Anakin Skywalker did not like Zygerria. The arid air, the dry, barren landscape, the specks of sand that somehow managed to sneak their way into his nostrils with every breath despite his best efforts...it reminded him too much of his own home planet. And not to mention the other obvious similarity, the droves of forlorn, pathetic looking slaves such as the hundreds passing through their small outpost.

"How much time do we have, General?"

Rex, newly promoted on Amidala's recommendation shortly after Obi-Wan and Quinlan joined the Alliance, checked the computers studiously. "Scouts are reporting reinforcements arriving from Zygeros, five full battalions at least. We should expect bogey's within the hour."

"Kriff," Padmé said. Despite her powers in the Force, the chip deactivators were not working fast enough for them. "Can we spare any forces to defend this camp?"

"I don't know," Rex seemed doubtful. "We need all the numbers we can muster for the assault on the capitol."

His own chip reader busy in his hand, Obi-Wan called out from the other side of the slave queue. "With all respect, Consular, I do not believe the Zygerrians will fire upon their own slaves. If they believe they will still prevail in the battle, then they'd see no point to damaging those they believe to be their property."

"What if they believe the battle is lost, Master Jedi?" Padmé continued, hurriedly processing as many slaves as she could, careful not to be sloppy with her work. "They may activate all the slave detonators out of spite."

"Were they so inclined, they would have done so already."

"You have a point," Padmé admitted, much as she hated giving the Jedi any credit. But they were working together and for the time being, shared a common goal. "We shouldn't underestimate the ability of the powerful at self-delusion. Somehow, they still believe they can prevail."

"They're desperate," Anakin spat out with a scowl. "Slavers project their baseness onto their enemies, and think we'll enslave them if we win."

"Wise words, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, flipping the deactivator into his robes. He gestured towards their fighters. "Shall we?"

Anakin nodded. "I'll lead the squadron against the advance force. Obi-Wan and Rex, you can lead the ground assault. Padmé, what do you prefer?"

The leader of the Alliance continued her work down the line of slaves as she pondered her options. Taking out her comm, she buzzed the orbital command on the flagship. "Commander Cody, do you copy?"

"Consular Amidala," the response came from the Liberator. "We await your orders."

"Any news on the situation in Coruscant?"

"Nothing, unfortunately. We have not heard from the extraction team."

"I spoke with Consular Mothma a few minutes ago," Quinlan added from the ship. "Unfortunately the Chancellor's inner circle has all but rebuffed even our most discrete inquiries..."

"Nevermind," Padmé said. "We'll focus on the battle at hand. Cody, direct a dozen extra squadrons to defend the slave barracks here." Noting a skeptical look from Obi-Wan, she continued. "We will put up a fight and get them to commit more of their droids in this sector. Rex, can you manage the defense?"

"Yes, Consular," the clone general said, a bit confused. "Especially if we're getting reinforcements."

"Good. Keep them occupied, and once you've dispatched the counterattack, Commander Cody will take over planetside and advance southwards towards the cave district. I believe there are significant slave populations there as well."

"But Consular," Cody started. Like Rex, he had only worked with the former Senator for a few months since she started joining her husband and the Jedi's on campaign, but felt comfortable enough to speak to her frankly. "The caves are the opposite direction from Zygeros, and processing those slaves could take another full day at least."

"Let the Queen believe we are devoting our resources inordinately to the slaves," Padmé said slyly. She turned to the older Jedi. "Obi-Wan, you and I will take a small squadron and mount a direct attack on the Royal Palace. Anakin and Rex, you can try to join us once the situation here settles down."

Obi-Wan paced the quarters in thought, sifting his fingers through his beard. "It is risky, and success depends on the Queen buying our feints."

"We are going to succeed," Padmé said icily, seemingly impatient at Obi-Wan for questioning her. "I have foreseen it."

"And we have an overwhelming numerical advantage," the Jedi added, not keen to let a Sith have the last word. "There's that too."

"If we're going to win regardless," Anakin interjected, "why not have a little fun with it?"

With the smirk plastering the boy's face, it was hard for Obi-Wan to not see him as just a rambunctious young man barely out of his childhood, rather than a hardened general and a Sith lord to boot. He wondered whether it was too late for the boy, or even his wife for the matter. Unlike the only other Sith he had encountered in his life, these two did not seem to bathe in the Dark Side and all the turbulent emotions that accompanied it. Though that was probably from good shielding, he reasoned. Senator Palpatine, the late and likely Sith mastermind of the Naboo crisis, certainly raised no alarms amongst the few Jedi who had encountered him around the Senate building.

The Clone General smiled as well. "General Skywalker," Rex said frankly, "I'm surprised you're not one of us brothers, considering what constitutes as fun for you."

They exchanged few words during the raid, the physical exertion of climbing through the underground tunnels below the Zygerrian royal palace taking up most of their efforts. One of the clones, Fives was his name, swore when they approached a section leading downwards, which meant that they had either taken a wrong turn, or would have to inevitably reclimb what they just sweated through to reach the palace level above.

"What is it with these royals," he grumbled. "Why does everything have to be a maze?"

"These tunnels are ancient," Obi-Wan said. "While the kings and queens of old surely knew the way were an escape from a palace siege necessary, the labyrinth serves to deter their slaves from similar notions."

"I'm confident we are not lost," Padmé added, sensing Fives' distress. "Artoo's scans of the terrain are precise. Right, Artoo?"

The droid whistled in agreement from the front of their procession, indicating that they were very close to the palace. Padmé patted the droid on its dome affectionately. As much as she hated to admit it, she was having as much fun as Anakin would have had in such a situation, crawling through these dank tunnels at the head of her soldiers. Politics was still her passion of course, just as much as they had been Sidious's, but it felt good to get away sometimes. Especially if it meant that she could spend more time with her husband.

Amidala had no doubt that Mon and Bail could manage the internal dealings of the Alliance from Hosnian Prime, the newly designated and temporary capital until they retook Coruscant. That was certainly her plan of course, and she knew that while Mon was uneasy of any outright conquest or aggressive maneuvers towards the Republic, Bail was leaning towards trying to retake the capital for the sole reason of freeing the inhabitants from the incompetently evil oppression of Nute Gunray, though the Consular from Alderaan had voiced many concerns about whether it was possible to mount a battle on such a populated world with minimal bloodshed.

While neither one of them gave voice to it, Padmé was certain that her fellow Consulars and longest running allies within the old Senate were now very wary of her now that her affiliation as a Sith had been revealed. Their body language did not betray them, but their minds did, projecting fear and apprehension whenever she was around. She would deal with them later, but for now she still needed the two erstwhile allies, and her temporary absence from governmental affairs helped soothe the psyches of her fellow Consulars. Let them assume that they were in control.

A furious shriek from Artoo brought her back to the present as blaster fire suddenly tore upon them from either end of the tunnel. Instantly the clone troopers formed a protective semi-circle, firing back at the advancing droids.

"We've been spotted," the commander known as Dogma yelled.

"I'll take these ones," Obi-Wan yelled at the Sith, expertly deflecting the blaster shots back at the droids, taking them down with their own fire one by one. "You take the ones in the rear."

Padmé nodded. Ignoring her own lightsaber, she merely stretched her arm towards the droids and, with one shoving motion, all the enemy clankers found themselves violently pushed and crushed against the tunnel walls into a thousand pieces. Reaching her other hand in Obi-Wan's direction, she directed a Force push to rid all of his droids for good measure.

"Typical," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head as he put away his lightsaber. "The Sith, always choosing the path of expediency."

"It was effective, was it not," Padmé asked, shrugging. "It shortened the skirmish and likely saved a few lives of our men." She looked over to one of the clones. "Agree, Fives?"

Both she and Obi-Wan could feel the trooper's uncertainty under his helmet, suddenly thrust into a philosophical debate between Jedi and Sith.

"You all have powers I don't quite fully understand," the trooper finally said. "I won't question either one of you...but as a brother I can't see myself hesitating to use whatever resources I have to help another brother."

"Clearly a raid is no place to debate semantics," Padmé said, already running ahead deeper in the tunnel. She looked back at Obi-Wan as she ran. "Besides, Jedi, there is no need for pretense. We all know you are salivating to see the extent of my powers so you can ably plan on how you will dispose of me once we have defeated Gunray."

"You doth project too much," Obi-Wan said, though he understood the truth to her words. And the implicit threat and challenge in that, when the current unspoken truce between Jedi and Sith finally ended, she would be prepared. "Would it be unfair though, considering you have had over ten years to spy upon my abilities?"

Padmé laughed. "You reveal yourself then. Out of all the great and revered members of your Order, you would be the one I fear most. More than Masters Yoda, Windu, or anyone on your High Council. I'm glad to finally learn how you view your own importance."

"That was a mere joke, I assure you Consular. I certainly do not view myself in such a manner."

She enjoyed herself as the Jedi visibly squirm at her words. He was telling the truth of course. Obi-Wan Kenobi was wedded to the Jedi Code, and an outsized ego was likely against his very nature. Her voice softened when she responded. "Such a perspective would not be lacking in some merit, of course. I do honestly believe that your power and your potential eclipse that of many on the Council. In time, I see that you may even follow Master Yoda as Grandmaster. It would suit you well."

"I see you have switched your weapon to flattery then." They ran in silence for a few seconds, both of them returning their senses to the scene of the upcoming battle, hoping not to be surprised by more enemy fighters or droids. Obi-Wan broke the silence thoughtfully. "I had the same hopes for Anakin actually, that he could have surpassed us all in the Order."

"No," Padmé hissed, surprising Obi-Wan with her sudden vehemence.

"He is not yours to claim, you know. You do not own the man."

"Nor do you, or your Order," Padmé replied back, the hostility clear in her voice. "Anakin made the best choice for himself. The Order would have been oil to his water."

"You made that choice so easy for him," Obi-Wan remarked, his disdain clear in his voice. "He wanted nothing more than to be a Jedi until you interfered. I wonder sometimes, did you seduce him right then and there, or did you wait a week or two before bedding him?"

They had ran far ahead of their clone contingent so that their conversation was now out of their earshot. Padmé stopped abruptly to face the Jedi, and for the first time, Obi-Wan saw her eyes gleaming with yellow.

"Do not dare to slander me or my husband in that manner, Jedi." She calmed, and just as quickly, her eyes returned to their normal brown color. She leaned in aggressive towards the Jedi. "You act as if you Jedi acted purely and did not try to manipulate a young and impressionable boy for want of his power. Let me tell you want Anakin wants, Jedi. Anakin wants me. He wants his mother. He wants family. Neither you or Master Qui-Gon thought to tell him such things would be impossible once you enrolled him in your Order."

"Don't you dare insult Qui-Gon, Sith," Obi-Wan threatened back as his hands moved instinctively onto his weapon. "He gave his life for your planet and he would have been happy to give his life for Anakin without hesitation. He was murdered by a member of your Order, at the hands of a monster trained by your master. His intentions for Anakin were far more purer than yours."

Obi-Wan breathed a sigh of relief when the young Sith lady backed away.

"I respect your Master and his sacrifice. But he was blinded by his indoctrination. You never would have been able to force Anakin to abandon me, or his mother."

With enough words exchanged between the two, they continued on in silence until they reached the end of the tunnel, where a small switch in the stone betrayed the entrance to the palace.

"You hate me," Padmé said as they waited for the rest of the clones to catch up.

"Jedi do not hate," Obi-Wan said, knowing that he was avoiding her eyes as he spoke.

"Resent, then. You never cared for Anakin. All he was to you was a tool to honor Master Qui-Gon's last wish. And you resent me for denying you that privilege. You believe that, for some reason, his legacy remains unfulfilled, incomplete in your mind for the sole reason that you did not train Anakin as a Jedi."

"I did care for the boy," Obi-Wan started, though he quickly cut himself off when the clanging of footsteps broached their ears as the clones, led by Fives and Dogma, caught up to them. The fact that he did not start with denying her other allegations did not escape Padmé's notice.

"What's the situation," Five started uneasily. He noticed the tension between the two commanders. "Can you sense what's going on up there, if they're already aware of our presence down here?"

"I think the situation is well in hand," Padmé said, opening the door. Sure enough, they found the Palace guards running around chaotically, running from the blaster fire coming from above. Quickly, they heard the hum of two lightsabers and Padmé beamed with pride when she saw her husband appear through the scrum, his twin lightsabers chopping down droids and guard alike, followed closely by Rex and the rest of the clones.

"I see you took care of the counterattack," Padmé said, jumping, flying and spinning through the blaster fire to land next to Anakin, managing to place a quick peck upon his lips even in the midst of battle.

"We crushed them easily," Anakin boasted. He looked over to the Jedi and Padmé's group, who were quickly advancing through the enemy, leaving the few survivors surrounded on both sides. "How was Obi-Wan?"

"Interesting," was all Padmé said, causing Anakin to raise his eyebrow. She moved to change the subject. "Let's finish off these slavers, shall we?"

The end of the Zygerria campaign was now more of a slaughter than a battle, as the two siths viciously and ruthlessly cut down every enemy who dared to come at them. The clones followed suit and only Obi-Wan, who emanated his disapproval liberally through the Force, made an attempt to aim his deflections only towards the enemy droids, taking care to merely disable any sentient opponents unless there was no other choice. Within minutes they found themselves in the throne room, where the slaver Queen and her underling, Atai Molec, cowered in fear.

"Please," Miraj Scintel begged, falling to her knees. "We surrender. We will join your Alliance. I promise, I will stand by you myself when you take the head off of Chancellor Gunray."

"We have credits," Atai Molec started, but was quickly cut short when Anakin separated his head from his shoulders in one smooth motion.

"Anakin Skywalker," Obi-Wan scolded loudly, stopping Padmé in her tracks as she advanced towards the Queen. "Consular Amidala, may I remind you that the Queen and her advisers has already surrendered. Surely your allies would frown upon your slaughter of a harmless prisoner, much less one that is a head of state."

"They deserve it," Padmé said, turning back to the Jedi, her eyes terrifyingly yellow again. "What do you intend to do about it, Jedi?"

"I will observe Galactic law," Obi-Wan said. He advanced towards her. "I will enforce Galactic law, if need be. That is why myself and Quinlan are assisting you in the first place."

The entire room, from husband to Jedi to clones to slaver Queen watched and waited for the lady of the Sith to make her next move. Obi-Wan breathed yet another sigh of relief as the yellow left her eyes again, and she deactivated her weapons. Regaining her bearing, she marched right past Obi-Wan and towards the clones.

"General Rex, I believe your men can escort our prisoner to her quarters on the Liberator."

Rex nodded. "We will ensure the prisoner arrives safely for her trial on Hosnian Prime, Consular." Leaning in, he whispered into her ears. "Personally, I wish you would have run her through though."

The former Queen and Senator rushed off her ship the moment it docked back into the royal spaceport in Theed, surprised to see the current Queen's two main handmaidens waiting to greet her.

"Consular Amidala," Dormé said, bowing to her former monarch. "Queen Jamillia wishes to meet with you as soon as possible."

Padmé bowed back. "I will oblige her, of course, provided that Anakin and I have a chance to clean ourselves up."

"Your quarters are ready," Moteé said. "But her majesty wishes to meet with you alone."

"Very well," Padmé answered. This was odd, and she could sense the apprehension in the Queen's two handmaidens. But she had more pressing matters to worry about right now. "Any word from Coruscant," she asked. "Have we heard back from the extraction team?"

Dormé seemed afraid to answer. "I'm afraid to say the rescue attempt failed, milady. The Chancellor has announced a press conference. I believe it is slated to start any minute now."

"Come," Padmé said to Anakin, who was just disembarking from the ship now with their belongings. "We will watch in the room."

They rushed to the chambers Jamillia had prepared for them, and Padmé barely noticed that they were not in the royal wing, usually reserved for guests of honor. She was glad that Obi-Wan and Quinlan had accompanied Rex and the 501st back to Hosnian Prime. She did not want the Jedi to see her now, in her moment of weakness.

They turned on the holo the moment upon entering their room, barely catching the beginning of the Chancellor's press conference. As he spoke, he held a knife above the a small woman, kneeling below him, her hands bound and her face heavily bruised, with blotches of blood sullying her weary dress.

"Saché," Padmé whispered softly, her heart breaking at the sight of her friend and former handmaiden.

"...the witch bitch Amidala sends more assassins to save this pathetic evil assassin," Gunray was blathering from his Senate pod. He looked down at his prisoner and spat on her. "They try to kill me. They fail. Now they die. They all die. And I will kill her now. All evil must die. Gunray will save everyone. Let this be a message to Alliance and their evil allies. You will fail and you will all die die die!"

The tall Neimoidian clumsily bent down and, to the horror of Anakin, Padmé, and all the galaxy watching the transmission, cut the knife slowly across the woman's neck. Gasping in pain, her hands bound tightly even as she instinctively tried to move them up to cover her wound, Saché struggled to remain upright for half a minute before she finally collapsed upon the ground.

With a primal scream, Padmé hurled the holoprojector across the room, mercifully breaking it and ending the farce of its transmission. She felt Anakin's arms embrace her, holding her tightly as she tried not to cry. Not when she needed to meet with the Queen so quickly afterwards.

"I'm so sorry," was all he said. It was all he could say.

"She gave them their blood, but she did not give them her tears. She did not give them her dignity. Saché remained true Naboo to the very end."

Clearly Nute Gunray had lied yet again, this time to the galaxy about her former handmaiden. Though she would doubtlessly give her life to protect her former Queen, Saché was nothing of an assassin or even an Alliance operative in any manner. A quiet schoolteacher with her stint as a Royal Handmaiden served, she only wished to visit a sister who had moved to Coruscant to marry a young engineer. Padmé had warned her not to go, that the capital world was not safe for anyone associated with the name Amidala, but Saché had brushed off her concerns, acting as usual with her heart.

"This damned war," Padmé raged softly. "We didn't even have a chance to rescue her ourselves."

"It would have been difficult," Anakin tried consoling. "Our resources are stretched thin as they are, what with the Zygerria campaign and the multiple Hutt fronts and Felucia and Mygeeto..."

"I know," Padmé said, kissing Anakin's hand to signal that she did not interrupt him out of anger. "Still, we failed her. I failed her. She suffered for me. She died for me, like so many others." The Sith master allowed herself to cry in her husband arms for a few minutes before steeling herself.

"I must meet with the Queen," Padmé said, wiping away her tears with a small handkerchief. "Wait for me."

"Always," Anakin said. "I will meditate until your return."

Any evidence of her emotional outburst was long gone by the time she entered the Queen's throne room. Jamillia sat flanked by her two handmaidens, her bearing regal as always, but Padmé, like the encounter at the spaceport, sensed an inordinate amount of anxiety from everyone in the room save her.

"Consular Amidala," Jamillia said, nodding her head as she beckoned Padmé towards the seat across from hers. "A pleasure as always."

Padmé bowed politely before taking her seat. "Your majesty. This day is a tragedy for Naboo. I hope we can think of something to honor Saché's memory."

"A tragedy, yes." The anger was clear in her voice as well. "One tragedy amongst so many these days, it pains me to think of it." Pausing, Jamilia reached for a datapad. "Governor Lago has informed me that some of the most elite members of Naboo's security contingent were lost in the rescue attempt."

"It was unavoidable, your majesty. The Alliance could not afford to spare any resources. Furthermore, the presence of any clone troopers on Coruscant would convey a more aggressive stance than what the Alliance would have wished at this time."

"Of course," Jamillia responded coldly, "the Alliance takes priority over the lives of the Naboo."

"Their mission was to save the life of a Naboo," Padmé replied, barely keeping her voice at a low, icy tone. "If you wish to tell me something, your majesty, I advise you to spare the niceties and speak to me directly."

"Very well," Jamillia said, sighing. She stood up, hovering menacingly above the desk and her predecessor on the throne. "You had no authority to send Naboo forces to Coruscant. Frankly speaking, you have brought war to Naboo. You have brought death to Naboo. Though I am no fan of the Supreme Chancellor, despite my doubts about this secession I supported it because I believed you had Naboo's best intentions at heart. Considering your affiliation with the Sith Order, I can no longer be certain of your true allegiances."

Padmé stood as well, leaning onto the table same as Jamillia so that her face was almost facing her Queen's. "I am the Sith Order," she snarled. "Believe me, there is no one else controlling my actions."

"All more reason for my suspicions," Jamillia retorted bravely. "I do not know what you value more. Naboo? The Republic? The Alliance? Or your own power?"

"What I want has always been clear. I want peace, freedom, and justice for the Republic and all sentient beings."

"Or so you claim," Jamillia said as Dormé gulped nervously behind her. "I've done my research on the Sith Order, Consular. The Sith act only for the sake of their own power, and always use deception as a means to their ends."

"Speak further," Padmé whispered, barely controlling her anger. "Give voice to what you are accusing me of."

"I accuse you of nothing." Jamillia sat back down, trying as Padmé was to take control of her temper. "I have no evidence but my own instincts, of course, But I do have the power to withdraw your representation of Naboo and the Chommell Sector, effective immediately. By its bylaws, you will resign at once your position of Consul of the Alliance. I have also instructed Governor Lago to initiate peace talks with the Republic and the Senate. War is not in our culture..."

"What are you saying," Padmé started, barely comprehending what was happening. So close, and her Queen was pulling the rug from under their cause. It angered her, Jamillia's temerity, and it angered her that she had not foreseen it.

"I trust your retirement will be fruitful and fulfilling," Jamillia said. "After all, you have told me on multiple occasions how much you enjoy spending time at Varykino."

"I find your lack of faith disturbing," Padmé hissed out. Without thinking, she clenched her fingers together, and Jamillia gasped as she found herself lifted into the air, unable to breathe.

Suspended over her throne and thrashing for air, she looked at her two handmaidens in panic. "Help," she managed to cry out. "Help me!"

To her further surprise, neither of her two haidmaidens moved from their positions.

"It appears the Queen is having a heart attack," Dormé said, staring straight ahead at the throne room entrance.

"Or a stroke," Moteé said. "It does not look good."

"We must get help," Dormé said, motionless.

"Yes, we must," Moteé agreed, standing still in her position. "I fear it may be too late."

As she felt her life slowly being wrenched away from her by the Sith, the betrayal of two of her closest advisers, friends even, broke her heart. "You can't...you can't," she struggled to say as the invisible grip on her throat wrenched tighter and tighter.

"Foolish woman," Padmé continued, the yellow in her eyes so thick that it seemed close to bursting out to burn everything in its path. "Only now, in the end, do you see where the true allegiances of the Naboo lie. Amidala, my Queen. You are nothing! Naboo will always follow Amidala."

Feeling the life force leave the Queen's body, she flung the corpse violently against the wall. As she felt the blood rush back to her head, Padmé collapsed on her chair.

"What have I done," she gasped. The scene felt surreal to her. The entire day, from Saché's execution to the meeting with the Queen had seemed a dream, and only now was she waking.

Dormé and Moteé approached Jamillia's body, the latter pulling out a vial of makeup and quickly began to apply it on the late Queen's neck, covering up the bruises Padmé's Force choke had inflicted upon her.

"She was about to betray you," Dormé said.

Both young handmaidens had approached Padmé shortly after her term as Queen had ended, applying to enter her service as a Senator. Padmé had instructed them to seek the patronage of the newly elected Queen instead, that the best way to serve her was to act as her eyes and ears in Theed. Though Padmé suspected that the new Queen was fiercely independent and impossible for her to fully control, she never envisioned that their relationship would end like this.

"Still, there were other ways. I could have argued my case. I could have convinced her..."

"We will inform the Governor of the Queen's unfortunate passing from a heart attack," Moteé interrupted.

"I did not enter this meeting into the official annals," Dormé added. "Moteé will erase the security footage. The meeting never happened. As Chief Handmaiden, I will be in charge of the autopsy."

"No one will know," Moteé assured. "We will take this secret to our graves."

"I should not have killed her. Jamillia was misguided...but she was a good woman. She did have Naboo's interests at heart. She did not deserve this." Padmé buried her head into her hands. All of a sudden, it felt like the weight of her entire existence, Sidious, the Jedi, the War, was bearing down upon her soul, showing her no mercy. Gathering her strength, she stood and walked up to the throne next to the handmaidens. "But I thank you for your service and your loyalty. You will be rewarded."

"There is no need," Dormé said, bowing. "Naboo will always remain loyal to their true Queen, whatever her title may be."

"I will retire for the night," Padmé said. There would be so much more she needed to do with this most recent complication. New elections would have to be arranged, and Padmé could only hope that whoever was elected would be less troublesome than Jamillia. She could manipulate the election, of course, and ensure that one of her protege's took the throne. It might be necessary, but it was so much more work, but all she wanted to do at this moment, more so than any other time in her life it seemed, was to curl up and fall asleep in her husband's arms.

Nightshade's sydneylover150: Looks like there's already some trouble in paradise...tensions are predictably rising between Jedi and Sith.

TheWateringWizard: They are definitely getting more Sithlier. We'll see if either side can continue to hold back their lightsabers...

Praetor-Canis: The Jedi are planning something, but a small part of Obi-Wan and Quinlan do want believe the Sith. Their common sense and a lifetime of Jedi teachings prevent them from fulling embracing such hopes however.

saberstorm: Thanks! There is definitely an intention towards trust, but there is apparently a lot of personal history as well in addition to historical feuds.

ichigo urahara Shihoin: I did not include it in the text, but Dooku is away fighting the war on one of the other fronts such as Felucia.