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He watched with approval as Harry leaned in, listening intently and even the Force Ghost looked as if she was taking it in murmuring something in a language he didn't understand to the boy, who did not answer verbally with other people around. Good Dooku thought, rather amused. The last thing we would need is some people questioning whether or not the young padawan is sane.
Master Fay eventually sighed, leaning back from her chair and shaking her head. "Five attacks of that severity, with that many deaths? I apologize, I had not realized that pirates were that bad in this sector."
"You could not have known milady," count Luther replied gallantly, bowing his head formally to her from where he sat. "We have heard of you, indeed you would be hard-pressed to find a system government in the Outer or Mid Rim that hasn't heard rumors of the great Jedi Master Fay and her ability to quell violence and end conflicts. But I do not know if even your abilities would be able to do anything about this."
"Not unless we can find a single pirate base," Harry mused thoughtfully, before nodding his head politely to count Grimaldi, who had been controlling the hologram device for a few moments. "May I?"
The older man nodded his head, leaning back as Harry began to manipulate it, changing the view here and there as if he was searching for a pattern, not just with his physical senses but with the Force. "I did the same thing padawan," Dooku said with a shrug. "Yes, if the pirates had a single base a short sharp campaign would see them off, but I'm afraid I wasn't able to find any kind of pattern. Worse, the attackers might not all be pirates. Some could be ships from other sectors, poorer sectors admittedly, raiding our commerce because they have needs their own cannot meet. Privateers I believe the term is."
Harry grimaced, leaning back and frowning thoughtfully as he touched that odd looking scar on his forehead.
At the same time Master Fay's quiet voice brought everyone's attention back to her as she sighed, sadly. "I am a Jedi of peace. I am not a Guardian or a sentinel I am a Consular. I do not even have a lightsaber to my name. I refuse to believe that conflict, combat, should ever be a first recourse."
She inhaled deeply before going on. "That being said, the pirates are obviously a real issue and even I know that conflict between the different segments of the Republic are real. I think that those differences could still be worked out through dialogue, but not pirates. With that in mind, you must see to your own people I believe."
More than one of the counts' faces went still in shock, staring from Dooku to the new Master. Dooku allowed a wintry sort of smile to cross his face, and said blithely "Yes, but the Republic Senate has been death on that kind of thing for centuries. We have no local societal reason to have a large offensive military like that, and there have been other systems and sectors that have been smacked down for trying to build their own fleets.
"Even Corellia isn't allowed to create an offensive fleet." Said one of the as-yet unintroduced counts, his voice that of someone with an ancient bone to grind. "This despite Republic laws allowing them to build those monstrous in-system defense ships of theirs."
"Then I think the Senate should not have agreed to allow the Trade Federation to arm itself," Harry said with a frown, looking up from his work on the hologram. "That set a bad precedent, even I know that. And the Trade Federation is also already an offensive force with those giant ships of theirs, I'm sorry I can't remember the name of them, and the number of fighters they can transship. So long as you don't robotize your military to that extent, I fail to see how the Senate would be able to make more than grumbling noises. Peace is all well and good," he said with a quirky smile towards his Master, who chuckled, shaking her head at what was obviously an old argument between them. "But the ideal of peace can be taken too far: you need some steel to back it up."
More than one of the counts chuckled at that, and Dooku raised his hand in the ancient gesture of a fencer acknowledging a touch.
"So long as you don't raise land troops, the factions within the Senate will not be able to stop you from creating your anti-pirate fleet. But I would recommend that you keep your number of offensive capital ships to a minimum just for the appearance of things," Master Fay said shrugging her shoulders. "Other than that, I'm afraid I am not the Jedi Master you need to ask questions about military things."
"I on the other hand am," Dooku said leaning forward intently. "My own recommendation as you will all remember, was to create a small extremely elite pilot corps, along with locally built starfighters. Take some of the designs coming out of Kuat to start, and build on them." His eyes locked on a few of the counts, who had wanted to build capital ships rather than starfighters. "Starfighters, backed by system patrol ships can handle the pirate menace without being seen as a danger by our neighbors. This needs to be both a show of strength and restraint, a rapier rather than a broadsword."
They all nodded their heads agreeably, won over to his argument by the newcomers and their sudden backing of it.
The conversation continued from there, though Harry did not take part, having provided what Dooku mentally labeled as the voice of the youthful outsider already. He did however notice the boy going over the hologram, still looking for a pattern for some reason. He was also writing something down on a small data pad, with his mother, grandmother, something other or other looking over his shoulder and whispering in that language in his ear. He was apparently nodding to himself as far as the counts knew, and Dooku had to fight back an amused smirk at the duplicity the two were showing. Evidently this wasn't the first time the two of them had done this little act.
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