Chapter 320
**Sidious' Private Hideout – Coruscant Undercity**
In the dimly lit sanctum deep beneath the Senate district, Darth Sidious stood motionless before a wide transparisteel viewport that offered a veiled view of the endless city lights above. The room was sparse, functional, and heavy with the scent of ozone and old incense.
Sly Moore entered silently, her pale Umbaran skin almost glowing in the low light. She moved with her usual graceful precision and stopped a respectful distance away.
"My Lord," she began, voice calm and melodic. "I met with the Jedi as requested."
Sidious turned slowly, hooded eyes gleaming with anticipation. "And?"
Sly's expression remained neutral, but there was a faint note of frustration beneath her words. "Nothing. His mind was… interesting. A clear blue sea, literally. Still. Reflective. Almost perfectly calm. Most likely the result of years spent in the Balance Corps. His mental discipline is comparable to Master Yoda's."
Sidious' fingers tightened slightly on the edge of his robe. A flicker of displeasure crossed his features.
"That displeases me," he said softly. "It means I cannot easily predict this Jedi. A mind like still water reflects only what is shown to it. He gives away nothing."
Sly inclined her head. "He is not empty, my Lord. There is depth. But it is… ordered. Controlled. He does not leak emotions or intentions the way most beings do. Even when I pushed, the surface remained undisturbed."
Sidious turned back toward the viewport, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Then we will have to watch him more closely. A Jedi who cannot be read is either a tool… or a threat."
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**Scene 2**
Count Dooku's holographic form flickered to life in the same chamber a short while later. The Count of Serenno bowed deeply.
"My Master. In two months the fleet will be ready for the attack on Coruscant. General Grievous and my apprentice, Selena, will launch diversionary attacks to force the Republic to spread their forces thin. It would greatly undermine all of Dagon's current efforts to win the war."
Sidious regarded his apprentice for a long moment before nodding once.
"Then let it be done."
Dooku straightened. "As you command."
The hologram vanished.
**Sidious POV**
Plots and plans unfolded like a grand opera — that was the goal.
With Valorum dead, no one of real consequence would dare oppose Palpatine for the Chancellorship. With these upcoming attacks, the war would extend indefinitely, bleeding the Republic dry while consolidating his own power behind the scenes.
Everything was proceeding exactly as he had foreseen.
He was unaware, however, that high above the physical meeting, in a state of Force Walk — his spirit detached yet fully aware — Dagon Marek hovered like a silent shadow, watching and listening to every word.
Dagon's ghostly form remained perfectly still, his expression unreadable even in the Force. He had suspected Sidious would move quickly after the Hutt treaty, but hearing the timeline confirmed — two months until a strike on Coruscant itself — sent a cold ripple through his spectral presence.
*Two months,* he thought. *Grievous and Selena as diversions. They want to stretch us thin and break the momentum I've been building.*
He remained unseen, a silent observer in the dark.
Sidious turned away from the viewport, a satisfied smile curling his lips beneath the hood.
"Soon," he whispered to the empty room. "Very soon."
Dagon's Force presence lingered a moment longer, committing every detail to memory, before he withdrew — silent as a ghost — back toward his own body aboard the *Finalizer*.
The war was about to accelerate once more.
And this time, he had heard the enemy's timetable with his own ears.