KEYnotes: Plagueis has been plotted since chapter one and don't know if y'all noticed but I have changed enough that the grand plan is going to take a far different shape than George Lucas had envisioned. Frankly, I think the prequels are entirely forced plot, it's only redeeming quality was the badassery of the actors. MY plot is going to be complicated as fuck because everyone is upping their games because they are actually thinking, intelligent, crafty beings.

Maul: isn't really a Sith, yes, he considers himself a Sith but Sidious botched his training. This might change later on, but for now, Rey has figured out that he is Dark Sider, she just hasn't had it beaten into her head that that makes him evil.

Chapter 12 - A Long Road

Dooku was suppressing a smile.

Sifo-Dyas had two fingers held to his right temple.

Mace was sitting forward, hands clasped.

Every other council member was staring at Master Yoda who sat unmoving in his chair.

Qui-Gon Jinn stood in the centre of the room, arms crossed under his joint sleeves. "I don't see why this required an entire Council hearing."

Yoda said nothing.

Mace said, "We gathered to give you your assignment -originally."

"She's safe."

"You just said she had a group of criminals try to kill her and a horde of Cthons."

"Her training has progressed well."

"She's-" Mace began but Qui-Gon cut him off.

"I admit my failure in explaining the boundaries. But Rey isn't one of our younglings. She isn't Vos or Rael who became rough around the edges and explored that aspect of themselves in their later years. Rey grew up on her own on a planet run by Hutts. The underworld might be larger than Tatooine, but it is likely more familiar to her than life in this Temple."

"Warned her, you have," Yoda said before sighing, "Forbidden her, you have not."

Qui-Gon bowed his head, "I will not curtail her freedoms."

"Under your protection, she is. Wish you to no longer be her Master, others are there."

"Her own person she remains," Qui-Gon said in turn.

"Hmm…" Yoda muttered, "Much danger I see this, but much change also I see, both a purpose and inadvertent. Surve this mission well, you and your Padawans shall."

"Shall I call them in then?"

Yoda nodded, and Qui-Gon reached for the bond between himself and Obi-Wan. A moment later the door opened.

Obi-Wan looked braced for a punishment, Rey was focusing on her breathing to centre her shields.

Qui-Gon suppressed a smile.

"Padawans Kenobi and Palpatine," Dooku greeted warmly, "What do you know of Kashyyyk?"

Obi-Wan's brows rose and Rey's face lit up, "Are we going to go help Wookies?"

"Know of Wookies, you do?" Yoda asked her.

She nodded, "I learned to understand their language from an old imp- from a computer."

Qui-Gon raised a brow himself, he knew she could speak droid but he hadn't thought she would know anything about Wookies, they weren't exactly common on most planets, much less a desert planet like Tatooine.

Mace looked as suspicious as Yoda looked intrigued.

Qui-Gon was very glad he had been entrusted as Rey's Master, Yoda was not joking when he threatened to steal her.

"Why would you learn to understand Wookie?" Mace asked.

She shrugged, "I was bored."

"Didn't you have any friends?"

"Mace," Qui-Gon warned.

"Nope," Rey said lightly, but Qui-Gon felt her emotions through the bonds. Not anger or resentment, more… a sense of inadequacy, as if she had failed somehow.

Obi-Wan caught her hand, "Well, looks like another one of your varied talents is going to pay off."

She grinned at him, her joy sparking through the bond.

Qui-Gon kept his own emotions more subdued.

The girl he met on Tatooine had been positive but hard edged. Qui-Gon didn't think she had really been happy until she had met them. That was flattering, but in some ways, was an indication of how hard her life had been before that she viewed her life as a Jedi to be such a vast improvement.

If Qui-Gon had any other padawans, they wouldn't have thanked him for extremes he drove them to on a weekly basis during training.

"The mission," Syfo-Dyas taking over, having limited patience for Mace and Yoda who so often led Council discussions, "is rescuing Wookies on Kashyyyk."

Qui-Gon asked, "Are there specific individuals we need to rescue?"

"Unfortunately, no, we have a general location that we know are being hit, but otherwise -if you see a Wookie in danger, save it."

"Why not send more of us then, if this as you imply, a planetary struggle?"

"Spoken with them, I have," Yoda said, "Proud Wookies are, allow no more than three they would despite my urgings. Masters Rael Averross and Quinlan Vos, along with Padawan Aalya Secura to a separate system have we sent."

Mace picked up the explanation, "Trandoshans often agress Wookies, and mostly the Wookies are content to take care of their own problems. But there is a 300 year anniversary of celebration as arisen on this other system that seeks to use Wookies as a sport in the 'festivities.' Rael and Quinlan are going undercover to both rescue the kidnapped Wookies, and what is of vital importance, cutting off the funding to the Trandoshans."

"Ah," Qui-Gon said, "But even if the funds run dry..."

Yoda nodded, "Stop, the violence will not. Need we to make the losses greater than their bloodlust, we must."

Mace looked at Rey when he said, "Trandoshans can regrow severed limbs, this is not a wholly diplomatic mission."

Rey met his gaze with a steady look, "Are you asking us to use deadly force?"

Qui-Gon exchanged a look with Dooku. Most missions he was assigned were diplomatic, or at least they started out that way. Diplomacy was his strength.

He felt Obi-Wan looking at Rey too, but his senior Padawan didn't often question the motives of the Council.

"We would advise it, yes," Mace said, "But your main objective is to save as many Wookies as you can, their safety is paramount. Their cities are doing well enough, it is the settlements dotted around those larger groupings that are in the most danger."

Dooku answered his unasked question, "Chaos, Qui-Gon, that's why the three of you were chosen, that and there aren't many groups of three that work together as well as you do. Even if you are separated, which we also advise, the bonds will give you a means of communication no matter where you find yourselves. We expect this to be a long mission. Perhaps three months, perhaps longer."

Rey spoke up then, "And Vos isn't good enough at causing chaos?"

Plo Koon laughed, "Ah, girl, I see Padawan Kenobi's humour is wearing off on you. Master Vos is indispensable at blending in, Master Averross as well. Seldom are they mistaken as Jedi when they don't wish to be seen."

Seldom does Vos appear as a Jedi, even if the man is meditating, Rey thought at Obi-Wan, which spilled over to Qui-Gon due to her still new at projecting her thoughts?

He thought he saw Yoda suppress a smile.

"In other words, you are sending us to Kashyyk to get in the way of the Trandoshans' machinations in order to protect the Wookies."

"Thwart them at every turn," Mace said. "May the Force be with you."

Qui-Gon and his Padawans bowed after chorusing, "And with you."

They left and Obi-Wan said to Rey, "You want to pilot?"

She grinned.

And Qui-Gon wondered if he was going to regret this, she had only ever copiloted to Ilum before.

oOo

As it turned out, Rey was an excellent pilot. True, she pushed their ship a bit faster than even Obi-Wan liked, but Rey also seemed to know what every sound and button on the ship was and did in combination.

The part she retrieved from the underworld she had used to customize their ship. It was the smoothest lightspeed on a small ship he had ever endured.

So it was a shame when someone attempted to blow their ship out of the sky.

Rey directed their ship toward a large body of water. She directed them to the correct city region despite all the scanners being down.

She unbuckled as the ship screamed when both wings tore off at their descent.

"Piece of-" Rey cursed as she ripped a piece of the metal framing off the dash and angled it in the handle.

"We need to jump," she said.

Obi-Wan tossed them both packs as they ran to the back of the craft.

"Now," Qui-Gon called.

Obi-Wan hit the button and the back hatch opened.

They jumped, and with the Force guiding them, not a moment too soon.

He was very glad he had taught his Padawans how to swim. Qui-Gon held his limbs tight, but he was still slapped around by the waves. For a moment he didn't know which way was up. He held his breath, letting the water resurface him.

Sucking in air, he tried to take stock of where they were. Rey and Obi-Wan were fine, he knew, but Obi-Wan was farther from the shore than Qui-Gon was.

And Rey?

She had been caught by an ocean current and was fighting to keep her head above water as the waves rose and fell like wind over grass covered hills.

Swim to shore when you're able, Padawan, don't fight the tide and use the Force to be mindful of the living things around as well as beneath you.

Yes, Master Jinn.

Obi-Wan did not add in, though Qui-Gon felt his annoyance at being separated so early.

Qui-Gon was a kilometre from the shore, Obi-Wan was about two, maybe three.

By the time they got to shore, Rey was far from sight.

"Promising start," Obi-Wan quipped.

Qui-Gon pulled back his hair, not as worried as he thought he would be, "Obi-Wan, that girl strolled down into the underworld and faced off a bunch of thugs and a horde of Cthons, she will be fine. Besides, we needed to split up anyway."

"She wasn't alone. Where exactly are we going?"

"I hardly think a bounty hunter did her much good. Rey got us to about the right spot. We will convene with the locals then you and I will split once we know where they suspect the Trandoshans are headed."

"Rey is going to have to backtrack with us," Obi-Wan remarked, shaking the water off their packs.

"I trust that left to her own devices, she will encounter the trouble we seek."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes but didn't argue.

Rey tried hard to both be aware of the possible sea creatures lurking beneath her as well as ignore them.

All by embracing the Force was she able to shelve her fear and keep her head above water. It seemed to take an hour or longer before the riptide took her to shore, or more precisely tried to smash her against a jagged cliffside.

But Rey was ready for it, and leapt to catch the rocks and began climbing before the next wave slapped against her.

The breaking wave hurt, but she didn't lose her handholds. Climbing, her back and staff still on her back she worked her way up on land.

When she reached the top, she sprawled out on the flat land, looking up a clouded sky. Even Coruscant didn't have this many clouds. She thought it was supposed to be darker if one couldn't see the sun. But though the clouds defused the light, it was more widespread, as if the entire dome of the sky was a light source instead of one or two points.

Rey reached out to the bonds, I'm on land.

Qui-Gon's consciousness brushed hers, Good, continue the mission as planned. Obi-Wan and I will share any information we acquire before splitting up ourselves.

She nodded, then sent back, Aye-Aye, Master.

She felt his smile and then she was on her own again.

Getting to her feet she began to explore, grateful to be off Coruscant and not a planet as freezing as Ilum. Kashyyyk was tropical, and the heat was welcome even with the humidity.

oOo

Rey found Trandoshans attacking Wookies before nightfall. She also found a group of five Mandalorians fighting them.

She paused at the edge of the clearing to identify where the Wookies were. As far as she could see, there weren't any adults, only three young Wookies who maybe came up to her hip in height. The Trandoshans seemed to aim at them as well as the Mandalorians.

In turn, the Mandalorians were doing their best to shield the Wookies and blow the Trandoshans off the face of the planet.

Rey had always liked Mandalorians, by far the most respectful and decent under Hutt employ.

Rey came up on the side of the Trandoshans' forces the Mandalorians were not focused on.

No reason to take friendly fire.

She should have used her saber, she knew that, but as always, she reached for her staff first. She landed on the back of a Trandoshan, putting her staff around his scaley neck in a choke grip.

He roared, and with the aid of the Force, Rey wrenched her grip on her staff and twisted. The Trandoshan's neck snapped with an almost sickening ease, and Rey caught another between the eyes with her staff. It reeled back, but looked otherwise unharmed.

She heard one of the Wookie children let out a sound that was not a word but an exclamation of fear.

Rey lunged forward, the Force guiding her. She caught the Wookie child up in her arms, and as she rolled them out of the way of blaster fire, scooped up an abandoned blaster. Crouched around the child who clung to her like she was their only thing shelter in the world she shot two Trandoshans. One who had been aiming at her, the other who had been aiming for a Mandalorian.

The Mandalorian glanced back at her as the two other Wookie children ran to her.

"Stay low, girl," he shouted to her as he made a whistling sound. The other Mandalorians closed ranks around her and the Wookie children.

The Trandoshans' numbers were dwindling but no amount of their dead seemed to phase them as they climbed over their dead comrades without hesitation.

No wonder Master Windu had advised deadly force, these things didn't quit.

"What's your name, girl?" a Mandalorian to her left called, sounding not the slightest bit out of breath.

"Rey Palpatine," she answered, nailing a Trandoshan in the eye.

"Good to meet you, I'm Chakraborty, to my left is Maas, to my right are Harris, Tolkien, and Briggs, " he said.

"Well met," she said, blasting another Trandoshan in the eye as the Wookie children huddled closer to her. "We're going to get you out of here," she promised, "Just hold tight."

She almost regretted saying the last to them because Wookies, even young ones' definition of 'hold tight' was bruising, but she didn't complain.

Rey felt the ripple in the Force before the Mandalorians heard what was coming for them in the trees. She put down the blaster, and braced herself on her knees, the Wookies hugged her, their arms constricting her breathing. But she was already connected with the Force, and with both her hands free, she prepared herself to catch what was flying at them through the trees.

It wasn't a large ship, not even half the size of the carrier on Naboo. The Mandalorians shouted at her to run, to get the Wookies to safety as they aimed at the engine and the windows, their blasts did nothing.

Rey tuned them all out as she closed her eyes, the ship suspended in her mind. She couldn't afford to cause a large explosion, the Mandalorians had armour, the Wookies did not.

She felt the energy build in the ship's cannons, she crushed them. The explosions were contained to the canons, she shattered the window glass inward, and the Mandalorians shot down the pilot.

The remaining Trandoshans ran as they assumed the ship was about to crash.

"Run!" Chakraborty shouted at her.

But Rey had this, and the ship didn't crash, but it did 'land' on the remaining Trandoshans.

The one leftover Trandoshan looked back at her with a look of horror on its reptilian face. She spun the ship, squishing him like a bug.

Connected as she was to the Force, she felt their deaths and couldn't rejoice at their victory. But when the Wookie children raised their heads at the absence of blaster fire, she knew it had been worth it.

No one who killed children for sport deserved to live.

Rey looked up at the Mandalorians who were staring down at her, with the helmets in place she couldn't read their expressions, but their silence was making her uncomfortable.

Finally, the one name Briggs asked in a distinctly feminine voice, "You're a Jedi Knight."

Rey shook her head, "No, I'm just a Padawan."

The silence resumed and the Wookie's loosened their death grip and she was able to take a full breath.

"But you are a Jedi?" Chakraborty asked.

She frowned at his tone, "Yes."

"You do realize we are Mandalorians, correct?"

She glared up at him, "I'm from Tatooine, of course I recognize you are Mandalorians."

Why did everyone assume she was ignorant? Well, she was in regards to the Jedi, but not in the rest of reality even if she was from the outer rim, and possibly the future.

"And you don't have a problem with that, Padawan?" Maas asked.

Were these people touched in the helmet? What was with their tone? "Why would I have a problem with Mandalorians? Every Mando I've ever met has been nothing but respectful and decent. As long as I stay out of the way of their bounties, they stayed out of my way. And you pay fair prices in a deal."

"You've taken money from a Mandalorian?" Tolkien asked, his voice high and smooth, as if he would be a good singer.

"I was a mechanic."

"But you are a Jedi?" Chakraborty asked for the third time.

"Yes," she said, exasperated now, "What's your problem?"

The Mandalorians exchanged silent looks.

Tolkien shrugged.

Rey would have pressed them but one of the Wookies tugged on her braid, she looked down and in a roaring speech, he said, "~What are you going to do with us, Jedi Rey?~"

She put her hands on his shoulder, "I'm here to help you. Do you have family we can take you to?"

He nodded, and the other two Wookies at her back, moved so they could see her face and began talking rapidly, having realized she could understand them.

"Slow down," Rey said with a reassuring smile, "Let's start with your names? I'm Padawan Rey Palpatine."

They gave her their names and she introduced them to the Mandalorians. "This is Jiwarr, Aribecca, and Dewlanna."

Chakraborty knelt, "We are going to take you back to your people, but we are going to have to make camp away from here for the night. Is that okay?"

Rey translated for Dewlanna, "We need to go East, it is safer and closer to the path we should take tomorrow."

Tolkien said, "We need the Jedi, none of us knows their language."

Harris sighed, "I guess we can tolerate her, she's just a Padawan after all."

Rey didn't catch the thing he said afterwards in Mandalorian tongue, but she didn't think it was flattering.

She suppressed another frown, maybe she would have to rethink her assessment of them being respectful. Growing up on Jakku, the Mandalorians she met had been nearly kind to her, at least in comparison to everyone else.

She wondered if it was something to do with being Jedi that had upset them? Which didn't make much sense, as it seemed they were both here helping the Wookies.

Maul lasted a week before boredom overtook him. Yes, he trained, he meditated on his hatred, and he researched but nothing was enough.

With Rey off-world and with no excuse he could think of to follow her that wouldn't reveal them, he had nothing to do. Even the feeling laying in wait for his prey had abated.

What was more, Darth Sidious was unreachable. His Master answered no com, no message, and had made no public appearances. Maul couldn't investigate further on the off chance he was marked on looking into it.

Sidious would not be pleased if he revealed himself in any way to anyone from Naboo.

Even still, he kept his informants on Queen Amidala's actions as his Master had a penchant for either aiding or undermining whatever the young Queen did.

But there was no destruction large enough to keep his attention. He had been living on Coruscant for nearly two years now, and he was ready to kill something.

He had been ready to kill for years now.

So when one more day passed, of training and meditating, he snapped. He returned to the underworld deciding to make good on his alternate identity.

He found a bounty, and by nightfall said bounty was dead.

Weeks passed and he was again left to boredom. Coruscant had many criminals, but unless Maul wished to make a name for himself, which he couldn't afford to do, he had to restrain himself.

Wondering if he should leave to some other planet in the outer rim to let off steam, the droid on his ship lit up with an important message.

Maul signalled for the stupid thing to continue.

"Senator Palpatine of Naboo declared missing. Queen Amidala of Naboo asks that anyone with information please contact a representative of Naboo. Last known whereabouts: Coruscant."

Maul's thoughts came to halt before spinning madly.

Was his Master in danger? That seemed unlikely. Likely Sidious had planned his own kidnapping and had not deigned to tell his apprentice.

Perhaps Maul should check on him anyway, but if he was caught in any way or interrupted Sidious's schemes then there would be hell to pay.

But what if he was in real danger?

The only people Sidious had to worry about were the Jedi, who remained ignorant, or Darth Plagueis.

Maul leaned back in his seat. He had seen Hego Demask II see him, but they had never been introduced as such. They weren't on a talking basis or in direct contact in any way. Technically, Darth Sidious was still his apprentice.

If it was Darth Plagueis who had Sidious, Maul wouldn't be able to help him.

Deciding that he needed to be in hiding now more than ever, he searched his mind for something to do.

He thought of Rey, thought of how she had nearly laughed at him for mastering Niman because she thought it wasn't aggressive enough.

Form VII, Juyo was plenty aggressive enough, but he couldn't use it in front of her because she would ask, and if answered and she took it to her precious Jedi, then they would be on to him.

Not that his having a saber at all wouldn't tip them off. But she had seemed sincere when she promised not to share that fact with the Jedi.

He didn't trust that promise, not in the slightest. But in order for him to earn her trust, he knew he would at least have to pretend to trust her. Because despite their first meeting, he had come to see that she didn't trust him either, despite following him into the underground and handing him her lightsaber.

Of course, she didn't really need a lightsaber to toast him.

She had only killed one person with that bout of lightning, but more had been dying and none had made any indication that they could have risen. Rey hadn't even been tired after that.

He had been on the receiving end of lightning enough to know that even Sidious would have grown weary. Rey hadn't looked phased at all.

And even Sidious couldn't create thunder with his lightning.

She said she favoured Ataru and Soresu.

He tried not to sneer at the latter. He would most likely be good at it, considering his own natural endurance out did most species, but he couldn't stomach holding back that long. He wasn't even sure it would work while trying to channel the Dark Side of the Force. Possibly as a form of masochism to build up his frustration until he blew up at his opponent with the full weight of his powers, but that wasn't exactly the idea of Soresu.

But Ataru…

He stood igniting his dual sided lightsaber.

Ataru was in many ways the forefather of his own preferred style. He walked through the basic motions Sidious had taught him.

A few he had mastered already as they existed in some ways in both Niman and Juyo, but Ataru was more graceful, more fluid, more predictable.

He sighed.

But he didn't stop, remembering more and more as he found his footing. He let the Force flow through him, the Dark coming to him easier now as the Light had become polluted by Rey's destruction of the Sith shades.

He flipped, and with each wond up motion, he found Ataru far more suited to a double blade than Niman was, even some ways better than Juyo, though he would never admit that out loud. Atura was fluid, and unlike with a single blade, it allowed the momentum of his dual saber to never end.

Maul had researched Rey's Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and he held only a single blade. Perhaps Maul could lure Rey to him in teaching her how to wield her weapon, especially if her Master was wasting her on Shii-Cho.

Dooku wasn't sure what had changed, but his contacts throughout the Separatist movement had started contacting him right and left for direction.

Some had even given him detailed information on their droids manufacturing. Details he had shared with Sifo-Dyas. His dear friend had nearly had a heartattack.

And when Dooku brought the issue up before the Council, he found that many indivauls knew different pieces of the board that spanned the galaxy.

"We need to destroy them all," he said to his fellow Council members. "Preferably before the designs get better."

"They are still in the Republic," Mace argued, "I doubt it would be hard to convince-"

"No," Dooku had cut in, "We are not sacrificing our people to suppress systems who the Republic is failing. Let the Republic manage its own problems, for once. The Republic Guard are fat cats with all the 'errands' they send our people on."

"We need to prevent a citizen against droid war," Sifo-Dyas said, unmoved by Dooku's reasoning.

"What we need," Adi-Ki Mundi said, "is a diplomatic solution."

"Let the Separatists leave the Republic," Dooku suggested simply.

"Those systems don't have the resources to be self-sufficient," Depa argued.

"No?" Dooku asked, "Then how are they building so many droids?"

"The InterGalactic Banking Clan," Plo Koon said.

Dooku felt some warning bell go off both in his memories and in the Force. "The IBC… I seem to remember meeting with them some twenty years ago on Serreno. I believe Qui-Gon accused the representative of inciting discord throughout the outer rim. We couldn't prove it, but it is interesting to now find them backing the Separatist movement along with the Trade Federation. And here I was under the impression the two fractions despised each other."

"His name was Hego Demask II," Sifo-Dyas said, "that Muun your Qui-Gon picked a fight with."

Dooku nodded, "Yes, that sounds right, sharp memory."

"I had cause to remember," Sifo-Dyas remarked, "Demask approached me two years ago." He frowned, "It was an odd conversation come to think of it."

"Odd how?" Mace asked.

"In light of recent information, much. This was before- well, this was before my visions changed. I was hardly sleeping, I was being plagued by visions of war and I was getting desperate."

"Feared, we did," Yoda spoke, "that wait for more information you would not."

Sifo-Dyas nodded, "Demask approached me at my lowest, he said-" he put a hand to his forehead as if fighting through a phantom pain.

Dooku sat forward, watching his friend carefully.

"He mentioned cloning on Kimino. He implied with the right funding the Council could have an army of clones created, for the safety of the Republic."

"Why would he suggest that?" Depa asked, "If the IBC is backing the Separatist movement?"

"Because banks benefit from war," Plo Koon said darkly, "Maybe not at first, but- Sifo-Dyas, are you alright?"

Sifo-Dyas had his head in both his hands now.

"Dyas," Dooku said, worried.

"Demask," Sifo-Dyas went on, and Dooku wasn't sure if he was hearing them, "He offered me -I said yes, I think, but I didn't have time… time to act on it. The disturbance in the Force, it was -I forgot. How could I forget?"

Dooku put a hand on his shoulder, and a wave of darkness came off the other man, and he seemed to sag in his seat, as if some nightmare or madness had released him, "The Demask Funds, he gave me funds to follow through with cloning. But I never followed through. I never brought the idea of cloning before you all, I never gave them my Council code, which he specifically asked for, or signed my name. Demask sent me messages informing the fund was there but I- I was distracted."

"When exactly did we all feel the disturbance in the Force?" Dooku asked the room at large.

They all looked at each other, apparently, no one had thought to mark it on a calendar.

Finally, Depa said, "Months before Qui-Gon brought Rey to the Temple."

Mace tapped his fingers against his chair, "Months before Master Yoda decided, before we all decided that taking in a nineteen year old into the Order was the will of the Force. Even if said Padawan inadvertently released more Darkness into the Force than has ever been."

Dooku shook his head, "Rey didn't do anything to the Force that wasn't there already, we just ignored it. We were unaware that the Sith even had Force spirits conscious within the Force."

"Grown clouded had the Force become," Yoda said, "Shadows has it now, but clouded it is not. More present is the Force, in all things."

Sifo-Dyas straightened suddenly, startling Dooku who pulled his hand back, "That's what Demask said to me! Not the shadows, but that the Force had grown clouded, a growing darkness. He was playing off my fears."

"He spoke of the Force?" Depa asked, "What would a member of the IBC know of the Force?"

"A con-man," Mace said disgusted, "We all fall short sometimes, leave it to a banker to take advantage of that. Do you owe interest in the loan given to you, Sifo-Dyas?"

He shook his head, "I don't know, I never, like I said, I never signed anything."

"But you did give verbal confirmation," Dooku countered.

"Yes, but- I'll have to check my records, my memories feel -slippery."

Dooku shared a worried look with Master Yoda.

Depa, a no-nonsense sort of woman and the only other living Master of Vapaad, said, "The Separatists are still members of the Republic, and if they Trade Federation and the IBC are playing them, playing both sides no-less, then we need to step in."

"We can't force them to submit to democracy," Dooku said, and held up a hand to her, "I am not saying I disagree with you, Master Billaba. What I am saying is that if these systems, the majority, are being failed by the Republic, then to muscle them into submission puts us in the wrong. We are the Jedi, we know what prevails as an acceptable living standard. Water, food, shelter, basic rights, or their equivalents, the Republic neglects and shelves too many problems of these planets over planets that have resources to bribe the government."

"So what do you suggest, Dooku?" Mace asked, "Anarchy cannot be the answer, war is-"

"Is manageable," Dooku countered, "If we side against the Separatists, war is inevitable. But more importantly, if we side against the Separatists, side against the systems and people in great need, then we are failing our oaths to the Force."

Mace stared at him, "Then what do you suggest?"

"I suggest we make a deal with the Separatists. We bring them to the table and ask them to surrender their droid armies and cease manufacturing them."

"In exchange for what?"

"In exchange, the Jedi will refuse to take action against the Separatist movement if asked by the Republic."

A stirring went through the room.

"Asking us to go against the Republic is treason," Mace stated.

"Is it? Is it really, Master Windu? Because I was brought up to believe we serve the Force, not a corrupted government body. Besides, we are not going against the Republic; any action that follows the de-militarizing of the Separatists becomes easier, more diplomatic in nature. And in the process, the Jedi prevent a possible galaxy-spanning war, machine against lives."

Adi-Ki Mundi leaned back, "And we send a message to the Republic that we value our diplomacy over our ability to wage battle."

"A message you think they are starting to learn, considering how active the archives have been of late," Depa remarked.

Sifo-Dyas smiled, "My old Master is both pleased and infuriated that the archives are meeting a daily capacity."

Master Yoda chuckled, "Far from capacity, we are."

The atmosphere in the room lightened.

Plo Koon said, "So how are we going to bring all the Separatist systems to the table for this?"

Dooku smiled, "As it so happens, they have all been requesting an audience."

The Jedi Council was about to make the Senate very angry with them.

Dooku couldn't be more pleased, he looked at Sifo-Dyas who looked as if he was nursing one of his many migraines.

Dooku's enthusiasm dimmed, as he reminded himself that this was among the first steps of a long, long road.

AN: Reactions, thoughts, ideas, requestions, or baby Yoda's for soft hearted Mandos?