In Serenno Palace, a pale blue light coalesced in the darkness, revealing the figure of Darth Sidious.
Clad in the iconic deep-hooded scarlet robes of the Sith, his hood cast shadows that concealed most of his face, leaving only the sharp lines of his jaw visible.
Dooku knelt on the cold floor, bowing deeply in reverence. "Master," he intoned respectfully.
"Dooku." Palpatine nodded slightly, his pupils glinting coldly in the dim light. "I've been waiting for you."
"I suspect you summoned me regarding the incident on Rois-VI," Dooku said, raising his head to meet Palpatine's gaze. "I've investigated as you instructed. Master Plo Koon is handling the aftermath on-site and has confiscated all of Seth Hart's collections, including artifacts of the Dark Side of the Force."
"Not ideal," Sidious growled, his voice low and displeased. "But not fatal either. What's happening over in the Confederacy? What useful intelligence have your contacts provided?"
Sidious had always cross-verified Dooku's intelligence network with his own channels.
"A spy within Senator Vidal Kim's inner circle reported that they discussed the matter at a reception," Dooku said respectfully. "Should we exploit this incident politically, Master?"
"We can proceed, but with utmost caution," Sidious said, his hooded cloak swaying slightly. "The Jedi Order will undoubtedly defend that Warrior, even launching a propaganda campaign in the Senate. Overzealousness will only draw unwanted attention."
His voice turned icy. "I must avoid revealing my ambitions until I've secured my position in the Senate. Even after that, we must remain discreet. I'll communicate with certain Senators who already resent the Jedi's overreach."
"And that Jedi Knight who defeated Hart," Sidious added. "He's surprised me twice now. He's exceptional—capable of defeating Seth Hart head-on. While he may not surpass an ordinary Master, he cannot be ignored. He's disrupted our plans. Can he be made to serve our purposes?"
Dooku frowned. "Is he truly that important?"
"You've displayed astonishing incompetence once again, Dooku," Sidious retorted, his voice as cold as a winter's night. "The Separatist cause is your last chance. I needn't remind you what awaits you if you fail again."
Dooku bowed lower. "As you command, Master. Everything according to your will."
"Don't disappoint me, Count Dooku," Sidious said, waving his hand. The holographic projection flickered and vanished, leaving darkness to envelop the room once more.
After the Dark Lord's image disappeared, Count Dooku rose with elegant poise. Despite having knelt for an extended period, his movements showed no sign of stiffness or imbalance.
Even when alone, one must always maintain noble composure.
Solo slowly regained consciousness. The burning pain in his right eye had subsided somewhat, though it still lingered.
Opening his eyes, he found himself lying on a hospital bed surrounded by unconnected medical equipment. The air was thick with the distinctive scent of disinfectant.
Turning his head, he saw Ahsoka asleep in a chair to the right of the bed, leaning back against the backrest.
Her sleeping face looked remarkably peaceful. Solo reached out with his left hand and gently shook her shoulder. "Ahsoka—"
The girl didn't respond, so he had to call her again.
Ahsoka jolted awake, her eyes wide and bleary. After a moment of confusion, she recognized him and threw herself onto Solo, hugging him tightly. "Master! You're awake!"
"Ouch, that hurts! Let go of me," Solo groaned, his entire body aching. "Everything hurts."
The teleportation technique he had used during the battle, though successful in severing his enemy's arm, had come with a violent recoil.
He had studied countless theoretical guides on spatial movement, including hyperspace transmission and ancient technologies, ultimately conceiving this technique.
But the recoil from this practical application made him realize that he must never use it again until it was perfected, no matter how indescribable the joy of its successful execution. He knew that whether it was Combat Meditation or this teleportation, he could have done better; it was simply a matter of lacking the necessary talent.
Still, this was undoubtedly an excellent trump card.
Solo thought to himself that fairness had no place in combat. As long as victory was assured, all reasonable means should be utilized.
"Ah—right—sorry, Master." Ahsoka snapped out of her daze, released her grip, and her eyes reddened slightly before she broke into a delighted smile. "We got our revenge."
Solo sighed, knowing the matter wasn't over. He needed to find the spy who leaked information to Seth Hart and discern Palpatine's next move.
"Although my entire body aches, it's either because the technique isn't mature enough or because I overlooked something." Solo paused before getting to the point. "What happened after the mission? Has the Jedi Temple said anything? Did they identify the spy?"
Ahsoka cleared her throat. "All I know is what I heard—the High Council announced an hour after you entered the infirmary that Master Jorrus C'baoth had gone missing during an expedition beyond the Chiss Ascendancy."
Solo chuckled. Jorrus had been conducting diplomatic negotiations for the Republic as Palpatine's Jedi affairs advisor. But before the Clone War began, he had participated in an expedition beyond the Chiss Ascendancy.
According to Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare, the expedition was destroyed at the border between the Chiss Ascendancy and the Yuuzhan Vong territory. Forces led by Darth Sidious and Darth Tyranus were involved in the destruction, and the expedition also suffered attacks from the Yuuzhan Vong.
During the Empire era, Marshal Tarkin discovered Joruus guarding the Emperor's secret warehouse on Wayland. As a clone of Jorrus, he exhibited symptoms of clone madness.
Tarkin used Joruus's Force powers to coordinate the Imperial Army, but Joruus's ambition grew, and he became dissatisfied with the position Tarkin had granted him.
He returned to the cloning facilities on Wayland, killed Imperial officials, and attempted to gain control of his own army by seizing control of the clone templates.
If this was truly the same Jedi, it was most likely a clone created by Palpatine. But to have deceived the Jedi Council, the cloning technology used must have been extraordinary.
He understood the Council's concerns. Revealing that a Jedi Master was a clone during such a sensitive period of war would only disrupt the morale of the Warrior Corps and potentially escalate into a greater crisis.
"The Senate has demanded an explanation from the Warrior Order regarding the incident on Rois-VI," Aayla Secura's voice suddenly cut through the air. Before Solo could react, she continued, "The Senator from the Potemoc Sector even demanded that the Senate personally try this overly active Jedi—and that the High Council participate. Can you guess who that is?"
"Warrior Secura!" Solo feigned ignorance. "Uh? What are you talking about?"
Aayla Secura projected a holographic recording of Solo in the heat of battle.
"Ah, it's him! He certainly was quite... active," Solo chuckled dryly.
"First London!" Aayla raised her voice. "Now Rois-VIII! Warrior Victor, you've become quite the celebrity!"
"You're not here to mock me, are you?" Solo abruptly changed the subject. "You mentioned the Senate's investigation. I didn't wake up in prison, so it seems I don't need to personally intervene. What happened to that Senator?"
"The Council sent Master Plo Koon to negotiate," Aayla replied. "I hear he helped the Senator see the error of his ways."
"The Council will probably still make things difficult for me," Solo concluded. "I did involve innocent people in danger, and that was wrong. But I had no choice. If I hadn't stopped Set, many more would have died."
"Compared to the casualties he caused, the price we paid this time was trivial."
"That sounds like the Sith justification for using any means to achieve their ends," Aayla said, frowning. "Don't you think so?"
Solo fell silent, his thoughts drifting. He understood that their ways of thinking were fundamentally different. Having experienced countless life-and-death situations, he knew that any achievement required a price. Great accomplishments often came with great sacrifices; otherwise, nothing would be achieved.
The history of the galaxy was a cycle of war and peace, victory and defeat. There was only one rule: win or be eliminated.
Just then, the screen separating the hospital bed from the outside world was pulled aside, and a black-haired Human woman entered. She wore the classic Jedi robe, her bearing calm and steady as she approached Solo. "You're awake, Warrior Victor. I'm Therapist Rig Lema. I'd like to speak to the patient alone, so please step out for a moment."
Ahsoka shot her a displeased glance but didn't dare protest. After gathering her things, she glanced back at Solo one last time before turning to leave.
Rig Lema sat down beside the bed, holding her data pad. "Alright, let's take a look. Your vital signs are mostly normal, and all system readings are nearly perfect. But I've discovered a strange anomaly in your right eye—no external injuries, yet there's a massive number of broken blood vessels. I've never seen anything like this before. What did you do?"
Solo didn't hide it. "I conceived a new Force technique and used it directly in combat."
"Can you explain it in detail?" Rig Lema's tone carried a mix of curiosity and exasperation. "You combat-focused Jedi are always coming up with these new tricks. It makes me want to forget everything my Master taught me about diplomatic etiquette and either praise you effusively or curse you out. I'm genuinely curious how you guys manage to live to old age."
Ignoring her grumbling, Solo explained, "The essence of the technique is to use the Force to mark an object within my line of sight, then swap positions with that object."
"Swap positions?"
"In other words, teleportation," Solo added. "By the way, if my readings are nearly perfect, why does my entire body ache?"
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