The Supreme Chancellor parked at a small spaceport not far from Theed. Leaving the speeder in the parking bay, and telling Buffy and Obi-Wan to follow him, the hooded Sith strode off in the direction of the main terminal. Around them, the few service personnel working in the area looked over briefly but didn't disturb their privacy. Nor did any of the service droids look up from their work, basic programming keeping them busy at their assigned tasks.

As soon as they entered the port terminal, the Supreme Chancellor headed down a wide corridor towards the main turbolift junction, explaining their destination was one of the lower bays. They'd just reached the elevator intersection when a uniformed woman came hurrying towards them. She called out in a loud voice the Supreme Chancellor's name. Buffy and Obi-Wan purposely hung back, allowing the distance between themselves and Palpatine to grow.

"I won't be long," the Supreme Chancellor called over, before turning a simpering smile onto the spaceport official.

Buffy scanned the area. Apart from them, there was no one else was about. Only a basic lifting droid, slowly filling a cargo-lift with crates, worked at the far end of the room. The official talking to Palpatine had a booming voice like a sergeant major. She was complaining bitterly about the staff shortages and saying they didn't have enough droids to deal with the amount of cargo traffic since the end of the war.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked Obi-Wan, knowing the woman's voice would cover their conversation. When the Jedi had met them in the hall something had been worrying him. "You've got the frowny-face. Is it the investigators? Have you more info on the vamps?"

Out of long habit, Obi-Wan folded his arms into his long robe sleeves. He looked over to where the Supreme Chancellor stood placidly explaining about limited resources and financial burdens to the uniformed official.

The Jedi gave the briefest of nods. "Mmm, it is something we need to worry about." He kept his voice very low, speaking almost under his breath, knowing Buffy would be able to hear him. "The team sent by the High Council visited Jar Jar's secret apartment before coming to meet me. The room we found has been cleared." Obi-Wan's mouth turned down and Buffy felt a wave of distress from him which was quickly smothered. "It was completely empty when they walked in there. No skeletons, no star maps, no bone dust, all gone. Even the magic circle had been wiped from the floor."

Buffy was silent for a moment. "Color me stunned."

"My sentiments entirely," replied Obi-Wan glumly.

"Had they cleaned the rest of the apartment too?"

Obi-Wan frowned. He unfolded his arms and began rubbing at his chin. Wondering how that question was relevant. "No, just the ritual room."

"Ah, so it's not a case of cleaning fairies at work then."

Despite her flippancy, Obi-Wan knew Buffy was as uncomfortable at the news as he'd been. Their bond vibrated with worry. Buffy continued looking at him expectantly, she knew he'd more to tell.

Obi-Wan went on, "Master It'ilin is in charge of the investigation. He has access to the holocrons in the Forbidden Archives. He told me there's hints of a lost Sith ritual that enables the conjurer to raise ghosts from bodily remains in order to prise secrets or power from them. There's also supposed to be an even darker ritual that involves taking the essence of a being, alive or dead, and transferring it to another."

"Essence transfer? I'm not liking the sound of that." Buffy's face blanched.

"The Sith have always been particularly nasty creatures," Obi-Wan curled his lip and gave Palpatine's back a dirty look.

Buffy shuddered. "That essence transfer thing happened to me and Faith. The Mayor gave her this device thing and we swapped bodies. I'm still not sure of everything she got up to while she was in mine. She just kept smirking when I asked her."

Obi-Wan blinked rapidly, remembering some of the things Buffy had told him about Faith. "That... must have been quite horrifying..." He pulled his thoughts back to the problem at hand. "Force willing, the vampires want the skeletons for something else entirely."

"I'm guessing it's not for Halloween decor," she muttered sourly. Across from her, Sid's conversation with the official was coming to an end. The official looked disappointed and the Sith wore a fake sympathetic smile.

"So," Buffy said raising her voice slightly. Although Sid had yet to move, Buffy knew he'd be listening to their conversation. "You don't like my driving. What's new? You're always complaining. It's time you gave up, as it's, like, totally boring me."

Picking up on the reason for the sharp subject change, Obi-Wan seamlessly joined her conversation. Twitching his robe in mock agitation, he replied, "This is not about belittling your abilities, Buffy. This is about you showing concern and thought for other drivers." He sighed loudly, in an over-dramatic manner. "One day, Buffy, you'll be the death of me with your antics."

To Buffy, it felt as if all the air had left her body. She knew via their bond Obi-Wan was joking. The comments they were making were only to throw Sid off their real conversation. There was absolutely no reason why his words should wrap themselves around her heart and tighten. She tried swallowing, but her throat was constricted with fear. It felt almost as if she was in a Force choke. She missed the look of confusion on her Jedi's face as her emotions flooded their bond.

Around her, the spaceport faded away. Instead, she was seventeen again and thrusting a sword through the chest of her first love – Angel. The vampire's face superimposed over Obi-Wan's. His eyes were closed, his face trusting, loving, and expecting her to do the right thing. Death was her gift. Her stomach twisted and she felt like throwing up.

~Buffy?~

Panic-stricken eyes met blue ones that were brimming with warmth and concern. It had been a throwaway comment. She knew that. But still... It came too close to her past, not to mention the Star Wars movies, for her liking.

"Please don't say that," she half-croaked. She shook her head vigorously as if to shake an image from her brain. "Take it back, Obi-Wan. Take it back, I'm not Darth Vader."

The Jedi frowned, confused by the strong waves of panic and grief flooding their bond. "What's wrong Buffy? What's Darth Vader got to do with it?"

"But you are Vader, Buffy," Palpatine's smarmy voice, right next to her ear, pointed out. He'd overheard the latter part of the conversation.

"I might be Vader, but I'm not Darth," Buffy replied, fighting to pull herself together fast. It wouldn't do to let the Sith see a weakness, she instinctively knew that. Folding her arms, she shot Palpatine a sharp death glare. This was all his fault. Trying to manipulate her into becoming his wife-apprentice. If it weren't for him, and his dark schemes, she wouldn't need to deny being Darth Vader nor would she have her Scoobies arguing over who got to keep the stupid helmet.
"I'm a Slayer," she said firmly. "It's very different from being a Sith."

Sid dropped his eyes, a sly smile on his lips. "If you say so, Buffy. I'll believe you"

"Hey!" she protested, "Still not Darth Vader!" She didn't like the sly smile on Palpatine's face, but at least he hadn't overheard them discussing missing skeletons and Sith rituals. Which had to be a good thing.

Unless... What if he was in league with the vampires? What if he'd been the one who'd ordered Jar Jar's room to be cleaned up? Was he was the one who'd searched Jar Jar's palace bedroom while she lay hid under the bed?

Thinking about the shoes the intruder had worn, Buffy looked at the Supreme Chancellor's expensive boots and then the hem of his cloak. It could easily have been him sneaking around in his costly but understated footwear that night. She knew when he was up to the Sithy stuff he gave out creepy vibes. Imagine if he'd caught her under the bed! There was no telling what he'd have tried to do to her in Jar Jar's bedroom. Being electrocuted wouldn't be the worst scenario.

She looked up and accidentally caught his eye. Palpatine raised his eyebrow and grinned. Knowing what he was thinking, Buffy stifled a groan. Things really had gone from bad to worse. He'd caught her looking him up and down and thought she was checking out his body again.

Charmed and encouraged by the blush blooming on her cheeks, Palpatine took her arm and guided her into the nearest turbolift. Buffy didn't resist. Despite the enclosed space, Obi-Wan's presence made her feel relatively safe from unwanted Sithy advances. Her proximity seemed to make the Sith Lord happy. Stroking her arm occasionally, he began to make small talk. Speaking of the loneliness of being the Supreme Chancellor, asking if she liked Naboo, how he thought it an ideal planet to raise a family and if she liked children. Buffy made appropriate noises every so often, but her brain wasn't on the conversation.

Did Sid wonder why his plans were going awry? Buffy and Andrew were doing their best to put a spoke into all Palpatine's long term plans. He was short of an apprentice. Anakin was too young, preferred her to Padmé, and had an experienced master mentoring him instead of a young knight. Dooku had met her and decided he'd rather be a Scooby than a Sith. The Count was even liaising with some of the members of the Trade Federation and had warned them indirectly that Palpatine was jerking Gunray's strings and fully intended to betray them all at the end.

What else was Sid planning? Was he working with Jar Jar and Darth Desolate? Had the Sith come up with a new scheme? Was it pure coincidence that a Force ghost manifested when the Supreme Chancellor was on board the Valiant? What about the Jedi vampires and the new kid on the block Sifo-Dyas? He'd gone from ordering clone armies to selecting Force users to become vampires. That reminded her. What was this New Order they'd mentioned? A new Order of Force wielding Vampires?

Jar Jar's ritual room had been cleared for a reason. Those three skeletons must be important and they'd made sure all evidence of a Sith ritual had been cleaned away. Thanks to Obi-Wan, they'd holo-images of the symbols surrounding the summoning circle. Those symbols were a vital clue to the purpose of the circle and needed to be researched. Would those Jedi investigators the Council sent even know what to look for? Back home Giles and Willow would have been onto something within hours. Here Buffy was relying on the Jedi-Scoobies being able to get access to the forbidden holocron room to learn about Sith hieroglyphs. Would Yoda even allow them in there?

Palpatine pawed at her arm again. "We're almost there," he crooned. "I know how much you're going to love this, Buffy. Despite not being..." he leaned in close, his breath tickling her ear, "...a Sith." Then he gave her a little tucked-in smile as if the pair of them had just shared a joke.

...

sorry, I forgot to add a chapter. Had to delete one and add the new one and then re-add the old one. This site doesn't make it easy!