The command bunker beneath Handuin plateau still smelled of ozone and scorched metal even after the rain had washed most of the battlefield clean. I stood at the head of the long duracrete table, arms folded, the faint hum of the overhead glowpanels casting long shadows across the faces of the newly arrived Jedi. Obi-Wan Kenobi sat directly opposite me, calm as ever, but the others—Master Buck Sirrus, Pak Norcuna, Dara Leska, Sana-Jis Ilova, Jeb Glaive, and the rest of the Council's reinforcements—watched me with a mixture of awe and unease. Their fresh robes looked almost obscene against the mud-streaked walls and the scarred armor of my clones.
Ahsoka was still in the med bay, but the bond between us thrummed steadily now. She was awake, listening through the connection, her presence a quiet anchor in the back of my mind. *Tell them only what they need to hear,* she sent, the thought laced with wary amusement. *They won't believe the truth anyway.*
I didn't smile. Not here.
"Welcome to Jabiim," I said, voice level. "Or what's left of it."
Obi-Wan inclined his head. "We came expecting a siege, General Marek. Thirty-two Accumulator-class cruisers and fifty Consulars, fresh from the yards. Instead we dropped into a graveyard. The orbital debris field alone is… unprecedented. What happened here?"
I let the silence stretch just long enough for every Jedi in the room to feel it. Then I spoke the story we had all agreed upon—the one the clones would repeat without deviation, the one the loyalists had already begun spreading across the surviving settlements.
"The ion storms," I said simply. "The ones I warned the Council about before we ever landed. You saw the reports I sent two weeks ago. Jabiim's atmosphere is a nightmare of charged particles and magnetic shear. The Separatists ignored every warning. They brought two million droids, full armored columns, Durge, Nightsister assassins, and an entire blockade—ten Lucrehulks, fifty Munificents, thirty Recusants. They thought numbers would win. They tried orbital bombardment once the dispersal rockets burned temporary windows in the clouds."
I gestured to the tactical holotable. A replay of sensor logs—carefully edited—showed the enemy fleet descending too close, too eager. "Their droid commanders didn't calculate the distance from the planet correctly. They dropped into the upper ion layer instead of maintaining safe orbit. The storms did the rest. Lightning chains hit every capital ship simultaneously. Reactors overloaded. Hulls fused. Entire formations fell burning through the atmosphere. What didn't burn on re-entry crashed into their own ground forces. Two million droids and three hundred thousand nationalists turned to slag in under an hour."
Master Sirrus leaned forward, brow furrowed. "A natural phenomenon of that scale… it's almost impossible to believe."
"Almost," I agreed. "But the planet itself recorded it. Every sensor buoy we managed to keep online caught the same data. The lightning didn't discriminate—droid, organic, ship, walker. It simply erased them. We held the high ground at Handuin and watched it happen. The storms closed again afterward. That's why your fleet dropped into empty space."
Obi-Wan studied me for a long moment. I felt him reach gently through the Force, testing, probing. He found only calm certainty—the story I had drilled into every clone and every loyalist who had witnessed the truth. The clones especially had followed my orders to the letter: say nothing beyond the official report. Puck, Sumeragi, Blam, Mirro—they would die before they contradicted me. The bond with Ahsoka hummed approval in the back of my mind. *They believe you. Good.*
Master Leska exhaled slowly. "The Council will want a full report. But… the evidence is undeniable. The debris field matches exactly what you describe. No Separatist signatures remain. The planet is ours."
"Secure," I corrected. "Not ours. Jabiim belongs to the Jabiimi now. Alto Stratus and his remaining nobles are in custody. The loyalists under Orliss Gillmunn have begun integrating with our forces. The mines are under Republic protection until the Senate decides their final status. The war here is over."
A ripple of shock passed through the Jedi. Jeb Glaive's massive frame shifted uncomfortably. "Over? We brought an entire strike force expecting months of planetary combat."
I met his gaze evenly. "Plans change when the planet itself fights on your side."
Obi-Wan's expression remained thoughtful, but I saw the flicker of doubt he quickly masked. He believed the story because the evidence supported it and because I had sold it with absolute conviction. The others followed his lead. Jedi Council reinforcements—thirty-two Accumulators and fifty Consulars—had arrived to a victory already written in fire and ash. They would carry that story back to Coruscant.
I let the silence settle, then spoke again.
"Ten of your Accumulator-class cruisers will be reassigned immediately. They will transport my corps—fifty thousand clones, the prisoners, and essential equipment—directly to Coruscant. We will deliver Alto Stratus and the captured nationalist leadership to the Senate in chains. The Chancellor and the Council will receive a full briefing in person."
Master Norcuna's lekku twitched. "Ten cruisers? That's nearly a third of the task force. The Senate—"
"Will understand," I cut in calmly. "This campaign was authorized under specific terms. I fulfilled every objective. The bet I made with the Council and the Chancellor before we left Lantilles stands. Capture Alto Stratus and deliver him alive, and the position of High Jedi General becomes mine. Obi-Wan currently holds a temporary seat on the Council. That seat—and the authority attached to it—now transfers to me."
The room went dead silent.
Master Glaive's voice rumbled like distant thunder. "You cannot be serious. High Jedi General is a wartime command rank granted only by unanimous Council vote and Chancellor approval. It is not a wager."
I turned my head slowly. "A bet is a bet, Master Glaive. The Chancellor himself witnessed the terms. Palpatine agreed. The Council agreed. I have the recording of the session. Stratus is in binders. Jabiim is secured. The Separatist fleet that threatened this sector is floating slag. The terms are met."
Obi-Wan's eyes widened fractionally—the first visible crack in his composure. "Dagon… the Council never intended—"
"They intended exactly what they said," I replied. "I warned them about the ion storms. I warned them about the risks of sending a single corps. They sent me anyway. I delivered. Now I collect."
The other Jedi shifted, shock rippling through the Force like aftershocks. Sana-Jis Ilova's voice was tight. "This would place an untested Knight—however capable—in command of entire sector armies. The precedent—"
"Was set the moment they made the wager," I said. "The clones already follow my orders. They will not answer to anyone else on this matter. The loyalists have accepted Republic oversight under my command. The rank is mine."
Obi-Wan rose slowly. "We will verify the recording. If the Chancellor and the Council truly bound themselves to those terms—"
"They did," I said quietly. "And you will escort the ten Accumulators personally if you wish. But the ships leave within the hour. My forces are boarding now."
I felt Ahsoka's presence brush against mine through the bond—warm, steady, a little awed. *You're really doing it.*
*Yes,* I sent back. *Watch them react. This is how we change the board.*
Master Glaive's massive hands clenched on the table. "This is unprecedented. Dangerous."
I met his stare without blinking. "So was sending one corps against two million droids and a full blockade. Yet here we are."
The silence stretched. No one argued further. They couldn't. The evidence was orbiting above us in pieces, and the prisoners were already being loaded onto the designated cruisers.
I turned to Obi-Wan. "Master Kenobi, you may accompany the convoy if you wish. The Chancellor will want to hear the full report from a Council member. The rest of the fleet can remain to secure the planet until the Senate decides its final status."
Obi-Wan studied me for a long moment, then gave a single nod. "I will come. Someone must bear witness to what has happened here."
"Good." I straightened. "Then it's settled. Ten Accumulators will depart for Coruscant within the hour. High Jedi General Marek will deliver the victory—and the prisoners—to the Senate in person."
The other Jedi remained in stunned silence as I walked from the room. Behind me, the bond with Ahsoka hummed with quiet pride.
*A bet is a bet,* I thought, letting the words echo through our connection.
And for the first time since the lightning fell, the dark side felt almost… satisfied.
The rain outside had stopped. For the first time in weeks, pale sunlight broke through the clouds over Handuin.
The war on Jabiim was over.
The real war was only beginning.