritizing the natural environment might compromise the war effort. Soniee smiled and gave me a thumbs up, reassuring me that this proposal was a step in the right direction.
Meeting with me was a mixed group of Senators. Mixed in not only their species, but in a factional sense. Not only the Parliamentarians, but also many Senators from the broader Peace Faction, and several independent Senators who were from worlds ravaged by military decisions. A significant number of Senators were upset with Dooku's control over the military and their actions, as well as their inaction over the last year. Muunilinst, for example, was once a lush world, still only in the hands of the CIS by Durge's decision to rain nuclear fire on the invaders, it was a prime exemplar of the ravages of war. In addition, some of the frontier worlds were represented as well, other worlds that had also been on the front line of combat and had experienced some of the worst ecological disasters because of it.
The last group weren't particularly upset at Dooku in particular, but with a little push, perhaps I could accomplish something.
Clearing my throat, I stood up. "Thank you, Senators, for coming to this meeting. I know you all have busy schedules, but for the betterment of the galaxy, I'm glad that we are having a conversation."
"Better be a good conversation." The Gotal Senator said near the back. They were a tall species, with distinctive twin conical horns and their sensitivity to electricity. Their fur would rise near electrical sources. He was leaning back on his chair as he appeared to be inspecting his thick nails. "I only came because I was promised that there would be drinks when this was over." Right, their homeworld of Antar 4 was conquered by the Separatists early in the war.
"There will." I chuckled. "I did prepare a proper catering service for this, if all you leave with a full stomach, then at least something good came out of this conversation."
There were a healthy number of groans and good-natured chuckles, which was a positive sign.
"If I haven't had a chance to meet you before today, good morning, I'm Korkie Kryze. I'm an official observer from Mandalore and representative for the Council of Neutral Systems. As a neutral third party in the current war, we don't favor either side, but instead are the champions of life and liberty of sophonts everywhere. We offer aid where we can, but in warfare we cannot, and I have grown concerned over the welfare of soldier's over the past few months."
"What I speak of is not battlefields, the price of defeat or victory, but of the aftermath. Crimes against soldiers. Regular battlefield executions rather than taking prisoners. Droid commanders treating the ground troops and clones as no different from droids, and executing them instead of taking prisoners."
"The Confederacy Navy grants its commanders significant autonomy. You, Senators, thus have a position of great influence and can put a halt to this rash behavior. It only encourages the Republic to treat your forces with the same indiscretion."
"Yeah, that's kind of what war is." A taller Gran in the back of the room shouted up to me. I always found their three eyes striking on their own, but the man was also well-dressed, albeit strangely. Topped by a fine red and brown fedora, as well as richly decorated robes with a sash, but all of it was antiquated and at least two fashions out of date. It was from a style already out of favor before I arrived at Raxus. Either he was from some truly backwater colony, or had fallen on rather hard times and couldn't afford the latest fashions; possibly both.
He coughed loudly, "What do you expect us to do? Take the clones as prisoners? We can't even get food to all our people."
I cleared my throat, "I have also read the latest public reports on the Shadowfeed, including how General Grievous disfavors droids and prefers to deploy living warriors among his forces. The First Fleet contains many organic soldiers. They are the conscripted SDF's and homeworld guards of many systems. Droids can be easily replenished, but are you prepared to draft your citizens to replace your soldiers? The majority are now at risk of being executed in the aftermath of a battle they manage to survive, because of this precedent. So you see, this new danger is why this matter is a crisis, and this crisis is what brings me here today."
The Gran was displaying an emotion that I didn't recognize. Was that expression shock, or worry, maybe? He finally responded, "I wasn't aware of that, I thought we were only deploying droids."
717 FNM (21 BBY) Month 10
Raxus Secundus, Mandalore Diplomatic Residence
Soniee Carid
I entered the manse, and I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
I reflected on today's luncheon gathering that I attended with Korkie. However, it went well, at least as far as I could tell.
I was just homesick, probably. Sundari felt very far away.
When I left on my own an hour ago, Korkie's last message asked if I was feeling okay. I hadn't replied yet and didn't want him to worry, so I didn't linger in the lobby. I entered the elevator and went to the top floor.
"Any way I can help? I thought you were making progress." I greeted Korkie, as I entered his office. He was hunched over his desk, with at least two different datapads visible on the desk. It looks like one of their contents was duplicated onto the larger screen above the desk.
He paused from reading to turn towards me and smile. "The HoloNet connection has already proved very helpful." It still couldn't browse the full HoloNet, but I had managed to slice in enough to add capabilities to send and receive data files through the active comlink. "Yes, the gatherings and luncheons with various factions in Parliament are going well. I've convinced some of them to at least treat their prisoners better. But I fear them backsliding the moment we finish this campaign. How are you?"
"Fine. What about your aunt and sister's suggestion?" I asked. Last time the four of us had talked, on my very illegal HoloNet network receiver, Tanya's droid, X4 had recited the Republic's many telecommunications laws to me. However, Tanya had also suggested a treaty could make the reforms stick. Satine had been quick to suggest the CNS could help observe and enforce the treaty was being followed, and possibly oversee prisoner's directly if necessary.
"Some of it's not workable, I'm not sure the CIS would go for having captured clones be sent to prisoner of war encampments in CNS territory. However, the general framework seems sound, so I'm drafting something. The Parliamentarians have been giving me helpful feedback. What about you? Just fine?"
"I guess I am a bit homesick." I admitted, grabbing one of the comfy chairs, and dragging it closer to Korkie. I looked at the document he was writing in front of me.
"The New Mandalorian Codex, huh?" I read the title aloud with a raised eyebrow. "Do I have to worry about you having a secret identity anytime soon?"
"Just a bad idea, to let off some steam." He touched another data file on the datapad, and the treaty draft I recognized re-appeared.
"No, wait, let me read the other one. Now I'm curious."
However, my comlink lit up with an urgent message. Natalya's urgent message. The message was about Tanya, Korkie's younger sister. "Korkie, Tanya's been abducted. What does that mean for us?" I worried aloud.
I looked up to see an identical message on Korkie's datapad. His face tightened with concern, but he moved with purpose. "For family, I'd do anything." He said, softening at the end, already calling up a Shadowfeed holo with the Duchess.
Raxus Secundus, Dooku's Palace
Count Dooku
I glanced at the most recent report that Grievous smuggled out to my spies. The First Fleet was beyond the Confederacy's supply lines, Grievous would have to rely on his own skills to scavenge and pillage what he must. "The Pillage of Humberine" the Republic HoloNet was screaming in the headlines. And it would be so until the Perlemian and hope of resupply from friendly forces. The Jedi and the Republic were so busy they weren't even noticing what I was doing on the other side of the Galaxy.
My analysis was interrupted by one of my pilot droids, a wheeled Sullustan model. The brown and copper striped droid entered the room. It was time, I had to attend an important Parliament session today. One of the rare sessions of Parliament, one with genuine significance.
It was quite a large assembly. However, I indicated through the holographic interface that I was not available to attend in person today. They did not deserve my presence, and I longed to end this farce of a democracy. When our Triumvirate was strong enough, we would.
I searched the assembly and looked towards the observer's booth, but it was empty. Turning to the droid, I asked, "Where is the representative of Mandalore?"
The droid checked its memory banks, visibly pausing as it accessed distant records. "Operatives report Prince Korkie Kryze has left the Raxus System. Retail Caucus satellites confirm his ship transited Estaria before re-entering hyperspace. They jumped south on the Perlemian Trade Route. I calculate there is a ninety-nine-point-eight-five percent chance their final destination is Mandalore."
"Did the Anteevian representative go with them, or stay behind?"
"Retail Caucus surveillance confirms she boarded their ship prior to departure. After boarding, Natalya Volkova has not been positively identified on any confederacy systems."
Good. If he uses the CNS to try and find her, that'll make my gambit here even more believable.
Turning back to the holographic projection, I hit a button that would allow me to speak to the gathered assembly. Clearing my throat, I said, "Honored Representatives and Senators, Executive Council members, and fellow citizens, I come before you today with an announcement, with a denouncement."
The crowd hushed as they listened, which was good. I still had them under my control.
"Elements declaring themselves the 'Dentari Collective' have acted without sanction and have involved the CNS in our conflict. Their leaders colluded with corrupt military officials on the Mandalorian world of Alzar to overthrow their legitimate government. In the process, the Dentari also colluded to abduct the Mandalorian Senator and spread their war to the CIS. We have no war with the Neutral Systems, we have no war with Mandalore. Our adversary remains the Republic, a decrepit and corrupt institution that is spreading its influence through its force of arms. I request the Dentari Collective cease their conflict on Alzar. The CIS does not wish to further or spread their war any further, and we demand the swift release of Mandalorian Senator Kryze."
There was clapping and applause, though it was rather shallow. The condemnation meant that the CIS would not invade the CNS. We would still continue to supply the Dentari Collective with resources and droids. And when they decided to send those droids to attack the CNS, they would receive condemnation. But this was all for show, there would be no sanctions or consequences, we needed many more worlds like Alzar.
I waited for the assembly to calm down. A few Senators of systems in the Dentari Collective looked unhappy, but most of the crowd, which had probably been worried about war with the CNS, seemed to have calmed down. However, I noticed that the Executive Council members were not happy. No doubt they were expecting to receive large paydays as they expanded into CNS territory. Unfortunately, I was not willing to have that war yet, especially with reports that they were growing in strength. Let the Dentari Collective grind itself against them for a bit. Let us find out how strong the CNS really was.
Once I was sure that they were compliant, I continued speaking. "The Dentari crisis presents a new question for the CIS and more specifically, us, members of Parliament. Where are our Guardians of the Separatist Alliance? Where are our knights of peace, dispensing justice to distant conflicts, such as Dentari?"
"My announcement is legislation that will create a formalized order of Force-sensitives: The Triumvirate Order. Empowered with capabilities the Jedi lack, this Order will do what the Jedi couldn't — bringing peace and stability to the CIS. Led by three masters, it will answer only to the Bylaws and not individual politicians or systems. The Triumvirate Order will be our vigilant guardians, our watchful shepherds, above the fray of politics."
There was some cheering, which I let pass before I continued. "Of course, I will be a Grandmaster of this order. But there will be other leaders. Two other Masters to form a triumvirate of Grandmasters for this new Order. One shall be my own apprentice for this long conflict, Asajj Ventress. She has served the CIS well, and putting her in charge of the chance to grow our Order is a worthy reward for her efforts. She will focus on discovering new force-sensitives, recruiting, and building out training academies."
It also puts a crimp in any plans for Sidious to have Ventress removed. Oh sure, he could still use bounty hunters to move against her, but she would have the power and resources to escape quite easily now.
"The other Master of this new Order will be Sev'rance Tann. Tann will be the first Director-General of the newly formed CIS High Command. Its purpose will be to direct the defense of the CIS, and her first mission will be to integrate the power of the Triumvirate into the fleets. Tann will develop new roles for Force-sensitives, develop new strategies and tactics for our forces. As the Dentari Collective dispute falls within this organization's new mission, it will also be her first test. I have full confidence that Tann will bring the Collective to heel!"
There was much more applause for Tann. She was a respected figure in some military circles. It was a dangerous game I was playing there, but by raising her up to my exact level as a Master, I could claim that I didn't know what her plans were for Tanya. Of course, I was very familiar with all the plans. Tann may be a Master, but I was still the Grandmaster of this Order.
We would abandon the Rule of Two. We didn't have time nor opportunity to waste with a single apprentice per Master. To start with, each Master would have three apprentices, and each apprentice could have up to three acolytes. It could be expanded from there depending on the results.
I let the applause continue before I finished off my speech. "This new Order will not be used as a weapon against systems to keep them in line, it will respect and strengthen law and order in our society. The main goal for this order is the pursuit of enlightenment. My hope is to establish relations with other like-minded Orders of Force users to grow this pursuit so that this new Order can not only be the shield protecting the weak but also a helping hand to raise the weak up."
The other Orders I was referring to were not so free from the CIS, as I was making it seem. Sora Bulq had come to me with a proposal for a new Dark Jedi Order within the CIS territory. One that would be backed by a clone army of its own. Since the effectiveness of the Republic's was so great, the CIS was interested in having one of their own. Though we were using a different species than Mandalorians for our efforts, I left the majority of the operations to him on that, simply because what I didn't know, Palpatine didn't know.
Nikkos Tyris was the other leader of an Order who was operating outside my purview. An ally of the CIS, though his order was far more secretive. Oddly, he managed to decrypt some ancient information about Darth Sidious's ways and the teachings of the Sith. He had come across lost knowledge within the Jedi Library. Knowledge that made him believe that the Sith were the true Jedi, and the Jedi had stolen all their gifts from them. I haven't investigated the lore for myself, but I would take an ally where I could get one.
After submitting the legislation to Parliament, I awaited the vote and watched the holoprojector. The vote was merely a formality, the necessary arrangements had been made. It was so tedious, waiting for the results.
Instead, I longed to see Palpatine's reaction to my announcements, imagining the look on his face and the sound of his voice. But alas, droids were already tirelessly disassembling and removing the delicate components of the relays and secret transmitters. My secret HoloNet connection was now defunct, a void in intel that was already complicating my plans. So I imagined him raging at that dead connection, his panic as he realized he didn't control the future. That I am my own Master now. A genuine smile appeared on my face for that moment.