Stand-off [2/2]

=RK=

Nal Hutta

Hutt controlled space

A blue skinned alien male was sitting on a chair at a corner table with his back to the wall. He was giving evaluating glances to the other patrons of the cantina which was one of his favourite drinking holes. He sipped from a mug filled with a steaming black beverage and sighed with pleasure. His last job paid an extraordinary good amount of credits considering that it was an easy grab of a Twi'lek who had tried to desert the CIS with stolen data. The dumb fool was back in the clutches of his former employers who were very interested in having a heart to heart chat with him.

Life for the bounty hunters Bane was good lately if somewhat boring. He smiled wanly to himself. Bane needed something harder to do in order to get his blood pumping and make him feel alive. After all, despite what most people thought he was not in this profession just for the money though it was a nice illusion. Besides, he did appreciate what credits could buy him.

A figure cloaked by a black, hooded mantle entered the cantina and scanned its inhabitants. Bane's right hand instinctively fell to the butt of his blaster as he studied the newcomer who noticed him and headed his way. There was something in the approaching man that made the bounty hunter feel uneasy.

"Bane, my master has a proposition for you. One that will make you a very rich man." Rumbled a digitally distorted voice.

The bounty hunter looked at the man under his hat. The stranger had said the magic words.

"I am all ears. Just don't waste my time."

The masked man chuckled.

=RK=

Part 4

Republic Cruiser Requiem

near The World of Thousand Moons

"That may be an issue." muttered Pellaeon.

He was watching warily the multiple moons, asteroids and the shattered remains of dozens of ships orbiting Iego which created a veil around the planet.

"I didn't know that you were such a master of understatement, commodore." I intoned absent-mindedly. "Don't worry, I have no intention of taking the Requiem into that mess. I'll go with couple of LAAT's and a squadron of fighters as escorts. Get a CAP running. I hope that whatever had done in those ships is not around. We don't have time for such complications."

"That's true, sir." My XO agreed.

=RK=

Flying through the mess surrounding the planer and its moons was interesting. It was challenging even for me while I was not relying on the Force to guide my every motion. That gave me new appreciation about the skills of the clone pilots accompanying me.

Two LAATs and six fighters were the contingent I was taking down to the planet. The rest of Raider squadron was on patrol around the Requiem with the remaining small craft ready to launch at a moment's notice.

On the way through the asteroid field which was filled with shards of destroyed ships, we could see a lot of bodies, belonging to scores of different species, frozen solid in the void. It took us five minutes of careful piloting to pass through the ring of debris before we could fly reasonably fast again.

I frowned under my sealed helmet. The Force... It was tugging me in a specific direction. This was not the way it usually tried to warn me about something dangerous. The way it felt, it was like an overly eager puppy trying to pull you somewhere and show you something that had caught its interest. I checked the scanners. There was a power reading emanating from that direction. With a shrug I vectored my craft that way and ordered my troops to follow.

After a turbulent descent through the upper layers of the atmosphere my small force headed towards the heart of a vast city which looked like it was abandoned some time ago. It had a strange feeling about it – a mix of high tech looking building and ancient ones with a lot of spires rising kilometres in the air being a confusing mix from the two.

I landed my LAAT on the platform towards which the Force was guiding me followed by the second troop transport. The fighters circled lazily above us ready to pounce at the first sight of trouble. I got out of the cockpit and joined the twenty Clones who were already out and securing a perimeter around our transports. Half the Clones were carrying blaster carbines with the rest armed with a mix of heavy weaponry – missile launchers, laser cannons and heavy blasters.

"Sir, we are ready." said the sergeant in command of the clone troopers.

"Good. Lets..." I trailed off.

We heard sound of the marching feet of a lot of droids coming towards us and I congratulated myself for insisting that my men break out the big guns. The Clones took what little cover could be found on the landing path and prepared for combat with me in front of them. The fighters were ready to provide air support. Then the clankers appeared from the shadows. B-1 droids marching in a perfect square formation. I could feel a force sensitive approaching from behind them. What was curious was the lack of danger I was sensing.

"Is this some kind of a joke?" exclaimed one of my men.

It was a sentiment I shared when I took a good look at what was approaching us. Was this some kind of an elaborate trap!? Who had the gall to send a bunch of failing apart droids against us?!

The phalanx of machines were carried the sings of being rebuild multiple times with whatever spare parts were lying around. One of the B-1 had a left hand of a Supper Battle droid attached to its torso. Many others showed parts which were coloured differently from the rest of their bodies – darker or lighter depending on how old they were. The machine leading the procession had its head painted in yellow showing it was a command model.

"Welcome to Iego!" they started chanting.

"Do we blast the clankers or what?" asked a Clone.

"It will be a mercy." added another.

"Hold your fire." I said while looking warily at the two vulture droids in walker configuration moving behind the square of B-1's. This was getting weirder by the second.

I walked to the front of the machines and asked: "To what do we own this reception?"

The command droid tilted its head to the left and looked at me.

"His excellency Jaybo wants to meet with you."

"Is that so? Then by all means lead the way." I made a sign for a squad to follow me, while the rest remained back under the watchful eyes of our air support.

Who was this Jaybo? I didn't recall anyone important with that name.

The machines moved with a precision that showed that their condition was not as bad as it looked like and parted leaving a way in the middle of their group. I could see behind them that there was a hammock suspended between the legs of the two vultures. A short, red haired boy was sitting on it and looking at us with interest.

"The Jedi are god damn idiots!" I grumbled. I could vaguely recall this scene from a cartoon I watched so long ago back in my original dimension. It was obvious that this Jaybo was Force sensitive and I was equally sure the Jedi didn't take him in for training when they came here for the bloody root. Probably because he was too old. If the kid was really responsible for all these droids it showed some frighteningly good tech abilities for someone so young and potentially self-taught.

Leaving him behind might be an utter waste. I removed my helmet and took a deep breath of cool, clean air.

"Hi there!" I cheerfully smiled to the boy.

He ignored me and glared at the droids to his left.

"Ahem." the boy cleared his throat loudly.

"Oh. Yes. Roger that!" The machines stammered.

One of the droids who was carrying a fan mounted on a pole, began waving it at the kid. Another came near the hammock carrying a tray with dried fruit and a third which was made into a walking radio started fiddling searching a something decent to play.

The kind obviously liked his creature comforts and did his best with the resources available. I could work with this.

"This a nice set up you've got here. You have a good taste." I said and nodded towards the wall to the right, which was covered with posters of scantily clad women from different human-like species. "Where did you get the clankers?" I inquired.

"The Separatists left a whole warehouse full of the things when they left. It wouldn't do to let poor things rust away, would it?" Came the cheeky response.

"You erased their memories, probably with a macro protocol and reprogrammed them to serve you. Not bad for someone so young." I thought aloud. It was one of the more simple ways to do what I was seeing. It still required interfacing directly with each individual machine but it cut down the time for reprogramming them significantly. It had its downsides – like making the droids much dumber, which was saying something in the case of the B1s.

"Are you a Jedi?" he asked and pointed at my lightsaber which I had started wearing on my belt. With another I built after finding myself in the future stashed in the secret compartment in my armour...

"Nope. What gave you that idea?" I denied.

Jaybo snorted in amusement.

"Lightsaber and clones who appear to be under your command." he deadpanned. Well, it was a reasonable conclusion. It was a bothersome one too. I was no fricking Jedi!

"I do use the Force. However, I am most definitely not a Jedi, kiddo. We are looking for Reeska roots. Do you know where we could find some of those?" I patiently explained.

"Here. There. Everywhere." He shrugged in a dis-interested manner and laid back into his hammock.

"I can pay you to lead us to the roots. Might let you hitch a ride with us back to the civilization if you wish."

"No use. This system is cursed. Or so they say. No one can leave. The last one to try was a friend of mine. He did not make it far." Jaybo frowned sadly.

"I know what shoots down the ships trying to get away from here. There is a weapon array on one of the moons. I have a cruiser beyond the asteroid field which can make a short work of it once it is located." I said. Jaybo's words jogged my memory and I finally recalled what caused that mess in orbit.

The kid jumped from his hammock and looked at me carefully. We locked eyes for a few long seconds.

"You are not joking around, are you?" Jaybo asked with a trace of hope in his voice.

"Nope. And my offer still stands. Both of them."

Before we left to search for the root I contacted the commodore and instructed him to scan the moons for the weapon preventing us from leaving the planet. One way or another that defence system was going down.

=RK=

The kid led us to a canyon to the east of the city. He pointed us towards a couple of green vines snacking down the cliffs.

"No climbing down for us boys." I said to the clones and called one of the LAAT's. The canyon was more than wide enough for the gunship to fit.

I jumped in with a mixed group of heavy armoured troopers and clones carrying simple blasters. We flew down following the vines. Couple of brown creatures resembling mutated bats tried to scare the transport from their territory but few blaster shots discouraged the beasties.

It took us only a minute to find a cave opening in which the vines disappeared.

"Be careful in there. We do not know what may be nesting near the roots." I said and vaulted forward.

I landed ten meters lower on the inside of the dark cave. The clones followed suit and started sweeping the surrounding area. I led the way and when I was near the place where the vines disappeared in the rocky ground the floor fifteen meters in front of me exploded revealing a twisted mass of vines and four huge jaws of carnivorous plants.

"Light up that thing!" I ordered. We should have brought flame-throwers.

The plant screeched when it was hit by multiple blaster bolts. Two rotatory cannons sliced into it with like a huge saw blades. Pieces of plant matter flew in all directions as well as drops of green juice which resembled blood. I pulled an incendiary grenade from my belt and threw it at the thrashing flora. It blew up with a subdued 'Whooosh' and engulfed the still alive being in blue flames. It let a last, ear-piercing screech before falling down in a burning heap.

Huh. So that's why I picked that grenade without even thinking about it back in the armoury. My subconscious obviously remembered more about this mess that my waking mind could recall. Weird.

The rock to my right exploded showering me with stone fragments and from it a pair of green jaws darted towards me. I jumped back away from its path and grabbed the hilt of my weapon. My lightsaber snapped to life and I slashed vertically at the "neck" of the plant which tried to bite me in half. Its "head" tumbled away from the thick vine that was its body and fell to the ground where it continued to snap its jaws in a futile effort to bite something. The sergeant shot it twice with his heavy blaster burning huge holes in its jaws. It gave a long, piteous hiss and finally laid still.

"Good work. Be on your guard. There may be more of those things around." I told my people.

Thanks to the vines themselves I could feel life all around us which was practically identical to the carnivorous plant that tried to eat us. We loaded our backpacks with the precious roots and made our way to the waiting LAAT. If there were more of those plants in the cave they decided that discretion was the better part of valour and stayed put.

=RK=

We gave Jaybo a ride to the landing platform where the other LAAT waited for us with the remaining clones. I contacted Pellaeon who had bad news. Thanks to all the junk floating around Requiem was unable to get conclusive scans of the moons. It was time for plan B.

"So you believe you could lift the curse?" Jaybo bounced on his feet.

"It's a weapons' system. If by lift the curse you mean blowing it up all to hell, then yes. Unfortunately, my ship has a trouble detecting its precise location. We need a bait to find it." I looked at the two vultures which were minding their own business. "Say, kid, how many of those things do you have operational? And how much for them?" I asked cheerfully.

"A few. What do you have in mind?" Jaybo bounced on his feet.

I smiled at the kid and filled him in on my plan.

=RK=

Republic cruiser Requiem

near Iego

Commodore Pellaeon looked over the shoulder of one of his sensor operators. The powerful scanners of the cruiser were barely able to detect the four contacts flying fast from the planet. There were simply too many debris which were giving out sensor ghosts. However, there was no way to miss the massive energy surge emanating from the surface of one of the moons.

A yellow energy beam jumped from a weapon emplacement on the planetoid and started bouncing from pieces of ships and asteroids. It created an energy net in which the four Separatists fighters were shredded.

"Weapons lock on that location and fire at will!" ordered Pellaeon.

Huge, twin linked turbo-laser cannons rotated in their mounts and targeted a specific spot on the moon then fired. Blue bolts of compressed particles lanced through the void evaporating the junk standing in their path. It took Requiem nearly three minutes to blow a hole through the asteroids and debris before its guns could strike straight at the moon. A concentrated salvo from the cruiser board side hit the place from which the yellow beam emanated.

Three broadsides were more than enough to snuff out of existence the weapon holding the populace of Iego as prisoners.

Just in case, Requiem continued to bombard the moon until the side where attack came was a glowing ocean of molten rock.

=RK=

Unnamed city

Iego

I watched the fireworks with a smirk on my face. Many of the people stranded on this planet were outside watching the light show in orbit. They were talking excitedly when they saw the invisible from here Requiem BDZ one of the moons.

"And that's that kid. No more 'ghost'." I declared.

I went in front of Jaybo who was looking at the heavens through a binocular. I knelt and floated my lightsaber over the palm of my right hand.

That got his attention and for the moment he forgot the fires in orbit.

"That's so cool!" the kid exclaimed, looking at my hand with huge eyes.

"Please tell me, Jaybo, has some strange things happened around you? Items moving by themselves? Have you felt that sometimes you see things before they happen?" I asked him quietly.

He looked away from my eyes and muttered something I could not understand.

"What was that?" I my lips twitched in amusement.

"Su'm times when I work on the droids a tool I need floats to my hands..." he murmured.

"It's nothing to worry about, Jaybo. That is just a sign that you could use the Force if you receive training."

He perked at that and a huge grin appeared on his face.

"Does that mean that I can become a Jedi?!" he exclaimed and looked at me with star filled eyes.

I shook my head sadly.

"That is unlikely. You see, in all their 'wisdom' the Jedi refuse to train anyone who is older than a toddler. The oldest boy I knew that they trained was nine and they barely agreed to do it. You are how old? Twelve? Fourteen?" I asked carefully. My face was a mask reflecting how sorry I was about the Jedi's foolish policies.

"I became thirteen last month." he grumbled sadly.

"Ah. It's all right you know. The Jedi are not the only ones who could train you in the Force." I trailed off. "You see..."

I smiled. I had his undivided attention.

=RK=

Part 5

Republic Cruiser Requiem

Blockade over Naboo

I watched news reports on what was happening down in Theed on a holo-display projected on the bridge. Most of the crew here were glancing from their station to see the events unfolding below us.

Small news droids, were buzzing around the city and catching on camera the tragedy in progress. It was the day after we came back from Iego and the hospitals on Naboo were already busy synthesizing copious amounts of the cure. However, for many people it would be too late. The water borne strain of the virus killed too fast. Already there were tens of thousands dead with the number raising fast. The few stasis tanks which were available to the doctors on the planet and whatever the fleet could spare were full but that barely covered twelve thousand people. It was not even a drop in the bucket compared to the millions infected. The most optimistic projections were looking at least a million and half dead with a twice that number of people that would take months to recover.

Reporters from all over the Republic had a field day. While thanks to the quarantine none were allowed on Naboo in person, that didn't stop them from sending down droids to capture the tragedy in person. I could see images of makeshift hospitals on the streets with GAR and local security personnel attempting to keep the order. Bacta and almost everything else we could spare could at best alleviate Blue Shadow's symptoms at best. There were lots of people dead either on the streets or in their homes and right now I could see groups of Clones gathering the bodies for disposal. The picture changed to an overcrowded military hospital set up in one of Theed's many parks. There were thousands of people either lying where they could or simply sitting on the ground while medics, soldiers and med-droids did what they could but in too many cases it was too little too late.

A mother was carrying the tiny form of her little girl who was covered by large oozing blue spots. She was frantically begging for help only for a clone to take a look and quick scan, before simply shaking his head. The woman fell to her knees and simply stood there on the ground, clutching her child.

Nearby a pair of little boys were shaking the unmoving form of a Zabrak male whose unseeing eyes were turned towards the camera frozen open in death. The horror show continued on and on and that was just Theed.

Once upon a time such images would have moved me. Nowadays... I've seen too much horror that made the tragedy on Naboo pale in comparison. Hell, I've caused worse too. All things considered, even when using only conventional weapons taking a heavily populated world would see much more tragedies than the whole of Naboo had the misfortune to boast. Then there was Crimson and that horror made every other bio-weapon I've seen or heard of inconsequential in comparison. It was a good thing that Crimson was eradicated a couple of decades before I ended in the future.

It was a clusterfuck of epic proportions. At least Amidala had calmed somewhat once Skywalker managed to escape from the hospital frigate where he was recovering and made his way to Theed. He was subject of the quarantine for now too so hopefully Anakin wouldn't be causing any troubles for the foreseeable future.

I shut down the holoprojector and looked outside the bridge through one of the windows. I could see a lot of transport ships, which were disgorging hundreds of shuttles chock full with relief supplies and doctors volunteering to help. The most important commodity was coming from the Medical Ship "New Hope" - a two kilometre long titan filled with some of the best medical equipment and doctors in the galaxy. Its shuttles were disgorging fifty thousand more stasis pods which would help save a lot of people.

Before the start of the war there were twenty five of those mobile hospitals but they as well as any other medical assets the Republic used to posses were primary target for the CIS. Only ten of the leviathans were still intact enough to travel through hyperspace.

My attention went to the tac-pad in my hands. On it a message from the Chancellor's office stared me in the face. In its endless wisdom the Senate had called an emergency session to discus the events of Naboo. I was to make my way there as soon as the situation on the surface had stabilized and bring Senator Amidala with me. So much for keeping Skywalker and his wife out of trouble.

I smirked and called Anakin. It took him couple of minutes to pick up his comm and then his holo image materialized in front of me.

"General Skywalker, I just received a call from the Chancellor. The Senate is gathering to discuss the situation on Naboo in three days. Palpatine suggests that it would be for the best if Senator Amidala makes her case in person. I trust you'll be able to persuade her what is best for Naboo." I valiantly suppressed my amusement. No doubt the good Senator would have a lot to say to anyone suggesting she should abandon her people in their hour of need no matter how good the reason. Better him than me.

Anakin apparently shared my thoughts on the mater because he stiffened and I'm sure he was scowling at me.

"Is that all, general Veil?" Skywalker spoke in a clipped, irritated tone.

"There's nothing else of note. Good luck. Veil out." I terminated the call.

I don't know what he said to his wife but only a few minutes later I got a brief message indicating they should be leaving Theed within the hour.

I returned my attention to the news, though this time I used my data-pad to access those feeds. It showed someone high in the CIS ranks. I had no idea who that was or even the species it belonged to.

"I repeat, no one within the Confederacy of Independent systems had anything to do with that monstrous deed on Naboo! We are ready to provide all possible humanitarian help to ease the suffering of the people of Naboo!" the insectoid continued droning apologies.

As if someone was going to believe it. With Vindi in custody and singing like canary it was a foregone conclusion that the CIS would get all the blame. My issue was that the crazy doctor had no idea who actually released the virus. I made sure he was telling the truth. I did dispatch search parties to scour the areas surrounding the river for kilometres upstream, had other teams checking all cameras within Theed too along with scouring for witnesses though the latter was a very long shot – even if someone saw something there was no guarantee they lived long enough to share it.

As far as I could remember, there wasn't supposed to be such a massive outbreak on Naboo. What Vindi knew supported my fragmented memories. How the hell did my presence cause this mess? What other surprises were waiting for me?

I spent couple of hours pondering those issues without reaching any useful conclusions then went to check up on Jaybo after the Skywalkers were through decontamination and tests to see if they caught the virus. With both of them clean I ordered Pellaeon to get us on our way and left the bridge.

=RK=

I found my apprentice in one of the hanger bays, buried into the mechanic guts of a LAAT's engine. Most of said propulsion unit's innards were strewn on the deck next to the gunship. I could see four technicians around Jaybo. They were looking at what he was doing and giving him suggestions on how to fix the craft. The kid was fast becoming the technician's mascot.

When I brought him on board the previous day, Jaybo had taken a long bath and a warm meal before heading to find something mechanical to thinker with. He had ended in one of the hangars where the mechanics had adopted him like a mascot.

My musings were terminated by the arrival of a certain furious Senator who stormed towards me with a single-mindedness common for a guided missile. When Amidala was close enough her right hand snapped in a perfectly executed motion to deliver a slap on my face. I caught her palm in my armoured fingers and rolled my eyes at her antics.

"Senator. You've spoken with your friends on Coruscant, I see." I deadpanned.

Behind her scowling face I could see Skywalker hurrying to catch up. He was not too pleased either if his thunderous expression was anything to go by.

"You wanted to bomb Theed!" Amidala screeched in a distinctly unladylike way.

I do not think that she ever lost her composure in such a way in either the movies or cartoon.

"Definitely. If the cure turned out to be a bust and the Blue Shadow could not be contained that would have been the prudent course of action, Senator. The last time I checked you represented the whole world of Naboo and not only the capital. Would you endanger all inhabitants of your homeworld instead of doing what is necessary if the worst happens?" I asked her in an even tone. I was honestly curious how would she answer.

"There are five million people in Theed! You'd slaughter them just like that?" asked Anakin with a disgusted expression on his face.

"If that is what it takes to protect the remaining few hundred million people on the planet, Jedi. What would you do? Watch most of them die?" I sneered. He spoke as if five million people were too many to be considered expendable, which was a laughable idea. I knew for a fact that there were hundreds of worlds where more people died as collateral damage in this war so far than lived on Naboo.

"The Council was right about you! You are a heartless monster!" spat Anakin.

"I never denied the monster part. By most reasonable standards I am a monster." I shrugged. Trying to hide it from anyone with even curious knowledge of my past simply wouldn't work. Fortunately or unfortunately for the Republic, I was the kind of monster the GAR needed.

"Amidala, despite being a Senator for years you are still a naive child. And you, Skywalker... Where is your valued Jedi stoicism right now? The universe does not care for your ideals or good intentions. Neither does the Blue Shadow. If it is not contained it will murder between sixty and eighty percent of all living beings down there!" I pointed at the deck and the surface of the world below us.

Anakin glared daggers at me. His right hand was clamped around the hilt of his lightsaber. I could see the emotions rampaging through his heart as clear as a day. Frustration. Anger. Love. And fear. The latest was like a parasite worming its way within the recesses of his heart. It was blinding him.

It was obvious that he had no experience with managing his emotions. They were drowning him, leaving him confused and open for manipulation. I had no doubt that as he was right now, Skywalker would be receptive to the lures of the Dark side. If I was so inclined, he was ripe for the turning.

"Tell me Senator. What would you have me do? Would you watch the virus spreading all over Naboo and choke your paradise of a world? Or if it comes to it would you have the courage to do what is necessary to save your planet? What about you, Skywalker? How many people must die so you could keep your "high" moral ground? Please enlighten me?"

Jedi... They seldom could make the hard decisions necessary during a war or certain types of crisis without compromising themselves. However, those who could bear that burden without high risk of falling were those to watch for and occasionally fear. Right now Anakin certainly wasn't in the latter category.

"It will never come to that! There is help coming to Naboo from all over the Republic! Even if the virus spreads we'll be able to save most people! The cure is already in production!" Amidala countered.

"At what cost, senator? Did you even wonder where all those medical ships were before the current emergency? How many more would be needed if containing Blue Shadow at Theed and the swamps is impossible? How many people across the galaxy will die because necessary medical support is diverted here? The world is not black and white no matter how much some people try to pretend its otherwise." I said looking Anakin in the eyes.

Amidala opened her mouth to protest but thought for a moment and snapped it shut. She looked down crestfallen. So she might be aware just how thin the logistics and medical assets of the Republic were stretched. That actually made sense – Padme was famous for her humanitarian missions.

"That is not something I thought about." muttered Amidala. But when she raised her head to look at me the fire was back in her eyes. "I should have, I admit it. However, that does not change the point! Your cavalier disregard for life goes against all principles the Republic holds dear!" Her blazing eyes bored accusingly into me. If looks could kill, and if you were a Sith they just might, I would be a pile of ash scattered across the deck.

"Tell that to the masses all around the galaxy who are afraid that the virus would escape Naboo and crawl its way to their little corners of the universe. If you want to blame someone for this mess please target your righteous wrath to the real culprits – the CIS agents who created this abomination and later released it." I turned my cold gaze at Skywalker. "The aura of fear you are giving out is irritating. Your girlfriend is right here and safe so chill out."

I gave him my best grin.

"By the way when is the wedding? Though considering Amidala's mood I am definitely off the list of invited."

Skywalker growled at me and took a step in my direction.

"Is everything all right, sir?" asked one of the clones who was with Jaybo.

At least my apprentice looked like he enjoyed the show.

I kept my face a blank mask but internally smirked. I could sense the four clones and Jaybo behind me glaring at the pair.

"It's all right. We just have a little harmless chat. Isn't that right?" I gave my guests a disarming smile, which none of them bought.

Anakin shook his head and looked around us. Most of the clones in the hangar had stopped whatever they were doing and were looking at the spectacle with interest.

"Weren't the Jedi supposed to be calm and composed all the time?" Jaybo pipped in.

"You see, my young apprentice, when one of them..." I smiled at the kid and pointed at Anakin, "... is confronted with their feelings, they have no idea how to deal with it. By suppressing their emotions they are caught off guard when, inevitably, their passion breaks to the surface. He is a case in point. You could taste his anger and fear. As well as his love and devotion to the delectable Senator. At least she could be sure that his feelings for her are genuine."

I smirked at the couple who were doing a great impression of fish thrown out of the water. I could see a rapid succession of embarrassment, mortification and anger passing over their faces and the emotions I could sense coming from them were even more interesting.

=RK=

Part 6

Republic Cruiser Requiem

en route to Coruscant

"Oh, get over yourselves!" I shook my head at the shocked kids. "The only reason the rest of the Jedi are not all over you two is the fact that most of those idiots won't recognize love if it hit them over the head. If they were not too busy pretending that they have no emotions you would have been found out few days after falling for each other."

Skywalker had the good grace to look embarrassed by my words. Everything I told them was true after all.

Back on Earth when I watched Episodes Two and Three it bugged me how those love-birds could carry on for years under the collective noses of the Jedi. Now, when I had access to the Force, it was mind boggling. If at least few of the Order members paid any attention, the Skywalkers secret would have been out a week after their marriage. At best.

"Next thing you'll tell me is that you two have no plans for when the Jedi find out what you've been up to." This was fun.

The guilty looks they gave me were answer enough. Splendid.

"Walk with me." I sighed doing my best impression of an exasperated parent.

I led the stunned couple to the nearest ready room. We found a bunch of pilots who were engaged swapping tall tales and I banished them to go check the status of their birds while I citing an important Jedi business as the reason.

When the last clone exited I pointed the Skywalkers to a pair of nearby chairs.

"Sit. And you can natter at me about Naboo later, Senator. For the moment the quarantine is holding so Theed is reasonably safe from orbital annihilation."

Amidala frowned at me but sat down next to her husband. I was ready to bet that if she had not been through hell for the last few days she wound not have been so docile. Not that I had anything against it – my patience for politicians, much less the self-righteous sort had never been high even before I became a Sith. She had spent half the time since my return from Iego helping and reassuring the infected and the rest by arguing with me, which got irritating fast. You could say that by now I was painfully familiar with her temper and sharp tongue.

I summoned a chair and sat down facing them. Jaybo from whom I could feel waves of curiosity, followed suit and watched us with rapt attention.

"You go back to tinkering, apprentice. If one of those two wants to share the contents of this conversation with you they will. Scamper."

Jaybo pouted but complied.

"Is it really that obvious?" groaned Anakin once we were alone.

I smirked at them.

"Well, you could have made it a bit easier to see by paying for advertisements in rush hour on Coruscant and calling for press conference to confirm it..." I trailed off. Seriously, how did the Jedi miss their relationship? It was clear how Sidious figured it out – it was obvious the moment you saw those two together.

Skywalker face-palmed.

"They are going to expel me..." he groaned.

"Throw out one of their better generals in a time of war? Because you've fallen in love? Surely you are exaggerating a bit. If it was a peace time the Council might have considered it, but now?" I played the ignorance card. To be fair I had a hard time believing that the Jedi Masters could do something that dumb. Such a stunt would give me and Palpatine a lot of ammo to use against the Council. Not to mention the risk of driving Skywalker right in my open hands.

Anakin didn't need to know any of that. His fears could be quite useful if manage properly.

"They will either throw me out or make me choose between the Order and Padme!" Skywalker moaned.

"Oh, Anakin..." muttered Amidala and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Am I wrong to presume that won't be too big a setback?" I asked. The way those two were looking at each other was making it clear what Skywalker was going to choose. No contest.

"Are you joking?" grumbled Padme. "That will destroy Anakin's life! Being Jedi is who and what he is!"

"Thanks. But I am more concerned what it would do to you. I am sure that the people in the Senate would use that to attack you. Not to mention the reporters. Those vultures would have a field day..." Anakin groaned.

That was surprising. The Chosen one actually was using his head for a change. And he was right about the circus in which their relationship would be turned by the media. The reporters would have a field day with it. On the other hand, when the secret was out, if the news got handled in the right way, it could become a PR coup for the correct people and unmitigated disaster for the Order...

I gave the married couple my best friendly smile.

"Skywalker, by expelling you from the Order, the Council will do more harm to its credibility than anything else. Anakin, even if the GAR is forced to strip you of command because you could no longer be a "Jedi General" I can assure you that by the end of the day there will be a lot of people offering you to accept a commission with equivalent rank. If you accept, that would solve the greatest problem for anyone expelled by the Jedi – no roof over one's head and no income. As you very well know, being a Republic general pays well. Besides, I doubt that your girlfriend will let you stay on the street for even a moment."

"Of course not!" declared Amidala. She had admirable look of resolve on her face.

Skywalker was deep in thought for few minutes. In that time he was like an open book. I could feel his emotions which were turmoil his heart. Regret that he could be pushed in such a corner. Anger at the unfairness of fate. He felt sorry about the possibility of being separated from his friends and apprentice.

He was confused when wondering: What would Kenobi think about him if he was thrown out? There was regret about how his actions might reflect on Ahsoka and he hoped that his apprentice would understand. But beyond all that was his love about Padme. It was blazing like a beacon.

I felt what was in the cauldron of his emotions and had an epiphany.

Some of those who had watched the ROTS in my original dimensions might have wondered why Anakin fell so easy. Many might have thought that his turning to the Dark side was because of his love of Padme. That his fall vindicated the Jedi and their Code – emotion was to blame. But now, when this young man had his very heart open for all to see, I can tell you that the very reason he would have fallen in that other future was rooted in the Council and their dogma.

I knew his emotions. His feelings. Any loyalty Skywalker had towards the Jedi Order as an organization was a pale shadow of what he felt towards individual people. He would go to hell and back for Amidala, Kenobi, Ahsoka and Palpatine as well as his few other Jedi friends. But if he had to choose between any of them and the Order? There was no contest.

The Jedi Masters never understood the heart of this man. They could not. Not while following their own creed. That's where the seeds of their destruction were sown. The Council made it a choice between his wife, unborn children and a man who had been his friend since Skywalker was a kid and the Jedi as a whole.

The young Jedi sitting in front of me could make only one decision in such circumstances. And the Order would always loose. Bloody fools.

I watched the turmoil in his heart subduing. Skywalker had calmed down himself. I could sense vines of hope sprouting within his heart. Anakin took a deep breath before grinning impishly at me.

"You know, I've never thought about it in such a light. I'd hate to be exiled or made to choose between my wi... ahem Padme and being a Jedi but..." he trailed off and gave a fond look to his spouse. "If it comes to that, it is the easiest decision that I've ever made."

Apparently that was the right thing to say because he was engulfed in a rib cracking embrace by the Senator. Amidala had thrown all thoughts about appropriate behaviour and was busy sticking her tongue deep in Anakin's throat.

"Ah. Young love. At least you still got all your clothes on." I smirked. "You might want to get yourselves a room."

I knew that once Amidala had at least few hours of uninterrupted sleep she would be back to her composed self and likely continue to be a pain in my ass. Back to her much more vocal self too, which would not be an improvement. After days with little to no sleep, stuck into a hazmat suit and watching Theed go to hell thanks to the virus, Padme was not acting exactly as the Senator I've met back on Coruscant.

Eventually the Skywalkers had to come out for air. After the display, both of them were flushed more scarlet than Shaak Ti's skin.

"Anakin, am I to judge by that slip of the tongue that you two managed to get married already?" I asked gleefully.

"What? No, that's not how it sounds!" Skywalker hastily denied.

"Definitely not!" Suddenly Amidala was a perfect picture of affronted indignation.

Their immediate reaction to my question was a lot of spluttering denials. I rolled my eyes and waited for them to calm down a bit.

"Just don't go complaining to me when Kenobi or worse Ahsoka come asking why they were not told earlier... Or invited." I grinned at the couple.

Skywalker winced at that. One of these days he'll have a very interesting conversation with his former master. One with the little spitfire that was his apprentice too.

He glared at me then smirked. "Well, at least I won't be the only one in trouble with the Council. Taking an apprentice to restore the Sith, are we?"

Amidala frowned at that thought. I guess she was not too pleased to have disregarded what Jaybo's presence meant until Anakin spelled it out. I could positively feel her self-recrimination because she had not paid attention to her surroundings when she came to once again accuse me of being an unrepentant monster.

"Should I be concerned?" asked Anakin. It was obvious he meant Jaybo.

I knew what confused him. No trace of the Dark side upon the kid, though that shouldn't be surprising at any rate. Even if I intended to train him to be a typical Sith, I did get the kid just yesterday and I've been quite busy since then. Well, I had no need of a typical Darksider, which would be something that would throw a lot of Jedi for a spin in the foreseeable future. I was not going to teach Jaybo much about the darker aspects of the Force until he had the basics up to par and he knew much more about the source of our power and himself. He needed the right mindset to make falling to the Dark Side unlikely too and crafting that into him would take time. Perhaps more time than I could spare before the end of the war.

"About what?" I asked innocently.

"Another Sith trying to cut off pieces from me." Anakin deadpanned.

"Don't worry. If Jaybo cut something off you I am sure you would deserve it." I smiled at him.

Amidala rolled her eyes at us. "I'm going to have a chat with the kid!" She declared and marched out of the room undoubtedly to begin interrogating Jaybo. I had no illusions that she would soon convince him that it was his idea to tell the pretty lady everything she wanted to know. It was no problem – the kid knew nothing of note anyway.

"Where did you find him anyway? What do you intend to teach him?" Anakin asked

"I found him on Iego where I went for the key compound of the cure. It was obvious that he is Force sensitive and he wanted to be trained. I believe its obvious what the Council would think about training him as a Jedi. However, now that he is my apprentice they might make an exception and try to get him away from me." I snorted in amusement.

Anakin got a far-away look in his eyes and nodded.

"I was nine when Qui-Gon brought me in front of the Council. They told me I was too old. If it wasn't for Obi-Wan's insistence I would not have been trained either." He admitted.

"And he is much older than you were." I agreed.

"I will reserve judgement until I see what you are teaching him." Anakin took a deep breath. "You deserve the benefit of the doubt." He sighed. "I guess."

Skywalker being level-headed and using his brains. That was something that would take some getting used to.

A shiver went through the Force. It was the echo heralding that the thread of a possible future had unravelled. Whether that would be for the better or worse remained to be seen...

When Padme finished her chat with Jaybo Skywalker had to carry her to their quarters. She was too exhausted to walk there by herself. Anakin did not look too good himself. I had to remind myself that he was still recovering from injuries received during his last mission. I would not see them until we exited hyperspace. It did not take premonition to know how they kept themselves busy during the journey.

=RK=

I took Jaybo to the mess hall for a light lunch before leading him to a large training room which I had made for my use. It was time to start with his training in earnest.

I sat cross-legged on the training mat in the centre of the compartment and waved him to follow suit.

"The Force. It is what gives us our powers. She is our greatest ally. And our most vicious enemy." I began lecturing.

I stretched my right arm forward and showed my apprentice an open, empty palm.

"Watch." I ordered.

A mere thought and with a quiet crack, bluish lightning arched between my fingertips.

"Wow! That's so cool!" Jaybo exclaimed.

I chuckled at him. Rule one of being a good teacher – make things interesting and keep the attention of your student.

"Concentrate. Until now you've used this power unconsciously. Feel the Force. It has always been there. Just beyond your grasp. Like a sound you could almost hear. Open your mind and embrace it."

Jaybo looked at the electricity dancing in the palm of my right hand with hooded eyes. I watched him for nearly an hour while was trying to reach for the Force. Then he gasped in wonder.

The currents of the Force around him changed their direction and flowed through him. I could feel him drawing it in him and smiled.

'That's it. Good work!' I spoke directly into his mind. 'This is the first step on a hard and wondrous path!'

He was startled by my words and the Force slipped from his grasp. Jaybo gave me a proud smile and gasped for air. I had forgotten how much it could take from you the first time you consciously touched the Force.

"Good. Now you must be able to do that without even thinking about it. And keep your connection with the Force open indefinitely..."

=RK=

Senator Amidala's Office

Senate building

Coruscant

Once the Requiem reached the capital I left Jaybo on board. There was no need to expose him to the Council right now. Dealing with that particular complication would be a distraction at a time when I was about to have an important hearing in front of the whole Senate. That was the reason I was with Amidala and Skywalker in her office. The Senator was checking her messages and arranging to speak with few of her allies before the hearing. We needed to know what the real agenda behind this session was.

Was it really just meant to discuss the latest Separatist atrocity?

After resting and coming back to her normal self, Padme was not particularly thrilled with my actions towards Naboo but was ready to at least consider the possibility that I knew what I was talking about. Though she still thought I was a blood-thirsty maniac, now I was one with a tiny bit of hidden depth, something that was a source of unending amusement for her husband and myself.

"If it was not for this kriffing virus we would be resting right now!" grumbled Skywalker. "We'd be able to leave for some place where no one knows us. Where we could be just husband and wife with no strings attached! Instead, we are stuck here being a Senator and a Jedi!"

"You know we can't Any." muttered Padme. "We have to deal with this and ensure that Naboo receives enough aid."

"I know!" grumbled Anakin.

"If the Senate wants a scapegoat. We have Vindi in custody." I added my two cents. "Undoubtedly a big part of today's agenda will be assigning blame."

"Our work as Senators is to serve the Republic. To protect those who could not defend themselves. It is natural that the Senate wants to know how the attack on Theed could happen." Padme continued to be her quite blind idealistic self.

"Those are laudable ideals. Too bad that outside the Core words they do not mean much." I whispered to myself. In fact they didn't mean much in the Core either.

The door chimed and Bail Organa strode in without waiting for an invitation.

"Senator Amidala." he saw me and Skywalker and nodded stiffly. "Generals. I am sorry to interrupt you but Mon Mothma called a meeting before the hearing. She wants to speak with you, Senator." Bail spoke formally.

"Ah. Senator Organa. Of course. I'll be there shortly." Padme looked back at us. "I'll meet you two in the senate Chambers. Try to behave yourselves." She ordered.

"I'll keep Anakin out of trouble." I smirked at the Jedi who gave me a dirty look.

Organa turned to leave and looked back at Padme.

"Are you coming, Senator?"

"But of course. I'll see you later. "

When they left, Anakin slumped in a nearby chair.

"I hate politics!" he grumbled.

"Unfortunately, that's what keeps the world spinning." I commiserated.

=RK=

GAR Headquarters

Coruscant

In the building housing the High Command of the Republic's army it was business as usual. Officers – both clones and naturals were striding in and out of the headquarters doing whatever was needed to keep the army running. From the high level strategic decisions directing the war to insuring that the logistics needed for a campaign spawning the whole galaxy were flowing freely.

In all this, the droids maintaining the building went on with their jobs mostly unseen beyond some routine scans. On that day the clones responsible for the security of the headquarters were working with faulty equipment though they did not know it. A captain responsible for the maintenance of the scanners had gotten a fat addition to his bank account and helped ensure that six droids with some unusual equipment slipped in. Late last night he got on a flight to Scipio and was never seen again.

Just like every other day, the machines went on to do the jobs they were programmed for. Most of them did what good cleaning droids would do. A few of the altered ones did the same but only until their internal clocks reached specific time. Then a non-standard circuits came to life for the first and final time. A spark of electricity was sent into a mechanism buried into the torso of each machine. Then two things happened. The plating covering their chassis blew outwards in a rain of shrapnel which wounded the people unlucky to be around the droids at the time. Then two spheres housed in the chests of the droids exploded spreading thick blue gas.

One of the robots was working on fixing a faulty computer in the main junction where the ventilation of the building was passing through in order for the air to be filtered. Two minutes before the rest of its brethren self-immolated, that droid froze for few seconds while a hidden programming kicked in. It proceeded to place two canisters full of Blue Shadow within the heart of the ventilation system before going to a nearby terminal and slicing into it. It would take two minutes and four seconds by the time the intrusion would be detected. Another minute before it could be stopped, which happened moments before security cut through the sealed door keeping the droid safe.

That would prove to be an eternity too late. The droid temporally disabled the automatic shut down routines of the ventilation in case a biological or chemical agent was detected in the building. By the time it was turned into slag, blue mist was spreading throughout the whole headquarters.

=RK=

Freighter Sea of Tranquillity

Coruscant Airspace

Ferok Loren was captain of one of the countless trade ships delivering the supplies needed for the survival of a planet turned into one giant, spawning metropolis. At a first glance his craft was nothing to look at twice. The scans it suffered prior to entering the atmosphere showed nothing out of the ordinary – just a small compliment of crew and a holds full with droid parts. After that ordeal he had chuckled nervously. He was in! It was time for those kriffing Republic murderers to pay!

The Tranquillity's cargo was in fact much more sinister than its manifest or any cursory scans could show. In Loren's opinion it was great that on surface scan there was now much difference between parts for various robots and deactivated commando droids hidden among those components.

The freighter was one of three that managed to slip through the Republic's navy umbrella over the capital. Two headed for the GAR bases closest to the seat of the Republic's government and the last flew towards the biggest space port nearest to the Senate.

Sea of Tranquillity veered sharply off its course and headed straight to military base Pelor.

Its crew, who were hand-picked from people whose colonies in the Outer Ring had suffered from mistakes caused by the Republic's forces, disregarded the frantic calls of various controllers and multiple warning about entering restricted airspace. The freighter came in screaming low over the buildings surrounding the target, which it used to take cover from the surface to air weapon emplacements planted around the base. By the time fighters were scrambled and reached the descending transport it was too late for its mission to be stopped.

"Raise shields." calmly ordered Lorak. "Head towards that row of warehouses. Blow the underside of the holds the moment we are over the base."

The human male smiled contently. Soon he would join his family who were murdered by an "accidental" orbital strike. As if he was dumb enough to believe it. You do not wipe a peaceful village by mistake!

Shields too powerful for a mere freighter snapped to life and absorbed the few volleys the weapon emplacement had time to unleash before the ship was over the base. Pelor's own shields were just a heartbeat too late in coming to life and the freighter slipped through. Its own defensive field held long enough, despite not having enough time to charge to full capacity before coming into fire. The underbelly of the craft was sundered by a series of well-placed charges which opened it spilling two hundred commando droids. Yet, the machines raining all over the base were merely an afterthought. It was the four big spheres which detached from the freighter and blew up five hundred meters over Pelor which were the real danger. Their payload covered the base with blue mist.

=RK=

The same scene unfolded over the second military base near the Senate as well as at the nearest space-port.

Ferok withdrew a small silver locket from under his shirt and opened it. He smiled contently at the holo-image of his murdered wife and little daughter. He was still looking at their faces when his ship's nose cleaved through the roof of the first warehouse chock full with military equipment.

The last act of the freighters attacking the bases was to crash land straight in the motor pools of the military installations.

At the space port, the transport attacking it was turned into a burning wreck by the guns of an Acclamator, which was preparing to launch. Its crew wasted no time, zeroed on the approaching intruder and unleashed all weapons that could bear on the freighter. However, the Republic Assault Ship was in the atmosphere above a friendly space-port. It simply couldn't afford to use the full power of its weapons in fear of causing more collateral damage than the incoming freighter could do itself. The fire-power raining upon the approaching ship was not sufficient to fully stop its deadly descent and it crashed in the command pylons of a defenceless Venator. The resulting explosion crippled the cruiser and waves of blue mists washed over the space-port.

Moments later, the airwaves over Coruscant were filled with calls of distress and pleas for back up by beleaguered Republic forces.

=RK=

Senator Amidala's office

Senate building

Coruscant

My first clue about the newest mess rearing its ugly head was a tremor in the Force. It was a sense of premonition. Skywalker and I looked at each other. Something was about to happen. It was going to be bad. Very bad.

I turned my head towards the window. I could see five big vehicles – basically flying buses, break from their lanes and head straight towards the Senate. Considering that those were just the ones I could see, there probably were four or five time more all together.

I jumped from my stool and activated my comm. My intention was to warn the building's security and then call for back up from the nearest military base. I did not believe for a second that what was happening was something harmless like another anti-war protest.

My and Anakin's comm s came to life before my call could go through.

"This is General Valentra, identification Besh-Delta-Three-Niner-Five. Code Midnight. I repeat Code Midnight! GAR headquarters has been hit with bio weapon! Bases Hercal and Pelor are under separatist attack and confirm Blue Shadow released in the area! This is not a drill! All GAR units on Corusss..."

The transmission was lost to the characteristic hissing produced by powerful jamming.

"Skywalker, get your wife and as many of the senators as you can out of the building. I'll try to meet with the senate guard and slow down those bastards!" I ordered. For once there were no protests from the peanut gallery.

=RK=

Republic Cruiser Requiem

High orbit over Coruscant

"All GAR units on Coruscant implement plant Winter."

For few precious seconds Commodore Pellaeon stood frozen by the unbelievable orders coming from GAR headquarters. The sheer audacity displayed by the CIS with attacking targets on Coruscant while simply bypassing was stunning in its sheer audacity.

With sheer act of willpower, Pellaeon shook himself out of the stupor and started barking orders.

"Battle stations! Raise shields and power up weapons! I want all fighters launched yesterday! Assume that this is combined space and ground attack and the Seps kriffed the timing until we know better! Comm, find out who is in charge of our forces in system! I want what little ground forces we have on board to be ready for deployment on the surface ASAP!"

The commodore turned to Piett who was still struggling with the sheer impossibility of the situation.

"Ensign do whatever you can to contact the General! Move it people!"

=RK=

Senator Amidala's Office

Senate building

Coruscant

We just exited Padme's office when the lamps cut off only to be replaced by subdued red emergency lights. The floor shook lightly when a flying bus struck the building. Then again and again. I counted at least six impacts nearby.

Skywalker darted along the right corridor undoubtedly tracking Amidala's force signature. I ran to the left. Before I reached the corner I could hear the subdued sounds of battle. At least for now there were guards who were still alive and fighting.

I rant towards the sounds of gunfire and a minute later reached a corridor where one of the doors along the left wall was blown out. A bunch of commando droids were exchanging fire with a dwindling group of men in distinctive blue armor.

I vaulted forward and jumped at the backs of the CIS Special Forces. Their first clue that I was amongst their ranks was my lightsaber vertically bisecting a black coloured droid. A reverse strike sliced in two a machine to my right while I sent two others at the wall on my left with a telekinetic push. Before that pair could recover I picked them up and threw them at their brethren.

My intervention raised the morale of the Senate guards who intensified their fire. Caught from the both sides of the corridor and with no place to take cover or escape, the only thing the droids could do was to perish. Within moments the Commandos were dismantled but not before they managed to gun down three more of the blue armoured guards

"Thank you, sir. If it wasn't for you we'd be goners." said an old, gruff NCO who was the senior of the surviving guards. Only two of them were left combat effective with a small group of wounded laying on the floor.

"You are welcome. The comms are jammed. Any idea what is the best way to call in the cavalry?"

"If you go to the computer control room there're landlines connected with the nearby GAR bases. Or one of the antennae arrays near the rooftop – you should be able to boost your signal enough to cut through the jamming."

"Thanks, sergeant."

I helped them move their wounded to a nearby guard room which had basic medical facilities as well as a lot of guns, while they gave me directions both to the roof and the control room. Considering that I was about to speak in front of the senate the only weapons I had on me were my lightsaber and dart launcher. I used the opportunity to take a pair of blaster pistols and few thermal detonators. You could never know when you'd need the fire-power.

=RK=

Anakin made his way to a parapet overlooking a large room where seventy or eighty senators and their aides were herded in. The men and women were surrounded by twenty odd droids and few mercenaries.

Skywalker hissed angrily. A tall man wearing dark brown duster and a large hat which hid his face from the position where the Jedi was, had Padme caught by the chin. He was both proud of her bravery and pissed off because she was endangering herself, again, damn it! She was telling the terrorist that the senate would not negotiate with such as him which made him laugh at her. Anakin could sense that the man was amused and had no care in the world. He was either insane or knew something that neither Skywalker nor the senators knew.

Padme somehow saw Anakin and their eyes met. The man holding her noticed it and spun around. His weapon moved in a blur and unleashed a hail of laser bolts at Skywalker's cover. The Jedi rolled away from the opening and ran down the corridor.

"It's Skywalker! Get him!" shouted the terrorist.

As he ran, Anakin made another futile effort to raise someone on his comm.

"This is useless!" he grumbled and turned around a corner only to find himself face to face with a pirate armed with a pistol and a droid carrying a long barrelled blaster.

Before either of them could shoot him, Skywalker had his lightsaber in his hands and had it ignited. He deflected their first shots at the walls and then the man fell slowly to the ground with most of his brain and the back of his head missing. The droid was made by a sterner stuff because few deflected shots did little to slow it down. That prompted Anakin to advance towards the machine. With an economic slash he cut the barrel of the droids gun and with the back stroke took off its hands. The machine's distressed whine was cut off by a blue laser blade applied to its head.

=RK=

Chancellor's Office

Senate Building

Coruscant

"Sorry for disturbing you, Chancellor." said a holographic figure that was projected in the centre of Palpatine's cabinet. Judging by the smugness in his voice the man did not regret it at all. "I already have control of the eastern part of your building and fifty odd senators. I will soon have most of the Senate in my grip. If you care about your senators I advise you to release Count Dooku and General Grievous."

Palpatine frowned.

"You know that the Republic does not bow down to terrorists. No deals."

"What just happened to two of your nearby bases should be an object lesson about my abilities. If my demands are not met I will release Blue Shadow not only in the Senate but across Coruscant."

Palpatine stood still at hearing that. Getting the virus released around the planet was not part of his plans! He narrowed his eyes dangerously at the mercenary.