Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 144, Section 146 - The New Order!
Palpatine was genuinely surprised when he heard the name Severn Tann and learned that she had become the Supreme Commander of the Separatists and was working to reform the Confederate army, which was inefficient.

Is Severn Tann still alive?

He even became the supreme commander?

When did Tann return from Bosavuy?
When was she elected?

Why didn't the Republic Intelligence Agency report this to him?

Shouldn't Armand Isad be replaced?
This "Pantora man" has recently been missing for an extended period, a fact that has been noted.

She disappeared without a trace in the period leading up to the Bosa coup and the Battle of Kolmogoks.

There were some rumors at the time.

The Confederate Second Fleet is still on track at Bosavoy, but its commander is nowhere to be found.

The ground forces were commanded by a single colonel.

Palpatine had previously held out hope and planned to launch an investigation to uncover the truth behind Tann's tragic death.

But now she's still alive?

That's really... disappointing.

He could feel the burning anger within him.

He didn't have to deal with Severn Tann himself; he assumed... he was certain... Dooku would handle her.

That's Dooku's job.

That's the significance of Duku.

This is what an old and frail apprentice should do.

But Dooku messed it up.

Palpatine struggled to suppress his anger, showing only moderate concern.

“Then we must redouble our efforts to ensure security,” Palpatine said, his expression smoothing out. “Have Naval Command redeploy the ‘Shadow Fleet’… what’s it called again?”

He selected a group of bright spots in the deep core area and loudly read out their numbers, "Fifth Deep Core Reserve Fleet, redeploy the Fifth Reserve Fleet to take over the defense zone previously held by the First Reserve Fleet. Once they are in place, the home fleet can be recalled to Coruscant."

Palpatine smiled.

The Independent Galaxy Confederation is playing its role admirably.

“What do you think, Speaker?” Ameda asked.

What do you think?
Palpatine felt it was time to put the Confederacy to use again.

Assassination, murder... these methods are extremely unreliable.

There are probably too many things that could go wrong.

Separatists can claim to be completely unaware, or even falsely accuse the Republic of plotting trouble on one of their member planets.

The Republic's agents might make a mistake and then trace it back to the office he's sitting in now.

Hiring bounty hunters is riskier.

Palpatine wasn't so desperate as to resort to such crude methods.

Armand Issaad lacks imagination.

When you can get your enemy to make mistakes on their own, there's no need to take such uncertain risks.

Is Admiral Salima inside the star system?

“The Coruscant homeland defense fleet has not been affected by the recent redeployment,” Isad confirmed confidently. “Admiral Honor Salima is still doing his utmost to defend Coruscant, so there is nothing to worry about, Speaker.”

“Our core world will certainly be worried about the departure of the First Reserve Fleet,” Palpatine said, looking directly into the director’s eyes. “Have Admiral Salima withdraw some troops from her fleet to garrison those poorly defended planets.”

Palpatine noticed for the first time a hint of hesitation flashed across Isad's resolute face.

“It is indeed a commendable symbolic gesture…” Isad drawled, carefully choosing his words, “but it is not entirely wise, as it will make Coruscant extremely vulnerable.”

“I agree with the director’s opinion,” Ameda admitted with a helpless expression.

"What about our warships? Can they be recalled to Coruscant?"

Mas Ameda squinted and asked, "Are you worried about potential attacks, Speaker?"

I foresaw this long ago.

Beneath his benevolent exterior, Darth Sidious's dark thoughts churned.

The game has changed.

This is obvious.

But this is just a minor setback.

My grand plan is not so fragile that it will fail because of the first obstacle.

I have other clues to follow, other conspiracies to carry out, and other backup methods available.

My empire will surely be established.

However, doubts still whispered in my heart.

Did Dooku fail?

He understood the threat posed by that Qis man better than Palpatine did.

Such carelessness is unlike his usual style.

What if... what if... what if Count Dooku decides to "go their separate ways"?
If this is true... if this is true...

Perhaps... perhaps it's time to test his apprentice and see where his true loyalty lies.

But how do we test it?

Dooku must be forced to choose between his grand plans and what he truly cares about… or someone. As for Severn Tann, I'll deal with her myself when the time is right.

The war will continue.

I foresaw this.

The Speaker pointed to a mark on the star map that he had noticed from the beginning, but which seemed to have been overlooked by Director Isad.

It is small, with a simple design, and displays no more than a hundred ships.

“This…” He pointed with a bent finger, “Forst, this is a security risk. What intelligence has the Republic’s intelligence agency gathered?”

Armand Issaad licked his lips and quickly flipped through the data panel, focusing the display on the Frost Galaxy.

The single red marker was dispersed into about seventy different warships, concentrated in the north of Frost.

A planetary ring encircles the planet, and the Forrest Shipyard, one of the largest and oldest shipyards in the galaxy, dates back 24,000 years.

A thousand years ago, after the Russan Reforms, the Republic sold this shipyard to the Technological Alliance... the same Technological Alliance that is now allied with the Separatist Alliance.

“Look here,” Palpatine said, pointing to the many black dots moving between the shipyard and the planet. “If I remember correctly, the Republic Intelligence Agency identified these objects as cargo ferries.”

“The only inhabitants of Forrost are miners,” Isard confirmed. “Those ferries transport supplies from the planet to the Forrost shipyard.”

“This means they’re building something,” Palpatine said, placing his hands flat on the table as he stood up. “What are they building?”

“Despite our best efforts,” Isad said, flipping through documents, “the shipyards of the Technological Alliance remain as difficult to penetrate as ever. Although it is hard to admit, the Skakos are indeed experts in operational security… mainly because they only employ their own people. However, some of our scout ships were able to observe the shipyards up close before they were driven away. We are currently writing a report, which you can take a look at first.”

The galaxy map was replaced by a series of holographic images of the Frost & Co. dry dock.

Through manipulation, the circles and indicator arrows focus on certain details that would be almost imperceptible without advanced image analysis technology.

“What are we looking at, Chief?” Mas Ameda stepped forward and peered closer to examine it.

“We observed sustained high-intensity activity in the shipyard’s dry dock, and industrial emissions were in line with the expected levels for large-scale interplanetary construction. We also visually identified…” the director pointed to a tiny shadow that was almost completely hidden behind the planetary rings, “…that looked like the power modules of multiple spacecraft, hidden in the radar shadows of the planetary rings.”

“Wait a minute,” Ameda said, taking a step back in surprise, “All the dry docks are operational? How many dry docks are there in this ring?”

"Nearly two hundred."

The Chagrian looked like he wanted nothing more than to beat Armand Isad with his scepter. "You mean the separatists are building a fleet right under our noses, only five hours from Coruscant?"

"This……"

"Why didn't we know about this before?" Ameda pressed, her tone tinged with annoyance.

“Because whatever the separatists are building, they have no indication of being exposed in the short term,” Isad replied briefly. “We can accurately track the construction progress of their fleet through the activity of the dry docks. Although the Technological Alliance tries to cover up the construction progress, it is clear which docks have been completed and which have not. Of these approximately two hundred docks, only half have seen a reduction in activity.”

"One hundred warships."

“Not only that,” Isad continued, his gaze shifting between the Speaker and the Vice Speaker, “Vice Speaker Ameda, as you pointed out, such news, especially at such a critical moment, will cause chaos once it gets out of the Senate, and then spread to the media. This is not the kind of situation we want to see on the entire galactic news network… The Republic Intelligence Agency recommends forming a task force to deal with this threat, but not revealing it too early, lest the Technological Alliance realize that we have already targeted them.”

The Speaker gently tapped the communicator on the table. "Slye, may I come in for a moment?"

It was as if she had been waiting for this moment outside the door.

Sly Moore walked into the office, like the Scrith of Umbral, clad in a shadow cloak, gliding almost close to the ground.

The speaker's senior administrative assistant, pale and lifeless, bowed and awaited orders impatiently.

Sly Moore could have been the perfect apprentice; she was highly capable, ruthless, and most importantly, unwaveringly loyal.

Unfortunately, she could only use the Force to touch and manipulate other people's minds, nothing more.

She was indeed very useful, so she became his chief of staff, but her abilities were not enough to gain him more favor.

However, Palpatine felt that her unwavering loyalty and enthusiasm deserved to be rewarded.

When he announces the new order and rules the galaxy as emperor, Sly Moore will be by his side.

“My dear,” Palpatine said kindly, transferring the data onto a chip and handing it to the Umbala man. “Please pass this information on to the Senate Security Committee and the Senate Military Oversight Committee. Director Isad, I also want you to pass the same information on to the Intelligence Oversight Committee.”

Sly Moore responded immediately and without hesitation: "Understood, Speaker."

Armand Issaad, however, was more curious: "May I ask what the purpose of this is, Speaker?"

“Director, like you, the loyal members of these committees will realize the danger of such critical information,” Palpatine said with a calm smile. “However, now that three different committees have obtained this data, it’s only a matter of time before it reaches the Senate. Once they realize this, astute members of the Senate will draft a bill to ensure that the media never learns about this information.”

“The only way to achieve this is to ban all private media,” Ameda realized. “If all parties realize the impact of this message, this bill… might get enough support.”

“That is indeed the case, my dear Deputy Speaker,” Palpatine said, glancing at the list of committee members and already selecting who would draft and submit the bill. “The Senate will grant this position more power… which, of course, is against my will.”

Armand Issaad shifted his body and said impatiently, “Indeed, this is very advantageous to you, Speaker. But can we return to the topic of the peace summit? Let me remind you, if the war ends and you are forced to hand over the remainder of your term, all of this will be meaningless.”

“Director, the safety of the Republic must be the top priority,” Palpatine insisted. “This… ‘Forster’ fleet must be contained. If they break out, the damage they will cause will be unimaginable. Are there any available forces in the core region to reinforce the blockade?”

“The Fifth Reserve Fleet will be redeployed as you command, Speaker,” Director Isad said, pursing his lips. “Isn’t that enough security?”

“That would take too long. We have to convince the Senate of our resolve to defend ourselves,” Palpatine said slowly as he sat back down, showing no sign of worry. “We have… that victory plan, right?”

“The Victory Initiative,” the director corrected coldly.

“Yes,” Palpatine pointed meaningfully, “Is our new cruiser ready? I’ve heard the project is progressing well.”

“The useful combat and operational data we’ve gathered from our Explorer has brought forward the projected completion date,” Isard provided, completely unaware of the Speaker’s true intentions. “With a little persuasion, Quarte and Lundley could deploy the first batch of Victory-class cruisers within months, or even weeks.”

“Immediately,” the Speaker emphasized, “deploy the warships that are ready immediately, and follow up with the rest on schedule. It is of utmost importance to strengthen our fleet in Frost as soon as possible.”

"In Frost?" The director slammed his fist on the table. "Speaker, deploying our newest battlecruiser to Frost will make the separatists think we...!"

Isad suddenly stopped speaking, his wrinkles deepening as he slowly grasped Palpatine's intention.

The Director of the Republic's Intelligence Agency was a smart man, and when he met the gaze of the most powerful man in the galaxy without flinching, Palpatine could see a strange sense of admiration rising within this composed man.

Armand Issaad gave a rare, slight, cold laugh. "Everything is done according to your orders. The separatists, the republic... no, the entire galaxy is looking in the wrong direction."

The Speaker of the Republic shook his head solemnly. "We should have realized that those despicable separatists were not negotiating in good faith."

Palpatine thought to himself that if Director Isad were a more cheerful person, he would probably be laughing out loud by now.

(End of this chapter)