Chapter Six: Transport to Coruscant
Disclaimer: See Chapter One
Well Hello everyone. Hope you enjoyed the last chapter with the Kryze family. This time we are back to focusing back on the Jedi, transporting their prisoners back to Coruscant for trial. Also, to the guest reviewer that asked who Korkiest biological parents are, all we know is that Satine and Bo-Katan have another sibling that is a parent of Korkie, and that is it, that is all we know.
The initial take off from Mandalore was a silent event. Anakin and Obi-Wan were seated behind the shuttle's controls while Obi-Wan applied whatever bacta he could from the ship's medical kit to the burns he suffered from Sidious's Force Lightning. Mace and Yoda kept an eye on the Sith captives. Maul was too angry with Sidious at the moment over the death of his brother to taunt the Jedi so he stayed quiet. Sidious and Yoda were in a mental battle of wills, simply staring into the other's eyes, brownish gold vs icy blue.
Sidious finally broke the silence once the shuttle was in hyperspace. "When last I checked, being a Sith Lord is not a crime in the Republic. The Anti-Sith bill was repealed when the Republic adopted several religious freedom reforms. In the eyes of the Galaxy, I am the democratically elected leader of the Republic, and my religious views are nothing to arrest me for." He was right, of course. If it was merely for being a Sith Lord, the Jedi would not have any grounds to arrest the Chancellor. Fortunately, they had other reasons to take him down.
"How about treason against the Republic? All the Jedi deaths, and crises you were behind before the war?" Windu said.
"The attempted assassination of the leader of the sovereign system of Mandalore? Satine will testify against you," Obi-Wan said, a bit protective of the woman he loved once and still does in his own way.
"Not to mention the high treason for instigating the Clone Wars," Anakin said, turning from the console.
"You can't prove I am behind the war, Jedi," Sidious said. He had made sure to cover his tracks well, having Dooku do all the work in building the Confederacy. "Once again, being a Sith Lord, despite being your enemy, Jedi, is not a crime any more. There is no proof of a connection between me and Count Dooku besides being Sith Lords, which is a religious matter." Even though the Jedi knew that they were working together to destroy the Republic, they had no hard proof. However, fate had an answer in the form of Darth Maul.
"They may not be able to, but I can," Maul spoke up. Sidious looked at him incredulous. "You killed my brother, nearly killing me as well. You used me as a weapon, and cast me aside. As long as you go down with me, I am okay with this. I can pin Eriadu, Naboo, The Clone Wars, Black Sun, Yinchorr, every mission you ever sent me on and every plan you discussed with me on you." Sidious grit his teeth, such is the way of the Sith it seems.
"I thought you were dead, like the rest of the galaxy. I needed a new apprentice," Sidious defended his actions.
"What do you know?" Obi-Wan asked the Zabrak Sith Lord.
"Before what happened on Naboo, Kenobi, Sidious trained me to become what the Sith pretender Dooku is. I was to persuade systems to join the CIS and wage war upon the Republic. That is until that fateful day. When I regained my memories, thanks to Mother Talzin, Savage told me that the war had begun, to which I remarked that it had begun without me." Maul told them. Sidious rolled his eyes, he should have guessed that Talzin was involved with Maul's return. Grievous must not have confirmed the kill.
"So, yes. I will testify against Sidious," Maul reaffirmed.
"I wonder if Dooku could be convinced to testify over hologram?" Obi-Wan wondered aloud.
"Contact him, I will." Yoda turned in his chair to the communications console, keying an old frequency he knew that he and Dooku used to use as Master and Apprentice. The same frequency Dooku used to contact Yoda when he tried luring the wise Master into a trap on Vjun. The console beeped a couple times, then almost surprisingly, Dooku answered while sitting in his chair on Serreno.
"My old master, a rare event for you to come calling me." Dooku's air of regality was evident in his voice.
"Rare indeed, my old padawan," Dooku was in some ways Yoda's greatest success and greatest failure as a teacher. "Called you, I did, to ask if testify, you would."
"Against who, my master?" Dooku asked, a brow arched. This was an odd request from Master Yoda.
Yoda turned the holoprojector toward the back of the cabin to show both Darth Sidious and Darth Maul sitting on the floor. Dooku's eyes widened a bit. Both in surprise, at the Jedi capturing Sidious and to see the person that killed his former Padawan still alive. For a moment he did not speak, but when he did he had collected himself. "I see you finally listened to me, I told Master Kenobi everything he needed to know on Geonosis all those years ago."
"Took us long enough, it is a bit obvious in hindsight now," Kenobi said from the front of the ship. Dooku turned to face the Jedi Master that he once saw as his grandson, and still did.
"You should have joined me that day, Kenobi," Dooku said. Dooku thought for a moment, with Sidious out of the way, he would become the Sith Master.
"Please, Dooku, in the memory of Master Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan pleaded. Dooku clenched his teeth. He hated when someone used Qui-Gon against him, but on the other hand, when Sidious showed him that holo recording of what happened on Naboo, something had stuck with him against Sidious.
"Alright, I will testify." Dooku began clutching his throat for breath, gasping for air.
The Jedi turned to look at the Sith on the shuttle, despite his hands being bound, Sidious had a hand in the Force Choke position. "It's treason then, Lord Tyranus." At that moment, Sidious did not realize that he had slipped up and revealed a name he shouldn't have. Yoda managed to disrupt Sidious' concentration with a Force Push against the bulkhead. Dooku gasped a heavy breath, his decision to testify against his master hardened into fact.
"Tyranus? You are the man named Tyranus?" Obi-Wan asked. One of the final pieces about the origin of the GAR finally fell into place. Not just a man named Tyranus, but Darth Tyranus.
"Contact me when you plan to hold his trial. I will also issue a temporary ceasefire for the duration of this event." Dooku cut the connection.
"No wonder why I sensed a plot to destroy the Jedi. It was because the Sith had made an army for the Republic, and were playing the war against each other with the Order caught in the middle." Windu put it together in a bit of shock, now that it was all laid out.
Sidious knew his options were limited now that Dooku has burned a bridge with him, and his other apprentice sitting next to him hates him. He was all alone. He knew he had to now rely on Amedda, Moore, and Pestage to get him out of this. He did have other contacts to help, so it was unlikely that he would be able to get in contact with them.
He switched tactics, if he was going down, he would at least tear a rift between the Jedi and Skywalker.
"You do realize Skywalker, that if I go down, I'm taking everyone I can with me, including your wife." The other three Jedi looked at Anakin with varying looks, they already knew who it was without either Anakin or Palpatine saying her name.
"You two went that far?" Obi-Wan asked, neither surprised nor disappointed. To be honest, Obi-Wan had known for a while that they were together, just pretended to not know.
"Yeah, just after the First Battle of Geonosis when I took her back to Naboo. We married under fake names, for obvious reasons," Anakin placed a head behind his head in a bit of shame for concealing it from Obi-Wan.
"Owe you a wedding gift, I do." Yoda chuckled, not surprised either. It was an open secret in the Temple that Anakin and Padme were a couple in some form. Yoda and Obi-Wan figured it out real quick, and decided that it was not a priority at the title.
"You know, all the times I have reminded you to remain friends with Senator Amidala, it was just me trying to warn you that you two were being too noticeable," Obi-Wan said.
"Looking back, it is plainly obvious that you were trying to warn me about that," Anakin said, sheepishly.
"Subtly is not a strong suit of yours, Skywalker," Windu said with a roll of his eyes.
"How did you find out, Chancellor? I never told you," Anakin asked.
"I have spies everywhere, Skywalker. However, I feel no reason why I can't tell you, it was Captain Panaka," Palpatine answered.
"Is that the best accusation you have, Palpatine? If it is, then it seems that you can't hurt me." Skywalker was a bit cocky.
"Are you sure, Skywalker? Considering what you told me about your mother and the Sand People?" Sidious cruelly smiled, if he could not have Skywalker, then neither could the Jedi. Anakin's eyes went wide, Palpatine was going for the throat.
"What happened?" Mace asked, coldly.
"Young Skywalker slaughtered an entire Tusken Raider tribe, men, women, children, as a Padawan, over the death of his mother." Sidious had blown Anakin's darkest secret into the open.
"Is this true, Anakin?" Obi-Wan looked at Anakin with disappointment in his eyes.
Anakin was quiet for a moment. "Yes," Anakin admitted, to the Masters' horror.
"When did this happen?" Windu asked, an edge to his voice.
Both Yoda and Obi-Wan looked at each other in realization. "Just before the First Battle of Geonosis, I believe. Felt your pain, I did," Yoda said.
"I regret it every day, it's not the Jedi way. I wasn't thinking straight. It's why I try to be as kind as I can, to my men and to others, those that are not enemies of the Republic, anyway." Anakin looked down in shame.
"Deal with this later, we will. For now, bigger problems we have," Yoda decided, before anyone else could say anything.
"Back to important matters, what are we doing about the fact that we just arrested the Supreme Chancellor?" Obi-Wan asked.
"In times past, at the end of the Puis Dea era, the Order took control of the Senate in order to safely transfer power, by installing the Grand Master as Chancellor until the next election was held," Windu explained. "As well as the fact that for four hundred years, Jedi were elected as Chancellor, during the New Sith Wars."
"So, are we installing Master Yoda as Chancellor until the Senate elects a new one?" Anakin asked.
Yoda laughed, "No, terrible Chancellor, I would be. Trust no one, I would, except for six senators. No, Senator Organa will lead the Senate."
"Organa?" Sidious snickered and shook his head, and did not say any more on the matter.
Lord Maul, who had been quiet for most of the interaction had been pondering something. If people were getting answers from Sidious, he figured he may as well get the answer to something too. "Master, there is one thing I have never got an answer to, I had a vision on Cog Hive Seven, of a Muun looking down at me, and I heard a name: Plagueis. Who is or was he?"
"Darth Plagueis, Lord Maul," Sidious answered, it didn't matter now if he spoke of his master.
"Who is Darth Plagueis?" Mace Windu asked. The Jedi were now concerned if there was another Sith Lord out there in cahoots with Sidious and Dooku.
"Darth Plagueis, was a Dark Lord of the Sith. So powerful and so wise, he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life," Sidious sinisterly smirked at the Jedi's reactions.
The Three Council members briefly looked at Anakin, then back at Sidious who continued. "He had such a knowledge of the Dark Side, he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying."
"He could actually save people from death?" Anakin asked, intrigued and confused.
"Impossible, death is a natural part of life. All things must end at some point," Windu argued.
"I saw him do it! I saw him resurrect Venamis." Palpatine's eyes flashed Sith yellow for a moment, then faded back to normal.
"You saw him do it? He was your Master?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Teacher, but Master? Never." Though early on in their partnership, Sidious did think of Plagueis as Master.
"What happened to him?" Anakin asked.
"He became so powerful, the only thing he was afraid of losing his power. Which, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught me everything he knew, or close to it. Then I got him drunk and killed him in his sleep with Lightning. About twelve years ago or so now"
"Twelve years?" Mace asked, in contemplation.
"Yes, the night before my first day as Chancellor. He should have died on Sojourn," Sidious said.
"So, that is what the nuke was for," Maul pieced it together.
"Nuke?" the Jedi all asked in concern.
"My original plan to assassinate him didn't go as planned," Sidious said no more of that plan.
"So who was he, really?" Obi-Wan asked.
"A Muun financier, Magister Hego Damask of Damask Holdings," Sidious asked.
"Wait, who was Venamis?" Anakin said, still on the tale of Darth Plagueis
"A Bith Sith Lord that my master's master taught in secret. Doesn't matter who he was, he's been long dead." Sidious brushed off the question.
"It's funny, the only Jedi that Lord Plagueis ever feared and hated above all others was Qui-Gon Jinn. Which, good job, Lord Maul. Just a bit too late on that front." Sidious took a bit of sick glee in that statement. Maul rolled his yellow eyes. "Also, funny how my current apprentice once met my master."
"When?" Yoda had been quiet for a moment, but spoke up.
"Serenno peace talks, Damask was there as a representative of the IBC," Sidious answered.
"It makes sense now, he put the idea for the Clone army provided Sifo-Dyas the money to commission the Army, but the Sith took over the project after Sifo-Dyas' death," Windu put it all together.
The rest of the ride back to Coruscant was a quiet one, the Jedi were processing everything that they had been told. From Skywalker's dark deed, to the revelation that the Sith created an army for the Jedi to use, to the knowledge of Darth Plagueis possibly having something to do with Anakin being conceived. Sidious spent the rest of the ride, trying to plot how he was going to get out of this. The unfortunate thing being that Sidious that Order 66 was likely no longer an option to destroy the Jedi. He and Dooku had lost the element of subtlety. If things didn't go his way, Dooku would have to see it through. Then again, if he got out of this, he was going to kill Dooku and find a new apprentice. Maul merely stayed silent and stewed on his hate for both the Jedi and Sidious.
There you have it, everyone, the next chapter of this tale that I weave. Yes, I felt like getting the Tragedy of Darth Plaguies the wise in there.
Also, now that Sidious slipped up and called Dooku Tyranus, this will come back to into play later. For those that don't know, Dooku saw Qui-Gon like a son to him, and by extension, Obi-Wan as a grandson. So that is why Obi-Wan is able to get Dooku to agree to it.
Next time, we will see the rest of the Order's reaction to the News about Palpatine. Also, some more Mandalore stuff. Stay tuned.
The Emperor is out. Peace