( 30 BBY )
Dooku wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he felt certain that the Dark Side on Coruscant had grown in strength in the few years since he visited. While the Jedi Temple still stood as a bastion of light surrounded by darkness, it now appeared just slightly dimmer. The shade seemed to reach even farther in on the great structure.
Of course he wasn't going to stay there. In the past, the Temple would have been more than happy to host him, but with current affairs he deigned not to dirty his boots with their spittle. Yoda could continue to do nothing, and Dooku wouldn't stop him.
His ship landed at the Cloud District Public Spaceport, a massive labyrinthine building that stretched for miles and miles of terminals, cafes, and waiting lounges in all directions. Common knowledge held that it was the largest space port in the Galaxy, but that wasn't true. Coruscant's moon, Centax-2, was the main distribution point for the Great Mouth. Every day billions of tons of cargo was unloaded there, before being distributed across the planet. The spaceport there wasn't accessible to the public, but covered the moon's entire surface and utterly dwarfed all others in the Galaxy.
Dooku was glad to leave the Public Space Port behind, as his speeder driver merged their vehicle with the afternoon traffic. As he flew through the senatorial district it appeared that little had changed. Some of the smaller businesses had been replaced with larger chains, but the people looked much the same.
It was only once you looked past the glittering streets of the Cloud District that you could see how wrong things really were on Coruscant. Public Security roamed the streets in squads, looking about themselves nervously even as they sneered at the homeless and destitute sleeping in the streets. The pipes which carried plasma up from the undercity to the heights of Coruscant gave off a hint of warmth that the poor clung to. They huddled together, standing shoulder to shoulder with their backs pressed to the walls as they rubbed their hands and breathed condensation into the air. Things must have been getting bad in the lower city for Public Security to ignore the homeless crawling up to the surface. The only reason they wouldn't force them back below was that they couldn't.
His destination was the district's main courthouse, a duracrete monolith seemingly identical to countless others strewn across the planet's surface. Legalese was one of the few things Coruscant still produced instead of consuming, and as the center of galactic law, it handled hundreds of millions of cases on a daily basis.
Or at least it was supposed to.
Like everything else about the Republic, its courts were bloated, inefficient and marred in politics, with cases taking years to properly begin and decades to resolve. That the initial hearing for the Trade Federation's lawsuit against him took only several months to set up was a bureaucratic miracle Dooku accredited to the publicity of him breaking Naboo's blockade, along with Sidious's political meddling.
Even as his speeder approached the Courthouse, he could see a gaggle of press waiting outside, parasitically hungering for an image or a few words from him. They were all merely tools of the megacorps. The largest journalistic outlets with the most reach were all institutions owned by his enemies, and the small outfits weren't worth his breath anyway.
The driver of his car was a member of the House Guard, and traveled in uniform. He stepped out of the passenger seat, blaster pistol openly carried on his hip, with his wide shoulders and powerful frame only looking more impressive in his black plastoid armor. His helmet bore a leering dragon.
After opening the door for Dooku, he walked at his side, along with the other House Guards who put themselves between him and the press. The reporters tried to shout questions at him over each other, but Dooku ignored them. Their screeches for attention meant little more to him than the rain that ran off the Palace roof.
A few of them brought camera drones that tried to zoom into Dooku's face, which he shoved away with a flashy show of the Force. Inside, he found the courtroom packed for the occasion, his opponent's bench filled with a dozen Nemoidian lawyers, wearing their traditional thick, layered robes and black, pointed hats. Culturally, the different hats were meant to indicate social status, but Dooku had never learned to distinguish them. No doubt there was an army of lawyers on Neimoidia right now, combing through millennia of legal decisions in an attempt to find even a sentence that could bolster their arguments.
Sitting at the end of that bench was his main opponent for today, the new Viceroy of the Trade Federation. Grib Siv was visibly different from other Nemoidians. He spoke accentless basic perfectly, and rather than the traditional garb of his species, he looked more comfortable in a set of high fashion Coruscanti robes. His shoulders and arms strained with obvious muscles, formed from what was no doubt a ruthless exercise regime, and he smoked openly, even now.
This wasn't a man chosen to lead as a compromise between warring factions, but someone raised up in a time of crisis for his ability to inspire confidence. Someone, possibly Palpatine, had trained him to conceal his thoughts and intentions, because Dooku felt nothing in his thoughts but easy confidence.
He felt certain of his victory.
In contrast, Dooku's team were mostly recruited from Raxus Secundus, though all wore clothes in the Coruscanti style for today. They'd come highly recommended by Dooku's friend the Duke, for their experience navigating the slow moving but powerful currents of the Galaxy's ocean of legal procedures.
Last to arrive was the judge, the most important man in this room. This courthouse was his kingdom, and like any king he had his own interests. He wanted to advance his career, and he wanted to leave on time to relax in the comfort of his home with his family. A large case like this that drew media attention could be a major source of trouble for him, or bolster his reputation for years to come. All of these things could influence his rulings, and the fact that he was willing to move Dooku's case forward demonstrated that someone or something already had.
This case hadn't yet gone to trial, but the courthouse was packed, despite that. Currently, Dooku's lawyer was attempting to convince the judge that the Trade Federation's lawsuit was ridiculous, and worthy of dismissal. It was a pointless effort, Dooku, Grib and the judge all knew this was going to end up before a jury, the main question was when.
Dooku paid attention, listening to the proceedings, and waiting for the outcome. There really shouldn't have been much to it at all, but suddenly Dooku sensed discord on the Federation bench. Siv leaned over and whispered something to the head of his legal team, who radiated surprise and irritation. The senior lawyer leaned back over, and tried to whisper something to Siv, a refusal of some kind or an attempt to dissuade, but was told firmly to, 'Do it.'
After a moment, the lawyer stood up and said, "Your Honor, we would like to request a small recess of thirty minutes."
What? It had only been twenty minutes. The whole proceeding should only have taken an hour or so.
The Judge looked over, eyebrows coming together in surprise as well. Whatever they were doing, the Judge didn't seem to be in on it. For a long moment it seemed like he would refuse the request, but then he glanced to the back of the court house.
"Very well." The judge changed his mind. "We'll have a short recess of thirty minutes, and then reconvene."
Dooku turned around in his chair, scanning the back of the courtroom for whoever the judge had taken his cue from, and among them, only one mind seemed to have known to shield itself from Force Intrusion. He was an older man in his fifties, wearing the uniform of Coruscant Security. The bailiff. He met Dooku's gaze, and smirked for a moment, before leaving the room as well.
"Why are they delaying?" Dooku asked, looking to his own lawyer. "They have the advantage."
"I don't know, your Majesty." He replied, honestly. "If I were in their shoes, I would pursue you with all vigor. It's in their interest to recover their assets as quickly and brutally as possible."
Dooku agreed.
When they left the courtroom, Dooku grimaced when he discovered Mace Windu waiting for him in the hallway.
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Apparently, chapters write themselves faster when Power Stones are involved. Who knew? Feel free to test the theory go ahead, toss a few my way.
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