Introduction

As I walked through the Senate, I spotted Senators Palpatine and Organa in earnest conversation. "Good morning, Senators," I said, approaching them. I had been on my way to see Organa to discuss the current crisis with the Trade Federation, and had only just heard moments ago of the vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum.

"Kanaloa, I see you are back from Malastare," Palpatine said to me.

"Yes, Senator."

"Welcome back," said Organa. "How did the talks with the Dugs go?"

"Always a test of patience dealing with the Dugs, Senator." I said with a smile. "But the Gran are just as difficult."

I had just returned from a mission involving a dispute between the Dugs and the Gran, two races sharing the same planet whom had never gotten along.

"Well, forgive me gentlemen, but I must excuse myself," said Palpatine. "I need to speak to the Queen." He disappeared down the hall leaving me with Organa.

"So," Organa said, starting to walk back towards the Senate Chambers, "how would you resolve this problem with the Trade
Federation?" Organa had always been one to be direct.

"Senator," I said, "I believe taxing the trade routes was a mistake, as well as allowing the Trade Federation to arm themselves as heavily as they have. Almost no attempt was made to mediate between them and the saboteurs who felt their practices were unfair. As a result, both sides remain dissatisfied. The Republic needs to make more of an effort to get factions in dispute to discuss their problems rather than attempting to coerce them."

Because I'd studied under Master Dooku and spent allot of time assisting him in diplomacy, I got to know many of the staff members of the various Senators. It was often in such meetings that I regretted the loss of Master Dooku's guidance as politics could be such a treacherous thing, especially for a Jedi. Often I hoped the Count would return to the Order, though I knew that to be impossible.

So it was that afternoon, after my discussion with Bail Organa, that I found myself at Dex's Diner with Sate Pestage, aide to Senator Palpatine. I wasn't sure why he'd wanted to meet me here, but it soon became clear.

"Congratulations," he said, over cups of caf, "on your promotion to Jedi Knight."

"Thank you, Sate."

"So whom do you see becoming the next Chancellor?"

"If you're looking for an official look into the future, you would have to consult one of the Masters," I told him, half in jest.

"But really, surely you prefer one candidate over another," he pressed.

"Now Sate, you know that the Jedi do not endorse political candidates, even when that candidate's planet has been invaded and is looking for sympathy votes in the Senate." I let him know that I was aware of what he was up to.

"Ah, the Jedi. Yes," he said. "The day may come, my friend, when the Jedi become irrelevant. When even their combined power is not enough to stop factions like the Trade Federation on the ground or in the Senate. You should consider your future."

This I had not expected. A veiled proposition? A compliment to my political savvy, or perhaps just an attempt to openly bring the Jedi into politics. "And I do contemplate it." I told him after a long silence.

Pestage seemed deep in thought for a minute and then looked at me intently. "Just remember, should you elect for a career in politics, there will always be room for you on Senator Palpatine's staff."

"I thank you for your offer. However, I have an important role to..." Just then my comlink went off. The Jedi Temple was contacting me. "Forgive me, Sate. I must go. Perhaps we can continue this discussion at another time."

The Sun was setting as I made my way through the Temple from the Jedi Council chambers having given my report. Queen Amidala of Naboo had arrived on Coruscant, and conversations in the Temple revolved around her and the plight of her people. This was where the loss of Master Dooku would be felt the most, with current situation between the Naboo and the Trade Federation. His diplomatic skills would be sorely missed. In his absence, they sent Master Jinn with his Padawan, but the Trade Federation had gotten quite out of control. What could the Viceroy possibly be thinking?

But the big surprise was when I returned to my quarters. A holomessage was waiting for me when I returned. It was from Senator Passel Argente, a man with strong ties to the Commerce Guild. He requested that I meet him that night at a club on Coruscant's lower levels. Argente was known to be involved in graft, and it was with some concern that I considered his message. I strongly felt that this was a meeting I should skip, except at the end of his comm he said, "I have an urgent message for you from an old friend."

So I exchanged my Jedi robes for street clothes. My lightsaber I kept clipped to my belt, and then I departed the Jedi Temple.

Argente was waiting for me in a booth in a popular nightclub where people played games of chance and mingled around the bar. I took a seat, eyeing him cautiously.

"Jedi Knight Kanaloa Koss," he said, a little louder than I would have liked. "Glad you could make it."

"Senator. What is it you wished to see me about it? Who is this old friend you mentioned?"

"Right down to business, eh? Very well. I will show you." He pulled out a holotransmitter and set in on the table. Above it, a hand-sized hologram of Count Dooku appeared.

It was Master Dooku, in formal attire.

"Old Friend," he said, "I hope you have received this urgent message and that Senator Argente did not let me down. Things are moving in the galaxy, and there is much work to be done. Many in the Outer Rim are oppressed or ignored by the Republic, and their welfare needs looking after. The Jedi are being misused by the Senate and are mistrusted in many areas, so it falls on people like us to bring hope to the hopeless. The Republic is deteriorating, and so there must be some who will prepare for the future, unless we wish the galaxy to completely de-stabilize. I send you this message to request your help in these matters. I am on a personal mission right now, but I would like to discuss this further. I will be contacting you again, but for now, should you have need to contact me, you may do it through Senator Argente. End of transmission." The image faded from view, and I looked up at Argente to see him eyeing me curiously.

"So," I said, finally, "What role do you play in all of this?"

"A small one, I assure you," Argente said. "Your help would be much appreciated in these matters. The Republic no longer
functions. The Count recognizes this, as do I. So do many others, and so will you eventually."

"I agree," I said. "But I'm more interested in knowing what you intend to do about it."

"It's quite simple," he said with a smirk. "The Republic cannot be fixed, and therefore, it must be replaced."

That's how it started. I knew where my loyalties lie so I didn't hesitate. Master Dooku was more than a mentor, he was a trusted associate. His guidance and teachings were all that I knew and felt secure with, the Jedi seemingly being at the mercy of an increasingly corrupt Senate. So when he called for assistance, I could not refuse him. I left the Order and Coruscant that night. I believed that we could succeed where the Jedi and the Senate had failed.

I spent the next ten years assisting Count Dooku in bringing the Separatist leaders together and negotiating through their petty squabbles which for so long had kept them from collaborating. I had hoped that it would not come down to open warfare, that the Confederacy of Independent Systems could secede from the Republic through negotiation. But the unexpected arrival of Master Kenobi, Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker and Senator Amidala on Geonosis during a major conference sent things into complete chaos. It was then that the Jedi attacked with a clone army. That the Jedi would use such resources, I would have thought impossible. Nevertheless they did attack, and my status changed from former Jedi Knight to that of traitor to the Republic as well as to the Order. It was within those halls, beneath the command center, that I found myself doing battle with both clonetroopers and Jedi without even knowing why they had come. It was only much later that I would learn the truth about episode in the arena.

That was the Battle of Geonosis, and it would change my destiny in a way I could not foresee.  I barely escaped the planet and had killed Jedi in the process, the lightsaber techniques which the Count had taught me finally coming into play though not how I would have wished. Things had gone horribly wrong, and I found myself a hunted fugitive. My faith in the Count, who had also escaped Geonosis, was shaken deeply. I blamed him for my woes, felt that he should have done more to prevent the conflict. I went into hiding beyond the Outer Rim, breaking all contact with him and the Separatists. My past behind me, I resolved to live a simple life in obscurity. But that would turn out not to be my destiny.

It was a few years later that I received a mysterious visitor one night. It was Ter Azil, an aide to Chancellor Palpatine. He came not only with news of the war, but with an offer similar to that which Sate Pestage had offered so many years ago. A chance to be on the Chancellor's staff along with a full pardon for any crimes against the Republic. I was offered a chance to end the war. I was assured my presence would be kept secret from the Jedi. That part was significant because I'd already been forced to dispatch various Jedi Knights that had found me in the course of my attempts to remain in obscurity. I had surely not seen the last of them.

"At least come and meet with the Chancellor," he suggested. "It can't hurt anything to simply listen to what he has to say."

I thought about it long and hard, not really wanting to take part in galactic affairs, but the fact was my conscience gnawed at me. Here was a chance to possibly repair some of my mistakes of the past. A chance to heal the rift between the Separatists and Republic. It may be that I had been a pawn of Count Dooku's to the point where I no longer realized what it was to be one. In any event, I decided to go and meet with Chancellor Palpatine...