Chapter 3: Ventress

Darth Lumis' personal cruiser landed in the courtyard of Dooku's Palace, the sleek, elegant ship setting down so gently it was as if it was weightless. The ramp extended and the hatch opened with a hiss, and Kenobi stormed out of the ship, ferocious rage making the Dark Side swell around him like a storm. A stark contrast to the calm elegance of the ship, Obi-Wan was raging, his usually groomed hair tussled and unkept, his fine black robes singed and frayed and hanging off one shoulder. He stalked away from the ship, movements feline and predatory, his blazing yellow eyes running over his ship as he snarled in fury.

"When I said get off the ship," he shouted toward the cruiser, "I meant now, not after I grow old and die!" His golden eyes narrowed dangerously as eight heavily armored people shuffled quickly off the ship, coming to stand before the Sith for a moment before he brought the full weight of the Force down upon them, and they fell to the hard stone ground bodies shaking in pain. He had spent nearly a week hunting the eight that accepted the contract on Dooku, and now, as promised, he had brought them to Serenno. The last of the bunch had given Kenobi more trouble than he was worth, and the Sith was furious.

"Look what you've done!" he shouted, releasing his grip on the group and grabbing one of them, a bald, rough-looking human, by the neck with the Force, the man struggling as he gasped for breath and clawed at his throat, long red scratches slowly beginning to ooze blood. The Sith Lord threw the man across the ground, the bounty hunter landing at the base of the ramp, and Kenobi rushed to the ship, gold eyes frantic in their fury and laying his hands on the hull.

"You come here, slave, and look at this!"

The bounty hunter struggled to his feet, slowly shuffling to the side of the Sith against his will, and he trembled under the blazing gaze. "What is it, Master..."

"What is it? What is it! Look, you fool! In your pathetic, desperate, futile attempt at escape, you scratched my ship!" His long-fingered hand gently ran over the scratch in the ship's paint, it's black coating scraped away to reveal the dull gray of the durasteel underneath. "I'm going to have to get her repainted," he sobbed, forehead laying against the elegant hull of the sleek cruiser. "Oh, my baby, I'm sorry. Daddy's going to get this fixed..."

The yellow eyes flashed dangerously, and with lightning speed, the Sith drew and activated his saber, slashing it upwards in a vicious arc, and the bounty hunter's arm was severed, and the man trembled before he began screaming, only to fall silent when the Force constricted around his neck again.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lumis purred slowly, sweetly, his voice dripping with malice. "Really, it was an accident. Like what you did with my ship. I'm going to let you go, understand? And you're not going to make a sound. No screaming, no whimpering, no whining. Just answering if I decide to bless you with my attention." He snarled and the man dropped to the ground, curled up and mouth opened in a silent scream, but as commanded, he made no sound.

Kenobi took a deep breath, turning away from the bounty hunter and ran his long fingers through his golden hair, bringing order to the unruly state of it. He turned back to the silent man, a wide grin on his face, the Dark Side coming to rest around him, its fury tamed. "Oh, my dear, what happened? You seem to have made a mistake. You want to fix it."

"I-I want to fix it, Master..." His voice was deep, made higher by the tension of keeping himself from howling with pain.

"Oh, what a relief! Of course you want to fix it. Come now, apologize to me."

The man shook, gasping as he struggled to his knees, crawling awkwardly and off centered to the Sith Lord's feet, taking hold of the hem of his robe in his one, shaking hand and kissing it.

"It's alright, we're going to make this right. Come now, stand." The bounty hunter obediently stood, pale and swaying on his feet. "We can just have you fix my ship, alright? It needs to be refinished and waxed anyway. You can do that, can't you?" Kenobi smiled sweetly, patting the man's pale cheek as the bounty hunter lurched forward, heaving and shaking as he kept himself from vomiting.

"Y-yes, Master..."

"Oh, good! Good, see? All is well now." The golden eyes narrowed, and the smile dropped from his face. "Go pick your arm up." He finally whimpered, shaking as he dragged his feet to his severed arm, and he struggled to pick it up, returning to the Sith with his head bowed. "I'm going to make you paint a new ship for me with that. Understand? Is that fair?"

He sobbed, choking back the sound for fear of repercussion, hand tightly grasping his arm. "Y-yes, Master..."

"Oh good. Come along." Kenobi's long legs strode toward the palace, commanding the seven other bounty hunters to follow him as he past them, and they rose, trailing behind the Sith Lord in a single file line, the tortured man shuffling far behind as he struggled to remain conscious.

The Count's Palace had changed since the very first time Obi-Wan had been here. Before, it was quiet, peaceful, devoid of any kind of a guard presence, but now, as Dooku rose to prominence, the grounds were patrolled by the finest battle droids the Separatists produced. His presence brought an assault team of droidekas rolling out of the palace, stopping at the base of the stairs and unfurling as their shields rose, weapons poised. Kenobi rolled his eyes, stopping before the line of mechanical guards.

"Really? Are we going to do this every time?" The droidekas didn't move. Kenobi hated droids. They were completely idiotic, and Obi-Wan couldn't control their minds, since they didn't have any. It was a major problem. "Look, Dooku's going to be really angry if I have to destroy you, and I'm really not in the mood to listen to his complaining." Kenobi looked back to his cruiser, and felt rage boil in him again. "Oh, forget it, he's just going to have to deal with it."

The Dark Side roared as Kenobi took hold of the fires of his anger and fanned them until they grew to a raging inferno, the air around him trembling as the line of droideka's collapsed, the shiny, durable metal of their frame bending and twisting and contorting as wires and circuitry snapped and sparked as their shields blinked out of existence. The expensive battle droids destroyed, Kenobi let go of his anger, the tension leaving his body as the Force bent to his will, curling around him and awaiting his next command.

"Sorry about that," the Sith purred, smirking at the terrified bounty hunters as he straightened and smoothed his robes. "Oh, stop, you don't need to be afraid! I'm not angry anymore, I promise. Come on now."

The Sith continued, walking up the long steps to the palace entrance, and the bounty hunters followed, carefully stepping over the sparking and smoking heaps of twisted metal. They entered through the large doors of the palace and came to stand in a large entryway, ceilings high and lighting dim, and he heavy doors slammed behind them, the noise deafening as they were sealed inside. More droids stood around them, but these were not hostile, kneeling obediently when they saw the yellow eyed man.

"These are going down below," Kenobi quickly told an IG-100 MagnaGuard droid as it approached him. "They should behave, but if they don't, break their legs." The bounty hunters paled as the droid uttered a deep affirmative, a series of short clicks and whistles summoning others just like it to roughly grab hold of the battered hunters, long electrostaves clutched in their free hand. "You understand that I don't want them dead, yes? Are we clear on this?" Another affirmative, and Kenobi snarled, stalking away as the droids took hold of his prisoners.

He entered the elevator, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently as the platform rose. Dooku was always, always, in his spacious living room. If nothing else, the old man was predictable. The doors slid open with a hiss, and Kenobi strode out, pace slowing as he looked about the room. He always felt nostalgic coming in here, and the feeling hadn't waned over the years. It was here, so many years ago, that his life as a Jedi ended. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Knight, had died as he slid his lightsaber into the lungs of Master Sar Labooda, and Darth Lumis had risen in his place. The room had been repaired, of course, the original beauty restored, the long mirrors replaced, the blood soaked and burned carpets discarded and changed out for new ones. Electrical burns and lightsaber damage has all been covered up as if nothing had ever happened there.

But Obi-Wan could see it still. Every time he walked into the room, he was walking through his vivid memory. He could still see where the bodies lay, broken glass scattered on the ground and long, smoking electric burns scarring the walls. He could still feel the pain of the Sith lightning running through his body, could still smell the blood and burning flesh as he helped the Sith Lords maim the bodies of the four dead Jedi. He could feel the Force itself recoil from him as he did it, but he had pressed through it, coming out at the end of it, strong enough to cull the Dark Side, bending the Force to his will. That first time wasn't the last time he had done something awful, but each time became easier. Now, Kenobi didn't have to think twice about doing what needed to be done.

To his surprise, Dooku wasn't in the room, but someone else was. Obi-Wan's yellow eyes narrowed at the figure of a thin woman, lithe and muscular, sitting curled up on the steps leading to the expansive wall of windows looking out over the forest below the cliff. Kenobi reached out with the Force, getting a feel of the girl, but she had felt it, her pale blue eyes falling on him and narrowing dangerously, a bitter snarl on her face, and Obi-Wan couldn't help but laugh loudly, his rich voice echoing off the high ceiling.

"Well, hello there," Kenobi drawled, walking closer as the athletic woman leapt to her feet, her hand reaching behind her and grabbing for something, but snarling in frustration when what she was searching for wasn't there. Obi-Wan smiled warmly, his eyes roving over her with interest, hands splayed in front of him to show her he was unarmed. "Don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid!" the woman hissed, her voice low and rough, and it just made Kenobi grin wider.

"Yes you are. I can feel it. You can feel it. You can't hide anything from me, girl, so don't even try it."

Those pale eyes narrowed, and Obi-Wan could feel the power of the Force around her, the sum of her hatred and rage coiling around her as it stirred the Dark Side and it came to her, swirling around the woman. "I'm not afraid of you!" she shouted, and Kenobi just smiled.

"No, not yet." The woman screamed, howling furiously as she launched herself at the Sith Lord, and Obi-Wan's splayed hands slowly grasped closed, and the woman froze, dropping to the ground and clutching her neck, breath coming in ragged wheezes. Kenobi knelt before her, long fingers touching her chin and forcing her to look up at him, her pale eyes wide with fear.

"See," the Sith purred. "I told you. Now, I have seen your mind, and your resistance is strong. I could break into you, of course. I can take anything I want, but I think the strain of it might break you. You're strong in the Force, and I'd love the practice, but I also hate to destroy things of beauty." The sharp, angular face twitched in rage, and Kenobi smiled, laying a gentle hand on her hairless head. "Oh, we're going to be good friends, I can tell."

"Lumis!" Kenobi's grin dropped into an irritated scowl, rolling his eyes as Dooku strode into the room, and his fury could be felt in the air. The woman looked past Obi-Wan to the older man, her pale eyes wide and nervous. "Eight, Lumis, eight droidekas you have destroyed beyond repair."

"Every time I come here, you roll them out." Kenobi stood, smirk on his face as he watched the older Sith grow angrier. "Every time, Tyranus. You don't want them destroyed, then reprogram them to leave me alone."

Dooku tightly shut his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Did you have your access card on you."

"I told you, I'm not carrying that thing around. Get the Techno Union to reprogram them. They are at your command, aren't they?"

"Lumis, they are expensive."

"Well they obviously aren't worth the money then." Obi-Wan heard the woman snort behind him, and he looked back at her, smiled wickedly, and turned his yellow eyes back to Dooku. He pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the woman. "What's that."

"That," Dooku growled, stalking past the Sith and the woman, "is the woman I'm looking to train."

Kenobi laughed. "What, you? Her? Train?" He crossed his arms over his chest, watching as the older man sat at his desk, fingers running over a datapad. "Does our Master know about this?"

"Unlike you, I don't waste our Master's time with trivialities."

"Oh, is that what we're calling it? This is a triviality?" He walked up to Dooku's desk and slammed his hand on the dark wood. "This is actually serious, Dooku," Kenobi said softly, and the Count looked up from his datapad, brown eyes narrowed defiantly. "You know how he will see this. It looks like you're taking an apprentice. He's going to think you fancy yourself a Master."

"The Dark Side is strong in her, Kenobi," Dooku growled softly, "but there is too much fear in her, she can never be truly Sith. A Sith has no fear, as you know, and our Master will sense that. She is to be an assassin, I can't have you running errands for me when the war starts, your calling will be more important." He stood up from his chair, towering over Kenobi. "Ventress, come here."

Obi-Wan's sharp eyes shot to the woman as she quickly obeyed, coming to kneel before the Count. "My Master..."

"This is Darth Lumis, Lord of the Sith. Be mindful around him, or he will put an end to you."

The woman's pale eyes flashed with rage, glaring at the smirking man for a moment before she bowed her head. "I...understand, Master."

"I like this one, Tyranus," Kenobi purred, bright yellow eyes running over the kneeling woman. "I think she's worth keeping. At the very least, she's nicer to look at than you are." Ventress' head snapped back, her pale eyes narrowing in anger. "Oh, what," Kenobi drawled, "lighten up! What are you, some kind of Jedi?"

"I was," Ventress snarled, standing at her full height, head thrown back defiantly.

"What? Oh, you poor thing." Obi-Wan grabbed her shoulder and swiftly kissed her cheek, grinning deviously as Ventress' face twisted in disgust. "Don't you worry, my dear. We'll fix that." His yellow eyes ran over her face, carefully examining her every feature, holding her chin with crushing force when she tried to wriggle away from him. "I know this girl."

"That's impossible, Lumis."

"No, no, not her personally." He frowned, releasing the woman. "This girl is a Nightsister." The disbelieving pale blue eyes confirmed his suspicion, and the Sith reeled on Dooku. "Really, I wonder what it's like to be as stupid as you. It must be nice to be so blissfully unaware."

"Are you afraid, Lumis?" the Count growled, his brown eyes flashing yellow. "I wonder what our Master will do to you when he finds out that his pet is afraid of a woman."

"A Nightsister. I've met their leader, and she's looking for revenge against the Sith!"

"No, she's looking for revenge against you. I've had dealings with Talzin as well."

"Oh, perfect!" Kenobi drawled, voice dropping with sarcasm and slowly applauding. "Well done, Dooku, way to connect with a woman that wants to destroy the Sith. Now she's personally familiar with all of us." Dooku said nothing, just stood there and watching Kenobi cooly. "...what dealings?!"

"What I do is none of your concern."

"Maybe not, but now you have a Nightsister in your palace. Talzin is going to know, and if you weren't on her hit list before, you will be now."

Dooku smirked. "Why, Kenobi, it almost seems as if you care."

"Of course I care! Our Master sends me to clean up your messes and bail you out of trouble every time you're in it! I'm sick of having my time wasted!"

"Ah."

"And just you watch. When Talzin brings her sister home," he growled, pointing at a viciously glaring Ventress, "our Master will send me to defend you against the assassin that you trained."

Dooku crossed his arms. "And you don't believe I can defend myself?"

"It's unlikely," Obi-Wan scoffed, a cruel smirk on his face. "I see you in the morning, Dooku, and I can hear your joints ache from half way across the palace."

"Are you leaving yet?"

"Not a chance."

Dooku growled, snatching his datapad from the desk and walking past Kenobi to stand beside Ventress. "You are lucky our Master won't let me kill you, Lumis."

"There's no such thing as luck, Dooku," he smirked, winking at the older man. "I'm just indispensable."

"You won't be if you continue to antagonize Grievous." Kenobi's eyes rolled, and Dooku frowned. "I mean it. We need a commander for our army, and Grievous is it."

"I don't like droids."

"He's not a droid!"

"He's close enough!"

"You can mentally dominate him, Kenobi, and from what I understand, your inability to do so with droids is why you hate them. You can crush his mind, if you desired to, so you have no cause to hate him."

"...well, he looks like a droid." Dooku groaned, his brown eyes rolling as his long fingers massaged his temples. "Do you really want me to explain myself? I haven't had to explain myself for years, why should I start now?"

"Grievous," Dooku droned, "also hates droids..."

"...he does?" The Count nodded, and Kenobi gasped, hands flying to the side of his face. "By the Force, we could be brothers!"

Ventress laughed, but was silenced quickly by a glare from the Count, hanging her head under the intensity of his gaze. "Make peace with Grievous before our Master demands it of you."

Kenobi's finger slowly tapped against his cheek, his devilishly intelligent eyes glowing with mischief. "I'll make you a deal," Obi-Wan purred, coming to stand before the other Sith. "I'll make good with your pet scrap pile. I'll even apologize. But in exchange, you get me a Jedi I can practice on." Dooku's eyes narrowed, but Obi-Wan could feel him considering the idea. "Very soon, there are going to be more Jedi around than we can handle, and if I'm going to use my talents against them, I need to practice breaking through Jedi mental defenses."

Dooku was silent, his broad chest slowly rising and falling with each deep, even breath, and he finally nodded. "Very well." The Count's eyes flashed with devious light, and Kenobi held his breath. The Count was rarely devious, but when he was, it gave Kenobi pause; clearly, he was a bad influence on Darth Tyranus. "Grievous will get you your Jedi. Make nice with him so he will do as you wish, the man has hunted Jedi in the past."

"Oh, you are awful!" Kenobi shouted, his rich, clipped voice filled with laughter. "Fine, I'll talk to him, but I am not apologizing! That part of the deal is off!"

"I don't care, just as long as you make peace," Dooku drawled, rubbing his temples. "Every time you are here is like a new exercise in pain."

"Are you going to thank me for that now, or later?" The Count groaned loudly, covering his face with his hands, and Kenobi laughed. "By the way, the bounty hunters that were looking for you are down below. Don't kill them too quickly, and leave a few for me. There's been so much work lately I have hardly had a chance to enjoy myself."

"I understand the feeling. Every time I sit down to relax, you show up."

"I know, I can feel it in the Force! Isn't it great, I'm so happy we have this connection!"

Dooku let out a frustrated cry, and Ventress shrank back when the glowing yellow eyes of her Master fell on her. "You need to prove you are worthy of training," he snarled viciously. "Start with him. Keep that Sith out of my sight." Ventress' eyes drifted to the smirking, amused, handsome face of the younger Sith, his glowing yellow eyes devious, and she felt fear in the pit of her stomach.

"Y-yes, Master," she nodded slowly.

"Yeah, good luck with that, Nightsister. I hope you like the taste of failure." Kenobi's voice was light, amused, filled with laughter, and Ventress wasn't sure if she should relax or be ready for a fight. She watched the elder Sith leave the room, his rage felt in the air until he vanished through a door on the far end of the room. The Nightsister rose, turning to meet the other Sith and readying herself for combat.

But Lumis didn't move. He just stood, yellow eyes looking over the room, gaze far away, and Ventress wasn't sure what to do. He was silent for a while before he quietly drawled, "Who was your Jedi Master?"

"Ky Narec," she rasped cautiously, carefully, uncertain what the man was planning.

"I've never heard of him."

"And why should you!" she snarled, anger getting the better of her. She had loved her Master, and the Sith sounded like he was disregarding him, brushing him off as insignificant. He hadn't been insignificant to Asajj Ventress, and that's all that mattered.

Her anger quickly vanished, though, when the Sith Lord quietly said, "My Jedi Master was Qui-Gon Jinn."

"You were a Jedi?" she asked softly, slowly creeping closer, holding her breath and ready to be struck, but it never came. He just nodded, those bright golden eyes looking at her with interest.

"I was. For a long time. I grew up in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, like your Master did."

"Are all Sith fallen Jedi?"

Kenobi smiled softly. "No. But the best ones are. The Dark Side is like fire, and if you don't have the discipline and training to control it, it will consume you." He shrugged. "Jedi training just happens to build the best foundation for Sith Lords."

"Lord Lumis, I-"

"Lord Lumis," he drawled, "is so formal. You, my dear, can call me Obi-Wan Kenobi."

He put his hand out to her, and Ventress looked at it suspiciously. He was not like her Master. Dooku was like ice, cold and formal and removed, but this Sith Lord was like fire, warm and comforting and dangerous. She steeled herself and grabbed his hand. "Asajj Ventress."

He smiled, taking his hand from hers after a moment. "Tell me, Asajj, how does a Nightsister come to be in the service of the Sith?"

"That is none of your business," she snarled, and Kenobi laughed, leaning in toward her and his yellow eyes flashing.

"I don't need to ask you questions," he said sweetly, taking a step toward the woman. "As I said before, I can take anything I want. I would rather not destroy you, Ventress." He smiled. "But I will."

She felt his intent through the Force, and she knew immediately that he was serious. She pictured the Sith strength as summoned lightning and lifting people in the air to choke the life out of them and reducing strong, solid objects to rubble, but this Sith was different. This Sith was not so flashy. This Sith believed that everything was his because he had the power to take it. "I don't remember Dathomir much," she growled softly. "I remember being a slave. My Master was kind, though, and when he was killed in a pirate raid, Master Narec saved me." Her face darkened. "Then he was killed. The Jedi left him stranded on the planet, and it's their fault that he died so far from home! Master Dooku found me, and I joined him to kill Jedi."

He nodded. "Well, if that's your business, this is the place for it." He smiled warmly. "See! That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"I don't like talking about my past."

"Neither do I." The golden eyes looked over the room again. "I was born here. Not birthed, but born. My Jedi self died here the day I submitted completely to the Dark Side."

"...why did you do it?"

"It is a very long story. But the short of it is the Jedi betrayed me." They were silent for a long while, Obi-Wan quietly looking out the window and Asajj observing the Sith. Without any word, Kenobi silently walked past Ventress toward the elevator at the far end, but the Nightsister ran in front of him, blocking his way and scowling.

"My Master told me to keep you from him."

"Trust me, I want nothing to do with that stuffy old man. I'm going to tend to my ship."

"I don't believe you. You seemed very content to harass him."

The woman's eyes were cold and hard, but she had a smirk on her face, and Kenobi smiled. "Oh, I like you. Shall I give you some advice?" The woman said nothing. "Move."

Ventress felt herself waiver, her pulse quickening as she tensed, keeping herself from moving. It was difficult, the compulsion to do as he said very difficult to resist, but she did it, glaring, her pale eyes met the cruel, amused gold of Lumis.

"Let me tell you how your training will go, Asajj," Kenobi purred, drawing close to the woman, and while she was resisting the command, she couldn't divide her attention enough to move away. He was close, very close, and she could feel the warmth of his body next to hers, the very air around him seeming to blaze, and she felt the air sucked right out of her lungs. "There will be pain. Lots of it, all for the purpose of nurturing your rage. It will consume you, build you up into a fearsome force, and then your Master will dominate you, force you to submit to his will while the Dark Side drives you forward. And when you finally bend to him, the process will begin again."

He smirked as he watched the pale eyes fill with rage and fear, shaking as she fought against his command. "You're afraid, I know. And so full of anger and rage, just as much as Dooku himself, which is why, I suspect, you are here. You're a good match. But it will consume you. I can help you." He smiled, mouth slightly parted as he watched the woman shiver, her resolve weakening, and Kenobi pushed against her mental defenses. "That's it, Asajj, let me in..."

And she did, gasping as she felt the presence of the Sith Lord in her mind, the smoking, smooth tendrils of his touch running through her, making her drop to one knee and shake as the Sith stoked and soothed the raging Dark Side within her. And then he was gone, withdrawing suddenly and she lurched forward, holding herself up with her thin, strong arms, the absence of his presence keenly felt. He kneeled beside her, laying a long fingered hand on her head.

"And that, my dear, is how you break strong walls without breaking their mind." He smiled, watching her face contort with rage and longing. "All you need to do is make them want it."

"I hate you," she snarled viciously, watching the Sith Lord walk away from her toward the elevator, laughing to himself and a smirk on his smug face.

"Good, hold onto that. I'm going to fix my ship. Do you want to join me?"

With nothing else to do, Asajj Ventress shrugged, rising slowly to her feet, and joined the Sith Lord.