**Chapter 674: The Shadow of the Annihilator**
**Scene 1**
**Senate Building, Grand Convocation Chamber**
**Riyo Chuchi POV**
The Grand Convocation Chamber buzzed with barely contained tension. Senators from across the galaxy filled the floating platforms, their voices rising and falling like waves in a storm. Riyo Chuchi sat in her assigned pod, hands folded neatly in her lap, but her mind was far from calm.
*Well, Dagon finally did it,* she thought. He had tested the limits of everything — especially Onara Kuat, who looked positively apoplectic on the Kuat delegation platform. The *Annihilator* had appeared in the news feeds like a nightmare made real. The ship's name alone was menacing. Riyo remembered the fleet stationed at Pantora had a Venator Dagon once named *Dark Omen*. Now this… this was something else entirely.
She rocked slightly in her seat, lost in thought. *Star Killer. Grey Jedi. Storm God. Dragon Master. Demon of the Shield. Hero of Coruscant.* And now, Grand Master of the Jedi Order. Or his official rank: Supreme Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic.
"Riyo, are you okay?" Fellow Senator Lorian Maverick asked from the adjacent pod, concern evident in his voice. "You seem troubled."
"Just thinking about the various arguments I might have with my mother," Riyo replied softly. "Now that Dagon is Grand Master of the Jedi Order and has issued new rules allowing attachments within the Order…"
"Which means you possibly lost out on the most eligible bachelor in the galaxy," Lorian smirked.
"Nope. He's taken. By several, apparently," Riyo said before she could stop herself. She quickly covered her mouth, cheeks flushing.
"Oh, do tell," Lorian pressed, leaning closer with a mischievous grin.
"Oh, never mind," Riyo waved it off. "But how much longer is Kuat going to be angry?"
"Unsure," Lorian replied. "The thing is, Kuat is always undecided — caught between the Loyalists like Bail Organa and Amidala's group, and our Chancellor's bloc. But this might push them firmly toward Amidala's side, even though they support military spending."
Riyo nodded, her gaze drifting back to the central podium. The political landscape was shifting faster than anyone could track.
**Scene 2**
**Senate Building, Grand Convocation Chamber**
**General Debate**
"Order! We shall have order!" Mas Amedda's deep voice boomed across the chamber, his staff striking the floor for emphasis. The murmurs slowly died down.
The Kuat senator rose on his platform, face flushed with indignation. "My fellow Senators, the mere fact that such a ship was built in secret — with power capable of destroying entire fleets — should not exist! What's to stop any person from building such a vessel? This is a dangerous precedent!"
"You are one to talk!" Garm Bel Iblis shot back from the Corellian delegation. "You refuse your Mandators and precious dreadnoughts while the CIS attacks our worlds! Where were your ships when Selonia was under siege? The Jedi and the Republic sent their forces to help us!"
Tensions flared as platforms shifted and voices rose again. Senators from neutral systems watched nervously, while Loyalists and Chancellor supporters exchanged heated glances.
**Scene 3**
**Senate Building, Grand Convocation Chamber**
**Lantilles Senator POV**
"My friends," the Lantilles senator spoke up, his voice steady but firm, "such actions to condemn General Dagon — or Grand Master Dagon — would be most wasteful. Haven't we all been alive because he risked his life to stop a nuclear attack on Coruscant during our peace negotiations with the Separatists?"
A ripple of agreement spread through parts of the chamber. Even some of the Chancellor's bloc nodded subtly.
"Agreed," Chancellor Palpatine said smoothly from his podium, his expression one of measured concern. "A formal inquiry will be launched when Dagon arrives. We must understand the full scope of this… development."
**Scene 4**
**Senate Building, Grand Convocation Chamber**
**General Reaction**
The central holoprojector suddenly flickered, shifting from the debate to a live feed from orbit. Gasps erupted across the chamber as the colossal form of the *Annihilator* emerged from hyperspace, its 18-kilometer arrow-shaped hull dominating the view. Blue and white with bold black markings, the Jedi emblem prominent on its superstructure, the ship was unlike anything the galaxy had seen.
Senators rose from their seats in shock. Kuat's delegation looked furious. Corellian senators cheered openly. Neutral worlds stared in stunned silence.
"That… that's bigger than a Mandator," someone whispered.
"It's a monster," another voice added.
Palpatine's face remained carefully neutral, but his eyes narrowed slightly.
**Scene 5**
**Coruscant, Galactic City**
**Public and News Broadcast Reaction**
Across Coruscant, the news spread like wildfire. Massive holoscreens in plazas, cantinas, and residential blocks broadcast the arrival of the *Annihilator*. Civilians stopped in their tracks, pointing upward as the ship passed overhead.
In a crowded lower-level plaza, a group of workers cheered. "That's our boy! Dagon saved us from the nukes, and now he's got a ship that can end this war!"
In an upscale bar near the Senate District, a mix of senators' aides and businessmen watched in stunned silence. "Kuat must be furious," one aide muttered. "That thing makes their entire fleet look obsolete."
On the streets, children pointed excitedly. "Mommy, is that the Hero of Coruscant's ship?" a little girl asked. Her mother smiled faintly. "Yes, dear. Let's hope it keeps us safe."
News anchors scrambled for commentary. "In an unprecedented move, Grand Master Dagon Marek has revealed the *Annihilator*, the largest capital ship in galactic history. Sources confirm it was constructed with private resources and Jedi oversight. Reactions are pouring in from every sector…"
In the Jedi Temple, younglings gathered around viewing screens, whispering in awe. Padawans exchanged nervous glances, wondering what this meant for the Order.
The galaxy held its breath.