With a shake of his head, Obi-Wan ran along, and then he sensed something, fleeting but definite. He followed his instincts along the maze of corridors, at last coming to a vast underground chamber, with huge vaulted ceilings and rough-styled arches. He started across, moving pillar to pillar, sensing that something or someone was near.
He heard their voices before he saw them, and he fell flat against the stone.
A group of six figures walked past him, four in front and two behind. Two Geonosians were in that front row, along with a Neimoidian viceroy whom Obi- Wan knew all too well and a man whose features were also recognizable from busts the Jedi had seen in the Temple on Coruscant.
'Now we must persuade the Commerce Guild and the Corporate Alliance to sign the treaty,' that former Jedi, Count Dooku, was saying. The man was tall and regal, with perfect posture and a graceful gait. His hair was silver and perfectly trimmed and his elegant features, strong jaw, and piercing eyes completed the look of a man who had once been among the greatest of the Jedi. He wore a black cape, clipped at his neck by a silver chain, and a black shirt and pants of the finest materials. In looking at him, in feeling his presence, Obi-Wan understood that nothing less would ever suit this one.
'What about the Senator from Naboo?' asked the Neimoidian, Nute Gunray, his beady eyes and thin features seeming smaller still beneath the tripronged headdress he always wore. 'Is she dead yet? I'm not signing your treaty until I have her head on my desk.'
Obi-Wan nodded, huge pieces of the puzzle starting to fall into place. It made sense to him that Nute Gunray would want Amidala dead, even if her voice of opposition to an army of the Republic was working in his favor. Amidala had embarrassed the Neimoidian badly in the Battle of Naboo, after all.
'I am a man of my word, Viceroy,' one of the separatists answered.
'With these new battle droids we've built for you, Viceroy, you'll have the finest army in the galaxy,' said the Geonosian whom Obi-Wan believed to be Poggle the Lesser. He didn't look much like the winged commoners and workers Obi-Wan had seen. His skin was lighter, more a grayish tan than red- tinted, and his head was huge, his large scowling mouth protruding just a bit, giving him a fierce appearance; an elongated chin that seemed more a long beard hung halfway down his torso.
They continued their banter, but had moved out of earshot by then, and Obi- Wan didn't dare step out to follow. They moved across the way, through an archway and up a flight of stairs.
After a short pause to make sure they were well along, Obi-Wan rushed out, peeking through to the stairs, then crept up them, coming to a narrow archway overlooking a smaller room. Inside, he saw the six who had passed, along with several others, notably three opposition Senators the Jedi recognized. First came Po Nudo of Ando, an Aqualish who looked as if he was wearing a helmet with great goggles, but was not, of course. Beside him sat neckless Toonebuck Toora of Sy Myrth, with her rodentlike head and wide mouth, and the Quarren Senator Tessek, his face tentacles waggling anxiously. Obi-Wan had met this trio before, back on Coruscant.
Yes, he realized, it seemed he had walked into the center of the hive.
'You have met Shu Mai?' Count Dooku, seated at the head of the table, asked the three Senators. 'Representing the Commerce Guild.' Across the way, Shu Mai nodded deferentially. Her delicate and gray, wrinkled head was set on a long neck and her most striking feature, aside from long and pointy horizontal ears, was a hairstyle that looked much like a skin-covered horn, protruding out the back of her skull, rising up and curving forward.
'And this is San Hill, distinguished member of the InterGalactic Banking Clan,' Dooku went on, indicating a creature with the longest and narrowest face Obi-Wan had ever seen.
Those gathered about the table murmured their greetings, nodded to each other, for many moments, and then they went silent, all eyes settling on Count Dooku, who seemed to Obi-Wan in complete control here, even above the Archduke of the planet.
'As I explained to you earlier, I'm quite convinced that ten thousand more systems will rally to our cause with your support,' the Count said. 'And let me remind you of our absolute commitment to capitalism… to the lower taxes, the reduced tariffs, and the eventual abolition of all trade barriers. Signing this treaty will bring you profits beyond your wildest imagination. What we are proposing is complete free trade.' He looked to Nute Gunray, who nodded.
'Our friends in the Trade Federation have pledged their support,' Count Dooku went on. 'When their battle droids are combined with yours, we shall have an army greater than anything in the galaxy. The Republic will be overwhelmed.'
'If I may, Count,' said one of the others, one of the two who had trailed Dooku to the room.
'Yes, Passel Argente,' Count Dooku said. 'We are always interested in hearing from the Corporate Alliance.'
The huddled and nervous man offered a slight bow to Dooku. 'I am authorized by the Corporate Alliance to sign the treaty.' 'We are most grateful for your cooperation, Magistrate,' Dooku said.
Obi-Wan recognized that exchange for what it was, a play for the benefit of the other, less enthusiastic, people at the table. Count Dooku was trying to build some momentum.
That momentum hit a bit of a bump a moment later, though, when Shu Mai piped in. 'The Commerce Guild at this time does not wish to become openly involved.' However, she smoothed it over immediately. 'But we shall support you in secret, and look forward to doing business with you.'
Several chuckles erupted about the table, and Count Dooku only smiled.
'That is all we ask,' he assured Shu Mai. Then he looked to the distinguished member of the Banking Clan, and all the other gazes settled on San Hill, as well.
'The InterGalactic Banking Clan will support you wholeheartedly, Count Dooku,' San Hill declared. 'But only in a nonexclusive arrangement.'
Obi-Wan settled back, trying to sort out the implications of it all. Count Dooku had it all falling together here, a threat beyond anything the Republic had expected. With the money of the bankers and the commercial and trade guilds behind him, and this factory-and likely many others like it- churning out armies of battle droids, the potential danger was staggering. Was that why Sifo-Dyas had commissioned the clone army? Had the Master sensed this growing danger, perhaps? But if that was true, then what was the tie between Jango Fett and this group on Geonosis? Was it mere coincidence that the man chosen as source for the clone army to defend the Republic had
