"Ah. Clovis. How are you liking your new office?" Count Dooku suddenly said as he popped up on a hologram, garnering Clovis' attention immediately. "I must say, you look very comfortable behind that desk."
"Count Dooku," Clovis said, his eyes moving past his desk to make sure no one had made their way into the room. They didn't. "What do I owe the pleasure?"
"Come, come my boy. You don't think I'd let such an important day pass without wishing you the best of luck," Dooku said, making Clovis frown slightly.
"Thank you, but luck has nothing to do with it," he said. "The transfer has occurred without a hitch."
"Well of course it has. The Separatists are fully behind your appointment. After all, aren't we the ones who put your there?" Dooku said rhetorically.
"For your support, I'm grateful. But I now must lead without allegiance towards either side," Clovis said before turning back around in his chair. Dooku briefly raised an eyebrow before chuckling.
"Is that so?" he said with a small amount of vitrol in his tone. "Quite the idealist you've become in so short a time."
"What do you want Dooku?" Clovis questioned, turning back around to face him. He didn't like where this was heading at all.
"To collect on my investment. How much do you think the Republic would like to know that it was I who supplied Rush Clovis with all the information he needed to top over the leaders of the bank?" Dooku questioned. Clovis raised an eyebrow. Blackmail? And not very good blackmail at that.
"I will tell them myself," he said in a relaxed tone.
"Oh, but you can't," Dooku said darkly. Here Clovis started to feel slightly worried. "I put you in power. You belong to me. And if you want to stay in control, you will do as I say."
"The banks will remain unbiased," Clovis said firmly.
"Then I'm afraid the Separatists will be unable to pay the interest of our loans," Dooku said, crossing his arms.
"Then the banks will collapse," Clovis said as he stood to his feet. He was already understanding the implications of Dooku's threat.
"Not if you raise interest rates on the Republic," Dooku supplied.
"What?" Clovis questioned. "You know I can't do that."
"Oh, but you can and you will," Dooku said firmly. "Or everything that you fought so hard for will destroyed. Including what little of a relationship you have with Senator Amidala. How is she, by the way?"
"You leave her out of this!" Clovis exclaimed.
"She is also overseeing this appointment, is she not? And you've spent quite a bit of time together recently. Think very carefully about your next move Clovis," Dooku said threateningly. There was an ominous aura in the man's words as he ended the transmission.
Clovis sat down as all of Dooku's implications and the weight of the situation began to settle in. The Separatists definitely had eyes in the Senate as he seemed to know exactly what was going on between him and Padme. Or at least an idea. Dooku knew exactly what his tower was made of and knew exactly how to bring it crashing down. If he got out of this clean somehow, he was never making deals with Separatists again.
"Are you insane?!" Padme exclaimed.
"No. I'm trying to keep you alive," Clovis said.
"Alive? What does that..."
"The Separatists are the reason I got this appointment. They gave me the evidence needed to bring down the bankers. They did that so they could effectively use me as a puppet. Things got messy when I wanted the banks to remain neutral," Clovis explained with a frown.
"What exactly is he threatening you with?" Padme questioned.
"The collapse of the entire banks and you. The Separatists won't pay back the interest that they owe, and I really don't want to know how they'll get to you from here," Clovis said.
"We'll worry about the second one later. But the banks will collapse as a result of them not paying back their interest. And he wants you to raise the interest on the Republic to make it seems like you're coming up with a viable option," Padme finished.
"I may be out of options here. I was appointed to this position so that the banks would be properly restored, not to throw it all into chaos," Clovis said with a deep frown.
"Well, we most certainly can't raise the Republic interest rates. The point of the banks were to be neutral to both sides, not be partial to a certain side regardless of affiliation," Padme said.
"I realize that, but if I don't make a move, the banks will collapse. There's no arguing that," Clovis said, making Padme frown. He was right. This was a tough situation.
"Face the Senate and tell them about your situation with Dooku," Padme told him.
"Now I have to wonder if you are crazy. Dooku seems to have complete confidence in his ability to get to you, and if he can get to you, he'll most likely kill me on the spot," Clovis told her.
"It may be better to contact the Jedi then," Padme said, making Clovis raise an eyebrow.
"You, contacting the Jedi? Bold move, don't you think?" he questioned, making Padme roll her eyes.
"As far as I'm concerned, they don't know I've had any contact with Anakin. And as far as they're concerned, I'm completely impartial to the fact that Anakin left their Order. But there's literally no other move we can make without immediately setting some situation off. We have to talk to the Jedi," she said, making Clovis shake his head.
"Fine. But leave my name out of it if you can," he said. "I don't want to directly involve myself into any of this mess if it can be avoided."
"Politician through and through, aren't you?" Padme quipped.
"It's how I avoid getting killed by the Separatists in the first place," Clovis noted. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to make a decision. It may or may not leave me with a political career." Clovis then walked off, and now Padme had some Force users to contact. But then her mind went back what Clovis said about her being a target. He's obviously finding some way to get to her.
Glancing at her door, her mind went back to the small blaster she kept on her ship. She couldn't exactly bring it in because of security reasons, but she definitely wish she had it now. Maybe getting off this planet after contact was a better idea.
"Senator Amidala?" Obi-Wan questioned, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Not bearing good news, I'm afraid," Padme said.
"One day, I wish you would. It'd be better that way," Obi-Wan said with a sigh, making Padme smile slightly despite herself. "What is it?"
"There's a problem. The Separatists appointed someone in office, but he wanted to remain neutral in the case of both sides," Padme said.
"Clovis," Obi-Wan said, making Padme curse in her head. "I paid attention to this particular debate since it involved our finances for the war. Normally Anakin wouldn't have much of a problem doing it since you're both great friends, but... you know."
"Yeah. I do." Padme was silent for only a moment before continuing. "In any case, Dooku refuses to have the Separatists back their loans, which will cause the banks to collapse."
"Then there won't be any money for anyone. And as a result, Clovis' position will suffer. Which is exactly the way he wants it if he didn't cooperate," Obi-Wan said with a frown.
"Clovis hasn't made a decision yet, but he'll have to soon. The banks won't last much longer without a decision being made," Padme said.
"Tell him to raise the Republic's interest rates to keep the banks afloat, but only temporarily. It'll make him look bad, but for the moment, make Clovis look like he's cooperating with Dooku. It may buy us some time to figure out how to solve this," Obi-Wan suggested, making Padme nod. "I'll refer to the Council on this matter." Even though silently, Obi-Wan almost wished he didn't have to.
"There's just one more thing. Dooku also made it quite clear that he could use me to get to Clovis. From what I heard from Clovis, he seems quite certain he'll be able to get to me from here," Padme said. Obi-Wan got the implications immediately.
"Dooku wants control of the banks. Best way to handle that would be to invade, force control, and he could get to you easily enough. It's a simple enough move, seeing as how Scipio only has a defense squad, not an army. But he knows the Republic is able to counter attack. It just doesn't make complete sense just yet," Obi-Wan said with a pondering frown.
"You really think he'll invade?" Padme questioned.
"I have no way to know for sure. Dooku is crafty. Of that, I am more than certain. But in any case, have Clovis make his decision and then get off that planet. If I am right, you don't want to stick around much longer," Obi-Wan said, making Padme nod as he ended the transmission.
"Is it done?"
"Not completely Senator Clovis does not seem... particularly cooperative," Dooku said.
"That is to be expected. He is rather close to Senator Amidala. He does not wish to tarnish his look for her any more than he has to," Lord Sidious said, crossing his arms in a calm manner.
"Do you expect this invasion to get Skywalker out of hiding?" Dooku questioned.
"I am not counting on it. But, it would not hurt if it did. An opportunity to enthrall is better than none at all, regardless of how small the chances. But this is not about Skywalker. This is about the banks. And part of what the entirety of the Clone Wars is all about," Sidious said. Dooku simply nodded, as no elaboration was needed. "Make your way to Scipio and oversee the invasion. Then make your way out once the job has been finished and the seeds planted."
"It will be done Master," Dooku said with a bow.
Anakin's hands balled into fists as an unsettling wave of darkness set in. He knew of Dooku and his master... and... something else. About the war having a purpose.
This was the most unsettled he had felt in a while since leaving the Jedi. They all had suspected even Dooku having someone pulling his strings, but there was no mention of him, no idea, no sighting... Yet he was able to sense him. He didn't know who he was, but to even be able to sense a conversation between the two Sith Lords... no Jedi had even be able to sense him through the Dark Side. Maybe that's why it was a good thing he wasn't a Jedi anymore.
On top of that, it sounded like Clovis was involved. And dragged Padme into his mess. Was Dooku and his master purposefully baiting Anakin? Because they were doing a hell of a job doing so. Then again, they weren't expecting him to show up. He had been thrown into the vision by chance. And if they knew the Jedi couldn't do this, they'd have a hard time believing he could do it as well. No, they weren't purposefully baiting him. It just seemed like it.
He had a location too. To Scipio. A large number of Separatists were sure to be there. Including Dooku himself. And when the Republic found out, he'd have to contend with Jedi as well. It was risky exposing himself to this war again. But someone he cared about was thrown in the middle, marriage issues be damned. It was a rough situation.
"Hey," Ahsoka said, getting his attention. "You ok?"
"No. Because I've just seen something that doesn't garner good news for anyone," Anakin said sourly.
"There. It's done. Now what?" Clovis said, not sounding very happy.
"Now we get off this planet," Padme said, eyes darting towards the window where her ship was.
"I certainly hope what you did was smart," Clovis said.
"I hope so too. Otherwise things may go really bad, really fast," Padme said as they started to head to the hangar. She had her comm in hand as they walked. "Commander Thorn!"
"This is... not the best time Senator! Invasion fleet heading straight for us!" Commander Thorn said over the comm.
"Blast it! It's too late," Padme said in frustration.
"Get to a ship as soon as you can! We can't get to you!" Commander Thorn said before the comm went dead.
As they continued to head towards the ships, the sounds of muffled explosions and laser fire could be heard. Clovis stopped for a moment to look out of the window.
"That's not good," he said.
"What is it?" Padme questioned. Clovis simply pointed outside. Out at all the wrecked ships that the droids made sure to aim for. "Great."
"There's a hangar on the opposite side of the building. Maybe the Separatists haven't gotten to those ships yet," Clovis said.
"If we're lucky. Come on," Padme said, running in the other direction with Clovis closely behind her.
"Right behind you," he said.
"Now we have to wait for the Jedi," Padme thought.
"Are you sure you saw what you saw?" Ahsoka questioned.
"I don't exactly just see stuff for my own amusement. It was a vision. This isn't exactly the first time it's happened," Anakin told her.
"Yeah, but before the Seppies weren't exactly targeting you specifically. And it never involved the two Sith the Jedi have been looking for. It just seems too easy," Ahsoka reminded him.
"I thought about that. But even then, it seems like Clovis has involved Padme in a bunch of mess. If she wasn't with him, I'd be all for letting him deal with his own mess," Anakin said.
"And if she's not involved? I still don't buy that this isn't a trap," Ahsoka said, crossing her arms.
"Trap or not, I won't exactly sleep well at night knowing Dooku has full control over the banks," Anakin said.
"Eh. You have a point there. And the Jedi may find out too late," Ahsoka said.
"Not to mention this may be a chance to bag Dooku. He isn't going to stick around forever. The Republic will be coming eventually, and he'll be long gone by then," Anakin said, making Ahsoka sigh.
"We may be out of the Jedi, but we're still sticking like glue to this war, aren't we?" she said.
"Well, the war wasn't technically the reason we left in the first place. It was the Jedi. It's kind of why we chose the career path we did. I just want to get Padme in and out," Anakin said.
"And Clovis?" Ahsoka questioned.
"As much as I don't trust him, the situation may not be what I think it is. Because he's close to Padme in some aspect. I doubt he'd willingly put her in any kind of danger," Anakin said. Ahsoka could easily here the reluctance in his tone. It seemed he barely believed his own words.
"So we cloak down to the planet, and sneak into the building. Get her in and out," he finished.
"Won't that look obvious?" Ahsoka questioned. "Padme will look she'd be involved with you in some kind of fashion if you came to her rescue so promptly."
"Blast it. You're right," Anakin said, gripping his fist.
"As much as I hate to admit it, the Jedi should be able to handle things," Ahsoka assured him. "The only way we would have to do anything is if this was a direct challenge from Dooku to come and get her. And it isn't. She's just collateral against the Republic. She'll be fine."
Anakin clenched his fists, but soon relaxed them while letting out a deep breath. She was right. He had to think clearly on this matter. It wasn't like with the Jedi when he could easily throw himself into the fray. It would've been dumb jumping out there when not only the Separatists were coming, but the Republic was. As much as he didn't like taking the chance, he'd have to have faith in the Jedi's abilities, as much as he loathed to do such a thing. At the very least, they were good with rescue missions.
"You're right," Anakin said, making Ahsoka's eyes widen in surprise at the statement. "You're right. I have to think about this. This'd be different if no one would be going to rescue her. But they are."
"You're not going to argue this?" Ahsoka questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"I thought about it. Believe me, I did. But someone will be going to rescue her. The clones that were there would've easily got a message out there to the Senate, and they would send a counter fleet. The army would be lead by a Jedi of some sort, and they'd storm the place to rescue anyone trapped inside. A textbook mercy mission. If Dooku's involved, they'll send someone good to handle the job," Anakin said, running over the details. "Besides, while I want to be there any chance I can get to keep her out of harm's way, it's limited from here. And then there's you I have to think about."
"Me?" Ahsoka questioned. She was curious and flattered at the same time.
"Well, it's a bad idea to risk exposing, well not just you, but rather all of us to the possibility of being tracked. No one knows we're here yet, and there's no need to rush the process. So in this situation, I'll stuff down the urge to hop the Eclipse to Scipio," Anakin said.
"You're putting that much faith in the Jedi?" Ahsoka questioned with a raised brow. Here Anakin looked at her with furrowed brows.
"Are you trying to talk me out of this? Because I'm barely keeping myself in check as it is," he told her. "I would at least like to think Jedi would be able to handle a basic mercy mission. Even if Dooku is involved."
"No, I'm not trying to talk you out of it. I'm just wondering if this is really want you want. Regardless of how crazy the mission is, you know I'd help you," Ahsoka said.
"I know that, and I appreciate that you share in my craziness, but that's not the problem. I can't protect Padme like I used to now that I'm not in the Jedi. Being wanted by both the Separatists and the Republic does not help matters. So I can't be there to protect her all the time. Not without raising eyebrows and causing trouble that could've been avoided if I actually thought about the situation," Anakin explained. "So as much as I'd rather hop on the Eclipse and slice down a bunch of battle droids and get her out of that mess, I'll stay."
Ahsoka eyed Anakin seriously as she stood in front of him. She knew him. The decision he was making definitely had some thought put into it, but she could tell that it was killing him not acting on his instinct. And his instinct was to go rescue his wife himself. She couldn't blame him, but here he was. Somehow able to restrain himself and leave it in the hands of the Republic and Jedi he turned his back on.
"When did you start thinking about stuff?" Ahsoka said with a small smile to try and break the tension.
"I always think about stuff. But I think it was time to start thinking about the facts. I'll be putting more people at risk going instead of staying," Anakin said, his tone rather steady despite the situation. "Besides, it's not just what I think. It's what I feel."
"What do you feel?" Ahsoka asked.
"I sense no danger around her. I feel... only pain. Pain that is to come. When, I cannot say. It is not clear, but I know it isn't deadly," Anakin said. These were the moments where Anakin looked like Yoda in terms of knowing when he was talking about. There was a type of serenity; a type of wisdom in his words.
A/N: Good God, my brain is fried trying to finish off this chapter. I saw the adjustment of the situation changing this episode in several different ways, and I'm trying to decide on the best course of action. The whole point of Clovis in this whole scheme originally was that Dooku would easily be able to frame Clovis for the whole thing so that Palpatine would have control over the banks. But he's not cooperating as much as he did in the original timeline. Like I said, a little detail could change a lot of things. Including a kind of relationship with Padme. At least I would think so.
The main problem is deciding what to do with Clovis. I can't decide whether or not to work out a way to kill him or leave him alive. It's unlikely if he didn't serve his initial purpose, Dooku might kill him. But then again, he might still find a way to make the framing work. It's a lot to think about at the moment.
And as for Anakin, you can see I'm pushing a more developed Anakin here. He isn't quite making decisions that were on par with his Episode 3 decision making. No, there's more control in this thoughts and actions. He controls them rather than them controlling him, and he's able to act more accordingly because of it. His deepness with the Force on these situation also help to ground the decision making as well.
This is how I believe Yoda does things. Not only by being a wise Jedi Master, but he's truly attuned with the Force. Controls his actions in serenity and logical thinking. Anakin in general usually doesn't have this sort of thinking. But experiences change a person, and Anakin's new more balanced perception of the Force would help with this. It doesn't hurt that he's got Ahsoka to ground him as well. For me, this shapes him into more of a "Chosen One" type of figure of bringing balance to the Force rather than just falling prey to the Dark Side and then throwing a guy into a hole decades later. Even if that guy was the Emperor.
In my opinion, Anakin's potential was wasted with both the Jedi and the Sith. Neither understood what Anakin could have been, should have been if they had him embrace both sides of the Force rather than one side. He had potential to be the great Force user of them all. His power using both sides of the Force brought two beings of the Force to their knees. Literally no one else would've been able to do that. I would've loved to see a story line where he went his own way and learned that himself. Then again, why else would I be writing this?
Enough of the side ranting. Next chapter coming whenever.
