In his chambers on Imperial Center, Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith, sat deep in meditation. Letting the currents of the Dark Side speak to him while simultaneously imposing his will on them. Forcing them to bend to his will. Compelling the Dark Side to do his bidding. He was searching for his new apprentice. Tearing into the fabric of the Dark Side, looking for that small eddy in the Force that would give away a powerful Force User. He had come across several and discarded them as unworthy. Though still noting where they were as they would make useful additions to his lesser Sith. After hours in meditation, he finally found what he was looking for. With an evil grin, he summoned his Royal Guard and headed for the Unknown Regions.
Entering the system he had seen, Darth Sidious was bathed in the Dark Side. The entire system had been corrupted by the ancient Sith. And he reveled in it. Upon landing on the planet, he was met by a group of men dressed all in black. Knowing they would oppose what he was going to rip from them, Sidious never even spoke. Simply flew into the attack. Flinging Force Lightning at them with one hand while slicing through them with his blood red lightsaber in the other. Weak, pathetic, fools. Followers of a long dead Sith who had been banished because of his ideas. Who had fled in fear rather than stand and face his fate as a true Sith. This fate was well earned. Entering the dark temple that was before him Sidious glided to the chamber he wanted and opened the door. The 15 year old in the center of the room stared at him, fire in its eyes and hurled the Force at him in a wave. Sidious simply grinned at the child's display of rage.
"Child," he said softly. "If you truly wish for power, I alone can give you what you seek. Power beyond your wildest dreams. The ability to crush all those who oppose you, who would dare raise themselves against you. Swear your allegiance to me child, and you shall become Sith."
"You lie. You want my power only to increase yours."
Laughing, Sidious looked at the child, "Gooooood. You have wisdom already young one. Yesssss, I will take your power. You will use what you have to serve me. But in return, you shall know the ways of the Force, the way of the Sith."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then you shall die."
Considering each choice, the child looked up at Sidious and said, "I accept. My Master."
"Gooooood. Come with me, my child."
Leaving the now empty temple, one of Sidious' guards approached and kneeled before him. "My Lord. One of them still lives. What are your orders, my Lord?"
"Bring him to me."
"Yes, my Lord."
Seeing the wounded man, the child with Sidious gasped. "Yes, child. Your father. Strike him down. Show no mercy. And take your place by my side." Having said that, Sidious held out his lightsaber to the child. The child took it in it's hand and, looking at the man that hung between the two Royal Guards, the child hesitated. The child hated this man. The man who had never acknowledged even having a child, heaped just as much, if not more, abuse on the child as the others. Still, the child hesitated.
"Do it," commanded Sidious, putting the Force behind his command.
With that, the child swung the lightsaber and it's father's head fell to the ground.
"Gooooood, my Apprentice. Very good." Calling his lightsaber back to his hand, he looked at the child again. "What is your name, child?"
"Sariss, my Master."
Sinking deeply into the Dark Side, Sidious let it's currents flow around him and inspire him. When he spoke, it was as if his voice was coming from the very depths of the Force itself, "From this day, you will henceforth be know as Darth Aella, Dark Lord of the Sith."
"Thank you, my Master." With that, Darth Sidious and his new apprentice boarded his shuttle and left Dromund Kaas and the ruins of The Prophets of the Dark Side behind them.
On the other side of the Galaxy, Master Yoda sat deep in meditation as his shuttle hurtled through hyperspace on its way to Kashyyyk. At that moment he was deeply connected to the Force. It was then when he felt a tremor in the very fabric of the Force. Peering at the tremor cautiously, he saw events unfold on a distant planet in the Unknown Regions. Feeling his new Padawan enter the room, he pulled himself out of his meditation and opened his eyes.
"Master, what is it?" asked Caleb Dume.
"Disturbing developments, there are Padawan. A new apprentice does the Emperor have. Inform the Council of this we must."
On Alderaan, Padme Amidala Skywalker sat in a hidden chamber of the Organa palace deep in discussion with Bail. Bail had managed to make a few contacts since changing his strategy. His contacts had all agreed that there were some worrying developments in the New Order. Particularly the restrictions on speech, the press, and assembly. Basic freedoms that were being restricted even more. Padme was truly sorry to see how much the Galaxy had changed in just the few short months since that night at the Temple. Bail had told her a few of the more outspoken Senators he had been cultivating were already talking about ways to challenge Palpatine. Bail had done his best to reign them in, as they weren't ready for open confrontation, but he still needed to show them something. That steps were being taken to trip the Empire up as much as possible. On that score at least, Padme came equipped. The Council had authorized her to reveal to Bail what the Order was doing on Ryloth and Kashyyyk and that they had strike missions planned for a dozen different systems, all to hit simultaneously.
Bail was certainly impressed. He had hoped for maybe one or two missions, maybe. Just to show something. This was more than he could have ever dreamed of. When the Jedi decided to act, they didn't mess around. That line of thought then triggered another, less comforting thought. If the Jedi were capable of doing this, why couldn't they have done something like this a long time ago? The concerned look on his face must have given it away, as Anakin Skywalker, who was there with Padme, spoke up.
"Senator, I can feel your confusion through the Force. We weren't able to act like this before because the Sith had clouded the Force. It was something that was only realized around the time I became a Jedi. The Sith had, in essence, reduced our ability to use the Force to guide our actions. That has recently changed. We now are able to feel the Force much more clearly and it is guiding us in everything we do. I know this may not be exactly the answer you're looking for, but that is what has happened."
"No, actually that does help to know," replied Bail. "One of the chief complaints that I've heard about the Jedi was their perceived arrogance and inability to admit when they were at fault. Knowing that the Order is willing to admit when it wasn't able to act in the way it should have will actually help our cause. I think more beings could relate the Jedi if they understood that the Jedi aren't so different from everyday beings."
"For what its worth Senator, the Order agrees with you. That's actually one of the reasons I'm here. We need to reconnect with normal, everyday beings. Let them see that the Jedi are a force for good. Obviously, we need to be covert in our actions, but its somethingwe can do to at least begin to rehabilitate the Order's image after the damage that we did to it during the War."
"You said that's 'one of the reasons.' What are the others?"
"With your permission, my Padawan and I would like to check hospital records for Force Sensitives. We have two reasons for this. First, we'd like to take any children with us back to Tython to train as Jedi. This also protects them as it will keep them out of Palpatine's clutches. Secondly, if there are any adults that are Force Sensitive, we'd like to shield them so that they won't appear to be Force Sensitive should Palpatine or his eventual apprentice come across them."
"I see. You have it, Master Skywalker. Alderaan and House Organa have always supported the Order. And we will continue to do so now in these troubled times. Whatever you need, you have it."
"Thank you Senator. We will need your help with several things. Any Force Sensitives we find, we need to change their records to show that they either were not Force Sensitive and the child was given up for adoption, or that they were Force Sensitive, but died as infants. This is the only way we can protect them and their families."
"Of course, I understand. You'll have my full support Master Jedi."
"The Order is in your debt, Senator." Saying that, Anakin and Ahsoka headed out on their mission while Bail and Padme got to work on theirs.