"So," Windu started once they were alone on one of the landing pads of the temple. "How long have you been working with Poof?"
"Ever since he knocked me out to see if Plagueis had turned me into a mole," Dark Woman answered casually.
Windu cocked a single brow. "I can imagine that conversation going poorly or wonderfully at first."
"Oh, I approved of the action. More so when the Grandmaster confirmed that Poof himself was not compromised," she remarked. "As you know, just as I have been heavily on Vader's trail these past years, he has been on Plagueis's."
Windu hummed. He was not happy about the Schism forming in the order, but it was good at least that some who were not focusing on Vader were at least focusing on the other Sith Lord.
"It was not too long after I finished up that lead about that nuked moon, Sojourn? All the trails to names of ownership led to long-dead people or defunct company entities, and there was nothing about it in any public records."
"And how did Poof factor in?" Windu asked curiously.
"We all have our friends and allies in strange places, Mace," the Dark Woman reminded with amusement. "Apparently, Poof had discovered this moon as well, and has a friend in one of some bureau or another who took note of a "dark and mysterious person" asking strange questions about Sojourn. Ironic, considering I was baiting Plagueis by being so obvious, but instead was captured by our own illusion master."
"That explains all but one thing," Windu remarked with a frown.
"Why is Poof now so ready to exchange notes on the Sith Lords?" the Dark Woman predicted.
"I believe what he said, about not wanting a break in order to split us in half. I also meant what I said about both sides having prepared too readily for that possibility instead of making efforts to work around our differing opinions," he remarked before frowning. "But I feel like there is more to it on Poof's part."
"There is, but he'd tell you for the asking," the Dark Woman informed with a tired smile of amusement. "Poof's conclusion on recent activities regarding Plagueis is similar to our own about Vader; Plagueis feels confident in his current position. This recent thing, claiming that there is a mole inside the order, unwitting or otherwise? And it is possibly merely a play to spread suspicion and division among us? Poof feels that Plagueis is getting bolder. Either from certainty or necessity, it's hard to say. But regardless, he's putting something into motion."
Windu frowned. "Plagueis and Vader are both growing more active around the same time. Coordination, or is one merely taking advantage of the other's movement?"
The Dark Woman narrowed her eyes. "You have an idea, don't you?"
"Business partners. That was the word Poof used for them," Windu reminded. "I'm wondering if perhaps some of Vader's operations over the years were done to benefit Plagueis, or his public persona at the least."
"All day, guess, you might."
They turned to see the Grandmaster floating towards them on his hoverseat, cane over his lap. "Grandmaster Yoda," they both greeted respectfully.
"Follow the lead before us, we should. Pondering those we cannot, fruitless they will be, for now," Yoda cautioned.
They didn't dispute his wisdom even if they knew they might not be able to follow it.
The Dark Woman hummed. "With all due respect, Grandmaster, but would it not be better for Master Poof to come along instead of you? Given Plagueis's potential involvement?"
Yoda shook his head. "Casting illusions, my speciality, is not. Sensing them, few better can, however. And yet Dooku, trust your words, he may not."
"He's right," Windu agreed. "Dooku is very disillusioned with the Order, but he still respects Master Yoda as his teacher. If the concern comes from Yoda, Dooku will take it seriously."
"More seriously than the Master of the Order?" the Dark Woman repeated.
Mace frowned, eyes growing distant. "We've had many disagreements in the past, opposing views. I'm hesitant to involve myself, lest it cause unneeded tension. But I want to see for myself what Dooku has dedicated his time to after leaving the Order."
"Involved in many things, he has, my old Padawan. Unknown, he wishes, some to remain, I believe," Yoda said without judgment.
Windu reserved judgment on that. Not all secrets were dark, and sometimes it was better and easier to help by remaining unknown. After all, the Jedi Order had undercover operations all the time.
The Dark Woman glanced over the cityscape of Coruscant. "Still, both the Master of the Order and the Grandmaster leaving the temple at the same time? That might grab some attention from those keeping an eye on the Order's movements, and there are many."
"True, this is," Yoda agreed with a steady look, saying nothing more as the trio moved to board a small ship to go to their destination.
Meanwhile
Lynn was obviously no stranger to death.
That said, she was still at least somewhat surprised when she walked in on Vader pulling his lightsaber out of a man's chest.
"I see someone had a poor job review," Lynn mused as she watched the corpse fall to the floor. Regardless, she crossed the room to the Dark Lord calmly as she regarded the kill with interest. "What prompted this? Another attempt to flee?"
"A poor try at assassination," Vader answered. "The fool wished to poison me."
"Poison you? I doubt they've ever seen you eat," Lynn remarked curiously.
"He was attempting a mediocre subterfuge in a desire to locate a private bacta tank he believed I had," Vader explained.
"Ahh, yes, you mentioned that. Most don't know that Plagueis healed you a great deal," Lynn recalled casually. "I'm amazed you trusted Muun to not try something horrible while you were vulnerable."
"That was why it was one of our first exchanges," Vader answered. "Plagueis had tasted the knowledge and secrets he knew I possessed about lost Sith artefacts."
"And doing that deal early meant he'd be too worried about losing access to those secrets if he failed to extract them from you forcefully," Lynn understood before smirking coolly. "Still, I imagine that it cost you quite a secret to get healing from him. And I imagine it'll cost you even more now to get aid in repairing that beast of a ship."
Vader was pointedly silent.
Lynn hummed. "You won't tell me, and you've been sitting on this one for a while, yet you seem to be focusing on me as you think of it now. I trust you aren't just going to hand me over to his research."
"Not you, no," Vader answered ominously. "You are not as unique as you might think, Arden Lynn."
Lynn's eyes, for a moment, widened at the implication. "Jedi or Sith?"
"In a manner of speaking, both," Vader answered vaguely. "But for now, that is no concern of yours."
"And that "for now" makes it inevitably my concern in some way," Lynn remarked with no small amount of unease. Regardless, she steeled her face and gave a brief bow of the head. "What do you wish of me, Lord Vader?"
"You have two assignments. In the short term, I need you to assist the others in overseeing some of the "Nutters" from the Executor," Vader answered.
"You want me to play as an orderly to deal with unruly patients?" Lynn asked, more confused than anything.
"These specific ones have power in the force," Vader answered. "Untapped and untrained. But even that can prove dangerous in these states of mania."
A fair point, Lynn privately conceded. "I'll try not to kill them. And the second? Are you sending me this mastermind behind that Albingi situation?"
"No," Vader denied. "I have a better task for you. I need you to meet with someone regarding our Kispa Operations."
Lynn stood a little straighter at that. Not because the Kispa Operations were inherently dangerous, but because Vader tended to get rather displeased if missions related to this failed.
"Where would you have me go, Lord Vader?"
Meanwhile
Plagueis had never been so happy to have "endured" a kidnapping attempt. He couldn't leave the Albingi's Blight situation unresolved, or rather, Hego Damask wouldn't do so without good cause. But the previous kidnapping situation gave him ample excuse to leave at the earliest convenience. Anyone, no matter how good-natured they were or tried to appear, would be understandably eager to get back to the safety of "home" or a similar personal haven.
He left the Albingi with all they needed. Three variants of the cure to test for the best result, proper instructions on how to administer said cures without triggering the death-knell effect, advisements on how to deal with the situation after the plants were cured, findings he made from his observations, notes on the blight, and even permission to contact him if the situation somehow got worse. Everything a reasonably benevolent man of his influence could reasonably be expected to do in this matter, and perhaps a bit more.
Yes, Hego Damask had done his part.
Now, Darth Plagueis was free to do his.
And there was so much for the Sith Lord to do! The origins of this plague and the mastermind behind it? That could wait. That was a much lower priority.
Vader's latest stunt? That took priority.
The Dark Lord had returned to his home world of Muunilinst and headed to his personal retreat of sorts. Not Hego's, Plagueis's.
Aborah, an island in the western sea, had belonged to the Damask clan for several generations now. It had always been perfect for Plagueis, for the smoking island was a small nexus in the Darkside. How fortunate was it that his family owned such a thing even before he became a Sith Lord?
Then again, that might have been a long-term investment or machinations of his master, or some previous Master of the Order of Bane. His master, Darth Tenebrous, had long since had control of the Damask Clan and planned to get an apprentice out of them even before Hego Damask was born.
Coincidence, fate, plot? It didn't matter. What did matter was that, if Plagueis had a home in this galaxy, it was Aborah. The deeper complex beneath the surface of the island was where many of his experiments were done and kept. He even created that same virus here, which had been robbing Sidious of his Force power before his death.
More importantly, this was where his more "official" work as Plagueis was also done. Schemes were devised, contacts made, arrangements set, deaths planned, deals undermined.
Currently, he was poring over information from various public records, checking for anything about the immense battleship Vader had unveiled over Albingi.
Chatter was, for now, minor. It would get louder soon, within a month, he imagined. Maybe two. Words from a remote and unimportant planet like Albingi? That could be ignored. But the Jedi knew. As much as the Senate was a fracturing mess, they'd still believe a confirmation from the Jedi Order. Would they do anything about it? Probably not, and Plagueis could pull some strings if needed. But the point was, the tale of Vader's Executor would eventually reach across the galaxy.
Plagueis sighed as he reclined back in a chair, staring at the screen. "Well, we did want to aggravate the situation. I suppose this will do it."
That was the plan, yes. They needed the civil war to kick off sooner rather than later, but Vader couldn't be seen as the one who set it off directly. So, what did Vader suggest? Be more obvious. Not reveal the location of where the Death Squadron called home for now, but don't try to hide that the fleet exists.
Vader wanted to raise the heat, to make someone else set off the powder keg. Planets were already raising their own private armies, and Vader was just motivating them to do it even more by showing hints of his own military power.
Plagueis was all onboard for that plan; everything was going well on his own end. But this little...sneak peek was less ideal.
He pulled up an image of a hologram of the Executor in all its damaged glory, sent courtesy of Vader's people. They were still sending updates about the total amount of damage to the superdreadnought.
"It's going to be hard to repair all of that. To do it in secret? When everyone will soon be looking for such signs of where it might be?" Plagueis asked himself, stoking his chin.
It was doable…very doable, just not ideal. If Vader hadn't exposed the ship like that, there would be a great deal more leeway to work with; but moving all of that material, not to mention the equipment to actually do the repairs. They'd likely need to rely on droids to help with the manpower, so as not to bring more into the loop on this.
He wondered, just what secrets Vader would trade for all these resources and aid? Because Plagueis was looking forward to something pleasant and new to busy his mind with.
...Though, he'd be lying if he personally wasn't interested in seeing such a vessel repaired. Such a massive warship was a novelty, an army unto itself, a mechanical manifestation of fear and might. Just staring at it gave him ideas; ideas on how to make such a vessel nearly self-sufficient. Ideas he might use as further leverage for Vader's knowledge, or his favors. Favors were always valuable.
He glanced at a small communicator he had placed on the terminal's desk. Vader hadn't contacted him. Given the circumstances, he was preoccupied with his Executor…potentially savoring the victory, the accomplishment. Still, that also meant nothing disastrous happened on his end, or at least nothing Vader deemed worthy of immediately warning Plagueis.
"Perhaps I should take this time to examine my own projects," Plagueis mused as he glanced back to the elevator, his mind wandering to the things deeper within this complex.
True, he could just check the reports from the droids monitoring his projects, but he liked the personal touch. After all, these were his personal curiosities, and he didn't always have the time to venture here in this increasingly busy age.
Meanwhile
It took the trio of Jedi Masters longer than one might have expected. Serenno might be directly connected to Coruscant by the path of a major hyperlane, the Hydian Lane, but two factors made that trip longer than normal. The first was that, at the end of the day, Serenno was in the Outer Rim and thus far along the path. The second?
"There is a great deal of traffic," Windu mused to himself. They had to drop out of hyperspace a few times already, the congestion in the hyperlanes requiring them to stop and allow the ship to recalibrate its path to avoid collision. Normally, having to do that even once on a trip with a well-charted path was something to comment on. "Even for the Hydian way, this is rather excessive."
"Worried, many are. Take lesser paths, they dare not," Yoda remarked knowingly as they re-entered hyperspace.
"Master Yoda is right," the Dark Woman agreed with a frown. "I've noticed it more and more over the years. With pirates and other threats growing, ships stick to the safest routes the most. Before, there were always a fair few willing to take the lesser lanes. The Bureau of Ships and Services even paid pilots willing to help chart the underused, less updated paths. But now, the average pilot feels more unsafe taking the routes they don't know are secure from pirates. Thus, the hyperlanes have become increasingly congested."
Mace hummed. He had heard from others that there were some problems with hyperspace traffic as of late, but he had never known it was this bad. It wasn't that he stayed exclusively on Coruscant in the past years, but most of his travels hadn't involved heavy use of the hyperlanes.
Delays aside, they eventually arrived in Serenno's orbit and sent out a signal to Dooku's estate, waiting for a response as they steadily approached.
"He definitely sensed us by now," the Dark Woman remarked as the wait continued. "Perhaps we came at a bad time?"
"Perhaps," Yoda agreed idly, sensing no danger in the Force. After all, Dooku was the duke of this world, and that came with its own duties.
Finally, the communicator pinged as a small hologram of Dooku's torso and head appeared. "Well, this is a rather unexpected visit, my friends," Dooku greeted, his voice welcoming yet interested. "What brings the Master of the Order and the Grandmaster to distant Serenno?"
"There's been a potential development in this region, one that we felt the need to inform you of in person," Windu informed stoically.
"Truly? Has something so dire slipped my notice?" Dooku asked, his face betraying nothing as he looked between the two Jedi.
"Know for sure, we do not. If not, a reunion, if nothing else, my old Padawan," Yoda offered with a warm smile.
A hint of a similar smile came to Dooku's face as he nodded. "Very well. Welcome to Serenno, my friends."
The transmission ended, prompting Yoda and Windu to share a look. While they didn't expect any hostilities, Dooku may not respond well to this... surprise inspection, even if he'd likely understand the need for it.
Soon they brought their ship to land near Castle Serenno and found their ship was not the only one to land here. "Company, it would seem, he has," Yoda noted curiously.
Windu raised an eyebrow as they landed. His curious look remained as he disembarked the ship, looking to the other ship. It was a skiff, albeit a fairly high-class one with a silvery coating. He hadn't seen this ship before, but the Force was tugging him in a manner similar to a memory at the edge of being recalled.
"Well, we seem to be very popular today."
And perhaps he had just found the cause.
"Welcome to Serenno, Master Jedis. We were about to eat. Would you care to join us?" a woman greeted, the picture of hospitality.
Yoda chuckled to himself in that grandfatherly way that none were sure how much was natural or intentional. "Delighted, we would, Shmi Skywalker."
"Ah. So you do remember me, Grandmaster," Shmi noted, more neutrally.
Mace didn't remember the mother of every Jedi he happened to meet, but he had made it a point to remember this woman. "It was a most...memorable day when we met you, Ma'am."
Shmi nodded in silent understanding. "I imagine it was," she said, falling silent for a second as they all recalled that day years ago; Vader's arrival on Coruscant, the battle with Sidious, the storm that scarred the planet. "Well, enough of that. I'm sure you have something important to talk to the Count about before eating. He's already waiting for you in his study."
The two Jedi Masters nodded as they followed after.
"Also, should I prepare two plates, or three?"
They paused at that, surprised by that question. Yoda's melted into mirth chuckles. "Impressive, Madam Skywalker, most impressive!"
"Indeed," The Dark Woman said with a frown as she revealed herself. "Most Jedi can't sense me, but you can?"
Shmi gave them all a patient smile. "I'm no Jedi, but I've learned a few things while working for Dooku."
Mace hummed, reminding himself to not underestimate this woman.