The Sith citadel on the planet Raithmir was a truly beautiful monument, in a twisted, perverse way. A thousand burning lightsabers bordered its towering spires, the captured weapons of countless fallen Jedi, lighting the darkness that engulfed the ancient world. Thunder crackled from a dark, planet-wide cloud, accompanied by a hail of never-ending rain. Raithmir was a world taken over by the dark side.

Standing on the upper balcony of their fortress, sheltered from the storm by a tattered durasteel veil, Darth Sidious and Darth Tyranus looked out across the barren land.

"So Duro still belongs to the Republic," Sidious began in his crackling voice.

"No, my Master," conceded Tyranus, lowering his eyes. "We held the advantage, but were eventually outnumbered."

"And General Grievous was damaged in the attack," continued the Sith master, "could it be he is not as indestructible as we believed?"

Dooku's face rose, smiling. "You will be most pleased to learn the identity of the Jedi who wounded Grievous, Master."

A smirk began to tug at Sidious' sullen face. "Skywalker?" he asked, second guessing Dooku. "This is a most interesting development. All the while the boy walks the thin line between the light and the darkness, and as his power grows, so will his temptation."

Stepping out from under the veranda, Sidious opened himself to the brunt of the storm, feeling its destructive energy, feeding himself from the unleashed power of the tempest. "Duro is of little matter, my apprentice. We will find another avenue into the Core. Although I hesitate to call this campaign a true victory, let it be known that Anakin Skywalker has taken another step into the darkness. Let it be known that everything is proceeding as we have planned."

The ferocious wailing of the storm continued, echoing the mocking howl of evil.

*        *        *

Obi-Wan sat in his quarters aboard the Courage, regarding the twinkling star constellations visible from his viewport with a melancholy contemplation. Yes, we won here today, but can it truly be called a victory? Duro is not the only route towards Coruscant, and we committed a huge portion of our fleet to this battle. Who knows what contingency the Separatists have in place? Even know they may be preparing to strike Borleias, or Empress Teta, or Reecee…

Obi-Wan exhaled deeply. He was worrying too much. But something nagged at him, something that he struggled to define. Is it the way of the Jedi to lead a war, to submit our foes to open aggression? As my Padawan grows in power, I can feel the darkness close in around him. In the Mandalorian War, the few Jedi who did fight came back tainted, eventually reforming the Sith.

Ah yes, the Sith. The sworn enemies of the Jedi. That is why I must fight this war, Obi-Wan decided, I fight to stop the Sith. The Republic may be a lot of things, corrupt and arrogant, but they at least offer hope. Something the Sith would never truly give.

So there it is. I continue this fight, to save the Galaxy from Sith domination. But things have changed, things have been changing ever since Geonosis…since Naboo, even. The balance of power is tipping, the Dark Side grows. And how can I sure that once this war is over we will not have become everything that we have sworn to fight?

Obi-Wan wondered just what we meant. The Republic? The Jedi? His Padawan?

Obi-Wan stared through the viewport, looking at a Galaxy slipping toward a pool of darkness.