บท 162: V.2-C.63│The Great Clone Vanishing III│
Palpatine was befuddled.
There was nothing that he could say or do to help himself in this situation.
The clones were disappearing, vanishing as if they had never existed in the first place and Sidious had been using all of his power, not through the Force, but his intrigue, political and financial power to investigate this weird occurrence.
'Order 66 wont work if there are no clones to carry out my orders...' Sidious thought to himself from his office, the office of the Supreme Chancellor of the 'democratic' Republic.
For the past few weeks now, their forces were decreasing. The military and clone trooper forces of the Republic was decreasing, that is.
With clones becoming nonexistent, Sidious had to find another way to keep this war going and find another way to kill off the Jedi. It was impossible now for him to fully complete his plans, and he would have acted rashly, using whatever clones were left to start killing the Jedi off already, but...
'But that would lead to me being discovered and there is no guarantee for me, at least not yet from within the Republic.' Sidious thought to himself as he pondered his situation going over his many, many backup plans in case some failed.
Why hadn't he had a way to deal with the clones being a failure? That was because he was used to eliminating any and all threats to his plans, making sure that he was on a path to victory.
When Sidious was being challenged, generally he didn't even have to do anything when it came down to it as the people would hand over their power completely to him. It had happened before and it would happen again.
He really was a conniving person, but most of the time it seemed like his problems just resolved themselves.
He had made backup plans for many things, usually in the off chance he is discovered, but then again, he also didn't really have a way around having to do things off the cuff. He would constantly put himself on the edge of being discovered for two reasons, the first being that it was easier for him to go off situations that happen and are within a controlled environment of his making.
Second because it was fun.
The Sith reveled in challenge and usually mired themselves in what seemed like pointless displays of strength or dominance, when in reality they are just doing those things because they wish to reach perfection.
It came naturally to Sidious just as it had come naturally to others as well.
Why wouldn't he try and extract some level of joy out of what he was doing to everyone and everything around himself? This was who he was, is, and what he shall continue to be because he saw no need in trying to change his mindset.
It is wrong to think that he is unbeatable, but that doesn't mean he couldn't gloat in the faces of the Jedi so openly and they wouldn't even know why.
They wouldn't even know what he was and even then, what were they going to do about it? If he is exposed, then all he needed to do is use the Republic's laws against them because being a Sith could also be considered being a part of a religion.
How dare the Jedi hate on another group of people for their beliefs! Some would say and even agree with Sidious, not knowing that he was quite the cruel and sadistic person. Even more so once he started down the dark path of becoming a Sith.
Think about it, if the Jedi are allowed to exist and they do some horrible things, things that others within the Republic would say is bad, then why couldn't the Sith exist within the Republic as well. It wasn't like Sidious had done anything illegal... that anyone knew of.
There was just no way for the Jedi to come after him, not legally anyway and they would be seen as in the wrong. It would be seen as such because that is just the way the Republic works and because of that he has taken advantage of these old and kind of broken down systems to his advantage.
"Supreme Chancellor. You have a visitor." An attendant said, as Sidious wasn't exactly alone within his office all of the time. Most of the time he had his Red Guards be there with him to better protect his life.
"Thank you, you may leave now." Sidious knew exactly who was coming to meet him.
"Yes, Chancellor." The attendant bowed before leaving the office and then some more people came in, most notably, they were politicians. He did this often, bringing in those of power, wealth or of some influence to make sure his rule is iron clad.
There was no other way around it, as while people are easy to be manipulated, at least from his perspective due to them being cowards or sheep, it was also required that he constantly reinforce his power over someone. In an alternate timeline, this would be done by constantly asserting himself over Darth Vader and making sure he knew who was boss.
Sidious would have created a suit designed to be physically torturing and then there was the mental and emotional torture he would do.
It was all within his design.
After meeting with these officials he would have to do many other things throughout the day, and would now have to start looking for something to continue this war. The longer it goes on the better for himself, and now he would have to start planning for a way to overcome the losses of the clones.
He had a feeling that it wouldn't be stopping anytime soon.
"Chancellor, you have received a most important message from the Empyrean." A feminine droid said in its synthesized voice.
"Oh? Who is it from." Sidious was good at making his questions sound like orders instead of questions that it had become quite natural to him at this point. He was also surprised that something within the Empyrean, no, someone was willing to go out of their way to contact him.
Usually he would have spy's go in, but they would never come out, meaning that it was well guarded and protected at this point. He would have no way of going into the Empyrean, not unless he turned the armies of the Republic against them of course.
A hologram shows up, and it shows Anakin, the current Emperor and Palpatine couldn't help but be surprised at seeing the 'leader' of the Empyrean has made themselves come to him. They would need his help, it would seem like they aren't as powerful after all.
Or at least this was what Palpatine assumed, when in fact it was Anakin going to offer his help instead. It was a recorded message, so there wouldn't be any back and forth.
"Greetings Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. We have meet on occasion before, so I would like to be blunt within this message. I have noticed for a while now that the Republic is starting to lose their forces." Anakin started.
He continued. "To be more specific I believe that the clones are vanishing for some odd reason and that there is no way for the Republic to survive the onslaught of the Confederacy. So I would like to make a proposal, a deal of sorts between the Empyrean and the Republic where I offer up our service of being able to make droids and send them to you for aid."
"Of course, I cant be doing this without being paid in some shape or form... We can have proper negotiations later about that, and for now I just wanted to send this message to make sure the Republic knows that I, no, the Empyrean is willing to trade." The recorded message finished as Anakin did some formal gestures of 'respect,' because Anakin was faking it.
Not that Sidious knew, however what he did discover is that he may have found a way to continue and prolong the war. 'This is suspicious timing...' Sidious was thinking to himself, because it was suspicious that this message would coincide with the disappearance of many clones.
The Empyreans Emperor had even talked about that subject himself, bringing it up. Anakin did this on purpose, because he didn't want to seem too suspicious and it would look better for him if Palpatine held some suspicions but was unable to confirm whether it not was him.
If he didn't mention this in the message he would only come off as more suspicious then he already has. One must keep their opponent on their toes and make sure they are guarded against you, so once they do let their guard down, that was when you strike.
There was more than meets the eye when taking into account everything going on.
"Interesting." Sidious spoke out loud as he started to pace back and forth, where he had a view of his soon-to-be empires capital.
Sidious had many ideas on why this was happening and it was definitely suspicious that the Empyrean would contact him now, but... They had mentioned the issue himself, an issue even the Jedi were noticing as well, meaning that they could be involved but instead of being the mastermind, the Empyrean may just be the pawn.
Palpatine was too used to politics and intrigue that he wouldn't be able to see Anakin as the mastermind behind the events taking place. Sometimes one has to fight fire with fire, and while some may believe this is stupid, for Anakin it works.
Especially against an opponent like Sidious.
[]
Within a high rise building, specifically within the Jedi's tower that looks over everyone, the Jedi Masters of the Jedi Council had gathered around to discuss more about recent events and situations.
The Jedi may not be as upto date with their teachings and may be even considered backwards in the evolutionary pathway of the Force, but that didn't mean they were completely incompetent.
They had people within the Order that were powerful, wise and all sorts of other things that would and could be taken into account.
There was just no way that they would only know who to listen to the Republic as they were in particular considered a political non-entity within the Republic. Of course the Jedi should know better that they were not actually separated at this point and instead had basically merged into the Republic's military force.
"Remember, a Jedi fights only as a last resort. If you are forced to draw your lightsaber, you have already forfeited much of your advantage. A Jedi trusts the Force and at first seeks other ways to resolve problems: patience, logic, tolerance, attentive listening, negotiation, persuasion, calming techniques. But there are times when a Jedi must fight." Some would say that these words were wise.
They were and it is always better to make sure violence is the last resort.
Sometimes violence may be the only thing one can use, not exactly to be aggressive but to be defensive. Without protecting oneself it would seem silly, right? The Jedi however put alot of faith and trust in the Force, thinking that it would solve any and all of their problems because they are faithful servants of it.
Unfortunately for them, that is not really how it works.
Originally formed as a philosophical study group situated on the planet Tython, the Jedi became revered as guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. As mystical wielders of the Force and of their signature lightsabers, their powers inspired all citizens in the galaxy. The calm, considered demeanor of the Jedi made them ideal brokers of peace in times of conflict or dispute.
Yet, for all their power and diversity, the Jedi were few. Often beset by foes in times of doubt and confusion, undercurrents of evil often challenged their order and the establishment they served, the most notable being the Sith.
These dark warriors were the antithesis of the Jedi, their sworn enemies, and the battle between them brought the galaxy to war more than once. In times of crisis, the Sith could even use the dark side of the Force to diminish the powers of the Jedi, and prevent them from sensing the future.
Just like the Sith had been doing now, not exactly because Sidious in particular wanted to cloud himself. He did, but it was as a result of the Force nexus underneath the temple that it had lead to this result.
Thankfully for them Anakin had been so kind as to siphon the energy out of the nexus, making them able to see the future again. Meaning that it should be immensely more easier for them to find out who the Sith was.
Maybe...
"Clones vanishing, they are." Yoda said as the room all knew of what was happening.
"Yes, from various reports there have been no known sightings of the clones and because of this we have had to cut back on the war efforts." Mace supplied.
Jedi Master Yaddle interjected. "Do we know where they are going? Have they died? Or have they just abandoned their posts?"
"Know not, we do." Yoda answered Yaddle's question and undoubtedly all of the rests question as well.
"Then what are we trying to do about it?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked, kind of upset at having the clones keep disappearing, especially for him as when he is assigned a team or legion, they would disappear faster than he could say, 'May the Force be with you.'
"We are aware of your predicament Master Mundi, but please be calm. We are all trying our best-" Mace was cut off by Depa.
"Doing your best? Is everyone doing their best here? This war is something that we as the Jedi should have never joined in the first place."
Everyone within the room was starting to argue and it was getting pretty heated as people from different sides and perspectives clashed with each other. Yoda would only shake his head, knowing that his interference wouldn't help things much but that doesn't mean Mace wanted to continue listening to everyone bicker.
"Quiet! Please! Be quiet..." It was Obi-Wan Kenobi. Someone that had been promoted to Master Jedi and had even been offered a seat on the Council. It was well deserved as he had done much throughout his time as a Jedi, saving many people and doing alot of good deeds.
Of course there are other aspects to take into account, but they wouldn't be talked about here. "Thank you Master Kenobi." Mace said as he was about to say something himself. "Now that I have everyone's attention, I would like to go over some other things..."
They would talk about this and that, the losses of their Jedi and even the people leaving their Order. Something that they couldn't exactly stop, even with their persuasion and talk of the Force, people were heading towards the Empyrean.
It is there that most of those within the room want to investigate themselves just what is happening there. They had exactly a few people in mind that would investigate, now that they had the time.
The people going to the Empyrean were going to be Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Yoda, Yaddle, Quinlan Vos, and Luminara Unduli. These people chosen in particular because of their connection to Anakin or the other girls he had taken with him.
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