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.
They stared at each other coldly, waiting in silence even after they were finally alone, Dooku's legal team reading the atmosphere and leaving to find cafstim. Striding away, Dooku heard Windu fall in behind him, and eventually he found a small courtyard, decorated with white mountain flowers. It had a clear view of the blue sky above, and Dooku raised his gaze to watch the many speeders pass overhead. He stood with his back turned to Windu, waiting for him to speak as he rested his hand on the garden fence.
"You spoke with Queen Amidala about a Dark Side sect that you believe Chancellor Palpatine to be a part of." He paused, waiting for Dooku's response, and when none was forth-coming, Mace Windu continued. "Do you have proof?"
Now they were finally taking his warnings seriously? Dooku doubted it, not after all these years. Likely, Mace Windu was just probing for information to use against Dooku. After Tan'ya made the mistake of calling the Jedi on Coruscant, Mace had no doubt found the Sith ruins to be suspicious. From the perspective of a man who deeply believed in the Republic, Dooku's work in the Outer Rim could only be a threat to peace and order.
"If you have proof, or even just personal testimony…" Mace hesitated. "If there's anything at all, then you must share it with the Council."
Dooku couldn't help scoffing.
Mace's voice hardened. "You think this is a joke, Dooku? The entire Republic could be at stake. Trillions of lives will be affected by the outbreak of war." He paused. "I know you have good intentions, Dooku, but we can see what you're doing. You want to create an army to overthrow the Chancellor."
Finally turning around to face his former friend, Dooku met Mace Windu's gaze with his own, not saying anything.
"Grandmaster Dooku, if war can be prevented, then any evidence you have could save the Galaxy." Mace insisted. "You must share it with us."
Dooku considered the man, a range of emotions swirling around inside him. How dare this fool come to him for help, after trespassing on his home? What was sick inside Mace, that he thought he could betray Dooku endlessly and expect to still be loved as a friend?
"When I have evidence, you will be the first to receive it." Dooku said to him, maintaining eye contact. He gave the man a small smile, one that didn't touch his eyes. "I'm glad you're finally willing to see reason."
And may Sidious strike the head from your worthless shoulders, you blind wretch.
Dooku met up with his lawyers when he was finished with Mace. Obviously, Windu wasn't just there regarding Sidious, but he was also probing for signs of corruption in his former friend.
In the end Dooku promised him much, but delivered little. He gave his word that in time he would find the evidence he needed to prove Sidious' guilty, if Mace would only wait for him. By the end of it, Dooku was sure he came across as a stubborn, vain-glorious fool, and Windu thought even less of him.
Still, when the time came, Dooku would be more than willing to use Mace to kill Sidious.
Dooku found his lawyers just outside the courtroom, talking to each other with disposable caff-stims in hand. One of them offered a cup to Dooku, and he took a sip as he listened to them strategise with each other.
Finally the recess ended, and all of them filed back into the courtroom. The Judge returned to his podium, and after just a few minutes they resumed.
The Federation's representatives began to present their argument, and it didn't take Dooku long to realize they would be here for a while. The lawyer droned on and on, to the point where even the judge didn't seem to be paying attention. At first he seemed to be taking notes, but after a while Dooku realized he was just doodling. Checking the judge's thoughts, Dooku realized that he was mostly thinking about the restaurant he planned to visit for lunch.
Suddenly someone's mood spiked. Dooku glanced across to find Grib Siv smirking as an aide approached the Viceroy to whisper something in his ear. The news he received was clearly expected, and he was obviously pleased by what he heard. The neimoidian glanced over at Dooku, sneering triumphantly. In the distance, Palpatine's dark amusement echoed through the Dark Side, and the hairs raised on the back of Dooku's neck.
Something was up.
Suddenly suspecting an assassination attempt, or who knew what else, Dooku began probing through the courthouse. Trying to find what their plan was, only to feel the minds of his royal guards stationed outside flaring with angry thoughts and fears for their… loved ones? Turning around in his seat, Dooku watched one of his men fling the courthouse doors open.
Fully armed and armored, the soldier ignored the stares of the onlookers as he marched across the room.
"Son, you need to wait outside." The Judge called out, but the guard ignored him.
When he got to Dooku, the Soldier leaned close, whispering in urgent, thickly accented Basic, "Serenno is under attack! There's a pirate fleet approaching!"
Dooku stood up immediately, taking out his holocom as he did.
"Count, you can't interrupt the oppo-" The judge began to chide, but Dooku cut him off.
"My people are under attack." He shot a glare at Grib Siv, who was clearly relishing the moment. "My representatives can-"
Glancing up, the Judge said. "You're required to be here for this stage of the process, Count. If you leave now you forfeit the case."
Now that Dooku was away from his homeworld, he wouldn't be able to coordinate its defense or lead his people. Even if he were to attempt to leave now, even the best hyperdrive would still take forty eight hours to return to Serenno.
"Your Honor, I request a recess-"
"Denied." The Judge dismissed with an annoyed wave of his hand.
"There's been an emergency-"
"This is your last warning, Count."
Dooku weighed his options. Obviously, he wouldn't be able to make it home to aid the defense in time, but this court case was clearly destined to be a sham, and there was no reason to waste his time here when his people were sure to need him. There was symbolic power to be won in defying this representative of the Republic, while rushing to his own people's defense.
Without another word, Dooku turned to leave, and he felt his worried guard's minds rush briefly with pride and relief. As he walked down the steps of the courthouse, taking them three at a time with his long strides, Dooku's cape billowed out and the media's cameras flashed all around him. The Royal Guards scrambled behind him to keep up with the force enhanced run of their Count.
His speeder's driver pulled up just as Dooku reached the bottom of the stairs. He didn't wait for one of his guards to open his speeder door, yanking it open with the Force and piling inside. A few seconds later, his two guards climbed in next to him.
"Take me to my ship." Dooku ordered.
As the speeder rushed through the Coruscant traffic, Dooku typed a message. Tanya was to take command of the planetary defense. He would return as soon as he could, but she was to defend their home until he arrived. He briefly considered sending her instructions to try and delay the pirates, slowing them down so he could arrive and take over, but decided against it. Fleet battles were risky things, and could be settled in minutes or seconds thanks to hyperdrives. The last thing Tanya needed was him trying to micromanage her decisions from halfway across the Galaxy.
All he could do was trust her.
It was with some relief that Dooku realized he really did.
Shortly after he hit send, his message beeped with a new communication. It wasn't a reply from Tanya, who had read his message, but from Duke Harrad. Dooku answered his call, the portly profile of his longest standing ally appeared in front of him. He looked furious.
"Dooku, we've been hit! By a pirate fleet, I suppose, but they were nothing like any blasted one I've ever seen!" He completely skipped over formalities. His wide chest gave him a deep basal growl, and as he spoke he ground his meaty fist into the palm of his hand, like he wanted to brawl with one of the attackers personally.
"Any details you can provide would be useful." Dooku told him. "My own Advisor to the Defence is going to need to fight off a raid on Serenno."
Harrad grimaced. "They didn't raid us. Not a single pirate plundered anything, not even setting foot on the planet! The main fleet did a flyby on Secundus, and of course I thought they would land to collect slaves and valuables, but they were just a diversion! Dooku, the kriffing bastards hit the shipyards on Prime! They had bombers, Dooku. Bombers! Who ever heard of a pirate warlord with a flight of bombers?!"
"An extremely well paid one." Dooku replied. "This is the Trade Federation's retaliation for my actions over Naboo."
"I think it's even bigger than that, friend! They saw what we were planning, and now they've gone to strike down the competition." He spat. "Blasted capitalists!"
Dooku paused, realizing the man was right. "They're coordinating. Hitting everyone they can in our sphere of influence."
"You better talk to the others, Dooku. I've got to see to what can be saved here."
Of course Dooku did just that. He sent a warning to Tan'ya, letting her know what these pirates' goal was, and started the long process of getting in contact with the rest of his allies, then he called Ky Narec as well. If the Trade Federation was willing to go after his allies, there was no reason to believe they wouldn't target the New Temple as well…
The Palace had gone into full alert the moment the raiding fleet was detected. In this Galaxy, almost any ground installation could be outfitted with a barrier, making it all but impervious to anything but extended bombardment. A well made barrier could hold out against continuous heavy blaster barrages for months, so Tan'ya was confident that her mother and siblings were safe.
As Advisor to the Defence, she had taken command of Serenno's small defense fleet, and now sat aboard her own Hammerhead, watching the information about their attackers stream in. The enemy fleet was composed of three Corona Class Armed Frigates, their saucer shapes looking exactly like UFOs from old sci-fi movies in Tan'ya's first life. Each one of them was larger than a Hammerhead, and with a heavier armament. They could match each other for turbolasers, but the saucers boasted additional missile launchers and ion cannons.
In a straightforward brawl, Tan'ya's outgunned fleet was almost certain to loose. However, she had one major advantage over the pirates, and that was the quality and disposition of her crew. Recruited from Serenno, and trained by naval commanders from Coruscant, Tan'ya had no doubt they would be willing to sacrifice their own lives if it meant taking even one of these raiders down. She could feel the grim determination and hatred in their minds, the eagerness to show these aliens why they should never return.
In comparison, the pirates were confident, but hardly committed to the mission. Tan'ya had yet to identify their species, but she could sense from their minds that they weren't human, and the three captains of the Coronas were all quite attached to living. If they felt that things weren't going well, she was sure they would turn and flee. That said, the pirates did have an important edge in experience over her crew.
Thanks to Duke Harrad's warning, Tan'ya knew their objective wasn't to plunder, but to destroy. Most likely, they were going to target the capital city's spaceport and the mines that were being excavated all across the planet's surface. They would do whatever they could to disrupt Serenno's capacity to provide raw resources for the Outer Rim. It was useful to know her enemy's objective.
Right now, the situation was a stalemate, with the House Guard's Royal Fleet holding position behind Serenno's moon, and the pirate fleet circling around a distant gas giant. For the pirates to complete their bombing runs, they would need to close in to Serenno's gravity well, which was probably why they were hesitating. Caught between the planet's gravity and Tan'ya's Hammerheads, the pirates would be pinned in an extremely dangerous position without room to maneuver and difficulty firing their weapons upwards against the pull.
This was definitely a temporary state of affairs, though.
It wouldn't be long until the pirates got sick of waiting, and decided to pursue her Hammerheads as their primary target. With Tan'ya's fleet crippled or destroyed, they could then bomb Serenno at their leisure. If she maneuvered her fleet too far from Serenno, then the pirates would simply complete their objectives and turn tail.
"It's a difficult situation." Sturn said to her. "What are your thoughts?"
He wasn't aboard the ship with her, she had asked him to take a position on a different ship. Her Hammerhead was the SHG Rider, while Sturn was aboard the SHG Watcher.
The third ship, SHG Archer was being commanded by a Serenno native, Hoves of Ruulvess.
Ruulvess was the name of a jungle region, not a village. Among all the new recruits into the House Guard, Hoves had distinguished himself with his razor sharp mind and hard earned pragmatism. Supposedly as a child he'd scratched out a living with his family in the jungles, trapping animals and sucking down worms pulled from loam. He'd taken to reading and writing like fish to water, and in the end Tan'ya had chosen to promote him to Captain of the Archer because he more than earned it. It also helped that having a Serennoan at such a high rank made it clear to the newly recruited Guards that their ambitions would be rewarded with time and service.
Hoves listened to the conversation between Tan'ya and Sturn with his face blank. He had yet to say anything.
"We have the numbers, and the training." Tan'ya hesitated, before adding. "And two Jedi. A boarding action is our best choice."
"A boarding action will be very dangerous." Sturn warned. "Even a Jedi can get sucked out into space."
"We're climbers." Hoves pointed out. "Not meant for spacewalks, but our harnesses and carabiners will keep us from getting spaced when they vent atmo."
Tan'ya nodded in agreement, leaving unspoken the far greater dangers of storming a ship. Every doorway was a chokepoint, every loose panel and grill could conceal a grenade or a blaster. She had spent years training these men, and she knew them. They were fast learners, determined, and she couldn't have asked for better soldiers, but any boarding action was a tactical nightmare. Even with the Hammerheads' much larger crew complements over the Coronas', there was every chance that the smaller bands of pirates would be able to fight them off due to sheer home field advantage.
Unfortunately, Tan'ya didn't see much other choice. Numbers and willingness to take casualties were the only advantages she had, and so those were what she would have to lean on. In the times of the Old Republic, the Hammerheads would come with a complement of twelve fighters each. A handful of fighters would give her more options, but unfortunately those weren't aboard the ships when they were abandoned on Primus, with the ones bought to replace them yet to arrive.
"It's our best move." Tan'ya finally said. "So it's what we'll do."
Hoves broke out into a toothy grin, obviously eager to get his hands on some aliens, but Sturn looked like he didn't like the idea. He didn't question her choice in front of the men, though.
"I'm sending you your flight paths now." Tan'ya said, typing some instructions into her command console. "Have your men prepare for boarding action."
"I'll break out the black." Hoves said, before closing his comm.
Sturn closed his a moment later.
"Colonel, prep the men for combat." Tan'ya gave the command to her own combat crews. "We'll be boarding."
Gon Seith grimaced, but nodded grimly. He pulled his helmet on, and strode off the bridge, cape billowing behind him.
The rest of the bridge crew got to work, as Tan'ya continued to focus on the plans and flight paths in front of her.
"Your Highness." A voice interrupted from beside her.
Tan'ya looked across to find a small cube of black stainer being offered to her by one of her officers. As she looked around the bridge, she noticed many of the officers on board had taken out a small black cube of the stuff, and were chewing on it. Even one of the Coruscanti had accepted a piece, though he looked unsure of himself as he chewed on it. A grinning Serennoan slapped him on the back heartily, before getting back to work.
Tan'ya took the cube, and made a mental note to procure more for her men as she chewed on it. If this was going to be an important part of their battle traditions, it would be something that her administration should pay for.