Chapter 33: Decisions, Dooku and Geonosis

Star Wars + Harry Potter Crossover

Chapter 33: Decisions, Dooku and Geonosis

A/N: Last Chapter before Xmas...

22 BBY

3,631 ATC

Spero

Six Months Before The Battle Of Geonosis

The Silver Palace's Council Room had been temporarily transformed, at least superficially, for this one meeting.

The table as well as the chairs of the other members were gone and all traces of finery were taken down and stored. The room was cut down to its bare bones and now resembled a bright and airy space that was still somehow infused with a sense of darkness and foreboding.

Only Luna's and Harry's chairs were left and they were placed upon a raised dais like an ancient stronghold of a forgotten king or some half remembered warlord.

This was of course by design because, despite the fact that it was often stupid, many beings in the wider galaxy judged by their first impressions and with their next guest the entire Council had agreed that misdirection was key.

Their next guest was dangerous enough that, even here in the seat of their power, any advantage that they could get would have to be grasped with both hands especially if they could make it appear other than what it was.

Thanks to their own Intelligence Service they knew almost everything about the man and, though they would never tell him that information, it meant that any false assumptions that he made about them were to be actively encouraged.

This wasn't there first meeting with him (though it was the very first face to face one) and he was well guarded with his every single move watched both with those that he could see or sense as well as those he could not.

What little of Spero he was allowed to see was heavily censored and he was carefully herded when necessary from the places that he was not supposed to see. The man had tried more than a few times to carefully slip his guard and 'explore' but his watchers were more than up to the task of containing him.

When the man entered the room, seeing both Luna and Harry on their makeshift thrones, all he did was delicately raise one aristocratic eyebrow.

Everything about the man, from his bearing to every single item of the clothes that he wore, almost literally screamed old money and a refined taste that generally came along with it.

That man, a former Jedi and currently a so called political idealist, was better known by the family title that he had taken up upon leaving the Order.

His name was Count Dooku.

"So this is the hall of the Silver Prince and his Princess" said Dooku while projecting an artful air of disappointment in his voice. "I was expecting...more".

"So were we" was Lunas soft answer to the man even as her and her husbands senses, honed over the years, swept over the man. Their intense focus was delicate and neither needed to look at the other to confirm what they had gathered from it.

To almost anyone else Dooku would have appeared to be the political idealist that he claimed to be but they had studied the Force for far longer than him and they were far from infants when it came to hiding parts of who they were.

To the both of them his veneer (for that is what it was) was paper thin. His amateurish speeches and maneuverings were inept to those that had the full scope of information available as well as the ability to add it to their own.

Sadly for those in the Republic it was very very few.

Which was why they took this meeting, that he had suggested, in the first place and to scan him with their senses of course.

Though he may have once been a well respected Jedi Master they were not well known in this age for hiding their abilities in the Force although, in theory, anyone could hide their level of power or even (with extreme practice) what aspects of the Force's nature they drew upon.

It had become an obscure art that had many methods of practice and that was generally long lost to the Jedi as they didn't see the need for it.

If you were one of the Sith however it required an ancient but simple application of Sith Alchemy and intense concentration to give the illusion of being a harmless user of the Force's more benign applications or even to alter the signature in a myriad of ways.

Ways that were, at least in theory, as infinite as the Force itself.

Still that, or the related but simpler Clouding Technique, were things that Harry (and through him Luna) were intimately familiar with. Dooku in contrast, though at this stage it was impossible to know which method he was using, had not mastered either method yet as they could feel a deeper darkness flashing intermittently behind the hollow light of his own aura.

Both had no doubt that it would still fool the current Jedi Order including most, if not all, of their Jedi Masters though.

No matter how powerful or refined they thought they had become the truth was that the Jedi had been in a slow decline since well before the time of Revan.

At that time it had been a drip in the vast store of knowledge that had been accumulated (with notable exceptions like the devastation of Ossus and the damage done by groups opposing the Jedi) until the time of both the Reformation and the adoption of the simpler code.

When they had abandoned the old ways the slow drip had become a veritable flood with many things lost, abandoned or simply locked away and buried being deemed either too dangerous, no longer useful or worse no longer needed.

Which left the Sith, Yoda, Luna, Harry and a handful of others (mostly those that the married couple had directly trained) with senses fine enough to stand a good chance of seeing through the facade that the man had in place.

"Have you thought about my offer?" Dooku asked in his finely cultured voice and projecting a kind of dispassionate warmth.

"To create part of your droid army you mean?" Luna questioned.

"The Outer Rim is a very dangerous place as I'm sure you are aware" Dooku replied neatly avoiding the idea of a droid army by subtly stressing the need for protection over combat. "Surely you wouldn't deny the people some small modicum of safety...if not with your droids then by allowing us to purchase your designs".

"Surely your 'clients' do not need droids in such numbers?" Harry pressed not being moved from his questions by any subtle maneuvering.

"You will be well compensated and these are uncertain times" Dooku's voice was flat and hard with all warmth gone as he clearly did not like any reference to him working for any outside interest.

"Our answer" stated Luna just as flatly "is no".

"Are you sure?" Dooku pressed and with a undercurrent of danger in his voice. "I make a very fine friend and I do not make for a good enemy. Think of the wealth that you could accrue...for the benefit of the Commonwealth of course".

"We" Harry said scowling even as twenty JK droids entered the room "are very sure".

Dooku clearly calculated his odds in successfully pressing the issue and, not liking what his mind came up with, left in a huff of anger not even waiting for basic pleasantries to be exchanged.

-LAFA-

"Why was he really here?" Harry asked Luna as soon as they were both sure that the man had left. "He's not stupid enough to believe that we would ever sell him any part of our droids so I have to wonder...why the theatre?"

"Of course we wouldn't...not for his little rebellion anyway" remarked Luna. Their spy network was very aware of his plans to leave the Republic and form the C.I.S. (if not their true scope or endgame) and more information on their plans came in both very regularly and far too slowly for Nic's comfort.

"It appears" she continued "that three of the droids that he brought as part of his entourage 'malfunctioned' and were forcefully scrapped trying to enter the Hidden Vault of Knowledge. He seemed most apologetic over the error".

The Vault could only be accessed by the Royal Council itself and held only the most sensitive or darkest information that the Commonwealth had developed or come across. It contained many artifacts that they had made as proof of concepts or discovered in their expansion and were simply too dangerous or radical to be widely known.

The fact that Dooku knew or suspected of its existence was hardly surprising as every large organisation (Force based or otherwise) had its store of sensitive and secret knowledge.

"From the small bits of data that we have recovered it appears they were after the two pieces of the Dark Harvester that we were able to find" Luna remarked.

"How did they find out we had them?" Harry asked scowling again.

"Though there is no sign of them breeching our security in any way we weren't exactly as subtle about retrieving them then as we would be now and there were traders in the area. He could have also found reference to it in an old archive...maybe even the Jedi's own and that could have had the hiding places listed in some form. From there it would have been a simple matter to put two and two together".

"Though they are interesting artefacts to study from a certain point of view there is a reason that they are both locked away and why we never tried to back engineer the technology" Harry said hotly.

"Yes...either Dooku doesn't know enough about it or.."

"Or he's trying to rebuild it and believes that we have pieces that he is missing" Harry added finishing Luna's train of thought on the matter.

"It's not an unreasonable assumption" Luna remarked. "We do know that the Jedi have known for centuries that it was split down into its component parts and scattered to the far corners of the galaxy when they realised they couldn't easily destroy it. Given that they place little emphasis on 'ancient and antiquated history' these days it's not surprising he would look here".

"And" added Harry "we do have a remarkable (at least to the Republic) track record of making use of uninhabited, unexplored or underused sectors of the galaxy. We not only colonise them when needed but make them thrive. Still this bears watching more closely…"

"I'll take care of it" was her only reply.

-LAFA-

2 Weeks Before the Battle of Geonosis

Anakin Skywalker loved visiting Spero and at nineteen years old was acutely aware that he had learned so much more here than he could have in the Jedi Temple simply by going to the Commonwealth on a regular basis.

The peace that could be found here was unlike that which could be felt in the Jedi Temple. There the peace was an inverted thing with the Jedi Temple standing as a beacon of peace in a sea of chaotic sentients on the Republic capital.

On Spero it was more organic, for lack of a better term, than that as well as deeper than what the average Jedi thought possible. Here the feeling of peace and the Force itself seemed closer and was weaved throughout the entire planet. This meant that the level of contentment was both more powerful and seemed present in the very air he breathed.

It was hard to leave especially as he remembered the almost antagonistic way the majority of the Jedi viewed the Commonwealth. Both he and Qui-gon had to win the right to visit Spero and even argued before the High Council itself.

After many hours of arguing about what they could learn and even more days seemingly wasted on a back and forth debate among their own members the Council had agreed primarily to discover more about the Commonwealth and its secrets.

Both Anakin and Qui-gon paid lip service to those orders as neither appreciated being used as spies. When they first arrived they were shocked that both Harry and Luna knew of their orders as well as their decision to effectively ignore them.

Sitting in the living room of the small house that had been his to use since his first visit just over a decade ago he was happily re-reading a datapad on the finer points of the Force in regards to purging toxins that his master had assigned him when he heard the door chime.

His pseudo uncle entered as he called out his permission to do so dressed, as always these days, with flowing yet functional robes and the silver circlet of his rule on his head.

"Hello Ani" Harry said even as the young man made a face not liking the reminder that he was once a child despite the fact that, given Harry's unique lifespan, it was almost an eyeblink for the man between then and his current stage of development. "How was your visit with your mother yesterday?"

"She is doing very well" he replied smiling slightly. "The restaurant is doing great, her husband is kind to her and though she is busy she is very happy".

"I'm glad" said Harry "it's wonderful to see how little help she has needed and how much she has thrived. She is a remarkable woman and I've tried not to interfere but I have kept tabs on her and her business has become the most sought after eating place in all of North Hold. I've even eaten there a time or two myself".

Anakin simply grinned being completely happy with his mothers success.

Growing up as a Jedi was slightly different than the norm for him. Not only was he the Padawan of the famous Qui-gon Jinn but he was also still (quietly mind you) in limited contact with his mother and though only the first was well known that, combined with having skipped the Initiates rank by being chosen so young, singled him out.

In other circumstances such treatment could have made Anakin prideful, even arrogant, but with the calm nature of Qui-gon's personality (not to mention his decades of experience in training a rambunctious youngster) and the steadfast support of the now Knighted Obi-wan Kenobi he had flourished into a kind as well as a truly humble young man.

That being said he was still a young man and had his moments. He had gotten into the habit however of bringing any problems or insecurities that he had to either his master or Obi-wan. Any sensitive topics that he did not want to discuss with them he invariably discussed with Harry or Luna and he privately revelled in their non judgemental attentiveness and acceptance.

They simply did not view things the same way as a Jedi would and from that first time that he had come to them a strong friendship had formed that had only deepened over the years.

It could have also helped the young man that the Silver Knights, by their very nature, had shown Anakin that there existed a way to have feelings and still serve the Force without falling to the Dark Side though it was admittedly harder to do so.

"Uncle Harry?" Anakin asked with a particular look on his face that Harry knew meant that he was about to ask something both sensitive and important. "How can you...I mean how are you…"

"How can I be married to Luna and love Luna despite what the Jedi say about attachment and temptation?" Harry said finishing the stuttering young man's thoughts.

"Well...yes" He replied blushing lightly.

"That's very simple...and very complicated" Harry answered enjoying, as he always did, slipping back into his role of teaching whenever he could even though it was rare that he found the time these days. "The simple way to explain it is that I always try and put Luna first in everything that I do...above everything else unless it would harm a great many for me to do so and even then only because she would not want me to in those situations".

"And the more complicated answer?" Anakin nudged.

"What are the first two lines of the Knights Way?" Harry challenged with a question of his own. Anakin, who by this point was very familiar with Harry's particular style of teaching, played along.

"All of life and all of the universe is balance. If you find balance in life then everything is enriched and this, more than anything, is the foundation of our duty" he parrotted. "Is it odd that I don't read it in order?"

"Good memory" said Harry smiling "and no. Knights carry that book throughout their lives and often refer to it, make notes in it and rarely read it in order. That's one of the reasons that we produced a book rather than any other medium. It's also very logical in its chapters but most people are rarely as logical".

"Still..getting back to the point " continued Harry " if the Jedi are at the one end of a seesaw and the Sith are at the other we, the Knights that is, are the pillar in the center".

"How does this relate to you and Aunt Luna?" Anakin asked with a minor look of confusion rippling on his face only to disappear behind his training.

"Finding that balance is a unique and often painful experience for each person as it can force you to understand yourself in ways some people really wouldn't like. It can also take years to find it and the journey is, by its very nature, different for everyone. In my case both Luna and my companion Chime are my balance personified...they help me maintain my grip on it every day but, then again, I was always more literal than most".

"What do you mean by that?" Anakin asked.

"I can and do love Luna because of the person that she is but also because we complete each other in a very intrinsic way. We shore each other against weakness that we might not be aware of and bolster each others strengths...and to be frank I couldn't do anything other than love her".

"That" said Anakin "is a very confusing answer and not at all in keeping with the teachings of the Jedi Order".

"It's good that I'm not claiming to be a Jedi then isn't it? Sadly the answer is confusing because life is and, I am very sorry to tell you, the older you get the more confusing it becomes" replied Harry.

"But" said Anakin slowly "how did either of you know who would be the one for you?"

"More dreams about Padmé?" Harry asked shrewdly even as the young man flushed and Harry neatly dodging that question. "Come on it wasn't that hard to work out as you have come to me for dating advice...unless you want to break the news to me that you have become attracted to your Aunt Luna"

"No!" Anakin answered hotly as, though Harry's voice had been filled with mirth, he was still a teenager and would never admit that he had fantasies about the blonde (mostly in dreams) more than once though he had tried to stop it.

"Then" said Harry taking a seat next to him at the table "tell me all about it".

-LAFA-

"So" said Qui-gon while walking down the streets of New Atlantis with Harry "he still dreams of Padmé? Is it the beginning of a Force Bond do you think or merely an unhealthy obsession?"

Harry shrugged and, after a long moment's pause, he searched his feelings on the matter and found little there to help him beyond the fact that it wasn't anything bad.

"It has gone on too long to be a matter of a simple infatuation. Beyond that I do not know as the changes to the Force do affect us, even if it's only to a limited degree, as well as the Jedi or it may be that the Force simply does not want us to know. It could be a Force Bond or it could be something else but I feel that it isn't anything bad".

"It could be unhealthy for a Jedi" said Qui-gon grimacing.

"So called modern Jedi certainly" Harry agreed "but there were Jedi before the refinements".

"No Jedi of the old school exist anymore" interjected the elder Jedi.

"We are not called Je'daii and though technically we couldn't be called their actual successors we are their spiritual ones and we allow it. He could be one of us and, for that matter, so could you my friend".

"I admit" conceded Qui-gon "the offer is tempting. It seems like the Republic spends far too much time fighting itself and the Senate either argues or only caters to the needs of an influential few more and more these days".

The aging Jedi stopped walking, sighed, and then continued "But I have been a Jedi all of my life and I am not quite ready to give up on the idea that prosperity and peace will always win out….eventually".

"I'm not normally an optimist but I sincerely hope that you are right my friend... I really do".

As the men continued walking in silence each concerned with their own thoughts Harry couldn't help but ask "What are you going to do about Anakin?"

"For now? Nothing". Seeing Harry's raised eyebrow Qui-gon continued "If it becomes a problem I will outline his choices and the repercussions of them but...I will respect any decision he makes".

All Harry could do was nod at that still somewhat surprised at how kind and understanding the Jedi Master was especially in this day and age.

"What about Palpatine?" Harry questioned as his mind turned to darker matters. "Is he still showing his...interest...in Anakin?"

"Yes" Qui-gon answered gravely. "I have managed to limit their interactions by keeping Anakin away from the Core and, as of last year, I have shared my suspicion of the Sith operating throughout the Republic as well as the Senate. Since then he has become much more wary of the man".

"Beware Greeks that bear gifts" muttered Harry.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing important. Is there anything else that the 'good' Senator is close with from the Jedi Order?" Harry questioned.

"A few Jedi Masters and around twenty Jedi Knights but, by all accounts it is no more than many other Senators. He is also one of the most unassuming and reportedly kind Senators that the Republic has. All we have to counter that is a suspicion that he might be the Sith that we are looking for".

"And given the Orders distrust of anything that comes out of Commonwealth as well as the Senate's desire to question everything that they are encouraged to we wouldn't get very far sharing any proof we did have" added Harry.

When the Commonwealth had brought the Scimitar back for analysis most of the data on board had been corrupted thanks to a self replicating virus that was timed to go off and, unfortunately, hidden very well.

The information that they had got was scant to say the least. They now knew that there was a Sith in the Senate and that this Darth Sidious was the current Dark Lord of the Sith but they only had their own feelings to prove that Sidious and Palpatine were one and the same.

"I can only hope that the Republic finds its own independent source of information on the Sith and their doings before it is too late to do anything about it".

Both men couldn't help but agree on that.

Given the state of the Republic and the rising dissatisfaction that many systems had with the elitist Senate Qui-gon enjoyed visiting the polar opposite of the Commonwealth immensely. That wasn't to say there weren't problems (no system was perfect) but in the main the people were happy, healthy and content.

Still he was first and foremost a Jedi of the Republic. He had sacrificed any children he might have had, he had bled for it, cried for it and fought for it for so long that as long as a peaceful effective solution was an option he would continue to be so.

He was Harry's friend and Anakin's teacher but that divide, among other things, meant that he was unaware of Dooku's visit and other things because he was still an agent of a foreign power.

That wasn't to say that both men weren't tempted in their own way. For Harry true friendship was rare and yet, over the course of their many visits, that was what they had but he was not just a man and he had to put his people first.

Qui-gon for his part was tempted more and more by the tranquil nature of his surroundings. That allure only increased with the problems that wormed and wriggled their way ever deeper into the Republic.

For the moment though both men's feeling were irrelevant. They had their duties and their courses were set.

-LAFA-

Less than three days later Qui-gon and Anakin were being recalled for a mission to protect Senator Amidala and Harry volunteered to take them.

He did this in part to spend more time with them, partly because his ship was so much faster than the ship that brought them in the first place and partly because he was overdue in revisiting the Chapterhouse of Coruscant anyway.

It wouldn't take that long though as, even though the Commonwealth itself was north of the Republic's borders it had two almost leg like tendrils of claimed space that branched down.

One was very thick and reached down to just shy of Korriban swirling almost lazily past it while terminating between New Bomalex and Columex. The other much thinner leg, with Spero itself being in the center, ended near Agmar and they weren't therefore that far away geographically from Coruscant at all.

Harry even managed to land them, with a smirk, on the main Temple landing pad. After he shook Qui-gon's hand and gave Anakin a warm hug he set off though he did tell them to contact him at the Chapterhouse if they needed anything.

When he got to the Chapterhouse he expected many things including all of the ceremonial hand shaking that he could take. What he did not expect was to hear news of an explosion that was related to an assassination attempt on the Senators life.

When he did hear of it all he could do was stare balefully at the slightly burning bracer on his wrist and wonder what exactly was going on.

-LAFA-

The three men that sat around the table were in theory the best that the Commonwealth had to offer in terms of skill as well as intellect. They were also technically supposed to be working but they weren't doing that, in part at least, because they wanted to escape their schedules for a bit.

They also were rarely able to actually get together in person as they were often on other planets and busy with their respective work. That was why they were taking this precious time, regardless of everything else, to spend time together.

By playing poker.

It was not an honest game in the least. Then again, though very rare, they had done this before and it had even become a tradition of sorts. Per this tradition cheating was not only expected but also encouraged… sometimes to outrageous degrees.

It was less about the actual game and more about the closeness and the relaxed atmosphere that they and the game produced.

Around the circular table were Harry, Dobby and Neville. The use of temporary enchantments, runes, spells and the Force was prodigious as they relaxed with each other and got more and more drunk.

If someone was to look closely at the players it would have been very hard to tell the passage of time from the state of their bodies.

Dobby looked well... ageless which was now the norm for the adults of his kind. The truth of his new biology was still being discovered but the best estimates put their lifespan at around eight hundred years so it was doubtful that his actual age would show for quite some time.

Harry looked like a normal human somewhere between the age of eighteen and twenty five or a magical somewhere between seventeen and fifty. That was hardly surprising given the cloned bodies that both he and Luna employed on a semi regular basis.

Of them all only Neville showed a normal progression of age and even that was tempered by his magical nature.

Where aging was a gradual process that happened daily to non-magicals the power that swam inside the Magi retarded that to a large degree. This meant that not only would an average magical have a lifespan of around one hundred and fifty (and that was without taking into account varying power levels and the enhancement of the tattoos) they instead aged in increments though with telltale signs near them if you knew what you were looking for.

They tended to look the same, barring accidents or specific dark curses, from around the age of seventeen up to their early thirties. Then they would quickly age, depending on personal power, as their magic rapidly began to withdraw from a losing battle until they looked (again power levels dependant) somewhere between their late thirty to early sixties.

The final stage was another withdrawal when they were around eighty. They would rapidly age, over the period of a few days, until they looked as ancient as Dumbledore once did and they would remain that way until the day that they died.

With the added bonus of the tattoo the day of his death was thankfully further off for Neville as at one hundred and two he looked like a man in his thirties (albeit his late ones). That being said if you looked closely at him and compared him to the others you would see the small lines on his face and the few grey hairs that peppered both his hair and stubble.

All of which were minute signals that the last stage was beginning to approach for Harry's oldest friend.

"Dobby is here to supervise the new trainees" began Harry.

"Over a carefully applied runic glamour" grumbled the elf. Though the Commonwealth as a whole didn't want the Republic to know about their species yet and it had been designed for that and other similar situations Harry couldn't help but sympathise.

It felt like a small layer of oil over your skin that you couldn't remove and it was no wonder then that Dobby both grumbled and was visibly glad to not be wearing it now.

"Still it works" stated Harry as even Qui-gon and Anakin had never cottoned on to their use while getting back to his point. "So why did you follow me when I left?"

Even as Harry asked Neville his question he wandlessly and silently used a switching charm on the deck improving his hand and neatly worsening his friends odds. Almost as soon as he did that Dobby did something similar, though far less skillfully, using the Force.

Harry almost smiled at that.

"What? I'm not allowed a little holiday every now and then?" Neville questioned only to be given a bemused look by both Harry and Dobby. "Fine. I've never been here and I wanted to see the capital of the Republic so I moved a few things around and here I am. I has nothing to do with the fact that I like beating my old friends at an honest game of poker".

Bless him, Harry thought, he actually managed to say that last bit with a straight face.

"Good enough for me" Dobby said smoothly.

"And me" added Harry. " Though I think that it might also have something to do with his newborn grandchild's almost constant crying. It is your daughters first isn't it?"

Neville flushed and the thought of the adorable yet vocal Tiberius Williams and his two friends couldn't help but laugh at his discomfort remembering how Neville was just the same with his own children at that stage not to mention his other grandchildren.

All through the night the trio drank and shared old stories while enjoying each others company. The conversation moved organically from their Hogwarts days to the growing Elf population and Neville's many grandchildren (he had been married for more than twenty years and though he and his wife were an exception Magi still tended to marry young) and back again several times.

Many holophotos were shown, pranks played and laughs shared as the three friends forgot about the outside world even if it was only for a night.

-LAFA-

It was quite a surprise to Harry then when only the next day (and nursing the mother of all hangovers) he was contacted by a harried and concerned looking Qui-gon Jinn.

To make matters more concerning for Harry the man didn't send a message or appear by hologram but instead turned up outside the gates of the Chapterhouse itself. He also didn't turn up alone as he had both Anakin and Senator Padmé Amidala though they didn't join their discussion but rather waited in a guest room while the two men spoke.

"How are your border defences?" Qui-gon asked unusually blunt.

"In peacetime? Very impressive. In wartime? Nigh impregnable" Harry answered frankly while almost piercing the man with his gaze. "Why? What's going on my friend?"

"There has been an attempt on the Senators life and there are rumours of a planet of cloners".

"Kamino" said Harry neutrally.

"You know each other?" Qui-gon asked in surprise "How?"

"It is more accurate to say that I am aware of them they are not aware of me. As to how I know of them? I am the head of the Silver Commonwealth and you are still a Jedi. I am sure that there are many things that each of us know and are unable to tell the other...but then we both always knew that was part of our friendship".

"The Council" said Qui-gon both wordlessly admitting his point and moving the conversation on. "In their wisdom" here he pointedly ignored Harry's snort of derision "has decided to send the Senator away until the threat has passed".

"I bet" Harry interrupted with a touch of sarcasm "she liked that idea".

"Quite" Qui-gon answered dryly. "The Council has suggested secreting her away on Naboo as they feel the loyalty of her home planet could only help the situation".

"Which, aside from being the first place that any half decent assassin would look, just so happens to also be Palpatine's home ground as well which would not be the most desired situation to say the least" Harry added distrustfully.

"Agreed" said Qui-gon equally as skeptical as Harry over the man's motives. "Which is why, if you will allow, they will be going to Spero and preferably with you leading them there".

"You are always welcome you know that" said Harry kindly before noticing a furtive look steal across his friend's face. "You are not coming with us are you?"

"Both I and my former Padawan, now Knight, Obi-wan Kenobi have been tasked with hunting down the connection between the two events by going to Kamino".

"So" said Harry "tell me the plan or at least as much of it as you can".

"There is no time" was Qui-gon's quick and blunt reply.

"I'm sorry I must be mistaken" Harry said sarcastically " I could have sworn that my friend has just said that he is about to go off and do something monumentally stupid and couldn't explain. Surely you would not go almost completely alone especially as you know nothing about them...I must be mistaken".

"Will you take them or not?" Qui-gon half demanded and half asked. Harry couldn't help but sigh at the man's hard tone of voice.

"Of course I will...we will even leave today if that's what you want" Harry relented.

"Thank you" Qui-gon said with a voice layered with happiness at Harry's positive reply but, before he could turn to leave, Harry stopped him.

"You're resolved in this?" Qui-gon nodded. "Then if you are going to be stupid" he continued as he moved to and then opened a hidden panel in one wall. "Do it right".

Harry pulled out and handed to Qui-gon the latest in special ops technology that the Commonwealth had to offer and it was, quite appropriately, called the survivors belt. "I will need this back as its design is wholly and completely ours".

"What does it do?" Qui-gon's voice was understandably skeptical as he looked at the non descript belt with its slightly clunky buckle and many small pouches. Harry was grateful that the Magi component pouches were hidden behind runic Notice-Me-Nots.

"In these pouches are all the things that you would expect" stated Harry and pointing at each pouch in turn he continued. "Advanced Medical Kit, Survival cloth/tent, lockpicks both manual and electronic, emergency transmitter… no calls but it does have an encrypted distress signal, rations and 'a bag of spare parts' ".

"I'm guessing that's not what it actually is" said Qui-gon blandly.

"Actually it is though it is also hiding two non descript metal pieces that, along with a trigger hidden in your clunky belt buckle, make a rudimentary but very effective hold out blaster" Harry smirked.

"Those are heavily frowned upon in the Republic" remarked Qui-gon.

"Technically we are not in the Republic at the moment" Harry corrected his friend. "That however is not the best part. Do you see the thick leather band that seems to form part of the belt at the very top? Break it at the hips on both sides and you will find two halves of a shoto saber ready to be clicked together into one solid piece".

"What about the focusing crystal? I can't sense it".

"Do you see the engraving of the flaring phoenix to the right of the belt buckle?" Even as Qui-gon nodded he continued "It's shielded...peel back the the left wing. Be careful of using it as you won't be able to put either the crystal or the casing back when you pull them out".

A magi could….as could Knights of the Silver that were able to access the rest of the pouches because there was a runestone for that exact purpose but Harry was not free to share that with Qui-gon.

"How" asked Qui-Gon in almost wonder "does the belt manage to be capable of all of this?"

"Ask me not questions and I will tell you no lies" Harry replied gently. He was thankful that, despite everything, their friendship had managed to grow to the point that his simple comment was easily accepted.

They both had secrets but they managed to persevere anyway.

Then again to assume that with their respective positions they could have any sort of friendship without secrets would be both childish and stupid.

-LAFA-

Geonosis

Qui-gon might have cursed the trail that had led them here but they had managed to get a message out.

That single fact provided the comfort needed for both Obi-wan Kenobi and Qui-gon Jinn through their mutual captivity especially as they really did not enjoy either being imprisoned or suspended (as Qui-gon was currently) in an energy field.

Thankfully for him the droids that had been created on Geonosis (and apparently under his former master's, now Count, Dooku's control) had completely ignored his new belt when they were disarming him.

That was the reason that the message had been able to be sent. Before they managed to capture the two Jedi not only had Obi-wan managed to inform the Council that they were under attack but, as added insurance given the sheer number of the enemy, Qui-gon had sent a message as well...sort of.

As they were under fire it had been clear to both men that despite their training they would soon be overwhelmed by the mass of the enemies forces. He had quickly reached into the pouch of his belt, withdrew the emergency transmitter, dropped it to the floor while activating it with his thumb.

Thankfully it was not only supposed to be easy to use but small as well. The innocuous little device landed at his feet changing its outer shell colour to match the orange soil on the ground almost instantly.

There it remained soon to begin trying to broadcast its signal.

The most ingenious thing about its design was that it did not try and send the signal in a conventional way as not only would it be far too small (and the signal therefore far too weak) to be effective it would also be detected in very short order.

So it instead consisted of parts that, though complex to make, had two very simple functions.

The first was a detection array that scanned for any signal bound off planet that was within it's impressive range and only when it managed to find one was the second component of the transmitter activated.

The latter sent a compressed and encrypted signal that was designed to latch on to the other outgoing transmission and only truly take effect when the foreign signal reached its destination and the Commonwealth code began unpacking itself.

As soon as it was done doing that it sent itself to the nearest intergalactic relay (if it wasn't already in one) and from then on acted like any other message as it zipped its way to the nearest Commonwealth body be it a Chapterhouse or even Spero itself.

It was also very difficult for any but the operators to understand not only because it was still encrypted but also because it only sent a number telling the receivers which transmitter had sent it, the date, the time of activation and spatial coordinates.

That was why, unbeknownst to anyone on Geonosis, the Jedi weren't the only ones sending relief teams for the captured Jedi. They even had the perfect excuse for acting as, if pressed for a reason later, Harry could and would say that they went to recover proprietary technology that had been loaned to Master Jinn.

In that way they neatly sidestepped the issues that could have arisen from a veritable warship or two...at least... crossing into Republic (claimed at least) space albeit one in seemingly open revolt.

That of course was all in the future and unknown to Harry at the time but, for right now, Qui-gon had bigger problems than explaining why he had access to sensitive Commonwealth technology and the name of that problem was his former master Count Dooku.

From his quick scan of the older man's face he found himself glad that Obi-wan was not here with him but instead back in his cell as whatever Dooku had to say he doubted that it would be good.

"How are you my old student?" Dooku's voice was the epitome of culture and breeding. It also somehow managed to convey, quite paradoxically, both the stereotypical nobles indifference and his sadness at Qui-gon's confinement.

"Oddly despite being imprisoned I'd say I'm better than you my old Master" Qui-gon answered wryly.

"You spoke many times" said Dooku while ignoring the insinuation "of the need to serve the Force rather than the whims of the Senate….I just took longer than you to realise the truth of it".

"I did often ignore the Council when their requests were clearly politically motivated or if I felt that they were not doing enough and that was why I spent so much time in the Outer Rim" Qui-gon easily admitted.

"For which I once derided you" Dooku replied even as his voice artfully filled with remorse. "What made you change from the firebrand you once were? Padawan Skywalker or the Commonwealth?"

"Anakin" stated Qui-gon coldly "needed structure outside of the corruption of the Core...an activist railing against it would have done him no good at all".

"Quite. I do find myself confused as to why you have continued to help the Council at all especially as there is another option. I have come to your way of thinking after all and you were my padawan once before".

"You want me to believe that it was my ideological differences with the Council that inspired your own change of heart?" Qui-gon's voice was infused with a healthy dose of suspicion and disbelief.

"Why I left is hardly important" Dooku said dismissively and, to Qui-gon's mind, far too quickly. "What is important is the fact that we both believe the Republic is stagnating thanks to the Senate and that they are also by extension doing the same to the Jedi".

"So" asked Qui-gon "why am I here rather than in my cell?"

"I have spent some time trying to negotiate your release" Dooku's voice was once again soft and sympathetic using the persuasion that only a Force user could place in it. "They have no love for the Jedi however and I might have more luck if you join me".

"What exactly would that entail?"

"Think about it for a moment. Yes you wouldn't be a Jedi anymore but, in the fullness of time, we could create our own order dedicated to helping relieve suffering throughout the Galaxy without petty bureaucratic oversight. Think of a system without that short sighted bigotry...think of what that could mean".

With his enhanced voice Dooku tried to convince Qui-gon and convert him to this new cause. In his mind's eye Qui-gon could almost see the seductive notes of the man's speech heading towards him and tempting him like a great red wave.

He was unaware that he same technique had been tried (and had failed) on Obi-wan Kenobi as well as the fact that Dooku hoped their former relationship, such as it was, would lead to a different outcome.

Qui-gon began to see images form in his mind as the Count continued speaking though his words were lost to the background due to the encompassing nature of what he evoked.

The images of that possible future tantalised him. He saw whole planets, ones that he knew the Republic neglected, rebuilt with buildings even more beautiful than the finest on Coruscant. Hallowed places that teemed with laughing Force users doing good without restraint and happy families embracing them.

More than that he saw the building of art houses, opera houses, museums, hospitals and libraries throughout all of the known Republic worlds not just the Core. Images of a governing body that was strong and unafraid to burn out corruption down to its very root flashed across his vision.

"Change" Dooku's voice came to him as if from across a great void "will be painful but the change is necessary".

Qui-gon almost spoke the words as the images were that enticing to him. He almost gave up his life's work with one single sentence as, though he and Dooku had never been exactly close, they had spent years working together and the older man was nothing if not a profound observer of people.

This meant each image and their emotional weight were almost surgically designed to batter away at his beliefs and leave him vulnerable to persuasion. He even began to form the words until his senses managed to catch something in that connection as it went both ways.

The Dark Side.

And like that the seductive illusion of a glorious future was shattered like rock hitting thin glass.

Beneath the honeyed cadence of the man's voice and deeper than almost any Jedi would be able to sense was the feeling of rotten slime coupled with the sensation of biting into freshly baked bread that was filled with maggots.

He knew that there could be no glorious future if that side of the Force was allowed free reign. Unlike in the Commonwealth there was no balance in the 'taste' (for lack of a better word) of it and it was rather more like a dark muted fire that charred everything it touched.

There would only be the madness of giving in to baser instincts and always, thought Qui-gon, just the rule of strength, an ever growing lust for power and rivers of blood that would never cease.

"No" he managed to answer thickly. "My answer is no".

"Are you sure?" Dooku asked. "What if I told you that the Senate was controlled by the Sith and not just that but that a powerful Sith Lord was even a member of the body would that change your mind?".

Qui-gon's eyebrows rose. Though not direct proof that either the Council or the Senate would accept what he was saying did now at least have the ring of truth to it to both his hearing and his senses.

At his stony silence Dooku continued "Still not willing to help?" The man sighed seemingly full of regret. "Then I will see you at your execution"

That at least explains why he was ready to be so open with me, thought Qui-gon, as the dead tell no tales.

-LAFA-

It is really quite boring, concluded Qui-gon, being tied up all the time. Though at least I'm not tied up in a gladiatorial arena with a beast riding Geonosian heading straight for me….Oh no wait…. That's exactly what's going on.

The massive horned beast took a chunk out of the pillar he was chained to as it hit but, if he hadn't moved, then the baying crowd would have seen it skewer him easily and that of course was what they were here to see.

Sparing glance for his former padawan he saw Obi-Wan Kenobi already free and fighting a multi legged monster that he couldn't quite remember the name of though he did remember that it was a native of Felucia.

When the beast attacked again he managed to angle his arms so that the attack itself broke his chains and in one smooth manoeuvre (that he wouldn't have been able to do if he hadn't taken Harry's warnings to heart about improving his lightsaber skills) whipped the loose chains around in the air and deftly used their solid nature to impact the creatures skull.

Just because he didn't enjoy fighting it didn't mean that he wasn't more than capable of saving his own life especially now. The form of lightsaber combat that he had once used would have been severely unhelpful in this regard and especially in this situation but when he had chosen to train Anakin he had begun to learn Form III and though not particularly suited to attacking it served its purpose here.

There were after all still beasts to kill and his was barely stunned.

Even as he jumped over the beast one of his hands dived into the pouch of his belt and his other hand went to his buckle.

He swiftly snapped the small blaster into place and gently landed on the beast's back almost like a dandelion seed killing the rider as he went. Soon enough he fired several times into the beast's skull managing to put down the beast quite effectively.

He rolled off of the dying animal even as it fell with the sand and stone environment still echoing with the sound of his shots in the arena.

His remaining chains were next even as they scorched and blistered his skin (which were overcome with the power and heat of condensed blaster shot) while the cat calling crowd screamed their ultimate displeasure at this development.

He looked towards Obi Wan and saw that the young man had taken care of his own beast and now had some sort of spear in his hand.

"Obi-wan" he called "catch!"

The small blaster went flying through the air and his former padawan nodded gratefully at him even as Qui-gon ripped at the lining of his belt quickly constructed the emergency lightsaber that even had a comfortingly green light when it was activated.

The fight however was not over yet as there were still three more beast handlers (with their own mounts) and what looked like a mutated tiger heading towards them. Thankfully the tiger was taken care of by Obi Wan before the temperamental beast could come close as he managed to launch the spear (guided by the Force no doubt) right through the soft membrane of the creatures eye killing it swiftly.

Then the shit really hit the fan as, before they could deal with the remaining beasts and their riders, droids began to stream into the arena. Droidikas rolled in supported by both B-1 and B-2 battle droids with at least twenty of the first and thirty each of the rest.

Against that the two Jedi had no defense and, just when all seemed lost, Jedi Master Windu appeared in the box above them placing his activated lightsaber to Dooku's throat. Added to that a very large Jedi strike force, that had concealed itself in the stands, revealed itself and jumped down to the aid of there two kidnapped brothers.

They even managed to pass Obi-wan his own lightsaber as they did so and pass his proper full length one to Qui-gon as they did so though how they had got them he had no idea.

The older Jedi was very thankful of that as, as much as the emergency one had served him well, he was happy to stow the Commonwealth creation and reunite with his own lightsaber that he had created many, many years ago.

That was when the violence resumed as, after a moment of talking and posturing, Windu was forced down to the arena with them by a very zealous Jango Fett.

As the battle began in earnest with even the numberless horde of Geonosians getting involved in the fight on their soil (most directly from the same stands as the Jedi had hidden on) the weight of numbers alone began to crush an ever decreasing number of Jedi.

They all realised two things at that point. The first was that the average Jedi here could take at least three or four enemies down before succumbing to injury or death and the second was that despite that it simply didn't matter as there were too many enemies coming for them.

The Jedi were very unlikely to survive.

-LAFA-

Harry was walking briskly to the nearest drop ship and getting ready for a fight that could change the course of galactic history.

Unlike both the Mandalorians and the Republic the Commonwealth didn't have one preferred method of dropping troops on the ground but, in their opinion, had perfected both.

The Mandalorians preferred drop pods that were armed to the teeth so that, as they fell, they could fire at and destroy the enemy as well as land in their midst. To be fair it was also a cultural thing for them as, although they did use drop ships and troop transports, their version of drop pods both caused extra damage when they landed and told the enemy in no uncertain terms that they weren't going to retreat as retreat simply was not an option.

The Republics preferred drop ships and troop transports were essentially mini tanks that could fly and deposit small number of troops to clear a beachhead and then sending more troops by using a variety of different transport options and this tactic had worked well for them for centuries.

Though with the Republic banning the more interesting research and either classifying or outright destroying some of their more ingenious technological advances beginning (albeit slowly) thousands years before the Mandalorian Wars that fact was not as impressive as they would like to believe.

Simply put all technological societies inside the Republic had been hamstrung and then forcibly regressed slowly but surely simply because they were part of it (helped along no doubt by both the Jedi and the Sith at different times and for different reasons) and it was a decline supposedly based on the somewhat naive idea that if a society did not know how to make a thing then they could not use it for ill.

Not only was this a ridiculous premise, in Harry's opinion, but it also completely discounted the fact that remnants of previous technology existed and could still be put to use by those that were determined to do so.

When it came to ships the Commonwealth was far superior and, as they restricted dangerous knowledge rather than its use, were somewhere around of the Republic of Revan's day (if not a few hundred years further back) with the unpredictable nature of magic thrown in for good measure.

Although originally based on Republic designs of that time the Commonwealth drop ships had better arms, armour (thanks in no small part to N.A.S.) and could fit up to one hundred and fifty combatants.

Unlike the Mandalorian drop pods the Commonwealth had very little in the way of weapons and instead focused on armour and, thanks to space enlargement charms, capacity (they could each carry fifty) though they did have another interesting feature that would see use in the battle to come.

Still as Harry boarded his gunship he was worried and, as it would later turn out, he had every right to be even with the presence of both Dobby and Neville beside him.

-LAFA-

Shit, Harry thought, it's a massacre down there.

Harry was watching the fight in the arena and the twenty five Jedi that Windu had brought with him were battling against almost incalculable odds.

Still, Harry conceded, it's not like I have any room to judge as my strategies are hardly those of a military genius. Most of my brilliant ideas have come from watching the History Channel from a crack in my cupboard when I was younger or through experience and the main thing that I have realised is that I am much better off leading troops rather than commanding them.

That did not mean he would ever resort to the tactics that the Jedi were using now if he had any other choice.

Even as his gunship shot and destroyed an enemy anti-aircraft gun and simultaneously devastated more of the infantry that was swarming towards the pit with twin lasers that turned the droid enemy into so much scrap metal (not to mention burning the Geonosians right out of the air) he saw that they made mistakes.

The Jedi was supposed to be here on a rescue mission and yet, unlike the Knights of the Silver, fought with only the barest amount of cohesion and basically ended up having individual duels in the arena while being forced back slowly into a rough circle.

"Send in the first drop pods" Harry commanded as soon as there appeared to be a lull in the fighting. It seemed that Dooku was about to make another speech and it would be such a shame in Harry's mind if he were to ruin it.

Oh well, thought Harry, life is full of such disappointments.

With the sound of displaced air and groaning metal the drop suits came screeching out of the atmosphere sent, of course, by one of the eight Centurion class Battlecruisers in orbit that were being commanded by Luna which were in turn stopping any and all major reinforcements for Dooku's side.

The seven pods landed in a rough circle around the injured Jedi and out poured many droids. The first HP droids that came out not only did so backwards towards the Jedi but had thick, large and heavy duty shields on one arm helping form a ring of protection around their charges.

Then they moved into position and the triangular shields that they carried were hammered into the ground with a power most humans could never match. They formed a protective ring around the injured Jedi and not only allowed them a better chance to dispatch the enemy that were currently engaging them but also recover the injured better.

The fight was still not over though as the natives could still fly and engage them at will by going over or above the 'wall'.

It was at this point that one of the surprises of the drop pods came into play as a small oblong opening appeared at head height facing towards the enemy turning them into defecto armoured gun nests that fired rapidly into the waiting mass of enemies.

Clearly this upset Dooku because, before Harry's ship could even land, the aristocratic Count was already leaving flanked by two B-2 droids as personal guards and so, as Harry nodded to both Dobby and Neville, all three of them jumped on the two detachable Potter Triumph speeder bikes that were at the back of the ship.

With almost identical wild grins on their faces the three of them were half released and half fell out of the ship as their speeder bikes roared to life heading for Dooku's last known position.

And it was not a moment too soon it's seeing as their quarry had a similar idea and was on his own speed of bike heading away from the battle.

Far below Qui-gon saw this and called to the newly arrived Anakin (courtesy of a drop ship that was seconds behind Harry's) as well as Obi-Wan.

"Go" he called while reflecting a shot back at an enemy droid even as more friendly ones poured in to help him. " help Harry catch Dooku...I'll be right behind you".

With that the two younger Jedi turned around and ran back towards the very dropship that had just set one of them down on the planet and headed after both Harry and Count Dooku.

-LAFA-

Harry cursed as he entered the small hidden hangar that held Dooku's escape ship.

The problem, he admitted to himself, with following a speeder bike in hostile territory was that you were on a speeder bike in hostile territory.

The three of them had already had to divert twice from the following Dooku and losing precious time as they did so even with their much more nimble bike models due to being attacked by enemy light gun ships.

Though the designs of their bikes were good they stood no chance of outright destroying their enemy given the difference in armament between the two though they did manage to either escape or lightly damage the ships that was sent out to stop them.

As he, Neville and Dobby (the two of them had shared a single bike) hopped off their vehicles that they had landed next to the escape ship to stop Dooku from using it they almost literally ran into a furious lightsaber battle.

Obi-Wan Kenobi was down.

Even from this distance Harry could see a large lightsaber wound stretching from the man's hip diagonally across the body and ending just below his collarbone. Although it was hopefully not life threatening the young Jedi was at best semi conscious of the world around him and was slumped against the wall now only a spectator to the fight that was raging on.

Anakin has improved, Harry thought, blending elements from his own masters Form III and my own preferred Form V but Dooku was and is known as the absolute master of Form II….at least among the Jedi and Sith.

Almost as if the Force could hear his thoughts Anakin made a minor error in positioning his feet even as Harry and Dobby moved in with lightsabers flaring. Neville was not far behind them with a heavily enchanted goblin short sword in one hand and his wand in the other.

It was a shame that neither magic user could utilise spells in this situation but the fact of the matter was that, with Anakin fighting with both his and Obi-Wan's blades (and Dooku pressing his obvious advantage in skill and experience) any spell they cast would be just as likely to hit Anakin as it would Dooku.

Before they could begin to overwhelm the man with sheer numbers Dooku used the minor mistake that Anakin had made to knock both his feet and blades out of position and, as Harry had done to Yoda years before but with far more viciousness, lifted the young student into the air and then promptly threw him into the wall and he slumped, dazed at the very least, next to Obi-Wan Kenobi.

His lightsabers clattered to the floor where he had been fighting Dooku even as the Count and former Jedi turned to face this new threat with a confident arrogance threaded throughout his body language.

Clearly he thought that he was going to be dealing with two half trained adepts and someone without abilities, granted well covered in armour, but not a true threat to his skills.

Which was proven wrong almost instantly when he launched his blade at Neville and had it blocked with almost lightning speed. Not quite the speed of a Jedi Master of course but (thanks to the runes both on the man's armour and blade) close enough to it to be a problem.

Before he could even truly marvel at that he had two other lightsaber blades coming straight for him and had to roll backwards as Dobby's blade could have taken him in the chest and Harry would have taken his head at roughly the same moment that he had moved.

Dooku had hoped that his desperate manoeuvre would have bought him some breathing room but, with a scream of warning from the Force, he had to spin away yet again as the strange non-human (Dobby had let his glamour lapse not wanting the minor distraction and discomfort it caused to affect him at this critical time) had somehow appeared behind him with a soft pop and attacked again.

He realised quickly that no matter how talented he was compared to his opponents Dooku's skills and victory were in doubt with this unknown teleporting ability of the non-human.

So, before they could engage him fully, he decided to use the two out of commission Jedi to his advantage and quickly ripped out a portion of the wall by focusing on his deep and abiding anger and frustration at being stopped from escaping by the weak Jedi and these odd half breeds.

Dooku then threw that very large portion of the wall (at high enough speeds to be more than lethal) towards both Anakin and Obi-Wan.

Without a thought the two weaker duelists, Neville and Dobby, broke away to stop the attack and that they did so, so smoothly without giving Dooku the chance of a surprise attack while they were turning to help the down Jedi spoke of their superb training.

To Dooku's shock they seemed unconcerned by the large chunk of wall heading towards the two prone men as they began to deal with the problem. The strange creature was, much to Dooku's satisfaction, straining to hold the wall back from crushing the Jedi.

What his companion was doing startled Dooku to his very core though and thanks to that he almost lost his head to a blow from the Silver Prince that he barely avoided. His shock was understandable however as the other man was was waving a stick and muttering at the slab.

And that was somehow slowly turning it to dust right before all of their eyes.

Not that Dooku had a lot of time to try and figure out how such a thing was possible as, to the Sith's mounting horror, he began to realise just how badly he had miscalculated.

The Silver Prince was, quite surprisingly, far better with a blade than he was and it was all that he could do to stay alive even through the first few exchanges.

The sudden visceral fear of his own death combined with his wounded pride over being out classed as a blademaster caused him to reach deeper into the Dark Side of the Force than he had ever been able to do before.

Using this stronger connection he launched a blistering attack of precise almost surgical thrusts and swipes that were designed to kill this Silver Prince quickly so that he could escape long before the other two finished their task and rejoined the duel.

Sadly (at least to Dooku's point of view) it was all for naught as his fury inspired attacks were met with a solid and calm wall of defence that was as frustrating as it was impenetrable.

To make matters more galling for the aged Sith it appeared that the leader of the Commonwealth was simply humouring him and even smirked while beating back Dooku's furious assault.

Then Harry attacked again with such speed that Dooku could barely keep up with the ebb and flow of their battle. That however was suddenly not his biggest concern as though he (barely) managed to use the Force to match Harry's speed he simply could not match the man's strength.

Put simply Harry's youthful body far outclassed his older one and the constant use of the Force was already taxing his reserves when he had been exchanging blows with the man for less than a minute.

Dooku needed to leave like he had never needed anything in his life and he felt a tide of desperation and weariness rise up in the back of his throat as he frantically searched for a way to do that.

With a bitter taste in Dooku's mouth he realised that he could not use force of arms to escape and so, far more wary now, he stepped back trying to shift the battle to one of the Force more than blades and hoping against hope that he would have better luck overcoming his enemy there.

-LAFA-

Harry could feel the waves of dark intent radiating from his foe and was unsurprised then when a large stream of Force Lightning leapt out at him hungrily and he simply blocked it with his saber contemptuously.

Dooku, it appeared, was not one to give up easily as small pieces of the surrounding environment (basically anything that he could get his mental hands on) followed and Harry either gracefully sidestepped them or, with a raised hand, stopped their movement and returned them to Dooku with twice the deadly momentum so that they almost screeched in the air as they flew.

Dooku's fear was so strong that every person in the room, bar Neville, could feel it leaking from the man and into the Force.

The turning point, that moment when fear turned into a feeling of utter helplessness, when it came was rather anticlimactic to say the least.

A pebble or some other small piece of debris, that in his haste to move of the way of deadly flying objects he missed, caused the normally assured and reserved Dooku to stumble. When he did the man felt a large piece of the floor somehow spike up and pierce clean through his leg just above his knee.

Dooku collapsed with a moan, his lightsaber rolling just out of the man's reach, and he looked at the impassive face of the leader of the Commonwealth with anger, hatred, fear and most of all confusion in his features.

"Why?" The man gasped. "You care for neither the Republic or the Jedi".

"True. But then I suppose you mean why am I here? The official reason is to recover my lost technology and the proprietary systems that it contains. Unofficially? You may be right that I care little for the Jedi as a whole or what the Republic has become but I care less for your kind and much more for my friends".

"Well" responded Dooku with pure hatred making his voice rough and harsh even as his eyes took on a vicious gleam. "Let's see how much your caring does for them!"

Harry felt his gut drop at those shouted words.

-LAFA-

Qui-gon looked around the battlefield knowing that, here at least, they had won and what that meant for the greater galaxy could wait for another day.

When the Commonwealth had arrived it had been all but certain that not just the arena but the entirety of Geonosis would fall and it wasn't just the number or troops or ships that reinforced that fact but how effective they were that hammered that idea home.

The HP's had not only protected the wounded Jedi and fought with them but had also distributed baffling medicines that even he, having visited the Commonwealth regularly, had no idea about.

The injures of anyone that was grievously injured seemed to bubble under the strange liquids and ointments. Where they didn't outright heal they turned the wounds manageable and shallow before the very eyes of their startled comrades.

The very worst were almost miraculously stabilized and, with proper treatment later, would survive.

It helped that Harry's companion Chime, whom Qui-gon did know, transported the most critical away though how and to where (whether it was a command post or even the ships above) he couldn't tell.

Some of the droids that landed had rocket mod packs and had used them to great effect. The rockets destroyed turrets and masses of enemy troops even as E.M.P. grenades flew like blue stars causing devastation where they landed.

Others used their shields and sharp blades to enter the fray directly as well as those that used more traditional fire. Unlike the C.I.S. droids the Commonwealth's not only had better programing and armour but were also partially hardened against E.M.P's.

In short the ones fighting on the side of the Jedi were prepared for what they would face and it was thanks to this, more than anything else, that only a few Jedi had died during the battle especially considering the odds that the Jedi had faced at first.

Which made the arrival of the Grand Army of the Republic both redundant and somewhat anticlimactic as well as ethically disturbing to Qui-gon.

All of this war and bloodshed from his former master? All of this Conflict? And now, he thought, the Republic resorts to disposable lives by cloning a fully thinking being whose only purpose was to fight and die without reprieve or remorse?

What had the society he served become?

Before he could think on it more however the Light Side of Force, so weak both because of this chaotic stronghold and the veil suffocating it, whispered a warning that may have been meant as a shout.

Looking at Yoda he could see the aged Jedi Master had felt it too and, as one, they both moved to the nearest ship and headed towards where the others had so recently gone.

-LAFA-

Harry's eyes widened in fear as his brain processed Dooku's threat and the next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion for him.

His body half turned, almost against its own will, towards his friends, even as he dimly heard the sounds of someone else approaching. Dooku's lightsaber rattled as it rose into the air and turned itself back on.

Neville had his back to Harry, still turning the jagged block back into sand, and with no Force abilities he had no warning as the blade spun into the air and separated his head from his shoulders.

Dobby however did get a warning and a nanosecond in which he could decide what to do.

He could try and deflect the blade but, even if he succeeded, Dooku could use that change of trajectory to either kill the prone Jedi or attack Harry and after everything that Harry had done for him and his people that simply wasn't an option.

Especially when you took into account that, though Harry might survive, in all likelihood everyone else would die.

Dobby met Harry's eyes calmly and, knowing that he only had time for one thing, the former House Elf threw the remaining parts of the slab across the room and away from the Jedi with the last of his Force strength.

Then the ruby red blade completed its almost lazy arc in the air and pierced his heart. Dobby died without regret as he was saving not only relative innocents but his friend as well.

Time snapped back into focus for Harry and gathering his rage he cast a spell.

In the years that the Commonwealth had Veela as residents they had discovered a lot about their fire. It was very controllable but at the cost of being nearly as weak as a normal flame (though intent based) and on the other end of the spectrum was Fiendfyre dark, powerful and devastating but almost completely uncontrollable.

The Commonwealth had made some progress in finding a middle ground between the two and it was this that Harry wordlessly cast now.

A ball of fire, tinged with dark magic, just longer than two fists put together appeared above his free hand and in his anger and grief he gestured like an irate conductor causing it to speed towards Dooku.

It latched onto the left side of the man's face and, powered by deep loss that was just beginning to be felt, it began to eat at what it found. Dooku of course began to scream as the utter agony of flesh and soon enough bone being stripped away began to enter his brain.

Harry was going to burn the man until he was nothing but ash. His two oldest and dearest friends were dead and the person that did it was going to pay.

Images of Dobby and Neville as well as the many times that they had shared fast across his mind's eye as the fire hungrily moved further down into the man's face. He thought of all the times that they had shared, of having to tell Neville's grandchildren what happened to him, of never laughing with each other again and being forced to bury them.

He found that he honestly had no regrets for what he was about to do.

Before Dooku could die in screaming pain however Harry was thrown bodily against the wall but not by Dooku himself as he was still writhing in agony sock on the floor. Without Harry's intent to power it, like Veela Fire, the flames began to putter out.

Instead the person who had thrown him into the wall and held him there was none other than Grandmaster Yoda and behind him, looking pained at the site of the dead bodies of Neville and Dobby, was Qui-gon Jinn.

"Let me go" growled Harry while staring at Yoda with utter contempt.

"Jedi prisoner, he is" stated Yoda calmly.

"He murdered two high ranking members of the Commonwealth in front of another one. He is my prisoner not yours".

"Jedi kill their prisoners, do not" answered Yoda with more than a hint of judgement. If Yoda wanted judgement however Harry was more than willing to give it as Yoda's almost casual disregard for the two dead men literally at their feet not only provided enough motivation for Harry but would be the straw that broke the camel's back for the intrinsically peaceful Qui-gon. When Harry spoke it was with a voice both sharp and resolute.

"No. Instead you try and rehabilitate them or turn them to your way of thinking though it seems to have escaped your notice that this Darksider was in fact a Jedi Master himself once upon a time and I'd think that would make him immune to your tricks. Sadly for you you will not get that chance as he is not your prisoner and I am not giving him up to you. Now...Let. Me. Go".

"No" said Yoda and Harry sighed before focusing his skill and power to forcefully break the bonds that held him in place. When he did he even managed to land gently blocking Yoda's way.

Unfortunately in that moment, when all others were distracted, Dooku managed to make his escape by fleeing, his face still smoldering, to his ship and though they tried to stop him he was gone before they were able to do anything meaningful towards their attempt.

To make matters worse the ship was small and given all of the debris from battle it would be easily missed by Luna's scanners in orbit. It was at that point that a furious Harry turned to Yoda and seriously considered stabbing him for a long moment.

"You do realise" said Harry quietly "that by Commonwealth Law a person who aids and abets a murderer is as guilty as that murderer. It is my duty as the highest ranking representative near to the crime to inform you that you are now wanted by the Silver Commonwealth and, if found in its borders, will be arrested and convicted for that crime. Furthermore though we will keep to our agreements our borders are now firmly closed to any Republic citizen except the necessary diplomats for the continuation of said agreements. If your Republic truly needs our resources they can pick them up in the dead space between our borders...do with that what you will".

"You do now, what will, hmmm?" Yoda asked seeming both unconcerned as well as trying to project the idea that he had a right to know. Harry could only snort at his demanding tone while ruthlessly using Occlumency to suppress his feelings as much as he could as the urge to gut the green rat was back with alarming force and now was not the time for that.

"To protect my people and catch at least one murder" stated Harry looking pointedly at Yoda and the Jedi simply stared back with disappointment in his eyes.

With that Harry then proceeded to ignore Yoda and levitated the two bodies of his friends with a simple twitch of his finger and the only thing that stopped Qui-gon from following him right then was his concern for Anakin.

He would follow within a few days however and, after supplementary training, eventually replace Dobby as the new Grandmaster of the Knights of the Silver.

Still now the battle was done much of the shroud had fallen away and the Force, bar foresight, was fully available once again. The reasons for this were unknown but it was likely that it simply became too strenuous to maintain after all of this time, Dooku was powering a large part of it or it simply could be that now the war had begun it was no longer as needed.

The cost for Harry and the Commonwealth though had already been too high.