[19 BBY]

[Personal Deck of Daron Stormcrow, Executive Security Solutions City-ship/Capital-class Warship Stormcrow {II}, Battle-group Army of Light, In Orbit Nouane, Capital System, Nouane Allied Regions, Inner Rim]

Repairs on the fleet were underway as I sat patiently within my personal suite aboard my flagship, awaiting the arrival of my approaching guest. Waiting on my stepping over the Rubicon, even if no-one in this reality would know what that meant. I'd already gotten numerous contacts, along with conflicting orders at times, from GAR High Command in the shape of the Office of the Supreme Chancellor, the Directorate of Republic Naval Intelligence, and the Unified Republic Forces Auxiliary Command. Most though, in the end, essentially wanted me to stay the hell away from the Core, and current chaos that had erupted thanks to certain deaths I'd help cause.

Chaos I hoped my organisations Public Relations was helping along...I gave a snort at that; not that any of that thought of it that way, instead seeing it as bolstering our position politically and financially. Rallying the various mercenary armies of the Republic, and those pirates turned Admirals like that vermin Hondo Ohnaka since he'd crawled out of his hole apparently still alive, to stalemate the Senate and Chancellor while my fame was high enough to do so was first on the agenda. Second was getting more and more credits from that fame to fund our ever voracious war-machine like some kind of sci-fi age Wallenstein or Tilly.

That was assuming I survived that long of course; a rather dangerous hidden Sith Lord was likely quite cross at me right now, and there was...another running about Hutt space, and undead one at that, as well. My fault indirectly I supposed forcing myself calm with my meditation, feeling the approaching Force signature within my domain. I'd had to set Assajj and her two 'sisters' to training...on the far side of the ship, where their presence wouldn't be obvious to any but me thanks to my wardings and other Force blinds. Hardly ideal as she knew they were there, but compared to working with full-blown Sith such as Darth Maul and his brother, and Mother Talzin it was a minor problem...

I opened my eyes as the doors opened "Hello Stass"

"Daron, I have come to discuss certain matters" she replied in a calm, cold, tone as she strode in a member of the Jedi Council rather than my former Jedi Master. Not unsurprising, though her emotions betrayed her a little, here, in my Sanctum Sanctorum. We both had separate interests now, even if they overlapped, and I had been proving very, very, problematic for the Council I expected. But I was calm now, so utterly calm, and cold myself...cheating with the Force, with my Magic, to do so, but I needed to be for this. So I sat, half-lotus in my meditation circles, lifting up a data-slate with the Force, and gesturing with my right at the circle across from me to Stass's surprise.

"Yes, yes, we do, but first...there are several things you need to read, to understand, so why I have done what I have done may make sense. So, please, read and be enlightened"

I offered the slate with the Force, access granted, as I rested my hands on my knees, Stass remaining silent as she sat in the familiar meditative pose, same as me, and accepted the device into hands. There were limited options now, and time was running out, so I needed to reach out to someone within the Order. In this case someone on the Council I could trust at least, to an extent only sad to say as their loyalties obviously lay with the Order than a former Padawan of hers. So I sat, appearing as we had once...an eternity ago, when we had been Master and Padawan as she read the documents silently...

Then paling, emotions flaring and swirling as she read, fingers dancing as I knew she followed the cross-referenced files, the financial data my analysts had assembled, and mentally reviewing the timeline laid out before her. My staff were comprehensive, and I had complied it very carefully along with Hanna and Shesagora based on what we believed *we* knew. Sadly that wasn't exactly the truth as thought of it, but my 'meta-knowledge' was unreliable at best, and I had to go with things I could back up with facts, not feelings, as that was the bane of the Jedi Order.

Clearly it was enough to upset my former Master as her breath shifted subtly, emotions worsening. After all I was detailing many, many, bad things to her, that there was a cancer at the heart of the Republic, and that Jedi themselves stood within a trap. I could have opted to talk first, but that could lead to a tangent over my allying with a Sith Apprentice, the Nightsisters, and other Darksiders, so that was something I wished to avoid at all costs. So I sat, and waited, as Stass Allie displayed subtle signs of distress, but remained silent as an eternity passed by.

"What...what...is this Daron?"

"I think that should be obvious my former Master...the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic is apparently a Sith Lord, and that he controls the Clone Army of said Republic, with slave chips in their heads that if the appropriate code-phrases are used can take out most of his opponents..." I replied serenely, the concerns and worries momentarily gone "...with what my fellow conspirators, for that is what we are, suspect are either allies, or at least unwilling pawns, within the Order that allowed him create this Clone Army with the support of the Jedi Order. That things are utterly, utterly, terrible. Oh, and I killed Count Dooku and General Grievous, and likely have greatly offended that Sith Lord, so am very much likely to dead very soon if I misstep"

She took in a deep breath, letting it out to steady and calm herself "You are in no danger Padawan, once I return to..."

I tilted my head to the side sadly "Coruscant? You will what? Inform the Council? Arrest the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic? For what crime?"

"Assuming what you have here is correct, he is a Sith, it us our duty as Jedi to act. We have the authority to deal with any misuse of the Force, any heresy of the Dark Side..."

"Ah, that particular aspect of the Ruusan Reformation, I am aware of it..." I replied utterly calm, looking at her serenely "...and the carte blanche it gives the Jedi Order, but my former Master, that will not work with anyone in a position such as that, no more than it work with me, or those under my command, as my forces would resist such attempts at arrest. Quite simply, if the Council attempts to arrest the Supreme Chancellor they will fail, and that is assuming members have not been compromised Stass as Master Krell was, as Master Dooku was, and as Master Sifo-Dyas must have been. Against a Clone Army that can be turned on you be a few words, and against the will of the populace of the Republic"

"You speak as we have already been defeated Daron..." Stass almost reprimanded, and I smiled sadly back, shaking my head as there was little confidence in her words "...and you are relying on the words of the Sith, Darksiders, ones you have allied with"

"Allies of convenience, temporary ones at that, and historically one finds that the Sith are prone to turn upon each other. Nor did we rely upon them for most of the information there, they merely confirmed the name, one we had suspected"

"But how, he has bodyguards, Grandmaster Yoda..."

"And is supposedly on the level, or above, that of Grandmaster Yoda and..." I paused, closing my eyes, then opening them as I focused "...the Order is blind Stass, I had said as such before and the war merely blinds them more. It is either incompetence within the ranks, a failure in the face of the Dark Side, or there is corruption within the ranks, more Fallen but hiding it. Maul? For all his Darkness, and his power...he can cloak Stass it, at least for a time, and he was merely a thrown away Apprentice by my estimation"

She let out a breath, looking me in the eyes "So, you had visions as we believed, and they guided you to this"

'This...again?' part of my thought, but I was focused, and needed to get believed, and it was the truth...from a certain point of view "You trust in the Force too much Stass, you all do. Yes, I have had...let us call them impressions, of certain events that could happen, but you have to understand..."

I waved my right hand, then with my left "Light Side, Dark Side, the Force demands Balance, and doesn't care for us mere mortals. The truth, the plain truth is...the Jedi are meant to lose, for all of us to fail, to fulfil the Will of the Force, to bring Balance"

She stared at me, a moment, then a stretching silence before words "You cannot believe that Daron"

I sighed, making a weighing gesture with my hands "I have Seen it Stass, as you know well from your words. In the many, many, wars of Sith versus Jedi there was no need for a Chosen One, for a fulfilment of prophesy bringing Balance. Certainly not Now when there are handful of true Darksiders let us be honest, and ten thousand Jedi on the others. It is why we cannot See into the Future anymore...because the Force does not want the Jedi to succeed, it wants the Dark Side to surge, to be Ascendent...and then to burn itself out as the Sith are wont to do. Or, have Anakin Skywalker kill them off in revenge, fulfilling that Chosen One idiocy the Council have adopted. None of us saw this danger, this poison...because Trust in the Force, and the Force blinds our eyes to the obvious danger about to strike"

"Haa...haa...haa...haa..." Stass shuddered faintly, closing and then opening her eyes "...you truly believe that don't you?"

"Well, it's either that or this Darth Sidious is basically on par with a God, and is so much more powerful that tens of thousands of Force users, not just Jedi, combined across the galaxy by a factor of billions, along with populations beyond easy numbers, that he can puppeteer the Order, the Senate, the GAR, while most of his time is spent doing work in the Senate and a host of other things" I answered, and even Tenebrae hadn't managed that, and he was beyond the levels of Sidious. Sure 'modern' Jedi were weak compared to those of the past, but it was more exploitation of Jedi institutional blindness and unwillingness to use certain techniques that had allowed the Darksider set the narrative.

For a few minutes there was silence again, her emotions flashing up and down despite staying outwardly calm, before she sighed "The constant references to Revan and Hoth had a reason I see, beyond to irritate Mace and the rest of my fellow Council members. You were practically shouting it at us"

'I have no idea what you're on about' was what I was thinking, but best not appear lacking so I nodded "Well, they are an effective rally cry for what we face. I have a Fleet now, an Army, and allies...and I am willing to fight with those I must, be they the Ventress, the Mandalorians, or even Sith such as Maul if it prevents the rise of a Sith ruled Republic. So I've come to you with this information Stass, now I have some modicum of proof, because right now..."

I gestured off to my side with my right hand "The Sith? They've won, to attempt arrest him? Triggers the Clones and most of the Order dies. Attempt to dechip them like have done to those in our ranks? Kamino runs your medi-droids and has propriety rights over their slaves, they'd find out before you got a few thousand of the millions saved. Order 66 triggers. Try to remove the Jed Generals...Sith panic, triggers orders. Hell, most of the non-Clone GAR would help them. So there's my problem, along with this creepy old Sith Lord playing mentor to Anakin for one, a number of other Jedi over the years"

Stass's eyes widened, but I pressed on "So, there's a price for this Stass. I'd have made a bad Jedi, I know that, but before you go off, trying to dig up information, I need you ensure people I care stay safe. You, if you can, Bariss, Anakin, though I fear for him in other less direct ways that we'll discuss in a moment, Tiplee, Tiplar, Kazdan, and others...I want them out of the firing line before any potential Doom falls..."

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