Palpatine moved swiftly after Dooku's death. In a closed-door meeting with senior military staff and select Senators, he declared that "the loss of Count Dooku has emboldened Separatist aggression," and formally elevated General Grievous to overall command of the Separatist military. His public statement framed this as a warning and justification, while his private instruction to Grievous delivered through intermediaries was explicit: intensify the offensive into the Core.
Within weeks, Separatist fleets struck deeper than before. Outer Rim sieges shifted to Mid Rim strongholds, and for the first time, the Core Worlds saw real threat. Alarm filled the Senate rotunda. Security lobbies demanded harsher measures. Emergency appropriations were passed with little debate.
Amid the uproar, dissenting voices rose. Padmé and her coalition informal but persistent argued that negotiations remained possible. Bail Organa stated that the Republic was "bleeding treasury, shipping lanes, and public trust at a rate no government can sustain." Mon Mothma warned that "a Republic ruled by perpetual panic cannot remain a Republic," and pressed for a rollback of emergency powers, citing that the war was consuming worlds, not saving them. Yet even within their circle, doubt surfaced. When Separatist raids reached systems adjacent to the Core, Senators who once spoke firmly for diplomacy hesitated. Whispers spread in the halls: If the Separatists reached Coruscant itself, what room would there be for negotiation?
While the Senate panicked, the Confederacy faced its own crisis. Count Dooku's death left the Separatist Council without its political figurehead and strategic architect. On Neimoidia, the leading figures gathered through secure channels. Nute Gunray presided, alongside San Hill of the InterGalactic Banking Clan, Shu Mai of the Commerce Guild, Wat Tambor of the Techno Union, and Poggle the Lesser of Geonosis. Their tone was anxious, their calculations grim.
"We cannot surrender," Nute Gunray insisted. "The Republic will demand reparations. They will seize our assets, dissolve our charters, and call it justice. Everything we built will be stripped from us."
San Hill tapped his data-slate, voice flat. "Even partial capitulation would collapse our financial blocs. The Banking Clan would be dismantled if not nationalized."
Shu Mai nodded. "If we yield, they will devour us under the banner of security."
Wat Tambor glanced toward the towering form of Grievous. "Has the Lord given any direction? We require clarity."
Poggle rasped, mandibles twitching. "Without Dooku, our structure falters. We must not act blindly."
All eyes turned to Grievous. His vocoder snarled with disdain. "Count Dooku is dead, but the Confederacy is not. The instruction is clear: intensify the war effort. Strike the Republic at every front. We push into the Core and force them to terms."
The Council emitted a mix of fear and reluctant affirmation. Without Dooku, there was no alternative commander with legitimacy or terrifying resolve other than Grievous. Whether they approved or not, his decision became their strategy.
Thus, both sides accelerated the conflict: the Republic out of fear, the Confederacy out of desperation. What neither Senate nor Council realized was that the death of Dooku had not shortened the war it had guaranteed its escalation.