Chapter 10 – Visions and manipulations.
Harry finished the file on the Mandalorian's, putting it down he pondered the best way to handle them. It was almost like the new Mandalorian faction under Duchess Satine of Clan Kryze was afraid of violence, it was almost as if they didn't trust themselves to not escalate things too far. Or maybe she feared not wanting to stop if she started.
He looked over at the screens displaying their territory. Once galactic conquerors now reduced to this, a lesson to others about hubris and advancing too far too fast. Apparently the clone troopers followed some of the traditions of the Mandalorian's of old, not that it was really helping them much.
He checked the screen displaying their location, they were nearing the moon of Concordia in order to investigate the information supplied by Dooku's agents. Then he would have to decide how to handle things, whether to discuss matters directly or not, if the duchess is returning to the old ways, then bring her on side, if not, find out what is actually happening.
The woman was proud but not stupid. He looked at her file again. Unmarried, no current relationships or lovers, nephew in the academy, a sister who has joined Deathwatch. Interesting, a possible family feud then. No record of another sibling, missing files or a lack of one. Possible skeleton in her closet?
He wrote a few notes, attain DNA samples of the duchess and her nephew, see how closely related they are.
A tone demanded his attention from his desk, ah, he had arrived, time to get to work.
Mallie sat meditating on the items before her, searching for hints as to their owner and their origins. The force seemed reluctant to even begin in such matters, she let her mind flow with the force, as if an ancient sailing ship upon a sea, looking for a beacon to guide her way.
The force seemed as if it was covered in a thick mist, nothing appeared and she began to think that this was a waste of time. Then a whispered "Oh Harry" brushed by her mind and a faint light broke through the mist.
And the visions began, a torrent she could not stop, her mouth beyond her control, babbling words in an attempt to speak of what she could see, her mind saturated with images and sensations, with each heart beat the light grew and came closer.
"A pink toad demon dragged into twisted forests by strange beings, screaming for help. Satisfaction sings in the echoes, balance, suffering for suffering."
"A mirror, a whispered name Erised, a red gem beating with power like a heart, a man with two faces screams as a boys hands touch his flesh."
"A song echoes, peace and joy, a fragment of a star given flesh, eternal and forever, symbol of a great cycle. Why does it cry?"
"A great arch, tall and powerful, seeped in darkness. A boy with shining green eyes stands before it, the light of a star shining over his heart, death strikes with green light and the boy falls."
"The last bastion, the last of the light holding the gates, aged and scared by war an ancient maiden was weaving a great confluence of the force. Stars exploded overhead, burning the land in fire, unleashed by old men in suits with black ink dripping from their eyes and ears."
Harry looked around the site, they had left in a hurry, they had fought someone before they left. The reports said Obi-wan Kenobi had been here, obviously he had fought Deathwatch, he was still alive so either he had escaped or driven them off. Duchess Satine was renowned for being a promoter of peace and pacifism. For her to allow a group of her people to return to the old ways of her people. No, something was wrong here, unless she had pretended to be her image for over a decade, very unlikely. He stood and turned back to enter the Lily, running through the information he already had.
Entering the cockpit he took his seat and began to fly the ship back to orbit between the planet and moon. He opened comms to the fleet. "Where is the Duchess Satine Kryze?"
A droids voice responded. "Our spies indicate she is currently on route to Coruscant."
"Hmm… I am altering course to Sundari, I will await her return. No need for guards, I have enough with me."
The images wouldn't stop, they flowed through her, disjointed and mere glimpses of greater events. Shudders began to strain her muscles but the force was rushing through her, it would not let her go.
"Kill the Spare, a flash of sickly green."
"A shining beacon of joy burns into the darkness, souls saved by the light, but the darkness sees him, knows him, remembers him now. And it is hungry. So very hungry."
"A strange feline like creature rears back, golden and proud, defiant to the end, brave. A bloody field behind it."
"A small chamber, a little boy, the freak with eyes of green, small chalks in his hand, a picture of a strange foodstuff and flame, a whispered children's song."
"A thousand and one arrangements of strange markings covered an immense chamber, a great crystal and golden structure sat within the heart of it all. Golden sand filled the carved markings, shining like stars. Each grain ringing like an immense bell as it fell."
Harry entered the throne room of the New Mandalorian's and surveyed it. All rather cubist, not to his personal tastes, but the natives seemed fond of it. From a side chamber a tall regal figure entered.
"Prime Minister Almec, a pleasure to finally meet you." Harry bowed politely to his current host.
Returning the bow, "Indeed General Jade, might I enquire as to the reason you have entered neutral space?"
Harry smiled at the man, observing him carefully. "I have come to introduce myself and to ask a few minor questions. You hear all sorts of rumours and I want to put them aside."
"Indeed? I dread to wonder what rumours you've heard."
"I have heard plenty of the Duchesses legendary desire for peace, her pacifist ways, whilst not mine, are to be admired. That some of the rumours say that she is gathering an army to join the war disturbs me. I presume they are all lies, but I felt it important enough to come personally to enquire."
Almec sighed, "yes, Deathwatch. I am afraid that you have heard rumours about a terrorist organisation seeking to destabilise the government and return us to our violent past. They answer to a traitor called Pre Vizsla."
"I apologise for how this comes across Prime Minister, but I would appreciate it if I could hear the denial from the Duchesses own lips. I believe you of course, but when I return to Raxus, I can at least alleviate some of the confederacies concerns."
Almec nodded, "I take no offense and understand completely, unfortunately the Duchess has travelled to Coruscant to speak to the senate. They are moving to occupy this world to bring order and peace, but we're afraid that it will in turn bring the war to our homes. Your presence here will not aid in such matters."
Harry raised a hand to stop Almec continuing, "and that is why I came with a few bodyguards in my personal vessel, my fleet arriving would have not assisted anyone, plus it would be rather rude of me to just arrive with my forces in orbit without an invitation to do so."
"And we are grateful for your consideration. We unfortunately do not have an embassy for you, however we can provide lodgings for you as our guest, it would be preferable that you maintain a minimum bodyguard, I mean no offense but a large armed confederate force would not help the image of you, nor the Mandalorian's."
"I take no offense Prime Minister, I was in fact about to suggest something along those lines myself, I shall have only the one bodyguard if that would be acceptable? The remainder of my guards will remain on my ship unless they are needed, I doubt they will, but you never know."
Almec smiled at him, "of course, one is perfectly acceptable and would minimise any disruptions that may occur. I will transmit details for your lodgings to your ship as soon as they are ready for you, it should not be long. Please join me tonight for a meal, it would be nice to hear your view on our culture."
Harry smiled at the offer, "I would be honoured, I have a fascination with history but know little of yours, perhaps you could enlighten me on the matter."
"Dark eyes burn into his mind, his thoughts scattered and reaped before the eyes stop their assault, their rape of his mind. Clear your mind. Again. Pain returns."
"A girls voice echoes in a strange language but Mallie feels the meaning of them, she's beautiful. Periwinkle blue flows down stairs."
"Green eyes burning in the dark, reflected in the mirror. A girl humming echoes drawing the green back towards the light."
"Fiery letters in a strange script hover in the air, they dance and reveal a secret too terrible and great."
"A thousand and one species, multiples of everything. Held in crystals. Seeds to be scattered across the cosmos. They would be their legacy, safe from the hated consumer. Dark ink starts to spread from the doorway at the edge of the design."
"Please," Mallie begged to the air, "let me go, it's too much, please." Blood began to run from her nose, a slow drip staining pale skin.
"Sirius, you are my bodyguard for my stay. Maintain communications with your brothers, just in case. Anubis, you are on espionage, find out what you can about this Deathwatch, they may be of use to us. Get access to their security network, infect them with a few programs to give us clearance and information. Then proceed to convert… fifteen droids into sleeper agents. Once you have done all that, return to the Lily unless otherwise ordered."
As the droids moved to their posts, Harry gathered a few changes of clothes and a few gifts for his hosts, always a good idea to make a good impression with his hosts.
He grabbed the datapad on the way out, continuing his studies on Mandalorian culture and history. It would be interesting how open his hosts would be if they believed that he knew very little.
"Mars is bright tonight."
"A knife cutting, fire driving back the night, white long limbs stretching, shadows wreathing around the figure, fear, pain, relief, emptiness, hate. Red eyes turn to face him."
"A moment of reality held in place, crystallising around the power held within. A star burns golden in its prison. Soon another joins it, then another until it rains stars. The universe holds its breath and looks back."
"Pain, hunger, confusion, why? Fear, darkness, I'm sorry, I don't know why it happened. Please, no more, why won't you love me?"
"The darkness hammering at the gate, another light burnt away, a titan stood tall holding the gates to the last, black poison seeping towards his heart, twinkling eyes hiding the pain and sacrifice he performed. The other lights fell back to protect the heart."
Most of the images revolved around the boy with green eyes, his thoughts, his experiences, but a few did not include him. They felt different, alien to the flow. Mallie tried to hold onto those, these were what she was looking for, they held the key to her search. Eyes blind to the world opened and tried to focus on them, tears of blood falling to the ground.
Harry strode into the throne room, a figure of confidence and power. Enough to show strength, but humble enough to not insult. The New Mandalorian's were an odd bunch, pacifists from a culture dedicated to combat, all because of a civil war that escalated too far too quickly. He surveyed the room, Sirius in his shadow.
"Your Grace, a pleasure to finally meet you." He smiled charmingly at the Duchess who looked rather tired, but she waved him forward, her advisors watching him like hawks. "I heard about the incident on the Coronet and the republics attempt to occupy your world, I am pleased that you are unhurt and such an event has not occurred."
Her voice was strong and held none of the exhaustion he could feel from her. "We are all grateful that events were stopped from escalating too far. I am rather curious general, and forgive the bluntness, but why are you here?"
He smiled at her as he responded, "I am afraid I heard some rather disturbing rumours and came to personally make sure they were lies and mistruths to cause conflict between us. I have already discussed the matter with your Prime Minister and he has alleviated my concerns, however I mean no insult when I say I must ask you directly. May I?"
Curiosity in her eyes, she waved at him to continue.
He nodded, "I am afraid that I must ask you if you are raising an army in order to enter the conflict on the side of the republic." At the look of fury on her face, he raised a hand to stop her response. "Please Duchess, I am well aware of the crimes performed by this Deathwatch faction. I have been informed of their goals by your Prime Minister and see no reason to doubt him nor yourself. I merely wish to hear the denial from your own lips to my own ears so when I return to Raxus I can inform the Senate about the situation and your personal denials on the matter."
"Deathwatch is a terrorist faction that we are dealing with, it is an internal matter and requires no external interference. We have no interest in joining either side of this conflict."
Harry bowed at that, "my thanks for your response, I will pass on your words to the senate exactly as you have spoken them to me. If possible I would like to turn to less stressful matters."
He felt her anger simmering along with a taste of frustration but she calmly motioned for him to go on.
"Due to your stance as a neutral entity, I would like to propose that the confederacy be allowed to construct an embassy here. We would also like to propose a treaty between you and ourselves. Whilst I do not follow your view of the galaxy, I do admire it. I would be happy to propose such a peace treaty to my senate, but I wished to discuss the potential between ourselves first."
He watched as her eyes widened in shock at the idea of such a treaty. Whispers carried around her advisors as they tried to imagine what he gained. "You wish to propose a peace treaty between the neutral systems and the confederacy?"
"Yes I do, believe that the only beings involved in the conflict are those who choose to be, you wish to be left alone and I can understand that, I agree that you should be given such a choice and it be honoured. That is the argument I will be bringing to the senate. My only fear is that the republic on hearing this will denounce you as traitors and move to occupy your worlds. As part of the treaty I will suggest that we assist you to defend your territory only if we are called upon. We will not enter such conflicts without permission. I am not here to force our will or trample over your rights. We want you to be thinking for yourselves, a beacon to others of how the galaxy could be, an example to others. I am no diplomat or ambassador, I came to you with a dream, an idea. I hope you will assist me in making it happen, but I will not be insulted if you feel it is against your interests to do so."
Duchess Satine's eyes seemed to bore into him, he noticed her flinch at her own words being used, "and if we allowed you an embassy and considered your words, what sort of… security force would you leave here?"
"How many would you like there to be?"
She blinked in surprise, "you would let us define your numbers?"
"Well I presume that you would allow appropriate staff to assist an ambassador to yourselves, however, we can provide a wide range of guards to protect the embassy and the staff involved. I would prefer enough to protect our interests, but not enough to cause discomfort for you and your people. Ten, maybe twenty of the rogers, a B2 or two alongside that number, maybe a trio of droidekas. So between fourteen to twenty five combat droids as an armed force, an ambassador and their staff. You choose their location, we will provide the rest, in fact I will supply the security force personally from my own guard. I would also prefer a secure courier shuttle should the ambassador require its services, but again, we will supply that."
She leant onto one of her hands and scrutinised him once more. "General Jade, you appear to have put great thought into this matter. Mandalore will remain neutral. But we will allow you an embassy, it will be nearby within the city, I believe we have something that can be used right away, the Vizsla clan's estate has recently become available." She paused for a moment. "Peace is a rare and valuable thing, I would do well to take the opportunity, however it will need to be discussed further amongst the council."
Harry nodded respectfully, "of course, I expected as much, I will contact my government and begin organising things on my end. As an offering of good faith, my fleet will withdraw from your council's territory immediately unless called upon, I will also inform the nearby fleets to leave your territories alone. I will personally travel to Raxus to propose the idea of a treaty and to update them on the Deathwatch issue. If you will excuse me, I shall get started on that immediately. It was a pleasure talking with you Duchess," he bowed to her and then nodded to Almec, "Prime Minister, my thanks for your hospitality."
"A battle, warfare amongst an obsidian chamber, purple fire ripples across the air and cuts into a girl, agony and horror burns as she falls."
"A wooden goblet filled with blue flames, a puff of red flame and a name is chained."
"A woman crowned in fire dances around a fountain with a man crowned in night, joy shining in their eyes before they turn once more."
"Blood dripping from a red quill, a toad like being wreathed in pink, its face almost splitting with its joy at the pain. Flesh flayed with the words, inscribed for all time."
"The angel stood, the silver blade shining bright in his hand. The darkness rears, the ink forming a shape, tall and thin, red eyes full of hate burn into his soul, the edge of its robes moving as if alive. The tentacles of ink sharpen and strike, the angel shielding the others with his flesh, flayed to hold back the dark."
Blood fell from her mouth, she had bitten her tongue to shreds but still stammered the words. The wounds healing as the force flowed through her, it demanded to be known, it must be known. Mallie grasped at the edges of her sanity, buffered in the torrent of knowledge. fingernails tear free from her scratching at the floor, trying to stop her body ripping itself apart.
Dooku's voice rang out amongst the chamber, "to the next piece of business, General Evan Jade has requested to propose a bill to the senate."
"Ladies and gentlemen of the senate, you have all received a copy of my proposal put forward today. It is my desire that we make a treaty between the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Council of Neutral Systems. They wish to have no part in the war between ourselves and the corrupt republic, I believe that we should honour such a choice. We chose to leave the republic due to the corruption and rot festering at its heart, they remain loyal to the republic but do not wish to fight. They are unsure. With this treaty we can open their eyes fully, let them see the truth without republic propaganda distorting matters. Give them the information to make an informed choice. At worst, they remain neutral and do not involve themselves, at best they join us in our fight for civilization. In addition it will give us more legitimacy to our position as a separate government to the Republic. It is every sentient beings right to be able to make a choice, let us not take that from them as the republic has already done."
Dooku nodded sagely from his seat. Not bad, a passionate display, his apprentices' reputation for honour and public service to protect people had aided in this. It ran counter to his masters plan, to bring chaos and war everywhere. But this was also of use, if those systems remained neutral, they would not join the war, less forces and resources against them and when everything was finished, they would join the victors or fall. As an added bonus, should the republic be prodded into sending troops into neutral regions, then others might be scared into joining the confederacy for safety.
He spoke over the muttered conversations. "I believe that this should be put to a verbal vote. Please, all make your choice." He smiled towards harry as he made his vote, a little emphasis on his last word would have nudged a few of those who would have abstained into a choice. It was such a pity, he thought, that Harry disliked politics, he had such potential. Maybe later once this was all over.
"A flash of white, sharp claws, golden eyes shining in the dark. The first gift, loyal companion. Friend."
"An immense hall almost without end, filled with shining moons, whispers of what was meant to be and what will be, dark figures stand in the shadows, a hand reaching out for the moon in the boys hand. Curiosity warring with hatred."
"Red eyes burning in the dark, reflected in the mirror. A pale finger rising and making a slow slashing motion on his forehead, as if tracing something. Are we so different?"
"A jungle surrounds the child, gold and red fire burning within a form slashed with darkness wearing a vile crown, a golden knight with a heart of darkness caressing the last fragment of the light within, the knight kneels and offers its hand, the child smiles and takes it."
"The moons daughter, always with her feet in many worlds, her eyes scanning other places and times, she whispers to the heart, I see him, pouring her life and power forth into the ritual, her essence burning pure and powerful, a beacon against the dark."
Mallie fell to the floor fully, curling up into a foetal position, her nerves screaming in agonies unknown. The force singing and roaring into her mind. Too much, it was too much, but it won't stop. The Force began to fold upon itself, the light and dark writhing around her, to show her, to save her from the truth.
Harry looked at the Ambassador opposite him, "you're sure of this?"
The Twi'lek stared at him for a moment, "our agents are very thorough general. Deathwatch is growing as a threat to new Mandalorian leadership, we believe that there are several members of the higher ranked government who are in agreement with Deathwatch's desires."
Harry turned back to the file, "Senator Amidala, what were you doing there?"
"She was involved with the duchess in a minor skirmish with smugglers, she had been invited by the duchess as a friend to visit."
"I believe we can forgive her that, don't you. I imagine it's rather lonely in her court. An attempt to have advice on her options perhaps? I noted a related series of incidents, something about poisoning children."
"Ah yes, greedy smugglers altered their produce to improve their profit margin. It had an unexpected result, the children were the weakest targets and showed symptoms first."
"Children should be kept safe." He quickly locked down his thoughts skittering away from his own actions on Bespin. "Smuggling seems to be a prevalent problem for the region, what's this about Prime Minister Almec?"
"It appears he was heavily involved in the smuggling operations, Duchess Satine's nephew discovered the conspiracy and it was resolved internally. Apparently he attempted a coup when he was discovered."
"How badly did he fail?"
"It was a messy affair, a lot of his conspirators have been acquired by Mandalorian internal security. We have a few contacts amongst the remainder who avoided the fallout."
"Give them a few nudges, make sure they're pliable to our interests, if not give the duchess the evidence. I believe that a small gesture of good will would not be amiss, transfer a grain shipment to Mandalore with our best wishes."
"General? They are all spoken for at this time, our own people will be affected."
Harry stood and moved to his window, looking down on the estates gardens. "Acquire some more, I shall personally cover the expense from my own accounts. I know what it is like to be hungry ambassador, I would not wish that on our people, nor our friends."
The Ambassador looked over to the young man silhouetted by the light outside. "As you command general, I will see to it personally."
Harry nodded as his secretary entered as the connection ended, "General, I have a message for you. Your toys are on route as requested, from Xora."
"Thank you, have the Lily prepared for tomorrow, I will be returning to my fleet then, in the meantime, please check if senator Bonteri is still on world, it would be good to see how she's doing."
"Yes sir." The secretary bowed as she left the room.
Harry returned to look at the gardens below, his smile showing his pleasure at the news.
"A great winged beast forged from horns and blades screams out its anger and rage at the boy, he stands strong before it, his eyes flicker around the arena and he finally sees her. Relief, strength, pride. He raises a hand and cries out to the heavens."
"Darkness and cold surround him, a song echoes in the dark and deep, three sacrifices laid before him. A crown of fire, the betraying brother, crowned in gold, the unknown innocent, crowned in tigers eye, the heart."
"An old man's voice, joy and pride shining as he spoke. Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple. Great Things, terrible but great."
"The serpent rears back, hate, anger, rage fuelling him, shining silver blade in his hand, the serpent strikes, pain, so much pain, but she is avenged. Will she miss him, it would be nice to be missed."
"The heart finished her weaving, now the ancient maiden could rest, could join her chosen one, the ritual complete. She whispered a name and burned away in the golden flames. A guiding star in the heavens to bring him home to her."
Mallie's spine arched, her muscles creaked in their strain, blood poured from tears in her flesh. The blood formed strange patterns as the force flowed around her. Her mouth spread wide in a rictus of agony and screaming, but still the words poured out of her as if she was simply discussing the weather. Her eyes clenched shut in an attempt to block the visions.
The blue image of Count Dooku stood tall and proud looking at his protégé. "Darth Abaddon, I hope you enjoyed Senator Bonteri's hospitality."
"As always she was a most gracious host."
"Indeed, I find her conversation most delightful, but on to more pressing matters. I believe it is time for you to unleash your toys."
Harry nodded and smiled, "as you command my lord."
As the comm link deactivated he turned to Hedwig. "Set course for Mustafar, I require a suitable site and space to do this. Move the storage vessels there. It's time we really got fighting."
He moved to a section of the comms system and began typing the passwords. With a smile he authorised the message held within and returned to his bridge. Sitting in the captain's chair he whispered, "it's showtime."
"A woman begging, Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead. A man's voice, This is my last warning. The woman once more, Not Harry! Please, have mercy, Not Harry! Please, I'll do anything. A flash of green."
"A world wreathed in storms, ancient ruins dripping with the dark side struck by purple lightning. A stagnant corpse of ancient glories and darkness, sinking into a great jungle. A flash of golden light drives back the darkness before becoming lost in the mist. Thunder without a flash echoing across the cosmos calling for the anchor."
"A world green and blue shining in the sky, a single white moon dancing around it. Darkness claws across the land like ink, leaving only a few beacons of light which fall one by one."
"The world cracked, columns of golden fire erupting from within. A great wind rises, scouring the land, leaving a smooth sphere bar the cracks and rifts spewing golden light into the heavens. The star shudders, the fires merge and then in a moment of silence. A held breath. Supernova."
"From the darkness a pale white face emerges, as if rising from a sea of black ink. Faint scales reflect the light, no nose but slits flare as if they can smell her. Red eyes open, hate, anger and rage burn within, they bore into her very being, pain erupts as if a thousand knives dig into her very nerves. I see you."
Mallie opened her eyes wide and Screamed.
AN:
Thought I'd get this out today so i can enjoy my birthday tomorrow :)
Reviews:
Philosophize: Thank you for your review, its nice to hear you are enjoying it. I've read the Darth Marrs story and enjoyed it quite a lot. My biggest problem is that there is a lot happening in the background that I feel I need to cover as well. Then there's going to be the part where Harry returns, that's going to be hard to handle well. But I'm looking forward to the challenge :)
Xearthes: Glad you enjoyed it. I hurried to get this chapter out for today, I wrote it as a throwaway line but then checked the calendar and thought, I can publish it in time.
Eljin1: Thank you.
Lord of Carrion: Harry would not approve of maul at all, so that will be an interesting phase of the story. Bo-Katan will come into the story, don't worry about her. Do as I say, not as I do windu is indeed looking into Harry, the chaos that will cause will be fun to write :) Harry the secret pirate is a useful little weapon I his arsenal, a source of income and resources Dooku doesn't know about.
God of all: thank you, don't worry about it stopping any time soon, got plenty more already written.
X-marks-the-spot1974: thank you. The droids are up to things on their own in the background. the kidnapping idea, all them. Harry will find out about Dooku don't worry about that. Sidious is seeing this as Dooku trying to build up an apprentice of his own, sidious would let him to crush the attempt later so he's wasted the effort to train someone rather than attempt to take the place of the master, sort of like sidious did with his own master. The Hermione aspect is a little different. Harry will have future knowledge of two years without altering things, he will be able to guide her to ask the right questions, then nudge her to grow.
God of Vampires: you'll have your answer in I think two chapters time, unless I move things around again.
Blackholelord: that's not a bad image to use with him, although he's got a touch of marauder from the warrior class when he fights. Also please note that harry has never let loose properly in any of his fights, that will come later :) in reference to his children, so close and yet so far. But that's a hint at later ;p Harry has seen a dark lord with stupid plans without backups. He's seen fragments of other grand plans in the galaxy without backups. If there's one thing harry does in those situations is learn from others mistakes. Always have a plan B, if not more. Just in case a hero turns up to mess things up.
BioHazard82: Thank you.
Lycan01: thank you.
Allhailthesith: indeed, more of her to come.
Indecisive Bob: thank you and no, I'm afraid no ninja harry. Although… he did do a bit of stuff like that earlier in the story…
Ahsanrox: thank you, hope you have a good holiday :)
Mangahero18: you wish, some of the clues will be appearing soon, but I've got nearly seven more chapters in almost ready status and still nowhere near him going home ;p I also believe a good line would be "wait till they get a load of me."
Shadowsmage: thank you.
Red Demon161: The CIS is indeed a collection of poor or damaged worlds, they are run either by those who are greedy self-serving and corrupt, or by those few true believers who are trying to make their worlds better and safer. Glad to hear you liked the meal, he's had two years of Dooku teaching him manners amongst other things, but still his emotions can disrupt things. As for harry flirting with Ahsoka, it's a bit awkward here, harry is almost 18 and Ahsoka is 15, maybe a little later.
Carth: remember that this is all Harrys point of view, he was told by Dooku, Some of it is also his own perception of what happened to himself, its all muddled together and festered in the back of his mind..
Wulffe: glad you are enjoying this story.
Theta-McBride: thank you. Both sides of the war are as bad as each other, especially as they are both guided by the Sith.
Meja9201: thank you. It was better yoda speak than I've managed.
Ksecc1: Thank you. I do try to avoid those errors but sometimes I just miss them.
SpannerMonkey: Thank you.
Lynxreader: he's already done a bit of that on Bespin :)
DragonNOOB: Thank you. I hope you keep enjoying it to the end.
Guest: Thank you.
C. : Glad to hear that, I hope you enjoy it to its end.
Neon1311: Glad you are enjoying it. There are a few answers for you in this chapter and the next.