Chae stepped off of the ship at Koonda space port. It was the first time in many years that she had come to Dantooine. The last time she had was when she had still been a padawan. She had gone there with Plo Koon, as part of her training, to go to the caves and retrieve crystals for her own lightsaber. She was dressed in more traditional Jedi robes for this trip, rather than her usual healer/librarian outfit – an outfit that was essentially a copy of those worn by Jocasta Nu; only the colour scheme was different. Chae had dropped the catsuit in favour for traditional robes and then the healer outfit in the months and years after having Evie.

It felt odd that she had been sent there. Due to the ongoing Clone Wars, retrieval of Jedi relics and holocrons had essentially been put on hold; as many of the historians had been redeployed onto other missions. As a result, very few were left at the Temple to do search and recover missions. But for this particular mission, the Jedi had made an exception. They had information that potentially rare holocrons – ones that were long thought lost – had been found at the old Jedi temple ruins. Apparently scavengers had found them and, leaving the holocrons where they were, had reported back to the Jedi Order that they were there. They seemed rather insistent about it and the holo images that were transmitted certainly seemed to back up the claim about them being long lost holocrons.

So, after some deliberation, Chae had been asked to go and retrieve them. She had a small team of newly knighted Jedi go with her. Due to the Clone Wars, the council had been knighting Jedi earlier in their training than they normally would, in order to keep the number of available Jedi as high as they could. At first, Chae wasn't sure if she felt comfortable taking them with her. She felt having more experienced Jedi knights – or even some masters – go with her, but most of them were otherwise engaged with the Clone Wars. Maybe it was because Chae had trained for over twenty years, both in the temple and with her master, before she became a knight. Like her father had done with Obi-Wan – who had gone through a similar length of time with his training – Plo Koon had been way more thorough with her training than most Jedi Masters. But Chae was grateful for the teachings she had received.

Chae mentally shook herself. She had been a new, inexperienced Jedi knight once and they needed to gain those life experiences somehow, even if they had gone through the trials earlier and had been through less years of training. Chae also understood why the council were putting students through the trials sooner than usual. The Jedi she had with her were two men and a young woman with her. The two men were Jakuu Fallwen, a human male, and Talak Jorel, a Sullustan. The woman was another human called Salina Celtru.

The four Jedi headed to the ruins by speeder. The younger Jedi gasped in wonder at the old ruins as they came into view. Chae couldn't help but admit she felt some wonder at seeing them again. But there was no time for standing around. Beckoning the others to follow, Chae crossed over the bridge to the ruins. The holocrons were apparently in the sub levels, which were in surprisingly good condition when they entered. Little did they know that they were being watched or that they were walking into a trap. The whole thing had been orchestrated by Count Dooku on the orders of his Sith Master, Darth Sidious. He wanted Chae dead. She was proving to be an obstacle who was not only stopping his from being able to manipulate Anakin Skywalker; but Sidious also knew that Chae would be the one to work out who he was; that Darth Sidious and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine were one and the same person. So it was time to have her killed. That way she would stop being an issue before she had the chance to become one.

The group moved deeper into the ruins as, apparently, the holocrons were in the old archives room. They spent some time searching the archives room but nothing was in there. Everything was either stripped or had disintegrated due to age. Chae silently cursed. It had been a wasted trip. Something didn't sit right with Chae. Why would anyone send them on a fools errand? Salina could sense Chae's disgruntled mood, and suggested that maybe they split up and sweep the ruins, on the of chance something might still remain. Chae agreed, saying they should all meet at the old fountain near the entrance when they were done. At least that way they could say that they checked as much of the area as they could before they called it a day. She suspected they wouldn't get everywhere checked in the time they had, but it was worth a try.

Some hours later…

Chae was at the fountain. They had all agreed it was time to leave. She heard the footsteps and voices of the young Jedi as they approached. Despite the disappointment of having not found anything, they seemed to be treating the whole thing as a learning experience, nonetheless, doing their best to see the positives they could take away from it. She allowed herself a smile. But then she felt it; the Darkside presence. It was coming from the entrance of the ruins sub level. Chae whirled around, lightsaber drawn. She didn't know what she was expecting to see, but it wasn't Count Dooku. He walked towards her, Sith Assassins with him. The assassins were dressed head to toe in black, their faces covered by full black masks that covered their entire face and head. The other Jedi had rushed to Chae's side, their own lightsabers drawn.

Dooku took in the young, inexperienced Jedi. "How very noble of you, trying to protect one of your own." With a hand signal, the assassins rushed at them.

The area they were battling in way awkward to say the least. There was only the space around the fountain and there was too many of them in such a tight space. Chae managed to separate herself away and into one of the corridors. At least there she had more space to fight; and she had hoped to get some of the assassins to follow her there too. The Sith assassins were slowly beginning to fall, but the other Jedi were falling too quickly. Eventually only Chae remained. She managed to defeat the remaining assassins.

Now only her and Count Dooku remained. Chae was standing her ground, breathing heavily. He knew that Chae would not be so easily beaten. She was strong in the Force and had many more years of combat experience.

"What is this about?" Chae demanded.

"Why, my dear, I'm here to kill you. You're causing my master far too much trouble." A grin crossed his face. "I must admit, you took the bait far easier than I thought you would."

Chae paused. "Wait… this was a set up just so you could get me here? Seems like a lot of effort just to kill me. Why not just have me die in a convenient accident when I'm leaving the Temple."

It wasn't a big secret that she travelled between the Temple and her apartment. Surely, a convenient air taxi accident would've been easier to orchestrate.

"Fair easier to remove you whilst you're away from the Order. We knew you would be sent here with inexperienced Jedi. Attacking you near the temple would've made things more difficult with so many more experienced Jedi near you."

The two of them had began to circle each other during this exchange, waiting for the other to make the first move, before Chae finally charged at him. It was an intense battle with neither of them getting the advantage at first. Dooku deliberately goaded her, reminding her of how the council didn't trust her and had treated her badly. He was trying to get her to use the Darkside in order to get the upper hand. He knew she had the ability to use both the light and the dark but was able to stop herself from falling completely to the Darkside. But Chae wouldn't allow herself to fall for the manipulation.

With a final burst of energy, and tapping into both sides of the Force, Chae was finally able to get the upper hand and bring Dooku to his knees. As she did so, Dooku lost possession of his lightsaber, which Chae called to her own hand to stop him from being able to attack her with it again. She needed to end this.

Dooku looked Chae dead in the eye as she held the tip of her lightsaber to his throat. "You win this battle, Jedi. You have my lightsaber." Taking in her lightsaber, he added, "I hope you plan to actually follow through with killing me."

"Not until I know who it was who sent you."

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

Chae raised an eyebrow. "Try me," she responded.

"It was my master, Darth Sidious…" He paused, as if he was debating what he was about to say next. "Lets just say that you're right to be suspicious of the Supreme Chancellor for all of this time… they are one and the same person."

Frowning, Chae wasn't sure if she should believe what she had been told. Count Dooku had essentially admitted to being a Sith; and they were notorious for lying. But at the same time, it would confirm why she had always had suspicions about Palpatine. Chae probed into his mind, on the off chance she might see something that would back up his claims. Surprisingly, Dooku allowed her in. Many memories flashed through her mind. Then she found what she was looking for – a memory showing that they were planning to stage a fake kidnapping of "the Supreme Chancellor", knowing that the council would likely send Anakin and Obi-Wan to them. Sidious said enough to convince Chae that the Sith Lord and Palpatine were the same person.

"You were right to keep the boy from him," Dooku's voice suddenly said, breaking her concentration. "Just be aware that you will become a target now. The Dark Lord will likely already know what is happening; or he will realise very soon."

Without another word, Chae swung her lightsaber, decapitating Count Dooku. Closing her eyes, Chae took a couple of deep breaths, trying to steady herself. Despite his loyalty to the Darkside and the Separatists, she hadn't taken any kind of pleasure from killing him. He had still been her father's mentor. Chae still remembered those positive interactions she'd had with Dooku when she had been a child, growing up in the temple.

Stepping outside of the ruins, Chae sighed heavily. Dooku was dead but three young Jedi were also dead because of her. She had sent a message through to the council to give them an initial report. Chae hesitated to tell them about what she had found out but, after some persuading, she promised that she would tell them in person once she returned to the temple; explaining that it was something she would rather tell them in person due to the nature of it.

Chae walked over to the speeder that had brought them to the ruins, only to find that their driver had vanished. She cursed. No doubt they had either ran off or been dealt with by Count Dooku and his assassins. But at least it would make it easier to bring the bodies of the fallen Jedi to the vehicle. Chae couldn't just leave them behind.

Once this was done, she hopped into the speeder, Chae drove herself back. She had some experience of using them so she was able to eventually work out how it worked. Thankfully, the pilot for the trip was Asia's friend, Tom Antilles. He didn't ask any awkward questions when he saw Chae return and helped her get the bodies onto the ship. Tom found blankets to cover them with, to give them a little dignity for the journey home.

Watching him do this, Chae allowed herself a small smile. She could see why Asia liked Tom. He might be considered little more than a smuggler, but he radiated respect and kindness, something that was sorely lacking in the galaxy. Asia had always insisted they were "just friends." Chae wasn't a fool; she had noticed the Twi'lek's body language around him. She had noticed all the times Asia had snuck out of the temple at night whenever Tom was planet-side. Chae didn't need the Force to tell her there was likely more than friendship happening.

The unlikely friendship between Asia and Tom had proven helpful to the Jedi. Due to being a smuggler and having connections that the Jedi didn't, Tom had been their 'eyes and ears' on many occasions, being able to gain access to information that others wouldn't necessarily be able to. He had also worked as transport for them during the ongoing Clone Wars. Tom became a favourite among many of the Jedi, who often requested his help during missions.

Without a word, Chae quietly took herself to another part of the ship. She needed some time to meditate. Her mind was racing with too many thoughts and she wanted to calm her thoughts so that she could work through what she knew and what she was feeling. Allowing the Force to flow through her, Chae's mind began to settle enough so that she could think. How was she going to explain to the council that Palpatine was a Sith? That he was the Darth Sidious that they were looking for? Chae knew that she would likely sound delusional when she said this all out loud.

Opening her eyes, Chae let out an audible sigh. Perhaps she would talk to Master Yoda first in private, rather than the entire council. It would make things a little easier. At least Yoda was more willing to listen to her, even if she was sounding utterly ridiculous. Chae looked up from her place on the floor and saw a mug that had not been there before. Tom had obviously left a hot drink for her whilst she had been meditating.