A/N: Here it is-the newest chapter! Time for a bit of action! Oh, and a brief Grievous POV scene as well.

Also, to the guest commenter on ffnet: indeed, it has been a long time since the rest of the Separatist council has been mentioned. And while your theories are most amusing, I have some rather different ideas of their respective situations. This chapter will start to address that question, in fact. And I will eventually go into what's going on with all of the rest, too.

"We're glad to see you survived the attack," Sidious said to the clones, standing next to Anakin and Tarkin in the medbay. The latter had quietly boarded a shuttle on Kalee before the signing. Sidious had briefly introduced the two a couple hours earlier. Anakin had been polite to Tarkin, but terse. His mind was clearly elsewhere.

The three clones sat up on their cots and made to stand before Anakin intervened.

"Hey, you've had a rough day. Just take it easy," Skywalker said.

"I agree," Sidious said, giving them a serious look. "Though I hope you won't mind if we ask a few questions about what happened. I can't imagine what it must have been like, to fight that Sith Lord." His gaze settled on Cody.

The three clones looked between each other, frowning. Cody looked back over at Sidious.

"There was no Sith Lord, sir," he said. The other clones chimed in to agree with the assertion.

Tarkin tilted his head, though his expression remained unchanged. Anakin, however, was clearly surprised.

How shocking, Sidious thought. He widened his eyes. "What do you mean by this, Commander?!"

"After we caught up with General Kenobi and Grievous, a few laser blasts took out the 'Sith Lord', who was actually just a holographically disguised droid."

"A droid?" Anakin said, "But-that can't be!" he turned to Sidious. "Chancellor, how could a droid have done what it did to you?"

"Miniaturized magnetic tractor beam," Tarkin cut in.

"But I felt-" Anakin began.

"Anakin, please let him finish," Sidious said. "I confess I am having difficulty understanding how this could be as well, but let's hear what Captain Tarkin has to say."

Tarkin nodded and continued. "Such devices are far too expensive and impractical for general use, but in the circumstances, perfect for imitating Force application."

He gestured towards Sidious. "Our Chancellor wears computerized clothing to track his health and location, as well as perform a number of other useful tasks. The disadvantage is, it's entirely made of a special metallic fabric that makes him unusually vulnerable to such attacks."

"Yes, it was all a setup by Grievous," Cody said. "He attacked us as soon as we destroyed the droid."

"Grievous?" Anakin said. "But then that means-Obi-Wan's in danger!"

"Yes, they took him," Cody said quietly. "I can't forget the look on his face. The betrayal in his eyes. Grievous had us all fooled, but something in General Kenobi just seemed to break in that moment. He destroyed most of the droids as soon as he realized what had happened-but Grievous mortally wounded and captured him in the end."

Anakin looked over at Sidious. "Chancellor, I've got to get him back! I can sneak on board the Invisible Hand and-"

"Anakin, please!" Sidious said, his expression dismayed. "Don't leave. If they took General Kenobi prisoner it means they plan to use him as leverage. Which means we will have our chance to get him back."

"But-" Anakin said, his expression stricken.

"Please, I need you here," Sidious said, his eyes wide. "They've already attacked me once!"

Sidious could sense the conflict in Anakin, then. It was something that always intrigued Sidious, that other people were so important to his prospective apprentice. Some of them, anyway. He found it utterly ridiculous, but he also knew that most people were like this-ultimately they concerned themselves with such trivialities as the happiness and well-being of others, even to the detriment of their own enrichment. And it seemed the 'Chosen One' was no different in this matter.

Sidious, of course, had taken an interest in Anakin's happiness, but that had been explicitly for the purpose of his own future benefit. And, it seemed he had succeeded in placing himself quite high in Anakin's regard.

Passively, through his connection to the Force, Sidious could sense Anakin's decision even before he put it into words.

"You're right, Chancellor," Anakin said, his shoulders slumping. "I'll stay. But Obi-Wan-"

"I will negotiate with the CIS regarding General Kenobi," Sidious said. "I must contact the Separatist fleet immediately. I assure you, getting him back to us shall be my highest priority." He placed a hand briefly on Anakin's shoulder and turned to leave.

Kenobi should have died on Kalee. But no matter-he would correct this.

After all, sometimes accidents are-inevitable, Sidious thought, a small smile quirking briefly at the corners of his lips as he walked through the doors with Anakin trailing behind him.

"You said you wanted to discuss this with me privately?" Sidious asked Anakin from across his desk.

Anakin tore his worried gaze from the viewport of the Chancellor's office aboard the Indomitable and looked over at Sidious. The Sith Lord had clasped his hands on his desk. He was dressed in an identical copy of the Chancellor's robes his impersonator had died in.

"Yes," Anakin said. "I believe what Cody told us. But I also know there was a Sith Lord on Kalee. I felt their presence."

Sidious raised an eyebrow. "Please, tell me everything." This, in fact, had been the real reason he had brought Anakin to this system in the first place.

There were some things that even his farsight refused to show-particularly as involved Anakin Skywalker. Sidious wasn't surprised by this. The way Anakin's mere existence bent the threads of the Force around him warped such interactions as divining his future. Sometimes Sidious would get glimpses, but nothing like the clear images he received in other cases.

Sometimes, with some careful querying of the Force, he could still divine the answers he required. But in this case, he had needed to perform the test directly. The test to see just how attuned Anakin was to the Force, how well he could sense the Sith Lord's presence.

"He was a well of dark power," Anakin said. "This might be difficult to describe to a non-Force user. But it was like-like feeling the Maw beneath you."

"Go on," Sidious said gently, intent on absorbing every word. He'd already questioned Plo Koon on whether he'd felt the Sith Lord's presence from orbit. The answer had been negative.

Then, of course, he'd sent Master Koon off to die on Kalee, which he had regrettably failed to do. Still, no Jedi would escape Sidious forever. One day, Koon would die. Just like all the rest of them.

"I sensed the pure malice he felt," Anakin said. "And-I sensed something else, too."

"Yes?" Sidious said.

"He seemed familiar-"

The Sith Lord's hackles stood on edge. Impossible! Had Anakin unmasked him?This was too early! Quietly, he readied his power...

"-and yet I couldn't place the Force signature." Anakin's brow creased in frustration.

Sidious relaxed. It had been a statement, not an accusation. Decades of careful planning had not been undone, and he would not be forced to flee-his identity had not been revealed. Still-how? He thought in silent amazement. Even partial recognition shouldn't have occurred-I always conceal my abilities in his presence! He can't have ever felt them.

Sidious carefully sifted through the unspoken feelings radiating from Anakin. He could sense no attempt at concealment or deception.

He couldn't recognize the signature of my Force power, Sidious thought. And yet it felt familiar to him. Is it possible my passive Force use is being picked up by him? If so, Anakin should have traced the source. And yet he hadn't.

Sidious was baffled. Still, he realized he could use this. Yes, this turn of events was even better for his purposes. "I apologize if this is a foolish question-you know I am not familiar with these sorts of things-but if this was a Sith Lord you'd encountered before, wouldn't you have known right away who he was?"

"I should!" Anakin said. "I never had any trouble identifying Dooku's presence. But even if he wasn't dead, there's no way I'd mistake this Force signature for his."

I should think not, Sidious thought derisively. Dooku's presence could never have compared to mine-he only ever skimmed the surface of the power the Dark Side offered him, afraid to draw himself into it completely. Hesitant fool. His expression carefully neutral, he tilted his head. "I-had another question, but I am unsure if we should waste time with my uneducated speculations."

Anakin shook his head. "No, please go on, sir. You don't have to have the Force to understand it, and it is especially important for you to understand these matters as best you can. I'm happy to answer any questions I'm able to."

"Do you think the reason the Force signature seemed familiar but otherwise unrecognizeable might be due to this person's mental state?"

"Mental state?"

"It's just, the only known Force user on the planet was your former Master, General Kenobi. What if the stress of Grievous's betrayal, or some other event, caused some sort of shift in him? What if it wasn't a Sith Lord at all, but General Kenobi who, in his anger and pain, called upon the Dark Side of the Force?"

Anakin frowned. "I-I can't believe that of Obi-Wan. The Force signature I sensed was completely immersed in the Dark Side. He would never-"

"Then who else might this Darksider be, that they were familiar to you? And we also have the testimony of the clones that it was Kenobi who levelled most the droids singlehandedly. Might it have been his use of the Dark Side that allowed him to accomplish that? Unless-this is something he's done before?"

Anakin shook his head. He looked agonized, but Sidious could sense the idea taking hold in him. And all he'd had to do was suggest it. Sometimes, Sidious thought, the right words are more powerful than the Force itself. A familiar presence, a Force user Anakin knew but could no longer recognize once they'd accessed the Dark Side-

"No one," Anakin said woodenly. "I-I can't believe it."

Sidious gave him a concerned look. "This must be a great blow to you, to see someone so close to you abandon the precepts of your Order."

"Grievous must have done something to him. I have to go rescue him! I can reach him! I know it!"

Sidious internally sighed. "Allow me to talk with Admiral Trench. As I said, I will endeavor to get him to release your friend."

"Thank you, Chancellor."

"Think nothing of it."

Anakin inclined his head and took his leave.

Sadly, events will conspire that prevent you from having the happy reunion you are hoping for. And then Kenobi will be out of the way. Permanently.

Would Kenobi's death, especially given the circumstances Anakin had been convinced to believe had occurred, be enough to drive him over the edge? If so, it would be an immensely ironic bonus.

Everything had been going so well, Padme thought. And now it's all falling apart.

She and Ahsoka had attended the several Senate meetings that had been called to formalize the treaty agreement on the CIS side. They had been disguised, of course. Everything had been going smoothly, even after the sudden attack during the signing ceremony.

And then had come the testimony from the clones. She hadn't been able to believe what she'd been hearing. And neither had the CIS senate, apparently.

"We will not suffer these lies!" one Senator said loudly. "This is a deception wrought by Palpatine, no doubt."

Padme wanted to say it wasn't true. Palpatine would never ask the clones to lie about something like this. She disagreed with him on many things, but never had she seen the treachery that he was here being accused of.

But she knew she had no voice here.

Fortunately, Mina did.

"Fellow senators," Bonteri said. "I propose we withhold pointing fingers for now. If this-this Sith attacked the peace proceedings, perhaps he implanted these memories in the clones. Fortunately, we have news that the Jedi who aided Grievous survived and will soon be able to speak to what happened there as well. I believe he will back up what Admiral Trench has reported to us, which is that a Sith Lord attacked the peace proceedings, and that there was no treachery by Grievous or any other CIS representative."

"I agree with Senator Bonteri," another voice called out. Padme saw that it was San Hill, standing in front of a podium in hologram form. "We should allow this misconception to work itself out. Once the Jedi regains consciousness, I am confident he will back up our assertions, and we can end this war."

Padme narrowed her eyes at him. San Hill was far from her favorite person. Especially given the time he'd nearly led her to death or capture by Grievous. The cyborg General had not seemed at all angry or murderous in their last conversation, but back then...she shuddered, remembering how he had tracked her through his ship like a predator hunting prey.

Still, at least it seemed the Chairman wasn't interested in starting a conflict this time. She felt a certain satisfaction in seeing him in his current state-he looked tired, like he hadn't been sleeping well. Though she wondered what he could possibly be concerned about-from her understanding, the Chairman had little to worry over, regardless of the outcome of this war. He'd been granted an enormous amount of diplomatic immunity by the Republic, despite his obvious dealings with the Separatists.

Bonteri looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. "I am glad we are in agreement this once, Senator Hill."

"As am I," Hill said, his hologram flickering slightly.

Another voice spoke up. "I am concerned about this Sith Lord," Wat Tambor said. Unlike the Chairman, he stood in the Senate chamber in person. "He must be found and destroyed immediately. I propose-"

"And who is going to destroy him?" a new voice bit out. Padme turned to look over at the new speaker, a hologram of a Gossam. Padme recognized this one, too- Shu Mai, another prominent Separatist.

"He may still be in the Kalee system-," Tambor said. "We should instruct Admiral Trench to-"

The Gossam's hologram erupted into derisive laughter. "Admiral Trench? Admiral Trench?! Are we assuming that he will be better equipped to fight this Sith Lord than Grievous was? Are we expecting he can defeat someone who downed Grievous and a Jedi Master?"

"That was different," Tambor protested. "They were maneuvered into a direct confrontation. I am proposing that Trench locate the ship the Sith is using and attack that vessel from his flagship-"

"That's a terrible idea," Shu Mai said. "If he was that easy to track down, someone would have noticed when he entered the system-"

"Please," Chairman Hill said, "Let's not squabble over this matter. Senator Tambor," he said, grimacing, "has a point. We should at least perform a cursory scan of the system for any unidentified vessels. I believe Senator Mai makes a good point as well, however. It is unlikely that this Sith Lord will be so careless as to leave us such a trail." he looked over at her. "I presume you wish to propose a course of action to ameliorate this?"

"Yes," the hologram of Shu Mai said. "This Sith succeeded by setting a trap for us which we walked right into. I propose we return the favor. I propose we set a trap for the Sith."

"If I may ask, Senator Mai," Mina Bonteri said, "have you formulated any plan that might accomplish this?"

Shu Mai frowned, her hologram looking around at the assembled Senators. "Yes. But this Senate chamber is not sufficiently secure to discuss the details of such a plan."

The building became a cacaphony of voices at that pronouncement.

Padme felt a prickling in the back of her mind, then, an almost precognizant feeling of dread.

In that moment blaster bolts rang out from behind her, directly towards Bonteri-

-and were absorbed by a blast shield activated around the podium.

There were screams, then, and even some of the holograms reflexively ducked.

And Admiral Tonith shot a blaster bolt right at her.

Or rather, just a hair to her left. There was a crackling sound and someone behind her cursed.

Tonith pointed. "Up there, in the back! It's Cad Bane!"

Padme stood and turned around, whipping her own blaster out and firing at the bounty hunter, who hovered above her on repulsor jets. His image rippled, parts of him seeming to disappear before his entire body suddenly came into focus. A miniature cloaking device-it must have been damaged by Tonith's blaster fire. The blue man grinned, his red eyes narrowing.

"Looks like my cover's blown," he said. Bane pulled out a second gun and began to propel himself around the chamber on his repulsor jets, continuing to shoot laser blasts but aiming them now at the other senators.

Ahsoka leapt down in front of the senators, deflecting the bolts with her twin green sabers.

"Wasn't expecting to see you here, Jedi," Bane said.

"Life's full of surprises," Ahsoka responded, blocking another volley of bolts from him.

Padme shot at Bane again with her blaster, and she could see other bolts being fired at the bounty hunter, presumably by Tonith or the Separatist security forces.

Bane dodged all the bolts and shot the blaster out of Padme's hand. Then, he shot several more bolts at the senators and simultaneously aimed the other weapon at Bonteri, firing both repeatedly.

Padme realized belatedly that that second weapon was firing darts-which wouldn't be deflected by the blast shield.

Tonith had leapt in front of Bonteri, who stood frozen in shock. Darts peppered the front of his blue uniform. He looked down at them, seeming surprised, then collapsed to the ground.

A group of BX droids and droidekas were closing in on the bounty hunter.

"Time to make an exit," Bane drawled. He took out a thermal detonator and threw it towards a wall.

More screams, and senators ran away from the beeping weapon.

Padme ducked and heard and felt the explosion. When she looked up, she could see Bane zooming off into the distance on his repulsorjets.

And now she was surrounded by droids pointing their weapons at her.

Ahsoka switched off her sabers and clipped them back under her cloak.

Unfortunately, the damage had already been done. She held up her hands, surrounded by battle droids. Padme was currently in the same situation over where she stood about twenty feet from the gaping hole in the wall of the Senate chamber.

"A Jedi?" One of the senators snarled. "What is the meaning of this infiltration?"

"I wasn't-" Ahsoka began.

"Silence, spy," another senator hissed.

"Let's not be too hasty," Wat Tambor said. "After all, she did just save our lives."

Ahsoka frowned. Wat Tambor was on the ten most wanted list and was considered by Republic intelligence to be one of the cruellest of the Separatist leaders. She had to wonder if she'd actually done the right thing. She said nothing, though. She didn't want to get herself and Padme, especially Padme, into even more trouble.

If she had met Tambor in less precarious circumstances, she would have given voice to the harsh retort she even now held back with great difficulty.

And then she would have carted him off to a Republic prison.

But she was outnumbered and surrounded here, and needed to ensure her actions didn't endanger Padme.

Tambor turned to look at Ahsoka. Through the breathing mask he wore, it was difficult to ascertain his expression. "What is your name, Jedi?"

"Ahsoka Tano," she said.

"You have my thanks, Jedi Tano," he said. "If you would follow me?" he gestured towards where Bonteri stood over Tonith. "I would have words with you, but first we should see what's happened with the Admiral."

Ahsoka walked to the side of Tambor until they reached Tonith and Bonteri.

Hill's hologram also stood over the fallen Admiral.

Ahsoka frowned, unsure what to say. Tonith hadn't been the relentlessly malicious being she'd assumed him to be, but still, she hadn't known him well. Bonteri, who stood over him, seemed considerably more upset.

"Oh, he's dead," Chairman Hill's hologram said abruptly. "That's, um, too bad I guess." He grimaced down at the fallen Admiral, looking more grossed- out than saddened.

Bonteri gave him a sharp look before turning back to Tonith, and Ahsoka frowned at Hill, her eyes narrowing. The Muun man didn't sound even remotely upset. "Shouldn't this bother you more?"

He blinked at her. "Shouldn't this bother you less?" he shot back. "You're not even on our side."

Bonteri bent down over the Admiral's fallen form, still looking at him sadly. Then her eyes widened. "He's still breathing!" She began pulling out darts, careful not to touch the tips. "Could someone analyze what's on these?"

Ahsoka took a dart and scanned it with a small datapad. "Alderranian boa venom. Extremely deadly."

Bonteri grimaced.

Hill's hologram frowned. "Actually, it's not."

"What?" Ahsoka said.

"That's only poisonous to humans and near-humans," Hill explained.

Ahsoka frowned. "I thought Muuns were near-humans."

"Muuns share no common ancestors with humans," Hill said, looking briefly offended. "With us, that venom only acts as a mild sedative." he gazed down at the darts littering the front of Tonith's uniform. "Of course, getting that much of it at once-might knock someone out for a bit."

As if to prove Hill's assertion, Tonith opened his eyes in that moment, his expression bewildered. "Wh-what happened? Bonteri-you-you're alright?"

"Yes," Senator Bonteri said, smiling widely. "Welcome back, Admiral."

Grievous heard a rapping sound. Roused from unconsciousness, he felt himself floating in the viscous bacta fluid he loathed. Opening his eyes, he saw a red hand pressed against the tank.

Ronderu.

Her slightly distorted form was visible outside the tank. Grievous could see she was wearing a blue CIS uniform. Which meant she had implemented the plan they had talked about earlier, for her to take over command of the Invisible Hand should he be killed or mortally wounded. He had taken a few admittedly questionable actions to add her as an official admiral of the CIS without going through any of the typical procedure, but it was nothing overtly disallowed, and he had correctly anticipated a need for this. She was the only one he trusted to take control of the Invisible Hand in this situation.

"Welcome back," she said.

"I don't feel back," Grievous said. "I feel dead." What little organic body he had ached, even under the pain-numbing effects of the bacta. Whatever the Sith's Force Lighning had done, it had left deep wounds. A thought suddenly occured to Grievous. "Where's Kenobi?"

Ronderu gestured to her left. Grievous turned and could see the vague outline of another bacta tube with a human form floating inside.

"He's in some sort of Jedi healing hibernation," Ronderu said. "AyFourDee said he'll be fully recovered soon, though."

"That's good," Grievous said. "I was worried-he wouldn't make it." He'd been having nightmares about it, in fact. Sometimes ones where Kenobi was killed by Sidious, but sometimes ones where he was killed by Grievous himself. Admittedly, he'd tried to kill the Jedi not that long ago, and that had been fully him, not Dooku's implants. He felt a stab of guilt at that. He still believed Kenobi had a lot to answer for, but he no longer wanted him dead.

Grievous looked around. "What's happened since I've been out?"

Ronderu grimaced at the question. "I know you will find it upsetting, but since I also know you will only imagine worse if I don't tell you...the Republic rescinded the truce, claiming the Sith Lord was a disguised droid."

Grievous sighed. "Sidious planned for this truce to fail regardless of what happened. You'll tell me the details later?"

"Of course," Ronderu said.

"I will try to suggest a course of action," Grievous said. "I have great confidence in you...but once I've been updated, I will impart...another excessively ill-advised plan."

He could just make out Ronderu's lips quirking up in a wry smile. "That's good, because all we have right now is my horrendous one."

Grievous laughed. "I would ask you to explain it all now, but I find myself tired again." Even the simple thought required to formulate responses and operate his vocabulator, which he noted that AyFourDee had thankfully left connected, was taking its toll on Grievous.

"Then rest, Dreamer," Ronderu said. "We will speak again soon."

Grievous closed his eyes then, and slept. And dreamt of hope.