Chapter 32
A Secret Message
"And then he spoke to someone else. I couldn't recognise much because it was such a small hologram and the person's cloak covered most of his face. But… I don't know how to explain this. Something didn't feel right. Like I was drunk and pulled somewhere horrible against my will – oh, this sounds so ridiculous."
"No, not at all. Go on, please," Obi-Wan said. This woman was probably slightly Force-sensitive, he assessed, but not with a midi-chlorian count high enough for the Jedi to discover her as a child and bring her to the Temple.
"They said they wanted to make sure Jento doesn't fall into the hands of the Jedi and the Republic. The one with the lightsaber is going there."
"Anything else?"
"Uh… The one with the lightsaber was called Darth Tyranus."
No. No, it couldn't be. Not only a fallen Jedi but a Sith? It couldn't be. "Are you sure it was 'Darth'? Maybe you misheard and it was 'Master Tyranus'?"
"Pretty sure it was 'Darth'. Definitely not 'Master'."
Obi-Wan couldn't stop the trembling. "Alright. Thank you for your help. You will never speak to anyone about me and what you have seen." He used a hasty mind trick on her and then hurried off.
Why? It didn't make sense. Why would Master Dooku of all people become a Sith? There was no stricter, more principled Jedi Master than Dooku. He had always put so much importance in teaching Obi-Wan about the Jedi Code, had made him recite the rules countless times, meditate on them… It couldn't be. Maybe it was an undercover mission. Maybe Dooku was trying to defeat the Sith by himself.
He killed dozens of clones in anger. Obi-Wan had seen the footage. And he had heard more stories: how this planet's president had suddenly acted out of character, seemingly possessed, and then, when she had tried to fight against the manipulation, had been found beheaded and with lightsaber wounds the next day.
Maybe she could have been saved. If Obi-Wan had said something. No, they couldn't have been here faster than me. But if more people were on the hunt for Dooku, maybe they could have gathered the information sooner, acted more quickly, arrived earlier…
And then what?
No, he needed to do this alone.
I would be faster if I had the Jedi Order's or the GAR's resources. Obi-Wan couldn't stop that nagging thought when he was aboard the starferry to Jento. He was squeezed in between two smelly humans and wanted to crawl out of his skin. Now he regretted he hadn't opted for the single cabin and had chosen the cheapest fare instead. As he had not paid anyway, what difference would it have made? Dodging the fare was the least in his steadily growing list of wrongdoings: Destroying vital pieces of evidence. Lying to the Jedi Council about what he had found out. Lying to Anakin. Lying to Master Fisto about returning to the Temple. And now, hiding even more information from the Jedi.
They wouldn't have let me go. They would have told me to stay at the Temple, as always. They would have sent Anakin to defeat the Sith.
Obi-Wan shuddered. The two people who meant most to him in the world – and one would kill the other. He didn't know which would be worse. No. The worst is that Master Dooku has turned to the Dark Side.
"Are you alright?" his seatmate asked. "You look a bit pale around the nose."
"I'm good, thank you."
"Wanna have one?" The man offered Obi-Wan a bag of pills. "I sometimes get spacesick, too."
"Thank you, but I'm good."
"As long as you don't puke on me…" The man took two pills, leant back in his seat and closed his eyes.
Obi-Wan did not even try meditation. Ever since he had seen that video recording of his Master slaughtering clones, he did not see any sense in meditating. Dooku had taught him. It hadn't helped Dooku and it hadn't helped Obi-Wan either. Shouldn't the Force have shown him something was wrong? How could Obi-Wan not have noticed anything? One didn't just wake up one morning and decide to turn to the Dark Side. There must have been a reason. If Obi-Wan had just noticed something, anything – he could have stopped his Master. He could have saved him.
oOoOo
At least Koshyym was a rather nice planet. It was covered by large forests and lakes. There weren't any cities at all, just scattered settlements here and there, inhabited mostly by Wookies and Gungans. Anakin could not see a dark Jedi having their lair here. Most of the dark Jedi Anakin had heard about so far went for the dramatic: a castle on the highest mountain, a centuries old mansion, a singular rock in the ocean… But maybe this dark Jedi was more intelligent and went for subtlety. Or, more likely, Anakin was simply wasting his time here. He spent most of the days waiting for the probe droids' reports. In the meantime, he meditated, trying to locate any disturbances in the Force that could be caused by a dark Force user. The probe droids found an illegally disposed speederbike once. Anakin found nothing.
But at least Koshyym was a nice planet. The war had not reached it yet and probably never would. It was too unimportant in the grand scheme of things. It was a welcome breather, he had more time than ever for meditation, working on his katas, sleeping – sometimes even without nightmares. But he knew he couldn't hide here forever.
The next Council meeting made it painfully obvious.
"Worrying rumours I have heard," Master Yoda said. "Whisperings there are of a new Sith Lord."
"Some people seem to believe that the Sith are behind this war," Plo Koon said.
"A natural reaction," Luminara Unduli said. "People are looking for a scapegoat so that they do not have to face their own mistakes."
"Hmmm." Yoda swayed his head back and forth. "Maybe right you are, young Luminara. But lightly we must not take these rumours. Too dangerous the Sith are."
"Could it be a dark Jedi that people confuse with a Sith?" Kit Fisto said. "Skywalker, how is your search coming along?"
"I have nothing," Anakin said. "To be honest, I think this is a wild-goose chase."
Yoda hummed his agreement. "More important tasks there are for you."
Anakin swallowed. He had always known he was going to face a Sith sooner or later. He just had hoped it would be decades later. "I will go back to the Temple and find out more about the Sith."
oOoOo
Jento was another unfortunately messy affair. Dooku did not like doing the dirty work while the subtle tasks, intrigues and Force manipulations were left to Sidious. It was degrading. Dooku wasn't just a dull henchman, he was one of the most accomplished Force users alive! But he bowed to Sididous and dutifully called him 'Master'. Not for much longer. Soon enough, he would be the Master and rule the galaxy together with his own apprentice. Sidious wouldn't know what hit him.
oOoOo
Darth Tyranus wasn't difficult to see through. His pride, his false deference and his plotting were too obvious. Certainly, compared to Darth Maul he was an improvement: more intelligent, more in control of his powers, less eye-catching. But with Darth Maul, Sidious had worried less about being stabbed in his sleep. It was time to dispose of Darth Tyranus. After all, he had only ever been a temporary ally. The ultimate goal was Skywalker. Sidious just needed to shake his trust in the Jedi Order and the Senate some more, and then Skywalker would be easy prey.
oOoOo
Again, Obi-Wan was too late. Sick to his stomach, he walked through the abandoned battlefield at night, careful not to step onto anything. There were all the dismantled parts of battle droids. Destroyed blasters. Fallen clones and fallen Jentonian soldiers who had tried to defend their homeplanet. Civilians.
Following an odd compulsion, Obi-Wan counted them. 43 clones, 67 Jentonian soldiers, 9 civilians. The battle droids were of the simple B1-series. They shouldn't have been able to overrun the planet's defences just like that. They weren't prepared for a Sith. Nobody warned them. The GAR could have sent reinforcements if they had known. But they had thought they were on the winning track.
A whole planet, home to millions – lost. 49 clones, 80 Jentonian soldiers, 10 civilians – blood on Obi-Wan's hands. He could have stopped it.
You are a disgrace to the Jedi Order, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
He shuddered at the memory. When had his Master turned to the dark side? Why had Obi-Wan not – no, it didn't matter now. What mattered was that Dooku had turned to the dark side and was trying to overthrow the galaxy together with his new apprentice – no, this jealousy was ridiculous. This wasn't personal, this was so much more than Obi-Wan's hurt feelings or his misplaced attachment. 50 clones, 87 Jentonian soldiers, 10 civilians, 1 Jedi.
Obi-Wan knelt down next to the corpse and tried to ignore the fact that the lower body had been severed from the upper part of the body. A clean cut with a lightsaber. The Jedi Knight was still young, maybe five or six years older than Obi-Wan. No one on the Council had thought the situation on Jento warranted a more experienced Master.
Obi-Wan did not even know his name. But he needed to at least give him the honour of a proper Jedi funeral. So he wrapped the body parts in his cloak and carried it with him, over the battlefield (89 clones, 133 Jentonian soldiers, 17 civilians, 1 Jedi), along a rocky pathway until he finally reached a small forest. The burden in his arms was becoming heavier and heavier. He laid it down with trembling arms and made to collect firewood.
When he had piled up the pyre, he removed the Jedi Knight's lightsaber (it would not burn, and Obi-Wan wanted to give it to the Jedi's Master – if they were still alive – or to a friend) and carefully placed the Jedi Knight on top of the pyre. Then he lit the pyre, bowed and whispered: "May the Force be with you."
Obi-Wan clung to the unfamiliar lightsaber in his hand while he stared into the flames. 89 clones, 133 Jentonian soldiers, 17 civilians, 1 Jedi, one more planet subjugated by the Separatists. Senali. Bahddrein. And how many others?
Only when the last embers had burned down did he notice that something was off with the lightsaber. It weighted less than a normal lightsaber. He examined it more closely. It looked like someone had tampered with it. Why? Couldn't the dead at least be given their dignity? Obi-Wan turned it around in his hands until he discovered a little opening mechanism.
The kyber crystal had been removed from the hilt. In its stead, there was a tiny holoprojector. It could only be activated by fingerprint. Obi-Wan experimentally pressed his thumb on it – and almost dropped the holoprojector when a recording of Master Dooku started to play.
"Obi-Wan, only listen to this when you are alone." Dooku paused as if to give Obi-Wan the chance to stop the holoprojector. "There has been a conspiracy on a scale you cannot imagine. The very foundations of the galaxy have been eroded. I have gathered new insights, new powers to gain back control. But I cannot risk saying too much here. Meet me on Mustafar, at the mining factory, on the first Centaxday in month 3. Do not talk to anyone about this. The Senate, not even the Jedi Council can be trusted." Another pause. Then Dooku's voice became more insistent than before. "I need your help, Padawan."
Author's Note: Setting up the grand finale, three more chapters to go. I would love to hear your thoughts on what you expect to happen, or what you hope will happen!