Chapter 107: Battle Plans

Anakin sat silently in Palpatine's office, his hands clasped in front of his face and staring out over the Senatorial district as he listened to Tarkin run the latest plans by the Chancellor. The arrival of the Mandalorians had been infuriating in the beginning, but now, they were merely a nuisance. In the first month, they had brutally pressed back against the Republic forces, but after the second month of stagnation within the Senate in terms of the Mandalorian problem, the now famous temper of Bo-Katan had cooled considerably. It had also helped that Palpatine had reached out to the woman, contrary to the wishes of the majority, and was seeking to find common ground. The Mandalorians remained stubborn, but they were no longer actively hostile toward Republic forces, which gave Skywalker the room he needed to go about destroying his enemy.

There was talk, disturbing rumors, that the Jedi were working with some Senators to try and reach a peace with the Separatists, trying desperately to find common ground with Obi-Wan Kenobi in order to bring this drawn out war to a close. But Anakin didn't know. The Jedi weren't sharing with him. They were keeping secrets, shutting him out because they knew he would object. After all, this was against the wishes of the Republic. The Senators had voted to reject the Sith's pitiful offerings, and going against that, trying to work with a Sith Lord just went to show how far the Jedi had fallen. They claimed there was a Sith in the Senate, but perhaps there was a Sith within the Jedi. After all, they had certainly been acting like it by trying to make deals with Kenobi. Why else would they try to stop Anakin from killing him?

The problem wasn't only the Jedi, of course, but also the foolish factions within the Senate that would sacrifice victory for compromise when such a thing was unnecessary and insulting. They were right at the end of the war, so quitting prematurely felt like losing to Anakin, especially when it meant that Kenobi would not only escape with his life, but get away with all he had done. It hurt more that Padmé was leading the call for peace, and was making a damn good case for it, and with the fear of the Mandalorian threat, she was making impressive headway. Anakin didn't blame her. Padmé had always been against the war, had always made the push for peace, and he knew she would support him if Obi-Wan was dead. This was the Sith's fault, Kenobi's fault, all of it, and it only went to prove that all involved with the push for peace were pawns of the Sith, manipulated into saving the struggling Dark Sider final judgement for all he had done.

Padmé wasn't at fault, this was all Obi-Wan, all his manipulations of his wife that kept her from supporting Anakin's cause. It would be over soon enough. Soon, the Sith hold on her would be ended, and they could raise their child together with nobody to stand in their way. He had seen her when he returned the night before after being gone for nearly two months in the Outer Rim, fighting to defend Republic space against the Separatists and the Mandalorians, to find that the girl had grown large with their child. Her slight frame had only made the child seem even bigger, and Skywalker immediately thought of the vision he had, her screaming, bloody death, and the possessive cold gripped him with fury and hate, the old and familiar jealousy sneaking within him and filling him with fear and doubt. His wife and child needed to be protected from the hands of that vile Sith Lord. And his wife, should she deliver a creature corrupted by Kenobi's evil, needed to be saved from the continuing hold the Sith Lord had upon her, and he would free her by killing the child, a mercy to the galaxy to end that particular darkness before it began.

They had fought about it again, as he knew they would. Padme's tender heart had prevented her from seeing reason, from understanding how necessary it was to purge the galaxy of Kenobi blood. Her pregnancy was making her attached to the child, and the Sith's influence within her was making her fiercely protective against it, making her lash out against the Jedi, but Anakin would have none of it. She had been easy to sway into complacency, a simply thing to make her passive and submissive with the touch of the Force, since the Sith had paved the way. It wasn't wrong, of course, to correct the stain upon her by directing her down the path he knew she would otherwise have taken. Even in her enraptured state, she had said the child was a Skywalker, and as he roughly took what belonged to him, he believed it. But maybe...

"The Mandalorians won't be a problem if we are very careful," Palpatine said, and Anakin snapped his attention to the Chancellor, finally focusing back in on the conversation. "I have been speaking to Bo-Katan and she seems amenable to something of a truce, provided we don't attack undefended planets." He shifted in his seat. "She likens the behavior to those of the criminal cartels they oppose."

"They're Mandalorian," Anakin growled, "and this is war. Haven't they heard of it?"

"Don't make the mistake of brushing them off, General," Tarkin cautioned. "We made a serious error in misjudging Kenobi before. We hedged our bets, called his bluff and lost. We cannot afford to underestimate him again."

"He has an alliance with Mandalore that we don't know the conditions of," Palpatine said quickly when it looked like Skywalker's anger would get the best of him. "I can work to counteract that, but you must allow me to manage them. We will lose this war if you charge in blindly to fight the Mandalorians."

"They have numbers, Chancellor," Anakin growled. "Nothing more. I've observed their troops, and Death Watch is dangerous, but most of their millions are conscripts required to serve in order to be a part of their Empire." Skywalker scoffed. "They are a new galactic establishment, they aren't strong yet. If we bring our full might upon them, they won't stand a chance."

"And we open ourselves up to a defeat at the hands of the Separatists," Tarkin said firmly. "A war with a Mandalore in its infancy could be won, yes, but not without considerable casualties."

Anakin's eyes narrowed in anger. "Increase clone production." Palpatine looked at the Jedi and laughed nervously.

"Even if we did, it would be years before they are ready."

"Then take a page from the Mandalorians and require the people of the Republic to serve in our military!"

The Chancellor sighed. "Anakin, the people don't want war with Mandalore, and the troops we have are sufficient to win the war against the Separatists. Do not forget that the Republic supports Mandalore, and hails them as galactic peacekeepers for their work against the rampant criminals that used to infect the galaxy." Palpatine smiled softly at the angered Jedi, and Anakin's shoulders slowly relaxed. "Let me manage the Mandalorians. Bo-Katan is less stubborn than her sister, and I can bring them to our side, but you must do as I say when it comes to them."

Slowly, Anakin put his trust in the Chancellor and nodded. "The control several major hyperspace lanes that are blocking our access to Separatist Space."

"But none of that matters if the Separatists stay hidden behind Mandalore," Tarkin said softly. "We need to focus our efforts on the Separatist strongholds. The smaller Separatist systems can be brought back to us as a condition of their surrender."

"They shouldn't be allowed to surrender," Anakin growled, but it was all show. The Chancellor had won him over. "We can draw the Separatists out," the Jedi muttered, his quick mind working through what needed to be done, how best to accomplish his goals, and he came upon the same conclusion he had arrived at before. "So long as Grievous and Kenobi are alive, this war will continue, and with the Mandalorians blocking our path, they can hide until they have the strength to re-engage us. We need to draw them out. We've been fighting Obi-Wan all wrong, we've been trying to trap him when we should be making him come to us."

"We've been doing exactly that," Tarkin hissed. "We thought you would serve as bait, but-"

"We need to make this personal." Both the Admiral and the Chancellor stared at the Jedi, their attention rapt and hardly breathing. Anakin sneered. "The Jedi are afraid to engage him. He's Sith, so anger makes him stronger, but creeping around him this entire war has only led him to success. We need to be bold, we need to be aggressive, and we need to hit him where it hurts. If he's angry, he will come to us, and he will make mistakes, and he doesn't have much in terms of allies anymore."

"Is he not suspected of being Mandalore's Shadow King?" Tarkin asked. "I would say that makes his pool of allies very vast."

"Yes, but the Chancellor said he'd deal with the Mandalorians." He turned to Palpatine. "Can you make an alliance with them that would keep them from going to war with us?" The Chancellor smiled and nodded.

"Oh, I believe I can come up with something, yes."

A sly smile crossed Anakin's face. "Without Mandalore, he won't have much in terms of an army, and if we focus our attacks on the Separatist strongholds, then we'll be certain to draw out his allies. That's what happened when we attacked Felucia, and it will happen again if his friends are in danger."

"Will the Jedi condone this?" Palpatine asked softly. "They are working hard for peace, they-"

"We will have peace when we have victory," Anakin snarled. "It doesn't matter what the Jedi want, they have been wrong this entire war. When they see that my plan is working, they'll see things my way." He growled deeply. "If we destroy his allies, Kenobi will have nobody. He's a coward, and he's been hiding for months, but he can be drawn out if we are ferocious enough. When I'm done, this galaxy will be purged of Kenobi blood."

Palpatine smiled softly. "We need more Jedi like you. If we had done this at the start of the war, it would have been quickly won."

"You're right," Anakin growled. "It would have."

Quinlan and Barriss watched as Kenobi restlessly paced back and forth, back and forth across the room, muttering under his breath in Ancient Sith, a language they didn't understand, but they recognized the hypnotic cadence of the Code of the Sith. Their Master was disturbed, anxious and uneasy and haunted by ghosts, he said. The two simply shook their heads at that. The man was insane, after all, but they understood. His mistress now sat at five months pregnant, which was as far as Satine had gotten into her own pregnancy before she was slaughtered. He hadn't spoken much to them about his new lover and his new child. Doing so would make it real, make it important, possibly preemptively so, and keeping them at arm's length would spare him the pain of losing yet another lover.

Still, his concern was obvious, as his fierce pacing showed, concern that was never visible until now, when Satine's ghost seemed to hang heavy over him. It felt far too similar, and the Sith Lord was becoming torn between keeping close and staying away, unsure which would best lead to her safety. After all, Satine had died because he had been away from her, but she wouldn't have been targeted by Maul if she wasn't known to be Obi-Wan's lover. He had just come back from seeing her on Coruscant, and he still was conflicted. The Force was pulling him, Quinlan knew, but he didn't know where or why. Being a Force nexus, it seemed, sucked.

"Do you think he's insane?" Barriss asked softly And Quinlan laughed as the man walked past again. He was certain that he'd wear down the floor with his pacing.

"Oh, he's absolutely insane. I just don't know if he's insane now." Again, Kenobi passed by, and Quinlan leaned over to see his face and found his eyes blank and distant. He was within the Force, his body moved by the Dark Side. Again. "Though, on second thought..."

"He's stronger now," she said softly. "Have you sensed it?" Quinlan nodded. "Perhaps he will make a move against his Master soon."

"Kash'nie meistras kia'nun," Lumis growled in a voice not his own. "Darth Sidious is no Master to me. There is nothing that he has left to teach me. All that remains is waiting for the right moment to strike. Many an apprentice has died in underestimating the power of the Sith Master. I will not fall into the trap of so many before me."

A slow grin spread across Quinlan's face. "If you're no longer a student, Obi-Wan, that makes you a Master."

"...I suppose it does..." he muttered, and said nothing more as he returned to his pacing. Something devious and ambitious came to Barriss' eyes, and she looked at the Kiffar, the man calm and relaxed. Slowly, she leaned in toward him.

"Master Vos?" she asked sweetly. "If Obi-Wan is a Sith Master, that would make us something more than just...acolytes, wouldn't it." His chest puffed in pride.

"That would make me his apprentice," he drawled. "He's called me such since the beginning, I've always been his apprentice, even before I knew it."

"And what about me?" Barriss asked, scooting closer to the man and laying a hand on his chest. "If you're the Apprentice, where do I fit in?"

"Oh..." Vos groaned when the girl's small hand began roving across his chest in light strokes. "Obi-Wan's always said the Rule of Two is broken, that there's enough room in the new order for thousands upon thousands of Sith..."

"And what about now," she asked softly, sliding into his alp, and she smirked when the Kiffar groaned, his hands unconsciously sliding to her him, She leaned over and bit the lobe of his ear. "If I were so inclined," she whispered, "you'd be dead right now." She pulled back and looked at the suddenly shocked face of the Kiffar with disgust. "Honestly, Quinlan, you're so easy to manipulate."

"You cheat!" Quinlan cried. "You clever slut, what did Luminara do so wrong to turn out a creature like you." He pushed her off his lap, the girl falling to the floor with a surprised squeak. "Anyhow, I'm stronger than you. You can't beat me."

"I don't need to be stronger. I just need to be smarter."

"Children, please," Obi-Wan said, his hand to his head as he rubbed his temple, his voice returned to it's clipped drawl as he assumed control from the Dark Side. "There will be room in my Empire for both of you. I won't have my Sith falling prey to the mistakes of those before us."

"As you say, Master," Quinlan drawled and flashed a smile at Barriss. "Really, though, Offee, if you'd like to-"

"With you?" she asked in disbelief, and then laughed, covering her mouth as she did so. "Not a chance. Besides," she said slyly, "don't you have a lover already?" Quinlan froze, anger and pain gripping him. "Ahsoka had no reason to lie to you. Do you still seek to kill Ventress?"

"Yes," he snarled immediately, then winced and bit his lip. "Yes, but...I don't know."

"With Dooku dead, she may be convinced to return to the Dark Side," Kenobi said softly. "She was a powerful ally once, and a good friend before she betrayed me. She can resist the darkness now, so she may not be so susceptible to being consumed." He scoffed as he sat between the Mirialan and the Kiffar. "And I was always a better teacher than Dooku. She will thrive under me the way she couldn't under him. My Sith will be different. Smarter. More powerful than those that strain against the Force."

"Are we to take her back then?" Quinlan asked, quiet and bitter, his hand reaching for Kenobi's and clutching it tightly. "Are we just supposed to forget what she's done? Not just to me, but to both of us. She betrayed us both, we must have our revenge!"

"I will defer to you on the matter, Quin," Obi-Wan said. "She is your lover, not mine, but consider carefully what you want. There is no going back once she is dead, and I hate to waste a potential ally, especially one that may be of use to the both of us. It is never wise to dispose of those who may yet be of use to our cause, and with the deaths of so many Jedi, Force sensitivity is becoming exceedingly rare."

"...yes, Master," Vos said softly. "I'll...take all that into consideration."

The door to the room flew open, and Cody ran in, Boba close on his heels, the two clones slightly flushed and out of breath, and they both saluted. When Kenobi didn't ride, instead indicating for them to come down to his level, they both sat upon the floor, legs crossed, and forming a circle with the three Dark Siders. Boba quickly moved his fingers over the datapad he clutched. "Sir, news from the war." Kenobi frowned. The calm, collected Cody was in a state. Whatever the news, it couldn't have been good. "Mandalore has entered something of a truce with the Republic."

"A truce is different from an alliance, Cody, that's fine. What's Bo-Katan getting out of it?"

Cody and Boba both shifted uncomfortably. "Republic recognition of the Mandalorian Empire," Cody almost whispered. "Along with claims to all resources within their borders, even ones that currently are occupied by Republic run enterprises."

"That's really good for Mandalore," Boba said, equal parts nervous and excited.

"But not so great for us," Barriss whispered, tense and nervous, but she relaxed when Kenobi lay a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"This is good, this is what we wanted for Mandalore. The war will continue, yes, but we can manage. News from Grievous?"

"Attending to the siege of Saleucami, but he moves locations every few days, as you requested, my Lord. It's making him very difficult for the Jedi to track." Cody took the datapad from Boba, looked at it quickly, and handed it to the Sith Lord. "Skywalker has returned to the field, and he's making a mess of the remainder of our armies. They're concentrating their focus on our pivotal worlds, they're forcing us to fight to avoid Mandalorian censure."

Kenobi's eyes roved over the datapad, observing the battle reports and analysis of the casualties and losses. Despite their greater numbers, the Republic forces were having difficulty besting the Separatists so far from home and fighting on territory where every single civilian bled for the Confederacy and saw the Republic as little more than an invading force. "Contact the Techno Union. I have them mass producing the MagnaGuard. Dooku limited production because it was expensive, but I never considered that an issue."

"Speaking of," Boba said, a sly smirk on his face. "San Hill says the bankers-"

"San Hill can take his massive, Muun head and shove it up his ass," Kenobi growled. "You can deliver the message yourself, Fett, if you like." The teen grinned. "Help him out with it if he gives you any trouble. Cody, see that a thousand of the MagnaGuard are delivered to each of our major battlegrounds. Grievous developed the training program himself, so they should provide some problems for the Jedi."

Cody nodded, took the datapad from the Sith Lord and began writing notes upon it, commands to be conveyed to the rest of the forces. "Anything else?"

"Yes, get the Shadow Legion and lead them on an attack of Ilum. There's a Jedi Temple there, though not heavily populated. There are crystal caves there that produce the kyber crystals for lightsaber production, and there aren't many places more sacred to the Jedi." Kenobi smirked. "But better yet, it's very far out of the way, clear across the galaxy. I bet the Jedi will rush to defend it, which should take some pressure off the battles within our territory. Enough time for you," he said, grabbing Quinlan and Barriss' shoulders, "to go out and cause as much damage as you can."

"Anywhere in particular?" Quinlan asked.

"I would like to go to Kashyyyk," Barriss said softly. "It's position is extremely strategic, and if we want to win, we must secure it. It's position on a hyperlane intersection would give us complete control over most routes in the Outer Rim. We can win with much fewer numbers if we had control of the flow of troops."

"I agree," Kenobi said softly. "I'll send you with the Sithspawn. Don't waste them." Barriss bowed her head and kissed the Master's hand. "Quinlan." Kenobi smirked as the Kiffar did. "You do what you do best."

"You got it, boss."

"...sir," Cody said softly, biting his lip and looking away, and the Sith Lord tensed. Something was wrong. "Something else. I...don't know how much bearing it has, but..." He brought up the datapad, slowly flicking through the files he kept, and pulled one up, but did not hand it to Obi-Wan. "Sir, a few days ago, Skywalker attacked a planet. A small one, and not one of ours."

"What?" He frowned. There was...something. Something in the Force, that familiar sharp tug of warning. "He's attacking his own people now?"

"No, the world is technically unaffiliated," Cody said as he reviewed the information. "And it wasn't a Republic attack, he went down alone. We only know about it because the holonet is reporting that you did it."

"Me?" Kenobi asked eyes narrowing as he snatched the datapad away, and as he read, his face visibly paled.

"Massacre on Stewjon," Cody said softly. "And among the dead was an older couple with the last name Kenobi." Obi-Wan said nothing. "I thought it was coincidence, but it can't be, not when they're blaming you. It has to be Skywalker."

"It is..." the Sith said, breathless. He could feel Qui-Gon's touch within him, the soft whispers of comfort, but the hands felt shaky, ill. He brushed it to the side for now. He had to focus. "That's my home world, and that was most likely my parents." Only Fett looked at the Sith with any sort of sympathy. He didn't understand what the others already knew, and Obi-Wan quickly waved him off. "I never knew them, they surrendered me to the Jedi Order when I was found to be Force sensitive. This isn't a personal loss for me." His golden eyes narrowed as he looked over the report again. "But Skywalker may not see it that way. He didn't have the same start as the other Jedi. He's attacking me through my bloodline because that matters to him."

The deaths of these people, his...parents, he supposed, meant nothing to him. He never knew them, after all. It was the implication of the attack that was far, far more distressing. Skywalker hadn't just descended upon a planet and killed an aging couple. The entire village was slaughtered, presumably to get galactic attention. Two people murdered was nothing, but when entire populations were massacred, it drew the attention of everyone, especially when such a thing happened on peaceful worlds. The deaths of all those people, of course, wasn't the point, though it was necessary to deliver a message. The point was the Kenobi family's execution, and it was done as a strike against Obi-Wan. The whole this was brutal, innocent blood spilt for attention, harsh, cruel...

And so very, very Sith.

"And he's blaming you?" Quinlan gasped, snatching the datapad from his hands and quickly reading the report. "How! The planet had Skywalker's Star Destroyer in orbit!"

"His Star Destroyer was in orbit when we attacked Tatooine as well, Quin," Kenobi said softly. "Our past record proves that this is something we can do, and I'm in possession of a blue lightsaber now. The report fits me exactly." He drummed his fingers against his knee. "This was...very well played."

"This isn't something a Jedi would do, Master," Barriss whispered, and Kenobi bowed his head, closed his eyes, and reached out for Qui-Gon, and felt the Jedi trembling.

"You're right. It isn't." He slowly looked at the faces of the people around him, and he shivered. "The plan hasn't changed, my friends," he said softly. "But I'll be out there looking for him. He's jumping around quite a bit, so he will be difficult to find, but it's time to put an end to that mad dog before he becomes any worse." Obi-Wan took a deep breath and held it for a moment. "Just...be careful out there. Anakin Skywalker has just become very, very dangerous. Trust in the Force, my friends. We'll see this through."