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Chapter 4: The plans of Sith and men

=KoF=

Part 1

=KoF=

Conference room A

Republic cruiser "Dauntless"

Hyperspace

Vader had forgotten the sheer desperation of the early Clone Wars. It didn't help, that he intellectually knew that the conflict was little more than a stage performance. At this point, military speaking, the Republic was even weaker than the commanders back on Coruscant, and those fighting all over the galaxy feared.

The breakneck speed of redeployment helped make that fact stick in his mind. Vader barely had enough time to gather all units of the 501st he deployed on Christophsis before he had to leave in pursuit of his target. Only the priority of his mission ensured that he made good men and material losses. He did it by borrowing troopers, pilots, and small craft from the task force he left behind twelve hours ago.

Another proof that the galaxy was currently on fire came in the form of the conference call Vader expected. It took nearly a day after the battle was over before both the Chancellor and a handful of Jedi found the spare time to talk with him together.

The holo-emitter built in his desk came to life. It displayed Palpatine first, then several smaller forms. They belonged to Yoda, Ki-Adi-Mundi, and the same intelligence operative he met in the Chancellor's office when this mess began.

"General Skywalker! Congratulations on the great victory!" Palpatine's holo-image beamed at Vader. The old Sith looked mightily pleased with the situation.

Why wouldn't he? Vader just did better than his own Jedi Master, and possibly win one of the most one-sided battles in the past thousand years. Kenobi's performance and losses on the ground made his success look even better. And the simple fact that Obi-Wan had been facing overwhelming enemy forces was something no one was likely to mention or care about. Success had many parents, while failure was orphan as usual.

"Victory you say?" Yoda's voice grated on Vader's nerves. "Tactical surely it was. Strategic loss it was." The small green troll sighed.

Vader frowned at the green troll. Why was he surprised that Yoda was raining on his parade once again?! Well, it was time to throw Obi-Wan under the airbus.

"I know," Anakin answered quietly. "I received the final tally before we left. There are a dozen walking wounded left from Kenobi's army. The rest are either dead, permanently crippled, or out of the war for weeks to months. It's the latter for many of the survivors. We also lost virtually all organized local resistance in the Chaleydonia region."

"The Separatists can rebuild the forces you destroyed within weeks." The third holo-image, that of Ki-Adi-Mundi muttered. "We aren't so fortunate."

Of course not! The enemy was busy building their ground forces in factories, while the Republic was stuck relying on Clones and a trickle of volunteers. If events unfolded like the last time, it would be at least a year before the volunteer support increased to something really useful instead of a token gesture. Even then, only a handful of worlds not directly threatened by the enemy offered significant manpower for the war effort.

That was yet another proof, that the Republic as it existed right now deserved to fall.

"I'm afraid that our esteemed Jedi friends speak sense." Palpatine lowered his head in a masterful display of faked regret. Vader was sure that the older Sith Lord was ensuring that the Jedi standing next to him would feel nothing but his regret about the loss of life.

Even now, after being that man's pawn for more than two decades, Vader could still be surprised by how easy Sidious could play the role of a harmless old man. There were times since he came back that even he was tempted to believe the charade.

"That only makes my current mission all that more important." The former Jedi stated the obvious.

"Correct." Mundi nodded his large head. "With the virtual destruction of General Kenobi's army, we simply can't afford to lose the other units fighting in the Outer Rim. We can't afford the current casualty rates – something that can only change once we've secured supply routes for our armies there."

Operating on the wrong end of long supply lines was only part of it, Vader knew. Inexperienced commanders or commanders promoted too much too fast was the primary reason for the heavy casualties on the GAR side. The enemy possessing a large edge in numbers, both on the ground and in space, certainly contributed as well.

"I'll do my best to rescue and return Jabba's son intact," Anakin promised. He stiffened and lowered his gaze. "However," Vader continued, "We have to take into account the possibility that the Hutts will double-cross us regardless. The Separatists can offer them much more than we ever could. They can promise and deliver that the kriffing criminals are left to operate in peace once the war is over. I don't believe that such an agreement would be politically acceptable. Anyway, it will be a disaster in the long term even if the Senate agrees."

Three pairs of eyes looked sharply at Skywalker.

"That's a fear my advisers and I share." Palpatine nodded sagely. "What's the opinion of our intelligence agencies?" He looked at the spy.

"Chancellor, several entities within the Separatist umbrella already have deals with the Hutts to ensure the relative safety of their shipping through Hutt space and in the Outer Rim. Others have been trading with the Hutts for decades if not centuries now. Those are the same Republic members and corporations, which had the closest relationship with the Hutts before the CIS formed. There is a fair chance that the Hutts prefer a long-term arrangement with the people they know instead of us."

"We can't afford to fight the Hutts at this time." Adi-Mundi sighed. It was clear to all, that the old Jedi wasn't pleased by the necessity of dealing with the Hutt cartels.

"A better choice we have not." Yoda didn't sound ecstatic either.

"Perhaps..."Anakin trailed off. He straightened up, and his face transformed into a cold mask. "Unless I'm successful in retrieving Jabba's son. It might be better if the child remains safe in Jedi custody on Coruscant – to ensure that the Confederacy won't use him against either us or Jabba himself." Vader suggested and waited for everyone's reactions.

He wasn't disappointed.

Just for a moment, Vader could swear he saw surprise and dark amusement flicker through Sidious' eyes, though the Sith had his composure back under control before the shocked Jedi could notice anything at all wrong with the Chancellor.

"Skywalker…" Yoda rumbled, a great achievement for a being with such a small form. "Kidnapping you suggest." The Grandmaster's long ears were flat along with his skull as he spoke in a clipped, almost angry tone. "Blackmail you encourage!"

"Indeed!" Mundi narrowed his eyes at Vader. "Skywalker, we're Jedi! The Guardians of the Galactic Republic! To even think that we can step so low as to even contemplate kidnapping a babe, and use him against his father…" The old Jedi had to pause and suppress his delicious emotions. "I wonder if your short time away from the Order made you this reckless, or if this is proof that you have lost your way already!"

Everyone heard the unsaid words. "And you have no business being a Jedi anymore!"

"A day ago, a whole army died at Chaleydonia. Hundreds of thousands of civilians still suffer in the ruins of the capital. Countless people are suffering in camps all over the planet. Thousands of the locals died for us, for the Republic. I'll contemplate anything that can bring us victory faster and end this suffering! To do anything else would be a betrayal of my Oath as a General in the Grand Army of the Republic!" Vader declared.

He was making it crystal clear that if he had to choose between being a General and a Jedi, the Order would lose.

The Jedi loved their obsolete views and rules – the Republic too, with the added "bonus" of unbelievable corruption. He was going to make them choke on those things before everything was said and done

"Besides, I've done nothing yet! I merely made a suggestion! Unless you're going to tell me that it would be better for the child to be raised as a gangster instead of under the protection of the Jedi? If anyone entertains my suggestion, it would be either until the end of the war or until we've secured alternative supply routes to the Outer Rim." Vader did his best to look as innocence personified, though he had his doubts on how well it went.

"This is an interesting, but radical idea." Palpatine made a placating gesture – he was playing well in his role of a mediator. "My friend, while I can see where you're coming from," Sidious glanced pointedly at the fuming Jedi, "I don't believe that your idea can be considered acceptable. Besides, we aren't the Hutts. We aren't thugs dealing with kidnapping and extortion."

That was rich coming from Sidious. Vader was proud that he kept his face as an unreadable mask and didn't snort at the very idea.

"Anyway, this is all theoretical. I still have to retrieve the child intact." Vader shrugged. "Once I've retrieved the kid, I'll contact you to discuss how to handle the situation."

"Is this the kind of general the Republic wants?" Adi-Mundi turned to the Chancellor as he asked.

Palpatine smiled sadly. "It's the one we need. This was Skywalker's first command and Anakin just won one of the greatest military victories in the last thousand years. I can't justify censoring a man who wins over a disagreement over a single radical suggestion. Suggestion, not action mind you! Are we going to censure people over ideas instead of their actions now?" The Chancellor looked at the Jedi with an air of grandfatherly disappointment.

"We'll be arriving shortly. I have a mission to plan. General Skywalker, out." Vader made sure that the connection was severed and laughed. It was good to be him this time around.

His laughter died out, and he frowned. He had

to make sure that he got the damn mini-Jabba in one piece. The little slug would be a valuable bargaining chip.

=KoF=

Palpatine's private residence
Coruscant

Sidious was within a meditation chamber carefully hidden into one of his private retreats. Officially, the large loft was owned by one of the wealthier businessmen on Coruscant, but for all intents and purposes, it was one of the Sith Lord's bases of operation.

It was a place where he could scheme in peace and recover after a long week of constant charade and political games. Dealing with the Senate as a day job was more than enough to test even the almost infinite patience and self-discipline he possessed.

This particular retreat was special. It not only contained many of his Dark Side artifacts on Coruscant but have a specially constructed chamber that helped shield him from the meddlesome Jedi. As a bonus, the Chamber helped him focus his foresight and not worry much about detection.

Four powerful artifacts and a single ancient Holocron acted as a focal point. They helped increase Sidious's power and make sure that he could get a reasonably accurate long-term sense for the likely possible futures.

Sidious wasn't a fool – he didn't believe in destiny, fate, or the will of the Force. He knew that a resourceful man with a plan and warning could overcome those things. Blindly following old prophecies and murky glimpses of a possible future – that was the Jedi's foolish way.

Furthermore, he had some of the true histories of both the Jedi and Sith at his disposal. He knew that the Jedi of this era was in decline. They crippled themselves in their belief that the Sith were gone, all because that way, the galaxy would be safe if one of them saw the truth and embraced the Dark Side.

Sidious sneered at the foolishness. Oh, he was going to take advantage of it, of course, he was! And he wasn't going to underestimate the Jedi, no matter how much they weakened themselves compared to their predecessors. There were only two Sith right now and thousands upon thousands of Jedi. Even his trap wouldn't be able to cull enough of them until he called Order 66.

No matter how frustrating and vexing it was, Sidious had to tread carefully for the time being. The Coruscant Jedi were the primary threat he needed to neutralize. With them gone, he could focus on eradicating or subverting the various smaller Force Adept sects across the galaxy.

However, those were issues for the future. Right now, Sidious was busy solving a mystery. Ever since Geonosis, his future Apprentice was a changed man. If he didn't know better, the Sith Lord would be almost certain that Skywalker embraced the Dark Side and came into his full powers. It was ludicrous of course. The boy was still too young. It would be up to half a decade or more until he fully matured. Only then, and with the right training, Skywalker would be able to achieve his full potential and channel as much of the Force as his body could handle.

However, through remote surveillance, reports from his agents, and personal interactions, Sidious could see that his Apprentice to be was a changed man. The death of his mother on Tatooine certainly contributed, even though there was nothing from the surveillance on Geonosis to explain the change and suddenly increased prowess Skywalker displayed.

The more Sidious saw the more certain was that Anakin had accepted the Dark Side. If he hadn't fallen already, he was flirting with it. Today's conversation was enlightening in that respect. No Jedi would ever suggest kidnapping a boy and using it as a hostage to gain an advantage. Even if the boy was a slimy Hutt of all things…

What vexed Sidious was that just embracing the Dark Side without training couldn't explain Skywalker's sudden increase of capabilities. The fact that the boy was in control of his emotions up to the point that the Jedi couldn't outright accuse him of falling to the Dark Side was telling – no brand new Sith could have such control.

Further, while raw strength in the Force was vital, it meant little without the training and control to use it. Training and control that Skywalker couldn't possess as far as the Dark Side was concerned.

That was why, Palpatine arranged for some spare time tonight, so he could retreat to his sanctuary and divine the future. He had to know what had happened to Skywalker and what his future Apprentice was up to.

Sidious needed to meditate, pierce the veil of the Force, and figure out how this different Anakin was going to alter the future. That was important – a reliable insight would permit Sidious to tailor his plans that much better. If he had to, he would put in place a few more contingencies.

=KoF=

Part 2

=KoF=

B'omarr Monastery

Teth

Wild Space

Hindsight was a beautiful and terrible thing. Vader was going to abuse it as much as possible while his future knowledge was still relevant. In the future past, he deployed to Teth half-cocky. Skywalker didn't really know what he was doing. As a consequence, that engagement ended with Torrent Company all but wiped out. When the dust settled, there were seven or eight intact survivors.

This time, he didn't bother deploying covertly far away from the monastery. There was no need for a long and exhausting slog through the jungle, followed by an assault up the nearly vertical walls of the plateau nesting the monastery. In the end, the terrain wasted any advantages they would get from a covert insertion and approach. Most importantly, the assault would have given time to the enemy to execute their hostage if they were willing to do it.

Considering how that turned out the last time…

Well, in the future, he would need to get creative if he needed to execute an airborne assault. This was his second proper operation of the war, and it was painfully similar to the first. It was a pattern any enemy commander couldn't miss.

There was a covert part of the approach – several shuttles entered the atmosphere far away from the monastery. They executed a sub-orbital flight, before releasing their cargo kilometers away from the target. Said cargo was a group of volunteers, Vader himself and his grumpy Padawan. He guided them all with the Force, ensuring they would land on target instead of missing the plateau altogether, which would have been unfortunate.

Meanwhile, the Dauntless exited hyperspace right above the monastery. As soon as the crew could acquire the target, the ship opened fire with its Ion Cannons. The weapons were dialed up to minimal power – just enough to pass the atmosphere and scramble electronics without hurting anyone organic in the target zone. Anything but the flimsiest Droids would merely experience random malfunctions in various components, and that had to be enough of an edge.

Less than a minute after the cruiser opened fire, its hangar opened, releasing a flight of assault shuttles with fighter escort. A bomber wing followed, just in case this time around there were unpleasant surprises within the jungle surrounding their target.

As they approached the monastery, Vader promised himself to get the proper gear for such operations for the next time he had to do such insertion. Currently, he had to guide an odd mix of Clones wearing civilian gliding and parachute gear, along with a smattering of commandos with rocket packs. Without the Force on his side, this exercise would have been a disaster. Most of the troopers with him lacked training for such stunts.

On the bright side, this time, he didn't have to gently push Snips out of the shuttle, so there was progress on that front. Even though she wasn't happy with the current state of affairs, which was confusing. The way he recalled it, she used to be almost as big adrenaline junky as he was!

Vader chased those straight thoughts away, so he could fully focus on guiding his troopers. He could see the after-effects of the bombardment – visible blue energy washing over the monastery, and even at this distance, the disturbance was enough to scramble the HUD of his visor. The charged energy did dissipate by the time they were above the target and about to land. Here and there, he could see old-fashioned B1s twitching on the ground, while others moved in confusion all over the place. The much sturdier and more dangerous B2s were the first to notice the approaching troopers. They turned towards them, raising their right arms and uncovering dual blasters.

The Arc Commandos surged forward using their rocket packs and opened fire, while Vader guided the rest of the troopers. The resulting engagement was quick and furious. It immediately became clear that the Ion Bombardment had scrambled the B2s targeting because more often than not they missed clean shots on the descending soldiers.

As soon as Vader landed and could focus his undivided attention on them, it became a moot point anyway. He wasted no time and charged the nearest group of Super Battle droids. Vader used the Force to increase his speed and how fast he could process incoming information. He became a blur, cutting, slicing, and dicing through droids faster than they could target him. By the time the assault shuttles arrived, the courtyard was secure.

"Commander Rex," Vader addressed the man in charge of the reinforcements. "Tear this place apart if you have to. Find me the Hutt." He ordered.

With the immediate threats neutralized, Vader pushed his Force-enhanced senses as much as he could. Yet, he could find no trace of Ventress or the little slug. She shouldn't be that good at shielding herself at this time.

Rex saluted and ran away to carry out his orders.
"Master, why are you so angry?" Snips' quiet voice derailed Vader's building fury.

He looked at his Padawan and felt a pan of relief seeing her intact, then cursed himself for not checking earlier. Granted, he didn't sense her getting injured through the Force, but that wasn't the point…

He took a few seconds to gain control of his emotions, using his rage to fuel his attempt to locate the Hutt.

"You're aware what it would mean if we couldn't return Jabba's son intact? We might lose this war in weeks."

Well, that might have been the case if Sidious wasn't in charge of both sides, something he shouldn't know. Vader was furious for a different reason. If his actions had caused so many changes already, that either the Huttling died here, or it wasn't here in the first place, then Vader could no longer directly rely on his memories of events. Just on what he knew of war and the people involved on both sides.

Ahsoka winced at his words and looked away.

"We'll talk more when we have the place secure. Come on." Vader said in a gentler tone and walked towards the main entrance of the monastery.

Heavy weapons teams converged on the entrance, while squads took positions behind whatever cover they could find. A group of demolition experts was busy rigging the stone doors for breach. Vader closed his eyes and focused on the empty space behind the doors. There was nothing alive over there, yet he could sense energy anyway.

"Droids are laying in ambush behind the doors." He proclaimed.

The demolition experts gave a thumbs up and ran away from the entrance. As soon as they got to cover, Vader nodded at them, and a string of shaped charges sliced through the doors, turning the heavy stone in shrapnel scything through anything in its way. The explosions shredded several B1s, damaged several B2s, yet merely rattled eight deployed Droidecas and had no effect on the two tanks waiting behind the deployed Droids.

The heavy weapon teams wasted no time and launched missiles at the enemy while hosing the entrance with repeater fire. Good soldiers, Vader nodded to himself. He didn't even have to lift a finger before the concentrated fire of two Companies took care of the enemy.

"Search the buildings. Find me the VIP." Vader ordered aloud and ran into the acrid smoke, followed by his 501st.

They found some stragglers deep inside the monastery and took them down with extreme prejudice. Vader was elated that his plan worked as well as it did. It succeeded in no small part because now he had only competent subordinates, instead of the constant stream of incompetents sent to Death Squadron for disposal.

His elation lasted as long as it took him to reach the location where the last time around Snips found the slug. Needless to say, there was no trace of the little worm.

It took them two hours to comb the monastery from top to bottom, at which point, Vader ordered another search, this time focused on looking for hidden rooms.

Meanwhile, he stood in the outer courtyard, fuming, while Snips paced nervously beside him.

"Master, are you all right?" A timid, almost scared voice asked.

Vader turned his furious gaze to his Padawan, who recoiled and took a step back. For a long moment, he continued to glare, until he saw and felt Snips recoil from him and take a step back. He saw and felt her fear. It was almost like when he faced her in the future past after his fall when she finally became certain that he was Vader.

He smiled at that memory. Snips had been furious and magnificent. She had grown up into a warrior who was almost a match for him. Snips achieved that without the benefit of completing her training or drawing on the Dark Side. He had been impressed, even if he couldn't openly show it then.

Vader's expression softened, and he smiled. They were no longer enemies, and if he had anything to say about it, they would never become enemies in the future that was theirs to grasp. He sighed. Scaring his little sister and Padawan wasn't his intention. Just like almost going stereotypical Sith wasn't what he intended. He had to work some more on not letting his emotions control him. For the longest time, he didn't have to, and Vader had to grudgingly admit to himself, for much of that time, he had been little more than a blind attack dog.

"Yes, Padawan. I'm all right. Just angry and frustrated. I'm painfully aware what a failure today will cost us all."

"That leads to the Dark Side!" Ahsoka exclaimed. Her huge eyes stared into his. "But you know all about that, don't you?"

Vader swallowed a curse. His eyes went all glowing Sithy, didn't they? Kriffing hells…

"Yes, I do," Vader answered quietly. There was no point lying now. Ahsoka could clearly sense it through their budging Force bond, not to mention that she could see the signs. "I didn't fall because of anger, Snips, though it helped. It was out of fear." Fear, betrayals, manipulations, and kriffing master manipulator, who he considered a friend and confidant. Yet, if he had to be honest to himself, Vader had to admit that he had been walking a dark path for a long time. He could remember it now. While Sidious did help him along, in the end, it was Skywalker's choice to fall. It was just that, Sidious maneuvered him in a place, where Skywalker would always make the same choice – Padme over everything and anyone else.

Of course, it wasn't that simple now. Choosing Padme meant winning the war, disposing of Sidious, and annihilating the Confederacy. Anything less, and she would never be safe.

Ahsoka took another step back in fear, and Vader grimaced. He had to find the time to straighten up his head because drifting off in thought at the wrong time was becoming a habit as of late.

"Enough of this, Snips!" Vader scoffed. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not going to train you to be a crazy Sith or something either!"

"You won't?" Snips looked unconvinced.

"We're fighting the Confederacy, who are led by a Sith! Of course, we aren't going to be anything like them!" Vader exclaimed. If he had anything to say about it, they would be better, deadlier, saner! That last one was a sticking point for him. He also conveniently failed to mention that another Sith ran the Republic. "I won't convince you to turn on the Jedi either," Vader smirked at that point. On this particular occasion, having Sidious around as a Chancellor was going to be very useful. After all, as far as anyone knew, fallen or not, Skywalker had committed no crime. The Republic had no jurisdiction on Tatooine. The locals were more likely to reward him and buy him a drink than even think about sanctioning slaughtering a bunch of Tusken. "However, if you stick with me, Snips, by the time I'm done training you, you'll be able to take on the likes of Dooku and Windu alone and win!" He declared grandly. "Without going all evil like." He added in a quiet, conspiratorial tone.

"Without having to become all evil?" Ahsoka gave him a flat look.

"Unless you want to." Vader shrugged. It was Snips. The girl didn't have an evil bone in her body. That said, in the right, or wrong circumstances she could be a vicious little thing.

"Not happening." Snips snapped, making him smile.

"Enough questions. You have a Hutt to hunt down. Go search!" Vader waved her away. He knew that this wasn't the end of the questions. Ahsoka was almost certain to report him to the Council, though that didn't concern him anymore. Vader was reasonably certain that even if the Jedi kicked him out of the Order, he would retain his position within the GAR. Keeping Snips as his Padawan would be harder, however, if it was a choice between sticking with him and going to the Agri Corps?

"What will you choose, Ahsoka?" He wondered aloud.

=KoF=

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