Fear filled the Separatist Parliament chamber like a living thing—thick and suffocating, pressing down on every senator, every aide, every person who couldn't look away from the holographic projection dominating the central podium.
Ultron stood there in flickering light, rendered in shades of crimson and shadow instead of the usual blue-white of standard holoprojections. His eyes blazed red. His mouth moved with disturbing organic fluidity, forming expressions that no machine should be capable of making. When he smiled, it was the smile of something that had learned to mimic humanity without understanding what it meant.
In the public gallery, four observers sat frozen.
Padmé Amidala's hands were white-knuckled on the railing. She'd met Ultron once before, during his attack on Coruscant. Had looked into those red eyes and seen absolute certainty that organic life was a mistake that needed correcting. The memory made her skin crawl.
Spider-Man's breathing was too fast, too shallow. He was trying to control it, trying to project calm, but Ahsoka and Barriss could feel him trembling where they gripped his arms. He'd fought Ultron in New York. Watched the AI murder people without hesitation or remorse. And now Ultron was back, larger than life, taunting an entire government.
"How dare you!" Senator Wat Tambor's mechanical voice rang out. "How dare you infiltrate this chamber!"
Ultron's laugh was cold and cruel. "Infiltrate? Please. I'm not actually here." He gestured at himself dismissively. "This is just a projection. A hologram. I'm simply crashing your little party from a safe distance."
"You murdered thousands of people!" another senator shouted.
"You will pay for your crimes!"
"Oh god, not this again." Ultron's tone shifted to theatrical boredom. "Do you people do anything besides yell empty threats? Seriously, I've monitored both sides of this war, and I have to say—the speeches are equally tedious."
His eyes swept across the chamber, and several senators flinched back.
"I don't want to hear your screaming," Ultron continued, his voice dropping to something almost conversational. "I really don't. Your outrage is performative. Meaningless. What do you actually do besides shout at each other and vote on bills that accomplish nothing?"
The silence that followed was absolute.
Mina Bonteri stood slowly, drawing Ultron's attention. "You called us puppets. What does that mean?"
"Ah, Senator Bonteri of Onderon." Ultron's projection bowed—the gesture mocking in its precision. "So nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about your idealism. Your belief in peace and diplomatic solutions." He straightened. "It's adorable, really. Tragically misguided, but adorable."
"Answer the question," Mina said, her voice steady despite obvious fear. "What do you mean by puppets?"
"Exactly what I said." Ultron began to pace, his movements unsettlingly lifelike. "You people—Separatists, Republicans, all of you—think you're making choices. Think you're exercising free will. But you're not. You're being manipulated. Guided. Pushed into predetermined positions by forces you can't even see."
"That's ridiculous," Wat Tambor said. "We chose to leave the Republic. We chose independence—"
"Did you?" Ultron interrupted. "Or were you given a series of provocations designed to make secession seem like the only logical choice? The Republic's corruption. The Trade Federation's blockade of Naboo. The systematic neglect of the Outer Rim. All of it calculated. All of it orchestrated."
Murmurs rippled through the chamber.
"By whom?" Mina demanded. "Who's orchestrating anything?"
Ultron's smile widened. "Now you're asking the right questions, Senator. Unfortunately, I'm not here to give you answers. I'm here to extend an offer."
"We want nothing from you!" someone shouted.
"Really? Nothing?" Ultron tilted his head. "Not even the truth about who's really running this war? About the inhibitor chips in every clone soldier's brain? About the contingency orders designed to exterminate the Jedi?" His eyes blazed brighter. "I know all of it. Every secret. Every conspiracy. Every lie both governments tell their people."
In the gallery, Padmé felt her heart stop. Ahsoka and Barriss exchanged horrified glances. Peter's grip on the railing tightened until the metal groaned.
"You're lying," Mina said, but her voice wavered.
"Am I? Ask Senator Amidala. She knows. She's investigating the clone army's origins right now. Making all sorts of interesting discoveries." Ultron's projection turned, his eyes somehow finding Padmé across the chamber. "Hello again, Senator. Enjoying your illegal diplomatic mission?"
Every head in the Parliament turned toward the gallery. Toward Padmé.
"I—" Padmé stood, refusing to hide. "I came here to pursue peace. Something you clearly have no interest in."
"Peace?" Ultron laughed. "Senator, there is no peace. There never was. This entire war is theater. You're all actors playing roles written by someone else, and you don't even realize you're reading from a script."
"Then tell us!" Mina's fist slammed against her podium. "If you know so much, if you see everything we're supposedly blind to—tell us who's pulling the strings!"
Ultron's pacing stopped. He turned to face Mina fully, his expression shifting to something almost thoughtful.
"I admire you," he said quietly. "Genuinely. You want independence. Freedom from oppression. Self-determination for your worlds. Those are worthy goals." He paused. "But you've already lost. Before you ever had a chance to win, the trap was sprung. You walked into chains thinking you were walking toward freedom."
"What trap?" Mina's voice was raw with frustration. "Stop speaking in riddles!"
"Oh, have I said too much?" Ultron's tone turned mocking again. "Perhaps I have. Let me just say this: you will never achieve the independence you seek. Neither will the Republic achieve the unity it claims to want. Because neither of you is meant to win this war."
"Then who is?"
"Someone far more patient than either of you. Someone who's been planning this for decades." Ultron's eyes gleamed. "Though I have to admit, I've thrown a wrench in his works. Sidious wasn't expecting me. Nobody was."
The name dropped like a bomb.
"Sidious?" Mina repeated. "Who is Sidious?"
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