General Bycha spoke to the Jedi. “We were unprepared for war. Our planet has no planetary defensive shield, and only one planetary turbolaser. It’s all up to our fleet.”
“You have the strategic advantage,” Siri said.
“Which means there is another option,” Obi-Wan pointed out. “Within seconds of the Vanqors invading your airspace, you will be able to surprise and surround them. They know their entire fleet can easily be destroyed. It is a perfect opportunity for you to force a surrender without losing lives. “
General Bycha looked interested. “Most generals are primed to fight. I will do so if necessary. But on TyphaDor we always seek to avoid conflict if we can.”
“A truce would make sense for Vanqor as well as TyphaDor,” Obi-Wan pointed out. “TyphaDor has vast resources. Vanqor has factories and technical innovations. The other planets in your system each have something unique to contribute. If there was a strong alliance between your planets, you would all be interdependent. You would learn and profit from one another.”
“You could become one of the strongest systems in the galaxy and a boon to the Republic,” Siri said.
Binalu shook her head. “But we don’t trust the Vanqors. How could we, after what they have done?”
“Alliances are rarely built on trust,” Clee Rhara said. “They are built on mutual advantage.”
“One of your conditions would have to be complete disarmament,” Garen said. “Vanqor might choose that rather than complete annihilation.”
“It all depends on you,” Obi-Wan said. “You have the advantage of surprise. When you don’t fire on the Vanqors, they might hesitate to fire on you. You’ll need to speak to the ruler of Vanqor and explain that you have his fleet surrounded. The Vanqor fleet captains will confirm. You have a chance to win a war without a battle.”
Binalu and Talus gazed at the blinking lights on the holomap, each representing a ship with hundreds of lives aboard. They had a wordless communication with each other, then nodded.
“Tell the fleet to get into position but not to fire a shot unless ordered,” Talus said.
“We will talk to Van-Ith, the ruler of Vanqor,” Binalu said.
It was a tense time in the operations room. The generals, the Jedi, and the rulers watched the blinking lights on the map. They saw the Vanqor fleet approach. At the last possible moment, General Bycha gave the order for the TyphaDor coalition forces to surround the Vanqor fleet. The movement was executed perfectly.
“Arrange for a comm transmission to the head of the fleet,” General Bycha ordered.
While General Bycha spoke to the Vanqor captains, Binalu and Talus spoke to the Vanqor leader. The Jedi watched and waited. After a long negotiation, the Vanqors agreed to surrender and enter peace talks.
The Vanqor fleet slowly followed the TyphaDor escorts to the surface of TyphaDor, where they would remain for the duration of the talks.
“This will take some time to accomplish,” Talus said to the Jedi. “Thank you for your help. We are in your debt.”
“Shalini and her crew were responsible for obtaining the invasion plans,” Obi-Wan told them. “They risked their lives. They entrusted the disk to us while they were interred in a prisoner-of-war camp.”
“Are they in danger?” General Bycha asked.
“Anakin was also a prisoner,” Obi-Wan said. “There’s a camp in the Tomo Crater region on Vanqor.”
General Bycha focused her intense gaze on Anakin. “We’ve heard of this camp. Rumors have reached us of medical experiments being performed on prisoners. This is against Republic law. If we knew this for certain, it would help us in negotiations with the Vanqors. Did you see anything like that?”
Obi-Wan saw Anakin hesitate. Why? What had happened to him? Why hadn’t he told Obi-Wan? He’d had plenty of opportunity aboard Garen’s ship.
“I underwent the procedure,” Anakin said. “It is called the Zone of Self-Containment.”
He saw the Jedi turn and look at him. Ferus’s gaze was sharp. He had seen that Obi-Wan hadn’t known this.
“What happens to you?” General Bycha asked. “You become… content,” Anakin said. “You have complete mobility and your thought processes are sharp. It doesn’t feel as though you’re drugged. But the things that normally torment you don’t bother you at all.”
“Crowd control,” General Bycha said. “It’s a way to subdue populations. I can’t believe we must form a partnership with those who would do this.”
“The partnership will ensure that they won’t,” Clee Rhara said.