70 Fallout

Part 1

=RK=

Chancellor's office

Senate building

Coruscant

Palpatine sat stiffly behind his desk. He had plastered a grave expression on his face and for once it was genuine. It was four hours since he gave the orders to burn Atrisia – that by itself was of no consequence besides the political complications. Some of those were already at hand – Organa had sniffed that something was wrong and more or less invited himself after Kenobi arrived. There were already rumors about Atrisia and the media was making things even more complicated. There were dozens of experts on the networks discussing what the local reporters were sending before Veil's fleet jammed communications. The loss of contact was a dead giveaway that something had gone even more wrong and Palpatine had to fend off a lot of questions from concerned Senators. That was one of the main reasons why the Chancellor didn't kick Organa out of his office. Palpatine would need all the help and allies he could get in order to mitigate the fallout.

However, the political complications were becoming a secondary concern. The last call from the fleet was that they were moving to neutralize the Atrisian Navy and dispose of Crimson. Now, four hours later, that whole system was silent like a graveyard. No one was answering the hails. For all Palpatine knew, Veil had managed to get himself killed and that kriffed up plague was free.

The massive disturbance in the Force he felt a few hours ago didn't help matters. The only reason Sidious wasn't exposed then was because Yoda had been severely affected by the backslash too. The Chancellor somehow managed to keep a strained smile on his face, while his other guests were busy checking on the Jedi.

It had been a very close call. Even now, Sidious could still feel furious scream echoing through the Force. It was drowning everything and even if he dared try with Yoda around, the Sith was doubtful he would have been able to divine anything useful.

Palpatine's only consolation was being able to watch the Jedi Master's mortification and Organa's sick fascination, when Zash explained to the Senator who she was, where she came from and exactly what she knew about Crimson and why sterilizing Atrisia was the only sane course of action. Unfortunately it didn't take the Alderaanian too long to become indignant and declare that any of this wouldn't have been needed if Palpatine had only warned everyone about the plague.

The Chancellor had to suppress a snort at that suggestion.

"Really, Senator? Do you honestly believe than any of the system defense navies would burn a significant chunk of a continent, perhaps their whole world on our say so? While I'm convinced that Crimson is as grave threat as our fragmentary records and Veil's and Zash's first hand accounts suggest, I'm not ready to risk the whole galaxy on the belief that everyone would believe us." Sidious countered.

"At least a warning would have allowed for a partial evacuation!" Organa exclaimed.

"It would also give Crimson a window of opportunity to leave an infected planet and spread further." Zash countered in a bored tone. "That critter is one of the worst things the Empire managed to create. Killing a world to contain it – that's a reason for celebration. The alternative is that all of us end up eaten."

This was going nowhere. For more than an hour they have been speaking in circles. Organa simply refused to believe that Crimson was terrible enough to condemn a whole world without trying to save as much of the population as possible. Palpatine was sure that a lot of Senators and citizens would agree, just to make his life more difficult. He contemplated creating his Empire earlier to cut down the need to explain himself to idealistic fools.

The Chancellor's comm beeped and Palpatine hurried to activate it. The image of an unknown middle aged man in Corellian uniform appeared. The human looked like he had gone a few rounds as a stress relief to a furious Sith.

"Sir, I'm Commander Rostek Horn and I'm the acting commander of the containment fleet."

"I see. Report." Palpatine spoke curtly. The Sith didn't like the implications even if they might mean that Veil was no longer around to complicate things.

"Atrisia has been sterilized. Their Navy is neutralized – either disabled or destroyed. As far as we can determine, no ship made it past our blockade, unfortunately we have no way of knowing how many left before our arrival. Crimson might still be in play. Sir, it's my recommendation that any ship that might have come from Atrisia be placed under quarantine or destroyed it the crew doesn't comply." The commander paused for breath. "I don't know how that thing did it, but it struck at the whole fleet as we were commencing the bombardment. Most of our ships aren't combat effective due to severe casualties among the command and engineering crews as well as various failures in multiple systems, some both. We've lost two cruisers with all hands and I'm still waiting for a complete casualty list. I have to report the loss of the cruisers Indomitable and Fearless. Further, before we reached the planet, the Atrisians activated their planetary shields and forced the general to deploy forces to the surface. 361st Armored Brigade and 98th Assault Division led by Jedi Master Halcyon engaged the Atrisian Forces defending the generators. They succeeded in disabling them, however all perished in the bombardment."

"This are grave news. What is the status of general Veil and admiral Holt?" Palpatine asked.

"Unconscious with possible brain damage along with most of the command staff. At least they didn't appear insane like a lot of the others." Horn answered.

"What in the name of the Force happened there?!" Kenobi exclaimed.

"I believe we all severely underestimated what that thing can do, sir. I watched it pull Fearless out of orbit to crash on the surface." The commander shuddered.

"What help do you need?" Kenobi asked.

"As many medical and repair ships you can spare, sir."

The news at least made Organa shut up. The Chancellor sat frozen in his seat while his mind raced. Mere hours after reaching Atrisia, Crimson had gotten at least as strong as he was, perhaps more. Sidious knew that if he went all out he might be able to pull a ship out of orbit and crush the minds of the crew of a whole fleet. It was another question if he would be able to do anything with the Force for weeks after that.

Crimson being a hive-mind probably didn't have such limitations as long as it had biomass to turn into nerve clusters to use. At least that's what Zash said. While Palpatine had been tempted by the opportunities such capability presented, he was glad he decided not to sent people to retrieve a sample of the plague, just to watch Veil and determine if Crimson was truly as bad as portrayed.

Now the Chancellor had his answer.

"Commander Horn, I'll personally make sure that all available support is dispatched to your location with all due haste." Palpatine declared. "I'll also ensure than no ship form Atrisia will have the chance to infect another world." The Chancellor looked at Kenobi. "Make it so, general. Senator Organa, I'll be giving a press conference as soon as we have a more comprehensive report and then addressing the Senate. With Crimson possibly still a threat, we need to act swiftly. I'd appreciate your support in convincing the Republic at large of the danger we might still be facing..."

=RK=

Part 2

GNN Studio

Coruscant

"We're live in ten!"

Victoria Halcyon straightened up and summoned her best smile. She was pretty sure it looked quite fake despite her efforts. Watching the Chancellor's press conference less than an hour ago rattled her. Even with the war going on for more than a year now, the instances where whole planets were rendered uninhabitable were very rare, and all of those happened in the Outer Rim.

Atrisia was different. A developed world right here in the Core. Even worse, it wasn't enemy action that murdered a whole planet. It was the GAR under the direct orders of the Chancellor. She knew that right now Palpatine was busy explaining himself to the Senate. Her job was going to be to try explaining what the death of Atrisia meant to the average citizen.

Victoria was unfortunate enough to catch a glimpse of footage released by the Navy. What little she saw while preparing made her sick. It also infuriated her because the very existence of such a threat had been concealed. To prevent panic. The journalist found it hard to believe.

Halcyon slowly breathed in, then exhaled.

"Good evening, Coruscant. I'm Victoria Halcyon with a special edition of the Galaxy at War." A whole world just died, yet she had to pretend that it was just business like usual.

"And I'm Brosk Tonfa. Today we'll be discussing the tragedy that struck Atrisia and what it means for the galaxy at large."

"At eleven SGT last night, a frigate carrying deadly plague was shot down while making a run to Atrisia. Unfortunately the local authorities were unaware of the nature of the danger at that time..." Victoria began summarizing.

When she was done, a holographic window appeared between her and Brosk. It began playing choice pieces of the Chancellor's interview. Victoria knew that Palpatine's words scrolled down the screens of trillions for a bigger impact. She could imagine it.

"Extremely dangerous sapient Force Sensitive plague… More virulent than the Blue Shadow… Potential threat of extinction… Will take any necessary measures to protect the Republic from Another Atrisia…"

The whole thing sickened Victoria, even if she knew where the Chancellor was coming from.

"Earlier today, GNN received exclusive recordings from the containment fleet sent to stop the plague dubbed Crimson-71. I need to warn you, what you're going to see is disturbing." Brosk looked severe.

More windows appeared. Victoria glanced at the most convenient one and soon blanched.

A Bith man in captain's uniform stood on the bridge of a Republic ship. Captions dubbed him Jell Noona of the Fearless.

The captain was speaking quietly in an almost detached manner, however those familiar with his species would be able to hear a lot of unease in his voice.

"The planetary shield is going down, captain!" The sensor operator said.

"Good. It's our turn now. Commence bombardment. Concentrate on Meinuan City until its gone..."

The roar of alarms interrupted Noona. The ship shook and he was thrown to his knees.

"Status report! What hit us?!" The captain shouted.

"Nothing we can detect! Sir, we're being pulled towards the planet!" Someone off screen exclaimed.

"Engines to full military power! Redline the reactors if you have to! If we go down we're all dead!" Noona snapped.

The ship shook harder this time. Victoria could hear the sound of screaming metal and anyone not strapped in was thrown around the bridge like ragdolls. Noona slammed headfirst in a console and fell. The captain's neck was twisted in an unnatural angle and he didn't move again.

There was more screaming. Frantic orders from the XO – a scarred Clone. They were followed by frantic shouts when the ship couldn't be stabilized. There were more grating sounds of tortured metal, then a call to abandon ship. Someone shouted that escape pods were being pulled towards Atrisia and then the recording ended in static to be replaced by a sensor feed from another ship.

In the last year Victoria had seen enough sensor images to recognize what was happening. The Fearless was spinning out of control and heading straight towards the planet.

The picture changed again. It was the bridge of the Magnificent. All the visible crew were Clones this time. The captain was on his knees and in such a position that the camera caught his face. He was bleeding from the nose, eyes and ears. Most of the visible crew were in similar state with the exception of three people. One was busy working at a console and was paying no real attention to the wounded around him. Another was clawing at his face and it was obvious he had been able to tear out one of his eyes. A third Clone was struggling with the madman in a valiant attempt to prevent him from injuring himself further.

The feed changed to the engineering of the same ship. A few people were laying in pools of their own blood, while others were busy tearing each other apart. A Clone was kneeling over another one who was catatonic with blood leaking from his eyes and was busy gnawing on the man's shoulder.

There were shouts to stop the madness, blue stun-bolts and then a group of armored Clones stormed the compartment.

Another ship – the Pillar of Victory was next. Everyone on the bridge was busy fighting each other, while in engineering a handful of sane people were trying to restrain the rest.

Next was a long corridor. It was full of corpses – some partially eaten and all covered in gore. A squad of Clones appeared and opened fire on a handful of crazy looking men wielding wrenches and was that a torn off arm?!

Victoria averted her eyes. Suddenly she was glad she couldn't see the rest of the recordings. What she witnessed earlier wasn't nearly this bad.

"We still have no solid information on how many servicemen fell to the plague. The preliminary reports released stated at least ten thousand officers were casualties, but didn't go into details how many were dead, injured or driven insane. Further, twenty two thousand Clones led by Jedi Master Nejaa Halcyon from Corellia perished while successfully disabling Atrisia's planetary shield. The civilian casualties are estimated as total. According to the last census, thirty two billion people lived on Atrisia." Borsk's voice was hollow.

While much more people died on Christophsis, that planet wasn't destroyed and in time could recover. More importantly, it wasn't a Core World but in the Outer Rim close to Hutt Space.

What happened to Atrisia simply hit closer to home.

"The news has been out for a handful of hours and there are already protests here on Coruscant." Victoria forced herself to keep her fake smile on and continue to speak calmly. "Many people want to know why the Republic at large wasn't warned about Crimson. Why more ships haven't been dispatched to the region. Why was there no attempt to evacuate any of the population before placing them under quarantine to see if they've been exposed to the plague or not?" Something snapped within Victoria and she went off scrip.

Brosk glanced at her, but remained silent and just kept his professional expression on. The producer for some reason didn't stop her either. That heartened Victoria and she carried on with her improvisation. Besides it was too late to stop now.

"Just as importantly, how long did the government and GAR know about Crimson? Where did it came from? Its painfully obvious that elements within the armed forces were aware of its existence and ready to respond. A containment fleet led by general Veil arrived at Atrisia mere hours after the initial outbreak. How did he know to go there? What else hasn't the Chancellor revealed? I'm sure that those are questions we are all asking ourselves and I hope that the Chancellor gives a satisfactory answer to the Senate."

=RK=

Victoria expected at lest some fallout from her actions. A reprimand from her producer, perhaps being quietly removed from her lucrative position as an anchor of The Galaxy at War and an on and off news anchor.

What the Journalist didn't expect was a major story literally falling in her lap as a kind of reward.

"Victoria, we'll be talking about this later." Her producer gave her an exasperated look. "You get yourself freshened up. We got a guest who enjoyed your antics and demanded that you interview her. She knows more about Crimson." He nodded towards a dark corner in the back.

Victoria looked that way and frowned. There was nothing ther… A woman with shoulder length graying red hair stepped forward and practically materialized from the shadows.

"Those are some good questions, Miss Halcyon. I'm sure the Chancellor will be called to answer them." The woman smiled pleasantly. "I'm doctor Zash and I'm familiar with Crimson."

Victoria perked at that admission.

"Did you work on that thing?!" She couldn't help herself and exclaimed.

"Oh, no. I have nothing to do with that debacle besides helping clean up the mess. My story is even weirder." The older woman smiled mysteriously.

That's how Victoria found herself back in the studio conducting a live interview.

"Good afternoon, Coruscant. I'm Victoria Halcyon. With me is doctor Zash, who can shed some light on Crimson-71."

"It's a pleasure to be here, Victoria. Its a new experience." The doctor smiled widely.

"Please tell us something about yourself, doctor." Victoria smiled back.

"My story is no less strange than that of general Veil." There was a lot of amusement in Zash's voice. "Seeing him be a part of the Republic armed forces is certainly a big and unexpected surprise."

"How so? I take it the two of you have history together?" Victoria leaned forward. This was going to be good, she could practically feel the scoop.

"Of course we do!" Zash laughed in delight. "A long time ago we worked together for the Sith Empire."

That wasn't something Victoria expected. She blinked in confusion before her mind could reboot.

"That's certainly a bold claim, doctor."

"One that can be confirmed by both general Veil and the Chancellor's office. It was not too long ago when Delkatar stumbled on one of my research labs where I managed to get myself into stasis and slept away a few millennia. After he saved me we talked about the old days. I knew of a few sites where the Empire was committing questionable research and as it turned out no one was sure if, during the Empire's fall, those were properly cleaned up. He decided to check just in case someone has stumbled upon one of them. Veil brought my concerns to the Chancellor and it became evident that the Republic has been making inquiries in my old friends past in order to confirm his origin. Unfortunately one of the units sent to search through the Empire's ruins stumbled onto a facility where the bio-warfare division used to work. When we tried to warn them, they didn't answer. The Chancellor asked me and Veil what was the worst thing they could have unleashed and we both told him about Crimson." Zash sighed sadly.

"So the Chancellor, or whoever sent the unit there, is responsible for Atrisia?" Victoria asked.

"Oh, don't be silly, dear. Its the Empire's bio-warfare division's fault. They created that horror and then lost containment. We had to burn a whole world, and more than two trillion sapients, in order to contain it. The casualties were horrific – the damn thing had a few weeks to entrench itself and grow before sufficient forces could be gathered to eradicate it. Crimson was supposedly destroyed but neither I nor Veil could take the chance and told the Chancellor about it as a worst case scenario. It wasn't until news from Atrisia began coming in and we recognized Crimson that we knew it existed. By then it was too late." Zash sighed. There were tears in her eyes. "Can you honestly tell me that the Atrisian Navy would have burned at least an entire continent on our say so? Because only that had a chance of stopping Crimson in the first few hours after it reached the planet. By the time the containment fleet arrived doing anything but sterilizing that world would have been madness. Even then, most of the fleet was wrecked. Imagine what Crimson could have done with another ten, twelve hours to grow. What could have happened if it landed on Coruscant and wasn't immediately dealt with..." Zash trailed off and Victoria blanched.

By the time the interview ended, Victoria felt a lot of sympathy towards what general Veil and the Chancellor were forced to do. She was sure most of GNN's viewers felt the same way. Halcyon learned some interesting titbits about the general's past, about the, by now, almost mythical Sith Empire and the Sith running it.

Incidentally, that interview broke all records and by the end of the day it was seen by most of the galaxy. Victoria's earlier mishap was forgiven and forgotten and she was looking forward to interviewing doctor Zash again.

=RK=

Part 3

Senate Chamber

Senate building

Coruscant

Palpatine was making one of his best performances in his decades long political career. He knew that the consequences of condemning Atrisia were going to be severe, however the circus he was the center of was getting ridiculous.

Most of the Senators who saw things his way, those he had bought or blackmailed to support him stood strong. The Corellians and their allies were supportive and for once Organa was proving useful instead of another headache.

The same couldn't be said for too many of the remaining Senators. There was a significant block of new faces Palpatine was unable to influence directly yet and most of them were horrified by the GAR burning down a Core World.

Others led by Sylvaris and her clique seized the opportunity to attack hims and Veil. This time the Cathar woman was supported by incested Mothma, who radiated fury. The only bright spot was the cracks forming in the alliance between Naboo, Chandrila, Alderaan and their little cliques. Palpatine was pretty sure that Mothma was feeling betrayed after both Organa and Amidala appeared to be at least neutral if not in open support of the Chancellor's decision.

Then there were all other opportunists miking the mess for all it was worth. Palpatine was sure that some of them would be approaching him to cut deals in exchange of publically supporting his decisions about Crimson.

After suffering yet another string of accusations from Sylvaris, the Chancellor was beginning to lose his patience. Its been five hours that he had to fend off half the Senate and he felt like frying someone to relieve some stress. That Cathar nuisance would do nicely.

"I could have acted differently, that much is true." Palpatine spoke coldly. For once he was unable to keep his kind old man mask firmly in place and some of the durasteel bellow showed in his voice. "I could have told the Senate that Crimson might still exist. We could have debated for weeks. Created committees to study the possible danger. Called experts to advise us on the best course of action." The Chancellor glared at Sylvaris. "Honestly, I disregarded that idea immediately. While this Senate is bastion of democracy, of freedom, its anything but fast in it decision making. I experienced that firsthand during the Naboo Crisis before you voted me in to hold this prestigious position. What was it? Not enough evidence? A committee needed to be created to examine the situation?" Palpatine sneered.

The Sith Lord paused and took a deep breath. All his frustration and anger were bleeding through his mask and that was unacceptable. Alienating a large portion of the Senate would make his life much more difficult.

"I'm nearing the end of my second term as Chancellor." Palpatine continued to speak more calmly. He chose not to acknowledge the shouts of support and derision coming from the Senators. "I've experienced the Senate at both its best and worst. Our efficiency leaves a lot to be desired when we deal with a comparatively small crisis. Frankly, when we have a hard decision with far reaching consequences to make we can and more often than not are bogged down for months or years."

The noise level increased. Palpatine put a serene smile on his face and continued as if nothing was happening.

"What happened on Atrisia was a situation without precedent. There was no time to properly discuss matters. No enemy to negotiate with. Crimson was no conventional foe that could be halted or routed. Any attempted evacuation would risk spreading the sickness to other worlds. If handled carefully, if we were in-ordinary lucky, we could have saved some small fraction of the Atrisians. However, that was a risk I couldn't justify. I still can't. Attempting such a humanitarian act would have risked the whole galaxy. After just twelve hours Crimson was powerful enough to cripple a whole fleet. After a day? We couldn't have contained it." Palpatine sighed sadly.

His face became a picture of pained regret.

"As a Chancellor my duty is to protect the whole Republic. To always place the needs of the many in front of the needs of the few. I regret this terrible loss of life. Atrisia will be a part of my nightmares until my dying day." It was true even – Sidious shuddered to think how a damned sickness came so close to undoing all his work and ambitions. "There was no other acceptable choice. The only way to be sure that Crimson was eradicated was to purge Atrisia from orbit. I will never have good night sleep again after consigning thirty two billions of my own people to death!" Palpatine looked at the Senators through haunted eyes. "The memory of Atrisia is my burden to carry."

Finally Palpatine could hold back no longer and showed a trace of the fury he felt at everything that happened lately.

"What Senator Sylvaris chooses to forgets is that if I hadn't made that call when I was asked to do my duty as a Chancellor, by now trillions all over the Core could be dying and the rest of the galaxy would have followed!"

Palpatine lowered his head and took a deep breath. He utilized various meditation techniques to restore his control over his temper. What he just said was going to help in some circles, however he was sure it had alienated some senators from supporting him any time soon.

The Chancellor raised his head and showed himself as an old man haunted by his regrettable actions, yet still ready to discharge his duty.

Mothma was going to be his next inquisitor. Her pod came to rest next to his own and her blazing eyes bored into his own.

"That was a good speech, Chancellor. Still, you didn't answer some important questions. Why was there no warning of a ship carrying deadly bio-weapon? I'm sure that any planetary defense force would have taken it seriously after Naboo. There was no warning sent to the public at large that a GAR unit you sent to a bio-weapon warfare facility was out of contact and you suspected they were coming back infected. You might have had no choice after Atrisia was exposed to that horror. I'm sure we'll be debating that for a long time. Answer my questions, Chancellor."

Palpatine gazed back at the woman and ruthlessly crushed his flaring rage. Becoming Emperor would be worth it just so he wouldn't deal with the kriffing Senate and people like Mothma as often.

"There was a warning sent to all GAR units as well as the governments in the sectors which if it existed Crimson could reach. I should remind you, Senator, that until an expert saw footage from Atrisia, no one knew if the bloody thing still existed. We all hoped that the unit sent to that facility had fallen prey to either pirates, Separatists or a more conventional bio-weapon. I was not going to cause a widespread panic out of fear when there could have been no threat. Frankly, gathering the containment fleet and putting general Veil in charge was more than I could possibly justify when we should have been preparing for the Separatist offensive. Unfortunately our fears weren't unfounded and by the time we knew the truth it was too late. Crimson had a free reign for long enough and Atrisia was doomed before general Veil could arrive and give us a confirmation that the plague was not only there but out of control."

Somehow Mothma's glare intensified. With that look on her face and such fury emanating from her, the Senator did a passable rendition of a Sith. Mothma opened her mouth and began questioning him anew.

Palpatine sighed and prepared to face the next round of the inquisition.

=RK=

Master Tiin's quarters

Jedi Temple

Coruscant

Four Jedi Masters stood around a small table and watched an interview by a woman they believed to be a Sith Lord of old. All of them had researched Veil's past, knew of his two masters – Baras and Zash. Knew that the woman had achieved functional Immortality a few centuries before the Great War.

"We should have expected something like this." Piell groaned.

"A master and an apprentice." Tiin seethed. "We've been deceived. All we knew of the Sith is suspect. All the actions we saw them do – smoke and mirrors."

"Master Yoda is convinced that Veil has been here for less than a year." Yaddle countered.

"Even if that's true, what about his master?" Rancisis hissed. "We've been played at least as far as Naboo and the Sith Kenobi defeated."

"Yes." Tiin muttered, then frowned. "We believed him. However, did he really win against a Sith who murdered his master?"

"What are you saying? That Master Kenobi has been compromised that far back?!" Piell exclaimed.

"I don't know. Just a paranoid thought." Tiin shrugged. "It would explain much." He laughed bitterly. "It would also mean we all had been blind for at least that long. I would like to say such a thing is out of the question, yet..." Another shrug.

"Perhaps, however does it matter? Kenobi is lost to us. This Zash woman might very well be the Sith we've been looking for all along." Piell interjected.

"I've hoped that you've been overreacting all along." Yaddle stared at Zash's image. "It would appear that I was mistaken. The Sith have obviously changed. Evolved. They still decline to meet us in open combat and are content in distracting us with pawns like Dooku while undermining us."

"By deciding to reveal herself, this new Sith is showing that we're no longer a major threat. They have to be almost ready to move against us." Rancisis stated.

"That's what I'm afraid of. We've run out of time. At best we have until the Separatist's offensive is contained. I doubt that the Sith will wait longer than that. Perhaps they would use the chaos and distraction to strike while we least expect it." Tiin mussed.

"We need to act soon or all is lost." Piell nodded in agreement.

"Kota should had Dooku by now. Hopefully he could shed some light on the Sith's plans. Once we have him for sure, I'll talk with the Intelligence Directors. I feel that at lest one of them will be willing to support us if we can offer some evidence." Tiin explained.

"Even then we'll need military support." Rancisis noted.

"The presence of so many Clones in the Temple hasn't slipped my mind." Tiin nodded. "They keep us as hostages."

"Senator Sylvaris might be inclined to support us. After Atrisia there would be others who are horrified by the casual destruction of a whole world. We can use that." Piell thought aloud.

"This is madness." Yaddle groaned. "Its unfortunate that I don't see a better alternative. Waiting isn't an option."

"You're with us, then?" Tiin asked.

"I won't stand by and watch the Sith take over the galaxy without opposition, no matter the price we would have to pay. However, we need to plan carefully. Move all the younglings and the Jedi not proficient in combat away from Coruscant."

"Doing so will give us away." Rancisis muttered sadly.

"Not doing it will doom the Jedi even if we succeed." Yaddle countered.

"We'll make plans to evacuate them. At worst, the distraction of our actions should allow them to slip away." Piell agreed.

=RK=

Republic Cruiser Unflinching

En route to Coruscant

Atrisia changed things. Zash's interview –even more. Windu was aware of whom she was supposed to be. While it was possible that the woman was really just a scientist who got lucky, or unlucky, depending on your point of view, the former Jedi Master didn't believe in such an explanation.

The Sith had finally revealed their hand and the implications were obvious. Time was running out fast.

And there was no longer turning back. Windu looked down at the bodies of his minders. He and Kota had offered the Commando's a chance to surrender. The Clones tried to sent a warning, but unfortunately for them the whole ship was under heavy jamming. The Commandos tried to fight but they stood no chance against the pair of Jedi.

Windu looked sadly at the corpses. So that's how treason feels like. He expected something… more.

"I'll make sure everyone knows you're all out of contact doing an errand for me. My boys and girls will corroborate our story." Kota said.

"It might buy us some time." Windu frowned. "They were too long out of contact already." Mace nodded at the corpses.

"Its a race against time then. We'll be at Coruscant in ten days."

"I just hope it won't be too late by then." Windu muttered. "I need to meditate. To find the path giving us the best possible odds."

"May the Force be with us all." Kota muttered.

=RK=

Part 4

Med bay

Corellian Cruiser Freedom

Atrisia

"Hi?" I tried.

"Ah. You're still alive." Bo frowned. "My dear husband," My wife's words contained enough sarcasm to choke at least half of Coruscant, "you left me behind while you went to confront the greatest threat this galaxy has seen in thousands of years."

"Sorry?" I guess I won't be getting laid anytime soon.

"You'll be making it up to me." That wasn't a request but a statement of fact.

"I'll think of something."

"You'd better. Are you all right?" Bo's eyes softened a bit.

"Nothing permanent. I can't say the same for too many of my people." Its been couple of hours since I regained consciousness and the first thing I did after making myself an alchemical cocktail to help in my recovery was to request a status report.

Crimson made a number on us. Half the fleet was going to need some dock time, the command structure was shot to hell and the Republic was going bonkers over what I did couple of days ago. Just peachy.

"You didn't take any Mandalorians with you. You left us all behind."

"This was a Sith and Republic mess and the price to clean it up was ours to pay, not Mandalore's." I countered.

Bo studied me for a long moment before nodding.

"I understand. However some won't agree with your arguments."

"Can't be helped." I shrugged.

"When are you coming back?"

"I still need to sort the mess here and make sure Crimson is really gone this time. I'll be sending the damaged ships back to Corellia and go hunt down the kriffing thing. Between two weeks and a month, depending on what happens on my end and what the Separatists do in the meantime."

"Did you see Zash's interview?" Bo asked.

"Her what?!" The hell?! She wasn't supposed to reveal herself just yet.

My wife smirked and explained.

"Love, I'll call you later. I need to figure out how much more complicated my life just became." I groaned.

"So you two didn't plan it?" Bo inquired.

"Certainly not Zash revealing herself this early." I grumbled.

"She introduced herself as a simple scientist."

"Any Jedi who saw the records about me would recognize the name." Kriff it, this might push the bastards over the edge. We needed them to lay low for the next month or two at least. "I need to talk with Palpatine. I'll call you later and find a way to make up to you. Love you, bye!" I cut the channel and called Palpy.

The kriff were those two thinking?!

=RK=

Confederate military HQ

Raxulon City

Raxus

San Hill stared at the self proclaimed Old Republic Jedi in orbit. The man had acted polite enough when requesting to talk with someone in authority on the matters of an alliance against the Republic.

Jerrod Perrion was the Jedi's name and he admitted that his people were the ones responsible for the war escalating. Some of them used to be a part of the Confederacy, before they found out that Dooku was a Sith and began causing trouble.

It sounded almost plausible.

"After all the trouble you've caused us, why would we even consider an alliance instead of blowing you up?" Ilroth asked.

"I'm not asking you to trust me. After Dooku betrayed you all, I'm not expecting that. All I'm asking you is to work beside you to bring the Republic down." Jerrod spoke quietly. "Did you see that interview by Zash on GNN?" The Jedi changed the topic.

"Most people in the galaxy saw it by now." Hill said.

"That's Veil's master. If I had any doubts that the Republic hasn't become a Sith playground her presence confirms it." The Jedi took a deep breath. "I know you have no reason to believe anything I tell you. All I'm asking you for an opportunity to prove that I'm an enemy to the Republic." Perrion smiled. "I can offer you an equalizer. You lack Force Users. I can offer you a battalion worth of them. While all but a few aren't as well trained as Jedi, they're good enough to tie them up and give your commanders a free reign. I can also offer a regiment of veteran special forces led by a cadre of Old Republic Jedi. We're a force multiplier that can turn the tide of any ground engagement. Given enough time I can train even more Force Adepts to counter the so called Jedi and eventually suppas them. You'll need my help to handle Veil and his Master."

"Stay put, Master Perrion. We'll discuss your proposal." Hill cut the comm. "Thoughts?"

"Its a setup." Vombra stated. "Even if the Jedi is telling the truth we can't trust him."

"Trust? Not necessary. Use him and if he proves problematic dispose of him." Admiral Trench said. "Keep the man at distance, don't meet with him or his agents. Give them enough rope to hang themselves. At best they will be useful. At worst, they will be where we can reach them instead of working from the shadows."

"I concur. A battalion of Jedi equivalents? Too good to be true. We need to spring this trap and see what await us." Admiral Kirst greed.

"I don't trust any Jedi, Sith or other space wizards." Ilroth declared. "However, you're right. We need to know more. If they're useful we'll use them for the time being. If not, see to it that they can't be a problem ever again." The Neimodeian ordered.

"I would prefer to keep this complication as far away from us as possible, but I'll support your position." Hill grumbled. "As if the kriffing Sith weren't enough."

"That man admitted that he and his people had committed treason." Admiral Tonith said. "Let's make sure that their end is useful. The so called Jedi gave us a reason to act against him and his minions when we deem it convenient."

"So we all concur?" Hill asked.

A chorus of agreements, some half hearted, followed.

"How are we going to use Perrion's forces?" Hill asked.

"Under our command on assault ships that can't cause much damage even if taken over. We'll keep them jammed just in case they try to warn the Republic or something." Trench said.

"I can use such troops on Kamino." General Farstar offered. "They might be invaluable in taking out the shield generators and retrieving the samples that are our primary objectives."

"Its decided then? We offer Perrion a chance to prove himself." The cyborg grumbled. "So be it."

Moments later a comm channel was established.

"You've decided already?" The Jedi looked surprised.

"We aren't the Senate." Hill scoffed. "We have a proposition. You'll be placing the forces you offered under our tactical command. We'll give you an opportunity to prove yourself."

"Acceptable. You won't regret this." Perrion smiled.

"I'm already regretting it." Vombra whispered. All that went through his voice modulator was a quiet hiss.

"You understand we'll have to take precautions to avoid vital intelligence reaching the Republic?" Trench asked.

"I expected as much. You don't trust me or mine and will use us as shock troops to break the enemy. We've done it before. We'll be fine." The Jedi shrugged. "Now lets discuss the details..."