Chapter 34: War!

Star Wars + Harry Potter Crossover

Chapter 34: War!

A/N: I have been writing the last chapter for a while now but had to split it in two as it got too large. I will say that this is NOT it and that there will now be a total of 37 chapters to this story...the last chapter I will get back to writing after I've copied this one up.

19 BBY

3634 ATC

Coruscant

Palpatine stalked around his apartment with his normally calmly impassive face twisted with rage and hatred as he moved like a caged animal. He even began to quietly snarl as he prowled around with the languid grace of a predator amongst prey.

"What a complete and utter waste of blood and organs my apprentice has been!" He raged as the Dark Side trembled inside him. It needed to destroy, to lash out and his fingers itched to slowly crush someone's throat as he watched the light bleed from their eyes. "He has put the entire plan at risk for his wounded pride".

The Republic, in its infinite wisdom, thought that the Confederacy was a collection of systems that were merely suffering under a 'misguided' belief that their worlds would do better without Republic control and oversight.

They thought the fact that these systems were, in the main, on the edges of Republic space a symptom of this rather than part of a design and the fact that these worlds were further roughly fragmented into four quadrants supported this idea (they were almost side by side in the north as there were two pockets of rebellion and only one more condensed pocket in the south).

They further believed that the droid factories were making a concerted effort for independence and they, along with most of the C.I.S. leadership believed that the factories were working at 100%.

They couldn't have been more wrong of course. Not only were the factories barely touching 40% but Sidious and his former Master had arranged this faction of the war very carefully and with a surgeon's precision.

Every single last detail was planned and the resulting picture was, to Sidious, almost as much art as revenge.

The contested areas were so far out so that the Republic lines would be stretched thin and their ability to respond in a timely fashion would be limited at best. The member worlds were separated into three so that, while they did provide a significant threat to the Republic itself and what it stood for, they were never likely to actually win.

It had taken the entire Banite Sith Order centuries of slow and careful manipulation to reach this point. They had sown the seeds of distrust and xenophobia among carefully targeted worlds (as well as simultaneously encouraging the corruption in the Senate up to obscene levels to agitate the masses even further) and now, with the Clone Wars so close to achieving their purpose, it was all coming undone.

All because of Dooku's petulant and childish need to kill members of both the Commonwealth and the Royal Council. He even did it in front of unassailable witnesses rather than bide his time and strike when it couldn't be proven that he had done it.

There was no great period of mourning or even the diplomatic demands and thinly veiled insults that even he had expected.

Instead, they attacked in numbers that neither Security Service knew that they had and the Northern Front had shuddered under the weight of their fury suffering defeat after defeat.

Hundreds of thousands of men and women that were filled with a patriotic rage had joined the war effort, bright-eyed and eager for their enemies blood, not to mention the sea of droids had punched into the C.I.S's lines like they were made of wet tissue paper.

And every droid, every man, every woman and everything in between wanted only one thing and that was Dooku's head on a pike. The Commonwealth had even put a bounty out on the man's location and it was not even to attack him (they wanted that pleasure for themselves) but simply to know where he was at all times.

It made secret meetings with him extremely difficult and tedious to arrange.

Worse the reports of men and women who were not Knights of the Silver but that could use the Force in unexpected ways were not simply rumours or fantasy anymore as their abilities had been more than confirmed.

They could do things that both the dogmatic Jedi and the 'liberated' Sith could only have ever dreamed of. The knowledge that they could turn one thing into another and move with the blink of an eye was now a confirmed fact and not just the tales of drunk spacers with too much time.

That they could even create animals out of thin air and launch strange multicoloured blaster bolts from sticks in their hands was also shown to be true. What was not known was what their limits were and the disturbing thought that they had none permeated the sheep of the general population causing more than a little fear.

They called themselves Magi.

Under other circumstances, Sidious would have loved to study one of them and try and replicate their abilities for his own use. The fact that it would have been under inhumane laboratory conditions and with many safeguards went without saying as it wouldn't be the first time and he even had a well-hidden place for such things although, he did have more immediate concerns right now.

"Damn that stupid fool" he reiterated his thoughts to the empty and unfeeling room.

Though Dooku had tried to rally (and had even managed to win a small skirmish or two) it had effectively made no difference. The Commonwealth not only crushed the opposition but kept the land they took extending their borders as they went.

In the end, the Northern Front was almost completely shattered by them and they had managed to entrap and encircle Dooku in a siege on his homeworld. The Knights of the Silver and the Magi were, of course, in charge of that assault.

The only piece of good news that Sidious had was that (ironically due largely to Yoda's actions) the Republic and the Commonwealth were not working in concert. In fact, they were barely a step or two away from open warfare.

Though there were exceptions to that guideline as the opinions of the Jedi, the Senate and the people varied wildly as always (in large part to the fact that the Holonet reported every victory of the Commonwealth enhancing both citizen's respect and the need for ambitious politicians to be seen as in favour of them as well as the considerable reputation of the Potter family) and the common people simply loved the Commonwealth at the moment.

Still, the damage to his plans was immeasurable.

He had originally intended for the droid factory to remain at their low output and, on the side of the Republic, create more quickly grown but inferior clones in Spaarti Clone Cylinders to balance each other out so that more and more Jedi would be drawn into the conflict and weaken or die.

Instead, his latest orders (less than an hour old) would push the remaining factories far beyond their safety limits and he was even forced to order the construction of many more to make up the losses from the Northern Front.

All of this was done so that the Republic didn't take advantage of their new weakness and end the war far too soon for his liking.

Thankfully all of the projections and the Force agreed that his attempt to salvage the situation would be successful but the damage was done and the Separatists were now firmly on the defensive.

Worse his preferred next apprentice Anakin Skywalker not only had very little to do with him and even seemed to be actively avoiding him. He also spent more and more of his time inside the Commonwealth itself ostentatiously trying to maintain the peace, or at least avoid a war, between them and the Republic.

He was effectively untouchable there and so, like any good politician, he had adapted and he was already laying the groundwork for a new offensive that would draw the eye of the Republic as the overworked factories could (at least temporarily) pick up the slack.

Instead of the long drawn out fight that he had planned, one that slowly killed the Jedi off and prepared them for a decisive killing blow, as the timetable had changed he was going to take a page out of the Commonwealth's book and deliver quick sharp shocks to the body of the Republic before destroying that in a way too.

If I have to sacrifice an apprentice for that, he thought, and one that has proven such a disappointment as well as inept then so much the better. Instead of dismantling the C.I.S droids I will use them to bolster my army and along with the Clones use them to burn the heart out of the Commonwealth as soon as I am done with the Republic.

-LAFA-

Serenno

"My Lord?" Called the stocky Magi Wintergreen clearly wanting Harry's attention. "The Third Assault Wing has reported that the planetary shield has fallen and they are moving on to destroy the anti-aircraft gun emplacements. What are your orders?"

Not many systems, Harry thought, could afford such shielding. It's clear that Dooku cares for his home... more's the pity

"Prepare the ground troops" said Harry while standing on the bridge and lightly meditating on the Force. He was thinking not only of things to come but also trying not to dwell on the grief he felt over the friends that he lost.

Despite that, he could almost feel their ghosts beside him supporting him as they had done all their lives. He could almost see them waiting with cold and impassive faces while they hungered for the final end of Dooku with a cold and burning disgust that transcended death. "Where is Dooku at present?"

"Our droid spies report that he has barricaded himself inside his families Palace along with the other heads of the Great Houses of Serenno. From the comm traffic, he appears to be trying to call in reinforcements from the scattered remnants of the Northern Separatist fleets".

"Will he be successful?" Harry asked with a note of mild curiosity in his voice as, even if they left now, it was doubtful they would get here in time to be of any use.

"According to Grandmaster Jinn...no sir. His fleet has intercepted any that could conceivably answer the call as you have ordered and those that are not dead in space are utterly destroyed".

"Very good. Prepare my personal shuttle and inform the Saber Battalion that they are to land and breach the Palace at all costs".

After a long moment of silence, Harry continued by almost muttering to himself "Qui-gon for someone who never wanted war..you are surprisingly good at it...a sign of the times I suppose".

Unsurprisingly the middle-aged Magi did not comment on his Prince's muttering though he did hear it clearly.

"Will they join you in dealing with Dooku sir?" Harry could almost hear his own wife's voice in the question that could also be taken as a command. It was an observation that he was sure the man was told to ask and one that he was going to ignore.

"No. Their duty is to hold the Palace and find and secure the nobility of Sereno only. Dooku is mine to deal with". His reply was firm, unyielding and cold. "Where is Knight Skywalker?"

"He has been called back to Coruscant to report to the Jedi Council sir" was his stiff and faintly unhappy answer.

Harry both wanted to chuckle at the unspoken disagreement from the younger man and barely hid his own grimace at the thought of that Council and its leader.

"You have the bridge Magi Wintergreen" Harry said at last even as he began the short walk towards his personal hangar and moved to make Dooku meet his well deserved fate.

-LAFA-

Dooku was in a panic although, during the meeting that he had just come from with the other leaders of Sereno, no one in the room was able to tell because of the well practised and calming mask that he had learned to employ as a Jedi so very long ago.

It helped that he had lied to them but, then again, he had to as he couldn't rely on his natural charm like he used to with half of his face covered in a curved (though expensive) mask. Added to that, if he had told them the truth, they would be running about in a completely useless panic and distracting him from what he had to do

Despite the fact that it had several cutting edge micro healing devices that were woven throughout it the metallic looking mask had never healed his wounds. The flesh was as scarred, open and weeping today as it was on the day that Potter had first attacked him with that strange flame.

It still felt to him like his face was on fire and he could even sometimes swear that he still smelt the burning of his own flesh. He even woke screaming every now and again thinking that it was still being done thanks to a nightmarish reliving of the incident.

At those times all he could do was wake a cold sweat and bite back his own screams.

Perhaps, he thought, if I hadn't delved so deeply into the Dark Side of the Force I would be able to use the other side to heal myself…. then again maybe not.

He had tried, with several worthless commoners, to himself by drawing the life out of them and though it should have healed any injury (after the fifth attempt) he gave them up as complete and utter failures.

The only upside of this for him was that the constant pain and bleeding had enabled him to reach new heights in his mastery of the Dark Side. It was not only the pain though but also the constant reminder that he had failed, that he had to be better, to defeat his enemy.

All of that of course only served to power his rage even further.

His Master refused to take any of the few calls if he had been able to get past the, admittedly superb, jamming capabilities of the Commonwealth and he got the distinct impression that not only would help not be coming from that quarter but that it was less one of his Master's many tests more that he was considered a failure and not worth Palpatine's time.

Grievous already spoke for the C.I.S as their new temporary capital world of Xagobah had him as the de facto leader of their parliament.

It wasn't ideal but the Republic was unlikely to believe that the leadership was actually based there due to the inhospitable environment that the planet had. Indeed the large number of people that were required to run the government that was actually there was under specially designed biodomes to protect them from the planets many (and often dangerous) pollens.

Grievous himself was currently riding the wave of being the Separatists new Golden Child of course.

Not only had the war effort in the south not suffered anywhere near as much as his own but, he had recently managed to increase the worlds under his control threefold and with their newly expanded territory came the prestige and power that always seemed to follow a victor.

Their territory now stretched unendingly from Ragmar to Bespin and, with the construction of new factories imminent, his opposite in the south's war effort seemed to only be increasing in speed and power.

That damned Commonwealth, he thought, Grievous makes the whole thing looks so easy. He has never had to face the Commonwealth in any large numbers or their strange Magi and the seemingly unending waves of Silver Knights.

He wouldn't have been surprised if there weren't more of them then there were of Jedi.

He couldn't, of course, know how right he was as at their best before the war began there were around five hundred thousand Jedi and now there were double that of the Silver Knights. Worse for the man there were over two and a half million Magi although most of them were not part of the army.

He was not only unaware of this but also a Sith Lord however and, not two miles away, had hidden a fully functional and cloakable ship. He was very much looking forward to escaping and teaching Grievous exactly who was in charge but first, he had to make sure that no one followed him before he wrested control of his government back from the cyborg.

That meant killing Potter and, more than that, he wanted to give the man a taste of the pain that he had suffered before he destroyed him and was confident that his new strength in the Force would be more than enough to accomplish his self-appointed task.

He was a Sith Lord and this meant that Potter did not stand a chance.

-LAFA-

The Dooku family Palace was old. In fact, it was so old that no one was quite sure who had built it though family legend had it that the second Count Dooku had done so.

Regardless of the truth of that, the fact was that every generation of his family going as far back as anyone could remember or record had added something to it. Whether that was inside the building or adding to its external structure was beside the point as it became one of the most beautiful and sprawling sites of the planet.

And almost impossible to defend adequately.

Still, it was full of tasteful art that was centuries old. It had beautifully inlaid mosaics that were masterworks of their form and it was a study of the idea that a home can also be a museum as well as a prime example of wealth coupled with taste.

This was only heightened by the fact that the splendour inside was equally matched by the outside with carved stone and manicured lawns that would make petty Kings of lesser planets weep with envy or gnash their teeth in rage.

Until Harry and his men arrived.

The ancient and breathtaking carved oak doors were rocked by an explosion as they were forced into shards and, if that wasn't enough, with a violent wave of blaster fire following straight afterwards. A long moment after those first shots were fired the Saber Battalion moved in and took as many of Dooku's personal guard as they could.

The B-1's and B-2's that made up the majority of it fell quickly even as several Droidekas rolled forward to take their place on the sudden battlefield. They were supported by many other units and there were even three MagnaGuards forming up behind them ready to fight.

Thanks to the latter model being both heavily armoured, armed and largely constructed of phirk they would have usually been a very large problem except that, as they began to move forward, the windows shattered and in dropped Harry along with several JK droids (with jet pack mods) and two Knights of the Silver.

The Knights used the Force to lift the two Droidikas and slam them into each other even as Harry rolled under a MagnaGuard's attack, parried the swipe of another and slammed a lightning wrapped and Force augmented hand into the centre of the third as he rose to his feet. The strength of that attack (as well as the lightning racing through its system) managed to destroy it's animation circuitry and made it, mostly, harmless.

As he turned to fully face the other two his own HP's began to march through the now broken door still firing at the enemy and the other Silver Knights and JK's began to move in with their own blades darting in on the unfeeling enemy.

Before the deadly machines could fully react and defend themselves they were overwhelmed and brutally dismantled.

It was only moments after that when more troops, both organic and droid, poured in to maintain a perimeter only, this time, there were also Magi among them.

"Magi York?" Harry called.

"Yes, sir?"

"You are in command of the building. Find the other Counts and leaders, detain them, and if anyone puts up any sort of resistance put them down with impunity. Am I clear?" Harry's voice was crisp with the tone of a commander that was well used to being obeyed.

"Yes sir" the man replied with a resigned note in his own voice.

The Knights and the Magi each moved off with a group of droids, leaving only those few needed to form a perimeter, as Harry himself headed deeper into the building demolishing any resistance in his way with consummate ease. He didn't need a map to follow after all as the seething angry darkness of Dooku was more than clear to his senses.

-LAFA-

As the lightsaber began to melt the reinforced door Dooku began to focus his rage into a sharp point and, responding to the rise in temperature, seven concealed heavy turrets sprung from the walls, floor and ceiling.

As soon as more than the tip of the blade appeared on his side of the door the turrets began to fire and Dooku launched all of his anger and rage into a veritable Force Storm of agony and death.

What he saw next caused his mouth to open in complete and utter shock even as Harry stepped through into the room.

Some form of small blue glowing shield had appeared instantaneously in front of Harry's empty hand even as his lightsaber flew from his other one in a quick graceful arch destroying each and every turret. More amazingly Harry's now empty hand was batting away blaster bolts like annoying flies while waiting for the lightsaber to return to it.

His most hated enemy arched and twisted moved and it seemed that he almost was casually dancing through the maelstrom of dark energy directed at him leaving only death and destruction in his wake.

Dooku had learned a lot from their last encounter however as, with a push of a button, two more turrets appeared and started to launch double rockets at Harry even as Dooku threw his own lightsaber into the fray.

He knew (from his own long history of teaching them for many years) that they are almost no Jedi that would be able to stop such an attack and he could think of none at all that could do so uninjured no matter how skilled they were.

With a flick of Harry's wrist, Dooku watched the first two missiles turn to water before his very eyes and the next two turned back on to the turrets themselves. His lightsaber meanwhile was directed away by Harry's own as it returned to the man and he found himself right where he did not want to be as he quickly called the weapon back to his hand.

In close combat with Harry Potter.

Here he was in the heart of his power and in his ancestral home which was always the place where he was strongest and could feel the whispers of the Force the best.

It seemed to make no difference.

Here he had generations of history and his unending hatred of the man that was placed before him like a sacrificial lamb. Here he brought his years of training as a Jedi to the fore as well as an impressive grasp of the Dark Side to attack the Commonwealth's leader.

And instead of killing the man it seemed to only mildly inconvenience him.

He threw everything as he could, from the lamps and the chairs to the ceiling panels themselves, and he also threw Force Lightning as well as using his lightsaber to form manoeuvres and thrusts that almost any Jedi could not keep up with.

He thought that only his master, Darth Sidious, could ever hope to match them and he had in the main refused to do so using instead his more impressive grasp on the Force to power through them.

That was what he thought until this battle with Harry Potter has he found all of his preparation and training was as good as doing nothing.

Every swipe and thrust was meticulously countered. His own Lightning was either absorbed, redirected or returned. Harry even surprised Dooku by sending some of his own at the man and he had to wonder, as he hastily moved away from it, if the beloved leader of the Commonwealth was falling right in front of him or if he had been studying the Dark Side secretly for years without anyone knowing.

By the third blow, he was forced out of position by the seventh, his footwork was in ruins trying to defend himself and by the tenth, he was simply looking for a way to escape with his arms aching and his chest heaving from exhaustion.

In a desperate gambit, he jumped away while throwing the last piece of solid furniture (a small table no longer than a man laying down) at Harry.

To Dooku's increasing shock and horror, the table became a wolf that turned around and before it could ever get close to hitting Harry ran directly at him clearly going for his throat.

Dooku took a precious second or two to dispatch the wolf with the same skill that he had always shown and for anyone else that would have been too small of a window to do any damage.

Fighting an angry Harry Potter, however, it managed to cost him his non-saber wielding arm.

The sudden loss (and the pain that came along with it) fueled his powers further even as it made him physically weaker and he instinctively, almost drunkenly, pushed Harry back with a barely controlled push of the Force.

The strength of it was so great that Harry sailed through the air only to smash heavily, back first, into the wall.

-LAFA-

Harry bit his lip until it bled as his back groaned and protested against the strength of the old reinforced wall that he had hit.

His muscles ached and his senses sharpened as the adrenaline washed over him even as his blood felt like it had begun to burn his very veins as the amount of Force and magic that he had been overusing.

But he could not stop, would not stop, as his purpose was clear.

Pushing his mind and tired limbs beyond what he would normally consider his limit (those turrets packed quite a punch and he had put everything into the start of the fight to hopefully end it quickly) and jumped back into the fray slashing down as he went.

The weary Dooku simply could not raise his weapon quickly enough and lost his other arm when he tried to do so. With an almost negligent flick of Harry's saber, the man soon lost both of his legs as well.

"End it!" Dooku snarled and the hate and disgust dripped from his words like poison. Harry was just a vicious in his reply when he leaned down and immobilised the man, smiling all the while, before he began to speak.

"No….not yet" he said."This is what I am going to do to you".

As Harry began to whisper what was going to happen into Dooku's ear the man's face paled at first and then filled slowly with impotent rage. Thanks to the spell he had cast however that was all it would ever be as, though Dooku would dearly love to stop him, he still couldn't move.

"You" said Harry with cold finality "are going to die the death that you have earned".

He would have, under other circumstances, read the man's mind at that moment but his earlier exertions had made that simple attack impossible at present.

Harry then slowly walked away after renewing the paralysis on the man and felt lighter even as the man lay there with his mind stuck on his own fear of what was going to happen to him. All the once great Jedi turned Sith Lord could do was go slowly insane with it and wonder how long he had left to live.

Impotent and alone.

-LAFA-

Three hours later the planet of Serenno was clear of all innocents that the Magi could find and the Commonwealth Cruiser Silver Flame all of the civilians who wish to go with them while it's sister ship the Hope has the far greater number that would be sent along to the Republic... eventually.

Below the only people left alive were the Counts of the planet and every spy, C.I.S loyalist and enemy that couldn't be trusted and could be found in such a short time.

Dooku was down there too of course and all were very well guarded by droids who had no compunction in harming, restraining or killing those that tried to escape.

Harry stared down at the planet and slowly let go of his hatred.

It would do him no good, in the long run, to carry that with him and after he was done here he would let it rest as well as consigning both it and Dooku to his past.

For a Force User holding on to hatred like that was far more damaging not just to their psyche. The Sith were more than evidence enough of the folly of that even discounting the high likelihood of madness and obsession that was riddled throughout both their long history and when they had Orders large enough, their ranks.

Each power in this war had created and was still creating superweapons. Thanks to the Commonwealth's spies they knew that the Sith were developing something called a Death Star although it was still in its early stages.

Both the C.I.S and the Republic had created superweapons that were designed to be mounted on ships though, at present, only the former had managed to install one on the Malevolence and that had recently been destroyed.

Which was no doubt one of the many reasons that Dooku had been searching for ancient and half-forgotten superweapons in the first place.

The Commonwealth had been far more successful than its cousins and had managed to create two with both in a limited form of mass production. One of these was called the Silver Twin and looked very like two torpedos put together being covered in a specially coated (and rune crusted) N.A.S sheath. It was then also housed in a sharp and pointed casing that was made to punch through extreme obstacles and survive great pressures.

"Launch the Silver Twin" commanded Harry and the droid at weapons control, simply following its programming, didn't even hesitate to comply.

The comparatively small weapon sped towards the planet and when it hit it but deeply into the ground heading for its target which was the planet's Core. By the time that it had reached there the outer casing had all but melted away due to both the magma and the pressure.

The first of the two (and larger) inner torpedoes activated in a flare of runes magically copying and increasing the magma around it at a prodigious rate until it itself was overwhelmed by what it made and was consumed in fire.

The second also had runes although of a different type, two sets of them to be exact, and while this was going on the first set activated a shield that protected the remaining part of the weapon from what was going to come.

Even with the most advanced shield that they could create it would not last long given the amount of pressure but it was now under but it was not meant to.

When it failed the final stage of the weapon was activated with the last set of runes blazing into a light no one could see as they were hit. They first condensed all of the magma around it that it could find (including all of the extra that had been produced).

Finally, when nature had begun to destroy the array, the carefully calculated explosive charge activated. This pushed all of the volatile liquid upward shooting it straight from the very Core of the planet and on to the surface as well as the sky above.

The only reason that the explosive was carefully calculated was because the weapon was not designed to make the planet explode under pressure from the inside out.

Instead, it effectively it turned every deep crack and dormant volcano on the planet into an active one as well as turning the very shaft that it had created getting to the Core into a super volcano.

Serenno was once known as one of the most beautiful worlds of the Republic spoken in the same breath as the idyllic scenery of Naboo but after today that would no longer be the case.

The rolling green pastures were already burning and the beautiful architecture was doomed to fall into a liquid fire that would not cease for a very long time. Thousands of years of history would be lost in moments when even the sky began to fill with black smoke and ash that would soon block out the sun and turn the once picturesque view (from orbit) into a rolling and angry grey black marble.

And that was how the Nobility of Serenno died. The weapon had been launched in such a place that they would not simply be consumed by magma straight away and instead either choked on the ash in the air or burnt alive as the magma eventually began to reach them.

The whole planet was swamped within minutes of the weapon having been activated and the planet itself was soon dead and would be for centuries if nothing was done to repair or moderate the damage.

Even if someone did it would likely be the Commonwealth given the Republic's track record in these things and even if, by some miracle, they did so the world as it was would never exist again.

That being said the Commonwealth, when explanations were demanded, simply pointed out that this was the price for killing their best and brightest. It was not your death you needed to worry about nor was it the death of your family or friends but, instead, the destruction of your entire planet and effectively the wiping of its entire existence from history.

Thankfully, for their reputation, the fact that the Commonwealth had almost complete influence on the Holo-Net meant that destruction of the planet was seen less as a symbol of fear and more one of triumph and justice as the C.I.S's hold and the North had been well and truly ended.

-LAFA-

Coruscant

Breaking news now in the war effort with information still coming in. The Northern Front has been completely defeated but, not by the Grand Army of the Republic as instead (and once again proving without a doubt that the Potter family aids the Republic now more than ever) Serenno is destroyed and uninhabitable.

Although this, of course, is a great loss to the Republic many believe that is a price well worth paying as it is lead to the death of the Separatist Leader, rebel and former Jedi Count Dooku.

A Senator, on the condition of anonymity…

The transmitting device stopped working as it crumbled under the power of a Sith Lords rage.

He couldn't quite believe the state of affairs with General Grievous, once considered only a blunt instrument, now in charge of the Separatist Movement and the loss of the Northern Front made everything much more desperate.

With a negligent wave of his hand, Sidious threw the broken transmitter away and calmly pressed a button below his desk to order a replacement now that he had vented, if only slightly, his anger.

Still, he thought suddenly calming, it hasn't been a complete loss as the plan has made progress not even counting Grievous's sometimes stunning victories against the Republic.

As if in answer to his thought a personal door chime was heard throughout his room and it was almost silently opened admitting a Jedi Master.

"Ahhh Kara" said Palpatine smiling and infusing his voice with just the right amount of warmth "you are, as ever, as beautiful as you are powerful. I do so enjoy the pleasure of your company and I'm so glad that you were able to join me for dinner once again".

"This is the only thing good about being stuck at the Temple right now" she grumbled in reply and then returned his smile. "Your company and your dinners that is".

Both of them moved towards his private dining table and, as they sat down, Palpatine struggled to withhold his private amusement at the idea of a Sith Lord sitting down to have dinner with a Jedi Master in a companionable fashion.

Then again he was well aware that although she was once again on the Jedi High Council she was somewhat ostracized and had been for some time due to her belief that the Commonwealth was a much greater threat than Dooku or the Confederacy itself.

He had managed to use that alienation to not only deepen their friendship to a point where they had dinners regularly but also to the point that they would (and he often privately laughed at this) tell each other whatever was on their minds.

It was ironic that the very concern that Yoda had for her and his single-minded desire to keep her from both the path of anger as well as the Dark Side of the Force had led her to having many intimate dinners with a Sith Lord.

Adding to the woman's frustration was the fact that Yoda was so worried about her strong emotional outbursts and growing focus on the Potters that she had been banned from joining the war effort in any meaningful way as he feared what the influence of highly emotional combat would do to her or perhaps, more accurately, drive her to do.

For Palpatine, it was merely another weakness that he could exploit.

The table was already set and it also included the most mouth-watering three-course meal that he, with his vast resources, was able to get in record time. It would be fair to say that the likes of this meal which most people would rarely if ever see and was likely something that the Jedi never actually had before.

This he knew especially well as it was the Senate that controlled the Jedi temples budget and they would never pay a bill for such extravagant food out of the public funds unless, of course, the meal was to be eaten by them.

They even had an excuse for their actions handed to them by the fact that the Jedi was supposed to live a simple and unencumbered life. In short, instead of enjoying life's luxuries, they were supposed to put that aside and simply commune with the Force for the betterment of the Republic as well as protect it when need be.

A life of fine dining did not, and never would, mesh with that lifelong goal.

"So how have you been since we last spoke?" Palpatine asked with a voice that was impregnated with just the right amount of concern, friendship and compassion while tinged (if only faintly) with sympathy.

Kara controlled her facial expressions but, to Palpatine's finely tuned senses, her frustration and dismay were more than clear.

"Training Younglings in basic lightsaber skills is rewarding" she replied shortly as if she had been asked this question many times by many people.

"But a waste of your talents" soothed Palpatine while serving first her and then himself the first course with a soft and sympathetic smile.

She smiled back before catching herself and reasserting a blind mask on her face as, though she tried not to show it, the fact that the leader of the Republic served her first not only spoke of a certain symbolism but it was also quite touching to her.

"You are powerful" he continued "intelligent and have a mind for actively defending the innocent with great skill. I know it's bad of me but I can't help but wonder how many lives will be lost without you there to protect them".

"How goes the war?" Master Durvan asked.

"Surely as a Jedi" he began and with a gentle shrug "you know just as much as me?"

When he spoke he pretended not to notice the slight wince that flitted across her face and that, for all her training she was unable to hide completely, as she remembered that under other circumstances he would be right or at least very close to it.

"My access to such information" she replied with a trace of anger seeping through her voice "is severely restricted thanks to the eternal wisdom of Master Yoda. All I know of the destruction of Serenno, for example, is thanks to the propaganda that is laughingly called the Holo-Net".

"Well the planet is as good as obliterated" stated Palpatine who was also annoyed with the news service though for very different reasons.

He had tried, several times in fact, to take control of it but was frustratingly denied as over seventy per cent of it was currently held by various holding companies and he had, as of yet, been unable to find the owner's to wrest control of it for himself. "It's destruction however is hardly a victory for the Republic".

"What do you mean by that?" Kara asked having noticed a slight look of discomfort that passed like a shadow over his face.

"I don't know if I should tell you" began Palpatine with artfully feigned reluctance.

"Chancellor…. are we not friends? Every single time I have needed someone you have been there for me and I swear, not just as a Jedi but also as your friend, that I will not share what you are about to tell me with anyone".

"They have created a...superweapon" he replied with just the right mixture of conviction and reluctance.

"Who?" Kara asked and then Palpatine watched, secretly delighted, as the realisation hit her and her face twisted into a scowl. "The Commonwealth has superweapons!?"

"I'm afraid so my dear" he answered with a sorrowful tone all the while drinking in her delicious facial expressions. "And before you ask of course I tried to warn the Senate of the danger but...I am only one man"

"Against those Senators that have been bribed by the Commonwealth, those that will always sue for peace at any cost and those that would take a stand against you personally I can see how that would be a problem".

"My biggest fear is far worse than a few Senators" Palpatine added. "If it was just that it would be one thing but I worry that they have gotten to select Jedi as well".

"Surely not!" Kara gasped.

"It is only logical my dear. Think about how quickly the Commonwealth responded to the Arkanian situation...there must be a spy somewhere".

"That doesn't mean that there are spies in the Jedi Order" Kara argued half-heartedly but with clear doubt in her voice.

"That" Palpatine said "would be the least distressing of the options that I have been considering lately. You must admit to the possibility that they have bought a Jedi or have turned one to their cause exists..young Anakin perhaps?"

"I cannot believe that" she responded weakly even as the delicious food in front of her was forgotten as the possibilities swam in her mind.

"You don't want to and frankly neither do I but, such a thing must be considered. Why else would they sideline your tactical genius so effectively? It can't all be because of their concerns over your anger 'issues' and it is well known that you are not a fan of the Commonwealth"

Kara didn't know it but Palpatine was subtly weaving the Force into his words at that point.

All she knew was that the things he was saying what opening several new possibilities up and her mind that, thanks to more than a year of dinners like these, were finding very fertile ground. "Not to mention you are a very striking woman" he added disarmingly.

Despite herself and her Jedi training, she found that she was flushing at the light flirting which had edged into the last remark.

She knew logically that he meant nothing by it as he was a politician but, it was a mark of how different and open their relationship had become (especially in relation her own relationship with other Jedi at this time) that he would even say it at all.

Lately, she had even found herself trusting him more than the Jedi she used to look up to in some situations... especially when it came to her frustrations with the Jedi order and the Potters and she found herself talking more and more using his sympathetic ear to vent.

Just as he had planned all along.

"Perhaps you are right" she conceded at length although she was still not comfortable with admitting that herself. "But as much as I hate to admit it but Potter's are stronger than I am either separately or together".

"What if I could help?" Palpatine asked mildly to which she, of course, laughed.

"You are not a Jedi my friend so I'm afraid you could hardly help me" she replied until she saw his uncomfortable look and pressed. "What... what is it they are not telling me?"

"This time I really shouldn't say anything" Palpatine began with a grimace " as I don't want to put you in any awkward positions".

"Tell me" she answered with a voice like steel even as she reached out and squeezed his hand with her own. "I already said that I would be there for you... am there an that means keeping your secret no matter what they are?"

"I am a collector" he finally said hesitatingly but with some gravity to it and she knew exactly what he meant from those words alone.

Throughout history, many non-Force Sensitive people had collected Jedi and Sith artefacts. Some were harness like a famous Jedi Masters robe or the mask of a supposed Sith Lord while others, such as Holocrons and lightsabers, were far from that benign.

It was a Jedi's duty to confiscate any artefacts that these people had gathered as well as arrest them as some were very dangerous and it was a crime to do what they did. Given that it was a very big concession on Palpatine's part as technically she should simply arrest him for admitting it.

I can't do that to my friend, she thought, much less the Chancellor of the Republic. I can only imagine what such a thing would do to the Senate and the Republic... not to mention that it might lose us the war.

"How long?" She asked half afraid of the answer and as much to stall and gain enough time for her to decide on a course of action as well as to gather information.

"Many, many years" was the disquieting answer.

"Why tell me now?" she asked.

"You are as powerful as Master Windu" he said while giving her a frank look "and maybe you will grow more powerful still if only the Council would let you and you can put your well-justified distrust of the Potter family into a proper perspective".

"How am I supposed to do that when I can't let it go?" She asked defensively having had many similar conversations with Yoda over the years if only from the other side.

"Then do not let it go" he suggested gently.

"What" she almost screeched in shock "am I supposed to use it like some Sith of old?"

"Not at all" he lied soothingly. "A technique came into my possession recently that should help you. I'd offer you more information but only a Force Sensitive can use it…".

"And you are not one" she added unthinkingly to which he smiled indulgently while allowing her logical mistake to free him from having to lie again.

"This discipline should allow you to create a box inside of yourself, maintained by your own power, where you can store all of your strong emotions. For all intents and purposes, it will allow to fully control them once again...more than that it should improve your control by leaps and bounds".

"Thereby allowing me to return to the frontlines and help end this war" she added.

"And you could keep watch on the Potters as well. I'm sure an argument completely supported by cold logic and devoid of passion would carry much more weight with the High Council" he added trying to give her an extra push.

"Is there any risk?" Kara couldn't hide the fact that she was intrigued.

"You can rejoin the war effort if that is what you wish" he said and then added "and would I bring it up if I thought that there was any risk?"

"What must I do?" She said after a long minute of introspection. Her voice was more than simply eager now as Palpatine rose, took her by the hand, and led her like a lamb to the slaughter to his desk.

On which sat a few carefully edited pieces of flimsiplast.

The method that he was suggesting was used by many Sith sporadically over the centuries and had last been pressed into service by Darth Malak. They had used it to convert particularly stubborn, if foolish, Jedi when speed was the most important consideration in conversion.

It was also used during the time of the older Sith Empires to help young impressionable Sith to access the Force but fell out of favour years ago and was mostly forgotten until Darth Bane had begun the task of collecting as much knowledge as possible.

It would, as he had promised, contain her negative emotions. What he had failed to mention was the fact that these walls were not only weak but would subtly compress and amplify those feelings. That would continue until they broke out and like a poisonous wave begin the very short battle like an infection of every thought and emotion that she had.

That, in turn, would lead to a swift and unstoppable fall to the Dark Side of the Force.

The biggest downside of this was that it required, quite paradoxically, at least a small amount of agreement from the subject and only their own manipulation of their energies to make it work. This was the main reason why it had never supplanted torture in the conversion of wayward Jedi.

Palpatine smiled behind her back as the foolish woman became absorbed in her reading.

War, he thought, was not just about battles and blood. What it was also about was the hearts and minds of the rabble and the taking of key pieces on the board.

That, in and of itself, was an aspect of the war that he fully intended to win. After all Operation Knightfall would need a new leader and he did find himself lacking an apprentice.

-LAFA-

Serenno System

The six large space stations (that were being built exceptionally fast by a veritable horde of worker droids and ships) were almost complete and would provide a bulwark against any future attack on the Commonwealth.

Most systems in the Commonwealth had at least one, normally two, of these stations and they looked very much like a large flat dish with a tail coming down from the middle that tapered to a sharp point.

The tail was necessary because it provided the majority of the power (and magical battery storage) for the running of the stations as well as the automatic commands, if destroyed, that would activate their mundane backup systems.

It also had the heaviest shielding that the Commonwealth could provide while the dish was an eclectic mix of heavy weaponry that would make most navies desperate to have.

Harry was standing on the bridge of the Silver Flame watching them be constructed and thinking about what they might do next all the while having one arm loosely wrapped around his wife.

Luna, for her part, was busy communing with the Force and was both distantly aware of, and very grateful for, his comforting presence as she threw her practised mind into the divergent possibilities that were the future.

Having him close like this always helped anchor her to the present and, privately, she always found it good to wake from her journey in the loving arms of her husband.

"It is decided" she said abruptly and both somehow softly, sorrowfully and firmly all at once.

"Are we to attack the Southern Front then my love?" Harry asked with a note of curiosity playing in his voice.

"No. If we do that then we lose..and very badly... as it is not the time and will most likely not be our fight. The Galaxy will then fall back into the same destructive cycle but it always has had until either no trained Force Users are left alive or the Galaxy itself dies a very early and painful death".

Though she spoke in her normal voice, one that he had become accustomed to over the years, Harry could not remember it ever sounding so bleak while still being somehow comfortingly succinct and crisp.

"What then is decided if we are not going to attack the Separatists?"

"The identity of the Sith Lords new apprentice has been resolved" she said.

"Who is it?"

"Not Anakin or any one of ours. I do not know who but I do know that we have not personally met them or I'd have a clearer picture of who it was. To be honest the multitude of possibilities of who it could have been make it much more difficult for me to tell as well".

"Is there anything else that you can tell me?" Harry asked.

"Only that our surprise in the Chapterhouses will be needed and a name, though its meaning is hidden in shadow, it is always there like a cloud on the edge of my vision….. Operation Knightfall".

"Seers" Harry joked lightly "always so mysterious and full of metaphor".

"You love me anyway" said Luna impishly.

"That I do" Harry easily agreed before turning serious once again. "Whatever it is, is clearly aimed at the Jedi".

"Of course" she agreed. "The Sith hate everything in the Galaxy, it is their nature, but they hate the Jedi most of all".

"So what do we do now the war is over for us?"

"I never said" she began sadly "that the war is over for us... I only wish it was my love. It will come whether we want it to or not and we will still have to prepare".

"More ships" Said Harry tiredness and something close to despair almost screaming from his body language. "More droids, more blood and more death".

"I'm sorry" she said while softly stroking his face affectionately for the briefest of moments. "But this may end up being hardest on you most of all".

"Do you remember" Harry began wistfully " when our biggest problem was keeping our friendship a secret and we chatted in hidden rooms throughout a dusty castle?"

"Those were the days. Let's be honest though the castle was never that dusty... the House Elves would never allow it".

She smiled and he laughed. For a brief moment, they were there again before all of the betrayals and the very long journey that he had taken to find her and together make a home.

"Soon this will all end one way or another" she added finally.

"And then..." Harry said meaningfully.

"And then" she agreed.

-LAFA-

"Padmé!" called Anakin Skywalker known Jedi Knight and also called the Hero Without Fear as he looked for his wife (though in secret) in the home that they shared as often as both the Jedi and the war effort allowed.

Soon enough he had found her and was involved in his wife's loving embrace and, if anything good has come from this war, it was that they both had learned to enjoy these moments of softness and peace.

"Ani…. I have missed you" she said was feeling and then proceeded to kiss him even as her hands moved slowly down to his hips. Anakin was in no position to complain, despite the fact he still disliked the childhood nickname, as his own hands were hurriedly stripping his wife to get to her yielding and warm flesh.

Later, after their immediate needs had been stated, he was slowly stroking up and down the flesh of her inner thigh causing goosebumps to follow his relaxed but gently questing fingers.

Their marriage was an open secret amongst a very select few. Qui-Gon knew of course but now, as the older man was no longer a Jedi, he felt no immediate need to tell anyone and in fact had entered a relationship of his own.

Anakin thought that Obi-Wan Kenobi knew but, if he did, he turned a blind eye to it largely due to the effect Anakin had on the war effort and the sibling-like relationship the two men had shared all of their lives.

Harry and Luna knew as well as they were not only the two witnesses at the wedding (and the only guests) but it had also taken place in the Commonwealth itself. Given their own unique relationship they were more than happy to support their friends in finding a little bit of solace for themselves. It also helped that they strongly disagreed with the Jedi's current policies on marriage.

Still, things are more complicated than that now, he thought, while stroking his wife's pregnant belly, and things must change again.

"I am going to leave the Jedi" he said breaking the soft and quiet moment as his wife's eyes snap open from the drowsy pleasure that she was feeling.

"But you love being a Jedi" she argued after a long moments thought.

"No. I love you. I do love learning about the Force as well as helping people and it's not that I don't think what the Jedi do is worthwhile but there are other ways to do that".

"The Knights of the Silver" she stated while carefully withholding judgement and all he could do was shrug.

"Let's be honest I have been trained as both for years and we both knew this choice was coming. It is an open secret amongst the Jedi Masters that they sent me here to evaluate the threat that the Commonwealth could pose to the Republic. I honestly think, especially after Qui-gon left, that the only reasons they allowed me to keep coming were because no other Jedi are allowed in and the training I received here helps me fight against the Separatists".

"I think that it is only Jedi Masters Yoda and Windu that truly have any idea how helpful that has been especially with all the deaths and replacements on the Council that this war has caused…. though from what you tell me neither man is comfortable with it" she added.

"Yes" Anakin agreed "if either more Jedi were allowed here or the war was not raging on I think I would have been recalled permanently a long time ago. What they don't know, as neither I nor Qui-Gon has told them, is that apart from the armour that they have gifted me with I've had a standing invitation to join them since childhood".

"What about Master Durvan?" Padmé asked and felt a pang of regret as his face instantly hardened.

"With her... issues... regarding the Commonwealth she was never told and I don't believe she will ever be".

"I am not ready to abandon the Republic" she stated as she understood his unspoken offer just as he understood the steel in her voice.

Both knew that, if he abandoned the Jedi as that's how they would see it, he would not be welcome back in the Republic for quite some time so if she stayed... she would stay alone.

"This war will end soon and nothing has to be decided now" he said before a shadow of pain flittered across his face. "Besides this little getaway has been good and it has been wonderful to see Ahsoka again".

"Is it the Force or just a feeling telling you that the war will end soon oh great Master Jedi" Padmé teased him and he chuckled quietly.

"A feeling..." he said slowly " but the Separatists are trapped in the south now and when the war is over Naboo may not need you as Senator as much".

"After the war" Padmé said with her brow furrowed in thought.

"After the war" he agreed.

Regardless of anything else, at that moment, both understood how uncertain the future was and did the only thing that they could do. They couldn't control the war, or the Jedi, the Republic or the Commonwealth but they could and did grasp as much time with other as they could while they could.