After Obi-Wan spoke his heartfelt words, he chose to fall silent. What the young Eggman, Mace Windu, and the other Masters thought was their own business.
His words had been true.
Although the Jedi Order was corrupt, it had one advantage, its members were reasonable.
Obi-Wan's logic was sound, and it left them with nothing to say.
The atmosphere grew awkward.
Finally, seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, Yoda spoke decisively. "I will go ask Garfield about his plans later."
Windu asked, "And what about now?"
Yoda's ears twitched. "Why not play a few games together?"
"Good idea."
"Then it's settled!"
"You bunch of Jedi Masters, can you manage being so addicted to games? What about the future of the Jedi Order?" Windu roared in frustration.
"Dooku," Yoda said, turning to the still-dazed Count after logging into his device, "are you coming?"
Windu paused. "Wait a moment. I'll be online soon."
Yoda glanced at Obi-Wan. "Obi-Wan, your rank is too low. Go practice."
Obi-Wan: "...Okay."
Due to his low rank, he silently left the room. After walking out the door, he began complaining internally.
What? They're supposed to be a bunch of Jedi Masters, and they just went to play games.
Should I ask Anakin to help me rank up? The Masters all think my rank is too low and won't play with me.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
Anakin, who had just emerged from his Padawan training room, sneezed.
He rubbed his nose and muttered to himself, "Could it be that Padmé misses me? She must want me to help her rank up. R2, let's hurry back."
The blue, trash-can-shaped R2 unit that Padmé had given Anakin beeped in agreement.
Watching his apprentice scurry away, Qui-Gon Jinn sighed. Still so young.
The robot dogs and birds weren't on leave, Garfield had sent them to satisfy Obi-Wan's competitive spirit, as a reward for his words.
Qui-Gon knew about the meeting.
He had told Garfield about it in advance and even shown him the video recording.
His apprentice's crucial, correct statement filled Qui-Gon with pride.
This was his student, capable of expressing his own views in front of a group of Masters, surpassing his master in both intellect and courage.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
After Obi-Wan left, Garfield continued his work.
The matter wasn't over yet.
Based on the intelligence gathered by the robot dogs and birds, Garfield suspected that Palpatine was still at the original Incom factory.
The supposed escape had been nothing more than a smokescreen.
But Garfield didn't intend to expose him now.
Palpatine was still useful, at least as a distraction for the Jedi Order.
And incidentally, he helped drag down the Techno Union, the Trade Federation, the Banking Alliance, and all the other ambitious rivals.
The faster Garfield's power expanded, the more anxious Palpatine became, hiding in his corner.
He knew that if he continued to hide, the gap between him and Garfield would widen.
In two or three years, he would be completely out of the picture.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
Inside the dimly lit metal tunnels beneath the abandoned Incom Corporation factory on Coruscant, several battle droids began their patrols according to pre-programmed routes.
They were protecting their master. Lord Sidious.
They were robots. They didn't think about *why* they were protecting someone.
They only needed to execute orders.
Their internal batteries allowed them to fight for a week without recharging or a month if they were simply patrolling.
After the battle droids finished their patrol, a small mouse scurried out from a corner. One of the droids glanced back. Its scanning device indicated it was a mouse.
"A mouse," the droid said.
"What a fuss."
"Continue patrolling."
"Okay."
The droids had some strength, but not much. They were sufficient as cannon fodder.
At the end of the tunnel, a squad of mechanical soldiers guarded a door.
Behind that door was another gate. And further in, Palpatine's living quarters.
He had been hiding here for over half a year. All because of that orange cat.
If it weren't for Garfield's interference, Palpatine's perfect plan would already have infiltrated Kamino's clone army.
He had secretly contacted Kamino recently, but they had refused him outright.
Not only was he a wanted criminal, but the more important reason was that they had no spare capacity.
All their resources were being consumed by Garfield.
Enraged by Kamino's response, Palpatine had smashed his gaming device.
The device had been specially made, allowing the game's identity verification process to bypass the user's login through a pre-installed bypass chip.
It was expensive.
But now, Palpatine couldn't easily access the game, and he didn't dare use secret communication signals too often.
Games were a good thing, though. Palpatine could use pre-set codes and passwords to contact his subordinates operating outside.
The downside was that under Garfield's nose, if he was exposed, some of his outside assets would also be exposed.
The clever Palpatine naturally wouldn't put all his eggs in one basket. His other intelligence systems continued to operate.
Sitting in his seat, his face was as pale as a vampire's, he had gone without sunlight for six months.
Coupled with the backstabbing and infighting among the three major alliances over the past six months, and the immense pressure of Garfield's rapid expansion, he was utterly exhausted.
He realized he couldn't continue like this.
Palpatine was seriously considering a way out.
Lost in thought, he noticed the modified gaming device in his hand.
A flash of inspiration struck him.
*The games.*
Gamers were everywhere in the universe.
If he could control the key figures in that stinking cat's game company, his operations would become much smoother.
Palpatine's hand fell on his personal terminal. He pulled up the internal employee data of the High Claw Group.
Finally, he locked onto a target: Jean Gray. The CEO of the game company.
She was not only the company's top executive but also the only company member who could see Garfield regularly.
Logically, she must possess some control over the games.
To control her… besides some underhanded methods, he would have to step in himself.
Palpatine thought for only ten seconds.
Then he ordered his equipment handlers, "Prepare the vehicle. I'm going out."