Ahsoka screamed.
Not audibly, or the well designed quarters she and Davros shared would have squashed it entirely. Ahsoka's screams only existed in the Force. Davros marveled at the incredibly strong mental shields put up by one so young. The only two reasons for his ability to hear his Padawan's waling was because of the bond they now shared and the weakened mental state of a slumbering person.
Davros couldn't tell much about what was going on, only that the cause of the anguish existed in the past, not the future. From the crèche, Jedi were taught to recognize visions from the Force.
Davros wondered how an average Master would deal with this. He had known Ahsoka for only a day. In his opinion, that wasn't a strong enough bond to go prying into her nightmares. The time when he could broach the subject would come quickly, however. The bond between the two was incredibly strong for being so new. Davros truly felt like Ahsoka was his Padawan, as if she completed the Force for him.
Naturally, all of these thoughts were brewed with a pot of caf. For Davros, caf was as important as meditation was for any other Jedi. The sight of her master, dressed in casual clothes, sitting at the dining room table drinking caf gave Ahsoka a pause. Anakin spent his mornings meditating or training. Ahsoka, as a rule, had the quarters to herself until 10.
Davros experienced something he rarely felt, embarrassment. Ahsoka stumbled out of her room dressed in fuzzy pajamas dotted with pink hearts and cartoon cats, complete with a hood, the points of Ahsoka's montrals were dressed in cat ears, attached to the hood.
"Good morning?" Davros offered.
Ahsoka somehow turned more red than she already was. "E-Excuse me." She said, rushing back into her room. Davros chose to ignore the cat tail bouncing behind her.
"Well, that's different." Davros mused. This would be a two cup morning.
When Ahsoka, still slightly red, appeared fully dressed, Davros was ready. "Rule 12" He casually mentioned.
"Rule 12?" Ahsoka asked.
"A room is public until proven otherwise."
"That's… a wise rule, Master."
"Of course it is." Davros said, smiling. "Rules of the Guard. One Hundred and Fifty rules for every scenario in life. Only the best book ever produced by the Temple Guard."
"I've never heard of them before."
"That's because Guards keep it secret. You're lucky, probably the first Padawan to be trained Guard style."
"Ok then, how do Guards train?"
"On the job, none of this boring teaching stuff. Learn on the job from day one."
"Skywalker used to teach me like that." Ahsoka said, a touch of sadness in her voice revealing how much she missed her former Master.
"Then he would have made a good Guard. Come on, we have a meeting with the Chancellor."
"Of the Republic?" Ahsoka asked.
"No, Bora Bora. What other Chancellor? Now let's go, he isn't big on waiting."
Life was good for Palpatine. It was as if the Force itself was guiding his steps. McDellum has practically thrown himself at Palpatine, begging for protection. A few clones and McDellum was in his back pocket. Palpatine had no doubt he could add McDellum to his group of senators willing to push his agenda.
The one annoyance was the ever enigmatic Davros, now accompanied by Anakin's old Padawan. "Mr. Davros." Palpatine said. "What an unexpected surprise. What brings you and Ms. Tano here?"
"I apologize for the short notice, I'm here on the orders of Master Windu. Padawan Tano has been assigned to me, and I believe in on the job training." Davros replied.
"A refreshing outlook, I assume. Why would Master Windu want a message sent? In a few hours won't he be coming for the Senate hearing?"
Davros hesitated, very subtly. To Palpatine, that was as big a red flag the solemn Guard could give him. "Don't shoot the messenger, I understand. Now what does Windu need to tell me?"
"Master Windu says you need to halt the witch hunt or face the consequences."
Palpatine wondered just what Windu thought the Chancellor could do. Plans were already in motion, Palpatine couldn't stop what was about to happen. It wouldn't just be political suicide. The masses were enraged, any attempt to stop this would end with a recently fired Chancellor dead in an alley.
"I'm afraid this has progressed beyond my power to stop, even if I wanted it to. Beyond that, I'm shocked that the head of the Council would employ such underhanded tactics."
"I will express your… sentiments to Master Windu. I'm sorry it has come to this." Davros said.
"As am I, but we must play the hand dealt to us. Good day to you, Mr. Davros."
"And to you, Chancellor."
"What was that all about?" Ahsoka asked, once they were in the 'lift, safe from prying ears.
"Sure you want to know? This isn't your average classified material. Only Windu, myself, and you will know it; you can't discuss it with anyone, even other Jedi." Davros warned.
Ahsoka was surprised. "You would be willing to tell me? Just like that?"
"Sure, why wouldn't I?"
"Well, it's just that Padawans don't get told anything. They have to either weasel it out of their Masters or try to figure it out themselves."
"Guard rules, remember? You're supposed to learn from me, how can I do that while holding back the information that is basically my only job right now?"
Ahsoka wasn't used to this sort of consideration, Padawans were treated as an inferior caste instead by most Masters. Jedi like Master Plo Koon were always held in high regard by the Padawans in the Temple; Jedi like Koon saw all Jedi equally, regardless of rank.
"You're pretty good at this for never having a Padawan before." Ahsoka said.
Davros chuckled. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. You want to hear this, or would you prefer the 'ignorance is bliss' option?"
"Go for it, I'm ready."
"Alright, Windu is going to disband the Senate and remove the Chancellor from power. The Jedi will take control of the Republic."
"Wow, you managed to say that pretty calmly."
"It sort of grows on you."
"And that's going to happen today?"
"Yep."
"Damn."
"Language." Davros chided mildly.
The lift doors opened, Tano and Davros went on with their day.
Mace Windu was in his study, battling a headache. He should have expected it, Battle Meditation on this level was insane. He should have been thankful he wasn't completely insane yet. Windu was intensely focused on bending the clones to his will. He didn't have time or energy to control the clones during the Senate takeover; the alternative was to permanently change the clones' minds now, before the hearing.
As Mace got up, he was struck with dizziness. He stumbled and almost collapsed before he made it to the 'fresher. Mace swallowed two pain pills, dry, before looking at himself in the mirror. Streaks of blue polluted the whites of his eyes, a telltale warning sign of Force Madness. Mace had between one and three months before his mind would be completely ravaged.
The blue streaks were a warning of the later stages of the illness; it worried Mace. He had planned on having a year or two to settle the government down and choose a successor. A time limit of months severely limited his options. Mace didn't want a yes man like the fools on the Council, he wanted someone bold and creative, while still able to take orders. What he needed was a soldier… or maybe a Guard.
Ever the strategist, Mace sat down at his Holorecorder to create a backup plan for the worst-case scenario.
"Hello, Mr. Davros." Mace began. "If you're watching this, it means I wasn't able to tell you the following things in person. Listen carefully…"
