Did this in a random comment a while ago. Looking for feedback/suggestions:

He's a Chandrilan with political connections (Mothma) through his arranged marriage who served as a Republic Intelligence agent during the clone wars. He is tasked with finding and coordinating with insurrectionists or splinter factions/terrorist cells on Separatist planets. Figuring out what they need so they become big enough threats that the separatists have to devote resources.

He also has a mistress (childhood love?/unknown or nonexistent political connections). As the Republic Intelligence failures/ineptitudes ratchet up, Luthen, being the smartest and most "not part of the intelligence club" since he's embedded on enemy world, floats that there's a mole and he's tasked to ferret them out.

Palpatine eventually co-opts Republic Intelligence the same way he did the banking clans. Luthen continues making inroads by analyzing Separatist moves vs. who could possibly be able to leak that info and figures it's someone high up in the Republic Senate, also neglecting his wives.

Wives both have a single daughter. Dealing with Luthens absence by spending time with cousins/extended family. Luthen keeps digging, realizes it's fucking Palpatine leaking everything at the same time Palpatine realizes who he actually is/what he's doing.

It's a week before 66, Luthen realizes the only thing he can do is tell the Jedi. Realizes he's being hunted by something. Between getting from Palpatine to the Jedi temple (across the street), things happen -

Luthen is publicly accused of being the mole (insert minority report movement)

His wives' homes are pipe bombed (Garm Bel Iblis style). He is blamed. wives are dead. Daughters are with cousins.

Has to grab daughters, ends up taking whichever cousin they're with, has to run an epic gauntlet of clones, a Jedi. A sith operative, some other bullshit from his past helped by personal connections that have been presented through story. Maybe have a training day style I saved your cousin from getting raped this morning type thing.

Gets off planet on a stock Fondor-class haulcraft with the daughters and their cousins in tow. Lands at an abandoned safehouse.

Breaks down/emotional collapse/loses his shit but must hold immediate root symbolic version of normally lavish ostentatious "Chandrilan" funeral rites. Think pre-civilization vs. post-instagram. The lavish shit is preseeded.

It's ugly/brutal/real, his daughters are realizing their mothers are dead, their lives are over. The director nails it.

Luthen, face covered in ash, takes a sharp rock, and initiates a taboo/fucked up/ancient Chandrilan ritual. (Pick up mechanism or amalgamation from historical black magic cults)(Also preseeded, but in hushed whispers /disbelief and disapproval).

One by one, Vel, Kleia, Mon, and Lonnie pick up rocks and start cutting themselves.

Edit: the overarching theme of this series would be Janus, the two-faced god. Luthen is the Thrawn of method-acting. He was the lead in this generations showing of a Chandrilan opera based on Janus and is feted for it. Performative arts is like soccer popularity levels for Chandrilan, Luthen is the Messi (not Ronaldo) and arranged married his Mothma.

Gets drawn into Clone Wars, intelligence, embedded on Separatist worlds due to his capacity to blend quickly and disappear due to acting background.

Gets picked to locate mole in Republic because in method acting you need to know just what your character knows at the time of shooting, otherwise future information would inform your current actions/acting decisions.

Extrapolating, if I was method acting the "Separatist Alliance" I could analyze their past actions and decision making viewed in that moment and make deductions on what they did and didn't know. Then find out who in the Republic knew what they knew and also didn't know what they didn't know (I know this ignores obfuscation/counter intelligence. It's a first draft it'll get fixed eventually).

Initially he suspects the Jedi but things always make it not fit. Like the evidence is leading to they are warmongers and force addled mystics, but his gut and a significant bit of personal naoly gathered data (resolve) means his head is lyng to his heart. (Palpatine's false leads)

So remember, Thrawn of method acting. The breakthrough is wait, why don't I apply the same analysis to the Republic. Other evidence leads to the Senate halfway through, then then to 500 Republican, where he goes undercover again. He's just walking the halls listening thinking about his problems and some comment from Palpatine he hears squares the circle. He realizes the reason no one can find shit is that the Separatists and Republic take actions in response to each other always based on the same facts and beliefs up to a point, until the reality on the ground changes. And then the separatists and the Republic react to the same new set of facts in the exact same timeframe. 2 faces of the same god. Ok now Luthen is undercover as a scheduler for Palpatine, he has a 5 minute meeting going over the day schedule and the Jedi are waiting in the vestibule. Luthen gets his flash of insight, but applies his acting skills to mask his realization. Palpatine, not actively using the Force in this proximity to the Jedi nevertheless through skill alone realizes what Luthen has uncovered.

And the conversation shifts... to acting. (Luthen is maybe there as Luthen famous actor but Intelligence background hidden (Kal Penn in White House?). Luthen quickly realizes Palpatine is a master actor himself, sharing insights and experiences that indicate such. And Palpatine, in an oh so "Tragedy of Darth Plagueis" manner begins a dance of allusion and allegory expressing..

So you know. I know you know. Now you know I know you know. Let's talk about it but btw, I have no idea how you aren't dead in under hour. As an appreciator of opera. I'd love to hear the story about how you pull it off.

Climax of story, preseed context forwards and backwards, layer meaning/thematic elements, a dash of it rhymes etc.

A few options here, first draft is Luthen thinks he bought himself some time, but he didn't. Only reason he's not dead instantly is Jedi 1 wall and 10 feet away. Continue...

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