Chapter 64

Coruscant, Coruscant System

Corusca Sector

Jedi Master Adi Gallia, despite being the Jedi Council’s official liaison to the Republic Senate and observer to the Chancellor’s Advisory Council, didn’t at all prefer the day-to-day tedium of politicking in the Administrative District. One might think being the acting spymaster of ‘Jedi Intelligence’ to be an exciting affair, but in truth, the role was an awfully banal one.

It wasn’t always this way, of course. At its inception, Gallia’s personal spy network was just that; personal. She originally founded it using her family’s connections, despite how antithetical that might sound to the Temple’s central dogma, with the intention of creating a shadow organisation to cover for the Council’s many blindspots. Adi Gallia would not be one to discredit Master Yoda and his undeniably wise stewardship of the Temple, but it was the unsaid truth that Yoda was the root cause of many of the Order’s problems.

When a central figure has been in power of an organisation for nearly four-hundred years, it was unavoidable that said organisation would evolve around that central figure, being shaped in their image for good or ill. Again, the Order could have had much worse than Master Yoda, and as far as long-lived Grandmasters go, they were quite fortunate to have him. However, the faults of such a system were poignant and obvious if you knew where to look.

Unfortunately, not even the esteemed Master Yoda could be in power for so long without getting comfortable. Complacent. Complacent with the stagnation of the Jedi Order, and complacent with the evils of the Republic. Live alongside corruption for too long, and you no longer notice the stench. Master Yoda has had four-hundred years to get used to the smell.

Adi Gallia considered herself fortunate. She was born to a family of diplomats, and her Force-sensitivity had not been ‘discovered’ until she was advanced enough in age to be aware of her own circumstances. One of the joys of being an ageless Tholothian. She had not been raised in Yoda’s shadow like much of the Temple, and rather entered it with a prior point of reference. And the realisation she had then was the fount of her spy network.

She was not the only one to notice the problems with the Jedi Order, of course. Prior to the war, there had been hundreds, chief among them then-Master Dooku. But the problem with becoming a legend was that you became legendary, and Yoda had earned an almost mythical status with the Jedi Temple. Even if you noticed the stench of bantha shit in the kitchen, you wouldn’t say anything if the head chef didn’t point it out, because obviously the head chef knew best. Much less a head chef who’s been head chef for four centuries, and prior to that a line chef for many more. What was a Padawan, Knight, or Master to say, when they’ve lived in Yoda’s shadow for their entire lives?

Even a younger Adi Gallia was implicit in that mistake, for she had never disclosed the existence of her network. Because obviously the Jedi Council, led by Master Yoda, would have forced her to shut it down. So she kept her head low, quietly expanding her network throughout Coruscant under the guise of accepting planetside missions, then towards the stars, and picking up a reputation as a Jedi politician and diplomat as she did so.

By the time of the Stark Hyperspace War, the Temple had picked up a certain modus operandi. When Jedi were dispatched for peacekeeping missions, the idea was to talk first and solve the problem diplomatically, and if that failed, out came the lightsabers. It was simple and direct. But out of sight, Gallia took it one step further–to deal with the problem before it ever came to the table of the High Council. Thus saving the trouble and the effort. By then, her intelligence network had grown so large it could no longer be kept hidden, but by then it had also grown so integral to the Temple’s operations that not even the High Council could publicly acknowledge–and denounce–the open secret.

And throughout it all, restless Jedi continued to squirm in the shadow of Master Yoda, as megacorporations filled the power vacuum left by the Hyperspace War, as the Republic continued to tolerate and foster all the little cumulative evils in the galaxy. Until a single Jedi Master reached his breaking point, and declared the founding of the Separatist State in a fiery speech over Raxus Prime. And hundreds of Padawans, Knights, and Masters flocked to his cause, his alternative, because they had been chafing beneath Yoda’s shadow for so long just waiting for someone to have the guts to point out the stench.

It was only in the blazing fires of the Clone Wars, did her personal network burgeon into Jedi Intelligence out of necessity. Especially since Republic Intelligence remained less than forthcoming about sharing what they knew with the Order. For Adi Gallia, it meant an explosion of managerial affairs to occupy her attention. Fieldwork, as it seemed, was now a thing of a bygone past when she still had the luxury of handpicking her agents and personally seeding future contacts.

The Tholothian Master’s internal musings were interrupted by the vibration of her comlink, the cheerful chime muffled by her flowing robes.

“Gallia speaking.”

“Are you alone?” was the first thing she heard in Bode Akuna’s voice.

Adi Gallia glanced up, at the bustling halls of the Senate Building, and raised a protective bubble of the Force around her, muting all sound from within for the outside. It was a nifty trick she picked up, and useful in these sorts of circumstances.

“Speak.”

“Admiral Trilm just invaded the Core Worlds. The Commenorian Navy was unable to stop her.”

“I’ve heard,” the Jedi Master replied calmly, “The Chancellor just summoned an emergency Advisory Council meeting, of which I am presently on route to.”

“…And the Battle Hydra is missing?”

There was a serious undertone that made Gallia pause, “…Missing is one way to put it.”

“…I see. I want to confirm something.”

“What is it?” the Jedi Master skillfully manoeuvred through the traffic, ensuring nobody got close enough to enter her Force bubble.

“Where was Anakin Skywalker at the Battle of Yag’Dhul?”

“What are you talking about? He was at Yag’Dhul, fighting the battle with the Open Circle,” Adi Gallia lied.

In truth, Anakin Skywalker informed the Temple he was pursuing Asajj Ventress shortly before the battle began in earnest. Of course, such news couldn’t be broken to the Republic Navy Command without shock and outrage. A commanding Jedi General, abandoning the battle space to pursue a personal rivalry? Preposterous! And if Jedi Command tried to defend his actions, the interdisciplinary rift in the GAR would only be further deepened.

Thus, it was considered prudent that such news would only be broken in the after-action report, where the news of victory would water down any flaring tempers. Because a victory was expected; three battle fleets against a single Separatist task force? The very idea of a potential defeat was just as insane as the idea of Anakin Skywalker abandoning a battle before it even began.

Except, the Battle Hydra once again did his terrible magic, and the Republic Navy was dealt another defeat, one comparable to the Battle of Christophsis. Fortunately, the scale of the defeat meant news was slow to trickle upstream to Coruscant. General Brand and Admiral Jerjerrod were killed in action, while Governor-General Grant’s AAR mentioned how contact had been lost between the three fleets early in the battle. Finally, Admiral Yularen’s AAR came, and merely mentioned the victory at Llon Nebula and the closing actions of the Battle of Yag’Dhul.

Nothing that overtly stated Anakin Skywalker’s actions. Instead, the Republic Navy Command focused on Octavian Grant’s preposition that the Separatist 4th Fleet Group was aiming for an invasion of the Southern Core. It wasn’t a prediction without merit, for Admiral Calli Trilm had just broken the cracked fortress world Commenor like an egg. It was also a truly terrifying prediction, for a southern invasion would mean the monster known as the Tombmaker was about to be unleashed upon the Galactic Interior.

Regardless, Admiral Yularen must’ve been well-aware of the conflict between the Republic Navy and Jedi Command, and decided it prudent to not mention anything that could worsen the situation. It was the Order’s saving grace, anyhow, and it meant only Jedi Command knew where Anakin Skywalker really was during the Battle of Yag’Dhul, for now.

“…I need the truth this time, Master Gallia,” Bode Akuna said urgently, “I need to know whether we’re dealing with a credible threat or not.”

Gallia’s lips thinned, “Is this Republic Intelligence knowledge?”

“From an apparently reliable source. But I need to know whether it is a threat to us,” Bode put heavy emphasis on the word ‘need.’

“Where does it say Skywalker was?”

“…Llon Nebula.”

“Can you destroy the report?” the Jedi Master was extraordinarily calm, but the simple question was enough to inform Bode Akuna of the credibility of the source.

“…No point. It’s already been disseminated,” he replied hesitantly, “I’d only be raising suspicions. Master… this means–”

“I know what this means–” concrete proof Republic Intelligence had a mole in the Jedi Temple, “–just tell me the codename of the threat.”

“…Republic Intelligence calls it the Delta Source.”

“Copy. Keep an eye on it, but don’t try to intercept unless it’s especially damning for the Order. I trust your judgement.”

“Got it. I’ll try to dig up any leads on the Delta Source in the meantime.”

She shut the connection, pinching the bridge of her nose tiredly. Always one thing after another on Coruscant. But one more weight on the mind also meant one step closer to the Sith Lord, and at least Bode managed to discover the existence of the Delta Source before the news got into the hands of the Republic Navy. That was a mercy, no matter how small. Less than ideal, but Gallia could now at least prepare for the debate and set up a credible defence, rather than be blindsided in the courts.

What concerned her more was just how rooted this Delta Source was in the Temple. And whether it also knew about the truth of the recent ‘terrorist attack’. Considering the Jedi Order hadn’t been dissolved, likely not. So Delta Source wasn’t present in the funerary halls. Good to know. I’ll also have to expand the scope of our usual counterintelligence sweeps. She mentally indexed the Delta Source away for a later, if crucial, point of investigation.

Making her way through the winding corridors of the Senate Building towards the Chancellor’s Suite, sharing benign smiles with the staffers she crossed paths with. She recognised some, talked with others, but had never been able to penetrate Sly Moore’s staff. The Senior Administrative Aide’s ministry was simply too tightly guarded, and the Umbaran’s eyes were everywhere. Sly Moore seemed to have a gift for reading people, even the most veteran of spies, and Master Gallia suspected there might be a hint of Force-sensitivity involved.

Further, if circumstantial, proof that their mysterious Dark Lord of the Sith was a member of the Executive Office. And as she was welcomed into the Chancellor’s Office by the pale white visage of Sly Moore, she came face to face with her prime suspect–

Supreme Chancellor Palpatine himself.

It was hard to believe such an audacious claim, even as the person who made the claim, as Palpatine had never shown any signs of the general darkness that seemed to hang around the Sith. They didn’t even have any proof he was even Force-sensitive. Sly Moore, at least, could be proven to be Force-sensitive. But Chancellor Palpatine?

Except, Adi Gallia had reason to believe that Palpatine was, if not the Sith Lord, then at least another one of their pawns, like Sly Moore. And she had reason to believe he was indeed Force-sensitive to some degree. And, in a fateful stroke of irony, it was the Battle Hydra who helped her prove her hypothesis. See, the man known as Rain Bonteri was an anathema to the Force, born with a peculiar trait known as ‘Force Blankness’, in which a living entity seems to be fully nonexistent in the Force. It was a rare and nearly unheard of phenomena, of which had only been encountered once before in the last century in the form of the son of a fallen Jedi, who went by Granta Omega.

It took eight Jedi to hunt that one down.

Nevertheless, having such a trait meant one’s presence and name would often slip from the mind and memory of a Force-sensitive, particularly if it was a strong Force-sensitive, not dissimilarly to water off a duck’s back. There were ways to circumvent the issue, of course, such as remembering a sobriquet not directly tied to the individual–such as Battle Hydra–or simply by keeping journals or notes as an amnesiac would. But to do that, one would have to first recognise the importance of such a void-like individual in the first place.

Rain Bonteri’s name was not foreign to the Republic Navy or Republic Intelligence. In fact, they had the sort of reputation for being the Pantoran’s hard counter to Jedi-commanded fleets, in the naval arena. Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Plo Koon and Saesee Tiin, arguably Oppo Rancisis… and now Rees Alrix and Empatojayos Brand have been added to their personal portfolio.

And yet… Palpatine isn’t able to remember the name ‘Rain Bonteri.’ Gallia first noticed the fact when she was prodding his mind for any reaction to the name, shortly before the Seven Battles at Sullust, when she warned Skywalker and his Padawan of the threat the Hydra posed to Knight Alrix.

Jedi Master Adi Gallia made no show of her internal musings as she respectfully bowed before the Supreme Chancellor and his gathered audience, whose esteemed members included the permanent fixtures of Sly Moore and Mas Amedda, along with Armand Isard, and other members of the Loyalist Committee; including but not limited to Shayla Paige-Tarkin, Jannie Ha’Nook, Mon Mothma, Canny Bertar, and Bail Organa.

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“Forgive my tardiness,” she smoothed her robes and stepped to the side of the office, observing the faces and atmosphere present as she did so.

It was tense, as tense as one might expect from the news that there was a second Separatist fleet in the Core. Or… it might be the stiff and wiry presence of one Governor-General Kohl Seerdon, Commanding Officer of the 3rd Sector Army.

“I do not see how this is a matter of debate!?” Senator Jannie Ha’Nook of Glithnos was evidently furious, her face flushed with anger and panic, and she hardly even acknowledged the Jedi Master’s entrance, “We need to recall our reserve fleets! What is the point of going on the offensive if the Core will cease to exist whence they return!?”

Glithnos was a Core World, situated right along the Hydian Way, just north of Fedalle. It was directly within the warpath of the 19th Mobile Fleet… in fact–