had learned early that in order to inspire confidence he should not admit doubt.
Galinda was still skeptical. 'But where can we set up surveillance?
There's not much cover in the market. We need good sight lines.'
'I have a plan for that, too,' Dooku said.
Dooku stood as the transport landed. He noticed that Master Doliq was watching him curiously. He tucked his data pad into his belt. 'Follow me,' he told the others.
He jumped off the ramp and led the way through the twisting streets to the Senate complex. He walked so purposefully that no one asked him where they were going.
When he arrived at the complex he led the others onto a turbolift and descended to the lower sub-offices. He had a foolproof strategy. It just depended on his powers of persuasion and how much a friend of his was willing to bend the rules. He was learning that sometimes it was better to come at things sideways, especially when his opponent assumed he would come at them head-on. Persuasion and deception could work better than battles.
Dooku turned to the others as he reached a door. 'Wait here. I'll just be a minute.'
He accessed the door and walked in. A tall, spindly creature with waving antennae and bright yellow eyes sat at a datascreen. He looked up and saw Dooku, then pretended to tremble.
'Dooku! Oh, no! Have you come to show me up again?'
'Not at all, Eero.' Dooku smiled. His first meeting with the young Senatorial aide Eero Iridian had cemented their friendship, but not in the usual way. Dooku had been attending a seminar on the political history of the Correllian system. Eero had read a paper he'd written on the subject, and Dooku had raised a hand to correct a number of points he felt were inaccurate. Eero had bristled at the newcomer, but a quick search of the archives had revealed that Dooku had been right.
Eero had been hoping to impress both his father, a Senator, and his boss. Instead, he'd been publicly embarrassed. Yet after the seminar he'd come up to Dooku and asked if the student would be interested in joining his study group. He'd been annoyed at Dooku, but he wanted to learn from him, too. Dooku had joined the group for a time, and he and Eero had become friends. Eero's father was powerful and Eero longed to follow in his footsteps. Dooku admired how hard he studied and the fact that he took the job of a Senatorial aide so seriously.
Of course that was not why he had come to see him today.
'I need a favor,' Dooku said.
'Anything I have is yours,' Eero declared.
'I need your code card to the C level transport hallway,' Dooku said.
'Except that,' Eero said.
Dooku said nothing. He just waited.
Eero fiddled with a flexible antennae. 'Okay, why?'
'A Padawan exercise,' Dooku said. 'I need the element of surprise, and that passage overlooks the All Planets Market. There's also an exit with a turbolift straight down to market level. We can use it as a base.'
'But it's restricted to Senate personnel.'
'That's why I need your access card,' Dooku said patiently. Eero's fault as a scholar, he recalled, was that he had trouble putting different facts together to reach a conclusion. He noted the reluctance on Eero's face. Maybe he should offer a favor as an exchange. This was the Senate, after all.
'I'll help you with that Tolfranian brief that's giving you so much trouble,' Dooku offered.
Eero looked torn. 'I could use the help. But I could get in trouble with Senate security if I give you the code card. It could go on my record. On the other hand, this brief is really important to my boss…'
Eero began to fiddle furiously with both antennae now, twirling them around his fingers until they sprang loose in coils. 'Okay,' he finally said in a rush of breath. He tossed the code card to Dooku.
'I'll have it back to you by this evening,' Dooku said, hurrying out.
Now I have you, Lorian. You won't beat me.
The plan worked perfectly, for a while. Dooku and the team had a perfect view of the muja fruitseller from a window in a storage area.
They could clearly see the bustling market and the fact that Lorian and the Gold Team members had set up several stakeout areas. They were waiting for Dooku to strike. Dooku knew that Lorian believed the Blue Team would make an aggressive first move. It was usually how Dooku began a lightsaber battle. But a trademark move could betray you. It was better to mix up tactics. Lorian had no idea that he, too, had a trademark move. When he began to lose a battle, he made a deliberately wide pass to the left, then spun around to his opponent's rear. This gave him precious seconds to catch his breath and compose his mind.
Dooku sent out his group in pairs. They communicated by comlink. From their perch above they were able to track the evasive procedures the other team employed. It was easy to direct their team members below.
With a slight touch of the lightsaber, one after another, Gold Team members went down. Each hit was recorded on everyone's datapad.
They were winning. Lorian's team had managed to hit only one Blue Team member, and they'd taken out five of his.
Then Lorian must have figured out what they were doing.
Suddenly Dooku saw two Gold team members running toward the turbolift.
Unable to access it, they began to use their cable launchers to scale the glass tube. They would find a way
