Secrets Revealed,

Ahsoka Tano, Padawan of the Jedi Order is now face to face with the secretive ruler of the Azure Imperium, the Empress. At first glance it is clear that all is not what it seems.

Unbeknownst to the Republic, a Separatist ship is inbound for Anaxes and in it was none other than Count Dooku himself…


As his star yacht sailed through hyperspace Count Dooku couldn't help but wonder what the near future may hold. Unknown to all, save for few trusted individuals, he was a Lord of the Sith. His powers of foresight should have been unmatched in the galaxy and yet every time he reached into the Force to sense the future he would only receive garbled and useless images. It was clear someone or something powerful in the Force were blocking his efforts and that of his master.

But who, he thought, could possess such power?

The communication board beeped with an incoming transmission. Dooku could feel who was transmitting him at least. He could always feel his master gaze upon him even if he was half a galaxy away.

He stood from his chair and activated the comm with a wave of the hand. Darth Sidious, hidden in both cloak and shadows, looked a bit more dark and unpleasant than he normally was. Indeed this won't be an enjoyable conversation.

"What is thy bidding my master?" Dooku kneeled before the dark hologram.

What sounded like a half gargled snarl came from Sidious. "Don't pretend you do not know Lord Tyranus!" Dooku could feel the weight of his master's gaze growing more intense. "You know full well what I want to be done."

"The murder of the Empress?" It was more of a statement than a question. "Yes master, I could destroy her. But where would that leave her crucial star system? Without her I sincerely doubt they will have the proper leadership to rejoin the Republic and set this war back on schedule."

He knew of his masters plans for the war. The Galactic Republic was supposed to win after the Supreme Chancellor, his master, gained enough powers to single handedly rule the Republic, destroy the Jedi, and effectively rule the galaxy. With Anaxes no longer under his control there was a frighteningly possible chance the Separatist would win and take over the Republic instead. Of course Dooku wouldn't mind taking over the galaxy with the Separatist and disposing of his master but it was still too soon for him to be plotting to kill his Sith Master. Such plots needed more time to execute.

"It does not matter!" Sidious' voice blared out of the comm speakers. "I will not allow years of progress to be thrown out by a mere rogue ruler." He seethed in the dark side and continued to snarl. "Defiance will not be tolerated in the new order of the galaxy. Eliminate her immediately."

Dooku bowed his head. "As you wish my master, I'll have her killed and make sure her government turns itself back over to the Republic."

With a sick satisfying grin Darth Sidious' hologram disappeared and Dooku could feel the weight on his shoulder disappearing.

He stood and retrieved a bottle of fine Serenno wine and opened it. He seldom drank in these dark times where an assassin seemed to lurk around every corner but right now he had to celebrate.

Just now he had witnessed a new side to his master. He was angry, not thinking clearly, and vulnerable. The situation provided a unique opportunity for him and his plans to usurp his master's power and life might come to fruition sooner than he had expected.

He raised a glance in a silent toast to the Empress and drank its contents.

It was good wine and he looked forward to shaking the Empress' hand when he convinced her to join him and his Confederacy…


"May I ask a question your majesty?" Ahsoka said, standing before the Empress of the Azure Imperium. She kept her thoughts closely guarded as the Empress proved more than capable in using the Force.

The Empress gave her a small fragile smile. "You may. And I must ask that you simply refer to me as 'Empress'. All I hear these days is 'your majesty' this and 'your majesty' that. It gives me a headache sometimes." She said with a role of her eyes underneath a hood.

Ahsoka smiled too from the calming casualness the conversation had. It seems Senator Mu'Val and the Yularen's are not the only ones on the planet who took life in calming strides. "Thank you Empress. I feel that you know much about me and I wonder if you've been observing me for some time now."

The question could've sounded more like an accusation but Empress took no offense.

"Well of course I have," Under her hood she kept up her regal smile. "Out of all the Jedi you stand out the most in the Force."

Ahsoka's widening eyes conveyed an unspoken question to the Empress.

She answered. "You see my dear Ahsoka. I am as much of a Jedi as you are." Empress said and began walking in a slow circle around the other. "I've studied in the ways of the Force, learned from it and used my knowledge to better my people. I serve the Force as much as I serve my people. It speaks to me whenever I reach out for it and it always answers." The Empress completed her circle around Ahsoka and stood directly in front of her.

Ahsoka couldn't help but shake her head. "How can you consider yourself a Jedi if you've never been trained by Jedi Masters? You couldn't have studied at the Jedi Temple either. The galaxy didn't know you even existed till a few days ago."

Empress grinned. "You would think so with me being secreted away from any outsiders for most of my life." She went back up to her throne and sat down. "You know, I have nickname, given to me by my dear friend Mu'Val. He likes to call me the "Ruler of Secrets" since, well, everything about me is secret. I don't even have name that anyone knows of." She leaned forward in her throne. "But I will tell you this one secret my dear Ahsoka." She flashed another grin. "I never lie."

Ahsoka looked perplexed. "Never lie? Why is that a secret?"

Empress shrugged. "It just is, as is everything else about me. If someone were to ask me what my favorite food is I couldn't tell them in case they decided to slip some poison into my dinner. The point is this: I will never lie to you or anyone. Ever. But I almost never give away the full truth."

Confusion played over Ahsoka yet again. "So you don't lie but you never tell anyone anything wholly." Ahsoka summarized. "That makes perfect sense." She said with a slight uncontrollable hint of sarcasm. She needed to remind herself that she was supposed to be diplomatic here.

"Welcome to my world!" She exclaimed cheerfully. "Now that you know that secret, here's another more sensitive one that I am comfortable in conveying."

Ahsoka stood in silence and anticipation.

"I have been trained by Jedi Masters, many of them actually, And for a time I did call the Jedi Temple on Coruscant my home." She looked like she was recalling pleasant memories in her mind. "I do miss the Order and my fellow Jedi. To be cut off from them after so long… it gets a little lonely."

Ahsoka shook her head in disbelief. "How?" She asked. "I don't recall ever seeing you at the Temple in my life."

Empress chuckled. "Oh Ahsoka, how old do you think I am?" She then spoke before Ahsoka could answer. "Actually don't answer that. My age is another secret of mine. So is who I trained with and when I trained in the Jedi Temple. But remember my first secret to you. I never lie."

"I suppose I will have to take your word on it." Ahsoka said. "I can certainly feel your strength in the Force. You've been trained well."

"And so have you Ahsoka." She stood again. "That and you too carry a strong connection to the Force. One that stands out amongst so many others."

"What do you mean?"

Empress sighed. "Well, blast, Ahsoka. I think I'll have to tell you yet another one of my secrets. You're beginning to be my most trusted friend right now." She kept up her regal smile. "The Force speaks to us all, some more than others. I've learned over the years an ability that allows me to look into the Force and see the future more clearly than any Jedi in recorded history."

"But the future is always in motion." Ahsoka said.

"Yes it is. Ah, that's one Yoda's favorite quotes." She then frowned. "Blast, there goes another one."

Ahsoka caught what she said. Empress knew Master Yoda somehow. Ahsoka made a mental note to follow up on the clue later.

"As I was saying," Empress went on. "I see the future very clearly. I've seen a future where the Clone Wars ended and peace reined across the galaxy. But I've also seen a future where nothing was left except for burnt out world turned to ashes. The future is different every time I look at it but there is one thing all my visions have in common. Do you know what that is?"

Ahsoka cocked an eye mark. "I don't know but I have a feeling it is a secret just like everything else."

"Correct," Empress nodded. "It is secret to all except you. You see the secret is you Ahsoka Tano. You are the one person I see in all my visions of the future."

The longer this conversation went on the more confused Ahsoka became. "What… does that mean exactly?"

"Anything really," Empress shrugged. "It seems that Force has tied our destinies together. I can feel that you and I are connected in a way. I'm not quite sure why our destinies are linked by I am certain that it is the will of the Force that is at work. Being Jedi, we serve the Force. Don't you agree?"

She was hesitant. "I've had visions of the future before but none of them have ever been coherent enough to be entirely helpful." Ahsoka visions did save her friend Padme's life at one point but only after she had sustained a serious injury. "Why have you been looking into the future so frequently? Are you trying to find a conclusion to the war?"

Empress considered the question. "Yes and no. This war will end eventually and one or both sides will perish. That much is obvious fact. What I am more concerned about is what is causing this war. There's more to it than we think and I believe there is something dark behind it all. That is why I've been delving into the Force so frequently." She then sighed heavily. "It is also why I look and sound like I've gone a year without any sleep."

Ahsoka did notice before that what little of Empress' skinned showed was incredibly pale and that her voice was soft and low. She did appear tired. "You've been using the Force excessively haven't you?"

She nodded. "Indeed and it has been so exhausting for me but I must persist and find the real conclusion to this war so that my people and I could be ready for it."

"What about the rest of the galaxy?" Ahsoka asked. "Don't you care about them?"

"Of course I do, why do you think I planned to break away from the Republic?"

Ahsoka blinked twice. "You planned your star system's succession?" Ahsoka felt Palpatine's acidic words from earlier creep into the back of her head.

"I did. This wasn't some last minute decision. Oh no, I'm afraid I cannot allow the future to continue to show me dark outcomes of this war. So I will do what I can to steer the future down a more pleasant path."

"So you have more plans then?" Ahsoka said, arms folded, a little suspicious.

"Of course I have plans. So does every other leader is the galaxy. But my plans are a bit… bigger than most others." Empress said.

Before Ahsoka could press the matter further the turbo lift doors behind her slid open.

"Ah," Empress said from her throne. "You've arrived sooner than I had expected."

Ahsoka felt the person before she saw him and paled with horror. "Dooku," She breathed and spun on her heels to face him, her hands splayed open and ready to grab her lightsabers…


"Incoming!" A clone trooper yelled as a burst of artillery rounds pounded the squads' position. The hastily dug trenches on Balmorra surrounded the main droid factory of the world.

In over a dozen different locations on the planet Clone Troopers of the valiant 501st Legion moved in on the fortress like factories and were trying to destroy them. But droid factories were never easy to takeout and things got even more difficult when a Separatist fleet ambushed the Republic ships providing support for the dirt-side clones. The Separatist fleet decimated the Republic vessels that weren't lucky enough to retreat. Now the clones were stranded on the dry, arid world with a Separatist fleet over their heads and a slew of droid factories turning out new battle droids by the minute.

Clone Captain Rex couldn't help but feel the weight the situation bearing down on his soldiers. He was in command of the assault on the main factory and it was clear things weren't going well for him and his brothers. The factory was heavily shielded with artillery emplacements all around it. Rex had ordered the factory to be surrounded and its droids trapped within until Republic reinforcements came. They couldn't hope for taking the factory with what little heavy weapons they had left. Separatist bomber sweeps have effectively scrapped most of their walkers and heavy cannons.

The battle went on almost on a tightly kept schedule. The Seps' would pound them with artillery for a good while and then stop firing long enough to deploy freshly assembled battle droids from its factory to attack their positions. A fire fight would ensue and the wave of droids would fight down to the last clanker standing. Once the droids were scrapped the artillery would start again and after that another wave of droids would attack.

At the rate casualties were piling up and supplies dwindling they would be lucky to survive another day.

But clones didn't need luck, Rex thought, just a blaster and an attitude.

He walked along the narrow trenches, passing by hunkered down troopers. He kept his head low and made sure not make himself an obvious target for a sniper droid. He's been there and done that already.

"Stay down! And watch for advancing clankers!" He had to raise his voice to be heard over the pounding artillery shells. Sand sometimes blasted into the trenches from explosions that got to close for comfort and every clone's white armor was now dirtied in brown and yellow.

Damn sand gets everywhere in this armor, Rex thought. At least their blasters were still firing properly. Without those they would've been nerfed a long time ago.

The artillery stopped finally and a few clones peaked over the edge. Rex too looked and activated his helmet's side mounted macrobinoculars. Sure enough, more droids came marching out of the factories wide open entrance.

Rex suddenly got an idea. "Gauge!" He called out to his heavy ordinance specialist. A young clone lieutenant poked his head up from down the trench and raced over to his commanding officer.

"Sir!" The clone saluted quickly then pulled his head down. Snipers were everywhere.

"You see the main entrance where the droids are spilling out of?" Rex asked and gestured for Gauge to look.

"I do sir," Gauge said, peering through his own macrobinoculars.

"What do you still have that has the biggest bang?" Rex asked with his helmet still turned to the factory.

Gauge pondered the question for a second. "I've managed to get one of our heavy cannons fixed up. It's targeting computer is fried so it needs to be aimed manually."

"That's good enough." Rex turned to him. "I want you to slam a shell right into that entrance. The shields are down to let the droids out but not for long."

"On it sir!" Gauge said with a little excitement. Now it was time to see if his training on Kamino would pay off. If it didn't than the cannon would more than likely explode and blast his hide into the next system.

Gauge climbed out of the trenches and leaped into the gunner's seat on the heavy cannon. Carefully and pulled at the stirring controls that manually moved the cannon into its desired position. It was tricky as he needed to aim just barely above the ground in order to sink the shot. To high and he would miss, to low and he would hit the ground and possible hit some of his brothers. And then there was the distinct possibility that he might get blasted into the next system. Yup, today was a good day to be a clone trooper.

"Get down!" Rex yelled both in voice and over comlink. Every clone that saw Gauge behind the controls of the cannon was instantly on the ground in half a second. The rest soon followed.

Gauge did have a slight reputation for blowing things up with disturbingly destructive results. Guess that's why they called him "Gauge" since he could never gauge, or estimate, how much destruction his handy work would cause.

Oh well, time to roll the dice.

"Fire in the hole!" Gauge declared and pulled the trigger. He was almost thrown from his seat as the cannon rocked back from the recoil. An instant later there was a magnificently beautiful explosion on the horizon. The shell had hit home and the main droid factory entrance was caved in and useless. Any droid close to the blue explosion was vaporized.

The other clones looked over the edge wearingly and discovered it was over and no one on their side got hit this time. They all cheered at Gauge as he dizzyingly dismounted the heavy cannon whose barrel was still letting off smoke.

Rex got out of the trench to clap him on the soldier. "Great shot trooper. Now they won't be able to deploy their droids as rapidly."

"What?" Gauge said loudly. His ears were still ringing from the cannon shot. He probably shouldn't have removed the sound dampeners. "Can't hear right now, sir."

Rex rolled his eyes. "You removed the sound dampeners didn't you?" He shook his head with a small laugh. He guided him towards the medic tent. "Rest up trooper, we'll handle the rest."

Gauge caught the meaning and went to the medics to get his ears checked out. He hoped didn't need to get them fixed again.

Rex looked through his macrobinoculars at the pile of the ruble that was the droid factory's main entrance. It was out of commission but the rest of the factory looked like it still had power. If they wanted to deploy droids again they'll have to either dig their way through the wrecked entrance or cut open a new one. Both were time costly.

And then the artillery came again. Rex rolled his eyes and ordered the still celebrating clones to get down again. They did but with still cheerful attitudes. They at least had those, now all they needed was a bigger blaster.

His comlink chirped loudly and Rex activated his helmet microphone to answer.

"Rex here," He could speak calmly in his sound protected helmet. A communications officer's voice came over the comm.

"Captain, sir, there are new warships exiting hyperspace over Balmorra."

"They ours?" Rex asked.

"No sir, in fact I don't even recognize their vessel classification. I've never seen these kinds of ships before but I can tell you they're big."

"How big?"

"Almost twice as long as our heavy carriers." The officer replied. "And they've got a lot of turbo laser cannons on them."

Rex gulped. "Please tell me they're not with the Seppies."

"No I don't think… wait… they've opened fire!" The commutations office yelped in panic.

"Keep it together soldier, what are they targeting?" Rex asked calmly, not losing his cool for even a second.

"They're hitting Separatist ships just outside the atmosphere. Sir… you've got to see this."

And Rex did. He had turned his macrobinoculars skyward and saw massive lashes of green slamming into Separatist cruisers. The Separatist ships were being hit hard by what looked like a massive dagger shaped ship. It was painted grey with more weapon emplacements than he could count. And they were most certainly big as he guessed they outweighed any ship in both the Republic's and Separatist's Fleets.

Three of the grey dagger ships descended upon the Separatist fleet hanging in low orbit. The mysterious ships kept firing until every Separatist ship was pulverized into atoms.

"Sir there targeting your position!" The communications officer yelled out of the comm.

Rex cursed and didn't even bother to tell his brothers who were also entranced by the space battle. One blast from those ships' turbo lasers and everything within several clicks would be reduced to superheated sand and glass.

Several green flashes came from the three massive ships, all aimed at his position.

Before he could even think how doomed they all were the green lasers slammed down upon the droid factory and hammered it out of existence. It felt like a ground quake as the turbo lasers kept pounding the factory for several long agonizing seconds before stopping.

Several more seconds after the end of the orbital bombardment Rex was the first clone to dare poke his head over the trench walls. There was nothing but wasteland before them. Black scorched sand superheated into glass was all that remained.

"Sir!" The officer, who had been several miles away at command headquarters, called over the comm. "Captain are you there, please come in!"

Rex slowly activated his comlink. "Yeah… I'm here. So is everyone else." He paused for a brief second. "What just happened soldier?"

"I don't know. They just came out of nowhere and started firing on the enemy… hold on sir… I think there are trying establish contact."

Rex had no idea who they are but he felt that he should probably thank whoever did their job for them. "Patch them through to my holoprojector." He said and activated a handheld sized holoprojector.

Moments later an old man in a highly decorated dark blue naval uniform appeared. He had a solid grey beard and a full head of hair which was more hair than any naval officer Rex has seen have. The old man's face was lined with age and he had a harsh grin on his face.

"Evening clone," The old man said. "I believe you owe me and my fleet a 'thank you'."

Rex had a bad feeling about this. "I would thank you but first you have to tell me who you are and where you got those massive ships."

The old man kept up his grin, amused he appeared to be. "These beautiful ships you see above your pretty little domed heads are the new Imperious-class Star Destroyers of the Azure Defense Fleet." His grin wider, "I am Grand Admiral Thull Yularen, perhaps you've heard of my son?"…


"What is the meaning of this?" Dooku said with controlled anger as his lightsaber flew from his belt to his outstretched arm. "A trap?"

"Save it." Ahsoka growled as the man whom was responsible for so much pain and destruction across the galaxy. "You're not supposed to be here. Leave now." More than anything else in the galaxy she wanted to arrest the Count. But he was a former Jedi master and she has heard a few masters talking about him falling to the dark side. Dark Jedi or not, he was still far more than her equal.

Dooku lit his blade with a snap-hiss. "Skywalker should've taught you to mind your tongue better. I don't tolerate such insolence."

"Please," Empress said with her voice still weak and tired. "I do not–" She coughed harshly and fell back into her throne. Her body suddenly ached from exhaustion and she cursed it for not standing up to the stress of constant Force use at the moment. Then she watched in horror as Dooku walked forward towards Ahsoka with red lightsaber in hand.

She tried to speak but she couldn't. Her lungs felt like they were on fire. Empress knew this would happen from time to time. Constantly calling the Force to her was putting almost too much stress on her. But she needed it to safeguard her people and now she needed it stop the dual playing out in front of her in her very own throne room.

Count Dooku noted the young Padawan controlled her fear very well. He sensed no hint of it as he gave the opening strike. Ahsoka had both her blades at the ready and parried with the skill of a seasoned warrior. He was impressed. It was a shame he would have to kill her and the other Jedi that were surely waiting to ambush him at any moment. Once the Jedi were taken care of he would move on to the treacherous Empress who had lured into this trap.

Dooku held his blade one-handedly as he always did and kept up his offensive. He drove Tano back foot by foot with each precise strike. Perhaps he'll take one of her arms off and send her back to Skywalker. Like master, like apprentice. He mused in his mind and almost laughed out loud at the thought.

Ahsoka than did the unexpected, deactivating her lightsabers just as Dooku thought she was going to block his strike. She ducked under it and rolled past his side before flipping back up to her feet and shooting her hands forward.

Dooku felt the Force hit him in the back like a drop-kick, sending him off several meters forward. With a grunt of anger and pain he used the Force to twist around in midair and levitate himself slowly to the ground with his cape whirling around him. It embarrassed him to think a mere Padawan could get the jump on him. Perhaps he had been a fool to think Skywalker didn't train her properly.

"Cute," Dooku hissed. "You'll need to do better than that." He send, sending a sense of anger through the Force, aimed at Ahsoka. Some of the anger slipped into her as she was taunted into launching another burst of Force at him.

Dooku caught the tumbling Force-push in his hand and redirected it right back at her. It took her off her feet and sent her tumbling away. She recovered quickly and turned her tumble into a cartwheel and landed back on her feet. She did however sustain a few bruises.

Without having to provoke her this time Ahsoka launched herself clear across the room at Dooku. She landed both her blades onto his with enough Force to actually shove him back half a step.

Impressive, Dooku thought. He suddenly wished he could find an apprentice that didn't always try to kill him in his sleep or betray him or both. When he took over Sidious' place as Dark Lord of the Sith he would be sure to consider Tano as a potential candidate for an apprentice. She certainly had the potential to be a strong swordsman, he could see it in her fierce eyes. But he also saw or rather felt something else in her. Something so deeply buried in her he had missed it until she began fighting back. He didn't know what it was but in the Force it felt powerful… and dark.

What has Skywalker been training her in?

Ahsoka felt Dooku's sudden distraction as they locked blades from her earlier leap. She took full advantage and used the Force to augment her strength and pushed Dooku back a full step. She was making progress and that gave her hope. The sudden push moved Dooku's guard slightly open and Ahsoka lunged forward with her sabers. Dooku dodged the shoto and deflected the longer blade in a quick recovery and leapt back several steps to put some distance between them.

Then she did something she knew she shouldn't have done. She leaped after him, pursed the enemy with the intent to kill. That was not something a Jedi would normally do but how could she not? If she kept up a barrage of agile attacks she might, just might survive this. Her real goal wasn't really to survive but rather hold Dooku off until Empress fled to safety or Guards arrived or something.

Also she felt an unexpected feeling in the Force. She didn't quite understand it completely but it felt as if it was reaching out to her telling her to kill Dooku. Kill him and end the war hear and now. She tried not listening as she knew her skills weren't complete and Dooku has seventy years of training over hers. She hoped she got out of this with both arms still attached and she wished she knew why the Force was giving her such a feeling. Maybe it wasn't even the Force at all. Was Dooku trying to manipulate her or was it something else entirely?

Whatever was happening, it had Dooku confused as well. That's all she needed.

The Count kept his guard up and was now on the defensive from Ahsoka's blurred barrage of saber strikes. Her arm muscles burned from taxing use but she shut out the pain pushed forward.

Just one hit would end it all!

One of her lightsaber blades came close enough to Dooku's shoulder to actual burn his cloak and a little flesh under it. The wound was superficial but it angered him none the less. A surge of dark side energy threw her away and into the floor. She didn't recover as fast as she would've liked. She was on her feet just in time to see Count Dooku angrily pointing a hand at her with the intent to turn her into a lightning rod.

"Enough…" Empress struggled to speak, pushing herself off her throne on shacking legs. "I. Said. ENOUGH!" She screamed with more vocal power than she has had to use in years. A Force wave exploded out of her and took up both the battlers.

It took Dooku by surprise and despite his use of the Force to slow his trajectory he still hit a stone pillar with enough force to drive some of the air in his lungs out of him. Ahsoka had tumbled on the floor some more before stabbing her shoto into the ground and anchoring herself there for the duration of the Force wave.

The Force wave seized, allowing Dooku to be unpinned from the pillar. Ahsoka took her shoto out of the floor and stood and shaky legs.

Empress panted hard and looked like she was about to collapse. "Oh my," She breathed. "I do hate it when I have to raise my voice like that."

Even Dooku was baffled by the sudden display of Force energy. Clearly she has been hiding her true power from them. Just how much did she have? Better yet, Dooku wondered why the Empress looked so weakened from using the Force.

Empress found her throne again and fell back into it. "I will not allow fighting within my palace. It is disgraceful." She narrowed her eyes at Dooku. "Head of State Dooku of the Separatist Alliance, I invited you here in good faith for you to be a part of the negotiations, not to attack others." She then turned her gaze to Ahsoka. "And Padawan Tano, Head of State Dooku is here because I contacted him."

Ahsoka mouth hung open with her shoto still lit. "But he's been conspiring against the Republic even before the war started. He's responsible for it starting in the first place!" Anger crept into her voice.

"I know," Empress said as harshly as her now diminished voice could sound. "I've brought you all together here so that we can settle this war and bring at least a temporary peace to the galaxy."

"Peace?" That was Dooku, he no longer had his lightsaber lit but he still had it in hand. "You are in no position to demand such a thing."

"That is why I am asking nicely… for now."

Dooku's eyes narrowed. "What are you implying?"

"This," Empress plainly spoke. "Just before the Republic delegation arrived I had dispatch a fleet of my own Star Destroyers to Balmorra where the Separatist have been building droids and weapons there for years. I ordered them to destroy your droid factories Dooku." She turned to the other. "And to arrest your clone trooper Tano,"

"What?" Ahsoka exclaimed. "Why are you betraying the Republic?"

"So this was a trap all along." Dooku growled.

"Silence!" No wave of Force energy came from her this time but her voice did almost break all the windows in the room. "Don't you both see I have effectively ended the conflict on Balmorra within just a few minutes and a few Star Destroyers? I could easily turn them onto another battle field and stop the fighting there and then move on to the next and then the next." She took in a sharp breath to calm herself and her burning lungs. "To end all conflicts without the loss of innocent lives, that is what I had done at Balmorra and that is what I'll do everywhere else unless both the Galactic Republic and the Separatist Alliance sit down and have a proper peace summit."

"So we are your hostages then?" Dooku glared. "You plan on forcing us to stop the war?"

"No, anyone is free to leave whenever they choose." She held up a hand. "But whichever delegation leaves before the summit is over will have convinced me to choose the other side since they are not willing to accept genuine peace."

That still meant they were prisoners at least, Dooku knew. Whoever leaved first will provoke the Empress to unleash these "Star Destroyers" upon them with brutal force. He couldn't help but admire the diplomatic but forceful way she was going about this. Perhaps he would like to shake her hand after all.

Ahsoka shook her head fiercely. "Empress, please, trying to force peace is no better than starting the war to begin with. As a Jedi, you know this is wrong."

"Not doing this would leave the galaxy in darkness forever Ahsoka. As I a Jedi, I cannot let that happen. The Force has shown me that I must intervene in the most effective way that I can." Empress replied and then brought out her comlink and spoke into it. "Mu, please send my guard up here at once. And make sure that both delegations can find their rooms and will be comfortable."

"As you wish my Empress, anything else?" Senator Mu'Val replied.

"Yes," She said. "Let Admiral Yularen have the choice to stay at his home if he wishes. Also I want you and the Overseers to be informed that both the Republic and Separatist Delegations will be allowed to send for more delegates if they wish. Jedi, military officers, Republic and Separatist Senators are welcome. The peace summit will take place soon and I want everything prepared and ready."

"What about the clones on Balmorra?" Ahsoka asked, her weapons now back on her belt and her Jedi robes were torn.

Empress nodded at Ahsoka. "Mu, what is the status of the clones the Grand Admiral had picked up on Balmorra?"

"Thull has them now and they're on their way to Axum to be settled it." Mu'Val replied.

"Thank you that is all." She clicked the comlink off and turned to Ahsoka. "They will be treated like guests on Axum, a nearby planet in this system. I'm sure they'll find it quite comfortable."

Ahsoka couldn't help but feel betrayed by the Empress' actions. She knew that Rex and his boys in the 501st were in the midst of some hard fighting on Balmorra. All she could do now was hope the old war dog would be alright, and contact the Jedi Council immediately.

The turbolift doors slid open and two squads of Imperium Guardsmen entered the room. They did not point their weapons at Ahsoka or Dooku, just stood silently by and waited.

The Empress finally found the strength to stand again. "Please, enjoy all the amenities my palace has to offer. Just don't go throwing your sabers at each other again. The next person who does will have to cross blades with me." She put a hand over the lightsaber that hung from her belt.

It didn't feel like a threat but it certainly did sound like one.

"You play a very dangerous game young one." Dooku said with a mocking grin. "I certainly hope you know what you are doing, trusting the Republic and the Jedi." He put on his best diplomatic look and strode towards the turbolift. "I will send for my Senators, they will be glad to take part in your peace summit."

All of it was a lie, Ahsoka knew it. Dooku might have been a Jedi once before but he wasn't anymore. She would need to do everything she can to convince Empress not to trust him. Not even for a second.

She turned to her. "I'm not sure what you plan on accomplishing by forcing both sides to sit down and talk but I can tell you nothing good can come of it." Ahsoka said.

Empress shook her head. "It doesn't have to be good exactly, only change things so that the future I see will be different. Trust me, anything is better than the visions I've been having." She weakly smiled down at her. "And you of course will be in the middle of all of it, somehow. Yes, I have foreseen it."

Ahsoka was beginning not to trust Empress too. She was too secretive, not telling her what she needed to know. She seemed friendly like Mu'Val but underneath her appearance lies more secrets that she won't let go of for anything. That, in Ahsoka's book, meant she couldn't be trusted entirely.

"Now please, leave me." Empress said. "I've much to do and little time to accomplish it."

I'm sure you do, Ahsoka thought. She bowed before her, suddenly noticing all the aches and bruises on her. She left the throne room and the Imperium Guards soon followed.


Alone again, Empress sighed heavily, sinking into her thrown and feeling a deep sleep coming on. No, she couldn't rest just yet, not after what just happened before her. Being so close to Ahsoka and speaking to her for the first time gave her a better sense of her in the Force. She now could try seeing Ahsoka's future more clearly than before and hope to find something useful in her quest to bring peace back to this burning galaxy.

Empress dropped down into a trance and let her body go. She felt ethereal as her mind descended into the Force. It felt warm as it always had to her, like an old friend coming to embrace her. In the Force she found Ahsoka's unique presence and held on to it, letting it guide her to the visions she sought.

The vision that came to her was a rather surprising one. She saw the young Jedi holding someone's hand, a boy's hand. He was just as young as she and, in her opinion, quite handsome. He had neatly kept brown hair, light skin akin to most humans and a delicate smile. The look they gave each other was friendly but underneath it she could sense something else, a warm feeling that made her smile brightly in her mind's eye.

Oh Ahsoka, you naughty little Jedi. You have affection for him don't you? Empress thought.

She had seen enough to get what the Force was telling her. This boy, no, young man, was significant to Ahsoka and would no doubt shape her future and therefore that of the Clone Wars. He needed to be here with Ahsoka and she recognized his face amongst the Senate's newest and most outspoken Senators.

"Mu?" Empress said now awake from her trance and was girlishly smiling as she spoke into her comlink. "Send out an extra invitation to the Republic and address it to Senator Bonteri of Onderon."…


A/N: That's right, I went there. Lux is coming into the picture. Will this turn into a full blown love story? No, there are more interesting things to right about than tragic teen romances. But it does add a hint of drama to the story. I might have Lux and Ahsoka express their true feelings and see what happens. It really all depends on what you, the readers, have to say about it.

So what's up with Ahsoka? Is there something dark in her you think? I'll give you a hint: It's related to sixteenth episode of the third season. I'll just leave it at that and let you all guess at what might happen later.

And so yeah, Adimral Yularen has a daddy too. Yula's grandfather, Thull, is not in fact a made up character. I just found the name while browsing wookipedia. But I do intend to use Thull as an accruing character. He and Rex are going to be sharing a lot of time together.

Anyone here a fan of Grievous? I kind of am so what do you think if he actually came to Anaxes and joined the Dooku and the Separatist delegation as a military representative? I have quite decided yet whether to put him on Anaxes or not. It would interesting how he, Dooku and the Jedi interact with each other. Since if anyone attacks first, Empress will, as she said, join the other side and sick her new Star Destroyers on the enemy.

Speaking of which, yes, when I say Star Destroyers I mean the sixteen hundred meter long Star Destroyers you see in the original trilogy. You know, the ones that Han Solo seems to be able to outmaneuver every single time he meets one. I plan on making a connection in the story to the movies that will explain how the Empire first got the plans to build these mammoth ships.

Oh and one more question. Should Anakin come to Anaxes to as part of the Republic delegation along with his favorite female Senator? Or should they be left out entirely?

Also I love making up the new clone Gauge. He reminds me of Heavy as he has an… explosive personality… see what I did there? Cliché but funny.

You know what else is funny? The arm jokes. I mean I laughed when I typed out Dooku considering to hack a limb off Ahsoka just to mock her master. It's sick for sure but I couldn't help but chuckle just a little. Trust me though, Ahsoka won't be losing any limbs any time soon.

So here are my questions again:

Lux and Ahsoka expressing feelings: Yes or no?

Grievous crashing the party: Yes or no?

Anakin and Padme jumping in: Yes, no or blasted no?

Thanks for reading and I really want to hear your answers to the questions above.

Thanks again,
Xander867