A/N:Well, originally I was going to go straight from Alderaan to Kamino, but I realized I needed something in-between to further develop a few things before getting there, so this arc will be an original one not based on any episodes in the series; I'll get to Kamino afterwards. Thankfully, as I stated in the author's note in the previous chapter, the time between story arcs in TCW is not always made clear, so I have some leeway even before taking the changes to canon into account.

Disney owns Star Wars, but don't worry—The Last Jedi absolutely does NOT have any subliminal messages telling you to obey hidden in it. Honest.

Even before facing Ventress on Alderaan, I knew that I would have to get better as a duelist if I was to survive for long as the war continued; seeing the gulf in skill between us only served as incentive for me to increase my focus even further. Thankfully, there was enough quiet for about two weeks that both Master Obi-Wan and Anakin were free to help train Ahsoka and me with little interruption. With additional instruction from a few other Jedi in the temple, I also got some training in Form VI, Niman. The jack-of-all-trades method that form used served to aid my ability to transition between the other forms I had chosen to practice; not only that, its focus on chaining force techniques into lightsaber sequences gave me more avenues of both attack and defense. I may not have had the ability to deliver anywhere near the amount of sheer damage that Anakin or Master Obi-Wan could with things like telekinesis, but my fine control was improving fast enough that it would eventually compensate for that.

In spite of the fact that 90% of each day was being dedicated solely to combat instruction at the moment didn't prevent me from finding time to meditate here and there; when I did, I preferred to use that time to reflect on the changes to canon that had occurred thus far. While the last couple of weeks had been quiet enough on the surface, I knew that there were plenty of changes happening out of sight; by taking into account what had already happened and combining that with my knowledge of canon, I decided to try and figure out what those changes might be. Unfortunately, that was easier said and done, and I found myself just as clueless as to what might be going on behind the scenes as I had been at the start; I would have become discouraged by that, if not for the Force. As I said once before, it's virtually impossible to be agnostic when you can feel the Force; whenever I grew anxious over the changes, I felt an almost reassuring sensation—kind of like a calm whisper, but one you hear in your mind and not with your ears (again, describing the Force to someone who can't feel it is difficult)—that told me not to worry. When I was first starting out, that kind of thing wouldn't have helped to calm me down very much, but as time passed I gradually learned to trust the Force completely. Nothing happens by coincidence. There is almost always some sort of plan in place, and while we all have our own choices to make in terms of our individual lives, sometimes it's worth it just to trust that things will work out in the end, and that we'll know when it's time to act. As such, I found myself more able to simply let go and focus on my training.

"Focus, Kevin. Every opponent has a tell, or a pattern to their fighting method. The harder they press, the more aggressively they attack, the more obvious those signs become."

Obi-Wan sat behind me, giving advice and input as Anakin and I circled each other in one of the training areas of the Temple, training sabers activated and brandished; suddenly, the Chosen One unleashed a rapid series of strikes, slashes, and hard chops. I responded by parrying most of them, maintaining careful control over my footwork before transitioning into a Form V riposte, managing to make the switch from defense to offense in a much smoother and effortless manner than I had previously been able to.

"Good follow-through!" Anakin smiled as he backed off a bit, allowing me press the attack for a while. "Don't just watch my saber; watch my entire body—my hands, my feet, my hips, my eyes, my shoulders. Now keep going, and remember, don't overextend!"

After about an hour of this back-and-forth, I got to have a brief break and went over to sit with Master Obi-Wan while Ahsoka took my place in the training circle.

"Sorry to interrupt your training, I am, but a moment of your time, I would like."

All eyes turned to see Grandmaster Yoda entering the chamber.

"Grandmaster Yoda," Anakin said, bowing deeply. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

The diminutive green Jedi frowned. "A social visit, this is not. An assignment it is. Word of covert Separatist activity on Coruscant we have received; asked us to determine the truth, the Senate has, and free to act all of you are."

Anakin began to speak, only to be interrupted by Master Obi-Wan placing a hand on his shoulder. "If you don't mind, Anakin, Kevin and I shall handle this one; he needs the extra field experience anyway. Besides, this sort of thing calls for subtlety—"

"I'm just going to cut off your Skywalker joke right there, Obi-Wan," Anakin said, rolling his eyes and raising a hand in front of Master Obi-Wan's face. "But you do have a point. Besides, I have a private appointment with a Senator later today..."

Master Obi-Wan frowned a bit, resulting in a raised eyebrow from the Chosen One. "What is it?"

"It's nothing, Anakin; I'll talk to you later. Now, Master Yoda, can you perhaps tell us more of these spies?"

Yoda watched quietly as the speeder carried Obi-Wan and Kevin away on their mission; for the first time in centuries, the aged Jedi Master felt conflicted, unsure. His colleague and sole confidant in the matter (for the time being) approached and stood next to him, following the gaze.

"Complicated, matters have become; for the fate of the Order I fear."

Mace Windu responded with a somber nod. "Indeed. To think that the actions of the Jedi Order itself may have contributed to the imbalance in the force... the question is, if all the generations of the order dating back thousands of years failed to realize what we have been doing wrong, how would we even begin to know what to do to fix it? The very notion itself feels arrogant."

"To decide that the Jedi are infallible, arrogance that would be. But a point you certainly have. Discuss this with the rest of the council I would, if willing to listen they were."

"True. It is quite ironic; our steadfast and unwavering dedication to the Light is the very thing that has brought the Light low." Windu sighed. "If only we knew more. The Force let us know the source of the imbalance through our first encounter with the boy, but so much of what we saw in his mind that day remains a blank. What is it about his origins that the Force does not wish us to know?"

"In the Padawan's unknown purpose for being here, the answer lies," Yoda said, closing his eyes. "Or perhaps not. A catalyst the boy is, to be certain, but other reasons for his presence there may be."

"I agree. I have seen the shatterpoint*; the boy is one, certainly, but his own importance to the galaxy's future pales in comparison to that which I have seen in Dooku and Skywalker... and now, Kenobi." Windu turned to Yoda, a grave expression on his face. "The greater problem is that the threads radiating from the shatterpoint around young Caller seem almost... vague. As if there are aspects that he will influence that we cannot perceive, that are entirely beyond our knowledge."

"Beyond our knowledge many things are, Master Windu."

"Indeed. But this feels different, and it worries me. For once, we are flying entirely blind."

Yoda shook his head sadly, looking over the horizon, his gaze settling on an apartment building in the distance. "No. Blind we were, Master Windu. Blind we were..."

According to Grandmaster Yoda, the activity had been traced to a rather seedy district in the lower levels of Coruscant, below the Senate district. The area was a hotbed of underworld activity on a good day, mostly involving organized crime, dirty political dealings, and other assorted nastiness. Occasionally, a particularly corrupt Senator or other sort of politician would make a visit (under heavy guard, of course) to enjoy the darker side of Coruscant without straying too far from their preferred stomping grounds. All in all, it was the perfect playground for any spy.

Our speeder arrived at a rather busy nightclub; even from outside the building, the sound of lively music and raucus partying could be heard. Not exactly the kind of place Jedi usually went to.

Taking in the bright lights and seedy atmosphere, I stopped and turned to Master Obi-Wan. "So, how are we going to do this?"

"I have a contact who frequents this place—a retired bounty hunter by the name of Luto Va'Gota. In spite of his retirement, he keeps his ear to the ground and is a reliable source of information on the criminal underworld; if anyone here would know something useful about these possible spies, it would be him."

I nodded in understanding. "Makes sense. Can you give me any advice before we go in there?"

"Yes. One, stay close to me and don't wander off; two, keep your hand near your lightsaber at all times—there are plenty of pickpockets around here who will take whatever openings they can get and don't care who their target is; three, don't do anything that would draw attention—we will already stand out; finally, and most importantly... don't eat the bar nuts." On my quizzical look, he shook his head, a rather sickened expression crossing his face. "Don't ask. You don't want to know..."

We made our way through the crowds and into the club; the throb and hum of the music could barely be heard over the sound of the many patrons and their activities. The interior had several stories to it, all crammed with people of every persuasion. In addition to the obligatory dining tables, the place featured a gambling area with several large holoscreens on the walls displaying various sports events, a dance floor, and a large concert stage where a ten-piece band played while scantily-clad twilek dancers showed off their best features for the crowd. On the far side of the room lay the bar, where several bartenders went back and forth serving drinks to thirsty patrons.

Approaching the bar, an aged Weequay turned to look at us; everything about the guy gave off an air of a veteran. He was obviously old by the standards of his species, with signs of extra weight from years of post-retirement living; that said, a good deal of muscle remained, and the way he carried himself made it clear that he could still take plenty of cutthroats half his age. As he looked at Master Obi-Wan, he smiled with a twinkle in his eye and extended a hand in greeting, speaking Huttese in a gruff voice that matched his grizzled appearance.

-"Well well well, if it isn't the Negotiator himself, come to slum it up with us drunks!"-

"It has been far too long, Luto," Master Obi-Wan said, accepting the shake and returning the smile.

The old bounty hunter turned to me next; intimidating appearance aside, his demeanor was at odds with the rest of the surrounding establisment and its patrons. -"And who's this? Your apprentice?"-

I nodded. "Padawan Kevin Caller. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Va'Gota." His handshake was strong and firm in spite of his age.

-"Ha! Mister Va'Gota? I ain't a senator, kid—just call me Luto."- He turned to look at Master Obi-Wan again, leaning against the bar. -"So, I'm guessing this isn't a social call. You're looking for information as usual, right?"-

"Straight to the point as always, old friend," Master Obi-Wan leaned forward, lowering his voice a bit. "We've received reports of potential CIS spies operating on Coruscant. Do you know anything about that?"

The smile disappeared, replaced by a rather serious look. -"Hmph. Shoulda known... Bartender, get me a strong one, quick."-

Looking around carefully, he lowered his voice in the same way as Master Obi-Wan. -"There's always spywork of some kind being done around here, but usually it's just hutt-related. But they don't usually gather a massive amount of illegal explosives in a short amount of time; at least, not the heavy ordnance that's been bought up from several different sources in the past few days. Whatever's going on, it's big, and it's gonna happen soon."-

The bartender handed a large bottle of booze to Luto, who proceeded to take a massive swig before continuing. -"And I have a good idea who's behind it. They've tried to hide through intermediaries so far, but this whole thing stinks like only one guy in the galaxy. It's not his usual style to use proxies, but even so, I'd bet my life that the guy behind all of this is..."-

A cough. -"is C... wait... what—Hgk!"-

Without warning, Luto went into a heavy coughing and gagging fit, clutching at his throat in intense pain; in a matter of seconds he collapsed to the floor and died. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the bartender who had delivered the offending drink running out through what was obviously the kitchen.

"Master Obi-Wan, look—"

"I saw him, Padawan! Hurry, we can't let him get away!"

With that, we vaulted over the bar and chased the assassin through the kitchen, avoiding the various pots, pans, and cookware thrown in our direction from the fleeing murderer. As we exited out the back, we quickly drew our lightsabers in response to a warning from the Force, blocking blaster fire from the assassin who had been lying in wait. Before we could continue to give chase, the mystery man leapt over the edge of a nearby balcony and onto a store awning one level below, continuing to the ground and trying to blend into a crowd.

Without hesitation, we leapt over the railing ourselves and continued the chase as best we could.

"Master, this guy is good. What if we lose him?"

Master Obi-Wan smirked, grabbing something out of his utility belt. "There are more ways than one to chase someone, Kevin."

The two Jedi chased their quarry relentlessly; the assassin in question had to use every ounce of his experience and familiarity with the surrounding area to evade them, charging through crowds and running through buildings in a desperate attempt to get away. He almost got caught—he could have sworn he felt a tug on his shirt as he ran towards a transport terminal—but in the end he barely managed to board the public speeder, smiling at the Jedi on the landing pad as the transport pulled away.

As much as he feared Jedi, he knew that at the very least they weren't in the business of executing criminals on the spot; his boss was different. On some level, he knew better than to trust a man with that kind of reputation—he was almost certain that the man would gladly kill him to avoid having to share the payout from their mutual employer. But partnering with a bounty hunter of such repute would almost certainly bolster his own reputation.

He smirked to himself, certain of his victory and completely unaware of a tiny device attached to the back of his shirt collar.

Elsewhere on Coruscant, Sheev Palpatine—or, as he called himself in secret, Darth Sidious—sat alone in his office, deep in thought. Recent events had forced him to move up several major plans that he had, and he was absolutely certain that the culprit was his current apprentice, Darth Tyranus. Truthfully, he had always known that Dooku's loyalty was entirely nominal—something that was, of course, par for the course when it came to Sith, and even essential to the Rule of Two. That being said, he had no intention of giving up his power to the man anytime soon, and that meant keeping an eye out for the inevitable attempt to betray him and responding accordingly. Palpatine had plenty of contingency plans in place, but for the time being the main Plan relied on Dooku remaining a credible threat to the Republic, which limited the manner in which he could retaliate against any treachery on the part of his apprentice. The treachery that he was certain had taken place was impossible to prove, and even more difficult to respond to. He had read the reports of the incident on Alderaan; the entire situation revolving around Aurra Sing and Asajj Ventress had Tyranus' handwriting all over it. Part of him had to congratulate Dooku on the brilliance and subtlety of the plan; hiring Sing in secret to set up an assassination attempt, have her drop a hint or two implicating a powerful enemy on Coruscant, which would inevitably draw the Jedi to look more closely at the Senate—something he definitely did not want to happen at this point in time. Ventress' execution of Sing only further sold the deception by diverting suspicion from Dooku. And the number of proxies the latter undoubtedly used to hire Sing would have made the deal untraceable, even if she had somehow survived.

Sidious snarled angrily under his breath; this was difficult to respond to indeed. In the end, the only contingency that he could currently come up with was one he had hoped to hold off on as a future trump card, but he had little choice. Besides, having Tyranus disown Ventress as an apprentice to prove his loyalty would still undoubtedly set whatever further treachery he had in mind back considerably.

A fine maneuver, Darth Tyranus, Palpatine thought with an evil smirk, but this dejariik match has only just begun.

Sorry for the relatively short chapter; the plot is starting to thicken considerably and even with an outline it's getting tricky to plot out the specifics in a way that makes sense. Once I get past this arc—it should be over after the next chapter—things should be in place enough that I can work things out more easily going forward.

*SHATTERPOINT: a rare Force ability that grants the user the ability to perceive "fault lines" in individuals and situations that connected them to others, thus allowing one to gain limited insight into the particular significance of an individual or event. Mace Windu was known to have this ability. Also, it allowed one to see even microscopic weaknesses in a target that the user could exploit to utterly destroy the target in question.