May The Invisible Hand Be With You - (Star Wars CK2-Style Quest)

[Dr. Snark]

Serenno, Dooku's Mansion

"Tyrannus. I would hope you have a proper explanation for what occurred at Kalee. While resistance to the attack was certainly anticipated, there is no denying that the former Admiral Trench's plans were somehow compromised. Such a failure at this stage is unacceptable - while we may be able to recover from it we have lost valuable resources and shown far more of our hand than initially anticipated. Bear that in mind before you provide me your answer."

"There is only so much I can say in this regard, my lord, since you took direct control of Trench's forces. I do however, have reason to believe that someone within the upper command of the Separatists in some capacity is not as loyal as they claim to be-" Dooku's words were cut off as he started to feel the Force gather around his neck.

"If you are telling the truth, then you are a fool. It is because I took direct command that this breach in security is so dangerous! Do not tell me your forces are so easily swayed away from what they believe they are fighting for. I demand an answer, Tyrannus."

Ciaran had provided a scapegoat for him to use since the two of them had fully expected this conversation to happen, but now it was time to see just how well the lie would hold. "I believe using Trench himself in this operation may have been the cause of this. I trust you are familiar with the Hyper-Communications Cartel, and more importantly where they are based?" The pressure around his throat began to fade slightly, though Dooku knew that the lie was not yet strong enough. "Trench is no hero to the peoples of Ando. All it would take is for one singular person to intercept the wrong communication, and they would have ample reasons for both intervention and vengeance. The reason we did not notice this sooner is because whoever this informant is did not have reason to act until Trench was ordered to attack Kalee."

Everything went silent save for the static of the hologram, but Dooku could still feel the pressure around his neck...until it slowly started to fade away, though the aura of dread emanating from Sidious' hologram did not let up.

"This informant found a cause to betray us for once. Given how dangerous the information in question was, there is no reason to assume they will not do so again, especially since they have succeeded."

"I assure you, they will be found within the month at most."

"See to it immediately. Though at this point it is but a symptom of a far more vexing problem, and one that will no longer be tolerated." There was a pointed pause before Sidious spoke again. "Our initial methods of dealing with Ciaran and her interference have proven to be insufficient. No doubt she wishes to be seen as a more serious player in the galaxy, and so she will be treated as such. However, we must be cautious - it is now clear that she is far more capable - or at least well-informed - than either of us gave her credit for in the past."

"Speaking as someone who personally trained her, I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment my lord." This was not a pleasant line of conversation, but it was one that both he and Ciaran had anticipated would come up given recent circumstances. Republic Intelligence's fall was - for all intents and purposes - a declaration of war, and the Battle of Kalee proved that it was one that she could continue to fight. "She has been ambitious, to be sure, but has enough talent and mettle to continue honing herself. And I have no doubt she has been hiding the extent of her growth given how much she values secrecy and subterfuge." A careful balancing act. At this point denying the obvious would be a dead giveaway, but equally as important was masking the nature of her ability to fight back, at least to some extent.

"In that light, it would seem that the usefulness of the Separatists is waning."

Dooku raised an eyebrow at that, genuinely confused at this turn in the conversation. "Surely the war continuing is still furthering our goals, my lord?"

"While that may be so, the risks it is bringing are beginning to outweigh what gains we can take from it. The Separatists are still important parts of our plans for the immediate future, but the massacre at the Jedi Temple has already achieved much of what we wish to accomplish. The Jedi are scattered, distrustful of both each other and their precious Republic, and have lost much of their ability to interfere. Turning the Republic against them is only a matter of time, and with them fearful of such powerful enemies, the people will need a savior. A...protector. One we will be happy to provide to them."

"Your point is well-founded my lord, but I cannot simply walk up to those under my command and order them to stop fighting. Many of them have access to the same commands that would shut down - or in this case reactivate - the droid army. They are still convinced this is a fight they can win."

"I am well aware of such an issue, Tyrannus, and that this course of action cannot be accomplished in but a day. I assure you, though, I have already begun to set events in motion that should persuade them to act in our best interests."

"...I certainly trust in your judgement, my lord. Though I would certainly hope that I would have some means of escaping such an unfortunate end." There was no other way to describe it - this was bad. This was very bad, and unfortunately Dooku had no logical counter to Sidious' plan. Not to mention that he had something, almost assuredly multiple somethings, in mind to accelerate things, and Dooku knew full well he was not about to be let in on the details.

"Do not worry, my apprentice. You will be properly rewarded for your considerable efforts when the time comes."

Before Dooku would have been oblivious to the veiled meaning of those words. Now he only had confirmation that Ciaran was right when she told him how disposable he was. "I thank you my lord. I am glad that everything we have been working for is coming so close to fruition."

"True as that may be, do not let yourself become complacent. There is still much to be done." With that the hologram finally went dead...

And Dooku was left alone with his thoughts in the deep silence of his manor.

---

"Greetings, young one. You do not need to speak, I trust you know exactly who I am. Or at least now you truly understand.

Oh yes, I can see it in your eyes. The distrust, the anger, the hatred. I will not deny that I have dabbled in forces that some may call 'evil,' but I trust you know that such labels are used by those who are either too self-righteous to notice their own evils, or too afraid to understand that which contradicts what they hold dear...even as it corrupts them from within.

That is why I am here. I could not help but be moved by your cunning, your tenacity, your nobility. Your willingness to stand up and proclaim to those who call themselves your betters that their path is the wrong one. And yet, they would deny your words. Label you a as 'murderer' and 'traitor' to protect themselves from the truths that they do not want to face.

I wish to help you in this righteous struggle, young one. You have already taken the first steps that will lead you to powers that will force them to understand, to make the truths you so nobly fight for undeniable. But this road is all the more difficult if you do not have the proper guidance.

Ah. I can see it once again in your eyes. You would blame me for this course of events as well. And yes, perhaps I do bear a small part of the responsibility for them. But I know that you understand, that when faced against such enemies, especially those that have so deeply entrenched themselves...

...there is only so much that can be done before one is forced to resort to far more uncivilized means.

Is that not enough for you?

...

Good. I can tell that it is not. You know better than that, and I expected nothing less. I assure you, if nothing else, that I was speaking the absolute truth about my guidance. I am admittedly an old man, and one day I will perish and fade away. It would be a tragedy if all I knew went to waste, especially with such a bright pupil sitting before me. I can see that the hatred in your eyes is still there, and that is good. It has already given you great conviction. And it is plainly obvious that it still does, even now. But you have yet to truly learn just how powerful it can make you.

And one day, should you strike me down with that hatred...

I would welcome it.

For it would only serve to prove that I had taught such a marvelous student.

You do not need to speak. Actions are far more important as you are certainly aware. All you have to do is bow your head. Just this once. And I assure you that you will become strong enough that you will never need to do so for anyone ever again.

...

Then, it would be an honor to have you as my pupil...

Darth Veritus."

AN: It's funny, really. Such a skilled and potent Force user, one that would have made for a perfect Sith, or at least Inquisitor...

...and yet she just faded away after the dust settled before she even had the chance to grow. Tragic, isn't it?

The Anti-Palpatine Report will be coming later. It's going to need a few revisions.

 

[Stardust&Scotch]

Conversations with Dead People




Serenno


The echoing halls of the family castle were a stark reminder of his isolation. Only the occasional serving droid, nobody's honest idea of a conversationalist, clanked its way through the silence. On the one hand, he could imagine that the staleness would not exist with a family, or (given the sheer expanse of this place) families comprising a greater whole, wandering these halls. In another time or another life, perhaps that would have been the case. On the other hand, he supposed that the castle had been built to impose upon anyone within the notion that their words and actions echoed beyond themselves, and to have a care how loud or what sound was made. The unintentional side effect of the size and reverberant nature of the rooms was that unless one was surrounded by a cacophony, those echoes were fleeting, and one's own isolation and insignificance to the larger whole was practically manifest in the room alongside you, a not quite physical but ever present reminder. He did not care for it.

Idly, Count Dooku wondered if depression or sociopathy ran in the family. If this castle was any indication, he wouldn't like what he found if he looked too hard. While silent, it was still doubtless that ghosts roamed these halls. Perhaps not in the literal sense, but the weight of the past was almost palpable at times. Entering the study, really a library all its own (the true 'library' in the castle was immense and far too cavernous for his liking) he passed by a collection of stone busts, not unlike the ones in the Archive of the Jedi Order. He pointedly avoided sparing any of the cold faces a glance as he leafed through the titles on the closest shelf before finding his quarry: an old book about apostate Jedi from the long distant past. Before his final departure, the former master had 'liberated' it from Jocasta Nu's collection, where it had been undisturbed for several hundred years. It, along with several other forgotten or discouraged tomes, possessed knowledge, thoughts and wisdom that he needed…or at least, he didn't need the Jedi Order wasting their access to.

Now, he intended to do a bit of reading up on his former pupil's favourite era and heroes. Ciaran seemed to have gleaned a great deal of insight about the present day from these times, so it stood to reason that it might be worth looking into himself. He paused near the bust of his brother and predecessor, feeling a twinge or two of regret about everything there. Perhaps it had been a mistake to drive Kostanza and Adan off-planet and into the arms of the Republic, but if one couldn't even depend on the loyalty of family, then what loyalty could ever suffice? Certainly he had more or less usurped her position as Regent for his nephew, but her goals lay along a different path than his, to say nothing of their respective needs. Besides, Kostanza had never liked his methods, nor he hers—they would have clashed sooner or later, and that was nothing that Adan needed to witness or grow up around. No, it was better for everyone that they were safely ensconced on Alderaan (Really, did she think he didn't know precisely where they were or how safe their situation was? Honestly.) and it was for the best that he was here in the castle. Alone.

A lone droid wandered into the study, asking if he desired anything. He dismissed it without a word or a glance, merely a gesture in its direction. As it clanked away, he wondered if his master would disdain him wanting a person or two around, or if he would simply act to prevent it from happening. He wasn't entirely sure why Sidious kept him isolated, though he had a few theories: perhaps it was a way of reinforcing that all his past bridges were burned and gone behind him, that the only way forward was by his master's side; or perhaps it was a sign of Sidious' lack of faith, that his master thought him malleable ... or worse, redeemable. Or perhaps Sidious didn't spare him any more thought than necessary. That seemed increasingly likely the longer they went without sustained interaction, never mind positive ones (he unconsciously rubbed at the soreness of his neck) and the longer he had to stew upon what Ciaran had said to him over their dinner.

Dooku was curious, he could admit, about how much of the former Darth Traya's teachings Ciaran truly adhered to, and what her feelings were about the Sith title of Darth - it had not come up in their discussions at dinner, nor at their most recent conversation. In retrospect, her actions were certainly in line with Sith ambitions, and possessing not only the desire but the ability to influence events to her favour if not directly control them was impressive. And yet she clearly rejected the grasp of the Dark Side and being consumed or controlled in turn by her emotions or ambitions, and he suspected that her willpower might simply be stronger than his. He would never admit it, but that wasn't the only impression she'd left upon him—his joints still ached sometimes, especially when inclement weather was approaching. Their battle, while brief and invigorating, was as firm a reminder as anything else could have been that he had grown terribly old. Even with his frustrations and anger at his condition fueling the dark Force energies within him, he could not make himself younger or faster. A master of his crafts he might be, but his increasingly decrepit body betrayed his peerless mind, and no amount of irritation or rage could turn back time.

He wondered, out of nowhere, if it was what his father had felt like as infirmity claimed him. His brother had not exactly been a young man when he died, but their father had been very old by human standards. And Dooku was older now than his father had ever been. Without the Force (and he wondered every once in a while if the Dark Side truly helped him any more than the light in this respect) he would have likely aged similar to his father, even if he took infinitely better care of himself than the old man apparently had. Following a sudden compulsion, he walked onward and approached the podium where the stone likeness of Gora Dooku sat on for eternity.

He found his father's bust to be at once aloof and utterly unremarkable. Perhaps his own impressions colored his vision, but he felt some certainty that he wasn't wrong. He usually wasn't, in his estimations. The eyes of a bust could not truly capture life, but Dooku was sure he didn't imagine the dullness in them, and he definitely did not conjure the air of sloth nor singlemindedness that recreated what he was given to understand was almost a perfect likeness of his late father.

After their respective accessions to Jedi Master and Count of Serenno, he and his brother Bron had maintained distant but cordial contact. He learned a great deal about the planet, the family, and himself from his times with Bron, but most particularly he learned that Gora had cared little for anything that was not in direct relation to his personal pleasures or power plays…including his wife and sons. It was after Bron's passing that he learned not only was their father a selfish hedonist, he was also a prize fool that other nobles dismissed or denigrated depending on their amount of exposure to him. Dooku had learned also that Kostanza had expertly played off of their mistaken impressions of the family as a whole, and was doing her utmost to ensure that her son had nothing of his grandfather save his familial name. On that front, at least, she and Dooku were in perfect agreement.

"I don't know what wisdom I could hope for you to impart to me," he dryly imparted to the stone bust in front of him. "You clearly never invested any interest or effort in me, nor in any other facet of your life, and even if you had you're in no position to offer anything now. Narrow-minded pursuit of your goals didn't work out in the end, did they?"

The lifeless eyes somehow gave features to the quiet voice within his head that asked, And how has your approach been working out again? Dooku did his best to ignore this. He already dealt with enough doubt in himself and his choices, he needed no help in that respect. Shaking his head, he began to turn away before feeling compelled to say, "At least when I work towards a goal, I do so from any angle that will succeed, regardless of if I like it or not. It doesn't have to be my plan in order for it to be the right plan."

Is that how you justify your allegiance to Sidious? He scoffed at the thought. "I don't justify anything to anyone. Krayt dragons do not concern themselves with the opinions of banthas, nor I with those of the willfully blind. Inaction and trust in entropy has done nothing to encourage good results, and I'm not so sure it hasn't discouraged them. The ways of the Order, the ways of the Republic are inefficient."

The Rule of Law, in complex times, has proved itself deficient, the voice taunted. We much prefer the Rule of Men, it's vastly more efficient.

Dooku rolled his eyes, unbound by social custom in his solitude. "When the law is twisted by those with power, men must rise up to right the natural order. That isn't descending into anarchy, it is course correction, and it is a course correction only those willing to act with complete ruthlessness can provide." If that order is purchased with chaos, destruction and the blood of billions, and paid to a man like Sidious, who consorts with and is surrounded by the very agents of perversion and corruption you so detest, what worth can it conceivably have? Dooku had no good answer to that, and he knew it. "It must be better than doing nothing."

Must it?

For a time, there was nothing. Then, Dooku looked at the bust with a certain amount of self-deprecation. "This conversation would be far less absurd if you were anything approaching an active participant," he said ruefully. "Then again, perhaps I have reached that age where I'm moved to utterance of thoughts properly kept silent. At any rate, you're certainly the closest thing to a lively conversant I'll find here."

"I'd like to test that theory," came a voice from behind. Dooku whirled, but not bristling at the notion of someone intruding on his solitude. What he felt and heard could not possibly be real, he must have been succumbing to madness brought on by his isolation. But the insolence in the inflection, the quiet yet firm rebuke that had been his bane for almost a decade and lingered inside his head far longer than that was outside of it now. He could not possibly believe his own ears nor his own eyes, yet they only confirmed what the Force told him about what he saw. The presence, the tone, and the appearance together were irrefutable. The book of apostate Jedi fell from his hands, quite forgotten.

"Hello, Master," said Qui-Gon Jinn.

---

Part II is forthcoming.

 

[Stardust&Scotch]

Conversations with Dead People
Part II




Serenno

The Dookus of Serenno were known for their composure, their cool under pressure and their ability to maintain at least some control over the situation at hand. Even before he truly claimed his mantle or gained relations with the rest of the family, Count Dooku had carried on those traditions in the Jedi Order. He was known for being unflappable even in his crèche days, being asked more than once well into adulthood if he had been born at the age of 55. Now, in his eighties, his jaw firmly dislodged and striving to reach the floor, that composure fled him completely.

Qui-Gon Jinn glowed slightly as like a hologram, but at once fainter and more substantial than that. Dooku had no illusions about the reality of the other man's presence—the ever-present impertinent air around his smile could not be replicated in any way, even from a holo image. More than fifteen years had passed since he'd last laid eyes on his former apprentice, yet here he was without a day more of age upon him. It was wildly unfair. "Padawan," Dooku greeted him. "It has been some time."

"It has been some time since you were open to hearing anything I have to say, Master," Qui-Gon replied.

The arch look on his face was as exasperating as ever. Dooku found himself grinding his teeth before he realized what he was doing, the long-forgotten habit rearing its head in the presence of its inspiration. "Not even thirty seconds in my presence and already the reproach begins," he said through teeth firmly gritted as to prevent the reflexive grinding. He'd almost forgotten how easily Qui-Gon could locate his last nerve and proceed to get on it.

The phantom shrugged. "I've been in your presence far longer than that, old friend. Merely sensed the opportunity to present myself in the last few moments."

Had he really. "Had I ever given you the impression that I did not place significant value my privacy or solitude?"

"Perhaps. Had I ever given you the impression that I paid such things any mind when there was a greater need?"

"Your definition of 'greater need' always left much to be desired, Qui-Gon," his master's lecturing tone coming out. "Permission to get a restricted text out of the library, wanting to wander into the undercity, all sufficient reasons, according to you, to intrude on my solitude. So what deserving cause have you found this time, apprentice?"

"You."

"…come again?"

Now came the smile, the one that almost always managed to lessen or soothe the ruffled feathers that Qui-Gon had such a talent at creating.

"This is a dangerous time for you, my Master," Qui-Gon said, "where you stand upon the edge of a vibroblade between your present path and your potential path. Stray but a little and you would fail, to the ruin of all."

Dooku scoffed. "Are you certain you're not a projection of my own mind? If you are, even for me I seem awfully full of myself. I have no illusions about my presence and consequence in this war, and important a figure as I am, I'm certainly not so arrogant as to think my choices will have impacts that far."

"I speak not of your figurehead position in this pointless war," Qui-Gon chastised, "but of your position in the endless war. The ceaseless struggle between change and decay, between order and chaos, between darkness and light. And as to what I am," he walked to Dooku and laid a hand on his former master's shoulder. Or moved to, anyway. A ghostly sensation existed, but it was not the weight of a hand on his shoulder while clearly also not an illusion. "I am no hallucination nor manifestation of your mind."

"What exactly are you, Padawan?" Dooku stared both at and through Qui-Gon's hand. It was disconcerting, even more than the average interaction with Master Jinn could be.

"A specter of my former self, a manifestation of my essence that exists within the Living Force, forevermore."

"Life, everlasting?"

"After a fashion."

"You've managed to come across the ultimate goal of the Sith, Padawan," Dooku mused.

"And yet they can never achieve it," Qui-Gon responded. At his master's curious look, he elaborated. "It comes through the release of self, not the exaltation of self. It comes through compassion, not greed."

"Yet there are Sith specters that live on," Dooku argued.

"They are but echoes of a shout in the dark, an impact crater that leaves an impression but no true representation of itself." Qui-Gon shook his head. "They do not join the Force, they cling to the physical world, and as a result they're cut off from both, forcing madness upon what remains."

"I understand a sane one exists." He was not quite willing to concede the point.

"One. One that had no fear of death nor slavish devotion to Sith ideals. Not exactly the best case for your argument, Master," Qui-Gon smiled frustratingly.

"Well, let that aside for now, Padawan," Dooku said, implicitly admitting defeat in that spar. "You're not my conscience as if I were in some child's story, no 'angel' nor 'demon' upon my shoulder, yet you would have me believe I have supreme importance in the everlasting battle between Jedi and Sith."

"I never said Jedi and Sith, Master."

Dooku offered an impressive glower. "It was all but implied, my erstwhile apprentice."

As it almost always had been, to Qui-Gon the glower was just so much water off a Mon Cal's back. It was deeply irritating. "It was explicitly left out, Master, and I had reason why. They are not the only sides in this war, nor do they neatly correspond to one side or the other. And where you now stand, you are presented with paths that leave you where you are or lead you to a new age."

"You're speaking in riddles, Padawan, and I would have you speak plainly," Dooku gritted out.

Qui-Gon's head tilted. "It's not my place to lead you by the nose, old friend. You have to make the choice yourself. But I can dance around the point a little less. Despite the infinite varieties and faces of this war, in this your path is clear. You are in a position to allow the systems you have always critiqued to collapse like a dying star, crushing all within and dooming all in its reach…or take bold action and help guide the change into a bright new body with a long future."

His eyes narrowed. "It's everything you've always wanted, Master Dooku."

"You know nothing of me, Qui-Gon Jinn!" He bellowed as his frustration and anger fueled crackling lightning from his fingertips. The bolts passed through his former Padawan harmlessly, impacting the bookshelf beyond and probably destroying valuable books in the process.

"You will have a significantly harder time wounding me with words or any other weapon, Master," the phantom wryly said, "given my present state."

Was there a way to expel Force ghosts? He hadn't even really heard of such things beyond some Sith phantoms before today, and certainly never such thing as a light-side Force ghost. His considerable mind and substantial recollection were coming up short in this moment and it was becoming inconvenient.

"You said yourself, Master, you are a self-aware man. You see the decay that saturates the galaxy, you know that the present system is both unwilling and unable to respond, and you want to change the galaxy, save it even. And you'd like to be recognised for it. And I don't fault you for that, old friend," Qui-Gon smiled. "Your role should be known, whether it be for good or for doom. But it should not be for doom."

Dooku sighed. "Are you going to try and convince me that the Sith mean 'doom' and the Jedi mean 'good'? Spare me."

"I would never waste your time that way. I would convince you that the path you are on leads to doom, and that the path you are considering leads to good."

"You said yourself you are not a part of nor in my mind, Padawan, so you cannot know what I am considering."

"I've been here and paying attention, though. You said that the 'course correction' imposed by your Sith Master would be better than doing nothing. I don't think you truly believe that, certainly not anymore, if you ever did in the first place."

"I don't have another option, Qui-Gon," Dooku sighed.

"Don't you?" The Force specter arched an eyebrow. "You have allies, even now, that reject the previous order and would resist your Master's plot at the same time. Could you not further align yourself with them?" Even for his former Padawan, the suggestion was astonishing in its impertinence. Apparently seizing on Dooku's pause, Qui-Gon continued, "Perhaps you have as much to learn from her as she has to learn from you. And together, the two of you might forge a new path forward that relies neither on stasis nor destruction."

The Count chewed his tongue, one more terrible habit that he had never fully rid himself of even after the apprentice that caused it had left his side. Finally, he managed simply, "How?"

---

System MZX32905


The galaxy was a wide and storied place, with more named systems, worlds and settlements than any one person could completely remember. It was rare, then, to encounter a place that did not have a name, let alone a whole system of bodies with no names at all, he mused as he looked out the cockpit to the asteroid field beyond. Yet, here it existed. Utterly unremarkable and forgettable.

A perfect place, Dooku supposed, to hide a secret base. Especially when one was not nearly so self-aggrandizing as other members of one's line.
Welcome Home
He could feel a strange mix of trepidation and excitement, as though an entirely new and undiscovered path stretched out before him. He could easily sense, almost touch the Force energy coming from a large iron asteroid within the belt as he approached, confirming to him that this was his final destination.

His comm crackled as the ship's HUD lit up with as much alarm as a non-sentient machine could muster. "We have you on our screen now. There are exactly twenty-five planetary defensive batteries locked onto your vessel. You will identify yourself and your intentions here immediately. Refusal to do so will result in your obliteration."

"Impressive display," Dooku rumbled, clearly unimpressed. Nevertheless, he complied. "Count Dooku of Serenno, seeking to parlay with the owner."

For a long moment, one that almost caused him concern, there was nothing. Then the HUD stopped panicking and returned to an unencumbered view of the approaching asteroid. The facility he sought was becoming visible as the comm returned, "You are cleared to proceed. You will be met in the hangar bay. Do not deviate from this course."

He didn't dignify that with a response, merely guided his ship down to the hangar bay below. Landing on the deck was not difficult despite the significant number of ships and fighters scattered around – it was clear this hangar had been built and used for much larger craft than any that occupied it now. Taking a deep breath to reassure himself of his purpose, he tapped the ramp release, and began walking down before it had finished descending. At the ramp lowered, his most recent erstwhile apprentice came into view.

Ciaran looked quite shocked at his arrival. Ever the soul of tact, she blurted out, "What're you doing here?"

He briefly considered being up-front with the ominous implications of his most recent interaction with Sidious, but almost as quickly dismissed it for the moment; let ill tidings tell themselves when they be felt, a half-remembered quote came to mind. Instead, an uncertain smile crept across his face. "I've come to work my former pupil on further saber lessons," Dooku intoned, "and to meet with her 'shadow' advisor. I believe he and I have a great deal to talk about."

---

Part III is forthcoming.

Spoiler: 2022 Author's Notes

Added a small bit here to the start of the last paragraph, to tie it more directly to the Turn 30 prologue, and to semi-sneakily slip some Shakespeare into canon.

Also, can I point out that I wrote the rest of this in 2019, and called Qui-Gon being a bit of a smug asshole "I've been waiting for you to get on my level" Force ghost even then?

 

[Stardust&Scotch]

I'm not going to mince words; these are both really damn good. +10 for both, and you'd better finish that trilogy so I can canonize them!

Click to shrink...

As requested, so delivered.

---

Conversations with Dead People
Part III




Home

A long-dead Dark Lord of the Sith was an invaluable resource, one of which Lady Ciaran had made excellent use. Now, after stalling for a time with Ciaran by giving her further Makashi lessons (if she really intended to face his Master, she desperately needed it) Dooku found it to be his moment to try and make use of this resource. He entered a conference room of sorts, in which two men were waiting for him, one an utterly unremarkable and unmemorable humanoid, the other …

"Welcome to my Home, my lord," said Darth Vectivus, a phantom of the Force that offered a wan, yet unthreatening smile. "It is an unexpected pleasure, but an appreciated one."

It took Dooku a moment to recover his wits. But only a small one. "Appreciated? Do you mean to tell me that a Sith specter gets lonely?"

"I could hardly feel lonely these days given the Abyss Watcher presence here. No, it's the intelligent conversation. Whenever Lady Ciaran is away, I find it to be … lacking." After a moment, the phantom turned. "No offence meant, Number Two."

"None was inferred, sir."

Dooku raised a hesitant eyebrow. "Your … aide?"

Vectivus wiggled his spectral hand back and forth. "For lack of a better term, yes. My state of existence preserves my intellect, but," he passed his hand through the table and back again, "the trade-off included my ability to materially affect anything. So Number Two handles the necessary physical details for me."

"He seems very unperturbed by serving a Force ghost," Dooku observed placidly.

"He seems very unperturbed by much of anything," Vectivus replied. "I should know; Lady Ciaran decided to test the limits of his calm once, when she didn't have any of her friends or employees around to harass. She did not detect a limit before she lost interest, which I did not previously think possible."

"Your aide not having a limit?"

The smile turned wry. "Ciaran losing interest in bothering someone." The thought was so alien to Dooku's mind that he barely noticed the sentence's continuance. "Number Two," Vectivus turned to regard the man, "I don't believe you'll be necessary during this little get-together." With a nod, the man departed, and closed the door behind him.

"He needn't have left," Dooku said, thankful as he was for the unsettlingly stoic man's absence.

Vectivus shook his head. "It took most people weeks if not months to become comfortable in his presence, let alone ignoring it as if it were part of the furniture, as he wished. And I don't believe you require additional discomfort at this time."

"I don't find myself to be especially discomfited."

"Physically? Perhaps not," the specter allowed. "However, I can sense the turmoil beneath your calm veneer even without using the Force. I cannot imagine this to be an easy or pleasant experience for you."

Dooku blinked. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

Amusement spread across Vectivus' face. "Indeed you do not. There are a great many things you do not understand, my lord, and that has plagued you all your life, hasn't it?"

Dooku became very still. "I don't take your meaning."

"Don't you? You could not find the answers in your Order or in your ancestry, and when you left one Order to look in another, comprehension still eluded you. You are smart enough to know when you do not know something, yet incapable of believing that you don't know where or how to find the information you desire. It pains you far beyond any physical harm to conceive that Dooku, Jedi Master, Count of Serenno and Dark Lord of the Sith, could need help. And because of that pain, you have found nothing. Yet you could not live with your own failure, and where did that bring you? Here. To me.

"Or am I wrong?" the phantom stared impassively.

Dooku was silent for a moment. Then, "That is the second time in as many days that a Force ghost has presumed to know me better than I know myself," he growled. "What leads you to believe you know the first thing about me?"

"I have asked our mutual apprentice for information about you in the past, and I am an intelligent man with more time on his hands than most any other soul in the galaxy. I have had plenty of time to think about what she told me," Vectivus finished pointedly. "And I think I know what you are trying to find the answer to."

"Pray tell."

Vectivus merely arched an eyebrow. "Now what kind of mysterious specter would I be if I simply gave you the answers you're looking for?"

Dooku ground his teeth. "A helpful one."

Vectivus let out a barking laugh. "You clearly haven't spent enough time around Ciaran if you think it would be that easy to find out what you want to know."

"Or you've spent too much time around her," Dooku huffed. "I don't need this." He turned towards the door.

"You need it more than anyone I have ever met," Vectivus appeared in front of him, "and I have been alive a good deal longer than you, and dead for longer than that. Even now, with answers in reach, you cling to your ego as if it were your entire identity. Does that sound like a person that does not need to be taken down a peg or two?"

Dooku bristled. "It isn't 'ego' to be disinterested in leading questions and needling answers. It's knowing that if I want or need those, I can simply talk to a physician."

"At your age you probably should be regardless, but that's hardly the point."

"This isn't what I came here for. This isn't what I need." Dooku made again to leave.

The specter wasn't having it. "And you think that you'll find what you need in your lonely castle under Sidious' thumb?"

He stopped.

"You've walked away from your Order, forsaken your oaths, to try and find what you need, and when you couldn't do that you turned to a man you didn't understand and hoped he would help you find it. Did that work out for you?"

Dooku was silent for what felt like an eternity. Finally, he whispered, "no."

"So why would walking away and turning to Sidious work out for you this time?" Dooku recognised the question as rhetorical. "Sit down," Vectivus gestured at a chair. "You're an old man, and not meant for standing on your feet all day. Having been an old man once myself, I won't think less of you for being in a seat."

The pause held for a long moment, before Dooku took the chair. "Thank you." Even if the specter had been around Ciaran too long (and Vectivus clearly had) it never cost anything to be polite.

"In the interest of politeness," Dooku only just managed to keep his self-satisfied smirk internal, "and curiosity on my part, why do you think you're here?"

"I believe I am here to align myself more firmly with Lady Ciaran. I received advice from someone I trust," and he could only say as much because he knew Qui-Gon would never conceivably be able to hear of it, "that she, and her shadow advisor, if you'll forgive the pun, could be of use in my mission."

Vectivus gently drifted about the room. "I assure you that every conceivable pun about my existence, and a few that were not, has already been voiced by our mutual apprentice. Often. If it offended me, she would not have free reign of my Home. So, to better understand what it is you seek from us, what is this mission of yours?"

"To save the galaxy."

"…well, you certainly don't lack for Sith ambition. Save it how?"

This, Dooku was more comfortable with. "The Republic is hopelessly, irretrievably corrupt. It is poisoned by greed and cowardice, collapsing under its own bureaucratic weight and held aloft only by one man making himself the sole pillar of the system. It cannot be fixed or reformed. It is time to start over."

"I assure you that I have heard your Confederacy pitch, and I am unmoved by it. The Republic you describe is, but for your master's consolidation, point for point the same Republic I lived under long before any of you. It is the same Republic that Revan nearly overthrew. It has survived for thousands of years regardless of dilletante Sith Lords attempts to bring it down. What makes this so different?"

Dooku tilted his head. "None of those dilletantes made themselves the unifying figure and sole political power in the Republic. Feel about him as you will, but he's far smarter than any Sith Lord that has attempted to overthrow the galaxy before."

Vectivus nodded. "Point taken. But that still doesn't answer the question: how do you intend to save the galaxy?"

"Starting over."

"Yes, I have heard that statement before. I am dead, not deaf." Vectivus offered a pointed, if neutral gaze from the head of the table opposite Dooku before he went back to floating about. "Leaving aside for the moment that you would be starting over with the same bureaucrats answering to the same man, is overthrowing the Republic really your mission, your goal?"

"Making a better world, better worlds, a better galaxy, is my goal."

"And you don't see that goal and your present course as diametrically opposed?"

It brought him short. "…I didn't used to. I thought that with my help, my Master and I could reshape the galaxy as we saw fit."

"And you don't see your vision and his as diametrically opposed?"

That answer came far more easily. "I do now. He cares not for the marginalized worlds I wanted to champion. He cares not for the people who suffer while the elite – Senators, businessmen, and Jedi alike – sat in ivory towers and got fat and complacent. He cares not for the betterment of the galaxy. He cares for nothing but power, and he would burn the entire galaxy, planet by planet, down to the ground and then destroy the ground too if it meant he would be Emperor of the ashes."

"And this is not you. Not what you wanted."

Dooku shook his head vigorously, disgust for his Master evident in the motion. "No."

Vectivus stopped moving around the room, and 'sat' next to him. "Then what do you want?"

Well. That was the point, wasn't it. What did he want, really? "…I…" Being at a loss for words was a foreign, profoundly unpleasant sensation for him.

"Take your time, my lord."

Honesty, real unfiltered honesty was hard, after a lifetime of suppressing it. It took a vexing amount of time and effort to voice it all. "I never wanted to fight the Republic or conquer the galaxy. I wanted to fix it. I wanted to be recognized and celebrated for my part, I admit. But rule is the Sith's dream, it is Sidious' dream, not mine. All I've ever wanted was to make it better, the way I know it can be." He looked at his hands, wrinkled and liver-spotted, firmly holding one another on the table. To look anywhere else would be too much right now. "And…yes, some admiration would have been nice. Not the fawning the Nemoidians do, bootlicking practically embedded in their DNA, not false praise from the Geonosians, condescension dripping from every buzz and click. Honest admiration from intellectual, powerful peers. Just a little, just once."

"You have that in Lady Ciaran."

That got him to look away, up to the specter's face. "…you think so?"

"Let's not pretend that she is not every inch as intelligent or ambitious as us, or that she is not quickly surpassing us in power."

"…those are true, but also not what I meant."

"I understood what you meant. And yes," Vectivus nodded firmly. "Ever the consummate politician, she'll couch or dodge or evade or faff about if confronted directly about it, but it is profoundly obvious. Besides her, well, obvious personality quirks, she is a polite, respectful and considerate ally. But there are few of her allies she genuinely admires. You are among them."

"I suppose I had never really considered it. Only that she would use me for her purposes, as I have others for my own."

"She can do both. She is a talented woman. But clinging to such ego will do you no good, and help you not a whit in your goals."

"You think I should let go of my ego altogether?"

"Hardly. Where would any of the people in my Home be if they had dismissed their ego? No, I think it is time that you let off the mantle you've spent so long trying to wear." The point approached, and Dooku knew it. "You are not the savior of the galaxy. You are not the champion of the Republic. You are not the leader of the Confederation. You are not a Master of the Jedi Order. You are not Tyranus, Dark Lord of the Sith. What are you?" For perhaps the first time in his long years, he felt at peace with himself. He was truly serene.

And he was ready. "I am Dooku. And that is enough."

---

Two people leaned against a wall, with a third standing nearby, looking down the hall towards the conference room. "They've been in there for a long time," Ciaran noted.

"This is accurate," Number Two replied.

"How many hours did you spend trying to find a personality in him?" Asajj side-eyed her.

"More than I'd like to admit. But you shouldn't talk about him like he isn't here," Ciaran half-attempted politeness as she gestured at the man across the hall.

"There isn't anything there to be here, Ciaran," Asajj returned.

"Is politeness an unknown language to you?"

"Yes," came the immediate reply.

"…okay, I opened the door for that one."

"Practically held the door open for me," Asajj nodded.

"Master Dooku is emerging," Number Two spoke.

Both of them stopped bantering to look down the hall. If he hadn't said as much, they would hardly have noticed Dooku's exit. His Force presence felt far more similar to theirs now than it had when he arrived, and the air about him suggested that a massive weight had been lifted from him. As he approached them, Number Two simply passed by him, returning to his master, and Asajj began to make herself scarce. "No, Asajj, please. We have much to talk about, and a great deal I have to make amends for, and I would like to speak about it with you, if you are willing." His former apprentice paused for a long time, before giving what to Ciaran felt like a very reluctant nod. Unmoving from her deliberately casual pose on the wall, Ciaran reached out-

Will you be alright?

I'm always alright.

For a Sith, you are a terrible liar.

To you, I am a terrible liar. To everyone else…

Asajj?

Yes. I will be okay. This has been coming for a long time, and I need this. Perhaps as much as he does.

I can help you avoid him if you want.

I think this is more important than playing with the rancor again.

I can help you kill him if you want.

While I would appreciate the help, I know you need him alive.

Not like I need you.

…I appreciate how honestly you mean that. It means a lot. But I don't think I need him dead…right now.

You change your mind, I'm there.

I know. The exchange, lasting mere moments, ended with a smile so small and so soft that Ciaran almost missed it. Asajj gave her former master a less reluctant glance than before, and then she moved down the hall to a different room for their talk.

Before he made to follow, Dooku looked over. "Lady Ciaran, if you have not already, begin putting together a list of people. Your best minds, your best leaders, people that can be trusted. Then start gathering them. The time has come for us all to talk about what comes after the Republic dies."

Unthinkingly abandoning her casual pose, Ciaran stood far more alert. "It doesn't sound like you're suggesting an intellectually stimulating dinner party."

She was nearly bowled over when Dooku let out a warm chuckle. "If that is how you wish to preface the gathering, by all means do so." Then the amused warmth faded. "But know that it is not something to consider or engage with idly, as if it were far off."

"You bring bad news, don't you." It wasn't a question as she crossed her arms in front of her.

As he walked away to follow Asajj and leave Ciaran with her own thoughts in the deep silence of the hall (and Number Two's 'company') he pronounced half-over his shoulder, "I bring you grave news, my lady. The war has begun to end."



-fin-

Spoiler: Author's Notes

Well. This took forever to write. And it didn't used to be nearly 3k words jesus christ what did I dooo.

Finding a balance between two old men, with wry senses of humor, loads of Dark Side energy and cutting insight, made it tricky as shit to not just write them, but distinguish them from each other. I found it helped a lot to imagine Darth Vectivus, played in this film by Charles Dance, as drier and a bit more willing to poke the bear (bit more like Tywin Lannister, lbr, because he is the best character in television history do not @ me he just is) and Dooku, at this point in the arc, as more introspective and yet still a little defensive, like a crab losing its shell.

Also: I won't stop shipping it and nothing you say or do will make me.

 

[Dr. Snark]

Excerpt from Reports #150281: Palpatine Counter-Action Report VII (Submitted by Central Command, Compiled by Thrawn):

ALERT: Major revisions have been made since previous report.

Lady Ciaran,

I will be blunt: Dooku's recent news has been of the gravest possible import. While it is pleasing to see that he has in fact followed through on his promise to align himself with us, it would seem that at least part of the benefits that would have come with it are now null and void. Based on the conversation he reported to us I have good reason to suspect that if Palpatine is not aware of his betrayal already, he is already taking steps to remove him from the equation. Such an action would inherently mean cutting him off from the various intelligence sources he could have provided to us.

I do not place Dooku himself at fault for this, mind; this is a unfortunate consequence of other actions that we have already undertaken - and more importantly, the actions we were forced to take. We may have been able to have the Battle of Kalee written off as Trench going rogue, but I trust you understand what exactly that action represents from Palpatine.

That aside, what concerns me the most about what Dooku told us is the admittedly vague "means" Palpatine referred to for beginning to end the Clone Wars. The ramifications of the various alliances made as part of the Council of Neutral Space potentially ending is worrying enough as it is, but of even greater concern is the implication that Palpatine is about to - or already has - organize units within the Republic military that will report directly to himself. Even if we were to succeed in eliminating Palpatine quietly, said units will either have been given contingency orders or simply be loyal enough to attempt to avenge his death. I have no doubt that these forces will also be extremely skilled both in terms of unit and commander quality as well, so we cannot ignore this threat.

In this light, I have decided that the previous format of the Counter-Action Reports is outdated, and will now be sectioning them into three relevant categories: Military, Stabilization, and Assassination. I am aware of the grim news of the Force Wound at Coruscant, but I will be the first to admit that I am far from an expert in esoteric matters such as that. To that end, Master Vectivus will be authoring a fourth section detailing relevant information on the Wound.

As concerning as all this recent news has been, I believe the news of Palpatine moving against the Separatists - while understandable given circumstances - may prove to benefit us in the long run. There are sayings among many cultures about cornered prey turning on predators when they are unable to flee. There is a distinct possibility that we may be able to use that sentiment to our advantage even if a decent amount of the Separatist leadership does not realize it.

Note: Assets detailed below are not necessarily solely dedicated to their relevant categories, but are sorted in terms of where they are expected to be most useful.

Military Challenges and Relevant Assets:

As of right now we have little information to go on for any probabilities of success or failure in regards to the forces Palpatine is currently organizing, and as such none will be printed in this present report. This is not a sign of victory, however; it is a sign that we require more information to act on in this regard. In general though, the more assets we have in this category, the easier it will be to achieve our aims in terms of stabilization as well. It will be far easier to handle negotiations when there is a Venator in orbit of the relevant planet, for example. If nothing else, these forces will ensure our survival until we are ready to act.

Of immediate concern are the supercapital ships Malevolence and Pride of the Core. Both assets are closely affiliated with Palpatine and are expected to act on his behalf in any circumstances. I have already been considering plans for dealing with both but have only been able to get so far with the other areas I have been needed in.

Relevant Assets:

-Abyss Watchers-affiliated:
--Oracle Fleet: Between Sienar's modifications to the Oracle itself and the now military-grade fleet supporting it, the Oracle Fleet is a powerful asset for any endeavors we undertake in space.
--Invisible Hand: Now that it is capable of leading a fleet on its own, the Invisible Hand is a powerful vessel in its own right. Though it is merely a single ship, even if Sienar's refit has made it far more dangerous than any others of its class.
--Arkanian Legacy: If push comes to shove we will likely be able to encourage the Arkanians to provide the ship's services for whatever ends.
--Chu'unthor: As a warship its value is rather limited. I doubt it would be useful in a battle, but given its sheer size and past history it may be able to serve as a potential evacuation vessel for the Jedi if things become truly desperate.
--Decimators: Prototype heavy tanks, viable as heavy support for a full-on assault on a location if necessary.
--Grievous Qymaen: Now that we have ysalamiri, Greivous Qymaen's leadership capabilities and prowess as a warrior will be a valuable asset. He is by far most suited for direct combat as should be patently obvious. (My apologies for the corrections and no offense meant to Qymaen. Having referred to him as Grievous for such a considerable amount of time has caused some slips of the tongue.)
--Jango Fett: Having the Mand'alor present gives us quite a bit of pull with the Mandalorian Guardians, to say nothing about his connections to other Mandalorian mercenaries/recluses/what have you or the capabilities of his partner Zam Wessel. Of course he will have ysalamiri support should he be needed for any assassination actions.
--Thrawn: To be blunt, this is where I am by far the most useful.
--The Foundry: Our weapon of last resort. If all else fails, we can use the production capabilities of the station to simply drown Palpatine in an unending droid army. As always though I must remind you that this will cause considerable instability in the galaxy if used.

-Council-affiliated:
--CNS Military: Now that the local military has proper support, funding, and command structure, they can assist in not only stabilizing Council space in the event of a collapse of the Republic government, but if push comes to shove we may be able to use them as support against Palpatine. Possibly.
--Bothan Spynet: The Bothans are certainly considered to be the best spies and intel gatherers in the galaxy for a reason; simply look at our own Master Terrek for proof. While relaying Palpatine's true identity to them is far too risky, they certainly have enough intelligence and the willingness to share it with us (for a price) to consider their contributions worthwhile.

-Republic "Loyalist"-affiliated (named as such due to being loyal to the governing body over its leader. However I have been hearing curious reports from them in that regard - nothing potentially compromising, but it will be investigated further):
--Kal Skirata: Skirata's deserter network is still going strong, and our nano-droids have ensured that any troopers that have joined him do not have the biochips implanted within them. To say nothing of our sabotage on Kamino. Between them, the Null ARCs, and the potential assistance of Miss Tur-Mukan they are a strong asset in our favor. I am somewhat uncertain as to Ovolot's usefulness in the long term, but I cannot deny that her ability to produce an antigen to FG36 is well worth it.
--501st Legion: One of the most prominent groups in the Republic military and that has been at the front of many key battles during the war. Having them on our side is not only excellent for having more numbers but the propaganda value cannot be denied either.
--212th Airborne: While not quite as prominent as the 501st, ensuring the unit under direct control of General Kenobi is fully subverted is a considerable boon to their efforts.
--Wullf Yularen: While his skills as an admiral are impressive, the real coup with him is the amount of access he has to Republic intelligence networks as well as a long list of private contacts. To say nothing of him taking the initiative with his own subversion operations.
--Ahsoka Tano: I would hope her insight - or more specifically, how said insight led her and the Resolute's forces to Kalee - will make placing her on this report justified.
--Obi-Wan Kenobi: I cannot stress how much of a boon his presence will be to our efforts. Whatever potential threats he may bring with increased knowledge of our operations are thoroughly outweighed by both his skills as a general and charisma as a negotiator. Quite frankly he could be placed in any category on this report without issue, but he will be placed here for conveniences' sake.
--Tholme: I will freely admit that with the relatively limited reports on him I cannot be quite as confident here as with anyone else, but according to the reports from Yularen he has been of great assistance with their subversion efforts. I must caution you though in that regard; he has a keen enough mind to find ways to peer behind the curtains as it were without raising suspicion. Remain vigilant, lest we have a repeat of the issues with Miss Thel-Tanis.

-Separatist-affiliated:
--Dooku: With him in play we now have the maximal amount of intelligence into Separatist movements. While at this point direct control of their military is not possible, the intelligence benefits alone are invaluable.

Probability of the survival of the Abyss Watchers for the next year: 90-100%
Other probabilities not added due to insufficient information

Stabilization Challenges and Relevant Assets:

This is something of a esoteric matter, if you'll forgive me saying so. It is impossible to fully predict how the populace of the galaxy will react once the news of Palpatine's true identity and the sheer breadth of his actions becomes publicly known, but it is safe to say that massive unrest - especially among planets that were the most devastated in the war - is functionally guaranteed.

In that regard I cannot say for certain that the Republic in its present form will be able to survive such an event. While such sentiments have been voiced previously I am of the mind that we must now consider the continuation of the current government to be a secondary objective, rather than a primary one.

Relevant Assets:

-Senate-affiliated:
--Anti-Palpatine Coalition: Consisting of Senators such as Mon Mothma, Padme Amidala, Bail Organa, and so on, with our aid they are now a significant force within the Senate. While Palpatine still has considerable influence within it, the coalition is now far more capable of stalling any of his measures and providing potential political stability in the aftermath of our mission. Should continuation of the current government not be viable, many of them are popular enough leaders that could help reestablish some form of order in the aftermath.

-Council-affiliated:
--CNS "Government": With the completion of the assembly hall on Taris and the fact that many prominent CNS leaders have begun meeting there to discuss mutual defense pacts and the like, it is now clear that should the Republic collapse in its entirety we will be able to build up a legitimate government in that situation. Given that the collapse scenario is now more likely, I will also note that the Northern Rim would be the least affected due to these efforts thanks to the heavy economic ties between planets in the region.
--IRIS Network: Palpatine's greatest weapon by far has been his propaganda. With the Pantorans helping us coordinate our own efforts to counter it, I am of the mind that this is now a battlefield we can start fighting on in earnest.

-Unaffiliated:
--Seti Ashgad: He is now acting as a shadow leader for the Anti-Palpatine Coalition and is doing what he can to support them. He is also helping direct Incom's movement of materiel from Fresia to Taris. Given his past popularity, he may make for a decent rallying point in the event of a Republic collapse.

Currently the Separatist leadership is headed by various corporations who would happily sell out their supporters in exchange for their lives (barring the Commerce Guild). While there is a Parliament that could provide stability, they are currently an impotent force in comparison. Supporting them would ensure stability in the Separatist bloc - so long as it is extant when the time comes. Given the legitimate grievances many Separatist systems have against the Republic, it may be worthwhile to keep them in play for as long as possible for stability purposes.

Probability of continuation of the Republic Government in its current form: 10-20%
Probability of ensuring galactic stability in the event of a Republic collapse: 30-40%

Assassination Challenges and Relevant Assets:

Simply put, this section is largely unchanged from previous iterations. No matter what, eliminating Palpatine is the single highest priority in our operations.

With Anakin Skywalker formally on our side and the reports of his combat aptitude, I believe we have a significant chance of success in direct combat, but there is only so much I can extrapolate on without direct reports on Palpatine's combat abilities. Not to mention that we have been ignoring a critical issue of coordination among the assassination team. While its individual members are skilled in their own rights, we must assume the worst: namely that Palpatine will be able to separate its members and handle them individually or have support capable of countering some of them.

Furthermore, with his increased focus on our actions, the element of surprise is now less of a factor, if not one that has been removed entirely. When we attempt to end his life, he will almost certainly be ready for us at this point.

Relevant Assets:

-Abyss Watchers-Affiliated:
--Agent Teams: Force-trained commando units. While skilled against conventional targets, Palpatine himself is likely far out of their reach. Still, with several Walkers on hand, Sair's new devices, and their clear talent in asymmetrical warfare they are a valuable asset nonetheless.
--Abysswalkers: At this point we have enough Walkers skilled in a large enough variety of fields for me to actively consider them an asset in their own right. While their abilities may be varied each could potentially play a key role in the battle to come.
--SSS: We have an in at the Senate with them and with the additional training they've been given they should be able to hold the line until potential reinforcements arrive. Placed here due to being more relevant in the context of an assassination operation.
--Tyro: Skilled in the Blazing Chains enough that he might be a viable asset, but I question how effective he'll be against Palpatine himself or potential acolytes. Still, I've heard that he is still striving to improve himself even now, so he has hardly lost his skill.
--The Silencer: A skilled warrior to be sure, and with ysalamiri support he would be deadly to any Force-using opponents. Now that he is formally registered as a clone trooper he would be a much more effective infiltrator. Equally as viable in a military context if necessary.
--Asajj: One of the two people we can reliably trust to possibly confront Palpatine himself if necessary; given her continued increase in abilities she stands a far better chance against Palpatine.
--Ciaran: My previous comments on your abilities stand.
--HK-47: Between his refurbished frame and Miss Sair's upgrades, HK-47 is now a quite useful weapon in our arsenal. I am uncertain as to whether he could kill Palpatine on his own, but if his record against Force users in his prime is any indication he is quite a valuable asset.
--Anakin: I am uncertain as to the context of some of the reports I have heard on him, but from my understanding he is by far the strongest combatant we have available. I would like to say more but recent events seem to suggest I require further context. The only reason he is placed here instead of under Republic "Loyalist" assets is due to previous comments from you. Even then though, I greatly recommend caution in your interactions with him. Even my brief observations of him have been somewhat...unnerving.
--Celeste Morne (Pending asset): By far the most unusual asset we have, and that is truly saying something. I cannot speak to her combat abilities as of yet, but if she is as skilled an operative as she claims we may have found the ultimate "ghost" operative. Records on her are nonexistent in any system we have access to, and no one in the galaxy will recognize her facial features by extension. I must caution that said benefits will by definition degrade with each mission she is sent on as data is gathered on her, so once she is active I encourage using her as effectively as possible in that timeframe.
--Other Assets: The codebreaker continues to provide us with valuable information, and our research into the taozin and ysalamiri continue to provide dividends for countering Force users.

-Republic "Loyalist"-affiliated:
--Quinlan Vos: His skills as an operative and combatant are certainly impressive...though the former worries me considerably. I have no doubt that every time he is used in a mission, he will be gathering information on us just as much as he would on our enemies. Ensure that he knows only what he needs to.
--Jedi Sentinels: Given their actions in Operation Excision, we can confirm that they will act against the wishes of the Council if they deem it necessary. That pragmatism makes them both useful and far easier to manipulate. Of course, we need to be sure that they do not learn too much, but if they deal with a loose end for us then that would hardly be an issue.

Probability of successfully assassinating Sheev Palpatine: Unable to fully determine, currently estimated to be at 40-60%

---

Lady Ciaran,

Quite frankly there is only so much I can tell you about how to handle this Force Wound on Coruscant. While it is hardly the first as you would certainly know, there is little to no information on how to mend one in a short timeframe - as in, shorter than several hundred years. More often than not, the solution to their existence has been to simply condemn the system in question, but obviously that is somewhat less viable when the system in question is the current capital of the Republic.

Despite - or perhaps because - of how long people have lived on the planet, it still holds many secrets despite the sheer number of beings that live on it. Leaving the Wound as-is could have terrible repercussions that neither of us can even begin to comprehend, to say nothing of the fact that it has formed in the heart of the Coruscant Order.

Personally, I am of the mind that the survival of the Coruscant Order is irrelevant in the current state of affairs, though I will freely admit that my words should be taken with the consideration that they are coming from a Sith Lord, if an undead one. But it is my honest belief that the galaxy will be better off if the Jedi become fully disentangled from Coruscant and galactic politics by extension, even if it causes instability in the short term. The Jedi inherently attract conflict and rivalry from the Sith, and even if we are victorious at the end of the day I do not expect that to change. What can be done is ensuring that the rest of galaxy isn't caught up in the next inevitable conflict - after all, what spurred them to be so destructive was the fact that destroying the Jedi has been synonymous with destroying the Republic up to this point.

However, I admit I am getting off-topic. Right now we simply do not have enough information to even begin considering a plan for dealing with the Wound. The best lead we have that I am currently aware is the Jedi Archives at Ossus. With the news that we have unrestricted access to the area, there is no reason not to search through its archives and see if there is any information in old texts that could aid us. I am certain that at least some information has been lost to the ages, and it is as good a place to start as any. If there is not information on a ritual there, there are almost certainly going to be records that could point us in different directions. I have also seen various reports on the oddities of the Cularin system, which seems to be a Force anomaly in its own right. I am aware of how mad this sounds, but it may, and I must stress may, be possible to somehow replicate its disappearance and simply displace the Wound until a future point where it can be more easily contained (preferably contained to the Jedi Temple itself). For that to work though we would need to understand how that displacement happened to begin with. Or perhaps there is something else within the system that could aid us.

As a final note: I am certain it has already crossed your mind, but if Palpatine gets truly, truly desperate and becomes aware of the Wound, I am certain he would attempt to merge with it much like Nihilus did millennia ago. One final curse for the galaxy as a whole. That cannot be allowed to happen.

-Vectivus

Probability of mending the Force Wound not added due to insufficient information

Current Probability Of Successfully Achieving All Relevant Directives: 8%

AN: Changed the format based on the new things that popped up in the last turn and also based on @Publicola's version of this in Abyss Gazes Back with his blessing (and because it makes it easier to parse information honestly).

Some comments: First, while the military aspect has a noted lack of information, do not forget that the whole Darth Veritus thing is not something anyone aside from Palpy himself is aware of yet. In reality that assassination success chance is now lower because of it.

Second: As Vectivus said, take his...well, take on what the fate of the Coruscant Jedi should be with a fair bit of a grain of salt, as well as his opinion of the future of Force-users in general. Normally I wouldn't say that twice, but I'm 100% aware of how much of a flame-baiting topic that always is.

Third: Yes, the overall success chance has gone down since last turn. Just to be clear, the news of the Wound kinda sorta tossed a wrench into the gears. Just a touch.

That should be all for now unless you guys have more questions/recommended changes (since this is the first major compilation of information since the hiatus, I fully expect that I may have missed a detail or two somewhere). Rumor Mill should be up tomorrow or Monday-ish, since a lot of what's normally folded under that has been handled during these past 3 updates.

Also, as much of a meme as it may be...

We're in the endgame now.

 

[Dr. Snark]

Galactic News:
Battle At Kalee: In a stunning act of warmongering a rogue group of Separatist ships lead by the feared Admiral Trench attempted to assault the Kaleesh homeworld of Kalee, failing only due to staunch resistance from Council forces. Despite repeated assurances from the Separatist leadership that Trench was acting on his own initiative, many in the galaxy are skeptical due to the large amount of materiel Trench had access to during the assault.

Scandals Rock Republic Intelligence Alongside Assassination of Its Director: Recent evidence of Covert Ops troopers firing upon clone troopers has rocked Republic Intelligence, with many calling for massive audits and vastly increased transparency within the organization. The branch has been sluggish to respond as it has also been dealing with the fallout of the sudden assassination of its director Armand Isard, with unconfirmed reports indicating a rogue Covert Ops trooper may have been responsible.

Silver Cross Begins Relief Efforts on Honoghr: While the Separatists have continued to deny responsibility for the destruction on Honoghr, relief efforts have now been formally organized by the venerated Silver Cross organization. They have been leading a team of independent researchers and specialists to help combat the spread of the bioweapon, which has been seeing slow but steady success.

Underworld News:
The Hunt for Galen Erso Continues: While the bounties on Galen Erso are still standing, the fall of Republic Intelligence has forced the client in question to inadvertently reveal himself as Orson Krennic, as his clear inexperience with dealing with the underworld has left a noticeable trail back to him. While news of this has deterred some would-be hunters, others are still continuing their search for the man.

Mysterious Contracts Spreading Among Paramilitary Groups: Recently word has been spreading that various paramilitary groups have been more closely aligning themselves with the CNS, with the Lok Revenants notably participating in the Battle of Kalee. For now the reasons behind this remain quiet, however those who are more "in the know" suspect that the Abyss Watchers are attempting to marshal an army similar to Maul and Savage for some yet-unknown purpose.

Organization News:
The Jebble Box is Opened: While heavily classified, news that the legendary Jebble Box not only contained a powerful Sith artifact but a living, breathing woman from over 4000 years ago has made considerable waves. While the woman in question, Celeste Morne, is currently attempting to readjust to the new timeframe, the researchers aware of her existence have been frequently asking her questions and running tests with her permission, wanting to know more about this ancient warrior.

Mysterious Disappearances Tied to COMPOR Rallies: Abysswalker Olie has reported an alarming trend in recent missing persons reports on Coruscant; namely that many of these people were either last seen or recently seen at COMPOR rallies, and were noted to be fervent supporters of the organization's ideals. While normally this would not be be newsworthy in and of itself, the location of the disappearances and corroborations from other locations with a notable COMPOR presence indicate this may be a matter worth looking into.

The Return of Qymaen jai Sheelal: To the shock of many amongst the organization, especially those who have been familiar with the man since becoming aware of him during the Huk-Kaleesh War, the former Grievous has announced that his title no longer suits him and has respectfully requested that he be referred to by his actual name: Qymaen jai Sheelal, or Qymaen for short. Many Kaleesh members have openly suggested that "Grievous" has already ascended to the ranks of the Kaleesh pantheon, leaving behind Qymaen as his still-living body. The man himself has refused to comment on the matter.

The Hunt for Ancient Knowledge: While the reasons are heavily classified, archaeology teams across the galaxy have been ordered to focus their searches on lost information, especially on Force anomalies. An expedition to Ossus' archives is currently pending due to highly successful interactions with the local populace, while other teams have simply shifted their efforts accordingly.
ADDENDUM: Archaeology teams on Yavin IV have been exempt from this order due to [REDACTED]

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EMERGENCY ALERT

PRIORITY ONE

POI "BARRISS OFFEE" HAS ESCAPED FROM INCARCERATION

CURRENT WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN

INFORMATION ON POI IS TO BE FORWARDED DIRECTLY TO LADY CIARAN AS SOON AS REASONABLY POSSIBLE

FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE TERMINATION REGARDLESS OF CIRCUMSTANCES

AN: And we are just about back! You'll probably be seeing more changes to the front pages as I sweep out the cobwebs, but everything should be ready to go by the time we get properly back into the swing of things. For now, rejoice that it doesn't take you a full minute to scroll down it now that I've had the genius idea of using collapseables for it. (Past Me, why didn't you do that sooner!?)

But now is the time for the return of a thread tradition: for you all to flood me with potential actions and for me to nearly lose my mind as I try to parse all of them

If anything was suggested before/during the hiatus I would politely ask that they are either quoted at me or reposted so I don't have to go searching for them.

 

[Dr. Snark]

Reminder: 24-hour moratorium on voting

BBY 19, Third Quarter

Current Treasury: 514
Current Income: 16629
Current Upkeep: 4549

Spoiler: Martial Actions

Martial: With Palpatine having made his intentions clear it's now more important than ever to strengthen your military assets.

Pick 2:

[] Black Ops (Republic): Given that you're now on the same side as Dooku, it only makes sense that you should prevent a Republic victory by any means necessary and keep the Separatists in the war for as long as possible. Chance of Success: 85% Cost: 50 Reward: Republic war effort damaged (Autonomous Action)

[] Mercenary Work: Jabba's offered to hire on some of your mercenaries for work within Hutt Space should you ever require additional credits to make ends meet. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Income from mercenary contracts (Autonomous Action)

[] Let's Vary Piracy, With A Little Burglary: While it would be awkward if you attacked a CIS planet at this point, there's certainly plenty of planets in Republic space worth targeting. Preferably ones that would slow down the Republic's war effort and buy you much-needed time. Chance of Success: 70% Cost: 50 Reward: Loot, selected area destabilized and potential recruit for the CNS (Autonomous Action)
-[] Write in

[] Hyperspace Lane Pirating: A step beyond just targeting a system or two, this would be launching a series of pirate raids on a hyperspace lane in the galaxy. While the Republic is fully aware of how important these lanes are, the loot would be incredibly valuable if you pulled it off. Chance of Success: 60% Cost: 100 Reward: Selected lane heavily pirated, loot
-[] Write-in

[] Becoming A Pirate Queen, One Piece At A Time: While you've been making sure that any pirates in CNS space are swiftly dealt with, it could come in handy to expand upon your current privateer fleets and recruit some of the independents. There's probably a lot more around with the fall of Black Sun... Chance of Success: 80% Cost: 100 Reward: Pirate fleets continuously expanded (Autonomous Action)

[] Reigniting the Chains: While it's been some time since Tyro was Adacap of the Blazing Chains, you're fairly certain that he would still have considerable pull among the fleet if he got back into contact with them. Given that you could always use more people for the fight against Palpatine tracking down the fleet could get you some powerful allies. Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Blazing Chains fleets located and contacted

[] Semi-discriminate Piracy: Since you don't want the Republic to gain an advantage in the war, why not let your pirate fleets loose on a raiding spree, letting them steal what they can from them? Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Looting income (Autonomous Action)

[] Anti-Slaver Actions: The fact of the matter is that slavery is one of the most hated institutions in the galaxy outside of Hutt Space. It would certainly earn a lot of goodwill if you were to deal with some of the more prominent organizations (not affiliated with your Hutt allies)...and the loot would certainly make it worthwhile. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Assaults launched on chosen slaver group, loot
-[] Trandoshan Slavers: They have been attacking the Wookiees, and since you have a number of business arrangements with the Wookiees that makes the Trandoshans a very obvious target.
-[] Thalassian Slavers: They're operating in the Northern Rim, which is entirely owned by the CNS at this point. Show them that they are not wanted.
-[] Senex-Juvex Slavers: Would you look at that, this slave group in Republic space is also home to a number of pro-Palpatine nobles! Launching a raid on them and exposing them to the galaxy would be quite the scandal...

[] Preying Mantises: The Mantis Syndicate chapter of the Bounty Hunters Guild specializes in large-scale anti-piracy operations. How perfectly convenient, given the CNS's interest in fighting pirates around the galaxy. Extend an offer of support in exchange for a cut of the loot. Chance of Success: 60% Cost: 100 Reward: +50 Military income, per-turn loot roll, CNS space secured against pirates (slightly increased odds for CNS recruitment), Mantis Syndicate added as anti-Palpatine asset

[] Maladian's Creed: The Maladians are some of the galaxy's most feared assassins, with a reputation of taking on targets up to and including Jedi Knights and succeeding in killing them. You could certainly use people with that particular set of skills. Chance of Success: 60% Cost: 150 Reward: Maladian Assassins available for hiring and as anti-Palpatine asset

[] Making Inroads In The Republic Military: Now is a good a time as any to begin dechipping and potentially subverting different groups in the Republic military. Any clone not chipped means one less clone that will try to kill you once you make your move, and of course you can always use more support when the time comes. Chance of Success: 60% Cost: 100 Reward: Chosen group targeted for dechipping/subversion
-[] Rahm Kota's Militia: A group that conspicuously has no clones among their number. Given Rahm's distrust of the clones and the militia's loyalty to him subverting them should hopefully be simple.
-[] The Wolfpack: Led by Master Plo Koon, this unit specializes in high-risk extractions of friendly forces. Has been merged with the 44th Special Operations Division, a unit comprised of special forces troopers forced to fight in conventional battles.
-[] Rancor Battalion: A clone group tasked with ensuring the safety of Kamino's cloning facilities. While they took considerable casualties in the battle for the planet, they could still have their uses.
-[] Galactic Marines: An elite unit led by Master Ki-Adi-Mundi and armed with the most advanced tech the Republic has to offer. The only catch is that their leader is rather...uncompromising. He may have to be dealt with.
-[X] 41st Elite Corps: A group lead by Master Luminara Unduli - the master of Barriss Offee no less - that specializes in operating in exotic environments and counter-insurgency tactics. (Targeted by Yularen)
-[] 412th Regiment: The group of clones that your sabotaged chips made their way to, they are specialized in defensive battles and have a reputation for placing the lives of civilians over their orders.
time is running short for them
-[] 38th Armored Division: A unit that Anakin and Obi-Wan have served with previously, noted for their ingenuity with armored vehicle modifications and a significant walker compliment.
-[] 44th Auxillary Divison: A heavily bloodied unit that has seen the most vicious battles in the entiretely of the Clone Wars. Also notable for being commanded by Nick Rostu, a former subordinate (but not Padawan, notably) of Jedi Master Mace Windu.
-[] Clone Force 99: An irregular group of "defective" clones that have been sent on suicide mission after suicide mission...and yet have consistently succeeded at them every time. Normally you would not bother with a unit as small as them but given their skillset it may be worth it.

[] The Brothers X: X1 and X2 could prove to be serious problems if they're allowed to act against you given their Force sensitivity and who knows what other things the Kaminoans have done to their genetic code. Figure out a way to either subvert or kill them so they don't have the chance. Chance of Success: 40% Reward: X1/X2 subverted and/or terminated

[] There's No Machine That Can Stop Us: Granted, you do have some of the best fighters in the galaxy under your command but 90% of the time they don't really work together in a single fight. So, why not set up a room in the Foundry to act as a high-intensity training zone for some teamwork lessons? It would also make for some excellent recruitment footage if nothing else. (Starts mini-turn)

[] Hunting Malevolence: The Malevolence is still making its way through the galaxy and conspicuously seems to be taking paths through CNS-related trade lanes. While the Pride of the Core is hunting it down, given that Palpatine is in effectively direct control of both ships he can easily drag out the chase for as long as he wants and have it end wherever he pleases. That needs to stop, and the first step is to better narrow down both where the Malevolence currently is and where it is going. Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Malevolence's course better tracked, plans for dealing with the Malevolence and Pride set up

[] Arms Funneling (Separatists): Now that you and Dooku are formally on the same side and Palpatine's decided to sell out the Separatists, it would be worth it to assist the Separatists with their war effort more directly (or at least as direct as you're willing to get). Even with the amount of factories they have churning out battle droids and the like, the Separatists would hardly turn down any extra materiel for use in the war effort. Chance of Success: 80% Cost: 150 Reward: Separatist war effort strengthened (Autonomous Action)

[] Write in

Spoiler: Diplomacy Actions

Diplomacy: Palpatine may think that the walls are closing in on you. If anything though his actions are letting you find more and more people to bring over to your side...

Pick 1 Regular Action, 1 CNS Action, 1 Force Order Action:

[] Between the Light and Dark: While you have a number of Force users on your staff right now it might be worth looking into getting into contact with other Force using groups in the galaxy that aren't necessarily aligned to the Jedi or Sith and see if you can gain something from contacting them. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Contact with chosen organization established
-[] Disciples of the Whills: A group of Force worshipers fiercely protective of their home of Jedha, they occupy a planet that is rich in both historical artifacts and valuable Kyber crystals.
-[] Tyia Adepts: A pacifistic philosophy practiced by the Revwiens, it emphasizes the value of all life and acting with honor.
-[] Baran Do: A reclusive order of Kel Doors who spend the majority of their time contemplating the nature of the Force, supposedly awaiting the "proper time" to act. Also they apparently can throw lightning around.
-[] Fallanasi: A mostly female group of pacifistic Force users that have unique abilities to beguile their foes.
-[] Zeison Sha: A group of Force users that are extremely skilled at telekinesis. The only problem is that they are incredibly isolationist, so studying them further will require direct contact.
-[] Followers of Palawa: An isolated group of Force users in the far west of the known galaxy, they have developed a number of techniques that are explicitly designed to protect against Force users.
-[] Dagoyan Order: A monastic sect based on Bardotta, they specialize in meditation and strengthening one's connection to the Force.
-[] Jal Shey: A sect of nomadic diplomats and philosophers from the Indupar Crown Worlds, who specialize in the esoteric art of Force Imbuement.
-[] Almas Academy: An academy in the Cularin system that trains Jedi in an unorthodox style, emphasizing closer relationships with teachers and fellow students as well as ensuring that any student goes out into the galaxy on a "quest" to ensure they understand the galaxy they want to protect.
-[] Tython Jedi Order: The quickly-growing offshoot of the Courscant Order that is on the verge of a complete schism from them, given Riphath's work with them they might be more willing to speak with you by comparison.
-[] Order of Shasa: A Maanan-based group that has sworn to protect their homeworld, and more importantly have trained themselves to use the Force to see through deception and enhance their telekinetic abilities.
-[] Write-in (Subject to Veto)

[] CNS Recruitment: There are a number of systems nearby that don't particularly lean one way or the other in the war; maybe you could persuade them to join the CNS instead? Chance of Success: 80% Reward: Recruitment drive in selected area for the CNS (Autonomous Action)
-[] Nouane Allied Region: Between their ties to Arkania and the IGBC, Nouane and its neighbors are already inclined to view the CNS with favor. The fact that they lie in northern Inner Rim between two of the biggest hyperlanes in the galaxy - both the Hydian Way and the Perlemian Trade Route - is all the more reason to persuade them to join.
-[] Southern Rim: With the already considerable amount of planets and sectors in the Southern Rim joining the CNS, it might be worthwhile to have a more concerted effort take place here and clean up the borders.
-[] Techno Union Worlds: With worlds like Hypori, Mechis III, and a dozen other foundry worlds affiliated with them and the shift in leadership, making a move to get some of these valuable industrial planets in the CNS would hardly be unwarranted.
-[] Write in

[] Calling In A Favor: A few years ago one Ferrus Olin left the Jedi Order, telling you that he would help you if needed. Well it is about time to call that favor in; get in contact with him and see if you can get the support of him and anyone he knows outside of the Order for the fight against Palpatine. Chance of Success: 80% Reward: Ferrus Olin contacted

[] The Roaming Jedi: Telling the Council about Palpatine's true identity is a recipe for disaster, but there are certainly other Jedi in the galaxy that aren't a part of the Order you could contact for aid. You've always gotten the odd report from your Silver Cross camps about the occasional Jedi stopping by to help refugees, so it wouldn't be too difficult to track some of them down. If anything, this is now increasingly critical due to the Wound forming on Coruscant. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Jedi outside of the Order contacted

[] House Of Killers: Given that you're going to be dealing with a lot of high-profile targets in the Republic, it might be worthwhile to get some outside help as it were. Use your reputation and funds to establish a bounty hunter chapter of your own so that you can gather these people together for your own ends. Chance of Success: 80% Cost: 150 Reward: Watchers bounty hunter chapter established (Autonomous Action)

[] If Angels Were To Govern Men: You know what Senators hate? Losing a chance at reelection. Leverage your political power and your friendly contacts in the Senate to see if you can't get those Silver Cross subsides to be a touch more substantial. Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Increased subsidies for Silver Cross

[] Keeping An Eye On The Future: Honestly, you weren't expecting Chewbacca to be such an important figure, but the visions you had of the "Vader timeline" seem to indicate that he would have been a major player in galactic events. While you're not sure if that's still going to be the case given everything that's happened, there's certainly no harm in making sure your people keep a closer eye on him... Chance of Success: 90% Reward: Chewbacca placed under heavier surveillance

[] Fly on the Wall: The Ghostling Nest of the Assembler is an Intelligence asset the Bounty Hunter's guild has been using for years, the location of which is only known to Master Hunters like Jango. The entire thing is apparently a massive brain for the Assembler and it is able to provide accurate and up-to-date date information on targets all over the galaxy through, if the tales were to be believe, it's network of little bug-spies. Regardless of the accuracy of these claims it would be an invaluable ally to have on your side. Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Ghostling Nest contacted

[] Jedi, Leader, General, Spy: Skirata has pointed out an incredibly valuable target for potential subversion: Jedi General Arligan Zey, the de facto head of the Republic's commando teams who has a position that is semi-independent from the rest of the Republic military. He's been known to conflict with the mainline Order especially after the Temple Massacre so he's an incredibly valuable target for subversion with minimal risk. With news of the Wound, getting in contact with him sooner than later is increasingly paramount - given the state of the Coruscant Order, there's an increasing chance he may try to go to ground. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Arligan Zey subverted

[] Call To Order (CNS): Taris has served as an unofficial capital for the CNS, and now it has an Assembly Hall to prove it. But the Council of Neutral Systems remains a fairly ad-hoc confederation heavily dependent on your and Satine's efforts to sustain it. Getting enough people together to start creating more formalized treaties and so on wouldn't hurt, especially given that it might need to step up if the Republic does in fact fall. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: CNS becomes a more stable political organization, increased CNS recruitment

[] Write in

Spoiler: Stewardship Actions

Stewardship: Many wars are won by how many credits one side can bring to the table. And for a war like this, you're going to need a lot of them...

Pick 2 Regular Actions, 1 Free Sienar Action and optionally 1 other Sienar Action:

[] Sienar Custom Vessel: Now that you've partnered with Sienar you can request customized ships from them for a price. You can either send them a plan of your own, or give their engineers a base concept and let them work out the details. Chance of Success: 90%
-[] "Humanitarian" Transports: A line of ships that could be used to ferry wounded from system to system, the fact that they would also be fitted with experimental stealth systems is purely to make sure that they aren't seen by any pirates or what have you, obviously. Cost: 150 Reward: Humanitarian/Stealth Transports designed/produced
-[] "Rescue" Ships: VTOL-capable ships about the size of the Scimitar, these vessels would be heavily armored rapid response ships that can quickly rescue people from potentially hostile environments. What are the rapid-fire guns for, you ask? Why, you might have to defend yourself from predators or raiders or something! Cost: 100 Reward: Rescue/Assault Gunships designed/produced
-[] "Archaeology" Ships: Given how important/profitable archaeology has become for you, this ship would assist with your efforts with on-board research labs and excavation gear so that your teams could quickly scour a site. Why does it have a stealth system and high-grade weapons? Because there are thieves and scoundrels who could try to steal valuable relics from you! Also never mind that the excavation lasers could also double as powerful armor-piercing weapons. Cost: 150 Reward: Archaeological Cruiser designed/produced
-[] Scout Vessel: A relatively cut and dry suggestion; these would be ships specifically geared toward surveying. For once there's really no other subtext here. Cost: 100 Reward: Advanced Scout Ships designed/produced
-[] Shoni Escort Ships: A...unique design from Grievous named after the spear his people use, this diamond-shaped ship is heavily armored and well-armed, serving as a heavy escort ship...though according to Grievous it could also be used to board ships by ramming it into them and allowing the pilot/boarder to enter the ship that way. Raith is confident that it could work, though he's said that you'd have to be insane or suicidal to try and use the ramming method given how dangerous it could be. Cost: 100 Reward: Shoni Escort Ships designed/produced
-[] Mobile Hospitals: The idea is that you would have a ship that could touch down on planets and act as a field hospital without the need for setting up a prefab building. It'd be a difficult engineering challenge, but fortunately Raith loves those kinds of challenges. Cost: 150 Reward: Mobile Hospital Ships designed/produced
-[] Hyperlane Recon Drones: There are always more hyperlanes to be discovered, but the method for doing so is inherently quite risky. Instead have Raith put together drones that could do that job for you and potentially locate hyperlanes you can use to your advantage. Cost: 100 Reward: Hyperlane Recon Drones designed/produced
-[] Dedicated Starfighter Carriers: While ships like the Venators certainly have the ability to carry large amounts of fighters, it wouldn't hurt to have a design that was primarily dedicated for rapid fighter deployment and recovery for various situations. Cost: 150 Reward: Dedicated Starfighter Carriers designed/produced
-[] Next Gen Troop Transports: The Republic LAAT is certainly no easy target but it does have a number of flaws that could be quite troublesome for you given the kind of scenarios you might need to drop troops into. You know that Raith loves showing other people up so see what he'll make when he's put up to the challenge. Cost: 150 Reward: Next Gen Troop Transports designed/produced
-[] Modernized Fury-Class Interceptor/Transports: One of your teams on Ord Mantell has uncovered a Fury-Class interceptor/transport of the Resurgent Sith Empire. In function it could be compared to the Scimitar, except four times the size and potentially more heavily armed and armored. Modernizing a ship like this would be an interesting challenge for Raith, and they would be very useful for deploying elite teams to where they need to be ASAP. Cost: 150 Reward: Fury-Class Interceptor/Transport modernized/produced
-[] Write-in (High concept or other design, subject to veto, cost determined by GM)

[] Contact Ship-builders: If your efforts with Sienar are any indication you might have a bright future available to you in the starship industry; but you're going to need to get in contact with the producers first. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Contact with chosen corporation gained
-[] SubPro: Despite the fact that they have produced high-quality products like the NovaSword fighter you acquired from Durge, they have been dealing with an unfounded reputation for shoddy workmanship. Sounds like they could use a popular investor.
-[] Mon Calamari Shipyards: the Mon Cala of Dac specialize in high-quality livable starships, and would be a powerful ally for CNS military readiness as well as the Abyss Watchers organization.
-[] MandalMotors: A company based out of Mandalore itself that specializes in heavy-duty warships like the Keldabe battleship. All they're really lacking in is proper funding.
-[] Write-in

[] The Return of Galactic Sushi: Bringing in the Ithorians means that you have some of the greatest agriculturalists in the galaxy to call on. You also have a number of agriworlds and other farming areas (like Taris) that could use their aid. The solution seems obvious, doesn't it? Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Agricultural output increase in CNS space

[] Silver Cross PR Blitz: Your organization is popular enough, sure, but there's nothing like a massive PR blitz to make sure that donations and sponsors are constantly coming in. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Increased income/decreased upkeep for Silver Cross (Autonomous Action)

[] "Tax" Loopholes: While Palpatine may have cost you quite a bit of funding you do have a potent counter-weapon: The Muuns. Set your Muun accountants, legal teams, and what have you loose on Palpatine's new acts and find as many exploitable loopholes to keep you from fully paying his "taxes." Chance of Success: 50% Reward: Noticeable decrease in investment penalty

[] "Tax" Evasion: Forget loopholes. Sure Palpatine's probably watching for the slightest sign of your "illegal activities" but you know that he's not as omniscient as he thinks he is. "Misplace" funds through whatever means necessary to avoid these "taxes" and spite Palpatine. With Skirata's backdoor now in your possession, making sure said funds stay out of Palpatine's notice should be considerably easier. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Significant decrease in investment penalty

[] Treasury Auditing: Now that you finally have access to Skirata's backdoor, it's time to let the Muuns loose on the Treasury's systems and see what they can find buried away within it. It might even give you leads on the new plans Palpatine ominously mentioned during his recent talk with Dooku, and you can also quietly start backing up records in case he tries to burn down the Republic economy on his way out. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Locate potential dirt on Palpatine or find leads on other projects

[] Medical "Battlefleet": Now that you have the ability to build ships over Taris, take advantage of it and build up a fleet of medical ships for Karada and the Silver Cross that can act as galaxy-wide emergency responders. Despite the name it mostly wouldn't be a battlefleet. Mostly. Chance of Success: 80% Cost: 200 Reward: Medical "battlefleet" built (Autonomous Action)

[] The Swoop Bikes Will Fly Again: Now that you have the racetrack and the swoop bikes for it, it's time to reopen one of Taris' most prized sporting events: the Galactic Swoop Racing Circuit. Send invitations far and wide for the grand reopening and help put it back on the map. And hey, you never know who might end up signing up for it... Chance of Success: 70% Cost: 100 Reward: GSRC reopened, potential for other rewards

[] Giving Causality A Migraine (Incom): While it was a small benefit from the highlights reel of you looking into the future, seeing that enhanced Headhunter design is a very welcome benefit to you...if you can get the design put together enough for Seti and Incom to work on. And hey, you never realized how much you wanted to cause a temporal paradox until you had the opportunity! Chance of Success: 70% Cost: 150 Reward: X-Wings designed 20 years early, the thrill of causing your very own temporal paradox

[] Tales of the Old Republic: Diversification is the key to success, and the entertainment Industry is one of the most important pillars of the galactic economy. You will enter this world with a saga that will always be remembered: The Saga of Revan, and you will spare no expense to bring this wonder to life (otherwise HK might try to kill the people involved for disrespecting one of his favorite masters). The fact that the excuse of getting extra documentation or filming in real landscapes you gives you the justification to enter many places usually forbidden to the general public is a nice extra. Chance of Success: 70% Cost: 200 Reward: 'The Saga of Revan' produced, potential to access restricted areas during filming

[] Relocating The Foundry: The Foundry is currently in an extremely vulnerable position given that it's in the middle of Hutt Space and the war is raging around it - all it would take is one ship to accidentally stumble into Nanthri and it would all be over. The best plan your people have come up with is to strap gigantic hyperspace engines to it to move it to the Kiln through some of the hyperlanes the Claatuvac Guild provided information on and avoid detection, but it's going to require a lot of credits, both to get the parts and to bribe people into not asking questions about where said parts are going. Chance of Success: 40% Cost: 400 Reward: Foundry discreetly moved to the Kiln

[] Treasury Copypasta: The backdoor to the Republic Treasury also means that you can observe everything that is going on within it. Perhaps it might be an idea to feed a small program into it to copy all data of the treasury and regularly update those records... just in case a certain someone tries to wipe it all as a farewell gift on his way out. A functional economy is important, or so you have been led to believe. Chance of Success: 50% Reward: Abyss Watchers (and the CNS) gain a complete backup of all Republic Treasury data

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Spoiler: Intrigue Actions

Intrigue: The game of cat and mouse is becoming more and more vicious, especially now that it's clear Palpatine is seeing you as a legitimate threat to his plans.

Pick 3:

[] Lots Of Plans, Lots Of Wrenches (Republic): The Republic winning at this point would mean that Palpatine would achieve his success conditions. Send some agents to help stall GAR offensives and make sure the Republic doesn't get a clear advantage. Chance of Success: 80% Cost: 50 Reward: Republic war effort damaged (Autonomous Action)

[] Grassroots Movements: Rile up protests, sponsor anti-government media, do whatever it takes, but stop Palpatine from getting any more influence any way you can. Chance of Success: 80% Reward: Palpatine's influence stymied (Autonomous Action)

[] Legacy Of Damask: Settling in on Muunilist has given you the opportunity to take a closer look at Hego Damask's old properties present on the planet. While Palpatine has moved to ensure that they are not for sale, it shouldn't be too hard to get teams in and see if there's anything left there. Chance of Success: 95% Reward: Hego Damask holdings investigated/looted (Autonomous Action)

[] Information For A Price: Since you're now committing yourself to making sure the Republic will win any time soon, why not sell some information to both sides and make a profit off of it in the meantime? Chance of Success: 80% Reward: Income from selling information (Autonomous Action)

[] Delicious Bacta: You may nominally be on the same side as the planet's corporations but that doesn't mean you aren't willing to target them. It just means that a little more subtlety is required. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Data on bacta products stolen from Thyferra

[] Ball Busting: The Coilcoids have proven to be one of the most effective suppliers for the CIS, giving them droidekas, buzz droids, and tri-fighters. Though with the capture of droideka blueprints from Metalorn, you're now angling for a shot at getting your hands on the infamous Scorponek Annihilator Droids, which will make the heist much more difficult. Chance of Success: 40% Reward: Coilcoid technology stolen

[] The Spice Must Not Flow: If you want to ensure a successful heist on Colla IV, you're going to need a distraction. And wouldn't you know it, Kessel is supplying the Coilcoids with invaluable spice trade, and the Hutts want them off of that planet. If you were to say, destabilize their presence there and give the Hutts the chance to make a move, it would pull away enough security from Colla IV to give you a better chance at getting away with the heist. And if the Hutts manage to take over in the chaos, well you are business partners anyway... Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Distraction caused on Kessel, Coilcoid security forces diverted (Autonomous Action)

[] Public Relations Vaccination: While you did manage to deal with the Sith blackmail there's still a possibility that new incriminating information on you could be found. Preempt that by spreading a mix of truth and lies about you before debunking it all, making it that much harder for any actual dirt to be used on you. Chance of Success: 90% Reward: Increased defense against any incriminating evidence on you (Autonomous Action)

[] Strike Palpatine's Inner Circle: It's time to go on the offensive. Chance of Success: 40% Cost: 150 Reward: Targeted member/group discredited/neutralized/etc
-[] Saro Sanuo: The Deputy Chancellor who seems to be connected to the Granta Omega fisaco a few years ago. While he's not that important in the grand scheme of things by comparison, having a different individual in the Deputy Chancellor's seat could make the inevitable transition of power easier to handle...
-[] Sate Pestage: Effectively Palpatine's No. 2 according to the reports. Dealing with him would mean that Palpatine would no longer be able to direct suspicion onto him or have a spokesperson to draw attention, among other benefits.
-[] Terrinald Screed: Normally one admiral alone wouldn't be enough of an issue, but since Screed is the leader of the Home Fleet and since all of Coruscant's defense ships report to him...that makes him a far more important target.
-[] COMPOR: A pro-Palpatine, pro-human, anti-pretty much everything else organization headed by Palpatine's most fanatically loyal followers. Not only would dealing with them be a significant blow to Palpatine's ability to rally people, but given that you're 75% non-human (ish) there's definitely some poetic justice to be meted out here.
-[] Supreme Chancellor's Aides: Given that there's approximately a 99% chance that there's at least some Sith acolytes among them? They may not seem important enough at first glance but that's kind of the issue right there.

[] Test The Waters: Given the manhunt for Galen, Dooku's plots in the past, and the instability Maul and Savage recently brought to the underworld, it can't hurt to send out some feelers to figure out who would be stupid or crazy enough to try and kill you...and then have them dealt with just to be sure. Chance of Success: 60% Cost: 250 Reward: Potential threats in underworld located and terminated

[] Definitely Not Available for Hiring: The fall of Republic Intelligence has had the unexpected side effect of revealing the man beind the hunt for Galen: Orson Krennic. Honestly his methods are so comically transparent and unsubtle that he'd almost be worth completely igoring...if it wasn't for the security risk associated with having people trying to track Galen down. Having someone either take care of him for good or at least dissuading him wouldn't be the worst idea. Chance of Success: 80% Cost: 100 Reward: Krennic's manhunt called off, one way or another (Autonomous Action)

[] The Hunt for "Truth": Bariss Offee has escaped from prison. Barriss Offee, the ex-Jedi who orchestrated one of the worst terrorist attacks on the Jedi Temple in recorded history, whose actions directly led to the Temple Massacre, and a woman skilled with nanodroid bombs that are nigh-undetectable by their victims unless they're actively made aware of them. You know damn well who's behind her escape, and that also means you need to track her down now. Chance of Success: ??? Cost: 200 Reward: Barriss Offee tracked, ???

[] Hyper-Communications Hot Potato: The good news: Palpatine seems to have bought your and Dooku's lie about the Hyper-Communications Cartel having a mole that sold out Trench. The bad news: You now need to create that mole while Palpatine is giving his direct attention to the situation at hand to ensure that Dooku's cover doesn't get blown too early. All that being said, if you can pull this off properly and pin the blame on its leadership, you can ensure that it comes under your direct control and get you one step closer to total control over the Separatists. Chance of Success: 30% Reward: HCC mole created to distract Palpatine, potential to ensure more direct control over the HCC

[] The COMPOR Affair: Reports have been coming in from multiple worlds that people who strongly support COMPOR and its ideals have mysteriously vanished, with no known clues to their location as of now. Given how widespread this appears to be and COMPOR's direct ties to Paplatine, this definitely bears looking into. Chance of Success: 50% Reward: COMPOR disappearances investigated, ???

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Spoiler: Lore Actions

Lore: Now more than ever you need to understand more of the Force - for your sake and for the sake of others within the Watchers who can use it.

Pick 1 Regular Action, 2 Archaeological Actions, 1 Force Study Action:

[] Force Research: The Force is interesting and despite claims to the contrary (especially those of the Jedi) it has not been fully understood, most likely not even sufficiently, and there are still tricks to be discovered here and there. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Progress in researching new Tricks and Techniques (Takes 2 turns)

[] Incorporate Luka Sene Techniques (Force Study): The abilities that you've learned from the Luka Sene aren't exactly flashy, but between their improved ability to use Force vision in combat as well as the more engineering oriented ability for them to see energy fields, there's definitely plenty your Agents can learn from. Chance of Success: 80% Reward: Luka Sene abilities taught to all Agents (Autonomous Action)

[] Research Alternative Force Schools: While the Jedi and Sith are the most well-known Force users in the galaxy there are certainly others that have mastered more esoteric techniques that could be useful to you. You already have information on them from the datachips so it shouldn't be too difficult. (Choose 1 below) Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Learn techniques from other Force users
-[] Jensaarai: A group of Force users that apparently follow a blend of Jedi and Sith teachings. Their unique ability is "ballistakinesis," which is basically hurling things at enemies at blindingly fast/lethal speeds.
-[] Tyia Adepts: A pacifistic group of Force users based on Revyia, they are extremely skilled at healing in general.
-[] Voss Mystics: These Force users have extremely powerful foresight to the point that their visions are regarded as fact.
-[] Jal Shey: A sect of nomadic diplomats and philosophers from the Indupar Crown Worlds, who specialize in the esoteric art of Force Imbuement.
-[] Altisian Jedi: They have some ability called "essence transfer," and if it means what you think it means...
-[] Write-in (Subject to Veto)

[] Archaeological Expeditions: There are very famous sites in the galaxy that are dying for someone to lead expeditions to...and potentially locate Force-related artifacts. Chance of Success: 70% (80% on planets with a *) Cost: 50 Reward: Expedition to chosen location launched
-[] Korriban: The origin world of the Sith, this planet would contain plenty of artifacts for those that can withstand the wildlife and the immense influence of the Dark Side.
-[] Outer Rim (Dxun, Telos (IV))*: A pair of worlds closely associated with the Jedi Civil War era, they are home to Sith and Jedi ruins respectively.
-[] Hutt Space (Manda, Tatooine)*: These worlds contain various libraries and such that would make for interesting material to steal examine closely.
-[] Duro*: The Valley of Royalty is listed as another Wonder of the Galaxy, and contains an incredible (if varied) collection of data & historical artifacts. Sounds like a good place for "research."
-[] Centerpoint Station*: Something about the station caused your Shatterpoint abilities to react to it...maybe you should look into why that is more specifically.
-[] Sith Worlds: A generalization of worlds in the Northern Rim that are dotted with Sith ruins, artifacts, and who knows what else. Could be dangerous. Would definitely be profitable.
-[] Kathol Outback: An isolated area of the Outer Rim, the region is rumored to be home to a powerful Force sect, but you don't have much more to go on besides that.
-[] Prakith: According to Vectivus this planet is home to the tomb of Darth Andeddu, but the catch is that it's also home to a fanatical cult bent on protecting the tomb of their "god-king." Still, maybe there's something worth finding there...
-[] Belsavis: The planet has a long history of serving as a Republic prison and has infrastructure rumored to predate even them. There's certainly more to be found here.
-[X] Ossus: Home to an ancient Jedi Archive dating back to the years of Exar Kun himself (which has become suddenly quite relevant). With the amount of local support available, your teams have already begun setting up an expedition into the Archive. (Free Action)

[] The Secrets of the Corellian Jedi: The Corellian Jedi are hiding something about the New Sith Wars and you don't like being told "no" for an answer. See if you can appropriate whatever records they're hiding and figure out what's so important about it. Chance of Success: 30% Reward: Corellian Jedi records investigated

[] The Mysteries of Cularin: Under normal circumstances you'd simply hand off examining a system to on-site archaeology teams, but times have become desperate and Cularin has enough oddities that would make a more thorough expedition worthwhile. Maybe you can figure out something related to its displacement, maybe there's some artifact or something buried away on one of its planets, but there's a chance - even a slim one - that there might be something that could help you seal the Force Wound. Chance of Success: ??? Cost: 100 Reward: ???

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Spoiler: Learning Actions

Learning: Beating Palpatine means throwing things at him he wouldn't expect. Good thing you have a diverse set of people willing to cook up new and crazy ideas to give you an edge.

Pick 2, or pick only one Research action and halve its time:

[] Analyze Chiss Archives: Instead of going after the locations of anomalies you've gathered in the past without anything to go on, you could cross-reference them with the Chiss archives to see if there is enough to go on and it won't get too many people killed. Chance of Success: 80% Reward: ???

[] Develop Improved Medical Gear: The Karada Corporation needs equipment distinct from that of the competition, as few as there might be. Both for personal use and modified to personal preferences and to sell. Chance of Success: 70% Cost: 60 Reward: Increase Karada profits, officially produce high-quality gear, increase troop survival rate

[] Develop Improved Medicine: The Karada Corporation needs to develop new types of medicine instead of just producing legal knock-offs of what already exists. Either by providing variants specifically designed for specific species, improving on already existing types of Medicine or similar products. Chance of Success: 70% Cost: 80 Reward: Increase Karada profits, officially produce high-quality medicine and medpacs, increase troop survival rate

[] Materials Research: There are quite a few odd materials and minerals in the galaxy that you might be able to work with to produce unique weapons and gear for your troops if you looked into them enough. Chance of Success: 70% Cost: 50 Reward: Selected material analyzed for usage in weapons/armor
-[] Cortosis: The favorite metal of anyone fighting against lightsaber users since it can cause said weapons to short out, though it's quite brittle on its own. Definitely worth looking into.
-[] Agrocite: A material used to boost turbolaser fire, but you've heard rumors that the Wookiees have used it in their bowcasters to make them even more powerful weapons.
-[] Ionite: As expected by the name this material can be used to neutralize energy fields. Surely there's more that can be done with the material.
-[] Beskar: The material that makes up the famed armor of the Mandalorians. That's useful on its own but maybe there's more you can do with it?
-[] Hiridu: A crystal that can significantly boost communications signals by proximity alone. Maybe there's other aspects of it that haven't been discovered yet.
-[] Hibridium: A material that apparently can act as an alternative to stygium for cloaking, though it also has a bad habit of exploding when ships go into hyperspace. Maybe there's something else that could work?

[] Anti-Force Research: There are some esoteric creatures and substances in the galaxy that could blunt Force usage but they're difficult to recover and hard to research due to their nature. Chance of Success: 50% Cost: 200 Reward: Anti-Force subject researched [Takes 2 turns]
-[] Senflax: Apparently this is a neurotoxin of some variety that can be used to damage Force users in particular. If you could develop a decent delivery system you would have a very powerful tool to use...
-[] Drethi: A winged creature that somehow has a venom that is more deadly the more powerful its victim is in the Force. If you could figure out how it worked...

[] Analyze Commando Gear: Despite his grumbling Skirata was willing to part with a few sets of clone commando armor and weaponry. Have your research teams look into them and see what they can reverse-engineer from them. Chance of Success: 60% Cost: 150 Reward: Commando Gear reverse-engineered [Takes 2 Turns]

[] Nanodroids, Son: Var Zheen has been ecstatic over the effectiveness of the nanodroids in general and firmly believes that with enough time and a lot of credits he could potentially modify them to do...well who knows what the mad Givin has in mind... Chance of Success: 50% Cost: 200 Reward: Potential applications for nano-droids researched [Takes 3 turns, locks actions for 2 turns]

[] Mass Genemodding Program: You've had the genemod specs for a long while now, but getting a mass-modding program available has been difficult due to a lack of resources and facilities. However the rebirth of the Arkanian Legacy has given you an opportunity: setting up a program with Adascorp could make genemodding your forces a much more viable option in general. Chance of Success: 70% Cost: 150 Reward: Genemodding program for troops initialized

[] The Force Within A Blade: Var Zheen and Cheriss have both been curious about the forcesaber you recovered from Lehon and want to see just what makes it so special, just how it is infused with the Force. Of course, they have basically nothing barring stories and myths about it to go on, so it's going to be much more difficult for either of them to figure it out. Chance of Success: 40% Cost: 200 Reward: Forcesaber analyzed [Takes 3 turns, locks actions for 2 turns]

[] Giving Causality A Migrane (Foundry): Instead of having the potential blueprints sent to Incom, Cheriss has suggested that she could hijack one of the Foundry's drone production zones to help prototype the enhanced X-Wing. The bad news is that you couldn't get the ship sent into mass production with Incom, but the good news is that you'd have quite the ace up your sleeve... Chance of Success: 70% Cost: 150 Reward: X-Wings designed 20 years early, the thrill of causing your very own temporal paradox

[] Karada Medical Innovations: The Karada Corporation has grown to be one of the galaxy's largest and most successful medical corporations, primarily known for its strong presence within the CNS and strong ties with the Silver Cross. With the combination of plenty of in-house talent and contacts with other pioneering groups like Adascorp, it would not be hard to kick-start a cutting-edge divison of Karada that could focus on new medial innovati0ns. Chance of Success: 70% Cost: 200 Upkeep: 50 Reward: gain +1 Learning Action (Medicine)

[] Svivreni-Shard Engineering Inc.: The Svivreni are present at a siginificant amount of Watcher faclities and have provided considerable support with the mining and study of materials. You've already seen how skilled the Shards are through Cheriss alone, and you've recently opened direct ties with their homeworld. Setting up a dedicated division where both of these groups could work together would be a significant boon to your research efforts, and could provide you with tech that could give you an edge. Chance of Success: 80% Cost: 200 Upkeep: 50 Reward: gain +1 Learning Action (Materials)

[] Midichlorian Metadata: You might not put much stock in the connection these microorganisms have between their presence and someone's ability to use the Force...but there is enough of one that it can be traced scientifically. Between Karada's various branches and Silver Cross blood drives, your teams can pour over the medical data and cross-reference it with individuals that have displayed unusual abilities to more effectively track down potential Force-users...and by extension, potentially deny them to Palpatine. Chance of Success: 70% Cost: 100 Reward: improve Abyss Agent recruitment, prevent Force Users from future recruitment by Palpatine's Sith acolytes

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Spoiler: Personal Actions

Personal: You have to get stronger.

Pick 3:

[] Physical Training: At this point you're on par with your stronger associates, but you know that you have to keep improving. Chance of Success: 70%
-[] Strategy Lessons: Between Grievous and Thrawn you have some very skilled leaders under your employ, and you could hardly ask for better instructors if you want to learn more about how to properly command troops on the field. Reward: Martial Increase, command training
-[] Piloting 101: Sure you can fly a ship from Point A to Point B, but you aren't really prepared for a real dogfight if the situation calls for it. Asajj is, and while she has been willing to train you could have sworn you saw her grin slightly when you asked. Reward: Martial Increase, pilot training
-[] Martial Arts Lessons: The fact of the matter is that Jango Fett is one of the best martial artists in the galaxy, and you could certainly learn quite a bit from him. ...If he asks why you haven't picked it up sooner, you can point out that the Silencer isn't exactly "teacher material" in the slightest. Reward: Martial Increase, martial arts training
-[] Stava Lessons: Alternatively, your misadventures on Honoghr have given you the chance to learn the Noghri martial art they refer to as "Stava" - a style that relies on speedy takedowns and endurance fighting. It would certianly suit you, especically given your ability to amplify those aspects with your Matukai training. Martial Increase, martial arts training
-[] Form V (Shien/Djem So) Training: Brute force fighting didn't seem like it would work for you, but that was before you figured out how to punch through steel with your bare hands. Now it and Form V are much more viable options for you, so why not lean on Anakin so you can get some training in the form? Reward: Martial Increase, Form V training (Takes 2 Turns)
-[] Form VII (Vapaad) Training: A highly experimental - and based on what you've seen previously from Bulq's corruption, highly dangerous - form that apparently relies on the user to tap slightly into the Dark Side to empower themselves and attack at blistering speeds. Honestly from the sounds of it you're already "using" the form in some sense, but with Quinlan around maybe you could find some new aspect you're missing? Reward: Martial Increase, Form VII training
-[] Write in

[] Force Training: You've certainly gotten stronger, but Mortis has taught you that you still have a long ways to go.
-[] Blazing Chains (Advanced): Now that you actually know how to properly use Blazing Chains, Tyro has offered to put you through the higher-level training of the technique should you so desire. Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Advanced-level Blazing Chains techniques learned
-[] Shatterpoint (Organic(?)): Unquestionably the most difficult thing you could attempt to train on right now; you're still trying to figure out why you can't see shatterpoints on living beings. Your breakthroughs in the Matukai techniques have finally given you some insight on the matter, if you have weak and strong points then so would others by logical extension... Chance of Success: 50% Reward: ???
-[] Telekinetic Lightsaber Control: No, you're not doing this just because Kreia could and you want to be able to do the same! Why does no one believe that!? Chance of Success: 80% Reward: Telekinetic Lightsaber control learned
-[] Force Cloak: Invisibility. No other details needed. Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Force Cloak learned
-[] Force Illusion: Exactly as advertised. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Force Illusion learned

[] Personal attention/Increased Focus: Sometimes you just have to either keep an eye on your minions to ensure that they don't screw up or prepare more intensively for something that you need to handle personally. Chance of Success: 100%. Reward: Your stats + Force Sight bonus added to a action of your choice

[] Accelerate research: The research at Karada is going way too slowly. Dedicate your free time and some additional resources to speed it all up. Chance of Success: 70% Cost: 50 Reward: Research time halved, action lock time halved

[] Personal Tutoring (Apprentices or Agents): With some extra dedicated time, you can substantially increase the skill of your Force Users and thus improve their odds of promotion. Chance of Success: 80% Reward: This turn, +30% Apprentice promotion chance and/or +15% Agent promotion chance

[] Construct A Holocron: ...It wouldn't hurt to try making one right? After all you do have Vectivus around and surely he can help. Chance of Success: 80% Reward: ???

[] Design a Custom Blaster: You've been using a holdout pistol up to know but your fight with Savage shows that a meager blaster isn't going to cut it. Work with your people to design a blaster integrating that lava crystal you picked up ages ago to see if you can make something with a bit more kick to it. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Lava crystal-enhanced blaster installed

[] Exorcising Exar Kun: It's been over four millienia since his death, but you've learned that Exar Kun - or at least some part of him - still persists in the ruins of Yavin 4. This was the Sith Lord whose actions directly led to the Jedi Civil War, and was noted to be one of the most feared Sith in history. Unfortunately for you, there's only one weapon in the galaxy that you're aware of that can make sure he'll stay dead this time. Chance of Success: ??? Reward: ???

[] The "Secrets" of Sair: Recent disucssions with the Shards have helped you realize how little you know about Cheriss - or at least how little you know about the period in between her leaving her homeworld and joining the Walkers. That first suit of hers was able to fool you after all, so odds are there's a good story there! There's two reasons you can think of for why you haven't heard it yet: either she's holding out on some deep, dark secret that will change your perspective of her forever...or she just flat-out didn't think to tell you about it in the first place. ...Sadly, it's probably the latter. Booooring. (Free Action, no bonuses) Chance of Success: 100% Reward: Backstory expansion for Cheriss

[] Annoy Padme Bachelorette Party (Free Action, no bonuses): It will be done. It must be done. Chance of Success: Yes. Reward: Considerable Entertainment

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Spoiler: Hero Actions

Hero Units: You've been gathering a lot of talented individuals under your command, and many of them have ambitions of their own that they may need your help with to succeed.

Optional, Pick Up To 3 & 1 Genemod, Uses Hero Unit's Full Stats:
[] Under The Knife: With the facilities of the Arkanian Legacy at their disposal, the Arkanians can easily genemod anyone you want to go through the process. Chance of Success: 70% Cost: 100 Reward: Selected Hero Unit genemodded
-[] Choose 1 Hero Unit:
--[] Silencer: No response as usual.
--[] Galen: Somewhat put off by the Arkanians but is fully aware of how the mods could benefit him.
--[] Mungo: Somewhat baffled by the concept but is understanding of the potential benefits.
-[] Choose 1 Genemod:
--[] Balosar: A species that has incredible intuition, allowing them to read emotions or detect incoming threats. (Diplomacy, Intrigue)
--[] Bith: A craniopod species with exceptional mathematical ability, Bith do not sleep but need a mere 4 hours of waking meditation each day. (Learning)
--[] Chiss: Thrawn's species, red-eyed and blue-skinned with above-average night vision and inherently fit bodies. (Martial, Intrigue)
--[] Echani: The progenitors of the Silencer's Thyrsian species, they are fierce fighters who believe in the concept of communication through combat. (Martial, Lore)
--[] Epicanthix: A species that is almost completely human save for inherent Force-sensitivity and innate resistance to Force techniques that affect the mind. (???)
--[] Firrerreo: A gold-skinned species that boasts considerable regenerative abilities. (Martial, enhanced lifespan)
--[] Gand: An insectile species of humanoid, Gand are extraordinarily durable and have the ability to regenerate lost limbs. They are also able to see ultraviolet light, and can 'store' sleep in order to stay alert for weeks at a time. (Martial, Intrigue)
--[] Gurlanin: Natives of Qiilura, this species descended from ambush predators is not only capable of shapeshifting into the form of nearly any other humanoid race, and camouflaging themselves perfectly in nearly any environment, they are also naturally attuned to the Force. This is all combined with a 700-year lifespan, as well. (Intrigue, enhanced lifespan, ???)
--[] Jenet: Natives of Garban, this rodent-like race boasts a high degree of agility and dexterity, along with an exceptionally precise memory, verging on eidetic. (Martial, Learning)
--[] Kel Dor: Natives of Dorin, the Kel Dor are innately sensitive to the Force, and specialize in telepathy and weather control. (Lore, ???)
--[] Lyunesi: Natives of Ryoone, Lyunesi are a fragile species with unparalleled talent at linguistics and communications (Diplomacy)
--[] Miraluka: Your own species, able to see through the Force despite a lack of eyes. The Arkanians have admitted that they're not entirely sure what will happen if that mod is used due to the species' natural connection with the Force - sure it worked on Asajj, but "reliable results" and "the Force" don't tend to go together very well. (Lore, ???)
--[] Ogemite: The feather-crested natives of Ogem are natural traders with a gift for logistics and occasionally smuggling. (Stewardship)
--[] Pau'an: Natives of Utapau, they can see well in darkness but their most notable trait is their extremely long lifespans. The Arkanians have noted that this genemod will extend a recipient's life span by about 20 years as opposed to regular genemods. (Intrigue, enhanced lifespan)
--[] Sephi: A pointed-eared species that is not only long-lived but also have a natural affinity for working with machinery. (Learning, enhanced lifespan)
--[] Svivreni: A short, stout furry species known for their hardiness, and their natural talent for geology. (Martial, Learning)
--[] Tarasin: Natives of Cularin, this species has a strong natural affinity for the Living Force. (Lore, ???)
--[] Voss: A species that has a natural disposition for foresight with the Force. Much like with the Miraluka genemod, the Arkanians have noted that there is a possibility someone given this mod could develop Force sensitivity despite the past failure with Thrawn. (Lore, ???)
--[] Wookie: Natives of Kashyyyk, Wookies are unbelievably strong, and surprisingly good at engineering. (Martial, Learning)
--[] Zabrak: A tough species that is extremely resistant to physical pain. (Martial)
--[] Zeltron: An incredibly attractive species that uses pheromones to gain an edge in social conversations. (Diplomacy, Intrigue)

[] Silas Cata - Mind Of A Scoundrel: While Silas has known quite a few other scoundrels throughout his life and your organization has many ties within the underworld, Silas has suggested that you visit a few seedy bars and do some talent hunting. As he put it you would never hear of the best scoundrels and there's no better way of finding them than the old-fashioned ways. (Uses Intrigue Bonuses, Silas Cata must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Potential new employees located, ???

[] Silas Cata - Welcome To The Family: While Oki could be a valuable member of the Watchers given her shapeshifting abilities, she's not exactly well-trained in the arts of impersonation, infiltration, etc, etc. Silas wants the chance to spend some 'family time' with her and help her learn the ropes. (Uses Intrigue Bonuses, Silas Cata must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Oki gains "formal" subterfuge training, ???

[] The Silencer - Legacy of the Moon: While the Silencer's time with the Sun Guard has proven fruitful (the betrayal notwithstanding), Grievous has floated the idea that you also send him to train with the Echani as well in the hopes of giving him a different perspective on his martial arts. At least this time you know the Echani aren't Sith cultists. (Uses Martial Bonuses, The Silencer must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 50% Reward: The Silencer trains with the Echani, ???

[] Cheriss Sair - The Culmination of a Dream: Cheriss has the design for her project - a 'frame' that would contain a humanoid pilot much like her body contains her Shard self. All she needs is a lot of money to pay her research teams and some time with the Foundry, and she can begin working on it in earnest. (Uses Learning Bonuses, Cheriss Sair must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: ??? Cost: 300 Reward: Cheriss completes her design, ???

[] Cheriss Sair - The Art Of The Droid: Granted, Cheriss' new mechu-daru abilites certainly speak for themselves but it couldn't hurt for other members of your organization to learn about them in more detail. Sadly, since she is currently the only one within it to fully master the ability, she'd have to commit to teaching this for the immediate future. (Uses Lore Bonuses, Cheriss Sair must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 80% Cost: 150 Reward: Cheriss teaches mechu-deru to Agent teams, ???

[] Cheriss Sair - An Unrestrained Mind: While you're unwilling to use the Foundry for mass production, you're certainly willing to let Cheriss have access to a production line for prototyping new droids. At this point it'd probably be the best idea to simply let her build whatever comes to mind and see if you can make it practical or at least useful in some fashion. (Uses Learning Bonuses, Cheriss Sair must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: ??? Cost: 150 Reward: Cheriss prototypes...something, ???

[] Thrawn - A Scholar's Passion Project: One of the Wonders of the Galaxy is Space City, a mostly abandoned colossal space station that is not only effectively a floating museum but is rumored to be home to ancient Jedi libraries. Thrawn is more concerned about the 'museum' aspect though, and has politely mentioned that if you could give him time and (admittedly significant) funds he would like to take teams to the city and expand its collections. While there would be a base established there in some capacity, it's rather obvious that Thrawn considers that to be an afterthought. (Uses Stewardship Bonuses, Thrawn must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 50% Cost: 200 Reward: Space City reclaimed as both museum and base, ???

[] Thrawn - Most Curious Individuals: Thrawn has brought up a captain that he believes is an individual of interest, and that has given you an idea - why not let Thrawn dig into various military records around the galaxy and see if he can find other "interesting" individuals that could be brought into the fold? (Uses Martial Bonuses, Thrawn must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 50% Cost: 100 Reward: Thrawn goes on a talent search for people of interest, ???

[] Grievous - One Last Ride: While Grievous is more than happy to see Kalee properly brought into the galaxy and given the chance to modernize, he feels that it also means that the age of the Kaleesh hunter is largely coming to an end. He doesn't want it to end quietly though, and has requested that he have the chance to go to Vendaxa with as many of his hunter brethren as he can possibly muster for what he describes as "the greatest and final hunt of the Kaleesh." (Uses Martial Bonuses, Grievous must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Grievous goes on what he terms "The Greatest Hunt," ???

[] Asajj Ventress - Homecoming Trip: While it's been years since she's been on the planet, Asajj was once the de facto ruler of Rattatak, ruling from the creatively named Castle Ventress. While she's not particularly interested in regaining rule over the planet for various reasons, she has expressed a desire to return there to see if there is anything she has left behind as well as potentially converting the castle into a facility for the Watchers. (Uses Martial Bonuses, Asajj Ventress must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 50% Reward: Asajj reclaims her castle, ???

[] Asajj Ventress - Journeys Of An Exile: Fact of the matter is that you just don't have time to go contact every Force sect in the galaxy to speak with them or learn their techniques or whatever. In light of this Asajj has volunteered to go visit some of the groups...though while she'd never say it outright she'd like to be able to gain practical knowledge (usually involving new ways to kill things with her mind) from whoever she visits or at least not have to go through hours of scholarly discussion to gain their trust. Odds are any kind of "scholarly discussion" involving Asajj wouldn't work anyway knowing her... (Uses Diplomacy Bonuses, Asajj Ventress must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Asajj contacts designated group, ???
-[] Disciples of the Whills: A group of Force worshipers fiercely protective of their home of Jedha, they occupy a planet that is rich in both historical artifacts and valuable Kyber crystals. Asajj notes that they are much like the Nightsisters in that they are militantly protective of their home, though she believes that given that their home is now a CNS member they might be open to negotiation.
-[] Jensaarai: A group of Force users that apparently follow a blend of Jedi and Sith teachings. Their unique ability is "ballistakinesis," which is basically hurling things at enemies at blindingly fast/lethal speeds. Asajj never said it outright but she has taken quite the interest in that particular ability, and she's noted that their Sith heritage would mean they wouldn't reject her.
-[] Zeison Sha: A group of Force users that are extremely skilled at telekinesis. The only problem is that they are incredibly isolationist, so studying them further will require direct contact. As Asajj has pointed out, it might actually be better for her to go in case things get violent.
-[] Followers of Palawa: An isolated group of Force users in the far west of the known galaxy, they have developed a number of techniques that are explicitly designed to protect against Force users. While information on them is rather scarce due to their isolation, Asajj is admittedly curious as to what these techniques actually are.
-[] Order of Shasa: A Maanan-based group that has sworn to protect their homeworld, and more importantly have trained themselves to use the Force to see through deception and enhance their telekinetic abilities. They're noticeably independent from the Jedi in many ways and Asajj doesn't think there would be any issues with contacting them.

[] HK-47 - Beneath Scum And Villany: As it turns out Nar Shaddaa of all worlds is home to a compound that once belonged to Revan himself during the Cold War era, and HK-47 was entrusted with passcodes to said compound. Have him lead a team there to see what remains after all these years. (Uses Learning Bonuses, HK-47 must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Revan's Nar Shaddaa compound accessed, ???

[] HK-47 - Can't An Assassin Droid Assassinate People?: Yes. Yes he can. (Uses Intrigue Bonuses, HK-47 must be assigned to this action if chosen)
-[] Write-in targets, chance of success will vary depending on target

[] Jango Fett - Remains Of A Past Hunt: A few years ago Jango was sent on a mission to the planet of Kholma by none other than Count Dooku himself to prove that he would be the ideal template for the clone army. He ended up fighting a dark side cult and destroying the citadel they were based in, but given who they were there might still be something worth finding in the wreckage... (Uses Lore Bonuses, Jango Fett must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Kholma compound investigated, ???

[] Jango Fett - Fett's House Of Killers: If you don't have the time to set up a chapter of bounty hunters with your own resources, Jango has pointed out that by sheer reputation alone he could easily get one set up - so long as he had the credits to do so. (Uses Diplomacy Bonuses, Jango Fett must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 90% Cost: 150 Reward: Jango sets up bounty hunter chapter for you, ???

[] Talesan Fry - You Killed My Father, Prepare To Die: The current leader of the Corporate Alliance, Passel Argente, was the man responsible for the deaths of Fry's parents. While he has so far largely kept his mouth shut about the matter, he's quietly admitted that he wants the chance for revenge. He doesn't want Argente dead (likely due to Obi-Wan and Siri's influence), but he does want to see him brought to ruin. Dooku's idly mentioned that he just doesn't care about Argente anyway, so maybe there's a chance for some payback. (Uses Intrigue Bonuses, Talesan Fry must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Talesan gets his revenge on Argente, ???

[] Talesan Fry - That Boy Needs Some Therapy: To put it bluntly, Fry is not in a good headspace right now, having sealed himself in his Box and effectively isolating himself from society. While his newfound paranoia is entirely warranted to a degree, it's gotten to the point where it's going to be a headache to deal with. Maybe you should get some therapists over to the Box. Or get him to at least say hi to Obi-Wan or Siri. Or something. (Uses Diplomacy Bonuses, Talesan Fry must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 40% Reward: Talesan gets therapy for his paranoia, ???

[] Galen Erso - Unparalled Mind: There are few minds in the galaxy greater at material analysis than Galen Erso, so having him work on something would be an incredible boon for your material research - though he's not going to be working on weapons tech directly or indirectly (you have other people who could do that anyway if you really need that done). (Uses Learning Bonuses, Galen Erso must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 70% Cost: 50 Reward: Chosen material analyzed by Galen, ???
-[] Write-in

[] Galen Erso - Heart Of Kyber: With increased funding, access to your advanced laboratories, and a supply of kyber crystals to analyze, Galen can now set out on his life's work to understand the potential applications of kyber crystals. All he needs is approval and the money to do it. (Uses Learning Bonuses, Galen Erso must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 40% Cost: 300 Reward: Kyber crystals analyzed by Galen, ??? [Takes 2 Turns, Galen locked to this action until completion]

[] Mungo Baobab - There And Back Again: If there's one thing Mungo loves, it's exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new opportunities among them. Give him some support and let him do his thing and the both of you will be better off for it. (Uses Learning Bonuses, Mungo Baobab must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 70% (80% on planets with a *) Cost: 50 Reward: Mungo-led expedition to chosen location launched, ???
-[] Outer Rim (Dxun, Telos (IV))*: A pair of worlds closely associated with the Jedi Civil War era, they are home to Sith and Jedi ruins respectively.
-[] Hutt Space (Manda, Tatooine)*: These worlds contain various libraries and such that would make for interesting material to steal examine closely.
-[] Duro*: The Valley of Royalty is listed as another Wonder of the Galaxy, and contains an incredible (if varied) collection of data & historical artifacts. Sounds like a good place for "research."
-[] Kathol Outback: An isolated area of the Outer Rim, the region is rumored to be home to a powerful Force sect, but you don't have much more to go on besides that.
-[] Belsavis: The planet has a long history of serving as a Republic prison and has infrastructure rumored to predate even them. There's certainly more to be found here.

[] Mungo Baobab - Mergers And Acquisitions: With everything happening you personally don't have time to handle your bigger deals with some of the larger companies in the galaxy, so why not have Mungo approach them on your and the Baobab Merchant Fleet's behalf? (Uses Stewardship Bonuses, Mungo Baobab must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Chosen company contacted, ???
-[] Write-in

[] Quinlan Vos - Psychometrist Police: One in a hundred Kiffar possess the talent of psychometry, the ability to pick up vision's of an object's past by merely touching them. Quinlan's psychometry is highly advanced thanks to his Force sensitivity, but even a minor talent is an exceptional force multiplier for an investigator. Ask Quinlan to return to his homeworld and recruit Kiffar for the Abyss Watchers and/or for CNS law enforcement. (Uses Intrigue Bonuses, Quinlan Vos must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Kiffar investigators recruited, ???

[] Quinlan Vos - Temples of Infinity: Apparently, Quinlan Vos saved the galaxy (and your life by extension) a few years back. The Nightsisters of Dathomir had seized a 'Star Temple' containing a hidden 'Infinity Gate', originally built by the ancient Kwa to transport people and things instantly between planets without the need for hyperspace. At the time they sabotaged the Prime Gate to unleash its unspeakable power to incinerate Coruscant, but Quinlan Vos managed to counter-sabotage the Gate and cause it to unleash its power against itself. However, his brief time inside the Kwa ruin gave him flashes and visions of other locations of Kwa Infinity Gates, and how to use them. Reactivating a nigh-untraceable teleportation network would be a godsend if you both could get it online. (Uses Lore Bonuses, Quinlan Vos must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 50% Reward: potential access to the Infinity Gate network, ???

[] Anakin Skywalker - What Could Be: Anakin has politely noted that if he had enough time and resources, he could provide you with some designs he...would have been familiar with? You're not sure exactly how the tenses would work with that but still. Chance of Success: 80% Cost: 150 Reward: "Prototype" design(s) created by Anakin, ???

[] Anakin Skywalker - Liberation Drive: While he has been focusing on bettering himself, Anakin has quietly admitted that he would certainly not object if he was personally dispatched to deal with any slaver groups in the galaxy. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Assaults launched on chosen slaver group, loot, ???
-[] Trandoshan Slavers: They have been attacking the Wookiees, and since you have a number of business arrangements with the Wookiees that makes the Trandoshans a very obvious target.
-[] Thalassian Slavers: They're operating in the Northern Rim, which is entirely owned by the CNS at this point. Show them that they are not wanted.
-[] Senex-Juvex Slavers: Would you look at that, this slave group in Republic space is also home to a number of pro-Palpatine nobles! Launching a raid on them and exposing them to the galaxy would be quite the scandal...

[] Anakin Skywalker - Still Much To Learn: Anakin has incredible strength in the Force, but he will be the first to admit that he never had the chance to fully hone it in the ways your Walkers and the like have been able to (not that he knew about them but the comparison still tracked). Helping him master those abilities may not make him stronger in the Force at this point, but they would certainly empower him in other ways. Chance of Success: 90% Reward: Anakin masters designated Force ability
-[] Write-in (Must be available to Agents/Ciaran)

Free Action:

[] Select any action from list above

Autonomous Action:

[] Select any action tagged with (Autonomous Action) from list above. Action will be automatically completed but will have reduced rewards.

Hero Support (applies half the stats to a chosen action):

Priam: [] Write in
The Silencer: [] Write in
Silas Cata: [] Write in
Cheriss Sair: [] Write in
Thrawn: [] Write in
Qymaen jai Sheelal: [] Write in
Asajj Ventress: [] Write in
HK-47: [] Write in
Jango Fett: [] Write in
Talesan Fry: [] Write in
Galen Erso: [] Write in
Mungo Baobab: [] Write in
Quinlan Vos: [] Write in
Anakin Skywalker: [] Write in

Watcher Support (20 teams available, 1 Point per assigned team): [] Write in

[] Begin Palpatine Elimination Operation: The time has come. Palpatine has to die. But be aware - what you are comitting to will change the galaxy forever one way or another.
Current Probability of Success: 8%
Operation will commence after all other actions this turn have been resolved.
All assets will be committed to operation or go dark depending on function.
There will be no turning back once this option is chosen.

AN: And We. Are. Properly. BACK!

I meant to get this out sooner, but parsing through everyone's actions took a lot longer than expected. I definitely did not get sidetracked since the end of July by marathoning a certain game that came out for research purposes. Definitely not. Nuh-uh.

For reference, Grievous, Quinlan, and Anakin not being on the genemod list is intentional. Grievous out of pride, Quinlan out of paranoia, and I would hope that I don't need to explain why Anakin wouldn't exactly be keen on the idea of going onto an operating table unless he has to. Ditto with the Zygerrians no longer being a thing since they got destroyed/neutralized in canon anyway.

The 44th SOD was merged with the Wolfpack since both units are commanded by Plo Koon anyway. Just makes sense.

And finally, as discussed previously, base voting will be handled in a separate session after this from hereon.

Time for you lot to get back to plotting~

 

[Stardust&Scotch]

Operation Skyhook





"…you want. To steal. The Jedi Temple."

"See, anything sounds bad when you say it like that," Ciaran huffed.

Gulan snorted in return. "I'm sorry, do we live in a galaxy where we can say 'you want to steal the Jedi Temple' and it sounds like a good and reasonable thing?"

"Yes, obviously. Pay attention."

The Bothan shrugged. If nothing else, he literally was paid to do just that: pay attention, act on what he perceived, and entertain his boss' outlandish schemes…not necessarily in that order. "What the hell, I got half an hour," he sipped at his caf. "Hit me with it. Figuratively," he hastily added.

Ciaran reluctantly unrolled her papers from the makeshift baton she'd just made, quietly grumbling, "You just wanna suck the joy out of everything," before setting down something that looked less like a company directive and more like a ship blueprint. He ignored it for the moment, and fixed her with a skeptical gaze he knew perfectly well she could see.

"Look," she ticked off points on her fingers one by one, starting from a closed fist and flicking each finger out for emphasis. "We need to deal with the Force Wound. We need to evacuate the Coruscant Order. We need to prevent both things from influencing Coruscant at large. Likewise, we need prevent a certain someone who lives on Coruscant from interacting with them. And, ideally, we want to get the Order off Coruscant in such a way that they are not going to re-establish a permanent presence there after we're done."

Gulan nodded along. "Right, with you so far…"

"So," Ciaran said in her particular way that made whatever patently insane thing she was building up to sound quite reasonable in context, "we could try and accomplish these goals individually, facing pushback every time on every thing, possibly escalating to violent pushback. Or," her extended fingers slowly came together to form a cup, "we accomplish it all at once, scoop it up, and remove the temple from the planet."

Well. He had to give her that. It did sound marginally less insane when she said it like that. Marginally. Gulan chose then to look at the blueprint. It was a mess of barely-legible scribbles and crudely-drawn additions to the original print. "And…this is how?"

"I call it Operation Skyhook."

His brow furrowed. "I feel like I've heard that name before."

She brushed it aside, "Whatever, shut up. So what we do," she indicated highlighted points at the bottom of what he now realised to be an architectural layout of the Coruscant Temple, "is we infiltrate the Undercity areas beneath the Temple, at the base of its foundations. We attach these boosters," she pointed to what charitably looked like thrusters off of Venator-class Star Destroyers – ten or eleven of them, all hand-drawn, "and shore up the architecture between, to withstand the force. When the moment comes, we make the area hostile to other life forms--"

"What, by gassing them?" Gulan asked incredulously. Of all things, Ciaran wanting to gas people was certainly the most crazy thing he'd heard thus far, and he was hearing a lot.

"By noise, smell, stuff like that," she explained, and Gulan silently thanked the Force he'd kept most of that incredulity on the inside. "Then, we use shaped charges, detonate a box around the Temple in a 600-metre square, try to keep as much structural integrity as possible," she sipped at her own caf, "and we lift off before they have time to even think about evacuating the Temple."

For a moment, Gulan was silent. "…okay. Couple quick thoughts: one, is there a reason they wouldn't try to get out once it was moving? They do have a lot of ships and carriers in their possession."

"These thrusters can put down enough force—heh—that they'll be too focused on keeping their bones on the inside from the g-forces they'll be experiencing in there."

Doing his best to ignore her little pun, he tried another tack. "Two, there's the minor issue of the Temple not being spaceworthy. Unless your secret evil plan all along was to outdo the Other Guy for disposing of all the pesky Jedi at once, I think this…oh, no," he sighed as she slapped down a second drawing, this one of multiple skyhooks. There were odd shapes alongside of each, almost like puzzle pieces. More painful-to-read excuses for writing, the most legible of which was a name at the top.

"Operation Skyhook," Ciaran grinned at him.

"Ohhhkay, the name is great," he tried to appease her, "but a little on-the-nose and still not any clearer on how this doesn't end up with a bunch of dead Jedi."

"Think about this," she started.

"I feel like I am the only one doing that."

Ciaran simply ignored what he felt was one of his better cutting remarks, and Gulan pouted a little on the inside. "We get it into the air. We get it up there fast enough and hard enough that the g-forces keep the pesky Jedi under control. We get it high enough that the pesky Jedi start to lose consciousness."

"Followed shortly thereafter by dead pesky Jedi," Gulan cut in.

She wagged a finger. "Not with these," and she flipped the drawing over to show a very similar image, but the puzzle pieces were detached on this side and, if one struggled mightily to imagine these as genuine skyhooks over Coruscant, descending away from their skyhook bases to the temple below. "These come from the skyhooks – we've built these in secret and in several different pieces and places ahead of time," she added, "and they interlock together. Var Zheen has a spray-foam adhesive that will both help with structural integrity of this top half and help to spaceproof it for pressurizing. That top half descends, partly under control by these little guys," she pointed out small tug-like boats on the sides, "and uses that same spray-foam to make a hard seal over the Temple.

"Then, we get it out of the atmosphere, far enough for a quick hyperspace jump. Doesn't need to be far, just out of Coruscant's orbit and immediate reach. While that's happening, our people go in, restrain the pesky yet conveniently unconscious and/or weakened by hypoxia Jedi, get them onto shuttles that take them to medical frigates we have ready and waiting. Once everyone's out, we jump it away again, to one of our secret facilities," she rubbed her hands together, "and then we clean the place out, before we fire the hollowed-out husk into the nearest sun."

Gulan found himself distracted, of all things, by a scribbled notation. "You want to call this…?"

"I call this ship the Audacity," Ciaran beamed.

"…of course," Gulan said in a small voice.

"So," she summarised while ignoring his quiet distress, "we get the Temple and the Jedi and the Wound all off Coruscant, we pacify the Jedi as harmlessly as possible and get them away from Coruscant and the Wound and the Temple, and we dispose of the Wound and the Temple, all in one operation. Neat, simple, and effective, yes?"

He struggled, for a moment or two, before giving up any hope of eloquence or detailed rebuttal and instead replied, "…words to the effect of 'no'."

Ciaran gave no sign of hearing him. "The Audacity-class Mass Exodus Platform," she said to no one at all. "A new partnership from Sienar and the Silver Cross. I like it."

Gulan began to wonder just how he was supposed to answer all of this, when something caught his nose. It was her caf. It smelled, and now that he was focusing on it, looked nothing like ZK-711's usual product. Taking her mug from her side of the table, he took another sniff, then a hesitant taste.

"…boss?"

"Yes?" Ciaran half-focused on him.

"Where'd you get this caf?"

"ZK-711 left the caf maker in the sink and filled with water," she said with fond exasperation. "Sloppy, to just leave it there. I think he might be losing it."

"Sure. He's losing it," Gulan mumbled, his concerns and suspicions growing.

"He wasn't in sight, so I just took it out and made some myself," she said, looking very satisfied with herself.

"…uh-huh. By any chance," he asked, "did you put fresh water in the reservoir?"

She snorted. "No. There was water already in it." Shaking her head at the foolishness of her absentee caf droid and her chief slicer, Ciaran asked, "Why would I change out perfectly good water?"

"Because that perfectly good water was probably saline?" Gulan offered, "The industrial cleaner kind that ZK uses because nobody lets him clean the machines on a regular basis so whenever he gets the chance he has to go big?"

Ciaran looked at Gulan, then at her mug of probably-toxic caf in his hand. Then back at Gulan. Then back at the mug, which she took. And then took another drink from it.

"Nah," she shook her head. "This seems fine. I feel fine."

He took the definitely-not-caf from her as quick as he dared, adding "You feel delirious, I think. Drinking saltwater-caf will do that for you."

"Now that you mention it," she licked her lips, "it does taste a little brackish."

"How about that," he said dryer than a Tatooine summer.

She licked her lips again. "I think I'd like some water."

"We'll get you some," Gulan tugged at her arm. "I think Medical has plenty."

Ciaran looked thoughtful. "You know, you're not wrong."

"It's my burden to bear," he tugged again. "Let's go." As his boss, one of the most powerful people in the galaxy, stumbled to her feet and somewhat begrudgingly allowed him to guide her towards the medical facilities, he considered his options for a second. It wasn't a long second before he took her papers, against her strenuous protests.

"Hey."

"I'm going against almost every instinct I have here," Gulan informed her, "and I'm going to keep this to myself. The saltwater caf, Operation Skyhook, the whole thing. I might," he added, "bring up the idea later, with significantly less crazy of a framing and far less crazy methods, and see if you're accidentally onto something here. But I'll keep this delightfully embarrassing situation to myself."

Ciaran tipped her head to the side, and then almost tipped into the wall. "That's strangely nice of you."

"It's not strange," Gulan protested. "I'm perfectly capable of being nice without – nope," he shook his head, "nope, couldn't follow through on it. Fair enough, boss: it isn't me being nice, it's me knowing the momentary humour isn't worth the multiple people who would kill me for it. Silas and Asajj would make a contest out of who was more sadistic about it."

A fond smile crossed Ciaran's face. "They're great."

Gulan walked them faster.

---

ATTENTION ALL EMPLOYEES, ALLIES & AFFILIATES​ 30:8:21​ PREPARATION OF CAF AND SERVICING OF THE CAF MAKERS IS THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE PURVIEW OF ZK-711. ABSOLUTELY NO EXCEPTIONS.​ Signed, Lady Ciaran

Spoiler: AN

I first tried writing this up with the intent of presenting it as a mission briefing, and I tried writing it seriously, really I did, but the more I spelled it out the more I was like "okay, even for Ciaran this is batshit." And then I imagined her trying to sell somebody on it. And what the natural reaction would be.

 

[Dr. Snark]

[X] Making Inroads In The Republic Military: Now is a good a time as any to begin dechipping and potentially subverting different groups in the Republic military. Any clone not chipped means one less clone that will try to kill you once you make your move, and of course you can always use more support when the time comes. Chance of Success: 60% Cost: 100 Reward: Chosen group targeted for dechipping/subversion
-[X] 41st Elite Corps: A group lead by Master Luminara Unduli - the master of Barriss Offee no less - that specializes in operating in exotic environments and counter-insurgency tactics. (Targeted by Yularen)

Rolled: 76 + 15 + 5 + 20 + 15 = 131 (Extreme Critical Success)

With Barriss on the loose Yularen's target was basically decided by default. Subverting them - and far more importantly, their Jedi commander - is up to him now. (To be continued in [REDACTED])

-[X] 412th Regiment: The group of clones that your sabotaged chips made their way to, they are specialized in defensive battles and have a reputation for placing the lives of civilians over their orders.

Rolled: 74 4 (Sidious' Direct Notice) + 15 + 5 + 20 = 44 (Success)

Your Shatterpoint abilities haven't led you astray yet, but there's a worrying feeling in the back of your mind that helping out the 412th isn't going to be quite as easy as it was with the other regiments you've subverted so far... (To be continued in [REDACTED])

[X] Hunting Malevolence: The Malevolence is still making its way through the galaxy and conspicuously seems to be taking paths through CNS-related trade lanes. While the Pride of the Core is hunting it down, given that Palpatine is in effectively direct control of both ships he can easily drag out the chase for as long as he wants and have it end wherever he pleases. That needs to stop, and the first step is to better narrow down both where the Malevolence currently is and where it is going. Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Malevolence's course better tracked, plans for dealing with the Malevolence and Pride set up

Rolled: 64 + 20 + 20 = 104 (Over 100 Success)

With Thrawn busy with the admittedly far more pressing issue of Barriss, this left OOM-9 in charge of handling the hunt for the Malevolence. If all goes well, you'll have a bead on where that monster of a ship is headed...and maybe even a plan for how to stop it. (To be continued in [REDACTED])

[X] The Roaming Jedi: Telling the Council about Palpatine's true identity is a recipe for disaster, but there are certainly other Jedi in the galaxy that aren't a part of the Order you could contact for aid. You've always gotten the odd report from your Silver Cross camps about the occasional Jedi stopping by to help refugees, so it wouldn't be too difficult to track some of them down. If anything, this is now increasingly critical due to the Wound forming on Coruscant. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Jedi outside of the Order contacted

Rolled: NATURAL 100 + 15 + 20 = 145 (Extreme Critical Success)

You've sent out some feelers, but reports have been coming in from other areas that Jedi are being contacted by Tholme and Obi-Wan even without your input. While that is interesting right now you've got enough on your plate as it is, so you'll be sure to bring it up with them when you next speak with the pair. (To be continued in [REDACTED])

[X] Jedi, Leader, General, Spy: Skirata has pointed out an incredibly valuable target for potential subversion: Jedi General Arligan Zey, the de facto head of the Republic's commando teams who has a position that is semi-independent from the rest of the Republic military. He's been known to conflict with the mainline Order especially after the Temple Massacre so he's an incredibly valuable target for subversion with minimal risk. With news of the Wound, getting in contact with him sooner than later is increasingly paramount - given the state of the Coruscant Order, there's an increasing chance he may try to go to ground. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Arligan Zey subverted

Rolled: 56 +15+20 = 91 (Critical Success)

The good news is that you managed to get in touch with Zey just before he might have gone to ground. The interesting part is that he also received a communique from Tholme about the matter already, which the man himself told you as he had actually been expecting to be contacted by you as well. He mentioned he couldn't meet with you immediately as he needed to speak with Tholme first, but made it clear he'd be happy to do so once that was dealt with. (To be continued in [REDACTED])

[X] Call To Order (CNS): Taris has served as an unofficial capital for the CNS, and now it has an Assembly Hall to prove it. But the Council of Neutral Systems remains a fairly ad-hoc confederation heavily dependent on your and Satine's efforts to sustain it. Getting enough people together to start creating more formalized treaties and so on wouldn't hurt, especially given that it might need to step up if the Republic does in fact fall. Chance of Success: 70% Reward: CNS becomes a more stable political organization, increased CNS recruitment

Rolled: 66 + 20 + 20 = 106 (Over 100 Success)

To make a long, complicated, and quite frankly headache-inducing story short, the Council of Neutral Systems now has representatives that meet up in Taris' Assembly Hall to discuss the war and future matters among its members. On the surface, completely mundane and unremarkable.

In the background though that alone has massively stabilized the CNS as a whole and the offhand discussions held on Taris - even remote ones - are far more contact that the various member worlds have had with each other since they joined the Council to begin with. The Mon Cala have been setting up deals with other planets in exchange for skilled engineers to head to their worlds. The Shards have spoken with more species now than ever before. And that's just in an immediate sense.

There is a quiet but palpable sense of unity forming now with your help. Satine for her part has had mixed emotions about the whole situation - while she's certainly also appreciated the unity she's actively - and surprisingly, semi-openly - wondered what will happen to everything once the war ends. After all once it does, there's no need for a Council of Neutral Systems, but that would mean undoing a lot of good that has been done through the Council in her eyes.

Ignorance truly can be bliss.

Rewards: CNS stability dramatically increased, framework for governmental structure actively set up. Increased CNS recruitment.

[X] Sienar Custom Vessel: Now that you've partnered with Sienar you can request customized ships from them for a price. You can either send them a plan of your own, or give their engineers a base concept and let them work out the details. Chance of Success: 90%
-[X] "Archaeology" Ships: Given how important/profitable archaeology has become for you, this ship would assist with your efforts with on-board research labs and excavation gear so that your teams could quickly scour a site. Why does it have a stealth system and high-grade weapons? Because there are thieves and scoundrels who could try to steal valuable relics from you! Also never mind that the excavation lasers could also double as powerful armor-piercing weapons. Cost: 150 Reward: Archaeological Cruiser designed/produced

Rolled: 42 +10 + 20 = 72 (Success)

Strictly speaking, there is only one variant of the Inquisitor-class Archaeology Cruiser. It is a sleek, modern-looking design filled to the brim with state-of-the-art research labs and the highest-grade archaeological equipment money can buy. Its excavation lasers, high-grade weapons, and stealth system are all perfectly legitimate, and any auditor that you've bribed will tell you that it is perfectly legal for private use.

There is most certainly not a second variant of the ship that has military quarters and expanded starfighter bays in the place of the aforementioned archaeological equipment. Said variant, which does not exist, also assuredly does not have any safety features removed, particularly ones related to making sure the excavation lasers aren't used on other starships. That would be criminal, and there is certainly no way that you have a few shipyards off the beaten path creating a few of these variant cruisers for your fleets.

Such accusations are absurd, though thankfully no one is actually accusing you of such a thing. But it's the principle of the matter.

Rewards: Inquisitor-Class Archaeological/Anti-Capital Cruiser designed/produced. +5 to archaeological rolls.

-[X] Modernized Fury-Class Interceptor/Transports: One of your teams on Ord Mantell has uncovered a Fury-Class interceptor/transport of the Resurgent Sith Empire. In function it could be compared to the Scimitar, except four times the size and potentially more heavily armed and armored. Modernizing a ship like this would be an interesting challenge for Raith, and they would be very useful for deploying elite teams to where they need to be ASAP. Cost: 150 Reward: Fury-Class Interceptor/Transport modernized/produced

Rolled: 20 + 10 + 20 = 60 (Success)

Raith was eager to try his hand at modernizing an old design; as he put it it was a type of challenge that he didn't often have the chance to tackle. It took some doing, but he came back with the somewhat uncreatively-named Fury MK. II Interceptor/Transports, which shared the same general design scheme but had some notable adjustments based on what exactly you'd wanted the ships for.

Aside from the expected modifications of improved sensors, more up-to-date armaments, and so on, Raith had ensured that each transport had the best stealth capabilities a ship could have short of a stygium cloaking device - when asked, Raith noted that while it could have been added to the design, it would have made it impossible to produce in the quantities you were looking for. That being said there was room on the ship specifically set aside for it to have one mounted in the future in case one became available or the ship in question needed to be used for particularly stealthy operations. Your test pilots noted that if nothing else, they were by far some of the most stylish ships that were being mass-produced in any capacity, so they had that going for them at the very least.

On a final note, the overall design had given some of the Sienar Advanced Systems teams some interesting ideas according to Raith, as they'd previously been working on a new twin-ion engine fighter line that seemed to be quite compatible with the Fury's design scheme - and as Raith dryly noted, news of Incom's newest starfighter had ignited quite the competitive streak in the division. He wasn't sure as of yet where the designs would go, but figured he would at least keep you posted in case your people had ideas of their own to throw into the mix.

Rewards: Fury MK. II Interceptor/Transport modernized/produced. +5 Martial boost due to applicability in both space combat and military insertions. Sienar Advanced Systems given insight on potential TIE Fighter designs as a side effect.

[X] Giving Causality A Migraine (Incom): While it was a small benefit from the highlights reel of you looking into the future, seeing that enhanced Headhunter design is a very welcome benefit to you...if you can get the design put together enough for Seti and Incom to work on. And hey, you never realized how much you wanted to cause a temporal paradox until you had the opportunity! Chance of Success: 70% Cost: 150 Reward: X-Wings designed 20 years early, the thrill of causing your very own temporal paradox

Rolled: 86 + 10 + 20 = 116 (Super Critical Success)

Trying to put together a starfighter design through memory alone was an...interesting challenge, even more so when you had to explain how you came up with it to some of the engineering teams that asked unfortunately legitimate questions about it. Still, they were making good headway, though just before you sent the designs over to Incom you'd decided to send a copy of the blueprints over to Anakin to see if he could make anything of it himself.

Less than an hour later you'd received a new copy that had been completely overhauled from the initial design and apparently outperformed it considerably according to some engineers you contacted before you sent the entire thing over to Incom.

So that had happened.

When you sent the designs over to Seti for approval, his comm line went uncharacteristically silent before he responded with...well...

"Lady Ciaran,

Quite frankly, when you joked in your message to me that you "stole this design from the future," I couldn't help but shake my head at it at the time. After looking over the design and having Incom teams double-check it, I may have to take that comment at face value.

I cannot possibly overstate how much of a game changer this X-Wing design is. With it being based largely off of the Headhunter model creating new parts for it will be easily done - in fact our facilities over at Taris have already begun producing test models. And on the subject of the Headhunter, the X-Wing simply builds on it and outclasses it in every conceivable way. The Headhunter's claims to fame were its reliability, ease of handling, and minimal logistical footprint. The X-Wing not only maintains those factors but improves upon them with the added stability of the extra S-foils - to say nothing of the added firepower of the additional laser cannons.

However, what is truly worth celebrating is the fact that this starfighter can act functionally independently from any carrier force due to its extremely comprehensive sensor suite and potential astromech mount, and with the ability to arm it with proton torpedoes a squadron of them can act as an independent strike force capable of handling missions that would normally be relegated to bomber units such as the Y-Wing.

This fighter, when it is mass-produced, has the potential to rewrite the book on space combat, and that is not a comment I would dare make lightly.

As previously stated the shipyards at Taris have already begun producing test models, and in fact two of those have already been requisitioned by your contacts. Naturally, a larger order has been set up so that we can have any ships associated with you obtain a complement of X-Wings as soon as feasibly possible.

I would normally not say this, but in this light, I feel I must - if you have any more designs such as this that have even a fraction of the X-Wing's capabilities, let me know immediately.

With sincere and complete respect,

Seti Ashgad"

A glowing review to put it very mildly. Though you weren't aware of the pair that were requisitioned at the time...but a few checks later and it turned out Asajj had already gotten her hands on one to customize for herself. The other was currently being shipped to Anakin, though it had yet to reach him.

When all was said and done you couldn't help but crack a smile. You'd managed to create a bona fide temporal paradox, and given yourself an invaluable tool to use in the process.

Rewards: X-Wings designed 20 years early, with mass production beginning nigh-immediately. Asajj and Anakin acquire X-Wing prototypes for personal use/customization. +1 Martial Action, limited to "space-based" actions. The thrill of causing your own temporal paradox.

[X] Relocating The Foundry: The Foundry is currently in an extremely vulnerable position given that it's in the middle of Hutt Space and the war is raging around it - all it would take is one ship to accidentally stumble into Nanthri and it would all be over. The best plan your people have come up with is to strap gigantic hyperspace engines to it to move it to the Kiln through some of the hyperlanes the Claatuvac Guild provided information on and avoid detection, but it's going to require a lot of credits, both to get the parts and to bribe people into not asking questions about where said parts are going. Chance of Success: 40% Cost: 400 Reward: Foundry discreetly moved to the Kiln
-[X] Priam
-[X] Silas Cata
-[X] Qymaen jai Sheelal

Rolled: 20 +10 + 20 + 9 + 15 + 8 = 82 (Success)

While Priam and Silas were natural choices to helm this particular operation, Qymaen was less than thrilled with having to assist with it at first, insisting that he had fully healed from the heavy wounds he'd sustained during the Battle of Kalee. The heavy coughing fit that he went through immediately after declaring that somewhat undermined his argument on that matter, and he was forced to concede the point. (According to his doctors it would go away after he'd fully recovered, thankfully.)

All that aside, with the combined efforts of Priam managing to ensure that all the funds you put towards this move wouldn't be traced, Silas' smuggler's instincts and knowing how to get cargo quietly moved from point A to point B relatively undetected, and Qymaen's begrudging assistance with general logistics, the Foundry was successfully moved to the Lordran system without a hitch.

The space station is now in orbit around the system's star, directly opposite to Kiln at all times. More importantly some of the engines that were used to move the station to the system have remained attached to it, as a final countermeasure to prevent its capture. If anyone were to even get close to fully controlling the station, it would immediately be hurled directly into the sun and incinerated completely.

You barely trusted yourself with the damned station, you sure as hell weren't going to let someone else potentially get their hands on it.

Reward: Foundry discreetly moved to Kiln

[X] Definitely Not Available for Hiring: The fall of Republic Intelligence has had the unexpected side effect of revealing the man behind the hunt for Galen: Orson Krennic. Honestly his methods are so comically transparent and unsubtle that he'd almost be worth completely ignoring...if it wasn't for the security risk associated with having people trying to track Galen down. Having someone either take care of him for good or at least dissuading him wouldn't be the worst idea. Chance of Success: 80% Cost: 100 Reward: Krennic's manhunt called off, one way or another (Autonomous Action)
-[X] Autonomous Action

Your new hunter-seeker teams took one look at this nigh-on farce of a situation, collectively shrugged, and told basically everyone who'd decided to take up Krennic's offer to take a handful of credits (more than Krennic was paying them, at least) and piss off. When they were asked about it later, the team leaders noted that outright killing the man would cause more problems than it would solve, and with your information network they could easily keep leading Krennic on a wild goose chase until the end of his days. Or at least until you actually had time to deal with him properly.

Not the most ideal solution, all things considered, but good enough as far as you were concerned for now.

Reward: Krennic's manhunt continues...but with false information that will ensure it never goes anywhere.

[X] The Hunt for "Truth": Barriss Offee has escaped from prison. Barriss Offee, the ex-Jedi who orchestrated one of the worst terrorist attacks on the Jedi Temple in recorded history, whose actions directly led to the Temple Massacre, and a woman skilled with nanodroid bombs that are nigh-undetectable by their victims unless they're actively made aware of them. You know damn well who's behind her escape, and that also means you need to track her down now. Chance of Success: ??? Cost: 200 Reward: Barriss Offee tracked, ???
-[X] Personal Attention
-[X] Thrawn

Rolled: Natural 1, Rerolled to: 38 +20+20+49+14 = 141 (Extreme Critical Success)

You could not take any chances with this. You had to find Barriss ASAP, no matter what. (To be continued in [REDACTED])

[X] Hyper-Communications Hot Potato: The good news: Palpatine seems to have bought your and Dooku's lie about the Hyper-Communications Cartel having a mole that sold out Trench. The bad news: You now need to create that mole while Palpatine is giving his direct attention to the situation at hand to ensure that Dooku's cover doesn't get blown too early. All that being said, if you can pull this off properly and pin the blame on its leadership, you can ensure that it comes under your direct control and get you one step closer to total control over the Separatists. Chance of Success: 30% Reward: HCC mole created to distract Palpatine, potential to ensure more direct control over the HCC
-[X] HK-47
-[X] The Silencer
-[X] 2 Watchers

Rolled: 92 64 (Sidious' Direct Notice) + 20 + 20 + 14 +14 + 2 = 134 (Extreme Critical Success)

This was going to be a hell of a con, especially since this is the first time you and Palpatine are competing "directly" as it were. You've told the Silencer and HK-47 that there is absolutely zero room for failure here, and all you can do now is hope they don't disappoint. (To be continued in Conspiracies on the Airwaves)

[X] The COMPOR Affair: Reports have been coming in from multiple worlds that people who strongly support COMPOR and its ideals have mysteriously vanished, with no known clues to their location as of now. Given how widespread this appears to be and COMPOR's direct ties to Paplatine, this definitely bears looking into. Chance of Success: 50% Reward: COMPOR disappearances investigated, ???
-[X] Mungo Baobab

Rollled: 81 + 20 + 20 + 8 = 129 (Super Critical Success)

While he wasn't admittedly your first choice to handle this particular situation, Mungo had noted that a few friends of friends of his had been either victims or associated with victims of these disappearances, and had actively requested both your assistance and the ability to lead a manhunt himself. Hopefully he won't get in over his head... (To be continued in [REDACTED])

[X] Research Alternative Force Schools: While the Jedi and Sith are the most well-known Force users in the galaxy there are certainly others that have mastered more esoteric techniques that could be useful to you. You already have information on them from the datachips so it shouldn't be too difficult. (Choose 1 below) Chance of Success: 70% Reward: Learn techniques from other Force users
-[X] Jal Shey: A sect of nomadic diplomats and philosophers from the Indupar Crown Worlds, who specialize in the esoteric art of Force Imbuement.

Rolled: 78 + 20 + 20 = 118 (Super Critical Success)

Another Force order contact that went incredibly well; honestly you're beginning to suspect that a lot of these groups actually enjoy the chance to converse with and teach people who don't conflate them with the Jedi. It would explain a lot...

That aside, Force Imbuement is a fascinating process from what your teams have reported if not a particularly flashy ability like the ones learned from the Disciples of Twilight. What it does do is actively empower an object with the Force and allow anyone else who uses it to reap the same benefits a Force-user would. The end result is fascinating, but admittedly somewhat mundane.

But. But. The Jal Shey did not have any engineers among their ranks. They were content to simply empower clothes and the like to give wearers improved stamina, mental fortitude, what have you - all genuinely useful abilities mind, but you'd taken one look at the reports and you knew immediately that they were only scratching the surface of what could be done with that kind of power. And now manuals on it have begun to circulate through the Walker program, thanks in part to the as always appreciated help of the Blackguard. While you would have liked to have a proper Jal Shey contractor come on board in some capacity, they had politely turned down the offer though had left comm channels open with their current de facto leader - one Peet Sieben - in case you were interested with further contact or needed help with negotiations (the above-board type). Apparently he actually enjoyed a good argument. Well, philosophical argument, but still.

One other side benefit of this exchange is that your Walkers finally have armor that fits with their fighting styles. Well some of them at least. You couldn't exactly slap robes on Gorrah without dedicating an entire team of Jal Shey and a small factory...

Rewards: Jal Shey successfully contacted with highly positive overtures. Knowledge of Force Imbuement gained and integrated into Walker program (to limited extent due to nature of technique). Humanoid Walkers gain access to Jal Shey armor, giving them boosts to combat abilities.

[X] Archaeological Expeditions: There are very famous sites in the galaxy that are dying for someone to lead expeditions to...and potentially locate Force-related artifacts. Chance of Success: 70% (80% on planets with a *) Cost: 50 Reward: Expedition to chosen location launched
-[X] Kathol Outback: An isolated area of the Outer Rim, the region is rumored to be home to a powerful Force sect, but you don't have much more to go on besides that.

Rolled: 32 + 20 + 20 = 72 (Success)

It turned out that navigating this region of space turned out to be slightly more difficult than anticipated. Well, part of it at least.

As your exploration teams quickly learned, there were a couple of microstates (at least by galactic standards) that had settled into the area and were largely content to ignore the wider galaxy. Some brief contact and information exchange with them helped narrow down the search area for this enigmatic Force sect to the Kathol Rift. The problem was that when your ships first tried to go in there, the crew nearly went insane from what were later determined to be hallucinations of...spiders.

Yes. Spiders. Giant and horrific ones, apparently, but still.

That being said you were willing to lay off any punishment when some of the Agents on the field reported that their hallucinations were far more severe by extension, alongside another report indicating that a ship carrying ysalamiri was less affected by...whatever was causing them issues. Once the ysalamiri were rearranged to better protect one of the expedition ship's crew, the ship in question begrudgingly made its way back into the Rift (you weren't able to fully confirm the crew's emotional state at the time, but given circumstances you were willing to make assumptions). While the hallucinations were less of an issue, another problem was that the Rift was also one of the thickest nebulae you or your on-site teams had ever seen, and trying to find anything within it would have been an exercise in futility.

...It would have been, until - according to your team on-site, who swear on their lives that they were telling the truth - an alien ship simply appeared in front of them. Not "jumped in." Appeared. From what little the sensors could tell them one second there wasn't a ship and the next there just was. The team tried to contact the ship to begin negotiations, but from what the translators on-site could glean the aliens in question weren't interested in talking, the expedition team was apparently interrupting a "pilgrimage" of some kind, and any further questions would result in the ship's destruction. With the bad conditions and the lack of information on the ship in question the expedition team took the hint, though just before the alien ship left one of the ship's crew managed to get a tracker quietly launched and attached to the vessel. It took a considerable amount of effort to pinpoint the tracker through the chaos of the Kathol Rift, but it finally managed to return a location within it that seemed to correspond to a star system...shortly before it went dead.

You've found this Force sect. The only problem now is getting to it both sane and intact...

Rewards: Kathol Outback investigated and preliminary expeditions sent into the Kathol Rift. Aing-Tii homeworld located, but no other points of interest currently found due to the extremely hostile "terrain" of the Kathol Rift.

-[X] Belsavis: The planet has a long history of serving as a Republic prison and has infrastructure rumored to predate even them. There's certainly more to be found here.

Rolled: Natural 1, Rerolled to: 46 + 20 + 20 = 86 (Success)

Contrary to the issues that the Kathol team had to go through, the Belsavis team were able to reach their destination with out issue and quickly locate an area of interest: an ancient Rakatan prison, slightly buried but still reasonably accessible.

At least, that was before the team was surrounded by a very angry alien tribe when they tried to move in further. Thankfully the situation did not devolve into an all-out battle, and they were able to strike up negotiations with the species known as the "Esh-kha." It turned out that the reason they had been so hostile was because they were hellbent on ensuring that an...entity (the team's translators weren't quite able to parse what the term they used was) whose name apparently translated to the "World Razer" stayed contained beneath the planet's surface. Thankfully, your team had been trained to have enough common sense to not try and mess with something that was called the World Razer and very quickly agreed that they wouldn't even try to head towards its prison.

With that fun out of the way they also determined that the Rakatan prison was in surprisingly good shape, with a considerable amount of its technology still intact. Since the planet was actually, well, quite pleasant otherwise with its heated sinkholes, the team was easily able to set up a base camp for further exploration and analysis of the Rakatan technology present.

Rewards: Rakatan prison located on Belsavis and base camp set up for further investigations (counts as base for purchasing purposes).

-[X] Ossus: Home to an ancient Jedi Archive dating back to the years of Exar Kun himself (which has become suddenly quite relevant). With the amount of local support available, your teams have already begun setting up an expedition into the Archive. (Free Action)

Rolled: 18 + 10 + 20 + 20 = 58 (Success)

Admittedly you couldn't spare as much attention or manpower as you'd previously hoped for this expedition given circumstances, but hopefully the team will be able to make do. If nothing else, the Archives are tied to Exar Kun enough that they might be able to find something before you have to face him. (To be continued in Specter of the Past)

[X] The Secrets of the Corellian Jedi: The Corellian Jedi are hiding something about the New Sith Wars and you don't like being told "no" for an answer. See if you can appropriate whatever records they're hiding and figure out what's so important about it. Chance of Success: 30% Reward: Corellian Jedi records investigated
-[X] Anakin Skywalker

Rolled: 4, Rerolled to 36 +20+20+30 = 106 (Super Critical Success)

While you'd planned on handling this with your own people, Anakin had surprised you with a brief message that he was already meeting with one of the Corellian Jedi Masters for his own reasons. When you mentioned the details about what they might have been holding back from you, he said he'd at least look into it but for obvious reasons couldn't make any promises.

So he says at least. With Anakin involved, the idea of "normality" tends to go out the window... (To be continued in Something Worth Fighting For)

[X] The Mysteries of Cularin: Under normal circumstances you'd simply hand off examining a system to on-site archaeology teams, but times have become desperate and Cularin has enough oddities that would make a more thorough expedition worthwhile. Maybe you can figure out something related to its displacement, maybe there's some artifact or something buried away on one of its planets, but there's a chance - even a slim one - that there might be something that could help you seal the Force Wound. Chance of Success: ??? Cost: 100 Reward: ???
-[X] Personal Attention
-[X] 2 Watchers

Rolled: 78 + 20 + 20 + 58 + 2 = 178 (Insane Critical Success)

It's just a simple archaeological expedition. That's all.

And yet, you have an alarmingly persistent feeling in the back of your mind that it's not going to be that easy... (To be continued in [REDACTED])

[X] Karada Medical Innovations: The Karada Corporation has grown to be one of the galaxy's largest and most successful medical corporations, primarily known for its strong presence within the CNS and strong ties with the Silver Cross. With the combination of plenty of in-house talent and contacts with other pioneering groups like Adascorp, it would not be hard to kick-start a cutting-edge divison of Karada that could focus on new medial innovations. Chance of Success: 70% Cost: 200 Upkeep: 50 Reward: gain +1 Learning Action (Medicine)

Rolled: 55 + 40 + 20 = 115 (Super Critical Success)

Setting up the newly-minted Karada Advanced Research Division (and barely managing to restrain yourself from making various card puns that could come with the acronym) turned out to be almost comically easy once you actually put your mind to it. Sure the financial side was easy enough for you, but reaching out to Adascorp alone turned out to be a simple matter in and of itself; between recovering the Arkanian Legacy and the chance to have functionally unlimited funding and active encouragement to experiment as much as possible they jumped at the chance to fully partner up with the new division.

In fact, things went so well that the division was able to kickstart its research incredibly quickly, and they've already begun working on new medical gear to assist your forces in the field. So that's appreciated.

Rewards: +1 Learning Action (Medicine), "Develop Improved Medical Gear" action automatically completed next turn

[X] Svivreni-Shard Engineering Inc.: The Svivreni are present at a significant amount of Watcher facilities and have provided considerable support with the mining and study of materials. You've already seen how skilled the Shards are through Cheriss alone, and you've recently opened direct ties with their homeworld. Setting up a dedicated division where both of these groups could work together would be a significant boon to your research efforts, and could provide you with tech that could give you an edge. Chance of Success: 80% Cost: 200 Upkeep: 50 Reward: gain +1 Learning Action (Materials)

Rolled: 67 + 30 + 20 = 117 (Super Critical Success)

Much like the KARD, getting the Material Engineering Division (who had eagerly jumped at the chance to call themselves the MED-Lads) set up was also an extremely straightforward process. The moment you'd gotten the idea sent out, the Shard leadership jumped at the chance to have some of their best and brightest work on the kind of materials you wanted researched, and it was almost effortless to provide volunteers with exoskeletons to allow them to work. The Svivreni, for their part, were initially skeptical about the new help, but it didn't take much convincing on their parts what with Cheriss' past exploits.

Also like the KARD, the new division eagerly jumped into the chance to start their research, and were willing to take on an extra workload through sheer enthusiasm alone - though they did note that it would not be a rate they could sustain.

Rewards: +1 Learning Action (Materials), +1 extra Materials action next turn only

[X] Exorcising Exar Kun: It's been over four millennia since his death, but you've learned that Exar Kun - or at least some part of him - still persists in the ruins of Yavin 4. This was the Sith Lord whose actions directly led to the Jedi Civil War, and was noted to be one of the most feared Sith in history. Unfortunately for you, there's only one weapon in the galaxy that you're aware of that can make sure he'll stay dead this time. Chance of Success: ??? Reward: ???
-[X] Asajj Ventress
-[X] Jango Fett
-[X] 6 Watchers

Rolled: 17 + 20 + 20 + 23 + 15 + 5 + 6 + 6 = 112 (Super Critical Success)

You're not letting Exar Kun get the chance to walk the galaxy again, not when things are so delicate and there is so much at stake. With Asajj at your back and as many ysalamiri-backed teams as you can muster, you will make sure he stays dead. (To be continued in Specter of the Past)

[X] The "Secrets" of Sair: Recent discussions with the Shards have helped you realize how little you know about Cheriss - or at least how little you know about the period in between her leaving her homeworld and joining the Walkers. That first suit of hers was able to fool you after all, so odds are there's a good story there! There's two reasons you can think of for why you haven't heard it yet: either she's holding out on some deep, dark secret that will change your perspective of her forever...or she just flat-out didn't think to tell you about it in the first place. ...Sadly, it's probably the latter. Booooring. (Free Action, no bonuses) Chance of Success: 100% Reward: Backstory expansion for Cheriss

There has to be a secret or two here. There has to be. If there isn't...well...at least you can tease Cheriss about it as you usually would.

...The only problem will be pinning her down while she's busy acting as Galen's lab assistant... (To be continued in Crystalline Hearts)

[X] Annoy Padme Bachelorette Party (Free Action, no bonuses): It will be done. It must be done. Chance of Success: Yes. Reward: Considerable Entertainment

Rolled: 84

IT BEGINS. (To be continued in The Party)

[X] Under The Knife: With the facilities of the Arkanian Legacy at their disposal, the Arkanians can easily genemod anyone you want to go through the process. Chance of Success: 70% Cost: 100 Reward: Selected Hero Unit genemodded
-[X] Choose 1 Hero Unit:
--[X] Silencer: No response as usual.
-[X] Choose 1 Genemod:
--[X] Gand: An insectile species of humanoid, Gand are extraordinarily durable and have the ability to regenerate lost limbs. They are also able to see ultraviolet light, and can 'store' sleep in order to stay alert for weeks at a time. (Martial, Intrigue)

Rolled: 66 + 30 + 5 + 20 = 121 (Super Critical Success)

To put it bluntly, the Silencer took to the Gand genemod so well it's legitimately frightening.

He was expected to gain limited regenerative abilities and some of their ability to ignore sleep, but according to the Arkanians he's fully capable of regrowing severed digits at a minimum, and possibly even limbs with enough time and bacta assistance. And while you admittedly weren't sure if he actually did need sleep in the past, based on the reports it's likely that he'll only sleep when he wants to.

There was also an unexpected side-effect from all of this; according to the Arkanians the Silencer's unique (read: clone) biology created a bit of synergy with the genemod and granted him significantly hardened skin, making him both tougher and more resilient to attacks against his pressure points like most Gand.

In other words, you could shoot him, while he was unarmored, mind, and there's a decent chance he'd be able to take the shot and still keep on moving.

...You quietly directed a little bit of sympathy to the Silencer's future enemies when you'd heard about that.

But only a little.

Reward: Silencer gains "High-Grade Gand Genemod" trait

[X] Talesan Fry - You Killed My Father, Prepare To Die: The current leader of the Corporate Alliance, Passel Argente, was the man responsible for the deaths of Fry's parents. While he has so far largely kept his mouth shut about the matter, he's quietly admitted that he wants the chance for revenge. He doesn't want Argente dead (likely due to Obi-Wan and Siri's influence), but he does want to see him brought to ruin. Dooku's idly mentioned that he just doesn't care about Argente anyway, so maybe there's a chance for some payback. (Uses Intrigue Bonuses, Talesan Fry must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 60% Reward: Talesan gets his revenge on Argente, ???

Rolled: 55 + 20 + 20 + 24 = 119 (Super Critical Success)

You had been concerned that Fry would let any desire for vengeance get the better of him if given the chance, but you were pleasantly surprised when his suggested course of action dovetailed quite nicely with one of your other plans currently in motion... (To be continued in Conspiracies on the Airwaves)

[X] Galen Erso - Heart Of Kyber: With increased funding, access to your advanced laboratories, and a supply of kyber crystals to analyze, Galen can now set out on his life's work to understand the potential applications of kyber crystals. All he needs is approval and the money to do it. (Uses Learning Bonuses, Galen Erso must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 40% Cost: 300 Reward: Kyber crystals analyzed by Galen, ??? [Takes 2 Turns, Galen locked to this action until completion]
-[X] Cheriss Sair

Rolled: 51 + 30 + 20 + 36 + 15 = 152 (Insane Critical Success)

This was, for all intents and purposes, the reason you had let Cheriss and Galvin get away with their stunt on Coruscant. While Galen's work with the taozin was already exemplary, as far as you were concerned it was now truly time for the man to earn his keep. Cheriss has been hyping him up enough that you're expecting quite a bit from the pair. (To be continued in Crystalline Hearts)

[X] Quinlan Vos - Temples of Infinity: Apparently, Quinlan Vos saved the galaxy (and your life by extension) a few years back. The Nightsisters of Dathomir had seized a 'Star Temple' containing a hidden 'Infinity Gate', originally built by the ancient Kwa to transport people and things instantly between planets without the need for hyperspace. At the time they sabotaged the Prime Gate to unleash its unspeakable power to incinerate Coruscant, but Quinlan Vos managed to counter-sabotage the Gate and cause it to unleash its power against itself. However, his brief time inside the Kwa ruin gave him flashes and visions of other locations of Kwa Infinity Gates, and how to use them. Reactivating a nigh-untraceable teleportation network would be a godsend if you both could get it online. (Uses Lore Bonuses, Quinlan Vos must be assigned to this action if chosen) Chance of Success: 50% Reward: potential access to the Infinity Gate network, ???

Rolled: 82 + 20 + 20 + 47 = 169 (Insane Critical Success)

Once you'd confirmed with Vos that you were in fact serious about this he'd immediately gone to work to locate an intact Infinity Gate and see what he was able to make of it. It's a long shot, but even if he was only able to activate a pair of Gates it would change everything. (To be continued in [REDACTED])

4 Watcher Teams died to bring you this update. Given what they were assigned to I can safely say that I actually mean that this time around.

You'll notice quite a bit has been hoovered up under the [REDACTED] Interlude. Let's just say that rolling a 170+ on an action has caused...side effects.

That aside, on the ships: If you're wanting a frame of reference for the Inquisitors, imagine the Ion Corvettes from the Homeworld series in terms of how their "excavation" lasers work, as well as their general design scheme (albeit bigger and with a few more guns/hangars). On a similar note there's no time paradox nonsense with that mention of the TIEs - they were actually being prototyped around this time frame and by all accounts actually were properly sent into mass production not too long after the OG Clone Wars. In case you wanted context for that.

On a semi-related note, with Asajj picking up an X-Wing she's going to "need" an astromech to go with it - feel free to toss out potential names/nicknames in the thread for that one.

All things considered I'm kinda glad that the Kathol Outback only got a regular success, because with how absurdly hostile the Rift is (taken from direct sources, mind), I'm not sure I could properly justify any expedition teams finding much of anything out there without help. Omake writers are free to write out just how rough those teams had it what with the mass hallucinations of giant spiders.

Not too much else to talk about given circumstances. Stay tuned for more nonsense, as always, and in the meantime feel free to suggest potential base upgrades now that those are being handled in a separate and upcoming vote.

 

[Dr. Snark]

Green Jedi Enclave, Coronet City
Corellia

As a small fighter entered Corellia's atmosphere, an elderly man within the Jedi Enclave paused as he was just about to take a sip of herbal tea. Glancing in the direction of the ship, though it had already faded out of sight, the man dryly chuckled to himself before standing up and casually checking the area around him, ensuring nothing was unclean or out of place. Just as he had finished his brief inspection his gaze was once again drawn skywards to another fighter that was no doubt touching down nearby, even though once again he could not make out any details.

The Force was certainly eager to guide him, it seemed, but there were only so many details it was willing to give. Ah well. If he knew any more than that it would take any enjoyment out of the future conversations he was about to have. Having finished his inspection the man calmly strode over to the room's intercom and pressed a button on it, awaiting a response.

"Lord Cerulian," a firm and authoritative voice came over the line. "How may I assist you today?"

"We are about to have two visitors," Cerulian replied. "They should be Jedi of some persuasion if my instincts are correct." Which they often were, but still. "They should be here within an hour or so, please ensure they are escorted to my chambers once they arrive."

"...I respect your judgement, Lord Cerulian, but I feel as though I must point out that these visitors haven't been vetted in the slightest-"

"Calm yourself. I suspect once they arrive their mere appearance alone will be enough proof of goodwill."

While he did not hear it, Ceruilan was well aware that the voice on the other end was sighing deeply, and smiled slightly. "Very well, Lord..."

With that out of the way, Cerulian ended the call and moved to brew up a new kettle of herbal tea. If he was going to have guests, not being able to provide proper hospitality would be unthinkable. As he did so though, his eyes narrowed slightly as he started to get a better sense of the first guest's presence in the Force. It was mighty, without question, but there was a palpable sense of darkness within it. And yet...somehow a sense of tranquility to some extent. Curious.

Having finished getting the tea in question ready, Cerulian gently picked up the kettle and cups and moved them to the center of the room, where there was a small mat on the floor beneath a table, with a singular cushion on one side and a trio on the other. Raising his eyebrow, Cerulian reached out with the Force and moved the third cushion off into a nearby storage area. Hardly necessary, but he did enjoy keeping up appearances given the chance.

Now ready for the reception, he poured a cup of tea for himself, and took a gentle sip of it. Just as he set down the cup the doors in front of him opened, admitting the first guest. Cerulian raised an eyebrow as he took in the unmistakable sight of Anakin Skywalker - as insular as the Corellian Jedi were, it would be hard to not recognize a celebrated war hero like him. He was slightly nervous, but more due to not knowing what to expect from the meeting than anything else it seemed as he entered the room. Before Anakin could respond, Cerulian gestured towards one of the cushions, and with a small and slightly confused nod, Anakin sat down in one of them.

"Lord Cerulian-"

Cerulian held up a hand. "Questions can wait, young man. For now I suggest you take a drink first. It will help calm yourself...and I assure you that you will not find better tea in the galaxy." Without waiting for a response he poured a cup for Anakin and used the Force to move it over to him. As Anakin took the cup in his hands Cerulian cleared his throat slightly. "Do not drink it all at once. Slowly. Feel the warmth move through your body." Though Anakin looked slightly exasperated at this, he followed Cerulian's instructions, slowly drinking the tea - and the Master could tell that it was having the promised effect as Anakin's body visibly lost tension. "Now then, how may I help you today?"

"I...was looking for some advice," Anakin said, gently setting down the cup on the table. "I'd heard how the Corellian Jedi were willing to allow their members to marry, and..."

"Ah, I'm sorry young man, but I'm afraid that I am more of a Jedi Master, not a matchmaker." He smiled slightly. "Though if you are looking for companionship, I know that one of the Padawans here is quite-"

Anakin politely but firmly cleared his throat. "That wasn't what I needed advice on, Lord."

"Forgive me, I must have misunderstood," Cerulian said in a tone that indicated he clearly did not. "I take it this is less of a matter of finding a relationship, and more of a matter of maintaining one, yes?"

Anakin nodded firmly. "More than that even. There are probably better people who can help with relationship counseling, I'll admit...but I doubt most of them would have any advice about potentially falling to the Dark Side."

Cerulian's response was to take a sip of tea - and quickly cast his eyes towards Anakin's shadow, which seemed to be deeper than any light source present should have made it and didn't seem to quite match his appearance. "A grim topic," Cerulian said after finishing his sip, "though sadly one that does have to be addressed with people like us. That being said, what you are asking is rather broad. Perhaps a few more details would help me determine what kind of advice I could give."

Anakin went silent, visibly pondering his response before he spoke again. "I've been told again and again that attachments to others bring about emotions that lead to the Dark Side. Fear, that the people I care about could be hurt. Anger, towards things would try to harm them. Hate, towards people who would want to take them away from me." He took another sip of tea, visibly making sure he stayed calm. "I guess I'm just trying to figure out how to come to terms with all of that, since...I don't think those feelings are ever going to go away."

"They will not," Cerulian replied without hesitation. "What you have been told is true, and I will not patronize or mock you by claiming otherwise. However," he raised up a finger, "while those words are true, they are...let us call them an incomplete truth. The bonds with people we love can give us courage, serenity, and hope."

"I know," Anakin replied, barely audible. "I don't doubt the good that can come from them. I'm just trying to figure out..." He trailed off, no longer able to find the words.

"Ah...now I'm beginning to understand what you are looking for," Cerulian said with a gentle smile. "This..." His pause became more noticeable before Anakin responded.

"Woman."

"You love, do you have faith in her?"

"Of course."

"You have faith that she can choose the best possible path for herself?"

"I do. But it's the path other people would choose for her that I doubt."

"So you would seek to control that for yourself, then?"

Anakin visibly winced as Cerulian asked that question, and his shadow seemed to move in place slightly. "N-no." Cerulian offered him another cup of tea, which he quickly drank, letting him calm his nerves slightly. "Thank you. I..." Anakin mulled over the question before he spoke again. "She's a Senator, Master Cerulian. Every time she so much as speaks, she puts herself in so much danger. I..." His face fell. "I want to protect her, but at the same time I know, I know, that I could easily go too far trying to do that."

"So the question you've really wanted to ask me is: 'where do I draw the line with the desire to protect the ones I love?'" Cerulian replies, taking another sip of tea. Anakin responded with a small nod, and Cerulian set down his cup. "I can see why you wanted to see a Master specifically then, that is certainly a difficult question to answer." He tilted his head slightly. "Hmm...I have an answer in mind, though you will need to bear with me a bit. In your experience, how reliable has the Force been when it has shown you visions of the future?"

"...That's a bit of a difficult question for me to answer, Lord," Anakin replied as his shadow seemed to move in place once again. "At the very least, it's been fairly reliable when it's told me of oncoming danger."

"But never completely reliable, yes? You've had to use your instincts and cunning to figure out exactly what it is trying to tell you I assume?" Anakin nodded, now curious about where Cerulian was going with this. "The future, much as some would like to tell you otherwise, is an uncertain and ever-changing concept. We can predict our immediate futures to quite a reliable degree, but the further out it gets the more difficult it becomes to discern."

"All you get is vague feelings and sights of things you don't quite understand," Anakin commented, nodding along with what Cerulian was saying. "I've had those kinds of visions too. And I'll freely admit that they are what I don't know how to cope with."

"Then I can get to my point far sooner. Wanting to protect the futures of the ones you love? Understandable and respectable. Wanting to control the futures of the ones you love? There is nothing crueler in the world." Cerulian's eyes visibly narrowed. "My answer to your question is this: when you're about to do something for the sake of this woman you speak of, ask yourself if the end result of your actions would be something that she would be proud of when all is said and done. It is far easier to justify your actions to yourself than it is to others. That being said, do not take my answer as an unassailable truth. There are always other people you can look to for support should you need it."

Anakin pondered Cerulian's words for a moment before nodding. "I appreciate the forthrightness...and agree with what you're saying."

Cerulian smiled lightly. "I suspect you were already coming around to that line of thought even before now, but I can certainly understand wanting to speak with others and make sure that you weren't moving down a wrong path."

"Very true on both counts," Anakin replied lightly, before blinking and turning to the second cushion. "I'd meant to ask, are you expecting someone else?"

"Oh yes, and said guest should be appearing..."

"Well now. And here I was expecting you to vanish into the Unknown Regions again." Anakin shook his head in exasperation as Obi-Wan took the other seat next to him. "What brings you here? Last I checked, meditation and tranquility never really interested you."

"Now now," Cerulian replied before Anakin could. "We are not just about meditation and tranquility. In fact, we offer relationship counseling for young, strapping Force users like yourselves. In my experience, any Force-sensitives at your ages tend to need it," he finished with a wry smile.

Anakin's eyes slowly moved over towards Obi-Wan, and the Jedi Master gave him an exasperated look in response. "Don't you start now. I get enough of that from Lady Ciaran."

"My word! Such a bold catch, and might I say, not the type I would expect from a man such as yourself, Master Kenobi," Cerulian said as he casually took a sip of tea, clearly masking a grin with the motion.

"No," Obi-Wan flatly replied. "Dealing with her on a weekly basis is bad enough. If it were on a daily one, I'd probably die of stress within the year." He shot a look towards Anakin as he was about to open his mouth, though Anakin continued to smile regardless. "Much as I would enjoy bantering further though, I'm afraid I am here on far more important business."

"And what business would that be, Master Kenobi?"

"...I think you'd understand what I mean," Obi-Wan said slowly and respectfully, "when I say that the proper form of address is now 'Lord' Kenobi."

The sound of Cerulian's teacup hitting the table echoed throughout the room. He did not slam it or anything of the sort, but the sound still seemed to be far louder than it should. "I trust you understand the gravity of that title?" Cerulian said, his smile not quite reaching his eyes.

"What is going on, Master?" Anakin said, slightly concerned.

"Your Master here has apparently decided to claim the title of a Jedi Lord," Cerulian explained, his eyes locking onto Obi-Wan's. "And it is not a matter of ownership if you are using it here, in this place."

Obi-Wan nodded grimly. "I can only provide so many details as of right now, but..." he leaned in, as though others could hear what he was about to say. "We are rebuilding the Army of Light."

Cerulian went silent for a long moment. "The Army was meant to save a galaxy that could not protect itself from the Sith. You telling me this would mean that the galaxy has once again reached that tipping point."

"It has," Anakin responded, causing Cerulian's attention to shift to him. "It may not seem like it on the surface, but if that description is even remotely accurate than I agree with Obi-Wan's course of action completely."

Cerulian's eyes flicked between Obi-Wan and Anakin before he stood up. "What exactly are you looking for from me, Master Kenobi?"

"Allies, however many can be spared," Obi-Wan replied without hesitation. "We all know how fractured the Jedi Order is right now, and the Sith are gaining power by the second. We need all the help that we can get."

There was a long silence before Cerulian wordlessly gestured for Obi-Wan and Anakin to follow him. They did so without argument, and as they followed Cerulian through the Enclave he began to speak again.

"The Cerulian line has always considered themselves to be the archivists of the Corellian Jedi, a tradition I have done my best to uphold myself," Cerulian explained as they entered a cool room filled with bookshelves, they in turn containing rows upon rows of old tomes. "Hah, now that I think about it, I wonder if either of you have even seen tomes like these before."

"Only on the rarest of occasions, I will admit," Obi-Wan said softly, and Anakin nodded in agreement. Both of them could feel a sense of gravity in the room that neither of them wanted to break.

"Let me see, where was it..." Cerulian said to himself as he moved through the shelves. "Ah, here we are," he said as he used the Force to pull out a tome, with a faded red cover marked with a golden fleur-de-lis. "A record of the original Army of Light," he explained. "How it gathered under Lord Hoth to protect the galaxy...and how it was cast aside once he died at Ruusan."

He held the tome gently in his hands as he looked at Obi-Wan with a neutral expression. "What makes you, a member of the Jedi Council no less, worthy of such a legacy? Why should you be the one to restore it when you help lead an Order that consigned it to the dustbin of history and undid everything it stood for?"

"I won't try to justify the actions of the past," Obi-Wan responded without hesitation, "and I understand your distrust and skepticism. I...no, we were blinded enough that we could not see the shadows gathering out of our sight. We were content to treat the symptoms of the growing darkness and never once considered how it could have grown so powerful, we were so sure of our victory. That ignorance...it cost me the life of my Master, Qui-Gon. That ignorance has led us to the Clone Wars, and in turn the Temple Massacre. I know it is too late to undo much of the harm that has already been done..." He gently laid a hand on the tome for emphasis. "...but there is still a chance, a slim one, that with your help, and with the help of others, that we may yet make things right."

"You have not fully answered me. Why you, then?" Cerulian questioned.

"I trust him," Anakin responded as Obi-Wan looked at him, slightly surprised. "A lot of Jedi do, even now. It's not a matter of him being a Jedi Master or not. I have faith that he'll do the right thing..." Anakin looked at Obi-Wan and grinned slightly. "...but he might need some help on occasion."

"Much as I would like to disagree with him, he's right," Obi-Wan responded. "I am not going to lead the Army alone. I will freely admit that part of the reason I am here is to seek counsel and wisdom from the people closest to it, in the hope that I might better understand what needs to be done. Perhaps that makes me unworthy, but I would rather be 'unworthy' and wise than 'worthy' and a fool."

Cerulian was silent for a long moment before he nodded slightly. "I see. I cannot speak to how the others will respond to this, but I will see what can be done, Lord Kenobi." He held out the tome. "Though I would at least suggest that you study this. Learn from Hoth's triumphs and failures."

Obi-Wan gently took the tome from Cerulian's hands. "I certainly shall."

"Gathering the others will take time, let alone convincing them to support you without further information," Cerulian continued before holding up a hand. "I trust there is a reason you are being vague about the nature of the Sith threat, Lord Kenobi, and I understand that these walls can be thinner than one would like."

"True that may be, but here I feel as though they are thick enough for at least some details," Obi-Wan conceded. "The Sith in question has infiltrated the upper echelons of both the Republic and Separatists, and has been using the war to gather more and more power in their own hands. I would rather avoid exact names for the moment though - barring Count Dooku himself, naturally - since I don't know how committed anyone here is going to be as of now. If they don't commit, I'd rather let them have plausible deniability in all this...for what little that may be worth if things go wrong."

"Understandable, though Dooku..." Cerulian sighed at that. "A pity, that one. He actually trained under the great Thame himself, yet still fell." He regained his composure. "But that should be enough to quell at least some nay-sayers. Have you been to Kamparas or Cularin yet?"

"Not as of yet, no," Obi-Wan replied. "My next destination was going to be Cularin given that its academy is also somewhat distant from the Order."

"A wise course of action, though I suspect they will be far more eager to lend you aid than anyone here will be," Cerulian said, before noticing that Anakin was glancing around the archive. "Is there something I can help you with as well?"

"Possibly, though you're free to refuse what I'm about to ask you," Anakin said as Cerulian raised an eyebrow. "It's actually a favor for the previously mentioned Lady Ciaran-" Anakin ignored the exasperated sigh coming from Obi-Wan - "she mentioned how when she first arrived there were details about the er...'New Sith Wars,' was it...? Something like that, apparently some of the archivists might have been trying to keep her away from something?" Anakin shrugged. "Like I said, you're free to-"

Cerulian chuckled, inadvertently cutting off Anakin. "I suppose I should have known better. I could tell just how stubborn that woman was from the moment we first met. Certainly a charm point of hers, though it's equally frustrating at times as it would seem." His expression became more serious. "That aside, I know exactly what they were trying to hide from her. If I could have that back for a moment," Cerulian said as he gently took the tome back from Obi-Wan. As he did, he opened it up and began flipping through its pages. "I know Ruusan was rediscovered recently during the war, but even with that it is still hiding its greatest secret." He came to the page he was looking for and held it open for Anakin and Obi-Wan to see. "The final resting place of the Army of Light: the Valley of the Jedi."

The left page of the book showed a faded map of the planet of Ruusan, with a point on it marked by a fleur-de-lis. The right page showed a more detailed map of the area in question with a point marked with faded text, and just beneath it was another map of a cavern system that led to an image of what looked like a mausoleum decorated with massive statues - at least if the scaling was accurate.

"Even now - according to legend at least - the souls of Lord Hoth and the Jedi who bravely followed him into his final battle are still trapped there, and the Valley still holds immeasurable power. I doubt they knew that this specific book had this specific map, but even then if the Valley were to fall into the wrong hands...I can understand why they would ensure that no information on it would be given out."

"How is it that no one has found it yet?" Anakin asked, visibly incredulous. "I...I was there! At Ruusan at least! Surely I would have been able to sense it!"

"The area itself was chosen as the final Sith holdout for a reason," Cerulian explained. "Whether it is a natural occurrence or because of the Sith fortifying it I cannot say, but either way the caves in the Valley...dampen the Force around it, for lack of a better word. You would not be able to sense its presence until you enter the cave systems leading to it. It has also been partly buried in the years since; the Living Force in the local plant and animal life also helps to mask its presence."

"This is quite a large amount of trust you place in us, Lord Cerulian," Obi-Wan noted, "if what you are saying about the Valley is true."

"I have a good eye for people, Lord Kenobi. I trust in your wisdom and Skywalker's sense of justice. That, and in these dark times, with the Army of Light reforming, I fear that it would only be a matter of time before less savory individuals managed to locate the Valley themselves." Cerulian looked at Anakin. "Whether or not you share this information with Lady Ciaran is your own discretion. You certainly know her better than I do."

"I understand."

Cerulian nodded before handing the tome back over to Obi-Wan. "Now, before you both go, might I interest you in one last cup of tea?"

The two men looked at each other before Anakin shrugged. "I think we'd both appreciate it, Lord Cerulian," Obi-Wan responded.

---

"Where exactly are you headed now?" Obi-Wan asked Anakin as they both headed towards the spaceport. "If you don't mind me saying, it would certainly not kill you to stay put for a few weeks."

"That's a shame, then, because I'm still planning on being on the move for at least a bit longer," Anakin dryly replied. "Taris, though, if you're wondering. I'm heading there to pick up one of Incom's new fighters."

"That's a surprise. I didn't imagine you'd ever give up your Delta fighter after you'd put so much work into it."

"Oh I plan on keeping that around, don't you worry. But I've been hearing nothing but praise for those X-Wings, and I want to take one for a spin myself. See how it holds up."

"Well when you crash-land it, be sure to at least do it somewhere where it doesn't get anyone hurt and a rescue ship can easily reach you."

"Come on, Obi-Wan. Look at me. I'm the picture of responsible piloting."

"...Do you want my counterarguments in a chronological or alphabetical order?"

"Neither, thank you."

Reward: Location of the Valley of the Jedi found. Further rewards pending due to [REDACTED].

AN: Probably my most dialogue-heavy interlude yet, though one I very much enjoyed writing.

Not much else to say aside from two things: the first being that if you don't recognize the good Cerulian (understandable), he was introduced in this canon omake right here. (I'll be trying to do this sort of thing as much as I can to keep people from getting confused.) Second, that detail about the Valley being Force-shielded isn't technically canon but would explain why no one was able to find the damn thing despite Ruusan being frequented by smugglers and the like before it was rediscovered. Apparently. Good old EU plotholes...*sigh*

That's all for now, enjoy~