71 Interlude: Intelligence woes II

ONI Cruiser Unto Dawn

High orbit above Coruscant

Officially, director Yle was observing the effectiveness of an upgraded scanner born from the cooperation between SIB and ONI. The real reason why was in space was to meet Fell along with a pair of Jedi and a prisoner who was still supposed to be days away from the capital.

The test itself was real and would be commencing in a few minutes. Meanwhile, the two directors, the Jedi and their prisoner were seated around a small table in a briefing room and listening to Dooku's story.

Marik groaned when the former Jedi finished.

"I would require him to go through a proper interrogation but I've done my homework. We're likely to get much less out of him than you. How credible is that story?" Yle asked.

"As far as we can tell its the truth as he knows it." Kota nodded at the crippled Count.

"That certainly is a lot to swallow." Fell murmured. The Twi'lek rubbed her forehead and groaned. "If this is true we've all dropped the ball."

"What do we do now?" Marik frowned. From all things to fall into his lap, this armed thermal detonator took the prize. "If your concerns are valid, even solid proof won't be enough. Oh, we can use it to back our narrative, but it won't be sufficient to remove Palpatine from power."

"The best we can hope for is that Veil and that Zash woman are new actors and there was just one Sith Lord working against us until recently. I know its unlikely given all the circumstantial evidence, but even that would be bad enough." Ivon said.

"We had more time to digest the information and reached similar conclusion. In the end its immaterial if Veil told the truth and appeared just a few months ago. He's obviously working closely with the Chancellor and now we have another Sith who revealed herself." Windu gazed intently at the directors. "If the Force is on our side for once, that's all – three Sith controlling the Republic. Perhaps more waiting in the shadows."

"They've successfully discredited you people, though some of you did their work for them." Fell grumbled. "When everything goes to hell, we won't have much popular support."

"We?" Marik asked hopefully.

"I've given an oath to the Republic, to democracy. Granted, there isn't much of the latter, but that might very well be the Sith's influence. Looking at the Chancellor's actions with the expectation that he wants to build an Empire, they do look quite sinister, I'll grant you that." Ivon nodded.

"I don't think they trust each other. Not at the beginning anyway." Marik voiced his thoughts. "Veil was the one who pointed us at possible irregularities at the Chancellor's office and was the one pushing hardest for a massive increase of Palpatine's security. It all looked obvious a few months ago..." Yle trailed off.

"He can't be out playing Sith with so much rotating security around." Fell chuckled.

"That makes sense." Windu frowned. "We might be able to use it."

"Let's be frank, this is going to be a do or die op." Marik stated. "We need to cover our bases and act before the Sith. At best they will wait until the current crisis is handled before moving against the Jedi. Once you're out of the game, removing them from power will be much harder if possible at all."

"That's our belief." Kota nodded. "We're certain that the Clones will support Palpatine."

"He was the one to really commission the army after all." Dooku added his two credits.

"Why is he here still?" Fell asked.

"He's a dead man if his Master wins." Windu stated the obvious.

"I hope you don't intent to use him. Doing so would destroy any support we might gain otherwise."

"We dismissed the idea because of that." Kota reassured the directors.

"Just make sure the rest of the Jedi don't jump the gun. I'll talk with Sylvaris and try persuading her to help us." Marik said. "We need a plan. Simply walking up to Palpatine and trying to arrest him won't work."

"Perhaps..." Ivon smirked. "I have an idea..."

=RK=

Senator Sylvaris' residence

Coruscant

It took Marik a few days to sound off some of his most reliable agents and Kota helped ensure that they were genuine in their desire to protect the Republic at all costs, before he could be reasonably sure that he had somewhat free hand to act. ONI being on his side helped too, with a few of Fell's agents running interference.

That's how he and Kota ended up talking with the Cathar senator and few of her closest allies. The presence of Mon Mothma of Chandrila was the biggest surprise. That would have concerned Yle if he didn't know why the woman hadsupported Veil after he became Mandalore. Chandrila was preparing for any eventuality. It remained to be seen how willing they were to act.

"That's the situation." Kota finished explaining the bind they found themselves in.

The Senators looked uneasy at each other.

"That's what I tried to warn you of all along!" Sylvaris announced almost gleefully.

"You did." Mothma conceded. "I've had qualms about both Palpatine's and Veil's intentions from the beginning. While at this time I'm not ready to offer open support," the Senator raised a hand, "I'll lay the groundwork in case we fail."

Mothma looked at Kota. "You're afraid that the Sith have planned this war for a long time. They have to expect that you will attempt to stop them."

"Yes. Windu and I believe that they will use our actions as a pretext to destroy the Jedi. That or manufacture one when they're ready and that has to be soon. They've shown their hand. My personal belief is that Crimson blindsided them or they would have acted against us already. The Republic is on borrowed time." Kota confirmed.

"Then you know there's a very real chance you'll fail." Mothma told him.

"We know. There was a discussion about just leaving, but doing so would mean abandoning the Republic and our duty." Kota took a deep breath. "We'll do everything we can to stop the Sith."

"Good. That does you all a credit." Mothma nodded. "However in case you fail, we need to be prepared. Otherwise the Republic will be lost and there might be decades if not centuries before its restored."

"You plan a rebellion." Marik got it first. "I think I can release some agents to aid you in that before we go loud. I'm sure director Fell can do the same."

"Any assistance would be appreciated." Mothma nodded.

"Can you count on your support?" Kota looked at the rest of the Senators in turn.

"We won't suffer a resurgent Mandalore or another Sith Empire." Sylvaris declared. One after another the remaining Senators voiced their agreements.

The Jedi nodded.

Shortly after they left, two of the Senators suffered unfortunate accidents. The transport of one malfunctioned and it slammed in the side of a space-scrapper. The other stopped to pick up dinner and ended up with a severe infection requiring his hospitalization. The Bith soon fell into coma and never recovered.

=RK=

Intelligence woes III

=RK=

SIB safe house

Location classified

Coruscant

The conspirators gathered into the living room of an ordinary apartment in one of the thousands space-scrapers on Coruscant. No one paid much attention to the sparse old furniture and just sat around the table in the corner of the room farthest from the covered windows.

"Good news I hope?" Director Fell asked.

"I've been able to keep a lid on things so far." Master Tiin nodded. "There shouldn't be any accidents before we're ready."

"Good. We need to discus contingencies and what we expect to achieve." Yle began. "We," he nodded at his colleague, "want real democracy restored to the Republic. Because of our positions both of us saw exactly how the Senate is run. We take our oaths seriously and they aren't to an oligarchy in all but name."

"Our intent is to break the Sith and reform the Republic." Kota reassured the director.

"That's commendable. Do you really believe you'll be in a position to succeed?" Fell asked.

The Jedi looked at each other.

"If the Force is with us. Ideally we'll be able to remove the Sith and avert a real civil war." Tiin said. "Unfortunately I can't afford to let my mind be clouded by wishful thinking. I made that mistake once the cost was most of the public support and goodwill the Jedi had left." He admitted. "Realistically we have the numbers to take out the Sith but even with your support the casualties will be significant."

"We have a battalion in the Temple that's practically keeping the younger members of the Order hostages. We plan to extract them and send them into hiding. Masters Yaddle and Drallig will take care of that. We'll appreciate some support in getting them off world."

"My people will handle that. I'll have a fast light cruiser and few frigates ready to get them out if everything else fails. Otherwise it would be best if we can smuggle most of them covertly. We'll discuss the details later." Fell offered her help.

"Thank you, director." Kota smiled. "To be honest, we expect to be hunted down if we succeed. Currently we lack proof that the public and majority of the Senate would accept. If we're lucky we might be able to get such after dealing with the Sith, but by then it would probably be too late."

"You're aware of the consequences then." Marik noted.

"Yes." Tiin confirmed. "The alternatives are worse. We know that Zash's revelation is either arrogance or bait, perhaps both. Our best guess is that Crimson blindsided the Sith otherwise they would have been ready to act against us by now. Some of us believe that Zash revealed herself to keep Palpatine's public support high after Atrisia and to help cement the image the Sith are selling to the people at large."

"We concur." Fell said.

"Grave mistakes were made. The Sith obviously evolved while we stagnated." Tiin slowly admitted. There was obvious pain in his voice as he did so. "Now were put in a position where if we act we would likely doom the Order. However that's the best of a lot of terrible options. If we run, which might not be successful, we would be abandoning the Republic to the Sith. We would be betraying our duty." The Jedi Master sighed. "We're running out of time. The Sith already control the Republic and it's just a matter of time before they have transformed it into the Sith Empire reborn. I don't need to explain to you what that would mean to the galaxy at large, do I?"

"We actually paid attention to history in school." Marik said in a dry voice.

"I know that the two of you want us to wait until the CIS offensive loses steam. I generally agree with that sentiment – it would be for the best if the Separatist don't win the war. While they're the lesser evil compared to the Sith, they're terrible enough. However, by waiting that long, we give time for someone to slip up or for the Sith to strike before us. What are your thoughts on the matter?" Kota asked.

"Torn actually. I agree. The best time to strike in order to succeed will be right in the middle of the offensive when the principal Sith will be distracted. Then there's Ivon's idea which while dangerous can make all the difference in the world." Marik admitted.

"I wish it was easier. That we could use the Force to persuade enough Senators to support us." Kota sighed. "Leaving the moral consideration aside, that simply won't work on anyone with a stronger mind unless we want to cause brain damage and compromise ourselves that way."

"I should have built support in the Senate before confronting Veil." Tiin said. "I was too sure of myself, I was convinced that our long service combined with the support we had left would be enough to sway the Senate. That the Senators remember their history, that they knew what resurgent Sith would mean for the galaxy. I was a fool."

"The path to hell is paved with good intentions." Ivon muttered. "I heard it said years ago and I find it fitting." She shrugged.

"With the Sith around there are more than enough bad intentions to doom at least half the galaxy." Kota scoffed.

"Can't say I disagree." Marik said.

"What's done is done." Kota declared. "Now we need to deal with the consequences."

=RK=

Interlude: How to slay a monster

=RK=

Corellian Cruiser Freedom

Blacksite-34

It took ten days to reconstitute the fleet and get here. I spent a lot of the time in talks with Palpatine and Zash. The Chancellor was actually grateful for the public support, which ensured that he just lost ten percent of his approval over Atrisia, which meant that about sixty percent of the citizenry were more or less backing him up.

It was little things like that which explained why he found it so easy and painless to become Emperor in the other timeline. Well building alliances with Senators and planetary governments for decades helped a lot too, I reckon.

Still, Zash's shenanigans, while useful, caused some waves. Palpy had SIB keeping a very close eye on the Jedi who were laying low after Atrisia. We all knew it was just a matter of time before they acted out and planned for it, though hopefully they weren't going to kriff us up on the eve of the CIS offensive.

At least after destroying their image – with Palpy jumping on the opportunity to make it tank even faster than the Jedi could do it by themselves, the conservatives weren't going to get sufficient support to be a real threat. What we feared was the chaos that would ensure once our hand was forced and Order 66 went into effect.

For the time being that was Palpy's problem. He was back on Coruscant and had Zash around as a backup in case the worst happened. Kenobi was there too, along with my wife my Mandalorians who had starting orders to suppress any coup attempt against Palpy unless it was my own.

I had other concerns and spent the days after awakening in recovery and making myself alchemical concoctions to help me get better faster. I also had to deal with a lot of work concerning the running of the fleet. While Joanna was recovering nicely, she was far from hundred percent and I had to deal with most of her duties too – we were very short staffedeven after taking in most engineers and surviving officers from the crippled ships before sending them to Corellia.

Finally we arrived. The fleet exited hyperspace on the edge of the system and began sensor sweeps.

"A lot of asteroids, a single planetoidand that's it, sir." Acting Captain Horn announced after consulting with the sensor operator.

"Take us to the Blacksite and commence bombardment when we're at range. I'll be doing my best to protect us all, though this time it shouldn't be nearly as bad."

"I certainly hope so." The young officer's face was pale but his voice didn't waver and he began issuing the relevant orders.

I let the Force flow through me and slowly began spreading my Battle Meditation among the critical crew. My nerves burned with the strain and it was going to get much worse.

By the time we reached orbit, I had the fleet protected as well as I could in my state. Yet I was already sweating from the strain and felt like a Sith Lord was practicing his lighting on me.

What was left of Crimson was aware. It knew its doom was approaching and the kriffing bug was going crazy. The Force pulsed with its fury and desperation. Its presence was growing as we approached but fortunately it was a mere pale shadow of what I faced back on Atrisia.

Crimson struck as we entered orbit. A hammer slammed in the gestalt I had weaved from the minds of all the officer and engineers in the fleet. I snarled when my mind rang from the strike, yet what I experienced was a mere echo. I had learned my lesson the first time and the attack spread all over the men and women in the web of the Battle Meditation causing a mild headache at best.

The sickness gave out an impotent scream, then the first salvo struck. It flailed against me again and again. It was like throwing small rocks in a pond – it caused wave, inconvenience, but no real harm.

The plague's desperation was like a fine drink. Its impotent fury – something to enjoy. Its fear, oh that was something I was savoring with relish.

The research facility was reinforced. Sturdy. However without a planetary shield, it stood no chance against the firepower leveled against it. The rock covering it became magma. The facility itself was shacking, buckling from the shocks of the bombardment.

Still, it was impressive engineering. It wasn't until the fifth salvo that Crimson felt pain and lost it. I heard it scream through the Force. Sensed its pain and smiled.

More salvos went in. Crimson gave one last shriek that reverberated through the Force and was silenced forever.

I grabbed a nearby console to steady myself and felt profound relief.

"Captain, I'm pretty sure that we just got it, but continue the bombardment. I want to be sure that nothing could possibly survive down there." My smile turned into a grin. "It's fitting I think."

"What, sir?" Horn asked.

"That the kriffing thing died with a whimper, unable to kill anyone else." I explained.

"Damn right, sir! I just wish that the captain, sorry, the admiral didn't relapse and cold be here to witness it personally." Horn muttered.

"At least she's expected to make full recovery. That bloody thing did a number to us all." I began releasing the Battle Meditation slowly so I wouldn't cause shock to the people I was influencing.

"Communications, open a channel to Coruscant, they can use the good news." I ordered.

It was over. That kriffing thing was dead. Right?