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On AO3
Chapter 1 on Dreamwidth
Chapter 2 on Dreamwidth
Chapter 3 on Dreamwidth
Chapter 4 on Dreamwidth
Chapter 5 on Dreamwidth
Chapter 6 on Dreamwidth
Chapter 7 on Dreamwidth
Chapter 8
Bail Organa sat strapped in to his seat in the cruiser as it took off from Ch'tagra, but he didn't feel the rumble of the ship as it leapt into space. His thoughts were otherwise occupied.
Five months before the Republic fell. Five kriffing months. He'd known things were bad, but even in his wildest dreams he'd never imagined this bad. There had to be a way to stop it; de-chipping the clones was a good start, but would probably not be enough to stop Palpatine. Unless he were stopped completely, and exposed to all in such a way that no one could deny his treason, he had enough power and supporters that he would probably be able to at least hold on to the power he already had.
The problem was, nobody outside of the Separatists and the most insane conspiracy theorists would believe him, if he tried to expose Palpatine's power grabs for what they were. Palpatine had too great a reputation as being selflessly devoted to the Republic. And if Bail reached out to the Separatists, he would be branded a traitor himself.
"Senator?"
He looked up to see Master Windu standing in front of him. "Yes?"
"We're in hyperspace now, you can unstrap," Master Windu said. "I hope you don't mind, but we're taking a bit of a roundabout way back to Coruscant—it shouldn't add more than a day or two, but it will allow us to contact some of the Jedi in the field directly and pass quiet warnings. This shouldn't go through comm systems."
"Not even secure ones," Bail agreed. "Given that Palpatine, as chancellor, has access to every code we have."
"Not to all the Jedi codes," Windu said, "but I'd like to save those for an emergency, which this isn't quite … yet."
"Or, at least, it is an emergency in slow motion, which gives us time to think and respond carefully, instead of willy-nilly," said Master Nu. She'd spent most of the trip out reading, and true to form, was studying a bookreader now.
"While I would like to get back to Coruscant as soon as possible," Bail said, "A few extra days to figure out just what in the Force I can do about all of this would not be … unwelcome." That was one of the first lessons he'd learned as a senator: even in a crisis, it was important to take time to figure out what the crisis was and what the best response would be before acting. Especially in a crisis.
"Indeed," Nu said. "If there is any research you require for this project, please do let me know. The Jedi Archives are the most complete and extensive in the galaxy, and we are more discreet than a holonet search or the Senate Archives."
"Thank you, Master Nu," Bail said, relieved. The Senate Archives were extensive (and possibly, in political or governmental matters even greater than the Jedi Archives), but bribing the librarians and archivists to know who was researching what was common practice. "I will definitely take you up on that. I'd say background research into Palpatine, Tarkin, Pestage, and every other person Finn mentioned is a good place to start."
"Indeed, that would have been done regardless, but I will be sure to pass the results to you," Nu said.
"And I want to know every shred of information we have about how the clones came to be ordered in the first place," Bail said. "If they're a part of how he plans to take over the Republic, then he must have been in on their creation somehow. It can't have been just one rogue Jedi with visions."
"No, it can't," Master Windu said. "But it's even more serious than that. The clones themselves would be useless without a war to fight. If the Separatists had not chosen to break away at the exact moment the clones were discovered, things would have transpired very differently."
"If they broke away before the clones were revealed, the Republic would have looked harder for a peaceful solution because we wouldn't have had the option of fighting, not on that scale," Bail said, sagging back in his chair. "And if the clones were revealed first, we'd have had time to investigate the details of their provenance."
Nu nodded. "The timing would have had to have been very tight. That argues strongly for, although it does not prove, collusion."
Windu nodded. "Finn tells us that 'Darth Vader' is the one to lead the clones against the Jedi. 'Darth' is a Sith title. The Separatists are led by the Sith; although we do not know Dooku's Sith name he must have one for he regularly uses Sith tactics, abilities, and equipment, and refers to himself as Sith."
"But if a Sith is working to create this 'Empire' of Finn's and put Palpatine on the throne, then they must be working together," Bail said. "The whole war has been, from start to finish, nothing more than a stratagem to destroy the Republic and leave an Empire in its place." He closed his eyes, willing himself to wake up from this horrifying nightmare. Every time he thought things couldn't get worse, they did. "Do we have any idea who this Vader might be?"
"Unless the Sith have changed radically from what we expect, there are only two at a time, a master and an apprentice," Nu said. "The Sith are power-hungry and would never go through all this trouble to put someone else on the throne, so chances are very good that Palpatine is the master, which would make Dooku the apprentice. This fits our timeline; during the period in which the previous apprentice, killed on Naboo during the Trade Federation invasion, was being trained, Dooku was a master of the Jedi Order in good standing who would not have had the time to train anyone in secret. Therefore, he cannot be the master. We do not know his Sith name. If we are right as to the timeline, and in the original timeline Darth Vader leads the clones against the Temple in five months time, there is not sufficient time for Dooku to die and a replacement to be trained. It is therefore quite likely, although by no means certain, that Dooku is Vader."
Windu sighed. "Even as a Sith, I would not have thought him capable of it."
Finn stood next to Kano and Jesse and watched as the shuttle containing the senator and two Jedi took off. He still wasn't quite free—"We don't think you're lying, Finn," Ahsoka had said, "we're just not sure you're not delusional"—but they didn't really count him as a danger or possible spy, any more. He could go anywhere within the camp, as long as they knew where he was and he wasn't alone.
"Well," Kano said as the shuttle went out of sight, "now all we have to worry about is those kriffing chips in our heads."
"For now," Jesse said. "Once they're out, then the whole Sith-damned mess is back in our laps."
"How long do you think it'll take your Commander to get back with a surgical droid?" Finn asked. None of the clone medics had the skills for brain surgery, and while some of the med droids might, they were all standard GAR issue. The young Togruta had been deemed the least conspicuous person to find the nearest hospital and acquire some that wouldn't have any hidden
"I don't know," Jesse said. "And if it takes too long, I'll be marching in there and asking for it out even with droids we can't quite trust. I know it's psychosomatic, but the idea that there's something up there trying to control me itches."
"You're not the only one, vod," Kano said.
The clones did that, Finn had noticed. They used another language sometimes, one Finn didn't know. He wondered what it meant, but of all the questions he had, that one was pretty far down the list.
"In the meantime, we've still got to be ready if Dooku does show up," Kano said. "And I'm presuming we don't want him or anybody else noticing anything weird. Such as someone hanging around a GAR camp who's not a Jedi, clone, or Republic dignitary." He looked Finn up and down. "You were a trooper, right? How would you feel about getting back in a bucket?"
Chapter Nine
Chapter 1 on Dreamwidth
Chapter 2 on Dreamwidth
Chapter 3 on Dreamwidth
Chapter 4 on Dreamwidth
Chapter 5 on Dreamwidth
Chapter 6 on Dreamwidth
Chapter 7 on Dreamwidth
Chapter 8
Bail Organa sat strapped in to his seat in the cruiser as it took off from Ch'tagra, but he didn't feel the rumble of the ship as it leapt into space. His thoughts were otherwise occupied.
Five months before the Republic fell. Five kriffing months. He'd known things were bad, but even in his wildest dreams he'd never imagined this bad. There had to be a way to stop it; de-chipping the clones was a good start, but would probably not be enough to stop Palpatine. Unless he were stopped completely, and exposed to all in such a way that no one could deny his treason, he had enough power and supporters that he would probably be able to at least hold on to the power he already had.
The problem was, nobody outside of the Separatists and the most insane conspiracy theorists would believe him, if he tried to expose Palpatine's power grabs for what they were. Palpatine had too great a reputation as being selflessly devoted to the Republic. And if Bail reached out to the Separatists, he would be branded a traitor himself.
"Senator?"
He looked up to see Master Windu standing in front of him. "Yes?"
"We're in hyperspace now, you can unstrap," Master Windu said. "I hope you don't mind, but we're taking a bit of a roundabout way back to Coruscant—it shouldn't add more than a day or two, but it will allow us to contact some of the Jedi in the field directly and pass quiet warnings. This shouldn't go through comm systems."
"Not even secure ones," Bail agreed. "Given that Palpatine, as chancellor, has access to every code we have."
"Not to all the Jedi codes," Windu said, "but I'd like to save those for an emergency, which this isn't quite … yet."
"Or, at least, it is an emergency in slow motion, which gives us time to think and respond carefully, instead of willy-nilly," said Master Nu. She'd spent most of the trip out reading, and true to form, was studying a bookreader now.
"While I would like to get back to Coruscant as soon as possible," Bail said, "A few extra days to figure out just what in the Force I can do about all of this would not be … unwelcome." That was one of the first lessons he'd learned as a senator: even in a crisis, it was important to take time to figure out what the crisis was and what the best response would be before acting. Especially in a crisis.
"Indeed," Nu said. "If there is any research you require for this project, please do let me know. The Jedi Archives are the most complete and extensive in the galaxy, and we are more discreet than a holonet search or the Senate Archives."
"Thank you, Master Nu," Bail said, relieved. The Senate Archives were extensive (and possibly, in political or governmental matters even greater than the Jedi Archives), but bribing the librarians and archivists to know who was researching what was common practice. "I will definitely take you up on that. I'd say background research into Palpatine, Tarkin, Pestage, and every other person Finn mentioned is a good place to start."
"Indeed, that would have been done regardless, but I will be sure to pass the results to you," Nu said.
"And I want to know every shred of information we have about how the clones came to be ordered in the first place," Bail said. "If they're a part of how he plans to take over the Republic, then he must have been in on their creation somehow. It can't have been just one rogue Jedi with visions."
"No, it can't," Master Windu said. "But it's even more serious than that. The clones themselves would be useless without a war to fight. If the Separatists had not chosen to break away at the exact moment the clones were discovered, things would have transpired very differently."
"If they broke away before the clones were revealed, the Republic would have looked harder for a peaceful solution because we wouldn't have had the option of fighting, not on that scale," Bail said, sagging back in his chair. "And if the clones were revealed first, we'd have had time to investigate the details of their provenance."
Nu nodded. "The timing would have had to have been very tight. That argues strongly for, although it does not prove, collusion."
Windu nodded. "Finn tells us that 'Darth Vader' is the one to lead the clones against the Jedi. 'Darth' is a Sith title. The Separatists are led by the Sith; although we do not know Dooku's Sith name he must have one for he regularly uses Sith tactics, abilities, and equipment, and refers to himself as Sith."
"But if a Sith is working to create this 'Empire' of Finn's and put Palpatine on the throne, then they must be working together," Bail said. "The whole war has been, from start to finish, nothing more than a stratagem to destroy the Republic and leave an Empire in its place." He closed his eyes, willing himself to wake up from this horrifying nightmare. Every time he thought things couldn't get worse, they did. "Do we have any idea who this Vader might be?"
"Unless the Sith have changed radically from what we expect, there are only two at a time, a master and an apprentice," Nu said. "The Sith are power-hungry and would never go through all this trouble to put someone else on the throne, so chances are very good that Palpatine is the master, which would make Dooku the apprentice. This fits our timeline; during the period in which the previous apprentice, killed on Naboo during the Trade Federation invasion, was being trained, Dooku was a master of the Jedi Order in good standing who would not have had the time to train anyone in secret. Therefore, he cannot be the master. We do not know his Sith name. If we are right as to the timeline, and in the original timeline Darth Vader leads the clones against the Temple in five months time, there is not sufficient time for Dooku to die and a replacement to be trained. It is therefore quite likely, although by no means certain, that Dooku is Vader."
Windu sighed. "Even as a Sith, I would not have thought him capable of it."
Finn stood next to Kano and Jesse and watched as the shuttle containing the senator and two Jedi took off. He still wasn't quite free—"We don't think you're lying, Finn," Ahsoka had said, "we're just not sure you're not delusional"—but they didn't really count him as a danger or possible spy, any more. He could go anywhere within the camp, as long as they knew where he was and he wasn't alone.
"Well," Kano said as the shuttle went out of sight, "now all we have to worry about is those kriffing chips in our heads."
"For now," Jesse said. "Once they're out, then the whole Sith-damned mess is back in our laps."
"How long do you think it'll take your Commander to get back with a surgical droid?" Finn asked. None of the clone medics had the skills for brain surgery, and while some of the med droids might, they were all standard GAR issue. The young Togruta had been deemed the least conspicuous person to find the nearest hospital and acquire some that wouldn't have any hidden
"I don't know," Jesse said. "And if it takes too long, I'll be marching in there and asking for it out even with droids we can't quite trust. I know it's psychosomatic, but the idea that there's something up there trying to control me itches."
"You're not the only one, vod," Kano said.
The clones did that, Finn had noticed. They used another language sometimes, one Finn didn't know. He wondered what it meant, but of all the questions he had, that one was pretty far down the list.
"In the meantime, we've still got to be ready if Dooku does show up," Kano said. "And I'm presuming we don't want him or anybody else noticing anything weird. Such as someone hanging around a GAR camp who's not a Jedi, clone, or Republic dignitary." He looked Finn up and down. "You were a trooper, right? How would you feel about getting back in a bucket?"
Chapter Nine
