"Not meaningfully. The jamming was cutting that signal too. I'll try to clean up what I did get, but that's going to take time."

"Damn. That's a pity. Good luck."

"Thanks. You too. Good work out there, even if it did go sideways."

Things are moving according to plan. The Republic thinks they have enough warning to exploit the coming schism; the defection of some of their own should set them back enough to properly ignite the conflict. Malgus's supporters are among the first batch of ships the Imperials are retrofitting with the cloaking technology. He'll make his move once those are completed. Revan is a complicating factor. If he goes over too soon, he's likely to do more damage than desirable. She'll have to mitigate that somehow.

Almost two weeks after Revan's meeting with Malgus, holocomms across the Empire light up simultaneously, echoing in private homes and public spaces. Malgus addresses the galaxy.

"Fellow Sith. Citizens of the Empire. Too long the strength of the Empire has been beholden to the in-fighting of the Dark Council and the disappearance of an apathetic Emperor. Sith, children of Sith, and warriors everywhere, I declare a new Empire, open to all who long for conquest, freedom from inhibition, and the right to follow their passions. The Dark Council is dissolved. Those who would join Darth Serevin in supporting me, cast aside your titles and let me lead you to victory. Those who will not, prepare to face our stealth armada. The Emperor is gone. His station and power are mine. We will conquer the galaxy while he sleeps."

At least one person facepalms once this message has concluded.

"You fucking idiot," she tells the dark holocomm.

"An interesting turn of events indeed."

Callida constrains herself to a heavy sigh.

"That's a word for it, yes. Are we waiting for Marr to attempt to summon you for the inevitable pest control, or shall we arrive early and show how very patriotic we are?"

"It would not do too seem too eager and give the impression we anticipated this. We shall wait. Though not, I think, for long."

She nods. "Of course. I'll prepare a report on who's defected to Malgus for you in the interim, then. Unless you think I would be better suited elsewhere?"

Occlus waves a hand. "By all means. I am going to finish this cataloging."

Another nod, and then: to work. It'll be tricky figuring out who's defected and from where, since no doubt everyone will be lying about everything, but she can probably manage vague numbers and percentages if she tries very hard and believes in herself, checks various ship logs, and sorts through some boring numbers. If the Sith hierarchy were less of a flaming disaster she wouldn't be able to do this, but it is kind of a flaming disaster, so she can. This is what happens when you dissolve Imperial Intelligence, you idiots. Sith Lords will figure out how to gather data they maybe shouldn't be able to.

She assembles estimations, some more broad than others. The only concrete numbers she'll have are for their jurisdiction. Unfortunately, the number there is not 'zero.' One of Occlus's squads defected, which is more of an annoyance than an actual blow to anything in particular. Damn, and they were so close to having a perfect record.

It's ready by the time they need to depart for inevitable pest control. Well, ready as it can be, without anyone letting her see the actual concrete numbers.

Occlus frowns slightly when shown the report.

"Disappointing. Come, Marr has requested our presence. In particular, not a full Council meeting."

Callida follows, swallowing her unease at the word 'our.' Up until now, she's managed to avoid meeting Darth Marr. Looks like that luck just ran out. Well. It was bound to happen eventually. It wouldn't do for her to show a trace of fear in front of another Dark Councilor.

Darth Marr awaits them in a conference room, surrounded by nervous technicians and officers that buzz around the Dark Councilor like moths around a lamp. They flit away when the two Sith enter, conveniently finding something else to do.

"Occlus," says Marr, in lieu of a proper greeting. His mask makes gauging his expression impossible, and his voice gives nothing away. He looks at Callida. "And your apprentice. Good."

"Marr," says Occlus, face as still as any mask. "I assume this is in relation to Darth Malgus's recent pronouncement?"

"You assume correctly."

He looks pensively at a holoterminal displaying Ilum.

"I would like a copy of your report," he says, without preamble.

... Callida blinks like she misheard him.

"Lord Callida," she prompts.

Callida is ever so careful to keep her screaming behind her wall of calm. To her credit, her expression doesn't flicker past the surprised blink, and neither does her nerve.

Would you like me to change the numbers for our defectors in some way? she asks, while she retrieves the appropriate document on her datapad.

If he's asking for it, he's already seen it.

Aaaaugh she is going to get such a lecture later.

Just making sure.

She sends Darth Marr a copy, and continues to keep her screaming on the inside.

He looks thoughtfully at it.

"Ah. So you have an accurate overview of the situation."

"Insofar as that is possible. What do you intend?"

"We must crush this insurrection," he spits the word like it's a curse, "before it has the time to amass strength. It is paramount that we retake the cloaking factory. We have no time for petty grievances or further disloyalty."

In lieu of a formal request or an outright demand, he leaves that sentence hanging in the air. Perhaps he doesn't think he needs either.