[20 BBY]

[Council Chambers, Jedi Temple, Galactic City, Coruscant]

It had felt like a another lifetime since their last, full, Council meeting Mace Windu found, and in that short time many faces had changed due to death, or in case of his friend Eeth disillusionment. This damnable war harmed so many, whether directly or indirectly, was the undoing of so many good sentients...so many good Jedi too it seemed despite all their efforts to prevent such. At long last the Sith, the Dark Side itself, had made its move and they had proven far less prepared to face the threat than they had believed themselves to be.

Yet, he was confident they would prove victorious, the Force singing softly that theirs was the correct course, the only true path available. Though, the details of how to achieve the eventual destruction of the Dark Side, of evil, remained to discussed as that victory seemed far away right now as he spoke "We have all heard Master Kenobi's report, and the belief that an ancient Sith has perhaps been freed from Moraband by the machinations of Count Dooku..."

"Indeed, grave situation is..." Grandmaster Yoda interrupted, because he always had to interrupt everyone Mace found "...fallen far he has my former apprentice to do such as this"

Master Koon hummed "Free the spirit deliberately? Or, by misunderstanding the nature of where he would bring his Dark Acolytes, and their weakness to such?"

"Hmm...hmm...hard to see, to know..." Yoda replied nodding "...for shrouded the future is, the path ever darker"

"Yes, sadly that is so Master Yoda..." Obi-wan murmured nodding in agreement "...though have seen the horrors of the dreadful world...even one as powerful as Dooku could have underestimated the dangers, and those spirits managed to lure us down"

"The Sith are Masters of deceit, even when dead it seems..." Adi Galli sadly agreed, then sighed deeply as she sit on her cushion "...though how they persist after death is a concern. I had heard of it as an Initiate, but had not believed in such things, beyond half-life through holocrons and machines as that creature who called itself High Shaman of the Teribble Glare"

"Hmm, Hmm, not true life it is, an illusion..." Master Yoda voiced earning nods from a few others, though Mace would prefer to investigate the matter further, from the Forbidden Archives, before making a decision on what they faced "...an abomination of the Dark Side, of fear and wickedness born"

"Be that as it may Master Yoda, we must hunt down this...creature...before it can enact whatever nefarious scheme it has planned" Mace voiced, glancing to his side and Yoda nodded back to him.

"Investigate, I will, prevent others repeat these mistakes we must"

Mace sighed at that "That...will be difficult I fear, at least till sufficient military assets are available to establish a blockade upon the world. For now all we can do is hunt down the Fallen Acoylte, and whatever has infested him, before he enacts whatever terrible plan the Dark Side has set in motion, along with monitoring the system as best we are able and attempt respond should the Separatists attempt other missions there. More is not possible I believe, not with the demands of the Republic upon us to drive back the Separatist droid armies"

"Something that is not going too well at this time..." Yarael Poof voiced, potential sarcastically Mace wonder despite the friendly tone "...to the complaints of many"

"No, but we will victorious, despite Kuat, as we have begun to stall, and in many sectors drive back, the Separatist armies and fleets..." Adi Gallia retorted in a calm tone with perhaps the faintest undertones of irritation "...what concerns me more at the moment is the luring of Skywalker and his padawan to the surface, the effect it had upon them, and you Obi-wan, and fact Ventress has resurfaced. Not only resurfaced, but seemingly in the employ of our wayward Stormcrow as he labels himself now"

'Yes, yes, my personal millstone, yes everyone give me looks' Mace wanted to snap back, but merely nodded, deciding to voice his opinion, ignoring the faint discomfort of Stass Allie "Do you believe he has fallen to the Dark Side Obi-wan?"

Kenobi shook his head "No, though his distrust of the Order has grown, as we all expected, and his stated position of hiring them as bodyguards due to a perceived need...well, sadly, I do believe him in that. Ventress does too, or at least has chosen to act as a subordinate to him, as has the two other Witches present. My only other observation, especially upon Moraband, was his extreme caution, and efforts to ensure Ventress stayed within the teachings of the Light as best I could tell. She did not Fall at least, and passed through quarantine after leaving the planet. My own distaste for her aside, she has shown willingness to step away from her path into Darkness"

"Choose to? Or was drive from? Not exactly an endorsement of her good nature..." Plo Koon speculated "...as young Ahsoka said to me when I discussed such with her earlier, though she does have positive words on young General Daron, so perhaps I am wrong on that. Not matter, it is concern that the Nightsisters would depart their world now"

Mace shook his head "It is to be expected Plo, we are unable to muster the strength to main vigil upon those worlds where we had restricted them, and the others such as present upon Tund and Ko-Var. I suspect we merely must thank the Force that numbers have been few so far during the conflict"

"Yes, yes, deal with them we must, future though, not present..." Yoda agreed sounding weary "...too many foes we face, deal with the deadliest first we must. Locate this Darc we will, capture him, capture Dooku, and defeat the Sith. Deal with others then we shall, fulfil the prophesy we will"

The Grandmaster gestured at them with his walking stick "Master Ti, Master Gallia, hunt down this new Sith, this false thing, gather two knights and their padawans to aid you, you will"

Tapped it again "Master Allie, to your old padawan you shall go, questions we have, seek answers you must"

Mace nodded as Yoda turned towards him "Investigate other matters Master Windu will, discuss later I shall"

'Ugh, more idiocy from the Chancellor I expect' he thought but maintaining calm within the Force. Dealing with the old Nabooan was a frustration at best, and actively painful it felt at the worst of times, as he demanded the Temple do things Jedi were not intended for. Perhaps they were necessary things, but the attacks upon the Jedi amongst the public on the Holo-Net had grown intensely due to the poor choices of the Senate.

Or, more accurately, from the incompetence and corruption of the Senators; when the war ended they could be dealt with, the corruption swept away. Mace resisted a sigh...for now though he mentally prepared himself for dealing with the dreadful politician who supported Skywalker of all people on the Council like far too many others, while also dealing with Yoda's grating 'old wise master' personality...

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[20 BBY]

[Office of the Senator for Alderaan, Senate Buildings, Galactic City, Coruscant]

"I'm sorry Mon, I've done all that I can, but it's a very organised campaign, and it's certainly gotten the militarists base all fired up. Centares and then Zygerria were solid victories amidst a number of setbacks overall..." Bail Organa offered spreading his hands to his friend as she sat across from on the other side of his desk "...and the only way we'll be able to ensure there isn't a deadlock over the negotiations is tying it to the military reform bills they're bringing forward"

"Is it all you can do Bail?"

He gave a sad nod back "We've the full support of the Chancellor Mon, but that's only getting us so far with so many systems playing neutral, and then the Mandalore situation...there's deadlocks on so many bills because so many systems are sitting things out, or are entrenched around their own positions. I'm only tolerated by many on the extreme end of certain factions because, my ideals aside, I served on several of the fronts"

Mon Mothma sat back in her chair, shaking her head sadly "Yes, I feared it was that bad, but I had hoped..."

She sighed "But, seeing as Padmé cannot even bring Naboo as a unified vote..."

Bail gave another helpless gesture at that "In defence of Jar Jar, and Padmé, it's very clear that his constituents would probably tie him to a stake and set him on fire for supporting peace talks immediately after Greivous's attack upon Naboo, his capture, and then freeing for the greater good of the Republic. We should be glad Senator Amidala has at least managed to maintain the confidence of the human population there in our cause despite trying circumstances"

"I know Bail, I know, but we need to end this war soon...it's tearing down the very foundations of the Republic the longer it continues..." she replied, stating a concerning truth he'd been noticing as well "...I've never seen such vitriol since the CorSec had to escort the Corellians out at the start of the war, and yet now it feels like we can't even attend the Senate without a bodyguard present!"

"It comes with the trade I'm afraid Mon, we've just been lucky that we did not have to face it for a very long time in the Republic's history. And truth be told..." he looked out the hardened security window to the towering buildings of the city-world beyond "...I can't disagree with many of the points being raised by the militarist think-tanks and their backers. The Jedi's performance in the war has been less than ideal, and it was unfair of us to press them into scenario and hand them the responsibility for our failure to plan. They've tried hard yes, but recent events show we should have focused more on the Grand Army's command structure"

"I..." she groaned softly "...agree somewhat, though one cannot risk saying that in public I might add"

Bail smiled sadly "Your secret's safe with me Mon, I know how it feels. Some of the ideas they have a good foundation, but they're being thrown forward only to abuse it, and the power it would give them, instead of a positive for ending this war. I'd look on the positives; if the peace-talks can be made work then those compromises won't be necessary in the future. Perhaps the recent attacks can persuade the sensible beings on the Separatist side to step back from the course they are taking"

"I might Bail, it might..." Mon replied the smiled "...though don't let Padmé hear you say such..."

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