**Chapter 637: The Galaxy Protests**
**Scene 1**
**Serenno, Castle Serenno**
**Separatist Leadership Chamber**
Count Dooku stood motionless as the holographic feeds from across the Confederacy flooded the chamber. Protests had erupted on dozens of key worlds. The footage was damning — thousands of civilians marching on government buildings, chanting against the leadership, against the war, against the nuclear attack on Coruscant that had backfired spectacularly.
"Fools," Dooku muttered, his metal hand clenching. "They do not understand what is at stake."
Beside him, Sith clone dextra Voss of the late Quilan vos growled. "The people are weak. They see one setback and they break."
Dooku silenced him with a raised hand. The real problem was not the protests. It was the growing doubt among the corporate backers.
**Scene 2**
**Neimoidia, Cato Neimoidia**
**Trade Federation Council Chamber**
Viceroy Nute Gunray watched the protests from the safety of his floating repulsor platform high above the city. Thousands of Neimoidians filled the plazas below, waving signs and chanting.
"End the war!"
"No more nukes!"
"Peace now!"
Gunray's aide, Rune Haako, wrung his hands. "The people are terrified, Viceroy. The attack on Coruscant was supposed to break their will. Instead, it has united them against us. Our own citizens are calling us monsters."
Gunray's eyes narrowed. "Dagon Marek has turned our greatest weapon into a liability. The Republic is painting us as the villains who attacked their capital. We must distance ourselves from this madness before the entire Trade Federation collapses."
**Scene 3**
**Scripo , Harnaidan**
**InterGalactic Banking Clan Tower**
San Hill watched the protests from the penthouse of the Banking Clan's tallest tower. Muunilinst's gleaming financial districts were filled with angry crowds demanding an end to the war and the removal of the warmongers.
"The people are turning against us," his aide whispered. "The cost of the war is bankrupting entire sectors. If we lose any more worlds…"
San Hill's face remained impassive. "The Republic will bleed for this. But we must be careful. Dagon Marek is becoming too powerful. If he wins, there will be no place for us in the new order."
**Scene 5**
**Raxus Secundus, Separatist Senate**
**Confederate Leadership Chamber**
Count Dooku addressed the assembled Separatist senators via hologram, his voice cold and commanding.
"The attack on Coruscant was a necessary show of force. The Republic must understand that we will not be defeated easily. But the people must not lose faith. Use the media. Blame Dagon Marek for the escalation. Paint him as the warmonger who glassed Geonosis. Turn their fear into rage against the Republic."
The senators murmured uneasily. Many looked ready to bolt.
Dooku's eyes narrowed. "Anyone who wavers will be replaced. The war continues. Victory is still within our grasp."
As the transmission ended, Dooku turned to the window, staring at the distant stars.
The protests were a problem. But they were manageable.
The real threat was the man who had turned a single ship into a symbol that now burned in the sky of a thousand worlds.
Dagon Marek.