Author's Notes: Thanks everyone! As controversial as my fic was, you still all want more! LOL. I call it morbid curiosity, AKA human nature. And would you believe me if I told you that I came across a fic 'worse' than mine but concerning the same 'pairing'…? Hmm…I will say no more. And sorry about the delay – life goes on. I wanted to make this chapter longer, but I thought I ought to get something published sometime soon!
Skywalker-Blue: Thankyou for another wonderful review! It's great that you take so much time in writing your thoughts down for me. Re:Ch.9, yes, it was meant to be shocking, and I don't blame you for feeling 'repulsed' – it was evil. And the 'Hogwarts' likeness never occurred to me, though it could be a subconscious thing, seeing as I do like the Harry Potter books. Re:Ch.10, Dooku & Padmé will meet again soon, but not in this chappy, and I have things planned very like your suggestions – but I'll see where things go as I write! Thanks for your further encouragement and keep reading!
Shadow-Angel: Thanks – I'm glad you like my work! And there'd be no drama if authors weren't cruel to the characters. ^_~
Heather Wan: I can believe I did it… though it was damn hard to do it! Hopefully some 'butt-kicking' will return in future, but not immediately.
Merrymoll: *hands oxygen mask* Breathe! Please breathe!
PadawanMage: Wow! You read quickly! Welcome, and thankyou so much for taking the time to read my work! I'm further encouraged by your reviews! Re:Reviews, I can say that I used 'wizard' because, as far as I'm concerned, it's just the SW equivalent of the word 'cool' or what-not, and it doesn't bother me in the slightest, and I'll be returning my sights to the situation with Naboo v. soon. The Dracula-like theme in Ch.9 was totally subconscious – it wasn't until the 4th time or so I read through that part that I thought 'whoops' – it wasn't intentional, but it works well for Dooku's villainous character in my story; and it was twisted, but people like warped things really! ^_~ I suppose the 'bedroom scene', as you put it, could've been made for Mr. Lee – I'm a huge fan of his, and he's v. good at that type of thing, though I'd be kinda embarrassed if he ever read my work…
And, yes, you got the Hamlet line!
Disclaimer: You can't sue me, anyway. I'm broke. ^_^
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"ECLIPSE"
Part 11
Dooku's golden solar sailor glided down into the atmosphere of Coruscant, its sails retracting into its hull as it left the vacuum of space. It slipped unnoticed between the masses of skyscrapers of the Republic capital, attracting little if any attention from passing air traffic as it sped on toward a derelict old area of the city, a vicinity where industry had once thrived but which was now left to ruin. The vessel slowed as it approached a large skyscraper, the walls of which were crumbling in places, allowing the metallic girders of the structure's framework to become unattractively visible. There was no sign of air traffic around this neglected district; infact, there seemed to be no sign of any life whatsoever. But all of this belied the truth.
The craft slowed to a mere hover as it reached the building, and suddenly, a barely discernible panel in the structure's walls hissed open and permitted the vessel access to the inner construction beyond. The Count's ship crawled into the building, and settled down on its legs in the incredibly well furnished hangar within; its derelict outer shell clearly hid a perfectly serviceable inner sanctum, and for a purpose. The engines whined down to a halt as the Count deactivated his craft, and paced out of the ship; as he walked down the rear ramp, he was met by a hooded figure that slithered ominously from the shadows of a corner of the room: his Master, Darth Sidious.
Dooku bowed to the man, greeting him courteously with his silence. Sidious made an imperceptible and tenuous nod in return, "Welcome home, Lord Tyranus," he said in his chilling, distinctive tone of voice, "You have done well."
"Thankyou, my Master," Dooku replied reverently, his hand slipping into the folds of his tunic and withdrawing a small, circular object from a pocket within. Sidious watched the Count's movements, and opened his hand toward him as the ex-Jedi went on to place the item in his grasp.
"Ah, the plans, yes?" Sidious queried quietly.
Dooku made a gruff nod before they went on to walk toward the exit from the hangar.
"Excellent," the Sith Master continued, his hood overshadowing his pallid countenance as he paced forward unhurriedly, "Everything is going as planned. I now have the Clone Army at my every beck and call, and the complete power of the Senate resides on my shoulders."
He placed the small article into the folds of his own robes, the plans now safe and secure with him; "Plus, the antagonism between the Republican loyalists and the believers in the Confederacy has begun to further escalate at an astonishing rate. Things couldn't be any sweeter."
"And the Jedi?" Tyranus queried indifferently.
"Ah, yes, the Jedi," Sidious mused with a deep rooted satisfaction, "Having recently received the report from the Temple on yesterday's conflicts, I can happily relate to you that they are sore from loss and licking their wounds, trying to ponder where it all went wrong!" He cackled, lightly clapping his hands together with elation, "Oh, and they now fear 'the Sith Lord', anxious to know 'his' location, since you planted the seed of suspicion in their minds. That was an ingenious move, my apprentice, an ingenious move."
Tyranus allowed a smirk, "Fools. The Dark side has clouded their minds so thickly that they can't see through the fog."
"No," Sidious concurred, "They can't."
They continued on, stepping through a doorway and walking onwards down a dimly lit passage, the floor covered in an unwelcoming durasteel, and the walls likewise; it wasn't a comfortable place, but it was adequate for the veiled machinations of these two Sith. They worked well as a team, their partnership more evenly balanced than that of Sidious' first pairing with protégé, Maul; the single-minded, tattooed youth had been more a mere tool than an efficient accomplice, and had paid for his lack of forethought with his life. But Sidious felt no loss for his former apprentice – there was no use dwelling on the past. He had adapted, and selected another apprentice swiftly, one who would aid his changing needs as the Sith slowly ascended back into power. Sidious would never accept being anyone's equal in the Sith lineage, though, no matter how sophisticated and honourable the other was. And Tyranus, Maul's unanticipated replacement, knew it.
"And you pulled Amidala into your grasp," Sidious went on, his tone lower than before, "I am impressed."
Tyranus' own lips rose into a contented grin, "Has it caused quite a stir?" he asked flippantly as they entered a lift shaft.
Sidious cackled once they stood in the elevator, and it began to descend down the duct, "Oh, yes, quite a stir. Shock emits forcefully through the circles of the senate, spreading like wildfire, inciting mistrust and revulsion as it grows – you know yourself of the corrupt gossip-lovers these bureaucrats are!" He chuckled quietly again before adding, "They call her a 'hypocrite', and a 'weakling'… it is just too delicious, my apprentice!"
Tyranus' dark eyes hardened with base pleasure, "Yes, quite delicious," he mused, fleetingly licking his lip.
"I trust you are taking care of her?" the Sith Master went on sardonically.
"But of course," the Count rejoined with a feigned shock, "What kind of host do you take me for, my Lord?"
Sidious laughed again, "She has had things her way too long, that girl. She's been a thorn in my side since she succeeded Veruna into the monarchy on Naboo, and it's about time that she was on the receiving end."
Tyranus' smirk widened a smidgen, but he decided not to comment.
"Her loss extends not just to the Senate, but through the Jedi," Sidious added seriously as the lift stopped, and opened unto a dark, forbidding control room, deep in the building's depths. "In particular to the Jedi's 'Chosen One'." The two walked out into this shadowy chamber.
"Skywalker?" Tyranus queried in disgust, turning up his lips in detestation; the mere name itself now served as a catalyst to ignite his antipathy. He growled discreetly to himself, pacing to a stop in the room's centre.
"Yes," Sidious purposefully leered, "Your new Jedi 'friend'."
Serenn scoffed, turning away in repugnance, "Yes. 'Friend'."
The Sith Master chortled again, his laugh bitter and cruel, cutting the Count's presently erratic disposition like a hard, sharp knife; had it been any other person taunting him, Dooku would have felt the need to retaliate, but he knew far better; he was many things, but he was no fool.[1] "Tell me, Tyranus – what exactly happened yesterday? I have conversed with the boy, but so bent was he on vengeance against you, that he neglected to tell me much about the actual 'tussle' that you had – he even neglected to mention the oh-so-blatant loss of his arm!"
The Count's eyes glared away blankly into the darkness, "I was too confident," he commented vaguely, "And I paid for such idiocy."
His short remark immediately told Sidious that his apprentice, like Anakin, was not intent on exposing much detail about the battle to him. "Enlarge on your point," he ordered the former Jedi, wafting his hand toward him in gesture, before folding his arms across his chest, his heavy sleeves rubbing against one another.
Serenn sighed reluctantly, staring down toward the floor like some schoolboy being rebuked, "We fought –"
"You don't say?"
Tyranus glared briefly at Sidious, irritated by such a swift and snide interruption. But he disregarded it just as speedily, and went on, "I dealt with Kenobi effortlessly. But Skywalker… he was so angry and frenzied. I admit to being not wholly on my guard as it was, seeing as I had to keep Padmé under some form of restraint, but –"
"Skywalker injured you?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Chest and arm."
"But not severely?"
"No."
"Fortunately for you."
Tyranus silenced after the brief firing round of questions, watching as his Master prowled to the far end of the room and took a seat upon a solemn, black chair; "You should not have been injured at all, my apprentice."
Serenn exhaled loudly, "I know," he sighed with exasperation, "But I took the boy's arm, didn't I?"
"Yes," Sidious shrugged, the fact seeming to be of absolutely no consequence to him, "But an arm can be, like many things, replaced."
There was a short pause, in which Sidious smiled silently toward Tyranus, letting his open point sink in. The Count waited for his Master to go on, knowing that he wasn't quite finished.
"And Kenobi," Sidious soon continued, "Why does he live?"
This sudden digression from Anakin to Obi-Wan confused Dooku a little, but he responded nevertheless, "I prepared to kill him, but –"
"But nothing. He should have died."
"You're being overly expectant, my Lord."
"On the contrary, I would have expected at least Kenobi's death at your hands," the Sith Master hissed with a clear and hard disappointment. Tyranus' lip shuddered discreetly in resentment, and he briefly glanced away to calm his inner self whilst his Master's eyes remained upon him. Sidious watched his protégé's body language carefully before going on to slowly shake his head in an unsettling manner "That's two Sith protégé's of mine that that Jedi has irksomely evaded – how many more will it take?"
Tyranus eyed his dark mentor cautiously as he made that final comment and swallowed slowly, mulling over the words in his astute mind.
"Something I sense in you tells me that you're reluctant to hurt Kenobi. In your battle, you hid this reluctance, this disinclination to fight him, with…'sarcasm', no?" Sidious continued, prodding the Count with words, intending to make him feel awkward, "And you even went to the extent of carefully placing wholly ineffective blows upon him."
Dooku's face contorted slightly in confusion, amazed at the incredible depth and detail of the Master's knowledge, "You read minds and memories well, my Lord, for sarcasm I did use, yet –"
"Answer the question," Sidious brusquely snapped.
"Why should I have an unwillingness to hurt Kenobi?" Dooku retorted dryly, gesturing fractiously with his hands.
Sidious sniggered, "An old tactic of yours, isn't that my apprentice?" He paused for a bitter chuckle, "'Mister Circumlocution', answering a question with a question."
Tyranus monitored Sidious warily, remaining silent.
The Sith Master leant forward in his chair and placed his fingers together in his lap, "Why should you have an unwillingness, indeed?" he asked rhetorically, his scorn shrouding the current frustration he felt toward Dooku, "Well, I was hoping you would tell me."
Serenn felt his fists tighten, pressure building on his shoulders; his blood pulsated in his ears as he stared hard at Sidious unwaveringly, determined not to yield to the bizarre entreaties of his Master.
Another pause ensued, this one being strikingly longer than the last; several consoles in the control room beeped and whirred in the lull, the few lights of various buttons reflecting in Dooku's eyes. He held his stare into the dark depths beneath Sidious' cowl, holding his brazen tongue for once.
Once this silent period had passed, Sidious finally made a move, and, exhaling loudly, grimly smirked, "You choose not to answer, then?" He had made no effort to force anything from his apprentice, which made Tyranus even further uneasy on the matter; Dooku maintained his own silence, remaining stationary.
"Then I presume that you have something to hide from me," the Master added, as calm and composed as ever.
"His Lordship presumes in error, then," Tyranus rejoined quietly.
"Don't try my patience," was all that Sidious retorted with, his tone coming sharp and swift like a flying dart. Tyranus knew when he was beaten, and stayed down.
"We must focus on our next steps," the Sith Master went on in his typically calm and measured tone, acting as though no tension fizzled in the air, "We need to stretch things in this conflict out. I think that your position is currently strong; you need to rally more systems to your cause, but at least make sure to secure the stability of Naboo."
Tyranus shifted his weight from one foot to the other, "And if Naboo defy their now legitimate attachment to my movement?"
"You're in your rights to, thenceforth, force it into the Confederacy. Amidala has signed it to you, has she not?"
"She has."
"Case closed, then. If it repels you, invade it and take it."
"And what of Amidala? I have her under tight control now, being present with her on my home planet, but there will come a time when I will need to trust her to be solitary, and to maintain faith to my movement."
"Are you telling me that you haven't already sorted this?" Sidious asked incredulously, looking to the Count knowingly with a wicked grin etched into his pale features.
Tyranus perceived an element of sick merriment underneath the Sith Master's lucid tone, and frowned thoughtfully, pondering exactly what the Sith Master meant, and exactly what the Sith Master knew – or thought that he knew; "It's been little more than twenty-four hours since I encouraged her to join my movement, my Master, and –" he began to reply.
"I'm not talking about 'on-paper' agreements, Tyranus," he interrupted suggestively.
Dooku stared hard, just able to make out the gleam of Sidious' pupils beneath the shadow of his hood; he recognised the deep knowledge in his eyes, and swallowed hard as Sidious once again snickered, his laughter ever more cold and callous, "I'm impressed by you, Tyranus. I didn't think you had it in you."
Serenn studied the Sith Master carefully, too wary of his volatile nature to dare make a move yet; after Sidious' bitter and sharp temper yesterday, this contrast made him more than a little uncomfortable, though it was not unwelcome.
"You've claimed her, taken the one thing from her that she can't claim back. What makes you worry so much for her allegiance now? She cannot come back to the Republic; they all hate her for her hypocritical move! And she shares a certain 'bond' with you, now, my apprentice. –"
"'Bond'?" Dooku spurted in disgust, disrupting the flow of his Master's dialogue.
"Don't discredit the word for its phonological gentleness; you know exactly what I mean," he retorted, pointing a hard finger at his protégé in gesticulation, before continuing "Use that against her; she will remain with you because she will soon have nowhere else to turn; you will become her only salvation. And that says a lot for her future."
"And what of this 'Anakin'," the Count moved on, not wishing to dwell on the matter, "You have mentioned that you've spoken with him."
"Yes, I have. He is on a short leash, as much as he thinks that he is not; I will handle things concerning the boy. But, if at all possible, all I ask of you is to further incite his rage whenever you find the opportunity."
"'Incite his rage'?" Serenn queried indecisively, "I don't see what more I can do, Master. I've taken his arm, his woman, –"
"And that is plenty for the time being, I agree," Sidious nodded swiftly, wafting his hand toward him in a signal of silence, "But if you can further topple his Jedi demeanour, if you can further bring him toward the brink of utter unruliness, then do it. I want the Chosen One to fall and help bring the balance of the Force over to our side. I've already begun to topple his trust in his beloved Padmé; just as you planted the seed of suspicion in Kenobi's head concerning myself, I have planted a similar seed in his mind involving her; oh, we've been planting many seeds lately, haven't we, my friend?"
Dooku looked at Sidious' leering countenance, his eyebrow raising slightly, the question baited; "Yes, my Master," he replied monotonously, deciding to keep his response simple. He suddenly paused, thinking things over for a moment, the cogs turning within his mind, "Master, I must ask you, how is it that you know so much? About what has so recently…'transpired'?"
Sidious face swelled smugly, "Ah, because the boy knew so much."
"Anakin?" Dooku asked; Sidious nodded before the Count continued, "He told you these…these 'things'?"
"No, of course not," the Sith Master rejoined dismissively, "He tried to, but it was too painful. His mind, regardless, was widely open for me to read, and I hence found my information there."
"But how did he know?"
"Through the Force, I expect. He is, after all, the Chosen One, and the Force, thus, is his servant. He's powerful, Tyranus. Don't forget that."
Tyranus shook his head, "Do not fret, my Lord. I certainly won't."
"You feel a strong grudge against this boy?"
"Yes, I do. And I will avenge myself," the Count replied, "For now, however, I have exacted a certain revenge upon him –"
"Through her?" Sidious interrupted.
"Indeed," Dooku continued, "And I am consequently content until we meet again. My only salvation will be to face him once more in battle."
"Is it now?" Sidious said quietly, taking this information in; then, discreetly, he remarked to himself, "So be it."
TBC…
[1] This was in the Star Wars Factfile Issue 65, in an article about Yoda and his fight with the Count – I just had to use it! ^_^ It just fit perfectly!