Chapter 59: The Dark Tide

Obi-Wan was dutifully doing exactly as Satine had commanded and was socializing. After all, it appeared to be a night where doing exactly what the Mand'alor wanted was simply what the Force demanded. She had gotten everything she had wanted out of the Senate. With free access to all trade routes controlled by the Republic, and a treaty signed by Chancellor Palpatine that promised not only an official recognition of the Mandalorian state, but a promise of friendship between the two governments, there was nobody left to deny that Mand'alor Satine Kryze had achieved unprecedented galactic power. And all this happened under the watchful, helpless eye of the Jedi Order. Truly, the Force was with the Sith that night.

Most of the Jedi had returned to the Temple, leaving behind some of the most powerful in the Order to watch over the extravagant party the Senate had hosted, one that was originally intended to ease the delegates into dealing with the Mandalorian Queen now repurposed to celebrate their successful negotiations. Obi-Wan carefully navigated the crowd, politely making small talk and turning on the charm when they pressed for more information, but he made certain to keep his eyes on Satine. The woman was fine, but she had been speaking rather closely to Chancellor Palpatine for some time, and while he was certain that what they were discussing was harmless, what Sidious was actually discovering about her had him worried.

He sighed when another serving droid approached him with yet another tray of drinks when it saw his hands were empty, and he took a glass to make the damnable thing leave him alone. He wasn't drinking, of course. He had never been good at it, and while he was much improved from his Jedi days, he still got inebriated quickly, and tonight especially, he needed to keep his wits about him. The delegates, however, didn't seem to share his prudence, for most were well on their way to drunkenness. No wonder the Republic was falling, and with this level of decadence and over-indulgence, it was a shock it hadn't collapsed sooner. But soon, it would be over, and this corrupt, wasteful system could be put out of it's misery. Soon.

He could still feel the blinding presence of Qui-Gon around him, still could feel the Jedi's oppressive hold on the Force, despite their smaller numbers. Master Jinn would have been enough to deter him from action, but they kept Quinlan Vos, Anakin Skywalker, and Yoda among their ranks, and they were doing little else but monitoring his actions. Jedi perseverance was beginning to fray at his patience, and he was suddenly overcome with the need to get out. Between the shameful excess, the fawning politicians, and the constant, ceaseless prodding of the Jedi upon his consciousness, Obi-Wan was beginning to feel like he couldn't breathe.

Passing his glass off to a Rodian who had already drank far too much, Kenobi excused himself from the group he was talking with and found his way out on to a balcony, the large deck completely vacant, save for a Zeltron female tucked into the shadows and enthusiastically engaging in some highly inappropriate activities with Kaminoan. Obi-Wan took a deep, long breath of the frigid night air, his tension releasing as the chill entered his lungs and spread through him. It was unseasonably cold, which explained the why the patio was largely unoccupied, and while Obi-Wan made a point to complain about unfavorable climates, Sidious had forced Kenobi in the early years of his apprenticeship to endure the intense cold of Mygeeto, where he had nearly frozen to death, forced to draw upon the Dark Side to save his life. The cold no longer bothered him.

"Did you think you could get away?" The voice was deep and rasping and angry, and while Obi-Wan recognized who it belonged to, it sounded very little like his carefree friend.

Kenobi didn't turn around when he breathed deeply and said, "Just needed some fresh air. Politicians make things so...stuffy." A large, strong hand lay on his shoulder and quickly spun him around, and Obi-Wan found himself looking into the very angry face of Quinlan Vos. Despite the man's anger, the Sith softly smiled.

"Lying comes so easily to you now, doesn't it?" Quinlan growled, and Obi-Wan calmly brushed the Jedi's hand away and took a step back.

"Careful, Jedi..." he warned. "I'm here as the diplomatic guest of a brand new ally of the Galactic Republic. You wouldn't want to be the one that gets between that, would you?" He shrugged. "Besides, I didn't lie to anyone."

Quinlan grabbed Kenobi's robes and pulled him close, his dark eyes narrowed in fury, and he growled when he looked into the expressionless face of his old friend. "You said you weren't Sith!"

A slow, sly smile came to Kenobi's lips. "I've made my statement and been judged by the Senate fairly. I doubt they'd approve of your methods, Quin." The smile on Obi-Wan's face slowly faded when Quinlan's hands tightened into his robes, and he quickly crossed his grip and pulled hard, his collar tightening around his neck as the Jedi choked him. This time, the Kiffar was grinning.

"Not so tough without the Force, are you, Sith Lord." Obi-Wan reached up and clutched the Jedi's wrists, and Quinlan pulled tighter, expecting the Sith to attempt to pull him off or force him to relieve his strangling hold, but instead, those hands gently wrapped around the scars that his red lightsaber had left. Vos felt Obi-Wan tug at the Force, sending it through him, not to control or dominate, and not at the behest of the Dark Side. What Quinlan felt was compassion. Understanding. A vast, deep kinship in those golden eyes that seemed to say, You are not alone.

Quinlan released him as so quickly it was as if he had looked down to see he was holding burning coals in his hands, and he trembled, backing away and looking at the Sith in fear. Obi-Wan turned away and coughed into his sleeve, a hand in the air and a gentle push of the Force to get the Zeltron and the Kaminoan, now staring at them, to forget about what they had seen and leave, which they compliantly did. Quinlan wanted to leave as well, but at the same time, he desperately wanted to stay, and gripped with indecision, Quinlan Vos stood and did nothing.

"You're so angry, Quinlan..." Obi-Wan said softly, holding up a hand when the Kiffar darted forward, grasping for words that would not come to him. "When did this happen?"

"Kamino." He shivered when he said the word, and it was like a damn breaking, and suddenly, Vos couldn't stop himself. "I touched the Dark Side, Obi-Wan! Grievous was going to kill Ahsoka and I heard your voice in my head, and I reached out and I grabbed it!" The Kiffar snarled, his hands balling into fists. "I tore Grievous apart, Obi-Wan. I have never been so powerful, and all I have wanted since was to reach out and do it again!"

Kenobi stood on his toes to look over Vos' shoulder at the closed balcony door, felt the Force for the other Jedi, but did not sense them attuned to Quinlan, or aware at all of the raging pull of the Dark Side mere steps away from them. He could feel his own tightly caged darkness thrash against its bindings, demanding to be set free, but he closed his eyes and commanded it to still. "Have the Jedi not sensed this?"

Quinlan scoffed in disgust. "Like they have ever been able to sense the Dark Side." His face darkened as he shot the Sith a dangerous glare. "You did this to me! You planted the idea in my mind, you wanted to fall together, and now I'm falling with you!"

"There has always been darkness within you, Quinlan. If you want to stop your fall, than you are speaking to the wrong man."

"That's the thing, I don't want to stop." Quinlan grabbed the Sith again, but gently this time, his trembling hands on his shoulders and his brown eyes wide and afraid and pleading. "Help me, Obi-Wan. I have never felt such strength, I need to learn how to control it and harness it. The Jedi won't teach me, but you're Sith, you can-"

Obi-Wan's hand shot out and covered the Jedi's mouth, and Quinlan looked at him in confusion. "I understand, Quinlan. You are lost and confused, but I cannot help you, because I'm not what you think I am." Vos looked at him with anger and betrayal, but it quickly melted away when he felt the Sith's comforting presence in the Force, heard the harsh inflections on certain words, saw those gold eyes narrow and glow with a devious light. "The Dark Side is dangerous, as the Jedi say, and if you have begun down that road, you must seek to purge yourself of it."

The Sith Lord removed his hand from the Jedi's mouth, and he quietly gasped, "How?"

"Meditation and contemplation of the Force, and what it has in store for you." He shrugged. "You may wish to look for a place that you feel can bring you closer to the Living Force."

"And...do you know where I can find such a place?"

Kenobi shrugged. "I hear Mandalore is conducive to meditation. Peaceful worlds often are."

"I'll...consider it. Thank you..."

Obi-Wan smiled softly and laid a hand on his shoulder. "It was good to talk with you again, my friend. But I really need to get back before I am missed." Kenobi turned away from the Jedi and didn't look back as he walked inside the warm, crowded room and was instantly set upon by drunk, fawning Senators, who immediately began commenting on his sweet it was that he reconnect with the Jedi, how good it must have been to be able to talk with them once again, and Obi-Wan smiled, politely responding that it was a great pleasure. His instincts had been correct, and he was right to be cautious here. No matter where he was, how alone he believed himself to be, the politics of Coruscant were ever watchful and kept a keen eye and ear open to the activities of not just him, but everyone. Within minutes, even this conversation would spread and warp into rumors.

Breathing deep, he closed his eyes and reached out with the Force, not the soft, easy pushing he had been employing since he arrived, but an insistent tug, and he directed it in the direction of the elderly Senator from Kamino, and Kenobi felt his pulse quicken when the Jedi attention in the room snapped first to him, than to the long necked politician, and they immediately moved to gather together, talking among themselves while keeping a cautious watch on the room. He was certain that the Jedi would figure out that he was actively attempting to deceive them, but it was necessary. They could learn more from what he didn't do than from what he did, and misleading them when they expected to be misled could help him clear the way to making easier contact with his Master later on.

As if summoned by the thought of him, Chancellor Palpatine put his hand in the air and called to him, smiling brightly and waving him over, Satine standing close to him with an untouched drink in her hand. Like him, Satine didn't drink when she was working, but Palpatine held a near empty glass, and as Kenobi approached, he saw the Chancellor was slightly flushed. "Obi-Wan!" he cried, laying a hand on the fine black robes that covered the man's chest, as much in affection as for support. "I had been looking for you! The Duchess and I...we talked about you so much!" His words were affected with a slight slur, and Kenobi gently reached out and brushed the Sith Lord's consciousness with the Force to find it hazy and unclear for just a moment before a sharp, jarring tug deep inside him made his breath catch. For just an instant, the Chancellor's kind, slightly unfocused eyes sharpened, and Obi-Wan heard his Master's voice deep within him say, Pay attention.

"I'm flattered that you'd discuss me when I'm not around, Chancellor, but I assure you, it's completely unnecessary. I'm fairly uninteresting."

"Oh, I disagree, my boy!" Palpatine said, lightly pushing Kenobi to stand beside the Duchess, and Obi-Wan looked around to find himself in the center of the attention of nearly fifty people. Sidious was holding court. "A Jedi comes from humble beginnings, and now you are royalty!"

Kenobi sucked in a sharp breath, the slight pulling of his Master making his message excessively clear: Does my apprentice mean to rule? Obi-Wan brushed off the notion with an easy laugh. "Standing in the light of the sun does not make one a star, Chancellor."

Palpatine smiled. "He's a Jedi as well as a poet!" The politicians in attendance laughed. "You must admit that allying yourself with these new Mandalorians has made you powerful."

"I was powerful before my current association with the Duchess, Chancellor." He smiled slightly. "My involvement in Mandalore is purely done out of a dedication to peace and...as a favor to a friend."

"And what a friend!" he said jovially. "Already your Satine is winning the hearts of the Senators."

"She seems to have a knack for it, yes."

"Many have come to her just this evening with an interest in joining her peace!" Palpatine said this cheerfully, but there was a silent menace in his Force presence. Do you mean to dismantle my war effort?

"Many do long for it," he said softly. "This war has lasted a long while, but I fear that most are not ready for peace. Mand'alor Satine has offered peace to all those who wish it, and yet so many choose to remain in the war."

"The matter is not solved so simply."

Kenobi smiled. "Perhaps not, but I believe as this war continues, more and more will leave the Republic and the Confederacy and join the Mandalorian peace. As this war continues, Mandalore will only grow stronger."

Palpatine laughed. "You almost sound as though you have joined with her, Negotiator!"

"I am here, aren't I? I have pressed for peace in the past. She has simply found a better way."

"So..." the Chancellor drawled, the syllable long and slurred. "Does this mean you have changed allegiance? Do you no longer serve Count Dooku and his Separatists?" Again, the meaning was clear: Do you place this woman above the Sith Initiative?

Obi-Wan smirked. "Chancellor, I have never served Dooku. I am no politician. I am just doing what I believe is best for the galaxy, and if we can somehow be united once again, I must support the one who can achieve it."

Palpatine slowly nodded, and Obi-Wan would feel his presence withdraw and leave him with a sense of satisfaction. If this was a test, it appears that he had passed it. Slowly, drunkenly, the Chancellor laughed. "Why, Obi-Wan, it almost seems as if you love this remarkable woman!" The delegates around them began to excitedly mumble with thick tongues and slow minds addled with alcohol.

"I do confess to having a strong admiration of Mand'alor Satine."

"As do we all! Many tonight have already asked for her hand!"

Kenobi laughed, a sly smile sliding across his face as he looked at the woman by his side. "Oh, have they?"

Satine was unimpressed, placing her untouched glass on a tray a serving droid was carrying as it passed. "All men are attracted to power, Obi-Wan. You know this. Their species and their political affiliation means nothing when they think they have a way to easily seize vast amounts of influence."

"And she is shrewd. Powerful, intelligent women are so hard to come by!"

A devious smile made its way on to the Duchess' face. "Chancellor Palpatine, you don't have any plans to make me yours, do you?"

Palpatine laughed modestly and waved his hand in the air. "No, no, not at all. The Republic is nearly too much fr me, I do not believe I could handle more. I'll leave the Duchess to younger, more vital men, such as yourself, Master Kenobi." The Chancellor nudged the Sith Lord in the ribs. "We hear you are terribly close to each other..."

"I don't pay attention to rumors, Chancellor." Again, the elderly man laughed.

"No, no, of course not."

Satine linked her arm with Obi-Wan's. "It's getting late. We should retire. I have a great deal of work to do when I return to Mandalore, and I should like to leave at first light." Kenobi nodded and looked at the Chancellor, who smiled and put his hands up.

"Of course, Duchess. Allow me to escort you to the apartments we have reserved for your use. They are near my own, and I should turn in as well." He bowed to the delegates, smiling softly. "A bit too much to drink for me. I used to hold it so much better when I was younger." The Senators laughed, watching as the Chancellor, the Duchess, and the Negotiator left the room together, quietly whispering to each other as they left.

500 Republica was the most desired building on Coruscant, it's lush, exquisite apartments fit to serve any royalty in the galaxy, though most served as the on-world homes of the most prestigious Senators in the Republic. That the politicians so coveted the wealth and influence that came with owning an apartment at the address was exactly why the Republic was falling. They strove for wealth instead of progress, decadence instead of effectiveness, and it bred a laziness in the influential that led to the current galactic state.

Not that Obi-Wan was complaining. The room had been reserved for visiting dignitaries of high esteem, which was exactly what the Duchess was, and Palpatine would not have her placed anywhere else as a statement to those that had been worried about her arrival. As soon as the Chancellor had left them, Kenobi walked around the room and used the Force to short out the security cameras, and immediately after, he and Satine had furiously made love, drunk on power driven from their complete victory over every obstacle they encountered. They were, in a word, unstoppable.

When his lover was soundly asleep, Kenobi pulled himself out of bed and slipped into his casually discarded trousers and sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed and breathing deeply as he slowly sunk into the Force. The training with Shaak Ti had paid off, even if the training wasn't complete, as he easily brushed the visions brought to him out of the way, ignoring them as he searched deeper went further, past the drunken Senators, past the billions of the insignificant life on the planet, past even the Jedi meditating in their Temple, and for a moment, he could feel them upon him, observing him in his meditations. He sunk deeper still until even the Jedi couldn't reach him, until there was nothing but the calm waters of the Force and the raging undercurrents of the Dark Side, and Obi-Wan inhaled deeply as he submerged himself within the tide. There, he was a vortex, bright and singular, controlling the ebb and the flow of the waters around him. He was all at once surrounded by all that lived and completely alone, save for one other, who slowly reached out to him and grabbed his consciousness with firm, possessive, familiar hands.

"Master."

His golden eyes shot open, but he could not see the ornate room he sat in, couldn't feel the warm presence of his sated lover, couldn't hear the soft hum of the ever-present traffic in the skies of Coruscant. Instead, he saw the infinite darkness of Sidious' Dark Side shrine deep underneath the Jedi Temple, and before him was the shadowed, shifting form of his Master. He reached out to grasp it, but his hand passed through, and he frowned. Was this a vision?

"Not a vision," Sidious said softly. "Not like you are used to."

Obi-Wan looked around again, his sharp gold eyes taking in every detail of his surroundings, but he found it...shifting, as if everything was underwater, as his less clear visions so often did. "This shrine is a nexus in the Dark Side. Could our consciousness be drawn to this place?"

"Perhaps," the Master mused. "But you and I are simply connected, my apprentice. Deeply." He shrugged. "And my penthouse is right above yours. Proximity allows for a stronger link between us, as I am certain you remember from your time as a Jedi." Obi-Wan said nothing. "That woman of yours is not what I was led by Tyranus to believe."

Their surroundings became hazy and unclear, the waters disturbed by a sudden rush through them, and the Master merely smiled. "What did he say." It wasn't a question, it was a demand, and a moment later, the Force itself screamed as agony shot through Kenobi. Biting his lip, he closed his eyes, bowed his head, and quietly said, "I apologize, Master..."

"You grow weary of Tyranus." Not a question, a statement.

"Yes."

"He had expressed his displeasure with you. He believes I am emboldening you needlessly."

"I do hope you punished him for his insolence, Master..."

Sidious grinned. "I did. As you would have. As you did, I suspect."

"...yes." This time, the Force lit with the calm, smooth warmth of his Master's satisfaction, and while he accepted the praise, Obi-Wan recognized this as his Master simply attempting to light further conflict between the two apprentices. "Can the Jedi not sense us, Master?" he asked softly, and Sidious scoffed, his face filled with disgust at the idea.

"Can the Jedi sense the Dark Side, Darth Lumis? Can they feel what it is that infects their treasured Temple?"

"No, Master."

"And so they cannot sense us now. We are cloaked in the Dark Side. How else could I hide among them?" He watched as Lumis considered this and slowly nodded, bowing his head in respect to the Master. "Tyranus insisted that the Duchess was simply a front through which you exerted your will and your power, and you use her because she is pleasing to you." Sidious grinned as he felt the Dark Side begin to swirl around the human nexus. "He says that she is little more than a pleasure slave elevated far beyond her station, and were I you, Lumis, I would control your rage before you bring the Jedi down upon you."

Obi-Wan didn't know how angry he was until he could feel the heart in his physical form race, the Dark Side drawn to him as he meditated and his consciousness lay elsewhere. With a deep breath and a sharp pull on the Force, he called the Dark Side to him, coaxing it softly before swiftly containing and controlling it. "Satine is a powerful ally, my Master," he said when he had controlled his heart to beat at a slow, strong pace.

"I am inclined to agree," Sidious said. "She provides the political acumen that you lack. Together, you have achieved what I have achieved alone."

Obi-Wan winced. "I recognize your superiority, Master. I still have much to learn."

"You do, my apprentice. But you are learning." He steepled his fingers. "Your Duchess is politically astute, impressively intelligent, charismatic and ruthless. If she had the Force, I might be so inclined to throw you and Tyranus away in favor of her."

"She is...a great asset, Master."

Sidious' face suddenly contorted in rage, and Obi-Wan could feel his ghostly hands upon his throat. "And you believe you can rule an Empire with her? Tell me, Lumis, did you assemble an Empire to show me the power you could amass?"

"N-no, Master, I-" The hands tightened around his neck, and he could feel his heart beat faster as he choked for air. Sidious stared at him as if he was bored, watching him as he struggled for breath, the Force thrashing around them as Obi-Wan pulled upon it to preserve his own life. Suddenly, he was released, and he fell to the ground, gasping loudly as his lungs continued to burn.

"I find your Duchess agreeable," Sidious finally said. "She is intelligent and cunning and Sith in her mentality. Even without her connection to you, such a powerful political power is worth protecting. I will honor my alliance with her. Her rule must be upheld. It will make the violent birth of the Empire easier. The less Confederate Worlds at the time of the execution of the plan, the less struggle we will have with the Outer Rim when we conquer it."

"...I can see that she remains of use to us, Master."

"I suggest that you do." Sidious crossed his arms and looked over his powerful apprentice. "Have her slowly begin to bring Separatist worlds into her protection."

"I will, Master..."

Sidious frowned. There was still unease in the man, still a disturbance within him. It was not fear, but it was disquiet. "You are troubled."

Obi-Wan was silent for a moment before he nodded slightly. "Yes."

Sidious smiled as he identified the cause of Lumis' distress. "She is useful to us, Lumis. We did not need this Mandalorian alliance, but that we have it is a gift from the Dark Side. We shall not waste this. If your concern is for her safety, you may be at ease."

"Until the Empire is born."

"Yes, until my Empire rises." He grinned when the Force trembled with worry, the human nexus causing it to shift and swirl. He could not lose this, not now. Not when the corruption of Anakin Skywalker was going so poorly. "And after, if you have another use for her." Sidious grinned when the apprentice's golden eyes looked up at him, hungry and lustful and brimming with power.

"She will give me children, Master. Powerful ones that will all be raised in service to the Sith."

"You have said as much before, and yet you have produced nothing." Kenobi winced. "I am beginning to believe that one of you is incapable."

"We have been busy with a war and an Empire! When am I supposed to find the time to dedicate to making a child!"

"You haven't seemed to have trouble with this in the past."

"It's far too infrequently! We must be...missing."

Sidious took a deep breath and touched the Dark Side, searching for answers and found one, faint and distant, and he grabbed hold of it. "My Master Plagueis strove to manipulate the Force to create life. I always found it foolish, but perhaps he was simply going about it wrong. He reached to compel the Force itself when he perhaps should have reached through a powerful Dark Side practitioner." He stroked his chin as he thought. "I will compel the Force to prepare her for you. When you return home, you will allow the Dark Side to consume you as you ravage her, and you will have your child."

"You can do such a thing?" Kenobi gasped, and the Master simply looked at him as if he was bored.

"It's a simple thing." He pointed at the apprentice, his face stern. "I trust that you will continue to make the woman produce Sith Lords for you, but your first child, the one you will create for me tomorrow will be mine to train." He smiled slyly when he felt Lumis' resolve waver for a moment before it settled into fierce resolve. "Consider this your gift to me for allowing you to keep this woman."

"Gratefully so, my Master." It was a hard deal, but within the Force, Obi-Wan saw the future, and knew this was the right path to tread. If nothing else, it gave him and Satine extra time to plan in safety, and when the time was right, Darth Sidious would fall. It was, after all, the way of the Lords of the Sith.