[Closing weeks of 14 BBY]

[Supreme Chancellor's Quarters, Mandator III-class Star Dreadnought Breaker of Chains, Alliance to Restore the Republic 1st Fleet, in orbit Sarapin, Sarapin System, Savareen Sector, Core World, Galactic Republic]

Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, and Commander in Chief of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, Sheev Palpatine sat in meditation, submerged in the Dark Side of the Force. Events were in motion by his hand and peering into the future had shown him the path to take to his victory. Of him standing triumphant upon Coruscant, the Dark Side covering everything, Ascendent, Triumphant…the day of the Sithari. The alliance against him was failing, despite the setbacks of Project Blackwing on Uqaine, and the defeat at Tepasi by those scum unveiling one of his superweapons even!

That rage fuelled his powers now. Every insult, every setback, every incompetent he had to deal with…all fuelled Darth Sidious's strength as he, again, this time without his former Master, bent destiny to his will. It would be fulfilling when his victory was achieved, and a dark joy flooded through him as he watched the machinations of his enemies unfold. Oh, the Hutts sought to play him, to raise up a champion of their own kind to oppose him even as they believed they led his fleets into a trap. Fools. He had seen through their efforts, and the efforts of his other enemies, and they would find those traps to be quite unsprang…his 'evacuation fleets' having one last destination.

Those he could see and feel through the Force as he guided them, his servants, towards routes unknown to all but the Sith now. Dooku had once known, as had Grievous before they'd kriffed up by the numbers and got themselves killed, and now Darth Sidious would finally make use of those routes. It was, as Sheev Palpatine's dear departed friend Master Windu would call it, a Shatterpoint. One that he intended to Shatter the Point as it were, by shattering this supposed grand alliance against him. There could only be one New Republic in the future to come – his, Darth Sidious's New Republic and eventual True Galactic Empire.

That caused his anger to flare at the so-called Empire of Tarkins, and those in shadows behind that accursed family. His efforts at Rodia had failed, the so-called Dark Jedi proving even more worthless than he'd have thought possible. Not even one of the young usurper's acolytes slain! No, instead yet another public debacle where his rivals merely grew their influence, though, at least here, he had ensured that such a result had caused troubles for his former 'apprentice'…as little as Maul had truly been one to him. Sadly, the current crop was less than usual, and Anakin had remained intractable…though his children offered hope for the future. Yes, indeed they did.

The old ghost usurper on Dac, or perhaps the reborn Dark Council member Darth Imperious, remained beyond his efforts since the deaths in Hutt territory. Rage burned cold at such an old fossil as that returned to do damage to the lineage of the True Sith in the Line of Darth Bane. Only that Line, and He, Darth Sidious, was worthy to be called Sith. Not this undead abomination, not the former Jedi with holocrons, nor his own assassin and Maul's kriffing whore of a mother. Only He. But eliminating them would have to wait till he had secured victory in the Core and then sweep forth with great fleets when the time came to crush the collapsing Confederacy and then so-called Empire and the so-called Sith on Dac.

Somehow, they hid themselves from his Sight, confirming what they were, just as Talzin did on Mandalore, a bleeding sore that all his manipulations with the Confederacy had failed to crush. Now that was beyond the false structure he'd once aimed to use as a prop under Dooku but had long since turned into a feral beast…one he'd *finally* driven a durasteel stake into its heart as faction turned on faction. Now the material support that the Trade Federation and other Confederate factions had been feeding his Republican enemies…those had now dried up. Instead, it brough chaos, from refugees to pirates, that distracted his foes just as they'd achieved a significant victory.

No more of that as he saw the stars before him from within the belly of the newest star dreadnought in his newest fleet as it assembled. The Alsakans may have built the Eye of Palpatine before him, but now his had been created, and while Project Stardust had failed it had still delivered a weaker version that was viable in battle against even the heaviest of enemy Star Destroyers. Beyond him he could feel his fleets assembling, the pieces in motion across the galaxy. All you had to do was let out blood in the waters, and the sharks would come for it…

Too bad the blood was of others, and his true beasts were already in motion. Kamino and Rothana were partly evacuated, the needed fleets in motion, and agents within the Core ready to launch rebellions one last time after the brutal suppression of the last ones. Now his enemies were better prepared, and while the insurgents rising in his name were also better prepared Darth Sidious viewed them useful as deaths if they failed Soon. Soon, the visions of standing triumphant on Coruscant, lightsaber raised high as the surviving Jedi died by the dozen around him. As the Dark Side was a tidal wave over the galaxy….

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[Closing weeks of 14 BBY]

[Secure Transport Bay, House Stormcrow Capital-class Warship Stormcrow, Mobile Headquarters, Imperial Navy Fifth Fleet 'The Army of Light', over Rodia, Tyrius System, Savareen Sector, Outer Rim Territories, United Federal Empire]

"Oh, this is just hilarious" Asajj Ventress said to herself as she opened the viewing section of the 'security oubliette' and got a view of a certain Togruta Jedi sleeping away within. The devices were kriffing expensive and weren't anywhere on the level of the one that had held the dangerously powerful Celeste in stasis since the dawn of time. These ones would only last a few hundred years at most with their power source, but, then again, they were intended as long-term prisoner security devices for Force Users, so Asajj didn't belittle the designers on that inferiority to the original.

This particular high security pod held the 'sleeping' figure of Ahsoka Tano within it, and Asajj couldn't help but smirk….then be slightly annoyed at her enemy/quasi-friend's state of dress. Reading the attached high priority, and top secret, message for hers and Daron's eyes only made her switch mental gears about who to be annoyed about at least. She had been ready to blame the pirate kriffer that worked for her husband likely playing a joke with the gauzy, nearly see-through, hutt-favour two-piece on the secured Jedi, but, no, that turned out to be not the case. She huffed in annoyance, muttering to herself "What is with Kenobi and Skywalker in putting his padawan in slave outfits? Seriously though?"

'Then again….' She reminded herself thinking back on Mother Talzin's words on the Jedi, on her own dealings with Kenobi and his seeming 'female on every mission', as well as Skywalker and his wife '…it is Kenobi and Skywalker. There is probably topless Tuesdays or something in their Order!'

First though…

Asajj first confirmed that everything was fine after a bio-scan and other checks, before then sending on a report through the proper channels to Daron. He was very forceful about such things being followed, and she did so, even doing the Force Shamanism 'spell' he'd insisted she and Barriss learn for ensuring such as this didn't…

'Carry stuff like we all created against the lizards' she reminded herself as that was finished, everything checking out, and she did the next thing. Contacting Barriss. Because this was hilarious…and going ahead without the cover would be a bad idea, or, at the very least, go down poorly "Guess whoo?"

"What do you want?" came the exasperated sigh of a response over the comm link "Shouldn't you be bother Daron"

"I have Ahsoka in a prison capsule and orders to keep her imprisoned for a few standard weeks"

"…" Asajj could hear the annoyed silence on the other end, followed by a sigh and muttering before clear words came back "Really"

"Yup. She's in a slave girl outfit….more than the last one"

"Kriffing Anakin"

"I blame Kenobi personally" Asajj mused back happily "But she's unconscious…well, in stasis, and I want to unload her in the private apartments so we can greet her! Then keep her prisoner after making fun of her!"

Barriss groaned again "That is unfair Asajj...but fine, it's Soka. She needs a reminder of this kind of idiocy being bad"

"Good" Asajj answered, ending the comm-link and then calling guards and droids to start the process of getting from here, through the various stations and scanners, and up to first their private deck, and then to their living quarters proper. Barriss was already there, the twins asleep and guarded/nannied by the nanny-murder-bots that Daron had built. Because everything Daron built seemed to a have a 'jump to violence' button hidden somewhere in its programming, even the fancy Librarian droid he was building with the equally crazy Alenna Jedi. Barriss gave her a glare…then gave a glare through the viewscreen of the 'oubliette' at the sleeping togruta, shaking her head, muttering to herself with arms folded across her chest.

"Force damn it Ahsoka"

Asajj shrugged "Better us than the Hutts"

And that was something that Tano and her friends should have thought of, as her face was well known, just like Asajj's was now, and no way would she try secret missions into Hutt territory like that. It was really amazing that her…frenemy?...had gotten as far as she had from the basic report that Asajj had just read on the way here, one she detailed to Barriss as they opened the oubliette, opening the shackles within. It didn't wake up Tano though, the Jedi drugged clearly, so she merely had her co-wife check the togruta would wake soon, before laying her on the bed and standing back, poking with the Force till the groaning togruta came back to a semi-awake, semi-asleep, state "Buwhuh?"

Asajj clapped her hands together "Oh, your awake! Just like old times!"

Confusion reigned on the other's face as Barriss sighed, coming up beside Asajj and giving her togruta friend a firm, if resigned glare as Tano looked at Asajj, muscles barely able to move apparently as only the head raised up "Uhh….Ventress?"

Then blinked "Barriss?"

"Yes, Padawan…oh, I mean Knight, Tano!" Asajj teased back, gesturing at the room "We've bought you you'll be glad to hear!"

Tano was blinking, barely raising herself up "Why I am….what am wearing?"

"What you came to the ship in Soka'" Barriss huffed back "And you'll…"

"Serve us now as we've bought you Slave Tano for…"

Asajj's own interruption was interrupted by a confused Tano as Daron stomped into the room "Oh Force…kinky sexy times?"

"No" Asajj rolled her eyes, striking at the weak point as Daron muttered unhappily, glancing at Ahsoka, and then looking set to interrupt as Asajj pressed on with relentless amusement "Wasn't planning on it, but, no, instead Slave Tano we needed a babysitter to change diapers and…"

Again, the almost drunken Tano interrupted her with a loud, wailing "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

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