:O A fast update on this story!? OMG! :D Okay, so we are now drawing away from our little Obitine interlude... for now... to a more broody chapter. Its not meant to be boring as in the kind of boring where your eyes begin to feel like sand paper, but the kind of no action boredom chapter that helps set up the plot more and build things up. Anyway, hope you enjoy as always. :)
Strategy.
"Master Kenobi is not in the correct state of mind to track Maul's whereabouts," Stass Allie's firm voice resounded across the council chambers.
"His emotional state is drastically out of balance," Shaak Ti added, leaning further back into her seat. "He needs to find balance."
Kit Fisto nodded solemnly, gazing at each of the councillor's with his piercing and endless black eyes. "That is exactly why we made him Kryze's protector for the moment. She will provide him with a balance until he has come forward with his turmoil."
"Master Kenobi is a well revered Jedi Master and I am positive that he will reign in his emotions once more. He just needs time," Plo Koon announced, linking his fingers before his chest.
The setting sun cast a sanguine glow throughout the council spire, bathing the floor with a deep orange and illuminating the central crescent a rich scarlet.
Mace Windu pondered each of the master's responses to Kenobi's behaviour since they last spoke to him. The youngest member of the council was reserved on the outside, yet there was a tight coil of emotions within that threatened to snap and had, briefly, shook with tension, as if pulled by two magnets on the opposite end. He had only managed to stamp it down into a curt and agitated interruption.
Emitting a heavy sight and leaning forwards, planting his dark-sleeved elbows on his knees, he propped his chin atop clasped hands and spoke. "We must send a search team to Mandalore and find any trace of Maul and Savage. They are feral beasts who rely on their raw power. Mandalore is where it was at its highest. They will continue to hold out in their stronghold for as long as possible, now that they have rallied the old warriors we know as Death Watch."
"Send one supervisor, to keep watch over Master Kenobi, we should." Yoda spoke softly. The little green Jedi Master regarded Obi-Wan with much high esteem for his accomplishments as a Jedi as well as his mastery, yet he did not want to run the risk of any miscalculations. Kenobi would never fall to the darkness, but everyone had a weakness that could intensify ones pain and push them over the edge. His emotional state meant that he ran the risk of becoming grey.
"I will keep an eye on him, Master Yoda," Kit replied confidently, resting his right hand upon his chest and over his heart. He and Obi-Wan were steady friends who occasionally walked together when they had a council meeting. They would usually be seen entering with a light smile on each of their faces and their spirits lifted within the Force. Kit keeping an eye on the young man was a steady and wise choice.
"Master's Ti, Mundi, Allie and Koon to hunt down and destroy the threat that is Maul," Yoda murmured, sadness lacing his tone as each of the announced master's nodded their heads in acceptance. Killing was not the Jedi way, and he always felt deeply saddened when one was lost to the darkness or their life had been extinguished, yet Maul was a menace upon the galaxy.
Eliminating him was the best course of action for the Republic and galaxies sake.
"It's settled then. Masters Ti, Mundi, Allie and Koon will lead a small platoon of troops in locating Maul and Savage whilst Master Fisto uses surveillance on Kenobi. May the Force be with us all."
In the darkness of the tattered throne room that was once Duchess Satine Kryze's palace, a dark, skinny and tall hooded silhouette stood proud beside a seated, slumped and just as dark figure. As the standing figure revelled in the darkness embracing him in a comforting hug of its ugliness, the smaller figure breathed heavily as if there was not enough oxygen in the world to keep him alive.
Darth Sidious glared daggers at the pathetic weakling below him. Disgust rippled through him with a surprising hint of admiration.
The admiration was spurred from the fact that the Zabrak had continued to follow the ways of the Sith, feeding his power on fear, loathing and rage as well as remembering the rule of two, and finally, even going as far as to try and gain his master's approval in a pitiful attempt to deceive and oppress him.
His disgust was that his former apprentice had taken on his mindless brute of a brother as his own apprentice. Slaying him had been all too easy.
Turning his gaze away from the once living's older and more skilled brother Sidious dived once again into the currents of the Force, reaching out and grasping the dark tendrils of the Dark Side and wrapping them around himself in a cocoon of black and purple arms.
Letting his feelings go and feeding off of the sheer and seducing power, that had been his ally for so long, of the Dark Side, his senses were alerted of a conjuring threat. Furrowing his brow in concentration and curiosity, the Sith Lord delved deeper into the dark currents.
The Force guided him in his journey to detect the source of this threat until he finally hit a clear barrier. The dark currents swirled slowly around the circular window as they cleared the fog that clouded his vision away to reveal a bright sanguine light. His spirit shielded his sensitive golden eyes with a hand until they had adjusted as he peeked through the window. Several figures, each clad in light dressing and brown robes sat in the circle. He could see the bustling traffic of Coruscant further away, yet he paid short heed to this as he refocused his attention on the figures.
His stomach knotted savagely and his mouth filled with the vile taste of bile at the realisation that he was gazing into the council chamber of the Jedi temple.
"Master's Ti, Mundi, Allie and Koon to hunt down and destroy the threat that is Maul,"
Sidious's felt his lips curl back in rage as a low growl escaped his throat.
His amber eyed companion looked up at him, eyes glittering with a mix of fear and interest.
His pain was palpable through the Force, yet the Sith Lord fed on the Zabrak's fear, devouring it and enjoying every last drop as if it was his precious life source on a barren wasteland.
"Mas…ter. What is... it?"
The vortex swirled again and altered the image to a now darker one. Four Jedi, one's he recognised easily and loathed just as equally were boarding a Republic Cruiser with a platoon of clone troopers hot on their heels. The ship slowly elevated into the air and left Coruscan't atmosphere before jumping into hyperspace, flanked by two more cruisers.
"Master…?"
Sidious's eyes twinkled with anger as he looked down his pointed nose towards the vulnerable Maul.
In a flash the Sith Lord had bent over and, digging his long, bony fingers into the flesh of the battered Zabrak, hauled him harshly up to his feet, dancing in the pleasure his pain-filled cries filled him with.
"We must leave. The Jedi are preparing to track us. This changes things," the Sith Lord informed the stumbling and weak fool he dragged behind him as he stalked them out of the throne room and took a speeder directly to the still burning space port.
He knew of the resistance there, but they would be no match for him. He'd cut them down swiftly before they could even blink.
After the slaughter of many more Death Watch members, all except a fair red-head who had managed to escape back into the city, the dark lord of the Sith along with his former apprentice boarded the one remaining and intact black stealth shuttle and took them to hyperspace.
His was sure that once the Jedi arrived that the Death Watch resistance that would surely meet them would decisively be extinguished, yet this would lead the righteous fools in a penumbra of confusion. They would not find him for their own power was clouded, tainted by the raw and elusive power of the Dark Side. He had yet to achieve his ultimate aim in eliminating all of the Jedi.
Capture was not an option, for this would reveal his true identity to the Jedi, ruining any seeds he had planted.
All he had to do was evade the Jedi and continue to water and nurture the seeds in their growth.
Voila! Despite its pace and lack of motion events, I still hope you enjoyed! More on the way! :D