Office of the Chancellor, Galactic Senate Building, 32 BBY

"Quite. And this is only the beginning, my friends. My homeworld's victory has only revitalized my belief in the sincerity of our cause." Chancellor Palpatine delivered that line with the practiced, effortless and above all sincere ease that everybody expected of him. His warm, fatherly charm was at full swing as he presided over his guests, the evolving tapestry that would allow him to take full control of the Galactic Republic when the time came. His current circle comprised of such figures such as Mas Amedda, Orn Free Taa and Aks Moe, the three eyed Senator for Malastare. They conversed amidst the rest of the gathered Senators and dignitaries that had come to celebrate his inauguration as the Republic's highest elected official. They were a diverse bunch. Allies, enemies, friendly adversaries. Even Finis Valorum came for a few respectable minutes before very visibly retreating into retirement as he had called it. Palpatine was magnanimous in his victory, accepting his rival's capitulation as his one-time ally was forced to perform the ceremonial dance of 'I wish you all the best' that the Republic's decorum dictated. He had been only the latest victim of the kind Senator and now one of the few people in the Galaxy that knew for a fact that his smile was akin to a landmine, hiding all of its destructive energy until it was too late.

His present company was setting themselves up for that same rude awakening. Mas Amedda, Valorum's and now his own Vice Chair of the Senate believed that Palpatine was week and easily steerable candidate. The blue skinned, horned Changrian had mistaken his mild disposition for malleability and worked for his candidacy even without being prompted to. He decided that the Senator from Naboo would fit his plans into bringing the Republic back to what he had envisioned it had been. Palpatine encouraged and would continue to encourage this naïveté. There were already some pieces of legislation that Palpatine would consider enacting some legislation to please Amedda and keep him close.

And to think that I almost had him eliminated, he thought. His quick rise had intimidated Palpatine for a while but he had decided that Amedda was more useful to him alive. An insidious politician, ruthless, cunning and supremely driven to achieve his goals and increase his power. A Kindred spirit of sorts, he thought with the only difference being that his strengths were also going to be his shackles.

"Cleansing the impurities of our Republic will be a long and arduous procedure, your Excellency. But I am sure that we will do much to that end in the following eight years", Amedda continued, carrying the conversation forward with his deep baritone that could bring the Senate to absolute silence when mustered to its full strength.

"Slavery should be on the top of our agenda. It is as insidious as separatism, a blight to our…", Orn Free Taa cut in. Palpatine gave him the appearance of his full attention, the corpulent Twi'lek being one of his most steadfast supporters, whipping many votes for his ascension from Outer Rim worlds. A vicious detractor of the institution that ravaged his people, Taa would be an excellent attack dog against the voices that spoke for the future enemies that he would create for the Republic in the coming years. And he is an alien too, a non-human, he thought. His mere presence by his side would discount any claims of humanocentrism and anti-alienism even as he would be actively working to fan the flames of hatred between Humans and other species.

"This is a fight that I am prepared to give, Taa. My own son was a slave when I met him. The plight of the Galaxy's enslaved is something that I am all too familiar with", he replied, placing his hand gently to the Twi'lek's shoulder, telling him exactly what he wanted to hear. Palpatine looked at each of the men around him and then further out into the assembled crowned. All of you will play your parts to perfection in the grandest stage play ever produced. A Revenge story one thousand years in the making.

The villains in this play though were conspiciously absent. The Jedi Council nominally abstained from politics but as one of the pillars of the Republic usually sent one of their own to congratulate every new Chancellor upon their ascension. None had appeared so far to Palpatine's perplexion. Maybe the fools were taking their own time. Maybe they had realized that he wasn't going to be as easily controlled as Valorum had been and tried to pull some veiled power play by withdrawing their unspoken approval of his person. No, Palpatine concluded. That would have been too complicated for their simplistic minds.

As if in retaliation to his thoughts, the crowd on the far side of the room began to part. "Ah, I believe that our Jedi friends are finally here", Palpatine said, cutting through whatever little conversation his circle was engaged in. He remained in his place, an immovable object in the face of an unstoppable force. I am the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic whose servants they are. Let them come to me. The two Knights that came forth were not what he had expected but their presence didn't displease him either.

At the head of the pair was Master Dooku, tall, imperious and regal, confidently striding towards him without a care for those around him, beings that he clearly considered his inferiors. He was dressed in his signature custom robes, more akin to those of a noble than a Jedi, a fact that caused endless debates within the most stringent Masters of the Order. It is so refreshing to see that their priorities are in the right place, Palpatine thought, diverting his amusement towards maintaining his trademark smile. Behind Dooku followed another figure whose face radiated sadness. Qui-Gon Jinn was more traditionally dressed yet his robes weren't free of modifications. A black band was wrapped around his sleeve, no doubt in order to mourn his lost apprentice. Aren't you supposed to rejoice for those that have become one with the Force, Master?

"Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, I bring you the Council's congratulations for your elections. May you serve the Republic better than your predecessor", Dooku spoke in his deep baritone voice, delivering two messages instead of the one that he was supposed to. His words elicited a few gasps from those assembled but the Jedi Master paid them no mind. No rule or regulation would stop him from expressing his opinion. Master Qui Gon remained silent behind his old master something that was also uncharacteristic of the man. "May the Force be with you, Chancellor Palpatine", he only offered.

Something is afoot here. It was clear as day for those that had eyes to see it. Palpatine had maneuvered himself over the years as the Jedi Master's confidant, listening to and encouraging Dooku's more radical thoughts while also receiving information from within the Jedi Order by the man. His use to the Grand Plan would be larger still but Palpatine was being careful about it. And that is what I'll do now.

"I thank you, my friends", he said, before approaching the two men for a firm handshake.

Later, after the party

"Are you sure about that, my friend?", Palpatine asked with concern in his voice. He had leaned forward on his desk in order to sell the ruse of a concerned friend and confidant.

"I haven't been more sure about anything in my life", Dooku retorted, placing the glass of Corellian whiskey to the small coffee table in front of him. "The death of Qui-Gon's apprentice lays squarely at the feet of the Council and the Republic. They were always lethargic, blind, rotten to the core. Do you know how much he pleaded with them to send a stronger task force? To display the might of the Order to the law breakers? To do what we were supposed to do? Keep the peace for once instead of being the Republic's firehose when things get out of hand", the Jedi or rather, the former Jedi said.

"I heard rumors", Palpatine merely whispered, letting Dooku do most of the talking, content at letting the seeds that he had sown in his fertile mind and taken root there bloom on their own.

Dooku nodded. "I've spent the last 60 years of my life trying to do the right thing but I have been stifled by the inadequecies of the Order and its archaic rules. I've left people to die because they lived outside of Republic Law. I've propped up Tyrants because they were Republic stooges. I've done things that Jedi of the past would judge as undeniable sins", he continued, his voice rising at every vile thing that he had committed in the name of the Republic and the Order. "My patience is finally at an end. I won't stand idly by and let whatever time I have left be wasted." The man then rose up, towering over the seated Palpatine. "I can't help the Galaxy. That is your job now and I believe that you will manage to make something out of it. I'll focus my attention on where I can do the most good"

"And where might that be?", Palpatine asked, listening carefully.

"Serenno", Dooku said. "Its throne is mine by right. I'll set it on a better path, craft an example for those of my kind that can still thing for themselves, however few they might be."

"Serenno?", Palpatine repeated, modulating his voice in just the right way in order to sound respectful. "You could stay with my staff instead. The work we will do here will reach your homeworld too", he continued, almost pleading. Palpatine of course knew that wouldn't sway him. That wasn't his intention. His intention was merely to reinforce the trust between them.

"No, Sheev. I've made up my mind.", Dooku denied him firmly. "Coruscant is your arena. Serenno will be mine"

Palpatine sighed heavily in what could perceived as disappointed acceptance, the face a chess player made when he lost a valuable piece in his attack pattern. The only difference is that I am gaining one. I can feel his anger. His hate. He only requires the right push. The right chain.

"As you wish... Count Dooku? Or is it too premature to call you that?"

The most austere of smiles formed on Dooku's face, relishing the sound of the title before his name. "There will be a few obstacles but nothing that I won't be able to handle. If only Qui Gon had joined me...", he stop momentarily at the mention of his former apprentice. The other Master had left after the party. He would be going on a journey in search of reason and serenity as he had called it. Palpatine had made sure to put a few of his Sun Guards on his tail, just in case. Qui Gon was said to be more perceptive than most, a possible source of danger. They would simply observe for now. "I offered him a place at my side but he denied. He always had his own way of dealing with averse emotions."

"I am sure that he'll come around to it. You were as close as father and son", Palpatine said, rising to his feet and extending his hand towards Dooku. "That bond can never be broken. I should know by know"

"Indeed", Dooku replied, clasping Palpatine's hand.

"I wish you all the best, Count Dooku."

All the best...

Author's notes:

-Hello people. It's been a LITTLE while since the last time we met and for that I beg for your forgiveness. The summer sun could not be denied.

-Initially, this chapter was going to feature both Sith Lords but it would have been obscenely large. I decided to split it up. For now, you get to enjoy Palpatine amongst his power base, enjoying his latest victory while some future seeds are coming to the forefront.

-There was one comment that referred to Anakin as a "Casanova" and I'd like to address it early cause it will surely come up in the future again. First of all, I personally don't think that he is something akin to that at all in his scenes with Padme. All I see is a 10 year old boy with a crush. He might be a more confident, articulate (and murderous) 10 year old boy but he is still essentially a boy. I made specifically sure to not focus his thoughts on Padme's more feminine charms at the moment. In his mind, she's still an Angel from the moons of Iego.
That being said, Anakin is in-universe considered a very attractive man and not just by Padme. Obi Wan makes teasing comments about the ladies liking him a tad too much and he has used charm as a tool, for example with the Zygerian Queen. It stands to reason that as a Sith in the future, he won't have the inhibitions of the Jedi and make use of his good looks more liberally. The source of his fall to the Dark Side was not his inability to find a lady if he lost his current one but his strong attachment to Padme, something that already is and will continue to be a factor in the future, not in regards to his fall of course, since he is already very much in the thrall of the Dark Side but in his relationship with Palpatine. His "father" is aware of his unexpectedly quickly growing power and is always looking for new chains to bind him to his will. The prospect of saving his mother from slavery when he is strong enough was the first one coupled with his fatherly demeanor that takes advantage of the lack of a father figure and he is all too keen to forge another.

-I am once again thankful to all those that have commented. Your feedback, as seen above, and your encouragement is greatly appreciated.

-Till we meet again