A/N: So I finished the new chapter!

Thanks to everyone who's commented since I posted last! I appreciate hearing your thoughts for sure!

Summary: Sidious and Grievous plan their next moves against each other.

"I see," Sidious said. "So what you are saying is-you cannot authorize Kenobi's release."

"That is correct," Trench said.

"Did Chancellor Grievous not place you in command in the event of his injury or death?"

"Yes, he placed me in charge of the fleet. Nevertheless, Admiral Ronderu has been placed in charge of a number of ch-ch-ch administrative matters. That includes the care of General Kenobi. You must therefore authorize the transfer with her."

"Understood," Sidious said, giving Trench a polite smile. "In that case, would you be so kind as to transfer me to her so I can make those arrangements?"

"Of course," Trench said. The screen went blank.

Sidious waited patiently. He had not heard of any 'Admiral Ronderu'. The name did sound somehow familiar, as if he'd heard it spoken offhand once or twice, but had not deigned it important enough to remember.

He was going to have to start paying more attention to those unimportant details. It seemed they became more relevant by the day.

The screen came to life and he saw a Kaleesh woman dressed in an Admiral's uniform. And that was when he remembered where he'd heard the name Ronderu. Dooku-of course.

"Chancellor Palpatine," she said, her expression guarded.

"Admiral Ronderu," Sidious said pleasantly. You should be dead, he thought, with no small amount of resentment. "I have contacted you to arrange the transfer of General Kenobi."

"Oh," she said. "Of course." She smiled politely. "We will return him shortly-after he has recovered."

Sidious seethed internally. No, I will not be able to arrange his little accident then. Externally, he only creased his brow in concern.

"Admiral Ronderu," Sidious said. "Chancellor Grievous and I agreed on an exchange of prisoners. General Kenobi was included in that agreement. Will you ensure the Chancellor honors his word?"

"Of course," Ronderu said.

"Good," Sidious replied. "In that case-"

"-which is why we will return General Kenobi after he recovers."

Sidious gave her a polite smile. "Admiral Ronderu," he said. "As I am sure you are aware, the diplomatic situation between the Republic and Separatists is quite strained at the moment."

"It is a misunderstanding!" She said, gesturing wildly.

Sidious folded his hands on his desk, his unflappable smile still in place. "You tried to kill me."

"We did not! It was-"

Sidious held up a hand. "Please, let us not rehash this argument. I have already spoken with Admiral Trench, whohas articulated the Separatist position regarding these , three clone troopers have expressed their disagreement with this position, and I am inclined to believe their word over yours. Still, as a gesture of good faith, you can return Kenobi. Immediately. Then, perhaps, we can further discuss the nature of this-misunderstanding?"

Ronderu frowned. "It would be a risk to move him at this time. The doctor says he is not to be moved."

"Surely it is possible to arrange such a transfer, with the appropriate safeguards employed?"

"Possible, yes."

Finally, Sidious thought. "Then you will give the order to have him moved?"

"No. It is not worth the risk. But we will return him soon, of that I guarantee. He should be fully recovered within a day or so."

Yes, that's the problem, Sidious thought. He gave her a concerned frown. "I am most disappointed with this delay, but I will hold you to your word. We will speak again when he is recovered."

"Yes, of course," Ronderu said.

The screen went blank. Sidious steepled his fingers. 'Admiral' Ronderu absolutely needed to die as soon as he could manage to arrange it. From what Dooku had told him, she was possibly the closest ally Grievous had ever had, and Sidious certainly saw no place for her in his plans. Something would need to be done about her.

But right now, he had a more pressing concern.

Kenobi.

This was going to be annoying. Still, he knew what he needed to do.

For now, Kenobi would simply become an enemy of the Republic. It was not nearly as satisfying as seeing the Jedi expire in person. He was angered by his failure to kill Kenobi. The wound would have been fatal, of course, if not for the Jedi's unexpected rescue.

That didn't make the failure any less embarrassing, however. There should only ever be one fate for a Jedi foolish enough to directly confront a Sith Master.

Still, he had already prepared this part of his plan in advance, and it needed only slight modification to adapt it to the current situation. He wondered idly, given the events that had transpired on Kalee, if he should have been more aggressive in taking advantage of this particular ability.

But of course he couldn't have anticipated that that would have been necessary. And it would have run too high a risk to employ the override in that capacity. No, the Separatists would have found one of their ships attacking its own to be too suspicious, and such an event might even provoke Republic sympathy for them. Sidious had made a good decision in forgoing its use in that capacity.

Kenobi might not die today, but he would meet his doom eventually, inexorably. Just as Koon would. Just like all the Jedi would.

Perhaps, he thought, when the time is right,young Anakin will cross paths with Kenobi again-as my Apprentice.

But first, Skywalker will give him a test that I will ensure he fails.

Alone in his office,the Sith Lord grinned.

Grievous, floating in his bacta tank, heard the sound of someone entering the medbay and opened his eyes to an unpleasant sight.

"Mr. Hill," he growled. "What do you want?!"

The slightly blurred image of Hill backed up a few paces and held up a hand. "I'm not here to ask anything of you, Grievous."

"Then why are you here? Where's Ronderu?"

Hill laughed. "On the bridge. Must be a lot work, being an Admiral."

"She wouldn't be happy to see you here." Grievous wondered how Hill had even gotten in the medbay. He was sure the banker didn't have authorization to enter by himself.

Hill smiled blandly. "No, she wouldn't. That's why I didn't ask."

"You still haven't told me why you're here." AyFourDee had given Grievous the ability to comm anyone in the Invisible Hand that he cared to, and if he didn't like the explanation the banker gave...

Hill sighed. "I just thought you might want some additional upgrades."

"No, I don't want anyone messing with my mind ever again," Grievous said, his eyes narrowing. He especially wouldn't trust San Hill with such a thing, of all people. The Muun had only ever willingly done one genuinely helpful thing for Grievous, and as he understood, that had been as much for Hill's own benefit as it had been to keep to his agreement. He prepared to try comming Ronderu.

Hill grimaced. "You misunderstand. These upgrades would not require changes to your brain implants. They are structural only, but they would provide you with much added protection from a variety of potential threats."

"Such as?" Grievous decided to hear him out instead of activating the comm line.

"Electrocution, submersion in water, someone trying to rip you open with their bare hands-"

"Someone could rip me open with their bare hands?! Why would my body be designed so badly that someone could do that?!"

"You'd have to ask Dooku," Hill said, shrugging. "Or perhaps Poggle. I suppose we may never know. I noticed the design flaw when I reviewed the schematic for your chassis recently. It would require that you allow someone enough time to pull apart the duranium folds of your chest cavity, but yes, a human soldier could conceivably accomplish that."

Grievous felt as if he'd been betrayed by Dooku again, from beyond death. "That's like some sort of hologame boss weakness," he growled.

"Indeed," Hill said.

"Were there any other weaknesses like that?"

"No other design weaknesses, no," Hill said. "Though I was also thinking of using a stronger alloy to fortify your chassis."

"What kind of alloy?"

"Have you ever heard of cortosis?" Hill asked.

"No," Grievous said.

"A remarkable, and rare, material. My late uncle mentioned it to me a few times. The molecular structure is truly a fascinating-"

"What does it do?" Grievous cut in. He didn't have the patience to deal with one of Hill's tangents on scientific theory and esoteric mathematics. He just wanted to know how this cortosis would be useful.

Hill sighed and rolled his eyes. "It deflects blaster bolts and is lightsaber resistant."

"That sounds-amazing really," Grievous said. "Why aren't more things made with this cortosis?"

"As I said, it's rare. Also, the Jedi control most remaining caches. I do, however, happen to know the location of an unclaimed cache on Bal'demnic which it seems I-forgot to report to the Jedi." Hill smiled blandly.

Grievous looked over at Obi-Wan's bacta tube. He appeared to be sleeping, but if he had heard, would he feel obliged to report the information to the other Jedi?

Hill seemed to guess his thoughts. "Ah, I turned on the soundproofing for Kenobi's tube. Wouldn't want to disturb his healing meditation with all my chattering, after all."

"Oh," Grievous said. He knew Kenobi would be well soon enough. When that happened, he would want to have a conversation with the Jedi, but of course Kenobi would then be allowed to return to the Republic. Grievous would miss him.

But Kenobi had promised to expose the deception of the Huk. He would also be the best suited to clear up the issue Ronderu had mentioned about the Republic claiming that the Sith had been a droid. Sidious must have been involved in that deception, somehow. Perhaps Kenobi would be able to expose that lie.

A tapping sound brought him out of his reverie. "Yes?" Grievous said.

"Oh, good," Hill replied. "I was worried you might have been taking another trip down memory lane."

"No, I was just thinking," Grievous said, annoyed by the interruption.

"Perhaps you can give me an answer about the upgrades?" Hill asked. "Only you can give the approval, after all."

"Let us confirm the details, and then I will give it," Grievous said. "EV-A4D will make the changes and I will monitor them as they are added. What will the new chassis look like?" he felt some apprehension about that seemingly minor detail. As much as he missed his organic body, he'd come to identify with his cyborg body and see it as himself, especially considering the stylistic changes he'd made to it.

"I designed the alterations to be internal, and as minimally detectable from the external view as possible," Hill said. "With the idea that it might be useful if your opponents do not realize you have been given additional enhancements."

"Oh," Grievous said. "Good. I find those details agreeable."

"I will collect the necessary materials, then." Hill was silent for a moment. "If there is anything else you require, Grievous, do not hesitate to ask. You are our best hope for finding and destroying Sidious."

A thought surfaced in Grievous's mind then.

"I recognized his face," he said. "Just for a moment-I saw who he really was."

Hill's eyes widened at that. "You mean Sidious?! You recognized Sidious?!"

"Yes, but-," Grievous began, "when he concealed himself again, I lost that knowledge. I don't remember who I saw."

"That's too bad," Hill said, clearly disappointed. "Guess we're right back where we started, then. Hundreds of trillions of possibilities-"

"No," Grievous said. "I recognized him. It wasn't simply that his features resolved, and I could see them clearly. I recognized who he was. And that can mean only one thing."

Hill's eyes widened in interest. "Please, do tell."

"He's someone I've encountered before. He's someone I know," Grievous said.