Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Sanctuary (A Bad Batch Novel) by Lamar Giles.Not everything is at it seems in Star Wars, and as this new story based on Star Wars: The Bad Batch proves, the Galactic Republic contained many more secrets than we ever realized. The Star Wars prequel trilogy unveils how Palpatine orchestrated the Clone Wars to rise to power, and he wasn’t alone in that effort.

As it turns out, however, those who swore themselves to the Separatist cause were perhaps more capable than he realized they could be. Star Wars: Sanctuary (A Bad Batch Novel) by Lamar Giles reveals just how dangerous certain Separatist agents could be, and how deeply they infiltrated the Republic’s deepest territory during the war.

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There Were Separatist Spies Inside The Republic’s Senate

While it wasn’t exactly uncommon for Separatist, or Separatist-paid, operatives to make appearances behind Republic lines, even on planets like Coruscant, Sanctuary reveals one spy who claimed quite a devastating stake within the Republic Senate itself. The spy, known as Sohi/Gayla, worked as a senatorial aide to Senator Tanner Cadaman of Feenix.

Senator Cadaman was a part of the Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, which was often briefed on recon, weapons development, and troop movement. As an aide to him, Sohi was able to report back to the Separatists with this information, which more than likely led to the deaths of thousands of clone troopers as a result – and many lost battles.

While this is the extent of Gayla’s spying ruse in Sanctuary, her ability to infiltrate such a deep layer of Republic intelligence without ever being caught seems to pose the question of who else might have infiltrated their ranks as well. Who’s to say there weren’t more senatorial aide spies within the Republic Senate?

The Republic Might Have Lost The War If Things Hadn’t Taken A Turn

With at least one spy in their ranks reporting on their more sensitive information, it looks as if the Republic might have lost the war if Palpatine hadn’t executed Order 66 and completed his swift takeover of the galaxy at large. In fact, the changing of the tide for them near the end of the war was Palpatine’s own doing.

Count Dooku’s death was clearly Palpatine’s trap to have Anakin Skywalker kill him, providing an illusion of victory as Palpatine groomed Anakin for his role as his Sith apprentice. If Palpatine wasn’t pulling the strings, however, the Republic would have been in a dangerous spot, especially with spies watching their every move inside the senate walls.

Did The Republic Have Spies Inside Separatist Lines, Too?

It’s important to consider, however, that the Separatists might not have been the only ones with spies behind enemy lines. It seems more than possible that the Republic could have had at least a handful of spies inside the Separatist Senate as well. In fact, The Bad Batch has a comic miniseries dedicated to individuals capable of that task.

Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories — The Bad Batch — Ghost Agents by Michael Moreci follows Clone Force 99 recovering a critical list of ghost agents from Separatist hands, as many of these agents are actively undercover in Separatist spaces. One such agent is seen in issue #5, pretending to be a Separatist before he’s compromised.

It’s easy to believe, then, that more ghost agents could have been completing similar tasks to Sohi inside the Separatist Senate. It’s difficult to say exactly what that role was, but what this story based on The Bad Batch does prove is that the Republic was in more danger than we ever truly imagined during the war.

Star Wars: Sanctuary (A Bad Batch Novel) hits bookshelves August 5th.