A/N — I'm so sorry about the impromptu almost two-month hiatus. I can't say anything other than that life got the better of me and I've had basically no free time.
That and I wasn't at all sure how to do this chapter. I didn't want Obi-Wan to have it as easy as he had it in RoaS but I also couldn't have Palpatine find out Obi-Wan's real identity unless I wanted to take the story in a different direction than I'd intended when I started writing it.
As I consequence, this is the longest chapter (so far) and ends on something of a cliff-hanger.
Please tell me what you think! And any suggestions for Ventress' Sith name would be good because I couldn't think of anything.
Chapter VII: Dealings in the Shadows
•
The layer of Coruscant deep, deep beneath the surface where Consilus kept his prison was entirely dark but luckily uninhabited, making it easier to distinguish the presence of a Force sensitive without sight. Consilus suspected he'd be able to pick out the man even from the densest crowds, however, with his power, most especially if he kept brooding and releasing vast torrents of emotion to the Force in powerful waves. How foolish the Jedi were for simply letting such power trickle away, he briefly thought.
"You really are a Sith," Anakin said by way of greeting.
"Well, I didn't invite you down here as a prank," Obi-Wan replied. "Would you have preferred it?"
"At this point I don't know!" Anakin shouted, face contorting in anger. "Dammit, Obi-Wan, you're not meant to be a Sith!"
Obi-Wan didn't let it phase him. Anakin had already said much worse to him and he was the sort of man who needed to vent his emotions before being able to fully manage them. "Apparently I wasn't meant to be a Jedi either, which is why all this happened." Then he turned to his friend. "But I didn't invite you here for this. Ventress is inside and you should know I've offered to induct her as a Sith. Now that you know my secret, however, and knowing your history together, I leave her fate up to you instead."
Anakin's face twisted. "I can't."
"You'd prefer me to make the decision?"
"Yes! No! I don't know!" Anakin cried. "Sith! Fuck! How am I supposed to know? She murdered people! And I'm a Jedi, no matter what the Council whispers behind my back, and I can't let more Sith in this galaxy."
"She killed in roughly the circumstances you did," Obi-Wan pointed out. "But would you prefer to kill her or should I?"
"Stop doing that! Stop acting like this is all some big joke! You're a kriffing Sith Lord! You shouldn't be standing here calm as a Jedi Master! You're infuriating! You should be cackling evilly, or demanding her head, or goading me to kill her, or… or something!"
"Are you done?"
"I'll let you know," Anakin replied in a petulant tone that told Obi-Wan that he was done.
"I don't mean to be light about it, Anakin, but this decision has to be made. Ventress cannot be turned over to Republic authorities now that she knows my identity, and even if she was there's a high likelihood she'd face capital punishment anyway. If I do not induct her to the Sith here then the only alternative is to kill her, and no amount of discussion we can have will change that. I could butter you up with platitudes but I don't think that's quite what you're looking for."
"And why is it my decision?"
"Would you accept mine? If I decided to let her live after everything she's done, would you accept it? Or would you stand by and watch me execute her and accept that?" Obi-Wan asked. Anakin's face twisted in pain.
"Fine. I get it. But what would you do?"
"I think that's quite obvious. I would let Ventress live not merely because she bolsters my Order but because at this stage she is truly repentant. The Ventress you have fought and who has harmed you so many times has been punished many times over for what she has done, far worse than the Republic or Jedi could ever mete out."
"And what's a life serving the dark side?" Anakin snarled. "Death would be a mercy for her."
Obi-Wan's lips quirked. "If you want to convince her to join the Jedi be my guest, but I think you'll find difficulties from all parties involved. You'll find it worse from your ignorance of the dark side. Sith are not merely mirrors of the Jedi, serving the dark side as you do the light. We command the Force, we do not serve it. I think even Ventress will find such a change to be… hard to swallow."
Anakin stood, face twisted, his fists clenching and unclenching as muscles in his jaw worked. "I can't do it," he growled. "I just can't, Obi-Wan. Not after everything she's done. Not with everything she could do. I've lost too much in this war. And I could lose so much more." To Obi-Wan's surprise, the dark side flared strongly around the younger man, and for a second he thought Anakin's blue eyes looked more green… more golden than they ought to. He must not have hidden his reaction well enough, because Anakin whirled around to look at him. Whatever he saw on Obi-Wan's face broke him from his mood and the blood drained from his face. With shaking hands, the young Jedi walked towards Obi-Wan to stare at him. "What did you see, Obi-Wan?"
Obi-Wan found his throat was suddenly dry. "You," he murmured, not able to add anymore. He had known Anakin was powerful, yes, but what he had sensed in the dark side in that brief instant… He had almost felt like an Initiate again, surrounded by masters wielding power he couldn't even fully comprehend. If Anakin embraced the dark side and his full connection to the Force…
Anakin had gone, if anything, paler. "What did you sense?"
It took a moment to form the words and get them out. "The dark side is strong in you, Anakin."
His friend looked like he'd been slapped, taking a few hasty steps backwards, shaking his head. "No," he muttered. "I'm a Jedi. I have to be a Jedi."
Obi-Wan hesitated a moment. "I promised to tell you everything, Anakin, but there are some things you may not be prepared to hear," he said to his friend. Anakin, face still white, seemed to have frozen to the spot, but Obi-Wan could almost feel his burning need to know. "There are those with an active interest in seeing you Fall."
Anakin's eyes blew wide. "I can't do this," he realized out loud.
"Killing Ventress out of revenge and anger would be another step away from the Jedi, yes," Obi-Wan told his friend reluctantly. "But you just said you couldn't allow her to live either."
"I know what I said!" Anakin snapped.
Obi-Wan stared at his friend, mind ticking over. "Talk with Ventress," he finally said.
"What?"
"This is a trial you must face," Obi-Wan said, "and there's only one person who will resolve this dilemma for you. Talk with Ventress."
Anakin's fists clenched so hard that Obi-Wan could see blood dripping from his left hand where his nails had pierced his flesh. It took visible effort, but Anakin finally began walking towards the door to Ventress' prison. "For the first time I'm actually glad you're a Sith Lord," he turned around and told Obi-Wan with a bitter smile that had little humor. "You're worse than Master Qui-Gon."
With that he disappeared through the doorway, and Obi-Wan didn't have to wait long before Siri came out, eyes back to their normal blue-green with the dark side emptied from her. She looked at her husband inquisitively, but Obi-Wan merely stared at the doorway for a few minutes. "Inducting Ventress without telling Anakin would have been a breach of his trust," Obi-Wan finally said by way of explanation. "Rather unfortunately, that gives him the choice of executing her." He smiled grimly, humorlessly. "Fighting on opposite sides of a war for almost three years will do that."
"Do you think he'll kill her?" Siri asked, looking annoyed. Obi-Wan supposed that she had been looking forward to training Ventress.
He shook his head, thinking back to Anakin's close brush with the dark side. "No. Not anymore," he replied. "But then Anakin has never one to conform to expectations," he added, suddenly picturing returning to find Ventress' headless corpse.
•
"Commander," Obi-Wan greeted, smiling at the red-helmeted clone trooper who had quietly entered his office. CC-1010 (as he was to the Kaminoans and the Grand Army of the Republic) or Fox (as he was to his friends and comrades) was another of the few genuine friendships that Obi-Wan had developed after the death of his master. Genuine or no, that didn't mean that Obi-Wan — or, rather, Consilus — hadn't originally sought him out for a reason. Head of the Coruscant Guard, Fox was one of the most powerful men in the Republic and kept the position through a mixture of loyalty, unrelenting competency, and the fact that few people in the Republic realized just how truly powerful the Coruscant Guard was. Clone troopers fully in charge of the capital of the Republic, there were few major events that could happen on Coruscant without Fox at least tacitly approving them. Suffice it to say that Consilus was not one of those in ignorance. "Could I interest you in a drink? I'm glad to say I can indulge your taste for Mandalorian whiskeys today."
"Not on duty, thank you, Senator," Fox replied, and Obi-Wan's smile faded.
"Ah," he replied succinctly, placing the bottle he had saved back into its rack, one not nearly so large or impressive as the ones in his main apartment or, for that matter, in the Kryze summer house on Concordia. "To what do I owe the pleasure then, Commander?"
Fox looked uncomfortable, and Obi-Wan quickly gestured that he take a seat, rising from behind his desk to join the man across a low table, an arrangement tucked away in the corner of his Senate offices. Only when his fussing finally began to get on the clone's nerves did Fox realize what Obi-Wan's game was and the man finally loosened up, shooting the Senator a dark look when Obi-Wan's lips tugged in a grin.
"Technically I'm not here," Fox began, and Obi-Wan's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Few were the clones known so much for their adherence to the law as Fox, but few too were those who knew that Fox's loyalty and sense of duty ran much deeper. "You requested to be informed of anti-Jedi leads the Guard is aware of. We've just come across a big one." He looked around as though to make sure no one was watching, and Obi-Wan waved his hand reassuringly.
"Relax, Commander. I assure you I am far more paranoid a man than you are. Not even a Jedi would be able to spy here."
If Fox didn't look convinced he at least relaxed. "There's a plot to bomb the Jedi Temple," he stated without preamble.
"You know this for sure?"
Fox looked uncomfortable. "Not for sure. Not enough for protocol at least, but I'm sure. If I had more than rumors and my own instincts I could tell the Jedi, but…"
"But it goes against regulations."
"Yes, Senator."
"I see," Obi-Wan replied, "but a talk with a friend which might happen to include some personal feelings about work falls quite outside of regulations."
"Something like that, yes," Fox replied.
"So, tell me of these suspicions."
"Anti-Jedi sentiment has been growing substantially in the last few months, but it's always been limited to protesting. We've heard rumors some groups are dissatisfied with inaction and are looking to do something that will make the Jedi pay attention."
Obi-Wan looked at him penetratingly. "Something has bumped this up the priority list, I think. Threats of violence are common, but the ability to carry them out is less so."
Fox returned his stare. "One of our informants thinks there's a Jedi involved."
Obi-Wan sat back immediately, mind already racing. "But you're not sure."
Fox shifted uncomfortably. "No," he replied. "The informant is… unreliable. But I believe a Jedi is involved. Call it a hunch, but my hunches haven't led me wrong yet."
"No," Obi-Wan murmured. "They haven't."
"There's one other thing, Senator," Fox said, and the look on his face was unlike anything Obi-Wan had seen before. "There are chips in our heads," he said, voice strained. "I overheard some of the more… unprincipled Senators talking about them and did some research." He stared hard at Obi-Wan, for all that he was a few inches shorter, as though trying to see through him and into him. "I don't think they do what the Senate says they do. I don't think most know about them. I don't think the Jedi know."
Obi-Wan stared right back. "Thank you for this information, Commander," he said slowly. "Unfortunately this matter will have to wait. I believe the Kaminoans are overdue for an inspection from the Senate, and it would be remiss of me not to perform my duties to the fullest extent."
Fox's look was hard, but beneath it was a tacit understanding. "I'm loyal to my brothers," he said, quiet but fierce. "I protect the Senate, but I don't trust Senators." But I do trust you, the unspoken words came.
"Very admirable, Commander," Obi-Wan murmured. "But I believe I've taken up enough of your time. It's just come to my attention that I have several pressing matters to attend to. If you'll excuse me…?"
"Of course, Senator."
•
It hadn't taken as long as Obi-Wan had expected, now that he knew what he was looking for. The purview of rogue Sith Lords was considerably greater than that of the Republic Judicial Forces or even of the Coruscant Guard, and it hadn't taken him much time at all to identify the group Fox had spoken about. Some surveillance — by Rheva and new apprentice Ventress, who had yet to be bestowed a name — had revealed that there was indeed a Jedi involved, though the exact identity was still a mystery. Young and female were about the only identifications Rheva and Ventress had been able to make, though Obi-Wan privately thought it wasn't outside the realm of possibility for even those two aspects to be disguised.
It therefore fell to him to discover for himself. The plan for the Temple bombing was apparently moving into high gear, and Obi-Wan had to admit he was mildly impressed by it. While Temple security had grown during the war, it was still nothing special, the Jedi relying purely on the Force, in their hubris or docility, to protect them. Nevertheless, that did not mean it was easy to bomb the Temple and so the idea to sneak explosive nano-droids in by dosing a Temple worker was quite crafty — if also extremely ruthless. Explosive nano-droids were not easy to come by, however, and so the Jedi had arranged to meet with some of the would-be terrorists in order to deliver it in person, a perfect way for Obi-Wan to ambush whoever it was himself.
What he didn't expect was to be greeted by the sight of dead terrorists scattered around an abandoned warehouse lit by the eery red light of an ignited 'saber held up to the Jedi's throat by a deceptively-slight-looking, dark-cloaked figure. As soon as he had entered and found the scene, the tight hold on the Force Sidious — and it could only be the Sith Master himself, Obi-Wan had no doubt — had been maintaining was released, allowing the Force to wash full of darkness, the terror of the Jedi most evident at all.
Obi-Wan himself felt his heart seize as he took in the scene. It's too soon, he thought. He was not yet ready to take on Sidious, let alone on the Sith Master's own terms. For better or worse he needed the Sith Lord to execute the Sith plan and destroy the Republic, and for a moment Obi-Wan considered simply fleeing the scene. Under no circumstances could Sidious discover his true identity — and that was the least of his troubles, considering he had a mere twenty-four years of experience in the dark side compared to Palpatine's probably over fifty.
The Sith Master seemed to sense his thoughts, however, because he clucked his tongue disapprovingly.
"Do not be so hasty to leave, my mysterious friend," Sidious murmured in a soft, horrible voice. "After all, this gathering was arranged for you and your friends would simply die were you to miss it," he continued, and with a pit in his stomach Obi-Wan peered to see what Sidious had stepped aside to reveal. There, lying on the duracrete of the warehouse behind the Sith, were Siri and Ventress. For the first time in many years, Obi-Wan felt true fear rush through him, and it took considerable effort to keep it hidden from his rival Sith. Damn it all, why hadn't he investigated when Siri had neglected to com him that evening? "Though I'm sure the discussions we could have in your absence would be most… enlightening."
Gritting his teeth, Obi-Wan did the opposite of his original intention and stepped forward into the warehouse.
"There, my friend," Sidious projected with false amiability. "Now, perhaps we could have some discussions of our own."
Not for the first time, Obi-Wan was exceedingly grateful that the helmet of the Mandalorian armor Bo-Katan had insisted — over both Obi-Wan and Satine's protests, at least until Bo-Katan had won her sister over by pointing out it was for their husband's protection — be made for him included a voice modulator. Not only did it make him sound much more intimidating, it also disguised his voice, though not enough for Obi-Wan's comfort when it came to dealing with the most powerful Sith in the galaxy. It was also, unfortunately, rather more distinctive than he would have preferred Palpatine to see, even with everything Bo-Katan and Satine had done to it.
"Let us discuss how my friends came to be gathered here, then," he told Sidious, and felt something disturbingly close to empathy when Sidious smiled in a recognition of the game they were both now a part of.
"If that is what you wish, my friend," Sidious replied with faux-grace. "Our little Jedi here" — Sidious squeezed the Jedi, whom Obi-Wan now distantly recognized as the friend of Anakin's apprentice Ahsoka, Barriss Offee, a fellow padawan, and Obi-Wan would deal with that revelation later and shoved the emotions aside… — "was kind enough to have incapacitated that little spy of yours" — he gestured to Ventress — "before I arrived. It wasn't long before your other friend here came investigating. I will confess, I did not expect to see young Miss Tachi alive after all these years. What other fascinating secrets are there to discover, I wonder?"
Obi-Wan shifted his weight, trying to figure out a way to come out of this as anything other than humiliatingly defeated. If only Siri — or even Ventress — would just wake up. "Many, I'm sure," he replied. "Such as why you decided to arrange this at all."
"Such questions, my friend," Sidious said. "This is starting to seem less like a conversation and more like an interrogation, but I can indulge you, for the moment." Obi-Wan inclined his head silently. "I must confess that you wound me. After all, after seeing what you did to my former apprentice on Mandalore I could not help but begin investigating you. You are quite the enigma, a most wondrous puzzle." Inwardly, Obi-Wan cursed. Facing Maul and freeing Mandalore had been risky, but dammit, what else had he been supposed to do? He had known Sidious would be suspicious, but he'd hoped the rival Sith would assume it was the work of rogue Jedi or the Jedi themselves, before he'd known Sidious was Palpatine and had access to every level of the Jedi. And unfortunately there weren't many rogue Jedi still around either, still less Sidious couldn't account for. Blast.
"Ah, that unfortunate business," Obi-Wan replied even as his mind raced. He needed help, that was clear, and he was not above admitting it, but that had few options. Both his Mandalorian wives were too far away and even if he had any other Force-users serving him Sidious would feel his call on the dark side. Then inspiration struck him: Anakin. He could call Anakin, draw on the light side to do it. With any luck, Sidious would not expect a Sith to do such a thing or even be able to feel it.
Then Obi-Wan reconsidered. Doing so would put Anakin not merely in danger of battle — lessened for the fact he was absolutely certain Sidious wanted Anakin as his apprentice — but in danger of having his connection to Obi-Wan revealed. Obi-Wan needed some way to hide the coincidence, but how? How could Anakin possibly arrive without Sidious thinking Obi-Wan was responsible?
His eyes flicked to the terrified Barriss Offee and inspiration dawned.
"I'm afraid Maul and his… apprentice were a loose end I couldn't leave flying in the breeze," Obi-Wan continued, even as he reached out with the long-neglected light side to touch upon Offee. He hoped she was subtle enough not to react at his touch and give him away to the opposing Sith Master. To his relief, if anything Offee seemed to be glad of feeling what she thought was another Jedi, which Obi-Wan thought was strange for a would-be anti-Jedi terrorist. Nevertheless, she allowed him to connect to her with only the smallest of promptings, seemingly in wonder that he was able to do so at all, and with only a small hesitation he sent the thought to her. Call Ahsoka. Call Ahsoka.
"He was indeed," Sidious agreed as Obi-Wan watched on with growing annoyance. He had withdrawn his touch but still hadn't felt the powerful draw on the Force that would tell him Offee had done as he wanted. "But I had plans for my wayward former apprentice."
Finally, finally Offee extended her Force senses, seeming to have come to a resolution, and with a focused, controlled probe lashed out towards the Jedi Temple, towards Ahsoka, with everything she was feeling. Attuned as he was, Obi-Wan could feel the fear, the hope, the anger, the remorse, the sadness, and the resolute determination to survive. It was a mustering of power impressive for a mere apprentice and Obi-Wan had no doubt that Ahsoka — and, by extension, Anakin — would soon arrive.
His relief almost got the better of him and it certainly got the better of Offee.
"Foolish girl," Sidious hissed, and Obi-Wan felt a muted sense of horror as he watched a second shaft of red light spear through Offee's stomach. The girl stiffened as she was run through, an action so quick she hadn't had time to register the pain, and only when she looked down was Obi-Wan able to sense the heady rush of emotions through the Force.
Sidious withdrew his blade and Offee let out a blood-curdling scream.
Just enough of a distraction for Obi-Wan to draw on the Force, wrap it around Offee and Ventress and his wife, and pull them towards him and then fling them behind him. It was just a split second too quick for Sidious to stop, but Sidious was fast anyway. He was faster than anyone Obi-Wan had ever fought and only barely did he manage to ignite the pale blue blade he used to masquerade as a Jedi before Sidious could bisect him. For a second red blade was joined against blue before both Sith Masters retreated.
"So much for pleasant discussions," Obi-Wan muttered loud enough for Sidious to hear.
Sidious' mouth just twisted halfway between a smile and a grimace.
Last edited: 2019/6
