The Force Wills - Chapter 83 (Patreon)

“Be reasonable, senator. The core worlds are by far the largest tax contributors and are doing the heaviest lifting with regards to the war effort. Surely their voices must be heard.”

“You are unbalancing the scales of democracy with this bill. Now just because one planet’s bank account is larger, they’ll have a greater say in the Senate.”

“We are passing laws critical to the survival of the Republic. Laws which could be potentially stopped by a single senator from an Outer-Rim sector!”

“If that Outer-Rim senator’s sector will be negatively impacted by said law, then that is fully within their right and it’s their duty! That’s the whole point of the Republic and this system. This bill is nothing more than outright disenfranchisement. It’s playing right into the CIS’s hands.”

Sheev Palpatine sat in his armored lanthanide alloy chair behind the desk in his primary office and regarded the two arguing senators with a patient paternal smile. On the first guest chair sat Prince Bail Organa and next to him, Senator Ask Aak of Malastare, doing his best to raise the blood pressure of the Alderani noble.

Aak was a very useful puppet and one Sheev often trotted out to beat the drums of the Senate, when necessary. Two further qualities that made him useful was his bitter criticism of how the Jedi were commanding Republic forces and he had a special enmity for Jedi Master Oppo Rancisis. All because the gran senator perceived that the latter had failed to protect Aks Moe, his predecessor, from assassination.

Sheev inwardly chuckled. He had not even arranged for the assassination to happen, yet the dirty past of Aks Moe had caught up with him and without lifting a finger, Ask Aak had fallen right into his hands. It was amazing sometimes how the Jedi could create enemies for themselves, just by acting according to their precious Code.

“Senator Organa has a point there, Senator Aak,” Sheev looked mildly at the gran senator. “This bill could drive more worlds straight into the arms of the Separatists.”

“If they are that fickle in their loyalties, then we’d be better off without them muddying the waters. The GAR will then settle matters in the long run. I would also question the Senator on why he’s referring to these terrorists by their own name. They are not a government-”

“Are you listening to the words coming out of your mouth?” Organa practically sneered at his colleague. “The Republic has failed these Outer Rim worlds for a long time and now when presented with a viable alternative in their eyes, you would punish them two fold. Doomed to be neglected by us and then when they dare to turn their backs on us, we ram the dagger of the GAR into it.”

“Rightly so, they must know their place,” he huffed.

“Senator Aak,” Sheev said flatly, letting his eyes shoot a mild glare of warning. “These are citizens of the Republic, we must strive to be better than our forebears in addressing the problems of the Outer Rim.”

“Precisely,” Organa agreed, leveling a harsh stare into the stalky three eyes of the gran.

“However, Senator Organa,” Sheev swung his gaze the other way. “The Core Worlds are soon to be contributing military assets and even volunteers for the war effort, not just financial support. Statute 312b aims to rightly recognize this contribution and therefore they deserve some say in how those assets are going to be used. Applying a greater weighting to their votes is the simplest method of achieving that. The Senate must become more agile in the responsibilities it has.”

Organa couldn’t refute the latter fact. The War Bond Act would’ve long been passed had it not been for the Senate’s dithering - which was clearly sponsored behind the scenes by the Banking Clans. Sheev had to grudgingly give credit to Organa for that idea. The long term plan of financial deregulation and bringing the levers of finance completely under executive control was a very delicate thing. Now, Bonds stood as a worthy second tool to maneuver the Republic’s finances.

“Now, this meeting has been running a little long. Thank you both for coming and I trust you’ll find a way to make 312b happen,” he stood authoritatively.

Organa and Aak also stood as he walked off to the side door and into the more private areas of the Chancellery office.

Vice Chair Mas Amedda stood there dutifully waiting at the entrance to his private office. The chagrian’s eyes were buried in a large datapad and tapping on it.

“Chancellor,” Mas said with a proper level of wary respect, as befitting of the only other soul besides Dooku who knew he was Darth Sidious.

“Yes, my friend, what brings you here?”

“Two things, firstly, I’ve been researching the next step, 121b.”

The doors to his private office opened with a near silent hiss and he sat down in the recessed seat, surrounded by a multitude of displays, both physical and holographic. Amedda entered and stood in front of the desk.

Sheev tapped and keyed the primary controls, dimming the holograms so that he could properly make eye contact with his deputy.

“And?”

“It’s feasible and there is even historical precedent, though we have to go back to the Old Republic for it.”

“Few remember those times and the histories that do exist are too obscure to appeal to, Mas.”

One only had to walk into his public office to see that fact. It never failed to amuse Sheev to have multiple Jedi Council members walk past the ancient Sith statues time and time again. Not even Yoda had seen the statues for what they were. It was sometimes awe inspiring to think how thoroughly the Line of Darth Bane had succeeded in pulling the Sith into shadows, where they had always belonged.

“We would perhaps need a suitable demonstration of the necessity for 121b.”

Sheev nodded considering it as he lightly pushed on his foresight. “Yes, that should work neatly. A small military blunder, a communication failure as two neighboring populated systems with local defense forces are attacked, forcing the GAR to intervene and take command.”

“We still need to select suitable candidates that can be ready when the time comes.”

“That is the easy part, Mas. The problem remains getting this through the Senate, another task for the good Senator Aak.”

“Any preference on who, Chancellor?”

Sheev smiled, letting just a hint of darkness emerge from his eyes to spear into the psyche of Amedda, “Those who are only there because of me and upon whom we have suitable leverage.” It didn’t escape Amedda’s notice that he also fell into that category; good.

“Understood Chancellor,” Amedda said, his eyes retreated down to the datapad and the chagrian shivered, even though he hid it outwardly. “The second issue I need to raise with you is that COMPOR has sent through a proposal. They wish leave and funding to form a subsidiary that is aimed at adolescent sentients of the Republic.”

Sheev folded his hands on his stomach, visibly considering the idea even as he plunged the future through the Force.

He liked the idea. Catch them young, when their minds were still malleable, setting the foundation for future political thought - which would all be in line with his New Order. The next generation would then build on the ashes of the Republic… an empire of order to last for tens of thousands of years, which he would rule as an immortal emperor. Something the Old Sith Empire could never even dream of achieving.

“Granted,” said Sheev simply with a ringing finality. “What is this subsidiary going to be called?”

“They’re still bouncing around names, but the current working title in their proposal is SAGroup - Sub-Adult Group.”

“That is rather… uninspired.”

“I shall convey that sentiment to COMPOR,” Mas nodded.

“Good, now leave me.”

Amedda bowed his head and strode swiftly out of the door.

Sheev tapped the keys of the panel in front of him to restore the holopanels and began reviewing the data and intelligence feeds.

As usual he began with the political situation; reviewing conversations between senators that his system had flagged as potentially important. For all that they tried to keep secrecy, many forgot and overlooked the simple things - such as the myriad of cleaning droids, small and large that moved through the Senate halls. Not to mention the biogenically engineered plants that subtly reacted to sound, scattered at key points throughout the Senate.

That done with everything well in hand, he moved on to his surveillance of the Jedi Temple.

For two hours he listened to the audible speech of the old enemy. Only rigid discipline kept his own temper in check, though he was slightly intrigued by the slowly growing reformist faction of the Jedi. The pressure of the war was having a marked effect, as expected. Perhaps the remote possibility of a full fracture in the Jedi was there? His foresight was rather uncertain, giving him a fractured Order and a weakened yet cohesive one as future possibilities.

With a thought and pull of will he sank into the Force, reaching out through the Dark Side, straight to the bowels in the forgotten sublevels of the Jedi Temple.

The ancient Sith shrine, the dark angry concentration of hatred that pulsed like a heart, fed with the negative emotions of every sentient on Coruscant. The Shroud, empowered by the shrine, was still doing its job.

His awareness flitted through the halls of his enemy, carefully, silently.

It was possible that one day, a rare talent among the Jedi would emerge, who could sense this obscure ancient technique, but Sheev was confident he’d have plenty of warning. He made sure to observe all the younglings for the past ten years and no one had ever shown any reaction, even involuntarily.

He pulled back and was in his office once more and night had fallen.

The Dark Side answered his demand immediately as he empowered himself to renew his energy and drain away the mental fatigue.

The computer drew his attention with a warning tone and indicated that a monitoring program had been tripped with key words and that it had come from a primary person of interest. Sheev tapped the interface and brought the details to the primary holoscreen.

A familiar, handsome human face appeared.

Senator Seti Ashgad.

The Golden Tempter himself and the other man who had been most likely to become Supreme Chancellor after Valorum had to step down. His foresight had thankfully alerted him in time to that potential for Ashgad to make a move and so Sheev had successfully outmaneuvered the possibility.

Ashgad was a rare charismatic talent, easygoing and very good at playing the political game. He was also very intelligent; a former hyperdrive engineer and the man who had designed the Z-95 Headhunter when he had worked for Incom. The fact that his fighter was now seeing a massive surge in popularity and use in the GAR had certainly helped raise his star to greater heights.

Sheev did not need foresight to know that if he died, Ashgad would be one of the first to raise his hand for the nomination to Chancellor.

These facts alone meant that Sheev took the threat that Ashgad represented very seriously and as such dedicated considerable resources to having the man watched closely.

He tapped the audio log and began listening to the smooth, deep voice of the senator.

“Unacceptable. The Senate is already bristling with armed security and surveillance, now he wants to install roving cam droids in the name of further ‘security’?”

“Senator Ashgad, surely you remember how this building was attacked? Not to mention the blackout?” Now speaking was Senator Craorte D’rec from Devaron.

“The cam droids wouldn’t have helped in either scenario. No, this is Palpatine just seeing what else he can get away with.”

“My dear Senator, you are being overly paranoid.”

“You aren’t being paranoid enough. I’m an engineer and scientist at heart - so do you know what I see? I see a weld here, a tightening there, removing small things, adding others that seem inconsequential, easily dismissed, until the next thing you know, the ship around you is crashing.”

“Senator, now you’ve lost me.”

Sheev had heard enough. He closed the file and a few taps later his secure communication system was powered up and he sent out a call.

It didn’t take more than a few seconds for it to connect and the holographic rendering of one of his primary agents appeared.

The man was in his late twenties and possessed the looks that would see women and even some men eating out of his hand. Piercing blue eyes, broad dimpled chin, strong jaw, dyed white hair styled flat back over his head that hung to his neck, a slightly parted auburn robe framing a chiseled muscular body that was both hidden and tantalizingly on display by the black body glove beneath.

Sarcev Quest immediately bowed his head, “Chancellor Palpatine.”

Sheev reached through the Force and carefully pushed his senses around, feeling if Quest was in the company of anyone. The spy was at his Coruscant home and he felt the presence of a sleeping woman nearby. The rich courtier was plying his trade. It also meant that the man was actually unclothed and had put an overlay over the transmission.

“Quest, I see you’ve been dutifully observing your charge.”

“As you instructed, to the letter, Chancellor.”

“The time has come to end the assignment.”

The spy narrowed his eyes, “Very well, Chancellor. In what manner should it end?”

“Your charge has begun to make dangerous conclusions and has expressed concerns. A permanent ending will draw too much attention and be suspicious. He is therefore in need of a permanent resettlement.”

“Understood, Chancellor. I’ll begin making the arrangements immediately.”

Sheev pushed his senses onto the spy next, testing his defenses. “You’ve been training, good.”

“As you instructed, Chancellor,” Quest repeated, but with a smirk, his eyes glittering with the Dark Side behind his Force Mask.

Sheev sometimes wished he could send a thank you letter to Yoda. So much potential was being thrown away by the Jedi when they sent ‘failed’ adepts to the Agricorps. Yet it made for fertile ground to find carefully picked acolytes for his New Order.

While the Inquisitorius would one day be his visible closed fist, wielding the Force and lightsaber, Quest and his acolytes would be the invisible hidden hand.

They would never touch that damnable weapon, but their impact would be far greater, moving the destinies of entire planets from behind the scenes according to Sheev’s design.

“Keep that up, my friend. Two years, maybe three and all will be ready.”

Quest bowed his head. The man didn’t know of Sheev’s true nature as the current Sith Lord, nor that he was within the Banite Order. Just that Sheev Palpatine was a powerful Force Sensitive, who had not fallen in with the wasteful, corrupt Jedi Order and had successfully risen to the Chancellery and would mold the Republic into a better form. Quest was thoroughly Palpatine’s man in that respect.

“What will my next assignment be, Chancellor?”

“A brief return to Byss is in order, at least a month, Sly Moore could use some assistance in her duties.”

“I’ll leave first thing in the morning.”

“Good.”

Sheev ended the call and finally addressed the last item of his daily agenda. A few taps on the interface and a gesture brought up the latest reports of young Anakin and Ahsoka.

An abrupt mission to Kashyyyk in the middle of a major offensive push and it seemed the trandoshans were beginning to cause trouble with their hunting traditions.

He would have to have a word with Dooku on the wisdom of arming those lizards. If their hunts couldn’t be controlled or at least usefully directed then measures would need to be taken.

The after action report also made for somewhat thrilling reading, especially the tactics used.

Anakin had come a long way from that small boy standing on the steps before the Theed Palace at the victory parade against the Trade Federation

Now even Anakin had a pupil and one who was proving to be just as powerful, in other respects.

They worked well together, that was obvious.

It would be a shame when that partnership would have to end.

A Sith Lord could only have one apprentice after all.

Yet, that did not mean that a talent like Ahsoka had to be disposed of. No, merely redirected after she fell to the Dark.

For all that Anakin’s talents and power would make him a superb apprentice, his place in the New Order would be visible for all to see. Yet Ahsoka could carry his will between the stars, commanding his fleets and destroying all enemies of the Empire who would walk there.

Yes, he laughed inwardly as his foresight delivered to him the vision of it.

He made a final note of where they were now…

Oh, Mon Cala?

Sheev recalled the Plan and he let a small smirk adorn his face.

The death of the current king of those aquatics.

Necessary for the long term plan. Those shipyards were wasted producing passenger liners.

If the CIS won, they’d be retooled immediately. If the Republic GAR won, the old guard would’ve died in the war and the impetus in the survivors would lead them to build warships. Either way, the plan carried on.

Yet the small nagging doubt saw fit to return at that moment.

The number of contingencies he’d had to activate was becoming unsettling.

It pointed to a greater problem that he did not want to contemplate - that his foresight’s reliability was decreasing.

It should be impossible. The Dark Side was ascendant, it was his tool and it served him.

He plunged his awareness into the Force; no problems. Everything as it should be.

His hand thumbed the standby button and all the screens around him faded and shut down.

He rose from the chair and headed deeper into his private apartments.

Already he was beginning his meditation, drawing on his anger, fear and hatred, yet careful to keep it within the boundaries of his Mask, empowering the Shroud further in the process and keeping him completely invisible from the damnable Jedi.

Everything would proceed as it should. It was an inevitability.

88888888888888888888888888888888

“I’m afraid that things have gotten complicated down here, Master Jedi.”

Plo Koon nodded at the hologram of the current de-facto regent of the Mon Cala government. “There is a succession crisis?”

Captain Gial Ackbar of the Mon Cala Knights, swiveled a webbed hand, “The quarren led by their current chieftain, Nossor Ri, has dissolved the authority of the throne over them. This has in one stroke brought us to the brink of a civil war. They refuse to accept Prince Lee-Char as the rightful heir to the throne. Instead they wish to secede and form their own government on Dac.”

“Aren't the quarren part of the monarchial government anyway?”

“They are, it’s been this way for thousands of years. Yet now suddenly, they declare this Quarren Isolation League as the true representatives of the quarren people. It has caused great strife and confusion as no one knows who to trust anymore. It’s a quagmire, some quarren actually denounce the Isolation League as terrorists and traitors, but Nossor Ri was their trusted leader and highest ranking quarren in the government. He was a close friend to the late king. There is no one else at the moment among the loyalist quarren who can step up and challenge him.”

“That this happened now is no coincidence, the CIS Fleet has halted their advance at the Mon Cala hyper point in the Ruisto system,” reported Ahsoka, looking up from a large datapad displaying a scan readout. “A civil war would be just the thing to weaken the aquatic forces of Dac, so that the CIS would have an easier time conquering the place with their much more limited aqua droids. They don’t have the advantage of numbers here, so they seek to equalize the scale.”

Ackbar nodded, his eyes looking impressed, “Quite correct, commander. The problem is that Nossor doesn’t see it that way. He imagines a Dac that is dominated by quarren rule, as an equalization of the scales of history. He also has no love for the distant Republic and would rather see us under the banner of the CIS.”

“What are you and the Prince planning to do?” Koon asked.

“In matters of dispute such as this, a Grand Conclave will be called that will bring all parties together to debate the matter.”

“How soon?”

“Two local days from now.”

“The Republic Task Group will be in-system by then. I’d like to ask whether it would be acceptable for Senator Amidala to attend as a Republic representative.”

“For someone of her reputation, I’d gladly sponsor her attendance.”

“She will naturally have a bodyguard as well.”

“Normally I would vouch for her safety on Dac, but the fact that our own sovereign was assassinated doesn’t speak highly to that. Very well, she may bring one.”

“Thank you, Captain Ackbar.”

The mon cala bowed and his holo vanished.

Koon keyed his command chair into the bridge com loop. “Nav, plot us a microjump to a polar orbit of Dac beyond their mass shadow. Pull us inside the shadow for standard shielding procedures.”

“At once, General.”

Out of the corner of his shielded eyes, he spied Ahsoka looking with a grim and frustrated countenance into her datapad, even as her hand tapped, swished and manipulated the data she was seeing.

It still hit him at the oddest times that she was just short of adulthood by togrutan standards now. A time hastened by her exposure to that Celestial artifact. What small manner of youthful optimism and innocence she’d had was gone completely. It seemed to actually suit her more, as if her outward appearance was properly beginning to mirror the truth of her old soul.

His mind recalled the youngling that had barely reached above his knee all those years ago, those big blue eyes staring at him intently. Even as the villagers told him of the Jedi imposter that had tried to snatch her before he had arrived.

The fate of that imposter was both alarming and hilarious, in that it showed just how devious, cunning and strong a three year old Ahsoka was in the Force. She had always carried a bag of smooth river pebbles with her since she could walk for self-defense from the wildlife of Shili and could even use the Force to empower her throws.

Ahsoka simply began pelting the imposter with pebbles.

Any true Jedi would’ve halted the pebbles with the Force or seen it coming and dodged every time.

The village descended on the imposter and by the time the Shili police was called into the village, the disguised bounty hunter had to be hospitalized for weeks and was currently still residing in prison on the togruta homeworld.

“Master Plo,” her voice brought him back to the present.

“Yes, Ahsoka?”

“I’ve been reviewing performance studies of how the DC-15 weapon series will perform underwater at various depths.”

“And?”

“The 15A long rifle will actually experience an effective range increase in the shallows, which is borne out by our own limited testing on board the Judgment. You could fire out to 13 kilometers with a calibrated scope and stable surface to support the weapon.”

“The latter of which will not be abundant, unless we’re fighting in the Mon Cala cities.”

“The problem comes with the 15S carbine. It starts to malfunction at any depth below five meters, it’s just not designed for this.”

“We shall just have to make do then, we have enough of the DC-12U and SCUBA combat gear for six companies of troops currently and will have to make up the shortfall with the 15-A’s. Your master will be bringing more.”

Judgment, Vigil and Hammer, flung themselves briefly through hyperspace and afterward the bright blue orb of Dac dominated the forward view, growing closer and closer.

“Flight, I want a cloaked scout dispatched to Ruisto immediately, all ships to remain at Condition Three indefinitely,” Koon ordered, standing from the command chair. “Come Ahsoka, I feel like stretching these legs and a spar between us in order.”

Her eyes twinkled in amusement at him, “Certainly, Master.”

8888888888888888888888888888

Anakin tugged his Aegis armor into a more comfortable position, checked the charge of the variety of devices on his belt, then double checked the seals on his helmet. In retrospect, Ahsoka’s insistence that the Aegis be capable of underwater operations with minimal additions made some sense now.

Change the boots to support flippers and underwater repulsors and you were almost ready to go.

His attention was also being thoroughly distracted by Padme. The way the diving suit clung to all the right spots on her was a feast for the eyes. The integrity supports also framed her hips, buttocks and clung to her bust beautifully, with complementary coloring of golden yellows and purple. Trust the Naboo to also have alluring and fashionable underwater gear.

Her helmet was a more civilian style sphere of aquatic rated transparisteel and she turned to give him a knowing look.

‘Anakin, mind on the job,’ she thought, her eyes giving a hint of warmth and her mouth twitched with amusement.

‘Yes, dear.’

The airlock of the Consular cruiser opened and the reflected noise of repulsorlifts and engines bouncing off the surface waters of Dac hit them.

He led the way, stepping awkwardly with the flipper boots, before diving forward into the open air.

His folded hands pierced the ocean water efficiently like a blade, cutting off the deafening noise of the cruiser.

The world changed to a bright vibrant blue and distant sounds carried by the water reached the exterior noise pickups of his armor, some were powerful enough to even conduct through the helmet itself.

A quick check showed that the rebreathers and oxygen tanks on his back were working properly as expected.

The impetus of his dive ended and he let his legs orientate down towards the aquatic city below.

Padme smoothly came out of her own dive a meter to his right.

“Everything working, Senator?” he asked over the radio.

She consulted the vambrace controls of her own suit for a moment, “All systems go, Anakin.”

It was a twenty meter dive down to reach the shallowest of the buildings and out of the gloom the capital city of Dac emerged - Coral City.

They could only see a fraction of the vast city and despite that it was very impressive considering the challenges that water pressure put on any construction. He would’ve loved to just have a day to spend picking the brains of a Mon Cala engineer.

They were predominately organic shapes; curving cylinders that tapered at points, using specially alloyed durasteel that was rust proof. The use of transparent materials was also abundant, set into the structures with elegant curves that were almost artistic in nature. Among and above the buildings large transport tubes wreathed the city, which pumped water through them constantly to allow the users to cross greater distances through swimming and do away with the need for submersible vehicles clogging up the waterspace.

The capital alone held nearly a billion sentients of mon cala, quarren and a small percentage of other species as well.

From the nearest transport tube, a mon cala emerged clad in the white uniforms of their army. With efficient easy strokes he streaked through the water, rising up to meet them.

Anakin tapped his own vambrace controls to activate the small exterior speakers that would carry his voice into the water.

This mon cala had mottled brown skin color with huge orange eyes and he smoothly came to a stop, bowing to Padme and Anakin.

“Senator Amidala, Knight Skywalker, I am Regent and Captain Gial Ackbar. Welcome to the waters of Dac.”

“A pleasure to be here, Regent Ackbar,” Padme smiled and bowed much more awkwardly.

“If only under better circumstances, Senator. Come, follow me to the tube, I’ll escort you to the Grand Conclave. It’s due to begin within the hour.”

They dove deeper to the transport tube and it was then that Anakin noticed that there was a distinct lack of people using it. Through the Force, he could also sense an undercurrent of fear that permeated the entire city. There were small groups of people swimming to and fro in the distance, hurrying between buildings as quickly as they could.

“Have you declared martial law, Regent?”

Ackbar could only nod, “And a curfew, the last thing we want is for hostilities to break out and innocents being caught in the crossfire. Now, the best technique for land dwellers in these tubes are both feet together when doing the swimming stroke. The acceleration can be disconcerting for first time users.”

Ackbar gave a smooth pulling stroke with all four limbs and was swooped away by the current in the tube.

Padme took the initiative to go next and was practically bowled over, swept away down the tube, then reoriented herself to a proper position.

“Oops,” she muttered over the radio.

Anakin chuckled and with the smallest profile possible inserted himself into the artificial current and began swimming with it.

The feeling of the speed was amazing as they followed Ackbar through the tube network. Floating buildings large and small flitted by at what his armor indicated was a speed of nearly seventy kilometers per hour.

The HUD indicated that they had traveled for eighteen kilometers before Ackbar dove out of the tube at the next exit.

They emerged to a huge complex of Mon Cala buildings that was nearly six hundred meters in height, the bulk of which plunged into the depths below. The deepest the Aegis armor could go on its own, whilst still keeping its wearer alive was 200 meters. Padme’s suit was rated for 120 but thankfully they would have the building itself and its systems protecting them if they had to go deeper.

Ackbar gestured for them to follow and they swam directly to a very thick looking circular door set in an auxiliary building, guarded by two squads of Mon Cala Guard.

They wore almost no armor beyond their pristine white uniforms, whilst they were armed with a staff weapon that had a large hybrid stabbing and cutting blade on one end, whilst the other had the barrel of a blaster. It was clearly optimized for close engagement even with the blaster, as there were no evident scopes on them and the trigger assemblies were meant for webbed hands.

The squads all ‘stood’ to attention by moving into a line formation on either side of the large door and holding their weapons vertically forward. Ackbar gave casual salutes as he swam past them.

Anakin and Padme entered the building and had to immediately adjust to the interior design of a Mon Cala building where there were six valid directions to move in. Holograms were in use everywhere to indicate destinations and valid paths to swim in thankfully. The hallways were vast and wide, with soft white, aquamarine and violet colors in use, which were using patterns inspired by the underwater flora of Dac.

They let Ackbar lead the way into the confusing mess and it was only his Jedi abilities that let him keep a sense of direction. He could already tell that Padme was lost and just keeping her eyes fixed Ackbar’s swimming form.

They entered a turbolift that was also far larger than what they were used to and it plunged deeper into the building with a surprising speed, clearly indicating that the tube it was using was in a complete vacuum. Anakin made a few mental calculations of the pressures involved and what the materials of the tube would have to handle.

Impressive, he thought.

The turbolift stopped nearly four hundred meters down and they emerged into a hallway that showed no visible difference at all, despite their new depth. It was only when they passed an exterior transparisteel window that the darkened ocean outside hinted at the new depth.

They now approached a massive door guarded by more Mon Cala troops, which swished open smoothly to reveal a huge circular multi-level space. Four levels of ringed seating surrounded the space, the center of which was dominated by a large alloyed disc suspended in place with a visible energy field.

Mon cala and quarren were seated haphazardly, but there was one slice of the circular chamber that was clearly dominated by only quarren and the level of contempt and anger radiating from that spot was rather intense. There was also another sentient in the room that was shining with cunning and a controlled malevolence.

Ackbar stopped his movement and held up a hand to pause their swim, “I should warn you that the Separatists have a representative here as well, brought by Nossor. His name is Riff Tamson from Karkaris.”

He pointed to the upper level of the Grand Conclave and lazily swimming on the perimeter, there was a tall sinuous figure clad in a form fitting white and blue partially armored outfit. Anakin only knew of karkarodons from his studies and by reputation. Hailing from a water world in the Nilgaard sector in the heart of the Separatist north, it was a place that was fiercely hostile to non-aquatics and stories of what happened to ships and their crews that were unlucky enough to crash on that world were the stuff of nightmares.

Karkarodons had smooth hydrodynamic heads and rows of razor sharp teeth that were set in a mouth that constantly showed them off to everyone.

“How long has he been here?” Anakin asked with as low a volume as he could.

“He was seen in Nossor’s residence two days before the king’s death, they’re ‘friends’,” Ackbar answered casually and his large eye speared Anakin with a pointed look. “The murder weapon used in the king’s death was a large dagger made from Dac coral but in a pattern that is not native to the planet. There are some who argue it's a Karkaris pattern.”

“But it’s not definitive?” Anakin asked dryly.

“Yes, our records on the Karkarodons are not the best, given their xenophobic nature, but I know in my heart that you are looking at the king’s assassin. That dagger was plunged into the late king’s back, no fight was given.”

“How was it managed? Was there no security or bodyguards or cameras watching?”

“He was in his office, all records of that day were purged from the system. The king had asked for some privacy. I was just down the hall when it happened.”

Anakin could feel the anger and guilt weighing heavily on Ackbar. He clearly blamed himself for not being there, even though realistically he knew that nothing would’ve changed had he been in the room, besides also getting a dagger in the chest.

Ackbar swam off before another word could be said and led them to seating on the second highest ring of seats.

The moment they were settled, Anakin reached across the Bond to Padme.

‘What do you think?’

She scanned across the room, ‘Ani, I don’t need the Force to know that we’re in a very precarious position. We know the CIS ‘playbook’ as Ahsoka would say. Fomenting a civil war is exactly their style. They would’ve promised Nossor the throne after the war is over to get him on board, but really, all that would happen is he’d either become a puppet or he’d be disposed of for a leader of Count Dooku’s choosing.”

Anakin looked up at Riff Tamsen, ‘It’s so brazen and obvious to us, but not to the mon cala or quarren. The general populace here is largely isolated from the war, they know about it and see it on the Holonet, but consider it merely as non-aquatics fighting and killing each other.’

The Grand Conclave began soon after the crown prince Lee-Char entered the chamber. He was personally escorted by Ackbar and a dozen Mon Cala Knights brandishing their blaster staves.

“This Conclave is called to order!” shouted the regent. “We are here to resolve, as has been done for thousands of years, an existential problem for our society-”

“Your society!” shouted a quarren.

“Our society,” Ackbar repeated calmly. “The king was murdered and his son is too young to ascend to the throne-”

“A throne we no longer recognize,” Nossor spoke up for the first time.

“You’ve all prospered under our rule,” retorted mon cala official.

“The prince’s rule has been preordained!”

“We no longer want this monarchy!”

Anakin looked at the prince and the young mon cala with his smooth gold skin and blue eyes was quite striking. His dark blue and yellow regal uniform sat well on him and he looked outwardly calm as he observed his people in turmoil. In the Force, it was clearly another story. He was frightened nearly out of his wits and felt helpless in the face of his people tearing themselves apart.

“We’ll defend our right for a Mon Cala King!”

“We want a quarren king!”

“Down with the Mon Cala!”

“Power to the quarren!”

It was the final impetus for the prince though. Anakin felt the young mon cala rather impressively push aside all his emotions, for it to be replaced by a focused determination. The prince pushed himself off his seat and his voice was instantly given priority in the sound system used in the room.

“I am dedicated to serving the quarren as well as my own people with fairness as it has been done for thousands of years-”

“Silence!” Riff Tamson hovered closer, practically shoving his snout into the prince’s face. The Mon Cala knights’ spear blasters immediately rose in defense, causing the Separatist to back off. “You have not earned the right to speak at this gathering. You are not on the throne-”

Ackbar swam forward glaring with his right eye towards Tamson. “You have no say in the matter, Ambassador. You are only here as an observer for the Separatists.”

Tamson gave one stroke of his legs and was immediately in Ackbar’s face as well. “Do not forget. I am here at the request of the quarren, because you, Captain, demanded the presence of the Republic.”

The karkarodon swam off to continue his circling of the room, but with clear agitation visible in his body language.

“Such a disgrace,” muttered Ackbar, his anger rising to the surface. “By rights he should be ejected from the conclave-”

Anakin pushed off his seat and floated over to put a calming hand on the regent’s shoulder.

“That would be what they want you to do.”

Chieftain Nossor Ri swam into the center of the chamber, “Prince Lee-Char will bring this planet to ruin. The boy has neither experience nor the knowledge to lead.” The quarren ‘leader’ was dressed quite conservatively in an almost elegant black and gray suit, and like all of his kind had four tentacles dangling from their sharp toothed mouth, with dull gray eyes adapted to the lower depths of the planet.

“And now you’re going to tell us you do?” Padme pulled out of her seat and gave the chieftain a sharp stare. “So you would do away with thousands of years of history and achievements in art and science that your people, united with the mon cala, have achieved?”

“You see that, but I only see thousands of years of oppression under mon cala rule.”

“How convenient and I’m sure that you speak for every quarren on Dac then?”

“I am Chieftain of the quarren, their voice flows through me! Besides, this is an internal matter and the Republic is only here at the behest of the mon cala.”

“Who asked you?!” shouted a quarren on the upper ring.

“The Republic has no place here!”

“Down with the Republic!”

That seemed to set off all the quarren who began to chant similar sentiments.

Nossor raised a hand and everyone fell silent. He floated down to face Lee-Char. “We refuse to support the coronation of another Mon Cala King. I am sorry, prince. Ambassador?”

Tamson should’ve been shouted down by every mon cala in the room, but it was not in their nature.

The Separatist swam higher and brought his full height of over two meters on display. “In my opinion, the quarren have no further business here.”

He gave a powerful stroke of his legs and headed to the massive doors, and as if it had been rehearsed, every quarren delegate followed in his wake to the cheers of agreement.

The mon cala watched with outward stoicism as their one chance for peace on the water world evaporated.

“Come Regent Ackbar,” Anakin said in the silence that followed. “We need to inform Master Yoda and the fleet.”

888888888888888888888888888888888

In a secure conference room in the Mon Cala government complex, the holograms of Yoda, Windu, Plo Koon and Ahsoka appeared.

“This civil war, inevitable it is?” Yoda asked.

“Sadly so, Master Yoda,” Ackbar nodded. “I had thought there would be greater resistance from the quarren to the idea of secession. Unfortunately, their community leadership seems completely in formation with Chieftain Ri. Much like us, it is not in quarren nature to stray from a path once chosen. Whatever dissent there is, it will not be acted upon until it is clearly demonstrated to be foolish. I also think the younger generations of quarren are enamored of the ideal of racial independence.”

“An independence that will be swiftly taken by the CIS the instant they are in power on Dac,” Ahsoka declared.

“Can’t really argue with you on that one,” Anakin sighed. “Tamson had the quarren marching in lockstep down here.”

“It also seems inevitable that the quarren will formally withdraw from the Republic,” Padme reported.

“The Mon Calamari system is still part of the Republic and this planet must not fall into Separatist hands. Master Koon, Padawan Tano, what is the situation there?” Windu asked.

“Our scouts in Ruisto have observed the Separatist fleet launching Trident assault ships in the last few hours,” Master Koon rumbled. “It’s safe to say that these ships are already in the system under cloak and delivering aqua droids into Dac’s waters. The majority of our Task Group is holding beyond the system’s Oort Cloud, whilst a three ship vanguard is in orbit of Dac.”

“If the Separatist Fleet advances you are cleared to intercept them with the full force of your command,” Windu said forbiddingly. “Send what SCUBA forces you have on hand to support the Mon Cala Guard immediately. Captain Ackbar, assemble your troops.”

Yoda and Windu’s holograms winked out.

“Skywalker, I will keep space and the orbitals secure. Ahsoka will lead the SCUBA troops to reinforce your position.”

“What about the SCUBA troops in the task group and the gungans?”

“They will come later, Skywalker. We must first gain the measure of the enemy. I doubt quarren militia and limited numbers of aqua droids are the only cards Tamson has to play.”

888888888888888888888888888888

“How’s that?”

“Much better,” said Chewie, wriggling his shoulders within the confines of his brand new, very large, custom Aegis armor with oxygen tanks attached to its back. It looked very intimidating given its sheer size, painted in Republic white and red with the Jedi symbol prominent on the pauldrons. The fabricator droids on the Judgment had finally finished it, with additional tinkering that Chewie had done himself, with a few contributions from me.

His wroshyr armor might be adequate on land, but would not work in an aquatic environment.

“Good, now remember to think of it as vac fighting in space.”

The big wookiee nodded and started nervously fiddling with his bowcaster, which also had some tinkering done to allow for underwater functionality. Mostly in terms of its cooling systems, which had relied on air and venting, but now had a module that allowed for water to do that job.

My lightsabers had also required an adjustment to their blade containment fields to allow for smooth operation in an aquatic environment. Otherwise ambient water pressure pushed right in and switching on a saber would have water flash vaporizing constantly around it, not to mention heating up the immediate water around it to scalding temperatures.

Opening up the Darksaber to make that adjustment had felt like sacrilege and I could sense the sentient kyber inside was not happy about it.

I gave a last look around at the clone troopers in their SCUBA armors in the gunship, before turning to interface with the Devilfish submersible scooter. Well, if a scooter was two meters long, armed with dual laser cannons and two mini-torpedoes mounted in the nose.

“M8, is everything okay with this contraption?”

“All systems are nominal, mistress.”

I reached into the hull storage compartment and hefted my own requisitioned DC-12U.

It was a relatively heavy weapon compared to the DC-15A, with double barrels to compensate for the slower fire rate imposed by the extra internal sealing, shielding and cooling systems. Its trigger was duplex firing; pulled once it fired a barrel, let go and it fired the second barrel.

I felt the Force ripple and tear.

‘Snips! The attack’s begun. Dive immediately the moment you’re over the capital city,’ Anakin thought.

‘On my way, master.’

I stood and keyed the trooper’s squadron frequency, “Troopers of the Wolfpack! We are going in hot. The quarren and mon cala are already fighting in waters below. There will be aqua droids there too. Keep your formation, you get separated, just like a lone starfighter, you will die. There is no land here for me to generate cover for you. Follow my lead, trust in your training and we will live to see the sky again! Ready?!”

“Ready!” They shouted in chorus.

I covered all of them with the light blanket of Battle Meditation and willed the gunship doors open.

‘Commander, over the drop zone in five,’ reported the clone pilot.

The gunships of the 104th flared a few meters over the oceans of Dac.

“Go! Go! Go!”

A slight Force Push aided me as I dived with the Devilfish sub and into bright blue waters.

My montrals was inundated with the ripple of bubbles and water, splashes of troopers diving,  and the eerie hum of gunship repulsors through the shallow water. My vision cleared to the underwater world of Dac and in the distant city below, we could already see the flashes and bolts of criss crossing blaster fire.

I double checked everyone was getting into formation, before pushing the Devilfish over for a dive and engaging its engines.

Aiming straight for the heart of battle.

88888888888888888888888888888888

A/N: The Water War is almost upon us. Hope you enjoyed the interludes and alternate POVs. Have a great weekend and stay awesome folks.