Where "Things Change"
"Master!"
Obi-Wan watched as a certain young Togrutan Padawan, her skin a bright orange in the noon sun, come running off the approaching shuttle and up to the three men who had just escaped disaster intact. Her concern quickly turned to relief and then she put on a much more brash face; like her master was wont to do.
"Master!" Ahsoka said, this time in more trite tones, "Why is it whenever you go flying you end up crashing?"
Anakin took the time to look affronted. "How can you say that, Snips?" he demanded, huffing in indignation. "This," he added, jerking a thumb to the smoking heap of slag that was once the Invisible Hand, "This is a masterpiece! They'll have to rewrite textbooks for this! Name me one other person who could land a Separatist star destroyer - half a Separatist star destroyer, through a war zone and come out with not only minimal property damage but also with all passengers intact?"
"Master Obi-Wan," Ahsoka said without missing a beat. "And Master Plo."
Anakin openly grinned. "Then you still have much to learn my very young Padawan."
Obi-Wan shrugged slightly, enjoying watching Master-Padawan banter and unwilling to interrupt it. Instead he turned his gaze over to Mace Windu as he approached - the Council member having the patience to wait until the shuttle landed and come to a stop before striding up to assess the three. The bald Jedi said, "I can safely assume then that the mission was a success?" looking at Palpatine with a narrow gaze. His delivery was so deadpan others might not have seen the dry wit, but Obi-Wan was his own master in being dry, and he smiled slightly.
"Oh, yes," he replied, "As successful as anything can be expected when Anakin is on a mission."
Mace did not reply immediately, staring at the three of them: Anakin, verbally sparing with Ahsoka; Obi-Wan, calmly waiting; and Palpatine, who came up and shook Mace's hand vigorously, already offering political platitudes.
"I cannot thank you Jedi enough," he said. "Young Anakin saved my life! The level of heroism I've witnessed will not go unrewarded; let me assure you. After this Dooku will think twice before going on the offensive like this - I can't wait to tell the Senate about what happened to him!" Mace ripped his gaze away from the Chancellor quickly enough to send a piercing gaze to Obi-Wan, and he nodded, understanding the he needed a report immediately. The ginger haired Jedi started to step forward, Anakin and Ahsoka following and they all boarded the transport.
Anakin, given that he was conscious through some of the important parts, gave the majority of the report. Obi-Wan sent a quick thought through the bond to keep quiet about the Force Empathy he had with Dooku until after Palpatine had been taken care of. That little tidbit was revealing, but of what neither were completely sure. Obi-Wan took over - or tried to - when they confronted Grievous, but Palpatine kept interrupting, inserting some particular act that Anakin did that the Supreme Chancellor somehow found heroic or worthy of note. All the Jedi on the transport, even inexperienced Ahsoka, were annoyed at the constant interruptions from someone without enough combat knowledge to understand what was essential and what was not, but none of them showed it. Anakin gave more than a few reassurances throughout the bond, saying Palpatine was stressed out and unaware of what he was doing - even if, he added smugly, the old man was perfectly correct.
Both Obi-Wan and Ahsoka rolled their eyes.
When the shuttle landed on one of the pads at the Senate building, Palpatine was more than happy to step off the transport and address the senate - a speech already formulating in his mutterings. He paused after taking several steps, however, and turned around.
"Anakin, do come along," he said, "The Republic needs to see the hero of the hour." He gestured to the swell of Senators and delegates who'd come to greet them.
And the press.
Anakin visibly squirmed.
Oh, he loved the attention, he loved the adoration of people seeing him as a great man and hero, complimenting him and, on a deeper level that precious few people knew about, reaffirming to himself that Anakin Skywalker was no longer a worthless slave to be ignored and spat upon. What he didn't like, what he never liked, were the random and often irrelevant questions about his personal life or his likes in entertainment or decoration. There was a falseness in their adoration of him that he could never quite bring himself to like, but also never quite bother him enough to ignore.
The hero of the hour turned pleadingly to his former master.
"Oh, no," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head and holding up a hand to forestall the question. "Enjoy your public, Mr. Hero with No Fear."
He actually winced, and it was worth using the dreaded nickname. "But it was your plan, Obi-Wan," he said, slightly desperate. "You came up with the idea, you carried it out, you should get at least as much attention as me."
"Oh, certainly," Obi-Wan said in glib tones - more than enjoying seeing Anakin's own irritation at seeing his blithe attitude thrown back at him. "The public wants to know all about the man who was knocked aside like a sack of meat and being carried around by the hero for half the assault."
Anakin frowned, and through the bond Obi-Wan felt the other man's emotions. "You shouldn't think so little of yourself, Master," he said.
"And you shouldn't think so highly of yourself," he countered easily. He sent warm reassurance through the bond, acknowledging how he must have sounded to Anakin and letting him know that it was all meant in jest. "Go enjoy your public. I know how you love," he put on a delicate cough, "politicians."
Ahsoka, little imp that she was, added her own thoughts on the matter. "Do you want me to keep them at bay from you, Master?" she asked in her own sardonic voice.
Anakin started to pout righteously, but Palpatine was upon them again, grabbing the Knight's elbow and tugging him along. The press and other delegates soon swallowed them up. The Padawan moved to join them, but Obi-Wan quickly held her back; she still had a report to give on her part of the battle out in the atmosphere, and the Jedi Master felt the swell of excitement through the bond as Anakin discovered that Padme was there.
Understanding at least the part about giving the report, Ahsoka opened her mouth to start for Mace but he silenced her with a stern look, his eyes quickly locking on to Obi-Wan. Dread immediately filled the Jedi. "What is it?" he asked in a tense voice. Ahsoka leaned forward. Mace gave her a pointed look but returned his focus to his fellow Council member.
"You have been gone for five months, Obi-Wan," Mace said in dark tones. "A lot has changed here on Coruscant."
Obi-Wan nodded, remembering all too well the Council meeting they were having before Anakin had kidnapped him for dinner at Padme's, before they learned of Palpatine's kidnapping.
Nothing more was said, however, as Mace glared at Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan was left with the dreadful sensation that the need to speak was dire. He remembered all too well the glances and Yoda and Mace shared when they were holding council, briefing Obi-Wan on what had been happening in the core.
Anakin had of course heard Obi-Wan's disquiet and was poking at the bond. Obi-Wan didn't want to split his attention, and so he mentally turned off the filters that he and Anakin had developed for their unnaturally deep bond. Anything he heard or thought would go directly to Anakin. Almost as soon as he did he felt an overwhelming sense of CHILD followed immediately by SHOCK and EXCITEMENT. The Jedi Master quickly covered his face with his hand, feigning rubbing it to forestall a headache. Did those two have any sense of timing? First the marriage and now this...
I heard that, Master! Can't you be happy for me?
I will as soon as the shock and overwhelming concern for the both of you fade to obscurity.
Then he felt something that suspiciously might have been a sardonic grin. We're married, Master, it was bound to happen eventually.
"Not now, Anakin," Obi-Wan murmured.
"Do you have something to say, Master Kenboi?" Mace asked, a dark brow rising.
"No, Master Windu," Obi-Wan said quickly. Looking up, he saw the measuring gaze of the Korun Jedi and little Ahsoka pouting with teenage jealousy of something-cool-is-happening-that-I'm-not-privy-to. He quickly added, "Anakin was trying to share some trivial information."
It's NOT trivial!
Obi-Wan allowed himself the time necessary to be rude and sent back, SHUT UP, Anakin, so I can find out what has Mace Windu so concerned he wants to talk to me in private without Ahsoka.
He felt the trite discontent but heard no response, and focused his attention again on Mace. "I've raised my shields," he said smoothly, "he won't bother us again. Unless, of course, you want him privy to this?"
The very emphatic "No" that was his response made even Anakin, miles away with his wife, startle in surprise. Obi-Wan said nothing else; the rest of the ride to the Temple was tensely silent. Ahsoka knew she was out of her depth but wanted very badly to be a part; her pout almost rivaled that of her master, as she knew she would be left out. Her teenage feelings were not Obi-Wan's concern, however, it was Mace's admission that Anakin was not to know of this conversation.
Even after landing, after Ahsoka left to catch up with her teachers, they did not speak. Not until they came to a private mediation room - not the Council room, Obi-Wan noted - did Mace at last speak. "I do not like Skywalker's connection to Palpatine."
His bond filters still lowered, Obi-Wan watched Mace very carefully. "We've had this discussion before." He and the entire Council had had this discussion. None of them liked a man of such political clout having a Jedi's attention. A Jedi's service needed to be for the greater good, not for political gain, and having someone as powerful as Anakin so closely related to the head of the Republic made the Council nervous.
"This is not that," Mace said in his deep tones. "Something has changed, and it's eating at their connection. Powerful. Dangerous."
Obi-Wan shook his head, unsure of where Mace was leading this to and wanting to somehow reassure his fellow Councilor. "I trust Anakin with my life," he said.
"I know you do. I only wish we could trust the Chancellor with Anakin's."
A frown pressed against Obi-Wan's beard, and he could feel Anakin feeling the same miles away. "Palpatine dotes on Anakin like an uncle or a grandfather; he holds him in nothing but the highest regard, regardless of his... policies..." It was the best word he could think of, because when push came to shove, Obi-Wan did not like some of the decisions that Palpatine made even if Anakin found ways to defend it.
Mace shook his head, looking out over the city and its fires and trails of smoke from the recent battle. "If he holds affection for anything other than power, I have not seen it," he said in bleak tones.
Of course he wouldn't, only Anakin - and vicariously Obi-Wan because of their bond - were privy to those private meetings. Still frowning, the Jedi Master tried again. "I thought you were a strong supporter of Palpatine?" he ventured carefully. He could sense Anakin listening intently.
"Things... change."
And something in the way he said that had Obi-Wan standing a little straighter.
Mace continued: "We have circumstantial evidence that Sidious is in Palpatine's inner circle."
That he did not expect, and his entire face slacked in shock. The sensation was doubled as he felt Anakin's own reaction - the sensation of the world tilting, of nothing being the way it was supposed to... Obi-Wan shook it off, trying to ignore Anakin's feelings. "... Are you certain?"
"Nothing is certain," Mace replied, looking out the vista. "But today's raid is very damning. It had to have been an inside job, there is no other way the Chancellor could have been spirited away. Similarly, while that attack was happening, we were tracking the information you and Skywalker discovered. It traced to a factory, and then through the tunnels, and then to Five Hundred Republica."
The epicenter of the most wealthy and powerful of Coruscant, home even of Chancellor Palpatine. Anakin's reaction was threatening to overwhelm him, but he dared not filter the bond; this had as much to do with Anakin as the Sith, he needed to know this.
Mace continued. "We are forced to face the possibility - the probability - that what Dooku told you on Geonosis was true, and that a Sith Lord is in charge of the Republic. It has been for years." He let out a deep sigh. "There are too many suspects to even list, too many people who stand to gain from all of this. It could even be the Red Guards; nothing can be discounted. Worse, though he has not said it, Palpatine will not let us question anyone. I fear he doubts the Sith even exist. On record, all we have is the word of Count Dooku, who is still at large and cannot be questioned - and his word is dubious at best; even the Sith on Naboo was destroyed - as you well know," he added not unkindly as Obi-Wan flinched at the memory of the reactor core, the red blockades, the red lightsaber, the red tattoos, the red blood, already cauterized. Anakin sent reassurance through the bond.
"Relations with the Chancellor have been... difficult," Mace added, "I feel that he has lost trust in the Jedi." He turned at last to face Obi-Wan. "I at least have lost my trust in him."
Anakin was making strangling sounds in his mind, unable to fully process what he was hearing, and Obi-Wan too was filled with disbelief. "Surely..." he started, "It's a Jedi investigation... he can't have the authority to stop-"
But the bald Jedi's face hardened and he interrupted, "These days it is very hard indeed to see what he doesn't have power over." He took a deep breath. "The only reason he is above suspicion is simply because he is already in charge of the galaxy."
Obi-Wan was still struggling to find a way past the surrealism of the moment. "Isn't... Isn't it a good thing, then, that Anakin is so close to the Chancellor? He has access to him that other Jedi do not, surely his friendship will be an asset?"
"Skywalker cannot know of this."
WHAT?
Obi-Wan agreed: "What?" he asked; horrified at the thought. "We don't keep secrets from each other!"
"You must for this," Mace said in hard, calculated tones. "Skywalker is arguably the most powerful Jedi in the Order and is still growing. But he is not stable; he has no mastery over himself. You yourself have said over and over that he is loyal to a fault. Now imagine him learning that the Chancellor is in danger, that a Sith Lord is among his advisers. The less he has to do with Palpatine the better."
Obi-Wan knew all too well what Mace was saying, had experienced Anakin disobeying orders over and over to rescue someone - rescue him - and he could feel the roiling swell of emotions across that bond as Anakin was struggling to process what he was discovering. Anakin could do many things; often he redefined impossible as a matter of course, but one thing he could not do was keep a secret. Not about something like this. Even Anakin, in the corner of Obi-Wan's mind, knew it and struggled even with that. The Jedi Master thought he was going to overload.
But Mace had still more to say. "Given this knowledge; if Sidious is in the Chancellors inner circle, then there may come a time when we will be forced to move against Palpatine."
Obi-Wan couldn't even think of a response; he could only stare. He was numb, half convinced that this wasn't actually happening, that two Jedi Masters and Councilors would actually be having this conversation...
Mace saw his disbelief. "Obi-Wan, you haven't been here," he said. "Which is better? Freedom or security? We had freedom before this war started, but progress was slow and laborious: the price of civilization is complexity. For the sake of this war we have sacrificed right after right after right for the platitudes of security. You of all people, Obi-Wan, should be able to answer this: are we really all that secure?"
It made sense. It made so much sense it was scary, because they weren't secure. The Separatists were still out there battling viciously for Outer Rim planets, news of losses and death tolls permeated the HoloNet, fear was pervasive - even here in the core, here on Coruscant. The darkness, it was clouding everything. He felt like he did on the Invisible Hand, caught in a ray shield and seeing dark undercurrents everywhere and knowing, knowing, that it all connected somehow and that he just couldn't see it.
That was when they felt it.
Their eyes snapped back to the window, down the slope of the ziggurat to the Promenade, to the figure that was walking up it.
To Count Dooku, walking into the Jedi Temple.
One always must present a proper picture. Looking the part was always very important to Dooku, and so after securing an escape pod and landing on Coruscant, the first thing he'd done - after watching Skywalker do the impossible and land a bifurcated ship successfully without injury to anyone - was to see a tailor and take his very best clothes. Changing into them had been a challenge, even cauterized from the lightsaber, his amputated hands hurt unbelievably and forcing them into sleeves had been unconscionable. He took out his aggravation by using the Force to strangle the tailor, the whimpering simpleton was looking for an excuse to call Security, and Dooku would have none of that, so the Rhodian simply had to go.
He rolled up the sleeves with the Force, eying his new stumps, glaring at them really.
"Kill him."
The memory flooded him with anger. Treachery was the way of the Sith; he knew that, but for some reason he had never expected this. Dooku betraying and killing Palpatine was one thing, the apprentice was supposed to overthrow the master; but the very idea of the apprentice being... replaced... was abhorrent and downright uncivilized.
Worse, to be replaced with Skywalker. It goaded him to no end.
And so, he would follow the creed of the Sith: treachery. Only, he would do so in a way that Palpatine could never have guessed.
This thought filled him with mirth, and so he finished changing and made his way to the Temple. They weren't expecting him, but he had no doubt that there would be a welcome. By the time he finished strolling down the Processional Way, at the foot of the stairs stood his former master, Yoda, Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and possibly every Jedi in the Temple to bear witness to his arrival. The silence was ominous, but what Dooku found particularly impressive was the sense of anticipation, bordering right on the wire-fine edge of fear. The Jedi had fallen very far indeed if darkness pervaded this much, even at the Temple.
Yoda limped forward, leaning heavily on his gimmer stick as he always did.
"Master Yoda," he said in greeting.
"Count Dooku," Yoda replied, tapping his stick. "Hm. A surprise this is."
"I can certainly imagine," Dooku said, allowing himself to smile. "It is not every day that the political head of one of the Order's long list of enemies surrenders himself to them; and at their front door, no less." He felt the ripple through the crowd, and his smile only widened. "I assume the detention levels are still in working order - unless they are overflowing, of course, with the Jedi's many enemies?"
Mace Windu stepped forward. "If you are trying to inspire fear, it is not working."
Dooku shrugged, genially. "Perhaps not for you. Tell me, Mace, have you and the other Councilors fallen so far that you can't see the darkness in your own walls? It is a good thing I came, then; perhaps I can enlighten you."
Kenobi stepped forward next, his face thoughtful, his presence calm. "Have you passed your Trial of Flesh?" he asked slowly.
Dooku deliberately ignored him and looked to Yoda. "Are we to have this conversation here?"
Yoda's gaze was still measuring. They stared at each other for a very, very long time, until at last the pregnant pause ended. "Changed you have," the old master said, "In some ways. In others, hm, you have not changed."
A moment of self-reflection brought that to be true. He was not a Jedi - he hadn't been for years and by now did not even consider returning. But, if he looked deep down enough, he was not a Sith either. Betrayal did not sit well with one of his breeding; loyalty was a matter of course with one's compatriots. If betrayal did occur, the guilty party was no longer a compatriot, easily killed and the pain disposed of. With Sidious, however, this could not be done. His disguise of Palpatine was too instrumental to openly gut him without disastrous consequence to himself. The dreams of killing him at a meeting, the old fool's expression pole axed and gaping, was now impossible. And so, he would show Sidious treachery in a way no one would ever expect:
He would be loyal.
He would continue the role he started in this farce, quietly pondering his status in prison until the end of the war; whereupon now, instead of "miraculously converting," he would drop a hint or two here and there and test the Jedi, see if there was enough light left in them to discern what he would not, even obliquely, tell them. If it worked, Sidious would be dead and he could move on to other things. If it didn't work, well, there were many ways to occupy one's time in detention.
The key to being the Sith was to do what was unexpected; that had served Dooku well, but there were some things that one just did not do if one were a man of breeding and class. What Dooku found most delicious was that, in doing the honorable thing, he was doing the unexpected thing, and now Sidious would be dancing and gnashing his teeth wanting to learn what he was up to at the Temple - assuming the old man even knew he was here. Dooku suspected he did.
Treachery through loyalty.
How Sith.
How... Jedi.
He nodded to his old master. "Betrayal is a deep cut, and it changes everyone," he said.
It was the last words he uttered until he was in the detention center.
Author's Notes: And the sharp right turn continues: Ani actually knows about Mace and Yoda's suspicions (not that they know that he knows), relieving Obi-Wan of trying to keep that particular secret, and Dooku decides to spin off and do his own plans. He does like to create a stir, doesn't he?
We hope the idea of treachery through loyalty reads well, that people understand what we're trying to do so that Dooku's destiny is... well it's not easy but it's a little softer. He's being noble, in a way that he hasn't been since joining the Sith.
Hope you like!
Next week: Anakin gets appointed to the High Council. Damn Palpatine keeps trying to get his hooks in poor little Ani.