Not gonna lie, I thought this chapter was longer than it actually is. It's good, though (I like to think). I hope you enjoy!

Grand Master Yoda was as much an expert on the Force, if not more, than Darth Sidious ever had been. In a way, the Dark Lord was slightly less knowledgeable - an achievement, to be sure, especially if you compared his lifespan to Yoda's. Palpatine knew of Light Side Techniques, but had never employed them.

Yoda was old. Pushing a millennia, in fact. And he had used the Dark Side before. He never told Anakin how, or why, but he reassured him: the ingrained fear of the Darkness every Jedi was taught was not entirely based in truth. Yoda had successfully used the Dark Side without falling to its corruption, something every Jedi would think impossible.

For two years, he taught Anakin. The Chosen One's will was indomitable, but the temptation was also impossibly powerful. He very nearly succumbed on multiple occasions, until Dagobah. A fetid, unpopulated world, the planet was home to the strongest physical connection to the Force in the galaxy, even more intense than Korriban's. Unlike the homeworld of the Sith, however, the Force took no side on Dagobah. The Light and the Darkness coexisted, somehow; even Yoda had little clue as to why. The closest he could get to explaining it was balance. One needed the other to exist, and Dagobah represented that.

The world tested him. The Chosen One had visions of the past, present and future, of what could be, and wasn't. Everything from him saving the galaxy to killing his own wife. They tested his resolve, his abilities, and pushed him to find a balance - to simultaneously achieve the impossible and be patient and passionate at the same time.

And it worked.

"Your report, most disturbing it is, Knight Tano. Unbalanced, the Force may be again. Unforeseen, this is."

Ahsoka nodded, agreeing with the Grand Master's judgement. "Agreed. Whoever committed this atrocity bore the Force signature of a Sith Lord."

Troubled expressions were the answer to that statement. "And you are certain of this? Perhaps the perpetrator is simply a Rogue consumed by the Dark Side." -said Mace Windu, looking pointedly at Anakin's hologram.

"All Rogues are accounted for. I keep every one of them under strict supervision, as you know, for obvious reasons. This is, after all, still a prototype philosophy and organization." -said Skywalker firmly.

Ahsoka nodded. "I understand your concern, Master Windu, but the Force signature I felt was not unlike that I remember feeling from Darth Tyrannus. In fact, I would say it is much more powerful in the Dark Side."

Master Ti hummed concerned. "Did Palpatine have a secret apprentice Dooku may not have known about? Or perhaps one he kept off his logs?"

Obi-Wan shook his head. "It's highly unlikely. He was very meticulous, and every single one of Sidious' nefarious deals both as a Sith Lord and Chancellor of the Republic can be accounted for. Even those in Confederate space."

Master Mundi scoffed. "I would not trust General Grievous to have come forth with all the information."

Master Unduli piped up. "Regardless of his past deeds, the Kaleesh was absolved of his crimes due to the unfairly and uncontrollably biased nature of his acts during the Clone Wars."

Discomfort showed in the faces of many a Master - true though that might've been, the fact remained that Grievous had still killed dozens of Jedi in cold blood, and remained hostile to the Order to this day, except for a select few he tolerated.

"Fact is, if Grievous told us his life story, why would he withhold information on a Sith? He's got more motives to hate them than he does us." -said Anakin.

"What of Korriban? The Sith homeworld may hold the answers to this mystery." -suggested Plo Koon.

Chilling silence ran through the Council. Korriban was as deadly a place for Jedi as there could be in the galaxy.

"I'll go. The Dark Side's temptation holds no sway with me." -said Anakin resolutely.

"Another Jedi must accompany you. One not attuned to the Darkness as you are." -said Windu, leaving no room for debate.

Anakin resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "As you wish."

"Master Kenobi. Join him, you will. Decipher this plot, you must. May the Force be with you."

A chorus of assent rose up and the Masters began to leave. Anakin's holo turned to Ahsoka. "Knight Tano, a word."

Ahsoka nodded, heading out of the chambers and into a private com room.

Anakin Skywalker, Chosen One of the Force, was a man in his prime. Tall, well built, and ruggedly handsome, it was no wonder Ahsoka's former master had managed to gather Padmé Amidala's attention. His long hair was tied up in a ponytail, and he bore a short beard, but the scar on his left eyebrow and his sky-blue eyes, while now flecked with amber, were still very much his. Instead of traditional Jedi robes, he wore light armor, gray in color with a black cloak over it, a vibro-knife strapped to his arm, two lightsabers hanging from his belt, and a blaster pistol holstered to his thigh. While Jedi were the picture of elegance and discipline, Rogues focused on function over form. They were taught to fight in a myriad of ways, not all of them clean. They were scrappers, resourceful people with the preparation of a bounty hunter worth his spice, and the calm fury of a gifted assassin. Dirty beskar armor and cortosis weave clothing were more the norm than a commodity, though there were exceptions, of course.

"Been busy, Master?" -asked Ahsoka.

"Horrendously so, Snips. I miss my family like you wouldn't believe."

Ahsoka gave him a sad smile. "I think I would. But your work is important, and I know they understand that, even if they don't like it."

Anakin sighed. "How's Leia? I can't imagine seeing Bail's people slaughtered didn't affect her. Even if she's one of the toughest out there."

"She's shaken. At least I got her to avoid bottling it up. She might just make a Rogue yet." -she added mirthfully.

He laughed. "She'd probably depose me in about two days. Leia has an important destiny ahead of her, this much I know. Just how important, well. That I don't know and it worries me."

"You'd be a terrible father if you didn't."

"Who's to say I'm not one already? I gotta go. Fairly sure Ventress is two mistimed katas away from murdering the new guys. Take care, Snips."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "You're the one going to the Sith homeworld, not me."

CRUD I forgot - Dirty beskar and clean beskar are not indicative of their actual cleanliness. I imagine them as vibranium and adamantium in the Marvel universe - similar in properties, with one being cheaper than the other. Dirty beskar is very expensive, but much less so than clean beskar, which is, for all intents and purposes, indestructible to any known force. So, Rogues have very, very tough armor (when they use it, some don't), but it's not indestructible. Mandalorians don't let their prized indestructible metal leave their hands. Hope that clears it up!