'I will!' Ask Aak declared.
Beside him, Bail Organa gave a helpless chuckle and shook his head. 'They will not listen to you, I fear. Nor to me,' he added quickly, when Ask Aak snapped a glare at him. 'We have spent too much of our political capital debating the philosophies of the separatists and arguing for action. The Senate will not see our call as anything more than overly alarmist. We need a voice of reason, one willing to reverse position, even, given the gravity of the current situation.'
'If only Senator Amidala was here,' Mas Amedda reasoned.
Without hesitation, Jar Jar Binks stepped forward again. 'Mesa mosto Supreme Chancellor,' the Gungan said, squaring his sloping shoulders as much as possible. 'Mesa gusto pallos,' he said deferentially to all the others. 'Mesa proud to proposing the motion to give Yousa Honor emergency powers.'
Palpatine looked from the trembling Gungan to Bail Organa. 'He speaks for Amidala,' the Senator from Alderaan said. 'By all understanding within the Senate, Jar Jar Binks's words are a reflection of Senator Amidala's desires.'
Palpatine nodded grimly, and Yoda sensed a strong fear from the man, as if he knew that he was about to be thrust forward in the most dangerous position he and the Republic had ever known.
Twisting slowly in the force field, restrained by crackling bolts of blue energy, Obi-Wan Kenobi could only watch helplessly as Count Dooku strode into the room. Wearing an expression that showed great sympathy, but one that Obi-Wan certainly did not trust, the regal man walked up right before the Jedi.
'Traitor,' Obi-Wan said.
'Hello, my friend,' Dooku replied. 'This is a mistake. A terrible mistake. They've gone too far. This is madness!'
'I thought you were their leader here, Dooku,' Obi-Wan replied, holding his voice as steady as possible.
'This had nothing to do with me, I assure you,' the former Jedi insisted. He seemed almost hurt by the accusation. 'I promise you that I will petition immediately to have you set free.'
'Well, I hope it doesn't take too long. I have work to do.' Obi-Wan noted a slight crack in Dooku's remorseful expression, a slight twinge of… anger?
'May I ask why a Jedi Knight is all the way out here on Geonosis?' After a moment's reflection, Obi-Wan decided that he had little to lose here, and he wanted to continue to press Dooku, that he might gauge the truth. 'I've been tracking a bounty hunter named Jango Fett. Do you know him?'
'There are no bounty hunters here that I'm aware of. Geonosians don't trust them.'
Trust. There was a good word, Obi-Wan thought. 'Well, who can blame them?' came his disarming reply. 'But he is here, I assure you.'
Count Dooku paused for a moment, then nodded, apparently conceding the point. 'It's a great pity that our paths have never crossed before, Obi- Wan,' he said, his voice warm and inviting. 'Qui-Gon always spoke very highly of you. I wish he was still alive-I could use his help right now.'
'Qui-Gon Jinn would never join you.'
'Don't be so sure, my young Jedi,' Count Dooku immediately replied, an offsetting smile on his face, one of confidence and calm. 'You forget that Qui-Gon was once my apprentice just as you were once his.'
'You believe that brings loyalty above his loyalty to the Jedi Council and the Republic?'
'He knew all about the corruption in the Senate,' Dooku went on without missing a beat. 'They all do, of course. Yoda and Mace Windu. But Qui-Gon would never have gone along with the status quo, with that corruption, if he had known the truth as I have.' The pause was dramatic, demanding a prompt from Obi-Wan.
'The truth?'
'The truth,' said a confident Dooku. 'What if I told you that the Republic was now under the control of the Dark Lords of the Sith?' That hit Obi-Wan as profoundly as any of the electric bolts holding him ever could. 'No! That's not possible.' His mind whirled, needing a denial. He alone among the living Jedi had battled a Sith Lord, and that contest had cost his beloved Master Qui-Gon his life. 'The Jedi would be aware of it.'
'The dark side of the Force has clouded their vision, my friend,' Dooku calmly explained. 'Hundreds of Senators are now under the influence of a Sith Lord called Darth Sidious.'
'I don't believe you,' Obi-Wan said flatly. He only wished he held that truth as solidly as he had just proclaimed.
'The viceroy of the Trade Federation was once in league with this Darth Sidious,' Dooku explained, and given the events of a decade before, it seemed a reasonable claim. 'But he was betrayed ten years ago by the Dark Lord. He came to me for help, fie told me everything. The Jedi Council would not believe him. I tried many times to warn them, but they wouldn't listen to me. Once they sense the Dark Lord's presence and realize their error, it will be too late. You must join with me, Obi-Wan, and together we will destroy the Sith.'
It all seemed so reasonable, so logical, so attuned to the legend of Count Dooku as Obi-Wan had learned it. But beneath the silken words and tone was a feeling Obi-Wan had that flew in the face of that logic.
'I will never join you, Dooku!'
The cultured and regal man gave a great and disappointed sigh, then turned to leave. 'It may be difficult to secure your release,' he tossed back at Obi-Wan as he exited the room.
Approaching Geonosis, Anakin employed the same techniques as Obi-Wan had, using the asteroid ring near Geonosis to hide the Naboo starship from the lurking Trade Federation fleet. And like his mentor, the Padawan recognized the unusual and threatening posture of the unexpected fleet. Breaking atmosphere, Anakin brought the ship down low, skimming the surface, weaving through valleys and around towering rock formations, circling mesas. Padme stood next to him, watching the skyline for some signs.
'See those columns of steam straight ahead?' she asked, pointing. 'They're exhaust vents of some type.'
'That'll do,' agreed Anakin, and he banked the starship, zooming in at the distant lines of rising white steam.
