As Dooku expected, Sidious had managed to evade his pursuers, having just recieved a report from Narec. In contrast to Narec's disappointment over their failure, the Serrinian was rather relieved; Sidious was far more powerful than the Jedi aniticpate, and would've destroyed Narec and Ventress without a second thought. The former of the Jedi was necessary to complete Ventress' training, whereas Dooku could concentrate on more pressing matters.
The fact Dooku survived spoke volumes.
Having the would treated, the restless Count - Though incredibly exhausted by the previous battle - excused himself from the medbay when the oppotunity arised, returneing to his office to continue where he left off. And as the worker droids repaired the damages done to this room, Dooku felt a sense of pride and accomplishement for facing his own against a Dark Lord of the Sith, even if it cost some expensive decor and a window.
He doubted even Yoda could have fought Sidious and lived.
Subconciously rubbing the casted shoulder, Dooku contemplated these events. That Sidious and him were now officially enemies, and acknowledged each other as much, filled the Count with a sense of anticipation and apprehension. He knew how crafty and maniupulative the Sith Lord; playing around with the lives of all living things like puppets, blending truth and lie to fit his twisted view and get whatever he desires. Much like the Jedi in that regard.
He'd have to be more cautious from here on, now that Sidious regarded the former Jedi as a rival. Dooku will have to be as clever and deceptive to outwit his opponent. And, fortuenately, the Count held the advantage of knowledge on his side; he studied under the Sith for over a decade long ago, and now it was time to use that knowledge against his greatest obstacle to restoring the Republic.
His desk beeped, indicating a call. Dooku ahd expected it, answering without delay. The tall image of Jango Fett, who hadn't called for over an hour now, greeted the Count under that muffling helmet.
"My Lord."
Dooku nodded, "Jango, what news on Kalee?"
"I made contact with the Kaleesh warlord, on your behalf." The Mandalorian reported, glancing over to the side where presumably the general was watching, "He's intesrested in your alliance, after I've proved myself to his gods."
Excellent.
"You have done well." Dooku smiled proudly, "I wish to speak with him. After which, you are to return to Kamino. Your credits will be sent to your account immediately."
"It will be done." That said, the satisfied bounty hunter moved out of the hologram's sight.
And as Dooku awaited the Kaleesh patiently, the bounty hunter's call reminded him of something crucial; the mother of Skywalker still making herself home in one of the guest rooms. Dooku had yet to introduce himself to her, and he shall do so after this meeting. A small part of the aged Sith was intrigued in meeting this woman the Force had supposedly impregnated.
The warrior finally appeared, the blue image looking down on Dooku with interest and stoic, the mask hiding Grievous' features. "Count Dooku, I presume?" Though he didn't show it, the Serrinian was a little taken abakkc; having gotten use to his more robotic voice long ago. "I hear you wish to help us in wiping the Huk from the face of Kalee."
"That and much more, warlord." Dooku replied slyly. Everything was going as planned.
He had not foreseen this.
For once in his life, Sidious felt betrayed by his former master, who was most likely smiling that smug smile from the netherworld. To teach a desciple behind his back, and it being the Jedi Order's most highly skilled duelist by that extension, was a cunning move on the Muun's behalf. Plagueis obviously sensed something wasn't going to end well for him, and so mentored another student behind Sidious' back as a contingency plan.
Or in case Sidious failed as a Sith, but that was never going to happen.
Having successfully eluded his Jedi pursuers to his ship, the Sith Lord reached Coruscant under the guise of Palpatine and made a straight path to his office, cancelling all plans for this afternoon to contemplate on these events, and set in motion the plans to rid himself of this dangerous rival.
The Sith Lord steepled his fingers, elbows on the surface of his desk. To think, Dooku had always been a master of the Dark Side, and Sidious never sensed it until before Maul's demise. All those years of hearing the Count's frustrations with the ineffectiveness of the Republic, the arrogance of the Jedi, and slowly converting the man to the darkness, all felt as though they wer ebeign thrown into his face. But even so, Sidious remained undeterred, not the slightest bit afraid of this new opposition, nor the handful of Jedi the Count clearly tricked into allying with him.
Only one more obstacle before he can establish his empire.
Even in death, Plagueis plays the part of a fool still.
Even if he failed to persuade the Serrenian to join him, there will always other options. That child who was Qui-Gon Jinn's pupil, for example, displayed some promise. Dooku may be aginst him, but Sidious mastered the arts of the Dark Side of the Force long before him, and will not be outplayed by an old fool.
Like master like student, Dooku will fall.
But how to go about it?
It was like chess. For now, Sidious will sit back and let Dooku make his move, before retaliating in harsher force. The Sith Lord well aware of how the Count of Serenno would act and behave, his strengths and weaknesses, and what was turly important to him, and Sidious will enjoy taking delicious advantage over the old man's struggles for rebuilding the Republic anew.
For there will not be a Republic after the Dark Lord of the Sith was through with it.
His secratary buzzed through holocall. "Yes?" Palpatine answered, annoyed by the interruption.
"You have a clal from the Senator of Jabiim again, your Excellency."
His nostrils exhaled forcefully. "Tell him I shall call him later." Honestly, can't that man take the hint that the Republic held no interest in helping his world?
Now where was he? Ah yes, taking on another apprentice. It was a shame Dooku was already a Sith Lord, as his skills and familiarity were suitable for Sidious' future designs. But there were so many other oppotunities, even if they were hardly as effective as the Serennian.
Perhaps those witches could provide with an efficient placeholder until a student worthy of the tile of Sith appears to him.
In her new room, Shmi fiddled her fingers nervously, brushing off any tiny bit of of dust from the new fancy clothing she adored. The woman had every right to be nervous; any moment now, she was to meet her new employer, and a noble at that. To say she was hesitant would be an understatement.
In all honesty, Shmi hadn't expected the man she was now in service to to be so... Rich. And a small part of her now wished to be working under Watto again, at least then it wasn't so underwhelming.
And there were so many questions: How did this "Count Dooku" know about her? Why did he desire her services, all the way on Serenno, this seemingly rich world? Shmi had never heard of the planet nor this Count she was to work under, nobility wasn't something people on Tatooine spoke of.
And yet, the aged woman couldn't shake off the feleing that this had soemthing to do with her little Ani. Despite the armoured man's insistence that he had never heard of the boy before, Shmi knew it in her heart her young Jedi-in-training was involved, one way or the other. And whatever brought her closer to him, the better.
The woman straightened herself, hearing the door before her being knocked. It was time. But then the woman found herself hesitating; was she to open the door for the Count, or should she politely allow him entry? It didn't matter, regardless, as the visitor let herself in; a young pale teenager with short blonde hair, and Shmi found herslef unable to identify her species. She can only guess.
"Count Dooku's ready to see you now." The young girl said politely, bowing shortly and looking quite uncertain, as though unaccustomed to being polite to anyone. Smiling softly, Shmi nodded in thanks, which seemed to boost the girl's confidence, smiling herself before gesturing, "Follow me."
As it was when she first entered the palce, the hallways and rooms were decorated elegantly; not a speck of dust in sight. Of all places Shmi expected to find herself in the future, a noble's home wasn't one of them. They walked down through the fashioned hallways slowly, the younger woman kindly letting her just take it all in, often pausing so Shmi could admire the scenery.
"I take it you're not use to this, huh?" The teenager asked rather quiet. And at Shmi's nervous nod, she released a small smile, "Me neither, me and my master just got here a few hours ago."
Master?
Shmi tilted her head curiously, "Are you a servant, young one?"
"Oh, no no." She shook her head quickly, "I meant my mentor. I'm a Jedi... Well, in training anyway."
At this, Shmi felt her hope rise, her smile brightening, finally notcing the weapon on the girl's belt, "I haven't spoken to a Jedi in years. What's your name?"
"Er, Asajj. Asajj Ventress, ma'am."
"A pleasure to meet you, Asajj." Shmi bowed formally, "My name is Shmi Skywalker." Though it raised the woman's suspicions further about Ani's involvement, and more questions.
"Please, follow me." The pale teenager continued, and Shmi followed obediently, already taking a liking to this young Jedi. It was clear she was nervous and uncertain about herself and this place, and Shmi shared that sentiment fully.
Finally, they arrived at a room guarded by large grand doors. And when Shmi caught up, Asajj opened the rather heavy-looking doors without difficulty, giving Shmi less time to feel more insignificant, instead marvelling at the Jedi's strength, and wondering further how her little Ani's doing. Without delay, the two women entered the room, anhd what greeted Shimi was a rtaher long fancy-dining table, occupied by a man dressed in smooth elegance, sitting at the other end of the absurdly long table.
"Ah, thank you Miss Ventress." His voice was as cultured as his clothing. SIlver hair and facical hair accompanied his aged features. If Shmi were to guess, he would be at least four or five decades older than herself. Not that she'd be rude enough to voice such a speculation. Smiling politely, the supposed Count dismissed the young Jedi, "That will be all, if you'd leave Miss Skywalker and I to discuss business."
"Of course." The young Jedi, who seemed eager to depart, wisphered a "Good luck" before rushing out the room, the door seeming to close itself behind her. And Shmi suddenly found that initial nervousness returning in force.
"Count Dooku?" At the man's short nod, Shmi quickly recomposed herself, bowing gracefully, "I am very honoured to meet and serve under a man such as yourself-"
"Please." She flinched at the interruption, wondering briefly if she already did something wrong, "There is no need to be so nervous, my dear." Slowly looking up, Shmi saw the Count raise a gold cup, motioning to the other end of the table, a large empty seat waiting for someone, "Take a seat, Miss Skywalker."
Hesitantly, the woman obliged, unused to sitting on something so expensive and large. And for a while, no one spoke, and as she stared at her resting hands, Shmi felt the noble's eyes on her, as if studying her now employee thoroughly. The aged woman had experienced such scrtuny before, by Gardulla.
"Don't hesitate, the food won't eat itself." Nodding, Shmi could only stare at the fine-cooked and clealry expensive delicacies, before slowly dining on the food, and the Count did so in turn. For a while, nether spoke, the only soudns being used utensils and the often small munches of the delicious food. And the aged Skywalker had never tasted anything so delicate and fine before, allowing herself moment by moment to try all the offered food towards her, oblivious to the Count's amused observation.
And for that brief moment, Shmi almost felt like a Queen.
"I imagine the edible sustances of Tatooine hardly satisfied your body to this degree." The Count commented lightly, and Shmi looked up in surprise, nodding rather quickly before flushing in embarrassment. Yet the noble only looked more amused, "Rest assured you will be treated and fed better than anything that dust ball could afford."
"Why are you doing this?" Shmi couldn't help but ask, yearning to know. At the noble's raised brow, she clarified, "Why seek my services? I'm no one significant to a noble such as yourself, Count Dooku..."
The man slowly raised a smile in response, as is pleased by the question, "You underestimate yourself, Miss Skywalker, considering your relationship to my son." Son? "You are familiar with Qui-Gon Jinn, are you not?"
At the name, Shmi perked up, her food forgotten. How could she forget the man who freed her little boy from slavery and had given him a better life? "You... Know Master Jinn?"
"More than you believe." The Count replied smoothly, brown eyes firm on the woman, and Shmi couldn't help but shiver. There was something in those powerful eyes that she couldn't place a finger on. "I am the man who trained Qui-Gon, who now teaches your son."
Shmi could only blink. Of course, now it made sense!
"You're... A Jedi too?"
At that, the man frowned slightly, "I was, but I removed myself rom the Order long ago."
Nodding slowly, Shmi couldn't resist asking, "How is he? My little Ani?"
"I have never met the child." Her employer confessed, shrugging elegantly. And as SHmi bgean to feel disappointed, the Count added matter-of-factly, "But, as he is now the student of one who is practically my own child, he will become a prominent figure of the Jedi Order."
The pride in his voice was unmistakable and Shmi couldn't refrain from smiling lightly, pleased hserlef by the answer. "That's good. I've always been proud of Anakin, and I know he'll do the galaxy good as a Jedi more than a slave."
Saying nothing, the Count instead regarded the satisfied woman for a ferw moment,s before standing up abruptly. Startled, Shmi observed as the man approached her rather swiftly, reahcing the other end of the table and offering a hand, "It is out of respect for Qui-Gon, my legacy, which incited me to buy your services. But you will not be treated as a slave here, Miss Skywalker. Those days are over. Come, I shall provide you a tour aorund the palace to familiarize yourself, if you are up to it."
Hesitantly, the woman took his hand, being pulled up gently before finding herself lookign away at the strong brown eyes, finding herself rather flustered from being in such close proximity to a man of such power. An ex-Jedi who's a noble, and has close relations to Qui-Gon, and by extension her son. And without releasing her unworthy hand, Count Dooku guided Shmi from the room like a gentleman, and Shmi asked without thinking much, "Could you tell me at least anything that you do know about my son?"
To her relief, the Count obliged.
The Force was shifting, irrevesably.
From his seat on the council, Yoda felt the subtle changes of the Force, eyes closed in deep concentration, following across the waves and refusing to be swept away. The Force guided him, taking him, showing the eight-hundred-year old Jedi Master the ever-so differences beind made not just to the Force, but the galaxy at large. Whatever was happening will affect everything.
And it was clear, they all revolved around his own legacy.
Dooku, Master Jinn, Knight Kenobi and young Skywalker.
Opening his thoughtful eyes again, he acknowledged his Korun friend, Master Windu, glancing at him with a quzzical expression, eager to hear what the older master had seen. "Hmm, troubling, this is." Yoda finally spoke, gazing at the floor contemplatively, "Growing more power, is the Dark Side. Yet repulses this, the Light does not."
"I've felt it." Mace replied with an unnerving tone, he and Yoda the only current occupants within the council chambers, "We have been feeling it for quite some time, ever since the Battle of Naboo over three years ago."
Indeed, almost all the Jedi within the sacred Temple felt the change following a Sith's demise, the Force shifting into something new, something alien to them. The Zabrak body had been taken and examined closely in the temple, but so far there have been no traces or evidence suggesting where they could locate the second Sith.
Though they had an inkling to the third one.
"Could it be that the Dark Side is manipulating us?" Yoda looked over to the Korun curiously. Mace leaned against his seat, steepling his fingers in thought, "Does it want us to think it's gaining more power, distracting us from our enemy?"
That was a good thouht, Yoda concurred. "Clouded is the darkness." He sighed, reaching out to the Force once again, "Hiding something from us, it is, including the Light. Both seem to be conversing, it seems."
"Master Yoda, how is such a thing even plausible?" The skeptical Jedi Master inquired, his brow furrowing, "Why would the Light even attempt communication with its disease of a counterpart? And what could be gained from it?"
To that, the aged master had no answer, shaking his head softly. The concept of the Light and Dark speaking to one another wasn't something the Jedi were use to, much less approve of. But even so, Yoda trusted the Force, and prayed that something good did come out of this plan the Light had. All he knew was it involved his old apprentice and the linage left by him.
"To those answers, find them we will." He decided to respond with that statement, eyes meeting Mace's hardened own, "Trust the Force, we must, and we shall. Time, it will take, for us to grasp the answers, but patient, we must be."
The Korun Jedi nodded, before moving on to another topic, "And what of Master Sifo-Dyas? He has disappeared for years now. Evidence suggest he is working with Count Dooku, but nothing we have is substantial yet." Followed by a long sigh, and Yoda knew why; the ex-Jedi had successfully time and time again evaded the Jedi spies sent to keep an eye on him. "We received reports that a ship recently arrived at Dooku's palace that had left to and returned from Rattatak."
"Hmm." Yoda glanced at his fellow Jedi, "Wish to investigate this destination, do you?"
"If it will help us find more clues to the answers we seek."
"...Agreed." The smaller master decided, tapping his walking stick on the marble floor for emphasis, "Dispatch Master Jinn and Padawan Skywalker for this assignment, we shall."
A short pause, before Mace muttered loud enough for Yoda to crack a small smile, "At least we'll have some peace around here for a while..."
Honestly, Yoda had no problem with the two unorthodox Jedi. True, they would bend the rules and accomplish their tasks in un-Jedi-like ways, often clashing against the council constantly with their opinions over the Order, the Force and so on. But to Yoda, they were a fresh change of pace; a welcome addition to provide some free air from the stuffy atmosphere the temple had over the last eight hundred years. Qui-Gon Jinn and Anakin Skywalker.
Or as many Jedi affectionately refer to the latter: Qui-Gon two-point-oh.
A shame none on the council - save for Master Fisto - shares this sentiment. It reminded the aged master of his old apprentice, and how much he truly missed the man. If Dooku was here, then they'd be in proper trouble; none on the council would ever gain any sleep again. But alas, the darkness cloaks over the Count of Serenno like a blanket, leading the Order, rightly so, to assume him another Sith Lord, who had been secretly trained by their hidden foe, and one they can't touch due to these circumstances. The last thing the Republic needed was to get in trouble with the nobles of Serenno.
Regardless, Yoda wasn't convinced in the least his old student was taught in any way by a Sith Lord. No, there was something else going on with Dooku, something that compelled the Light to communicate with its dark counterpart. And whatever it was, was going to change the galaxy forever.