Beloved Daughter: Glad you liked that! I had been planning to catch up with Jango and Boba so that seemed as good a time as any and I think it turned out pretty well. And I like your line! I can totally see Obi saying something like that! As for the Ahsoka thing, I wasn't going to go there, but then I thought, what the-the-heck I've pretty much included all the other major players I never thought I'd get to so there it is. I also like the idea of Mauls actions mirroring Obi's comments about what he would be doing in Maul's place, so that was nice to bring that in. I just hope the process is plausible to the characters…
Linnup: I know, It's a pretty big spoiler alert, but I'm notorious for reading those things and as I said, it's just not my style to end things sadly. Ooh, nicely spotted with the blades thing! I always loved the purple blade of Mace, and I thought it would be appropriate for a former sith teetering on the edge of that light/dark barrier to have similar colored blades, but I honestly hadn't considered the Ilum situation regarding blade crystals. So she could either have slipped off world and retrieved them, or she could have picked them up from a stash at the temple! I will have to think about that! Apologies for not following through with my idea. Maybe I'll have Obi question her about that and an answer will be more forthcoming from the character! As for bounty hunters, funny you should mention that! I love that you think I can pull off adding more characters, so thanks for the vote of confidence, it got me back to the keyboard with this and gave me an idea that will pop up very soon! And lastly, dear old Maul, well, I wouldn't say he's channeling Sideous so much as just using his training and adapting that training to his own needs. He's had that extra ten years to mature and see how Sideous manipulates people, so I can see him using that in his training, rather than just brute force. It's a fine line between the light and dark as far as I read things, and with a new order of Sith and Jedi emerging from all of this, there will be influences from all over the place. But I don't see Maul as channeling Sideous, rather accessing the knowledge passed down to him from Sideous and using that to his advantage. Does that make sense? Let me know if you'd like more on this and I can send a private message that might explain it further, I just don't want this to get too heavy in a review thingy! But It's certainly an interesting question and got me really thinking about the differences between these two Sith personalities.
It has occurred to me that I never wrote how to pronounce Nawes name! Think of it as "Nar-Way" so following the Nabbo tradition of the letter e at the end of the name pronounced as '-ay'. Just thought I'd through that in there as I was starting to write this and looked at the word for a while.
OK, so once again I've waffled on about stuff probably much longer than I need to! Anyone got any good message board suggestions for my waffle! It would probably lead to better thought out plot-hole fillers! And boy am I concerned about what you think of the plot in this one! Let me know if the Anakin sequence is convincing, 'cause if it's not I'll go back and re-write it…somehow…
The news from Coruscant drifting through the holo-net had moved on from the escape of Kenobi from the senate building to the sudden disappearance of the Hero of the Republic from his hospital room. The story was broken by his medical staff after, it was revealed, the republic ruling council had attempted a cover-up. A medic called Kravis had found a blood bath of local bounty hunters and independently paid security enforcers littering the Hero's room and hallway leading to an even more grizzly scene in a stair well where several victims, once again identified as local bounty hunters, had been found with their throats ripped out. Burns on many of the victims had been confirmed as those seen from the use of a lightsabre, and no sign of the Hero had been found. An initial investigation had claimed that the hunters had been hired to protect the Hero, but two survivors came forward with claims that they had been hired to kill the man, Nawe, and they had witnessed the sabre wielder be the one protecting the Hero. Further investigative reporting and a number of strange tip-offs to several holo-net news providers had lead the conspiracy back to the temporary council. The conspiracy was continuing to unravel as more people began speaking out against Councilor Ameda and his two cohorts and they saw their tenuous grip on power begin to collapse around them, plunging the republic even further into its demise. Martial law was being threatened over the people of Coruscant, but with the number of clones willing to enforce such laws dwindling as more and more of them defected to their newly forming nation, and the republic guard stretched to its limits the threat was pretty weak. For all intense and purposes, there was no longer a republic of planets standing proudly in the night, and a new volume of history was beginning.
++Forward++Forward++Forward++Forward++
Boba sat in front of the holo-projector, looking at the blinking light urging him to turn it on. He stood up and paced the room for the third time before sitting down to stare back at the projector. He was dreading the contents of the message that had been sent to him privately. It had been encoded from the planet Serenno and had the seal of Count Dooku's family on it. The projector was rotating the recognizable image as it waited for him to respond.
"It came in this morning, Boba," had said his brother, Dogma, excitedly. At first Boba had hoped it was a message from Dex, everything still being disturbingly quiet from the republic capitol, but Dogma had quickly assured him this was not from a republic relay transmitter. "and it's for your eyes only, really specifically! I brought it to you as soon as I had the whole thing downloaded." And the young clone had handed him the data crystal. Boba, however, was reticent to open it. He had been instrumental in Dooku's death, after all! He had been there on the podium moments before the old man had flung himself into attacking the Chancellor of the republic, so he was not looking forward to having to explain his inaction on the Counts behalf to the Counts family. But his curiosity got the better of him and he flipped the button to play the message, taking in a deep breath and wincing slightly at the possible ear bashing he was about to receive.
An unfamiliar woman's face appeared on the screen, but there was nothing threatening in her expression. There certainly was a sense of authority, however, that he got from her appearance and she held herself very straight and tall as she spoke to him through the projection.
"Master Boba Fett, my name is Mina Bonteri, acting President of the separatist regime and long time friend to Ryn Dooku." Boba remembered Ben mentioning that the Count used that name with his close friends. "Forgive my forward approach, but you are the only contact I have within your community and my message is urgent. Firstly, I hope to alleviate some of your understandable apprehension at my communiqué by informing you that the political arm of the separatist organization wishes you and your newly formed nation no ill will. We stood behind Ryn when he looked to settle our disputes peacefully and he informed me personally of your mission to the capitol and the confrontation with the traitor Palpatine. That creature was able to deceive a galaxy and it has been hard to keep our own group from crumbling as the republic has begun to, but we have prevailed and will not fall to the deceits of Grievous and his new master. I assure you we have severed all ties to the droid forces that Grievous confiscated and the droid manufacturing factories on Geonosis have remained silent while they determine the extent of control our former General has over the droids. We have other resources for our defense and I have been given the separatist senates full support in asking you to consider the protection our collective systems can provide you and your brothers if your require assistance. I can understand your reticence at accepting such an offer, considering your nations original purpose, but consider this an offer of friendship, with the obligations of mutual success rather than servitude as the republic no doubt requires of you. Your nation's expertise will be invaluable to those among us unused to the hardships of conflict and we are willing to negotiate terms for an exchange of information and personnel to facilitate as smooth a transition into state hood for your people as we can offer. This is obviously a matter on which you will wish to digest and seek advice from your people and so I leave the next step in our relationship in your capable hands. Please feel free to discuss this matter with your advisors, and I look forward to hearing from you or your representatives soon."
The speech left Boba completely stunned, this was the last thing he was expecting from the message, but the woman had not finished and her face took on a sadness that was unexpected to Boba and he looked more intently to her visage as she continued.
"The second matter I need to address is of a far more personal nature. I have been asked by the Royal court of Serenno to ask you to attend the formal funeral and testament reading of my dear friend Count Ryn Dooku. The republic has refused to release his body to the court, but a formal ceremony will take place once all the beneficiaries to his testament can attend. I have been informed that the last two beneficiaries who have not been contacted are yourself and an Obi-Wan Kenobi. In contacting you, I believe a message can be sent to the missing man in question and I would request that you do so as soon as you can. It is imperative that Master Kenobi attend, which brings me to my third reason for contacting you. I would have you relay the message that he and any of his kind will find a safe haven within the folds of the separatist regime at this time. The Jedi are not our enemy and it is clear to us now that they never were, but part of the treacherous manipulation Palpatine held around himself. Our young force sensitive children are in dire need of guidance if they are to avoid a life of exploitation, and the Jedi offer their best chance at that. I know this is a lot to lay upon your shoulders, young man, but you have proven a great ally to my dear friend, Ryn, and you are my only link to Master Kenobi and his kind. Please relay my message with the assurance that the separatist regime can be a powerful ally to you, your people and the Jedi. Good luck with your newly freed people and may the force be with us all."
Boba sat back as the gravity of the message began to sink in and the image of the woman faded.
He stood up quickly and headed out of the room to his father's study, message crystal in hand.
"Dad," he called, "you have to see this. Dogma!" he yelled, and Dogma shot his head in through the door. "Contact Skywalker on Tatooine and get me Dex on the line even if you have to go to Coruscant and attach his arms to the holo-projector yourself!"
-Next—Next—Next—Next-
The room was spinning above him and around him in a swirling mix of grey, brilliant red and vibrant green. No, it wasn't the room that was spinning, it was the senate booths as they whistled around their heads, the three combatants whirling around the senate floor, booths flying around them as the force maelstrom erupted around them and through them. Blades flashed in front of his eyes, once red, once green, once blue, all pale against the vast open space between them in one instant and then glaringly bright and heated as they flew to each other spiraling in and out of range as the force tornado they had formed together wrestled to grapple them each in turn and plummet them to the ground.
Anakin gasped at the weight of the situation upon him as the chancellor sailed passed his head, red blade narrowly missing his torso as Anakin's booth swerved to avoid the cackling sith.
"Yes, you glorious fools, strike me down with all of your hatred! And see your republic burn!" exclaimed Palpatine as he swung around again, blocking an attack from the weakening Dooku. Anakin saw an opening and leapt for the distracted chancellor's booth as the siths back was turned, but the lightening striking his chest told him how wrong he had been, the sith prepared for the move. He seemed prepared for everything, every trick Anakin could think of was just wasting his energy away as the battle raged. Anakin crumpled to his knees as the stream of heated energy crackled through him, fusing his mechanical arm to his saber as he thrust the unwanted energy out of his system the quickest way he could. His scream echoed around the space, coming back to slap him in the face it seemed as the power coursing through him was suddenly gone. It allowed him to recover enough to see Palpatine staring at his severed arm in disgust, the sith's blade buried deep in Dooku's chest as the Count's swing continued up through the arc it had been traveling to severe the limb. Anakin was swift in his final swing and took the head clean off the sickening creature known as Palpatine and it disappeared over the edge of the booth, as did the body of Dooku as it slipped down the blade and into the oblivion below them. And Anakin could feel his body follow them, falling down into the blackness of swirling booths as they began collapsing on themselves, crushing each other under their collective weights. He twisted up to look back at the booth he had come from, only to see the headless body of Palpatine rise up, open its arms and lunge at him, the sith's scream erupting from the gaping hole in its neck.
Anakin leapt up from the bed, shaking from the nightmare once again haunting his sleep. He sat on the side of the bed and placed the palms of his hands over his eyes, the cold metal of his right hand stinging his cheek and he winced as he let go with that hand. Padme was immediately at his side, having woken up sensing her husband's continued distress and she came to kneel in front of him, brushing his hands from his face completely so that her own could replace them and she could wipe away the thin film of sweat that had accumulated there.
"Again?" she asked, to which he merely nodded, eyes still closed and breathing slowing to a more controlled attitude. She nodded also and moved to hug him, holding him close knowing that this physical reassurance was what he needed in that moment. They held each other for a while as Anakin continued to bring his breathing down and their mutual bond through the force calmed the waves of emotion running through Anakin.
Padme backed off from him and clasped his face in her hands again, a warm smile across her features. "Alderanian Black Tea," she said earnestly and waited for him to nod once before getting up and taking him by the hand to their little kitchen. Since returning to Tatooine to hide from the raging republic, the pair had set up a temporary encampment for the running Jedi with the help of the Sand people tribe and Anakin's step-father. With a pining Krayt dragon as protection, none of the locals had given them any trouble and left them to their own devices so far, but they both knew that wouldn't last. Someone would sell them out before too long and they needed a more permanent home for the young ones. Anakin's greatest concern was that the Hutts would intervene and the sooner they were off world the better. As for their temporary accommodations, Padme had snuck Anakin out of the camp to the little homestead they had discovered while Obi-Wan had been with them, even if it was for just one night, she had assured Anakin. She could sense how drained he had been from the battle with Palpatine and the dark taint left behind from the encounter that anyone facing such a foe would surely suffer through. The dreams had started the first night they had come to Tatooine after the Tantive IV had dropped Anakin off on Naboo and he had been whisked away to the desert planet as soon as Padme had received word of his escape from Coruscant. Padme was still unclear as to how the senate ship of her dear friend, Bail Organa, had come to be in the possession of her exhausted husband as Anakin was unconscious when he had been returned to her, and only through her careful administering of her force healing had she been able to bring him back to her.
The dreams were replaying the scenario of his and Dooku's battle with Palpatine in intertwined snippets of memory and imagining that mingled to give a confusing picture of the events that day. Bail had been unable to accompany the craft as he was trying to get Kenobi and Nawe the help they needed and had chosen to remain on Coruscant to oversee the transition process, but his crew had made it clear the people of Alderaan were still the allies of the Jedi despite any official statement to the contrary. It was good to know they still had friends in the republic, even if that republic was crumbling before everyone's eyes.
She had Anakin sit at the small table while she busied herself with the tea. As soon as the bag opened the aroma filled the small space, reminding her of Captain Antilles words of encouragement to her in the note he had left with the small bag of leaves. Now she let the tea brew as she moved to the table herself and sat opposite Anakin and held his hands in hers. He looked up with his tired, but smiling face.
"Show me," she said gently and for a moment he looked pained, but his features relaxed as he leant forward. She did the same and their foreheads touched. He sighed at the warm touch of her skin to his chilled head and he relaxed even further as the bond on her end of things blossomed out to greet his troubled thoughts and the dream spilled from his memory into her own. At first, he had been very concerned about such an open connection concerning these nightmares of his, but he quickly realized his mind needed a release other than merely flowing them through the force and out of his system, he needed help understanding many of the images the dreams presented him with and he was thankful for the smooth communication their bond afforded them, never having been the best at verbal communication. The cycle of the dream cascaded out of his mind and together they allowed the cleansing wash of the force to guide their emotions away from the images so that they could separate the strong emotions from what they saw and piece together the truth of what happened to Anakin and Ryn.
This was the first time Ryn had appeared as himself in the dreams. Before this his persona had taken on the form of a young Obi-wan, a crushed Yoda and a tall proud Qui-Gonn. Also, the circumstances surrounding his death had previously been blurred or concealed or not even taking place within the dream sequence, just a stomach plunging knowledge of his demise at some crucial moment in the history. The look of anguished resignation on the elder man's face this time assured Anakin that he was seeing Ryn's final moments, and the horrid realization that the man sacrificed his own life so that Anakin could take the fatal shot at Palpatine was threatening to draw Anakin into a pit of guilt over his assessment of the Count's behavior towards them all. Padme was there to guide him away from the dark places his mind wanted him to languish in, by showing him within their shared vision, the situation reversed, with Anakin now the one sacrificing himself for the killing move Ryn could perform. The two former Jedi had gone into that room with one purpose, and though it pained her greatly to admit it and re-show it to her dear husband, that purpose had been to defeat Palpatine or die trying. There were no other outcomes to their scenario. The force surrounded the pair in their grief and together they allowed it's cleansing flow to wash over them, it's reassuring drift giving them the peace they needed after such a traumatic experience.
As they resurfaced from their meditation together, the tea aroma settled in their noses again and Padme took a moment to press her hand to Anakin's cheek before rising and getting their tea.
"So, that's how they died," she said quietly settling back into the seat, "Dear Ryn," she sighed out heavily. "Obi-Wan should know." She sipped at the steaming liquid as the last images of the dream came to her mind where Palpatines torso rose from the booth. "But I'm not sure about that last part, that couldn't have happened, surely?"
Anakin didn't look up but stared into his dark tea for a moment. "It's a sign that the dark side is merely rising once again, that by removing Palpatine we took off the head of the beast, but the body still remains and intends to grow a new head."
"You mean Maul?"
Still staring at the tea, Anakin took in a deep breath. "I hope so."
"What do you mean, you hope so? Who else could it be?"
"We have a lot of lost Jedi out there, Padme," he said as he gazed out of the small window. "And we both know that the dark side envelops young minds seductively and quickly." He turned back to look on her beautifully calming face, her dark brown eyes allowing him to focus his thoughts into a crystal clarity only Padme's gaze ever allowed him to achieve. "Maul is our biggest threat at this moment, but imagine the harm he can wreak upon the galaxy of lost force sensitives. There are no rules any more, we are the proof of that, you and I and our relationship here. The Jedi have to change and see that family and familial attachment is the pure expression of love we need to keep us in the light, but if we are changing, then the sith will too. There is no need for a rule of two in the chaotic construct that Maul wishes to descend upon our galaxy. The rule of two is the antithesis of chaos, that's kind of why they came up with it in the first place, to prevent the sith from fighting amongst themselves rather than against the Jedi, but without the Jedi, the sith can battle it out against each other across the universe for all they care, and just spread more chaos. Palpatine was all about control, that's why the senate is crumbling without him, because he had so much power over them all, now they have lost the one thing that held them together. But Maul couldn't care less about that kind of power. He wants them fighting amongst themselves. He –"
Anakin stopped for a moment as both he and Padme felt a ripple of something through the force, something distant but inviting.
"Boba," they both said together, and their faces lit up at their mutual intuition. Anakin rose from the table, finishing off his tea and taking Padme's empty cup.
"I'll clean up, you let them know at the camp we're on our way," he said and Padme nodded her approval.
"Very domesticated, aren't we!" she said poking fun at her usually messy husband.
"Yeah," he said as Padme headed for the communicator, "only problem with this bond we share is I get all of your obsessive cleaning habits rolling around in here." and he tapped his head as he cleaned the cups and emptied out the tea pot. "Besides, Alderanian Black tea smells great when first brewed, but leave it out too long and it smells like Dug dung!"
"Anakin!" said an exasperated Padme as she turned on the communicator.
"Well, it does," said Anakin under his breath as he continued with his chores.
==Further On==Further On==Further On==
Obi-wan was finding it harder and harder to stay awake. His stomach was full of warm, comforting stew, and the Java Juice was not doing its usual job of keeping him from nodding off. The low murmuring of his companions and the humming of the run-abouts engines wasn't helping either. As they flew to the industrial district where Dex's transport was waiting, Asajj was relating her and Yoda's time on planet once again to an enthusiastic Nawe. Obi couldn't help noticing how attentive young Nawe was to her words. But, amusing as it was, it didn't stop his eye lids from drooping. Of course, as soon as his eyes did close, he was confronted by the sith eyed version of himself and he would shoot back up awake, jerking his head up in a very distracting fashion. After the third time this happened, Obi felt Yoda settle his hand on his shoulder.
"Rest, you will take," he said earnestly and Obi felt compelled to agree with him and they moved to the back of the small craft. Yoda sat next to Obi as he sank into the floor and then curled up on his side, the old Jedi Master allowing him to use his cloak as a pillow. All the time, Yoda was speaking quietly to him, soothing his worried mind and bringing memories of his crèche days, of all things, to the forefront of Obi's thoughts. A long forgotten lullaby popped into his head and without realizing it he was singing it gently to himself, the repetitive rhythm and rhyming scheme keeping his mind from straying to darker thoughts and places. He felt enveloped in the warm glow of the force, as his body was infused by the croaky voice of the diminutive master singing along with him, allowing his body to relax even further into the pillow and into a deep, dreamless sleep. Yoda could feel the caged animal of Obi's strengthening darker feelings straining to reach the unconscious mind of the former Jedi so that they could continue their 'conversation', but for now the old master was able to fend off the spiked attacks the darkness flared into Obi's soul and he left the boy cocooned in his force blanket.
When he returned to the group at the front of the ship he found that Nawe had not faired any better and was slumped awkwardly in his seat. Asajj, who was the closest to the boy, lifted his head up and positioned it into a more comfortable position and was thanked with a loud snore that erupted from the boy's nose.
"Admirer, you have in that one, mm?" said Yoda.
"Oh, really!" came her reply as she moved to Kenobi's vacated seat away from the noisy sleeper. "Can we please talk about where we're headed, now our mission is asleep!"
Yoda looked over at the sleeping Obi-Wan and then back to the snoring Nawe, who was slipping to the side again, so he nudged him with the force to keep him from sliding down the seat. "Good team you make."
"What!" exclaimed Asajj, "What are you talking about!"
"The stairwell? Anticipate your every move, he could, felt connection you did."
Asajj sighed heavily, "Dire circumstances make for strange bed fellows." To which Yoda raised an eyebrow.
"Bad choice of words," she continued after seeing his expression, "the point is we didn't have much of a choice! Now drop it before I drop you!"
"To think about, something it is," said Yoda quietly. To which Asajj merely glared at him. Anyone else would have been a pile of dissolved mass under that vitriolic gaze, but Yoda was immune to such things. He sighed deeply as he felt the struggle still inside the cocooned mind of Kenobi and he layered the thick force blanket he had placed around the man with the memory of the lullaby once again. Ventress could feel his efforts, remembering Obi doing something similar to her damaged mind as they had escaped her physical prison on Nar Shadda.
"He'll be alright, won't he, I mean.." she stumbled over her words especially with his predicament baring similarities to her own battle with her inner demons.
"Strong in the light side of the force, this one is, fight it will be, but prevail he will. Control his demons he will."
"But never escape them, right?"
"Just as you do, young one."
"Let's hope he's better at it than I am!" to which Yoda chuckled.
"Yes, much better we all hope!"
"Hey!" she laughed at his joke at her expense, but it was obvious from his expression he was just trying to get a rise out of her. The more time she spent with the old troll, the more she appreciated his company. His humor was as dry as Obi's and it was refreshing to her that they had both been able to joke in her presence, most people still regarding her as too damaged to test with such things, either wanting to protect her from the world or just get out of her presence altogether.
"We were going to talk about this Serenno business," she said, bringing the conversation back to the moment at hand. Dex had managed to get his rust-bucket of a transmitter working with Obi's help and had managed to get Boba's messages finally that the boy had been sending. They were all intrigued by the information he had to impart about the separatist regime's offers, but both Yoda and Obi had been skeptical of how much the political arm of the movement could achieve, but it was heartening to know that they had rejected Grievous and Maul and their plans.
"Why didn't Maul just take control of the whole separatist regime when he had the chance?" Dex had wondered, to which Yoda and Obi had come up with a number of possibilities.
"After his assault on Coruscant both Maul and Grievous were seriously injured, he may be taking his time to recover and also consolidating his forces for a more aggressive stance later," replied Ben.
"Stray Jedi he's also been picking up. Feel them I can moving into darkness, but not death, swallowed by a storm it seems to me, from which struggling to escape they are. Beginning a new force war my guess is and young pawns these are."
"He is also a creature of chaos, and I believe he has the patience to watch that chaos reign around him, using that to fuel his desires of conflict. I do not doubt that he has set his sights on destroying the Separatist regime as he has the republic," continued Obi-Wan.
"Not afraid he is to wait things out. Our opportunity this is to regroup as swiftly as we are able, lost and vulnerable of our kind find and protect we will while we can."
"It's certainly worth talking to this acting president, she seems reasonable," said Nawe, wanting to join in the conversation.
"Boba mentioned that Padme spoke very highly of her, so including Padme in our negotiations is a certainty," said Asajj.
"Then settled it is, head to Serenno we will and Boba there we will meet, then to Naboo we will move to meet with the Separatist leadership."
Below the small transport the industrial district stretched out as far as Asajj could see. The numerous hangars that they flew over all looked the same to Asajj, But she was sure the Basalisk knew where he was going.
"What more is there to discuss, young one?" asked Yoda. "Destination we have and plan for the future we have. What more need you?"
"I don't know, Master, I just feel we're missing something, it's all fallen into our laps quite easily, don't you think? How convenient for the Separatist regime to open their arms to us, and how conveniently quiet Maul and Grievous have suddenly become. I can't help feeling that there is more than just a storm coming, more like a maelstrom of galactic proportions, or something!"
"Easy this situation is not," he replied, "convenient perhaps, but faith in the force we must place. Guided by the hand, we are and clear a path has been made, I feel. Foreseen this, I did not, but force flow in this direction leads me. Of this a good path will come, and help our 'mission' we will. Now, ready you must be, for easy this is not, as I said." And he moved to the back of the craft to settle next to Obi who continued to sleep peacefully for a change.
"Talk straight, I wish you would!" she whispered to herself as she settled back into her seat, Dex's light chuckle from hearing her comment making her smile as he continued to pilot the craft to their new destination.
With Yoda's attention focused on the sleeping Obi-Wan and Asajj focused on the path ahead of them, none of the small craft's occupants noticed the Telgorn drop-ship that was trailing them at a distance just out of scanning range.