Chapter 2

There was no sight in the galaxy quite like Coruscant at sunset, especially when viewed from the Jedi Council Chamber atop one of the spires of the Jedi Temple. Gazing out over the cityscape, Luke Skywalker saw the black silhouettes of towering skyscrapers set against an orange sky. Tiny black specks, travelling in straight lines, represented the airspeeders flying in designated traffic lanes. Day or night, the capital planet of the Galactic Alliance never slept.

Everyone on Coruscant was going about their daily lives, as though nothing was wrong with the galaxy. Lately, Luke had begun to wonder if there was anything wrong. Even though the Sith assassins and Demood Elppirc were still alive and in possession of the Sith Orb, there had been no sign of them since their escape from the Jedi Temple seven months prior. Perhaps there really was no threat to the Alliance.

If only the Jedi were so lucky.

One by one, the ten members of the Jedi Council entered the chamber and took their seats. It was time for the meeting to begin. Luke, being the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, spoke first. "By now, I think we all know the reason for these emergency meetings, so let's get to it. For the past seven months, we've all been searching for clues that could lead us to the Sith. So far, all we have are rumors and pieces of information. But now we have something else – a holotransmission between Sol Fadré and the assassin known as Sinestro."

All of the masters were surprised to hear this. Kyp Durron asked, "Forgive me for being pessimistic, but how do we know this is concrete evidence? We've been disappointed in the past."

Saba Sebatyne sissed, "This one agreez with Master Durron. The Sith have covered their tracks well. All trailz have run cold."

Ahsoka Tano replied, "I'm the one who found the recording. I cleaned it up as best I could, and I think you'd all be interested in what I found."

Kyle Katarn asked, "How exactly did you find it, Master Tano?"

"After Master Fadré's death, we went through all of his possessions hoping to find some clues. When we came up with nothing, we went through his computer files and transmissions. Those didn't help us, either. A lot of them had been erased beyond recovery. Later, it occurred to me that he might have routed his messages through the temple's transmitter, in which case the calls might still have been archived. So, I went into the universal communications system for the Jedi Temple and ran a program that searched for keywords, faces, and voices. It took a long time, but we did find one call that was made over two years ago."

"Two years?" repeated Corran Horn, incredulously. "Are you suggesting that we have had a traitor in our midst for two years and never suspected a thing?"

Leia Organa Solo answered calmly, "Let's not jump to any conclusions yet. We still have no idea how long the Sith have been planning this. For all we know, this could have started five, ten, or even twenty years ago."

Ahsoka continued, "Anyway, I cleaned up the recording. I'll let it speak for itself." With a wave of her hand, the wide, panoramic windows tinted and the holoprojector in the center of the floor activated, creating two blue, transparent figures. The first person was Sol Fadré, formerly a friend and colleague, and now a dead traitor. The other was Sinestro, a clone of Sith Lord Count Dooku. Both appeared slightly younger than when they had last been seen.

Sinestro smiled at Sol. "Ah, Master Fadré. I see you got my message."

Sol was not so friendly. "It's kind of hard to ignore a voice in your head, especially yours. You promised me an explanation, and that's what you're going to give me."

"And I will. But first, I am curious. How did you track me down?"

Sol replied, "I don't see what this has to do with your explanation. Tell me what I want to know now, or I'll run a trace on this connection and tell Master Skywalker where you are."

Sinestro shrugged. "I suppose that could be easily done. Too easily, actually. The fact that you have not already done so tells me that you are curious. So, we are just two curious men who want answers. So tell me, how did you track me down?"

It was a moment before Sol answered reluctantly, "While investigating Jacen Solo, I hacked into the Galactic Alliance's financial records. Of all the money being given to GAG, the Guard's finances report lower numbers coming in. Meaning, somewhere in transit, money is being spent on something that Jacen doesn't want people to know about. So, I waited for the next payment and observed where the money was going. After reaching Jacen's office, some of the money went straight to a separate account registered to you."

Sinestro appeared genuinely shocked by this line of reasoning. Apparently, he did not expect to be tracked down in such a manner. He asked, "Who gave you the authority to hack bank accounts? Surely not the Jedi Council."

"This was a personal request by Mara Jade Skywalker. The last one she made to me, in fact. I shared in her belief that Jacen had turned to the dark side, which is why she asked me to find evidence."

Sinestro raised an eyebrow curiously. "Really? Why would she ask you and not Luke? I'd think she would trust her own husband more for such a task."

Luke could feel most of the eyes in the room glance in his direction to see his reaction. Based on what Sol had just said, this transmission had taken place just after Mara's murder at the hands of Jacen, her nephew. Before her death, she had argued to the council that Jacen had turned to the dark side, but they would not believe it, as there had been no concrete evidence. Not even Luke had believed her, and, for that, she had lost her life.

Luke and Mara's son, Ben, had been Jacen's apprentice, and continued to serve him in the Galactic Alliance Guard. Afraid that Jacen would pull Ben down with him, Mara went to confront him alone. She never even had a chance to say goodbye to her husband. Luke had no idea that she had been forced to put her trust in Sol Fadré. If Luke had not ignored her, then not only would she still be alive, but Sol would never have discovered the Sith plot. He would never have joined the Sith, recruited Elppirc, or helped steal the Sith Orb.

Ahsoka must have sensed Luke's thoughts, for she sent him a mental slap through the Force. She was trying to tell him to stop blaming himself for everything. Normally, he would, but not this time. Mara's death had hit him too close to home, and he would not easily recover from it.

Luke returned his attention to the holotransmission. Sinestro said, "Now that you have answered my question, I will answer yours. It all began years ago, in a cloning lab on Kamino. That is where I was created. I am among many clones of some of Emperor Palpatine's servants. He commissioned our creation as a safeguard should the Jedi rise again. However, when the Galactic Alliance was formed, the project was abandoned. Now, we are just doing what we were bred to do – rebuild the Galactic Empire and reassert the Sith's control over the galaxy."

Sol asked, "How does Jacen Solo fit into this? Do you work for him?"

"Technically, although we have never actually met him. Since our work began, we have been quietly gathering allies to aid our cause. But only one of them could train me and my siblings in the ways of the dark side: Lumiya."

All of the Jedi Masters seethed at the mention of the Dark Lady of the Sith. In the days of the Rebel Alliance, Lumiya, then known as Shira Brie, had been sent by Darth Vader to infiltrate the Rebellion and attempt to capture Luke. She had done well at deceiving them all, going so far as to form a romantic attachment to Luke. However, he later sensed her true intentions through the Force and shot down her Starfighter, presumably killing her.

Lumiya survived and was given cybernetic implants by Vader to compensate for the damage to her body. After multiple failed attempts at revenge, she went into hiding until she was discovered by Jacen Solo. She then manipulated the Jedi Knight into becoming Darth Caedus, exacting her revenge on Luke and the Solos. When Mara was killed by Jacen, Lumiya allowed the blame to fall on her, and let Luke kill her out of anger.

Luke thought that he had been rid of her forever, but now, she had struck again from beyond the grave. For a moment, Luke was confused. When he spoke with Sinestro the previous year, the dark side assassin had said that Caedus had trained him and his siblings. It did not take long for Luke to realize that it was a lie to disguise Lumiya's involvement, for any one of many possible reasons.

In the holotransmission, Sol bared his teeth in anger. "Lumiya killed Mara Jade Skywalker, and Luke killed her. When he gets his hands on you…"

Sinestro scoffed. "You know better than that. You know that it was Jacen who killed Mara. Lumiya allowed herself to be killed to protect us and our new master. When she revealed herself to the Jedi, she knew that if they pried too much, they would discover our secret operation and put an end to it."

Sol pointed out, "I found you by other means. How do you know Master Skywalker won't find you the same way?"

"Because you will hide the truth from him."

Sol laugh derisively. "And why in any universe would I do that?"

"Because you know that the end is coming. In a few years' time, our army will be ready, and Jacen Solo will lead us in a war against the Jedi. They have become fractured. They will not have the strength to resist us. The Sith will rule the galaxy once more, and the Jedi will be destroyed, once and for all."

Sol did not say anything. He looked downward, thinking about what Sinestro had said. In fact, he appeared to be considering it. Finally, he said, "I'll admit, I've begun to have doubts in the Jedi Order. But I'm not convinced that you pose a genuine threat. An army built in secret can't be that great."

Sinestro smiled maliciously. "Why don't you come see for yourself? Our primary facility is on Dromund Kaas. Once you see the scale of our operation, I'm sure you'll see reason."

Sol was surprised. "You think it's a good idea to just tell me where you are? How do you know I won't tell the council? Perhaps you are lying?"

"It is not a lie. If you come to Dromund Kaas, you will see that I am telling the truth."

Sol's mouth hung open in shock. He shook his head defiantly and argued, "Now I know you're lying. Dromund Kaas is just a myth."

"Oh, is that what Master Skywalker has been telling you? If you look deep enough in the Jedi Archives, you will find that he does know where it is."

Before Sol had a chance to reply, Sinestro cut off the transmission. His hologram disappeared, followed by Sol's. The recording had ended, and the Jedi Masters were left contemplating what they had just seen.

Kenth Hamner was the first to break the silence. "So, now we know how far back this plot goes. We also know who has been involved: Lumiya, Caedus, and now Demood Elppirc."

"As far as we know," corrected Cilghal. "Sinestro has been gathering allies ever since the Yuuzhan Vong War. There's no telling who else is involved. For all we know, they could have spies within the Alliance, the Imperial Remnant, or even the Jedi Order itself."

"I bet Dain's in on it," said Kyp. "He would do anything to get rid of us, that three-eyed, two-faced sneak!"

Kyle held up a restraining hand. "Calm down, Master Durron. Let's not go accusing the Chancellor of anything just yet."

Ahsoka, barely listening, stared into space and shook her head. "How could we have been so blind? This is exactly how the Old Jedi Order died." Ahsoka had already witnessed firsthand the destruction of one Jedi Order, and now she was on the path to seeing the destruction of another. She pulled herself back into the present and announced, "We have to act quickly before it's too late. The Sith must be destroyed!"

Octa Ramis, who was usually quiet, suggested, "Perhaps we should present this recording to the Senate. They might commission a preemptive strike on the Sith."

Luke shook his head. "We can't show this to anyone, especially not Dain. We assigned Master Fadré to be his bodyguard. If we reveal that he was a traitor, Dain might think we wanted to assassinate him."

Corran pointed out, "And then there's the matter of the Sith Orb and Master Elppirc. We never told the Alliance about them, either. And now, the Sith have them both because of our failure. If Dain heard about that, we'd never hear the end of it."

Leia joked, "The thought does make one cringe." More seriously, she stated, "If we can prove to the Alliance that the Sith are a real threat without incriminating us, Dain will no doubt approve of an attack. Until then, we're on our own."

Kenth said, "Sinestro mentioned a location in the transmission: Dromund Kaas. I think we all know the significance of that world."

Kyle recounted the history of the planet. "Five thousand years ago, Dromund Kaas became the capital planet of the Sith Empire. They used the planet to build up their armies and launch a war against the Old Republic. The Jedi tried to attack the planet, but its electrified atmosphere made landing their ships difficult. It was decades before the planet finally fell and the Sith Empire was dissolved. After that, the planet became lost to history, and everyone believed it was a myth.

"Then, a few years after the New Order was founded, I discovered the planet's location from ancient texts. When I went there, I found that it was a dark Force nexus filled with all kinds of Sith…" Kyle searched for a word to appropriately describe what he encountered, and decided on "abominations. I even fell to the dark side until Mara came to find me. After that, we decided that Dromund Kaas was too dangerous, and worked to keep its existence secret."

Kenth nodded his head. "Yes. And now, it seems, the Sith have found it again. Perhaps Jacen Solo dug it out of our records, or Lumiya somehow knew about it."

Corran looked at Kyle and asked, "Do you think Master Fadré turned to the dark side the same way you did? He was overcome by curiosity and went to the planet?"

Kyle shrugged. "I'd like to think that he didn't turn willingly. He was a good friend, and if I have to believe that Dromund Kaas corrupted him, then I will."

Ahsoka spoke up. "I'm willing to bet that the Sith are still on Dromund Kaas. We should launch an attack on the planet as soon as possible."

"With what?" asked Cilghal. "We've already established that the Alliance won't help us, and we have no army of our own. A scouting mission is more practical."

Saba hissed, "There is no time to scout! The Sith grow stronger every second we delay! We must pounce when they are at their weakest!"

Leia said, "I agree with Master Sebatyne. If we're going to attack, it should be now. The only reason they haven't shown themselves yet is because they're not ready to take us on. If we send a scout, they'll know we're onto them and speed up their plan. We may not need an entire army to stop them, but we do need help."

After a moment of thought, Luke smiled as an idea came to him. "I think I know who can help us."


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