Where Sidious Ponders
Darth Sidious allowed a moment's distraction from his growing discontent as he looked out over the planet he owned in everything but name. And it was good that no one knew that this citified planet was his all the way from the Senate to the lower levels to the Jedi Temple. As long as no one knew, Sidious could do as he pleased.
Not even the Jedi knew of his power over them. They didn't see his eyes in their walls, his ears at their meetings, nor his guidance as they floundered through this war. The knowledge that he had them eating out of his hand and didn't even know it was as satisfying as it was addicting. But Sidious controlled his desire to grab at the opportunities the Jedi continuously left at his feet to destroy them. He controlled it with the iron will with which he controlled every aspect of his life.
Yet Sidious's discontent returned.
He had been planning the downfall of the Jedi for decades as every Sith did. But unlike all others before him, Sidious would see it happen in his lifetime. The future lay clearly before him when word of Anakin Skywalker had reached him. The Jedi thought him the Chosen One of their legends; they were correct. Skywalker was the Chosen One: the Chosen One of the Sith. Jedi tended toward blindness, so their mistake did not surprise Sidious. Indeed, it pleased him greatly, as he saw how Skywalker would not only bring the Jedi to their knees, but also destroy them from the inside out.
So when Sidious heard of young Skywalker, he'd ordered a clone army that very day, knowing the time had at last come.
And now, over a decade later, as things were flowering beautifully after years of tender care, something had changed. Drastically.
It could ruin everything.
Sidious had taken great care in every step he took. Kenobi, predictably lost in grief over his master's death, had allowed young Skywalker to regularly visit Sidious. It took little effort to gain the boy's trust and start setting the seeds of proper teaching. Sidious had encouraged Skywalker's natural arrogance. Reassured him that every "mistake" he made against Jedi teachings was understandable; correct even. It was some of the finest manipulation Sidious had ever done over the long course of his career. All right under the Jedi noses.
When he'd begun the Clone Wars, things had proceeded to go as planned. Kenobi, the famed "Sith Slayer" had, through Sidious's gentle hand, been in massacre after massacre, dragging young Skywalker through the worst horrors Sidious could imagine just because the Council told them to.
Surrounded by so much death, especially after the harsh death of his mother, Skywalker's desire to see loved ones live continued to grow. Skywalker's beloved master was always in much danger, if not more given Kenobi's lack of self-preservation from time to time, and even the careful placement of Amidala in danger merely cemented the selfish desire, though Sidious had to play that card carefully and rarely.
Yes, Amidala. Such a rare child. Skywalker's obsession with her would be one of the ways in which he would become Sidious' apprentice. Love. It was such an easy emotion to manipulate. Keep them apart so that their passion burned brighter. Just as Skywalker was about to break from the distance, call him back. Give them just a little time and as things start to settle, pull Skywalker away again, leaving them frustrated. Once in a while, put both Amidala and Skywalker together on a mission with other Jedi to let frustration simmer at keeping their affair a secret. Then, with judicious care, put Amidala in danger with Skywalker unable to assist, or with a need for Skywalker to be elsewhere to save more, yet anonymous, lives.
This is how love was manipulated on a grand scale, with the ultimate conclusion being Skywalker's desire to see her live. Not matter what.
Too bad Amidala would betray Skywalker. Sidious would see to it. The greater the bond, the more the betrayal would cut and rip. It would be one half of the betrayal that would send Skywalker crawling to him.
The other half would be through Skywalker's precious Kenobi. The more subtle work that he was doing with Amidala would not be necessary. Kenobi was already in permanent danger on every mission he went on. Sidious had heard that Grievous in particular was looking forward to hanging Kenobi's head on a wall and using Kenobi's own lightsaber to take down any Jedi in his way.
Tyranus as well had no issues with fighting his Padawan's Padawan if it furthered their goal. Even Tyranus's Acolytes thrilled at the chance of taking Kenobi down, particularly Ventress. And with all this focus on Kenobi, Skywalker's feelings of being held back and feelings of unimportance flourished.
Ventress, in particular, had been a stroke of genius. Originally tasked with killing Skywalker - a feat Sidious knew she was incapable of - both Skywalker and Kenobi had watched her "die" many times, only to have her resurface. A subtle clue to Skywalker that cheating death lay in the Dark Side.
There was also the added bonus that Ventress inspired revenge. Her continual escapes and miraculous returns from certain death increased Skywalker's frustrations that she still lived and had yet to pay for her numerous crimes. Ventress herself had fanned the fuel of revenge when she had decided to hold Kenobi in her care for over two long months. No one had known that she'd done this, not even Tyranus. And while Ventress did as she wished with Kenobi, Sidious had been delighting in the torment Skywalker had gone through on Jabiim. That time it hadn't just been clones to die, but Jedi, fellow Padawans, and the local inhabitants. One of the best disasters Sidious had done and Skywalker stuck through every minute of it.
And half of that time was after Kenobi had apparently "died," leaving Skywalker convinced that he should have been able to do something to stop it. And then for just over a month, Skywalker had been apprenticed to Mundi, who worked with a Knight that was a Tusken Raider.
The irony was delicious.
Skywalker had been trapped between rage, grief, frustration, despair, and with Amidala busy with the Senate as Sidious had seen to, with no outlet. Sidious had been tempted to turn Skywalker then. But he controlled it. It was not yet time. There was yet more to do to push Skywalker to the Dark Side.
Yet Ventress had failed, as she always would. Kenobi had escaped and Skywalker had somehow sensed it, deserting the Jedi in order to get to Kenobi. In many ways, Sidious wished he had been there when Skywalker had found Kenobi. The rage and grief and thirst for vengeance young Skywalker must have felt...
Sidious had seen Kenobi's state when he'd returned to Coruscant. The injuries to both body and soul had been severe. Another thing for Skywalker to both seek revenge and seek safety for those he held dear. Each distressing encounter with the war would push Skywalker further and further into a corner.
And, when Sidious was certain that Skywalker was ready, he would reveal a betrayal by the Jedi.
Oh, young Skywalker would deny it. But the seeds of doubt already planted and the flourishing would take hold. Skywalker would protest Kenobi's involvement and Sidious, with the ease of his decades of practice, would set up Kenobi against Skywalker and send Amidala in the middle. Two betrayals by the two who mattered most. Skywalker would come to him willingly...
This was the path he had foreseen. Not only would Sidious have taken down the Jedi and have the entire galaxy under his control, as he originally planned, but he would have the Chosen One, the strongest being the Force had ever seen, at his side as an apprentice.
Power over the Chosen One.
It would be glorious.
Sidious had never had reason to doubt the veracity of what he had seen. His visions guided him with purpose and clarity and every step he had taken was just another step on the path to his ultimate power. His destiny.
But Skywalker had just left his office, and Sidious suddenly felt doubt.
When looking at Skywalker in the past, there had always been three threads bound to his heart. One, thin and withered with time and distance had led to his mother. This thread had ever faded, but never disappeared until his mother's death. The second was the bond of romantic love that he shared with Amidala. If the two were ever in the same room, one could hardly see through the warm, gentle glow that was as strong as the twin suns of Tatooine. It pulsed and flowed strongly. No doubt, such a bond would be stronger still if they weren't constantly separated by distance and if Amidala had any sense of the Force. Still, despite Amidala's shortcomings and the distance Sidious kept between them, the bond flourished with power. Skywalker's natural talent, no doubt. Sidious was already controlling that bond.
The third thread, though not as resplendent as the one with Amidala but just as strong, had been to Kenobi. It was originally a pitiful, paltry little thing. It's only reason for existence had been because they were Master and Padawan.
Those early years had provided Sidious with the most sway over Skywalker in his machinations. But Kenobi had eventually stopped grieving his own master and started working on his bond with Skywalker.
Sidious had expected this. He had also expected the strong bond that eventually grew. After all, Kenobi and his master had had one of the strongest bonds the Jedi had seen in generations, and Skywalker was the Sith's Chosen One. A strong bond was natural; and when betrayal came, so sweet to destroy.
But when he'd seen Skywalker, something was different.
Normally, if Amidala or Kenobi were a distance away, the bonds would narrow to tiny threads as expected of any with a bond. Even Sidious's bonds with his various apprentices would be but threads with great distance.
This was no longer so with Skywalker's bond with Kenobi. At Skywalker's departure, Sidious had double checked Kenobi's position. He was on the Outer Rim, deep in some negotiation with some insignificant planet and Skywalker was finally preparing to meet him.
Yet before Sidious's eyes was not a thin, barely visible thread, but a thick wound cord that could fit in a man's hand, could it be grasped. And this was at a distance. Sidious wasn't sure he wanted to see what the bond looked like if both Skywalker and Kenobi were in the same room.
It was unheard of.
And if Kenobi had the amount of influence over Skywalker that Sidious expected he now did with a bond like that, his plans would be in jeopardy.
This was unacceptable.
Kenobi betraying Skywalker was no longer an option. Kenobi would have to be killed.
Immediately.
Even that was a risk, for if their minds were so tightly bound, Skywalker might not survive with his mind intact.
This was regrettable, but acceptable. Sidious had planned to make his Empire and destroy the Jedi before the Chosen One had been dropped into his lap. He could do so again.
For if Kenobi's and Skywalker's bond grew any stronger, the future Sidious had planned could be in peril; and Sidious wouldn't allow that.
"Darth Tyranus."
"Yes, my Master."
"Ensure Master Kenobi's death. Swiftly."
"Of course, my Master."
No questioning of the order at all. Tyranus was indeed a good apprentice. If Skywalker was no longer salvageable, Tyranus would continue to do well.
Until Sidious had his Empire. Then Tyranus would no longer be necessary.
Besides. Skywalker may yet become his apprentice. He had foreseen it, after all. So it must be. Sidious just had to make sure of it.
Author's Note: For all of you worried about Obi-Wan's imminent doom, don't. He's a stubborn, stubborn man, as Anakin can attest to, and he doesn't die easily. Or even get all that hurt, easily. He's a master of Soresu, after all.
Writing Sidious's view of things was both easy and difficult. Easy, because you have all the movies and EU to explain what he's been doing to turn Anakin to the Darkside. Difficult, because his mind is a truly twisted place to visit. We won't be going back there willingly ever again. Still, we've proven that he isn't just sitting on the sidelines. While we've focused a great deal with Anakin and Obi-Wan (obviously), Sidious is still orchestrating their lives with ease and simplicity. We are sad to see in fics that Palpatine is often almost obvious in his abilities in the Force and his hatred of Jedi and plans against them, and also obvious in standing against Obi-Wan. Sidious is far too subtle for that. He's escaped notice for a reason. This shows a little on how he's been doing it. The trick is getting Anakin's loyalty and you DON'T get that if you put down Obi-Wan.
Also, for those of you wincing at the month break we'll be taking from this story, we say that A) It gives you, as readers, time to adjust to the fact that there will be another time-skip, albeit not so long of one and B) It gives US a chance to do vacation-y things. Like mixing and pouring concrete footings for toppled fences, massively-huge chipping piles, mailboxes broken by town snow-plows, and maybe actually going out and seeing a movie. You know. Little things like that.