FicWad

Additional Author's Note: Rrom now on, lengthy pieces in italics will most likely be the words/thoughts of Force spirits. Please keep this (as well as other possibilities) in mind as you read this as well as following chapters.







Anakin and Master Dooku are grinning madly at each other like very happy, very chummy coconspirators when Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon enter the kitchen. It would be entirely disconcerting if it weren't such a glad sight. Dooku takes one look at Qui-Gon's radiant face before he is on his feet, a smile of such pure joy on his face that somehow it only seems natural to suddenly be on the receiving end of a strong embrace, Dooku ghosting a kiss across Obi-Wan's left brow as he enfolds him in his arms. "Thank the Force! Obi-Wan, you are a paragon. Bless you for this!"

"Qui-Gon, sir?" The voice is oddly shy, almost hesitant.

"Come here, Anakin. You've been so strong. I am so proud of you, young one!"

For a few moments then there is silence, as Anakin tucks his head against Qui-Gon's shoulder and luxuriates in a hug he has been missing and wanting for over thirteen years, Qui-Gon placing a hand gently atop the young man's golden head, and Obi-Wan quietly allows Dooku to embrace him, hugging the Jedi Master back a little bit shyly. The two embraces end at much the same time, and Dooku naturally gravitates towards Qui-Gon, just as Anakin makes a beeline for Obi-Wan. The two Force spirits stand together, smiling, Qui-Gon's right arm curling around Dooku's waist and Dooku's left arm in a similar position about Qui-Gon, as Anakin sweeps Obi-Wan up to him and claims a quick, almost victorious kiss - or what would have been a quick kiss, if Obi-Wan's mouth had not immediately parted beneath Anakin's, the heated pleasure of touch so easily sweeping them up that both swiftly forget the presence of others in the room as well as the need to breathe. Several long moments later, their foreheads pressing together while they pant for breath, Anakin laughs a little bit, giddily, feeling the river of light that binds Obi-Wan to Qui-Gon flowing into and becoming a part of his own mind, his own soul. There is a second bond that Anakin can feel, just barely tickling at the edges of perception, where Qui-Gon is linked to Dooku in a way that both is and is not like a regular Master-Padawan bond, and as Anakin and Obi-Wan both gradually become aware of it, Obi-Wan's focus simultaneously tightens and deepens, until suddenly the two of them are flooded with a doubled and redoubled stream of lucid warmth and caring and love, the light of the Force-blessed connection between Qui-Gon and Dooku spreading throughout Obi-Wan and Anakin and tying the four of them together in a way that no Jedi have ever known, imparting a sense of closeness and mutual support that bathes them in its soothing balm while the Force rejoices, the rightness of this strange new network of overlapping and interlocking layered connection so strong that the Force is all but singing around them.

Anakin is reeling, stunned, as the ties all settle gently and yet immovably into place, eyes wide as he staggers against Obi-Wan. "What - what was - is that?"

It is Master Dooku, surprisingly, who answers. "You know that the Force is an energy field created by all living things. The Force surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds all things in the universe together. We speak of four aspects of the Force as if they were distinctly different and separate things: the Living Force; the Unifying Force; the Light Side; and the Dark Side of the Force. The Unifying Force essentially embraces the space-time continuum in its entirety. The Living Force, on the other hand, is concerned only with the details of the ever-changing present, the directly ongoing specifics of life as it exists in the /now/, within the embrace of the Force. The Light and the Dark Side of the Force are labels that we apply to the various manifestations of the Force by specific Force-sensitive beings, depending upon the moral compass or the intent, if you will, of each being at the time that he or she or it takes a specific action with the aid or the power of the Force. While the Force flows through and works through all living beings, only those who are Force-sensitive beings can purposefully direct the flow of the Force as it passes through them and therefore affect both the reality of the Living Force as it exists from moment to moment and the all-embracing scope of the Unifying Force as its potentiality continually adapts and grows, manifesting as measurable changes both within and without such beings. The greater a being's natural ability to connect with the Force and the stronger that being's ability to draw on or join with the Force - only the second of which depends upon the level of training a being has received and the actual amount of time and effort that has been put into practice with the Force directly - the deeper and more widely a Force-sensitive Force-adept can affect both the Force and, in turn, reality as it is perceived by living beings. Midi-chlorians determine to a great degree a Force-sensitive's ability to become a true Force-adept, although there are other learned characteristics and traits that also play a part in this. The Jedi and the Sith alike believe that life as we know it could not and would not exist without the Force - that the Force naturally flows from life and that the Force, in turn, engenders midi-chlorians as a way to allow living creatures to more fully commune with the Force, to feel its presence and draw upon its power. But the truth is vastly more . . . complex than that. In truth, life and the Force are inexorably intertwined. The Force doesn't just flow from life. Life itself - all life - is naturally permeated by the power of the Force and the Force increases in power because of the proliferation of life, but the Force existed before physical life as we know it arose in the universe, and life can and does sometimes exist outside of or divorced from the Force entirely. The Force can and does sometimes purposefully withdraw itself from or limit its contact with certain forms of life, usually in order to keep those life-forms from being able to wreck greater damage to the Force, Living and Unifying, and to the reality surrounding those life-forms, than they would otherwise be capable of, if they were still allowed direct access to the power of the Force itself. Only in extremely rare cases does the Force ever completely cut itself off from any living creature. You will discover the truth of this yourselves, in time, but it is best that you understand now. The surprisingly similar understandings that the Jedi and the Sith possess in regards to the Force are not only incomplete: they are flawed outright. The Jedi believe that they can keep the Force in balance by destroying the Sith and 'neutralizing' all others who draw on the Dark Side as well as by denying themselves emotional attachments and the majority of most emotions outright. Jedi not only believe that the Dark Side is /corrupting/, they believe that it is /corruption/, an evil that taints not only those who give in to its seduction but also the entirety of the Force itself. The Sith believe much the same, only in reverse. They see the Jedi and all practitioners of the Light Side of the Force as weak, and believe that the Light Side as a weakness that corrupts the unadulterated power of the Force. In truth, though, there is only the Force itself. It has no Light Side and Dark Side. The Unifying Force and the Living Force are not separate entities: they are only different aspects - facets, if you will - of the greater unity that is the Force. The Force merely /is/, and it is the Force, regardless of whatever more familiar and therefore comforting frames of reference living beings might choose to impose upon some smaller part of its greater whole. The Dark Side and the Light Side are little more than masks, artificial constructs that we, in our ignorance, place upon the Force and will it to conform to for our own ease, shielding barriers that allow us to more freely interact with a portion of the Force that will not so thoroughly overwhelm our fragile bodies and minds that it challenges our perceptions of reality beyond our ability to easily remain securely anchored within the now of our natural states of existence. The Force itself /is light, is power, is energy, is whiteness/. You have both seen and felt it yourselves, and so you know of its terrible and awesome /Light/, when unfiltered by our own perceived limitations and unadulterated by the expectations that arise from our personal belief systems," Dooku reminds them, his gaze intensely focused on Obi-Wan and Anakin where they are standing together, the left hand of one holding the reformed fingers of flesh of the right hand of the other, shoulders and hips touching.

"The /Potentium/?" Obi-Wan exclaims, stunned.

Anakin is speechless, remembering his strange conversations with the slightly bewildered but fiercely protective soul of the living planet of Zonama Sekot.

"Not quite," Qui-Gon answers, shaking his head slightly. "Close to it, yes, but greater than that view of the Force as well."

"In the Potentium view of the Force, there is no Dark Side and no Light Side, and the universe itself tends inherently towards good. Evil arises only from the intent of those beings who consciously wish to do harm, contrary to both the will and the innate nature of the Force. That which manifests itself as the Dark Side is only a perversion of the Living Force, which is a part of the greater whole of the Unifying Force and therefore can act as a means of corrupting the Force itself, twisting it out of true. Believers of the Potentium claim that both the Jedi and the Sith are equally wrong-minded in their approach to the Force: the Sith because they treat the Force as a means to an end; and the Jedi because they treat the Force as an end, in and of itself. Believers of the Potentium assert that neither view is true: means and ends are both, in and of themselves, constructs by which the misguided attempt to assert their will over that of the Force, rather than simply trusting the Force to simply /be/, to flow through them and to allow them to naturally be its agents, creating good simply by existing in harmony with the Force. While there is some truth in this belief system - especially as regards the Dark and the Light Side of the Force as artificial constructs and restraining, adulterating mechanisms that shape, limit, and weaken our ability to more fully accept, interact with, and draw upon the power of the Force - the Potentium is also flawed. It's believers hold that the Force - and the universe in general - operates according to the dictates a benevolent master plan. This is why, if you were to seek to research the theory of the Potentium within the Jedi Archives, you would find that it is sometimes also referred to as the Unitary view of the Force. And this belief is its greatest flaw," Dooku elaborates. "The universe, much like the Force itself, has no set destination: it is always in motion, always changing, always adapting, always seeking to grow. There is no guiding benevolent master plan. There is no all-encompassing purpose, unless that purpose is growth, healthy and vibrant continuous growth. For the Force, like life itself, seeks always to grow, to spread, to increase the strength and intensity of its Light and the range of that Light. And this truth is perhaps the most important of all, for it runs counter to the beliefs of the Potentium and the Jedi and the Sith as well, who in spite of an ability to conceive of the Force as something with will, with purpose, simply do not regard the Force as if it were capable of truly changing, of adapting and growing, much like a living organism can and will adapt and naturally evolve in order to exist in greater harmony with its current surroundings. The Force changes and grows, young ones, and if we would but allow ourselves to realize this, we would also know that we are capable of changing and growing within the Force, of adapting ourselves and moving beyond our largely self-imposed limitations, surrendering our preconceived notions of how things are, how they can and cannot function, so that we could more easily evolve into a closer union, a more perfect communion, with the Force. Because of Obi-Wan's willingness to surrender utterly to both the will of the Force and the /rightness of his love, the two of you have been able to do this instinctively. Your shockingly high midi-chlorian count has always made your potential strength in the Force enormous, Anakin Skywalker. Your strength before the moment when you let go of yourself and surrendered to your love and to the Force is as a drop of water in comparison to the breadth and depth of a sea. And Obi-Wan is more than a match for you in this, child. Because of his willingness to surrender himself so utterly to the Force, Obi-Wan has always potentially been more than a match for you or anyone else within the Force. He simply has had no cause to learn this, before the events of today. On the bridge of the Invisible Hand, Obi-Wan's Light would have allowed him to utterly destroy the malignant power of Sidious, had he only known the identity of the Sith Lord. He would have defeated General Grievous, had the coward stood and fought rather than fleeing."/

Obi-Wan does not try to deny the truth of these words, but they do cause him to tremble. Silently, Anakin wraps his arm around Obi-Wan, urging him to come around in front of him so that they are securely nestled back to front, both of Anakin's arms twined snugly around Obi-Wan's waist and chest, the easy touch and comfort of greater proximity calming the young Jedi Master's shivering. After another quiet moment, their focus returns solely to the two Force spirits standing before them, and this time it is Qui-Gon who speaks.

"It was my love and my surrender - though the surrender was not fully willing - that has allowed me to remain and given me the strength to manifest myself. It was much the same with Dooku, though he surrendered with far better grace than I." Qui-Gon tilts his head to one side and smiles fondly at Dooku. "Most souls who survive the death or loss of their bodies because of their connection to the Force are sustained by the thorough embrace of some intense emotion, not by surrender. That is why the vast majority of such souls never move past the point of being Force ghosts - little more than lingering and consuming emotions tied to one specific place. The emotional core of the spirt of a Sith, for example, will sometime remain to haunt one spot with its hatred, anger, and fear. It is quite rare for any being to manage to possess sufficient emotion and to be yielding enough to fully retain individual identity and also attain the ability to travel. Those who are incredibly strong with the Force might manage to do so on will and emotion alone, but only at a great price. I sometimes managed to touch one or the other of you, but it weakened me greatly. Dooku had to teach me how to surrender myself to the Force more fully - just as he had to learn to fully accept and feel love, from me - in order to retain my sense of self and grow fully enough into that self to achieve /this, this ability to manifest wholly, in such a way that I am able to interact with whatever world surrounds me, much as a being of flesh does," Qui-Gon explains. "I sought for many years to commune with you both, as well as with other members of the Jedi Order, especially Master Yoda, in an attempt to share my knowledge and send warning regarding Sidious. In the end, though, as a mere Force ghost, I could not do it on my own. Only together were Dooku and I able to make the final transition, to become true Force spirits - beings formed and sustained entirely by the Force, because of our love and our surrender to the Force's will and its Light. It is important that you understand this, young ones. You will learn much from each other and there will necessarily be a period of adjustment, both while you learn to fully harness and safely channel your new strength and as you grow to understand the full extent of the gifts that the Force has given you, for your love and your willing surrender. Do not try to push too hard, too fast. The Force will remain with you both always and it will willingly continue to grow with you, so long as you both continue to accept, as you have and as you do."/

Obi-Wan goes very still in Anakin's arms. "Do you mean to tell me that we will never be separated from the power of the Force again, regardless of Force-restraints or Force-dampeners or whatever else Sith-spawned unnatural items our enemies may try to bring against us?"

"Such devices do not truly remove you from the Force's embrace. They never have. They only disrupt your body's ability to easily connect with the flow of the Force. That connection is now far too strong to interfere with thus, and it shall only continue to grow, as you grow into your new abilities and continue to adapt and grow with the Force," Qui-Gon explains, his voice extremely gentle indeed.

Anakin's eyes grow very wide at that. "You mean - you mean to tell me that we will keep getting stronger than we are?"

"Yes, young one," Qui-Gon simply nods.

Anakin's arms tighten convulsively as a fine tremor shakes his body. Obi-Wan only raises his hands to cover Anakin's and says softly, though with a conviction that Anakin cannot deny, "You are not and never will be alone in this. You are not and never will be a freak or a monster. You are my love and you will always be my love. Peace, Anakin. All will be well. We will trust in the Force and learn of its gifts to us together and all will be well."

The crushing grip relaxes and the slight tremor ceases. Smiling, Anakin bends and brushes a grateful kiss to Obi-Wan's left cheek. "Yes, love. I know we will. And I understand. I love you and I trust you. I trust in the Force. All will be well," he nods and agrees, quietly but firmly. His gaze once again steady, Anakin quirks an eyebrow at the two blue-limed Masters and asks, "Is it safe to assume that since we can all touch each other - which I am going to ask you to explain eventually, by the way - your lightsabers will have much the same effect as ours would?"

There's an enormous bowl full of fresh fruit in the center of the kitchen table. Force alone knows who thought to make sure that there would be fresh food on hand when Obi-Wan returned to his suite - though Anakin rather suspects it was Bant Eerin, all things considered. As a Healer and a friend, Bant has always been a bit obsessive about making sure Obi-Wan eats enough - but the bowl is filled almost to overflowing, and there's a shuura fruit on top of the pile. Between one heartbeat and the next, Qui-Gon has snatched up that shuura fruit, flinging it high into the air, and Dooku's lightsaber has ignited with the familiar snapping hum of a blade on full power. His lightsaber blade is indeed green, a richly dark shade of emerald unlike any other green lightsaber Anakin or Obi-Wan has ever seen before. With one graceful continuous sweeping motion, the shuura fruit is neatly severed into four quarters, sections that Qui-Gon then hands to them for inspection, two apiece. The sweet flesh of the fruit is singed where the lightsaber has passed through it, but the cuts are clean. Shrugging, smiling, Anakin pops one section into his mouth, bolting it and only then realizing how hungry he is.

Nodding, Obi-Wan goes to the counter and pours himself that cup of tea before he begins bustling about, checking to see what they have on hand for a quick meal. "That's good to know, but the next question is perhaps even more important. Can you be hurt, while you are in this state?" he asks, looking over his shoulder at the two Force spirits.

"How could we be hurt?" Qui-Gon only asks, smiling gently as he shakes his head. "We are nothing but thought and feeling and the power of the Force. Solid weapons will pass through us as if we were as insubstantial as air. Energy given off from weapons will be entirely absorbed by the Force that gives us shape and converted into energy to further fuel its power - and ours as well. Dooku and I have had enough time to run several tests. We engaged in battle on Ywllandr and on Mygeeto without harm. We even placed ourselves directly in the path of a blast from an ion cannon mounted upon one of the Separatists ships fleeing Coruscant, shielding the starfighter carrying Master Shaak Ti and taking no harm whatsoever from the blast. As far as we have been able to determine, we are both wholly invulnerable to conventional weapons. Even lightsabers cannot hurt us. Though I do fear that it might be possible for a concentrated Force-blast to successfully disrupt our concentration sufficiently enough to momentarily cause us to lose visible form, I honestly do not believe that even Sidious' full might would be enough to do either one of us true harm."

"You are convinced of this?" Obi-Wan presses, frowning.

"We are both convinced of this, young one." It is Dooku who answers, and this seems to convince Obi-Wan, who doesn't ask for further clarification.

Instead, Obi-Wan nods, smiling, and notes, "It is a basic law of physics that matter and energy are interchangeable and the Force is an energy field. I suppose I shouldn't be astonished by anything that can be dealt with or accomplished through the use of the Force, at this point." As Obi-Wan continues to bustle about the kitchen - whoever left the fruit also left several enormous precooked meals in the cooler that require little besides reheating. Judging by the contents of the meals and their sizes, Obi-Wan is certain that Bant is responsible. Almost half of the meals are clearly intended for Anakin, not Obi-Wan, and few Jedi other than Bant would simply assume that Anakin would be joining him for several of these meals - he admits, "I was not able to see much of the battle with Sidious plainly, in my far-sight vision, probably because I did not yet possess any information regarding your ability to return so fully to us. So shall we plot a strategy for the confrontation? Clearer tactics may help us to better protect ourselves and others from his malice, and I believe that there is still time. Any changes to the most probable future should be negligible, since what I could see of the conflict occurs in the depths of night."

"We should have time to come up with a plan, then. A real one, I mean. One that'll help reduce the danger," Anakin laughs, coming up behind him to see if he can help. "Healer Bant?"

"Doubtlessly."

"She spoils us, the little lifesaver. Remind me to thank her."

"Naturally." Turning to look at the Masters, Obi-Wan frown slightly before hesitantly asking, "You cannot take refreshment, can you?"

"I am afraid not, young one. But you should not allow that to keep you from your meal. We will be glad to sit with you," Dooku answers, inclining his head graciously.

"Very well then," Obi-Wan smiles. "Let us see what we can do to arrive at a plan."

***

General Grievous stands wide-legged, hands folded behind him, as he gazes out through the reinforced viewport in the towering sphere of the Geonosian Dreadnaught. The immense ship looks surprisingly small against the scale of the vast sinkhole that rises around it.

The terrain of the enormous sinkhole is typical of Utapau, a remote backwater world on the fringes of the Outer Rim. At ground level - far above where Grievous stands now, having arrived at Utapau from Coruscant almost half a standard hour previously, far ahead of the vast majority of the rest of the battered and fleeing Separatist fleet, thanks to the still experimental hyperdrive system installed on his escape craft, a prototype engine capable of superluminal speeds roughly twice as fast as that of the Class 2 hyperdrives only just now becoming widely used in military starships - the planet appears to be little more than a featureless ball of barren rock, sanded down flat by the endless scouring blasts of hyperwinds. From orbit, though, its cities and factories and spaceports can be seen as the planet's rotation brings its cavernous sinkholes into view, one after another. These sinkholes are easily the size of inverted towering mountains, and every available square meter of their interior walls is packed with city. At the moment, every square meter of every city is also under the guns of Separatist war droids, making sure that the Utapauns behave themselves. Until quite recently, Utapau has had no interest in the Clone Wars. Since it has never been a member of the Republic and never particularly desired to be a part of any larger government, like that of the Republic, Utapau had, from the moment the war had first begun, very carefully maintained a stance of quiet neutrality . . . right up until the moment when Grievous had conquered it.

Neutrality, in these times, is a joke: a planet is neutral only so long as neither the Republic nor the Confederacy wants it. If Grievous could have laughed properly, without choking himself, he would have. Instead, he indulges his rare good humor by watching as the remaining members of the Separatist leadership scurry across the permacrete landing platform like the alley rats they are, scampering for the ship that will take them to the safety of the newly constructed base on Mustafar, and satisfactorily thinks on their eminent departure.

Grievous is impatient to be rid of them, especially the Neimoidian Viceroy, Nute Gunray. He and Gunray have been at odds frequently since the war began, on Geonosis, over three years ago. One of the first spacefaring species to build a functional droid army, the Neimoidians have grown accustomed to thinking of their soldiers and their workers as entirely expendable. The extraordinary wealth the Neimoidians have enjoyed ever since they first became spacefaring has always allowed them to replace whatever they lose, so they have never developed any sense of respect for the machines continuously fashioned for them by Baktoid Armor Workshops, the Xi Char, Colicoids, and other such contractors. From the moment they first met, Gunray has made the mistake of constantly failing to give Grievous the respect he deserves, instead treating him like just another droid - even though he had specifically been told, before their first meeting, that this was not the case, and certainly knows better than to take Grievous for granted now. Gunray's lack of respect in combination with his cringing cowardice grates horribly on Grievous' nerves.

Perhaps Gunray had thought of Grievous as some mindless entity, like the reawakened Gen'Dai, Durge, rebuilt following the Battle of Muunilinst; or Dooku's misguided and easily led apprentice, Asajj Ventress; or the human bounty hunter called Aurra Sing - all three of whom had been so driven by personal hatred of the Jedi that they proved to be worthless, mere distractions, while Grievous went about the real business of war. The attitude of the other Neimoidians had certainly changed quickly enough, though, in part because they had been witness to Grievous' capabilities six months after the Battle of Geonosis - when Dooku had tested the General by unleashing Asajj Ventress and Durge in an empty ship deep in outer space and told them to hunt down an unknown foe, who had, of course, been Grievous. Grievous had easily defeated and humiliated both of the Separatist commanders, rendering Asajj unconscious and defeating and decapitating (but unfortunately not quite entirely killing) the newly-rebuilt Durge with an energy lance and two lightsabers - but more as a result of what had occurred on Geonosis. Had it not been for Grievous, Gunray and the rest might have suffered the same fate as Poggle the Lesser's lieutenant, Sun Fac. Grievous' actions in the catacombs that day - with the panicking Geonosians retreating by the thousands from the arena and companies of clone commandos following them into the tunnels - had allowed Gunray and the other Separatists to escape the planet alive.

Sometimes, Grievous wonders just how many clones he had killed or wounded that day.

And Jedi, of course - though no Jedi who saw him that day had lived to speak of him.

The state of the Jedi corpses that were eventually retrieved from the Geonosian catacombs had only proved that something atrocious and deadly powerful had resided in those dark underground passages. Perhaps the Jedi had (at least initially) decided that one of the arena animals - perhaps a rancor or a reek - had shredded the bodies of their Force-adept brethren; or perhaps they had thought that the damage had been done by Geonosian sonic weapons set to maximum power. Either way, they must have wondered what had become of the victims' lightsabers . . . and eventually begun to draw another conclusion, after Dooku had unleashed Grievous against the Republic as the Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies of the Separatists. Grievous still regrets the fact that he hadn't been able to see the initial reactions to the bodies of the Jedi he had personally destroyed, on Geonosis, but unfortunately he, too, had been forced to flee as Geonosis fell. The revelation of his existence had had to wait until a handful of hapless Jedi had arrived on the foundry world of Hypori. By then, Grievous had already amassed a sizable collection of lightsabers, but at Hypori he had been able to add several more, two of which hung inside his command cloak even now. As trophies, lightsabers are eminently superior to the pelts of hunted beings Grievous knows some bounty hunters affect. He admires the precision and care that inevitably goes into the construction of a lightsaber; more, each lightsaber seems to retain a faint memory of its wielder. As a former swordmaster, he can thoroughly appreciate the fact that each lightsaber is handcrafted, rather than turned out in quantity like blasters or pike weapons. He can even respect the Jedi for that, though he has nothing but hatred for them as an Order.

Because of the remoteness of their homeworld, his species, the Kaleesh, have had few dealings with the Jedi. When war broke out between the Kaleesh and their planetary neighbors - a savage, insectile species known among themselves as the Yam'rii and to the Kaleesh as the Huk (or "soulless bugs") - the Kaleesh had not even thought to appeal to the Jedi or the Republic for help. Grievous first became infamous during that long, bloody conflict, under the name he was born with as a Kaleesh, that of Qymaen jai Sheelal. At the head of a band of warriors named the Izvoshra (literally, "my elite") by the being who would one day become General Grievous (at that point still only a creature of mere flesh and blood, a hero of the Kaleesh by the name of Qymaen jai Sheelal), he had conquering many Huk worlds, defeating their grand armies and exterminating entire colonies of Huk. But then, instead of surrendering, as would have been the honorable course to take, the Huk had appealed to the Galactic Republic to intercede, and the Jedi had arrived on Kalee. In what passed for negotiations - fifty Jedi Knights and Masters ready to lose their lightsabers on the by then renamed Grievous (christened Grievous for his belief that he would grieve forever, for the losses he and his people had suffered during the long war with the Huk) and his army - the Kaleesh were made to appear the aggressors, and a "peace" was brokered that bankrupted Kalee. The reason was plain enough to Grievous: where Kalee had little to offer in the way of trade, the Huk worlds were rich in ore and other resources lusted after by the Trade Federation and others like them within the Republic. Chastised by the Republic, the Kaleesh had foundered. Sanctions and reparations were imposed; traders avoided the planet; and Grievous' people had starved and perished by the hundreds of thousands. Ultimately, the InterGalactic Banking Clan had come to Kalee's rescue, helping with funds, reinstating trade, and providing Grievous with new direction. In essence, the IBC had agreed to support the planet financially and assume its staggering debt if Grievous would agree to serve the clan as an enforcer, essentially intimidating delinquent clients into paying their debts.

Years later, the Muuns would come to Grievous again, with a new proposal, after a highly suspicious explosion had resulted in a shuttle crash that inevitably would have robbed him of an honorable warrior's death in battle by eventually resulting in his slow, ignominious death, his body far too broken for healing, if Grievous had not agreed to IBC chairman San Hill's offer of cybernetic reincarnation . . . In the end, Grievous only agreed to the procedure because he had been told that they would have to transfuse blood from the carefully preserved body of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas into him in order to complete the transformation from Kaleesh to functional cyborg. In his anger and his hatred, Grievous had found the notion of rebirth in the blood of a slain Jedi Master quite fitting.

It is a pity he cannot indulge himself by bathing in the blood of another hated being . . .

His eyes continue to track the progress of the remaining Separatist leaders as they load.

After a time, he becomes aware that one alley rat is missing from the scuttle.

Grievous shifts his gaze fractionally, eyes narrowing, to find the reflection of Nute Gunray in the transparisteel. The Neimoidian Viceroy stands dithering
in the control center's doorway. Grievous regards the reflection of the bulbous, cold-blooded eyes below the tall peaked miter.

"Gunray." He makes no other motion. "Why are you still here?"

"Some things should be said privately, General." The Viceroy's reflection casts long, wary glances either way along the hallway beyond the door. "I am deeply disturbed by this new move. You told us that Utapau would be safe for us. Why is the Leadership Council being moved now to Mustafar?"

General Grievous sighs. He has no time for lengthy explanations, even if he were of a mind to provide them: Lord Sidious had not been available to personally receive his report on the outcome of the attack against Coruscant, but the mission had been an extremely important one, and the Sith Lord is normally not out of contact for lengthy periods of time - especially not when a plan has gone awry and Grievous is essentially just waiting to receive orders before taking any further action - so Grievous is expecting to receive a confidential transmission from him quite soon. He will not be able to take such a transmission with Gunray in the room, though, and unfortunately he cannot simply follow his natural inclinations and boot the Neimoidian Viceroy so high that he'd burn up on reentry. Grievous still hopes, every day, that Lord Sidious will give him leave to smash the skulls of Gunray and his toady, Rune Haako - repulsive sniveling grub-greedy scum, both of them. And the rest of the Separatist leadership is every bit as vile. For now, though, a pretense of cordiality needs to be maintained. "Utapau," Grievous therefore slowly says, as though explaining to a child, "is a hostile planet under military occupation. It was never intended to be more than a stopgap, while the defenses of the base on Mustafar were completed. Now that they are, Mustafar is the most secure planet in the galaxy. The stronghold prepared for you can withstand the entire Republic Navy."

"It should," Gunray mutters irritably. "The construction nearly bankrupted the Trade Federation!"

"Don't whine to me about money, Viceroy. I have no interest in it and - "

In a rare show of spirit, Gunray interrupts, snapping, "You had better, General. It's my money that finances this entire war! It's my money that pays for that body you wear and for those insanely expensive MagnaGuards of yours! It's my money - "

Grievous moves so swiftly that he seems to teleport from the window to half a meter in front of Gunray. "How much use is your /money/," he demands, flexing his hand of jointed duranium in the Neimoidian's face, "against /this/?"

Gunray flinches and backs away. "I was only - I have some concerns about your ability to keep us /safe/, General, that's all. I - we - the Trade Federation cannot work in a climate of fear. What about the /Jedi/?"

"Forget the Jedi. They do not enter into this equation."

"They will be entering into that base soon enough!"

"The base is secure. It can stand against a thousand Jedi. Ten thousand."

Gunray gapes at Grievous in a disgustingly moronic manner. "Do you hear yourself? Are you /mad/?"

"What I am," Grievous replies evenly, "is unaccustomed to having my orders challenged."

"We are the Leadership Council! You cannot give us orders! We give the orders here!"

"Are you certain of that? Would you care to wager?" Eyes narrowing to golden slits, Grievous leans close enough that he can see the reflection of his mask in Gunray's rose-colored eyes. "Shall we, say, bet your life on it?"

Gunray keeps on backing away. "You tell us we'll be safe on Mustafar, General, but you also told us you would deliver Palpatine as a hostage/, and /he managed to escape your grip!"

"Be thankful, Viceroy," Grievous retorts, admiring the smooth flexion of his finger joints as though his hand were some species of exotic predator, "that you have not found yourself in my grip." To look on the sickly pink in Gunray's pale green cheeks for one second longer would be to risk forgetting his orders and splattering the Viceroy's brains from here to Ord Mantell. So he returns to the viewport and assumes his original position, legs wide, hands clasped behind his back. "Your ship is waiting." His auditory sensors clearly pick up the slither of Gunray's sandals retreating along the corridor, and not a second too soon: his sensors are also registering the whine of the control center's holocomm warming up. Grievous immediately turns to face the disk. When the annunciator chimes to indicate the incoming transmission, he presses the ACCEPT key and then immediately kneels. Head down, he can see only the scanned image of the hem of the great Lord's robes, but that is all he needs to see. "Yes, Lord Sidious."

"Have you moved the Separatist Council to Mustafar?"

"Yes, Master." He risks a glance out the viewport. Most of the Council has reached their starship. Gunray should be joining them any second; Grievous has seen firsthand how fast the Viceroy can run, given proper motivation. "The ship will lift off within moments."

"Well done, my general. Now you must turn your hand to preparing our trap there on Utapau. After today's events, the Jedi will have no choice but to hunt you personally; you must be ready for their attack."

"Yes, Master."

"I am arranging matters to give you a second chance to do my bidding, Grievous. Expect that the Jedi eventually sent to capture you will be Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Kenobi?" Grievous's fists clench hard enough that his carpal electrodrivers whine in protest, such is the fury of his fear-tinged rage just at the mention of the young Jedi Master's name. "And Skywalker?"

"I believe Skywalker will be . . . otherwise engaged."

Grievous drops his head even lower, unwilling to allow his eyes to betray his dissatisfaction. "I will not fail you again, my Master. Kenobi will die."

"See to it."

"Master? If I may trouble you with boldness - why did you not let me kill Chancellor Palpatine? We may never get a better chance."

"The time was not yet ripe. Patience, my general. The end of the war is near, and victory is certain."

"Even with the loss of Count Dooku?" Grievous presses.

"Dooku was not lost; he was sacrificed: a strategic sacrifice, as one offers up a piece in dejarik, to draw the opponent into a fatal blunder."

Blinking, Grievous raises his head and admits, "I was never much the dejarik player, my Master. I prefer real war."

"And you shall have your fill, I promise you."

"This fatal blunder you speak of - if I may once again trouble you with boldness . . . "

"You will come to understand soon enough." Grievous can hear the smile in his Master's voice. "All will be clear, once you meet my new apprentice."

"Yes, Master. As you say, then. I will begin making preparations immediately."

"Excellent."

***

Darth Sidious, the last Dark Lord of the Sith, shrugs out of the voluminous folds of the heavy black-on-black brocaded robe he wears to carefully conceal the visage of his other identity whenever he communicates with his tools. A well-practiced gesture causes a hidden compartment in the office's high ceiling above his desk to open, and the robe folds itself neatly up and away in this recess, all evidence of the compartment's existence vanishing the moment the robe is out of sight within it and its cover slides shut again. Although Sidious is still unsure what hidden flaw within his carefully laid plans triggered the disruption that has allowed events to spiral far enough out of his control that both Obi-Wan Kenobi and General Grievous have managed to survive the capture and rescue of his alter ego, he is, nonetheless, pleased by the conversation he has just had with Grievous. In perhaps as little as a week - and surely no more than two weeks from now, given the way events have been accelerating, of late - he should be able to down both of those particularly troublesome birds with the stone of Utapau.

Sidious is pleased with himself, thoroughly enchanted with his own resourcefulness. He is positive that the trap he has just primed will not only take care of that meddlesome Kenobi - and just what is the source of the unnatural hold that Jedi worm has over Anakin Skywalker? Sidious would swear that the bond between the two Jedi has only grown more powerful, not less, since Skywalker's marriage to that bitch Amidala, which makes no logical sense at all! What is the use of having encouraged the forbidden relationship between Amidala and Anakin, if the foolish boy stubbornly continues to refuse to learn the correct possessive attitude or to grow into a properly self-centered and jealous frame of mind? - and get rid of Grievous, who is no longer of any use to Sidious, it will also give him the perfect opportunity to finally ensnare Anakin Skywalker, while Kenobi is safely out of the picture. Utapau will be a three-way trap - not half bad for an insignificant planet of sinkholes, a system of longstanding neutrality with little strategic significance and virtually no planetary defense force.

When constructing an effective Jedi trap - as opposed to the sort that end up resulting in nothing more than an embarrassingly brief entry in the Temple Archives - there are several design features that one should include for best results. The first, of course, is an irresistible bait. The commanding general of an outlaw government, personally responsible for easily billions of deaths all across the galaxy, is ideally suited bait for a Jedi trap. The second most important design feature is a remote and nearly inaccessible location, one that is easily taken and easily fortified, with a sharply restricted field of action. The physical location of the trap should also, ideally, belong to someone else, preferably an enemy or potential future threat; the locations used for Jedi traps never survive such operations unscathed, and many don't survive the springing of such traps at all. An impoverished desert planet extremely far out in the Outer Rim Territories with nonhuman, unwarlike natives who are nevertheless stubbornly resistant to assimilation by a larger government and whose few cities are built in a cluster of sinkholes upon a vast arid plateau serves as a particularly excellent choice. A city inside a sinkhole is virtually a giant kill-jar; once a Jedi flies in, all one need do is seal the lid afterwards.

A third important feature of an effective Jedi trap, since it is always a good idea to remain well out of reach when plotting against a Jedi's life - the far opposite side of the galaxy from the actual trap is, without a doubt, the best place to be while the trap is being sprung - is to also have a reliable proxy who will successfully perform the actual murder. The exemplar of a reliable proxy would be, for example, the most prolific Jedi killer currently in existence, backed up by a squad of advanced combat droids designed, built, and armed specifically to fight successfully against Jedi. Having one's proxy double as the bait is an impressively elegant stroke, if it can be managed, since it ensures that the Jedi victim will voluntarily place himself in contact with the Jedi killer - and will continue to do so even after he realizes the actual extent of the trap, out of a combination of devotion to duty and a not entirely unjustified arrogance, given the identity of that killer. The fourth element of an effective Jedi trap is a massively overwhelming force of combat troops who will, if given certain orders, be willing to burn the whole planet, including themselves if necessary, to ensure that neither the Jedi in question nor the proxy cum Jedi killer intended to murder said Jedi can possibly escape from the trap alive. And last but certainly not least, the final element essential to the creation of a truly effective Jedi trap is a certain coldness of mind - a kind of detachment from any desire for a particular outcome.

The best way to arrange matters is to create a win-win situation. Arranging the trap to utilize as one's proxy a creature that not only is expendable, but which would eventually have to be killed anyway, works beautifully to create just such a win-win situation. After all, if one's proxy is, by some chance, to fails and be destroyed, it will be no great loss - in fact, the targeted Jedi will actually have done one a favor, by taking care of a bit of dirty work one would otherwise eventually have had to do oneself. An extra stroke of perfection - elegantly refined, though not entirely necessary for a trap that is merely effective - is to organize the Jedi trap so that the Jedi will have already lost simply through the act of walking into it at all. Which is to say that a Jedi trap works best when one's true goal is merely to make sure that the Jedi in question spends some critical time - the period of several critical days or even perhaps as long as two weeks - off somewhere on the far side of the galaxy. So that he will not be around to interfere with one's real plans. So that, by the time he can return home, it will be already too late.

Truly, the trap upon Utapau that has now been set and baited specifically for Obi-Wan Kenboi is a textbook example of an elegantly refined Jedi trap. It should, by all accounts, work perfectly and beautifully.

Thus, Sidious is inordinately pleased with himself as he settles into his chair and turns to face the transparisteel viewing wall behind his desk. By the time he rises to the bait, a textbook example of the ideal Jedi trap will be waiting on Utapau for Obi-Wan Kenobi. And the young Jedi Master will fall for it, because Sidious has never known for Darth Bane's observations on knowledge, power, and ignorance to fail to hold true.

"Knowledge begets power. Power begets force. Outright force is applied out of ignorance alone. Therefore, knowledge leads to ignorance. Directly. You doubt that knowledge can beget ignorance? Then allow me to present the following: the two-fold path. The actual sum of all knowledge is far greater than the ability of any individual to assimilate. Yet, due to the fact that an individual naturally does not comprehend what he or she or it does not know, the selection of knowledge by a given individual is based upon whatever knowledge is already possessed by that individual. Thus, the greater the knowledge that is possessed, the less likely any individual will be to discover ignorance. And the less the knowledge that is possessed by a given individual, the more likely it shall be that ignorance will be revealed. Therefore, greater knowledge leads to greater influence by ignorance, and greater ignorance leads to greater influence by knowledge. You doubt that all knowledge conceals greater ignorance? To those who seek knowledge - and this holds true whether one seeks for the sake of knowledge alone or out of a desire for greater power - one piece of knowledge by itself is not enough. Of making great knowledge there is no end, and much study, and the knowledge therefrom is inevitably either too much power held too tightly - and, inevitably, destroyed or stolen away by force - or a weariness of the flesh and a deadening of the spirit. You need look no further than the rise and subsequent inevitable fall of all dictators who conquer and rule through force alone, never bothering to cultivate the love or acceptance of those whom they rule over, or the erudite and somnolent Jedi Order, lifeless and rotting from the inside out, for an example of this principle. So. The dangers of knowledge are threefold. There is the danger of not learning; the danger of learning too much; and the danger of not understanding. For the vast majority, too much of any good ceases to be good."

The Jedi suffer from a self-inflicted excess of all three dangers. They know too much without truly understanding, and they refuse to learn from the mistakes that they have already made. Obi-Wan Kenobi will charge headfirst into this trap, just as he plunged headlong into the trap aboard Invisible Hand. And this time, there will be no one on hand to carry him back out of the pit again.

***

Nute Gunray is the last of the Separatist leaders to set foot on the deck of the ship that will carry the remains of Leadership Council to the bunker on Mustafar. The Viceroy's blood-red robes are slightly disheveled and his tall, helmet-like miter is askew from running as he demands a situation report from one of the goggle-wearing technicians waiting in the docking bay area.

"Even now coordinates for the jump to lightspeed are being calculated, Viceroy," the nearest technician calmly informs him. "In a matter of moments we will be away from Utapau and you and your peers on the Council will be safely in route to the secure bunker on Mustafar."

"Let us hope so," Gunray mutters, sighing, before swiftly continuing on his way to the bridge, where settlement officer Rune Haako, his familiar crested skullcap perfectly straight, is waiting for him amongst various other financial, legal, and diplomatic officers, all of them wearing a distinctive headpiece to denote their various standings within the Trade Federation hierarchy. Noticing the Viceroy's arrival, Haako draws off discretely to an unoccupied corner of the room. Joining him, Gunray quietly asks him a question that he has already asked once before, one whose answer he had not liked and has since been desperately - and quite possibly foolishly - hoping will change. "Do you think there will ever be a chance to return to Cato Neimoidia and reclaim all that we were forced to leave behind?"

Under more normal circumstances, Nute Gunray never would have dared to ask such a question. Under more normal circumstances, no self-loving, sane, fully mature Neimoidian would have ever seriously considered asking such an emotion-laden and soul-bearing question, for fear of losing face (and in turn risking a considerable loss of personal power and security) due to the personal uncertainty and apparent weakness that such a foolishly honest and obviously emotional question could reveal. Under more normal circumstances, even the notion of venturing to show so much honest emotion, in conjunction with such an obvious lack of self-confidence, would have either been so completely ludicrous as to simply be unthinkable or else sent any normal, healthy, self-respecting Neimoidian into a gut-churning frenzy of stressed and self-protective bluster and posturing that would have so thoroughly quash the revelation of any such demonstrative display that no underling or outside observer would ever dream of associating a Neimoidian of Gunray's stature with such weakness and uncertainty. But then, these are not more normal circumstances, as Gunray and Haako are both well aware, and in spite of the fact that they are both fully mature and relatively healthy (all things considered, given the excessive stress and strain to their bodies brought about by over three years of living in a galaxy torn by an increasingly violent civil war) Neimoidians - and even though no one has yet dared to question their respective states of sanity - they are neither one of them precisely as self-respecting or self-loving as Neimoidians generally are anymore. In truth, circumstances are so very far from normal that the two Neimoidians have begun to understand (and even to accept as inevitable) the fact that they can no longer afford to simply be so self-protective and self-serving as to avoid asking (and answering) such emotionally demonstrative questions - not if they want to continue living.

Ironically, this war - which was meant to act as a liberation, as a source of empowerment and enrichment for both the Neimoidians and the various other species and peoples and business concerns represented by the Separatist movement - though in the long run it has proven to be neither particularly enriching nor empowering, has actually been liberating, in at least this one regard, among the ever dwindling principals of the CIS government and their highest staff. It has stripped them of their various personal, petty interests and united them into a surprisingly strong community. The risk they all live with now, daily - not just from their enemies in the Republic, but from those who are supposed to be their allies and yet increasingly show themselves entirely uncaring of their safety or well-being - is so irrefutably great that they can no longer afford the self-centered posturing of power plays and infighting. With the threat of abandonment or outright betrayal from General Grievous and Lord Sidious growing day by day and sometimes seemingly even hour by hour, not even a people as naturally untrusting, self-serving, disloyal, and power-hungry as the Neimoidians can justify the dissembling of blustering self-confidence any more. Thus, the increasing need for honesty and trust, to counter the risk of such treachery, has grown so paramount that even the Neimoidians on the CIS Leadership Council have gradually learned to become open with their emotions. This war has taught all involved several bitter lessons, chief of which, for the CIS, is the absolute necessity of learning how to acknowledge and act upon even the hardest of truths, no matter how personally humiliating the recognition of those truths might be. In a very real way, this war has finally succeeded in driving home the value of honesty.

So although Haako purses his already puckered mouth, it is only this increasing need for truthfulness, not any desire to cause Gunray to lose face or to advance Haako's own personal power, that prompts him to shake his head swiftly and definitively. "Not a chance," is his flatly honest response - the same response he has already given Gunray to this same question once before. "Our purse worlds now belong to the Republic - and the Republic has defeated General Grievous' attack on Coruscant. Our only hope now is to find sanctuary somewhere deep in the Outer Rim. Otherwise, the bunker on Mustafar will have to serve as our home - and perhaps even our final resting place."

Sorrow spreads across Gunray's red orbs like a stain, openly darkening them. "But my collections, my keepsakes . . . "

"All of your most cherished items - save one - accompanied you here and will all go on with you to Mustafar," Haako merely shrugs, gesturing back in the direction of the boarding ramp, which had still had several containers piled high at its foot when Gunray entered the ship. "It is more important that we continue to escape with our lives, Viceroy. Another instant on Cato Neimoidia and the Jedi would have had us. Another instant on Invisible Hand and the Jedi would have had /Grievous/, and then where would be?"

Gunray's shoulders slump. "You warned me," he acknowledges, voice little more than a bitter whisper of a sigh.

"I did."

"We will receive aid in finding new worlds to settle when this war is won," Gunray desperately affirms, as if saying it out loud will make this increasingly less probable future reality come true.

"If this war is won, you mean. The Republic seems keen on driving us from the galaxy entirely," Haako scowls.

Gunray forces himself to raise his head high as he makes a dismissive gesture with his fat fingers. "Temporary setbacks only. The Republic has yet to see the face of its real enemy."

Haako merely hunches slightly at the reference, as if chilled. "But is even he enough, Viceroy?" he asks quietly, fearfully.

Gunray cannot find anything to say, though he has been asking himself much the same question for the past few standard months.

Despite Gunray's wish to remain positive in outlook, one thing is increasingly clear: the glory days of the Trade Federation have come to an untimely end. Ironically, the individual most responsible for that swift bright burning - as well as for the rise of Nute Gunray himself - is the same individual who has repeatedly betrayed them, and to whom Gunray and the other Separatists are now forced to look for salvation.

The Sith Lord, Darth Sidious.

Sidious had been there at Dorvalla and Eriadu, manipulating events to shunt power and influence to the Neimoidians, and so they had trusted the Sith Lord and taken his advice at Naboo as well, ordering a blockade of the planet and agreeing to the murder of Jedi, the invasion and occupation of the planet, and the assassination of the young Queen . . . only the Jedi had managed to escape, freeing the captured Queen, and the entire invasion had ended up being a debacle for the Trade Federation. Years of attempts by the Galactic Republic had followed to try to convict Gunray and his chief officers of wrongdoing, trying to break the hold that the Trade Federation has enjoyed on galactic shipping. Yet, not once during that time of public disgrace - or, for that matter, even afterwards - had Gunray ever mentioned the role that Sidious played in the events surrounding the failed invasion of Naboo.

Out of fear?

Certainly.

Yet, also because Gunray had been able to sense that the Sith Lord had not abandoned him completely. Indeed, in the aftermath of Naboo, the Dark Lord somehow always saw to it that the trials never came to fruition, that no lasting verdicts were rendered or punishments ever handed down to the Neimoidians. And as the Separatist movement gained in strength, threatening the security of ships and shipments in the far sectors, the Trade Federation had actually been able to increase the size of its standing army of battle droids by dealing directly with the foundry worlds, like Geonosis and Hypori. Making the most of the Republic's sudden instability, lucrative deals had been arranged between the Trade Federation and the Corporate Alliance, the InterGalactic Banking Clan, the Techno Union, the Commerce Guild, and other such corporate entities.

It was during his last trial that Gunray had been approached by Count Dooku of Serenno, who had promised him that all would ultimately turn out well for the Trade Federation. Count Dooku had been incredibly gracious and, in a moment of weakness, Gunray had revealed the truth about his dealings with Darth Sidious. Dooku had listened attentively and promised to bring the matter to the attention of the Jedi High Council, even though he himself had left the Order some years earlier. Although Gunray had suffered mixed feelings regarding Count Dooku's purpose in creating a Separatist movement - chiefly because the corruption in the Republic Senate had so often worked to the Trade Federation's advantage in the past - Gunray eventually decided that if Dooku's Confederacy of Independent Systems could eliminate even some of the bribes and kickbacks that were so increasingly commonplace in galactic trade, then so much the better. By and by, though, Dooku's real aims had been made clear: he was far less interested in providing an actual alternative to the Republic than he was in bringing the Republic to its knees - through the use of force, if necessary. In much the same way that the Trade Federation had amassed an army right under the nose of Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, Dooku - working in plain sight - had seen to it that Baktoid Armor Workshops were supplying weapons to any corporations that agreed to rally with him.

Nevertheless, despite the lure of increased power and profits that the additional weaponry could bring to the Trade Federation, Gunray had at first resisted offers to throw his full support behind Dooku's Separatist movement - at least not while there were still profits to be made in countless Republic star systems. Instead, in an effort to string the Count along and play a game of his own, Gunray informed Dooku that the death of former Naboo Queen Padmé Amidala, who had foiled Gunray on two occasions and had consistently been the loudest opposition at all of his many trials, would be a precondition to their entering into any binding, exclusive arrangement. In response, Dooku had hired a bounty hunter to oversee the business of her assassination, but both of the two attempts at killing Senator Amidala had failed.

Then came Geonosis.

Just when Gunray had finally had Padmé Amidala in his grasp - and on trial, no less, for espionage - Dooku had equivocated, refusing to have Amidala killed outright and not lifting a hand against the two Jedi who had also found their way to Geonosis until some two hundred more of them had shown up with a clone army that the Galactic Republic had somehow managed to grow in secret. That day had provided Gunray with the first in what would become a long series of narrow escapes. Hurrying to the catacombs with Dooku at their side, Gunray and Haako had barely managed to flee the embattled surface and recall what core ships and droid carriers remained before the Jedi and Republic clone troopers had overrun Geonosis completely.

By then, though, it was far too late for anyone to resign from Dooku's Confederacy.

The war had begun with Geonosis, and afterwards it was Dooku's turn for revelations: he, too, was a Sith, and his Master was none other than Sidious himself! Whether the Count was a replacement for the fearsome Darth Maul or had been a Sith mole during his many years in the Jedi Order, Gunray had neither been told, nor did he really care to discover. What mattered was simply that Nute Gunray was right back where he had been so many years earlier: in service to forces over which he had no control whatsoever. The feeling of having been manipulated into a position where he could be chivvied into a trap had been and remains difficult to dismiss.

While the war had been going well for the Separatists, the issue of whom Gunray truly served had scarcely been a problem. Trade had continued and the Trade Federation had continued to operate in the black. For a time, it had even appeared as though Sidious and Dooku's dreams of toppling the Galactic Republic might succeed after all. But then they had found themselves facing a worthy opponent in the person of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine - also from that cursed planet Naboo - who had never much impressed Gunray previously but who had, nevertheless, managed through a combination of charm and artfulness not only to remain in power long past his term of office but also, in conjunction with the Jedi, to increasingly successfully conduct the war. Slowly, the wheel had begun to turn, as one Separatist world after another was retaken by the Republic, and now Viceroy Nute Gunray himself had not only been driven from the Core but was being banished, along with the rest of the remaining Separatist Council, to a bunker on some remote backwater of an Outer Rim planet.

Nute Gunray has been suffering from an unshakable extremely bad feeling about the whole business of this bunker on Mustafar ever since Grievous said he was sending them there.

Gunray fears that the entire Sith-haunted process leading up to their banishment on Mustafar has been little more than a long drawn out tragedy for the Trade Federation and the entire Neimoidian species - perhaps even, before all is said and done, a tragedy for all of the corporations, all of the species, who have been similarly ensnared in Sidious' plans and Dooku's Confederacy of Independent Systems. With Dooku dead, none remain among the Separatists who can compel General Grievous to restrain himself. The only being who now has control over that monster is Sidious himself. And Gunray is certain that, with the possible exception of Count Dooku, no one within the Separatist movement has ever had any kind of control over Sidious. None of the Separatists - except for Dooku, of course - have ever even known who the Sith Lord really is under that black cowled robe of his. It is increasingly difficult to refrain from giving in to rapidly increasing feelings of paranoia and eminent betrayal and destruction, considering how little they actually know of the Sith Lord - except for the supremely noncomforting known facts regarding how often and how easily Sidious has already betrayed Gunray and the Trade Federation, not to mention his other allies among the Separatists.

"Even if he is enough for this war, I fear nothing and no one will ever be enough for the Neimoidian people," Haako sighs, echoing Gunray's own dark thoughts.

"Or any of us," the Viceroy finally agrees, unable to make himself dissemble any longer. "We have been played, used for fools. Sidious believes we will not dare to do anything to upset his plans because he believes that we believe we have no other choice but to continue on the road he has set us on. He believes that our fear and our greed will blind us to his treachery. And he has been proven right, so far. But we are better than this, Haako. We could not have amassed the fortunes and power that we have - that we all have, all of the many corporations and clans that make up the Separatist Council, and for years before he started meddling - if it were not so. We must be smarter than this one Sith Lord. We are all going to be in the same place, those of us who are left. Grievous has sent none but our own to watch over us. Surely, between those of us who remain, in the time that we are being given away from the business of this war, we should be able to come up with a way out of this trap. If we wish to survive this war and this Sith, we will have to think of something. Otherwise, one strike alone will be our undoing."

"Do you wish to convene the Council on this matter, Viceroy?" Haako asks hopefully.

"I wish that I were safe at home on Cato Neimoidia and had never even learned there were still Sith Lords in our galaxy. I will settle for a concerted effort to find a way to make this Sith rue the day he ever sought to play the likes of the Trade Federation for fools, thinking to trick us into buying our own destruction with his sleight of hand and his false words," Gunray grimly affirms.

"Then I will inform the others that their presences will be required in the meeting chamber within the next hour," Haako swears, his nod grim and his smile surprisingly vicious.

Neimoidians are not generally considered especially brave or warlike people, but even they will stand and fight, given the proper motivation - such as the preservation not only of themselves and their own lives but the actual future existence of their species.

Nodding, Gunray simply informs him, "I will be waiting in the meeting chamber," watching with a sad but determined visage as Haako hurries off to gather the far too few remaining Separatist leaders.

Too few remaining or not, he is increasingly sure that they will just have to be enough, if they wish to continue to live.

***