Chapter Fifty Eight

Dooku stared at the holographic representation of Mace Windu, a feeling of sadness welling up within him with surprising strength. Dealing with healing Komari Vosa, Dooku had come to realize the mistakes he had made through arrogance and callousness during Qui-Gon's time as his padawan. He had thought to tell Qui-Gon that when they had met on Tatooine, but it hadn't seemed the right time. Now he would never be able to apologize for those mistakes, nor tell the younger man that he had been proud of how Jinn had turned out.

He shuddered from head to toe for a moment his eyes closing, before opening once more, having regained control of his emotions. "Thank you for informing me. I can tell there is more you would say, and can guess why you are not doing so but I thank you for the call nonetheless." he went on obliquely. "It is ironic that so shortly after having fully rehabilitated one former padawan to Knightly status I lose another, but such are the vagaries of the Force."

After a moment he went on. "Are you doing anything to make certain that Master Qui-Gon's demise does not become a regular occurrence? There have been too many Jedi deaths of late."

"We have decided to revamp our lightsaber training, adding further instruction as well as perform an investigation into deaths of the Jedi in the last ten years or so. Master Ranicisis has ordered that, in his new position as Master of the Order."

"Ah, you will follow-up Qui-Gon's fantasies for Anakin, then?" Dooku asked sharply.

"Now, I do not believe in that particular fantasy. However, I do believe I have a duty to my old friend, and if I did not pick it up, Obi-Wan would. That would be a tragedy for both of them, I think. A young knight should have time to settle into his new rank before taking on a padawan, and Anakin is somewhat too confrontational, I feel, and far too certain of himself for any inexperienced knight to deal with without becoming a ogre. I've already put a dent into that, I think, but it will no doubt be an ongoing task."

"Understandable," Dooku said, grateful that Mace had not completely lost his senses. Dooku had never believed in the Chosen One nonsense, and the fact that his former padawan had begun to believe it had been one of the many things that had driven a wedge between them.

Thinking hard, Dooku leaned back, looking at the ceiling, holding up a finger to indicate he had more to say before looking back at Mace's image. "In fact, if you are serious about having more lightsaber instruction added into the Order, I might have an idea there. Instead of just adding it into the younglings' current curricula, why not create a sort of training camp instead? A place where knights, padawans, and even masters could be sent to retrain or receive extra training?"

"A 'place,' Master Dooku?" Mace asked. "Surely such instruction would be better dealt with in the Temple?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not. This would not be, as I said, just for younglings or padawans. This would be for everyone, and it could also give certain other techniques a place to be taught."

Mace got Dooku's point at once, then nodded slowly. "It would not be traditional, but on the other hand you already have begun a sort of small training camp of sorts, with Aayla, Harry, and your former padawan," he said slowly. "Many of the Masters will look at the idea askance simply because the training is occurring away from the Temple, but if we said it was an advanced lightsaber training center, then we could pull it off, I think. An excellent suggestion, Master Dooku. I will pass it on to the rest of the Order's High Council."

"That is all I ask, Mace," Dooku said with a nod. "Now, if you'll forgive me, I feel the urge to meditate for a time on the nature of grief and what strange lessons it can teach us. The Force be with you, Master Windu."

"The Force be with you, Master Dooku," said Mace, and without another word cut the connection.

OOOOOOO

"Do not worry, my friend," said Plagueis in his alter ego of Hugo Demask. "Even those within the Banking Clan could not overcome the amount of subterfuge that I have create to hide the funding stream for the projects here." Across from the Muun stood Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas.

He looked worried and frustrated, as well he should. One of the few Jedi Masters who could still look into the future for more than a few months at a time, he knew that the darkness was being controlled by someone, and had guessed the identity of that someone was a resurgent Sith threat. As such, he had bought into the idea of creating a secret clone army for the Republic wholeheartedly, believing that the army would be necessary to help the Republic against what was coming. He had no way of knowing that the idea had come from someone else entirely, his purposes expertly manipulated by Plagueis.

"That's all very well and good, but you shouldn't be here at all," the human Jedi Master said quickly, his voice a staccato rhythm as one hand moved through his long, unruly, brown hair. "If the Sith are as heavily connected as we fear they are, surely the head of the Banking Clan disappearing like this will be a point of interest."

"Perhaps, perhaps not. After all, I did not come here in one of my personal yachts. I came here in a decrepit tramp freighter with no known registry. I even deleted the scanner information from the yacht and the tramp freighter when I transferred, and it is widely believed I have a secret mistress on Brentaal. My disappearance while my ship remains there will raise no eyebrows. No one will know I was here, my friend. Keep calm," 'Hugo' soothed. "Let us speak of other things instead. You were happy with the template we used for the army?"

"Somewhat happy, yes," the Jedi Master drawled, shaking his head. "I tested the man's physical abilities and inherent skills, and they were incredible. He even nearly beat me in hand to hand, an astonishing feat. Where you found the template I have no idea, but he will do nicely."

"In that case, let us go over the real reasons why I am here: the funding and the rest of the paperwork you'll need to keep the cloning operation going with the Kaminoans. After we finish, I will remove myself. Yet forgive my curiosity, but you mentioned my own disappearance, yet what of yours? Will anyone within the Jedi Order miss you?" Plagueis asked, injecting a note of worry into his voice.

"No," the human said bluntly. "The Order is under the impression that I am heading out beyond the Outer Rim on a personal vision quest. They will not think to look for me for years if ever. Jedi Masters have retreated from the Order in the past, even turning their backs entirely on them. Master Siolo'urmanka was one such, and Master Fay is another. After all, she doesn't take orders from the rest of the Order. If they think about me at all, Dooku and those among the Order who I count as friends will simply think I am following in her footsteps due to my known antipathy for our connection to the corrupt Senate."

"Very good," said Plagueis, smiling politely even as he internally snarled at the mention of Fay. Her continuing presence in the web of the Force was an irritant, not so much personally any longer, but as to how she comported herself and was viewed by the public. Her message of nonviolence and open palm style of diplomacy were dangerous to the Grand Plan, which made Plagueis thankful the stupid woman had removed herself so much from the Jedi Order as a whole. "Now, let's get onto the paperwork."

The Jedi Master sat down, and the two got down to business. Several hours later he walked Plagueis to the subway tunnel which would take him to the landing bay in Tipoca City. They passed by several Kaminoans who did not give them any second glances, such would be rude within their culture. But they were still under observation as outsiders, since offworlders were very, very rare on Kamino.

"Do not come here again, Hugo," Sifo-Dyas whispered harshly as they came to the subway. "I was serious earlier. Your position makes you far too obvious a target for observation. If you have any more questions either send a go-between which won't attract any interest or set up a secure Holonet line."

"I would not trust a go-between," Plagueis said honestly, the first honest comment he'd made all day wearing his Demask mask. "Instead I have already been looking into creating a subroutine in the Holonet relay system."

So saying he held out a small data disk. "That has all the information on using a subroutine that my associates have emplaced into the Holonet signal. Destroy that hard copy once you've memorized the details."

"You are paranoid. Good," Sifo-Dyas said approvingly. "I know I removed all data about Kamino from the Jedi and Senate archives, but even so, better safe than sorry if both have been infiltrated as we fear."

"Indeed. We play for high stakes, the highest anyone could ever envision, and it behooves us to act appropriately," the Banking Clan head said, nodding his flat featured head slightly even as he felt a spark of real amusement at the game he was playing with this fool. "I have to say thank you for believing in me about the measure of corruption. I had long feared that I was the only one who saw the corruption growing among the halls of power, even the Jedi being blind to them."

"The status quo can blind the best of us, but it was not just your warnings about the issue that I am acting on, but the Force itself. The Force has warned me about what is to come, and I will do my part to prepare the galaxy in order to match it."

"As will I, even if I have no force Power." said Plagueis née Hugo Demask. "Farewell, my friend, and may the, the Force be with you? Is that how you say it?"

"Indeed. And may it be with you as well."

So saying Sifo-Dyas turned, walking away briskly as Plagueis entered the subway tram. He was alone on it at the moment, it being deep in the night cycle of this planet at this location. Ah, Sifo-Dyas. So intelligent, so forward thinking, yet still so blind. You see, the Force is truly with me and with my apprentice, regardless of our recent setback and the loss of his assassin, far more than it is with you. As you will soon discover to your cost.

Sifo-Dyas had outlived his usefulness of this point. His being alive and knowing about the clones even now gestating in their tubes was a loose end. And Plagueis, both as a banker and a Sith, did so hate loose ends.