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Office of the Supreme Chancellor - Coruscant - 19 BBY

I don't know him that well. He seems like a good man, strong and honest.

Senator Lily Evans Potter Organa had said that thirteen years ago. How wrong I was, she now thought. Palpatine is power-hungry and ambitious, eager in becoming more and more powerful. He surrounds himself in mystery. I can't even think what he might be planning. I hope to the Force that he has some plan to get us out of this mess.

Lily currently stood alongside Bail, Padme, Mon Mothma, Garm Bel Iblis, Fang Zar, and Chi Eekway. They, as members of the Loyalist and Security Committees, needed to confer with the Chancellor. After a brief argument with Palpatine's aide Sate Pestage, they stood in the Chancellor's office.

"Let's get straight to the point, Chancellor," Lily said. "Now that the Confederacy has been chased from the COre, we wish to discuss the abrogation of some of the measures you enacted in the name of public safety."

Palpatine gazed at the Senators, and Lily couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Our recent victories have made you feel so secure?"

"Of course, Chancellor," Lily replied. "Durge was destroyed by Obi-Wan Kenobi; Anakin Skywalker defeated Asajj Ventress; Quinlan Vos annihilated Sora Bulq; and Voldemort was wiped out by myself and a few Jedi. So few of our enemies remain at large - Grievous, a few bounty hunters like Cad Bane. It shouldn't be long before the Jedi defeat Grievous, and end this conflict."

"And which amendments would you like - how did you put it? - abrogated?" Palpatine asked.

"The Enchanced and Enforcement Act in particular," Bail said. "Specifically those measures that permit the unrestricted use of observation droids, and searches and seizures without the need for warrants or due process."

"I see," Palpatine said slowly. "Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that the war is far from won, and I, for one, am not entirely satisfied that traitors and terrorists are not a continued threat to public safety. Oh, I realize that our victories give all appearances of a quick resolution to the war, but as of this morning I was informed that the Separatists still hold many key worlds in the Outer Rim, and that our sieges there could go on indefinitely."

Here it was again. Palpatine kept protesting to retracting any of his emergency powers.

"Why not consider ceding some of those worlds," Bel Iblis suggested. "Trade in the Outer Rim and Inner Rim has resumed almost to pre-war standards."

Palpatine shook his head. "Many of those Outer Rim worlds were Republic worlds, taken by force. And I fear we risk setting a dangerous precedent by allowing the Confederacy to retain them. I believe, furthermore, that now is the very time to press our attack, until the Separatists no longer present a threat to our way of life."

Yes, Lily had completely underestimated this politician. He loved power more than anything, and she feared it would be too late to stop him if he perverted the Republic into something it the Russan Reformations had been to prevent it from becoming.

"Minister Marvolo was defeated by the Jedi months ago, Your Excellency," Bail reminded Palpatine. "The Confederate Senate has dissolved, with no diplomat to lead them. If we focus the war on Grievous, the war could be over any day now."

Palpatine sighed. "We cannot abandon Republic worlds in need to chase after a rogue warlord, Your Highness."

Lily didn't now to build an argument to that; she said, "Returning to the matter of rescinding the Security Act - "

"I serve the Republic, Senator Organa," Palpatine said, cutting her off. "Introduce a measure to repeal in the Senate. I will accept whatever outcome ensues from a vote."

"And you will remain impartial?"

"You have my word."

"And those amendments to the Constitution," Mothma began.

"I view the Constitution as a living document," Palpatine interrupted. "As such, it must be allowed to expand and contract according to circumstances. Otherwise, what do we have but stasis."

"If we can be assured of a certain . . . exhalation of power," Fang said.

Palpatine smiled. "Of course."

"Then we've made a beginning," Padme said. "Just as I knew we would."

Palpatine beamed at her. "Senator Amidala, is that not the droid General Skywalker constructed?"

Lily saw that the Chancellor was looking at the Senator's golden protocol droid, a rather pompous unit that Harry and Galilea had recovered from Tatooine shortly before the Clone Wars.

"Yes, it is," Padme replied.

"I am honored that you remember me, Your Excellency," C-3PO said in his prissy voice.

Palpatine smiled at Padme. "I've spoken with him, Senator."

Padme looked surprised. "Anakin?"

Lily again wondered whether the Chancellor had learned about Padme's secret marriage to Jedi General Skywalker, the so-called Hero with No Fear. And if so, what did Palpatine plan to do with that information?

But the information had taken Lily aback as well - James, Sirius, and Harry were on Cato Neimoidia with Skywalker and Kenobi. She hoped they were all right.

The Works - Coruscant - 19 BBY

After the Battle of Cato Neimoidia, James, Sirius, Harry, and Yoda returned to Coruscant - Sirius had temporarily moved to Coruscant after the war began. James, Harry, and Yoda would return to confer with the rest of the Councilors about what they had learned.

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and Anakin went on their own mission to uncover what they could about Darth Sidious. The two Jedi had discovered the truth of Dooku's words: Their hunt for Sidious pointed to The Works, an abandoned complex on Coruscant.

This was not an idea unfamilar to James, of course. During his time with the Death Eaters, Quinlan Vos had reported that Voldemort had met with him in The Works. At the time, only Quinlan seemed to feel that this was important. Most of the Council believed that this was just an out-of-the-way place with no importance. Councilor Siri Tachi, in particular, had felt that the Jedi couldn't waste their time with ruins like The Works when there was a war to fight, and her former Padawan Ferus Olin felt likewise.

Now the Jedi had learned how right Quinlan had been, but he was currently fighting on Saleucami. The troubled Jedi was too far off to investigate his early discovery. James had gone down with Mace, Harry, Siri, Ferus, Shaak Ti, and several Padawans - as well as a few non-Jedi such as Sirius, Republic Intelligence agent Dyne, and a clone commando named Commander Valiant and his team.

The Republic investigation team had sent out probe droids to investigate the place, and then they walked forward to investigate The Works. They discovered a functioning docking gate that showed recent use. Almost upon arriving in the landing pad area, James could since that Lord Voldemort had once stood in this very building.

That was confirmed by Dyne's estimations of the footprints that were discovered - they'd have to come from a tall albeit thin man. Certain areas showed footprints lacking, which showed the figure had the capability to fly, and not Force leaping, actual levitation.

"It doesn't seem possible," Dyne was saying.

"It does," James confirmed grimly. "Voldemort was one of the few wizards on Earth who could levitate without aid."

"Marvolo was here," Ferus said grimly. "That means we're on the right track."

Dyne indicated that the second set of prints, which likely belonged to Darth Sidious, belonged to a figure shorter in stature than Voldemort. According Dyne, after the figures separated, Voldemort headed to his ship, and Sidious headed elsewhere - presumably the turbolifts.

Following the probe droids, Dyne led the Jedi, Sirius, and the clone commandos down the path where Sidious's prints were headed. The Councilors - James, Harry, Mace, and Siri - stood directly behind Dyne. Behind them stood Ferus and Shaak and the Padawans. Sirius and the commandos surrounded the group, blasters drawn - though Sirius also held his old lightsaber. The Jedi ignited their lightsabers, which lighted the way through the tunnel.

By the time the four Jedi Councilors had caught up with Dyne, the spook - the slang for Intelligence agents among the clones - stood next to an outdated turbolift.

Dyne was grinning. "Verified," he said. "Being 2 used the turbolift."

The Intelligence agent summoned the turbolift car and began the investigation. "The car's memory tells us that it arrived from sub-basement 2. If we fail to discover evidence of our unknown quarry there, we'll have to work our way back up, one level at a time, until we do."

The turbolift was just roomy enough for the senior Jedi, Dyne, Sirius, and Commander Valiant. The Padawans led the commandos toward sub-basement 2. When the turbolift car stopped, James was pleased to note that the footprints proved that they were still on track.

Their search ended at a wide tunnel, meaning that Sidious must have taken some kind of repulsorlift vehicle of some kind. James, Harry, Mace, Siri, Shaak, and Ferus met Dyne, Sirius, and Valiant at the tunnel's entrance.

"Where does it lead?" Shaak asked.

Dyne consulted a holomap. "If we can trust a map that's older than any of us, it connects to tunnels all over The Works - to adjacent buildings, to the foundries, to a onetime landing field . . . There must be a hundred branches."

"Forget the branches," Mace said. "What's at the far end of this one?"

After consulting the map, Dyne said, "The principal tunnel leads all the way to the western limit of the Senate District."

James looked up in shock. Senate District! Sidious could be one of our own politicians!

"We're going to need more troops," James said.

Office of the Supreme Chancellor - Coruscant - 19 BBY

Darth Sidious stared at the foolish little Jedi Master before him. How he so wanted to crush Master Yoda . . . But the timewould come - sooner than he had planned. With the death of Darth Voldemort and the Jedi's search for Sidious, the Chancellor felt the need to accelerate his plans - but not yet.

"I understand your concerns entirely, Master Yoda," he was saying. "More important, I am sympathetic to them. But the Outer Rim Sieges must continue. Despite what you may think - and notwithstanding the extraordinary powers the Senate has deemed fit to bestow upon me these past five years - I am one voice in a welter. At long last the Senate is galavanized to end this destructive conflict, and it will not permit me to stand in the way."

"Exhort me you need not, Chancellor," Yoda said.

Sidious smiled, thinking how blind this Jedi was. He had been Supreme Chancellor for thirteen years - and the Jedi felt nothing. And very soon, Anakin Skywalker would be his new apprentice. "I apologize if I sounded sermonizing," he said.

"Galvanized by your State of the Republic address the Senate was."

"My address was a reflection of the spirit of the times, Master Yoda," Sidious replied. "What's more, I spoke from my heart."

"Doubt you I do not," Yoda said.

Perhaps you should, Sidious mused. It will be so simple to destroy you, Jedi.

"But too soon," Yoda added, "your encouragements came. Celebrates imminent victory Coruscant does, when far from ended the war is."

Sidious scowled, letting just a hint of his true self leak out. "After three years of fear, Coruscant craves relief."

"Agree with you I do," Yoda replied in the irritating dogmatic voice of his. "But how from the seizure of Outer Rim worlds is relief sustained? Too many new fronts the Senate urges us to open. Too dispersed the Jedi are to serve effectively. A reasonable strategy we lack."

You lack a reasonable strategy, Master Yoda, Sidious thought. Your time is reaching its end.

The Sith Lord added that people like Armand Isard and Wilhuff Tarkin would not be pleased to hear Yoda say that. The foolish General merely said that he'd tell Isard and Tarkin and Sidious's other military advisors the same thing. Sidious threatened that if the Jedi could not lead the GAR, then he'd turn it over to his naval commanders - Lorth Needa, Jan Dodonna, Crix Madine.

"Answer foremost to the Jedi our troopers do," Yoda insisted. "Forged an alliance with them we have. Forged to fire this fidelity has been."

Sidious could have smiled. In saying those things, it would be simple for him to call the Jedi the enemies of peace and justice. The Jedi signed their own death warrants. He feigned shock, and said, "I'm certain I misconstrue your meaning, but you almost make it sound as if our army was created for the Jedi."

Sidious enjoyed saying little things like that, hoping strike at the annoyingly implacable Jedi expression. If he didn't know any better, he'd have said that Yoda actually felt a hint of anger. The Grand Master snapped, "Not true. For the Republic and none other."

Sidious smiled. "Then perhaps the clones can be trained to respond to others, as well as they respond to the Jedi." Of course, the Chancellor would never opt for that - it would destroy the Grand Plan, the plan the Jedi would just walk right into.

Realizing the trap the Sith had set, Yoda responded, "Trained the troopers can be - but wrong the strategy remains."

Darth Sidious reminded the foolish Jedi Master of the mistake the Republic made at Geonosis by not pursuing the Confederate armies, and that the Chancellor would not be making those same mistakes. Yoda insisted that Sidious was making a different mistake now.

Sidious regarded the Jedi closely. "This is the wisdom of the Council?"

"It is," Yoda insisted.

"Then you will challenge the Senate's decision?"

Yoda shook his head. "Sworn by oath to uphold you we are."

Fool. "That does not instill confidence, Master Yoda. If it's nothing more than an oath, then you are duty-bound to reconsider."

"Reconsidered we have, Chancellor."

Sidious smiled. "You imply no threat, I trust."

"No threat."

"As I've told you on many occasions, I do not have the luxury of seeing this world through the Force. I see only in the real world." Sidious enjoyed bringing up the Force when talking with these Jedi fools, just to spark a reaction - to get through that implacable Jedi expression.

"No problem there would be if the real world all there was," Yoda replied, and Sidious actually thought he'd caused a twitch in the Jedi's implacable thoughts.

"Unfortunately," Sidious responded, "we who are not attuned to the Force have that on Jedi authority alone."

Yoda merely returned to his argument, that the Chancellor would have to do more than just seize more remote worlds.

"These Sith you keep referring," Sidious said - it was time to see how the Jedi really were to finding him. "You never fully divulged what went on between General Potter and Minister Marvolo on Vjun. Could he not have been captured, and tried for treason?"

"Captured he would never have been," Yoda insisted. "Die fighting is always the fate of a Dark Lord of the Sith."

"And this Darth Sidious will meet the same fate?"

Yoda took a moment to respond. "Difficult to say. Without an apprentice Sidious is. More desperate than ever are we to find him - before a new apprentice he does aquire."

And you will fail, Jedi. Anakin Skywalker will be mine, and you shall never stop me, Master Yoda. "And what about General Grievous?"

Yoda dismissed the General. "Without Sidious's leadership, collapse the Separatists will. Bound together by the Sith they are - mortared by the dark side of the Force."

Too late you catch on, Master Yoda. "Then the Council is of the opinion that we must kill the leadership - that this war is more a battle within the Force."

"United we are in that matter," Yoda confirmed.

Sidious nodded. "You are persuasive, Master Yoda. You have my word that I will bear this conversation in mind when I meet with the Senate to discuss our campaigns."

"Relieved I am, Chancellor."

Sidious leaned back. "Tell me, how goes the hunt for Darth Sidious?"

Yoda leaned forward, and said quietly, "Coming closer to him are we."

That confirmed Sidious's worst fears. It was indeed time to accelerate his plans, to make the move bring Skywalker over to the dark side now.

As Yoda left his office, Sidious got to his feet. Once he was sure that the Jedi was long ago, he called over Mas Amedda. "Make sure that I am not disturbed, Amedda - indefinitely."

The disgusting Chagrian creature nodded with understanding Sidious knew the Vice Chair did not completely have. The Chancellor longed for the day when Humans would rule the galaxy, with this horrible aliens gone.

Within seconds, Sidious's office was empty and locked. The Chancellor took out his Sith robe, covering his body and face. Then he contacted General Grievous. The Kaleesh warlord appeared before him.

"Yes, Lord Sidious," the General said.

"The time is drawing near, General," Sidious said. "We must provide the Jedi with something that will distract them from hunting me."

"What do you mean, my Lord?" Grievous asked.

"Skywalker and Kenobi's information has led the Jedi directly to Coruscant," Sidious said. "They think they have my scent, and perhaps they do. It is time to accelerate our plans."

"What is thy bidding, Master?" Grievous asked.

"The Jedi have divided their forces," Sidious replied. "We must do the same. I will deal with ones on Coruscant. In the absence of Darth Voldemort, I will send Doriana to join you, General. You will deal with the rest of the Jedi."

"Doriana is to be your new apprentice, my Lord?" Grievous asked.

"That is none of your concern, General," Sidious replied.

Grievous nodded, properly chastened. "My fleet is ready, Master."

"Good," Sidious replied. "Doriana will meet you on the Invisible Hand. Do you have somewhere safe to tuck your charges in the meantime?"

"Utapau comes to mind, Lord Sidious."

"I will leave that to you."

"And when I have seen to that, Master?"

"General, I am certain you recall the plans we discussed some time ago, regarding the final stage of the war."

"Regarding Coruscant," Grievous responded."

"Regarding Coruscant, yes," Sidious said. "We must accelerate those plans. Prepare, General, for what will be your finest hour."

Grievous's hologram blinked out, and Sidious contacted his aide Kinman Doriana, preparing to give him his next mission - his last mission.

The Works - Coruscant - 19 BBY

By this point, the Padawans and the commandos had rejoined James, Sirius, Harry, Mace, Shaak, Siri, Ferus, and Dyne. They had just finished fighting off a couple of creatures who had been abandoned here. The CIS had apparently captured their planet. They'd tried to abandon the planet, but were attacked by pirates and abandoned in The Works.

"Assure them that they're not going to be harmed," Mace ordered their protocol droid, TC-16, "and we'll see to it that they reach a refugee camp."

Once the aliens were escorted away, Shaak announced, "These corridors are highways for people who want to enter central Coruscant illegally."

Dyne sighed. "Our chances for picking up Sidious's trail decrease with each person who passes."

"How far are we from the Senate district?" Shaak asked.

"Within a couple of kilometers," Dyne replied

Mace signaled the Jedi, and they all surrounded him.

"We're on a wild hippogriff chase here," James said, using an old Earthian phrase that had several counterparts on Coruscant.

"Only because Sidious knows we're on his tail," Harry replied. "He failed to prevent Obi-Wan and Anakin from learning his secrets, and by now he knows we've discovered his secret hideout here. He won't just wait around for us to knock on his door."

"True," James added. "And if we know Sidious at all, we know that he won't make mistakes."

Then Dyne called them over. Deep in conversation, the Jedi hadn't noticed that the probots surrounded a large niche near the tunnel wall - the wall that was revealed to fake. It was a secret entrance into a narrow dark tunnel - and a repulsorlift speeder bike.

Siri whistled. "How did we miss this?"

"The answer," Mace replied, "is in the question."

Immediately, the Jedi, Sirius, Dyne, and the commandos followed the probe droids down the second corridor. Eventually, the found prints recent enough to determine Sidious's species - humanoid, near-Human.

"There are still several species our quarry could be," Sirius said. "But this narrows the search. We're looking for something near-Human - Human, Twi'lek, Chagrian, Chiss . . . "

"Even more narrow, Admiral Black," Dyne added. "If these prints lead us far enough, we're going to end up in the sub-basements of 500 Republica."

James froze. 500 Republica! The very building where the politicians, businessman, celebrities, and tycoons all took up residence. If Dyne was correct, Lily could be in grave danger.

The search did not go as planned. The Jedi were on Sidious's trail, when James felt something ram into the building - ram right into 500 Republica! James would have dismissed - drunk driving wasn't uncommon even on Coruscant. But something didn't feel right. James's bad feeling was immediately confirmed by the alarms that sounded and the subsequent jamming of Coruscant's communications.

Coruscant was under attack - Lily really was in grave danger!