HOLONET NEWS Volume 351. #54. 13:5:02

HOLONET NEWS Volume 351. #54. 13:5:02
Dooku Spotted in Gree Enclave Reports Place Separatist Leader in Obscure Region
SATIKAN, ASATION – The Senate Bureau of Intelligence has confirmed sporadic reports that Count Dooku, popular leader of the Separatist movement, was spotted earlier in the week in a remote area of the Outer Rim known as the Gree Enclave.
“Analysis of intelligence gathered on the Gree worlds of Asation and Lonatro corroborates eyewitness accounts of Count Dooku’s presence there. His intent was unknown, as is his current whereabouts,” SBI Director Armand Isard told the media today during a mid-afternoon conference on Coruscant.
Reports first reached the SBI at the start of the week that a man fitting Count Dooku’s description was spotted aboard the Rokak’k Baran, a mobile transport station that travels the worlds of the Enclave. A trader in the area forwarded the report to the nearest Judiciary office on Trassitan.
By the time the Judiciary dispatched a sensor probe droid, Dooku had apparently left, spending approximately four days in the area. The probe has gathered data of what is believed to be his departure, though the sensor logs are heavily distorted, possibly affected in as-yet-unknown means by Dooku.
“We were unable to get a clear image of whatever he was flying in before he jumped to lightspeed. The vessel’s particle-wake is unlike any we’ve ever encountered, and we are currently in contact with Gree crafters to see if they may be able to shed some light on this,” continued Isard.
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The Director would not comment on whether the particle trail constituted evidence of a radical propulsion system or an exotic weapon.
The Gree Enclave is a private state of less-than-a-dozen worlds inhabited by the Gree, a laconic species of cephalopods said to have built a civilization that predates the Republic. The worlds of the Gree are a xenoarcheologist’s treasure trove, harboring artifacts of exotic and advanced technology carefully guarded by the Gree, who have since degenerated to a point where the relics are largely unusable.
An investigation task force of Jedi are being dispatched to the distant region from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Jedi Masters Ashka Boda and Jabidus Inspra are leading a team of five Jedi into the Enclave to determine the purpose of Dooku’s visit.
Isard would not comment on what exactly he believed Dooku was doing in the Enclave. “I am not at liberty to offer conjecture at this point,” he said. Since the area has traditionally had no interests in galactic affairs, it is unlikely that the distant Enclave will become a hotbed of Separatist activity. “The Enclave is of limited political value. It is doubtful that Dooku was dispensing his rhetoric there,” said Isard.
“Prior to his disappearance ten years ago, Master Dooku was known to have a passion for antiquities and exotic forms of technology,” says noted Jedi Scholar Bashinan Hodizwen. “His presence there may have been something as innocuous as a shopping trip for curios.”
The Jedi Council has refused comment on the story, sticking to their usual stance that Dooku is not a part of the more violent uprisings sparked by the Separatist movement. Previous statements by the Council have attributed the scattered flashpoints as the work of opportunists using Dooku’s name to their own ends.
Special Feature: Who is Count Dooku?
Once a Jedi Master of great repute, Dooku’s departure from the Jedi order made newsnet headlines across the galaxy. He is the most recent of the so-called “Lost Twenty,” the only Jedi in the history of the order to voluntarily renounce their commissions.
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Citing disillusionment with the Republic and the Council, Dooku left Coruscant for his homeworld of Serenno. There, he took up his title and wealth that was his birthright and disappeared for years.
His departure was a magnification of his long-standing tradition of independence, an unusual trait in the Jedi order. Dooku was a strong proponent of the living Force, a school of Jedi thought with more emphasis on action and instinct rather than the more serene and contemplative paths espoused by proponents of the unifying Force. This proactive stance dovetailed well into Dooku’s new career as a political firebrand.
The former Jedi Master first reappeared on Raxus Prime, complete with fiery rhetoric lambasting the Senate and the Jedi order’s complacency in the visible erosion of morals and ideals of the Republic. Since that well documented speech two years ago, Dooku has been spotted on worlds throughout the Outer Rim, fomenting secession and leading a popular movement that soon developed an alarming cohesion.
Dooku’s base of operations is believed to be mobile. Reports of his speeches are scattered and often contradictory. Propaganda bearing his name has flooded the HoloNet, though many of these messages are believed to be forgeries.
Alarmist and reactionary Separatists have spilled blood in the Count’s name, though the Jedi Council has steadfastly denied any connection between these violent acts and Dooku’s agenda. “Dooku was a Jedi, and a Jedi’s devotion to the Force is for knowledge and defense. He would never order these attacks,” Jedi Master Mace Windu was quoted saying after the violence that rocked Antar 4.
Still, why has Dooku gained such a big following? Some of the more paranoid point to his Jedi abilities to warp minds, but even without supernatural talents, he is a charismatic man with a powerful presence. In times of bureaucratic stalemating and lethargic government response to crisis issues, Dooku has appeared as a man of action in a time in inaction. He has publicly derided the Jedi allegiance to what he defines as a corrupt and ineffective government.
In an age where heroism is hard to find and so many of the galaxy’s trusted institutes are treading carefully and sidestepping important confrontation, it is easy to laud someone who is making waves, regardless of the possible damage such waves may cause.
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Compiled by Harris Sanseon with the helpful assistance of Master Dav-Wes Renno and Madame Jocasta Nu of the Jedi Archives.
Vigilante Task Force Departs to Engage Separatists
EXPANSION REGION NODE – A Republic cruiser assigned to the Judicial Department has defected from the Republic to begin its own private battle against Separatist forces, Republic Judicial Terrinald Screed confirmed today.
The Scarlet Thranta, a mid-sized corvette with a crew of 150, ceased communications on a routine patrol mission near Sluissi space last week. What was first believed to be a mechanical failure was later confirmed to be mutiny from Republic service initiated by the vessel’s captain Zozridor Slayke.
“Our loyalty is only overshadowed by our frustration with the Republic’s inactivity. Those aboard this vessel are children of the Republic and freedom’s sons and daughters. We will fight to preserve this union, even if the Senate is afraid to defend itself,” said Slayke’s final transmission to the Judicial Department, which was intercepted and broadcast by news program Essence earlier this week.
“Those in our service pride ourselves on loyalty and discipline, and the private actions of Captain Slayke are uniformly condemned by our office and the Republic,” said Screed. “To the worlds of the Sluis sector, understand that whatever campaigns they initiate in your territory are wholly disapproved. We will not be dragged into war by the acts of radicals, regardless of their intentions.”
Jedi Settle Ansion Dispute
CUIPERNAM, ANSION – Despite a swath of scattered violence leading all the way into the very halls of the Unity of Community, the Mid Rim world of Ansion voted that it would remain in the Republic.
The vote was contingent on the unlikely completion of a mission by a Jedi delegation to strengthen diplomatic ties between city-dwelling Ansionians and the people of the plains. Upon the delegation’s return to Cuipernam, it was met with scattered attacks from unknown mercenaries. The Jedi nonetheless delivered word of their success to the Unity, prompting the vote.
An agitator identified as Ogomoor then stormed into the municipal hall. Before he could brandish what was thought to be a weapon, Ogomoor was shot dead
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by the heroic marksmanship of legitimate businessman Soerrg Vosadii Bezhin.
“Indeed, he was a past associate of mine,” Soerrg told reporters after the vote. “He was a being of pronounced and lamentable instabilities whom I hired on occasion to provide the downtrodden soul a sense of purpose and opportunity. It saddens me that his tether to sanity was so atrophied.”
The Unity then voted to accept the newly drafted Jedi concordance with a margin of 9-2. The new agreement would see strengthened diplomatic relations between the Alwari nomads and the cities of Ansion, with the Alwari sharing dominion over half of the prairie lands.
In addition to this profound development, the Jedi envoy — led by Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Master Luminara Unduli — somehow also settled a long-standing dispute between the Borokii and the Januul clans.
The vote staved off an attempted secession by disenfranchised elements of Ansion. Through a convoluted chain of alliances, such as the Malarian Alliance and the Keitumite Mutual Military Treaty, Ansion’s secession would have also taken a number of key Mid Rim worlds.
Not all the actions of the Jedi delegation were successful. An impulsive attempt by one of the Jedi’s younger Padawan apprentices to arrest Soergg foundered upon failure to provide evidence of secessionist conspiracy.
“Our offworld friends have clearly been under enormous strain,” said the congenial Soergg.”I take no umbrage at the child’s outburst. I can only imagine the deprivations she and her companions have been forced to suffer these past weeks out on the empty prairie.”
As testament to his dedication to Ansion, Soergg is spearheading the investigation into who funded the unknown pro-secessionist mercenaries that attempted to disrupt today’s vote.
Yag’Dhul Secedes
DODECAPOLIS, YAG’DHUL – As is becoming increasingly common during these turbulent times, the Republic was dealt a major blow with the formal secession of Yag’Dhul and its domains today. Yag’Dhul, a very prosperous world, takes with it valuable technological, scientific and mineral resources from the Republic to the Separatists.
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Senator Daggibus Scoritoles transmitted Articles of Secession via HoloNet to the Senate this morning, making the separation official. The statement was also silmulcast along the broadcast towers of Yag’Dhul’s largest civic shelters. The transmission was accompanied by numerous charts and graphs as explanation of the action.
“It is not without regret that the Body Calculus and the collected domain and range of the Givin people have decided to leave the larger Republic. But the threats of remaining are greater than or equal to the threats of secession,” Scoritoles said.
According to the broadcast, the Body Calculus’s most revered mathematicians developed working models of the Republic’s current political situation. By advancing along the time axis of the model, the resultant figures indicated a bleak future for the Republic and for Yag’Dhul specifically. “The discriminant of the quadratic never lies,” added Scoritoles.
“The Loyalist Committee is dismayed by the secession, though we will respect the beliefs of the Givin theocracy,” said Bail Organa (Alderaan) at a conference after Senate session today.
Others in the committee weren’t as measured with their statements. “Sure, the numbers are dismal if they factored in their own cowardice,” said Ask Aak (Malastare). “I’d invoke the Corellian proverbs about odds, but now with even the Corellians hiding their heads, I’m hesitant to do that.”
Corellian Jedi Return
CORELLIAN SECTOR NODE – Reinforcing their pledge to protect the Republic, two-dozen Jedi from the Corellian sector returned to the Jedi Temple after a careful review of their homeworlds’ security. Following Corellia’s closing of borders on 3:14, many insiders and Jedi observers were uncertain as to the status of the Jedi Knights operating in the sector. Their return is a welcome one to the already beleaguered order. “Our commitment is to the Jedi Council and the Republic that it serves, but we are Corellians by blood and will always have a connection to our home,” said returning Jedi Knight Nejaa Halcyon.