AN: Weeeeell, obviously I didn't update very quickly. Sorry about that. DX Writer's Block is horrible! I'd written a ton of scenes for this chapter, but couldn't for the life of me actually connect them together. But I finally managed, and so we have a chapter.

This chapter's more serious than I usually attempt, so I hope it's not terrible. XD And thanks to everyone reading and/or reviewing!

Deceptions
Chapter 3
by: Amrita Glittersong

A few hours later Obi-Wan returned to databook library, feeling slightly better and refocused on his mission. Dooku was where he had seen him last, pouring over datapads at the table and Obi-Wan noticed a few more had joined the stack since he'd been gone.

Dooku looked up at him briefly as he entered before returning his attention to his datapad. "Hello, Obi-Wan."

"Hello." Obi-Wan responded, slightly amused by the casual oddness of such an exchange as he took a few steps over to the table.

"You are proving incredibly difficult to find a name for." Dooku informed him, almost sighing.

"I can't say I am surprised. Are there any candidates at all?" Obi-Wan asked, not particularly concerned about what his name ended up being. It wasn't going to mean much to him anyway, as he only saw it as a tool rather than the heavily symbolic thing it was for a true Sith.

"Yes." Dooku said, nodding. "Talionis. It means 'retribution'. Fitting, I think."

Obi-Wan nodded as well, considering that. It wasn't Darth Sarcasm, Darth Cynicism, Darth Unimaginative, Darth Nobody, or Darth Hey-Look-I'm-Actually-A-Jedi, so Obi-Wan saw no real objection to it. Except for one thing.

"It sounds like 'Talon'." Obi-Wan pointed out. "And that's a terrible name."

The Count didn't miss a beat. "Obi-Wan, think of the Sith you have known and read about. They all have terrible names." He said calmly, as if explaining something obvious.

"...I suppose you're right." Obi-Wan conceded after a moment. "It could be far worse."

Dooku nodded in agreement. "And it has the same first letter as my Sith name." He added, almost as an afterthought.

"Does that matter?"

"No, not in the slightest."

Obi-Wan just shook his head in response. "Alright, it's decided, then, I suppose. At least that is done with."

"Yes." Dooku agreed. He stood and gathered a few datapads, beginning to replace them on their shelf, when there was a gentle alert chime from the front of the ship. "And I see we have good timing; that is the signal that we will be returning to real space shortly. The ship can make the transition on it's own without piloting from us, so there is no need to do anything about it."

Obi-Wan nodded, though he made his way to the front of the ship anyway. He'd never been to Raxus Prime before, and wanted to see the planet from space before they landed.

As it turned out, Raxus Prime looked very much like what would be exected from a toxic planet; cloudy and yellowish, and all-together uninviting looking. As the very unlikely Sith duo piloted the ship to the surface, it seemed that the entire planet was covered in the thick yellow haze. Dooku's fortress wasn't hard to notice, as it was very large and placed prominently high up on the side of a mountain, out of the worst of the air that settled to the surface of the planet.

They landed the solar sailer in a small hanger bay at the side of the fortress and stepped out, Dooku leading the way to a heavy metal door which he opened with the Force. That earned a raised eyebrow from Obi-Wan. "Is there no button?"

"There is, but that's not especially interesting." Dooku responded, as they went through the door.

Obi-Wan looked oddly at him. "I never thought I would say it, but you sound like Anakin."

"Is that so?" Dooku asked, sounded decidedly unhappy with the thought.

"Yes." Obi-Wan responded, frowning slightly at the tone but otherwise ignoring it. "He has a tendency to use the Force for anything and everything, even when it has a simpler solution. Such as you just did with the door."

Dooku didn't reply, seemingly considering that as he led the way down a long, dimly lit hallway. For a good time, the only sound came from boot heels clicking on the polished floors as they walked through the seemingly endless hallway, until they finally reached a large and overly impressive looking room.

"This is my study." Dooku said as they entered, gesturing at the room. It was expansive and mostly circular in shape, with high ceilings and polished grey-stone floors. A large desk was set in the center of the room with a matching chair, and the walls were lined with shelves that held datapads, holobooks, holocrons, artifacts, and various other things. The room was lit with an elegant chandelier.

Obi-Wan nodded slightly, starting to wander the room and looking around at everything as Dooku went for his desk to check the Holonet. Seemingly seeing nothing of importance, Dooku returned his attention towards Obi-Wan. "There are some things we need to do before you meet the Acolytes." He commented.

Obi-Wan looked back over at him from where he was examining some starship replicas. "Such as?"

"For the first thing, Sith don't wear cream." Dooku said, looking disapprovingly at Obi-Wan's light colored Jedi clothing. "Or white, for that matter. You'll have to borrow from one of my Acolytes, Skorr, until I can order something for you. He's slightly taller than you, but it will do for now."

Obi-Wan sighed, shaking his head and looking back at the models. "Borrowing clothing from an Acolyte. That is certainly going to help my reputation as a dark, dangerous Sith apprentice."

Dooku looked amused. "They won't bother you, Obi-Wan." He assured him. "Though that does lead to the next thing I needed to mention."

"Oh? And what would that be?" Obi-Wan asked, sounding only mildly interested as he was going over the schematics he'd found for a ship called a 'Fanblade', no doubt the same type of ship Dooku had mentioned earlier.

"Tone down the Jedi serenity." Dooku said seriously. "Sith apprentices, especially young Sith apprentices, are usually the very opposite of serene. Scowl at people, especially the Acolytes, and allow some emotion into your voice. I know you're capable of it; you had quite the venom for me on Geonosis. Remember that a Sith allows their emotions to guide them, rather than controlling them as a Jedi does."

"Dooku, I had no intention of embracing the philosophies of the Sith." Obi-Wan responded, pulling his focus away from the schematics and turning slightly to look at him.

"Act, then." Dooku responded. "Play the part, even if you don't live it."

Obi-Wan frowned slightly. It was dangerous for a Jedi to flirt with the dark side, no matter the reason, and he was very hesitant to even act like he was. However, Dooku was right; it was necessary, and their cover story was shaky enough without it being obvious Obi-Wan was still very much a Jedi in every aspect. As long as it was all an act, and he controlled himself the entire time, he decided it would be acceptable. "...Alright. But that is the most you can expect, Dooku."

"Don't worry, Obi-Wan." Dooku said, raising his hands slightly in a calming gesture. "I understand. I have Acolytes for anything that requires more than acting, after all."

"I'll pretend I don't know what other things you're speaking of." Obi-Wan responded, picking up the model Fanblade that had been sitting next to the schematics he'd found and bringing both over to Dooku. "Is this the ship you had mentioned before?"

Dooku nodded, taking the model ship. "Yes; there are six of them, I can have one given to you. One of my Acolytes has them, but she doesn't need all six. I assume you can fly it?"

Obi-Wan nodded also, looking at the schematics again. "Yes. It doesn't seem too complicated."

"I remember Qui-Gon told me you were an excellent pilot; one of the finest in the Order, even as a Padawan." Dooku commented, turning the Fanblade model over in his hands.

Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows slightly. He'd known Qui-Gon had still spoken to Dooku on occasion, right up until his death, but hadn't ever thought he had been the topic of any of their conversations. "Oh?" He finally said. "Did he?"

Dooku regarded him inquisitively. "You seem surprised. He spoke often of you."

Obi-Wan wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that, so he just nodded minimally and turned his eyes back to the schematics.

Dooku looked at him for a few more moments, before shaking his head slightly and changing the subject. "I'm going to gather some clothing for you from Skorr. Stay here; the Acolytes aren't allowed into this room without authorization, so you won't have any encounters with them."

Obi-Wan nodded again, looking back up as Dooku strode from the room. He watched him leave, before turning off the datapad with the Fanblade's information and returning it to the shelf it came from. He went back over to Dooku's desk, locating his comm system and turning it on.

Taking note of the encoding frequency Dooku was using, he changed it to a Jedi code and attempted to make contact with the Temple. To his surprise, it went through and he was rewarded with a tiny hologram of the Council.

"Obi-Wan." Mace said, eyebrows raised in surprise. "It is good to see you. I take it things are going well."

"Well enough, at least." Obi-Wan responded. "Dooku left the room to gather some things, and so I thought this would be a good time to contact the Council."

"Indeed." Mace agreed. "Where are you?"

"Raxus Prime." Obi-Wan responded, casting a glance towards the door and reaching out into the Force to make sure Dooku wasn't returning yet. He sensed a dark presence but it was unfamiliar--probably an Acolyte--and not near enough to be concerned about, so he returned his attention towards the Council. "However, it appears that there is little here; this seems to be more of a staging area for Dooku and his Acolytes than somewhere a droid army is being centered."

"Discover where the armies are, you must. Inform you, Dooku should, if true to wanting to leave the Sith, he is." Yoda said, gesturing with his gimer stick as he spoke.

Obi-Wan nodded slightly. "I believe he will, though not right away; it would be too suspicious to Sidious if the Jedi Council suddenly begins to receive information right after Dooku took me as an apprentice."

Yoda nodded thoughtfully. "True, that is. Seen Sidious again, have you?"

"No, not since I last spoke with you." Obi-Wan said, shaking his head. "From the way Dooku's acting, I don't believe Sidious comes to Raxus Prime much, if at all. Dooku seemed unconcerned with hiding anything here."

"That's good." Mace said. "It would be much harder to go about your mission with him hovering around constantly."

Obi-Wan nodded again in agreement, glancing towards the door again before looking back at Mace seriously. "Have you spoken with Anakin?"

"Yes." Mace responded, nodding once. "He is not pleased, as I'm sure you're not surprised to hear. However, he has agreed not to follow you, and to keep the secret of what is going on."

"That's good." Obi-Wan said, sighing slightly. He was about to say something else when he became aware of the now almost familiar presence of Dooku, not quite back to the office yet but approaching quickly. "Dooku's returning. I need to cut the transmission and return the settings to what they were. I will speak with you again when I can." Obi-Wan told the Council shortly, not waiting for a response before ending the call and reverting the codes hastily. He'd just made it back to the shelves and picked up another datapad when Dooku reentered the room.

The Sith gave Obi-Wan a look and Obi-Wan looked back, and they stared comically at each other for a moment while Obi-Wan wondered if Dooku had noticed he'd been up to something. Dooku, however, seemed to find everything in order and walked over to him, holding out a bundle of black clothing.

Obi-Wan placed his datapad back on the shelf and took the offered bundle, frowning slightly as he unfolded it. He raised an eyebrow at the clothing, seeing it was decorated with synth-leather and, in Obi-Wan's opinion, rather gaudy.

"I am not wearing this, and I question Skorr's sense of fashion." He declared, holding up the clothing and eyeing it disdainfully.

Dooku actually laughed. "Don't be difficult, Obi-Wan. Remove the... Embellishments, and it's simply a black tunic and black pants. This is only temporary, after all, but if I introduce you to them while you're still dressed as a Jedi, it will look as though we came up with this entire idea on the spot."

"I wonder why." Obi-Wan commented, beginning to peel off the decorative syth-leather that adorned the tunic. "I suppose this will do once I remove all of this." He eventually conceded, looking up at Dooku.

"Good." Dooku said with a nod. "What would you like for your Sith clothing to look like?"

"What options are there?" Obi-Wan asked, not really knowing anything about clothing other than that Jedi robes were practical and that Senators wore some of the oddest things he'd ever seen, some of which he wasn't sure were actually intended as clothing.

"Anything." Dooku said. "Sith customize their own clothes, and so do my Acolytes. Clothing for Sith and Dark Jedi is very individualized and usually made directly to the wearers' specifications."

"I would have never expected there to be some odd connection between the dark side and fashion design." Obi-Wan commented.

"Not just fashion design." Dooku responded, seemingly unfazed by the connection. "Which reminds me, do you have any preferences for your room?"

"Dooku, I am a Jedi. I have little interest in interior decorating." Obi-Wan responded, finally managing to get the majority of the synth-leather off the tunic and beginning on the pants. "Anything will do, as long as it's not all black and red."

"You're not going to make a good Sith if you can't stand black and red." Dooku said, sounding amused. "They're rather standard Sith colors."

"I know." Obi-Wan responded. "But I don't intend to let anyone into my room, so it shouldn't matter what colors it is."

"Alright, I suppose not." Dooku conceded, watching Obi-Wan pick at the synth-leather. "Blues, browns, and creams, then?"

Obi-Wan looked up and shrugged slightly, returning to what he was doing. "That'll do." He said; he didn't really care, as long as the color scheme didn't remind him constantly of the Sith on Naboo. He paused on de-decorating the fabric in his hands, and looked up at Dooku again. "Dooku," He said suddenly, "Do you know the name of the Sith Apprentice before you?"

"The one you killed?" Dooku asked, and when he got a nod from Obi-Wan, nodded as well. "Yes. Darth Maul."

Obi-Wan considered that a moment before returning to what he was doing. He'd never known the name of the Sith from Naboo, and it had seemed strange to be missing such a vital piece of information about such a monumental time in his life.

They were both quiet for a minute or so, until Dooku broke the silence with a quiet question. "What happened?"

Obi-Wan drew his attention from the last of the synth-leather, looking at Dooku again in surprise. "What?" He asked, unable to keep the confusion from his voice.

"With Maul." Dooku clarified. He hesitated a moment. "...And with Qui-Gon."

Obi-Wan gave him a dark look, narrowing his eyes slightly. "I'm sure you were informed. It was no secret."

"I have heard the Council's recounting." Dooku agreed, his tone gentle and placating as he could tell Obi-Wan was not pleased with the topic. "I don't trust it to have been accurate, considering their part in... The mistakes made."

"I won't discuss this with you." Obi-Wan told him flatly. "And I won't be convinced you honestly care, either."

Dooku looked at him, frowning slightly. "Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon was my Padawan. I did care for him, and for what happened to him."

"Joining the Sith was a poor way to show that." Obi-Wan responded tonelessly.

"I suppose it was." Dooku agreed, sighing quietly. He stepped over to the Jedi, reaching out to place his hands on Obi-Wan's shoulders, and was surprised when the Knight didn't immediately move away. "It was a mistake, and one I intend to remedy. You're going to have to trust me."

Obi-Wan did step away then, staring up at him, his expression serious. "And you're going to have to convince me that I should."