Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 257, Page 259 - Pride
It's raining heavily on Laxus, more so than usual.

The wind grew stronger, and dark clouds rolled in over the grasslands outside the city.

Tann watched as the raindrops pounded violently against the suite window, like an army of loyalists attacking her fleets and battle facilities across the galaxy every day.

Each raindrop leaves a mark on the glass that resembles death, before turning into invisible water stains and slowly flowing away.

The wind outside grew stronger, howling and groaning among the Gothic spires of the Parliament building, as if announcing the arrival of an uninvited guest.

Even without his precognitive abilities, Tann knew who was standing outside the door at that moment.

She gently touched the mechanism under the table, and the door opened.

“Count.” She stood up, pointed to a sofa, and walked around the table.

Count Dooku gladly accepted the invitation, stepped into the room, and surveyed his surroundings as if it were his own territory.

The Earl of Sereno waved his silk cloak and leaned gracefully against the sofa, one elbow on the armrest and his legs crossed.

Tann carefully examined the old man before slowly sitting down in the wing chair opposite him.

"I suppose your meeting with the parliament was very fruitful?"

Dooku wore a lightsaber and made no attempt to conceal the distinctive silver crescent-shaped hilt on his belt.

Tann had also placed her lightsaber within easy reach, its hilt quite plain compared to the elegant lightsaber of this combat mentor.

“A bittersweet experience,” Dooku commented. “Tann, you’ve caused me a lot of trouble.”

His tone was like a father talking to a disobedient child, or a disappointed tutor talking to a failing student.

Tann may not understand the former's feelings; people like her who make a living by interstellar travel rarely have the opportunity to experience fatherly love.

But the memory of the latter is etched in her mind, and this memory fuels her rage.

“I have done everything I could.” Tann looked at him through his expressionless red eyes, revealing no emotion, and pointed to the empty table. “I’m sorry I didn’t prepare any refreshments, Earl.”

Dooku glanced at the empty space where a vase could have been placed: "It's fine, I'm not in the mood for it anyway."

"So, you're not just here to make a show of things?" Tann placed his hands on his lap. "What are you doing here, Earl?"

For a fleeting moment, Dooku's eighty-two years of life experience were clearly visible on his face.

It was an expression of extreme exhaustion and weariness; he would never allow himself to be seen by anyone else.

He glanced at her lightsaber, then at her rank insignia as the highest commander, and finally looked out at the dark clouds.

“Diplomacy,” he finally said.

"diplomatic?"

“War is failed communication.” Dooku rubbed his fingers. “We can’t go to war without trying diplomacy. I came here through the Spiral Arm not to show off or gossip.”

"Really? But that seems to be your forte."

Dooku laughed, the most weary, bitter, and unsettling laugh Tann had ever heard him make.

The old count looked down at the ground, as if tracing the grain of the wooden floor with his gaze.

He clasped his hands together, looked up at her, and asked, "What do you want?"

The supreme commander looked at Count Sereno with a puzzled expression.

"Isn't that obvious enough?"

“Is that so?” Tann stared back at him intently. “Victory, a lasting victory, a victory that will etch my name into the history of the galaxy… and you’re in my way.”

“I have no reason to stand in your way,” Count Dooku replied calmly. “We don’t need to be enemies… That’s why I’m here. You know better than anyone how despicable and incompetent the Parliament and the Senate are. In times of war, blasters and warships hold power and influence. I control the blasters and warships in the North, and you control the South. If we cooperate, the Confederation will not need to split.”

Tann's eyes were half-closed, full of suspicion, his red eyes gleaming beneath his heavy eyelids: "Pleading is not for you, Earl. To me, you are like an old cat soaked in the rain. Has your master finally abandoned you?"

“My master…?” Dooku repeated, then chuckled. “Ah, yes, my master. You know about this, just as you know about his grand plan? I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am still taken aback.”

"As a Sith Lord, how can you be so convinced that your apprentices will not betray you?" Tann said with a hint of smugness. "Is it because you made them fight each other, their swords plunged into each other's bodies instead of yours? Or is it because you don't believe they are true Sith, that you think they have no ambition?"

“Or,” Dooku spread his hands, “it’s simply because of arrogance.”

“Arrogance.” Tann leaned back and nodded in agreement. “If your master believes you won’t betray him, then he certainly doesn’t consider you a true Sith, otherwise you would be dead long ago.”

“It’s entirely possible,” Dooku admitted. “Although I’m reluctant to admit it, I’m still alive, and he’s completely unaware of it and still firmly believes in his superiority. Just as you’re using my weaknesses against me, I’m using his weaknesses against him.”

Tann pondered his words carefully, recalling what Ryan Buntry had said to her and the Jedi girl the day after the Battle of Kolumex.

Those words that changed everything.

“Alright.” She opened her eyes and stared at the Earl. “We can cooperate. I will drop the charges and clear your name. But you must hand over the army and fleet to me and return the new territory to the jurisdiction of Laxus Sub-Star.”

She was met with silence, and the master and disciple were locked in a battle of wills.

A thunderclap resounded, and Ryan Buntry's words echoed in her mind.

“Or,” she whispered, “your pride won’t allow you to do it?”

Tann doesn't care about the Sith or the Jedi, nor about the dark or light aspects of the Force; she only cares about the resources needed to achieve ultimate victory.

No matter how much Ryan Bontri tried to dissuade her, she was fully willing to make peace with Dooku and show the galaxy a united front.

But this front must be united under one banner; this is the only way to win the war.

And this flag must be the flag of the Confederate armed forces.

Her flag.

Count Dooku is the head of state, but Tann is the supreme military commander of the Confederate armed forces.

His orders shall have no effect in her territory unless they are given through her.

“No,” Dooku sat up straight, “it’s not an equal exchange.”

“I do not seek an equal exchange,” Tann replied coldly. “I seek victory, and victory requires the allegiance of all Confederate military forces to my banner.”

Dooku raised an eyebrow, barely suppressing a mocking laugh: "Compromise is the path to victory. Are you really willing to open a second front? The choice is yours: either cooperate with me as equals and maintain peace until the Republic is destroyed, or go to war with me as you would with the Republic, pushing the hope of victory further away."

He was met with silence once again.

“Or,” Dooku whispered, “your pride won’t allow you to do it?”

"How interesting. Someone as eloquent as you ends up having nothing to say and can only repeat my words to refute me," Tann said with a hint of sarcasm.

“Just like you can’t prove your point to me with your eloquence,” Dooku smiled. “If you can’t do that, it’s either because your argument is bad or your debater is bad… Or is it that you can’t do it without Carly Trilm? Speaking of which, where is she?”

Count Dooku leaned forward slightly, as if trying to get closer to her, and whispered, "Supreme Commander, your reckless 'Operation Starburst' cost you the best captains and crew, and what was the result? You made no progress and suffered even more losses under the Republic's 'Operation Trident'."

Your fleet commanders are already in a state of chaos, and the incompetent Coles is suffering defeat after defeat in the north and is even begging my generals for help.

Trench was busy purging the remaining forces of the loyalists who had occupied the area near Peremian;
The shallow Fasta is struggling to hold on under attack from the Corellian Channel;
Finally, the stubborn Ambigenne grew increasingly obtuse, repeatedly running into Anakin Skywalker's defenses in the south.

(End of this chapter)