Part 6- Return of the Darkness
"No, he looked much older," Dr. Hetima said. Mace sighed as another file was discarded from his search. The Temple Archives had proved to be of little help.
"We have only two more profiles to go through, and I doubt that either one was present at the scene. One is dead, and the other living on Corellia."
"I'm so sorry I couldn't help," Dr. Hetima said. Mace shrugged.
"Don't worry," Mace said. It was just a corpse, he thought bitterly. "I'll escort you to the exit."
"Who is that?" Hetima said, pointing to the bust of a man. Mace glanced at the sculpture.
"Master Dooku. He left the Order many years ago. Why do you ask?" She studied the face a moment more.
"He's the man. I'm certain of it!" She exclaimed, pleased.
"Master Dooku?" That was certainly a strange twist. What had Dooku been doing at the hangar, and where had he taken Obi-Wan's body?
Mace resolved to visit Dooku's residence, not far from the Senate. Qui-Gon needed closure, and only his former Master could give it to him.
***
"Greetings, Master Windu. And for what reason have you come to call on me? I can tell it was not conceived of friendship." Dooku's face was warm as Mace greeted him with a respectful bow. Dooku had been a powerful Jedi in his time, though that time had long ago passed.
"We were informed that you were seen at a shooting at Hangar Section 327."
"I was. Come in, Mace. Sit down; there is much to talk about." Mace obliged, sitting down on one of the couches in Dooku's simple living room.
"I suppose there is no point in hiding anymore. His wish has been fulfilled, to his knowledge at least. Yes, I was there when Obi-Wan Kenobi was mortally wounded. I recognized him as Qui-Gon's Padawan, and I took him to my transport where I attempted to heal him. But he was wounded in the lungs; too much blood had been lost. I told him he was dying, and that I would contact his Master. I was about to do so, when he stopped me. His last words were 'don't let my Master know.' He died moments later. I respected his wishes, though I knew eventually either Qui-Gon or another Jedi would learn that I had his body. Where is my old Padawan? I'd thought that he would come." He frowned, watching the Jedi carefully.
"Qui-Gon has pressing business elsewhere. Do you still have the body?" Dooku's frown deepened.
"I'm afraid that I gave Obi-Wan a proper Jedi funeral. There are only ashes left. I apologize." Mace nodded.
"Qui-Gon will be grateful." Mace rose, as did Dooku.
"Mace, please give Qui-Gon my deepest sympathies." Dooku's voice was soft with regret. Mace could sense the man missed his former Padawan. The two had not spoken in years.
"I will. May the Force be with you."
"And with you," Dooku replied, watching as Mace left his home.
***
"DADDY!!!" Ang-Jir screamed, reaching out for her father, though he was too far away to help, too far away to save.
Just as Qui-Gon met with Verrat, a powerful force pushed Qui-Gon away from the blades. He fell to the ground, meters away from where he had stood. Verrat stared in awe at the Master.
Suddenly, Qui-Gon felt an enormous surge in the Force. He threw up his blade for protection, but realized that it was not Verrat who had called upon the Force.
Verrat let out a strangled cry as he was thrown high against the cavern wall. He dropped his lightsaber in shock, writhing, trying to free himself from the iron grip of the Force.
Suddenly, the surge abated, and Verrat plunged to the ground. He screamed in pain as the bones in his legs shattered upon impact with a sickening crunch. The distance had been too far, and he had not had a chance to break his fall with the Force.
He rolled over, still screaming, revealing a horrible wound on his abdomen. Qui-Gon grimaced as Verrat's charred insides spilled out onto the ground and the horrible stench of burnt flesh wafted through the air. Verrat had fallen upon his own lightsaber, making contact with the hot blade long enough to burn through the skin of his abdomen.
Qui-Gon rose shakily, his stomach rolling with nausea. Suddenly, his knees throbbed excruciating pain. The nausea, the pain, and the shock proved too much for the Master. He fell back down, and he wretched, his eyes burning, his whole body trembling.
"It's alright, Qui-Gon," Tahl said, rubbing his back. He shivered as her cold tears struck his back, penetrating his clothing easily. He rose again, more gingerly, and drew Tahl to him, as tight as he possibly could. He knew he should have died, knew that the Force had produced a miracle for him.
"Can we get out of here?" Ald-Yen asked, his eyes still red from crying. He clung to his mother's tunic, wiping his nose. Qui-Gon didn't answer for a moment. He was still trying to tell himself everything was alright, his family was safe from harm.
But the still form of Verrat filled his heart with such fear as it never had before. He knew that if Verrat was what he believed him to be, then no one would be safe.
"Yes, Ald-Yen. Ang-Jir, you can come out now," Qui-Gon called. Ang-Jir, still in the cage, nodded slowly, her face pale.
"Tahl, I'll right back," Qui-Gon said, his composure regained. He quickly retrieved Verrat's still activated lightsaber, and deactivated it. He stared at the weapon grimly, for the lightsaber gave evidence to a frighteningly familiar menace about to be unleashed upon the universe.
***
"The baby's going to be fine," Winna assured Qui-Gon and Tahl after the healer had given Tahl a checkup. "You should be having it any day now."
"Thanks, Winna," Qui-Gon said. The first thing they had done when they reached the Temple was take the entire family straight to Winna.
"Ald-Yen and Ang-Jir are fine. I sent them with one of my assistants to the cafeteria. You are also fine, Tahl. Just a few abrasions and bruises. But you, Qui-Gon, I need you to stay here a little longer. Your knees took a lot of damage, I want to make sure there aren't any torn ligaments or anything of that sort."
"I'm afraid I must speak with the Council." Winna sighed in exasperation.
"With your constant badgering of the Council, you've put Mace into a bad mood. He is quite irritant."
"I must speak with him, first of all," Qui-Gon declared, leaving the Healer's Wing. Winna began to pursue, but Tahl placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Let him go, Winna. He needs to tell the Council about my kidnapper. And Mace can give him something he hasn't had for three years: closure."
***
Mace was in his quarters, the place Qui-Gon had least expected to find him. The room was dark, though the Master could make out the sitting form of the Council member. Mace was cross-legged, his hands resting in his lap. He was obviously in deep meditation.
"You can come in," Mace suddenly said, just as Qui-Gon was about to leave. "There is much to talk about."
"Did you find…?" Qui-Gon began, but could not bring himself to finish his question.
"No. But Obi-Wan is gone," Mace said softly. "As it turns out, someone recognized him and tried to heal him. But he did not survive and was given a Jedi's funeral."
"Who found him?" he asked, his voice cracking.
"Your former Master, Dooku."
"Master- I mean, Dooku?" Qui-Gon said shocked. Mace smiled sadly. It was almost comical how Qui-Gon was still awed by his former Master, but it reminded Mace that awe and respect were all the Master had for Dooku. Their Master-Padawan relationship had not been a comfortable one. While Dooku may have cared for Qui-Gon, Qui-Gon felt nothing at all for him. He was his teacher, that was all.
"Yes. He sends his deepest sympathies." Mace paused for a moment. "I'm so sorry, Qui-Gon."
"You said that before," Qui-Gon murmured numbly. Now that his family was safe, his grief filled him again.
"I'm sorry that I compared Obi-Wan to Xanatos. It was wrong of me." Qui-Gon glanced up at Mace, startled. He had forgotten those hurtful Mace had said to him days before.
"I was angry that you accused me of betraying the Order. And… I was jealous."
"Jealous?"
"After all Obi-Wan had done to you, after he had betrayed you twice, you still defended him, you still… loved him. I had one argument, one foolish argument, and we haven't ever spoken as friends since. I miss our friendship, Qui." Mace rose from the bed, activating the lights. Qui-Gon was stunned to see Mace's face. His eyes were red and puffy, as if he had been crying. A horrible sadness cast it's shadow upon his dark face. For as long as Qui-Gon had known him, he had never seen such strong emotion on Mace Windu's face. Even when the two had fought, his face had been neutral.
Mace had always been able to conceal his emotions with effortless ease, even when he had been a young child. To most Jedi, Mace was a man without feeling, a droid. Only Yoda and Qui-Gon knew his true heart.
And at that moment, it was on the point of breaking. Something had snapped inside of Mace. It had been too long since he had confided in a true friend.
"I know that the fight was my doing. So I shall be the first to apologize. I apologize for fighting with-"
"Stop, Mace. You know very well who started it," Qui-Gon interrupted gently. "I was hurt and betrayed. I felt that I couldn't trust anyone close to me. I am sorry for hurting you so much." The silence that followed was momentarily awkward. Then, Mace smiled, and Qui-Gon once more felt at ease.
"Thank you, Mace. I was in need for a friend." Mace nodded.
"Back to the first matter," Mace said, purposely avoiding mentioning Obi-Wan's name, "do you wish to hold a memorial service?" Qui-Gon frowned, as he suddenly recalled the key reason why he had left the Healer's Wing.
"We don't have time, Mace. I must have an audience with the Council immediately. It's urgent."
***
"Verrat fought with great skill, in both the lightsaber and the Dark Side of the Force. I barely managed to defeat him, and still cannot quite understand how I was able to overcome him. A creature, strong in the Force and bearing a lightsaber, and he declared he was not a Jedi." Qui-Gon stopped, allowing his words to hit the Council with full force. He had shown Verrat's lightsaber to the Council, and many agreed that only a man strong in the Force could create such a weapon.
"A Sith Lord, you believe this Verrat to be?" Yoda asked, blinking in surprise.
"That's impossible. The Sith have been extinct for ages!" Plo Koon exclaimed.
"But their knowledge has survived," Adi Gallia said. "We have discovered that the rumors that a Sith Holocron has been used are true." All eyes turned to Adi.
"Sith Holocron?" Mace asked. Obviously, this was as new to Mace as it was to Qui-Gon.
"I and my apprentice have been investigating a cult dedicated to the worship of the Sith for the past two years. It was rumored that these cults used the holocron as an idol. They referred to the director of their worship as the Leader. For a long time, we believed that Dr. Murk Lundi, a former radical teacher, was this Leader. However, he was admitted to solitary confinement in an asylum eight months ago. He was a danger to all around him, for he insisted that all had to day, for Sidious was coming. Those have been his only words the past months. Meanwhile, the cult has continued, and they still make contact with the Leader."
"But what about the use of the holocron?" Qui-Gon asked.
"There have recently been reports of an outbreak of insanity in an area known to be a Sith worship site. Men and women have been heard, screaming in a strange tongue. Siri and I listened to one of the rants, and we realized they were speaking in Sith code. I translated it, and it actually was the final log entries of Darth Putos, who died approximately six thousand years ago." Adi paused a moment. "I apologize for keeping my investigation a secret from the Council, but we thought it best that only Siri, Yoda, and myself know." The Council sat in silence, in horrible realization. Could it be true that their worst nightmare was upon them? That a myth of terror was no longer a myth, but a terrible truth?
Could it be that the Sith had returned?
"Verrat is dead, say you?" Yoda asked, breaking the deathly silence. Qui-Gon nodded, unable to speak. Now that the Council knew, it seemed that the Sith's return was in fact real.
"Always two there are, a Master and an Apprentice. If hidden for years, the Sith have remained, powerful they both would be. The Apprentice killed, you have." Yoda spoke with certainty. "Lives on the Master does."
"He will be in search of a new apprentice, even more powerful than Verrat," Plo Koon observed. The thought of another evil creature more powerful than Verrat sent shivers down Qui-Gon's spine.
"Find the Master, we must. Take another apprentice, we cannot allow him to do." Yoda turned to Qui-Gon.
"Track down the Master, you and Master Windu must. Continue to regulate the Sith cult, you will, Adi. Prepared we must be, for an attack. Be hurt again, this Temple shall not be."
***
"You must fulfill your vow, young one. You swore to destroy the traitor. You swore to take his life as payment for his deeds. Only by letting his blood spill will you avenge those who lost their lives because of him. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Who is the traitor?"
"Master Sifo-Dyas."
"And how will he pay for his betrayal?"
"He shall pay with his own blood, for only by spilling his blood will the lives lost because of him will be avenged." Dooku smiled.
"Good. Now go, kill the traitor." Obi-Wan rose, and exited Dooku's transport. Dooku followed him for a few meters, just to be certain Obi-Wan would cooperate, and stopped when Obi-Wan boarded a taxi and ordered the driver to take him to the Jedi Temple.
"Good work, Count Dooku," an elderly voice said behind him. Dooku turned, his hand on his lightsaber. He relaxed when he realized who it was.
"Lord Sidious." He bowed deeply. Sidious nodded in greeting.
"Lord Maul has been killed." Dooku rose in shock.
"By whom?"
"Apparently, by your former apprentice. It does not matter, he achieved both of the goals I had set for him."
"The holocron is ours, then?"
"Yes." Sidious approached Dooku, and motioned for the count to walk beside him. "Was it difficult to manipulate the boy's mind?"
"Quite. I was forced to weaken his mind with several drugs, but he will obey."
"Excellent. If the boy is not strong-willed, there will be no pleasure in turning him. Dooku." Sidious stopped. "I am in need of an apprentice. I have trained in the ways of the Dark Side for many years, and I believe you are ready for apprenticeship. Together, we will bring the galaxy to its knees! Do you accept, Dooku?" Dooku was stunned. After all his years of hard work, Sidious finally deemed him worthy!
"Of course, my lord." He kneeled in front of his new Master.
"Then accept the title of Lord Tyranus. Your first assignment is to train that boy. Weaken his heart, strengthen his will and hatred. The Dark Side must have him."
"It shall be done, my Master."
