( 22 BBY )
The Liana system was packed with transponder signals, which wasn't too surprising, but it was the little sequence at the front of those transponder codes that caught Anakin's interest. There were more than six hundred ships in the sector, registering as ASF, Alliance Sector Fleet.
Anakin was always curious about things like ships, speeders and droids, and eagerly looked up the registered models of the ships. They were mostly battle cruisers, plenty of Hammerheads, which made sense given that it was an affordable workhorse of a ship that had long slipped into public domain. But many among them were of new designs from Botajef, which tended to be long and blocky with faces shaped like trapezoids, and bristling with blasters. Those new CC-15 Combat Cruisers looked like a step up from the venerable Hammerheads. There were also about forty genuine battleships, WW-2's, which looked like they were of a similar size to a Kuati Drive Yards Venator. One of the ships in the fleet didn't have any data available on it, merely listed as a Julgut Refurbishment's 'Interdictor' class support ship. Anakin tried to look it up, but found nothing about its form on the Galactic registry.
Curious.
They passed under the shadow of the war fleet, their titanic black forms barely visible at all against the dark of space, and continued towards Indinoor.
This was the first time Anakin had ever been to Indinoor, but from orbit it looked almost like Tatooine with a deeper brown tint. At a glance, the planet was clearly vast and barren, with only a few clouds rolling across its surface. Its oceans of mud and industrial slurry shone with a thin layer of a greasy rainbow hue as the sunlight refracted across its surface. There was one exception though, a single patch of green right at the edge of where the exposed surface of blasted black granite met the oceans of muck.
The green spot was composed of a patchwork of farms, all connected by a clearly marked series of roads and fences. Out in the mud flats, what looked like a fishing trawler hauled in a net crawling with filthy crustaceans, with more flat bottomed vessels like it hovering even further out into the sea. Farms all spread outward from a single point, a vast plateau of solid stone that rose up forty metres into the air. In the shadow of that natural stone column, there was what looked like a large village, with market stalls in place, and a yard full of tractors for sale.
It was odd, but seeing the dusty brown town left Anakin with a strange sense of nostalgia for Watto's scrapyard.
At the top of the Plateau was the Jedi Temple, constructed in the style familiar to all Orders across the Galaxy, its central construction featuring a pyramid and several towers. At the apex of the pyramid was a verdant green garden, whose trees and brushes swayed in the strong breeze.
With careful precision, Anakin brought their ship to a halt and let it gently lower down towards the landing platform. The port was abuzz with activity, their little ship barely managing to find a place among other craft. In every corner, armed jedi hurried about, many wearing flight suits or armour rather than robes. Technicians were fueling what Anakin recognised as long range, hyperspace capable fighters and bombers. All the Indinoor Jedi seemed ready to move at a moment's notice, and were packing rations and water into the holds of their ships.
Despite the end of their long journey from Coruscant to Indinoor, Obi-Wan did not look relieved to arrive. If anything, Duchess Satine was the one who seemed happiest to be here. She glided down the landing ramp towards the waiting reception in her full regalia, every bit the dignified monarch. Behind her, close to her shoulder was Knight Vai, dressed in the armoured uniform of the Indinoor Jedi with the chain of office at her neck.
Waiting to greet them was Count Dooku, his silver hair and proud hawkish features standing in sharp contrast to the young family that surrounded him. There was a multitude of decades between him and his wife, who was a beautiful woman standing proudly behind her children. The oldest of them was a teenage boy, who bore a striking resemblance to his father despite his youth. Next in line was a girl who was just in her preteens, her face notably scarred on one cheek. The last was the smallest, a young boy who was gaping with undisguised awe at the Mandalorian bodyguards of the Duchess.
None of them were Tan'ya, whose adventures had already made her somewhat famous and infamous among the Coruscant Jedi. Anakin wasn't sure how many of the rumours he believed, but he had been curious about his fellow Chosen One for a long time, and felt somewhat disappointed she wasn't there.
"Duchess Satine." Dooku greeted, but didn't reach out to her. Normally a head of state would treat the other to a handshake, or even a kiss on the cheek, but in this case Dooku left that to his wife, who warmly hugged Satine.
"It brings me great joy to see you unharmed." He looked over to Anakin and Obi-Wan, the warmth leaving his eyes in an instant. "Was the escort I provided insufficient?"
In the corner of his eye, Anakin noticed Obi-Wan try and fail to suppress a wince.
"No, not at all," Satine answered. "Obi-Wan is an old friend. He asked to come here because he wished to speak with you."
"Is that so?" Dooku answered. "Then out of consideration for you, I will listen to what he has to say."
"Well, let me introduce you now."
"We've already met, actually." Obi-Wan spoke up, stepping forward.
"Yes," Dooku agreed. "It was not a joyous occasion."
"Indeed, the loss of Qui-Gon Jinn has affected us all very deeply." Obi-Wan smoothly brushed past the snub, and Anakin had to admire his delicacy. "My Master was a great man."
At the reminder of their shared connection, Dooku's stern expression softened a touch.
"Duchess Satine," Athemeene spoke up, "why don't you come with me? We'll help you get acquainted with where you'll be staying here, and give Master Kenobi and my husband a chance to speak in private."
Duchess Satine agreed, and let herself be led away by the Count's family, Jedi Knight Vai trailing behind her. As Vai walked, Anakin saw the children closing ranks around her, and beginning to ask questions. For the first time, he even saw a smile on the stern knight's face as she held the hand of the young girl with the scars.
Just how close were these Jedi to the Serenno dynasty?
When they had the platform to themselves, Dooku glanced at Anakin, but mostly kept his attention on Obi-Wan.
"The Council has asked me to investigate the matter of the attack on Duchess Satine." Obi-Wan began. "The trail of evidence we followed led us to Mandalore, but given the sensitivity of the situation, we thought it best to ask permission before travelling there directly."
"The Council concerns itself with my thoughts now?" Dooku drawled. "How novel."
"I assure you, the Council hardly thinks of anyone else." Obi-Wan laughed.
The joke actually got the corners of Dooku's lips to twitch. "I can see why they sent you." He considered the request for a few moments. "The attackers must be brought to justice, and the truth brought to light for the whole Galaxy to see."
"Of course." Obi-Wan agreed, after only a fraction of a second's hesitation.
"Good. then you agree that when the attacker is revealed to be the Trade Federation, it will be in the interest of all to make this knowledge public."