[19 BBY]
[Jedi Temple, Temple District, Galactic City, Coruscant]
"I am glad to see you freed Adi..." Mace Windu found himself saying to the hologram of his fellow Master of the Council as he sat with Master Stass Allies on his right, Jocastu Nu on his left, and Kit Fisto just left of the Chief Librarian returned to the High Council "...but the loss of Master Ti is a heavy blow"
"She has not fallen Mace, we can still free her" the exhausted looking hologram of Adi Gallia argued, and Mace nodded despite knowing the truth was...they may not be able to do such. Not now, not when they faced the abyss that suddenly opened up before them. What was worse he could give no warning, not even over these, in theory securest of secure, Temple channels as he, they, could not know how deep the Supreme Chancelor's corruption. Or, more frighteningly, if friends such as Adi, or Knights such as Swan and Bultar, had been corrupted during their tours as the secret Sith Lord's bodyguards, or time in captivity now.
"We can, and we will, but you are in no state Master Gallia, nor are Knights Secura and Swan, and the events that placed you in captivity show the strength we would need to bring to bear" Mace took in a breath, then let it wearily "Strength we do cannot easily send as matters stand. There may be a ceasefire in place, but there have been many terrorist attacks in response to the peace talks, and the fighting has not truly ended as many, many, small skirmishes continue. What is worse is that the Sith, Maul, has resurfaced with the Death Watch on Mandalore, and we must yet deal with that threat. It is why we feel it best and the two knights remain where you are, recover your strength in the coming weeks, and we can decide what to do when we have more information"
The other truth was he needed to gather the best duelists in the Order, without most of the Order itself noticing to potentially warn the Supreme Chancellor, so they could attempt face down the most dangerous foe that currently faced the Jedi Order. So many of the Council were away, including Grandmaster Yoda, and Mace and the others he had brought into his and Stass's group had limited ability to warn them without giving away their knowledge. Not only that but he had to get as many as he could away from Coruscant, the younglings and the Archives most of all, as a Do or Die effort to deal with Darth Sidious would likely have a negative ending even in the best reaction.
"We would be best served returning to the Temple then Mace!" Adi protested, a sign of her tiredness as she was being unusually expressive in her gestures "I agree there could be concerns over...negative impacts from our captivity as General Stormcrow implies, but we can return and recover where we belong, not sitting idle under the command of someone who views the Order negatively"
Mace shook his head, though the true reasons he wanted the trio to remain comfortable yet restrained aboard his personal millstone's flagship could not be said "No, you are in an ideal situation to build trust between the Order and GAR South, that we can take as well as give orders within the GAR. And, should the need arise, aid those we send to recover Master Ti from the Sith"
"Mace, Stass...I, we, would prefer returning to the Temple..."
Master Jocasta gave him a glance, a faint nudge in the Force as Adi seemed intent on arguing the point, which would be a problem as the rest of the Council, who could be summoned by Holo-stream, would likely support her idea if she pressed. So Mace sighed, thankful she could feel him as he deliberately struck at a point he would have preferred not to "Master Gallia, there are...political reasons it would be best if yourself and Knights Secura and Swan were to...avoid entering the public view for some time"
"Mace means the Hutts released holo-vids Adi..." Master Jocasta interrupted wrinkling her nose as Mace watched Adi Gallia visibly deflate with each word "...he's just being to polite to say it. You need to stay where you are, make sure those filthy Dathomiri witches don't influence young Daron out of the Light, and otherwise avoid any media till this furor dies down. We don't need the fiasco against that abomination in the Force being dragged across the Holo-Net, along with resulting recent events"
It was like watch a balloon deflate as Adi just...slumped in hologram form "Oh, oh...is...is...it, bad?"
Stass beside him sighed "We've tried cut feeds Adi, but...just stay out of sight a while and allow Daron's crew do their tests without complaint. Problematic as he can be at times he does know what to look for, and it's on par with the Temple as stretched as we are currently. We are sending Master Unduli and her Padawan to help with such anyway, Knight Vos and perhaps another to help Knight Kota and help face this...Darth Imperious if we must as you advise"
Adi Gallia nodded, almost numbly "I...understand, of course, recent events have been...stressful you understand"
Mace nodded "Of course Adi, you and the others performed admirably considering what you faced, and Master Ti's sacrifice will not be in vain. The information she brought us will bring many, many, criminals to justice, and enable us to move upon the Sith on Mandalore, and eventually on Nal Hutta, sooner than we would have without. Unless we have any further business I suggest you rest and gather your strength Adi, we will need such strength soon enough"
"Thank you Mace, I...will do as the Council requests. Master Gallia out"
He let out a breath as the hologram vanished, the connection cut "That was...unpleasant"
"We have little choice my friend..." Kit Fisto murmured "...ensuring as many of the Order remain away from the Temple, and Clone Legions, is an impossible task as it is. Ensuring they remain where they are, unhappily perhaps, is better than the alternative. We cannot be sure how they have been affected by the Sith in captivity, and sending others to them, rather than they to the Temple, is the superior choice"
Master Jocasta nodded firmly "Yes, no point in adding more problems to the mix. The Sith have trapped us rather badly, potentially infiltrated our very ranks even, by means unknown that hide their Dark Side taint so much so that we miss Dooku falling, Krell falling...amongst others"
In truth Mace Windu felt lost amongst the void of stars. Striking now, even if the evidence was circumstantial, was his instinct, what felt correct in the Force...but that way led immediate disaster. Master Allie had brought back her own opinions, along with that of the wayward Daron, and Mace had learned enough over the years to listen to that. Otherwise, traps of purple glitter and embarrassing holo-vids lay in his future, blinded from his sight in the Force. If an irate Padawan could do such, then it was very likely a Sith Lord that hidden his nature from JEDI BODYGUARDS AROUND HIM EVERYDAY then Mace suspected failure was a strong possibility.
'Let alone if others within the Order have fallen as Masters Dooku, before we suspected, and Sifo-Dyas if what we now know is true, must have to help create this slave-chip Clone Betrayal' he mused as they discussed possible means to evacuate the younglings and archives without anyone noticing. That along with the 'minor' task of somehow removing the chips in the heads of the Clone Troopers within the Temple district outside the Temple proper for a start...
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[19 BBY]
[Executive Security Solutions City-ship/Capital-class Warship Stormcrow {II}, Task-force Blotus, Battle-group Army of Light, Emerging from Hyperspace near Arami System, Galov Sector, Outer Rim]
"Battle-stations, Battle-stations, all hands man your stations" echoed out in a buzz around me as I came out unto the Bridge from my 'Ready Room' to the usual bustling activity, as well as various alerts and icons flashing into existence further out from ours. I strode forward, Gardan saluting as I approached the tactical display as the flow of orders and observations continued around me as I passed. It seemed we had found our would-be bounty hunters, or assassins, in the employ of Darth Sidious along with the various pirate bands they'd managed to recruit to their cause.
"So, what have we got?"
Gardan shook his head, hand point at the tactical plot "More than we thought there'd be Captain-General, but within our capability to deal with"
The problem with Darth Sidious was, at least right now, he knew the way to the 'Secret KDY shipyards' at Rothana, which was where we were going. Unfortunately that translated right now into certain spots along the hyperspace lanes being ideal for ambushing us as we moved through the various gravity wells to get an access system to be guided from. We'd hit three of those spots so far, moving in careful scout and jump, then resting off the beaten track, with my task-force till our luck apparently ran out here it seemed.
In truth it was more the fact I had three recovering, potential Dark Side influenced despite all evidence to the contrary currently, and thousands of recently freed slaves aboard my ships that concerned me more than the numbers before me. I'd done my best to appear weaker than I actually was while over Nal Hutta and Nar Shadda, and six of my 'unarmed transports' were fully upgraded combat Gozantis under the disguised hull framework. That and I'd kept the Venator-class Star Destroyer Troubadour and its two aging Hammerhead corvette escorts Harsh Weather and Red Lightning away from the Hutt's home system till we'd linked up again after departing the Hutts.
I rested my hands on the display, studying the forces opposite "Hmm, looks like, but let's not get overconfident, that's quite a lot of starfighters their launching. Order the fleet to form up Formation Delta Four, prep droid-fighters for launch, I want TIES launched and formed with the fleet, let's put our expensive anti-starfighter systems to use shall we?"
My task-force was strong enough; my Stormcrow, two Revenant-class cruisers, essentially refitted Munificent-class 'frigates' refitted for space combat alone, a Venator, six Gozanti heavy combat freighters, the carrier freighter Mercy's Lament, and eight more escorts of varying classes. I counted perhaps two dozen starships emerging out of the shadow of the gas giant and outer asteroid belt, only two in the heavy cruiser range, but their starfigher numbers were higher than I'd have liked. Still, that's why I'd invested heavily in anti-starfighter systems against both manned and droid variants, and Stormcrow might not be an ideal battlescruiser but she was a monster of information control, targeting systems, and general sensors...
"What are those...magnify! Sensor feed and visuals on the cameras!" I ordered bringing my finger unto two icons emerging at the rear of the seemingly overconfident pirates. Time passed like an eternity, orders following, sensors scanning, till a hologram of the two vessels joined long range pictures as the pirate fleet sluggish formed up and charged towards us. My eyes narrowed, studying the images and hologram.
"Are those...Venators?"
"They look wrong Captain-General?" Gardan volunteered as I felt the swirl of Ventress approach, and I gestured with my right hand behind me for her to come over as Gardan continued "Size profiles a bit smaller, and the bridges are too low...don't see launch bays either"
My fingers drummed along the edge of the tactical display "Prototypes perhaps?"
"With Pirates?"
I nodded despite Gardan's disbelieving tone. Of course he didn't know about the Sith Lord likely backing his private mercenary army, so it was possible "The Republic's corruption knows no bounds at times...Sensors, what have we got on these things?"
"Fight's started at last?" Ventress queried, and I nodded absently waiting for the more detailed sensor return.
"Ambush like we thought, something bit strange though..." I started before the information came back on the screen as we burned through enemy interference. The not-Venators were smaller than a proper one, but pretty heavily armed and giving off a decent enough energy signature. Concerning, but not disastrous as I ordered my now formed up fleet to accelerate, freighters coming inside a protective 'bubble' as my Stormcrow began sending targeting data to the rest of the fleet...
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