AN : If we hit 250 power stones in 24h, there will be an extra chapter.
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( 32 BBY )
The soft blue light of the holocron illuminated the deepening lines of Dooku's face, casting the bags under his eyes in stark shadows. Despite his exhaustion, he carefully maintained his appearance, with his robes remaining unwrinkled and his chain of office untarnished. He even briefly considered asking Athemeene to use some of her cosmetics to try and disguise his exhaustion, but decided against it.
He wasn't that desperate.
It should have been obvious to him sooner, but Sifo Dyas' death did not mean the end of his involvement with the matter. A Jedi Master falling to violence in mysterious circumstances would be a complicated affair at the best of times.
In Dooku's case, making the matters worse was a conflict of jurisdiction between the two temples - Sifo died on Raxus Prime, firmly within New Temple's territory, yet his status as a member of the Coruscant Temple meant the Council insisted on leading the investigation in spite of it.
Naturally, Dooku had protested, and so the Council had petulantly resolved to 'compromise' with him by allowing a knight from his Temple to be part of the investigation team. Surprisingly, Ky Narec had proposed entrusting the role to Knight Prialla. The waifish knight had not given Dooku the impression of being a skilled investigator, but Narec was certain she would be the best choice for the role.
In the end Dooku decided not to concern himself with the outcome of the investigation. It was Sidious and his pet's job to cover up their own tracks, not his. Perhaps it might even benefit him if the investigators did actually uncover the Sith.
Putting such thoughts aside, Dooku focused on his diplomatic work. The point of the New Temple was that it was supposed to focus on protecting the Outer Rim, and having a Jedi Master killed, apparently assassinated, had shaken some people's confidence.
Since the news broke, he had been rushing up and down the Hydian Way for the better part of a week, and even when he was home on Serenno was still making calls in his office.
The line he had to Mon Cala had dropped suddenly, and wasn't reconnecting even after multiple attempts to redial them. Dooku wasn't even sure if they'd hung up on their end, or that the connection was just too weak.
With a sigh, he pressed the button to hang up, and leaned back in his chair. The Mon Calamari had yet to even agree to the protection of the New Temple, but nevertheless as a potential future partner Dooku didn't want them unsettled, either.
Sifo had been on the Jedi Council, however short his tenure. It was hard to imagine a more qualified Jedi, and a more embarrassing failure when he died on a world that was composed of garbage.
The same excuses and reassurances had tumbled past Dooku's lips so many times he had almost begun to believe them himself. Sifo wasn't truly a member of the New Temple, merely staying there for its conveniently central location in the Outer Rim while pursuing other matters on behalf of the Jedi Council. His death would in no way affect the New Temple or its day to day conduct. Raxus Prime was a dangerous world and Sifo went there without backup, of course none of Dooku's Jedi would make such a mistake.
It was such a painful afternoon that Dooku was almost relieved when his service provider bounced his call to Mon Cala. He was halfway through typing up a letter for the ambassador when he was interrupted by a notification.
M8-ID had just alerted him that two Jedi had arrived from Coruscant. With a sigh, he got up and adjusted his robes, composing himself and getting his thoughts in order before going to greet his two guests.
"Knight Vos, Padawan Secura." Dooku met the pair of Jedi in the garden. The two had been led there by M8, and Dooku dismissed the protocol droid with a wave.
At a glance, the two looked less like jedi and more like ruffians who blew in from the gutter..
Vos was tall, powerfully built with wide shoulders, and a golden line running horizontally across the center of his face that looked like a tattoo, but was actually a feature of his human species, Kiffar. His unkempt black hair, stubble, and bare shoulders wouldn't have looked out of place in the Coruscant undercity, shaking down unwary travelers for loose credits, not helped at all by the angry glare that he sported at all times.
Aayla Secura was a Twi'lek, with lovely sapphire blue skin that she was all too happy to show to the world thanks to the tight leather outfit that barred her midriff and accentuated her curves. Combined with the reputation of her species, the padawan's choice of wear gave the impression of a slave girl, or a club dancer, not helped at all by her choice of lipstick.
To say that Dooku didn't approve of the way they presented themselves was an understatement. They looked like a gangster and his much too young girlfriend, not like a pair of Jedi investigating a murder. He would be damned if he ever allowed any of his Jedi to represent the New Temple looking like that.
"A bit annoyed today, Dooku?" Vos asked, and Dooku realized he had let more of his disapproval show than he intended.
"My apologies. I have been kept busy since Sifo's death." Dooku answered.
"Busy before that, too." Vos pointed out. "Can't be easy being the Count of Serenno and the Grandmaster of the New Temple. Not to mention the family. That's almost a full time job by itself."
"None of it would be possible without people I trusted overseeing certain tasks in my absence. My wife, Athemeene, manages the Palace and my children, while Jedi Master Narec is more involved in the New Temple's day to day affairs."
"And what was Sifo Dyas managing for you?"
"Is this an interrogation, Vos?" Dooku turned his back to the man, leading the two on a stroll down the path. "I'm sure you already know what Sifo was doing for me on Raxus."
The man smirked. "Why don't you tell me, anyway?"
"He was not there in an official capacity to the New Temple, but as a military advisor to the Count of Serenno."
"Yeah, it was an interesting way to get around anti-piracy sanctions."
"And perfectly legal."
"What did you even need the ships for?"
"To ward off pirates." Dooku replied. "Shipments going from here to the Core are uninterrupted, but trying to trade with other worlds in the Outer Rim is much riskier."
"Could anyone else have known where he was going?"
"Myself, Padawan Asajj, my family." Dooku answered. "I'm sure many of the servants knew as well."
Vos glanced over at his padawan, who took out her compad and began making notes.
"Are you going to interrogate the entire Palace?" Dooku asked him.
"We're going to follow potential leads." Vos answered. "An important one being, who was it that had access to Sifo's ship?"
Dooku paused. "Why does that matter?"
Something about his question seemed to catch the knight off guard. Vos looked at Dooku for a long moment, obviously trying to read him. "Sifo Dyas was killed in an explosion that originated from inside his ship."
Padawan Aayla spoke up for the first time. "Whoever killed him, presumably had access to his ship."
Explosives? That rabid Sith had used explosives? Somehow, Dooku couldn't even picture it. That hound had been so eager to do battle, rearing at his leash. Would he really have been able to slake his thirst for blood with something as cold and distant as a bombing?
"You look surprised." Vos said, watching the Count carefully.
"I am." Dooku admitted. "I wasn't aware of the details until this moment."
"Who had access to his ship?" Aayla asked.
"I'm not sure." Dooku answered. "He owned it privately, and I never used it."
"Not even once?"
"No. Not even once."
The two of them exchanged another look.
"Is there anything else?" Dooku asked them.
"May we speak with the Palace staff, and your family?" Aayla asked, politely. "We'll want to move about the Palace, freely."
"Go ahead." Dooku dismissed them. "We have nothing to hide."
...
Apparently, they did in fact have nothing to hide. Vos wished that Dooku would try to hide something, but so far there was no evidence of that at all. Three entire days were wasted trying to find a single member of Dooku's staff or inner circle who was anything other than sincerely trying to help. Heck, the family didn't even regularly wipe their droid's memories, so even they could provide clear, exonerating testimony.
Vos had been so sure it was Dooku.
The thing that really stuck in his craw was the way Sifo had died. Explosives were so intentional and specific. A jedi should have been warned by the force about any assassination attempt well in advance, and this was obviously planned. Especially a seer like Sifo, who had made a prophecy of his own. The only way the bombing could have worked was if someone had known Sifo would be blinded from the force on Raxus Prime, and had known his destination ahead of time.
Dooku knew Sifo's schedule. Dooku was the one who sent him to Raxus Prime.
Vos had been sure it was him.
"It can't be him." Aayla said, at last. It was the conclusion he was starting to reach himself.
"It has to be him." Vos countered. "Who else knew where he was going?"
"The entire Palace did, and none of them had access to his ship." Aayla replied. "It was biometrically sealed, no way to fake it."
"He could have cut his way onboard with a lightsaber."
"No evidence of holes cut into the ship. We would have found the offcut."
Vos grunted with annoyance. "Okay. Sifo was Dooku's friend. Dooku gave him a gift or something, and tricked him into carrying the explosives onto his own ship."
"Can't be. Sifo would have sensed it in the force."
Vos sighed. "Maybe he is a skilled slicer."
"If he was a skilled slicer, he would have had to sneak on board after the ship landed on Prime." Aayla pointed out. "Which he couldn't do because Palace security footage confirms he was here."
Vos grimaced. "Force, spare me from ever having another clever padawan."
Aayla smirked. "I just don't think it was him. There isn't even a motive."
She had him there. By all evidence, Sifo was a close friend to Dooku and an integral part of his operations at the New Temple. The Jedi Master's death had caused Dooku no shortage of headaches in its immediate aftermath.
But somehow Vos just couldn't shake the feeling that it had to be the Count. He had to be involved somehow.
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