Chapter 103

Jial landed on Genosis with Cleopatra and Maul by his side.

The latter had improved dramatically in the 10 years that he had joined the Yautja and had even risen to the rank of a Class 2 military official.

That meant that he could lead planetary invasions or defenses. He was even given his own army that had turned into one of the fiercest non-Astartes groups that the Yautja had.

"Are the Invasion forces ready?" Jial asked as they walked past the various Genosians. His mask prevented anyone not on the Yautja internal comms systems from hearing him

"20,000 Astartes pulled from all 4 divisions are ready to be deployed," Cleopatra confirmed their numbers. With the Astartes that had bolters and deadly power armor, a single one was easily worth a thousand battle droids so they were not afraid of the millions of droids that were on the planet.

Even though they were ready to shoot their way in and out, that was just their second option.

Their primary goal was Jango Fett. If the Separatists were willing to hand him over or at least not interfere in their capture of him, then Jial would be willing to leave without firing a single shot at them.

The trio were actually there by invitation. They wanted the Yautja to join them.

The 6 major commercial groups, Poggle the Lesser who was the leader of Genosis, Tikkers who led the Quarren Isolation League, Rogwa Wodrata who was the senator of Alliga, Miraj Scintel who was the current Queen of Zygeria and an ally of the Yautja, and the leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Count Dooku, a former Jedi.

Count Dooku had united various systems unhappy with the Republic's laws, corruption, and taxations on them under a single banner.

Even though the most powerful groups of the CIS were also very corrupt like the Republic, many of the planets believed they were doing what was right and fighting for their freedom.

But what none of them knew was that Count Dooku was actually a Sith and working for Darth Sidious. In the end, they were all just pawns in his game.

Dooku had invited Jial to Genosis to try and get him to join the CIS. Even though they had a powerful army and many planets that could force the Republic's hands on certain matters, they lacked a true powerhouse to back them.

The CIS was convinced that if the Yautja joined the CIS, the Republic would have no choice to recognize their sovereignty without a bloody war.

Jial and his two guards were led into a large chamber where the 10 members of the Separatist Council and Count Dooku were sitting in their seats.

Each had brought two guards with them but Jial's eyes shot over to Dooku whi had a Mandalorian in silver armor behind him.

"Target acquired. About to engage in civil talks and will be unable to communicate. Cleopatra is taking over comms."

"Understood, Lord Jial. I am awaiting your orders," Sev'rance spoke through the comms. She was the one coordinating the attack, should it come to that.

Jial took off his bio-helmet and sat in his seat, directly across from Dooku.

"Welcome, Lord Jial. It is a pleasure to have you here," Dooku welcomed him with a smile, his aged voice sounding wise to many.

Bur before Jial, he was still a child not even half his age.

"Hmm. We all know why you invited me here. So no need for formalities.

Let's get down to the main subject. What are the benefits for me joining you and becoming an enemy of the Republic?"

'Tsk. Always benefits with these few,' Dooku thought dismissively while maintaining his smile

"We have all 6 of the largest commerce guilds with us. We your long-time allies, the Zygerrians are also on our side.

That means we can help provide you with pretty much anything that you want. From materials that you can't get through Republic bureaucracy to rare slaves found in locations that the Yautja can't reach.

You as the leader of the Yautja would be placed on the Separatist Council and have one of the most powerful voices within the CIS.

We would also be willing to offer you the position as the head of our military and give you full command over the countless droids as well as our biological soldiers."

Dooku put down the best offer he could give. And while it was one that most planets and independent powers would agree to, it wasn't tempting to Jial in the slightest.

He was already the leader of his own group and commander of his own military. As for materials that the Yautja could not get, that was impossible.

They had the best smugglers in the entire Galaxy. They knew what some planets secretly exported that even other members of the CIS were ignorant about.

"None of that interests me, Dooku. All I want from you is one thing. One person in particular," Jial stared at the man behind Dooku

Several of the others looked at Jango and felt pity for him. They had heard about his crimes against the Yautja.

If they had to choose between the Yautja joining them and Jango Fett's life, it was obvious which one many of them would agree to.

Jango reached for his blaster when he saw Jial look at him. He also knew if his value compared to the Yautja joining the CIS.

"Apologies, Lord Jial but that is one thing we can't offer," Dooku rejected him. "I am willing to offer many other things however."

Many thought that Dooku would immediately give up Jango but they were surprised when he didn't immediately agree.

"You seem to be mistaken, Count Dooku. That was not a request," Jial stood up from his seat and reached for his combistick. Maul and Cleo also reached for their weapons as well.

Dooku was about to say something but he was interrupted by several explosions all around the building.

A Genosian flew into the room in a panic but was cut down by a purple lightsaber before it could say anything.

Mace Windu stood over the dead body with over 20 Jedi behind him.

"I suggest you all surrender. You are under arrest for treason against the Republic."

And that was when all hell broke loose