Chapter 25: Preparations

Obi-Wan Kenobi was laying lazily over his command chair, his long fingered hand running through the thick, black hair of the kneeling Jedi Master Eeth Koth and laughing uncontrollably as a massive Bull Rancor raged through entire divisions of hapless battle droids. The hunt on Felucia had been more than successful, though several females of the species had to be killed in order to draw out the mighty male Bull Rancors, the most fearsome and aggressive of all the varieties of the species. They were much bigger, much more vicious and sported four massive horns on their hard, pale heads, and Kenobi would settle for nothing less. He didn't get one. He got three.

When they arrived, the natives had been...convinced to tell the Sith Lord that the dangerous bulls could not be captured or tamed, unlike the more docile females or the lesser males. But Obi-Wan Kenobi was a Lord of the Sith, and the Felucians hadn't encountered anyone with his proclivities before. After all, the Felucians didn't need convincing to join the Separatists. The first Bull Rancor they encountered was mistakenly killed when Kenobi had entered its mind and utterly destroyed it, leaving the beast drooling and docile and devoid of any of the ferocious temperament that the Sith longed for. He had Ventress kill it. A creature that could not serve him was not worth keeping alive.

The second one had to die too, but that was more poor timing, the hapless creature getting caught in the full brunt of Kenobi's rage at having to kill the first one. He had killed that one himself, the Sith Lord expending his pent-up wrath on the ferocious creature in a fight that was hardly more than a predator playing with prey that didn't know it was about to be eaten. The burned, bloody Rancor didn't die until the red lightsaber sunk slowly into its large, black eye, the Sith shivering as he felt the rush of the Dark Side as the life left the apex predator.

But the next three...those he captured. The creatures hadn't needed a terrible amount of pressure to submit to his will, as he had learned from his mistake with the first one, and it only took moments to subdue the massive beasts, bringing the snarling, growling creatures to lay prone at his feet, almost seeming to purr when he placed his hand on their massive heads. He had to arrange for massive transports courtesy of the local Confederate leadership to bring the beasts back to his ship, which they had happily done for their commander. After all, they all knew of the Negotiator's reputation, and the man had three new pets that they were quite a bit terrified of.

The planet didn't have much in terms of highly aggressive species, but Kenobi made sure to grab about two dozen Felucian Rippers, a particularly dangerous species of ariel hunter that he planned to use against the clones.

And all of these creatures were now running free aboard the Negotiator.

"You know," Ventress drawled from a chair close to Kenobi's, "so far, in this war, the greatest reason for the destruction of Confederate forces is you."

Obi-Wan scoffed. "I'm not doing anything, it's the Rancor." He chuckled maniacally as the savage beast raged across the large room, stopping and shaking it's massive horned head when it came too close to a wall, and then it changed its path, returning to the destruction of the standard battle droids, as per his Master's wishes. Kenobi didn't want his ship hurt.

"I feel like it stops being the Rancor's fault when you're the pilot."

"Nonsense, my dear! The Rancor has it's mind! It just knows who its Master is." The long fingers gripped tightly in the black hair, and the Jedi on the ground gasped in a mix of pain and pleasure. "Isn't that right, Eeth?" The Jedi didn't answer. He just groaned and stroked at the Sith's leg, kissed at his soft, black boots, and Kenobi grinned. "See? Even the Jedi knows it!"

Ventress huffed, crossing her arms and looking as cross as she was able. "Dooku is going to be so angry with you," she growled, and Kenobi rolled his eyes.

"For destroying his useless droids? Sweetie, I have been using them as practice for months. He gave up trying to lecture me a while ago."

"That was before the war."

"That was before I had three pet Bull Rancors!" He grinned, using the Force to bring a glass of expensive liquor to his hand. "I think these are worth a great deal more than some useless droids. I'm keeping the good ones locked up anyway, he can't be too angry." The circular holotable behind them began beeping with an incoming transmission, and the droids on the control deck answered the call before Kenobi could command them not to. The Sith closed his eyes when he heard Dooku's deep voice begin speaking to the droids, the chattering monotone of the mechanicals requesting aid to deal with the beasts on the ship. That particular droid found itself lifted into the air, it's voice box wailing as it twisted unnaturally and was quickly crushed in a shower of sparks and groaning metal.

With a sigh, Kenobi rose from his chair, tapping the Jedi on his horned head and he sauntered to the holotable, his Zabrak slave close on his heels. "Disregard that request, Dooku, everything's fine."

Dooku frowned, glaring at the cocky Sith, that insufferable smirk on his lips, and Tyranus felt himself burn. Kenobi didn't seem to take anything seriously, and, like the Lord that he was, he seemed to have a complete disregard for expensive equipment. He didn't need to take finances into account. Kenobi believed that everything was his to do with as he liked. "Really. Your command droid doesn't seem fine."

"I know, it broke! I wonder how that happened..." Dooku uttered a long-suffering groan and covered his eyes. "Honestly, the T-series tactical are so unreliable. Wasn't the Techno Union going to make us some more advanced models?"

"They are, Kenobi, but you and Grievous aren't getting any, since you have such a disregard for expensive equipment."

"Wait, no, Grievous has the best ship in the fleet! And he's well supplied with commando droids and MagnaGuard! I would be so much happier if I had his arsenal!" There was a deafening roar, Dooku wincing as he heard it, and glaring at the Sith when five battle droids soared over his head. Kenobi smiled sheepishly.

"This is why you don't have nice things," Dooku growled. "What was that."

"...my Rancor..."

"You didn't..."

"They're friendly!" More battle droids soared overhead, these ones in pieces. "I promise!"

"They?!" Dooku crossed his arms. "Do you have more than one Rancor on that ship?"

"Noooo..." Another roar, and Dooku grit his teeth. "...maybe three."

Tyranus shook his head and sighed. It was best to ignore this. "I need you on Christophsis." Kenobi yawned and pulled up the galaxy map, entering the coordinates for the planet and looking up the data he had on it.

"Ooh...undeclared crystalline world," Obi-Wan purred, looking at the images he had on file of the large, formations on the planet's surface. "You want it brought into the Confederacy?"

"Secretly, if you can," Dooku drawled, holding up his datapad. "I got your peace proposal, and I will bring it to the attention of the Council tomorrow, but for our Master's plan to work, we need the planet secured. He's going to send forces to liberate it from us as soon as he hears that you have taken it."

Kenobi nodded and sent the coordinates for Christophsis to the dreadnaught's navigation, and a low rumbling indicated that the massive engines had powered up. "No conflict, then?"

"Not when you get there. There is a Republic relief effort there right now. The miners on the planet are working in terrible conditions and are subjected to slavery. A Senator from Alderaan is leading the effort to help."

Kenobi smirked. "Might be worth it to find him as well. Don't worry, I'll take care of this. Nothing like undermining a peace effort to start the day." He yawned, reaching behind him when the Rancor roared again and used the Force to subdue the creature, the massive beast growling submissively and laying on the ground. The Jedi Master next to him also dropped to his knees. "How is our Master going to pull this off? There's a cease-fire in effect until the negotiations are over."

"We're going to blockade the planet. It will look like an invasion, and they have a Senator in the capital. He will obviously not be allowed to leave."

Kenobi nodded. "I see what he's doing. Anything else?"

"More than you know..." Dooku dropped into a chair, the hologram wavering as the ship picked up speed, and for a moment, the Count looked...weary. Dooku never truly looked his age, but now, it showed. Kenobi bit his lip and took out his datapad.

"Tell me what you need." The Count looked up, glaring at the other Sith Lord, but Kenobi was...sincere. His eyes narrowed.

"What are you playing at, Obi-Wan."

"Nothing! I know that messing with you is my prerogative, but this war is our Master's work. I wouldn't disrupt his plans, and that means working with you. Tell me what you need."

"...strategic systems are contested territory," Dooku began after a long pause, a faint smile on his lips as Kenobi began scrawling on the datapad. It was rare for the younger Sith to be cooperative, and he was going to take advantage of this while he could. "Christophsis, the Ryloth System, and the Toydaria System are key points that we must secure if we are to ensure that the war goes as planned. The Confederacy will be crushed if we cannot secure these points early." Kenobi nodded, but said nothing, quickly writing. "We also need to gain control of Hutt Space. If we do, we will control most of the hyperspace lanes in the Outer Rim. We can bottleneck the Republic forces if we can secure Hutt cooperation."

Obi-Wan repressed a laugh. "So, what I'm understanding is that you want me to enter negotiations with two species that are notoriously resistant to the Force."

Dooku shrugged. "I saw what you did to Senator Amidala in a containment field, and you have boasted about being able to break Hutts and Toydarians in the past."

"I can," he growled, dropping the datapad on the table. "The problem is that the intrusion is often violent." He yawned. "The last time I compelled a Hutt, the creature was left slightly brain dead."

Dooku groaned. "Tell me, Kenobi, how do you leave anything slightly brain dead?" The younger Sith opened his mouth to answer, but the Count shook his head. "Never mind, don't answer that. This was before you started learning from the holocron, so you should be able to accomplish this with a...gentler touch, yes?"

"Yes, I suppose," Kenobi sighed. "I can have this done by the end of the week. I'm assuming our Master will have discredited Amidala and made the peace talks fall through by then, yes?"

"If you secure Christophsis for us first, than absolutely. The Republic will be forced into military action to extract their Senator, and the Jedi will be compelled to liberate a supposedly invaded planet."

"Jedi..." The Sith's hand winded in Master Koth's hair, the man groaning pitifully under the influence of the Sith Lord. He had long since given up resisting. "I need to be on Christophsis when the fighting breaks out if the Jedi are going to be there. I need a new plaything."

"Why," Dooku drawled. "You haven't done anything with your old one."

"Yes I have!" Kenobi growled, offended. "I've been preparing to release him from my control. He's going back to the Jedi, aren't you, pet?" The Master leaned against the Sith's leg, clutching at his robes tightly with an almost desperate abandon.

"You're going to just let him go?" Dooku asked, eyebrow raised. "Why? There are better ways to send a message to the Jedi."

"I agree, but there aren't many better ways to raid the holocron vault. Do try to pay attention..." Dooku scoffed and rolled his eyes, and the other Sith just grinned. "Once he's back in the Temple, he's going to bring us the Sith holocrons the Jedi keep. Sure, he'll probably die in the process, but he's expended his use to me anyway."

"It'll never work," Dooku drawled. "The Jedi will sense Dark Side corruption in him. They'll never let him back in the Order."

Kenobi shrugged carelessly. "Who cares if it doesn't work. I need to test how far my control extends, and this is the best way to do it." He pet the Zabrak's head. "Would you like that, Eeth? Your Master needs you." The Jedi whimpered desperately, clinging to the Sith like he was all that mattered. "I win regardless," he drawled to Dooku. "Either we get the holocrons, or the Jedi will be forced to kill one of their own. No matter the outcome, the Jedi will begin to see Sith within their own ranks, and their lack of unity will make them weak."

"And what about him?" the Count drawled, pointing to the enthralled Jedi.

"Oh, he needs to die." Kenobi glared at the Jedi clinging to him and looking up at him with unfocused, clouded eyes. "He's no more use to me. I can only use him once, and if the Jedi don't kill him, I will. I haven't killed a Jedi since I fell, I'm starting to get itchy."

"You have had several opportunities for it, Kenobi..."

"Yes, but I want them to beg for it..." He tilted the Jedi's face up, a lazy smile on his lips. "It would greatly please me if I got to kill you, Eeth. Would you like that?"

The Jedi whimpered softly, wavering for a moment before clutching at the Sith's hand. "Yes, Master..."

"There isn't a single thought in that head of yours, is there?" Kenobi purred, reaching into his mind and finding no resistance, no will, no desire but his own.

"I do hope you haven't removed my apprentice's brain as you have done to this Jedi," the Count droned, rolling his eyes when Kenobi gently cooed to his captive as if her were a treasured pet.

"Of course not, I love Ventress!"

"She is with you, then?" Kenobi looked over the hologram. The Count was not pleased.

"...yeeeeeesss..."

"Really." The tone was harsh, much colder than Obi-Wan had heard the man in a while, and he looked back to where Ventress was sitting, the woman trying to sink into the chair she was seated in. "She didn't tell me where she was going."

"Of course she didn't! I just took her!" Kenobi laughed loudly when Asajj shot him a grateful look. "I didn't give her a choice."

"I've told you a thousand times, Kenobi!" the Count shouted, rising from his seat and Obi-Wan quickly punched in the hyperspace coordinates, smirking as the ship's hyperdrive engaged with a low, escalating whine. "Stop taking my things! If you-"

The hologram cut as the ship shot forward into hyperspace, the blue and white lines streaking around the viewport. Ventress groaned loudly and slumped in her seat, tensing for a moment when the Sith's strong hands grabbed her shoulders and began kneading into the lean muscle, and she quickly relaxed. "He's going to kill me..."

"That seems likely, yes. You told me he didn't care."

"I didn't think he would!" she snarled. "He destroyed me last night, he said I'd never amount to anything! He said I was useless."

"Well, you are as a Sith. He's still trying to train you as one, it would seem..."

"...what do I do?"

Kenobi smirked and leaned over to kiss her cheek, "Leave this one to me, my dear."

Christophsis was beautiful, the city built into huge, crystalline formations that rose out of the ground, the city bustling with activity. Things didn't look too bad here, and Kenobi couldn't help but wonder exactly what the planet needed in terms of aid. He closed his eyes, reached out into the Force, his consciousness leaving him and entering into the planet, feeling the rush of the civilians, the pulse of life within the city, and the suffering of countless below the surface as they toiled in the mines. There it was.

Kenobi opened his eyes, his sharp yellow eyes taking quick stock of the city. On closer inspection, many of the people appeared to be refugees, and as he walked, camps and aid stations had been set up in side allies all over the busy city. On the surface, it appeared to be thriving, but there was suffering here, and Obi-Wan couldn't help but wonder how a Senator ended up getting permission to be here, given how close it was to the Corellian Run. It's proximity to the hyperlane made it an ideal target for the Republic and the Confederacy alike, but...perhaps that was part of Sidious' plan. It certainly made it easy to spark violence here.

The government building was easy to find, as it sat in the middle of the city in a perfectly gargantuan ice-green crystal, the beautiful structure hollowed out to transform it into an elegant, elaborate building of office. He gained admittance easily, and with the assistance of a very helpful aide, Kenobi was granted admittance to the room where the leaders of the city met.

Kenobi grinned, lowering his hood when he walked in on a frustrated human arguing over something or another with the group of five very wealthy humans, a Rodian, and Kerkoiden, all of them looking at the finely dressed man with disdain. He recognized the group's antagonist. It was Prince Bail Organa of Alderaan, and it seemed he was the Senator sent to offer aid. It was perfect.

The Sith Lord cleared his throat, and all eyes shifted to him, the ruling Council scoffing with superiority, but Organa's eyes widened in recognition. "Y-you're the Negotiator," the Prince breathed, and the others suddenly tensed, their presence in the Force slipping from pointless arrogance to distinct concern. Kenobi bowed deeply.

"Gentlemen! Good evening." He flexed his fingers by his side. "I thought we had an appointment, did you forget?" They all looked at each other, and Obi-Wan clicked his tongue, one hand to his cheek as he pointed to the Kerkoidan, his long mouth hanging slightly open under the Sith's gaze. "I spoke to you about it, how could you forget?"

"I-I...apologize..." the creature said, bowing his head and trembling ever so slightly. Kenobi closed his eyes and crossed his arms, feeling the nervous looks of the Council, and the curious, questioning gaze of Senator Organa.

"It's fine if you aren't committed to the Confederacy, but I came all this way from Raxus because you wished to join us." The Council seemed to wither under the intense stare of the Negotiator, and Bail looked almost accusingly at the young, blond man dressed in black.

"Wait, this is the first I've heard that Christophsis-"

The words caught in his throat and his eyes widened as golden yellow eyes fell on him and a sweet, compelling voice gently purred, "Now, now, Senator. Please, have a seat, I'll be with you in a moment." Bail slowly sat, even though he did not want to. His body was moving on its own, and though he tried to speak to object, he found his mouth forcefully closed. Smiling gently, the Negotiator patted him on the cheek. "There's a good boy."

Kenobi looked around the room, carefully observing the seated men, quickly running through their minds to find one of them, a thin, gaunt human male, as the one that held the most sway, the most influence over the group. "You must remember discussing this. Your fellow," he drawled, pointing at the Kerkoidan, "assured me that it was your idea, and you all agreed to it. I wouldn't be here otherwise."

The man began to talk, but he was swiftly silenced as memories of the event in question slowly filtered through his mind, memories he didn't know he had. He felt...dizzy, like he had too much to drink, and the entire room seemed to shift, the gold of the Negotiator's eyes like fixed pinpoints in his hazy vision. "I...remember, yes." He looked to his fellows and found them looking as dazed as he felt, the others slowly nodding and quietly agreeing. "Apologies, my Lord, we thought...the meeting was later."

"Oh!" Kenobi cried, biting his lip and looking at his datapad, quickly scrolling through the device before he found what he was looking for and laughed. "Oh, you are right! It wasn't supposed to be for another hour!" With a smirk, he slid the device across the table to the slightly swaying men. "But since I am here..."

Obi-Wan didn't need to finish. In turn, they all signed the Article of Succession, none of the men even looking at the device as they scrawled their names across its surface. Bail Organa looked on with wide eyes. He didn't understand what was happening, but something was very wrong. He moved, bucking against the invisible restraints that held him as the Negotiator observed the datapad, smirking with satisfaction, and put it back into the folds of his robes after fiddling with it for a moment.

With a smile, Obi-Wan smoothly drawled, "All of you. Out." All the men in the room rose and began heading toward the door, the Sith going to sit in the largest chair at the table, leaning back and making himself as comfortable as he could. "Except for you, Prince of Alderaan." Bail froze mid-step. "You stay." Against his will, the dark-haired man shuffled to a seat across from the man, sitting and looking away, and he could feel a weight lift off him, breathing deeply when his chest felt lighter.

They said nothing for a very long time. Bail just looked at him, the mighty Negotiator, and tried to put together the things he had just seen. Nothing that had just happened made any sense at all. The greedy men he was trying to reason with seemed so certain that they could make the Republic and the Confederacy engage in a bidding war for their support, so they couldn't have made a deal like that for what seemed to be nothing...could they? He started to feel the beginnings of a headache forming behind his eyes. It had been a long day.

"Padmé always spoke highly of you, Bail," Kenobi said softly, smiling when the man's dark eyes shot to him and narrowed.

"I think I've heard enough about you for a lifetime, Kenobi." The Sith Lord grinned, and it only served to further anger the Senator.

"I'm flattered you remember me."

"Don't be. I wouldn't have, but Padmé spent a great deal of time reminding me." Organa hissed, bringing his hand to his temple as it slowly throbbed with pain. The Negotiator leaned in toward him, golden eyes narrowing.

"There's so much anger in you," Kenobi drawled. "And all toward me. I've done nothing to earn this. So why?" The Senator said nothing, and Kenobi chuckled. "Why."

"B-because of Padmé," Organa said hesitantly, and he nearly bit his tongue. He didn't want to say that, and certainly not to the former Jedi before him. So why did he?

"Your lover?"

Organa scoffed in disgust. "Never. Padmé is like a sister to me! And you..." He growled, fists balling as he tried to silence himself, but he could not.

"What has she told you about me?"

"Everything."

Kenobi smirked. "Oh? Did she tell you I was a Jedi?"

"Yes. Her Jedi protector. But she said you died." His eyes narrowed. "And then came back."

"From a certain point of view, yes." He smiled, increasing his pressure on Organa's mind and watched him wince, bringing both hands up to rub his temples. "But where is the anger coming from?"

Organa shook his head, trying to clear it. "When you delivered your...proposal," he said, his voice shaking under the pain of his headache, "Padmé lost it. She confessed to me that she had loved you once."

Did she? Obi-Wan looked away, his mind mulling the information over. The look he got within Senator Amidala's mind was brief, cursory at best for fear of revealing himself to Yoda. But this...if this was true, his Master needed to know. Sidious was looking to discredit the Senator, since Amidala had been a constant thorn in his side. He had laid the groundwork with the meeting the other day, but it would not be enough. This would be. An emotional connection to the Separatist's Negotiator would discredit her completely, at least for a time.

"And?" Kenobi smirked, watching as the man grew more and more angry. It was true that the man saw young Padmé as a sister, and now, faced with a man that the girl had expressed interest in, Organa reacted as any older, protective sibling would.

"I spent the last two days listening to her pine. I urged her not to go, but she had to see you. I hate seeing her like that, she-" Something flashed in Organa's dark eyes, and Kenobi grinned.

"You think I made her a woman." The Senator snarled, and Obi-Wan knew he hit the mark. "It was a very long time ago, but..." The Prince growled, rising from his seat in the heat of his anger, and Obi-Wan grinned, fingers splayed and forced the man back into his chair hard. "Now, now," the Sith drawled, rising from his seat and coming to stand before the Senator. "No need to be uncivil. I think you can be of use to me." He put a long finger on the man's forehead, smirking and golden eyes glinting. "Show me everything."

And then there was nothing but pain, the dull pulsing in his head becoming agonizing, so intense he had to shut his eyes. And then, the pain suddenly stopped, replaced by the feeling of cold, rushing water that seemed to flow easily through his head to chill his fevered brain. It was...refreshing, a great relief, and as his body relaxed, a warm, tingling feeling started in the very heart of him, spreading until his every nerve was sending jolts of euphoria through him. It...wasn't so bad. Desired, even, and though his thinking slowed, his vision becoming hazy, his hearing muffled, he welcomed the sensation.

The information wasn't much, but it was something Kenobi could use. He was right to have been so physical with Padmé, and he quietly congratulated himself on his parting words to the girl. Given the memories Bail was so thoughtfully sharing with him, it could very well set her into a frenzy, which had been the intent. He just didn't know how successful it was shaping up to be. But there was little he could do about Padmé right now, just collect the Prince's memories of long, advising talks, watching the girl suffer with grief for a loss she never truly had, and recently go to him for advice, aching and lustful, when she discovered her Jedi protector had lived. Obi-Wan couldn't do anything with this information, but Sidious certainly could, and he had already sowed seeds of doubt in the Prince's mind in regards to his precious Padmé. It was enough.

"Bail," he purred, smirking in delight when unfocused eyes turned on him and narrowed slightly. Kenobi was in his mind, yes, but he was not an overwhelming presence. It wouldn't serve to destroy the Senator when Palpatine could use him. He just needed to...alter a few things. "Remember for me, if you will, what happened here."

"You...you made them sign the Articles of Succession. You must have..."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the Sith drawled, the Force behind his words, and Organa sucked in a sharp breath, his already unfocused eyes clouding over as Kenobi carefully altered the man's memory. It was an easy thing to do with those who were not Force sensitive, even if the effect was only temporary on the strong-willed and intelligent. It would be enough. "There was no treaty here."

"T-there...wait, I thought..."

"You were mistaken."

Organa shook his head, trying to clear the haze, but it only made it worse. "I was mistaken."

"But you weren't wrong about the planet needing relief. Those awful Separatists have blockaded the planet. Aid will not come to you or your refugees." Kenobi smiled as the shadow of worry passed over the man's face. "They have brought an invasion force."

"W-we cannot stand for this!"

"No, you can't!" Kenobi cried mockingly, but the derisive tone was lost on the Prince. "The Republic can send you reinforcements, though. The Separatists have broken the cease-fire by invading an undeclared planet." The command was given, and Bail Organa rose from his seat and dashed out of the room, leaving Obi-Wan to drop back into his seat and grab his comlink. He stared at it for a long while. He wanted to contact his Master, but knew he could not. The channel was not nearly secure enough, and the man was most likely not able to take his call anyway. Sidious had warned him about the limited contact, but now, more than ever, Darth Lumis missed the presence of his Master.

Instead, he sent the call to the Negotiator, a genuine smile on his lips when Asajj Ventress answered the call instead of one of the many command droids on the bridge. But Asajj didn't look happy.

"Kenobi..." she snarled, her pale eyes narrowing when the man just grinned wider. "You didn't put the Rancor away!"

"What? Yes I did." He didn't. Well, he did, but he had left the largest one out. He liked that one best.

"No, you didn't!" she hissed, looking over her shoulder. "It was sleeping before, but it just woke up and it's hungry."

"He, Asajj. Come now, he's not a droid..."

"It's starting to eat the Rippers you brought up from Felucia!"

That got his attention. "Well, stop him, Asajj! Sith Hells, you'd think that would go without saying! I need those things, they're going to eat the clones!"

She crossed her arms, her face expressionless. "And how am I supposed to stop that thing?"

"If you kill my Rancor..."

"Without killing it! Kenobi, I can't do what you do!"

"Of course you can, you're a Nightsister! Don't your people have a history of controlling the Rancor? I mean, they're native to Dathomir!" He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, have some respect for your history..."

"I was a slave, Kenobi! I didn't grow up among my people, this isn't in our genetics, we have to learn!"

"Well, what's wrong with you then?! You watched me tame them, you saw how to do it."

"...are you really comparing me to you, oh great and mighty Lord of the Sith?"

Kenobi groaned and rubbed his temples. "This is why I'll never have a student, you are all far too dim-witted..."

"You'll never have an apprentice because you don't have students, you have friends." Kenobi looked up at the woman, her eyes narrowed, but a faint smile on her lips. "Really, what kind of Sith are you?"

"The best kind." He tapped his finger on the table. "I need you to contact the Invincible and tell Admiral Trench to enforce the blockade and send his troops down to occupy the planet."

Asajj rolled her eyes. "I hate that spider..."

"As do I, which is why you're doing it." Ventress uttered a string of quiet curses, and Kenobi laughed, leaning back in the chair. "I'll be up shortly to put the Rancor away, and then you're coming back down with me." A slight, cruel face graced his fine features. "Prepare for battle, Asajj. The Jedi are coming."