**Chapter 693: Old Friends and Hidden Blades**
**Scene 1**
**Venator-class Star Destroyer, Talon**
**Hyperspace**
**Dagon POV**
The corridors of the *Talon* felt strangely nostalgic as I walked toward the briefing room. This Venator had been one of my first command ships early in the war. Now it carried me toward Dromund Kaas — one of the darkest worlds in galactic history.
I wasn't alone.
Zio Kad'ishi, a Devaronian woman and one of my former classmates at the Jedi Temple, stood waiting near the entrance. She looked almost human, save for the two dark horn-like bumps on her forehead, the lynx-like tufts of hair on her pointed ears, and her sharper, more predatory facial features. She had always been authoritative — bossy, even — which wasn't surprising considering Devaron was a matriarchal world.
Beside her stood Slit Cavendish, a melancholic Rodian. Like most of his species, he was green-skinned with large faceted eyes, tube-shaped ears, and an elongated snout-like mouth. Both had left the Order when the Clone Wars began, but they had returned shortly after I was named Grand Master.
Zio spotted me first. Her eyes lit up, and before I could react, she slammed into me with a powerful bear hug, nearly lifting me off the ground.
"Zio—!" I grunted, caught completely off guard. "Why— I don't understand— wait, you feel heavier."
"Heavier?" Zio pulled back, glaring at me with mock outrage. "Dagon, you meanie!"
I blinked, then looked down at her midsection. The subtle swell beneath her robes suddenly made sense. "Wait… you're pregnant?"
Both Zio and Slit gasped.
"How did you know?" Slit asked, his large eyes widening.
"You're both wearing wedding rings," I said, gesturing to their hands. "I thought I made it clear — families are allowed to stay together at the Temple now. There was no need to hide this."
Zio laughed, still holding onto my arm. "We didn't want to miss seeing you in person, Grand Master. We figured we'd surprise you."
Before I could respond, a familiar stern voice cut through the reunion.
"Hmm. I can see you haven't changed much since I last saw you," Master Hiram Mardin said dryly as he approached with several other Balance Corps members. "That means you too, Grand Master. Stand up straight."
I straightened instinctively. Hiram had been one of my instructors in the Balance Corps — a no-nonsense Feeorin Jedi who had stayed with the Order when many others left. Nhon Artu stood beside him, arms crossed and grinning.
"Yeah, but what can you expect?" I replied. "Apart from Cin Drallig and Hiram here, only a handful stayed when the original Council departed. Master Dar'Kai Preston, head of the Order's Intelligence Division. Keto Zui-Tswang, Master of the Guard Corps. Palael Harimo, Head of the Corps of Seers. And Master Jedi Adni Moretti, who oversaw the Archaeological Corps. The entire Service Corps left, including most of the healer squads."
"A bunch of weaklings if I ever saw any," Nhon Artu grunted. "So, Grand Master, care to explain the plan?"
I gestured for everyone to move into the briefing room. The group settled around the central holotable.
"Simple," I began. "As we've discussed before — how did the Sith remain active for a thousand years after the Battle of Ruusan? Cults. Devoted followers. Hidden sects. Right now, our mysterious Sith Lord is probably deeply embedded in either the Republic Senate, the Confederacy, or both. So we take out what supports them."
"How exactly does that work?" asked Kiddo Lan, a male Twi'lek Balance Corps Jedi Knight.
"Only two there are," I quoted the old Rule of Two. "A Master and an Apprentice. But remembering all knowledge and finding a worthy apprentice is difficult. So we eliminate their eyes and ears into the dark side — starting with the Prophets of the Dark Side on Dromund Kaas."
The room grew quiet as the weight of the mission settled over everyone.
**Scene 2**
**Venator-class Star Destroyer, Talon**
**Dagon's Mindscape**
The world around me shifted. The briefing room faded, replaced by an endless black void lit only by distant crimson stars. A massive shadow loomed before me — the Demon Dragon Emperor, an ancient entity I had bound during one of my deeper explorations into forbidden knowledge.
"So eliminating the Prophets and seizing whatever actual information they possess is your plan?" the Dragon rumbled, its voice like grinding mountains.
"Yes," I replied. "But it seems the Bow Hero has found his friends on Geonosis. From my past knowledge, X-1 and X-2 were legendary in battle. They couldn't have failed a simple reconnaissance mission."
"You suspect the Hero is aiding the CIS?" the Dragon asked, its glowing eyes narrowing.
"No. He is aiding the Jedi — or at least what he believes is the Jedi. Soon I will launch a full campaign and wipe Geonosis off the map."
The Dragon chuckled, a low, terrifying sound. "And when you confront the Hero… would you like the honors?"
"A chance to finally kill those foolish heroes when the previous ones never had the courage to do it?" The Dragon's maw curved into a savage grin. "Most interesting."
I felt the connection begin to fade as realspace called me back.
"Prepare yourself," I told the ancient being. "When the time comes, we strike together."