( 30 BBY )
With everything in place, the Outer Rim Alliance was all but ready to launch its invasion of Phindar. The extra time they had taken to get an agreement from Botajef had allowed them to fully restock and repair all five of Serenno's cruisers. The Hammerheads and the Coronas were now crewed and ready to fly, though the crews hadn't got nearly enough time to practice with the latter to operate them at their best.
Surveying his small fleet from his office window, Dooku couldn't keep the scowl from his lips. The ships themselves weren't anything special, merely standard for their size and class. They could be expected to meet the average, not exceed it, and worse still was their numbers. Five ships. Five! If the Sith had committed the entire Black Sun fleet against Serenno, they would have been helpless to stop it. He didn't know what kind of game Sidious was playing, but Serenno had to grow. The alliance had to grow.
He had to grow as well.
As it was now, he couldn't defeat the fools on Coruscant, let alone the Sith.
Botajef could be a serious addition to the Alliance. Its shipyards hadn't been fully activated in centuries, but they were there and far easier to restore to working order than the ancient ones on Raxus Prime. Unfortunately, they hadn't fully joined yet. So far, Duke Donner had only agreed to the invasion of Phindar if he was allowed to occupy it afterwards. It was an arrangement that cost him very little, and promised him much if Dooku succeeded. A shrewd negotiator that Donner, who had immediately understood the power he held over the alliance when first approached.
Still, a foot in the door was something by itself. If Duke Donner wasn't willing to commit himself fully to the ORA's cause, then perhaps one of his family members would be more amenable.
Plans to consider later.
Right now, Dooku was confident that he should be able to win the coming battle. Normally, coordinating two fleets across a large distance would be difficult, but he would be commanding one half and Asajj the other. Through the Force, he and his former Padawan would easily be able to converge on the enemy at the same time. Duke Harrad had been able to provide twenty ships, and though Duchess Satine didn't have a standing defence fleet, she did provide him with contact information for a number of Mandalorian clans who were willing to work as mercenaries.
With the Mandalorian mercenaries on their side, that brought the fleet's total size to thirty five ships. Meanwhile, the enemy fleet was an estimated thirty ships, at least according to Tanya's scouts. The members of the House Guard had been able to get surprisingly close to the target, landing on Phindar and talking to pirates who'd gone ashore for a few drinks. They'd even done a flyby of Deep Space Demolitions and Removals, to confirm the number of ships docked with it.
The space station itself was the most significant problem. Though not particularly mobile, it had deployed a flight of long range bombers to attack Raxus. Dooku was planning on relying on the New Temple's Long Range Patrol fighters to neutralise the bombers. Demolitions and Removals didn't have any serious armaments beyond some basic point defence systems, so once the bombers were dealt with, it would be a non-factor.
That left just one threat to be considered before they went ahead with the attack.
"Where did Asajj get this from?" Dooku asked, looking up from his datapad to his daughter.
She stood in front of his desk, arms folded behind her back, and mind shielded. "It was provided to her by Quinlan Vos."
Dooku's nose wrinkled with distaste, before he looked back down at the face of the zabrak sith assassin. Neither Asajj or Tanya knew his name yet, or Vos for that matter, but Dooku had already suffered the displeasure of meeting Maul in person once. "Why is she speaking with Vos?"
"She was gathering intelligence about the enemy." Tanya answered. "Which I see as commendable. Jedi Knight Prialla told her about some minor Black Sun interference in the investigation into Master Sifo's death, and so she took the initiative to go to Vos for more information. Very prudent given that they are our current foe."
"And so the Coruscant Temple has advanced much further into the investigation than the New Temple, but never saw fit to tell us."
"It appears that way, Father."
With a disgusted sight, Dooku put the datapad away. If Vos was right, Deep Space Demolitions and Removals was the former headquarters of the Black Sun. It seemed that Maul had completely taken over the organisation, explaining why it was working with the Trade Federation. Both organisations were merely catspaws of the Sith.
"Well, it's good to have confirmation that all our enemies are working together." Dooku muttered.
"Being X has been very busy." Tanya frowned, before asking, "do you think you'll be able to handle the Sith?"
"If he wasn't a match for Padawan Kenobi, I doubt he'll be much of a threat to me," Dooku scoffed. "Especially not with a dozen more Jedi at my back."
Tanya nodded. "Do you plan to capture him?"
Dooku shook his head. "No. A sith is far too dangerous to hold." Not to mention what he might reveal if given the chance. Dooku didn't even plan to bring support with him to kill Maul, lest the assassin reveal something he shouldn't during the fight.
Tanya nodded, not looking displeased.
"Thank you for this, daughter." Dooku said, smiling fondly. "I will let Asajj know she's done well. Is there anything else?"
"Yes, Father. Two more things. If you're taking our fleet with you, what will we do if another pirate fleet attacks in your absence?"
"Botajef has agreed to provide us with a small defence picket to prevent that."
"How small?"
"Two ships." Dooku answered, not bothering to hide his displeasure.
"Battle Cruisers?"
"Light cruisers."
"...It seems like they're getting a lot from this deal and risking almost nothing."
Dooku nodded in agreement. "We'll simply have to do our best to not advertise its size. It will have to be enough for any potential attackers to know that Serenno will still be defended."
Tanya nodded, though she looked unhappy with it.
"And your other concern?" Dooku asked.
"Not a concern, Father; A gift."
Dooku blinked at that, surprised. After a moment he couldn't help the small smile that touched his lips.
She smiled back at him as well. "It's in the armoury, if you want to see it."
"We shall go together." Dooku decided, standing up. The two of them passed through the Palace, taking the stairs to the armoury, with Tan'ya leading the way. Amused, Dooku followed behind her to where the smell of grinding steel and ozone merged with that of blaster polish and sweat into a heady mixture.
Dooku rarely came down here, trusting his daughter to manage the House Guard. Every guardsman they passed stopped to salute them, even the ones who were off-duty in the break room, standing over their cups of cafstim.
Dooku heard murmurs starting behind them as he and his daughter passed the soldiers. He didn't speak any of the Serennoan languages, or even Outer Rim Basic for that matter, but he recognised one word among the others. It seemed that his real name was difficult for them to pronounce, or perhaps strange in their tongue, and instead referred to him as Rider in their own language. They believed he'd ridden the Tirra'Taka into battle, even though no such thing had ever happened.
A new word was mixed in, one he didn't recognise. It took him a moment to realise it was probably their name for his daughter, though he couldn't discern any great meaning from it. Tan'ya had been teaching them to shield their minds in the Force, but from the few who let strong emotion slip through, he felt an overriding sense of awe and reverence. It wasn't aimed at him, though. Most of it was directed to his daughter.
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Apparently, chapters write themselves faster when Power Stones are involved. Who knew? Feel free to test the theory go ahead, toss a few my way.
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