Disclaimer: I still don't speak Scots Gaelic nor Irish Gaeilge aside from a few words ( I do know slightly more Gaeilge though), so if my translations are wrong then blame Google Translate, not me. I also don't own any character that is not my own creation, obviously. Wish I did though. Could use the kind of money Star Wars rakes in. At this point I'm just too lazy to get rid of this disclaimer so it's staying despite getting my point across by now.

Caibideil 10

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Padmé was banging her head against her desk. Thunk. Less than two hours after their fight, Gràinne goes and exposes the Chancellor as part of a massive conspiracy to overthrow the Republic by playing both sides in the war. Thunk. Someone that horrible is now a hero of the Republic, and her face is being plasterd everywhere. Thunk. So many emotions whirled through her head she could barely process it all. Thunk. Shock. Thunk. Betrayal. Thunk. Anger. Thunk. Fear. Thunk. Disappointment. Thunk. Happiness. Thunk. Excitement. Thunk. Horror. Thunk. Cathartic though this was, she had to stop before she gave herself an even worse migraine. Opting to instead lay her head on her desk she considered the possibilities of what Palpatine's betrayal would mean for the Galaxy at large.

Looking back it made so much sense that the much smaller GAR was able to hold its own against wave after wave of Separatist droids, why Confederate attacks seemed to be almost calculated for Republic victory, why everything had gone the way it had for the past three years. It was nothing but a gigantic puppet show with millions upon millions of deaths as a result of one man's deranged ambitions. Now that the puppeteer was gone though, now it was an actual war. Hopefully the news would spread across the CIS affiliated worlds and spark riots in response to their manipulation just as it was on Alderaan, Naboo, and Coruscant, maybe forcing the Separatists to sue for peace due to their own internal collapse. The best-case scenario she could hope for would be Dooku barely holding onto his power while their government was thrown into just as much chaos as the Republic was in. Mas Amedda was declared as acting Chancellor after Palpatine's arrest, for about half an hour until he was fingered as Palpatine's disciple and in on the plot. Now there's an emergency election, wide-spread investigations, complete paranoia, and she was pretty sure she saw more than a few computers flying past her window after having been flung from offices above hers. Well, they were guilty but with no concrete evidence they would be

"Screw it," she muttered to herself, "I don't care if it's 9:30 in the morning I need a drink." Shuffling to the little minifridge she kept shoved in a corner in her office for late nights and the required snacks, she pulled out an unopened bottle of whiskey and a glass.

Just as she was about to open it, her door swished open as the investigator and police droids entered, "Senator Amidala," he began, electing to ignore the day drinking, "I'm sure you know why I'm here."

"Shut it." Padmé tossed her commlink at the investigator, who caught it with one hand, "Computer and datapads are over there, folders are in the middle drawer, and here's my commlink. Don't touch my fridge."

"Well, you heard her," the short man ordered the droids "Collect the evidence." Walking up to the Senator he commented, "You are of course at the bottom or near bottom of any suspect lists, despite your recent record with the grand theft speeder-"

"It isn't theft if I gave it back."

"I'm aware of the judge's ruling. Even filled the gas tank and had the engine worked on to thank them for their trouble," the investigator continued, "But of course we need to investigate you anyway. Procedures and all that."

"Whatever," Padmé remarked, opening the whiskey and putting the glass back, opting to simply drink it straight from the bottle, "I've got nothing to hide but my own blind stupidity for not seeing it before."

"And possible alcohol addiction," the investigator muttered before adding audibly, "But I'm sure we could expedite the process since we all know how it will end anyway."

"Are you seriously asking me for a bribe in the middle of a corruption crackdown?" Surely, surely, he wasn't that much of an imbecile… of course if he did take it then he could use the bribe as evidence in court and get to keep the cash. Ok maybe that was actually pretty smart. Sleezy, but smart. Assuming that he had thought that far ahead anyway.

"I was thinking more along the lines of dinner and a show."

"She's married," Anakin growlingly interjected, walking in the office, "To me."

Red with embarrassment and more than a little fear, the investigator turned around ordered the droids to hurry up and move on to the next office. He was an idiot, how he managed to get this far into the police force was beyond Padmé's comprehension. Offering Anakin the bottle he shook his head and put the cork back in it. He was still pretty badly bruised from his duel with Séamus with half his face being purple, but he was more than capable of both walking and intimidating tiny, overweight, annoying cops. He slid down the wall beside her, sitting in the floor next to her. She had honestly half expected him to be catatonic and the other half expected him to be infuriated after receiving the news, Palpatine was like a mentor to him, a father figure. Much to her surprise he was neither, just confused, hurt, and lost. Another datapad dropped past the window, shattering on the ground below.

Anakin chuckled, "They should be more careful. If they end up killing somebody when they drop a computer on their head from ten stories up, they're going to prison anyway."

Padmé smiled, forcefully exhaling from her nose. Reaching for the whiskey Anakin moved it out of her reach.

"No."

"You're acting like I'm an alcoholic."

"It is not even 10:00."

"Ok fair point, but I counter with I've been awake the past 29 hours."

"Still, you've had enough."

"Fine."

Another pause. Anakin broke the silence saying, "Surprisingly enough, Palpatine is cooperating with his interrogation."

"Probably trying to cut a deal." Padmé replied cynically, "He knows he's caught; he knows he's lost; he's trying to take what he can get."

"Most likely."

They paused again. Padmé asked, "So, you decided to tell him that we're married?"

"I know you keep our wedding holos on your datapad. They'll find them anyway."

"Hmm. Well that's true." She opened the fridge again and Anakin glared, "I'm grabbing cheese, not booze."

"Want to split it?"

"Sure, grab the crackers. They're in the top drawer. I don't feel like getting up to walk over there." Neither did Anakin, as he simply grabbed the crackers with the Force. "Show off."

In the Federal Penitentiary, Palpatine was kept in the deepest section of the prison, Force Binders on his wrists, neck, and ankles; held aloft by antigrav systems and locked in seven layers of ray shielding on all sides and surrounded by cameras, backup cameras, generators for this particular room, backup generators, backup generators for the backup generators, and hundreds upon hundreds of thermal detonators. All of this on a live holonet feed broadcasting across the entirety of the known galaxy. "Don't you think this is a tad excessive, Master Jedi?" inquired Admiral Tarkin.

"This seems excessive? We haven't even brought in the artillery yet." Kenobi answered bluntly.

"You're going to point artillery guns at him?!" Tarkin shouted, "How do you even plan on getting them in here?!"

"In pieces," replied Cody who was directing a squad of clone trooper on where to put the many, many boxes that contained the parts to five anti-tank cannons.

Nodding to his clone Commander and also to Tarkin, Obi-Wan began, "Alright Darth Sidious, as agreed we're going to keep your cooperation in mind when trying you for treason, sedition, conspiracy to overthrow the Republic, multiple counts of genocide, multiple counts of mass enslavement while not a Hutt, you get the picture. This deal only holds up if you keep cooperating. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Is there anything you wish to add before we begin?"

"My nose itches."

"Well then it sucks to be you." Holding up a holoprojector he displayed a Nautolan Senator, "Do you recognize this man?"

"Yes."

"Name him, for the record."

"Senator Kit Faa."

"And is he in league with your conspiracy?"

"No, to be honest he even creeps me out."

"I see," Kenobi looked at Tarkin, "Note that."

"Note that 'Senator Faa is creepy?'" Tarkin asked incredulously.

"Just do it." Switching to another Senator, "Do you recognize this man?"

"Senator Orn Free Ta, yes I'm quite familiar with him."

"And is he in league with your conspiracy?"

"He's a useful idiot for getting motions passed, but as far as I am aware, he knows nothing."

"Noted." Tarkin remarked.

Off to the side, one of the clones shouted in frustration, "Why are the instructions all in Twi'leki?!"

Ignoring the outburst, Kenobi continued his interrogation "Do you-"

"Senator Lot Dodd?" Palpatine asked, "Oh yeah, he's definitely in on it. Inner circle."

"Have the court write up a warrant for Senator Dodd's arrest," Kenobi ordered. "Do-"

"You have got to be kidding me," Palpatine said.

"Is Representative Binks-"

"He's the useless idiot. I found a purpose in manipulating him one time and ever since then he's been pointless."

Watching in the comfort of his hidden second home in the Outer Rim, Jar-Jar Binks giggled an oddly giggle with his dark robes enveloping him, lightsaber hidden in his sleeve, "Oh my old friend, you haven no idea of my power over you. Even now, you are but a pawn in my game." Darth Darth Binks laughed, "Old fool! I was always the true heir of Plagueis!" A scared Twi'lek servant poured him a glass of wine, white of course, it was his preferred, and spilled some on his cloak with her trembling. Enraged, he shocked her with Force Lightning and ordered her to get him a new cloak and to lick her mess off the floor.

" Yes Master," the terrified, injured woman replied as meek as possible.

Dooku was watching likewise watching the interrogation in his palace on Serreno. This incident would doubtlessly have the Parliament in a riot, but seeing his now former master locked away and waiting for execution while bringing about the total collapse of both the Republic and his most prominent rivals? It was beautiful, and Dooku couldn't stop laughing. Oh it was, "Wait a minute," he realized. How was he going to explain this to Grievous? The cyborg had spent nearly his entire adult life working as a servant to Dooku because he thought the Jedi had bombed his ship, not him and Sidious. If he discovered that Sidious and Palpatine were one and the same entity then he might be getting questions, questions that he could only put off answering for so long.

"Ah! I'll just tell him that Sidious had betrayed me as well and that I never knew he was the Chancellor. Of course!" After all, it's not like Sidious had told him every minute detail, there were quite a few Senators Palpatine was indicting that he wasn't even aware existed, much less were part of the plot. Of course, with Palpatine and his many, many puppets being taken out of the picture he now had a real war to deal with, not just an elaborate puppet show. If he was being honest with himself, he wasn't entirely sure where to go from here. Obviously, the Republic was expecting an attack on Shili so he would avoid going anywhere near that system. Then his mind wandered to a topic he had nearly forgotten about in the past week of watching Palpatine's life be destroyed and trying to hold the CIS together: Gràinne MacGuffin. The order to kidnap her had been postponed indefinitely after Sidious had been imprisoned, but Dooku decided to turn his attention towards her. He switched off the holonet began to meditate. To see where she was, what made her tick.

Gràinne meanwhile had just managed to escape the reporters who had been harassing her for the past week. Ducking into the Jedi Temple, which was banned to outsiders under normal circumstances, she took a deep breath as she calmed herself. Walking away from the doors she collected her thoughts. Had she really just brought down an evil, conniving, manipulative man by total accident? Was this why Christ had allowed her to see this day? Is this why she was brought here? Was there any way that she could use this to her own advantage? All her life she had been belittled, downtrodden, beaten, spat on, hated… here she was, having had the opportunity of a lifetime thrown into her lap. For the first time in her life, she could just taste power on the tip of her tongue.

She could take her parents away from the warring clans, the English raids, the vengeful neighbors. She could live happily with Séamus. We could rule Scotland ourselves, whispered a tiny voice in the back of her mind, we could rule all of Albion. She looked around, where had this idea come from? We could take our revenge on everyone. Everyone? Everyone who ever wronged ye. Ye have all tae known worlds at yer fingertips! Surely gettin' a wee bit o' justice on one or tree islands is nothing to them. She smirked as she imagined it, an army of clones in white burning Grianáig to the ground, all those who cursed her rebuilding it in her image. She was hated and cursed at for her horns, she would force those same people to build her a castle modelled after them, at least in part. She could see it in her mind's eye: the king in Edinburgh kneeling at her feet, all the clans terrified into unswerving loyalty. Justice at last. Every rock thrown at her head, every curse, every beating returned tenfold. Everyone who had ever tormented her, or her family would pay. Her smirk became a wide grin as she fondled the hilt of her claymore. Her blade would taste deserving blood. It sickened her to ask for such vengeance from degenerates who tolerated women lovers, sorcerers, and other heretical and demonic influences, but why not use one Devil to strike at another? It surely wouldn't take much convincing. With these tantalizing mental pleasures, her eyes flickered a sickly yellow, ringed with red, before returning to their brilliant blue.

Dooku broke from his meditation. He had done literally nothing but observe and she was already halfway being a Sith all by herself. This would easily be the simplest task he had ever undertaken. He probably didn't even need to kidnap her save for the inconvenience of her living in the Jedi Temple for the time being. Taking out his commlink, Dooku brought up an image of General Grievous. "General," he ordered, "The time to enact Sidious's latest scheme has come, only now it is for our own gain rather than that of our former puppetmaster."