(warnings at end of chapter.)

Chapter 10: Insidious Plots

Sidious stared pensively across the city laid out before him. His city. His planet. And his galaxy, though he had yet to make that completely official. "Are you sure he has gone rogue, Master Jedi?"

In his persona of Palpatine, his voice was weary, worried, hoping that the news that was being delivered to him was not sure fact.

"Unfortunately, Chancellor, that is the case." Windu displayed no sign of it, but Sidious could feel the headache the Jedi Master was experiencing. Another time, he would have revelled in it, but right now he was too busy figuring out what in the galaxy Kenobi was playing at.

"Rogue." Palpatine dragged a hand over his weary face. "Treason. A Jedi defecting to the Separatists. Do you know how much of public relations disaster this will be?" he questioned the Jedi, allowing a hint of sharpness into his voice. That would probably cause him a headache of his own were he not so adept at using the Dark side to fuel himself through many nights without sleep. He was going to have to reconfigure his whole plan for the war's next few months. "A Jedi so well-known and liked as Kenobi defecting does not speak well of the Republic or your Order." He walked back to his desk, dropping into the chair. Windu still stood there, stoically showing no emotion even though Kenobi was one of his friends.

"Kenobi has been expelled for his actions. He is no longer a Jedi."

"What?" Palpatine blustered even as Sidious' mind started to race. "But you said that you needed Tano present to expel her! Have you captured Kenobi already, or why could you not just have handed her over and then expelled her if that were possible?"

"Tano was believed to be acting on her own within the Order at that point." Windu gritted out. "Things have changed. Kenobi is - was - a Master, a Council member. And he has been fighting in this war for years. But in that time, he has come into contact with the Sith - I believe you have been briefed on Dooku - and their involvement changes the rules of expulsion."

Sidious' mind paused for a moment, and he dearly wanted to smirk. Palpatine gasped in horror. "Yes, yes I remember, and did you not claim one of them was behind the invasion of my planet, all those years ago too?" He shook his head. "But another betrayal as big as the Counts', and from a member of the Jedi High Council…" He felt a modicum of satisfaction in watching Windu force himself not to flinch at the memory of what had happened to his former Padawan, though it did not even come close to making up for the news the Jedi had brought. "I'm sorry, Master Windu, I didn't mean to bring up old pain."

"It is in the past," was the stoic reply that came after a deep breath. How Jedi. "Thank you for your time, Chancellor. I must get back to the Temple."

Avoiding the main issue, was he? Sidious waited until he was near the door before calling out. "Master Jedi." He watched the Jedi stop, waiting slightly impatiently for what he had to say. "Who will be conducting the search? I assume you are leaving it to the Clone's; I would hate to think what could happen should Kenobi and one of the other Jedi meet."

Of course, leaving it to the Clones meant leaving it to their non-Jedi officers, too. Windu's eyes hardened. "The Jedi will be involved. Kenobi was one of ours, it is our responsibility to take him down."

"Still," The Chancellor worried with the air of a man attempting to avert a likely disaster he could see on the horizon. "He was called the Negotiator for a reason after all, and from what Anakin tells me, he is good enough with a lightsaber to kill many of your members. We cannot afford to lose more Jedi over this matter, either way. And the Clone's have proved they can manage when they defeated the traitorous General Krell."

"We will consider who we send carefully," was the stiff reply. "Is there anything else?"

"Just the one," the Chancellor of the Republic assured the Jedi. "How is Anakin holding up? It must be hard on him, first his Padawan, now his former Master doing something like this. I do hope he's not under suspicion or anything, I can personally attest to his character if you want-" He broke off, looking slightly embarrassed.

Windu sighed minutely. "Skywalker is not under suspicion, we have already questioned and cleared him. He is on his way back to the outer rim right now, as of" he checked his chrono, "twenty minutes ago. Master Yoda saw him off."

To prevent him from sneaking off to join Tano and Kenobi, no doubt. "Thank you, Master Jedi."

"We live to serve the Republic." Windu bowed. "Is there anything else…?"

"No, I think that is all, for now." He watched the Jedi leave. How very, very interesting.

It was a pity Anakin wasn't there, but being away from the centre of the action he really wanted to be involved with would likely have the same effect as Sidious whispering in his ear. While it would have been convenient to have the child here, it was not essential. He'd check the degree to which Anakin had been stewing when the child got back. The boy was so delightfully easy to manipulate, just a verbal nudge there, or a hesitation at the right moment, was enough to plant the seeds Anakin Skywalker would water and cultivate himself.

Take Windu, for example. Anakin frequently complained about Windu not trusting him, and even more often complained about Kenobi not taking him seriously, and had once declared that the pair of them were probably cooking up ways to inconvenience him in their spare time. It had been a ridiculous thought, and Anakin has been purposefully exaggerating at the time in order to make the story he was telling funnier, but a slight hesitation before he laughed had got Anakin thinking that Palpatine suspected that was not far off the truth.

Of course, now the boy would practically be worshiping Kenobi for his rescue of Tano. It was irritating, like Kenobi himself, with his habit of staying alive through situations that by all odds he shouldn't. Perhaps the Jedi Order itself would dispose of the man, though. It would certainly shake Anakin, having the Order murder his father figure.

He was slightly surprised the Jedi had expelled Kenobi already. Sidious would have thought Rattatak, and then Zigoola, would have shown them that the man was not someone easily turned - but it seemed their paranoia concerning anything Dark was asserting itself.

How nice of the one Jedi Master who might be able to stop his plan to turn Anakin Skywalker to the Dark side to completely alienate himself from the Jedi. He hadn't even needed prompting.

Since he was not behind this, he did need to sort out what Kenobi's motive was.

Sidious didn't think that Tyranus had managed to Turn Kenobi and take him as an apprentice - Sidious would have noticed it happening. And that meant that Kenobi had rescued Tano with Jedi morals in mind. He'd probably just found out she was innocent. How in the Galaxy he was certain of that, though…

Kenobi being killed by the Jedi would cement him in Anakin's mind as a good person, which was annoying, but memories could be warped, and it would definitely give him something concrete to be angry with the Jedi about. Instead of manipulating things so Kenobi broke ties with Anakin after Anakin Fell, he could have Kenobi as one of the main reasons for Anakin's Fall - after all, he would just be following in his dear, betrayed former Master's footsteps. Kenobi must have seen the corruption in the Jedi - and they killed him for it. I have the power to help you avenge him, Anakin…and possibly save your wife from some as yet undecided threat while you're at it. He hadn't given up on that part of the plan, he'd been cultivating and encouraging Anakin's obsession with her for too long to let it go entirely to waste, but the irony of this one drew him.

Reminding himself not to get too far ahead of himself, he went to work on a statement.

A.N. I know, rather short. The next chapter is back at my normal chapter length.

A huge thank you to everyone who's read/reading this, and an enormous thanks to my reviewers. I'm somewhat astounded by the response this has gotten.

Next Chapter: Obi-Wan finds out about his expulsion.

Warnings: Sidious. Just...Sidious being himself.