Chapter 55 – Intrigue
Author's Note: Interlude scenes with the minor main characters. :)
~ Amina Gila
Dooku is unsurprised when Sidious calls him half a day after he sensed the ripple in the Force. He had been expecting it, even as he fervently worked to secure something, to reform a new plan, drawing up and throwing away idea after idea. He is not stupid; he had considered the possibility that Anakin would not be a part of his plans, but he had not… expected it to happen this soon or this unexpectedly.
He should have though. He had thought – hoped that they would get Shmi to safety, even though he had suspected that Sidious would go through with his threat to eliminate one of the people close to Anakin. It – he had assumed, foolishly, that they would get ahead of Sidious this time. Apparently not.
"What is thy bidding, my Master?" Dooku intones, kneeling in front of the hologram, hands clasped, head bowed, emotions and feelings carefully tucked away.
"You have felt the disturbance in the Force, have you not?" Sidious inquires as Dooku had thought he might.
"I have."
"It is unfortunate that Shmi Skywalker met her ending so soon, and because of the Jedi, no less."
Dooku stills, taken by surprise. "The Jedi?" He has no idea what could have happened, what those fools could have done, but… he finds that he shouldn't be surprised by it. Or maybe, they began to follow the real trail to Sidious, at last, and the Sith Master tied it up before they could follow through to conclusion. He knows that Shmi would not hesitate to sacrifice herself if she could be assured of Anakin's safety.
"They went to her," Sidious elaborates, "And the safety mechanism was activated. The mansion was destroyed, and her with it."
"What of Anakin?" Dooku can't help but ask, almost fearing the answer. Wherever the young man is, he is alive, and he is undoubtedly struggling. Hopefully, he will have Kenobi and Tano at his side to help him in a way that Dooku probably never could.
"He and the others have been taken prisoner by the Republic, by the Jedi," Sidious reveals. "I have heard nothing from the Council as of yet, so either they seek to hide it from me, or… they know more than they are letting on."
"They may feel that your judgment will be clouded," Dooku points out. In truth, he does not know if Kenobi would have been willing to reveal anything to the Jedi, but it is very possible that he would and did. If so, the Council may already be aware of Palpatine's identity, something that Sidious already seems to be counting on. But it is also possible, that the three have said nothing, and the Council is keeping the captures hidden from the Chancellor because of his… personal connection to Anakin.
"Perhaps," Sidious answers dismissively. "It matters little. They have guaranteed their own destruction. It is only a matter of time before Lord Vader returns to me. You must know, Tyrannus, that the boy belongs to me. I know you are planning rebellion against me. You will never succeed."
Dooku thinks, briefly, about denying it, but that would be pointless. Never before has Sidious come out like this and spoken of the plans that Dooku is making. It's unlikely that the Sith Master has any idea of the extent of those plans, but… well, Dooku has been careful. He would not have survived this long as a Sith if he acted rashly.
"The boy is stronger than you think," Dooku replies instead, looking up at the hologram of Sidious as he cackles madly in response.
"We shall see. Your faith is misplaced."
And with those words, Sidious ends the transmission, leaving Dooku feeling oddly shaken. If Sidious is on to them, they need to hasten their plans. Perhaps it is time for him to bring Asajj fully into his confidence. Her and her clone friend, Rex, should be returning from Dathomir any day. And if not, he can always demand her return. Her time of learning more of the Dark Side is at an end. She is needed here. They are running out of time, and for the sake of the galaxy, it would be best if they move with haste.
With regret, Dooku can't help but acknowledge the possible truth of Sidious' words. He does have faith in Anakin, but… perhaps Sidious will win him over. Though it is unlikely, he cannot take any chances. He may hate it – he does hate it – but it will be best for everyone's sakes if he prepares a contingency plan in the event that Anakin is not with them. If the boy ends up against him, Dooku will need to take steps to ensure that even the power of the Sith'ari and Chosen One himself will not be enough to stop them.
Even if it means crippling him.
Dooku could never forgive himself for it, but if it is necessary for the sake of the galaxy, for the sake of destroying Sidious, then he will do it.
He will be left with no other choice, and he will not let Anakin stop him.
**w**
Asajj is… well, she doesn't really know how she feels upon her return to Raxus when Dooku tells her what transpired in her absence. Her first thought is to go to Coruscant and find a way of breaking Anakin and the others out of the Temple, but Dooku is right. If Sidious is on to them, they need to move forwards with their plans. They can't afford to wait, and it's unlikely that she would ever be successful in breaking into the Temple anyways. All she can do is hope that the Jedi have more use for the three alive, and trust that they can take care of themselves.
It's not ideal, but she has – or soon will have – far more important missions to which she must attend, especially if she will be Dooku's right hand in whatever he has planned next. Rex's brothers, the ones who had been staying on Serenno, have fled with Death Squadron, and now, she and Rex are enroute to meet up with them. From there, once they've established contact – since it is far too risky to contact them via comm – she is to go to Rattatak and see if she can free Windu from where he's being held.
Though she dislikes having to go there, to ask for his aid, she knows that they could certainly use his help. They need all the allies they can get, especially with Anakin being in the Jedi's hands.
Neither she nor Rex speak much while they're in hyperspace after she explained to him what happened. He's thinking, processing, so she lets him be. She can feel his worry, his concern, and she wishes that she could do something to assuage it. But no. She can't. She spends a while thinking, reviewing what she knows of their plans and trying to strategize. Asajj may not be a tactical genius like Anakin, but he taught her a few tips; she's not stupid.
Time passes in a blur after that, and after they arrive at the Executor, they remain there for a short while as Rex confers privately with his brothers before the two of them set out for Rattatak. It'll be some hours before they arrive, so she suggests that they eat something and try to rest. She has no idea if Barriss will be on the surface, but if she is, this may be a prime chance to off her, especially if she can do it discreetly. Perhaps they can stage it to make it look as if the Jedi are the ones who did it. Unlikely, but she can hope.
They eat together in relative silence, but the solitude and companionability reawaken in Asajj the desire that she had felt earlier before she sensed Anakin's pain. Once they're done eating, she reaches out, boldly placing a hand on Rex's forearm. "My cabin?" she asks, raising an eyebrow almost suggestively. "I can pretty much guarantee that we won't be interrupted this time."
Rex's eyes flicker to her lips as he swallows, nodding. "Please," he whispers, and Asajj practically drags him to the cabin, shutting the door behind them before she leans in, kissing him like she had wanted to previously before they had been interrupted. She has no idea where this will lead, but she is very eager to find out.
**w**
Padme is almost surprised – though maybe she shouldn't be – when she gets a call from Siri before she even has a chance to contact the Jedi. Once she's guaranteed that the connection is as secure as they can make it with available technology, they sit down to talk. "I'm glad to hear from you," she says sincerely. "I've been meaning to contact you as soon as I can."
"Did something happen?" Siri questions, her expression betraying only a slight amount of concern and nothing else. It makes Padme wonder if Siri called her for the same reason that she wanted to call the Jedi.
"I imagine you already know this," she answers dryly, "But I sensed something had happened to Anakin, so I went to the Palpatine residence to see if Shmi could help me. And… well, I think you know the rest," she finishes when she sees the visible surprise that flashes across the other woman's face.
"I… yes, I know," she admits. "I was there."
"I found Boba and a protocol droid in the rubble," Padme elaborates. "I heard from them that the Jedi and Republic showed up. Shmi is really…?"
"She is. I'm sorry," Siri murmurs, subdued, "And we have Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka in custody. Obi-Wan is cooperating with us. He has… told us a lot."
"I have gotten a great deal of information from the droid, as well," Padme tells her. "I know who the Sith Master behind this war is, and my former handmaids and I are working to collect enough evidence to do something about it."
The Jedi Master's expression registers surprise for a moment. "I am relieved to hear that," she admits. "I contacted you with the hopes that we can reach an arrangement. I do not believe that he is aware that we know, and we cannot simply move on him while he is still in control. We need a valid legal reason for it, and I hoped you could help us with that."
Padme glances over at Artoo; the astromech is still working on downloading and sorting all of the information in Threepio's memory banks, and she expects that the process will still take some time longer, probably hours. That's good because it gives her time to catch up with all her handmaids as well as explain the situation to them and figure out what they need to do next. None of this is easy, especially not with a traumatized child on top of it all.
"I will do everything I can," Padme promises. "Let me know if there is something, in particular, which you need from me."
"I will be in touch," Siri answers, nodding. "I have ensured that this line is secure, so you can contact me at any time through it."
"Absolutely."
There's a hesitation from Siri before she speaks again. "How is Boba handling it? It must have been difficult for him to witness it; I do not know how we missed him there, but I suppose we were in a hurry."
"He is… struggling," Padme answers, choosing her words carefully, trying to convey the sheer horror that the child has been through. "He saw his father die, and Shmi was like a mother to him. He had a few nightmares, and Rabe is watching him now."
Siri winces. "I'm sorry," she says again. "We should have been more careful. I worry for how Anakin will react. Thankfully, he is contained, and even with his level of power, a Force resistant cell should keep him secure."
Padme nearly flinches. She has been doing her utmost to not think about how Anakin is feeling right now, and she doesn't need to ask to know that he was there. He saw his mother die, and she felt his pain in that moment. She can't help him in any way other than how she is: by taking Sidious down. And she will continue to devote herself to that. It's not as if she has any other options available right now.
"I hope so," she responds, because though she wants to see Anakin again, she knows what it would mean if the Jedi cannot keep him contained. It would be a bloodbath, no doubt, because she is not ignorant as to how brutal he can be, how brutal he has been. "I will let you know as soon as I have something of substance, and I will get in touch with other Senators who I can trust. We must act quickly."
"I could not agree more. Thank you, Padme, for helping." Siri's voice is filled with a quiet gratitude that catches Padme off guard, but she waves it away.
"It's what anyone would do."
They leave it at that, and Padme goes back to her work of sorting through recordings that Artoo has labeled as useful and trying to figure out where in the world they should even begin. None of this will be easy, not when the Chancellor himself is the one that Padme needs to remove from office. And to think that she once trusted the man…
It's just another betrayal, and she pushes aside the sting of it. She does not have time for it. She needs to focus before he makes a move against them or destroys them entirely.
**w**
Grief is hard. It never seems to get easier, no matter how much time passes. Losing his father was hard, so incredibly hard, but this is almost worse somehow, Boba thinks. He – he saw his father die, saw the Jedi kill him. It was horrible, something that constantly haunts his nightmares even now. But – but seeing Shmi die, seeing his mother die… it was worse. Her death wasn't fast, and every time he closes his eyes, Boba can see it again, the explosion that claimed her life.
He is young, but he is not ignorant of the horrors in the galaxy, even if he has not been exposed to them in the same way that his mother was, that Vader has been. He was never a slave, but he has seen the effects of it, and in the time that he spent on Naboo, he began to see and understand far more about Vader's condition.
When Boba went to see him after – after Geonosis, he hadn't understood why Vader was imprisoned; it hadn't made sense to him at the time, and he's turned that moment over his mind repeatedly, trying to understand what he was missing.
"Why're you here? You shouldn't be in here."
"Master's orders. He's upset with me."
It wasn't until Boba started staying on Naboo that he began to understand. Vader has spoken, briefly, in terse sentences, about his past as a slave; it was something that he and Boba's father had in common. They understood each other because of it, and perhaps that was one of the reasons why they got along so well, why Vader spent enough time with them that he became Boba's brother, for all intents and purposes.
And Boba doesn't know how to feel about the realization that Vader – and their mother – were as much slaves to Sidious as they were in the past on Tatooine. That – she died because of a slave chip. Vader talked about it enough, about how he saw people being blown up when he was only a child, for Boba to understand what they do.
Now, he fiercely wishes that his father was still alive, not only because he misses him, but because he could fix this. He could do something to make it better, to help Vader, especially since Shmi is… gone. Boba might not really understand why things are the way they are for Vader, but he at least understands the what.
It's nighttime, and he ought to be sleeping, but he just… can't. He can't sleep. He tried, but it feels as if every time he begins to doze off, his mind is alight with images of his father's death, of his mother's death, and it jolts him back to awareness again, leaving him shaking, being torn apart by conflicting feelings and desperately wishing that someone could be here to help him, to comfort him, to reassure him.
The door to the room he's in opens, and he turns, looking towards the doorway. It's Padme, and she slips inside when she sees that he's awake. "Can't sleep?" she murmurs kindly, sitting on the edge of his bed. She seems hesitant about whether or not she should touch him. He doesn't really know her, but she seems… nice, and he knows who she is; Vader spoke of her sometimes with both reverence and affection.
Boba mutely shakes his head.
"Nightmares?" she prods, sympathetically.
He has no idea, exactly, how long it's been since she rescued him. It could have been days or weeks, and he doesn't think he'd know the difference. Everything just feels like it's blurring together in his mind. "Yes," he mumbles, turning to stare blankly at the ceiling. He's so tired, but it feels like he can't sleep.
"I can stay with you, if you would like," she offers. Rabe has done the same for him. He likes it, but he doesn't know them, either. It's strange to have them around. He would much rather have one of his parents – yes, he knows that they're dead – or at least Vader. But the Republic took him. Of course, they took him.
"Okay," he finally concedes, shifting around and trying to find a more comfortable position.
Padme reaches out, lightly stroking his hair, the gesture soothing and relaxing him. "Sleep now, Boba, and in the morning, perhaps we can talk about a few things. I would like to see what all you know about Sidious if you're up for it?"
He thinks about that and finally shrugs. "Sure," he murmurs, rolling onto his side and curling up, closing his eyes and hoping that a dreamless sleep will come.
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