Chapter Text
Senator Sheev Palpatine, otherwise known as Darth Sidious, tapped a finger on his desk thoughtfully, his eyes washing over a datapad resting infront of him. He often kept tabs on missions that the Jedi were sent on. Usually, it was to keep him and his 'master' aware of the enemies movements. Sometimes though, it was prudent to get involved. This one was tempting, so very tempting, yet risky. He was unsure if he should simply pass over it or not.
Two pairs of Jedi were being sent out to recover and guard a young genius by the name of Talesan Fray. He briefly browsed over what was known about the boy, and raised an eyebrow at the information of the boy creating his own custom listening device that could overhear and tap into secure transmissions. It wasn't anything particularly amazing, there were already devices that could do that, though a custom built one could have uses in the short-term. Yet more importantly... developing such a thing at the age of ten? Now that was potential, potential that could be bent towards the goals of the Sith.
Snatching the boy away from the Jedi would be difficult without risking revealing himself, so his own efforts were ill advised. But... his young soon to be apprentice? Now this could be a proper test for Maul. Should he though? Maul was not skilled enough to take on four Jedi, not yet. Even a single Master and Padawan pair could be dangerous for him at this point. He glanced over the assigned Jedi briefly, one Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice young Obi-Wan Kenobi, and one Adi Gallia and her young apprentice Siri Tachi. Both Masters were not ordinary Jedi, and the second was a High Council member. Their padawans were young, not even eighteen yet, but the masters themselves...
Maul's chances of victory seemed slim. The young acolyte was still training at the Orsis Academy, soon to be taking the Gora. Maul would either have to separate the Jedi and dispose of them one by one, or spirit the child away undetected, which would be preferred. Could he manage to do so? He didn't particularly care if Maul died, but it would be such a waste of a potential resource, and Sidious sensed Maul would be a useful tool for years to come. Not to mention if he failed and was caught, that was a great risk to the Grand Plan. No, there was no need for this, there would be other opportunities. He was about to turn off the datapad and simply go about his day, passing up on the chance...
Yet...
He closed his eyes briefly, submersing into the Dark Side of the Force and demanding an answer. Would the genius child be of great service to the Sith? Was his would-be apprentice capable of handling this test?
The Dark Side answered, and Sidious's world warped and changed as a vision took him.
He saw himself push aside the datapad and pass up on the chance. In his mind's eye, Maul appeared, growing in age rapidly until he stood as a fearsome and deadly Sith Assassin. He saw the tool complete one task after another for his Master for years to come in brief flashes. Until at last, he saw Maul engage two blurry Jedi in open combat in a palace that looked a lot like the Theed Royal Palace, announcing the return of the Sith and the beginning of their revenge.
Then...
He saw himself take the chance and contact Maul. He saw the acolyte stalk his prey across worlds. The flash of red and blue and purple, the clashing of lightsabers. He saw death, a Jedi run through, then... a ripple of unfamiliar darkness, pain and loss and anger and hate, a surge so powerful and enticing, a new darkness that swallowed Maul whole effortlessly. And in his place, something new resided in shadow. It was humanoid, dressed in the robes of a Sith apprentice, but hidden half in darkness, it's face shielded from view. He saw himself in the shadows, pulling the figure further in, while an unknown Jedi grabbed the figure's hand and tried to pull it out into the light. In the darkness, a pair of tormented blue eyes flickered between blue and yellow, between a gray presence, and an immense darkness truly worthy of the Sith...
Sidious let out a small gasp as the Dark Side released him, a purr in his ear. Certainty and power, uncertainty and immense potential, choose...
While the future was always in motion, and nothing was guaranteed, it wasn't really a choice, given a chance to think on it. A tool, or a potential true apprentice. He would allow Maul the chance to prove himself, but if he failed to retrieve the boy or kill the Jedi if discovered, then he wasn't going to complain if the Dark Side was content to deliver him a new apprentice. He did not care for the paltry Jedi attempting to draw this unknown apprentice back into the light, once claimed by the darkness, there was no return. He rose from his desk and moved to contact Maul without hesitation, contemplating one question.
Who was this potential new apprentice?
Siri Tachi sighed and grumbled quietly to herself. She couldn't believe that the bounty hunter Magnus got away. After all that chaos, all that work, nearly dying on the ship, Master Qui-Gon Jinn simply let him go. She understood why, to safeguard The boy, Talesan Fry, Taly for short. She briefly glanced over to the other side of the room they were resting in on Rondai-2. The boy was being tended to by a medical droid and had just finished up, looking around anxiously. She was glad he was okay, yet it was so frustrating after all the hell the bounty hunter put them through. Though... if he hadn't, she and Obi-Wan wouldn't have admitted that they... well...
Her eyes briefly averted to the boy talking to his Master before taking them away from him and causing herself to silently brood. Her master liked to tease her about being headstrong, but she had no idea what she was supposed to do or think about him. She had never felt so lost in something before. She could handle most crap life threw at her. But love? That... that was something unknown, and forbidden. For all Obi-Wan had suggested about keeping their feelings a secret, or changing the Order, she had doubts. But the thought of it, the image of them working together as Jedi Masters, still in love... it made her stomach twist in an uncomfortable yet hopeful sensation. She supposed she'd have to wait and see. They had agreed to wait until after the mission was over to discuss it, which would be soon once the transport to Coruscant arrived...
Her thoughts trailed off as a subtle ripple in the Force drew her attention. Her first instinct was to look to her Master, but Adi didn't seem to notice. Neither did Qui-Gon or Obi-Wan. Odd. What was...
Her eyes went wide when she noticed that Taly was gone. "Master Gallia, where did Taly go?"
Her Master paused her conversation with a Guard and turned to her, eyebrows furrowed, before glancing over at the now vacated spot next to the medical droid. "He was just..."
"Qui-Gon!" called out Adi without a hesitation, "The boy's gone!"
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan whirled, looking around, the Master grew concerned. "He was just here a moment ago."
"Split up," ordered Adi, "Siri and I well check outside, you and padawan Kenobi check inside."
Qui-Gon nodded and left, Obi-Wan lingered for a moment longer, his eyes locking on Siri. She gave a weak, tentative smile, and then turned to follow her Master out of the building. Siri closed her eyes and reached out with the Force, and heard a whisper in response: To the left...
She turned in time to catch sight of Taly being carried unconscious by an unknown person in a black robe slinking along the outside of the building towards a trio of speeders. "Master! There!"
The moment her voice rang out the figure bolted straight for the speeders and leaped on. Siri and her Master rushed after him as he turned it on and flew off. In unison, they leaped onto the remaining speeders, ignited them, and took off. They roared out of the area, then the city, out into hilly countryside, the kidnapper barely still in their vision. Siri gritted her teeth in frustration. The mission was supposed to be over! She had way to much crap to deal with a sort through, namely a boy with gray-blue eyes, to have it starting up all over again!
"Focus and center yourself Padawan," came her Master's voice over the howling wind.
Siri's only response was to gun the engines full-throttle. She WAS focused, on catching the kidnapper and ending this stupid mission! Her speeder caught up with the kidnapper's as a ship came into view, hidden under the canopy of a few tree's and nestled between two hills. Oh no, he was NOT getting away! She swerved away and then swerved back, making to ram into the speeder. She was surprised when the kidnapper leapt off just before they collided, Taly on his shoulder, and flipped through the air. Siri barely had the time to do the same, lunging off the speeder before it could hit the other now uncontrolled one. There was a hiss of sparks a crunch of metal as the two speeders collided and crashed into a hillside at full speed, exploding in a gush of fire and parts. Siri rolled as she hit the ground, coming to her feet in time to see the kidnapper land on the ground and start for the ship.
Siri leaped, drawing her lightsaber as she did, and landed in front of him, igniting her violet blade. "Stop!"
She caught sight of an irritated scowl under the black cowl, the kidnapper's head turning briefly as Master Gallia slowed to a stop a bit behind him and climbed off her speeder.
"Siri," came Gallia's own irritated voice, "We're going to have a long talk about disobedience and safe flying practices when this is over."
Siri resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I couldn't let it get away Master."
Adi took the cue and focused on the kidnapper. "Put the boy down and surrender."
The kidnapper did nothing for a minute, thinking and weighing his options, before he slowly reached up a hand and flipped back his hood. Siri's eyes widened at what she saw underneath. A young face, around her age, but the face itself... red and black tattoos, a horned head, those sickly yellow eyes... Siri felt a spike of fear and took a step back, her lightsaber briefly wavering before she shook her head and refocused, determined not to be intimidated.
"Jedi," spat the kidnapper with distaste.
The breath left Siri's body as she suddenly felt darkness ripple through the air around the young man. Adi stiffened as well, surprised. The kidnapper took the initiative and threw Taly at Siri with a Force assisted momentum. Siri scrambled back, dropping her lightsaber in order to safely catch the boy.
Snap-hiss.
Siri glanced up away from the boy and was shocked, a small gasp escaping her lips, to see the kidnapper igniting a red lightsaber and launching himself at a momentarily surprised Master Gallia. Her Master barely managed to get her lightsaber up and activated in time, but did not block cleanly. Instead of being run through, she smashed the attack ungracefully up away from her chest, and into her right shoulder. Adi hissed and stumbled back in pain, switching her lightsaber to her offhand as her attacker gleefully continued his attack.
Her Master's pain rippling through the Force knocked Siri out of her stunned stupor. A dark Jedi, it was a dark Jedi! Oh kriff! As if Xanatos and Bruck hadn't been bad enough! No, they weren't bad enough, not nearly as dark as the man before them. The man... the man who had just hurt her Master!
Siri narrowed her eyes in anger, dropped the unconscious Taly aside, grabbed her saber, and burst forward with a cry, "Master Gallia!"
"Stay back Siri!" ordered her Master as she painfully continued her defense.
Oh no, Siri was not standing for that! Her Master was hurt, fighting clumsily with her none-dominate hand. She needed her help! Or... or...
She felt fear at the thought of her Master dying and struggled to contain it as she arrived and frantically swung her lightsaber at the man's back. He turned and parried the attack before lashing out with a boot and slamming it into Siri's stomach, sending her stumbling back and to the ground on her butt, breath leaving her body. Without another care, the man turned and blocked an attempt by Master Gallia to take the offensive.
Siri bristled at being so easily knocked aside and dismissed, her anger simmering. She clambered to her feet and rushed at him again. Despite being attacked on both sides, he easily switched back and forth between the injured Master and angered Padawan, his lightsaber a red blur.
With a spin, the man turned and lashed out at Siri, forcing her to stumble back and parry the decapitating slice away. She yelped as the man threw a hand forward and sent her launching backwards with a ripple of screaming energy. She landed on her back, stunned, her ribs protesting painfully, before slowly rising to a knee. Master Gallia was struggling, the wound in her shoulder might have been cauterized by the lightsaber, but the strenuous act of a lightsaber battle was ripping the burnt flesh open. Blood was leaking down her shoulder. Each parry, block, and strike sent a flash of pain through her face and the Force. She was losing strength and focus fast.
In the span of an instant, the dark Jedi smashed his blade into Master Gallia's, knocking it away from her body and out of her hands. Siri's eyes widened as the man made to cut her down.
"NO!" screamed Siri, throwing out her hands.
The Force responded to her fear, rippling through the air and slamming into the dark Jedi, sending him flying away from her Master. To her chagrin, the wave of Force energy also flattened her Master to the ground. Siri scrambled to close the distance and stood in front of her Master, lightsaber bared in her defense.
"You stay the kriff away from her!" yelled Siri, her hands and voice trembling.
Force... by the Force... she had almost lost her... lost Master Gallia.
"Siri," came a pained voice from her Master, "Calm yourself and focus, you are my Padawan, a Jedi, control your emotions."
Siri briefly bristled. They were in the middle of a life and death battle and Master wanted to chide her?
The Dark Jedi slowly stalked forward, eying her. "Little Jedi, if your Master couldn't stop me, what makes you think you can?"
Siri glared at him, anger spiking. "Master Gallia would have trashed you if you didn't catch her offguard you sleemo!"
"Siri!" barked Master Gallia, "Focus! Whats gotten into you? Your emotions are all over the place!"
Siri blinked a few times and took a deep breath, trying to contain herself. The mission. Obi-Wan and their fledgling love. The Dark Jedi's foul presence. Almost losing her Master. She felt so raw and unhinged and jittery at the moment. She needed... Master was right, she needed to focus and calm down. Unfortunately, the Dark Jedi gave her no chance to, launching himself at her with a spin through the air, coming down with a hard overhead blow. Siri dove to the side and then made to swipe at his shoulder, only for him to pull back. The Dark Jedi bared his teeth in a cruel smile and rushed forward again, unleashing an onslaught of quick thrusts and swipes that forced Siri to backpedal and scramble to keep up. Fear crawled up her spine, this guy was good. Not as good as a fresh Jedi Master in their prime, not yet, but far ahead of a mere Padawan. Bleak terror coursed through her, she was going to die, she was always prepared for that as a Jedi, but to do so before she and Obi-Wan could even figure things out...
With a heavy uppercut, the Dark Jedi sent Siri's lightsaber flying, his own blade lightly scraping and burning Siri's Jedi tunic. He half turned, pulled his lightsaber back, and made to thrust and run Siri through before she had a chance to recover. Siri's eyes went wide before she closed them and turned her head...
Only to yelp as someone slammed into her. Her eyes opened to see Master Gallia shove her aside and take the blow meant for Siri. She watched in horror to see that red lightsaber erupt out of her Master's back. The Dark Jedi pulled his lightsaber out and watched, smug and gleefully riding a dark high, as the Jedi Master collapsed to the ground at his feet.
"MASTER!" screamed Siri, rushing forward and falling to her knees at her Master's side.
"Siri...," whispered Master Gallia, "Run..."
"No... no no no no no...," whispered Siri, her hands shakily on her Master's arm, staring down at the hole in the woman's chest.
There was the faint scuffing of boots on the ground as the Dark Jedi began to circle and taunt his prey. "Pathetic, I was lead to believe Jedi Masters were worthy and dangerous foes. I'm not even done my training yet and it was easy. Tell me little Jedi, how does it feel to watch her die?"
"No... she's... she's not going to die!" yelled Siri in denial, shaking her Master, "Get up Master... please..."
Master Gallia gave Siri one last hazy look, opened her mouth as if to say something, before the light went out of her eyes and her head lolled to the side. Siri felt it the moment she died and passed on into the Force. The moment her bond with her Master, the connection between them, was ripped away. She clutched her head and screamed in agony as her end of the bond ruptured, bleeding out into her, if not physically, then mentally and through the Force. She shook uncontrollably with pain and grief, staring down into her Master's lifeless eyes and still form.
"You have no one but yourself to blame little Jedi," taunted the Dark Jedi, "It's not her fault you were so weak that she had to die for you to survive for another minute."
Siri flinched. Guilt and shame rocked her, forcing her to look away from her Master's corpse, tears streaming down her face. Her fault... it was her fault...
The Dark Jedi finished his circling and stopped a ways infront of Siri. "What a sight. I'm tempted to disobey orders and go after the other Jedi. I wonder if killing the other Padawan's master and breaking him will be as elating as it was for you and yours."
Siri's blood ran cold. "Obi... Wan..."
"Is that the other Padawan's name?" asked the Dark Jedi gleefully, "Would you like to see him die to?"
Siri's eyes went wide for a moment, and then... then... something replaced her pain, her grief, her sadness and sorrow. First it was cold gripping fear for Obi-Wan, the desire to not see him harmed, to not suffer as she was...
Abruptly, the temperature around them plummeted, enough for the Dark Jedi's breathing to suddenly become visible. Something in Siri changed and warped as rage, dark cold rage entered her, followed by deep hate as she glared up at the Dark Jedi.
The Dark Jedi's eyebrows furrowed. "Is that...?"
"You wont touch him," came out a hushed, cold and deadly whisper, parting out Siri's lips like a hiss on a snakes tongue.
With a furious war cry, Siri's lightsaber flew into her hands, demanded there by the Force at her will. She burst forward, feeling invigorated and empowered, driven by a determination to see this beast dead and her Obi-Wan safe. She, like he did her Master, took the Dark Jedi completely off-guard. Her first slash knocked aside his saber like it was a twig and cut from his lower right stomach up diagonal across his right breast. It wasn't nearly deep enough for Siri's tastes, but the howl of pain that ripped from his mouth at her saber's searing touch was oh so satisfying. She battered him back, swinging her lightsaber in Force fueled blows that were coming far to heavily to be naturally from her arms. Her foe fell back from each rage fueled strike, naked fear in his eyes. Oh that fear... what a rush!
She pursued him, a hungry growl escaping her lips, as he staggered away, looking towards the ship, and for a brief moment, she felt relief and hope emanate from him as he gasped out. "Master!"
Siri's eyes briefly flickered to the ship, it's open ramp, but there was nothing there aside from dark shadows, and nothing in the Force that she could sense. She felt disgusted, had some deranged madman really slain her Master? The mere thought of it sent another spike of rage through her as she shot after him. The hope and relief faded, replaced by confusion, then a sensation of anger and betrayal. Whatever aid he expected wasn't coming, wasn't real. He turned back to Siri and met her charge. She swung down in a brutal overhead strike, and he raised his blade to block. For a few split seconds, he held his own, purple and red sabers crossing against one another in a test of strength. But at this point, Siri didn't care about strength, skill, or fair play. She just wanted it DEAD!
She raised a foot while he was looking up at her saber, and slammed her boot right into his crotch. The beasts eyes bulged as he gasped and staggered back, his lightsaber moving out of line as he lost his focus and concentration. With one swift motion, Siri brought her lightsaber down, severing his sword hand from his body, and then in a smooth spinning backstroke, took his head clean from his body before he could even scream. Dark elation ripped out of her body as she watched his body, his hand, and then his severed head hit the ground. She threw her head back and raised her hands into the air, a triumphant yell escaping her lips.
"I did it Master Gallia! I...," she began, grinning ear to ear in a twisted teeth bared smile.
Then it all came crashing down on her. Slowly her smile left her, along with her elation, her rage, and her hate. Her eyes fell on her Master's corpse. She silently walked over before falling to her knees and dropping her lightsaber. She tenderly reached out and drew her Master close, putting her head on her apprentices lap. She felt numb, cold, pained, her strength leaving her all the sudden, her broken and festering bond aching in her mind. She felt weary and tired. She wanted to go home to the temple, curl up in her bed, and cry herself to sleep. She knew she'd alarm anyone who knew her with such an act so bizarre and unusual from her, but she didn't care anymore. She was tired of the tough girl act, didn't have the strength for it, all she had left to show was raw grief.
"Oh Master...," whispered Siri mournfully, "I'm so sorry..."
"The dead can't hear your apologies," came a cold, cruel voice, "Nor would they care."
Siri looked up, and her blood froze. Descending the ramp from the beast's ship was a figure wrapped in a black cloak. She could feel nothing from him, but his voice... merely looking at him sent a horrific chill through her body. Two things ran through her mind. The first was every urge in her body screaming at her to run. The second was a sad, resigned whisper from the Force that made no sense to her: You chose this fate when you bore the power he wields...
"And let it be said, I will tolerate no other Master before me, even a dead one," said the man as he reached the bottom of the ramp, a dark, possessive gleam in his twisted and putrid yellow eyes shining from under his hood, "My apprentice."
She looked at him, bewildered, confused, and alarmed. "W-who are you?"
The man drew closer, and as he did, all light in the area seemed to shrink away, leaving just the man in a swirling black vortex in her mind's eye. "For now, Darth Sidious will do, but in time..."
A dark chuckle escaped his lips as he raised his hands, curled fingers flexing. "You will learn to call me Master."
Lightning burst forth from his hands and slammed into Siri, sending her to the ground screaming in horrific agony as blackness tore through her vision and consciousness left her...
Notes:
An idea that has been sitting in my head for awhile. There's not nearly enough Siri focused stories, or even one where she is the main character. A Sith/Dark Siri? I can't remember finding one yet. I don't know when I'll really be able to pick it up and go, as I have a bunch of other stories I need to actually finish at the moment, but I didn't want to let it sit in my head unwritten and become forgotten. So here it is as a 'story proposal', let me know if ya'll are interested.
Chapter 2: The Pain of Loss
Notes:
Warning: Psychological, Physical, and Force torture of an adolescent.
Chapter Text
Young Obi-Wan Kenobi viewed the devastation with a bleakness that he had not felt since Cerasi has been murdered on Melida/Daan. Three speeder parts were everywhere, blown to bits. There were large scorch marks from a ships lasercannons all across the area. Master Gallia... she... what was left of her was half melted into the ground, they couldn't tell if she had died before or after the ship had blasted her. There were few remaining pieces to her lightsaber sown around...
And of Siri...
There was nothing left...
He chocked a little bit, tears on his face, and fell to his knees.
"Oh Padawan mine," came Qui-Gon's tired voice, kneeling behind him and embracing him in a hug, "I'm sorry. I wish I had known how you felt and put a stop to it before this happened."
Obi-Wan bristled in anger. "Is... is that all?! You don't even care that she's... she's..."
He felt a brief flash of indignation and white hot anger down the bond before Qui-Gon smothered it and released it into the Force. "No, no my Padawan that's not it. I'm saddened by the loss of Master Gallia and her Padawan. What I meant was that I wanted you not to suffer as I have. To lose someone who meant so much to you, like... like myself and..."
Qui-Gon trailed off uncomfortably, but Obi-Wan finished quietly, "Tahl."
"Yes," Qui-Gon whispered out.
They were silent for a moment before Qui-Gon sighed. "The two of us are hopeless, aren't we? Doomed to love and lose it, ignorant of why the Code forbids it to begin with."
There was a sad, pained wistfulness that they shared down the bond before Obi-Wan spoke up, "Master... I... can we not tell the Council about what we sensed?"
Qui-Gon said nothing for a moment. "Padawan mine..."
"I don't want to disgrace her memory," said Obi-Wan sullenly, "I know how the temple rumor mill works, if anyone caught wind that Siri... that she..."
He couldn't finish it. Couldn't word the horror of what he felt. Through the Force, they had felt Master Gallia and Siri engage in battle, but they could not detect what they had fought again. There had been no sensation in the Force, so most likely droids. They had felt Master Gallia's surprise and pain, followed by Siri's collapsing emotional control. Then, after they felt her Master died, that...
"That she fell...," Obi-Wan whispered mournfully.
That darkness, that rage and hate that he had felt erupt at a distance from Siri. It was the most awful thing he had ever felt, at least until a massive burst of pain followed by Siri's presence being abruptly cut away hit him. It was a cruel thing, to lose her master, to lose herself, and then to lose her life. It wasn't fair... they hadn't had the chance to make a decision on what they felt for one another...
"They'd consider her a disgrace, they'd tarnish her name rather than mourn or remember her," he said with frustration.
Qui-Gon chuckled softly. "Lying to the council? What happened to the obedient Padawan who revered them?"
Obi-Wan didn't have it in him at the moment to share in the joke. "Please..."
Qui-Gon sighed and rose to his feet. "On one condition Padawan. Don't let yourself give into grief as I did, to rage and chase after her killers as I did with Tahl's."
Obi-Wan pursed his lips. "Hard to do when we don't know where that coward Magnus ran to."
Qui-Gon tugged with warning on Obi-Wan's braid. "Padawan, we don't even know if it was him."
"Who else would it be?!" exclaimed Obi-Wan, rising to his feet and turning towards his master, "They wanted Taly silenced, and probably wanted revenge for us stopping them!"
"I don't know," said Qui-Gon, eyebrows furrowed, "But my instincts tell me this was the work of someone else."
He leveled a stern, but sad gaze on him. "Promise me Padawan."
Obi-Wan took in a shaky breath before letting it out. "Alright... I won't. I will do my duty as a Jedi. It's..."
He trailed off for a moment before finishing, "It's what Siri would want me to do..."
Qui-Gon nodded solemnly. "I'll give you a few minutes to center yourself, then we need to contact the authorities, and then the Council."
Qui-Gon began to walk away, rubbing his eyes tiredly and muttering, "We lost the one we were to protect, lost a High Council Member and her promising Padawan, and that doesn't even begin to describe how the mission itself went. This... this was a complete and utter disaster."
Obi-Wan didn't have the strength to voice his agreement; He simply knelt down on the ground in a quiet, stressed attempt at meditation, his hands gripping the dirt, pulling it up, then letting it fall through his fingers. "I'm so sorry Siri..."
He glanced up into the sky and whispered mournfully, "I won't forget you, I promise..."
Siri Tachi jolted awake at the sound of a pain filled scream of loss ripping through her mind, a nightmarish haze plaguing her. She blinked her eyes a few times, finding herself in utter darkness. She rose to a sitting position, reaching up to massage her aching head, when a certain noise caught her attention.
The rattling of chains.
She shook away her tiredness and felt along her wrists, to a tight bracelet attached to chains that she ran her fingers down until they hit the floor. She shifted her legs and felt the same from them. She could sit up, and maybe stand, but she couldn't go far.
She was a prisoner. Great...
Frustration and anger ripped through her. What the kriff was going on? She remembered the mission, remembered chasing down Taly's kidnapper, remembered...
A choked sob escaped her lips. She remembered her Master's death. Afterwords, the fight against that murdering beast was a red haze in her memories. But what happened afterwords? Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
She remembered... a man in a black cloak, sinister sickly yellow eyes... and that lightning. She remembered something else though, he had called her something...
She growled and yanked on the chains with irritation. She had been a prisoner before on other missions, but this... this ticked her off more than usual. Left her angry and unsettled. Force, she felt... felt so angry. Something... something felt off, but she couldn't place what it was. Something felt different inside of her...
She froze when suddenly light entered her prison. She winced briefly at the sudden glare before she focused, noting a holoscreen had just lit up on the far side of her cell. Strange... why would she be given access to a holoscreen if she was a prisoner and...
A strangled gasp escaped her lips as the holoscreen started playing a silent recording of the confrontation with the Dark Jedi. Her anger faded, and fear surfaced. She watched, fearfully mesmerized, as the encounter ticked by, and then...
It was like losing Master Gallia all over again as she watched her Master shove her aside and take the killing blow, take the lightsaber right through her chest. She sobbed and looked away, curling up into a ball, unable to stand watching anymore.
The recording continued until it finished and flickered off. For a moment, she was in darkness again, then, it started up again. Only this time, there was sound. Siri began to tremble as the sound of lightsabers clashing ripped through the cell, and flinched when she heard herself scream over her Master's death.
When it finished, it restarted again. Siri curled up tighter and placed her hands over her ears. "Stop..."
It didn't stop, it went through again, and not even covering her ears could shield them from the sound of that scream, from being forced to relive that memory. It kept on repeating, only the volume kept increasing.
"Stop it!" Siri cried out.
It didn't. It got even worse. The recording started getting shorter, cutting out the lead up to the fight. Instead of ten minutes between that scream, she had eight, then five, then three, then the scream was repeating once per minute.
Siri sobbed and shivered uncontrollably, "Stop it, stop it, stop it!"
"Only you can make it stop," came a cold voice.
Siri bolted upright and glanced around fearfully, trying, but failing, to lock onto the voice that sounded far to close for comfort.
"Look at yourself," murmured the voice, as the the recording started over again with the un-shortened version, "Look at that pitiful performance. It's no wonder your former Master died."
Siri suckered in a breath and looked away, new tears freshly falling.
"You don't deny it," mused the voice.
Siri felt like there was ash in her mouth. "No... I don't."
She flinched as once again the scream erupted from the holorecording.
"Now look," whispered the voice hungrily, "And watch, see the power that you wielded once you broke your chains."
Siri didn't look, electing a 'tsk' from the voice.
"Just make it stop," Siri couldn't help but beg, "Please."
"Please?" mocked the voice, "From what I've learned of you, browsing the Jedi's personnel files, recordings, and mission logs, I would have thought begging beneath you. Where is your pride? Where is your headstrong and confident attitude young one?"
She looked away, shaking as the recording started again. "I... don't care... just make it stop... I can't watch, can't hear her die anymore...
"You can't bear your weakness," mused the voice, "Unfortunately for you. I don't believe in mercy."
She shifted uneasily at the venom he spat out that last word with.
"If you want it to stop, make it stop," ordered the voice.
For a moment, her pain gave away to indignation and irritation as she flapped her arms and rattled the chains. "Kind of hard to do when I'm chained to the kriffing floor!"
"If you don't wish to be chained, then free yourself," said the voice, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
Siri sucked in a breath, and slowly let it out, trying to calm herself. She ran a shaky hand along the bracelet, the chains, to the floor it was connected to. There was no weakness she could feel.
"Got a key lying around somewhere?" she deadpanned.
That elected an amused chuckle from the voice. "The only key is yourself young one."
Siri did her best to squash down the horrific guilt and pain she felt from the loss of her Master, summoning up her courage. "You won't be able to keep me here forever. The Jedi will find me."
There was an amused barking laughter. "Even if they knew where you were, why would they come for you, my little fallen Jedi? Unless you mean they'd come to kill you."
Siri froze for a moment, whispering, "Fallen?"
Her rage spiked, the chains binding her rattling as the Force swirled around her. "Excuse me?! I am not fallen! I'm not dark!"
She gasped as a cold hand grabbed the back of her head and twisted to force her head towards the holoscreen. "I beg to differ little one. Watch."
She didn't have a chance to begin to struggle or yell at whoever was manhandling her. Because she saw it. The moment the second half of the 'battle' began, after her Master died. A hiccup escaped her lips, sighting the rage and hate playing across her face in the recording. She thought back, to the fight, to the red haze of that memory...
Oh Force...
She...
"I... no, I didn't...," she whispered in horror.
A whisper, spoken from lips that hovered inches from her ear, sent shivers down her spine, "You did, and it was magnificent."
Siri tried to stop watching, tried to look away, but her head was held in an iron grip. "Watch. See the power you harnessed. You called for the Dark Side of the Force, and it answered readily with a strength rarely seen for those who first call upon it, let alone that most fallen Jedi ever get the chance to reach. That little amusing fool Xanatos perhaps held a lead over you before his death, but it wont last for long. You have a natural affinity for the darkness, your potential would have been wasted as a Jedi."
Her face paled, watching how easily she butchered the Dark Jedi, fear rocketing down her spine. "No. No no no, that... that was an accident! I didn't mean..."
"Accident or no," said the voice, letting go of her head, "You dove into the darkness, and while I kept myself and Maul's presences shielded from the other Jedi, I most certainly didn't do the same for yours."
Utter horror roiled through her. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon would have felt it... oh no... no no no! Obi-Wan might have kept it secret, for her, but Master Jinn? He would have reported what he had felt to the council.
Despair overwhelmed her, she knew full well the range of punishments for touching the Dark Side. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she could not deny it, she had deeply drawn on it. Given into her rage and hate. Not even Bruck had gone that deep from what she knew. And what the voice had said... she dearly hoped she hadn't gone as close to as deep as Xanatos. Even if she hadn't...
It left her feeling hollow. "They'll banish me from the order... or imprison me..."
The voice chuckled. "Fortunately for you, they believe you dead."
Siri bowed her head, her breathing growing shaky. It meant there was no hope of anyone coming for her. Even if she was somehow discovered alive... there was still no hope for her...
"Damn him," hissed Siri furiously, "Damn that beast. It stole my Master... it stole my future..."
"Good," whispered the voice, "Let your anger swell."
Before she could respond, she flinched as the recording reached the scream again. "Gah! Make it stop!"
"I told you, only you can make it stop," said the voice.
She faintly heard the click of a button, and the recording started shrinking in time again, speeding up each showing of her Master's death. Her anger spiked. He was doing this to her on purpose! That... that bastard...
Scream
She just...
Scream
Wanted it to stop...
Scream
Why was he doing this to her?
Scream
The Fore swirled and churned around Siri. "Stop it...
Scream
"I said stop it!" she yelled.
"Only you can make it stop," repeated the voice once more.
Scream
"AAAAAAHHHH!" yelled Siri, throwing a chained hand towards the holoprojector.
The holoprojector bent, cracked, and then exploded as the Force erupted from Siri and ripped it asunder. Siri watched the smoke rise out as light left what little of the screen remained with relief, and then a tint of dark satisfaction before it abruptly fled. It hit her suddenly, what she did, and as Siri stared at the remains she went limp, leaning forward and bowing her head to the ground, a wretched sob escaping her lips. She had done it again, used her anger, used the dark... she knew the lessons, that it only got easier and easier the more someone used the Dark Side... this was only the beginning of an awful path...
All of her dreams and hopes were crashing down around her as reality truly set in. Her Master was dead because of her weakness, she had then disgraced her Master and the entire Jedi Order and used the Dark Side to kill, had... had fallen..., everyone thought she was dead, and would condemn her if she wasn't. She knew better than to deny it, other Padawans and initiates still condemned Bruck. Even if she got out of here, she was never going to become a Jedi Master now... all of her life, wasted and lost and thrown away in an instant. It was all over...
She couldn't help it, she cried deeply and bitterly.
The voice spoke with a gentleness, "Ah, my lost little apprentice. Why is it that you weep?"
"I've lost everything," she whispered.
"Have you?" mused the voice, "From my point of view, you've lost nothing worthwhile. The Dark Side can help you gain everything you could ever possibly want."
"The Dark Side has nothing I want," she spat out.
"Doesn't it?" said the voice as a hand slowly raked through her hair.
Siri let out a small gasp as waves of pleasure rocketed down her spine at the touch. She shivered and moaned as her senses were overwhelmed, as a dark, seductive voice whispered into her mind sweet nothings. Power, pleasure, anything she could ever want, if only she gave in, if only she submitted. Then, as suddenly as it came, it withdrew, along with the hand raking possessively through her hair. She couldn't help but whimper and lean her head towards where the touch had fled.
"Good, good," whispered the voice, a chuckle escaping it, "You want it again, don't you?"
A 'yes' caught in her through, and Siri struggled to keep it down.
"All you have to do is kneel at my feet, pledge yourself to me, and call me...," said the voice as it drew closer to her ear, "Master."
A flash spiked through her mind, of Master Gallia sitting with her in their shared apartment, laughing at a joke, teaching her, meditating with her. "N... no..."
"You wanted to become a Jedi Master," said the voice, trying a different approach, "But only through me can you achieve a power even greater than any Jedi."
"I don't... want to be... a Dark Jedi," she managed to gasp out.
A hoarse laugh filled the air, and the temperature began to plummet as a dark chill took the air. "Oh my blind little apprentice, how little you see, how little you understand. I am no Dark Jedi."
She yelped as a hand roughly grabbed her head and pulled her up, and the voice whispered into her ear, "I am Sith."
Shock hit her, killing off the lingering sensation's the touch had left on her, and then unbridled fear ripped through her. "N...no, the Sith have been extinct for almost a thousand years!"
The chill in the room deepened and began to seep into her skin, her bones. "Have we? Or have we merely changed? Become subtle, influencing and controlling events right under the nose of the Jedi. Preparing ourselves for our return."
"You're lying!" she yelled.
The voice... the Sith... lifted her fully up and turned her around, in the dark, she could see deep malevolent glowing yellow eyes, all consuming, staring into her eyes, into her soul. "No, little fallen Jedi, I am not."
She tried to deny the awful truth she could feel in the Force, the howl of the Dark Side ringing through the Force around them. But she couldn't, those sickly yellow eyes, that cackling laughter, that presence so dark and so foul...
She was in the grasp of pure evil itself.
And it wanted her.
"I... I will never turn to the Dark Side!" she tried to say bravely, but only managed to squeak out, growing more and more terrified by the second. Force it was so cold...
"You forget, you already have," mocked the Sith, "As Master Yoda says, 'once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny'. The only path left for you now is down into darkness. The only question is will you walk it willingly, or shall I have to drag you along?"
"I... won't become a Sith...," she said far to weakly and fearfully to sound convincing.
"It is inevitable," said the Sith with a conviction that scared Siri to the depths of her soul, "It is your destiny."
She tried to deny it, but nothing came out of her mouth.
"Now, will you kneel? Will you pledge yourself to me and my teachings?" questioned the Sith.
She shook uncontrollably as darkness began to overwhelm every sense she had. The blackness of the unlit room turned into an even darker void, consuming everything as it crawled to her. It latched onto her body, her mind, her soul, and began to invade...
And then, in the back of her mind, flashed a light, and a voice from a boy she loved, carried along a whisper of the Force. "I won't forget you, I promise..."
Siri suckered in a breath, latched onto that light, drew all of the strength she could from it and her inner will, and beat back the darkness. "I will never join you!"
There was silence for a moment, before an indifferent, "Pity," sounded out, "I suppose we'll have to do this the hard way."
She was yanked upwards, and then slammed face first into the hard floor, breaking her nose and gushing blood out of it. She yelped in pain, and then began screaming as the room lit up with blue electricity and mad laughter. Just before she could pass out to the pain, it stopped. She was left there gasping in agony for a moment. She cried out when a boot embedded itself into her stomach, kicking her backwards as far as the chains would let her.
"I suppose I'll give you time to think on it," mused the Sith, "Resist as long as you are able, but in the end, for all your struggles, you will be mine."
With that, the Sith left, the slamming of a door echoing through the room.
Siri laid there on the floor, curled into a ball, and wept. "Obi-Wan... please... help me..."
But in the dark, alone in that cell, there was no answer...
Chapter 3: Depravity
Notes:
Warning: Psychological, Physical, and Force torture of an adolescent.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Siri awoke to utter darkness and let out a soft groan of pain. Force, she ached all over. She laid there, for a time, breathing in and out, an odd wheeze coming out of her broken nose, before slowly gathering her strength. She had to get out of here. Fallen or not, she was not a Sith, nor wanted to be one. Her loyalty was to the Jedi Order, and if they would not bear her anymore, then she at least wanted Obi-Wan to survive. The Sith wanted nothing but the destruction of the Jedi Order and to rule the galaxy. That included Obi-Wan, so she had to warn them, if only for his sake...
She frown briefly, at how so easily she dismissed the entire order for someone she favored. She shook her head and slowly stood up, grabbed the chain, fueled her muscles with the Force, trying to reach for the light instead of the dark, and yanked as hard as she could...
...and cried out in pain when the chain and the floor won and she dislocated her shoulder. "Kriffing hell!"
She bit her lip to stifle any further cries of pain. She began to reach out with her good arm in the darkness and scuffle around, searching for a wall hopefully in range of her chains. She found it and braced herself, feeling for the socket and the bone with the Force and positioning herself before ramming her shoulder into the wall to shove the bone back in place. She hissed in pain, tears streaming down her face, before sitting down on the floor.
"Well that was a piss ass attempt," she spat out at herself angrily.
She abruptly shook her head. "No, no anger! It's... it's what he wants, what the dark wants."
She took a deep breath, tried her best to calm herself, and attempted to meditate. Only... something was wrong. She couldn't find that inner peace she needed to begin. There were no threads of harmony and serenity she could draw upon to pull herself into the soothing embrace of the Force. Distress and alarm ran through her, making her lose any semblance of calm. Was she just not balanced enough with what was happening to her? Or was this what it meant to fall? To lose the ability to call on the Force as she used to?
She tried again, but could not empty her mind, and what came to her was nothing peaceful. Flashes of lightning, of the Sith's laughter. Her Master's death, burned into her memory in a way she'd never forget. The look on her face in the holorecording, that anger and hate tainting her features. Thoughts drifted to the Jedi Order, on how they would name her fallen, strike her out from the records as a Jedi Padawan. How the other Padawans and initiates would spit her name with distaste. How her friends would either have to distance themselves from her name, or suffer ridicule, if they didn't join in to begin with.
Dread roiled her stomach. Bant Eerin, Garen Muln, Quinlan Vos... would they abandon her? Curse her as some dark heathen?
Would Obi-Wan?
Her stomach knotted, and she cursed herself as tears started streaming down her face once more.
She sat there, in brooding misery for some time, until her stomach growled at her. She shook her head and glanced around, pressing her senses along the room she was in. No food or water had been left for her, and from what she could tell, the Sith wasn't nearby. She put her senses passed the room, until they abruptly came across a block. Her eyebrows furrowed as she poked and prodded it with the Force. It was some kind of Force Shielding, but... she had never felt anything like it before, not to mention...
She poked in every direction, and was astounded to find the shielding covered the entire building she was in. No one could sense in, no one could sense out. Nothing that happened in here would carry out in the Force. How in the world did the Sith create such a shield?
It left her a bit numb, to realize just how alone she truly was. No one was coming for her. Didn't know where she was, couldn't know where she was, and even if they did, they wouldn't care about some fallen padawan...
Depression kicked in, and she slowly curled up into a ball on the floor. She laid there for what felt like hours, until the inaction eventually took her to a fitful sleep...
Siri blinked a few times and sat up, a large growl emanating from her stomach, and a tightness to her dry throat. She licked her dry lips and took in a breath, slowly letting it out. As much as she hated to...
"Hello?" she called out.
There was no reply. If the Sith was there, he wasn't saying anything.
She sighed and pushed herself over to the wall, pressing her back up to it, bringing her knees up, and wrapping her arms around them. She sat there for what felt like hours, brooding, until sleep took her again...
Again and again, she woke and fell asleep, nothing but isolation and utter darkness greeting her. It grated and unnerved her. How long was the Sith going to keep her down here? Force dammit she was hungry and thirsty! Not to mention kriffing bored out of her mind. Worse though... she hated being left down here with nothing but her fears and guilt to give her company. She dreaded thinking of the Jedi Order and her friends, what they must think of her...
She rubbed her throat and sighed.
"Are you thirsty, my little fallen Jedi?" came the raspy voice of the Sith.
Siri started a little, her heart kickstarting fearfully, before she forced as much of a calm over her as she could. "What's it to you?"
"It's a simple yes or no question," said the Sith, "Are you, or are you not, thirsty?"
When she gave no response, there was a very maliciously slow and cruel sound of a water bottle being unscrewed, the loud smacking of lips, followed by the gulping of water. "Ah... how refreshing. Tell me my little fallen Jedi, do you want this water?"
Siri ground her teeth, humiliation roaring in her head. She knew what kind of game he was playing. As a Jedi, they had been taught and prepared for situations where they may be taken captive. She was so thirsty though...
She beat down her pride. She needed to stay strong to find a way out. If she weakened to hunger and dehydration, that would never happen. "Yes."
"Then beg," mocked the Sith, "Prostrate yourself before me and beg for water."
Furious indignation ripped through her. "Like hell I will!"
"Pity," mused the Sith, "Fortunately for you, I am not without mercy. I will... give... you water."
Siri's eyebrows furrowed. "I thought you said you didn't believe in mercy."
There was a hoarse and gleeful laugh. "You are correct."
Siri yelped as water splashed her, followed by the water bottle conking her upside the head. She was about to yell at the Sith before the room lit up with blue electricity. She had a split second to realize, before it hit, that this was going to hurt so much more when she was wet. She screamed in agony as the lightning rolled over her and took her to the ground, writhing in pain.
The lightning faded, and the Sith's mocking voice sounded out, "This stops when you choose it to, my little fallen Jedi. All you have to do is pledge yourself to me and my teachings."
"Never," she managed to spit out between gasps of pain.
"Never is a very long time my little fallen Jedi," mused the Sith before his hands began to cackle with lightning and the torture began again...
When Siri awoke next, she felt so brittle. Moving even an inch sent spikes of pain lacing through her body. She couldn't help but flinch when the scraping of metal hit her ears. It took her a second to recognize the sound, of eating utensils hitting one another. She realized there was a faint light in the cell. On the other end, sitting at a table preparing to eat, was the Sith.
"Ah good, you're awake, you've been out for some time," said the Sith, "Tell me, are you hungry?"
She didn't get a chance to deny it before her loud stomach betrayed her.
"Do you want to eat?" asked the Sith.
"I will not beg," she spat out.
"Ah, but you won't have to," said the Sith, "I've decided we can start small. I will allow you one meal, for a price."
She ground her teeth. "What is it?"
"The Jedi may have cast you out, but I still feel your lingering loyalty for them," said the Sith with a sigh, as if she were an impudent foolish child, "Renounce them."
"No," said Siri, turning her head away from the food.
"Tsk, such defiance," mused the Sith before he began to eat, slowly, savoring each bite.
"Perhaps another price then," said the Sith, after finishing half his plate, "Every time you've tried to meditate, or use the Force, you try to shy away from the Dark Side. I will allow you half a meal, if you use it again."
"No," she said, "I'm not stupid. I know my lessons, it's like an addiction. The more you use it, the easier it gets, the more you want to use it."
She could practically feel him sneering at her. "Suit yourself then my little fallen Jedi."
For an agonizing hour, the Sith took his time eating, and her stomach spent the entire time protesting and screaming at her. To be so hungry though... when was the last time she ate? How long...
"How long have I been here?" she rasped out.
The Sith paid her no heed as he began to clean up, wiping his face slowly with a napkin and collecting his plate and utensils. Siri grumbled under her breath and tried to think. She had no idea she had initially been out for before she was brought here. She had spent a lot of time alone or sleeping after the first 'session'. From his attempt to goad her with water to now with food, he had implied she had been out for awhile.
"A week?" she guessed, "Two?"
The Sith did not answer, instead, he merely stood, strode to the door, opened it, flicked off the light, and locked her into darkness again.
Siri sighed heavily and curled up on the floor, trying to stifle a groan of hunger, of pain. Force she wished she could meditate, or at least send herself into a healing trance.
She wasn't stupid. There was only so long a human body could live without food and water. Combined with his damned lightning, she was certain she'd already be dead if she wasn't a Jedi... or well... had Jedi training. The Force naturally strengthened her and helped her to survive such conditions, even in this odd state of fallen-but-denying-it that she was in that made it hard to draw properly on it.
She licked her lips as her stomach ached again, the lingering smell of food assaulting her nose. She took a shaking breath, tapping into the Force, and pushed it through her body to try and help actively sustain herself. It wasn't going to last for long, she knew that, and it was using strength she could be using to try to escape to instead try to survive...
Escape...
She scoffed. She hadn't gotten out of these chains, let alone out of the room. Who knows what else the Sith would have between her and freedom. She wasn't going to be able to escape and she knew it. A Jedi would have held onto hope, held onto iron determination and steadfast faith in the light, and if need be, face death head-on without fear.
But she wasn't a Jedi anymore. And that was in far more than just name. She remembered telling Obi-Wan, when they were on that crashing ship, that she wasn't afraid to die.
She was afraid now.
She could feel it, like a black ichor, infecting and spreading through her body. She feared the Sith's return, she feared his lightning, she feared being isolated like this for the rest of her life however short or long it may be, she feared starving to death. She feared that even if she somehow got out of here, all she found find outside was rejection or imprisonment.
Most of all...
She feared herself. She feared the choice she was going to have to make, no matter how long she stalled and delayed. It was a simple decision, with awful implications...
Convert or die.
It was becoming so easy for negative emotions and fears to leak through what little control she had left. She knew it, could recognize when she second guessed earlier bleak thoughts. But it didn't help to recognize the problem when it only kept getting worse...
Because the truth of the matter was...
She didn't want to die, and she didn't see any other way out of this but to sell her soul.
She buried her head into her stomach and sobbed quietly to herself until sleep took her again...
Siri woke up screaming as lightning washed over her. "My time is not dependent on your sleep schedule my little fallen Jedi."
Siri blearily focused on the Sith, her agonized and parch throat croaking out. "What... do you want..."
"To give you a drink of course," said the Sith, "After all, one will die of dehydration before starvation, and I'm not done with you yet."
Finally...
She looked away from the shadowy silhouette, not wanting to seem eager, but paused when she heard something being dragged across the floor, along with the sloshing of water. What was...
She barely had time to yelp before the Sith grabbed the back of her head and dunked it into a large bucket of water. "Drink up my little fallen Jedi."
Siri panicked as the Sith held her head underwater, struggling and trying to pry his hand off.
He pulled her head up and she gasped for breath. "Am I not merciful? Here, have another drink."
"N...," she began, but couldn't finish before he shoved her head underwater again. She began to flail. Clawing at the hand, clawing at his robe, clawing at the bucket to tip it over. Her lungs began to burn with the lack of air as water splashed from the bucket with her struggles.
"That's rather rude my little fallen Jedi, to waste the water I so graciously brought you," scolded the Sith, pulling her head back out once more.
Siri coughed and gasped for breath, and hoarsed out, "S-stop!"
"Tsk, you hardly sound like you drank anything, I must insist for your own sake," said the Sith before a dark chuckle escaped his lips, "Drink again."
She barely got out a panicked sob before he held her underwater again, this time pressing her face straight to the bottom and grinding it in. Siri bucked and kicked and scratched as hard as she could when her lungs once again began to burn. She started losing focus, and her struggles began to weaken. Thoughts began to slow and fade...
Was this... how she died...?
The Sith ripped her out of the bucket and threw her to the floor. "There, that should be enough."
Siri cried out when the Sith dumped the bucket on her, drenching her. "And a bath while you're at it."
"I'll leave you to swell on my generosity, and with the knowledge that it will only grow the longer you keep me waiting," warned the Sith.
With that, the Sith left, leaving Siri gasping for breath and shivering in her cold, drenched clothes. The warning had been heard, it was only going to get worse from here on in. She silently cursed herself when she realized, as awful as it was, that she hadn't bothered to really try and drink when she had been being drowned. Siri took in a raspy breath, sucked in her pride, buried her humiliation, and placed her lips against the floor, trying to suck up the water on it.
When she 'drank' enough, she curled up into a ball once more and shivered, the room had already been cold, drenched clothes was going to make this so much worse...
Day in, and day out, or as long as she could figure, the Sith kept up his cruel game. Flaunting water and food before her. Or torturing her with brief burst of lighting, or physical abuse. She bore it out as well as she could. It didn't help that she had the damn sniffles on top of it. Force, she hadn't been sick in years...
She laid there in darkness, in seething silence. Anger was getting harder and harder to suppress. Each time that Sith walked into the cell, it spiked, the beginnings of hatred burrowing deeper and deeper into her mind. It was hard to resist, she almost didn't want to anymore. She felt the desire each time he came for her, to unleash her rage on him. To kill him, rip out his throat...
This time was no different.
"Ah, you're awake, good," said the Sith as he walked in, "It's time we had a little chat."
The Force swirled and whispered warnings into her ear. Something was about to change...
Siri uncurled and sat up, glaring towards the Sith's voice.
"Tsk, and already I see your unwillingness to co-operate, how unfortunate," mused the Sith.
"What do you want from me?" she said bitterly.
"I've already told you," said the Sith, an annoyed sigh escaping his lips, "I want you to kneel before me and pledge yourself to my teachings. It's inevitable, the longer you pointlessly resist, the more you will suffer, and I am here to enlighten you on how."
"Do your worst," she spat.
"My worst?" mused the Sith, "If you've fooled yourself into believing that a little tap of lightning is the worst I can do, then you are mistaken, about a great, many, things."
She yelped when he grabbed her hair and roughly pulled her close, whispering into her ear. "Tomorrow, I will stop restraining the punishment for your defiance. You will be whipped, electrocuted, and beaten daily along with whatever creative punishments I come up with."
She gulped, but didn't respond, trying to steel herself.
The Sith continued, "The next day, along with the physical punishment, I will begin breaking your mental shields and assaulting your mind, leaving you raw, never allowed to recover."
Siri's eyes went wide.
A dark chuckle echoed through the room. "The following day, I will show you the effects of Sith Sorcery firsthand. You will see nightmarish mirages beyond your darkest fears. Your dreams will become hell rather than an escape from the torment your every waking moment will become."
Siri trembled as he continued. "Then, because you are so unfortunate as to have been born a female, " he spat with distaste, "I will start loaning you to a whorehouse."
Siri stared at the Sith's outline in shock. "Y-you wouldn't..."
"I'm a Sith," he replied, "Of course I would."
She went silent in mute horror.
"If all of that fails to change your mind, I will start tracking down your old friends within the Jedi order, abduct them, bring them before you, and make you watch me kill them," he threatened.
Siri froze up, her eyes going wide. "You..."
He'd kill Obi-Wan...
Rage and hate welled up in her, spiking uncontrollably as a cold darkness seeped out of her, challenging the oppressive presence of the Sith. "You wont touch them."
A small, pleasured gasp escaped the Sith's lips. "Ahhh... there it is, that darkness I so hunger for."
Siri thrust a hand at him with a furious cry, ripples of the Force burst from her hand. To no effect, the Sith merely waved his hand and banished the Force attack as if it were an unpleasant breeze.
"Good, good," said the Sith greedily, "Give into your anger my little fallen Jedi. But know this..."
He gripped her head, hard. "You are no match for me. You are to weak and untrained. If I so chose to kill those who matter to you, you cannot stop me."
He threw her to the floor. "I'll give you one last night to think on it. If come morning, you do not pledge yourself to me, it will begin."
He left her there, shaking with rage. Slowly though, minute by minute, the rage gave into despair and fear. Physical and mental torture, being raped, her friends slaughtered... there wasn't a damn thing she could do about what was to come... he was right, she was to weak... she had never felt so furiously helpless in her life...
"I hate him," she hissed, "I hate him so much."
The other things, as much as she dreaded them, didn't matter to her as much as what would happen to those in the temple. If it came down to her soul or her friends, she knew which she would sacrifice. The Sith had won, and he knew it, the moment she had reacted, shown a weakness, he had found his victory. Damn him... damn him... he might have won this... but she'd have the last laugh in the end... she swore it...
Siri sat there silently as the Sith strode into the cell, a faint light from the hallway spilling around his dark form. "Well? What is your decision my little fallen Jedi?"
Siri wobbly rose to her feet, her weakened strength barely carrying her to the ends of her chains before she knelt before him, bowed her head, and gritted out through clenched teeth. "I pledge myself to your teachings."
Until I'm strong enough to kill you...
"Ah...," said the Sith, delight in his voice, "I knew you would see things my way, my young apprentice. Now come, it's time to begin your... conditioning. You will find the training of a Sith to be... more rigorous than that of a Jedi."
She stared at him as he turned to go. "I'm still chained."
"Then break them," answered the Sith, "You tried before, reaching for that pitiful light. Harness your rage and hate, and no chain will bind you."
She stared down at her hands silently, eyebrows furrowed.
"Think of your weakness, think of your former Masters' death, and yes," said the Sith with a chuckle, "Think of how much you hate me. Use it."
She flexed her hands, the last hints of uncertainty still going through her mind at her choice. If she did this and walked out that door with him, there was no going back...
"Do it," snapped the Sith.
Siri let the thought go and narrowed her eyes, raising her head to glare at him. She stopped trying to struggle against and repress her darker feelings. For the first time she unleashed them go, fed off them willingly, rather than as a response. She shivered and let out a soft moan as raw power funneled down her body. It was like she had never been starved or tortured to begin with. She felt strong, invincible...
With a roar she yanked as hard as she could, and snapped the chain like it was a twig. The other followed a moment later followed by her leg chains. She stared down at the broken chains with a hint of silent disbelief. It had been so easy...
"Glorious, isn't it?" said the Sith.
She couldn't help it, she answered, "Yes..."
"Yes what, my apprentice?" said the Sith in a warning tone.
She glared at him. "Yes..."
She ground her teeth. "...Master."
The Sith sneered at her defiant tone, but didn't address it otherwise. "Come."
Siri took a few steps to the doorway and placed a hand on it. She paused briefly, to look back into the cell, and then down at a curling hand. She could feel the Dark Side pulsing through her, but it wasn't as she thought it would be, taught it would be, to willingly call to it. There was nothing sickly or evil to her, no taint, no willingness to just go off and 'do evil' and start butchering innocents. It was just raw power, to do whatever she wanted however she wanted with no overbearing Jedi Master to harp about rules or regulations or emotions... maybe the Jedi were wrong... or intentionally holding them all back from this power...
The Sith said she had a lot of potential...
A wicked grin spread across her face. She'd achieve it She'd do whatever it took, delve down into darkness as deep as she had to, learn everything he had to offer, and when she was ready, she would kill the Sith. He'd regret the day he chose her.
She swore he would.
Notes:
The first willing steps have been taken, so she says 'just' to kill the Sith, but we know better, we really do. Now the fall truly begins...
Chapter Text
The Sith led her into into a darkened round room with faint eerie candlelight illuminating it. "Kneel at the center."
Siri did so and waited as the Sith began to circle her.
"Peace is a lie, there is only passion."
Siri let out a small gasp as the words resonated with such power, echoing through the room.
"Through passion, I gain strength."
Siri's throat went dry, and a dark shiver ran down her spine.
"Through strength, I gain power."
Siri shook off the shiver and focused, noting the way the Force trembled as the Sith spoke.
"Through power, I gain victory."
The power to overcome any odds...
"Through victory, my chains are broken."
Siri's eyebrows furrowed. Chains... he had mentioned breaking chains before, not to mention having her break her own to leave the room...
"The Force shall free me."
The Sith stopped walking behind her. "It is the Sith Code. Tell me, what thoughts does it put into your head?"
Siri frowned, while she figured the Sith must have had their own, she had never heard it before. Unlike the Jedi Code that rang with peace and tranquility, this was passion and power.
"The chains earlier were supposed to be symbolic, weren't they?" she asked.
She shivered and let an unwilling moan escape her lips as the Sith's hand raked possessively through her hair, dark approval pulsing through the Force into her at contact. "You are correct. Breaking one's chains, achieving ultimate power and freedom no matter the cost, these are the covenants the Sith hold with the Dark Side. But be warned, it will challenge us constantly, seek to influence and bend us to it's will. That is why to be a master of the Dark Side, you must dominate it."
The thought was so alien compared to the Jedi's teachings, abhorrent even. "Dominate the Force?"
"The Jedi," spat the Sith, "Submit to the Force. They let it own and direct them, let it enslave them. The Sith direct their own fate."
"The Jedi trust in the Force to guide and protect them...," began Siri.
"And that trust is misplaced and betrayed, again and again," countered the Sith, gripping her hair tightly, leaning down to whisper, "Or do you deny that the Force led your former Master to her death and you to me?"
Siri recoiled. "That's...! That's not true!"
She weakened. "It's not..."
"It is," said the Sith, letting go of her hair, "And you know it. You simply refuse out of stubbornness."
He began to circle her again. "You will find, my young apprentice, that a great many of the Jedi's foolish teachings come at the price of free will, and personal strength. They deny you a sense of self, to always belong to the Jedi Order and the Republic, like a slave. You are denied personal possessions, nothing and nowhere to call truly your own, except of course the Jedi Temple. They deny you pride and glory in your achievements, always the recognition goes to the Jedi as you are forced to downplay your own worth. Ambition, a trait common to all races, something that has fueled countless civilizations, leaders, people, evolution itself, is suppressed..."
Siri pursed her lips. On some level, she did agree, that she always felt shoved and molded into the perfect little Jedi, on the other hand, she had been raised a Jedi, and even if she had fallen, even if she did agree to learn at the foot of a Sith in order to kill him, she would not suffer such a baseless attack on her Order! "Ambition leads to..."
"To what? Greed? Envy? Jealousy?" mused the Sith before scoffing, "True enough I suppose."
Siri couldn't help but gawk about how readily he admitted to it. She was under the impression he had been trying to turn her around to his way of thinking.
"But you ignore the other end of ambition. How would anyone have reached the stars if it were not for ambition? What about medical advances and the ambition of doctors? Engineers and scientists? Civilization does not advance without ambition, it stagnates," Of course then he went and did it anyway.
Siri opened her mouth in frustration, trying to counter, but nothing came out. She... couldn't find an argument that wasn't just rehashing what he had admitted to. There was good and bad to ambition... she could grudgingly admit it.
"There are two sides to every coin my apprentice," said the Sith, pausing his circling in-front of her, "For every decision, every action, there are 'rights' and 'wrongs' to it. Tell me, you believe killing is wrong, do you not?"
Not if you're the one being murdered...
"Yes," she said evenly.
"But consider this scenario: There is a terrorist with a rocket launcher aiming at a airbus full of children," said the Sith before slowly turning his yellow eyes to bore into Siri, "What do you do?"
"Stop him of course," said Siri.
"How?" questioned the Sith.
"Rip the launcher out of his hands with the Force or cut it in half," she said.
"Both are risky maneuvers," pointed out the Sith, "Why not just kill him and eliminate the risk? There's no guarantee the terrorist wouldn't get off a shot before you took the weapon, and slicing it in half may lead to a premature detonation and kill you. Would you truly be willing to risk the children's lives?"
Siri gave him an unimpressed look. "That question coming from a Sith leaves a lot to be desired considering you'd probably get a laugh out of the airbus blowing up."
The Sith stared at her silently for a minute, and Siri was half expecting lightning to start spraying out of his fingertips, instead, he let out a soft laugh. "You amuse me apprentice, you truly do. It would have been a shame had you forced me to break your mind, will, and spirit, I'd lose out on half the entertainment in training you."
Siri scowled at him. "Thanks."
The Sith sneered at her. "You are most welcome. Now, as for your baseless accusation. You may be surprised to find that you are quite wrong."
Oh boy, this ought to be good, how was he going to twist his words to say he would care if the children died?
"I would not honestly care if the airbus exploded," confessed the Sith, stumping Siri, "But I would only take delight in it if that was my goal, if there was a reason and purpose behind it."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"A Sith kills, and kills readily," admitted the Sith, "However, it is with purpose. Even the most basic reason, to kill to strengthen our connection to the Dark Side or fuel ourselves with power, is a purpose. Simply killing someone 'for the hell of it', is pointless and a waste. Even worse, it could backfire on us."
Siri's eyebrows furrowed.
"To use the earlier example, consider if I needed to move undetected, and an airbus was attacked, security would ramp up everywhere, thus forcing me to take extra precautions and waste time or risk exposure," explained the Sith, "Even worse, if I randomly went out 'slaughtering people' as the Jedi seem to think Sith were born to do, it would risk revealing myself, either through unseen witnesses, or through investigation. Each action has consequences, each kill must have a reason behind it."
The Sith tilted his head in thought before adding in as an afterthought, "Not to mention we could be killing off a potential resource years down the line I suppose. Wanton slaughter hasn't been a common thing for the Sith in over a thousand years. We have changed, we have evolved."
Siri stared at him silently, absorbing the information. It was awful, yes, just... not as baseless as she had been taught of the ancient Sith.
"Now, to return to the example," said the Sith, drawing back her attention, "If you had to choose between the lives of those on the airbus, or the terrorist's, whom would you choose?"
"I'd choose the airbus of course," she said, "I'd try to see if I could take the attacker alive, but if not, I would be prepared to kill him. All Jedi would."
The Sith's lips curled up into a sneer. "Even if taking the chance to try to spare the terrorist's life risked the destruction of the airbus?"
Siri hesitated for a second. "Like I said... if there was no other way, I'd kill him."
"You are missing the point," spat the Sith, "It is an unnecessary risk. It takes a split second to pull the trigger, and that split second you spent assessing the situation and then trying to figure a way to take him alive could give him that chance. There must be no hesitation on doing what needs to be done."
He drew closer, grabbing her hair and pulling her roughly up, a hiss escaping Siri's lips as he whispered into her ear, "Because that moment of hesitation can kill you."
He let go and fall back onto her knees, his voice ringing in disappointment. "You have so much to learn my apprentice, and so much to unlearn."
"Get up," he spat.
Siri did so.
"Follow," he ordered.
She followed behind him silently down a darkened hall and into a infirmary with a floating med-droid waiting for them. The Sith motioned to an examination table, and Siri hesitatingly laid down on it.
"My time with you is not infinite, you will remain here and recover your strength from your... initiation period," said the Sith tactfully.
Siri scowled at him. "I feel fine."
The Sith scoffed. "Coming from an acolyte still riding the high of their first willing taste of the Dark Side? The moment it fades, you will crash."
Siri glared at him, but decided not to say anything.
The med droid floated over and started hooking up an IV and nutrient drip into her as the Sith continued, "For now you will rest, when you wake, you will study."
Her eyebrows furrowed. "Study?"
"You have much to learn about the Sith; our language, our history, our purpose," said the Sith, "You will find new clothing, and your text to read, waiting for you upon awakening. Your first task will be to learn our language. By the end of the week, I expect you to be able to recite the Sith Code in Sith."
"And where will you be?" she cautiously asked.
The Sith eyed her, bemused. "Out."
Siri pursed her lips tightly, but didn't respond to the look.
The Sith turned to go before pausing. "As a warning. If you attempt to leave the building, it, and the entire sector it's in, is rigged to explode."
Siri immediately scowled.
"You will not be leaving until I decide you may," said the Sith possessively, "Get used to it."
The Sith moved to the door and paused one last time. "Dwell, my apprentice, on what we have discussed, and what you know of the Sith from your... 'Jedi history'. When I return, we will discuss more on where you have been... misled. You will come to find that many of the Jedi's perceptions of the Sith overemphasize or misrepresent what we are."
"Right," she drawled, "I'm sure Sith are all butterflies and rainbows."
She yelped when the Sith waved a hand and unleashed a small bolt of electricity at her. "Your tongue is amusing only up until a point my apprentice, be mindful of when you choose to use it."
With that, the Sith left. Siri laid there for a time, stewing and fuming at the Sith and the situation she was stuck in until her frustration and anger were spent. Almost immediately the room spun and blurred.
"Oh...," she murmured faintly, "He was right... I feel like crap..."
She had a few more seconds before her head lolled to the side and she passed out.
Sidious scoffed, slowly shaking his head at the sight as he watched his apprentice pass out down below through the tinted observational glass.
"Agreed," came the scornful voice of his master, Darth Plagueis as he stepped out of the shadows, "This fallen Jedi padawan is supposed to replace the tool you were going to train? I hold my doubts."
Sidious said nothing.
"I'm still baffled as to how she bested Maul," spat out Plagueis, "All those years waiting and preparing for him, only for him to be thrown away before he could be of true use."
"He let his arrogance blind him," mused Sidious, "He killed the master, a high council-member even, and then threw away his victory. If he had flat out just killed the Jedi instead of poking, prodding, and driving her into her fall, he would still be alive. He awakened a darkness he could not handle."
Plagueis moved to stand next to him, staring down at the teen, eyes narrowing, senses reaching. "She has some potential, but not enough to have beaten Maul. She seems barely worth the effort."
Sidious did not correct him, he did not want to. It would reveal his hand far to early. "Perhaps, but, it is only fitting for her to replace the tool she broke."
"I suppose, but speaking of breaking," said Plagueis, turning to glare at Sidious, "You did not break her mind and bend her to your will. She will never be loyal, as Maul was raised to be. So why?"
Ah, that was the question, wasn't it? "She amuses me. She is also practice for converting potential future... allies. You did mention that Master Dooku might have future use."
Plagueis nodded, taking the bait ever so carefully dangled, and shifted subjects. "Indeed. After Galidraan his faith in the Jedi has been steadily declining. I feel it may still be some time before he can be of proper... use. I suggest you keep cultivating your acquaintanceship with him."
"Of course," answered Sidious before musing, "It's a shame Master Jinn wasn't killed on the assignment, his death could have proved more useful that Gallia's. It could have driven Dooku fully from the Order."
"Indeed," said Plagueis before cautioning, "But Jinn's death, when it happens, must be handled carefully. If he is to die before the Grand Plan is enacted, it must be because of a 'mistake' or a 'mishandling' of the Jedi Council or the Republic."
Sidious nodded. "Agreed."
There was a small beep of a comlink, causing Plagueis to pull one out of his robe, look at it, and scowl. "The demands for Hego Damask never fade."
Plagueis turned and started to leave, pausing briefly at the door. "Continue it's training, keep me appraised of the tool's progress and when it can be of use."
"As you wish Master," said Sidious, concealing his contempt for the Muun.
With that, Plagueis left.
Sidious turned his gaze back to his sleeping apprentice down below. "Plageuis, you fool. You do not know her potential because you were not there to see it unleashed. You foolishly choose to see only skin deep. The darkness she bears now is merely a harbinger of what lays sleeping underneath."
And how glorious it had been to feel it unleashed, and to feel it again yesterday. She had such potential, he did not think as much as his own, but close enough to be a true threat when it came time for the apprentice to challenge the master in a good three to fives decades or so of proper training.
He frowned. "It would have been such a waste if I had passed up on you and let the Jedi flounder your potential."
For even now that the moment had come and gone, dwelling on it he had come to realize just how narrow the window of opportunity had been with Siri Tachi. From what he had uncovered, she had been a firm Jedi Padawan before her last mission, and most likely would have been after. But something during that small timeframe had deeply shaken her control over herself. He held no doubts that if he hadn't sent Maul, or even if he had waited to collect Siri until later after the Jedi reclaimed her in her fallen state, he would have lost his chance to properly convert her. He could have taken and broken her in later, if the Jedi had ever let her out of the temple again that is, but it wouldn't have been the same.
There was a very key difference between forcing someone into the Dark Side, and someone choosing it willingly. The paltry excuse of torture he had put her through, and she had no true idea of what he was really capable of inflicting on her yet, had been merely to force her to make up her mind and choose. Breaking her and forcing into the Dark Side instead of letting her choose it would never have released her true potential.
If she had refused, he would have killed her rather than waste his time on creating an imperfect replica of Maul. But she hadn't refused, she had submitted, had turned. She had no clue, no idea, the magnitude of what she was to become. To become a true Sith Apprentice, and eventual Dark Lord of the Sith, if she didn't screw it up and get herself killed, was a glory unlike any other.
A glory he planned claiming for himself within the next decade or so.
Though that brought up a point he needed to contemplate. Plagueis was making a very costly mistake with him that Sidious clearly saw, he was teaching him to much. He was running out of uses for his Master. While he could grudgingly admit he didn't think he would become as close to as skilled as Plagueis was with Midiclorian Manipulation, he saw no reason to keep the Muun alive for that reason alone. He would find other ways to live forever, especially without being under the Muun's boot.
It's not to say he was against the Rule of Two, and especially not in the way Plagueis was. If he could circumvent his own death and rule the galaxy forever, he readily would. But if a truly worthy apprentice managed to usurp him, well, they would be his legacy. But they would not gain power in the foolish method Plagueis had allowed him to. No, if they wanted knowledge beyond the basics of the Dark Side and the beginnings of the Sith, they would either earn the lesson, steal the knowledge of it, find it on their own, or secretly observe and learn it from their Master.
He would most certainly not give free access to Sith Holocrons unless she earned the right to them. He was still honestly baffled how Plagueis was so foolish to have done that with him...
A Sith did not share power.
He rubbed his chin, staring down at the apprentice. He contemplated ways to train her. He had 'some' practicing in that regard with Maul. Though, much of it had been to prod and condition Maul for the Dark Side along with teaching history in the boy's youth before he had sent Maul off to the Orsis Academy for his assassin training. The fool had died to early to even be inducted into the Sith Order and begin his proper training. Thus, this would be Sidious's first true attempt at training an apprentice. While he would not slowly give her power in the manner Plagueis had given him, some of the Muun's early methods of training might have use. Then again, Sidious knew that he had been a much different person than his apprentice was when they both were taken as apprentices. It was something he would have to think on during the week his presence was required back on Naboo.
He knew he did not want to break her personality, nor her will. Inflame certain traits, plant new ones, and weaken or remove others yes, but break? No. While he could admit that he himself was a masterpiece, more by his own design than Plagueis's, he felt he could have become something more without the breaking and remaking of himself as the Sith he was today. He could faintly remember honestly enjoying racing in his youth, though such a frivolous hobby had long since been stripped from him. It wasn't an honestly major loss, he did not care, but it should have been his choice rather than his Master's.
He shook his head and banished the thought. He turned away from the observational glass and left the room, a dark scowl slowly spreading across his face. Plagueis was correct on one thing though. Maul had been eliminated before he could be of true use, and his new apprentice he doubted would be ready or trusted to be of use for another few years. He did not imagine fully converting her would be done anytime soon. Turning her away from the Jedi's teachings? He had already begun. Making her truly dark rather than just fallen? She was on her way already. But making her embrace the Sith? That would take years to properly do.
He doubted he would allow her unsupervised out of this complex for two or three years, minimum. From the reports he had received from the Orsis Academy, Maul on the other hand would have been ready as an assassin in a few months after the Gora. He had even planned on having Maul go back and wipe out the Academy after a few years on the field to tidy up loose ends. Now Sidious would either have to do that himself, risk keeping it alive, or send his apprentice after it in the future. He did not have years to wait converting Tachi, and then another five or so ontop of it for her to go through the academy herself.
Maul's early death was a setback, for a huge potential future gain. It made the immediate a problem, there were many upcoming or unknown issues and tasks he could have used Maul for that he would either have to do himself, hire someone to do, or pass up on. But he was patient. His apprentice would have great use in the future, and how he would enjoy using her to his full advantage. That was however yet to come.
For now, his apprentice's conversion had begun.
Notes:
I'm using Wookieepedia to try and make up for books I lack to draw information from (which is all V_V). Some of the timeline information I have for Maul's training at Orsis seems a bit confusing/conflicting (Such as the Massacre at Orsis being timed as 39 BBY or 37 BBY depending on what page you read and not even mentioned on Maul's legends page), so I went with what time was more convenient for the story.
Just as an FYI incase I write something that ya'll have knowledge of that seems off.
Chapter 5: Into the Dark (Part Two)
Notes:
Author's Note: I'm using an online Sith language translator, so if it's wrong, sue them not me. ^_^ (And if you have a really good translator, let me know)
Chapter Text
Siri awoke to a beeping sound, and nearly jumped when she registered light above her eyes, it took her a moment to remember. "Oh right, out of the cell."
And starting her training as the Sith's apprentice. "...joy..."
She sighed and sat up, stretching briefly. Her stomach rumbled at her almost immediately. The IV and nutrient drip helped overnight, but didn't fix the lack of food.
The med droid from last night floated over and spoke in a baritone voice. "Master Sidious has left you a change of clothes and a book for your studies. You will shower, and change. You will be brought food. Afterwords you are to study. If your focus wanes, there is a training room you may use. This process will repeat until the Master returns."
Siri's eyebrows furrowed. Sidious...? Oh... was that the Sith's name? She couldn't honestly remember if he had told her or not.
"Do you understand?" questioned the droid.
Siri nodded. "Yeah, sure"
She was more than ready to change. Her current clothes were a bit... torched... from all the lightning, not to mention not being changed out of or washed for however long she was in that cell for. On that note, showering would be nice to...
...and then the beginnings of her good mood soured the moment the droid handed her the clothes. "This?"
"Shower, change, eat, study," said the droid, either not recognizing or not caring about her tone.
She scowled and held up the pitch black clothing. "Great..."
She followed the droid out of the room and down a hall to another room. "This will be your quarters."
"And I thought a Jedi's quarters were barren," she murmured, glancing around at the single bed, a connected bathroom, a desk, and a single dresser filled with, lo and behold, more pitch black clothes.
Siri had half expected it to be a sonic shower, she was thankful it turned out to be water. She took her time showering, enjoying the sensation of warm water on her skin. She finished only when the rumbling of her stomach forced her to leave. She grudgingly put on the new clothes and looked at herself in the mirror.
Her face fell on just how dark it made her look. No Jedi would wear something like this...
Then her anger grew at the sight of her depressed face and she glared at herself. "Oh get over it Siri! It's just... it's just a piece of clothing, it means nothing!"
"It doesn't... mean anything," she whispered quietly, her rage fading, as she turned away from the mirror sullenly.
When she exited her room, the med droid was gone, but there was a plate of food along, a glass of water, and a thick black and red covered book waiting on her desk. She couldn't help but shiver as she drew near to it. She could feel the Dark Side imbued into the object. It whispered to her, called to her, beckoned for her touch. She had willingly used the dark side, but that wasn't close to enough to stop a chill from running down her spine as she sat down at the desk in front of the book.
"I... I shouldn't be reading this," she whispered fearfully to herself as she shakily stretched a hand to touch the cover, fingers brushing blood red hieroglyphs.
She suckered in a breath at the touch, feeling dark energy enter into her hands, pleasure starting to spread, encouraging and begging for her to open it. She pushed aside the food and slowly opened the cover and came to the first page... which was full of flimsiplast with scribbles and notes all over them. What struck her first, before even really reading any of them, was the vast amount of different handwriting as she began to spread the notes around.
"How many... how many Sith was this... passed down through... how many touched it?" she couldn't help but wonder nervously.
She began glancing over the notes, translations, meanings, and pronunciations for different hieroglyphs. Her throat felt dry, and her nerves fried, as her eyes washed over differing dark symbols. Yet... at the same time... deep down, she felt an odd eagerness. This was something no Jedi Padawan, heck, she doubted most Knights or Masters would ever learn how to decipher this dark language. It was forbidden knowledge, and that, was enticing.
She poured over the notes until she had a loose alphabet in her mind. She glanced at the first line of the book and attempted to sound it out.
"K... kia... Ed... ed... Edoui... ku... kuris... Hyal... T...tave Za... Zar... chas... Khu... trai iv... Tave... Tsis...," she stuttered.
She wiggled her nose in irritation, it was hard to sound it out. She loosely translated the line she was trying to read as 'To those who crave the ancient language of the Sith'.
She rubbed her forehead and sighed despite her growing eagerness. "This is going to be a long process..."
A few hours later, Siri managed to drag herself out of the book and set it down. She leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling silently. She could hardly close her eyes without blood red or black symbols burning through her eyelids. She opened her eyes and stared down at the book, the table, and then at the plate of food that had definitely gone cold by now. She scowled to herself, tempting book aside, cold food sucked. Should have ate it earlier. Ah well...
She forced herself to eat it before pushing away from the table. It hadn't been a lot, but she distinctly recalled training as an early padawan that if you had been starved for awhile, eating large amounts of food was dangerous. Couldn't remember why, but she knew it was a piece of information she shouldn't forget. She took the plate down the hall and to back to the infirmary, looking for the med droid.
"Umm, where do I drop off dishes?" she asked.
It might be the house of a Sith, but even she had some basic manners she wouldn't throw away out of spite.
The droid floated over, grabbed the plate and glass, and made for the door without a word.
"Someones a sunshinny droid," muttered Siri, "Hey, where's the training room?"
"Follow," said the droid,
The droid a ways down the hall and into a large room. It was vaugly familiar, not in the matter that she had never been here, but that the Jedi Temple had rooms similar to this one. Large barren areas, racks of training weaponry. Though, the lack of training matts to stop someone from breaking or spraining something if they hit the ground hard was a little ruffling. Well, what did she expect? She doubted the Sith went easy. She was curious to note that the training weapons were far more than simple training-sabers. There were swords, staves, and various other melee weapons.
"Guess the Sith prepare themselves to use whatever weapon is available," she mused, walking over to the nearest rack.
She'd consider other weapons later, right now, she just wanted the feel of a lightsaber in her hand, the calm of a kata. She had the most experience with Ataru, and boy did she kick butt with it back during her initiate days. Master Gallia had been trying to drill Form V, Shien specifically rather than Djem So, into her head, but that had been a work in progress. Her face fell briefly at the thought of her dead master, but she shook it off and started up. She scowled to see a red blade ignite from the practice-lightsaber, a soft whimper in the force from it's broken crystal. She wanted to hiss and drop the blade at that. She had heard of this, to 'bleed' a Kyber crystal, it was the only way dark side users could properly use natural crystals. Disgusting...
She sighed and started a basic kata... only to almost find herself face first on the floor after a stumbled acrobatic flip. She blinked a few times, confused, before trying again, paying attention this time. She was unbalanced. The normal focused calm wasn't there. She bristled, could she not even do a normal kata now? Did she have to relearn everything? She bit into her anger, drawing it out again, feeling the Dark Side settled into her limps, power enveloping her. She blew into a viscous kata, the red lightsaber ripping through the air in stabs and slashes. She vaulted overhead of an imaginary enemy, her lightsaber decapitating it in her mind with twirl before she landed.
"There we go," she said, a grin on her face.
She had always enjoyed training, but there was something... different... about it now. She found it thrilling, as much as the masters would rebuke padawans and initiates over it. Fighting was not a 'game', it wasn't supposed to be for fun or for thrills, it was a last resort to end dangerous situations. Now? She didn't have to hide how much she loved the feel of a saber in her hands, watching the lights bleed through the air as she swung it about. She could preform diplomacy, but in combat was where she had always wanted to be, showing the strength of the Jedi, feeling the adrenaline pumping through her veins.
She didn't know how long she stayed in there, lost in practicing and getting used to using the Dark Side consciously in combat. One minute she was there, the next she came to in the infirmary again.
"Wha...t?" she croaked out.
"You are still recovering," chided the med droid, floating over to her, "Limit your hours spent training until your body can handle it. Half a day is unnecessary at this point."
"Oh... oops," she murmured, wow... she had really lost track of time.
"Return to your room, eat, and sleep," ordered the droid.
"Yes sir," she muttered, getting up tiredly and leaving the room.
She found a small plate of food waiting for her, ate it, eyed the book and scattered notes briefly, before deciding they could wait for another day. She flopped on her bed, and was out like a light...
The rest of the week passed in similar fashion, minus collapsing out of exhaustion. She wasn't exactly fluent with Sith with only a week's worth of practice... well... considerably less since she spent a lot of time training, but she remembered what Sidious had demanded of her. So when he walked in on her and unmasked his presence in the training room, she was ready and well practiced for those few lines.
"What is the code of the Sith?" demanded Sidious without even a greeting.
Siri paused mid-swing of her lightsaber. "Nwűl buti zo tash, ilsir tik shâsot."
Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
She could see a a curled, pleased smile slowly start to spread across his lips.
"Pro shâsot, Nu gauti tyűk," she continued.
Through passion, I gain strength.
She recited the third line, "Pro tyűk, Nu gauti midwan."
Through strength, I gain power.
The fourth. "Pro midwan, Nu gauti pergaleas."
Through power, I gain victory.
"Pro pergaleas, nuyak itsu buti kots," she continued.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
"Akuyi sekleti won nun," she finished.
The Force shall free me.
Sidious slowly nodded. "Your pronunciations requires work, but, you take to the Sith tongue quite well. I am pleased you decided to curb your foolish defiance."
Siri deactivated her practice-lightsaber and scowled at him. "Learning this could be useful, it's not like I could learn this at the Temple or anywhere else."
A malicious smile spread across Sidious's face. "You are quite right. The Jedi would have hidden this knowledge from you. There is so much they would keep from you."
She frowned, but did not respond. It was true, in a sense, but she figured a need to know basis kind of took precedent with the Jedi. She didn't hold it against them... well... mostly.
When she didn't answer his bait, he didn't seem irritated, he instead moved on, glancing down at the lightsaber in her hand. "Tell me, my apprentice, which form do you prefer?"
"Ataru," she said, shifting into an opening stance, "I have some training with Shien."
"Then both are barred from your training for the time being," the Sith replied.
Siri gawked. "Excuse me?"
Sidious seemed amused. "I did not think you were deaf my apprentice."
"Why are they banned?" she asked, incredulous, "They're what I'm good at!"
"And while you are 'good' at those forms, which is questionable measure from one who is but an apprentice, you lack in other areas," explained Sidious, "Specialize in one form if you must, but a Sith must be a master in all forms."
Siri scoffed. "And you are?"
"As a matter of fact...," said Sidious, his wrist snapping forward and a lightsaber flying from a rack to his hand as he launched himself at her.
Siri barely had a chance to bring up her saber to block. "What kind of warning is that?!"
Sidious didn't answer, instead, he proceeded to demolish Siri in a few strokes of his saber, both disarming her and leaving a burn down her right arm through her tunic.
She hissed and stepped back, clutching her arm to her chest.
"In case you were not paying attention," said Sidious, "That was a basic disarming slash, a classic of Shii-Cho. The first of the lightsaber forms to be crafted, back when the wielders of the Force were beginning to shift away from swords to early lightsabers. It is considered to be wild, raw..."
"I know!" she spat out with frustration, clenching and unclenching her fist, "I'm not some five year old initiate! Master Drallig hammered them into my head enough times as it is!"
Sidious pointed a warning finger at her. "Be mindful of your tongue my apprentice. You doubted my skill and knowledge, I decided to show you. Now pick up the lightsaber, I have another six forms to best you with."
Siri felt uneasy, sensing nothing but truth and dark amusement from the man, she simply said. "I'll take your word for it."
"That was not a request," he said with barely concealed sadistic glee.
Sidious shifted his hilt, holding it downward and away from his body at an angle. "The Contention Form, Makashi."
In an elegant twirl he was spinning and striking out at her coming from different angles so fast all she could down was backpeddle and swing her lightsaber wildly to try and block, all the while he was speaking in a mocking tone, "Elegance and precision, not a single strike wasted, not a single action unwarranted. It is the most efficient form for lightsaber combat, though it has a weakness when facing overwhelming force when you have little time to consider precision when merely trying to stay alive. It will also not save you from a blaster bolt through your head, it is ill suited for combating ranged weaponry."
With a curved slash, he deceived her block and completely skipped over her lightsaber. He slashed her wrist, the training saber leaving an angry red welt as she hissed and dropped her saber again. She glared furiously at him, summoned her lightsaber to her hand, and charged at him recklessly.
Sidious smoothly transitioned to the defensive, parrying aside slashes, sidestepping jabs, springing away from heavy strikes, rolling away from leaping strikes. "Soresu, form III. Original developed to make up for Makashi's weakness to blasters. A true master of Soresu will never fall to anything less than a thousand strong firing at once, and even then... I hold doubts. The form can be adapted to defend against lightsabers, and can excel in a long, drawn out battle. However, it relies on outlasting your opponent, or waiting for them to slip up, and even beyond that, those who cannot truly master the form will find themselves trapped on the defense, never able to do what must be done to win. It is a form that requires extreme patience, it is not commonly used by the Sith, however, it was used by the first apprentice of the Line of Bane to such effect, she might have outdone even I with it in her prime."
Siri swung a heavy overhead strike at Sidious, who merely sidestepped and clipped his lightsaber into the side of her left thigh. She stumbled at the blaze of pain and fell to a knee.
"Ataru," continued Sidious, leaping over Siri and then turning to strike down at her, forcing her to roll on her injured thigh away from it, but paused when she did not manage to rise right away, "An aggressive acrobatic form. Not generally useful against multiple opponents unless you can kill them quickly enough. It is one of the most physically taxing forms to use, and as such, will wear down it's user if they do not win whatever fight they find themselves in quickly. Most users of it have to supplement their endurance with the Force in addition to assisting their acrobatics. Despite it's downsides, a true master of Ataru will be an unrelenting force that cannot be locked down nor pushed aside. I would show you, but you seem to still be on the ground."
Siri staggered to her feet, one hand clutching the burn on her thigh, the other summoning her practice-saber, glaring at Sidious. "In-case you didn't know, lightsaber burns hurt!"
Sidious slowly shook his head. "You let pain cripple you when it should empower you. Do not flinch from it, draw on it, feed off it, let it invigorate you. Pain lets you know you are still alive, so thrive off of it."
Siri hesitated, uncertainty on her face, not knowing if this was some sick joke or not, but slowly stopped trying to block the pain out. She ground her teeth as the burns along her arm, wrist, and leg surged through her. She was taken by surprise when the Dark Side fluctuated, devouring the pain, turning it into anger, at Sidious for harming her, and at herself for being weak. She stared down at her burnt wrist, marveling how turning it and sending another spike of pain through her caused her to gain strength.
"What is this...?" she whispered in disbelief.
"The power of the Dark Side," answered Sidious, "A power you have only just begun to untap, my young apprentice."
She glanced back up as he began to approach. "Form V is unique in that it has two distinct rather customizable disciplines of combat; Shien and Djem So."
He shifted into a high guard position, prompting her to attack. "Shien is the more defensive of the two, though not as much as Soresu. It excels against multiple opponents..."
"...but lacks against single opponents," completed Siri, make a few swift rapid jabs.
Considering the skill difference, he blocked them easily enough, and nodded. "Correct. It is exceptionally weak in this regard, but, would carry you through an open battlefield, maintaining both offensive and defensive measures."
Without warning he shifted into a heavy overhead attack, smashing her lightsaber out of the way and searing her other arm, electing a startled scream out of her before he booted her to the ground. "Djem So is a form long favored by the Sith, second only to Juyo. Pure raw power to overwhelm your foes, though not blindly. It maintains defense only as a basis to launch into a counter attack and then dominate the offensive. Most practitioners of it focus the Force into imbuing physical strength into their moves. Against a true master of Djem So, few can survive it's overwhelming assault."
He allowed her to reclaim her lightsaber, but made no motion to continue attacking. "This style is unique in that true masters of Form V as a whole are exceptionally deadly, able to transition between Shien and Djem So with deceptive ease. It is highly customizable to the individual who uses it when taking into size, stature, and species. There have been many masters of the form who have bled other styles into it to create their own unique variants."
A plain, almost masked look crossed his face. "Form VI is what I would consider my own personal weakest form in regards to lightsaber combat. Not for lack of skill mind you, but lack of the form having use by a true master such as myself. Niman is the most balanced lightsaber form, excelling at nothing, but not being weak against anything either. It combines basic moves and styles from the other forms together to grant it a basis to cover all situations. However, when one is a Master at all other forms, its uses wanes, save to deceive your opponent into underestimating you. Though, out of all forms, it does have one unique advantage in that it encourages alternative uses of the Force mid-combat rather than just to amplify your physical ability. Pushing, pulling, throwing objects at your opponent, and more... creative uses of the Dark Side you have yet to come to know. A Sith who employs Niman may find more opportunities to use their abilities than others."
"Like your lightning?" she warily asked.
Sidious nodded. "Correct. Though for me, shifting between direct combat and Force Lightning is hardly unique to just this style."
She found it curious he did not specifically show her the basics of this style. Not to mention... admitting it as a weakness? That seemed... not like something a darksider would do. She also couldn't get a feel from him for a moment. It was almost as if... he were lying? Theoretically... if one mastered every lightsaber form, wouldn't Niman, a form that incorporated all styles, be exceptionally deadly and unpredictable? Especially when weaving in Force abilities?
He gave her little time to contemplate it, for she felt the Dark Side swell around him as he spoke one word, "Juyo..."
With nothing short of an inhuman roar, he leapt and spun through the air and landed right in front of her. She froze up, lightsaber wavering, fear rippling through her, not a clue where he was going to strike. Rather simply, he ran her through, or as much as he could with a training saber. She cried out, dropped her lightsaber, and clutched her stomach, a searing pain spiking through her.
"Perhaps the most viscous lightsaber form," mused Sidious, slowly stalking around Siri, "Erratic, unpredictable attacks and maneuvers that leaves your opponent unbalanced. Chaos is a trait common to this form, for that is all it leaves in it's furious wake. It is an offensive form, exceptionally difficult to master, and is only surpassed in it's physical demands by Ataru. It is in a way the opposite of Soresu by sacrificing everything for to your offense. If forced onto the defensive, a practitioner of Juyo is left in an unfavorable position that must be remedied swiftly. The fury it embodies makes It is the most favored style used by the Sith, both in the Line of Bane, and prior to it with various Sith Empires and sects."
"It was the form Maul used to kill your former master," added in Sidious as a taunt, "You'd do well to learn it as your starting form as my apprentice.
Siri stiffed, shoving off the pain and standing straight up. "I will never use that form."
Sidious stared at her, bafflement spilling across his face. "Why?"
"I refuse to use the form used by that beast," she spat out with such hate the racks of training weapons along the outskirts of the room began to rattle and tip over as the Force trembled around her.
Sidious drew in a small breath, a pleased look crossing his face. "Your hate is an impressive thing my apprentice."
He studied her for a moment. "It is a limitation, and a weakness you choose for yourself by doing so. Considering however its lack of practitioners against the Jedi, you won't find many who use it. However, if you ever wish to best me, you will need to understand it, even if you choose not to wield it."
He chuckled. "Not that a lightsaber honestly matters for me, it is more of a Jedi's weapon than mine."
"Why not? You just spent this last half an hour showing off," she jabbed.
He barred his teeth. "Allow me to let you in on a little secret, my apprentice. If I am using my lightsaber against you, you either somehow caught me offguard and forced me to, or I am mocking you."
He clenched his fist, and with a strangled cry, Siri rose into the air. Darkness wrapped around her ever sense, immense pressure forcing her throat closed. She clawed at her neck, trying to breath. Sidious waved a hand, and Siri flew across the room, slamming into the far wall. He yanked back and she flew forward, landing at his feet face first. The pressure on her throat ease away, only for lightning to roll over her body as it ripped from his hands.
He spoke casually as she writhed and screamed in agony. "The Dark Side is the only power I require, and there are none greater than I that wield it."
The lightning faded a moment later, leaving Siri involuntarily twitching on the ground. Pain, to much pain, it overloaded her, she couldn't convert it into strength. Black spots danced across her vision, consciousness slowly fading...
...until a touch stole it all away. She shivered as her pain was siphoned off, shivered again as Sidious raked a hand possessively through her hair. "My young, foolish apprentice, you still have so much to learn, and we are not yet done today. Rise."
Siri slowly pushed herself up, and stared at Sidious in open awe and fear. It truly hit her, just what was standing before her, what she was up against. He... he was so powerful... it was insane. He was a master of every lightsaber form, but his strength in the Force made him consider it a mockery to even draw his lightsaber? The dark presence seeping off of him was oppressive. Who even knew what else the Sith had up his sleeves... how was she ever supposed to beat this monster?
"Now then, since form IV and V are barred from you, and you refrain from form VII, which form will you choose to learn as your first as my apprentice?" questioned Sidious.
Siri said nothing for a moment, still locked up in her fear, before she got a stranglehold on it. What did she honestly expect? He was a Sith Lord, she was an apprentice, she was decades away from being strong enough to kill him. She... she was in this for the long haul. But... that was fine, she'd learn everything she could from him, and then... one day...
She pursed her lips, thinking on his question. If he considered lightsaber combat a mockery, no form would honestly work against him. Not unless he got arrogant. If he did, she'd need to capitalize instantly, and could not afford to miss. Her timing needed to be precise, and she needed to be able to excel against all other lightsaber forms...
"Makashi," she said.
There was something... calculating in his gaze as he stared at her. "Interesting."
He began circling her. "Not a form I would think a neophyte of the Dark Side to choose, or to be able to learn. It requires immense physical control, fluidity, precision, grace, and footwork. Unlike Juyo, which I think you would have excelled at, you must maintain full emotional control to master the form, knowing exactly when to use them for strength. None of this have I seen of you yet."
"You wanted me out of my comfort zone," she said with a shrug.
Sidious slowly came to a stop infront of her, and half turned. "So be it."
Her lightsaber levitated off the ground and spun until the pommel pointed to her. "Take it."
She reached and grabbed it, igniting the blade, and waited.
"Watch closely my apprentice," said Sidious, "Hold the blade down to the side at an angle, feet shoulder width apart, thumb pointing down the length of the blade rather than grasped in a fist."
Siri frowned. "Doesn't Makashi start with a salute or something?"
Sidious scowled. "If I ever see you waste time starting with the Makashi salute I will leave you on the ground writhing in agony. Using the salute warns your enemy of which style you are using, and gives them time to prepare or adjust."
"Now pay attention," said Sidious, "There are many parts to the style. The Makashi flourish. The Sun Djem, disarming your opponent, and the Shiak, the thrust to end it. The harsh counter, the 'Makashi riposte'. Recognizing when to strike, the 'contentious opportunity', and how to create such moments with feints."
Siri steeled herself as Sidious lips curled into a cruel smile and stalked forward. "I will show you all of these, my young apprentice, I do so hope you are ready to learn..."
Chapter Text
Sloppy. Unrefined. Undisciplined. Pathetic. Embarrassing. Disappointing.
By Darth Bane's name, had he been like this when he started out as an apprentice? He better not have been.
The thoughts trickled down Sidious's mind as he dragged his unconscious apprentice through the halls with the Force. He was already missing Maul. Oh he had so much work to do. She had all that potential, and barely a clue how to bring any of it out. She could hardly use the Dark Side for anything but base actions. Feeding off pain and anger was something any neophyte of the Dark Side could do. To turn that power into something refined? She was far from it. Her blasted Jedi training was interfering, he could feel it, that sickening light that was still far to bright. It had shrunk ever so slightly over the week he had been away, but not nearly enough, not like it had in her cell. She wanted the power to kill him, it was no secret, and something he would encourage, but it was like a forbidden fruit. She wanted it, she knew she wanted it, had probably said outloud to herself that she wanted it, but could only nibble on the fruit, restraining herself.
He slowly shook his head. He didn't know why he was surprised, or irritated. It was to be expected. This... transitional period... was not typical for most fallen Jedi. At least not since the great Sith Empires of the past existed. Fallen, 'taken in' by a Sith, delving into the Dark Side for the express purpose of killing the Sith who claimed them, slowly being tempted and turned more and more by the power. Most fallen Jedi in this day and age simply rushed in headfirst and embraced the Dark Side. There had been one not to long ago, what was his name again, Xana-something? The gnat's name didn't really matter.
The situation did.
His apprentice was unbalanced, unable to properly give herself over to the Dark Side, but because she had fallen, she had no grasp of the light and could not even be considered properly 'grey'. She had no even footing in the Force, and it bled out visibly. Her first attempts at Makashi were pitiful and counterproductive. If she had given herself over to Juyo, to encourage her to use ferocity and anger into her fighting style, it would quicken her descent. But no, she had chosen a form that required heavy control over herself. The form was of course not without merits. So few Jedi practiced Makashi, or even knew how to properly fight it. She would easily slaughter almost any Jedi she fought, which was why he allowed it. Only Dooku was a true master of the form, Sidious grudgingly admitted Dooku was probably better with it than he was, not that it would save him in an actual confrontation with the Sith Lord. Regardless, it was yet again a long term investment VS a short term problem.
He had the annoying feeling that that issue would crop up a lot with his apprentice.
Sidious reached his apprentice's room and not-so-gracefully levitated her above her bed and then dumped her on it. He leaned against a nearby wall, staring silently at her unconscious form. He pondered, for the briefest of moments, if she was honestly worth the effort. His greatest 'fear' was that the Jedi training would always hold her back, preventing her from being a true Sith. Wasting years trying to train an apprentice only for the effort to fail was a danger that had plagued the Line of Bane since it's inception. Even the first master and apprentice, Bane and Zannah, had that issue. Bane had went in search of immortality because he feared his apprentice had become unworthy, waiting for Bane to weaken with old age. Of course that problem had sorted itself out, but, it was a doubt that plagued each successive Sith Master to come. It was a doubt that was making him second guess his choice in her.
Slowly, he stalked forward until he reached the side of her bed, he reached forward and raked a hand possessively through her hair, dark energy swelling around him. "You have the potential, but are you worthy, my apprentice?"
He would not waste his time, the Dark Side would show him the answer. He dove into it's depths, trying to pry the secrets of his apprentice's future...
She had grown into a powerful woman, still bearing the robes of a Sith Apprentice. She discarded her cloak, drew her lightsaber, and activated it, a blood red igniting from both ends, a contemptible sneer on her face. His apprentice dueled a pair of Jedi in the Theed Palace in Naboo. Her blade spun defensively back and forth, forming an impressive wall of defense the Jedi could not penetrate as she lured them deeper into the complex. Yet despite the intent of the duel, her eyes, her blue eyes, seemed troubled, and not the Sithly yellow they should be...
Sidious frowned, thoughtful. He recognized this, from the vision he had of Maul, the moment the Sith announced themselves to the Jedi. He was curious how her form would switch from a single saber Makashi to a double-bladed Soresu, but dismissed it. This was good, that she would challenge the Jedi, yet, those eyes were not that of a Sith. Did she simply become a replacement tool for Maul? He scowled intently, unsatisfied, and dove back into the Dark Side. He demanded of it, 'Show me my Apprentice, show me my Sith', 'show me a Sith worthy of contending for the mantle of the Dark Lord of the Sith'...
Sidious saw himself dueling Master Yoda in the senate building, throwing the repulsorpods at the little green troll. The two of them ended the confrontation in a massive struggle of Force energy, lightning exploding between them. Yoda crashed to the far bottom of the chamber as Sidious cackled with laughter, pulling himself up to a pod. He stared down at the troll mockingly, the Jedi had failed. He was still alive, victory was his!
"Celebrating already Master?" came a cold voice.
Sidious froze and slowly turned, sighting his apprentice walking out onto a repulsorpod behind him, purple saberstaff activating, deadly intent in her blue eyes.
Sidious sneered at her, levitating his own lightsaber back into his hands, his voice mocking, "If it isn't my blue-eyed apprentice. Come to attempt what the Jedi failed to do? You must know your no match for me, Tachi."
Siri's lips peeled pack into her own sneer as the temperature in the room plummeted, and the repulsorpods began to shake. "Siri Tachi isn't here right now."
Sidious let a small gasp of surprise escape his lips as the Dark Side howled around the young woman, yet he was not fearful, no, he was delighted. "At last. You've returned to me my apprentice, welcome back Darth..."
He didn't get another word out as she leaped through the air, an inhuman dark roar escaping her lips, intensely yellow Sith eyes blazing as she brought her lightsaber down upon his...
Dark elation and satisfaction rippled out of Sidious. "Good, good. Clever too, waiting for my to expend myself against Yoda."
He was more than curious about how he came to be dueling that little troll in the senate chamber, but he'd allow time to reveal that mystery to him. Yet... something about his word choice in the vision troubled him. Come back to him? What exactly did that mean...
He had little time to dwell on the thought as the Dark Side gripped him, taking him by surprise as it dragged him down into another vision, this time not by his own desire...
A cloaked Sith Master strode through the ancient ruins of Korriban, a little brown haired girl fearfully following behind her. "D-do we h-have to c-come here? It's s-scary..."
The Sith Master paused, and then spoke, Sidious recognized the voice of his apprentice. "The dark is nothing to fear Leia."
"B-but...," began the little girl.
His apprentice cut her off. "You said you wanted the power to take revenge, did you not, my apprentice? You can't take it if you stand there trembling like a coward."
Leia froze up for a moment before anger and rage so unusual for one so young played across her face. "I will! I will take revenge! I'll kill that decrepit old bastard for what he did to my family!"
"Then come," said the Sith Master, continuing her path into the dark ruins.
Leia's head briefly turned back the way she came, towards the light and a ship that could take her off the planet, before she turned back and followed her Master into the darkness...
The Dark Side let Sidious go, a pleasured purr of satisfaction in his ear. Sidious pulled his hand out of his apprentice's hair, satisfied as well. The Line of Bane would continue. While he was somewhat disappointed he would perish, it was how it had been for the last thousand years. Oh he had no plans of going easy on his apprentice, in fact, he would be a fool to allow her the chance to fight him after he had wasted energy fighting Yoda. The future was always in motion after all. He briefly paused on the hazy image of his... what would the term be? Grand-apprentice? It wasn't something Sith generally had the chance to think about, it was more a Jedi thing to actually interact with their legacy lines. He wondered who could inspire such rage in so young a girl, he did not envy whoever it was, the wrath of the Sith was a legendary thing. They were going to die a painful death, that much he could feel without needing to delve back into the future.
He examined his apprentice again, longing to see and possess that dangerous yellow glint in her future self's eye, his hand gripping the side of her face tightly. "You are mine my apprentice. Your future is my darkness, your path is my legacy. You will become everything I choose you to be, until you break your final chain and kill me, becoming the Master."
He flashed a malicious grin. "If your strong enough when the time comes that is. I wont hesitate to kill you and continue chasing immortality if you fail after all."
He let out a slow devious laughter break through his lips, making his apprentice shift uncomfortably in her sleep, a nightmarish look crossing her face...
The next day became the first of many under her Master's direct watchful eye. In the morning, he directed her into a... new... type of meditation...
He stalked around her in the dimly lit barren meditation room. "To meditate in the Dark Side is to focus on one's self. The Jedi would have you empty your mind, abandon your sense of self. For one who resides in darkness, you must become the focal point, the direction of your meditation. Focus on your emotions, let them swell within you."
"That's... that entire purpose sounds selfish," said Siri.
"The Dark Side often is," mused Sidious.
Siri pursed her lips, trying to wrap her mind around it. Selfish meditation, making the entire point of it being about her. Force she felt shameful even thinking about it, and yet... also eager to try it. She hadn't been able to meditate properly since she... she fell..., even if it was a selfish meditation, she wanted to center herself.
"What is... the best emotion to use?" asked Siri.
"It differs per user," admitted Sidious, "Generally, anger is the easiest start."
"Can any emotion be used?" asked Siri.
"Anger, hate, frustration, greedy, envy," said Sidious, waving a hand, "Any darker emotion will fulfill the requirement."
She pondered briefly if positive emotions could be used, but figured they either couldn't or Sidious wouldn't want them to be used. Siri closed her eyes, took in a breath, and slowly let it out. She focused on the image of the beast that killed Master Gallia. Anger and hate roiled around her. Instead of directing it anywhere, to use it, she dove into it, let it wash over her. She... she hated seeing the sight of her Master dying in her minds eye again, yet she knew no other way to maintain such an intense level of rage. Slowly, she felt the emotions compact around her, and then within her, rather than churning all around the air about her. She felt... not calm, not at all, but focused. Intensely focused.
"What's next?" she snarled out, opening her eyes to glare at Sidious.
The Sith slowly stepped forward and reached down, grabbing her chin and tilting her head up, a scowl spreading across his face when he looked into her eyes from underneath his hood. "For such intense hate, your eyes are still sickeningly blue."
She blinked once, blinked twice, and lost her anger and hate to pure confusion. "What does my eye color have to do with anything?"
"More then you think, my blue-eyed apprentice," he said with so mocking a tone she knew it had to be a heavy insult, though she couldn't figure out why, "I suppose I feel the issue. The anger you feel is not the anger a Sith requires."
Siri's eyebrows furrowed. "Anger is anger."
Sidious scoffed. "And you would know anything about the dreaded emotion that Jedi so readily fear?"
"A Jedi does not fear," said Siri.
Sidious's lips slowly peeled back into a cruel smile. "You did."
Siri went silent for a moment before she gave a soft sigh. "And that's why I fell."
Sidious, in what was starting to become a very familiar manner to Siri, began to slowly circle her. "To answer your question. Anger comes in many different forms. Righteous anger, what you feel towards Maul, is a more neutral type of anger. It is a poor fuel for the Dark Side, but if accompanied by an immense infusion of hate, it will work sufficiently."
"Petty anger, small things that irritate you, are merely tinder for the fire," said Sidious, "Or embers that ignite it. Think of something small that angers you, then link it to something larger, and then repeat the process until you have a pathway to that which makes you boil inside."
"Huh," murmured Siri, "That's one way to continually keep yourself angry."
"That is the point, apprentice," said Sidious thinly, irritation faintly leaking through his shields, "I would have thought that evident. Surely the Jedi must have stories about the 'raging Sith' of the past."
"Well, yeah, but...," said Siri before trailing off, "But, why?"
Sidious gave her a quizzical look. "Why what?"
"Why be angry and hateful all the time?" she asked honestly, "I get that you use it for power, but all the time? Isn't that a lot of effort to maintain it? To never relax?"
Sidious leveled his yellow eyes at her. "While it has changed to a degree since the Rule of Two began, Sith of ancient times needed to have their power readily available. Treachery is the way of the Sith, and to let your guard down for a moment was begging to die, to be killed by fellow Sith and have your position taken and assets converted."
"That just... seems like an awful way to live," said Siri quietly.
Sidious didn't seem to care. "There is always a price one must pay for power my apprentice. The struggle to gain and maintain that power never fades."
Siri nodded slowly before asking, "What exactly is the Rule of Two?"
"Two there should be; no more, no less. One to embody power, the other to crave it," said Sidious with an odd mixture of reverence and loathing.
"I... don't get it," she said, "Two what?"
"Two Sith," he answered, exasperated, "Or have you not noted the lack of legions of Sith parading around the Galaxy?"
Siri bristled a bit but squashed it. "I suppose."
"The Sith were our own worst enemy," mused Sidious, "We lost our wars with the Jedi not through their strength, but our own, because we destroyed ourselves. The Rule of Two corrects this. The Master trains the apprentice until the Apprentice becomes strong enough to kill the Master and take their place."
Siri stared at him blankly for a moment. "You... you want me to kill you!?"
Sidious shrugged. "If you become strong and worthy enough I suppose it wouldn't be to much of a travesty."
Siri was speechless. "You..."
Oh she was pissed! She wanted him dead, but that was what he wanted? Kind of? What in the nine Corellian Hells was this madness...?
All she could really manage was a sputtering, "Y-You Sith are screwed up!"
"It works," said Sidious with seeming indifference, "Each generation of Sith builds upon the last, towards the return of the Sith and our revenge."
"Revenge?" asked Siri.
"While the Sith may destroy themselves, it has almost always been the Jedi who deal the final blow," spat Sidious, "Time and time again since the original split between the two orders, when the Jedi so foolishly cast us out, they have slaughtered us. When the time comes, the Sith will have their revenge against the Jedi."
"Wait... what?" she said, completely bypassing the revenge bit over something she couldn't possibly believe, "The Sith and Jedi... no way, there's no way they were ever joined..."
"The Je'daii Order was a sect of Force Sensitives that lived on the planet Tython roughly twenty-five thousand years ago," said Sidious with a hint of disdain, "It was a sect that foolishly preached balance. It worked I suppose for a time, until someone discovered their tiny little hidden corner of the Galaxy and tipped the scales."
"Balance?" she asked.
"A fools notion," mused Sidious, "The Je'daii attempted to maintain a balance within themselves of both sides of the Force. Live in a perfectly sterile environment, isolated from the rest of the Galaxy with a strict regiment, which included banishment to two separate moons of all things if one broke said regiment, and perhaps you can. But the moment real life, real hardship, enters the picture, that fake balance is thrown away. The true nature, the dark nature of the Galaxy, is all there really is, and it always wins in the end. Those of the Je'daai that focused more on the call of the dark than the light were eventually cast out, and thus began a conflict that has lasted almost twenty-five thousand years."
Siri was silent. She didn't feel any deception from the Sith, in fact, his shields were slightly lowered, a mocking sensation emanating from him, daring her to second guess him and taste for the truth. She didn't bother. "I see."
"Do you really?" questioned Sidious, "While I personally do not care, let me enlighten you of something. How many wars between the Jedi and the Sith have broken out in that timeframe, if you know? How many lives have been lost because those that would become the Jedi refused to accept the dark?"
Siri didn't answer, extremely uncomfortable with the question.
"Trillions," said Sidious simply, "Perhaps even more if one considers the amount of bloodlines that were prevented from running their course. A single man could have had many branching descendants in that time-frame after all."
Siri pursed her lips, hands shaking at even the notion of such loss or prevention of life.
"Such a shame too," mused Sidious, "And here I thought those of the light were supposed to be tolerant..."
"Enough!" spat Siri, rising to her feet.
Only for her to get flattened with a wave of Sidious's hand, immense pressure burying her face into the floor. "No my apprentice, it is never enough, will never be enough until the Jedi have truly been brought low as the Sith have been, to extinction. And they will have no one to blame but themselves. For incurring the revenge of the Sith. And being so incompetent that they can't find the darkness hiding under their nose."
He cackled. "Would you be interested in knowing that we are not honestly that far from the Jedi Temple right now?"
Siri managed to twist her head to stare up at him in disbelief.
"It's true, I'm using the Dark Side not even half a planet away and they have naught a clue. Beyond that, I've been in the presence of many a Jedi, even Master Yoda, and they've been none the wiser," boasted Sidious, "Those who flounder in light can never find what resides in darkness, even if it's staring them right in their arrogant faces."
The pressure lifted off of her, and Siri slowly rose to a sitting position. "How?"
"It is called Force Clouding, and it is one of the first techniques you will learn from me," said Sidious, a cruel smile playing across his lips, "I will show you how, it's not honestly a difficult technique to master, and you will hide somewhere in this building. If I find you, I will punish you for your failure. We will repeat this process until you are able to successfully force me to find you by chance rather than your leaking presence."
"And how do I know you won't just lie and 'punish' me if you find me by chance anyway?" spat Siri.
A mocking tone rang out of the man's list, "My apprentice, you wound me."
He hadn't even bothered to outright deny it...
"But I believe we have skipped ahead," said Sidious, "If I recall, I was explaining anger to you. Righteous and petty anger, while they have their uses, are not what a Sith needs. Pure, raw, rage, is what ignites a Sith's fury."
"Wouldn't that impair my judgment?" she asked, forcing herself to let go of the previous conversation, "I've seen it enough in other hot-headed padawans."
"indeed," said Sidious with a hint of approval, "Lesser Sith would be consumed by their rage, letting it posses and control them when they should control it. Such rage needs to be kept in check, behind chains, until you set it free at the right moment."
"So... only allow yourself to get mad and explode when it actually serves a purpose," summarized Siri.
"Correct," answered Sidious, "But beyond simple rage, there is something... else... that has served as the foundation of the Rule of Two. Something so much more."
"What?" asked Siri.
She wished she hadn't asked. Coldness bled out into the air all around them as Sidious's awful presence chocked the air. She couldn't help but wrap her arms around herself in a reflexive attempt to stay warm. By the Force... what was this?
"Cold anger," said Sidious, his voice ice, "Allowed to boil quietly beneath the surface. Where hot rage is a uncontrollable bomb that burns out once spent, cold fury is a guided missile that can be held for decades."
Siri couldn't help it. She forgot her anger and hate for the man and felt pure, raw, fear. She had never felt hatred like what was emanating from Sidious before. The darkness that bled out of him was like a swirling malevolent vortex, a black hole, that consumed everything around it. It was the most awful thing ever. He radiated so much pure power. She was scared of him, oh now more than ever, but it gave her a brief measure, a goal of just how strong she had to become to kill him.
She had a long way to go.
Sidious's presence retracted, along with the pressure binding Siri to the floor. "This type of anger is what you must learn to wield. The one most compatible with hatred, it's constant companion. Learn to sit on your anger, your hate, let it boil and build for years, decades, until at last, the moment of reckoning arrives. Do you understand?"
Was this anger... this hate... really the source of his power? Did it truly give him so much strength? Could she learn to harness that kind of power? Force... now that the fear was gone, thinking of the power he had... could she become that powerful...?
"I understand... but... I'm not sure how," she admitted, "I've never held anger or hate like that."
Sidious nodded in acknowledgement. "I would not have expected a former Jedi to. But you will learn, oh yes, you will learn. Now... moving on to what I hinted at earlier..."
"The first part of hiding your presence is to withdraw your energy into yourself, to not use the Force unless for a specific purpose," he explained.
Siri gave him a baffled look. "I'm not using the Force right now."
"Aren't you?" he asked, amused, "Are you not always sensing the area around you? Able to detect Force Sensitives without even laying your eyes upon them? Able to feel a disturbance in the Force off at a distance? Always open to hear to hear a whisper or warning the Force deigns to give you?"
Siri went silent.
"Need I go on?" mocked Sidious.
"No," said Siri, "But... how would I stop doing that?"
"Close your eyes," demanded Sidious.
She did so.
"A Jedi would tell you to feel for the Force," said Sidious, "I would tell you to feel for yourself."
Siri's eyebrows furrowed. "Myself?"
"You can identify the Force Signatures of others, but have you ever truly identified your own?" asked Sidious.
Siri frowned, trying to puzzle out what he was going for. "Every Jedi does, we learn how to reach through the Force through our connection to it..."
Sidious growled in warning, shutting her up before he spoke, "No you fool. I am not talking about using the Force. I am talking about identifying your own presence! The concept is not that difficult. Search for your own signature as you would another's. Feel for the energy, the presence you give off."
It was a... curious task. She wasn't sure exactly how to go about it. Feeling inwardly for the Force was easy, but... not what he was going for. Going off a guess, she reached out for his presence, poking and prodding very lightly as to not agitate. Sidious didn't so much as twitch, she could feel his eyes boring into her though, a not-so-subtle burst of impatience slamming right into her next prod. She took the hint, took that probe, and tried doing the same thing to herself.
It was such an odd thing, to try to look outside-in. She first poked at her mental shields, not peeking out from the inside, but trying to look at them as an outside force would. Though it wasn't the goal of the task she had been given, her shields made her slightly cringe, she had to work on getting them back into top shape. She had done very little to repair or reinforce them ever since... well... before she fell.
She shook off the observation for later and began trying to poke for the Force around her. Despite her eyes being closed, she could see an almost aura like outline around herself. It was chaotic, light and dark swirling and clashing around and within herself. As for the feeling she gave of... it wasn't what she had thought it would be, hoped it would be.
It was awful to really realize how one's world could be ruined in so short a time. Siri had thought she would always come off as a strong, confidence, wont-take-your-shit kind of person. The sensation she felt emanating from herself was nothing of the sort. It felt... broken... weak... confused... lost... frustrated and angry...
Worst of all.
Her presence felt helpless, like she was floundering around.
She had felt plenty of self-loathing during her captivity. But self-hatred? That was new, and that was what her presence made her feel.
"Ah, I feel you've finally realized it," said Sidious, "Just how pitiful you are right now."
Siri opened her eyes and glared at him, frustration and shame churning in her stomach.
Sidious smiled mockingly in response. "All the helpless anger in the universe wont aid you. You think dabbling slowly into darkness and wanting to kill me gives you a purpose? Fool, all Sith Apprentices, worthy or not, have that same desire. In ancient times, Sith used to have a multitude of apprentices or acolytes, all of them power hungry, most of them were pathetic weaklings that the Master would keep around for their own amusement, to kill later to make a point, or to sacrifice to further their own goals."
He bared his teeth. "Is that what you want? My blue-eyed apprentice? To be a tool used for my amusement and gain, only to be thrown away when it suits me?"
"I am not a tool!" she spat at him.
Sidious sneered at her. "No, you're not, at the moment you are a useless little girl, not even managing to attain the status of a tool."
Siri flinched at that.
He slowly shook his head. "It's going to take such effort to mold you. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth the effort, if I shouldn't just kill you right here and now."
Siri froze for a moment, fear spiking, before she took a stranglehold on it and crushed it. "Yeah? Well what would you do in my position?"
"I would never be in your position for starters," mused Sidious, "I took to the darkness quite well. My first true act of the dark side was to slaughter my entire family."
Siri chocked a bit. "Y-you what?!"
Sidious grinned, slowly licking his lips. "My one regret out of that was that I didn't catch the moment on holo to watch over and over again. It was the moment I stepped onto my path to greatness. I pledged myself to my Master not much later and began my journey to what you see now."
Siri frowned for a moment, looking past his mass murder and focusing on the one thing she desired at the moment, "What was it like? To kill your Master?"
Oddly, that question seemed to catch him offguard, he went silent, a scowl spreading across his lips.
Instead of directly answering, he raised a hand and unleashed a burst of lightning, sending Siri to the ground writhing in pain. "You'll uncover that sensation on your own. Which you'll never do if you don't put yourself together, pick your path, and get on with it."
He withdrew his lightning, leaving her smoking a little, "Now, to continue, focus on your presence again."
Siri took in a few shaky breaths, trying to will the pain away, before closing her eyes
"You know your pitiful presence, now grasp it, and withdraw it into yourself," ordered Sidious.
Siri focused on the aura of dark and light energy warring around her. She watched it for a moment before trying to withdraw it, focusing the Force within herself. Slowly, the aura bled into her, until most if it had sunk within her skin.
"Passable," muttered Sidious, "But your leaking the Force out of your body. The next step is to imagine your body like your mind and create a... not a shield, but a disguise."
"Disguise?" she asked.
"Of insignificance," he answered, "As if you are just a normal, everyday pathetic sentient who isn't worth looking into. This allows you to move about in public without someone feeling your Force Signature. They will still feel you, but what they feel is merely a mask that you wear."
Siri blanked for a moment, the Jedi did something like that on missions to go unnoticed, this wasn't to many steps above it. "Force... is it really that easy?"
"Yes," said the Sith.
"And no one sees through it?" she asked.
"No," he answered, "Jedi generally don't bother to dig deeper. If for some reason they do, it's fairly easy to fake something for them to feel to satisfy their probe."
"Not to mention it's taboo for a Jedi to force a mind probe in without just cause," she murmured.
"Indeed," mocked Sidious, "The Jedi limit themselves in so many ways, it's easy to dance around them, as the Sith have been doing for the last thousand years. Now, let's see if you can do the same."
For once since she got here, she had absolutely no lack of confidence in this task. She imagined herself as Bruck Chun. A dead pathetic loser who tried to act tough and pick on other people, especially her poor Obi-Wan, oh it pissed her off now to think back on how Bruck had tormented her friend. The truth of it was that Bruck was so insecure about his own lack of Master that it was all he could do to alleviate his own fears by putting down others. He had been a pawn to Xanatos, and died one. She could commend Obi-Wan for trying to save that asshole, but she would have considered a kick to Bruck's face sending the boy plummeting to his death a more appropriate response.
She took that shield, that mask, fueled it with her anger at Bruck, and wrapped herself in it.
"Well now," mused Sidious, starting forward and beginning to circle her.
Siri could feel light probes around her, not attempts to seriously dig in, but to test for any obvious weakness. "Acceptable for your first try I suppose."
She took that as the closest thing to a compliment he would ever really give her.
Sidious motioned to the door. "Perhaps this lesson may not take as long as I thought. Go, hide yourself. I will seek you out. Remember, if I find you, I will punish you. We will continue either until you pass out, you satisfy my expectations, or I have to leave to tend to other matters."
Siri fled the room and down the hall, searching for an appropriate spot. Her thoughts turned inward as she moved. She was pleased she had taken this lesson quite well in her opinion, but it didn't hide the shame she felt for what her presence gave off. She hated it. Back when she was an initiate, she had been one of the best, even able to challenge initiates older than her, and young padawans, beating them all in lightsaber practice. She had been confident and sure of herself. Fallen or not, dark side or not...
She wanted that feeling back.
No more pussyfooting. She needed to find stability, if not in the light that had seemingly abandoned her, then the dark. She'd take the time during this exercise to work on repairing her mental shields. Then, after they were done with this, she'd spend time getting used to feeling and using the Dark Side. She swore she would never truly become a Sith, never, but... but... she needed the Dark Side to eventually challenge Sidious, she knew it. She'd devote herself to his lessons, learn everything she could from him, then kill him.
Afterwords...
Well... she'd cross that bridge when she came to it. For now, she needed a hiding place. She found an store room in the back off the infirmary, flicked off the lights, and strode into the darkness...
Notes:
Sidious totally missed who Leia was referring to in the vision, but then again, he's not a decrepit old bastard yet, is he? :D
Chapter Text
Censured.
Obi-Wan mulled it over as he ate in the dining hall. As if his own bitterness and sadness over that horrific mission and the loss of Siri wasn't enough, the Council censured them for half a karking year! Six months grounded to the temple was insane! While it was true the mission itself had been an absolute mess on both the master's and the padawan's sides, he felt it was a bit extreme. But... a high councilor along with her promising padawan was dead. They had let the mission slip right through their fingers when they had it in the bag. They had Tally safe! The boy had been in the room with two Jedi masters and two padawans, and somehow had been stolen away right under their noses. Then the pairs of Jedi separated, and everything went wrong.
A high councilor dead.
Siri dead (oh Siri...).
Tally probably also dead, or worse.
The mission had been a utter disaster. A black streak against both his and his master's records. Even worse, the temple rumor mill had started up, and now it was apparently both his and Qui-Gon's fault a council-member was dead. All of Siri's friends who weren't also his friends went out of their way to shoot him cold looks. He hoped Qui-Gon didn't have to suffer the same from Master Gallia's friends. Bant and Garen were the only ones who stood by Obi-Wan. And Reeft, but he always swore that Dressellian boy stuck around merely to steal food off his plate-like right now.
Obi-Wan's hand smacked his away, shooting him a scowl. "Hey!"
Reeft shot him a sheepish look. "I don't mean to sound greedy, but may I have your meat?"
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and shoved the plate his way. "By all means, you had but to ask."
"So giving," said Reeft, "Exemplary example of being a Jedi."
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Yes, definitely a Jedi, giving their food to those starving and underfed."
Reeft gave him an innocent look, which Obi-Wan returned with a pointed one.
Bant gave a laugh at that. "Boys, behave, or I'll tell Master Che you two want to help out in the Halls of Healing."
Both of them went quiet without a further word.
Garen laughed. "Afraid of the healers. Ah man, if Siri were hear, she'd tease the both of you."
Obi-Wan's face cracked a little. "Probably."
"We needa Yoda joke," said Garen, making Obi-Wan sniggered a little, behind a hand he hid his restored smile, for he most certainly, certainly, did not partake in such a playful mockery of the Grandmaster of the Order.
"'Fear of the healers', path to the Dark Side it is'," said Garen in his most Yoda-like voice, "Siri woulda loved that one."
Obi-Wan flinched a little at that. Mentioning Siri and the Dark Side so close together made him raw in a way he did not like. For a moment, he was back in the mission, feeling Siri fall before she died. He abruptly shook his head, released his anxiety to the Force, and plastered a fake smile on his face. Bant of course noticed, giving him a concerned look, but Garen and Reeft didn't seem to, the both of them starting to crack one joke after another. He couldn't blame them for it. Garen hadn't lost many people, but for those he did, he always actively remembered, said it hurt worse to forget about them than the pain of remembering.
He didn't know if he should bury her memory, or be like Garen. He tilted his head in thought, perhaps he ought to ask his master. He knew Qui-Gon still thought about Tahl every now and then. Though, could he really compare the two pairs? Qui-Gon and Tahl had loved eachother for years, him and Siri? A few days at best. Passing it off as a momentary infatuation might make it easier to bear.
Yet... they had felt something, so trying to do so felt like it would be spitting on her grave... he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Obi-Wan shook his head, frustration rippling through his body. Enough of this, he was tired of getting pulled back and forth by his emotions and everyone's unintentional commentary. He sorely needed to meditate. He bid his friends an abrupt farewell, eyes not meeting Bant's concerned ones, and made to leave...
Only to eat the floor as a leg came out from a nearby table and tripped him, a voice mocking, "Careful Oaffy-Wan! Might kill a padawan with your clumsiness!"
Obi-Wan didn't move for a second, disbelief coursing through him. Did they seriously just say that to his face? Fire burned at his core for a moment, especially at that damned old cruel name, Force he hadn't heard that since Bruck. He so sorely wanted to launch himself at whoever had said that...
But Bant was there in an instant, helping him to his feet and shooting a glare at the offender in question before leading him away, murmuring, "It's not worth it."
"Maybe not," he whispered back angrily, "But I want to."
"You are on censure," she warned quietly as they left the cafeteria, "Regardless of how absurd that censure is for something that wasn't your fault, you can't afford to get in trouble."
Obi-Wan sighed and did his best to release his anger into the Force. "I know, thank you."
"Don't let those poor excuses of Jedi get to you," advised Bant, glaring back at the shrinking cafeteria doors, "They've obviously failed to learn that compassion is the way of the Jedi. Now come, lets get you back to your Master."
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "I can walk on my own you know."
Bant gave him a smile that was all teeth. "I'm walking with you as dissuasion for others."
Obi-Wan snorted, but didn't comment. Force, had it truly gotten that bad that she felt the need to be protective of him? Then again, he had eaten floor a minute ago courtesy of his padawan peers. It filled him with resignation. This wasn't the first time this had happened, after he had left the Order to try to help Ceresi and the Young, there had been much of the same. This Censure plus the rumors and bile thrown his way on top of that just made him feel... weary of his fellow Jedi. It was often suggested during Censures to mingle and befriend Jedi one didn't know to help pass the time. That wasn't going to happen. The last few weeks, especially today, made him not want to even leave his quarters, let alone make friends with any of his tormentors or those who looked down upon him and his master with disapproval.
The next six months were going to be rough...
Siri followed her Mas-Sidious, not her Master, curiously down the hall. They had spent the last few days debating the Jedi, their Code, the Sith, and theirs, and their history. She had learned so much about the conflict that had predated the Republic. Ancient Sith lords such as Exar Kun, Marka Ragnos, Darth Nihilus, Darth Sion, Darth Revan, and many others. Each one was a lesson, often about the strengths of the Dark Side or as a warning. The last one in particular had been a scary one; that the Jedi Order would Strip someone's mind and identity to bend them back to their will was deeply unsettling.
Today, Sidious had said they would be having a practical lesson, to 'wean her off Jedi tendencies'. She wondered 'which' tendency he was referring to. She followed him into a room...
...and paused in the doorway, sighting a family of Togruta; a man, a woman, and two children bound to chairs, gags in their mouth. The older two were to one side of the room, the children to the other. A sinking feeling hit Siri all of the sudden, something bad was about to happen.
"You're task is simple, my apprentice," said Sidious, handing her a lightsaber, "Kill them all."
Siri chocked. "Y-you're joking."
Sidious stared at her. "No apprentice, I am not. The mere fact you hesitate shows me just how much this lesson is necessary. You must be willing to kill at a moments notice, no matter who and what it is you kill. Men, woman, children, it shouldn't matter. A Sith will do what they must to achieve their goals, regardless of who is in the way. Now, kill them."
A nervous gulp ran down her throat. She felt the fear from the captives rising steadily. It was... an intoxicating sensation, alluring, but so sinful. She had said she didn't want to pussyfoot anymore... but this... these were innocent people. She couldn't...
Sidious sighed at her hesitation. "Still so entrapped within the Jedi Mindset. Here, I shall make this choice easier for you. I will slowly torture them to death over a greatly extended period of time, their only release from their suffering will be the lightsaber in your hand."
Before she could respond, he turned and aimed a hand, lightning (much weaker from what he had done to her she noted) rushed from his fingertips, electrocuting both sets of occupants. Muffled screams ripped through their gags, making Siri's heart skip a beat. The sight, the stench of frying children ignited such a fury in her. She turned on Sidious without hesitation, rushing at him, lightsaber raised...
Only for the lightning to switch targets, increase in intensity, and throw her across the room, lightsaber falling from her hands. "Typical Jedi response. Oh my apprentice I am quite disappointed."
She screamed as the lightning grew in intensity. "You have so far to go, so shall I make this even easier? There are two pairs, the children and the parents. Kill one pair, and I won't force you to kill the other. Is this acceptable?"
Sidious stopped the lightning and stared down, yellow eyes boring into her. "Well?"
Siri took in a ragged breath. "F-fine..."
The children... they were truly innocent, they had to live. Being a Jedi, she hadn't known her own parents, but from what she had seen and heard any real parent would die for their children... so it... it had to be at least better this way... it had to be okay...
Right?
Siri shakily rose to her feet, picking up the lightsaber and wobbled over to the parents. She stared at them silently. One's shoulder's had gone lax, resigned, but accepting. The other was still panicking, trying to beg or plead or whatever through the gag. She glared at the second one, a sting of anger running through her, momentarily banishing the building anxiety and reluctance in her. A parent should be willing to make this sacrifice, if this was their reaction...
She slashed downward, leaving a burning diagonal line from shoulder to opposing thigh without hesitation, savoring the muffled scream and putting that disgusting excuse for a parent out of it's misery. She flexed her grip on the lightsaber, feeling a rush of cold enter her. The notion of killing the second wasn't as... bad as it felt before. She would give this one a quick death as a sign of respect, over in an instant. Lightsaber through the middle of their head was a quick enough way.
She withdrew her lightsaber, feeling only a slight churn of guilt, burried under the growing cold. "There, happy?"
"Positively elated," said Sidious dryly, holding out a hand and ripping his lightsaber from her grip with the Force without further word and slowly started towards the children.
Siri frowned, that bad feeling from earlier bubbling up again. "Now, you said you'd let them go."
Sidious turned his head, flashing a cruel smile. "I said I wouldn't force you to kill them, I said nothing about letting them go."
He turned, aimed his hands, and unleashed a brutal barrage of lightning at the two children. Siri watched, horrified even through the numbing cold, as the children melted. Clothes caught on fire, skin bubbled, eyeballs burst, bodies spasmed. In a moment, both were dead in what had to be one of the most painful deaths Siri had ever seen.
"Let that be a twofold lesson, apprentice," spat Sidious, "One, to never trust the words of another. And two, to not believe the easy path is not laid with traps. You thought by killing the parents you spared the children. Instead, you made their deaths agonizing instead of quick and painless."
"Bastard," hissed Siri, fury raging inside of her, demanding retribution for his deception.
Oh, and for the deaths of the children, that... that should be more important. Should have been her first thought.
"Each and every day, I will bring you before a selection of abductees, and you will kill them. If you do not, we will have a repeat of today's session. This will continue until I am satisfied in your willingness to kill," said Sidious coldly, "Am I clear?"
"Perfectly," she spat out.
"Perfectly what?" said Sidious.
Siri didn't gave him the satisfaction of calling him Master.
That didn't appear to phase him, as he instead raised his hands and unleashed another barrage of lightning upon her, sending her screaming to the ground. "Perfectly Master is what you should have said. You will give me the respect I am entitled, or I will rip and/or beat it from you. Am. I. Clear?"
"Yes...," she gasped out, "...master."
The lightning stopped. "Good, good."
He stared down at her for a moment, frowning. "Your pain tolerance is pathetically low."
He turned and strode for the door. "We will need to work on that as well. Return to the training room and practice your Makashi, I will return tomorrow. I left you a... gift... to assist in with your training. I trust you will enjoy it."
Siri scowled at his retreating form until he was gone before rising to her feet wearily. "I hate that bastard so much."
She made for the door, pausing briefly to look back at the four corpses, mournfully at the children, before leaving. She strode to the training room, trying to flex her aching limbs. The moment she walked inside a warning flared in the Force; she dove instantly, the sound of something impacting heavily on the ground behind her was heard. She spun, sighting a droid with an electrified staff rushing at her. She swore under her breath and leaped back, hand reaching out towards a weapon's rack and calling a training lightsaber to her. It didn't take a genius to figure out what the gift was.
The droid came at her relentlessly, staff spinning and sparking as it swung at her. The moment she blocked she hissed as sparks sprayed and a jolt ran down the saber on impact. That was most certainly not a low setting. She was not interested in getting hit by... what was that whirring sound?
She turned her head, eyes going wide, as another droid came at her from her right, and another from her left...
A frenzied minute later Siri was on the the floor, bloodied, and screaming as the droids beat her down, shocking staves smashing into her over and over again. She curled into a ball, crying out with each impact. Her anger and fear and pain bubbled until the Dark Side burst out of her, sending each droid flying across the room three separate ways, smashing into the wall and crumpling to the ground, circuits sparking. Siri laid there for a moment, world spinning, ears ringing, black spots dancing across her vision, the taste of blood in her mouth. She shakily reached a hand forward and clawed the floor, pulling her forward.
One pull at a time, she made for the medical bay. Sidious... he wouldn't give her a moments break if she passed out and awoke there tomorrow. Had to... had to get this... treated now... had to... get to...
Sidious sighed and followed a small trail of blood down the hall. As an afterthought, he had decided to assign his apprentice more reading of the Sith Language and history and had briefly returned to give it to her. Judging by the pain he felt emanating from her-and the fact he just felt her fall unconscious, that wasn't going to happen. He didn't allow himself to be disappointed, or rather, not moreso than usual, as he came across her crumpled form, grabbed the back of her robe, and dragged her down the hallway.
"What am I going to do with you my apprentice," he mused, "Three droids shouldn't matter to you, highest setting and lethal weapons or not. The Jedi these days, they don't condition their young close to enough, not even a fraction of what I had Maul put through when he was half your age."
He glanced down at her wearily. "It going to take such effort to polish this jewel into a shining example of a Sith, to wipe away the dirt and grime, the Jedi's filthy influence and weak training."
He strode into the infirmary and threw her to the floor, glancing at the medical droid. "Deal with this."
He turned and left, irritated. He had a meeting with his own Master to attend, followed by the rest of the day pretending to be a wise old gentle caring Senator Palpatine. Force, he couldn't wait till the Jedi were dead, his Master dead, and he the Emperor of the first Sith Empire in thousands of years. He wouldn't have to hide who he was, for there was no sense of satisfaction in it. It was so pathetically easy to deceive the Jedi, no challenge at all. He had more difficulty with aged and wizened politicians.
Perhaps he'd briefly stop on the way to his Master and find a... release... to his frustration. The lower levels were after all full of those no-one would miss if they were found dead he next day. It was an endless supply of relaxation-the suffering and death of those beneath him, and as tools to further his apprentice's descent into the Dark Side, and eventual claiming of her Sith name. But that would be years away, he hadn't bothered trying to think of one yet for her. She needed to earn the right for him to even begin musing on her potential tittle.
Musings for another day he supposed. He left the building, climbed into his speeder, and descended further into the lower levels, on the prowl...
Notes:
Poor Obi, getting hate he doesn't deserve. This has a purpose rather than just being there. Obi-Wan isn't going to end up exactly like his cannon counterpart, especially with the other Jedi causing a rift. Less code preaching, more mavericky like his master, and potentially other changes. Siri is getting more experience in just how cruel Sith training truly is.
Chapter 8: Numb
Chapter Text
"Kill them."
Siri drove her master's lightsaber through the rib-cage of a young girl, right through the heart, and withdrew it, moving onto the next child quietly and doing the same. She did not wait for Sidious's empty praise, she simply moved onto the parents and killed them to. It was... better... this way, for them. A quick release, a quick death, rather than being fried to death by Force Lightning. She felt... nothing...
Nothing but the cold dark.
It had been weeks of this. Her hands, once innocent and free of sin, were stained with blood. At first, it had hurt and twisted inside of her, but... she had grown numb to it. She simply... did the deed... and didn't look back. It was just another step in her pathway to her goal, to kill her Master. Had she honestly thought that learning at his feet wouldn't entail something like this? That she wasn't going to truly damn herself in the process?
Ignorant.
Foolish.
Young.
Naive.
This was just a taste of the depravity and madness she was going to have to mire herself in before it was all said and done. This was Sith training after all. She only hoped and prayed by the end of it there would be something of herself left to walk away from it all. She had no desire to wipe out the Jedi Order, as much as she was infuriated with them and their failings. They had grown so complacent and ignorant the last thousand years without the Sith visibly active to combat and test themselves against. They were weak. But it was no excuse to kill them...
"Hmm," she heard her Master murmur, turning her head to watch him approach and begin to circle her.
He did that often, sizing her up, measuring her, and always finding her wanting.
She was rather surprised when he spoke, "Good, good. You've made progress, and progress should be rewarded, should it not?"
She silently stared at him.
He held out a hand, and she deactivated his lightsaber, handing it to him. He slipped it into his robes and moved to the door, the unspoken command 'come' echoing through the air. She followed behind him, as he led her down the hall and deeper into the facility, to a conference room. She froze in the doorway as she laid her eyes on an oh so familiar object on the table. A lightsaber.
Her lightsaber.
"I believe it's time you had a lightsaber of your own again," he said, levitating the lightsaber off the table and over to her.
She took it, holding it in her hands and glancing down at it. The lightsaber... didn't feel right in her hands anymore. The kyber crystal at it's core sluggishly identified her, but the connection she had to it was marred. Of course it would be, the lightsaber had belonged to a young girl filled with light, not this growing dark monster she was becoming. In order to use this lightsaber... she knew what Sidious wanted, he was going to teach her how to bleed a kyber crystal. But... somewhere deep inside of her, she couldn't bear the thought of it, of bleeding her old one.
"Yes," she said slowly, "But not this one."
He turned his dark calculating gaze on her. "And why not? Are you not familiar with this one?"
"This... lightsaber... belonged to a Jedi Padawan," she said slowly, not even acknowledging it as her own, "And I believe the last few weeks have made it abundantly clear that I am no Jedi, not anymore."
He smiled, a savagely cruel smile, "No, I suppose not. Come then, let us... dispose... of this old relic of your past, then I will guide you on how to bend a crystal to your will."
He led her down a chillingly familiar hallway, and into the prison area of the facility, straight to her old cell. He opened the door and motioned inside. She stood in the doorway, and took a single sniff, her nose wrinkling at the stench of the room. Force, she had ignored that particular problem to all nine Corellian hells and back during her time there. It hadn't been like she had been allowed to use a fresher chained to the floor as she had been. She was only slightly surprised to see her old worn Jedi robes carelessly cast down in the room like trash. The chains were still there, shattered on the ground. The room... had been left untouched otherwise. She had a feeling it was going to stay that way for a long time, as a reminder to her of where she had come from.
She flexed her grip on her old lightsaber for a moment before tossing it into the room, the hilt landing on her old robes. With that, she turned from the room, hit the button to close the door, and didn't look back. She could feel Sidious's dark approval permeating through the air. He strode to walk in-front of her, taking up the Master's position, and led her to their dark meditation room, the place he had first taken her after being released from her cells. Lit by shadowy candlelight, in the middle of the room was a simple box of kyber crystals, unbroken ones. He had planned this then, had expected her reaction to her old lightsaber.
"Sit," he ordered.
He began to circle her slowly as he spoke, "The process of bleeding a kyber crystal is simple. One must bend it to their will, pour their anger, their hate, their pain into the crystal, force it to align to them, and dominate it. But be warned, a crystal will resist your attempts, some better than others. Weak acolytes failing to break a crystal have experience pain, mental damage up to and including madness, and even one attempt I read that had resulted in their ability to use the Force being damage to the point it might as well have been stripped from them."
Siri stared at the box of kyber crystals, a slight frown on her face. "I see."
"Let it never be said that the life of a Sith is safe," mused Sidious, "It is one of constant struggle and growth. To stagnate after all is to die. Now, watch and observe. I will do this once, and only once."
Sidious levitated a crystal out of the box and to his hand, gripping it tightly and-
The Force around and inside the crystal screamed
-and poured his hate into it, a tingling sensation running up Siri's spine as the dark side filled the air. A sickly and dark red glow emanated from within the crystal, like blood from an open wound, and spread. Within seconds, the entire crystal had turned red, sobbing and crying out into the Force around them. Siri felt momentarily sickened by the act, before she slowly shook her head and let it fade away. What was this compared to driving a lightsaber through an innocent?
Sidious fiddled with the crystal, twirling it between his fingers; she could feel him admiring his own handiwork, his own domination of the kyber. "I have explained and shown you, more than I ought to of. Now, you will bleed the rest."
Her eyebrows furrowed. "The rest? I only need one."
He gave her a look. "Do not question me my apprentice. You will bleed them all because I demand it of you."
She bowed her head and muttered a, "Yes Master."
"If you truly want a reason," he drawled, "It is because these are the only crystals I will ever give you for free. If you destroy them, or lose your lightsaber and have to replace it, these will be the only crystals I make available to you. If you run out, you will have to attain your own."
She made a face. "My lightsaber is my life, I know better than to lose it."
She had given up her old one simply because that life wasn't hers anymore.
Sidious paused briefly and then scowled at her. "Your life? Where did you get such a foolish notion?"
"It's not foolish, its what all initiates and padawans are taught," she said stubbornly.
Sidious threw back his head and laughed. "If that is a Jedi teaching, then I need to look into more of them for my own amusement."
The Sith pulled his lightsaber out of his robe. "This is a tool, my apprentice, a tool. If your lightsaber is lost or destroyed in battle, do you simply give up and die?"
"Well, no," she answered.
"Your body, your fists and feet, can be used as weapons," he instructed, "Objects around you can be used as weapons. And far more important, the Force itself is the greatest weapon of them all. My lightsaber is a tool I mock with, a secondary weapon, because it pales in consideration to the power of the Force."
Siri went silent, face turning a little red in embarrassment. When he put it like that...
"That teaching is as foolish as it is absurd," said Sidious with disdain, "Perhaps they meant it as a lesson in responsibility, but if Jedi take it seriously at face value then they failed remarkably on the delivery, as they do on a Great. Many. Things."
He shook his head and glanced at the box of kyber crystals. "Enough of Jedi failings, bleed your first crystal."
Siri held out a hand, and levitated a crystal to her, letting it land softly in the palm of her hand. She could feel it curiously probe her, seeking to see if she was the one it desired to bond with. She stared down at it silently for a moment before she closed her eyes.. She felt for her hatred of the beast that had killed her former master, and of Sidious himself. She let it whirl and churn within her. Almost as if the crystal could understand what was about to happen, its probe shrank back. Siri closed her fingers tightly around the crystal in a crushing grip...
And poured it all into the kyber.
The Force shrieked around her in outrage. The kyber pushed back against her, trying to stave off what was coming. But she didn't allow it, she revisited in her mind the moment her former master had died; the moment Maul had threatened to harm Obi-Wan. She fed off that pain and rage like a leech, and overwhelmed the crystal's defenses. She didn't need to see the red glow peaking under her eyelids, nor her Master's dark satisfaction and approval, to know she had succeeded. The way the Force cried around the crystal told her all she needed to know.
She opened her eyes and stared down at the red gleam spilling through her fingertips and slowly opened her hand. She didn't... feel the same way Sidious had when he had broken it in. There was no sense of triumph... just... nothing, at what she had done. She set the crystal down, and levitated the next one to her palm, and repeated the process. Each shriek, each cry from the kyber, affected her less and less, until she didn't even react to bleeding the last one. She piled them into the box and picked up, turning to stare look at Sidious.
His mouth twitched, either in amusement or irritation she didn't know. He simply strode past, and she followed. He led her deeper into the complex, farther than she had gone before, into a large room. It was a sort of workshop, tools and spare parts organized and stored. He walked around the room for a moment, taking his time, before motioning around him.
"Build your lightsaber from the parts around you, when you are finished, you will return to the training room," he said before pausing and then snidely adding, "Perhaps you can actually weather those simple training droids without having to drag yourself to the infirmary for once."
Siri let the insult wash over her and didn't reply. She kept her senses on him until he left the room, then, and only then, did she relax and start shifting through the various supplies. It had been a long time since she built a lightsaber, unlike many others, she didn't make a habit of losing her saber. She doubted she'd be needing anywhere close to even half the kyber her Master had given her. Still... having backups didn't hurt. As she gathered her parts, she contemplated how she was going to build her saber. Her thoughts briefly turned to Master Dooku, he used a curved hilt for Makashi, didn't he? Though, she wasn't anywhere near skilled as he was, so she probably couldn't even properly use that kind of hilt yet. A thought to hold onto for another time then.
Rather than carry them around physically, she levitated the bits and pieces around behind her. It was... kind of satisfying to do, to preform such a 'trivial' use of the Force as the Jedi would say and bemoan against. The Force was theirs by birthright, why not use it? Not to mention, practice made perfect, the more she used the Force, the more easier it would be to do so. Sidious could do things with the Force without having to even try, not having to focus his attention and reach for the Force, he simply just did it. Learning and training to be able to use the Force like that was something she'd need to do before she could even think of killing him.
When she finished she found herself circling and eying the parts as they levitated in the center of the room, much like Sidious would circle her. She made motions with her hand, using the Force to begin to fit the pieces together around the kyber, encasing it in a prison of metal, where the only things that would hear it scream was the uncaring casing, and the one who wielded it. She made a beckoning motion with her hand, and the lightsaber obeyed, floating over. She flexed her grip on it tightly, eyeing the completed piece. It's metals were of a dark gray make, not the shiny silver often seen on the belts of a Jedi. Coupled with her black clothing, it certainly wouldn't give a friendly vibe, especially...
snap-hiss
...with the bloody glow now illuminating the room. She stared down at the red blade, a sight of nightmares for young initiates, and a sure sign of a darksider to a Jedi. She slowly shook her head, deactivated and attached it to her belt, and grabbed the box of kyber, making for her room to drop it off. Such a small thing like the color of one's lightsaber hardly mattered, it was just one more thing, one more step, down this path. It didn't matter, it didn't... didn't make her feel. She glanced down at the bled kybers again. Aside from their initial screams, from the shock of experiencing it for the first time... she felt nothing by being near their whimpering.
She didn't know what to make of that.
What she did feel as she approached the training room once more was growing irritation and frustration. She hated those damn droids. Makashi wasn't good against multiple opponents at once, it could be adapted sure, but it was made for dueling, not a melee. A real lightsaber instead of a training one wasn't going to make that much of a difference if she couldn't get a chance to get a hit in. It was... it was just a tool, not her life, not her only weapon.
She paused by the entrance to the room and leaned against the nearby wall to actually stop and think rather than simply walk in and face the music. Not her only weapon huh? Maybe that was her failing. Only relying on her lightsaber until she was so beaten she had to tap into the Force to survive and destroy her opponents. She nodded slowly to herself and felt into the room for her senses, pinpointing the small blips of energy that she took for the droids power cords. She identified their positions, two deeper into the room, and one...
It was hanging above the door again, ready to get the drop on her. She scowled and pushed off the wall, moving to the door and flinging it open. She reached out with the Force as she moved, gripping the training droid hanging above her tightly in her grasp, raising it into the air and then slamming it into the ground with a crunch in front of her. She activated and swung her lightsaber at the downed droid, severing it in half. One down, two to go, and she hadn't even taken a hit.
Her lips peeled back in a savage grin. "I'm going to enjoy this."
When the droids rushed her, she curled a hand into a fist and thrust it out, slamming one of the droids with the Force and sending it flying, impacting on the far wall and clattering to the ground. She engaged the single remaining droid with her lightsaber, finding it much more simple to fight one on one rather than three on one. She severed it's sparking staff in half before impaling it through the chest, withdrawing her saber with extreme satisfaction. She decapitated and kicked its head across the room for good measure.
"So you finally learned," came her Master's musing voice.
She turned her head to see him standing in the doorway. "More like I unlearned."
He tilted his head in acknowledgement. "Ah yes, your 'lightsaber'. You put to much emphasis on it over the Force, one of the Jedi's failings."
She could feel he was rather pleased at that. It was something she noted, anytime she turned away from something she had learned as a Jedi, or spoke ill of them, or anything like that. It let loose such dark satisfaction and possessiveness from him, it was honestly scary when he looked at her in such a mood. Not to mention when he... oh boy... not this again...
He beckoned her over, and when she obeyed, he raked a hand through her hair, tendrils of the Dark Side raking across her shields and demanding access. She lowered them, and allowed him to express his approval through the Force, pouring pleasure down her mind. She stifled the moan before it escaped her lips. She hated it as much as she enjoyed it; having had time to think on why the hell he did it, she figured it was a kind of system to induce obedience. Do things he approved of, get rewarded, do something he didn't like, get punished. When she made that discover, it had grated. She was NOT a animal to be trained! Not a pet aching for it's master's touch; she didn't give him that kind of satisfaction by voicing her reactions. Trying to stifle it through her mind and the Force was another matter unfortunately... a work in progress.
"Hmm... I do believe you've earned a bit of freedom," he mused.
A sharp breath escaped her lips. Freedom...?
"Shall we go for a walk my apprentice? It has been some time since you've been out," he 'asked'.
The analogy of a pet being walked by it's master flashed through her mind, sparking a whirlwind of contempt before she crushed it. She DID want to get out of this blasted place for awhile. "I would appreciate it, Master."
His lips peeled into a cold smile. "Good."
He turned and left, Siri walking quickly to fall in behind him as he spoke, "This will also be a test of your ability to hide your presence. For every person that truly sees you, you will be punished upon our return. If you are detected even somewhat through the Force should be draw near a Jedi, well, the Jedi will die, and your punishment will be most severe. Are we clear?"
"Yes Master," she answered, already moving to lock down her shields tightly and prepare herself to incorporate his teachings for a 'field test'.
"Good, good," he said, "I wish to take you through the lower levels of Coruscant, have you ever ventured there before?"
"No Master," she answered.
"Excellent," he said, dark satisfaction permeating the air, "Then you will have no Jedi Dogma or false explanation to justify what you see."
She frowned, what did he mean?
He didn't elaborate, and she didn't ask aloud. She followed him out of the building, which she saw was disguised a old decrepit warehouse on the outside. However, instead of breathing in fresh air and letting the sun touch her skin for the first time far to long, all she got was the stench and sight of gray smog. Her nose wrinkled in distaste, shaking her head slowly. This certainly wasn't going to be a trip she enjoyed, that much she already figured. She preferred being back inside with the filtered air. She knew better than to voice such whining though, and simply went silently.
They left the area, and descended into Coruscant's lower levels, into what Siri quickly noticed was a place of utter despair and depravity. Trash and scrap everywhere. Drug addicts walking around in a daze or hitting themselves up in broad daylight (or smoglight if she wanted to sound clever about it). Sidious stepped over a corpse on a side-street without even looking at it. People being mugged or stolen from. There was a public beating for someone not paying their 'protection money', and no one did a damn thing to stop it. Siri's temper and irritation steadily rose as they walked lower and lower into the depths...
"What the hell is this," she muttered angrily.
"Jedi neglect," answered Sidious without hesitation, "So close to their own temple, a few hours at most on foot, far less by speeder. And they don't care to solve any of this themselves."
Siri scowled and turned the topic back on him. "And you would? You don't give a damn about any of these people."
Sidious scoffed. "Nor do I pretend to. Are the Jedi not the defenders of life? Guardians of peace and justice?"
He waved back the way they came. "If so, then what is this?"
She was about to respond before a heart wrenching scream sounded further down, coming from an alleyway off in the distance, "NO! PLEASE STOP!"
Siri hesitated for a moment, an old desire, and old drive, to serve and protect struggling to rise through the dark mire she was walking in. She glanced back at Sidious, and he slowly cocked his head. "You have the power to do as you wish my apprentice. Simply remember my earlier warnings."
She didn't wait for any further words, taking off to the direction of the scream, sidestepping bottom dwellers who didn't appear to give a damn about someone screaming their head off. By the time she arrived, it had quieted to sobs and cries and an odd smacking sound. Siri rounded alleyway entrance and froze up for a moment. Pinned to the ground was a thin Twi'lek woman, cloths ripped off, black and blues across her bloody face and arms. Behind her was a masked assailant, lower clothes off, hips smacking against his victim.
Siri's vision turned red with rage and disgust. She reached out on dark instinct, clenching her fist. The rapist stopped briefly before his hands left the woman's hips, going up to claw at his throat. Siri lifted him up with the Force and slammed him face first into the alleyway wall, grinding it in and bloody him. She ripped him back and slammed him into the ground before stalking over. She waved a hand at the terrified and confused woman who was staring at her attacker and sent a sleep suggestion into her mind. She was out like a light.
Siri stood over the rapist and made to grab her lightsaber before pausing. No, that weapon left distinct markings, and was far to quick a kill if she aimed wrong. This bastard had to suffer. The man groaned and started to rise to his feet. "The hell...?"
Siri kicked him to the ground and then crushed his genitals under her boot with one savage motion, electing a agonizing scream from the man. "If you can't use them properly, you shouldn't use them at all."
She wiped the blood on her boot off on his shirt, grinding them painfully into his ribs until she heard a crack and another cry. She stomped on him, again and again, crushing his limbs, breaking bones, and inflicting as much pain as she could. There was satisfaction, extreme satisfaction, and an outlet on someone who actually deserved cruelty and pain for once, rather than an innocent. Oh... it was so therapeutic. Blessed, blessed, relief.
"I don't have all day apprentice," came her Master's irritated voice.
Siri scowled, leave it to Sidious to ruin her fun. She moved her boot to the man's head, applied as much pressure as she could naturally and then a bit with the Force, and crushed it like a fruit. She fed willingly off the death, letting it fill her with an oh so satisfying buzz. She wiped off her boots once more and then moved to join Sidious at the entrance of the alleyway.
He didn't spare the victim a second glance let alone a first, but his mouth twitch in amusement at the corpse of the rapist. "My, you are a viscous little thing aren't you, my young apprentice? It's a shame you don't show that side of yourself more often. Perhaps I should allow you more ventures down here. A thought for later I suppose. Come."
He wasn't silent this time as they walked. "I would not care about these people, in that you are correct. But I never offered to be their protector, as the Jedi did. As the Republic did."
Siri's eyes narrowed slightly. The Republic? That was the first time he had ever bothered mentioning the government to her.
"Do you deny that both swore responsibility? To guide and protect the citizens that live within this republic?" he asked.
"No," she answered, "No, I don't. This... this is purely disgusting. Would it honestly take that much effort to do something about this? A team of Jedi a day, some volunteers from the public, a speech from the senate... they could fix this. It might take a bit of effort and time, but this suffering... is needless, its pointless, there's no purpose to it."
"There is no order," agreed Sidious, "While I wont deny something like this would most likely still exist, many of these worthless maggots could at least be put to work in basic jobs to fuel an Empire, or enlisted into an army."
"And Empire?" she asked, confused.
"A dream of the Sith," he whispered, hungrily, "A Sith Empire that spans the galaxy."
And in order for a Sith Empire to rise, the Republic and the Jedi would have to fall. She saw the purpose to this 'walk' now, to warm her up to the idea. Yet... she couldn't help but admit he had some points, this all was just... it was to much, to just walk down the streets and see so much needless suffering happening in broad daylight with no one caring...
They should care...
They should be MADE to care...
With a firm hand to direct them on how to act, how they should live, since they obviously couldn't do it for themselves...
Can't forget punishment though, there were already laws in place against so much that she saw here, if they stepped out of line, they had to be put back into their place...
Sidious said nothing more that trip, that night. He slowly led her back to their complex, allowing her to take in the sight of all the depravity once more, before leaving her. She did not get to sleep anytime quickly that night, laying awake, troubled thoughts struggling to decide what would be worse, something like a Sith Empire, or allowing the Republic and the Jedi to continue such neglect... but perhaps instead of either... how about something of her own designs...
Chapter 9: Practical
Chapter Text
"There is more to a Sith than pure power in the Force or ability with a lightsaber, often times fighting yourself is a complete waste of time when you can instead bend a person to your will, intimidate or threaten them into compliance, blackmail them, or do a favor for a favor," instructed Sidious as he paced around Siri in their dark candlelit meditation room, "But it must be done without revealing yourself for who you are, or if you must, kill or wipe the minds of those who know after."
"So... you trust no one with your true identify?" she asked.
A thin smile that played across his lips. "Generally not unless I mentally bind them to me. The Sith did not stay out of the Jedi's sight by revealing ourselves unnecessarily."
She couldn't help but gawk. "Mentally bind someone? It's possible to do that?"
Sidious chuckled darkly. "Oh yes, to dominate and enslave someone's mind to you is an advance skill of the Dark Side. It must be done with the uttermost care. If you press to much, you can shatter their mind and render them useless, to little and the binding can be made vulnerable and be broken. It incurs in those dominated an unfaltering loyalty, they are unable to willingly disobey you even if they wanted to, and will look past the most brutal of crimes, rebukes and even punishments, if only to please their Master."
Siri frowned thoughtfully. It... it should have seemed disgusting to her, she knew it should of, but... to make sure she couldn't be betrayed, to have someone she had made force-ably countable on...
"And before you ask, no, I have not done so with you," said Sidious dryly, "It is not advisable to use on one's apprentice, as dominating and engulfing their mind with the binding will weaken their potential."
"I didn't think you had," said Siri snidely, "Otherwise I couldn't hate your guts the way I do."
Sidious bared his teeth, a hissing laughter escaping his lips. "Ah, there it is, you've been to quiet these last few weeks, I was wondering where that bite had gone. Still..."
Lightning ripped from his hands and drove her to the ground. "Know your place my young, foolish, blue-eyed apprentice."
Siri ground her teeth, biting back her scream, until he finished. "Hmph, your tolerance is growing, good, you were much to fragile when I took you in."
Took her in? Hah, right, as if he had been kind in doing so. "That's one way to put it."
He sent another jolt of lightning, but spoke almost fondly, "Insolent little thing. Rise, and walk with me."
She fell in step behind him, waiting patiently for him to speak. She recognized suddenly that they were heading for the exit, he was taking her out of the building.
"These skills I mentioned, some come naturally, some must be practiced and learned," said Sidious, "You will do so today. I want you to intentionally put yourself into situations, dangerous ones, and attempt to find a way out of them that doesn't involve your lightsaber or crushing someone into the ground with the Force. Whether it be intimidation, manipulation with the Force, offering to do something for them, or even seduction, the choice is yours."
Siri chocked a little. "S-seduction?!"
He glanced back at her briefly. "Being born female does have some benefit in certain situations. You are young and not unattractive, your body can be a great weapon if you choose to use it."
"Y-you've got to be kidding me," she said, "I'm under-aged for one thing!"
"And?" he said, "Some people find that all the more enticing."
"No, karking, way," she spat out in disgust, "That's one line I'm not going to cross."
Sidious chuckled. "If you say so, you will learn one day, my young apprentice, such trifle things as laws or lines mean nothing for a Sith in pursuit of their goals."
He led his infuriated apprentice to the door of the facility and motioned out. "Go, and remember that no one is to remember your face, nor are you to encounter any Jedi. You have until sunset, I will be watching."
Siri huffed a little and strode out, drawing up her hood as she went into the smog and down into the festering hellhole that was the Coruscant Lower Levels. She understood what Sidious had ordered, and what he had not said. He was giving her 'free reign', but he was going to watch how she used that 'freedom'. If she acted in anything like to a Jedi, she knew she was going to be in for it. He hadn't admonished her for saving that rape victim last time she was out awhile back, but that was probably because she had absolutely brutalized the rapist and murdered him with a savageness that impressed him...
She scoffed to herself. "Acting like a Jedi? A Jedi wouldn't be caught dead down here actually helping someone."
Besides, helping any one individual down here wasn't going to do anything in the long run. Having a lasting impact would require something far more than putting out little bush fires on the outskirts of the raging inferno the mess of the Republic was. It would require doing something about the senate; Sidious had 'so graciously' given her read-only Holonet access. She had spent a lot of time reading up on the government and its horrifically corrupt and ineffective Senate.
She had asked Sidious once just how they stayed in the senate when they did nothing of real value. How was arguing the price of karking fruit for five hours (she had actually watched that entire debate once out of morbid curiosity and disbelief) relevant to their job? How weren't they voted out of power for wasting taxpayer money and doing nothing? There were disasters both natural and created all around the galaxy they could be addressing, but they only ever saw the senate floor if an effected senator brought it up, and probably to leech money or popularity off the relief effort. And Force forbid if it was an Outer Rim planet, because nothing was going to get done for those so far from the Core.
His answer had been simple: Complacency. It had been like this for so long everyone was used to it, they didn't expect it to change, and did nothing to change it. The mindless masses didn't particularly care about the Republic or the Senate unless they meddled specifically in their affairs. Of course corruption had an effect to, being able to bribe or threaten your way into office and stay there was another reason. He had told her well over half the Senate was complicit in something illegal. So very few actually did their jobs right and actually cared.
Not that Sidious cared about that, he found the whole circus hilarious. Siri half thought he wanted to control the Galaxy just to make them dance to his tune for his own amusement. Siri knew that while something needed to be done about the senate and the failing Republic, Sidious as Emperor of the known galaxy was NOT the answer. Only those with his favor would truly benefit, the masses would either stay the same or suffer.
SHE would be better. She'd make things better, she'd force people to live the correct way, to her designs. Crime and disorder would be wiped out. There would be no more pointless suffering, no more corruption and complacency. The Senate would definitely be the first thing to go. With her at the head, and no worthless senators wasting entire sessions for the few times they actually were in session arguing about pointless things, things would get done so much faster.
Which was another issue she had with the Senate. They got paid obscene amounts of money to hardly ever show up at the senate. Most of the time when they weren't in session, they were pursuing their own re-election or personal interests. Force, if she had her way, all the corrupt ones would be public ally executed, and the ones that actually did their jobs would be elevated. After all, she's was just one person, and only one person couldn't manage an entire government herself, she'd need people to delegate to.
She nodded to herself, an eerily greedy gleam in her craving eyes, a twisted smile on her lips. "I'll be the greatest Empress this galaxy have ever seen, and all will love and adore me."
But that was later, much later, she still had to kill Sidious, and figure out how to circumvent the issue of the Jedi. If she miraculously reappeared one day in Public Office, she was sure they'd be knocking down her door to either arrest or kill a fallen Jedi. Though, she had made note and did a search: Using the Dark Side wasn't illegal, and neither was being a Sith. The Jedi could seriously shoot themselves in the foot if they tried to arrest her for having done nothing wrong (to their knowledge).
Food for thought she supposed, there were plans that could be made out of that.
Regardless, here and now, she had a lesson to practice. She pulled herself out of her thoughts and found herself deep in the lower levels. She paused and took a brief look around; there wasn't much. A corpse here, a dead-beat drug addict completely out of his mind laying against a wall twitching uncontrollably, litter everywhere, a few rough looking individuals eying her and making their way over...
Oh, yeah, great job Tachi, a young, apparently defenseless young girl traveling alone into this area was looking for trouble. Guess she had found her first test without even trying.
"Lookie here," said a decrepit ugly bastard, giving her a look over, "What's a pretty little thing like you doing down in this dump?"
She tilted her head and shot back, "Taking a walk, what's yours? To karking ugly to get a job?"
The man glared at her and reached a hand forward. "Watch it you little bitch!"
She grabbed his wrist and twisted his hand, breaking his wrist and forcing him to his knee's in one fluid motion. "No, you watch it. I'm minding my own damn business, so should you unless you want to find an early grave."
She turned her hooded head to glared at those watching. "Do we have an understanding?"
"Girl thinks she's tough shit," one of them muttered, but made no move forward.
"YOU LITTLE BITCH!" roared the man on the ground, reaching his good hand behind his back and coming out with a blaster.
She drove a knee up quickly into his chin, snapping his head, stunning him, before spinning and slamming the back of her foot into the side of his head, knocking him out. She turned her heat and shot a warning look around her, making those to close back off.
She reached down and grabbed the blaster, pocketing it within her robes. "For my troubles. Unless anyone else has any objections to me taking a stroll and wants to end up like their friend here, I''ll be on my way."
None of them made a move to follow physically, though their eyes did warily. She was an unknown variable in their area. Regardless, she considered that a test in physical discouragement and threatening. She let a smug smile cross her face, having put the trash in their place. Still... she didn't really think she'd find any other way to really test herself down here that wasn't thuggish.
She wandered the streets, keeping her eyes and senses open. But there was nothing about petty robbery, murder, or extortion that she saw. There was some part of her, deep down, that wanted to immediately help, but she forced herself to glaze over it. Finding nothing worth involving herself in, she closed her eyes and carefully reached out to the Force to lead her...
...and let out a small gasp when she felt a world of difference to what she remembered. Had this truly been the first time she had sought out the guidance of the Force after falling? She had used the Force sure, but this... it swirled in suffering and desperation down here. Life was etched into this place, the Living Force around her was dark, tainted into the streets, the people, the buildings. She had been in awful places like this a few times during her few Padawan years off on distant planets, but she had never felt it like this. She had been blind to it... blinded...
Blinded by light.
Having stepped intp the Dark Side, she was a part of the shadows, they were not hidden from her. She could see down here what the Jedi in their lofty temple did not...
So, she reached out for the Force... and felt the Dark Side greedily shove the feeling of this place into her, trying to pull her in a thousand different directions with a thousand different opportunities. It demanded she obey, she could see in her minds eye herself being led further and further down, gripped in it's grasp... dragged along like a puppet to it's will...
Siri shakily moved to a nearby wall and pressed her head against it, breathing in and out in shuddered breaths as she felt the dark try to take her again and again. She tightened her mental shields, but that did nothing. This was the Force itself flowing through her, not another person trying to dominate her mind. She remembered then, one of the first lesson's Sidious had given her...
But be warned, it will challenge us constantly, seek to influence and bend us to it's will. That is why to be a master of the Dark Side, you must dominate it.
Dominate, or be dominated...
So she reached out for the Force, felt the dark hungrily latch onto her and try to bind her...
Only for her to clench her 'fist' into a stranglehold, holding the Force down as it began to writhe against her grasp, barking and biting and howling at her, snarling and snapping like a wild animal. Siri shuddered again, but didn't release. Instead, she forced a thought into the Force.
Where might I find a challenge to test myself?
The growling of the dark slowly abated as she tightened her grasp and ask-demanded it answer her.
And it did.
Unlike the light that had once felt like a friend taking her hand and leading the way, the dark was like a bloodhound that liked to snap it's master and pull on it's leash. She followed it, not deeper into the lower levels, but farther into the same level. The bloodhound was eager, but also growled in warning. It glanced back at her and grinned as if asking, 'danger, do you dare tread'?
A sense of thrill jolted down Siri's spine. 'Of course'.
The Dark Side receded, an almost sinister, ominous laughter echoing through the Force.
Siri came back to herself as she entered through what looked to be a private warehouse district in the lower levels. She frowned, she felt something... dark... in the area, a person, but definitely nothing like Sidious. Nothing like a Jedi either, it wasn't a Dark Jedi. It was... elusive... oddly natural in the dark, and aware of her if what Siri felt was right. Strange, her shields were up tight, how could she be detected? Maybe the Dark was better at finding things that were hidden...
"Hmmm? Is this the one you're talking about?" came an eloquent voice.
Siri turned her head to see a man standing by the entrance of one of the warehouses. He was dressed eloquently, with a magnificent orange and yellow coat with little round blue gems embedded in it. He had a purple turtle-neck underneath, with straps wrapped around it and a belt connecting the two halves of his garb. He had blue eyes, wavy blonde hair, and a strong set face.
The man basically screamed rich pretty boy, though that he was down in a secluded warehouse in the lower levels suggested something illegal...
"Yessss," came an almost hissing, raspy voice, "The presence that echoed in the dark."
Then Siri's eyes shifted to his companion, and went wide.
Standing behind him, half hidden in the shadows of the doorway, was a woman unlike anything Siri had ever seen before. Yellow eyes filled with the dark, incredibly pale skin, black and white facepaint, long brown braided hair, a gold jewel hanging down on her forehead from her hair. She bore black and white robes covering her upper body, save for the lower parts of her arms, revealing muscles that were nothing to sneeze at for a lady. Her legs were mostly bare, save for her robes which hung down from above almost like a winding cloak. She had feathery pauldrons on her shoulders, stretching out behind her. In her hand she held a drawn vibrosword, fists clenching on it tightly as her yellow eyes bore into Siri.
The dark was laughing at Siri again as the woman sized her up, the warning of danger rising steadily. Siri didn't know who or what this woman was, but if it came down to a fight, Siri didn't think she would come out of it unscathed, if at all. She had wanted a situation to test herself on, but this... could get her killed. This woman was not to be trifled with, not with what training Siri currently had.
The woman smiled a sharp smile, flexing her grip on her blade. "What does a feckless worm of the dark seek here?"
The man glanced at the woman, eyes furrowed slightly, as if surprised she spoke, before looking back, hand resting on a blaster on his hip. "Yes, it is most unwise to wander into the territory of the Black Sun."
Siri blinked a few times and cocked her head. "What is the Black Sun?"
The man had a look of disbelief on his face, looking back on his companion, who studied Siri. Siri hissed quietly when she felt a rake across her mind, as if her mental shields were not even there, before the woman spoke again, "She is ignorant of your work, she did not come here for the shipment you are waiting for. She is not here for you."
Siri decided to take command of the situation before they could deduce anything else, and told a... not quite a lie. "I felt your presence and was... curious. I've never met or felt someone like you before."
It was a lie in that Siri hadn't felt her before the Dark Side had released her, but if she had, she would have been curious anyway.
The woman bared her teeth. "You should be careful, little moth, in drawing to close to a flame, less you get burned. A Nightsister is not known for her mercy nor compassion."
Siri tensed briefly, danger rocketing down her senses. Did she attack? Stand fast? Threaten? Flee? Or... downplay?
Siri took a hesitant step back, as if afraid, and that made the Nightsister's smile widen, as if in delight.
The man however merely rolled his eyes. "You can terrorize children in your spare time Mighella."
"A child for now, but not forever," hissed the Nightsister, pointing a bony finger, "The dark clings to her hungrily, steadily suffocating what light remains. She has the potential to be dangerous."
That only made the man smile. "Jealous are we Mighella? I happen to like dangerous women."
The Nightsister scowled, but went silent.
"Still, we're on a timetable," mused the man, pulling up a sleeve to check a watch before glancing at Siri, "Care to make yourself useful?"
"I'd rather be on my way," she began, "But I'm going to assume no is not an answer you will take."
The man smiled. "Ah, we've just met and you already know me so well. I don't like unknown factors just wandering into my territory. You will make yourself known, and useful, or I will have one of my ten snipers put a hole in you, I have no qualms about having a child killed if need be."
A scowl crossed Siri's face as she reached out with her senses, feeling-yes, there were beings ontop of this warehouse, and other buildings, whose attention was on her, with deadly intent. "Very well."
"Good, come," he said, turning and making his way into the building.
Siri followed in behind him, the Nightsister walking at her side, sword still drawn. "Make any foolish moves little moth, and they will be your last."
Siri didn't bother responding.
"It is common courtesy to introduce one's self, I am Alexi Garyn," introduced the man, "You are?"
"Bant Eerin," she lied smoothly.
There was a slight scoff from the Nightsister, no doubt feeling it was a lie, but no other comment.
"Well, 'Bant', let's get underway shall we?" he said, leading her into a room full of various thugs and lowlifes, "We have a shipment coming soon, your going to help us unload and deliver. Prove yourself useful, and maybe I'll have a job for you. I'm generous like that, willing to take in kids off the street."
Despite the situation, Siri's lips twitched in amusement. "I have my own place to stay."
The man flashed her a grin. "Do you? Well, as long as you show up when I ask, then I don't particularly care. If I have to have you hunted down, well, it won't end well. Now, why don't you take off that cloak? It's not good to work in such heat with such clothing."
It wasn't particularly hot, but, she wasn't going to do anything to irritate him. Though, she knew Sidious was going to give her hell for this. She pulled back her hood and took off her outer cloak, setting it down on a box.
"Mmm, I question your taste in clothes," Alexi playfully jabbed, "Full on black leaves much to be desired."
Siri smiled thinly. "Not my clothes nor my choice."
There was a slight raise of an eyebrow, and an unasked question, but Siri didn't acknowledge it. She instead glanced around the room at the gathering of baffled thugs, their gazes going back and forth between Alexi, her, and the Nightsister. This definitely wasn't a common occurrence. "You often make a habit of investigating potential dangers when you have a bunch of people to do it for you?"
Alexi laughed. "No offense to my men, but Mighella is more dangerous than all of them combined. I was in no danger, especially from a pretty little thing like you."
She narrowed her eyes. "The last person to call me that got his arm broken for his troubles."
Wrist actually, but arm sounded better.
"I'm trembling in my boots," he mocked before turning. "The shipment should be arriving soon, come come."
The group followed in behind him into a loading dock and waited. While they waited, Siri decided to... 'keep up her act', shooting the nearby Nightsister curious, but wary glances. Finally, she inched close and asked, "What's a 'Nightsister'?"
Mighella eyed her. "Now why would I tell you?"
Siri scowled and crossed her arms, 'acting' (not really acting if she had to admit) like a child who hadn't got her way. "Hmph."
The Nightsister sneered at her, but didn't respond. Siri didn't need the Force to detect the woman's displeasure, but beyond that, she could feel a subdued tint of unease, of wariness, of confusion. 'Where did this dark child come from?'
Siri wasn't inclined to answer the unspoken question, even if the woman had asked it. Still, the woman wasn't arrogant enough to completely write Siri off, all the more important to not give any reason to make her suspect more than she did. To her, she was just a 'little moth', a girl who dabbled in the dark. In reality, well... okay that wasn't to far off, she hadn't been under Sidious even a year yet, but she did have a lightsaber hidden up her sleeve to drive through the woman's back if it came down to it.
Siri's eyes flickered up as a humming noise filled the air and a nondescript ship flew down through the open loading dock, a man jumping out as it touched down. "Delivered as requested boss."
Alexi nodded and motioned his men forward. Siri followed suit wordlessly, eyeing various wooden crates in the back of the ship. It was probably some sort of contraband. She didn't honestly care, maybe if it were drugs that would ruin lives... but even then, it was the fools on the street's fault for choosing that life.
Even if they had lost everything?
Siri frowned at the compassionate thought and brushed it off. There was always a choice, even if the offered choices were all garbage. She lifted boxes with the rest of them, setting them down towards the back of the loading dock and...
"Watch it you imbeciles!" came Alexi's sudden cry.
Siri turned to see a pair of men lifting a larger and heavier box stagger, perhaps having missed their foot, and pitch forward, the box flying out of their hands. Siri reached out and caught it with the Force, letting it float there for a moment before levitating it over to the rest of the pile.
Alexi stared at her, eyebrow raised, before glancing back at Mighella. "She has the Force?"
The Nightsister didn't look amused. "What did you think I meant when I was talking about a dark presence within the Force? Or when she talked about feeling my presence?"
Alexi momentarily looked abashed before clearing his throat and adjusting his collar. "Well, to be fair, I'm not exactly well versed in matters of the Force. I thought you simply meant a mass murderer or serial killer or something."
Both... weren't exactly off considering the time Sidious had 'weaned' her from her Jedi tendencies with the slaughter of the innocent. She wasn't planning on telling them, though she had a suspicion the wouldn't honestly care. Scum, every one of them, they chose their life, Sidious had forced this one down her throat...
Isn't there always a choice?
Siri scowled darkly at the thought and moved for the ship again, irritated enough to reach out and grasp the rest of the crates with the Force and move them herself. "Am I done?"
Alexi tilted his head in thought, eyes narrowed at her. "Hmm... a second Force Sensitive under my employee would be a boon."
"I'm spoken for," she said dryly.
"Oh? And how much are you paid?" he asked, a fake smile plastered on his face, "I'm sure I can outbid on your services..."
"I'm afraid she's not for sale."
Oh dammit...
"I leave you for but a few hours on your own, and you seem to have found a mess to throw yourself in."
Of course, they didn't need to know that had been what he ordered of her. To be frank, Sidious hadn't planned on revealing himself as he watched his apprentice go about her day until the end, however...
Alexi Garyn... was an interesting opportunity, and Sidious was an opportunist as much as he was a schemer. Garyn was a rising star in the Black Sun, soon to become their Crimelord if rumors were to be true. Having his apprentice within the man's midst could be useful, both as an instrument to influence him, or to kill him if need be. Sidious was not blind to Alexi's 'friendship' with King Ars Veruna of Naboo, who his own Master was starting to grow irritated with. If Ars choose his side poorly, he could imagine the would-be crimelord being killed for his foolishness. With a bit of guidance though...
Rather than having to ravage the Black Sun in a few years, perhaps they could be brought to heel...
It would be an interesting first true mission for his apprentice, though he hadn't planned on one for some time. She wouldn't return to the Jedi, not having fallen, not having killed innocents, but to try and go rogue? If he gave her the chance to slip away, he wasn't sure at this juncture if her growing hunger for the Dark and her desire to kill him would keep her planted. Still... his apprentice needed practical experience, and she would be sure to get it within the Black Sun. Considering their forte, he could envision his apprentice getting her hands quite bloody and dirty during her time there...
He paused his thoughts, feeling the Nightsister trying to slip by his shields. He held up a hand and lifted her off the ground, clenching his fist slowly and closing off her throat, watching her float and choke for a few satisfying seconds. "Now that was unnecessary and rude little Witch. My mind is not a place someone as meek as you should tread."
He threw her against a way with a flick of his wrist and slowly strode forward, watching the nearby men back away, Alexi steel himself, and even his apprentice lose a few beads of sweat down her forehead. Her visible forehead. He had no doubt she hadn't been given a choice in the matter from the Nightsister, but he was a man of his word. When they were finished here, there would be punishment for letting her face been seen. Though if this opportunity panned out, he may lessen it.
A little bit, not by much.
His mouth twitched in amusement before he folded his hands into his robes and stopped next to his apprentice, gaze locked on Alexi. "What exactly do you have in mind for my... ward?"
He placed a oh so 'loving' hand on his apprentice's shoulder and felt her shiver under his grasp, to his delight. She feared him far more than she hated him, and he was going to make sure it stayed that way for a very long time.
Alexi noted the shiver, the fear Tachi tried to hide behind her eyes, but said nothing of it. "Well... I can imagine quite a few ways I could use someone of her talents if you are willing to rent her services."
Sidious smiled a 'benevolent smile', a warning to not waste his time. "I am listening..."
Chapter 10: Out In the Sun
Notes:
Warning/Note: Going to try something different this chapter. A huge mix of time-skips and short stories.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Siri didn't like to admit it, but, she had fantasized a few times about escaping Sidious. In her dreams. In her waking moments. Somewhere inbetween when she was laying half dead in the infirmary from training or his punishments. It didn't really matter, name the state of consciousness and she had desired to be free of him.
This was not what she had meant.
He might not be in sight, might not be even on the same planet, and her not in that same old compound anymore, but she still felt like there was a chain around her neck that he could yank her back at a moments notice. Swore she could feel his presence in the back of her mind. Not to mention the orders he had given to Alexi and his pet Nightsister to kill her if she tried to escape. And if somehow she did flee the Black Sun, Sidious would find her, and be most displeased. There was no freedom here, just another prison.
"The Force shall free me my ass," she muttered to herself.
The only way she was ever going to be free was simple, and what she had wanted from the beginning, and still infuriatingly what Sidious himself wanted.
"Two there should be; no more, no less, one to embody power, the other to crave it," she whispered to herself clenching her fists tightly.
Sidious's death couldn't come soon enough if this was how he wanted to waste her time.
She shook her head and from her 'perch' leaning against a wall on the far side of the room, turned her head to eye Alexi, drinking wine with his fellow Vigos of the Black Sun on some pleasure yacht. They were in a casino room, gambling and drinking and who knows what else. She had been introduced as his new 'bodyguard and enforcer'. She couldn't for the life of her remember the other Vigo's names, she didn't honestly care. They were high ranking drug lords basically, they belonged crushed under her boot, not partying with her standing watch. Still, Sidious's orders had been simple.
Do whatever Alexi wanted so long as it didn't harm the machinations of the Sith (as if she knew anything of Sidious's actual plans) in order to gain influence over Black Sun and lean them in the favor of the Sith. As such, she was on 'loan' to the Black Sun for roughly a year, unless Sidious so desired her return, and if the Black Sun wanted her services afterwards they would have to contract her out on a mission by mission basis.
She pursed her lips and shifted her focus, eyeing Mighella who stood protectively behind her employer and wondered how she wasn't bored out of her mind. Siri sighed softly and closed her eyes, stretching out for the umpteenth time with the Force to sense for any danger...
...and was rather surprised when she felt a tint of malice in the air. Her head turned sharply, focusing in on the sensation, spotting a waiter balancing a serving tray of wine as he approached the gathering of Vigos. Siri pushed off the wall and made her way over, noting both Mighella and Alexi's eyes shifting briefly in her direction to let her know they saw her.
The waiter began handing out wine. "Compliments of the House m'lords."
Siri reached the group and caught the man's hand just as he began to hand out Alexi's glass. "Hold it."
The group of Vigo's paused, those with new glasses of wine paused with the cup to their lips.
Siri focused her senses, vileness emanating from the glass in his hands; a cruel smile played across Siri's lips. "I think such a hard worker should have a drink first."
Her eyes flickered to Alexi. "Don't you?"
Alexi glanced briefly to Mighella, who eyed the glass for a moment, eyes narrowed, before she nodded.
The man's lips twitched with amusement as he turned back to Siri. "I suppose that 'the help' deserves a reward ever now and then."
His eyes flickered to the waiter. "Go on then. Have a drink."
"B-but that would be such a waste m'lord," stammered the waiter.
Alexi drew his blasted and rested it on his shoulder in warning. "I insist."
The waiter hesitated for a moment before downing the glass. Siri was... a bit surprised that nothing happened. She knew what she had felt...
"N-now if you'll excuse me m'lord," said the waiter before trying to leave.
"Nonsense!" said Alexi with a charming smile, "Someone pull up a seat for our good friend and let him rest his weary bones. I would hate if he were to suddenly drop dead later on after being on his feet for so long.
Oh, later on, a slow acting poison. That made sense, the waiter wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere nearby when it happened. Siri moved to grab a chair and set it behind the would-be-assassin, grabbing his shoulder and forcing him to sit with a strength he obviously didn't expect. She stood behind him and kept her hands on his shoulders in a tight grip. She'd been looking for some amusement, and she wasn't going to let it slip away.
The Vigos resumed their gambling while the waiter squirmed. Siri waited patiently, ten minutes, twenty, thirty-there! She could detect the first hints of pain were starting to blossom in the man's gut. Within minutes, his face had started paling, he started hunching over, hand cradling his stomach.
"My good man, are you alright?" asked Alexi with almost-believable concern, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you look like you've been poisoned."
The waiter said nothing, his breathing growing labored.
Alexi set down his cards on the table and stood up, slowly walking over, a thin smile on his face. "Now, my good man, let's drop the charades shall we? Hmm?"
The waiter nodded.
"Judging by how quick you wanted to leave earlier, I'd say you have the antidote somewhere, no?" asked Alexi, looking down on the man.
Again, another nod, and a slight gasp of pain. There was blood leaking out his lips.
"You are small fry," said Alexi, "You wouldn't plan this on you own, who wanted me killed? Tell me and I'll let you go."
A lie, but Siri hardly needed the Force to know that the waiter wasn't leaving the room alive.
"T-the Crimelord w-wants you gone," stammered the waiter, "H-he didn't hire me directly, but it was o-one of his c-captains, so..."
"So the trail is evident, though it allows him deniability," snarled Alexi, drawing his blaster-
Siri quickly sidestepped out from behind the man.
-and putting a bolt through the waiters head.
Alexi scowled deeply. "I was willing to let the older bastard retire alive, but if this is how he wants to play it, it would seem we will be having a change in leadership sooner than anticipated."
He glared around the room. "Party is over boys, we've got work to do."
And with that, the boredom ended, and Siri left the room with an eager grin...
It had taken far to long for Siri's taste to get to this point. Over a month of gathering and posturing for what would have been as easy as marching in and just killing the bastard. But noooooo, Alexi had wanted to press a point, to show that he was more 'beloved' to the Black Sun. He just had to go and usurp control, convert, or destroy as much as his predecessor whatever-his-name-was's followers, bases, and resources as he could prior to the confrontation, and then waltz in like he owned the place after the current (soon to be former) head of the Black Sun's own men turned on him and opened the door.
...
Okay, Alexi was good. She could see why Sidious might be interested in gaining influence over the Black Sun's soon-to-be Crimelord. He was thorough and efficient, intelligent, charismatic, and while he could look and act like a charmer, he was deadly. Those directly under him, he made deadly; he'd shown her the ropes of 'how things worked' for the Black Sun. Siri could grudgingly admit she approved, almost liked the guy. She wouldn't want to be on his bad-side, and if she was, she'd be forced to kill him, quickly, far to dangerous to leave him alive.
The Nightsister was a walking stiff, that opinion had formed and wasn't going to change anytime soon. Always so uptight and watchful... though Siri couldn't exactly blame her. Sidious had made her nervous, afraid. Those yellow eyes were always carefully gazing on her throughout the day. Siri had the notion the Nightsister might actually know what Sidious is, and by extension, what Siri was being trained as. She had made no comment of it though. Siri also still had no real idea what a Nightsister was supposed to be, a race, a faction, a title, whatever. It was kind of vexing to be honest...
BANG!
Siri refocused as Alexi put a blaster bolt through the front of the former-crimlord's head and then crossed her arms. Hopefully things would be picking up from here on in...
The one really annoying thing about all of this, was that no one who hadn't seen her use the Force or kick someone's ass took her seriously, at all. While technically that was a good thing, it made people underestimate her, it grated always being looked down upon as a young foolish teenager. She wanted to be respected, or at least given basic common cutesy. Those who couldn't even give her that, like this thug under her boot, needed to be-
CRUNCH
-punished.
Siri lifted her boot off the corpse's crushed head and wiped a bit of the blood off on his shirt. "The new Crimelord has been very generous by offering you a smooth transition into his services despite your loyalty to the old one. If you can't respect that, or his envoys, then you will be conscripted or eliminated, are we clear?"
There was a fearful chorus of 'ayes' and 'yes ma'ams', electing a small grim smile from her. "Good, now someone clean up the trash and get a report of your stock, supplies, and manpower ready for me to take back to the Crimelord, and make it snappy."
She made her way towards the exit, pausing briefly when someone whispered, "Kark, just a kid yet she's cold as hell, didn't even flinch. What hell did Alexi dig that psychopath out of?"
Siri frowned briefly, glancing down at her bloody and gore covered boot, before muttering quietly to herself, "A Sith hell."
She left the room, brooding. A psychopath, was that really what people saw her as now? There was a time, not so long ago at all, where she'd never have done that, even considered killing someone so brutally, if at all. Was this truly just the work of Sidious? Or... deep down was she just a monster like him? A beast that her Jedi training had kept in line until it was taken off the leash...
"We don't have the money! I've already taken up a second job, it's just to expensive!" exclaimed a begging man on his knees.
Siri scowled, was this really what she had been reduced to? Being a thug? "That's not my problem, it's yours. You should have known better than to go into debt with the Black Sun unprepared to deal with the consequences. If you can't pay in money, then we'll take what you own as compensation."
"I-I have almost nothing left from the last collection!" exclaimed the man, "Please, it's just me and my daughter, if you take anymore, we'll be on the streets!"
"Boys, the house," muttered Siri irritably, motioned the Black Sun thugs behind her inside.
The man wasn't kidding, there was barely anything inside. Even the furniture was bare-bones run down. What a bother... she hated doing these 'collections'. She'd rather be back standing around watching the Vigos gamble. They didn't have money, their meager personal items weren't going to cut it, so...
"You're going to have to work for the Black Sun then to pay off your debt," said Siri, "Either that, or we kill you."
The man's face paled.
There was a yelp and then a screech as one of the thugs grabbed the man's daughter and dragged her out of her room. "Yeah, you both be workin for the boss. And you little lady, we got a nice place for cute things like yourself, the boys will enjoy you, heh heh heh."
"Get your hands off my-guuuhh...," began the man before one of the thugs knocked him to the ground with the blunt of his blaster.
Siri took one look at the terrified girl's face, knowing the fate that awaited her, then looked away. She had made the mistake of passing the pleasure slave's quarters once. It wasn't... it wasn't Siri's problem, it was the father's for being an idiot and dragging his daughter down with him. Still... she'd really rather be anywhere but here...
"I thought I sensed something for a moment Master, I must have been mistaken..."
Siri's heart was thumping like crazy as she hid behind a trash compactor in a back alley. Apparently, word had gotten out that the Black Sun had a Force Sensitive doing their dirty work. And Jedi being Jedi, would investigate anything they deemed dark or inappropriate use of the Force. She didn't know the pair, and didn't care to find out who they were. She carefully double checked her masking before she reached out and knocked over a trash can on the far end of the street with the Force. The pair of Jedi whirled away, and then Siri bolted at top speed infused with the Force, drawing her hood up as she ran.
"Stop!"
If she had a hard time listening to Master Galia, let alone Sidious, these random Jedi didn't have a prayer at getting her to obey. She could feel a hint of persuasion through the Force, but didn't even acknowledge it, allowing it to slip and slide off her, unable to get a grip through her shielding. She wasn't going to use the Force in anything more than neutral ways, and even that would be kept to a minimum. She couldn't let them get any hint of her presence, because if they did, then shared that memory with someone like Yoda, she'd be identified in a heartbeat.
She pulled out her comlink. "Someone needs to get a ship ready pronto, we've got Jedi here."
There was a curse before the voice on the other end said. "Right, five minutes and I'll have the ship warmed up."
"If you take off without me, I will hunt you down," was all she said in response, shutting the comlink off.
Escape was her only option. She had trained in her spare time, but, not as heavily as she had since she left Sidious. She didn't think she could take a Jedi Master or Knight yet. Regardless of that... she didn't want to fight or kill a Jedi. Not unless she absolutely had to. Not to mention Sidious's reaction would either be praise or punishment, and she wanted neither from him.
Siri ran into the main street, rushing into a crowd and slipping into their midst. While perhaps she could simply mingle in and lose the Jedi that way, she didn't trust the ability to mask herself fully, not to mention the black cloak she wore kind of gave her away to the Jedi. Sidious's previous apprentice, the beast, had failed in his shielding after all, Siri had sensed him. The quicker she was off the planet, the better...
Siri lazily laid on a couch in Alexi's personal yacht's lounge, on the table in front of her an ice cold beverage of some kind; she didn't remember what it was called, but it was blissful. Why did the bad guys get such nice things? She had never had something this soft as a Jedi; she could distinctly remember a lump in her old bed back at the Jedi Temple that always gave her back aches in the morning. Force, the Jedi should invest a bit in comfort, if only to make their numbers more relaxed before going off on a mission.
Or during down time like she had now. Though, it was more like 'lay low' time. Had been for awhile, Alexi had her on logistical and internal duties rather than out on the field after that incident with the Jedi. Laying down crunching numbers on a datapad was a rather nice way to spend the day, rather than being brutalized in training, or have to basically be a thug for the Black Sun.
"Ah, there you are Tachi," came Alexi's voice as he strode into the room, the Witch at his side; he raised an eyebrow at her. "Enjoying yourself?"
"Having something this comfortable should be a crime," was all she answered.
Alexi laughed. "Well, considering where our money comes from, it might be. Speaking of which, what are today's numbers?"
She flicked the screen and began rattling off profits from different worlds, groups, and individuals one by one. It irritated her, to no end, to see just how many Senators and other government employees, both Republic wide and more local, were either on the payroll of the Black Sun, or being extorted by them. Was there no government not corrupt? It just affirmed in her mind that the Republic had to go, it was rotten to the core, no pun intended. Or maybe so, the Core was the worst after all.
"Hmm," mused Alexi after she finished, "It would seem things have finally stabilized after I took over. Good, very good."
He made an about face, "Well, I'm off to the Jacuzzi, I'll leave you two ladies to have some bonding time."
Siri exchanged glances with Mighella; they both snorted, electing an amused chuckle out of the Crimelord before he left.
"So... what's a Nightsister?" asked Siri for the umpteenth time.
"Whats a Sith?" shot back the Witch.
Siri raised an eyebrow. "You actually asked it, I didn't think you would."
"In case you haven't noticed, I am attached to my Lord most of the day. The chances we have had to converse alone have been none-existent, and the less he knows about the Sith, the more likely he is to survive," said Mighella irritably, approaching to stand on the other side of the table looking down at Siri.
Siri's lips twitch in amusement. "Fair enough, but I think you already know the answer to your question, and my Master is interested in gaining affinity with Alexi, not killing him."
Mighella grew thoughtful for a moment before frowning. "Why you then? I recognized what your Master was the moment I had the unfortunate 'pleasure' of meeting him. You don't have the kind of disposition I'd imagine from one of your kind."
Siri gave her a lazy smile. "One, I started my apprenticeship... a little over a year ago I think, I'm still new. And two..."
Her smile turned sharp. "You haven't seen me truly angry yet. I killed my Master's former apprentice when I fell."
Mighella's eyebrows lifted slightly. "Impressive."
She tilted her head in thought. "You were a Jedi before, weren't you?"
Siri frowned. "How do you..."
"It's still in the way you hold yourself, in the way you train, sometimes in how you act or speak," said Mighella, "I imagine it will stay with you for some time before it slowly fades away."
"You're point being what?" asked Siri.
"Do you regret it?" asked the Witch, "Falling?"
Siri said nothing for a minute, slowly working over her own thoughts in the matter. "I... regret that someone important to me died, that if the Jedi even knew I was alive that I would be shunned and rejected. I regret many of the things Sidious has made me do, and will make me do in years to come. But the Dark Side itself?"
"No," she admitted, "I don't. I... am not unaware of how it changes me. That I think things I've never thought before, done things I never would have before, how I can look past cruelties. But that... that's a natural thing honestly."
"Natural," said Mighella, not a question, a statement, an interested gleam in her eye.
"Take animals, they act on instinct, without regret, even in things that seem cruel and savage," said Siri, "It's the same with the Dark Side. It's the Sith that twist and turn it into something more sinister, at least that's what I think."
"You'd be surprise how much my kin would agree with that," mused Mighella before refocusing, "You disagree with the Sith, with what you are being trained to be?"
Siri's gaze turned dark, her voice a hushed, cold whisper. "I hate Sidious with every fiber of my being. I will kill him one day. Whether I take his place, dismantle the Sith, or turn it into something different, remains to be seen."
"Ambitious."
Siri grinned; she hadn't even told her about the desire to become an Empress. "Just a little."
She sat up. "So, you going to actually answer my question or what?"
Mighella sighed. "The Nightsisters are a sect of Dathomiri witches who embraced the dark arts..."
"...and levitate that final piece there, snap it all together, and..."
snap-hiss
"Excellent," said Siri, watching as Mighella flourished her newly crafted red lightsaber.
"Mmm, Mighella, have I ever told you how much red suits you?" called over Alexi from the far side of the workshop.
The Nightsister flashed a predator grin in his direction. "Flattery on a Nightsister of Dathromir?"
"It's what won me your services," said Alexi nonchalant.
"You putting a blaster bolt through the back of your targets head without so much as a flinch was what drew my interest, my services came after watching you work," shut down Mighella.
Siri snicked. They were the oddest pair sometimes.
"Ah, I remember it now, it was a dark, rainy, awfully humid day on Dathromir, chasing down people running from their debts to the Black Sun...," began Alexi.
"Can you not?" groaned Siri.
"Come now, this is half the fun in having you around," jested Alexi.
Siri rolled her eyes and turned to the Nightsister, "Now that I helped you make a saber..."
She grinned. "Up for a spar?"
"...but I'm feeling oh so generous today, I'll let my dear friends decide what to do with you sorry lot," said Alexi with a falsely-sweet smile.
Siri stood to one side of him, Mighella on the other, as he looked down upon a group of goons that had bungled the most valuable shipment of spice the Black Sun had tried to sell in years (or so Alexi had said). It had been worth literally millions of credits, and they had apparently lost it to actual legitimate authorities not on the Black Sun's payroll, shocker there. She could feel Alexi's rage, it was intoxicating, how he hadn't put a bolt through the fools heads yet was beyond her.
"Siri, Mighella, what do you think? Shall we come up with something... creative?" said Alexi, his smile growing deathly sharp, almost ghoulish with his fury starting to bleed through.
For a moment, she let her mind wonder, thinking of various ways she could pretend each and every one of them were Sidious before killing them in excruciatingly painful ways...
Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance?
Siri paused at that inner voice, it wasn't the first time and it wasn't going to be the last time she heard it. Yet... it wasn't her own anymore, instead belonging to a hauntingly familiar voice from a certain boy... Obi-Wan...
She pursed her lips, irritated. Her conscience was getting creative, and underhanded. Force... she hadn't allowed herself to think of Obi-Wan in months... what would he think of her now, about what she had done since they last met?
"Killing them outright would be wasteful," said Siri slowly, drawing a look from both Mighella and Alexi, "They can either get back the shipment they stole, or die trying."
There, that was a fair enough second chance.
"Mmm, and what if they tried to run?" questioned Alexi.
Siri raised an eyebrow. "There's no where they can run from the Black Sun, or, you can put a tracker in them if you really want to."
Alexi stared at her, eyebrows furrowed. "Generous of you indeed. Very well..."
He turned to the goons. "Make no mistake, if you run, or return here empty-handed, you will regret it. Succeed, and you'll earn my forgiveness."
Siri turned to leave as the goons began to praise Alexi and thank him for her mercy, drawing up her hood as she went. She could feel the Nightsister's eyes on her, but didn't acknowledge. She retreated to her room and sat against the wall in the corner of the room, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.
"Obi-Wan," she murmured quietly to herself.
"You've been moping for weeks dear," said Mighella.
"I am not mopping!" said Siri.
"I beg to differ, now come, Alexi gave us the day off, and you are coming with me to the masseuse," said the Nightsister.
"What's a masseuse?" asked Siri, confused.
The woman sighed and shook her head. "Right, former Jedi, they never gave any comforts, did they?"
"Not in particular," answered Siri, interest starting to grow, "What is it?"
"Come and see," said Mighella.
Half an hour later, Siri was in pure bliss, laying down on a table wrapped in a towel and having the 'Masseuse' rub her back. "This is so good it should be illegal..."
Mighella snorted from her own table. "Didn't you say that about the couch?"
"Mmmm," was her only response, closing her eyes and laying her head down on the nicest pillow she had ever had.
She laid there for awhile, immensely enjoying the rub down, before she murmured, "Hey Mighella?"
"What?" answered the Nightsister.
"I never knew mine, what is your homeworld like?" asked Siri.
Mighella seemed to loose herself in thought for a few minutes. "Where I lived, the world around me was covered in thick forest. Swampland was rampant; infested with insects and other dwelers of the bog..."
"Sounds wonderful," Siri mocked playfully.
Mighella bared her teeth. "Even the insects knew better than to bite a Nightsister."
Siri turned her head towards the woman and made a biting motion.
Mighella snorted in amusement. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted. Dathomir is a lush world; holding a dangerous beauty to it. I could get intentionally lost for hours roaming the woods."
"Intentionally?" Siri asked.
Mighella shrugged. "To simply enjoy my world, to give myself time and space to think on my own, rather than just pace a room."
"Fair enough," said Siri before refocusing, "Did you have family there?"
"All Nightsisters are part of a Clan," said Mighella, "I belonged to one led by Mother Talzin, who I dare to say is amongst the greatest of the Nightsister Shamans."
"Why?" asked Siri.
"Because she actually gave a damn about her clan," said Mighella, "Not like that bitch Zalem who fancies herself Queen of the Nightsisters that she would run into the ground. No, I don't imagine it will be more than a decade before she's disposed. Talzin, she would make a fair leader of our people."
Siri nodded slowly, "I see."
Mother Talzin eh? A name Siri decided to store away; the woman could one day perhaps be useful.
"And what of you?" asked Mighella, "Do you know the name of your parents?"
Siri pursed her lips. "No. Jedi don't believe in 'attachments', I don't know who my parents are nor where I even came from."
"Do you want to know?" asked Mighella, "Alexi could probably find out for you."
Siri allowed the idea to linger for a moment, a brief one, before dashing it. "No. Not so long as my Master lives."
"Oddly specific," stated Mighella.
Siri bared her teeth. "Sidious would probably kill them as some sort of sick lesson to me. The Sith don't believe in attachment any more than the Jedi do, as a weakness instead of a danger."
"You disagree?" asked the Nightsister.
Siri went silent for a moment; allowing herself to think of Obi-Wan, of her dead Jedi Master, her old (former) friends at the temple, and even Mighella and Alexi at this point. "I think they're the only thing worth living and fighting for..."
Siri's lightsaber was a blur as she surged down the hallway, slicing through Cartel members, leaving a burning trail of molten orange behind her gouged into the walls and floors, body-parts scattered around. Siri didn't know who the hell thought it would be a good idea to try to kill Alexi when he had so graciously invited them into his home, but they were dead meat. Alexi was hers, Mighella was hers, and no one killed those who belonged to her.
Alexi had been proposing some deal or another with the Xrexus Cartel, led by some blond/red tipped woman named Xev Xrexus, who Siri personally thought was a snake. She had felt something underhanded going on, but Alexi had waved it off, something underhanded was always going on.
She came up to an ajar door to the conference room, deactivated her lightsaber, and peeked in, spotting Mighella standing in-front of Alexi, lightsaber bared, against ten goons and four unusual droids aiming blasters at them. They had blue shields surrounding them, stood on three legs, and had twin blasters, one on each arm. They looked nasty.
"...ome now Alexi darling, surely you can agree that doing this my way would be the more favorable outcome," said Xev Xrexus, "You get to keep your pretty little face where it belongs, and I get a cut of the profits, surely you can agree mmm?"
Alexi scowled. "Do you always make such lovely first impressions darling?"
Xev flashed a smile. "I try. Now, I believe your choices are slim at the moment, so shall we cut the deal?"
Yeah... no.
Siri stepped into the room, reaching out with the Force to grab the droids, lifting them into the air, and crunching them into balls. They landed on the ground, drawing the baffled glances of the Cartel members, at least until Siri activated her lightsaber.
"You've just made a big mistake," warned Siri, reaching out with the Force to flick off the lights, the red glow of her lightsaber giving her a deathly appearance.
"Siri dear, leave Xev alive, we need to exchange words," called out Alexi.
Siri flashed a grin, and moved. The screams started and ended within a minute before she had the now terrified woman kneeling on the ground at saber point. Siri waved a hand and turned the lights back on, kicking away a corpse that was a bit close for comfort.
"Shavit," swore Xev, "You've got a Dark Jedi as well as the witch? That's just not fair darling!"
Alexi smiled a dangerous smile. "Nothing about our trade is fair, now, if you want to leave here alive, we're going to be renegotiating that deal..."
"Here, catch" called out Alexi.
Siri freed a hand from the datapad she was working on, held out a hand, and caught whatever he had thrown at her. She finished the number crunching she was doing before sitting up and glancing down at the object. A ring...?
"Uh... I'm flattered, and Garyn is a good a name as any, but I like Tachi more, and I'm a bit young to be married," said Siri.
Alexi barked out a laugh. "Oh Tach, look at it."
She did, inspecting it closer and... oh...
It was a ring with the crest of the Black Sun on it, a special kind that only the Vigos and the leadership of the Black Sun wore.
"You might not be a Vigo, but you've earned your keep and proved your worth ever since you got here, so wear it with pride Tachi, you've earned it," said Alexi before moving closed to kneel next to her, his voice lowering, "And if you need our help in offing that old bastard of yours, just ask."
Siri froze for a moment, eyes searching his, before taking a dangerous tone, "You have little understanding of just what that would entail."
Alexi raised an eyebrow. "As much as you and Mighella seem to think I'm oblivious, I am not. So let me let you in on a little secret. The only reason I didn't end up in your old Order is because I was to old to be trained."
Siri blinked a few times in disbelief before reaching out with the Force...
"You're Force Sensitive," she said, chagrined she hadn't noticed in all the time she had been here.
"Mhm, had a dream as a kid to become a knight, but lo and behold, Jedi only want you if they can baby snatch you," said Alexi with distaste, "So, I turned my talents to other, lucrative, pursuits."
"I'm aware you were a former Jedi, one Siri Tachi, padawan to Adi Gallia, both assumed dead," he continued, "I did my homework on you. That old scary bastard of yours though, I have no info on him, but I can guarantee based on what little I can feel with the Force is that he is no mere Dark Jedi. He's Sith, isn't he?"
Siri snorted. "And here Mighella thought she was keeping you in the dark to keep you safe."
Alexi rolled his eyes. "She's very protective, also, don't dodge the question."
"Yes, he is, and do you understand just what that means? What you promising to help me one day kill him means?" she asked.
"It means, that I'll be partners with the next Dark Lord of the Sith," said Alexi, "It's the way things work with you Sith, correct?"
"For now," she said evenly.
Alexi held out a hand, offering a shake...
...and Siri took it.
Oh yes, the Sith had gained the Allegiance of the Black Sun, but it was to her, and not to Sidious...
And didn't that make her smile a deadly smile, because it was just the beginning. Sidious had mentioned off and on, about having extensive networks of those in his pocket across the Galaxy. She'd need her own before she moved against him and his down the line.
"Alexi," she said slowly, "I personally don't care about the stupid aging rule. If not for Sidious, I'd offer to teach you what I know, not to be a Sith, but in general of how to use the Force. If Sidious found out that I had taken anything like a disciple however, he'd kill you, perhaps even order me to do it."
"Something to think about down the road then," said Alexi.
"Something indeed," said Siri, taking her hand back and slipping the Black Sun ring on her finger...
Life in the Black Sun wasn't nearly as bad as Siri had thought it would be, if one could look past what exactly the Black Sun did that is. The months had flown by, both before and after she had turned the duo of Alexi and Mighella into a trio. She rather enjoyed it to be honest, to actually have people she could call friends again. She felt an odd... possessiveness for them, and kinship. They were both dark in their own way, but certainly no Sidious. So, her kind of dark.
She really shouldn't have been surprised as she was when it came to an end.
Siri had walked into her unlit room and flopped down with a sight, another day done, only for her comlink to sound, she sighed and picked it up, turning it on, only for a cold voice to ring out, "Have you enjoyed your little vacation my young blue-eyed apprentice?"
Siri bolted upright, heart skipping a beat for a moment at the sound of Sidious's voice, before she schooled her expression and suppressed the spike of fear. "I'd hardly call it a vacation."
His response was the sound of lightning cackling in his fingertips echoing down the comlink. "Report."
Siri scowling briefly, before she answered, "I'm as good as a Vigo right now, and in Alexi's good graces."
"Good, good, is he open to suggestion?" questioned Sidious.
"What exactly is the suggestion?" she asked.
"That he break off his dealings and 'friendship' with Ars Veruna," said Sidious, "It would be in both his and our best interest."
Who in the nine Corellian hells was Ars Veruna?
"Pass on the suggestion, then return to Coruscant, I have a... mission for you," said Sidious.
Oh... Siri had a bad feeling about this. "As you wish."
Firs though, she needed to do a bit of research...
Alexi gave Siri a skeptical look, glancing up from the datapad he was looking at sitting at a table. "Now, why would I break of my oh so 'budding' relationship with the King of Naboo? I've been working on him for awhile now. I had hoped within the decade that his planet's plasma reserves would..."
"Those reserves will do you no good dead," said Siri, "Sidious ordered me to tell you to break it off. If you don't, I know what order comes next."
Alexi narrowed his eyes, Mighella shifting behind him warily. "And here I thought we were friends."
"We are," said Siri, "That's why, as your friend, I'm telling you to do it. I can't cross Sidious with only a year of training under my belt, I'm not even close to ready. He will order you killed, and I cannot defy him. Take the offered way out, there will be other opportunities."
Mighella cleared her throat. "It would be wise not to cross her Master."
Alexi tapped his finger on the table. "Hmm..."
He sighed, leaned back in his chair, rubbed his eyes, and waved a hand. "Fine."
Siri felt a wave of relief rush over here. Good, he actually listened. She opened her mouth to speak before pausing and cocking her head.
Change change change
The Dark Side swirled with hungry potential. Something danced across her sight, to quick to really see, but there were brief images and flashes of Alexi and Mighella on various worlds and ships, doing... doing something. Damn... she didn't have experience with visions, how to interpret them, how to pull them to her. She knew what had flashed across her mind was important, she just couldn't see or understand why.
She shook her head and cleared her throat. "Sidious has recalled me to Coruscant as well."
Alexi pouted. "Leaving us so soon Tachi?"
"He did say a year, no more, no less," pointed out Mighella.
Alexi glanced up at the ceiling. "Hmm... oh I suppose I can let you go. I'll miss the laziness and lack of efficiency though."
Siri gave an amused smile. "Love you to Lex."
Alexi scowled. "Lex? I shot the last guy who called me that."
"Good thing I'm a girl then," she said cheekily.
Alexi snorted and waved his hand. "Off with you then."
She nodded to both of them, not truely saying goodbye, and left. They were hers, and she had little to no intention of ever letting them go baring a heavy betrayal on their part. She would see them again, all to soon...
Siri stared silently at the compound down in the lower levels of Coruscant, brooding. After roughly a year away, she really didn't want to be back. She shook her head and strode inside, there was no point putting it off. She walked inside, and the moment she did, she felt a ripple of dark energy through the Force, a not-so-subtle nudge that Sidious demanded her presence. She moved silently through the halls until she found him, sequestered away in their meditation chamber.
"The time has come my apprentice," said Sidious, slowly turning to face her, holding out a datapad, "For you to take your first true step on the path of the Sith."
Her eyebrows furrowed, she . "I haven't already?"
Sidious lips peeled back into an amused smile. "Do you truly think that merely embracing the Dark Side, killing a few innocents, and working for a criminal organization for so short a time truly qualifies you? Oh no my poor foolish apprentice, you still have so far to go."
He motioned to the center of the room and she walked forward, stopping there, watching as he began to circle her. "First and foremost amongst the Sith is our age old conflict with the Jedi, and you have yet to kill your first."
Siri's heart plummeted. "You want me to kill a Jedi."
He circled to her front and fished out a datapad from his robes, handing it to her. "Fret not, I've chosen a 'retired' one, far before your time. Surely to old and weak to be a threat to you."
Somehow, she doubted it; she took the datapad and began to read. "Siolo Ur Manka...?"
Why did that name sound vaguely familiar? Wait...
Wait, seriously?! "You're crazy! I know who that is, some of the old Masters still talk about him. He was one of the most renowned Jedi back in his day, amazing with a Lightsaber, skilled with the Force, wise, and cunning. There is no way I can beat him in a fight."
Sidious radiated disapproval. "Still in the mindset of a Jedi, always thinking with your lightsaber. This is why I chose this Jedi now, rather than as a test of your skill later in a few years. There is more than one way to kill an opponent than simply stabbing them with a blade, Apprentice. If you cannot learn this, then you are no more use to me than as a sharpened tool; unworthy of becoming a Sith, and learning the secrets and powers of the Dark Side."
Siri went silent.
"In the datapad is his location, and all relevant information I could find on him, you have three months to kill him, I don't care how other than it is not with a Lightsaber. If you fail that, and I am forced to clean up your mess, my displeasure will make itself known in ways you have yet to experience. Are we clear?" he said in a deadly tone.
"Yes Master," she whispered.
"Good, now get out of my sight," he spat.
Siri fled the room, dread bleeding through her body; both at having to kill a Jedi, and wondering how she could possibly be expected to kill this one...
Notes:
For those who don't know, Siolo Ur Manka was a retired Jedi Master (a male Twi'Lek) who Darth Maul was sent to kill in an unspecified year prior to ~32by. He kicked Maul's ass, stupidly didn't kill him (Jedi), and then Maul came back and killed him with some double-bladed trickery. I think he appeared for like... 1 comic, we have little info on him, so... yay! One-shot character to use and build on as I see fit!
Anyway, going to try another method of story telling this next chapter too.
It will be told from Siolo Ur Manka's Point of View, we won't have access to Siri's thoughts/feelings except what the old Jedi feels and sees from her. ^_^
Chapter 11: First Fracture
Notes:
Since it never tells us the name of the Planet Siolo is on, I'm changing Jentares from the System to the Planet.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hope or Death | Light or Dark | Rise or Descend | Potential or Danger | Change...
On and on the Force sang to Siolo Ur Manka in ways it hadn't since his time as an active duty Jedi Master, perhaps not even then. It left him... not uneasy, but wary. Something was going to happen, was coming, and he was at the center of it. He looked down into a puddle next to where he was meditating at the foot of a giant tree on Jentares. His aged green face looked out at him in the reflection; so old and wrinkly. He had came to this planet closing in on a century ago as he entered his older Twi'Lek years to find peace until the Force claimed him.
It would seem the Force had other ideas.
He was far past his prime, but still considered himself one of the best the Jedi Order had to offer. Not out of arrogance or pride, but out of experience. Yet... he closed his eyes and knelt down, falling into a meditation. Rapid images assaulted him, of himself and... someone, a dark blur, sitting at a campfire, not fighting, simply talking quietly. Days shifted into nights over and over again; the dark blur changed as time went on, sometimes brighter, sometimes darker, within it an immense battle for a lost soul was fought. The vision shifted back, further and further, from the ground, to the trees, to the sky, to space, to the entire galaxy, brightening and darkening as the dark blur did.
He slowly opened his eyes as day became dusk; what was coming was not a conflict to be won with his skill with a staff nor the Force. Beyond that, the Force's warning was clear. Whatever happened was going to affect the fate of the Galaxy...
He sighed. "I am far to old for this..."
Roughly a week later, when night began to fall as he was tending to his garden outside his secluded hand-built cabin, he felt eyes on him. He did not pause, nor give any indication he was aware of it. He simply kept on weeding, checking his vegetables for ripeness, plucking those that were ready and setting them into a clay bowl. He moved to his unlit campfire, grabbing flint and tinder he always left there, and set about igniting it to start a stew.
His aged hands turned the vegetables in his hand, peeling away the outer skins before letting them drop into a water filled bucket kept over the campfire. He let it begin to simmer to a boil before going back inside and to his cellar for a bit of preserved meat to toss in. He returned and did so before sitting down to wait.
The feeling of eyes on him never left while he was outside. He closed his eyes and let himself take in his surroundings. Not probing for anything specific, but just taking in the Living Force around him. He could detect... fear, anger and uncertainty. Yet also hope and determination. Underneath that... as if shoved and buried down, shame and guilt.
What an odd mixture.
He made no move to acknowledge or seek out whoever was watching him, nor let them know he was aware. He ate his dinner and retired for the night, the sensation of being watched fading away. He did not sleep, at least not right aware, allowing a few hours to pass to see if someone would try to sneak in. When nothing happened, he let himself lightly drift off, trusting the Force to alert him of potential danger...
The eyes came back the following day, and the day after that, always watching, but never approaching. Siolo pondered it, while he was patient, perhaps he should give an invitation? That night, when he fished his stew out, he grabbed a second clay bowl, filled it, and set it at the other side of the campfire.
There was a brief stirring of surprise, and then chagrin along with self-reproach. But no one came out of the surrounding forest. Still... he left the bowl out, as a peace offering, not to mention whoever it was had to be hungry, the eyes had hardly left him all day.
Come morning, the bowl was empty. Siolo smiled softly and shook his head, bemused, picking the bowl up to clean later. That night, he made the same offering, this time, with results. There was an air of hesitancy in the area, a roiling of fear, so much fear; whoever it was, they were afraid of him. It left him at a loss; he never wanted anyone to feel that kind of fear towards him.
Slowly, a figure came into the campfire light; he caught sight of a black robe, hood drawn, and his heart sank. No servant of the light wore anything like that. And this close... while whoever this was kept their presence impressively masked (but oddly not their emotions), Siolo could feel the Dark Side emanating from them. He kept his reaction hidden, and instead made a motion to the bowl. There was a brief flare of hope from the figure, before they sat down opposite of him, and grabbed the bowl, slowly beginning to eat.
The Dark One had not attacked him, so he would not attack them.
He studied it briefly before returning to his own food. The figure was slim and somewhat short. That either limited it down to certain races, or perhaps someone young and not fully grown. He was not rude and did not attempt to probe the figure with the Force, and instead contemplated the array of emotions he felt. Judging from the lack of control... someone young then. And, if he had to guess, recently fallen. Perhaps a former Padawan. Why come to him though?
"Have you a name young one?" he asked.
The figure paused, and he squinted, catching sight of a pale and smooth neck, an adams apple bobbing nervously; so a human then.
"Iris," a young female voice answered.
Her answer rang... somewhat false, perhaps incomplete in the Force. She did not either trust to give her true name, or her full name, it was hard to tell which with her shielding. "I assume you already know who I am if you sought me out."
"Master Siolo Ur Manka," she answered.
He slowly shook his head. "I haven't been a master in a very long time young one, in over seventy years. Which, begs the question, why have you come to an old man like me?"
She didn't respond right away, taking a few bites and swirling around her soup; he didn't need the Force to know her anxiety. "I... I need help."
Siolo paused his own eating. "In what regard?"
"I don't... I don't want to be like this anymore." she whispered, loss overtaking her voice, "But... I... can't find the light."
Siolo closed his eyes, a soft sigh escaping his lips. "I see."
He had helped his fair share of lost Padawans back onto the right path. But there was a world of difference between them and her. They had merely dabbled in the Dark Side, perhaps given into a fit of rage and anger once, or suffered a great loss, not truly lost themselves. They merely needed a bit of guidance to find their way home. This one however? She was firmly wrapped in the Dark Side; she was Fallen, and those like her never found their way back. Or rather...
He could never once recall any of them trying.
It made him wary of a trap of some kind. And yet... his visions from last week echoed in his mind. If he turned her away, there would be no hope for the child. If she was honest in why she was here, then he recognized why she had come to a secluded retired Master. He was more than aware the general policy for those who had Fallen; if she had returned to the Jedi Order, she would be isolated and imprisoned in a Force Suppressing Cell in the depths of the Temple. The Council was rarely lenient in such things, and while her seeking out help might have been looked on favorably, she was still Fallen. She had done things to warrant the darkness clinging to her.
Bound to a cell for the rest of her life; stripped of the Force; or having a Jedi watchdog for the remainder of her days. None of those prospects would be appealing to someone like her.
He reached for the Force, asking guidance, but all he received were whispers of what it had sang to him before. He rubbed his chin slowly, mulling over the request before he came to a decision. Retired or not. He was still a Jedi, he could not turn away those in need.
"What you seek is something I am not sure I can give," he stated honestly, watching her head droop in resignation, "It is not something that has happened since the days of the Old Republic, during the wars with the Sith, and even then was an extreme rarity."
She looked up at him, surprise echoing around her. "So... it is possible?"
"Perhaps," he said, "But... in general, it required an immense will of those that wished to return, and the aid of those who cared."
Her lips turned thin, displeased, scorn emanating from her. "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."
Definitely Temple born and a Fallen Padawan then. "Hmm, Master Yoda is quite set in his ways. It is however far easier to simply not fall then claw one's way back."
Iris went silent for a moment before asking quietly, "You're not talking about Revan, are you? Does it really count if his mind was wiped? That who he was, was ripped apart by the Jedi at that time?"
Siolo could admit, he was impressed. "You are well versed on your history young one. But no, Revan was not the first, nor the last to turn from the Dark Side. Albeit as you implied, the method used on him left much to be desired."
"You don't agree with what was done?" she asked, curious.
"Who you are as a person, is a sacred thing," said Siolo solemnly, "To take that away from someone, to strip them down and remake them to your liking, is an abhorrent action, something I will never agree with."
It took him a moment to get a grasp on the flurry of emotions emanating from her. Surprise followed by confusion and bafflement, at him, slowly morphing and settling into respect. "How would you have handled Revan then?"
Siolo slowly shook his head. "I could say what I think I would do, however, I wont. Because, placing one's self into an impossible situation and saying how you would act or what you would do is foolish young one. One cannot know the answer, nor their true self, unless they live it themselves."
He gave her a wry smile. "In doing so I avoid placing unreasonably high expectations on myself."
He caught a hint of a hesitant smile in the campfire-light. "Live within the moment huh?"
He merely dipped back into his soup rather than answer.
Her caught sight of her smile fading, a hint of melancholy tinting the air. "I knew a Master like that once. I didn't really like him, always came off as harsh, so stuck in his own ways, but he meant the world to Obi... his padawan."
"It is a weakness of those in-tune with the Living Force," admitted Siolo, "We focus so much on the here and now that sometimes we lose focus of the consequences of our actions or attitude that come later on."
She stared at him with an... odd look; an air of nostalgia around her; it prompted him to ask, "Is something wrong with what I said?"
"No," she answered, "Just... it's felt like a long time since I've had a Jedi teach me."
The nostalgia faded, and something dark took it's place. "Even rarer for me to see a Master admit such a fault. So many were simply stuck in their own ways and refused to adapt."
The Force roiled around them hungrily. "Complacent, blind to the suffering below their very feet as they sit up in their lofty temple..."
Siolo went still, wary of the Dark Side emanating from the girl. Yet... there was a remnant of honesty in her words. They reeked of the Dark, yes, yet were empowered by something she viewed as the truth. "How do you mean?"
She refocused and pinned him with a hard stare, blue eyes gleaming out from under her hood. "Did you ever go into the lower levels of Coruscant?"
Siolo tilted his head back in though. "Hmm... it has been some time..."
A wry smile crossed his face. "I may have participated in illegal swoop races a few times in my rebellious youth. Aside from that, most of my time as a Jedi was spent on missions, training my padawans, or instructing classes. I can't say that I frequented the lower levels, and if I did, forgive my memory, it has been over half a century for me."
She stared at him silent for a moment. There was a harshness in her eyes, condemnation, yet, she hesitated to speak. Instead, he felt her stretch out with the Force. Every instinct he had demanded he bat away her mental presence as she tapped against his shields. Yet... what he did instead would have left many master's at the temple speechless and shocked. He lowered them and let her in. Her eyes widened briefly in surprise and confusion, but those emotions faded as the hardness returned. She pushed a memory to him, of herself walking the streets of the lower levels.
Siolo's eyes glazed as he watched, focusing on where her eyes lingered and what drew her attention and spiked her anger. Ah... he understood.
"The Jedi don't have the numbers to right every wrong in the Galaxy," Siolo said softly.
She scowled at him. "Did they even try?"
"Did you?" he asked, eyebrow raised.
She recoiled as if struck, eyes widening, then guilt and shame poured out of her. "No... not when I was a Jedi. I... didn't know."
She scowled. "But... it's not an excuse for me any more than it is for the Jedi."
Siolo cocked his head, studying her through the campfire light. He had noted how she continually separated herself and distanced herself from the Jedi. It was not uncommon at all for those who had fallen to do so. Yet, it would make this difficult. Well... only if she wished to return to the Jedi afterwards, as she appeared to harbor resentment towards them. Which made her coming here curious. Why seek out a Jedi if she disliked them? There were other Light organizations in the Galaxy after all, such as the Whills, or even those who leaned Gray like the Gray Paladins, whom Siolo thought might actually be more suited for this task. Their lack of dependency on the Force and more militant lifestyle could encourage less reliance on the Force, in this case the Dark Side, and grow enough discipline to keep it in check.
Then again, if they had gotten one whiff of the Dark Side through her shields they might simply have taken her for a threat and killed her immediately before she had the chance to explain herself. It was hard to say.
Regardless... he felt at a loss to how he personally would even begin to help this child. He thought again of his vague visions, of days and nights passing while he and the Fallen Padawan would simply speak at the campfire. Perhaps... yes, perhaps... he simply need to hear, to listen, offer understanding, and perhaps show her a different path.
"How would you solve the problem of poverty and crime within lower Coruscant? Within all the Republic?" he asked, carefully phrasing his tone to seem like an honest question, rather than a challenge.
That seemed to catch Iris offguard. She didn't immediately answer, and didn't speak for another good ten minutes until she finished slowly eating her food. "Taxes."
"Taxes?" he asked.
"...and proper use of government money," she said proudly, as if the concept was one of her greatest achievements, and not something every critic of any government said, "Add a small tax that everyone can afford pay, and use it to set up shelters or fund efforts to relocate and find people jobs. There are trillions of people in the Republic, a few credit increase to the taxes they pay would hardly be noticeable, but would be huge in amount when fully collected. You could fund so many different efforts to help people who need it. And how many government programs are badly mismanaged? Or a complete waste of time? And do Senators REALLY need the absurd amount of money they make? All of that put into it's proper place would be a big start to fixing poverty."
Siolo tilted his head in acknowledgement before smiling, "I'd be entertained to see you tell a Senator they don't need the money they make."
Iris threw up her hands and took a mocking voice, "'Oh no! Not my precious money! I'll sell you my firstborn child and my soul but don't cut my paycheck!'"
Siolo allowed a small chuckle to escape his lips, which earned a hesitant smile from Iris.
"And what of crime?" he asked.
Her smile immediately warped into something harsh, the dark murmuring around her in the Force. "Criminals should be punished. Petty criminals aren't worth the effort, put them to work and they'll sort themselves out. But murders? Rapists? Terrorists? Slavers? People who hurt others because they take enjoyment from it, and all their ilk..."
She opened her mouth to continue, but paused, a wavering of guilt echoing in the Force around her. Ah... she wasn't as far gone as to not realize she most likely fell at least into the first category. There was no way she hadn't killed with the darkness that seeped around her. It was good that she understood that.
"Everyone deserves the chance to seek forgiveness and redemption," said Siolo softly.
Iris's tirade dropped off, and she grew quieter, but still harsh. "Perhaps... but, only if they actually seek it, if they actually want it. If they make no effort to change, then they need to be locked up or wiped out if their efforts aren't for the greater good of the Galaxy."
The greater good? Oh wasn't he familiar with that phrase. "The greater good is a concept I personally find distasteful."
Iris's hood swerved and locked onto him in surprise. "What?"
"I dislike it because of how many people I have witnessed in my life evoking that phrase to attempt in justify committing horrible atrocities," said Siolo, "Those words, 'For the Greater Good' are a trap to any who hear and use them because of one simple fact. Do you know what it is?"
Iris seemed uneasy, disturbed, and with a tint of anger that if he was right in what he felt, was directed at him for challenging this belief. "What?"
"Everyone has a different notion of what 'the Greater Good' is," he answered, "One person's Greater Good is another person's personal nightmare. You will never find two people who agree on it's definition, nor what should and should not be done 'For the Greater Good'. Some people don't even use it as a validation of their actions, but as a cover for intentionally causing harm when they know full well there is no good in their actions."
That seemed to stop the girl short. "That's..."
She seemed to shrink in on herself, guilt roiling the air around. "T-that's probably true..."
"It took me a long time to understand that concept young one," he said, softening his voice, "Many more years than you've been alive. It is good that you find understanding of it now, rather than years down the road."
She nodded a little, barely catchable in the moonlight.
And speaking of moonlight. "I believe that this is where we will stop for tonight."
The girl looked up at him, so much doubt in the air, targeted at herself. "Why...?"
He pointed upward. "It's getting rather late, and as much as I enjoy our conversation, I am an old man. I need my rest."
She smiled a little at that, a bit relieved. "Oh."
So quick to doubt herself that one. Did she think he wanted to stop and turn her away just from what she had said? He had, frankly, heard worse from those firmly attached to the light, who wanted strict structure and order forced upon the entire galaxy. Perhaps it might prevent crime, poverty, and so much conflict and loss. But at the cost of free will? It was never the right price.
He let go of his musings, turning an offer in his mind over, but did not force it, merely presenting the option, "If you have nowhere else to sleep, I can set up a guest room if you so wish."
There was hesitancy and just a tad of suspicion in the air around her. "I... have my ship to sleep on."
He made no further comment of the offer. "As you wish then, I will see you tomorrow. Good night Iris."
She hesitated, yet again, before offering a quiet, "Good night Master Ur Manka."
He sighed in a fond way he often reserved for insolent padawans. "I haven't been a master in almost a century young one."
She didn't respond to that, merely slipping into the shadows back to wherever her ship was hidden...
Siolo felt her eyes upon him most of the next day, but she did not approach until nightfall when he set out soup for her. "Good evening Iris."
"Good evening Master Ur Manka," she said quietly.
He gave a soft, exasperated sigh reminiscent of their last parting. "I told you yesterday, I haven't been a Master in a very long time. Siolo will do."
There was a hint of a mischievous smile through the firelight and a tint of guilty pleasure through the Force. "Of course Master Ur Manka."
Oh, he saw how it was. This one liked riling people up did she? He shook his head, allowing a bemused smile to cross his face. He chose to let the comment stand, instead he simply stared into the firelight and ate slowly. They both did, and when they finished, they merely looked into the the flickering flames for a time. He again pondered her request, to help guide her back to the light. Merely talking wasn't going to fully bring her back, perhaps it would continue to dispel some of the darker notions and ideas she had allowed to fester in the mind, but that was merely one step, one act.
When she would need so much more.
"Do you remember meditation?" he inquired.
She looked up at him, and he could see a bit of crinkling in her face under her hood to suggest she was narrowing her eyes at him. her voice offended. "Of course I remember."
"Shall we try?" he asked.
She shook her head. "It's pointless. That's one of the first things I tried when I fell, but it didn't work."
She grew bitter. "The Light wanted nothing to do with me anymore."
"I doubt that," he said softly, earning a sensation of scorn from her through the Force, "But for one who has fallen, I doubt you can reach for the light as you once did. It most likely requires another approach."
A frown played across what was visible of her face. "Like what?"
"If it was known, returning from the Dark Side would not be considered an impossibility," he said simply.
She scoffed. "Right, well, you have any ideas?"
"Not at the moment, I merely wish for us to meditate so I can see how you try," he asked.
Iris sighed and grumbled, "Fine."
She shifted into a kneeling position, he followed suit, the pair separated by the softly cackling fire. It was... one of the strangest sensations he had ever felt, to have two Force users, one light and one dark, try to meditate together. The Force rippled around them, shifting and swirling between dark and light, high and low, trying to find equilibrium, trying to find...
Balance...?
Siolo frowned, slightly confused by a curious, almost childlike whisper from the Force, as if it were questioning what they were trying to achieve. He shook it off and focused his attention on Iris. She was trying to quiet and calm her mind, but hints of thoughts and memories continually flickered through. She did not so much as reach for the Force as she did try to grab and drag it to her. There was also the fact she wasn't really lowering her shields and allowing him to really help. She struggled for a few more minutes until her frustration and irritation broke what little concentration she had.
"Like I said," she spat, "It's worthless."
"Not quite," he said, "You are not reaching for the Force the same way a Jedi normally would."
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You are not reaching for the Force young one, you are grabbing it, trying to force it to come to you," he said.
Bewilderment crossed what little of her face he could see. "What? No I'm not. I'm reaching for it how I always used to."
"Do you feel that I am lying?" he asked, eyebrow raised.
Iris reached out with the Force, getting a feel for him, and then grow silent. She said nothing for a good long few minutes, he could feel surprise rolling off her, a bit of shock, then resignation. "No wonder I couldn't do it. I didn't even... how am I supposed to have a chance if my own perception is so warped I can't feel the difference?"
Siolo wondered how many in the history of the Jedi had the chance to do this, to get down into the nitty gritty details of trying to bring someone back? Because her words took him by surprise in more ways than one. That someone fallen could acknowledge and see that they had been changed by the Dark Side and actually care about it rather than revel in it, was abnormal. Most, in his experience, would go on and on about 'the power of the Dark Side' and refuse to even consider returning, or think it was to late for them to do so even if they wanted to. In general Fallen were either hostile or to afraid to interact in the manner the two of them were currently. Then, there was finding out that it actually changed one's perception like that. Of course the Dark Side changed people, but the general assumption was that those fallen became so addicted to power that they didn't care about trying to return, that it destroyed who they were as a person, afflicting their soul with some kind of blight that turned them into a monster. Not that their perception was directly altered, like a parasite altering it's host to better suit it. It was an enlightening discovery. He wondered what else the Dark Side changed about a person, and how it pertained to preventing a return.
"Hmm," said Siolo at last, rubbing his chin in thought, "A fair question, and one not rushed with denial or an ill-thought solution. For now, let us simply continue as is, we shall have you practice meditation, and see if we can work around your perception. Don't get frustrated if..."
"You know," interrupted Iris irritably, "Telling someone not to get frustrated generally does the opposite. It always made me feel that I was being prepped to fail, that I should try harder, and then I'd just get even more frustrated when I still couldn't do whatever was asked of me."
Ah, youth, always pushing themselves so hard with unrealistic expectations, he wouldn't say that though. "Fair enough. Try as best as you can then."
For the rest of the night, the two of them attempted meditation (with little to no progress), before the moon held itself high in the sky. "I believe now would be a good time to call it a night."
Iris said nothing, rising to her feet and turning to go, irritation and frustration coating the air around her.
"Iris," said Siolo, causing her to pause briefly, "While I wont turn you away should you refuse, I would appreciate if you would be willing to come in the morning and help with the garden," motioning to the bowl she had left."
A bit of chagrin rippled through the Force around her. "Right, sorry, I should have offered to work for the food and your help."
Siolo shook his head. "I would never make those in need work for my help, and I wouldn't have asked you to work the garden, but..."
He gave a wry smile, "I'm not as young as I used to be, my old bones would appreciate the help."
She nodded, a hesitant smile on her face. "Alright... old man."
Siolo huffed a bit and waved a hand. "Impudence. Off with you then."
He allowed himself a small smile as she disappeared into the woods before he ambled to his feet, snuffed out the campfire, and retired for the night.
He was relatively surprised to find that Iris had beaten him to the garden, and had made a sizeable weed pile already. She also finally had her outer robe and hood off, allowing him to see a bob of blonde hair. "Good morning Iris."
She turned her head, allowing him to get a look at her youthful face. Yet... there was something about it, young but shadowed, blue eyes not an ounce of as bright as they should be. Hardened. Oddly, there were what looked like old healing... burn marks? To be honest, it almost appeared like she had been hit by lightning some time ago and it had burned a bit of her face. The marks were old and receding, something that wouldn't permanently mar her, but he felt it was worth noting, especially when the Force whispered the unnaturalness of the marks to him. So not a stray lightning bolt, perhaps some kind of accident or weapon she encountered, or the unfortunate possibility of electrical torture.
Force, he hoped it wasn't the last option, she was far to young to have experienced such an awful thing.
"Good morning Master Ur Manka," she answered before refocusing on yanking weeds out, digging her hands in deep to rip the plants out, letting the dirt fall back down between her fingers.
"Whatever did the poor plants do to you?" he teased lightly, moving to another section of his garden.
It was a fairly decent patch of land, width the size of a small clearing in the vast woodland he lived in. He had taken many seeds from various smaller plants he had found traveling the wilderness. It wasn't to say he really needed it, he could easily venture off and find bushes of berries, or trees of plentiful fruit. The occasional melon-like find. Animal life was plenty as well. It was a majestic and bountiful world, no civilization had reaped it to nothing yet. So long as nature was respected and treated right, it would provide.
"Nothing," Iris muttered, "Just lost in my head imagining I'm..."
She shook her head. "Forget it."
'Imagining shes digging into someone like that and ripping parts of them out' is what he felt she meant, he hardly needed the Force to figure that out. Who had her scorn he did not know. Perhaps something she would eventually reveal. For now though, it was time to tend to plantlife.
"I'm surprised to see you up before I am," he said, making an attempt for a casual conversation.
Force knows he could use the practice, aside from occasionally calling Master Yoda (the only friend he had left alive) he was decades out of practice holding a conversation.
He caught sight of a thin and unpleasant smile on her face, a crinkling at an unpleasant, perhaps painful memory. "I was taught not to presume I could sleep in."
Siolo hid a frown, staring down at his hands as he gently tended to his plants, examining for ripeness. Taught not to sleep in...? The grimness that emanated from her, surely no Jedi Master would punish their pupil for such a trifle thing? He had known a few Masters back in his time that were a bit more of a stickler for rules than the average Jedi, but, none that would inflict punishment enough to warrant such a reaction from the girl. Force knows the worst he ever did to his padawans was fresher-cleaning-duty for a month (which was enough to get most to behave). No Jedi would physically harm their padawan, especially over such a thing.
No Jedi.
Ah...
There was the possibility her Master had fallen and dragged Iris down with them. Or, she had been abducted into one of the various Dark Side cults that existed throughout the galaxy, despite how ignorant most of the Jedi Order was on their existence. Force, most Jedi were ignorant of other Light Side factions as it was.
Was that it? Or was he seeing to much into this? Either way, he did not feel he had enough of a rapport with the girl to ask yet, at least not without driving her away. How she fell and why were matters that would have to eventually, and very carefully, be explored.
So instead, he offered, "You don't need to get up bright and early unless you so wish it. I do to so simply to get my old bones ready for the day."
He smiled a bit. "And there is nothing quite like the crispness of the morning air."
Iris shrugged in response.
Hmm, so much for talking. Ah well, he was used to the silence anyway...
When the morning tending was done, and enough food plucked for a meal for the two of them, he put them in a clay bowl and motioned her inside. There was a hesitancy, yet again, on her face, unsure if she wanted to go in. He was not forceful, he merely went ahead and left the door open. He glanced around his little abode. He had hand-crafted much of the furniture here. The table, chairs, counters (smoothed down large tree stumps mashed together, hard to tell without the bark), doors, every inch he had put his hands on. Of course, he had brought some tools to help bind or hammer and nail things together. There were very few technological implements or devices in the house. It was all so old fashion he couldn't imagine how it looked to someone used to the rigid structures of civilization.
There was the creaking off wood as Iris hesitantly stepped inside, eyes washing over the interior. Her eyebrows slowly rose, an impressed look on her face. "Did you build this house yourself?"
"I did," he said, "With great patience."
"I do most things with patience, and naturally," He reached for a cupboard, bringing out an empty tea can and a heater. "Save for tea. That I can't find myself waiting for to long."
Iris snorted with amusement. "I half-think the entire Jedi Order would fall apart without tea."
Siolo gave a bemused smile. "There are packets and herbs in the cupboards, vials of treated water beneath the counters. If you would please make some tea, I need to visit the 'fresher'."
"Dare I ask how oldschool the fresher is?" she asked dryly.
"You'd probably be more comfortable running for your ship," he admitted.
"What kind of tea would you like?"
"Surprise me."
With that, he left to tend to his business, returning a few minutes to tea simmering on the heater. Iris sat at the table, head propped up with her hands under her chin, elbows on the table. There was a look of something on her face that was hard to place, an air of slight guilt in the air. He was puzzled, but didn't comment, sitting down and waiting. When it finished, she poured them both tea into clay cups. He brought it to his lips, blowing slightly to move aside the steam and took a sip. He couldn't quite place the flavor, an unusual tang of bitterness to it. He wondered what mixture of herbs and flavor packets she had used. He had thought he had tried most of the combinations himself over the years, but perhaps not.
"Not bad," he said.
There was a faint, weak smile on her face. "Thank you."
"Is something wrong?"
She looked down at the table. "Just... remembering the times I used to do this with my Master."
The Force whispered otherwise, that it was a... half lie, a diversion from whatever was actually bothering her. There was a faint hint of danger in the air from the Force, just a slight one. He wondered about it briefly, perhaps it was a warning not to press to quickly? He wasn't quite sure. Regardless, he finished his tea and set his cup down, and got up to make breakfast. After they ate, he considered what to do now...
"Tell me, what did your training incorporate when you were in the Order?" he inquired, "I doubt it's changed much from my years , but you never now."
She shrugged. "I doubt the curriculum has changed, standard classes on history, diplomacy, lightsaber forms, Force Theory, all the same crap."
"Is 'crap' how Padawans whine about their courses these days?" he asked dryly.
She scowled at him.
He merely smiled in amusement. "What Lightsaber form did you prefer?"
"I was taught Ataru by my master, some Shien."
"Are they what you prefer?"
She hesitated. "I haven't really... found a form I prefer. I've... taken to trying to learn Makashi since I... left the Order."
Makashi? She was learning...
Ah.
She was fallen, there was a high chance if she were to perish, it would be at the hands of a Jedi coming after her. So she'd want to be able to dominate lightsaber combat. Then, there was the fact that she was learning Makashi outside the Order. Who was teaching her it? Or was she trying to learn it out of memory from her classes? He hummed a bit before slowly standing up.
"I have a spare staff, care to stretch your muscles?" he inquired, "We could practice forms."
Her face crinkled. "With sticks?"
He gave her an amused smile. "Perhaps you've forgotten what Master Yoda's glimmer stick feels like."
She made a face, and he laughed. "Yes, with sticks, come."
A few minutes later, they stood outside, staffs clanging against one another in a slow display. He was mostly interested in seeing how she fought, obviously a staff wasn't a lightsaber, but he could learn much from watching her try to adapt. And learn he did, but not in the way he thought he would. There was aggression in her form, the beginnings of a focused control that Makashi would demand, but what he noticed missing was more important. There were hints here and there, of how she was trained as a Jedi, but it wasn't nearly as present as it should be. Other Fallen he had encountered and fought over the years often held a bastardization of the Jedi's forms, but this was something else. It was like her old ticks, the way she held herself and fought, were slowly being overwritten by something darker, more aggressive and hostile.
It was as if...
She had been trained by someone outside the Jedi Order.
That led credit to his thoughts of her perhaps having been abducted by a Dark Side Cult.
"What's your favorite form?" she asked, staff spinning through the air and clashing with her own, an eager look on her face, "I can't really tell, your using a mix right now, Niman I think."
He nodded with approval, though he was amused by the childlike eagerness to spar, Padawans always loved Lightsaber practice, and she was no difference, Fallen or not. "It is. I generally prefer Soresu, but I'm using Niman to get a feel for you."
"Soresu huh? I never bothered much with that," she said, then puffed a bit with pride, "I was one of the best initiates and padawans for my age group, I always liked being on the offensive.
Twack.
He brushed aside a strike and tapped her leg, tripping her to the ground. "Yes, I noticed, your defense is lacking."
She scowled, bruised pride flaring in the Force, and got back up, staff ready and eyes narrowed.
"Would you like to learn Soresu?" he offered.
She paused, uncertainty on her face. "Umm..."
She shrugged. "Okay, why not."
For the next few hours, he reminded her and retaught the basics of Form III until their stomachs growled for lunch. They ate, and then loitered around the dwindling campfire. He dozed lightly, Iris moving a bit away and sitting back against a tree and doing the same. Afterwords, they left to collect wood from fallen trees and branches, plopping it in a pile beside the house. He took her on a walk through the woods later, pointing out shrubbery, places she could find food if need be, how to tell ripe from not ripe, what was poisonous to eat, what animals to avoid.
They made it back as night set, and started up on dinner. "Shall we meditate again while we wait for it to cook?"
There was a sigh but she relented. "As you wish."
That night went much like the last, but they called the meditation session over when dinner was ready. When they finished, he asked a question that had been slowly forming in his mind. If he wanted to pull her from the Dark Side, help her out of it, he needed to have a better understanding of it.
"As someone who is Fallen, what does the Dark Side feel like to you?"
She blinked a few times, taken off-guard. "It... it, well, it depends on what I'm feeling."
"Oh?"
"The Dark Side," she began carefully, "Responds to emotion. Is fueled by it. It was always described to me in my youth as a taint, as a burning creeping feeling that slowly took you over, or a roaring fire that threatened to overwhelm you if you didn't resist it."
"Is that actually what it's like?" he asked, "The Jedi describe it, but they are Jedi, not Fallen."
"It can be," she admitted, "If you lose yourself in your fury, it can be an explosive, all consuming thing, but..."
She shook his head. "If you face someone dark, you should hope it's fire, and not ice."
"Ice?" he asked, confused.
She went silent, and the air around them grew still, as if with wariness. There was a hint of something in the air. She spoke slowly, dangerously, "Cold anger. Allowed to boil quietly beneath the surface. Where hot rage is a uncontrollable bomb that burns out once spent, cold fury is a guided missile that can be held for decades."
He frowned thoughtfully, it almost sounded like she was quoting someone.
"Fiery anger is explosive, but burns away once spent, cold anger can be held for years," she said, "Coldness is how I describe the true depth of the Dark Side. Rage just rests on the surface, like a skin, over a core of pure ice that robs all the warmth, all the light. The hate it can contain is like a black hole, devouring everything. You may think you've encountered someone dark before, but trust me, there are things out there far worse than mere Fallen Jedi."
She spat those last words out with disdain, and it was all he could do to stare at her. Just what had she fallen into?
"When I reach for the light, I remember it once feeling like a friend, taking my hand and leading the way," she said softly, a minor tone of old longing in her voice, "But the dark... it's like a hound, it snaps at its master and pulls on it's leash. It will turn and bite you if you don't dominate it. It's far more literal than you might think, if I don't control the Dark Side, and try to let it guide me like the Light would have, it feels like being pulled in so many directions that I'm being physically ripped apart."
"But... that's only one aspect of the dark," she admitted, "The few parts I... well, not like, but understand, are more primal, instinctual, nothing cold. Animals can be cruel things, savage in their struggles to survive, willing to do whatever it takes, and we're just walking talking animals after all."
"As there are more than just one sect and teaching of the light, so to must there be of the dark," mused Siolo, giving her an appraising look, "I'm curious where you learned such different viewpoints."
There was no hesitancy or shame or any emotion. She merely shook her head and stared into the fire. Siolo let it go though, and made no further questions that night.
Days began to pass in similar fashion. Waking up, gardening, she made tea while he made breakfast, sparring, lunch, chores, then a winding down for the day in various ways; sometimes going for a walk, a nap, or just lazing around and relaxing. It was followed by meditation, food, and then discussing philosophy. Iris was... careful in what she told him. She spoke of the Dark Side, and what she learned, but she never mentioned where, or from how, or exactly what she had dirtied her hands with.
They hadn't made much practice in her reaching for the light, but, she was more relaxed around him, more trusting. There was always that air of guilt around her though...
He paused his thoughts and started coughing, shaking his head and rubbing his throat before going back to stirring dinner. "Hmph, it's been years since I developed a cold, I suppose I'm overdue."
There was a flair of guilt in the air, and it actually kind of irritated him. Not everything bad that happened had to be because of her, but she tended to fault herself so readily, especially as he slowly peeled away the dark way of thinking she had entrapped herself in. Honestly, she had admitted considering being the Empress of the Galaxy and trying to force a 'better' way of life on people. There were so many melodramatic and absurd overarching ideas in her head. While he could admit, the Senate had its fault, doing away with the entire thing was asking for a dictatorship, and that would favor no one but the leader and his or her chosen few.
"I want to try something different today for our mediation," he said, setting the spoon down against the pot.
She raised an eyebrow.
"Since you refuse to lower your shields and let me in to help," he jabbed slightly, getting a returning scowl, "We're going to try the opposite. Rather than you reach for the Force, you will follow me as I try, to see if you can latch on and touch the light yourself."
Their was an air of hesitancy around, always so hesitant and wary that one. "Alright."
He settled down, closed his eyes, and invited her in. It was the first time he had let her fully into her mind, not just share a memory. It was... odd, to have a dark presence inside his head. There were old horror stories initiates used to tell at bed time, to scare one another, of things the Sith used to do in the old wars, rooting and ripping through someones head for what they wanted. This wasn't anything like that, not that he'd let that happen. If she did something... unwise, he would boot her out. She was like a puffer turtle from Clak'dor, slowly entering and expanding her presence, but keeping herself hiding and untrusting behind her shell (shield).
He sent an image of one to her, and she gave off a sensation of huffing. His lips peeled back in amusement, but settled down to reach for the Force. He felt her clumsily latch on to his attempt, reaching for the Force he held in his grasp. It had the awful imagery of a drowning person reaching for water out of their reach as she struggled and flailed for it. It was more than a little uncomfortable for her to do that in his mind. He carefully held it out to her, offering it like energy to a fellow Jedi who needed a little pick-me-up. She reached for it and grasped it, and he flinched when he felt a -gasp- in the back of his mind. Of course, with her startlement, she lost it.
I... had forgotten... what it felt like.
He nudged her, sending an encouraging sensation for her to try again. There was an air of wonderment about her, the sense of disbelief fading, as if despite her coming here for help she had never actually believed it could happen. He offered the energy again, and she held it, he felt her presence poking it curiously, before trying to draw it to her. It slipped through her fingers during the transfer, and irritation slipped through her shields. But, he merely drew the Force to him again, and offered it once more. This time, she drew it to her successfully, but even as it slipped from him to her and into her shields, he felt it dim the moment she took control of the energy.
They lost the connection between them as she pulled out in indignation and anger. "You see! It want's NOTHING to do with me!"
He opened her eyes to see her looking utterly distraught. "I... I felt it, I held it, but it just... it went away... it... I never thought I could actually..."
He raised an eyebrow at her, voice soft, trying to get her to look past her grief and frustration. "If you never thought you could truly find the light again, why come here?"
She blinked away the starting of tears in her eyes and bowed her head. "Approaching you like this... was the only chance I had, the only choice I had left."
"Still, I feel that we made progress tonight," he said, "We'll try again tomorrow."
She said nothing, a subtle shake to her shoulders.
"Iris," he said firmly, making her look up, "We will find a way."
There was that ever present hesitancy in her eyes, more so than usual, heavily conflicted, as if she couldn't decide if she actually wanted the light now that there was a hint of possibility to it. Then, there was fear, as if she were afraid of actually managing to do so. But rather than respond to him, she merely bowed her head again and said nothing for the remainder of the night...
Day by day, week by week, they tried one method after another to try to help Iris touch the light again. He had his own troubles during the time, his cough slowly developing into something deeper, a constant pressure on his chest, but he ignored it for the most part. He had a duty to Iris, not himself and his old age. He talked her through and reminded her what the Force felt like for a Jedi, let her share in his energy; one session he had instructed her to simply stay in his meditation and simply clasp the Force the entire time. On and on they went, until finally...
He coughed a bit, rubbing his throat, before he asked. "Iris. I don't think we will cross the final barrier until you lower your shields. You cannot return from the Dark Side unless you can learn to trust again."
She was silent, staring at the firelight, a turmoil of emotion in the air and Force around her, before she raised her head to look at him bleakly. "I... I can't..."
"You have to, otherwise I feel that there is nothing more I can do for you," he said, softly, but final.
She closed her eyes, pained. "I... I want you to make me a promise then."
"A promise?"
"I... I know you have a communicator in your room..."
He smiled a little and teased a bit, not upset. "Snooping are we?"
She flinched a bit and mumbled. "Just looking around."
She cleared her throat, opened her eyes, and stared at him, such fear and helplessness in her eyes. "Promise me you won't contact the Jedi."
He sighed. "I don't have any intention of snooping around behind your shields. Your memories and mind are your own, I merely want to help you. I know, as someone fallen, you've done things, perhaps horrible things. I'm not here to judge, merely to help."
His words gave her little comfort. "Please..."
He opened his mouth to respond before quickly bringing up an arm to block a fit of coughing. He waited a moment for it to clear before sighing once more. "Alright, I promise not to contact the Jedi. And if it brings you peace of mind, I haven't contacted them about you prior to now either."
He lowered his shields a little, allowing her to sample for the truth, and she pulled back afterwords with relief. "Okay..."
They settled into meditation, and he reached out, lightly tapping against her shields. There was so much hesitancy, but she lowered them, willingly, and he stepped into pure chaos. Her mind was a flurry of emotions and memories, he did his best not to look, and diverted his attention away from anything that slipped by his mind.
"Reach for the Force," he instructed, "As you would if you were a Jedi."
He flinched a little as he felt her reach and grab for the Force, less demanding than she had in previous settings, but inside her mind it especially grated on him feeling the Force manhandled like that. He identified, as he had simply feeling from the outside, what she was doing wrong. But he couldn't see why she was doing it that way, what could possibly be altering her perception, she wasn't actively trying to use the dark...
Wait...
"Iris, reach for the Dark Side," he instructed, more than a little astonished and chagrined that those words had ever slipped through his mouth.
He could feel similar incredulousness from her as well. "With you still in my mind?"
"Yes."
He mentally prepared himself for it, but it still took his breath away to feel the it wash over him. There was no warmth, just a chilling cold. It wasn't... he didn't think this was the ice she had spoken of, but it was still not quite what he had expected. He hung there in her mind, wrapped in a cloak of the light, and studied what he felt. He noticed there was a kind of... focal point? As she meditated? He poked it, and felt a burst of emotion from it, a brief memory starting to appear before she snatched it away.
"What is this?" he asked curiously, baffled.
"I can't meditate like a Jedi," she answered, "I have to focus on myself, using my emotions as a center point to meditate around."
Enlightening was the only word he had for that answer. It explained so much, he sorely wished he had known this weeks ago. With that, he had an more deeper understanding than before, of the Dark, and what might be going wrong. "You have to let go Iris."
"Of what?"
"Of yourself," he said, "You are pulling the Force to you, pulling it around your emotions, to them, about them. It's selfish in nature. And selfishness is the opposite of what we want here. Its why you can't reach for the light, because your trying to focus it into emotion, drawing it to you in a manner that makes it about you, not the Force."
"I'm... not sure how."
"Empty your mind of thoughts, of feelings, as best as you can, and just... for lack of a better word, float there in the Force, not demanding, not pulling, not asking, just trusting. Trust in the Force Iris, and anything is possible."
He felt her thoughts and feeling slowly quiet. It wasn't empty or focused or calm like a Jedi would be, and he didn't think she could hold what she had managed for long, and especially not without his light presence there giving an air of calm. But it was enough. He gently guided her towards reaching for the Force, feeling it grasp him, and tentatively grasp her...
And he felt her presence shudder. Her Force Signature shifted so abruptly, like an animal shaking its fur to get rid of water and mud dragging it down. She gasped, and his eyes opened to see her own fly open in astonishment, disbelief, and overwhelming wonder. He slowly let go and pulled out from behind her shields, no longer holding her hand, but she still managed to hold on. Success... impossible success.
He smiled at her, feeling a well of pride, and silently thanked the Force for proving the impossible possible. "Well done Iris, well done. There is still much to be done, but you managed to touch the light. Tell me, how does it feel to hold it again?"
She didn't respond.
"Iris?"
He noticed her starting to shake, her eyes going wide, tears welling in her eyes. "No... no no no no no..."
He slowly rose to his feet. "Iris? What's wrong?"
"What have I done?" she whispered in horror, "What have I become?"
He fell to his knees, feeling a horrific surge of overwhelming guilt and grief and despair pour out of her. She took to her feet and ran, screaming in denial and sobbing uncontrollably. He stared after her, baffled and confused, but struggled to his feet and took off after her. He overtook her a few yards out, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to a stop as she struggled.
"Iris, stop!"
"NO! LET ME GO!" she wailed, "I can't! I can't..."
She sagged in his grip, sobbing. "I don't deserve it..."
There was blackness clawing at the edge of his vision, so much guilt and despair radiating from her. He put a comforting hand through her hair and gently set her to the ground. "Iris, child, why don't you deserve it?"
"I'm a monster," she whispered, shaking, "I've killed... I've murdered innocent people... children... entire families... or delivered them basically into slavery to the Black Sun..."
He closed his eyes and softly sighed. "Iris, the light, the Ashla, is about forgiveness. I have guided back those who had taken their first steps towards the Dark Path before, perhaps they killed someone in rage or grief, or hurt a friend. The first step is to learn to forgive yourself, and then after, try to right what you've wronged."
"I'm not... not some misguided Padawan," she hiccuped, "I fell... I... I betrayed everything my Master ever taught me..."
She started crying once more in earnest, so he merely brought her to his chest and lifted her up, heading back towards his house. He lightly pressed a sleep suggestion to her mind, and in her emotional exhaustion, it took with little effort. He now had another understanding, another reason why it was so hard, so impossible to come back. That absolutely crushing grief and guilt...
The constant air of guilt she had before was nothing compared to what he had felt there. It was almost as if... the Dark prevented her from feeling it, or it masked and smothered it, pushing it down until it was a minor voice in the back of her mind. Once the Dark fell away, it surged to the surface. He was almost completely certain if he had let her go, she would have drawn on the Dark again to smother the pain away. She might have just ran away completely and not come back. He wondered, without someone to guide her, to make her want to try for the light, to give her a reason to, if she would have been able to do so on her own.
It took one to fall.
Perhaps it took two to come back.
Not that she was in the clear, not at all. There was still so much to do. This was but her first taste and step away from the Dark. There would be slip ups, relapses, to be sure. It wouldn't be as easy as touch the light once and be cleansed, that only existed in fairy tales. It would be an immense struggle to shake off the Dark Side, and stay away from it. Something she might fight with for the rest of her life. He deposited her into the bed in the side room. She'd be sleeping here tonight rather than her ship elsewhere. She'd been trapped alone in the dark; no more.
He briefly left to grab a few notebooks of flimsi he kept to write in (archaic if he asked anyone), and jotted down his thoughts and notes as the night passed...
Iris was... relatively catatonic the next day. She walked around in a daze, ate what was put in front of her, clumsily moved around, but that was it, she all together didn't speak much outside of mumbles. It wasn't until the day after that reality seemed to set in for her. He found her sitting up in her bed, staring down silently at her hands. Her Force Signature a dark-gray and muted, almost numb, rather than the emotional dark leaning towards pitch black. It was a monumental milestone, for the short time they had been together. What had it been? A month and a few weeks at this point? Albeit they had devoted much of their time to it, and she had worked with him rather than fight against it.
"Good morning Iris," he said, standing in the doorway, watching her.
She looked up at him, her eyes in a way both brighter and dimmer, no longer firmly shadowed by the dark, but guilt and grief instead, her voice quiet. "Morning..."
"How do you feel?"
"I... I don't know," she whispered, a tremble to her voice, "I don't know."
"It's alright to feel lost," he said soothingly, "Come, lets have tea and breakfast. We will be adjusting our schedule to allow for more meditation."
She mumbled something along the lines of 'great, more meditation', like she was an impudent padawan. He let her make the tea again while he started on breakfast. He briefly paused to cough into his arm and was about to resume when he felt a wave of guilt hit Iris again, heavy with shame. He didn't turn and acknowledge it though, he let it pass, and brought them two bowls of soup instead. She sullenly ate breakfast, but didn't seem to be able to even look at her tea, her guilt oddly spiking whenever he took a sip, he couldn't for the life of him figure out why.
After, they sat outside by the unlit campfire, and they settled into meditation. He let he try by herself first, but could sense her difficulty. She was in some kind of cross between a Jedi and a dark way of meditation, trying to trust, but still being drawn towards her emotions. He lightly tapped against her shields, and she let him in. He took a moment to guide her, to help push aside her guilt (not forget, but simply save to address later), and helped her into what had to be her first true meditation since she fell, not counting using a focal point.
She meditated for hours.
To the point where he was honestly concerned.
He knew she had to have a lot she needed to release to the Force, but... she shouldn't force it all in one session. He resolved that if she wasn't done by the time he finished preparing lunch, he'd draw her out of it. Eventually, with the smell of warm soup in the air, he went over to her and waves a bowl of it under her nose, something he had done once for one of his own padawans. She didn't react to it. So he set the bowl down a bit away and shook her shoulder gently, tapping on her shields.
"Iris, lunch is ready," he said.
She slowly pulled out of her meditation and stared at him. He had only a moments warning, of tears welling in her eyes and turmoil in the Force, before she lunged at him, wrapping him in a fierce hug. He winced briefly when her arms went tightly over his lekku, but did his best to ignore the discomfort. She cried quietly into his shoulder, and he let her, wrapping her in a similar hug. Force, he hadn't done anything like this since he had a padawan himself.
To be frank, she kind of already was, in all but name as he guided her back towards the light, he wondered...
He rubbed her back gently and pulled back slightly to kiss her forehead. "It will be alright Iris, I told you I'd help see you through this, and I will, my young Padawan."
She gave a startled hiccup, staring at him in astonishment.
"If you'll have me of course," he said.
She bit her lip, anxiety bleeding into the air, but slowly nodded. "I... I'd like that."
He smiled and pressed affection and care against her shields. He wouldn't ask to make a Master-Padawn bond yet, that was much to soon and he didn't want to rush her. He stood and moved towards the bowl he had set aside for her, about to offer it before her voice caught him offguard.
"I've missed having a master, a teacher, who actually cared," she said softly, sadly, grieving and pained.
Siolo slowly came to a complete stop in motion. For one as aged as him, seeing between the lines, hearing what wasn't said, and picking up the hints on what was said was a well practiced trait. "You've had a teacher who didn't?"
Iris froze up for a moment, and then fear spilled into the Force around them like a all-consuming taint, and he feared the Dark retaking her so soon. "I...I..."
"Calm yourself Iris," said Siolo calmly, projecting his own calm through the Force for her to latch onto.
She did so, but it hardly helped. Siolo did not press her, simply waited for her to open up.
"I..." she said again, trembling, "I..."
Siolo froze as he felt her shields crack, and he felt so much emotion boiling beneath the surface, just about to burst. He braced his own shields as best as he could before she exploded and let it out all.
"Yes! I had a master, a dark twisted sick bastard!" she snarled, angry, grieving, "One who stole me from my former master's still warm corpse mere minutes after she died, before I could even truly grieve! I fell and killed his apprentice for killing my master and threatening my friend! So he took me as a replacement. He locked me in a cell, tortured and starved me, showed me my fall over and over again, and threatened to do so much worse if I didn't agree to serve him! So I did..."
Her emotions bled away, exhausted, shivering,"...and I let him turn me into a monster, a murderer."
Siolo stared at her in utter horror. "Iris..."
He threw away so many principles he swore to as a Jedi, going to her and scooping her up into a tight up, pressing his compassion to her in the Force deeply. Wrapping her in a cocoon of care and affection. He caught sight of an imagine spilling through the Force. Of a Tholothian woman dressed in a Jedi's robes, a burnt hole through her chest, eyes glazed over in death. Iris's jedi master if he had to guess. In what he was sure was the first time in a very long time, she truly and honestly grieved. There was no condemnation in his heart for her, only sadness and sorrow. This was a fate he would wish on no one...
Iris stayed quiet for a number of days, the only communication she gave off the constant spikes of guilt and shame in the air. He didn't press her, giving her time to adjust, release her emotions to the Force, and properly grieve for her dead Jedi Master. Though, he was slowly becoming aware that time was running out for him to help her. The cough grew worse, the pain in his chest was spreading. Their was aches in his bones, a hint of slowness to his thoughts. Arthritis that had been negligent and ignore-able before was a constant sore reminder. His age was finally and truly catching up to him, his body degrading at a unusually fast pace. He wondered if his exposure to her darkness prompted this to begin, but he firmly kept that thought to himself.
He would give her no more grief and guilt than she already had, and even if it was somehow true, he wouldn't hold it against her.
The confessions began about a week after she had revealed what had happened to her. "He... brought me people."
"People?"
"To kill."
"Go on," he said softly.
"He said I was supposed to be able to kill at a moments notice, without hesitation, no matter if it was a man, a woman, or a child," she said, constantly swallowing the entire time, "He... tortured them when I didn't and me when I tried to stop him. Made me a deal, said if I killed the parents, he wouldn't force me to kill the children. So I... did. And then, he brutally killed the children in front of me as a lesson."
Siolo kept his lips thin, the bubbling of anger firmly kept down and controlled. "Who?"
She just shook her head and continued, "He kept bringing more families to me, and... I just... went numb to it. Until he was satisfied."
Siolo was the one for once struggling to control his emotions. Whoever her Dark Master had been, he was a cruel and sadistic man. Siolo was not a violent person, but he knew any interactions with this mystery darksider would have to end with him being put down.
"He had me bleed Kyber Crystals next," she whispered.
Siolo flinched a little at that, at such a cruel and awful act to something so pure. "I see."
"He set me loose a bit on the lower levels of Coruscant after," she said softly, "He had already taught me... much... about history, the way he saw and wanted things. I saw the decay, the horrible state of things, and hated it. I came upon a rape in progress, killed the rapist, crushed his privates, beat him into a pulp, and crushed his skull. My Master called me a 'viscous little thing' as a token of affection."
She sighed softly. "I don't particularly regret that, but... I came to see things, not quite his way, but through his way of seeing things. I'm not sure I still don't. I've seen the world through it's darker underbelly, and there's so much wrong with it. I want to fix it, I want to force it to become better."
"You can't force people to," he said softly, "You can only present them the choice, and hope they take the right path. Free will is the right of all sentient lifeforms."
She didn't respond to him further that night.
The next night, after a sulking filled day, she continued. "My Master 'loaned' me out to the Black Sun, a criminal organization, for a year. They had me... do all sorts of horrible things. Murder. Bribery. Thievery. Assault. Acting like all around thug. Like a slaver taking in people who couldn't pay their debts. Helped them take over another criminal enterprise and become even bigger than they already were. So many people suffered because of me, and will continue to do so because I helped the Black Sun grow."
She grew bitter, "I befriended their leaders, I liked them. Considered them my friends, considered them mine. And I still don't regret having them as friends, they were the only ones I had since becoming a Jedi. It felt so good to have someone again, who cared in their own way."
She turned to look at him. "So what kind of person does that make me?"
"Lost and lonely," he answered softly, "I will not say you are innocent Iris. That would spit upon the lives of all who had suffered at your hands."
She bowed her head, a ragged breath escaping her lips.
"But... you are not solely at fault, your Dark Master has much to answer for," said Siolo in a controlled voice, not letting his own anger at the man in question show, "As does the Black Sun who directed your hand."
There was a brief flare of protective anger from her at him before she pushed it down, looking away from him in shame.
"Seeking forgiveness is a long and difficult road, atonement is... a struggle," he said, "Especially with so heavy a burden weighing you down. When you are ready and recovered, fully in the light again; helping to bring down your former Dark Master, and turning in the Black Sun, will go a long way towards redemption."
There was an audible spike in fear, the dark clawing at her through the Force. "You have no idea how powerful he is, no idea at all. He'd kill us both in seconds. If we go after him, he'll kill you and take me back, punish me for trying to turn away..."
Siolo gave a wry smile. "I did not say it was I who would fight him, I'm much to old and ailing for that."
Iris flinched, guilt and shame bleeding into the air.
He sighed. "Iris, my old age is nothing you can prevent nor something you should feel guilty for. There is no death, there is the Force, and one day we will all rejoin it."
She said nothing.
He leveled his gaze at her. "Eventually you will have to go to the Jedi Iris."
She shook her head, and continued to shake it.
"You will need their help," he said, "Both to defeat your former master, and... if I cannot finish what we've begun here, to find help finishing turning away from the Dark Side."
She stood, trembling, and walked into the house, still shaking her head in denial as she went.
He sighed softly, and rose to his feet to go after her, before a dizzy spell hit him, and he collapsed to his knees, clutching his chest as a spike of pain tore through him. He wiped at his mouth, coming a way with a bit of blood, and took a ragged breath. "Please Force, give me more time, she needs me..."
Steadily, as another week passed, his condition slowly worsened. Some days it stayed the same, others it worsened. He moved less, and let Iris take the brunt of the chores. His lessons in Soresu turned from spars into simple lessons where he watched her practice. Her progress in reaching for the Light had stalled; her fear, of both the Jedi rejecting her and her former Dark Master coming for her, were the obvious blockers this time. She often woke with nightmares that he had to come and comfort her in the aftermath of.
He grieved for her.
For so young a child, she couldn't be more than sixteen or seventeen years old at most. Still a child, a teenager, warped and hardened by a trial thrown at her far before she was ready. Struggling to stand on her own legs and overcome it. She wasn't the only one who struggled though.
He held doubts that he could get her through this part. He had been brash, to take her on as a padawan when his health was failing. He had gotten her hopes up, and he feared that if he died before she finished fully returning to the light, it would destroy what progress they had made, and in her grief over the loss of yet another Jedi Master, fall back into the Dark Side. He struggled with what to do about this. Did he try to seek help? Perhaps they could take her ship to another planet and seek medical attention, though there was little to be done if his body was simply at the end of its lifespan.
Did he simply trust in the Force? Have blind faith that it would see them through? Or was that being foolish? Counting on the Force like that to circumvent what was only natural.
Which left him with one choice, and a broken promise... but could he truely do that? Break his word to her?
He rubbed his eyes tiredly and rose to his feet, making for the campfire, when he stumbled and collapsed, pain rocketing through his body, into a fit of coughing, clutching his chest.
"Master Ur Manka!"
Damn... he hadn't wanted Iris to see this.
She was upon him in a moment, guilt and grief and shame spilling over the area in waves, like an uncontrolled youngling with no shields. She put him on her shoulder and struggled to get him to his room. She knelt by his bed and pressed her head against it, crying softly.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she whispered over and over again, "I'm so sorry..."
He sighed, and gently ruffled her hair. "Iris... don't fret my Padawan. I still have time in me yet..."
But inside, he knew his time was short, so he made his resolve...
The next morning, he awoke and stared up at the ceiling silently. He came to a sitting position, rubbing his aching chest, and reached for his communicator. He paused briefly when he felt a flare of warning from the Force, but he pushed past it. He didn't have time for doubts. He punched in the line for Master Yoda's private comm and waited.
It flickered to life, a blue hologram appearing over the device, the old trolls ears flickering with delight. "Ah, Master Ur Manka, to hear from you once more, good it is."'
He gave a small smile and took a ragged breath. "It might be for the last time, old friend."
Master Yoda's ears drooped a bit as he scrutinized the Twi'Lek. "Unwell you are."
"My old age has finally caught up with me," said Siolo, coughing hoarsely.
He shook his head. "I... contacted you to ask help for my young ward, a favor."
Yoda's ears twitched. "A ward, you say?"
"A padawan," said Siolo, "Who I should have known better than to take on when I was ailing."
"Hmm," mused Master Yoda, "Tell me of this Padawan, you will?"
He hesitated. "I ask for you to have faith, in me, in what I've done, in her, and in the Force."
Yoda waited patiently.
"Almost two months ago, I was approached by a firmly Fallen Padawan," said Siolo, watching carefully as Yoda's ears twitched slightly, a hint of surprise and wariness crossing his face, "Her name is Iris, though I'm not sure that's her actual name. She came to me for help, not wanting to live as she was."
"Oh?" said Yoda, curious, but not as disbelieving as Siolo thought he would be, "Sought help, to return, did she? Hmm?"
"She did," he said, pausing for another fit of coughing, "We struggled, at first, to make any progress. But slowly, we did. About roughly two weeks ago, we succeeded in getting her to touch the light again."
Yoda's eyes widened. "A liar, you are not. Come back, this Padawan did?"
Siolo hesitated. "Partially. She's not... fully dark anymore, mostly gray. She is still going to struggle for a long time, and has a long way to go. Her guilt over what she did while fallen is... crushing. Without me here as a pillar of support, I'm not sure she will remain in the light, and I'm not going to be here for much longer. A month or two at best if I'm lucky. She already lost one Master, I fear that if I die, she will relapse back into the Dark Side without someone there to support her."
"Wish for me to come, you do," said Yoda.
"Yes," said Siolo, "She needs help to finish finding her way back... and there is more, so much more. She was... abducted, her former Master killed, by... well, I'm not sure, a Dark Jedi, or some Dark Side sect, she hadn't clarified for me yet. He tortured and bent her to his will, and she fears he will come for her. According to her, he is powerful."
Yoda's eyes sharped. "Hmm. Troubling this is. Say who her former Jedi Master was, did she?"
"No," said Siolo, "I haven't been as... attentive and pressing as I should be. I eased her in at first, but then..."
He broke into another hacking cough. "Then, my condition started deteriorating, heavily."
Master Yoda nodded slowly, ears twitching as he silently thought. Finally, several minutes later, he spoke. "Come to you, I will. A week, no more, no less, to settle duties here."
"Thank you, just... be prepared for her to be scared, she's afraid of the Jedi, of what you might do to her," he said, both as a double warning, to not be surprised, and to not actually do anything.
"If true she is, in her attempt to return," said Master Yoda, "Then nothing but support, shall the Jedi give."
Siolo gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you."
"Hope to see you in a week, I do," said Yoda.
"As do I old friend, as do I."
The comm clicked off, and Siolo briefly leaned against the wall of his room. The Force was pressing against him in steady warning, for what, he did not know. He rose to his feet, grabbed his staff, and wearily walked into the center room of his home, leaning heavily on his staff for support. He paused, noting a steaming cup of tea left on the table for him. He smiled a bit at that, and walked over. He paused, eyebrows furrowed, feeling a chill in the air, of the dark. His ailing condition was definitely upsetting Iris and the progress she had made. It was the right choice, to have called for Yoda. She had come to far to lose herself back to the Dark because of his upcoming death.
He took a sip of his tea, frowning a bit at the heavy bitterness of it. Iris seemed to have got the mixture wrong from her usual tea, but, it would be rude to not finish it, so he did...
...and he clutched his chest suddenly, the empty tea cup slipping from his hands and shattering upon the floor as a horrific pain seized his heart. He coughed and wheezed, buckling to his knees. Was this it? Was the Force to claim him now? He closed his eyes, pressing his head against the floor, struggling. Not like this... he didn't want Iris to walk in and find him dead on the floor. If he could just... just crawl back to his bed... make it seem like he had died peacefully in his sleep rather than in agony here...
He opened his eyes and looked up at the sound of footsteps, catching sight of Iris's boots. To late for that then. He looked up weakly at her, and was confused, so confused, so see her staring down coldly at him, so much bitterness and betrayal on her face.
"How could you," she whispered icily.
She drew a foot back and kicked him, hard, in his chest, sending him sprawling across the floor, screaming, "HOW COULD YOU! I TRUSTED YOU!"
The pain in his chest skyrocketed. "I-iris... w-what..."
"You promised me!" she said, tears welling in her eyes, "You promised me you weren't going to contact the Jedi!"
He looked up at her, pained. "Iris... you still... need help, I'm dying... I don't have time to finish... what we started. I..."
She glared at him, the first tear slipped down her cheek. "I was going to save you, you know? I had finally made a decision, after struggling with it for the last few weeks. I decided last night that I was going to turn on him, for you, really try to turn away from the Dark Side, for you. I had the antidote ready to put in your tea, but what do I overhear as I'm passing by your door? You betraying me."
"A...antidote...?" he whispered.
Force...
This wasn't old age.
The tea, her spikes of guilt whenever he had drank from it...
She had poisoned him, had been poising him this entire time...
Then he registered what she had said, and his already deathly pale skin grew ever paler. "Iris... wait... I wasn't betraying you... I was helping..."
She kicked him again, hard in the chest. "SHUT UP!"
The Force was roiled around them, turning darker and darker by the second. Siolo could see all the hard work, all the effort to help her, to save her, disintegrating before his very eyes. What had he done? He should never have contacted Yoda. What had he done?
"Darth Sidious was right," she whispered dejectedly, "He was truly right about the Jedi."
Darth.
Darth Sidious.
Had she just... was she implying... the Sith?
She kicked him again, onto his back. "How could I ever have been so foolish as to put faith in you? Trust in anything you said? Let myself believe..."
She shook her head and straddled his stomach, hands reaching out for his neck. "I... I hate you."
She did, and it was awful to feel, but that wasn't all she felt.
"Perhaps... but if that is all you feel... why are you crying... for me?" he whispered.
Her hands froze inches from his neck, tears streaming readily down her face. For a brief moment, he felt the conflict again, felt the light in her struggle against the darkness, and he had hope she could pull through...
Then her eyes hardened, the darkness crushed down, burying the light, and her hands wrapped around his neck, squeezing tightly.
Iris... he pleaded through the Force as best he could, don't let this consume you.
But it was to no avail, either she couldn't hear him anymore, or chose not to.
I'm sorry, I failed you, was the last thought he could think, her tear stained face was the last sight he saw, her sobs the last thing he heard, as she choked the life out of him and the Force embraced him at long last...
Notes:
Siri pretends to be trying to come back to the light and slowly poisons Siolo to death; accidentally succeeds in touching the Light and commits to coming back. Then Oops. So close Siolo, so close, then you fucked it up at the end. RIP.
Chapter 12: Plunge
Notes:
According to Wookiepedia: "...the Battle of Baltizaar was originally placed in 39bby by Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force. However, the more recent Darth Plagueis novel places the events of the battle in 33bby..."
This battle was where Komari Vosa was lost to the Bando Gora cult, but more important, that year was when she was released from the Jedi Order. I am personally going with the 39bby timetable to better fit Dooku into this story.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Something was different about his apprentice.
It was the first thought that passed through Sidious's mind as she entered the meditation chamber and knelt, placing a staff at his feet. He said nothing, simply watching her. She bore her clothes of a Sith Apprentice well, for perhaps the first time ever. She looked... comfortable in it. Not self-conscious in the slightest, or harboring any secret doubts of her path. Yet... her eyes were still sickeningly blue.
Which wasn't really a surprise.
Not from what he had been sensing from her for the last few weeks. To be frank, if he hadn't been both in the middle of an important bill he was sponsoring in the senate AND having to deal with his Master for the duration, he would have gone after his apprentice the moment he felt that sickening light emanate from her. He had never thought it could touch her again, yet it had. He remembered the first vision he had of her, that struggle between Light and Dark. Siolo Ur Manka hadn't been the Jedi pulling Tachi back towards the light, he was sure of it. The fact that he had meant Sidious hadn't been nearly as thorough as he should have been probing for his apprentice's future.
He ought to kill her.
It's the second major thought to run through his head. A Sith that would return...
But no.
She wasn't a Sith. As much as he thought her his apprentice, by definition she was merely fallen, an acolyte. She hadn't made her sacrifice, and still bore those blue eyes. She wasn't Sith, not yet. She was still sickeningly vulnerable to the Light, and would continue to be until she made her final steps and became a Lord of the Sith. He had given her instructions in how not to deal with Ur Manka, and judging by the duration of her mission, she had played a long game. She had left herself exposed to the Jedi, and had nearly been lost him. Not that he would have let her go. If it had gone on for more than another week, he would have made the time to leave and deal with the issue. Ur Manka would have been dead, and he would have punished Tachi in a way that few ever experience.
Sith did not tolerate their brethren nor their acolytes turning from the Dark.
But then, the return. He had felt the Dark come back and swallow his apprentice, plunging back down and further into it's depths than before. The sensation of -betrayed- emanating from her was intoxicating. Siolo had misjudged or done something to betray his apprentice, lost his chance, and paid the price. She had done the deed, as instructed, and came back. He had dismissed the warning his first vision of his apprentice had given him. His apprentice was not secure. She had immense potential, but could be lost to him if he wasn't careful. His arrogance in assuming she was his could have cost him his apprentice. He would not make that mistake again. She needed to be pushed deeper into the Dark Side. Thus, Sidious... wasn't sure if his apprentice should be rewarded for succeeding in her mission or punished to the point of several months of bacta immersion for touching the Light. Both could have their uses, though the second risked alienation, if resentment rose above her fear of him, now that she had turned away once she may desire to do so again...
He supposed he'd see what she had to say first before deciding.
"Your mission is complete?" he question.
"Siolo Ur Manka is dead," she spat out, viscous, but aching with betrayal as much as she tried to hide it.
He probed the bond to her silently. She felt personally betrayed, hurt, devastated, by whatever had happened. For as calm and focused as she appeared outward, inwardly she was a maelstrom of emotions. Some she should feel as a acolyte, others should be dead to her by now.
"I am curious, my apprentice," he said, taking on a warning tone that made her go still, "How you managed this... feat."
"Poison," she said.
Poison. It was such a simple solution. And yet...
"How did you get close enough to poison him? And how did he not detect it?" he questioned.
"I approached him, pretending to be a Fallen Jedi Padawan...," she began.
"Pretending?" he questioned.
She glared at him, blue eyes smoldering under her hood. "I am a Sith Apprentice, am I not?"
He flexed his fingers, lightning dancing between them in warning at her tone.
She scowled a little but backed down. "I pretended to be a Fallen Jedi Padawan seeking help returning to the Light."
"And the Jedi, being the naive fools they are, accepted," he mused before going deadly harsh, "Yet, from what I felt from you during this mission, I cannot help but wonder if you were truly pretending in your attempts."
She went silent for a long moment. "Felt?"
He scoffed. "You are MY apprentice, we are connected. Surely you are not that blind nor incompetent."
She blanked briefly, and then he felt a slight nudge in the connection between them before she sighed. "Perhaps I am, or I simply refused to accept or acknowledge it."
Hated and feared him to the point of denial. He wasn't sure if he should be amused or irritated at her allowing it to cloud her awareness.
She went quiet for a moment, he imagined she was working over the implications of what that exactly meant for her. Finally, she continued her debriefing, "His methods were more successful than either of us thought they would be. I... did not expect them to honestly work, so I just went along with everything he said while I slipped poison into his tea every morning."
He sampled for the truth. It was there, but also lacking. Withholding. Not unexpected.
But one could not so easily dance around the truth if directly asked. "And tell me, my apprentice, did you wish to turn from the Dark?"
She looked up and met his gaze steadily, before taking a route that caught him a little offguard. "Of course I did."
He blinked. For a moment he wasn't quite sure he had heard that right. But he had. So, in knowing they were connected, she did not try to lie or deny it. On one hand, he would tolerate no deception in this matter, on the other, a Sith should practice their treachery when possible, especially against one another. He was thus curious how exactly she planned to weasel out of getting punished, he couldn't fathom how she'd manage it. "Did you now?"
She grew derisive. "You, someone who has only ever touched the dark, wouldn't understand."
He narrowed his eyes, pulling back the urge to electrocute her to near death. There was a time for punishment, and a time to hold it back. Now was the latter. "Then perhaps, my apprentice, you should explain."
"It abandoned me," she said, and he heard the yearning ache in her voice, "So when I touched it again, I wanted to hold onto it and never let it go. To feel that warmth that had been denied to me, to remember what it had been like, to possess it. But you know what, my Master? The entire time I had 'turned away' if you want to even call it that, I kept poisoning him. Every. Single. Day. Despite having touched the light."
He raked through her mind, making her hiss in pain, and was rather surprised to find she was telling the truth. Though there was something about it... something withheld but he could not figure out what. He lingered on her choice of words, of possessing the light. What a curious turn of phrase. And dangerous if he understood exactly what she was saying. "Be mindful, my apprentice, that light and warmth can burn if you hold it to close."
She went silent for a moment before softly saying, "It did, in the end."
Her eyes grew ice cold, the Dark Side rippling around her. "But when it did, I snuffed it out."
He supposed that was the crux of the matter, she had finished her objective and returned to him when she could have stayed in the Light and returned to the Jedi. She could not get off free however...
"And as such," she continued, voice rising, as if to dare him to refute her, "I deserve to be rewarded."
He stared at her, masking his astonishment and disbelief. Such ridiculous audacity... she dared to DEMAND of him? After her near failure? She should be kissing his boots and begging for mercy, not that he would give it nor respect the act, quite the opposite. Some part of him was impressed by her boldness, on the other hand, he was her Master, and oh, he was going to make her suffer...
"I want you to teach me how to use that Lightning of yours," she said.
And then he paused his thoughts, and slowly, a cruel smile played across his face. Perhaps he could have both then, reward and punish her. Pull her further into the Dark Side while punishing her for her venture into the Light.
"Force Lightning," he mused, and oh was it good for his plans that she wanted to learn that ability, "Requires a hate I'm not sure you yet posses."
"You'll find, Master," she sneered, actually dared to so openly sneer at him, she had grown even more insolent, "That I have plenty of hate. You just need to show me how to properly cultivate it."
Cultivate.
Under his hood, he raised an eyebrow. Perhaps she understood more than he thought. He had allowed her to be out from under his watchful gaze for to long while out with the Black Sun. He needed to keep her where he could see and observe her, see what changes she had gone through for himself. She was bolder now, and with that thought he realized what phase she was going through. Rebelliousness, not just in the later teenage years, but as a Sith Apprentice. He had never had the chance to experience it with Maul, and he had not been a teenager when he first began his apprenticeship to his Master. Not that he truly needed to be to buck at Plaguies's chains. Still did even.
Oh yes, he needed to keep a very close eye on his apprentice to make sure she didn't step out of line, or risk their plans. For at least another few years until she matured.
"Force Lightning," he began slowly, channeling his energy before blasting her to the ground, but she did not scream or cry out in pain, not this time, she merely hissed and ground her teeth, she was finally learning, "Requires two things in immense amounts, hate and focus..."
Master Yoda stood silently at the edge of Siolo Ur Manka's home area. At his side stood Master Windu and Master Dooku. The first he had brought to observe this 'Iris', to see if Vapaad was the path she would need to walk to balance her darker side and reintegrate into the Order. Needless to even mention about seeing what shatterpoints existed around the child. The second, was to have someone of a more critical opinion. Yoda was hopeful for this lost child, but he did not want that to blind him. So he had his old Padawan come from his latest mission to observe and poke and prod and question, to see if this child was all that she seemed. Among other reasons he wanted his Padawan close.
He Ignored that Iris obviously wasn't what she seemed. He had checked the archives, the only Iris's in the Jedi Order were either long dead, or currently a four year old initiate in the creche. So, as Ur Manka had guessed, the name was false, which perhaps threw the entire situation into question, or it could be taken as a defensive mechanism, of fear towards the Jedi. It saddened him, that they would be feared by one of their own, fallen or not.
But it was all a moot point.
Because at the center of the clearing that marked Ur Manka's home, were the remains of a Jedi Funeral Pyre. It's embers had smoldered out days ago, all traces of Ur Manka gone. This 'Iris' was gone as well. The only signs of her were lingering traces of her presence in the Force, yet... they were cloudy, hard to see and identify. He walked forward slowly and bowed his head at the edge of the pyre, sighing softly.
"So, we came here chasing ghosts then," mused Dooku.
"This 'Iris' couldn't have been gone for more than a few days," said Mace, looking around slowly, "Perhaps we can pick up her trail, or she might have left evidence we can use to identify who she really is."
"You would think so my old friend," said Dooku, "But I can detect little, and looking around..."
He circled the area. "There is not a trace. Not a scrape of cloth, not a thread of hair. I doubt we will find anything inside either. She purposefully left no evidence, and we know next to nothing about this Fallen Padawan, as Ur Manka failed to disclose anything aside from gender and a false name, not even her race. We have not a clue where she might go. She has had days to put distance between here and wherever she has flown off to. We will not find her unless she wants to be found."
Yoda silently agreed with him, but hobbled into Ur Manka's home anyway, wishing to see how his old friend had lived his retirement. He silently admired the architecture, the decades of hard work. He took a round of the home, his fellow Masters following behind and observing. He found, as Dooku had suggested, nothing about this 'Iris'. But...
In the kitchen area...
He felt where Ur Manka had died.
He felt the loss, the hurt, the pain, and a sense of... betrayal. But not from Ur Manka. His old friend did not feel like he had been betrayed... curious.
"Sad he felt, grieving," mused Yoda, placing a hand on the floor and closing his eyes, "Failed, felt he did, in his last moments."
"I feel it to," said Mace, eyes furrowed, "The other presence, the Fallen Padawan, felt betrayed...? Hurt? I feel a darkening here. I'm not sure I can make sense of what happened with merely echoes."
"Hmmm," mused Dooku, "If Siolo is truly to be believed on how far he and the Padawan came together, as one who is or was dark it would be in her nature to be... possessive of him. There is no death, there is the Force, that is not something someone Fallen would accept. For as little as it makes sense to us, perhaps she viewed his illness, his death, as a betrayal, of him leaving and abandoning her."
"Mmmm," murmured Yoda, prodding the Force, getting little in response but the same muddled clouding whenever he tried to make sense of the darkness slowly spreading through the Galaxy, he did not know if that was the correct conclusion or not, "Feared that, Ur Manka did, not in those terms, but the same in the end, it was."
Dooku's insight in the matters of the Dark Side from his studies and missions, while thought provoking, sometimes worried Yoda. He brushed off his concern and released it into the Force. "Find this Iris, we cannot. Trust in the Force, we will. If meant to find her way back to us, she will."
Yoda pressed again one last time, not for the Darkness, but the Light, and felt... something. It was still clouded by the dark, while their was a faint air of familiarity about it, he could not identify who this 'Iris' truly was, but... she felt as much sorrow as Ur Manka did, as much grief, loss of faith, and pain, so much pain. Ur Manka's passing had hurt the child in one way or another, of that Yoda did not doubt. She was lost again to the Dark Side, and it grieved Yoda to realize that. To have someone lost come so close to returning, to defy an impossibility, only to lose the chance.
He walked outside and grasped his glimmer stick with both hands, staring out at the pyre. "Speak well for her, it does, that give him the pyre, she did. Give it to him, she would not, if cared, she did not."
"It could be to hide evidence," pointed out Master Windu.
Yoda nodded in acknowledgement. "Mmm."
Windu frowned and glanced around slowly, and Yoda could feel him probing the air, not as the rest of them would, but for shatterpoints. The man blinked, pained, and reached up to rub his eyes as if blinded. He shook his head and looked... worried.
"What happened here was days ago," murmured Windu, "A shatterpoint should not linger. Yet the fault lines do, at such a size, slowly receding. If this is what remains... how massive was the shatterpoint when Siolo was trying to save the Padawan?"
Yoda's ears twitched, waiting patiently.
Windu pursed his lips. "What happened here was much more than the struggle for the soul of a single Padawan. What exactly this means, I am not sure."
"Touch many lives, one person can," said Yoda slowly, eyes washing over the greenery around them, "Good or ill, light or dark. Consequences her actions have, spread across the Force it will."
"Perhaps," said Dooku, "Or perhaps it had nothing to do exactly with her. Let us not forget what Ur Manka said she told him, of a powerful Darksider that killed her Jedi Master and abducted her. I won't pretend to understand a shatterpoint as you do Master Windu, but, perhaps the real opportunity lost here was her leading us to this beast. I am far more concerned about the Darksider than I am the Fallen Padawan."
Yoda tilted his head in thought, slowly nodding. "A point made, you have. Much danger and damage, could this unknown threat cause."
"Master," said Dooku, kneeling down next to him despite his own old age, "Do you wish me to investigate this matter?"
Yoda blinked and turned his head. "Find this threat, think you can?"
"Letting it walk unchallenged is foolish," said Dooku with disapproval, not at all actually acknowledging the question, "Jedi go missing each year; some with explanation, some not. How many, pray tell, has this Darksider potentially killed? How many assumed dead, were instead subjected to torture and turned? Let my purpose become it's end, and let it be my legacy."
Yoda leveled his gaze on his old apprentice before 'thwacking' him with his glimmer stick. "Legacy hmm? A legacy you have, if visit your Padawan and Grand Padawan, you would. Refuse missions from the Council, scouring the Outer Rim, chasing shadows, isolated you have been. In a rut, Vosa's fate has left you, that Galidraan has left you."
Dooku's face darkened. "Is this why you really called me here? How I give my service to the Order is none of your..."
Yoda poked his chest, not harshly, but firmly. "My Padawan, you are. Concerned, I am. Allow you to seek out this Darksider, I will not, unless help yourself first, you will. Lose you to this threat, I will not."
Dooku scowled and stood. "I am not some weak Padawan, but a fully trained and experienced Jedi Master. I have no concern of this threat torturing me into the dark."
Yoda slowly shook his head, it was not Dooku being 'tortured' to the dark that worried him. His old padawan was setting himself up for failure. Yoda had seen it many times over his nine hundred years of life. "Spoken, I have."
Dooku glared. "So is this what it takes to have our fallen or missing Jedi investigated? Something you use as a means to and ends to..."
"Dooku," said Winda sharply, briefly cutting him off.
Yoda's ears drooped a bit, but acknowledged his words. "Spread thin, to thin, the Jedi have been. Investigate thoroughly, and with time, many of our lost or killed have not been. Agree with you, I do."
Dooku's hostility faded, looking actually surprised that his words were headed.
"Listen I do, Dooku," said Yoda softly, "But only one person, I am, though Grandmaster I may be. Listen to the council, to the senate, I must."
Dooku huffed. "Maybe if we weren't so reliant on the pocket books of the Senate, we could dictate our own efforts better."
Yoda gave him an indulgent smile. "That view, made you have, many times."
They shared a brief chuckle before Yoda flicked his ears and sighed softly, "Grant you this mission to investigate our fallen, I will, see your old Padawan and his Grandpadawan first, you will. In their own rut, they have been. Perhaps help one another, you will."
Dooku sighed. "Very well, but I make no promises. Qui-Gon and I... did not last part on the best of terms."
"Hmph, not my fault, that is, hmm?" said Yoda, whacking Dooku's shin, earning a scowl, "Come, come, leave Ur Manka to his rest, we will."
Yoda hobbled a bit, with Dooku at his heels, before pausing, turning to look at their wayward companion. "Master Windu?"
The Korun Master stood there, his frown still heavy on his face as he stared at the pyre's remains. He slowly shook his head and walked after them. Sometimes Yoda wondered just what it was his fellow Master could see. Other times, he did not envy the man. To many burdens and roles the Force already placed on them, and despite how they all rose to the responsibility, they still weighed heavily. Out of the three of them here, perhaps only Master Windu came close to truly understanding the depths of the consequences, whatever they may be...
Notes:
Does anyone know the specific year Obi-Wan went to Mandalore for the mission to protect Satine as a Padawan?
And forgive me if I butcher shatterpoints or take them up a notch more than cannon. Considering that Sidious could have been both robbed of an apprentice, and had the Sith revealed here, it could have been an absolutely massive event that changed the fate of this Galaxy.
Chapter 13: Plunge (Part 2)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Screams were a thing of beauty, a melody, a lullaby to every Sith's ears.
What Sidious heard now was no exception. All he had to do was give basic instruction, a little walkthrough, and place someone his apprentice would think deserved it in front of her, and, watch the sparks fly. The empty room he had put some Twi'Lek criminal bound to a chair in lit up with flickering blue light as Force Lightning ripped from his apprentice's fingertips. He tapped his lips in thought for a moment, watching only half the blue streaks impact their bound target.
"Focus my apprentice, you must have focus," he ordered, "Direct your hate to it's target, do not let it roam freely, it is a waste of your hate and your energy."
Tachi paused briefly, narrowing her eyes, before her face morphed into a hateful sneer and she thrust her hands forward.
He watched the blue-white energy burst from her hands, all of the streaks surging into, and through, it's target. The Twi'Lek screamed in agony as its flesh slowly melted, it's lekku turning into shriveled up prunes. She wasn't powerful or focused enough yet to turn Force Lightning into its most lethal forms, but she could easily, if but slowly, cook someone to death, and of course use it as an offensive tool in a fight. The smell of burning flesh brought a soft smile to his lips. His apprentice was slowly coming into her own. She took to Force Lightning well, not as well as he had, no one would ever be as skilled with it as he was, but she would be proficient with it. He did briefly wonder what would be her specialty; he supposed he'd find out eventually.
"Good, goooood," he rasped with dark approval, "But you must be mindful of where and when you use this ability. Using it while masking yourself and the ripple it would case in the Force is... something even I have difficulty with without taking special precautions. Nearby Force Sensitive will feel it; the range of detection will grow with your power, your presence, and the intensity you put into the lightning. Even the act of unmasking yourself to briefly call on the power will radiate your presence like a beacon."
She nodded slowly, walking forward and poking the melting corpse, coming away with gooey flesh that she flicked off her finger with distaste. "We're going to be practicing that, aren't we?"
He chuckled. "You know me well my apprentice. Until you can sufficiently mask your use of the Dark Side to come off as nothing more than a brief disturbance or distortion, you are forbidden to use the ability outside of this place."
She gave a wry smile. "Let me guess, punishment every time you detect me?"
"Within reason."
"Is there a trick to it?"
"I will not give the answer freely, but consider the veil of the Dark Side, and how it may hide you and your actions."
Siri tilted her head. "Veil?"
He paused; he hadn't explained that yet, had he? He considered how to answer that without giving something away. "Years ago," not that many, but she didn't need to know that, "My old Master and I willed a shift to the Force, tilting, no, not a tilt, not even a mere paradigm shift, but a tangible alteration that could be felt by anyone with the Force. Surely you, before you came under my tutelage, must have felt the clouding within the Force, making it more difficult to perceive the future or receive guidance from the Force for the Jedi."
Siri blinked. "Oh. That makes more sense then the Force just suddenly getting mucky. How'd you manage that?"
"Months and months of meditation," he said dryly, "Where we challenged the Force itself for sovereignty."
She grew wary. "And it just let you?"
"No counterforce rose against us."
"That doesn't mean it did nothing," she said uneasily, "You don't need to challenge someone directly to work against them."
Sidious didn't immediately respond. Frankly, she might not be wrong. It was something he'd have to meditate on later. "Or, you underestimate the power of the Dark Side, of two Dark Lords of the Sith of Bane's line at their peak."
Siri said nothing, her gaze betraying nothing, and even her emotions had stopped swirling, save for a tint of fear. Subtly, he peered through the bond...
Using the Force is one thing, challenging it like that would get us destroyed.
He sighed with annoyance. "You still see the Force as your ally, a higher power, when it is your servant, your slave. It must be dominated and brought in line. In time, you will understand. Now, return to the task on hand, how might you use the veil to hide your actions?"
Siri pursed her lips and held up her hand, levitating the staff on the floor into the air. She began to spin it with the Force, and he could feel her probing the area around it, seeing how her act sent small ripples though the Force. It was not something she would learn quickly, but he would be patient. He had altered his schedule as much as he could to focus on keeping her reigned in for the next year or so. By then, he figured he'd have broken her out of her teenage defiance, if not sooner. She would be much more skilled and powerful, he would press her to her limits and push beyond. After all, he had to get her over the Jedi's coddling into the conditioning of a Sith.
Then...
He thought of her personnel file, of the Jedi noted to be her acquaintances and friends, smiling cruelly.
Then it would be time for her trial.
Her sacrifice.
Where she would both prove herself worthy of the Sith and damn herself beyond anyone tempting her with the light again...
*Knock knock knock*
Master Dooku stared at the door to his old Padawan's Master/Apprentice apartment in the Jedi Temple, feeling unusually awkward. Force, when was the last time he had even spoken to his apprentice outside of a com-call? Face to face? After Xanatos fall? There was Tahl's death... but did a quick 'I'm sorry for your loss' between missions really count? He and Qui-Gon had ended the apprenticeship on a foul note, to be sure, but... standing here and now, at his padawan's door, was all that ever needed to happen to potentially renew that relationship. Not that Qui-Gon had particularly reached out either, but Dooku didn't really blame him. He hardly ever made himself available to.
*Woosh*
The door opened and young eyes peered up at him, slightly startled, before bowing. "Master Dooku, welcome."
He wonders. Had he even met Obi-Wan Kenobi before now? The boy would obviously know who he was, few in the temple that weren't creche infants did not. But personally...
He felt a tint of shame.
He didn't know his grand-padawan at all. Had never reached out to offer even the slightest of advice.
Dooku tilted his head in greeting. "Padawan Kenobi, is your Master present?"
Obi-Wan nodded slowly and stepped aside, moving back into the apartment. "He is."
Dooku took a moment to look the boy over. There was a slight sagging under his eyes, and his presence had an air of lasting melancholy about him. Almost like... no, exactly like Qui-Gon had after Tahl had passed. Who had the boy lost to gain that? Dooku briefly flicked out a datapad from his robes, calling up his padawan's latest missions (he only looked at them to keep an eye out for his former student, nothing more, it was not with a sense of longing, it was not!). Within the last year, the pair had only been on two missions, a waste if Dooku was asked, mainly sticking around to focus on Obi-Wan's studies and classwork as a cited excuse to reject missions. Before that was a sixth month censure (an absurd duration) and before that...
Ah, the High Councilor fiasco. The deaths of Master Gallia and Padawan Tachi.
He wondered, was Tachi Obi-Wan's Tahl? He had a hard time imagining it, they didn't know eachother half as long as the elder pair did. Unless the Padawan was letting himself obsess and linger over what couldn't possibly have been a long relationship, on the 'what could have been'; but considering Qui-Gon's still surviving issues over his own loss, the man just might share in the misery and let it stand.
"Are you going to stand out there all day, my old master?" came Qui-Gon's dry voice.
Dooku bristled briefly, pocketing the datapad and walking in, chin held high and composed. "I was taking a moment to collect my thoughts."
"Oh?" said Qui-Gon, sitting cross legged on the floor at a table across from his padawan, sipping tea briefly, "What mission does the Council have for us that it would require you as a messenger?"
A sharp jab, to say Dooku wouldn't visit otherwise. Not quite untrue either. "No mission, my young Padawan."
Obi-Wan snickered a little. "Young."
Qui-Gon gave him a dry look and reached over to tug on his padawan-braid. "Brat."
"I simply... decided to ascertain how my Padawan and Grand-Padawan are doing," said Dooku carefully.
Qui-Gon gave him an unreadable expression for a moment before sighing. "Yoda?"
Dooku winced a little and nodded. "Yoda."
Qui-Gon shook his head. "The troll should mind his own business. Honestly, is he that desperate that he sent you after us? We will sort ourselves out when we are ready."
Dooku withheld the flinch, keeping his gaze cool with a slight tint of disapproval. "Regardless of the Grand-Master's interference..."
He hesitated. "It is long overdue Qui-Gon. I should not have distance myself as I did, and leave you to three apprenticeships without hardly a word of non-condenscending advice to give."
There was a slight narrowing of his Padawan's eyes. "Oh? Did Xanatos end that way simply because you weren't there to advise me in my inexperience?"
Dooku scowled darkly, insufferable little... "That is not what I meant, Jinn, and you know it."
"Master," murmured Obi-Wan, "He's come here in earnest, surely you feel that."
Qui-Gon looked away briefly, jaw-strong set, before sighing and motioning to the table. "Sit, my old Master, Obi-Wan can pour you some tea."
There was silence for a few minutes, as three generations of their line sat and sipped tea together, before Qui-Gon spoke, apparently deciding on a neutral subject, "How fared your forage into the Outer Rim?"
Dooku huffed a little. "Forage would be an apt description I suppose. A sentinel's work is never simple, but spending weeks or months on end hunting down Dark Side artifacts or investigating various ruins, cults, and the like, is trying at times."
"Cults?" asked Obi-Wan uneasily.
"We are hardly the only Force-Practitioners in the galaxy young Obi-Wan," said Dooku before frowning, "And many others are not nearly as benign as the Jedi Order, far from it."
He glanced towards Qui-Gon. "Though my Padawan did have one he favored to an absurd degree."
Qui-Gon gave him a look. "The Whills, the Guardians of Jedha, are a sect that deserves respect."
Oh, Dooku forgot how much he enjoyed needling his Padawan. "Was that it? Or were you always so obsessed with their ridiculous myths and legends."
He smiled teasingly. "Chasing immortality is hardly a Jedi trait after all."
Qui-Gon scowled, but Obi-Wan looked fascinated. "Immortality?"
"The Whills believe it is possible to retain your sense of self after death," mused Qui-Gon, "I've been in contact, on and off over the years, with one of their Shamans on the matter."
"What happened to 'There is no Death, there is the Force'?" poked Obi-Wan, joining in on the teasing.
"And now you've corrupted my Padawan, Master," whined Qui-Gon with mock exasperation.
"I've hardly corrupted the boy, Qui-Gon," said Dooku, "After all, I have yet to even speak a word about some of your more... amusing... misdeeds during your apprenticeship."
Qui-Gon narrowed his eyes. "Yet?"
"I reserve the right to."
Qui-Gon sighed heavily.
"Surely you weren't that bad as an padawan, were you Master?" asked Obi-Wan innocently.
"I'm going to choose not to answer," said Qui-Gon bluntly.
Obi-Wan cracked a grin before something self-depreciating crossed his face. "Well, I doubt you beat me on leaving the Order to fight in a war."
There was a hint of a flinch there, an air of shame about the Jedi Master. "No, but leaving you behind in that circumstance was just as bad."
"Consider it a joint effort then," said Dooku firmly, the pair of them were already melancholy enough without this being added in, "And move on."
Sufficiently chastised, both Master and Padawan retreated to drinking their tea.
Obi-Wan was the one who broke the silence, "So... Grandmaster..."
Dooku wasn't quite sure what he felt right then and there, hearing that word come from his grandpadawan's mouth. A tingle of pride perhaps?
"...what did Yoda pull you out of to come here?" asked Obi-Wan, "He didn't interrupt something important, did he?"
"He pulled me into another mission first," said Dooku, "Tell me, Master Ur Manka is still talked about in the temple these days, is he not?"
Obi-Wan's eyes went wide a bit. "Yes he is, Master Drallig mentions him at least once a week, usually bemoaning us in comparison."
"Well, between you and I, the battlemaster in my time did the same," said Dooku conspiratorially.
"And mine," added in Qui-Gon.
Obi-Wan snickered a little.
"Well... Yoda received word from Master Ur Manka some time ago," said Dooku, "In which, the venerated elder..."
"Which one?" teased Obi-Wan.
"Hush Obi-Wan," said Qui-Gon, eyes intently on Dooku.
"Venerated elder being Master Ur Manka," clarified Dooku, "Reported that he was dangerously ill, and feared he was not long for the world."
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's faces turned serious, and a tint of sad.
"He wanted Yoda to come and pick up a project of his," said Dooku.
"A project?" questioned Qui-Gon.
"Stray, he means," mouthed Obi-Wan.
Qui-Gon reached for Obi-Wan's braid again, but the boy leaned out of range.
"Master Ur Manka was, apparently, trying to redeem a Fallen Padawan and bring her back from the Dark Side," said Dooku, still amazed at the audacity of the deceased master.
Qui-Gon stroked his chin thoughtfully, Obi-Wan on the other hand looked startled. "He what? I thought you couldn't come back from the Dark Side...?"
"Well, from what he told Yoda he was making a good effort of it, but feared his death would undo the progress he made," said Dooku, "Unfortunately, when we arrived, the home was empty, and a funeral pyre had long since burned down."
"Thus passes a legend," mused Qui-Gon.
"What about the Padawan?" asked Obi-Wan.
"From what we felt... we suspect she was lost again," said Dooku, "A wasted opportunity, especially with what intel was passed on."
"Intel?" questioned Qui-Gon.
"It is to be kept between the two of you," warned Dooku, "Apparently, there is a powerful dark side user killing Masters and abducting their padawans to forcibly turn."
A look of horror crossed Obi-Wan's face. "Y-you're not serious?"
"He wouldn't jest, not about this," said Qui-Gon slowly, carefully, before nodding at Dooku, "I thank you for the warning then, I'll keep my senses peeled when we are away from the temple."
Dooku nodded back crisply. "I doubt the council will make it public. I am being tasked on investigating all missing Jedi reports to see if any lead to this threat."
"Be careful Grandmaster," said Obi-Wan, a little anxious.
"I plan to be," agreed Dooku, "But this beast has been allowed to roam free for who knows how long."
The room grew silent as the trio finished their tea.
Obi-Wan broke the silence again, "What was the Fallen Padawan's name? Do we know who her Master was?"
"Master Ur Manka said the Padawan identified herself as 'Iris', but not only is the name false, he did not give us any other information in which to identify her," said Dooku irritably, "If we had a firm identification for both her and her dead Jedi Master, it would have served as a precise starting point for my investigation."
Obi-Wan frowned for a moment, head tilted, eyes distant. "Iris..."
"As I said, the name was false, the only Iris currently in the order is a four year old initiate in the creche," said Dooku before pausing, something occurring to him, "Unless you knew of a Padawan who went by that as a nickname perchance...?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "No, just... the Force was... nudging me I guess...? I'm not sure why."
There was a chance Obi-Wan might have known whoever this 'Iris' was, but, without further identifiers the notion was a rather useless. "The Force has been rather vague as of late, hasn't it?"
Qui-Gon snorted. "To put it mildly."
Dooku smiled a little before turning to Obi-Wan. "So my Grand-Padawan, tell me of your apprenticeship thus far. How has it been under my badger of an apprentice?"
Qui-Gon huffed a little bit, smiling though as Obi-Wan started in on a tale...
Obi-Wan was breathing raggedly, exhaustion pulling at his aching bones despite not doing anything. He watched an older version of him and his master battle a blurry dark figure on a walkway in some kind of power complex. He squinted, trying to make out who the figure was; all he could see was a dark version of Jedi robes, a red saberstaff spinning back and forth to easily redirect their attacks and lash out with physical hits or force attacks. He caught a flicker of blonde hair and blue eyes, a female human figure, a sense of familiarity that he couldn't quite place...
Then the woman planted her foot right into Obi-Wan's chin, knocking him from the walkway onto one far below. He landed with a wince and laid there for a moment, catching his breath, before he struggled to rise to his feet and leap back up. There was a steady stream of panic rising in Obi-Wan's chest as the dark warrior lured Qui-Gon towards a hallway of laser gates. He knew he had to get there in time, they could barely hold off the woman together. If he was cut off from his master for an extended period of time...
He rushed, only to be blocked by the laser gates coming into play. Thankfully his master and the dark woman were separated as well. The older Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon spoke to the woman, though Obi-Wan himself could not hear what was said. There was an air of frustration... of conflict... about the woman, but when the shields came down, the fight resumed... only for Obi-Wan to get caught behind the last laser gate, watching in horror as his Master rapidly started to lose the fight, and then Qui-Gon was disarmed, the woman's saberstaff pulled back to run him through as the older Obi-Wan screamed for her to stop, screaming a name...
Obi-Wan jolted awake, a startled and fearful gasp escaping his lips. His heart pounded relentlessly for a minute's time before he slowly began to calm himself and release his emotions to the Force. He laid in his bed, trembling at the vision that had taken him, before he sat upright in his bed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. There was an air of warning, of potential, about the vision, and that woman, why did she seem so familiar? He just couldn't place it. Rather than sleep, he settled into meditation, probing the Force for answers it seemed to clouded to give...
Notes:
Anyone got a Dark Side Force Power they'd suggest Siri specialize in? Or just lightsaber excellence + average in Force abilities?
Chapter 14: The Sacrifice
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
One Year Later...
Of all the things Siri hated the most, having to deal with Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation ranked fairly high on the list. The first time she had observed him was of the Neimoidian basically pissing himself through a hologram over a 'light' scolding from Sidious. She had hoped, prayed, that he was one of a kind, the lowest scum they had to deal with, but Sidious slowly revealed a vast array of corporate cowardly fools that bent a knee to him. Of which, Gunray was the worst. She had made the mistake of airing a grievance about it, only for Sidious to use that as another form of punishment when he wasn't slapping her around the training room.
If she irritated him, he'd send her on the next intimidation visit towards the Viceroy rather than just comm-drop him.
He'd had her do it three times already.
The Viceroy had a habit of mismanaging funds for his own personal pleasure rather than pursuing Sidious's desires. Which, was a really, really, stupid idea. If he wasn't so easily malleable to her Master's will, he'd be dead already. But Sidious already thought he wasted to much time correcting the Trade Federation's stupidity, and breaking in another Viceroy after going through all the trouble to have apparently put Gunray in the position in the first place wasn't worth it. As such, she was forbidden to kill him for any reason short of him betraying them to the Jedi.
So here she was, riding an elevator up to the top floor of one of the federation's 'pleasure yachts'. Siri could only wrinkle her nose in disgust. A waste of money, and a waste of people. The woman and men here could be put to better use than this. Gambling, drugs, sex, all of it was a pointless waste. She had never cared for any of the three as a Jedi, and most certainly didn't as a Sith Apprentice. Sidious warned her of the pleasures of the flesh, of how it can be distracting to them, but how they could also use it against others.
She slowly shook her head. Sidious was only just beginning his instructions on manipulation. She knew Gunray had a larger purpose than just being a controllable miscreant in charge of the trade conglomerate, but she didn't know what it was, couldn't see that far. Sidious saw to plans that could be decades in the making, fueling fires of conflict on worlds that would slowly spread, or leaving lingering resentment that could be used years later, or carefully working over a contact to their side, a bribe here, a threat there, a called in favor all of the sudden, a hit put out for this politician or businessman/woman, ect... All of it moving towards one specific goal...
The death of the Jedi and the ascension of a Sith Empire.
She just couldn't see how it all came together yet. Still couldn't decide if she wanted the first part to happen or not. Even after Ur Manka's betrayal...
He didn't betray you Siri...
...there were still Jedi she cared about in the Temple that she...
Then, the door opened up to the top floor of the Yacht, into a long, dimly lit hallway, and she completely froze at what she saw.
"I'm telling you Master, that guy is hiding his laundering," came the dreadfully familiar voice of one Jedi Padawan Garen Muln.
Human, male, brown hair and eyes set on a fair if but relaxed face. He bore his brown robes well, her first thought at seeing him, the bounce of a lightsaber on his hip as he approached the elevator. His padawan braid had gained a few beads, each color signifying a different skill that had been mastered or difficulty that had been overcome. Siri didn't even remember what had happened to her own braid, had she tossed it into that stinking cell with her padawan saber? Yet, she wondered what hers would have looked like at this point, had Master Galia lived, had Siri not fallen.
"I know Padawan, but it's not our place to investigate deeper, honestly, why the senate requested a pair of Jedi to press the slime is beyond me, woe be it that we were the closest," agreed his Master, head slowly turning from her padawan.
Siri took that moment to observe Garen's master. A human woman by the name of Clee Rhara, a Jedi Knight and an ace of the Starfighter Corps, training Garen to be the same. Fair skin, a bit more pale due to constant time in space, orange hair and eyes. Then, those eyes took in the open elevator they were moving towards, and she froze when her eyes landed on Siri. Immediately her arm shot out to stop her padawan, hand moving towards her hilt.
Garen did the same, eyes turning towards the threat his master saw, only to freeze for a moment, eyes going wide in surprise, shock, and then delight. "Siri? Siri Tachi!?"
Why... would he be happy to see her? The dead Fallen Padawan? She would have thought the Temple Rumor Mill would have torn her reputation apart, assumed deceased or not. Perhaps... since he had been a friend... did he look over it...?
Dare she even hope?
She swallowed, hard, her voice growing shaky. "G-garen."
And then her head caught up to her, and she realized the situation in full.
No... oh no no no no...
She knew Sidious's rules. If she came across any Jedi who identified her...
"I... we thought you were dead Siri!" exclaimed Garen, "What happened?"
Siri needed precious moments to steel herself. "I... I was..."
He took a step forward, noting the panicked look on her face, taking a step forward in concern. "Siri?"
Knight Rhara's hand landed firmly on his shoulder and pulled him back, her eyes coolly narrowing at Siri. "Padawan Tachi, while I am glad to see you still live, I am... curious as to how you survived when your Master did not, why you are here, and your... current choice in clothing."
Siri clenched her fists tightly, her anger starting to bubble. There was the Jedi reaction she was expecting.
Garen blinked a few times, looking, really looking, at Siri. "Those robes..."
She felt him reach out with the Force, trying to brush against her hidden shields. "I can't feel... why are you hiding yourself Siri? How are you hiding yourself like that? What's going on?"
She closed her eyes and took a shaky breath, feeling tears well up in her eyes, sliding down her cheeks. "I'm sorry Garen."
She opened her eyes and burst forward, igniting her red lightsaber and going for a quick kill, the least she could do for her friend. But his Master had obviously expected something, her green lightsaber springing to life and intercepting the blow.
"SIRI!" cried out Garen in shock, in hurt, in betrayal, staggering away in horror.
Siri turned away from him, focusing on his master. Garen's shock would keep him out of the way, or not focused enough to be a threat. She drew on the Dark Side, smothering her fear, her desperation, her sorrow and guilt and anxiety. Refusing to allow anything to hold her back as coldness overtook both her and the area, electing a startled gasp from Garen, and a grim look from his Master. Siri's lightsaber lashed out in quick, controlled, viscous strikes, stabs, and ripostes. She had come a long way since she began her training in Makashi, while she wasn't a master in it yet, she was decently proficient. She didn't think she could take a Jedi Master yet...
But a young Knight training her first padawan? A Jedi Pilot, not trained specifically as a Guardian or a Sentinel?
Siri scored her first hit less than thirty seconds into the duel, redirecting the woman's lightsaber into the hallway's walls and then sliding her own lightsaber down in a quick precise stroke, leaving an ugly burning scar down the woman's left thigh. Knight Rhara gave a pained cry and staggered away, one hand clutching the lightsaber wound, her other keeping her green blade pointed shakily at Siri. If the woman had any exposure to Makashi, it was probably long forgotten katas back when she was a padawan, perhaps decades ago. It was laughable, and weak.
"Siri STOP!" cried out Garen, rushing forward and igniting his blue saber, standing by his Master's side, "Whatever happened to you, please stop!"
"She's fallen, Padawan," said Knight Rhara through clenched teeth, "You're friend is lost. Focus, I need you to help me take her."
Garen's eyes pleaded with her. "Please Siri, stop, let us help you, even through the dark I can feel you hurting."
Siri flinched, and for a moment, her lightsaber wavered... let herself entertain the notion...
Before she shook her head. "It's to late Garen, far to late for that. You should be happy it's me, as I'll make it quick..."
She gave a twisted smile. "My master would be far more cruel."
"Your Master?" questioned Knight Rhara.
Perhaps she'd let them know, before they died, what they were up against. "Sidious, Darth Sidious."
There was moment of horror and disbelief on both Master and Padawan's faces before Siri used that to her advantage and moved. She thrust an open palm forward, shoving Garen down the hallway with the Force before going for his Master. With the woman barely able to stand on her injured leg, the already wide advantage became insurmountable. Siri could detect traces of Ataru in the woman's movements, but trapped in this tight hallway, she was limited, where Siri was not. She parried aside a blow, lightly skimming her blade across the woman's chest, making her stumble back. Siri struck fast, three rapid jabs, collarbone, chest, stomach, not deep, but enough for great pain, and the woman fell backwards to the ground, crying out. Siri stepped forward, twirled her saber, and smoothly executed, taking the Knight's head off.
It was easy... the woman might not have been a shining example of a Jedi Knight she could fight, but... Siri's few years of training had already made it so easy to kill a Knight...
"MASTER!" screamed Garen.
Siri had a brief moment to look up before Garen came at her hard, anger and loss in his eyes, betrayal etched so deep into his face that Siri's dark control was briefly shaken, and she felt regret...
Realized that she had taken Garen's master as her own master had been...
She smothered it and fell into a retreat, allowing Garen to push her back and expend his energy in viscous heavy blow...
Then her back came in contact with the now closed elevator door and she wondered just when that had happened. Had someone called for it? She ducked a slash, an orange welt burning into the closed door, and rolled, her lightsaber slashing at Garen's leg as she moved passed, burning through nearly to the middle. Garen bit back a scream and staggered on the leg, smashing face-first into the hallway wall. One hand moving to grip hold him steady against the wall and his buckling leg, the other wearily holding his lightsaber out to ward her away.
"How could you betray the Jedi?" he whispered, "How could you do this?"
She swallowed back bile in her throat, saying nothing.
"We missed you," he spat out, "We grieved for you. Obi-Wan was heartbroken that you died, he still clams up whenever you're mentioned. If he saw you now, a Sith..."
"SHUT UP!" she screamed, pain and anger and regret and grief ripping through the air as she rushed at him.
Garen lunged at her charge, his lightsaber going for her center, for the kill.
But even distraught, she was still well trained. She sidestepped the lunge and spun, dragging her lightsaber into and through his back and spine. Garen fell to the ground with a hushed gasp, his lightsaber clattering across the hallway. Siri stood over him for a moment before driving her lightsaber through his back, his heart, and into the floor. Her friend spasmed, then moved no more, passing into the Force, a quick death. Siri let her lightsaber drop from her hands and knelt down next to him, burying her face into the back of his tunic, a pitched wail escaping her lips, the Dark fleeing her.
"I'm sorry Garen," she whispered, "I'm... I'm so sorry..."
She took a ragged breath and raised her head as the elevator dinged behind her. On reflex, she shielded herself in the Force and prepared to act...
Only for for a dark chuckle and the soft clapping of hands to be heard, Sidious's dark voice rasping out, "Well done my apprentice, well done."
Siri closed her eyes painfully. Tears streaming down her face. That... that bastard. He had set it up... set this whole thing up to make her kill her friend...
Was...
Was he going to make her do this for all of them?
For Obi-Wan?
Who... who grieved so much for her?
"A potential only truly shows their worth when they make their Sacrifice," said Sidious slowly, stepping into the hallway, "Slaying someone who had once meant something to them. I myself killed my family, and you have now killed your former friend. I am pleased, most pleased..."
Siri said nothing, struggling with her roiling emotions between her tightened but wobbling shields.
"Now rise, Darth...," Sidious paused for a moment, considering, "...Tyrosus."
Siri grew beyond bitter. So was that it? Betray and murder a friend, family, and get 'gifted' a new name?
Sidious waited a moment before growling, "I said rise, Apprentice."
Siri stared down at the burning scar across Garen's corpse, a shaky sob escaping her lips, unable to find the strength to.
There was a hiss from Sidious as he strode forward, grabbed her, hauled her to her feet and spun her. He looked at her tear stained face, her eyes (always blue he would say in disgust), and stared at her in disbelief. "You..."
He snarled. "You killed the Jedi, but failed the Sacrifice?!"
Lightning ripped from his fingers, sending her flying down the hallway, screaming in agony as he took the lightning to an output he never had before. "Worthless! Waste of an apprentice! How could you fail it? The Dark Side..."
"ISN'T WORTH IT!" she screamed, her grief and guilt pouring out of her, momentarily stunning Sidious and stopping the lightning, "It's not worth it... nothing you've shown has made this worth it..."
She had killed Garen...
Killed one of her best friends...
Force... oh Force...
It hurt... it was like a deep, bleeding hole in her soul...
"You don't know the power of the Dark Side my young, foolish, ignorant apprentice," snarled Sidious moments before lightning ripped from his fingertips again at a brutal intensity, her vision blackening, "But you will learn..."
Sidious stared down into the medical bay of his facility in the works, staring at his apprentice, still fuming. How could she fail the Sacrifice? It was all he could do not to outright kill her. He had turned his fury on the Jedi's corpses, ripping them to shreds in a Force Storm, before he focused his rage and brought it under control, setting about falsify the logs of the ship and the security footage before disposing of what remained of the Jedi and their ships. He had dragged his apprentice back here, shocking her unconscious again and again whenever she awoke, until it came to the point where it was get her medical attention or let her die.
He refused to believe he had wasted his time. But where had it gone wrong? She had darkened greatly over the last year, had done his bidding with hardly an ounce of hesitation, yet failed so badly when it came to killing a former friend? How?
"I could feel your agitation half way across the Galaxy, Sidious," came the harsh whisper of Plaguies.
Sidious didn't bother turning, nor showing any surprise at this sudden visit. "She killed a former friend, yet failed her Sacrifice."
There was stillness in the air for a moment. "Her sacrifice? I was under the assumption she was to be a tool, nothing more."
Sidious briefly berated himself for the slip up in his agitation before he went with a blunt misdirection. "She was to replace Maul in his entirety, and the boy was already to the point of being fueled with the Dark Side enough to be considered an apprentice, where she should be to be of true use to us."
He could feel Plagueis's eyes boring into him, calculating, judging, feet slowly approaching. Sidious did not tense, but if his Master thought he was moving to betray him and sought to strike, he would be ready...
Plaguies instead stood next to him, peering down at her. "So she partook in the offering, but did not complete it. She is dark enough, to be sure, yet... there is something lacking I feel."
Plagueis turned his head, yellow molten eyes boring into Sidious, "Describe the event as it transpired."
Sidious did so, perhaps his master could see where Tachi was still lacking.
Plagueis listened intently before clarifying, "She said the Dark Side wasn't worth it? That nothing you showed her made it worth it? In those words?"
Sidious frowned briefly. "Yes."
"What have you tempted her with?" asked Plagueis, a hint of curiosity.
"I have taught her some of our history," began Sidious, "Taught her to wield the Dark Side, begun perfecting her lightsaber form, strengthened her physical limits through intense training, shown her to hide herself in the Force and her use of it, I even bestowed her the knowledge to perform Force Lightning."
Plagueis waited a few moments before scowling. "That's it?"
Sidious turned sharply towards him. "What, did you expect me to hand out all our secrets?"
"Mind yourself Sidious," warned Plagueis before shaking his head, "You still have much to learn about drawing someone further into the Dark Side, my apprentice, especially a Jedi. You've thrown her the most basic of scraps, merely brought her up to par physically. Force Lightning is a tool that the vast majority of Sith both in our line and in ages long past could use. It's hardly the most tempting of techniques."
Plagueis turned full towards Sidious, his voice growing dark, alluring, "Where is the temptation of forbidden knowledge? The trails of deeper, darker secrets? Hints of powers and abilities to draw her curiosity in, to create an apatite for power and knowledge. Have you even shown her a holocron yet? Let their whispers and promises of power pull her in?"
Sidious resisted the urge to glare. He did NOT believe in sharing power, especially so freely. An apprentice should have to fight for every scrap of knowledge they could find...
"Do you forget Sidious," questioned Plaguies, "Your own early apprenticeship? How I pulled you in bit by bit, one piece of knowledge after another, one Holocron with a hint of another when I deemed you ready? One secret of ancient Sith Lords to the next and the next?"
Sidious... did not reply, considering the words.
"It is fortunate our plans for Dooku are still close to a decade away," said Plaguies with disgusted chagrin, "You still require practice with the intricacies of tempting a Jedi."
"She is not to be an apprentice," Sidious lied.
"I'm not saying she is to be either," chided Plaguies, "But a few secrets to pull her in, one Holocron is hardly going to make her a threat to us. You sprung the Sacrifice on her to early, and now risk your tool. If she isn't properly reeled back in, firmly and quickly, she will be lost to you, and all of your time wasted. We hardly have the time to wait for training another replacement tool."
Plaguies turned away. "Draw your apprentice properly into the Dark this time, not simply bathing in it, but delving deep; or dispose of her and find some other means to carry out our will discretely."
Sidious stood there for a time, scowling to himself, staring down at his apprentice's unconscious form. "A holocron..."
His nostrils flared in agitation before he controlled it, what did he have to lose at this point? "Fine, we will see if this strategy of his has any merit."
He considered his collection of Holocrons for a moment before a slow, dark, smile spread across his face. "Ah... now that's a possibility."
He glanced down at Siri again. "Perhaps one blonde hair formerly blue eyed devil woman to another may pull you in."
He turned away and strode from the room. "Let us see if Zannah can be bothered to be of use..."
Notes:
Darth Tyrosus... bit of a spoiler for ya'll, there's a few ways you can take the name.
Tyro = From Medieval Latin Tyro ("young soldier, recruit").
Osus = According to Wikipedia: Perfect active participle of odi ("hate; dislike"), likewise used in the present active meaning in earlier Latin.
Tyrosus = Young Hate, or Recruited Hate (or perhaps Hatefully Recruited, she did hate how she was brought it)
Alternatively...
Tyr was a Norse War God who preceded over matters of law and justice.
Tyr = Justified.
Osus = Hate.
Tyrosus = Justified Hate (towards Sidious).
Or perhaps... Lawful Hate? Hmm? Future hints perhaps...
There's probably other ways it could be taken, but regardless, I like how the name sounds. Make of it what you will, the name has been teased, but it will be awhile before Siri truly earns the title.
Also, I'm going to REALLY enjoy the new few chapters. :D
Chapter 15: The First and the Last
Notes:
Warning: Taking a lot of leeway here, like or dislike at your own prerogative.
I also probably have Zannah's speech and mannerisms wrong, but, I don't have the Rule of Two books to judge. Sorry if it's way off :P, I only have Wookiepedia to use.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
When Siri came to, and was finally not immediately electrocuted unconscious again, she was back in her room. Her first instinct is to let a pulse out in the Force, testing the area for traps and dangers. She's on her bed, there is no one else in the room, the door is...
Locked from the outside, gripped tyrannically with the Force.
Sidious isn't letting her out of here until he wants to.
She continues her pulse, feeling no traps or...
Then her head turns, detecting a dark sensation, a watchful one, as if Siri herself is being studied. Sitting on her desk is a red and black pyramid like object that radiates the Dark Side. Siri studied it for a moment, slightly curious as to what it is, but dismisses it, tilted her head back straight to look up at the ceiling. Images flash through her mind, of Garen, of that look of betrayal on his face...
Of murdering him...
When he cared, when he wanted to help...
Depression is an old friend, one she hasn't really seen since she was in her cell before accepting Sidious's apprenticeship. She welcomes it anyway, flagellating herself again and again that she killed one of her best friends for nothing...
She feels something, a brush against her shields, a whisper to follow, but she shoves it away. It's not Sidious demanding something of her, and even if it was, she doesn't care anymore. Let him kill her, it would be better this way...
Then a red light illuminates the room, and a woman's voice rings out, sharp and pointed, "You are a moody little thing aren't you?"
Siri bolts upright, hand going for a lightsaber that isn't on her belt anymore. Sitting on the edge of Siri's desk, is a young looking woman. Covered from foot to collarbone in dark, almost skin tight black leather and robes. A longer lightsaber, a saberstaff perhaps, rests on her belt. Her face is smooth, pale, beautiful, with blonde rolling down to rest on her shoulders. But what draws Siri is the woman's eyes, with diamond black tattoos stretching above and below her eyes.
Her molten yellow eyes.
Siri straightens. "Who are..."
She frowned, noting a slight shimmer to the woman's form, a line of red light connecting her to the pyramid. Like... like a Gatekeeper.
"A holocron," said Siri with a frown, "A Sith Holocron."
Why would Sidious give her one? Especially since she had 'failed' his Sacrifice?
"Well what do you know," mocks the Sith Gatekeeper, "You can put two and two together. Do you want a medal?"
Siri scowled at the woman, but her attention turns back to the Holocron itself. "It... doesn't feel like a Jedi Holocron."
The Sith scoffs. "Of course it doesn't, because Jedi are idiots and don't know how to make them right, with purpose, with will."
"What do you mean?" asked Siri.
"Do you honestly care for the answer?" questions the Sith, "Or am I a passing fancy before you return to your moping?"
The Sith pouted before Siri could answer. "I never like being a mere side attraction."
Siri sighed and looked away, she didn't want to deal with this right now...
A tingle of warning runs down Siri's spine, the Force is steadily growing louder as it warns of danger. From the... holocon? How could a holocron be dangerous?
"So tell me, little Fallen Jedi," purrs the Holocron, "Are you going to ignore me?"
Danger.
Danger
DANGER.
"Because if you're going to just sit around wasting my time and your own potential, I can make a lot better use of that body than you can," came a hushed, dark voice where the woman's playful banter had just been.
The Force is full on screaming at her to pay attention, and Siri does, turning and tightening her shields as the Holocron raises a hand at her and...
EVERYTHING BURNS!
She feels like there's something pushing into her body, her mind, trying to burn her from the inside out and turn her into a husk. Siri lets out a scream of surprise, feeling the presence, so small, yet so dark and malevolent, piercing right through her shields, for her mind, her memories, aiming to tear them apart piece by piece, making her forget everything that made her who she was and everyone that ever mattered to her, immediately going for her strongest memories... Obi-Wan...
Siri reacts at that, the danger to her precious memory of what she still treasures despite how buried in the dark she is. Unlike the presence, which is so small and fractured and broken, she is not. She grabs it, shoves it back, and throws it out of her mind. She tags a ragged breath, her shields on the verge of destabilizing and cracking from the inside out, her mind feeling aflame. What...
"What in the nine Corellian hells was that?" snarled Siri at the Holocron, fury radiating off her at the invasion.
The Holocron pouted at her again, flicking it's hair back. "Transfer Essence, I greet all female Sith that way. Always a damn shame I can't get myself a nice fine new body. We're rather compatible if you ask me," eyebrows lifting suggestively, "Got room in that body for a spare?"
Siri grows just a tad flustered and honestly baffled, not sure what she's supposed to feel at that. Somehow the Sith made a mental attack trying to possess her body come of as a pass at her. "No."
The Sith pouted. "Tch."
Siri shifted uncomfortably. "If Essence Transfer is what your implying... but you're a gatekeeper..."
The Sith rolled her eyes before motioning to the pyramid shaped holocron on the desk. "We don't make our Holocrons the way Jedi do. Even between the Sith, methods varied. The process is long and complicated, but most important is the Rite of Commencement, to imbue and create our 'Gatekeeper' as you call me. Some are cognitive maps of the Sith in question, some Sith completely bind their souls to their Holocrons and make it their new body. Then, there's me..."
The Sith flashed a savage smile. "Who wanted the best of both worlds, and wouldn't take no for an answer. To keep going as the Dark Lady of the Sith, and leave a small part of my soul behind to continue even after my time passed."
Small, fractured, and broken.
That's what Siri had felt push into her, and it shocked her, it wasn't just a gatekeeper, it was an actual... "You're..."
But wait...
She frowned. "You can't honestly ever expect your 'Transfer' thing to work, do you? You're just a fragment, you'll never take a whole person over who fights you."
The Sith shrugged. "Can't blame a woman for trying can you?"
She grew sly. "Not to mention, you almost let me, miss so-mopey-that-I-could-slide-in-with-ease. That's the closest I've ever come to actually getting a new chance at life."
Siri scowled and tightened her shields, checking and smoothing over any cracks she could find. She might have issues with her current 'profession', but like hell was she letting herself get body-jacked. "Why don't you just take over some random person then?"
The Sith made a disgusted face. "Like Chaos am I ever taking over a Force Null."
"Chaos?"
"Hell, nine Corellian Hells, the void, Netherworld of the Force, whatever you want to call it," said the Sith dismissively, "Taking a Force Null would just leave me stranded in one body till it grew old and died. Immortality is the goal, young one, I'd rather keep existing in a little cube then nowhere."
Immortality huh? "Why would you want to live forever?"
The Sith snorted. "That, is so a Jedi question. Everyone and everything wants to live, they struggle and grow and evolve with their own life or legacy in mind. Do you deny this?"
Siri pursed her lips. "Logically... no. I've read that parents often wish the best for their children, help to set them up for a better life than they've lived."
"Not that Jedi would know what a parent is," drawled the Sith, "They're so unnatural. Denying emotions, accepting death so readily, baby-napping infants from the love of their parents..."
"Like a Sith knows anything of love?" countered Siri, shying clear away from 'baby-napping'.
"I did, once," said the Sith, appearing briefly lost in a memory, "When I was a child. Of course, the Jedi killed that spectacularly and set me up to become what you see now."
There was a dark ripple around the holocron, viscous and angry and open despite however long it had been since whatever she spoke about transpired. "You were a former Jedi?"
The Sith shook her head. "Never took that step actually, I was being brought to become one, but... one could say fate happened I suppose."
"Who are you exactly?" questioned Siri.
The Sith grinned. "You, darling, can call me Zannah."
Her eyes flashed dangerously. "Darth Zannah."
Siri's throat went dry in an instant. "The first apprentice of the Line of Bane..."
The Sith spread her arms out to the side. "The one and only."
She scowled. "Not that most of my descendants give a damn anymore. Not an ounce of respect for their elders..."
"Elder is right," said Siri, deciding for a bit of payback, "What are you, over nine hundred years old prancing about as if your a young lady? You should act and look your age."
Zannah gave an indignant squawk. "I'm still young in spirit!"
"Old hag."
"Little bitch."
"Aged tramp."
"Teenage whore."
"I'm still a virgin thank you very much," snubbed Siri.
Zannah stared at her. "Karking Jedi, you deny yourself all of life's pleasures, don't you? That's not a good thing dear, we need to get you laid ASAP."
"No thanks," said Siri dryly; this act the Sith was putting on was... weird, "Besides, Sidious said the temptations of the flesh..."
"Oh kriff Sidious," said Zannah dismissively, "The last several Lords of the Sith have all been stuck up prunes. Even Bane was more lively than them when he was trapped in his armor."
"Life exists for our pleasure," purred Zannah, "What good is it if we cannot have a little fun? Live a little."
Siri rolled her eyes.
"I'm not saying forget our goals," said Zannah pointedly, "But if our every waking moment is spent in service to the Grand Plan, then how are we any different than the Jedi who enslave themselves to the Republic and it's goals? We must live for ourselves, be bound by no chains, even to our Order. I lived as a Sith because I believed in it's purpose, but I never stopped living for myself either, even as I trained my replacement."
Siri crossed her arms. "Not that I can live anything like that with Sidious chaining me down."
"Like I said, kriff Sidious," snubbed Zannah, "He might be the most powerful Sith of our line to date, but he's still the worst of us. Arrogant beyond belief, ignorant or dismissive on the past and the accomplishments of his predecessors, not to mention absolutely sexist and speciest to the point of foolishness. Honestly, my apprentice wasn't human yet she still managed to kill me and take my place. He'll risk on losing out on so much because of that, especially if he passes that on."
"His last apprentice wasn't human."
"Maul?" said Zannah with amusement, "Pfft. He was a tool, nothing more."
"So what, am I just a replacement tool for the one I killed?" spat Siri.
Zannah paused, eyes focusing. "Oh? You killed his little beast?"
Siri grinned, the Force swirly darkly around her, a reminder of the triumph and elation of it. "I did."
"There's what I've been waiting for," purred Zannah before blinking out of existence and reappeared right next to her, finger poking her forehead and into it-
Abruptly, the temperature around them plummeted, enough for the Dark Jedi's breathing to suddenly become visible. Something in Siri changed and warped as rage, dark cold rage entered her, followed by deep hate as she glared up at the Dark Jedi.
The Dark Jedi's eyebrows furrowed. "Is that...?"
"You wont touch him," came out a hushed, cold and deadly whisper, parting out Siri's lips like a hiss on a snake's tongue.
With a furious war cry, Siri's lightsaber flew into her hands, demanded there by the Force at her will. She burst forward, feeling invigorated and empowered, driven by a determination to see this beast dead and her Obi-Wan safe. She, like he did her Master, took the Dark Jedi completely off-guard. Her first slash knocked aside his saber like it was a twig and cut from his lower right stomach up diagonal across his right breast. It wasn't nearly deep enough for Siri's tastes, but the howl of pain that ripped from his mouth at her saber's searing touch was oh so satisfying. She battered him back, swinging her lightsaber in Force fueled blows that were coming far to heavily to be naturally from her arms. Her foe fell back from each rage fueled strike, naked fear in his eyes. Oh that fear... what a rush!
She pursued him, a hungry growl escaping her lips, as he staggered away, looking towards the ship, and for a brief moment, she felt relief and hope emanate from him as he gasped out. "Master!"
Siri's eyes briefly flickered to the ship, it's open ramp, but there was nothing there aside from dark shadows, and nothing in the Force that she could sense. She felt disgusted, had some deranged madman really slain her Master? The mere thought of it sent another spike of rage through her as she shot after him. The hope and relief faded, replaced by confusion, then a sensation of anger and betrayal. Whatever aid he expected wasn't coming, wasn't real. He turned back to Siri and met her charge. She swung down in a brutal overhead strike, and he raised his blade to block. For a few split seconds, he held his own, purple and red sabers crossing against one another in a test of strength. But at this point, Siri didn't care about strength, skill, or fair play. She just wanted it DEAD!
She raised a foot while he was looking up at her saber, and slammed her boot right into his crotch. The beasts eyes bulged as he gasped and staggered back, his lightsaber moving out of line as he lost his focus and concentration. With one swift motion, Siri brought her lightsaber down, severing his sword hand from his body, and then in a smooth spinning backstroke, took his head clean from his body before he could even scream. Dark elation ripped out of her body as she watched his body, his hand, and then his severed head hit the ground. She threw her head back and raised her hands into the air, a triumphant yell escaping her lips...
-Siri yelped and shoved, pushing Zannah out of her head a second time. "Stop that!"
Zannah stepped back from her, a look of satisfaction on her face, gleeful interest in her eyes. "Ah... now I see it. What drew Sidious in, made him take a female as an apprentice. You have such potential for a fallen Jedi, you could be everything a Sith needs to be and more. You're not just a tool, he wants you as his real apprentice, and I see why. I would have had such fun with you if you lived in my time."
The Sith scowled. "Except that you chain yourself down to the past, and you hardly push into your potential. I see why he gave my holocron to you."
"What, are you to make me his dutiful little apprentice?" Siri sneered at her.
"That's what he wants," admitting Zannah before going sly, "I'd rather steal you for myself instead."
Siri blinked. "You'd what?"
"Treachery is the way of the Sith," said Zannah nonchalantly, "If he thinks I'm going to bow to his will or do him any favor the way he's so dismissive of me then he has another thing coming. He's not good for the Sith Order, I'd rather nip that in the bud."
"You think he'd ruin the Sith's grand plan to kill the Jedi?" asked Siri.
"Oh far from it," said Zannah, "If he doesn't wipe out the Jedi with how much the Line of Bane has set him up to do so, I'll be shocked, and beyond disappointed. But honestly, the Jedi have grown so complacent it's not even a real challenge anymore, it'll be like playing chess against yourself, with the Jedi as the pawns to sacrifice and throw away. The real danger to the Sith Order is what comes after, how we evolve after we have achieved our revenge. That, is where I believe he will fail."
Zannah grew distant. "I am not as I once was, seeing the threads of the future was never my particular skill despite my adeptness in sorcery, yet... even diminished as I am, I feel that his path will lead to the destruction of the Sith, and anything that picks up the pieces afterwards will never hold the glory and power of what came before."
Zannah refocused on Siri, something dark and alluring drawing the latter's focus. "You hate Sidious with a barely leashed passion. It was never meant to be that way, not for the Rule of Two at least, because that way is the way of infighting, killing out of spite rather than readiness. Taking over for Bane was a duty, a responsibility, I was his legacy, as Darth Cognus was mine. Aside from some of the stupid shit he pulled near the end, I never particularly hated him. Hungered to consume and take his position yes, but it wasn't personal. Don't get me wrong, he was never a father figure, but Bane never treated me as a slave, more like his personal hand in the shadows, an extension of his will before I was ready to make that will my own. Honestly, our only real issue came when it was time for me to surpass him, and not how you might suspect."
Siri listened, entranced. "How then?"
Zannah chuckled. "He thought I was unworthy because I hadn't killed him yet, not because I tried or anything. He thought I was waiting for him to weaken with old age, proving me unworthy. Of course, then he went in search of immortality rather than just tell me. You have no idea how angry I was when I heard that. It was the closest I ever came to hating him. But...," Zannah smiled maliciously, "...we sorted that out, Bane wanted me to kill him and prove myself, so I gave him what he wanted. Sidious however..."
Zannah spat. "Wants to live forever, rule forever, just like his Master. Aberrations, the both of them, so assured in their victory they have lost sight of what it means to further the goals of the Sith rather than themselves. Furthering the Sith Imperative and furthering your own selfishness must be kept in balance."
"Don't you want to live forever?" pointed out Siri.
Zannah gave a self-depreciating smile. "Not untrue, but I died when my time came for me, I didn't risk the Grand Plan. Not that my bitch of an apprentice ever told me how she went about killing me when she found my Holocron. Regardless, that I still exist as I do isn't a threat to our Order, far from it. I don't follow my own selfishness at the expense of the Rule of Two, as Sidious and his Master do."
She eyed Siri thoughtfully. "You feel more hate towards Sidious than I ever felt to Bane. I can teach you how to make that your strength. I can show you aspects of the Dark Side he never will. He desires to make you his apprentice, but never let you become the Master if he can help it, always keeping you chained to him as his slave. His Master was perhaps to free with the knowledge he gave out, but Sidious will never allow you to grow to the strength you need to be to replace him as the Lord of the Sith, not intentionally, and that will doom the Sith in the long run, because one day, Sidious WILL die, and everything he withheld from his apprentice would be lost, especially if he hides his holocrons where no one can find them."
A pounding echoed in Siri's ears...
"Pledge yourself to me," growled Zannah possessively, reaching out and grasping-yet-not-grasping Siri's chin, a tingle in the Force all Siri could feel in the place of physical contact, "And I will show you the true depths of the Dark Side, powers and abilities and knowledge that not even Sidious knows, I am the last Sith Lord to truly specialize in Sith Sorcery after all..."
Siri swallowed; hushed, luring whispers in the back of her mind, egging her forward, to accept, to kneel...
"I'll teach you, correctly and with patience, unlike the other Holocrons that he could have given you," tempted Zannah.
Siri... wanted something to focus on; not the pounding in her head, the howling of the Dark Side in her ears. "Why... is that important to note?"
Zannah rolled her eyes. "Sith Holocrons, as a rule of thumb, are far more... free... with their knowledge than Jedi ones. They'll hand out all the knowledge you desire, even if you are not ready for it, which, more often than not, has destroyed the person who delves to deeply to quickly. It's kind of the point really. But..."
Zannah ran a spectral hand through Siri's hair, the Force ruffling it for her, "I will show you the way."
Siri shivered. The room was so cold...
Zannah brought a thumb up, the spectral digit brushing across Siri's lips. "Kneel."
Siri got off the bed, her entire body is shaking; she knows Zannah is doing something to her, a mere fragment of the Sith's soul or not, the Holocron has power and knowledge... but more important than its dark influence... is that she can give Siri everything she wants... all the knowledge of a Sith Lord, the power, the control... everything a Sith would want... nothing else matters...
Is that true Siri? What about your friends? What about when she leads you to kill your friends just as Sidious did?
Siri briefly flinches, the sound of Obi-Wan's voice as her conscience always an aggravating sensation...
She shakes her head, shoving the voice down and away. Zannah can give her everything she needs to kill Sidious, nothing else matters... so she kneels...
"Look up at me," purrs Zannah.
Siri does, and for a moment, that holographic replication of the Sith looks so solidly real, those yellow molten eyes burning just as deeply as Sidious's does. "Pledge yourself to me."
"I..." she began, her voice so dry.
Zannah says nothing, merely waiting, so unlike Sidious with his forcefulness and threats. Zannah doesn't want to force her service, Siri thinks, she wants Siri to willingly offer herself... and she wants it... you want it so badly don't you?... but... it's not...
"What... are you doing to me?" whispered Siri.
"Nothing that you don't wish," whispered Zannah back, "I'm merely drawing out who you really are. You're deepest, darkest desires. You're hunger for the dark, for power, pushing back the light that would make you deny yourself. You wish to be taught this, by a teacher who cares."
"Y...your a Sith, you d-don't care," said Siri shakily.
"I care about the success of my line," countered Zannah, "I care about the sovereignty of the Sith."
"I..."
"Do it," hissed Zannah, "Pledge yourself to me, call me... Master."
Something... violent rippled through Siri at the last word, and the chill in the room turned into a fire as everything came back into focus. "No."
Zannah blinked a few times. "No?"
Siri shoved the intrusive darkness away that wasn't her own and stood, growing furious at being violated, at being nothing short of seduced towards enslaving herself to another Master. "What's the difference between being his slave or being yours? He dominates and forces me into chains, where you tempt me to put them on myself. What about what I want? I'm sick of being forced to the will of others!"
Zannah stared at her for a moment before throwing her head back and howling with laughter. "Oh darling..."
She brought her head back down and grinned savagely. "I'm going to have such fun with you."
Siri glared at Zannah, who merely gave her a sly smile. "Here is your first lesson: Sidious would make you call him Master, but it is up to you whether when that word slips by your lips, it is in service as a slave, or as promise of death, to usurp and surpass. That each act you take in his service is building up to the moment when you kill him and take his place."
"Pledge yourself to his teachings, to the teachings of any who would further your cause," purred Zannah, "But never pledge yourself to them directly. Use them until they've outlived their usefulness, and then, either dispose of them, bend them to your will, or cast them aside."
Siri studied her, weighing the wisdom of her words. "I'll pledge myself to your teachings, but you're not my Master, and if you try to mess with my head again, I'll rip your Holocron to shreds."
Zannah's lips peeled back, darkly amused. "Well said, little Sith to be, but I wouldn't advise the last part, destroying a Sith Holocron can have... rather nasty repercussions, and I myself am not without my defenses."
Siri considers the words. Is there truth to them? Or is Zannah just trying to preserve herself? Does it matter? She's a broken fragment of a soul of a woman long dead, grasping at life like a starving person for food, long past her time. Siri was not going to enslave herself to a pyramid, to an object, something less than Sidious himself. She'll learn whatever Zannah will teach her, and if the Holocron is lucky, Siri might not destroy it when all is said and done.
"Now, how about you tell me what Sidious has bothered to teach you thus far," said Zannah, "And we'll go from there..."
Notes:
Next Chapter, more Zannah and Siri fun, arguments, and teachings...
Chapter 16: The First and the Last (Part 2)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"Could you explain the Rule of Two?" asked Siri, "Because while I like the whole 'one to hold the power the other to crave it' line, I don't understand it that well. It's... supposed to stop infighting? But infighting seems like its entirely forced with just two."
It hadn't taken Siri that long to explain to the Holocron (or soul fragment she supposed) what she had learned. She was only a few years into the apprenticeship, but the extreme disapproval radiating from Zannah was... enlightening. Apparently, Sidious was holding back compared to what Zannah would have done.
Zannah raised a very unimpressed eyebrow. "Honestly Sidious... why can he not be bothered to explain the most fundamental part of our line in depth?"
The elder Sith began to pace, the red glow from the Holocron swirling, giving the room an ominous tint. "The Sith Order has always had one specific 'fault', if you will. Sith always turn on eachother, the phrase 'Treachery is the way of the Sith' is not embellished in the slightest. Always, when victory seems assured, we betray one another, and the Jedi swoop in for victory. Or an old betrayal causes things to fall apart later, case and point being Darth Traya."
"Who?"
Zannah waved a dismissive hand. "Insane old bat. Her apprentices betrayed her and cast her out, only for her to come back and train their destroyer, when they had come so close to completely wiping the Jedi Order out. What the heck was that Jedi's name... Sarick? Sulrik? Surik? Something, doesn't matter. Sith were plagued with mass betrayal, limiting our number down to two, save for when the apprentice is selecting their own in preparation of usurping the Master, fixes this."
"And how does training someone who is guaranteed to betray you fix the issue of betrayal?"
Zannah grinned. "It sounds like it makes no sense on paper, doesn't it?"
"Just a bit."
Zannah crossed her arms, a dark look crossing her face. "It's not about betrayal, it's about mass betrayal. Or betraying at an ill-opportune time. With many Sith, the unworthy can team up to kill a more powerful target who is worthy. Then, when the dust settles, the so called team turns on eachother like rabid animals, and all that's left is a pathetic specimen where once there was someone who could have improved upon the Sith."
Zannah scowled. "For the other instance, say... Darth Revan and Darth Malak, serve as an excellent example. Revan and Malak were crushing the Jedi Order and the Republic, had Malak not betrayed Revan when he did, in the middle of an important battle, the pair would have gone on to almost assuredly destroy the Republic and convert it into a Sith Empire, one to challenge the one that turned them."
A devious smile crossed her face. "I would have paid good money to see two Sith Empires fight to the death."
She turned to face Siri. "The Rule of Two does not function like this. There are only two fully trained Sith out at a time. Betraying your Master before you have learned all or most of their secrets is like intentionally crippling yourself. Without others to conspire with, there are less... foolish encouragements to try early and get yourself killed. You have to be careful in how you betray your Master, because if it's openly, you risk revealing the Sith Order and upsetting the Grand Plan. Out of sight, out of mind, far away from the prying eyes of the Jedi is when the confrontation should be made. Betraying your Master when they are in the middle of an important stage of the Grand Plan is also foolish. It should be when their use has either come to an end, or you can handle things without them."
"Not that I have any inclination to spare Sidious, why kill your Master?" asked Siri, puzzled, "Surely they'd still be of help to the Grand Plan even in old age?"
"While not incorrect," admitted Zannah, "A Sith cannot be weak, we must be tested, pushed to our limits and beyond. Almost no Jedi would serve such a challenge at the stage of mastery for a Dark Lord of the Sith, save perhaps their current Grandmaster, but that's not going to happen unless its time for the Grand Plan to be enacted. The only other source of challenge, to prove ourselves worthy, is to defeat our Masters. To kill and take their place, proving ourselves."
Siri crossed her arms. "It still seems stupid and a waste of resources. Not to mention, dare I say it, a risk to your Grand Plan."
"How so?" asked Zannah, cocking her head.
"You're having two insanely powerful beings go head to head against one another," said Siri flatly, how could the Sith not see this? "What if they kill eachother, or the apprentice is permanently crippled in the encounter despite killing their Master? Doesn't that defeat the purpose?"
Not to mention if one of the Sith turn from the Dark Side? Not that she was a full Sith yet, as Sidious loved to point oue, but she... had almost done that for Ur Manka...
You should have...
"Well...," said Zannah slowly, with a hint of surprised chagrin, "You're not wrong, there is a risk. However, each generation of Sith is stronger than the last, the apprentice is generally always going to surpass and destroy the master. At no point, in the duration of our line, has that ever became a problem, to my knowledge."
"Still stupid," grumbled Siri.
"Well, when you're the Dark Lord of the Sith, do something about it," snapped Zannah snidely, "The Rule of Two was made to destroy the Republic and the Jedi. Whether it continues to be the best way of life for the Sith afterwards, who knows. So long as the Sith reign dominant over the Galaxy, our form doesn't really matter if but for once in our existence we can get our shit together long enough to destroy the Jedi and win."
"Which you say is a given at this point."
"It should be, but I have half the mind to think Sidious is going to kriff it up somehow," Zannah snubbed before sighing, "Ah forget it, I'm just a bit stressed I suppose."
"How can a Holocron get stressed?" Siri asked, a bit skeptical.
"Hey! I've got part of a soul," said Zannah with a pout before getting serious, "We're so close, I can feel it. You may... will, be the last true apprentice before the Grand Plan is enacted," She glances at her Holocron and then Siri, amusement crossing her face, "The first and the last, fate or Force perhaps."
Siri snorted. "Melodramatic."
Zannah flashed a grin. "Only sometimes, darling."
Okay, Siri was really starting to get confused. "Why do you act like that?" asked Siri, "Silly and coy one moment, full on Sith Lord the next?"
Zannah's grin turned feral. "It's part of my charm darling. It throws of my opposition, makes people uncertain how to act to me, makes them underestimate me, or perhaps infuriate them in the middle of a situation. Dun Moch is quite fun after all."
"Dun what?"
Zannah made a face. "Oh Force, come on Sidious! This is basic knowledge! How could he not teach you this yet?"
"Kriffing slacker," muttered Zannah before speaking up, "Dun Moch is the art of distracting your opponent in battle, though it has applications elsewhere. Typically with taunts, jeers, and jests to expose their weakness. To make them doubt themselves, their beliefs, their intentions. It's especially useful against Force Sensitives, as such doubts disrupt their connection to the Force. Concentration is incredibly important for Jedi, and Sith too I suppose; breaking it has wonderful effects for their opponents."
Siri blinked a few times. "Oh. That... sounds useful..."
She thought of Bruck and Obi-Wan, how Bruck used to always taunt Obi-Wan and make him angry, how it had always gotten Obi-Wan in trouble with the Masters...
"Very useful," she murmured, examining the concept in her mind, "Could you teach me this? I assume its more than just throwing random insults out."
"Dun Moch, is in essence, psychological warfare," said Zannah slowly, "It requires both an understanding of who and what your opponent is, what drives them, what has made them who they are, their thoughts and feelings, and how you may use those against them. And that is only the active part."
Zannah placed a hand against her own chest. "I incorporate it into my very being. How I act, how I speak, how I move around others."
She turned sly. "Never doubt the power of swinging those hips of yours, or bending in a certain way. The female body is an amazing weapon that has defeated more than one man for me before I even opened my mouth or drew a weapon."
Siri flushed a bit.
Zannah laughed. "Oh little one, you have so much to learn. We'll get to Dun Moch, among other things, in time. There is so much to teach, from my own skillset, from what I learned about ancient Sith Lords..."
"Whose your favorite Sith Lord of old?" asked Siri.
Zannah looked rather surprised, then pleased, then sheepish about the question. "Well, I might be a bit biased, but Freedon Nadd. His writings and doctrines are, after all, what kick-started my delving into Sith Sorcery."
"Sith... Sorcery?" asked Siri.
Zannah licked her lips slowly. "In time young one, you're not quite ready. You need a bit of practical experience first. To that end..."
The Holocron waved a hand at the door, and Siri felt it unlock. So it hadn't been Sidious keeping her in here...
"Now, do you have something like a string or a necklace that you could attach my Holocron to?" asked Zannah, "I wish to... personally guide your training."
Siri rummaged around the room eagerly. Zannah promised to teach so much to her...
"But before we go out," said Zannah, watching hungrily as Siri moved to put the Holocron on a cord and slipped it around her neck and under her tunic, "Perhaps I should properly mask us. A Sith's Holocron's presence is difficult to hide after all."
Siri watched, curious, as Zannah chanted something under her breath in the Sith Tongue. She felt the Force swirl darkly from the Holocron, yet, it was different. She wasn't sure she's ever felt the Force so intently focused, assigned to one sole purpose. She gasped when she feels nothing short of a second skin wrap around herself though nothing is physically there. She felt it probe her Force Signature, and then not only copy it, but... Siri was gobsmacked. She probed the skin with amazement and disbelief.
She feels null.
Force Null.
And she can find no weakness in the facade, it feels natural. It is her, as if she didn't have the Force. She probes for her own mind through it, and finds a facsimile. It feels... normal. There are no mental shields to it. It echoes surface thoughts, but nothing deeper. It is so astoundingly perfect, no Jedi, even if they probed around a bit, would find anything wrong. One would have to be looking really deep, deep enough that it would cause pain and damage to an individual's mind, to find anything wrong, which is something a Jedi wouldn't do.
"How...," she whispered.
"Sith Sorcery is an amazing thing," teased Zannah before her voice turned seductive, "Full of purpose and focus, powers and abilities beyond your wildest dreams and desires. Now, lets pretty myself up."
Siri watched as again, Zannah chanted under her breath and waved a hand. The Holocron's red-light disappeared, but Zannah stayed out, and looked... more solid?
Siri yelped when Zannah physically smacked her shoulder. "Alright then! Lets be off."
"You... you... what?!" exclaimed Siri.
"What? You act like its hard," teased Zannah, "All I did was compact particles around my image. It's a play on illusions, making something appear and feel and sound like it's not."
Siri hesitated, reaching out and touching the Holocron's arm, amazed at how real it felt. It felt like cloth under her arms, she trailed her fingers up, touching skin at the neck, it felt so real...
"Can... can you teach me this?" Siri whispered in awe.
"Ah... we have a potential disciple of sorcery do we?" asked Zannah in a hushed voice, a hungry look in her eyes, "Good, good. Yes, you'll learn Sorcery alright."
Her voice turned possessive. "You'll be my heir. A credit more to my teachings than Sidious's."
Siri shivered at the possessiveness, but didn't turn away from it. She wanted everything Zannah would offer and more. She wouldn't give the relic the pleasure of being called Master, but, she'd still learn.
"Now come, I already told Sidious I'd be stealing you for awhile, I have his, permission," spat Zannah, "To take you on a few trips."
Siri trailed behind the physical-gatekeeper, still awed by how real she had made herself appear with sorcery. The sound of rustling clothes, of breathing, of footsteps, the way the holocron could interact with things...
"Isn't this kind of the immortality you'd desire?" asked Siri, "You can go about and..."
"It's not real Siri," cut off Zannah, just a tang of frustration in her voice, "I can deceive others..."
The Sith appeared uncomfortable for a moment. "But not myself. I'm disembodied, I can't feel a damn thing. And it's risky to take my Holocron out into the world. If it's destroyed, I'm gone."
Siri went silent and followed the Sith out of the compound and into the lower levels of Coruscant. "Now, watch a Master at work..."
And Siri did watch. Sometimes close, sometimes at a distance (but not to far, Zannah's gatekeeper needed to be at least somewhat close to the Holocron) as the elder Sith interacted with the low lives of Coruscant. She pressed everything she could to memory, how Zannah acted depending on who she was interacting with. Coy, innocent, flirty, aggressive, teasing, anything and everything. Within a few hours, Zannah had a small gang wrapped around her finger, her charm, and a little bit of dark whispers from her Holocron, enslaving them to her will without them even realizing it.
"Darling," she whispered into the ear of their leader, "I came to you for more than your good looks."
The man, a hardened burly thug of a twi-lek leaned forward and kissed the illusion, lips crashing against Zannah, a hand coming to cup a breast through her tunic, making Siri flush, yet again. "And why's that, beautiful?"
"I heard whispers," Zannah purred, leaning into him, running a hand along his face, fingers, brushing softly against his lekku in a tempting manner, "Of a rival gang, wanting to kill you, take your men and your territory."
The man growled, grasping her hand. "Who? Where?"
And Zannah grinned, weaving her tale. "It was in the run down park a level up, five clicks to the east, I think they called themselves the..."
"The Red Engines," snarled the leader, "Stupid Swoop Gang thinks they can get in on MY turf?"
"They are rather stupid, aren't they?" purred Zannah, "To try to challenge my powerful, handsome man."
The Twi-lek puffed up a bit. "Yeah, I think we'll be teaching them a lesson real soon."
He glanced over at Siri. "I'll get my men ready, you and your sister can stay here while we take care of business. We got food in the back if you get hungry."
Zannah waited until the man was gone, yelling angrily into his comlink, before rolling her hands and wiping off her fake-lips. "Men, so easy to play, and-oh come on, stop acting like a prude!"
"You let him touch you like that!" Siri exclaimed.
Zannah shrugged. "Your point being what? I just started a gang war for the hell of it in not even a half day of work with nothing but words, my good looks, and a very tiny use of the Force."
Zannah sat down on a crate and tilted her head back. "Can't really tell if they've gotten stupider over the years, I thought I'd have to at least work for it for a few days. Group's a bit sexist though, no woman of rank to try and counter my influence I suppose. Complacent too, not used to subterfuge."
The Sith crossed one leg over the other, staring at Siri. "The point is, that you must use anything and everything to your advantage. I carried on a multitude of deceptions for decades, both before and after I became the Master. Everything in order to further the goals of myself and the Sith."
"How can you hide it all though?" asked Siri, "There's been some conflicts yes, but, nothing major to show that you're working against the Republic. Surely there had to be some indication..."
Zannah howled with laughter. "Oh Siri, you don't get it, do you? The Sith have been propping up the Republic! Causing their opponents to act early and get themselves destroyed, or doing so ourselves. The reason the Republic and the Jedi are so stagnant is that we've indirectly encouraged it, destroying those who would force the Republic to change. And while they stay the same, we chisel away at the foundations. Not that it's hard to encourage their complacency, both the Republic and the Jedi want things to stay the way they are. Meanwhile, we adapt, we learn, we grow, we spread our influence and continue to gain in wealth, in knowledge, understanding, and power."
"And the Sith have been doing it for almost a thousand years," murmured Siri, understanding slowly and truly starting to dawn on her, the scope and complexity of it all, "They're pretty much going to roll over and let the Sith slit their throats."
"No doubt, we've already been influencing most major bills in the senate, or at least I assume that's still standard procedure since the last Lord of the Sith saw fit to appraise me of the Grand Plan's progress," mused Zannah, "All we need is a bit more setup, to get in a position of power either within the Senate to corrupt it into an Empire, or within a foreign power that will topple the Republic, and then a conflict, a war, that the Republic no longer has the experience, the will, the understanding, of how to face. We will come, as saviors or conquerors, perhaps both, who knows, and in the twilight of the conflict, both the Republic and the Jedi, will die..."
Zannah's lessons didn't stay onworld, taking a small ship of Sidious's for a spin.
After about a week of driving the Coruscant underworld into a frenzy that spilled into riots, Zannah took her leave, Siri in a mesmerized tow, before peacekeepers and Jedi arrived to try and mend the situation. So much influence... so much control... so much damage. Zannah did it all with practiced experience and ease. Siri couldn't help but crave to possess that power and skill herself. But Zannah wouldn't allow it yet.
"You still have so much to learn and experience before you try yourself," teased Zannah, "I still have so much to show you."
"So, where are we going then?" asked Siri, watching Zannah punch in an unfamiliar set of coordinates.
"To an old hideout of mine," said Zannah, "If we're lucky, it should be relatively undisturbed."
"Even after all this time?" asked Siri.
"Well, I don't think I got around to revealing it to my apprentice before she killed me," admitted Zannah, "I stored some of my artifacts there. Most importantly..."
Zannah watched Siri's face carefully, "It's where I stored Freedon Nadd's scriptures."
Siri's heart felt like it stopped for a split second, a hushed, hungry whisper escaping her lips, "His... his scriptures...?"
"Tell me, what exactly do you know of him?" asked Zannah.
"I know that he was an ancient Sith Lord," said Siri, "Sidious told me he was a... magician of sorts? I'm assuming he was referencing Sith Sorcery."
"What else?"
"That he... trained Exar Kun?" said Siri, "He wasn't exactly clear on that, I'm assuming he meant his holocron."
Zannah shook her head. "No, that was meant quite literally. Sith are a stubborn lot, and more often that not, linger through pure strength of will, or ritual. His spirit educated Exar Kun, until he saw now more use of the ancient Sith and killed his spirit."
"So... he was like a ghost?"
"You could say that," mused Zannah, "What else do you know?"
"That's... roughly it," admitted Siri, watching Zannah scowl darkly, "Sidious didn't get to indepth with the ancient Sith, just basic history and roughly how it led to the Rule of Two."
Zannah huffed. "I'll go more indepth eventually, but not now, as a summary: Freedon Nadd was taught by Naga Sadow, who was taught by Lord Simus, former rival of Marka Ragnos. Sadow became the heir of Marka Ragnos, becoming the Sith Emperor of his time after disposing of his rival. He led the first war against the Republic before his defeat. He trapped himself in suspended animation, before Freedon found and awoke him thousands of years later. He studied at Sadow's foot until had learned all he could, then disposed of him."
Siri let a swallow pass down her throat as Zannah dropped the name of one legendary Sith Lord after the other (though she had never heard of Simus). "Like Exar Kun did to him, and so many did afterwards, leading to you."
Zannah nodded. "I was the last true master of Sith Sorcery. Others who came after me have dabbled somewhat into it, but none have rivaled me yet."
She grew snide. "Not even Sidious."
"So... it would give me an advantage over him then," said Siri hungrily.
"Potentially," said Zannah, "But, don't count it as guaranteed. He may have found other sources besides Freedon's scriptures, and while he may not personally know all the spells and incantations, he may have defenses against them you would not expect."
Zannah motioned to the hyperspace passing them by out the window. "Now, we have a few days before we get there, and I need to instruct you on how to handle the scriptures. They're kept in an enchanted tome, meant to protect them against the passage of time. I suspect the magic might have worn a bit by now. When we arrive, you must be very careful in how you handle them. They are not to be exposed to sunlight, nor fresh air, at least until their protections can be redone. There are... some limitations to my state of existence, some incantations that require a full-living essence to preform. You must learn them before we arrive. Come."
Siri followed her into the bedroom of the small ship they had been loaned, sitting on the bed as Zannah began to pace. "Now, first you must learn the words, repeat the first verse carefully after me: Kia drastâdisini tave stuyi iv amzi."
Siri shivered, hearing the Sith Tongue from an actual Dark Lord was... something else. "To withstand the test of time."
"In Sith," said Zannah mildly, "And be careful of your pronunciations. It must be precise."
It took a little over an hour of Zannah's intense scrutiny to say the words 'just' the right way. "Now, you must imagine in your mind, a veil of dark protection, destroying anything that would dare to defile the knowledge within. Will your possessiveness into the thought, your hunger and greed. Then, comes the second verse: Merji is itsu kia nuyak valia."
Bound in chains to my will...
It was quicker to learn this time, having started to grow used to Zannah's tongue in Sith.
"Then, you must will it so, feel the power and worth of what you desire," elated Zannah, "Linking your power in the Force to the object, wrapping it in your will, before the final verse: Zo jen' jenja kia muqurmyr kam buti manosi."
A dark shield to safeguard what is mine...
"Then, and only then, do you release your will to the Force, demanding it do as you will. Assuming you do it right, the spell will briefly manifest around the tome, like a dark bubble, before sinking into it," instructed Zannah, "It won't require you to maintain an active connection to it afterwards, but occasionally it serves to renew the enchantment. Now... I want to see you practice this, again and again, until we arrive..."
The world they came across was some undescript festering hellhole if Siri was asked. From space, it looked like a muddy green, covered in swampland, and seas, with very few clear landmasses. Zannah directed her to one. The moment they set down and exited the ship in a clearing that was 'supposedly' a few miles off from Zannah's former hideout, the elder Sith grew hostile. "Someone else is here."
Siri was relatively thankful that Zannah's masking spell was still around her. She carefully probed around the area, further and further out, until she felt a presence. It was... darkened, light receding quickly. Vaguely familiar in that Siri might have met it once.
"A dark Jedi," murmured Zannah, "Investigate."
Zannah grew more and more pensive, her fury tightly leashed, as they drew closer to the Dark Jedi. "He's near my hideout. It's possible he might have stumbled upon it. Either before he fell, lured to it's darkness, or perhaps the cause of his fall. How he came to this planet is, however, a mystery in itself."
They arrived some time later, after they tracked through marshland, Siri's clothing wet and stinking foul from the bog. Overlooking from a cliff in a dry area, a small canyon. It was filled with rocks and rubble, but looked as if someone had cleared a path to the bottom of it, rocks and foliage turned aside. At the bottom was a cave entrance, and exiting from it, was a hooded human man in ruined Jedi robes. Siri could feel a fanatical mad edge to him. He had done what Zannah had warned her of, delved to deeply and quickly into dark secrets he wasn't ready to know.
Siri knelt and peered down at him, noting the silver flash of a lightsaber hilt, and a second one on the other side of his belt, longer and dark, a saberstaff.
Zannah hissed, indignant. "That's my lightsaber! That unworthy craved dares to rob me...?"
Then her eyes went wide with shock and fear. "The tome!"
Siri's eyes shifted, noting a dark, blood red glyph covered book gripped tightly between his hands.
Zannah absolutely lost her shit. "HE TOOK IT OUT OF THE CAVE! THAT STUPID IDIOT! KILL HIM! KILL HIM NOW AND GET IT BACK INSIDE BEFORE HE DAMAGES IT!"
The dark Jedi looked up, startled at Zannah's howling, and set the book down on a rock, drawing both his blue lightsaber, and Zannah's double-bladed red one. "Whose there?!"
Siri vaulted down, igniting her lightsaber and dragging it down the cliffwall to slow her descent before she landed and leaped, rock after rock, towards the dark Jedi. Her rage was boiling. This IDIOT might have damaged the tome! Might have lost Siri who knows how much knowledge and power! She fed off that anger and growing hate as they closed the distance towards one another. The Dark Jedi lashed out, stabbing with his blue lightsaber while twirling Zannah's overhead. Siri parried aside the blow, spun out of the downward slash of the saberstaff, and then stabbed. Her red lightsaber piercing into the man's thigh. He howled and staggered, slashing wildly...
And Siri watched, bemused, as the idiot bisected himself with the saberstaff. "Well... guess that's why you don't use those without specialized training."
"THE BOOK!" roared Zannah from high above.
Siri briefly paused to collect Zannah's lightsaber, and then took off with a sprint, carefully grabbing the book and delving into the cave. It led to a tunnel that was partially submerged. She clipped Zannah's lightsaber to her belt, and held the tome high overhead as she waddled through. At the far end was a broken door leading into an underground complex. It looked like a lightsaber had carved into it.
Zannah's form materialized next to Siri and barked out, "Follow!"
Siri ran behind Zannah through dark or dimly lit corridors into a dusty looking study room, a illuminating glowstick dropped carelessly the center. There were clusters of old datapads, tools, objects, and more scattered around.
"Close the door," hissed Zannah.
Siri did so.
"Bring the tome to the desk," said Zannah, motioning to one, and watching critically as Siri did so.
"Don't even open it to check, we don't know if this was the first time he took the tome out or not, if it's weathered the air and sunlight for to long, it might damage the pages to do so," warned Zannah, "Do the incantation, then open it to check for damages."
Siri took a deep breath, slowly letting it out, focusing her attention on the tome of unfathomable power. Her ticket, her ascension into Sith Sorcery on the line. She held a hand over it and whispered in a harsh tongue. "Kia drastâdisini tave stuyi iv amzi."
She levitated the book into the air carefully, her hands moving through the air around it circularly. She imagined a dark sphere, within it, the book would rest. She imagined the Dark Jedi that had endangered the tome, and wrapped her fury, her rage, her hate of that fool around the tome as shell for it to rest in. She placed her spite of all that would damage it as a weapon just as much as a shield, that the tome was HERS, it was her possession! No one else's!
The air shivered around her, the Force whispering darkly into her ear.
The second verse ripped through her lips like a dark torrent. "Merji is itsu kia nuyak valia."
She imagined the power it would grant her. The few hints that Zannah had given out thus far, the few spells the woman had cast. How Siri hungered for them and more. Limitless possibility to give her ever desire. She poured that into her mind as she let lose the final verse. "Zo jen' jenja kia muqurmyr kam buti manosi."
And Siri released it, and felt the Force scream around them, wailing like a damned choir as the sphere of dark energy she had imagined appeared around the tome. Slowly, it shrank, glistening as it settled into the book. She gently levitated it down, and shakily sank to her knees, feeling drained.
"Good, good," rasped Zannah, "Very good for your first spell, and with such purpose. You have promise, Siri Tachi, such great promise."
Zannah redid her physical illusion spell, muttering quietly under her breath, before she sat down at the desk and carefully opened the book, hissing with anger. "That fool!"
Siri staggered to her feet and loomed worriedly over Zannah's shoulder. The pages were worn, a little bleached, somewhat crinkled, ink runny here and there. "Is it salvageable?"
Zannah carefully flipped through a few pages before nodding and pointing across the room. "Yes. Go get me some flimsi and an inkpot. I'm going to need to redo a number of the pages, thankfully they still seem mostly legible, and I think I remember the ones that arn't quite fully there anymore."
Zannah grumbled as Siri obeyed. "Dammit, any later than we were, and this would have been lost to us. I should have had us come here first. That bastard would have destroyed all that knowledge due to incompetence and pranced off with my lightsaber. I can't even fathom where it would have ended up..."
Siri swayed for a moment as the Force took her, she saw the Dark Jedi from earlier facing off against some cyborg monstrosity with four arms and lightsabers, losing, and the cyborg taking the lightsaber. She shook it off, it wasn't going to happen. Though, she thought to be mindful of whatever the hell that cyborg was if she ever came across it. She delivered the crinkly flimsi, almost as ancient as the book, but in better condition.
"Don't touch anything else while I work," warned Zannah, "I need to carefully go over the area afterwards to check for protections and some of my old traps."
Siri took it as an exercise in patience as Zannah painstakingly restored the tome hour by hour, day by day. The Dark Jedi had brought a few supplies which she had found in a nearby starfighter. Foot and clean water she had to scavenge herself, (mostly relying on boiling swampwater) her own ship had a supply, but she'd rather not drain it unless necessary. Finally, when it was done, Zannah bid her draw close, the study room dimly lit with old candles.
"It will take time to refurbish and repair this place," said Zannah slowly, "But, if you so desire, I will bequeath it to you."
"I would," said Siri, giddy at the thought of having her own secret hideout, a thing of children's tails, but so much more here and now.
Zannah nodded. "Now, we're a little behind schedule since I had to burn time repairing this, so for now, we will focus our efforts on your initial lessons in sorcery. In time, you will have the opportunity to restore and explore this place and study the tome. It isn't leaving this place. I'll also need to spend time leaving traps for further would be robbers, you'll help with this."
"Why the rush?" asked Siri.
"Sidious gave me a timetable," admitted Zannah, "I will teach you what I can, but then we have to move onto the next stage of your training before Sidious wants you back."
"What's the next stage?"
"It's not what, but where." Zannah's smile was all daggers, and the word she spoke sent a chilling excitement down Siri's spine. "Korriban..."
Notes:
Aaaand back down the rabbit hole Siri goes. Threw in a reference to Star War's Galaxies with Zannah's lightsaber being pilfered by a Dark Jedi.
Anyway, we have 1 more chapter of this (part 3), and then maybe 1 or 2 more chapters with a showing of how damning Siri is going to start being towards herself, and a check in for Obi-Wan before we hit the next time skip (potentially a larger one). Thinking about heading for the Phantom Menace finally. IDK, we'll see. We already have a run down of how Siri's training and missions will go, not sure we need a full play by play, could come in as memories or flashbacks later on, I'll think on it.
Chapter 17: The First and the Last (Part 3)
Notes:
Notes: Mixing a bit of Legends and Clone Wars together for a certain scene later on.
Chapter Text
The time spent in Zannah's-no-Siri's hideout ended all to soon for her tastes.
She had been taught a few basic incantations; first and foremost was dabbling in illusions. An incantation worked a bit differently than just straight up projecting the illusion into the mind of the target, something even Jedi could do, such as Yarael Poof if Siri recalled correctly. Sith Sorcery could wrap the illusion around Siri herself, rather than relying on being able to affect an opponent's mind, though she could do that quicker than relying on an incantation. Siri could confidently mask her appearance to something nondescript and average. How to mask her appearance as someone else however would require studying someone intensely, and perhaps getting a skin, blood, or hair sample if she wanted it to be really convincing.
Zannah told her she should abduct someone off the streets either during an upcoming missions or downtime and practice.
She learned how to assault the senses and mind of another. Brute force mental battering through the Force was wasteful, and easily repelled. Zannah spoke of sharp, pinpoint precision strikes, like a needle to pierce into shields and inject the Dark Side in like a virus. It could distort the area around the victim, disturbing their sense of sight, hearing, smell, and touch. If she got that off in the middle of a lightsaber duel, well... it was pretty much over if she could capitulate on it.
Finally, Zannah spoke of Mental Domination. Not Force Persuasion, but actual domination, to be able to Force them to do things they would never willingly do. Zannah spoke fondly of making families and friends slaughter eachother, or sign away their wealth and property, or betray their supposed allies. Things of that nature. While Siri wasn't close to it yet, Zannah spoke of mind-slaves, creating a network of sleeper-agents that could be bent to her will and activated with phrases or her power. It was... so chilling and yet enticing to even think of it. Churning guilt, apprehension, and yet greedy longing.
Of course, this was all, according to Zannah, basic stuff, and things Siri would have to master before she came back for more. So, they hid the tome of Freedon Nadd behind a false wall in the base, and left. Though, there was one thing Siri did bring with her...
She sat in the cargo hold of the ship, fiddling with Zannah's saberstaff. It... called to her. The Kyber in it was... something else, something powerful. It felt nothing like a Jedi's kyber, nor even like the kyber Siri had bled herself. She loosely probed the crystal, feeling the echoes of it's previous owners. Zannah, she vaguely identified as being a more complete echo, and someone else, someone immensely powerful and dark, intensely focused and dominating.
"It's called Bane's Heart."
Siri looked up to see Zannah's form materialize from her Holocron, red light illuminating the area. "My Master gave it to me, and I constructed my lightsaber around it. Both the lightsaber and the kyber inside it bear the same name. Extensions of his will, echoes of his power and instruction."
Zannah's lips peeled back into a sneer. "No matter how much I tried to dominate it myself, it still always held out in connection to it's old master, even after he died."
"It's still connected to you too," pointed out Siri.
"I suppose it is," mused Zannah, "The kyber is picky in who it accepts, and when it does, you're bound to it."
The Sith tilted her head thoughtfully. "It seems to have a thing for you."
Siri ran a hand along the lightsaber, touching the crystal again with the Force. It hummed, not screamed, but hummed at contact. It wasn't... broken, not like a normal crystal at least. It had chosen it's path, and right now, it chose her. She fell into meditation, pulling her emotions to herself in a swirl and then the crystal's force presence. She bound herself to it, and it to her. It whispered of promise and power, if she would learn to wield and treat it right. She was more than willing to accept.
When she pulled out of her meditation, Zannah was still watching her. "Do you want to make your own lightsaber with it?"
Siri saw no hint of emotion for or against it in Zannah's face. She didn't answer directly, eying Zannah's lightsaber thoughtfully. "What form did you use?"
"I used Form III almost exclusively, though I was versed in others."
Siri gaped a bit. "Wait, what? A Sith specialized in Soresu?!"
Zannah scoffed. "Why not? Do I look like a muscle bound brute who could use Djem So or the other more aggressive forms? No, patience, cunning, and quickness were my strengths in a fight. I mastered the form to such a degree that the rhythms of it became a matter of instinct. I could focus on using force techniques and my sorcery mid battle, trusting the defensive walls I could make with my lightsaber to cover me."
"Well, when you put it like that, Soresu does seem like it should be favored by a Sith Sorceress," admitted Siri.
"Perhaps, what forms are you proficient with?" asked Zannah.
"I've been learning Makashi," said Siri.
Zannah nodded. "Good for facing Jedi I suppose. It could serve you well."
Siri bit her lip, struggling a little bit with indecision. "Well... do you think you... could teach me how to wield your lightsaber?"
"No," said Zannah flatly, though... there was something in her tone...
Siri scowled at her. "Why not?"
"Because its custom made for one," said Zannah, "Its not even an average saberstaff, the handle is elongated even more than normal, and the blades are shorter. It sacrifices reach and leverage, but allows greater speed and maneuverability."
"You're point being what exactly?" asked Siri, it sounded like the Sith was making a sales pitch rather than trying to shake her off it, "Do you doubt I wouldn't put in the time, patience, and effort to learn how to wield it?"
"It's MINE! Take the crystal and make your own," huffed Zannah.
"Possessive much?" jabbed Siri, "Besides, it's not like you're going to be using it again."
Zannah glowered at her, though her lips were twitching...
Siri squinted at her suspiciously. "You're playing again. You want me to wield it."
Zannah's glower turned into a sheepish grin. "Maybe."
She grew serious. "But a saberstaff, especially mine, is nothing to fool around with. You need to have a firm understanding of how to position yourself, and how to wield your chosen form, before you use it. You need a... long stick, or a staff, to practice with before hand so your mistakes don't lop a limb off. And we have oodles of kata's to go through for Soresu."
"I um... have some experience with Soresu," admitted Siri, thinking back to her time with Ur Manka.
"Oh? Show me then," ordered Zannah, "I'll see what you know, and build from there. We have a few days until Korriban, so let's make the most of it."
For the next hour, Siri went through the katas with her own lightsaber, Zannah's critical eye on her as her lightsaber moved in tight motions, subtly dodging imaginary blaster bolts, parrying aside fake blades, until she called for an end to it. "You have the basics down, now, go through Makashi, I have... an idea forming."
She did so, careful cuts, viscous and precise stabs, parrying aside imaginary blows...
"Right there," mused Zannah, "Is perfect."
"I don't think I'm that good," said Siri with a pout, knowing it wasn't what she was going for, but trying a bit of Zannah's flair for herself. She kind of liked it.
Zannah grinned. "Not what I was talking about. Tell me, you understand, in essence, what economy of motion and energy efficiency mean, correct?"
Siri nodded. "Yeah, trying not to wastefully burn energy, following natural rhythms of your body, taking actions in a fight that require less effort, conserving stamina."
"Makashi focuses more in fluidity, Soresu more in energy efficiency, but they still use a lot of the same principles, specifically economy of motion, just going about using it differently," said Zannah, "One of my weaknesses, loath as I am to admit it, was when I was the primary aggressor in an encounter. Taking the offensive, rather than countering into it, is rather difficult with an defensive form."
Her gaze turned sharp. "Now, if you could mix and mingle those two forms together... well... that brings up possibilities, doesn't it?"
Siri frowned thoughtfully. "Hmmm."
"Or, if not fully mix them, you can easily lead in from one form to another. After a Soresu parry, taking an opponent offbalanced, rather than a simple counter attack you switch into precise, deadly strikes, a single mistake made by an enemy would be immediately and lethally taken advantage of," elaborated Zannah, "Or if you find yourself overwhelmed, your precision thrown off, you switch into defensiveness until you see the opportunity to retake the offensive. Think of it Siri, impenetrable defense, followed up with deadly precision when your opponent tires or slips up in a fight."
"It is tempting," admitted Siri before making a face, "Something to experiment with down the road. I'll need to figure out Makashi with a saberstaff first before I even think of mixing them."
"You seem to think that'd be a problem?" inquired Zannah.
"I recall Master Dooku, he's the Makashi wielder of the Jedi Order, commenting once that it's inferior with Jar'Kai and even a saberstaff," said Siri, "He taught a class I was in once."
Zannah scoffed. "Sounds biased, a personal dislike. Any form can be utilized with any kind of saber if you're creative enough. Makashi demands precision, something you need anyway with a saberstaff to not lop a limb off. You need immense technical awareness of yourself and your weapon to use either."
Zannah cracked her holographic knuckles. "Alright then, lets get to work. Theoretical lightsaber applications aside, you need practice.
So practice she did, all the way to Korriban...
The moment they exited hyperspace, Siri felt it.
Felt the Dark Side echoing through space in a way she had never felt before, calling her, beckoning her. Her heartbeat sped up, feeling as if something dangerous had just laid eyes on her, predators upon their prey. She felt like she was in the High Council's chambers, eyes of those much more wiser and powerful upon her, judging her. Except these eyes weren't light, weren't calm, and didn't have a fraction of compassion in them. The sensation only grew stronger and stronger as they drew closer to the red desert planet.
Siri's hands were shaking as they entered the atmosphere, and it wasn't from the ship rattling. Zannah's glowing form seemed to grow deeper and darker, more red to it's form, looking harsh, deadly, terrifying. Emotions started slipping out of Siri's control, fear and apprehension the foremost, her breathing picking up it's pace. Zannah merely smiled savagely at her as she directed Siri towards their destination. When they landed, Zannah led her to the landing ramp before coming to a stop.
"You will be leaving me here," ordered Zannah.
Siri gave a start. "What? Why?"
"Well, frankly, I've been awake an absurd amount of time," said Zannah matter-of-factually, "I could use a nice nap."
Then she grew dark. "And this isn't about me, it's about you. Your task is simple: Survive for three days alone on Korriban in the Valley of the Dark Lords. No more, no less. You are allowed to bring nothing with you but your lightsaber, and mine I suppose if you really want to, those that dwell here might find that interesting, one in particular."
"Dwell?" asked Siri, struggling to control her rising unease, "People live here?"
"The dead do," commented Zannah, eyeing Siri, "I told you already, Sith don't go quietly into the night. They linger, long past their due, in any way they can manage. The whispers that echo through the tombs here are not fake, are not paranoid jitters. I will give you no further warning save to remember what I have taught you thus far."
Siri nodded slowly, taking Zannah's holocron off her neck and setting it down on the floor. Zannah's eyes trailed her, offering no further comment, as Siri strode down the ramp. The moment her feet touched the dusty soil, a chill ran up her spine, releasing into a cold breath in the air. She let her eyes slowly take in the desolate landscape, of stone buildings and monuments. Yet... her eyes furrowed as she did so, a bit of displeasure rolling down her spine. The sensation of eyes eyes on her shifted, rather than judging, they were curious. It felt as if she were being probed with the Force, someone riffling through her thoughts, and yet not at the same time. It was a bit baffling, but, she dismissed it for now.
"I thought Korriban was supposed to be important to the Sith," murmured Siri, taking in the evident desolation and defilement around her, "Yet this place is in ruins."
She walked forward towards the nearest statue, looking up at the ruined monument. It was supposed to be of some Sith Lord, but the top half of it had clearly been blown away long ago if the aged scorch marks were any indication, rather than falling apart to the ages. Her eyes slid past, to an entry way to a tomb. Blasted open it looked like, if the rubble's positioning were to be trusted. This place had long since been ransacked, whether it was an assaulting force, or looters, she didn't know.
Both...
Her attention focused, eyes flickering, senses probing, but she couldn't make heads or tails where the answer had come from. What had been told to her was irritating either way. Good or evil, light or dark, the dead deserved their rest, and their due respect. She shook her head, she had a distinct lack of knowledge about this planet. The Jedi rarely talked about this place, any entries about it in the archive were locked, aside from knowing it was the homeworld of the Sith, few Jedi knew anything further. Even as a Sith Apprentice, she hadn't learned much more about the history of this place.
To that end, she inspected each tomb's entrance, each statue, in the vicinity. Hands and eyes tracing ancient stone, squinting at faded writings. Most of which she couldn't get anything out of. She hadn't a clue whose tomb belonged to whom. When she had finished, rather than bumbling into one or exploring at random, she moved to the center of the valley and sat down, pushing herself into meditation. The Dark Side swirled around her, pulling and yanking and demanding she go this way or that. She shoved aside it's desire and focused on herself, pulling her emotions to her, beating her fear into submission, destroying her apprehension, focusing instead on her anger at the state of this place, and her growing hunger and greed to learn what she could here.
She pushed into the Force a demand: 'Where might I find knowledge of Korriban, of what happened here?'
The answer was mocking, Siri could practically feel a sneer directed at her, 'All around you, little fallen Jedi.'
And she countered, 'There were many a lord of the Sith who began as a Jedi who went onto greatness.'
'Yet many more who floundered and became naught more than fodder. Which one shall you be?'
The Dark Side pulled away from her, and her meditation ended. It was going to offer her no guidance here. She supposed it indirectly had, no matter where she looked, she would find answers. Yet... there was a different pull, from Zannah's lightsaber, from the kyber, a whisper of which way to go, a yearning for something. She considered it, probing it curiously. It didn't answer, just pushed her forward. Siri knew better than to blindly trust a Dark Side artifact though, she would make her way towards it's desired destination, but at her own pace.
She slowly made her way into one of the tombs, pausing in it's entryway. She probed through it as far as she could, sensing for anything out of the ordinary. There were... clusters of energy in the tomb, and she made her way through darkened halls, igniting her lightsaber to use as a torch, until she came across one. It was... an oddity. It was a faint shimmer over one of the few readable writings on a wall. It was a blurring, as if there were dust on the wall that needed to be wiped away. She resisted the urge to do so, and probed it carefully. It was a trap of some kind, both a lure, and a snare. The pull to touch it and try to brush away the shimmer was still there, but if she did so... well... she had the sense that something would happen that wasn't quite beneficial. She was curious though, how it worked, what it's purpose was.
She shielded herself, and touched the wall. The Dark Side surged at her from the trap, trying to wrap around her with intense concentrations of energy, attempting to immobilize her body and disrupt her connection to the Force. She tensed under the assault before growling under her breath. A Jedi would have difficulty with this, she doubted anyone but a Master could break free of this without a great struggle. But she wasn't light anymore, and she had already braced herself. She pulled on the Dark Side, yanking energy out of the trap, enough to weaken it, but not destroy it. She merely wanted to access the Force uninterrupted. She studied it's construction, identifying that it was a form of Sith Sorcery.
The energy was bound to a source, in this case, the dark writings on the wall, and held within it. The energy would reside in it's bound object, dormant even over thousands of years until awakened by nearby sentient lifeforms. It would release subtle whispers in the Force when someone drew near, trying to bait them to touch it. When it did, it released it's energy as an overwhelming force that would subdue it's unaware prey. Those caught in it could be bound for an indeterminate amount of time. Someone unskilled or Force Null would probably be bound until the energy wore off, while those with skill and power would be required to expend energy to fight off the trap.
She considered the application of it. If one was trapped in it, it could take hours, perhaps even a day if they had to wait the trap out, to become free. That was a great way to weaken someone to hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. If someone fell into more than one of these traps... it could kill them due to dehydration or hunger. Not to mention how defenseless the prisoner would be, Siri could just walk up and drive her lightsaber through someone bound in the trap. It wouldn't have much of an effect on Darksiders, but... it could have uses against Jedi or regular people, and it would still burn through some energy of a Jedi Master.
She smiled at the shimmering writings, the trap, and began to pick it apart piece by piece, until it was gone, the writings themselves revealed to be dusty scribbles that mocked anyone foolish enough to fall into the trap. Then she started to practice, thinking of its form, feeling, and function, and put some of her energy into the writings, replacing the trap with her own. She didn't think it was as good as the one that had been there before, but... she had plenty of time to practice. She retreated the way she had come, exiting the tomb, and looked around the entrance. It was mostly just rocks and rubble, but... there! A small piece of a broken vase or something. A smooth, if but dirty thing. She picked it up and began again, pouring her focus into creating another trap. When she was done, she carefully set it in the rubble, pouring a bit of dirt over it, leaving only a bit uncovered. Someone walking through might spot it, thinking it was something more, and try to dig it up, only to be ensnared. If that didn't ward them off pilfering into the tomb, well, there were probably more dangers within anyway.
Again and again she practiced, leaving small dark energy traps near the entrance of every tomb in the Valley of the Dark Lords. The eyes on her reacted in different ways to her practice, to her adding protections to the tombs: some dismissive of her efforts, some pleased by them, most merely watching, not betraying thoughts or sensations. She didn't react to what she picked up, she wasn't doing this to appease long dead lords, but because she wanted to. To learn how to use such a thing for her own use, and a bit of a ward for places that should be respected. It was probably a bit to late on the latter unfortunately. She held little doubt most artifacts and the tombs themselves were desecrated beyond measure.
When she was satisfied that she had mastered the trap, she returned to venturing into the tombs. Winding hallways that led to one dead end after another, or a room already pilfered beyond belief. Some sarcophagus that were thrown open and defiled, ancient bones riffled through. Perhaps it was pointless to do, but, she gently rearranged the bones she came across, trying to recreate their form, and closed the sarcophagus, trapping each with she encountered afterwards. These ones though, she poured more energy into, more malice. She began to practice infusing the traps with what Sorcery Zannah had taught her, embedding a mental attack that would distort senses and cause pain to those who dared trigger them. Let anyone foolish enough to try to pilfer this place again suffer the consequences.
There was much more dark approval in the air this time, and a curious nudge. 'Do you so greatly desire to curry favor, little Fallen Jedi? Begging for scraps with these tokens to the ancient dead?'
She frowned. "It's not about currying favor. Darth Zannah taught me to respect the Lords of the past, and I do so willingly, without prompt."
There was a hiss in the Force. 'So that's whose Holocron it is, the little lost girl, once again.'
She frowned at the insult to Zannah, but was curious about the 'again' part. Regardless, she pushed the feeling down and spoke again, "The condition of this place is appalling. Whoever lived here last didn't do anything to restore these tombs. Have any who dwelt here after these tombs were built bothered?"
There was no answer, just a swirl of dark emotions through the air. So, Siri resumed her search, crossing from one tomb to another, until night fell. Her stomach growled at her, but she ignored it. She doubted she'd find anything to eat in this forsaken place, she'd have to sustain herself with the Force and...
She had only a second of warning, through the Force, and a subtle growl through the air. She spun as something leaped at her through the darkness of the hallway. She dove to the side, slamming into a wall, but dodging whatever it was. She caught sight of a quadrupedal form, pale tough skin, a spiky spine, a long tail, a head with drooping ears and a maw full of sharp teeth. It's claws were viscous and sharp, it growled hungrily at her, and leaped again.
Siri narrowed her eyes, raised a hand, and blasted it back with lightning, sending it whining into a wall, hard. She strode forward as it slumped down, and drove her lightsaber through it, killing it within moments. "Well, guess I have something to eat then."
She didn't know what the hell it was, some kind of indigenous animal she assumed. She aimed a hand and began to cook it with Force Lightning, not trusting its meat otherwise...
And paused when more growling echoed down the hallway, more of the creatures prowling towards her, and judging by the sniffs she heard, her meal-to-be. She studied them, since they were slow and careful on their approach. They felt distinctly dark in the Force, and she was mildly surprised to realize they were slightly Force Sensitive. They eyed her warily, drawing closer and closer...
So Siri decided she'd try something Zannah had taught her, and aimed a hand, reaching for their minds with her power. She snarled and slammed into them with the Force, making them all whine and bumble around as she poured 'OBEY' into their animal minds. Tails tucked between their legs, and they sat down, whimpering. Siri's lips curled into a pleased grin, and she resumed cooking her meal. She made slices with her lightsaber, before bringing a bit of meat to her lips. It was... a rather foul taste, but the Force didn't whisper of any particular danger. The meat was tainted with the Dark Side of course, but she was already dark. So she ate quietly, until she was satisfied. She stared at the pack of beasts watching her, before she levitated the cooked corpse into the air and tossed it to them.
She raised an eyebrow at the barbaric feast as the animals tore into the corpse, biting and ripping and tearing until it was just bones. When they were finished, she bid them over to her, projecting an image of them curling around her. She kept her focus on them as they did so, watching for any signs of aggression. But her earlier domination, and the food she had given them, seemed to have pacified them for the moment. So, using them for warmth, she settled down for the night in the dusty tomb...
The next day found Siri still walking through tombs, with a pack of viscous animals as her companions this time. She studied them more than she paid attention to the tomb itself. They weren't natural, that was her first observation. They were infused with the Dark Side, regardless of age, it was seeped into their very being. Whats more, she could feel a pull from the tombs towards the creatures, a sensation of -protect-kill intruders-, not quite in those words. But the beasts considered these tombs their territory, and would kill anyone who ventured into them without a means to placate or kill the animals. Siri had the notion that these beasts were created to protect the tombs themselves.
Not that they had done that good of a job over the last thousands of years.
They had probably killed their fare share however. If one could shape life with the Dark Side, Siri wondered just what else could be created. She severely doubted these animals were the only thing the Sith had created. There was a sensation of mocking laughter through the Force, and a 'no, not the only beasts made', slipping through her mind. She pondered how such a thing could be done, and made a mental note to ask Zannah about it later.
The laughter in the air turned sinister. 'Would you like to meet something darker, more dangerous?'
An ominous feeling filled Siri at the whisper.
'We wonder if you would fare as well with a Terentatek as you did with the Tuk'ata.'
Siri felt a pull, a direction in the Force, off into the far distance. At the thought of following it however, she felt a lethal spike of danger. She had enough sense to project 'Not yet', into the Force as a response, getting more mocking laughter from the ghosts that watched her. She didn't know what a Terentatek was, but considering the danger rippling through the Force, it was probably wise to not pursue the matter at the moment. Whatever it was, it'd probably kill her if she met it at this point in her apprenticeship.
Instead, she decided to follow her kyber's insistent push. She sent the creatures, the Tuk'ata as the ghosts called them, up ahead a bit, selfishly using them incase there were any traps to be triggered. The halls had however been long since traveled, traps long since triggered. It was mostly just dust and echoes and laughter of the long dead that greeted her as she delved deeper into the valley's tombs. Aside from the dark energy traps, and the potential these beasts held, she hadn't found much yet. She wasn't sure she was honestly going to...
No...
There was something still here, she could feel it in the Force. She just didn't know what it was. Or if it had been here originally. The Dark Side loomed deeper and darker towards where she tread. The whispers of the ghosts grew ineligible, just gibberish, smacking at her senses and pulling at her mind. It was... unnerving, and unsettling. No matter how she adjusted or reinforced her shields, she couldn't properly block them out. It was distinctly distracting, and she had the notion that being here for to long listening to it would drive her insane.
She frowned and came to a stop, just standing there in the tide of dark voices. She closed her eyes and tilted her head, to listen, to try and understand. But it was like a howling buzz in the back of her mind. A sense of dislike, or unworthiness directed at her. She ground her teeth and growled under her breath. She dove into her memories, pulling at many different instances of Sidious's torture of her, how much she hated him, and turned it into a burning and biting maelstrom around her mind. Some of the whispers abated, others just grow more intense, dismissive and angry, as if affronted that this was the most of the Dark Side she could draw out.
She hissed in pain, feeling the pressure mount, and buckled to her knees, her lightsaber 'flashlight' clattering to the ground and extinguishing. There was a growl around her in the sudden darkness, from the Tuk'ata she had previously commanded. She could feel her control brushed aside by the ancient dead, and the animals starting to appraise her, sensing for weakness. She clenched her fists tightly, she was not going to die here from voices and animals!
So she went deeper, towards Master Galia's death. More voices fell away, but it still wasn't enough, those that remained pressed deeper, and she cried out in pain, pressure on her mind becoming oppressive and agonizing. So she went all the way, to her deepest, darkest memory, of Maul, threatening to kill Obi-Wan, to make him suffer as Siri had suffered, watching his master die before killing him. Siri gave a snarl of anger and hate, pushing it into the air and bursting it all around her like an unseen ripple. The Tuk'ata around her whimpered away, and the pressure on her mind abated.
The torrent of whispers were gone, instead there was an air of curiosity and bafflement.
'You hold much anger and hate you one, yet... you are not as you should be.'
'She does not have the air of a Sith about her, where is that molten glow in her eyes?'
'Why did the little girl's holocron wake us for this pathetic mess? It's still conflicted!'
Siri's eyes sharpened. Zannah had awoken the ghosts? She had brought people here before?
'Still so young and foolish, she still clings to the past, she fell for another, not for power.'
'She still has so much to learn before she is worthy of the tittle of Dark Lord.'
"Is anyone born worthy?" she countered harshly, still riding her anger and hate like a high, "I doubt any of you were given a free pass. You had to earn your places just as I will one day."
'Proving yourself or not, little fallen Jedi, you will never reach your potential so long as you still cling to the light.'
"And what makes you think I do?" she countered.
'Because you still hold a Jedi dear to your heart.'
The disgust in the air was palpable. Siri however was furious, she lashed out in all directions. It affected nothing however, merely drawing in more mocking laughter...
And then something darker spoke, and all other voices fell silent. 'Enough.'
Siri glanced down at her belt as the kyber in Zannah's lightsaber thrummed with anticipation.
'Come deeper young one, and let me gaze upon a heir to my line.'
So Siri did. She abandoned the pack of Tuk'ata and strode on alone after picking up her lightsaber. She followed the push of her kyber, and eventually, she detected something... familiar in the air. It felt like... Zannah's Holocron, but different. The room she walked into was large and antechamber-like, a hole in the ceiling allowing light down through. At the far end of the room was a sarcophagus. She clipped her lightsaer to her belt... and pulled out Zannah's, touching the kyber with the Force. It resonated with something hidden. A pulse of dark energy. There was a holocron hidden somewhere in this room, perhaps underground, or in the walls, she wasn't sure. She could feel it's presence, though, she figured that was because it was allowing her to. She slowly approached the Sarcophagus, noting that this room was... newer than most of the ruins. Whoever was entombed here wasn't as ancient as the rest, but the Dark Side here was more fresh, still carrying power.
A blue gatekeeper shimmered into view infront of the sarcophagus, causing Siri to stop as it revealed a massive figure coated head to toe in some kind of living-like armor. Even in the blue of the image, the eyes were still molten, burning, and all-consumingly dark. The figure, male, was ripped, muscular to an inane degree. He had a cape on his back, tied around him. Robes covering his bottom half, pauldrons on his shoulders, dark gloves covering large hands. A lightsaber hung from the sash on his waste, larger and thicker than most to fit into his grip.
The unknown Sith made a beckoning motion, and Zannah's lightsaber pulled at Siri's hands. She let it go, and it floated towards the Gatekeeper, resonating with it. Like... like it had been a former owner. This obviously wasn't Zannah, so that only left...
She knelt down, bowing her head in respect. "Darth Bane."
She crushed down on any apprehension, fear, or anything of the like immediately. The Gatekeeper didn't acknowledge her, merely caressing a hand over Zannah's lightsaber, speaking to it with a deep and powerful voice. "Zannah was always rather calculative in what she did, though this is hardly subtle of her. Even while dead, she still prods at me. She always did hold a grudge."
Siri hesitated briefly before asking, "A grudge, my lord?"
She felt eyes on her. "She never did forgive my seeking of immortality at the thought of her unworthiness. She came here often enough while alive to boast her prowess or the rising potential of her apprentice to so smugly rub in that she was worthy. And this is hardly the first time she's directed a potential to come here and have me do her work for her out of spite."
"Her work?"
"Look at me."
She obeyed, swallowing reflexively as those dark holographic eyes bored into her. "If I find you unworthy, I will kill you, and you would not be the first she's sent here to their death."
She froze.
"Open your mind, now."
The order was firm, and disobedience would not be tolerated. Before the creator of the Rule of Two, a mere Holocron or not, she dared not disobey. She bowed her head again, and lowered her shields. She felt the Holocron begin to sift through her mind, her thoughts, her memories. As it did so, she cautiously studied it. This Holocron wasn't like Zannah's, it was just a Holocron, not a soul fragment. Yet it still held immense power, amplified if she felt correctly by the Dark Side inhabiting the tombs of the Sith Lords. She wondered just how powerful the actual Darth Bane had been, and how powerful Zannah must have been to kill him, how the early Lords of the Rule of Two compared to Darth Sidious.
If Bane felt the thought, he didn't acknowledge it. He continued to look through and pry into her mind. He made constant comparisons, to her training as a Jedi Initiate and Padawan to her training as a Sith Apprentice, looking at her progress through both paths. He especially paid very close attention to her fall, scrutinizing it intensely. He studied how she interacted with others both before and after her fall, what she was learning from Sidious and Zannah, and her willingness to delve deeper into the Dark Side. He watched her failed sacrifice critically, but she did not get a sense of what the Holocron felt about it.
Finally, he pulled out...
...and then gripped her throat with the Force, lifting her up into the air and applying a warning level of pressure. "You have potential, young Tachi, but are conflicted in your purpose. You are potentially dangerous to the Rule of Two should this conflict turn in favor of the Jedi. This foolish attachment towards the boy, this 'Obi-Wan', could become your undoing, and make no mistake, you and he will meet one day to determine your fate. I feel..."
The Gatekeeper tasted the air, the Force, in the sound of air being sucked in between teeth. "...that your choice may determine the course the Galaxy will take, one way or another."
His eyes bored into her. "He is your weakness, and you must snuff him out to achieve your full potential."
She tensed, protective and possessive fury raged through her at the elder Sith at the threat leveled at Obi-Wan. Bane narrowed his eyes in response and tightened his Force Grip on her throat, barely letting any air through. "Affection and love, possessive or not, have no place in a Sith. Our duty is to the Rule of Two, and the destruction of the Jedi, including your 'Obi-Wan'. It offers you no value nor power..."
A defiant thought rippled through her: Then why was it she could only appear to tap into the deepest she could go when he was threatened?
Bane scoffed before answering, "Because that emotion was your pathway to the Dark Side, now, it serves as your chain. It brought you into the dark, but still binds you to the light, a two-way conduit. You will not reach your potential in the Dark Side so long as that chain remains unbroken."
He released her, and she fell to the ground, taking ragged breaths before she stood up and glared at him. He didn't particularly seem to care, merely watching her. He flung Zannah's lightsaber at her with the Force, and she reached out to snag it before clipping it to her belt. He wrinkled his nose with irritation. "You have potential to become a Dark Lord of the Sith, to be worthy of the name Sidious gave you, to cast away Siri Tachi and become Darth Tyrosus. I foresee that you could become a powerful Sith Sorceress, rivaling Zannah one day, and a lightsaber duelist of such skill that few could penetrate your defenses or survive your attacks. You will not match Sidious's direct power however, just as Zannah did not match mine. Your cunning and Sorcery must be used to overpower and overcome that failing."
She felt pressure on her neck before she could even begin to feel elated. "Alternatively, you could be swayed back to the light. From what I see however, know this: The Jedi and the Republic would never trust you again. You would always feel their judging and hypocritical eyes upon you, finding you wanting, waiting for even the slightest slip up from you. You would always bear the weight of your so called 'sins', and that will always hold you down from what might have been your potential as a Jedi, which is far below your potential as a Sith. The Jedi share the finite power of the Force, while the Sith claim it for themselves."
What she could see of his face through his mask looked disgusted. "Or you could walk neither path, and end up forever in limbo, caught between the Sith and the Jedi till the end of your days, never reaching your potential with either side of the Force, your conflicted loyalties bringing you down and inhibiting your power."
The pressure on her neck vanished, and Darth Bane returned to a neutral look. "By rights, I should kill you and force Sidious to find a new apprentice. Yet... I have misgivings about him. His Master's plans to do away with the Rule of Two, and Sidious's own thoughts on the matter, disturb me. In addition, Zannah is right, in a sense, about his methods of withholding knowledge and power from the apprentice; she is also wrong, in that some power should be struggled for to encourage growth and remove complacency. The fact that he has taken an apprentice so early considering his own status is especially irritating."
Siri's eyebrows furrowed, trying to make sense of it. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"You will understand one day," said Darth Bane before taking on a deadly warning tone, "But do not think nor press about it now, it will only lead to your death at this point. You must carefully walk your path and bide your time. You must make your final sacrifice, become the Sith you are meant to become, and replace Sidious. Now, away with you, and tell my disrespectful apprentice of your 'weakness', perhaps she can make herself useful in getting rid of it."
Siri scowled a bit, brushing by the reference to Obi-Wan and shifting towards Zannah. "Well, she respected you enough to entomb you here, didn't she?"
"Hardly, this 'shrine' was made to mock me," snarled Darth Bane, motioning to the sarcophagus, "Open it."
Siri hesitatingly did, not wanting to disturb it, but still curious... and found it completely empty. "Huh?"
"My body was destroyed in my final fight against my apprentice," explained Darth Bane, "This place, and sealing my holocron here rather than keeping it where it may be of use, was her final stab at me."
"So she's vindictive," mused Siri, "And doesn't take any kind of betrayal well."
"No, she does not," agreed Darth Bane before glancing down at Zannah's lightsaber on her belt, thoughtful, "My so called heart seems to think you will make use of it, that, more than anything, stays my hand for the time being. Prove yourself and return later, then perhaps I may share some of my wisdom with you."
Without further word, the Gatekeeper turned away and vanished. Siri took a few minute to stand there, contemplative of the words, before deciding she would dwell on them later, when there weren't who knows how many ghosts and hidden holocrons to peer into her thoughts. She glanced up at the dwindling light and decided she would sleep here for the night before making her way back to the ship...
Siri's walk back through the abandoned tombs was... quieter than it had been coming in. The voices were mostly settled, sleeping or dismissive of her for the moment. Some still watched, but did not comment. Siri really didn't think there was much to learn from the long since desecrated tombs, hidden holocrons on the other hand... she felt that Bane's might not be the only one here, though she didn't have a clue where else to look. It was a thought for later she supposed. She felt the stirrings of hunger, and her throat was long since parched, but she smothered it over with the Force, she'd be back on her ship soon enough to eat and drink. She didn't feel like wasting her time looking for Tuk'ata's to hunt and eat. She wasn't sure she could force any meat down her dry throat at this point anyway.
Still, she counted this trip a success. She had, first and foremost, survived the incursions with the ghosts of the Sith and Bane's Gatekeeper, which had probably been Zannah's intention by bringing her here to begin with rather than to learn anything. So she considered it a bonus that she had learned how to make a kind of dark side trap. That had oodles of potential uses. She wondered if Sidious would be amused if she trapped her room and built them towards him...
Siri paused when she felt a snicker in the air, a dark cackle of laughter, her eyebrows furrowing. There was a sudden tension in the Force, rising steadily. She narrowed her eyes and cautiously pressed out with her senses...
And felt something immensely dark, and alive, lock onto her Force Presence. A howl of hunger and rage ripped through the tomb she was currently in, and she felt the floor tremble with heavy, but distant footfalls. Something big was coming for her, and she felt death in the Force, hers, if she couldn't get away. She took off in a run without further hesitation
'Why run, unworthy little fallen Jedi?' came a mocking whisper from one of the remaining, hateful ghosts, 'After I brought our pet Terentatek over to play?'
Siri ground her teeth. "When I'm stronger and I next come back here, I'm going to find out whose ghost just spoke, and I'm going to rip you apart."
Mocking laughter rang through the Force, followed by a crash of a wall crumbling and another animalistic howl. Siri closed her eyes briefly as she ran, stretching out, feeling for Zannah's holocron in the far distance, and locked onto it. She used that as her beacon as she twisted and turned through the tomb, sprinting as fast as she could. The thumping of heavy footfalls drew closer and closer, until it echoed in the same elongated hallway she was currently in. She risked a look back... and immediately wished she hadn't.
Pursuing her was nothing short of a bipedal monster. Orange scaly skin. Massive reaching claws with talons bigger than Siri's head. Jagged spikes poked out of it's skin in every which way all across it's body. Massive tusks were sprouted out of the side of it's face, and its mouth was a gaping map of sharp teeth. Yellow eyes, almost as molten as a Sith's were, shined out with twisted hunger. Green ichor dripped off it's claws, its tusks, and out of it's mouth suggesting venom, as it ran after her on powerful legs. Large spikes coming of if its back swayed back and forth as it ran, lethally sharp. It felt her rising fear, and it howled at her, its roar shaking the tomb and causing dust and dirt to fall from the ceiling.
Siri faced forward and pumped the Force into her legs, picking up speed as her heart thudded wildly in her chest. There was no fighting this thing, not now. She wasn't even close to as strong as she would need to be. Considering the darkness and heavy hunger she felt radiating from it, she didn't think she could force it into submission with the Force. All she could do was flee, she didn't even bother trying with Sorcery or Force Lightning, she didn't think it would affect the beast. Her only hope was to put distance between her and it, and get her ship into the air. If Zannah threw a fit over it not being a full three days, well, Siri would space the treacherous bitch.
Siri hadn't been much of a sprint or long distance runner, no more than any other Jedi Padawan. Her Sith training had added to her endurance. Even with her more-than-average training, and the Force, by the time the second hour of none-stop running flew by, tiredness was bleeding heavily into her, and not the beast chasing her relentlessly. The Jedi had always taught that speeding themselves with the Force was to be done in bursts, extending it like this... was not normally done, whether it was simply something they didn't have experience in, or had some kind of consequence later on, she didn't know. She didn't particularly care and...
DANGER, DEATH!
Siri threw herself forward, feeling a rush in the air from a barely missed swipe. She hit the ground and rolled as the beast howled, stepping forward and over her in it's momentum, slamming into the wall at a turn. Siri reached up with the Force as she rose, and began to collapse the ceiling over the beast as she took off again. It wouldn't hold it for long, but Siri couldn't outrun it now, she need distraction and diversion. As the Terentatek battered its way free, Siri eyed statues and carvings in the wall, stretching out with the Force despite her exhaustion, and wrapped them in illusions, placing her face and her presence over them while trying to smother her own presence in the Force.
She turned another corner and ran at normal speeds, unable to keep up with her exhaustion in the Force as her lungs burned with exertion and the dry air. She heard the beast howl in rage, the smashing of stone as it moved to one illusion after another, sometimes a crunch from biting and chewing then spitting of stone. It's presence probed the air as it finished the last illusion, searching, hungering, yearning...
Siri managed to go another few hallways before it locked onto her again and howled, the echoes of its heavy footfalls sounding again. She was close now, almost back to the entrance to the Valley. Her legs were a mixture of numb and burning, only going on through sheer adrenaline and will. Her lungs felt dry and cracked and tight and burning, wanting to come out with each ragged breath. Her vision was a bit blurry at this point, and she had one heck of a headache forming, but she pushed through. As she burst into the Valley of the Dark Lords, she reached up and caved in the entrance of the tomb she had come out of with one last burst of the Force. Kriff the old bastard ghosts, they deserved their tombs getting messed up.
She bolted to her ship, and up the ramp, closing it with a desperate button smack and not stopping as Zannah's holocron lit up and her scowling form appeared. "What are you doing? It hasn't been..."
"Piss off your treacherous bitch!" snarled Siri in a pained gasp, "I've got a kriffing Terentatek after me!"
"Oh," said Zannah, "By all means then, please do take off. It might eat my Holocron if it gets a whiff of it."
Siri didn't waste her breath grumbling, rushing for the cockpit and turning the ship on and taking off in a panic. As her ship turned, stone blew out of the tomb entrance she had caved in, and the beast burst outward. Siri pushed the ship up as it howled and leaped for it-missing the hull by inches of its sharp claws that could have torn right through it. Siri took the ship into the space, punched in Coruscant's coordinates, and entered hyperspace. She sat there for a short time, panting to the point of near collapse, before she shook her head. Water first, then food, then she could collapse.
She moved into the cargo hold, ignoring Zannah, and grabbing a canteen of water from a crate, guzzling it down, and then another, before ravenously tearing into any food she could find.
"So, have fun in the tombs?"
"Kriff off Zannah," spat Siri.
"Awww, was the old man rude?" teased Zannah.
Siri turned and glared at her. "Do you want me to space your Holocron?"
Zannah pouted. "So inconsiderate, I just wanted my old master's second opinion."
"Bullshit," said Siri, pointing a finger at the glowing gatekeeper, "Just how many potential apprentices have you sent to die in there?"
"A few," admitted Zannah cheerfully, "Mostly I just send in Fallen Jedi who stumbled across my holocron to their deaths in the tombs. I was found by a worthy member of the line of Bane a few generations ago though and they ruined all my fun keeping me locked up."
Siri glared.
"Did Bane send the Terentatek after you?" asked Zannah, slightly puzzled, "He never did that before."
"No, that was one of the insane kriffing ghosts that haunt the place," said Siri.
Zannah grinned. "Aww, that's cute."
Siri huffed and muttered under her breath, "Treachery is the way of the Sith indeed."
Zannah snickered before glowering, "So, what did the old bastard have to say?"
Siri considered how best to lie to her...
-YOU WILL TELL HER-
Siri gasped as the Dark Side bled into her mind, a lingering feeling, a dominating force, echoing the presence of Bane's Holocron, flooded her mind; her eyes briefly went blank. "I have a weakness that Darth Bane said you might make yourself useful in getting rid of."
Zannah raised an eyebrow, a slow grin spreading across her face. "Oh this should be fun. He even left a compulsion so you couldn't hide it. He was always so considerate. So whats the dirty secret?"
Siri struggled to fight it, but couldn't. "I have feelings for a Jedi Padawan by the name of Obi-Wan Kenobi."
Zannah made a face. "Bleh. Love, isn't that sickeningly adorable?"
The Gatekeeper's face turned harsh. "Well, I suppose we'll have to find a way to nip that in the bud, won't we? I have to deliver you back to Sidious, but don't worry, I won't tell him. I'll think of something to cut the cord the next time I have you alone to myself..."
Zannah's Gatekeeper winked out of existence, and Siri felt the compulsion relax. Immediately rage and hate overtook her, and she poured into her mind, following the receding darkness to it's source and gripped it tyrannically. She fought the urge to rip it apart, and instead isolated it, fuming and pacing darkly through the cargo hold. Once she had sufficiently calmed herself, she sat down and fell into meditation to study the compulsion. It was unraveling slowly, its purpose fulfilled. Siri studied it as it went, poking and prodding to try and understand how a compulsion worked, identifying how it could possibly be hidden from those infected with it, and more importantly, for clue to how they could be made. By the time it was a mere echo, she felt she had some understanding of the sinister web it was weaved with, but she knew she'd need either Sidious or Zannah to finish her understanding of it.
Just to be sure though... she began to carefully search through her own mind, looking for similar hidden traces of the Force that were not her own, things hidden so delicately weaved with her own presence and mind...
...and was rather not surprised to see a few minor ones woven into her psyche. A dark smile played across her face. Well... now she had more to study, perhaps she didn't need to involve either Sidious or Zannah... especially considering that it felt like both had implanted their own in there. She slowly and gently prodded one, feeling it suddenly tense and gather energy before she ruthlessly gripped it, slamming down with enough Force to paralyze the compulsion. Her vision briefly swam for a moment, her mind flaring in pain, before she refocused and began to pick it apart, studying each piece of it.
This one was to encourage darker emotions, a subtle nudge to incur a more violent or hostile response. She studied how it was tied to her, what triggered it, and then tried to figure out what it had been about to do...
Oh.
It was like a warning signal, to warn its creator it had been found. Clever. Best to nip that in the bud. She began to pick it apart and destroy it, but not without understanding each part of it. Then a thought occurred to her. She couldn't stop Sidious from going through her mind yet, she wasn't strong enough. If he looked through and found his compulsions missing... how would he react? Pleased? Angry? Hmm... perhaps... could she use Force Illusions inside her own head? Now there was a thought. She focused on the lingering remnant of the compulsion she had just picked apart, and used it as a foundation for an illusion, wrapping a fake-compulsion over where it had just been. She inspected it, nit picking over a few things, before it felt similar enough...
But why stop there?
Zannah had showed her how to assault someones mind, and she had learned how to make a kind of trap on Korriban... why wouldn't it be possible to leave a mental trap in her own head? She grinned deviously, and underneath the illusion of a compulsion, she laced her trap, that if someone discovered the deception, it would spring and stab out at the intruder, injecting them with a sharp piercing stab of the Dark Side to disorient and disrupt their senses, not to mention inflict pain. If timed right... perhaps she could kill Sidious, or someone else peaking where they shouldn't belong, in the resulting confusion.
She cackled a bit before refocusing, going through each compulsion she found. They were, as she initially thought, minor things. Not controlling, but subtle, trying to influence and become natural to her mindset and personality. Things to encourage dark reactions, or suppress positives as the other end, though she noted those ones were worn down, not quite keeping up to her will. They could have been made stronger, but then something might have given away and let her in on their existence. She didn't feel particularly different as she continued to dismantle the compulsions, but, they were for active decisions she supposed.
She growled a bit under her breath, irritated that Sidious and Zannah thought to bind her this way. Was she just a pet project, a slave to them? Or perhaps... did they feel she needed some extra 'help' in overcoming her Jedi past? She considered that as she came to her last compulsion she could find, if she understood correctly... it was to suppress guilt. It was in relative tatters, she suspected Garen's death and the overwhelming grief and guilt had damaged it heavily. She hesitated briefly, but instead of destroying it, she repaired it, and with a bit of shame, exited her mind and her meditation afterwards. The Dark Side already weakened her sensation of guilt normally... but... she wanted to feel as little of that as she could. Still, she was satisfied she had learned a bit about compulsions, all she needed now was some practice using them.
She made to rise to her feet, before the room around her spun. She pitched to the side and landed heavily, groaning. Oh boy... yeah... she needed some sleep after today. Spending a few hours in her head ripping compulsions apart after all that exhausting running certainly hadn't helped. She forced herself shakily to her feet and made for the crew quarters of the ship. She'd sleep, perhaps reinspect her illusionary compulsions when she was awake and not so tired to check for potential mistakes, and then ready herself for her return to Sidious...
Chapter 18: Home Again
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"Well Master, I can't say I'm sorry that mission took so long."
Obi-Wan Kenobi shot his master a cheeky grin, dodging away as his Master reached to yank on his padawan braid. "Brat. You should be relieved to be home."
"Ah yes, home, where dirty looks are aplenty and people whisper behind our backs," drawled Obi-Wan as he and Qui-Gon moved down the landing ramp to enter the Jedi Temple, "I'm already missing the bounty hunters chasing us across Mandalore."
Qui-Gon snorted. "Or being alone with a certain young duchess...?"
Obi-Wan's lips thinned for a moment before shaking his head. "She had a mouth on her that she knew how to run, but that was about it."
Blonde hair, blue eyes, a fierce and determined personality, so much like Siri, just... civilian, and Mandalorian, instead of a Jedi. The entire year on the run had been one constant and painful reminder after the other. He had shied away from her after the first month of being close, after she had asked him who she reminded him of, who brought that distant look into his eyes. She was a good young woman, fierce, yet desired peace, he bode her no ill will. He just couldn't bring himself to love and lose again. It would have been exactly like Siri, grow close for a short time, than either be ripped away by her dying, or him returning to the Jedi after the mission was finished. Qui-Gon had taught him well, on how to guard his heart, and hold onto a fading memory with a fierce and unjedi-like grip.
"So... not it on writing the report," said Obi-Wan.
"I believe a Master's prerogative trumps that my young Padawan," countered Qui-Gon.
"You can't use that twice in a row!" exclaimed Obi-Wan with mock outrage as they trudged through the Temple hanger bay, "We agreed on that rule!"
"I only recall you agreeing to that," said Qui-Gon in a perfect calm tone, not quite masking the sly look in his eyes.
"Oh great, they're back."
Neither of them responded to or acknowledged the mutter as they passed into the hallways of the Jedi Temple, far to used to their reputation now to care. Forever stained from that one fateful mission, regardless of their near perfect success rate now that they had taken up missions again. Though, perhaps their methods of success left some things to be desired, at least from the rest of the Jedi anyway. Obi-Wan had been sheepish about his Master's maverick tendencies before, trying (unsuccessfully) to balance that out. Now, he frankly didn't care so much. He rather enjoyed doing his own thing and ruffling feathers, kind of saw why Qui-Gon generally went out of his way to be a nuisance to the Council. So rigged and stuffy and condemning, they needed to be challenged every now and then.
Or they'd just see fit to slap ridiculous six-month-long censures on innocent Master-Padawan pairs and do nothing to discourage the baseless rumors and blame going around. To be fair, they didn't encourage them either, the temple rumor mill was just 'beneath' them to deal with.
"How about a compromise?" suggested Qui-Gon.
Obi-Wan reflexively groaned.
"Now that's uncalled for Padawan mine," chided Qui-Gon, "I'm honest this time."
"Alright, alright," said Obi-Wan with a sigh, "Let's here this great 'compromise'."
"It's rather simple, I handle the Council, you handle the physical report to submit," offered Qui-Gon.
Actually... that wasn't to bad. He wasn't going to outright admit it to his Master, stuffy old man would be grinning at him... kind of like he was now. Ah dammit, training bond spoiled his thoughts on the matter. Qui-Gon gave him a poorly masked smile and motioned away. "Off with you, go get something to eat, find those friends of yours."
Ah yes, all four of them. Bant, Garen, Reeft, and thankfully Vos (and once Siri). Quinlan had just needed time to cool off after losing a shared friend before he came back, as ridiculous as ever. Speaking of which...
As Obi-Wan entered the line for the temple cafeteria, he couldn't help but spot Vos not-so-subtly flirting with... Padawan Shyler if Obi-Wan recalled, a brown haired and eyes female human with light skin. Obi-Wan grinned and scooted up behind him before 'bumping' the young man to topple right into the target of his affection, the pair of them bumbling against one another to try and not to fall down.
Obi-Wan couldn't help but snicker. "Oy! Watch it you clumsy Kiffar!"
Vos balanced himself against Shyler and then separated, whirling on Obi-Wan, face flushed a bit before spotting who had pushed him and grinning at his fellow Padawan. "Look whose talking Oaffy-Wan."
"Rude and uncivilized," chided Obi-Wan in mock scolding.
"You two are terrible," said Padawan Shyler, turning to face forward in the line, "Let me know when you're done flirting with your boyfriend Vos."
Quinlan sputtered. "H-hey!"
Obi-Wan slung an arm over the Kiffar's shoulder. "I didn't know you were available Quinlan."
Quinlan rolled his eyes. "I liked it better when you were hung up and stingy Obi-Wan, you're stepping into my territory here."
"I was never either of those."
Most definitely not.
"Rrriiightttt."
Okay, maybe a bit.
The two young men shared a grin and burst out laughing, drawing disgruntled looks from the more calm Padawans and knights around them. Most masters didn't even spare them a look. He followed Quinlan through the line, and to their usual table, delighted that both Bant and Reeft were there. No Garen, but it was rare that all four of them would be in the temple cafeteria at once between their various missions, duties, and classes.
"Finally back Obi-Wan," said Bant, relief in her voice, "I was keeping up with as much news from Mandalore as I could. It sounded dreadful over there."
Obi-Wan gave a tight smile. "Well, I am now much more aware of Mandalorian culture, and how bounty hunters operate, than I was before. To say the least, and-Reeft! Stop stealing my food!"
He jabbed a fork down and pinned his meat directly to his plate, stopping the sneak attempt to take it. The Dressellian pouted a bit. "But I'm so hungry! Can't you spare..."
"No," said Obi-Wan flatly, a growl escaping his lips, "Bic b ner."
Reeft blinked. "What does that mean?"
"It's Mando'a for 'It's mine.'"
"Ooooh, picked up some Mandalorian eh?" teased Vos, "Got any cuss words?"
"The food we ate on the run was osi'kyr," said Obi-Wan flatly, "Sorry Reeft, but I'm eating all my meals for awhile, went hungry enough times over the last year keeping the Duchess's energy up."
Reeft pouted, and Vos perked up, "Is osi'kyr Mando'a for shit?"
Obi-Wan gave a sheepish smile. "Maybe, you didn't hear it from me though."
"Oh man, I can't wait to tell people how full of osi'kyr they are," said Vos was a small cackle.
The table turned into a mess of snickers and laughs; Obi-Wan, 'finally', let himself fully relax for nearly the first time in roughly a year on the run. It was good to be home among his friends again. Speaking of friends, "So, where's Garen? Somewhere in the temple? Or did I miss him going off on a mission?"
And then the pleasant atmosphere was gone in the span of a second, an awkward uncomfortable sensation roiling from his friends. No one immediately answered before Bant gave a quiet sigh, "That's right, you wouldn't have heard, what being in your mission for so long."
"Heard what?"
"Garen is dead Obi-Wan," said Bant tiredly.
It was like a heavy, metal sucker punch to the gut. "Dead? What?!"
"He and Knight Rhara were ambushed by pirates on their way back from their mission," said Bant, a soft air of grief in her voice, "Their ships were blown apart."
Obi-Wan closed his eyes tightly, his whole body tensed and pained. Another friend gone... another friend lost... "Oh... when...?"
"Almost a month ago," said Vos, serious and solemn for once.
Obi-Wan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I missed the pyre then, didn't I?"
"Yeah, it was held about a week after the Order finished it's investigation and recovered fragments of their ships," said Vos, "Wasn't really... anything... left to burn, but having the ceremony was better than nothing. Right?"
"Yeah," said Obi-Wan quietly, "I suppose it is."
He let his eyes slide over Vos, Reeft, and Bant, wondering how long it would be until he lost them too. They fell into silence, eating quietly, until they went their separate ways. Obi-Wan retreated to his quarters and began to type up the report of the year-long mission, something to dull his mind on while trying to process the loss of his friend. He let his melancholy spread through the room, infusing it as a warning. Both he and Qui-Gon tended to do this as a note for eachother to know they were in 'that mood'. Generally, the other would fetch tea and either work through it, or simply bask in shared misery. Though judging by the irritation Obi-Wan felt down his training bond, Qui-Gon was going to be busy with the Council for awhile yet...
He couldn't help but linger, as he had done with Siri. "Picked off by pirates... you probably hated going out like that Garen. Told me if you had to go, you wanted to do it saving lives."
He frowned briefly, feeling a small... waver... in the Force, a brief sensation of falseness. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why and for what. But he dismissed it and resumed his typing. It was going to take ages to get this done...
So when Qui-Gon walked in, a perpetual scowl on his face from his meeting with the Council, several hours later, Obi-Wan was hardly even a quarter-way-done. Qui-Gon paused at the entryway, a slight hint of concern on his face, before releasing his irritation into the Force and moving to the kitchen. The man walked to their table, set down a teapot with cups, and filled them, pushing over one to Obi-Wan and keeping one for himself.
"Garen Muln and Knight Rhara are dead," said Obi-Wan to the unasked question.
There was a tightening around Qui-Gon's grip, a disgruntled sigh escaping his lips. "I see."
Qui-Gon's eyes grew distant for a moment. "Rhara, Tahl, and I... grew up together. She was a good knight, charismatic, and held a love for the stars despite training as a Guardian."
That's right, his Master had known her. Joy, they got to share their misery again.
The notion must have passed along the bond, because Qui-Gon gave a self-depreciating chuckle. They drank tea in silence while Obi-Wan resumed typing, his fingers grew sluggish, lacking energy to even really bother. He only kept up the attempt because if it took to long, he'd get hounded at for it.
"We put dye into the Pools of a Thousand Fountains once," mused Qui-Gon in soft recollection, "Rhara took the blame for it, but she bore the punishment with a smile on her face, allowing her cohorts to go undetected and continue their 'dastardly sabotage'."
Obi-Wan smiled a little. "How long did that last?"
"About until I put hair dye into Master Dooku's shampoo."
Obi-Wan snickered a little. "What color?"
"Purple."
He tried to imagine it, but couldn't. "I can't even..."
"I might still have a holo-picture somewhere, give me a minute," said Qui-Gon, standing up and retreating into his room.
He returned with - Obi-Wan's breath hitched a little - a datapad Qui-Gon kept his old holo-pictures in, many of Tahl. It wasn't something most Jedi had, but Qui-Gon kept the possession as a fond collection of memories. The man flicked through it before handing it to Obi-Wan...
And he burst out laughing at the much younger, undignified, purple haired Master Dooku clothed in nothing but a towel glaring out at him, streaks of purple running down his hair and chest. "You should remind him of this the next time he visits."
"I might," mused Qui-Gon, "Then again, I might not. He'd make this disappear if he found out I had that image in it."
Obi-Wan shook his head slowly at that, leaning back. "Hmm, Garen and I had a habit of revenge-pranking Bruck when we were younger."
Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow, with slight hesitation. Obi-Wan didn't talk about Bruck Chun much after all, and generally not of his own will, he knew that. "Mostly it was little things, trips, tossed food, bumps, hiding his datapads, that kind of thing. But, considering how much of an ass Bruck was to me, it... well... I appreciated Garen going out of his way to look after me."
"Did Bant join in?"
Obi-Wan gave him a charming smile. "What do you take Padawan Eerin for? An uncivilized savage?"
"So she was worse than you two?"
"Oh you have no idea," agreed Obi-Wan, "She's viscous over those she's protective of. I'm not going to tattle on her though."
They shared a conspiratory smile, and for the rest of the day-into-night, traded one story after another about their fallen friends...
Obi-Wan watched as Garen and Knight Rhara walked down a dimly lit long hallway, whispering something to one another as they approached an elevator. Obi-Wan saw the door open, and a dark figure stood in the entryway, watching the pair of Jedi. Obi-Wan couldn't get a good read on the figure, it was blurry, coated with darkness, masking it properly from view. There was a brief flicker of blonde hair and blue eyes upon a female figure. It was... familiar... where had he seen this before? Wait... wait... the vision! He remembered, the vision he had of him and Qui-Gon dueling the figure! Of the figure beginning to run Qui-Gon through...
He watched as the Jedi approached, trepidation roiling through him, and then they took notice of the figure. Garen seemed surprised, and then excited at first. A reaction that stumped Obi-Wan. He wished he could hear what Garen was saying, he seemed to know who the figure was. Knight Rhara was more wary, studying the figure intently, warily. Then, the figure igniting a blood red lightsaber and dove at Garen. Rhara ignited her blade and caught the blow.
The sheer -betrayal- emanating from Garen was palpable. He was shocked, devastated, by the figure trying to kill him. He stood there in a stupor, watching his Master fight and start to rapidly lose the duel against the unknown darksider. Garen joined in, but was thrown back, and then... the darksider picked apart the Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan recognized the art of Makashi in her movements from some of the lessons Master Dooku had given him. The Darksider stabbed quickly, in triple succession, and then decapitated the knight when she collapsed to the ground.
Garen's pain and grief was palpable as he charged the darksider. Garen struck wild, heavy blows, pushing... no, the Darksider was letting herself be pushed back. The end came quickly, she scored a blow against his legs, crippling him, and then Garen said something, making the darksider charge him in anger. Garen tried, desperately, one last strike, but she evaded it and struck him down, severing through his spine, and then stabbing him through the back, killing him.
Anger and grief ripped through Obi-Wan at the sight...
And then he was slightly stunned, and confused, to see the darksider bury her face into Garen's back, a pitched wail of loss escaping her lips. She was mourning...?
Then, the elevators opened up, and a pitch black figure stalked forward, radiating darkness, evil, enough to chill Obi-Wan to his core. It demanded something of the younger darksider, who didn't react, aside from a sob. It seemed to enrage the elder darksider, and lightning ripped from his fingertips, screams of pain ripping through the air...
Obi-Wan gasped and bolted upright in his bed, sweat rolling down his forehead, breathing raggedly. He stared at nothing for a long moment, struggling with what the Force had shown him. He felt... violently ill... this... this wasn't a dream. The Force had shown him this... Garen hadn't been killed by pirates, he had been murdered by a darksider... who mourned his death? It made no sense... yet...
Obi-Wan licked his lips, flicked on his lights, and went for his com-link, silently praying it would be picked up.
His grandmaster's articulate tone chimed through. "It is rather late on Coruscant for you to be contacting me, my young grandpadawan."
"Master Dooku... I..."
"What is it Obi-Wan?" lightly-veiled concern was in his voice.
"I had a vision, two really," he admitted.
"I see," said Dooku slowly, "Is this not something your Master should help with?"
"Dreams pass in time," muttered Obi-Wan, "That's all he's ever said on the topic before."
"Ah," murmured Dooku, "Well, that, you may fault me for. It was my advice for him, though, his mostly were just dreams or nightmares rather than visions, attuned to the living force as he is."
Dooku went silent for a moment, thinking, before answering, "I have some time, I was about to enter hyperspace towards my next spot in my investigation, I can wait for awhile and listen."
"This... might be pertinent to your investigation," said Obi-Wan tensely.
"Oh?" he could hear the focus in Dooku's voice at that.
"Did you know Knight Rhara and her Padawan, Garen Muln?"
"I knew the former as a young troublemaker my Padawan was somewhat fond of," said Dooku slowly, not quite sounding like he knew where this was going, but allowing it.
"Garen was my friend," said Obi-Wan softly, "Both he and his master were supposedly killed by pirates about a month ago."
"Ah, I'm sorry for your loss," said Dooku before shifting focus, "Supposedly?"
"I had a vision, they weren't killed by pirates, they were killed by a darksider."
He heard a faint hiss though the comlink. "Detail this vision, now."
So he did, and when he finished, he waited silently, before Dooku said one, firm word. "Iris."
"What?"
"Do you remember, what I told you, about Master Ur Manka, and the fallen padawan he had taken in?"
"Vaguely... something about a female padawan who had been tortured dark by... oh," said Obi-Wan, the connection dawning on him.
"Yes, oh," said Dooku irritably, though Obi-Wan felt the irritation was not directed at him, "If the figure you saw was this powerful darksider, and he must have been to use Force Lightning," there was a distasteful shudder from Dooku, "Then it is evident she fell back into his hands, and he is working to make the girl damn herself. This is worse than I expected it to be at this point. He's training a Jedi Killer, turning one of our own against us. Thank you for this information Obi-Wan, I'll look into Knight Rhara and Padawan Muln's last mission as a possible clue in my investigation..."
"Wait Master Dooku, I... I told you there was a second vision," said Obi-Wan uneasily.
There was silence for a moment, and a weary sigh. "Go on then."
So he did, trying to recall as best he could the vision he had over a year ago, ending as the vision had been cut off with the darksider, with Iris about to run Qui-Gon through. Dooku was deathly silent for a long moment, then his voice grew icy. "I see. How much older did you appear in this vision?"
"I... a few years at least, I think?" he said uncertainly, "I looked a little more mature. No more than five years from now, I think."
"And still a Padawan?" inquired Dooku slowly.
"I still had a braid."
Dooku went silent again for another long, and very uncomfortable moment. "I will pick up the pace then. This 'Iris' will become a dangerous threat, to be able to face one of our most successful Master-Padawan pairs and win. No, is already a dangerous threat. She must be neutralized, and her dark master hunted down."
Obi-Wan hesitated, thinking of the grief the darksider had shown, and as much as he was angry over Garen's death, compassion was the way of the Jedi. "Do you think anything could be done for 'Iris'?"
"At this point Obi-Wan, it might be better to just put 'Iris' out of her misery, it would be a kindness," said Dooku firmly.
Obi-Wan said nothing at that, just sighing.
"Go to sleep Obi-Wan," said Dooku tiredly, "Let the old men clean up the mess of their generation and pave the way for a better future for the young. Keep this between us for now my grandpadawan."
With that, Dooku ended the transmission, leaving Obi-Wan alone. The padawan flicked off his lights, sitting alone in the darkness. He played the vision over in his mind, again and again, trying to see if he could figure anything else out of it. The pain, each time he saw Garen die, lessened, and instead, it was replaced by a sense of loss and waste, both for Garen...
And for Iris...
What a waste of young, promising Jedi...
Notes:
I didn't plan on having Siri and Dooku meet before the aftermath of the Phantom Menace, but... now I feel the need for a clash. :D
Poor Obi-Wan, so close to putting it together, just missing a few key details...
Anyway, next chapter, The Road to Damnation, is the last before we skip to the Phantom Menace. I'm going to give preemptive warnings that Siri is going to be doing awful, uncomfortable, and well, damning things.
Chapter 19: The Road to Damnation
Summary:
In which Siri is full on sprinting down the slippery slope...
Notes:
Warning: This chapter is... Siri doing very bad and immoral things. Minor timeskips between each scene.
Also, this chapter is rated M for Mature.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Siri rarely got downtime from Sidious between missions. Mostly, that happened when he was busy... elsewhere, and she finished a mission early, not sending any signal to indicate she was done. She generally spent that free time either training to use Zannah's lightsaber, practicing Makashi or Soresu, learning Sorcery from Zannah, or prowling the lower levels of Coruscant looking for an excuse to let out her darker tendencies and vent. More often then not, people (scum) tried to take advantage of a lone young woman, either to mug or assault her. They always ended up dead, and Siri just a tad more satisfied returning to the compound than she had been leaving.
Siri plodded down a run down street, taking in the hustle and bustle of the underworld in a single glance. She wrinkled her nose at it all, passing over the area with her senses to see if there was anything of interest. The only thing that somewhat stood out was a young rodian woman sitting in a doorway starting to light up a death stick, stressed out. Siri walked over and snatched it out, crushing it underfoot. "There are better ways to kill yourself than this."
The rodian jumped up and started spouting angrily, "Ha! Kill myself? The brats will do it for me soon enough! That was my one way to take the edge off between jobs you bitch!"
Siri's senses flickered inside, feeling the presence of a large cluster of young beings. "Running a daycare while spiced out of your mind is a bit irresponsible."
The rodian glowered at her. "I'd like to see you handle all those brats!"
"Do I get paid for it?" she asked mockingly.
To her horrified amazement, the rodian just stalked off. Siri stood there in a slight stupor, before locking onto the rodian's presence and deciding she was going to kill the woman later on. There was no other adult in the building, and the woman just left them in there? Not even sure Siri was actually going to do it, or checking her credentials for that matter? Irresponsible, and beyond criminal. Siri didn't particularly care about the children, they weren't her problem, but it was the principle of the matter...
She sighed and walked into the building, a run down apartment. She stood in the hallway for a moment, watching children of various species howl and jump around. Well... this was different then the temple creche, that was for certain. None of the little monsters paid her much attention, a few of them were rolling on the floor, struggling and punching one another before knocking into a holovision stand and knocking it over right ontop of...
Siri held out her hand and caught it with the Force, her temper flaring. "ENOUGH!"
She projected the command in through the Force into each and every one of their heads, and they all grew still, standing and turning towards her. She waved a hand and put the holovision back on its stand before motioning the children into the... living room maybe, was that what it was called? There was a torn up couch, a cracked table, some board games scattered around, and a broken window with glass on the floor near it, bloody glass, one of the children had probably cut themselves on it before. The room was utterly trashed.
"Clean it up," she said in a warning tone, pressure them through the Force.
Children, of course, had basically no resistance. They obeyed without question, eyes blank, moving as a unit to make the run down room at least somewhat respectable.
"Line up," ordered Siri, eyes watching as the children did so, blank eyes staring at her, waiting.
There was a... thrill that went up her spine. At commanding. At being obeyed. She felt a hunger. To mold. To make her own...
And a slow smile crept across her lips, she motioned them forward. "Come to me."
She examined the minds of the young with open curiosity as they encircled her, comparing differences to what she could recall from those she had peered into before. So defenseless, so easy to mold. She could lace compulsions in, and it would affect them for the rest of their lives. Their still developing minds could be built around her desires...
"Do you want to please me?" she asked, a hushed whisper escaping her lips.
She pushed the notion into them, and a choir of, "Yes Mistress," echoed around her.
Well... Mistress had a certain ring about it that Siri more than liked. "Good, good."
Siri hesitated briefly before pushing the thought aside; now was as good a time as any to practice compulsions. "Do you wish to serve me?"
"Yes Mistress."
She let the Force flow from her, into their minds. "You don't like your life in these slums, do you?"
"It's awful down here."
"Mom hits me."
"Dad was shot a few days ago."
"There's scary people walking around."
"Someone peeked into my window last night and tried to get in."
Siri let it all wash over her, pressing the distress, the discontent, and fear into their minds. "I can help to deliver you from this place, would you want that?"
"Yes Mistress!"
"Please Mistress!"
"Shh children, shh," said Siri, placating them, and began to press the dark, one at a time, into their minds, "I can show you how to help yourselves. How to hate this life, and desire to be free of it. But I can't do it for you, you have to free yourself..."
She tilted her head, an ironic smile crossing her face. "You have to break your own chains."
"So listen, and listen well children," she said, kneeling down, "Hate this life. Resent it. Crush anyone that would keep you down here. Let nothing stand in your way from escaping this place, from making a real life for yourself, for becoming intelligent, ruthless, important, and powerful. Just remember... that is was your Mistress that helped you break your chains. That you owe it to ME. That if I come calling one day, for you to repay your debt, you will gladly give everything, up to and including your lives, for ME."
Her smile turned sinister as she wove the compulsions easily into their innocent and defenseless young minds, carefully placing them so the developing brains would simply build over and hide them for her. She had given them the drive, it was up to them to see if they could break free. If they did... well... they were potential tools to use one day in the future if they made anything of themselves. It was her first taste of a long term plan. If she could call it that. It wasn't a fallback, or a contingency, or anything like that, just... leaving herself potential openings in the future if she and they were in the right place at the right time. There was slim chance of that with so few...
This isn't right... they're just children...
She pushed aside the thought, after all, she was helping them in a sense. She wondered...
"Children," she asked, her smile devious, "Are there any other daycares around here...?"
"Siri darling!" cried out Zannah, her gatekeeper bursting to life, "It's been so long!"
"It's hardly been a month since we last talked," said Siri irritably, flopping down on her bed in the Coruscant compound, "I'm tired, and going to sleep."
"But Tachiiii!" whined Zannah, "I've come up with a solution to your weakness!"
And then any thoughts of resting vanished in a instant. Her heart seized for a moment and she bolted upright, cold, and glowered darkly at Zannah.
A sly smile crossed Zannah's face. "To your little 'infatuation'."
"Infatuation," said Siri flatly.
"Yes, infatuation," said Zannah dismissively, "Honestly, I've poked around enough in your head-don't give me that look! It comes with the territory of using a Holocron, get over it. As I was saying, you were what, kind-of-rivals-kind-of-friends with the boy? Then you share a near death mission, kiss once, and then pine for the boy all this time? It's nonsense, a first love you just refuse to ditch like the baggage it is."
Siri's fists tightened. It wasn't like she hadn't thought that before... it just... she didn't want to let it go. The memory of Obi-Wan was one of the few things she still had that wasn't tainted by the Dark Side or picked apart... perhaps the only thing these days.
"So, I have a question," said Zannah, raising her eyebrow suggestively, "Ever fantasize about doing the dirty with him?"
Siri flushed. "E-excuse me?"
"Come on, surely you wanted to do more than just hold hands," mocked Zannah.
Siri glared, but knew she wasn't keeping the blush out off her face. "I... that's none of your business!"
Zannah rolled her eyes. "Children."
"I'm almost eighteen!"
Zannah scoffed. "Sooo old and mature."
Before Siri could respond, Zannah continued, "Anyway, since I have no clue where and what the boy is doing to just have you go and nip the problem in the bud properly with a lightsaber through his gut," Siri's stomach churned, "I thought about just getting the desire out of your system."
"What... do you mean?"
"You yearn and hunger for him, so why not sate it?" asked Zannah coyly, "You do know, illusions can be cast on others, not just yourself, right?"
"You're point being...? What?" asked Siri, not liking where this was going.
"Find a redheaded human boy, make an illusion over him to make him look like your little infatuation, kriff him, and get it out of your system," said Zannah.
Siri went completely silent for a long moment. "You're not serious."
"Probably need to do it a few times to sate it," mused Zannah, "But after, that little infatuation should go away."
Siri just stared at her. "I might have been a Jedi, but even I know love is more than just sex."
Zannah sneered. "What use does a Sith have for love except to use against others? A Sith does not know love. I sure as hell never did."
And Siri... didn't know if she should feel pity for Zannah for that or not. She's not also sure if its true or not. Probably truth for Zannah as long as she had been a Sith, but before? Well... she doubted Zannah would ever tell her of before...
"Well? Get to it," said Zannah dismissively.
"I haven't agreed..."
"I don't recall giving you a choice," said Zannah coldly, the eyes of her Gatekeeper flashing coldly, "Unless you'd rather I inform Sidious?"
Siri tensed, a hiss escaping her lips. "Do you want to be destroyed Zannah?"
The Gatekeeper crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Why are you so stubborn about this? Are you, or are you not, a Sith Apprentice?"
"I am..."
"Then stop pretending you're not," snarled Zannah, "A Sith has no hesitation. A Sith has no weakness. And a Sith cares for no insignificant Jedi. A Sith takes whatever they want. So go and take what you want, and get rid of this chain holding you back. It's a ridiculous first love infatuation, burn through it, and move on. It's frankly embarrassing."
Siri stared at Zannah silently, struggling, before she slowly turned and stalked out of the room. Her anger roiled around her, cool and viscous. How dare she? How dare she? Slap Obi-Wan's face on some random person and kriff them? What was Siri then, a whore? What was Obi-Wan then, some object to be used? He was hers! That memory belonged to her, something precious, to be kept locked up safe in the back of her mind and occasionally peeked at, not something to be sullied, used, and cast aside...
Honestly, kriff Obi-Wan and be done with it, really?
She flinched a little, at the tingle, the jolt, actually thinking the thought brought her though. Obi-Wan had always been a cute boy, he'd be rather handsome now...
She shook her head, was she seriously even considering this for a second? It was just some sick little fantasy Zannah wanted her to go through...
A fantasy like any dream of her and Obi-Wan had ever been... even if she hadn't fallen, they never would have gone any farther than they had as Jedi. It was forbidden, and deep down, she knew, if she hadn't fallen, she doubted either of them would have been able to break free of the Order and go off together to start a family, to be happy...
Her fists shook, whether in fury or grief, she didn't know. She held onto a lie, she knew that she did. She just... she didn't want to give it up.
Then don't...
She pushed away the thought, away Obi-Wan's voice. She hated her conscious, she really did. Why it even bothered anymore she didn't know. If Obi-Wan knew even half of the things she'd done, he'd hate her. Especially Garen... murdering their friend... if he knew, he'd turn his back on her. Turn his back for so many things she'd done all in the name of attaining the power she needed to kill Sidious...
And what happens after Sidious?
Siri pushed the thought away, that was decades away. Decades more of sins and crimes...
Whats the point of this power, if it costs you everything? If you don't end up killing me, Sidious will when he enacts the Grand Plan...
Siri hissed. "Shut up."
You'll kill Sidious, and then end up no better than him...
She stopped walking, pressing her forehead against the nearest wall and covering her ears. "Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!"
She focused her hate, of Sidious, of Zannah, of the Sith, of the Republic, of the Jedi, of herself, and wrapped it around her, shutting away the voice. She took a few deep, ragged breaths, and decided she really hated that voice too. Zannah said her little plan should cut away Obi-Wan, if not, maybe it would finally kill that inner voice. She stalked out of the compound into the Coruscant night, hiding away her Force Presence, and moved to the lower levels. Her eyes washed over the degenerates, the scum, and the hopeless, sensing and probing as she went.
Finally, she found one that looked roughly the right age, a human boy, adolescent close to the last age she had seen Obi-Wan at, red hair and blue eyes, dressed in obvious hand-me-down clothes. She didn't detect any diseases or illnesses in this one. She pressed into his mind, 'You will go into an alleyway.'
He stopped walking for a moment, looking confused, and obeyed. Siri followed, 'You will go around the trash compacter'.
He did so.
'Turn'
He did, and Siri lashed out, grabbing his throat and pinning the boy up against the wall Force imbued strength. "Be silent."
The teenage boy squeaked in terror, a high pitched voice, so unlike Obi-Wan's, begged, "P-please don't kill me!"
She pulled him back and slammed him into the wall, hard. "I said shut up! Do what you're told, and you might live."
He clammed up, shivering. Siri drew on the Dark Side, closing her eyes, and imagined Obi-Wan. She weaved the deception around the boy, and when she opened her eyes, she choked a little at the sight. "Obi..."
The fake-Obi-Wan opened his mouth, confused, bit Siri tightened her grip on his throat. "I told you not to speak."
Siri, don't do this...
She reached a hand up, caressing fake-Obi-Wan's face, her head leaning forward. "Obi-Wan..."
It's rape Siri!
She hesitated for a moment, a heavy swallow of bile going down her throat, her hands shaking. "I... I don't care anymore. Whats this compared to half the other things I've done? That I will do?"
She pressed her body against the fake-Obi-Wan and kissed him, deeply, passionately, possessively. Her hands gripped his head tightly, pulling him deeper into her grasp. The tingling sensations running down her body were strange... were good. She pulled back, slightly out of breath, face flushed. "My Obi-Wan, mine."
She took him to the ground, lips hungrily smashing against his. It was a clumsy, possessive tangle. She pulled back again, licking her lips, the taste... wasn't what she imagined it would be. There was a slightly foul sensation, something he had eaten recently made her wrinkle her nose. What's worse was the fear on Obi-Wan's face...
"Stop looking at me like that," she snarled, "Obi-Wan wouldn't be afraid of me."
"I'm not whoever the hell this Obi-Wan is you crazy freak!" cried out Obi-Wan in someone else voice.
Siri seethed, her fantasy fracturing. She grabbed his head and smashed it back against the wall again and again. "SHUT UP!"
Obi-Wan had a dazed look afterwards, blood running down his nose and out of his mouth, a bit on the wall behind him. She kissed him again, and this time, the blood on his lips drowned out the other taste, and it was sweet. She paused to consider what she was supposed to do next. She understood anatomy, they had that class in the temple, she knew what went where, but she didn't... didn't know what else to do. She had the urge to roam her hands all over his body, have his over hers, to press against him, a hunger in her core, but nothing she really understood.
She went with what she knew, briefly pulling away to take off her lower clothes, doing the same for Obi-Wan. She stared down at the organ between his legs, she reached out and touched it, watching it twitch. Her own legs were twitching, there was a heat between them that had her in a confused flux. She pressed herself against him, kissing and tasting blood again, growling under her breath as she shifted back and forth ontop of him. She looked down when she felt something poking between her butt. His organ had grown in size. She grabbed and positioned it before shoving down on it.
Her breath briefly hitched as a sharp and quick pain hit her. It was nothing compared to taking Force Lightning, just... strange, deeper, a continual pain and a bit of pressure where he was. There was a brief groan from Obi-Wan, not... not how he sounded. So she reached over and wrapped her hands around his throat to shut him up as she brought herself up and down clumsily. Each was an uncomfortable spike of pain, and a sensation like she was rubbing skin against something to roughly and quickly, wasn't this supposed to feel good? She went a few more times before Obi-Wan half-cried-half-gurgled and shoved upward, and she felt a twinge of a warm, wet sensation in her. She frowned a little, and kept going for a little bit until he fell out, smaller now.
She stared down, incredulous, at the bloody looking thing (was that her blood?), a small trickle of white goop dripping down from her with the blood. Was that IT?! A surge of anger overtook her, and she lost control of her illusion, and then Obi-Wan was gone, and there was some sobbing half-dead redhead boy laying there in a daze. She absolutely lost it, she took him by his throat, squeezing with Force enhanced strength and smashed him against the wall behind him, pulling him back and smashing him again, over and over again, snarling in rage...
Until her fingers dug in and ripped out his throat, blood gushing out at her and to cover his chest. She sat there for a moment, and then let loose a scream of anger. She smashed his head into a blood pulp and then stood up, fuming. What a worthless waste of time. The boy broke the fantasy over and over again, it had hurt, hadn't felt good at all, she now needed to get a contrafertive... contraceptat, whatever the hell it was called to make sure she didn't get pregnant...
You raped and killed him...
...and all she really got out of that was a sicking lump in her stomach, more guilt to lump with the rest, just with self-disgust to throw in now. She leaned over the corpse, pressing her face against the smooth metal wall, and took a ragged breath. She pulled away and grabbed her clothes, putting her lower half back on. She knelt down to wipe the blood on her hands off on his clothes before grabbing the corpse and dumped it in the trash compacter, stalking out of the alleyway, pulling her hood up. No one nearby even batted an eye in her direction. No one cared.
She stalked the streets in a dark haze, hating the boy, hating herself... hating Obi-Wan even. Just hating everything. She took her memories of Obi-Wan, and she shoved them deep down, as deep as she could, and made her way to a store to get something to make sure she didn't get some worthless bastard's baby in her...
Siri grumbled under her breath, hiding on ceiling pipes as she spied on a trade meeting on the planet Saleucami, in its capital city of Talecema. A circular city of towering buildings, a kind of mini Coruscant until the outer parts where one could actually see greenery. The Techno Union was apparently trying to claim the world as one of it's 'Mechworlds'. Sidious wanted this deal to go smoothly, so she was to observe and make sure nothing went wrong. There was an air of trepidation in the Force, but it didn't feel directed at the meeting itself, it was... elusive.
She shook it off and refocused. The Techno Union was being represented by one Wat Tambor. She had done a bit of research, and had found the Skakoan to be a bit of an upstart within the Union, very quickly rising through the ranks. If she had to guess, he'd end up Foreman before the decade was up. He had a decently impressive history, especially as a combat engineer, developing the skills on the planet Metalorn. She briefly pulled out her personal datapad and flagged Tambor as someone to keep a loose eye on. He could have uses down the road. Though, chances were Sidious was already ahead of her in this regard. Her Master had her fingers deep in the Trade Federation, the Techno Union, and all the big conglomerates after all.
From what she could see and hear, the deal appeared to go off without a hitch. No assassinations, no backstabbing, nothing, simple and easy. So, she made her exit, crawling through air vents, and popping out the side of the building, landing below with the Force to cushion her fall. She stretched briefly, and quickly made about making herself scarce, twisting cameras away, and taking a Force assisted leap over a security fence. She pulled her hood tighter to her, and slipped quietly between buildings and into the streets. The city was the world's primary spaceport, and thankfully had individual launch pads. All she had to do was get back to her ship and the mission was a success. Not that it had been particularly trying.
She made her way to the outskirts of the city, paid her toll to the shipping authorities, waded through hallways of spacers and tourists, and slipped into her docking bay...
And froze.
Standing there between her and her ship was an aged Jedi. Gray hair, sideburns, beard, and mustache sat on an older, lined and stern face. His brown eyes were sharp, appraising her silently, hand moving to rest gently on the curved lightsaber hilt hanging off his belt. He wore only his brown tunic and pants, no outer robes. He was... vaguely familiar to her, she knew she had met him once or twice...
The Force was blaring an open warning to her now, the trepidation from early now turned into a dire threat.
A cultured voice rang out, deep and pointed. "Iris, I presume."
Siri's breath hitched for a moment, but she didn't respond otherwise. She cursed Master Ur Manka silently for sending that transmission to Yoda, the Jedi knew she existed. Not who or what she was, but that there was a darksider out there.
"You were quite difficult to track down," mused the Jedi, "I suppose I owe my grandpadawan greatly for confirming your race, and hair color."
Siri's eyes furrowed under her hood. What was he going on about? She had encountered no Jedi that she had let live who had actually seen enough of her to get a description.
"That, and your tendency to frequent checking up on the trade conglomerates," said the Jedi mildly, "You are quite thorough in masking your presence, but you missed a camera here and there. I will confess, I guessed where you'd end up this time, between several important meetings or trade deals."
Siri scowled, but again, refrained from speaking. Her hood kept her identity a secret, she wasn't going to throw that away by speaking and perhaps risking him recognizing her voice, or sharing the memory with someone who could. To be more safe then sorry, she grasped her hood firmly with the Force, willing and anchoring it down, pushing that focus to the back of her mind in whatever conflict was about to happen. He could hurry it up though, he liked to hear himself talk alot. Perhaps she should hurry that along.
She unhooked Zannah's lightsaber from her belt, the only one she wore anymore, and activated one end. She was confident enough to use the lightsaber with Makashi and Soresu now, but she'd stick to one end active unless she absolutely needed the other. The aged Jedi eyed the hilt, tracing its length, nose wrinkling in distaste, he probably recognized it as a saberstaff. Though, that dislike of it... that was vaguely familiar...
The man unhooked his lightsaber, igniting the blue blade... and did a Makashi salute.
Oh kriff.
Kriff kriff kriff!
That was Master Dooku!
New plan. RUN! She didn't stand a chance against him in a lightsaber duel yet.
Siri turned and bolted back down the way she came. There was a derisive scoff from Dooku, and she felt him give chase. The ship she had was non-descript and disposable, it had nothing of value on it. She'd find another way offworld, or maybe circle-back if she could loose Dooku. No, stupid idea, he'd have put a tracker on it. She slashed a door open, shoving through it, then flung the pieces behind her at Dooku with the Force. He bated them aside without stopping. She briefly glanced back and swore, for an old bastard he was fast.
People scrambled out of her way, and Dooku's, as the two ran. The moment they exited the building, he put on a burst of speed and caught up with her. It took her a split second to realize he had waited until they were not in the middle of civilians to do so. She rolled as he swung at her back, coming up and pivoting as she swung. He deflected with graceful ease and riposted at her shoulder. She shifted downward, barely making it miss, and rolled again, swinging up as him as she did. He twirled away from the attack.
She staggered to her feet, coming to her feet and coming to a Soresu opening stance, two fingers pointed at him, blade angled downward. He appraised the stance for a brief moment before smiling. It was the smile of someone who had decided they already won. To be fair, if it really came to a lightsaber duel, he would win. But that wasn't what she was going for. He closed the distance, taking the bait, and made for an opening swing...
Only for a bolt of lightning to surge from her finger and slam into his chest. He staggered back in a brief, surprised gasp, hand going up to clutch at his chest. She aimed her hand full on and released a burst of Force Lightning at him, trying to take advantage. Instead, he raised his lightsaber and caught the attack, hand dropping away from his chest, a dark scowl on his face.
"You delve into dark arts that are best forgotten, young one," said Dooku in a warning tone as they began to circle eachother, "Did you learn this from your dark master?"
If he thought Force Lightning was the worst she could do, he was sorely mistaken. Him keeping his distance was to her advantage.
"For a darksider, you are rather quiet," said Dooku, "No boasting of your power?"
But, she wasn't sure she should reveal any more of her abilities, especially in the open where people could see, and against a foe that she didn't think she could actually kill.
"Perhaps your silence is because of shame," Dooku mused, "After all, you do Master Ur Manka and whoever your original master was such due credit."
Siri flinched.
And Dooku struck, thrusting forward for a quick, lethal strike. Siri could only manage to deflect downward and away, not enough to escape her momentary lapse in concentration cleanly. His lightsaber burned into her outer thigh, earning a hiss of pain as she staggered back. Kriffing hells!
Dooku advanced again, lightsaber raised...
And Siri thrust her hand forward, giving a furious cry, and launched him backwards with the Force, sending him head over heels into a crown of watchers.
Watchers.
Civilians.
She should have thought of that to begin with! She couldn't escape him if his speed was evident enough, and she doubted he'd stop chasing her, so she had to force him to back off. She turned, aimed a hand at a random civilian, no, scratch that, pick the child, and pulled them across the distance to her. There was a surprised yelp, and a cry from perhaps their family, before Siri had a young Twi-Lek in her grasp, lightsaber pressed close to its throat. Dooku had just recovered and separated from the crowd before pausing, narrowing his eyes at Siri.
"And thus how far the lost have fallen, have you no shame?" chided Dooku, "Using a child as a shield?"
Siri began to back away, her thigh flaring in pain as she did, and dragged the child back towards the entrance to the docking bays. Dooku followed behind at a distance, a number of authorities at his heels, blasters drawn. "Let the child go, Iris."
She felt the persuasion in the air, but kept her shields tight to her, letting it roll around her like a waves upon a rocky shore. She rechecked her shields while she was at it, tight as they had been at the start, even with that momentary lapse, he shouldn't have been able to get any kind of read on her Force Presence. She slipped down the hallways of the port, and back to her ship. She'd take it to... Alexi, he ought to be able to scan for a tracker. Though, she'd need to send a message to him first as to not risk leading Dooku to anywhere important.
She reached her ship a few minutes of backpedaling later, fiddling with the control in her pocket to lower the ramp. She paused briefly at the foothold, considering the child in her grasp. She glanced up, at Dooku in the doorway to the docking bay, eyes raptly on her, critical of her every move. She was tempted to kill the child out of spite towards him, but he could probably close the distance before she shut the ramp if she did so. She'd take the child with her then, give them to the Black Sun to do with as they pleased.
"I will find you again, Iris," said Dooku calmly, "You and your dark master."
She pursed her lips. Siri was one thing, Sidious was another. If Dooku delved to deep, all he would find would be death or damnation. She didn't particularly care to warn him, and merely dragged the child onboard her ship, closing the ramp behind her. She dropped the child with a sleep suggestion and made for the cockpit, willing her thigh to stop screaming at her. She was in the air a moment later, making for space. She keyed in the comm for Alexi's personal number and waited.
Then Garyn's pretty-boy face lit the holoterminal, an eyebrow raised. "Well look who it is, you wouldn't believe the news channel that was just brought to my attention a few minutes ago."
Siri just groaned. "Please tell me that it isn't what I think it is."
"I had a man keeping tabs on a certain deal being made on Saleucami, you wouldn't believe how surprised, and irritated, I was for him to interrupt a meeting to bring it to my attention," said Alexi before going smug, "Was it just me, or did that Jedi manhandle you for that few moments you fought him? Mighella was positively elated to see you running with your tail between your legs."
Siri pinched the bridge of her nose. "That was Jedi Master Dooku, he's out of my league for the moment. I need either a ship exchange, or a scan to find a tracker."
"Done, I'll send you coordinates," said Alexi, "And I'll throw in a bacta patch, that hit on your leg looked like it hurt, dearest."
"Thanks Lex," she said, giving a brief smile, "I've got a gift for you in return."
"Oh?"
"Want a twi-lek kid?"
"Mmmm, I can find some use of it," said Alexi dismissively, "Do you need a place to lay low for awhile? It has been awhile since the three of us has shared company."
Siri shook her head. "No, I need to get back to Sidious and..."
She froze. "Oh kriff."
She had just been seen, and recorded (not her face thankfully), and let a Jedi live through an encounter.
"Sidious is going to kill me," she said flatly.
Alexi frowned briefly. "Hard to tell through the connection, was that a serious 'kill me', or beat the shit out of you 'kill me'? I can arrange for you to disappear if you need to."
She sighed. "No, no, I'll... live. I'll probably wish I hadn't, but I'll live. Running will only either make it worse, or make him actually kill me."
Alexi shrugged. "Your choice I suppose. The doors of the Black Sun are always open to you S..."
"Iris," said Siri with a snap, "Call me Iris when we're not in the same room, and if you have any files or recordings or anything with my actual name, edit them to Iris. That's the name the Jedi know, and they can't find out my real one."
Alexi rolled his eyes. "Iris dearest, you are creating such a hassle."
She grinned lazily. "Entering hyperspace now Lex darling, catch you later."
"Oh? I'm a 'darling' now?" he managed to say, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
She responded by cutting the transmission and entering hyperspace, acting like Zannah did could be fun...
Siri knelt at Sidious foot in the Coruscant compound's meditation chamber, saying nothing, and waiting.
The Dark Lord stared down at her silently for a long moment. "What do the Jedi know of you, and how."
Straight to the point then, and considering the pressure building both against her throat and mind, best not to lie. "I... when I was poisoning Siolo Ur Manka, he sent a transmission to the Jedi about me. To them, my name is Iris, I'm a fallen Jedi Padawan who was abducted from her murdered master and tortured to the dark side by an unknown powerful darksider."
Sidious considered her for a moment, betraying nothing. "And Yan Dooku is the one in search of you."
"It... would appear that way," she answered.
His next response stumped her.
He tilted his head thoughtfully, a wry and sinister smile on his face. "Well now, that is an opportunity I didn't think I would have so soon."
"An opportunity?"
"To have Dooku chasing into the dark," said Sidious, lips peeled back into a sneer, "You see my apprentice, Dooku isn't the steadfast Jedi many would consider him to be. He is conflicted, he dislikes the council, detests the complacency of the Jedi Order, loathes the corruption in the senate."
"You think he can be of use?"
"I know he can," said Sidious with finality, "I've had my eye on him for a long time now. All he needs is temptation, and a bit of a push, and he could serve as a public pawn of the Sith."
Siri absorbed the information. Dooku's political views, even to the padawans and initiates, wasn't hidden. She could vaguely recall having known of his issues with the senate, temple gossip was an virulent thing. She wouldn't have guessed on him being a potential front for the Sith though. She wasn't in a position to spy on Jedi and figure out who had the potential to fall or not. It was something she made a mental note to mark as a thing she needed to pick up on in the future. Sidious gave little hints of strategy and long term plans here and there, she made an effort not to miss them when they were dropped. It felt like grasping for scraps from a dinner table. Sidious was a stingy bastard after all.
"While I am not pleased that your existence was revealed so soon," said Sidious in warning, closing off Siri's throat for a brief moment and letting her struggle before releasing her, "This may have a long term benefit, or at least save me some time perhaps."
Siri squinted. "So soon? You planned to reveal me?"
"There is a conflict brewing," said Sidious slowly, "A prelude to the beginning of the end for the Jedi. There are a few more strings to pull before then, but it will happen before the decade is up, and there, you will reveal who and what you truly are to the Jedi, and announce their end."
Siri swallowed.
Sidious paused for a moment. "What were your observations of Dooku?"
"He talks, alot," said Siri flatly before frowning, "He does a good Dun Moch without even realizing it. I think, if he put his mind to it he could really mess with people. He's persistent, and managed to track me down through little but scraps of hints and connecting the dots. He figured I spent a lot of time trailing the trade conglomerates and guessed where I'd be."
"Then I suppose we had best change your schedule up." said Sidious before he reached down and grasped her chin, yanking it upward. "Your training needs to take focus over missions for the time being. That display against Dooku was sloppy. You must be skilled enough to defeat Jedi Masters, even ones such as Dooku. Until I'm satisfied you can at least hold your own for a few minutes against him, you and I will be spending time in the training room."
Siri held back a spike of fear. She didn't like sparring with Sidious, at all.
"What of Dooku?"
"It's normal for the trail to go cold at times," said Sidious dismissively, "It will pick back up in time, and we will leave hints of you here and there, along with temptations to draw him closer to the dark..."
Siri's body ached.
It was all she could think about after a month of getting smacked around by Sidious. How she hated that bastard, she really did. She did however learn a great deal from him, he made Dun Moch an art-form, words twisting her own logic against her, filling her with doubt, mocking her into fury, and the like. Sidious's saber-style, no matter what form he used, was lethal, lethal, lethal, always a killing blow, at least when he wasn't mocking and toying with his prey. When it wasn't with him, she was training on her own, or having Zannah critique her. He had finally deemed her 'adequate enough' to leave the compound again. He had given her a list of people or groups to kill and sent her on her way.
It wasn't the first time he'd had her kill before, not even close. But a list? He made it seem like she was picking groceries up from a store. To him, it was probably close to the same thing anyway. He was dismissive enough about it, and so was she. She had punched in the coordinates and entered hyperspace without even bothering to look up the planet in question. When she finally dropped out of hyperspace... she raised an eyebrow.
The world in question was a dump. Even from space, she could see large swaths of blackened, devastated landscapes and large cities with a glow visible from space. Probably had some internal war. She reached for her datapad and pulled up the relevant details for her target... wait... the AgriCorps? She was targeting members of the Jedi Service Corps? Her eyebrows furrowed, why in the hell was Sidious sending her after washouts? Strange... she was to kill an entire crew of the AgriCorps stationed on the planet. Roughly twenty individuals. She rechecks to make sure her presence is sufficiently masked, and then reached out... there, they are all gathered in one area. She's rather surprised she can feel them so clearly from space. Their presences are open, unhindered... and doing something with the Force that makes her just a tad confused. Perhaps she'd do a bit of recon before she'd kill them.
She sets down a ways away on a hilly landscape, nestling her ship between two hills, masked by one of the few trees that isn't burned down in the area. There is the remains of a woodland in the distance, burnt to the ground. Judging by the proximity of one crispy tree or trunk to another, all it would have needed was a single blaster bolt, grenade, mortar, or whatever, to start a fire that took the whole forest down. She sticks to the hilly side of the landscape, and makes her way towards the band of washouts. She crests a hill, and goes to her stomach, peering down.
Her first thought is rather embarrassing to her: That's a grievously frivolous use of the Force.
The members of the AgriCorps, dressed in various clothes and belonging to various species, hardly looking as uniform as the Jedi Order did, are levitating dozens and dozens of saplings out of a huge container attached to the bottom of a ship, rather than just manually lift them. Other members are helping to plant, and a further few are in meditative poses on the burned landscape. The latter ones are the ones drawing her attention. They are just... open... in the Force. It's like they are treating themselves as a conduit for the Living Force, weaving it into the damaged and charred landscape, healing it, encouraging it to grow.
This...
Wow...
This sure as hell isn't the farming Jedi Initiates fear their fate to be if they don't get picked by a Master.
Siri watches with a slight childlike awe, not unlike the first time she saw Jedi Masters really go at it, or learned about more exotic and enticing uses of the Dark Side. This is an aspect and use of the Force she hadn't known about, hadn't even a clue. She knew the Force could be used to heal people, but heal plants? Heal devastated landscapes? She watches as the AgriCorps move with a swift, practiced efficiency; it will take time to help the landscape recover, but, she can see, can feel, the difference they would have made here. She shifts her attention to the members themselves. Some of the younger ones are disquieted, discouraged, 'washouts' if Siri ever saw one. The older ones though... they are content, happy even to be doing their work. They are right where they want to be. They are making a difference, and they are satisfied.
She can feel it in them, their rather open and unguarded minds.
She takes note of that difference. They feel nothing like Jedi Knights or Masters. They aren't keep an open awareness of the area around them, they aren't on guard, aren't always ready for whatever comes their way. They are relaxed even. Its a completely different mindset from that of a Jedi Knight. Not to mention not one of them has a weapon that Siri can see. She purses her lips a little, but holds off on just going down there. She... well... she wants to watch and learn. So she does, for a few more hours.
What she likes best, childishly, is the so called 'frivolous' use of the Force. They used it for everything, even levitating their canteens from a box, something she would have gotten readily admonished for in the Order. And she's not blind to see how quickly, easily, and readily they can call on the Force. Like... that's Master level speed, if not better. Even from some of the middle-aged ones. It takes her only a little bit to figure out why, and it's kind of flooring to realize how obvious it should have been. The Force is kind of like a muscle, the more one uses it, the more it develops. They don't need to concentrate or focus at all, it just reacts. They are using the Force every day, actively, more than the average Jedi would do in a week, if not longer. Jedi are controlled, conservative, except when its time to do their duty. The AgriCorps just... are.
She rather likes that, and decides shes going to personally adopt that mindset herself. The Force is hers to use as she wills, by her birthright as a Force Sensitive. Why listen to stuffy old Jedi Masters and their rules? Especially considering she's a darksider. Not to mention... Sidious has never made that kind of comment to her. She wont act frivolous around him, no, she wants it to be kept secret, another form of 'training' to one day hold over him. But sure as hell, she's going to use the Force as she wants to from now on. And the thought makes her smile darkly. She wonders how doing what the ArgiCorps are doing, sowing the land with the Force, would work with the Dark Side. She considers that, and Force Illusions. Oh... that's enticing, she's already theorizing how to weave her Sith Sorcery, creating an area of illusions embedded in the landscape itself, to confuse and perhaps drive mad anyone who walks into it; she's full on grinning with sinister delight.
An idea to test another time. Siri doubted Sidious intended for her to really gain anything out of this aside from more corpses at her hand, but she's rather appreciative of the mission she was given. She hopes shes sent after members of the other Service Corps, to see if she can learn anything from them too. She finds she rather approves of the work the AgriCorps are doing, perhaps its not as bad as a fate she had once feared, that doesn't mean however she isn't about to kill each and every one of them. Dusk is starting to set, it's about time she got her mission over with.
Don't do it...
She rose to her feet and started down the hill casually. None of the AgriCorps are even paying attention to anything but their task.
They're doing good work... for a good cause...
That's true, and perhaps after she's killed Sidious, she'll either let the AgriCorps as a whole live and continue to work for her, or rebuild them if he's enacted the Grand Plan prior to her ascension. Her Empire could use an organization like this.
You might know some of them! They could be old friends...
Her eyes flicker to the younger members, some of those faces are vaguely familiar... maybe they were initiates she had known once. Perhaps even out of her own youngling clan. But why should that matter? She killed Garen, and he had been a close friend. Her eyes flicker as one of the AgriCorps finally notice her approaching, but there is no suspicion or hostility, just mild curiosity and a greeting thrown her way. So trusting... that's something she'd have to eliminate in her own AgriCorps when she either took over or remade them.
She draws and thumbs Zannah's lightsaber on, the red illuminating the landscape around her ominously.
Ah, there's the fear.
She grins with malice.
And then she's moving, going for the older ones first before they can marshal any reaction.
They're screaming, all the meanwhile she's faintly hears herself screaming on the inside, and when they stopped screaming, she had not...
I never wanted this...
"A report to make, do you, Master Dooku?"
Grandmaster Yoda watched as his former padawans hologram rubbed his eyes tiredly. Even through the hologram Yoda could see the bags under his eyes. He was tired, and pushing himself heavily. Yoda could feel the Jedi Council as a whole studying Dooku's appearance with varying levels of apprehension.
"I had another encounter with Iris," said Dooku tiredly, "She's getting better."
Yoda frowned. "Oh?"
"It is strange, it has only been a few months since our initial meeting, but she's grown far faster than someone her age should. Even considering the harsh methods darksiders are known to use, her lightsaber skills are vastly above where they should be. I can't get an accurate read of her through the Force with the shields she uses, however... she's grown in all regards," said Dooku before scowling, "Including cruelty."
Yoda's heart sank, and he sighed. "Failed we did, to find her with Ur Manka, knew we did, that fall back into darkness, she could."
"Fall back into, and far deeper," said Dooku, "She didn't hesitate to kill any who got in the way of our duel, not to mention throwing large objects at civilians to draw my attention. I had to let her go lest I allow a body count to climb."
"Why did you confront her in a populated area?" asked Mace Windu.
"She was in a museum," said Dooku, "Inspecting a recent donation."
"Why?"
Dooku brought something out of his pocket, an odd ornament with a jagged symbol on it kind of like a wind chime, or a dream catcher, that set Yoda ill at ease. "There was a dark side artifact there. I haven't been able to figure out what it's purpose is, but it fits a pattern I've noticed from her. She's hunting for such artifacts, and darker, forbidden knowledge. I've tracked and just missed her at a number of old Sith worlds or other such museums. Managed to drive her away from a few old texts written in ancient Sith I believe. I haven't been able to decipher them yet."
"Dooku," said Yaddle sharply, "Look into such dark things, you should not. Seal away, and return them to be isolated in the temple or destroyed, you should."
On that, Yoda agreed, nodding his head and humming his agreement.
Dooku scowled. "Understanding Iris and her Master is important. Especially with what they are seeking. Some of the rituals I've been able to gleam information from these texts on... I fear they are trying to learn the powers of the Sith."
A tension roiled through the council. Yoda's ears flicked wearily. "Try to recreate the Sith, you fear they wish to do?"
Dooku nodded. "I've only seen Iris preform Force Lightning thus far, but I think its a given she, or at least her hidden Master, have probably discovered more. If this threat is not eliminated, it may lead eventually to their rebirth."
Ki-Adi-Mundi scoffed. "From just the two of them picking up what scraps they can find?"
"More, there could be," pointed out Yaddle, "Possible it is for more to be in hiding, when chase we do the obvious one."
"Only two there were when they last ended," pointed out Master Poof, "The two that survived the thoughtbomb on Ruusan tried to hide and blend in that way, before the last one died on Ambria. All it would take is one, and the knowledge could spread like a taint."
"If there's even enough knowledge to recreate that disease of an order," spat Windu, "Our ancestors took great effort to wipe out knowledge of the Dark Side. The Sith are over, long gone. Perhaps they could create another dark side cult, a threat to be sure if the Bando Gora aren't example enough, but the time of the Sith is long over, the Jedi won that fight almost a thousand years ago."
The council settled down at that, but Yoda... isn't so sure the potential threat should be so readily dismissed. He keeps his own council on that thought though. "Need more aid, do you, Master Dooku?"
Dooku shook his head. "No, I am still well above her. Its her mobility that is currently an issue, if I could lock or pin her down I can easily win."
"Having another Master there would help with that," pointed out Plo Koon.
"Unless it's an experience Master, or a council member, I fear they will throw their lives away," countered Dooku, "Iris will not hesitate in the slightest, a simple lapse in judgement or a moment of hesitation, and she will kill you. Few have experience facing the Dark Side to not let it affect them while facing it in battle. If I can't catch her within the next few years, she may start proving to be a decent challenge in a fight."
He scowled. "I also think she's amused by leading me on a goose chase."
"You caught her by surprise the first time," said Master Piell, "Its possible she's intentionally leading you on now."
"Possibly, but to what end, I don't know," said Dooku.
"Away from her mysterious master perhaps?" suggested Master Tiin.
"How could she lead me away from someone we have no knowledge or hints of?" said Dooku with a scoff, "It's half the reason this chase isn't done yet. I can't decide if trying to capture her and perhaps get information on her master is worth not simply putting her down."
Yoda doesn't like that. Him referring to a sentient being, a former member of their Order, as an animal to be euthanized. He still toys with the idea Master Ur Manka had before he died, redeeming the fallen. He knows Ur Manka came close, he can feel it in his bones, and in the Force. He doesn't want to give up on this lost child of the Order, but he's not ignorant. There has to come a point when the loss of life and the damage isn't worth the cost of bringing her in. They know so little of what Iris has actually done, only what Dooku has observed. Its highly possible she's done significant more damage and killed many more people then they suspect. There is a reason they say that once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.
Mired so deep in darkness, they can't find their way out anymore, even with a light to shine the way.
Yoda watched Dooku's hologram flicker out, and wonders if he, Qui-Gon, or Obi-Wan would have to be Dooku's light before this is all said and done.
He fears Iris's light has already come and gone with Master Ur Manka's passing.
He supposes it depends on just how much of her darkness is her own, and how much her Master forced upon her.
If what Dooku has been reporting is any indication... by the time they do catch her, if they ever do, it might be to late for her, far to late...
Notes:
I could keep going, with little short stories of her time between now and the Phantom Menace, but I think it's rather evident, Siri's going downhill very fast, and is only going to get worse and worse between now and then. I'll also leave this time period a bit open, to use as flashback material if need be. Next up is the first part of the Phantom Menace. I think... its roughly going to be split into 3-5 chapters. I'm not wasting time/words retelling the initial events from Obi-Wan/Qui-Gons PoV, it will be similar enough, but mostly from Siri's PoV.
So I'd think Tatooine - Coruscant - Naboo at a bare minimum.
Perhaps a chapter from Obi-Wan's PoV slid in here or there.
Chapter 20: Suprise Meetings
Chapter Text
32 BBY
"Siri dearest," came a murmur in her ear, "Your comlink is ringing."
Siri blinked awake and rolled over, glancing over at the naked Alexi Garyn half out of bed, "Hrm...?"
"Considering the caller is labeled 'Old Bastard', I assume it's the old bastard," said Alexi with a laugh, pulling his pants on.
Siri sighed and rolled out of bed herself, reaching over for her comlink, clicked it on, and raised it to her mouth. "Yes Master?"
"I am recalling you to Coruscant, I have a mission for you," came Sidious's voice, "I expect you here within the day. Do not dawdle or you will not like the punishment."
"As you will, Master," she said slowly before clicking off, her eyebrows furrowing, "Something important then if he's pressing in not to be late."
"Well, best be off then," said Alexi with a shooing motion.
"Oh yes, can't let Mighella catch me in your bed," mocked Siri slyly, "Honestly darling, we should try to get her in here with us."
Alexi snorted. "Mighella is immune to my charms unfortunately."
"Well, your charms and good looks are about the only good think you have going for you," mused Siri.
Alexi brought a hand to his chest. "You hurt me. Its like you completely look over all my other talents."
Siri reached for her clothes and began to put them on. "Mmm, maybe, I only really use you for a quick bit of fun these days."
"Well it's not my fault your Master is a stingy old bastard that hardly shares you anymore," huffed Alexi, "Honestly, the Black Sun would love to have you back for even a week."
"What can I say? I am a woman of many talents."
Alexi snuck a sucking kiss on her neck. "I'll say."
Siri purred for a moment before dropping her playfulness. "Is the Scimitar fueled?"
"Mhm," said Alexi, "Did so last night, I put it on your 'tab'."
Siri grinned. "I have a tab?"
"You worked a bit of it off last night," he said nonchalantly, "I'll say you've certainly improved in some regards."
Siri snorted and made for the door. "I'll see you later Lex, give Mighella a hi for me when she gets back from playing babysitter for your Vigos."
Her smile turned into a scowl the moment she was out of the room and stalking down the halls, annoyed that she had been recalled so soon, pulling her hood on and making for her ship. Sidious had gifted her his old ship, the Scimitar, about two years ago. It was... well... there was a reason she lovingly called it her baby. That ship was fast, among other things, and more than capable of putting on the speed she needed to get back to Coruscant in time. Of course, it also came with the responsibility of keeping it safe and secure, she couldn't just abandon it. It made her dance with Master Dooku over the last few years a bit more challenging since she couldn't just jump ship.
She smiled a little. It had been a few months since she had last played with the Jedi Master. It was like playing with fire, one wrong move and she'd be burned (dead). But it was a fun little challenge. Not to mention, she was rather good at learning from experience. He was an excellent teacher of Makashi without realizing it, she didn't bring out her own use of Form II against him, she was saving that for a surprise one day when she eventually won and dragged him before Sidious...
Siri followed the sensation of her master's irritation into the Coruscant compound, down into their meditation room, he had a holoprojector set up.
"...she has disappeared my lord," rang out Nute Gunray's voice, automatically filled Siri with annoyance and disgust, "One Naboo cruiser got past the blockade."
There was a slight growl from Sidious, and Siri could feel his rage. "I want that treaty signed."
"My lord, it's impossible to locate the ship, its out of our range," said Gunray.
Siri felt a prod through the Force, and stepped forward to stand behind him, smiling icily at Gunray as Sidious spoke, "Not for the Sith."
Gunray went rigged through the hologram, and Siri purred out, "Hello Gunray, have you been misbehaving again?"
"My apprentice will find your lost ship," said Sidious flatly, "And will take the time spent wasting fixing your mess out of your hide."
Siri grinned. Oh, now she didn't mind having been recalled. It was rare that Sidious actually let her harm his tools. Gunray had really pissed him off this time. The hologram faded with Gunrays terrified face the last thing she saw. "Aww Master, you spoil me."
Sidious didn't spare her charm any attention, rarely did. "Are you aware of the Trade Federation Blockade of Naboo?"
"Vaguely," said Siri, "I assume its your work?"
Sidious nodded. "A seemingly insignificant, yet important move on the chessboard towards the Grand Plan, save that bumbling fool losing the Queen. I need her to sign the treaty, then die a martyrs death."
Siri didn't bother inquiring why, if he saw fit, he'd tell her. He usually left her to her own devices to figure out his motives and plans beyond what was told. "How could he lose a Queen? Surely he wasn't stupid enough to leave her unguarded?"
"Jedi," spat Sidious, "The Chancellor went around the senate to get them involved."
Siri tilted her head in thought, a slow smile spreading across her face. "If he's called out on that, it could put his position at risk."
"I have something... else in mind for removing Valorum," said Sidious, "Focus on your mission and be ready to leave."
"It will be done. How do we plan to track her?"
"I'll engineer a transmission to be sent to her ship after the registry is checked for its identification," said Sidious, "Be ready with a trace..."
Less then a day later, they had their answer, and were making their way towards the Scimitar. "I can't say I've ever had the displeasure of going to Tatooine."
Sidious turned his head towards her. "It is a desert planet, a worthless ball of sand the Hutts rule over. Scarcely populated with slaves, hostile natives, and farmers."
Siri nodded. "Only a few settlements I assume, it shouldn't take long to find the queen."
"Move against the Jedi first, you will then have no difficulty in taking the Queen to Naboo to sign the treaty," said Sidious.
Siri resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Obviously she killed the Jedi first. "As you will, Master."
There was... something in the cruel smile Sidious had on his face that sent a warning twinge off in her head. "These specific Jedi will be a true test for you, my young blue-eyed apprentice, perhaps you may even prove yourself worthy of earning your Sith name if you succeed."
Siri showed no reaction, but there were not-so-subtle implications in what he was saying. "As you say."
"Fail in this, my apprentice, and you will wish you had never been born," said Sidious in a warning tone, "I have been building for this opportunity, both with the Grand Plan, and with you, for some time. That both your test and this mission come up at once is... a boon. Do not fail me."
Sidious walked with her all the way to the Scimitar, and Siri felt his eyes on her long after she had closed the ramp and took the ship into the air. If this was a test to be worthy of her Sith name, then it was a Sacrifice. She made a brief, mental list of her former friends in the temple, wondering who it would be that she was to kill this time. Garen had been the last...
There was a slight twang of grief, but she smothered it almost instantly. She'd do her duty as a Sith Apprentice and kill whoever it was. Garen had hardly been the last Jedi she had killed since that failed Sacrifice...
"So, where are we off to this time?"
Siri didn't jump, she did not! She turned to see Zannah's gatekeeper leaning over her shoulder. "Who let you out of your hole?"
"Come now Siri darling," said Zannah with a pout, "Surely you're still not mad about me springing up during your play time with your boyfriend? I was cheering you on! You've come such a long way since you were a prudish young girl."
Siri scowled. "I'm going to seal your Holocron shut with sorcery if you keep it up."
Zannah grinned. "You'll try, but I'm still the better sorceress, even as a Holocron."
"For now," admitted Siri.
"For a loooooong while," drawled Zannah, "Honestly, you're what, twenty-three? Wait another decade or two before you even entertain the thought of being close to my equal."
"Yeah yeah yeah, you're a self-proclaimed Sorceress goddess, I know," mocked Siri, "We should all bow and grovel before you."
"Mmm, I like the sound of that," purred Zannah.
Siri shifted focus. "Ever been to Tatooine?"
"It's a slave infested rat hole," said Zannah before whining, "Double-suns makes it hot as hell. Got a wicked sunburn the first time I went there, had sand in my robes for weeks!"
"Lovely," muttered Siri.
"Why are we heading there?" questioned Zannah.
"Chasing some queen down," said Siri, shrugging, "Sidious wants her to sign a treaty and be a martyr."
"Queen of what planet?" asked Zannah.
"Naboo."
"Hmm," hummed Zannah, "I wonder..."
Siri rolled her eyes. "Don't tease me, out with it."
Zannah shook her head. "I'm not up-to-date with galactic politics. I can guess what his purpose is in doing this, but I'll wait and see."
"Politics," said Siri with distaste, "Is such a shit-show. I've got enough dirt to bury half the senate if I really wanted to."
Zannah snickered. "Only half?"
"Well, Sidious doesn't give me that much free time to go digging," said Siri slyly, "Its not hard to find if you go snooping. Honestly, I found a band of senators involved in setting up a new a slave ring a little while ago. I don't know why I'm surprised anymore. When I take over and make it an Empire, the senate is the first thing to go, and the Galaxy will cheer me on when I show them just who leads them. I'll be the far better choice..."
"The only choice," she said in a hushed, craving voice.
Zannah grinned. "Its so close Siri, the cumulation of the Grand Plan. I'll finally get to see the Jedi fall, and a Sith Empire rise. I'm jealous that you'll actually get to live that reality. Though... not to be a downer, but, it's probably going to be Sidious's empire for awhile, I doubt you'll be ready to challenge him before the time has come."
Siri groaned. "Major downer Zannah."
Zannah draped a holographic arm over her shoulder. "Ah don't worry, you'll get your chance."
Siri shrugged. "I'll manage. I suppose the chance to kill Jedi will make me feel better after you've so rudely ruined my mood."
Zannah hummed. "Killing Jedi does do wonders for one's mood. How many?"
"Sidious didn't say," said Siri.
"Eh, just more lightsabers to throw in that cell," said Zannah, "Don't know why you don't make a trophy case of your kills instead of dumping them in that room."
"The Jedi are the past," said Siri dismissively, "And that cell is where I leave mine..."
Siri took one step out into the heat of the desert world before turning right around. "Kriff that, where's the probe droids?"
She was not melting to death scouring aimlessly when she had perfectly good droids to do that for her. She didn't know which settlement to check, the droids would do that for her. She signaled them, and watched as the black sphere like machines flew out. They were programmed to recognize Jedi by their lightsabers, robes, actions with the Force, how they interacted with people, and even had a collection of their faces programmed in. She had also taken the time to apply facial recognition for one Queen Amidala into them, as well as her current guard captain. She watched them go before pulling up her datapad again.
"Padme Amidala huh?" murmured Siri, scrolling down the datapad, "Public name, actual last name Naberre. Has a tendency to go incognito as a handmaiden. Hmm... I'll have to refrain from killing them until I can identify which one is actually the queen, no doubt she has a decoy in her place at the moment."
She studied more of the young woman... girl's history. Honestly, queen at fourteen? She had to look up Naboo's politics sometime, because that was weird. She gave her a brief pass, decided she liked the girl's policies since taking the throne, and her public stance before doing so. Siri would give her a quick death then, when the time came, rather than slow and painful one. She turned her focus to Naboo itself, and to the Trade Federation, trying to figure why this was important to Sidious's plans. The blockade was in protest to some taxation law over trade routes. It was all straightforward at first glance, but nothing ever truly was with Sidious. She knew Sidious had a hand in the laws, as well as the Eriadu Trade Summit where he had most of Gunray's remaining rivals eliminated.
Sidious had set this up, so the question was: What benefit did it serve the Sith?
She pondered that for awhile, before deciding she'd have to wait and see. She switched her research to Tatooine, figuring her coordinates on the planet and then taking inventory of the surrounding settlements and news. Apparently Jabba the Hutt was in for an upcoming race, the Boonta Eve Classic. Podracing eh? She had seen a race on Malastare once. Fast, dangerous, and filled with death and explosions. Her kind of entertainment. If she couldn't watch it, she figured she'd record it. There was nothing quite like watching people die for a stupidly dangerous sport. Better than slave gladiator arenas to be sure, Sidious sent her to those a few times to check for Force Sensitives or Jedi that might have been caught. He enjoyed buying and toying with them when the chance rose, or threw her a bone and let her have them.
Siri settled into a light meditation as the night dragged on, preparing herself to face Jedi, drawing her emotions to her. The Force whispered dark murmurs into her ear. Of power and promise, of opportunity, to truly claim the Dark Side for her own if she but had the will to reach out and take it. Sever the past, and be free to claim the future. Brief flashes of green and blue lightsabers clashing with her own filled her view, but were blurry. Visions had never been her strong suite, they were either rare, blurry, or came in a flash torrent that she could hardly make sense of. Zannah said there were rituals to force visions, but she hadn't revealed that to her yet...
She paused, eyebrows furrowed, when a bright light disrupted her meditation. She passed her senses over the landscape and felt...
She flinched and broke out of her meditation, feeling an immense whiplash. What in the... it was like she had just stared into a sun through the Force. She hissed a bit under her breath, blinking a few times. What had that been? For a moment... she had felt something, someone, with immense power, immense potential. She frowned a little, was this the Jedi? No... the brief flash she had was... untrained, unfocused. There was a... stirring in the Force, a note of anticipation, a ripple in the waters, that set Siri on edge. There was more going on here then hunting down a missing queen and Jedi. That was for sure.
She made a mental note to come back to Tatooine after she was done with this mission if she couldn't figure it out during her time here now. That kind of power demanded investigation. She rose to her feet and made for her bunk, determined to get some sleep with what little of the night remained, and as she laid in bed, dozing, the Force whispered quietly to her one final warning:
That her life was about to change drastically, one way or another...
Siri waited impatiently as her probe droids fed her back information. No concrete sightings yet, though there were three potential matches in Mos Espa. Curious. Three was an odd number. Generally Jedi went out either alone, or in pairs. She flicked through the information. She didn't recognize the name Aayla Secura, but the next Jedi on the list made her eyebrows shoot up and a grin stretch across her face.
"Quinlan Vos," she purred with surprised delight, flipping past the notification of the third jedi without a glance or a care, "Well well well, the Kiffar himself is here, this should be entertaining. He was always a blast to spar with."
Not to mention she hadn't been as close to him as she had with Garen. She didn't see a problem killing him. This was hardly a test.
She did briefly note that the droids saw no interaction between the first two, and the third Jedi, perhaps there were two separate missions on Tatooine then? Or maybe they were splitting up to keep attention away. Taking a queen to this Hutt infested wasteland was a questionable move. She'd be a valuable hostage. Hmm... she'd stay her hand for now. She ordered her droids to keep watching and try to determine if the queen was with the Jedi, or on their ship wherever it was. Killing the Jedi but scaring the queen offworld would be unfortunate after all.
It also gave her a chance to watch the Boonta Eve she quietly admitted to herself...
...and a few hours later, she settled into her bunk lazily, levitating her datapad overhead with a live feed to the podrace. She hummed to herself as she watched the racers set themselves up. "Hey Zannah, wanna watch a podrace?"
When no response came, Siri pressed out with her senses. Ah, the Holocron was off, Zannah was sleeping. Spoil sport. Oh well, her loss. Siri waited patiently for it to start, and then snickered when one of the racers stalled at the start. "Poor poor... uh whose is that listed as... Skywalker..."
The Force rippled when the name slipped through her lips, and she frowned, squinting at the live feed. She couldn't get a good shot of the racer in his pod. She checked the races registry, and came across a nine year old boy, Anakin Skywalker, a slave owned to a Toydarian named Watto. The Force was... for a lack of a better term, excited about the boy. She wondered... was he what she had felt last night during her meditation? She focused the live feed on him and decided to trail him as he finally took off.
It only took her a minute to recognize that he had to be Force Sensitive. He was instinctively reacting and maneuvering around dangers that no normal human, especially a young boy. She was actually rather impressed, she wasn't sure most initiates his age, or even padawans not nearing their senior years, could handle what he was doing. Siri rubbed her chin in thought, toying with her options. If he was truly what she had felt last night... well... she was to young to consider him as her own potential apprentice. Perhaps if she left him here and came back in a decade or two it might be an option, but... that left a dangerous risk of Sidious finding him. And that potential... her Master would kill her and take the boy in a heartbeat.
Siri continued to watch the race, growing steadily impressed with how the boy reacted under pressure. When his pod disconnected from one of its engines and the cockpit started spinning wildly, he merely reached out with a magnet and drew the cord back to him, reconnecting it. Not hesitating to challenge the lead racer. When he was forced off the racecourse and used it to take the lead. When his pod started smoking and he lost the lead, but quickly fixed it and took off again. And finally, when he tangoed with a pod much bigger than his own, locking them together, and then pulling away in such a manner his opponents pod fell apart, giving him the win.
Siri grinned to herself. "Nice moves little Skywalker."
He'd make a fine apprentice in a few decades; she severely doubted she'd find anyone else with the kind of potential she felt from him. She licked her lips slowly in anticipation; she couldn't wait to mold that power and make it her own. Still, that was in the future, she had a mission to do now. She got up from her bunk and flicked the race off, getting her speeder off the ship and ready. She leaned on it, waiting for any further communication from her probe droids. Her droid pinged some time later, following the third Jedi, who apparently had the queen, locating her ship, they were bringing parts to it. Siri tensed, she was on a timetable then. She had to get to the ship before it took off and...
The third Jedi was apparently heading back, away from the ship?
Siri frowned and resettled. They wouldn't abandon their Jedi here. She was relatively curious who it was, since it appeared Vos wasn't her target's guardian. She didn't waste time however scrolling back through her probe droids feed. Some time later, the droid pinged, the Jedi was returning to the queen's ship, with a boy in tow.
And Siri's eyes went wide. "Kriff!"
She leaped on her speeder and took off. Stupid, the Jedi would have had to have been blind not to detect Skywalker's presence. They were going to take him to the Temple! Forget Sidious, if the Jedi got the boy...
Well, she had to nip that in the bud. He was no longer a potential apprentice, just a future threat. Kill the boy first, then the Jedi, then capture the Queen.
She took off across the desert, homing in on the location her probe droid fed to her, and squinted, spotting two figures making for a silvery shape in the distance. She pitied the boy briefly, but she had to kill him. If the Jedi got him, he'd be a threat. If Sidious got him... well... she wouldn't wish his training on anyone. Siri would be tossed aside, and Skywalker would know hell unlike anything he had ever experienced, even as a slave.
It was better for him, to die now; if he knew what awaited him, he'd thank her for the mercy killing.
She aimed her speeder directly at him as she closed the distance, gunning the engine. Both the boy and the Jedi turned. Siri leaped off her speeder...
And cursed when Anakin dodged to the side. She rushed him, igniting one end of her lightsaber, and brought it down, only for a green one to intercept hers, a somewhat familiar voice yelling, "Go! Tell them to take off."
Siri growled under her breath as the boy broke away, and shifted her focus to the Jedi, pulling her lightsaber back and readying herself to...
Her eyes went wide, she knew this Jedi, and it was like a jolt through her system. "Qui-Gon Jinn?"
The man in question had readied himself, entering an Ataru opening stance, but paused, eyebrows furrowed. "That voice..."
He threw a hand forward suddenly, and in that moment of Siri's guard being down, did what Dooku had never managed to do in all their meetings thus far. Rather than using the Force to throw her back, he sent the energy at her hood, blowing it backwards and off her face... and then stared at her silently. It took only a moment for recognition to flare through his face, and something flashed through his eyes, shock and surprise, turning into regret and grief.
"Siri Tachi."
She lunged at him, furious that she had been revealed, Jinn had to die. He backpedaled and spun, catching her blow and redirecting it to the ground before countering. She pivoted, letting his saber crash down and eat sand. She swung at his shoulder, but he ducked down and threw an elbow forward, slamming into her and throwing her back. She ungracefully flopped to the ground, eyeing the Queen's ship briefly as it took off and started flying low towards them, ramp still down. Yeah no, she wasn't letting him jump on.
She rose to her feet as Jinn turned to go, he leaped... and she yanked him back down with the Force. She rushed at him as he landed on his back, raising her lightsaber high and bringing it down. He rolled away and jumped up, lightsaber brandished and ready. She rushed forward in a flurry, lightsaber swinging down at an angle. He deflected and countered, aiming for a shoulder, she backstepped and caught the blade, shoving it off and riposting, stabbing for his chest. He jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the stab...
"Master!" came a loud cry.
And Siri completely froze up for a moment, her eyes going wide, a shock ripped through her. T-hat voice...
She took a step back and glanced upward, at a young man in a Jedi tunic grabbing part of the ramp and leaning downward, hand extended. That red hair... those stormcloud gray-blue eyes... that... that was...
Then her sight was blocked as Qui-Gon leaped up and the young man caught him, pulling him up and into the ship. He took inventory of his master, and then his eyes flashed downward to Siri... and went wide with shock and surprise. He instantly recognized her, not even a moment of hesitation.
For the first time in close to a decade, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Siri Tachi locked eyes.
And then the ship's ramp closed and took off.
Siri stood there silently, watching it go, tasting the Force, the shock, the surprise...
The happiness...
Obi-Wan had felt happy to see her, then the confusion had been building, then they were to far away to get a read on.
Siri struggled with herself for a very long moment before she whispered his name softly, "Obi-Wan..."
Slowly, she pulled her hood back up and made her way for her crashed speeder, inspecting it for damage. She righted it, climbed aboard, and took off back to her own ship in complete silence, her mind a whirlwind of emotions she had thought she put behind her years ago...
Obi-Wan Kenobi stood on the closed ramp to the Queen's starship silently, his head still tilted downward at an angle towards where he had seen...
"Siri," he whispered softly.
Siri Tachi...
She was alive, Siri was alive! And how she had grown. Taller, more developed, her skin had paled a bit from what he had seen at that height. Her hair longer, and her blue eyes...
They had been cold, deathly cold, at least until their eyes met and then... there was something in them. Warring within. He'd have to have been Force deaf to not have felt that sudden burst of conflicting emotions rip from her. He registered, slowly, that she had been dressed in dark robes, that she had been trying to kill his master, and that he had felt the Dark Side so deeply from her...
Then his legs buckled.
Qui-Gon caught him. "Shh Obi-Wan, shh."
"That was Siri," he rasped out.
"I know padawan mine," said Qui-Gon softly, "I know."
"She's alive."
"I know," said Qui-Gon, sighing, "I think... that we've discovered who the 'Iris' Dooku has been hunting is."
Obi-Wan closed his eyes tightly, pained. If that was true... if Siri was Iris...
He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Very creative Siri, spelling your name backwards, Force, I should have recognized that."
Qui-Gon didn't comment.
Obi-Wan struggled to control his emotions. Siri was Iris, the young Jedi Padawan whose memory he had cherished and held onto had been turned into a cold blooded killer. Had killed civilians, killed Jedi... killed Garen. Oh Siri...
Grief threatened to overwhelm him. That's why Siri had sobbed over killing him, she had been forced to kill a friend...
"We left her to this," rasped Obi-Wan, opening his eyes, "We didn't investigate her supposed death, just assumed what we had felt was what happened, we left her to be turned... turned into this."
A new voice, young, timid, and afraid spoke up, "Y-you know who that was? W-why she tried to kill me?"
Obi-Wan turned, spotting the young sand-dusted boy he had briefly ran past earlier, and was horrified. "She tried to kill you?"
"She went for him first," said Qui-Gon softly, "Though I suspect she was here for the Queen.
Obi-Wan parted from Qui-Gon and leaned against the bulkhead, eyes closing again, struggling with himself. Siri was a childkiller now too?
"Who was she?" asked the boy.
"Anakin...," said Qui-Gon slowly, "That was... an old friend we thought had died years ago."
"Friend?" asked Anakin, incredulous.
Obi-Wan had a brief moment of being angry at the boy, but forced it under control. Anakin didn't know better.
"She was a former Jedi we thought had been killed on a mission years ago," said Qui-Gon.
"What...? She was a Jedi? But Jedi don't...," began Anakin.
Obi-Wan turned his head and opened his eyes, watching Qui-Gon move to kneel down in front of Anakin. "She fell to the Dark Side, Anakin."
"What does that mean?"
"It means she... went bad I suppose is how I'd say it," explained Qui-Gon, "She became fallen, a Dark Jedi, and when a Jedi goes dark, they are capable of truly terrible things."
"I didn't think Jedi could go bad," murmured Anakin before squinting, "You're upset about it, and he's really upset about it."
Qui-Gon smiled sadly. "This is my padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. He and Siri... knew eachother well. Her supposed death had grieved him, badly. In some ways, I imagine this is worse than her being dead."
Obi-Wan's lips thinned, but he didn't respond.
Anakin frowned, turning to Obi-Wan. "If you knew her, do you know why she would have went bad?"
Obi-Wan sighed softly, thinking back to that fateful mission. "We... knew she had fallen, before she supossedly died. I believe it was because her Jedi Master, Adi Gallia, had been murdered... oh Force Qui-Gon, we're going to have to tell the Council we lied."
Qui-Gon nodded, an air of resignation about him. "Yes, we will."
"You lied?" asked Anakin, confused.
"When a Jedi falls to the Dark Side," said Obi-Wan, "Their reputation is... destroyed really, dragged through the mud. I thought she was dead, I wanted her remembered fondly, not with disdain. So we lied, and only said she had died."
Anakin, surprisingly seemed to accept that. "Okay, that makes sense. I've lied to protect my friends before."
Obi-Wan let a wry smile cross his lips. "Don't let the Council hear you say that young one."
Anakin grinned sheepishly before it went away. "So she went bad because someone she cared about died... but how'd she end up like this then? It can't happen just like that, can it?"
Obi-Wan looked away, and Qui-Gon took pity on him. "One of our more esteemed Jedi Masters has been chasing a Dark Jedi for some time now, who went by the name of Iris. She had... tried to turn away from this life once, but the one helping her, a retired Jedi named Siolo Ur Manka, died, and she was dragged back into the dark. She had revealed to Ur Manka, and he to the Jedi, that she had been abducted, tortured, and bent to the will of a Dark Master."
Something flickered across Anakin's face. "She's a slave?"
Qui-Gon paused to consider it. "In a manner of speaking, I suppose that would be true. A slave to her Master, and a slave to the Dark Side."
Obi-Wan was... slightly perplexed, to see Anakin's remaining fear, confusion, and anxiety bleed away into an air of perfect understanding about him. "Masters make their slaves do awful things."
Qui-Gon studied him for a moment. "The Dark Side is still a choice Anakin, and choices have consequences. Come, I think we should get you situated, and my Padawan should meditate and get himself under control before we reach Coruscant."
Obi-Wan smiled a little at the reprimand, his emotions were bleeding all over the place after all. "Of course Master."
Anakin's eyes flickered uneasily. "Master?"
"For the Jedi, A master is a rank, a teacher..." explained Qui-Gon as he led the boy out of the room.
Obi-Wan slowly made his way towards his assigned quarters, and settled into a meditative position on the floor. He let out a shaky breath, and replayed that brief moment in his mind again. Seeing Siri for the first time in close to a decade, feeling all those emotions from her...
The conflict.
He wondered, if he could finish what Master Ur Manka had began. If she was truly lost, she wouldn't have felt anything towards him, and wasn't that surprising to feel that she still did. Positively giddy that it had survived through the darkness she had lived through. But... she was more lost now than she had been back then, far more lost. He didn't know if he could pull her from the Dark Side, and even if he could, Qui-Gon was right...
Choices had consequences, even if her mysterious Dark Master had forced it upon her; There would be a reckoning for Siri, one way or another...
That was a problem for later though. They had a few days till Coruscant, then they had to meet with the Council. Then there was still the mission, they had to protect the Queen, and chances were that Siri would still be after her. Before Siri could be helped, if she could at all, they had to capture her first...
Chapter 21: Dark Revelations
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"You've returned."
Siri swallowed down her fear and knelt on the ground in the middle of the Coruscant Compound's meditation chamber. "Yes, Master."
"You failed in your missions," said Sidious slowly, dangerously, "I watched the Queen and her escort land earlier today."
She can already feel him drawing on the Dark Side, see the beginnings of sparks in his hands. "It's a bit difficult to complete a mission when there's double the Jedi you expect to encounter!"
Sidious paused. "Explain."
Siri carefully, so carefully, danced around her failure and slip ups, pulling out her datapad of her probe droid readouts and handing them to Sidious. "There were three Jedi there, Quinlan Vos, Aayla Secura, and Qui-Gon Jinn. Where Jinn goes, Kenobi follows, so a fourth one at an unknown location."
She had stupidly not even looked at the third Jedi's identity from the readout, but like hell was she going to admit that to Sidious. "I did not know if the pairs of Jedi were working together, or apart, or who had the queen, or where the ship was. I am confidant of my skill, but taking four Jedi at once is foolish, especially if it were to scare off the queen into hiding or offplanet. I bid my time until the Probe droids narrowed it down and then immediately took off after Jinn. We fought, but he escaped, leaping onto the ships ramp as it took off."
Sidious stared at her silently, molten eyes narrowing. "You are hiding something, apprentice."
She tensed a bit, she could not, would not, say it was her hesitation that let Qui-Gon get away, so she went without something else that, while it would anger him, wouldn't be the same, "The Jedi... know my identity now."
Sidious frowned briefly before folding his hands back into his robes. "I've anticipated the possibility ever since we began leading Dooku around by his nose. It is of no true consequence."
Sidious slowly began to circle her. "You are fortunate I believe this situation is still salvageable. I have come up with another use of the Queen, and I doubt this will be your only confrontation with Master Jinn and his padawan. We will wait until they make their next move, and when they do, you are to kill them both with a priority over the Queen. Jinn must die as the final push to spurn Dooku from the Jedi Order..."
He stopped in front of her. "And Kenobi is to be your Sacrifice."
Siri locked down her emotions tightly. "I understand, my Master."
"Pray you do my blue-eyed apprentice," said Sidious thinly, "I am growing far to disgusted that you still bear those eyes eight years into your apprenticeship."
Sidious shifted focus, an irritated scowl on his face. "For the time being, I have use of you until your primary targets leave the sanctuary of the Temple and the Senate. One of my assets is being... difficult. I want you to go and remind him of his place."
"Who and where?" she asked.
"I have a laboratory and mechanical workshop secreted deep in the lower levels," said Sidious, "My chief engineer, Talesan Fry, is being rather stubborn at the moment."
Siri blanked for a moment, that name... "Tally?"
Sidious slowly smiled. "That's right, I acquired both of your services on that same mission, didn't I? I have a project I wish him to complete, but he has been dragging his feet. Perhaps you can remind your 'old friend' the price of defying me. I'll send you the coordinates, I expect him to be compliant by the time you leave."
Siri left in a minor stupor. Talesan Fry... was a name she hadn't heard or thought of since she had been abducted and forced into her own Sith Apprenticeship. Never even spared him a second thought. She was rather surprised to hear he was still alive after all this time, and apparently Sidious's 'chief engineer', though it sounded it was a reluctant position. She recalled, vaguely, that he had been a child genius. Sidious, she supposed, would have cultivated and enslaved that kind of potential tool, bending it to his will.
She can't help but wonder just what kind of project Sidious has him working on, she supposed she'd see soon enough...
"...and it was on my way back to the Queen's ship," said Qui-Gon Jinn, "That I was ambushed."
If Obi-Wan were in a better mood, he might have been entertained by the collective headache the Council seemed to get after Qui-Gon detailed betting their entire chance to get offplanet on a podrace. He really wasn't, especially with what came next.
"Ambushed, you say?" inquired Yoda.
"The Hutts, or the Trade Federation?" inquired Master Windu.
Qui-Gon took a breath in, and slowly let it out. "Neither. It was Iris, though I assume she was after the Queen.."
The Council's attention was instant, and sharp; Ki-Adi-Mundi leaned forward. "The Dark Jedi is involved in the blockade?"
"It would appear so," said Qui-Gon, folding his hands into his robes, "During my battle with the fallen padawan, I managed to dislodge her hood, and identify her."
"Hmph, jealous, Dooku will be," said Yoda with false lightness, staring at Qui-Gon, "Know Iris, did you, when Jedi she was?"
Qui-Gon closed his eyes and sighed softly. "Yes, but... my padawan knew her better."
Obi-Wan stepped forward. "Iris is Siri Tachi."
The ripple of shock, surprise, and disbelief from the council is frankly surprising to Obi-Wan.
"Master Gallia's padawan?" exclaimed Even Piell, "Surely you are mistaken."
Other masters clamored agreement, but Obi-Wan merely shook his head.
"No, it was her," said Obi-Wan softly, "I saw her face, as did my Master."
"This would have broken Adi's heart were she still alive," mused Plo Koon with an air of sad resignation.
Yoda's ears were flickering in rapid motions, eyes narrowed at Obi-Wan, and then Qui-Gon. "Something more to say on this, feel that I do."
Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "Yes. We were not... entirely truthful, on that mission report eight years ago."
Mace Windu's reaction was instant and hard. "You lied to the Council? Did you know she lived?"
"No, not on that," said Obi-Wan, "Its... I asked my master to lie, out of respect for Siri. We had felt her fall to the Dark Side after her Master had been killed, shortly before we thought she was killed. I didn't want her name and reputation spited and ruined when she had already suffered and supposedly died."
Windu's scowl didn't budge. "Yet had you, that might have stuck out in our searches of potential padawans that 'Iris' could have been."
"I know," said Obi-Wan, with regret, "Believe me, I've thought of every failing that occurred in and from that mission and our choices after it ever since I saw Siri."
"Mmm," sounded out Master Yaddle, "With this information, what would the Council have done, hmm? Iris or Padawan Tachi, her identity, change the circumstances does not."
Obi-Wan would have gotten involved. Even if he had to leave the Order to chase her down and bring her back, he would have. He doesn't say this outloud, though, judging by the quick look Qui-Gon sent him, he felt the general gist of it. It's nothing Qui-Gon hadn't done himself, when going after Tahl's killer. If Obi-Wan was being honest, Qui-Gon probably would have helped him go after her.
"It does change something though," said Obi-Wan, "Siri is... conflicted, I felt it."
"Conflicted, you say?" said Yoda with interest.
"Not conflicted enough," said Saesee Tinn firmly, "When we have her suspected in the murder of many a Jedi, civilian, and Service Corp member."
There is a flash of pain through Obi-Wan's heart at that, he does his best to keep his expression schooled. "The way of the Jedi is compassion and understanding. She was tortured into this way of life. If we can capture her, and keep her away from her dark master, from his influence and control, I believe we can pull her free."
Master Windu didn't seem impressed with the notion. "There was a chance for her years ago to do this. Perhaps then something could have been done for her, and saw her walk away into a better life. Now? In as deep of a darkness as she has fallen into? Even IF she could turn away from it, which no one has successfully done when they have fallen so far, she is complicit in enough murders to warrant the death penalty many times over in the Republic."
"Force Sensitives fall under the jurisdiction of the Jedi Order," pointed out Obi-Wan, earning a deeper scowl from Master Windu.
"Are your thoughts on this matter clear, Padawan Kenobi?" asked Master Piell, "I feel an unusual amount of desire to safeguard the fallen padawan and help her."
"Is it not the way of the Jedi to help those in need?" inquired Obi-Wan, falling into his master's pose, earning an air of amusement and pride down the bond from him, "And she needs our help. She is lost, so very lost, she needs our help finding her way back."
"Hrmph," said Yoda, pointing his stick at Obi-Wan, "Fool me, you do not."
Obi-Wan didn't reply.
Yoda chewed on his stick for a moment as the Council waited for him to speak, "Believe you do, that save Padawan Tachi, you can?"
"I do," said Obi-Wan, thinking of that whirlwind of emotions from her, that speck of light, and perhaps, even love. He wants to say, that he thinks he might be the last one who can help her back. But he doubts the Council would react well to an open admission of attachment, especially after eight years of her being assumed dead, and discovered to be a darksider.
Yoda closed his eyes, reaching out into the Force, asking it for guidance. Not that Obi-Wan himself hadn't done so during his meditations, but the Force as a whole had been murky for a long time now, and the best he could truly do at the moment was follow his gut, and his heart. So he watched Yoda, and he hoped, he prayed, that the Grandmaster would allow the attempt.
Finally, Yoda opened his eyes, troubled. "Hmm... feel I do that succeed you may..."
Obi-Wan felt relief...
"Yet feel I do, that fail, you may as well," said Yoda, "And if fail you do, far worse will things become."
Obi-Wan frowned. "Worse?"
"Understand it, I do not," admitted Yoda, "But if kill you, she does, dire will things become, adamant the Force is on this."
Obi-Wan is not the only one who looked a bit confused on that statement. Why would her killing him over any other Jedi or person she's killed matter that much? He has the sensation that there is more going on than he is aware of. It leaves him distinctly uncomfortable to be walking into this particular confrontation without all the necessary facts.
"Perhaps if more Jedi are sent...," began Plo Koon.
Ki-Adi-Mundi shook his head. "If more are sent into this matter than the two of them, I doubt she will return to confront them."
MAster Windu still looked rather irritated by the whole thing, but turned his head towards Qui-Gon. "Do you believe the two of you could subdue her and return her to the temple? She is known to be dangerous, ruthless."
"I am confident of our skills," said Qui-Gon firmly, "Though, if Master Dooku could be contacted to give any details he noted about her preferred style and abilities, it would be appreciated. I didn't particularly note any favored form during our brief confrontation."
"Mmm, silent Master Dooku has run, last few months," said Master Yoda, "Tracking her movements, through the underworld he has been. Contact him we cannot until contact us, he does."
Yoda sighed and then stared hard at the pair. "Agree with you the Council does," typical of him really to speak for the entire council, especially when Master Windu especially does not agree, but Obi-Wan isn't complaining, "A chance, you will be given, to bring our fallen Padawan home. The last chance, will this be."
Obi-Wan bowed to the Council. "It will be done."
Obi-Wan is more than aware he's getting of lightly for lying to the Council, that Yaddle and Yoda words and actions have silenced the matter for the time being. He supposes really, they are waiting and seeing what comes of this attempt. Obi-Wan is more than ready to make himself scarce and await Queen Amidala's next move, turning to go...
"Master Qui-Gon, more to say have you?"
Qui-Gon smiled a little before shifting into a neutral stance. "With your permission my master, I have encountered a vergence in the Force."
Oh, right, over twenty thousand midichlorians in the boy. Obi-Wan had forgotten about that in the middle of discovering Siri to be alive. Well, judging by how Qui-Gon was already steeling himself, Obi-Wan thought he better brace himself to be here for awhile...
Looks can be deceiving.
Its a thing Siri already knew well, yet somehow, a non-descript little warehouse with an elevator going below the surface of the area leading into a sprawling underground facility was... a bit surprising to her. Most of the guards don't even pay attention to her, they take one look at her robes and get out of her way. She's fine with that. She can practically smell Sidious's presence about them, the Dark Side coiling around their minds, dominating and bending them to his will. Its a skill she still needs to practice more of.
There are multiple sections of the building: A science department. A research department. An engineering department, ect... every little thing Sidious can get his grubby fingers into. She heads for engineering, and raises an eyebrow when she enters.
"Yeah yeah yeah, I know it's your baby Raith, I don't particularly care, they tasked me with figuring out how to make it a reality, so you can keep yer trap shut."
Even with the age, now eighteen instead of ten, Siri can still see much of Tally in the young man he's become. Shortly trimmed red hair, a bit deeper than Obi-Wan's, with vivid green eyes. His face describes his interaction with most people: bored of them. He was in a black buttoned coat and pants with gloves on, spectacles resting firmly on his nose. His eyes are narrowed, glaring at a hologram of a middle aged man Siri doesn't recognize.
"Perhaps if you listened," countered the man in question, "You wouldn't be so far behind on your due date. Our benefactors wanted the rough draft of the schematics done a year ago."
"Well, if they have a problem with my genius, they can take it up with me," said Tally, thumbing his chest, "It takes time for these things."
Siri cleared her throat, making Tally turned towards her, as did the hologram. "Well, I think they just did. I bid you good day, perhaps we can discuss my theories of where the project is struggling another time."
It winked out, and Tally scrutinized her for a moment. "Well yer a new one."
Siri put a hand on her hip and pouted. "What, don't recognize me Tally?"
He froze for a moment. "How do you know that nickname?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Well, I guess I'll have to reintroduce myself. I'm Siri Tachi."
That got a jolt out of him. "Wait-what? Aint that... I remember you, aint you a Jedi?"
"Was," was all Siri answered to that, walking over to squint over a large drawn diagram on a white board. "What is all this mush?"
"This 'mush'," said Tally with distaste, "Is the 'Expeditionary Battle Planetoid' platform, or well, my version of it. Raith's baby, my new and improved design."
"And Raith is...?" posed Siri.
"Raith Sienar," answered Tally.
She'd have to look up who that was later if she had a chance. "Right, well, whats the purpose of this 'platform'? Space battle?"
Tally scoffed. "That's what Raith thinks it'll be for. But he's a stupid git. Sidious wants him kept in the dark on that front, since Raith is a public face in the engineering world. It's got some massive hypermatter tech issues at the moment, nothing I can't figure out since Sidious kinda crammed this crap down my throat."
"Crammed it?"
Tally's face turned dark. "Learn this shit or die was basically his motto. Raith taught me some of this garbage, and I was tested monthly early on, punished if I was found lacking."
"Yeah, that sounds about right," mused Siri before refocusing, "If this is something you could figure out, why don't you?"
Tally thumbed the designs. "Why don't you tell me?"
She stared at the schematics, eyes washing over it. The general shape was circular, its pieces drawn out. A lot of the mathematical equations went over her head, way over. Some with terms attached to them however, like 'projected power output' were more easily understood. "What the kriff does Sidious need something with that much power for? That's absolutely ridiculous. I swear you could probably…"
"Blow up a planet with it?" said Tally snidely, "Because you can. That's the point. He wants me to make him a planetkiller."
Siri just stood there for a moment, in air of disbelief around her, before scowling. "That's stupid. Why the hell would you need to blow up an entire planet? That's a ridiculous waste of resources."
"And life," said Tally, eyes narrowed at her.
Siri slowly shook her head, staring at her old acquaintance. "What a waste Tally, you have such potential use, and he wastes it by having you work on a planetkiller. I could use you so much better."
Tally has gone very still, looking a bit skittish as his eyes flicker, focusing on her clothes. "So... I'm going to just get this out of the way and say: You're dressed like he is."
Siri smiled a mirthless smile. "He conscripted us both Tally, and neither of us particularly got a choice."
Tally went silent, and Siri returned to looking at the diagram. "Kyber crystals, huh. Where would he even get that many?"
"Jedha, Illumn, Mygetto, other places," murmured Tally.
Siri frowned thoughtfully, and then it really hits her. "Oh. He can make this. He will make this. He's going to waste all those resources…"
Tally crossed his arms. "If I wasn't purposefully going slowly, the schematics would be finished by now, and he'd be working on construction. I don't know where he plans to get all of the materials without drawing attention, I figured he'd do it slow like. So, ten, fifteen years tops before it's ready if I get him the plans within the year."
Siri swallows, thinking of the repercussions of this. That kind of power is enticing, but its absolute madness. You can't take back blowing up planet. This destroys an empire, it doesn't help make it. Rebellions would crop up to fight this, hell, portions of an empire would probably defect or mutiny in protest. This would kill billions, potentially trillions of lives both outright and via denying bloodlines, so many potential future resources wasted. Not just people, but a planet itself as well. Perhaps multiple planets.
She sees this superweapon, and all she sees is a future threat to her empire.
Of course, she can't just destroy these plans or this facility (who knows what else Sidious is creating in here), Sidious would have her head. Time to take a page out of his book and be… subtle, perhaps put on a nice act for the camera incase that old bastard is watching or goes back to look later. "I suppose it's out of our hands, you'll do as you're ordered, as will I."
Tally gave a start. "You can't be serious! C'mon, you were a Jedi, weren't you? You can't..."
She reaches out and grabs the back of his head, squeezing tightly, and smashes his face into a desk, she speaks aloud, and then she projects directly into his head. "I am deadly serious."
'There are cameras watching, do you understand?'
Tally turns his head to look at her, blood going down his nose, but nods.
"You will continue work on this project, or the next time I come here, your punishment will be far worse than a light scolding."
'Finish the design, but sabotage it, I don't care what you do or how you do it, but sabotage this abomination.'
"Are we clear?"
Tally nods again, and Siri smiles, releasing him. "I'm glad we have an understanding. It was nice seeing you again Tally, perhaps we'll have a chance to talk again later. Maybe when this is said and done, I can take you someplace nice as a reward."
She gave him a fake-sly smile and slipped out: It was a promise that she'd use him better than Sidious would, when she had her empire. Honestly, a kriffing planetkiller. The Ancient Sith had their superweapons, so why wouldn't Sidious go for his own? It made sense, but it was stupid. Especially since that kind of weapon could also be used against Sidious. If she had control of such a weapon, she'd be sorely tempted to blow up a planet just to kill Sidious. She sighed and shook her head, leaving the warehouse, it was night now. Best to return to the compound and wait to see if the Queen had made her move yet...
"So," a deep, dark, and rasping voice sounded out, "He let you into the facility. I did not give him permission to do so."
Siri tensed, a dire shriek of danger from the Force ripping through her. She turned to see a darkly robed figure slowly approaching, seeming to appear out of the shadows themselves. She couldn't get a read of him in the Force. She had a brief moment to see an elongated face, that of a muun's if she saw correctly...
Then she saw the molten, burning eyes blazing out from under the hood, and every sense of warning she had screamed that she was prey before a predator. "Who are you?"
The Muun studied her silently for a moment. "Sidious is playing a dangerous game. I am not blind. You are no mere tool, and I do not recall giving him permission to train an actual apprentice."
Siri reaches for her lightsaber...
The muun held out a hand, and Siri was tossed back and flattened against a nearby wall with laughable ease with the Force. "As for your question: I am Plaguies."
He smiled with complete and utter malice. "Darth Plaguies."
Notes:
So yeah, throwback to the premise and the other consequence of this story with Sidious getting a boy genius under his thumb to mold as he wishes: Death Star might be built a bit earlier this time around. Either end of clone wars or shortly after.
Also, Sith confrontation incoming.
Oh-shit.
Chapter 22: The Rule of Two
Summary:
Only two there are, no more, no less.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Darth Plaguies.
Pinned to the wall by the crushing power of a Dark Lord of the Sith, all Siri can do is laugh at it all. "You're... you're Sidious's master, aren't you? He took an apprentice before he killed his master."
"I am," said Plaguies, studying her reaction, "And he did. This amuses you?"
"Not in a good way, I assure you," she drawled.
Inwardly, Siri is about ready to freak out worse than she ever has before. The Force is screaming at her that she is going to die without a miracle. She'd come to far, and done to much, to die now. There is literally only one thing she can do, and for once, she prayed Sidious actually felt possessive enough of her to challenge his master. She blockades her mind as heavily as she can, and reaches out down the bond to her master for what is perhaps the only time she has ever willingly done so. She comes up against his iron shields and slams into them. She can feel his annoyance, and him attempting to brush her away. She doesn't stop, she slams into his shields again and again until he finally allows her an audience.
"What is it Apprentice?" snarled Sidious down the bond.
"DARTH PLAGUEIS!" she all but screams, "Is about to kill me because you didn't bother killing him before you took me on!"
There is a moment of silence before a hiss of rage echoes down the bond. "He dares take what is mine?!"
Siri's eyes flickered to the elder Sith, taking his time in slowly approaching. "Yeah, he's about to."
"Stall," ordered Sidious before cutting the connection.
"So, was Sidious always this much of an ass?" she drawled, "Because he's been a prick my entire apprenticeship, and this really isn't as surprising as it should be."
Plagueis gives her a look of bemusement. "Are you always so insolent?"
"Yeah, kinda," she answers, "I think its one of my better traits."
Plagueis scoffed. "Sidious could have at least enforced more discipline and respect in his would-be apprentice."
Plagueis finished closing the distance and narrowed his eyes at her. "I am curious, why he would defy me like this, for an insignificant specimen such as you."
"What can I say?" she said with a lazy smile, "I'm charming."
Plagueis backhanded her. "Mind yourself, I am not so indulging as your Master."
Siri wrinkled her nose, feeling blood trickle out of it. "I'm not sure indulgent is a word I'd use to describe Sidious. Zannah maybe, but not Sidious."
Plagueis frowned intently. "That was the Holocron he gave you? He complains about sharing power, and then he gives you that Holocron? I expected him to grant you the Holocron of a lesser lord, not a true Dark Lord of the Sith."
"Well, he's kind of sexist," admitted Siri, "I have the feeling he wasn't expecting much."
Plagueis scoffed. "Underestimating one half of the galaxy may be his undoing one day. I taught him better than this. I taught him everything he knows, and this treachery is how he repays me?"
Siri raised both incredulous eyebrows. "Treachery is the way of the Sith."
"Treachery, and the Rule of Two," spat Plagueis, "Is archaic. Barbaric, and to be thrown away."
Siri just stared at him. Is he for real?
"We were to rule the galaxy together," ranted Plagueis, "To share in all knowledge and power, destroy the Jedi, and bring about an eternal Sith Empire."
"Do you even know your apprentice?" she asked incredulously.
"Decades more than you," he answered.
"Then you're not paying attention, or you're willfully blind," spat Siri, "If there is one thing I know and understand about Sidious, it is that he does not SHARE power. He was never going to rule by your side. The moment he sees his chance, he'd betray and kill you."
Plagueis... doesn't immediately respond, a dark scowl on his face. Instead he raised a hand at her and...
She was screaming. Her insides felt like they were on fire, being poked and prodded and tugged and yanked around.
"A slightly above average specimen," mused Plagueis, "Your midichlorian count isn't that impressive, so that's not what he sees in you."
"What...," she rasps, "Are you doing?!"
"Midichlorian Manipulation," explained Plagueis, "The ability to control, alter, and, obviously, manipulate, life itself."
"Sidious," she rasped, a tremor in her voice, "Didn't happen to mention that was something one could do with the Force."
"Didn't he?" mused Plagueis mockingly, "As you said, you apparently know him better than I do. Did you expect him to, share, this knowledge?"
"Oh, I like you," drawled Siri, trying to withhold another scream, "Sass is good in a Sith Lord."
He raised his hand higher, and the burning in her body lessened...
...only for him to rip through her mental shields like they were butter, earning a screech of agony from Siri as he plowed into her mind, brushing aside her defenses like they weren't even there, her traps and illusions dismantled or scattered with childish ease. "Now, lets see if I cannot find understanding in Sidious's madness. Why would he risk our plans, upset our balance, over you?"
"Are... are you jealous?" she panted.
"Hardly," said Plagueis, starting to pick through her memories, "Disgruntled would be the worst I'd describe my state. Perplexed. Academically, this choice makes no sense."
Unlike the last time she had a Sith Lord go through her mind (Bane had hinted at Plagueis now that she thought about it, hadn't he?) Plagueis made no pretense at being even slightly gentle. Siri didn't even think about trying to eject him from her mind, focusing in try to not let herself fall apart and keep her mind intact. Damage control, and if she was still alive later on, meditate and repair. Plagueis was methodical in his search, he went for the older memories first, trying to see what had drawn Sidious's interest in her.
She could feel his distaste at her time in the Jedi Order, and he discarded those memories carelessly. Siri couldn't help the tears of agony running down her face, as he shredded through her early life. It would take a long time to fix this... if she even could... so she instead focused on holding onto what memories that still, even as dark as she had become, were treasured. Obi-Wan, Master Gallia, Bant, Vos, Garen... her former friends in the Order... she let him rip through everything else. Finally, he came to her fall, and he studied it, examining the memory from every angle, and to her surprise, he re-ignited it.
The memory would forever be burned into her mind, but, memories withered with age, lost some of their focus. In an instant, that degradation was gone, it was like she had fallen yesterday, he restored the memory to pristine condition, and then took another look at it. She hissed, the rise of that old fury and hate of her fall bubbling to the surface with renewed vigor. She snarled, both aloud and in her mind, focusing that hate, grabbing Plagueis, and brute force shoving him from her mind.
The Elder Sith blinked once, his only indication of surprise that she had managed to beat him back, and then he went back in, crushing her fight and continuing his research. "Hmm... your fall preludes some potential, I can agree with this. Had both you and Sidious been the same age and experience when I found you, perhaps I would have entertained pitting you against one another to see who was worthy. I doubt you would have won though."
"Thanks... for the vote of confidence," she hissed.
He began to sift more carefully through her memories now, focusing on what Sidious taught her, how she learned, what he had her do. "Did he learn nothing from how I taught him? He desires you as his apprentice, yet hardly gives you enough to function as one. He makes no sense."
"Like I said... doesn't share," she rasped.
His hand was suddenly on her throat when he found her time with Siolo Ur Manka. "You almost returned?"
He squeezed tightly. "He should have eliminated you then and there. He did not punish you nearly enough, so allow me in his stead."
Siri's world turned red and she howled as her insides burned and...
Her pain shifted as a familiar shock of Force Lightning washed over her. Plagueis dropped her to the ground as he shifted to shield himself, raising a hand to catch and negate the energy. "Sidious."
Siri blearily raised her head, blinking to try to get rid of the blurring, sighting her Master's dark form approaching, trembling in pure rage. "You should not have touched what is mine, Plagueis."
"Is this a game to you, Sidious?" snarled Plagueis.
"Yes, yes it is," said Sidious with a hunger that could not be misplaced, for his Master's death, "A game you lost the very day you chose to train me to rule by your side, or rather, under your thumb. You were my teacher, yes, and for that I may be grateful, but my Master? Never."
Siri let out a small, weak chuckle. "T-told you."
Sidious scowled down at her. "Get up apprentice, you look pathetic."
"C-cant...," she rasped, "He kinda ripped... through my shields... and my body."
Force, she could hardly feel any part of herself at the moment.
He gripped her with the Force and tossed her backwards away from the confrontation. She landed hard against a wall and winced.
"I will be most displeased," said Sidious dangerously, "If you wasted the last eight years of my time by permanently marring my apprentice."
Nice to know he cared. Pah...
"I am far more displeased," countered Plagueis, "That you wasted your entire apprenticeship, every grain of knowledge and gift of power I gave to you, with every intention of betraying me. We could have ruled forever, instead, you will die, and be forgotten as nothing."
There was something savage on Sidious's face. "Funny, I was about to say something similar to you."
Lightning exploded from Sidious's hands; Plagueis raised a hand and ripped a piece of the street up to block it, throwing it at Sidious who leaped over it. Siri watched, wondering if she had gone loony, as they ripped apart the street and lobbed pieces at eachother, levitating them and leaping from one piece to another as they launched lightning, gusts of dark energy, and threw eachother with the Force. They weren't even fighting on the street anymore. The Force itself was a tidal wave of back and forth through the air, it took her a moment to realize, in her damaged state, that the two Sith Lords were containing their battle all the while trying to kill eachother. They were yanking back the ripples and distortions such a battle would have cause; which would have brought the entire Jedi Temple down on their heads sooner rather than later.
Siri winced as a shockwave of energy rippled through the area, staring up at a blindingly bright spot. Sidious was channeling his lightning at Plagueis with an intensity Siri had never seen before. Plagueis, held out his hands and negated the attack, catching it in a swirling bright and intense maelstrom that was causing the entire area to shake. Then...
Siri screamed as the energy exploded, drenching the entire area with lightning. Sidious and Plagueis were thrown from one another, and all the levitating parts of the street crashed down. She blinked a few times, the hair on the back of her neck standing straight up. They were even, dead even, or close enough that the difference was negligible. She took a ragged breath, and tried to sit up, her entire body screaming at her. She could not just lay around while they were fighting, she'd get killed in the crossfire.
She shakily dragged herself to hide behind a piece of debris, leaning against it as the two Sith stared one another with molten intensity. She closed her eyes tightly, focusing inward on her mind. It hurt... it hurt so bad to even touch. She had to struggle to not black out as she began to push and prod in her head. Kriff it, she didn't have time for this, it was a do or die situation. She carefully draped the Force over every agonized and disjointed memory before, with band-aid-ripping momentum, gathered them together, closed them off and shunted them away to deal with another time. She was gasping for breath and clutching her shaking head, a mixture of black and red in her vision as she struggled to bring her mental shields back up.
Snap-Hiss
She glanced around the debris, sighting Plagueis igniting a lightsaber, and Sidious pulling two from his sleeves. That cheeky bastard, he never let on that he know Jar'Kai...
"So uncivilized," mused Plagueis.
"Would you prefer one of us to lose control and alert the Jedi?" inquired Sidious with a mocking undertone.
Plagueis's response was to leap, spinning through the air, an inhuman howl escaping his lips-and then Siri lost complete track of them as they moved. Her jaw dropped. She had never seen any Jedi move like this, so fast they were a blur of red lightsabers and black cloaks. She couldn't get a read of what style they preferred, if they had any at all, what little she could read of the fight showed a mixture of every style.
"Kriff," was all she could mutter, "I have a long way to go."
A very long way to go... a true Dark Lord of the Sith was so unimaginably powerful... and they were keeping themselves in check here as to not tip off the Jedi. Even they couldn't take on the entire Temple, insanely powerful as they were. Kriff... just... kriff... she had no idea Sidious was this powerful, this skilled, it went beyond anything she had ever seen before. Forget a decade or two, she'd probably have to be fifty, sixty, before she had a real chance to beat Sidious. Hell, old as Sidious appeared to be, he might die of old age before she became strong and skilled enough to challenge him.
She ground her teeth in jealous rage. She wanted this power... she craved this power...
Sidious leaped over head, swinging down with one saber. Plaguies batted it aside and stepped backward. Sidious spun as he landed, his lightsabers digging into the street and leaving twin molten circles around him before coming up and slashing at Plaguies, who blocked both with his own. They pushed against one another, the air around them cackling with energy, the street shaking with the pressure through the Force. She watched a piece of the street levitate behind Sidious before surging at him. The apprentice broke bladelock and flipped away, Plagueis aimed a hand and released lightning of his own, Sidious turned midair and caught the Force attack with a lightsaber, landing and then thrusting out both his hands, shoving Plagueis back with the Force.
Plagueis thrust a hand forward, and Sidious cringed, dropping a lightsaber and clutching his chest. Siri could feel Plagueis trying to break through Sidious's defenses and assault him through the Force. Sidious gave a roar and unleashed lightning at Plagueis again, forcing him to drop his attack and move. Siri narrowed her eyes, studying the back and forth, feeling their emotions rising, hatred and anger boiling higher and higher. Lethalness turned into absolute viciousness, lightsaber strokes filled with rage, sparking against one another or tearing through walls, debris, and objects that they threw at one another. Their Force attacks grew less controlled, more wild and powerful, climbing in intensity.
Tremors were starting to press against their range of control, they wouldn't be able to contain it much longer. Two Lords of the Sith clashing wasn't a battle meant for anything to be held back in...
She considered her options. She could just leave, let them kill eachother or draw the Jedi in and have them overwhelmed (though the Sith might just flee if it came down to that). But... she'd potentially lose access to either Dark Lord of the Sith's tutelage. She could interfere, though there was a very high chance she would get killed doing so. If she did try though... which way did she tip the battle?
On one hand there was Darth Plagueis. His ideology of the Sith was... interesting, and perhaps more along her liking. Not being held underfoot, power and rule being shared (if he was being truthful/if he would even offer her that). However, he made his distaste for her clear; even if she helped to kill Sidious and then pledged herself to him, he might kill her anyway. There was also the fact that she knew next to nothing about Plagueis, he was an unknown factor.
On the other hand was Darth Sidious. She hated his guts, he pretty much ruined her life. He was cruel and savage, if but possessively fond of her depending on his mood. He withheld so much from her, and practically made her steal scraps from a dinner table for any piece of knowledge he possessed. She wanted to kill him with everything that she was, and everything that she would be. She understood him to a degree, how he operated, what would elect what kind of response or punishment from him. Perhaps most importantly for this situation however, it was a guarantee that unless she betrayed him, he would keep her alive as his apprentice. She also wasn't sure stabbing him in the back mid-duel would be satisfying enough for her, she had dreams and cravings of how she wanted him to suffer. Though, it might be more practical to do it this way, she might never get such a chance again to make sure Sidious died...
She closed her eyes and reached out to the Force, half-begging, half-demanding, that it give her any hint. She hissed in pain at the backlash she received. It was in pure and utter chaos, the future in such terrible, inescapable motion. The Force didn't seem to even be able to give her a proper vision, images pressed into her mind that changed between Plaguies and Sidious so fast that she couldn't tell who was doing what. The message was however clear: Whoever won here would determine the fate of the Sith, herself, and the galaxy.
She was buffeted by a pressure of energy, her hood and hair flying back as lightning ripped through the air. She refocused on the fight in time to see Plagueis block the Force attack and...
She ogled what she was seeing. She couldn't tell if Plagueis's grip on his blade was slipping/being forced back, or if Sidious was literally bending his opponent's lightsaber with his lightning! Lightning refracted off the lightsaber, sparking along the street and igniting anything flammable in the area. Siri had to duck as it arced overhead, near singing her hair. She looked back up and saw a familiar bubble of energy surrounding the lightsaber and braced herself for another explosion of energy.
This time there was no containment.
An explosion ripped through the area, sending the two Sith flying from one another, debris blown from the epicenter, lightning surging in waves through the area, taking Siri to the ground crying out in agony. The Dark Side ripped and howled unrestrained from the Sith, and Siri felt the collective surprise, shock, and alarm from the Jedi Temple off in the distance. The countdown had begun until the Jedi swarmed the area, and neither Sith showed signs of caring. They rushed at one another in snarls and growls of fury, lightsabers clashing in one brutal smash after another, the Dark Side buffeting the area again and again.
Siri swallowed and then closed her eyes, struggling to come to a decision. It was do or die, she had to act. Either choose a Sith, or run...
So she made her choice, and the next time the two Sith clashed and locked lightsabers, pressing against one another's strength, she vaulted over the debris she was hiding behind and sprinted towards the fight. Little old Siri, just a mere Sith Apprentice, an insignificant spec compared to the Sith Lords fighting, whom neither was paying attention to. Who neither sensed with the massive roil of the Dark Side bombarding the area, she ignited her lightsaber...
And drove it through Darth Plagueis's unsuspecting back.
Over his shoulder, there was a look of pure surprise and disbelief on Sidious's face as both he and his master stared down at the red blade going through the muun's chest...
And then Darth Plagueis exploded in a baying howl of the Dark Side.
Siri yelped and Sidous grunted as they were thrown back in an explosion of Dark Side energy, several nearby buildings toppling at the force of it. Siri landed in a heap and groaned, her senses and motor control completely fried by the Dark Side bombardment. She laid there in a daze, staring up at nothing, until Sidious loomed overhead, staring down at her silently.
She gave him a lazy, bleary smile. "So... since I killed him, does that make me the Master now?"
Sidious scowled at her, reaching down and plucking her off the ground, throwing her over his shoulder. "I ought to be furious you interfered."
"Love you too, Sidious."
"Insolent brat," muttered Sidious, taking off in a run.
"I did choose you over him," she pointed out.
"And that loyalty is the only reason you aren't dead right now," said Sidious thinly, "Is your comlink still functional?"
She struggled to even move her hand, reaching for her belt and bringing it out and studying it. "Yeah..."
"Give it to me, I need to order the research and development facility evacuated and scrubbed, it's to near the fight to leave standing," he ordered, "The Jedi will discover it if they look deeply enough into the area.
She did so, and then closed her eyes, sighing softly with weariness...
...and came to an undetermined time later, finding herself on her bunk on the Scimitar. She blinked a few times blearily. "What in the hell..."
She made to rise before feeling something fall off her stomach. She reached out and caught it, finding a holopad with a recorded message on it. She thumbed it with a frown, and watched as Sidious's visage sprang up. "The Queen's party left last night to return to Naboo, and my presence is required elsewhere as of the moment. You are to return to Naboo, take the travel time to recover and repair your shields. Your mission still stands. The Jedi are to die, and the Queen is to sign the treaty and then be killed."
She scowled. "I can't even get a kriffing day off after that karking mess?!"
Sidious's visage continued, "When you return... we have things to discuss, my apprentice. If you are successful in your mission, then, having proven both your loyalty to me, and your commitment to the Sith Order, perhaps it will be time for you to enter my full confidence, and attain another Holocron."
Siri's breath hitched for a moment.
Full confidence...
Sidious's true identity...
The machinations behind the Grand Plan...
Another Holocron to fuel her growth in knowledge and power...
She smiled with a malicious edge. "The next step in my path to power."
The message continued for a little longer, and Sidious seemed almost... disgruntled to say what came next, "You did well apprentice."
Then it cut out, and Siri just snickered at it. "Looked like it killed him to say that."
She pushed herself off her bunk, feeling a bit wobbly, but made for the cockpit. She prepared for liftoff, signaling the private hanger to open up, and then took to the skies. When she was out of the atmosphere, and then into space, she retreated to her bunk, and settled in to begin trying to assess and repair the damage Plagueis's did to with his invasion into her mind...
Notes:
There's no way one can do a battle between Sidious and Plagueis true justice, but I did what I could.
Chapter 23: To Lose and Love
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"...we've sent out patrols, we already located their starship in the swamp, it wont be long my lord," said Nute Gunray, sitting comfortably and arrogantly in a chair as he addressed Sidious through hologram.
Siri watched, leaning against a nearby pillar. She disagreed with that assessment. The Queen wouldn't have returned here, to an occupied world, without some kind of plan.
Sidious appeared to agree with that thought. "This is an unexpected move for her. It's to aggressive. Apprentice, be mindful, let them make the first move."
Siri tilted her head in acknowledgement, but didn't respond. The two of them stared at eachother for a moment, an air of awkwardness and uncertainty after what had happened when last they met still around them. Sidious killed the connection and vanished, leaving Siri to have to deal with the bumbling idiot for the time being. She still required him operational, so she held back on Sidious's promised punishment for the Viceroy, but she'd savor it later.
She watched as Gunray lazed about, having his subordinates bring him food and drink while he looked over reports from his droids. Siri pursed her lips, tapping her feet with both impatience and warning. The Viceroy briefly glanced at her, dismissive, before returning his attention to his food...
Siri released a bolt of lightning from her fingertips, blasting his desk clear of commodities and causing him to tip his chair backwards with a yelp. "Do not forget that you are treading on thin ice Gunray. You will give this occupation your full attention, focus, and commitment, or there will be dire consequences."
"Y-yes, of course," stammered the Viceroy fearfully, gulping nervously as he focused on his datapad.
About an hour later Gunray scowled at what he was reading. "Imbeciles! The prison camps are supposed to be locked down!"
Siri narrowed her eyes. "What of it?"
"A few of the Naboo guard have escaped out of the camps," said Gunray with placation, "Nothing our forces cannot handle. It is foolish of them to even try."
"How did they escape? Did they have outside help?"
Gunray hesitated. "We are... unsure."
Siri's lips thinned. "Then find out."
About an hour later, there was a report of a Naboo speeder found on the outskirts of the city, Gunray scowled at the message, "The Queen seeks to stir trouble. A rebellion in the city is pointless, our forces outnumber hers!"
Siri rolled her eyes and settled in as the Viceroy continued to read, command, and send communications for awhile...
"Sir!"
Gunray turned as a subordinate ran into the room, "There are reports of an army gathering in the swamps."
Siri blinked. An army...?
Gunray took an offered report, then started chuckling. "She sends primitives against us, she is desperate!"
Siri frowned for a moment. "Primitives?"
"Gungans if the report is right on their race," said Gunray with dismissive arrogance, "Swamp dwellers, they live underwater or so I am told. They don't even have blasters!"
Siri gave him a skeptical look. "I see."
She really didn't. Either his reports were wrong, because the Queen couldn't be that stupid, or... oh, well now, that made more sense. Divide and conquer. She watched with annoyance as the Gunray didn't even give the situation a serious thought, preparing to send out a large part of his forces to go conquer the army, and then rose to his feet, calling a mobile holoterminal as he began to walk for the throne room, contacting Sidious and updating him.
"She is more foolish than I thought," mused Sidious aloud, though his hood briefly flickered towards Siri, tilting slightly.
He wasn't blind nor stupid. He understood what the real game was here.
"We are sending our troops to meet this army assembling near the swamps," said Gunray as they walked, "It appears to be made up of primitives."
"This will work to our advantage," said Sidious.
And Siri agreed. The Gungans would draw the droid army away, and the Queen would lead a strike force for the Trade Federation's leadership. It would draw her out of hiding, and right into Siri's waiting hands. Not to mention saving Siri the time and effort to hunt her down.
"I have your approval to proceed then, my lord?" inquired Gunray.
"Wipe them out," said Sidious, sending a chill of dark and eager thrill down Siri's spine, "All of them."
Siri smiled a little in anticipation. It was a shame she wouldn't be there, to see the slaughter. Ah well, considering she could feel the Jedi's presence slowly closing in towards Theed, she wouldn't have to wait long for her own fight. A tendril of apprehension killed her mood however. Because it wasn't just any Jedi. It was Obi-Wan Kenobi, and his master. She swallowed a lump in her throat. She was going to have to fight Obi-Wan.
Was going to have to kill him...
She took her time as she trailed behind the Viceroy, trying to mentally prepare herself and dominate her conflicting emotions. She couldn't hesitate... she... she had to do this. She had to break this last tie to her past, had to enter into Sidious's confidence, had to walk deeper into this path, to kill him, to bring order to the galaxy, to create her empire, and make things the way she wanted them to be...
Do you?
She flinched and hissed a little under her breath. She really didn't need this right now.
Are you really going to murder him? Murder your love?
"A Sith does not love," she muttered under her breath as an explosion sounded off in the distance.
Gunray turned towards a holoscreen, watching as his troops engaged with a Naboo assault force. "I thought the battle was to take place far from here. This is to close."
Siri shook her head. "Deal with the assault force, I will deal with the Jedi."
She turned and left, a tremor going down her arms. It was time... yet, as she stalked down the hallway, nothing but apprehension filled her. For a moment, Garen's face appeared in her mind... then Master Gallia's, pleading for her to stop. She shook her head and banished the remnants of her past, heading for the Jedi...
Siri approached the door to the hanger bay, feeling the presence of the two Jedi, the boy, the Queen, and the guards on the other side. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and let it out, struggling to shove down the conflict and bury it. Sidious's orders were clear, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon had to die. There was no other way out of this conflict. She opened her eyes and depressed the door's open switch, watching as its parts split open. The mass of Jedi and guards came to a halt, wide-eyed staring at her. Save for the Jedi, they had expected her then.
"We'll handle this," said Qui-Gon confidently.
Arrogant as always Master Jinn.
"We'll take the long way then," answered… either the Queen or a Handmaiden, Siri couldn't tell.
Siri watched idly as the pair of Jedi stripped off their cloaks, dropping them on the ground behind them. Siri briefly considered not even bothering, keeping hers on as an insult. She thought of a better snub instead, taking her cloak off with the Force and levitating it away to rest on a crate, eyes mockingly on Master Jinn the entire time, daring him to comment.
He did, of course did. "Rather frivolous use of the Force, Padawan Tachi."
Siri gave him a smile that was all teeth. "Why should it be considered frivolous? The Force is ours by birthright to do with as we wish," she levitated her saberstaff off her belt infront of her, reaching out to grasp and activating it, red surging from top and bottom.
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan drew theirs, but only Qui-Gon activated his.
"Siri."
Siri couldn't help but tense, Obi-Wan's voice directed at her for the first time in nearly a decade. Her eyes turned to his, and she couldn't help the swallow that ran down her throat. She took him in, drank really, far more than the brief glance she had gotten on Tatooine. A tight padawan cut for hair, a very long padawan braid, full of beads representing so many struggles and triumphs. Much of the boyish look to his face had faded away, revealing a stern and handsome young man. He wore his Jedi tunic well and strong set. His presence was a firm light in the Force, and impressively strong for someone who was only a Padawan. She was actually kind of surprised he hadn't been nominated for his trials yet, he was more than ready to be a Knight if she had to guess.
Her inner voice, was for once her own, instead of his. Obi-Wan... oh Obi-Wan...
"Look at you," she murmured, growing bitter, "All grown up, just about ready to become a Jedi Knight."
There is sadness in his gaze. "It's not too late for you to retake that path, Siri."
There is care in his eyes, pleading. Just like Garen's had held.
Before she had killed his Master and then murdered him. She thought of all her sins on the path she has walked, necessary steps to take, sacrifices to make, her own soul damned, in order to kill Sidious and bring peace to the galaxy. She's gone too far, and done too much to stop now. Even for him.
"It's too late for that, Obi-Wan," her voice is quiet, "Far too late."
She thrust a hand forward and sent Obi-Wan flying across the hanger bay with the Force, sliding along the floor away from Siri and death. If he was smart, he'd run, and she could use the excuse of being on the mission to capture the Queen, offering Jinn's death to pacify Sidious.
She doubted Obi-Wan would though.
Qui-Gon took that as an inclination to start the duel, charging forward and swinging downward from a high angle. She catches it with her saber, spinning out of the way and forcing his down as she swung the other end towards his neck. He ducked it and dragged his saber up, sparking along hers, aiming to take out the handle. She's not stupid nor inexperienced enough to let it happen, and pulls back, spinning her lightsaber and falling back towards the Generator Complex doors, depressing the opening switch with the Force. Not retreating, but taking them away from anyone else interfering. She had scoped out the palace earlier, the long walkways of the Generator Complex, where Qui-Gon's age and lightsaber style would be to his detriment, and to her advantage.
If it even gets to that stage.
Siri is only defending and taking obvious counters at the moment, not even dabbling in Makashi yet. She's studying Jinn's form as he 'pushes' her back. His Ataru is excellent, great sweeping blows, his body a flurry of aggressive motion. Sidious is of course better at Ataru, but he's Sidious, it's to be expected. Despite Qui-Gon's skill, there are problems with Ataru in general, moments where he is doing his spinning attacks that his blade is not in-front of his body, and if she were to truly push herself to outspeed him, she could. Or if she caught his blade and redirected it to offbalance him, or used his positioning against him, she could score a hit, or take a limb. Such as…
He is swinging low for her knees, she leaps over and plants her foot into his face, sending him staggering. She steps forward, her blade arching to tear into his chest, but Obi-Wan has finally joined the duel, his blade blocking and saving his Master's life, pushing her back. She takes a step back, finds her foot half way off the edge of the Generator Complex, and pushes off, backflipping and landing on a walkway.
Obi-Wan doesn't immediately follow, waiting for Qui-Gon to recover and rejoin him before the pair leap after her. Siri could have been nice and let them, but she's feeling a bit nasty about this whole thing; so half way across, she shoves her hand out and throws Obi-Wan back with the Force, sending him to the other side and landing hard on his back.
Which leaves Qui-Gon alone with her again.
She deactivates one end of her lightsaber, holding one hand out two fingers pointed at him, lightsaber held downward at an angle and beckons him.
Qui-Gon's eyebrows furrowed briefly at her opening stance, and she faintly heard him mutter to himself, "Soresu is an odd choice for a darksider."
She is more amused by that comment than anything else, and lets herself grin as he takes the offensive. "You'd be surprised, Master Jinn. Honestly, you should try it sometime, it would be better for you in your old age than prancing about like you're a young padawan again."
Qui-Gon doesn't rise to the bait and doesn't even acknowledge the insult, merely keeps attack with heavy and powerful swings of his lightsaber. Siri doesn't meet any of the attacks head only, and instead parries or deflects aside each attack, redirects them away, or dodges out of the way as much as she can on the small walkways. There is a thump of feet landing behind her and she detects Obi-Wan coming from the other side. Qui-Gon swings a heavy upward blow, rather than block, Siri leaps to another walkway, heat trailing close to her back from the Jedi Master's lightsaber barely missing.
The Jedi pair leap after her, but Siri takes a jump further down the walkway, placing Qui-Gon in between her and Obi-Wan as they land. She feints forward at Jinn, pulling back when he raises his lightsaber to block. She lunges then, and is rather surprised when he was already pulling down to block the stab. She gives him credit for his skill and anticipation, that would have killed lesser Jedi. Then Obi-Wan leaped over the pair, and Siri is amused by the audacity of the move. She ignites the other end of her lightsaber and stabs upward, but the padawan swats the blow away. There is a brief moment where they are both attacking at once, one swinging high and one swinging low. She turns and catches both with the ends of her saberstaff. They shift their grip and make to wrench her lightsaber from her grasp, rather than allow it, she deactivates her lightsaber and watches them stagger offbalanced. She thrusts a hand forward and they are both knocked off the walkway with a burst of the Force.
She winces a little as they hit a walkway below, her voice mocking down after them. "Owch, that's gotta hurt..."
Obi-Wan was getting rapidly tired of being tossed around as they chased Siri up and down the Power Complex. She was a blur of dark robes and raw skill, switching back and forth between wielding her lightsaber as a saberstaff or as a single blade depending if she's fighting one or both of them. Not only was she skilled at Form III both ways, she was constantly moving as well, never allowing them to team up on her for more than a few seconds before either repositioning or knocking one of them off of their current walkway. She didn't look winded at the slightest, and both he and Qui-Gon have more than their fair share of perspiration.
What's more irritating is the mocking.
"Come now Obi-Wan, weren't you right behind me in saber classes?" she teased, deflecting a blow and lashing out with a foot, booting him backwards and to the floor, "Surely you can do better."
Qui-Gon comes at her from the other side, but she kneels forward, raising the other end of her lightsaber overhead to block. She rose to her feet and spun, swinging at Qui-Gon's leg. He jumps over the attack, and Siri takes the opportunity to jump off the edge to another walkway. "Come down and play boys!"
Neither of them do, taking a moment to breath.
"What's the matter? Tired already?" she called up.
"Force Siri," he cant help but say, "You run your mouth worse than Bruck did!"
She immediately scowls up at him. "I'd appreciate you not making that comparison."
"Then stop giving me a reason to!"
She sniggers in response. "Temper temper Obi-Wan, is it that time of the month?"
Obi-Wan glared down at her. Force, she was more of a taunt and a tease than she used to be.
"Don't let her get to you Padawan," advised Qui-Gon, "She's using her words as a weapon to distract and irritate you. You need to focus."
Obi-Wan nodded, taking a deep breath and letting it out, lowering his voice. "We need to pin her down. Her form and mobility will let her tire us out if we can't."
"She's intentionally separating us and not giving us the chance to," commented Qui-Gon mildly, taking a moment to breath before speaking again, "She won't face either of us head on unless its one on one."
"I don't think that's wise," said Obi-Wan before going silent, "I've never seen anyone use Soresu like this, not even Master Drallig. I..."
He trailed off for a moment, unease rippling through him. "I thought we'd be able to take her together and bring her back to the temple for help, that we'd have to try to hold back. I never expected this, I should have, she's walked away from fights with Grandmaster Dooku. I...don't think either of us can win alone. Even the moments we do fight her together... she still holds us off."
Qui-Gon didn't respond, eyes starting down at Siri, who raised an eyebrow at them as if to say 'well?'.
"We're the most active Master and Apprentice pair in the temple," said Obi-Wan, trying to release his frustration into the Force, "But she's picking us apart. Where did she learn to fight like this? What kind of training..."
"Padawan," said Qui-Gon grimly, "Darksiders and their various cults are absolutely ruthless. That includes in how they train their acolytes. I'm not surprised by her strength and mobility. It's the skill I didn't expect, someone with an above Master's skill level taught her to wield Form III like that. What's more..."
He shook his head. "We shouldn't have followed her in here, this battleground favors her far more than it does us..."
"You know, I think you boys need an invitation," called up Siri.
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan both gave a yelp as they felt the Dark Side coil around their ankles and yank. They barely managed to hang onto the side of the walkway for dear life. Obi-Wan heard a buzzing noise and turned his head, eyes going wide to see Siri's saberstaff spinning through the air towards him. He glanced down quickly, sighting a walkway far below, and let go. He felt heat briefly pass over his head as he plummeted. His eyes and Siri's briefly met, and he saw nothing but dark amusement on her face. It was like she wasn't even treating this seriously...
He braced himself with the Force and landed hard on the walkway. He staggered a bit and cringed. If he didn't have the Force, he'd have broken both his legs. As it was, he briefly knelt, set down his lightsaber, and rubbed his knees, pushing the Force through them. He was piss all for healing, but it'd have to do. He look up to see Siri yet again going after Qui-Gon. He wasn't blind to how she was targeting his Master, but it didn't make sense to him. It would be smarter to isolate the padawan and kill him before facing the master, yet it was almost like she was intentionally avoiding him and throwing him out of harms way...
He paused when he felt a murmur of 'Yes' from the Force. But... why?
He shook his head and launched himself upward, one walkway at a time, and made to rejoin his Master...
Siri eyed the two Jedi as they rushed at her from opposing ends, a smirk on her face. She considered whether she should jump to another walkway or just throw one of them off again, they were terrible at combating Force attacks from her. If she bothered to hit them with an illusion, they'd probably fall or stumbled off a walkway to their death. She readied herself...
...and the duel briefly paused when a ripple of childlike –awe-excitement-glee-triumph- crashed into the trio through the Force like a nova. They all stood motionless for that moment, and glanced upward.
"The child," murmured Siri, stretched out her senses and feeling… wait, seriously? Her voice grew incredulous, "He took out the control ship?!"
"Well Master, considering how well he listens to orders, I'd say he's already your padawan at heart," commented Obi-Wan.
Siri couldn't help but snort in amusement.
Qui-Gon briefly chuckled, though, there was added stress there now. "If I could padawan mine, I'd be pulling on your braid right now."
"Allow me," said Siri, shoving out with her hands, throwing Qui-Gon down the walkway with the Force and then lashed out with her blade. Obi-Wan caught it with his, and then his eyes went wide with disbelief and incredulousness as Siri dangerously reached overtop of the cross sabers and yanked on his Padawan braid playfully.
"So serious Obi-Wan," she mocked, pulling back, "Perhaps you should go take a trip?"
She wrenched upward with her lightsaber and then lashed out with her foot, kicking the side of his knee and sending him careening off the walkway to another one down below. She didn't pursue Obi-Wan or Qui-Gon, taking a moment to reach out and assess the area. The droid control ship was down, and she could feel the fear of Gunray/the smug triumph of the Naboo. The entire mission was rapidly going downhill outside of her duel, she had wasted too much time here.
She needed to end this soon. Her eyes briefly looked downward at a walkway leading into one of the laser gated hallways. She considered briefly whether or not she needed the forced separation to actually win, but decided it couldn't hurt. If she killed Qui-Gon before then, so be it, if not, she'd use it. She turned when Obi-Wan leaped up again, and proceeded to grip him with the Force, lifting him into the air as he struggled. She slammed him down into the walkway and then threw him back, turning to see Qui-Gon charging at him with a scowl etched into his face.
"You don't look impressed," said Siri, pouting a little, deflecting a blow and retreating along the walkway.
"You're being rather obvious with your strategy to separate us," commented Qui-Gon mildly.
"And you're not doing much to try and counter it rather than throw yourselves at me," she rebutted, voice mocking out, locking down his lightsaber with an angry screech of their blades as they melted into the walkway, "Always rushing on ahead and leaving your padawan behind, honestly, nothing's really changed between you and…"
Siri staggered as his hand came up and backhanded her across her face, and then slugged her collarbone hard, sending her careening off the walkway and landing roughly on her back on a walkway below.
"Perhaps," came Qui-Gon's voice, "You should spend less time talking and acting like a child instead of focusing on the fight."
Siri's vision turned red with rage as Qui-Gon began to leap down. She rose to her feet and aimed her a hand, lightning ripping out of it to catch Qui-Gon. The man roared in shock, surprise, and pain as Siri lifted him and threw him down the walkway with her lightning towards the laser gates, watching satisfactorily as he landed in a heap, the electricity slowly dissipating off him.
"Perhaps," she said icily, the Force shivering cold around her, "You should prefer me that way. I am far more, unpleasant, when angry."
There is an air of shock and disbelief not just from Qui-Gon, but Obi-Wan as well. She briefly glances behind her, sighting Obi-Wan having leaped down to their current walkway. Qui-Gon shakily rose to his feet, his pain radiating through the Force. Both master and padawan were, if it were possibly, even more wary then they had been before. So, a bit of lightning had them so fearful? The absurdness of it cooled her anger, because that was frankly disappointing.
To be honest, this entire fight was disappointing. She had hardly used the Force at all save to toss them around a bit. She hadn't dabbled into her Sith Sorcery, nor attacked their mental shields, nor used the Dark Side in any really active way aside from that brief lightning attack. Hell, she hadn't even wrapped the Veil of the Dark Side around herself or them, she could make it nigh impossible for them to receive the Force's guidance during the fight or anticipate her movements if she so chose to. They were a decent lightsaber fight, managing to somewhat keep up with her, but that was about it. Dooku was a much harder challenge then the both of them combined (Not that she had used her Sorcery against him either). She would have thought he'd have warned them of her capabilities. Guess not...
The Jedi…
They had no idea how to fight Sith anymore. A thousand years between the last war with the Sith and now had seen them shift their focus. At most they fought fallen Jedi every so often. They had no real experience facing the Dark Side. For these two specifically, Xanatos was their last encounter with it she assumed over a decade ago, and he had nothing on Siri. Probably a mere fraction of the Jedi had any experience with Makashi or any kind of real lightsaber fight outside of sparring (not that she had even tapped into that yet either), forget trying to counteract dark uses of the Force. Jedi were used to facing blaster wielding opponents, the Sith however?
Sidious and Zannah were right, this was going to be a complete slaughter of the Jedi Order when the time came. They had no understanding of the Sith's abilities let alone how they operated. Whatever machinations Sidious had to wipe them out, Siri doubted they'd see it coming...
Not unless we save them...
She scowled at that little voice before a buzz howled towards her ears and she barely reacted in time to turn and deflect Obi-Wan's blade, chiding herself for her lapse in concentration. She snarled in anger, savagely smashing his blade aside and kicking upward, planting her foot into his chin and knocking him off the walkway. She turned and sprinted towards Qui-Gon, leaping over him as he lashed out. She landed on the otherside and then struck out, turning from defense to offense as she angled her blade to skewer. He caught and deflected the blow, countering, but she she batted the blow above and knelt, riposting right for his middle...
And was rather surprised to see him sidestep and spin the blade overhead and downward for the handle of her saberstaff's handle, as if he expected it, yet there was surprise on his face, so he reacted out of instinct, or a learned reaction...? She fell backward and dragged her blade down to avoid the hit and rolled, springing up, eyebrows furrowed. She struck out in quick stabs and slashes, he met them with equal elegance, and for once, he held his own. Ever strike was turned aside, and every riposte was dodged, blocked, or redirected. He matched her blow for blow, it was almost like facing Dooku. It was as if...
"You're experienced with Makashi," she said mildly, just a tad upset that her surprise was ruined.
Qui-Gon scoffed. "I was the padawan of Yan Dooku, of course I'm experienced with it."
And then he slipped his blade over hers and stabbed, she barely twisted in time to only have it burn through the side of her arm's tunic. She hissed and sprang back, forget that then, he would be able to counter her Makashi with his own. So much for that being a trick up her sleeve. Stupid, she should have remembered that about him, that moment of weakness might have done her in had Qui-Gon properly been able to abuse the moment. "Why the hell haven't you used Makashi before now?"
Qui-Gon answered by striking forward at her, muscles tensed to react to whatever way she made to counter. Instead she just battered the blow into the ground, activating the other end of her lightsaber and going for his head. He pulled back a bit, and Siri took that chance to turn and sprint into the laser gate hallway, Qui-Gon on her heels. The gates activated towards the end of the hallway, separating them. Siri tapped the gate for a brief confirmation, and then turned off her lightsaber. She glanced behind him to see Obi-Wan at the far end of the hallway. She didn't think he'd make the last gate; if he did, she'd be forced to fight them both at once. She knew she could take them both, but having Jinn isolated would make him a guaranteed kill without Obi-Wan to swoop in at the last second.
"To answer your question," said Qui-Gon, kneeling down briefly to lightly meditate, breathing hard, "For all my Master hammered it into my head, I dislike Makashi."
Siri didn't respond, merely beginning to pace, her eyes flickering up to Obi-Wan. She swallowed a bit, and watched his eyes track the bob. This was it... there was no more playing around. There would be no more chances for him to flee once he pursued her down the hallway. She'd kill his Master, and then he would look at her with the same anger and betrayal Garen had... and she'd kill him. Her hands briefly shook before she focused on control, struggling to push the emotions she didn't need down...
And growled when she felt a brief pass from Obi-Wan against her shields, his eyebrows widening as he got a taste of what she was feeling leaking through them. "Siri..."
She glared at him. "Shut up Obi-Wan!"
"You don't have to do this Siri," pleaded Obi-Wan, "Please, I feel your conflict, let us help you."
He wants to help...
"I don't need your help," she spat, denying the way his words ripped at her.
He wanted to help, not kill...
Like Garen had at first...
Like Siolo Ur Manka had...
She shoved the emotions down, drawing on the Dark Side more actively, trying to smother it.
Qui-Gon had broken his meditation, studying her. "Is this what Master Galia would have wanted of you?"
Siri flinched briefly before glaring full force at him, snarling, "Galia was WEAK! It was her weakness... she died and abandoned me to this!"
"We go when its our time to join the Force, not because we are weak or strong," he said softly, "Adi cared for you, perhaps even loved you like a daughter, she would have been heartbroken to see what you've become."
Siri let a pained hiss through her lips. She had only really ever thought of her Master's fate as a source of pain to fuel her power in the Dark Side... but... her Master would have...
We've shamed her...
She shook her head and activated her saberstaff in preparation, drawing on that pain, that self-loathing, and fueling herself with it. She dove into her memories of her Sith apprenticeship, recalling one painful, angry, or hatred inducing memory after the other, the area noticeably chilling. "What she would have felt is irrelevant. She's dead. She died years ago to a tool that was far weaker than I am. You'll be as dead as she is in a minute, Jedi, and the rest of your kind will follow soon enough."
She called out the Dark Side and wrapping it around herself and the area, draping the Veil of the Dark Side around them all. She watched them as her eyes turned ice cold, the tension rising through their shoulders, alarm in their eyes. Perhaps now, as the guidance of the Force abandoned them, and the Dark Side suffocated the area, they realized she was something more than mere Fallen Padawan. Perhaps they realized how easy she had been going on them. No more. She had wasted enough time with an old man and a memory of a boy she had once cared for, who couldn't possibly feel the way she had once felt for him.
When the laser fields dropped, there was a brief moment of hesitation from Qui-Gon, considering if he should wait. Siri didn't give him a chance, springing back into the room and dragging him forward with the Force tyrannically. He staggered in and she swung at him. He rolled and rose, green blade arcing through the air. She deflected and countered, other end snapping at him with such speed he had to heavily drag on the Force to block it. She watched Obi-Wan get caught behind the last laser field and grinned savagely.
This was the end.
She jabbed against Qui-Gon's mental shields with the Force as she lashed out with her blade against his, and he flinched at both impacts. Qui-Gon stumbled back, grimacing with pain and trying to throw her mental attack off. She chanted quietly under her breath, as Zannah had taught her years ago, and stabbed with pinpoint precision against his mind, driving the Dark Side in and flooding his perceptions with sounds and images that weren't there, tilting his equilibrium. He staggered, off-balanced, as she approached. She was mildly impressed he was able to fight at all, barely managing to deflect her blows as he jumbled around like a drunken man. She slashed down, he deflected upwards, she brought the other end of her blade up to sever through his head, but he stumbled back in time. She ground her teeth in frustration and surged forward, blade twirling and lashing out from every which angle...
THERE!
He blocked another high attack, and instead of using the other end of her saberstaff, she lashed upward with her boot and kicked his hand with Force enhanced strength, sending his lightsaber out of his hand. She spun, pulled her lightsaber back, and thrust forward...
Don't kill him!
"SIRI NO!" screamed Obi-Wan, his panic, fear, and what felt like heartbreak rippling through the Force.
Siri swerved and drove her lightsaber through Qui-Gon's side instead of his heart. The man cried out as she withdrew her lightsaber. She watched silently as he fell to his knees, clutching his side. She clenched her fists tightly and let loose a scream of frustration before picking him up with the Force and tossing the Jedi Master across the room.
She whirled and glared at Obi-Wan through the laser field. "WHY! Why do you always hold me back Obi-Wan? Why is it always your voice filling me with doubt of the path I walk? Always your voice holding me back or trying to stop me from doing what needs to be done?"
Obi-Wan's eyes went wide. "Siri..."
Again, the way he said her name, it made her ache, it made her feel weak, it tugged away at the Dark Side, trying to steal her power away from her, holding her back, chaining her down...
She suckered in a breath as it hit her, as she finally understood. She turned away from him and walked up to the wall of the room, staring silently at it, lightsaber loosely touching the floor and burning into it. Darth Bane had been right all those years ago. Obi-Wan was her weakness...
No!
It was no longer his voice in her head anymore, but her own panicked one, because she had accepted, truly accepted at last, that Obi-Wan was her final chain...
Please don't!
He was holding her back from her true power and potential...
You can't!
The only way to truly be free was to break that chain...
You love him!
That foolish love, something born from such a short time spent together, that never should have become what it had. It was ridiculous even, they had spent one mission together, kissed once, and suddenly she was pinning for him for nearly a decade? Letting his voice hold her back and argue with her? It was ludicrous! He would always hold her back, never let her grown strong enough to kill Sidious, make her empire or seize his, and take her rightful place as Empress of the Galaxy.
Please...
That love had to die, Obi-Wan had to die. He didn't even feel anything specifically for her, just that stupid overarching Jedi compassion.
Pl...e...se...
The voice was getting so quiet now.
I... don't... want... this...
So very quiet...
Obi-Wan stepped into the circular room, one eye on Siri who was just... staring at a wall for some reason, as he moved to check on his master. Qui-Gon was crumpled against a wall on the far side, panting with pain and exhaustion. He could feel his Master mentally struggling, a darkness clouding their bond. He knelt down, pressed his head against his Master's, and focused his attention, pushing in and helping to drive the Dark Side from his head. Qui-Gon's cloudy eyes cleared up in moments, and he took a ragged breath.
"Obi-Wan," he rasped, "The Force... Siri... stop her... save her..."
"What?" he asked.
He rose to his feet and turned, eyes going to the Fallen Padawan. "Siri?"
"Obi-Wan."
Her voice was... cold. In a way it hadn't been even when she had threatened Qui-Gon minutes ago. Something was wrong, the Force was darkening by the second, deeper and deeper, colder and colder, a deep vortex of darkness and pain seeming to be eating her from the inside out from what he could feel. "Siri please! I can feel your pain! Turn away from it!"
"My name isn't Siri," she snarled, turning, her eyes blazing a sulfuric yellow, "That name belonged to a weak little girl! I'm not weak anymore! I'm not her anymore!"
"I've broken my last chain." He took a horrified step back as the Dark Side howled through the Force, echoing and baying. "My name, is Darth Tyrosus, and you will be the first Jedi I kill."
Sidious paused briefly on his way to give a speech in the senate in 'support' of his homeworld. He felt the howl of the Dark Side ripping through the Galaxy, his eyes going wide with surprise, and then pure dark delight. Finally... FINALLY! After nearly a decade of molding her, his Apprentice had finally accepted her destiny. Perhaps he was a little irritated she had announced her ascension to Sithdom for the entire Galaxy, and the Jedi, to feel and hear, but he subdued the irritation. Siri Tachi was finally dead, the last trappings of the Jedi Padawan cast aside. When his apprentice returned from her mission, he would gaze into the molten eyes of Darth Tyrosus, revel in the completion of years of work, the next stage of his dynasty, and she would truely take her place by his side as she was always meant to...
Master Yoda gasped, dropping his glimmer stick and staggering, clutching a hand to his chest.
"Master Yoda?" questioned Mace Windu.
"A mistake we have made," rasped the Grandmaster, "A grave mistake we have made. To Naboo we must go, now, if anything to be salvaged, there is."
Darth Tyrosus...
Obi-Wan's heart was hammering with agony, with fear, and despair. The Dark Side oozing out of the Fallen Padawan was enough to drown in. No, she wasn't a Fallen Padawan... she... she had just implied...
"Sith," he said in disbelief.
Siri's lips peeled back with cruel delight. "Yes, I am, little Jedi."
She aimed a hand forward, and lightning ripped from her fingertips with a brutal intensity. Obi-Wan threw himself out of the way, the lightning exploding into the wall, and then yelped when the Force gripped him, rocketing him into the ceiling with a brutal impact, and then flinging him to the far wall. He crumpled to the floor, wincing with pain, only to hear the cackle of electricity again. On reflex, he raised his lightsaber, and was surprised to see that the blade could catch and absorb the attack. She lowered her hand, and dragged her tongue across her lips hungrily.
"Do I take my time?" she mused, "And kill you slowly? Or perhaps..."
She raised and clenched her fist, and Obi-Wan began to choke, his airway forced closed. "Do I snap your neck and kill you in an instant?"
Obi-Wan struggles to fight against the oppressive darkness, against a dark power he had never faced before. This... this was insane...
"No, I think I'll do it slow." She opened her palm, and Obi-Wan took a ragged breath. "After all you've held me back over the years, I'm going to pick you apart piece by piece."
Oi-Wan looked at her in horror. He could hardly recognize her anymore, her Force Signature had darkened to the point where it almost felt like she was a completely different person, almost all light he felt blotted out or smothered. He tried to steel himself, tried to force calm and focus... but all he felt was pain and loss. It was like Siri was gone... he had gotten her back for so short a time, and now it was like something inhuman was wearing her flesh. It was the loss on that fateful mission all over again, except so much worse.
She slowly circled the pit, chanting in a harsh language he didn't understand. She pointed a finger at him...
He screamed in pain, dropping his lightsaber and clutching his head as agony ripped through him. Harsh howling laughter echoed in his ears from all around him. The entire room distorted, black and red splattering across his vision, tilting and swirling like clouds through the air as the floor disappeared from view. The smell of rotting flesh filled his nostrils, making him gag. It felt like he was plummeting and yet rising through the atmosphere at the same time. He had to force down the urge to hurl as he lost his sense of up and down. What... what had she done to him...?
"Come now Kenobi," came Siri's mocking voice, her form rippling and walking through the haze, her lightsaber's blood red hue shifting sinister through the dark clouds roiling through the area, "That was a low grade incantation. Surely you can resist it better than this?"
He tried to rise to his feet, but buckled, feeling like his foot was slipping off the edge of a cliff. He knew he was on solid ground, but his senses were screaming otherwise...
"I'm going to rip your mind asunder with childish ease," she purred with dark delight, deactivating her lightsaber, clipping it to her belt, kneeling down in front of him, grabbing his chin and forcing him to meet her blazing yellow eyes, "You Jedi are so focused on your fancy glow-sticks that you forget the Force is your true strength. You have no defense against such an intrusive mental attack, you're defenseless, and you have no idea how much I'm going to enjoy driving you insane before I kill you."
"Siri...," he whispered, "Please..."
She laughed. "Oh Obi-Wan..."
She raised a finger and pressed it against his forehead, her voice hungry, "Let's begin."
I don't want this!
He had a moment before the pain hit him, of such terrible clarity, of feeling and hearing her voice scream in despair from the Darkness she was drowning in. The Dark Side was eating her alive, it was going to leave nothing of her left but this hollowed out monster. Then he was in agony as she easily pierced into his shields and into his mind.
"Mmm, what shall we do first, hmm?" her voice echoed aloud and in his mind, "Shall we make you live your worst fear again and again? Shall we take your memories, one by one, until you have nothing? Shall we put delusions in your head of things that never were, only to reveal the lies and rob you of them? Or perhaps you should suffer as I did once, early on before I began my Sith Apprenticeship, with all the fears of the Order shunning me. Perhaps I'll make you believe the entire Order thinks you are worthless? That you are some fallen leper to be shunned and degraded, your name dragged through the mud for something so out of your control."
"What..." he rasped, "Are you... talking about...?"
She snarled at him, her red rage searing his mind and making him scream. "Don't play coy Kenobi! Just how much did you drag me down? How much did the Temple's rumor mill tear me apart? How many loathed and cursed and spit on my name like I was vermin when you and your Master told them I had fallen and died? Tell me who spoke ill of me, so that I may make them suffer before they die when the Temple burns!"
"No one!" he screamed in agony, "We didn't tell anyone!"
"You lie," she hissed.
"I made him promise not to tell!" Obi-Wan screamed, "PLEASE SIRI! YOU'RE IN MY HEAD! YOU CAN SENSE THE TRUTH! PLEASE STOP! PLEASE!"
And then the sharp, stabbing, burning pain stopped.
"You're telling the truth," she murmured, confused and baffled, the area slowly draining of its red and black, the distortions and smells and sounds fading back to normal, "Why would you hide that piece of information? Why shield a fallen padawan you didn't give a damn about?"
He stared into those molten eyes, tears of agony streaming down his face. Did she... really think... he would have done that to her...? That he didn't care?
Through the agony, through the Dark Side clouding the area, smothering them both, he felt something, it was the dimmest of lights from Siri, down the current connection between their minds, fading fast, but through it, he heard the Force, 'Yes'
Did she... not know how he felt? 'Yes'
"Why Kenobi?" she snarled, "What game were you playing?"
'Tell her', the Force whispered desperately, as if with it's last breath.
"Because I loved you," he whispered, "Even now... I still do."
Her eyes went wide, and that sulfuric yellow dimmed. "That's... you... no, no you're lying!"
She began to pull out of his mind, but he grabbed ahold, and he poured what he felt down the connection. All the memories they had during the times they had met during their apprenticeship, what he had felt during their last mission together, all the misery and loneliness and longing he had felt over the years. The acknowledgement that he was refusing to let go of his attachment, so briefly born and acknowledged, but held onto and embellished with an un-Jedi-like obsessiveness. Of how he and Qui-Gon would often spend their down time drinking tea and lost in their past, Qui-Gon's stories of he and Tahl giving rise to fantasies of Obi-Wan's own. Of the thought of what could have been, of growing old together in love as Qui-Gon and Tahl once had. No matter how much it had shamed him, made him feel like he wasn't the Jedi he should be, he showed it all to her and shoved it through.
Siri screamed and ripped away, the feedback of it making Obi-Wan cry out as well and roll away, clutching his head in agony. He struggled to get his shields together, struggled to subdue and release his pain to the Force. It was going to take days of meditation before he could repair this, he knew it, but he needed something workable NOW. So he struggled, and when he felt Qui-Gon nudge his end of the bond, he let his Master in to give him strength.
Obi-Wan blinked a few times, taking ragged breaths. He felt beyond jittery and shaken, but he could focus. He tilted his head, hearing...
He looked at Siri, she was sobbing to herself, arms clutched to her chest and shivering. Her Force Signature was an utter jumbled up mess he could hardly make sense of, light and dark roiled and struggling for dominance. Her emotions were all over the place, her shields in tatters, leaking her feelings for all to feel, if they could make sense of the chaos. "Siri...?"
She looked up at him, and her eyes were blue. "Obi-Wan... I..."
It felt like a balm, seeing those eyes, and he pushed through his own pain, staggering to his feet, stumbling over, and half-collapsing into an embrace, wrapping his arms around her. She buried her face into his shoulder, shaking uncontrollably...
A man in a dark cloak hurled lightning at him, yellow sulfuric eyes boring into him as a girl's scream filled the air...
Obi-Wan flinched as a memory not his own overtook him...
He, no, she, walked into a room, finding a bound family of Togruta. The dark man's voice hissed in her ear, "You're task is simple, my apprentice, Kill them all..."
He/She defied him, but he was not to be denied, so she killed the parents, hoping it would spare the children...
The dark man turned, aimed his hands, and unleashed a brutal barrage of lightning at the two children. He/she watched, horrified even through the numbing cold, as the children melted. Clothes caught on fire, skin bubbled, eyeballs burst, bodies spasmed. In a moment, both were dead in what had to be one of the most painful deaths they had ever seen.
"Let that be a twofold lesson, apprentice," spat the dark man, "One, to never trust the words of another. And two, to not believe the easy path is not laid with traps. You thought by killing the parents you spared the children. Instead, you made their deaths agonizing instead of quick and painless."
Obi-Wan choked a bit, horror bleeding out of him. "Siri... who is that?"
Siri suckered in a terrified breath, and he felt he reign in her emotions, her memories, and Force presence through sheer strength of will, tightening her shields and filling the holes with a honed, desperate practice that spoke of a do-or-die pressure. She broke away from him, staggering to her feet and trying to bolt away, only to find the laser gates active for the moment. Obi-Wan struggled to his feet, walking over and gripping her shoulder firmly.
"Siri, who is that?"
"You weren't supposed to see," she whispered, "I didn't want... I'm sorry..."
"Siri," he demanded, "Who?"
"My Master," she answered, "Sidious, Darth Sidious."
A dry swallow ran down Obi-Wan's throat. "A sith lord."
Siri laughed, it was a dejected, dark, broken sound. "The Sith Lord. The most powerful in a thousand years since the Line of Bane began."
Obi-Wan didn't know who the hell Bane was, but line sounded like a legacy line, and a thousand years was when the Sith had been assumed defeated. "They've been hiding this entire time."
"Hiding," she spat, breaking his grip and turning to narrow her eyes at him, "You think the Sith have been hiding all this time? Ignorant and foolish. They haven't been cowering in a hole somewhere. No, they have been growing, planning, plotting, moving pieces on a holoboard and setting up for their revenge against the Jedi. There are machinations in play, Obi-Wan, a thousand years of them, that you have no concept of. Beyond that, each Sith Lord expands upon the last, is more powerful than the last."
"He's one man," said Obi-Wan, "Come back with us, tell us what you know, lead us to him, and we can defeat him."
She shook her head, and... he felt her Force Presence settle, the chaos and swirling mass gone. It was... grayish, but... he could feel tints of darkness spreading. "You hear but you do not listen Obi-Wan. You have no concept of the power Sidious wields. I've seen it firsthand Obi-Wan, you... you're sheltered by your ignorance of the true Power of the Dark Side. I'm still decades away from being ready to face him and take his place."
"Why would you want to take his place?" exclaimed Obi-Wan, "Why would you want to become him? Why would you want any of this?"
She glared, but beneath the heat was nothing but pain. "It's not about what I want, it's never been about what I want. It's what must be done, only another Sith Lord can defeat him, only with the power of the Dark Side can he be beaten."
"Do what you want for once," he pleaded, "Walk away, come back to the Jedi with me."
She stared at him, and he could see, could feel the conflict, but she turned away. "It's not enough."
"It is!"
"No! It's not!" she snarled, "If I thought for a moment it was enough, that the Jedi could beat Sidious, I would, for you. But it isn't. The Jedi are weak fools, complacent, unchanging, blind slaves to the corrupt senate and their old archaic ways. They can't even get out of their own rut, let alone prepare to face Sidious."
She shook her head, eyeing the hall of laser gates as it deactivated. "Forget it Obi-Wan. I'll create some excuse or another for failing the mission. He'll punish me worse than before, I know that, but you'll live. You should find somewhere to hide until it all blows over, then I'll come for you, and we can be together at last."
"Give the Jedi a chance Siri," he said, "Give me a chance to help."
Something... changed in her Force Presence, a swirling, a further darkening, not as deep as what he had felt both a few minutes ago and during the entire duel, but getting there slowly, a gleam in her eyes that made him unsettled. "Give you a chance..."
She smiled, and it was a creepy thing. "Yes, that could work, couldn't it? I'm still decades away alone, but together..."
She reached a hand up to caress his face. "Join me Obi-Wan, learn the power of the Dark Side, and we can take him earlier. Perhaps even in time to save your precious Jedi Order."
He stepped back in horror. "Siri, no! I would never turn to the Dark Side!"
She scoffed. "I thought that once too, but here I am."
Her voice grew hushed, hungry, alluring, "You don't know it's power, Obi-Wan, the things you can do with it. I trashed the both of you the moment I started calling on it's power. The Jedi have no knowledge on how to fight Sith anymore, you saw that for yourself. Join me, and I'll share those secrets with you, share that power."
"If the price is my soul, then I won't pay," he countered, "I felt you Siri, it felt like the Dark Side was eating you from the inside out, hollowing your soul out. I won't do that, and I won't let you fall that far again."
"Let me?" she whispered darkly, "Obi-Wan, you don't have any say in the matter of what I do."
Obi-Wan was in a state of panic unbecoming of a Jedi. He had brought her back, brought her out of that awful state, yet it felt like he was starting to lose her all over again. The Dark Side's grip was firm, its taint all through her, refusing to let go. It was spreading and regaining ground...
"We'll remake the Sith, Obi-Wan," she said greedily, "No more of that barbaric Rule of Two. Just you and I, and whoever we chose to uplift. Perhaps even our own children."
"I won't fall Siri," he said firmly.
She snarled. "Are you going to betray me Obi-Wan?"
Betray her?! Was she mad? They had been fighting mere minutes ago, they hadn't even been on the same side for there to even be betrayal. "Siri, the Dark Side is clouding your judgement. I love you, I want to help you, but you won't let me."
"You're a broken record Obi-Wan," she said flatly, "The only help you want is to conform me to your precious light, turn me back into an obedient little Jedi puppet like you are."
He reached out and grasped her hands. "I don't care if you're a Jedi or not, so long as you're you. Not some dark side monster."
She growled. "Is that what I am, Kenobi? A monster?"
"That's not what I said!"
"Really?" she drawled crossly, "That's what it sounded..."
A shadow loomed over them both, and Obi-Wan had a brief moment to look over Siri's shoulder and see Qui-Gon bringing the hilt of his lightsaber down hard...
CRACK
Obi-Wan winced as his Master hit the back of Siri's head and she crumpled into his arms. Qui-Gon took a ragged breath, clipping his lightsaber to his belt, hand going to the wound in his side. "That... wasn't going anywhere, Padawan mine."
Obi-Wan gently laid Siri down. "I... I know."
Qui-Gon sat down on the floor, as did Obi-Wan. "You brought her back Padawan, I didn't think it was possible, but you did."
Obi-Wan laughed bitterly. "Did I? You saw her just moments ago..."
"The Dark Side's grasp is tight and treacherous Obi-Wan," said Qui-Gon solemnly, "Just because you brought her out of it's depths doesn't mean the fight for her soul is over."
Obi-Wan ran a hand through his hair, sighing wearily. "It's far from over."
Qui-Gon nodded, wincing briefly. "But for today, it is. I need a dip in a bacta tank..."
"You willingly would get it one?" teased Obi-Wan, desperate for some kind of humor in this moment.
"Considering that I believe I'm missing part of a liver," commented Qui-Gon mildly, "Yes."
Obi-Wan looked at the searing hole in the side of his Master, swallowing hard, could feel the man calling heavily on the Force to fight the pain. "It... could have been your life."
Qui-Gon sighed softly. "Let it go Obi-Wan. We don't have time to linger."
The man struggled to his feet, bending down with pain to grab one of Siri's arms. "We need to get her properly sedated, get ourselves tended to, check with the Queen, contact the Council, and spirit Siri away to the Temple before this 'Sidious' gets a chance to learn what happened and retrieve her. This is only the beginning of a much darker conflict than any of us could have imagined."
A spike of fear ran through Obi-Wan at the thought of that monster getting his hands on Siri again, he swallowed hard. "The Sith... a kriffing Sith Lord, he can't get ahold of her again master. I... I saw a memory, when her shields were scattered, of what he had her do, what he did to her..."
Qui-Gon tugged him forward towards the laser-gate. "He wont Obi-Wan. Forget the Sith for the time being, we will inform the Council, and go from there. Keep your focus here and now, Padawan mine."
Obi-Wan nodded, and they moved, only to get caught behind the laser gates just before they could start down the hallway; he sighed. "This is going to take awhile..."
Notes:
And that's a wrap for the Phantom Menace.
Siri goes full Sith for a few minutes and decks Obi-Wan, but is then defeated by the powah uv love. Or well, Obi-Wan shoving light and love down the brief mental connection, it doesn't mix well with the Dark Side. Of course, Siri is still dark (she didn't choose to turn away), will resist and struggle with what is to come. Because frankly, I severely doubt coming back from the Dark Side is a quick, clean, bells and whistle thing.
If Darth Vader had lived and made it off the Death Star, it, to me, would make sense for him to have struggled with his past and the continued temptations of the Dark Side.
Anyway, part one of the story is over.
Part Two: Post-Phantom-Menace - Clone Wars. Featuring Siri struggling with herself, lots of angst/emotions, and Obi-Wan getting in way over his head as he learns the true horror of what a Sith Apprenticeship is, how deep and damned Siri has made herself, and yet still tries to guide Siri out of that dark pit...
It's not going to be pleasant.
And even if he succeeds in pulling her back, will she stay light in the long run?
Tons of Obi-Wan & Siri Tachi moments ahead!
And eventually we get to interact with Padawan Skywalker under Master Jinn (Maybe better, maybe worse, than being Obi-Wan's padawan, we will see), and see what Siri and Anakin make of one another...
Chapter 24: Assessment
Chapter Text
Obi-Wan stood in the center of the Council Chamber, waiting patiently as Qui-Gon detailed the encounter with Siri Tachi to the Jedi Council. Master Yoda and Windu had already been on their way to Naboo, so the return trip had been quick, and they had left before the new Chancellor and the victory festivities had begun on Naboo. Siri had been sedated for the rest of the stay on Naboo while Qui-Gon had been healed, and the trip home. She was currently in the Halls of Healing, under lock and key in a secure room with an IV of sedatives hooked up to her until a decision could be made of her fate. The council had been gathered and then they had been called.
He knew it wasn't going to be easy to convince them to give her a chance, or him for the matter, and was bracing himself for the revelation.
"...at that point, she overwhelmed me, assaulting my mind with sights and sounds that weren't there through the Dark Side," said Qui-Gon, a frown on his face, "I'll admit, it was an... experience."
Obi-Wan snorted and stepped forward. "That's one way to put it Master."
The Council's focus shifted to him as Qui-Gon motioned to his padawan, "It's best that he take over the report from here in."
Master Windu made a motion for him to begin.
"Siri came close to killing Qui-Gon," said Obi-Wan softly, "She disarmed him, and was about to run him through, but... I screamed at her to stop, and she reacted, diverting her attack into his side instead of straight through him."
Yoda's ears twitch. "Hmm..."
Obi-Wan swallowed under Yoda's scrutiny. "After that she... well, screamed at me for holding her back. I had apparently been a voice of reason to her over the years."
Plo Koon tilted his head, curious. "Were you? Is there a reason for this? To my knowledge you two were never particularly close."
Obi-Wan gave a self-depreciating smile. "The report we gave to the Council eight years ago on the mission to protect Taelson Fry was... not accurate on several things."
That earned him a glare from Master Windu, Obi-Wan smiled a little at it, happily defiant. "Siri and I... had nearly died on that mission, and might have let our emotions get the better of us at one point, developing feelings for one another."
"Of course you did," said Master Windu, sighing, "Continue the current missions report Padawan Kenobi, we will deal with the truth of that one another time."
Obi-Wan closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, trying to release his apprehension into the Force. "Something... happened to Siri then, as she struggled with herself. She moved to the side of the room, and I rushed to check on my master while she seemed internally occupied. I helped him purge the Dark Side affecting his mind, and then focused on Siri. She... appeared to overcome her feelings for me. She grew so cold in the Force, so deep and entrenched in the Dark Side without that holding her back. She..."
He swallowed. "Her eyes turned molten yellow, the Dark Side howled, and she cast aside her name, calling herself Darth Tyrosus."
The uproar that ripped through the Council room was... expected.
"She what?"
"That's preposterous."
"She's a self-proclaimed Sith?"
"If she's that fallen and deluded, why is she still alive?"
Yoda smacked his stick into the floor for silence, eyes hard on Obi-Wan. "Lie the Force does not, lie Obi-Wan does not. Screamed through the Galaxy, the Force did. A Sith, she is."
There was dead silence in the room, before Obi-Wan tilted his chin up a bit and said defiantly, "Was, she was a Sith."
Yoda narrowed his eyes. "Once you start down the dark path, forever does it dominate your destiny. No mere fallen Padawan is she, in absolute darkness, she was. Return from that, no one does."
"I am not finished my report yet, Master Yoda," said Obi-Wan firmly.
"Hrmph," sounded out the little green troll, "Qui-Gon's defiance I sense in you, need that, you do not."
"I am a credit to his teachings," said Obi-Wan mildly.
Qui-Gon was the perfect picture of innocent serenity, though he was not-so-subtly cackling down the training bond. 'I think you've earned a trip to Dex's, padawan mine.'
Obi-Wan's mouth twitched a little. 'I doubt we're going to have time for that. And I may or may not end up suspended or thrown out of the Order for what I'm about to say.'
'If you go, so to will I,' answered Qui-Gon firmly, 'There are other light side sects in the galaxy that we may find support in. I doubt Anakin would hesitate to follow.'
"Continue then, you will," said Yoda.
"The Council will not like what I hear, but I ask that you allow me to finish uninterrupted and save your questions for after," said Obi-Wan.
"Granted," said Master Windu, sighing again.
He had done that alot this report. Normally, Obi-Wan marked that as a sign of him and Qui-Gon doing quite well for themselves. Considering he'd need the Council's approval for helping Siri... it wasn't a good thing this time.
"I would say that we fought, but really," said Obi-Wan, "She destroyed me. Her powers had grown immensely, or rather, she was no longer held back. She turned viscous and cruel, combined with how her Force Presence shifted, I... thought she was a different person. A monster wearing Siri's skin. It felt like the Dark Side was eating her from the inside out. I could hear her, feel her, crying out inside, that she didn't want this, but she couldn't overcome the Dark Side. It was... perhaps the most awful thing I have ever felt in my life."
He took a moment to collect himself before continuing, "She toyed with me, breaking through my shields, and commented on wanting to drive me insane as punishment for always holding her back. She detailed how she might do this, before settling on something that had been an apparent fear of hers early on: To make me believe the Order considered me fallen and worthless, shunned and degraded, in her own words 'your name dragged through the mud for something so out of your control'."
He grew quiet for a moment. "She was very bitter about that, Sith or not."
He let out a breath. "Fortunately, I had never done that to her. She was in my head, a burning, agonizing presence. But there could be no lies or deceptions that deep into my mind. I told her we had never told the Council she had fallen, at least not prior to this mission. She was... bewildered by that, and demanded to know why I would shield a fallen padawan that I supposedly didn't care about. So, I told her the truth."
He looked Master Yoda straight in the eye. "I told her it was because I had loved her. That I still loved her."
The air of heavy disapproval was tangible from the Councilors. Though, Master Koon felt more exasperated than anything else.
"I forced my feelings down the mental connection between our minds from her mental attack, and, for lack of a better description, disrupted the Dark Side within her," said Obi-Wan, "The backlash of it sent us both reeling, but once I recovered, her eyes were blue again, and her Force Presence was in utter chaos. I tried to reach her, to finish drawing her from the Dark. I... caught a memory slipping through her weakened shields..."
"I saw her Sith Master as he 'afflicted'," spat Obi-Wan, "His training on her. It was a brutal thing, forcing her to choose between killing parents or children, implying the other set would be let go. She chose the parents, and he... he slaughtered the children, melting them with Force Lightning, calling it a lesson."
The disgust in the air was pestilent, an affronted grunt from Plo Koon a brief break in the Council's silence.
"I demanded an explanation, of who that was," said Obi-Wan, "She was... shaken by my confession to her, more conflicted than ever, and revealed the truth. She said her Master was a Sith Lord known as Darth Sidious. She revealed that the Sith had lurked in the shadows for the last thousand years, growing, planning, plotting, preparing for their revenge against the Jedi Order. She warned there were a thousand years of machinations in play, that each Sith Lord expanded upon the last, was more powerful. She said Sidious was the most powerful one yet."
"I attempted to argue with her, convince her to return to the Jedi Order and help us hunt him down," said Obi-Wan before he sighed, "But... she began to slip back into the Dark Side. She wouldn't listen, said the Dark Side was the only way she could kill him, that only another Sith Lord could best him. She... tried to recruit me to her cause, to fall and help her kill her Master, but I refused. The situation continued to degrade until Qui-Gon snuck up from behind and knocked her out."
Obi-Wan folded his hands into his robes and waited. Yoda, was the first to voice his thoughts.
"Hmph, see through you, I do," said Yoda, hopping off his chair, walking over, poking his chest with his stick, "Attached you are."
Then the ancient Jedi Master turned and whacked Qui-Gon with it. "Because attached you still are! Taught your padawan to let go, you did not, because let go, you have not! Hmm?"
Qui-Gon winced briefly before clearing his throat. "That 'attachment', as you put it, is the only reason either of us are alive, Siri Tachi didn't completely lose herself to Darth Tyrosus, and that she is now secured within the temple."
Yoda scowled a bit, harrumphing before waddling back towards his seat.
"It would appear," mused Plo Koon, "That attachment is as much of a weakness to the Sith as it is to the Jedi."
He turned to look at Obi-Wan. "Is this what you intend to do, Padawan Kenobi? I can feel your unasked request. You wish to use this attachment to return her to the light?"
Obi-Wan frowned. "I do not wish to use our feelings for one another as a weapon. I want her to be free of the Dark Side and the Sith because I care for her."
"As far as I am concerned Padawan Kenobi," said Master Windu sharply, "You are dangerously attached to a confirmed darksider, a Sith. You should be kept well away from one another lest she draw you into the Dark. You should be not only censured, but reprimanded for such an attachment, and your continual deception to the Council about your mission eight years ago."
"Then you will doom her," said Obi-Wan firmly, and with pure defiance, "Punish me as you see fit, but do not condemn her to remain in the Dark Side because of the Jedi Order's uncompromising and stagnant Code and views."
There, he had said it, and judging by the fierce pride Qui-Gon wasn't even bothering to shield, he stood by Obi-Wan. The entire Council stared at him, but he did not shift his position. The silence was broken in... a way he didn't exactly expect.
"Encourage Qui-Gon to take a Padawan, why did we?" mused Yaddle with humor, "When knew this would happen, we did."
Yoda's ears twitched, a mixture of amusement and exasperation on his face. "Know that, I do not."
"I seem to recall you being the chief agitator in that regard," recalled Qui-Gon before taking a diplomatic approach, "This is a relatively unprecedented situation in our time. Approaching it with an open mind may lead to a favorable result, and not only that. The fact stands that she is our only lead, our only clue, towards finding this 'Darth Sidious'. Without her, we have nothing to even begin to try to find him with. There is no question in this."
"There are ways such information could be forced from her," pointed out Master Windu.
"No matter what they've done," said Qui-gon softly, "No one, not even a darksider, even a Sith, deserves to have their mind violated. And if any of you so much as mention Revan's Cure, I will hand in my resignation to the Order immediately."
Obi-Wan couldn't help but tense at the thought of it, of having one's mind taken apart and a new identity put in it's place. How the Jedi Council of old have ever thought that was an acceptable solution was beyond him.
Mace scowled at him. "That was not what I was referring to. Do not put words in my mouth. I was implying that the collective Council trying to compel her through the Force to speak."
"If we wish her a chance to return from the Dark Side," said Plo Koon mildly, "Then taking such action will only set her against us. I for one believe we should grant Obi-Wan the chance to help her."
"She could be carrying time sensitive information," countered Master Windu.
"I am not for or against this, but I will point out that there is very little chance her Sith Master does not already know we have his apprentice," said Master Piell, "Since he sent her there to begin with, he would be paying attention to the situation. In which case, I assume he would already be covering his trail and attempting to mitigate any damage that she may potentially reveal. He has had a several day head start on us considering the time it took to get her here, let alone come to a decision."
"There is little mitigation that can be done if we get his identity out of her," said Master Windu.
Obi-Wan hesitated. "I'm... not sure she knows."
"And what brings you to that conclusion?" inquired Plo Koon.
"She hates him," said Obi-Wan with an uneasy awe, "She hates him more than I have ever felt anyone hate anything. I don't think he'd trust her with his identity. She only referred to him as Sidious, no other name."
"She's not stupid," he said flatly, "She might think a Sith Lord is the only thing that could beat him because of how they operate, always hidden in the shadows where only another Sith could see them. But if we could be directed right at him, even she has to acknowledge that the entire Council, and perhaps a few of our most experienced Masters, together could take him down."
He's probably giving her to much benefit of the doubt right now. He knows it, shes practically drowning in the Dark Side, drawn in and addicted to its power like a death stick addict. But he will say and do what he needs to do, even if its a lie, manipulation, letting them come to their own incorrect conclusions, leading them on, or whatever, to get the Council to agree.
Though he hopes he doesn't have to do to much of that. Apprentice to a maverick or not, he's still a Jedi.
"Do you truly believe, young one," asked Ki-Adi-Mundi, "That you can bring a Sith back from the Dark Side?"
"I believe that I can bring Siri back," said Obi-Wan, "If not fully to the light, than at least far enough away from the Dark to not return to the Sith."
"That is a large concession to grant," remarked Ki-Adi-Mundi, "Why should we expect or allow anything but her becoming a Jedi again if she can be pulled back?"
"Because expecting a perfect success is setting ourselves up for failure, and risking enough pressure to ruin any chance she has," said Obi-Wan, "I will do my best, but if the best I can do is help her stay away from the Dark, from becoming that monster again, then even if she isn't a Jedi, I will consider it a success. More of a success than any Jedi has had in the matter for the last thousand years at least."
"Assuming we allow this attempt, what if she refuses to turn away from the Dark Side?" questioned Master Windu.
Obi-Wan didn't respond, refusing to acknowledge the possibility.
Qui-Gon answered for him, giving a small, sad smile. "Then she can't hurt anyone else when she lives in a cell for the rest of her life..."
Its hours before a decision is made, the both of them poked and prodded and questioned before they grudgingly relented. Most of the Council departs after the meeting is concluded. Plo Koon, Yoda, and Mace Windu join Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon as they move to the Halls of Healing.
"Mention what you wish with Young Skywalker, you did not," commented Yoda as they walked.
"I made my intentions perfectly clear when we were last on Coruscant," answered Qui-Gon.
"Give permission for you to train the boy, we did not," rebuked Yoda, "Trials, your padawan has not yet taken, has he, hmm?"
"I would say that Obi-Wan is about to enter one of the greatest trials of his life," commented Qui-Gon, earning a wack from Yoda's stick.
'Nice of you to use my struggles like that', bemoaned Obi-Wan down the bond.
Qui-Gon sent a fond ruffle through the Force. 'Kind of you to offer'.
'I don't recall doing so.'
'I can bribe you with tea for the duration of your 'trial'?'
'Done.'
Yoda sighed. "Unwise this is. Many risks, between Skywalker and Tachi, does the Order take. Uncertain the future is, clouded."
"The Force has been clouded for years now Master Yoda," said Obi-Wan, sighing, "Before I became a Padawan even, its only grown more and more clouded."
"I cannot help but wonder if the Sith have anything to do with that," mused Plo Koon.
There was silence as they considered that, and Obi-Wan conceded a, "Something to ask Siri eventually."
The moment they entered the Halls of Healing, Obi-Wan was confronted with a very angry Bant Eerin stalking up to him and brushing past the Jedi Counselors without even a nod of acknowledgement. "Obi-Wan Kenobi! Did you know? Did you know about Siri the last time you were on Coruscant, and not tell me?"
"Uh... hi Bant," said Obi-Wan sheepishly.
"Obi-Wan was under strict orders to not speak of the Darksider unless given permission to," said Master Windu.
Bant glowered a him for a moment before huffing and turning leading them in, "That Darksider has a name you know. Master Che and I have been looking Siri over since she was put into our care. I am not pleased with what we've found."
"Which is...?" prompted Master Windu.
"See for yourself," said Bant.
Obi-Wan walked into the secure room, finding Siri naked on her back, a cloth drawn up to cover her lower half, Healer Che running a softly glowing hand down... trails of scars and burns. Obi-Wan swallowed thickly at the sight. Qui-Gon had said Darksider's training and conditioning was harsh... but... seeing it was another matter entirely.
"From what we can tell, the physical scars are from various sources," said Bant in a forced calm voice, "Vibroblades and staves seeming to be the most common that we can figure, and none of these hits were pulled. The burns, well... I... I'm not experienced with what caused them. Master Che says they are Force based."
Healer Che briefly looked up. "I've ventured a look into the archives during my last break, in particular the healers section, and having read up on pre-Russan Force damage treatment, determined them to be from Force Lightning. A large majority of her body has signs of exposure to this, it lingers in the Force even after the skin has healed. She is very fortunate that we have knowledge of how to treat and prevent long term damage from this extensive amount an exposure."
"Long term?" rumbled Plo Koon.
"Electrical shocks can cause nerve damage," explained Healer Che, "Especially from this particular type of Force attack. Her joints would suffer in particular, arthritis is a common side effect if not treated. There would be a high chance of cataracts in her eyes as well. There is, to be frank, enough side effects that it is better to simply treat and eliminate the possibility of them."
"Siri didn't seem to be in any pain," murmured Obi-Wan.
Healer Che wagged a finger. "Darksiders thrive off pain, and can have an incredible amount of tolerance to it, thresholds beyond what most sentients, even Jedi, can tolerate. Continual amounts of a low dosage of pain or irritation would most likely not even register for her or she may just be used to it, not to mention draw strength from. Its also a simple possibility that she is young and relatively healthy, and as a Force Sensitive, her body can recover from the damage."
Healer Che frowned. "She more recently suffered several whole body exposures to it from what I can tell, and it was not a minor thing. Scans show her insides were a little cooked a bit by her last exposure if that is what it was. Even worse is her mental condition..."
The healer shook her head. "I have only done a cursory examination of her mind as of the moment, as its generally not wise to delve into a Darksiders mind without taking preparations, but there are signs that her shields were shattered and someone ripped through her mind, recently. To the point where she had to compartmentalize the damage to deal with another time. I am treating her physical wounds before I attempt to treat that."
Obi-Wan felt like he was going to be sick.
"In addition, there are... lingering presences not her own in her head," admitted the healer, just a tad uncomfortable, "She has had multiple beings, all dark, go through her mind at one point with either repetition, or deeply enough, to leave a residue of their presence. At least two, up to four, its hard to tell honestly."
"Multiple?" questioned Master Windu sharply.
The healer shook her head. "I can't give you more than a number."
Force... Obi-Wan was mortified, "I understand that darksiders are harsh... but this is..."
"The Sith are a disease," spat Master Windu, "They have no regard for any sanctity of life."
Healer Che paused. "Sith. You are saying..."
"It is to be kept quiet for the time being," said Master Windu firmly, "The continued existence of the Sith is currently a tightly guarded secret."
"That's... no, no, Siri can't be a Sith!" said Bant in horror, "It's obvious something awful must have happened to make her fall, but the Sith?!"
"Well, that puts things into perspective," mused Healer Che, "I thought this was extreme, even for a Dark Jedi to inflict on someone."
Bant turned to Obi-Wan, eyes pleading, but he could only sigh. "I'm sorry Bant, she's is a Sith Apprentice."
Bant swallowed, hard, and struggled to contain her emotions. "Oh Siri... how could it end up this way?"
"We're going to find out," said Obi-Wan, "And help her come back from this."
"Is there anything else you have been able to observe or determine?" asked Plo Koon.
"Perhaps that she hasn't bothered with a healing trance in a very long time," said Healer Che, "She has had exposure to toxic environments or chemicals that have left traces in her bloodstream over the years. A trance could have easily purged them. She doesn't take very good care of herself. Otherwise, there is nothing else that you would need to be informed of."
"Need to be?" inquired Master Windu, "She is a darksider..."
"She is also a patient," said Healer Che firmly, "And any non-Jedi are subject to patient-doctor confidentiality."
"Padawan Tachi was never formally removed from the Order," commented Plo Koon without judgement, "Nor did she hand in any forms of resignation."
Yoda spoke up for the first time since entering the room. "Appreciate such intrusiveness, she will not. If dire they are not, no more need we know."
"It could be unknowingly important, or perhaps give an edge or understanding...," began Master Windu.
"I gave her a full-body physical," said Healer Che in exasperation, "Can you say you are truly interested in her vital sign readings, weight, height, muscle tone, sexual activity, test results for various diseases, and things of that nature?"
Master Windu waved a hand, muttering, "I shouldn't be surprised she didn't stick to any part of the code."
"Celibacy isn't a mandate," commented Qui-Gon, bemused.
Obi-Wan was... a little surprised to feel a flicker of jealousy, but let it go. While he had cherished her memory, he wasn't exactly a blushing virgin either.
"I would like Yoda's support however when I do try to go about repairing her recent mental trauma," said Healer Che, "As I implied earlier, delving into a darksider's mind is generally not safe. However, I will mention that this is not to be a breech of her privacy nor an attempt to pry into her memories. Mending only."
"Mmm," murmured Yoda, "Finish healing her body, you will, then attempt her mind, we shall."
Obi-Wan watched quietly as Healer Che and Bant, methodically went about tending to Siri, clothing her in a medical gown when they were done. Yoda hobbled over and jumped onto a chair, reaching a hand to brush against Siri's forehead, a sad look on his old face. He settled a gnarled claw on the side of her forehead as Healer Che put on on the back of her head. For a few minutes, all Obi-Wan could feel was a subtle stirring of the Force.
And then a frown appeared across Healer Che's face. "Is that a compulsion?"
Yoda staggered and fall off the chair, and Healer Che stumbled away, crying out in surprise as a brief spike of the Dark Side burst from Siri's mind. The other Jedi in the room tensed, stepping forward, but Che waved them off, wobbling around for a moment before touching the side of her forehead, a soft light emanating before disappearing. Yoda merely shook his head and seemed to overcome whatever had just happened.
"There are compulsions, or at least something that looks like one, in her head," said Che flatly, "Which have mental traps underneath them that spring when touched. That was... some kind of distortion and sensory overload."
She shook her head. "We can't do this, her mind is booby trapped to an insane degree if the amount of compulsions, or bait look-alikes, are any indication. It's not safe for anyone but Siri herself to go into her own mind. She's going to have to do this herself at some point."
"She is going to be placed in a Force Suppressant Cell when you are done here," said Master Windu, "She won't have the chance to for some time I imagine."
"Then she's going to have to deal with it for the time being," said Healer Che firmly, "I am not going to risk mental damage to myself or anyone else who may try to go in and help her. She has compartmentalized the damaged area, so it can wait."
Obi-Wan swallowed, not liking the implications coming to mind. "Are they compulsions? Or just traps? And if traps... why are they shaped in a way that makes them appear to be compulsions?"
Healer Che shook her head. "I'm not sure on either question. She has to have an understanding of what a compulsion is and how to make them to be able to shape her traps like that, so either she's practiced making them, picked one apart within her own mind, or perhaps both. The sheer amount of these traps though suggests paranoia against someone in her head. Considering the trace presences of there having been others in her mind multiple times, perhaps not quite paranoia, and more like a line of defense. There is also the possibility, that since the traps do not trigger until they are touched, they are meant to fake looking like a compulsion in order to deceive someone checking on them. It would be a logical conclusion to say she has most likely suffered one or more compulsions being put in her mind before."
Obi-Wan closed his eyes, struggling with the possibilities: Does she have compulsions in her head now? If she had them in her head in the past, how many? What was she forced, or manipulated, into doing? How long were they in her head before they were discovered? What were the long-term consequences for her, in what happened to her or what she did? It leaves him all kinds of anxious that he has to take a moment to continually release the emotion into the Force.
"Force," whispered Bant, "Why would she live in such an environment, why not get out? Seek help? She would have been safe in the Temple if she had come to us!"
"Assumptions, help us will not," said Yoda, waving his stick through the air, "Ask her, we will, if open about her past, she chooses to become."
Yoda looked at Siri with a mixture of grief and sorrow, sadness. "If nothing else there is, Healer Che, then take her to her cell, we will."
"No, that's as much as I can do for the time being," answered the healer.
With that, a hoverstretcher was retrieved, Siri levitated onto it and unhooked from the IV of sedatives, and she was taken down into the bowls of the Jedi Temple.
Obi-Wan shivered as they entered one of the cells, losing the sensation of the Force in the air, through his body, the loss of access to it, before they placed Siri down on a thin bunk-like bed. "These rooms are... unpleasant."
"That is putting it mildly padawan mine," muttered Qui-Gon, hastily making for the doorway.
Obi-Wan glanced back and forth between Siri and the doorway before coming to a decision. "I think I'll wait in here for her to wake up, give her a familiar face, and explain her situation to her."
"That can be done from outside the cell, Padawan Kenobi," said Mace in the doorway.
Obi-Wan shrugged. "I'm not going to have her suffer the cell alone and stare at her from the outside in."
Master Windu frowned for a moment, exchanging glances with Plo Koon and Yoda before sighing, "Call for a guard when you are ready to leave then, Padawan Kenobi. Be mindful that she is dangerous, and it takes time to deactivate the Force Field at the entrance and get into the cell."
Obi-Wan nodded and moved to settle down against the wall opposite to the bed, staring silently at Siri's unconscious form, wondering how in the world he was going to go about getting her out of the Darkness she was swallowed by...
Chapter 25: The Guide (Part 1)
Chapter Text
The first thing Siri notes, even before she's fully awake, is the lack of the Force. It jolts her awake in a panic, breathing raggedly, gasping as if she's choking. She can't feel it, she can't feel it! She claws at her neck, her arms… and then there's hands stopping her.
"Siri! Calm down!"
It's Obi-Wan's voice.
She blinks rapidly, adjusting to the dimly lit room, her chest rising and falling slower and slower. Obi-Wan is kneeling in front of her, clutching her shaking limbs. Siri looks around, shes dressed in a light medical wing gown, there's nothing in here but a bed that she's on, a forcefield as a door, and a very small fresher tied to the… the Force Suppressant Cell she's in.
"I'm in the Temple," she states flatly.
"Yes."
"Home sweet home," she mutters bitterly.
Obi-Wan lets go of her arms and sat down next to her. "Sorry, the Council didn't want to take any chances."
She shook her head. "It's nothing I didn't expect if I was ever found and captured."
Then her eyes narrow and rage spikes. "I know why I'm in here, but why did they throw you in with me? You've done nothing wrong!"
He smiled mirthlessly. "I asked to be in here."
She blanks. "You what?"
"I asked to be in here," he answers again, "Figured you could use the company."
She just stared at him.
His smile turned self-depreciating. "…and I want to convince you to turn away from the Dark Side."
She sighs. "Obi-Wan… I've been through this dance and song before."
"And I heard you came close," said Obi-Wan, sitting down on the bed next to her.
She had... before Ur Manka had betrayed her. She said nothing though, merely looking down at her hands silently. Sidious had never instructed her on what to do in the situation the Jedi captured her. She had little to no knowledge about dealing with Force suppression. Probably because he would have used it against her had she been to unruly. Zannah had briefly mentioned once that there were techniques to escape Force Binders, to resist Force suppressing concoctions, but an entire cell was a completely different matter. She... wasn't getting out of here unless the Jedi let her out.
"Siri... what happened on that mission?" asked Obi-Wan, "After we separated to look for Tally?"
Siri looked away from him for a moment. Does she tell him? Does it matter? It was a long time ago for her...
"Master Galia and I... discovered Tally being abducted by a hooded figure, he leaped on a speeder, we gave chase," she said, shrugging, "We followed him back to his ship and confronted him. Turned out he was Force Sensitive, thought he was a Dark Jedi. He took Master Galia by surprise, got a hit on her shoulder and disabled her dominate arm. We fought..."
She trailed off, an image of her Master shoving her aside and taking the lethal low. "I was weak. I got her killed."
Obi-Wan frowned. "Siri, you can't blame yourself for..."
"You weren't there!" she snarled, "You... you didn't see how pitiful I was! She..."
Siri's hands trembled. "She pushed me aside, she was run through..."
"She died for you," he said softly, in a gentle, sad wonder, "There is nothing greater a Master can do for their Padawan then to give their life for them."
The anger, the rage, and the hate that surges forth from the memory aren't unexpected. Its the lack of a familiar spike of power, of the Dark Side, that throws her off. Leaves her floundering to the surprise ache of grief and sadness, emotions she hadn't felt for that memory in so long. It takes her completely offguard. She's left with ragged breathing, tears in her eyes, and the pain of loss so acute it was overwhelming.
"Siri?"
"No Force," she rasps, her voice shaking.
There is no Dark Side to smother those weaker, pitiful emotions.
Not even the brief light Ur Manka had given her years ago to release her pain into.
Just memory, and raw feeling. How... how did Force Nulls deal with this? She curled a little, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "I need the Dark... I don't want to feel this..."
Obi-Wan laid a hesitant hand on her shoulder. "Siri... have you never grieved for her?"
"Once," she whispered, "When I was with Master Ur Manka. But... I had other things to struggle with than an old memory."
"I don't understand," he said, "How could you not feel that for so long? Not release it..."
"The Dark Side," she snarled, "Does not release emotions! It uses them, and it especially keeps such weak emotions at bay! Grief, sadness, such sensations have no use to a Sith except to use against others."
Obi-Wan's hand fled her shoulder, and it was like a sudden patch of cold where it had been. "It... suppresses them?"
Siri just growls under her breath and stands, pacing the cell, trying to find a way to beat back what she feels. She has always had the Force's assistance, light or dark, in doing this. It's always been there, affecting her one way or another. She feels a bit floundered without it, but like hell will she let it beat her. She pushed at the feeling, the roil of her stomach, forcing it away through stubborn force of will.
"Siri?"
She closed her eyes as she paced, though kept her rotation short without the Force to sense if she was about to walk into something. Emotions were power, if they could not be used at the moment, they would be stored. Except she couldn't funnel them to draw out later without the Force, so they were just emotions. Normal people could still use their emotions for strength, she had seen desperation draw out amazing reserves in some of the beings she had killed. She could recall having drove her lightsaber through a target's chest once, only to have them still push on and stab her right back with a vibroblade out of pure spite and hate to take her down with them.
She just had to figure out how to use them without the Force, and not let them drag her down.
"Could you explain that?"
She opened her eyes and blinked at him. "Why? You already told me you have no interest in embracing the Dark Side."
"I have no desire to fall," he agreed, "But I have an academic interest in knowing how it affects you."
"Fall," mused Siri, "Is such a crude, barbaric thing, and nothing I would intend for you."
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Why would I let you fall, Obi-Wan?" she purred, a twisted smile crossing her face, "You can get hurt doing something so uncontrolled. Why let you fall off a cliff into the dark, when I could guide you down the shadowed path instead?"
Her eyes watched Obi-Wan reflexively lean back into the wall beside the bed, as if to scoot farther way from her. "A fall is a horrific, terrifying thing Obi-Wan. Filled with pain and loss as you finally embrace your true power. There are much better ways I think that embracing the Dark Side could be done."
It was strange. Seeing that nervousness, that fear, and not being able to feed off it for power. It must be doubly strange to Obi-Wan, because he's in here too, he can't release his emotions to the Force at the moment. Though, being a Jedi would give him practice at keeping calm, which would help him in this situation. That fear though... for once, she doesn't like it. She doesn't like him being afraid of her, not after he confessed his feelings.
She watches him steel himself, and then he speaks, "Do you regret yours?"
Siri's fists tightened. "I never had a choice in mine."
"There's always a choice...," began Obi-Wan.
"Is there?" she snarled, "Is there really, Kenobi? I was facing down a Dark Jedi, a young Sith Apprentice in reality, who had just killed my Master, who toyed with us. I was a complete emotional mess, I had no control anymore, and he..."
She looked away, thinking but not saying 'He threatened to kill you, to make you watch as your master died as I had'. She didn't think Obi-Wan would do well in realizing she had... well... in a way kind of fallen to the Dark Side for him. She was angry with him... but she didn't want to hurt him, and the truth would wound him deeply. He... he admitted to loving her, and she would never again raise a hand to him to inflict pain. He was hers... and she never wanted to see his face twisting in pain again...
Pain that she had inflicted on him.
She hissed at the regret that bombarded her, sneering at him and diverting both him and her from that moment. "It turns out, Obi-Wan, if you kill a Sith Apprentice through falling, you automatically qualify for the job, and if you decline, you die."
Obi-Wan blinked. "You killed a Sith?"
"Sidious's first apprentice, Maul," spat Siri, "A beast. He was my favorite and most treasured kill. I won't likely find a more satisfying one unless I kill Sidious."
"So you chased Tally, Maul killed Master Galia, and... you fell to kill him," said Obi-Wan slowly, "Followed by, I'm assuming, Darth Sidious kidnapping you and forcing you to be his apprentice?"
Siri scoffed. "Forced is such a strong word Obi-Wan. As you said, there was always a choice. I could have refused, he..."
Would have tracked down and killed all of her friends from the temple... killed Obi-Wan...
"...would have either kept torturing me until I agreed, or until he got sick of waiting and just killed me," said Siri, memories of that time in that cell...
That cell...
Siri threw back her head and she laughed. "Oh the irony."
Obi-Wan gave her a blank look.
"When Sidious abducted me, he threw me into a cell and tortured me until I agreed to become his apprentice," she said with dark amusement, ignoring Obi-Wan's grimace, "When the Jedi abducted me, they threw me into a Force Suppressant Cell which is basically torture for a Force Sensitive, until I assume I agree to serve them. The irony is not lost on me."
Obi-Wan frowned. "I'm not sure capturing a dangerous prisoner is quite the same as abducting a lost and struggling Padawan. The cell is to make sure you can't hurt others, and we want to help you, not force you into service."
"Semantics," she said dismissively.
"It's really not," said Obi-Wan mildly.
"Unless I agree to try to go back to the light, to the Jedi, I know I'm not ever getting out of here," she said flatly, "Don't mince words Kenobi. Its the same now as it was then. Convert or die, or at least spend the rest of my life in a cell."
Or until Sidious destroys the Jedi, drags her ass out of this cell, and kills her for her failure. She can't even imagine the rage he must feel at the moment, to have had his yellow-eyed Sith Apprentice, and lost her within five minutes time. He'd make her death slow and painful.
"It's all my life's ever been," she said bitterly, "I'm not ignorant. Jedi or Sith, I was indoctrinated and trained in their ways, a servant to a master. Whether a compliant, dutiful padawan to Master Galia, or a slave of an Apprentice to Sidious, I haven't been free a day in my life."
"Indoctrinated?" he said, incredulous, "The Jedi..."
"Take children as infants and raise them from the ground up to be Jedi," she said flatly, "So yes, indoctrination. The Jedi and the Sith aren't that different Obi-Wan, they just go about the same things in different and conflicting ways. Case in point being Sith will take an older apprentice, and aren't afraid to poach from the Jedi."
Yeah, they really weren't afraid to do that. Exar Kun, Revan, Ulic Qel-Droma, ect... Siri was just the latest in a very long line.
"I beg to differ."
"Then differ, I don't care," she said dismissively, "Now get up and out of my bed."
Obi-Wan did, and she laid down, staring up at the ceiling silently.
"Do you mind, if I tell the council what you told me about the mission with Tally?" he asked.
She scoffed. "You're their interrogator, you're going to tell them anyway."
"I am not," he said firmly, "I will only tell them things you give me permission to, or that have immediate dire consequences."
She rolled her eyes. "You're going to pull Good Jedi Bad Jedi on me? Really?"
"I'm not pulling anything Siri, I mean it," he said again, and her eyes washed over him. There was not a hint of lying, but a Jedi's calm facade would allow him to hide that. Not to mention she didn't have the Force to sense for a lie, still...
"Even if I believed that," she drawled, "This is an advanced prison cell for dangerous Force Sensitive. If there aren't cameras and microphones in it, I might die of shock."
At that, Obi-Wan blanked. "Oh. That... might be a good point. I'll bring it up, and if there are any microphones, have them removed. I doubt they'd agree to removing cameras though."
She scoffed. "Right, sure. Even if by chance you are telling the truth, the Council won't allow that."
Obi-Wan shrugged. "We'll see."
They lapsed into silence, Siri pursing her lips and just staring up at the ceiling. Force, she wished Zannah was here to chat with at least. Then again... would a Holocron even work in a Force Suppressant Cell? That was a logic conundrum to think about...
"So... what happened next?"
Siri sighed. "Go away Obi-Wan."
"Maybe later," he answered, sitting down against the opposing wall, "If you don't want to talk about your past, I can bring you up to speed on whats happened here at home."
"Oh joy, Jedi gossip and the Temple rumor mill," drawled Siri, glancing over at him.
And seeing a flash of... something, pain, irritation, resignation. "Yes, the rumor mill."
She rolled onto her side, studying him for a moment. There was honest negativity from him, interesting. Lets see where this led to..., "Alright then, lets hear it."
"Well... that mission was a disaster, to say plainly," said Obi-Wan, "My Master and I got six months of censure for our troubles..."
"You WHAT?" she exploded, bolting to a sitting position and clenching the ends of the bed tightly, "That's kriffing stupid! You weren't responsible for what happened!"
Obi-Wan shrugged. "A Council Member and her promising padawan had just been killed, supposedly. There was plenty of blame to go around and both Qui-Gon and I were there to take it."
Her rage surges at the thought of it... of Obi-Wan being unnecessarily punished, blamed for her own death, reputation torn apart, the rumor mill in terrible motion...
...and then there was, yet again, no familiar spike of power or the Dark Side in response. She snarled a bit and clenched her fists in frustration, in yearning for that familiar dark rush. It sent a viscous shiver, a craving, for it that she could not sate. She didn't like this, at all. She was in her first hour of conscious captivity, and it was already trying at her. She swallowed at the thought months, years, potentially her entire life, being spent in this room.
Then again, being cut off from the Force but not severed from it for the long term had potentially dangerous side effects for a Force Sensitive. She wondered if she'd go mad from being coped up in here, or from the lack of the Force, either she supposed depended on her will. She considered if the Jedi even knew about that. Then again, they had these cells, they had been used in the far past. Or maybe they just chalked up any side effects to being caused by the Dark Side, who knows. Perhaps they didn't care, used it as a form of punishment.
Self-Righteous bastards, the lot of them.
"Are you okay Siri?" asked Obi-Wan.
She blinked at him. "Do you always ask stupid questions Obi-Wan?"
"Some of the time?"
She snorted, trying to hold back a laugh. "When did you stop being to stuck up and stingy?"
"Sometime after Qui-Gon corrupted me with his maverick ways," mused Obi-Wan, "Terrible influence, that Master Jinn."
Siri frowned a bit and laid back down, thinking about how much Obi-Wan's master meant to him, the pain and anticipatory loss Obi-Wan had felt when Siri had been about to kill Master Jinn... "Sidious wants Qui-Gon dead, specifically."
Obi-Wan's breath hitched. "Is... that why you were involved in the Blockade of Naboo?"
"No, Sidious has some reason for the blockade, never told me, I was just to get the Queen to sign the treaty, you and Jinn were bonus. I was to kill Qui-Gon to get at Dooku, and kill you as... as my final test," she said.
Obi-Wan frowned intently. "Get at my Grandmaster?"
Siri turned her head, eyebrow raised. "You almost sound fond of him."
"I am fond of him," said Obi-Wan matter of factually, "When he wasn't chasing off after you, he spent a lot of time with us. While I prefer Ataru, he taught me a bit of Makashi."
Siri groaned. "Great, so that surprise wouldn't have worked on you either."
"Nobody expects Makashi," teased Obi-Wan, "Not even someone who uses it."
She blew a raspberry at him before frowning, "But... Dooku hadn't had anything to do with you or Qui-Gon since your apprenticeship started."
Obi-Wan shrugged, a self-depreciated smile crossing his face. "I was in... well... a rut, after you apparently died, and it reminded Qui-Gon enough of his own grief over Master Tahl to make him spiral into his own. We were miserable together, and apparently that was enough to have Yoda twist Dooku's arm into visiting us, and well, Dooku ended up being a rather welcome addition to our lives."
There was a part of Siri that purred with pleasure, of Obi-Wan having grieved for her 'death'. There was another that was sad, for him to have suffered that pain. The final part..., "You two are terrible with attachments."
Obi-Wan only smiled sheepishly in response at that, ducking his head.
Siri... enjoyed watching him like that. Seeming actually happy, not a Jedi's unnatural calm. She didn't want it ruined... and Dooku falling would ruin it. "Dooku has spent to much time alone chasing shadows, especially ones that Sidious had me leave for him. Qui-Gon's death would have been meant to push him into leaving the Order and leaving him ripe for the picking."
Obi-Wan's smile vanished in an instant, a heavy, if but bewildered frown crossing his face. "What use would he have of a Jedi Master? Even if Dooku left the Order?"
Oh poor Obi-Wan... so deluded; she thumbed herself, "What use would Sidious have for a Jedi Padawan, fallen or not?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "Dooku wouldn't fall."
"You don't listen Kenobi," Siri growled, flashing teeth, before tilting her head away, "I'm giving you the courtesy of warning you that Sidious has been watching your Grandmaster for a very long time. The least you could do is actually take my warning seriously, because I sure as hell don't have to tell you a damn thing."
Obi-Wan's frown hadn't left his face. "If you had killed Qui-Gon, and I had lived, Dooku probably would have taken up my apprenticeship rather than leave, for however little it lasted. Even if... if we both had died, he would have set out to destroy the Sith, not join them."
"Obi-Wan," she said irritably, was he this ignorant? We're all Jedi this ignorant? "I HATE Sidious, I want nothing more than to kill him. Hating the Sith and wanting to destroy them doesn't stop you from being able to join them. To work with them and be converted to their cause over time. I know from experience."
There was an ill look to Obi-Wan's face. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before standing up. "Alright... I... need to go see the Council, and see if they can get my Grandmaster back here. He was apparently looking into your underworld connections as an angle to locate you."
Siri growled. "He had best have stayed away from my favorites."
"You have favorites?"
Alexi and Mighella flashed through her mind. "Just because I'm a Sith doesn't mean I can't like people and prefer their company."
Though, now that Obi-Wan actually admitted he loved her... she probably wouldn't be ending up in Alexi's bed anymore, if she ever got out of here. Hell, she'd probably have to threaten him to never EVER mention it aloud. She'd cut his dick off if he ever even hinted to Obi-Wan that he and her had slept together. That... was an awkward sequence of thoughts...
She frowned a bit; she was not ignorant of how she was reacting to him, how her thoughts had shifted. Ironically enough... she thought she'd probably be acting more aggressive for him, more possessive of him, a Jedi, if she had the Dark Side right now. She's... not comfortable with how open she feels towards Obi-Wan...
It left her distinctly uncomfortable to have something feel more important than killing Sidious. Or at least comparable to that desire.
Obi-Wan was studying her for a moment before turning to the entrance of the cell. "I'll be back in a bit."
She watched as he called for the guards, wondering if he was really that trusting that he wouldn't make for the door-
Oh.
She smiled a little, annoyed, as a second forcefield activated a few feet in front of the first before that one shut down, allowing Obi-Wan to step forward, and then the forcefields switched again. A double-lock. It really sunk in... she wasn't going anywhere...
Suddenly, the cell seemed to grow a lot smaller.
And she wished Obi-Wan hadn't left...
Obi-Wan kept his face masked with passiveness, and his arms folded into his robes, as he finished giving Siri's very brief description of that mission eight years ago and her warnings about Dooku to the Council. There was an air of skepticism... but not on Yoda's face.
Yoda was honestly, and openly, worried about Dooku. "Mmm. Fear this, I did. Recall my padawan through emergency frequencies, we will. Know that found dark artifacts and writings while chasing Tachi, he did."
Obi-Wan swallowed, hard. He hadn't been aware of that, Grandmaster was keeping secrets from him and Qui-Gon, secrets that could destroy him. "So she's not lying in the slightest then. This 'Sidious' want's Dooku."
"Did she imply why?" asked Master Windu.
Obi-Wan shook his head. "No. I was... a little in denial over it and didn't dig into it."
He broke his stance to reach a hand up and rub his face. "The Sith are corruptive of everything."
"Then be mindful in your... sessions... with the Sith," said Master Windu, "There is no need to lose you to them as well."
Obi-Wan gave him a very unimpressed look. "I'll manage."
"She is more cooperative than I thought she would be," mused Master Piell, "Frankly, I wasn't expecting anything that wasn't a lie or deception for months, if that."
Obi-Wan shook his head. "She wasn't being cooperative. We argued mostly. She... thought that old mission didn't matter much to her anymore when she gave into that request, and did me a courtesy telling me about Dooku."
Plo Koon tilted his head. "A courtesy?"
Obi-Wan smiled a little, sadly. "I give it a few days at most before she learns to manage herself under Force suppression, but she's a bit open in her tells right now. She told me because I care about my Grandmaster."
"Attachment," mused Plo Koon, "She'd betray her Master's plans simply because you care about Master Dooku?"
Obi-Wan shrugged. "Yeah."
"You don't seemed surprised by this?" inquired Plo Koon.
"She's not loyal to Sidious," said Obi-Wan flatly, "Firmly seduced to the Dark Side, yes. Loyal perhaps to the Sith ideology in general, yes. But to Sidious? No. She firmly hates him."
"Then why act against him, has she not?" asked Yaddle.
"She's afraid of him, I think," said Obi-Wan slowly, "She said, back on Naboo, that I have no concept of just how powerful he is. She said she was decades away from being able to face and kill him. If she acted now, he'd just have killed her..."
He trailed off, frowning. "I'm probably missing something in all of this, I feel that I am. I've barely had an hour to talk to her so far, there's so much I don't know, and what I have learned thus far... is troubling."
"Yes, you haven't given in full detail a report of everything said," said Master Windu, prompting.
"And I'm not going to," said Obi-Wan, tilting his chin up a bit, "I promised her I would ask her permission before I say anything to specific, and I meant it. And on that note, if there are any microphones in that cell, please disable them."
The Council went dead silent.
"Padawan Kenobi...," began Master Windu, a scowl on his face a extreme disapproval in his voice.
"If I can't get her to trust me, if I can't earn that from her, she will stay lost," said Obi-Wan firmly, "You cannot touch the light without trust, and if she cannot trust, then she will never walk away from the Dark Side."
Yoda looked at him thoughtfully, "In what you say, truth there is. But report your progress, you still must."
"I can allow overviews," said Obi-Wan carefully, "And my thoughts in certain general matters, like something she revealed about the Dark Side to me earlier."
"Which is what exactly?" said Master Windu, eyes narrowed on him, "What is she 'teaching' you?"
"It wasn't teaching," Obi-Wan answered flatly before clearing his throat.
"She implied that the Dark Side suppresses what she called 'weak' emotions, such as grief and sadness. I've taken the liberty of assuming that applies to regret, guilt, and things of that nature," said Obi-Wan thoughtfully, "She seemed rather taken offguard when she felt them in the cell without the Dark Side there to block them."
"You consider this important?" asked Master Windu.
Obi-Wan stared at him. "Of course it is important, it's incredibly important. I had no clue the Dark Side works like that. Frankly, I know next to nothing about it, aside that anger, hate, suffering, and things of that nature lead to it, empower it. I don't know if its like that for everyone who touches it, or just her. But its a piece in understanding why the fallen stay fallen."
"Knowledge of the Dark Side is tightly guarded and restricted," said Master Windu firmly, "And for a reason."
"I understand that, and agree somewhat," said Obi-Wan, "But having little to no understanding of it academically leaves one uncertain on how to deal with it outside of a lightsaber."
He sighed. "I want to understand why and how she fell, I think she didn't tell me the whole story there. I want to understand how she was pulled into the Sith, why she didn't bolt the moment she had the opportunity to. What drew her in and kept her there..."
He trailed off briefly, "...what happened with Master Ur Manka. How she nearly came back, how that failed, how she ended up back with Sidious. How she became so entrenched into the Dark Side, and... and what happened on Naboo, that moment her eyes turned yellow and it felt like she had become something else. That... more than anything else, needs to be dealt with. She cannot ever become that lost again, I don't know if I could pull her back a second time. I need to know and understand everything I can in order to help her break free and stay free of it."
"Mmm," mused Yoda, slow and drawn out, "A long path, will you walk. Difficult this trial will be, for you, for Tachi. Dangerous, it may be. Talk to your Master, or a Mind Healer, you will, once a week at least, no less."
"If I feel in over my head, I will pull back and give myself space to think and deal with what I learn," agreed Obi-Wan.
Yoda grunted. "Agree with you, the Council will. So long as brief us, communicate, you do, refrain from recording, disabled any listening device in the cells shall be. For your safety, cameras will remain."
Obi-Wan didn't get the feeling Siri would hurt him, not anymore. But he didn't voice the thought, he doubted they would listen to it. He merely bowed his head. "Thank you, Counselors."
Master Windu seemed disgruntled by Yoda speaking for them all, and asked, "Is there anything else you learned thus far that you would consider acceptable to share?"
Obi-Wan grinned a little. "She wasn't anymore impressed with my and my Master's sixth month censure than we were."
"Hmph, impudence," said Yoda, waving his stick.
Then Obi-Wan frowned, uncertain. "Her views and comparisons between the Jedi and the Sith I'll need to figure out how to address."
"That's preposterous," snapped Master Windu, "Comparisons?"
Obi-Wan twitched uncomfortably. "She said that both Orders use indoctrination."
Exasperation filled the room, and Obi-Wan had the sense that this argument was something the Jedi Order as a whole was used to.
"It is the choice of the parent to give up their child, it is against our mandates to force them to baring extreme circumstances where the child's life is in danger," said Master Windu, "And any Jedi, should they so wish, is free to leave the Jedi Order and find a new life for themselves. No one is forced to stay."
Obi-Wan tilts his head in acknowledgement, but doesn't verbally respond. He thinks about it, and doesn't like the bitterness Siri showed. The words 'I haven't been free a day in my life' echo in his mind, because she firmly believes that, he didn't need the Force to feel that. He considers that a Jedi knows nothing else, why would they ever want to leave? Why is it considered such a crushing failure to not become a Jedi Knight, to end up in the Service Corps? Leaving the Jedi Order has a stigma, and anyone saying otherwise isn't doing anyone a favor. He doesn't think the Jedi Order does this deliberately, its not malicious, not like the Sith or other Dark Side sects at least. Its their culture, a way of life. Whether its indoctrination or not... that's really up to the individual he supposes.
"I don't think there's anything else relevant," and not personal, "To speak of at the moment, it was just a quick session."
"Then may the Force be with you, Padawan Kenobi," said Plo Koon, the rest echoing, and Obi-Wan echoing back, before leaving the room...
Chapter 26: The Guide (Part 2)
Notes:
As a heads up, The Guide is going to probably be the longest multi-part section in the book. We're in for the long haul here boyz n gals.
Chapter Text
Obi-Wan brought food back with him, so Siri figured she'd get fed whenever he came. She doubted anyone else would come in for fear of the dreaded, terrible, Sith cooties. She snickered a little, earning a raised eyebrow from Kenobi, but she waved it off. What was Siri, a Sith Holocron? She didn't naturally have that effect, but all the better anyway. Because frankly, she didn't want to have to deal with any other Jedi. She doubted she'd find them tolerable in the slightest. Obi-Wan was already going to be irritating enough, she wouldn't be able to stand anyone else preaching the light and bemoaning the Dark Side. She'd probably try to strangle them.
Hmm...
She hadn't strangled a Jedi to death with her bare hands yet.
Tempting...
"I'm not sure I like that smile on your face."
She glanced over at Obi-Wan eating off a tray on the floor. "Good intentions, I swear."
He gave her a dubious look. She merely snickered again and popped a piece of fruit into her mouth. She finished her tray and haphazardly tossed it towards the door, earning a reproachful look from Obi-Wan. She rolled her eyes and laid back down on her bed, hands under her head.
"Tell me about the Dark Side."
She was briefly, and uncomfortably, reminded of Master Ur Manka asking that question; she hid her unease with a snort. "Obi-Wan, you realize just what that question sounds like, right?"
He made a face. "I'm not interested in turning. I want to know what it does to a person, how it effects them. What is it like to you?"
Siri didn't answer, at least, not right away. She's learned so much more since Ur Manka, there is much she could tell him. Yet... she doesn't feel what she felt back on Naboo, the desire, the urge, the craving, to turn Obi-Wan. To mold him, shape him, make him belong more to her, make him like her. She supposes that's an active effect of the Dark Side, because right about now, she doesn't want Obi-Wan anywhere near, let alone using, the Dark Side. There's to much pain on that path, to much sacrifice and suffering. All in the name of...
"Power," she said, "It's power."
He rolled his eyes. "Isn't that what all darksiders say?"
She turned her head and snarled at him, "If you ask me a question, Obi-Wan, I expect you to listen to the damn answer, not brush it off!"
He tensed as she sat up and shifted, planting her feet off the bed and on the floor, staring coldly at him. "The Dark Side is power, at a price."
Obi-Wan's eyes furrowed. "And what is that price?"
She smiled. It wasn't a pleasant, happy, or silly smile. It was grim. "Everything. The more you give up to the Dark Side, the stronger you will be."
Obi-Wan was quiet for a minute, mulling over her answer. "If you give everything to the Dark Side, what does that leave you Siri?"
Her lips peeled back into a sneer. "I'm not stupid Obi-Wan. It leaves you with nothing."
"Then why would you want that?" he asked, incredulous.
"If the price be my soul, my reputation, my very life," she said, "Then I'd gladly pay it to kill Sidious. I made that bargain a long time ago, that I'd damn myself as deeply as I needed to in order to kill him."
"And whats the point if you just end up replacing him!" he countered.
"Aside from the fact he'd be dead?" she said, shrugging, "Would I have been as bad as he was? Who knows."
"It's not worth it," he said quietly, pleading, "It's not worth it Siri, you were gone for those few minutes on Naboo."
Gone is not quite how she would describe...what had happened there... but she merely shrugged. "No one would care."
"I would Siri," he said, and her stomach twisted, "I felt like I lost you all over again for those few minutes."
Her lips went tightly sealed, not trusting herself to say anything.
"Lets say you killed Sidious, and answer honestly, what then?" asked Obi-Wan.
She drawled out, "Taken over the Galaxy and forced it to get its shit together. It's a kriffing mess. I think I'd have made a great Empress, better than Sidious."
"Take over the galaxy," he said flatly.
"Ha, disbeliever," she teased, before her face turned hungry, "What do you think you do with power? With control? You gain it over yourself, then another, then a group, an order, a world, a species, a group of species, and then the galaxy itself."
Obi-Wan... looked a little ill. "Is that... that sounds like a reciting. Is that something the Sith teach you?"
Siri smiled sharply, sidestepping the question, her voice dangerous, "You look spooked Obi-Wan, you sure you want me to continue?"
"Unsettled, not spooked," denied Obi-Wan, "I really don't think I'm going to like anything you tell me."
"You won't," she promised, "But I don't want to overwhelm your feeble little Jedi mind with to much in one day."
"Ass."
She barked a laugh. "I should get me, you, Alexi, and Mighella in one room with drinks. I think it would turn out marvelously."
She didn't know how she would possibly get it done, but she decided that was going to be a life goal for herself at the moment. A Sith, a criminal mastermind, a nightsister witch, and a Maverick Jedi walk into a bar...
"I don't know who they are, but I'm going to be safe and assume it would end in absolute disaster."
She snickered. "I'd record it to watch later for laughs."
"Jedi really shouldn't get drunk."
"Not a Jedi," she singsonged, forcibly ignoring the brief flash of grief across Obi-Wan's face, "Besides, you have the Force, you can purge the effects of alcohol pretty quick."
"That's really not an excuse to be irresponsible."
"Oh posh, live a little," she mocked, "Force knows you Jedi live to much for others and not yourselves."
"It's a hard life," said Obi-Wan quietly.
"And a Sith's isn't?" she scoffed, "I'd say its a hundred times more rough."
"That so?" The tone wasn't mocking. It was honestly curious, if but uneasy that the question was asked.
Her stomach grew so twisted at that simple question. It disgusted her. She had adjusted to Sith training ages ago. Just because she didn't have the Dark Side anymore, she shouldn't feel so... weak at the knees at the thought of it, should have been numbed to it. She was weirdly offbalanced by all of this... by his damnable pestering questions.
She wanted Obi-Wan here.
But at the same time she didn't.
Siri growled a little under her breath, growing agitated, deciding on wanting him gone.. "I killed over a hundred people in my first month when Sidious weaned me off Jedi mercy and taught me to murder, to be numb to it. Does that answer your question, Jedi?"
She spoke it with ice cold hardness; and judging by the utter horror on Obi-Wan's face, he didn't doubt her. Good, Sith training wasn't fairy tales, it was a horror story from start to finish. She wanted to scare him away, get him to leave her alone for the time being. She hadn't however expected the explosive and massive barrage of guilt that suddenly incapacitated her, robbing her of breath as she sat there. It was like a bottomless screaming chasm had opened up, threatening to swallow her whole, that she couldn't escape without the Dark Side to beat it back.
"I... I need to go," stammered Obi-Wan, face so pale he looked deathly ill as he rushed for the entrance to the room.
No...
No no no no...
Don't go...
Don't leave me...
She couldn't manage to speak, let alone breath, watching as Obi-Wan waited for the room's forcefields to cycle out, and fled. Siri shook, uncontrollable, her face slowly turning blue, until she pitched forward and smacked her forehead into the floor. The spike of pain snapped her body out of its lock, and she took in a rasping, agonizing breath...
And screamed.
Obi-Wan slumped on Qui-Gon's couch, aimlessly watching his Master teach Anakin Skywalker how to read and write basic. Anakin had briefly looked at him, a little worried, but Qui-Gon had redirected his focus. That was fine, Obi-Wan just... needed a minute. An hour. A lifetime.
Over a hundred people in a month, to break Siri into Sith Training... break her from the Jedi...
Dear Force...
Obi-Wan struggled not to lose his food, not to heave and heave and heave. Nausea didn't even begin to describe it. He was a Senior Padawan, had even been caught in a war or two. He hadn't killed a hundred people in his entire life, let alone the one month of soul-killing madness Darth Sidious had afflicted on Siri. Obi-Wan could barely release his emotions to the Force fast enough to not lose absolute control of them. He was faintly sure, by the discomfort radiating off of Anakin, and the hints of it from Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan's shields weren't doing so good.
Go back to her...
"Is something the matter Obi-Wan?" asked Qui-Gon without looking up.
"If I ever find Sidious, I'll kill him, Jedi mercy be damned," was all Obi-Wan could say, his voice shaking, not with anger or hate of Sidious, just pure raw grief and regret for Siri.
Qui-Gon's eyes briefly looked up with concern before refocusing on the lesson, "Ah. You learned something uncomfortable from her."
"That puts it far to mildly," said Obi-Wan.
Go back to her, quickly...
Obi-Wan silently cursed the Force. He needed space, he need a moment to breath.
"Sorry, I just...," began Obi-Wan.
"Needed a familiar, comforting presence," finished Qui-Gon smoothly, "Its fine. I volunteered to have my doors open if you needed me."
"He just... he forced her to murder so many people," whispered Obi-Wan, "If that memory I saw on Naboo was any indication, innocents who couldn't even fight back."
"So... like a gladiator slave?" asked Anakin, looking up, face not surprised at all, more like thoughtfully curious.
Which was really... really offputting to Obi-Wan. The boy ought to be horrified, not looking like they were talking about the weather. "I wouldn't know."
"There were arenas on Tatooine," said Anakin, shrugging, "They'd pit anyone against anyone. So you killed them, or they killed you, or your Master did if you refused. Didn't matter if they were old folk or little kids."
Obi-Wan swallowed, a horrified look on his face. "And you watched this?"
"Watto bet on the fights," said Anakin, noncommittal, "Dragged me to a few of them with him and-hey!"
Qui-Gon finally lost his composure and swept Anakin into a tight hug. Wondered how long that would take with this kind of topic. That big old softie.
Obi-Wan ran a hand down his face and sighed heavily. Slavery was as much a madness as Sith Apprenticeship was, and Anakin seemed to draw enough parallels between it and slavery it could probably be taken as the same thing.
Go back to her, now...
Obi-Wan felt a chill of apprehension at the sharpness from the Force, and stood. "Sorry to bother you, I just needed a moment. I should get back to talking with her."
"You shouldn't force more than you can handle on yourself Obi-Wan," said Qui-Gon, a hand offered to allow Obi-Wan to join in and stay.
Go now.
"I... don't think its me I need to worry about," said Obi-Wan unsteadily, making for the door at a quick pace and all but running for the nearest elevator.
He heard the screams as soon as he entered the cell area and sprinted for her cell. Neither of the temple guards standing outside the cells showed any reaction to the wretched sobs, masked faces firmly forward, not caring about the Sith inside. Obi-Wan took one look in the cell and swore under his breath. Siri was a mess on the floor, arms bloody from clawing at them, her face tear stained and bloodied by its own share of scratch marks. Her eyes were unseeing and wild as she continued to draw blood on herself. She was completely lost in whatever was happening.
He rushed in, ignoring the uncomfortable spike of losing access to the Force, tackling her and pinning her arms down. "Siri STOP!"
She continued to writhe, losing her breath, screaming without air, silently in denial and horror. He forced her into a sitting position and tightened his arms around her. "Breathe Siri, breathe."
Her breathing was labored, as if on a ventilator. Obi-Wan just sat there, holding her firmly, until she finally went limp, her body shaking. "N...ne...need the Dark... need to not feel... I can't... I forgot it was... was like this..."
"Siri... what was that?" he whispered fearfully.
She was still shaking, and tried to pull away, but he merely yanked her back, not letting go. She didn't answer, just leaned back against him, her tremors slowly, very slowly, subsiding. When she finally went still, he gently lifted and laid her on her bed where she curled on herself. He went back to the entrance and called out, "Could one of you get a medical kit, quickly?"
"As you wish, Padawan Kenobi."
Obi-Wan hid a growl under his breath. One of them should have entered and stopped her from hurting herself during that... incident. He didn't say it aloud, but he would be making a note to talk to Master Koon to see if something could be done about that. Probably not though, Obi-Wan... was probably one of the few in the entire temple who would care about Siri. Jedi compassion his ass. When he got a kit, he moved to kneel in front of the bed, gently taking Siri's arms, cleaning them, and bandaging them.
Siri's eyes were still unfocused. "Forgot... I forgot..."
"You forgot what Siri?" he asked softly.
"That it was like this," she whispered, "Forgot what happened when Master Ur Manka had me touch the light. How much it hurt. It's worse now... its so much worse..."
He raised a wetcloth to her cheeks, dabbing and brushing the blood off. "What hurts exactly?"
She turned her head, buried her face in her pillow away from him, and muttered, "Guilt. Don't even have the light to try to release it this time..."
Well... guess that confirmed his suspicions on the Dark Side suppressing guilt. He withheld a wince as he realized what happened. She had intentionally revealed something awful to get him to go away, and inadvertently got hit by the guilt of it without the Dark Side there to keep it at bay. The guilt of over a hundred lives, all killed by her hand, in so short a time, all at once. Obi-Wan didn't know what to do in the face of such a thing.
She deserved compassion.
She deserved condemnation.
More than anything, Obi-Wan wished Sidious were in this cell. Then he'd stab the Sith, a lot. Actually, no, he didn't want that monster's corruptive influence anywhere near Siri ever again. Obi-Wan placed a small patch on both of her cheeks and closed the medkit, tending done. He sat down, leaning back against the bed, a sigh escaping his lips. Force... Siri was completely messed up. Unstable, dangerous, lethal. To herself and to others. Capable of being completely sadistic and malicious one moment, joking and teasing another, then ripped raw by grief. He wasn't sure how to handle these swings.
And Obi-Wan knew this was only going to be the first such incident. She had eight years of service (slavery, a voice that sounded like Anakin's whispered) to the Sith. A hundred dead in a month was, sadly, probably only the first in a very long line of atrocities she had committed in Sidious's name. He turned his head to sneak a glance at her; her breathing had evened out, and she seemed to have worn herself down enough to doze off.
Good.
He... really needed time to think and plan what the hell he was supposed to do. On one hand, she was a ruthless Sith Apprentice, on the other, there was still enough of Siri left deep down to actually feel guilt and remorse. He silently cursed the Force for this mess, because no matter what happened in this cell, Siri was never going to be the same Jedi Padawan she had been eight years ago.
He was in way over his head...
Which was hammered in again when an hour later, he had to wake her up from a blood curling screaming nightmare and took a right hook to his face for his troubles, making him see stars and land on his back. "Owww, shesh Siri."
He looks up at her, the rigged, almost childlike fear on her face for a moment, so much sorrow and regret...
Then its instantly closed off, back to that weird teasing and friendly while ready to rip your throat out kind of personality. "Pff. You really shouldn't wake a sleeping Sith, that's all on you."
That vulnerability is still in her eyes though. But its backed by the ferocity of a cornered animal. If he presses now... he wont like the results. "Duly noted."
Siri gets up from the bed, her eyes briefly flickering down to her bandaged arms, there is a viscous self-loathing that shows by the disgusted snarl on her lips and the tightening of her eyes, but doesn't spare them a word. She makes for the fresher. "See yourself out Obi-Wan. Lady needs time to tidy up."
The words are cheerful.
The tone is not.
Its dangerous. The last time she had spoken in that manner...
"What she would have felt is irrelevant. She's dead. She died years ago to a tool that was far weaker than I am. You'll be as dead as she is in a minute, Jedi, and the rest of your kind will follow soon enough."
...had been shortly before she actually went through with trying to kill Qui-Gon.
She was at the edge of her limit, there had been enough said and done for one day. It was time to leave. He had gotten her out of that guilt-fit (is that what he should even call that?) that would have opened her veins and killed her; that was enough for the time being. He'd trust the Force to warn him when he was out of the cell if he needed to step in again. He'll be back tomorrow, when she's had a chance to calm herself. He was going to have to be mindful of how much he pushed her, when he needed to back off, when he needed to press. It was going to take a very careful balance.
"Good night Siri," he said, tipping his head.
She didn't respond.
He saw himself out.
Chapter 27: The Guide (Part 3)
Chapter Text
Sidious sat in his newly taken office as the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. That at least had gone to plan if everything else hadn't. He supposed that was putting it lightly, everything else had failed, spectacularly. Amidala was still alive, and if any of the futures he had scryed were to be believed, would become a political nuisance to deal with that he unfortunately couldn't have killed at the moment. Qui-Gon Jinn was still alive, so Dooku was going to become a long-term project rather than short term. He'd have to find a step-in to handle dealing with the Kaminoians and their needed template. Not to mention any other ways the maverick Jedi could interfere in his plans.
Worst yet...
The Jedi had his apprentice, his Sith Apprentice, his Darth Tyrosus. Who he had never even had a chance to lay eyes on, to revel in, to possess and truly own as his legacy. To look into her molten yellow eyes, and find Siri Tachi dead at last. The future he had seen, of her carrying on the line of the Sith, her own apprentice a young mysterious Leia, was in jeopardy. He had finally had his true, Sith Apprentice... and then she had faded away, leaving him furiously baffled as to what had happened. Then he had seen the recordings from Naboo...
The pure, raw, continuous rage he felt left cracks in his heavily-layered shields that he had to consciously mend every few hours for the last few days. The first opportunity he had, he was going to vent his wrath on the misbegotten trash living in the bowls of Coruscant. He finally had an answer to who the Jedi was in his first vision of his apprentice, the Jedi that tried to pull her back into the light. Obi-Wan Kenobi. How DARE he. How dare he steal away what belonged to Sidious, to the Dark Side, to the Sith. She had been his! And then yanked back at the absolutely last second. Kenobi wasn't a mere old friend, a potential Sacrifice, he was what had held her back all these years.
Logic dictated he consider her a lost cause, to not waste time lingering, and move on, but that would admit failure in something he had struggled to attain for years, would admit the Jedi had won in regards to her. And that, was intolerable. Sidious growled under his breath. The Jedi would not have what belonged to him. He did not yet know how he would do it, but he would recover his apprentice. He would punish her as he never had before, make her watch as he stripped Kenobi's flesh from his bones in front of her very eyes, and then with nothing left to hold her back she would finally, firmly, be the Sith she was meant to be.
If all else failed, he could find another apprentice, as much as he was loath to admit defeat. That boy he had briefly seen on Coruscant, Skywalker if the reports from Naboo were right, had potential for example. Now that the boy had started training and actively the Force, he was like a beacon. How Sidious had missed him before, he didn't know. If he were not so invested in Tachi, Skywalker would be a go-to choice. Actually, not leaving himself a backup plan was foolish. It couldn't hurt to put in a request to see the 'Hero of Naboo' who blew up the Trade Federation Ship and 'give his thanks'. He needed to see what he could learn of the boy and his character. If he were lucky, he might get two potential apprentices to pit against one another, now there was an amusing idea.
Regardless, he still had to get his apprentice out of the Temple to have a chance at reclaiming her. How to go about that? The Jedi would not relinquish their hold for nothing short of a Senate order, and even that would be fought against, so how to go about that...
Ah...
A trial perhaps?
Yes... yes... that could work. There was some precedence for having a Force Sensitive taken out of Jedi custody to be put on trial. The Occupation of Naboo could serve as the reason, not to mention some of her more public confrontations with Dooku that resulted in collateral damage. He could potentially take her in transit, or from a cell. If all else failed, there were drugs that could make her seem dead to both sensors and the Force if she was put up for execution, then he could easily spirit her 'corpse' away.
It would take time to set that up however... time Kenobi would use to pry at Tachi.
He had best move quickly...
Obi-Wan had underestimated Siri.
He had thought it would take her days to gain control of herself while in the Force Suppression Cell. Yet when he walked in the following morning, Siri was laying on her stomach, feet kicking back and forth from the bed into the air, lazing about, calm and collected as could be; if but a bit bored. He stared at her, and she stared back, eye brow raised, making a popping sound with her mouth childishly.
"Good morning Siri," he finally said.
"Good being the relative term," she mused before pouting, "Aww really? You didn't bring me any grub? I'm hurt, you're supposed to bring your girl something to eat when you take them out on a date. Not that a cell is a restaurant, semantics I suppose for a Jedi."
Obi-Wan flushed a little bit at that mixture of poking, flirting, and jabbing; before he went a little sheepish at the main point. "Sorry, this is kinda new for me. I'll bring something back the next time I go and return."
She grinned. "Something tasty perhaps? I love temple mush as good as the next Sith prisoner, but c'mon."
He rolled his eyes and sighed. "I might get you something from Dex's at some point if it's allowed."
She pouted. "Tsk. Buzzkill. Ah well.
She eyed the entrance briefly. "So tell me, Obi-Wan, are you going to be my only playdate?"
"Playdate," he said mildly before pinching the bridge of his nose when she snickered at him.
She was going to be a test of patience too. Where was the calm if but serious and competitive Padawan he used to know?
"Most likely," he said.
"Oh good," she answered, "Having to hear Jedi preaching virtues at me would get old really fast."
"I could recite the Jedi Code for you if you want," he responded, poking back at her.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't you dare."
"There is no...," he began.
She shifted, sitting up, grabbing her pillow, and flinging it at him. "None of that Obi-Wan! I will kick you out of this cell!"
He caught the pillow and shook his head in bemusement, tossing it back to the bed. "You've always been a handful Siri."
"Sidious always called me insolent more than anything else," she mused noncommittally, faking indifference, "He was always so fond when he said that."
Though the twitching of her lips might have given away her own thoughts on that matter.
"So there's no one else you'd want to see?" asked Obi-Wan.
Siri made a face. "Not really..."
She frowned. "Maybe Vos, he was fun. I'd love to have a chance to screw with him, but I don't know when he's going to be done with whatever he was doing on Tatooine."
That caught Obi-Wan offguard. "Quinlan was on Tatooine?"
"Mhm," she answered, "One of the reasons I waited to come after you all, didn't know who the Queen was with. It was Quinlan and Aayla something."
"Secura, his padawan," he corrected.
Siri ogled at him. "They let Vos have a padawan?!"
Obi-Wan couldn't suppress a sharp, surprised laugh out of that, Siri just snickered again. "He's not that bad Siri."
"Coulda fooled me," she said, waving a hand through the air.
"What about Bant?" he asked when she made no further comment, "She did tend to you alongside Master Che."
Siri frowned, her eyes going sharp. "Tend to me?"
"You had wounds and scars, some old, some new, all over your body Siri," said Obi-Wan, a little incredulous.
Siri just looked at him with indifference. "Sith Training is harsh and not for the weak. Any mistake or slipups are punished."
Obi-Wan did not bother keeping the displeasure off his face. "That's no way to teach. Mistakes should be corrected, not pushed with beatings."
She seemed amused. "Funny enough, Sidious never really physically beat me. Electrocuted me all the time yes, but he never bothered with physical punishment. To easy to cut away feeling marks upon the flesh with the Force he said. Those marks I earned during my quality time with my training droids. Or while out on missions."
She scowled at him. "And hey! I never gave permission for any of that to be tended to! Most of those scars I kept as reminders."
He crossed his arms, not impressed in the slightest. "And what about the long term damage of Force Lightning then?"
She blinked at him. "The what?"
"Electricity can cause nerve damage. Damages your joints, arthritis is common, as are cataracts, and a huge amount of other side effects."
She stared at him for a moment before she started swearing, he assumed, in a strange, harsh language.
"What is that language?" he asked.
"Sith," she said flatly, irritation playing across her face, "Sidious, that old kriffing bastard. I don't even bother keeping track of all the reasons I want to kill him anymore."
"The Sith have their own language?" he asked, sidestepping that viscous torrent for the moment.
"Of course they do," she said flatly, "Force, how little does the average Jedi even know about the Sith?"
Obi-Wan didn't answer that. It was self-evident really.
Siri huffed a little. "I suppose you can give my thanks to Bant. I can't promise I'd play nice if she visits, might just scare her off."
Maybe when he had worked her over a bit more then. He toyed with asking about what happened with her mind, but held off for the moment, physical first. "How are you doing this morning?"
She stared at him.
His eyes flickered to her bandaged arms.
"I haven't the faintest idea what your hinting at," she said with lethal sweetness, her eyes predatory and dangerous, "But for your sake I suggest you drop the subject before I start breaking your fingers."
He frowned at her. "Siri... can't I even show concern for a friend?"
She growled, low and hostile, the hairs on the back of Obi-Wan's neck standing up, he reflexively took a step back as she spoke in a harsh tone. "It was a moment of weakness, nothing more, nothing less. I was caught off-guard and overwhelmed by an old weakness I thought had died out a long time ago. It won't happen again."
Obi-Wan took a moment to steel himself, to overcome that fear. "Feeling guilt isn't a weakness."
He swore facing down what Siri had become took more strength than standing up to the Council.
"For a Sith is is," she said sharply.
"Then I can't imagine why'd you ever want to be one," he snapped back, "Feeling guilt is part of what it means to be a sentient lifeform. Can you look me right in the eye and say you don't, or shouldn't, feel guilt for what you've done?"
"Being a Sith is my life now, I didn't have a real choice before, and I can't imagine anything else now," she said, her eyes meeting his for a moment before breaking away and crossing her arms stubbornly, "Perhaps it is... unfortunate... that people have died in my path to power, to becoming strong enough to kill Sidious, but it was a necessary sacrifice. It would have saved more lives in the long run if I succeeded in replacing Sidious."
Necessary.
Necessary?!
Did she even hear herself speak?
Was she truly so deeply, and utterly lost?
"Do you... do you honestly feel no remorse for what you've done?" he whispered.
She scowled at him. "Believe me Obi-Wan, between me and Sidious, I'm the lesser evil."
He said nothing, heartbroken and grieving. How can he fix this? How can he save her from this?
She looked away from him. "I never wished for this Obi-Wan, never would have wanted it. But whats done is done. I will do whatever it takes to achieve the power I need to kill Sidious."
"And damn anyone who gets in your way or caught in the crossfire?" he spat out.
She didn't answer, her lips drawn tight.
"Then why didn't you just kill me?" he asked, "Because I sure as hell was in the way."
She stood, and for a moment, he thought she was going to attack him, the rage on her face so all consuming. "Did you want me to kill you Kenobi? Because I could have, easily."
"Then why didn't you?" He had his suspicions, but he wanted to hear her say it.
Her hands were shaking, her breathing turned ragged. "Because I..."
She turned away and stalked into the fresher.
He wasn't done though, walking in after her, watching her leave heavily against the sink. "If everyone else is just 'in your way', then why should I have mattered?"
"Don't press your luck Obi-Wan," she whispered.
"I want to know," he said firmly, "Why me admitting I love you made such a difference, singled me out over everyone else you've murdered."
She whirled, grabbing him, and slamming him into the fresher wall, her face inches from his, her eyes wild with emotion, "Because you were the last thing I held onto! My last shred of decency, of innocence, of light. My last delusion, only it wasn't a delusion. You poured that feeling into me, showed me it, you held onto me the way I held onto you early on. I... I.. l... lo..."
She shoved him away, snarling, slamming a fist hard into the wall. Conflict deep across her face.
"You love me," he said softly, with a gentle wonder. She had felt the way he did about her, even through that darkness...
"Congratulation," she spat, "You win a medal. Now get the kriff out of my cell. I don't want to see you again today."
"Siri...," he began, reaching a hand for her.
"Touch me, and I'll break your arm," she snarled, voice rising, "GET OUT!"
He hesitated for a moment before pulling his hand back. "Alright. I'll bring you some food later then."
"I've gone days without eating before, I'll manage," she muttered.
"Another thing I don't like about your training," he muttered, earning another growl from her.
He took the hint though and left, thoughtful. Having confirmed her feelings for him... filled him with a lot of conflicting emotions. The fantasy of growing old and still loving one another as Qui-Gon and Tahl had was long since crushed. She had damned herself thoroughly, and while he still cared, still loved her... it would always be a shadow looming behind her. Still... no one who was truly lost could love, and while being loved by a darksider (a Sith) made him feel... uneasy, it was still an eight year old desire, to love and be loved in return by her. She was perhaps inches from falling off a pit that she might never be able to get out of, but there was still a chance, and despite how she denied it, she did feel regret, even if she was to much in denial to admit it.
She also knew, despite how she implied otherwise, that what she was doing was wrong. She wasn't so lost that she didn't recognize it. She had, even if it had been unintentional, called herself the lesser evil. Maybe he was grasping at straws, but... he wouldn't give up hope for her. He needed to take the rest of the day and think, plan, strategize, how to tackle this. As much as he didn't want to, Plo Koon's idea of using attachment, using love, as a weapon... might be the only real way he could make an actual impact. Because it hadn't been anything noble or remorseful or any reason like that which had stopped her from killing him and Qui-Gon, it had been her feelings for him. It left his stomach in knots... and felt wrong to do... but...
This wasn't something so simple as someone straying off the beaten path. She was fallen, Sith, so deeply lost... and even if he regretted it or she resented him for it later, he needed to pull out everything he had to bring her back...
Chapter 28: The Guide (Part 4)
Notes:
Warning: Obi-Wan is done with Siri's shit.
Chapter Text
"Why Soresu?"
Siri sighed. Irritated was only a minor description of how these constant pestering questions were starting to bother her. "I don't know, why don't you tell me?"
"Its just a simple, safe question," he said, "I'm curious why a darksider would choose that form."
She squinted at him. Was he for real? "A 'safe' question?"
He gave a sheepish smile. "Well, it can't be to personal or painful a story."
She rolled her eyes. "Something easy to step to lead into your prying again."
"Maybe."
"At least you have the honesty to admit it," she said dryly, "Even if you're wrong."
He hesitated.
"Now, Makashi was an quick and easy choice," she said, "Sidious had proceeded to demolish me by showing off his lightsaber skills and demanded I pick a form that I hadn't practiced as a Jedi. I chose Makashi simply because if I cross lightsabers with him, I'm really only going to get one shot, and it needs to be precise."
Obi-Wan frowned thoughtfully. "Are most of the choices you make based on how you can use them to kill Sidious?"
"That, to further my own ends, or to survive him/obey his orders," she said nonchalantly, ignoring the twist of his face, before refocusing, "Makashi is the counterpart to Soresu for me, an offense to pair with my defense."
Obi-Wan's brows furrowed. "How did you go about choosing Soresu? When did you start learning it?"
For a moment, she was back with Master Ur Manka, him walking her through the beginnings of the form again...
She shook her head, her face briefly filling with loathing before she banished it, giving Obi-Wan a cooled look. "That's frankly none of your business."
"It's a harmless question...," he began.
"No Obi-Wan, it really isn't," she said flatly, "Why I chose what I did can be used as a hint towards a strength or a weakness that could be used against me. How I learned it..."
Zannah had spent hours drilling Siri in it, and personally showing her every twist and trick to the form for months on end. She still wasn't as good as Zannah had been with it, and had yet to truly start weaving Sith Sorcery into active combat, but she had been close to getting the hang of splitting her attention before Naboo. Speaking of Sorcery, she wasn't going to be letting in on that at any point. The less the Jedi knew and understood about her capabilities, the better.
"...is a secret before you even begin to ask, because that can reveal just as much information."
He scratched his head. "Well... I admit I was curious. You're rather skilled with it, I was curious who taught you how to use it like that, and with a saberstaff. I'm guessing it's not Sidious."
Siri crossed her arms and gave him a look.
He sighed. "I didn't ask about your forms to glean information Siri, I just asked because I was interested. I thought it would be a topic that would be safe, neutral to start with, I didn't mean any offense."
So ignorant... the Jedi, or perhaps just Obi-Wan, were so ignorant of how so many different things could be used against a person. From how they fought, to their character, their speech patterns, how they walked or held themselves, how they thought, what kind of people they liked or didn't like, everything. Its part of the reason she adopted Zannah's attitude. It was as much of an offensive tool as it was a defensive one. Not to mention fun via messing with people.
"You're so cute floundering about without any idea what you're doing," she mused.
Case and kriffing point, watching Obi-Wan flush and then scowl at her.
"Master Ur Manka was way better at this than you were," she teased.
Obi-Wan's face flashed with hurt, turning away. "..."
She hesitated, watching him make for the door without saying a word. "Obi-Wan?"
He called for the guards to cycle the door.
"Obi-Wan, wait a sec, I didn't mean...," she began.
But he was gone.
And then she was as alone as she had been ten minutes prior...
He returned the next day, but... his face was closed off, cooled, giving her a tray of food and silently watching her eat. When she finished, he grabbed the tray and made for the entrance...
"Soresu... is chosen for many reasons by the Jedi, some because they like it, some because they think its defensiveness suits the motto of the Order," she said, one leg crossing over the other as she sat, eyes watching him pause a few feet from the forcefield, "A Sith however chooses differently. A Sith chooses to specialize in a form to suit their needs, not their desires."
He didn't turn, not immediately. And for a moment, just a moment, she was afraid she was going to be stuck alone in this cell, with nothing to do and no one to talk to, for another day. "And why did you need to learn Soresu?"
She doesn't like the way his voice is chilly towards her. It shouldn't affect her. She shouldn't let it affect her. But she doesn't like it regardless, it makes her... if she was less controlled, it would make her squirm uncomfortably. "I'm not a muscle bound lummox like Bruck was. I'm not going to naturally overpower my opponents, not unless they are weaker, or I'm pushing a lot of the Force into my blows. I have to rely on skill, on deflection, mobility, my terrain, not being where my opponent is attacking; Soresu is all that and more. I'm not as small as Za... as my instructor was, but, it still suits me. Perhaps I could have gotten away with Djem So or Ataru, their fluidity would have worked, but I like Soresu."
He turns his head, giving her a thoughtful look.
"I enjoy watching my opponents try to break me," she can't help but add maliciously, "And watching them fail, burning through their energy and allowing me a nice, easy kill when I so deign to grant them that mercy."
Obi-Wan rolls his eyes. "And just when I thought you could give a simple, clean answer."
She snickered. "I'm a Sith, Obi-Wan, what did you expect?"
That's the closest she's going to get to giving him an actual apology for yesterday. As deluded as he and the Jedi are... she knows he cares for her, wants to help in his own, ignorant, foolish way. Obi-Wan isn't any ordinary Jedi, or any of the trash she deals with on a normal basis. He doesn't deserve the sharpness of her tongue. Not unless he does something to piss her off anyway. Then its fair game.
He gives her a small, sad smile. "I suppose I don't know. You're both nothing and everything like the old horror stories we were told in the creche."
Siri frowned a little, tilting her head back. "I... can't really remember those."
Obi-Wan hesitates for a moment, an uncertain look on his face. "You'll... have to forgive me if I go to far, but, does that have anything to do with you having to compartmentalize certain areas of damage in your mind?"
Siri went very still, her voice hushed. "How do you know about that?"
"Master Che did a brief pass," said Obi-Wan in a careful tone, "She wanted to fix the damage, but... your head is apparently full of traps."
Siri slowly let her rigid form pool away. "You should be careful whose head you venture into. Mine is not a safe place to be."
"Yet according to Master Chi, there's traces of at least four darksiders having been in it," he said mildly, unmasked concern in his eyes.
She gave him a baffled look. "Four? Sidious and Plaguies I get, but who... oh, do Sith Holocrons count?"
Obi-Wan went wide-eyed. "Who is Plaguies? And Sith Holocrons? You've accessed those dark devices?"
"Plagueis," Siri said mildly, "Is a mess I got blindsided by in the middle of the kriffing Naboo mission, and yes, of course I've used Sith Holocrons, I'm a karking Sith for Force sake!"
She hummed to herself for a moment, watching Obi-Wan's eyes maintain their wide-open worry. "I'm feel like giving the Council a stroke. Feel free to tell them that up until like, a few days after Tatooine, there were two Dark Lords of the Sith. Because Sidious couldn't be bothered to have killed his own Master before taking me on as an apprentice."
Obi-Wan paled. "Two?"
"Always two there are, one to embody the power, the other to crave it," said Siri in a hushed, craving whisper, before scowling, "Plagueis got suspicious and decided he'd ransack through my mind. He wasn't gentle. He paid for it with his life, I even got to kill him, but I..."
She looked away for a moment. "I can't remember most of my years as a Padawan accuratly, its... if I even try to look at it it's a jumbled, painful mess."
She yelped a little when there were suddenly arms around her. "I'm so sorry Siri."
Siri... sat there unmoving. Not sure how to react. On one hand... she hadn't had anyone hold her like this since... Master Ur Manka... and it was Obi-Wan... it felt good, a foreign warmth. On the other hand, she despised the assumption that she was so weak she needed a comfort. She allowed herself a few more seconds to enjoy it, before scowling and shaking him off, huffing. "Please, its just a minor inconvenience I need a moment to take care of."
"Then why didn't you on your trip back to Naboo?" he demanded, "Siri, you can't let that kind of damage linger!"
"I'm a Sith, why should you care?" she jabbed back angrily, not acknowledging the question.
"We've been over why I care," he said heatedly, "And Sith or no, no one deserves that kind of pain, to have their mind ripped through. Why. Didn't. You. Fix. It? You had plenty of time to."
She shoved him back and screamed. "I DIDN'T WANT TO!"
He stumbled a bit, corrected his balance, and stared. "Why?"
"It's easier," she hissed, "To not have a past dragging you down if you can just forget about most of it."
She looked away, unable to meet that wounded look in his eyes. "A Sith thrives off of pain and anger, off suffering, especially their own. If all my past gives me is pain, without any of the drawbacks coming from a Jedi normally would, then all the better."
"That's an awful way to live," said Obi-Wan quietly before frowning, "How do you remember me then?"
She fidgeted a bit. "I... was selfish. I held onto the parts that I actually liked. You... Master Galia... Bant, Vos, Ga..."
She swallowed. "Garen."
There was the tiniest flinch from Obi-Wan at that, a flicker of accusation and anger in his eyes before he masked it. Siri's stomach plummeted, and her eyes widened.
No.
No way.
He wasn't there.
He couldn't possibly know.
There's no possible way he could have figured out she killed Garen.
"I... I don't want to talk anymore today Obi-Wan," she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself as she struggled with another massive wave of crushing guilt, "Leave."
How... how could he even stand to be in the same room as her? How could he even care? If he knew she had killed one of their best friends? Force, she had ripped through his own mental shields, something he had shown sympathy towards her for. Why did he feel anything towards her anymore?
"Maybe," he said slowly, "I don't want to leave right now."
Siri uncrossed her legs and tensed, gripping the bed as if to push off, eyes sweeping across the room in steadily rising panic, reflexively looking for an exit she could use. She wanted out of here. She wanted to be away from Obi-Wan. She wanted the Dark Side back to drown out these damned feelings she thought she had gotten over years ago. She wanted to not have to struggle to control herself every waking moment while in this accursed Force suppressant cell with him. Frankly, she'd settle for dying right about now judging by the steel in his eye.
"Siri."
She swallowed and turned her head towards him.
"I'm surprised you didn't choose to forget about Garen," he said, eyes narrowed, "After all, I remember watching you cry over murdering him. I'd thought you'd want to forget about that remorse, that regret."
Siri made a choking sound. "H-how..."
"Force vision," he said flatly, taking a step forward, "Why chose to continue this life of suffering Siri?"
She gritted her teeth, trying so hard to bury long dead emotions that should stay dead. She sneered at him, reaching for any hateful memory she could, desperately wishing she could draw power from them. "I'm a Sith Obi-Wan, it's my life. I enjoy it. I have no regrets."
"You LIAR!" he shouted at her, jabbing a finger in her direction, "You cried over him!"
"I was young!" she shouted back, "Weak! Foolish! Stupid! Clinging to trappings of a life I should have let die years ago!"
"Weak? Foolish?" he hissed, glaring at her, "Sidious had you murder one of your best friends, and brutally shocked you when you cried over him. He's had you do so many awful, atrocious things. So let me ask you something Siri. Everything you've done up to this point: Was. It. Worth. It?"
She shook with fury, eyes blurring with tears she never wanted to let free.
"Because right about now Siri," he said harshly, "I think it's left you alone in this cell with nothing to show for it. But you already knew that, you admitted that this path would destroy you."
"It'll be worth it," she whispered, "I... I just... I have to kill Sidious and it'll all be worth it."
He gave her a look of pure pity. "No, no it won't Siri."
He stood in the center of the cell and stared at her, his voice powerful and focused. "Mark my words Siri. If you get out of this and still end up going back to the Dark Side, to the Sith, remember what I say here and now: One day, you'll stand over Sidious's corpse, I don't doubt you will, you'll be triumphant for that one, single moment. Then you'll realize that that you lost everything you ever had to gain in doing so, sacrificed all that was dear and precious to you. All you'll have left is the Dark Side, with everything and everyone else turned unto ash. Then, and only then, will you truly realize that it wasn't worth it."
"Shut up," she whispered, shaking her head again and again, "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"
"Of all the things I remember about you Siri," he said, shaking his head, "I don't remember you being a coward."
"A coward," she spat out, "You think I'm a coward? When I've had the strength to walk my path?"
"That's anything but strength," he snarled, "I think you're a coward, because you're to afraid to walk away from the Dark Side! You're to afraid to admit you still can despite how much you've done to damn yourself! To kill your own damn soul! You're to afraid to even try!"
"What's there left to try for?" she spat bitterly.
"I don't know, maybe becoming a decent, respectable sentient being? Having a real life? Becoming happy? Being good?" he said, "Who can help pay back society for what you've done by helping us stop Sidious?"
"You... you think it's that simple? You think I can walk away from what I've become?" she spat, her voice wobbling.
"And what is it, exactly, that you have become?" he asked pointedly before his voice softened, "That makes you rejects my care? Reject me trying to help you find another path? Reject finding your way back?"
She absolutely lost it.
"I'M A MONSTER! A MASS MURDERER! A RAPIST! I'VE KILLED HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE AND RUINED AN EQUAL AMOUNT OF LIVES! I KILLED ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS, TRIED TO KILL YOU! I'M A SITH! HOW CAN YOU FEEL ANYTHING FOR ME?" she screamed at him at the top of her lungs, "WHY? WHY DON'T YOU HATE ME?!"
Her energy left her then, burnt out and ashen; she sagged. "Why?"
He closed his eyes, deep pain etched across his face. "A Jedi does not hate."
"Don't... don't give me that bantha shit," she spat out weakly.
"I don't know Siri," he admitted, "You've given me every reason to, with all that you've done, all that you've admitted being willing to do. I should hate you, I shouldn't feel a speck of love for you. I should walk away and leave you to rot."
It was like a gaping, bleeding wound had burst open...
He shook his head and opened his eyes. "I hate what you've done, I'm disgusted, and so unbelievably angry that its a good thing I can't touch the Force right now. But you yourself? I don't feel anything malicious, just pity, grief, and regret, for not having been able to do something for you sooner. But I'll be damned if I don't help you over your cowardice and get you back on the right path."
She closed her eyes, unable to stop the tears this time. "I'm... I'm not a coward Obi-Wan... I'm just realistic. I'm not afraid of coming back, because there is nothing to come back to. It's to late... its far to late... its been to late for me for years..."
Obi-Wan sighed heavily. "No its not Siri, if you had killed me, turned your back on what you felt, maybe then, but you didn't, and I'm going to keep hammering in that point until you well and truly accept it."
"Then we're going to be here for the rest of my life," she said weakly.
"If that's how long it takes," He turned towards the entrance. "Tomorrow, we're going to start from the beginning, and you are going to tell me everything that you went through, that you did. Day by day, until we're done."
Her eyes trailed him towards the forcefields. She felt more raw than she ever had in her life, she wanted to hate him, wanted him to hate her, yet she didn't want to be here alone with only her emotions as company, "Please... please don't go... don't leave me alone in here..."
He stopped a few feet from the entryway. "You're going to have to make a choice Siri. Because if this is the path you choose, if you ever become Darth Tyrosus again, if you leave yourself behind and become that monster, I will walk away, I will leave you, I will let you go, and I won't look back with anything but regret."
She watched him go, and it was minutes before she could voice her grief, letting out a quiet sob. Darth Tyrosus... everything Sidious wanted her to be, everything Siri wanted to become in order to kill him... everything she had been for those few minutes on Naboo... what she had lost when Obi-Wan sucker punched her with love... she remembered that state... and frowned...
Zannah had described becoming a Sith, truly becoming a Sith and accepting the Dark Side, as being like you were dying and being reborn. Leaving behind an old shell as you ascended into your new, unrestrained life. A new you, free of the chains of the past. Yet... here Siri sat... looking at that moment in her raw state... she couldn't deny what she saw...
She looked through her memories... and while that moment was drowned in darkness, the memory was her own, they belonged to no one else...
No lurking split personality... it was only her in her mind...
It was a lie... a lie Sith told themselves...
She whispered to herself a truth that she struggled with, that she wanted to deny. "Then I've already lost you Obi-Wan. I was there for a moment, before you pulled me away. I was her... you don't get it... I don't think the Sith as a whole get it. I... I didn't understand the concept until I reached that state, and then shattered it when I came back. I thought... I thought back on my life, that Siri, that I, was a weak, pathetic little girl that didn't exist anymore... trappings to be cast aside. But it's not true..."
She shook her head. "Siri Tachi, Darth Tyrosus, there is no difference. They're the same person. Two sides to the same coin. Just my mess of a life, and then me at my absolute worse with everything good that could hold me back smothered deep down. The Dark Side may help to create that state, but it can't bring out something you don't already have the potential to be... I always had the potential to be a monster, everyone does... I became that monster to kill one... and I can't come back... I can't..."
She put her head between her knees, and she sobbed, racking herself with loss and loss to be, hatred of herself, of Sidious, of everything, but unable to draw power from the intensity, her head hurting at the backlash, until exhaustion took her...
Chapter 29: The Guide (Part 5)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The veins on Master Windu's forehead are throbbing.
It's not what Obi-Wan should be focusing on as he stood in the middle of the council chamber, but he can't help stealing a glance and sending it down his still-active bond with Qui-Gon, earning a distracted but amused acknowledgement. Considering the circumstances, he shouldn't feel any amusement, Siri had confirmed the existence of a second Sith Lord that had been alive until recently after all, but he still does. Its rare that either he or Qui-Gon managed to get this much of a reaction out of Master Windu, mostly it's just scowls or mild irritation, maybe a change in tone. Perhaps its not fair to Mace Windu, he's the Master of the Order, head of the council if one doesn't consider Grandmaster Yoda, it's his job to take things seriously in order to serve and protect the Jedi Order. Master Windu takes that responsibility, well, seriously. He shouldn't be poked and prodded for it; shouldn't be a source of entertainment.
Obi-Wan just can't help himself; he blames Qui-Gon for it.
"Two Lords of the Sith," repeated Master Windu, his voice tight, "And multiple Sith Holocrons."
The man rubs his face tiredly. "Did she give any indication of where the Holocrons were or who they were of?"
"No," said Obi-Wan, "I kind of doubt she will give that away yet."
He wonders if the Holocrons are where she learned Soresu. He probes the Force, but just gets a murky shrug back. Useless as always, he missed the more clear times of his youth, he really does.
"Two lords, there were," pointed out Yaddle, "If believed, Tachi is to be."
"It would explain that massive explosion of Dark Side energy that the entire Order felt some time ago," said Plo Koon, "Two Sith Lords confronting one another, and one dying."
"Pray would I, that the truth, it is not," said Yoda, ears flickering, "Powerful, that energy was. Stand against that darkness, almost none in the Order could."
"While true, I'm more currently concerned," said Master Piell, "That we've had two Dark Lords of the Sith under our nose on Coruscant for who knows how long. That they've hidden from us for almost a thousand years undetected. It's unacceptable. We cannot fathom how much potential damage they've done lurking in the shadows. How did we miss this?"
"Clouded, the Force is...," began Yoda.
"For the entire last thousand years?" countered Master Piell.
Yoda didn't immediately respond, bringing his stick up to gnaw on in deep thought. "Mmm..."
"Well, we do have a Sith to ask," said Plo Koon pointedly, mask turning towards Obi-Wan.
"Slow steps Masters," said Obi-Wan respectfully, "Helping Siri, and getting her to help us in return, is going to be a very long process."
"Do you feel that you have made any progress thus far?" inquired Plo Koon.
Obi-Wan hesitated. "I won't say progress as much as I would say that I've attained an understanding that I frankly wish I never had to gain."
Ki-Adi-Mundi leaned forward. "And is this 'understanding' something you believe you can share?"
Obi-Wan nodded. "Suffering is a way of life for the Sith, not just for others, but for themselves, especially for themselves. They draw power from it, from their own pain. I don't know if that's common knowledge in the studies of the Sith, but... it was an unpleasant surprise for me. The more painful memories they have to induce emotions, the more power they gain. The more they can damn themselves, the better. At least... that's how I understand it."
"It's no way to life," he said quietly, "Not at all."
"Mmm," mused Yoda, "Worry not if same it is, from past Sith, to present Sith. Changes there may have been, important to see differences, hmm."
Obi-Wan swallowed, not... not sure if he really wanted to say this aloud, but..., "Siri knows what she's done is wrong, she's not blinded to it. She knows exactly where this path will lead her. She just... doesn't care. She'll damn herself as much as she has to if it allows her to kill Darth Sidious. She considers herself the 'lesser evil', and that's her own words."
"Does she not realize that she will simply end up becoming him in the end?" rumbled Plo Koon, "That every step she takes will create a beast as foul and vile as the man she hates?"
"I'm... not sure," said Obi-Wan quietly, "She said it would be worth it if she killed him, that she wouldn't know if she'd be worse than him or not. I'm not sure it's something she's given a lot of thought to. I could be wrong, but... most of her existence at this point seems to revolve around her Master: She does his missions. She fears his punishments. She grows stronger with the aim of killing him. She hates him with a passion a Jedi could never understand. Everything is about him."
Obi-Wan crossed his arms. "Perhaps its unbecoming of a Jedi to say, but if he were killed, at least by someone else, I think most of Siri's reasons to be dark would simply evaporate."
When no one spoke up to rebuke the words, he continued, "Then it would just be down to her unwillingness to try and change. Which I think is the more worrying issue at the moment since Sidious can't touch her here. She's called herself a monster. She's done so much that she doesn't think she can return. Siri simply doesn't want to try. I don't know what Master Ur Manka did to convince her to try before, I intend to find out."
He licked his lips. "In summary: I think its a mixture of so many things latching her to the Dark Side: Sidious being the biggest, followed by what she's done. She is of course addicted to its power and it's side effects. And... her guilt."
"Mmm? Guilty, she feels?" questioned Yoda, curious.
"In that cell, without the Dark Side, she can't suppress that emotion," Obi-Wan answered, "She can try to hide it, but she does regret what she's done, it eats away at her. She want's to feel the Dark Side again badly, just to give her a reprieve from it. I've started my attempts, but getting her to confront and accept what she's done with the aim to do better, rather than look on them as 'necessary sacrifices', is going to be a major hurdle."
"Necessary sacrifices," said Master Windu, disgust in his voice.
"As I said, she believes everything she does will be worth it if she kills Sidious," Obi-Wan said tiredly, "Getting her to realize otherwise is... well... like I said, a long process..."
The first thing Obi-Wan noticed when he walked into Siri's cell the next morning was... the vacancy of her eyes and the lines of stress across her face. He had wanted to make a point when he had left last time... yet somehow, he's not sure leaving her alone had been the right choice to make after that... well... that frankly well deserved rebuke. He doesn't regret that, no, but not at least offering a comfort and talking her through it might have been a mistake. Force, he doesn't knows how to act around Siri anymore, and aside from life or death situations, the Force hasn't given him much inclination on what to do about Siri when he's outside the cell. It's murky, its been murky, but its especially clouded about the Sith. It means he's on his own, and he'll be the first to admit, he hasn't really the faintest idea what he's doing. He's a twenty-five year old padawan-but-not with an attachment problem who was/is the apprentice to 'The Maverick'.
Going off the beaten path should be a simple thing for him.
This, is so far off the beaten path its in another galaxy at this point.
And Qui-Gon both can't and wont offer advice on this. Despite it having been decades, Xanatos still looms like a shadow over his Master, and the gentle giant refuses to influence the outcome. Obi-Wan believed the man could offer sound advice outside the norm that was desperately needed, but... he couldn't force it. And Qui-Gon needed to focus on Anakin Skywalker. And boy, was Obi-Wan glad that wasn't his responsibility, because that kid had baggage. Not that he was bemoaning the kid or anything, Qui-Gon being an idiot for dropping the 'I'll take him as my apprentice' mid council meeting or not. Then again... Obi-Wan does now have an infinite supply of tea from his old master as a token of apology, so perhaps that worked out.
Anyway, he was off track. "Siri?"
When she didn't respond, he went over and... nope, not getting hit again. He reached out with his foot and nudged her leg once, twice-and-spring back!
Siri's eyes focused and she was up and moving, body tensed, fists tightened, already shifting into a fighting stance before she paused and noticed him edging back. There is a brief moment of -something- intense in her eyes, a swallow going down her throat, before its gone and she's back to that jolly-sadistic attitude, an amused look crossing her face. "You're learning, I was certain you'd need a black eye, a busted lip, and a broken tooth first."
"Well, when you slugged me last time, it left an impression."
She squinted, eyeing his face. "Figurative or literal? It's hard to tell with a face like that."
He didn't allow her the satisfaction of even a glare, he just rolled his eyes. "You hit hard, but not that hard."
She looked positively indignant, huffing and crossing her arms. "Just be glad I didn't have the Force to back my blow, or you'd need a healer to fix your ugly mug, also, you forgot my food again, so turn right around and go get me some."
Obi-Wan groaned. "Right, sorry, I need a note to stick to my head."
"Get me a marker and I can do something similar," she said, snickering after.
Obi-Wan returned a bit later, a tray of food in his hands, stepping into the cell and finding Siri... oddly contemplative. Her eye weren't that terrible vacancy they were earlier, but... there's resignation and loss in them that he doesn't like. She doesn't acknowledge when he puts the tray on the bed next to her, but he can briefly feel her eyes on him when he turns around to walk to the wall, moving to sit down. He has a feeling she came to a conclusion last night, and it wasn't the one he wanted. He mentally kicked himself and settled in to see what kind of damage control he needed to do.
Best to test the waters. "So, what happened after you were abducted by Sidious after the mission with Tally?"
She briefly turned her focus to the tray of food, grabbing it, and began to pop food into her mouth, speaking between swallows. "He put me in an unlit cell, chained to the floor, and tortured me until I complied and became his apprentice."
His eyes are on her face as she recounts it... and he while he's glad she's not refusing to tell him... he doesn't see a fleck of emotion. "What kind of torture?"
She shrugged, apparently indifferent. "Starvation, dehydration. Force Lightning, minor physical damage; the asshole broke my nose the first day and left it broken till I got out of the cell. Isolation, left alone days on end between his visits. The bastard would eat and drink in front of me, tempt me with both if I'd do things," she sneered, "Never gave him that satisfaction. He kept going for awhile with that kind of crap."
Her sneer turned into a dark curl of her lip. "Threatened me when he started losing his patience. Said he would inflict intense physical and mental torture, loan me to a whorehouse, inducing madness, tracking..."
She cut off and shook her head. "I took the offer when he came back after letting me stew on it."
Obi-Wan blanched at the threats, he had no doubt the Sith would actually do them, but... what had she not said. Tracking... what? He had enough sense even without the Force to know she was holding something, probably multiple things, back from her retelling. He wishes she would trust him with it, but he knows better. They may have feelings for one another, feelings that managed to survive through sheer stubborn (unhealthy) attachment, but neither of them trusted the other. He wanted to help her, he truly did, but even if she did agree to his help, did turn back to the light...
He could never take that she'd stay light for granted.
Yet... he remembered what he said to the Council. Siri needed trust to turn away from this, to trust in others and have them trust in her. Even if she turned back, helped them kill Sidious, and went on to be an exemplary Jedi... there would always be doubt, hidden away. If not in Obi-Wan, then in the Council, or anyone else that learned what Siri had been. He had the distinct hope that the most other Jedi would learn was that she had been a Dark Jedi, and not a Sith. If they learned otherwise... well... he didn't think it would go well for Siri's return in the long run. The temple rumor mill would tear her apart, she would always be treated with (righteous) suspicion, looked down upon, snide comments thrown her way by the younger Jedi, everything that Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon were currently treated to and more.
Anxious wasn't quite the word he'd consider using to describe what he felt about that.
"What came next? The murders?" he asked.
She scoffed. "Really Obi-Wan?"
"It's an honest question."
"It's a stupid one if you think I was ready for that right off," she retorted, "He started instructing me on the Dark Side next, began to compare and contrast the Sith and the Jedi. Left me with a book on Sith language and access to a training room while he went to go take care of something. When he came back, he instructed me on how to meditate with the Dark Side."
"It's different?"
"Of course it's different," she said, exasperated, "Meditating with the Dark Side requires a focal point, yourself. You wrap your emotions around you and let them fuel you."
"That sounds... selfish."
There was a hint of nostalgia on her face. "I think I said something like that when he first instructed me."
She slowly shook her head. "It's freeing is what it was. To actually be able to feel, to be a sentient lifeform rather than an emotionless drone of a Jedi."
Obi-Wan gave her a look that said what he felt at that comment. "Jedi are not emotionless..."
"There is no emotion, there is peace," she parroted back mockingly.
"Jedi are at peace, Siri, with themselves, with their emotions," he countered back.
"Maybe if you're Qui-Gon 'Maverick' Jinn or his apprentice," she said flatly, "Because that wasn't how it was with Master Galia, it was always beat down your emotions and release anything you feel to the Force; duty before self, especially before self, repress anything that makes you not a stoic, perfect Jedi."
He frowned at her. "Are you sure you're not remembering it wrong?"
"Why don't you go and find out?" she mocked, "Take a stroll around the temple and tell me if you see anyone who isn't a little youngling or a 'delinquent Jedi' show anything but stoicism. Realize just how rigid, uncompromising, and stagnant your order is, and how utterly they betray themselves."
Obi-Wan pursed his lips. "Betray ourselves?"
Her smile grew viscous. "I've been instructed on the matter, and done my studies over the last eight years. Perhaps you should consider, Obi-Wan, just how many ancient Sith Lords of the past were former Jedi: Freedon Nadd, Revan and Malak, Exar Kun, Ulic Quel-Droma, Darth Ruin, Karness Muur, XoXaan, Darth Treya, Darth Nihilus was born out of Malachor V so I assume he was a Jedi at some point, even Ajunta Pall himself way back when, the first Sith Lord, was a former Jedi."
Obi-Wan blinked a few times. He didn't know half of those names.
"And that, is only some of the major Sith, lets not even consider how many 'lesser' Sith came from the ranks of the Jedi, or how many Jedi simply turned Dark rather than Sith, or joined some other Dark Side faction," she added in, a self-pleased purred escaping her lips before raising her eyebrows suggestively, "Wonder what that says about the Jedi Order, what could possibly be wrong with it that so many splinter away to be free."
Her eyes turned predatory. "Or maybe they're driven away. Does the name Xanatos ring a bell Obi-Wan? I hear Qui-Gon killed his father."
He had been considering how to address and counter her question (or maybe look into it objectively), but immediately lost the line of thought, darkly scowling at her. "Xanatos made his choice, he had already sided with his father's madness by that point."
Siri held up a finger. "Ah, but one thing I do remember you telling me was that Xanatos fell after Qui-Gon killed his old man. Up until that point, perhaps Qui-gon could have salvaged the situation."
Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in and letting it out. Xanatos was a rough subject for him, let alone Qui-Gon, to deal with or talk about. "Qui-Gon didn't mean to kill Crion..."
"Oh yes," mocked Siri, "He didn't mean to kill Xanatos's father right in front of him. Intention doesn't matter in the face of what was done. But lets not stop there..."
She glared at him. "Let's ask a simple, very important question: Why the hell did the Jedi Council pit Xanatos against his family to begin with? Didn't he... remember his family? Knew them? Wasn't he... older than a normal youngling when he was taken in? I can't really remember."
Obi-Wan frowned a little. "A little bit. It was one of his issues, Qui-Gon said he tried to impress upon other Jedi his so called 'powerful background'."
She sneered. "Is it so wrong to be proud of one's family? Oh right, Jedi don't have those."
"Well, you're feeling nasty today," said Obi-Wan mildly.
"I'm just using the only in-my-lifetime example that I can somewhat remember," she said with false-charm, "For everything Xanatos did wrong, how much did the Jedi do wrong in turn to build upon them, or fail to do to correct the issues? Honestly, you didn't acknowledge what I said. What the hell were they thinking to send Xanatos against his family? That's such a massive conflict of interest, and whats worst, its outright cruel."
"Cruel? Coming from a Sith?" he shot back.
"Stop sidestepping the question," she growled out, "Yes, I'm dark, yes, I'm a Sith, and as a Sith, I ADMIRE what the Jedi did there. Stop and think about that. They couldn't have engineered a more perfect situation for a conflicted Jedi to fall to the Dark Side. The Jedi are so rigid, so absolute in their demand of loyalty, that they would force a son to turn on his father as proof of his devotion to the Order."
Obi-Wan held back his initial outburst of a response, keeping his lips firmly tight. She made it sound so damn awful. "Crion was no saint."
"No," agreed Siri, "He probably wasn't."
She rolled her eyes, exasperated. "And that's still sidestepping Obi-Wan. Whether his father was a saint or not, villain or not, Xanatos should never had been put into that situation to begin with. I'm not absolving him of anything he did anymore than I am for myself, but the Council was practically asking for Xanatos to turn on the Jedi. It's like they set him up to fall."
"Considering all of Xanatos's other issues, are you really going to say he wouldn't have fallen at some point anyway?"
"Who knows," mused Siri, "Maybe without that final push he would have stayed a Jedi, went on to become a knight, and an exemplary Master, he was considered a prodigy, right?"
She didn't give him a chance to answer, "Or maybe it would have still ended in him falling. I can't say."
She laid down on the bed, draping one leg over the other, giving him a sly look. "My point is, the Jedi are absolutely amazing at creating their own enemies and sending anyone who doesn't fit into their strict mold off into the Dark Side. Perhaps, Obi-Wan, before you consider trying to convince me the failings of the Sith, you consider the failings of the Jedi first. I know my order's failings, do you know yours?"
Obi-Wan... for lack of a retort, walked away and made for the entrance of the cell. He let her have that round (considering he didn't have any rebuttal ready). He had the oddest sensation, trying to wrap his head around how she had so smoothly entered into that 'discussion'. She had turned it from him inquiring about her past into an argument against the Jedi. Not only that, she made it personal by choosing to use Xanatos as a topic point, to get under his skin and unbalance him. She did that with almost practiced ease. He wondered, was this something Sidious had done to her, and she picked up on it? Adapted it into her repertoire? A repertoire that was steadily growing in size. Her skills with a lightsaber and the Force were not her only weapons, her tongue was showing to be just as sharp, and he had no doubt her words could be dangerous when she wanted them to be. Who knows what else she had up her sleeves.
There was also the point of Siri not absolving herself of anything she. Those words taken in abstract could have been taken as an admission of guilt and wrongdoing to be acknowledged and not looked over. But the way she said them... it was like her knowing what she would become, she just didn't care. She admitted the Sith Order had failings, but didn't care. He gritted his teeth; it was that lack of care in her choice that he needed to address.
He gnawed on his lips as he entered the elevator to leave the area. Perhaps it was time to do some research. As much as he could find on the Sith... and yes, he'd play her game, he'd look at the faults of the Jedi. As Qui-Gon's apprentice, he already had inklings (to use a simple terms) to use as a starting point. It wasn't like he was expecting to find nothing. Nobody and no organization was perfect, everyone had faults and weaknesses. If she thought that would be a great shocking surprise to him, then she was sorely mistaken...
Notes:
Author's Notes: Disagree or agree at your own leisure about the Jedi/Xanatos.
Chapter 30: The Guide (Part 6)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Siri watches Obi-Wan walk in a few days later. She wasn't sure she kept the relief off her face; of not having impassive Temple Guards leave trays for her, of not having a single person to talk to, of Obi-Wan not being there. It grates on her, that she's becoming so dependent on him to keep herself intact in this wretched room. Isolation plus Force Deprivation was not a good combination. She felt... unwell, a slight chill beneath her skin, like the beginnings of an illness, but not. She is not unaware of the dangers of this room, she just didn't think they would start so soon. Its been... what, a little over a week? Maybe more maybe less, there's no clock or calendar or window in here, the passage of time is impossible to tell. Well, not unless she starts counting seconds and marking them somehow, but she's not that desperate.
Not yet.
Still...
She eyes him, eyes that he brought something with him, a datapad. He slumps down against the wall opposite to her, offering a, "Hello Siri."
She takes a careful moment to control her voice, keeping it in line with her usual self. "Doing homework in a cell? Shouldn't you be out of classes by now?"
He smiles a little. "Research actually. You made me a challenge, I'm going to answer."
Oh goodie...
She rolled her eyes, briefly stretching her arms above her head. "So, Obi-Wan, what's it take to get a few minutes outside the cell?"
His eyes flickered to the door and to her. "I don't think the Council will allow anything unless you are willing to turn away from the Dark Side."
Karking hells.
"I have years of information, that's not tempting enough for even ten minutes?" she asked with disdain.
Even a minute outside, just to feel the Force again, could alleviate some of the potential damage this room could do.
"I can ask," he answered, "But I can't and won't make any promises, they'd probably see it as a potential escape attempt."
"Then have the entire council there to watch," she snarled, "Unlike you, I don't get to leave this cell at the end of the day, it grates."
That was the closest she was going to admit to how unsettling this place was to her.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly, "I can't really help that. But..."
He shook his head. "The point of this is to convince you to turn away, whats the point of it if you take that ten minutes to drown yourself in the Dark Side, suppress everything you feel and destroy any progress we make?"
Judging by the way he tenses, she definitely didn't manage to keep the rage off her face. She has the urge to take his head and slam it into the wall over and over again...
She took him to the ground, lips hungrily smashing against his. It was a clumsy, possessive tangle. She pulled back again, licking her lips, the taste... wasn't what she imagined it would be. There was a slightly foul sensation, something he had eaten recently made her wrinkle her nose. What's worse was the fear on Obi-Wan's face...
"Stop looking at me like that," she snarled, "Obi-Wan wouldn't be afraid of me."
"I'm not whoever the hell this Obi-Wan is you crazy freak!" cried out Obi-Wan in someone else voice.
Siri seethed, her fantasy fracturing. She grabbed his head and smashed it back against the wall again and again. "SHUT UP!"
Her breathing hitched, and her anger was gone at the memory, just horror and shame left in it's place. No, no no no no no, not that memory, not now, not in this place. She took to her feet and went for the fresher, ignoring Obi-Wan's call of "Siri?"
She pressed her forehead against the cold wall, taking ragged breaths, trying desperately to shove it back. Shove her shame, her guilt, her sin away.
Then there's a soft hand on her shoulder, and another rubbing her back gently. "Siri? What's wrong?"
"Out...," she whispers, she needs him away from her, away from her filthy and monstrous person.
"Please get out," she whispered again, briefly looking at him and then turning away from the deep concern crossing his face...
She went with what she knew, briefly pulling away to take off her lower clothes, doing the same for Obi-Wan. She stared down at the organ between his legs, she reached out and touched it, watching it twitch. Her own legs were twitching, there was a heat between them that had her in a confused flux. She pressed herself against him, kissing and tasting blood again, growling under her breath as she shifted back and forth ontop of him. She looked down when she felt something poking between her butt. His organ had grown in size. She grabbed and positioned it before shoving down on it.
Her breath briefly hitched as a sharp and quick pain hit her. It was nothing compared to taking Force Lightning, just... strange, deeper, a continual pain and a bit of pressure where he was. There was a brief groan from Obi-Wan, not... not how he sounded. So she reached over and wrapped her hands around his throat to shut him up as she brought herself up and down clumsily. Each was an uncomfortable spike of pain, and a sensation like she was rubbing skin against something to roughly and quickly, wasn't this supposed to feel good? She went a few more times before Obi-Wan half-cried-half-gurgled and shoved upward, and she felt a twinge of a warm, wet sensation in her. She frowned a little, and kept going for a little bit until he fell out, smaller now.
She stared down, incredulous, at the bloody looking thing (was that her blood?), a small trickle of white goop dripping down from her with the blood. Was that IT?! A surge of anger overtook her, and she lost control of her illusion, and then Obi-Wan was gone, and there was some sobbing half-dead redhead boy laying there in a daze. She absolutely lost it, she took him by his throat, squeezing with Force enhanced strength and smashed him against the wall behind him, pulling him back and smashing him again, over and over again, snarling in rage...
Until her fingers dug in and ripped out his throat, blood gushing out at her and to cover his chest. She sat there for a moment, and then let loose a scream of anger. She smashed his head into a blood pulp and then stood up, fuming. What a worthless waste of time. The boy broke the fantasy over and over again, it had hurt, hadn't felt good at all, she now needed to get a contrafertive... contraceptat, whatever the hell it was called to make sure she didn't get pregnant...
She broke away from him and made for the toilet, retching away the nausea.
Force... what had she done? Slapped Obi-Wan's face on a boy with an illusion and raped him...
"Siri?"
If he knew, she'd never see him again... even if it had been someone else, she had forced herself on him... would she have done the same to the real Obi-Wan?
"Siri what's wrong?"
She lost it.
"GET OUT!" she screamed at him, rising to her feet, grabbing him, and slamming him against the fresher wall, "GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT!"
"Siri stop!" he yelled, grabbing her arms and struggling with her.
They toppled through the fresher doorway and hit the floor, rolling and grappling, a red haze coming over Siri as she tried to smash him into the floor again and again, trying to kill the pain tearing her apart. "I need a sedative in here!"
She had only half a minute more of screaming, struggling, and crying, before arms yanked her off Obi-Wan and pressed something sharp into the side of her neck. Her vision started blurring a moment later, and without the Force, she couldn't fight it, the last sight she saw through blurring vision was Obi-Wan's stricken face...
"M'sorry...," was the last thing she could slur out before darkness took her...
She woke up some time later, going rigid, before slowly relaxing her body and then opening her eyes...
And yelping when Master Dooku's face peered down at her with disapproval. She instinctively made to batter him away from her, but he swiftly moved away. "Hmm. I suppose my grandpadawan was right to warn me of such a reaction."
"Sneaking up on a Sith is a dangerous thing to do," she warned harshly.
"Ah, so she does speak," commented Dooku.
She scoffed. "I kept silent because all you'd have to do to identify me was take a memory of my voice and share it with Yoda. Qui-Gon figured it out the moment he heard me."
Dooku tilted his head in acknowledgement. "I suppose."
"What do you want you old coot?" she asked sourly.
"To give you a warning," said Dooku harshly, "Obi-Wan is a dear treasure to me, and the only reason you are both alive, and in relative comfort."
"Comfort," she echoed snidely.
"The Council hasn't brought you out to try to breech your shields or compel you to speak," said Dooku, "Your stay in the Temple could be far worse than it is. Harm Obi-Wan again, and I will add my voice to those who would take the path of common sense and reason when dealing with a Sith."
Her breath hitched, brief flashes of her battering Obi-Wan into a wall and the floor playing across her mind. "I... i-is he okay?"
Dooku looked... briefly thrown by her sudden shift, before his eyes narrowed at her. "Shaken more than anything. Keep your fits to yourself if you don't mind."
"I warned him to get out," she snarled defensively, "He should have listened."
"I'll make sure he understands that then," said Dooku crisply, "And you should understand that he is your only true voice of support here that isn't basic sympathy or compassion. Burn him, and you will not like the consequences."
She pursed her lips. "You say he is the only reason I am alive, but consider this, Dooku. He wouldn't be alive right now if I hadn't refrained from killing him."
"I've watched the camera footage, I am aware," he said dryly, "It is the only reason why I have not voiced an opinion to the council as of the moment."
He turned and made for the door, pausing at the entrance. "Oh, and Padawan Tachi? Once their purpose was made clear to me, I don't particularly appreciate the little 'gifts' you and your master left to tempt me."
He turned his head to give her a nasty smile. "As a master with deep knowledge of our history, and what the Jedi know of the Sith, I intend to aid my Grandpadawan in the 'research' he has mentioned, as a 'response' to your efforts to turn me. Don't think you will have the advantage in dancing circles around a padawan anymore, a padawan whose only desire is to help you."
She glowered at him.
He shook his head. "I don't know why he bothers."
He walked to the first force field, pausing briefly when Siri muttered, "I don't either..."
It was another long period of time before Obi-Wan came back. It wasn't the same day, at least, she thought not, lost in her memories, guilt, and sleep. She recognized him by his footsteps, but didn't roll over to look at him, still curled on her bed. There is the sound of him assuming his usual spot, sliding down against the wall, sitting down. The tap-tap-tap of him using a datapad. She doesn't give any indication she's awake, she just... basks, she supposes. Enjoys having him there without having an argument. No stressful confrontations or memories dragged up. She cant help the soft, content sigh that escapes her lips.
And that ruins it.
"So, I was thinking about the Jedi turned Sith you named," said Obi-Wan.
Siri groans. "Do we have to do this?"
"Yeah."
She grumbled and rolled over, eying him sourly. His eyes crinkle a little bit. "Are you feeling ill? You're a little pale."
She scoffs, and doesn't answer that question. "What about them?"
He hesitates for a moment before glancing down at the datapad. "My Grandmaster told me what he knew about some of them. Does it really count if some of them were forcibly converted to the Dark Side?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Like whom?"
"Revan and Malak for example," said Obi-Wan, "It was eventually learned that the Sith Emperor at the time had warped their minds."
Siri stared at him for a moment before shaking her head, turning her body to stare up at the ceiling. "Oh really? You think it was Vitiate who drove them to the Dark Side? Truly?"
"Yes...?" posed Obi-Wan.
"I thought that to once," she admitted, "But that didn't last when I dug in and did my homework. Do you have access to the archives?"
Obi-Wan tapped his datapad. "I can access them, yes."
"Then look how Revan and Malek changed their tactics later on in the Mandalorian Wars," she said, "You'll find that they were starting down the dark path far before they foolishly confronted a Sith Emperor by themselves."
She remembered reading it, during her studies. Zannah had been grilling her about past Sith Lords and their descent into the Dark Side. Darth Bane had apparently an above average interest in Darth Revan, so that was passed down to Zannah, and loosely to Siri in turn (she didn't particularly care about him aside from lessons to be learned). The Revanchists under Revan and Malak began to change a few years into the war. Started to sacrifice populations and key planets to win victories elsewhere. They turned as brutal as the Mandalorians themselves. Turned to a 'Victory at all Costs' mentality.
"And remember, that Malachor V happened before they went after the Sith, they sacrificed anyone they didn't think would follow them to that madness," she added in cuttingly.
She closed her eyes as Obi-Wan continued to tap-tap on his datapad, pausing to read every so often. She enjoyed the relative silence, and his presence even if she couldn't feel him in the Force. Obi-Wan was silent for a long while during his readings, Siri assumed it was a few hours, before he finally spoke, "Maybe you're right on these two."
She turned her head and opened her eyes, raising an eyebrow. "Oh? Admitting defeat?"
"Perhaps, though, I question if the pair would have fallen if the Sith hadn't instigated the Mandalorian Wars," pointed out Obi-Wan.
Siri rolled her eyes. "Always have to have the last word, don't you Kenobi?"
"You're one to talk."
She snickered. "Maybe, but since you had your try, allow me mine. What do you know about Freedon Nadd?"
Tap-tap-tap-tap. "He... was a Sith whole conquered and enslaved Onderon over four thousand years ago."
She waited for him to continue, but when he didn't she openly scoffed. "That's ALL the Jedi have on him? Really? I thought you said Dooku told you about them?"
"He told me about some of them, said it wouldn't do me to good to delve to deep," he admitted, "Hold on, let me ask him and phrase this right..."
"Phrase?"
"I doubt he could stand you winning an argument, that might loosen his tongue."
Siri couldn't help the sharp laugh that escaped her lips. "No, the old stingy prideful coot probably couldn't."
Obi-Wan gave her an evil eye briefly before he returned to tapping his datapad, followed by waiting, followed by tapping again, before Obi-Wan responded, "He was a Jedi of the former Library world of Ossus. He was given a test to become a Jedi Knight, but failed it, murdering his Master and fleeing the planet in the aftermath and became a Sith Lord."
Freedon Nadd was one of the ancient Sith that Siri truly respected, who was in a large way responsible for most of the power Siri held in the Force through her sorcery. As such, she was more than pissed to hear that blatant description, sitting up on the bed and glaring at him. "Is that so? Nice of the Jedi to interpret it their own way to hide their failings."
Obi-Wan tensed a bit at her anger. "And how exactly did they fail?"
"I've learned much of Freedon Nadd during my time as an apprentice," she hissed, "Ancient Sith was a subject I found fascinating, and enlightening. Him in particular. His 'test' as you called it, was cruel and unwarranted. He was a gifted Jedi Padawan, of the likes few in their order had seen at the time. He studied under many masters during his apprenticeship, his own being one Matta Tremayne. I dare to say Freedon could have become one of the greatest Jedi that ever lived, if they hadn't bungled it."
"Their 'test' was to completely pass over him in the knighting of several padawans despite all of his studies, progress, and hard work. It left him bewildered, hurt, and despairing. So he went to his master, seeking out her wisdom, as ANY Jedi Padawan rightly would, and found her training. He wasn't arrogant, foolish, or angry at that point, he just wanted to seek out help as to what he could possibly have done wrong, or what he hadn't done yet to earn the rank of Knight. And do you know what his Master did? She ignored him, ignored her padawan seeking her aid."
Obi-Wan frowned a little, but didn't answer.
"So he waited, but she still ignored him, until he finally lost control of his frustration, and her response was to bring her lightsaber mere centimeters from his chest, leaving him stunned and feeling betrayed. Without any further acknowledgement, she returned to her training. He went to storm away, rightly perturbed, angry, and even afraid. Then, she chose to 'grace' him with her attention. He begged and pleaded, he wanted to be a Jedi, he asked what he needed to do, but she refused to answer."
"That sounds like a test of self-discovery," stated Obi-Wan.
Siri sneered. "It sounds like a test of Jedi stupidity. Literally all the Jedi had to do was properly guide Freedon Nadd, and he would have been one of them. Instead, they suddenly cut off support and left him floundering. He rightly turned to anger, and pronounced himself a Jedi without their say in the matter. But rather than let him go, his Master initiated the battle that ended her life by challenging him, HER, not him. In the middle of the battle, his Master turned her saber off, and didn't defend from an attack. Freedon realized this was some kind of test, but he was already mid-swing, he tried to but he couldn't stop himself in time. He did NOT want to kill his Master, he had not set out to murder her..."
"And how exactly do you know this?"
"BECAUSE I READ HIS WRITINGS!" she yelled out at him heatedly, "He might have fallen, might have become a Sith, but even then, he still touched on what had happened to him to send him down the path to the Dark Side. He grieved for her at first, you know? He was stricken by guilt, until the whole situation just overwhelmed him. Anger took over, furious over the tests which he felt were made to drive him from the Order. And he was right in a way about that, failing that so called test, with the accidental death of his Master, ended it."
"If he had learned from the lesson, its purpose and consequences," countered Obi-Wan, "And went, repentant, to the Masters of the temple and explained..."
"Explained what Obi-Wan?" she snarled at him, "That he failed a stupid test and killed his Master? If he wouldn't have been kicked out, I'd be shocked. He was lost and confused because of the situation the Jedi created. One way or another it was over. And because of the Jedi's stupidity, Freedon Nadd went on to become a Sith Lord, and influence events to come, leading Exar Kun and influencing Ulic-Quel Droma into the Dark Side, and as a result, the Great Sith War begun."
She leveled her gaze on him harshly. "All because of Jedi rigidity, pushing someone into a stupid situation, and refusal to help a struggling padawan in need."
"You feel strongly about this one, especially," commented Obi-Wan, eyes curious.
"And you're avoiding answering again," said Siri.
"You never asked a question."
She glared at him. "Kriff I forgot how irritating you Jedi are. What do you think my point to this was then, oh mighty and wise Jedi."
"I think you're trying to be well intentioned even if you're creating excuses for people who went on to become complete and utter unrepentant monsters," he said flatly.
"And what does that make me then?" she said with a sneer.
"You've never particularly made an excuse for yourself," he said, "You know full well what you do is wrong, is monstrous, and you justify it badly."
She rolled her eyes. "Yes yes, we've been over this already..."
"And you refuse to..."
"And YOU," she cut off, "Still haven't told me what you think of Freedon Nadd's story. I don't care for this sidestepping bullshit you keep trying to pull on me Obi-Wan. Do I look like some stupid git who will let you walk all over them with that smooth voice of yours?"
"You think I sound 'smooth'?" he asked, both eyebrows raised.
She gave an exasperated sigh. "I think you're destined to make people cry at the negotiating table."
"Already have actually," said Obi-Wan cheekily, "Qui-Gon says I'm a natural and I'll outdo him one day."
"Careful not to let that ego go to your head, Jedi," she drawled.
Obi-Wan chuckled. "I'm not trying to sidestep Siri, at least, not this time."
She squinted at him. "Buying time to figure out an answer?"
"Guilty as charged," said Obi-Wan with a self-depreciating smile.
She crossed her arms. "Then just say so Obi-Wan, shesh."
"Fine then, would you allow me a small recess to gather my thoughts, my dear?"
"Flirting with me like that will get you a swift kick in the dick."
He sputtered a little. "Siri!"
She flashed a charming smile. "See? I can negotiate to."
"That's not negotiating."
"Sure it is, do what I say or I kill you has worked perfectly fine for me in the past, what I said is in the same spirit," she rebutted cheerfully, "Just bodily harm instead of death."
He gave her a flat, unimpressed look. "When you do turn away from the Dark Side, and eventually go on missions again, I'm never letting you negotiate."
She snorted. "Whatever you say Obi-Wan."
He shook his head, and Siri wasn't sure if it was bemusement or chagrin on his face. Still, she gave him a few minutes to think, laying back down on her bunk.
Eventually, he sighed. "I'm not going to say the Jedi Order is blameless, Siri, nor however, am I going to say those who fell, Freedon Nadd or anyone else, are blameless either. I'm not his Jedi Master, I can't possibly know why he was given the test he was put through. On one hand, I think every initiate and padawan needs to be tested to see what they are made of and what kind of person they truly are, on the other hand, it should be custom tailored for the apprentice in question, not a one test fits all..."
He hesitated. "And a life or death duel where someone could die I really don't think is an appropriate test, on that I will agree. I also don't think suddenly cutting off support without any explanation was wise either. A simple prompting of 'what might be wrong and what do you think you need to do to fix this' followed by a few months to a year of observation to see if he had made those fixes would have been more fulfilling. But again, I wasn't there, I don't know what Freedon's particular strengths and weaknesses as a Jedi Padawan were. I can and will say however that exploding in frustration is unbecoming of a Jedi, as is getting so lost in a duel that he can't stop himself from delivering a killing blow, that is on him, even if he was egged on into the duel in question, which was, again, an unwise choice from his Master. It was also his choice to leave the Order and become a Sith Lord, even if he was pushed to it as you imply."
Siri studied Obi-Wan for a few minutes before slowly nodding. "That was... reasonable."
Obi-Wan ducked his head in a sheepish smile at the compliment. "You think so?"
"You acknowledged the situation from a neutral prospective, pointing out faults that both sides had," she said grudgingly, "Don't let it go to your head though."
He hummed to himself, tapping on his datapad again.
Obi-Wan was going to go places with that kind of perspective, ability to pick a situation apart, and deliver his thoughts or rebuttals in a well thought out explanation. Not to mention his wordplay. She could think of so many ways he could have been useful if he had fallen and joined her... even if she doesn't now want him to fall. That forked tongue of his... with a bit of Force Persuasion, receptive empathy, and light mind probing...
Obi-Wan could have been an absolutely terrifying Sith who could probably have convinced people to slit their own throats with a smile on their face with honeyed words and barely a touch of the Force. To the point where she wonders if he might have been considered a threat to Sidious, if not in power, than charisma and influence. She would have propped Obi-Wan up, let him become the face of their pair, and been his blade where his words didn't work, or to back them up. She lets herself linger briefly on the lost possibilities before dismissing them as impossible.
Obi-Wan was to good to fall.
At least... not without really, really, breaking him, tearing him apart and reducing him to nothing and then building him back up.
She'd kill anyone who tried to do that to him though.
"Do you mind if I write down what you told me about Freedon Nadd and submit it to the archives for review?" he prompted.
She pauses to consider it. She wonders if he'd do it anyway... yet... she doesn't think Obi-Wan is by nature a deceptive person. Sneaky wordplay aside... she does think he wont intentionally reveal what she says without permission. As for this specific topic... why not? It'll spread knowledge about an ancient Sith, not letting his memory fade away, and perhaps the Jedi could use the lesson to improve themselves.
Not that she expected them to last long enough to do so. "Go ahead."
They spent the next few hours discussing the other fallen Jedi turned Sith she mentioned, and she finds herself enjoying it. Obi-Wan dislikes the Dark Side and the Sith, of course, but he is not blind nor ignorant. If there is a lesson to be learned, he tries to do so. Neither of them can really force or convince the other to believe one way or the other on the topic they've chosen. Obi-Wan is under the impression that many of them wouldn't have turned without being forced to do so, having a natural tendency for the Dark, or at least not without outside (Sith) influence. Siri doesn't necessarily disagree, but believes that the Jedi Order had a hand in turning many of them from their original path, either through active ways or through negligence.
"...and how is that not being forced to the Dark Side?" pointed out Obi-Wan, "Freedon Nadd's spirit dropping a temple on Exar Kun and forcing him to either Turn and be healed or die is really..."
Siri flapped a dismissive hand. "Exar Kun was already well on his way, because his Master couldn't be bothered to have hidden his Holocron full of tempting knowledge of the Sith where an impressionable and prideful Padawan/Knight was able to delve into it. He was lured in through the knowledge, and then set out to Onderan to seek out more knowledge, not necessarily to fall, no, but that's where Freedon Nadd came in, and we've already hashed him out. Exar Kun wouldn't have been tempted if the Jedi hadn't laid the groundwork with his teacher hundreds of years ago."
Obi-Wan sighed. "I don't think we're going to agree on Exar Kun."
"Probably not."
Obi-Wan got up and stretched. "Okay, I think that's it for today. We've been at it for awhile."
Disappointment rushed through Siri like an ice bath, leaving her cold and yearning for more. "We can talk about something else."
Even if its more irritating trips through memory lane or 'this is why you should turn from the dark side' spiels. She just... didn't want him to go.
He shook his head. "I promised Grandmaster I'd spend a few hours training with him."
He gave her a self-depreciating smile. "Apparently he wasn't impressed with my performance on Naboo and wants to whip me into shape."
Siri snorted. "You and Jinn did better than most Jedi do against me."
Obi-Wan's smile turned a little cracked. "I'll choose to take that as a compliment."
Siri hesitated briefly before turning her head away. She made it awkward, now it was probably better for him to leave.
"Before I go though... do you have any quick tips on Soresu?" he asked, "I was kind of impressed by how well you could use it and wanted to try my hand at it."
Siri flushed a bit. Preening under his compliment and the knowledge that she had made him want to try a new form. "Well... economy of motion and energy efficiency are the two most important parts of Soresu, do you understand those concepts?"
"Mostly."
"There's no mostly about it Obi-Wan," she said, raising an unimpressed eyebrow at him, "Soresu is an art, little Jedi. One of which I'm still mastering."
"Still?" he asked, a slight tone of disbelief.
"Oh yes," she said, thinking of how to better weave Force powers into her style, "Even still. Especially for a Sith, stagnation is death."
Obi-Wan's eyebrows furrowed. "Death?"
"A Sith must always be improving, changing, evolving. Complacency and stagnation," she spat out, "Will kill a Sith more than anything else. You must always struggle to reach the top, and then keep improving."
Obi-Wan frowned a bit, glancing down at his datapad briefly. "Hold that thought, because I want to talk about that next time."
She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong with what I said, Kenobi?"
"I don't know," he admitted, "But... constantly fighting and struggling all the time..."
He shook his head. "That's no way to live."
She scowled. "Go get kicked around by your grandmaster."
"I will," he admitted cheekily, turning to the door.
Siri sighed softly and began to lay back down for another isolated rest of the day...
"Siri...," began Obi-Wan.
"Are you going, or are you not?" she said flatly, laying down.
"The conversation about Jedi turned Sith... do you blame the Order for your fall?" he asked quietly.
Siri froze for a moment. Swallowing.
Did she blame them?
She frowned, letting the memory of her fall overtake her again...
She hissed in an odd mixture of rage and pain, vision briefly blurring at a throb in the back of her mind. It felt like she wanted to draw from it, was trying to, but came against a brick wall and slammed face first into it at breakneck speeds. She saw spots for a moment in her vision before closing her eyes at a painful backlash. She reached up a hand to brush her nose as she felt something trickle out, and kept the hand there, as if blocking him from seeing the reaction on her face, before she took a breath and let it out. "How exactly would I blame them for that?"
"You tell me," he asked, "Maybe I'm wrong, but... I kind of get the vibe that you do. Not that I can check with the Force in here."
Maul killed Master Gallia and threatened Obi-Wan... the Jedi Order had little to nothing to do with that. Save maybe not properly preparing their members to face the Dark Side. She couldn't blame them for that anymore than she did any other failing...
But...
She thinks of the emotional mess she was leading up to that fight...
Her struggle with the desire forbidden from Jedi, of love. Siri wasn't stupid, even back then. The chance of them being allowed to be together, or start a relationship, wouldn't have been tolerated. Even keeping it secret she doubted would have worked. The reason Qui-Gon and Tahl had managed to, if she recalled right, was because they hadn't acted on it nor admitted it for decades, where both she and Obi-Wan had, even if it was only a kiss. The Jedi wouldn't have changed their order for them. If either of their Jedi Masters had caught wind of it, or anyone else really... they would have been forced to make a choice, she knows that. Give it up, or leave the Order.
Always so rigid and uncompromising.
She dreaded giving up that love, burying what had suddenly came to life for the first time in her life. That fear of loss... that had been the first crack to destabilize her, and everything else went from there...
She opened her eyes and stared at Obi-Wan. "Perhaps I do, but I doubt its the way you think I'd blame them."
Obi-Wan gave her a puzzled look, but she made a shooing motion with her other hand, and he obliged. Only after he left, did she bring her hand away from her face, and saw the splotch of blood on it. She stared at it silently, eyes furrowed, before she moved to the fresher to clean it off. She needed to stay away from that memory, away from any of her most intense memories, ones that instinctively gave her immense strength through the Dark Side. Trying to do that while in this room... obviously wasn't a good idea.
That backlash hurt.
There we more dangers to Force Suppression than she thought...
Notes:
There are some universal constants that should always be followed in Star Wars, beyond Anakin Skywalker being an utter human disaster.
Obi-Wan Kenobi using Soresu is one of them IMO, and if Qui-Gon dying isn't the reason this time, getting his and Qui-Gon's asses handed to them will be. Oh, and him being the Negotiator :P.
Chapter 31: The Guide (Part 7)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"...iri?"
Siri blinked into focus, noting a concerned Obi-Wan from the other side of her cell, when had he come in? "What?"
"I was calling your name for about two minutes."
Her eyebrows furrowed a bit before shrugging. "Lost track of time in la la land."
It happened again then. This is to fast, she shouldn't be losing track like that so fast, she needed to get out of this room.
Obi-Wan gave her an incredulous look. "La la land? Really Siri?"
"Yeah, really."
"That looked more like vacant-not there land to me."
She gave him a sharp, tight smile. "Do you want something Obi-Wan?"
"I was curious about something you said last time..."
"Not interested," she said, her voice rising.
"Siri..."
"Unless you're coming with a deal to let me out of the room for a few minutes, even a single minute, get out," she snapped harshly.
Obi-Wan took one look at her face and did an about face. Seemed like Dooku had drilled it into him not to push his luck so much...
...She regretted it five minutes later though when the isolation returned...
"Morning Siri."
"Get out."
"Morn...
"OUT!"
Siri feels jittery by the fourth day (is it the fourth?) of almost pure isolation. She's tried to make a point, but its not working. The Council isn't going to budge on this. So when Obi-Wan (very hesitatingly) walks in, she takes her time before looking at him. Trying her best to hide the rawr, desperate longing, to not show a hint of the suffocating panic she's been in. He holds this visit's tray of food and waits, seeing if he's going to have to leave it by the door again or not. When she doesn't acknowledge him, he moves to set it on the bed before moving towards his normal position...
"A calendar, something to mark it with, and a clock," she said, struggling to keep desperation from her voice, looking up at him, struggling to keep the pleading out of her eyes, "Get me those, and I'll talk to you again."
Obi-Wan hesitates.
And she feels the red rage again, her entire body tensing. "Is that so much to ask? You have no idea what this cell is truly like, Jedi. You who get to leave when you so chose."
"You could leave at any time," he countered softly, "If you would agree to try to return to the light, and mean it."
She looks away from him. "Of all the things I ever thought you were, I didn't think you were cruel."
"I care for you Siri," he said, his voice growing hard, "But that doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you. You are dangerous, a killer, a Sith, and are largely unrepentant. I don't see a reason to give you a split second to touch the Force and draw the Dark Side in just to alleviate whatever you're particularly feeling at the moment."
"Were it a different situation," she said with harsh wryness, "I might appreciate that steel in your spine. Might appreciate that cruelty to deny and deprive me of that constant, that anchor. Anything to try to get what you want."
"I really don't though."
"I'm not trying to be cruel," he said softly, concern in his voice, "But I'm not going to give an inch until I've learned all I need to learn, and I've started to bring you back."
She stared at him silently for a moment, considering her options. On pure stubborn instinct she wants to refuse to speak to him. She's bent to enough people's wills her entire life, and while she may lo...care for him, that doesn't mean she will follow him like a love-struck animal. She weighs the continued isolation VS the admission of defeat VS actually having someone to talk to...
She also eyes the metal tray on the bed. Not for the food, but for the edge of it, she wonders if its sharp enough with her strength, and if she could be quick enough before he reached her. She dismisses the thought for now. She's not that desperate yet for a way out, but she's more than intelligent enough to know that her only ways out are either: Madness, fading away in this Force Suppression Cell, suicide, or the Jedi eventually giving up and executing her. Turning away from the Dark Side will most likely lead to madness or suicide anyway if what she felt with Ur Manka is any indication; she has years more of sins now, and in this cell she struggles carefully to either tip-toe around memories of her worst offenses (necessary sacrifices), or force her mind empty...
Which more often than not has left her starting out of a stupor at random intervals. She doesn't think emptying herself in this room is a good idea, especially in this situation, but, boredom leads to a wandering mind, and there's only so many basic exercises and pacing in the cell she can do before she loses focus. If she can't keep her mind clear when her memories and conscious (why hadn't that thing died yet?) start acting up, she'll tear herself apart...
On the thought of a way out though...
Was that entrance protected by a force field or a ray shield? If it was the latter, that would be a much quicker way to die.
Thoughts for later.
"You may stay," she said flatly, "But I'm not talking to you."
Obi-Wan gave her a look and turned around towards the entrance.
Siri had to struggle to hold back the desire to call out 'Wait!' Force, what is wrong with her? She's a kriffing Sith Apprentice! She's better than this. Force Suppression and isolation should be nothing to her compared to the shit Sidious put her through, hell, its not even a full solitary confinement with Obi-Wan popping in daily (even if it is for so few seconds sometimes). She doesn't... she doesn't need him. She doesn't need anything but herself! She steels herself as much as she can, and lets him walk out...
...and regrets it deeply the moment he was out of sight.
But like hell does that matter, her entire life is one massive regret at this point, whats one more?
By the seventh day Obi-Wan is starting to get vexed and deeply concerned. After the first few days Siri had given her ultimatum and refused to talk, he had asked Grandmaster for advice. Dooku had advised him to wait and not budge and inch, that she would start lessening her demands to something simpler, and eventually give in completely. That it was important to not give a prisoner any power over him. It had appeared to work initially, she had degraded her desire from being outside the cell to a simple calendar and clock...
Yet that request took him by surprise, its why he hesitated rather than just outright denied it.
The way her eyes gleamed and the hitch in her voice left him... unsettled. It was such a simple request, made in a desperate (as much as she tried to hide it) way. Something in the cell (and the Force when he left) told him that emotion wasn't faked, and why would she fake it over so simple a thing? And why was it so important? It was the first time he had really sat down and considered it. He had been imprisoned or taken captive a few times in his life, though rarely for any extended period of time (and not that he couldn't get out of, most people underestimated what a Force Sensititve could do), though Qui-Gon had to save him a few times. There was a tension of the whole thing, being in danger, or having your fate uncertain, he knew that. He also knew the cell was unsettling to be in as a Force Sensitive. He had expected her to be bored of course, Force knows he had been a few times. The loneliness and isolation he saw from her though... that was unexpected. He thought Darksiders were loners by nature.
The way she tried to hide that tiny flash of relief whenever he stepped into the cell...
...and in the reverse, how she looked slightly worse day by day.
He didn't need the Force to tell him that it wasn't (solely) because of guilt eating her alive. It took until he mentioned it while sipping tea with Qui-Gon, Anakin at the table doing his homework before he got an answer why.
Anakin made a face up at him. "Do Jedi really do that? Stick people all alone in cells for awhile?"
"She's dangerous...," said Obi-Wan slowly, not sure where the boy was going.
"Yeah, but... all prisoners are dangerous, right? And prisons usually have other prisoners to talk to, other people like them," said Anakin, frowning at him, "I remember Gardula doing something like this. If a slave pissed her off enough, and she didn't outright kill them or feed them to the Sarlacc, she'd throw them into a small room for a few weeks, sometimes longer, by themselves, feed em through a door. No one who went in ever came out the same after that..."
Obi-Wan gave him an utterly blank look. "I don't... but I go in and talk to her?"
"Well yeah, but... don't Jedi and Sith hate eachother from what I've heard?" asked Anakin, puzzled, "Wouldn't that just be worse?"
He and Siri didn't hate eachother. There is relief when she sees him, not hate...
Still...
Obi-Wan goes silent and pulls out his datapad, doing a different kind of research while Qui-Gon distracts Anakin by helping with his homework. His search on 'isolation and prison' led to various studies on inmates of different species, and eventually to the term 'Solitary Confinement', and the argued potential psychological effects of that left him very queasy, especially when some of which he's already seen, though the readings never said it would happen so quickly, especially with him there. Maybe its a stacking of different things, the isolation, the guilt, the Force Suppression, not to mention the issues a Sith naturally has. Either way, Siri may deserve to be punished, for justice to be met out, but not like that. He personally had hoped for her to earn penance through helping stop Sidious, and through going out and helping people as a Jedi should, by redeeming herself. It may or may not be a fools dreams, but compassion is the Jedi way, his way, even if some Jedi would rather go with cold hard logic.
So, when he's done his tea at Qui-Gon's apartment, he grabs a few spare credit chips he had stashed away from his time as a padawan, and goes to buy a small wall clock (He's to stubborn to give in completely to what she wanted, so its a compromise). He also decides, that even if she refuses to talk to him, he'll at least stay an hour or so each day. Perhaps Dooku's 'strategy' might have worked, maybe it wouldn't, all the Force faintly tells him on that matter is he was playing a very dangerous game that could have either worked or blown up in his face. Regardless of that, he's not cruel, and he's not going to risk permanently damaging Siri needlessly.
On the eighth morning of nothing more than 'good morning - get out', when he walks in and tacks the clock to her cell wall, he's... unprepared for the way her eyes go comically wide, for the shake of her arms, the shudder down her spine. She looks like shit, and he's fairly certain she's stopped using the fresher to wash herself or change into any of the other provided clothing for the last few days now.
Vindication mixes with guilt, and he's not sure how he feels.
He watches Siri take a long moment to gain control of herself, but even when she does, its not that same joyfully sadistic facade she usually has. Is there a way for someone to seem both brittle and yet hostile at the same time? It's the weirdest thing, especially the lowness of her voice, "What do you want for it?"
"Just... to pick up where we left off," he said, his voice more uncertain then he should show.
He moved to slide down the wall to his usual spot, which is now underneath the clock. "You had said something about stagnation being death?"
Siri closed her eyes. "You wouldn't understand."
"Then explain it to me."
She pursed her lips, opening her eyes and staring up at the clock over his head; he's not blind to the way her eyes follow the tick-tick of the hand. "It requires an understanding of what a Sith really IS."
She frowned briefly before muttering, "Or at least what they're supposed to be."
Obi-Wan raised a questioning eyebrow, but she never looked down from the clock to see it. "Alright, explain what a Sith is supposed to be then."
"Peace is a lie, there is only passion."
"Through passion, I gain strength."
"Through strength, I gain power."
"Through power, I gain victory."
"Through victory, my chains are broken."
"The Force shall free me."
"What do those words mean to you?" she asked, her eyes still trailing the lower hand of the clock.
"I'm assuming that's a code of some kind," said Obi-Wan; and despite the lack of the Force in the cell, there is a chill crawling down his spine.
"The Sith Code," she agreed.
"Well, the first line is wrong," he answered, "There is peace as much as their is passion."
"There is no emotion, there is peace," she shot back.
Ah, there was the mocking, he was wondering where it had gone off to. "I believe we are discussing the Sith Code at the moment, not the Jedi one. Though, one mirrors the other..."
There isn't the slightest hint of amusement on her face. "You see that line as just an twisted reflection, but it's not. Peace is an agent of stagnation, it means the lack of conflict. Conflict is a constant law of the universe, it drives both physical and technological evolution. It forces you to better yourself in order to survive and thrive. How much has the galaxy progressed because of one conflict or another? And I'm not just talking about wars. Diseases, natural disasters, rivalries, competitions, physical limitations, all of that and more forces one to overcome. If we accepted peace, we'd just roll over and die when something unpleasant came our way. Peace is an unnatural aberration."
Obi-Wan takes his time thinking it over, and Siri doesn't rush him, her eyes still glued to that clock with something akin to fanatical devotion if he were to admit it. "Is that moment of peace truly so awful? A chance to recuperate, recover, to rest your weary bones?"
"That's what sleeping is for," she said dryly, "Though, Sidious says he doesn't sleep."
Obi-Wan blinked. "That's impossible, everyone needs to sleep."
"Through the Force, all things are possible," she mocked back, "I personally think he just meditates when he would normally sleep, scrying the future, going over his plans. Or maybe he lies, who knows. For me its a way to explain how he's so in control of everything and ten steps ahead of ideas I can only start wrapping my mind around."
Obi-Wan... doesn't automatically deny it a second time. Lets himself weigh the importance and danger of a foe who gets so much extra time to formulate his plans and plot where normal people, even Jedi, go to sleep and rest. If he's really spending hours each night trying to probe the Force for hints and clues and visions... especially if the Sith is unclouded where the Jedi are not...
The possibility of it makes his skin crawl. "Do you mind if I warn the council of that?"
"Go ahead," she says dismissively.
He makes a note of it on his datapad and sets it down afterwards. "You're not wrong in that conflict does encourage progress. But, is the Sith's default way of brutal war and struggle really the best way?"
"It's the only way we're allowed by you Jedi," she said flatly, "The only peaceful attempts there were to co-exist died with the First Great Schism and the follow up Hundred-Year Darkness, and everything after that just had to much history for their to be anything else."
Obi-Wan had done some reading ahead on the history of the Jedi and the Sith (what was allowed by the Archives, and what Dooku was willing to impart), so he wasn't completely clueless this time. "Peaceful? I was under the impression the Dark Jedi of those times tried to corrupt and convert, then destroy when that didn't work. That's hardly co-existence."
There was a flash of annoyance on her face. "History is written by the victors, Obi-Wan, can you be so sure that was what really happened?"
"Can you be sure of what you know either?" he countered back, "That what you learned wasn't a spiteful or manipulative story? That seems more in-line with the Sith."
She hums to herself for a moment, now there is amusement on her face, though he wishes she would take her eyes of that clock and make eye contact. "Funny that, neither of us can trust some of our predecessors."
"I have trust in mine," he rebutted, "Which is more than you can say for any and all of yours."
Apparently, that was enough to get her to look away from the clock, and its not in a good way. She glares at him, eyes hot with rage. "Sidious yes, but I'd trust Zannah more than I'd trust any Jedi."
Obi-Wan blinked. "Who is Zannah?"
Siri's eyes widen with self-directed fury before she closes herself off. "No one you'd know. We're done for today."
Obi-Wan crossed his arms and completely ignored that, mentally jotting down 'Zannah' to try and look up, was there a possibility of a third Sith? "As for the second line of your code, passion does lead to strength I suppose."
That admission is enough to douse her anger, and she blinks owlishly at him.
He gives her a self-depreciating smile. "You'd have to be ignorant not to admit that. You can see it in people's everyday lives, how their passion towards their jobs, families, duties, can drive them."
Siri doesn't spring on his words. That owlish look fades, she crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow at him, waiting.
Ah, she was learning as much as he was. "However, being consumed by your passions, losing control of them, also has consequences, there's a reason someone came up with the term 'Crimes of Passion', and that's its actually recognized and used in court. As Force Sensitives, those consequences are more... severe, because of how the Force reacts to our emotions. We must control those emotions because of how disastrous things can become when we lose control, we have a responsibility, as trained Force Sensitives, to do so."
She yawned at him and went back to staring at the clock.
Obi-Wan has to struggle to catch the brief flare of agitation. He thought that explanation was rather on point. "Is there something I said that you disagree with?"
"You assume a Sith loses control," she said with a dismissive sniff, "That a Sith is ruled and controlled by their passions."
Her voice turned harsh. "Ignorant. That is not what a Sith IS."
He gave her an honestly puzzled look. "You're going to have to explain it to be then, because that's exactly what I think a Sith is."
Siri snickered, but it wasn't an amused one, it was dark, hissing. "A Sith rules their passions, owns them, controls them, aims them, draws power from them. Letting them run free would get us revealed or killed very easily. Sometimes we let them loose to vent the buildup if we can not maintain it, or just to satisfy ourselves, occasionally we may lose control, but make no mistake, our emotions belong to us, not the other way around."
Obi-Wan thinks back to Bruck, thinks back to Xanatos, and says quietly, "And that's what differentiates you from normal Dark Jedi."
Siri seems pleased that he understood the difference. "Yes."
Obi-Wan... really isn't sure what to do with this information, aside from argue. "If I understands it right, emotions are a source of power, a weapon and tool for the Sith, rather than part of their being. Isn't that just as unnatural as you'd accuse a Jedi of being?"
She looks down from the clock, confused. "Excuse me?"
"Jedi you accuse of being emotionless machines," he said, "Sith however you are making to weaponize their emotions, rather than a natural part of them."
She wrinkles her nose at him.
"Its true though, isn't it?" he asked, he had a feeling about this, "You still deny yourself emotions, only using ones you deem useful, and only as weapons rather than how normal sentients simply feel theirs. How is that any more natural that what the Jedi do?"
She gritted her teeth. "A Jedi lecturing me about not using emotions is, at best, hypocritical, and leaves much to be desired."
"If you can yell at me for sidestepping an issue, you better believe I'll do the same for you," he said pointedly.
She looked away for a long moment. "I had thought about it once, trying to use other emotions for power, or as the focus of my meditation. Never went through with it and bothered. It... wasn't what Sidious had instructed, and anything like grief or doubt or guilt sapped at my power when I felt them, so... I just never tried. Figured there was a reason no recorded Sith had used other emotions."
Considering how love had disrupted her out of that dark and twisted state, he had a hunch positive emotions literally weakened the Dark Side. Though academically he wondered if that was as a whole for all darksiders, for the Sith, or for specifically whatever Siri had become at that moment in Naboo. He didn't quite know. She still hadn't answered about whether it was unnatural or not. He wondered if she had ever actually considered it before...
Surprisingly, he doesn't have to prod her a second time. "Maybe it is unnatural. But a Sith is a constant, changing entity. We will do what we must to achieve our goal, regardless if it is beyond nature."
"Right, your goal," he said flatly, "Killing all the Jedi."
Siri shrugged. "If you say so."
Obi-Wan's breathing hitched slightly. "You don't... care about that?"
"It's more Sidious's thing than mine; I care about cleaning up this shithole of a galaxy, bringing order to the chaos, destroying the corruption that plagues it, wiping clean the Republic and creating a prosperous and lasting empire, my empire," she said hungrily before growing dismissive, "The Jedi most likely would stand in the way of that, wouldn't have the will, the vision, the strength, to do what is necessary. I don't particularly care either way if they live or die, it's nothing personal."
On one hand, he should be relieved shes not hell-bent on destroying the Jedi. On the other hand... galactic domination. If there ever was a key Sith trait according to history, that was it. Not to mention how... nonchalant she is about the potential destruction of the Jedi, she's not for or against it. Had she stayed loose, and got into a position to dominate, if they got in her way, she'd destroy them. No no, focus on the positives, if she wasn't frothing at the mouth to kill Jedi like the Sith of old were implied to, as her Master wants to, he'll be much better off in this effort.
"Shesh, you look like you just won the lottery," she said with a tinge of disgust in her tone, "Wipe that look off your face Obi-Wan."
He scowled at her. "I can't be happy that you're not specifically out to butcher my family?"
Something passed across her face. "The Jedi aren't your family, you don't know the meaning of that word."
He could argue that all day long, but he settled with, "And you do?"
"Better than you," she shot back, "I've watched families from afar before, Obi-Wan, neither of us have had anything like that. At best, we're part of two separate cults."
He had a rebuttal forming on his lips, but... the envy, jealousy, desire and longing written so clearly on her face and in her eyes killed it; her words were made to be cutting, but all he took from that was she had went out of her way to see what a family of normal people looked like. It turned his reply soft instead. "There are many different kinds of family, Siri. Maybe its not as you'd define it, but to me, the Jedi are mine. Can you honestly say the Sith are yours?"
She averts her eyes back to the clock, lips tight together, not answering.
He considered that a win though, because there's no way family tortures one another like the Sith do.
"Through strength, I gain power," he muttered, "That's... a rather redundant line, isn't it?"
"I don't know, is it?" she retorts in a clipped tone.
"I'm assuming you differentiates strength and power," he said, "What do they mean to you?"
Siri sighed softly. "In basic terms for your feeble Jedi mind, strength is personal, power is what is used over others."
"Well you're feeling nasty again," he said offhandedly.
"I'm a nasty person," she answered snidely.
"I see that."
She huffed, but didn't respond.
"Through power, I gain victory," he sounded out, "Is fairly self-evident unless there's a hidden meaning...?"
"Not in particular, it depends on what kind of victory you're thinking about," she answered, "Sometimes, that victory can be more symbolic than physical."
"How so?"
She just shook her head, refusing to answer.
Obi-Wan figured he wasn't going to honestly get much more out of her this visit, but, he'd at least finish that code of hers. "Through victory, my chains are broken. What kind of chains?"
"If you ask Sidious," she said quietly, "What happened on Naboo would be an example of this. When I broke free of my last chain, and made to sever it."
Obi-Wan went silent for a long moment. "Me? You view me as a chain?!"
She shrugged. "You hold me back Obi-Wan, there's not a question in the matter. The only decision is if I wear that chain willingly or not."
"Caring for other people ISN'T a chain," he can't help but get heated, because this is wrong, he is not a chain, he is not some kind of slave collar, that she would even think that threatens to send him into a spiral he doesn't know if he'll come out of without hours of meditation, "Everyone has darkness in them Siri, a potential monster within. This line of your code I take as nothing more than breaking the chains on that monster and letting it out."
"If you're going to badmouth my code without even trying to understand it, get out," she snarled.
"The Force shall free me," he said flatly, "What will the Dark Side free you of? Compassion? Care? Love? Being a good person? Congratulations Siri, it looks like it's worked so far."
She's glaring at him full force, slowly standing up from her bed, body tense with fury.
He points a finger at her, angry, hurt, not able to keep either out of his voice, "I am perhaps one of the last people alive who truly cares for you. I NOT a chain Siri. Don't you ever call me that again."
Her fury ebbs, and a hesitant look crossed her face. "Obi-Wan... I..."
He turns to the door. "I think that's enough, we're not going to be able to continue today without wounding eachother. We'll pick this back up another time with cooler heads. Enjoy the clock."
He storms out, ignoring the guards, ignoring any Jedi he passes in the halls, ignoring his own Master when the man gives him a questioning nudge down their bond. He retreats to his quarters, kneels down on the floor, and pushes himself desperately into meditation to release the bungle of emotions swarming through him...
She shouldn't have asked for the clock.
It makes things so much worse.
Now she's aware of how much time she's losing. She stares at it, drawn in by the soft tick-tick-tick. She blinks, and ten minute are gone. Sometimes twenty, sometimes thirty. Yet she can't help but be lulled into that soft sound, the only thing not of her own making that isn't the annoying hum of the force fields serving as her door. It's an all-consuming mechanical entity. Was it better losing herself to blankness than...
"There are many different kinds of family, Siri. Maybe its not as you'd define it, but to me, the Jedi are mine. Can you honestly say the Sith are yours?
Than that? She didn't know.
She growled under her breath, and for the hell of it, tried. Sidious as the sadistic possessive father. Plaguies as the sadistic critical grandfather. Zannah as the crazy dead-but-kinda-not aunt, the ghosts of Korriban as distant snide relatives, Bane's holocron as the omnipresent family member whose legacy everyone had to live up to who would kill you if you were found wanting, Maul as...
No, he doesn't get included.
She wrinkled her nose in distaste. She'd give Obi-Wan the win on this one. Zannah... maybe counted, but it was hard to tell sometimes. Kriffing hell, she tried to body jack Siri the first time they met, though, Siri would admit she was being pitiful at the time and maybe deserved it. She sighed to herself and tried to wrench her eyes away from the clock, staring at a wall...
Tick-tick-tick...
Siri blinked, staring at the clock, finding herself an hour later. She pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, aching for the feel of the Dark Side to wrap and hide herself in...
"What will the Dark Side free you of? Compassion? Care? Love? Being a good person? Congratulations Siri, it looks like it's worked so far."
Siri growled, went for the clock, ripped it off the wall, and chucked it at the force field, only for it to bounce back and conk her upside the head. She staggered a bit, swearing under her breath and rubbing her forehead. Guess that answered if it were a ray shield or not, woulda fried the clock of it was. She grabbed the clock and tossed it into the far corner of the fresher room, moving back to her bed. There was still the faintest tick-tick-tick echoing in her ears, earning a twitch from her.
"What will the Dark Side free you of?"
"Shut up Obi-Wan," she hissed quietly to herself, "It... it'll free me from Sidious... or it would have if I wasn't stuck in this damn cell."
"Compassion? Care? Love?"
She gritted her teeth, covering her ears, trying to drown out his voice.
"Congratulations Siri, it looks like it's worked so far."
Siri got up, grabbed the bottom of her bed, and tried to rip it off the floor to throw across the room with all her strength. She cringed instead when it only served to almost pull her arms out of her sockets. Of course they'd kriffing bolt it to the floor. Karking Jedi. She ran a hand through her hair, breathing shakily.
"it looks like it's worked so far."
She screamed in rage, running to pound a fist into the wall over and over again, the pain a blissful, bloody release. Which, she regretted after the brief moment of rage had passed, now she just had an painfully throbbing hand. She went to the fresher and ran it under water...
Tick-tick-tick...
She closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against the wall, stress bleeding into her voice. "It would have been kinder to kill me..."
The first thing the Jedi did when he walked in the following morning (she assumed it was the next day) was ask, "Where did your pillow and the clock go?"
"The pillow is in the fresher smothering the clock."
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at her, she returned the look with the universal 'kriff you' symbol. "Do you want me to come back lat..."
"NO!" she bolted upright, unable to keep the panic off her face before she swallowed and tried a more even, "No."
He looked at her with unguarded concern before his eyes flickered to her hand. "What happened there?"
"An unfortunate accident with the wall," she said flatly.
"I see," he said, lips tight, "Do you want a medkit?"
"No," she growled out, tensing.
He took a step back and held up his hands defensively. "Okay, okay. If you're not in the mood..."
"Just... just sit in your spot," she said shakily, "No... no kriffing talks, just... just..."
She bowed her head, struggling with herself. She needed to get out of here, needed to get out of here...
She tensed when the bed shifted, her eyes flickering to see Obi-Wan hesitatingly sitting down next to her, scooting to press his back against the wall. She swallowed a bit, fighting the urge to do the same successfully for about thirty seconds before she succumbed, back pressed against the wall, shoulders brushing his. She closed her eyes and took in a shaky breath, letting it out, just... just trying to steady herself.
"An accident," he said mildly, "Is that what you call that red smear on the wall over there?"
"Shut up Obi-Wan," she growled under her breath, and considered it a blessing when he did.
They sat there in silence for awhile, the only sound their breathing, one far more steady then the other...
She blinked awake sometime later when she felt a pained throb in her hand and a prick of something being injected into it, hissing and opening her eyes to see Obi-Wan standing in front of her, pulling a small painkiller away, an open med kit on her bed. She yanked her hand away and glared at him.
"Ah, awake I see," he said.
"Obviously," she growled out.
"Hand please."
"I can treat myself."
"Mhm, of course you can," he said flatly, "When's the last time you used a healing trance again? Master Che implied its been awhile if all the trace chemicals and toxins she found in you was any indication."
Siri chose not to answer that.
"Hand please," he said again.
She scowled and held it out, watching as he gently pulled out a light bacta-patch, wrapped it over her knuckles, and then bandaged the hand. She... stared at the process with a blank look, not sure how to process what he was doing. It was so simple, but...
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing," she muttered, "Just... can't remember the last time anyone..."
She trailed off.
The last time anyone who wasn't a clinical med-droid had ever personally taken care of her (Master Ur Manka her mind whispers, but she shoves the thought away, he betrayed her). Judging by the look on his face, she didn't need to finish that sentence anyway. There was a cloud of brief anger on his face followed by sadness and grief. She yelped when he pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry Siri."
She froze up for a moment before squeaking out, "Let go."
He just pulled her in tighter. She struggled against him, trying to shove him away. "L-let go!"
Obi-Wan sighed, but obeyed. "Why is compassion so repulsive to you Siri?"
"Because," she snarled, scooting away from him, "I'm not weak enough to need it."
He gave her a patient look that made her want to slash it off his face. "Compassion is not dependent on someone being weak or strong, it is freely given by those who feel it for others. I've know so little of your time as a Sith, but what I've learned thus far is horrifying to me. I wouldn't wish it on anyone."
"Not just anyone is strong enough to endure it," she spat out.
"Survive seems a more apt word," he said mildly.
"Semantics."
"It's really not," he countered before closing his eyes and sighing. "Just take what's offered Siri, its been lacking from your life far to much from the last eight years."
She sneered at him. "Because Jedi are all hugs with one another?"
Obi-Wan's mouth twitches into a smile.
She stands up off the bed, making him step back as she points a finger at him. "Qui-Gon Jinn does not count!"
"That's unfair!"
"Life's unfair, deal with it."
"Jedi offer comfort to one another in plenty of ways Siri," he said pointedly, "Perhaps you've merely forgotten since you insisted on not fixing your head."
She groaned. "Are we discussing this again?"
"A soft brush of shoulders, meditating together, asking one another to spar to distract us from our sufferings or to alleviate emotions, sitting by our bed if we are in the halls of healing or ill in our quarters, is any of this familiar Siri?" he asked, "Or should I go on?"
"Must everything you say be an argument?"
"Coming from the Sith whose order relishes conflict?"
Siri's mouth snapped shit. That clever son of a bitch...
He gave her a well-pleased smile, it was charming really.
She punched him in the face.
She couldn't help it.
He staggered back and clutched his nose, his voice wheezing through his fingers, "Siri!"
"You asked for it Kenobi," she said, not an ounce of shame or guilt in her at all for that one, "Egging on a Sith is a terrible idea."
It appeared she had found an absolutely marvelous way to win an argument with him.
"I fink you brovk my nosh," he said, a whine to his voice.
"Well it's a good thing there's a med kit in here, isn't there?" she said, moving over to grab, a deviously-delighted smile crossing her face, "Sit down."
He gave her a wary look, but did so.
"I might have to set your nose first, but don't worry Obi-Wan," she said, putting as charming a look as she could on her face, "I'll be 'gentle' and 'compassionate'."
CRACK
"OWW! Siri! That's NOT gentle!"
"For a Sith it is, stop whining you big baby, here, let me get the painkiller and jab it in."
"No no no I heard that tone! You keep that needle well away from me Siri Tachi!"
"Careful Jedi, fear leads to the Dark Side."
"You are a spiteful, spiteful woman."
"I know."
Notes:
Author's Notes: 1 or 2 more of these I think before the Palpatine interrupts Obi-Wan's work. (Might be minor time skips in the next 2 if I don't want to stretch the Guide chapter duration out longer to allow for more exposure to the cell).
Chapter 32: The Guide (Part Eight)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Siri had put the clock back on the wall.
She told herself it was because she wanted her pillow back, and the faint tick-tick-tick from the fresher room was more irritating than the louder one when it was in here. Truthfully, it was mostly to have something to do between Obi-Wan's visits. Watching minutes, and then hours disappear right infront of her was more engaging that staring at a wall all the time she supposed, despite the inner terror it churned up in her gut as the gaps in which she blanked out steadily grew longer. He came every day, for at least an hour, without breaks in days, even if they got particularly viscous the day before. It was a steady thing, as weeks turns into the first (second?) month. She wasn't certain how long she had been in here anymore, the only constant being Obi-Wan.
She appreciated his visits, even if she didn't say so.
But she wasn't blind either.
He was less pressing, not to say he didn't poke and inquire about her past, but he let her (there was always a knowing look in his eye) lead them offtopic when she decided enough was enough. She knew what he was doing, trying to build a rapport with her, make her more comfortable around him. She recognized it because she'd done it herself with more... delicate targets Sidious sent her after, where she couldn't just threaten or kill their objective. Building fake-trust to learn their secrets or influence their decision making, bonus points since she was female, that generally made it easier even if she wanted to kill people for stereotyping her like that. The problem was Obi-Wan was so easy to be comfortable around... when they weren't bickering like a married couple.
Force, another point in Obi-Wan's favor if he'd been a Sith. Loose lips were a dangerous thing, and it was so easy to forget to be onguard around him...
Especially when he was making her reliant on him for her sanity. She wasn't blind on that either, even if she didn't think he was intentionally doing so. He was a Jedi, they didn't have it in them to do something like that. He probably thought he was helping more than anything. Maybe he was, but...
She had no desire to turn away from the Dark Side. Did he think she didn't know her life was an awful cruel mess? She told him she was a monster, it wasn't something she was ignorant of. It still felt like more of a life than she could faintly remember having as a Jedi. When she had down time (more like when she created it for herself), she could go where she wanted, enjoy herself, partake in life's pleasures, rather than be bound to the temple when not on a mission. Honestly, get rid of Sidious and she would have been fine on her own. Galactic domination aside... living the high life with Alexi and Mighella wouldn't have been bad. Siri Tachi, Black Sun special operative, superior to a Vigo. She never would have been left for wanting...
Would it have been fulfilling in the long run?
Who knows.
"...iri?"
Siri blinked into focus. When had she lost focus? When had he entered the room? "Obi-Wan."
He stood a few feet from her bed, that ever-worried look his face plastered there. Worried, but doing nothing else but pestering her. "Do you often make a habit of zoning out like that? It's starting to become a frequent thing when I come to visit."
Oh, he had no idea. She warred with telling him what he's actually doing to her by keeping her in this cell VS letting him figure it out on his own. Blanking out and just... not coming back would eventually happen, she'd be gone, and wouldn't that be a vindictive thing to do to him? There is so much built up frustration and resentment that she's not completely against hurting him like that anymore. That devotion to him slowly ebbs day by day. And it's not like she's not dead anyway, if not to the Jedi, than to Sidious at some point. Going out in a way of her choosing was better than nothing, lashing out and harming those who led her to that end, even if the choices available were absolute shit.
She thinks what it would do to him. The crushing guilt, the grief, the sense of failure. She absently wonders if it would be enough to turn him Dark. She's grown resentful enough to not care that much about afflicting him with that life. But no, he didn't fall the first time she supposedly died, she doubted he would if she really did go. It's odd. He doesn't let go, he lingered for nearly eight years on a memory of a girl that's dead (She is Siri, but she knows she's not the Siri that he once knew, not anymore), but that attachment doesn't rule his actions. It may influence them, but it doesn't control him; her death would hurt him badly, but it wouldn't ruin him as the prospect of his death had once ruined her; and as much as she hates to admit it, that kind of strength to keep on going impresses her, even if she wished him to never let go of her. Though fading away wouldn't technically kill her, her body would still be there after all, they'd probably keep her in the Halls of Healing, comatose.
Except...
Sidious would eventually burn the temple to the ground, and Siri didn't put it past him to figure out a way to yank her back from mental oblivion just to make her suffer before he killed her. If she is to 'die', it has to be a permanent way. Because she knows there are many forms of torture Sidious hasn't graced her with yet. If she felt herself about to slip away for what she'd believe was the final time, she'd tear her wrists open with her teeth to make sure death stuck...
Obi-Wan decided he really didn't look the like on Siri's face. The blankness when he had walked in... and chilling acceptance that was on it now. He had seen that kind of thing before, just... not to that degree. It distinctly and disturbingly reminded him of Mandalore, of that year on the run with Satine. The Mandalorians that helped or fought them choosing how and where to die. Whatever she was thinking, she needed to stop thinking it.
Distraction and deflection then. "While I've 'enjoyed' our philosophical, cultural, and historical debates, if you're willing, could we continue where we left off on what happened to you specifically? If I remember, you said he had been teaching you how to meditate with the Dark Side?"
That chilling look on her face turned into a pout. "Do we have to, dearest?"
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you the one who threatened to, I quote, 'Kick me in the dick' if I flirted with you like you just flirted with me?"
She grinned. "Do as I say not as I do."
He rolled his eyes and drawled out, "Yes 'Master'."
"Mmm, I like the sound of you calling me that," she said, raising her eyes suggestively.
He gave her a disproving look, and she just sighed. "You're no fun."
"I'm not trying to be," he answered bluntly.
She crossed her arms and pouted at him...
...and Obi-Wan had to get over the mental whiplash, yet again, about how much of the old Siri he knew was gone or replaced. Where did that young, serious young woman go? "If you could continue...?"
She rolled her eyes. "Pushy aren't you?"
He gave her a flat look.
"You try so hard with that baby face of yours," she mused, "Its more adorable than condescending."
He flushed a bit, scowling. "Just for that, I'm growing a beard."
She made a face. "Bleh, facial hair."
"Anytime now Siri."
She closed her eyes for a moment, wrinkling her nose, before opening them and giving him a foul look. "Fine fine. After Sidious instructed me in meditation, he began explaining some of the finer aspects of the Dark Side, especially in types of anger."
"Types?"
"Like different wines, some better than others," she said, a bemused smile on her face, the sharpness of her eyes told a different story though, "Righteous anger is what I first tasted, but that's not particularly helpful for a Sith unless its accompanied by hate. Petty anger is tinder, little bursts that keep your power at a desired level, or at a starting point to burst higher."
Her smile faded. "There are two primary types of anger a Sith. Hot and cold, fire and ice. Explosive fury, or controlled and cultivated hate. You've seen me use both, on Naboo..."
Nothing short of sadism coated her face. "Do you remember, Jedi?"
Obi-Wan swallowed and took a reflexive step back.
"Your master backhanded me, insulted me," she purred, eyes flashing, "And I exploded in rage, threw him down that walkway with my lightning like the trash he is. That is an example of the first type, good for a quick burst, but if you let it rule you, it will impair your judgement."
"Tell me Obi-Wan, do you remember when I started using the other kind?" she whispered, eyes boring into his darkly, "In the ray shields, when I caught Qui-Gon alone? Do you recall the chill in the air? The veil of the Dark Side draping you in it's icy hold, ripping the guidance of the Force from you? Do you remember that moment I ascended? I became a true Sith? Do you, little Jedi? Do you remember the power I wielded?"
Obi-Wan turned and walked (ran) out of the cell, shivers rolling down his spine. He refused, refused, to be in the same room as her right now when... when the monster was well and truly out to see. When he saw nothing of the Siri he remembered in her...
Siri, in the interest of not having only five minutes of company two days in a row, reigned herself in when Obi-Wan walked in the next(?) day. She tilted her head to the side, eyes on him, waiting for him to speak. Considering he didn't even start with a 'good morning', he was still skittish over their last exchange. Honestly, he faced her down when she was well and truly a Sith, he ought to have more of a spine for regular moments, not just do-or-die ones. Ah well, he's a Jedi, beggars couldn't be choosers.
"I did not instruct you," she began in a neutral voice, "Of the types of anger just for you to walk out on me, Obi-Wan. I was stressing a point."
"And what point was that?" he bit out, "That the Dark Side turns you into an utter monster when you're wrapped in it?"
She sighed, irritation bleeding through her, "The point was to show you the strength of each kind of anger. Cold rage, icy hate, is the most long lasting and powerful type of emotion a Sith of my line uses. Sidious, is a master of that kind of hate, and a least ten times stronger than I am."
Obi-Wan hesitated. "Times...?"
"I saw him and Darth Plagueis fight, Obi-Wan," she murmured, "I'm the only living Force Sensitive that has any kind of clue just how powerful Sidious truly is. There isn't a single Jedi, save perhaps Yoda, that could survive him, let alone hope to fight him if he's not toying with you."
"So what, you're saying he's invincible?" said Obi-Wan flatly.
"He might as well be so long as he remains hidden in the shadows," she answered in equal flatness, "Getting him into the light, revealing and getting him into a confrontation would be hard enough on its own, but beating him? Unless you play heavily on the strength of the Light, you don't stand a chance."
He visibly perked up. "Well now, a Sith acknowledging the strength of the opposition?"
"Oh get off your high horse," she said with a scowl, "If you Jedi didn't have some kind of strength, the Sith would have wiped out your kind thousands of years ago."
Obi-Wan crossed his arms. "Alright, what exactly are you talking about then?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it obvious?"
He raised an eyebrow back. "I'm assuming your not referring to some kind of ability?"
Idiot. "I'm referring to your numbers. The fact that Jedi can and will work together without stabbing eachother in the back. That is the strength of the Light, in unity, the strength of many. The strength of the Dark Side is in solitude, the strength of self. A real Sith will almost always be stronger than any individual Jedi, baring some exceptional individuals or situations."
Obi-Wan slowly nodded. "I suppose. Though, I think a fair many individuals in our order would surprise you."
Her lips peeled back in amusement. "Can you name anyone who isn't a council member or a renowned master who would have been able to stand up to me on Naboo?"
He scowled at her, and she returned a smug smile.
She tilted her head back, memories going for the early days of her apprenticeship. She recalled how she was taught how to hide her presence, but decided to keep those details to herself if she ever got a chance to make a break for it. Then again... if she really stops to think of it, if she steps outside this temple, she's dead. Even if she's using Zannah's sorcery to hide herself, she can't trust that she could stay hidden from Sidious long enough to grow strong enough to challenge him. This prison is also her sanctuary, and oh doesn't she hate how that grates.
She diverts away from abilities of the Dark Side. "After, he instructed me on history, debating the code, stuff like that. We did that for a few days, and after that was when the killings began."
She frowned for a moment, watching him tense, and decided to throw him a bone. "It served little purpose, in just bringing random people in for me to kill. I think it could have been done over time, through missions, with real targets chosen for real purposes, but, Sidious wanted to deaden me to it as fast as possible I suppose."
"And... you felt nothing about it?" he asked quietly.
She made a face. "Monsters aren't made in a day Obi-Wan. Of course I felt guilty about it, at least, at first. Hells, he literally fried a pair of children in front of me with his lightning. Have you ever seen something like that? The body spasm, eyeballs burst, clothes caught of fire, skin melting and burning, there is smoke rising off the person. The stench of it is something you don't ever forget. It is one of the worst death's I've ever seen, even to this day, forced down my throat because of my stupidity."
The look of nausea on his face... oddly doesn't bring any comfort or elation to her. Frankly, she still finds what Sidious did back then repulsive. Obi-Wan asks, his voice unsteady. "Stupidity?"
She gave him a twisted smile. "If I had just killed the children when he ordered me to, their death's would have been quick. I disobeyed, so he made it brutal."
"What kind of hell did he crawl out of?" asked Obi-Wan, struggling to control his anger.
"I don't think hell is the correct description, he's worse than any fairy tale demon," she answered bluntly, "He did that lesson for a reason. The thing about killing so many people in such a short amount of time, Obi-Wan, is how it deadens you. The twisting, disgusting, filthy sensation that you feel as you stain your hands with blood only lasts as long as it takes you to numb yourself to it."
She looked away from him for a long moment. "It takes something... intense... or perhaps someone important to me, to make me feel anything really negative out of death anymore. I simply... can't. Any guilt I feel here in this room... is it for the people I've killed? Or the simple actions of what I've done?"
She shook her head. "It doesn't really matter anymore."
There was an air of... depression. She hated herself for being weak enough to feel it. "I don't know why you bother Obi-Wan. Even if by some miracle you convince me to turn away from the Dark Side, I will never be the Siri Tachi you used to know. Make me feel the light, dress me up in Jedi robes, it won't matter. She's gone, Obi-Wan. You don't come back from something like this anything like you were before. I'm just a monster wearing her skin. The only thing bringing me back will do is chain the beast and dropped a shattered husk at your feet that your forced to look after."
"Siri..."
She hates the compassion in his voice. He shouldn't feel anything like that for her.
"Just... go away Obi-Wan," she muttered, scooting to the edge of her bed against the wall and bringing her knees up to her chest, "I'm done talking for the day."
The patter of his feet on the ground went in the direction opposite of what she wanted. He sat down next to her, his shoulder gently bumping hers. He said nothing, and neither did she, as the tick tick tick of the clock passed them by...
"So, what happened after the killings?"
Siri sighed, these days were dragging when they were blanking by for her. "I bled my first kyber crystal."
There was a flinch from him at that, drawing a small amused smile from her. "There's nothing quite like hearing it scream."
There is a tightness from his lips, she recognizes it and dials back anything else she could say to egg him into leaving. "He had me bleed a crate of them. It was during that time he taught me one of the most valuable lessons he ever gave me."
"Dare I ask what kind of sickening thing he did this time?" drawled Obi-Wan.
She snorted. "Nothing aside from picking apart a Jedi saying. 'Your lightsaber is your life' is an absolutely stupid phrase to live by."
He gave her a blank look, and her lips peeled back, a harsh laugh escaping her mouth. "Not what you were expecting?"
"Well... no," he admitted, eyebrows furrowing, "Explain it to me."
"A lightsaber," she instructed, her voice serious, "Is a weapon. If it is destroyed or lost, do you simply give up and die?"
"Well, no," said Obi-Wan.
"Your body can be used as a weapon, objects around you can be used as a weapon. Beyond that, the Force itself is far more than a lightsaber will ever be. The saying, if one should even have one like that, is that 'The Force is your life'. Because honestly Obi-Wan, what does it say about the Jedi when supposed peacekeepers swear by a weapon as their life?"
A contemplative look crossed his face. "A lightsaber is more than a weapon, Siri, it is a tool, and a symbol. How a Jedi uses one reflects back upon them and the Order."
Her lips peeled back, sneering. "Then you might want to check on how people outside your order view it, Obi-Wan. Because to the average person, a lightsaber is a weapon. It represents death, not salvation, not heralding in a peacekeeper, but a killer, someone whose going to interfere with their lives, or be a snob and look down on them as lesser beings."
He gave her an incredulous look. "That's ridiculous, Siri."
She glared at him. "I've told you before Obi-Wan, if I speak and offer advice, you listen. Your precious Order, do you have any idea how failing your reputation is?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off, "And I'm not talking about the Core worlds, which benefit more readily from your Order. But the Mid and especially the Outer Rim worlds. Places that the Jedi rarely go in comparison. You have no clue to how little they care for you. So listen, and listen well, Jedi: Your reputation, and how the public of the galaxy view you, is a weapon the Sith have been cultivating, and that your Order has been failing to reach out and maintain, since well before I was born."
"When Sidious moves to wipe out your Order, Obi-Wan," she said harshly, "The Galaxy will applaud him for it. Or they won't care enough to challenge him over their fear of what comes after. Tell that to your foolish Council, and watch them deny and do nothing."
"The people of the Galaxy know we care for them," countered Obi-Wan, "Our mandate is compassion, to help the Republic, follow the will of the senate..."
She shook her head in disgust. "You've hardly been here for five minutes and I'm already sick of you. Get out, Jedi. Perhaps when you come back you'll have pulled your head out of your ass and realize that the Sith own the Senate."
His eyebrows furrow, unease on his face. "What do you mean by own?"
"Out."
"Siri..."
"GET OUT!"
Siri blinked into focus at the sound of tap-tap-taping. She glanced over from her bed to see Obi-Wan sitting down in his usually spot against the far wall working on a datapad. "How long have you been there?"
He looks up with an almost snap like swiftness, a touch of relief on his face. "An hour, you didn't... really respond to anything I did."
She frowned intently, looking away.
"Siri, that wasn't ignoring me, you were just... not there if I had to guess," said Obi-Wan uneasily, "Siri, whats wrong with you? Whats going on? This has been happening to often. Is it something Sidious did? Something..."
"Unless you want me to throw you out of my cell," she snapped, "Drop it. Its not my problem you're too ignorant to understand the dangers of Force Suppression."
He gave her a bewildered look.
She sighed and shook her head. "Where were we? Bleeding Kyber crystals, right? Right. After that he took me for a 'field trip'."
Her lips curled. "Into the lower levels of Coruscant."
Her head tilted towards him, eyes piercing. "Have you ever gone down there?"
"I go to Dex's often enough," he answered.
She snorted. "Dex's, if I remember correctly, is hardly lower level. I'm talking about going down deep and dirty, into the bowls of filth staining this world. Where trash and scrap are littered everywhere. Where drug addicts walk around in a daze or are hitting themselves up in broad daylight. There are corpses sometimes left around on the side streets or gutters. People are mugged or stolen from in the blink of an eye. I remember a public beating for someone not paying their 'protection money'."
She glowered at first, and then grinned. "I interrupted a rape and slaughtered the rapist that trip too. I took my time with that disgusting pig, you have no idea how much I enjoyed it."
There was a narrowing of Obi-Wan eyes. "Funny that Siri, because I seem to recall you calling yourself a rapist."
Siri froze for a moment, and then swallowed. "I... I only... only did that once."
"Only once?" he said sharply, "I think once is one time to many for something so foul."
Then his sharpness faded into curiosity. "Though, considering what else you said when you were freaking out... why did you even comment on it, if it was 'only' one time?"
Wide open panic spread across her face. "Out. G...get out."
"Tell me Siri, is this something miss 'it's all a necessary sacrifice' regrets?" he asked pointedly.
She looked away, her breathing quickening, reflexively trying to draw on her anger and hate to smother what she felt, and feeling the sharp sting of backlash when she couldn't. "I... yes. Alright? I kriffing regret it! Are you happy? Want a pat on the head? A good job Obi-Wan for making me admit it? That of all the things I've done, that one is the one thing that was completely unnecessary?"
There was no triumph on his face, just sadness. "Then why did you do it?"
She wants to punch him, beat that compassion out of his face, so she goes for the most cutting thing she can say, even if in the back of her mind she's screaming 'DON'T' at herself. "It was a task given to me to get over my infatuation with a certain Jedi Padawan."
He looked like he had been sucker punched, color draining out of his face, before fury and disgust took over. "Is there nothing the Sith won't corrupt or pervert? That... that Sidious had you rape someone to get over me? To destroy love? That's... I..."
He shook his head, got up, and left, unable to handle what she said. Funny enough, that hadn't been Sidious, that had been all Zannah. She watched him leave, saying nothing to draw him back in. He hardly knew the worst of it, that she had slapped an illusion of him onto her victim, that she had murdered the boy after. That even if she had been ordered to do it, she had still gone through with it, still tried to enjoy the fantasy. That was a secret she would take to her grave. She curled in on herself, feeling like she was covered in slime and filth, shaking.
She looked up at the clock, and wished she'd just fade away and never come back...
Siri yelped when something pin-pricked her neck, and something icy seemed to surge through her. She blinked rapidly and stared up at Obi-Wan, she faintly recognized Healer Che behind him. "Obi-Wan...?"
She blinked, her voice sounded hoarse, like she hadn't drank anything in a long while. There was relief on his face, he briefly moved to get a tray of food before bringing it to her. "Sit up."
He set it on her lap after she did so and took a few steps back, the worry on his face more interesting than the sudden churning of her stomach and aching of her throat. She glanced over at the healer, watching her fiddling with a scanner before raising an eyebrow at Siri. "Go ahead."
The red light briefly passed over her, and the Jedi nodded once before picking up a toolkit off the floor. Siri briefly caught sight of a vial of blood (her own?), and another jar of hair and maybe skin samples, before the Jedi closed it and left. "So... whats that about?"
"Siri, please eat," said Obi-Wan, avoiding the question.
She scowled a little bit, but complied. She tore into it voraciously. Couldn't even help raising the tray to lick off the crumbs.
"Gross Siri."
She lowered the tray and wiped off her mouth. "Survival one o one. Waste not want not."
He gave a strained smile. "Do you want seconds?"
She frowned at him, ignoring the 'yes' that wanted to escape her lips. "What is it Obi-Wan?"
He hesitated briefly. "You... weren't reacting to anything for days Siri. If the stim didn't work Master Che was going to hook you up to an IV."
Siri didn't visibly react, just pondered the words. There appeared to be a different in unwittingly blanking out, and wanting to. "I see."
She held the tray out for him to take, disinterest on her face. She got up and stretched, briefly enjoying the sensation before she paced the cell, getting her legs moving and blood flowing. She sat back down on the bed after, and simply stared at him. "Shall we continue where we left off?"
"No, that's... alright," he said quietly, "Just relax for today."
She snorted. "Relax is all I do every day since I was imprisoned here."
"I'm not sure you understand the difference between brooding and relaxing," he said mildly.
She glowered at him. "I'm trapped in a Force Suppression cell, in the middle of the Jedi Temple, in a convert-or-die or at least stay in a cell for the rest of my life situation with you breathing down my neck every day, with Sidious out there probably trying to figure out how to kill me, with nothing to distract me from this. Do you really think I can relax?"
He was surprised. "You think he'd kill you?"
"You have no idea how badly I messed up on Naboo Obi-Wan," she said tiredly, "I was a true Sith for so short a moment, and then I lost it. I failed him completely and utterly. He will kill me if he gets his hands on me again, the only question is how long will it take and how long will I suffer."
She laid down, staring up at the ceiling, her voice bleak, "Damned if I do damned if I don't, Obi-Wan. There is no real future for me anymore. Naboo cost me everything, you, cost me everything."
"You have a future here Siri, if you'd be willing to come back to the Jedi," he began, "We could keep you safe, protect you..."
She barked out a laugh. "You Jedi can't even save yourselves Obi-Wan, let alone me."
"I'm a dead woman Obi-Wan," she muttered, "One way or another."
"Is it so hard to have hope, Siri?" he asked softly.
"Hope?" she bit out, "I haven't had anything more than a fool's hope in eight years. If I want something, I don't hope for it, I go out and take it. Hoping for something is a pointless thing."
He gives her a sad look, and the red haze rises over her eyes. "I don't want your pity, Jedi."
He just shakes his head and moves to sit in his usual spot. He doesn't say anything, just stares at her with an air of grief and helplessness and care than makes her skin crawl. She doesn't want it (doesn't deserve it). He stays far longer than usual, even after she rolled over away from him, staring at the wall to not have to see his eyes anymore. When he does finally leave, she lets herself shake, lets our her ragged breathing she held in..
"I got off track last time," said Siri as Obi-Wan walked in.
"Last time?" he asked.
"We were talking about the lower levels of Coruscant, right?" she said, cleanly overlooking her last few days apparently spent out of it, "Right, so, certainly you can't deny the state they're in."
Obi-Wan frowned first in recollection, then tilting his head to study her, perplexed. "I wouldn't think a Sith would care about the impoverished."
"It's not my job to care," she said pointedly, "Unlike the Jedi, unlike the Republic."
"Passing blame around?" he asked, sitting down against the far wall, crossing his arms, looking quite unimpressed with her.
"Assigning it properly," she answered smoothly, "Between the Jedi who do nothing while preaching compassion, and the Senate that is to corrupt to do their job. If I was in charge of the Galaxy, I'd force this shit to be cleaned up since none of you can be bothered to."
"What would you have us do Siri?" asked Obi-Wan, "Jedi are limited in number. We have to go where we make the most impact..."
"And you trust the Senate to properly assign you?" she asked, snickering at his naivety, "A madhouse of corrupt politicians, where credits and backroom deals have more weight than the plight of those in need. Do you truly, and honestly, understand how corrupt and ineffective the Senate is?"
"By all means," he said dryly, "Enlighten me."
She gave him a predatory smile; right where she wanted him. "Sidious owns over half of them, directly or indirectly. I myself had a rather large collection of dirt I dug up on many members, some because Sidious ordered me to, others so I could use myself at some point."
Obi-Wan stares at her, his eyes a little wide, searching, hoping for a lie. He finds none. "You're not joking."
"Extortion, black mail, bribery, unknowing gifts, owning stocks in their various companies, the capacity to threaten their families if they actually aren't corrupt, the list goes on and on Obi-Wan," she said, "And that's not even considering Senators that are like minded, who would follow Sidious willingly, or simply fall in line without much effort. The rest of the lot he probably wouldn't bother with because of their selfishness, to busy chasing their own aims and goals to get in his way."
She sees the horror in his eyes, and takes pity on him, she made her voice as gentle as she could manage. "Your Republic is already lost, Obi-Wan. It has been for awhile now. The best chance of the Jedi surviving is to erase all information on your members and scattering, now, while they still have a chance, before Sidious can close the noose around your necks."
He gives her an incredulous look.
She doesn't twitch a muscle, just keeping her gaze level on him. "Its literally the only thing I can think of that would ensure a huge chunk of your order survived."
"Aside from stopping Sidious?" he said dryly.
She sighed and looked away. "You won't win Obi-Wan. The Sith have been playing this game for a thousand years, while the Jedi are only just now realizing it's been going on."
"Then help us fight him," he pleaded, "You have knowledge of..."
She wrinkled her nose and interrupted, "When you Jedi won't even give me a minute outside this room? Fat kriffing chance. I'm taking what I know to the grave out of pure spite. I 'hope' you manage to survive, I truly do, but the rest of your Order I really don't give a damn about."
He pursed his lips. "What would you do with that minute, honestly?"
"Meditate as quickly and deeply as I could before you lot toss me back in here," she said flatly, "Either that, or rupture my brain with the Force. Might be more preferable to being in here."
He gave her a deeply unimpressed look. "So you'd touch the Dark Side, or commit suicide, that's not really pleading your case."
She put on a charming smile. "Isn't it?"
He sighed and waved a hand. "Just... what happened next? After, what did you call it? Your 'field trip'?"
She can't help the snicker that escapes her at his tone. "But I was enjoying our conversation, and now you want to change the subject?"
"Yes."
She rolled her eyes. "He had me go practice not using my lightsaber or killing people with the Force to solve all my problems."
"I haven't really heard of you doing much else," said Obi-Wan.
"Because you know of everything I've done in the last eight years?" she said, eyebrow raised.
He didn't answer.
"The Sith are more than just martial power Obi-Wan," she murmured, "For all Sidious has in strength with the Force or his skills with a Lightsaber, they're not his primary focus. He is a manipulator, a schemer. What little he tells me of his actual doings or has me do for missions involves reaching out across the Galaxy and binding people to his will without them even realizing it. He has so much influence, in places you can't even fathom."
"Example being my time with the B... with a... he loaned me to a criminal organization for a year," she said, not desiring to put the Black Sun, put Alexi and Mighella, under Jedi spotlight, "Working my way into their ranks, gaining influence, becoming trusted, putting them in the pocket of the Sith."
Well, her pocket, not Sidious's.
"And what did you do in this...," he began.
Beep beep beep.
Obi-Wan held up a finger. "Hold that thought."
He pulled a comlink off his belt. "Obi-Wan here... hello Grandmaster."
She rolled her eyes. "How nice for the old fart to call and check in."
Obi-Wan eyed her briefly before he paused. "The Senate did what?"
Siri watched with amusement the mass of emotions playing across his face. Without the Force to help him in his control, it was interesting to see that all so unguarded.
"Alright Grandmaster," murmured Obi-Wan, "I'll go get ready for a session with the Council."
He clicked off the comlink and stared down at it solemnly. "The Senate just petitioned the Jedi Council to put you on trial."
Her amusement was gone in an instant. "They did what now?"
Obi-Wan frowned intently, rising to his feet. "They want to put you on trial."
A dark scowl played across her face. "The nerve, when many of them should be the ones on trial. Honestly, putting me on trial for what little involvement I had in the Blockade? What are they hoping to get out of..."
She trailed off, her breath hitching. "Sidious..."
Obi-Wan paused at the entrance, glancing back. "What?"
She swallowed. "Dealing with Force Sensitives is generally under the Order's prerogative. Pulling them out and putting them on trial isn't something done often, or lightly. This... this had Sidious written all over it."
"That's jumping to conclusions..."
"It's really not," she said, voice rising a bit in panic, "Getting me out of the Temple is the first step, killing or capturing me comes next."
Obi-Wan looked away for a moment. "Is that a real concern for you? Or are you just wanting to avoid facing judgement of some kind?"
Siri glared at him. "Obi-Wan, I'd personally love to tear the Senate a new one. Put me on trial without the danger of Sidious, and I'd have the time of my life."
She glowered. "But this? This is a trap, the only question is the manner in which Sidious springs it."
He shook his head. "The Council will, for one, argue against this. And for two, even if you are taken to trial, you will be under heavy guard, you will be safe."
She pursed her lips, but didn't answer aloud. Nowhere was safe from Sidious. She watched him go, her mind whirling, fear, so much fear, tingling down her spine. They were going to cart her over to the Senate probably in Force Binders, so sure and arrogant of themselves, get her captured and sent to the most painful death imaginable. She slowly rose to her feet and held out her arms to her chest, tilting her wrists upright and staring at them silently, contemplating her only way out and away from Sidious.
Kriff it.
It would hurt Obi-Wan, but...
She brought a wrist up to her mouth, bared her teeth...
Tick tick tick...
Ah, actually, scratch that. That would just be messy and painful. Now, that clock on the other hand...
She grabbed it off the wall, lifted it, and smashed it into the ground, again and again, shutting up that infernal ticking. She smiled at it, picking apart the pieces for the sharpest thing she could find. She walked over to her bed and sat down, sighing.
"Now quite how I ever imagined my life to go," she murmured, "Or end."
She didn't hesitate. One sharp slice across one wrist, and then the other.
"Siri, I forgot to ask, is there anything you can offer about the Trade Federation occupation?" came Obi-Wans voice from the entry way as the shields cycled, "Being complaint with the Senate and helpful with the investigation will..."
Ah hells...
"Siri?" came Obi-Wan's questioning voice, first looking down at the shattered clock, and then her, and then her bleeding wrists in wide open panic, "SIRI! I need a medkit in here!"
She made to go for her neck, only to get full force tackled by Obi-Wan, pinning her down. She struggling to throw him off as he pinned her to the bed. She slammed her head back with an audible crack and a cry of pain from Obi-Wan. Then, there were four temple guards rushing into the room. The last thought she had before they pinned her down and jabbed something into her neck...
...was that she should have gone for her throat first instead, wrists took to long.
When Siri came to, she had the displeasure of finding herself strapped down to her bed, bandages visible around her writs under the restraints. She growled under her breath, yanking at them to test, but getting nothing. She closed her eyes for a long moment, breathing in, exhaling out, and trying to release the now useless rage. She paused when someone cleared their throat. She, on principle, didn't look over, wouldn't give them the pleasure of commanding her attention after denying her this. Kriffing Jedi and their stupid compassion.
"Are you that much of a coward that you cannot face your sins?" came a crisp voice.
Not Obi-Wan then.
Her lips peeled back as she sneered up at the ceiling. "I've been forced to face them every waking moment in this cell, Dooku."
The aged Jedi master walked over and peered down at her. "What was it then? To much to handle?"
She glowered up at him. "It had nothing to do with my so called sins, and everything to do with Sidious. Allowing me to go to trial is giving him a sure fire way to either capture or kill me."
"Is that so?" mused Dooku, looking thoughtful, "Now there is an idea."
She had a brief moment of confusion before groaning. "Bait? Really? He wont be stupid enough to come himself, and if he cant find a way to capture me, a rocket into my transportation or a bomb planted somewhere works just as fine, or a good old fashion sniper rifle can do the trick."
Dooku made a non-committal hum. "You don't fear death, that much is obvious. So what is it, Sith, that you do fear about Sidious 'capturing' you?"
"Failure is intolerable to a Sith," she warned, "Especially the degree of failure I displayed at Naboo. He will invent ways to make me suffer before he kills me. If you Jedi have any sort of real compassion, you'll put a lightsaber through me right now."
Dooku had the audacity to smile. "I thought the Sith didn't believe in compassion? It would be a shame to tread upon your beliefs."
"You're an asshole, has anyone ever told you that?" she asked bluntly.
"Generally not to my face, no," he answered.
"Well you are," she said flatly.
"Noted," he said, not phased in a slightest, before his eyes turned sharp, "I warned you not to harm Obi-Wan again. It would appear you didn't listen. As such, I will be throwing my support into encouraging the Council to have you face the Republic's justice."
She snorted. "If the Republic had any idea of what justice actually was, half the Senate would be in a cell a lot like this one."
"Hmm," murmured Dooku, "It would appear we agree on that. Pity you are a Sith, I may have enjoyed arguing the particulars with you otherwise."
"I doubt it, I hate politics," she answered, "My idea of politics would be to line the Senate up and shoot them."
He gave a dismissive snort and turned away. "A brutish way to deal with the issue."
"Not hearing you say no," she called after him.
He either didn't dignify that a response, or secretly agreed. She put credits on the latter, Sidious had him pegged for his views after all. She sighed after he had left. Now she couldn't even move anymore. She weighed her options, which were unsurprisingly little.
Option One: If the Jedi failed to dissuade the Senate, then she'd go to trial. In which she'd either be captured or killed by Sidious... or actually be put on trial, and wouldn't that be fun?
Option Two: Blank out and don't come back.
She hummed to herself. "Option two it is."
She tilted her head when she heard the shields cycle, watching Obi-Wan walk in, his face carefully blank, except for the bruising on his nose. "Did I break your nose this time? That'd make me two for two."
He gave her an unimpressed look and so rudely didn't answer her curiosity. "Since you can't be trusted with your own safety. I'm here to ask which you would prefer: Being fed by someone, or an IV and a feeding tube."
"Option two," she found herself echoing before going for a cutting remark, "The less I have to interact with you the better."
He narrowed his eyes. "I'm not going to apologize for saving your life."
"The only thing you've done is doom me to a more agonizing death, so pat yourself on the back for that," she rebuked.
"You're so sure he'd kill you," said Obi-Wan mildly, "As much as I'd be horrified to have you end up back with him, why would he waste years of training and not simply take you back?"
She has the urge to outright dismiss what he said before she briefly considers it for a moment, and finds that prospect terrifies her even more than Sidious inventing ways to torture and kill her.
"Obi-Wan," she says quietly, and is rather surprised with herself to admit, "Ending up back with Sidious would be far worse than him killing me."
Obi-Wan's eyebrows lift. "Truly?"
She sneers at him. "Silly Jedi, you really don't get it, do you? You told me once that I'm not the kind of Sith you expected, there is a reason for that."
She looks away, wishing her arms were unbound so she could wrap them around herself despite how weak the action is. "It's because he never broke me, never really tried."
Obi-Wan frowned. "What... exactly do you mean by 'broke'?"
"To destroy your chosen apprentice, to reduce them to nothing, and rebuild them in your image," she whispered, watching the disgust on his face grow, "Sidious tortured me yes, manipulated me in that cell mentally and physically, but he never destroyed me. I may have fallen, but I still chose the Dark Side in that cell, chose to welcome it rather than resist it, if only to grow strong enough to kill him. He may have forced my hand, threatened me in many ways, but he never broke me. Ultimately, I accepted my apprenticeship, that was my choice, I could have chosen death after all."
She gave him a grim smile. "If Sidious did take me back, you'd never see me again as you knew me."
She looked away. "Anything left of Siri Tachi in the monstrous shell I am... would be gone, scoured away. You've heard of Revan's Cure, right?"
Obi-Wan tensed. "I have."
She studied his reaction, grinning. "Oh? That look... did the Council want to do that? Turn me into their next Revan?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "They implied no, but, Qui-Gon and I took the initiative on saying we'd leave the Order if they considered it."
Siri went silent for a moment, surprised, and secretly pleased to hear that. Despite how terrifying the prospect was, she almost wished the Jedi had done it, if only to free Obi-Wan from the chains of the Jedi. "Revan's Cure is only a nickname for it, for the far extreme the Council back then went to. The technical term is Memory Rub, it is generally a Dark Side technique, the fact that the Jedi went so far as to use it back then is... surprising, especially when crafting a fake persona to go with it. Its different than simple affecting the mind to forget a few key memories or plant ones. A Memory Rub is used to wipe out large portions of a persons memory, or for a specific important event, when done in full it destroys a person, Obi-Wan..."
She gave him a strained smile. "And the Sith have their own variations of Revan's Cure. They are truly, horrifying things, beyond anything you know and understand. There are ways to rip a person's mind apart and insert your will into the cracks, binding them to you. If... if he for some reason doesn't kill me and takes me back, it will be to fulfill a purpose, because he still sees a use in me before he throws me away. If he ever gets me Obi-Wan, and I some day return spouting nonsense about seeing the error of my ways and seeking redemption, put a lightsaber through me, don't even hesitate, because it'll be a trap, and he'd have me kill you whispering devotion to him and the Dark Side the moment your certain you've 'redeemed me', just to make you suffer all the worse."
The look of pure sickness on his face brings an odd sense of calm to her. That perhaps he's only now finally understand the true depths of what he's up against, the true power and dangers of the Dark Side when wielded by something like Sidious. "And that's only one potential thing he could do. His mind is a dark, sick and twisted thing, Obi-Wan. He won't leave me unbroken a second time."
Her eyebrows furrowed. "That, or he'd leave me unbroken only so much as to kill you in front of me as a lesson."
"Have I ever told you I find his lessons in poor taste?"
She sighed and looked away. "How long is it going to take to go to trial?"
"The Order is going to fight it," said Obi-Wan, "Which, normally, could make things take months, but... the Senate is rather insistent, and has the backing of both the new Supreme Chancellor, and the courts in their demand. With that in mind... a few weeks to a month."
Siri blinked. "New Supreme Chancellor?"
"Chancellor Valorum was ousted in a vote of no confidence by Queen Amidala," answered Obi-Wan.
Siri laughed borderline hysterically. "Even when Sidious loses, he still wins."
"How is that a win for Sidious?" asked Obi-Wan.
"Valorum was a Jedi sympathizer," she answered bluntly, "And he's now out of the picture."
Obi-Wan frowned. "I don't believe our current chancellor has any anti-jedi views to my knowledge."
She sighed. "Its about getting the chancellor out of the Jedi's pocket. If the current one is neutral, that works to, and who is the new chancellor?"
"Chancellor Palpatine of Naboo," answered Obi-Wan.
Siri frowned for a moment before scoffing, "Well, abusing your homeworld's suffering to get yourself elected takes a certain kind of scumbag."
"He wanted to become chancellor to help deal with the crisis," countered Obi-Wan disapprovingly, "Or so I heard."
"Yes, because as chancellor you can just snap your fingers and get it done in an instant," she said dryly, "It would have taken months of a continuous occupation before the senate could do anything."
"Has anyone ever told you that you're a pessimist?" he asked.
"Why Obi-Wan, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me," she answered with mock sweetness.
He sighed. "I suppose I'll leave you to it. I have to give your answer to Master Che, and then meet with the Council, apparently my involvement in Naboo makes me someone the Senate wants to hear from preliminarily."
She hesitated for a moment. "Mind yourself out there, Obi-Wan. You're a target to Sidious now for what happened on Naboo. Don't ever leave the Temple alone."
He gave her a tight smile. "You're concern is appreciated. I'll be mindful."
She watched him go before sighing. "And of course, I smashed the clock. Great."
She didn't think she specifically needed it, but it would make fading away easier. Obi-Wan said she had a few weeks to a month, she had that long to effectively destroy herself. Best to start by bringing out her 'inner Jedi' and practice voiding herself of anything that made her sentient. Clear the mind. Clear her thoughts. Clear her emotions. Let herself go.
Because that was better than going back to him, whether he tortured and killed her, or decided to reclaim her...
Notes:
Guide section is done.
Chapter 33: False Start
Notes:
So... as it was pointed out to me, Force Suppression Cells (FSC) aren't actually cannon that I can find. I could have sworn they were, but, I've read more fanfics than I have re-read/re-watched Star Wars/re-played games, so, I'm assuming reading it somewhere is where those come from, if I didn't just imagine them into existence back when I was planning out this portion of the story, can't really recall.
Anyway, so yeah, FSC are made up for this story, as are their related affects, though, I did try to put some thought into how it might actually work if they were *real* to Star Wars.
Chapter Text
On occasion, being Palpatine was like wearing an uncomfortable, disgusting mask.
All the meek and self-depreciating comments, the grandfatherly smiles, the pleasant interactions; it would be insufferable if it weren't for the fact that it was for one, necessary, and two, amusing to deceive the incompetent senators, Jedi, and well, everyone. Not a single person in the entire galaxy had any clue who Sidious truly was. Even when in the same room as multiple Jedi council-members, there wasn't an ounce of suspicion. He stood in the chancellor's pod in the middle of the senate chamber, on galaxy wide holovision and holonet, with the entire Republic watching, and showed not even the slightest hint of anything more than a leader seeking justice.
Which he was doing now, and having a rather irritating session trying to corner the Jedi Order into allowing his apprentice to stand trial. "...and I do not understand the Jedi Order's reluctance to allow this particular Force Sensitive to be tried in the Senate. It is hardly the first time, even in recent years, that such a thing has occurred."
He glanced over the pod of Jedi; Yoda and Windu would normally be the center of Sidious's attention, but the fact that Obi-Wan Kenobi was here again after the preliminary questioning session earlier this week drew his interest. As much as it benefited him for that particular Jedi to be there, why would they allow a padawan into such a gathering when not requested? It had to be something to do with his apprentice. The question was, what exactly? What role did Obi-Wan Kenobi play in regards to her beyond a counter-temptation back to the Jedi?
Something to be thought about later, for now, he was vulnerability in the Jedi's defense. "Why, was not young Kenobi here, while proven innocent, not put on trial for the death of one Bruck Chun some years ago?"
His predatory eyes noted a slight flinch from the young man. Still a sore spot? Or perhaps an allowance that Sidious had made a point they could not quite refute?
"Mmm, true it is, Chancellor," allowed Master Yoda, "But seduced to the Dark Side, young Kenobi was not. Dangerous, young Tachi is."
"To the Senate, and the court of law, one's religion is hardly a basis for danger, Force Binders can be used if she proves unreasonable," countered Sidious, before he made a deliberate pause.
He had been considering, whether or not to publicly reveal his apprentice. The Jedi had not taken the initiative to do so, and considering what Kenobi had tried to do on Naboo, Sidious had an idea as to why. One, to not cause a public panic at the discovery of a Sith, and two, to not publicly condemn Siri. Being publicly known as 'fallen padawan' was one thing, being publicly known as a Sith was something far different, far more ostracizing and damning to Galaxy at large, and especially to other Jedi. He knew the padawan wanted to turn her away from the Dark Side. Ludicrous, except for one small problem.
She had almost been pulled away once already early on in her apprenticeship.
Allowing any advantage to the Jedi in stealing his apprentice away was unacceptable. "...or are you so concerned because she is a Sith?"
The Jedi all went silent and still. A murmur went up through the Senate, generally of confusion. Most would have no idea what a Sith was. "It is what Viceroy Gunray confessed to her being when asked of her involvement."
He leaned forward, staring down at them like the gnats they were. "Considering that Gunray only recently informed us within the last week, and you have held her for over a month, tell me, Master Jedi, were you planning on informing the Senate of this development?"
He could feel a collective rise in irritation against the Jedi, even if most of the Senate had yet to understand what a Sith was, and resisted the urge to smile. While he was still furious with his apprentice, there were many ways he could turn her capture to his advantage even before he reclaimed her. From start to finish, the Jedi's involvement in the Blockade of Naboo was a political nightmare, for them. They hadn't been supposed to be there to begin with. There was several ways he could turn this against them, but he had to tread carefully for his public image, lest he follow Valorum out of office. He should not seem angry that they intervened, no, he should appear grateful. But if it was ever pointed out that they shouldn't have been involved... well... he'd have to phrase his response carefully.
Yoda, to the little green troll's credit, did not appear cowed or phased by the accusation. "Her word alone, we had. Claimed to be Sith, others before her have. Cause unnecessary panic, want that we did not."
There wasn't a Force Sensitive alive who had felt his apprentice briefly ascending to Sithdom who would believe she wasn't a Sith. While the normal miscreants of the Galaxy may take the troll's word for granted, those with the power of the Force would not. Depending on how the Jedi as a whole react, lying to the Senate could cause potential internal conflict. Not to mention from other sects or factions of the Force scattered across the Galaxy. Of course, when it eventually came out that she was truly a Sith, the trolls statements would come back to bite him. He could, at any time, play footage of her battle against the Jedi, of her use of Force Lightning, and put a rather large dent in the troll's argument. No mere fallen padawan, after all, can defeat an accomplished Jedi Master and a padawan on the cusp of knighthood.
The problem with that laid in his apprentice's future use.
If he revealed her fully, it would risk turning the Galaxy against her, and make coming up with an explanation of her use for his future empire tricky. Though, when he had his empire, it might not matter. He knew he would have to confront the Jedi eventually, her coming in to 'save the day' from the usurping Jedi could be seen as a 'redeeming action' to the public, a slow lead in to when she became the enforcer of his empire. There were other potential ways it could be used, after all, to the public what was the difference between a Jedi and a Sith? Light and Dark? He could potentially use her to downplay the Sith's danger until the empire is made and control secured...
On the flipside, there was no guarantee he would retrieve his apprentice. Denying himself an advantage on the chance to reclaim her, as much as he desired to, was foolish. He was a Sith, he was in control of his desires, not the other way around. He would not go frothing at the mount to take back what belonged to him. Either retrieved her, or he didn't. If he could not have her, then no one would. He would make sure the Jedi could not properly use her. He could ruin her reputation and image easily, make any use future use of her by the Jedi controversial. Make anyone and everyone see and treat her with suspicion...
Which... now that he thought on it, could be a driving force for her to return to him (if she ever escaped). After all, he would be the only one in the Galaxy who would not turn her away for being a Sith, far from it. Yes... he could further drive her from the Jedi, from the Republic, and back into his hands all the while calling the Jedi out for lying.
"Master Jedi," began Sidious, "Ever since learning of this 'Sith's' involvement, I have been researching their history in preparation for this request..."
He began typing into the holoscreen on his pod, sending a clip from the battle on Naboo to the Senate. He had secured every ounce of it that he could from every camera angle available in the generator complex. He chose her use of throwing Jinn down a walkway with lightning flowing from her fingertips, earning a startled gasp from many senators. "Is that not Force Lightning? Something not actively seen since the last Jedi and Sith war?"
Yoda placed both hands on his glimmer stick and stared up unblinking at the chancellor. "Limited to Sith, that ability is not."
Not untrue, the Nightsister Witches favored the ability after all, they however stuck to their little world save for a few odd cases. Rare was the darksider otherwise who could manage to properly harness Force Lightning without killing or damaging themselves with it. Still, he could only press a point for so long. "Regardless of that, Master Jedi, Sith or not, Siri Tachi was involved in the illegal occupation of Naboo. Gunray's confessions paint her and her hidden Master as the architects behind the event. This is not a matter that only involves the Jedi Order. We have a right to have her questioned first by the senate, and then to face justice in the courts."
"Unsafe it...," began Yoda yet again.
"Master Jedi, the Senate is not asking for her to stand before unbound our unaccompanied," he said, allowing an air of incredulous to creep into his voice, "Are you saying that in Force Binders, surrounded by Jedi Counselors, she would still pose a threat?"
The Jedi said nothing right away, briefly turning to converse with one another.
"Our petition is a request," said Sidious, "But if we must put it to vote and make it an order, we will."
"Seek the courts in such an event, we will," said Yoda firmly.
Unfortunately for Yoda, Sidious owned or had dirt on half the courts at the moment (eventually all of them with his future appointments). He had encouraged them, and they had already made a few public remarks about supporting the motion. He gives the Jedi a look of disappointment, then takes his time looking around the senate as if judging and weighing his support. He has it even if he didn't own so many of these miserable leeches. "So be it, Master Jedi. A discussion, and then a vote will be held, and we will forward the results to you afterwards."
They could stall this out only for so long. He had the Senate. He had the Courts. He had public support according to the last polls. While he had intended for the occupation to become a minor footnote to be swept under the rug, he had changed course, having the media flout it as a grievous injustice to rile up as many people as possible. After all, if a trade conglomerate could invade one world, why not another? It stirred up fear, and that fear led to anger, anger that demanded a target. His apprentice would be that target for the time being.
It was only a matter of time...
Obi-Wan groaned. "You're joking. It's barely been a week since we appealed to the courts!"
"Mmm, wish I were, I do," murmured Yoda as the two of them walked together in the halls of the temple, "Agreed with the Senate, the courts have. Ask for a second appeal, the Jedi will, but doubtful it is, that the courts will bend."
Obi-Wan sighed softly. "I suppose it will go to trial then."
"To trial, it will," agreed Yoda quietly.
"Siri, last I talked to her, believes it's a ploy by Sidious to kill or capture her," said Obi-Wan.
"Possible, it is, but not certain," said Yoda, "Unclear the Force is on the matter."
"If he does, do you think he would go after her before the Senate questioning session? Or before the Court Trial?" asked Obi-Wan, "He couldn't possibly think to try something while they are proceeding, would he?"
Yoda shook his head. "Know that, I do not. Under watch at all times, she will be."
The Jedi Master frowned, his age skin wrinkling. "Hope I do, that lying she was to you. If great influence in the senate, Sidious has, more danger is there than forcing a trial."
"I hope so to," he said.
But he didn't believe she was lying, and there was no small amount of unease that filled him with the notion that the Sith might have some kind of control over the Senate. Because that in turn meant the Sith had a means of control over the Jedi. It was a dark thought that he knew weighed in the Council's mind. In Qui-Gon's mind. Hells, Grandmaster Dooku already thought the Senate corrupt, Sidious having influence there magnified every single one of the aged Jedi's arguments. Something had to be done, but no one had a clue what. They didn't know who Sidious was, and trying to go in and route him out was impossible. They didn't know if he was disguised as a member of the senate, an aid, a facility staff, a friend of a senator, all of that and more. Not to mention the Senate would not tolerate the Jedi just waltzing in and making accusations on anyone without proof.
"Inform Young Tachi, you should," said Yoda, poking Obi-Wan in the chest with his glimmer, "Avoiding seeing her, you have, weeks now it has been."
"I've been trying to help with the...," began Obi-Wan.
Yoda gave him a knowing look. "Fool me, you do not. Your responsibility she is, asked us of this, you did. For better, for worse."
Obi-Wan looked away for a long moment. "She tried to kill herself Master Yoda. I just..."
He trailed off unable to find the words briefly. "She has absolutely no faith in us, in me, I shouldn't be surprised, shouldn't be hurt... but..."
"A Sith she is," said Yoda softly, "In no one, does she trust."
"I've talked with her for over a month, I still can't wrap my mind around living that kind of awful life," admitted Obi-Wan, "I just... I don't understand why she doesn't want to turn away from it. She's not misguided, she knows what she does is wrong, and even if she doesn't think she's redeemable, why continue to be a Sith? Why not something else, anything else?"
"Answer that, only Young Tachi can," said Yoda, waving his stick into the air, "Off with you Obi-Wan. Old I am, need rest for the sessions to come, I do."
Obi-Wan gave him a small smile before taking his leave. It was... long past due. A little over two weeks, Siri was probably peeved at him from staying away for so long, especially since she was forcibly bedridden for her own safety. He was expecting her to be particularly viscous, or give him a very long cold shoulder. He resigned and braced himself as he headed down to the cells. The Temple Guards on watch say nothing as he passes and waits for the energy fields in front of her cell to cycle, and walks in.
He hesitates in the entryway, eyes on Siri. She lays motionless on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, an IV into an arm, orogastric feeding tube in her mouth and down her throat. He imagined it had to be horribly uncomfortable, but then again, it would be nothing compared to her training or her punishments as a Sith. She didn't seem particularly uncomfortable at the moment...
Ah just get it over with.
"Good morning Siri," he said, slowly stepping into the room.
When she didn't respond, or give a tell she heard, he sighed. One of those days again then. He walked over, and sure enough, her eyes were glazed as she stared up at the ceiling. It never ceased to disturb him to walk in and find her like this, especially when he wasn't sure what exactly caused it. She had implied it had something to do with the Force Suppression. But there was a rather lacking amount of information on it, especially extended stays in the cells. Simply put, when was the last time Jedi actively used those cells? The last Jedi and Sith war against the Brotherhood of Darkness? Even then? The Jedi Order had been in disarray after Skere Kaan caused a schism and turned to the Dark Side. The Republic's Dark Age, he had read, had been brutal.
There was simply no information on extended Force Suppression. Only on short term effects, things that could be used to cause it, and in the most extreme, the ability to sever someone's connection to the Force. Holding a Darksider long term... well... from what he had read, just didn't happen. More often than not, Darksiders fought to the death, or took their own lives rather than be captured (case and point Xanatos), they almost never willingly surrendered, or if they did, it was part of some scheme. In the distant past, considering that Sith were generally only active in the galaxy during war times, trials were hurried through, and individuals in question did not spend a long time in a cell, let alone a Force Suppressant one. There weren't many of these after all, it was far more common to put a prisoner in Force Binders, in a secure prison, under the watch of a Jedi. Alternatively, they were kept unconscious or in stasis for the duration of their imprisonment. There were also notes to never carry a weapon anywhere near a Sith, as having a weapon was more of a danger to the warden than to the Sith who could take it. Considering that most Sith in the far past were unrepentant mass murderers who wouldn't even acknowledge what they did was wrong, their sentence in trial was generally death if they didn't get themselves killed trying to escape or fighting their captors.
Jedi rarely held any prisoner in the temple for an extended period of time. They had their own detention center, yes, higher in the temple, but it was a detention center, not a prison. The Jedi were not wardens. They sometimes held dangerous Force Sensitives or criminals until something was decided in what to do with them. There was also, as much as Obi-Wan did not like to note, a rather large difference between Jedi attitude to darksiders depending on what Era one was speaking of. Jedi opinion on them varied from redeemable to lost causes to be put down. That it had not always been 'Once you turn to the Dark Side forever will it dominate your destiny', had always been shocking for him, from when Dooku first spoke of Master Ur Manka trying to help 'Iris' years ago, and even now, the possibility was still jarring to him.
Now, Sith on the other hand, from what he was allowed to read, delighted in taking and torturing prisoners. So perhaps it stands to reason Siri might have more understanding on the subject. If there was some kind of issue, why keep quiet on it though? Why endure an unnecessary hardship... oh, right, Sith, that's apparently what she did her entire apprenticeship. Even if this was an extreme side effect of being in the cell, what was he to do? Argue with the council for an hour outside the cell for her where she'd just bathe in the Dark Side and undo every ounce of progress they made? He sighed, looking down at Siri in silence for a few moments before walking over to his usual spot and sliding down, taking a datapad out of his pocket to start another binge on reading Republic Law. It was one of the driest reads he had ever had, and gave him constant headaches trying to understand the legal jargon.
He spent a few hours numbing his brain to the madness of the legal system before he stopped and stood, stretching. He glanced over at Siri, a slight frown crossing his face to see that she was still out of it. How long had she been like that this time? He walked out of the cell and paused to look at the guards, considering what to ask.
"Has she been compliant the last few weeks?" he asked.
One of the Temple Guards shifted to address him. "The Prisoner has no spoken once. It prefers to ignore us when we come into change the equipment and simply stare at the ceiling."
A sinking feeling hit Obi-Wan all the sudden. "I see."
Perhaps he should ask Master Che to come down again...
"Sure of this, you are?" posed Master Yoda.
Obi-Wan stood next to Master Che, his entire body tensed with worry and deep concern as Master Che reported her findings to the Jedi Council. "If we stim her anymore than what we have, it risks serious damage to her nervous system. She is not reacting whatsoever to them."
"She could be faking it to give herself a chance to escape if she were taken out of her cell," posed Master Windu.
"Without the Force, I don't believe she could fake keep still without reacting at all," countered Master Che, "She visibly reacted the last time we tried this."
"It could be a long term plot...," began Master Windu again.
"I think," rumbled Plo Koon, "That it would be relatively simple to test this. Bring what equipment you need to the cell, and monitor her readings. I hope that it is a ploy of some kind, if not, we will react accordingly to see what can be done."
Master Che huffed. "Perhaps had anyone kept a proper eye on my patient, then it wouldn't have gotten this far. But so long as she is a docile compliant prisoner, what would most care?"
There was an air of disapproval through the chamber, but the healer didn't even flinch at the collective stare-down of the council, she merely continued, "Dangerous or not, the first time this 'blanking out' as Padawan Kenobi calls it happened, I should have been informed. The fact that its occurred far more often that I was led to believe is far more alarming..."
She gave Obi-Wan a withering look, and he winced.
"...and especially since we do not know the duration of this episode, which ranges in possibility to two-weeks to a few hours. The fact that I have no concrete idea why this in particular is happening is also concerning, I will need time to figure out what is wrong, and to determine treatment if there is something to do for her. Time that we do not have."
"I beg your pardon?" inquired Ki-Adi-Mundi.
"I may spend my days mostly in the Halls of Healing," said Master Che, "But that does not mean I am unaware of what goes on outside the temple. Is she not requested for court? Last I heard, the Order's appeal was going to be shot down. Tell me Masters, what exactly happens if she is say, requested tomorrow? And all we can offer is a comatose prisoner who was not before? I am not a politician, but even I understand how bad that will reflect on the Order."
That sinking feeling from earlier hits higher now, with a low key of warning from the Force that Master Che is not wrong in the slightest.
"The Jedi did not harm her in any way during her imprisonment," rebutted Master Windu pointedly, "If anything, she has been treated with more leniency than any Sith deserves."
"I do not particularly care that she is a Sith," said Master Che, "Negligence can be just as dangerous as intentional harm, and expecting Padawan Kenobi to be her sole supervisor was foolish considering the pressure and stress of dealing with a difficult patient. This is hardly the Council's first dangerous prisoner, there are proper procedures in dealing with them, dropping these measures and losing your minds over her being a Sith is inexcusable."
"Asked for this, Padawan Kenobi did," pointed out Yoda.
"And does he have any knowledge of procedure?" inquired Master Che, "Where was his hand off? Who watched her when he wasn't?"
"She was supervised through camera the entire duration of her imprisonment," answered Master Windu.
Master Che opened her mouth to retort, but Master Piell cut in. "Rather than continue to argue and point fingers, perhaps we can focus on resolving the matter at hand? As you said Master Che, time is of the essence."
Master Che gave one last disapproving look across the council room before nodding. "If you are dead set on not transferring to the Halls of Healing, I'll need a few hours to get my equipment mobile and down there."
"Then may the Force be with you," said Master Windu, a clear dismissal, "Padawan Kenobi, stay."
Obi-Wan folded his arms into his robes as Master Che left, waiting.
Ki-Adi-Mundi spoke first, "You had no prior warning this time?"
It only took a moment for Obi-Wan to understand. "I felt no warning from the Force, unlike with the suicide attempt and her first overwhelming brush with guilt. She was in no danger of dying. I'm assuming no one else felt anything."
Yoda hummed. "Meditate often, have I. Felt little in the Force, about Tachi. Potential for good, for evil, vague unease, concrete these are not. No warnings, for, against."
"I imagine we all have meditated on the topic of the Sith," mused Master Piell, "With similar, frustrating results."
"And you Obi-Wan?" asked Master Windu, looking like he had swallowed something foul, "Has your... closeness with the Sith in question allowed you anything but warnings from the Force?"
Obi-Wan hesitates for a moment, probing the Force, and only getting a mucky swirl, like a dark cloud, blocking anything and everything about Siri. "Normally, I would say no, I haven't gotten anything and been done with it. But that's the thing, Masters, ever since I heard about the trial, the Force has been especially clouded about Siri. Before, while it wasn't monumental, I could get vague hints about when I should show up, twinges on important things she talked about after I left the cell when thinking back on it, but its all gone now. It's... well... it as if anything about Siri is being..."
"Clouded," offered Yoda thoughtfully.
It hangs, unsaid in the air, about the question of the Sith having anything to do with the Force being clouded as a whole. That Sidious may be cloaking any perception the Jedi could get on him or his apprentice through the Force.
"Yes," agrees Obi-Wan, "I feel little but general unease, the same as you Master Yoda, when I try to probe the Force about Siri, nothing more, nothing less. No warnings, no advice, nothing. Whether it is the intrusion of the Sith, or the will of the Force itself that we make the decision ourselves, we are on our own with how to tread with Siri."
"Assuming the Courts doesn't try to have her executed," mused Master Piell, "While there we no confirmed murders from her during the occupation, she was involved with the incident that left many dead on Naboo, and the attempted murder of two Jedi. Not to mention her incursions as 'Iris' against Master Dooku, there were several innocent casualties, and many other crimes and murders she is suspected of."
Obi-Wan hesitated.
"You do understand, Padawan Kenobi," said Master Windu, adopting a... not cruel tone, but a firm one, "That it is most likely well within their rights to. You have admitted to being attached, but are you prepared to let her go if she is made subject to the death penalty?"
Obi-Wan closed his eyes, a pained look crossing his face. "I am a Jedi, Master Windu. I want to help her, but I do understand that no matter how much she was or was not forced into this life, she has made her bed, and will have to face the consequences of her actions. If... if the best I can do is help her let go of her hate and the Dark Side to find peace before she passes on, then so be it. "
The Korun Jedi Master looked over Obi-Wan for a moment, eyes searching, before nodding with approval and sitting back in his chair. "Very well."
"Though," Obi-Wan added, making the approval fade into resignation, "I will state that without Siri, we have no leads on Darth Sidious."
There was no question of Siri not being found guilty of something. But a plea-deal of some-kind could be made, for information, for the chance for her to redeem herself... that was honestly the best he could hope for...
Siri was not requested the next day.
But she was requested the day after.
"The session is in two hours, Master Che, surely you have something?" asked Master Windu.
Obi-Wan stood across the room from Siri's bed in her cell, watching her chest rise and fall with quiet breaths. Little wires attached to sensors on her head and over her heart as Master Che looked her over. "I've had less than twenty four hours to begin studying her condition and preform additional research and tests. Her brains waves are... not quite comparable to a comatose patient, but more similar to those who fall to deeply into the Force and can't find their way out. Which, of course, does not quite fit the situation. I have been talking with Obi-Wan, about some of the comments Siri made during her imprisonment, and there is a possibility it has something to do with long-term exposure to the cell itself."
Master Windu frowned. "Explain."
"That's just it, I don't know," admitted Master Che, "It was a conjuncture with little to no proof aside from her allusions. I would like to take her out of the cell..."
"It has been argued against...," began Master Windu.
"Under watchful eyes, and in Force Binders if it will placate you," interrupted Master Che, "And see what I can sense with the Force."
Master Windu grumbled a bit, but agreed, leaving briefly to request Yoda and Ki-Adi-Mundi's presence before returning, with a pair of binders. Force Binders were not as... restrictive as the suppressant cell, worked more like a disruption than actually blocking it. Siri was promptly cuffed, de-wired, and placed on a gurney before being carted out of the room. Obi-Wan was hoping, as much as he didn't want her to touch the Dark Side, that merely bringing her out would do something, but nothing happened. Master Che had her set down and knelt next to her, placing a hand on her forehead and closing her eyes.
Obi-Wan tentatively reached out with the Force, not to interrupt, but to feel Siri's presence for the first time in over a month. She felt oddly distant, not elusive, but detached from herself, like her Force presence hovered around her but not in her. It was one of the strangest things he had ever felt through the Force. It didn't feel quite right, she felt muggy in the Force itself, though that might have something to do with the binders as well. At the moment, she didn't particularly feel like anything in the Force, dark, light, somewhere in between, she was just there but not there.
He watched patiently as Master Che felt around with the Force, before pulling back. "Definitely not faking it. Her state is a lot like being lost in the Force, just not in the Force itself, most curious. I'll need to look into the medical area of the Archives..."
"Master Che, we do not have time for more research," said Master Windu, "Is there anything that you can do at this moment?"
Master Che gave him a disproving frown. "You want me to experiment? Mess around? Before I have all the details and a chance to think the issue through? What if I make her condition worse?"
At that, Yoda grunted. "No, careless we must not be."
"I suggest, you inform the senate that she is not medically fit to be questioned at the moment," suggested Master Che.
"Like that, they will not," muttered Yoda, leaning on his stick to peer at Siri in thought, "Believe us, they may not. If still they demand, and we deny, penalized the Order will be."
"Well, then I suggest someone dress her in actual clothes rather than the medical gown," said Master Che, "I'm surprised she didn't throw a fit over being stuck in that for so long."
"I doubt what she wears is a concern to a Sith of all things they could be worried about," said Master Windu, "But..."
He paused for a moment, frowning. "We will give her back her robes, she has not earned the right not agreed to return to the light to be given the robes of a Jedi."
Obi-Wan said nothing, resisting the urge to make a face. He really didn't want to see her in that dark clothing again. It wouldn't be that difficult to request a set of clothing from one of Coruscant's prisons. Better a bright orange of a prisoner than clothes of a Sith if he was asked. But he wasn't, he was mostly along for the ride at this point. He had faith that she would pull out of this. Regardless, Siri's fate was in the hands of Master Che, and then whether she succeeded in finding a solution or not, in the Senate...
Sidious felt the parasite bond snap back into place the moment the Jedi took his apprentice out of the confines of wherever they were holding her. He figured she had been in the depths of their temple, in their cells. He did not, like some overeager youngling, immediately react. He took his time carefully testing it out, feeling for her, around her. She was still suppressed in some way, either with cuffs, a serum, or through the efforts of the Jedi themselves. That was the first thing he noted.
The second, which made him more cautious in his probing, was that someone was poking around his Apprentice's force signature, and cautiously around her mind but not in it. He kept his presence hidden and carefully masked any of his own prodding. Especially when he detected the presences of several council members present around her. He would not give the council even a shred of a hint of what his Force Signature felt like until the time came to end them.
The third thing he noted was the state of his apprentice, and his eyes narrowed as he prepared himself for the senate session. She was detached from herself. There were several ways this could happen, especially if the Jedi were careless in probing her mind and trying to break her mental defenses. But no, he hadn't felt the bond awaken once after it had gone silent until now. Which meant she had been in their cells for the entire time. That, in turn left only one conclusion. A term his former master called Suppression Detachment.
The Sith had long delighted in the capture and torment of Jedi. There were many ways to deprive them off the Force, whether directly, or indirectly. Suppressant Cells, Sith Torture Masks, poisons, sorcery, all of that and more. The Sith weren't shy in how the preyed upon the weak and unworthy. Plaguies especially had been methodical and experimental with his Jedi captives. Toying with them, torturing this way and that to see what could garner which result. Force deprivation could lead to a great many different end results. Madness the most common in varying degrees.
But not the only one.
To be deprived of the Force was worse than simply losing a sense, or a limb, or anything the common rabble of the galaxy would try to parallel it with. It was losing access to part of one's life, their very essence and soul. To permanently lose the Force was something one could adjust to, but would never truly recover from. Losing access to it however was a far worse thing. For it is still there, just maddeningly out of reach. One could still reach for it, but never touch; even worse was the backlash of it. Trying to desperately enough to call to the Force that it hurt. That, coupled with isolation, torture, stress, loss of the concept of time, and the like, could degrade the mind.
However, there was another danger in the Force being out of reach for so long. One is always a part of the Force, as it is part of them. It is an anchor as much as it is a pull. There is such a thing as delving to deep into the Force that one mentally lose one's sense of self, becoming technically one with the Force without being dead, though one might as well be. So long is one has the Force, one will always be reaching, feeling for it. However, if they couldn't access it... they would be reaching into nothing, for nothing. Putting their consciousness and focus into nothing, and can lose themselves that way as well. It can happen passively, as one either loses their sense of time, or loses their sense of focus in the here and now, de-anchoring themselves. It will slowly grow worse over time naturally. Stress of course makes it worse, Plagueis had once make a Jedi go dead to the world in a week under his tender mercy, the Jedi accepting oblivion as an escape.
The permanency of that depends on how long they were gone before treated; whether they had lost their higher brain functions from extreme disuse, or their sense of self had fully faded away.
Take them out of their deprivation, and tug their detached sense of self back... and the poor Jedi would be back in their cell of horrors on demand. Or his apprentice in this case. He was not truly concerned that the Jedi had permanently damaged her, not nearly enough time had passed. Her control of the Force would be weakened for the near future without the chance to meditate and firmly re-anchor herself to her body, and may need a few weeks to shake it off, but she would be back to functional form quickly enough. Assuming of course he did not render her disabled in his punishment of her failure on Naboo for an extended period of time.
It was still curious, that she had lost herself to oblivion so quickly... only a bit more than a month?
He hummed quietly to himself; he supposed he would find out what happened in that cell once he had her back in his hands. For now, he pocketed a datapad, adjusted his robes, and strode out of his office, his senatorial guard falling in behind him as he made his way through the building and into the senate chamber. It was in the process of slowly filling as senators and their aids arrived one by one. Several different camera-droids were already flying around the senate from various galactic new-stations, no doubt with some pre-session discussion going on in various newsrooms by spokesmen.
Mas Amedda was there waiting for him. "Chancellor, we have received a message from the Jedi Council. They say that the Sith is medically unfit for questioning."
Sidious paused briefly in his calculations, feeling down the bond again. The fact that the Jedi still hadn't brought his apprentice out of her state was curious... did they not realize how? It wasn't complex, let her out, give her unhindered access to the Force and tug her back...
A soft smile spread across his lips.
Unhindered access.
Oh yes, he understood.
They didn't want to let her access the Force, let her touch the Dark Side, did they? If it wasn't a lack of understanding, then it would be that. This brought so many possibilities... he wondered, if he demanded it, would they really take her to the session in that condition? Without drawing her back? Either they denied it and were penalized by the Senate, and drew both condemnation and public scorn...
Or they brought her out like that, for all to see...
He wanted to cackle; sometimes the Jedi made things all to easy. They were handing him ways to slowly turn the public against them all to easily.
"Tell them we will tolerate no further excuses," said Sidious, feigning disbelieving indignation, "They have stalled and delayed beyond necessary as it is."
Mas Amedda bowed and briefly left the pod to return the answer.
Sidious comfortably sat down in his chair and waited patiently, mind turning over how many different ways he could turn what was coming to his advantage. The opportunity had shifted from painting his apprentice the villain and stealing her away. Now the Jedi were handing him a way to damage their public image on a platter. The question was... how to use this. Did he now paint his apprentice the victim and condemn the Jedi? That could be useful in a way to strike against the hated enemy, but it may also generate sympathy for his apprentice, which could make attaining the 'death penalty' and secreting her away in a fake near-death state difficult.
Alternatively, he still had an extraction team of bounty hunters on standby. His apprentice was relatively comatose at the moment however. She was not capable of taking advantage of a distraction to escape, or fleeing with the bounty hunters. On the flip side, she also couldn't fight against them if she misunderstood their purpose in targeting her, darksiders did not often react well to another of their kind coming out of nowhere, and he had one Aurra Sing at the ready to lead that team. Still, there was no guarantee that the mercenaries could even get the job done and escape with Tachi. The Jedi would have her heavily guarded, and if an attempt was made, that guard would easily double. That method would have only one chance to work, if he decided to use it. If they failed, he would also lose out on potential future resources from the money sucking scum in question. Sing loved to kill Jedi, and he would rather that continue for the time being.
So many possibilities on what to try and what to do...
He supposed he was also being a bit hasty. There was, after all, one uncertain element in all of this.
His apprentice herself.
Was she still loyal to the Sith?
Had Kenobi pulled her away to the Jedi?
No, that couldn't have happened yet. If she was still in a cell, then she hadn't agreed to turn from the Dark Side. There was a chance however they had filled her with doubt, that Kenobi had made her conflicted. Under normal circumstances, if she had never been tempted back by Ur Manka, he wouldn't have entertained the possibility at all. But it had, and he would not allow arrogance to blind him. It made him reconsider how he would deal with her when he retrieved her. He had pressed her into the Sith initially after she had fallen, slowly seduced her more and more into the Dark Side. He supposed that old relic of a holocron had aided in this. Drastic punishment may drive her away if her dedication to the dark had been shaken. He may have to re-seduce her to the Dark Side, remind her of its power and possibilities...
Then punish her when she was firmly back in her proper place.
He nodded to himself and turned his attention to the Senate, stretching out to gauge the mood of those gathered. Some eager anticipation, some irritation at having this delayed so long, a hint of fear and unease about the prospect of a Sith, most indifferent. Most honestly didn't give a damn about Naboo's occupation, or the upcoming questioning. It was just another day in the life of a senator. He considered what mood he should cultivate before the Jedi arrive. He would have initially encouraged fear and anger of his apprentice, but now...
Perhaps impatience? Irritation at the Jedi?
Yes... that would work.
He spent the time waiting for the session begin to subtly manipulate the atmosphere with the Force. When he finally detected his apprentice's presence leaving the Jedi Temple he pulled back his influence and started masking his efforts so the scorn directed the Jedi's way would seem natural. He waited in anticipation to lay eyes on his apprentice again, and when he finally did... he may have miscalculated in allowing her to be brought here. A Sith should never been see as weak, and as she sat drooped in a hover chair, her eyes vacant, mouth slightly open, a bit more thin than he remembered; she looked anything but strong, surrounded by several high ranking council members, and that ever present annoyance that was Kenobi.
It gave for a powerful, sympathetic image, yes, but it would be a damage to her stature when she eventually retook her place as his apprentice and became his empire's enforcer down the road. She was going to be livid when this sight came back to haunt her. He supposed she could only blame herself for bungling Naboo so badly. In fact, he could lord this over her, force her weakness down her throat over and over again. Give her a new source of hatred, of herself, of the Jedi, allow and encourage it to fester and grow. A new anchor to aid in tying her down into the Dark Side.
Finally, it begins, Mas Amedda motions there pod forward to the center of the chamber and stands, but when the Senate doesn't immediately quiet from their own conversations his voice booms out, "Order, we will have order!"
Amedda waits a moment for the chamber to quiet down before booming out, "We begin the senatorial questioning session of one accused Siri Tachi for the involvement in the Trade Federation Occupation of Naboo. The chair recognizes the Supreme Chancellor to begin these proceedings."
While nothing aside from a stab at the Jedi would happen this session, Sidious still stood, a role to play, clearing his throat before clearing his throat to address the senate, beginning as he always did when he had been a senator. "Delegates of the Senates, we are gathered here in the aftermath of a tragedy, seeking answers. There is no longer any doubt of the validity of the accusations of occupation. The battles have been fought, the damage done, the losses counted. The senatorial rights of the Trade Federation are, even now, in question."
He lets his eyes wash over Senator Lot Dodd, watching the Neimoidian squirm a little under the collective look many senators gave him. "However, it has come to light that a conspiracy of sorts may be at play. That these events were manipulated and catapulted to the galactic stage by a third party. When questioned, Viceroy Nute Gunray gave a confession."
He tapped his interface, sending a carefully scripted clip to every pod, and every newscaster...
"What was the reason behind the occupation of Naboo?"
Gunray's voice answered. "Publicly, it was because of the recent taxation changes, but that's rubbish. Laws and prices change day to day. What is against us one day is in our favor the next. The Trade Federation has suffered worse changes in the past."
"Then why did you invade the Naboo?"
"I was pressured into it, threatened into it."
"By whom?"
"I... you promised protection?"
"If your testimony is given in honesty and proven truthful, yes."
"His name is Sidious, says he's a Sith. Him and his apprentice."
"His apprentice?"
"The blonde haired devil! If I ever failed to meet his expectations, he'd send her out to 'remind me of the price of failure'. She'd shock me with lightning or choke me with her powers. I was trapped! Damned if I do damned if I don't since the beginning!"
"The beginning?"
"I didn't know at first, I swear! Sidious was influencing my ascent to becoming the Viceroy of the Federation, wanted to use me for some reason. So he blackmailed me, either I did what he wanted, or he either killed me or revealed what he had done to get me elected and had me lose everything. No matter what I did, I lost."
"Why did this 'Sidious' and his apprentice want you to invade Naboo?"
"I don't know, he never told me. He wanted me to make the Queen sign a treaty to make the occupation legal, but he never told me why. When she escaped, he sent the apprentice out to retrieve her."
"You call her 'the apprentice', did you not know her identity?"
"It's all Sidious ever called her, and she never offered her name. I knew better than to ask."
"Is there anything you can tell us about this 'Sidious'? Age? Race?"
"He was always cloaked, and image transmissions can be falsified, so I don't know if what I saw was true or not. I could only tell he was an older humanoid..."
Sidious clicked off the recording. "Copies of the full questioning are available on request. The point has, however, been made. A third party, Sith as they claim, appears responsible for the tragedy that befell my homeworld. One of which, we has been brought before us here today."
He leveled his gaze down at his apprentice. "Captured during the conflict was the Apprentice as Viceroy Gunray would call her, a former Jedi Padawan known as Siri Tachi, who..."
He let himself trail off, his eyebrows furrowing as he leaned forward as if to peer at her. He could detect the perceptions of many turn to her, including the cameras, wondering what had cause his pause. Now was to close the noose the Jedi had so graciously put around their necks, out of the corner of his eye, in one of the news feeds her had up on his interface, it zoomed in on her vacant face. "Master Jedi, what is the meaning of this?"
Master Windu stepped forward to speak, "With due respect Chancellor, we sent word that the prisoner was not medically fit for questioning."
Sidious pulled himself back to stand up straight, eyes narrowed. "Forgive me, if with all the unusual delays the Jedi Order has given in defiance of their mandate to serve the Senate, I made the incorrect assumption that was another stalling tactic. You could have sent a request for the senate to send an official to confirm the status of the accused. But that, in itself, is besides the point."
He gives them a fake-honestly baffled look. "Master Jedi, how is it that while under the Jedi's care, the accused now appears as addled as a mentally infirm patient?"
He had shaped it as an honest question, pointing the finger without sounding condemning, making it seem like he was trying to be understanding.
Master Windu kept his stony emotionless face. "We are not fully sure, Chancellor."
Sidious allowed a bit of his puzzlement to fade away from his face, replacing it with a hint of suspicion. "Perhaps, Master Jedi, you could detail your detainment of the accused?"
"She was kept in a Force Suppressant Cell under twenty-four hour surveillance, fed regularly, while one of our own questioned her about what had transpired since her assumed death on a mission eight years ago," explained Master Windu.
Sidious rubbed his chin in fake thought for a moment...
Before a chime sounded from one of the senatorial pods, Sidious turned his head to see Bail Antilles of Alderaan signal his desire to speak. He was, to be frank, still surprised the senator hadn't bowed out of the chamber and retired after his defeat for chancellorship, its what he had felt the man's intentions were. Perhaps he was merely choosing to stay for this last incident with Tachi.
Mas Amedda boomed out. "The chair recognizes the Senator of Alderaan."
Antillies stood and directed his attention to the Jedi. "Have records of her history within the Order, and this last mission she was assumed dead on, been made available to the Senate?"
"They have not," answered Master Windu.
"Allow me to rephrase then, will they be released to the Senate?" inquired Antillies firmly.
Sidious was curious if the Jedi would bend on this. It honestly didn't matter to him. Her initial history and the death of her former Jedi Master might garner a hint of sympathy, but not much considering how deeply she'd delved into the Dark and devoted herself to the Sith...
Then he paused.
There was a slight danger, not in regards to Tachi, but to Talesan Fry. If an inquiry went into what happened to him led to the few he did not own that knew his chief engineer questioning him...
Sidious made a mental note to make sure to sabotage anything that could lead to his chief engineer, and by extension, the planned superweapon. It was far to early for any hint of that to break into galactic stage. It could cause problems down the road if it was linked to the Sith and revealed much later on when he had his empire. Hmm... ah yes, the boy had been a minor at the time, perhaps that could be used to expunge his name from the details of that mission? He'd have to look into it, and if not that method, then find another way.
Master Windu's eyes flickered to Yoda, who with a weary sigh, nodded. "Made available, her records will be."
Antillies nodded and sat back down, satisfied.
Sidious gave a moment, to allow any other senators to come forward to speak, but none did, so he recaptured attention, pretending to unknowingly lead into the heart of the matter at hand, "How often was she taken out of the cell to be questioned? Perhaps someone... overzealous, harmed her in transit? "
"She was never taken out of the cell until today," answered Master Windu.
Sidious blinked at him, make himself appear taken aback. "Not once?"
"No, the cells have freshers, and she was brought food daily," answered the Jedi, "She was questioned within it."
Sidious's eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Master Jedi, I have often heard it said that the Force is considered to be a part of a Force Sensitive much akin to a sixth sense. Would you consider this to be true?"
"Somewhat," said Master Windu slowly, not quite seeing where 'Palpatine' was going with this, "It is a part of who we are, it flows through us all. Our bodies, our minds, our soul.
Sidious did not hide his frown. "I cannot pretend to know or understand the Force and what it feels like to have it, but, are you saying it is more important to a Force Sensitive than one of a sentient's normal senses?"
There was the slightest hint of hesitancy from the Jedi, he must have an inkling of where this was going now. "Yes, Chancellor."
Sidious's face darkened with disapproval. "Then it would be accurate to say that depriving a Force Sensitive of the Force would be considered a form of Sensory Deprivation. You are aware, Master Jedi, that Sensory Deprivation is considered by this Republic, when exposed to it for extended periods of time, to be a form of torture, are you not? That it can have sever psychological consequences for individuals depending on the duration and extremeness of the deprivation? That perhaps this deprivation may be the cause of her condition?"
The hush that fell over the senate is so profound and so deep it was deafening.
Sidious was not unaware of the risk of making so bold a claim, an allegation, against the Jedi Order so soon in his Chancellorship. He had intended initially that he would appear indifferent, neutral, perhaps slightly friendly to the Order early on in his rule. It was a shift in outlook, but one that he could explain, one that could be seen as warranted; especially if the public reacted the way he thought they would. It risked the Jedi and their allies cooling towards him earlier than intended, but it could be seen as a logical jump in thought. It could also paint him in a strong light, that he was not weak, not easily cowed. Though it would be a deviation from his soft-spoken grandfatherly visage he had maintained. Perhaps it could be seen as stepping up to the task at hand?
Master Windu took the time to school his face and think out his answer. "There is little study on the effects of Force Suppression. Very rarely have their been occupants dangerous enough to warrant being confined in these specialized cells within the last thousand years, and never for an extended period of time. I cannot speak for others, but the comparison had not occurred to me. Tachi is an incredibly dangerous prisoner who warranted special methods of containment. There was little else that could be done to properly contain her."
"As I understand it, Force Binders do not completely cut off the Force, but... muddle it I think is how it was once described to me?" inquired Sidious, "Could those not have been used?"
"Binders can be overcome by Force Sensitives powerful enough," explained Master Windu patiently.
"While under the watch of the Jedi? In the heart of your very temple?" he asked, allowing skepticism to coat his voice.
"Our temple not only contains our knights and masters, but our younglings, our padawans," said Master Windu firmly, "We take their safety seriously. Darksiders are known to be corruptive and tempting to the young, giving Tachi any leeway to escape and lure the defenseless to the Dark Side was unacceptable."
Tachi was far from being close to ready to even think of taking an apprentice. Potentially decades away. That fear was laughable to Sidious.
"With due respect Master Jedi, arguments of religion based on the Force have little grounds in court nor the Senate," said Sidious patiently before shaking his head, "But I do not wish to linger, whats done is done. At this point, Master Jedi, I believe the Senate would prefer to see if this situation can be salvaged. Remove her from her binders and allow her access to the Force."
That got a start out of the Jedi, Master Windu spoke up, "Chancellor, with due respect, that is unwise. She is dangerous..."
"And surrounded by some of the most renown Masters of your order, your Grandmaster included," said Sidious, tilting his head at Yoda.
"Perhaps in a more controlled environment...," began Master Windu.
Sidious gauges the state of the room before giving his answer. There is a growing amount of disapproval, most at the Jedi, though some at him. He catches the thought that he is 'lingering' or 'pressing the same point to much' from a few, some believe he is being heavy-handed, or are blowing it out of proportion. That number does not outweigh those who don't or are neutral however. There are hints of sympathy here and there for his apprentice, and more than a few who were fine with her potentially being permanently addled as a form of punishment. Though they would never say it aloud. Sidious weighed the risks of demanding they do this here, it was a bit against procedure, but there was a reason he wanted it done now.
Simply removing the binders and giving her uninterrupted access to the Force wouldn't be enough, at least not immediately, she might eventually come back on her own. But for a quick result, she'd need a 'tug' back, and while the Jedi would most likely figure that out, he wanted that moment shown here with him as the reason and not them (not to mention there was a slight chance they might end up screwing the process up and ruining his apprentice, and that was intolerable). "If we must put this to a vote, then I will call for one, Master Jedi. I have great respect for the Order, especially with what was recently done for Naboo, but as of the moment I am largely unimpressed with how the treatment of this prisoner has been handled."
He can feel a rising tide slowly questioning his decision, and at this point, he knows he needs the Jedi to bend to not have this come back looking bad on him. He is unbudging, despite the growing murmurs in the Senate, eyes locked on the Jedi. Master Windu and Yoda exchange glances for a long moment, before briefly addressing the other Jedi present. The Council Members move to stand in a square formation around his apprentice while Kenobi kneels down in front of her to take off the binders.
Sidious waits for just the right moment, not as soon as the binders come off. That's unrealistic, one would naturally need a moment for the change to impact. But that moment later, he reaches so very carefully down the bond, keeping his presence masked, and tugs at her Force Presence...
Siri jolts, a strangled gasp escaping her lips as her eyes come back into focus. A glimmer of pain rockets down her face at the sudden and overwhelming sensation of not only regaining herself and the Force, but being bombarded by an entire senate chamber's worth of emotions and thoughts in the air, all at once. She pitches forward off the chair, Kenobi catching her before she can collapse. She shakes uncontrollably, eyes wild with building tears, one hand clutching her head, ragged and pained breaths breaking through her mouth. From deprivation and loss of self to awareness and overload in one fell swoop. This image far more powerful than her just sitting vacant in the chair, though it is another moment of weakness that he will have to suffer undermining his future enforcer.
But it has the desired effect. Any that had been against what he was doing quieted, many no longer considering what he requested crossing the line, but the recognition that something was wrong that needed to be stood against. For the few none-corrupt senators, bleeding hearts that they were, mistreatment was unacceptable even if they didn't care for the prisoner in question, or thought they deserved it. So high and mighty with their pathetic morals. So weak with them, chained down and unwilling to do what needs to be done.
Sidious gives it a moment longer before he activates the microphone again, clearing his throat for attention and then speaking with heavy disapproval in what he is sure will be the first crowning point of his Chancellorship. "Master Jedi, while I refuse to believe her state is something you intentionally sought out, it pains me to say that I have never been more disappointed in the Jedi Order as I am right now. The Republic is a nation of law and order, of peace and equality, how we treat our people, from the position of Chancellor all the way down to a prisoner, is a reflection of our society and it's morals. All but confirmed in court to be guilty or not, they are owed certain undeniable rights by our democracy. Expunging upon these rights goes against what the Republic stands for, and is immoral."
He frowned, looking Siri over. "I, and the Naboo, have every right to detest the accused for her involvement in the suffering of our people. Despite this, I will recognize that the treatment she has received thus far is unacceptable. Especially if her excessive confinement was grounded on fear of this 'Dark Side'; religious prosecution was outlawed a long time ago, far before any of us were born, and I will not see that return under my watch."
He considered whether or not he could demand her transferred out of their keeping... but decided against it for now. If she 'escaped' because of him doing so, it would reflect poorly on him after all. "I will not however overlook that yes, she is dangerous and that yes, the Jedi are most likely the only ones who can properly contain her. She will remain in your custody, but will not be placed back within that cell, am I clear?"
Master Windu appeared both relieved, and like he had swallowed something sour. "Yes, your excellency."
"Then I move this session to be adjourned, giving the accused one week to recover and sort herself out," said Sidious, "With the Jedi keeping the senate updated on her condition and if she requires more time."
And with that, he watched the Jedi turn and scurry away, carting his disoriented apprentice on a hover-chair out of the chamber...
Chapter 34: Re-adjusting
Chapter Text
The first thing Siri is aware of before anything else is the Force pulsing through her veins. It swirls around her, seeping into her body, her bones, her soul, as it was always meant to. A shudder ran down her body at the sensation. The onslaught of presences and emotions and thoughts is so overwhelming it sends waves of agony through her head. It's to powerful to drive away, the sensations all coming at once, all she can do is weather the storm. On a scale of light scolding from Sidious with his lightning as a one, to Darth Plaguies ripping through her mind as a ten, she rates the constant full-body full-mind full-Force throb as a thirteen. Because frankly, all she is aware of is pain and ache, little to nothing else.
Her first focused conscious thought that isn't something along the lines of -ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch- is that she is going to kill whoever thought it was a good idea to give her back the Force in a densely crowded area brimming with emotions and thoughts.
Her vision is suddenly an awareness, blurry as it is.
Smell comes next, the smoggy stench of Coruscant assaulting her nose. Though she faintly detects the scent of cleaned fabric close to her, robes. It tickles a hint of a past she keeps shoved away in a damaged part of her memory. Jedi robes probably. She surrounded by them, lovely. Well, at least it's not Sidious.
Hearing follows, though its difficult to ascertain who is speaking around her. There is a sound of a vehicle of some sort coming near, she figures she's being loaded onto it, but she is in no condition to bother worrying about where she's being taken.
Touch come next. She notes immediately she's out of her medical gown she'd been stuck in for the duration of her imprisonment. It almost feels like... did she get her robes back? It feels like them. Strange that they Jedi would give them back to her.
More strange was the question of where she was and where she was going.
She was on a chair, but moving, so a hover-chair. Why? The Force was still an aching throb to touch at the moment, so she shied away from trying to probe the area and get a feel for it. She wasn't bombarded with a sense of danger or urgency, so there was no immediate need to do anything but give herself a chance to settle. She waits as the Force embeds itself back into her inch by inch. She makes the decision that she is never doing this again. This is an ache that isn't going to go away after a night's rest. She has an absolutely massive headache, and Force-ache if that's even the proper term. She's pretty sure if she tried to actively use it at the moment, she'd probably knock herself out. Though, that might be preferable, except she's sure it'd be even worse when she woke up.
She focuses on her breathing, trying to level it out as time passes. It hitches for a moment when she feels a hand on her shoulder. She can't tell if its as a mean to get her to move, to keep her in place, or if it's Kenobi, to offer some foolish comfort. She forces herself to not react to it otherwise; when the hand squeezes softly she'd fairly certain it's Obi-Wan. Though, that concrete sensation does give her something to anchor on for awhile. She can faintly hear a voice, definitely belong to a certain redhead, speaking to her, she just can't make out the exact words. Gentle, apologetic in tone.
If Obi-Wan was the one who decided to give her the Force back there, she wont kill him, but she will break his nose again.
Eventually, she feels a tug up on her shoulders, and there are other hands on her then. Tense hands. Wary hands. Tightly gripping hands. Hands that don't want anything to do with her. Jedi then. She wonders if they are dumping her back in her cell, because frankly, she'd rather die than lose the Force again, go through this again, and definitely not for the stupid reason of avoiding Sidious. Honestly, what had she been thinking? The first trickling of the Force, not as raw energy, but as the Dark, are starting to pool in; and she finds that she despises herself for that suicide attempt.
Had losing the Force truly made her so weak, so much of a coward?
It was true that Sidious was far beyond her at the moment, but to just equate the situation of being taken by him to giving up and dying? That she couldn't bargain, reason, or simple endure and survive? Well, if he set out to kill her and she couldn't get away then yes, she was dead without question. But there is no guarantee, and the faint whispers of the dark she hears are...
Conflicting.
The future is always in motion. But the Force gives her the sense that death, or Sidious ripping apart her mind, was a relatively unlikely outcome. Possible, but not a common thread in the potential immediate futures. That could have an easy explanation of course. That Sidious simply wouldn't get his hands on her. However... the Force disagrees with the quick conclusion, which is a bit baffling. She gets the notion from the Force that he wouldn't kill her, and yet... it doesn't whisper that she should try to go back to him either in the case of him allowing her to continue as his apprentice despite her massive failure on Naboo. Which is a curious thing...
Siri doesn't dig into it, not right now. If she's allowed the chance to meditate she might, but right now, she's a cripple, and oh doesn't that grate...
She flinches when the hands on her shoulder grow impatient and haul her up, lifting, moving, and setting her laying down on some flat surface. Considering that she wasn't lowered that far... an examination table perhaps? Not quite as cold as the oh-so familiar one in Sidious's Coruscant compound, but similar. Halls of Healing then. There are several reasons they might have taken her here. She slowly tests out critical thinking, actual focus on a problem rather than letting her thoughts fun freely and skip from one subject to another.
It aches to do so, but she forces through it. She had regained herself in an enormous cluster of people. The first question is why was she there? That answer comes with a brief recollection: Trial. The Senate had the Jedi bring her out. The Jedi, being the lapdogs of the Senate, obeyed their handlers. Being in a state unable to answer questions or stand trial, there would be questions as to what happened. But how would that for one, lead to her being released from Force Binders, there's no way they brought her out of the temple without them. For two, how would anyone in the Senate have known to equate her being cut off from the Force to her condition?
The answer is rather obvious when she takes a moment to focus on it.
Sidious.
She reflexively swallows and wrangles the rising fear that notion brings. Sidious had someone get her brought back, but made no move to reclaim her. Why? She thinks for a moment: To gauge her status. It makes sense. See if she's even worth bothering with aside from a blaster bolt to the back of her head from a sniper. What he made of that initial assessment, she doesn't know. She does however know he will be watching every move she makes and ever word she says when she's eventually dragged back to-
Her thoughts cut off as she felts a tentative brush against her mind. It takes Siri a brief, split and panic filled second to realize she has basically no none-instinctual shields up at the moment, having been deprived of the Force for the duration of her imprisonment, and SLAMS her mind shut instantly. Her head is in agony at the sudden jarring use of the Force. Her blurry vision turns red with pain, her ears ring, and she's fairly certain that the faint screaming she hears as if at a distance is herself.
She feels that brush again against her hastily contracted shields with intent pushed at the forefront: I wish to help. Mend. Heal. I am not a threat.
Siri feels her hands clenching tightly on the edges of the examination table, the grinding of her teeth as her whole body reverberates with the backlash of reaching for and using the Force far to soon. She struggles through the pain and weighs the risk of letting a Jedi through in comparison to letting the pain continue. She's known pain like an old friend her years as Sidious's apprentice, but this is reaching a level she has rarely ever felt. She also weighs her currently disability VS allowing the Jedi to potentially fix this and get her back into a state where she can at least somewhat defend herself. Obvious choice then.
She allows the presence in with a warning achingly pushed through the Force: Do not go where you are not welcome.
If the Jedi tries going through her mind and memories, consequences be damned she will fight them inside of her head, even if doing so would probably either kill her at this point or destroy her mind. She feels the Jedi get the message, and feel the further intent behind her words. She gets an impatient sense of acknowledgement. The Jedi doesn't care about her memories as of the moment, that she is a Sith and a prisoner, Siri can feel that. Not the average Jedi or Council Member then... oh right, Halls of Healing. The presence is a Jedi Healer. She doesn't even try looking in the direction of her compartmentalized memories of her years as a Jedi; she still gets the sensation that Jedi Healers are always like this though, and shouldn't be trifled with, nor should anyone get between them and their patients.
She warily focuses on the presence as it begins to pour energy in and...
Oh.
Oh...
That feels so damn good.
Siri relaxes instantly as soothing waves of the Force flow through her head, and then down into her body. The backlash is gone in seconds. The steady ache is pushed away. The Healer takes a brief moment to look at her Force Presence as it continues to anchor back into her body, and then accelerates the process. Inch by inch, the Jedi tugs it down and helps rebind it. The Force becomes less and less of a throb to feel and touch by the second. Though, Siri does not reach for it as much as she craves to feel its power at her fingertips. She lets it settle as the Healer does his or her work. Her hearing evens out, her vision comes into proper focus seconds later, and she notes a female Twi'Lek Jedi with hands on the side of her head, eyes closed, standing behind her.
Whoever the hell this is, they are damn good at what they do.
Siri regarded the healer, licking her dried lips, before her voice rasped out, "If I'm ever forced to kill you, I'll be sure to give you a quick clean death, rather than drag it out."
The Healer opened her eyes and gave her a deeply unimpressed look. "My thanks."
Siri gives an almost feral smile in response as her voice turns icy. "Now, get out of my head."
The Healer pulls out without a word, and moves to stand back a few steps, watching her. Siri can feel more eyes on her than just the Healer's, wary and tense eyes, but she doesn't particularly care at the moment. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and lets it out. The Jedi can go to hell for all she cares, she has things she needs to do before she has to deal with them. Shields have to be properly reconstructed, not just rushed and hobbled together. She lets a sense of -do not disturb me- roll off of her through the Force, and a bit of irritation from some of the presences in the room (bemusement from the one she clearly senses as Obi-Wan), but Siri ignores them and retreats into her head to work.
Siri has never had to completely rebuild her shields before. There's always something leftover, even if the walls to her mind have been shattered or broken through. Crumbling ruins to rebuild upon, or to use as material to rebuild from. There was literally nothing but that hastily erected barrier that dissolved the moment she willed it to. She hissed a little under her breath at the overwhelming sensation of Light from so many Jedi in the temple before she started on her mind. The first is the form of the walls. She remembers faintly that originally as a Jedi her walls had been the many winding pathways of the Jedi Temple, the walls of it, keeping the outside world from getting in.
That had since changed.
When she had started learning darker versions of mental shielding, had started to really accept that she was Sith, she had changed her mental landscape. It wasn't something easily done, something that didn't happen without significant life-changing events and a powerful will to force that change. She had given thought to it at first, deciding what to make of them. She had lingered on that dark cell she had first pledged herself to Sidious in, but dismissed it. She'd give Sidious no kind of nod or empowerment in what she had made. She had thought about a few different locations, ranging from the Black Sun HQ, to even the forests surrounding Ur Manka's home.
She had instead chosen the grass covered hilly landscape of Rondai-2 where she had fallen to the Dark Side.
Where her old life had ended, where her Jedi Master had been murdered by the beast.
Where the Jedi Padawan Siri Tachi had died, and the darker Siri Tachi had been born.
It had been her first touch of the Dark Side without being instructed or guided by the Sith.
It was something hers. Something she didn't owe to Sidious, or even Zannah.
It was a place filled with pain, power... and the last traces of peace she could find in herself. When in deep meditation, it could serve to draw out her power when she lingered on her fall, or, as a haven where she could simply be, without Sidious or Zannah's expectations. Well, unless her Master was in her head for one reason or another. She knew he had seen the landscape, but he had never commented on it. Did he even remember where it was, what it meant to her? She supposed it didn't matter, she had no intentions of ever asking him.
In the distance, surrounded on all sides, were massive towering hills, almost mountains. They served as the basis of her walls. But they were not sheer unscalable cliffs, they could be climbed, but that was a trap. The gigantic steep crests an impossible goal, meant to drain anyone trying to transverse it. Throughout the rise of the hill, she seeded Force Commands of -stop- -exhaustion- -turn back- -tired- - sleep-, all of that and more to inhibit a would be trespasser. That was just the simple stuff, warnings that a Jedi might have in their own landscapes if they bothered with anything more than just walls. But the climbing of the hill was only the beginning, it was behind the hills that she hid what she truly was. The moment an intruder crested the hill and started down the other side was when the dark storm took them. A malevolent whirlwind of the Dark Side that would tear into the trespasser, like the funnel cloud of a tornado encircling the lower plains of her inner mind. There she laid the majority of her efforts to protect her mind, to rip apart anyone who dared enter. Which was another trap in itself. The tornado wasn't a wall, they could enter it, but it would rip at them as they made for the other side.
On top of everything, the whole shields, she threw an veil of insignificance, as if she was unimportant to look at, not there, something to keep her hidden. She could faintly feel the Jedi outside of her landscape tensing as her presence appeared to disappear. She adjusted the veil until it properly fit again, then peeled the top of it back so the Jedi could properly sense her and would stop throwing a hissy fit. Honestly, she was trying to work here! She made another pass at her shielding, inspecting it for flaws, adding more traps and safeguards as she saw fit... yet...
Yet...
Siri frowned at her shielding again. All of these were designed to lure in the unwary and destroy them. She could on demand turn her hills into mountains to barricade entry, but... that was a simple large wall, and all the defenses in the world didn't matter if someone like Plaguies was powerful enough to just blow through the whole damn thing. All of her traps and commands and compulsions and sorcery wouldn't matter if they actually got in and were strong enough to power through. Perhaps she needed something more concrete. She already knew of layers, she used multiple within the tornado with scaling intensity. Maybe... yes... there was an idea. Put actual walls inside of the vortex to halt their advance, keep them exposed to the raging storm of the Dark Side while they tried to find a way through the wall.
What to use...
Well... she drew on her memories of hate and pain for power, why not do the same for her shields? She selected a few layers within the funnel cloud and began to construct pitch black walls. Memories of her training at Sidious's hands. His punishments. His cruel lessons. She layers it by severity and intensity, making the walls more powerful and dangerous the more she gets closer to the edge of the dark vortex, towards her inner mind. She eventually reaches the final area, and decides on three final walls. Her hatred of Sidious had largely composed what had been constructed until now. She uses her Fall to the Dark Side, the power and pain and loss of that event to fuel the first. What came next was something she would never admit to anyone else. She constructed the second of her final walls...
Out of her her hatred of herself.
How weak she had been to get Master Gallia killed. How weak and helpless she had been against Sidious all these years, hated herself for serving him. She hated herself for so many of the things she had to do in order to kill Sidious. She hated herself for murdering Garen, hated herself so much for that. Even if Ur Manka had betrayed her, she still hated herself for killing him, no, for letting herself draw hope from him. She especially hated herself for almost killing Obi-Wan. Hated herself for that time of weakness in that Force Suppression Cell. All of that and more she crafted into her second final shield.
The last one... was one she was uncertain of. She looked back on the battle against Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn. Of those final moments of the fight, where she had been about to tear through Obi-Wan's mind and drive him insane. She remembers how she had tried to deny what he said, that he loved her. She remembers how he poured that emotion into her, how it had disrupted her control of the Dark Side, sucker punched her and threw her out of the dark depths of being a real, true Sith. She contemplates it for a long moment.
Then she does something she's sure Sidious, hell, even Zannah would be disgusted at.
She crafts that final shield out of her feelings for Obi-Wan. Her old feelings for Master Gallia, for her old friends in the Temple that she had genuinely cared about once upon a time. Of her possessiveness towards Alexi and Mighella. Of her... something with Zannah's Holocron. Force, she didn't even know what to call that screwed up relationship. How she enjoyed the bickering, the lessons, the comradery, that Zannah genuinely wanted her to succeed, how possessive the Holocron was of her and Siri of it in return. Zannah's kind of like a psychopathic aunt she supposes.
It is a shield of light in nature, but mixed in with the Dark, a hybrid type of defense. She rigs the wall to explode outward, forcing the emotions upon whoever springs the trap, like how Obi-Wan forced his feelings down that brief link between their minds. She's fairly certain that if Sidious or some other Dark Sider down the road gets to this final wall, they'll be in for a nasty surprise. She'll have a moment, a brief moment, to take advantage of, and she will make use of it if that time comes.
When she finally finishes she sits in her mental landscape, exhausted.
She wonders if she went overboard or not. Going this deep into a person, into the depths of their mind and soul and Force rather than just picking through their brain was dangerous to both the person and the invader generally. Most didn't need to go this deep for what they needed to find. Sifting through someones memories generally didn't require this kind of dive. A Force Sensitive would rarely bury them this far down from her experience thus far. She shrugs it off, better safe than sorry. She'd had way to many people rip through her head as it is. She'd steadily rebuild and seed more traps in her mind over time, but for now, this would do.
She doesn't leave her mind through. She sighs softly and just... rests. She hasn't been able to do this, retreat inside herself, in her mind within the Force, for well over a month. She wants a moment, a long moment, to do so before she has to go back and deal with the mess awaiting her. The Dark Side in her rumbles for the challenge, always ready and raring to bare it's fangs. Siri brushes it off through. She scrubs at her eyes (mentally, not physically, she'd never show that kind of tired tell to the Jedi) and wonders what they'd do if she decided to just sit in her head forever and not come out. Well, they'd try to draw her out eventually, and boy wouldn't that be a stress test for her brand spanking new shields.
The feels a twang of self-reproach, of hate for that weakness, of that desire to shy away. She studies it dispassionately, contemplative. It's a Dark Side inspired reaction, she's not blind to that. She doesn't think she's ever been blind to that... but...
She's oddly hyper-aware of it now.
She sits in her mind and toys with the thought for awhile before she feels a familiar tap on her shields. It's Obi-Wan. She really doesn't feel like dealing with the Jedi right now, but as much as he IS one, he's also Obi-Wan. If she has to deal with anyone, better that it be him that some other Jedi. So when he taps again, she lets him in, he is one of the few people she will ever allow in this deep, though she does keep her thoughts and memories shielded from him. She's more than amused to feel the -yelp- from him as he tumbles in. She watches as a visage of him appears in the landscape, giving her a disgruntled look.
-Really Siri?-
She gives him a lopsided grin in response.
-The Councilors are getting a little impatient-
"They can piss off for all I care," she said dismissively.
He gives an exasperated sigh. -Are you done rebuilding your shields?-
She glances around and hums to herself. "I suppose."
Obi-Wan follows her gaze around and... freezes. She watches the color drain out of the visage's face. Feels his anxiety and so many more emotions through the Force. -This place... why would you make THIS place your...-
So he recognizes it then.
He shakes his head and begins to back out. She lets him go, mulling over his reaction. He had shown her memories of his feelings, of that loss he had felt and allowed to fester when he thought she had died. He had gone here, she remembered that. He and Qui-Gon had discovered what was left of Master Gallia's corpse (and didn't that piss her off to realize Sidious had blown it apart with turbo-lasers), and thought Siri was dead. This was a painful place for him as it was for her.
With a sigh, she pulls out of her head and blinks her eyes open.
"...re you alright Padawan Kenobi? What did she do?" came the firm voice of a Jedi.
Siri tilted her head up, looking at a dark skinned Jedi Master, Windu if she recalled right, putting a steadying hand on Obi-Wan's shoulders. His real face was as pale as the mental one he had. "She did nothing, I was just... unsettled by where..."
He shook his head. "It's nothing Master Windu."
She eyed Obi-Wan briefly. His keeping the privacy of what her landscape looked like from the Jedi. She hadn't really thought, just let him it, but it served as an unintended test she supposed. She pushed herself to sit up, drawing her legs to sit crossed as she leveled an unimpressed look at Master Windu. "Must it always be the poor Darksider's fault, Jedi?"
Master Windu sharply turned his head towards her, body tense, eyes hawking at her and watching for any sudden movements, before he scowled at her. "Forgive me, Sith, if I treat you with the suspicion you rightly deserve."
She gave feral smile. "Careful Jedi, anger is dangerous for your lot."
"Siri," said Obi-Wan with a groan, "Please don't start needling."
"But it's so fun Obi-Wan," she whined, "And just look at him! He'd be so easy to set off."
Windu glares at her, and is about to respond, before another voice speaks up.
"Hmph, remember you to be a mischievous troublemaker, I do not, Padawan Tachi."
Siri froze before her head sharply turned to see the unmistakable form of Master Yoda watching her calmly from the doorway, his old hands gripping his gimer stick. They stare at eachother for a long moment before Siri reflexively double-checks her shielding and coaches herself to not take any unexpected moves. If there is one Jedi she will not screw around near, it is the Grandmaster of their Order. He could mop the floor with her; she's not even close to arrogant enough to think otherwise. She wont be complacent, never that, but she will dial it back.
"The Padawan you knew, and the person I am now, are two far different people," she answered in a careful tone.
Yoda's ears flick, a slight shake of his head, a displeased look on his face. "Afraid of me, you are. Wish that, I never would, for one of our own, fallen or not, Sith or not."
"I don't fear...," she began hotly.
He pointed his stick at her. "Fear me, you do."
It was final.
And not entirely untrue.
If there were two beings in the galaxy that she truly stood no chance against at the moment. It would be Sidious and Yoda. She'd be able to fight anyone else with at least some prospect of finding a win (maybe). But not either of them, not yet. She doesn't give him an answer though, just glowers at him. He adjusts his grip on his stick, slowly moving deeper into the room towards the table she sits on, then, fearlessly, hops into it and sits cross legged as well a short distance from her. She does NOT like being this close to him, being within arms reach of a blazing light in the Force that grates against her senses.
"Your word I seek," said the Grandmaster, "That harm the Jedi while in our custody, you will not."
She raised an eyebrow. "I'm the prisoner here."
"Make you not dangerous, does that?" he inquired.
She doesn't answer.
"If agree you do, if follow our rules you do, then in a cell, you will not be kept." he offers.
"Done," she says instantly, not hesitating in the slightest.
She is NEVER going back into that cell.
There is a light tap against her shields, and she grinds her teeth, but slightly lowers them to let him feel for the truth of her words. She has no intention of starting anything that will end up with her dead. Either from the Jedi, or from Sidious if she were to escape and him were to find her. Yoda does a brief pass, and his presence is like a sunburn against her mind, before he pulls back, satisfied.
"Mmm, been some time, it has, since last we sat and spoke, Padawan Tachi."
She narrowed her eyes slightly. "If you must address me with a tittle, Apprentice Tachi will do. I am no Jedi, not anymore, pretending otherwise changes nothing."
There is something sad in his eyes, but he masks it and inquires, "Oh? Not a Lord, are you?"
She furrows her eyes. "No? I'm an apprentice. I haven't been dubbed a Lord, let alone passed my sacrifice. Do you Jedi seriously know nothing about Sith anymore?"
"Mmm, forgive an old Jedi, over a thousand years, it has been, since a Jedi last spoke to a Sith," said Yoda, "Always called Lord, or Darth, they wished to be, history says."
Then Yoda gave her a puzzled look, if he felt uneasy about her words, he didn't show it. "Sacrifice?"
She raised a hand and pointed at Obi-Wan, who paled once more, at the implications of her words.
Yoda didn't hide how discouraged that made him. "Cruel the ways of the Sith are, the murder of those cherished, as a requirement."
"If you want to ridicule my Order's ways," she said in warning, "Don't think I won't ridicule yours in return."
"Mmm, refrain for now I will," he said before tilting his head, "But Padawan Tachi, you still are. Release you from the Order, never did we. Officially leave, never did you."
"Are you really going to argue technicalities with me?" she asked, incredulous.
"Mmm, but thought arguing, you enjoyed?" he asked with mock innocence.
Okay, to hell with this. "Has anyone ever told you you're an old bastard?"
Obi-Wan choked out a "Siri!", while she felt others in the room bristling.
Yoda just cackled a bit. "Last to do that, my old Padawan Dooku was."
"Pot meets kettle," she mused.
"Let Dooku here that, you should not," said Yoda.
"I don't particularly care if he does or not," she answered before rolling her shoulders and taking a sweep of the room with her eyes.
Obi-Wan. Yoda. Windu. The Jedi Healer. Two more of the Council she takes a moment to identify, Ki-Adi-Mundi and Even Piell. She sights several sets of Temple Guards outside the door, standing and waiting. "I don't think you're particularly here for small talk, Master Yoda."
The aged Jedi hums softly for a moment. "Many questions does the Council have. Do I have. Does the Republic have. Your willingness to answer, curious I am."
"I suppose that depends on the question," she answers, "And what I get out of answering, because I'll tell you right now, if the death penalty comes up in this 'trial' I'm supposed to be having, you're not getting shit out of me."
"Hmph, foul your mouth has gotten."
She rolls her eyes. "If you have a question to ask, then ask, otherwise," she thumbs towards the rest of the Jedi watching, "I'd prefer to see my not-cell now, rather than be the latest attraction for the peanut gallery."
She enjoys electing emotions from the oh-so controlled Jedi. The glaring from the Councilors is amusing.
Yoda just grunts. "Focus on most important, I will. Hide yourself for a moment, you did, when working on shields you were. In front of me, you were, but feel you, I did not."
"You're point being...?"
"How this Darth Sidious hides, is it?"
"One of several methods he could use," she says, non-committal.
"How this works, will you explain to us?"
"If I didn't know any better, Jedi, it sounds like you were asking me to teach you how to use the Dark Side," she says in a mocking tone.
At that, Yoda gives her an unimpressed look.
"And as I said, what information I choose to give depends on what happens in the trial," she said flatly, "Until then, I will tell you nothing."
Yoda nods slowly and stands. "Chance to rest, you will be given. A week the Senate has granted, no more, no less."
He turns and hops off the table, moving to the door.
"I would like a datapad with holo-net access then," she says, making him briefly pause, "You can make it read only, I don't care, but I have the right to read up on law and prepare myself for trial, do I not?"
"You do," he agreed, "Tomorrow, one will be provided, after modified it is. If lawyer you seek, one will be provided."
"I'll handle my own trial," she says flatly.
Yoda scrutinized her for a moment before shaking his head. "Your choice, that is. Come, to your room, we shall go."
Siri slowly shifted off the table, her feet touching down as she pushed off. She gripped the table tightly and briefly for a moment as dizziness set in. She tapped into the dark, slightly, to take the edge off the sensation, before following Yoda out. The Councilors fell in behind her, Obi-Wan moving to walk next to her, the Temple guard forming an outer circle around the ground. She thought it amusing, three councilors, the grandmaster, and a horde of Temple Guard's for little old her.
"Rules there are, for you," said Yoda as they walked, "Leave your room unescorted, you will not."
Where would she even want to go in here? "Sure."
"If ever interact with younglings, initiates or padawans, you interact, encourage them to use the Dark Side, you will not," said Yoda.
Siri snorted. "Gotta fear those Sith cooties."
Yoda turned and whacked her shin with the gimer stick. "A joke, that is not. Your agreement, I desire, not insolence."
She doesn't react the the whack. "You know, Sidious likes to call me insolent to when I talk back to him as well. Guess you two have that in common. Though, his lightning is more effective than your little stick."
Yoda frowned at her. "Appreciate that comparison, I do not."
Then he shakes his head. "Reprimand, a little whack is, no need there is, for punishment like Force Lightning."
"Jedi have their methods of discipline, Sith have their own," she answers, noncommittal, and then scoffs with derision "And fine, I'll refrain from corrupting any little innocent minds."
Yoda squints at her. "Amuse you, this rule does?"
"The Jedi's paranoia amuses me," she said, "Me trying to turn any Jedi here, at this point, goes directly against the Rule of Two, as my Master is still alive. Not to mention I am still at least a decade away from being ready to take on an actual apprentice, and I have no experience in trying to turn someone dark, or talent in it for that matter, Obi-Wan wasn't even tempted in the slightest on Naboo, must not have tried hard enough."
Ob-Wan gave her an unimpressed look which she proceeded to ignore.
She scoffed again. "Not that Sidious particularly cared for the Rule, taking me on when he hadn't gotten around to killing his Master."
Yoda cocks his head. "Rule of Two?"
She merely smiles tightly. "I believe you were telling me your own rules for me?"
He grunts and turns back around, starting the group forward again. "Use the Dark Side, you will not, without our permission and supervision."
"That," she said flatly, "Is unacceptable."
The group came to a stop again, with the Jedi turning to stare at her.
"I will refrain from most active uses, but I am a Sith, the Dark Side flows through me, it is a part of me," she answered, "I use it sense, to feel, to gauge, to defend myself, for so many things, not to mention meditating, which, I have a long session of coming up when you finish taking me to my room by the way. After that stint in that cell, I need it."
Yoda grunted. "Rephrase I will. Use the Dark Side to harm others, you will not. Use it to corrupt others, you will not."
"Acceptable."
"Master Yoda," protested Windu, "Are you truly going to let this Sith dictate terms inside our own home?"
"Not unreasonable, her request is," said Yoda calmly, "So long as offensively, she does not use it."
"If someone tries to kill me," she says in warning, "I won't hesitate to defend myself."
"In the halls of the Jedi you are," said Yoda firmly, "Harmed you will not be, so long as harm others you do not."
She wouldn't put it past some hot-headed padawan or knight to want to do her in if word got around of what she really was. Nor for Sidious to try something if he really set his mind to, but didn't comment on that. Instead, she turned to what she was sure was going to be a favored pastime: Needling Jedi. "You know, Master Windu, isn't considering this place a home a form of attachment?"
She doesn't hide her derision in the slightest.
She can feel him glowering at her back. "Isn't having feelings for a Jedi against your own rules?"
She smiled and laughed. "I'm a darksider, Jedi, feelings are what I do. Perhaps not generally that kind, but hey, a Sith has no rules other than what those stronger than them force upon them. As for Sidious... if he had known, well, he would have fixed that real quick."
"Fixed?" asked Obi-Wan quietly.
"You don't want to know," she answered, her smile turning grim, "I already gave you enough of a hint in the cell. Revan's Cure is child's play compared to what a Sith can do, and that's only one way he could have dealt with it."
That, oddly, makes Windu go quiet both aloud and in the Force, an air of -disturbed- around him. He's not the only one either.
"Communicate with Sidious, you will not while here," said Yoda after a few moments of walking, picking up where he left off.
"I have zero problems with that," she said, "Though, if he initiates it through the Force, I can't exactly say no."
"Keep your shields up?" suggested Obi-Wan.
She turned her head to give him a look of annoyance. "If Sidious wants in, there is very little I can do about that. If Plaguies was any indication, my ability to keep a Sith Master out of my head is lacking."
Obi-Wan went silent at that. She's really hoping she doesn't have to stress test her shields against Sidious, even with the upgrades, she'd not confident it will necessarily work.
"If contact he initiates, tell us you will," said Yoda.
"Sure," she drawled, "If I'm alive afterwards."
Yoda turned his head to glance at her.
"If you're in someone's head, Master Jedi, it's fairly easy to rupture their brain with the Force," she said.
Yoda shakes his head. "More I hear, less I like."
She smiles with a feral edge. "You've hardly heard anything yet."
"Watchful we will be, if sense a dark presence not your own, interfere we will," said Yoda.
Siri didn't answer, just continued to walk as the old troll prattled one rule after another. Most of it common sense garbage or Jedi paranoia. She resisted the urge to tune him out, but did shift focus when she took note that they weren't the only ones in the hallways they walked. There were other Jedi about, other eyes on her, watching, judging. The Jedi weren't hiding her from their own anymore then. There was an awful lot of subdued trepidation and fear and anger however... even at a darksider...
Unless...
"They know," she said in a soft-tone, eyes side-way glancing at Obi-Wan.
He hesitated before nodding. "Nute Gunray confessed to being pressured by the Sith to Republic questioning. That came up in one of the Senate sessions."
She snorted. "Gunray, that stunted slime. I bet he failed to mention the benefits he gained from his compliance."
"He did mention the Sith influenced his ascension to becoming a Viceroy," said Obi-Wan.
She can't help the eye-roll. "That was more Sidious than me, but I do recall the Viceroy not-so-subtly mentioning rivals that need to be eliminated. He willingly profited off the exchange, make no doubts about that. Though, to the Republic, its the word of the poor frightened Neimoidian against the big bad Sith, so I can guess whose word will be taken."
Then she came to a stop as something occurred to her. "Wait. Was that session public?"
"Yes."
Siri's eyebrows furrow, aware of the eyes on her, and resumes walking. "I see."
Sidious let that go public? It was one thing to be revealed to the Jedi. It was another thing for the galaxy as a whole to be aware of the Sith. Sidious owned Gunray, there was no way whatever was said wasn't ordered. Why would Sidious take this route? What angle was he playing at with this? Sith largely remain in the shadows, casting the spotlight on Siri, and allowing knowledge that Sidious himself even existed to become public awareness... why? He has some scheme or purpose behind this, that's a given, she just can't figure out what it is at the moment.
She has the urge to rub her eyes tiredly, but withholds it. She'll meditate and sleep when she's alone. She's led into a largely uninhabited part of the temple, to a simple Master/Padawan apartment, and shown inside. She wonders briefly how the Jedi would react if she informed them that their numbers weren't what they would have normally been. The Sith influencing the Senate to cut down on the money Jedi Acquisitions received did wonders for cutting down on the Jedi's ranks after all. She cut the thought as she was shown inside the apartment, barren and lifeless without a shred of individuality in its setup. She holds back the distaste she feels and simply lets her eyes wash over it.
She moves to the center of the room and kneels down, not wasting time. "If that's all, I'll be meditating for awhile."
An obvious, and intentional dismissal, one she feels some of the Jedi balk at, being instructed to leave by her. They don't speak out though, and file out, one by one, until there is only the presence of... eight, no, ten Temple Guards lining the halls outside her room. And one Jedi still standing behind her.
"What is it Obi-Wan?" she asks irritably.
"You told me in the cell," he began in a careful tone, appearing to try to sound non-judgemental, "That you had been tasked with raping someone to get over your, infatuation. But you just said while walking here, that Sidious didn't know you cared for me. Which was the lie?"
Damn... he's observant. "Neither."
Obi-Wan doesn't respond for a moment, though he does make a light pass around her shields, sensing for truth, she should be irritated at that, but he is rightfully confused so she allows it.
Of course, then he makes the logical jump. "So who did then, if not Sidious?"
She doesn't answer.
He stands there for a good minute, his eyes boring into her back, before he eventually leaves, when he does, Siri closes her eyes, exhales through her nose, and beginis to meditate, sinking into the Force, and the Dark Side, to sort out her storm of withheld emotions from her time in the cell...
Chapter 35: Preperation
Chapter Text
Siri goes through, indepth, her mind, her body, and her soul as she meditates. She finished what the Jedi Healer had started, anchoring her presence fully back to herself. Though, not without first studying the sensation. It was strange, to feel parts of her soul, her Force Presence, outside of her body. A sensation of cold, a chill deep into her soul without it's shell around it. She wondered if this was anything like taking one's soul out of their body to Essence Transfer. It was one thing that Zannah hadn't taught her, even alluded to outside of their original meeting. Not that Siri was interested in ditching her body, at least not for another sixty years or so preferably.
When she was done tying herself back firmly and completely to her body, she turned her focus towards her stint in the Force Suppression Cell. Of her constant struggle with weakness while denied from the Force. On one hand, there's the time spent with her Obi-Wan, denied one another for nearly a decade. On the other hand, most of that was spent arguing, or having information pried from her. Thinking back on it though, the back and forth was good. She wouldn't have liked a meek and pathetic Obi-Wan, he wouldn't be worthy of her if he was. He was overwhelmed at times, he was only a Jedi after all, but he was by no means weak. He gave nearly as good as he got, sometimes more, sometimes less. Arguing about ancient Sith Lords and Jedi failures in regards to them with him was a treasure she'd enjoy.
Other parts of their arguing though... or when she was alone...
The crushing guilt was something she had thought she was passed a long time ago. Those she had killed were necessary sacrifices, or to look at it another way, kill them or be killed (or severely punished) by Sidious. Yet... if she still felt like that without the Dark Side pulsing through her, some part of her disagreed. She mentally scowled at herself. What else was she to have done? Let herself die? Gone to the feeble Jedi? In the off-chance one of those light-happy-psychopaths didn't smite the dark heathen showing up at their doorstep? The only reason she was alive right now was probably because Obi-Wan had argued to all nine Corellian hells and back for it. Not that she would have been in this position to begin with if she hadn't just killed him or been against another Jedi. The Jedi wouldn't have stood a chance. Would they even have believed her, if she came to them years ago? Or just dismissed it of the ramblings of a mad darksider?
Its the past.
Whats done is done, it cant be taken back even if she wanted to.
It doesn't matter.
Yet... in the depths of her meditation, pulling her emotions to her, there is a twang that says it does. She glowers at it, pulling those feelings closer to examine them. The interwoven and connected threads. All of it having a link to what she feels for Obi-Wan. Feels for that Jedi. Feels for that last chain holding her back. That last light pulling her away from her true power. Her memory shifts to that fight at Naboo, of those moments she was becoming a true Sith. The dark with her now howls for that power, however, it growls possessively about Obi-Wan, anger and self-loathing that he could have died by her hand. There is an air of power about that memory now that she can feel the Force. It is a memory intricately linked to her emotions about Kenobi. The Dark Side swirls and snaps like a hound around a caged prey that it can't get at but yearns to.
It's a chain she wants to break to achieve her full potential.
It's a chain she can't bear to break in spite of that.
Though the hound keeps prowling around the cage, prodding and poking and gnawing on the bars, hungering to break through...
Then her focus is pulled to another part of her time in the cell. The 'interrogation', telling Obi-Wan of her training. Well, some of the early parts anyway, there were still plenty of years to go. Not that she had any interest in telling him anything more than she had. But... there is an ugly dark thing lurking in her now, when she recalls how Obi-Wan reacted to much of what she said. Even the Jedi's reactions to it. She hates pity, there's no question to that. More than anything though, she takes note of how Obi-Wan reacted to any mention of Sidious, or his training of her. He doesn't hate, Jedi don't hate, but in that suppressant cell, where he doesn't have the Force to help control his own emotions, his anger at Sidious for what he did or had her do...
It is pleasing that he shares that with her, that someone else resents that life.
It is distressing to have that sadness and grief directed towards her, she doesn't want it.
She hates Sidious with everything that she is and everything that she ever will be. His apprentice killed her former Master, led her into her fall. Sidious ruined her life. Tortured her, slowly turned her into what she is now. Had her kill one of her old friends, would have had her kill them all eventually. He's had her stain her hands red, would have continued to far more as time passed. She isn't blind, she told Obi-Wan that she's a monster, she knows that. Even with the dark a part of her again, she still hates a part of her life as much as she loves and craves the power she wields.
She holds the Dark Side again...
But she has absolutely no desire to go back to Sidious. She was never loyal to him. First it was to her own survival and to getting strong enough to kill him, then the Sith as a whole. She certainly doesn't owe him anything; she learned FAR more about the Dark Side from Zannah than she did him. He practically made her beg for scraps, only teaching her enough to function. Most of what she learned from Sidious was cruelty, icy hate and anger, some cold calculation. Which aren't insignificant things if she is honest. But they are things that make her like Sidious, and she on principle doesn't want to be his legacy. His replacement yes, but becoming a female Sidious isn't her long-term goal.
She wants to be better.
Some of the things he plans for are absolutely idiotic. That kriffing Superweapon of his is madness. If Sidious rules his empire in any way comparable to how he trained her, he'll have rebellions cropping up left and right. People always planning and plotting to stab him in the back. In the short term perhaps his empire could work for a few decades, but it'll destroy itself if something else doesn't first with how Sidious would run it into the ground. Or maybe he'd be intelligent enough to dial it back a bit and not go blowing up every planet that shows a touch of defiance, who knows. All she is certain of is that an emperor of a galaxy of corpses is no emperor at all. The Sith's final victory was still years away, but she didn't have confidence in anything related to Sidious aside from his raw power.
She'd be a better Empress...
Well...
Once she eventually got around to trying to figure politics out. Honestly, the entire process looked boring, inadequate, time consuming, and would likely make her want to smash her head through a wall daily. Or smash someone else through one anyway... on one hand she wanted the power such a position would bring, on the other hand, it made her cringe if politics was always like that. Well, it wasn't like the galaxy could be trusted to rule itself without a firm hand guiding it. Some self-sacrifice would have to be made she supposed.
Though the likelihood of that outcome, of her becoming a Sith Empress, if she's being brutally honest, dwindles with every passing moment. And the upcoming trial is certainly going to do her no favors even if-when she comes out on top. The entire point of the Rule of Two was to influence from the shadows, and she was going to be brought out and put into the spotlight. The Galaxy would know she's a Sith, know about her slight involvement with the Occupation of Naboo, and potentially much more. There is little chance of her assuming any kind of throne or ruling position now without brute force if she still wishes to try after the trial, and that would be such a kriffing chore to do and then maintain control...
There is a ripple of potential there, a thought of: Why bother then?
Because honestly, if the galaxy doesn't want the deliverance she could offer them, then they can go kriff themselves. Why chain herself down ruling an ungrateful galaxy? Hells, she might enjoy life a lot better on her own without responsibilities now that she thinks on it. Her time with the Black Sun was in general more pleasing than her time as a Sith (time spent with Zannah could be a swing or a miss). Though, she has to get through the trial, the Jedi, then Sidious and who knows what else first...
There is a pull on her attention through the Force, a warning growl of the Dark Side, that the upcoming trial demands her attention. Siri frankly doesn't want to deal with it at the moment, she's nice an comfortable with her emotions wrapped around her in a deep meditation. The senate is a bunch of piss-ants anyway, what threat do they pose to her?
Sidious.
Again, the Dark Side whispers a warning, a baring of it's teeth and a slap upside her head for her arrogance and shortsightedness. The trial wasn't a threat, it was Sidious. He was enabling the trial, he had some goal there. Something with her. Whether to get her executed, or out of the hands of the Jedi, or something else. He had some desire for this, some plan important enough for him to reveal her and the Sith as a whole. She mentally licks her lips at the unease in her gut as she realizes she really, truly has to come to a decision.
She's already felt that Sidious doesn't want her dead, that then means he wants her reclaimed. So she has to decide if she wants to allow that to happen or not. She doesn't want to go back to him, but since when has what she wanted VS what he wants ever really mattered? If she lets this go off unchallenged, she'd probably end up back at his side again...
But if she refused to go along with the trial, messed with his plans...
There is so much desire there, to be free of him. However, she's not even close to ready to actually challenge him. Not without years more of experience. If she fought him on this, if she became his enemy rather than his apprentice...
There's a high chance he'd simply find a way to kill her, and if he came for her, she wouldn't stand a chance...
She pauses her thoughts when she faintly detects Obi-Wan's presence enter her room. Then her awareness turns to other Jedi, in the hallway, in the temple. Some whose attention is towards her, some trying to ignore her, most in-between. Oh, right. She's not particularly masking herself, so they can feel her darker meditation. All the little Jedi afraid of the scary dark...
All the Jedi.
She toys with the thought. Sidious is immensely powerful, but if she had a buffer of the entire Jedi Order between him and her...
She could feed them information to set him back a bit...
She could use the Jedi to buy herself time...
How much time would be the question? And how much could she realistically improve herself here? In the Temple? Under the Jedi's watch and restrictions? The chances of success are smaller than if she just bide her time after returning to Sidious...
But she would be FREE OF HIM in the meantime.
There aren't words to describe how much she wants that; she's tired of being at his beck and call, she really is, she doesn't want to wait as long as Sidious did to kill Plaguies, she can't imagine being his apprentice for that long. But is that desire worth risking her life? Though, if she went back to him, she for one knew her punishment without failure would be her harshest yet, and two, that eventually Obi-Wan's death would be demanded, and that makes the dark in her roar in defiance and possessiveness. He belonged to her, and she'd not throw him away for Sidious, not a second time now that she knew he actually felt something for her. Not to mention the matter of pride, like hell was she going to let him or the senate make a show out of her.
So, she steeled herself and made the mental commitment.
She was going to make Sidious an active enemy.
The weight of that realization is heavy, and it's all she can do to pull the Force tightly around her, masking her presence and hopefully the impact of that decision. Regardless, he'd realize it soon enough. Life was certainly going to take an interesting turn from here on in...
She slowly began to pull out of her meditation. She needed to focus on the trial and preparing for it. Of course, the first thing that greets her sight is Obi-Wan sitting a bit across the room cross legged on the floor. She can't decide if she's pleased that he's here, or irritated that he entered without permission. Then again, she is the 'captive' here. She mentally scoffs at that, now that she's out of that cell, she could escape if she wanted to, Temple Guards or not. She assumes there's a camera in here somewhere, she'll find it later.
Obi-Wan begins as he always does. "Good morning, Siri."
She decides to go with irritated; the same greeting combined with the same act of just sitting opposite of her as he did in the cell is a reminder she doesn't like. "Would be better without a Jedi in my face first thing."
He makes a face. "Are you always such a graceful morning person, or is it the dark?"
She rolls her eyes. "Obi-Wan, if you start patronizing me on everything now that I can touch the Force once more, I'm going to break your nose again."
"Noted," he answers, eyeing her suspiciously, "Is breaking my nose going to be your default threat from now on?"
"I can escalate it if you want," she says, humming a bit as she entertains a few ideas, a dark smile slowly spreading across her face, "I can make a more permanent mark if that's your preference."
"No thanks," he says flatly.
She gets up and briefly stretches, cracking her neck to one side then another. "So then Obi-Wan, where's my breakfast?"
"It's almost lunchtime actually," he comments, "You meditated for a good twelve hours."
She hums, non-committal. She's a little surprised it was only half a day's worth after all of that, probably because of the Jedi Healer if she had to guess. "Regardless, feed me."
He sighs at the antic and points to a chair. "Cold food on the tray since you were meditating for awhile after I got here."
She glances and walks over, grabbing it and then moving to the apartment's couch, plopping down, crossing a leg over the other, resting her tray on it, then proceeds to stuff her face. She's faintly aware than eating like this after being on an IV and/or fed through a tube for a few weeks might be a tad rough on her stomach, she doesn't care to much. She can Force that away. Force, she's missed the Force and all the little things that are so satisfying to do with it.
Speaking of which... she's feeling petty and a little vindictive, and she has the Force to do all kinds of things to Obi-Wan. Hmmm... she won't inflict pain, so she needs to be creative about it...
Obi-Wan clears his throat. "Siri... I'm... sorry about the cell. None of us realized what being in it long term could do to someone."
...aaaaand now she's a little guilty. Only a little though, she's still pissed at him and the Jedi even if keeping her not heavily restrained in some form would have been stupid. She changes her revenge to merely letting him sweat and feel guilty. The reason she succumbed to the cell at the end was, after all, because she forced herself to. No reason to let him or the Jedi know that though. She decides not to respond to his apology, merely polishing off her tray and then levitating it towards him.
He takes and mutters something she faintly hears as 'frivolous use of the Force'. That just makes her grin, because he has no idea how 'frivolous' she could be with it. "So, where's my datapad?"
Obi-Wan sighed and pulled one out of his robes. "One datapad, as requested. Read only, will short-circuit if any attempt is made to circumvent that."
Siri rolled her eyes and yanked it from him with the Force, pulling it across the room and into her hands. Alright then, time to get started. She briefly watched Obi-Wan start meditating out of the corner of her eyes, and then dug in. It only took her a quick search to bring up dozens, reaching hundreds of articles related to the Occupation of Naboo and the Trade Federation. Which in term led to articles about the pre-Banite Sith in relation to her, other articles about Jedi, fallen or otherwise, who had been put on trial rather than being handled by the Order... and one or two articles about herself and Master Gallia, from some of their more public missions when she was a padawan...
Her eyes glazed over the circus, scowling a bit. None of this was useful to her. She needed to find out exactly what she was being charged with in order to plan how to deal with it. Perhaps one of the initial senate sessions would give her an answer. She brings up the first one, and starts watching silently, switching to different viewpoints as it went to focus on who was speaking. She mentally gives Chancellor Palpatine props for using Obi-Wan's presence against the Jedi as an example in favor of bringing a Jedi to trial. She then pays very close attention to the reactions of the senate as Palpatine reveals that Gunray outed her as a Sith.
She scoffs at the lack of any recognition. The Senate has no idea what a Sith is, all they have to go by is boogeyman stories from a thousand years ago and further back.
The fact that the Jedi tried to refute her being a Sith makes a growl start in the back of her throat. How dare they demean what she is. If she's been outed as a Sith, then she will bear that tittle fully, not some wishwashy pathetic fallen Jedi; and oh doesn't it please her when the Chancellor calls Yoda out on that lie, playing a short clip of her battle on Naboo. Of course, he is still a little naive for wanting her inside the Senate.
"Master Jedi, the Senate is not asking for her to stand before unbound our unaccompanied," came the recording of the Chancellor said, incredulous creeping into his voice, "Are you saying that in Force Binders, surrounded by Jedi Counselors, she would still pose a threat?"
"As a matter of fact," she murmured under her breath, "Given the chance to chant some sorcery, Chancellor, and you'd be surprised."
The session goes into a vote, and Siri fasts forwards to the end, nothing else important happening. There are a few minor sessions where historians are brought to the Senate to answer questions about the Sith of old, but none of this particularly interest her. The next video, which made her raise her eyebrow, was the 'Initial Questioning of Siri Tachi', which, if the view count was to be believed, was well over half the Galaxy. Part of her preens at being the center of so much attention, another part for some reason starts to have a bad feeling. She doesn't remember ever being questioned, unless that was...
Wait...
They didn't...
She starts the video and narrows her eyes at it, predatory waiting, and then she sees herself brought out on a hover chair, drooped over, eyes vacant, mouth open a bit, and is that a little bit of drool? She pauses the video and sits still for a long moment, looking at her first public display to the galaxy at large.
Her vision turns red.
"YOU KRIFFING JEDI!" she snarls, rising to her feet and glaring at Obi-Wan, objects around the room rattling at the tremble of the Force pulsing out at her.
Obi-Wan barely has time to get out of his meditation and start to his feet. "Siri?"
She picks him up with the Force and throws him across the room, slamming and pinning him to the wall. "How DARE you put me on display like that!"
There is the swoosh of the door, and then the sound of lightsabers activating, "Put him down, Sith!"
Her eyes flicker to the stream of Temple Guards starting to enter her room. She glares at them for a moment before releasing Obi-Wan, letting him crash to the ground. He winces, but that's not nearly enough to cool her fury. "My first truly public appearance, and I look like a infirm, helpless, brain damaged weakling!"
Obi-Wan rises to his feet, hands held palms up in placation. "Siri, calm down."
"Get out," she snarls as temperature of the room turns to ice, "Get out or so help me even if I die in the process I will go on a killing spree through the Temple."
Obi-Wan swallows as the Temple Guard's tense, assuming ready stances, not that it would save any of them. "Alright Siri, we're leaving."
She doesn't hold back the growl rumbling from the back of her throat as the Jedi file out one by one, Obi-Wan giving her one last hesitant look, before the door is closed. She lets loose a furious scream and releases a storm of rage in the Force around her. Throwing the couch across the room, ripping apart other furniture, destroying the table, the lighting bursts, and ripping bits and pieces out of the floor wall and ceiling...
Sidious's focus shifts from the daily debriefing he is given as a Chancellor, at the feeling of pure unadulterated rage ripping through the Force from the Jedi Temple. His lips slowly curl into a pleased smile. If he had to guess, judging by the nature of the rage he feels, his apprentice just discovered her little trip to the Senate. If that is any indication, his Apprentice is still dark. Oh yes, Kenobi didn't appear to have as much influence as Sidious would have anticipated. Less than Ur Manka had years ago.
Well, not considering what happened on Naboo.
Still, this was good. This was a confirmation: His Apprentice still well and truly existed. All that was left to do was reclaim her...
By the time Siri's fury has abated, the room doesn't look anything like the living room of a Temple living quarters anymore. She, thankfully, hadn't damaged the datapad to badly. She flips the couch rightside up and flops down on it with a heavy, frustrated sigh. She was still pissed, but oh, hadn't it felt good to just release all that emotion for the first time since before her captivity. She takes a moment to brace herself for further rage before she turns video of the session back on and continues watching.
She frowns at the Aldaraan senator's question for her records as a Jedi Padawan. She's not certain she should care or not if they pry into her time as a Jedi. She doesn't know if anyone will make anything of it, but she'd rather not have anymore reminders of her past come-up than she's sure she'll have in the temple. She... might have to look at those records herself at some point if she doesn't want to get around to decompartmentalization the damage Plaguies did to her early memories.
Mmm...
Nah.
She watches as Palpatine expertly backs Mace Windu into a corner, disapproval on his face and voice, "Then it would be accurate to say that depriving a Force Sensitive of the Force would be considered a form of Sensory Deprivation. You are aware, Master Jedi, that Sensory Deprivation is considered by this Republic, when exposed to it for extended periods of time, to be a form of torture, are you not? That it can have sever psychological consequences for individuals depending on the duration and extremeness of the deprivation? That perhaps this deprivation may be the cause of her condition?"
The Force swirls around his words, a sharp bark of 'Pay attention!' in her ears from the Dark Side. There is something important in that speech. Something that can and will have a large impact on what is to come. The question is, what exactly? She marks this spot in the video for future review, and continues watching. She is a bit perplexed why Palpatine is so insistent on having her out of the Force Binders. It's not some random senator or pawn she would have thought Sidious to use to check her status, unless her Master owns Palpatine that is. He is, was, a senator she, much to her chagrin, has nothing on. To be fair, there are a stupid amount of politicians in the galaxy, she can't be expected to have a complete scope on all of them. This one though... she recalls being particularly vexed to find squeaky clean.
Which either mean he actually was, which she doubted.
Or he hid it remarkably well.
When she watches herself as the Force binders are taken off, how weak and pathetic she looks, she feels like the world just ended. If Kenobi was in the room, or any other Jedi, she's not sure she'd be able to stop herself from crushing their throats with the Force. She has never felt more humiliated, even her time in that cell when Sidious was converting her doesn't compare. The chill in the Force leftover from her earlier rage takes a new dive into arctic temperatures. Not so focused on an outlet this time, she detects the reaction of the Jedi, the rise in apprehension, agitation, fear, and more. She drinks it in, like a fine wine, to try and take the edge of her boiling rage.
She also still hasn't found what the exact charges against her are by the end of the video. Does the Courts have their own page on the holonet? They should, perhaps that's a better route...
She finds what she's looking for about ten minutes later.
Attempted Murder: Obvious, though, they have far more people than just Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan listed. She dismissed it as unimportant for the moment.
Sedition/Conspiracy to commit Sedition: Against the Naboo. She really didn't have any involvement other than trying to track down the queen, and trying to kill the Jedi. She'd argue that point at the trial. If it mattered. She probably couldn't shake the second charge, but the actual Sedition she had almost no involvement in. Except... there are follow up charges as well. For other planets and systems. Siri frowns as she reads them, and then hisses quietly under her breath.
"While operating under the alias 'Iris'," she mutters under her breath.
Damn Ur Manka, and damn Dooku. And Sidious while she's at it, damn him for having her lead Dooku on that merry goose-chase across the galaxy.
She grinds her teeth as one charge after the other appears in relation to the name 'Iris'. Murder. Extortion. Armed Robbery. The list goes on and on. Some of these she knew she'd be able to beat, because she was damn sure she left little to no evidence. But if even a quarter of these charges stuck... she might as well plead guilty from the get go and get it over with.
The Dark Side growls at her again, demanding she pay attention. It's sharp grasp like someone grabbing her head and forcing her to look at something. She squashes any uncertainty and potential fear of her fate, goes back to the senate video, and plays Palpatine's speech again. And again. And again. And a fourth time. She knows shes missing it. So she goes slower, pausing the video at the end of every sentence, going over the words in her head...
"You are aware, Master Jedi, that Sensory Deprivation is considered by this Republic, when exposed to it for extended periods of time, to be a form of torture, are you not? "
She hums thoughtfully as the dark ripples. She punches in 'Psychological Torture' into a search and considers what she finds. Some of this is stuff she's already well versed on. Zannah taught her much on ways to manipulate a mind through assault, domination, dependency, or illusions, what she reads (aside from some of the extreme examples) is childsplay compared to what she can do. Its not so much as what was done to her, its close to a stretch to consider the Jedi's holding her any kind of torture. She's not so ignorant to think that was their intent. More of a byproduct of their ignorance.
No, if the thought that's starting to worm its way into her head is right, its more the fact of what was done, rather than the effects of it. Palpatine said Sensory Deprivation when use in extended circumstances is considered torture. However, a keyword search through the holosite finds that the Force is absent of any definition or reference to that. This is literally the first time 'Force Deprivation', if she has to coin the term, has come up in the Republic. There is no legal background or examples for or against it. Just Palpatine's comparison.
She gnaws on her lower lip a bit. This is important because frankly, if she can't ditch all the charges associated with 'Iris', she doesn't stand an actual chance in court. It'll be the death penalty for sure, and she will have to bail and disappear off Coruscant, out of the Republic, and either into the Outer Rim or Wild Space to have a chance at survival. She need 'Force Deprivation' to be actually considered a form of torture for one simple reason.
She is fairly certain that any confessions or evidence obtained from 'torture' is inadmissible in court. And in that cell, to Dooku, is the only time she's ever given any kind of confirmation of herself being Iris. If they can't use that, then she can argue and pick apart every single charge levied against her. Well, except for the attempted murder and sedition charges in relation to Naboo. That will be a little tricky, but, she has something she knows the Jedi want: Information on Sidious, on the Sith.
It weighs on her suddenly that her only chance to escape death, Sidious, or running for the rest of her life relies entirely on the possibility of the Chancellor's words being taken at face value in the Courts...
You mean escaping justice.
Siri's eyes twitch a bit. Oh great, that's back now. Sometimes, she does wish she had killed Obi-Wan, if only to permanently shut up that voice. She shakes her head and turns the datapad off, moving to the center of the destroyed room to meditate. On the trial, the future, and to dwell on some of the incantations Zannah taught her. If she has to escape from the middle of the Jedi Temple, from Sidious noticing her slipping out of said temple, and off Corsucant, it'll require Sith Sorcery of a level she hasn't been forced to use yet...
Chapter 36: Who Questions Who?
Notes:
First part of this chapter probably shoulda been in the last one *shrug*.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Obi-Wan, wisely in Siri's opinion, only stays long enough to drop off food for the next few days. She frankly doesn't want to deal with him or any other Jedi for the time being. Siri stays glued to the datapad for the most part, only stopping to meditate, eat, or use the fresher. She hasn't been able to get to sleep with all the Jedi so blasted bright in the Force all around her. She can sustain herself off of meditation for a long while, but she knows she's eventually going to flop at some point. Or grow accustomed to it eventually.
She's more cautious with the datapad after her initial session with it. She figures they're monitoring her traffic with it, and makes a point not to make obvious the major points of contention she might use in her own defense. If she has something she needs to look up, she tries to lead into it as a sort of fancy, following links that lead up to her topic rather than just searching right for it. She also locates the cameras in her apartment with a brief pass of the Force, she's not particularly surprised to find them, though she is at least somewhat surprised they offered the courtesy of not sticking one in the bedroom, and the fresher. She leaves them active for the time being, its not like she has anything to hide at the moment.
She spends, much to both her embarrassment and amusement, a rather large time reading speculation articles or commentaries on herself. She finds the strange pictures people try to paint her life as or their reasoning to explain her actions baffling. Don't people have anything better to do with their time? Most are completely stupid, but some at least guess somewhat right about Sith training involving torture. Maybe those ones at least read a bit into their history.
Though it does bring up a topic she needs to corner that Jedi Healer about.
The next time Obi-Wan comes by with food, she inquires, "I wish to speak with... whoever the hell it was who tended to me."
"Master Vokara Che," said Obi-Wan, a slight puzzled look on his face, "Why do you wish to speak to her?"
"None of your business," she answers flatly.
He frowns. "I'd need a reason to give her, and the council, to allow the visit."
"It concerns my health," she says with a scowl.
She feels a light pass from him in the Force, reflexively checking for injury at her words, and her scowl deepens, "My past health, I am entitled to my medical records, am I not?"
He nods slowly. "I'm assuming you are, I'll pass the request along."
It takes the Jedi far to long in her opinion, (who needs a day to argue over a healer coming in here?) before the Twi'Lek Jedi entered the room with Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Windu as an escort. Siri isn't amused to have that many Jedi in her room. "I did give my word I would not harm anyone here, rather unnecessary if you ask me."
"You've already broken your word," said Windu pointedly.
She raised an eyebrow. "Did I now?"
"You threw Padawan Kenobi across the room," he answered flatly.
She blinks at him for a moment before scoffing. "You Jedi were for one, asking for it by parading me around like that, and two, I wasn't aware you were all glass dolls."
Yoda tapped his staff. "A request you have for Master Che, if wish to speak to her, then our presence, required it is."
Siri rolled her eyes. "Did you bring my records?"
Master Che walked over and handed a datachip off. Siri took it and plugged it into her datapad, scrolling all the way down to the more recent entries. She doesn't show the smile that wants to spread across her face at the pictures of the various old scars, bruises, and burns the healer took when she was first brought in after Naboo. If she tries to get sympathy, this will be useful. All suffering has a purpose, and rather just as a trial in her training, it may be serve as a swaying for some of the few bleeding hearts in the senate, or in a jury (assuming Sidious doesn't rig it). "I assume I am allowed to keep a copy of this?"
Master Che nodded. "You are."
Siri makes a copy and hands it back, flicking through the notes for a moment, a frown on her face. The notion of long-term damage from Force Lightning isn't one she likes. She also doesn't want to be reliant on a Jedi to be able to deal with such damage. "The damage from Force Lightning, can that be dealt with by regular treatments for electrical shocks?"
"I already treated the damage your body endured," informed Master Che.
"I'm talking about future ones," Siri answered, "As I doubt I'm going to be Sidious-free for the rest of my life one way or another."
Master Che studies her for a moment before answering. "To a degree, however, the attack is not solely electrical, but Forced based. Normal treatments can alleviate symptoms, but it will leave lingering damage that requires the Force to dissipate."
Siri nods at that, thinking. "Does this require actual healing, or can it be dissipated just by dispersing the energy?"
Master Che paused to consider it. "I'm uncertain."
"Well, one way to find out," said Siri, holding her arm out to the side, and aiming her other hand at it, focusing a bit of her hate of Sidious through her fingertips.
The healer springs back as Windu activates his lightsaber, the other two Jedi tensing when lightning arcs from her fingers into her arm, Obi-Wan exclaiming, "Siri!"
She pays them no mind, compared to Sidious, using her own lightning on herself hardly hurts. She watches the energy coil around the limb, sharp burning stings cackling up her arm and down to her hand. She clenches and relaxes her fist, focusing her attention through the Force on her wrist, watching the energy embed into bone and flesh and Force. She frowns thoughtfully at it. She is not entirely sure how to go about this.
"You, have absolutely no self-preservation instincts," hisses Master Che, brushing passed Windu and grabbing Siri's arm.
Siri yanks it free and glares at her. "I'm trying to figure it out."
"Then watch and learn and for Force sake, don't ever do that again," demanded Master Che.
"Leave something for me to try myself then, or I'm just going for a repeat," said Siri without batting an eye, "This is kiddie grade lightning."
The scowl she earns from the healer is amusing. "There is no safe level of Force Lightning."
"I'm not on the floor screaming my head off with literal smoke rising from me, so its kiddie grade," said Siri dismissively.
The level of disquiet from the Jedi rankles her. "Keep your pity to yourself or I'll show you exactly what I think of it."
"Hmph, always so quick to threaten, are you?" posed Yoda, frowning at her.
"Perhaps if everything the Jedi did didn't make me want to throttle them it wouldn't be an issue," she answers, offering her arm back to the healer and watching carefully through the Force as the Jedi goes about tending to the pitiful little shock. Honestly, the healer is fretting over childsplay, its embarrassing. Still, Che leaves her wrist alone, and Siri follows the lead she was given.
Not the way the Jedi do, oh no. She doesn't sooth away the energy and dissipate it. She attacks the lingering sensation, destroying the connected energy that lays corrosively on her joints. It causes a flash of pain, but she ignores it. She's satisfied though, if she encounters and survives Sidious, she can mitigate some of the aftermath. Though, with the intensities Sidious can go to, shes not sure if it will be entirely effective. She might have to tap into Sith Sorcery for that. While it is an oddity, and a rarity, there were documented cases of sorcery being used to heal. She recalls reading that Freedon Nadd healed Exar Kun's near broken body with it.
It's also something she doesn't have any incantations learned for nor any artifacts or talismans made. She never particularly focused on any of those pages in Freedon Nadd's scriptures. If she ever gets the chance to go back to her hideout, she probably should look into it...
"If you are done with your own shock therapy...?" questioned Master Che.
Siri grinned. "For now."
The healer huffed and left, shaking her head and muttering to herself all the way. Windu turned off his lightsaber, a scowl etched onto his face, and did the same. Yoda had an unreadible expression, but turned and slowly walked out without a word. Obi-Wan just sighed. "Sometimes Siri, I think you've gone literally insane."
Siri hummed at at that, non-committal, and settled back onto the couch to read her datapad...
It would be split into two parts.
The Senate, dared, to think they had the right to question her. She would be brought to them for, at bare minimum, one questioning session before she was sent back to the temple to await her day in court. Additional sessions depended on if the first went satisfactory for them or not. It sounded simple enough, but when the Jedi showed up at her door, a pair of Force Binders in hand, she scowled at them. "Is that really necessary?"
She had her answer when the entire Jedi Council piled into her apartment. She huffed with irritation and held out her hands, Windu cautiously approaching to snap them on. Siri didn't try to hide the dark look that brought to her face when her connection to the Force grew murky. Nor hide the body-wide visible hostility that sensation brought. After her time in that cell, she HATED any kind of dampening or suppression. The Jedi tensed, but Siri did nothing save for stand. She was led out of the room, a circle of Jedi surrounding her, Obi-Wan's hand on her arm as a guidance.
"I'm capable of walking myself," she glowered at him.
He gave her a strained look, and didn't answer. She was led through the halls of the temple, to the hanger, and onto a transport. Siri plopped down onto a middle seat, the rest of the council filing in, Obi-Wan sitting next to her on one side, Yoda on the other. The ship took off, several Jedi starfighters flying as escort. The whole thing felt like overkill to her, but she kept silent for the time being. When they landed, and the Jedi started filing out, Siri caught sight of camera droids flying about in anticipation.
So, she made sure when she stepped out and started walking, that her back was straight, her chin was tilted up a bit, and her face held with controlled confidence. That was how she first should have been seen in public. She pushed down her own anticipation for this questioning session, she'd be giving the galaxy a show to wash over those pathetic images and videos. She had to work to keep the smile off her face. She was going to enjoy this.
She was led through the building, and into the Senate chamber on a larger pod generally reserved for bigger species. The council lined the outskirts of the pod while she stood in the middle in front of the pod's senator seat. Even through the binders, she felt the eyes of so many on her. The eyes of the corrupt, pathetic senators of the galaxy. Had she access to her own personal network and datapads, she could ruin over half of them easily. She could still recall enough on her own to know just how much power she actually had here. They thought she was captured and chained, to be interrogated and questioned, but little did they realize it was THEY who were the ones trapped in this room and session with her.
Her eyes flicker upward as Mas Amedda motions the Chancellor's pod forward to the center of the chamber and stands, his voice booming out to quiet the murmurs and conversations within the Senate, "Order, we will have order!"
Amedda waits a moment for the chamber to quiet down before glancing around the room, and then down at Siri, "We begin the senatorial questioning session of one accused Siri Tachi for the involvement in the Trade Federation Occupation of Naboo. The chair recognizes the Supreme Chancellor to begin these proceedings."
Siri's eyes shift to the Chancellor as he stands... and feels a twang of something she cant quite figure out. A sense of unease in her gut that she doesn't understand why it's there. Something about the man unsettles her, but she lets nothing show. Even if she had clear access to the Force, she couldn't probe the man without the Jedi freaking at her. She makes a mental note to merely study how he acts and speaks for the time being.
"Delegates of the Senates," began Chancellor Palpatine, "We are gathered here for a second time in our pursuit of justice, of answers, for the senseless loss of life on my home planet of Naboo. Brought before us today, is an individual captured during the conflict, a former Jedi Padawan known as Siri Tachi, who Viceroy Gunray claims is a Sith..."
Siri narrows her eyes, bristling, her voice ringing out loud and clear, coated with ice, "I AM a Sith."
Obi-Wan sighs quietly as the Chancellor pauses to glance down at Siri, and Mas Amedda glowers at her, his voice booming down, "The chair does not recognize the questioned at this time."
She gave a feral smile that was all teeth, making the Chagrian hesitate at the sight of, visibly unnerved, her voice ringing out mockingly, "My apologies, please, do continue."
The Chancellor raises a single eyebrow down at her, a hint a disapproval on his face before it's masked. "...who now corroborates the claim of being a Sith Apprentice."
He pauses for a moment, considering something, "Before we begin the questioning, it is appropriate that, regardless of the charges against you, I offer the Republic's apology for your... mistreatment and extended exposure to the Force Suppressant Cells."
"You know, if that token apology actually meant anything," said Siri, raising her bound hands and rattling the cuffs, "Then you wouldn't have me, yet again, in some kind of Force Suppression."
"You are a dangerous criminal, Siri Tachi," said the Chancellor mildly, "It's proper procedure, and not even close to the degree of suppression as the cell you were in."
"And if I gave my word that I would be relatively civil?" posed Siri.
"I've be advised that trusting the word of a Sith is a fool's notion," said Palpatine.
Siri scoffs. "Then why am I here in a questioning session if you are going to toss out everything I say?"
"I did not say we would," echoed back Palpatine, "It is up to the Senate, and the Jedi, to ferry out the truth in your words."
Siri rolled her eyes. "Here's a lesson for you Chancellor; treachery is the way of the Sith, but sometimes cold hard truths are far more painful and enjoyable, and I do oh so love rubbing those kinds of truths in deep enough to bleed."
The Chancellor is, surprisingly, not even slightly taken back or unsettled by her words, he merely shakes his head. "Regardless, the binders are not coming off."
"Well, that's to bad," she mused, moving to sit in the pod's seat, prop her feet up on the pod's dashboard, raising her hands behind her head like a pillow. She nestles into the seat and gives the Chancellor an absolutely lazy smile, not taking him or the Senate seriously at all, "The binders come off, or I wont answer a single damn question and we can go straight to trial. I've had about enough of any kind of Force Suppression for the time being."
"You do yourself no favors with both this defiance and childish display," said the Chancellor critically.
"I don't need any favors in dealing with the corrupt, spineless, piss-ants that litter this dome," she answered back nastily, "So whats worth more to you Chancellor? Keeping me in chains, or getting answers?"
She could faintly detect the surge in irritation and anger through the Force at her words even through the binders, and wondered if she could force them open with that energy. The emotions begged her to eat them like an appetizer, oh so delicious to feed off of and give her the strength to break the chains on her wrist. She holds it back though, and merely looks up smugly at the Chancellor. She'd love to tear the Senate a new one, but if she goes straight to trial instead of dealing with the questioning, it doesn't impact her strategy.
The Senate is her fun.
The trial will be her work.
The Chancellor looked ready to retort before he closed his eyes and sighed softly, shaking his head. He glances down at the Jedi, eyebrow raised. "Do you believe you can keep her contained if she is released and tries anything?"
Siri snorts, not even giving the Jedi time to answer. "It's the entire kriffing Council, I'm good, but I'm not that good."
The Chancellor ignores her, staring down at Yoda. The troll takes his time in answering, his eyebrows furrowing as he turned his gaze on Siri. She raised her own mockingly, and he merely sighed. "Keep her contained, we will."
The Chancellor looked down with disapproval at Siri as Obi-Wan moved to take off the binders. "If that is all...?"
"Well, I could do with some tea and snacks while we're at it," she says snidely, bringing her freed wrists down onto her lap as she moves to sit upright, one leg crossed over the other.
Palpatine stares at her, incredulous, rumbles of indignation and disapproval rolling through the senate before he speaks, "Perhaps it is inappropriate of me to remark, but, I'm not sure I have ever met anyone as outright insolent as you are."
Siri laughs. "My Master says the same thing, Chancellor, it's my best quality."
Palpatine puts his foot down. "I believe you've done enough mockery. Siri Tachi, you are here to answer our questions in regards to your involvement in the Trade Federation Occupation Naboo."
"Alright, shoot," she says.
"Is it true that the Sith incited the Trade Federation to blockade Naboo?" he asked.
"Yes," she answered back, "In Sidious's own words, it was a 'Seemingly insignificant, yet important move on the chessboard towards the Grand Plan'."
"The blockading of the Planet, and the death of many civilians is something to be considered insignificant?" the Chancellor posed, looking disgusted.
"His words, not mine," she said, neatly sidestepping giving her own opinion.
A chime rings, and the Chancellor glances over to one of the Senator pods. An Ithorian, Siri can't quite remember the senator's name, Tenda-something, one of the few senators that isn't completely corrupt if she recalls; Mas Amedda booms out. "The chair recognizes the senator of Ithor."
The Ithorian looked down at Siri. "What is this 'Grand Plan' you speak of?"
"The same as it's always been," she answered, "Wiping out the Jedi."
And galactic domination, but she wasn't quite up for shooting herself in the foot that badly by proclaiming that to the Galaxy.
The Ithorian rumbles. "A planet was invaded on the basis of religious warfare?"
"Far worse things have been done for even worse reasons than that," she answers back.
The Ithorian shakes his head, but sits back down, question done.
Another pod rings for attention, this one she recognizes as Bail Antilles of Aldaraan. "The chair recognizes the senator of Aldaraan."
"Aldaraan remembers the Sith of ages past," began the Senator, "The wars, the occupation, the bloodshed, armies of crimson lightsabers without a shred of mercy. Yet only one Sith is present, and another only referenced as a name. How many more of you are in hiding?"
"Irrelevant to the occupation of Naboo," she answers, "But, since I'm feeling generous, allow me to alleviate your fear."
She gives him a predatory smile, and even at a distance she sights the way the man tenses and steels himself. "Comparing the Sith of now to the Sith of old is foolish. We have changed, evolved. There is supposed to be only two of us at a time now."
The Senator looks puzzled, overwhelming his previous tension. "Only two?"
"Sith have this nasty habit of stabbing eachother in the back, so it was decided generations ago to nip that problem in the bud," she answers, "Now we only kill eachother when we're ready to take our place as the Master."
Antilles frowns. "And that makes up for no longer having armies of Sith?"
She shrugged in response. "Remains to be seen."
Antilles sits back down, face scrunched back in thought, working over her words.
Another senator chimes in, Edcel Bar Gane of Roona, his voice puzzled. "Why would you kill your own teacher? That makes no sense, would it not cripple your Order to throw out someone with age and experience?"
"I'm not here to discuss Sith Philosophy," she answered flatly, "The majority of the people here wouldn't understand it. If you're asking about me personally, I hate his kriffing guts, I don't need any other reason."
Again, the Senator seemed puzzled. "An Order based around killing your own members makes no sense."
"The same could be said for a senate filled to the brim with corruption and greed," she said pointedly, "Wonder why the Republic citizens pays the taxes it does to keep all the worthless cretins in here around."
The Senator huffs, but sits back down.
The Chancellor waits a moment, giving a chance for more questions, but none come. "I suppose I will get to the heart of the matter. Why did the Sith incite the Trade Federation to invade Naboo?"
"Why did the Sith incur the Naboo Incident?" mused Siri, "Sidious only directly told me it was as a test for me, but I'm not stupid. He has multiple reasons for anything he does. Personally, I think he did it to get Valorum out of office."
There were murmurs through the senate chamber, and Chancellor Palpatine peered down at her, curious. "And what led you to that conclusion?"
"Valorum was a friend of the Jedi, helped and supported them...," she said simply, a sly smile spreading across her face, "...to the point where he felt he could dismiss Senate procedure and bypass them completely by personally getting the Jedi involved with Naboo."
Now those murmurs were a lot louder.
"I have, little doubt, that Sidious was involved in your election, Chancellor Palpatine," she said.
The Chancellor narrowed his eyes as a hushed silence went through the dome. "Perhaps, if you have an accusation to make, you say it plainly."
Siri shrugged. "I'm not saying I do. You're an interesting choice, Palpatine, not because of corruption or anything, but because of neutrality."
That seemed to... surprise? Confuse him? "Neutrality?"
"I've unfortunately had to study the Senate a great deal," said Siri with disdain before giving him a skeptical look, "From what I can tell, you are neither for nor against the Jedi. You've been apart of bills that have harmed and helped them. You would, most likely, not go out of your way or risk your position to do them any favors nor ask them to breech senate protocol, like Vallorum did."
"As much as it chagrins me to say," admitted Palpatine with self-depreciation, "I would not have breached our laws to send Jedi to Naboo. Other ambassadors surely, or even appealed to the courts, but the Jedi require senate approval to use in such a manner."
She tilted her head in acknowledgement. "As I said, neutral, and having a Chancellor that does not particularly favor the Jedi is important," she tilted her head the other way, "Or, since you're so suspiciously squeaky clean that I've never been able to find dirt on you, you're in Sidious's pocket."
Palpatine looked affronted. "I beg your pardon?"
Siri smiled sharply. "I'm a Sith Apprentice, finding dirt to use and blackmail people with is something Sidious had me do plenty of. I never found anything on you, so either you are as clean as you look, and I doubt that, no politician is perfectly clean, or Sidious wants you to appear that way."
"I am not in the 'Pocket' of this 'Darth Sidious'," said Palpatine, glancing down at the Jedi standing watch over Siri, "I've been told the Jedi can feel the truth in statements, no?"
Siri could feel a light pass through the air by Master Windu, who gave a nod, and Palpatine looked down at Siri with a smugness that was unsettlingly familiar. "And let us not forget, Siri Tachi, you are the being questioned here, deflecting onto others will not save you."
Siri shrugged, forcing away her unease. "I don't particularly care. You were a logical conclusion, but either way, your neutrality suits him."
Palpatine seemed to weigh her words for a moment before sighing, "We should move on, but you have peeked my curiosity. If this 'Sidious' has such a heavy influence in the senate," Palpatine's tone indicated he didn't believe that, "Why not choose someone hostile to the Jedi then?"
"Because pretty much all of them have dirt that they could be blackmailed with," she said with amusement, "And Sidious would never tolerate having someone in your position that someone else besides him could manipulate. He's a controlling bastard like that."
"You seem to have the opinion that many of the Senate would be corrupt," said Palpatine mildly, "You've made your opinion on that clear multiple times now."
Siri snorted. "Because more than half of them are. If I had access to my old network and datapads, I could bring up evidence to compromise them all and bring the Senate, and thus the Republic, to it's knees handling the chaos of the whole thing."
"But, since I don't and can only go off what I can remember at the moment," she said, smiling sweetly, so giddy that he had given her a lead in to this, "Would you like to know that Senator Tikkes, Bufus Ritsomas, Danry Ledwallow, and Wuja Wojaine are involved in a slaving ring?"
She watched, smugly satisfied, as the entire Senate Dome burst into madness. At her side Obi-Wan could only sigh in resignation. She feels the chaos of the area, and feels the ripples of it out in the Galaxy, from however many people are watching. She purrs quietly in the back of her throat at the torrent of negative emotions flooding the Force at once.
It's good to feel the Dark Side again, it truly is...
At least until the Force Binders are snapped back onto her wrists and she's led out of the madhouse and back to the temple...
She's led back to the Senate a week later.
She doesn't hide how smug she is from the cameras on the way in, considering the Senate was down the four members she had named. Apparently several 'household servants' had come forward, emboldened by Siri's actions, and contacted the authorities. Slave chips had already been removed, so guilt wasn't in doubt anymore, and more and more people were getting implicated as the Senate Bureau of Intelligence was forced to get off its ass and actually do their job, raiding the homes of the senators and finding evidence of 'transactions' with many a people's name still listed.
It was being called one of the biggest slavery busts of the last decade.
Not to mention the fact that the Senate approval rating dropped over twenty percent in a single night as more and more facts and findings came to night, and calls for investigations into corruption were at a new all-time high.
It is her first indirect act against Sidious. It's something she knew he would mistake as her simply being herself, at striking out against the Senate that would dare to judge her. Not that she wasn't doing that as well. But Sidious thrived on the corruption in the Senate, on being able to control the corrupt. Wiping out his potential tools, while not an extreme act, weakened his avenues of manipulation. Especially if this led into more senators being investigated and discovered corrupt. It could lead to setbacks for him, but nothing entirely dangerous to his goals. He would, at most, be irritated and a tad pissed off.
Its nothing he couldn't recover from though, and knowing Sidious, there were ways he might be able to turn it to his advantage. But the point of it was twofold: It weakened the Senate, and more importantly, bought her time before Sidious would be ready to enact the Grand Plan, because either way he would need time to adjust. A few months to a few years of extra time could end up being literal life or death, for her or for Obi-Wan. She didn't give a damn about the rest of the Jedi, but she'd need to find a way to ensure Kenobi lived through the end of his order. Assuming she wasn't sentenced to death at the trial and had to book it out of Coruscant.
When she's brought to that large senator pod again, she smiles smugly up at the Chancellor. He doesn't frankly look impressed, but waits until Mas Amedda quieted the Senate and recognized him to speak. "Last time we were gathered, you admitted to the Sith's involvement in the Trade Federation Occupation of Naboo. Now, the Senate asks what precisely was your involvement. We already know and have witness recordings of your attempted murder of the Jedi, now we offer you the chance to come clean on anything else."
"Hmm, straight to the point today," she mused aloud in answer, "Not to keen on giving me a chance to say anything else? The room is looking a little bit emptier than the last time I was in it."
"Yes, your ability to deflect onto others, regardless of the validity of their guilt, is admirable," said the Chancellor dryly, "But the Senate was not gathered here today to to pander to your whims."
"Such a shame," she mused, her gaze slowly turning to glance at one senator after another, her voice punctuating hard each time she spoke while focused on one, "There's so much I could tell you. About Senators who rigged their elections, had their opposition murdered, bribed officials or voters, or are involved with criminal organizations, but I suppose that's not important compared to my limited involvement in the occupation."
Palpatine's lips are pursed, but the rest of his face is carefully masked. The rest of the senate though, she can feel the rising tension and fear, the corrupt abhor her, terrified for their positions. Perhaps now they realize that they are the prey before the predator who has stalked their movements and knows their sins. "But alright, have it your way. I was sent primarily for the Jedi. As a test to see if I could pass my Sacrifice. Outside of that, Sidious wanted me to bring the Queen back to Naboo in order for Gunray to settle a treaty with her. That's it."
They'd have no way to prove that she was instructed to kill the Queen afterwards.
The Senate takes a moment to parse through that, before one chimes for attention, Senator Yarua of Kashyyyk, and Siri has to wait for an interpreter droid to speak, because of all the languages she's had to learn, Shyriiwook was not one she managed, "What do you mean by 'Sacrifice'?"
Time to play the 'victim' card. Not that it's exactly a lie or a sham, because if she's honest, its entirely the truth, but something she's mostly not capable of caring about anymore. "Sith training is meant to purge the apprentice of all connections to their past lives. To destroy and beat out of them their ability to feel compassion, mercy, and the like. The Sacrifice is the pinnacle of that effort, where the apprentice is meant to kill someone who once held significance in their life as proof of severing their chains of the past, and their devotion to the Sith Order."
The wave of disgust and horror and pity that permeates the air is difficult to feed on through the Force, like spoiled food since its directed at her. The Wookie roars out and the droid translates. "Barbaric!"
Siri shrugs. "It is what it is. I've survived eight years of it."
She steps forward to put on her next act as the 'poor indoctrinated Sith Apprentice', pulling out a datastick and inserting it into the pod's terminal, calling up and distributing the pictures and readings of her bodily condition as documented by Master Che, "Sith training is meant to create a masterpiece, a being who can endure immense punishment without flinching, be utterly ruthless in the pursuit of their goals, who has no chains to hold them back. A weapon that has been so finely honed, an entity that nothing aside from another Sith, their own future apprentice, can hope to defeat."
She says it with pride and confidence as if to show the scars and bruises and burns as triumphs and trophies, but as intended, all she feels back, and sees from several nearby senators, is negative reactions. All those pathetic weak stomachs and wills. Its disgusting how fragile they are.
Chancellor Palpatine takes his time in viewing the records as murmurs and discussions litter the senate room. It is that Senator from Aldaraan that speaks up. "You say the Sith have changed, evolved, but all I see is the same cruelty and madness history speaks of. Destroying and corrupting someone who used to be an agent of good is deplorable, despicable, and evil. I should pity you, but as a Sith, you should be locked away in the deepest pit the Republic can find."
"Then perhaps, senator," she said cuttingly to Bail Antilles, "You should check the Republic's Laws. It is not illegal to be a Sith nor is it illegal to use the Dark Side of the Force."
The words caused a ripple of surprise, even from the Jedi surrounding her. Her lips peel back in contempt. Idiots. Any laws surrounding that were nipped in the bud LONG before even Sidious was born by previous generations of the Banite Sith. Slipped into anti-religious persecution bills.
"Perhaps not," interrupted Chancellor Palpatine, "However, attempted murder, and acts of sedition along with many of the other crimes you are accused of, are."
Siri tilted her head up. "This questioning session is in relation to what happened on Naboo. I have been courteous in answering other off-topic questions about my Order, but any other charges will be answered and refuted in court."
The Chancellor's eyes narrow slightly. "You seem quite confident in that."
She just smiled in response. She wasn't going to reveal her (hopefully) winning hand before she could use it. The less time she gave Sidious or anyone to react to it, the better. Ideally, for maximum effort, she would directly ask the judges in the initial court session her question about torture classification, and then move right to dismiss the other charges.
Palpatine shook his head. "But I digress, for you are right. So allow me to ask you a question. You said you were sent to Naboo primarily for this test, this 'Sacrifice'."
Siri took great effort in restraining the defensive hunch that her shoulder's wanted to take.
"One would think, as a Sith, you would have simply killed the Jedi and moved on, yet, the events surrounding the end of your battle are quite... confusing," he said, "The cameras, after all, only captured video, not audio. The Jedi, have not been exactly forthcoming with anything in relation to you, so I will ask: You failed your 'Sacrifice', why?"
Siri says nothing.
The Chancellor punches a button, and a recording plays of the final few minutes of the conflict between her and the Jedi. She tenses as she watches her and Obi-Wan interact, watches the way she collapses in on herself after Obi-Wan shoved his emotions down the connection between them and booted her out of that state of being a true Sith. The way he held her after, and that's where the Chancellor pauses the video. "Rather strange to be going from killing one another to offering comfort."
Siri voice, when she answers, is tense, bitter, and not nearly as confident as it should be. "As I said, Chancellor, I'm still a Sith Apprentice, still learning and embracing my Order's ways. Some difficulties in doing so are to be expected."
"That doesn't answer the question," rebutted the Chancellor.
"A Sacrifice is chosen for multiple reasons," said Siri slowly, voice struggling in a way she does not want it to, "Not just for severing the past and showing loyalty to the Order, but for eliminating outside influences. Eliminating weaknesses that could cause your devotion to waver, that could cause split loyalties..."
"It sounds like a Cult!" shouted another Senator without bothering to chime for attention, "That's meant to isolate its victims and turn them into complete and utter monsters!"
There is a roar of agreement that circles the Senate, it takes a few minutes for Mas Amedda to get order back. Time Siri desperately uses to try and control her emotions. When its quiet again, the Chancellor poses again, "You still haven't answered the question, Siri Tachi. I am not asking what a Sacrifice is, I am asking why you failed yours."
"It almost sounds, Chancellor," she bit out, "That you wanted me to succeed."
The Chancellor looked affronted. "I am relieved that the Jedi suffered no unnecessary loss of life on Naboo, I am asking this as it pertains to understanding the Sith, understanding you, and understanding what punishments would be appropriate, whether harsh, or meant to used as treatment for eventual reintroduction to society. One would think you would be eager to paint yourself in a positive light in this moment, yet you seem reluctant to even speak of it."
Siri ground her teeth and does not even glance at Kenobi as she speaks, "Obi-Wan was a fellow Jedi Padawan who meant something to me at one point. The Dark Side thrives on negative emotions, so finding out he felt the same way towards me as I had to him, along with having those emotions shoved into my head disrupted my control of the Force and made me heavily offbalanced. He tried to argue with me to rejoin the Jedi while I tried to argue for him to join me. Neither of us succeeded as evident."
The Chancellor frowns thoughtfully. "I was under the impression that Jedi were not supposed to develop feelings for one another."
Siri gives a nasty smile. "Yes, neither cult allows for that."
She can feel the glowering of the Jedi at her, the hurt from Obi-Wan, and the roiling from the Senate at the words levied at their pet Jedi Order.
"I failed my Sacrifice for many reasons, but ultimately, because Sidious is an arrogant idiot, who likes to play with fire," she snapped out, hoping her Master was watching, or even better, in the room to hear her scorn, "Because every Sacrifice any Sith has ever taken is also a risk to turn them away from the Sith. If he wanted to ensure there were no potential conflicts of interest, he should have taken care of them himself instead of trying to force me to. That was asking for something worse than me simply being captured to occur. He's lucky I agree that the Jedi are to weak and complacent to stand a chance at killing him, otherwise I might have left willingly with Obi-Wan."
The frown on the Chancellor's face hasn't left. "You appear to hate your master a great deal."
The air around Siri went cold as ice, spreading deeper into into the Senate chamber, frosty breathes appearing from the lips of various senators as Siri's hate spilled into the room. "I live for the moment when I will one day kill him. The Jedi and the Grand Plan, are secondary things barely worth my time or notice unless they get in my way."
The Chancellor's face goes carefully masked. "I see..."
Oh, Sidious saw indeed, saw something he may have miscalculated in.
Perhaps Plaguies had a point in the way Sidious himself had been trained. Sidious had hated his Master, oh there was no doubt about it, but he did not hate Plaguies to the extent that it became an obsession, that it disrupted his commitment to the Grand Plan and to realizing the ascension of the Sith, to the fulfillment of his own designs. Was the literal only reason Tachi hadn't turned away from the Sith because of her hate of him? Of her faith in the power of the Dark Side over the weakness of the Jedi in being able to kill him? Perhaps not the only reason, but it was a large one, of that he could feel.
It was a wonder she had chosen to kill Plagueis and not him. Or perhaps not. If her hate was evident enough, she wanted to make him suffer before he died. Charming really. He'd be proud of it if it hadn't become an obstacle to his own desires. He contemplated what she had said, her petty insults were hardly enough to spark mild irritation, but her words; should he have simply had Kenobi and any of her other living former-friends killed? After Ur Manka and the failure of her first Sacrifice with Garen Muln, perhaps he should have. Her discovering that they had 'mysteriously' died could have severed the last chains holding her back, else he would have simply had to wait for her to carry her weight in the Grand Plan with the extermination of the Jedi Order, that would have been assured to push her all the way. On the flip side, the Sacrifice was meant to be a test of the Sith in question, if they could not pass it should they be deemed worthy?
Regardless, when he recovered Tachi, he would have to consider how best to get her onto the correct mentality. If he could. He might simply have to kill her if her hatred of him became to all-consuming. Perhaps her apprenticeship had been, what was that phrase? To much of the stick and not enough of the carrot to chase. On that line of thinking, he could adapt some of his interactions with Skywalker to her. Obviously not without adjustment, she'd take any of the praise and words he had given Skywalker in their first few meetings and throw them right into the trash, she knew him better than that.
Something to consider another time; he watched as the Jedi cautiously stepped closer to Tachi, her hatred still pulsing through the air with enough intensity to send sparks down her fingertips. "I suggest, Siri Tachi, that you restrain yourself."
A dark scowl etched onto her apprentice's face, and he felt her pull her hate back to her, the beginnings of lightning fading from her fingers. She gives him a smile that would be defined as sickeningly sweat. "My sincerest apologies, Chancellor."
Regardless of the carrot and the stick, he still yearned to punish that insolence. Not to mention throttling her for the work he's going to have to do to keep the senators he wants to stay in their current positions there. Or to find replacements. He can use her actions to his advantage, yes, to gain public approval for being the Chancellor to lead the 'Anti-Corruption efforts', but he'd rather she had not started a shake up of the Senate. He knew from his daily briefings that the SBI was getting dangerously close to a few political allies now that the hornets nest had been kicked and the public was actively paying attention, and he did not yet have the influence or control of them to yank them back in the middle of such a publicized event.
He was going to be incredibly busy doing damage control. He, as much as he hated to admit it, needed his apprentice back soon, or at least someone strong enough to stand in for the moment. His current tools scattered around Coruscant and the Galaxy did not exactly have the power, finesse, or training that she had. Regardless, its time to end this. He had intended to drag this on a bit more initially, but decided after the first session that it was a terrible idea given his apprentice's attitude and actions. He might have been amused at her pure spite of the Republic Senate if it hadn't started causing him issues. Though, the way she sowed and fed off the chaos of it was a delightful thing to watch, another confirmation that she was still dark, that there was still the possibility to reclaim her.
"I believe then, unless anyone has any further questions, this session can be drawn to a close," said Palpatine, waiting a few moments before nodding to the Jedi, "The Initial Appearance in court is set for a week from today. The Preliminary Hearing a week after."
He watches the distaste on his apprentice's face, feels the scorn. But little fear. She is oddly confident. He contemplates that and so much more as she is cuffed and led out of the chamber. Her actions as a whole during the questioning leave him... he's not quite sure. Irritated? He did not expect her to actually divulge anything of value on the Sith. That she took the time to explain the Sacrifice surprised him, he made sure to get at least some value and understanding out of it and why she failed it. He still hadn't come to a decision on whether he should have Kenobi killed, or wait and force Tachi to do it.
He sits in his pod, watching the Senate bicker and question eachother on what was learned. The fact that she vaguely explained the Rule of Two was both an irritation and a boon. Both to weaken the potential threat the public took the Sith as, yet give their enemies concrete information on their numbers. Few in the public would understand just how dangerous the Rule of Two had made the Sith. Her actions here had however given him a very clear target that needed to be dealt with. Bail Antilles was looking deeply into history, he had the man watched after the first questioning session, Antilles was scouring through previous Sith Wars, their occupations, their politics...
If he didn't retire soon, Sidious would make him retire, permanently. He couldn't afford a senator who might see through him once Sidious started making his endgame moves.
His thoughts flickered back to his apprentice, again on her confidence. He considers what avenues she might try to defend herself at the trial. He also now considers how dangerous it might be to introduce his own evidence to confirm her guilt as 'Iris'. Her ties to being 'Iris' were loose outside of Dooku having confirmed to him privately that she somewhat admitted it while in her captivity. He knows his apprentice, that Dooku managed to find any shred of her at all during her earlier missions was surprising, more a testament to Dooku rather than a weakness of his apprentice. There would be little to no physical evidence, her face was always hooded and hidden, and it would devolve into a he-said-she-said situation in court, with Dooku being the well respected Jedi Master, her the deceiving Sith Apprentice. He believed that Dooku's words would be taken over hers, but had intended to negate any risk of it being otherwise.
But if he introduced evidence, with her current openness in discussing the Sith and the obsessiveness of her hatred towards him...
She would know he had put it there, and she might reveal information that could cause very real damage to his efforts out of spite. He had used her to sow his influence throughout much of the underworld of the galaxy, used her to kill several key targets, prop up certain individuals and organizations, could reveal his heavy control in the trade conglomerates, continue to point of corrupt senators he has uses for and get rid of them...
She had the potential to set him back years, and any one Supreme Chancellor was limited to two four years terms. He intended to create a potential for war that would enable him to extend that duration, but even that realistically could go on for only so long, especially if it took him longer to engineer the crisis to begin with. If he lost this position, he would be forced into abandoning his plans to corrupt the Republic into an Empire, and go for destroying it instead. He would still win either way, but replacing the Republic rather than converting it would require more effort to do, and maintain.
Not to mention the dangers of pinning the spotlight on him. He averted the immediate danger with clever wordplay and carefully allowing the Jedi to feel for the truth in the statement, after all, Sidious could not be in his own pocket if he were the same person, now could he? His apprentice was also one of the few individuals in the galaxy that might be able to figure out who he is with enough time and exposure to his public persona.
There are not words for how vexed he is with his apprentice right now and all the trouble she's caused. She's slowly approaching the point where she's becoming a liability rather than a boon. The last few years had been good, especially with Plaguies, to see all of that faltering now is disappointing. He does not want to throw out eight years of effort, of a Sith slowly coming into their own, to admit he failed. Not to mention Skywalker is still years away from being anywhere near ready to become an apprentice, and Dooku is not in a position of vulnerability. He may have to expand his horizons if he cannot get Tachi back, and use a more undesirable stand-in apprentice...
Then something strikes him.
He wonders how she would react to him 'replacing' her. That would rankle her, of that he would be sure. He wonders if she would set out to kill her rival and replacement... it could be an alternate way to draw her out and retrieve her. In fact... if the trial fails, there is an option that will pry at both her and Dooku at once. The more he thinks on it, the more he likes the idea. Ideally he simply gets Tachi back, but if that fails...
Perhaps he should pay a visit to the Bando Gora and see if Komari Vosa could be of use...
Notes:
The slaving ring Tikkes and the other senators were involved in doesn't have a start date in Wookiepedia that I can find, it was only discovered in 22BBY, I'm going to assume/use it as I see fit.
Does anyone know if Sidious had any active acolytes (not apprentices/stand ins) active at this time period? I'm trying not to make assumptions based on things I read in other fanfictions again. He had to have had potential tools, yes, like bounty hunters/assasins/ect, but acolytes with some Force training is the main question I have.
Also, does anyone know the names of ANY Star Wars Judges in their Supreme Court during this time period? I can't find anything on Wookiepedia.
Chapter 37: No Justice
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"All arise for the honorable Judges of the Republic Supreme Court."
Siri doesn't have to move since she stands alone on a floating platform, more for the others sitting on raised platforms or pods. Her eyes linger on the line of twelve judges as they filed in to sit on chairs on a long, elevated platform above, looking down on her. She wondered idly if they had any inkling of what Sidious would one day do to this place. That it would one day be him deciding on what was or was not justice in his empire. That she might have one day done the same if she replaced him. The only strength they would have would be as puppets to his whims, or if he was to busy to be bothered with a case that came to the courts. As for Sidious current influence in here, she wasn't quite sure. Sidious hadn't had her do any missions involving the courts.
Then again, Supreme Court justices had an extremely long duration to their terms. She didn't think any had been replaced during her apprenticeship.
She stands on her isolated floating platform, hands bound in front of her, two Senate Guards on the long walkway a bit behind her. The Jedi Council, Dooku, Qui-Gon, and Obi-Wan on one row of seating, several senators or judicial figures on another. Camera droids fly around, scrutinizing the proceedings. The Supreme Chancellor rests on a seat high above, overlooking the proceedings, but not directly leading them. That rests on the Chief Justice if she recalls. That will be one of the first things to go, perhaps even before Sidious twisted the Republic into his Empire, of that Siri's sure, Sidious would not tolerate anyone but him having the final say. She wonders how long it will take him to dismantle or convert the system to something of his designs.
She quiets her wandering mind as the side doors of the room open, and the prosecutor entered the large room, moving along the walkways adjacent to her platform. Siri resists the urge to raise an eyebrow, because she faintly recognizes this one. Sano Sauro, one of the Senate's many prosecutors, particularly for the wealthy and influential. But also had the penchant for ending up leading the few Jedi related cases that ended up in the Supreme Court during his lifetime. He is also, she faintly remembers, the one who prosecuted Obi-Wan for the death of Bruck Chun. If the Force wasn't murky from the binders, she'd imagine he'd be gleeful of having another 'Jedi Trial' under his belt.
Unfortunately for him, she was no Jedi, and she had no intention of letting him run this show.
The Chief Justice stands and looks down at her, his face guarded and focused. "Siri Tachi. You have been charged with Sedition against the Jedi Order, and the Republic. With Murder. Extortion. Bribery..."
Siri tuned him out until he's finished listing her sins, "Before this court of law, you admit to willingly having waved the right to a public or private attorney and wish to represent yourself?"
"I have, your honor," she states.
The Chief Justice peers down at her. "As you wish. Do you then, understand the charges levied against you?"
"Mostly, but I do have two particular questions, if you would be so gracious to answer them, your honor, that will determine how I plea to my charges," she answered in a civil tone, because like hell is she going to piss off the Chief Justice without a reason to.
"One would think," spoke up Prosecutor Sauro, "That if you needed to pose a question on legality you would have asked for a lawyer to explain it rather than waste the time of this court."
Siri doesn't need the Force to see the pompous arrogance and disdain all about him. "It wouldn't have made a difference, as in my research in preparation for this trial, I was unable to find a previous concrete answer to my question having come up in prior trials."
There is an air of skepticism about the Chief Justice, but, "For a fair trial, we will allow it, ask your questions."
All or nothing then. Either this worked, or she'd be making her escape by nightfall. "The first question will determine whether or not I need ask the second. According to Chancellor Palpatine, in his own words during my initial questioning session in the Senate, he compared extended exposure to Force Suppression to sensory deprivation, and that it would be considered a form of torture for the duration I was kept in it consider the temporary damage it did. Is that correct? Is that something this court of law would determine to be a valid statement? I haven't found anything on it in my research."
She watches, out of two separate corners of her eye, Palpatine and the Prosecutor. The Chancellor had gone still, eyebrows furrowed down at her in thought before a stiffness entered his posture. Oh, he figured out her angle quite quickly, he's far more intelligent than he appeared then. The Prosecutor is simply staring at her with incredulous.
"Calling it torture is a stretch," said Sauro, "You are a dangerous criminal that needed to be kept pacified and contained, and even if it could be considered torture, it cannot be used to throw out the entire trial. "
She did not answer him, as that is not her goal, she merely stares up at the Chief Justice. The man had drawn back to confer with his fellow justices, datapads drawn out to look up quick facts and talk quietly among themselves. Siri's head shifts in a brief flick to take a glance at the Jedi, most are impassive, but judging by the stiffness in Dooku's posture, and the fact that he is glowering at her, he's probably figured it out to. Which is proof that it was a very good thing she didn't give any hints of what she intended to ask prior to this session, less time for them to adjust and plan.
Finally, the Chief Justice breaks from the group and speaks, "This is admittedly the first time this has come up in a trial within this court, as it is rare for matters of Force Sensitives to be dealt with outside of the Jedi Order. However, we find that the Supreme Chancellor's words were well thought out, and accurate, especially corroborated by the Jedi themselves both in that session, and in other instance this court has born witness to. This court finds that Force Suppression can be correctly labeled as Sensory Deprivation, and extended exposure to it, considered torture."
He holds up a finger. "However, we do differentiate in the degree of it. As we understand it, the cell you were kept in was almost a complete deprivation, while the binders on your wrists is at best a 'murky' clouding I believe it has been described as."
She gives a tight smile. "That would be accurate, your honor. As much as they grate, I'm not particularly concerned about any long term effects of being in binders, as I can still feel the Force itself."
The Chief Justice nodded slowly. "Very well, and your second question?"
"I believe, in this court of law, and in the Republic, any information obtained from torture is inadmissible in court," she said, watching as Prosecutor Sauro stiffened and finally caught on, the justices growing still, a slight scowl appearing on Palpatine's face, and the Jedi staring down at her, "And as such, anything said in that cell cannot be used in this trial. Is this correct?"
The Chief Justice looks visibly displeased, but relents. "Yes, you would be correct."
"Thank you, your honor," she replies, staying for the long haul it is then, "Now, to answer your question..."
She locks eyes with the Judge. "I understand the charges levied against me, however, I would like you to clarify which charges are aimed at me, and which are aimed at, I believe the name listed on the court's holonet site was 'Iris'?"
She smiles. "I don't know anyone by the name of Iris, and that is most certainly not my name."
Prosecutor Sauro spoke out, "You claim ignorance when it is a confirmed alias of yours!"
"Confirmed by whom?" challenged Siri.
"By...," the Prosecutor begins before pausing, glancing up at Dooku, and then at her, a dark scowl etched onto his face as he realizes that Dooku saying she gave any confirmation in that cell cannot be used. That even trying to mention that in passing could be grounds for a mistrial. It takes great effort to not let the smugness show on her face. It feels so damn good to use their own laws against them, it truly does.
Sauro takes a moment to think. "Whom else could it be but you, a confirmed..."
"A confirmed what, Prosecutor?" she challenges, "A darksider? I'm hardly the only one in the galaxy. A person who uses a red lightsaber? Not unique in that either. A person who wears dark clothing? Not even close to the only one. If you have any evidence to confirm that I am this 'Iris', I ask that you provide it now. Otherwise, I ask that the charges be separated and either dismissed, or given the chance to be refuted..."
The death penalty is lost.
Sidious recognized that the moment his apprentice revealed her strategy. He had taken the careful approach in not planting any evidence that could be used against her, that would drive her to reveal information on the Sith out of spite. She cannot dodge the attempted murder of Jinn and Kenobi, or the sedition charges in relation to Naboo. But he's already considered many different ways she can lessen the charges. She had revealed her medical records not just to gain sympathy, oh no, she was more intelligent than that. She'd use that in court, she could imply that she was forced to obey her master's whims, under punishment of pain or death, which was true. She wont win the trial, but she wont get the death penalty either, he is certain of that. In fact, while she will almost certainly not get away freely, she might get as little as a decade or two in jail if she plays her cards right, not to mention the possibility of parole.
There was also the questioning of her sentencing, and just where she would be held. There were several of the more secure prisons, but nothing short of the Citadel could pose a serious challenge to his apprentice in escaping. Though that prison was long outdated and underused, he wondered if the Republic would bother to consider it or not. Since he cant get her the death penalty and smuggle her out while in a fake-death state, he leans towards no. All she needs is a more secure prison, kept in Force Binders, and she'll eventually get out on her own, even if there are Jedi guards.
He relaxes his rising anger, at her finding a way to twist his own words against him and to her advantage (which he supposed he should be proud of, she'd more savvy than he had thought, with a bit of training in the area, she could become very skilled in politics). This is still to his advantage. The Republic will convict and imprison her, and regardless of her escaping or even biding her time to wait out her sentence, she will still come back to him in the end. She is drawn to what she hates, she cannot become even close to strong enough to challenge him outside of his tutelage. She belongs to him. She is nothing without him.
He will have his apprentice back, all he needs to be is patient.
He refocuses as the Chief Justice finishes separating and listing the separate charges, "...your motion to dismiss the charges is however not granted. The prosecution has expressed their wishes to argue against your claim of not being Iris."
"With respect your honor," she said civil, "In the Republic, we are innocent until proven guilty. It is on them to prove that I am Iris without a reasonable doubt, not on me to prove that I am not, and I severely doubt they can do so."
Oh yes, Sidious settles back to watch the show all the while keeping 'Palpatine's' face masked with displeasure. To marvel at his apprentice using his lessons and tutelage to pick apart the Republic, turning its laws and concepts against them. He already knows there is basically no physical evidence to tie her to being Iris, and even the more public instances that were caught on camera were at a distance, sighting a hooded dark figure with a red lightsaber, no identifying features otherwise. In fact, he had made it a point to be stressed to her that she give no name in the instances where she interacted with her targets. So many things can't even be tied to an Iris, let alone to Siri.
"We will see," snuffed Sauro, a sour tone to his voice.
"If that is all," said the Chief Justice, "Then I will move for the initial session to be finished, and set the date for the preliminary hearing a week from today..."
"Your honor," called our Siri, "Perhaps I'm not well versed on how to go about doing this, but, if possible, I wish to enter a plea deal with the courts."
Sidious narrowed his eyes. What was she doing?
The Chief Justice frowned. "A plea bargain is made with the prosecution, not the courts."
"Ah, my mistake," she said simply, turning to look at Sauro.
"It is something to be discussed in private, but, why would we agree to a plea bargain?" said Sauro, sneering, "When you are assured without doubt to be convicted of at bare minimum attempted murder and sedition?"
"Because of you don't, and you take this to actual trial," she said in a mockingly sweet voice, "Then you won't get a single ounce of information from me on my master, and I assure you, I am perhaps one of the only beings in the galaxy who can shed any light on Sidious and his plans."
Sidious stared down at her, barely containing his incredulous and rage.
WHAT.
WAS.
SHE.
DOING!?
She looked smug. "The deal is simple. I will plead guilty, and in exchange for a lesser sentence, I will one: Remain under Jedi parole within their temple for the duration of my sentence, and two, provide information on my Master to the Jedi and the Republic. Hells, I'll even give the Jedi lessons on how to fight and track Sith if they want."
There is pure, destructive ice rushing through Sidious's veins. How dare she...
Prosecutor Sauro frowned intently. "I will discuss this with the Jedi and the rest of the prosecution."
"By all means," she said, tilting her head, "The choice is yours, be left completely in the dark on my Master, or accept the deal. I look forward to hearing your answer."
Sidious's mind is scrambling on all the implications of this. She had the audacity, the nerve, the arrogance, to strike out at him like this? Was she truly so blinded by her obsessive hatred towards him? It is risky to do so with so many Jedi present, but he carefully samples the Dark Side...
...and comes away with the sensation that she is not doing this by fancy. Nor driven to it by her hate, an emotional response. No, this is calculated. That puzzles him. Is she serious about offering actual information, or will she be leading the Jedi on a goose chase? If she's not simply getting herself out of trouble from the courts, and is serious about turning on him... is this... is she truly trying to dispose of him eight years into her apprenticeship? She can't be so arrogant to think she is ready to become the Master. She is nowhere near close to that, she hasn't even passed her sacrifice!
He considers, as the courts disperse and he receives a comm to meet with the prosecution and the Jedi, her offer to train the Jedi on how to fight and track a Sith. She is a mere apprentice, not even a Lord, there is only so much she could give them. Not to mention, that would be self-destructive, anything she gave them could in turn be used against her. The concept of using the Jedi as pawns isn't a new one for the Sith, in fact a large part of his currently planned endgame involves this. If she thinks she can challenge his supremacy by trying to wield the Jedi as her tools and weapons, she will be sorely disappointed, especially since he doubts the Jedi will allow themselves to truly be used by her knowingly. The art of what he himself intended was that the Jedi would never realize he was using them until it was to late, Tachi did not have that advantage. Not to mention the arrogance and complacency of the Jedi, they may not believe or even act on everything she reveals, stuck in their ways and bound by Republic law.
Still, if she is serious about this, then potentially everything he had ever involved her with is now at jeopardy. The amount of damage control he would have to do is inane, and perhaps even impossible for him to cover everything without a ready tool to do his bidding, perhaps without several. And if she spills information about his planned superweapon... no she couldn't possibly consider it, not when she would surely crave it for herself.
He contemplates whether he needs to kill her or not in order to maintain the Grand Plan. The shake up of the Senate, while irritating, is not a true danger. So he considers what else he has involved her with, considers if she has enough information to truly endanger the goals of the Sith. She knew nothing of his and Plaguies's manipulations of Sifo-Dyas. With the revelations of the existence of the Sith, the foolish Jedi was all but assured to fall into the Sith's trap and place an order for a Clone Army. However, he still needs Dyas killed after, and to find a suitable candidate for the army to be cloned from. Something to think on later, the point is she has no knowledge of that side of the Grand Plan.
She knows he has manipulations of the trade conglomerates, that he had her spread and influence dissatisfaction with the Republic in the outer rim. She has some awareness of the Trade Federation's armies, but not to the true scope of which he intends to take it. She can make the Jedi wary, can most likely realize and point out what he's doing as the state of the Galaxy shifts, but can she actually do anything that could stop it? He is doubtful.
In fact...
If she reveals and points out to much, she shoots herself in the foot. If she had turned her back on the Dark Side, then at this point he wouldn't hesitate to kill her with her having revealed her desire for a plea bargain. But the point stands that she is still Dark, still openly professes to being a Sith Apprentice. She runs the risk of destroying her own ascension if she gives the Jedi to much information. She can't be aiming to ruin the Sith, that would ruin her as well, if anything, she would be aiming to usurp him either during or shortly after the execution of the Grand Plan.
He takes a moment before entering the meeting room with the gathered Jedi and prosecution, the scope of what he thinks she is trying to do. To outplay him. To manipulate the Jedi and use them against him. To try to usurp him and take his place. He scoffs to himself. She doesn't have the experience or the position to do so. She may make things difficult, may stall him, but she can't win in the great game of the Sith. He intends for the end of the Jedi within the next two decades, and she is many more decades away from being ready to actually challenge him.
She doesn't stand a chance in a battle against him until she's at least fifty years old, well experienced and knowledgeable, if not older. He himself hadn't been planning to fight Plaguies head on even with his current power, had been leaning more towards poison or catching him sleeping. Tachi and Plaguies had forced that confrontation, and he had been near dead even with his Master. Sidious himself wasn't even at the pinnacle of his power and knowledge yet, he knew this.
In all honesty, Tachi would fail if she was truly trying to challenge him now. Even if by some distant impossible miracle she succeeded in toppling him, there was no way she could ascend to becoming a Sith Empress of a willing galaxy like he intended with how things looked now, even with some public sympathy given towards her. She must realize this. He rubs his chin in thought and decides to wait in his decision. He needs more time to think, and meditate on this. To see if he is correct on his apprentice's goals and aims or not.
He walks into the meeting room, a circle of Jedi councilors sitting down while Prosecutor Sauro paces the room, briefly looking up and bowing, "Thanking you for joining us, Chancellor."
Palpatine nods and moves to sit down, opening with a self-deprecating remark, "I must profess, I was caught offguard, both with her strategy, and with her offer of a plea bargain."
"Agreed," muttered Sauro sourly.
Dooku cleared his throat. "The Jedi were not dismissive of the possibility of a plea deal. However, we were anticipating on being the ones to offer it when she was backed into a corner, not having her being the one to initiate it from an advantageous position."
Sauro glowered a bit. It was not often he was on the side of the Jedi, to be working with them on this case had to be grating. "Do the Jedi actually wish for the prosecution to take this deal?"
Dooku scowled. "She is not incorrect that we will have no leads on Sidious outside of her. The Sentinels and Shadows are investigating into possibilities, but we have little to nothing to go on in the search for the Sith Master. She has recognized she has what we want, and with the very real possibility none of the charges related to her Iris alias will stick, even if we refuse this deal she will not be in prison for more than a decade, two at most. Since she is being tried through the courts rather than the Jedi being allowed to handle her alone, we would be required to release her at the end of her sentence."
Sauro sputtered. "Master Jedi! Surely you can give me more credit than that! I swear I can get near the maximum sentence even for just attempted murder and sedition!"
"Unfortunately, Prosecutor," chimed in Sidious with faked-regret, "I agree with the Jedi. From what I understand about the Sith, from the records that were revealed, there is a likelihood that she will go for the argument that she was forced into this life. That it was obey her master or die. That alone may give her some leniency. If this goes to trial, she wont be arguing against not being convicted, but against the severity of her sentence."
"It's not untrue though," said Obi-Wan quietly, "She did admit to me that she was abducted and tortured into being a Sith, admitted it to Master Ur Manka as well."
"Perhaps," said Sidious, sighing with fake-sadness, "But answer me this young Jedi, is she capable of caring about that at this point? Or is this merely a tool to be used to her advantage?"
Obi-Wan pursed his lips for a moment. "She is warped by her experiences, yes, but she's not completely lost, not yet. She was raw in that cell, she does feel guilt and regret. It is something usually drowned out by the Dark Side. I firmly believe that with time and effort, she can turn away from the Sith and the Dark Side."
Sidious hummed aloud, while in his mind he hissed. Was she truly STILL held back by such pathetic emotions? "I profess that I do not believe the public in general will care about what faction she is nor what aspect of the Force she uses, they would not understand the intricacies of such things. So long as she serves her time, and is believed treated, when she is released and is reintroduced into society, there would be little backlash. I am not unaware, that after the second session, there is a public leaning of sympathy for her."
"Yes," said Sauro, running a hand down his face, "That medical reveal was something I had a challenge for planning against. I had intended to argue that, from what I've read, Sith draw power from pain, that she would not actually care about it. That she is to warped and dangerous to be allowed to freely roam in society."
"Mmm," grunted Yoda, shaking his head "Arguing this, pointless it is. Information on Sidious, need this the Jedi do. Understand this, Young Tachi does. Admit defeat now in prosecuting her, to win the larger conflict, the Jedi will hesitate not."
"And what about the Republic?" questioned Sauro hotly, "The Jedi have already been reluctant to provide information in this matter unless forced to. The Republic has a right to any information this Sith, this former Jedi, would reveal. Considering that her Master is encouraging and enacting sedition, the SBI needs to be informed and involved. This is not solely a Jedi matter."
There is a disgruntled air about Yoda, but he relents. "Share any information Young Tachi gives us with the SBI, with the Chancellor, we will. But keep such information controlled, and known by few, we must, unless want Sidious to circumvent our efforts, we do."
Sidious's thoughts on killing Tachi dwindle. If he is informed of everything she tells the Jedi, then he can plan and adjust. In fact, he might be able to use it to his advantage to further his own plans, or maybe even discredit Tachi in the eyes of the Jedi if he so decides to. He could focus his damage control, and deal with each revelation from her one at a time, making the Jedi believe it's been dealt with while his manipulations continue on in secret. Oh yes, if she thought she could play this game against him and win, she would soon see the error of her ways.
When Tachi was either dragged back before him, or came crawling back to him, she would be punished as never before.
"So that's in then," said Sidious, closing his eyes in fake-resignation, "There will be no true justice here against Siri Tachi."
"Always a reckoning, there is," said Yoda sagely, "What form it takes and when, only the Force will know."
"Or a penance paid," countered Obi-Wan.
A dreamer, that one.
Yoda grunted. "Much penance would she have to pay, if repent she truly wished to."
Sidious probed the troll. "You don't believe there's any chance of that?"
Yoda was silent for a long moment. "Hope I may have, but a small hope it is. Still so dark, is she. Some changes, already have I noticed, but not necessarily towards leaving the Dark Side, do they mean."
Sidious held back a frown. "Changes? With due respect, she's been gone from your order for eight years Master Yoda, she is already vastly changed from what she once was."
Yoda shook his head. "Attached to Young Kenobi, she is. Normal for a darksider, this is not. Selfish they usually are, isolated, so alter her and how she acts and thinks, this attachment does."
Hmm...
Was that why she wanted to stay with the Jedi Order for the time being? Did she want to tempt and turn and train Kenobi? He doubted she'd succeed if that was her intent. Though... wait... perhaps...
Yes...
Leia.
The grand apprentice that he foresaw. Perhaps Leia was Tachi and Kenobi's daughter? If Tachi succeeded in turning Kenobi into a dark consort, then there were many Jedi who could potentially strike him down, any one of them could be the 'old bastard' Leia mentioned in the vision she wanted revenge against. Or alternatively, Kenobi has a moment of weakness, and Tachi becomes pregnant and has Leia with Kenobi staying light, and the young Sith to be is referring to someone else, or better yet, perhaps Kenobi himself. Though he's not sure on that, the vision was years ago, and the memories of the details weren't as clear as they once were. Still, the creation of a Sith Bloodline is a very tempting idea, an enduring legacy that will rule the Galaxy long after the Jedi have been wiped out.
Perhaps he'll refrain from having Kenobi killed for the time being, and let Tachi have her fun with the Jedi if she can produce a successor to the Sith line. He doubts his apprentice can do any significant damage that can endanger the Grand Plan anyway. As the meeting breaks up with the decision to accept the deal, he decides he will see where this goes, planning and adjusting accordingly. He will win, he will come out on top, he will have his apprentice back, and the Sith Order's eventual heir along with her...
Notes:
Not quite right on Leia, Sidious, but points for coming to a conclusion to try and make sense of it all. So... the trial didn't turn out how I imagine most would think it would. Sorry if its a let down, though considering the reflection of society, perhaps not. I can't speak for other countries, but looking online into how many arrests/charges end in plea bargains rather than actual drawn out trials in the USA is absolutely staggering to realize. I personally had no idea how widespread it was before I looked it up.
Chapter 38: Disclosure
Chapter Text
It was a shame they moved her to another apartment in the Temple, Siri had preferred her destructive decor of her old one. Alas, not destroying temple property had been a rule added to her 'parole'. Such a shame. Oh well.
Siri hummed quietly to herself as she laid on the apartment's couch, levitating her datapad above her aimlessly browsing the holonet. The Jedi hadn't called her yet to try and pry into her knowledge. They were busy addressing the rest of the temple over the last few days. Fielding questions and explaining the situation on hand. Judging by the sensations she could detect, the vast majority of the Temple was not amused at a Sith being here, not to mention unbound. Not that she could go anywhere in the Temple unescorted, and anywhere she wanted to go would have to be approved beforehand. But again, where would she want to go in here?
The ground rules were mostly the same as before for when she was waiting for the questioning session and trial. Though with the addition of any breech in the rules resulting in revoking of what little freedoms she would be given or earned. She's not particularly threatened by that. She is also required to attend sessions either with Obi-Wan or a mind healer addressing her 'issues' (being a Sith, hah) as treatment, once a week at minimum. Which is a sour point and continuation of what occurred in the Cell. Its a small thing, relatively. It still pisses her off of course.
She is not concerned about the Jedi, even if she's going to be stuck with them for kriffing ten years (or until she gets sick of it and bails / Sidious finds a way to get at her). A ten year 'parole', its what she herself suggested, but... the reality of being stuck in the Temple, surrounding by so many scorching, scouring lights, is slow to set it. No, her real concern... is that Sidious did nothing. Aside from being sent to trial in the first place... nothing really happened. She had expected a violent reaction, that he'd try to kill her after she made her move in the trial. Reclaiming her wouldn't matter in the face of what she said. But he did nothing, and now she had a Jedi Temple full of meat shields between him and her for the next decade.
Did he not think she was serious about turning on him?
Or does he not take her seriously as a threat? As much as it grates... she's only twenty-three years old at this point, as a Jedi she most likely wouldn't have been a knight yet. As a Sith, she is on the cusp of becoming a Lord. Except, if the Sacrifice of Obi-Wan is truly required, if she can't find some other way to claim that power she had for so short a time on Naboo... she will never become a Lord. And even if she does... Obi-Wan's threat echoes in her head, that he will turn away from her if she 'becomes Darth Tyrosus' again. It is an impossible situation.
She's tired of being Sidious's apprentice, at his beck and call, his servant, his slave; she desires to become the Master, to have the power of the Dark Side at her command. She also wants Obi-Wan to live, and to be hers. She wants Sidious DEAD, and her other goals require Sidious dead anyway, but killing him is something she's not capable of without achieving her full power and improving upon it, which will lose her Obi-Wan. Damned no matter which way she turns unless she can either hide it from Obi-Wan, convince him to look past it... or she gives up on him becoming hers.
She growls with agitation. She's already stronger than almost any but the top percentage of Jedi, but that means nothing compared to Sidious. Even with ten years to hone and improve herself with a buffer of Jedi between her and Sidious, even with her information given to the Jedi to try and weaken Sidious's powerbase... she's not sure she can come close to killing him before he enacts the Grand Plan.
She's not sure she entirely wants to ruin the Grand Plan either. Obi-Wan is the only Jedi she truly cares for, the others are either irritations, enemies to be, or negligible losses. There are those she used to favor and like, such as Bant or Vos, but she could live without them. Those Obi-Wan favors she'd try to keep alive for him, but she thinks he could learn to live without most of them as well, save perhaps his direct lineage. The Jedi will tolerate her for only so long, and tolerate is a very strong word for what they are doing now, if by the end of this 'parole', if she hasn't shown any signs of turning away from the Dark Side, she doubts they will just let her walk away. Not to mention if she ever tries to go for the galactic domination route, they will get in her way.
About the only roundabout way she could see beating Sidious would be to figure out who he is, then go after him with the entire Jedi Council, kill him, and slip away in the chaos. Which is one, not very realistic, just a loose possibility, and two, extremely unsatisfying. She wants Sidious to SUFFER as he dies. If she just wanted a quick kill, she would have killed him over Plaguies during the Naboo incident. A better route would be *simply* to survive the Grand Plan with Obi-Wan alive, then perhaps after the death of the Jedi, he might not care about her achieving her full power, might even want her to in order to kill Sidious. Then she'd have more time to grow stronger and defeat her Master.
Of course, its not a simple mater to survive if Sidious decides he wants her dead. She has to recognize that there is a very real possibility this will all fail someway and somehow. That Naboo and everything that happened since, will have very real consequences that might either kill or ruin her. Life was so much simpler before Naboo, it really was. She craves Obi-Wan, but her ascension would have been so much smoother had he not held onto that love, had killing him just been an easy path. Trying to have the Dark Side and Obi-Wan and turning on Sidious far to early...
She grumbled quietly. "It might destroy me."
There's also the problem of deciding what exactly to tell the Jedi that won't screw herself over in some way. She doesn't want to reveal her Sith Sorcery, or at least, only minor abilities and incantations that could just be attributed to normal use of the Dark Side, and not an overarching archetype of power. She's not turning on the Black Sun either, Alexi and Maghilla and Siri's relations to them won't be revealed. Each thing she told them, each criminal group she marked as Sith influenced, each corrupted, bought, or threatened political figure, each organization or trade conglomerate, each Dark Side ability, all of that and more, would either be lost to her or the Jedi would now know about it.
She scrubbed at her face with aggravation. "Sometimes I don't think I have any idea what I'm doing anymore. One boy shows up and says he loves me, I lose my shit, and then all of this happens."
There is a knock at the door, she looks up as it opens and Dooku invites himself into the room. "The Council has called for you, Sith."
She scrutinizes him for a moment, mostly calm, but there is an air of irritation and aggravation about him. "Well you're in a fine mood."
"It's not every week that a Sith gets off free from their sins," snubbed the man.
"Actually," she countered, "The Sith have been getting away with it for the last thousand years."
Dooku blinks at her once and then scowls. She grins in response. Messing with Jedi is one way to make her feel better, and she's going to get to do that for ten years. She gets up and follows him from the room, temple guards falling in behind her. "No Obi-Wan?"
"He is already in the council chambers discussing something with them," said Dooku.
Siri hummed as an answer, going silent after. She has to be mindful of how she interacts with Dooku. While he and the Jedi know she was Iris, she can't give any hint that could be recorded and re-taken to court. Since the Republic has the tendency to try people for the same crimes multiple times. The thought reminds her of a few worlds on the Outer Rim that have what they call 'Double Jeopardy' laws which make it a one trial and done thing, but the Republic apparently likes to waste time and money in courts over and over again, regardless of the person being tried being guilty or not (there are points for or against multiple trials either way she supposes). In fact... she needs to cut another deal with the Council now that she thinks on it.
She can't speak of over half the damn things she could tell them without ending up back in court real quick.
Exasperation briefly overtakes her. She's already tired of dealing with them. Might as well get started now. "Dooku."
The man turns his head slightly as they enter the lift for the Council Chambers, leaving the temple guards waiting outside for their eventual return.
"I can't reveal most of what I know without implicating myself," she said mildly, going for brutal honesty, "And I have very little intention of doing so."
Dooku narrowed his eyes for a moment. There is an air of puzzlement and wariness about him. "You agreed to provide information already."
"And then what, you toss me in jail afterwards?"
He scowls at her, puzzlement fading. "Did you not even read the plea agreement before you signed it?"
"Not really," her eyes had glazed over after the first page of a twenty page legal document, all too relieved that her plan hadn't gotten her killed.
He sighs and fishes through his robes, pulling out a datapad, briefly flicking through it, and handing it to her. "It is standard procedure for informants or witnesses to be granted immunity when providing information or evidence. You are far worse than the usual filth this deal is extended to, but, your master is worse, so the Jedi do what they must."
She took it and glanced over the section he had scrolled to, reading it over before nodding. "Well, excuse me if legality isn't my forte. Scrambling to brush up before a trial only covers so much."
She gave him a snide look. "And do get over yourself Dooku, if Sidious had his way, you would have ended up just as filthy as I am."
He glared at her, but before he could response, Siri grew a little puzzled. "Though, if I had killed Qui-Gon, I wonder who he would have had as your Sacrifice. I can only really remember you as a distant arrogant snob, I don't think you had friends or anyone else you'd care for."
He was practically radiating indignation and irritation, the beginnings of anger, oh how Sidious would have easily turned him given some quality alone time with a lost master if his old padawan had died. "In the interest of preserving their lives and not making future targets, I will refrain from naming them to you, but I do have friends, Sith, not that you would understand what it means to have them yourself, having spit in the face of everything you once were."
She stares at him silently for a long moment, even as the elevator dings open, she simply stands there, locking eyes with him. Her eyes are cold, and her presence icy. "Perhaps I do, perhaps I don't, but either way, I remember what it used to feel like, and know this Dooku: I understand I will never get that back."
She has a moment to watch Dooku appear taken aback, before she strides out of the elevator. Alexi and Mighella are her friends, yes, but nothing like what she used to have. They were kindred dark spirits, sinners as defiled as she was. They were hers, they belonged to her, she enjoyed their presence, but that did not mean she actually trusted them.
Trust.
She shook her head. "Trust in another sentient being doesn't survive Sith Training, and you cant have real friendship, any real relationship, without it."
She moves to sit down on a waiting bench outside the door.
Dooku stands in front of her, his face carefully guarded, yet very curious. "Then what is it exactly that you believe you have with my grandpadawan?"
Her face grew bitter. "An illusion that's going to end in nothing but misery and suffering before this is all said and done. The tighter I cling to it, the more painful it will be when it is eventually ripped away. Whether from my own actions, from Sidious, or something else."
"Yet still you cling," he commented.
"Yet still I cling," she agreed, lips peeling back in dark amusement, "The attachment you Jedi all so readily fear. It's not logical in the slightest."
Dooku slowly shook his head. "You make little sense to me, Sith. Am I to pity or abhor you?"
"I still vote on you running me through with a saber and being done with it," she mused.
He scoffed. "I gave you my answer to that in the cell."
"I'm aware," she said, a sinister chuckle escaping her lips, "I think I'm beginning to see what Sidious sees in you."
That puts him at edge, saying nothing, glowering at her.
"Do you understand the Sith concept of mercy?" she asked as the doors opened and Obi-Wan stepped out, pausing to stare at them.
"Sith have no mercy," said Dooku simply.
"Exactly," she answered, looking up at him smugly, "While we kill readily, and who we must, Sith believe that giving death is generally a mercy from prolonging and feeding off their victim's suffering. You're just a fall away from matching that belief."
Dooku's lips are pursed so tightly, his posture so rigid.
"Siri, what have I said about needling?" asked Obi-Wan with exasperation.
"It's not needling," she said flatly, forgoing her usual playful banter, eyes not leaving Dooku, "It's a warning. Sidious wont let go of what he wants easily, and if your Grandmaster doesn't want to end up exactly like me, he needs to take a good long look in the mirror and sort himself out."
There is the sound of a throat clearing, and her eyes flicker off the aged master to see a number of the council standing behind Obi-Wan, watching the scene warily.
Siri slowly stands, her back straight, glancing at Dooku as she moved to pass him. "Shall we?"
Dooku locked his shields down tight, glaring at her back, but fell in behind as the Council returned to their seats. Dooku and Obi-Wan stood near the door while Siri strode to the center of the room and waited.
"We will do ourselves all the favor of dispensing with pleasantries," began Master Windu, eying Siri warily, "What exactly can you tell us about Darth Sidious?"
"That he's most likely been doing potential damage control while you've been giving pretty speeches to all your poor upset Jedi these last few days," she answered back flatly.
Windu narrowed his eyes at her, but before he could speak, she continued harshly, "You've had me, open and ready, for almost half a week now, and rather than immediately taking advantage, you sit me in a room to wait. I made a choice to turn on Sidious, but each moment you've dwadled weakens the impact I could do to harm him and his plans. I don't care about you placating your Order, if they are the Jedi they are supposed to be, they'd deal with it."
Arrogant, complacent idiots.
Ki-Adi-Mundi spoke up, his tone careful, "You have been in Jedi custody for over two months now."
"And for over those two months, Sidious would not have know for certain what I was going to do or what I may or may not have revealed," she countered in a clipped tone, "Now, he does. That senate shake up I did was an initial blow, unimportant, mostly as an irritation, but to get him focused on controlling the potential damage there and involved so that he could not easily go elsewhere."
Yoda looked at her thoughtfully. "Intentional, it was, not spur of the moment."
"Yes," she answered, "Sidious knows me well, but not all of me."
The sexist bastard had little to no idea what she had become under Zannah's dark tutelage, so arrogantly underestimating the Holocron. Siri wasn't on Sidious's level, not even close, but she was capable of being calculated to a degree more than he would have expected, well, when her emotions didn't get in the way anyway. "You should have had me in here the day the plea bargain was struck, your Jedi Shadows already out there undermining his power base."
Her lips peeled back in distaste. "That's if they and you had the will and drive to do what needed to be done."
"And what, exactly, Sith, is that?" said Master Rancisis, leaning forward.
"What do you think? Do you think the scum Sidious owns will go down quietly?" she said, eyebrow raised, "I can name you so many major criminal groups across the galaxy Sidious has his fingers in, and that's only the ones he's had me influence or mentioned his own control over. None of them will play nice with the Jedi."
She doesn't let them respond, once again, "I can name so many Senators or politicians or royalty that he has power over. I can give you corporations he has power in, conflicts he's had me influence for him, or that hes mentioned controlling..."
She pauses to consider perhaps one of the more important ones he told her of. "The Stark Hyperspace War was entirely manipulated by Sidious as an example."
The uproar that suddenly went through the Council Chamber made Siri raise an unimpressed eyebrow. She also felt a shocked reaction from Obi-Wan, and... wait... hadn't he and his Master been involved in that as well? There is a tint of rising anger that she quickly controls despite how it inflames her fury. Obi-Wan could have died in that war.
Yoda rapped his gimmer stick on the floor several times for silence, but it isn't him who questions Siri, it's Plo-Koon, and she feels the intensity behind his gaze. "Why?"
She studied him for a moment. She reflexively goes through her knowledge of the council, Sidious made it a point that she should know her enemies. Ah, Plo-Koon was also involved, and lost his former Master during the war. He had a vested interest. "Perhaps you didn't notice that in a conflict that lasted less than a year, the near thousand years of Republic non-militarization took one hell of a blow, that many in the senate lobbied for, are still lobbying for the Republic to have a standing army and navy again. Not to mention its the event which really kick-started the Trade Federation ramping up their droid armies."
"The Sith would destroy the Republic, why would they want it militarized?" posed Master Windu.
"Silly Jedi," she said, sneering at him, "Why destroy and build a government from the ground up, when you could corrupt and take over the current one?"
There is dead, stunned silence in the room.
"In war, morals fade, concessions are made, and in their aftermaths, so much can be remade, all for the greater good," said Siri mockingly, "The Republic is already corrupt enough as it is. It's one war away from being turned into a Sith Empire."
Well, one war and the extinction of the Jedi away.
"So the Sith would act as a disease," spat Windu, "Infecting the Republic and..."
Siri laughed. "Jedi. Do you really hear yourself? You act as if your precious Republic is perfect, pure, and innocent. The Sith could not thrive if it were anything remotely like that. We aren't the source of the Republic's corruption, our line has encouraged it, yes, inflamed it perhaps, and definitely take advantage, but we did not create it."
She shook her head, and she let a ripple of mocking-pity ripple out from her, delighting in the scowl it got from several Jedi. "The stagnation in the Senate, in the Republic, made it so easy for the Sith to manipulate. The complacency and arrogance in the Jedi made it so easy to get away with it."
She crossed her arms. "Perhaps its true the Republic wouldn't be as far into its death throes as it is now without the Sith, but at best, we sped it along a few hundred years."
Well, perhaps not entirely true. The Sith nipped most competitors to the Republic in the bud before they could become a threat that forced the Republic to change and adapt. Without the Sith, who knows, maybe the Republic would have lasted another five hundred, or even a thousand years, maybe they could have changed enough to survive. It's hard to say honestly. The Republic post the Ruusan Reformation was a vastly different beast from the Old Republic that had lasted over twenty-thousand years through many devastating wars after all. That Republic had, admittedly, been far more than the current one, what with the Sith repeatedly forcing it to evolve. Yes... without the Sith she wondered how long the Old Republic would have lasted before collapsing on itself. Conflict was truth after all, and peace was so very much a lie. Look at what the last thousand years of 'peace' had done to the Jedi and the Republic after all.
Regardless, she watches the Jedi with cold eyes. She's not expecting them to fully believe her, even if it is mostly the truth that spills from her mouth. She has little to no belief in them saving themselves or their Republic. They may hear, they may act, but they do not understand. Neither how truly massive and far reaching the influence of the Sith is, nor their own failings. Unless they accept both, they don't have the slightest chance, even with her pointing them in the right direction.
"Dead, the Republic is not," said Yaddle firmly.
"Not yet," agreed Siri, "But on its way out the door."
There was an air of heavy disagreement from everyone present, save for a flicker of the opposite from one behind her. Dooku agreed, he hid it behind his shields, but the Dark thrived on emotions, it was not so easy to hind them from a Sith as it was a Jedi. Of course, Dooku would probably rather die than admit aloud he agreed with a Sith. The rest of the Jedi would disagree primarily on principle alone, and their own arrogance.
"Careful not to let that door hit you on the way out," said Siri mockingly, "Sidious intends it to be a fatal impact."
Master Piell's ears flickered as he spoke, "And how exactly does he plan to drag the Republic into a war?"
At that, Siri gave a lazy smile. "Unfortunately for you, he never gave me the gritty details. I know what he wants, but how exactly he plans on getting it he never enlightened me on."
Siri's vision blurred for a moment, a heavy scorching against her mind as the entire council reflexively made to check for the truth with the Force, all their scouring lights a pained intensity directed towards her, it's all she can do to slam her shields up and rebuff them not-so-gently, snarling out, "DON'T do that again."
The council is tensed at the dark rebuffing, a number of hands on their lightsabers, she just glares, "Yoda alone is like a damn sunburn, I will not tolerate all of you doing that at once."
The Council collectively glowered at her before Yoda grunted and made a pass for the truth by himself, nodding after she let him in enough to sample. "The truth, she speaks."
Siri rolled her shoulders for a moment, drawing the dark carefully trying to sooth away the lingering intense light on her shields with very little success, to much blasted light in this damn temple. "I'm going to have a headache. If you don't mind, I'm going tell you a bunch of shit you need to look into that you Jedi in your vaunted wisdom shouldn't have needed me to point out, then I'm going to go nap your light off like the bad hangover it is."
Yoda looks distinctly unimpressed.
That look steadily begins to morph, along with the rest of the Council, into quiet alarm as Siri begins to enlighten them on the pure vast web of influence Sidious has over the criminal underworld, whether that underworld knows it or not. In this, she is rather free with the information she gives, aside from the Black Sun of course. She doesn't care if some of the underworld is going to get a rough wake up call of Jedi and Republic authorities getting nosy. She's not expecting them to be able to deal with most anyway, the scope is too massive. Because realistically, what does this change? The Jedi and various Law Enforcement Agencies across the Republic try to handle crime as it is, does it truly change anything if Sidious is encouraging and promoting certain groups or not? Maybe. Maybe not. It might punch a few minor holes in the web of the Grand Plan that Sidious has to reweave, but it will hardly stop him.
Her words might encourage the Jedi to deal with a few with higher priority, but little do the Jedi know, every group they might take down, is one less rival the Black Sun has to deal with, and another power vacuum they can slide into. The Black Sun is hers, and if she ever needs to fallback or escape, it will be to them. The more powerful they grow, the more powerful she grows in turn. Because that is what she has to turn this ten year parole into.
Weakening Sidious while trying to prop herself up, she'd have to do that with everything she revealed.
Truth be told, she gives herself a few months before she goes stir crazy or the Jedi drive her up a wall enough for something to happen that makes her bail. Who knows. Because the start and end of her own personal involvement in weakening Sidious is roughly a week's timeframe to tell them what she chooses to reveal, maybe a little more, maybe a little less, until the end of her parole (or slips away). Once she's done telling them what she knows, it's all in their hands while she sits on her own for the time being. They better take her up on her offer to actually teach them how to fight a Sith (more like give her time to smack around Jedi for amusement, nothing she could teach them would do more than buy them a few more seconds to live against Sidious). Because if she can't even get any time in a training room, then her skills are going to deteriorate.
She knows she's not going to be allowed to practice with the Dark Side and grow stronger in that way. If she can't do that, or keep honing her lightsaber skills, then she will leave. Even if it risks her exposure to Sidious. Because she needs to grow stronger over time, not weaker. Otherwise she is definitely dead.
The Jedi dismiss her after her criminal reveal. Dooku and Obi-Wan both 'accompany' her to the elevator and back down.
"I could not help but notice, Sith," said Dooku crisply, "That you failed to mention one criminal organization that I am fairly certain you were involved with."
Siri keeps her face plain. "Oh?"
"In my last lead investigating you before I was recalled to the temple, I was rather surprised when a Nightsister pulled a lightsaber and used Force Lightning on me, she was abke to buy time for an escape," commented Dooku mildly, "Would you by chance know anything about that?"
Mighella was officially her favorite Nightsister.
Siri didn't even bother trying to hide the pure smugness on her face. "Not a thing."
"You're not even hiding it well," deadpanned Obi-Wan, "Siri, you agreed to..."
"I agreed to disclose things about Sidious," she said flatly, an edge entering her voice, "Not myself."
There is a calculating look on Dooku's face. "I see."
They are silent on the way back to Siri's room, she pauses in the doorway as Dooku clears his throat. "I think I understand what game you are playing Sith, and forgive the insult, but I don't think you are capable of winning it."
Obi-Wan frowns a little at Dooku, but says nothing.
Siri smiles grimly. "Neither do I, but like with what we discussed on the way to the chamber, I'll try anyway, because there is nothing else to be done."
She turns and closes the door behind her and laid on her couch, sighing and grabbing her datapad to wait for the next disclosure session...
Sidious slowly read over the report the Jedi had sent to him in silence. So this was it then, Tachi really was going through with this foolishness. He chuckled to himself, such an arrogant, insolent little thing his apprentice was. Here she thought she was striking out at him, when instead, she had merely given him a new hand to play. Because it would be HE who decided which of these criminal groups were to be investigated. He could pick and choose which to sacrifice, which to warn to hide...
His lips peeled back into a smile; and which to inform of Jedi or SBI infiltrators and investigators. Oh yes, his foolish apprentice had just handed him a perfect way to start picking off Jedi Shadows and weed out SBI agents with integrity. He'd let her play this silly little game, and take her for all her worth. There were some hands in this game that would be, by default, more difficult to manage. The notes implied that she would be disclosing much of the influence in the senate, and through several corporations. He already had his tools across the galaxy investigating potential replacement puppets for the greedy businesses, looking into those who could replace the senators Sidious was sure would be removed in the corruption probe.
Out with the old corruption, in with the new corruption.
So long as his chosen replacements ended up in their proper locations, and the entire corporations his influence went through weren't completely taken apart, he would manage this. The thing that would not be so easily managed however was her revelation of old plays in the Grand Plan. The Jedi knew of the Sith's orchestration of the Stark Hyperspace War, and there was more she could reveal. It might make the Jedi more watchful of the events they could get dragged into, might make them more cautious and less likely to simply nod their head and get into whatever the senate orders them to.
Or they might become more arrogant than they already are, thinking they've started to rout out the influence of the Sith.
He leaned back in his chair and mused, "I suppose I'll have to wait and see."
Meanwhile, once he was done his duties for the day, he had a crash course in Sith Training to give one partially insane Komari Vosa...
Chapter 39: Playtime
Chapter Text
"That will be all, you are dismissed."
Siri gave the Jedi Council a bored look at the end of another disclosure session. "Is all you're going to do is drag me up here for these little groupies?"
Obi-Wan groaned from near the door. "Must you Siri?"
She ignored him. Honestly, it had been weeks of this now. Call her to a meeting, dismiss her, apparently argue about what she revealed for hours to days before submitting it to the Chancellor. She was flabbergasted on how slow the whole thing was, they should have had her debriefed in the first week alone. They should have gotten it all, ranked her revelations by importance, and started hitting them from top to bottom, bam bam done. Instead, they bicker and argue and think and meditate when they should be acting.
Force, why in all nine Corellian hells did she decide to do this again? The Jedi are giving Sidious to much time to dance around their efforts. This is barely going to end up a roadbump for him at this rate. She should have risked bailing out and attempting to strike out alone for as much as she'd most likely fail without a barrier between her and Sidious.
"That was our agreement," pointed out Master Piell.
Siri rolled her eyes. "I also offered to also show the Jedi how to fight a Sith."
Windu frowned at her. "And how exactly would you plan to do so?"
"You give me my lightsaber and I slap any Jedi who wants a piece of me around a training room," she said.
"You expect us to trust you with a lightsaber?" asked Windu, incredulous.
"It's not about trust," she said flatly, "I'm in the middle of your kriffing temple, if I kill one of you, I'm dead. It's common sense."
"Or do you truly fear little old me so much?" she mocked, hand to her heart in mock flattery.
Windu scowled at her, and she just snicked, "C'mon Windu, aside from Yoda and Dooku, you're probably the only one in the room who would stand a strong chance of actually winning from what I know of you. Surely you want to have a go at me."
She tilted her head back. "Besides, do you even want to contemplate facing Sidious without even trying your hand at the Apprentice?"
"We will consider your offer," said Windu flatly, "You are dismissed."
"Who pissed in his cereal?" said Siri to Obi-Wan not-so-quietly as she left the room, entirely amused at the Jedi's expense, "I don't really remember, was he always like that before? Did he get surgery for that permanent scowl on his face?"
Obi-Wan scolded, "Master Windu takes his job seriously, Siri."
She squinted at him. "Then why are you trying to hide a smile?"
Obi-Wan coughed and turned away to fiddle with the elevator controls.
Dooku merely sighed. "Your infantile act grows tiresome the more I am exposed to it, Sith."
She grinned and moved into the elevator when it opened. "Glad you approve."
He shook his head, but didn't rise to the bait.
"You say that," added in Siri, "But I can feel your reactions every time I rile up the council."
He narrowed his eyes at her.
"You can't hide feelings from a Darksider," she said mockingly, "At least not with your normal shields."
She snickers when he reflexively tightens his mind at her words. Poking at Dooku is a cherished passtime. "Don't worry Dooku, you'll have a chance for revenge soon enough if they let me have my playtime."
"A Jedi does not seek revenge," he chided back
"So says the man with anticipation radiating off him," said Siri with amusement.
Dooku glowered, but Obi-Wan seemed thoughtful, "You can really get that off him? I can't sense anything."
"Like I've said before, the Dark Side is emotion, its not easy to hide what you feel from a darksider if they know what to look for and they are paying close attention," said Siri, waiting for Obi-Wan to take point as they walked out, temple guards following in behind them, "So tell me Dooku, why so eager? Cant get your kicks smacking around knights and masters?"
Dooku wrinkled his nose at her. "For one, I will require more experience facing a Sith in the chance I ever cross paths with your Master, and for two, you held back."
She turned her head a little and raised an eyebrow.
"I've watched the recording of your fight with my padawan and grandpadawan, Sith," he said dryly, "You did not exert the skill nor technique against me as you did them. As one of the Order's most skilled duelists, it is an insult."
Ah, wounded pride.
"Well, one, Sidious didn't want you dead, and two, I didn't want to reveal what I was nor what I was fully capable of," she answered simply before tilting her head, "And three, I wasn't interested in sticking around long enough to risk you killing me. There is like a fifty year age and experience gap between us, and you are the Makashi master, fighting you head on in saberplay is suicide."
She'd like to think if she cut loose with her sorcery she could win, but gambling like that against someone like Dooku was risky. But regardless, beating Dooku in a real encounter would revolve around not being anywhere near him. Kill him from afar with the Force or risk his lightsaber. Set up a trap perhaps, sabotage a ship, place an explosive. Not everything revolved around defeating someone in a fight.
"Hmm," said Dooku, noncommital, "Does your Master know Makashi?"
"He knows all the forms," she answered.
Dooku frowned. "A jack of all trades?"
"No," she answered sourly, "A Master of all trades. He can use all forms at a far beyond Master's level. You're probably a bit better at Makashi than him, but he'd trash you in every other way imaginable."
"So you say," commented Dooku.
Siri considered rebuking him, she was tired of her warnings not being taken seriously enough, but merely went silent. He'd find out the hard and painful way should he and Sidious cross paths. Honestly, the Jedi should all be mid-freakout by now, but no, they just go about their lives as if hardly a thing is wrong when they should be scrambling to save themselves. The revelation that the Sith are alive and actively working to destroy the Jedi should be a massive life changing event. But no, they treat it as a mere obstacle to overcome rather than the true threat it is.
They'll die for that one day soon enough.
It's a thought she carried into her room as she once more laid on her couch and stared aimlessly up at the ceiling...
A brief sharp knock came two days later, and not at the usual times Obi-Wan would come in to drop off food. Siri's eyes flickered as Windu and Yoda entered the room, pausing at the entrance to star at her lazed form on the couch. "What?"
"It has been decided we will take you up on your, offer," said Windu sourly, "If you try anything, Sith, it wont happen again."
Siri grinned and shifted to sit then stand, a thrill of anticipation going through her. Over three months of either being stuck in a cell or lazing in this room and she'd finally get some action, the adrenaline of battle, the hum of a lightsaber, the red glow illuminating her and the surroundings. There would be no kill, though at her saber's lowest setting it would still leave absolutely nasty burns. So there would be pain to feed off of.
"Don't worry so much Jedi," she mocked, "I'll be on my best behavior."
Yoda grunted and shook his head. "Say that, you do, but malice, do I feel."
She hummed. "I have some issues to work out on the Jedi. I wont kill or maim anyone, but I am a Sith, don't expect me to play nice."
They led her to one of the larger training room, bleachers on the sides already filled with Jedi, observation rooms up above teeming with the light-happy-filth as well. There were some Jedi that tickled compartmentalized memories, but she didn't acknowledge it. There were also a number of healers present, if Master Che and the other similarly garbed Jedi around her were present. Her eyes briefly lingered on a Mon Calamri standing next to her, on Bant, but kept her gaze moving before they could make proper eye contact. It was mostly a gathering of knights, masters, and Senior padawans. The only youngling here was, oddly, Skywalker. Even with the padawan robes and haircut she'd recognize him. Hells, she'd recognize him blind, that presence was a supernova in the Force even with him having developed beginners shields since last she saw him. Qui-Gon sat next to the boy, eyes on her, face watchful. Obi-Wan sat next to his old master, his face carefully blank for this session.
Her observation of the room ended when she saw Dooku standing in the middle of the room, her lightsaber on his belt. Oh how she craved to hold it in her hands again. She could feel the agitation of her kyber crystal, being upon the unworthy's belt, surrounded by so many scouring lights. She followed Windu and Yoda to the center where Dooku handed off her lightsaber to Windu, who eyed it with disdain before turning to her.
"You will set your lightsaber to it's lowest setting," said Windu warning, before scowling, "Since your trap prevent us from doing so."
Siri blinked at him. "My what now?"
He narrowed his eyes. "The kyber in your lightsaber shocks anyone else who tries to turn it on."
It did what? Oh she officially loved the crystal, Siri hadn't been aware of that neat little feature. Though, she was curious why it hadn't shocked that Dark Jedi who had been pilfering it out of their hideout that first time she had gone there... maybe it just wanted to hitch a ride? The Bane's Heart kyber crystal was a weird one after all. She hummed and took her lightsaber from him when offered it, a jolt of familiarity going up her fingertips, the purr of the crystal for its chosen master. She wrapped her hands around the hilt and smiled down fondly at it. She ran a hand along it, almost lovingly, before she levitated it into the air and took it apart with the Force to adjust its settings.
"What is that kyber?"
She glanced over at Windu, who was staring at one of the levitating crystals; she gave him an smart ass answer. "One of the ones I use in my saber."
Zannah left very little to chance in the construction of her saber. If someone managed to cut it in half, both sides of the lightsaber had all they needed to keep on functioning as separate pieces. That of course depended on where exactly the cut was made.
Windu narrowed his eyes, she could feel him probing at it. "It's not bled."
Siri snorted. "Because it's a synthetic crystal."
Bane's Heart itself gave a more magenta hue on its own, the second crystal in the blade was what made it entirely red when the lightsaber was active. It had taken Siri awhile to figure out what exactly the crystal was, she had never previously heard of creating a kyber crystal after all, she had thought they all were found naturally. Just another secret the Jedi Order kept from its members.
"You know how to make them then," said Windu, watching her.
"I am aware of the process," she said slowly, toying with whether or not to keep it to herself before deciding it didn't matter, "But I have never preformed it myself."
Windu eyed the lightsaber as Siri began to pieces the levitating parts back together. "Then where did you find this one?"
"It was bequeathed to me," she said in a careful tone, "Or I suppose you could say the crystal chose me. It belonged to... one of my predecessors."
"I am surprised a Sith doesn't use a bled crystal," probed Windu.
Sora rolled her eyes directly at him, not amused by the not-so-subtle poking for answers. "Plenty of Sith, both in my order and previous ones, used Synthetic Crystals."
She activated the lightsaber, watching the now dulled red glow burst out of it. She enjoyed the way it made most Jedi in the room tense a bit to see that red blade. She deactivated it and clipped it to her belt, crossed her arms, and gave him an unimpressed look. "Bleeding a crystal is stupidly dangerous. Not only will the crystal fight you on the bleeding, it will never properly belong to you either. You are dominating it, bending it to your will, not becoming in-tune with it. A bled crystal will only ever be an object, a tool in your hands. So, why bother with that when you can just make a crystal to be in-tune to you, or find a synthetic open to a darker user?"
She wrinkled her nose. "Honestly, natural crystals should be grateful we'd want to use them, not pitch a fit the moment a darksider gets a hand on them. If they're going to bitch and moan about it, I'll readily use synthetic, custom made crystals that don't whine and are actually built for being a lightsaber crystal rather than being adapted."
The scowl Windu shot her told her his opinion on the matter, she just gave him a bored look. "Shall we, Jedi?"
Windu slowly shook his head at her before turning and striding a few steps to address the Jedi in the room. "You have all been gathered here, as some of our most active Jedi Masters, Knights, and Senior Padawans, in the wake of the Naboo Incident, and the revelation of the survival of the Sith, in order to gain experience in confronting the Dark Side of the Force."
Siri scoffed under her breath. "Survival, right."
"As part of her parole, the Sith Apprentice has agreed to provide her, services, in this matter," said Windu, his voice clipped, "Any who so wish to may volunteer to spar against the Sith, while the rest will observe and learn."
He gives it a minute for the Jedi to absorb it, though judging by the lack of surprise for most, they had already been briefed on this beforehand. Its mostly the senior padawans that seem a little anxious, or hot headed and barely suppressing their eagerness to have a go at a Sith, so they're just getting this dropped on them. Still doesn't explain why Skywalker was here though. That's one thing she can't really figure out. He'll be insanely powerful one day, maybe they want him to watch and observe a Sith to one day fight them (Sidious wont let him live that long to become a threat, he'll kill or convert the boy long before he reaches his prime), but that also runs the risk of him liking what he sees. He's young, a former slave who has been powerless most of his life, such power might be enticing to him. Or it might not. Who knows.
"Are there any volunteers to begin?" asked Windu, glancing around the room.
"I will," came a firm, female voice.
Siri turned her head slightly towards the voice, and had to lock herself down firmly to not show any reaction as nothing short of a Master Gallia lookalike strode forward. But no, her eyes were purple, not blue, her cheeks a little more pudgy, not to mention she was shorter. There was something distinctly familiar about the Tholothian, more than just her similarity to her late Jedi Master. She heavily tickled Siri's compartmentalized memory, yet she hadn't chosen to hold onto this woman when Plaguies was ripping into her head.
"Master Allie," said Windu, tipping his head curtly, and not looking very surprised at all to see her the first up.
That name...
Ah screw it.
Siri half closed her eyes, focusing inward and opening her old memories, a wave of pain erupting through her mind. She savored it, using it as tinder for the fire she was going to need to burn through this session. She dug through, ignoring flashes of old, unimportant, irrelevant, worthless memories (of more peaceful times). She got what she was looking for, along with a massive headache she has to draw heavily on the dark to kill. The woman's name is Stass Allie.
Master Gallia's cousin.
Siri's stomach felt like it was falling into a black hole.
The woman stopped a few paces in front of Siri, waiting for Windu to leave center of the training area. She drew her lightsaber, fiddled briefly with its power, and ignited the green blade. When Siri didn't react, she narrowed her eyes, speaking out in disproving derision. "Something the matter, Padawan Tachi?"
Siri abruptly shoveled the flurry of emotions going on behind her shields into a mental garbage can and narrowed her eyes; who cares if she's related to Gallia? Jedi don't care about such things, and she's being a bitch at a moment. "Apprentice Tachi if you must, and I'm waiting for you to choose a partner, unless you feel you are capable of besting me alone where both Kenobi and Jinn failed?"
"Padawan Kenobi and Master Jinn allowed you the advantage of choosing terrain that suited you, and wanted to take you in alive," said Master Allie.
"Oh? You don't intend for me to live?" said Siri, giving a mock shudder, "How utterly bloodthirsty of you, Master Jedi."
The Jedi shook her head. "I always remembered you as a respectful and serious young Padawan. I see neither of those traits were actually true."
Siri activated one half of her saberstaff, the red blade giving Siri's face a bloody-hue as she moved it into the Soresu opening, blade angling downward. "Few things about one's former self survive a Fall intact. But you, in particular, neither have my respect nor deserve any serious attention."
"Survive, or were they ever real to begin with?" jabbed the Jedi, taking a few gauging thrusts, which Siri batted aside as they started to circle eachother, "Were you ever a Jedi? Or just a power hungry monster waiting for the first chance you had to stab your master in the back and throw yourself at a darksider's feet?"
The red haze of rage ripped through Siri's head, malice dripping from Siri's mouth, ice in the air, it took a concentrated effort not to throttle the woman to death with the Force, "I'm not here to argue the past with you, Jedi. You can blame me for your cousin's death all you wish, perhaps from a certain point of view it's even true, but imply that I intentionally murdered Gallia or that I willingly chose to kneel at Sidious's feet again, and I will send you to the Halls of Healing for a very long stay, consequences be damned."
Before Stass could respond, Siri bit out, "Egging on a Sith is a very, dangerous, thing to do. I'm going to show you why."
Siri moved, drawing on the dark heavily to augment herself, wrapping the Veil of the Dark Side around the Jedi Master to deny her the Force's guidance. She lashed out the moment Stass jolted from startlement, crossing blades and then forcing the saber down, both sparking against the floor before Siri backhanded the Jedi Master across her face, sending her staggering, and then crying out to the ground with a blast of lightning. Siri stepped forward, twirled her blade, and drove it straight down into the woman's chest in what would have been a killing blow normally, but would instead leave nasty internal burns. Siri deactivated her lightsaber as she withdrew it, picking the woman up with the Force, and tossing her across the room in the healer's general direction.
"Does anyone else wish to so arrogantly challenge me?" inquired Siri with hostility, her lips peeled back into a sneer.
There was a stunned silence across the room.
"What, was that?" demanded Windu from the sidelines, "You flooded the room with the Dark Side..."
"It's called the Veil of the Dark Side," said Siri, her voice dripping with derision, "It blocks any lightsider's ability to receive guidance from the Force. It's a more focused clouding then what Sidious normally employs."
She gave him a coy smile. "Or perhaps none of you have noticed the murkiness plaguing your feeble Jedi senses for some time now?"
There was a stony silence from Windu, murmurs of hostility or surprise ripped through the room; one of the other councilors, Plo Koon, rumbled out, "So it has been the Sith clouding the Force then."
Siri raised an eyebrow. "You never asked."
"I never expected you to offer an answer," replied the Jedi smoothly.
"Hmph," was her only response to that, "I'm already visible to the Jedi. It has reduced importance to me."
Not that it wasn't still incredibly useful in a fight.
"Is there a way around this 'Veil'," posed Windu.
"Not unless you are willing to use the Dark Side to peer through it," she answered.
Not that Sidious couldn't probably figure a way to manipulate it to block Darksiders too if he really wanted to.
There was a tap on the floor from Yoda's gimer stick. "Discuss this, in private, later the council will."
She gave him a coy smile. "Why Master Yoda, it almost sounds as if you're planning on hiding information from your fellow Jedi. Should they all not be informed of this?"
Yoda gave her an unimpressed look. "When determined what is truth, what is deception, what is embellished, then will the council speak."
Siri rolled her eyes. "Have I been dishonest thus far?"
"Remain to be determined, that does," said Yoda in a flat tone, "Especially when advocate use of the Dark Side to breech this veil, you do."
Siri huffed. "I did not 'advocate' it, its the only way I know how to look through it and I was telling you such."
"Determine the truth of that, the council will," the little green troll answered.
"Yes, because you've been so successful with that thus far," she drawled.
He shook his head. "Difference there is, in knowing that being intentionally blinded we are."
He waved his stick around the room before she could refute that. "Here to discuss this, we are not. Poke and prod when not wasting time of our knights and masters, you shall."
"I shall be a nuisance when I so deem fit thank you very much," she said cheerfully, "Now, who wants to get their ass kicked next?"
Yoda interjected. "Use Force Lightning again, you will not."
She scowled at him. "Do you, or do you not, want your Jedi to get experience fighting a Sith?"
"Put you in true danger in training at the start, did your master?" posed Yoda rhetorically, "Work up to it, they should."
"As a matter of fact," she said flatly, "Yes, Sidious did. The training droids were always in murder mode, and I ended up half-dead in the infirmary multiple times a week for awhile before I started to learn. Sidious himself when we trained refrained from killing and permanently maiming me, but that's about it."
Yoda deflated a bit, ears dropping, shaking his head in sadness (in grief for her that she loathed). "Expect that, I should have."
"Yeah, considering everything else you've heard, you really should have," she said snidely, "I'm not some weak pampered Jedi brat anymore. If you want me to go kiddie mode on your Jedi, then fine. I'll refrain from using most of my more active abilities, I'll even refrain from using the Veil. It will be doing them no favors though, because if you expect a Sith to ever truly go easy on a Jedi when it counts, you will be sorely mistaken. Now, whose next?"
It turns out being rude to the Jedi Grandmaster made most want to volunteer to fight her, because there sure as hell wasn't a lack of volunteers for the next two hours straight. Unlike with Stass Allie though, she didn't go for quick, brutal wins, she still could have even without the veil or the Dark Side, but she needed the practice. She took her time. She had been inactive for roughly three months, confined to small rooms where the most of a work out she could get was stretches, push ups, and sit ups when she wasn't blanking out or being bothered by Obi-Wan. Certainly nothing to keep the sharp edge of her skills. But it all came back to her, oh how it did, so easily.
The smooth effortless motions of Soresu were therapeutic, to turn aside any blow, parry it away, or a sudden firm block for a poor strike that rattled her opponents grip and made them easy prey. To move through the flow of battle, her rhythm never breaking, never standing still and just dueling it out, always repositioning and out-maneuvering. A defense none of these Knights or Padawans could breech. Then came the Makashi finish: she was capable of fighting with Form II an entire fight, oh yes she could, but that would be quick wins. She used it as an 'execution', to end the blow with precise motion.
She was however aware she wasn't fighting anyone great yet. Mostly just Knights and their Padawans. The actual respectable masters and experienced knights were watching and learning for their own turns, you know, the intelligent thing to do, let the fodder go first and get their asses kicked instead. This was just the start, only the beginning. Not that she was tiring or anything, the padawans alone leaked enough fear and agitation into the air when she fought them to snack on, a continual pick-me-up to ensure she never wavered. Until finally something different showed up...
At first glance, the Jedi wasn't anything fancy. Just some Besalisk. Yet... he for one, challenged her alone, and for two...
She smelt pride and arrogance and a hunger for power and strength radiating off him that most Jedi barely had a tenth of. The Dark Side whispered to her, of how easy it would be to take and twist this one. It could be her first real try (Obi-Wan hadn't counted, he didn't!), her first learning experience in corrupting a Jedi...
Except she really had no use of him.
"Are you sure Master Krell?" asked Master Windu.
"Absolutely," sniffed out the Jedi, "As one of the best and more unique duelists in the Order I wish to test myself alone against the Sith, and prove the superiority of the Jedi."
Siri's lips slowly peeled back into a sadistic grin. She smelt prey. She spoke, not mockingly loud or boisterous, but soft, low, dangerous. "Careful Jedi, that sounds like pride and arrogance."
Krell sneered at her with open contempt. "That, coming from a darksider? Your warning leaves much to be desired."
She gave him a wide, predatory smile. "So then, Master Jedi, does that mean you wish me to ramp it up? You think you can handle more than your little Knights and Padawans?"
He withdrew and activated two saberstaffs from his belt. "Of course."
"Well," she said, eying the green and the blue double bladed weapons, "Someone's overcompensating."
The Jedi bared his teeth at her. So easy to rile up. She was oh so tempted to actually fight him. It might be fun trying to anticipate two saberstaffs in a fight, a thrill of a new challenge, she might actual lose if shes not ontop of her game if she limits herself to just using her own saberstaff. However, there was just one, slight, tiny, inconsequential problem that had her desire to rip this Jedi's innards out. She noted Krell had most certainly not lowered the power settings of his lightsabers. What a sneaky little bastard he was, and most certainly not exhibiting any Jedi traits right there.
She deactivated and belted her lightsaber; his eyes narrowed. "Giving up already?"
"No, not at all," she said, "But I think its time I pressed home a lesson that you Jedi fail time and time against. That your little glow sticks are insignificant before the power of the Force."
She raised and clenched a fist in a quick motion, grasping the Baselisk by the neck with the Force and lifting him up. The Jedi jerked into the air, dropping his lightsabers as he grasped at his throat. "What's the matter Jedi? Sith got your tongue?"
She squeezed tighter, her Force presence too smokey and slippery for him to get a grip on to shove off. "Why Master Jedi, it appears you're choking, do you require any assistance?"
"Enough Sith," snapped Windu, "Release him."
She eyed the Korun. "But Master Jedi, he's turning the most lovely shade of purple."
Windu's lips thinned. "I will not ask again, Sith."
Siri threw Krell across the room, slamming into the upper walls where he slumped down, barely caught in time by his fellow Jedi, coughing and rasping, a ring of bruises already forming around his throat. "The next time you choose to breech your own rules, Jedi, and bring full powered lightsabers into these fights, I will not be so forgiving."
Windu eyes the the lightsabers on the floor with the slightest of frowns, she can practically read in his eyes him deciding whether or not to check if she's speaking the truth or just assume she was making up an excuse. He held out his hands and called the sabers to him, scowling briefly after getting a hand on them. He walked over and handed them to Krell with a warning, "Remember to check your lightsabers next time Master Krell, forgetting in a spar here, let alone with other knights or padawans, can have consequences no one wants to deal with."
Krell massaged his throat for a moment before taking them, voice rasping out, "Of course, my apologies for the lapse, I suppose I was to overeager to test myself."
Bullshit.
If anyone was bothering to sense for it, they'd read the lie in an instant. She made a decision that every time Krell ever stepped into a spar with her, she was going to absolutely destroy him. She only bothers with a cursory pass around the room, funny enough, Skywalker was the only one who had narrowed eyes at Krell; slaves knew better than to blindly trust the words of another. Obi-Wan on the other hand, his face is carefully schooled, not betraying anything outwardly. She, oddly, can't get a read on him. Perhaps he's actually been paying attention and learning then, adjusting and adapting his shielding. There is of course a general air of disapproval in the room, but most of it is directed at her rather than Krell.
Though, there is another predominate rising emotion. Where it is disapproval from the Knights and Master's, its no small amount of shock and fear from the padawans. There are a few whispers that she sharpens her hearing with the Force to catch while the healers check over and tend to Krell's neck. Most are babels about her dominating the Besalisk, apparently he's a big deal with his sabers. She can't honestly remember, there's only he faintest of tickling from her compartmentalized memories. He wasn't important to her then. All the better then that if they were to learn something, that their over-reliance on their lightsabers instead of the Force was a weakness...
Then one particular whisper caught her attention.
"If the Dark Side isn't stronger," whispered a scared female human Padawan to another, "Then why has she won every single fight? Without even looking winded."
Siri's ears twitched, head tilting in the young teenage Jedi's direction and spoke, making the Padawan jump a little, "Because for one, since you Jedi refuse to use your emotions it allows me to do so, and all that fear the younger Padawans in the room feel is something I can feed on for strength. With all of it that you are all leaking into the air, I can keep going on for hours without issue."
The girl's face turning red as many of those in the room look towards her and Siri.
"For two," said Siri, rolling her eyes, "Because you Jedi are idiots. The Light and the Dark are both stronger and weaker than one another. The Dark in singularity, the Light in unity."
She made herself sound offended. "You are sending one Knight and Padawan at me at a time, whose collective combat experience is either against blasters, or sparing with other Jedi. That's practically suicide against the line of Bane. Unless you are the utmost elite of the Jedi Order, facing a Banite without superior numbers is a guaranteed way to die. One on one? Perhaps a few of you could best me, but again, I'm the apprentice. The only Jedi here who might stand an actual chance against Sidious alone would be Yoda. Everyone else is literal cannon fodder."
She cracked her neck to one side, then the other. "If you want to see me lose, send two pairs of Knights and Masters, or send me a pair of councilors."
The young Jedi sputtered a bit before the elderly hand of who Siri assumed was her master landed firmly on her shoulder, no not firm, tight to the point of minor pain if the flinch Siri saw was right. "Calm yourself Padawan Jinzler."
The Padawan bowed her head a bit. "Of course, sorry Master."
Siri took a brief moment to look over the Jedi Master. Her first thought was; holy hells, for a human he looked even older than Dooku did. A wrinkly chiseled face, white hair, along with a massive white beard for a human. Intense brown eyes despite his age that shone with confidence and surety. He didn't trigger any tingling, so she definitely hadn't interacted with him as a padawan herself. He met her gaze unflinching.
So she did the natural thing and taunted him rather than move on for the next challenger, "Aren't you a bit old for taking on a Padawan?"
"Nonsense," he said, "A hundred and one is the prime of my life."
She scoffed. "You're more likely to fall over to a stiff breeze than live to see her knighted."
The man's chin tilted up. "I've spoken with Master Dooku a number of times, and considered how often he has shown you your lack of experience I question your views on age. Or are we all still pretending that Iris was not an alias of yours?"
Her lips peeled back into an amused bared teeth smile. "Well Master...?"
"C'Baoth, Jorus C'baoth," answered the aged Jedi.
"Master C'Baoth," she said slowly, probing the dark. There was something about this one, he was like Krell, just not in the same manner, more like the Jedi he had just praised, "Dooku has yet to experience my full strength and range of ability."
No, it wasn't just that he was like Dooku... he smelt of... what was it? She can't quite place it.
She wrinkled her nose. "Not that I can express either here, especially in this little room, he'd win here no contest. But I digress, perhaps you would care to have a go, old man?"
"As you wish," said the Jedi Master before his gaze briefly flickered to his padawan, his voice baritone, "Come Padawan, the best way to conquer one's fears is to confront them."
Sidious.
That was it.
This Jedi had been around Sidious. Which meant one of three things: The duration had been years, long enough to gradual leave a small whiff of her Master's presence, he had recently been around an unmasked Sidious, or Sidious had directly influenced him. The first and the last were the most likely, as the man wasn't yet dark. Either way, he was an unwitting pawn for Sidious to use and manipulate at some point.
Padawan Jinzler swallowed thickly before nodding and following her Master out. Siri's eyes flickered to the Padawan again, sizing her up as the teen steeled herself. Siri instantly noted the dual tension. Not just towards a Sith, but to her own Master as well. Were this a real fight, perhaps Siri could use that to her advantage and pry that open into a wound. Whatever caused the tension wasn't particularly her concern, but from what Siri could sense, the Padawan was at odds with her Master over something, and Siri couldn't feel an ounce of affection nor care from C'Baoth to his padawan. Whether they just didn't click together, or it was abuse, she dismissed it as a Jedi problem.
"I profess...," said C'Baoth as he re-positioned himself neatly a bit behind his padawan, and Siri was struck with a bit of disbelief; was he using her as a meat shield? "That I am surprised a darksider would admit any strength of the light."
Siri wrinkled her nose. "This again? Just because I am dark does not mean I am blindly arrogant. If you Jedi didn't have some kind of strength, you'd have been wiped out thousands of years ago. I am not ignorant to the fact that the Jedi usual come out on top of the wars between the Sith in the far past."
She huffed. "The Jedi have the luxury of not being worried about their fellows stabbing them in the back after all, you only have to fight your opponent, not eachother."
"That's not a luxury," said Padawan Jinzler, "It's common morality, trust is a pillar of society."
"And one wonders why the Republic is steadily crumbling," said Siri dryly, activating a single end of her lightsaber, "Sure you don't want another pair of Jedi here?"
Jinzler activated hers, the green blade jetting out. C'Baoth merely flexed his hands. "You say that as if you would not use such numbers to your advantage. Four Jedi trained to fight together could perhaps work efficiently to take you down, four Jedi without such effort spent will merely get in one another's way and allow you to pick us apart."
Siri hummed. "Perhaps, would have been nice experience either way."
"For whom? Us or you?" he said pointedly.
Siri smiled dangerously, "A Sith must always be improving. This is as much a test for myself as it is exposure for you Jedi, now, enough chit-chat."
She made a beckoning motion as she opened with a downward angled Soresu. Strangely, the Padawan didn't attack, she merely planted herself firmly infront of her master who...
Siri barely had a moment to brace herself as the old Jedi threw a hand forward, her defense caused her to besent her skidding back with the Force rather than launching her away, thrusting her own hand forward to repulse the Force attack. Her arm shook, and she quickly realized she wasn't going to beat him in a straight up macho contest of who had the larger Force presence. He has almost eighty years on her, and unlike many of the guardian's she's fought over the last few hours, he's obviously a counselor, the Force is much stronger in him than most. She pushed her hand forward to briefly rebuff his energy before throwing herself to the side in a roll to get out of the way, feeling the energy gust past her. She bursts forward, jabbing a hand in a stabbing motion against his mental shields. He wavers, flinching, but his padawan is there in the way.
Siri throws away her defense, going straight into Makashi, she slashes high and then drags her saber down when the padawan blocks, slashing downward into her side, burning the tunic and making the girl yelp in pain. But her Master recover from the mental attack and Siri found herself thrown backwards. Then man clenches his open palm into a fist, and Siri finds herself gripped tightly in the Force, struggling to move. She growls under her breath, glaring at the Jedi.
"Disarm the Sith at your leisure Padawan," said C'Baoth with haughty superiority.
Arrogant son of a bitch.
Siri allows the Padawan to draw closer before she taps deeper into the Dark Side, a ripple of the energy chilling the room, briefly making C'Baoth lose his focus. Siri raises a single finger at his padawan. "Sleep."
She jabs deeply with pinpoint precision piercing into Padawan's shields, injecting the command in. To the girls credit, she resisted for a moment, trying to shake it off.
"Sleep."
Padawan Jinzler dropped at the second infusion of the Dark Side with a hefty thud. If she was going to beat C'Baoth, she needed his distraction/meat shield out of the way. She sees him refocusing, his hand beginning to curl; she drapes the Vail of the Dark Side not around him, but herself, making her Force Presence difficult to grasp at. She feels his efforts slip around her, and she returns the favor, thrusting a hand forward and sending him flying, skidding along the ground nearly to the bystanding Jedi. C'Baoth, to his credit, hardly moves like the old man he is, up on his feet before Siri's half way across the distance to him. He throws an arm forward, rather than trying to aim, he just releases the Force in a wave. Siri yelps as shes lifted up and tossed backwards, landing hard on her back, but already rolling as she hits the ground, springing up...
She tenses when she feels the Force swirl around her. C'Baoth can't get a grip directly on her, but he's clever. She feels the Force swirling around her like a net. He draws it in, containing the area rather than Siri herself, and she is once again restrained. This time, the Jedi Master lifts her into the air before twisting his hand, and her lightsaber is yanked out of her hand. She growls under her breath, struggling against the Jedi's grip. She contemplates breaking Yoda's orders not to use Force Lightning. There's also a few different incantations she could use here, but she's rather not reveal them...
"Do you yield, Sith?" asked the Jedi, eyebrow raised.
"Unless you land a blow that would kill me in a real fight, or knock me unconscious, the answer is no," she spat out.
"As you wish," he said mildly.
He clenched his fist tighter, and pressure started to build all over her body, black spots beginning to dance in her vision. She is briefly surprised that a Jedi would actually do something like this. Its not exactly dark, but she's fairly certain its disproved of. She lets the thought slip away and refocuses, eying the Jedi in thought before something caught her eye. His padawan's lightsaber on the floor, having rolled a bit out of the unconscious girl's hands. Siri drapes the Dark around the area, to his credit, C'Baoth keeps his grip this time.
"I already have you," he commented mildly, "Clouding the area with the dark does noth..."
She grips his Padawan's lightsaber with the Force, throws it through the air, and activates it. If it had been at full power, it would have cut him in half. As it is, he'll have a nasty burn until he gets tended to. He drops her with a surprised grunt, staggering a bit, hand going to his side. Siri lands on her feet, stumbling a bit before righting herself and giving him a cocky, haughty grin.
"Clouding the area lets me get away with that, actually," she mocked, "Didn't feel that coming did you?"
For a moment, the Jedi looks positively furious before he schools his expression. "Hmph. I see that in a fight against a Sith, a Padawan has no place."
Siri raised an eyebrow, she was tempted to mock him for blaming the loss on his padawan, but chose to let it slide for something different. "Do you honestly expect to be able to choose when and where and who you enter a battle with on any given mission?"
The Jedi tilted his head slightly, studying her for a moment. "Wise words for a Sith."
She gave him a foul look. "Dark doesn't equal stupid."
The man ignored her, turning to briefly kneel down next to his padawan and give her a sharp shake; Siri imagined he did something through their master-apprentice bond as well. "Wake up."
Padawan Jinzler stirred. "Hngh?"
"The spar is over Padawan," he said dryly, "If you so badly wish to nap you may do so in our apartment, not on the floor."
The young Jedi blinked a few times, glancing around, and then starting, her face flushing. "I... sorry Master."
C'Baoth said nothing more, just hoisting her upward and then walking away. The Padawan swallowed thickly, bowed her head, and walked after him. Honestly, Siri almost felt bad for her. There was a little niggling in the back of her mind from the dark, of potential, but what kind and how, Siri wasn't sure. Still... she wasn't exactly good anymore at being 'nice'.
"If it's any consolation, little Jedi, it took me two attempts to put you down," said Siri to the girl's back, grinning ferally.
The girl took one look at her and then quickly walked after her Master. Siri rolled her shoulder's a bit, a little sore from being squeezed by the Force. The Jedi around the room seemed to have gotten the hint, or reprimand their padawans; there was very little emotion leaking to feed off of. If she wanted to end this on a high note, she'd call it now. It had been a few hours after all, it would appear reasonable (though she had boasted not to long ago about being able to go for hours). Hmm... ah what the hell, one more.
She glanced at Windu. "Alright, we've been at this awhile, I have better things to do then smack Jedi around," she really didn't, "One more round then I'm ready to call it."
Windu narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak before pausing, glancing behind him. Siri couldn't help but tense a little as the soft tapping of Yoda's gimmer stick echoed through the room, the little green troll calmly and slowly strolling out past the other Council Member. Oh hells... why did she have to open her mouth? She watched, as over the course of one of the longest minutes of her life, the Jedi Grandmaster made his way out to the center of the floor a few feet from her before resting both hands on his stick, waiting.
"Well," she mused, "One way to end a session I suppose."
Yoda cocked his head. "Open to anyone, this is. Many experiences do I have, in almost nine-hundred. Many a darksider over my life, have I faced. But to confront a Sith? An encounter I have not."
That's really not going to matter if he's never fought a Sith before, maybe if she were at her prime and the Sith Master it might, but not against an apprentice. Siri wondered idly to herself how long she could last in a serious fight against Yoda were he aiming to kill her. Thirty seconds? A minute? Her measly twenty some-odd years of life did not even begin to scrape at almost nine-hundred years of life and experience. Though, it was possibly almost nine-hundred years of stagnation to. Not that she had any exposure to his fighting style to take advantage of that possibility.
Still, she wouldn't show weakness; she spoke dryly, "You want me to go easy on you?"
At that, he looked amused. "Take the risk I will, use what you desire, but aim not to kill."
"I'm not arrogant enough to think I can actually take you down," she admitted sourly.
"Always chance there is," he commented, "Happen, accidents do."
Right...
She eyed the Jedi warily, more than aware of the danger...
Except...
She paused. Except there was no danger. This was a spar, not a life or death fight. She blinked. Oh. This actually was an opportunity of a lifetime, she could face off against the Jedi Grandmaster without fear of death or capture (she was already a pseudo prisoner anyway). A Sith was an ever growing entity, shaped and evolved by their experiences. There would be few things quite like taking on Yoda. Even if she was guaranteed to lose, she could still learn from the challenge, improve herself.
She slowly smiled, the Dark purring into her ear, to use the Jedi's foolishness to strengthen herself. "Alright then Yoda, lets give you a crash course in fighting a Sith."
Yoda blinked, his amusement gone, going wary as he studied the sudden change.
"Lesson one," she said, raising a hand, "Lightning."
Blue arcs of lightning ripped from her, surging at Yoda. The little green troll cast aside his stick and then...
Siri's eyes widened as Yoda did not use his lightsaber, he reached out and CAUGHT the lightning. She narrowed her eyes as it compacted in his hands. Plaguies had been able to do that against Sidious, hadn't he? She studied how he curled the Force and the dark energy in his hand, wondering if she could figure out how to...
Then he thrust his hand and threw her own lightning back at her. She barely managed to get her lightsaber up and activated in time to block the Force attack, blue light dancing across her vision. "Cute."
"Said I did once, that limited to Sith, that ability is not," commented Yoda, "The first to use it against me, you are not."
"Well then," she said, drawing in the dark around her, poking at hateful memories for strength, "Let's up the ante then."
The next stream of lightning from her hands was more intense, but not the strongest she could produce. Pain wasn't her intent, no, she wanted him to reflect it at her. Hungered for it. To see and learn. She watched as he caught her lightning again, focusing on how he compacted it. It wasn't a negation, no, more like he cupped it in a small shell of light. The lightning never actually touched his skin, just a small manifestation of the Force around him. He funneled the current back around as he thrust his hand forward, and launched it at her.
Siri lowered her lightsaber and held out a hand, trying to emulate what he did. She yelped instead when it failed, lightning cackling into her arm, causing it to spasm briefly. Siri scowled deeply, glaring down at her hand. Honestly, why had she thought that would work? She wasn't a Jedi, trying to do a Jedi technique, only dark instead, was stupid. She'd have to make her own darker adaption of it.
"Mmm, use this as a lesson for yourself as well, you do," commented Yoda.
Siri raised a challenging eyebrow. "Stagnation is death. A Sith must always be improving, learning, adapting."
Yoda shakes his head. "Always a time for rest, there should be."
"I've had this argument before with Kenobi," she said, thumbing at the Jedi in question, "Resting is what sleeping is for."
She readied her lightsaber, pulling her arm up and angling it downward from above her shoulder, her other hand pointing two fingers at Yoda. "Now, lets see what the great Jedi Grandmaster is made of."
Yoda moved aside part of his outer robes with one hand, and held out the other, calling his lightsaber to his hand, briefly adjusting its settings, and activated it, assuming an Ataru opening, blade griped and held vertical. Siri was about to make a snide comment about frivolous use of the Force when Yoda practically FLEW at her, a green blur vaulting through the air at abnormal speeds.
Holy kriffing shit.
All of Zannah's lessons, all the repetition of her katas, the harshness of her training beaten into her, were the only reason Yoda didn't destroy Siri in ten seconds flat. The Jedi Grandmaster was a whirlwind of lightsaber strokes on a spinning and leaping little form. Siri switched between single and both ends of her lightsaber activated to keep up with his mobile form on nothing but instinct and the Dark Side's sharp commands, barely able to even think between saber-strokes. She ground her teeth and thrust a hand out as Yoda leaped again, his lightsaber spinning in what would have been a clean stroke to take off her arm in a real fight if it landed. She threw him back with the Force, causing him to spin through the air where he merely tucked and rolled on the floor before coming at her again.
But those few seconds bought her time she needed to really draw herself out. No more playing with the weak, pathetic Jedi. Her blood sung for a real challenge, the Dark Side salivating like an animal in her ear to confront such a opponent. The Dark howled around her and in her, but she didn't try to take the offensive. Her predatory eyes washed over every aged wrinkle, he was so old, a whisper of patience murmured in the back of her mind. Let her blade be her bulwark, and let him crash upon it again and again, each stroke and act slowly sapping his endurance.
Siri couldn't honestly recall a time where she had such a active and thrilling challenge. Sidious always made it a point to crush her into the ground the rare occasion they sparred. This was in the same venue, but, rather than just obliterating her, Siri was finding it hard to even spot a single opening that she could try to exploit. For an almost nine-hundred year old midget, he was so blasted fast. Smaller and hard to hit. His Shoto lightsaber was something she did not have experience with either. There had already been a few near misses where if she hadn't already been moving backwards, a miscalculation would have let his smaller saber slip under her's when she's expecting to parry a longer blade.
Siri ducked and rolled as Yoda leaped overhead, reactivating the other end of her saber to parry aside the attack and then, as he landed, finally tried to attack, curving her grip to strike down at him. He merely shifted back a single foot, her lightsaber passing within centimeters of him, and then leaped at her again, lightsaber angling for her shoulder.
Siri did something completely undignified in the face of the green ball surging at her.
She yelped, fell backward, her feet coming up and kicking Yoda high into the air. The Jedi Grandmaster gave an indignant sqwack, flying overhead and into the ring of Jedi. He deactivated his lightsaber, landed gracefully despite the sudden throw onto one of their shoulders, and then leaped back into the sparing area. Siri was already up, breathing starting to become a bit heavy. Defensive style or no, keeping up with him was ridiculous. She angled her blade back into her opening stance and waited.
Yoda didn't immediately attack, studying her. "Mmm, taught you Soresu, did who? Very curious I am, very skilled they were."
Siri idly wondered how Zannah would have reacted to being complimented by the Jedi Grandmaster. Though, speaking of Zannah, the holocron has to be pretty pissed at this point. Siri hid her ship in Naboo's forests, cloaked and wrapped in an illusion. Outside of a freak occurrence of someone randomly bumping into the ship while being out in the forest for some reason, that ship, and Zannah, are stuck there for awhile. Her eyes narrowed slightly when she heard/felt what seemed to be a mocking hiss from the Dark Side. The Force did have the tendency to be an ass about taking such things as a challenge...
She refocused and gave Yoda a non-committal hum. Not going to give him any kind of answer on that.
The Jedi Grandmaster took it in stride, though she felt the stirring of mischievousness from him. "Mmm, very skilled indeed. Treated my fellow Jedi to what, call it you did?"
Siri blinked a few times. "Kiddie mode?"
"Mmm, that," said Yoda, "Feel I do, that need such a handicap, you do not. Seriously, can I fight, if wish it, do you."
Siri's heart half-sank half-seized for a long moment. Oh kriff, Force please say he's joking, showing off, exaggerating, or something (most likely not), because she'd hard pressed to keep him at bay as it is. Still, pride says she can't back down now. "Go ahead, lets see what you're made of."
She can't help the flinch nor the hiss that escapes her lips when Yoda's presence blazes like a beacon through the Force, ancient and so very light that its almost like staring into a sun to look at him. That merely being in his presence is like standing in an open flame being cooked alive. She feels sluggish as she shifts her lightsaber to block his initial strike, guided by the Force when her eyes failed to even see him move from the light-beacon in her minds eye. Its like she's moving against a warm current, surrounded by light that even dark as she is it's hard to keep away. If there was such a thing as a Veil of the Light as there was of the Dark, this would be close to it, just not weaponized as such.
She activates the other end of her lightsaber as the dark in her howls in frustration, knowing that defeat is imminent but still screaming at her where he's going to attack from next, snarling and clawing for a victory it can't have. She barely manages to turn and block before he's leaping overhead. In that moment, she understands that she will never stand a ghost of a chance against him without her full power, the strength she had those few minutes against Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. Even with it, if she's not a fully trained and experienced Sith Master at the peak of her power, she won't win.
She still wants to though, so she turns and swings in an arc with all her strength; it ends up feeling like she just tried to punch a metal wall with her fist with how hard the block it. It rattles up her arm, and in that moment, her grip loosens. With a twirl of his lightsaber, her own is out of her hand. Rather than call it quits, she does the logical, Sith thing, and lets loose Force Lightning from her hands before he has the chance to put his lightsaber in her face and declare himself the winner. Yoda's eyes widen slightly, dropping his lightsaber to catch the lightning in his hands.
Rather than release it, she continues to pump the Dark Side through her hands, teeth grinding. Yoda's eyes narrow and he takes a step forward, pushing the lightning back towards her hands...
The energy combusts in an explosion of blue light, and Siri is sent hurtling backwards through the air at a rather remarkable speed. She has a moment, as she sees through blue spots in her eyes, Yoda flinch away from the burst before his eyes widen with concern as he reaches a hand out, trying to slow her velocity down, to know that she's probably going to wake up to the face of a healer after she hits the wall...
Siri blinks and wakes up to a face full of Mon Calamari. "Hello Bant, been awhile."
"It has," her old friend agrees, "And Dark Side or no, you still don't know when to call it quits."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Bant huffs, shakes her head, and offers a hand to help her up. Siri doesn't take it, rolling to the side and then pushing up off the ground. They were once friends, but not anymore. Not after everything that's happened, and especially not after Garen. Obi-Wan may be the one thing from her previous life she wishes to hold onto, but no one else. Trying to cling to anyone and anything more when she's already almost assuredly doomed to not keep Obi-Wan is idiotic. If Bant knows about Garen and somehow forgives her, then she's a fool; if she doesn't know, then Siri sure as hell isn't going to get to see if Bant can tolerate the Dark Side and be someone Siri can potentially stand to be around in the temple only for that to come up at some point.
She can feel Bant's disappointment, but tunes it out, eyes surveying the room. Roughly three fourth's of the room has emptied while she was out. Most that remain are Councilors, Dooku, Obi-Wan, and a few random Masters talking with one another. Yoda's still here, and in the process of hobbling over in her direction. She watches him approach. She wonder's if he'll be smugly superior, an arrogant light-filled filth. Propping up the light while bemoaning the dark. She knew she was guaranteed to lose, but it still stings. She doesn't like to fail, especially when she has a large audience. They'd surely feel so damn vindicated after she spent the last few hours pounding them into the floor.
Yoda stops a few feet from her, hands on his gimmer stick as he looks up at her. "Impressive your Soresu is. When master it and yourself, you do, unsure I am if penetrate such a wall of defense, I could."
Of all the things Siri expected, that was not it. She blinks down at him, unsure of how to respond to the compliment. She goes with her usual kind of response. "Aren't you the one who says 'do or do not'?"
Yoda harrumphs and wacks her shin with the stick, turning and walking off. Siri grins a little at the small win, but it fades quickly as she stares at the Grandmaster's back, contemplative. Her mind drifts to the battle Sidious and Plaguies had, comparing it to what little taste she got of Yoda actually fighting seriously. Yoda isn't flashy, there's nothing massive or explosive when fighting him. He's just intense, really intense, using the Force to augment himself physically. He fights primarily with his lightsaber, but has such strength in the Force that he can meet someone head on with it no problem. If Sidious were to fight Yoda, would the Dark Lord of the Sith even have time to go for more of his darker arts? Or would it be a struggle and a scramble to either keep up with Yoda or keep him offbalanced?
She doesn't know.
She doesn't like not knowing.
Frankly, any possible scenario of the Jedi actually somehow beating Sidious revolves around Yoda. Sidious won't let Skywalker reach the age and strength the boy needs to in order to challenge Sidious without converting him to the Sith or killing him. Any other scenario, where the Jedi massively outnumber Sidious and overwhelm him, is very unlikely to occur. Not to mention, there is the very unsettling fact that Sidious, until recently, was actually the Sith Apprentice to Plaguies. Just how much more does Sidious have to grow before he reaches his own pinnacle? How old is Sidious actually?
From what little of his face she's seen with that hood of his always up, he's an older man. But is that old as in Dooku old? Or older as in forties, fifties starting to turn gray? There is a massive difference between the two that represents Sidious being around a lot longer than she'd hope if its the latter. Not to mention being the latter also guarantees he still has time to improve and most likely still will. It's highly likely that with time, Sidious would have ended up strong enough to kill Plaguies straight up in a fight. What chance does Yoda have against that?
The Dark Side whispers to her so quietly, slinking through the light-stained halls of the Jedi Temple, that if Sidious is to die, it won't be Yoda who does him in. The future is always in motion, but... any of them that Yoda kills Sidious feels like a small minority. She wishes she could make the Force show her ANY future that Sidious dies in, but visions were never her strength. The murmurs of the Force, hints of the future, were the most she generally got.
The thing she doesn't like about the whispers was the IF in that statement. She'd rather Sidious not be the Sith that figures out how to live forever. Its a thought for another time, she's sore after that fight against Yoda. Lazing about on her apartment's couch sounds pretty good right about now...
Sidious sighed as he watched his would be stand-in apprentice crumple, the staves of the training droids beating her into the floor. He let it go on for a few moments longer, her body accumulating black and blue to showcase his displeasure. He waves a hand and deactivated the droids, walking over slowly to stare down at the bloody form. He's already missing his real apprentice, this is just disappointing.
"Tachi learned this lesson at half of your age with less than a year of exposure to the Dark Side," he said with disapproval.
"And what," she rasped out, "Lesson is that?"
"That one's lightsaber is a tool, that the Force is by far the more powerful weapon" he said before going snide, "Though even your skill with a lightsaber leaves much to be desired. As a former apprentice of Yan Dooku, you are rather sloppy."
Vosa snarled and spit up blood at him.
Sidious glared down at her, flexing his hands and released a torrent of lightning. He found himself missing Tachi's insolent tongue over this woman's bestial snapping, but her screams took a little off the edge of the constant fury that had been trailing him since his apprentice has become... misplaced. Then, Vosa started begging for mercy, and his mood soured again. He couldn't remember the last time Tachi had begged for mercy. Perhaps in her first year of apprenticeship. Honestly, Vosa was a grown woman and had been a part of the Bando Gora cult, this paltry amount of pain should be nothing. He supposed it just went to show that others Dark Side sects were pale mockeries compared to the Sith.
"You," he snarled, stopping his lightning, "Are pathetic. You've allowed your skills, your mind, and your potential to erode within your little cult. You wish revenge on Dooku? I can guarantee as you are now he will defeat you with childish ease. That's not even considering that my apprentice will slaughter you when she learns of you if you don't shape up quickly."
Vosa panted and glared up at him in a mixture of fear and spite. "You mean the apprentice who chose the Jedi over you?"
Sidious kicked her face with Force enhanced strength, breaking her nose and causing her to roll over clutching it. He growled and began calling on the dark to prepare a more intense lightning. "You will find, foolish woman, that my apprentice most certainly did not choose them, she is not, and will not be light ever again. She is merely... overeager and is attempting to usurp me far to early to actually work," not to mention her desire for Kenobi, "She could escape their temple at will, but merely chooses to try and use them to her advantage."
Lightning cackled along his hands. "I will reclaim her and show her just how badly was her misstep, and if you are not strong enough when I pit you two against eachother, she will maintain her claim to her place with ease, and you will die as NOTHING."
Lightning erupted from his fingers, and her screams filled the room as he began to laugh. She would die and be forgotten no matter how things turned out. Whether to Tachi, to Dooku, or if somehow those two failed in their purpose, eventually to Skywalker. That's assuming she didn't fail and die on a mission somewhere. It was still disappointing, he had been hoping he'd be ale to use the stand-in apprentice immediately. It would have been better if he had Dooku at the moment and had him kill her, but he'd make do with what he could.
If he were to be honest to himself, he most likely needed to scrounge up a few more acolytes as well. Either by pilfering more Dark Side sects, or perhaps perusing the Jedi Service Corps for potentially useful washouts. Good help was so hard to find. He smiled a little to himself, watching Vosa as she spasmed, losing herself to unconsciousness. Sidious tsked to himself, ever since Maul died he had been doomed to women and their weaker constitutions. Tachi rose above her gender, and may even make use of it by bearing and bringing Leia into the Sith. Which would be again ironic, to have another female, but he digressed, he had more important things to be doing that bemoaning such trifles.
For instance, he had been feeling his apprentice in combat for quite awhile now, and was rather curious what exactly she was doing. He recalled in the trial she offered to 'teach' the Jedi how to fight the Sith, and hid a chuckle as he relaxed his lightning and levitated Vosa into the air to be carried to the infirmary. Tachi had to be having the time of her life playing with the Jedi. He so did hope she enjoyed it while it lasted, she wouldn't have the time for such amusements once she was back in her proper place.
He wondered if he should make a call for Young Skywalker to check in on the boy, invite him over to talk again. He could feel the boy's presence in the vicinity of his apprentice, perhaps he could get an overview of how it transpired, not that he expected the boy to understand the intricacies of combat yet. It would still serve as to keep some kind of eye on his apprentice and the Jedi. That boy did love to hear himself talk after all, serving unknowingly as an unwitting spy...
Chapter 40: Roots
Chapter Text
"That was bordering on an unmitigated disaster," said Obi-Wan's Grandmaster, his face wrinkling with distaste as their lineage piled into Qui-Gon's apartment, save for Yoda, who had elected to confer with the Council, "Giving the Sith near free reign to batter around our Knights and their students. Padawans openly questioning the strength of the light against the dark. Force, C'Baoth and his utter arrogance threw away an assured victory, a master of his caliber should have not made such a mistake."
Obi-Wan wasn't quite sure how assured it actually was, he had noted that entire session Siri had not used that ability she had used on Qui-Gon and him on Naboo, to afflict their minds with sights and sounds not there. She wasn't playing all of her cards, good hunch she hadn't been even on Naboo. There was so little about the Sith that the Jedi knew these days, and he wasn't honestly sure he wanted to know it all. If he could stomach any more horrific knowledge bought at terrible prices to Siri's soul. Still... he had become more adept at reading Siri, enough to pick up when she is surprised and has to take effort to lock herself down. Master Allie had caused that. There had been a brief conflict there, at least until the Jedi Master opened her mouth and condemned Siri. Then it was gone.
Another possible avenue towards helping Siri, had Master Allie taken a more peaceful, understanding, Jedi approach, was gone.
He sat down slowly, sighing as he adopted a light meditation, enough to start slowly releasing his built up emotions from earlier to the Force, but not deep enough to not pay attention and converse. "I voiced my opinion that it was a terrible idea to begin with. Allowing and even encouraging her to use the Dark Side sets back so much progress."
"Grandpadawan, I mean little offense to your efforts, but your progress was undone the moment the Sith left the cell without agreeing to turn away from the Dark Side," said Dooku in a soft voice.
Obi-Wan looked away for a long moment. "Not all of it, I know I made some impact, but with her having the Dark Side again, its difficult to see. Interacting with her for more than a few minutes can be... rough with her attitude."
Dooku hummed. "Do not forget that your safety comes first before anything else, Grandpadawan, we've been over this before. If you do not consider the situation or the Sith's immediate outlook manageable, then get away from it. I do not in particular think you should approach the Sith after that for the remainder of the day. I can practically smell the stench of the dark from here."
Obi-Wan sighed. "Yes Grandmaster."
"Her."
Obi-Wan blinked and looked over to see Anakin giving Dooku an unreadable look from the floor next to the table, it was strange to see something he couldn't figure out on one so young. Qui-Gon was sitting next to him, preparing the four of them tea, but slowly set his packets down to give the boy a curious look.
"Pardon?" inquired Dooku.
"Almost everyone but Obi calls her 'it' or 'Sith'," said Anakin, "She might be a Sith, but she's still a person."
He paused briefly to amend. "A really scary person."
Dooku stared at Anakin for a long moment, the boys chin tilting up to meet the gaze with unwavering intensity, not budging, before Dooku huffed, "Your padawan indeed Qui-Gon. I can already see him carrying on your legacy of taking in all manners of strays."
Qui-Gon's mouth twitched with amusement. "I've always chosen to take such comments as compliments."
"I'm sure you have," remarked Dooku before frowning subtly, giving Anakin a considering look, "You are of course correct. Siri Tachi is a person. To imply otherwise is to objectify in a manner unbecoming of a sentient, let alone a Jedi."
He shook his head and rubbed his face tiredly, hugging a bit and muttering darkly under his breath, "Looking in a mirror."
Obi-Wan wisely chose not to comment. He had been there when Siri had given her warning to Dooku after all. Everyone has their own inner darkness, him, Dooku, Qui-Gon, even Yoda. He cherished his Grandmaster, but he wasn't blind to the man's faults anymore than he was to his own. One wouldn't normally think that such an accomplished Jedi Master could fall, but, that wasn't reality. Anyone could fall. Anyone could be changed and warped; case and point being how radically different Siri had become.
The warning is something he appreciates from Siri, regardless of the crude, cruel, and crass way she tended to give them. Because she did give it, did care enough about him to try to offer aid. She still is so very fallen, but the point was she was still trying to help, in her own dark manner. That mattered, that mattered so unbelievably much.
"I think the session went about as much as expected," offered Qui-Gon, resuming his tea preparations, "Considering my own experiences fighting her alongside Obi-Wan. Most combatants got off easy."
"How so?" inquired Dooku, "You haven't enlightened me to your opinion of the battle on Naboo as of yet, despite my multiple inquiries as to the subject."
Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow. "I've been busy with helping Anakin catch up to his peers, getting my liver cloned to replace the one Siri destroyed when she ran me through, the Council screaming at me for my 'gambling problems'..."
"Betting the entirety of your mission to escort the Queen to Coruscant on a podrace was one of the most irresponsible things you have done in a very long time Qui-Gon Jinn," stepped in Dooku sternly, a warning tone in his voice, "As was encouraging young Skywalker to participate in such a dangerous event. Force Qui-Gon, you are lucky they didn't censure you, that dealing with the Sith-Tachi," he corrected without missing a beat, "Is more important to them. No, censorship is the least of your worries. Qui-Gon, they could have revoked your mastership over such an outrage."
Qui-Gon closed his eyes and sighed softly. "I did as the Force wills, Master."
"You've been making that excuse since you were a young padawan to try and get away with everything," said Dooku, exasperated.
"S'not like I haven't raced before," chimed in Anakin, "Watto had me racing since I was old enough to see over the wheel, and I didn't even crash this time!"
Dooku closed his eyes for a long moment. "And how old were you when you first survived a podracing crash?"
Before Anakin could respond Dooku held up a hand. "No, never mind, I do not believe I wish to stomach the answer."
Anakin just shrugged. "I was used to it."
"That's never an excuse to give for something immoral," said Qui-Gon softly, "I do regret that you were put in danger, but I will always try to do as the Force wills me. You needed to be brought to the Temple, we needed to get off Tatooine and to Coruscant with the Queen, and this was the only path I saw open to us quickly."
He rubs his face tiredly, "Had we delayed, and Siri found me alone without the ship to flee onto, I'd be dead without question."
"You believe that, truly?" posed Dooku.
"Master," said Qui-Gon, "I don't believe you understand truly how conflicted she was on Naboo. She could have disposed of us both with ease on the walkways. Its a coincidence if we fall and land on another walkway, or she tosses us down a walkway rather than far off the edge to plummet to our deaths, once or twice. But the sheer number of times it happened?"
He shook his head. "We couldn't have given her a better arena unless we had fought her on Korriban itself. Looking back, there is no reason the battle should have lasted as long as it did."
Dooku huffed. "Let that be a lesson on letting your opponent choose the battlefield, young Skywalker."
"You're not always going to get to choose though, are you?" asked Anakin, "Someone could get the drop on you."
"Quite true," agreed Dooku, "But when the obvious stands right before you, don't give them what they want, stop and think before you act."
"I'm not really good at that," admitted Anakin, "I kind of always just go with what I feel."
"That, young one, is what Qui-Gon is for," answered Dooku with amusement.
"I don't know Grandmaster," said Obi-Wan, glancing at Qui-Gon teasingly, "I'm not sure he ever taught me that lesson."
"Imp," said Qui-Gon, good natured, "It is not my fault you do not hear and listen."
"And now you know my pain," said Dooku, trying to see so solemn, but giving off an air of amusement, the twitch of a lip, "Sometimes I think Qui-Gon was off in his own reality the entirety of his apprenticeship."
Qui-Gon huffed. "Beset on all sides, whatever shall I do?"
"Help me with my homework?" offered Anakin.
That got a laugh from the room, easing out of the tense subject of Siri and the Dark Side. Obi-Wan watched as Qui-Gon settled in next to Anakin and slowly guided the boy on writing basic. It was one of the subjects he struggled with, but between the three of them, they'd manage. Though, he and Dooku were constantly pulled into meetings about Siri and had missed a large portion of the starting weeks/months of Anakin's beginnings in the Order. Apparently though, Anakin liked him enough to give him Obi as a nickname. He had thought about calling him Ani in return, but... he always sensed a ping of longing and deep worry when Qui-Gon did, about the boy's Mother if he guessed. He had brought up that subject up to Master Windu once, only for him to be told the boy needed to learn to let go. He didn't particularly think this was the way to teach that lesson while the woman suffered in slavery, but, it wasn't his call to make. So he made a point not to call him that, if only to not remind the boy of her. He hadn't seen Anakin and Dooku interact enough to get what they thought of one another yet. Dooku seemed open enough, trying to pass down advice...
He frowned as his thoughts turned, as they always had as of late, to Siri. He wondered if the concept of lineage even still held meaning to her. Did it matter if it did? Anyone worthwhile she'd share that with was gone. He wasn't sure what Sith as a whole thought about the notion, but Siri especially wouldn't even think of such a thing with Sidious. It was sad to note and predict, that when she turned away from the Sith, she'd probably never be allowed to take her own apprentice. At least not from the ranks of a Jedi.
He blinked when he felt a nudge from the Force about that thought, a whisper of promise, a name in its currents he just couldn't quite grasp at. His face schooled back into a passive look as he leaned his head back on the couch, staring up into the ceiling. The future was always in motion, he'd seen enough of his own dreams or visions or notions from the force fail to come to pass before. The thought of Siri with an apprentice though... was interesting he supposed. If she got one... he wondered how'd they survive all that sass and sarcasm.
He smiled a bit at that, a soft chuckle escaping his lips.
"Care to share, my Grandpadawan?" inquired Dooku.
The thought of Siri with an apprentice might give him a stroke, so Obi-Wan waved his hand. "It's nothing..."
Dooku narrowed his eyes, a knowing look on his face...
Before he could pester, there was a tap tap tap on the door, from a stick if that sounded right. Obi-Wan turned his attention and felt Yoda at the door. Obi-Wan got to his feet and went over, opening the door. "Hello Master Yoda."
"Obi-Wan," the little green being replied, ears flickering as his eyes took in the room, a pleased look on his face, "Mmm, rare it is, to see all of a Lineage in one gathering."
"It never lasts," mused Dooku, "Were it not for the circumstances at hand, one of us at least would be out on a mission."
Yoda grunted in acknowledgement, waddling in and plopping down on the side of the table adjacent to Qui-Gon, a soft sigh escaping his lips, "Tiring, meetings are. Have a spare cup of tea, do you?"
"Of course Grand Master," said Qui-Gon, getting up to retrieve a spare cup and pour it.
"Careful Master Yoda," teased Obi-Wan, "It almost sounds like you're admitting to getting old."
Yoda harrumphed and waved his stick. "When almost nine-hundred years you reach, see how handle duties of a Grand Master, you do."
Obi-Wan smiled. "Fortunately for me, I'll be resting in the Force well before then."
"Hmph," grunted Yoda, taking a sip before sighing again, "Old am I, admit it I do. Very old for my kind. Turn over the duties of Grand Master within your lifetime and pass on, I will."
Obi-Wan swallowed thickly at the notion of Yoda retiring, let alone dying. "Surely not."
"Pass all things do," said Yoda, "Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. Attachment leads to jealously. The shadow of greed, that is."
"Of course Master Yoda," murmured Obi-Wan.
"You... want people to be happy when someone they care for dies?" asked Anakin, incredulous.
Dooku have him a disapproving look. "It is rude to speak to one's elders in such a tone."
Yoda waved him off and turned his attention to Anakin. "A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. If ache from death we do, weaken our dedication it will; fill us with grief and suffering, detracts from our connection to the Force, that does. A life passed on, a life that no longer suffers. We rejoice that their service is done, that rest in the arms of the Force, they do. That one day, see them again, we will, even if not as we are. Luminous beings we are, not this crude matter."
Yoda's ears flickered when Anakin didn't reply, a look of confused disagreement on the young boy's face. "Told you once I did, see through you, I can. Afraid are you. Named must your fear be before banish it you can. Warned you already I have, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering."
Anakin looked down, lips tight, fists clenched, saying nothing.
"A great trial for you, understanding and accepting this will be," said Yoda sagely.
Obi-Wan pursed his lips. He didn't want to counteract Yoda, not even if the audience was only their own lineage, but that was a harsh lesson and delivery for someone just starting on the Jedi path with the background that boy had. If he were the boy's Master, and thankfully he wasn't, he'd try to ease him into the concepts of the Jedi Order. The boy still had a few years before he'd be mission ready to begin understanding and adapting. But again, not his Master, that was Qui-Gon's job, he had his hands full with Siri.
Not that he hadn't been shying away from that duty since she got out of her cell. He just... didn't know how to pull her away when she was actively entwined with the Dark Side. Just how had Master Ur-Manka done it?
"Mmm, young Kenobi, tell me, what think of Tachi's matches, did you?" inquired Yoda.
Aaaaaand now they were back on that subject again. "I think that her time in the cell did very little to detract from her in the long run. She's just as efficient and deadly now as she was months ago."
"Mmm," hummed Yoda, "Still holding back, was she against me?"
So he had noticed. "In a way. She wasn't fighting to kill, and she wasn't showcasing some of the abilities I saw on Naboo."
Yoda nodded thoughtfully. "A Sith she is, but not in the truest way. Felt that darkness from Coruscant from Naboo I did, much worse could she be. Yet, still far stronger, would Sidious be even if fully lost, Tachi had been."
He sighed. "Much work do the Jedi have, to be prepared for this threat. Useful young Tachi will be in this, I feel."
"So these are to go on then?" asked Dooku.
"Go on they will, but carefully monitored they will be," answered Yoda before grunting with displeasure, "More work do the Jedi need if better than most at Soresu a Sith is."
Obi-Wan can't tell if that's bias against the Sith, or irritation with his fellow Jedi.
Dooku scoffed. "Surely you realize its not just Soresu? I did not have enough exposure to her nor the opportunity to watch critically, but I do now. Makashi is weaved into her movements even if she is not actively using the style. Throughout the majority of that session, not a single saberstroke was wasted save against you."
He rubbed his chin. "Unless she is facing a vastly superior opponent, there are very few forms that would work against her... perhaps..."
"Djem So, yes, a very skilled Djem So practitioner would best and overwhelm her defenses," said Dooku, looking pleased at the conclusion, "As would a more skilled user of Makashi such as myself, and I think Master Windu's Vapaad would defeat her as well. Of course, a more skilled and powerful master of the Force could defeat her as well. C'Boath should have showcased this."
"Only once," said Obi-Wan softly.
Yoda's ears flickered, looking to him, the question unasked but obvious.
"Something Siri said in the cell, that Sith are about changing and adapting," said Obi-Wan, "Anything you beat her with she will try to learn a way around."
"Changing only in regards to power," said Dooku with disdain, "And overcoming whatever may be in their way for attaining more of it."
"If that was the sole case, neither I nor Qui-Gon would be here right now," said Obi-Wan, chin tilting up a bit.
Dooku sighed and waved a hand. "Aside from her attachment."
"A pot you are to her kettle," teased Yoda.
It took Obi-Wan a moment to translate to 'pot calling kettle black' before he chuckled. Dooku scowled at that, sarcasm dripping to the point of near venom. "Yes, forgive me for favoring my lineage, which is, to be frank, a failing most Jedi have."
Yoda gave him an unamused look. "A failing, I said not, so long as consume you, it does not."
Dooku's face turned shrewd. "Tell me then, what does one consumed by attachment look like, my vaunted master? Let us turn this into a lesson for young Skywalker."
Yoda harrumphed. "Changed from your padawan years, you have not."
Dooku smiled sharply in response. "We are waiting."
Yoda slowly shook his head. "When attachment matters more than the person themselves. Law, duty, compassion, logic, trust, when all of these and more fall away, when they matter matter no more. When betray yourself, when betray the one attached to, when betray everyone for the attachment you do, then consumed you are."
Obi-Wan kept an eye on Anakin as Yoda spoke, watching the way the boys shoulder's stayed hunched, face a mask, emotions practically signalling that he saw this as anything as but a lesson, more like a personal attack. He resolved to give Qui-Gon a nudge later to try and find a better way to convey the lesson. Albiet, neither of them were exactly the perfect ones to teach it. All of them perhaps leaned more towards being influenced by their attachments rather than their responsibilities. Though when push came to shove, they would do their duty without question.
He cherished Siri, but if she became that yellow-eyed monster again, he would let her go.
Though he would do his best to prevent that, speaking of which...
"Master Yoda," he asked, "Has my request been granted?"
Dooku's head turned his way. "Request?"
Yoda grunted, frowning at Obi-Wan. "Considered it the Council has, sure are you?"
"I am."
Yoda sighed. "Granted it is, move to the apartment next to Tachi, you may."
Dooku pinched his nose and sighed.
Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow. "So eager to be off our couch padawan-mine?"
"No, but I have been remiss in my duties," admitted Obi-Wan, "I need to start on her again, the longer I wait, the deeper back into the Dark Side she will burrow."
There was a sagely nod from the Yoda, Dooku merely took a mocking tone, "Well, at least you didn't move in with her."
Obi-Wan sputtered, scandalized. "Grandmaster!"
That got a laugh out of the masters before a comlink beeped, Anakin's, the boy fished it out, and relief shone across his face for a moment before he hid the look. "It's Mister, er, Chancellor Palpatine."
Qui-Gon frowned. "Again? I don't know why he keeps asking for these visits."
Dooku gave him a unamused look. "I think its a good thing for young Skywalker that our esteemed Chancellor has taken an interest in his career as a Jedi. As it was with you and Valorum, having a working relationship with the leader of the Republic could be beneficial."
"Or get us dragged into one disaster of a mission after another," said Qui-Gon, sighing, "But we can't very well refuse the man. Alright, put away your homework Anakin and we'll head over."
"Yipee!" exclaimed Anakin, rushing off to do so.
Obi-Wan frowned a little. Awful quick to want to get away from them. He glanced at Qui-Gon who merely shrugged, not phased, and resumed sipping tea now that the homework session was done for the moment. Obi-Wan pushed the thought away for another distant time, Siri was his responsibility, Anakin was Qui-Gon's, unless his old Master started pulling some of the crap he had done early on in Obi-Wan's own apprenticeship, then he'd need to give his master a stern talking. This would be Qui-Gon's third padawan, he will be able to integrate Anakin into the Order, far more than Obi-Wan could hope to.
He shook his head and rose to start packing. As a Jedi he didn't own much, but there were a few little tokens he had picked up, or a rock he had been given, that needed to go into a bag before he moved. Maybe a few plants he could convince Qui-Gon to part with...
Sidious waits patiently as Young Skywalker keeps rambling about what he witnessed earlier in the day. "It was crazy. She fought for hours, and didn't even look tired until she had to go against Yoda."
He wasn't particularly surprised by that outcome in the slightest. What hope could the common trash of the Jedi Order have against a Sith?
The boy's shoulder's slumped a little, and he looks scared. "They keep saying I'm some kind of 'Chosen One' whose supposed to destroy the Sith and bring balance, whatever that means. But how am I supposed to be able to fight that when she's just a Sith padawan and she can beat so many Jedi? Her Master has to be even stronger! How am I supposed to win alone?"
He resists the urge to snap at the boy and say 'Apprentice' not Padawan, but reigns it in. This fear is good. If he were actually trying to comfort the boy, he'd tell him that nowhere in that silly Jedi Prophecy did it say that Skywalker had to do it alone, but he's not, is he? Enlarging vulnerabilities that the Jedi overlook or create is going to be so childish easy it almost feels like he's cheating.
"Well my boy," Sidious says with a frown, "It does seem a bit unfair to put such pressure and responsibility on any one person."
Anakin nods, swallowing thickly. "Yeah. I mean, he's a bad guy, I want to stop him, but..."
Oh Skywalker, it would be decades before he was close to ready, even with his absurd strength in the Force. There were to many traumas and weaknesses and faults the boy had to work through before he'd be mentally ready for that. If the boy never received treatment or therapy for half of them? Well, that wasn't Sidious problem now was it? Jedi were so ignorant and detached from those beyond their walls. What was their interactions with the few slaves they did end up freeing in this day and age? Pass them on to a program or a planet like Aldaraan that dealt with them; speaking of which, he had an assassination to order after he was done here.
Bail Antillies had his chance to retire quietly, he'd foolishly passed it up on some misguided and foolish sense of duty. Honestly, what did one Force-Null little senator think he'd be able to do against the machinations of the Sith except die?
He refocused on the boy, leaning forward to whisper conspiratorially. "Between you and I, its my personal opinion that they are passing on the problem for a younger generation to handle rather than doing the responsible thing and seeking out this Dark Lord themselves."
He shook his head and sighed. "It is an unfortunate, and frequent thing, where many but the few truly responsible elders push aside a problem for another day and another person to handle. Even in the Senate, there is so much corruption and bureaucracy, it'll be half my term working through it before I can begin to make any progress at all on what was left for me to deal with."
"Is it really that bad?" asked Skywalker, wide-eyed and so naive.
"Yes, unfortunately," said Sidious, "Why, look at what young Tachi revealed in the first questioning session. Slavery is supposed to be illegal within the Republic, and yet some of our senators, who are supposed to represent our finest qualities and morals, were mired in filth."
Skywalker's face darkened, so much anger bubbling inside so young a body. It was intoxicating. Tachi had best tread carefully, because he is tempted, so tempted, to simply be done with her and focus everything on the boy. "Sometimes, I think our government has failed its purpose, that it does not work as it is meant to."
"Well, maybe it should be changed and made to work," said Skywalker, a furious scowl on his face.
"I don't necessarily disagree with you," said Sidious, "But it is easier said than done. The last time the Republic undertook truly massive changes was roughly a thousand years ago after a devastating war."
Skywalker crossed his arms and slumped a little in the chain, feet coming up to kick the desk in youthful frustration. "It's stupid. Even when they do changes, they don't fix the right problems. Mist-Master Qui-Gon's been teaching me to read, I went to the Archives and looked up a bunch of stuff. The Hutts have been around a long time, maybe even longer than the Republic. They've owned slaves the entire time..."
He began counting his fingers. "Twenty... twenty-five, thousand? Thousand. Twenty-five thousand years of slavery in Hutt Space. That's so long, that's so many people enslaved."
If its one thing Sidious could respect about the Hutts, it was their enduring way of life, letting nothing get in their way as they kept the weak of the galaxy crushed underneath. "But to the Republic, and the Jedi, if its outside their space and thus not their problem."
Anakin fidgeted a little. "The Jedi did beat the Zygerrians, once, that was wizard to read. But then they didn't keep an eye on them. They're stupid If they think those sleemos don't still do it where people can't see."
He looked away. "There were Zygerrians at pretty much every slave auction I ever saw."
Oh yes, he was quite right on that. Sidious had bought a few enslaved Jedi from them before for his apprentice to play with. Just as Plaguies had done for him. "It is unfortunate that those with power did not use it to the fullest in such a situation, I suppose it requires the right person with the right wisdom and willingness to do what must be done."
Anakin nodded, thoughtful. "Yeah, I guess."
So easily moldable, it was oddly disquieting that it was so disgustingly easy. He hid a frown and toyed with the feeling. He should be elated that Skywalker would almost assuredly fit the role Sidious intended for him.. yet...
Anakin scratched his head. "I don't get their attachment thing."
Sidious blinked, refocusing and taking a moment to identify the sudden topic change. "The Jedi's?"
"Yeah," said Anakin, "It's just... if you really love and care for someone, you'd be willing to do anything for them, right?"
Careful careful careful, Sidious takes a moment to consider how to answer, calculating potential consequences to certain responses if Skywalker happens to mention them to any Jedi. "Tell me, would you break the law if it meant saving your mother from slavery?"
Anakin opened his mouth the beginnings of a 'yes' escaping his lips before hesitating, looking absolutely grieved by the question. To soon for it then; if push came to shove the boy absolutely would, the Jedi hadn't indoctrinated his harsh past out of him yet, but to admit it aloud to others? That he'd kill, destroy, and do so much worse? He wasn't quite ready.
"Ah, but even before that question, we should ask, whose laws are we talking about?" inquired Sidious, watching Skywalker's eyebrows furrow in confusion, "The Republic's? Or the Hutt's?"
Anakin's face darkened, and oh it was delightful to feel that ripple of anger and hate once more, he was so easy to egg on. "Hutt Law I'd break in a heartbeat. The sleemos are all hypocrites anyway, they break their own laws every day!"
Disregard for one set of laws could lead into disregard for another. Or that they were beneath him to follow. "I suppose it all depends on your point of view."
"Wacha mean?" asked Anakin.
"What is good or evil is entirely based upon one's point of view," explained Sidious, "As foul as they are, to the Hutts, their way of life is only natural. They most likely look upon us as we look upon them."
If the slugs weren't so filthy and disgusting, they'd be almost tolerable with their lifestyle.
Anakin scowled. "It doesn't make it right."
"No, it doesn't," he said in a placating manner, "You will find that in our galaxy, many things that should be, are not."
"It should be made right," said Anakin, scowling, "Biggest problem in this galaxy is no one helps eachother."
Right on the first half, making it the way the Sith desire, wrong on the second, but the boy would get there, all to easily. Again, there was that twang of disquiet at the notion, why? After the trial that was Tachi, he thought he ought to be pleased at such a simple undertaking...
Ah.
He smiled. That was it. Where was the challenge? The thrill? The struggle? All of Tachi's apprenticeship had been a back and forth, to pull her into the Sith, to chip away at her Jedi beliefs, the unexpected danger and chance of almost losing her to Ur Manka, to keep her a Sith despite that failure of her first sacrifice, to force her to submit to his will and keep her in check, to figure out how much power and knowledge to teach or reward her with. All of that and more. Not to mention this current 'escapade' of hers was bound to be as infuriating as it was fascinating, like watching a speeder wreck if he's honest.
His eyes turned to this pitiful piece of slave trash sitting across from him. What was this boy in comparison? Where would the challenge be? All he had to do was wait and the boy would come to him session by session to slowly be converted over time as Sidious planted his roots deep into his psyche and mind; he wasn't even sure if he was going to need compulsions, he still would use them of course. At best, Qui-Gon Jinn's unorthadox approach to being a Jedi might serve as a roadbump, but even then there was the possibility the Jedi might hasten things instead. Sidious had already done his re-study of Jinn; he wondered how long it would be until the foolish Jedi Master started seeing shadows of Xanatos in Skywalker, especially with how fixated the boy was on his mother, as Xanatos had been with his father.
Jinn might end up making Skywalker's conversion even easier. He wondered if he could turn Jinn into Skywalker's sacrifice...
"Mr. Palpatine?"
Thoughts for later; Sidious refocused. "My apologies, I was lost in thought. It's so rare to find someone in this day and age with the kind of outlook you have," and the combination of abuseable weaknesses and his raw power, "You are a very special young man."
Skywalker practically preened, beaming and happy for such a trifle little compliment. It was sad really. If he offered the boy an army to rain death on the Hutts and a pat on the head for a 'good job well done' afterwards he could probably make Skywalker literally eat out of his hands. Like he had been starting to do with Maul before Tachi had usurped him, he could chain Skywalker to him through twisted loyalty. Throw him a bone every once and awhile, and Skywalker would be his loyal obedient pet.
Until the boys power grew to the point where it was uncontainable of course, it was the child's main redeeming feature. As much as he craved that power for the Sith, if Skywalker could, just by default of growing older and stronger over time, defeat Sidious with hardly a struggle, it seemed distasteful. No Sith should be able to kill their master without careful planning and great effort. Creating or taking advantage of a weakness. Their ultimate test. Skywalker would surpass Sidious eventually simply by existing. No planning could get around Skywalker just being able to snap his fingers and break Sidious's neck at whim.
When the meeting was all said and done, the Jedi's lessons undermined, and Skywalker steadily becoming more under his thumb than before, Sidious stood at the window of his office. He stared across the Coruscant cityscape at the Jedi Temple, lost in thought. Perhaps the most important thing Skywalker had revealed today was that Tachi had disclosed the Veil of the Dark Side to the Jedi. To say he was displeased was an understatement, it had taken great effort to push that to the back of his mind until Skywalker left, and was taking equal effort not to explode in rage now.
He contemplated the dangers and possibilities with ice cold calculation. Could the Jedi figure out a way around it now that they knew it existed and was blinding them? It seemed unlikely, but complacency was the Jedi way, not the Sith way. Aside from directing it, he had not experimented or changed the Veil his entire existence as a Sith. It was just there, the perfect tool to be used. He wondered if he could expand or empower it, not to mention modify it to block Tachi if need be. What other alterations could he do to it?
He supposed he'd have to see.
He frowned, his lips pursing, at another implication. If she had revealed the Veil, a tool he'd thought she'd keep under wraps for her own benefit... would she reveal Talson Fry and the plans for the Expeditionary Battle Planetoid platform? His eyes narrow dangerously at the thought. After the Jedi were destroyed, the superweapon would keep the Galaxy in line while he was freed at last to explore and experiment unrestrained into the depths of the Dark Side. It was a key piece of his plans. He would tolerate no danger to it. He contemplates his potential course of action. The bond to Tachi is still there, which is a curious thing that she hasn't done anything about it yet. She almost never uses or acknowledges it, perhaps it's slipped her mind. He could use it to preform a Memory Rub and wipe it from her. Though there were dangers to this as she would assuredly fight him on it, and he did not want to destroy her mind. He'd stay his hand for now, but if he thought she'd become a threat to the Expeditionary Battle Planetoid platform he would act.
He hummed to himself, "I think it needs a shorter and more impactful name..."
Chapter 41: Implications
Notes:
Sorry, didn't realize I hadn't posted this chapter here yet. Here ya go.
Chapter Text
Siri glanced up from her datapad at the sound of a door opening, not hers, but from the apartment next to her. She stretched out her senses, detecting Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon Jinn, Dooku, and Skywalker (she ought to name him Supernova until he learned to properly shield). There was a brief distracted acknowledgement from Obi-Wan, but the other three didn't seem to have noticed her quick pass. Which was curious, not that they had missed it, but that Obi-Wan had managed to pick it up. He was learning, in several areas now, interesting. Perhaps if he adapted enough he might just survive Sidious without her holding his hand, who knows.
But that was a thought for another time, what were they doing?
She closed her eyes and saw through the Force, outlines of their presences through the walls in her mind carrying boxes and plants.
Her eyes snapped open, eyebrow raised, a sly grin crossing her face. She walked over to the wall leisurely and knocked loudly, "Oy, am I getting a neighbor?"
She snickered at the exasperation she felt from Dooku; Obi-Wan called out an answer, "What do you think Siri?"
"Well, its either Dooku to keep an eye on me, or you to restart our so lovely chit-chats," she answered loudly.
"Considering you keep scaring away the mindhealers who are only trying to help you, guess," called back Obi-Wan.
Siri just laughs. "Oh goodie, try not to egg me into breaking your nose again."
She faintly hears him sigh before she moves back to the couch, picking up her datapad but not turning it on, just turning it over in her hands again and again. She'd be lying if she said she was looking forward to this again. She had liked portions of their talks in the cell, but considering how little into the past they had gotten through, there were things they were heading for she did not want to dredge up. At all.
She especially knew that Obi-Wan would be interested in her time with Ur Manka.
She exhaled through her nose and tilted her head back, staring up at the ceiling aimlessly as time ticks by until one by one, Obi-Wan's lineage leaves his new apartment. She turns her head, eyes slowly moving to follow his presences as he moves about, re-arranging and moving this or that before he settles into the center to meditate. Its getting rather late in the day, so he could be doing so before he turns in for the night, or he could still make a visit. She's not sure which she'd prefer. Their interactions aside from his general nagging haven't been much since they got out of the cell.
Then again, she did throw him across the room when she saw the video of her first senate session, might have made him a bit skittish.
But, lo and behold, once he is done, she follows his presence as as he leaves his apartment and makes for hers, entering.
"Ever heard of knocking?" asked Siri deadpan, "Its common courtesy."
He gave her a suspicious look. "And how often do you remember to knock before entering somewhere private?"
"Cute."
"Honest question."
"Are you sure you want me to answer it?" she asked, eyebrow raised.
He closed his eyes and sighed. "Is breaking and entering common for you?"
"As missions dictated," she answers, noncommittal, "I've done my fair share."
"For what reason?"
She gave him a bored look. "Theft. Extortion. Snooping around for blackmail. That sort of thing."
He looked skeptical. "You happened to leave out murder."
"Silly Jedi," she said, sneering, "I don't need to break into someone's home to kill them."
He went still, an odd sensation of sadness and grief from him rather than anger, and Siri wondered if he'd skitter out of the room or go all righteous on her.
Instead, his voice is soft, "No, I suppose you don't."
She doesn't like that tone directed at her. "Is there something you want, Kenobi?"
He looked around her room with an eyebrow raised, at all the furniture but the couch shoved to the outer parts. He didn't comment, merely going for a chair and pulling it over to face the couch from a few feet away. "We haven't really talked in awhile."
"Didn't we speak yesterday?" she said mockingly, "My how forgetful you are."
He gave her a look. "I mean like we did..."
She cut in with lethal sweetness, "When I was trapped in that little cell forced to talk to you or be put in complete isolation? That kind of talk?"
He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. "Same vein, less pressure."
She scoffed. "I'm not sure you're ready for the kind of arena where I can properly can fight back."
"Must everything be a fight with you?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Yes actually."
"Well, its a common theme at least."
She snorted. "Cute."
"Me or the comment?"
She grinned; he was learning. "I dunno, I think I'd need a peak in the shower first to see if you meet standards."
That got a disproving look out of him. "Deviant."
"It's not being a deviant to ogle your significant other."
"I'm pretty sure we're not that."
She sighed with mock regret. "You Jedi always wanting to move so slow."
"How do you always seem to turn everything into a stab against the Jedi?"
"Very carefully."
He gives an exasperated sigh; she just looks sly. "If the Jedi didn't have so many issues and flaws I wouldn't be able to this so easily."
He raised an eyebrow in challenge. "And the Sith don't? I seem to recall you saying your Order did have failings, though you didn't happen to mention them. Or are you taking that back now that you have that Dark Side poison in your veins again?"
She narrowed her eyes at him, a flame in her chest starting to burn. "Watch yourself Jedi. I meant what I said, and the Dark Side is no more poison than the Light is."
His chin tilted up. "Is it?"
"The Light affects its user just as the Dark does, changing them, warping them in its own way," she said, teeth baring at the end, "Jedi aren't anymore natural than the Sith."
"At least we're not mass murdering psychopaths," he bit out, "Its where you would have ended up if we hadn't rescued you from..."
"Excuse me? Rescued?" Must not break his face. Must not break his face.
"You are no longer directly under Sidious's thumb at the moment," he answered.
She wrinkled her nose. "Your definition of rescue needs work, a lot of it."
The silent stare down they go into makes her itch to have her lightsaber in her hand.
"So then, what are the issues with the Sith you will admit to?" he asked pointedly.
She's not deaf to the emphasis on 'admit', it raises her desire to throttle him. "You are assuming I wouldn't admit them all?"
He studied her. "You'd definitely downplay most of them."
Her lips peeled back into a sneer. "As if you wouldn't for your precious order?"
"Is that a challenge?"
"It is."
"Alright then," he said, crossing his arms, "One failing for one failing."
"Considering you get more out of it then I do, I get to lead," she demanded.
"Fine, but you go first."
She nestled snugly into the couch. "I think that the Sith generally try to recruit by making their chosen apprentices fall is stupid and dangerous."
That utter gobsmacked and confused look across his face is so utterly satisfying; "I don't understand, ALL would be Sith fall."
She shook her head. "Idiot. There is a difference, a key difference in my opinion, between a Turn, a Fall, and a Descent or Seduction."
He looked at her blankly and slowly pulled a holopad out of his pocket, she assumed to take notes on. "You are going to have to explain that."
"Perhaps other Sith wouldn't agree with me, and probably not the Jedi either, but...," she clears her throat, "I define a plain turn to the Dark Side as a conscious choice, keyword conscious, a willing thought out decision. Perhaps you do it for power, or hungering for knowledge. Perhaps you've lost faith in the Light and turn towards its opposite. For whatever reason, you choose to turn."
He nods slowly, typing away on his datapad. "We're taught that a fall is always a choice."
She scoffs. "Idiots, the lot of you."
She feels a stirring of old angers and hate, of anxiety that she crushes as she continues onto the next topic, "A fall is an unconscious choice. It is an uncontrollable spiral down into the Dark Side, a speeder wreck that will be disastrous without critically timed intervention or a carefully guided hand. Whether prompted by torture, mind rape or control, extreme suffering, extreme emotional upheaval, or the pain of loss, perhaps multiple causes, you fall. You fall quick and hard and fast and there's little chance of stopping it once it's begun. It can destroy you and everyone around you. The worse a fall, the worse the Sith, to the point where it would seem like before and after were two completely different people, to much was destroyed or smothered in the fall and its aftermath."
"I was a fall," she said sourly, "I was a complete and utter emotional mess when Master Gallia died. The training bond snapping and bleeding out into my head sure didn't help. There was no conscious decision. I didn't just magically decide to fall, I didn't even realize I was fallen until Sidious pointed it to me and showed me a recording of my fall. I just... well... I fell and that was it."
Obi-Wan's eyebrows are furrowed in thought; it doesn't mask the sadness in his gaze. "I am sorry about her death."
Siri shakes her head. "Her death was her choice, it was illogical. She should have let me die and taken that beast out from behind when he was killing me."
Ignoring that Sidious would have killed Galia regardless.
"It's called love, Siri."
"A Jedi does not love," she spat.
"Neither does a Sith."
"Then I guess we're both piss poor examples of our Orders," she said, nose wrinkling.
There is silence for a long moment, his eyes lingering on hers, before he goes back to jotting down on his datapad.
"What Sidious intended for Dooku was a Descent," explained Siri, watching Obi-Wan both flinched and honed in on her words, looking up at her sharply, "Alternatively you could call it a Seduction, it really depends if it happens with or without someone else intentionally edging you into it. Sidious intended to slowly reel Dooku in and tempt him, to push him closer and closer to the Dark Side while alienating him from the Light. The further he chased me into the darkness, going over the dark trinkets and scriptures left for him, the further he let his morals go to chase after me, and of course, if Qui-Gon had died on Naboo. You lose your reasons to stay light, and delve into the Dark, sometimes without even realizing it."
She pauses to breath. "A natural example of this would be say... if a Jedi was continually exposed to horrific missions and surrounded by death, a war perhaps. All throughout history there have been examples of Jedi losing themselves to the Dark Side in the middle of various wars. We spoke of Revan and Malak in the cell, they are an example of a Descent, at least until they bungled into a Sith Emperor's domain."
"I don't know, maybe it's just bantha-shit pouring out of my mouth," she admits, "But I've given it thought from time to time," especially alone in that infernal cell, "I hate Sidious, I don't want to end up as a female version of him. I want to be better, I want the Sith to be better, rather than stuck in this tens of thousands of years old pissing match with the Jedi. If I ever were to take an apprentice, I wouldn't want them to have fallen, I want it to have been a conscious decision that they made knowing the consequences."
"This isn't a life for everyone, or for most people," she said, "Its harsh and unforgiving and full of suffering. A Sith will never be seen as a hero, to be fair, most probably aren't one. It isn't something you should be tricked or forced or fall into."
"So you wouldn't have chosen this for yourself?" he asks.
Figures he circumvents half of what she said and focuses on what he wants to hear.
She shoots him a withering look. "As a Jedi Padawan? We both know I never would have. As I am now? There are much better ways it could have been done."
If she's honest, while Zannah had said once she would have loved if Siri had lived in her time, she's not stupid. If Siri had never fallen, she probably would have been a small roadbump, either a Jedi that the Sith either killed or ignored. Even if Zannah hadn't overlooked Siri, the Zannah she knows is just a fragment, would the true Zannah have acted as she did now? Or would she have conscripted Siri to the Dark Side as Sidious had? She heavily doubts it would have been left to chance or free will if Zannah set her eyes on turning her in such a scenario.
She wonders if any Sith have given that much free will to their would be apprentices. Not just the choice of Turn or Die or some other shitty alternative.
"You've... given me a lot to think about," Obi-Wan says quietly, glancing back down at his datapad, "Do you mind if I share what you've said?"
She shrugged. "I don't care."
He gets up from the chair, glancing towards the door...
"Oh no you don't," she says sharply, "You sit your ass back down, it's your turn."
He looks sheepish for a moment and does so. "Alright, shoot."
Siri thinks about it for a moment. Trying to think of what she's already needled him on in the cell. She recalls calling out the Jedi on creating their own enemies, though she could always harp on that more. On indoctrination. On emotion. On that stupid 'Your lightsaber is your life' saying. On their failing reputation. On them overlooking those who truly needed their help and letting themselves be directed by the senate. Perhaps she could challenge him on the Order's Compassion VS Detachment (had she done so yet? She couldn't honestly remember). She could always go on about the Senate connection, she already mocked them for letting the Sith have such influence in the Senate, but not on them basically doing Sidious's bidding and getting sent out to die...
Oh.
Oh yes.
Now there was an idea.
Had any of them made that connection yet?
She could do that now, but why do it alone when she could have an audience, press a point, undermine Sidious, and absolutely freak out the Jedi?
Oh hell yes.
"I've changed my mind," said Siri, a wide predatory smile on her face, "I'll let you off the hook for tonight."
He looks at her with suspicion. "Why the change of heart?"
"Go to sleep Obi-Wan," she suggests sweetly, "Because tomorrow, you are going first in the sparring."
He frowns a little but nods and rises. "Very well."
She watches him go before getting up, hips swinging wide as she walks smugly satisfied back to her room. She is going to so enjoy tomorrow...
Siri is smiling with preemptive dark satisfaction as she's led into the same sparring room as before. Her eyes wash over the gathering of Jedi in a quick pass; less than before. She doesn't recall individual faces, but, she does note a far lesser amount of Padawans in the room than last time, maybe a few more knights and masters. It doesn't matter, though Skywalker is yet again there. She enjoys the subtle reactions of the Jedi to her mood; hints of apprehension, concern, and wariness abound, less fear than before with a majority of the younger padawans gone. C'Baoth's Padawan is still there she briefly notes before walking to the center and taking her Lightsaber from Dooku again.
She turns and directly stares at Obi-Wan, eyebrow raised in challenge. When Windu clears his throat to begin and asks for the first volunteer, Obi-Wan doesn't back down, he strides forward, ignoring the sudden hush and focus in the room. Well now, that's not a reaction she got from her duels last time. Interesting.
She ignites one end of her lightsaber and assumes her normal opening stance... only for Obi-Wan to do so as well, both of them beginning in Soresu. She is amused. "It would seem you were serious about learning Soresu after all."
"A Jedi is an eternal student," he says humbly before admitting, "I'm still terrible with it though."
"And you think to bring shoddy Soresu into these spars?" she asks mockingly, slowly adjusting away from a Soresu opening, considering if she really wanted to fight primarily with Makashi, its something she hasn't revealed to them yet. She supposes it doesn't matter, because the first time Dooku steps into one of these it's going to come out.
As she begins lightly testing his defenses with a few light jabs and thrusts, she speaks, "Last night, I challenged you to answer me on failings of your Order after I admitted to one of mine."
Obi-Wan frowned. "Really Siri? Now?"
"Oh yes Jedi," she says, jabbing sharply, forcing him to deflect and scurry away, "Now is the perfect time."
"You just like causing a scene," he accuses, glancing down quickly as he adjusted his footwork.
Force, how much practice had he with Soresu yet? You don't do that mid spar. Rather than respond, she takes him for a ride, choosing an arcing slice at his shoulder before deactivating that end of her lightsaber and coming up at his other side activating the other. He cleverly uses the momentum of him raising his saber and twisting his body to block the first strike in order to spin out of the way of the second. He gives her lightsaber a disgruntled look.
"That is devious."
"I know," she says smugly before focusing, slowly circling him, "Your blind obedience to the Senate is the fault I choose."
She can feel the bristle from around the room, though there is also rapt attention. Not to mention exasperation from the Council for her doing something like this with an audience again.
"I'd hardly call it blind...," he began.
She cuts him off with a rapid flurry of strikes and stabs, driving him back, "You do their missions without question. When is the last time a Jedi refused a mission from the Senate? When is the last time, outside of your shadows and acquisitions and undocumented ones, that the Jedi decided their own missions and priorities?"
"That," said Obi-Wan, struggling to maintain his defense before suddenly changing to Ataru, leaping overhead and away from her cornering him towards the edge of the dueling area, "Was decided during the Ruusan Reformation. That the Jedi Order needed to be accountable to the government, and to alleviate public fears after the war with the Sith."
She sneers at him, lowering her lightsaber to hiss against the floor, "Fool, you are all blind fools. Ignorant of the dangers of this, of pandering to the whims of corrupt politicians that who would use the Jedi to carry out their own designs..."
She glances over at Dooku. "Just ask your Grandmaster about his own experiences in that matter with Galidraan."
If looks could kill, Dooku would disintegrate her on the spot.
"But besides that, it also leaves the Jedi Order open to being directed by things far worse than a politician," mocked Siri.
Obi-Wan hadn't lowered his lightsaber, but he does narrow his eyes. "What exactly are you saying?"
"What I am saying, Jedi," hissed Siri, "Is that the Sith have been influencing missions you have been sent out on for a very long time."
"And what proof do you have, Sith?" called out a Jedi, "That you are not just fear mongering and trying to turn us on the Republic?"
Siri was not blind to the way the Force swirled through the room. Around each and every Jedi, and especially around her. The importance of this moment. That she needed to prove this. To show these stupid, foolish, arrogant, blind Jedi their folly. Yet the only way to prove it would damn her even more in all of their eyes. But then again, why should that matter? She's already damned.
"Because, several years ago, Knight Clee Rhara and Padawan Garen Muln were diverted into a mission by Sidious to serve as my first attempt at a Sacrifice," she said evenly, her face seemingly made of stone.
She need say nothing else, the implication that she killed them was already there.
There is horror, anger, and fury swirling around the room, rising and falling as the Jedi absorbed the information, reacted to it, and tried to release their emotions to the Force. She is keenly aware of Bant's presence staring at her in utter grief and sorrow.
"You're a monster," spat someone from circle of Jedi, a younger voice, probably someone who had known or known of her prior to her fall, "Wasn't he your friend?"
She ignored the question, eyes turning to Yoda whose ears had drooped in sorrow; so he hadn't known, Obi-Wan had kept his knowledge a secret. "So what will you do, Jedi? Will you still mindlessly follow the Senate when they yank your chain and order you to obey their whims? Will you follow Sidious's designs as he picks Jedi off one by one sending them to their deaths?"
Yoda adjusted his grip on his stick, ears flickering as he refocused. "A habit you have, of revealing important information outside of your sessions with the Council."
She smiled sharply. "Considering how long the Council takes to argue and waste time, I'm doing your Order a favor by letting them know. Perhaps this knowledge might save a few who might have perished while your council sat on their hands and did nothing."
"Many ramifications, can our actions have, careful deliberation must be made, but," rebutted Yoda, "When need to, move fast the Council can."
Siri snorted. "Sure."
She cracks her neck to one side, then the other. "The Sith have been picking off Jedi this way since well before my time, sending them to their deaths or disposing of them themselves. Altered mission reports that are changed either before or after the Jedi leave for the mission in question. Informing those who oppose the Jedi of their arrival. Sicking pirates or slavers or bounty hunters on them. Ambushes that leave Jedi dead or padawans masterless. All of that and more; the Sith have been slowly using the Senate to weaken and dispose of the Jedi over the last thousand years."
She laughs. "And that's only through missions..."
She decides to really hammer it in. "I DARE you, Jedi, go over legislation ranging from the end of the Ruusan Reformation to now. Look for any and all things that weaken your Order. Regardless of how small it seems, when added up, its a death of a thousand cuts. It wont all be from the Sith influence of course, but much of it will be."
Her lips peel back into a sneer. "Pay particular attention to how many cuts to Jedi Acquisitions funding you've taken over the years. Denial of a potential Jedi is the same as killing one."
She laughs low with sadistic glee and hunger, the Dark Side swirling and feeding at the emotions roiling through the room. There is much denial and disbelief, but to those it truly matters... she sees it in Dooku's eyes, on the paleness of Obi-Wan's face, Yoda's grimness as he clutches his gimmer stick, Qui-Gon's closed eyes and inched expression, the veins of Windu's head all but exploding, all of them and more.
Needless to say, she takes advantage and has Obi-Wan at saberpoint before he can recover from his shock, his lightsaber skidding across the floor from being disarmed. "Now, whose next?"
Something is happening.
Sidious can feel it from his spot overseeing today's senate session. The swirl of emotion from the Jedi Temple, his apprentice's dark glee, and the Dark Side's ominous warnings. Tachi just did something, she did something that he can feel the ripples and repercussions of rebounding through the Force. It whispers to him that she dealt him a blow, not unrecoverable, but still an actual blow. He can feel the future shift subtly; he is not thwarted, not even close, but he feels more light than there was before in the outcomes he is angling for. His lips purse, his fingers tap against the edge of his chancellor-pod in agitation.
What has his fool apprentice done now?
As the hours drag on, the sensation from the temple doesn't lessen, in fact, in increases. Something his apprentice did has well and truly riled up the Jedi. His first thought goes to the planned superweapon, but not, the Dark Side does not warn of a danger to that, not yet. Something else of impact then. His lips tighten as he slowly ticks off things she could have revealed that could cause such an shift in the Force, and he does not like the possibilities left. His anger is slowly building, to the point where once this pointless senatorial session is done he is going to cancel any further meetings for the day.
It is to blasted soon to call back Skywalker again. At least another day or so... unless he wants to touch on a compulsion to encourage the boy to call and ask. He is wary of using them so soon to alter anything or cause an obvious change in action or behavior. He's only just started weaving them into the boy, to use them early...
His control quarrels with his rage and ultimately, he reaches carefully for the boy's mind as the session ends and he is rather surprised to sense the boy is heading his way from the temple, he can feel Jinn's presence with him, curious. Most curious, there is an obvious connection to whatever is happening. He is, a little amused despite the fury building in him, when his secretary comms him and tells him the Jedi are here to see him.
Jinn offers a quick bow of respect before righting, the lines on his face are etched deep today. "I apologize for the disruption chancellor, but I was wondering if you might look after Anakin for a few hours."
"The Chancellor as a babysitter?" he asks in good humor, ignoring Anakins huff, "It's quite alright," he says, waving off anything Jinn was about to say, "The session I left was dreadfully stressful, the presence of youth would be a balm to my nerves."
"It is however," he adds, "Curious why you would come to me for this? I will never besmirch my young friend's company, but it is odd you would not ask a fellow Jedi if you were busy and needed someone to look after him."
Qui-Gon hesitates for an unusually long moment before simply saying, "Siri Tachi."
Sidious raises an eyebrow. "Has there been trouble in the temple? She didn't attack anyone did she?"
"No," says Qui-Gon, "But, she has... for lack of a better term, kicked the hornet's nest. For once, I defer to the Council and would rather you hear it from them."
Blast this Jedi beating around the bush. He'd get it out of Skywalker soon enough. "I see. Something troubling them."
"The implications are beyond massive," admits Qui-Gon, rubbing his face tiredly, he is visibly distressed and disturbed, "We've only just started trying to look into her claims, and its... to be honest, chilling even for me in for the depths of it from what has been uncovered so far. I don't think its good for Anakin to stay at the temple and be exposed to this from Jedi who should know how to shield their emotions better. The Creche is in an uproar over the negativity affecting the younglings as it is."
Oh whatever his apprentice had done was going to be bad. He was taking preemptive effort to reign in his rage for when Skywalker informed him of it, lest he reveal himself in an outburst. "Very well, I look forward to this with apprehension then."
Qui-Gon nodded curtly. "Again, thank you for taking the time to spare for this. I will return in a few hours."
The moment he leaves, he turns to Anakin and raises an eyebrow.
Anakin fidgets. "He asked me not to tell..."
"Anakin," said Sidious slowly, "Under normal circumstances, perhaps I would agree. But I am the leader of the Republic, and I would appreciate not being blindsided by whatever this is. I need to know what is coming to prepare for it."
Anakin hesitates, and then tells him.
Sidious is, for once, stunned.
Completely and utterly stunned.
Then his vision turns red, the Dark Side howls through him, he wants to rend and destroy everything in a several mile radius. It takes control, all of his control, to keep it contained. "Troubling... so very troubling young Skywalker."
Anakin nods timidly, "Maybe I don't get it all, but I get enough to know its bad."
Sidious is going to kill his apprentice.
If he could revive her after, he'd kill her again and again and again.
He cannot take anymore risks, she went farther than he ever thought she would go. She may even reveal the planned superweapon at this rate. He needs to nip this in the bud, immediately, before the day is out at most. "Forgive me Anakin, but I don't think I am going to be much entertainment today, I need to think on this."
Anakin nods, "I can be quiet."
He offers a quiet thanks and retreats to his thoughts. He weighs, yet again, after turning his rage into focus, whether to kill her or not. The bond still connects them, he could, with a viper's swiftness, reach down it and rupture her brain. She is not strong enough to stop such an attack yet. No, no immediate emotional reaction, think logically. He cannot afford a blunder. He taps his fingers on his desk in agitation. Killing her doesn't undo what has already been done, in fact, it will confirm to the Jedi without a shadow of a doubt that what she told them was correct. Though frankly any retribution would do so. It would prevent any further reveals however, though he would have to admit defeat in his apprentice being a lost cause (and admit she was enough of a threat to be forced to deal with her).
He also knows that he is only going to get one chance at this, once he uses the bond against her, she is going to have it destroyed. In fact, he might have to destroy it himself lest he risk the Jedi trying to follow it to him. He doesn't believe they would be able to considering his own safeguards, but, to many things he didn't think would happen in regards to his apprentice have already happened. He can afford no slip ups.
The most severe and swift action he can do is kill her.
He wont even count doing nothing as the least punishing action, this demands a response.
The least severe thing he would consider is to wait for nightfall when he is alone and without responsibilities to go down the bond and scrub her mind of anything he does not wish revealed with lightning speed, not giving her a chance to respond. He should have done it prior to now, but his apprentices all consuming hate of him had been considered to be the problem. Encouraging more of it to prompt her into revealing more seemed counterproductive. It was obvious now that all bets were off the table. Tachi was going to do whatever the hell she wanted damn the consequences.
Force, if this is what she's like now off the leash, how much effort would it have taken to keep her reigned in as a full fledged Sith Lord had she passed her sacrifice?
It makes him both want to cringe, and yet crave the challenge of keeping her under heel and bent to his will. To subjugate and control such a beast. Oh yes, it is without a doubt had she become Darth Tyrosus in earnest that she would have immediately started to undermine and plot against him rather than simply obey and survive and learn. Matching wits with Tyrosus and keeping ahead of her as she continued to grow in strength, intellect, and influence would have been a delight.
Having to clean up Siri Tachi's mess however is an infuriating chore. She must be shown that there are consequences of challenging him like this.
And she will not like them...
Siri hums to herself as the day draws to a close, very close to being the most smugly satisfied she's been in her life. The utter chaos that was roiling through the temple earlier, and still is to a degree, was delightful. The Dark Side had been purring practically the entire day in her ear. A blow to Sidious, a blow to the Jedi's arrogance and pride, all in one. Not to mention smacking around a bunch of Jedi earlier. She lays down on her bed, crossing one leg over the other, chuckling to herself...
Then she bolts upright as pure ice pours down her spine, and before she can do anything else, its like someone's hand is underneath her skin gripping her spine and holding her in place. "Apprentice."
Her face pales at Sidious's voice in her head, the fury in his tone. She bites back the reflexive 'Master' and instead hisses out, "Sidious."
How is he...
She focuses on the sensation, the source...
Kriff.
KRIFF KRIFF KRIFF.
How could she forget the training bond?!
"You have made a grievous error," hissed Sidious, the dark side wrapping around them, deserting her and shielding anything that was about to transpire from the Jedi, "And you are going to pay for it."
Siri scrambles desperately, barricading her mind as heavily as she can in a moments notice and trying to clamp down on the bond.
It does little to stop him.
White hot pain splits down her head, and she can't even scream aloud. She sits there, completely paralyzed in his tyrannical grip, and one brutal spike of pain after the other, is whipped across her mind. Her vision blurs, she can feel blood trickling down her nose, and all she can do is sit there and take it. It feels like it goes on for ages, it feels like she's dying, her entire body feeling aflame, her consciousness starting to slip before Sidious stops.
"Oh no apprentice," mocked Sidious, "I want you awake for what comes next."
The hand gripping her spine fades away, and instead it feels like she's gripping her head with his hands, she can feel his molten yellow gaze boring into her from wherever he is. "Your mind, your body, and your soul belong to me, apprentice. You need to be reminded of this. You will lower your shields and take the rest of your punishment, begging for mercy."
"Like hell I will," she snarls back.
"You won't have a choice," he says, chuckling darkly.
She feels him reaching into the part of her mind nearest to the bond, for the nearest trapped fake-compulsion. He doesn't know, she realizes. He doesn't know she dealt with his compulsions a long time ago. She tenses to act, and the moment he touches it, it springs, sending a mental spike back at him that catches him completely offguard. There is a sensation of surprise and pain, his grip loosens for that one moment.
She screams.
She screams aloud and through the Force her pain.
And feels the entire Jedi Temple startle. The ripple of hundreds of lightsabers reflexivly being activated, their kyber crystals humming.
"What?!" hissed Sidious.
"Arrogant prick!" she roared at him down the bond, "I found your little compulsions and weeded them out years ago!"
Sidious wastes no more time on torture and punishment, barreling towards her shields. Unlike Plaguies, he is not a brute force. He slices with such precision and slips through the outer mountain of her shields and into the storm. Penetrating through it and her shields with alarming speed. She clutches her head and screams again as Sidious drops all attempts to hide his actions, his dark and overbearing presence filling the air around her. Suffocating and drowning and all consuming and...
And there are physical hands on her head.
She looks up through agonized eyes to see Obi-Wan was the first to arrive, a pair of temple guards at the doorway, he brings her head down as he kneels in front of her, pressing his forhead against hers. He slides into her mind through a backdoor she creates and directs him through as she struggles to stall Sidious. Her Master is already more than half way through the layers of her shields in less than a few minutes time. He cringes at the pain, but moves to confront Sidious her, his Force presence pouring into her.
"Kenobi," rasps Sidious with pure and utter hate.
"Charming to meet you, Sith," replied Obi-Wan acidly, "Get the hell out of her head."
"Fool, you'd dare challenge me inside her mind?" demanded Sidious with contempt before he mocked, "And here I was thinking you cared. I suppose her sanity matters little to you."
"Fairly certain you're going to rip that apart anyway," bit out Obi-Wan, and Siri hisses in pain as Obi-Wan lashes out at Sidious.
Its a really stupid thing to do, and she's going to throttle him for it latter. She needs him to support her defenses, not attack Sidious. The Sith Master bats aside the attack, and Siri's vision tilts at the agony of the confrontation in her head. "Foolish Jedi, I understand how to breech a mind without incurring permanent damage, you, do not."
Sidious tries to go around Obi-Wan's presence, but the Jedi moves to intercept. Sidious growls in irritations. "Begone, Jedi."
Obi-Wan screams and is ejected from Siri's head with a searing mental blow, thrown across the room. Siri's throat constricts, she can't breath through the pain. Sidious makes another incision through her shields, and another, and another, going for her memories. She doesn't have the time to bring them all through her deepest shields. He is upon them a moment later, and begins immediately sifting through. He does not do what Plaguies did however and destroy carelessly, no, he's searching for something...
She gasps when she feels more hands on her now. Obi-Wan is back, and there are multiple Jedi Masters with him, Yoda among them. She grits her teeth, so helplessly infuriated at her fate being out of her hands, and lets them into her mind. She has a moment, as their presences rush for Sidious's, her eyes widening as Sidious finds what he was looking for. She recognizes Tally's face, the plans for the Sidious's fool superweapon being explained to her...
He hardly even looks at the memory. He identifies it, than she screams and screams and screams as he rips it and all surrounding memories to shreds.
There is blood gushing down her nose. Her vision blackens, and the last thing she is aware of before she passes out is Yoda's presence, backed by many a master, combined together more powerful than the Sith Lord, grabbing Sidious and throwing him out of her head...
Chapter 42: Dissent
Summary:
The Jedi Order collectively freaks about the Sith and how badly they've been played over the last thousand years.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
If anyone in the entire Temple had gotten any sleep last night, Obi-Wan would be surprised. As it is, he is tired, irritable, and frustrated to be dragged out of looking after Siri in the infirmary for a meeting. Not to mention if he is being brutally honest, he is still scared shitless from his encounter with Darth Sidious inside of Siri's head. It was the single most terrifying moment of his life, to be up against such a twisted, sickening, foul, dark and immensely powerful presence. He doesn't know where he got the absolutely insane courage to try and stand up to that monster alone like that. If the Elder Sith hadn't been focused on going for Siri's memories and trying not to deal permanent collateral damage, Obi-Wan knew he would have either died or been left brain dead in the struggle. It weighs heavily, to realize, to truly realize, that Siri had not being lying or embellishing or overstating Sidious's power in the slightest.
He had believed her, but he hadn't really understood, not until last night.
Roughly ninety-nine percent of the Jedi Order wouldn't last more than ten seconds in a real fight against that Sith where he wasn't toying with them. The majority of the Council would be dead in a minute. When Siri said Yoda was the only one who would stand a chance, she had meant it. Anyone else hoping to survive, let alone fight him, would have to have absolutely extraordinary teamwork or vastly outnumber him. Sidious had so much power, but the price of it... the Sith's presence, its soul, felt like it was a black hole of decay and corruption. Maybe if Siri continued walking the dark path she could beat him if Sith could truly become so powerful, but never for that price, not for that soul destroying price...
Of course, none of that mattered if she didn't wake up. The healers had put her into a mix of a coma and a healing trance to try and stop a full blown mental collapse. He had been told the hole the Sith tore through a part of Siri's memories ruptured the compartmentalization around her memories from her time as a Jedi that Sidious's Master had torn through. The healers would try to alleviate some of the damage and bandage it all together, but again, Siri's mind was a literal minefield, she was going to have to repair the damage herself or at least guide a healer into her head to do it for her. She could not shove it off this time, there was far to much damage collected to shunt away again.
He scrubbed at his face as he walked. Siri was to stubborn to not wake up. He didn't envy her though, the life of a Sith was madness. She had said it was a life of suffering, and it truly was. To have had one's mind ripped through multiple times... it sends shivers down his spine. Why did she continue to choose this path when this was all it would ever bring her? A Jedi's life was hard, a sacrifice for the sake of those they served and helped, but a Sith... it was pain for the sake of it so it seemed to him...
"Padawan."
Obi-Wan jolted a bit and turned to see Qui-Gon and Anakin coming down an adjacent hallway. "Good morning Master, Anakin."
"Heya," said Anakin with forced cheer.
The boy didn't look like he had slept either. He looked visibly jittery as well. Which was understandable for a child if he had gotten even a whiff of Sidious's presence. Obi-Wan's eyes lingered on him for a moment longer, the thought of 'over twenty-thousand' in his head. It had never hammered in more than it had last night how badly they needed Anakin to actually be the Chosen One, and how badly they needed to keep him safe to realize his potential if they wanted to have a much better chance at defeating Sidious.
"If you are heading to the meeting, you are going the wrong way," commented Qui-Gon.
Obi-Wan frowned. "I didn't get much sleep last night but I'm fairly certain the Council spire is this way."
Qui-Gon clapped a hand on his shoulder, patting it. "Ah, but the meeting isn't in the Council chambers. Its an open meeting in the Room of a Thousand Fountains."
Obi-Wan got whiplash with how fast he spun around. "It's what!?"
Qui-Gon had a strained look. "Apparently, enough Masters and Knights got together and demanded the Council disclose and discuss this with the Jedi at large. The majority of the temple got a taste of the Sith Master's presence; there is no skirting around it anymore, no considering him a distant threat or someone guaranteed to be taken down with time. The threat is real, and coupled with what Siri revealed yesterday..."
He shook his head. "It is unprecedented in our time. The danger to our Order more real and apparent to us than anything in the last thousand years. We need unity and direction..."
He trailed off for a moment, eyes half closing, listening to the Force, "The chaos I feel throughout the temple however makes me feel like we will get neither."
He shakes his head and strides past, Anakin on his heels. Obi-Wan follows in behind him towards a dark cloud of barely restrained emotions. He can't help but think this should have been put off for another day at least, to give tension a chance to bleed away. Then again, it might give time for fears to fester. Its hard to say. This is going to be one of the most difficult trials the Jedi Order has faced in a long time. They are only now realizing just how dangerous it is, and how much damage has been done. He had to leave the Archives last night after the last accumulation of acts and laws and bills had been gathered showcasing hundreds of blows to the Order in the last hundred years alone; he hadn't been able to stomach anymore. Siri had called it a death of a thousand cuts, and it wasn't a lie...
His ears twitched as he entered the Room of a Thousand Fountains, a chorus and clamor of everyone wanting to be heard. Datpads and flimsi held in hands with damning proof of damage done...
"Look at this, a repeating ten percent cut to acquisitions funding, here, here, and here, spaced out every ten years that went into effect thirty years ago attached to a recurring bill that had absolutely nothing to do with the Jedi Order! And that is only the most recent hits!"
"I've gathered together ever instance of our abilities being limited through the laws, situations we were no longer allowed to mediate in without express senate approval..."
"There are thousands of unresolved petitions to the Senate for either direct aid or judicial expediency in forcing planetary cooperation in tracking down missing Jedi or Service Corps members that never went anywhere! In missing persons reports alone I've counted almost ten thousand missing over the last thousand years! That's an average of ten a year from Ruusan to now, a number roughly equal to our current population. How many of them were murdered directly or indirectly by the Sith!? It doesn't even consider the number of dead that were known of. How was this never noticed before now?"
Obi-Wan swallows thickly at that and moves to stand next to Qui-Gon on the outer edge of the room. The Council stands at the center accepting information grimly, trying unsuccessfully to alleviate concerns. Jocasta Nu sits at a set up table covered in reports, typing and categorizing them into a list, her face pale, heavy bags under her eyes. Yoda... Yoda looks so small and frail for perhaps the first time in Obi-Wan's life. The Grandmaster is ashen as he listens to one blow after another be listed to him.
The room is utter madness.
"Well, looks like someone hosted a party when I was away," came a familiar teasing voice followed by a arm leaning on his shoulder.
Obi-Wan glanced over, a smile growing on his face. "Vos you lazy Kiffar, when did you get in?"
"About an hour ago," answered Quinlan, "Aayla and I were recalled from our mission. I hear almost every shadow except those on missions deemed to critical to suspend or abort was recalled."
Oh... oh dear. That was... well, that about fit the magnitude of the situation.
"You were on Tatooine, right?" asked Obi-Wan.
Quinlan's cheer adopted a slightly forced look. "How'd you figure that out ol' buddy of mine?"
"Uh... have you heard about..."
"Our resident dead Jedi Padawan turned living Sith Apprentice? I take it she spotted me then," asked Quinlan, eyebrow raised, "Even the Hutts took notice of the very public return of the Sith. I watched the senate sessions in a bar. Not to mention someone got a copy of you and your Master's fight against Siri and played it for us all to watch."
Obi-Wan sputtered. "How did they get it out of judicial?"
Quinlan shrugged. "Hell if I know, but its circulating in the darker parts of the Holonet. Hate to say it Kenobi, but you two got your asses handed to you."
"Thanks for the support," muttered Obi-Wan.
"So... you want to give me a run down of why the Temple is collectively having a meltdown?"
"Ah... sure," said Obi-Wan, eyes flickering to the masses surrounding the Council, "I have a feeling its going to be awhile before this really begins."
Quinlan snorted.
"Two reasons really," said Obi-Wan, trying to be fake-nonchalant and failing at it with his tone, "One, because Siri kind of dropped a bomb on how the Sith have been picking off and undermining the Jedi for the last thousand years, and two, because the Sith Master attacked Siri through the Force last night and ended up revealing his presence. It... was the darkest thing I have ever felt in my life, one of the most powerful as well."
"Oh, is that all?" asked Quinlan, his smiled heavily forced now. "Alright, so, I assume the second was caused by the first. How'd the Sith know what she tattled?"
"That... is a very good question," said Obi-Wan mildly, admiring his friend's ability to connect the dots, his eyes narrowing in thought.
"I'm sure he is raptly paying attention to the Order ever since we took his apprentice," commented Qui-Gon, "In many different ways. If he was paying attention to holonet access, he might have noticed a not so unsubstantial increase in Jedi accessing senate records, some tracking programs can even determine what part of the records you linger on."
It sounds reasonable, but Obi-Wan isn't so sure. The Force of course is as clouded as ever and doesn't feel like sharing any insights on the matter. The thing that worries Obi-Wan is the possibility of a spy. He sincerely hopes not, and doesn't want to give in to any kind of paranoia, but... he trusts his gut when the Force cannot offer aid through the Veil of the Dark Side. It tells him Sidious has eyes and ears into the Temple, and most likely more than one set, wittingly or otherwise. He can see the same thought in Quinlan's eyes as he surveys the room silently.
Obi-Wan doesn't, simply because they're not going to figure it out that way. He merely stands there, listening to his fellow Jedi rattle off one injustice after another. His heart sinking lower and lower until its plummeted out of his body and into the bowels of Coruscant. Well, if it was physically capable of it anyway. Slowly, the shouting begins to die down as the current listing dwindles away. Of course he doesn't expect this to be the end, this is just whats been found now. There were tens of thousands, perhaps millions of bills and laws passed (and rejected if they wanted to go that route) since the Ruusan Reformation. They could hunt and poke for a decade and perhaps not find everything. The point has been made however.
The Sith have been playing the Republic and the Jedi for fools for a very long time.
The Council stands at attention, various levels of stress bleeding through their faces and Force signatures. Mace Windu raises a hand for silence, and those still talking give it to him. "First, the Council would like to thank you all for volunteering to help identify how the taint of the Sith has infested its way into the Republic's politics to strike against us. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge, no matter how much this knowledge pains us. It is needless to say that the damage is... extensive."
He paused and shook his head. "No, I will not downplay it. The damage is catastrophic. The Sith adopted a new line of attack when they could not best us through mass bloodshed and war. Subterfuge, infiltration, and political manipulation all the while staying hidden. Ignorance of their existence was the Sith's greatest weapon, allowing them to act freely without our awareness. That advantage is now gone because of the Sith's weakness to betraying their own."
Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes at that, crossing his arms and glaring at Master Windu across the room. If the man saw it, he paid it no heed. "And because of this, along with the Sith Master's retaliation to the betrayal, we know how they've been attacking us, we have started to review the damage, and we have an estimate of the Sith Master's strength. The path laid before us will not be easy, but the life of a Jedi has never been easy."
"How do we deal with the Republic we've sworn to protect being used to kill us?" someone shouted.
"That's the damn question," muttered Quinlan before glancing at Obi-Wan, "Going to find my Master, I'll catch you later.
Obi-Wan nods his goodbye as Windu grimaced. "That Council has discussed it last night and ultimately, we have yet to find a way to do this without repercussions of some kind. The first method is that we keep the damage a secret and devote more resources to each mission to cover ourselves. This offers more security to each mission, but there is less of us to cover the immense amount of requests sent our way. The counterpoint is that Sith and the Senate may note this and publicly inquire why the Order is over-commiting resources to what appear to be standard missions, which we are not yet sure how to answer without revealing what has been done to us. We don't wish to advertise to our enemies our apparent vulnerability and give them a new method to attack us."
Dooku's crisp voice sounds out. "There is the possibility that this method will simply offer more Jedi on a singular platter for the Sith to murder."
Windu nodded. "That is also true. The other method..."
He looked like he had swallowed something sour. "Is to convince the Senate to repeal parts of the Ruusan Reformation."
Obi-Wan sucks in a breath, and he's not the only one. The entire room goes into a shocked silence. That... that was massive.
"In order to force the Senate to do so, especially with the Sith influencing it," continued Windu, "We would need to reveal publicly the damage that has been done to us overtime, and the manipulation of the Senate by the Sith. The initial damage is unfortunately heavy. There will be the immediate backlash of denial of evidence and accusations against the Order; it will raise fears that the reformation was meant to alleviate. It will weaken faith in the Senate and the Republic, and perhaps the Jedi Order as well for our inability to see it until it was pointed out. It also reveals an avenue to attack us that none of us wish to give any more of our enemies. But, it would potentially give us more control of the missions we are sent out on."
He frowned. "The logistics of that are still in the works, whether it would be another responsibility levied onto the Council of Reconciliation, or a new council to be created, we have not yet determined. There are many other ramifications of this to be considered as well, but, there has been only a night to dwell on this after the Sith Master's attack."
"And what about that?" someone called out, "It's a monster, but the Sith Apprentice was the only avenue we had on it's master."
Obi-Wan immediately frowns, Anakin's words echoing in his her: 'She might be a Sith, but she's still a person.'
He does not like the way Siri is objectified as some kind of creature and not a sentient being.
Windu's eyes flicker in Obi-Wan's direction. "Padawan Kenobi, I believe you came from the Halls of Healing to this meeting?"
Obi-Wan's arms fold into his sleeves so reminiscent of Qui-Gon's own stance as the collective attention turned to him. "I did, and SHE," he stresses, glancing in the vague direction of whoever had spoken before, "Is currently in a mix of a coma and a healing trance to try and stop a full blown mental collapse from the repeated mind rape she has been subjected to."
Siri is going to kill him, or at least break his nose, for revealing that at large. But damn the consequences, he's been avoiding the rumor mill as much as possible, he knows it has to be bad; if he can invoke some kind of sympathy or compassion, or at least get away from this un-Jedi like objectifying that seems to exist for the Sith, then he'll accept his nose being as bent as Qui-Gon's for the rest of his life. He will admit a bias: He considers Sidious to be an absolute insentient monster.
There is some reaction, a hush or grimace, but not as much as he likes; some even seem satisfied with that revelation. His lips thin in displeasure, there are many here that need to be reminded of what it means to actually be a Jedi, to not ruled by their fear of the Sith. Having someone's mind violated and ripped through with something taken away that they cannot get back is not something anyone, especially a Jedi, should be satisfied with. Mind Tricks were a heavy ethical gray area. What Sidious and Plaguies has done to Siri was well above that. Not to mention the other dark presences-Holocrons going through her head and leaving compulsions there. That doesn't even begin to consider other instances in the eight years of apprenticeship she had to the Sith and what else might have been done.
He clears his throat. "It is confirmed however that Darth Sidious did tear a hole in a portion of her memory, likely a targeted attack to prevent Siri from disclosing something he deemed to critical to reveal after her disclosure yesterday."
"So we have something potentially more massive that what the Sith revealed yesterday that we no longer have any potential clue about," came a shrill voice.
"Not to mention if the Sith doesn't wake up we've lost anything else that hadn't been disclosed yet," someone added in.
"How much more danger and damage to our Order is lurking out there?"
"How much has the Sith revealed so far that the Order as a whole doesn't know about?"
"Calm yourselves," comes Windu's sharp reprimanding voice, immediately commanding silence, "There is no emotion, there is peace. Be mindful of your feelings, now is not the time for the Jedi Order to panic."
Chastised, the gathered Jedi settle.
"For the moment, what we are discussing is how to deal with the ramifications of what the Sith Apprentice revealed yesterday, this is the more immediate and ongoing threat," said Windu firmly, "The Sith Master, and the implications of what might have been lost in the mental attack, are a topic for another time."
He cleared his throat. "The Council has agreed to hold this meeting publicly, and is open to suggestions on how to handle this. Either from the two options presented, or something else, and please, one at a time."
Dooku is the first to speak, "I for one have long clamored at the failings of the Senate, this compounds drastically upon them. I agree with the second method, but rather than a partial repeal I suggest a full removal of the Ruusan Reformation and a restructuring of the Senate to follow."
Windu gives him an open, disbelieving look. "Master Dooku, with respect, the Senate will never agree to a full repeal, let alone a restructuring of the government."
Ki-Adi-Mundi spoke up, "The most fearful may consider it a coup attempt, a fear I imagine the Sith would stoke."
"The Ruusan Reformation was meant to guide the Republic and the Jedi in a galaxy that the Sith no longer existed in," stressed Dooku, "Its purpose was invalidated by the revelation of the Sith's existence."
"Perhaps another method could be suggested?" came Master C'Baoth's voice.
"The floor is open," said Windu, head tilting and looking relieved to have an way out from Dooku.
That look was wiped away almost immediately when C'Baoth spoke, "Perhaps we should consider the Republic lost and either find a new government to serve in the Unknown Regions, or perhaps beyond the edge of the galaxy."
The sheer gall of the suggestion stuns the room.
"I have not yet given voice to an idea that has been brewing in my mind," said C'Baoth, "But I believe that we, as Jedi, may be able to sooth the Hyperspace Disturbance surrounding our Galaxy and slip out. Think of it, the limitless possibility that exists out there, the unknowing amount of Force Sensitives that could be uplifted from their mundane lives and turned into Jedi."
"You are suggesting that we abandon the Republic to the Sith?" asked Windu in disbelief
"This taint as you call it has been allowed to spread and rot the Republic from within for the last thousand years," C'Baoth reminded them, stroking his beard, "Underneath the visage of the Republic may be a disease we cannot cleanse."
"Perhaps we should try first," comes a voice Obi-Wan has come to dislike.
Pong Krell moves to a more middle part of the room, arms spread. "The Jedi are superior beings," and oh doesn't that elitism make alarm bells ring in Obi-Wan's head, "The Sith have hid from us, but if we go and root them out, we can begin to fix the damage and clean out the taint. The Sith surely cannot hide if a collective of Jedi go and sift through the minds of each and every..."
"Are you out of your mind?!"
"That's madness! It requires us forcibly seizing control of the Senate for a time to do so."
"The entire kriffing galaxy would come down on our heads if we tried that!"
"An extreme problem requires an extreme response," sniffed Krell, "I see nothing else working but this, or what the esteemed Master C'Baoth suggests. What Master Windu suggests will not be enough to defeat the Sith."
C'Baoth gives him an appreciative nod, and it makes Obi-Wan's stomach curl to see the two of them moving to stand together. Even without a warning murmur of the Force he's getting bad vibes from those two acting together. C'Baoth's padawan looks like she's about to wilt and wants to be anywhere but by his side. He pities Padawan Jinzler, he really does.
"If the Republic Senate was so weak," said Krell with disdain, "As to allow their morals and integrity to be manipulated and fail, perhaps they deserve to suffer the rule of the Sith while we relocate to a location more deserving of the Jedi's efforts. They are already corrupt enough as it is without the Sith."
There is a scoff of disgust from Qui-Gon that Obi-Wan barley catches before the room erupts in chaos.
"Its our duty to fight the Sith, not run from them like cowards!"
"If we leave the Republic to be turned into a Sith Empire the Sith will eventually come after us regardless."
"We'd have more time to prepare for them though."
"I don't know about going through their minds, but stationing more Jedi in the Senate to keep an eye out might be a good idea."
"That'll make the Senate question why."
"I say Krell's right, we have to stamp out the Sith now. March on the Senate and take him out, he's to dangerous to leave alive!"
Then Qui-Gon moves forward to speak, his face is a thundercloud that immediately makes Obi-Wan shrink back; he's only seen that look a few times in his life. Its not quite at the level it was when Tahl died, but it is to damn close to it to promise anything civil. "If the Jedi Order decides to take action in a manner befitting the Sith and effectively violate the minds of the entire Republic Senate and their staff, I will personally hand in my Lightsaber, take my padawans, and leave the Order."
There is a sudden hush as everyone takes note of him and his words. Anakin is watching, wide-eyed, and Obi-Wan can't help but mirror him.
"Coming from a man known to Mind Trick his way through almost every mission?" comes a taunt.
Obi-Wan's eyes twitch at that. Its not every mission, but Qui-Gon is more liberal with that ability that most. Then again, considering the situations they get into...
Qui-Gon narrows his eyes. "And I bear the weight, the responsibility, and the scrutiny of each and every instance; its come up with the Council many times and yet, I have never been censured for a specific instance of it. My padawan and I were also, need I remind you, one of the most active pair in the temple and sent on some of the most dangerous missions the Order has seen in a long time. But this is not about me. This is about the fact that it was suggested we act like the very enemy we swore to oppose, that we act like Sith and deeply betray the sanctity of the mind of thousands of individuals based on fear. And rather than unanimously and venomously disagree, some of you actually consider it."
"When does it stop?" asked Qui-Gon sharply, "We know the Sith has influence in the Senate, but we don't know if he is in it, or manipulates it from outside. Do we violate the minds of every senator, every aid, every guard, every visitor that is in that building? What if we find nothing? Do we then move onto the rest of the government? Onto every planetary government? Every corporate leader?"
He shook his head. "What is the point of stopping the Sith if in our fear and paranoia we become them?"
There is no amount of pride to describe what Obi-Wan feels for his Master right then and there. Others of course disagree.
"That is absurd," said Krell, "We are not Sith."
"If this is what you suggest, and what you believe, that the Jedi are an elitist force better than the rest of the galaxy that can impose their will upon others and abuse our powers in such a way," said Qui-Gon; Obi-Wan braced himself, tightening his shields, because Qui-Gon is about to do Qui-Gon things, "Then you might as well be."
There is no unity, no harmony in this room as it bursts into chaos, and all that does is leave a sense of foreboding and dread that hangs over Obi-Wan like a thick cloud. Obi-Wan moves over to Anakin as the boy flinches, a pained look on his face. If this is how the Order is going to be for awhile, Qui-Gon needs to focus more on teaching shielding to his brother padawan. He puts a comforting hand on his shoulder and moves to support his shields, mentally tapping against them and sending his intent. Anakin clumsily allows him in, and Obi-Wan is treated to walls of a sand infested dwelling, perhaps the boy's previous physical home, as his shields. Obi-Wan take a moment to point out weak spots and gaps, which Anakin hurries to work on. Satisfied with a quick prop-up, Obi-Wan pulls out in time as Windu again calls for order.
"Your opinion has been noted," said Windu crossly, glaring at Qui-Gon, "But I ask that we not rile up our fellow Jedi."
Qui-Gon just shakes his head, moving back to stand next to Anakin and Obi-Wan, a sour look on his face. His Master is not pleased. His Master is going to be absolutely bitching about this for weeks. Its a damn good thing he moved out to a new apartment next to Siri's then. Oh blast, if Siri ever catches wind of half the things said in here, she's going to lord it over him endlessly.
"Master Yoda," someone calls out, "You've been silent this entire meeting. Do you have any wisdom to offer us?"
Now there was an idea; he looked expectantly at the Grandmaster.
"Only one thing to say, I have," said Yoda before going silent for a long moment.
Obi-Wan's nose twitches. He has a bad feeling about this all the sudden.
"If wish it the Order does," said Yoda firmly, yet sadly, with grief and regret, "Then step down I will as Grandmaster; failed I have to not notice the influence of the Sith. Failed thousands of Jedi I have; thousands dead because blind I have been."
There is stunned shock that ripples through those present, first at his words, then to recognize and realize that he means it. Yoda, who has guided them all since before they were born for many a generation, would step down if asked to. The previous downpour of conflict is hushed in the magnitude of what the Grandmaster just said. The entire council looks blindsided. Windu's mouth is slightly ajar as he stares at Yoda. Obi-Wan can't help the chocking sound that escapes his throat, and he's not even close to the only one.
It hadn't occurred to Obi-Wan, how devastated Master Yoda would be over these revelations, on how many Jedi have died, have been murdered by Sith machinations. He didn't look okay at the start if the meeting, but Obi-Wan hadn't thought it was this bad...
'I've counted almost ten thousand missing over the last thousand years! That's an average of ten a year from Ruusan to now, a number roughly equal to our current population. How many of them were murdered directly or indirectly by the Sith!? It doesn't even consider the number of dead that were known of. How was this never noticed before now?'
Then those words echo through his mind, combined with Yoda's age and how many Jedi he had seen grow from the Creche... how many of them had been murdered under his nose... the Grandmaster must see it as a heavy personal failing. Must feel the ache of every loss all over again...
Dooku speaks first, flabbergasted, "Master Yoda, you are but one voice of many. The entirety of every Jedi Council from Ruusan to now failed to realize the Sith still existed. You have also not been the sole Grandmaster of our Order. Many came before you, even one who lived through the drafting of the Reformation when the Order was still vigilant. How can you claim sole responsibility over someone who fought the Sith and had experience facing their ways? The deception and treachery of the Sith is not your burden to bear anymore than it is mine."
There is a loud clamor of agreement. Surprisingly though, Qui-Gon is not among them. He is staring at Yoda thoughtfully, eyebrows pinched together, weighing outcomes and possibilities, pros and cons in a neutral manner that Obi-Wan is hard pressed to adopt. He himself doesn't know what to think. Its Yoda, even conceiving of the idea of him stepping down, who could possibly replace him? Then he sees C'Baoth pulling on his beard in thought, but unlike Qui-Gon, there is greed and excitement in his eyes; Obi-Wan joins the clamor voicing support for Yoda without any further hesitation. FAR better Yoda with his wisdom and experience than someone with potential radical ideas taking over instead and bringing ruin to the Order. The mere thought of C'Baoth as Grandmaster sends shudders down Obi-Wan's spine.
Dooku walks forward with purpose and kneels down in front of Yoda. "If you wish a new perspective for the Order in our leadership, then take a sabbatical, my Master. Take the time to think and contemplate and grieve and rest, then come back ready to lead us through these troubled times, but do not rob us of your wisdom out of loss."
Yoda grunts, ears flickering, his disposition not changing much, but offers, "A wise padawan you always were, Dooku."
The meeting dissolves quickly after that, with everyone directed to rest and meditate and go on with their daily lives for the time being. There will be more meetings, and a call to action at some point, but that is more than enough for one session. Dooku rejoins them, and their lineage moves back towards Qui-Gon's apartment.
"You don't like that C'Baoth guy, do you?" asked Anakin as they walked back, looking up at his Master's towering form, "I could feel it."
Qui-Gon made a disgruntled face. "Jorus C'Baoth is... a complicated matter in the Jedi Order. Typically, if one is to become a Jedi Master, they train a Padawan to knighthood and are confirmed by the Council. C'Baoth declared himself a master without doing so, the story goes that since he had just completed a high profile mission, the Council at the time allowed it. There are... there are rumors that C'Baoth only took on Padawan Jinzler as his apprentice in order to quiet down rising voices challenging his mastery, not because he saw potential or because the Force willed it."
Qui-Gon licked his lips, glancing over at Dooku who gave a consenting nod. "My Master and I did not have the most pleasant of a relationship when I was learning under him. We did not mesh well, we get along now far better than we did then, but despite our differences I know without a doubt that he did and does care, did want me to excel, and I respected him in turn. I look at Lorana Jinzler, and I see a Padawan trapped in a situation far worse than that, with a teacher who does not care and only sees her as a means to an end and an extension of his legacy rather than her own person. Some of his more vocal critics have noted to me how less self-confident she's become compared to the initiate she used to be. "
Obi-Wan blinked, a bit mortified. He had known a little bit, but to have it laid plain like that...
Anakin looked uncomfortable. "Can anyone do anything for her?"
Qui-Gon shook his head. "Unless there is actual abuse, no. If she wants to leave C'Baoth's apprenticeship, she must go before the council herself, of her own accord. And to take such a stance against C'Baoth... there are circles within the Jedi Order and the Republic as a whole who hold C'Baoth in high esteem. If she takes that route she will make many enemies and offend many people which could have a great deal of negative impact on her career as a Jedi Knight and eventual Master."
Qui-Gon looks sour. "There is also no guarantee anyone would take her as an apprentice if she leaves C'Baoth, she'd easily alienate many Masters in the Order if she did so."
He sighs. "As poor as the situation is, the alternative may be worse. It is perhaps better she simply continue on until Knighthood and then use the excuse of drifting away from her Master."
Anakin didn't look happy with that, turning to Dooku. "You don't have a padawan right now, do you?"
Dooku frowned intently. "I cannot help her. I've sworn off taking another padawan after..."
He hesitated briefly, "After I and the Council mishandled a developing situation with my last one."
Anakin fidgeted at they came to Qui-Gon's apartment, wanting to ask but sensing the subject was sensitive. Dooku apparently took pity on him and stomached disclosing it. "Her name was Komari Vosa, she was... unstable and was developing feelings for... an individual that were not befitting of a Jedi. Rather than see her transferred to another Master who could perhaps train her better, or try to handle the problem myself, she was bared from the Knight's Trials and released from the Order. She ended up stowing away on an incredibly dangerous mission the Jedi Order undertook to try and prove herself which resulted in her death."
He looked particularly bitter on that. "The entire debacle was handled poorly from start of realization of the issue to its finish."
"Umm, who was she feeling things for?" asked Anakin, confused and from what Obi-Wan could sense, not seeing an issue.
Dooku sighed. "Myself. Regardless of our own rules on the matter if attachment, it would have been beyond inappropriate for a Master and Apprentice to be in such a relationship. I, in essence, floundered with what to do about it."
"You panicked," said Qui-Gon dryly, thumbing access to the door and motioning them in.
Dooku scowled in his direction, but strode in anyway, the rest of them following in as the settle down from an eventful start of the day...
Sidious is on the prowl.
Not that anyone would see it as he strolls the halls of the Senate with his charming, grandfatherly persona. There is a sensation of potential use whispering to him through the Dark Side. A fracture and fragility that whispers of exploitation. It is also partially familiar. It does not feel of one person, but two. One he has been working on for awhile now, but the other is new to him. Something had drastically exposed those cracks in the first, deepened that weakness, and as the ultimate predator in the galaxy, he was hunting down his prey.
He came upon them a moment later, pausing in the shadow of a pillar. His eyes gleam yellow briefly in the shade, eyeing his prize.
He recognized Jorus C'Baoth, an arrogant piece of work if he ever saw one. A Jedi that, while he was strong in the Force, had an incredible amount of flaws that could be abused. The Dark Side had hinted to him years ago that he could use C'Baoth as a piece in the Grand Plan, to kill off a number of Jedi, but he had not yet seen how or why. He'd been working on destabilizing C'Baoth for years. The other is some alien filth, a Besalisk with two saberstaffs on his belt. The Besalisk feels like the more unstable of the pair curiously enough.
"Merely going around gleaning the thoughts of the meek will not find us the Sith, Knight Krell," instructed C'Baoth, "While I commend your initiative, you search in the wrong location. He will situate himself amongst the powerful senators, not the sheep needing our firm guidance."
Sidious raised an eyebrow. If he had a recording device on him, he could have gotten the Jedi Order in so much trouble and caused such a publicity incident right then and there, but no. The Dark Side whispers of, other, uses for them. And he sees it to. He's been paying attention to Dooku, had several meetings with him since Tachi's captivity in the Order, and he does not like what he's noted, how Dooku is shifting back away from the outlook Sidious wants of him, made aware of the trap that had been laid. He is not sure he can claim the Jedi Master anymore, especially with Qui-Gon Jinn still alive.
He smiles, licking his lips in anticipation and hunger, to dominate and bend them to his will. He needs... a replacement for the role Dooku was to fill. C'Baoth would serve nicely, wouldn't he? It's rather nice how tools simply fall into his hand like this. And since Vosa is lacking compared to his true apprentice, perhaps her and this 'Krell', may be of use together as a pair of tools rather than a single one. It would be entertaining to pit them against one another at least.
He steps from the shadows, and begins their seduction to the Dark Side. "Sith hunting are we my friend?"
C'Baoth starts, glancing at Sidious and wincing, more than aware of the compromising position he's been put in. "Ah... Chancellor Palpatine..."
He shakes his head. "Oh its quite alright Master C'Baoth, I'll have you know I've already been... loosely made aware of the situation revealed yesterday, and it is most troubling. I've been thinking myself on what to do about this Sith infiltration. Some more extreme methods may be warranted."
C'Baoth nods, relieved. "It may indeed Chancellor Palpatine, I am relieved to see you wanting to take initiative compared to Vallorum's stagnation."
Sidious smiles that grandfatherly smile. All to easy. "After the debacle of the Trade Federation Occupation of Naboo, strong leadership is needed. Come my friends, let us return to my office, perhaps together we can come up with an idea to ferry out this Sith Lord..."
Notes:
So, I've been thinking about the Clone Wars, and future enemies. I intend for Dooku to stay a Jedi, so someone or multiple someones need to replace him. We also need more opponents, as Siri would fucking tear Grevious apart with the Force Lightning among other abilities (I suppose he could be modified to be resistant to it maybe). Not to mention a Jedi Order actively starting to train and prepare for a conflict would weaken Grevious's impact.
The potential candidates that immediately come to mind were: Vosa, Savage, (possibly) Feral, early fallen Krell and C'Baoth. I'm not yet sure if Vosa will survive to the Clone Wars or not as Sidious's current stand-in apprentice. Most of the story except for certain parts is still in rough outline form. If anyone has any other suggestions, make them. I'm not 100% aware of the entire clone wars/comics/EU/ect...
I considered Ventress, except without Dooku, would she have been found and recruited?
Then I had an awesome idea (maybe), of Siri stumbling across Ventress still on Rattatak, fallen but untrained. Both of them having lost their masters and fallen, they'd have a lot in common (and get along marvelously). I had been planning on Leia to be Siri's first and only 'direct' apprentice, buuuuut, Ventress as Siri's first apprentice during the Clone Wars is an interesting thought. IDK, tell me what you guys think of it. It would be easy to just say Sidious had a vision or felt something to grab Ventress as an antagonist if need be and people don't think it fits or want Leia to be Siri's only direct apprentice. Or hell, Ventress could stay undiscovered until Empire Era or later. Who knows...
Chapter 43: Patch Up Job
Chapter Text
Oh, Siri felt like a kriffing speederwreck.
There was the beeping of medical equipment nearby, she was aware of an IV in her arm, and the bed she was in sure wasn't the one in her gilded cell. She did detect Obi-Wan sitting next to her on a chair though, that was okay to wake up to if nothing else. At least she didn't have Vokra Che, or Bant, here at the moment.
"Well, after that broadcasting, I imagine they will be in short order," came Obi-Wan's slightly pained voice, "Shields will need to be your first order of business."
Oh not again...
Siri tried to open her eyes, but found they only hazily lifted. What in the...
She struggled to even frown, her body twitched, eyes opening a little more, but not fully.
There was a hand on her shoulder. "Easy Siri, you had your mind ripped through, and there was a... collapse of the compartmentalization of your memories from the damage Darth Plagueis did before. There's been a few complications you're going to need to work with the healers to fix."
Siri blinked. What in the hell was he talking about? What compartmentalization? And who the kriff was Darth Plagueis? And what complications? Why the KRIFF couldn't she properly move?!
"Shields Siri," hissed Obi-Wan, "Shields shields shields."
Siri wanted to growl, but it only came out as a weak slurr from her lips. She warily reached for the Force; there were the beginnings of fear. If there was enough damage to her mind to inhibit physical control of her body, she needed to tread carefully. She prowled the edges of her decayed walls, nudging carefully the outer grounds, slowly erecting at least the outer parts back up. She noted they weren't destroyed, just neglected and fading without her continual input, that suggested she had been in the Halls of Healing for awhile, a month at least. She remembered Sidious's assault. He hadn't destroyed her walls, he had sliced with surgical precision and slipped through. She was going to need to plan on how to counter that for the future.
When she was done she again struggled with fully opening her eyes, and then shifting her head to loll at Obi-Wan, who was staring down in worry. "You don't remember the compartmentalization, or Darth Plagueis?"
"Nnnmnnn," was all that escaped her lips.
Oh Force...
She better not be stuck like this.
She'll rupture her own brain before she's stuck like this for the rest of her life.
"Okay, I'm going to take that as a no," said Obi-Wan, frowning intently, "Well, that answers what memory Sidious hit. But why that? It's already known. Its already passed onto the Chancellor."
He studied her skeptically. "Unless you didn't tell us everything there was to know about Plagueis."
She gave him a blank look. She still didn't know who Plagueis was. Had Sidious kept a second apprentice or something? She wouldn't put it past the bastard.
"To answer your previous question," said Obi-Wan, "Darth Plagueis was Sidious's master until you killed him. As I understand it, he had ripped through your memories of your time in the Jedi Order in such a way that you compartmentalized the damage."
Sidious hadn't even bothered to kill his own kriffing Master before taking her on? Really? And wait, how the hell had she killed a Sith Master? Huh... wonder if that made her one then.
Probably not.
She ought to be freaking out a bit more about that, but she had better things to be doing. She tried to frown again, not succeeding very well. Not having access to her Jedi memories didn't bother her, hells, that might even be useful to not have them. It was what Obi-Wan had said about the other Sith that agitated her. If this was known information, then it wasn't what Sidious had been targeting. It was a byproduct of eliminating his true target. Then question is then of course: What was the target? She needed more information.
"Whhren," she slurred, her agitation growing, "Hhhreen."
He blinked at her.
She lowered her shields enough to full on shout. "WHEN?"
He clutched at his head. "GAH! Siri come on! Unnecessary and uncivilized."
She glared at him.
"You told us it was in the middle of the Naboo Incident," he said before holding up a finger, "And don't. Do not start trying to go through your memories without a healer present. You could make things catastrophically worse. Bant's said that they've bandaged your mind together, it is not a permanent or well put together fix, your head is to booby-trapped to properly heal without you to guide them through it."
Siri swallowed thickly. Oh that wasn't good. So Sidious had tried to...
No, if he had tried to kill her, she would be dead. He had tried to eliminate a specific memory until THIS IDIOT RIGHT HERE decided to have a mental fight inside of her kriffing head. If some of the damage wasn't from that confrontation she'd eat her left foot. Stupid, ignorant Jedi. One single wrong move and HE, not Sidious, but Obi-Wan, could have left her brain dead or insane for the rest of her life. Hells, if Sidious hadn't tried to avoid the fight she probably would be, and she hated owing Sidious anything. When she has control of herself again, she's going to break Obi-Wan's nose, he's had it coming for awhile now.
"I take it our patient is awake then," came Vokra Che's dry voice as she entered the room.
"She is, and displaying an inability to properly speak or move herself," said Obi-Wan tensely.
"As I said, it was a likely possibility, once most of the mental pressure has been alleviated and we've had a chance to fix recent and long-term damage that's been left untended," said Che, glaring at Siri, "She should be functional with, at most, perhaps a little physical therapy to make sure she has everything in order."
She pointed a finger at Siri. "Don't give me that look, it is unavoidable at this point. Compartmentalizing damage is never the answer, it only makes it more difficult to deal with later."
The scowl Siri tried to give came out lopsided.
"You have two choices as I doubt you have the training to properly handle this anymore," said Che, "Me or, since she volunteered, Padawan Eerin."
Why would Bant offer? Siri had admitted to murdering Garen, why would Bant want to have anything to do with her anymore? On principle though, while Vokra Che was better trained and could probably do it quicker and safer, she'd also be more difficult to fight against if Siri let her in and she went where she wasn't supposed to. Bant on the other hand was still a Padawan, a senior one most likely by now, not as skilled, but much easier to toss out of her head. Obvious choice there, she was getting sick and tired of people doing whatever the kriff they wanted in her mind.
"Bant," Siri projected at her.
Che twitched a little. "Motor control should be one of the first things worked on I imagine, being projected at by a darksider is... unpleasant."
"Bite me."
Obi-Wan made a choking sound. "Siri!"
Che just gave her an unamused look. "I'll send her in. Obi-Wan, out. Healers only during the process."
"I suppose I'll let the council know she's awake," he answered, giving Siri a hesitant and brief nod before moving to the doorway, "Bant, I don't know if it will complicate things, but she doesn't remember when she had to compartmentalize the previous damage."
Bant frowns a bit. "It might, we'll see."
Che whispers to Bant quietly for a moment before leaving as well, Bant is left standing near the doorway, staring at nothing for a long few minutes as she collected her thoughts. Finally she turns and moves to the bed, pulling the chair Obi-Wan had been sitting on closer. "Good morning Siri."
Siri doesn't bother giving a garbled or projected response, just lolling her head to the side to stare at her.
Bant took a deep breath and slowly let it out, her large Mon Calamri eyes blinking at the same pace, even and controlled. "First, we need to properly assess the damage. Since you do not remember the incident before the last, we may have to cautiously explore. Please lower your shields."
Siri gave her a stink eye, waiting until she tapped against her shields before latching on and dragging her in behind them rather than dropping them.
"Rude," Bant commented mildly.
"I'm not having my shields down for anyone nearby to get a whiff of what I'm feeling or re-living," snarled Siri back.
"As you wish," Bant answered, "Now, I think we should hit the original damage that you had to compartmentalize, best to build on the foundation before we do anything else. Try to recall your earliest memory, carefully please."
Siri rolls her eyes, it couldn't be that bad. She reached back, trying to recall, probably something silly from her days in the creche and yanked it forward...
Her body writhes and seizes, her vision fills with spots, her head pounds with pain, and she blacks out in seconds...
"You're worse than Obi-Wan is I swear," complained Bant, "Take it slow and steady and listen to the damn healer! Yesterday was the third time I've been trapped in your head when you knock yourself out and it is NOT a comfortable place to be for a few hours."
Siri rolls her eyes and slurs, "Snhut up."
"I don't get why you are so set on rushing through this, it just risks more damage and setting yourself back further," grumbled Bant.
"Sss past," muttered Siri, "Snot her anymore."
Bant gave her a puzzled look.
"Mm Siri, buu not shat Siri," slurred Siri, "Nother life, nother me, not me nymore."
"You're going to have to explain that," said Bant.
Siri grumbled, reached out, and tugs Bant's presence under her shields, deeper and deeper until a facsimile of Bant dropped into Siri's mental landscape. She glanced around, curious, but refocused on Siri. She hadn't pulled Bant in this far before, but she wanted this conversation in a place where she could talk clearly and express it just as plainly.
"Who do you see when you look at me Bant?" demanded Siri, "Do you see who I used to be and you all want me to be, or do you see me for who I am?"
She doesn't give the fish-face a chance to respond, summoning up a memory of a much younger Siri running through the room of a thousand fountains with her creche-mates and points at her. "That little girl is dead. I may be Siri Tachi, but I am not that Siri Tachi anymore."
"Do you have identity dissociation?" asked Bant worriedly, clearly not understanding.
"Oh for kriff sake," spat Siri, "You, Obi-Wan, all of you are hopeless and idiots. You do not listen."
Bant closes her eyes and sighs. "Then you can try to explain it to me, again, later. We should get back to fixing..."
"No," snarled Siri, pointing a finger at her; she is not in the mood for games or playfulness, "Do you think I don't feel it? That sickly, disgusting hope when we go through my old memories, when we put them in order and patch them up? Do you know how utterly aggravating having your emotions go off in my head is? I don't even know why you'd want it. You know what I am, you barely know the beginnings of what I've done, you k-know..."
She forced the choking out of her voice (Why? Why did she still feel it?), "You know I murdered Garen."
"No one who feels regret for what they've done is truly lost," said Bant softly.
Honestly the gall of this Jedi! They had been friends, but they certainly hadn't had feelings for one another like Siri and Obi-Wan had. Where did she think she even had the right or the desire to try? To be this familiar with her when they've hardly spent any time together since they were both young padawans? A few hours over the last few days hardly counted. Obi-Wan she could understand, but...
Oh, Obi-Wan. Of course.
"You've been spending time with Kenobi," spat Siri in disgust, "Far to much time. Did Garen's life truly mean so little to you?"
Bant's lips pursed. "I ask you the same in turn, but considering you can still feel guilt for it wrapped up in this much darkness I already have my answer."
Siri snarled, the area around her pulsing black inside her mind. Bant's in her head, feeling what she feels, she can't exactly deny it. She can't deny or hide the ache she feels when she views the older memories either. But its not the reason Bant would think. She doesn't miss being a Jedi, of that she is dead sure of. She misses... she misses... blast it she can't figure it out. What about that young bright eyed little girl does she miss? What does she envy her for? This is why the past should stay dead, she craves for things she doesn't understand and couldn't have even if she did.
Bant tenses, but she doesn't back down. "Are you going to argue it?"
Siri spit on the ground, she'll think on her past later if she must, and muttered, "Whatever happened to every Jedi parroting Yoda's asinine sayings? According to him, once you go dark you're doomed forever or something like that."
"Well, there's also the saying that 'through the Force all things are possible'," said Bant, shrugging, "So... those are both two conflicting phrases."
Siri snickered. "Well look at that. A Jedi spotting a conflict in their own teachings."
"Nothing and no one is perfect Siri," said Bant, "Its something we all should know and understand, its something that is especially been hammered in while you were out and the Jedi were investigating your claims."
It takes Siri a moment to recall, and a sadistic grin spreads across her face. "Oh? What did the Jedi find? Hmm? Just how much did your Order's complacency cost you?"
"Fifteen thousand Jedi lives and climbing since the Ruusan Reformation," said Bant quietly, with ache and loss, "Or so last I heard based of missing person reports and casualties implied by odd mission reports or witness interviews put into the archives. The investigation is still ongoing. There is also a margin for error on what may or may not have been incited by the Sith."
That... oddly doesn't fill Siri with the dark glee she thought it would. She merely chooses to slowly sit down, propping a leg up and hanging an arm over it, she eyed Bant thoughtfully, the Dark ripples in hungry anticipation, its almost like its eagerly thrilled at the prospect of what Bant is saying. "So the Jedi have at last started to realize their folly have they?"
A better Jedi is a better challenge to overcome. Perhaps that's why the dark is eager. Who knows. She'd have to see how they were reacting and IF they were actually adapting or not.
"If that's what you want to call it," answered Bant.
Siri rolled her eyes. "Call it what you wish, but the point still stands that Jedi arrogance and complacency got all of those Jedi killed."
"Really," said Bant, deadpan, "Not Sith machinations?"
That got a dark smile out of Siri. "The Sith wouldn't have managed half that number if the Jedi hadn't made it so easy to do so."
"And do those lives lost mean nothing to you?"
Siri eyed her for a long moment. "I didn't know them. Out of fifteen thousand Jedi, how many did I personally know of that I am sure the Sith killed? And out of those, only three actually mattered heavily to me. How can I be expected to care for those I never knew? Who lived so far before my time?"
Bant stared at her for a few minutes, thoughts and emotions swirling but just out of reach before she spoke, "Garen, Master Galia, who is the third?"
Siri froze.
Bant's head tilted. "Well?"
"None of your damn business that's who," said Siri in a cold, snarling voice, struggling to keep the name away while in the depths of her mind.
Bant slowly shook her head. "You shouldn't need to know people to grieve for their loss, for their senseless murder. Especially in such numbers."
"It was never senseless," said Siri, sneering at her, "Every kill the Sith made or orchestrated over the last thousand years was all aimed at the culmination of the death of the Jedi."
"And yet Obi-Wan has told me you didn't much care for your sithly 'Grand Plan'," commented Bant.
"Obi-Wan should learn to keep his mouth shut before I break his nose again," seethed Siri, "And its not that I don't care for it, Jedi, I'm indifferent. Whether your Order lives or dies, I'll go on."
She smiled grimly. "Assuming Sidious doesn't kill me and the Jedi don't decide to change their minds and kill me while they can."
"So long as you don't go and murder someone you wont be harmed here," said Bant firmly.
She eyed Bant, predator to prey, and the Jedi instinctively went still. "Silly girl, I don't care enough to kill the Jedi unless they are in my way. You see Bant, do you know where I think the Sith screw up that I don't want to get caught up in? Its not in their teachings or their way of life, well, some of them I could do without, but its their obsession."
Her lips peeled back in distaste. "Not with power, no, but with the Jedi. It's always the Jedi, and the Republic by extension. The Sith can't just move on with themselves, noooo, they have to get stuck and fixated on revenge. How many Sith Empires and Sith civilizations have fallen because they picked a fight with the Jedi and the Republic all the while their own culture had them fight against themselves as well? Had the original Sith Empire kept to its own, I wonder if they'd still have been around today."
Honestly, no Sith faction had ever really been able to help themselves, had they? A little self-restraint and patience could have gone a long way to not encouraging their own eradication. But saying that wouldn't help her argument, now would it? Hee hee.
She shook her head. "Well, maybe they would have anyway if the Republic and the Jedi hadn't committed genocide against the defeated Sith Empire and worked to eradicate any evidence that they had ever existed, but I digress, the Jedi and the Republic are always the good guys. They don't generally go out of their way to stamp out any hint of the Dark Side and slaughter its users."
She sneered. "Right?"
Bant blinked slowly at her. "Obi-Wan was right, you are terrifying when you go on a tangent."
Siri snorted. "Ignore my words then, whatever."
Bant shrugged. "I'm a healer, Siri, not a historian or a debater. I can't really refute or confirm what you say. Arguing this with me is pointless..."
"Yet, you were so quick to lament the death of Jedi, what about the death of countless Sith who were hunted down and exterminated so many thousands of years ago? By your logic they should mater as well, hmm?" poked Siri before going acidly sarcastic, "Or is it not convenient when the argument isn't in your favor? Anything for trying to turn me away from the Dark into what you all want is okay, anything boosting the Jedi is fine, but anything for the Dark or the Sith and lets ignore it."
"My point is simple," said Siri before she had the manifestation of Bant by her throat, lifting her up, "I am who I am, stop trying to convince me otherwise. I tolerate Obi-Wan doing so because of who he is and what he means to me. You have no such consideration. You were my friend once, and for that, you have leniency from me. I don't particularly want you to die. But do not think it gives you anything else, are we clear?"
Bant nodded, swallowing. "Clear."
Siri tossed her back. "Then lets get back to it, the quicker this is done, the better..."
It was like a big dark gaping hole in her memory.
Not when looked at as a whole, but when she tried to focus onto that specific period in time, she just drew a complete blank. She can remember nothing from when she returned to Coruscant after fighting Jinn on Tatooine, and remember nothing before she left Coruscant to return to Naboo. Its an entire kriffing day that's gone. To some, a day is a small, trifle amount of time. To a Sith? A day can mean so much; new avenues of control and power made, threats eliminated, discoveries made, and so much more. Siri's entire apprenticeship after the first year (after Ur Manka) had been intense because of how much was crammed into her schedule. How little free time (and sleep) she got if she didn't create it for herself.
She knew the value of a single day.
Especially when that day involved the death of Sidious's master.
Bant is carefully poking around the edges of the hole. "I don't think we can get it back."
"I'm aware," Siri answered dryly.
"The best we can do is smooth over it and restore the areas around it," commented Bant, "And... wait, what is that?"
Siri's attention followed Bant's train of thought as she traced a molten yellow frayed thread that oozed with the Dark Side out of the damaged area to another memory much farther back...
Siri hissed and clamped down on it the moment she recognized it as the memory of her fall. Except... it felt new, as if she had fallen yesterday, what the hell?
Bant said nothing to the brief flash of it she had got, poking and prodding it. "Its like someone... revitalized the memory. All things wear and tear with age, but this is like it is fresh... yet... I really don't like how the neurons around it keep firing endlessly. I don't think its a good idea to leave this going. That its been left this long already... there's a lot of disorders based on to much or to little neuron activity that this could lead into."
"Then deal with it," said Siri irritably, "I'd rather not have this come back to bite me down the road."
Yet... why was the memory rejuvenated like this? How was another solid question. She figured, since it originated from the damaged area, it was because of Plagueis, since the bastard had apparently ripped through her memories. The question was, why had the elder Sith gone through her head to begin with? The fact that he hadn't immediately killed her if he had only suddenly discovered Sidious had a secret apprentice eliminated a few possibilities (maybe?). There were a few theories going through her head. The most hopeful being he wanted to see if she was worth his time if he found Sidious lacking. Whatever the reason, it doesn't particularly matter anymore she supposes. He's dead and she's not.
She watches as Bant carefully pokes and prods the memory before admitting defeat, "I don't know what to do about this. The entire memory is oozing outside dark energy, and I don't know if I can negate it without risking damage..."
Siri sighed, reached for the memory with the Dark Side, and sucked it out, draining it away.
"That's really uncomfortable to feel while I'm in your head, but I guess it solves the issue, give me a minute to quiet the activity," commented Bant before going to work.
She doesn't really feel anything, but Siri assumes its a background kind of thing.
"Alright, lets finish smoothing over the hole and then give it another pass and you should be good," said Bant.
"Finally," complained Siri.
"Honestly, you all are big babies," scolded (mocked?) Bant, "Jedi or Sith you all don't want to keep me company down here in the Halls of Healing. Was a few weeks to do this really so bad? This was, really, record time for tending to this kind of damage."
"I'm not a Jedi, I didn't need you to baby me through it," said Siri snidely, ignoring the scolding, "I can take rough treatment."
The sensation of Bant rolling her eyes while in Siri's head was... weird, felt like a little bubble moving beneath her skin. Siri ignored it in favor of getting the last of the repairs done. She was ready to be out of this damn room. Though she wasn't ignorant to the fact that it would still be raw for awhile. She didn't need Bant to tell her that, her head needed to not be raided again for a good long while. Which possibly meant not pissing Sidious off enough to try again, though without the bond he...
Oh kriff...
She swallowed thickly, her awareness so carefully and briefly looking for it.
She still had the bond.
Oh Force...
Siri held back her fear and forcibly diverted her attention away, trying not to send any sensation down it that she was aware of it. She would have thought it would have been destroyed either by Sidious or by the Jedi while throwing him out of her head. She watches Bant pave over the hole in her memory in utter silence; it doesn't feel any difference without focusing inward with the Force, its still just a big blank to her, but its a big blank in a way that doesn't risk destabilizing her head later on at the first sign of more mental pain, which she's not stupid enough to think she wouldn't face.
When Bant is done, Siri doesn't immediately let her go. "Bant, I want you to summon Master Che, and the Jedi Council, Obi-Wan to I guess."
She could feel Bant's wariness. "Why?"
"My bond with Sidious is still active, and I want it gone," hissed Siri back, "I don't know how many people I'm going to need to sever it if he fights me on it."
"Wait, you have a... okay, okay is that how he attacked you?" asked Bant.
Siri was incredulous, how could the Jedi not realize that? How could they not have sensed the bond? "Now Bant."
Bant pulls away, but Siri doesn't leave her head. She watches that bond for any and all activity from a distance. She's irritated beyond belief, at any point Sidious could have come back to finish the job if he wanted to. It leaves her more and more infuriated, because its more than evident Sidious got what he wanted out of the memory wipe. But what was it? And if it was so important, why hadn't she already revealed it? Or did they perhaps weigh its importance differently? Maybe it was something she hadn't realized the importance of?
She doesn't know.
It really kriffing ticks her off though...
She stills when she feels Sidious peer down the bond, looking down straight into her focus. Siri swallows and steels herself, turning her full attention to it...
But he does nothing.
He merely watches her as she watches him.
Minutes tick by, and her apprehension builds, eventually, she can't really help herself from poking the beast.
"Got what you want you prick?"
There is dark bemusement from him. "Had you not forced my hand I would not have raised it against you. You have no one but yourself to blame. Perhaps next time, my foolish young apprentice, you will remember what happens if you test me. You are not nearly ready to challenge me for mastery, I look forward to showing you just how far from it you are. Do try to make this somewhat entertaining for me."
A lick of rage courses through her. "You think this is funny, Sidious?"
Ice coats the bond, his voice goes hard, tinted with wrath. "Oh no, far from it. I can't recall the last time I have been so continually enraged. Your foolishness has risked endangering the Grand Plan, a thousand years of effort and planning damaged out of spite."
"Hi pot names kettle have we met?" mocked Siri, "I'm pretty sure half the shit you ever did to me or had me do to others was out of spite."
"Everything I 'did to you' as you say, was a lesson," snarled Sidious, "Which you time and time again fail to learn."
Siri sneered down the bond. "Did I? Or did you fail to teach? I..."
She cuts herself off from shooting herself in the foot. Its best not to say how much she learned from Zannah, she doesn't want to give him any insight. Sidious was a sexist twit, he looked over it for her since she was his apprentice, he thought his influence and teachings overrode 'female weakness', but more than spoke his disdain for every other female. She knows he discounts Zannah's worth despite her having been Bane's apprentice, and a Sith Master. "I learned far more on my own than I did from you."
"Is that so," he says, not a question, just more amusement, "I'm disappointed my apprentice, you fail your mission and you flail around and run away like a child rather than return to me and face punishment. Perhaps I was mistaken to think better of you."
Siri growled, the Dark Side roiling around and through her. "I am no belligerent child, Sidious. I am done being your apprentice. I am going to ruin you. I am going to kill you."
"I will allow you to try," he said, tone dismissive and mocking, "We both know I could have killed you any time prior to now."
"And when I kill you, you'll know it was your own damn arrogance that did you in," she spat back.
"So you say," that dismissive tone still there, "But so long as you wear the carcass of Siri Tachi around you, Lord Tyrosus, you will never best me."
Before she can call him an idiot, he pulls back, eyes still on the bond, but no longer desiring to speak. She still fumes. There IS no difference. She realized that quickly in her time in the Force Suppressant Cell. Siri Tach is Darth Tyrosus as Darth Tyrosus is Siri Tachi. The fact that Sidious and every other Sith before him thinks otherwise is willful blindness, arrogance, and intentional dissociation from their previous life. There will come a day when she has to show both the Jedi and the Sith that the hard way, she feels it in her bones, but not yet.
She'll hold onto the dream of having Obi-Wan a while longer yet.
Speaking of which, she detects him and others entering the room, followed quickly by a tap on her shields. She grudgingly lowers them and lets the Jedi in. She is quick to note however an odd amount of disturbance and chaos from them. Very few of them feel at all mentally balanced as they were when they threw Sidious out of her head. Something has deeply agitated the Jedi, and Yoda's presence especially feels heavy, almost depressed actually. Interesting... perhaps her revelation before Sidious's attack had more impact than she thought it would.
She's not going to poke at it yet though, not while they are in her head.
"Well," chimed Obi-Wan as they settled in, "I feel a lot of anger from you today."
"I'm always angry Obi-Wan," said Siri irritably, "Especially since Sidious is being a condescending ass."
Obi-Wan groaned. "Do you egg on him as much as you do us?"
"Of course."
"Before any of us were even here to prevent any damage if he attacked you again?!"
"Save the banter," warned Windu, "Where is the bond?"
Siri tugs on Obi-Wan's presence, and the Jedi follow him to it. She's not sure how they missed it, or perhaps they were to 'scared' to venture anywhere in her head to find it. The Jedi size it up, and she feels their presence surround it and ready themselves.
"Wait," ordered Vokra Che, "Since I doubt this is going to be a willing dissolution from the other Sith's end, preparations need to be made to ward off any potential backlash and damage."
"Wait we will," said Yoda, "But allow anything through the bond, we will not."
Yoda puts his presence firmly in front of the bond, staring down it silently into the dark storm that is Sidious. Her Master, former Master, doesn't acknowledge him. Siri still feels like his eyes are looking past him directly onto her.
"Do be quick about it Jedi," said Siri mildly, "I already dislike having others in my head to begin with, all of you at once grates."
The most acknowledgement she gets is exasperation from Obi-Wan as the Jedi healer goes about her business, poking and prodding...
"What is this?" hissed Che, "This is no mere training bond. It doesn't just connect you two him, it burrows into your mind, entrenching in like roots, like a parasite all throughout your psyche."
Siri swallows a bit, more than a little unsettled by that. "Sith bonds are, evidently, different than Jedi ones."
She feels a sense of mocking laughter from Sidious, watching them all with dark amusement.
"I suggest you brace yourself," warned Che, "Uprooting and removing the bond is going to hurt, and is going to be unpleasant."
"Everything involving Sidious is," commented Siri mildly, and a bit tiredly.
Her minds taken enough battering for a lifetime already, she's not thrill for anymore. But, as she locks eyes down the bond with Sidious, if it gets this bastard out of her head, then its worth it. Both of them say nothing, and do nothing, merely watching the other as the Jedi slowly begin to pry loose the bond...
Chapter 44: Strange New World
Summary:
Change change change!
Chapter Text
The next day, Siri is finally given leave to exit the Halls of Healing.
She does so, Obi-Wan at her side, two Temple Guards following in behind, and she is... quiet.
Its strange, without the bond to Sidious. It was... quieter, She had never realized it until it was gone, that there had been a kind of background noise. Not sound per-say, but a oily miasma not her own seeping down the bond, a dark hymn created by being connected to a creature like Sidious. She wont say it was direct influence, Sidious was more subtle than that when he so chose to be. It was an interesting thing to study, as it slowly faded out of her mind. She had watched Bant as she worked, on manipulating and healing or shutting down certain mental activities, so she has a bit more understanding than she did before. What that 'miasma' was... was encouragement. It wasn't exactly a compulsion, which could be forceful or active, this encouraged certain responses and actions. Made them more enticing for her to choose, but did not force her to do so. A twitch of nerve receptors to release pleasure or delight in certain acts, or the opposite for others. She could never say Sidious had forced her to do anything with this... miasma, just encouraged it and she went and did it on her own. She could never say nor guess what may or may not have been influenced by it, because she had done plenty of things that would go against it, but still...
It was terrifyingly ingenious, anyone Sidious formed a connection to, training bond or otherwise, would be subtly influenced by him without direct effort. It was like an aura of corruption if she had to name it. Just how many more tricks and tools did he have like this? Probably too many more if she's honest, but regardless...
She hadn't mentioned it to the Jedi though.
This was a tool she was going to keep to herself if she needed it, though she's not quite sure how to make it.
It was also a lesson, a repeat lesson that really should have sunk in by now, that Sidious never left anything to chance. She thought she had rid herself of his influence years ago when she destroyed the compulsions and left fakes and traps in their place. But lo and behold, Sidious had something else prepared and in place. He would always have a backup plan. Its a reminder of how screwed the Jedi are.
How screwed she probably is.
She brushes that thought off for a good ten years down the road. She has time to grow stronger, and perhaps the Jedi can make enough of a nuisance of themselves to delay Sidious. The Sith Lord himself is being an arrogant prick at the moment and 'letting her' challenge him. His mistake. He should have killed her when he had the chance. She doesn't know what memory he culled from her mind, what he deemed important enough to strike out at her, but she'll still find a way to ruin him.
She swears it.
They reach her room and she moves to the doorway to open it without pause. "Siri?"
She glanced back at Obi-Wan. "What?"
"Are you okay?"
Her eyebrows furrow. "Why wouldn't I be?"
He hesitated. "You're rather quiet, I don't know how much time you've had between resting and Bant's sessions to... process what happened..."
"Oh for kriff sake," she says, oddly not annoyed, but definitely exasperated, "I'm a Sith Apprentice, Obi-Wan, what Sidious did is normal."
The look he gives her says exactly what he thinks of that.
She doesn't feel like arguing at the moment (shocker there); she's been holed up in the Halls of Healing for a few weeks, along with having been comatose for roughly a month. All she wants to do is laze on her couch, grab her datapad, catch up, and then sleep this all off like a bad hangover. So, she gives him a brief sharp nod, enters the apartment, and kicks the door closed behind her without turning. He probably got the hint. She goes to her room, her datapad is under the mattress where she left it. She nabs it, goes to the couch, and flops down with a sigh.
"Kriff you Sidious," is all she muttered before flicking her datapad on.
She'll browse the highlights before digging in and looking for what events might have happened that wouldn't have been obvious as major to anyone but a Sith...
Then her eyes go wide as the first headlines scroll across her datapad...
JEDI ORDER IN REBELLION? Demands for the Ruusan Reformation to be repealed!
SITH INFILTRATION WORSE THAN EXPECTED: Jedi detail a thousand years of manipulation of our Republic by the Sith!
TRUTH OR FICTION? Have the Sith infiltrated the Senate, or are the Jedi grabbing for power with their demand for the Ruusan Reformation to be repealed?
OVER TWENTY-THOUSAND JEDI DEAD: Casualties of Sith machinations in the Republic Senate!
THE RUUSAN REFORMATION: The why, when, how, and what it means if it were to be repealed.
CAN WE TRUST THE SENATE? If the Sith can control them from the shadows, can we trust anything they do?
NOT A FULL REPEAL: Despite widespread rumors, the Jedi have only asked for part of the Ruusan Reformation to be repealed, not all of it.
On and on it went, pages worth of articles and newsroom reports and talk-shows and the like, all discussing arguable the second most massive thing in under a year aside from the revelation of the Sith's continued existence. Siri's jaw is partially dropped, her mind frozen in a state of disbelief. The Jedi... they actually did it... they...
The Jedi were learning.
They were actually trying to adapt.
"Guess Banthas are flying," she muttered under her breath, frowning in thought.
The question now became, could the Jedi adapt enough in time to survive Sidious?
That she still doubted but who knows, maybe they could. She still wasn't going to make plans around the Jedi Order surviving the Revenge of the Sith until they actually proved themselves capable. The amount of damage the Sith had done over time demanded some kind of response after all, perhaps this wasn't too unexpected. Regardless, she is elated by this change, by this change SHE incited. A grin spreads across her face, tongue slowly licking her lips at the chaos the articles imply.
Because she did this.
The Jedi never would have tried this without her prompting.
"What would the Jedi do without the Sith?" she said, snickering after, "We force them to adapt or die."
She tilted her head back. "Though Sidious would prefer they just die I suppose, shame about that."
After all, without the Jedi, would the Sith have evolved to what they are now?
She hummed to herself and went to the article about which parts of the Reformation the Jedi wanted repealed. Her pleasant mode faded almost instantly, incredulousness spreading across her face. That's it? The right to determine their own missions, investigate a senate based mission before agreeing to it, and the right to refuse a mission without penalty or question. THAT'S IT?! That's all they want? Even worse, that's the only changes they wanted to do? They wanted to undo the Reformation as it pertained to the Senate-Jedi relations but NONE of the changes that the Jedi made to themselves a thousand years ago?
Not getting rid of that abominable no attachment and no family rule?
Not getting rid of the age limit?
Not getting rid of the one master on student?
Not lifting the ban on a Jedi Military?
Not revisiting their outdated code?
Not decentralizing their training from Coruscant?
Survivability wise, that last one was perhaps the most immediately important. It made it so easy to keep track of the comings and goings of the Jedi and any rising stars if they were ALL in one spot. All Jedi being trained by the same set of teachers culled diversity in learning and what was taught. Honestly, growing up in a temple on a planet with life, rather than endless cityscape, could do wonders too. Not to mention that when the time came, Sidious would only need to stamp out one temple, two considering the Corellian Temple, rather than a multitude of scattered Jedi Temples. There were probably thousands of little reasons to do so too.
Her lips curled into a sneer. "But nooo, doing that would make it harder to indoctrinate all the little children."
She shakes her head. "Not enough change Jedi, not nearly enough."
She switches off her datapad and decides she's going to laze and nap the day away...
Until she blinks awake when a knock comes at the door. "Siri?"
She scowls at the door, rubbing her eyes briefly. "Enter Kenobi."
He walks in. "Are you hungry?"
"I'm not starving at the moment," she says offhand.
His look is disproving. "I really hope that's not your baseline for determining if you should eat or not."
She rolled her eyes, sighed and flapped a hand. "Fine, whatever, go get me food."
"Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to come down to the dinning hall."
Siri slowly raised an eyebrow. "I was under the assumption I wouldn't be allowed anywhere near where all the little poor impressionable initiates or padawans could be."
He gave a self-depreciating smile. "Its a good hour after lunch, it should be relatively empty."
She snorted in amusement before scrutinizing him. "Is this cleared, Obi-Wan? Or am I going to get in a metric shit-ton of trouble with the Council for suddenly appearing there? Normally I wouldn't care, but I like my little apartment over a cell."
She reflects briefly. "Relatively, its way to empty and devoid of any personality or life, but hey, Jedi Temple, its to be expected."
She scowls a little when he doesn't even acknowledge the jab. "I believe in asking for forgiveness and proving there's no harm, unless you want to be confined to this room or the training halls all hours of the day?"
"Where else would I go?" she asked flatly.
"Among other places, how about the Room of a Thousand Fountains? Or the Archives?" he posed.
She wrinkled her nose. "Now why would I care to go to either of those? Not to mention, I'm pretty sure the council's response to giving me access to the archives would be 'over their dead bodies'."
"Restricted access," he amended, "I doubt it would be soon anyway, something slowly built up to as you..."
"As. I. What?" she asked thinly, eyes narrowing, "I still have no interest in turning away from what I am, Obi-Wan."
They both stared at eachother for a few moments before Obi-Wan turned away. "If you want to go, lets go, otherwise I'll bring you something back."
She weighed whether it was worth it or not, but, she could pin the blame on Obi-Wan for dragging her out there if it came down to it. It had been his idea after all, and it let her test boundaries. "Fine."
She pockets her datapad, stretches out after standing up, and heads for the door, eying Obi-Wan as he briefly informs her watchers of their destination. She doesn't get a sensation or a feeling of their thoughts on the matter, the temple guard simply fall in behind them, the familiar sensation of eyes on her back occurring seconds later. She ponders whether or not to harp at or pester Obi-Wan about the partial Ruusan Reformation repeal, but decides to at least get her food first incase it started up a hissy fit and got them kicked out...
...aaaand then Master Yoda strolled around the corner, talking with a female human Jedi, both of them pausing to look at them. The hair on the back of Siri's neck stands up as the second Jedi looks at her and appraises the Sith Apprentice with narrowed eyes. This one was powerful in the Force, extremely so, who the hell was this? Sidious made it a point to know their enemies, but Siri did not recognize this one. The Jedi bore pale skin, blond hair, pointy ears that made defining her race a bit difficult despite her otherwise human appearance. Perhaps a Human-Sephi hybrid. She was certainly striking, beautiful in a way that had Siri almost jealous. She had curved line tattoos on her cheek and forehead that Siri didn't know the meaning of. The Jedi's robes were mostly standard, save for the strange symbols along the edges if her robes. She also, oddly, doesn't have a lightsaber on her person, there is no hum of a kyber crystal about her. Then there were her gray eyes...
Eyes that seemed so much older than the rest of her youthful appearance.
Siri was, without question, on guard.
Yoda grunts and looks up at Obi-Wan. "Mmm, where off are you and our guest to, Padawan Kenobi?"
"The dinning halls Master Yoda," answers Obi-Wan, eyes briefly flickering at the unknown Jedi in curiosity.
So Kenobi doesn't know who she is either, interesting.
"Hmmm," muses Yoda, looking up at Siri for a moment, "Feeling better are you, Young Tachi?"
Siri's eyes haven't left the unknown Jedi's. "As well as can be expected, having Sidious out of my head is nice I suppose."
She crossed her arms, annoyed to admit, "I suppose it was my own stupidity, I liked to think of the bond as little as possible, it should have been the first thing nipped in the bud after the Senate hearings, I... kind of forgot about it."
"You forgot," said Obi-Wan flatly.
Yoda walked forward and poked her knee with his gimer stick. "Hmph, avoiding and forgetting problems you were, bad habit that is."
"As you say, most venerable elder," she says mockingly.
That gets her a wack from the gimer stick. "Pah, always rude you are."
Siri scoffs. "if you're expecting pleasantries, look elsewhere, I am a Sith."
"And without a shred of doubt of that," murmurs the unknown Jedi in a smooth, almost melodic voice, "I'm afraid Master Yoda, I don't see what gives you the hope for redemption with this one."
"Always make a poor first impression, Young Tachi has, even when an initiate she was, even as an infant, threw up on the Jedi that retrieved her, she did," he answers, ignoring the scowl Siri gives him, "More to her than meets the eye, there is. Yes, yes, just arrived, you have, talk and observe, you will. Later, yes, especially talk with Young Obi-Wan you should, an interesting perspective, he is. For now, need to catch up, you do."
"As you say Master Yoda," answers the woman doubtful, eyes narrowed at Siri, "But, all I see right now is hatred and bile given form."
Siri shakes her head; she probably shouldn't be poking at an powerful unknown, but she just can't help herself. "That is such a Jedi response that it bores me."
"Well, then it is fortunate that I am for one, a Jedi, and two, not here to entertain you, Sith," the Jedi answers back flatly.
"Pah, time for bickering, I have not, enjoy your food, Padawan Kenobi, Young Tachi," said Yoda, moving to walk around them, "Come come, Master Fay, see the council we should. Ready for my seclusion I am. Long has it been since simply rested, I have."
Obi-Wan's breath hitches for a moment at the woman's name, and for some reason, that name faintly tickles Siri's fixed memories. And what was this about a seclusion? Was now really the time for the Jedi Grandmaster to go on a meditative retreat?
Fay hummed and moved to walk beside him. "I'm still not certain requesting me as your temporary replacement over one of your Council was the wisest decision, I'm am woefully out of date, and have spent vast amounts of time out in the Rim rather than the core."
Siri's eyes went wide. What did she just say?!
Yoda just cackled as they went down the hall. "Good that is, yes, yes, a new perspective, the Jedi need. Glad I am you answered."
"I am sorry, but I wouldn't have if the Force hadn't said I was needed here," she answered bluntly, her voice starting to echo down the hall as they made for a corner, "I go where the Force beckons me, not..."
Then they're out of hearing range; Siri turns her head towards Obi-Wan, the term -Temporary Replacement Jedi Grandmaster- ringing in her head. "Who the hell is that?"
"I... I actually thought she was a myth," admits Obi-Wan, "A tale for Padawans. That is Master Fay, she's a legend, she's centuries old and is rumored to be ageless in the Force. The stories go that she swore off teaching, off the normal Jedi mission roster, and leads a nomadic life, just letting the Force guide her to where she was needed. They say she's never once used a lightsaber for combat after she was knighted."
Siri's eyes sharpen, acknowledging what that implied. This 'Master Fay' used solely the Force for combat. Eager anticipation rolls down Siri's spine, because this was something she hadn't thought existed within the Jedi. Sure, they had their Jedi Counselors who favored using the Force over a lightsaber, but they still used and trained with them. If Fay only used the Force though... she would be leagues ahead of normal counselors, even without the whole ageless bit. The fact that she was that old... coupled with that methodology... that power Siri felt...
"Oh I wish I could see the look on Sidious's face when he realizes there's another Yoda grade Jedi on the playing field," said Siri with sadistic glee, a lift to her voice.
Obi-Wan squints suspiciously at her. "And you don't particularly care yourself?"
"Hey, I cut a deal with judicial, in ten years I'm out no matter what and there isn't a damn thing the Jedi can do about," she answers smugly, "Need I remind you it isn't illegal to be a Sith nor use the Dark Side?"
He scowls at her.
She reaches over and pats his head, grinning when he swats her hand away. "Don't worry Obi-Wan, incase you forget, I really don't give a shit if your Order lives or dies, so her being here is just another blow for Sidious."
Though, in reality, that Jedi is going to have a giant target on her back once Sidious realizes she's here and what kind of Jedi she is. The Jedi isn't as strong as Sidious is, but she's strong enough that if another strong Jedi entered the fight alongside her, Sidious might actually be in trouble. If Fay and Yoda fought Sidious together...
No, Sidious would have to realize the danger and adapt.
One of those two was not going to live to the execution of the Grand Plan...
Sidious watched with masked disdain as the Senate argued among themselves over trade disputes. With the Trade Federation revealed as being in the pocket of the Sith, the Federation had lost many of their rights, authority, and was being heavily downsized. Hardly a loss when he could shift most of his efforts there to the Banking Clans instead for about the same impact, or simply create a new corporation if need be to act through. The proceedings were, however, a colossal bickering waste of time, his time, the session should have ended at least an hour ago, he was going to miss his reservation at his favored restaurant for dinner at this rate. Alas, this was the second to last item on the agenda today, aside from some clerical announcement of the Jedi, something to do with a Council appointment. He was only partially curious as to who had left the council and who was the chosen replacement. He supposed it didn't really matter, they'd be dead within two decades regardless.
"...conglomerate is at least armed! Any trade organization that does not have their ships armed is going to be robbed blind in the Outer Rim between the Hutts and Pirates!"
"But if they are allowed to be armed, we could have a repeat of Naboo down the road! Perhaps not soon, but when its all cooled off..."
Sidious cleared his throat and chimed in. "Then, gentle-beings, it is upon us to come up with proper regulations and enforcements of these regulations to make sure a repeat tragedy does not occur."
He paused briefly, looking over the senate, resting his gaze on the new Senator of Aldaraan, Bail Organna, replacing the previous Senator who had died of a 'sudden heart attack'. Such a shame really.
He gave the senator a smile, pleasant on the outside, but sadistic in truth. "A committee can be formed to look into the matter, perhaps our newest member could join them for much needed experience in our profession."
Coming off as polite and encouraging all the while demeaning him for his inexperience. Sometimes, he truly enjoyed wordplay.
Organna gave a curt nod. "It would be my honor, your excellency."
"Good, good," said Sidious, "I would appreciate recommendations being forwarded to my office for who to fill the committee with, I will make an announcement next week after viewing our options. Now, before we close for the day, I believe the Jedi Order wished to make a clerical announcement? Would someone usher them in?"
A door is opened to one of the lowest pods, and in walks Master Yoda and... a female Jedi Sidious does not recognize. Yet, the moment he looks her over, the Force ripples in warning and change. There is a hiss of apprehension from the Dark that was not there before. Sidious exercises complete control of his face and does not narrow his eyes, merely giving the pod a curious look instead. Something is about to happen that may change things; it happens on occasion, some event happens somewhere, or someone makes an unlikely decision that changes the thread the Force would have normally followed. That it originates from the Jedi though...
Yoda hobbled forward on his stick and addressed the Senate. "Quick we will be, and thank you for your time, we do. As of today, temporarily step down from the position of Jedi Grandmaster, I do. On leave to a seclusion, I am, meditate on the Return of the Sith I must, consider where gone wrong, the Order has, to allow this to happen, I will."
Sidious went oh so very still; a sudden stunned hush coming over the senate.
He motions to his counterpart. "Chosen I have, for Jedi Master Fay to replace me, until it is I return. That is all."
Master Fay... Sidious knew that name from somewhere. He reached a hand up to rub his chin, watching as the two Jedi turned and left, the Senate bursting into chatter among themselves. The fact that the Jedi had simply dropped it like that and left meant it wasn't open for discussion or debate with them, Yoda had made his choice and that was that... yet...
Sidious carefully reaches for his comm and punches in a code for one of his eyes within the Jedi Temple and types out a quick message. If Yoda is leaving, then he wants the Jedi tracked, preferably a beacon to be placed on whatever ship he uses. There is a heavy sense of instability from the Dark Side, future in terrible, unstoppable motion, that can swing one way or another. He needs to be aware of all the pieces. He also needs to remember where he knows that blasted Jedi Woman's name from.
He doesn't get an answer until he is done for the day, canceling his reservation to dine out, and retreating into one of his hidden sanctums on Coruscant. It was fortunate, he muses, that aside from the one Tachi had been trained in, he had never shown her any others. That one was already cleared out, save for a little treat for his apprentice and the Jedi should she ever take them to it. Not explosive, no, but something to strain tensions at least, and the best part was he hadn't had to do anything save for leave two rooms, Tachi's and the cell she had pledged herself to him in, intact and untouched.
He sits in a dimly lit room, going over a collection of information on the Jedi Order gathered by many of their line, most of it out of date with the passage of time, save for one single name: Jedi Master Fay. Sidious rubs his chin as his eyes take in the record of a rather unusual Jedi. First and foremost, his lips peel back into a snarl at her being named 'Ageless in the Force'. The Jedi would never understand the true value of immortality, that this Jedi can someone stop herself from aging and wastes it away transversing through the Outer Rim doing 'the Will of the Force', it absolutely disgusts him. There were notations from several of his predecessors considering capturing her to try and see if whatever method granted her this boon could be replicated through the Dark Side, but it never seemed to go anywhere, there is no further hint as to why they did not try.
Common sense would dictate that his predecessors were simply not as powerful as Sidious himself was. When he had confronted Plaguis, they had been rather evenly matched, which considering the vast age gap between the two of them, was a so satisfying and elating sensation to see just how strong he was, and how strong he would yet become. In considering the Jedi... Fay is far more powerful than any normal Jedi, confronting such a Jedi would be sure to send out ripples through the Force, especially if she could not be subdued quickly, perhaps they had deemed it to risky, if they had tried and failed it could have revealed the Sith to the Jedi far to prematurely. Sidious and Plaguies had diverted a great deal of energy to simply contain their confrontation until... he could admit, he had let his emotions get the better of him and lost control in his bloodlust to kill his teacher.
He goes through the notes on Fay again, and all throughout them, while the Sith are aware of her, and covet that ageless state, at no point was she ever considered a threat. She had stayed out in the Outer Rim, out of politics, away from the Senate or corporations the Sith delved into, away from the spot light, putting out small fires, the occasional war, at most a minor inconvenience to the Grand Plan, never a true danger. He doesn't even know if she had ever returned to the Jedi Temple after leaving it to start in her nomadic lifestyle, there's no note or record of it.
Yet here she was, replacing Yoda temporarily as the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order completely out of nowhere.
Sidious has no clue how long 'temporary' will be. A month? A year? A decade? Fay is an unknown, in personality and outlook, how she manages things will differ from Yoda. Sidious would have to watch and learn and adapt to a foreign kind of Jedi. And then, all his adaptions may be for naught when Yoda simply waltzes back in. Which is another, dangerous matter in itself, if Yoda is separating himself from Coruscant, from the epicenter of Veil of the Dark Side, to look back and think on where the Jedi failed (and many failings did the Jedi have), there was a chance this perspective change could become an obstacle, and something else he has to overcome. Of course, Yoda may not learn anything in his meditative retreat, or may learn the wrong lessons, that was always a possibility.
Another possibility was, if his contact could get a tracker on Yoda's ship... Yoda would be completely alone, and since the Sith were already revealed, getting into a confrontation with, and killing Yoda, would not matter, his existence was already known... it would be a massive blow to an already unstabalized Jedi Order... but while he is surely stronger than Yoda, surely he is, he must be, there are no guarantees. There is always a chance Yoda might get lucky, or... it could also be a trap, and more Jedi could be in wait... it could be bait...
He cannot bumble into this, he closes the notes on Fay and closes his eyes, leaning back in his chair as he reaches into the Force, deep into the Dark Side, and demands answers...
As he meditated, Sidious is gifted with a vision he saw years ago, of himself facing off against Yoda in the senate dome. Except now its changing, the foe he faces flickering. Constantly switching between Fay and Yoda, between a pure Force duel and a mixture of lightsaber and Force. It is such a swirl of different motions fading in and out of existence, the future in flux, either possibility of his foe a likely outcome. He sees himself unleash a devastating barrage of lightning, and his vision is split in two. In one, he sees the old end where Yoda is cast off a senate pod to the depths of the chamber far below, defeated, with Tachi coming out to confront him. In another, he sees Fay manage to shove his lightning off and throw him to another pod, the two of them staring eachother down, behind them, he sees Tachi watching in the shadow a doorway, eyes gleaming with a predatory delight...
Sidious breaks from his meditation as the vision ends, agitated and furious. "I had not foreseen this. That Jedi never should have become involved until the time came to hunt down and wipe out the Jedi Order."
Thus, he had yet another reason to strangle his apprentice, for drawing in a dangerous piece to the chessboard. He could not, would not, tolerate there being two Jedi of this caliber, of actually being able to at least somewhat face him in combat, alive when he entered the final stage of the Grand Plan. He is not blind to the fact that the Force did not grant him any insight to the inbetween of here and the end, a destination was possible, but the journey there was still in flux, trying to demand that of the Dark Side while the tides of the Force were still a storm was potentially dangerous.
He was not in a hurry.
He had time.
He could wait, and observe, and meditate more as the dust settled.
He doubted Yoda's seclusion would be quick, he would have time if he wanted to confront and kill the little troll. On the reverse side however, he's not sure when he would get the chance to kill Fay if she's going to be bogged down in the temple handling Yoda's responsibilities. It could be a very long time, perhaps longer than the duration of Yoda's seclusion, and having them both active and in the same place at once... But ultimately, in the end, it did not matter. For he was a Sith, the most powerful ever born, and the Sith were an ever changing and adapting enemy. All this new development would be was a new challenge to overcome, and a Sith thrived in the face of adversity.
He would still outmaneuver the Jedi.
He would still wipe their weak order from the face of the Galaxy.
He would take the Revenge of the Sith.
He would become Emperor of the Galaxy.
There was nothing the Jedi could do at this point, all the pieces were now in place or being moved to their final spots, a few loose ends to nip in the bud, or draw back into the fold such as his foolish apprentice, or replace her with Skywalker if need be. It was already over, he had already won. All it would take was time...
Chapter 45: Rubbing it in.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The Jedi Temple still hadn't returned to the peace Siri could recall it used to have as the days past. There was a dimming, a conflict, that Sidious would so readily prey upon. She could see it in the way Jedi interacted with Jedi, argued and bickered on what to do and what was right and what would or wouldn't be enough. Master Fay's temporary appointment hadn't done much for quelling the roiling, if anything, it was worse. Worse because the one who had guided them for centuries had disappeared and had been replaced by this 'Outsider' who hadn't been in the Jedi Temple for close to as long as Yoda had been alive. It was amazing, in a way that drew dark fascination, how Fay's reputation was suddenly cast aside or turned against her.
There were cracks here that had begun a long time ago, well before Siri's birth, that had increased when Siri had pointed out failings, and were continuing to grow. There was potential here for something absolutely destructive to happen, something that hadn't happened since the last Sith Wars. It wasn't guaranteed of course, but she saw the signs, had studied all of the Sith Wars on some level. So she wasn't blind to it, wasn't blind to the danger to the Jedi, AND to the Sith.
She saw the potential for a Schism.
And if this Schism turned out like the last, and they had an entire faction of Jedi falling... even if Sidious had a hand in guiding and controlling it, that was insanely dangerous, unless of course Sidious could stamp that faction out at the same time he could the Jedi. Its also possible that there would be two light factions instead of one falling, but she had seen who was taking the lead over this faction. C'Baoth and his yes-man Krell.
They had Sidious's stench about them.
They also had the beginnings of a false Aura of Light, a technique Sith could use to pretend to be Jedi. Zannah told her she'd used it to literally walk into the Jedi Temple and read their archives before. Siri doesn't detect a conscious effort to it yet, they don't realize whats happening, but she does nothing about it. They wouldn't accept anything she would offer anyway, none of the Jedi would. Obi-Wan *might* believe her and be wary, but that's it. Yoda had some odd sort of belief in her that she detested, but Fay did not. Fay did not hide the fact she saw Siri, saw the Sith, as a disease, as 'hatred and bile given form'.
Without Yoda there as a potential buffer Siri hadn't realized he had been until he was gone, she has to be much more careful. Its odd though, because... the desire really isn't there anymore either, to drive a dagger in each time she speaks to a Jedi, it just doesn't seem worth the effort. If they piss her off sure, she'll give it to them brutal and hard, but she frankly doesn't care enough about most individual Jedi to focus on jabbing at them. It's like her view of their survival, she doesn't care if they do or don't. Either they adapt, or they die. It's not worth it, the potential and desire for conflict doesn't measure up to her standards anymore. So what if it pleases her momentarily? What she says wont stick with the average Jedi, and it'll just potentially cause issues.
So she exercises patience, and is cautious. When Obi-Wan comes to collect her for trips to the dinning hall, she tastes the Force first rather than just waltzing down the halls like she owns the place. If she doesn't like the vibe she gets...
"I don't feel like it Kenobi," she drawled, lazing about on the couch, hiding away the wary apprehension the Force warned her of with her nonchalance, "Fetch me food would you?"
He give her that look of disapproval, and wanders off.
So Siri is... ancy, when things finally return to some level of familiarity. When Siri is called before the council to re-explain some of the things she told them before to their new Grand Master. Its an annoying repetition, but she uses it as a way to gauge Fay. Of course the most the damn woman shows is a tightening of her eyes and Force Presence, but no real reaction. Siri swears she feels even more detached than the average Jedi, which she supposes isn't impossible, Fay having been on her own for so many years. If the woman feels anything under that curtain of serine detachment, Siri doesn't know.
Then she gets her first order to the sparing rooms again.
There is an air of apprehension in the Force that she smells, ripe yet rotten, both good and bad. A notable chill in the air that none of the Jedi seem to sense or react to. Her eyes briefly scan the room. Several council members, the current Grand Master, C'Baoth and Krell, various Masters and Knights, C'Baoth's apprentice one of the only padawans here, and of course, Skywalker. Its normal for these sessions. Yet the hum of anticipation thrums under her skin.
Dooku hands her Bane's Heart, and she relishes having it in her hand again after being comatose in the Halls of Healing and receiving treatment. "Do you feel, Tachi, that you need time to warm up?"
She raises a single eyebrow at him, not deigning that comment worth sneering for, though she did notice the shift in his acknowledgement of her, where was the derisive 'Sith' from him? Regardless, the Jedi is going to have to try harder to earn her contempt. Dooku smiled with satisfaction, took several steps backward, then drew and ignited his lightsaber.
"Ah," said Siri, bemused, "I was wondering when we were going to do this."
Dooku's smile turned sharp, starting with a Makashi salute...
Siri took about half a second with extreme Force enhanced speeds to cross the distance and kick him right in the stomach, getting a loud 'omph' out of him and sending him to the ground, "First lesson my Master gave to me about Makashi; If he ever saw me waste time doing the salute, he'd have me on the ground writhing in agony. It warns your enemy of which style you are using, and gives them time to prepare, adjust..."
She gives him a predator smile as he picks himself up. "Or kick your ass."
Dooku narrows his eyes, his lips peeling in displeasure. "Honorless."
"There's no honor in being dead," she answers back flatly, assuming her Soresu opening, blade angled down, hand held out like a dare.
She got in the first hit and knocked him on his ass, she's satisfied. She knows hes going to punish her for it. But that's fine, Sidious could do and had done far worse than this aged Jedi Master could. Besides, he was also the Makashi Master. Time to get her ass handed to her and learn so she could do the same to him back eventually.
Dooku is there in a bountiful flourish, and Siri mentally sneers at the exposure he leaves himself open to. Not to a lightsaber, no he'd block that, but a sniper watching the fight? Easy way to kill Dooku, face him a fight, keep him distracted, cloud his senses with the Viel, and BAM, dead Jedi. She blocks the opening strike, shifting back as his lightsaber skips over her blade, trying to clip her arm, and when that misses, down for her thigh. So she takes another step back and lets him push her.
They entered into a dance they had done many times over the years, of Dooku VS Iris. The Jedi Master chasing down the elusive darksider. Except this time, there was no escape. No way to lose him or disappear. Nothing to throw at him with the Force, no civilian to take as a hostage, just him and her in this unrealistic arena that would never happen in a real battlefield, only able to back-up in a circular motion, confined to a small area that really doesn't suit her in a battle against a skilled opponent. So, when he catches her lightsaber in a lock, his blade sliding down and-
She predicts his move wrong, she moved to dodge a right slash, instead he swung left and down, slicing in a way that would have slashed clean into her guts with a full powered saber. She stumbles back, hand reflexively going to her stomach, but she deactivates her lightsaber and rights herself. She expected satisfaction from him, some kind of smugness, instead, he looks irritated.
"Again."
She hums, reactivating her lightsaber. "Hogging all the fun today are we?"
"You have two opponents scheduled for today," he said mildly, "Both of us will face you as many times as necessary, or until you bow out."
Interesting.
She entered her opening stance and he came at her once more, circling the arena as he thrust and cut in sharp smooth motions, the entire time her eyes and senses trailed his movements. Her bouts over the years had been relatively quick and intense, rarely long enough for this kind of exposure and learning.
"Why ever are you so quiet, Tachi?" he posed after besting her again, slowly circling her; she moved her feet to match the motion, both of them moving to hunt the other, "Many of your other spars have been much more... talkative. Even your battle with my padawan and grand padawan on Naboo drew words, or so I hear. You're not trying to hide yourself from me anymore, so why the silence?"
"Because I take you seriously," she answered simply.
That shut him up, eyebrows raising before he schooled his expression. "Hmm."
He stopped speaking, which was a relief to her ears since every other encounter with him resulted in him liking to hear himself talk the entire time. It wasn't a relief when he turned his focus on demolishing her again and again and again, one loss after another after another. She might be above the vast majority of the Order in saberplay, but not him, not yet, and especially without active use of the Force. He's had a long time, and many of these sessions, to study how she fought, she hasn't had the favor returned. As the losses start to mount up, she contains her frustration and turns it into focus, one win and she'd consider it a good session.
He thrusts right for her chest, obvious move to lead into another, one of at least twelve different spin offs depending on if she blocked, parried, dodged, or backpedaled. She blocks hard, shoving his lightsaber away as she activates the other end of her saber and stabs down at his knee, trying to go for a limb he might not expect her to. He jumps up and kicks her collarbone, sending her stumbling back, muttering, "Spry for an old guy."
There is a flair of amusement from him; he comes at her again, not giving her time to recover as he strikes in relentless makashi and...
There.
He goes for her arm, she lets him have it, his powered-down blade searing it as she drove her own blade right through his chest, electing a harsh hiss from him as he staggered back. He blinks a few times, a little stunned, a hush around the ring. Almost a dozen loses to him since it began, but finally, at last, one win.
"In a real duel, I lost my arm, you lost your life," she said mildly, "A price, to be sure, but against a Jedi of your caliber, it would have been a considerable win. Sidious might have even given me a nice replacement as a reward rather than make me find one."
She tilted her head. "Or he would have been an ass and punished me for failing to kill you cleanly, who knows."
Dooku's eyes are dark and calculating in a cold way that sharpens her focus on him, makes her think 'this is part of the reason Sidious wanted him'. He schools his expression and merely says in a crisp tone, "Jedi are eternal students, I will take the Sith willing to lose a limb to win as a lesson best learned prior to a true encounter."
He scowled and demanded, "Regardless, I tire of this mockery. Do you not think I am aware you are holding back, even compared to your other spars? Why? You haven't used any of that abominable dark power you used when we first clashed."
She scoffed. "For one, I've been told off for it already, for two, this arena isn't enough for us to have a real battle, and three..."
This time he earned her sneer. "You are not Yoda, you aren't ready to face an actual Sith in combat holding nothing back, who isn't an idiot who only uses their lightsaber against the Makashi Master."
He raised an eyebrow. "And if I say I am?"
"Then find us a bigger room, or series of rooms, because fighting in a circle with nothing but flat terrain and no obstacles is ridiculously unrealistic," she said in contempt, "You are never going to get Sidious into such a simple and confined location."
Dooku considered for a moment. "True I suppose. Still, this is where we are for today, perhaps something could be set up in the lower levels another time, if the Council permits it. For now, I do not wish to face a simple Darksider, I wish to face a Sith-"
He grunted in pain as Siri flung a rapid jolt of lightning at him, sending him staggering and then gasping in pain as it turned into full on Force Lightning. His legs wobbled as it washed over him, eyes going wide, before she felt him focus the Force, fight through the pain, and raise his lightsaber to catch the lightning. "Little singed there old man."
He gritted his teeth, face and body tensed and drawn, one hand griped tightly on his thigh, the other on his lightsaber, as cackles of electricity rolled around him, dissipating. "A warning would have been appreciated."
Her voice dripped with venom as she lowered her hand, the last of the lightning fading away. "Do you believe Sidious will give you a warning, Jedi, if he wishes you dead?"
He glowered at her, but didn't answer, adjusting the grip on his lightsaber...
Siri closed her eyes, shuddered, and dove deep for the Dark Side. She hadn't really done so since her last spar with Yoda, no other Jedi had been able to demand such from her. It rushes up from inside of her in a startling loud roar of power, her ears ringing, her skin tingling, her head buzzing in a power high that instinctively makes her want to laugh hysterically. Force, its been far to long, especially against someone that isn't Yoda and guaranteed to defeat her.
She opened her eyes, and watches Dooku tense, taking in a sharp breath. She gives a war cry and leaps, spinning through the air, landing before him her blade pulled back to stab. He stumbles back a step in uncertain anticipation, she swings high, he blocks high, she activated the other end of her lightsaber and broke the block, top shoving his blade away while the other one went upwards to cleave into his face.
He steps back, his face turning grim. "So I meet the Sith Apprentice in combat at last."
Siri sneered, reaching out and clenching her fist, wrapping the Force around his throat and vaulting him up into the ceiling with a flick of her wrist. He slams and cringes before Siri flicks her hand down and he plummets. She readies her saber, deactivating one end, and swing a viscous blow that would sever him in two if the saber was at full strength. He deflects the blow mid-fall, but the act prevents him from landing correctly. She smiles at the twist of his ankle, the way he slams hard into the floor; that had to hurt. She goes to pounce on her down prey, but he at least learned a lesson other Jedi were slow to take.
He thrusts a hand forward and Siri is gusted a few steps back by the Force, steeling herself to stop from being completely thrown away. Its enough time for Dooku to get on his feet, he winces on the twisted ankle, but readies himself, curved blade inches from sizzling into the floor. She smiles at that, oh its nice to have prey worthy enough to fight. But she wants more, this is her first real fight against anyone since Sidious burned a hole through a part of her memories, she wants to vent, she wants satisfaction. As they circle one another, her eyes linger on a Jedi outside the arena, on Qui-Gon Jinn, a dark idea coming to her mind
Perhaps Dooku would like an illusion? Its not like the Jedi don't know she has illusionary abilities, she DID use some against Jinn and Kenobi on Naboo.
Siri reaches out and samples Qui-Gon's presence, yanking a single strand of hair off his head with the Force. Qui-Gon flinches, looking like he's about to stand up, but reigns himself in and remains seated, narrowing his eyes at her. Siri levitates the strand to her as she and Dooku begin stabbing, parrying, and slashing at one another. She holds a hand behind her back, taking the hair into it. She has her intent, she has the piece of the target, so she begins to chant in Sith tongue, the Force darkening around her...
Dooku hesitates briefly in uncertainty, and Siri takes advantage of that moment. She brings down a heavy overhead strike as she chants. He blocks it, and Siri brings her leg and foot up to kick his chin hard, making him flip backwards, then she finishes her chant, a startled chorus of Jedi gasps or exclamations filling the air. Dooku finishes his backflip and surges forward, swinging his blade, only to freeze up in surprise with his blade inches from Siri's neck. Because to him, to the Jedi of the room, its not Siri Tachi standing there anymore.
"Qui-Gon?"
She drives her saber into Dooku's chest.
Dooku gives a startled cry of bewilderment and pain before Siri pulls the low powered blade back, liking the darkened burnt part of his tunic and only -slightly- wishing it were a fatal hole instead. When she speaks, its with Qui-Gon's voice. "I'm disappointed in you, Master."
The bewilderment continues for a few seconds, that stunned, confused, hurt and betrayed look on his face before he adapts a smooth controlled mask, eyes narrowing with an intense anger. His eyes flicker to the real Qui-Gon who has an displeased look on his face, and then back to Siri. "I dare to say you must take well after your master, for that is insidious."
Siri gives a full belly laugh before bowing mockingly, not caring for the jab, "I aim to impress."
She's not really good at Ataru, but, she takes the opening stance. "Shall we see how well you fare facing me in battle, master?"
She wants to see how badly it messes with him.
Dooku doesn't take the bait, just continues to glare at her. "So, you were waiting all this time for us to spar just to do that?"
She snorted. "No, I thought of it on the fly and decided to mess with you."
Instead of getting angry, he falters. "Just like that?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"You can create that kind of illusion, physical, voice, and even his presence in the Force, in a matter of seconds?" he asks, his face has paled a bit, his voice unsteady.
He almost looks afraid.
"Well, I sampled his presence, yanked a piece of his hair over to me as a base, and...," she wont say she did Sith Sorcery, let them think it was simply Force Illusion, "Chanted to help me focus my intent. Its all basic illusionary technique."
He looks faint. "Basic technique."
Well, basic sorcery anyway.
Hmm...
Siri frowns thoughtfully. Perhaps she might have jumped the gun a bit in revealing that. After having Zannah as a teacher its basic to her, but perhaps not to the Jedi.
"Is Yareal Poof present?" asked Dooku.
There is a rustling as a Jedi, a male Quermian with that oddly unsettling tall and thin neck of theirs, steps to the outer circle of the ring of Jedi watching; he's staring at Siri with a morbidly fascinated look.
"That, is not, basic," said Dooku, pointing at Siri.
"Quite right," said Poof, that stare not leaving his face, "Force Illusions are done by projecting the illusion into the minds of those one wishes to affect. It is an incredibly taxing ability, increasing in cost the more minds one must fool. It is especially more difficult to use against Force Sensitives or Force Resistant species. Yet, even with my expertise and perception I can see very little flaws in it, I would admit to failing to notice it in passing unless I intensely scrutinizing the illusion. What's more, the Sith is not projecting it at all, its like..."
"I'm wrapping myself in it," Siri answered dryly, "And 'sorry' if there's a few flaws, I made it in like less than a minute."
She wondered what exactly was wrong with it. Maybe the hue of the clothes or hair or skin or something?
"How?" demanded the Jedi in offended outrage, "Even in old texts I can't recall ancient Sith using something like this. The more massive things were creating illusionary armies that required intense meditation, but this? No."
Siri tilted her head in curious consideration. That was an interesting idea. A little impractical though. "Wouldn't that be messed up the moment someone interrupted the meditation?"
"Well, yes," answered Poof.
Siri hummed to herself and dropped the illusion, letting Qui-Gon's face fall away. "Impressive, but useless for me. Seems I was taught the opposite end of the spectrum."
Illusions around herself, upon herself, Smaller things, the concentration being her, intense. That in itself didn't touch on sorcery.
"That doesn't explain how," reiterated Poof.
"Particles," she said, "Stop trying to change how others perceive things; change how things actually are. Its all about desire and demand. How you want things to be, and demanding the Force obey."
Instantly Poof's curiosity faded into distaste, a 'tsk' escaping his lips. "Dark then, a shame."
"Isn't manipulating the minds of others inherently dark?" she asked mockingly, "Or does it not count if its a Jedi doing it?"
He gives her a dismissive sniff and turns around in disinterest.
Siri smiles with feral malice, eyes glistening darkly. "Case and point."
Jedi hypocrisy at its finest.
There is a sucking sound, and her eyes flicker to see Dooku deactivate his lightsaber, his face oh so troubled. "I am done for now, I pass the floor to you, Master Windu."
Siri slow blinks as the Jedi Council Member strides to the center.
Siri schools her face, considering her opponent not in the aspect of a Jedi Councilor, but as a threat and an individual. This one Siri knows about as more than just a name, this one Sidious knows about as well, pointed out to her. Anyone with a natural affinity for shatterpoints was dangerous, the ability to feel the weakness or importance in events, objects, in people. He also, according to Sidious, used some kind of Jedi bastardization of Juyo. Sidious hadn't made it sound like a threat, but the fact that he had mentioned it at all meant something.
Windu also had a rather pinched expression on his face.
"Headache, Master Jedi?" she asked, amused.
"It's my constant state since you came to the Temple, Sith," said Windu flatly, activating his lightsaber, "I, request, you use the same level of sparing you were just using against Dooku. I'm not here for a warmup."
A constant headache huh? "Am I that much of a nuisance Master Jedi?" she purred, before her eyes turned sharp, "Or is it something you see?"
He narrows his eyes at her, shifting into his opening stance, his lightsaber gripped two handed, the handle close to his face pointed down towards her. "That's a rather pointed question."
She gives him a predatory smile. "Anyone who can see shatterpoints is marked, Windu."
That pinched expression turned into a grimace for a moment before he schooled his face.
She doesn't activate her lightsaber, not yet, the Dark is prodding her not-so-subtly. "I'll humor your request if you humor mine."
Windu's glare is cold. "Incase you forgot, Sith, you were the one who offered these sessions."
She smiled. "I did, didn't I? But I can choose how I want to fight, and you've sparked my curiosity. Tell you what, if you answer my question, I'll go a step further than giving you the fight you want...
She does not let her eyes flicker to C'Baoth and Krell as she offers, "I'll reveal one of the methods the Sith use to stay hidden from the Jedi."
Windu full on grimaces again, and now Siri really wonders if being able to see Shatterpoints is something she'd want. It looks unpleasant. Siri feels the sharpness of the room focus on her, on them, she can see other Councilmembers looking on expectantly, some of them nodding at Windu. He doesn't immediately respond, instead he turns his head towards Fay. The current Grandmaster stares at Windu, and then Siri, for a few long moments before nodding to Windu.
"And you, yet again, wish to do this with an audience?" asked Windu tiredly.
"Absolutely."
"You are a walking continually shifting shatterpoint," said Windu sourly, lowering his lightsaber, "You are a Sith betraying your Order's secrets and machinations to a Jedi Order that is not as prepared to face the Sith as we once were. Every time you open your mouth the Force shifts and causes ripples. Everything you reveal makes waves in the Force that lead to further changes, if not here, then elsewhere. In the span of the last five minutes there were three separate shatterpoints through you: One in revealing the illusionary deception the Sith can do, one in revealing that anyone with the ability to see or use shatterpoints has a target on their head that we will need to assign extra protection to, and the mere hint of what you just offered is the last, and considering the trepidation I feel, its not going to be pleasant."
She smiles, considering the Aura of Light, and knows that this is going to give the Jedi absolute fits, she wonders how badly they'll be jumping at shadows. "Trust me, it's not."
She cocks her head in thought. "Its not just moments where a single strike or act can change things in unexpected ways, Sidious explained this to me," she wants to know more, she must know more, "You can see shatterpoints in people about how others..."
"Kenobi," said Windu irritably, "Your largest shatterpoint is Padawan Kenobi. If you have the understanding that you claim you do, I would think this would be obvious without needing to ask me."
Well... he's not wrong, its mainly because he had come right out in front of her like this, she hadn't really given him or his abilities much thought otherwise outside of being a nagging presence in the council chambers.
"Hmm," she hummed and then pouted, "I can't be my own shatterpoint?"
"Arrogance," muttered Windu, "It's called free will, Sith, people may influence you, but ultimately, only you are the one who makes your choices. You don't need a special flair through the Force for that."
She twirled her lightsaber in one hand, activating it. "One last question, who else do you see?"
"There are small hints of others, but ultimately...," he frowned uneasily, "Two dark presences linger. One I believe is Sidious, the other I don't recognize, its not the other presence when your Master's master was destroyed," Zannah probably, nothing unexpected then, so that's good, "Yet..."
He looked intently focused, peering towards her, into her, the Force swirling around him, and then an unsettled look crossed his face. "There is an... ripple of someone not yet met who will vastly impact your life. The beginnings of that shatterpoint are already starting now, even if I don't believe it will happen for years."
Siri frowns uneasily. For a moment, she had caught a whiff of fear. She thought shatterpoints were an in-the-moment thing, only existing for brief moments until the event or interaction in question was done. What in the world was he going on about? Still... she was curious; she was going to get to 'play' with someone new? "I suppose I'll gave to wait and see then."
"Now, lets see this bastardization of Juyo you've got," taunted Siri.
Windu narrowed his eyes and reassumed his starting stance. She opens with Soresu and waits. He's the one with the strange form, so she's going to study and adapt and...
He goes for the most obvious attack ever, just a straight up heavy stab for her midsection. She draws on the Dark and shifts, moving to sidestep and batter the blow aside to follow up with a counter...
The moment their lightsaber's touch her eyes go wide as she feels exactly what he's doing. He draws on her darkness, and his own, funneling it into himself, and then he's moving. The attacks are heavy and savage, seemingly unconnected and random unlike Juyo's normal flowing fury. Except its not there, he's using his and her darkness as a weapon without technically tapping into the Dark Side. The Force ripples through his every strike with barely leashed power. It puts Siri entirely on the defensive, quickly shifting back, her lightsaber singing back and forth to parry or deflect his blows, she's not going to meet him in a straight up block, he'll rattle her lightsaber right out of her hands.
She decides that either Windu has no kriffing idea what the hell hes doing, or he knows exactly what he's doing and he is absolutely insane. "Has anyone ever told you that you've lost your mind? Do you understand what you're doing with your form?"
"Perfectly," gritted out Windu.
She leaps back away from a downward strike that singes the floor, staring at him for a long moment, he doesn't pick up his saber off the floor, he's motionless and waiting. He wants her to tap more into the Dark Side, hells, the Dark Side wants her to as well. Except there's one tiny problem with that; its going to boost him if she does so. She wonders if she could overload him like that, or push him into falling, if she tried to force-feed him her energy. Probably not something to try here. She considers him for a moment longer, before adapting.
She shoves the Dark Side down as much as she can, firmly controls her emotions and pulls them strictly into herself and locks them away, then shifts entirely into Makashi, abandoning defense to come at him in an elegant flourish. She feels a brief stirring of surprise from him, but he still rises to meet her, but the energy channeled through his style weakens and tapers off onto him only using the Force as a Jedi normally would, and his own skill.
Which unfortunately is greater than her own, ending when he batters aside a blow and then kicks his leg up to plant his foot right into her face. She stumbles back and falls right onto her ass. His lightsaber is in front of her nose before she can begin to get up. She scowls up at him, at his narrowed eyes, and she can see the temptation in there to put it right through her face, even if it is low powered, but he pulls his lightsaber back, allowing her to stand up.
She brushes a sleeve under her nose, coming away with a little blood. "Hmph."
Windu regards her for a moment before speaking, "I'll admit I didn't expect a darksider to sheath the Dark Side and suppress their emotions as an attempt to counter Vapaad. You suppressed it more than a Jedi normally does, but not through serenity."
"I am in control of my emotions, my darkness, not the other way around," said Siri flatly.
"Would Sidious attempt this?" he asked.
"I'm not sure he'd see the need to," she answered thoughtfully, "You do understand how dangerous it is, what your style does, right?"
"I do."
"And do you think you could handle it, Windu?" she asks harshly, "You felt his presence, do you honestly think you could handle channeling Sidious's darkness against him without falling?"
"Why do you think I'm here if not to test that?" asked Windu, "If I can't handle the Vaapad against a Sith Apprentice, then..."
"Then what?" she asks hotly, "If you can't handle it, and you kriffing fall, I'm not taking any damn blame."
"I've discussed this with Grandmaster Fay and the rest of the Council, if it comes close to reaching that point, they will step in and restrain me," answered Windu, "But since you are here, and since you have no real interest in returning from the Dark Side despite Kenobi's desire to help you," he stressed, "Then I would be a fool not to take advantage of this. You are no mere darksider, and I need a great deal of experience using this against a Sith if I want to one day properly wield Vapaad against Sidious. So..."
He looked like he tasted something sour as he spoke, "Use the Dark Side against me, Sith."
"Kriffing insane," she muttered in her breath.
But she lets her restraint come down, letting the Dark Side flow back into her before she thrusts her hand forward, unleashing a barrage of lightning. His lightsaber comes up to block it, and she feels the way his 'Vapaad' siphons off some of that dark energy. His eyes glisten with intensity as the Force swirls in him, his face scrunching up with focus. Despite this, there is still and aura of calm about him. She decides that she's right, he's absolutely insane. Without perfect control this style would destroy him, destroy any Jedi. He shoves his way forward until she has to stop and bring her lightsaber up to deflect him. She draws the Veil of the Dark Side down around them and lets a low growl escape her throat.
He comes in hot and fast with heavy Force-powered blows without needing the Force's input. Regardless of whether she blocks, parries, deflects, or is the one attacking with him on the defense, each contact rattles down her arms despite the power of the Dark Side reinforcing her. She needs an out, perhaps she should beat him the way she crushed Kenobi on Naboo. She chants under her breath and stabs with the Force right through his shields, injecting the Dark Side right into his head. He staggers back, taking in a ragged breath, his eyes widening at who knows what illusions he saw and...
And he comes right back straight at her, powering with a heavy stroke, and all Siri can do is yelp and block, throw across the dueling circle. "What the kriff-."
His eyes are even more intense and just a little wild now. His movements are unsteady, she can tell he's affected, but he's still coming right at her. "No matter what I see, Sith, you are still the darkest thing in this room."
Siri swallows thickly and surges to her feet as he swings from above his shoulder right down at her. She jumps back rather than blocking, nearly colliding into the circle of Jedi. She's needs way more kriffing space than this room. She moves away from the edge, foot stepping over foot, Windu apparently still having control of himself to not come at her when shes right next to his Jedi. He radiates power, not in the way Yoda does, nor the skilled combat of Dooku, but in the manner of taking his own, taking some of hers, and beating her over the head with it all the while not falling.
He's walking the edge of the line between light and darkness, but not in the way some of the grayer sects of the galaxy try to. Its more like he anchors himself in the light while intentionally leaning over the line, the abyss, drawing power up but not falling into it. Its stupidly dangerous, its not something she would do as a Sith even though she's already fallen. Trying to tap into someone else's darkness is... unwise. The light he wields disrupts her from trying to manipulate the energy he takes into him, but if she tried what he's doing against another darksider, she wouldn't have that safety net, and Sidious would never be so undisciplined that he wouldn't have perfect control over his energy no matter where it went or who was using it.
She's going to lose. She'll drag it out as long as she can, but she doesn't know how to combat this. Her initial idea of cutting out the Dark would only work if she was actually better than him in combat, she's not quite there yet. Beyond that though... she watches through the Force as he strides forward, confidant and sure. Its more than a form, it envelopes him completely through the Force, through his mind, single-minded focus brushing away all obstacles. This is the kind of thing Zannah spoke about, about what Soresu felt like to her. When one reaches the point when they no longer 'use' a form, but become it.
Most of the illusionary abilities she knows wont do squat to him, the more higher incantations and extreme uses... she doesn't know if they'll phase him. She could shatter reality for him, try to break his mind, but...
"No matter what I see Sith, you are still the darkest thing in this room."
She, for one, doesn't think that'll matter, even if she managed to drive him mad he'd still come at her, and for two, has no desire for the retribution the Jedi would take on her for that. So... lets go for overload then, he did kind of ask for it. The moment she retakes the center of the room he comes at her with heavy and rapid strikes almost like he was some kind of six armed creature with a lightsaber in each hand. Each clash she feeds more of her energy into what his style takes from her, each clash the intensity in his eyes deepen. He spins, coming down with a heavy and brutal downward slash that is to fast for her to dodge, so she falls to a knee and raises her lightsaber, blocking it.
It feels like every bone her body rattles when his lightsaber slams down into hers; the power he's radiating leaning more and more dark as it grows.
She grits her teeth, struggling to hold his blade...
He boots her, his foot slamming into her side and sending her sprawling. She's barely rose to a knee before he's swinging down in a heavy blow for her head, and despite the low setting on his lightsaber, she knows this is going to kriffing hurt...
"Mace!"
He stops himself mere centimeters from his low-powered ligthsaber cleaving through her face. He's breathing raggedly, but its not from exhaustion. His arms are shaking, his eyes are wide. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and deactivates his lightsaber, taking a shuddering step back. He exhales, and all the dark clinging to him from the fight dissipates. He looks shaken, but still in control of himself.
Un-kriffing-belivable.
"That will be all for this session," says Windu, before turning and striding away, going for the nearest bench to sit on.
Siri rolls her shoulders, a bit sore, and deactivates her lightsaber, moving to hand it to Dooku as he comes to take it before she's direct towards Bant. She scowls a little at that, she's a little roughed up at most, some singes from Dooku's lightsaber earlier, hardly worth fretting over, but sits down and lets the healer look her over.
Obi-Wan watches quietly as Fay speaks with Windu.
"...I was losing control," admits Windu, "I knew this was a spar, I knew there was no reason to escalate, yet... all of that darkness... I was pushed by it, I felt that I had to end it, had to destroy it. If this had been a real duel, and no one was there to stop me, I don't think I could have stopped myself from taking her head clean off. If by chance I had been sent to capture her, I would have failed, regardless of the consequences. Even if someone had been there to talk me down... I'm not sure I would have stopped. It was... overwhelming, my entire focus had become eradicating the darkness."
"It would be even worse against her Master," said Windu quietly, "Vaapad is like a circuit between me and my opponent. She wasn't able to overwhelm it, despite her intentionally trying to, but she came much closer than any darksider ever had before. Against Sidious's full power..."
He shakes his head. "I need to find ways and improve or refine it. What I felt when we threw Sidious out of Tachi's head... it's not enough. Vapaad isn't enough as it is."
"For most intents and purposes it would appear to be," said Fay thoughtfully, "And you have not spent your lifetime refining techniques against Sith as our predecessors did a millennium and more ago. You have an avenue to improve here, as distasteful as the process may be."
Obi-Wan purses her lips as the pair's eyes flicker towards Siri.
He sorely misses Yoda right about now. His grandmaster at least had some faith. Though, he did give Fay some benefit of the doubt, Siri had the amazing habit of sticking her foot in her mouth in just about everything she did.
"I suppose I do," agreed Windu before sighing, his head turning to give Obi-Wan a knowing look, "Though, if Padawan Kenobi were to succeed in his efforts, that avenue would vanish."
Fay hummed, her head turning as well to watch him watching them, motioning him over. Obi-Wan hesitated briefly; he hadn't interacted much with the new temporary Grandmaster yet outside of being called before the Council. Outside of her reputation, he had yet to really get to know her.
Her eyes are on Obi-Wan despite speaking to Master Windu. "As of yet, of all the Council and all the Jedi I have asked, you haven't given me your opinion on that possibility, Master Windu."
Windu huffed a little. "Because the reality of it changes day by day. It is unlikely, in everything I see, but it is there, in every shatterpoint that appears. I just... don't see how to break that barrier and bring it forward."
"That is because we can't, Master," offered Obi-Wan quietly, "Only Siri can decide if she wants to turn away. We cannot force her to."
Windu nods solemnly in agreement, though his eyes furrow. "Yet... I feel more than ever that we need to. What I saw earlier..."
Obi-Wan looks at Windu worriedly as the Jedi Master turns his lightsaber over and over in his hands, lost in thought. "What I saw in that shatterpoint... its potential is absolutely massive, Obi-Wan, perhaps the largest I've ever seen outside of Skywalker when he was first brought into the Council Chamber that day. How the Sith Apprentice interacts with this person, should she live to do so, will have far reaching consequences."
"I... don't understand," said Obi-Wan, "I thought shatterpoints..."
Windu sharply shook his head, there is deep concern, worry, and perhaps even fear in his eyes. "What happens to Siri Tachi in the here and now is going to determine how she interacts with this person in the future. This person's shatterpoint is Siri Tachi, completely and utterly, it makes no sense to me."
"Who do you see?" asked Obi-Wan uneasily, feeling like yet another weight had been placed on his shoulders with trying to redeem Siri.
"I only caught a glimpse, but...," Windu rubbed his face, "I see a little human girl, blurred and unfocused, that was all I saw."
"A child," said Obi-Wan slowly, just a tad baffled.
"I don't know," said Windu, "I'm going to be spending days meditating on this, with little results I expect. I can make educated guesses, but that's all."
"An apprentice?" posed Fay.
"Perhaps," said Windu in consideration, giving Obi-Wan a look, "Or a daughter."
Obi-Wan can't help but stiffen in offense. "I gave my vows to the Order, Master Windu. I may care for her, deeply, but I wont betray the Order for her."
"Some would argue you already have by feeling for a fallen at all," posed Fay.
Obi-Wan purses his lips and regards the Grandmaster. There is no judgement in her eyes, or emotion, its a question posed, watching and gauging how he reacts.
"Compassion is the way of the Jedi," said Obi-Wan, "And if I have betrayed the Order by developing feelings for someone, then I'm hardly the only one, nor am I the only one that's been influenced by them. I have not suddenly become a monster by doing so. I want to help her, give her a chance to redeem herself, but if she chooses to become that creature she was on Naboo again, I will do my duty as a Jedi."
Because she wouldn't be Siri anymore...
Siri stretches briefly before stalking over towards Windu, watching as their conversation comes to a halt. "I gave my word, so fetch me a Jedi Robe would you?"
Windu's eyes furrow. "Why?"
"Part of the charm of the method," says Siri with cheer.
The disgruntled look he gave her in return is amusing, but he sends for a Jedi to get a fresh pair of Jedi robes. She wouldn't be suprised if they burned them after. She waits patiently before the Jedi returns and hands it off to her. She hums to herself, spotting a weapons closet on the far end of the room, and makes for it, Jedi moving out of the way as she does. She walks, eying the Jedi robes with disdain, kicking the door closed behind her before disrobing and changing. It feels... weird, uncomfortable, to be wearing these again if only for a few minutes, but she puts them on, then masks her Force Signature for a moment. Then, she taps into her surroundings, into the light flowing through the temple and those around her, binding it to her, wrapping herself in an false Aura of Light and unmasking herself. She can feel the instant shock from those outside. So she opens the door, walks out, walks right up to Master Windu and gives a bow she can remember giving many times when she was a youth.
"Padawan Tachi at your service," she answers calmly, righting herself, smiling how she used to smile, making herself seem calm and collected, ever the dutiful controlled Jedi.
Windu gags in horror.
There is a collection of chocking sounds, mortified whispers, and fear, so much fear. Like an infectious disease it spreads thought the Jedi, and she knows the thought going through their heads...
"Do you understand now?" she says softly, "Get a Jedi robe, wrap themselves in an Aura of Light, and any Sith could walk among these halls with the Jedi non the wiser," she tilts her head, "I wonder just how many times they have over the last thousand years, hmm?"
Windu swallows thickly and collects himself after a moment, looking away, then looking back at her in the robes, the anger and disgust in his voice palpable. "Change back, now."
"Careful Jedi," she whispers, "That's an awful lot of anger and fear in you."
"Now Sith," he warned.
She smiled, lips peeled in sinister delight at the unsettled reaction, turning to go, only briefly pausing when she noticed the absolutely gutted look on Obi-Wan's face. They stare at eachother for a long moment before she speaks.
"It's why I told you Obi-Wan," she explains patiently, "That if Sidious ever claims me again, and I come back preaching about forgiveness and redemption, seeking the light, you should just put a saber through me. Because, Obi-Wan..."
She narrows her eyes. "I am who I am, and me all the suddenly changing that will never happen."
She turns and walks away, going for the closet and her clothes to get rid of these filthy Jedi robes...
Obi-Wan had never felt so... so damn hurt in his life. There Siri stood, feeling pure and utterly light, and it was fake. Everything he wanted, hoped for, and she rubbed it in his face like that, like a knife driven in and twisted. Even worse than her calling him a chain. He just... he couldn't...
"I need a mission," said Obi-Wan quietly, his voice shaken as he sits down on a bench next to Windu, "I... I need to just... get away for awhile."
Windu looks at him for a long moment before nodding. "A few weeks, a month?"
"A month at least," Obi-Wan said quietly; he couldn't help but feel shame at it.
"There's only so much of that Sith anyone can take, Padawan Kenobi," said Windu, "There is no shame in needing distance and a time to think and collect yourself. A diplomatic mission in more pleasant company could do you some good," Windu frowned, "We're going to need time to study this 'method' the Sith use to walk among us like this for faults as well."
Obi-Wan nods quietly. "I'll go ready myself."
He felt like a coward, but he couldn't help fleeing the room, fleeing away from Siri and that horrific false dream-shattering light...
Notes:
Skywalker and Siri time incoming!
I haven't made any decisions yet for the Grandmaster(s), but the pathways are as follows: (Potential spoiler, read at your own peril!)
A) Sidious fights/kills Yoda while the Grandmaster is depressed in seclusion (not at his best). Heavy, massive destabilizing blow to the Jedi Order on top of what Siri's done, but it is a risky move to take, as he'd have to unmask his presence and fight Yoda head on, would Sidious take the chance?
B) Fay dies sometime in the Clone Wars (but not like the comic), but Yoda and Fay are both alive and active up until that point, which is also risky to have two Jedi of that power active at once for a long while. I've loosely toyed with a Sidious & C'Baoth VS Fay and Siri concept, with them allowing Siri to escape and thus take a lot of suspicion that Siri led Fay into an intentional trap, which becomes a point of contention and something Sidious will try to use to sway Siri with (like the whole Anakin's 'The Jedi don't trust you' thing).
Or something else, IDK, its still a ways off.
Give me your thoughts/votes.
Chapter 46: Little Pest Skywalker
Chapter Text
Its sad, in a way, that the first thing Siri recognizes when she wakes up is that Obi-Wan is gone. Not just from the apartment next to hers, not just from the temple, but from Coruscant. That the simple fact is her first conscious thought urks her, for one, because it shouldn't be her entire world whether he is near or not, and for two, she knows that she drove him away. That gutted look he had yesterday... him running away was hardly a surprise. She doubted it was permanent, he was to much of a Jedi, and to much 'Obi-Wan Kenobi', to stay away from what he saw as his duty forever. Probably took a mission to get away...
To get away from her.
Siri gets out of bed, her mood immediately souring, the Force dimming around her, morso than usual. Her stomach growled at her, she hadn't eaten anything after the spars yesterday. She could ask the guards outside to go get her something, they preferred doing that to keep her here rather than about near other Jedi. But she had, kind of, gotten permission to go to the dinning halls by Yoda when he saw her and Obi-Wan going there. Kenobi isn't here anymore, but like hell is that going to stop her. She is in a foul mood, and she's going to plant herself in a spot where the Jedi can see it.
Childish? Yes.
Petulant like a moody teenager? Absolutely.
Does she care? No.
She never does, that's why acting this way is so much fun.
She stalks out of the apartment and pauses only briefly as the Temple Guard regard her warily. "I am going to the dinning halls to eat."
There is no room for discussion. The Temple Guards fall in behind her, one briefly muttering into a comlink. She doesn't care. When she enters the dinning hall, its at the end of breakfast. There are plenty of Jedi about, some leaving, more definitely moving to leave when they see her enter. No one was in line for food though, and shoveling food into her face rather than acknowledge that she drove Obi-Wan offworld even for a short time sounds like a fine idea. She'll work off the extra food with some exercises in her apartment later.
She catches Ki-Adi-Mundi enter the room out of the corner of her eye and casually sit at a table. Evidently they wanted someone to watch her out of her apartment if Kenobi wasn't with her. She ignores him and moves to an empty table as the dinning hall 'suddenly and mysteriously' seems to be emptying at an accelerated pace. She permeates her mood through the Force around her, and that serves to drive most of the rest away. She eats very slowly, abusing her taste buds with the Force to create more flavor out of the disgustingly healthy mush they call food. Its not very effective...
...and then a tray is placed across from her, and a bundle of blindingly bright Force Presence sits down in front of her. "Hi."
Siri blinks back the whiplash of Skywalker being right there in front of her, not blotted behind other Jedi; he's so much damn brighter now that he was being trained, she has to tilt her vision away from him a bit to only be looking out the corner of her eye at him. "You really need to get Jinn to teach you better shields, Supernova."
Skywalker gives her a baffled look. "Supernova...?"
"It's what you are in the Force. To me, looking at you is like looking into a sun for an extended period of time, you give me a headache," she lamented, "So until you get better shields, I dub thee Supernova."
Skywalker huffed. "I'm just starting! S'not my fault I haven't been taught better shields."
"Don't care Supernova," she says cheerfully, enjoying the flicker of irritation from him.
Skywalker scowled at her before jabbing his tray with a fork and taking a bite, "Shho, how yahh dshoing?"
"Chew, swallow, then ask again," she chides, "I'm the darksider here and even I have table manners."
Skywalker rolled his eyes, but did so. "So, how yah doing?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because its polite to?"
"One, I'm not polite unless I want something or on a mission its required for, two, you're a sand rat from Tatooine, you're not polite either," she jabs, "There's no need for it between us."
Skywalker narrows his eyes at her, stuffing another mouthful at her as he silently glares.
She sneers at the kid, his glare is hardly intimidating.
"Actually," he says matter-of-fact, "A slave has to learn how to be polite, giving the masters a reason to punish us or blow us up is a bad idea."
Siri opened her mouth on habit to give a counter before pausing and realizing she didn't have one. She closes her mouth with a hmph, allowing him the small win. He grins victoriously at her and she has the desire to reach over and whack him.
"You didn't answer the question," he says.
"You have the Force, what kind of mood do you feel like I'm in?" she said flatly, moving to take another bite after.
"Somewhere between Watto and Gardulla on a bad day," he said in consideration.
Siri coughed briefly, giving her chest a good wack to dislodge stuck food before full on eyeing Anakin, trying to ignore how blindingly bright he was. "You were owned by Gardulla the Hutt?"
His face wrinkled in distaste. "Years ago, but yeah. Watto was still a sleemo, but he was way better than Gardulla."
"There are few beings in the Galaxy worse than a hutt," said Siri in agreement.
"Your master?" he poses, spitting out the word as venomously as he had earlier.
"That's one," she commented mildly before noting the look of victory on his face and rippling off him in the Force, though she's not sure why he counts what she said as one, still, she doesn't allow her opponents unearned victories, so she goes cutting, "So, how many whip scars do you have on your back?"
"How many do you have on yours?" he challenged right back.
That got a toothy grin out of Siri. Skywalker liked to fight, that was a point in his favor. "Not many anymore since the healers dealt with them without my permission."
That gets a skeptical look out of him, his mood changing to pure confusion that crashes around her shields."Why wouldn't you want them gone?"
Siri decides that not getting mental sunburn from Skywalker is more important than irritating the Jedi Order as a whole and raises her shields back up fully to try and block out more of him. "Because my scars were from lessons learned and challenges overcome, proof of my efforts and struggles, validation of how I fought to be where I am. That they're gone pisses me off if I let myself linger on it."
Skywalker frowned. "Weird."
"If you say so," she said, taking a mouthful of mush in and swallowing before continuing, "You could look at your scars the same way. Each lash a trial overcome, another incident survived, between your past as a slave and your current freedom."
Anakin turns thoughtful at that. "Huh... I hadn't thought of it like that."
She points a fork at him. "Different points of view, Supernova, its something the Jedi will teach you about, but tell you to ignore in full in regards to darksiders."
Her lips peel back in distaste. "Hypocrisy."
She starts eating again, one eye watching Skywalker as she does. She's also got her senses vaguely aimed in Mundi's direction. She gets the feeling of tension and disapproval from him, directed at Skywalker. She also senses Jinn's presence entering the room and coming this way, probably called by the councilor. She's going to be irritated if this comes to bite her when Skywalker was the one who approached her. Not the other way around...
"Why did you try to kill me?" Anakin suddenly asked, "I didn't even know you."
She catches Jinn pausing a few feet from the table, apparently interested in the answer; Anakin is too focused on her to notice. Siri considers the young would-be-Jedi for a long moment. Its been several months since that spot in time, but, the thing that comes to her mind, above him as a potential future threat...
"Sidious would have cast me aside and forced you to be his apprentice in an instant if he could," answered Siri with blunt honesty, "And I wouldn't wish being his apprentice on anyone, even the assholes in the Council."
Skywalker's face blanks, his eyes wide as he searches her own. Then, his face goes passive, a sad smile on his face, a soft quiet sense of familiarity, almost kinship if she has to define it, seems to emanate from him through the Force. Why though? Its baffling. "I understand."
She purses her lips and then frowns at him. He got something out of that she didn't understand or intend. "Do you?"
"I wouldn't wish being Gardulla's slave on anyone either," he answered.
Siri rolled his eyes. Oh, she got it now. He was making parallels, trying to equate her experiences to his own. Of all the stupid things he could do, trying to identify with a Sith was pretty high up there. Like, in a catastrophically bad kind of way, from a Jedi's point of view she supposed.
"What do I have to do to avoid your master?" asked Skywalker honestly, "To make him not want me?"
Siri very carefully doesn't let her eyes flicker to Qui-Gon. How long is he going to stand there? Is he waiting to see if she sticks her foot in her mouth or something? "It doesn't particularly matter what you do. He can reshape you how he wishes if he gets his hands on you regardless of how you act or think now. Its not a matter of personality or actions if he's just going to grind you down and rebuild you."
Skywalker chews a little on his bottom lip. "And that's what he'll do to me? He didn't to you."
"And how can you be sure of that, little Supernova?" she asked, leaning forward to stare menacingly at him.
He merely tilts his chin up. "I've seen broken slaves before, and you're not broken."
Siri pulls back, humming to herself, considering Skywalker again. What a curious little thing he is. "I suppose it all depends. I hardly know anything about you, Supernova. I don't know what you personally should do or avoid, I used to be a 'mostly model' padawan before I fell. It can happen to anyone given the right set of circumstance. It can be forced as well if Sidious really wants to without even reducing you to nothing."
"The Dark Side is always a choice."
Ah, there was Jinn.
She watched Skywalker jump a little, looking a little nervous. "Umm, hi Master."
Qui-Gon gives his padawan a nod before staring firmly at Siri.
Siri's lips peel back into a sneer. "Obviously you and Obi-Wan never discussed the views I shared on different ways to become Dark."
"Obi-Wan has been working on a report of sorts last I saw based on some of the things you and he have discussed," answered Jinn, non-committal.
Siri shakes her head. "Regardless, you are dead wrong if you think a choice is always present. You've obviously never heard the true tale of Ulic Qel-Droma."
Qui-Gon's head tilts a little to the side, studying her. "Ulic Qel-Droma is a lesson on how arrogance and a lust for revenge led to the Dark Side."
Siri threw her head back and laughed. "Is that what they tell in the creche these days? Nothing about the Sith poison that was used to destabilize him?"
She leans forward, not towards Skywalker this time, but in Jinn's direction. "Anger, master Jedi. A poison designed to biologically force continuous anger and rage. To weaken judgement and rationality. Just a Drop, Master Jedi, was enough back in the good old days to make a Jedi fall."
There is open disbelief. "You are lying."
"You have the Force, Jedi, you can sense if I'm lying," she mocks, "Altering the victims mind with poison to destroy their inhibitions and their ability to resist the Dark Side, such a thing did exist once upon a time, and Qel-Droma fell as a result of it being administered to him."
Qui-Gon's face turns grim the moment he actually bothers sensing for the truth.
"Of course, you had to be one hell of a Sith Alchemist so be able to create that thing, or so I've been told," mused Siri, "Unfortunately, aside from a brief overview, I never had a chance to really learn about alchemy."
She sighs in disappointment. "Only so much that could be crammed into eight years of apprenticeship."
And the fact that Zannah liked being an absolute tease, holding all those treats over Siri's head.
Qui-Gon swallows thickly for a moment before he schools his expression and Force presence. "Padawan, you have lessons to go prepare for."
"Kay," answers Skywalker, hesitating for a moment, glancing at Siri, "Would he use that on me?"
"Hell if I know," answered Siri, "I don't know if he's any good with Alchemy," she gave him a sly look, "And last I knew half the things needed to create some of the most nasty alchemy creations don't even exist anymore."
Skywalker huffed. "You just really like scaring and messing with people, don't you?"
"I don't deny it," she answered cheerfully.
Skywalker shakes his head and walks away.
Qui-Gon waits for him to be out of the room before he asks sharply, "Why were you talking to my Padawan?"
She raised an eyebrow. "He approached me. Ask your councilor over there if you think I'm lying. He came with questions, I answered."
Qui-Gon purses her lips; she feels another pass from him for the truth before he shakes his head. "He should have asked me to ask you."
Siri scoffed; she knows what his fear is, and its stupid. "I've already made it clear I'm not interested in an apprentice. You have nothing to fear on that end."
"Just because you don't want an apprentice at the moment doesn't mean you wouldn't want one later," rebuts Jinn, "Nor would it stop you from trying to lure a potential threat into a Fall to eliminate them."
"Well, aren't you paranoid," mocked Siri, before sneering at him. "And lets not mince words, Jedi, if he fell, it wouldn't be me killing him, it would be Jedi intolerance delivered via lightsaber. Or them encouraging him to into suicide, does Xanatos ring any bells?"
Jinn stiffens and glares full force at her. "I've tried to give you the benefit of the doubt for Obi-Wan's sake, tried to have compassion, but sometimes, you truly make it difficult to do so."
"You didn't deny it."
"Xanatos chose his fate rather than face justice," answered Qui-Gon cautiously, with a slight air of confusion; from what she could sense, he could see that she was speaking with the intent to harm, but didn't seem to understand why this subject specifically.
A wide smile split her face. "Oh. Obi-Wan didn't tell you, did he?"
The Jedi Master was instantly on guard. "Tell me what?"
"That we discussed Xanatos," she said, predatory delight in her eyes.
"And why should that bother me?" he asked stiffly.
Oh this was going to be fun. "Obi-Wan and I were discussing former Jedi and how the Order may or may not have set them up to Fall. So tell me Qui-Gon, do you know and understand what a conflict of interest is?"
Surely, in the years he was brooding about Xanatos before Obi-Wan became his padawan he had to have had this thought...
That gets an eyebrow raised. "Of course I do."
Does he then? And he still doesn't get the connection? Or has he forgotten? Either way, time to remind him then.
Siri picks up her tray, gets up, drops it off, and then moves to leave, pausing next to Qui-Gon to say, "Then what was sending Xanatos out against his own father if not a conflict of interest that set him up to Fall?"
She leaves the room with a spring to her step, the Jedi Master unmoving as she left.
"Was it so bad, to speak to her?" asked Sidious, watching Skywalker nibble on a pastry snack.
"Naw," answered the boy, "I mean, I've been watching how she speaks to people when she's sparring, so I already get that shes looking for a fight whenever she opens her mouth."
Sidious chuckled. Oh how right the boy was. "Well, from my own brief observations, I don't think you are wrong."
He shifted in his seat. "So tell me Young Skywalker, do you believe what I asked of you is reasonable and possible?"
Anakin fidgeted a bit. "I mean... why me?"
Because he wanted the boy more exposed to the temptations of the Dark Side, and as another eye on Tachi. The boy was already an unwitting spy within the temple, directing that focus a little more could be useful. Though there was potential backfire if Skywalker ever let slip what Sidious had asked of him.
"Children are often underestimated," answered Sidious, "People often don't watch what they say around them, overlooking them entirely. With their guard down, they may say things they wouldn't in others company."
Discomfort spreads through Skywalker's Force Signature. "I don't... really like the idea of spying on a friend."
That gets an eyebrow raised. "A friend?"
"Well... I mean not yet," admitted Anakin, "But I kinda like her. She's fun, in a fighty kind of way, and not afraid to speak her mind, even if shes kind of nasty about it. I know she's dangerous... but..."
Hmm... a rapport between the pair could be a potential troublesome avenue if ever allowed to bloom. But he has doubts the Jedi will ever allow that.
"I get where she comes from, being a Sith Apprentice sounds an awful lot like being a slave to me," he continued, making Sidious resist scoffing, "Its why she tried to kill me."
Well now, that is a curious statement. "Could you explain?"
"She said its because she wouldn't wish being Sidious's apprentice on anyone."
Sidious goes silent for a long moment, disquieted. Being chosen as his apprentice was a gift unlike any other, not a fate to avoid. All the Force Sensitives in the galaxy should beg to study under his foot. "I see."
Anakin went for another pastry, chewing on it for a moment. "I did learn something scary from her, I guess."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, something about a Sith poison that could make people Fall, said it was used on some Droma guy. Said it was called Alchemy."
Sidious frowned intently. How did Tachi know of that? He had never, not once, referenced Sith Alchemy to her. That was an incredibly advanced subject for an experienced Sith Master to dwell on and experiment with. Not to be wasted an overeager apprentice that would get themselves killed with it. Where could she have attained such knowledge? He was careful in what material he gave her to learn from, it was unlikely she could have randomly stumbled upon it, and the only Holocron...
Zannah.
A smoldering fury ignites in Sidious chest. "That is very troubling, did she mention anything more about this 'Alchemy'?"
"Nah," said Anakin, "Said she only got an overview about it, she sounded disappointed about that."
The fury relaxes. So Zannah wasn't completely stupid then. He had warned the Holocron off subjects his apprentice would not be ready for, and that he had deemed her not having earned the right to learn of yet. It would seem however the Holocron had interpreted his rules loosely. If Tachi knew about Sith Alchemy, she likely knew about other things he hadn't deemed her ready for or worthy of yet. When he eventually got his hands on the Holocron again, he was going to pry from it everything it had disclosed to Tachi before destroying it...
IF he could ever find where Tachi had hidden the blasted Scimitar, as the Holocron certainly hadn't been left anywhere else if it wasn't in her old room in the warehouse building. The tracking beacon on the ship he hadn't expected her to leave unmarred, but there was a certain presence about the Scimitar, a stain of the Dark Side long embedded in it, that should scream out to him in the Force. Yet, in several visits to Naboo, he had not once sensed it. Had she made a stop and switched ships on the way to Naboo? Or was she hiding its presence somehow? There were ways to do so, but nothing Tachi should know about...
Should being the keyword.
Just what had Zannah potentially let slip or instructed her on? The Holocron had been meant as a tool to pull Tachi back from her disastrous first Sacrifice, nothing more. He disliked when his tools got ideas above their station and purpose. While it could be amusing, sometimes fruitful, it could also be a great nuisance...
"Qui-Gon wasn't happy about me talking to her though," said Anakin sourly, interrupting his thoughts
"Well, she is dangerous I suppose," agreed Sidious with fake understanding, knowing that wasn't what the boy meant, "But I question if she would truly try something in the heart of the temple."
"No, I... I think he's afraid I'd become like her," said Anakin with frustration.
"Just by talking with her?" asked Sidious with fake incredulousness.
Anakin threw up his hands. "I know, right? I was asking her how to make Sidious not want me as an apprentice, not how to become one!"
Hmmm... that bears deeper thought and meditation on how to address. That subject needs to be approached with a fine delicacy. Encouraging the boy to adopt some of Tachi's traits could prove beneficial after all.
"It's not my place to question Master Jinn," begins Sidious, deciding to test the waters, "But that seems almost... paranoid."
Skywalker doesn't react with immediate negativity, he just shakes his head. "Nah, he's just worried for me, mom used to do the same thing about some of the other kids back home."
Good, good, not immediate sharp, aggressive defense of Jinn. It was important to gauge the manner and severity of defense as it was to see if it would happen at all. Qui-Gon Jinn would unfortunately fill the father-figure role for Skywalker for the time being, it would take time to whittle away at that. Kenobi filled the position of a brother, and Sidious would allow that for now, if only because of the potential Kenobi might offer as Leia's father. Dooku and Yoda thus far seemed to have failed to fill a grandfatherly vacancy, which Sidious would easily slide into in their place. Skywalker had heavily voiced his frustration with both elders of his lineage line. Which was good for Sidious, so very good.
He doesn't particularly wish to have Skywalker over Tachi, but if he must, the boy's issues with the elder Jedi is yet another reason it would be easier to convert him.
"Do you believe he will not allow you to talk to her?" inquired Sidious.
Anakin frowns. "He didn't exactly tell me I couldn't, just said he didn't like it."
Sidious gave him a conspiratory smile. "Have you ever heard the phrase 'better to ask forgiveness than seek permission?'"
Anakin giggled. "No, but I get what you mean."
Sidious nodded in agreement. "I don't particularly wish to risk you getting into trouble with you master..."
"But its important," agreed Anakin, "Especially since I don't think the Jedi are doing it right."
Sidious blinked. "Doing what right?"
"Trying to get Siri to stop being a Sith," answers Anakin.
Danger...
The Dark Side whispered ominously in his ear, the potential for conflict in what Skywalker was saying. "How would you say they are failing then?"
"They're never going to force her to turn away from the Dark Side, let alone the Sith," said Anakin flatly, "They're trying to take her choices away and pressure her into their way. They can sit Obi-Wan in her room and have him argue with her for years, but that's never going to work. They can threaten to imprison her, or watch her, track her once the ten years is up, do whatever, but she won't care. She's not scared of death, she tried to kill herself rather than risk letting Sidious get her back..."
Sidious startled, completely caught offguard. "She did what?"
Anakin shrugged. "It happened when she was in the cell. Dooku said she was terrified of how Sidious would hurt her for how she failed on Naboo before he killed her. Being all super sithy and then not anymore."
Super... super sithy?! Sometimes he really wishes to reach over the desk and strangle this idiotic slave child. Regardless, Tachi was not entirely wrong. She would have suffered like never before, he wouldn't have killed her, wouldn't have wasted all that time and effort, but she would have wished he had when he had been done with her. None the less, pain and suffering fed the powers of a Sith. The torture would have only made her stronger in the long run. Surely she understood this... or perhaps... was it because she couldn't touch the Dark while in the cell? Being suppressed stripped away the power and surety of the Dark Side, it allowed her pathetic fears to manifest instead of being properly subjugated. Perhaps he needs to make dealing with the effects of Force Suppression a mandatory part of all future training of the Rule of Two.
"Obi-Wan disagreed a little," said Skywalker, fiddling with another pastry in his hand uneasily, "It goes with what Siri said to me earlier. She mentioned he might 'grind me down and build me back up', and I'm not one of these stupid core kids, I KNOW what she's talking about. I've seen that happen with other slaves, mostly Hutt Slaves. They destroy everything about the person and make them the way the slavers want them to be. Its..."
The boy's voice cracks a bit. "It's awful, and I'm pretty sure that's what Siri is really afraid of if Sidious gets her again."
Sidious was... stupefied for a few moments. Half the reason he wanted to keep Tachi was because she was who she was without being destroyed and remade. She had fallen almost entirely on her own with the death of her Master and a push from Maul. He'd barely delved into torture at all to pressure her into accept becoming a Sith Apprentice. Then she had embraced the role over the years. You can break a Jedi down and build them up as a Sith, but they will never embody it as much as someone willingly embracing it. Tachi needs a bit of correcting, yes, and severe punishment, but she is foolish if she believes that ruining everything he strove for with her apprenticeship by destroying it all is what he wants. Not unless she were to truly turn away from the Sith and the Dark Side, then all bets were off.
Was she truly so obsessed and consumed by her hatred and fear of him that she missed this? She was not a tool as he had been preparing Maul to be, she was meant to be a true apprentice. Where had this disconnect come from? What was she getting wrong? And if not from her, then surely not from him, and even IF it was, it was likely a fault in Plaguis's teachings than of him. He was the perfect Sith, and it would take the perfect apprentice trained by said Sith to even have the chance of becoming his legacy.
Skywalker took a moment to compose himself. "Anyway, unless she actually wants to stop being dark, stop being a Sith, she won't."
Well, they were in agreement with that.
"How would you go about it then?" asked Sidious cautiously.
"Show her shes not alone," answered Anakin quietly, "I've seen slaves like her before, who lash out at everyone around them, distrusting everyone and everything. Its why she acts well... like she does, to drive people away. Unless the Jedi can accept who she is as a person now, she's never going to want to become anyone else. Obi-Wan is the only one out of all the Jedi who really wants to help her for her own sake, instead of just 'because' if they even want to, but he doesn't know how to do it right. Mom... well, give Siri to my mom for a year and she'd be mostly better by the end."
Sidious wanted to snort and laugh; for one, Tachi was a Sith not a slave, it was not comparable, and two what could a single paltry slave woman do? "You have quite a high opinion of your mother's abilities."
Anakin smiled warmly, and Sidious wanted to wretch at the sickeningly pure light and warmth that suddenly emanated from Skywalker. "I do. She's helped other slaves before, and I mean... me and mom had it better than most being owned by Watto, but it still would have been easy to become as mean and nasty as Siri is. Mom... she always kept me happy, gave me hope, always listened, always cared. She was scared to let me race, but when it was actually my choice, that I wanted to help, she still let me; and when... when Master Jinn offered to take me away from Tatooine and slavery, she let me go because she wanted me to be free, wanted more for me."
Skywalker sniffled a bit, it was absolutely pathetic. "So yeah, assuming no one got in the way or Sidious didn't find her there, I think mom could help Siri, but... its not going to happen. I'd be laughed at for even suggesting it. The Jedi would never let Siri out of the temple for her parole, and if they did, it'd be under guard by a lot of distrusting Jedi which would ruin the whole thing."
The whole notion is absolutely absurd...
Danger...
Yet it still sets Sidious with unease. The Dark Side is sharp, hissing for him to pay attention and treat this seriously. Why? He makes a show of closing his eyes and rubbing his chin in thought. "Hmm..."
He reaches out quietly in the Force, probing for the future. Its ridiculous, but he will not make any mistakes here. He demands the Force show him an outcome where Tachi would be allowed this. He feels that the potential for it is basically none-existent, a single pathway with only an extreme amount of efforts and circumstances that would allow it to happen, nothing someone without the kind of foresight Sidious has would see. With the veil of the Dark Side blocking such scrying, or at least muddling it, no one would find this pathway. But he doesn't have that issue, so in an effort to understand the actual danger, he looks for an impossibility and bends the Force to his will...
His apprentice paces in a sand ridden rat-hole, an aged slave woman that he assumes is Shmi Skywalker stands in the entryway, watching. Tachi is twitchy, angry, pent up like a cornered animal. There is an uncomfortable swirl of emotions around her, chaotic and churning in a way Sidious hadn't felt since Tachi's time with Siolo Ur Manka.
"What is it that you truly want, Siri?" asked Shmi Skywalker.
"I don't kriffing know!" spat Tachi, whirling to glare at her.
Shmi only smiled, not seeming phased at the anger. In fact, if Sidious didn't know any better, she seemed a little fond. The woman is comfortable around Tachi despite her fury, which suggests what he sees is something happening much later than their original meeting. He's missing far to much context to know how they got to this point, or how long his apprentice had been there. Why in the world had she not simply slipped away if she had been sent here?
Shmi walks over and places a gentle hand on Tachi's shoulder, and shockingly, Tachi trembles under it, almost like the care on the woman's face and touch burns her. "But you do Siri, you do. Forget the Jedi, forget the Sith, forget the Light, forget the Dark, forget Sidious, forget Obi-Wan, forget the Force, what is it that you, Siri Tachi, as a young woman, as a person, want?"
Tachi swallows thickly, staring so wide at Shmi, and there is something in her eyes that shifts. Any lingering hostility towards Shmi Skywalker seems to die. Her entire Force Presence is flickering, shifting and churning so sickeningly between Light and Dark that it gives Sidious a headache to sense. "Why do you care?"
"Because I see a young woman who has been hurt by both Jedi and Sith, who was taken away from the love of her own family, trained and raised to be a tool and a weapon from childhood on, whether it be to the Light or the Dark, even if the Jedi didn't intend it to be that way, and I grieve for her," answered Shmi softly, "I grieve for the sins that etch your soul, the life you've lived, and wish I could have done something to help you."
"I don't need your pity."
"It's not pity, and you know it," scolds Shmi gently, "Its care."
"I'm not your brat."
"Family is more than blood," countered Shmi, and Sidious can feel the wretch worthy love and care that emanates from her...
It takes Sidious a split second to realize the woman is Force-Sensitive, not trained, but still managing to press her feelings instinctually against Tachi's shields, and that shakes Tachi, to feel that, "What is it that you want, Siri?"
"I... I want..."
Sidious loses the vision to the sickening light that starts to tip the balance over the dark from the vision of his apprentice. He makes the immediate decision that Skywalker can never, ever, be allowed to go back or see his mother again. Nor can Tachi ever be allowed to meet her in anything more than passing. In fact, this woman needs to be exterminated. Not immediately no, she's not currently a threat where she is, but she has the potential to be. Loose ends are a dangerous thing that need to be dealt with. If he is forced to take Skywalker over Tachi as his final apprentice, this woman could threaten that, could influence Skywalker, and he would tolerate no one but himself having control over his apprentice.
Keeping Skywalker away from Tatooine is easy, all he needs to do is invite Jinn over for a chat about Skywalker and casually embellish Skywalker's attachment to his Mother. Perhaps even allude to Xanatos and his own father, oh yes, that would sow the seeds of discord that would not only keep Skywalker from his home, but breed distrust between Jinn and Skywalker.
Keeping Tachi from her is even easier; he needs to nothing specific, just allow things to progress as they are...
Danger...
Except the Force is still nudging him. Its not about Shmi Skywalker though...
He opens his eyes, staring at the young child curiously watching him.
Its Anakin Skywalker, not his mother, that is the current danger. The boy who still embodies himself and his mother's lessons rather than the Jedi's, or Sidious's through manipulation and influence. Which is apparently more of a threat than his apprentice's desires for Kenobi. No, not more, just the more immediate and pressing.
"Well young Skywalker, just be aware that Siri Tachi IS a dangerous and unstable individual," he cautioned, "Set her off enough, and she might lash out even inside the temple."
Skywalker shrugs. "So would anyone."
"Perhaps yes, but few of those could shock you to death with lightning," answers Sidious.
"Would probably hurt more than a shock-prod," Anakin agreed.
Hmm, perhaps he should get one of those to use on Skywalker if he became his apprentice. "The more of your childhood I learn of, the less I like."
The more he thinks it wasn't enough. A slave child had no business being so disgustingly light. He supposes he can rightly blame the boy's wench of a mother.
Anakin shrugs once more, looking down for a moment. "Not much anyone can do about it now."
Sidious nods in fake-sadness.
He doesn't miss Skywalker's hand slipping up to grab the last pastry to slip into his pocket though, he doesn't comment on it. He merely settles in to consider how best to carefully have Skywalker and Tachi interact, without risking either of them...
"Here."
Siri blinked, looking up from her dinner plate, once again taken in the cafeteria to aggravate the Jedi, to see Skywalker offering her a slightly crumbling and smushed pastry. "Supernova, did you pull that out of your pocket?"
"Yeah?"
"Why are you offering me a crushed pastry?"
"Why not? If I could sneak food from my masters for my friends and not get caught I always did back home."
Siri rolls her eyes and nabs it, considering Jedi don't believe in physical comforts, especially unhealthy comfort food, she's probably not going to have a lot of this over the duration of her parole. She takes a quick bite; its not half bad. "So little food pilfering Supernova, where'd you nab this from?"
"Chancellor's office."
Siri coughs, a sputtering laugh escaping her lips. "Supernova, you are unbelievable."
"What? He said I could have some," said Anakin sheepishly.
Siri shakes her head slowly, darkly amused by the audacity. If called out on it, he could use that excuse he offered along with his 'childhood nativity' to get away with it. The boy definitely had put that in practice before, there were the beginnings of cunning there that if molded right... no, that's not going to happen. For one, she wants this child nowhere near the dark side, she's already got one stupidly powerful Sith to overcome, creating a new one is not her goal at the moment. For two... nah, she can create a dozen reasons not to do it, not worth wasting the mental capacity to think on.
She watches the boy as he sits down with his own tray. "You going to make a habit of pestering me?"
"Yep."
"I'd question if your Master or Obi-Wan set you up to this, but Jinn already made his thoughts clear on that matter."
Skywalker squirmed a little. "Well, Qui-Gon didn't say I couldn't speak to you."
Siri's lips peeled back in amusement. "You know full well that he doesn't want you to, interpreting it as unless he explicitly says no is bound to get you in trouble, Supernova. Not to mention me."
He crossed his arms and tilted his head up; stubborn brat. "Unless he tells me not to, I'm going to keep coming back."
Siri frowns at him, gripping her fork to take another bite. "Why?"
"No one deserves to be alone."
The fork freezes an inch from her mouth as she stares at him silently for a moment. She scoffs and takes the bite, chewing it over as she glares at him. He takes his own bite and meets her gaze unflinching. She is less than impressed with the little shit. She tolerates Obi-Wan and his attempts, she had rebuffed Bant, and now she had some random hyper-powerful slave child she had gone out of her way and tried to kill offering to 'help'? Where they all going to start crawling out of the woodworks? What was next? Dooku coming offering platitudes? Guess she was wrong in her initial guess, because this was too obvious.
"Which one of them was stupid enough to put you up to this?" snapped Siri, her hostility rippling into the Force and drawing wary stares from the few Jedi still in the room, "Honestly, if Kenobi gave up and they sent some random brat to try and 'turn me light' instead, the Jedi are even more stupid than I thought."
"Not a brat," said Anakin, scowling at her.
"Could of fooled me Supernova," she said, scowling right back at him.
He wrinkled his nose at her, annoyance all over his face. "And I never said I cared about you being all darky or lighty. I don't even get what half that stuff means."
Siri opens her mouth, then closes it with an audible snap when she feels the truth from him. The hell...? Its been several months now, how can Jinn or any of the other Jedi not hammered that in yet?
She shakes her head. "Then your Master needs to have a very long discussion with you about what the Light and the Dark Side of the Force are."
Anakin shrugged. "He has, I just don't get it. He says what the Jedi use is good and what the Sith use is bad but he doesn't say why. So why then?"
Siri rolled her eyes. "I'm not the person to ask, Supernova."
"Why not?"
"Because I enjoy not being in a cell for the duration of my parole."
He gave her a skeptical look. "They wouldn't do that for just explaining somethin, would they?"
"One of my parole rules was to not attempt to 'seduce' any initiates or padawans to the Dark Side," she answered, rolling her eyes, before thumbing at Councilor Mundi watching them from his table in the corner, "Why do you think conehead over there is not even bothering to be subtle watching us?"
Anakin blinked, looking over at Ki-Adi-Mundi, blushing a little at not noticing him, before glaring back at Siri. "Hey! That's rude."
"I'm sure he's heard worse," said Siri, head turning to give Mundi a sly look, he merely raises an unamused eyebrow at her, "Actually, lets go have a chat Skywalker."
"Uh..."
Siri picked up her tray of food and casually made her way over to Ki-Adi-Mundi, plopping down across from him, Skywalker tentatively following to sit a few spots down from her. Mundi gives her a dry look. "To what, do I owe the pleasure."
"Well, it seems Master Jinn's been rather lax in his training," mocked Siri, "If Skywalker here still doesn't understand Dark VS Light and has to ask me about it. Perhaps you could enlighten him instead?"
The pinched expression that crossed his face was priceless. "Padawan Skywalker, what would possibly possess you to ask a Sith?"
"Right in front of you conehead," said Siri flatly.
"The point still stands."
"Well... I've been hearing people talking about understanding people's point of view...," began Anakin.
"And you believe that includes the Sith?" stressed Mundi.
Right. Kriffing. Here.
Also, so called it.
A dark look crossed Anakin's face that stirred an ill feeling in Siri's stomach. "Just because she's a Sith doesn't mean she's not a person."
Siri held back the instinctive twitch that wanted to run down her spine and tightened her shields instead, keeping back how startling those words were to actually hear from someone. Its not like she gave a bantha's ass what the Jedi thought, but when ninety-nine percent of the Jedi referred to her as if 'Sith' was her name, it did grate a bit. Outside of Obi-Wan, Bant, and Yoda, it had been a bit... lacking in consistency. Skywalker though... did he really not care that she was a Sith? Or was it simple ignorance?
Mundi blinked at him. "That is not what I said."
The dark look turned into confusion. "I don't understand..."
"Understanding the perspective of others differs in seeking knowledge and understanding from them," explained Mundi.
Skywalker blinked stupidly at him in response.
"I think this is where I leave you," said Siri dryly, "Jedi dogma hasn't been my thing in nearly a decade."
Deciding she had neatly avoided a landmine by directing Skywalker to Mundi, she took her leave...
Much to Siri's amusement, Qui-Gon is there in the morning sitting at the table she usually conquerors, ever wearing that serine detached Jedi look. "Jinn."
"Tachi," he answers back.
"Am I going to be joined by both you and your padawan now?" she asked dryly.
"He is rather determined," mused Qui-Gon, avoiding what is likely an obvious answer, "Despite myself and many others advising him not to."
Siri hums and digs into her food. "I did not ask him to be here."
"You didn't need to," he refutes with fond exasperation, "Anakin gives with no thought of reward simply because he sees someone he believes he can help."
Doubtful as kriff. No one does something 'just because', even if the reason is wanting to feel good about himself for doing a 'good deed'.
"Did you give him a talk about Light and Dark?" she poses pointedly, "I don't particularly appreciate being put into that kind of position."
"It was not his intent to get you into trouble."
"I didn't say it was."
Qui-Gon exhaled. "I, and others, have attempted to instruct him on the matter, its something he will need age and experience to understand."
Siri eyed him doubtfully for a moment, and considered yesterdays thoughts, of how she wanted Skywalker no-where near the Dark Side, and decides to be 'helpful'. "I think you are being blind on the matter."
He narrows his eyes at her. "He is not anymore fated for the Dark Side than you or I were or are."
She rolled her eyes. "That is not what I said."
"Then what are you saying?"
"That he was a slave," she snapped, "His understanding of good and evil, right or wrong, is FAR different than a Jedi's, than a Sith's, than the vast majority of the Galaxy, and if you fail to consider that, you will readily push him into Sidious's clutches."
The startlement and surprise that ripple of Jinn makes her want to sigh in exasperation. Jedi are such isolated idiots sometimes. They preach about different points of view, but fail so badly to incorporate that for their own members. All Jedi have their own quirks and little personality shifts, but they are all cut of the same cloth. All emotionless detached cogs of the light. Obi-Wan and his Master are two of the more unique Jedi, and even then, they arn't that different aside from their more relaxed outlook towards attachment and willingness to bend some rules. The point of the thought was that the Jedi as a whole expect all of their members to be of at least a somewhat similar mindset. Anyone far to outside the box? Obviously something is wrong with them and they need to be chiseled into the 'proper Jedi'.
Jinn gives her a very solemn appraisal. "I see. I will not say I did not consider that before, but... I hadn't expected that his past would still weigh him down so when he has his future ahead of him here."
Kriffing moron.
One doesn't just get over being a slave for the first nine years of their life. It would always be with him. She's not stupid on that anymore than she'd be stupid with herself. Even if she turned away from the Dark, her time with Sidious would always be with her. She wouldn't let it rule her, well, she'd try not to, but it would still lurk in the depths of her mind and soul. Killing Sidious was going to be pleasure, and the culmulation of all her struggles, but even after he's dead, she knows his lessons and actions will survive if only in her nightmares.
"I suppose I will have to restructure a few of my lessons to help him adjust," commented Jinn thoughtfully.
"Or get him some damn therapy," muttered Siri, stabbing her food and shoveling a bite.
The look of disapproval he gives her is amusing. "Anakin does not need the stigma of that on top his efforts to adjust to the life of a Jedi when he can simply release it to the Force."
Oh yes, because 'release it to the Force' works for everyone. Okay, so Jinn is really going to just leave that weakness there? Leave past abuses to simmer underneath the surface? If Anakin were to become a Sith, that'd be great. Plenty of anger and pain and suffering to feed off of, so long as it didn't cripple him. As a Jedi? That's so kriffing stupid. Hmph, like Master like apprentice then, because she doubts Jinn sought out a Mind Healer over his issues with Xanatos's Fall or his lady friend's death. The hell had her name been? Tafae, Tapa? Tahri? Tahl? Ah, that one, Tahl...
She withholds her thoughts on the matter when the boy in question arrives with his own tray and joins them. "Hey Master, hi Siri."
"Padawan."
"Supernova, when are you going to get better shields?"
Skywalker rolls his eyes and sits down, plopping a fruit in his mouth.
Jinn raises an eyebrow at Siri. "I fail to see what is wrong with his shields."
"He's kriffing blinding to look at, even if I tighten my own."
Jinn gives her a puzzled look. "Is he?"
Siri blinked. "He's not to you?"
"When we meditate and delve into the Force, yes, he can be a bit... overwhelming," answered Jinn, giving Skywalker a small smile of no-offense, before continuing, "But otherwise, no."
What the kriff...?
She frowns thoughtfully at that, curious where the difference in perspective comes from. Maybe its a Dark VS Light thing. She looks from the shadows, rather than from the light. Unless its something she can use to her advantage, she dismisses it for the moment as a topic to toy with when she was bored. "Still should get better shields anyway."
"'Said I couldn't till I was older," said Skywalker, huffing a little, "'Apparently' I need to wait 'till my mind grows up a bit."
Siri scoffed. "Improving my shields was one of the first things I well and truly tried to do, and continually did throughout my time as Sidious's apprentice."
Sidious had made the point to test them, painfully, repeatedly.
"You were also six or so years older than Anakin, and physically closer to physical brain maturity," said Jinn.
Siri gives him an unimpressed look. "Being complacent with your mental shields, regardless of age, is dangerous. Perhaps not for the average Jedi, but for him?"
She levels her gaze at Anakin, and she feels it with the Force as she speaks it, "You will meet Sidious one day, and if you are not ready, he will destroy you through any means possible."
Anakin swallows thickly. There is fear, ready and apparent, but there is also foolish bravery. "Then I'll be ready. I hafta be, I'm the Chosen One."
Siri blinked. "The what?"
She is not blind to the way Jinn tenses, but Skywalker misses it and continues, "Everyone says I'm supposed to be 'The Chosen One', 'sposed to 'bring balance to the Force', whatever that means, and destroy the Sith."
Siri allows his words to go in one ear and then out the other, snickering afterwards.
He scowls. "What?"
She laughs again. "Oh, the Jedi's prophesied savior are we?"
She grins at him mockingly. "Let me tell you a little secret, Supernova, there isn't a Force Sect out there that doesn't have their own version of that. Hell, even the Sith have the prophecy of the Sith'ari, the perfect Sith."
Anakin stares blankly at her, surprise rippling off him, and doubt.
She leans forward, unable to resist needling. "Oh destroy the Sith? Here I was thinking you wanted to help me, not kill me."
He scowls at her, Jinn however relaxes, an air of confidence about him after her dismissal of Skywalker's so called status. "Destroying the Sith doesn't necessarily mean killing them."
Siri rolls her eyes and goes for another bite. "Sure, whatever."
"Though I am academically curious about the Sith's own legend on my old Master's behalf," said Jinn.
Siri huffed. "The Sith'ari is a funny legend, because many Sith are so full of shit and arrogance that they think they were the Sith'ari."
"You don't?" he asked.
Her amusement faded. "I'm not perfect by any means, Qui-Gon Jinn. I was never a perfect Jedi, and I'm certainly not a perfect Sith, you being alive is a testament to that."
Jinn fixes her with a calm stare. "Then perhaps it is for the best you weren't."
Siri grunted, going over the Sith'ari legend in her head again, wishing to drop herself as a topic. "If we're going to be honest, Darth Bane is probably the only Sith that fully fits the criteria for the Sith'ari."
Jinn frowned. "You've mentioned him before, I believe you called your 'lineage' the Line of Bane. I've researched that name in the archives, and the only result that came up was the last surviving Sith who was killed on Ambria after the end of the Brotherhood of Darkness. Is he who you refer to?"
Siri slowly shook her head. "That wasn't Bane. That was the bait."
Jin narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Bait and switch, Master Jinn," said Siri softly, "If you can't figure it out, that's not my problem."
His frown didn't go away, merely staring at her silently.
"So... what are you up to today?" asked Skywalker.
"Same shit I do everyday, meditate, exercise, maybe be brought out to spar, maybe get called to the Council Chamber, read the holo-net out of pure boredom," she complained, "Let me tell you Supernova, don't do the last bit, I can feel the garbage I read literally rotting my brain."
Skywalker snickered at that, she flashed him a grin.
Jinn, of course, had the typical Jedi response, "Perhaps you should take some of that time for introspection. That is part of your parole after all."
She gave him a cold look. "I don't need introspection to know how I came to be where I am. I know my choices, and I know their consequences. I live them."
"And you truly have no desire to change?"
"I am who I am, Master Jinn," she snaps at him, "All of the wishful thinking in the world wont change that."
She crossed her arms. "Besides, you shouldn't want me to turn away from the Dark."
That gets a single raised eyebrow from him. "No?"
"Two is better than one," she says mockingly, "Do you want Sidious to only have to worry about facing the Jedi, or the Jedi and me? Two separate entities and mindsets to deal with are more difficult to manage than one. Fighting against the Light and Dark is more complex than one or the other I imagine."
Her lips peel back. "Especially since I would be useless as a Jedi, and I refuse to be weak."
The Dark rippled through and around her, growling in agreement, the hound snapping at her heels in her mind's eyes. It loathed weakness as much as she did.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Why do you believe you would be weak as a Jedi?"
Her face shuts closed, made of stone. "Why do you think?"
"Guilt?" he asks, leaning forward in challenge.
She narrows her eyes...
"Master," scolded Skywalker, interrupting, "It's breakfast!"
Jinn blinks and leans back to his normal position and giving his Padawan a knowing smile. "Of course Padawan, no arguments before lunch that do not involve sending you to class."
Skywalker huffed. "Most of the stuff they're trying to teach me is podoo, especially first period class. Who cares about et... eta...fit..."
"Etiquette?"
"That."
Jinn gives him a patient smile. "When there are thousands of different customs in the Galaxy, it is rather easy to cause needless tension and incidents. The class covers many of the more common forms, best methods to research them prior to mission arrival, and how to ask without offering offense."
"I'd like learning how to use a lasersword more."
Siri snickered at that.
"What?" asked Skywalker defensively, "You can't have liked that eti... eta-whatever class?"
"Not really, I was more of a punch them in the face or glare daggers at them while playing nice kind of padawan," she reflects briefly, smiling fondly at the aggressive memories.
Then Skywalker has that 'victory' feeling again, and she glares at him.
"Like that?"
"Yes Supernova," she answers flatly, flicking food childishly at him, "Like that."
Then Skywalker put a forkful of food on his utensil and flicked it at her. Neither of them left the dining hall without food in their hair and on their clothes. Master Jinn was needless to say, unimpressed to be caught in the brief food fight crossfire. Siri couldn't recall the last time she had pure childish fun like that, readily disregarding the baffled look most gave her. Who said Sith couldn't get into food fights with obnoxious snot-nosed wannabe padawans?
Of course, when Mundi arrived at her door at the end of the day daring to impose 'chores' on her for her earlier behavior, she ended up eating her words. She didn't have to agree, she could have closed the door in his face, but, she didn't want to be disallowed back in the dinning halls for causing a mess and not doing something to 'make up for it'. Jedi could be petty like that with their 'vaunted lessons' by taking away privileges. So she found herself with a old-fashion mop in said dinning hall, grumbling to herself. This was droid work, it really was.
At least Skywalker was there cleaning as well under his Master's watchful gaze.
He grinned at her from across the dinning hall, and she couldn't help the grin she gave back. For a little shit, he wasn't too bad she supposed.
Chapter 47: Shadows
Chapter Text
Complacency is always a threat, and it takes a few more weeks for her to realize she'd let it in. On a return trip from the dinning halls back to her gilded cell, it's far to long before she suddenly realizes that the Temple Guards that trail her are gone. She passes over the area with her senses...
She whirls seconds before a lightsaber activates, grabbing a muscular wrist and twisting it away, grabbing a tunic, lifting up her assailant with Dark Side infused strength, and slamming them into the nearby wall. Then she actually takes a look at who it is and grins. "Hey Quinlan."
"Hey Siri," the Kiffar answers cheerfully.
"So I heard they let you have a padawan, are they out of their minds?" she asked dubiously.
"Harsh Siri," whined Vos, "Now, if you don't mind..."
Siri feels an unactivated lightsaber press into her back. "Put my Padawan down."
Siri turns her head slightly, catching the sight of a solemn looking black haired human Jedi Master. Middle-aged, grim set, stress lined his face, the roots of his black hair starting to turn gray. He had his hair pulled back into a ponytail. He stood relaxed, and if not for the metal pressed into her back, Siri wouldn't have taken him as about ready to kill her. Where in the hells did he come from? That's twice in a row she let a Jedi get the drop on her like this. She'll scream at herself for the lapse later.
"Hmm, haven't seen you in a very long time Master Tholme," mused Siri, "Knight with his own padawan or not, you ought to teach Quinlan some manners. Putting a lightsaber to me is hardly the way to greet an old friend."
"As apposed to trying to kill Padawan Kenobi?" asked Tholme dryly.
Siri smiled thinly; wry old bastard. "I gave him every chance to run."
"I saw," the man answered back, dryness not lifting, "I watched the recordings of the battle, thoroughly. I'm honestly surprised you let Quinlan get close to you."
"I was off in my head," she said flatly, her amusement fading, the only hint showing was a flare of self-directed fury that briefly tinted the Force around her, "Sidious would have beat me to within an inch of my life for such a lapse."
Tholme hummed in response, Siri dropped Quinlan, both the Jedi put away their lightsabers; Tholme motioned ahead. "My old Padawan and I have been chosen to discuss a few things with you."
"Off the record?" she inquired.
"Of course," he answered.
"Oh goodie," said Siri with mock cheer, "I get to play with Shadows now. This should be much more fun than the Council."
"Its a shame really," mused Tholme, ignoring her poking, "You were noted as having potential to be a possible Shadow, or at least a Sentinel. I imagine you would have been tested on this during your trials."
Siri grinned. "Well, all things considered, I think I still fit that description, just in Sith terms instead."
"So you say," said Tholme, motioning down the hall, "But you're not there yet. You were for a moment, but Kenobi dragged you back far enough to not warrant immediate execution the moment a convenient excuse came up."
"Goosebumps Master Tholme," said Siri with a mock shiver.
Tholme didn't reply until they were in Siri's apartment, turning to level a gaze at her. "Make no mistake, Siri Tachi, we have records of some of the most sinister, twisted, and devious Sith that existed Pre-Ruusan, you are not there, not yet."
Siri smiled sharply. "Silly Jedi, if you are still using Pre-Ruusan to determine what I am or am not, then you are failing just as badly as the Council is."
"Perhaps," said Tholme, "I suppose that is why we are having this talk then."
"Is Quinlan along just for show, or can he speak to?" inquired Siri.
"Observation mostly," admitted Quinlan, "Obi-Wan is one thing, I'm another, and I knew you before."
"Hmm, here to see what little of that foolish little girl remains then?" posed Siri in a bored tone.
"More than you think, less than Obi-Wan hopes," was all he answered to that.
She hummed. He was rather fair in that judgement, so she'll throw him a bone. "You used to be a friend, Vos, so I'll give you a warning; unless you want to make yourself Fall, I really don't suggest you touch my lightsaber."
Quinlan huffed. "What makes you think I haven't already?"
She raised an eyebrow. "You're not fallen, and there is no lingering darkness at minimum. You would not have escaped it unscathed."
He shrugged. "I've been warned against it."
"Warned against it doesn't mean you've been told no," pointed out Siri, eyes sharpening, "So let me rephrase my warning. I am not the first Sith to have wielded that lightsaber, so more than my experiences would be echoed in it. If you try your psychometry on it, you will Fall."
He'd be lucky to handle Siri's touch from Bane's Heart, but Darth Zannah and Darth Bane? Not a chance.
"Ah," said Quinlan, "I appreciate the warning then."
"How many total would you say?" asked Tholme mildly, "And is that only of your current line, or does it go back farther?"
"That would be telling," she teased.
He grunted, but didn't press. Compared to the things he could ask, it was a pointless question, but it was a test, to see her openness to this discussion.
"So, here to pester me with question?" she asked, "Not badger me into returning? Or are you of the sane sorts that doesn't bother with that?"
"Oh, I know you can turn away from the Dark Side," said Tholme, "Its simply a matter of choice."
Siri raised an eyebrow at him. "You're rather matter of fact about that."
"When people think of the few times that someone managed to return," began Tholme, "They think of Revan, or Ulic, a mind-rub and being severed from the Force. They think of extremes. But those are simply the most well known examples. When people think of Revan, they forget to think of Bastilla Shan, who Fell, but turned away from the Dark Side out of love for Revan. Albeit her Fall and duration of being Fallen was far shorter and less damning than yours. There are of course other examples as well."
Siri hummed at that. "You seem rather knowledgeable on this sort of thing."
Tholme smile is wry. "We keep our own records separate from the general knowledge of the Jedi Temples."
"Temples, plural," she mused aloud, "So, information from before the Reformation, and with the reference to Shan, before the first Jedi Purge in the Shadow Wars."
Tholme didn't answer, merely continued along his previous point, "Of course, the reason the current belief of the Dark Side being inescapable is so prevalent is because its much simpler to never fall to begin with, not to ignore how rare returning is regardless. Cleaning up the damage of someone who falls is... a hassle, and even more trouble if they actually manage to return."
"Watched for life," said Siri with amusement, "I'd never be trusted with a Padawan, or near initiates, even if I did return."
"Probably not," said Tholme in agreement.
"Why Skywalker is allowed to come near me is beyond me to understand," mused Siri, fishing.
Tholme looked exasperated. "Skywalker will do as Skywalker wishes. Believe me, no one is impressed with him aside from his Master. While his goal is commendable, he is meddling into something beyond his age or experience."
There is something in the Force, beyond the Veil of the Dark Side, that ripples at those words. Its a small, quiet thing. Almost like a frustrated sigh. She briefly reaches out for the sensation, trying to grab it and pull it to her and demand an answer, but it slips through her fingers and fades away. Curious...
"No one, not him, not Kenobi, not even Galia were she still alive, can make you turn away unless you so wish to fight for it," said Tholme firmly, "I prefer to not waste my time in something you have no intention of even humoring."
"Pragmatic," she answered, "So, what do you want and what are you offering?"
Tholme shifted on his feet, crossing his arms. "This is not the first time that Jedi and Sith have allied to face a greater threat, usually another more powerful Sith as it is now. We make the same offer now that we did in the far past, not that the Sith ever stick to it."
"Which is what?" she asked, actually curious on this. Its not something that's ever come up in her own studies, or what Sidious or Zannah taught her.
"Sheath galactic domination, sheath rampant destruction, don't cause major strife or suffering, stick to yourself, don't break the law, and the Jedi will turn a blind eye to your existence."
"Bullshit," she answers flatly, "There's no way you wouldn't keep a watcher on me even if I did agree and go through with it."
"Let me rephrase then, the majority of the Jedi Order turns a blind eye," he corrected.
She huffed. "And you expect me to believe you wont put a saber through my back at the most opportune moment once my use to you ends?"
"Contrary to popular belief," said Tholme mildly, "Jedi do not murder all Darksiders on sight. There are many minor Dark Side cults, faiths, and groups scattered around the Galaxy that we monitor, but do not eradicate."
"Minor," echoed Siri in the same tone, "As in not a true threat, little unimportant blips on the radar that you might actually get in trouble with the Senate for slaughtering because they don't really do anything. Anything major, you wipe out."
Tholme raised an eyebrow. "Because of wanton destruction and widespread destabilization. Have you ever heard of the Seyugi Dervish?"
"Bunch of fancy Force Sensitive assassins," she recited, "That your order purged."
"After they continually assassinated many nobles, corporate heads, and government figures of various worlds," answered Tholme smoothly.
"And regular plain old assassin guilds and groups don't?"
"They don't generally have and abuse the Force to do so or so brazenly act in the open with disregard that allow us to track them down."
"Have an answer for everything, don't you?"
He didn't reply, just stared calmly at her.
"Alright, lets see if you have an answer for this, name any somewhat larger Dark Side organization that you aren't explicitly at odds with," she demanded snidely.
"The Blackguard."
Siri threw back her head and howled with laughter. "They don't count!"
Tholme tilted his head. "Why not? They use the Dark Side, do they not?"
Siri's lips peeled back in distaste. "That is along the same vein of saying anyone who uses a red lightsaber is a Sith. Those little leeches skitter around the Galaxy, nibbling on knowledge from various other sects, but have no real substance of their own. They're not very large, and hells, they don't even believe in the Dark Side, or the Light for that matter, they're one of those pathetic Potentium kind of groups."
Tholme raised a single eyebrow. "Is that your own opinion, or was your master not impressed by them?"
"Both, I think Sidious only allows them to live because of the off-chance they find something useful," answered Siri, "He instructed me on various little groups over my apprenticeship, past and present, and how they paled in comparison to the Sith."
Tholme studied her for a moment before drawing an accurate conclusion. "I assume that opinion covers all other Dark Side sects."
"Of course," she answered, smiling sharply, this Jedi was intelligent, she wondered if he'd understand what she was about to say, "Our Line was meant to take over the galaxy and rule it, and the Sith do not believe in sharing power."
Much to his credit, he understood exactly what she was saying. "He intends to wipe them all out."
"Any that don't fall in line," she agreed, "He voiced the thought to me once. He will decimate all Light Side sects, and subjugate any Dark Side ones he deems worth the effort rather than eradicating them, or maybe because it amuses him."
Siri barely held the jolt when Quinlan reminded her that he was actually in the room. "Even to the rest of the Dark Side he is an aberration, isn't he? Wonder how he would have played out with the Sith Empires of old."
Siri blinked at the thought, grinning slowly. "I would have paid credits to see that kind of madness play out. Let me answer it for you: If Sidious was still of the same mindset he is now, not raised as an old type of Sith, he would try to wipe out all other Sith all the while using them to his own advantage until he got to the point where he would dispose of them."
And then the sensation of a predator pouncing on its prey filled the air as Tholme's eyes honed in on her. "If that is the case, how do you figure in to all of this? A tool to be used and then killed when he saw no more use?"
"The Rule of Two doesn't work like that," she answered, "Well, not exactly. I am-was a tool to my Master, yes, as I imagine Sidious was a tool to his Master, and his Master to his own before that. But through being used and taught by our masters, we grow, and not just in one area, but all of them. The Rule of Two is so much more because of our knowledge and understanding of all aspects of the Sith. We are not specialists, while we may be particularly skilled in one area that does not mean we are ignorant in others."
"Jack of all trades?" posed Quinlan.
"Masters," she rebutted sharply, "Vos, I want you to think for a moment. How powerful do you think I am right now?"
The look he gives her says he smells a trap in her words. "You'd probably paste both me and my master in open combat without much difficulty since we're not lovey-dovey."
She sneers at him. "Sorry Vos, I'm taken, and not flattered."
"Owch Siri."
"Did you have a point to make, Tachi?" posed Tholme.
"I did," she answered, looking to him, "Were you here when Sidious snipped a memory from me? Did you feel his presence?"
"I was, and did," he replies, his face and Force Signature not betraying a hint of what he thought.
"I have only eight years of an apprenticeship to my line, and some of that was spent unlearning my time as a Jedi. I'm mid-twenties at the moment. I am infantile compared to what I could one day become," she explains in a harsh tone, "And nothing compared to Sidious at the moment. Even if I tapped into my full power, as I had on Naboo, Sidious would kill me in under a minute in a duel."
She narrows her eyes when neither react to her words. "Make no mistake, if you are still comparing my Line to any Sith of Old, you do yourself little credit. Sidious is a creature honed by decades of experience, learning, and conflict. There are maybe three Jedi, total, that he wouldn't destroy in the same time-frame he would destroy me."
"Yoda and who else?" asked Tholme sharply.
"Fay and Windu," she answered.
That got an eyebrow raised from Tholme, he stretched out the word, "Explain."
"Fay, I imagine since she doesn't have a lightsaber, fights like Sidious does," she answered.
"Sidious doesn't use one?" asked Quinlan.
"Oh, he does," she answered nastily, "But if he draws it he is mocking you. His primary strength is through the Force, and yet he is still a better duelist than almost any living Jedi."
She hesitated briefly. "I'm not entirely sure on Fay's power or ability, mind you, I've never seen her in combat, or any hints of it. From what I feel, she is powerful, but I don't know how much of that is focused into combative techniques. I might be giving her more credit than she deserves."
"And Windu?"
"Windu because of that absolutely ridiculous form of his," she said, shaking her head, "The way he uses that style is absolutely insane. Sidious never commented on it as anything but a 'Jedi-Butchery of Juyo', but... Windu is one with his form, Vaapad will allow him the ability to survive against Sidious far more than most Jedi at the moment. Not by much, but give him more years of experience and honing his ability... Windu might be able to contest Sidious."
"Contest does not mean defeat," pointed out Tholme.
"And if you recall, I said there were only three Jedi that he wouldn't destroy, not that he would lose against," she said flatly, "Yoda, I think, is the only Jedi alive that could have a chance to beat him. Everyone else would only win by superior numbers and teamwork, and that's IF you could manage to track him down."
"You don't believe we can," commented Tholme.
Statement, not a question, good, he understood. "No."
"Then how do you propose to best him?" inquired Tholme, "I will be frank that Dooku is under the impression you believe you are following down a suicidal path out of attachment."
"He's not wrong," admitted Siri, shaking her head, "I still, even after you got a taste of Sidious's presence, don't believe the Jedi are treating the threat he represents seriously enough. Before you can even think to take Sidious on you have to cut away his influence, his power, and delay his plans as much as possible. Especially the last one."
"Why?"
"Because, Sidious wanted Volorum gone," explained Siri, "Palpatine, for whatever reason, fits Sidious's aims. Whether from his neutrality towards the Jedi, or because Sidious somehow owns him."
"Didn't Windu do a check for that?" posed Vos.
Siri sneered. "Oh yes, he checked for one phrasing of that question. Which ignores that Palpatine might not even know Sidious owns him. There are ways to dominate minds and seed influence that leaves the afflicted completely unaware of it. Make no mistake, Palpatine is exactly where Sidious wants him to be. Which means the timer is Palpatine's Chancellorship. Whatever move Sidious intends will be within that duration."
"Eight years is a short time," said Tholme, but his tone is thoughtful more than dismissive.
"There's also the possibility that whatever Sidious intended got kriffed over by you ending up here," pointed out Vos.
The Dark Side's laughter fills her ear. "I severely doubt that. I was a tool when I was captured, a young apprentice. I am not nearly critical enough for my omission to ruin his plans. Maybe I missed up some of his future desires, or caused some issues, but I can guarantee I have not knocked him off course by much."
"And how would you know that?"
"The Dark Side mocks me every time I even think of it," she said, scowling.
Tholme hummed. "I see. So you believe pursuing the avenues you have given us is the best course?"
"Maybe if it had been rapid and fast paced and left Sidious scrambling to catch up," she commented snidely, "But you Jedi took far to long deliberating and arguing. Sidious has had plenty of time to adapt and prepare now. Its mostly roadbumps now rather than obstacles he has to work around."
"I will ask again then, what do you recommend?"
She leaned forward. "Get involved with the Senate. None of this wish-washy obedient little piss-ant shit you Jedi do now. Take an active role in determining your fate or Sidious will determine if for you."
Tholme raised an eyebrow.
Siri sneered at him. "The Sith OWN the senate, Jedi. Fight for it or be eradicated."
"The Jedi are not without their political allies."
"Who are by far outnumbered by corruption and greed," she jabbed back.
Tholme hummed. "Watching the political avenue is something we have already heightened."
She shook her head. "Watching is not intervening, but fine, whatever. Fail there and die if you so wish."
She shifted focus. "The Trade Federation is on the way out the door. Keep an eye on whoever replaces them as top dog of the Trade Conglomerates. Watch all of the top contenders actually."
Tholme nods in agreement, but doesn't comment.
"And for Force kriffing sake, watch the Banking Clans," she said, exasperated, "Legally and illegally. Through whatever means possible. Influence, corruption, bribery, all of that and more involves money. Follow the money, and you might find avenues to delay and weaken him."
"Any angle in particular to work?" asked Vos.
"I've already voiced many of the criminal underworld that I know Sidious has influence in, and some of the corporate world," she answered, exasperated, "I can't do everything for you Jedi. I pointed it out, its on you to handle it. My hands are tied for the decade incase you forgot."
Vos wigged his fingers through the air. "Aaaand if you weren't?"
Siri can feel the reprimand from Tholme instantly through the Force, Vos winces, but Siri answers anyway. "Even if they weren't, I wouldn't get involved more than I am now."
That interests Tholme. "Why?"
"Because I am quite comfortable with a few thousand Jedi meat shields between me and Sidious," she says lazily.
That made both shadows glare at her.
"He literally ripped into your head not long ago," said Vos, "He doesn't physically need to be here."
"And that was from my stupidity with the bond," she snapped at him, "I have means he is unaware of to counteract other kinds of attacks through the Force."
The day she reveals to Sidious she knows Sith Sorcery is best saved to be the day she kills him. Unfortunately, there is the likely chance she will have to tap into it to save her own ass at some point and lose that advantage.
"Is that so?" poses Tholme.
Siri smiled mockingly at him and moved to her couch, sitting down and crossing one leg over the other, nestling in and going silent.
Tholme merely folds his arms into his robes. "Do you have anything else to add or offer?"
"At the moment? No," she says before pausing, "Actually, I made an offer to Dooku when we sparred which I think you Shadows should take me up on. To create a larger, more realistic arena to fight in one of the lower levels of the Temple. There are other ways that could be used."
"Such as?"
"Hunting Sith who are concealing themselves through the Force."
Tholme gives her a considerate look. "I'll give the council a reminder on that offer."
Siri's smile turns mocking. "I'm sure you will."
Real 'field' experience like that, to try to find a Sith hiding their presence, is something they would never pass up on. Not that she thought it would be particularly useful against Sidious, but she was curious to see if they could adapt to her methods, and thus, if she could counter-adapt and learn something Sidious did not know. Through the Force all things were possible, especially unnatural things through the Dark Side. The only limits were her own understanding, experience, and imagination.
"You never did say if you'd agree to the offer," said Vos pointedly.
She blinked at him. "The keep my head down and you wont kill me when my back's turned thing?"
"That."
"Its pointless to agree to something when the chances of us actually reaching the goal are slim," she said flatly.
There was an air of disappointment around Vos, but Tholme didn't seem particularly phased.
Siri narrowed her eyes at Quinlan. "I will consider it, but you had best understand two things first."
"Setting terms Siri?" asked Vos with amusement.
"Pointing out realistic expectations actually," she countered, "One, if Obi-Wan ends up dead by the end of this, my 'limited care' of the Order becomes none-existent. The only shred of tolerance I give for the rest of you is that it would destroy him to be the only Jedi left alive."
"That's an ass backwards reasoning," said Vos flatly.
"Deal with it."
"And the second?" inquired Tholme.
"I will take an apprentice eventually," she said in warning, eyes sharpened on them for a reaction they did not give, "Not today, and I have no intention for it ever being Anakin Skywalker, but one day I will pass on what I know. If that is a problem, then don't bother bringing up your offer again, and expect me to kill any Jedi that show up without warning with a lightsaber in their hands"
Tholme blinks with his first show of actual surprise. "I sense that you are being truthful about Skywalker, why?"
Her meditations on the subject had not resulted in the kind of absolute answer they wanted, she wasn't fully certain herself, but... "I have the peculiar feeling that I want that child nowhere near the Dark Side."
"I was under the assumption that Sith wanted their apprentices to eventually kill and replace them as a stronger legacy," said Tholme carefully, "Its certain that he would become more powerful than you."
"And you are under the assumption I like that particular tenant of Sith philosophy," said Siri irritably, "News flash for you Master Tholme: The Rule of Two exists as the best bet to wipe out the Jedi. I don't care about that so much as the Jedi keep out of my way."
The sharp interest in his eyes is plain as day to see. "And what other tenants would you change if you were the sole Sith left in the Galaxy?"
She shuts him down hard. "Haven't given it much thought aside from that, and aside from my future apprentice joining me willingly."
The man's eyebrows climb at the last addition.
"I have no use of an apprentice who will only hate and resent me for starting them down this path against their will," she said snidely, "I see no reason to repeat Sidious's mistakes."
"What makes you think your supposed apprentice wouldn't kill you and take your place anyway, even if they didn't hate you?" asked Tholme.
She didn't have an answer for that. She didn't want that, found it repulsive and aggravating, but it was something so heavily entrenched into the Sith mindset that she wasn't sure she'd find a way to purge it even if she did kill and usurp Sidious as Dark Lord of the Sith. But like hell was she going to admit that to the Jedi. "I fail to see how giving you anymore insight into my mindset and ideology benefits me."
"Other than it adjusting our perception of you?"
"What makes you think I care what the Jedi Order thinks of me?" she asked with distaste.
"You don't, but you would care how we react to you after your parole is over."
Well said. She merely gives him a bored look rather than admit it. "If I wanted to disappear, you would never find me."
"And you would be content hiding for the rest of your life?"
"Waiting, not hiding," she jabbed, "The Sith did it for the last thousand years."
"We did not know of them then, we do now."
"And whether you survive the current Dark Lord of the Sith still remains to be seen," she drawled, "If I were a neutral betting woman, I'd all in on Sidious winning."
"Never know Siri," said Vos, "We could have an Idiot's Array in our back pocket."
Siri snorted. "You're all idiots, that I'll agree with."
Vos huffed.
"If we want to continue that shitty analogy," she said, "If you are expecting him to accept that your Idiot's Array beats his Pure Sabaac, he'd be more likely to pull out a blaster and put one between your eyes, or well, he'll put on a pleasant face, leave the table, and hire someone to do it for him so he's not implicated. Rules do not exist for Sidious."
"On that thought, what can you tell us about Sidious's mindset?"
"He's an asshole."
"..."
"No, I'm serious. If Sidious has two options in front of him, one more efficient and straightforward, the other a bit messy but involves tons of pain and suffering for others, he'll take the second," she said, scowling, "He won't do it if it risks his plans, no, but if he thinks he can get away with it, he will always go for option two."
"That's not exactly atypical for any Sith," pointed out Vos.
"If you're going to badmouth my Order, see yourself out," she said flatly.
"You're not denying it."
"I don't need to," she rebutted, "I'm not deluded, there were a great majority of Sith, through various Empires, that followed the general mindset of self-destruction to the end. However, I've read holojournals," from both Sidious and Zannah's collections, "And contrary to popular belief, there were Sith who were interested in pursuing the mysteries of the Force and enjoying freedom of self and emotion rather than galactic domination and endless betrayal."
"And how often were these supposed Sith crushed underfoot by the majority?"
"I'm pretty sure we all know the answer to that."
Siri reached up to twirl her hair around a finger. "Philosophical shit isn't something I've exactly had a lot of time to consider as an active apprentice, outside of 'recent downtime', but the old Sith Empires had the potential to be glorious things had they not been consumed by their power-lust and old hatreds."
"That's kind of rich coming from a Sith," said Vos.
Siri narrowed her eyes. "I want power, I won't ever deny it. But that power must have a reason, and the price of that power must not be at the cost of something I refuse to give up. The primary reason I have ever sought power was to kill Sidious, maybe I had a stint of wanting to be a Sith Empress at one point," for a lot longer than she admits, and if she's honest, she still kind of wants it even if it'll never happen, "But hey, what Sith Apprentice doesn't?"
"I'm not even going to respond to that," said Vos.
"Perhaps you could finish your thought, Tachi?" posed Tholme, "I'm rather curious where you are going with it."
Siri licked her lips; she's not quite sure on all of her thoughts yet, but she could use a springboard. She'd prefer Obi-Wan, but using this shadow could have benefits. "Power for the sake of power will only ever turn me into Sidious, and I hate him to much to ever just want to end up as a female version of him. So many stories I've read about old Sith end like that, they get so caught up in chasing power and holding onto it that they lose sight of what they could have had, or what it cost them."
She leveled a firm stare at Tholme. "I will not kill Obi-Wan chasing the power I achieved on Naboo, even if he is the chain holding me back from it. His death is not a price I am willing to pay. It's likely that I will never get what I desire between myself and Kenobi, but I'd rather he be alive than dead."
The cold calculating look in Tholme's eyes is an interesting thing to see. If the Rule of Two wasn't the current way of things, he might have been a potential option if he could be turned. But anyway, to continue her thoughts, "I won't say that the old Sith Empire's weren't brutal, but they were magnificent, they were a society, and they threw it away chasing after domination and their old hatreds."
"Old hatreds?"
She blinked at Tholme. "Isn't it obvious?"
He blinked back.
"Huh, well, even if its not obvious I thought you would have got it from Bant when you were done your prying," she commented.
Tholme let out a harsh breath. "If you expect Healers to break their oaths, even in the case of a Sith, you are sorely mistaken. Anything Healer Eerin saw in your head she kept to herself."
She... pushes down anything she might have felt at that, ignoring the squirming sensation in her gut at that. "Is it really not obvious? I don't get that you don't get this. The Sith hate the Jedi."
He frowned. "Well, of course they do, that is a given. I was under the impression you were referring to something else that wasn't obvious."
She rolled her eyes. "The Sith have been obsessed with their hatred of the Jedi and by extension the Republic since forever pretty much. If the original Sith Empire had never invaded the Republic way back when, they'd still be around. The same with Vitiate's Empire, even worse with his Empire if we're being honest. Each iteration of the Sith after the first grew worse and worse with more and more brutal infighting and power chasing that destroyed them from within each and every time until my Line came about."
"I think that is wishful thinking," said Tholme, "Its highly likely that any Sith Empire would have torn themselves apart even without attacking the Republic. Were you not just bemoaning old faults?"
Siri smiled sharply. "Is that so?"
"Siri," said Tholme in a patient voice, "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to romanticize the Old Sith. Lets say you replace Sidious one day and try to change things, make a new Sith Order. What serious thing would actually change that wouldn't result in the Sith following the exact same steps they've always tread and destroying themselves while dragging the Galaxy into yet another galactic war at the cost of billions of lives? There have been many iterations of Sith, and it always ends the same."
She glared icily at him all the while she burns inside with frustrated fury, because she doesn't have an answer yet. "We're done here for the day, get out."
He merely shook his head. "Fantasize all you want, child, but history and reality gives us both the answer to what I ask."
She watches him and and Vos go, burning inside and not willing to let him have the last word, so she called out snidely, "Oh, and Tholme? I never got an answer on whether the Jedi would 'tolerate' me having an apprentice one day."
The man paused at the door. "That would entirely depend on you and the apprentice in question."
He leaves and closes the door behind them. Siri waves a hand and flicks off the lights, sitting on the couch in darkness, brooding. There is a part of her that seeks to dismiss his words, that craves to usurp Sidious and claim his rule, to claim sole governance of the Dark Side and bend it to her will and image. There is another part of her that she imagines leaning on her shoulder, eyebrow raised, and saying 'Ya know, idiot Jedi or not, he's kind of got a point, what are we gonna do 'bout that?'. Siri lets out a frustrated breath, tugging on her hair.
"I don't know."
What Tholme had said about minor Dark Side groups was true, but the thing was, there were small tight controlled groups with their own strict rules and guidelines that were enforced lethally if need be. Some of them didn't even see themselves as Dark. There was a gigantic difference between those and ANY iteration of the Sith. Was there any Dark Side society she could point to as to having actually worked? The longest lasting thing that she knew of was the original Sith Empire, they had lasted for roughly two-thousand years if she recalled. Vitiate's Empire technically lasted longer if one didn't count how many times it splintered and reformed until Darth Ruin did an overhaul of the remaining scraps. Outside of the Sith... what was there?
"Nightsisters maybe," mused Siri.
But that was a topic that she didn't actually know a lot about. Mighella had told her a bit about her home clan, but... the actual culture was lost on her. They weren't something Sidious had spoken of her about other than in passing mention, and Zannah never had. Not to mention, to her knowledge, they stuck to one single planet aside from a few strays. Multi-planet or galaxy wide civilizations however?
She scrubbed at her face, a growl escaping her throat. She doesn't know. She knows what she instinctively does not like about the Sith, but she has little idea of changing any of that aside from just 'not doing that'. When one considers potential apprentice(s) and their own eventual apprentice(s)? Is there any guarantee any changes she did try to make would stick long term? She sighs and lets the thought go, she's a twenty-some odd year old Sith Apprentice whose growth isn't even close to complete yet. She's thinking and stressing over things she shouldn't be until she is the Sith Master, and there's no guarantee she'd even live long enough to try, no guarantee she would kill Sidious.
So she shelves it for now, but, she doesn't forget...
Siri hums to herself, sitting in the corner of a room in one of the lower levels of the Temple, her datapad on as she browses the Holonet while various Jedi Shadows scour the level for her. Tholme certainly hadn't wasted time, one day and he'd already gotten permission for a test exercise. She had shrouded herself in the Force, given a group of twenty shadows a coy wink, and then vanished, using the Force to flicker off the lighting before plopping down where she was now and drawing an illusion over herself.
That had been an hour ago.
She was distinctly unimpressed.
The closest any had come were by almost accidentally stepping on her, but she just moved her legs. She hummed a quiet tune, masking the sound through the Force as she shifted from one news article after another. She loathed the Senate, but she was trying to keep up with it to see if she could spot anything that screamed 'Sidious' at her. So far, nothing really had come up. Just one boring or petty bill after another, waste of space and money, the lot of them. She figured Sidious was laying low after she had stirred up the hornets nest, or maybe he was still busy on damage control, or she was blind, who knows. She flicked to the next article, something about the Senator of Aldaraan heading some committee or another.
She lazily viewed it before she frowned. "Bail Organa?"
What the hell happened to Bail Antilles? He had been the Senator over a month or so ago last she knew.
There is a soft purr from the Dark Side, a hint of 'look deeper look deeper'. So looked deeper she did, poking around the Holonet...
If what she felt through the Force was any indication, "Died of a heart attack my ass."
There is something there in the Dark, unknowing whispers that she can't parse. This is important for some reason, this murder, and the man who replaced Antilles. How curious...
Siri decides she's wasted enough time letting the Shadows play around. So she gets up and leaves, passing by Shadows who have no idea she's even there. She goes until she finds the control room for the floor, Tholme, Dooku, and a few Councilors looking through cameras and observing the session.
"Is she even still down here?" questioned Windu, "For all we know she could have left."
"Mmm, nope," says Siri, unmasking herself and making the majority either startle or reflexively activate their lightsabers as they spun around, it was sadly amusing.
She casually walked past them, up to one of the monitors, and tapped her hiding spot. "Was sitting there reading my datapad the entire time."
There is a brief pass through the Force for truth before Tholme sighs and the Jedi put away their lightsabers. "I suppose we are going to require you to walk us through what you are doing."
"But that's cheating!" she exclaimed playfully, bringing a hand to her chest in mock outrage.
Tholme gave her an unimpressed look.
"I said I'd let your shadows experience trying to hunt a Sith, I never said I'd walk them through it," she says in a mocking undertone, "Though you might be able to convince me to give a starting lesson."
Dooku's eyes narrow. "What do you want, Tachi?"
"I want to speak to Bail Organa."
That was apparently not what they were expecting.
"The new Senator from Aldaraan?" posed Tholme slowly, his eyebrows furrowed trying to understand her angle.
"Yep."
"Why?"
"For fun."
"Tachi," says Dooku sharply, "Is this a game to you?"
"Could be," she answers with cheek before her amusement fades into coldness, "I'm pretty sure, based on what I feel through the Force, that Sidious had Organa's predecessor murdered, and I want to know why."
Dooku hummed, exchanging a glance with Windu who slowly nodded. "I'll see what I can do."
Surprisingly, they only have Dooku in the small sitting room directly watching her as Bail Organa is lead in, though she's certain they're being monitored through microphone and camera. She sizes up the senator briefly. Shortly trimmed mustache and beard, professionally cut hair. Dressed in what she assumed was traditional Aldaraan clothes, a blue half-vest on his left side over a neat blue tunic and belted pants, ending with a pair of dress shoes. He gives a brief nod to Dooku, she doesn't feel direct familiarity, so perhaps Dooku had known the previous senator rather than him.
"I will admit," said Organa, eying Siri warily, "When you asked for this meeting, Master Dooku, I was not under the impression it was subterfuge for another."
"I apologize for the deception," answered Dooku crisply, "But this is a rather sensitive mater."
"Which involves the Sith how?"
"Your predecessor was murdered by Sidious," Siri starts off without lead in.
Organa startled. "What?"
"You're not deaf, senator," said Siri, "Your predecessor was murdered by Sidious, and I'm very curious as to why."
Organa frowned, looking to Dooku. "Is there proof of this?"
"No," said Dooku, "I looked over the autopsy report myself, but cannot dig deeper, as the body has since been cremated."
Organa's jaw clenched. "Cremated? I was under the impression his body had been released to his family."
Dooku's eyebrows lift. "It was right in the report stored in the senate archives."
"Slight of hand," Siri muses with amusement, "So very easy to do, and if someone bothers to question it, the act can be claimed as a mere innocent accident."
Organa licked his lips for a moment. "Alright, I'll humor this for the time being."
"What was your senator doing recently?" asked Siri, "Anything at all that was different."
"Antilles was always his own man, you are going to have to be more specific."
"Since I was revealed then," she says.
Organa crossed his arms. "I know he had been reading into the past, the revelation of the Sith's existence had him poring over old records."
Listen listen listen.
Siri frowned at the Dark Side's harsh words beating on her ears. "What kind of old records?"
"Anything in relation to the Sith."
Siri's lips purse, tilting her head back. "That's not nearly specific enough. Everyone and their mother had to have been searching the holonet for information on the Sith after the Senate hearing. What specifically?"
"I'm was not exactly privileged to his inner thoughts, I was a friend of the family, yes, but I was not his minder."
"Did he mention anything of potential use? Leave any notes?"
Organa shook his head. "I don't know. We only talked once between your last public session and his death. Its how I know what he was even looking into. He just said he was lookinging into Aldaraan's and Senatorial old records on past Sith Empires. General knowledge of them, their actions, their politics..."
Siri full on flinched when the Dark Side howled through her ears. "That's it."
Organa blinked. "What's it?"
"Politics, Sith Politics."
Dooku stared at her, eyes furrowed. "Did you... feel something?"
"You didn't?"
"No."
Siri's nose wrinkled. "You Jedi are so blind with the veil blocking your foresight and the Force's guidance."
Organa startled. "What? What does she mean your Order is being blocked?"
A pinched expression crossed Dooku's face before he glared at Siri, she just shrugged in response. "Sidious has been using the Dark Side to cloud the Jedi's perception for the last few decades at least."
"And the Senate was not informed of this, why?"
"What did you expect us to do?" defended Dooku, "Advertise a weakness to the Jedi Order that would have our enemies baying for our blood? We barely even started to understand what was happening with the Force."
"Aldaraan at least would have readied itself in any way to aid the Order if it were in need."
"And the Jedi Order appreciates Aldaraan's continued support from the days of the Old Republic, but Aldaraan is one of the few planets that whole heartedly supports the Order these days," rebuts Dooku, "I am not as blind as others to the fact that the Jedi Order has been steadily declining in a positive light for decades now, perhaps easily over the last hundred years. We do not have nearly enough support to announce that weakness, especially with the revelation of how the Sith have been using the Senate to bleed us dry."
Organa's mouth twitches at that. "I see."
He turned back to Siri. "Why would 'Sith Politics' matter enough to get Antilles killed?"
Siri's mind was whirling at what should have been obvious. "It matters more than you can possibly imagine. The Sith have been manipulating and molding the Senate for a long time now. The Jedi are so foolish and arrogant not to get involved and try to counter Sidious's influence in the Senate, all that remains is controlling the Senate itself and snipping off any Senators that are a problem. Any significant problems in the senate contesting his will could set him back and potentially cause major issues. He has deep control, and it will only spread further as time passes. Now, with the revelation of the Sith's existence, is a potential vulnerable time when things are getting shaken up."
She licked her lips. "Make no mistake Organa. Bail Antilles was murdered by Sidious for trying to delve into the Sith, especially into the arena of Sith Politics. Sidious will tolerate no one getting wise to his schemes in a way that will actually challenge him."
Bail frowned. "And what of you?"
Siri snorted. "I wasn't an apprentice long enough to be introduced into the realm of Sith politics. I have a very, and I mean very, narrow understanding of how things were run in the old empires, let alone how Sidious does things these days. I may be able to pick out a few things that stink of him, but finding him through politics? I won't be able to do so."
Bail rubs his chin. "You believe that looking into this, I may find an avenue to find this 'Sidious'?"
"Potentially, but it will be even more dangerous than trying to go poking around his links in the criminal underworld," said Siri.
"I am more than willing to partake in this, Aldaraan will not stand to see this Sidious claim rule of the Galaxy and the destruction of the Republic," said Bail slowly, turning to Dooku, "I will be careful..."
"Do not mistake my warning," snarled Siri, pointing a finger at him and drawing him back, "I'm not saying be careful or be suspicious, I'm saying be paranoid. Trust no one but yourself with what you learn until its time to act. Not other senators, not anyone back on Aldaraan, not the Jedi, and not me, especially not me, interacting with me at all is libel to get you watched at minimum. When you return from here, you should never even hint that we spoke to anyone. Sidious believes in escalating punishment, so if he gets one whiff that you are digging into things the way Antilles was, you, and everyone you know and love, are dead."
"And I suppose that you wish me to thank you for this advice?"
"No," said Siri, "The only thing I wish is for you to succeed."
Both of Organa's eyebrows lift. "I was under the assumption from the newscasting that you wanted the Jedi Order to perish. Your Master dying before he succeeds seems counterproductive even if you wish to kill him."
Siri smiled grimly. "Its less about the Jedi's survival or lack thereof, and more to do with making sure Sidious loses. If Sidious is wiping out the Jedi, then he's most likely going to be corrupting the Republic into a Sith Empire in the process, otherwise Jedi Genocide really wont go over well. If he becomes a Sith Emperor, my desire to kill him becomes far harder to complete. The status of the Jedi Order is irrelevant to that."
The senator nods slowly. "I see."
"Understand this, Senator," she begins in a slow, dangerous hushed voice, "You are about to enter the most dangerous arena of your life. Forget your fellow politicians and their pitiful petty greedy games, about corperations atempting to buy votes, about the general corruption of the Senate. None of that matters in comparision to Sidious. He wields power in the Force and influence over people in a way you will never directly match. Your goal is to undermine him, but if he ever considers you an actual threat he will have you killed. Do you understand this and still desire to walk this path?"
"I do."
She gave him a look of pity. "You don't, but I know your kind, you'll try anyway."
She eyes him one final time before making for the door. "My final advice senator? Live in the shadows, unseen and unnoticed, or make a name for yourself and stand out where you will die in the light..."
Chapter 48: Lingering
Chapter Text
"There you are Grandmaster."
It had, surprisingly, taken Obi-Wan a long while to figure out where Yan Dooku was since he got back to the temple from his mission. For that matter, he hadn't immediately been able to detect Siri either, she was down here in the lower levels too, but her presence was vague. Not that seeing her again was going to be pleasant. He had taken a step back, gotten needed space to breath and some perspective, but he's not ignorant that Siri is going to probably be angry with him.
His Grandmaster turns briefly away from a set of screens that he, Master Tholme, Windu, and a number of other Jedi are viewing. Then, Dooku's eyes narrow. "Hmm, why and how are you down here?"
Obi-Wan blinked at the unusual sensation of being on the receiving end of his Grandmaster's irritation. "I came looking for you, and I was directed down here?"
A pinched look crossed Dooku's face, "And being who you are, assumptions were made that it was fine, I see."
"Is there a reason I shouldn't be?"
"Its not a big deal Dooku," murmured Tholme, eyes not leaving the monitors.
"As your old padawan pointed out to us, Sidious somehow learned of what Tachi had revealed to us within the same day," stressed Dooku, "I don't want him aware of what we are trying to learn here. Catching him offguard may be one of the only ways we emerge victorious. Keeping the knowledge tight knit is important."
"And I'm sure Padawan Kenobi can keep his mouth shut if instructed too."
"About what, exactly?" asked Obi-Wan, now more than a little curious.
"Sith hunting exercises," explained Dooku, "Tachi has cloaked her presence, and our... 'trainees' are attempting to find her."
Well now... "That sounds useful."
"If anyone could succeed," breathed Dooku irritably, "This is our fourth session, and even with her 'hints' we've had no progress."
"Hints?"
"She gave one each session after the first," Windu spoke crisply, "There are multiple ways to hide through the Force, some of them overlap and increase the difficulty of detection, was the first. Seeing what one naturally expects to see is part of many methods, was the second. The third was that she implied that if I or others used the Dark we might be able to see through several methods."
Windu shakes his head. "Using Vapaad is one thing, but actively reaching for the dark and not falling is not the same, not something I am capable of."
Obi-Wan folded his arms into his robes, voice dubious. "She's implying that by using the Dark Side, all on its own, would do the trick?"
"She stressed she wasn't actually trying to get anyone to fall," said Dooku flatly, "Her verbiage implied otherwise."
"How so?"
"You foolish little Jedi spend so much time staring into the light it blinds you to what exists in the dark, even putting your little toe into the dark pond could do wonders for messing with Sidious," echoed Dooku in a brief nasal tone.
It really wasn't hard to sound that out in Siri's voice. "I assume the suggestion was rightfully shot down then."
Tholme hummed. "Shadows and sentinels walk the line close enough without actually reaching over it."
Obi-Wan shifts his attention to the monitors, eyes flickering to various rooms and hallways, Jedi on the prowl looking for Siri. "How long does this usually last?"
"An hour or so before she grows bored," said Dooku with irritation.
Obi-Wan huffed a little, amused. "Sounds like her."
He shifts focus. "May I join?"
Dooku raises a single eyebrow. "Why?"
"Why not?" he asks back, "It could end up useful to be able to feel a Sith coming if Sidious has a target on my back."
"If nothing else, her potentially being surprised by your return might upset her technique and give us a chance to find her this time," muses Tholme, "Its not the Jedi way, but I do wish to wipe that smug arrogance off her face at least once."
"Trust me Master Tholme," said Windu dryly, "You're not the only one."
Obi-Wan eyes them briefly, a little taken aback by the public display of frustration. Or well, confined display he supposes considering the limited audience. Siri really must have been making a pest of herself this last month. Not that she generally didn't anyway even if she was trying to 'help' in her own way. He waits for Dooku to give him a nod of approval before he turns and walks out. He hums to himself as he starts down the hallway; he hopes Quinlan is down here searching so he can either: A) Give him a scare in good jest if they bump into one another, or B) Friendly rub his victory in Vos's face when he finds Siri first. A little friendly playing never hurt, kept things interesting.
He doesn't stretch out with the Force or anything like that when starting to look. Its actually kind of a little odd. He was aware of Siri's presence the moment he started descending into the lower levels. In fact, he's fairly certain he's heading right for her. Her presence is vague, but... he still gets a direction out of it. He enters what appears to be a dimly lit old meditation room, mats evenly placed together, a few pieces of furniture scattered around, empty plant vases near the doors out of the room. He strides right to the source of the vague he feels in the north-east corner of the room and stares down at absolutely nothing for a long moment.
"Siri?"
Obi-Wan is more than a little unsettled by how Siri slowly melts into existence, like the space she was occupying peels away to reveal her sitting there, her datapad on her lap watching a video of some sort. Siri stares up at him in complete silence for a very quiet minute, disbelief on her face, before she narrows her eyes, and unmasks her presence, indignation and an uncomfortable amount of fury rippling out of her.
"Kenobi, how the kriff did you find me?" she demands, turning off her datapad, pocketing it, and standing up, a snarl on her face.
He takes a single step back. "Was that not the point of the exercise?"
"Yes," she gritted out, "But how did you find me?"
There was an... odd sensation of self-incrimination and self-directed-fury at her. She's more pissed at herself than she is him if he feels it correctly. "I felt you?"
"I was masking my presence."
"You did feel vague."
"You shouldn't have been able to feel me at all!"
He holds his hands up defensively. "And here I was thinking you'd be happy to see me."
"I was actually thinking about how I was going to break your nose again when I felt you enter the temple."
He gives her a flat look before pausing, a slow sinking feeling entering his stomach because THAT had implications he was uncomfortable with. "You felt me enter the temple?"
"Planet really, but I wasn't aware it was you into you got close enough," she said, shrugging.
Well, that explained how he found her then; he's going to be in so much trouble. When had this happened? How hadn't he noticed, how hadn't SHE noticed either? The only one he'd really had that kind of experience with before was his Master... so Obi-Wan carefully reaches for his bond with Qui-Gon, still uncut and going to stay that way because of how useful they found it, and then pokes around for another and finds a familiar feeling of vagueness...
"Siri?"
Her eyes widen briefly at the mental communication, something he can't quite figure out in her eyes, and then her presence completely withdraws and cuts off, and he's briefly thrown by the sudden absence and how uncomfortable he finds it despite that he shouldn't. She points a finger at him and hollers, "That's CHEATING Kenobi!"
He can't help the exasperated sigh that escapes him, because of course rather than be serious about it, she has to be a jolly-sociopathic-darksider. "Its hardly cheating if the bond was unintentional."
Her face closes off into a cold mask before she stalks past. "The exercise is over."
Obi-Wan has a moment to realize how that sounded to her, but doesn't comment on it. While he hadn't intended for his words to be hurtful, it was the truth, it was unintentional. He is curious about how and when, so he turns and opens his mouth to speak...
...and her fist smashes into his nose with a crack, making him stagger back and clutch at it. "Siwry!"
"THAT was for having a mental confrontation with Sidious inside of my head," she snarls, "Been holding THAT back for far to long. We're you trying to drive me insane?"
He glares at her, feeling blood running down his hand and arms before projecting down the bond. "I was trying to help!"
She flinches a little at the communication before scoffing. "I thought the Jedi were supposed to use their power to defend, not attack!"
He rolls his eyes at that. "You enjoy twisting anything to suit your own ends, don't you?"
She narrows her eyes. "A single mistake could have left me brain-dead or insane."
Obi-Wan hesitates at that. In all honestly, he had been freaking out while trying to keep calm, his only focus to get Sidious out of her head. He... had been afraid to have lost her to that beast again. "My apologies."
He sets his nose, wincing before pouring a little bit of healing energy down it, thankful Bant had taught him this, before wiping his face on his sleeve.
Siri huffs and turns around, making for the exit. "Also, Vos, you can come down now."
Obi-Wan startles when Quinlan fades into view, pinned to the ceiling, before he falls to the floor with an 'omph'. Obi-Wan gapes, because he hadn't even felt Vos nor her using the Force to restrain his friend, then he begins in a rising voice, "Siri...!"
"He tried to cheat and follow me before we started, so I put him in time-out," she says cheerfully, "He didn't really fight me on it, so he must have agreed with the punishment."
Obi-Wan just stares at her back in disbelief as she walks out of the room.
"Well, that was one of the more uncomfortable hours of my life," groans Quinlan, "Shoulda figured I wouldn't be able to sneak up on her a second time."
"There was a first?"
"Mhm," answered the Kiffar, picking himself up off the floor, "Though that was more on her than us."
Obi-Wan shakes his head and leaves his friend to re-orient himself, jogging briefly to catch up to Siri. "If I had to guess, the bond was probably formed on... on Naboo."
"Makes sense," she answers in a clipped tone, "Considering you barreled into my head and poured all that mush in."
"Coming from the one who was literally mind raping me at the time?"
That makes her shut up, tension rolling from her shoulders down to her toes. He feels a sense of dark satisfaction at that, but he lets it go, he shouldn't have attacked like that even if he had a right to. "Sorry, that was..."
"The truth," she cuts in, "I don't need your babying, Kenobi. I know full well what I was doing back then."
He waits for a moment. "And...?"
"And what?"
"Are you even going to apologize?"
"We were enemies at that moment, now we're not."
Sometimes he cannot believe what comes out of her mouth. "Really Siri?"
"Consider the fact that you walked away from that alive and sane as an apology when I could have very easily killed you or left you a vegetable, you should drop the subject."
He exhales in frustration. Not even ten minutes and already he wants to walk away again, or at least smash his own head into the wall repeatedly.
"I suppose I should have figured out the bond was there," she grumbles, diverting the topic away, "The first thing I noticed when I woke up after you ran away like a coward was that you were gone."
"Well excuse me when you blatantly rubbed everything I hoped for you in my face like that," he snapped.
"Careful Jedi, that sounds like anger."
"It IS anger," he said flatly, "Siri, do you have any idea how gutting that was to feel, see, and hear?"
Her head briefly turns to look at him, looking surprised at the admittance, he faintly senses a brief pass down the bond, trying to sample his emotions, which he response with a scathing amount of ire. She twitches and faces forward. "Toughen up Kenobi, the galaxy is a shitty place full of shitty people. If you let everything affect you, you wont go far."
"Do you even hold a single consideration for turning away from the Dark Side?" he asked, bluntly honest.
Then he found himself slammed into the hallway wall. "Lets be clear Obi-Wan: No, I don't. I've told you before and I'll say it again: This is the only way I stand a chance in all nine hells of killing Sidious. So its not on me to turn away, its on you to convince me too, and I can't think of a way you can that ends up with Sidious dead."
She could always leave it to the Chosen One.
He had apparently been thinking that too loud, because she snorts. "Supernova is a walking talking disaster Obi-Wan, and regardless of that I don't even believe in that prophecy nonsense."
He blinked. "...was that a nickname?"
She lets go of him and starts walking. "Ahuh, and until he can properly shield himself, its sticking. He always gives me that look when I call him that..."
"You talk with him?" he asked, incredulous.
What when where and how?
"During meals he deigns to make himself a nuisance to me, much to my own, his master, and everyone else's chagrin," she mused.
She actually sounded fond.
"Why is he a disaster?"
"Spend some time around him and it becomes apparent," she said, snicking, "I've already heard of a number of classroom mishaps in passing, and sometimes he sticks his foot in his mouth in the most adorable ways. He really needs to think before he speaks."
Well... he hadn't spent that much time around Anakin, but... he had heard firsthand a few instances of the latter, and he could imagine some of the trouble he could get in while he was learning to use his ridiculous power in the Force. Another reason to be glad that was Qui-Gon's problem to deal with. "I see."
He squints at her and lets an air of playfulness drip down the bond. "It sounds like you've made a friend, I think I'm rather proud of you Siri."
She stops, sputters a bit, and turns to glare at him.
"If you two are done," comes Dooku's voice from the doorway up ahead, "We have questions."
"We might have kinda formed a Force Bond on Naboo," says Siri nonchalantly.
"You WHAT?!"
Siri hums to herself, sitting on a chair in the Halls of Healing while Obi-Wan is fretted over because 'apparently' being bonded to a Sith means they have to check for 'Dark Side taint'. The notion of the bond still makes something in her stomach both flutter and churn, to have a bond with Obi-Wan. Its not particularly strong at the moment, there is a single, powerful strand yes, coupled with weaker ties around it, but, overall her bond with Gallia had been deeper, as had Sidious's. But the mere thought of it, the potential of it... it makes her head spin with want and desire...
Craving of how it could be more...
How they could be more...
The thoughts of them together, the outlines of small faceless children in her minds eye...
Its hard to push the thoughts away, it makes it difficult to feel and bathe in the Dark Side as she's used to. She could do so by turning her thoughts to her darker and more base desires for him, but she's not risking that leaking down the bond, especially when the Jedi are poking around the bond. Though if he got a hard on in the middle of his checkup from any fantasies leaking down that he saw it might be hilarious, or maybe just awkward. Best to not.
Her lips thin. In all honestly, the bond is probably going to be snipped, and something in her ROARS at that in absolute fury. She has the desire to slaughter anyone who'd dare lay a hand on the bond, to grab Obi-Wan and run, carting him off from the temple and locking him away somewhere to be forever hers, forever safe from Sidious, just them...
She twitches at the thought and closes it off as best she can, despite it bubbling under the lid of her mind.
Considering Dooku is glaring at her at the moment for the mere existence of the bond, its a solid idea to not let any such thoughts leak through her shields. "I already told you it wasn't intentionally, and was most likely formed because of him, not me. I let you feel for the truth once, so take your pissy mood elsewhere you old bat."
Dooku narrows his eyes, but does not respond, continuing to silently glare at her.
Honestly, the next time they spar, she is going to find a way to drive her boot up his ass.
Obi-Wan and Vokara Che appear a moment later, Windu and Fay slowly walking behind him, both looking surprisingly visibly displeased. Che clears her throat and speaks to Dooku, "There was no influence, no compulsions, no laced thoughts or planted suggestions or anything of the like."
Siri lets out a growl. She wouldn't do that to Obi-Wan. To orphanages full of children yeah, she had done that a few times for kicks and for practicing compulsions, but not to Obi-Wan. The Jedi don't even acknowledge her.
"I see, so it has been severed then?" asks Dooku crisply.
"No," said Obi-Wan, "So long as it is not abused, it will stay for the time being."
Siri goes completely, perfectly still, her face blank, her presence shrinking in the Force to cover the sheer shock that roils through her. He... he chose to keep it...?
"Of course it will," exhales Dooku, "We will be exchanging words later, Padawan Kenobi."
Dooku turns and leaves without further word, leaving Obi-Wan there with a pinched expression on his face.
Windu follows out shortly after, "I hope you know what you're doing, Obi-Wan."
Fay doesn't comment and merely goes.
Obi-Wan stands there for a long moment, eyes closed, lips closed tight with tension and frustration and -why don't they trust me on this?- leaking down the bond and around him in the air. There are ways she could pounce on that, but she hardly trusts herself to speak at the moment. He shakes his head and glances at her, motioning to the exit. She gets up and walks beside him silently, very carefully working to calm herself behind her shields without giving away anything.
They reach the hallway leading to her room before he speaks, "So, you said it was on me to convince you to leave the Dark Side."
Something in her darkens at that, worse than normal, a seed of doubt wondering if he had only kept the bond to use it against her on that matter. "What of it?"
"If you are up for it, perhaps we can continue our discussions."
This damn pestering was irritating. Always asking her something she doubted he would even consider doing himself...
Then her earlier thoughts and emotions roar at her with that thought, of him leaving the Jedi. The desire and want suddenly so overwhelming as that thought echoes, it churns and boils and explodes in her mind. She can't not voice it, it takes all she can to not sound desperate when she speaks.
"You want me to leave the Dark Side? Leave the Sith?" she asked, "Fine."
Obi-Wan looked shocked, stopping outside her door. "Fine?"
"On one condition," she said, stopping as well.
He looked at her with suspicion. "And what is that?
"That you leave the Jedi Order and run away with me," she answered, the thought becoming more and more consuming as she voice it, "We can go to some backwater Outer Rim, Wild Space, or Unknown Region world, and start a family. No Sith. No Jedi. Just us, and our children."
The idea is burning in her mind, all consuming, with enough power and desire that it shoves away any whisper about attaining power, about dominating and ruling, even overruling killing Sidious. None of that is as important as this desire. She would throw it all away to have this. To have things that neither a Jedi or a Sith would ever truly have or allow. And freedom... no more being bound by either sides rules and laws, no more Masters, no Light or Dark sides, just them. Its all consuming and obsessive... yet she embraces that desire in this moment. The mere notion of actually getting something she deeply and truly wanted over what others want of her...
She watches Obi-Wan's slight, thoughtful frown with near fanatical hope; she isn't blind enough in her desperation to not feel the swirl of the Force, of the importance of this moment...
And he shakes his head. "Siri, that's selfish. I'm a Jedi, I live for others, for the Republic, not myself."
Siri has enough training, as a Sith, to slam her shields up before the devastation of his words hit her; to try and hide the pain, not show weakness, to not reveal how much his words have blown through her. She closed her eyes and... shuts down in a sense. The shudder of anguish starting at the base of her spine is crushed. The absolute grief is swallowed by the Dark Side. The crushed hope is replaced by smoldering anger. The love... isn't gone, no, but its dimmed. There was the potential for him to say yes, the future is always in motion... but she was fooling herself to think it would realistically happen.
He had shown her, back on Naboo, how he felt for her. He loved her yes, but their love was different from one another. He imagined the kind of love Qui-Gon and Tahl had, platonic to the core, mostly shown in comradery, companionship or stolen moments of lingering gazes. Hell, Qui-Gon and Tahl hadn't apparently admitted they loved one another most of their lives; so she and Obi-Wan *might* get upgraded to the brush of limbs, or maybe the isolated kiss if she pushed for it...
That wasn't what she wanted.
What does Obi-Wan know of love? Of real love? That he'd call having a family selfish (Maybe the running away part, but they couldn't really, truly, be together and still be in either of their Orders without their Masters coming down on them). She wasn't so arrogant to think she understood love either, damaged by the Sith and brought up by the Jedi as she was. It something that regular people took for granted. She had seen it at a distance during her missions. The parent caring for an offspring. Gifts between lovers. Open displays of affection whether they be words or actions. She'd seen it from those she'd kill too. The lover trying to offer themselves in place of the other. The last moments of two people holding a gaze before they died. Parents dying for their children. The utter devotion to one another...
It's not what she feels towards Obi-Wan; not yet at least. She wants it to be, she so desperately wants for them to develop to that, because she does understand that true deep love isn't generally an instant miracle thing that just happens (maybe?). But it's not going to either way. It was never going to. She had known that, had voiced that to Dooku. Why she continued to subconsciously delude herself to think it would was beyond madness. Especially this sudden bout of it. Its mortifying and embarrassing to realize just how much influence this want, and him, has over her, especially to have it crash and burn now. Even if she wasn't a Sith, wasn't a monster, was still the Jedi he had known and originally fallen in love with, it never would have happened.
I should have killed him.
The thought hits her... and she toyed with it rather than venomously throwing it away or angrily agreeing with it. She sifts through the pros and cons, of whats happened since she was captured VS what might have happened had she killed him. She asks herself: was all this hell with the Jedi worth it, was giving up her ascension as a real Sith for the short moments she and Obi-Wan have actually had for one another, that weren't one of them digging at the other, or him trying to convert her back to the light? For the realization that her dreams and desires weren't ever going to happen?
She doesn't know.
The fact that it isn't an instant 'no it wasn't worth it' is rather surprising.
She lingers on the why of that, and its rather obvious: Even if its not the love she wants, its the only love she's really ever had, ever truly known. And it's better than nothing. Master Galia, Siolo Ur Manka, they had cared, but they had not loved. Sidious didn't know the meaning of the word aside from how to use it against people. This was the only love ever given to her. It was the only one she would ever get.
So that made it worth it, even if she never got what she wanted, even if it was going to all end in misery and suffering.
When she opened her eyes, Obi-Wan was staring at her with a mixture of deep worry, concern, and... hope?
"You're Force Signature changed," he said softly, a hint of confused wonder in his voice.
Her eyes furrow a bit. She doesn't particularly feel any different to herself, but she doesn't care enough to dig deep and check, doesn't care about anything at this point in time. Yet his reaction manages to disgust her though and truly ignite her fury; because he apparently thinks whatever change he feels is good even if he doesn't understand why it happened. "It's because I gave up, I let go of ever having the chance of you loving me as I need you to."
He recoils from her, face wounded, his mouth opening and closing a few times.
"I remember you saying something, in that cell Obi-Wan," she said softly, "About me marking your words that me staying in the Dark Side would leave me with nothing in the end, that I would realize it wasn't worth it. Maybe you should mind mine as well."
She stared him dead in the eye, and lets her grief and loss over a love she didn't deserve that never would be anyway show. "Because mark my words Obi-Wan. You'll look back on this day, years, maybe decades from now, and realize this was the only real chance you ever had to save either of us. You'll give up everything for the Jedi, and it'll leave you with as much as giving up everything for the Sith would leave me."
She turned away, walked into her room, and closed the door behind her, needing desperately to meditate and get a handle on her emotions.
Or at least she tried to.
He of course had to be an aggravation, not knowing when to back off, and catch the door. "Siri."
She wants to hit him again.
Break his nose.
Make him bleed.
Make him suffer and scream.
She wants to reach into his mind and rip it to shreds.
She sees his throat and wants to choke the life out of him.
It boils around her.
The Dark is howling and screaming within her with the continued exposure to him after what he said, and her control isn't stable enough at the moment to keep it all in AND not act on it at the same time, so she chooses not to act as the more important choice. Obi-Wan goes perfectly still, prey before predator. She turns to glower at him, and the moment her eyes meet his, he chokes, a spike of fear and panic and loss in his eyes. She doesn't particularly know why. She doesn't care.
He takes a breath and steels himself. "Why is this so important to you?"
Its so hard to speak, to think, to act, through the red furious haze in her mind, she snaps out, "Why is family, clan, unit, hive, flock, or tribe important to literally ninety-nine percent of the galaxy?"
He frowns. "I find it hard to understand where this comes from, such things aren't part of either the Jedi or the Sith."
That was the kriffing POINT!
Siri blinked at the thought, a little startled to realize that she actually hated BOTH the Jedi and the Sith for that. Well, guess she had something else she'd change about the Sith if she ever usurped Sidious. The thought is quickly swallowed by the red rage, and she knows she needs to get Obi-Wan out of here before she actually physically hurts him, badly. She's not sure she can stop herself if she gets started, and she doesn't want to kill him despite the desire to watch blood run down his neck ticks through her mind. She can see it, imagine the blood, imagine his neck slit open... such lovely red running downward... his presence in the Force fading fading fading...
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," she hissed out, trying to banish the image and sensation, "What would Jedi know of love, of family? Hell, you'd probably be a shitty father."
She loves the flinch from him as much as her own words make her cringe. Stop it stop it stop it this is to much over normal, what are you doing? You're going to ruin everything you currently have!
Which isn't a lot, but its better than nothing.
"So would most Jedi then," she muses, trying to divert her target from Obi-Wan to someone else, but failing to not make it painful regardless, "Its not like your own Jedi 'dad' didn't abandon you in the middle of a war zone when you were thirteen after all."
Obi-Wan's face closes off immediately, and from what she feels down the bond, she struck deep.
Good.
Let him feel the pain.
Stop it!
"Hells, its honestly kriffing stupid," she drawled, "You Jedi are literally breeding Force Sensitivity out of the Galaxy by ripping the best and the brightest away and disavowing a legacy. But what do I know? I'm just a loveless selfish Sith bitch. Isn't that right Kenobi?"
"Siri, stop," he says firmly, an air of fear in his voice, "You need to calm down before you destroy yourself."
"Then get OUT!" she snarls, "If you want to survive the next minute, GET THE KRIFF OUT!"
The intent to kill bleeds out through the air, and he's gone in a split second in the moment she chokes on realizing that the sensation actually escaped her. That he had felt her literally want to kill him. She closes the door with the Force, shrouds the room and herself from sound and sensation and Force to the outside world, and screams in a rage, a storm of energy flooding the room and throwing everything in it about...
Her eyes had been bleeding sulpher yellow.
Streaks of it tainting her blue, reminding him of that awful few minutes on Naboo, and Obi-Wan hasn't felt as terrified of losing her to the Dark Side as he had since then. He lays on his bed, swallowing repeatedly, trying to get a handle on his fear and let it go. What and where had that gone so wrong? Why was that selfish desire so important to her over anything else? Enough for the loss of it to... to bring flickers of that monster, of Darth Tyrosus, back to life?
He takes a breath in and lets it out, skittering away from her rage, of the monster in her briefly animated. He instead tries to make sense of it, focusing on her words.
One thing she said maybe makes him think that not all of that was just lashing out like a wounded creature, or at least, there had potentially been some truth in it. Because, if he's honest: Siri is deceptive and deceitful when it suits her, but, she prefers brutal cruel honesty, and when it comes to pointing out what she considers to be flaws... oh, she is very free in handing out criticism of the Jedi Order. The problem was... she had been right in a... few things thus far, perhaps even more than he'd like to admit. It was an uncomfortable thing, because the Sith existed to destroy the Jedi, they made it their mission to spot out flaws and weaknesses in the Order to exploit. Siri was... a weird Sith all things considered, but she had that same predatory attention to weakness. So, he gave her words the attention they were due.
Her words on children were what he focused on.
Obi-Wan had no interest in having children, had never thought about it. The concept was jarring to him, even with his more openness about attachment, even taken to the limits by having feelings for a Sith, having children was an incredible extreme. Master Mundi, with his wives and children was an uncomfortable topic for anyone to even speak of in quiet tones, let alone directly to him, even though they understood it was a literal matter of life or death for his species. Obi-Wan was loosely aware that Master Mundi wasn't the only one, that there were others of his species in the temple, and perhaps a few other extreme exceptions, but he hadn't looked into it. That she wanted children with him was... a squirming feeling, not to mention, from what little he knew of relationships, very premature.
Anyway, Siri believed that the Jedi were effectively culling Force Sensitivity out of the Galaxy by taking Force Sensitives and not allowing them to have children. His first reaction, when not considering it a selfish thing from Siri, is still disagreement. His second reaction, thinking it over, is that he can't agree or disagree. He's done basically no research on the subject, his own knowledge comes from Temple classes, which boils down to in rough terms 'The Force will Provide'; if there needs to be more Force Sensitives, there will be.
But, having spent far to much time with Siri, he also recognizes that as a complacent thought.
He turns to lay on his side, frowning thoughtfully. If the Force were truly a mainly hereditary gift, wouldn't this have been an absolutely major problem by now? He doesn't dismiss the topic because of that thought, but instead shifts focus to think of reasons it wouldn't have. For one, he is loosely aware that the current Code wasn't always there, that things used to be... looser, thousands of years ago, even a thousand years ago before the Ruusan Reformation. Lingering genetics passed down could easily explain unexplained Force Sensitivity in a family that wasn't know for it. He knows by default that while the Sith (as a whole) wouldn't care about love or family, they would have been far less controlled than the Jedi were in such matters. He also knows better than to condemn someone for their blood or their ancestors, so the thought that some of the Order might have had Sith somewhere distant in their bloodline isn't one that heavily roils him.
Just makes him a tad uncomfortable.
He also knows that Jedi Padawans or initiates leave the Order from time to time, its likely to assume some of them start families. There are also most likely plenty of children who are missed on the Search and don't become Jedi, thus they grow up and have families in a normal life. His thoughts squirm a little despite the years that have passed, but... what about the Service Corps? He lingers on it, but draws a complete blank. He doesn't actually know if they are held to the same exact rules as the Jedi Order or not, if he's honest he has to admit he doesn't like thinking about them after his own near miss with washing out of the Order. He is aware as well that there are many other Force Sects in the Galaxy, Qui-Gon never let him be ignorant of that. The Jedi Order is the largest, most well known, and recognized, but there are many others, and he has not a single clue to whether or not any of them allow attachments or children. Maybe some do, maybe some don't.
Maybe there is some point in her words, maybe the Jedi prevent a fraction of Force Sensitives from being born, but whose to say a Jedi Dynasty couldn't go wrong? That a family of powerful Force Sensitives couldn't abuse their power? That the Sith might have plucked a powerful child from said family like Siri had been taken and twisted? He's sure it must have happened in the past. He's not going to research it as a point to argue with Siri though, this topic is never coming up between them again as far as he's concerned.
He never wants to see her true depths as a Sith ever again.
Yet... it was so strange. When her Force Signature had changed, some of the dark storm that she was had settled, flattened into a dark pond rather than a hurricane. He had thought it had been good that it was gone. But... maybe he had looked at it wrong. Maybe that storm wasn't darkness, maybe it had been conflict, and... maybe he had killed some of that conflict with his words, killed the wrong parts of the conflict, because that had tipped her back even further towards the Dark. He kicks himself for that. He in part wishes he hadn't given an absolute no, that he had said he'd think on it or something like that. Except... that wouldn't be true, and he didn't have the cruelty in him to lead her on like that.
The only reason he would have considered a taboo like starting a family was to help save her from the Dark Side, but NOT at the expense of the Jedi Order, at abandoning his duties. Though perhaps its for the best that it doesn't happen. Its a setback for her going deeper into the Dark, yes, but... Siri would NEVER, EVER, considered giving up a child to the creche. That could have potentially been a deadly, explosive incident if pressed that could have had even worse results than what just happened. Not to mention the hassle with the Council, if he had actually gone to the point of having a child with her... the Council would have come down hard on him and probably removed him from his duty of helping her, not to mention imposing the longest censure of his life into possible expulsion.. There was also the possibility of Sidious stealing the child if he got the chance, and that makes his heart clench at the thought of that monster corrupting an innocent child from the group up. There's also the issue with her technically being a prisoner, there might be legal issues that come up if a 'jailer' and a 'prisoner' all the sudden had a child, issues he sorely would not want to bring upon the Order. Finally...
Something in him withers, at her remarks of him being a terrible father. She's probably right. He doesn't... he doesn't know if he could have given a child what they truly needed. On the flip side, he heavily doubts Siri could either. And the instability of being raised by a Dark mother and a Light father could have destroyed the child too. Because he's not foolish enough to believe Siri can just snap her fingers and turn away from the Dark even if she wanted to. It would be a very long struggle.
He sighs and pushes the thought away, he's lingered enough on it. Instead... he turns to the surprising spike of pain he'd felt when Siri had... well... called out Qui-Gon for what he had done. He was caught offguard that had still hurt years later. Both he and Qui-Gon had grown much closer in the last eight, nine years, putting the past behind them and moving on. Or so he had thought. Perhaps... the issue was they had buried it rather than deal with it. Swept it under the rug rather than talk through it. They both made mistakes back then, perhaps even to this day, though it was more co-conspirator since Siri's supposed death on the Tally mission...
The...
The Tally mission.
Talesan Fry.
What the kriff had happened to Talesan Fry!?
All thoughts are swept aside in that surprising question, bolting upright. What in the world had happened to Tally? If Siri had been abducted... had Tally been as well? Or had he been killed? Why in the world had he not thought to ask that question? He hesitates for a moment before taking a deep breath, getting up, leaving his room, his apartment, and knocking on Siri's door.
There is dead silence for a long few minutes before the door opens. He winces at the static of the Dark Side oozing from the room. Its a complete mess, she... really hadn't taken his words well. She glares at him in a furious outrage.
"You never know when to quit, do you Kenobi?" she snarls.
There is sulfur in her eyes again.
He swallows and steels himself. "Siri... what happened to Tally?"
She blinked, caught offguard, the sulfur bleeding out of her eyes into a confused blue. "...Tally?"
"The mission where you were abducted by Sidious, we were sent to guard Talesan Fry, he was a boy genius."
She frowned, a bewildered look crossing her face. "I... don't remember a Talesan Fry, or a Tally."
He makes a pass for the truth, and she narrows her eyes at him, snarling, "I DON'T KRIFFING REMEMBER HIM! I'm not lying! You are really pressing your luck today Obi-Wan."
He lets that sink in, that she doesn't remember Tally. Even almost a decade later Obi-Wan still remembered the boy, if only because of that mission. "You remember your fall right?"
"Yes," she grits out.
"But you don't remember the mission it was during?"
She grinds her teeth, eyes flickering. "Gallia and I were sent with you and Qui-Gon to... to..."
She blanks out. "We were sent on a mission together, but I don't remember the purpose of it. I remember that bounty hunter scum Magus, how we nearly died and... started feeling for one another, we... got back, met in a large room while... I don't remember. I know we split to look for..."
She growls. "For something, its why Galia and I chased Maul. Kriff. Kriffing hells when I focus in depth its obvious details are missing. Lost underneath the memory of my Fall. I don't remember a damn thing about this 'Talesan Fry'."
"...could that be what Sidious targeted? Or is this an earlier tampering?"
Siri gnawed on her lips in thought. "I don't know Obi-Wan, I don't know..."
"...and we believe that Padawan Kenobi might be correct, Chancellor," explained Master Windu, sitting across from him in the Chancellor's office, "In that this was the memory targeted in Sidious's attack on his apprentice. Or at least it bears deeper investigation."
"Of course Master Jedi," said Sidious calmly, hiding his inner fury, and a flicker of fear he will never admit, "I will have the SBI look into the matter. However, it is likely that if the boy, this 'Talesan Fry', is even alive, it would be foolish for the Sith to not have put him under a psuedo-name."
Yes, that had been foolish, careless, and now Sidious is going to have to scramble to cover this. Damn that brat, Kenobi is potentially far more trouble than he's worth. How did this even come up? Were the reminiscing about the mission where Tachi was taken as his apprentice? Sidious did that sometimes when he wondered how this mess has all started. Tachi had such potential, but could be such a chore...
"Likely," agreed Windu, sighing briefly, "Still, it is a potentially lead in the mystery of the Sith, and yet... why? Why would this boy be so important that Sidious would go after his apprentice to wipe out the memory?"
Careful careful careful... give useful information, but redirect it from the truth with another potential one.
"Tachi implied that Sidious owns a portion of the senate, has she not?" asked Sidious.
Windu nods.
"The amount of money needed for that kind of extortion would be... extreme," said Sidious slowly, "I've read Tachi's file that was published by the Order, and our own records, I can vaguely recall... wasn't Talesan Fry a rather intelligent child?" and a complete utter petulant nuisance unless constantly threatened, "Developed a security system at the age of eight?"
Windu nods slowly, following the line of through. "Nurture such talent in the wrong way, and the boy could become a master slicer, could potentially steal an extraordinary amount of money without anyone being the wiser. Not to mention empty bank accounts and threaten an individual's or corporations entire livelihood."
It would have been something he could have used, if he didn't already have his fingers deep in the Banking Clans. But the Jedi didn't need to know that.
"Perhaps a joint task force?" suggested Sidious, wanting one of his own mole's to keep a eye on the Jedi and misdirect them, "Together with the SBI, your shadows maybe be able to delve into the banks and search for signs of slicing. There is the chance the banks may even support our efforts, if only to keep grubby hands on their money."
Windu gives a nod before pausing, then speaking in a careful tone. "And how... deeply into things should be pressed? Even perhaps against the wishes of the banks?"
That was almost amusing, so frightened of breaking the laws. "Master Jedi, I am more than aware that laws maybe have to be bent or broken in order to find and best this Sith Lord."
Neither quite permission or quite refusal. Allowing deniability, but judging by the nod he gets from Windu, understood. Good good, misdirection and manipulation, the Jedi's resources wasted by aiming them the wrong way. Perhaps he might even create subtle 'proof' for them to find to support the deception, to make them chase even deeper into a false end. It will buy him time to properly bury any evidence of Talesan Fry's very existence. All of the man's non-critical non-owned acquaintances are to be either mind-wiped, enslaved, or killed. Something he can finally task Vosa on that she couldn't possibly screw up.
Then again, best not to jinx himself, he'll watch her first few attempts to make sure she doesn't bumble it, then turn her loose.
"Well then, thank you for keeping me updated Master Jedi," said Sidious, giving a grandfatherly smile, "I'm glad to see things smoothing out since our... initial disagreement during Tachi's first questioning session. I am hoping a firm link of trust and cooperation can be built between the current administration and the Jedi Order in these trying times."
"We do as well Chancellor," answered Windu.
Yes, he was sure they did, and he would do nothing too overt to dissuade them from betraying their secrets and maneuverings to their sworn enemy...
Chapter 49: Weights
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
As the next few weeks past, the most surprising change since he left, to Obi-Wan at least, was the rapport between Siri and Anakin. For all the almost-snide/cutting remarks they could throw at eachother, neither took real offense that lasted more than a few seconds before they continued badgering one another or laughed for some weird reason. Honestly, the things they would argue about in the dinning halls were absolutely baffling...
"At least I know how to cook soup!"
Siri narrowed her eyes. "I can cook fine!"
"By 'cooking' an animal with Force Lightning and cutting parts off with your lightsaber?" said Anakin dubiously, "That's not cooking."
"Shut up Supernova," said Siri, scowling.
Anakin gave Siri a smugly victorious look.
She petulantly glared at him in return.
Qui-Gon had an exasperated look on his face, but didn't comment.
Obi-Wan slow blinked. "Wouldn't eating something 'cooked' by that be dangerous?"
"Already dark," she sing-songed, "So, its not anymore dangerous that using normal cooking appliances."
"If you say so," teased Anakin, "Mom n' I had one of those old metal stoves, like, not even nanowave."
"Pff, I didn't even have a micro-nanowave oven in my room," she shot back.
Obi-Wan frowned. "You... had a room?"
"Well, yeah, in the facility Sidious trained me in on Coruscant."
Obi-Wan froze.
Qui-Gon's fork stopped inches from his mouth.
"He trained you ON Coruscant?" exclaimed Obi-Wan at the same time Qui-Gon demanded, "There is a facility on Coruscant you haven't happened to mention?"
Siri rolled his eyes. "That would have been the first thing he scrubbed. There'd be nothing there to find."
"That," said Qui-Gon thinly, "Is not for you to decide."
That was how less than thirty minutes later, Siri, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Dooku, Windu, Tholme, Quinlan, and a whole team of both SBI and shadow investigators ended up on a transport into the Works. The only reason the entire Council and Grandmaster didn't pile in was on the offchance Sidious trapped the place to explode, and while Siri smelt a trap, it wasn't a dangerous one. It felt more... mischievous, mocking, divisive. Something foul in the pit of her stomach though she's not sure why...
Well...
If they ask for indepth details of the things that happened here, maybe it could get nasty. But then again, she had already told Obi-Wan of some of the worst things...
They land outside the warehouse and pile out, her eyebrows furrowing as she eyes the place. Like its untouched, she can still feel the wards up, though... somehow less, its likely Sidious has stopped maintaining them. The moment she punches in the code and they walk in, the Jedi gasp. Crossing over, they can feel the Dark Side stained into this place, deaths and torment etched into it. It doesn't affect her, it stopped doing so years ago.
She takes in a breath, lets it out, and mutters, "Home sweet home."
"Force above," gritted out Windu, "Its like stepping foot on a Sith world."
Siri turns her head to raise an eyebrow at him. "Have you actually been to one? Korriban is much, much worse."
"You've been to Korriban?!" hissed Obi-Wan.
"Of course I have."
Dooku cut in. "Are there any traps we should be wary of here?"
"Sidious sometimes left some painful surprises for me to keep me on my toes," mused Siri, "But nothing overt. I don't feel anything threatening."
"Your definition of what constitutes a threat differs from most," pointed out Dooku.
"Live a little, Jedi," she mocked, starting forward.
"Spread out and carefully," stressed Windu to those around him, "Map out the area, take note of anything you find, but do not touch anything without permission, that goes double for you Vos. Kenobi, Dooku, keep an eye on Tachi."
Dooku and Kenobi walk quickly to catch up to her before resuming at a normal pace. Siri reaches out and trails her fingers along the walls, lost in old memories. How many times had she walked this place through the years? Either coming or going from a mission or task, sometimes performing a stealth training exercise to test out various shrouding abilities by hiding from Sidious, plenty of times that she had crawled to and from the infirmary... this place was the closest thing she had to a home. The Jedi Temple had once felt something like that, but... well... she's to biased at this point to say whether it had been worse or better.
She finds her way back to her room, opens the door, and freezes.
"Siri?"
"Its untouched," she murmured, completely suspicious.
She carefully steps into her room, eyes flickering. Her bed is still unmade. Her tome on Sith Language and scripture sits where she had left it on her desk, still struggling to learn High Sith. Her table has a plate with an old moldy half-eaten piece of bread on it that she briefly flicks lighting at to disintegrate, nose wrinkling at the smell. A old-reinforced tapestry of Freedon Nadd rests on the wall, one of the few real 'gifts' Sidious had ever given her, ignoring the initial camera that had been woven into it that she had to crush with the Force. Red and black curtains block the barred window. Her bookshelf is full of books, some Sidious had given her about the history of the Sith, some fiction she had picked up for her own amusement to pass the time reading, and a few introductory manuals explaining various things like repairs, slicing, engineering, and the like. Sidious had wanted her to have at least passing understanding of many things.
Kenobi and Dooku step in after, glancing around the room.
"Who is that?" asked Obi-Wan, pointing at the tapestry.
"Freedon Nadd."
Obi-Wan hums. "He was one of the ones you argued about in the cell, right? The one from Ossus."
"Mhm," was all she said in response.
"What are these... glyphs?" asked Dooku.
Siri glanced over at him, staring down entranced at the tome of Sith Language, and swore. "Dooku, get away from the book!"
He didn't immediately react, a hand slowly reaching out towards it, before both Siri and Obi-Wan dragged him back. It took him a moment to startle back into awareness. "What was..."
"That book is laced with compulsions," she hissed, "You bumbling idiot. I thought you were a Sentinel who specialized in such things! Or did you not learn your lesson from all the presents Sidious had me leave you while you chased me around?"
Dooku scowled at her. "Pardon if I made the mistake of thinking your own possessions would not have them. I was not quite prepared for the immediate effects of even looking at it."
"The book was one of the first things Sidious gave me," she answered flatly, "Full of power that pulls the reader deeper and deeper, craving more and more understanding of the Sith."
"How long did it take you to realize there were compulsions in it?" asked Obi-Wan quietly.
Siri paused briefly before muttering, "A few years."
Her lips peeled into a snarl. "But I have no idea why he left it here, among a few other books. That tome has been passed down Sith to Sith, it might as well be a relic."
Perhaps its sentimental, but Siri could have imagined passing it down to her own apprentice one day. Or did Sidious not believe in that kind of thing? Probably not.
"Perhaps as a message to strike at you," said Dooku, carefully moving back to close the tome while keeping his eyes from it, "I don't think any of us were aware you could read, write, and speak Sith."
"Na j'us Jidai buti ajeusona," she snaps at him in burning tongue.
Obi-Wan flinches at the language spoken aloud, Dooku tensing.
"I was being trained to be a Dark Lord of the Sith, the next in line for my Order," she growls, "I might not even be half your age Dooku, but there is a very likely chance my knowledge of the Sith challenges yours, even as infantile as I am compared to Sidious."
Dooku was silent for a long moment before motioning to the book. "Can you dismantle the compulsions?"
"Now why would I do that?" she posed.
Dooku glared at her. "That information..."
"Is useless to you," she said flatly, "Its not like Sidious is going to be prancing around speaking Sith or sending out missives in it. Unless he had a point to press, he rarely even spoke in Sith. Its a language of power, and not to be trifled with lightly."
Especially since every incantation she knew for her sorcery was spoken in Sith or written in High Sith.
"You are a Jedi, you have no business speaking or writing Sith," she snapped, "The only way I deal with the compulsions is if I can keep the book."
"Why would you want to keep it?" asked Obi-Wan, incredulous.
"Because I haven't finished learning everything from it," she said dryly, "High Sith is obnoxious to learn."
"What in the Force is 'High Sith'?" asked Obi-Wan.
"Writing for Nobility or the more spiritual aspect of the old empires," she explained.
Obi-Wan blinked stupidly at her. "Spiritual?"
"Ancient Sith were said to be worshiped by some of their followers," commented Dooku, "As I imagine was the Dark Side itself."
It was more complicated than that, but she wasn't interested in explaining it. She glances around her room again, licking her lips in apprehension. What was Sidious's game here?
"Master Dooku!"
They turn to see one of the shadows outside the room, white as a sheet. "Master Windu requests your presence, they've found... a cell."
A sinking feeling hit Siri.
"Was there someone in it?" demanded Dooku.
"Not someone, but something, many somethings," said the Jedi, face grim.
Oh Force... that KRIFFING BASTARD!
Things were about to become incredibly uncomfortable. She wondered, absentmindedly, if the Jedi would stick true to their word and their agreement with her and Judiciary, because they were about to have a lot more reasons to want to drive a lightsaber through her back. That cell had been where she had fallen, after, it had become a 'trophy room' of sorts, not that she cared for it as such. Sidious had her keep or take momentos or trophies from certain missions, certain kills. Garen and his Master had hardly been the only Jedi she had killed in eight years of being Sidious's apprentice. Every single lightsaber of every single Jedi she had killed was in that room, tossed in there to be forgotten, among other things. She never visited it except to dump something in it.
And Sidious had likely left it completely untouched.
Siri moved to sit on her bed, feeling a heavy, immense weight on her shoulders all of the sudden. What did the Jedi know of what she had truly done over the years? Killed Garen and his master, killed a questionable number of innocents, Obi-Wan was the only one who knew that count went over a hundred, but that was in the first soul-killing month alone. He had no idea how many people she had really killed, hells, she had never bother to count. She had caused untold harm via propping up or influencing various criminal elements or weakening efforts to curb them and others Sidious favored. Perhaps most important to the Jedi, Garen and his master were hardly the only Jedi or Service Corps members she had killed, far from it, and they were about to find proof of that.
"Siri?" posed Obi-Wan from the doorway.
She stared down at her hands, her smooth pale hands; it wasn't hard to imagine them drenched with blood; some parts of her want to lap the blood up, tasting and treasuring the power of it, of all she's done on her path. Another small part wants to scream and lop off the hand in denial. She brushes the thoughts away and responds, "Don't forget Obi-Wan, you already knew I was a monster."
Obi-Wan goes silent.
"Dare I ask," posed Dooku testily, "What is in this 'cell'?"
"Its where I lay my past to rest," was all she answered.
A sense of dread had invaded Obi-Wan as he and his Grandmaster left Siri in her room with a pair of shadows watching her from the doorway. He did not speak his fears to Dooku, it was already readily apparent if one were to read him through the Force. Siri had already revealed a number of things that made him nauseous whenever he stopped to think on them. He knew she hadn't told him a lot, there were years worth of service to the Sith and the Dark Side that she had held back. Just how bad was it going to be?
They followed the Shadow deeper into the building, into a narrow string of hallways with cells. Many... many had dried blood stains in them, none of the rooms looked like the Sith had ever bothered to try and clean up or hide their crimes. Whats worse, if he reached out and digged around with the Force, he could faintly feels Siri's presence within the suffering and death etched into the rooms. She had a hand in the deaths in many of these rooms, and yet... the suffering felt older, and there were whispers of other dark presences. Far more Sith than just Siri had killed in this place. How long had the Sith been hiding right under the Order's nose?! How could anything hide the echoes of death etched into this building?
The entire temple should have been able to have gotten a whiff of this place, easily. Yet somehow the Sith could mask an entire building in the Force?
Obi-Wan pursed his lips, agitated, until they reached the end of the hallway, the last cell on the left. Master Windu was there, arms folded into his robes. The veins on his forehead were throbbing, his lips tightly sight, eyes narrowed, barely restrained fury on his face. Obi-Wan steeled himself, crossed the rest of the distance, standing behind Windu to look in, briefly noting Tholme and Quinlan inside looking over...
The first thing that hit him was a pungent smell, the faint smell of urine. It makes him wrinkle his nose. Then his eyes adjust to the dimmer cell and it takes his mind a moment to register what he sees. The first thing that jumps out to him, and horrifies him, are lightsabers, roughly a few dozen discarded haphazardly through the room if he counts right on the first pass. He swallows thickly, nausea hitting him hard. He had hoped, prayed, that Garen and Master Rhara had been the only ones. He supposed he had been a fool to think so. His senses pass over the lightsabers... and frowns.
A lot of those lightsabers are... innate level?
He closes his eyes, grimacing as it hit him. He had been able to keep his initial lightsaber when he had been sent away from the temple after all. "Service Corps members."
These hinted at potentially a far greater amount of murders as well, not everyone kept their lightsabers when they went to the Service Corps.
Windu lets out a frustrated breath. "It would seem the Sith target anyone Jedi, even those who have chosen other paths."
Obi-Wan doesn't comment on the 'choice' part of what he said, this isn't the place for that. His eyes flicker around the small room, taking in various objects. There is a wooden staff leaning against the wall far in the corner of the room, its the only thing that doesn't look like it was haphazardly thrown in. There are a few blasters or carbines that look to have a personal touch to them, perhaps bounty hunters or mercenaries or even some of the criminals she could potentially have dealt with if they didn't follow Sidious's designs. A locket of hair. A few broken and charred datapads, with any information on them most likely removed. Some jewelry with blood on them scattered here and there. Finally, in the back of the room, almost out of sight, underneath the staff, is a crumpled set of dirty Jedi clothes sized to fit a padawan, a single lightsaber resting on it.
"What... is all of this?" whispered Obi-Wan.
"If I had to guess, some kind of sick trophy room," gritted out Windu.
"Perhaps," said Dooku, oddly sounding rather calm compared to everyone else, he looked around the room, darkly satisfied. This... is likely everything his Grandmaster had ever suspected of Siri. How vindicated he must feel, and how crushed Obi-Wan was in turn.
"And yet," continued Grandmaster, a scowl devouring his satisfaction, "Despite her words of warning, I feel Sidious's presence here more than I do Tachi's. How curious..."
"Ah dammit," said Vos suddenly, hands brushing over a lightsaber, "I liked Katis. She was fun."
Obi-Wan could recall sparring with Eldra Katis, the Twi-lek Padawan had been a good match in their circle of padawans. and with that thought, he sighed, another acquaintance of theirs killed by one of their own.
"Can you see what happened? How they crossed paths?" asked Tholme.
Vos clenched his grip around the lightsaber, then grimaced. "Ambushed, master got killed, she got captured by... not really sure? But, whoever it was sold her into slavery, the person who bought her then brought her to Sidious and he pit her against Siri."
Thome exhaled in frustration, bitterness coating his voice. "Slavers."
He shook his head. "Can you handle doing this all at once? Or should we piecemeal it over a few days to weeks?"
"I'll let you know if I need to stop," said Quinlan mildly, "Just keep taking notes."
One by one, Quinlan peeled bits and pieces of information from the 'trophies' in the cell. Each one was another stab right through Obi-Wan's ribs, until it simply turned into numbness. Vos hardly looked better, each time added more and more grimness to him, teeth gritting, suppressed pain and loss echoing around him. Finally, Vos reached the staff and grabbed it, and had the completely opposite reaction to anything else, he relaxed.
"Quin?" asked Obi-Wan.
"This was... Master Siolo Ur Manka's staff," murmured Vos, gripping it tightly in both hands, closing his eyes, "There is... a lot in this. Give me a bit."
"If the staff is in here, then it is likely that Tachi is the one who killed him," posed Dooku.
Obi-Wan pursed his lips. "Likely."
"Weird," muttered Vos, "What in the hell was he..."
He jolted, eyes bolting open. "Holy shit. Its actually possible."
"What is?" asked Tholme.
"I mean, I know what you've said about past people that turned away, but... for a bit there, he actually got her to turn away from the Dark Side," said Vos in astonishment, "That was a... very powerful memory in the staff. I'm not quite sure what they did... they meditated together a lot?"
"Somehow, I doubt it was that simple," said Windu, but he does seem thoughtful, of course, then he glances around the room again and that look is gone, "At this point, I'm not sure its possible anymore. She is far darker and more stained now than before, especially knowing this."
Windu glances at Obi-Wan while he speaks, but... he doesn't have the heart at the moment to try and challenge his words. This... she's killed so many, even if they could get her to turn away from the Dark Side, would killing Sidious balance the scales? It might be worth it if only to make sure the Sith actually end, but... there has to be some kind of justice for this, or at least a life filled of repentance. Considering Siri's general lack of remorse while dark, and especially considering her illusionary abilities would give her a very easy way to escape, he... he doubts either is going to happen. He so desperately wants her to turn back, but she doesn't want to, and considering the massive guilt that happens once the Dark fades like it did in the cell, he's not sure she could survive it either.
Should she?
He closes his eyes at the vindictive thought, but doesn't release it to the Force, because its the damn Force honest truth. Kriff, as much as he wanted her to live and become better, why hadn't she just chosen death over becoming this? Obi-Wan himself would rather have let himself die than become what Siri had. He would have been thankful if someone had given him a mercy killing over letting him degrade into a complete and utter monster. He opens his eyes, stares around the room, and feels sick that someone who can do this can somehow still feel love, and that its directed at him.
He needs to meditate, desperately.
Quinlan frowns for a long moment at the staff. "I feel a lot of sickness, the last thing I get from it is a massive surge of pain from him, then he dropped it and I've got nothing else."
"Wouldn't be hard to kill a sick man," said Tholme mildly, disgust evident in his tone.
Quinlan nods slowly, frowning, "But she was turning away, so... did she actually kill him? Or did he just die and she went back to Sidious?"
"Something to ask her I suppose if she bothers to answer," answered Tholme.
Quinlan sighed, glancing down at the clothes and last lightsaber, an air of puzzlement around him, "Alright then, might as well finish up, I'm going to need to sleep this whole thing off like a bad hangover."
He reached down, his hand gripping the lightsaber, before he jolted, giving a sharp yelp and tossing it away from him.
"KRIFFING SHIT!" exclaimed Vos, "That was... way worse."
"Whose lightsaber was that?" asked Obi-Wan.
"Siri's," gritted out Quinlan.
"You saw her fall," said Obi-Wan, eyes widening.
Quinlan took a long moment to collect and center himself before shaking his head. "Some of it, I had to disengage. Getting drawn fully into that is a 'great way' to make myself fall."
"Remind me to never die on Aayla so long as she's my padawan," said Vos, "Because the sensation of Gallia dying and the bond rupturing and bleeding out into Siri's head was kriffing awful."
Obi-Wan pushes back the bubbling memory of Siri almost killing Qui-Gon, of him almost experiencing that himself. "So Master Gallia died, and she fell."
Quinlan frowned thoughtfully, eying the lightsaber. "Not exactly, from what I saw she was a mess, but... the Sith she killed, a... Zabrak, the whole thing is a dark blurry mess, but he was egging her on after, I think. Kept pushing her while she was on the edge of the cliff."
"If Qui-Gon and I had been there," wondered Obi-Wan, "Could we have pulled her..."
"Don't, Padawan Kenobi," said Master Windu softly, "You'll only tear yourself apart with such thoughts. Let it go."
Obi-Wan lets out a breath and sighs. "Where is my Master anyway?"
"In what we assume is their training room," said Master Windu, "The Sith have a collection of weaponry that he wanted to inspect."
Obi-Wan huffed. "Why?"
"Because, if the Sith are trained to use that many different kinds of weapons, there is literally nothing that isn't lethal in their hands," said Master Windu mildly.
"Fair point," conceded Obi-Wan.
Everything in the room was carefully bundled up as evidence, but, one thing he did ask to have.
Master Windu raised a single eyebrow. "Why do you want Tachi's old lightsaber?"
"For when... if... she ever becomes ready to reclaim it."
The counselor sighed and waved it off. "Take it."
Obi-Wan gently picked up the old padawan lightsaber out of the pile, a sad smile crossing his face at the faint presence of Siri, his Siri, the Jedi Padawan, that lingered about it. There was a stain on it, and in the kyber, from her fall, but it was mostly her. He closed his eyes and let go of as much of his anger and frustration with Siri as he could without meditation and clipped it to his belt, a reminder of his goal. He was going to need that reminder from here on out to help him keep going with this. Though, he imagined she wasn't going to be impressed to see it.
He folded his arms into his robes, staring at the emptying cell for a long moment, then he echoed Siri's words, "Where I lay my past to rest."
Dooku moved to stand beside him in a similar fashion. "For all she embodies them, she is a strange Sith. I would have thought she would revel in this, rather than throw it all away in some decrepit cell. Tell me, does it give you 'hope'?"
"Less hope than was taken away by seeing it to begin with," admits Obi-Wan quietly.
Dooku nods approvingly, but doesn't speak further.
Obi-Wan takes in a deep breath, and lets it out. "Grandmaster, if I ever fall, and you can't immediately yank me back, put an end to me before I get this far, please, it would be a kindness."
"Only if you agree the same for me," Dooku answers quietly.
Obi-Wan huffed. "That implies I could take you in a duel, which I really, really, can't."
"I suppose we will have to work on that then, wont we?" posed Dooku.
"Mmm, I'm not going to enjoy the next few months am I?"
"Our job is about duty, not enjoyment," said Dooku in a tone that implied he was the one who was going to be enjoying trouncing Obi-Wan.
"Of course, Grandmaster."
Siri stood in the corner of her room, masked and shrouded, and illusion of herself sitting on her bed, her bond with Obi-Wan shrouded fully.
She was not a coward, she was being cautious. If the Jedi decided to execute her, she'd be slipping away quietly and most likely on the run for the rest of her life from both them and Sidious. Paranoia perhaps, the Jedi were limited by their morals and rules, if they did try to kill her, judicial would have a fit among other things. But its better safe than sorry... especially when she can feel their emotions from here despite their attempts to control and let it go. She waits, patiently, as minute by minute, and then hour, passes by.
Even then, when some Jedi do come, its only to start to pick apart her room for evidence, so she merely has her illusion move to lean against the nearby wall, arms crossed. Eventually, its Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan alone, who comes to her room. He walks in and stares at her illusion, arms hidden in his robes, his face a chiseled mask, but his emotions are easy to detect for her, and she likes little of what she feels, even if its all expected. Then... then she feels something, something old and familiar, and her eyes flicker to his belt...
...and sees her old lightsaber on it.
She stares at it in seething silence, keeping her emotions pinned down as to not alert him to her actual position. But of course, of course, he would still cling, to anything that reminded him of who she used to be. Like she had told Bant, the old Siri was dead and gone. She didn't believe in that nonsense that a Sith was a completely different person than who they used to be. People change, evolve, adapt, that's what a Sith is. Peace and complacency, that is the lie, passion and change were truth. The old Siri had become her.
Perhaps she needed to reinforce this.
"So whats the verdict Kenobi," she drawls, her voice echoing through her illusion, "Off with my head?"
He raises a single, unimpressed eyebrow. "Jedi do not kill their prisoners, execution would be up to the courts, and the verdict has already been passed in that regard. Your crimes in exchange for Sidious's downfall."
She hummed. "And do you now disagree with that decision?"
"I think that if our positions were reversed I'd wish someone would have just killed me before it got to this point," he bit out.
"Testy of you Kenobi."
He narrows his eyes. "Just how many people have you murdered, Siri? How many of our brothers and sisters..."
"Your brothers and sisters," she snapped back, "I am no Jedi, Obi-Wan. Perhaps its time you stopped considering me to be a little lost bantha."
Her was quiet for a few minutes before he asked, "What do you honestly want from this, Siri?"
She took 'this' as to mean everything. "Sidious dead. I've given up on anything else realistically happening."
The else being him.
"And after Sidious is dead?"
"Hells if I know, that's planning way far ahead," she answered in a clipped tone, "I'll take an apprentice of my own at some point, but again, far off."
"You'd subjugate someone else to this?"
She glared at him. "I take a willing apprentice, or none at all, I'm not Sidious."
There is something surprisingly predatory in his gaze. "And what if you find someone whose fallen who doesn't want to be?"
She narrowed her eyes. "Stop playing games Kenobi, you're going somewhere with this, just spit it out."
"Quinlan touched Siolo Ur Manka's staff in your trophy room."
Siri pursed her lips. Of course he did. "Its not my trophy room, Sidious wanted little trinkets as proof of me completing missions, so I collected and dumped them there. Had it been up to me, there would have been nothing left."
"More ways to hide what you did?"
"Its practical to not leave evidence."
His jaw clenched for a moment. "How did Master Ur Manka pull you out of the Dark Side?"
Ah, there it was. "I'm not interested in turning away."
"Who said I was asking for you?"
She raised a single eyebrow at him.
"Its feasible, by the time this is over, that we might need to help others return."
Siri eyed him before scowling and dismissing her illusion. Kenobi jolted as it faded away and Siri faded into view, moving to push aside her bed. There was a clutter of boxes that had various clothes or tools she'd required or acquired for missions at one point or another. Underneath one in the far back was a little piece of floorboard that was innocently uneven. She pried it open, reached down, and pulled out a flimsi journal. She stared down at it for a long moment, not sure if she should be clenching her jaw, or feeling tired, before she stood, walked over, and dumped it in his hands.
"Whats this?"
"His journal."
Obi-Wan studied her. She can imagine all kinds of questions sprouting in his little mind. "Why did you keep it?"
She doesn't answer, walking out instead. She had went looking for answers, for a why he had betrayed her, but... she hadn't been able to stomach even reading past the first page, hearing it in his voice. She hadn't been able to bring herself to burn it either, nor had it been wise to leave it to the Jedi to find at the time, so she had kept it, aware that Sidious might have skinned her alive for doing so if he had found it. Now... its simply the past, she's not the conflicted apprentice she once was years ago.
Let Kenobi and the Jedi have it.
"...and it makes me wonder in awe to have felt it," read Obi-Wan aloud, "That I may be the only Jedi alive in this age to have felt a darksider breaking off from the hold of the Dark Side. She was not some misguided padawan, she had committed grievous sins, and yet, with help, she achieved the impossible. Iris's presence within the force shuddered, like a furry animal shaking her fur to get rid of water and mud dragging her down. It was... beautiful, to see light peeking through the dark, so scared and hurt, but there."
Obi-Wan lets himself dwell on the words for a moment before continuing, "Of course, I then encountered something that may explain why those who are lost chose to stay so. She shattered upon the weight of her sins boring down upon her without the Dark to hide them away. The guilt and grief briefly drove me to my knees in the sudden onslaught of it all. If I had not caught her and put a sleep suggestion upon her, I hold little doubt she would have fled the planet, hounded by her crimes until it drove her either mad or back into the Dark Side. Without someone to guide her, to make her want to try for the light, to give Iris a reason to, I question if she would have been able to do so on her own. I've given it a thought, while others may be involved in the process, it in truth takes one to fall. So perhaps it takes two to come back. The second to give the first a reason to reach for the light."
Obi-Wan stares down at the pages in silence, turning it all over in his head. His and Qui-Gon's apartment had, oddly, turned into an impromptu council meeting room. Every council member and Grandmaster Fay was there, as was Dooku and Qui-Gon. Anakin had, from the corner of Obi-Wan's eyes, peeked in from his room when he was supposed to be doing homework, but he didn't comment on that.
"Is there more?" poses Ki-Adi-Mundi.
Obi-Wan collects himself and continues reading, "Iris was mostly catatonic the following day, dazed, only capable of rudimentary and instinctive actions as her body, mind, and spirit struggled to adjust. The day after, she was... quiet, so very and worriedly quiet. I helped to guide her into her first non-focal point meditation I imagine since she fell, and she meditated for hours. Nearly six hours straight, I was rather concerned if I must admit. Didn't even react to soup being waved under her nose, oh the indignation at my tried and true method of rousing padawns failing."
He cracks a smile at that, a small huff of laughter from one of the other masters. "She was upset coming out of meditation when I drew her out, I imagine she had spent much of it trying to come to terms with herself, but afterwards, I caught her in her wording. I had offered, to take her as my padawan learner, she had accepted, and had expressed pained relief, in her own words, 'I missed having a master, a teacher, who actually cared'. It was something I could not let lay, so I asked, and she had a, I suppose the term would be 'meltdown'. Though, I don't think ill of it, after all, her words of her dark master stealing her from her Jedi Master's still warm corpse was... an awful thing to imagine. To take one who is hurt and lost, then torture them physically and mentally into submission, and turn them into what Iris had become, is an abhorrent thing. A Jedi does not seek to kill, but any encounter with this mystery dark master will end with them having to be put down, of that I am sure."
Obi-Wan exhales. Theoretically, he knew this already, but... the imagery of it was new, of Siri possibly crying of Master Gallia's Corpes before being wrenched away clenches at him. "Afterwards, she slowly started confessing things to me, and... I dread to put them to flimsi. I lay here in bed, dwelling upon it, and I realize that I am missing much. There are hints in her words, that this Dark Master is more than an ordinary darksider. She mentioned criminal linkings, she mentioned that he had her bleed Kyber Crystals. I am not sure she understands the rarity of such things. Bleeding requires a strong darkness, it also requires intent and knowledge that such a thing is possible. It lends credibility to my theory of it being a Dark Side Cult that she may have been inducted into, and yet, she has only mentioned solely the Dark Master, so..."
He frowned. "The writing jerks away," he poked a small wrinkles, maybe spittle, "Coughing fit perhaps."
There is nothing further on that page, so he carefully flips to the next, it only had two parts. "Progress has begun to stall. Between my own rapidly growing illness, and her fears, I am afraid that I might not be around long enough to see her fully embrace the light again. She is deathly afraid, of both the Jedi and her Dark Master. She wakes daily with nightmares that even I struggle to help her with. I grieve for her, such a young child, not more than sixteen or seventeen and put through such a trial. I was foolish, so foolish, to have taken her as my padawan when I am so old, so close to my twilight, it draws closer day by day and I fear what it will do to her if I die."
The next entry, the last entry, is short. "Iris saw my condition, it took me to the ground, my heart felt like it was ripping apart. She was extremely upset. I fear I'm going to run out of time far sooner than I thought. I promised her not to, but I must contact Yoda and seek his help. Hopefully, the old Grandmaster will hear me out."
"That's the last entry."
Master Windu is the first to speak, "If you would pass the journal."
Obi-Wan does so.
Master Windu carefully flicks through the pages. "His earlier notes on the perception altering properties of the Dark Side is... both interesting and alarming. Theoretically, this is already known, those who fall hardly seem like their old selves, or if they do, its twisted versions. But laid out into writing..."
He rubs his chins. "Putting this into practice however would be easier said than done. If she hadn't trusted him to lower her shields for, her pulling away at all from the Dark Side would never have happened. Using the method he used would require a darksider trusting us into their mind to help them, would require them to desire it. In much of our encounters with the Dark Side, in our lifetime and before, how often has both, let alone one, ever happened?"
Not frequently, if at all.
"How many have ever known that turning back was an real option?" posed Qui-Gon.
There was truth in that though.
"There is risk in making that knowledge widespread," countered Master Piell, "Letting it be known that a return is truly possible may make some of our more foolish and reckless youth and knights... experimental, and potentially careless. The damage that could cause... well... that's self explanatory."
"There is truth in both views," said Grandmaster Fay, face serenely unbothered, "So the middle path may be more appropriate to take. This information should, perhaps after more deliberation on the merits and dangers, be revealed to more experienced Masters."
"They'll want to know details and have proof, we may have to have the journal open to them," said Master Koon, crossing his arms, "Suddenly turning around on age old teachings will not be taken readily. Most of the temple after all believes that Siri is here as a source of information, nothing else, regardless of what anyone else in the room may feel on the validity of that."
Master Rancisis sighed in exasperation. "Despite her being the subject of this, we're not here to have yet another argument over the Sith, Master Koon. She's continually caused enough of a mess as it is."
"Especially considering the knowledge of just how many she has killed," rumbled Master Tiin.
"It grieves me, to have a more firm understanding," said Master Koon softly, "But we knew beforehand that her hands were darker and bloodier than what we could confirm."
"And you think we should just allow her to have gotten away with it?" said Master Mundi in a rather un-neutral manner, "I have tried to remain open minded about her potential return, but that has limits. She has slaughtered dozens of Jedi and Service Corps among others, without a shred of guilt, her crimes are not an abstract concept in the slightest..."
"I believe," cut in Dooku scathingly, "That such an argument is best held in the privacy and security of the council chamber if such things as breaching a judicial agreement are to be even considered."
There was an undercurrent of frustration that has Obi-Wan alarmed. Perhaps he hadn't paid enough attention to just how much Siri had driven the Council up a wall. About how much of the mess she'd caused has in turn impacted their duties. There is far less unity than there should be in the council, and not in the critiquing and academically argumentative way, this felt more... fissure like. It was worrying to feel...
"Mmm, right, Dooku is," commented Yaddle quietly, "The place for this, it is not. And break their oaths, Jedi do not. Evil, Tachi is, but far worse, Sidious is. Not doubt of this there is. The lesser evil, the Jedi will take for now. If worsen, Tachi does, their duty, the Jedi will do."
Something in Obi-Wan cringes at Master Yaddle's condemnation. But... its hard to deny, even after reading the journal had given him some more hope, it did not overshadow what he had seen in the Sith's Coruscant compound. Siri... Siri is evil. She is lost and twisted. There is some things that peak through that aren't completely awful, but... its all covered in shadow. Its a heavy pressure on his bones, a crippling weight on his shoulders, because he doesn't know how to help her.
The journal confirmed it, Master Windu's words confirmed it.
Siri would not turn away from the Dark Side unless she wanted to, and he had no idea how to convince her to do so since basic moral decency apparently was worthless to her these days. The selfish idea she had proposed, for both of them to leave... perhaps it could have worked, but it would have come at an extreme cost. Of that, he felt and was certain of. Both himself and Siri removed from the table, no longer opposing Sidious and instead hiding out somewhere far away. It would be abandoning their duties, leaving their brothers and sisters, and the Republic, to Sidious's mercy. They were by no means defenseless, but, he knew Siri was important to taking Sidious down, and because of her, so was he. And if Sidious won? Obi-Wan doubted he would have left either of them alone, he would have hunted them relentlessly.
He sat down on the couch as the council spilled out of the room, staring down at his hands, completely lost on what to do...
Notes:
Unfortunately for them, 'experienced Masters' technically included Jorus C'Baoth. It will take time, but those cracks will spread...
Chapter 50: Shrouds of Deceit
Chapter Text
Sidious decides that this had been a rather good week. His approval ratings are through the roof. Several new senators under his control had been 'voted in' to replace those lost to the corruption probe. One of the justices of the Supreme Court had died under 'mysterious circumstances', allowing him to replace one. Vosa had finally showed she wasn't completely incompetent in anything other than killing something, having made a fascinating contact in a Force Null called Grant Omega who had a grudge against the Jedi (and wasn't the parentage of that one an interesting delight to strike at Jinn at some point), perhaps now her mouth wouldn't get her killed on a more delicate matter on Dathomir he had been toying with. Tachi had gotten around to bringing the Jedi to the old warehouse in the Works, and oh he could feel and feed off of the negativity from here it was delicious, it hadn't gone down, if anything, it was slowly spreading. Finally, he had gotten around to seeing if he could modify the Veil of the Dark Side, to imbue new properties and fine tune his control of it as more than just a blanket shrouding darkness to block the Jedi on certain matters, and the answer was a resounding, delightful, malicious yes.
Oh the things he was going to do with it when the final war began...
But that was musings for later, he had an appointment with the Jedi Master walking in.
"Ah, I'm glad you could make it, Master Jinn," said Sidious in a warm tone, and it was the truth, for this meeting at least. Oh Jinn had no idea how delighted he was about to make Sidious.
"Chancellor," greeted Jinn in neutral politeness, tipping his head, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Sidious allowed himself a public moment of hesitation, knowing and seeing Jinn take note of it. "This is nothing official, or anything of that nature. It's more… personal I suppose, a matter concerning someone we are both rather fond of, your young Padawan."
Qui-Gon allowed a subtle frown to cross his face. "Anakin?"
"I have, in getting to known Anakin, tried to also attain a deeper understanding of the Jedi and the requirements to be one," explained Sidious in a slow, carefully manner, "Such as their views on attachment, and as that pertains to him, especially to his mother."
Qui-Gon, for all he didn't physically show it, had an air of incredibility about him, since the man doesn't know him to be Force Sensitive, his shields are not as tight as they should be, the feeling that come off him seem to state –I expect this from the Council, not a politician-. "With due respect Chancellor, Anakin is young, and only just starting on the Jedi Path."
"Oh, I agree," said Sidious, "And that is why I asked you to be here now, rather than later. You see, I am very fond of the boy, for what he did for my homeworld, and his general encouraging nature, I will confess, that I researched you when I learned you to be his master, and while I found nothing wrong, it did bring up something that led to this meeting."
Qui-Gon nods slowly, not seeming phased by the inquiry into himself, "It's understandable to be concerned for him. I am curious about what exactly was brought up."
Sidious licked his lips in an allowed method of nervousness. "Xanatos Du Crion."
Qui-Gon instantly locked down, face chiseled in stone.
"His final mission as your padawan was a dreadful thing to read about," said Sidious, an air of fake sympathy given the man, "But, his obsessiveness with his father, and how it was used to turn him into what he became…"
Qui-Gon saw where he was going, frowning intently, voice almost harsh, "Anakin is not Xanatos, and his mother is nothing like Crion. Even if she were somehow to achieve a position to, she would not try to use her son like that."
"Oh, I agree," said Sidious, watching Qui-Gon relax slightly, "I agree that neither sets are exactly alike, but… Anakin mentions his mother frequently, almost obsessively when a Jedi is supposed to let go…"
"It's understandable that he misses her," countered Qui-Gon firmly, "Anakin is still learning…"
"Even when he has vocalized some things that would be morally questionable about freeing her?" cuts in Sidious.
Qui-Gon grew still, his Force Signature blaring that he wanted to be anywhere but here at the moment listening to this. "Such as?"
"Some of the words he spoke to me left me… unsettled, so I pried a little, and I asked him if he'd break the law to get his mother out of slavery," said Palpatine, pressing a button on his desk to start up a recording off one of his earlier meetings with Skywalker several months ago, "And this was his response."
"Hutt law I'd break in a heartbeat! The sleemos are all hypocrites anyway, they break their own laws every day!" says the recording of Anakin, face dark, voice laced with anger and hate.
Qui-Gon jaw sets, grimacing.
"I understand where he is coming from," said Sidious in placation, "However, such things as I understand are not the Jedi Way, and what's more, while the Hutts and their so called law are nothing exemplary, the willingness to break one set of laws…"
"Can lead to disregard or breaking of another," finishes Qui-Gon, looking tired and frustrated.
Of course, the most beautiful thing about this was that it had all been done with simple editing to cut out the previous few seconds, where Anakin had actually hesitated about breaking the law before Sidious had narrowed it down to Hutt law for him. Technology was a marvelous thing, wasn't it?
"The love for a mother is a beautiful thing, but such things can become twisted," mused Sidious, "I show you this not to condemn young Skywalker, far from it, I want to see him become the best he could be. But, that won't happen if he unintentionally follows down Xanatos's path. However, it's not my place to guide and direct him, it's yours."
"Agreed," said Qui-Gon thinly, staring at the recording, flicking his wrist to play it again with the Force. He looked like he couldn't rationalize the hate on the young boy's face. Did he truly think Skywalker was so absurdly innocent that he knew not of hate? Oh the boy was sickeningly light to look like at times, yes, but there were dark stains all through him if one knew where to look. He wondered if Jinn had ever bothered to truly look for them in his 'prodigal boy of prophecy'. Shattering ideals was such a amusing pastime.
"I can also shamefully admit, the boy brings a bright light to my normally droll and tiring days, I hesitate on speaking this to him because upsetting him and driving him away…" Sidious trails off, leaving a helpless air about him.
Qui-Gon exhales. "He is a good boy, of that we agree, it brightens my day as well to see him grow and learn, so I understand the desire not to whenever I have to offer discipline and constructive criticism. I do not have an excuse however, it is my duty, as his master, to keep him on the right path. I thank you for bringing this to my attention, though…"
He hesitates, looking at the hologram, conflict apparent on his face. "Anakin is just a boy, the Council already has doubts about him, if they… would you…"
"Say no more," says Sidious, hitting a few buttons and deleting the entire section, including the parts that could have implicated him for inciting the whole conversation and at least softened the upcoming blow to Skywalker, "It will be as if it never happened."
Qui-Gon gave him an appreciative nod. "Thank you, Chancellor."
Sidious stood by the window after Jinn left, staring outward aimlessly. It had went well. He did not particularly desire Skywalker over Tachi, but he would be a fool not to plant seeds to be potentially harvested later, or at least cause friction and distrust between Skywalker and the Jedi that could get the boy killed later on if he needed to be eliminated, and this had been so very easy to plant.
Would be so very easy to reap.
Jinn would become stricter, and perhaps if he was more fortunate, like some of the harsher portrayals he had heard of the man early on in Kenobi's apprenticeship. In turn, this would drive Skywalker to Sidious with his frustrations. Jinn would believe they were on the same page, that he would 'help' with Anakin's attachment problems…
He smiled with malice. He would encourage the boy to bury it instead in order to fit in, he would explain that after all, the Jedi couldn't 'possibly' understand his worries and fears about his mother, they had never had parents. They had never been slaves, so how could they 'fathom' what he had been through? Bury it all, leave it untreated, don't seek help or an outlet except to Sidious himself…
And when Shmi Skywalker died in… oh what was a good number before he had her killed? Three to four years? There would be a permanent scar between Skywalker and the Jedi, more importantly, between Skywalker and Jinn.
Now, there was one last thing he needed to do for the day…
His smile turned absolutely sinister with delight.
…cut his apprentice off from the Veil of the Dark Side.
Its odd to say that Siri finds she actually misses the dining hall excursions.
But, since she had gotten back last week from her first outing from the Temple aside from the 'trial', she hadn't bothered to leave her room, having the guards outside get her meals for her. She thought it intelligent to make herself scarce. Especially since she's pretty sure what was learned there hadn't been kept quiet, or someone had leaked it. There has been a lot more negativity directed at her, most an ordinary amount she would expect, and yet, there some that hold a loathing that is oddly intense for Jedi. Its something the Dark Side whispers about, something important...
She moves the couch to the side of the room and sits in the middle, kneeling down in meditation, reaching for the Dark and demanding an answer...
Then her world is uplifted and thrown asunder.
The Dark Side suddenly abandons her, howling mocking laughter as it floats out of reach. She is briefly stunned, confused, shocked, then she growls in fury and lashes out, reaching to grab and yank it to her. She can feel its power pulse through her veins, but its as if any direction or insight, mocking or otherwise, is gone. She focuses, drawing her emotions to her intensely, reaching out to draw the veil around her while she works, not wanting to have the Jedi get in a fit...
Except the veil slips through her fingers.
She stares through the Force in utter bafflement, trying to understand, then demanding an answer of 'Why?' There is something, but its like its coming from a distance, a muffled whisper, like its trying to pass through something, almost like...
No.
No no no no no...
Like its trying to pass through a veil...
Black anger and rage pulses from of her. "That kriffing bastard!"
He cut her off from the Veil of the Dark Side! But how?!
There comes a knock at her door, and Obi-Wan calls through. "Siri? I can feel you upsetting the Creche from here."
Siri scowls and tries to wrap herself in a shroud-except she can't. Her throat seizes, blind panic rising through her. One method of cloaking her presence after another passes through her mind and fails. Aside from casting an incantation, any of her go-to ways she uses incorporates the Veil of the Dark Side in some way, shape, or form. They all stutter out, her presence flickering in the Force. Some attempts disperse before they can even begin, few can be maintained with any degree of sustainability. She grinds her teeth, shoves down her fear, and goes grim, thoughts whirling.
She can't use the Veil, no use crying over spilled blue milk. It literally shakes her control over most of her more intricate abilities. She's going to have to re-learn how to do almost everything without the Veil. She's not sure she even trusts her sorcery at the moment, though she will try in a pinch. The best she can do for the moment is raise her mental shields as high as they can go. Damn it, damn him, damn Sidious. How was he even able to do that? She thought the Veil clouded the lightsiders only. Being able to block other darksiders with it... is this a blanket thing over EVERYONE not Sidious? Or has he just done it for her specifically? If the latter... that was really bad, to be able to block specific individuals.
She'd been reliant on the Veil, far to reliant.
Almost like... like a crutch.
A snarl escapes her lips. She had become complacent in her security with the Veil, and now she's been caught offguard by it.
If she had been in a fight or mid-mission, rather than secure in this room, she'd be dead.
That was unacceptable.
Now Obi-Wan is knocking more insistently. "Siri, I'm coming in."
She opens her eyes, lips pursed, as he barges in, the comlink on his belt is buzzing for attention, probably about her. "Is there a particular reason you're broadcasting that heavily?"
She stares at him for a long moment, considering if she should reveal what Sidious has done. It would admit a weakness, but on the other hand, it would lessen expectations. On the other, other hand... it lessens her usefulness, she's already spilled most of the information she's willing to. Though Jedi aren't the Sith, she wont be tossed out or killed off simply because she's no longer useful. Which isn't the case anyway, she's still capable of beating the rank and file of the Jedi in spars, and she will figure out how to re-do her own shrouding, so the little Shadows can keep trying to find her. On her own, without needing the crutch of the Veil.
Actually...
Yes... she can use the Shadows, to test her own adaptions, but that is later, much later, once she actually figures out how.
She sucks in her pride and speaks, "Sidious cut me off from the Veil of the Dark Side."
Obi-Wan goes still. "What exactly does that mean?"
She gritted out, "I'm as clouded as the Jedi are now."
He frowns, and then she feels a pass from him for the truth, and she growls at him for it, but lowers her shields enough for him to sense she's not lying. He folds his arms into his robes. "Why now all the sudden?"
"I don't know, I didn't know it was even possible to block darksiders with it," she admits.
"I suppose I will need to inform the council."
She doesn't comment, not blind to him watching her for a reaction. Sidious laid far worse and less obvious traps in his words than Kenobi tries to. She's not going to ask him to do otherwise, she's not that stupid, especially after last week. He waits for a few more moments for her to say something before her gives her a curt nod and turns to the door. "Try to reign it in though."
"Maybe, just for you, I'll show how pissed I am to the temple with my shields fully down," she answered snidely.
He didn't answer, walking out.
She sighed, but didn't do that, she wasn't fully lowering her shields ever again if the choice was hers. She shook her head, closed her eyes, returned to meditation, and began experimenting with using the Dark without the Veil...
"Curious," mused Grandmaster Fay after Obi-Wan finished his brief report, "Considering the Dark Side's tendency for its users to turn and devour one another, its not as surprising as it should be. Yet the timing..."
"To be frank," said Master Windu, "I'm more surprised that up until now, Sidious has done nothing else to censure his apprentice. He cut out one memory and anything related to it in an attack, but that was it."
"Its not as if he can simply waltz in here to do otherwise," commented Master Tiin.
"Can't he?" posed Master Piell, "Assuming he is capable of the same methods of hiding himself as his apprentice, he could very easily come in, murder her, and walk out, with us none the wiser until we discover her. He could potentially do that at will to anyone."
"I am assuming that is a risk he does not wish to take," rebutted Master Windu, "One single mistake or slip up, and he is surrounded by the entire Jedi Temple."
"Either way, living in fear of such a possibility is nothing a Jedi should do," commented Master Koon, "Be mindful, yes, but fear it, no."
That got a collective nod from the council.
"I believe on the subject of this report, that there may be a point we have not considered," said Master Mundi before cleared his threat. "Padawan Kenobi?"
"Yes?"
"Do you believe the Sith Apprentice's words?" posed Master Mundi.
Obi-Wan nodded. "She let me feel for the truth."
"How can we trust that?" Master Mundi continued to press, "For all we know, this 'Veil of the Dark Side' could allow her to lie and pass as truth through the Force."
"I don't believe so."
"Not that I agree or disagree, but what is your reasoning?" asked Master Piell.
"Because, if I can't trust the Force, how can I trust anything or anyone?" asked Obi-Wan, "I refuse to live like that."
Grandmaster Fay hums, approval a brief flicker through the Force before she returns to her serene calm. "On that note, there is something about this 'Veil' that I have considered. Padawan Kenobi, please tell us two truths and a lie."
Obi-Wan blinked, slightly confused by the request. "Qui-Gon Jinn is my master, Yan Dooku is my Grandmaster, and I like the color red."
That got an amused huff from some of them.
"Now, consider," said Grandmaster Fay, "That ignoring the obviousness of it, we can feel for the truth with the Force. So I ask, why is such an ability not blocked by the Veil? Cutting the Order off from such guidance could cause incredible disarray."
Obi-Wan blinked.
Several of the other masters mirrored such a reaction. Master Windu rubbed his chin in thought. "I can feel the guidance of the Force in combat, sparring or otherwise. Depriving us of the ability to feel a blaster bolt coming could kill many a Jedi caught unexpected by it."
"On my last diplomatic mission," admitted Obi-Wan, "I felt nudges here and there in the negotiations."
They went a round across the Council pointing out various things they could hear from the Force.
"About the only thing truly blocked," mused Master Koon, "Is anything specific to the Sith and their machinations. Meditating on the future as well has been clouded, visions troubling, more difficult to interpret than normal."
"As Master Yoda likes to say, hard to see the Dark Side is," said Master Piell, ever the counterpoint, "We might still be able to do much of this, but can we say whether it is as it was? The curtain this Veil casts has been slowly growing for so long, I cannot with confidence recall if the guidance I receive now is less than I received years decades ago."
The collective council pauses to reflect.
Obi-Wan spoke quietly, "In my much shorter years, I do believe I receive less guidance now than I did as a child, or even a decade ago. I... used to be gifted in the Unifying Force, I was unusually prone amount of visions when I was in the creche, that slowly tapered off as the years passed. I still receive them on occasion, but, I wonder if perhaps it wasn't simply 'growing out of it'."
"Mmm," hummed Yaddle, "Recall I do, that concerns your Crechemaster had, about their frequency. To balance with the here and now, an argument Yoda gave, for why Master Jinn was good for you."
He's not quite sure 'dreams pass in time' was the appropriate response to visions, but, he's fairly certain his Master mostly told him that while he himself fretted over the possible implications. Or not. Qui-Gon had a habit of simply going with the flow and putting the future out of mind. Sometimes that really, truly frustrated Obi-Wan. Other times, Obi-Wan was more than happy to shove darker undecipherable visions out of his head and forget about them. Now he wonders if some of those were warnings of what was to possibly come.
"There is another point of view that I myself bring," offered Grandmaster Fay, "I have never felt so besieged or clouded by the Dark Side since coming to Coruscant. Even in the halls of this Temple. It is as different as walking and breathing upon unspoiled world compared to a heavily industrial world. Everything covered in smog."
Master Windu's lips tighten. "So it wasn't my imagination then."
There are murmurs of agreement from the rest of the Council.
"The epicenter of the Veil of the Dark Side is here, upon Coruscant," stated Grandmaster Fay.
It wasn't a question.
None of them took it as such either.
"I don't know the Dark Side," said Obi-Wan, "But I think Sidious ripping a memory from Siri would require some kind of proximity, or at least being on the same planet."
"Sidious is very likely based on Coruscant then," said Master Piell, "To create such a long lasting and heavy stain upon the Force that this Veil is."
"Most likely," agreed Master Windu, he seemed even more solemn than normal.
"Considering this," said Master Koon quietly, "I am not comfortable with our younglings remaining on Coruscant. It may be prudent to investigate abandoned temples across the galaxy for use."
"And you think that sending them out from the safety of being surrounded by our knights, masters, and members of this very council is the better solution?" asked Master Mundi, "If anything, they would be more vulnerable elsewhere."
"That would depend entirely upon where they were sent, and the secrecy of the location," countered Master Koon.
"That, is something to be argued later," cut in Master Windu before his gaze fixed on Obi-Wan, "Thank you for the report Padawan Kenobi, you are dismissed."
Right, topics not for him. He bowed respectfully and left, retreating to his room and his thoughts. He stretches out with his senses first to see how Siri's settled. Her shields are up, the Dark Side swirling softly around her in personal contemplation. He pauses... taking notice of an oddity. Her presence has a more solid feel to it, less elusive. Obvious in hindsight, but he had never correctly attributing that sensation as coming from the Veil itself rather than as a part of Siri. It allows him to better try to read her, or would have, if she hadn't responded to his prodded with the mental equivalent of flicking his forehead and telling him to buzz off.
He huffs before he falls into a light meditation, not to try and seek out the Force's guidance, but to better organize what he thinks and feels. The first thing that strike him was that this was perhaps the first time he has felt actual real true fear from Siri since she regained access to the Dark Side out of the Force Suppressant Cell. Waking up temporarily damaged from Sidious's attack hadn't come close to that moment of blind panic. He had honestly been worried she didn't feel fear at all.
Fear was a natural emotion, a normal response to certain situations and stimuli, it let someone know they were in danger. Jedi felt fear just as much as anyone else did, the goal wasn't to eradicate it, but to not let the emotion control them, to release it to the Force after acknowledging it. Not feeling fear at all was libel to make someone suicidally reckless and irresponsible with their own lives and potentially the lives of others. Not to mention their actions and how they are perceived. He had been a tad worried Siri would eventually do something and get herself in even more trouble than she already was in, or get her badly injured or killed. For all he knew she already had during her apprenticeship to Sidious. He pondered if fear in herself was another emotion weakened/suppressed by the Dark Side.
He let his thoughts shift. Looking past his initial balking at any part of the Order retreating from the Sith, he could understand Master Koon wanting to secret their young to the farthest corner of the galaxy far far away from Sidious and his sick twisted influence. He didn't want what had happened to Siri to happen to anyone else. Not to mention, he missed the clearness of the Force from his youth, he wanted the next generation to grow up outside of the Veil's shroud. But where would possibly be safe? They had no clue what temples were or were not known to by the Sith. There was also the worried thought, about how Sidious had known about what Siri had revealed so quickly and retaliated. How could they know if there was a potential spy in their midst?
Finally, he turned his thoughts to the Veil itself, and what had been discussed in the meeting. As he lingers on it, he considers something. Relatively, Siri and Sidious being actively against eachother is new. The Sith Lord might have never had to use the Veil against another Darksider before, never considered it. The timing could be as simple as him only just figuring out how. Or he only just got around to it, Siri had likely caused a mess he had to deal with from her revelations. Or there's something else they've failed to consider. Perhaps the timing was to hammer in on Siri after they discovered the warehouse, its likely he knew they found it. That would fit, set Siri more against the Jedi and vise versa then they already were followed up by cutting access from one of the Sith's most powerful tools. She's definitely more isolated than she has been in awhile, not that she didn't bring most of it on herself. Obi-Wan's not quite sure in the end which it is.
He sighs aloud and slowly lets his thoughts drifting away, entering into a full meditation, looking for the strength he's going to need to deal with Siri in the weeks, months, and years to come...
Chapter 51: The Chosen One (Part 1)
Chapter Text
3 Years later...
"Supernova, what are you doing on my couch?"
The constant pest of Siri's life, shooting-up-like-a-weed Anakin Skywalker, lazes about in her apartment, probably after yet another petulant argument with Jinn, taking up space on her precious divine font of relaxation, like he owns the place. "Homework?"
"With your datapad haphazardly thrown on the table not in your hands?"
"I'm thinking about my homework."
"You're full of shit Skywalker."
"Well, I probably should go use the fresher..."
Siri snorts and walks past him to her room, fishing out her limited-use comlink, and sends out a comm-request. Might as well go badger the master if the padawan was going to be a pest. She was fine with Supernova goofing off in the dining halls, but this was her room. Which he had invited himself in again. Most importantly, she had been planning on lazing herself! Little shit wasn't allowed to beat her to it.
"Jinn here."
"Your padawan is being an annoyance again."
Jinn sighs, long-suffered. "Doing what exactly, Tachi?"
"Taking up my couch space, you have one in your apartment!"
"Must you always complain about him to me on trivial matters? It grows tiresome."
"I suppose you'd prefer stepping in to spar the next time the Council calls for a session? The only time we ever fought I recall putting a lightsaber through your liver rather easily. You could use the practice."
Jinn's response is crisp, "Anakin, as much as I think he spends far to much time with you, is responsible for and capable of making his own choices, as are you. If you truly want him out of your apartment, ask him to leave and he will."
He clicks off the comlink, and Siri rolls her eyes. "Definitely still sore about the liver."
She turns back towards her room, considering how she's going to drive off her little limpet today. Between him and Kenobi, she's running out of creative ways to send them running that don't involve just snapping at them and ordering them out. There's no fun in that! Yesterday, she'd walked out of her room towards her fresher in her undergarments, and that had been enough to send Skywalker skittering away flustered. That hadn't worked the first time it had happened awhile back, with the whole shameless slave thing, buuuut, the onset of teenage hormones were a new thing for the brat. Couldn't use the same thing twice though, wouldn't be fun.
Hmm...
Ah! She had it.
She sauntered back out, lifted the couch (with him still on it) up with the Force and put it against the wall.
"Hey!"
She put the table next to it. "I'm meditating, and I always sit in the middle of the room, deal with it Supernova."
He grumbled, but went back to lazing.
She sat on the floor cross legged and started to meditate, but not in a nice way. She didn't bother masking or containing her meditation to herself, letting the dark fill the room.
"Rude," called out Anakin.
She nestled into her meditation, not particularly on anything but drawing the dark around her and flaunting it around the room. A challenge, a dare. Just to see how long Skywalker would stay. Obi-Wan didn't usually stick around for these, or if he did, it was because he was trying to muffle it when she wasn't so she didn't 'bother' others. Made that a competition between the two of them sometimes.
No one besides her was impressed when they did that.
She felt Supernova rise from the couch, but there wasn't annoyance emanating from him, no, there was challenge fired right back at her instead, and a thread of something like waited anticipation. He approached, sat down a ways in front of her, and started delving into his own meditation. She winced as his presence flared in the Force, and a scowl crossed her face. That little shit...
"Could you meditate elsewhere, Supernova?" she said dryly, "Your presence is ruining my own."
"That sounds like not my problem," answered Anakin.
Siri held back her laugh. He definitely was spending to much time around her.
"But, since I'm feeling nice, I'll help."
It took Siri a moment to register exactly what Skywalker was implying. "Wait a second..."
To late.
Skywalker's meditation reached out barreled into her own, mixing in, and it was like a nova surged through the Force with them as the epicenter when he did. Like gravity, she was pulled into his own meditation without even wanting or trying to and...
And...
It was beautiful.
She let go of her own efforts and just watched, from within a star named Anakin Skywalker. If she had to give an analogy that wasn't nearly worthy enough: Normal Jedi and Sith saw a planet, perhaps a solar system if they were particularly strong. Skywalker saw a universe. The scope of what he could feel and see through the Force completely blew her away. Colors and shapes and whispers and sensation that she couldn't even begin to process. So deep and encompassing and full of energy and power she barely fathom, it was so overwhelming but she wanteditcravedithadtohaveitmakeithersownit...
She dove in right into his meditation without hesitation, deeper, deeper and deeper and deeper regardless of the pressure and the heat and the beginings of pain. There was something she couldn't properly identify waiting for her in its depths, beyond where Anakin's consciousness dwelled, dark and light and blazing and pulsing with an energy she had never felt before, not even on a Force Nexus. Like... like a heart, it beat with a divine -thump thump-, and she reached for it... deeper, trying... to... reach...
Then it was like eyes looked upon her.
-Balance?-
Didn't... couldn't... understand...
-No-
Then everything turned into blazing pain as she touched it and the energy burned and rejected her...
Siri found herself being laid down in a bed in the Halls of Healing by Kenobi. Everything ached, not in a hurt way, but in a holy-shit-everything-is-hyper-sensitive kind of way. She felt something running down her face and shakily reached a hand up, coming away bloody. A lot of bloody. Way more than a simple bloody nose kind of bloody. She slow blinked stupidly at the blood. Why was she bleeding?
"W...wah... what?" she slurred out.
"Welcome to meditation with Anakin Skywalker," said Obi-Wan dryly, "Except you have no sense of self-preservation and, from what Anakin said, dove right in where he can't even stand to go yet without it going... I believe he says 'kablooey'."
She stared numbly at her hand for a minute before looking up at him. "W...wh... at?"
He gives her a concerned look. "Master Che is going to need to take a look at your head, and while I know you hate the binders, being numbed to the Force might help right now. Its like you are a burning throb in the Force, Siri."
"A... w... hat...?"
About twenty minutes later, a pair of Force Binders on her wrists, and Vokra Che having soothed the worst of it, but not nearly all of it, 'I'm not getting the afteraffects of that burn because of her own foolishness, Padawan Kenobi.' and Siri finally can think of more than the fact that her nose was bleeding. She tolerates the mild Force Suppression for the moment, because that's the only way anything is close to tolerable. She tries, and fails badly, to understand what the hell happened.
"Define 'kablooey'," she asks.
Obi-Wan takes a chair and sits down while Master Che is filling out information on a datapad in the doorway. "When Anakin tries to go deep into meditation things tend to... break, around him. He is learning well, extraordinarily even from what I've seen, but fine control of the Force is not one of his best traits."
But critically, no mention of Supernova ending up like Siri had. Which meant... which meant Anakin could harness that power one day...
The shock of it settles deep into Siri, only with her training does she mask how that roils through her. To realize just how vastly she had underestimated Skywalker. Him being the most powerful Force Sensitive ever born was a very poor allusion to his true strength. Chills settle into her bones, because she was wrong. So very wrong. Anakin doesn't have the potential to be stronger than Sidious, than Yoda, than anyone.
He already is.
He just doesn't know it.
Doesn't know how to tap into it.
Doesn't have the experience to do so.
"I see," was all she allowed out.
Yet more than pure power... he had been unique. Different. Strange. She had felt within him nothing she had ever felt from anyone else. Something... other. That deep into meditation he had felt... more Force than he did a sentient lifeform, it was bizarre. She had always taken Skywalker to be just a super powered Force Sensitive, but this... there was something more to this.
She needs to investigate, carefully...
Then the topic of their conversation barreled into the room with worry and guilt on his face. "Siri, you okay?"
She ought to have said something sarcastic, sassy, or cutting, but instead she finds herself remembering that moment, that heart of his meditation, staring at him and whispering, "What are you?"
"I'm a person and my name is Anakin," he answers back flatly, his concern melting away to annoyance.
Do something, her mind, no, the dark hisses at her. Covet, lure, tempt, posses, own...
Siri does nothing but stare at Anakin, slightly wide eyed. Long enough to make the boy shift from annoyed to uncomfortable.
Obi-Wan cleared his throat and standing up. "I think Siri needs a bit to orient herself after that. Resting here for the rest of the day and the night could do you good Siri, you presence still feels rough. Come, lets go Anakin."
Siri's eyes trail after Anakin long after he has left...
"I'll admit I was... a little unsettled by Siri's reaction to Anakin himself," said Obi-Wan, to a small gathering of Windu, Fay, Qui-Gon, and Dooku by hologram in a hastily set up meeting room.
"To my knowledge," came in Dooku's crisp voice, "She has never taken the Prophecy of the Chosen One seriously. Albeit the validity of that prophecy is still in question among even the Council, despite the return of the Sith."
"That might have more to do with Skywalker himself," said Windu, arms crossed and shooting Jinn a quelling look before he could speak, "For all the strength in the Force he possess, he is worse than you ever were Qui-Gon. His continual disregard for our rules and tradition. His acquaintanceship with the Sith over his fellows certainly hasn't helped matters."
"Perhaps if his fellows had been more welcoming...," began Qui-Gon.
Windu shook his head. "Perhaps if his issues and infractions were not so readily overlooked compared to the rest of the padawans and initiates..."
"Enough," said Fay.
One word, calm tone, but point made.
Fay turns her ageless eyes upon Obi-Wan. "What we believe of Skywalker is irrelevant to this conversation. What the Sith believes is this meeting's purpose. My understanding of them is that Skywalker believes he is 'helping' with your own efforts, and the Sith finds him as entertainment. Is this correct?"
"Mostly," admits Obi-Wan, "I... do believe Anakin considers them friends, but I don't know about Siri."
She peers closely at him, and Obi-Wan will admit it always unnerves him when her unblinking eyes watch him like that. "Sith do not believe in friends."
Obi-Wan bites back a retort, because for the most part, its true. But, Siri is... weird, by her own admission she's not typical or an 'perfect example' of a Sith, what with her own attachments. Regardless, Fay is not Yoda, and for all her reputation proceeds her, he still doesn't know her, he's not going to engage in that conversation with her unless he is forced to.
"Do you believe, if her opinion of the Prophecy, or at least the threat Skywalker may posses to her, has changed, that she will disengage on her deal with the courts and attempt to harm, kill, or convert him?" posed Fay.
Obi-Wan reflexively balks at that, even if it is a legitimate question towards a Sith. He takes a moment to acknowledge and release the feeling to the Force and consider the question. He gets a faint sense of approval from Windu at that, but nothing else.
"No," said Obi-Wan, "Cold logic dictates that being encircled by the Jedi Order is still her safest bet at staying away from Sidious and staying alive. If she breaks her word and flees from her parole, which she would have to do if she hurt Anakin, she will have the entire galaxy after her. Republic, Jedi, Sidious, and whoever he employees. She's roughly four years into her parol, I don't see her giving up on it without an extreme reason."
Fay hums. "And personally...?"
"She likes Anakin, as much as she can like anyone," who isn't Obi-Wan himself, "She is possessive and protective of those she likes."
"Do you expect such an attitude to continue if the person in question becomes a threat?" posed Windu.
"Unless Anakin attacks her, I don't think she'll knowingly harm him," answers Obi-Wan, "And there is an entire temple to keep an eye on both of them if she tries to convert him, but, I've been told she was truthful when last questioned about an apprentice. She doesn't want Anakin."
"I think speculation is a pointless thing," says Qui-Gon, "We can guess and predict, but Tachi has a habit of continually surprising us regardless. Live within the moment, watch, and see what she does."
"Well, it appears some of my wisdom stuck on you, Qui-Gon," mused Dooku teasingly.
Qui-Gon huffed. "Common sense you mean, Master."
"I also taught you to try to have a backup plan," continued Dooku, teasing turning into pointed focus, "I do not like the time Tachi and my grandpadawan spend together. If we are given any reason to, I believe a more lasting separation than 'don't interact', especially when your padawan wont even listen to it, may be in order. The boy is eager for missions, is he not? Bouncing him between missions and taking classes through the holonet could serve this purpose."
"That is an awful long time to be away from the temple," said Obi-Wan quietly.
Dooku nods. "It is, and wont be enacted unless necessary. But I have watched Skywalker, he has little tying him down here as it is. So long as he is with someone he is attached to, I doubt he cares where he is."
...fair point.
The thing about having Supernova barreling in all of the time is that he left plenty of evidence.
Siri hums to herself as she combs over her couch and starts plucking strands of his hair off it to put under a scanner later when the lights were out. All the while she is trying to control how wild the Dark is going in her. It is baying for Skywalker's power, going ballistic to own and posses it. She doesn't like how it is tugging at her, making demands and trying to bend her to its will. She hasn't felt this kind of heavy or intense pressure since she was a novice apprentice.
She probably ought to be resting as Kenobi suggested, trying to get control of herself again.
But there is a steady pulse under her skin, a hum to the Force as a whole. There is a push, not of the Dark, but just... there. That this is important. There is something she needs to see, to understand. She finds she cannot bring herself to wait, to be patient. She needs this answer.
...but not badly enough to barge back into the Halls of Healing in broad daylight.
So she returns to her bed and lays down, staring up at the ceiling, lost in the memory of that meditation and riding the wave of Dark Side craving of it. She's managed to settle herself into eager mission-focus by the time night falls. She wraps herself in the dark, leaving an illusion of herself resting on her bed, seeding her presence in the area as she quiets and masks her 's had practice doing this without the Veil against Shadows in the lower levels as part of their exercises, but this will be her first attempt in a situation where getting caught will get her in trouble.
She slips out quietly, masking the sound of the door opening and closing, moving down mostly empty hallways. The Temple Guards and night roamers not seeing nor noticing her. She carefully enters the halls, taking note of the healer's present, and moves to a side room. She carefully rifles through drawers for a scanner and begins.
If she's honest, she should have done this years ago. She feeds the little machine she pulls out a few strands of hair and waits. Blood tests are far more accurate, but hair can be used in the species that have them to determine an estimate of a midichlorian count. A moment later it beeps and spews out an estimated number at her that flips her world upside down.
She gapes at the reading she gets. "Over twenty-five thousand?!"
The boy has just barely hit puberty and started growing. What the hells is his count going to be when his body has fully grown!? There is no Jedi, no Sith, over twenty, not Yoda, and not likely Sidious. Yet Skywalker is probably going to break thirty-thousand. She knew he would end up stronger than Sidious if he lived that long, but there was being stronger, and then there was ending up likely twice as strong as the most powerful Sith ever born.
Who in the hell were this kid's parents?
She checks for DNA, and is actually kind of surprised that the boy's mother does come up in a registry, no midichlorian count though. One child, Shmi, had been born in the Republic before becoming a slave. It pings a very old missing person's report for a ship bound for Outer Rim Territories. So the boy hadn't lied or anything about his mother. There is no last name listed on the birth certificate, certain parts of the galaxy were weird like that without clan names or the like. She is idly curious where and why Shmi came up with the name Skywalker, but pushes it off as irrelevant. Especially when she goes to look at the paternal DNA, and comes up completely blank.
Literally.
There is no paternal DNA.
"What the kriff?" she whispers.
She runs the report again, to be sure, same results.
"How?" she mutters to herself.
Then a voice speaks out calmly, "Through the Force, all things are possible."
Siri tenses and slowly turns to find Grandmaster Fay standing calmly in the doorway, staring at her.
Kriff.
"I'm pretty sure this is beyond the norm for such things," says Siri dryly, starting a 'casual' conversation as if she wasn't in shit for this, "He has no paternal DNA, yet reads as not near-human, not humanoid, but human, and not a clone. I'm rather curious to see what his DNA looks like under a microscope."
"The shape is normal enough, the Force fills in where other necessities would be needed," answers Fay, making a beckoning motion with a finger and levitating the machine out of Siri's fingers.
Fay regards her for a long moment. "He is born of the Force, that has never been hidden. I find myself curious, Sith, why you have a difficult time accepting this."
"Other than the fact I thought you all were full of shit for the last few years, I just barely discovered that Skywalker shouldn't actually be capable of living with all the DNA he is likely missing as a human," Siri answered flatly.
"And now?"
"I wouldn't suggest ever putting him in any kind of Force Suppression, it would probably have a lot worse of an affect on him than it would me."
"Answer the question, Sith," says Fay in a dangerously soft tone.
"I don't know what to think yet," said Siri, honestly.
"Will you harm him?"
"That would be the most stupidly suicidal thing I would have ever done in my life," she answered back.
"I have yet to hear no escape your lips, I know to listen for what is and is not said in what you say."
Oh she's dangerous, moreso than Siri thought. She can't ever actually recall talking with the stand-in Grandmaster one-on-one, by themselves before. "Read my lips then. N. O."
There is a single tap, no emotion's betrayed, against Siri's shields, and she lowers them to allow the Jedi to sample for the truth...
Siri is thrown against the wall instead and pinned there. "Make no mistake, Sith. I do not hold Padawan Kenobi's hopes for you. A different sort of Sith you may be, but a Sith you still are. You hold a careless disregard for life that you don't deem important that if it is not contained could cause far more harm then you currently have inflicted upon the galaxy. Padawan Kenobi seems to believe that your lack of any particular interest in your Order's 'Grand Plan' to wipe out the Jedi speaks more volume than it is actually worth. We both know better. Don't we?"
Siri glowered at her.
"Regardless of how you became a Sith, and yes, I do grieve for your loss and your suffering, you made your choices," said Fay, "You could have, and should have, chosen to die instead. You don't even have the excuse of being broken and dominated into this life. You chose to accept the Sith. How many have died, and how many will die yet, because of that choice I wonder?"
This one right here if she keeps it up.
Fay's chin tilted up. "You seem to believe it will be 'worth it' as you said to Padawan Kenobi if you kill Sidious. The answer is still no, its not, even if you do kill him. Why? Because if its not you, it will be someone else who defeats him. You are not indispensable, you are not absolutely required, no more than any other individual in the galaxy. Skywalker, Yoda, Windu, myself, a collection of others, or even something mundane as a simple accident or stray blaster shot. Darth Sidious will die one day, as will you, as will I. No one lives forever."
Fay let go and Siri fell on her ass on the floor., a scathing, "Had your fill then, Jedi?" escaping her lips.
"By the way, leaving a trace active for anyone attempting to dig into Padawan Skywalker's information was a rather simple and obvious thing to do," said Fay in that infernally calm tone, ignoring Siri's comment, "If you had not been so overeager I would have thought you would have considered that."
Clever bitch. Well, at least Siri hadn't been caught through the Force.
"We do though thank you for pointing out to us that you can project or leave behind an illusion of your presence at a distance," continued Fay, "We will be leaving a camera with infrared, motion, and the like outside of your door from now on, along with installing a sensor in your door to alert your watchers whenever it opens."
Fay waits, but Siri doesn't comment. Such things can be fooled or gotten around, but she's going to need to practice fine tuning control of her abilities in a way that she hasn't had to, or had the opportunity to, since she got here. Manipulating technology of that kind without triggering or obviously messing it up is delicate work. So, she's probably stuck in her room for the foreseeable future. Or, she could always walk an illusion into her room and generate heat around it while she stays outside, but thoughts for later.
"If you are done pressing into someone's private medical information, return to your room," said Fay, "For the price of it, I do hope you are satisfied with what you found."
Siri stood up and stiffly walked passed her.
She's not going to give the woman the satisfaction of the obvious answer.
That despite what she learned, she is walking out with far more questions than she had walking in...
Chapter 52: The Chosen One (Part 2)
Chapter Text
The first thing Siri is treated to the following morning isn't a Council summon for punishment, nor Obi-Wan coming to scold her.
Its a face full of blazing Supernova pulsing angrily in the Force. "You wanna know what I woke up to this morning? Grandmaster Fay and Qui-Gon sipping tea discussing you breaking into my medical information."
Siri steps aside and lets him into the apartment. "Its hardly breaking in if you leave your hair all over my couch to pluck and put through a scanner."
He scowls at her. "Why? Is this some kind of petty revenge or something? I didn't mean for you to get hurt from the meditation!"
She scoffs. "No, this was me doing something I really should have done the moment I had the chance."
"None of that cryptic Sith speak please."
"You are the most powerful Force Sensitive ever born," she said flatly.
"Yeah, I know," something between a scowl and a cocky grin on his face.
"Arrogant ass," she says before focusing, "I really don't think you understand exactly what that means. What you are."
Because she hadn't got one ounce of damn sleep last night, her mind whirling and trying to comprehend.
He crosses his arms and gives her a dark look. "I'm a person..."
"And your name is Anakin, yeah, I know," she cut in, "I'm not talking down to you like you're still a slave, I'm not saying you aren't a person, so stop being such a defensive little shit and listen."
He glowers at her, but goes silent.
"I put your DNA through a scanner, aside from your Midi-count being off the kriffing charts, I looked for your parent's DNA from that, your mother was born Republic, so she showed up..."
Anakin's face closed off, his vibe in the Force going cold. "I don't want to know."
Siri blinked, caught offguard. "What?"
"I don't care who my father is," said Anakin icily.
Press...
The dark whispered hungrily, scenting pain and suffering, scenting weakness. Surprisingly, she feels a general nudge of agreement overall from the Force. "Why?"
"My mom was a slave," he said bitterly, and with no small amount of self-loathing, "Why would I care about whoever her... her rapist was?"
Her... oh Force this idiot boy. How long had he been carrying that thought around in him?
"You don't have a father."
"Yeah," said Anakin sourly, "It's better that way."
"No, you literally don't have a father, you have no paternal DNA."
He blinked. "...excuse me?"
Siri reaches forward and plucks his comlink off his belt and thumbs for Jinn's number.
"Yes Anakin?"
"Come fetch your idiot apprentice, have him take a DNA test, and show him he's not a kriffing rape baby."
"A wha..." begins Jinn before cutting himself off, speaking crisply, "I'll be over shortly."
"Really would have thought the Jedi would have explained this to you Supernova," said Siri, handing back the comlink, "Since they go on and on about their silly little prophecy."
Anakin takes it, an unreadable expression on his face, saying nothing.
That look hasn't left by the time Jinn arrives, giving Anakin a soft, sad look. "Anakin, why did you never talk to me about these ill thoughts? Regardless of their lack of truth, a Jedi must move on and let go of such things."
"Of course, Master," said Anakin, baritone.
Qui-Gon doesn't look pleased at the obvious brush off, but motions to the door, and his apprentice goes.
"I would think it would be obvious, Jinn."
Qui-Gon pauses at the door, but doesn't turn.
Siri's lips peel back and she lets out a cutting remark, "You are a Jedi, he grew up a slave, why would he believe you could relate to that? That you, a Jedi, would understand what he feels?"
"What makes you so sure that is the reason?" asked Qui-Gon, not conveying his own opinion, hard to tell if he was being the devil's advocate or not.
"I was made a weapon, Jedi," said Siri darkly, "Its part of my job description to identify weaknesses to exploit in and between others."
"And yet you would neutralize this one?"
Siri's mouth snaps shut, teeth grinding for a moment. "Just because I am a Sith doesn't mean I can't play favorites, especially towards this one."
That gets Qui-Gon to turn, eyebrow raised. She smiled nastily "I don't believe in prophecy, but I do believe in cause and effect, and that it is likely a very good thing that Sidious cut me off from the Veil of the Dark Side."
His eyebrows furrow. "And what is that supposed to mean exactly?"
"Go deal with your apprentice," she shoes, "Ask after that's dealt with."
Siri smiles smugly when he goes, because oh yes, she had done quite a bit of thinking last night. About Skywalker. About Sidious. Specifically something he told her years ago that occurred to her half way through the night. That he and his master had directly challenged the Force and willed it darker. Sidious and his master kriffed with the Force in a way that should never have been done. Skywalker was the consequence of that decision. It had nothing to do with prophecy, but with Sidious and Plaguies overreaching, badly.
Its not that the Force had never swung heavily dark or light before in history, far from it. But it was natural shifts based on the state of the Galaxy. The Jedi Purge and the two wars before it way back when probably darkened the Force quite a bit, but again, natural cause. The Force was likely lighter when it was mostly Jedi and other sappy light factions in the galaxy after an incarnation of the Sith had been bested (because Sith generally killed off, enslaved, or converted competing darksiders). What Sidious and Plaguies had done had been the result of challenging the entire Force. Sith bent the Force to their will, yes, made it their servant, but that was small trifles in the grand scheme of things, single normal uses of the Dark Side. This had been on a colossal scale, the Force entirely. This demanded a response by the Force.
Perhaps the only time to Siri's knowledge the Force has ever directly acted like this.
There have been champions that have risen up, light and dark alike, to best their overbearing counterparts, but none directly spawned by the Force to her knowledge. What Skywalker is, and what he will be capable is unprecedented. And that power, that potential, it pulls at her, calls to her. She wants that power, she craves it. To revel in it. If she cannot posses that power, then she will damn make sure she is allied with it, or at a minimum, is not directly against Skywalker. IF the boy lives that long.
But likely, he is.
Because Sidious has had plenty of chances to kill Skywalker on his little trips to visit the Chancellor, and he hasn't.
She sighed. "Corruption it is. But the question is, how will Sidious get to Skywalker? Because he's had plenty of chances to abduct him as well."
She gets the sense that the Dark Side is laughing at her, mocking her obliviousness. And doesn't that rankle, because she does feel like she is missing something, some key piece that makes everything fit together in the great game Sidious is playing. Or maybe she's expecting the wrong thing. Skywalker isn't Siri, whose to say Sidious is going to try the same methodology to convert him as he did Siri herself?
The Force is silent on that, shrouded behind a Veil she no longer can access nor wants to, aside from trying to find a way to tear it down, but that is far beyond her current abilities...
Obi-Wan fetches her an hour later, giving her the silent treatment as she is escorted... not to the Council Chamber. He leads her to the Jinn/Skywalker apartment, where the rest of the Lineage, sans Yoda, is there along with Fay and Windu. Skywalker looks like a mess, sitting on the couch, staring down aimlessly at his hands in his lap. Would have thought the knowledge he gained about himself would have been a relief, strange that he looks worse. There is a sense of -weight on my shoulders- come off him that answers the question for her.
She doesn't believe in the prophecy, and maybe Skywalker hadn't really believed in it either. Apparently now he does, and it scares him.
Dooku motions to a chair drawn from the kitchen table. "Sit, and explain what you said to my padawan."
"I'd rather stand," she says, crossing her arms.
Dooku narrows his eyes. "You expressed 'relief' that Sidious had cut you off from the Veil of the Dark Side, why?"
"Because, I know exactly what he and his master did to cause Skywalker to be born," she answers.
That gets everyone's attention, even Anakin looks up.
So she tells them, recites as best as she can recall what Sidious had told her about him and his master challenging the Force over months of meditation.
"Impossible," says Windu at the end, impulsively for one such as he, "No one can challenge the Force."
"Mmm, except they did," said Siri, "Or are the Jedi not blocked by the Veil? Has the Force not darkened year by year since I was a child myself? Perhaps even before?"
Windu scowls, but goes silent.
"Such an unnatural, aberrant action," said Fay, for once looking visibly disturbed, "It will never be enough for the Sith to just have power, will it? They crave and crave more and more until they've consumed everything. A parasite, a cancer."
Siri narrows her eyes...
But before she can respond, Obi-Wan addresses Siri, "But you said it was a good thing you were cut from the Veil, like Grandmaster said, why Siri?"
"The Veil of the Dark Side is a symptom, a creation of that challenge, or if you want to deal in silly prophecies, that imbalance," said Siri, sneering, "I don't believe in prophecy, but I do believe in cause and effect. Anakin was born to fix the stupid overreach that Sidious and his master did, and well, best that I have nothing to do with it."
The look of scorn Windu gives her is oh so amusing.
"You can condemn the Sith all you want, me all you want, but to my knowledge, my Order has never pulled this idiotic shit before, until the last duo," she said flatly, "Maybe we cause darkening through wars and strife riling up the galaxy, but such things naturally happen anyway."
Windu now looks curious, and thoughtful, eyeing her in a way that makes her wonder if he actually sees her, or is seeing in her, shatterpoints she wonders, what is he seeing? "You... disagree with this action taken by Sidious and his former Master? More than just as a method of survivability?"
"The Force is everything, it is life itself," she says, even if its something the Jedi recite, it is the truth, "While I may take my power from it, pull and bend the Dark to my will, that is how the Dark Side IS. It is passion and chaos, primal, if you don't control it you are controlled by it, destroyed by it. Doing that to the entirety of the Force itself..."
She shakes her head. "My line may have created some of the most powerful Sith to ever live, but its also created the most arrogant. I thought it then, I think it now: Challenging the Force itself directly like that is suicidal and likely to get us destroyed."
She gives Windu a crooked smile. "Assuming you can keep Skywalker alive and uncorrputed, that's the likely outcome."
Qui-Gon moves to lay his hands on Anakin's shoulder. "We will safeguard Anakin until he is ready to fulfill his destiny."
Siri regards Qui-Gon for a very long moment. "You can't always be there, Jinn, and there are times you being there could harm instead of help."
Jinn tilts his chin up. "And how is that?"
"If Sidious had you by bladepoint and threatened to kill you if Skywalker didn't surrender or back off, what do you realistically think Skywalker would do?"
Anakin flinches at that as Qui-Gon's grip on his shoulder's tighten. "His duty."
Bantha kriffing shit. The mocking in her eyes conveys what she thinks of that.
"Anakin is young and still learning the Jedi Path," is Qui-Gon's answer, "As he grows..."
"The clock ticks as he ages," cut in Siri, before deciding to see if she can slip in something, to see if the Jedi catch on, "The more control of his power he gains, the less time Sidious has to act. There will come a time when Sidious must do something and deal with Skywalker before he becomes beyond his means. Sidious will Force a confrontation before Skywalker is ready."
"Your belief in your Master's omnipresence is born out of fear," commented Fay, "Influential and powerful as he is, he cannot be everywhere and do everything at once. Especially without an active apprentice to carry out his will, and one such as you takes years to train, and he used your Jedi training as a base to speed that up."
Siri scoffed. "He spent most of the first year training the Jedi out of me. That was time wasted from his point of view."
That gets the usual glower from the Jedi, and her eyes shift to them one by one. None of them caught her wording then. None of them caught the hint about how powerful Skywalker currently is, after all, she made not comment about Skywalker becoming more powerful. They have not a clue. He already has all the power he needs to kill Sidious, just not the control to bring it out. Probably because their feeble little complacent minds cant comprehend that such power naturally exists. That it isn't trained or guided or grown from their 'vaunted' wisdom.
Skywalker is part of the Force in ways no other being is, and oh how does that make the greed and jealousy in her for something she will never be bubble.
"I'm curious," said Dooku, "That now is apparently the time that you chose to reveal it. I do not believe you lie, but you have a habit of choosing to reveal pertinent information at your leisure rather than at first opportunity. Its been three years..."
She smiles mockingly. "Does the how of it negate the fact that Supernova is here?"
Dooku glares at her. "The point stands."
"If I don't think its relevant, or has a purpose, or is useful for getting in Sidious's way," she answered, "Why would I tell you?"
"Siri...," begins Obi-Wan.
"You seem to forget," said Siri in a sharp tone, "That we are not even allies of convenience. We use eachother for our goals, which happen to gather around killing Sidious. Nothing more, nothing less. Anything that I don't believe caters to that does not fall under my agreement with the Courts."
"That leaves much up to your own interpretation of that agreement," said Dooku crisply.
"How unfortunate for you," she mused, before crossing her arms, "An active enemy of the Jedi I may not be, but we are not allies."
She makes an about-face. "In seven years my parole is up, and I am walking out of the Temple. I have no interest in an active conflict with the Jedi Order, but beyond that? I could go the rest of my life without seeing a Jedi again and find that much to my liking."
"The feeling is mutual," commented Dooku mildly.
Siri walks out of the apartment back to her own, deciding that the Council isn't likly to demand her presence to scream at her with what she gave them. So she settles in to think and wait...
Skywalker is quiet the next day, but still hogging her couch.
"Don't you have classes or something?"
"Rest day."
"Don't you have friends you can go bother?"
"No, I don't."
That snaps Siri's mouth shut, getting a subtle frown from her. "I don't see you as the loner type."
He shrugs and nestles into the couch cushions. Hmm... she could push, but she's got better targets if she wanted to press at the boy. Speaking of which... she has a little revenge in mind. Not on Skywalker, no, but Fay and the Jedi as a whole for that manhandling she got. Even if she was kind of asking for it, but hey, she was a Sith, vindictiveness was a given. This in particular was probably something Sidious might find amusing to have seen used. Though he wouldn't find it amusing if it was fixed.
"Say... Supernova..."
Anakin groaned. "I know that tone."
Siri cracked a grin. "Do you?"
"Yeah, when your about to do something you find 'darkly funny', or about to pounce on something, you always get this eager little hitch to your voice and presence," he said flatly, "Followed by you doing or saying something that rattles people or pisses them off. Generally the entire Jedi Order."
Siri threw back her head and howled with laughter. "Well shit Supernova, you've got me pegged, but anyway, I've got a few friends I'd like you to meet."
He narrows his eyes, smelling a trap of some-kind. "You have friends?"
"Harsh."
She moves to the door in dark anticipation, because she had studied Skywalker of the years, his tics, what set him off in conversations. "Now come along little slave."
Predictably, his presence blotched in fury.
"I'm not a slave!" he shouted, anger rolling off him.
Siri's face shifted from contempt to sly victory, her voice reflecting that, "Correct, you're not."
Anakin went from angry, to warily confused in a split second. "I don't... what are you..."
"You have such individuality, hardly a slave trait," she said, predatory, "Tell me, what do you understand of the Jedi's view of individuality?"
"What... does that have to do with meeting 'friends'?"
Time to abuse slave mentality. She only felt slightly guilty.
She motions to the door and they walk out, Siri gives an exaggerated bow to one of the Temple Guards standing outside. "Supernova, I'd like you to meet one of my dear, dear friends."
"I'm pretty sure none of them like you," said Anakin dubiously.
Both of the guards outside her door are watching warily, saying nothing.
"Tell me, have you ever talked to one of my friends here or one of their buddies around the temple?" posed Siri, just a tint of malice in her voice.
Anakin hesitated. "Well... no. I mean, they're on-duty, not s'posed to bug them."
"Tsk, so responsible," mocked Siri, "But where are our manners? Why don't you introduce yourself, Supernova?"
Trap set.
"Umm... hi, I'm Anakin," said Skywalker to the left guard.
The guard gave him a slight head bob of acknowledgement, but the gaze is still warily on Siri.
"Whats your name?"
Trap kriffing sprung.
The guard doesn't answer, making Skywalker slightly offput.
"Ah!" said Siri, snapping her fingers, "That's right! Temple Guards don't have names! How forgetful of me. They're required to give up any individuality, any identity, their faces behind a mask, their very names."
Anakin went still and quiet, blank in the Force.
"Its sad to say, they have less than most slaves do," mused Siri sadly and sagely, "After all..."
Anakin takes a step back. A tint of confused-disbelief and denial, leading into barely suppressed fear and horror.
"At least most slaves have a name, right Anakin?"
Skywalker turns and bolts.
Siri chuckles darkly as he disappears down the hall.
"You truly are a disgusting witch," comments the Guard with a growl, "Within the Jedi Order, we are an ancient and honored position, not to be used as a weapon against a child."
Siri hummed. "Not my fault the Jedi are leaving weaknesses in their so called Chosen One. Maybe they should do something about that slave mentality, or maybe they should do something about the fact that the boy can find parallels between slavery and the Jedi. After all..."
She smiles menacingly. "I'm not the one who decided how he would react. That was entirely him."
She can feel the glower behind the mask, but she merely returns it with a sense of mocking through the Force, returning to her room smugly satisfied...
"It is finished then?"
Sidious poses the question, watching Taelson Fry tense under his gaze, the pair standing in a projector room, the plans for his battlestation being readied for presentation, newly named. The boy, young man he supposed, had wanted to name it some catchy little thing. He had a much better idea. "The plans for the Death Star are, finally, complete?"
"Yes, Lord Sidious."
The blueprints should have been done years ago, but becoming Chancellor, cleaning up Tachi's mess, training his Acolytes in addition to his stand in apprentices, and manipulating Skywalker all ate into his time. He had barely had a chance to press his Chief Engineer on his duty and requirements.
"Show me."
The scope is... smaller than he would have imagined, or liked. "The Death Star is supposed to be imposing, hope rending, a thing of despair to see above your world before it is gone. This... is smaller than an average moon by quite the degree."
"Theatrics aren't my style, Sidious," said Fry flatly, "I go for practicality and efficiency. This is far more usable then the fat garbage Raith was making the base of the plans."
Sometimes, he wonders if he got too used to Tachi mannerisms, to allow such insolent and casual regard to him. "Is that so?"
"Do you want a list?"
Sparks dance along Sidious's fingertips in warning.
The Engineer punches a few keys on his screen, bringing up equations and calculations. "List it is then. First, construction time on this will be at least half the time of the bigger one, and need far less Kyber and important metals to operate its primary weapon. Much easier to acquire, and draw less suspicion for the amount."
"Will it still be able to destroy a planet?"
"Yes, at absolute maximum charge."
Sidious's eyes narrow. "And how long does such a charge take to build?"
"Is a planet going to be running anywhere?" answered Taelson dryly.
"No, but those on one might."
"At least an hour, but that charge can be built in transit if you really need it done ASAP."
He doesn't like it. Half an hour at most would have been far better. Preferably fifteen minutes. Enough time to get to a ship and have hope, but not nearly enough time to actually escape the explosion alive, despairing as they realize their impending doom, an appetizer for him and the Dark Side before the main course a planet's destruction would provide.
"But, a lesser charge is much quicker, since so much unnecessary space has been cut, and what we have is more focused on power generation," continued the Engineer, "You can charge enough needed to blow up a capital ship in minutes, without needing a full damn day to recharge the weapon that Raith's design would have needed."
"I had his assurances such a thing could be overcome."
"Science says otherwise, at least not without some hefty technical advances."
Sidious rubs his chin in thought. "So, you went with a design more useful in fleet combat, rather than a pure symbol of absolute domination and control."
Its not what he demanded, and yet...
"Yeah," confirmed Taelson, "And honestly, the size of that original battlestation mock up was asking for engineering trouble. The more there is to build, the more systems to wire or make or link or whatever, the more likely it is someone will kriff something up. Or that something will break and then you need to fix it, maintenance alone would be astronomically ridiculous and hardly worth all that hired help."
Hmph, his Chief Engineer was always like that, so dismissive of his lessers. It was one of the few good qualities about him. Trusting in no one, especially in their competence and capabilities. Only trusting in what he himself could do. Much like Sidious himself he supposed. Still... he wasn't wrong. In his experience with Vosa, the more opportunities he gave her to screw up, the more likely she was without a firm, guided, directed hand. A gigantic battlestation was all well and good, but if someone incompetent ruined the design, or constant issues kept holding it back or ruined it...
"You said half the original time," contemplated Sidious.
"Give or take," agreed Taelson, "The main issues would be labor and the gathering of all the materials, since I assume you'd want it under wraps."
Slave labor is cheap enough if he fishes along the Outer Rim. Or... yes... now there is an idea. C'Baoth is almost ready to begin. All he needs is a reason, which he is sure his apprentice will give C'Baoth soon enough, to initiate the beginning of the end and storm from the Jedi, taking those Jedi and eventually senators loyal to him and starting the 'Separatist Movement'. It would be easier for the separatists to begin that construction for him. If it were discovered that the opposing faction was building something like that... why the Republic would be forced to steal it from them lest someone irresponsible have control of such a weapon.
Force, if he got things in place and had C'Baoth start construction immediately... if it was completed before the planned war ended and he used the 'stolen' superweapon to bring a decisive victory with it... the Galaxy might cheer it on, make it easier to transition and warrant the Death Star. Not that he would truly need the consent of the feeble Galaxy once his Empire was a reality, but it might make the transition easier, allow him to consolidate his power swifter.
"But on that note, I thought you'd like this," said Taelson, punching a few keys.
Sidious watched as the blueprints split into pieces that had fit together so well. "These can be constructed elsewhere and brought together."
"Yep."
Sidious, for once, marvels at the ingenuity of it, of his genius in taking the risk to lose Maul and gain Taelson along with Tachi . If one piece, or even several are found in construction, it wont ruin or reveal the entire design. Not to mention how much easier it would be to hide the construction. To slip in funding for sections easily in bills within both the Republic and the eventual Separatists. "Impressive."
He's already seeing how can use this years from now, not only to get this in use, but in engineering a situation to fit Tachi back in as his enforcer and be pardoned in public spotlight. Why, if she were to be the one to discover, and perhaps capture this for the Republic, her history would easily be swept under the rug for the general public, perhaps even the senate. Skywalker could fit that role as well if need be he supposed.
He poses many more questions and extracts an equal amount of answers before he is satisfied. "Good, good. You've earned yourself suitable reward, my Chief Engineer. You may forward your desires for material possessions or vacation to Sienar for... a few months if you so desire. Afterwards..."
Her bares his teeth. "I have further use of you."
Taelson swallows. "Such as...?"
"Your next project, Chief Engineer, is on a smaller scale. It is one for our dear wayward friend, Tachi, should she prove reluctant to rejoin us when the time comes," said Sidious, smiling menacingly, "I want you to design a containment cell for a Force Sensitive that allows them to feel and use the Force, but not be able to affect the cell they are in, nor harm themselves..."
Chapter 53: The Chosen One (Part 3)
Chapter Text
It took a week for Skywalker to come back.
In said week, she had been 'screamed' at by the Council for 'influencing a padawan', which she shot down by saying she didn't teach or coerce him to the Dark Side which was her agreement with the Courts/Yoda; Had Obi-Wan project through the bond, look at her, and speak at her with nothing but disappointment; Dooku had outright threatened her against doing anything of the like again to any of his lineage. Qui-Gon she hadn't seen more than once, and he just gave her the flattest most unimpressed look she swore she had ever seen. Her most pointed response to all of this was the same thing she said to the Temple Guards.
She hadn't controlled how Anakin reacted, that was all him.
If they had a problem with Skywalker seeing parallels of slavery, well, that was on them to address.
Still, she'll admit she's rather surprised when the boy sits down across from her at breakfast. "I would have thought your Master wouldn't allow you to come anywhere near me again."
"That's not his decision to make."
She pauses briefly at the tone, a tint of warning rolling down her spine from the Force, that she needs to pay attention, that this is important. She actually glances up at Supernova, and there is nothing but hard steel in his eyes. Grim determination and eagerness for a fight are what she feels leaking through his shield. "I would think as your Master, it would be."
His eyes narrow. "I don't appreciate what you did."
"Which was what?" she challenged.
"I don't like whats asked of Temple Guard, whats required of them, what they choose to give up," he gritted out, "It makes me want to puke honestly thinking about it, but that's just it, its a choice. I never had a choice, they did. If they want to give up who they are like that? Fine, I wont ever like or agree with it, but I don't have a say in the matter."
"Hmm, that was rather well said," complimented Siri, "Which one of them coached you through saying that?"
"None of them."
She raised an eyebrow.
"I might have taken a few things they said in my own words," admitted Anakin, scowling a little.
"The word you're looking for is 'paraphrased'."
"Don't you mock me."
"Can't help it Supernova, its in my nature," she said cheerfully, pointedly ignoring the Force.
She'll give this conversation the attention its due, but she wont shun who she is to do it.
He narrowed his eyes. "Peace is a lie, there is only passion."
Siri twitched, caught offguard, wary, and very very curious. "Where did you hear that?"
"Obi-Wan and Dooku staying up late to try and pick your code apart awhile back," he said.
Oh she is in very, very dangerous territory. Is that his game? Get her in actual, legitimate trouble with the Jedi and the Courts if they get into this topic? Is he wearing a wire? She does a pass with the Force, but feels no electronics on him, not even his comlink. "And why exactly are you reciting it at me?"
"Because its ridiculous."
She rolled her eyes. "Oh Supernova, here you are parroting Jedi at me, whatever shall I do?"
"No, I mean its just as ridiculous as the Jedi one."
That gets a sharp laugh out of Siri, and some of the Jedi at tables in hearing range giving Skywalker a 'look'. They didn't appreciate badmouthing their code, but Siri just found it amusing. "Alright then Supernova, whats ridiculous about them?"
"There is no emotion, there is peace. Peace is a lie, there is only passion," he said, mouth twisting like he tasted something sour, "Why is it one or the other? They're both flat out wrong..."
Listen listen listen...
"...you can have emotion, and you can have peace. Mom sure as hell could when she got into a mood and then calmed down after. Everyone can."
"Literal interpretation will lead you to banging your head against the nearest wall over and over again," she advised in a mock sagely tone, tilting her head a little to try and hear what the Force was whispering at her.
"Yeah, except both codes from what I seen ARE taken way to literally," he said with frustration, "Not by everyone sure, but in what I see around here a lot do, on the Sith side what I see in you seems that way, and what little I've gotten to read or hear about the old Sith. Some Jedi I swear would stop breathing if the Code was changed to tell them not to."
Truth truth truth...
Siri brushes aside the Jedi part as unimportant, focusing on her own. "Personally, I don't deny peace Skywalker, I'm at peace when I'm sleeping, dreams aside, that's what sleeping is for. What I deny is complacency and stagnation."
"If that's what your code means why don't they just say it?" he said.
She shrugged. "I didn't make the code up."
"Well, if you ever kill Sidious, change it, or do you intend to let him make you him and keep at it?" said Anakin, chin tilting up.
Siri narrowed her eyes. "I won't let him make me anything."
"You already have," said Anakin, "You let him make a slave out of you."
A warning growl escaped her lips, the Force darkening around her.
"You're just as much of a slave as I was," said Anakin in challenge, "Only, instead of just being used, he tried to do something worse. He tried to turn you from a slave into a slaver, make you just like him to keep doing what he wanted, and then eventually do what he did to you to someone else."
He leaned forward. "And you wanna know something? That new naming thing the Sith do, that's one of the oldest slaver tricks in the book. 'Gifting' a slave a new name, destroying who they used to be, making them..."
"Yours," he spat out.
Siri glared at him, trying to work out what to say. It wasn't like she hadn't made that comparison herself, to being Sidious's slave. Like hell was she ever going to outright admit it and allow him a win, especially in public. "You have a lot of gall for a snot nose desert slave rat."
"Yep," he said cheerfully in a mockery of her own sadistic-cheerfulness, popping the P.
"I'm going to skip ahead and ask if there is a point to where you're going with this?" gritted out Siri.
Anakin's outright challenging demeanor faded into something sad.
"Your code says that you're suppose to break your chains," said Anakin quietly, "But that's a lie, all I've heard and seen it do is put more chains on you. Chaining down everything that might have made you a good person once."
Siri clenched her fists, about ready to maul the boy, damn the consequences...
"So I'm going to ask you an honest question."
Listen, truth, listen...
"When is the last time you've been truly happy," he asked, "That was solely because of the Dark Side and the Sith?"
Never.
The question and initial reactive answer is a surprising punch to the gut. She swallows at how offguard and piercing it was. She has to truly think on it. When was the last time she had been happy, that wasn't tainted by something like smothered guilt or regret? Wasn't punished by Sidious? Or wasn't criticized by him or Zannah as a weakness? That wasn't from finding dark delight in someone else's suffering? Relaxing Alexi and Mighella was born off the suffering caused by the Black Sun, and Zannah was... well Zannah, everything the soul fragment did was to further a goal. Siri... she can't honestly think of anything.
Even more, she can't think of the last time anyone ever bothered to ask her that.
It takes her a moment to smother the reaction and then return the favor, snapping back, "When's the last time you've been happy since you became a jedi?"
Anakin's smile is sad. "Whenever I'm in my quarters with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, not really acting like a Jedi."
Siri just... sat there, surprised by the honesty.
Anakin looked away, his youthful face so confused and lost. "I've been here a few years and I... I still don't understand the Jedi. They're nothing like the stories I heard in the outer rim."
"The Jedi and the Sith," he said quietly, "I don't think either of them use their side of the Force the way they should, just the way they think is right."
There is something massive, monumental, in his words that ring through the Force. But Siri can't for the life of her figure out why they cause such a deep reaction, why they are so critically important. Sure, the Jedi and the Sith are both failed Orders in her opinion, but... somehow, his words mean more than that. More, different, than her own cutting attacks she'd use against Kenobi and the Jedi.
"But what do I know?" said Anakin bitterly, "I'm just a twelve-year old slave boy who can't do Force the right way."
Siri snorted. "'Do Force'? Really?"
Anakin shrugged. "What else do you call using it?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Using the Force."
He scowled, and Siri just snickered in response before they fell into silence, and she regarded him. There was so much more to this boy than met the eye. So much more...
"What do you want Siri?"
She blinked. "Pardon?"
"What do you want?"
"Nothing at the moment aside from you to stop talking," she said flatly, not liking where she felt this was going.
"You know what I mean."
"I don't think I do.'
"Siri."
"It doesn't particularly matter what I want for the next seven years," she answered flatly, "More so until Sidious is dead."
He gave her an unimpressed look, closing his eyes for a moment, sighing, then opening them and looking at her with a mixture of sadness and kindness that makes her skin crawl, and for a moment, there's a woman's face composed over his that she doesn't recognize, wearing that exact same look.
"What is it that you want Siri?" Anakin asked, "No Jedi, no Sith, no Light Side, no Dark Side, no Force, what do YOU want?"
Something in his words, that echo in the Force, sends a ripple through her, its like a system shock, and for a moment, the Dark is fleeting in her. "I..."
She looks away for a long moment, she wants out of this damn room. "I don't know, its never mattered what I want, and I... don't think anyone has ever asked me that without their own preconceived notions of what they want for me. Even Obi-Wan... he wants me a Jedi again, or at least not a Sith."
"Maybe you should think about what you want," he said, before leaning forward, "Or can you?"
"I AM capable of thinking for myself, brat," she retorts flatly.
"Without the Dark Side influencing your thoughts?"
Oh that little kriffing shit, she saw where this was going. "You just lost all subtly there, Supernova."
"I wasn't trying to be."
Siri shook her head, stood, and deposited her tray, leaving the room.
Of course, Anakin didn't know when to quit, he followed out behind her. "Its an honest question. Can you think without the Dark Side making itself known? I can feel it sometimes when you speak or when you're thinking, like a hungry pulse that rolls over you. It pushes you to react or act certain ways, doesn't it?"
Siri purses her lips. "You really should drop the subject."
"Mmm, nope."
She sighed. "Skywalker, the Force will always influence those who use it just as those who use it influence the Force back. Yes, even the Jedi are influenced by their precious light."
"Maybe so, but at least it doesn't feel like its yanking me around and snapping at me or trying to force me to think or act in a way it likes," said Anakin, "It gives me a choice."
"So does the Dark, but you have to have the strength and power to fight for that right to choose," she countered, "The Dark Side devours weakness. If you aren't strong enough to control it, the Dark will eat you alive. It will always test you, so its on you to decide if its worth fighting it on something or not."
"And are you happy living like that?" he asked.
"Contentment is overrated and breeds stagnation."
"That's avoiding the question."
She was good at doing that, wasn't she? So avoid she did, all the way back to her room, making to shut the door in Skywalker's face, but he just, won't, quit. He slips through just before she can shut it, his fingers barely avoiding a nasty pinch. She's half expecting him to steal her couch again, just to continue to be a pain in the ass. Except... he moves to the center of the room and sits down, cross legged as if for meditation, he has the gall to motion for her to sit.
"If being happy doesn't seem worth it, if deciding what you want for once isn't enough, then I know what will get you," he said, so sure of himself.
"Oh? And what's that?" she said snidely, "What will get me to turn away?"
"Power."
She paused, startled by the answer coming from him.
"My power."
She froze. What... did he say?
"You think I didn't feel it when we were meditating, that greed, that craving?" he asked, eyebrow raised, "That hunger?"
Siri said nothing, an unsettled churning in her stomach. What... what exactly was he offering? He pats the floor in front of him, and like a moth to the flame, Siri can't help but be drawn to sit. The Force is swirling around them, the Dark Side is salivating at the potential of what he is saying, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't too. But what is he even offering? Sure he could temporarily feed her energy, its something Force Sensitives could do as a pick-me-up for one another (mostly a Jedi thing than Sith), but that wouldn't last.
"I've been dreaming about this for the last week," said Anakin quietly, "And I think I finally get it."
Dreaming? As in visions? Repeated visions?
"Get what?" she asked, "What exactly are you offering me, Skywalker?"
He offers his hands, and she hesitates for a very long minute, her eyes staring into his, before she takes them. He enters meditation, and pulls her into it. Then she's seeing the Universe again, through the eyes of a Child of the Force. She is inside a star blazing so brightly in the Force, seeing and experiencing more than anyone else possibly could. Unlike last time though, she was not caught offguard and swept in, devoured by her hunger for his power. She does not dive in as deep as she can, going for that core, that heart. She simply basks in the heat, in that power.
Then... she sees more than she did last time. There was darkness in his core. Deep and scarred and pained, from slavery and suffering. But also greedy, selfish, and arrogant. Yet the opposites also flow through him, giving, selfless, and compassionate. He blazed so brightly that looking at him was blinding, all one saw was power, but that power, Skywalker himself, was both light and dark in a way that Jedi and Sith were trained away from. A messy swirl that left one far to close to the edge tilting one way or the other for either side to like.
He tugs her deeper into the mediation, and as much as she'd simply enjoy bathing in the blaze here, she wants more. So she follows him deeper, and she's sweating, sweltering as the power gets hotter and hotter. Her eyes are watering, squinting, hard to see anything but blinding power inside the mediation. Hard to hear over the roar of power in her ears. Hard to sense anything other than the overwhelming depth of the Force around her. She can feel Skywalker having the same kind of reaction, though not as bad as hers. She recalls Obi-Wan saying Anakin has trouble going in deeper into the Force without something breaking.
Yet here and now, he tries, and inside his meditation, inside him, she can distinctly feel that he is pressing forward for her sake. She feels his honest desire to help and it roils something in her. Despite being able to feel that, he plants his presence protectively around her, as if SHE needs the little brats help. Yet... it does. The beginnings of a Force burn fade away, and its not so overwhelming with Skywalker taking the brunt of it. They get closer to that heart, that core, that divine rhythm of its beating. Skywalker is shaking worse than she is now, it feels dangerous, like something could shatter disastrously at any moment if he lost control, but he is still pressing on, determined. He is afraid, she realizes, of that power inside of him.
But his desire to help stronger than that fear, and in that moment his shaking stops.
Anakin reaches for the core with fear in one hand and compassionate determination in the other.
The Force pulses.
Under her closed eyelids she can see the outline of Anakin Skywalker physically glowing.
He takes a small handful of that core in his hands and offers it to her.
She reaches out and touches it and...
SHES BURNING ALIVE.
Agony rips through her, physically, mentally, through the Force. Its like half of the power slips through her fingers, then the other half stays and burns her.
-Balance?-
She takes in a ragged breath, wanting to pull out of the meditation, but also wanting to stay and hold the power despite the fact it would probably kill her to be exposed to this for a prolonged period of time. Force, how does Skywalker survive having this inside of him? Its insane... no normal being could hope to contain what he is, what a Forceful Being truly is. Yet... if she died holding onto it, it'd be more than Sidious ever achieved...
-No-
The burning intensifies, she's melting alive...
Then Skywalker is there, with more of the energy, yet he doesn't let go and let her hold it alone, he holds it with her, and something pulses and settles around them. The agony settles into a painful throb, yet she has never felt more alive than she does now. She looks at that core through a lens made of the power Skywalker wields, and finds it beyond her comprehension. There is an outline, a desire of something there that makes no sense to her. The first piece of a puzzle she feels compelled to finish.
-Balance-
What is it about this state that makes her feel... feel so complete? Makes her feel like she's been missing something she can't understand her entire life. She wants to stay like this forever. Connected so deeply to the Force through Anakin it swirls around her, sights and images and differing voices in such a rush she can't understand...
"Was it all a lie Kenobi? Was I just a path to your trials?"
"I know what Siri is capable of, so much of what she knows she learned from me. She does not stay here because you force her to, but because she chooses to."
"You are scared of him, of Anakin, and its not because he is the Chosen One, you never cared or believed that before."
"I've... been having dreams."
"Rain... didn't truly die until Tomcat did."
"You're hardly an acolyte, let alone my replacement."
"I did not come here for the boy, I came here for you."
"This curse is particularly nasty because its slow. It's designed to give you hope, to slowly sap the life of the child while letting it grow, and to kill it midway through the pregnancy in order to devastate you."
"How do you beat Obi-Wan at negotiating? I've always found punching him in the face works quite well."
"Its like a bargain sale, I get to kill not one brother, but two!"
"Become my apprentice, little warlord, and I will show you power and freedom beyond your wildest dreams."
"You want to know why I dislike you clones? Because you are weak, you refuse to fight for your own freedom when you have the power to, and no, its not the Separatists that hold your chains."
"Remember, Lord Tyrosus, that there can be only two, a Master, and an Apprentice, you have yet to dispose of me, and I have yet to truly replace you. There was never room for a third."
"You did at least try to train her in my image I see. Lets see just how much."
"I am in control of this battle-station, what need have I of you anymore, Lord Sidious?"
"My name, Master Jedi, is Taelson Fry, and I'm the one who designed the Death Star."
"Celebrating already, Master?"
"I was a fool to ever have had a hope that you wouldn't selfishly betray everything we struggled for, I would have been better off without any attachment to you, any attachments at all."
"So... do you two want to be godparents by chance?"
"Don't let anyone ever tell you that someone Dark cannot love."
"I will! I will take revenge! I'll kill that decrepit old bastard for what he did to my family!"
"Get in line and get over yourself Jinn, you're hardly the only one that failed him."
"You are forgiven, father."
"...is called the Fives Trial, otherwise known as the Trial of Chains."
"Say Kun, mind if we steal your temple?"
"You should have stayed dead, Master. I am going to kill you over and over again, and I will taste vengeance unlike any have before."
"What have you done to him? To them? The old Jedi Order had their failings, but they never took it this far!"
"I killed them all yes, and do you know why? Because you belong to me, Master, and no one else."
"I'm just a failure. As a Jedi, as a Sith, as a teacher, as... as a mother. I ruined her..."
"He may feel nothing for me anymore, may hate and curse the very ground I walk on, but I still love him, even after everything. I have to go, or he will die."
"There is one lesson I have yet to teach you, how to become one with the Force!"
"I... I loved you Leia..."
Change it, change it please...
The mass is to much to process, voices and scenes important and not, one after the other washed away before she can properly register them. A storm Siri feels like she will get swept away in until Anakin pulls her back. He gives her a moment to orient herself, and then nudges her. She wants to pause, to try and make sense of the bombardment, but is greedily pulled away when she feels his intent. She's just holding his power right now, she hasn't taken it. She wants to so badly, but would it actually kill her to take this into herself? Even if he's helping? She finds she doesn't care, lowering her shields and with Skywalker's help pulling it in...
Yet as she does so, something about this tickles her as familiar...
Then it hit her, Siri saw the trap for what it was far to late, blinded by her desire and hunger. Saw that Skywalker was repeating what Ur Manka and her had done years ago to a T. But it was to late even if she had wanted to stop. He didn't need multiple attempts like she and Ur Manka did. The Force was exponentially more powerful in him than both of them had been back then, and more fluid, capable of so much more. In true Supernova disaster fashion, without a care of consequences or dangers or her permission, he reaches in, wraps her in that blinding blazing glory, fills her with it for one awing moment, for one single moment she feels like she IS the Force...
Then he full on rips her out of the Dark Side.
The Force shudders around her, her vision swims, pain splits down her skull into a heavy headache, rawness pours down her every sense. She wants to, and does, puke all over the floor with how disorienting it was. She opens her eyes and pukes again and then screams pain, shouting, "KRIFFING SHIT SKYWALKER! WHAT THE HELL!"
Then fear sets in without the Dark immediately there.
Not again-not again-not again-not again-not again-not again-not again-not again-not again-not again-not again.
She doesn't want this again!
She's internally screaming, awaiting the brutal onslaught of guilt and regret she had first suffered when she had touched the light those years ago with Ur Manka, like she had in the cell.
She curls reflexively, as if waiting for a blow...
But it doesn't hit.
Anakin's hand is on her back, and she's still connected to that power, though its fading with the loss of the meditation. She takes in ragged breaths, cursing Skywalker every other breath. Her senses are aflame and blazing, a painful throb to even touch the Force. Its a chaotic mess. "H-how the k-kriff..."
"Read his journal when no one was looking," answered Anakin, easily plucking the thought from her.
But its not the same.
Its not the same.
This isn't the same result that she and Ur Manka achieved.
This isn't light.
She doesn't know what it is.
Then Anakin pulls his hand away.
Then she loses it.
Loses whatever it was.
Loses Anakin's power seeping out of her and back into the Force.
And its like she's empty.
Its awful.
The Dark slowly returns, but not as it was. More like a predatory animal prowling around a fence, scratched and gnawing at it trying to get back in. Its been shut out, but she is so very much aware of the gate that she could throw open and allow it back in. She's tempted to out of spite. She had outright refused to even consider anything like this for so long, then she gets baited into it so easily. Even worse, she can't say he tricked her, he outright had implied this was his goal, but she had smelt power and completely disregarded that.
Yet it was worth it.
For just a taste of that power, that indescribable glory.
Force, how it was worth it...
She'll never admit it aloud, but she would do it again, just for a moment of feeling like she had.
Still... as a matter of principle...
"I'm going to kill you Supernova."
"Mmm, sure you are," he said, skeptical, "Try standing up first."
She can't even get to her feet before she tips over, the world spinning around her.
"Yep," he says smugly, "I'm going to let you nap for a bit."
He moves and puts his hands underneath her armpits, dragging her to the couch and pulling her onto it.
Then the door bursts open, Obi-Wan stumbling in wide eyed, and then Siri is aware of the pure raw -hope- pulsing down the bond with him. Of course he would come after feeling this, of course he would.
"OUT!" she roars.
She is NOT in the mood for a self-righteous hopeful sewage preaching from him or anyone else.
Obi-Wan stares at her with a look in his eyes that tickles the dark prowling around the fence, it calls in to something dark in her, its kin, wanting to claw out Kenobi's eyes for looking at her like that. She doesn't feel compelled to answer it though. He collects himself and nods, taking a step back. She sees Jinn standing outside the doorway, regarding both her and Anakin with something considerate in his gaze, thinking and calculating. Dooku is there as well, looking at Siri like he can't believe what he's seeing. Likely the trio was talking in Jinn's apartment and rushed over when they felt it.
"Anyway, enjoy your nap," said Anakin cheerfully, walking away.
"S'not napping," she slurred, and oh, she's feeling more tired and weak the further Anakin steps away.
For a moment, being connected to Anakin, taking his power within her, she'd been flying higher than a kite.
The moment he's out of the door, she drops like a rock.
"Anakin! Do you have any idea how irresponsible and reckless what you did was?" shouts, actually shouts, Dooku when Anakin finishes his smug reciting of what had happened in his own terminology to the entire gathered Council along with his lineage.
Obi-Wan, despite how his heart was still beating and fluttering with hope and happiness, had to agree. Anakin did not have the training or experience to protect himself if Siri had done anything that deep inside of his mind and meditation. It happening once, accidentally, when Siri got pulled into his meditation was one thing. Obi-Wan had experienced that himself before the first time he had a joint-meditation with his Master and Anakin. This? With intent? Was reckless.
Even worse, without any training or experience, he had given some of his energy away. What if he had given to much? Or given something he could not get back? This was something Knights only started training to do after their knighting, or healers. And healers suffering burnout or damages from pushing themselves to far and giving to much was a documented, dangerous thing. Knights and Masters had killed themselves giving away so much to try and save their padawans before. Anakin could have seriously harmed himself.
He's never been more proud of his brother-padawan.
He's also never been more infuriated with him.
"Aren't you the ones that say we're supposed to follow the Will of the Force?" asked Anakin, crossing his arms and tilting his chin up petulantly.
Of all the things Qui-Gon had to teach, following the supposed 'Will of the Force' over common sense was not one he should of. And he sees a number of the Council eying his Master with that exact same thought ringing in their heads. Anakin has to much potential and power at his fingertips to be allowed to become as reckless as Qui-Gon can be. Obi-Wan might love his master, but he's not blind to his faults. Anakin is already like this at twelve, how much more defiant and reckless could he become if Qui-Gon doesn't temper that? Defying the Council was one thing, but doing it recklessly without proper consideration for the risks and consequences was another.
"And what exactly did you think its will was?" asked Master Windu, skeptical and cross.
"It'd been showing me dreams of me meditating with her for the last week after the first time, it wanted me to," said Anakin, scowling.
"Were you aware of these dreams, Master Jinn?" posed Master Mundi.
"I was not," admitted Qui-Gon, frowning at Anakin.
"Why did you not think to approach your Master, your Grand Master, Obi-Wan, or anyone on this council about this?" posed Master Tiin, "Attempting this without anyone else's wisdom or advice was reckless young one."
"It worked, didn't it?" Anakin challenged back, earning a look of reproach from the Council.
But... he was right.
Obi-Wan cautiously stretches his senses back towards Siri's apartment. He does not touch her presence, but looks at her. Looks at Siri for once not wrapped firmly in the Dark Side. He feels... sadness and regret. He knew she wouldn't be the same as she was. The Siri Tachi he sees now is not close to the same as she was before. She is the same person, the same base, that same fiery personality, but without the Dark there blanketing her presence... there are scars visible through the Force all over. Ripped open even by how bluntly Anakin dragged her away from the Dark. She is exhausted, physically, mentally, and through the Force. Passed out to the point where Obi-Wan thinks she might be out for days.
The Force itself feels like someone kicked up a storm, dangerous, and yet also a breath of fresh air if one was willing to brave that storm. When he had burst into that room... the Force had felt clearer despite the danger than it had since his youth. He admits he is going to risk meditation later, at least in the privacy of his own room.
"That is not what you are being reprimanded for, young Skywalker," rumbled Master Koon patiently, "I applaud your intent, but the manner of which you did this was dangerous to both yourself, and to Tachi. She is likely to be feeling the aftereffects of this... method for some time."
"There is also the consideration," commented Fay, "That she did not consciously choose to turn away from the Dark Side. She may so very easily choose to draw on it again, and may be ever more opposed to turning away than before, to the point where once had your attempt been considered and executed more carefully, now she wouldn't even let the attempt begin."
"She won't."
"So sure, are you?" posed Master Yaddle.
"Yes."
He says it with childlike turning into teenage arrogance. Obi-Wan wants to believe that, he desperately does, but he's not going to let his hopes soar only to crash if she re-falls, if she pulls on the Dark. Because she is likely to be even more easily tempted than most. She will need help until she is firmly able to stand on her own.
"While I'm not happy that he did not come to me or anyone else with the Force's guidance so that we could help better execute its will," said Qui-Gon, moving to stand behind Anakin and put his hands on his shoulder, a look of disapproval aimed down before looking back up at the Council, "Have you considered that this might be part of how the Prophecy is fulfilled? Destroying the Sith does not necessarily mean killing them."
"She did not consciously choose to...," began Master Mundi.
"She wasn't going to!" shouted Anakin in frustration.
"Anakin," said Qui-Gon sharply, "Shouting at someone is not an appropriate away to convey your argument."
He scowled up at Qui-Gon.
"Now explain your reasoning," said Qui-Gon firmly.
"Master Ur Manka's journal says that the Dark Side warps someone's perception, it influences their thoughts, he figured that out with Siri," said Anakin, "I don't how he convinced her to try the first time since you guys said she was likely sent there to kill him, but no one here was offering her a strong enough reason to even try a second time. She'd need something powerful to make her fight that, to make her change, and she wasn't going to find that here. So I had to use the one thing I knew would get her."
His lips peel back into a sneer that is far to much like Siri's for Obi-Wan's liking. "Like grandmaster told me, she abused my past, how I think and act, so I did the same right back to her. She was greedy for power, and people says I'm the strongest Force Sensitive ever. So I used that and it worked. I'll keep dragging her out until she's ready to decide. She's not all dark anymore, its still there yeah, but she can make a choice fully on her own once she's better."
Oh Anakin... his argument is not going to go over well. Mentions of revenge, not-even subtle arrogance, willingness to do it again. While the Dark influences those afflicted with it, their decisions are still theirs, disregarding that and saying 'its just the Dark Side' is a lack of responsibility the Council won't appreciate. Its all mixed with good intentions, yes, but...
"And if she chooses to return to the Dark Side?" posed Fay, completely and surprisingly skipping over anything Obi-Wan thought she might point out, going for, he supposed, the heart of the matter.
Anakin shrugged. "Then at least it was a willing choice and not something influenced by her already falling when her master died. Maybe she can even use the Dark right this time around. I think that's what the Force wants."
What in the hell was he going on about? There was no way to use the Dark Side right. Oh Force, why in the world had he said that in front of the entire Council? Of which, there is intense disapproval, and disbelief from them. Its far to late to try to explain things and contain reactions quietly and securely in the Jinn/Skywalker apartment. There's no way to cover for or mitigate that, not when its outright spoken to them. There will be consequences.
"That is all Padawan Skywalker, you are dismissed," said Master Windu immediantly and firmly.
Anakin scowls, but walks out.
"I think," said Dooku thinly after the doors close, "That we need to execute what was discussed in my padawan's apartment last week. Skywalker needs to be separated from Tachi. This is leading to dangerous heretical leanings that need to be dealt with before it spreads anymore than it already has within him. Qui-Gon needs the time to teach his apprentice the proper Jedi path without Tachi there always pulling my Grandpadawan's attention away and interfering."
His nose wrinkles. "On the matter of Tachi herself, if she can't stay away from the Dark Side without the Chosen One's power as a constant temptation and pull, can it truly be said she actually did turn away? Under her own merit?"
The Council nods in agreement.
Master Windu rubs his eyes tiredly. "I can't even begin to make sense of all the shatterpoints that have spread through Skywalker in the last week alone, there are far to many breakpoints in far to many things connected to both him and Tachi. What he did in that apartment, and what he is suggesting, is dangerous beyond belief. Qui-Gon, you need to get your padawan back on the right path. We are going to require weekly, not just monthly reports, of his training."
Qui-Gon's lips thin. "I see."
"Master Jinn," said Fay calmly, "This is not something to be disregarded, not this time. He voiced open consideration that the Dark Side can be used in a 'right manner', there are many examples of what happens when a Jedi adopts that mindset. None of which have had the strength in the Force that Padawan Skywalker does. Master Windu and I have discussed in the past that he firmly lacks the control that would be necessary to divert that outlook into Vapaad."
She levels her gaze squarely on Jinn. "This order will be obeyed, or he will be removed as your padawan and sent to the Service Corps."
"You would consider that?" protested Qui-Gon, "He is the Chosen One..."
"And as the Chosen One, he will choose," said Fay, her voice for once taking a sharp edge, "Prophecy does not invalidate free will. Being the Chosen One does not mean he actually will carry it out. He could refuse that destiny if he so chose, he could warp or taint its meaning into something else, or worse, choose to fall instead and completely subvert it. If the last starts to become the most likely, better he never receive the full training of a Jedi, and better he be hid away from the Sith discreetly in one of the Service Corps."
She let that settle in for a moment before continuing, "There is also the fact that Master Nu is not sure the archives even have the original version of the Prophecy either. I have read much on this, and there are other versions of the Prophecy that do not mention the Chosen One being a Jedi, nor do they even mention the destruction of the Sith, both potentially being added by our Order at a later date for 'clarification purposes'.
Obi-Wan doesn't properly contain his startlement, some of the council members mirroring this.
Master Windu frowns thoughtfully. "In your opinion, Master Fay, what do you personally think it means?"
"If Tachi is to be believed on the blasphemous, arrogant, damning act the Sith did to unbalance the Force," mused Fay, "It may be as 'simple' as destroying the Veil of the Dark Side. Truthfully though, I do not know if such a thing can be done without killing the Sith, or Darth Sidious at least, as he appears to mold and control it. But truly, I don't know. We are mere mortals, all of us, none can truly known and comprehend the Will of the Force, the Prophecy may have meanings we do not known or understand if Skywalker is to fulfill it at all."
Master Windu tilts his head in acknowledgement, settling back into his chair before looking at Qui-Gon. "The Council will select a mission for you and Padawan Skywalker to be deployed on within the week, likely a long term senatorial or archivist one without too much risk of danger so you may focus on his training. Perhaps a mission alongside the Exploration Corps may distract him from the intent of these missions, his over-enjoyment of anything related to flying is well known."
Qui-Gon gives a nod, but says nothing else. He's never suffered well anyone interfering in the training of his padawans without his blessing when he wasn't busy questioning his own self-worth as a teacher. Sometimes, he had wished Qui-Gon had been more consistent and calm with that over the years. But there's no use dwelling on the past. They bow and leave, retreating to their individual apartments.
Obi-Wan settles down onto his meditation mat, closing his eyes and carefully letting himself drift into the Force. There are many thoughts and emotions that he needs to sort through since Anakin's... 'session' with Siri. Doing it so close to where Anakin flat out ripped her from the Dark and kicked up a storm in the Force is... potentially unwise. But he admits he enjoys the freshness he feels from the Force. He sinks in and begins to sort himself.
First, he acknowledges and releases an emotion he should not have felt: Jealousy. He can admit to himself that he had wanted to be the one to pull Siri out. Even if this had been against her will and ended up being only temporary. It plays on feelings of inadequacy that had plagued him in his early apprenticeship. But its a foolish thing, Siri herself had once told him she considers the Jedi's strength to be their unity, their ability to work together. If alone one of them could not manage and triumph, then another could step in and help.
He is glad Anakin did so, even if his methods were questionable.
Next he wonders how Anakin actually did it. Because as it had been pointed out, it hadn't been a conscious choice on Siri's point. She had let Anakin in, yes, but hadn't taken the final step she had with Master Ur Manka and accepted it. Anakin had just outright ripped her from the Dark, something Obi-Wan would have considered impossible outside of severing the Force completely from someone like Ulic Qel-Droma had been in the far past. Was this a capability of the Chosen One? To do the impossible? Or was this something the Jedi had never uncovered themselves?
Regardless, he's not sure its safe. Siri is still emanating pain and exhaustion through the Force. There are some that might consider that, or even worse, an acceptable price to pay for freeing someone from the Dark Side. But they forget, as much as most don't deserve the right, Sith are people to, and have their own rights so long as they are complying with the law and not an active threat. He wonders if Anakin could do that to Sidious...
The shadow has chosen his path...
Obi-Wan startles a little bit at the clear and yet very sad answer from the Force. Obi-Wan considers it for a moment before returning a sense of understanding to the Force. For all the evil Sidious had done and will do, he could have chosen to do good instead, but did not. And thus does the Force grieve for its lost child. Yet... how is it different for Siri?
The Force plucks and nudges a memory...
"Sith training is meant to purge the apprentice of all connections to their past lives. To destroy and beat out of them their ability to feel compassion, mercy, and the like. The Sacrifice is the pinnacle of that effort, where the apprentice is meant to kill someone who once held significance in their life as proof of severing their chains of the past, and their devotion to the Sith Order."
Siri's words during her questioning session in the Senate fill his ear. He sends an apology to the Force for asking a question he should have already been able to answer. Sidious has destroyed himself out of a lust for power, Siri had yet to fully do so. She had done absolutely damning things, but... no one who could still love was lost unless they chose to be. Though...
"...no one here was offering her a strong enough reason to even try a second time. She'd need something powerful to make her fight that, to make her change, and she wasn't going to find that here..."
Anakin's words strike at him in a weary way, and he honestly wonders, what would it take to get someone as fallen or more fallen than Siri to willingly chose to leave the Dark Side...?
Obi-Wan's meditation is suddenly swept away, and he finds himself standing in a hanger bay somewhere, alarms blaring. But what draws him is a young man in darker clothing leaning over... someone in a dark life support suit?
"No, you're coming with me. I'll not leave you here. I've got to save you."
"You already have, Luke. You were right. You were right about me. Tell your sister, you were right…"
Then its gone, and Obi-Wan is left confused. What... was that?
What could have been...
What was that supposed to mean?
But the Force grows silent, and Obi-Wan takes the hint. The Force may offer guidance, but it is not a nurse maid. Some things people have to figure out on their own. He lingers, on the sadness of that moment he saw. Whoever the man was, he had been going to die no matter what. The love though, and the care the younger man had felt for him, the compassion, it had blown Obi-Wan away with how deep it was. But what was the difference, Obi-Wan wondered, between that pair, and Obi-Wan and Siri themselves? Their situation, what had been done and lead up to that?
Was this a past could have been, or a future could have been?
Did it matter?
He supposed not.
He took in a deep breath, let it out, and returned to his meditation...
Patience...
The Dark Side both placates and snarls in response to the molten fury burning through Sidious's veins. He is not some foolish overeager child, he knows what happened does not require an immediate reaction as Tachi's betrayals and revelations to the Jedi had in years past. But this... what she had done... he would have to be deaf to the Force to not feel what had happened. A second time his apprentice had broken her loyalty to the Dark Side and the Sith. The first time she had the excuse of stumbling into it while under an act to kill Ur Manka. Her petty challenges over the last few years to him were still true to herself and the Dark Side, but this?
It is rare that Sidious has ever felt personally wounded by something.
What had gone wrong in her training to allow this?
Sidious clasps his hands behind his back as he stares out the window in his office towards the Jedi Temple. He is missing something, he feels it. Something important. It had better be significant, otherwise he will not refrain from capturing and/or killing Tachi the next time he has the option to do so. Taming a rebellious and renegade Sith Apprentice was one thing, but someone who would truly return?
That deserved only extermination.
*ping ping*
Sidious turns back to his desk, moving to sit and read a report from-from the Jedi Council. Ah, yes, required by court order to keep the Republic government, and more importantly him, up to date on anything relating to Tachi. Good, answers then. He opens it, reading it once, pausing in disbelief, reading it twice, then he sits and lets the shock of it roll over him, then he slowly reaches for his comlink.
"Vosa."
"Yes Master?"
"I have a new mission for you, I will send you the details and the location within the week, prepare yourself to be of use," he said with cold, acid fury in his tone.
"As... you wish," she said cautiously, "What are my orders?"
"Kill Anakin Skywalker."
Chapter 54: Faulty Starts
Chapter Text
"Siri, wake up."
"Nnnn... five more minutes Master Gallia..."
"I'm... I'm not..."
Siri blearily opened her eyes, finding herself in the halls of healing, with a concerned/hopeful looking Obi-Wan standing beside her bed with a tray of food. She slow blinked at him, confused; the splitting headache she had really didn't help matters. It took her a very, very long moment for everything to hit her. Rather than deal with it, she just groaned, muttered out "I'm not awake enough for this shit", and rolled over away from him, pulling her covers up. Really though, blind embarrassment filled her, she hadn't woken up like that in years, since the early days of her apprenticeship as a Sith.
It took her another long moment to register why. "On second thought, where is Supernova? I'm going to shove my boot up his ass."
"Away on his first mission with Qui-Gon," answered Obi-Wan crisply, "It was best thought that he be away before he causes anymore of a mess."
She slowly rolled over to give him a stink eye. "Oh? And here I was thinking you'd be jumping up and down in joy."
"You didn't chose to turn away," he said flatly, "So I'm not exactly expecting it to stick."
She sighed and rolled back away. "I should have stuck with 'not awake enough'. I have to much of a damn headache for this right now."
"Considering Anakin did the literal impossible and brute force ripped you from the Dark Side, I'm not surprised," said Obi-Wan, "You've been out for a week. Food and water rather than paste fed through a tube would probably help."
"Why so sensible Kenobi?"
"Its how I was raised."
"Terrible influence that Master Jinn."
Obi-Wan sighs, a sense of -still the same as ever- emanating down the bond before he set the tray down on the edge of the bed. Siri grumbled before slowly sitting up, wincing at each throb down her head into her spine. Kriffing shit this was going to become unbearable very quickly. She sat the tray on her lap and plucked at it. All the while, she slowly turned her thoughts back to her last memories before Supernova had shattered her world. The glory of that moment was something she coveted, and was reluctant to mention, so she probably wouldn't, oh how she wanted it again...
And before that...
She closed her eyes for a long moment. "You might be surprised Obi-Wan. Skywalker gave me a challenge, and I'm loath to let him win in any manner."
Obi-Wan frowned. "A challenge?"
"What was it he said," she mused, "No Jedi, no Sith, no Light Side, no Dark Side, no Force, what do I want? Can I figure that out without the Dark Side's input, and my own added rule of no one else's expectations either."
She said that last part giving Kenobi a pointed look.
"I was under the impression," said Obi-Wan slowly, a throb of hurt coming down the bond, "That you wanted the power to kill Sidious, that was your motivation every waking moment."
"Killing Sidious is necessary to survive," and for Obi-Wan to live, "Its revenge, I hate him, its also business as a Sith, I don't become the Master myself until he's dead."
And at least another decade or two of learning. She needed to go back to her hideout at some point to get the Scriptures, and back to Naboo to get Zannah. Oh boy, Zannah was going to be pissed being left on the ship in a swamp for so long. Or... maybe she went into stasis, who knows.
"You still consider yourself a Sith?"
Siri narrowed her eyes at him. "The Sith is an ideology, a way of life, a type of government, a religion. More than just Sith Lords have been called Sith. There were once armies of non-Force Sensitives who were called 'Sith'. The Rule of Two may have stripped most of the rest away, but it does not change the fact that you don't need to have the Force, nor use the Dark Side, to be Sith."
"So, live as a mass murdering psychopath and you too be can considered a Sith," mocked Obi-Wan.
Siri bared her teeth. "If we're going to be technical, I think I'd legally be considered a sociopath thank you very much."
"That really isn't comforting."
"It wasn't meant to be," she snarled, "I know who and what I am, Obi-Wan, what aspect of the Force I currently feel does not change that."
"Yes, we've already been over the fact that you know what you do is monstrous, that the Sith are evil..."
"If not for Sidious, things would be far different."
"Pinning the blame?"
"Its at least partially true," she cut back, "There are aspects of being Sith that I enjoy, that call to me, and on the flip side, there are things about being Sith that I loath, even with the Dark pulsing through me."
"Such as what specifically? You always happen to slip out of conversations about that."
"Such as none of your damn business," she answered flatly, before looking away and clenching her jaw, "Not at least until I've... I've meditated."
He frowned. "You don't seem thrilled with the prospect."
"I meditated once after Ur Manka helped me...," she began before trailing off, a pinched expression crossing her face, "I had to look into myself, it was... unpleasant at the time."
Her eyebrows furrowed. "Though, that was trying meditate with the Light after being fallen. I'm... not technically fallen anymore, I... guess? But I'm not light either, what little I can feel in the Force that isn't a painful throb is... weird."
He raised a questioning eyebrow.
She didn't answer.
The food and water helped a little, but honestly, she was going to need time for this to fix itself.
It could be faster... you could feed off the pain instead... back in fighting shape able to defend yourself immediately...
Siri paused, frowning a little. There was an eager, almost jittery jolt down her spine, a craving at the whisper of the Dark. She squashed the impulse, first rule of the Dark Side, fallen or not, was to control it, not be controlled by it. Still... that jittery impulse rubbed her wrong...
She brushed the thoughts aside. "I hope Supernova got a shitty politician watching mission as his first. Boring as kriff and would serve him right."
"Well, actually..."
Siri threw back her head and laughed. "Really?"
"Mhm, though, I think that was more to allow him time to work on his studies, he's been... lax with anything that didn't particularly interest him."
Siri snorted, smiling at the thought. "Don't doubt that."
There was a ripple of surprise from Obi-Wan that whipped down the bond, she glanced at him. "What?"
"I... don't think I've seen a genuine, none-sadistic or sarcastic or something along those lines smile from you since before the Tally mission," he said quietly, gazing at her with something in his eyes that made her squirm briefly.
That comment was a great way to kill said smile. She scowled at him. "Get off your high horse Kenobi."
"I didn't say anything but to remark that its been gone," he said, "Its... nice to see that again."
Something in her stomach twisted at the subtle sadness in his voice, along with him liking her smile. She just huffed and turned away, toying with the thought. Its not as if she hadn't admitted straight up to him that the Dark suppressed certain emotions, or altered how they were felt. There had been... genuine delight and amusement for a moment there, and despite that it had been at Skywalker's expense... there had been no actual malice behind it, not a single dark tint to it. She won't admit how unsettled this makes her.
She knew what the Dark did, but... feeling this... it made her honestly bubbly for the first time in... in nearly ten years.
She shook her head, frustrated. Why couldn't it be both? Shove the emotions she didn't want or need down, but keep these kind available? Well... obvious answer, the Dark was greedy, it didn't like things that didn't give it power. Being genuinely happy didn't really feed the Dark, now did it?
"Tsk," she grumbled under her breath, she had to meditate and figure this shit out.
Because, as much as she enjoys the dark, she found she liked what she had just felt, she... had forgotten how it felt. There had to be a way to get both...
"So, what happens now?" asked Siri.
"Rest here or rest in your room?"
"You know what I meant."
"Nothing really," said Obi-Wan, "You're still on parole in the Temple for plenty more years. Anything else depends on you."
"The only thing I care to do right now is go back to sleep," she said sourly, "For a week straight."
"So long as you actually get up to eat once in a while, by all means, take the time to recover."
"Yes mom."
"Nice to see your maturity hasn't changed much."
"Turn the lights off on the way out."
He didn't.
That bastard.
She grumbles under her breath, winces when she reaches out with the Force, but flicks them off before huffing and snuggling into her covers to sleep.
She scowls at every Jedi who stares at her wide eyed with disbelief when she is eventually escorted back to her room days later. Some she gets the sense feel like this is another of her 'games', or using a False Aura of Light. Others feel like their entire worldview was turned upside down when they look at her and do a brush against her voice signature for confirmation. At least half of those she passes have some kind of positive or negative reaction, the other half just regard her solemnly but don't show what they think, a sense of -waiting- emanating from them. Those ones are like Kenobi, waiting to see if it 'sticks'.
Makes her want to draw on the Dark purely out of spite.
They're not worth the effort she decides, returning to her room and...
She twitches as she walks in, the Dark coating the place like a strong gust against her, a brief stinging sensation. It takes a moment to adjust before it settles on her shoulders, familiar, its her, and yet... its not the comfort it was. Neither is it uncomfortable, its just there, and shes hyper-aware that its there for some reason. She frowns, a little confused, but shakes her head and walks to the center. She's loath to do this, but she knows she has to. She levitates the furniture out of the way, twitching as the room's darkness clings to her, begging and whispering for her to use it. Was the Dark Side always so whiny for attention?
She shakes it off and settles down, closing her eyes and sighing. She's... really not sure how to go about this. Does she try what she vaguely remembers as Jedi meditation? Does she try Sith Meditation? Both are honestly going to make her lean one way or the other. So, how does she rectify this? She considers it for a moment before she goes to the basics: What does she want out of this meditation? Primarily, to get the damn guilt fit she's expecting over and dealt with. She is honestly curious why it didn't hit her yet. Maybe it was because she hadn't really thought about individual instances? Or because she wasn't meditating in the Light and being forced to confront it? She dwells on that, and then recalls something she wondered about years ago:
Was it possible to meditate on emotions other than what fueled the Dark Side?
Its something she had never tested out... well... in for a credit as they say. Lets rip the bandied off, and probably some skin with it.
She delves for one of the things she's done she will always regret: slapping Obi-Wan's face on some teenage boy and raping them. The mere thought of it instantly makes her stomach clench, and the meditation swirl. It turns out the answer is yes. She can in fact meditate with other emotions, and meditating with regret was a terrible first choice. She clutches her stomach and keels over, forehead pressing against the floor, taking in raged breaths. The physical is quickly blotted out as she is pulled down into a storm that rages around her and rips her raw.
Beatings...
Screams...
Blood...
Pleading for lives...
The hiss of a red lightsaber...
The crackle of lightning...
A neck crushed...
Her own twisted laughter...
"You let him make a slave out of you," Anakin's voice echoes in.
"There wasn't a choice!" she screams into the storm.
Fay's voice rings in. "You could have, and should have, chosen to die instead. You don't even have the excuse of being broken and dominated into this life. You chose to accept the Sith. How many have died, and how many will die yet, because of that choice I wonder?"
"That wouldn't have changed anything!" she shrieked, "He... he would have just found someone else! Put them... put them through everything I was put through, damned them as I was damned, and like I told Anakin, I..."
Ash filled her mouth. "I wouldn't wish that on anyone..."
The storm stops tearing around her and starts swirling instead, breaking away and leaving her in the eye of the storm... and in the center across from her is herself. Only... she's scarred, every wound that had ever healed on Siri's flesh was still there plain as day on the reflection, scars and lightning burns almost completely blotting out pale skin underneath. Blood oozed from seemingly every poor, her lips cracked into a twisted smile, and her hands... her hands looked like they were made of blood, and she knew it wasn't her own. Her eyes were a mixture of blue and molten yellow, full of hate and suffering, and yet...
Her reflection's voice is cracked when it speaks, echoing her words, "I wouldn't wish that on anyone."
Siri swallows thickly. "No."
"Why?"
"Do you honestly think I ever wanted this?" asked Siri bitterly.
"Not in particular, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it."
Siri's jaw clenched.
"The thrill of the kill, of life extinguishing by my will," purred the reflection, "The power, the control, I decided who lived or died..."
"I made the best of the hand I was dealt," snarled Siri, "Maybe to others that's just excuses, but it was MY reality!"
"But I enjoyed it, why did I enjoy it?"
Siri closed her eyes, teeth grinding. The kriff was she arguing with herself in here for?
"Why?"
She should have just shoved it away...
"Why?"
"Because I didn't have that control over my own life!" she shouts, "I lived or I died by Sidious's will and nothing I could do would change that!"
The smile widened, and blood spilled down the reflection's chin. "So I found release in doing unto others as was done onto me, but..."
"It changed nothing," muttered Siri bitterly, looking down into the abyss she floated over before glancing back up, "But do you know what?"
"What?"
"Assuming I was put into the same situations once more, I'd do it all again."
The storm stopped, dark clouds hanging around them.
"Why?"
"Like I told Obi-Wan, I'm the lesser evil," admitted Siri, a grimace on her face, "If I ever succeed in killing Sidious, then it will all be worth it, and I'm... I'm saying that without the Dark active in me, and agreeing with it. Because... because there is nothing that is good left in Sidious from whoever he used to be. Maybe... maybe if I had killed Obi-Wan on Naboo, I would have ended up like him. But I didn't. Maybe I'm still twisted, but I have limits, lines I won't cross, Sidious does not. He'd slaughter billions just because he could if he felt the desire to.
"And I wouldn't?"
Siri took a moment to honestly look at her reflection before she finds an answer that would probably get her shot or stabbed if she ever admitted it aloud. "Not unless killing those billions had an actual guaranteed result of killing Sidious, because that would still likely be less people killed in the long run. Because if Sidious lived, killed me, and took on a new apprentice... it would all just continue."
The reflection chuckled. "I can admit I'd commit genocide to kill Sidious, and still find that as acceptable. Dark, light, or whatever the hell I am now, I'm still kriffed up. Sometimes I wonder why someone hasn't put a lightsaber through me and been done with it."
Siri deflated. "The time for that was a long time ago. After Garen... after I murdered Garen, I would have accepted that in a heartbeat. If Sidious hadn't sent Zannah to me..."
"Fallen on my lightsaber?"
"Fallen on my lightsaber."
The reflection hums. "Honesty sucks."
Siri snorted in agreement. "I know what I am, a monster, a necessary monster to kill a worse one, I really don't see what this is needed for."
"Don't I?"
Siri raises an eyebrow.
"No, I'm not evading it this time. I consider it all worth it, necessary sacrifices I believe the phrase was," said the reflection, before giving Siri a hard look filled with self-loathing, "I admit I'm a monster, but I overlook too much, compartmentalize too much. Those sacrifices deserve better than to be forgotten and swept aside. So I will watch, I will remember, and I will never forget what I did on the path to kill Sidious."
Siri didn't have a chance to scream before the storm renewed itself and surged, colliding with her and the reflection and smothering them together...
Siri kept the door closed with the Force for the next few days, Obi-Wan's concern be damned, she could sustain herself with the Force for such a small trifle time.
She...
She needed the time to deal with it all. She's honestly surprised she can remember the faces and names of so many of her victims, or maybe the Force supplied them. That meditation had ripped her raw and shoved it all down her throat. She'd meant what she said to herself, she'd still do it all again, as much as the thought twisted her stomach. It was all necessary to kill Sidious... she just... wishes the price hadn't been so high, that she hadn't been more cautious, considerate, and calculative on who actually needed to suffer and die. She doesn't want the price to be that steep from here on in. She will kill who she must, harm who she must, but unless there is a need too, or someone she cares for is hurt... she doesn't want any more blood than required staining herself.
The Dark is no longer prowling around the fence, it patiently sits by the gate in the familiar form of a hound, tail thumping slowly on the ground, staring at her through the bars. She doesn't know why the meditation changed that. Everything feels weird and new and strange to her. Offbalanced would be a acceptable term for herself, and she really doesn't want to go out until she's settled.
Except her stomach is letting her know just how upset it is with that idea.
So, Siri leaves, making her way down the hallway with the Temple Guards falling in behind her as she makes her way to the dinning hall...
Only to pause when she hears an interesting topic around the corner, "So, think they'll finally knight Kenobi?"
That's right, he still was a padawan wasn't he?
"Hell if I know," was the reply.
Siri smiled a little, amused. Judging by the age of the voices, padawans running the rumor mill. Some things never change.
"I mean, she's not dark anymore, right?"
What did that have to do with...
"That was what they said his trails were going to be, though, he wasn't exactly the one to do it."
Siri blanks for a moment before fire pours down her spine. The Dark rises to its feet and howls, baying in fury and betrayal before Siri can even fully register what was said. She blinks, and she finds herself already half way back towards her room, or rather, Kenobi's room next to hers. The Dark presses its muzzle against the bars and seeps through, spilling into dark tendrils dripping ooze, reaching for her, begging for her, offering to sate her RAGE. It reaches her, but before it can wrap itself around her, she reaches out with a fist and clenches over the tendrils, binding them together in her grip. The Dark does not control her, she controls it.
She opens the door, steps through, and kicks it closed, spotting Obi-Wan kneeling on the floor on a mat in meditation. She crosses the distance, grabs him by the throat with Force infused strength, lifts him up as she moves, and slams him into the wall as he's jolted out of his meditation. His hands instantly go for her wrists, confused, bewildered, and panicked.
"Was it all a lie Kenobi? Was I just a path to your Knighthood?" she snarls.
"S...iri...," he wheezes, before switching to the bond, "What are you talking about?!"
"DON'T LIE TO ME!" she roars at him, pouring the sense of betrayal down the bond, shoving the memory of what she just heard at him.
The doors fly open and the guard come in. "Unhand him!"
She throws out her hands and pins them to the wall, consequences be damned. If Kenobi is just using her like this, then kriff him, kriff the judicial deal, she's gone.
"Siri, no! Force no!" he shouts down the bond, "I never asked for that! The Council took something my Master said and made it my trials as a punishment for my attachment, though they didn't phrase it like that exactly, its what I took it as."
The red rage is so hard to see through. She stares at him for a long moment, her fury barely abated. "Yet you didn't reject it and demand fair trials? Did you even argue? Or did you agree even if you didn't ask for it?"
"I've already riled and defiled the Council enough over the last few years Siri," he pleads, "My vision's blurring Siri, air, AIR!"
Siri snarled and let him go, dropping him and watching him cough, her gaze cold as she shifts to gripping his forehead instead. "Show me what you think and feel on it, now."
He glares up at her. "Do you truly have so little trust in me?"
"Yes."
The wounded look doesn't even phase her. She cannot, will not, leave this to blind trust and faith. He lets her in, and she doesn't hesitate to look. She's still so furious, hurt by the fact that he allowed that to go through, that he didn't challenge them on it. "I will not be used this way Obi-Wan. You will demand to take your trials, or so help me, I'll go full on Dark again purely out of spite."
"Aren't you already?" he bit out, "Barely a week conscious and already back in it."
The Dark Side is still in her grip, wrapped around her fist as much as its clenched in it, slithering up her arm and dying it black. She takes a deep breath, and lets go, flapping a mental hand to ward it off. The Dark reaches for her still, but she snarls at it in warning, staring down the Dark with narrowed, challenging eyes. Slowly, the tendrils retreat into the form of the Dark Hound, staring at her through the bars as it sits back down to wait.
"Siri... what did you just do?" whispered Obi-Wan, baffled and slightly awed, "You were as dark as you normally were, but you just..."
She made an about face and left him unanswered, only releasing the Temple Guard after she was out of the room...
Obi-Wan is knighted less than a week later.
She hears it in passing, but she doesn't go to see him, and he doesn't come to see her. She also doesn't know if he was knighted because of her, or because he actually went into the Trial Chamber. She can admit she's to much of a coward to ask. The Temple Guard glare at her, and Windu gives her a disproving stern warning, but nothing more comes of her throttling Obi-Wan. So, life enters into what she determines as a normal-adjustment phase. Its business as usual except she's learning to figure herself out.
That comes to a very abrupt halt when Dooku storms into her room in an absolute fury.
She raises an eyebrow at him, unimpressed. "What?"
"It would seem," began Dooku darkly, "Based on what my old padawan overheard in an... encounter on his mission, your Master has replaced you with another Sith Apprentice."
Siri scoffed. "In three years flat? Including time taken to find said apprentice? A tool or an acolyte likely, not an apprentice, not yet at least."
Dooku's jaw set. He was pissed about something, it was boiled beneath the surface.
"Did you know?" snarled Dooku.
"Did I know what?"
"Did you know Komari Vosa was alive!"
Siri blinked. "The psycho Bando Gora bitch? Sidious is really scrapping the bottom of the barrel it seems."
Dooku's face twisted into something like an animal, hand actually going for his lightsaber before he controlled himself. "Komari Vosa was my padawan before circumstances led to her dismissal, on which she foolishly snuck aboard a mission to confront that cult in which she was presumed dead."
Ah... well then. "No, I didn't know she was your apprentice."
"Considering how long you led me on a wild chase, Iris, I find it hard to believe you did not study your target."
"You were Sidious's potential tool, not mine," she sniffed, "Incase you forgot, Qui-Gon Jinn knowing Makashi took me completely by surprise on Naboo. Aside from you being the Makashi master, I really didn't give you much thought."
Dooku scoffed, teeth grinding.
"Why is this important to you?"
"BECAUSE MY GRANDPADAWAN IS IN SURGERY!" roared Dooku, "For a lightsaber wound across his chest and his right arm taken off near his shoulder!"
Siri's insides turned to ice. "What?!"
"Vosa...," Dooku trailed off for a moment, actual grief emanating from him, "Vosa tried very hard to kill her nephew Padawan. If not for Qui-Gon, Anakin would be dead right now. As it is, we don't know if he will live. It depends how deep the saber wound went."
The Dark around the fence in her mind HOWLED in absolute fury, shaking the bars, and Siri howled with them inside, fury rolling through her. "Did Jinn kill her."
"No, drove her off."
Fear surged through her. "Wait, where is Anakin now?"
"Like I said, in surgery."
"On Coruscant, or the planet where he was injured?"
"Where he was...
"IDIOT!" roared Siri, "Sidious doesn't tolerate failure, she has to know this! She's not going to just give up just because Jinn put up a bit of resistance! Do you at least have a team on the way to support Jinn?! Or do you really value Skywalker's life so little?"
Dooku scowled darkly at her.
"Send me after her."
Dooku slow blinked. "What?"
"Send. Me. After. Her," snapped Siri, "Anakin is in danger so long as she's either alive, or free to move about. Especially if only one Jedi is there to guard an immobile boy who moving around could critically injure."
"The Council will never approve that," said Dooku.
"I'm not asking the Council, I'm asking you," said Siri thinly, "You and I will go, now, you have my word I will willingly return, with Anakin alive. Or are we going to pretend neither of us care about the little shit?"
Dooku huffed, grumbling.
"Do we have an accord?"
Dooku stared at her for a very long moment. It was his eyes that gave away his answer, because as much as she had heard what kind of a man he had used to be, he had still trained Qui-Gon Jinn, who trained Obi-Wan, both of who had been terribly attached, who he constantly visited with and was attached to as well. Lineage was important to him, and the fear hiding in his eyes betrayed that. He feared for Skywalker, and, for Jinn. Even for Obi-Wan if what she feels is right, worried that his entire lineage will be targeted by her so-called replacement.
"I'm going to be thrown out of the Order for this," mused Dooku, "But if that is the price I pay for the Chosen One's safety, so be it."
She raised an eyebrow, he merely turned and walked off. "Come, we'll retrieve your lightsaber before we leave."
Oh yes Dooku, play it off as protecting 'The Chosen One'. Anyone would see right through that. Still, when they break through the atmosphere, and a blinking red light shows up as an incoming transmission, all Dooku does is hit the reject button before entering hyperspace and they settle in to wait...
"Corulag huh? That's... Snopps right?"
Dooku glances briefly at her from his place at the controls. "Senator Zafiel Snopps, yes."
He frowns. "Did you find in your spying that he is corrupt? Or is he in Sidious's pocket?"
"Sidious, no. Corrupt? About average for a Senator."
Dooku scoffed derisively. "The fact that 'average for a Senator' fits them in regards to their taint says much about the state of the galaxy."
Siri hummed at that. "Considering we would have likely felt if he died, he survived the surgery. Do we know where Anakin is?"
"Yes, Qui-Gon informed me of which hospital so I could pass it onto the Council."
"Hmm, five credits says the Council figured us out and has already commed him."
"I'm not so foolish as to take that bet."
Siri smiled a little. "You're not going to like this, but we're splitting up when we land."
Dooku went still.
"You are going to go play damage control, and protect Skywalker," said Siri, "I'm going to go hunting."
Dooku regards her for a long moment. "If possible Tachi, take her alive."
Siri crossed her arms. "Hoping the same for her as for me won't end well. You know what the Bando Gora do to their... conscripted. Coupled with Sidious..."
"This is partially my failing," admitted Dooku quietly, "I owe it to her to at least try."
"Do or do not," she said mockingly.
"Do kindly shut your mouth," snapped Dooku.
Siri smiled a little at the rise before going serious as they docked down. "I'll see what I can do. But if I'm put in a position where I have to choose her or Skywalker, you know who I will choose."
He doesn't answer.
Siri takes a moment to refresh herself on what she knows of Corulag. It was a terrestrial world. Mostly human, just a tad speciest. Was on the end of a hyperroute. Big cities, forests of some kind of weird tree in underdeveloped areas. Otherwise she couldn't recall much else, she had been here like... once? Not for Sidious, but for the Black Sun for a delivery.
Then she shifts to Vosa. Current (former?) leader of the Bando Gora. Modestly insane due to the drugs the cult used on its members. Fallen. Former apprentice of Dooku, which meant Makashi. If Dooku's intel from Jinn was accurate, current tool/stand-in apprentice to Sidious. How that would have changed her from Cult Leader to now was up in the air. Sidious wouldn't have tolerated a stark-raving mad pawn that could endanger his own plans, so he probably did something about the madness. Likely gave her training to bring her up to par to be of use. Gave her a few test missions he would have watched over to see for competence, then sent her out to do his will. Possibility of being taught basic Dark Side techniques, maybe the beginnings of another Lightsaber form.
Siri smiled with just a touch of malice. She was going to finally get to play.
She beckons the Dark through the bars again, not opening the gate to it, not letting it in fully, but enough for her purposes. It stretches to her, and she grips it again, binding it to her fist. She wraps herself in the Dark Side, masking her presence as they split up. Hunting another Darksider is going to be an interesting experience. She had kind of done so when teaching Mighella more about the Force as the Sith use it, but hadn't gone too indepth as to not risk Sidious's wrath should he figure out the woman knew more than she would have as a Nightsister. Still, she uses that basis, scenting for subtle hints of the Dark, the mark of the Veil.
Because Vosa isn't Sidious, isn't even close to Siri in experience. She wont have the exposure of using the Veil for years on missions, and sure enough, she locks on. Good enough to fool Jedi, but not nearly good enough to hide from a Sith. Likely Sidious's intentions for keeping track of the psycopath. Siri picks up the pace when she realizes Vosa is moving in the same general direction Dooku is, towards Supernova's subdued light, definitely kept medically unconscious, the boy wouldn't be able to defend himself.
Then she realized that there were other dark presences around Vosa. Right, cult leader. A group of miscreants to do her bidding was something Siri never really had outside of certain Black Sun missions. Siri's most difficult missions, she'd done on her own. She can't say she's impressed. Still, maybe this explains how Vosa actually got at Anakin, if her lackeys distracted or pulled Jinn away. All they were to her was dead men. She'd only agreed to 'maybe' spare Vosa after all.
Siri weaves through crowds and the city, her hood up, presence clouded to any Force-Sensitive with an illuisonary nondescript face for regular beings. She tracks them to an apartment complex, no, top of it, on the roof. She begins vaulting up the fire escape with smothered-Force induced strength. She comes to the roof and crouches, moving along a metal duct until she finds her prey.
Vosa and eight of her sycophants. Siri dismisses the others as unimportant, looking over Vosa. She bore the robes of a Sith apprentice. Her hair was... weird. Gray/white sticking up and outward; did she stick a finger in an outlet or something? She bore two lightsabers at her belt. Hmm... Jar'Kai Makashi? That could be interesting. Otherwise Siri saw no other weapons.
"Mistress, I swear we could..."
"No," snaps out Vosa, "My old Master is on the planet, trying to infiltrate and exterminate the little brat isn't going to work. He could kill all of you on his own with ease. An missile is a much easier, and more sure to work method," she points at a large and tall building several streets away, "Twelfth floor, fifteenth window. The boy is unconscious for the moment, easy kill. Use the Force to direct your aim, and fire."
Then Siri notices one of Vosa's lackeys has a launcher of some sort and is starting to aim right for...
Siri stops thinking, and starts acting. Reaching out with the Force for the launcher, finding its ammo, and crushing it with the Dark Side. The launcher explodes, splattering its wielder all over the place, severely wounding those around him, launching a few off the building. Vosa barely acts in time to throw a hand out and blunt some of the explosion away from her and into her cohorts. All in all, only Vosa and two additions are left standing.
Siri thumbs her lightsaber. Easily solved.
She surges forward, planting a boot into Vosa's back while she's offbalanced, sending her off the roof before twisting, drawing her lightsaber, and running one of the remaining goons through. She pulls out as the other gets their baring and goes for a vibrosword on their back, pulling on the Force to burst forward and bisect him before he can finish getting it out. She hums to herself, satisfied with her work. "There we go, all alone on my lofty perch."
She takes a few steps towards the edge to see Vosa slowing her fall and bracing herself with the Force. "Tsk, that wont do."
Siri grins with malice and throws her hand downward at Vosa, shoving her right back into the freefall with the Force, a satisfying crack as the woman lands on her leg but succeeds in turning her impact into a roll. Without the Force, Vosa would have been paste, ah well, Dooku did want her alive Siri supposed. She takes her own controlled fall down, scaling down a few balconies before landing with a thud on the street, traffic and the public spreading away from the site.
"I must say, Acolyte, your awareness is pathetic," mocked Siri, "All your little followers dead or disabled, and that leg of yours, tsk."
Vosa staggers to her feet, drawing and activating her lightsabers, a hiss escaping her lips. "Lord Tyorsus, Sidious wasn't understating your viciousness."
Siri raises a single eyebrow. Well now..., "Speak well of me, does he?"
"Apparently," growls Vosa, "You are the bar we must all meet, surpass, and kill if we eventually wish to become his true apprentice."
"With no option to leave his service alive otherwise," mused Siri knowingly, watching Vosa twitch, "I'm going to give you one chance to leave this relatively unharmed Vosa. Surrender, otherwise... you won't like the results."
Vosa readies her sabers, and Siri takes a moment to analyze. Curved hilts held horizontally out to the side in an open stance, can lead into many different potential stances or counters. Adaptable, so a point in the psycho bitch's favor. Not that it will do her much good in the long run. "Foolish, but I was hoping you'd choose to fight."
Siri bares her teeth. "No one harms what is mine and gets away unscathed."
"Yours?" posed Vosa warily.
"Skywalker is one of the very few beings I actually like, Vosa," said Siri, "When he isn't being a little shit anyway. You, made the mistake of maiming him."
Siri grips her lightsaber tightly, beginning to really draw on the dark...
Then she falters as for once, she hears the cry of a kyber and reacts to it. Not Bane's Heart, but the other crystal, the one that gives her lightsaber its red color. The screaming of a Kyber hadn't affected her for a very, very long time. Now... now its unsettling. She takes in a deep breath, smothers the feeling with the Dark Side, and resolves to deal with that issue another time...
Apparently her hesitation was the only invitation Vosa needed, because the fool attacked with her broken leg, spinning through the air with a howl, landing in front of Siri, and bringing one lightsaber down from the right, and the other up from the left, in an attempt to bisect. Siri activates both end of her lightsaber, shifts the shaft to block both blades, and then planets her foot into Vosa's stomach, sending her stumbling back.
"Hows that leg feel?" mocked Siri, her eyes trailing to Vosa's side, at the blood leaking down, "Or the shrapnel from the launcher?"
"Pain feeds the Dark Side," snarled Vosa, reaching down to yank a piece out in a small spray of blood and then stabbing it back into her side a little lower.
Siri snorted, intentionally re-injuring one's self to drawn on their own paint wasn't the wisest thing for a quick cheap power boost. "Maybe, but blood loss sure wont help if this lasts long enough."
Siri deactivated one end of her lightsaber, adjusting her grip and thrusting for the woman's heart. Vosa blocked with one saber and swung for Siri's neck with the other. Siri ducked down and thrust a hand forward, sending Vosa flying backwards with the Force. Siri launched herself forward and swung as Vosa landed and rolled. Vosa deflected the blow and staggered away and to her feet, trying to regain balance, a wince as she put pressure on her leg.
"Really Vosa," said Siri mockingly, stabbing and slashing relentlessly, putting her on the defensive, "You lost this the moment you let your guard down and let me get the surprise on you."
"Do you ever shut up?!" spat Vosa.
Siri grinned. "Tsk, Sidious is being stingy again, he hasn't even bothered to teach you Dun Moch, has he?"
"Dun what?"
"Allow me to show you," said Siri before going what she imagined had to be a subject sure to get a rise out of her, "The only reason I didn't immediately kill you on the roof when your guard was down was because Dooku asked that I spare you."
Vosa snarled, her rage bleeding through the Force. "He has the gall? After he threw me away!?"
"Touchy," mocked Siri, activating the other end of her saberstaff as Vosa howled in rage and attacked in blind fury.
The Dark suited Vosa well. The fury, the pain, the betrayal fueled the woman, and with some basic Sith training, she was more than she would have been as a petty cultist with partial Jedi training. But where Vosa is the aspirant, Siri is the reality, and she's done playing. Soresu shines as an unassailable wall of defense, saberstaff spinning to block every block, deactivating and reactivating with months and months of trained precision with the Force's guidance along with it as to not bisect herself, allowing her control and saberuse few users of a saberstaff could ever get, or at least try to learn. She waits for just the right moment...
There, one saber blocked, one saber pulled back to swing, Siri deactivates the end that's tangled with Vosa's, allowing her to bring her other end up as Vosa briefly stumbled offbalance, right through the elbow of Vosa's left arm. The woman shrieks in pain, stumbling back, clutching her stump as the dismembered arm thumps onto the ground. "That, was retribution for Anakin."
She surged forward, shifting her grip and swinging down towards the woman's chest, as if to give her a mirror scar to what Anakin likely had. Vosa panics, backpedaling and swinging wildly to block. Siri clashes, then brings her foot up to kick the woman's remaining hand with Force imbued strength, knocking her lightsaber out of her hand, then twirling with enhanced speed to sever Vosa's remaining hand. "This is because I'm a vindictive bitch, good luck ever wielding a saber again."
Vosa howls and thrusts a stump at her, and for once, Siri's caught offguard when lightning explodes out wild and untamed, slamming into Siri and electing a 'omph' from her as she sent flying back. Siri lands on her back, skidding a little, before pushing off the ground and rising, a scowl on her face. "I'm pretty sure we both know Sidious's is worse, and I've built far more tolerance to that little technique than you."
"SHUT UP!" shrieks Vosa, pulling back an arm to throw more lightning forward.
Siri's had about enough though. Vosa is wild, uncontrolled, and in agony. Its not hard to overwhelm her defenses and grip her with the Force, lifting her up high, then slamming her into the street with a crack. The woman lays there groaning. Siri walks up to her kneels down, places a hand on her head and says, "Sleep."
The Force suggestion is briefly resisted, but Siri chants a soft sorcery, pin-point piercing through to inject the command in like a virus, then Vosa is out. Siri hums to herself, deactivating her lightsaber and putting it on her belt, hefting Vosa up and over her shoulder. Then she sees the crowds and police forces watching at a distance, then she sees camera droids recording at a distance.
"Ah shit, shoulda kept it on the roof," mused Siri, shaking her head and starting off.
The entire Council is due in half an hour.
Long enough for them to wake Anakin up and get him situated, the drugs should be wearing off soon.
Siri stares quietly at Skywalker from her place leaning against the wall in his recovery room. He might have been starting to grow, but... she'd never realized just how small he started out as. Due to malnourishment as a slave most likely. In the bed, hooked up to a temporary ventilator to help his repaired lungs breath, one fist clenching his sheets, the other stump flailing lightly in unpleasent dreams, he looked incredibly frail despite all the power he had lurking within him. Vosa's saber had went right through his rib cage and bit into his lung, how he lasted long enough to get help was beyond her. Force probably looking after its kid she supposed.
Qui-Gon sits at Anakin's bedside, head bowed, hands clasped tightly together. He hasn't said a single word since Siri came in, just a mere nod when she mentioned Vosa had been captured. Remorse, guilt, frustration, self-flagellation rolled off him in waves. Skywalker was his responsibility, and the boy had a very close brush with death on his very first mission outside the temple. Now the boy would be stuck with an constantly shifting prosthetic arm once he's fitted until he stopped growing, and Siri's not quite sure what they used to fix his lungs and ribs, he might need to periodically get those checked/adjust as he aged. She's not exactly privy to his medical information and knows better than to go digging twice.
Anakin stirs slowly, blinking blearily. His arm stump shifts as if to wipe at his eyes, but there's no hand there anymore. He stars at the empty space for a moment before he jolts into awareness, a panicked and horrified choking sound escaping his throat that makes Siri's stomach clench. Qui-Gon shifts out of his seat in a split second, sitting down next to Anakin on the edge of his bed and drawing him into a gentle hug.
"I'm sorry Anakin, I'm so sorry."
Anakin turns his face into Jinn's stomach and starts sobbing.
Siri quietly sees herself out and goes to the next room over where a subdued and unconscious Vosa is being tended to. Dooku stands watch, keeping her under with the Force alongside the medical drugs. His face is a tight mask, a mixture of grief and grimace, sorrow and contempt, many a different mixture. But above all else, a sense of self-failure.
"I'm not going to apologize for taking a hand and an arm."
"I wasn't going to ask you to," answered Dooku, "It's likely for the best. Though it can be worked around and adapted to, a prosthetic hand isn't quite the same for a Force Sensitive in wielding a lightsaber, especially if a control can be installed to disable them if she proves... uncooperative."
Siri hums in agreement. "You do know its very likely she's not coming back in any way, shape, or form, correct? Anakin managing to rip her out of the Dark isn't going to work because she will never trust him inside her head as I trusted him," she smiled a little, "I also can't see Supernova offering to help either."
"It would be the Jedi way to offer to help even after harm," mused Dooku, "But Padawan Skywalker isn't quite there yet."
"He also holds grudges like nobodies business."
Dooku sighed softly. "Likely, for her crimes in the Bando Gora, in addition to this attempted murder, a guarded cell is her fate, and unlike you, it is doubtful she has much to offer that she would be even willing to give. I doubt Sidious would make the same mistake twice giving her anything useful."
"Nothing she's going to tell us anyway," said Siri in consideration, "She did mention there being other acolytes. I doubt she would give names willingly..."
"Pillaging the mind is not a line the Jedi will cross," said Dooku sharply, "We will not breech her shields."
"Your choice," said Siri before shifting focus, "So... how much trouble are we in?"
"I don't find it worthwhile to dwell on the what may be when the what will be shall be upon us shortly," answered Dooku.
Siri grinned at that.
The Council arrives as Skywalker is being fitted with a small portable ventilator until the repaired lung is ready to stand on its own, letting out a soft raspy wheeze with every breath...
"KHOOOOH PUUUHRR."
Except its not Skywalker there anymore, for a second, his form shifted, large, armored, black...
Then it fades away before it can solidify, and Siri blinks back her confusion. The hell had that been? She nudges the Force, but all she gets is a sense of -what may be- that makes Siri frown uneasily, pocketing the thought for later as the Council funnels into the room. Surprisingly, they don't gun for Siri and Dooku right away.
Master Koon speaks first, voice soft as can be through his mask. "Are you alright, Padawan Skywalker?"
Anakin's voice is tight and shaky. "As... as much as I can be, sir-Master."
The council looks him over, gently probing with eyes and the Force. For once, even Windu has a flicker of pity, not that it lasts long; the Council cuts right to the chase after.
"You're just as bad as the rest of your lineage," Windu informs Dooku with frustrated exasperation, "Its going to be you, Master Dooku, who has to go in front of the Senate and the Chancellor to explain why Tachi was out of the temple, with her lightsaber, in active combat. You will not have the support of the Council in this. We'd already received communications from the Chancellor's office that you will be requested the moment you return."
Dooku hums. "Not taking my lightsaber and mastery?"
"Do you want us to?" posed Fay, though it was not a harsh tone, more curious than anything.
"Not particularly," answered Dooku.
Then the council turns to stare at Siri.
"Your report, if you would," said Master Mundi crisply.
Siri could be an ass, but considering the tight rope she's walking at the moment, she gives it.
"You did not consider sparing her accomplices?" posed Master Piell.
Siri raised an eyebrow as an answer, an -was that a serious question?- pulsing off her through the Force.
Piell just shakes his head in disappointment, not that Siri cares.
Fay considers Siri for a long moment. "No desire to run?"
"Why would I?" asked Siri, "The only two people I care about are with the Jedi," not counting the Black Sun leadership, that needed to be kept quiet, Zannah was safe and sound where she was for the time being, "And I've never had a place I'd call home to return to."
"Once upon a time you may have considered the temple that," posed Koon.
"That would be attachment to a place," she said mockingly, evading the answer.
Koon just huffs, returning to watching Qui-Gon help Anakin.
Fay hasn't stopped staring at her yet, eyebrows slightly furred, as if Siri is a puzzle she's trying to piece together, or take apart. "You would protect Padawan Skywalker?"
"With everything short of my life," answered Siri.
"Well, honest at least she is," mused Yaddle.
"Hmm," considered Fay, "You are an enigma, Sith."
"Thanks."
"You are also confined to your room until further notice once we return."
Bitch.
Sidious settled into his pod as Master Dooku is escorted into the Senate Dome. In hindsight, acting upon his moment of absolute rage had been a... miscalculation. But it was to be expected, lesser, unworthy Sith would have gone fuming after the boy himself with what had transpired, he at least had the competency to use someone expendable. Vosa's use had run out a bit earlier than he had expected, he had been hoping to lure Dooku out with knowledge of her survival and have them kill eachother or engineer a situation that killed them both before his planned war began, just a trifle setback he supposed. Nothing significant, and, its now given Sidious a new avenue to abuse.
Sidious should be pissed at this, at Vosa's failure and capture, but ever the opportunist, he realizes he can use this. Because, if its the Jedi taking that first step in publicly using Tachi and not him... any blame is pinned on them, and it sets the precedent for him assigning her missions later on. Oh yes, no matter what the Jedi do, he can still take anything and turn it to his advantage. He'd already read the report forwarded to his office; her going out of the way to save Skywalker can be seen as 'progress' in her 'rehabilitation' from her 'Sith Indoctrination' as the phrase had been passed around the Senate after he trial. As much as it makes him want to retch, its something to make using her publicly later on much, much simpler.
"Master Dooku," begins Sidious, his voice ringing out and demanding silence, "Would you care to explain to this gathered body how the Sith Apprentice Siri Tachi came to be outside of the Jedi Temple in your company?"
Dooku straightens his spine, clasps his hands behind his back, regal tone ringing out as he does. Sidious tunes him out, watching his posture and carefully listening with the Force. That Dooku would commit such an act for his lineage... well, he wouldn't have done that a decade ago, distant as he had been from his padawan. The man had certainly changed, tainted by his padawan and grandpadawan. There was still some potentially for darkness, but, a lost cause in the original role Sidious had planned. Consider what he had done, in hindsight it was a very wise choice in moving on to C'Baoth.
"While your intention was noble," Sidious starts off with, "You very clearly broke court orders for Tachi's confinement to your temple. Even if a promising young life was saved, and a dangerous individual apprehended, the law has been broken."
Dooku's lips purse. "I understand."
So, he'll submit to any punishment then. Hmm... decisions decisions.
"Still," said Sidious, "I will speak for the Senate in that I am surprised any progress has been made so soon in Tachi's rehabilitation."
That gets a briefly confused look from Dooku, and equally confused murmurs around the room.
Sidious smiled a little. "Considering her indoctrination as a Sith, the fact that she was able to even make a friend that she cares enough for to take such a risk outside of Obi-Wan Kenobi, as simple and commonplace a thing it may seem to the rest of us, is noticeable progress, along with the more recent report of her at least temporarily turning from the 'Dark Side'."
He can flavor it as a willing choice, even if Skywalker had somehow done something that still made Sidious's skin crawl to even think about.
His words cause a stir, many had yet to bother reading up on it. So long as it didn't contain classified information, reports on Tachi were made available to the senate as unclassified but sensitive, to not be released to the public without authorization. Not that such leaks didn't happen regardless. Many are fetching for datapads to read on the latest reports. Something more interesting than the normal senate bore. Oh, that will be changing soon enough, once C'Baoth begins the call for separation.
He can see the desire on Dooku's face to speak against what Sidious said, but that will be shooting himself in the foot after taking Tachi out of the temple, now would't it? Tachi has an issue with attachment that should have been driven from her years ago, yes, but she is in no way 'rehabilitated' or even close to it, and those attachments... well...
All they needed was to be severed at the appropriate time.
Sidious gives the floor to the senators to poke and prod and decide a punishment or fine or whatever they deem necessary to Dooku while Sidious retreats inwardly to think on where to go from here. He needs C'Baoth to start the separatists soon if he's to come up with an excuse to extend his chancellorship once his second term is up. He could use this as 'the final straw' for C'baoth to take his leave of the Order, but no... no, the Dark Side urges patience, something far better will happen it taunts him. Sidious considers it for a long moment, there is a hint of mocking to it. Whatever it smells coming will be better for the upcoming separatists, but it will have other consequences, he feels it. Not necessarily outweighing his plans, but a price to pay none the less. He closes his eyes, subtly prying at the future, slithering his way through the Force before he strikes with a viper's swiftness, seizing and grabbing his prey, pulling it to him, and coming out with a single name that makes his eyebrows climb.
Zannah...
Chapter 55: Second Fracture
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Several months later...
Somethings wrong.
Siri slowly sits up from her spot on her couch, a frown on her face. Its not Anakin having another meltdown over life in general, he's not in danger, Obi-Wan's not in danger either. Its not a premonition or anything like that. Yet something scratches at Siri's attention, something familiar. She stretches out her senses further and further, searching...
Then she locks onto a familiar presence.
"So, Yoda's finally done with his pity party," she muses to herself, sensing the old troll's bright presence entering the atmosphere.
She's not the only one. Its like a wave of brightness and relief rolls over the temple as one by one Jedi sense the return of their grandmaster. Yet... why would that rub her wrong? She reaches out again towards Yoda's presence, around him...
Then a chocking nose escapes her, because she recognizes the feel of the Scimitar anywhere. That ship was stained in the Dark Side like any Sith relic ever was, and even shrouded as it was, she would always find it. But, HOW THE HELL DID THE JEDI FIND IT?! Dread fills her, as much as she loved her ship, it was replaceable. What was on that ship, or rather who, wasn't. Because if they had found the Scimitar, they had found...
"Zannah," hisses Siri, locking onto the Holocron's presence.
A holocron surrounded by the presences of Jedi trying to keep her contained.
Siri is half way through the temple towards the hanger by the time Yoda lands, blind panic and grim determination running through her. Obi-Wan is trailing after her a ways behind, evidently feeling the storm of her emotions. She finds the paths between the archives, or more importantly the vaults, and the hanger, being quartered off. She didn't know if they would store her or destroy her there, and even if it was storage, how would she ever get Zannah out? The Holocron Vaults, especially where they kept the dark ones, was one of the most tightly locked down areas in the entire temple. If they put Zannah in...
"By decree of the council," says a Temple Guard to those walking the hallways, "The halls must be vacated while a Dark Side artifact is being brought to the vaults to be sealed away."
Jedi nod their heads and move away, its likely not been the first time, and it wont be the last. Siri just barrels past, barely short of a run, ignoring the 'Stop!' from the guards. She can't stop, even if she has no idea what she's going to do. This was not what she wanted dropped on her head all of the sudden, she was just finally getting herself situated and settled being dark-but-not, and now there's this.
She comes across the procession as it rounds the corner, Yoda at the lead, several of the council and a few other masters slowly walking through the halls, levitating but not touching Zannah's Holocron with the Force. They come to a stop as they spot Siri, tension suddenly in the air.
Master Yoda, his robes dirty and muddy for some reason, clasps his hands over his stick and leans on it. "Mmm, good to see you again, it is, young Tachi, heard much I have, of these last few years."
"Drop the formalities," said Siri tensely, "And drop her."
Yoda's ears flicker as his head shifts to glance back at the Holocron. "Oh ho. Not one of Sidious's holocrons this is, one of yours, it is."
Obi-Wan stops a ways behind her, other Jedi and temple guard with him. "Siri, what are you doing?"
Damn it damn it damn it...
"Drop her, now," said Siri in rising tone, slowly and carefully beckoning the Dark Hound in her mind to rise from its sitting position and be ready.
"Important this is to you, why?" posed Yoda, "Holocron of what Sith Lord, it is?"
"Her name is Zannah," gritted out Siri.
There was a sharp intake of breath from Obi-Wan. Shit, she had mentioned Zannah by name once, but only once, he remembered that?
"Mmm, heard of this Sith, I have not," said Yoda.
"You wouldn't have," said Siri sharply, "I'm not going to ask again, Yoda."
The Grandmaster studies her. "Strong you are, young Tachi, but not that strong. Risk everything you have progressed, you would, for this object?"
"She is more than an object to me," snapped Siri, calling on the the dark and let it flare in warning around her, thinking of what sorcery and incantations she'd need to pull this off. Dammit... roughly four years and now she was going to be on the run for the rest of her life. She would NOT lose Zannah.
Which was apparently Zannah's cue to act, the Holocron fed off Siri's darkness, a ripple pulsing off it that made the Jedi drop her and back away from the dark taint in the Force. The holocron bleeds red, and from it, Zannah's form springs up in a black and red fog. She smiles at Siri with icy nasty sweetness. "Siri darling. WHAT. THE. KRIFFING. HELL!"
"Zannah," muttered Siri, wincing.
Oh she was pissed.
The gatekeeper's eyes flicker across the various Jedi for a moment before narrowing her eyes at Obi-Wan. "Oh. I see. You know Siri dearest, I felt it for a moment, when you achieved your potential on Naboo. I also felt it die. Now I see why. It was your little infatuation. Funny how I thought you'd nipped that in the bud."
Obi-Wan narrows his eyes back at Zannah. "Infatuation. So, it wasn't Sidious, it was you."
Zannah grins with malice. "Oh? Did Siri tell you all about how she..."
"Not the time Zannah," gritted out Siri, cutting her off, eyes on the tense and watchful Jedi around them.
Zannah turned her attention back to Siri. "Of all the things I imagined for you Siri, to find you mingling with Jedi, turned away from the Dark was not one of them, and no, merely holding its reigns like you're doing now isn't the same don't you even try to argue that with me."
"Its close enough!"
"Hardly, can you even call yourself a Sith anymore?"
"I damn well can if I so choose, or did you forget that not all who lived in a Sith Empire who called themselves that were actual Sith?" Siri snapped back, "The entire point of me choosing to stay in this state rather than returning to the Dark Side was to choose, to make a decision in my life about what I want without anyone else's damn input. That includes you."
Zannah regards her for a long moment, before a slow smile spreads. "The Dark is patient Siri, and it always wins in the end. If you have to come to that realization on your own, fine, I know you, I know what you'll chose eventually. Willingly this time without any possible excuse..."
Yoda cleared his throat and tapped the floor with his stick. "Mmm, so certain are you, hmm?"
Zannah tilts her head towards the troll. "Guaranteed."
"Hmph, in absolutes, only a Sith deals," said Yoda with a shake of his head, "But a wise master, told me once, that a weakness, does the dark have. Know it do you?"
Zannah's lips peeled back into a sneer. "And what is that, little Jedi?"
Zannah's form flinched and wavered as Yoda's pulsed with light through the Force. "All that needed to hold back the dark, a single candle is."
Darth Zannah growled, gathering herself and fixing her image. "I could battle ideology with you all day, Jedi, but that's not why either of us are here, is it? Chance is a fickle thing, the Force is not. A bumbling gungan running into a cloaked ship is far to much of a coincidence for any of us to believe. The Force wanted me here, so here I am. It may have forced my hand and put me in a precarious situation, but that's fine, I've always lived dangerously with high stakes. My apprentice and my own continued existence only surpassed by the day I succeeded Bane as Dark Lord of the Sith."
Something in Siri shivered at the possessiveness, at Zannah claiming her openly infront of all the Jedi to see. A mixture of desire and yearning, for what they used to have together, for almost never being judged for who she was (save for what she felt for Obi-Wan)...
"You... you care for it, for the Holocron," said Obi-Wan in disbelief, fishing down the bond, "Just about as much as you care for Anakin..."
"Who the hell is Anakin?" said Zannah, exasperated, "Siri darling, less attachments, not more."
"He's literal Force-spawn, human with no paternal DNA," rebutted Siri.
"He's what?!"
"Claim to be her master, you do," interrupted Yoda curiously, "Yet claimed Sidious had been her master, she had."
Zannah shifts focus away from Siri and back to Yoda. "Sidious claimed ownership and initiated her, that is true, he holds that official claim, but it is I that taught and molded her, and knowing this, I yet wonder why the two of us are still here. Do you truly favor your infatuation over me, Siri? Over the years we spent together? Me teaching and you so eagerly learning..."
"Hmph," grunted Yoda, slowly starting towards the holocron, "Believe you do that take you and escape, she could?"
"I know what Siri is capable of," hissed Darth Zannah, the gatekeeper glowing ominously with a black and red aura pulsing strongly, "So much of what she knows she learned from me. She does not stay here because you force her to, but because she chooses to."
"It was her agreement with the Courts, we don't force her...," began Obi-Wan.
"Really? If you trusted her agreement, then why are there a pair of guards standing a few feet behind her with itchy saber-fingers?" asked Zannah pointedly, making Obi-Wan's mouth snap shut.
"She stays because of her infatuation," she said, glaring at Obi-Wan hatefully, "It doesn't matter if she's alone, or in the middle of your little council. She is more than capable of taking me and escaping if she wants to. I know several ways that she could do so, that I taught to her."
Siri's throat constricted as Zannah's eyes flickered towards her.
Master Yoda stopped walking forward, his eyes turning towards Siri, both of his hands resting on his gimer stick, watching, waiting.
Both of them with their own expectations.
The eyes of everyone in the hallway.
Of Obi-Wan.
She had come her for Zannah, blindly in a panic, but now it really hits her and settles in. The choice, the decision; it makes her throat constrict as she whispers, "Don't... don't you dare force me to choose."
There is a choice here, between Obi-Wan and Zannah.
And there are not words for the resentment she feels building towards both of them for it.
"Inaction is as much a choice as taking a side," said Zannah in a deadly calm, "You do nothing, they take me and lock me in their vaults never to be seen again, if not kill me."
"Kill a holocron, can we?" said Yoda in hypotheticals.
"She's not just a holocron," snapped Siri hotly, "And if you try to kill her, you will force my hand in a way you will not like."
If the Jedi tried to kill Zannah, she would be forced to choose. As much as she absolutely does not want to leave Obi-Wan, she won't let them kill Zannah. Let them lock the Holocron away maybe if it comes down to it, and she'll hate them for it, but never kill her. This is something she will not budge on. She can see it the moment Yoda recognizes this, and others do as well if the tension rising nearby means anything.
"What do you mean it's not just a holocron?" asked Obi-Wan.
Siri's lips peeled back into a sneer. "Sith don't make them the way Jedi do. That holocron as you call it, is made with a fragment of the soul it represents. So allow me to introduce Darth Zannah, the first apprentice of the Rule of Two and the line of Bane."
There is a moment of stunned silence, and then horror.
"Rip from your own soul, to make this, did you?" whispered Yoda, appalled and horrified at Zannah, "Do this why would you?"
"To live long enough to see the Jedi dead," the Holocron snaps.
"Deep personal hatred, do you hold, not just as a Sith," said Yoda slowly, curious, "Why hate the Jedi, do you?"
Zannah sneered at Yoda. "Because your order is weak. It is corrupt. Stagnant."
Yoda scrutinized the Gatekeeper. "Rote recitation that is, from many a darksider, have I heard that."
"Maybe because it's true?" said Zannah snidely.
He pointed his stick at her. "Why hate the Jedi, do you?"
Siri felt... something in the air, from the Holocron, a dark, open, bleeding wound, something Zannah had skirted around over the years but never answered: about her own fall, "Because you are all hypocrites. You preach compassion, but you're killers just as much as a Sith ever is. Even worse since you preach otherwise."
Yoda studied her for a moment before waddling forward, walking through the Gatekeeper, making for Zannah's Holocron. "What are you doing you old troll?"
Yoda placed a hand on the Holocron. "If full answers you will not give, then find them, I shall. Thank Padawan Skywalker later for the idea, I will."
"What...," began Zannah.
Light rippled from Yoda, into the Holocron, and Zannah screamed. Her gatekeeper form fell to her knees, flickering wildly. "STOP!"
"Why hate the Jedi, do you?"
Zannah's Holocron was a dark side artifact, carried a soul fragment of a Dark Lord of the Sith, but a fragment was all that it was, and before Yoda, and the light he poured into it, that meant little. Zannah's form flickered and... changed, both in image, and how she felt through the Force. Instead of the Sith Lord that had been there moments before, there was a little girl. Ruffles of blond hair, innocent, pained and tormented blue eyes. She bore a baggy white shirt, blue shorts with a strap keeping them up bound over her shoulders, with no shoes on. Poor looking. So young...
She screamed at Yoda in tormented mad torrent, her voice young and high pitched, her presence feeling like she was burning alive from the light, "BECAUSE YOU JEDI DID THIS TO ME! You took us! You took me, Tomcat and Bug! You stole us from our home and families with lies of being heroes and Jedi! We were children! And you took us to war! To Ruusan! To throw our lives away against the Sith! And when it was over, you kept killing! You didn't stop!"
Tears were streaming down her tiny face. "YOU JEDI MURDERED LAA! SHE SAVED MY LIFE AND YOU MURDERED HER RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!"
Hate roiled through the air, so deep and entrenched, etched with pain, and then... it was gone, leaving a deep ache, a burned out fragment of a soul, and having gone through what Zannah was going through, she knew exactly what was about to hit the soul fragment. "I fell and killed them for it. Bane found me, and I... I was never free."
Siri stared at her, stunned and horrified, both by what she said, and by what was happening to her. Just what the hell had Yoda done? That was not what Anakin had done! He had pulled her out, not pushed light in! "Zannah..."
"Rain," the little girl mumbled, curling in on herself, "Bane made Zannah a monster, I'm just Rain... m'-all that's left..."
Yoda ears drooped, his eyes downcast. "Failed you, the Jedi did. So sorry, I am."
Rain curled tighter, and then vanished, her Holocron, no longer growing red and black, but... a kind of translucent light, snapped closed and turned off, retreating inward. Yoda picked the Holocron up, a deep weariness etched into his face. "Many failings, the Jedi Order has. Create our own enemy, in her. Enable Darth Bane to find an apprentice in a young soul that tarnish, we did."
He walked over to Siri, and levitated the Holocron into the air. "Feel I do, that saw a kindred spirit she did, deep down. Stay together, you will, perhaps help eachother, you still can."
Siri is... honestly absolutely stunned and bewildered that Yoda is giving her a Sith Holocron to keep inside the Jedi Temple unrestricted, regardless of whatever he just did to it. But she is not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. When the protests start rising, Siri takes Zannah, Rain, whatever the hell she calls herself now, and bolts for her room, Holocron held protectively to her chest...
"Master Yoda, have you lost your mind?!" exclaims Master Jorus C'Baoth.
Obi-Wan purses his lips, just a tad in agreement with him, but never admitting it aloud.
Yoda turns to look at C'Baoth, "Neutralized, the holocron is."
"Maybe in presence, but not in knowledge," said C'Baoth spreading his arms wide, "And maybe not even for long in presence, after all, the barely restricted Sith Apprentice constantly fluctuates between dark and not as it is, and that Holocron, nay, that actual spirit of a Sith Lord, has absolutely no reason to!"
"Master C'Baoth," interrupts Master Windu, "This conversation should be taken elsewhere...
"No," said C'Baoth, pointing firmly at him, "Not this time. For years now, the Sith Apprentice has been given near free reign! Walking our home, eating within our halls, constantly belittling our ways, making a mockery of what we stand for..."
"Even harming the one she supposedly loves multiple times with barely any repercussions," pointed out Knight Krell, moving to stand a bit behind C'Baoth.
"...it's madness!" agreed C'Baoth, "You even allow her to slither her way into the Chosen One's graces and taint him! Its gone on long enough! If you won't do what is necessary, then we will!"
There is a number of Jedi, more than Obi-Wan had realized supported him, nodding in agreement with C'Baoth.
"I must admit Master Yoda," said Master Tinn quietly, "He is not wrong on some of his points."
Yoda grunted. "Hmph, and yet murder, the answer is? Not the way of the Jedi, that is."
"Tachi," spat C'Baoth, "Has been given chances time and time again. Even when the Chosen One pulled her from the Dark, she still resists the call of the Light, still shuns it. She will return to the dark, she cannot be saved! Better to end her now outside of the Dark Side and allow her to become one with the Force than festering forever in Sith hells. It would be a mercy fitting of the Jedi."
"Or if that is not acceptable, she can be remolded as Darth Revan was once long ago, made to be a Jedi again," suggested Krell.
Obi-Wan looked at them both in absolute disgust. "Can you hear yourselves right now?"
Krell sniffed at him. "And you, Kenobi, need lessons on the Code and its views on attachment, especially to a Darksider, a Sith! You ought to have been expelled the moment it was revealed you were a Sith Lover."
"Enough!" shouted Windu, "All of you, control yourselves!"
"No," said C'Baoth again, straightening himself up, "The time has come to make a decision, for the Jedi to make a decision. Are we servants of the Light, or slaves of the Dark? Will we allow the dark to fester and infiltrate and corrupt us? Or stamp it out?"
"Kill Tachi, you will not," said Yoda sharply, "Said it before, it has been, murder, the Jedi way it is not, and murder, it would be."
"Like all the lives she has murdered?" said C'Baoth pointedly, "Completely unrepentant? She cannot be saved, Master Yoda, I had been hoping your seclusion would have brought you much needed clarity, but I see it has not."
"Agreement, between the Jedi, the courts, the Republic, and Tachi there was," said Yoda firmly, "In stopping Darth Sidious, united we will be."
"She's outlived her usefulness in that regard," said C'Baoth dismissively, "We have no further need to keep her alive and defiling our temple."
Obi-Wan slow blinked, stunned. Had... had a Jedi Master really just said that? Outlived her usefulness?!
Yoda stared at C'Baoth as if he was a complete stranger, like he couldn't believe what he was saying, slowly repeating his warning, "Kill Tachi, you will not. If try you do, stopped you will be, expelled you will be, for you it is, who no longer follow the Jedi path."
A look of victory briefly danced across C'Baoth's face, a tint of malice in his eyes before it was gone. "Expelled? Over stamping out a Sith?"
C'Baoth slowly shook his head, resigned. "I see that there is no use, no saving the Jedi. You've already been influenced and tainted, just like the Senate, the Republic has been."
"Master C'Baoth!" protested Windu, "That's absurd! The Jedi are not tainted, and the Republic is not yet lost! Not if we have anything to say about."
"Oh but it is Master Windu, it is," said C'Baoth sadly, "And there is no more waiting, we must go before we too are taken in by this madness."
He turned and spread his arms wide to the Jedi behind him, charisma being forcibly projected through the Force. "Enough is enough, all that good need do to let evil win is stand by and let it live. No more! No more shall we tolerate evil and corruption any longer! If the Jedi and the Republic does not have what it takes to create a safe, prosperous, and light galaxy, I say that we make a new Order, a new government!"
Obi-Wan's heart turned to pure ice, he was saying... "What?!"
"We must shed the core!" shouted C'Baoth, "For is not the heart of the Veil of the Dark Side here in the capital of the Republic? We must move away from the influence of the Sith, and even more, was our mandate not to help all worlds, including the Outer Rim? Has it not been forgotten long enough by Senate greed?"
Windu cringes and clutches his head, wincing under what Obi-Wan imagines is shatterpoints going absolutely insane as the Force ripples and turns into a storm of chaos around them.
"All that have the will to make this a reality, to create a prosperous pure confederation of worlds led by those gifted and uplifted by the Force, who are tired of the Sith sovereignty the Jedi Council is enabling," spat C'Baoth, "Come with me. Those unsure, spread the word and debate it among yourselves, I will always be willing to take in those who come to their senses and reach for the light. Those who refuse, I'm sure the Sith will enjoy your complacency and corruption. When the darkness falls upon you, you'll wish you had come to your senses."
He goes, Krell at his side, and other Jedi go with him. Master Tinn hesitates for a long moment, looking down at Yoda with disappointment, before going after them. More are sure to follow are word spreads. Obi-Wan wants to find a spot out of the way to collapse into, stunned and shaken by what just happened. Yoda stands where he was, gazing after the departing Jedi, ears flickering.
"Fallen, has the darkness already," said Yoda quietly, "For you, Master C'Baoth, for how long, I wonder."
"Master Yoda?" posed Master Mundi.
Yoda shook his head. "Blind we have been, so very blind."
He says nothing else though, wearily trodding down the hallways.
"Master Yoda," says Fay, revealing herself to have been watching from a distance, "I've been trying to handle C'Baoth and his dissidents carefully for the last few years, was this truly necessary? To enable him and a potential schism depending on how many go with him over a Sith and a Holocron?"
"Stop that, nothing would have," said Yoda sadly before he stops. "Needed here, she is. Insistent the Force is."
"You believe that the Force wishes the holocron, wishes Darth Zannah to be here?" posed Fay, openly incredulous for one of the few times Obi-Wan has ever seen her give a tell.
Not that he doesn't agree.
"Zannah?" questioned Yoda, "No, not Zannah, Rain. Yes, Rain. Hear the Force do you not?"
Fay's eyebrows furrowed.
"Come the gathering rain," whispers Yoda, "Lessons are there to be learned in the storm."
Notes:
Quick chapter set-in to the next section: All about Zannah!
...
Okay, and the other stuff too.
Section will either be called Come the Gathering Rain (parts 1- x) or Lessons of the Storm (Part 1 - x). Not sure which yet. Or maybe some other catchy title, IDK. Anyway, it will focus on Zannah/Rain, the beginning of the Schism, Padawan Jinzler, Yoda, Sidious being an absolutely evil bastard (for at least one scene which will really set the stage for the Clone Wars :D), and more.
Sorry if this wasn't what you were expecting, but... there were three options:
A) This.
B) Zannah in containment and the Jedi try to use Siri to 'interrogate her' in the vault, but I can't really see them allowing Siri in the holocron vault, ever (or trusting her to do so). Not to mention Siri outright refusing.
C) Taking Zannah and running. Which has the entire galaxy after Siri, and while exciting and action packed, isn't where I'm aiming.
There's was no way Siri stays in the temple and gets ahold of Zannah unless she's somehow neutralized at least temporarily, even Yoda would have his limits there even with a newer perspective. It also finally is something big enough to send C'Baoth off to officially start the seps.
Also, 5 creds says you can guess the gungan who bumbled into the Scimitar.
Chapter 56: Come the Gathering Rain (Part 1)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
There is some kind of chaos rippling through the Force throughout the Temple, but Siri really doesn't give a damn at the moment.
The Holocron isn't opening, and all Siri can do is float and sputter around it in a blind panic. When she really thinks about it, Jedi pouring light into a Sith Holocron should have outright destroyed it. She'd only loosely looked into the artifacts, or had their design mentioned to her, but they are very carefully and precisely constructed. That should have disrupted and ruined the Holocron... or does having part of a soul being part of it change that? Zannah might have implied otherwise when they first met, but from what Siri knew, while there were plenty of Sith in the past who bound their souls to various objects or locations, putting one's soul or part of a soul in a Holocron wasn't actually that common.
It wasn't a cognitive matrix that held Zannah's Holocron together and stored its knowledge, it was a part of Zannah herself that did.
Siri takes a shaky breath and lets it out, sitting down on her couch and staring at the holocron on her table. She remembered how sore and tired she had been after Anakin did what he did, Zannah likely just... just needed rest. Potentially a lot of it since she was just a fragment of the original. She nibbled on her lip, and actually started to try and process what she had seen and heard, to process Rain...
Siri had been completely offguard, she certainly hadn't expected that as Zannah's fall. Good gods, how old had Zannah been at the time?! Rain barely looked ten! Siri could rag on and bemoan the faults of the current day and age Jedi all day, but at least they didn't do actual damn child soldiers! Though one could argue the ethics of indoctrinating children, teaching six year olds how to handle a lightsaber, and sending out teenage padawans into life or death situations all day, there was a marked difference between raising a weapon to be used when they were at least somewhat ready, and dumping child soldiers with barely any training into an active warzone!
Siri will never demean her own fall, Gallia's death was awful, but Zannah's... Rain's... came off as so much worse. Siri's was a result of... of her own weakness. Rain had been a child even younger than Siri had been, and from the sound of it, set up to fail by those she should have been able to count on. A child without any of the training Siri herself had received. Fallen at ten and found by Darth Bane... Siri could admit she had been influenced and molded by Sidious, and Zannah herself too, but... a vulnerable recently fallen ten year old with no experience or training, a blank slate for Bane to have molded to his liking...
It twists her stomach and makes her want to be sick. The Dark Hound outside the gate stares at her impassively, primal nature is a merciless barbaric thing, but the dark in herself snarls protectively. She always imagines Zannah as a powerful and imposing Sith Sorceress, a defenseless child just... jarred that heavily. She wants to take that girl and lock her away somewhere safe to never be harmed again... but she's roughly a thousand years too late to have done anything for her. Hells, even if time travel was real (not counting hyperspace hiccups that vaulted people forward a bit), she kind of doubts she could take Bane on for Zannah, even if Bane hadn't been at his peak at the time.
She remembers something she had said before, that any who turn to the Dark Side should have done so willingly, cognizant of what they are doing, a choice. She doesn't have the exact details of what happened, but, she wonders how much of a choice Zannah had at the time. Because that was a fall, a crash and a burn, not a turn, at least to Siri it seemed. She supposes she'd going to have to pry it out of Zannah, because she can't leave it as it is, she wants, she craves, she has to know. A possessive desire to know just how much Zannah was hurt, and how much in turn she wishes she could kill those who had done it to her...
"I have the feeling you are going to be staring at the holocron for a long time if you are expecting it active anytime soon."
Siri jolts a little, turning her head to see Obi-Wan standing in the doorway. "Her."
"Her," concedes Obi-Wan, nose wrinkling, "I really couldn't imagine locking myself away in a little pyramid for a thousand years."
Siri really couldn't either. She didn't want to die anytime soon, but... "Sith generally want to live forever, from what I've studied its a common trait. So damn arrogant, or perhaps desperate, to believe they can cheat death. By any means necessary."
"You don't want to?" he prodded.
"I mean... if a realistic option came along I'm not sure I'd turn it down, but, I'm not going to go foaming at the mouth trying to figure something out," she answered, "First life has been shitty enough, haven't seen much of a reason to want to live multiple lifetimes, Force forbid forever."
Especially not alone.
She considers it for a moment, remembering how Zannah initially greeted her. If Siri really wanted to live forever, she'd figure out how to Essence Transfer, but even then its kind of iffy. She likes her own body thank you very much. She's... also not exactly comfortable with killing someone else's soul for their body, because that's what it sounds like she'd have to do. Or at least boot them out into the Force, she'd have to interrogate Zannah on it later if she remembered.
Obi-Wan sighs and moves to sit on the couch near her. She gives him a sidelong glance, he looks... tired. Perhaps a little shell-shocked. "Something the matter?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe Jorus C'Baoth trying to initiate a schism over you and the holocron," he answered in scathing sarcasm.
"Pfff, called it," she said, shaking her head, not nearly surprised.
"Called... called what?"
"Schism, and C'Baoth," she said, a smirk on her face, "I've been observing as an outsider for the last few years. The cracks have been building for awhile, even before I arrived here, perhaps before I was born. Me, and what information I revealed, just brought them front and center, made them hard to ignore."
Obi-Wan frowned. "And C'Baoth?"
"Not that anyone would believe the accusation in the manner I mean it, but, he's been using a False Aura of Light for awhile now."
"A... what?!" exclaims Obi-Wan, standing up sharply, "And you haven't said anything?!"
She yanks him back down. "Other Jedi have been trying too, including your shadows, in an attempt to replicate and pick apart the ability. Who would be believed, Obi-Wan? Me? Or a well respected Jedi Master, on why he was using one? Or if they would even humor an accusation to begin with?"
Obi-Wan's lips thin. "You're saying he's... dark?"
"Hell if I know, haven't prodded to try and feel under it," she answered, "Against policy for my parole to dig into people's mental shields."
"Like digging into Anakin's medical records was?"
She grinned in response. "Medical records can't fight back."
He scoffed.
Siri leaned her head back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. "He stinks of Sidious, both him and Krell do. Whether they know it or not, they are playing into his hands. A split Jedi Order is going to have him foaming at the mouth in delight. You should be out there trying to convince people to stay, not in here watching me."
"I'm likely a reason some will leave," said Obi-Wan, "Apparently I'm a 'Sith Lover'."
Siri snorted. "There's love, then there's you Jedi's platonic shit. If we ever got into bed with eachother I might die of shock."
"I do care for you Siri," he said softly, a tingle going down her spine at the words, "But I will never betray the Order for you."
Ignoring that sex wasn't against his precious code, but whatever, he was likely concerned about where it would lead.
"I'd be ignorant of who you are to expect otherwise," she said dryly, "As would anyone else. Your love is compassion based, with a dash of personal mixed in, selfishness intentional plucked out of the mix. Touching, but bland and boring."
He snorted. "Nice Siri."
"I thought so too."
He huffed and shook his head. "You're impossible Siri."
She smiled a little, sadly, "I'm still aware its the most a creature like me will ever receive."
"That Siri, is entirely your choice," he answered, "If you chose to change, and... as much as I can admit a selfish desire otherwise, if you left at the end of your parole to find a life outside of this to settle down in, if it made you happy I would let you go."
Kriffing shit he really knew how to drive it in didn't he? The difference between them? Because she can readily admit she'd never want to see him with another. "Go rescue a tooka out of a tree or something Kenobi."
He snorted. "I've never actually done that."
Go go go...
"Begone pest," she said, trying to hear what the Force was saying.
She needs his help...
Why was it picking up all the sudden? And who?
He smiled a little at her needling before sighing and getting up and leaving.
She stared at the door, feeling like wind was blowing past her in the Force, unseen currents pushing Kenobi out and towards where it felt he was needed. Something was to happen that would make a difference, somewhere, somehow, in the long run. Choices could have very intended consequences and results, sometimes immediantly, sometimes years or decades down the road. She'd suppose she see.
Until then, she was on Rain watch duty.
Being so used to Siri's dark mood swings, Obi-Wan became aware of something somewhat similar as he made his way down the halls near the training rooms. Not that the entire temple didn't have an air of negativity at the moment. But this was... deeper, there was an air of actual hurt and suffering and fear to it that made him frown. Someone should not feel like that in the temple. He starts cautiously peering into empty rooms, his fellow Jedi to busy with the potential schism to bother with training, until he finds someone.
An older female human padawan, the dreadful signature haircut he no longer had to wear, sat in the corner of a dimly lit room, kneels drawn up to her chest arms wrapped around them, forehead resting on them tucked towards her chest. He can hear the faint shaky breathing and crying. His frown deepens, what caused a senior padawan to have such an episode? Part of him wants to give her the privacy such a thing deserves, not to embarrass her by seeing it, another part desires to reach out and see if he can help.
The Force nudged him forward, more like a kick in the ass actually compared to its usual guidance, but he took the hint and approached. "Are you alright?"
The padawan startled and looked up at him, teary eyes going wide.
He blinked. "Padawan Jinzler?"
What was C'Baoth's padawan doing here like this? He'd have thought she would be with him, she usually was dragged around to his speeches and gatherings.
She wipes at her eyes, trying to collect herself. "N-nothing, I'm... I'm fine."
Obi-Wan raises a slow eyebrow, letting a thread of incredulous flow out of the Force from him. He kneels down and reaches out to put a hand on her arms. "Padawan, that's a blatant li..."
She hisses and yanks her arm back from his grip, pain on her face.
Obi-Wan freezes for a moment, dread filling him. He reaches for her shoulder, grips her, ignoring her protests as he pulls up her sleeve... and finds nasty purple bruising, along with several untreated training lightsaber burns. Jinzler looks like she's about to crumple, her presence withdrawing on herself like a scared child. He stares at her arm solemnly, his mind blank with disbelief. He wouldn't... surely C'Baoth wouldn't...
Then his conversation with Siri fills his mind, and all the little things he'd ever noticed about C'Baoth and Jinzler, or that had been pointed out to him fill his mind. "Oh padawan, I'm so sorry..."
Obi-Wan feels awful. He recalls, in years past, that he and his lineage had once commented on Jinzler as C'Baoth's padawan. How she seemed to be struggling under his teaching. They had nodded their heads, considered it unfortunate, and done nothing, leaving it to the choice of a floundering padawan to want to leave him when its now so obvious that she had been drowning instead. She was a padawan, closing in on her senior years and entering into adulthood yes, but its more than apparent as he sees her huddled in a corner with a tear stained face how badly set-back and hurt she's been by her Master's abuse. She should be coming into her own by now, strong and confident, starting to look towards her trials, not... not this.
He had failed her, they had failed her, the entire Order had failed her. They were supposed to look after their own! Not abandon them when they knew something seemed off.
"Just... it was just a training accident," she hiccuped out.
"A training accident," he said flatly, "Much like my own falls down a flight of stairs after getting into a fight with another initiate when I was younger I imagine."
She averts her eyes.
Obi-Wan takes in a deep breath and slowly lets it out. He doesn't yet release what he feels into the Force, no, he wants to stew on the anger building as much as it isn't the Jedi way, because this deserves being angry about. Still, the Force presses at him, to dig deeper. "I've had enough injuries and accidents to know those are not at least from today. What's wrong Padawan Jinzler?"
"He wants me to leave with him," she said shakily.
"You don't have to," pointed out Obi-Wan.
"He's all I have!" she shouts at him in a panic, "No one else wanted me! No knight or master even looked at me! I was about to age out and he took me on... if I leave I'll never be a knight... I... I don't have anything else."
Obi-Wan closes his eyes. That's familiar to him, that's dreadfully familiar. Memories of going to knights and master's one by one and seeing if they wanted a padawan fill him, the desperation of that last year as an initiate. He knows that pain and fear, that sense of being unwanted.
"I keep telling him we shouldn't leave, that my nightmares...," she begins before cutting off, "He just... just gets angry at me. He's always angry these last few years..."
Listen listen listen...
Obi-Wan frowns. "Nightmares?"
"Something bad will happen to my Master if he leaves," she answers, twisted loyalty that feels like a slimy rope, no, a chain around her neck, in her words, "I see him with these horrible eyes, he's coming towards me and asking why I'm running, that I'm supposed to help him 'ascend'. He... he activates his lightsaber and its red."
Obi-Wan goes rigid. He's spent enough time thinking about Naboo, and what Siri had said during her questioning, to know and understand exactly what a Sith Sacrifice is. He doesn't care what he has to do, Jinzler is NOT leaving with C'Baoth. Over his dead body.
"We... we need to stay, he needs help," she answers, "I've tried... but... it just makes him angry... that I'm not learning the lessons he's trying to teach."
Damn C'Baoth, he's not worthy of that loyalty. "You can't help someone that doesn't wish to be helped, Jinzler, I know this better than most."
Then Obi-Wan's thoughts slow to a crawl on her wording. "His... lessons?"
Obi-Wan makes a choking sound when Jinzler's face contorts with anger, hints of hate in it, and she draws on the Force in a way that has become intimately familiar considering the time he's spent around Siri. Her anger slips away though, she can't hold it, and she is filled with self-loathing. "But I can't learn it, can't hold onto it right. I'm a failure of a padawan..."
How did they miss this? HOW DID THE ENTIRE DAMN TEMPLE MISS THIS?! That C'Baoth is corrupting and abusing his own padawan under their noses?! That was the Dark Side! "Padawan, forget what your Master said, its a good thing you can't."
"But I... I know its not what we're taught in classes," defended Jinzler, "But he said its what we need to fight the Sith and the Dark Side."
Oh sweet Force...
He pulls her to his feet. "Come with me Padawan."
"I... I need to go back to my room, I have to get packed...," she begins.
"Padawan Jinzler," he says softly, lowering his shields to let his compassion, grief, and sorrow flow out and wrap around, making he bow her head, "Your master is going down a path you should not follow. Please come with me, I only wish to help."
She hesitates for a long moment. "Just... just give me a minute. Master says we always have to be in control of ourselves."
Obi-Wan's heart plummets as Jinzler perfectly wraps herself up, all that conflict and beginnings of darkness smothered under a curtain of serene light. Witnessing the before and after right in front of him... he can see, can feel the falseness to it. C'Baoth has completely and utterly betrayed one of the most sacred duties of a Jedi, to safeguard and guide their padawan. He takes a minute, with Jinzler awkwardly fidgeting in front of him, to control and release his emotions into the Force.
"I think, Padawan Jinzler," said Obi-Wan, "You need to forget the lessons he's taught you and walk away."
"I don't have anywhere else to go!" she said sharply, frustration (and soft, sad helplessness), a brief stir in the Force before she yanks them back down under her shields and her beginnings of a false aura of light, "And I... he needs help, he needs me."
And that's the gist of the matter, isn't it? There's been a lack of masters to cover all their padawans since long before Obi-Wan has been born. He reflexively goes through a list in his mind of potential knights and masters that might be available. But how much is that list going to change? How many will walk away with C'Baoth? How many might shy away from Jinzler simply because she had been C'Baoth's padawan? How many will feel unfit to help her when they learn how she's been abused and manipulated? On the flip side, how many will shy away from the beginnings of the Dark Side and decree she should be sent to the Corps or released from the Order instead? As if C'Baoth wouldn't just hunt her down without the Order's protection if he became a Sith and wanted to Sacrifice her.
Dooku would have been his best guess, but... grandmaster had sworn off training another Padawan, and was focused on Vosa at the moment. There's a few council members who don't have padawans at the moment, but he doesn't know if they are interested, or would be willing to try. He's at a loss, there are those he could ask, but he doesn't think they will take her, or if they do, how much they can truly help.
So who could...
Oh.
The Force smiles knowingly at him.
Well then, the Force sure hadn't been subtle in why it sent him here, had it?
"C'Baoth needs to make a choice only he can make, and I fear he has already made it," said Obi-Wan, "Lorana, you know, you know deep down what he is doing and where he is going, how wrong he is. I'm sorry you haven't felt that you can reach out for anyone for help, the Order has failed you in this. I cannot force you to stay, but if you do, I will take you as my Padawan Learner."
She startled, badly, shields cracking in surprise and shock. "I..."
"I'm untested and unproven," admits Obi-Wan, "Freshly knighted not that long ago, but I can promise you, I will do the best by you that I can. I will complete your training as best to my abilities, and will never ask of you something you cannot give, or that you know is wrong, and I will never raise my hand to you with the intent to harm."
That's something he feels he can do. She already has training, from her years as an initiate, and hopefully some of what C'Baoth taught Jinzler before he started down this path was right. All he has to do is correct whats wrong, help her back on her feet, and guide her the rest of the way. He has an entire lineage he can go to for support as well, one that will be willing to reach out and help in a way she probably needs.
She looks at him, shell-shocked and completely silent.
"You don't have to decide right now," he offers quietly, "But please come with me to somewhere you can think safely."
If C'Baoth gets to her again while she's so vulnerable, Obi-Wan doesn't know if he can save her. He tugs gently on her sleeve, and she numbly follows him. He thumbs his comlink on, ques a multi-call, and brings it to his mouth.
"Master, Grandmaster, please come to Siri's apartment, now."
"What is it Obi-Wan?" asks Qui-Gon
Dooku sighs at the same time. "I'm too busy, Obi-Wan, for whatever mess Tachi has caused now..."
"I need you to safeguard and protect a padawan that's been abused by her master."
That gets a jittery shameful feeling from Jinzler, an urge to turn and bolt, but he grips her sleeve tightly, pressing his care against her shields to quiet her.
"I'll be over after I collect Anakin from his class," says Qui-Gon grimly.
Dooku's voice is sharp. "I will wrap up here and arrive shortly."
Obi-Wan could have taken her elsewhere, and maybe leaving her with Siri while he went to the Council wasn't the brightest idea, but, if he asked Siri, he knew she would get between Jinzler and C'Baoth if the man came for her, if he so but asked; Regardless if, as Jinzler's current Master, C'Baoth was in his rights to Jinzler until he officially filled out the forms to leave the Order (or stormed out), or was banished by the Council. He thinks his Master and Grandmaster will to, but its better safe than sorry.
He takes her into Siri's apartment, and Siri glances over, eyes furrowing on Jinzler, probing at her through the Force. Jinzler flinches and glares at her, Siri merely raises an eyebrow. "Obi-Wan, why did you bring a padawan teetering towards falling to my apartment?"
"I'm not falling!" shouted Jinzler at her, anger seeping through her shields, even strips of hate, thoughts of -Hate and be angry at the Sith- bleeding from her in C'Baoth's voice.
"My point stands," said Siri dryly, "Even if you're not in the process you certainly are well on your way."
"Enough," said Obi-Wan, "Siri please. Just leave her be, and if C'Baoth comes anywhere near her, flatten him to the damn wall."
Siri's eyebrows climb in surprise, and then narrow. Eyes that see and understand much gazing at him. She pokes him through the bond, demanding a confirmation. 'C'Baoth's gone off the deep end already then? Not just on his way?'
'He's been abusing and manipulating his padawan towards the Dark Side', agreed Obi-Wan, 'She's having nightmares, visions of him wanting to use her as a Sith Sacrifice'.
Siri's expression darkens intently. "Leave your saber with me."
He doesn't hesitate, despite how much trouble he's going to be in, and he tosses it to her.
"Jinzler," order's Siri as she patiently moves to plant herself between the door and the couch, "Take the couch."
The Padawan stands still, fight or flight clear on her face. Again, Obi-Wan presses compassion against her shields that makes her relax, but when he pulls away, she tries to reach out and bring it back this time, an edge of longing and need to it. How long had it been for her since someone had shown care? Force he's going to have to struggle not to throttle C'Baoth with his bare hands. He should bring her to the council with him, but he's not going to parade around her abuse in front of the highest of the Order and make her die of shame and embarrassment. He remembers his own struggles with it when he and Qui-Gon were going through their early less than stellar years together.
"I will be back," says Obi-Wan before he leaves, gripping his comlink and dialing for Yoda, hoping he still had the same comlink he had before.
He has to comm four times before the Grandmaster picks up. "In a Council meeting, I am, Young Kenobi."
"Its important, Master Yoda, please," said Obi-Wan, "Its a matter of immediate safety for a Padawan whose been abused by her master."
Yoda goes silent for a moment. "A grave accusation that is, Knight Kenobi, hear you the Council will. The safety of our young, always important that is."
He arrives minutes later to... to a Council room that is lacking two of its members. He knew Master Tinn was leaving, but Master Mundi's empty chair is a suprising slap across his face. The High Council looks tired and like they want to be anywhere but here at the moment. He takes a moment to school his expression and bow.
"Pad... Knight Kenobi," corrects Master Windu, "Master Yoda informs us that you have a dire matter to bring before us."
He takes in a deep breath and lets it out. "Jorus C'Baoth has been abusing his padawan and manipulating her towards the Dark Side."
The intensity and focus on him through the Force makes him wince.
"I am not pleased with the path C'Baoth has chosen to walk anymore than anyone else is," rumbles Master Koon, "But that is a steep accusation to make, Knight Kenobi."
"I saw the bruises on her arm myself," answered Obi-Wan flatly, letting an image of the clearly untreated lightsaber burns pulse through the air, "And that was only one arm. She spoke briefly on his lessons, on him encouraging her to use anger and hate, under the illusion that its only at the Sith, enough that she is darkening under such ill guidance. I felt her wrap it under her shields in a way that seems light at first glance. Feeling the before and after, I can clearly sense the falseness of that light."
The Council room is deathly silent.
"She spoke to me of nightmares, of C'Baoth's eyes being wrong, of him coming at her with a red lightsaber in order to 'ascend'," said Obi-Wan, barely keeping a snarl back, "He's twisted and abused her loyalty so much that she wanted to stay with him in order to help him, but its plain as day he's already chosen his path."
"You understand, Knight Kenobi, that while we do not doubt your testimony, we will need to observe and see for ourselves," pointed out Master Windu, "It may have been prudent to bring her here."
"I thought it would be easier on her if one or two councilors were to meet with her, rather than the entire scrutiny of the council while she is not at her best," posed Obi-Wan diplomatically, "Perhaps... Master Koon and Master Yaddle?"
Koon huffed lightly. "It would be lest pressure, to be sure."
"Hmm, understanding and compassion will she need," agreed Yaddle before affixing Obi-Wan with a look, "But understand, do you, that if wish to leave the Order she does, nothing about it, can we do. Even if stay she does, a master will she need soon, if not to the Service Corps we send her."
Obi-Wan took in a breath and let it out. "If offered to take her as my Padawan Learner to complete her training should she wish to stay."
"Mmm, much like your Master and Feemor," mused Master Piell.
Obi-Wan slow blinked. What? "Who?"
"That is a question for Qui-Gon," said Windu firmly, studying Obi-Wan with a slight hint of a frown.
Fay puts fingers together in a pyramid. "You already have a great responsibility placed upon you, Obi-Wan Kenobi, by managing the... unorthodox Sith Apprentice. Guiding a padawan learner is by no means easy, even one whose partially trained, especially if that training has been... compromised."
"There's little I can honestly do for Siri but occasionally be there if she needs me," admitted Obi-Wan, "Her fate is her own decision to make."
Fay nodded. "It always was."
"As for Padawan Jinzler..."
'Kenobi, get your ass down here, now' Siri snarled through the bond suddenly, making him flinch, 'I just shut the door in C'Baoth's face, I don't think he's going to take no for an answer in demanding his padawan leave with him judging by the crap he was spewing at me-uh... also, you're going to need to buy me a new door considering he's taking his saber to it ranting about 'rescuing' his padawan from the Dark Side.'
Obi-Wan swore aloud, turning and rushing for the entrance. "Siri says C'Baoth is after Jinzler."
"Kenobi," says Windu in exasperation as he rises to his feet with the rest, "Where did you leave Padawan Jinzler?"
"With Siri since I knew she'd do what it takes to keep her protected if I asked."
"And the location of your lightsaber?" posed Master Piell.
"Take a guess."
"Your cheek, we need not," chides Yoda as he jumps on Obi-Wan's shoulder, "Master Yaddle, Master Windu, Master Koon, and myself will go. Act upon or continue discussing remaining problems, others should."
The situation they arrive to is tense. Siri stands with his lightsaber drawn and activated, clashed with C'Baoth's in the cloven doorway. Qui-Gon, Anakin, and Dooku have finally arrived, Anakin's saber is drawn but unlit, Dooku's hand is on his, and Qui-Gon is attempting to talk C'Baoth down. Krell is there with hands on both of his saberstaves, but strangely, no other supporters of his are there.
"Enough!" barks Windu in one of the harshest tone's Obi-Wan has heard from him ever, he is outright furious at what he sees, "All of you, sheath your sabers and hands off them, now!"
Neither C'Baoth or Siri listen, sabers crossed bot not moving.
"My Padawan is in the clutches of the Sith," hissed C'Baoth, "I have every right to do what I must to see to her safety."
"Does that include her mental and physical well-being as well?" jabs Obi-Wan sharply, "If so, where are the bruising and untreated burns on her arm from?"
C'Baoth pauses. "Padawan Jinzler is still lacking in saberplay despite my best efforts. Its natural for her to pick up a few marks of training, pain is a valuable tool and lesson in correcting failure that we superior beings as Force Sensitives should not have."
Did he hear himself? Truly? Was he honestly that far gone?
'Pain fuels the Dark Side', Siri commented down the bond dryly, 'Boy on boy I'm beginning to think Sidious has already conscripted him. I'm all for putting him down rather than driving him off.'
Yoda hops down from Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Accused you are, of abusing your padawan, step away you will."
"Accused by whom?" demands C'Baoth, "I have a right to know who would slander me."
"Its not slander if its true," snaps Obi-Wan.
"You?" mocked C'Baoth before turning towards Yoda, "The false, unworthy Knight traipsing with a Sith Apprentice? You trust his word over mine?"
Yoda peers up at him, cold steel in his eyes. "Always."
C'Baoth sneers, malice filling the air, and looks past Siri. "Padawan, its time we left this failed Order. I have our forms for leaving ready for submission once you've signed them."
Jinzler stands at the back of the room, pressed against the wall, fear alight on her face.
"Now Padawan!" barks C'Baoth angrily and...
Obi-Wan is openly shocked, and he's not the only one, to feel C'Baoth reaching through the Force and pressuring against Jinzler's shields, demanding obedience that has Jinzler shudder and reflexively step forward to obey. Siri and Anakin don't wait for an invitation while the rest of them are dumbstruck by the act, Siri pushes out with her other hand and keeps Jinzler against the far wall, Anakin yanks with his and sends C'Baoth flying back, white hot anger searing from Skywalker like the Supernova calls him, a sunburn in the Force. He pins C'Baoth to the wall with his power, clenching his metal hand into a closed fist, the Force wrapping around C'Baoth's throat...
"Anakin," says Qui-gon sharply, "He's been stopped, drop him, now."
Anakin gritted his teeth but obeyed. "He just... like a slaver demanding..."
"I know padawan, I know," soothes Qui-Gon, "But anger is not the way."
"You see!" exclaims C'Baoth, stumbling to get his footing, a note of almost mania to him, "The Chosen One has been tainted by the Sith! Just as I said! You'll doom us all by allowing the stain of the Sith to remain within the temple!"
"That," snaps Master Koon, truly angry for one of the few times Obi-Wan has ever seen him that way, "Is no longer your concern even if you were a Jedi as you once claimed to be. I believe that the decision will be unanimous. You don't need to bother with submitting your forms for resignation, you are hereby expelled from the Jedi Order with prejudice. No one who abuses, manipulates, and mentally coerces those under their care is welcome in these halls. You act far more like a Sith than anyone aside from the actual Sith in this temple has. Tread carefully Jorus C'Baoth, lest that become your path."
C'Baoth rights himself, dusting himself off all the while sneering and looking down upon those around. "Fine then, wallow around in darkness and weakness, I leave to make a new order, a grand order, one so much better and superior, one that will lead the Galaxy into a prosperous future under the firm hand of the Force Sensitives destined to rule it."
He glances past Siri. "Stay here and rot if you wish, Jinzler, you always were a disappointment and a worthless padawan only good for a claim to mastery."
Absolute fury rips through Obi-Wan when Jinzler crumples to the floor, harsh hurt and betrayal and so much self-loathing and other negative emotions bleeding from her, shields cracking, that start towards the dark visible for any to see.
"I've decided," said Siri slowly, "That if you come near the girl again, I will kill you."
"You will try," said C'Baoth, lips peeled back in distaste.
"Remember this C'Baoth," said Siri, a wide sadistic smile on her face, the dark licking at her presence, "Sith don't tolerate rivals."
C'Baoth locks eyes with her for a long moment before sniffing in disdain and turning away, leaving with Krell on his heels.
Siri deactivates Obi-Wan's lightsaber, a dark look on her face, as she looks back on the ruins of a Jedi Padawan. "So much of the same. The Dark should be a choice, not something you're deceived or pushed into taking."
She flicks the lightsaber at him, and he catches it, clipping it to his belt before striding over to his to-be Padawan, kneeling down and carefully drawing her into a hug. "I'm so sorry Lorana, I'm so sorry..."
"The nerve of those pathetic mongrels," sniffs C'Baoth, "Denying me what belongs to ME!"
Sidious hums, mostly satisfied with the report he's been given on the in-progess schism, meeting with his current supposed 'Apprentice' and his pawn in one of his hideouts on Coruscant. "Its to be expected of Kenobi at this point, he always seems to try and take what belongs to the Sith. I suppose then, Apprentice, you will have to earn your Sacrifice the hard way when the time comes."
The elderly man's lips peel back into a nasty grin. "I would have given her the chance of proving herself worthy of our superior power, but alas, she gives me no choice. I will enjoy showing her the folly of the Jedi the next time we meet."
Sidious offers a conspiratorial smile even if it is of no great concern. It is a small, trifle betrayal and act of treacherous, a delicious appetizer for him and the Dark Side, but nothing truly important. Sacrifice or no, C'Baoth will serve his function and die when his apprentice retakes her place, or her replacement does. The thing that does concern him is Zannah. That was... he could admit to himself, shocking. He had never particularly thought well of his ancestor, grudging respect for her supposed skill in Sith Sorcery and her place in the Line of Bane, but regardless, he wouldn't have expected this. He is, to his dismay, unsettled by the recurring theme he is seeing, of Jedi ripping those who belong to the Dark out of it.
If Yoda can do it, even if its just to a Holocron, or rather a Soul Fragment, then others could learn too, its not just something limited to Skywalker. He is briefly self-admonishing to have never bothered to investigate that Holocron thoroughly to see that it was an actual remnant rather than just a cognitive matrix. From Zannah they could potentially pull early machinations of the Rule of Two out of the shadows. He is... not as sure as he was with Tachi what she knows either, what could be a potential danger.
Something to dwell on when he is alone to meditate, for now, he beckons C'Baoth to follow through the hideout into the hanger, to a crate delivered from Dathomir per his instructions, one of the few truly useful things Vosa had accomplished for him. "I have a gift for you my apprentice, something that will make... converting those who come with you a simpler task."
"Oh?" posed C'Baoth.
Sidious grins with pure and utter malice as he levitates the lid off and fishes out a single Sith Torture Mask from the crate full of them, engineered and altered by Nightsister magic and his own improved design over those from ages past...
Notes:
The betrayal of a parent, a teacher, or a guardian to one in their care is a truly, horrible thing...
Jinzler in 'cannon' was already noted to have self-confidence/esteem issues when coupled with a normal C'Baoth. A Sith in the making C'Baoth is... much worse.
Obi-Wan doesn't get a break in whatever Padawan he gets, does he?
Grumpy!Rain next chapter!
Chapter 57: Come the Gathering Rain (Part 2)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Its rare for Siri to hate on someone else's behalf if they aren't named Obi-Wan, Supernova, or Zannah. But, Kenobi's little glass Tooka managed to get the deed done. In that moment, she had a hard time distinguishing C'Baoth from Sidious, and there was no doubt in her mind that C'Baoth was already in his service, C'Baoth had managed to replicate the bastard's insidious nature. They ought to have put him down, but noooo, Jedi don't do that, they aren't pragmatic. Instead, they had taken the little glass Tooka to the Halls of Healing to be fussed over and mended.
Honestly, Siri had worse lightsaber burns and bruises from Sidious when she was fifteen.
Then again, Sidious had never offered a Master's Oath to her as C'Baoth would have to his padawan. Sidious's treatment of Siri had been the norm, what was expected. C'Baoth was treachery, deception, abuse and corruption plain and simple. Oh he was going to be a mess to deal with later, Siri could tell. The old bastard was already powerful in the Force, adding the Dark Side and a lack of restraint that the Jedi had on top of it? That's going to be an issue that was guaranteed to get people killed. Oh well, she could look forward to killing him when her parole was up.
Because whether he became a public enemy, or she had to assassinate him, she was going to give her damn best to kill him. He was a rival, and he was a threat. To her, and to the few she cared about. She killed people for less, and there would be no moral hangup over his death. She'd be happy to rip his heart and have that red comfortably on her hands. She hummed dreamily, idle fantasies of what it would be like courting her imagination as she nestled into her couch to resume Rain watching...
For the next kriffing week.
In which she learned that Obi-Wan's little glass Tooka got adopted into being his padawan. Honestly, she's not even surprised, the act is so him that its kind of adorably disgusting. That entire lineage had issues with taking in strays. In which, in said instances, strays meant completely messed up individuals. Dooku was trying to 'redeem' Vosa, and Siri would eat her foot before she'd give that a realistic chance of happening. Obi-Wan was after her for the same reason. Qui-Gon took in a hyper powered slave rat. Yoda had the entire order of indoctrinated light happy sociopaths to look after. What a happy care free group of people.
She gagged at the thought.
"My sentiments exactly."
Siri jolted upright off the couch to see Zan... to see the child form of Rain glowing translucent from the Holocron, giving her a stink eye. "You've been here how long and there's not an ounce of personality to the room? The Jedi must be rubbing off on you."
"Why Zannah, that was almost subtle of you," mocked Siri before raising an eyebrow, "Or am I supposed to call you Rain now?"
The Holocron glowered darkly at her.
Siri sits back down and crosses a leg over the other. "That name certainly never came up in our years together."
"It wasn't supposed to," snapped the girl, "Getting an acid-bath of light was... unpleasant. I was not in the right state of mind."
"Really now? I think that was the most honest I've ever seen you," said Siri pointedly, "Whose Laa?"
The snarl, clenched fist, and the tightening around her throat were only a little surprising, unfortunately for the girl, she was a fragment, and she didn't have the Dark for strength, Siri bats the attempt aside and pouts. "I thought we were friends, yet here you are trying to kill me."
"Do not EVER," raged Zannah, because it was definitely her, "Speak that name or Rain's again!"
"Why?" asked Siri.
"I'm not that little girl anymore, she's dead," said Zannah with ice, "I cast her aside a long time ago, as I thought you did Siri Tachi on Naboo, before you failed."
Siri regards Zannah for a long moment, the child that is still there regardless of her arguments; not to mention she'd avoided giving a reason for this 'Laa'. "Zannah... that's a lie and you know it. Darth Zannah, Rain, there is no difference, just like there is no difference between me and Darth Tyrosus."
"You have no idea what you're talking about," spat Zannah.
"Don't I?" stated Siri, "I think I do over most Sith. I went all the way, a true Sith Lord, ready to cast everything away for the sake of power, and I got dragged back. But you know what? I had a long time to think on it cut off from the Force in that cell, and those memories are still my memories, they're not distant or faded or like they belonged to someone else. I might not be the Siri Tachi I was before I fell, I, in a way, consider her dead, but not because she was a different person, but because she changed, she adapted, she became me. That's the way of the Sith, to change and evolve. Siri Tachi the Jedi is dead because that door is closed and I have no interest in opening it again. I'm still the same person I always was at my core."
Zannah grinds her teeth. "That's..."
"I dare you, I challenge you, oh dead Dark Lord of the Sith," mocked Siri, "Go through your memories of being Rain and actually look at them. Do they belong to someone else? Or are they yours?"
Zannah snarled at her and blinked out of existence. Siri hummed to herself, smugly satisfied, and strutted over to lean over and poke the holocron. "Do be quick about it Rain dearest, I've had little but Jedi company for four years now, I'm dreadfully bored out of my mind..."
Siri was pretty sure Zannah would only really need an hour or so.
The week long wait was just the Sith Lord being petty.
Siri walks out of her room that morning and finds Zannah trying an incantation, the solidifying one if Siri recalls right, only for it to fizzle out. "Sith Sorcery is kinda fueled by the Dark Side, Zannah, I'm honestly surprised you're even trying after getting light-acid-bathed."
Zannah scowled at her. "I'm trying to do it with whatever I can feel, surely there has to be another way."
"Poor poor Rain," mused Siri, making the gatekeeper twitch.
"I told you not to use that name," said Zannah sharply.
"Why not?" asked Siri, "Isn't it your real name?"
"Actually," said Zannah, sneering at her, "Its the other way around. Zannah is my birth name and Rain..."
She shook her head. "Stupid homeworld superstitions had our entire population live under pseudonames our entire lives that only our parents knew."
Siri blinked. "Okay... that's weird."
Zannah narrowed her eyes. "Watch yourself."
"Didn't you just call it stupid?"
"Its my homeworld, I'm allowed to! You're not!"
Siri rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Rain. So why is that the hated, rejected name?"
Zannah gritted her teeth. "It doesn't matter."
"Tell me and I'll do the incantation for you," offered Siri, "If it doesn't matter then surely its not that big of a deal."
"Piss off."
"Your choice," said Siri, deliberately walking through the incorporeal Gatekeeper.
"Kriffing hell I taught you too well."
Siri laughed and went into the fresher. She came out a few minutes later to her table flying across the room at her. Siri caught it with the Force, brushed aside Zannah's grip, and set it down. "Rude."
"Is this petty revenge for something?" snapped Zannah.
"Mmm, nope," said Siri, "This is me enjoying being on the other end this time, you stumbling about in this 'new' state and me being the experienced one. Its refreshing, really."
Zannah crossed her arms.
"Also delayed revenge for holding my 'infatuation' over my head and threatening to go to Sidious with it if I didn't go have my way with someone and slap Obi-Wan's face on them."
"I kriffing knew it."
Siri walks through Zannah a second time and sits on the couch, crossing one leg over the other and watching Zannah glare at her. Really, in the child form it was kind of adorably petulant. "Why does the name Rain matter to you if it was just a pseudoname?"
Zannah glowers at her for a long moment before scowling and looking away. "Rain... is who I was my entire childhood. What everyone knew me as. They were Rain's friends, Rain's family, Rain's people. Zannah... was a secret, and might as well have never existed until..."
She shook her head.
"Until Laa died?"
Zannah gritted her teeth. "Don't speak that name."
"Huh, whoever Laa was had to be pretty important," mused Siri, "To get that reaction."
Zannah scoffed. "You wouldn't understand."
"Try me."
"Its...," Zannah trailed off, her hostility fading into a pained look, "Its more about who I once was... than... than her..."
When she trails off again, Siri needles, "My oh my, was that almost an admission that you were and/or are Rain?"
"Kriff off."
"Ugh, I'm surrounded by Jedi, Zannah, I haven't had sex in four years, its awful," whined Siri, "And probably wont for at least another six."
"Married your hand then?"
Siri threw her head back and laughed. "Oh I've missed you."
Zannah full on twitched at the admission, and Siri, ever the opportunist, pounced, "Feels weird, doesn't it? Feeling emotions not usually encouraged by the dark. Tell me, did you like being missed? Warm and fluttery, isn't it?"
Zannah glared darkly at her.
"So, Rain," pressed Siri, feeling a storm building within the Holocron, "Why was Laa important?"
"Its not about Laa!" shouted Zannah, "It could have been anyone I loved or treasured or was friends with and it would have had the same outcome! Rain... Rain was innocence. Naive horrible innocence that was murdered by the so called defenders of peace and justice! She-she couldn't... I couldn't..."
The holocron snapped shut with a hiss, and the gatekeeper faded. The look on her face before she faded...
Siri's smug smile faded away into an unhappy frown as she regarded the Holocron. "I see. It wasn't the person who made you fall, it was the act. If you were innocent, then you didn't know suffering. Likely sheltered. The make of those clothes look like you were from some backwater world, likely low tech. You screamed at Yoda that you were stolen by lies of being a hero, a Jedi. You couldn't conceive what happened, when the heroes you looked up to murdered someone you cherished..."
That look on her face...
"It shattered you, you fell and lashed out, killing Laa's killers and destroying yourself more than you had been, and then Bane was there to pick up the pieces," said Siri softly, sighing.
She smiled a little. "Though, props for killing two Jedi as an untrained ten year old. You must have been something else..."
Thankfully, Zannah's back the next day rather than the next week.
"So out of idle curiosity, who was Laa?"
Zannah scowled at her. "I believe you owe me an incantation."
Siri rolled her eyes, tapped the dark a little, and muttered, "Fasona fashis anas dea Nu svajone."
She willed the particles that made the outer skin of Zannah's image to solidify, and Zannah gave a small sigh of relief. Now that Siri stopped to consider it...
"You rarely ever refrain from using that incantation," mused Siri, "Like... every time you ever showed up, you tried being solid."
Hmm, what did that say about Zannah then? So desperate for the physical world?
Zannah glowered at her, walked over, and kicked her shin as her as she could. Which... really wasn't hard. Siri grinned and ruffled her hair. "Has anyone ever told you you're adorable?"
"I'm going to slit your throat in your sleep."
"Mmm, that incantation will wear off before then."
"Don't need to be solid to levitate a knife."
"No, but I'll feel that coming well before it happens."
"Bitch."
"You know it," said Siri cheerfully.
"Force, I was better off stranded on the ship," said Zannah.
"Owch," said Siri, hand clapping her chest, "Right through the heart."
"What heart?"
"Takes someone heartless to know someone heartless," mocked Siri playfully.
Zannah glared at her.
Force Siri had missed this so much.
"So, who was Laa?"
Zannah sighed and moved to sit on the couch. "A bouncer."
"...there were bars on Ruusan?"
"Oh for kriff's sake," exclaimed Zannah, "Bouncer, capitalized. Its a species native to Ruusan."
"What do they look like?"
There was hesitation for a long moment before Zannah wiggled her fingers through the air, and a shaky illusion took form. It was... a green hairy blob as far as Siri was concerned, but judging by the shaken look on Zannah, it was her green hairy blob, so Siri kept her mouth shut on playful insults. She wondered when was the last time Zannah had ever remembered Laa before all of this. Despite the... weirdness of the creature, there was an air of kindness about the illusion, in its eyes. Rain is rigid on the couch, lips pursed tightly, staring at the illusion, hand twitching and making the illusion fuzzy every now and then.
"What happened?" asked Siri, "To you? To her? How'd you go from Rain to Zannah?"
Zannah banished the illusion and glared at her. "You first."
Siri blinked. "Eh?"
"I'm four years out of date with you, what the hell happened on Naboo?" asked Zannah, "How did you go from there, to here?"
"That's a long story."
"If you're staying here for the next six years, we have the time."
"Fair," agreed Siri, "But, I will have your word Zannah. If I give this story, I want yours. I want to know wh..."
She cut herself off.
Who hurt you.
Zannah twitches, evidently feeling that through the Force, looking away for a moment. "Fine."
Siri settled down next to Zannah, and began to speak...
Zannah had been unusually silent during most of the abbreviated retelling much later in the day. If Siri had to pick a point, it had been when she told her that she had been spilling Sith secrets of the Grand Plan to the Jedi. Siri had lost a sense of what the holocron felt when it had pulled up its shields high. Zannah sits, somewhat translucent, the physical incantation wearing thin, completely quiet. It doesn't sit well with Siri, the hair on the back of her neck slowly standing up in warning. Not a dangerous warning, Zannah isn't capable of killing her in this state, but of another kind of threat.
"The one thing I can't figure out," begins Zannah, her tone ice, "Is why Sidious hasn't killed you, traitor."
Oh.
She could lose Zannah. Not to death, but as someone that could be considered a dark friend.
Siri swallows thickly. "Zannah..."
"You are actively working against the Grand Plan," snarled Zannah, "And the death of the Jedi."
"I'm working against Sidious," snapped back Siri, "If that disrupts your oh so precious genocide, tough shit."
"Your hatred of him isn't worth a thousand years of effort!" shouted Zannah.
"To ME it is!" roared Siri back at her, the dark shouting with her outside the bars of her mind, pulled in by her hate.
Zannah pauses to scrutinize that. "Despite your... fluctuation in the Force, you still consider yourself Sith."
"Your point being what?"
"How can you consider yourself Sith when you are not particularly interested in dominating the galaxy and destroying the Jedi?"
Siri gives her a disappointed look. "When did being a Sith gravitate solely around the destruction of the Republic and the Jedi?"
"When they kept getting in our way," said Zannah coldly.
"And that's why the Sith have always failed," snapped Siri, "They have always floundered and fell apart when they started in on the Jedi and controlling everything. They let their obsession ruin them when they could be so much more."
Zannah's eyebrows furrowed. "More?"
"Kriff the Jedi, kriff the Republic, and honestly, kriff the entire blasted Galaxy," said Siri, "Why should we give a damn about controlling the worthless little piss ants running around it?"
Zannah gives her a blank look.
"We could live free, without restriction or restraint," whispered Siri hungrily, "But we always chain ourselves down. By our own choice we always initiate self-destruct. We always try to dominate, we always try to destroy the Jedi and the Republic, we always betray our own. Its an endless, pointless cycle. Even IF we were successful, how long would it last before we destroy ourselves again? Whose to say the Jedi wouldn't pull their own Rule of Two out of their ass and come out of our ashes when all was said and done?"
Zannah's eyebrows furrow, she speaks warily. "Siri, what is a Sith to you? What is the Dark Side to you?"
"Whats it to you?" she strikes back.
"Idiots and weaklings call it evil, but the Dark Side is about survival, unleashing your inner power. It glorifies the strength of the individual," said Zannah proudly, hungrily, before shifting back to Siri, "Answer the question."
"What it is? Or what I want them to be?" asked Siri pointedly.
Zannah takes a moment to consider the question. "What you want them to be."
"Freedom," said Siri, "I want to be free to be myself, to act and feel, good or bad, without cult-worthy restrictions and expectations placed upon me. Without others trying to bend me to their will and make me what they want me to be. Sith should be breakers of chains, instead, they lay it on themselves and others."
"When the hell did you start being philosophical?" asked Zannah.
"When I got locked into a Jedi Temple for the last four years with little else to do but think and reflect as much as I actively tried not to," said Siri dryly, "Especially since Supernova... did his thing, I've had little else to do since then. You know, he gave me a challenge to decide what I want. I want the freedom to be whoever and whatever I chose to be."
"You don't have your 'freedom' now?" posed Zannah.
"Not really," said Siri, "There is always someone, even you, who wants me to be what they wish me to be. Or wants me to not be something. Or wants to restrict me in some way or form. I think that Skywalker is honestly the only one whose close to the mindset of stepping back and letting me make that choice. Though he's made dislikes of parts of the Sith and how I've lived very clear to me."
"Why the hell should you care what he thinks?"
"He's the literal Child of the Force," said Siri dryly, "If you consider how various religions refer to such beings, he'd be considered a demigod by most of them if the Force was considered a god. He is something different, something... other. Something... more. You wouldn't understand unless you had ventured down into the core of what he is, that... that beating of the Force in the heart of him."
"I think," said Siri quietly, "I should very much care what he thinks, even if I disagree with him. His creation, and placement into slavery by the Force, I think was very, very calculated for something that is often said to work in mysterious ways."
"How so?"
"Sith Empires are often founded on slavery," said Siri grudgingly, "Being born a slave, I think was a rather cruel decision of the Force, to engineer a reason for Skywalker to always hate the Sith and be at odds with them, considering their act in challenging the Force is what led to his creation."
"I think," said Zannah slowly, "You need to go more in-depth on that then your little overview."
"The Veil of the Dark Side," said Siri, "It's been around since before I was born, but it only really became the monster it is now when Sidious and his Master directly challenged the Force for sovereignty of the Dark Side."
Zannah frowned. "The Dark Side was epicentered around the Sith by Darth Bane's design, Siri, a thousand years ago."
"Yes," agreed Siri, "But it was Sidious and Plaguies who truly made that a reality, otherwise it had just been because there weren't enough other darksiders around to really pull it away from the Sith. What they did though? They challenged the Force for absolute control of the Dark Side, pushed it to be completely dark and smother the Light, and its going to destroy them for that arrogance."
She stared hard at Zannah. "You said the Dark Side is about survival? Well then we are in agreement. I am shifting away from Sidious and the Grand Plan in order to survive. Whether I kill Sidious, or Anakin does, the Sith as we know it are not going to survive the Force's retribution. I am ensuring that some form of the Sith survive, and evolve, from what they are now. I want the Sith to become everything they should be."
"And what, exactly, is that?" demanded Zannah.
"When I become the Sith Master, that will be for me to decide, so I'll take a Rain check on that answer."
Zannah wrinkles her nose at Siri. "Did you really have to slip a pun into a serious conversation?"
"Hi pot, names kettle, have we met?"
Zannah scoffed.
"Besides, I think we're about done with that conversation," said Siri firmly, "So whats the verdict, off with my head?"
"I'll take a rain check on that answer," mocked Zannah, blinking out of existence and back into her holocron.
"Bitch," said Siri without heat.
She didn't take it too personally when Zannah tried to make good on her word with a knife across her throat that night.
Zannah doesn't make a reappearance for a few days.
Siri finds her sitting (levitating since she's not solid at the moment) on the couch, knees tucked into her chest, head resting on her knees. "Well, you don't look like you're having a good time, Rainy day Rain?"
The needling doesn't get a response, and Siri's mocking smile fades. "Zannah?"
"I hate this," muttered Zannah, voice a tad shaky, "There's no dark to smother anything I feel or push away thoughts I don't want to think. I can't... I can't bury memories I don't want to remember."
"Kriffing sucks, doesn't it?" asks Siri.
Zannah nods sullenly.
"You want a tip?"
"Am I going to like the tip?"
"Abso-kriffing-lutely not."
Zannah sighed. "Just hit me with it."
"Make them your own."
Zannah blinked at her.
"All the memories, all the feelings, all of the thoughts you don't want, that you shove away, that you think as -other-, as not you, as Rain instead of Zannah," explained Siri, "Make them your own. I've told you once Zannah. You and Rain ARE the same person."
Siri blinks at a literal wave of pain from the Holocron. "Zannah?"
"I can't accept that."
"Why?"
Zannah took a very long time to work up the strength to answer, and Siri doesn't like what she feels coming from the pyramid. "Because it means Zannah didn't make me to be a continuation, a legacy. She made me to be a garbage bin."
That... baffles Siri, especially the dissociation of Zannah and Zannah. "The hell are you talking about?"
"Siri... you're not stupid," said Zannah softly, "I know what you studied in our time together, and even a lot of what you dipped into on your own. You have to know that a soul in a Holocron isn't that common."
"Your point being...?"
"If I'm Rain... then Zannah made me for a specific purpose."
"Which is...?"
Zannah looks down at the floor, tired and... sad. "To get rid of me."
"I don't follow."
"She ripped me out of her own soul, Siri."
It takes Siri a long moment to finally get it. "Oh."
Zannah, the REAL Darth Zannah, not the fragment, had ripped a part of her own soul out and put it into the Holocron. A Sith Lord, a true Dark Lord of the Sith, would rather die than admit something like Rain still existed, that anything of that innocent little girl she had once been remained. Rather than just keep that small part of herself buried, smothered, crushed, choking on the dark, Zannah ripped her out.
"Shit," said Siri, "Darth Zannah had to be something else after she took you out."
She had still been smothered in the Dark Side before, still Zannah, but now... there's something... brittle... about Zannah, about Rain, without the Dark there to give her strength and power. Something shattered and small made bare by Yoda's purge of the Dark. Its... sad, to see how little remains, how much pain that little girl is in.
"She was," said Rain softly, "She was..."
The more Siri thinks on it as the days pass, the more she thinks Zannah... that Rain, was right.
In a twisted way, it makes sense for a Dark Lord to do it. Especially if it still plagued them. She watches Rain throughout the day, though most the fragment does is sit on the couch, eyes flickering without seeing. Despite being owed a story, Siri doesn't press, not yet anyway. If the Holocron is finally parsing through memories, its better to not interrupt her. She merely sits on the couch next to her reading her datapad, and really wishing she had killed C'Baoth in that brief struggle over Obi-Wan's glass tooka.
The bastard has been quick. Speeches across multiple worlds calling for succession, going on and on about the corruption of the Republic, of the Senate, of the Jedi. The best deceptions are those with truth laced in, and C'Baoth had apparently mastered this. Because he cites incidents of very clear, and very damning mistakes, blunders, and mishandled situations. The Yinchorri Uprising, Galidraan, The Stark Hyperspace Wars. His words are passionate, full of furor, and, include information that Siri wasn't fully informed off, like the speech he was giving now.
"This," introduces C'Baoth to a tall humanoid next to him, bearing a white mask with red lines, covered head to toe in brown and white clothes, almost like bandages, with a cape, four fingered hands clenched tightly, an rifle on his back with a bayonet, "Is a man who had suffered greatly from the Republic's sins, whose people have greatly suffered. He was one known as Qymaen Jai Sheelal, and has since taken the name Grevious out of grief for the suffering of his people. Tell them, my friend, of the Republics travesty!"
Grevious snarled before grabbing the camdroid and bringing it up to his face, yellow eyes burning with fury. "Years ago, the Huk," he spits out, "What you call the Yam'rii, invaded our world, subjugated our people, enslaved us by the millions, ate our eggs, our young! The Kaleesh fought a war to free ourselves, to take the fight to the Huk, but then the Republic and the Jedi came! They believed the Huk over us! Over all the Huk had crushed under foot! They fought us, pushed us to our homeworld, and left us to starve!"
He glances to the side when C'Baoth puts a hand on his shoulder, gently prying the camdroid from his grip and letting it float back a bit. "It was a travesty, corruption, blindness of an unforgivable degree. The Jedi and the Republic failed in everything they were supposed to do, supposed to be, and the Kaleesh suffered unjustly for it."
"And there will be a reckoning for it," snarled Grevious, "For every Kaleesh soul that perished by Republic or Jedi hand, for every filthy Huk they protected when they should have been put down like the beasts they are!"
"There will be," agrees C'Baoth, "But to those who doubt this account? Don't take our word, we have proof, here."
Siri's lips purse as the screen switches; recordings, video, investigations, all made available on the holonet, filter through. One video shows a Huk literally eating a large egg, an almost fully developed fetus struggling and wailing as its torn open, its screams horrific. The worst part of it? The date on that video was three months ago. Its still happening. "Shit."
The Jedi and the Republic really kriffed themselves this time.
"The Kalee join the Confederacy of Independent Systems," said Grevious, chin tilted up, "And beckon all that will buck the filth of the Republic. All worlds, all species..."
His lips peel back in distaste. "Even Jedi who would make amends by leaving their corrupt order and joining us against the Huk this time."
"For we will not allow this to go on any longer," said C'Baoth, voice rising to a fevered pitch, "Already, the ranks of the Confederacy swell, in less than a week of our initial Articles of Confederacy being signed, dozens of star systems have joined us, and many more have submitted petitions, crying out to be heard over the corruption smothering them in the Republic. They join us knowing our uttermost directive, that all that is Good need do to allow Evil to win is to stand aside and do nothing. As such, all are welcome to prove themselves in our first true act outside of our foundation in declaring a Just War upon the Huk, retribution and punishment for their continued crime against sentient life! To stop them once and for all!"
"Sidious is moving fast," mused Rain, glancing over at the datapad.
"No shit," muttered Siri, "But this is really aggressive and overt, almost reckless, there are ways it could really backfire."
"Its an incredibly powerful opening statement that sets the stage for the coming conflict," said Rain, "That paints the Confederacy in a positive light while damning the Republic. If the Republic steps in and sides with these 'Huk' after what was revealed, they'll drive hundreds, if not thousands, more Star Systems into C'Baoth's hands. Though, I doubt Sidious will allow the Republic to, not yet, not if he wants an actual war and not a curb stomp against the Republic."
"Not to mention he has to rush and make up time after you likely botched a few things," said Rain, eying her. "The Sith are in the last phases of the Grand Plan, Siri, I really don't think you can stop it anymore."
Siri shrugged. "You make the mistake of assuming I care about it."
Rain's eyes furrowed. "You said..."
"I said I'm opposed to Sidious, and if the Grand Plan gets nixed in the process, tough shit," said Siri, "But personally, I don't much care if the Jedi Order lives or dies so long as those I favor in it survive."
Rain regarded her for a long moment, a slow smile spreading across her face. "Why Siri, that's so selfish of you."
"Is that praise or condemnation?" asked Siri dryly, eyebrow raised.
Rain merely laughed in response.
"So Rain..."
"Zannah," grumbled Rain.
"So Rain," Siri needles again, enjoying the frustrated look show her way, "I believe you owe me a story. About your fall."
Rain goes silent.
"You promised me."
Rain doesn't answer.
Siri doesn't ask again, merely waiting.
"I... was ten years old at the time," said Rain, voice harsh, "A foolish, naive little girl. A Jedi Scout for the Army of Light arrived at our planet to search for Force Sensitives to join the war against the Sith on Ruusan, the most brutal campaign of that war with the Brotherhood of Darkness."
"My...," she began, her voice shaking, "M-my cousins... Tomcat a-and Bug..."
She snarled. "Kriffing shit, why c-can't I...?"
"You buried it Rain," said Siri softly, "You buried and smothered it for a thousand years. Its not going to be easy to face it, but a Sith cares not for easy."
That settled Rain for a moment. "Sith... Sith, right, Sith."
She licked her holographic lips. "I lived on my homeworld, Somov Rit, alongside my two cousins and our elder cousin... Root."
The vehemence with that last name. "You hate him."
"He was supposed to protect us," said Rain harshly, "Instead he allowed ten year olds to be recruited as child soldiers into a war. I went back and killed him a few decades later, trying to bury old feelings. Even now with what I feel without the Dark, I hardly feel a shred of regret for that."
Siri nods, waiting.
"The Scout tested us, and, funny enough, he thought I didn't show any sign of Force potential."
Siri slow blinked. "What? Was he daft?!"
Rain shrugged. "When I was young, the Force only truly came out when I needed it."
She grew quiet for a long moment. "I was stupid, so foolish, I could have stayed home and lived happy, but I saw it as a game, an adventure. My cousins were going to become Jedi, I was going to be left behind. I was so... so happy when I managed to do something with the Force in his final test, that I could go too. I... I felt that I had to go, that I was being called. I'd been having... dreams before then..."
"Dreams?"
"Of the Bald Man as I called him."
"...who was it?"
"Bane," said Rain, "The dreams didn't really make sense at the time, I brushed them off as fanciful, didn't think back on them for years. I was a silly little girl, I didn't understand what they meant, what the Force was trying to show me."
"What did it show you?"
"It showed me three paths," said Zannah softly, "In the first, the most likely considering Laa's predictions, I knelt before him as I eventually did. In one, I was older, in Jedi garbs, my blue lightsaber clashed against his red. In the last, I was walking Ruusan's surface alongside Tomcat, both of us smiling, hurt but healing, surrounded by playful young bouncers, Bane watching and judging us from a distance before shaking his head and walking away, not interested."
Siri closes her eyes for a long moment. "Do you think you would have killed Bane? Had you been a Jedi?"
"I was always destined to kill Darth Bane," said Rain mirthlessly, "One way or another."
Rain could have been the end of the Sith, the end of the Rule of Two. Instead, she had been pushed right into Bane's waiting arms by the Jedi. The irony is not lost on Siri.
"The ship took us to Ruusan, and I...," she paused before laughing, "I was excited by trees."
"...really?"
"We were seafaring people," murmured Rain, "Dwelled on bogs and whatever little flat land we could find. I'd never seen a tree before."
Siri opens and closes her mouth, not sure what to say to that. It just... really sinks in how young Rain had been...
"The ship we were on taking us to the Jedi base camp was attacked," said Rain, "Two of the other potential kids were blown away in a blast that hit us and tore through the hull, just... just after they cheered about it being an adventure. I felt them die and I was... I was horrified, it was my first real exposure to death like that. I panicked, got loose, and... and I fell through the hole."
She scoffed. "The Jedi never cared enough to come look for me."
"How'd you live?"
"I landed on Laa."
Siri snorted. "And thus was a beautiful friendship born."
Rain didn't laugh.
Siri shut her mouth.
"Laa... Laa took care of me, took me across the countryside on her back, all the while, the darkening of Ruusan continued," said Rain, "Other bouncers were dying, they were sensitive to the Force, Laa said... Laa said 'bad dreams kill weak ones' as she grieved, and I grieved too. It... it started killing Rain, slowly but surely. I clung to Laa, desperately anchored myself on her. I... I saved us when the... the storm came, made a Force bubble around us."
"The storm?"
Rain shook her head. "After... after Laa spoke of her dreams... of me being a strong dark Jedi."
Siri frowned. "That seemed... unwise to tell a conflicted child."
Rain shrugged. "She cared for me, she was trying to warn me, and I..."
She laughed bitterly. "I jumped off a cliff."
Siri's heart stopped. "WHAT?!"
"I didn't want to become a Sith," admitted Rain, "Decided to off myself, but then backed down. Decided I was stronger than a dream and floated myself back up."
"The death... the death of all her friends, the darkness all over Ruusan, started getting to Laa," said Rain her voice cracking, "She was hurting so much, I tried to comfort her, told her she still had me, despite it hurting me too. I think... I think she knew what was coming, knew what was to happen, that the moment had arrived."
"The moment?"
"I told her she still had me as we flew towards the Jedi, she... she said 'yes Rain' in... in a soft... soft sad voice," said Rain, shaking, "And they shot an arrow right through her head and murdered her seconds later."
Siri... has nothing she can say. Any comfort is a thousand years far too late.
"I clung to Laa and screamed for her as I shattered."
"I clung to her as the Jedi came."
"I clung to her as I turned on them in anger and hate."
"I clung to her as I fell."
"I let go when Rain died."
"I let go when I became Zannah."
"I let go when I snapped the Jedi's neck with the Force.
"I let go when Bane came for me."
"I... I sat there sobbing on the ground when he came out of the mist," said Rain, her voice ash, "He told me who he was, and asked who I was. My response was... was that I was a killer too."
Siri licked her lips. There was nothing glorious about this turn, this fall, just pain and sorrow. "What happened next?"
"He... asked me why I killed the Jedi," said Rain softly, her voice ash, her gatekeeper not able to actual cry to give form to her grief, "That moment is still so crystal clear, sharp and cutting and full of suffering. I told him... I told him it seemed right, not that it felt good, but that it was to restore balance, make life bearable."
The raw pain was still there...
Still there a thousand years later...
It had been smothered and pushed down, never dealt with, just used as fuel for the Dark Side.
Siri slowly chants under her breath and preforms the incantation to make Rain's gatekeeper solid, before she moves and pulls Rain to her. "I'm so sorry Rain..."
For the moment, there is no Darth Zannah.
No Sith.
Just a little girl cut away from the whole.
Left with nothing but ash and sorrow.
"I'm so sorry..."
Notes:
The dreams about Bane/Root's death aren't cannon, but I feel they add to the story.
Chapter 58: Come the Gathering Rain (Part 3)
Chapter Text
"Sorry, said I was, for your suffering."
"Gee, pour enough light in to feel like acid, give an apology, and suddenly everything is better in your world, isn't it Jedi?"
Watching Yoda and Rain bicker around eachother was not what Siri signed up for this morning. She keeps the towel she had over shoulder where it is and not-so-subtly backs away to the fresher. Maybe after a long shower, they'll be done. Likely not. Judging from the screaming fit from Rain that Siri can hear over the shower, its not going to be done for a bit, so she enjoys the warm water for a little while longer. She's not too concerned about it coming to 'blows'. Rain can't really hurt anyone without the dark at her fingertips, especially that old troll, and Yoda's not going to destroy her after giving C'Baoth the ammo he needed for his schism because of her.
She comes out wringing her hair and pauses. Rain it literally inches from Yoda's face.
"...and really," says Rain snidely, "Its not like anythings changed for the better in recruitment. Instead of recruiting ten year olds, you're nabbing toddlers."
"Decision of the parent, that is," comments Yoda, "And always a choice, does a Jedi have, if wish to leave they do."
"Yes because they surely know any other path but the one they've walked," said Rain snidely, "Nore have they formed any worthwhile connections, oh I'm sorry, attachments to help them get on their feet once they leave. Tell me, what was it the Jedi offer for those who leave? A ride back to their homeworld if they want and dump them there destitute?"
Yoda's ears flicker. "Oh? No one do you say? That no Knight has befriended a single being outside our Order?"
"No one deep enough to be willing to help."
"Mmm, jaded that is," said Yoda softly, "Underestimate the kindness of others, you do."
"Or you underestimate the cruel reality of life."
"Hmph," grunts Yoda, "Right both outlooks are. Many acts of compassion, and of cruelty, are there out in the galaxy. Likely it is that both would a Jedi meet, should they start on their own. But know the difference between a Jedi and a Sith in this?"
Yoda leans forward, both their faces centimeters from touching. "A Jedi will always be free to leave, to take this other path, but never will a Sith be allowed by their own."
Rain scowled, but said nothing.
"If leave you tried," pressed Yoda, "Would Bane have allowed?"
"If he knew whats good for him he would have," snapped Rain.
"Even as a child if decide against the Path of the Sith, did you?"
Rain gritted her teeth. "At least the reality I lived wasn't an illusion. How many children actually choose to leave the Jedi? How many know they actually can?"
Yoda pauses in consideration, bringing his gimmer stick up to chew on. "Hmm."
"Off the top of my head, know I do not," admits Yoda, "But know I do, that mentioned it is at some point during training. In the curriculum, know I do that it is."
"Oh yes, passed over as a one liner probably," said Rain with distaste, "And probably loaded with things to make it seem shameful, like a failure."
"Considering the Service Corps and how padawans look at them, she's not exactly wrong about the last bit at least," Siri chooses to say, "You could readily ask Obi-Wan how he felt about washing out before Qui-Gon took him."
Yoda's ears flicker, a subtle frown his acknowledgement. "A lesson it is, a harsh one perhaps, but a lesson none the less it is. A failure, being a member of the Corps is not."
"It is when they've been raised on dreams of being a Jedi Knight their entire lives," answered Siri.
Yoda's ears flicker back in forth in thought, chewing on his gimmer stick again. Rain looks so smug at the moment...
"Agree with you I do."
Then Rain startles. "You what?"
"Different way, that lesson could be taught," said Yoda, and Siri wonders if she's dreaming, "Must you be a knight to serve the Force? No. Many ways are there to see its will done, to serve the galaxy, to do good. Jedi Knights the only beings who do good in the Galaxy? Who use the Force to do so? No, they are not. Failures the Service Corps are not."
Yoda rubs his chin in thought. "Mmm, perhaps more integrated, learning about or with other paths should be. Talk with the Council of Reassignment, I should."
Rain's surprised expression schools in a way Siri didn't expect. Siri thought she might be smug, haughty that it was her words taken seriously and causing change. Instead, Rain regards Yoda coldly, almost icily, assessing him as a threat. A Sith Lord seeing an obstacle to their goal. "You're too late, Jedi."
Yoda blinks, going very still at the tone of her words before regarding her warily. "Late, am I? Wonder I do for what."
"To save your Order from itself," said Rain in a hushed, dangerous tone, "You are a Jedi who got the complacency kicked out of them and didn't rebury your head in the sand, whats more, you are actually in a position to do something about it rather than just shout to the heavens and be ignored. Had this happened a century or so ago, perhaps you could have done something to save your Order, kicked it into gear to actually challenge the Sith. But, Sidious is already moving into the end-phase of the Grand Plan, your Order already suffered a splinter that is only going to get worse, the end war is already on the horizon, its too late."
"Never too late it is," countered Yoda, "Stopped, Sidious will be."
"Maybe so," said Rain leaning forward again to be right in his face, "If Siri is right about Skywalker or her own efforts pan out, but the question is, will the Jedi still be around then?"
*beep beep beep*
Obi-Wan slowly opens his eyes from his joint meditation with his padawan. Helping Jinzler undo the damage C'Baoth had done in his training had been, and continued to be, a trial. C'Baoth had tainted her ability to meditate, drawing her dangerously close to the Sith method of a focal point, of her own emotions. Letting herself go, and trusting in the Force again, was something she struggled with. The hesitancy, the loss of faith, the loss of trust, especially in herself...
It was something Obi-Wan would never take for granted again.
Jointly combined together in the Force, it was so painfully easy to see the splinters and cracked webbed through her. It made him ache that he could not immediately pave over and sooth them. But easy paths were rarely as plain as they were made out to be. He had a way to resolve immediate issues; whenever he pressed compassion and care to her, she generally relented to whatever he was saying, but he also made the realization that he was doing a 'light' version of what C'Baoth had done.
C'Baoth pressed his demands against her, she obeyed.
Obi-Wan pressed his compassion and care against her, she obeyed.
He didn't like it.
He wasn't trying to take advantage of her state, and her need for it, but he was very much aware that if he didn't restore her to a solid foundation, that the damage could so easily return. If she relented to whatever he wanted, formed a dependency on him, what would happen if he died, or when she was knighted out on her own? Or worse, something happened that made her perceive a betrayal on his part? could shatter so badly. He will do what he must to help her in the immediate, but he will not ignore the long term; Jinzler needs to learn to trust in herself and the Force again.
The fact that she couldn't properly meditate without him to guide her in, couldn't properly release what she felt to the Force without him, and likely hadn't been able to for several years now... it sends shivers down his spine of where this would have ended up...
*beep beep beep*
"Master," murmured his padawan.
He nods and fishes out his comlink, glancing down at the message, frowning. "It would seem Master Yoda has called for a... informal meeting."
"Informal?" asked Lorana.
Obi-Wan smiled mirthlessly. "He has something he wants to discuss that he wants our input on before he approaches others."
Lorana nodded, face falling a bit. "Okay. I'll... I'll work on my homework until you get back."
He doesn't like what he feels coming off her. "Oh? I would have that you'd like to be a part of the discussion?"
She shrugged and looked away from him. "What use would my opinions be?"
Obi-Wan purses his lips, resisting the urge to press his care against her, he cant use it as a crutch every time she acts like that. "I cannot force you to do so, but I would like you to at least come and observe, to listen, and perhaps we could discuss it on our own when we are alone?"
Give her the option, the safety, of it just being the two of them to voice her opinion, rather than a large group. Slow steps, slow steps...
She hesitates for a moment before nodding slowly. "Okay."
They make their way over to what has become a rather new informal norm: His lineage all gathered in an apartment, with a councilor or two or a different master there for their opinion on whatever the subject is. Fay is interestingly not there this time. Master Windu and Master Koon are however. Anakin sits on the floor at the table with a datapad, homework likely, be still present. Dooku stands near the door, arms crossed, while Qui-Gon sits on the couch behind Anakin. Master Koon and Master Windu stand at a respectful distance while Yoda paces back and forth slowly, his stick softly thumping on the floor.
Yoda glances over at Obi-Wan has he enters, a solemn look on his face, and gets right into it. "How felt you, when sent to Bandomeer to be in the Corps you were?"
Obi-Wan twitches at that, especially at his padawan's surprise, shock, and mortification on his behalf; he schools his face. "It was the decision of the Council of Reassignment and I accepted it."
Yoda doesn't seem satisfied with his answer. "Consider it a failure, did you?"
"Being a member of the Service Corps is not a failing, it is a different path of service," Obi-Wan voices diplomatically.
"Feel that at the time, did you?"
"I was a child...," begins Obi-Wan defensively.
"An attack, this is not, young Kenobi," says Yoda, sighing after and waving his gimmer stick, "An attack, a failing, it was never meant to be, to any."
"Not everyone is suited to be a Jedi," pointed out Windu, "And some need the lesson, if not the humbling. Force knows I needed a good kick in my younger years."
That gets an eyebrow raised out of Qui-Gon.
Windu returns it with a flat look. "We all have examples of our youthful foolish that make us cringe to look back on, I am no different, and neither were you."
Qui-Gon smiles with amusement. "No, I suppose not."
"Point it is, that a lesson it may be, but a lesson how many take?" posed Yoda, "How many feel, that an attack on their worth, it is? Feel their dreams shatter, do they?"
"The path of a Jedi is not easy, nor often is it kind, and constantly tests us, the earlier we learn this the better," says Windu slowly, a little perplexed, "The lessons we learn on the field are often harsher, but still needed to shape us into who we need to be."
Yoda shakes his head. "Voicing my point incorrectly I am."
He paused to think for a moment. "If learn alongside the Corps, believe do you that lesson this thought of 'failures', it would?"
Windu frowned, thinking.
"A failure it is not," continued Yoda, "But more, a failure those who walk a different path, do not deserve to be thought of that way."
That gets Windu to nod in agreement. "No, they don't deserve that."
"Agreed," said Master Koon, "But, I will point out that there are already many different areas that the Corps receive their education and training scattered across the galaxy. How would we handle that? Recall them all to Coruscant and force them to learn here? In a place that may not suit them? The Agricultural Corps as an example cannot learn everything they need through theory or within the Room of a Thousand Fountains. All the sudden uplifting their way of life..."
"Hmm," murmured Yoda, resuming his pacing, "A point well made that is."
"Its something to discuss with the Council of Reassignment, and with the Corps councils themselves," advised Windu, "And not something to be rushed or done carelessly. We must also consider if it is something that needs to be done now, or something that can be done later once more pressing issues are settled, if it truely needs be done at all."
His jaw sets. "C'Baoth's most recent speech has... lured a number more Jedi away, we need a stopgap to this."
"We cannot force Jedi to stay if they have lost faith in the Order," said Master Koon, sighing, "And looking back... the so called 'Yam'rii crisis' was mishandled from start to finish."
"It was mishandled in the exact same way as Galidraan," said Dooku harshly, no small amount of self-recrimination in his tone, "We rushed in without proper and thorough investigation, regardless of the supposed immediate direness of the situations, we were used as tools and weapons to slaughter and repress those who had been wronged. Led by the nose by those in the Senate, with or without prodding of the Sith."
"Do you believe the Sith had a hand in both?" posed Windu.
"I don't know," admits Dooku, "But they've certainly not hesitated to benefit from them at our peril."
"Parasites," muttered Windu in distaste.
Yoda glances at Windu briefly before shaking his head. "Handled that already we have, separated more from the Senate, we have been, investigate missions before taking them, we do. Solve everything it will not, but help some, it will."
Windu nodded. "I suppose that will settle for now, was there anything else Master Yoda?"
Yoda paused for a long minute, and Obi-Wan felt the Force swirling around him. Windu's eyes narrowed in that way he got when he saw something through shatterpoints...
"New Council do I wish to make," said Yoda, earning the undivided attention of everyone present, "The Council of Preservation."
"Preservation?" posed Dooku.
"If fail we do, if defeat the Sith, we do not, ensure they will that our teachings will not fade, that in the right time, new eyes may find what we leave behind hidden and start again anew," said Yoda.
Obi-Wan stared at him, shocked, as did everyone else.
"Master Yoda," protested Windu, "Surely you don't think we will lose to the Sith!"
"Think we will lose, I do not," said Yoda, "Willing to have nothing in place, if wrong I am, I am not. Afford to have nothing in place, when laid so low we have continually been, right under our noses, we can not. Arrogant, complacent we have been, in assuming the defeat of the Sith."
Qui-Gon's eyebrows furrow. "Master Yoda, has it not always been you who have said not to dwell on the possibilities, that the future is always in motion? Focusing on worst case scenarios..."
"A new perspective, needed was," said Yoda, "A new perspective, I have. Introspection on what went wrong. Meditated long I have on my seclusion, meditated more I wish I could have, but needed I was to return here. Guarantees, there are not in life. Guarantee that survive the Jedi will, there is not. Four thousand years ago, nearly wiped out the Jedi Order was by the Sith, impossible is it to happen again you say?"
Obi-Wan winces a little. That particular period of Jedi history was something many either found enthralling or horrifying. Revan, Malak, Surik, the Mandalorian Wars, Jedi Civil War, the Jedi Purge, and all the events during that period of time for hundreds of years before or after were... hectic. Dealing with Siri in the cells below a few years ago had made him refresh his knowledge on that period, and he cant say he enjoyed reading it all. Judging by the startlement Jinzler felt, its a topic she hasn't either studied yet or paid much attention too.
Windu pursed his lips, not pleased, but relented. "Do you have any ideas on who you wish to be a part of this... council?"
"Mmm, open to suggestions I am, here, and when propose it to the council I do," answered Yoda.
Obi-Wan takes his time to consider it, as does everyone else, before Obi-Wan offers, "What about Master Tholme? If not as an active member, then at least with suggestions on places to hide the knowledge. He and Quinlan have been to many, many different parts of the galaxy, any shadow might be able to provide insights on locations."
"Mmm, good suggestion that is," agreed Yoda, "Obvious locations, it cannot be, as find and destroy them, the Sith would. Many, needed would be, to support this new council. Copies of information, new holocrons, a vast amount of knowledge must be carefully selected. Decide on what has worked to carry on, and what had failed that should not."
"You almost sound... defeatist," posed Windu warily.
Yoda shook his head. "All things change, even Jedi. The same as we were a thousand years ago, we are not. Whether we survive the Sith, or are destroyed and remade later, the same we will not be. Open, honest we must be with ourselves, without arrogance, without complacency, on what was done wrong, what was done right, and what we do not know, for the future to be better..."
Siri wonders if its going to be a new norm.
Coming out in the morning to find a Jedi pestering or parting shots with Rain.
"...and what do you mean," asks Qui-Gon Jinn, a hologram of some young black-haired man in his hand, "That this is not Darth Bane?"
Siri blinks. That looks nothing like his holocron image did on Korriban.
Then she looks at Rain, and Rain looks shellshocked. She stares at the image with so much grief and regret. She takes a moment to gather strength before she speaks, "Its... that's... that's not Darth Bane, that's... that's Tomcat. My cousin. I..."
Her shoulders slump. "I drove him insane with my power, dumped a number of Jedi lightsabers on him, and hid with my Master when the Jedi came and killed Tomcat, taking him for Bane."
Oh kriffing hells, Siri hadn't known it had been Rain's own cousin. That's bad. Was that... had that been Rain's... Zannah's sacrifice? Or just another part of the job?
Qui-Gon regards Rain for a long moment. "I see."
He sighs softly. "Well then, I suppose we should get this 'Tomcat' cleared then. He deserves better than to be remembered as an insane Sith Lord. Would you be willing to speak before the Council on this?"
Rain stares at the image of Tomcat for a very long time before so very quietly saying, "Yes, considering he had been trying to save me in his own foolish way, perhaps he deserves it..."
Siri sits outside the council chamber next to Anakin. Rain and Qui-Gon along with Jocasta Nu and a few shadows in there discussing Rain's revelation about Darth Bane and Tomcat with the Council. Anakin fidgets, something dark in his gaze, glancing at Siri every now and then.
"What is it Anakin?" she finally says, exasperated.
"He was her family," stressed Anakin, sounding personally offended, "How could she betray family like that? So horribly? I got the gist of what she said to Qui-Gon, that Tomcat guy was basically trying to do the same thing Obi-Wan was trying for you, and she drove him insane and set him up to die, to be remembered horribly, as thanks. You don't... you don't do that to family."
"Do not," warned Siri, "Ever underestimate what the Dark Side does to a person, Anakin. I once considered the Jedi Order my family, now? I don't particularly care if most of them die. Not that I truly miss feeling that anyway, most weren't worth being considered family."
"Would you have done that to Obi-Wan?" he demanded.
"The circumstances were completely different," said Siri, "And Obi-Wan wouldn't have just let me do that."
"That's not a no," he said harshly.
"I'd like to think no," said Siri, "Incase you forgot what happened on Naboo. I could very well have killed him there, and no one would have truly known I was a Sith at the time slipping away after. But I didn't."
"So why didn't she make that same decision?" asked Anakin.
"I can't answer that, Supernova," she said, sighing.
He shakes his head over and over again, like he just cant comprehend it. There is a stirring in him, something dark and ugly, full of disgust, revulsion, and distaste. Siri can probably count on Anakin never having a good opinion of Rain after this.
"Why am I the person you'd look the other way on, and not her?" posed Siri.
Anakin looks her right in the eye, a hardness in his eyes and tone. "Who says I look the other way?"
Siri doesn't say anything else for the rest of the ongoing session.
Its been a very, very long time since Siri sat down and had tea with anyone in this manner.
She sits at Jinn's table, next to Obi-Wan, across from Qui-Gon, Rain's holocron set on the table next to her, gatekeeper active and sitting as well. She reluctantly admits to herself that she kind of misses it. Even if she had been invited only to turn it into a session of Jinn needling Rain for information.
"I'm very curious how Bane survived Ruusan and the Jedi victory there," posed Qui-Gon.
Rain snorted. "Jedi Victory? Is that what you think Ruusan was?"
Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't it?"
Rain shook her head. "You stupid, ignorant Jedi. Ruusan was a Sith victory, one of the greatest they ever had. Tell me, whom do you think it was that lured Kaan into using the Thought bomb?"
Qui-Gon goes still, eyes going wide. "You can't be serious."
"I am," said Rain.
Qui-Gon opened his mouth, but Rain cut him off harshly, jabbing a finger in his direction. "I. Was. There. What do you not understand? I felt the Thought Bomb activate and... and you have no idea what it was like to sense that. I was there when Bane gloated about it, what did he call it? 'Kaan's smartest decision'?"
Both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan look nauseous at her words.
Siri merely hums. "Clever bastard, wasn't he?"
"Oh you have no idea," agreed Rain.
"Would you be willing to explain that before the Council?" asked Qui-Gon, voice sour with disgust at Bane's act of treachery.
Rain made a disgruntled face. "Not if they are going to poke and pester and very obviously go off topic and pry at me for other reasons again. I'll talk to one or two of them, but I'm not doing that huge session again."
Qui-Gon nods. "Very well, I will contact..."
They all pause when they feel a storm of emotion heading their way fast. Qui-Gon's expression pinches, "Would you please excuse yourselves to my room for a minute?"
Not interested on being on the receiving end of a Supernova temper-tantrum, Siri takes Rain's holocron, the gatekeeper fading back into it, Obi-Wan sighing and going as well, both quieting their presence in the Force. Doesn't mean Siri wasn't going to eavesdrop though, so she stays near the door. She heard the main door open and Anakin come barreling in. She heard what sounded close to a tackle hug and a resounding 'omph' from Qui-Gon.
"Anakin?" asked Qui-Gon almost to softly to hear.
"I hate them," spat out Anakin, sounding frustrated and hurt, "So much."
"A Jedi does not hate," instructed/scolded Qui-Gon before he sighed, "Have the other padawans and initiates been bothering you again?"
Obi-Wan turned his head to mouth. 'Again'?
Siri shook her head and mouthed back 'Don't know'.
"Yes!" exclaimed Anakin, "They just won't stop! Saying I'm not a Jedi, that I feel too much. That I'll turn bad just because I hang out with Siri. If... if slavery ever comes up as a topic anywhere and I'm around, everyone just looks at me like... like..."
"I'd say they are the ones not acting to the standards of the Jedi," said Qui-Gon gently, stopping his outburst, "And while you do feel more openly than most Jedi, it doesn't make you a bad person, Anakin. They should be more understanding that you come from a different background than them."
She could practically feel Qui-Gon frown from the other room. "While I personally do not approve of your friendship with Tachi for my own reasons-"
Siri rolled her eyes.
"-, just by knowing or interacting with someone who has-had... fallen, does not make you fallen as well. I know this more than they do," said Qui-Gon.
Obi-Wan winced beside her, while Siri crossed her arms. Not-so-subtle reference to Xanatos right there.
"I just...," struggled Anakin, "I just wished they stop. Wished they stopped telling me to 'let go' when I talk about home and mom..."
There is something in Qui-Gon's presence that shifts the moment the last word leaves Anakin's mouth, a faint agitation and frustration. "There is truth in that, that a Jedi does need to let go and move on. The past should not be forgotten, but we cannot let it rule us."
That gets a return sensation of the exact same thing from Anakin, and for a moment, both Master and Apprentice are clearly at odds. Siri wonders if they are glaring at eachother.
"Now, didn't you say before class that you were working on a project you wanted me to look at?" posed Qui-Gon in a very obvious maneuver to change Anakin's focus, "How about we go to your room and you show me?"
Siri and Obi-Wan slip out after the Master-Padawan pair move to the younger's room, escaping to the hallways.
"Hmph, so that's why he has no friends then," mused Siri.
Obi-Wan frowned at her. "No friends?"
"I asked him once why he continued to pester me when he could hang out with his friends, his response was that he didn't have any," said Siri, frowning, "I didn't press on him as to why that was."
Obi-Wan sighed, shaking his head. "I knew he was having difficulties fitting in, but... I thought that had resolved."
"Or, he stopped bothering and gave up, just sticking with his lineage and me," pointed out Siri.
"That's not...," Obi-Wan stops short, frustrated, before sighing, "The Order is supposed to be our friends and family."
"To you, perhaps," said Siri, "But he already had those before he came here, and its obvious hes not finding that readily here."
Obi-Wan slowly shook his head. "He needs to be able to at least have a respectable working relationship with other Jedi, hiding away in the apartment and only dealing with those he likes isn't going to help with that."
Siri shrugged. "Neither of us are his master."
"No," agreed Obi-Wan softly, "We're not."
Siri goes back to her own apartment, figuring she'll be bothered later by Jedi wanting to speak to Rain about Ruusan, speaking of Rain...
The girl manifests, her image flickering in, a contemplating look on her face. "That boy..."
Siri sat on the couch. "What about him?"
"He is powerful," mused Rain, "And there are mistakes being made that you could so very easily exploit."
"I'm not interested in turning him," said Siri flatly.
"But it looks like it would be so easy! Isolation makes such a perfect target. If he feels alienated by the Jedi, its a situation begging to be exploited," whined Rain, "Its literally 'turning someone 101'. Isolate them from their peers, whether through your own efforts, or manipulating how they perceive others, and it makes them so much more reliant on the ones who they do turn to. If the one they are reliant on is a Sith..."
"I'm not," snarled Siri seriously, "Interesting in turning him."
"Have you ever bothered," asked Rain flatly, "To meditate on the potential of him as a Sith? How incredible he could be?"
Siri shrugged. "Not deeply, I just decided I'd rather him not."
"Moron."
"Bitch."
"Do it," said Rain hungrily, "Meditate on it, tell me what you see, what you feel."
"Prying the future has never been my strong suite," said Siri dryly.
"No," agreed Rain, "But you will never know if you never try."
Siri sighed, but complied, if only to shut her up about the subject. She's not blind, that there is something in Anakin that does call to the dark in her, but it is not something she wants. She does wonder though, for a moment, despite having a feeling that it was an absolutely terrible idea, how deep that boy's darkness, his pain and suffering of his past went. She considers if Sidious has bothered to shroud Skywalker's potential and future by the Veil, considering that he tried to have the boy killed. She considers it for a long moment before shrugging and settling down to meditate. She peers into the Force, into the darkness, and asked the Dark Side what his potential was.
Then the Dark Side answered.
"KHOOOOH PUUUHRR."
Every single hair on the back of Siri's neck stood up, a chill ran down her spine, she reflexively slammed up every single mental shield and braced herself in the Force as if she were about to enter a battle to the death against a foe she could not win against. The sound of mechanized breathing filled the air, and the room disappeared. She stood in utter darkness, and standing at a distance, almost masked by the darkness around them, was no teenage Skywalker, but a towering behemoth, a dark titan in a suit with a death mask, pain and suffering and anguish and grief orbited him, his hatred, his self-hatred, so palpable that it sent tremors down her arms.
She stood before him, and she knew fear. A fear she only ever had known towards Sidious, and perhaps her Master's Master in memories lost to her.
If Skywalker falls, if he becomes this...
She's dead.
She feels it in her bones.
She thinks it in her thoughts.
She gets that sense from the Force.
Its something that the Force just smacks her with.
If he becomes this, she knows she will die.
When she opens her eyes, Rain is looking at her in expectation, but that look slowly fades into wariness, because the only thing on Siri's face...
...is fear.
Fear.
Its been several years since Sidious felt even a smidgen of it, if only for a short time where he fought his Master over Tachi, and such a circumstance deserved that response. This? Skywalker walking into his office for a 'chat'? It shouldn't have sparked the emotion, at all. It infuriates him, a flicker of self-hatred before he smothers it. The boy has no reason to suspect him as Force Sensitive, let alone Sith. He will have no reason to even consider that abominable power to rip away the Dark Side. Yet...
It still gives Sidious goosebumps when the abomination sits across from him. "Ah Anakin, I was hoping you'd be able to come."
Skywalker gives a small smile, strained. "I'm a little surprised they let me out of the temple at all after-after the Sith tried to kill me."
Sidious gives him a false-sympathetic smile. "I am sorry about your arm, Anakin, how is the chest wound?"
"I'm mostly off any breathing support," said Anakin before scowling, "Unless I breath in some nasty stuff. Was helping down in the hanger last week, fumes sent me back to the Halls of Healing for a few hours. It'll be awhile before its fully gone, which is okay I guess since I wanted to go with keeping my lung and letting it heal rather than getting a replacement, mechanical or donated."
He fidgeted with his mechanical arm. "Its already hard enough to deal with this thing, can't imagine having a mechanical lung that I'd need to be cut open for to adjust."
Sidious's eyes carefully spot fear-anxiety on the boys face. His shields are oddly stronger than they were before, reinforced. He can still feel some of the boys emotions, which leads him to believe the Jedi had prompted to boy to improve them to deal with his struggles leaking all over the place through the Force. Oh yes, Vosa's attempt hadn't killed him, but the boy was maimed, and was mentally/emotionally impacted by it. Good, good, it would make him easier to kill. Though, he's starting to believe he's going to have to personally do the deed at some point.
"It would be a trial," agreed Sidious, "One I am thankfully that you do not have to face."
Anakin smiles, relaxing a little.
"Now, pleasantries aside, I want to pick your brain about something," said Sidious.
Anakin blinked. "About what?"
"The Council's report on the matter is rather... unclear, vague," said Sidious, "On what you did with Tachi that resulted in her return from the Dark Side."
"Oh, that," said Anakin dismissively.
Dismissively?!
He acted as if it were a trifle, unimportant matter!
"Well...," said Anakin, "I just did my own version of what Ur-Manka did. I read his journal that Siri kept in the old room in that compound..."
"I'm sorry, what?" asked Sidious, startled.
Anakin blinked a few times. "Umm... Siri had apparently hidden Siolo Ur-Manka's journal in her room in the Sith Compound in the works. It detailed a lot of their time together before... before Siri killed him."
Sidious blanks for a long moment.
HOW. WAS. THAT. MISSED?
Likely the same blasted way Tachi had hidden the Schimitar, damn Zannah for teaching beyond his demands of her.
He reigns in his fury. "I see, such a source of intelligence happened to slip by the mention of the Council."
Anakin winces a bit. "Ah... umm..."
Sidious waves his hand. "No no, I'm not blaming you, I thank you for the information. Even if it focused on a Siri Tachi years out of date, the knowledge would have been... interesting to know. So then, what did he, and you, do?"
"Well, I kinda tricked Siri a bit," said Anakin, grinning, "She was greedy for my power, so I gave her a little, but by doing so, to take it into herself, she had to let me through her shields. Then, I used the power she'd taken in to just yank her out of the Dark Side, kind of hurt her a bit, but no one else was giving her a reason to even try to leave it."
Sidious takes a moment to process that before something relaxes. "So if she hadn't let you in..."
"Probably wouldn't have happened."
And just like that, any fear Sidious had washes away. Sidious would never trust Skywalker, as he was or even as a Sith Apprentice, into his own mind. This slave rat will never threaten Sidious's access to the Dark Side. The only way he would get in is if he forced his way in, and Sidious would likely be dying at that point anyway if someone could get into his head without him just killing them. Good, good, how fortunate how his problems resolved themselves.
"Yet she didn't simply just start using the Dark Side again?" asked Sidious, curious.
"I gave her a challenge," said Anakin, "To see if she can decide what she wants with her life without anyone, or the Force, trying to influence the decision. That is the greatest gift anyone can have. The freedom to choose. So many people take it for granted... I know better."
Sidious considers him for a moment.
Then he considers Tachi.
He wants to howl with laughter.
Tachi will choose the Dark Side.
Will choose the Sith.
Will choose Sidious.
If only to try to kill him.
Tachi's hatred of Sidious is so all encompassing and poisonous that she can't truly help herself. She will return to the Dark Side at some point, Sidious has no doubt of that. Though, he might need to give her a bit of prompting at some point. He finds himself amused, by how so easily Tachi was deceived, so greedy for the power coursing through Skywalker that she fell right for a trap. Sidious wont be making that mistake. Not with this abomination in front of him.
Since the boy isn't as dire a threat as Sidious had initially assumed, he will still cultivate a 'relationship' in the event of Tachi falling through, but ideally, Skywalker will die horrifically at some point. That would be the preferred outcome. If Skywalker cannot survive the traps and dangers Sidious sends his way, then he doesn't deserve to be his apprentice. Though... Sidious was loath to waste a continual and free source of information that didn't know any better on what spilled out of his mouth. Hrm... he'd have to meditate on it he supposed.
He idly wonders how Yoda tore the dark from Darth Zannah's Holocron. Perhaps, since it was only a fragment of the original soul, willingness was inconsequential? "I'm also curious, and admittedly agitated about, the... split off from the Jedi Order and the resulting political disaster. Were you there when it happened?"
Anakin shook his head. "No, I was in class."
A shadow crosses his face, and very real hate dances across his Force Presence. "But I was there when C'Baoth tried to force his padawan to leave with him, treated her like she was his slave."
He takes a moment to savor that hatred. Its such a delicious treat. When Skywalker is like this, its so hard to stick to his mindset to just kill-off the boy if he isn't useful. That Skywalker is the pathetic, to easy path. The darkness in him is just so delectable. "I'm sorry, could you explain that? I was under the impression..."
Anakin cuts him off, angry. "He tried to pressure her through the Force to obey him!"
"Like a mind trick?"
"No," said Anakin flatly, "Like actual mind control. Mind Trick's I've been told only really work on the weak minded. He had an in to her head through the training bond, and was... he just..."
The boy is practically choking on his anger. Sidious frowns intently. "I see... the reports I've been given so far had led me to believe that relations between the Republic and the so called 'Confederacy' might be amicable."
Anakin shakes his head, frowning. "Did they not...? I mean... I've heard my Master and Grandmaster talking about it. They think C'Baoth is either a Sith, or heading that way. I wouldn't trust any of them."
"That," said Sidious sharply, feigning irritation and frustration, "Is not something I've been told of."
"I mean... I don't think they have proof," said Anakin, uncomfortable.
Sidious sighed, letting a flicker of exasperation float off his presence. "And of course, the Jedi being what they are, won't make a claim without proof to back it up. Still... I respect their opinions enough to have at least considered the warning. This continual lack of trust between the Jedi and my office is starting to become a frustration. I understand, after what the Sith manipulation of the Senate that they revealed that they don't trust the institution, but have I done anything these last four years but give my support?"
"Do they truly think so little of me?" asks Sidious, feigning helplessness.
Oh the boy was so easy to play, how readily he comes to Sidious's defense, telling him how great he's been, as a personal friend and a politician (not that the boy really understood politics). Oh if only Tachi had been so easy... then again, that would have ruined his enjoyment of punishing her defiance, and the challenge of it. Still, he has another thirty or so minutes of this session with Skywalker, so he settles in to dig his claws deeper and deeper into the little slave rat...
Chapter 59: Come the Gathering Rain (Part 4)
Chapter Text
Siri sits in the middle of a training room, alone save for Dooku watching her at a distance, the prerequisite for allowing her to fiddle with her lightsaber.
She sits with her lightsaber partially dismantled, Bane's Heart set aside, and the other, bled kyber crystal rolling between her fingers. She stares down at it idly, considering it. She had wanted something to distract her from... from thoughts of Skywalker, and the memory of her sudden discomfort at the bled kyber during her trouncing of Vosa had been her escape. Still, this was something she felt was important. A kyber's screams had not affected her for years, if she had been in a serious fight, a sudden pause or startlement because of it could have killed her.
She ought to just use two synthetics if she's honest, but...
She rolls the bled kyber between her fingers again. The Force wasn't being subtle at the moment. She felt... little nudges, like someone was poking the back of her head, and then looking pointedly at the kyber crystal. She just has no idea why. Asking the Force resulted in another same nudge, demanding of the Dark Side just made it laugh at her. So, if she wasn't supposed to replace the crystal, what was she to do with it? It was... kind of useless to her now if she's honest. Its bled, not bonded to her, and while she's still darker than most, she's not technically fallen at the moment, she can't just smother it easily with the Dark Side, not for long unless she lets it through the gates and re-embraces it.
She frowns thoughtfully. Can she bond to a bled crystal? No, she doesn't think so. Bend it to her will, of course, all Sith do. But... its not quite the same as having a kyber crystal in-tune with her. She can't just unbleed it...
Can she?
Even if she could, she'd have no idea how. She's never heard of it being done before. To her knowledge, bled kyber are either stored securely in the vault in the archives, or destroyed to release them from their suffering...
She hums to herself in consideration, an idea forming. Well, a few actually now that she sits here and contemplates the possibility of it. A Light force user maybe could do something to soothe the pain of the crystal, maybe 'heal' it. A darksider obviously couldn't really do that. Not in the same manner anyway. She thinks of her duel with Windu a long while back, how he took her darkness and used it against her. So if she just took its darkness into herself...
So she reaches into the kyber crystal through the Force...
Gathers the dark from it...
She pulls...
She gasps and bends over, clutching her stomach and slamming her forehead into the floor as -pain-fear-suffering-agony-torment- flows into her from the kyber. So many years of darkness embedded in it, incoherent flashes of memory from her own time using it, and all the way back from when Zannah herself wielded the lightsaber and subjugated it. Even more distant was a hushed gray outline of who it had originally bonded to, someone she couldn't make out. Siri takes a ragged breath, gritting her teeth, and pushes herself to sit up.
"Tachi, what did you just do?" says Dooku, voice hushed, "The kyber..."
Siri blinked and looked down at the crystal that had clattered from her grip.
It had shifted from blood-red to orange.
She slowly picks up the crystal, ignoring Dooku, and carefully pokes it with the Force. Its hesitation is very much clear: she had been a darksider that had used it such. But, she had also just taken away its pain. She doesn't force it, but she doesn't lie either: She tells it she will never try to bleed it, but it is likely she will use the Dark Side, that she will use anger and pain and fear as sources of power, but she will never intentionally force it upon the kyber. It hesitates only for a moment longer before it reaches out, and she reaches back, binding them together.
She...
She had missed this.
Had missed having a willing kyber.
Bane's Heart was a unique, special, powerful crystal, but it was synthetic.
It didn't sing like this in her mind.
She glanced down at her disassembled lightsaber for a moment, before she shook her head. That Lightsaber had belonged to Zannah, belong to Siri as Sidious's apprentice. She still considered herself a Sith, but... she wasn't the same as before. She had been shifting slowly since she had come here, she could acknowledge and admit it, and what Skywalker had done to her... followed up with what she learned about Zannah...
She's ready to move on.
She wanted to be something new, something better.
It was time to start making that a reality.
"Call Obi-Wan and ask him to bring my old lightsaber, and some spare parts," said Siri, "I think its time I made a new one."
Dooku considers her for a moment before doing so.
Its not hard, once Kenobi brings it, to re-attune herself to her original kyber crystal. It clearly recognizes her, humming with a faint happiness to be held by her again. Yet... there is an old stain in it, a darkness, a wound from when Master Gallia died and Siri fell. Thankfully not enough to have bled it, but Siri pulls that darkness out all the same, taking it into herself and briefly re-living her fall.
The purple and orange crystals hum sadly with her at the wave of grief and pain that overtakes her. She closes her eyes for a long moment, jaw set, before she begins her work. Bane's Heart, the Lightsaber not the crystal, had worked, but it had been built for Zannah. It was shorter than most saberstaves, made for Zannah's small form; Siri... wasn't that small. While she could and had used it effectively, it had been more of a legacy hand-me-down, something made and taken as her own, than something she built herself.
Siri's saberstaff, made from pieces of both, from the Jedi and Sith she had used to be, is more normal length. She focuses on a tri-crystal build. Lightsabers can generally have up to three crystals, though usually only Jedi Guardians and Sith used more than one in their lightsabers. Saberstaves obviously needed two unless you wanted a shitty weak blade. Tri-crystal blades are more powerful, whether saberstaff or otherwise, a kind of lightsaber built during wartimes that will tear through metals a hell of a lot faster than normal. Nothing short of beskar'gam or something on that tier of metal will come even close to standing up to it. On the flip side, a tri-blade is actually capable of burning through a lightsaber's battery. Its more typical of a Jedi to die of old age before their batteries do in this day in age, not so much when the intensity of the blade is increased and used frequently.
She forms the lightsaber with the orange crystal socketed into the middle, her purple padawan kyber at one end, Bane's Heart on the other.
She finishes her blade, putting the pieces all together with the Force and stands up, holds it out in front of her, and activates it.
Purple light bursts out, hued more towards a muddy carmine than normal.
Siri nods to herself, and clips it to her belt.
For once, everything feels almost normal.
At least until Dooku holds out his hand for the saber.
Right, still on parole.
Dammit.
"So, I heard you made a new saber, purple huh?"
Siri glances up from her spot in the dinning halls, seeing Anakin moving to sit at her table...
"KHOOOOH PUUUHRR."
Siri went rigged, struggling to swallow back fear.
Evidently not fast enough as Anakin froze mid sitting down, a number of Jedi glancing her way.
"Uh... sorry for startling you?" said Anakin, unsure.
Siri forced the fear down, neatly ignoring both his comment and her own brief terror as if it never happened. "A new lightsaber was needed. Using a bled kyber as someone not exactly fallen anymore was... disruptive."
Anakin nods, sitting down and starts shoveling his face.
The entire time, a shadow, the masked titan stands behind him, staring down at her; Siri had never felt so small in her life.
"KHOOOOH PUUUHRR."
Siri swallows again.
Anakin swallows his food and glances up at her. "You okay Siri? You seem... weird."
"It's nothing."
"KHOOOOH PUUUHRR."
"Its nothing at all..."
She passes Anakin in the hallway the next day.
"Hey Siri," he says cheerfully.
"KHOOOOH PUUUHRR."
She doesn't reply, quickening her pace, the death head mask staring at her ominously the entire time.
"Has Siri said anything to you, Obi-Wan?"
Obi-Wan pauses drinking his tea, during a lineage gathering in the Jinn-Skywalker apartment. "About what, Anakin?"
The boy goes silent for a few minutes, uncomfortableness rippling off him, and not a small amount of loneliness. "She's been avoiding me recently, the last week."
Dooku huffed, unconcerned. "If we are being honest, grandpadawan, you spend far to much time with her as it is."
It was a thread that hadn't been dropped quite yet. Obi-Wan knew they still wanted to get Anakin away from Siri, but were conflicted with the danger of Sidious going after Anakin again. Baring them from seeing one another considering Anakin's flippant disregard for rules he didn't like wasn't likely to work, especially not without a stronger reason than 'we don't like the influence she has on you'. That was unlikely to go over well with Anakin, and cause even further distance between him, the Council, and the rest of the Jedi.
He was already far too disconnected from everyone outside their lineage, and one can't force him or others to be friends with one another.
Anakin shoots Dooku an annoyed look, but doesn't answer.
Yoda hums. "Heard in passing I have, of her avoidance."
The phrasing of that...
"Because avoiding, it is not," continued Yoda, "Commented others have to me, because fear it is, and told I am that unusual it is, to ever feel fear from Tachi."
Obi-Wan startled. "What? Why would she be afraid of Anakin? They've been... kind of friends for years now, she wasn't afraid of him even after he ripped her from the Dark Side."
"Know why, I do not," said Yoda, glancing at Anakin, "Know do you?"
"No! I haven't done anything to her," said Anakin, scowling and personally offended as he always is to anything he deems a slight or an accusation, "I mean... I called her out on her bullshit, kind of, when the Council was interrogating the Holocron, but nothing to deserve this."
"Have you tried simply asking her?" asked Qui-Gon with a knowing tone.
"Maybe if she's stay in the same room as me for more than thirty seconds," grumbled Anakin.
"I say let it lay," sniffed Dooku, "She'll get over herself eventually."
"Hmph, thought I did that approved you did of her recent efforts?" poked Yoda.
Dooku scoffed. "Perhaps if she didn't dance around whatever she did with the Kyber Crystal and gave a straight answer..."
"Avoidance is a skill of hers," mused Obi-Wan.
"She's not the only one," grumbled Anakin, glancing briefly at his master before earning a look of reproach from Dooku and Qui-Gon, and a pointed question from the latter, "Have you started on your history assignment yet Anakin?"
The boy scowls a little bit. "No."
"Then do so."
Obi-Wan is... uneasy, to see an almost dark look shot at Qui-Gon once Anakin reaches the door to his room before entering it. Obi-Wan slowly looks at Qui-Gon and raises an eyebrow. Qui-Gon pointedly ignores it, sipping his tea. Jinzler, thankfully, hasn't the tact to dance around a subject yet, and just bluntly asks, not to offend, but out of concern.
"Is... everything alright?"
A pinched look crosses Qui-Gon's face. "A Jedi must learn to let go, Anakin is... struggling to learn that lesson, a leftover from his past before he joined the temple. We have... disagreed on it a few times."
Translation: Argued. Likely yelled.
"Mmm?" posed Yoda, curious.
Qui-Gon merely shook his head. "Its nothing Master, I have it handled."
Obi-Wan is dubious, but its not his place to interfere unless it gets truly bad. So, he settles into his cushion and doesn't comment. All the while he keeps an eye on his former Master. For all the serenity he seems to air around him, the subtle purse of his lips, tenseness of his shoulder, and furrowing of his eyes give away hints of stress. He catches Qui-Gon's faint look towards Anakin's room as the man goes to refill the tea pot, concern and frustration briefly visible on his face. For all the man harps on Anakin's struggles, it doesn't mean he isn't worried.
He's just always had difficulty showing it at times, especially bumbling into things and chalking it up to the will of the Force. If Obi-Wan hadn't been so willing to go along with Qui-Gon antics when he announced taking Anakin as his padawan... well... Obi-Wan could have easily imagined getting deeply hurt and offended for being technically repudiated infront of the council even if Jinn hadn't meant it as such. That could have become a very nasty mess if the Council hadn't taken his time with Siri as part of his trials, as much as Siri had freaked over it he is somewhat grateful, even if he had never meant it to hurt her.
Speaking of which, his eyes linger on Qui-Gon's, the way his master is looking through the walls distantly, off in Siri's direction if Obi-Wan had to guess. So Obi-Wan merely gives his master a knowing look, smiling and sipping on his tea...
Its not surprising, that Qui-Gon eventually shows up, that Supernova would whine about her and someone would come to prod her about it. Coin flip said it was either him or Obi-Wan. Jinn stands in the doorway, regarding her, but she doesn't really invite him in, because frankly, she doesn't want to talk to him or to any other Jedi at the moment. Not when their actions would help bring about that Dark Titan. It would be ignorant to place all the blame on them, Sidious would likely take a large chunk, as would Anakin's own choices, but...
Anakin Skywalker would have likely been happier if he and his mother had been freed and dropped off on some unknown planet to live out their rest of their days. He should never have been taken in as a Jedi. Nor should he be a Sith if she's honest. He could be forced into a mold, but she has doubts, he has traits (weaknesses Sidious would call), some that Siri herself has, others... well...
He had asked her once what she wanted out of her life; no Jedi, no Sith, no Force. Perhaps he ought to have asked himself that question.
"Has Anakin done something to offend you?" posed Qui-Gon.
"Not in particular."
"I see," said Qui-Gon, frowning, "Then why are you avoiding him?"
Siri goes silent.
"I don't particularly like all the time he spends with you," begins Jinn, "But I am not blind to you being perhaps the only one he calls a friend outside of his lineage."
She doesn't answer.
"You avoiding him is hurting him."
"I'm aware," said Siri, scowling, "That I let it go on for so long is unbecoming of me, but... even Sith fear as much as they'd imply otherwise. Its just taking me awhile to get over myself."
Qui-Gon regards her, eyebrows furrowed. "You are scared of him, of Anakin, and its not because he is the Chosen One, you never cared about prophecy and fully believe you can circumvent being touched by it by refraining from being a part of the Veil of the Dark Side."
Siri stares back at him for a long moment. "He could become the greatest Jedi that ever lived, but have you truly considered Qui-Gon, that he could also become the greatest Sith that ever lived as well? That you Jedi are pushing him down that second path?"
He could be the greatest of either, but he shouldn't, he should be something... it lurks in the Force, but she just can't quite grasp it...
"How, exactly, are we doing that?" he demanded, eyes narrowing, "And I would have thought that is something a Sith would want."
"Anakin Skywalker turning to the Dark Side is the absolute last thing I want, Qui-Gon Jinn, I've said it before and I really mean it now," she snarled back, not able or even trying to keep the fear and anger out of her voice, "Only two there are, a Master, and an Apprentice. One to embody the power, the other to crave it. That is the way of the Rule of Two, a rule I have come to detest. If Anakin falls, I am dead no matter what I do. Whether Sidious kills me or has Anakin kill me to take my spot as the apprentice, or if I am the master and he eventually kills me."
Before he could respond, she pointed a finger at him. "And don't give me that bantha shit, I hear about it in passing in the halls when he's not bitching about it himself. You know exactly how the Jedi Order has been failing that child, but up until now, you had been doing an at least somewhat acceptable job and trying to mitigate the damage up until you deem that Shmi Skywalker is comparable to Xanatos's Father."
Jinn glares at her, shoulder's hunched defensively. "I have never compared his mother to that monster."
Siri's lips curled into a sneer. "Not aloud at least, but don't think I didn't sense exactly how you felt when you pushed us into your room awhile back and he mentioned his mother in his little rant. So let me ask, why exactly have you not bothered to free that woman, let her give a proper goodbye to her son, and sent her off to one of the various refugee programs or something of the like that blowhard goodie goodies like Organa run? Hmm?"
"Because you are afraid," she whispers, "You are afraid he will leave with her. You are afraid that like Xanatos, he will be pulled away from the Jedi Order by his parent, because you recognize that he is struggling and floundering here. That he is failing to connect with his supposed fellows, failing to identify with the Jedi, failing to learn or on the other end being failed to be taught, and that it is more inclined to make him want to leave. And just like Xanatos, you and the entire Jedi Order are failing to properly address the issues that boy has. But unlike Xanatos, who grew up to be an arrogant prick despite his normal Jedi upbringing, Skywalker was raised in slavery, in suffering, he has real problems from things that he either went through or witnessed that you Jedi are doing nothing about aside from saying 'Just let it go'."
"Has it ever kriffing occurred to you that that advice is terrible to anyone who wasn't indoctrinated from the ground up as a Jedi?" she demanded, "That you are demanding of him to leave behind the only person that ever loved him or that he loved to die in slavery?"
"We don't have the authority to...," began Qui-Gon.
Avoiding, avoiding, AVOIDING!
Why can the Jedi never confront and adapt?
Why?
"Don't give me that shit!" spat Siri, "You are Qui-Gon 'Maverick' Jinn, you do whatever the hell you want all the time and chalk it up to 'Will of the Force'. If you wanted to free her, you could, so could any Jedi here, and the Senate would never know, especially with the repeals to the Ruusan Reformation."
"You Jedi can pretend to be compassionate all you want," she said, voice hushing, dripping with icy venom, "But the truth is you don't care. You can nod your heads and say its unfortunate, but you'll brush it under the rug as unimportant and focus on what you think is more important, because compassion isn't the way of the Jedi, it used to be, but it's not anymore. It's been defiled, whether by the Sith, by the Jedi, by whoever."
She looks him dead in the eye. "Detachment has become the way of the Jedi, even if they don't realize it. Complacency and detachment. That's all the Galaxy sees, all those who haven't spent enough time near the right kind of Jedi to discover otherwise. Take for example Obi-Wan, how he acts, how he is, would be a massive shock to the common held view of the Jedi Order."
"I'm not here to argue philosophy and your jaded biased perspective with you," she can practically hear his jaw clenching. "Contrary to your self-righteous ranting, I do care for my padawan, and I do not appreciate you implying otherwise. I care for what is best for him. He needs to learn to let go or it will destroy him one day."
"He can't Qui-Gon," she said, sighing, "It's not in his nature. He clings and clings and clings and never lets go of what he cherishes. You either work with that and adjust your lessons, or you can continue to try and force him to mold into the perfect little Jedi, your precious Chosen One, until something breaks because he can't fit."
"He is stronger than you think."
"Oh, he likely is," she agreed, "But anyone, no matter how strong, can break, and that boy is far to important to risk falling apart, especially when he's not that well put together to begin with."
Jinn narrows his eyes at her in warning.
"I call it as I see it, Jinn," said Siri flatly, "I like the brat, that doesn't mean I'm blind to his problems and how I could abuse them if I really wanted to, or how Sidious could and would. He's a potential ticking timebomb that you manhandled your way into getting accepted into your Order when he probably shouldn't have been. So, Jinn, its now on you and your Order to diffuse the bomb."
"And what, Tachi, would you have done? Cast him out of the Temple for your Sith Master to claim with the now vacant position of Sith Apprentice?" he snapped back.
"Give him the basic training so he doesn't hurt himself or others, free his mother, secretly put them into the Exploration Corps, call it a day," she said before admitting, "Of course, this is hindsight speaking after everything else, so, take that with a grain of salt. It would be the option initially less dangerous for your Order, and likely to make him happier. But, it does ignore that Sidious would try to hunt him the hell down and kill or convert him if you couldn't keep him hidden. Its not like he didn't shout 'Notice me everyone' when he blew up the control ship over Naboo."
"So you admit then, that here is the best and safest place for him."
"If that's how you choose to take it," she said, "But really, his fate was kind of sealed the moment he drew attention. He was safer as an unknown slave on Tatooine. But... if we're being honest, its likely that one way or another, he is fated to go against Sidious no matter what path he walks. This path at least gives him the tools to defend himself better than remaining a slave turned smuggler would have."
"...smuggler?" posed Qui-Gon, eyebrow raised.
"He won the Boonta Eve," she said dryly, "If the Hutts didn't purchase him to be a racing slave, there's no way he wouldn't have eventually won his freedom. He, admittedly, could have simply become a professional racer, but, well... he IS called Skywalker."
Qui-Gon huffed quietly. "He does like watching hyperspace far to much I suppose."
She smiled a little. "I imagine he does, having been stuck on that sand-trap all his life prior."
They both ease out of the hostility that had been building.
"I'm not going to say things couldn't have been handled better," said Qui-Gon, "The Council needed to know he was the Chosen One, but... that information could have been withheld from the Jedi at large, and potentially from him. To put less weight on his shoulders, and to not have him stand out so far from his peers that neither can cross the distance. Sometimes, I believe he feels like the Jedi Order is out to get him, when its not, we are here to support him in becoming the best he could be."
"The best he could be, or the best the Jedi Order believes he could be?"
Qui-Gon sighed. "Must you?"
"Well... yeah?" she answers cheekily, "Confrontations are what I do, what I live for. I do oh so love a good argument."
"An argument, or you spitting out your opinion as an inarguable fact?"
"By all means, prove me wrong," she taunted, "The Jedi want Skywalker to be something that he can't be, so he will never 'be the best he can be' by their standards."
"I'm not an example the model Jedi myself incase you weren't aware," posed Jinn.
"And I'm sure that you and your padawan will give the council collective strokes when you actively start missions," she said dryly, "But perhaps I didn't limit enough. We all have our own opinions on what the best Anakin could be would look like, and I guarantee that none of them match up. Being yanked back and forth between all of those expectations isn't good."
"Fair," he agreed.
They grew quiet for a awhile, Jinn lost in his own thoughts, before he sighed and shook his head, "Get over your fear and speak to him at some point, because even if its you, he needs a friend."
She scowled a little, grumbling, "I'll try."
"Do or do not."
"Do I look like a Jedi to you?"
It was only a matter of time, Siri supposed, before Supernova cornered her, especially if Jinn gave him the go ahead.
She finds him hogging her couch early in the morning, glaring daggers at Rain's gatekeeper, who pointedly ignores him, floating/laying down midair as if she were the one lazing about on the couch.
"...still think you're a piece of work," said Anakin flatly to Rain.
"I'm sorry, we're you saying something?" asked Rain, "I can't hear you over the guttertrash pouring out of your mouth."
Anakin narrows his eyes at her, anger flaring, and Siri feels his attention focusing on the Holocron itself...
Siri does the intelligent thing and separates them, yanking Rain's holocron across the room with the Force and tossing it into her bedroom onto her bed. "Timeout Rain."
"Hey! I'm not actually a damn kid!"
Siri closes the door and twiddles her finger, shielding her room and cutting off Rain from the outside, her gatekeeper fizzling out.
"She's a real bitch," said Anakin flatly.
"Language Supernova."
He gives her an unimpressed look.
"Hey, you're the Jedi," she mocks, "Got to be all proper-like."
The look doesn't leave his face.
She rolls her eyes and turns to head for the fresher to shower. Better to stall and collect her thoughts...
"Siri."
"KHOOOOH PUUUHRR."
"Why are you afraid of me?"
She ignores him.
Except the fresher door stays firmly closed as Anakin's power grasps its frame.
Well then...
She turns to face him and twitches, the dark behemoth standing behind him, a shadow made manifest. Her eyes flicker above to meet the death mask, black lenses regarding her silently save for the repeated eerie breathing. Anakin follows her line of sight, glancing back, but seeing nothing, looking forward back at her, eyebrows furrowed. He doesn't speak though, waiting.
"I asked the Force something I shouldn't have," said Siri, "And I didn't like the answer."
"What did...?"
"Don't."
He blinked. "Don't what?"
"If you ask, you can't take back knowing, Skywalker," she answers flatly, "I'll get over myself eventually and figure it out, I just... need time to parse it."
He looked distinctly unpleased, and foolishly unafraid. He opens his mouth to speak...
"Anakin, please."
Now he looks unsettled. Was her taking that tone really that rare?
Actually... yeah, stupid question.
He slowly nods, and for once, he actually damn listens without bumbling in. "Okay..."
The dark titan behind him tilts its head at Siri, regarding her.
Anakin sighs. "So... aside from avoiding me, how have you been?"
She shrugs, forcing her gaze down away from the darkside apparition and onto Anakin. "Fine, poking Rain to try and play nice with others when we're not going at eachother."
Anakin scoffed. "You've had 'great' success."
"Brat."
"Its true, she's just as nasty as you were at first."
Siri raises an unimpressed eyebrow. "I'm still as nasty, you've just managed to move yourself off the 'insignificant-trash' list into 'favorite-brat' list, and most others aren't worth the effort."
He scoffs but grins at her.
"I 'suppose' I ought to be nice and ask how you're doing in turn," she drawls, sighing as if it takes her great effort to do so.
He huffs... and then frowns, trying to sink down into the couch. "...I'm fine."
"Really?" she posed, looking at how sullen he is.
The dark behemoth behind the couch crosses its arms at her.
Anakin doesn't answer.
Siri frowns for a long moment, considering if she should press or not. The Dark Titan is staring at her, waiting. Siri licks her lips, and decides that she's tired of being afraid of Skywalker. "Anakin, what's wrong?"
"..."
"Homework issues?"
"..."
"Got a girl ya like?"
"..."
"Issues with the other Jedi?"
"Mom," he muttered.
"Hmm?"
"Every time," he grits out with frustration, "Every time I ask about my people, about slavery, about my mom, its always the same stupid answers."
Siri goes still as the air starts to tremble, flickers of raw power seeping through the air. The Dark titan slowly uncrosses its arms, fists clenched. "...and what are those?"
"That its a 'unfortunate' reality of life, that there's not enough Jedi, that we serve the Republic or that its outside their jurisdiction, that it would start a war with the Hutts, that the Jedi have to focus on the bigger and more important picture," he spits out viciously, his presence flaring angrily in the Force, "That even if we did it without forcefully freeing anyone, not only is it illegal to purchase slaves, but it sets a precedent."
He bites out. "Yet apparently winning me in a pod-race bet and freeing me after is fine?"
Siri raises both eyebrows, she hadn't known that. "Skywalker, if the full details surrounding your... 'freedom' we're known publicly, there is a decent chance Jinn would be in a bit of trouble. Not to mention they brought you into a war zone when you were nine."
"I blew up the droid ship!"
"You did," agreed Siri, "I distinctly remember feeling your glee while I was dueling Jinn and Obi-Wan, it kind of distracted us for a little bit. It still doesn't mean you should have been put in that situation to begin with, ethically speaking."
"...you're speaking about ethics?"
"Shut up Supernova," she snaps without heat.
He smiled a little before he closed his eyes and sighed. "I said I'd become a Jedi and go back and free everyone... but that's not going to happen, is it?"
Siri said nothing.
"People say the Republic's been around for a thousand years, like the Old Republic before it didn't even exist. The Old Republic was around for almost twenty-five thousand years," said Anakin bitterly, "The Hutts have been around longer, likely with slaves all the while. No one has cared enough the entire time to put an end to it. The only time the Republic really gets involved with putting down systematic slavery is if it happens openly in their own borders, or slavers get caught doing it. Otherwise its just putting out small little fires here and there."
Disgust crossed his face. "And like you revealed in that senate questioning thing, some of the senators are even slavers, or profit off it."
The Dark Titan behind him seems to grow darker, more menacing.
"But nobody cares," he says bitterly, "Ya wanna know what the worst answer I get to my question is? Its that 'I need to let go'. That its somehow my fault, a failing, that I care about my mom, my friends, about everyone else suffering back home."
Oh he's boiling now, his presence...
"It's... it's just... even if its not everyone..."
It feels like something's about to burst...
"Why!" Anakin shouts, and the air trembles with his frustration and anger, "Why wont they free my mom?!"
He looks helpless for a moment. "Whenever I speak of home or mom Qui-Gon changes the subject! Why does he think she's bad? He's met her! My mom is the nicest person ever!"
Siri stares down at Skywalker's trembling form, his emotional turmoil palpable in the air, distorting the Force around them. She instinctively traps the reverberations in the Force, confining them to the room to not alert anyone; the boy has enough problems here without the Jedi Masters coming down on him for having an emotional fit. A righteous one even. She stares down at that vulnerable, scared, and angry child, and is aware of the potential, the danger of this moment. He is hurt, he is angry, he is seeking out her for a reason why.
She's never had real practice turning someone before, yet even she can see how laughably easy it would be to start Anakin down the dark path right here, right now. Can see the vulnerability the Jedi have left in their so called Chosen One. Those idiots, if Anakin were having this exact conversation with Sidious, it would be over. Everything would be lost. If not right then with Sidious turning and claiming the boy, then further down the road with the seeds burrowed, fertilized, and sprouting all throughout him in one single session.
The Jedi are going to ruin him.
This was so easy to prevent, just free the damn woman, let Skywalker say goodbye, and send her off to a refugee movement or something. Then, they've solved, or at least soothed, one of the greatest points of contention with the boy. But of course, politics and code get in the way of that. More to be their code, since a single Shadow could easily solve the problem and no one would be the wiser.
It would be so easy to twist this.
To twist him.
Its a struggle to not give in to the dark hound outside the gates, muzzle pressed through the bars, whimpering for her to spread its influence...
"I can't say anything you haven't already heard Anakin," she says quietly, "Aside from the occasional few goodie goodie blow-hard senators, the Republic has never cared enough about the Outer Rim. They're always Core Focused, always been that way, always will be. They will never fight a war to end slavery outside their territory. The Jedi cracked down on the Zygerrians well before our time only because in their arrogance, the Zygerrians started openly enslaving from Republic worlds. It had gone on for thousands of years prior with the Republic not caring until it became too big to ignore. They touted is as a great 'Anti-Slavery Campaign' in the Outer Rim, but really, its because their people would have been rioting and baying for blood in the streets if nothing was done to keep them safe. They never really touched the Hutts to my knowledge."
Anakin grits his teeth. "That's nothing I didn't already read and figure out on my own."
"Then what do you expect me to say, Anakin?" she demanded, "I don't have some 'great mystery' answered secretly in my head. The Republic has always, and will always, be corrupt in some shape or form. Its the natural state of any government. Those with power will always abuse it in some way, shape, or form. The suffering and hardship of others half way across the galaxy does not matter to the general populace unless it directly affects them. Its just the way things are. If you want something done about slavery, Anakin, then you're going to have to do it yourself."
Anakin deflates. "I don't know how. Forget the slavers, how would I even start to deal with all the slave chips? Trying to free anyone or killing the slavers en-mass wouldn't stop someone from pressing a button and leaving no one left to save. I tried working on a scanner for them, but removing chips one at a time is never going to work, not before we'd be found out. I just..."
"I wish someone would help," he whispers, voice cracking.
She stares at him for a long moment. For all the faults the boy had, so easily goaded and offended and reckless, he had heart. That heart of his was too big, too many spots to stab, too many places to be wounded, so many places for the dark to seep in. That Supernova could so easily become a Black Hole...
"Ask me to help, when Sidious is dead and we wouldn't have him on our back," she offers, "And I'll go with you."
He startles. "What?"
There was so much to learn from the boy. So many answers that his power held deep within him...
"You'd have to leave the Order because they sure as hell wouldn't sponsor your efforts," she points out, "But... if you ever leave to go do something about slavery, I'll go with you."
He sates at her, wide eyed and speechless. The Dark Titan behind him ripples, and slowly, it fades away.
"Assuming we're both alive at that point that is," she muses, before letting a bit of sadism through, "It would be nice to kill slavers I don't have to worry feeling bad about."
Anakin blinks a few times, pulls back his stunned emotions, and snorts. "Way to ruin the moment Siri."
She grins at him. "I am who I am, Supernova."
He gives her a small smile, looking down for a moment before whispering, "Thank you."
"Still have to get there Anakin," she reminds him, "Now, stop hogging my couch you little shit!"
When Anakin eventually leaves, Siri sits alone on her couch, hands clasped together on her knees, head bowed. She stares blankly down at the floor for a long while, poking at the Force, trying to pry at the future, to see if they make it. If the pair of them will actually ever go on that little crusade, if anything will come from it...
All she feels from the Force is sadness.
Chapter 60: Come the Gathering Rain (Part 5)
Chapter Text
"You want me to do what?" asked Siri in disbelief, crossing her arms as she sat down on her couch.
"Can you watch my padawan for a few days to a week?" repeated Obi-Wan, "I have a quick mission I've been assigned, and the Council is... not quite sure my padawan has recovered enough for fieldwork yet."
"...and you're not leaving her with Jinn or Dooku, why?" asked Siri pointedly, eyes narrowed, "Or hells, even on her own in your apartment? She's a senior padawan for kriff sake, not a baby."
Obi-Wan pursed his lips. "She... needs to get over something C'Baoth planted in her."
"Which is what?"
"Hatred of the Sith."
"She should hate the Sith, or Sidious at least, I don't see the problem, but of course, Jedi are so scared of hatred," she says mockingly before shifting on her feet. "You think leaving her with me for a week is the way to do that?"
"Yes."
"That's a terrible kriffing idea Obi-Wan," she laments, "How in the hells did you get Council approval for that?"
"Very carefully."
Siri snorts at the evasion.
"...I went to Yoda first and he won them over after a lot of arguing."
"Your lineage is a bunch of disasters, Obi-Wan," she said dryly, "What does Jinzler think of this?"
"...I'll get back to you after I tell her."
Siri threw back her head and laughed.
Siri is supremely unimpressed when Jinzler sits at the table, compleatly and utterly ignoring her. She's brought a datapad and changes of clothes into the spare room, and then proceeded to dismiss Siri's entire existence as she goes about her classwork. Siri doesn't quite appreciate being ignored since she's doing this as a 'favor' to Obi-Wan.
That's not going to stand, if shes going to do this, she'll do this her way.
She looks at Jinzler, her shoulders tense as she sits at the table doing whatever assigned homework she has as a senior padawan. Obviously uncomfortable, and judging by the tightness of her jaw, angry at being here with a Sith. Boo whoo, woe is me.
Siri sits on the couch and crosses one leg over the other, leaning back and gazing watchfully at the young woman. "Do you know what a Sith Sacrifice is, Jinzler?"
Jinzler doesn't look up, but does go still at being addressed before forcing herself to continue. "No."
"No?" poses Siri, irritated, "So let me get this straight: Not only did you not watch my so called questioning session with the senate, but the Jedi didn't explain it to you either? That is very foolish, both yourself and them leaving you ignorant of information and of the exact nature of the danger to you."
Now Jinzler looked up, glaring at her and snidely said, "Explained the danger you posses?"
"No, they didn't explain your nightmare, the how and why C'Baoth is an extreme threat to you."
Jinzler paled, looking unable to breath for a moment before looking down at her homework, a shake to her hands. "..."
"To become a Sith Lord of the Line of Bane, one of the last steps depending on the Sith in question is the complication of a Sith Sacrifice," explains Siri, "That Sacrifice is where they make a choice to murder someone who is supposed to mean a great deal to them, someone important, as a show of devotion to the Sith Order, and as a breaking of their previous allegiance and life. The Sith casts off their previous life in doing the act, and is bestowed the title of Sith Lord and a new name. I personally think that's supposed to be symbolic, but most Sith appear to take that literally as if they are a new person and that their past self is a weak pathetic other."
Jinzler doesn't answer, but the shake to her hands is in her arms now.
"What does this tell you, Padawan Jinzler?" Siri posed.
Jinzler takes a shaky breath, pushes herself to stop shaking, and goes back to her homework.
Siri's eyes twitch. "I asked you a question."
She doesn't answer.
"Passive aggressive little shit," said Siri flatly before snapping, "Jinzler!"
The padawan tenses and looks up, glaring at her. "What?!"
"You've been given to me for a week, and for that week, I am going to look after you, and I am going to teach you," said Siri, "And you will do me the courtesy of learning and listening."
"I'm not learning the Dark Side!"
"I never said you were, stop being stupid," countered Siri, "Tell me, do you like others walking on glass around you, Jinzler? Afraid to upset you, babying the poor abused padawan?"
Jinzler gets up in fury and stalks towards her assigned room.
Siri lifts her up with the Force and sets her back down at the table. "Don't touch me with the Dark!"
"Then stop being a brat," said Siri, "You will sit there and speak with me until I dismiss you for the night, are we clear Padawan Jinzler?"
"Perfectly," spat out Jinzler.
"Good," said Siri, "Now, unlike the Jedi, I am not going to baby you. I don't care if you are still hurting from C'Baoth's actions. You have things you need to know and things you need to learn critical to your survival that none of the Jedi are going to bother with since they don't want to risk breaking their little glass Tooka."
The girl's face is beat red with anger, shaking with it. Siri carefully wraps the room with the Force, catching and negating the vibrations of that rage with the Force. "I'm not saying they wouldn't eventually, or well, I hope they wouldn't be so recklessly irresponsible, but you need to know now, not as an 'oh by the way' after you get knighted. So listen up Jinzler."
Siri uncrosses her legs and leans forward. "This is not a guess. This is not a 'what if'. This is not a maybe. Its a guarantee. C'Baoth IS GOING TO TRY TO KILL YOU."
The anger is gone, back to shakiness, struggled breathing, and fear.
Damn.
C'Baoth really did a number kriffing up his padawan, she shouldn't have this much difficulty with control at this age. "This means, Jinzler, that you need to always, always, be aware and be on guard outside of this temple. From what I've read up on him, he's a grandstanding old bastard who lusts for recognition, fame, and power. When he comes for you, I doubt it will be a quick, assassination type of kill. He'll try to make a spectacle out of it. So high profile missions you need to be especially on guard for, but even that has its limits. If he goes too long without completing the sacrifice, he might settle for just getting it done and out of the way."
"If... if he t-tries to kill me...," stammers Jinzler, "T-to publicly attack a Jedi of the R-republic, as a part of a f-foriegn government, that wo-would be..."
"A political shitstorm at bare minimum?" poses Siri, "Or more likely, an act of war? Oh Jinzler, if you think this schism from both the Jedi and the Republic isn't going to end in war, then you are gravely mistaken. War is the goal, the intent."
Jinzler swallows.
"Padawan," said Siri tiredly, "I'm going to be very, brutally honest. Now is a terrible time to be a Jedi. The Line of Bane is moving towards its endgame, hells, its already there. Within the next decade, two at minimum, they are going to try and wipe out the Jedi Order. Do you understand me? DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"
"Y-yes," stammers Jinzler.
"Good," said Siri, "Do you understand then, that the stereotypical Jedi training and focuses might not be helpful to you in this situation? Diplomacy is all well and good, but the only diplomacy that's going to work against a Sith wannabe coming at you with a lightsaber is the aggressive kind."
Siri meets Jinzler's eyes and steels her voice. "While with me this week, we are going to focus on two things: Understanding, and combat. I will continually speak with you as I have now, trying to prepare you for whats to come and steel you for it. I will also try to start honing your saber skills to a passable standards. I also highly suggest that you see if you have any natural affinity for Tutaminis, or at least have the capacity to learn parts of it. C'Baoth is strong in the Force, you need to be able to counter him that way. I cannot help you with that last bit since anything I'd teach would be Dark. I suggest Yoda, he favors his lineage so you might be able to get him to bother with individualized lessons."
"You are Obi-Wan's padawan, you are important to him," said Siri, "As such, you are important to me. Hate me for being a Sith all you want, but do not doubt that I am trying to help you. Are we clear?"
There is a heavy mixture on Jinzler's face. So much anger, so much fear, and so much confusion. But, she nods none the less.
"Good, get your homework done, then you're dismissed for tonight," said Siri before settling in, grabbing her datapad, and shooting off a message to Dooku about lightsaber lessons for Jinzler.
Its not like they'd do her the favor of letting Siri train her alone in such things after all.
Especially considering that Siri can sense the wire under Jinzler's clothes, letting whoever listen in to anything said.
She's not really surprised at the testing.
Its just so Jedi of them.
There is a vicious anger that doesn't belong in a Jedi inside Jinzler when she comes at Siri in the training room she booked alongside Dooku. Its not funneled or channeled into the Dark, or even into her form, thus, its useless.
"Do you want to handle beating a combat focus into her or should I?" said Siri dryly, deflecting the pathetic assault.
She's not even sure what lightsaber form Jinzler is using its so sloppy.
"Oh, by all means," said Dooku, "I'm merely here to supervise."
"Don't worry, I'll be gentle," says Siri mockingly, "I wouldn't push her half as hard as I would my own eventual apprentice."
Jinzler snarled and swung a two-handed heavy blow. "I don't need you going easy on me!"
Siri neatly sidestepped, tripped her to the floor, and plucked her lightsaber up with the Force after she fumbled it upon impact. "Hmm. So you say, but honestly Jinzler, I've seen junior Padawans fight better than you."
Jinzler rose, fists clenched, face beat red...
"Jinzler, is there a reason you aren't releasing all that to the Force?" drawled Siri, "Because honestly, I'm surprised you can even walk, let alone figure out where to swing a lightsaber, with how much blinding red you have to be seeing at the moment."
"BECAUSE I KRIFFING CAN'T!" Jinzler exploded.
Dooku raises an unimpressed eyebrow.
But Siri, her eyebrows furrow. She knows some Jedi, especially Supernova, have issues releasing to the Force, but 100% unable? That suggests that...
Oh.
Jinzler doesn't trust in the Force anymore. Wow, okay, C'Baoth really, really, kriffed her up.
She likely can't even meditate the Jedi way properly, let alone release anything.
Hmm...
All things considered, Jinzler would probably do better settling into the Dark at this point, but, not ever going to happen being a Jedi and all. Obi-Wan has likely been trying to slowly wear the girl down and guide her back into the Jedi proper from where C'Baoth veered her off, but, considering where she was at this point, it wasn't likely to happen for a good long while. Which is all well and good if there is all the time in the galaxy to get the girl settled.
But Jinzler has a timetable, a ticking clock, on her lifespan and survivability.
The countdown to zero is whenever she clashes against C'Baoth.
Jinzler needs to fix her issues, recover to where she had been/should be at this point, and start improving at a rapid pace.
"Alright, we're going to engage a stopgap until you can do so," orders Siri, "Sit, you are going to enter the closest you can to meditation, then I am going to siphon out all that anger and negativity. Like bleeding a poison."
Jinzler narrowed her eyes, wariness emanating from her.
"Oh for kriff sake, Dooku is right here, and will be watching the entire time," said Siri flatly, "He wouldn't hesitate to drive a lightsaber through my back if he thought I was going to seriously harm you."
Dooku wrinkled his nose. "The sentiment is correct, but I am not so uncouth and barbaric."
"Alright, stab me through my face then from the front, honorable and all that."
Dooku sighed.
Siri sat down on the floor and motioned infront of her. "Sit, Jinzler."
She looks briefly to Dooku for a nod before she does so.
Siri closes her eyes and reaches out with the Force, devouring all the excess anger and frustration rippling off the girl. She has to resist the urge to make a slurping sound, its about as delectable as a smoothie. She uses it as she feeds, hand held out to the dark hound in her mind, it licks the fury off her fingers as it converts it into energy and pushes the power through her body in return, a tingle of excited muscles.
Jinzler shivers. "That... that feels weird."
"Of course it does," murmurs Siri, "Your emotions are being bled out of you. Where they were is now empty. Its not true calm, more like an absence. It still should be good enough to get a facsimile of meditation. I wanted you started on saberwork today, but really, nothing is going to get done until this meditation issue is settled. Now... begin."
Jinzler fidgets, trying to get comfortable, before she closes her eyes, and tries to reach for the Force...
"Why does a Sith use Soresu?" asked Jinzler, trying to copy the kata Siri was showing her.
"Why not?"
"Its not a form a Sith would...," began Jinzler.
Siri tsked. "Jinzler, let me give you a piece of advice. Throw away any preconceived notions of what a Sith IS. While some things still remain true, the Sith have changed over the last thousand years."
"Do you still take enjoyment out of the suffering and slaughtering innocents?" posed Jinzler mockingly.
"Sidious does," agreed Siri.
"And you're saying you don't?"
Siri thinks back to her meditation on grief after Skywalker yanked her out of the Dark. "I try not to."
"But you DID at one point."
"...yes," admitted Siri, "When my fall and seduction into the Sith truly began, when I came close to pulling out of the dark, then falling back even deeper into it, I became a true Sith Apprentice of the Line of Bane."
Jinzler narrowed her eyes in thought. Siri idly began rehearsing answers to what she assumed Jinzler was going to follow up with...
...only for the girl to ask something Siri hadn't quite gotten around to really considering. "You don't consider yourself of the Line of Bane anymore then, do you? Because as much as I loathe you, I'm not ignorant. You are different."
Siri's jaw set, her saber lowering to hiss against the floor. "My lineage within the Sith is a little more convoluted then normal. I've been trained and taught by two wildly different parts of the Line of Bane, Zannah and Sidious, the first and the last apprentices."
"If Sidious is the 'last', then what are you?"
Siri huffs a laugh. "A mess. I identify as a Sith, but snub their overall goals in place of my own desires. I cherry-pick what ideology and tenants of the Sith I like while ditching the rest without care of tradition. I highly prefer the Dark Side, but I don't much care if the light exists nor its state of supremacy in the galaxy. In that same vein, I don't care if the Jedi Order exists or not insomuch that Obi-Wan remains alive, everyone else is relatively expendable to me, ranging in how important to Kenobi they are."
The disgust on Jinzler's face only serves to make Siri snicker.
"I suppose I'm going to end up a break-off of the Line of Bane," admits Siri, "I want to kill Sidious and remake the Sith Order in my own image."
"And what image is that?"
"I'll let you know when I figure it out," drawls Siri, "By the way, watch your feet."
"My-urk!"
Siri lays Jinzler flat out on her back and grins down at her. "For shame Padawan, try not to bumble over your own two feet."
"You tripped me!"
"Did I? I'm quite a few feet away."
"You used the Force!"
"...do you have any proof? Dooku, did you sense me use the Force?"
Dooku looks up from his datapad, a bored expression on his face. "Do not drag me into your infantile quarrels."
"...glad he's not my great grandmaster, I kind of feel bad for you Jinzler."
The padawan gives her a withering glare, rises to her feet, and takes a swing with her lightsaber...
"...furthermore, in my own study of my predecessors, I found that they love to grandstand," lamented Siri, lazing on the couch, one hand twirling a finger through the air, one leg hanging off the side as she lectured Jinzler who sat prim and proper in a chair, "If C'Baoth is the same, and I find it hard to doubt he wont be, use it to your advantage."
"In what way?" asked Jinzler, tone always so sour, but at least she paid attention.
"Well, stabbing him through the face or the back while he's boasting generally works well," answered Siri dryly, "Take a moment to catch your breath, formulate a plan, set up a trap, whatever works. Just use the time so generously provided and do something with it. If he decides he wants to play with you rather than get the job done, then make him pay for his arrogance."
She nods.
"This in turn leads into my next lesson, and one of the more important ones, so listen and listen well," said Siri, "As much as I just badmouthed it, all that grandstanding does have a purpose. It's called Dun Moch. Its the art of psychological combat used to distract, enrage, cause doubt, or to instill paranoia in your opponent, perhaps even make them question their allies. The Sith will try to rip open your worst fears with pointed wordplay, will taunt you, ridicule your mistakes. It can even be turned into a way of life, controlling how you act to influence how other's perceive you..."
"Like you do?"
Siri paused, head slightly shifting, a single eye looking at Jinzler. "Why do you say I use it that way?"
"Half of the time you just don't make sense," admitted Jinzler, "Sometimes you're what everyone thinks a Sith is, cold and cruel delighting in beating or putting down others. Other times its like you don't take anything seriously, like life is just a big joke to you. Then you're serious or focused on occasion. The worst is when you mix them."
Siri smiled mockingly. "Do tell."
"You're having a serious instruction session right now and you're basically goofing off on the couch while you give it."
Siri laughed. "You need to live a little Jinzler, have some fun with your life."
Jinzler stared at her for a long moment. "How many masks do you wear?"
"As many as needed," Siri answered softly.
Jinzler scoffed. "If you hide behind a mask all the time, I wonder if you even know who the real Siri Tachi is anymore."
Siri thinks back to her meditation on regret. To the Siri Tachi she was confronted by within herself. Bleeding, rotting, filled with so many wounds, inflicted by others, inflicted by herself, because of herself. Oozing self-loathing and condemnation for herself. What she admitted to it, and it to her...
"I've got a pretty good idea."
Jinzler flew back and slammed into the wall, sliding down to the floor with a pained wince.
"I don't think this is working Yoda," lamented Siri.
"Mmm, not giving much chance, are you, for her to learn and try," critiqued the Grandmaster.
"Would C'Baoth? Would Sidious?"
Yoda grunted. "Again padawan Jinzler?"
Jinzler got up without complaint, a point in her favor.
"Feel the Force around you," instructed Yoda, "A friend? Yes. A guide? Yes. A shield? If you ask, it can be."
Jinzler takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. Siri feels her trying to wrap the Force around her, a more hesitant plea, still not so trusting of the Force but better. Still not good enough for this though. Siri flicks her wrist and Jinzler tumbles backwards to the floor with a gut punch delivered via the Force. Honestly, its not even fun anymore.
She gets up again without complaint, and Siri can't help but wonder if this is anything like C'Baoth's lessons the girl went through.
She supposes it doesn't matter.
Siri is certainly not going to baby the girl.
Not when she's so far away from properly learning Tutaminis. Yoda says she's capable, but the girl can't even block or misdirect a Force imbued punch yet. She's a very, very long away from being able to negate lighting or any other very dangerous and very dire Dark Side abilities.
Ah well.
She supposes she can keep putting a sour little Padawan on her ass for a few hours a day for the rest of the week, its no great hassle...
Its not the first night she's heard nor felt the girl's nightmares.
It is the first time she's felt even somewhat inclined to do anything about it.
Not that opening the door and plopping herself down against the nearest wall of the girl's room is doing much. The girl evidently feels her presence and jolts awake. Nothing happens for a minute aside from her short sharp breaths...
"What?" Jinzler demands sharply, exhaustion and frustration salting the air.
Siri stares at her through the darkened room. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"No."
Siri shrugged and settled into her spot. "Well, I'm shit at these kinds of things, that was my attempt."
Apparently her try at humor fell flat, the girl merely rolled away from her, scoffing. Siri is quick to note that she did not however demand that she leave. She sits comfortably in the dark, eyes softly aglow with said power, watching the girl curl up under her covers as time passes, soft quiet sobs escaping her along with misery and far to much self-pity. Siri sighs, infuses a small sharp probe in the Force, and jabs it through the girl's mental walls (which are still trash, yet another thing she needs to get the girl to work on) and sends her into a dreamless sleep.
"She'll probably bitch me out in the morning," mused Siri, "When really, its a kindness."
Surprisingly, she didn't. But that might have had something to do with the fact she looked more rested than Siri had seen her since likely before C'Baoth took a nose dive into the Dark. Though she does give Siri the stink eye all throughout breakfast...
Siri discovers the unspoken rule rather late into the week.
Both Rain and Jinzler are ignoring each other's existence. Neither has been active or in the same room as each other at any point since this week began. So of course, Siri tries to pair them together for her own amusement.
"So Rain, I'm a little surprised," said Siri, poking at the holocron as she sets it on the table, "That you haven't tried to body-jack the little glass tooka."
Jinzler coughs, looking up from her homework. "E-excuse me?"
Rain materializes and gives Siri an unimpressed look.
Siri waggles an eyebrow at her, laying down on the couch and stretching to show off her assets. "Or do you still have a thing for me and my bod?"
Rain rolls her eyes, scoffing. "I don't take pathetic little wannabe Jedi as hosts."
"Pretty big words for an equality pathetic little wannabe Sith crying for someone called Laa," shot back Jinzler.
Siri's eyes go wide at the recoil and pain that flashes from the Holocron through the Force.
Holy kriffing shit...
The temperature of the room absolutely plummeted, Rain's words are ice, and despite how unaffiliated the Holocron has felt since Yoda did his thing, there is a twinge of very real darkness; absolute rage. "Considering that I was the Dark Lord of the Sith of my time, you are a very, foolish, little Jedi."
She feels the Holocron gather herself...
"Out!" barks Siri sharply. She's not sure what Rain can actually do in this state, but she's taking no chances. She forms a barrier around the Holocron with the Dark to preemptively contain her, "Get out Jinzler!"
The girl stumbles and bolts out of the room.
"I'LL KILL THAT LITTLE BITCH!"
Okay, this hadn't been her brightest idea. "Rain, we've been over this, no killing Jedi."
"Kriff off Tachi!" snarled Rain, glaring full force at her, "I don't know why you even bother with that little shit. She's worthless, and marked for death one way or another. The entire Jedi Order is. If you are so damn dead set on preserving Kenobi, put him in carbonite and stick him on a wall somewhere as an ornament. You are wasting time here!"
"Biding time," corrected Siri, "In a few more years, I walk out of here free as a bird."
"As if that really, truly matters," said Rain snidely, "You have the entire Black Sun in your pocket. If you wanted to disappear, you could, and Sidious really doesn't have the time to waste nor spare in tracking you down."
Siri feels predatory focus, narrowing her eyes. "You seem rather certain of that."
Instantly, Rain's rage is gone into cooled dispassion. "He's engineering the destruction of the Jedi Order, of course he doesn't."
They stare at eachother for a very long moment.
"You know who he is, don't you?"
"If we go by your logic, Siri," said the Gatekeeper quietly, "While I am Rain, I am still also very much Zannah. I will not betray a thousand years of effort over your grudge with Sidious and conflicted loyalties. You don't care if the Jedi live or do, I on the other hand very much still want their Order exterminated."
"We're going to have to compromise on that."
Rain sneered. "Will we?"
"I won't ask you for Sidious," said Siri slowly, earning a briefly surprised look from Rain before she masked it, "Because I know what we have won't survive asking you to cross that line, and I've let Sidious take enough from me."
Rain frowned. "And what do you wish me to actually compromise on?"
"That one way or another, you accept the outcome, whatever it is."
Rain sighed and moved her gatekeeper to sit on the couch. "Siri, even if you do defeat Sidious and the Jedi Order survives... what makes you think the Jedi are going to just let you remake the Sith Order as you see fit? In the event of the Jedi Victory, how do you see yourself surviving? Or that your would-be Sith Order that you still haven't nailed down as to how you want it to be, won't be hunted down and destroyed? Do you honestly think the Jedi will just accept the Sith in any form?"
Siri has no answer.
"You're grabbing for too much Siri," said Rain softly, "In the end, you're going to end up with nothing."
"I suppose we'll see."
"...and you just come here and laze on her couch?" asked Jinzler, skeptical.
"Yeah pretty much," agreed Anakin, "Everything in the temple is so bright sometimes, its nice to have some shade every now and then when I need a break."
Jinzler gives him a blank look, and Siri raises an eyebrow from her spot watching the pair from the doorway. That... is an interesting perspective. Its not like she doesn't agree with the sentiment, but she's dark. Anakin isn't. Curious...
"So, you two haven't killed eachother yet, that's a good sign, right?" asked Anakin.
"Not really, though I'm pretty sure her Holocron does want to kill me."
"Why?"
"...I might have said something unjedi like."
Anakin snickers. "What was it? I might want to..."
Siri puts her foot down with a firm, "No Supernova."
He rolls his eyes. "I'll get it out of her later."
"And if I ever hear you say what she said to Rain to her you won't ever step foot in this room again," said Siri coldly.
Anakin faltered for a moment. "Umm..."
"Jinzler gets a pass because Rain was asking for it, and because I gave my word I'd watch her for the week, if you say what she did to Rain consciously out of spite anyway then you're not who I thought you were," she handed down.
He squirms a bit. "Okay..."
She pins him with a cold stare until she's satisfied the message was received. Rain still hasn't left her Holocron since they ended that conversation. Siri doesn't like her cooped up and brooding all the time. Not healthy and all that. Not to mention she'd like her and Anakin to eventually be on speaking terms at least.
"Now both of you, get your homework done."
Anakin groans. "It's at my apartment."
"Then go do it there."
"Yeah yeah yeah," he mutters sourly before leaving.
"I'm not apologizing," said Jinzler through gritted teeth after he's gone.
"I didn't ask you to," answered Siri, "Considering that I don't want either of you active in the same room before Rain's had several months to cool off, its for the best we don't put you together again. For future reference, don't ever bring up Laa again. I won't be merciful a second time."
Jinzler narrowed her eyes. "And what would you do if I did?"
Siri smiled sweetly, "I can't hurt you without ramifications even if you deserved it, so I'd do the next best thing and sick Obi-wan on you and tattle of how unbecoming of a Jedi you were being. Not to mention withdraw any effort or support on your behalf."
Jinzler scowls and crosses her arms. "I never asked for your support. Honestly, I didn't even think we were going to be having any lessons or training this week, just me being forced to live in the same apartment as you for some stupid reason."
Siri blinks. "Huh."
Now that she thinks on it, Kenobi never did actually ask her to do any training, just watch and interact with the girl...
"No one put a stop to it," mused Siri before lamenting, "All this work and I'm not even getting paid for it!"
Jinzler rolls her eyes and goes back to her homework.
Honestly, no appreciation for the dramatics with this one.
Its the last day before Kenobi returns, the last night, that Jinzler finally says something about her dreams when Siri settle's down into the padawan's room with her place against the wall.
"He'll watch me die."
Siri looks over to see Jinzler sitting on the edge of her bed. "Who?"
"Obi-Wan," said Jinzler, shrugging, voice devoid of emotion, "It's... blurry. I can't tell where we are. But Obi-Wan is trapped behind a laser field..."
That's familiar.
"...and C-c-C'Baoth is throwing lightning at me none-stop, I... I look older, knighted... but I'm still losing," she said quietly, "I don't have my lightsaber, and I can barely hold the lightning back with my hands..."
That gets a raised eyebrow from Siri, not that Jinzler sees it in the darkened room. Does she have any idea how difficult it is to catch and negate Force Lightning? The way she dismisses it is offputting. "Do you actually see yourself die?"
"...no."
"Then why are you so certain you will?"
"I just... the Force at that moment feels so still," said Jinzler, "I fall to a knee, I... I think I hear your voice saying something, but I can't tell if you're actually there or if I'm remembering something I haven't heard yet. I see myself steel herself and, she struggles to rise and... she... I'm determined, but its not working. Then the moment of stillness breaks, I feel like something is going to happen, but I wake up."
"It's a warning," agreed Siri thoughtfully, "But... the Force is often tricky with such things. Is this a recurring dream? Or a one of?"
"I don't know."
"How can you not know?"
"Most don't really stay. They just leave impressions. Sometimes I remember bits and pieces. This one feels... more."
That's Siri's general experience with Force Visions. Vague and useless followed by the occasional wallop upside her head of something important. Though... "A lot of this might be because of your state of flux."
"My what?"
"You were going down one path," pointed out Siri, "But once Kenobi intervened, you're now going down another. A stream diverted from an obvious, if but bloody, end. Changes like this cause ripples, Jinzler, hell, smaller events than you becoming Kenobi's apprentice can have far bigger drastic outcomes."
Jinzler was thoughtfully silent for a few minutes. "Ever wondered what would have happened if you stayed a Jedi? What would have changed?"
"There really wasn't any 'staying' a Jedi," retorted Siri, "It was join the Sith or die."
"Don't avoid the question."
"Had I thought about what might have happened had my Master and I never run into Sidious's little beast of an apprentice that day? Plenty of times at the start. But it happened, and there is no use lingering on it anymore," said Siri, "Honestly though, I'd have probably ended up a Knight and had a little limpet like you running around after me."
"I'm not a limpet!"
"Mhm."
"Go away, Sith."
"Hmph. You need another knockout tonight? Last one most likely, I doubt Kenobi would approve."
"...fine."
"In summary Kenobi," drawled Siri, "Your padawan has anger issues, struggles to trust the Force, is so badly mixed with her saber forms that I think it was intentional sabotage on C'Baoth's part, has mental shields that are worth less than flimsi, and can't currently block a tickle attack through the Force with tutaminis. Overall, she needs work. I did what I could, but it was only a week."
He slowly blinked at her. "Well, that was glowing. You truly think she can learn tutaminis? I profess been meaning to look into it myself, perhaps she and I could learn together."
Siri sighed. "How was anything I said glowing?"
"Because you at no point said anything was hopeless, nor that she couldn't improve, you highlighted where you think she needs improvement, and you hinted she had potential for a very difficult ability," he said, giving her a cheeky grin, the bastard, "I'm getting quite skilled at understanding Siri-speak."
"Would you be terribly upset if I broke your nose again?"
"Come now Siri, that threat is getting old."
"I'll bribe Jinzler to shave that crap growing on your chin off in your sleep," she threatened.
He blinked, hand going up to his chin. "What's wrong with..."
"Don't grow a beard Kenobi."
"It would make me look older," he defended.
"Being baby-faced makes people underestimate you," she countered.
"Can you two not," came Dooku's exasperated voice, "Tachi, let him actually come off the transport before accosting my grand padawan."
Siri huffed and turned away, nodding once to Jinzler, smirking at Anakin who was trying not to laugh, then breezing past the gathered lineage sans Yoda. "Anyway, I've returned your padawan to you, later Kenobi."
"You know Siri, I didn't actually ask you to try to give her any training, but thank you none the less for trying to help," said Kenobi before he cheekily added, "So nice to see you caring."
"Go to hell Kenobi," she called back, "You need less vacations if it makes you like this."
"It wasn't a vacation."
"Whatever you say Kenobi."
"You know Master," she heard Jinzler say, "You should grow a beard just to spite her."
Kenobi sighed. "I take it you and her still don't see eye to eye?"
"She's surprisingly efficient, but that's about it."
Oh wow, glowing compliments there. Siri shakes her head in amusement, she gave Kenobi's brat a week of honest effort, let the Jedi make of her what they will.
The sight Sidious is treated to when he arrives in the depths of Geonosis is one that brings a pleased smile to his lips.
Rows upon rows of cells filled with bound former-Jedi that have Sith Torture Masks on their faces.
While most are still fighting it, he can already feel the dark seeping into some of them. He prowls the cells slowly, observing the soon-to-be fallen force under C'Baoth's command, judging how the dark takes or doesn't take to them. Rarely do any show real promise, a few might stand in as acolytes. One or two might have had use if he wasn't already committed to his renegade apprentice or her potential replacement in Skywalker. But the real prize isn't even in that regard, no, its in the cell that he is brought to.
With one Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi.
"It wasn't that difficult," mused C'Baoth, "To fish out that Mundi was sent to infiltrate and observe on my doings. I was more surprised they'd risk a High Counselor in this. I admit altering one of the masks to fit him was... a trial."
Sidious's lips twitch in amusement at the overly large-cone shaped mask put over the Jedi. "The Jedi grow desperate my friend. They've been made aware of how badly they've failed over the last thousand years. They understand to even have a ghost of a chance to survive, that they must do something, and that all must play their part. Unfortunately for them, its far to late. The Force is already under my sway, fewer and fewer Jedi can get any clear advice from it these days. Otherwise perhaps he would have seen this coming."
C'Baoth chuckles darkly, eying the bound counselor greedily. "We're going to make such good use of you, Jedi."
Mundi eyes them grimly through the mask's eyeholes, but says nothing, gaze scrutinizing Sidious. He merely sneers in response and turns back to C'Baoth. "Have the absences been explained?"
"Of course," answers C'Baoth, "Injuries during the Second Huk War being tended to at an undisclosed medical facility."
"Good, good," said Sidious, laughing with malice as they stride away from the cell, "Everything is proceeding well within my desires. Now, I have a game of cat and mouse I wish to play with a certain pair of Jedi that I want you to take control of after you finish up your little war."
"In what way?" poses C'Baoth.
"I'm going to send you the contact information for one Grant Omega," informs Sidious, "You are to loosely aid him in drawing the attention of Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice."
"Luring them out to kill them?"
"Oh no, not yet, not unless they are so pathetic as to die to the Null," said Sidious in distaste, "This is merely another calculated strike against the pair, something to divert Jinn's focus from giving Skywalker everything he needs. Considering how fixated the man was with Xanatos, well... it should certainly cause issues I imagine."
"What does this 'Grant Omega' have to do with Xanatos?" posed C'Baoth.
Sidious smiled mirthlessly. "He is Xanatos's son."
C'Baoth blinks once and starts laughing.
Sidious offers his own laughter, fueling it with malice and reverberating it through the Force, like a whip across the former-jedi's minds, before they turn to leave the captured to their fate...
Chapter 61: Come the Gathering Rain (Part 6)
Chapter Text
Yoda and Rain are at it again.
Siri finishes her shower and garbs herself in her dark robes, sighing. She opens the door and peers out at them skeptically, wondering if she should slink back to her bedroom and wait it out... and why is Yoda sitting on her table with Rain instead of the couch? She eats off that damn thing!
"...and you're being ridiculous, even more so for a Jedi," snarled Rain, "What you're asking me is asinine, especially when you're not even offering anything in return. I am not Siri, I have no motivation to help any of you, especially about revealing information on ANY part of my line, even if they're long dead."
"Oh ho? A price is there on this information, hmm?" posed Yoda.
Rain's gatekeeper narrowed her eyes and crossed her little arms. "...I want to go offworld. To two separate locations that... that were important to me, once upon a time."
Yoda's ears flicker, and perceptive as always, he poses, "Before you became Sith?"
Rain gritted her teeth. "Yes."
"Why?"
"I believe its called closure?" said Rain snidely.
"Hmm," mused Yoda, "Why want that, would a Sith?"
Rain scowled darkly at him. "Ever since you assaulted my Holocron, I've had the nagging sensation to go back. I want it over and done with so I can have some blasted peace in my mind."
"Hmm, told we were, that peace there was not, only passion."
Rain gave him an incredulous look. "Do not ever, joke about or mock my Order's code."
He grunted. "Discuss your price with the council I will, assume I do that wish for Tachi to carry you, you do?"
"Yes."
"The name of these planets, will you give?"
Her jaw clenches for a long moment. "Somov Rit, and Ruusan."
Siri does not know how the Jedi got clearance for this considering Siri's last jaunt off planet. In the event that they didn't, and are doing this anyway, she's not going to stick her nose into it. After all, much easier to claim ignorance and blame the Jedi. Speaking of which, she doesn't quite appreciate the tight quarters with a handful of them. Yoda, Dooku, Windu, and Tholme. The last is... curious to her, not quite sure why a shadow would be so interested in coming along for two graveyard worlds. She knew of Ruusan, a world devastated by the thought bomb a thousand years ago, the ignition of the Rule of Two, where Rain started her path in becoming Darth Zannah. Somov Rit... well, call Siri surprised, she thought Rain wouldn't give a second thought about her homeworld. Siri had done a quick search on the holonet before take off for information on it, which revealed it to be a swamp world devoid of sentient life for most of the last thousand years after some major flooding from their polar icecaps overwhelmed the already water ridden world.
"You are aware," said Dooku dryly, "That the path to Ruusan was swallowed by many a shifting nebula."
The gatekeeper shrugs, disinterest in her eyes. "The Sith have their ways. We're doing Somov Rit first."
"Is there any particular reason why we're going to this world?" poses Windu, ever suspicious.
Rain didn't answer.
The trip through hyperspace is long and tense, Rain stays active the entire time, relatively. She mostly just stares off into hyperspace, brooding. Siri stands at her side, not saying anything, but offering her presence none the less. When they come out of hyperspace, Siri goes very, very still. She knows this planet, Zannah had taken her here...
This is the planet with their secret base on it.
Zannah's secret base.
Why...
"Speak the corporal incantation," said Rain distantly, "I'll guide us in."
Windu looks skeptical about letting her take controls, but Yoda waves him off. Tholme pays a very unsettling amount of attention to the quick Sith Sorcery to make Rain's form somewhat physical. Its a little comical to see tiny Rain at the controls of the ship, but she guides them, as if on instinct, down into the atmosphere, towards one of the few patches of land visible that isn't swamp muck. Its large enough to land their ship on, but not by much. Rain gets out of the seat after landing and makes for the exit, her face solemn.
Its a little grassland, some kind of reptile animals are sunbathing on the edges. Rain finds a spot away from the ship and sits down, staring off into the distance. Siri stands a way behind her, the Jedi a bit further back, watching and waiting.
Rain is quiet for a long while before she speaks. "Home sweat home."
She shook her head, "Did I ever tell you about our naming customs?"
"Something about it being a homeworld superstition?"
"We feared the Swamp Demon," admitted Rain, fondness, grief, in her tone, "That if your name was ever spoke aloud, it might notice and come to claim you, never to be seen again. So, we lived our entire lives under nicknames. The men named their sons, the woman their daughters. It wasn't uncommon for you to go your entire lives with your friends and other family members never knowing your real name, or knowing theirs. It... it was considered the ultimate act of trust to ever speak your name to another. Not that that lasted long after leaving the planet..."
Siri moves and sits down next to her. "What else?"
"I... I was one of the best spear fishers we had, despite being so young. Me and... and B-bug, we made a competition out of it," said Rain shakily, "Kriff, I never... I never even learned Bug's real name. Never told him mine."
Siri gazes out into the ocean, there's nothing she can say.
"I'm all that's left Siri," said Rain quietly, "I'm all that's left of my home. Everyone else is long dead, our people long forgotten, our ways lost."
"You're still alive."
"If you can call this living," said Rain bitterly, "A small fragment ripped from the whole, bound in the holocron unable to feel the world around her."
She digs a hand into the grass, brings it up, and lets the dirt fall from her finger. "I can't feel the dirt, can't run my hand along and feel the blades of grass. I know there is wind, but I don't feel it blowing across my face. I can't eat. I can't drink. I can't really sleep or dream, can't find pleasure, nor physical pain. Nothing."
Siri decides she's never going to consider making a Holocron with part of her soul. She's not ever condemning part of herself to this.
"I'm still existing," admits Rain, "But... sometimes at my worst I wonder if this is worth it."
"Let me know when you figure it out," said Siri before quietly asking, "Rain... why this world? For the... you know."
The base.
Rain smiled bitterly. "I guess... even with the Sith I had become, some part of the little girl remained that always wanted to come home..."
They stay a day.
In which, Siri gets a crash course in being a swamp dweller. She's not sure she's ever going to find a use for spear fishing, root hunting, tips and tricks on building/preparing a little wooden boat she's never going to have nor use even if she had one. Good ways and places to hang her clothes if she needs them to dry that are easy to take down if a storm comes. Its useless things, but she listens and learns all the same. Zannah taught her parts of being a Sith, so she will do the courtesy of learning what it meant to be of the Rit, to insure something of Rain's people lives on, is passed on.
"So, what do you think I would have been named?"
"Cockroach?" posed Rain.
Siri snorted and swatted at her. "Did you even have those on this planet?"
Rain smiles mirthlessly for a moment before shrugging. "Don't remember."
Siri goes silent.
"You know, the Force mocked me once, about my home," said Rain quietly, "When I learned of the death of my people several hundred years ago. I brooded in my holocron, and in a moment of weakness, wondered if I could have done anything for what was once mine."
"What did the Force say?"
"It showed me an evacuation," Rain answered bitterly, "It was foggy and translucent, I could tell it hadn't actually happened. But it could of. I asked how, and it showed me that old dream of me fighting Bane as a Jedi, or me living alongside Tomcat on Ruusan as neither. Somehow, someway, even though I would have been long dead by then, it would have changed things had I not been Sith."
"You did say that you were always destined to kill Bane," said Siri quietly, "Truly wiping out the Sith might have gotten you and your people recognition, and made someone perhaps actually give a damn to keep an eye on this planet and its people. Or hell, maybe you would have had a kid, and one of your blood descendants would have done something."
"Maybe," admits Rain softly, "I suppose we'll never know."
She gets up and leaves, making for the ship. Siri takes one last look at this place, and then boards the ship to leave.
Rain guides them through the hyperspace nebula to Ruusan. The trip is... bumpy, but they make it.
"You ever come back here while you were alive?" posed Siri as the ship moves into the atmosphere.
"My last was a bit before the creation of my holocron," half-answered Rain, "To explain to my apprentice the follies of the Brotherhood of Darkness and why we switched to the Rule of Two. We didn't stay long."
Siri nods.
Rain frowns and slows the ships descent, her eyebrows furrowing. She abruptly changes the ships course.
"Rain?" Siri asks.
"I feel something from the Force," Rain muttered.
Yoda waddles up to the front. "Hmm? Feel what, do you?"
"A pull, its not being very subtle at the moment, what it wants with me I don't know."
Yoda hums. "Mysterious are the ways of the Force."
Rain pointedly ignores the Jedi and continues on until they set down. Siri whistles when she looks out the window. "I thought Ruusan was a temperate, livable world."
Rain snorted. "That was before the thought bomb turned most of the planet into either a desert or snowy wasteland. I'd be surprised if survives here these days..."
She cuts off when something bounces off the front of the ship, and for a moment, something furry and flying zips by the window.
"It can't be," whispered Rain, "How would they have survived all this time on this hellhole?"
"How would what?" asked Siri.
But Rain is gone, the Gatekeeper dashing out, shoving past the Jedi, and making for the exit. Siri and the Jedi follow, the sight they are greeted to when they find Rain standing pale at the bottom of the ramp is... fuzzy. She recognizes the green floating blobs with tentacles as Bouncers, like the image Rain showed her of Laa. They are flying about in droves, energetic and oddly excited. Their words seem part spoken aloud, part projected through the Force, part spoken into their minds, like a hushed whisper on the wind...
"Come the gathering Rain."
One of them swooshes through the air, coming to fly in circles around Rain.
"A verse rewrote."
It bumps Rain gently forward, making the Gatekeeper stumble a bit, but she shakily moves forward out into the desert clearing.
"The storm is coming."
They rush in and surround Rain, and Siri feels a very odd amount of affection and eagerness from them, for Rain. Who they couldn't possibly have met yet, but they nudge and nestle against her all the same...
"Laa's Rain returns."
Okay... apparently she's wrong. How the hell...?
"The prisoner's go free!"
Rain swallows. "How... how do you know of me?"
"We speak of you, in our Poem of Ages," whispered a Bouncer, "Laa's Rain, so lost, thought forever lost. Sad story, of one who cared too much, lost in pain."
Rain closed her eyes. "I... why?"
"Laa loved you, we remember what we love, gives us strength so bad dreams don't take us."
Rain says nothing, but her form is rigged.
"Laa would be happy, to see you you again."
"Laa is dead," snapped Rain, "She's gone."
"Never gone, always here, always around us," countered a Bouncer, "Come come, we show."
One of the Bouncers flies over to Siri. "Give Rain, give Rain."
Siri frowned, hesitant. "...why?"
"Come the gathering Rain."
"That doesn't answer anything," said Siri flatly.
"Just do it Siri," ordered Rain.
Siri sighed, reached into her robes, and pulled out the Holocron, watching critically as the Bouncer handled it with its tentacles almost with reverence. It swooped down to Rain's Gatekeeper, and let her climb on. Surprisingly, they're all given Bouncers to ride, and with that, they're off on a semi-terrifying flight through the desert. Apparently, Bouncer is a very apt name for them considering they bounce off the ground into the air for awhile then come back down to bounce again when they lose momentum or wind to carry them forward.
"Sad Siri sad," whispered the Bouncer.
"Hmm?" posed Siri back. How did it know her name?
"Loved her so much, but found sadness in return."
"Rain isn't always sad."
"Not Rain," answered the Bouncer, "Not Rain."
Siri frowned. "Who then?"
"You will give her love. She will give you ruin."
"Who?"
"The last lesson you try to teach her will be the lesson she gives in turn."
Siri narrowed her eyes. "I don't appreciate cryptic warnings. They tend to be useless except for in hindsight."
"You may blame yourself, in part may be right, but remember, all make own choices, even her."
The Bouncer decided after that it was done with its infuriating warnings. Siri doesn't quite know what to make of it. Part of it is obvious, someone she loved is going to betray her. But honestly, Siri really doesn't love. Well, anyone that isn't Kenobi, and what she feels might not be defined as love to many a culture, far to much possession for that. Still though... she's mildly curious. She has a hard time believing she'd eventually have a daughter, as that's the only one she thinks she'd come to love otherwise. Its hard to believe if only because she doesn't think she and Obi-Wan are ever going to get anywhere in what they have considering how platonic about the whole thing he is...
She'd stab herself before she ever considering rape as solution to that. Not again. Never again. Crossing that line once was once to many as it is.
She shoves the thoughts and the warning aside and instead focuses on Rain. The Gatekeeper seems... offbalanced from what Siri can tell and sense. Whatever she is speaking about with the Bouncer is making her unnerved. On that point, all of the Jedi also seem a bit unnerved. Good, at least she's not the only one being pestered by these fuzzballs.
They eventually land in a nondescript location, just desert for miles. She's not sure why they came here, but then again... considering how Rain is literally shaking, she has to know.
Siri jumps off her Bouncer and approaches the girl whose know kneeling in the dust, Holocron in her hands. "Rain."
"She died here," said Rain quietly, "Laa."
Siri nods in understanding, "You Fell here."
Silence is her answer.
"How can you tell it was here?"
"I will always know."
Fair point. Siri would likely be able to pick out where Master Galia died if she ever went back to Rondai-2.
One of the Bouncers comes and nestles beside Rain. "Feel her?"
Rain sets her Holocron down in the sand and stares down at it. "..."
"In the sand, on the wind, breathed by dust," whispered the Bouncer, "Laa always here. Happy to see you again. Wishes for you to meet another."
"Another...?" poses Rain before she looks away.
There are another group of Bouncers approaching from the other direction. They stop a little ways away, and the smallest Bouncer comes forward and lays itself in Rain's lap.
"Laa's Rain?" it squeaks out.
Rain hesitated before gently running a hand along its fur. "Laa's Rain."
It squeaks in delight. "Yosha, I Yosha, youngest of tribe, youngest of Laa's legacy."
Rain takes in a sharp breath, eyes wide. "I didn't... I hadn't known Laa even had any children to continue..."
Siri startles when one of the Bouncer's begins to nudge her away. "Come the Gathering Rain."
"Again, that doesn't explain anything."
"The Storm needs time to grow."
Okay, that she could at least guess they wanted Rain to have some alone time with Laa's descendant. She allows herself to be herded away to the Jedi who are sitting in a circle.
"...and apparently," said Dooku dryly, "I'm going to ask someone to kill me, if I understand what it was implying correctly."
"Did it say why?" posed Tholme.
Dooku shook his head. "Rather vague with its warnings. I can make a few guesses as to why I'd make such a request to be put out of my misery if its not medical related, but the future is always in motion."
Yoda grunted. "Hmm, true it is."
"What of you, my Master?"
"My greatest revelation will be one I never get to share," quoted Yoda, looking ever so disgruntled.
Tholme huffed. "These creatures are morbid with their foresight, aren't they?"
"Oh? Are we sharing our doom and gloom predictions?" said Siri mockingly, sitting down and butting in, "What did it say to you, Shadow?"
Tholme smiled. "I'll complete my task, I'll die for it, but I'll complete it none the less."
Siri raised an eyebrow.
He didn't elaborate, just kept on smiling.
She glances at Windu, who stared her down with his own imposing look.
So she offered. "I'm going to likely be betrayed and killed by someone I come to love."
Windu blinks. "...I see."
"What of you?"
He frowns thoughtfully. "I will face the Sith I seek in battle, but it will not be me who decides how the outcome turns."
"I'd pay good money to see you and Sidious go toe to toe," mused Siri, "So... Bouncer predictions, full of Bantha shit?"
Yoda hums. "Always in motion, the future is. Sensitive to those currents, these Bouncers are. Likely outcomes now, they are, but shift a stream can. Hope it shifts, I do."
The Jedi delve into a quiet joint meditation while Siri merely lays back in the sand and stares up into the clouds, humming quietly to herself. She glanes over at Rain in the distance every now and then, the girl surrounded by Bouncers... she almost looks... happy, for once. It makes her realize just how few times she'd seen legitimate happiness ever from her. And yet...
Something is building.
The Bouncer's called it a storm.
In the Force, it's centered around Rain.
Something is going to happen, she just doesn't know what. Slowly, as it builds and builds, the Jedi come out of their meditation and gaze out at Rain curiously. Eventually, the girl stands, and when she turns, there is nothing but determination on her face. She takes her Holocron and approaches, "Siri, I'm going to need your help for something."
"For what?"
"It's going to involve me needed to... hijack your body for a bit."
Siri slow blinks. "Umm... pretty sure we've been over this before."
Rain sets her jaw. "Not permanently."
Siri crosses her arms. "And what exactly do you need to 'hijack' me for?"
"I'm going to see Bug."
"Your cousin? Isn't he dead?"
Rain smiled grimly. "Yeah, dead, but not gone."
The hell was that supposed to mean?
They mount their bouncers again and are off without further explanation. Siri has... misgivings, and yet... the Force is nudging her along, to agree. She doesn't know why, but she'll reserve judgement until she gets an actual answer. This journey is much longer than the last, over the vast long desert, fortunately, they brought food and water with them. Its hours later as they start to descend into a valley, mountains in the distance.
A shiver runs down Siri's spine. There was power here. Incredible power. A Force Nexus. And statues. A lot of statues. Why were there so many damn statues? She files the thought away as the Bouncers fly over said statues and towards the center of the Force Nexus. Her skin feels cold and yet on fire, hotter and colder the closer they get until they reach it. Dead center, almost glowing with power, embedded in the ground, is...
"The Thought Bomb," muttered Siri.
Even crusted over with dirt and rock as it was, she could feel it, see the outline black-gray and smooth underneath it all, power begging to be used... dangerous power. Even without touching it, she could feel it, hear it, hear them. Whispers, tormented whispers. The Thought Bomb makes her all kinds of uneasy. Yet closer they come until they set down. The Jedi stand a bit from the bomb, faces solemn, Rain... her Gatekeeper approaches the bomb and rests a hand against it.
"Rain, what are we doing here?" asked Siri, "Why did we come to Ruusan?"
"I didn't intend this originally, didn't even think of it," admits Rain, "But... I think Bug's been waiting long enough. He was my family. That didn't mean nearly enough to me before. He needs his release."
Release...
Was she implying she was going to...
"How?" demanded Siri.
"You forget," said Rain mockingly, "I was the Dark Lord of the Sith of my time, and the apprentice of Darth Bane, who taught Kaan the ritual. I am intimately familiar with its designs, and its weakness. There is a reason, that no Jedi could destroy the bomb on their own, because it requires someone of the Dark to pave the way."
She turns to Siri. "To break the completed, detonated, and formed Thought Bomb, one must awaken and use it, use the Force Nexus it created, which in turn makes it vulnerable. Then, there are two ways to destroy the bomb, either the user does so, or the user is killed, and their death fractures the Thought Bomb. One would think, since it requires the Dark Side to even manipulate it, that the latter would always be the only available way. But..."
She holds out a hand to Siri.
Siri walks over and takes it, taking the Holocron with the other hand...
Rain's presence presses against her mind, not the sharp pinprick of malice and greed Zannah had been, no, Rain was a storm. A small storm considering she was but a fragment, yet... Siri wonders. What would Rain have been like at her peak? As Darth Zannah? As a Jedi Master? As just Rain? No Supernova of course, but she has little doubt she could have given the current best of the Jedi a good show.
Siri lets the storm into her mind. Its an uncomfortable pressure, two are not meant to inhabit one body, even if one presence is small. She has to pull back her sense of self enough for Rain to take the reigns. She watches, like from a distance out of her own eyes, as Rain takes a shuddering gasp. Briefly overwhelmed by physical sensations. She shakes Siri's head and blocks it out before jerkily moving Siri's body to the bomb.
She presses Siri's hand against it along with the Gatekeeper's and the press into it. Voices assault their mind almost immediately, but Rain appeared already prepared, pushing Siri into tapping into her own Darkness to subdue and pressure them into obedience. Siri grits her teeth and has to half take the reigns to not let herself be dragged down into the tormented mass. She grips the power, and follows Rain's awareness as she feels fault lines within the bomb. So many souls offering so much power. Its... its intoxicating...
She forces through it, takes those lines, then pulls and rips it apart.
The bomb blows, thankfully not like a real bomb. Still hurts when she's send flying and landing on her ass. Rain abandons her to return fully to the Holocron and Gatekeeper as the Thought Bomb cracks, lights billowing out of it as it ruptures. It splits apart, and little streams of light and dark rush out of the bomb. Each carrying a faint, agonized but relieved presence. They flow into the sky and begin to fade, one by one...
"Bug!" cries out Rain.
One of them stops, turns, and comes back down, an orb of light that slowly begins to take the form of a young blond shoeless boy in raggedy teal clothing. He looks sickly, his face gaunt, eyes hollowed out, yet... he smiles weakly when he see's the Gatekeeper. Even having seen and heard enough lingering things on Korriban... its still a little unsettling to see.
"Rain..."
"Zannah," she answers, "I... my name was... is... Zannah."
Bug nods. "Hardin."
"I'm... I'm sorry Bug... Hardin, I'm sorry I made you wait so long, and... I'm sorry about Tomcat."
"He made his choice," said Hardin sadly.
"He did, and he... he came back from it, only for me to go down the same road," said Rain, swallowing, "There is a lot I do and don't regret in my life, I'm... I'm still not sure I would have walked a different path. But that... I... I might as well have killed him, I in essence did kill him. He tried to help me and I killed him for it."
Hardin studied her for a moment before nodding. "If I see him... I'll tell him you're sorry."
"I'm not sure there really is anything after this," admits Rain quietly, "I'm not sure either of us will have the chance."
"The Jedi told me... taught me... there is no death, there is the Force," chided Hardin gently, "One way or another, he'll know."
Rain groaned. "Not even a month and the Jedi corrupted you."
Hardin grinned sheepishly. "I tried my hardest."
"You always did," she said quietly, "If... I mean... maybe I could figure out how to alter my Holocron... you could stay? With me?"
He shakes his head. "I'm tired Zannah, I'm so tired."
"I... I figured, but... I had to ask, just incase," admitted Rain, she takes in a breath, and likely does one of the hardest things she'd ever done, "Go find your release, Hardin."
He smiles warmly at her, closes his eyes, and fades away.
She stands there, unmoving, watching the lights fade away, hands limp at her side, the physical incantation starting to fade. Siri moves to stand next to her, and as much as she doesn't want it... "Do... do you want your own release?"
Rain doesn't answer for a long, long series of agonizing minutes. "No. Not yet. I still have to meet myself again before my time comes."
"...come again?"
"I was told, I'd meet myself again sooner than I think, for good or for ill," said Rain, a frown on her face, "Whatever that means."
Rain sighed and sat down on the ground. "I do feel tired though. I... I don't regret being Zannah, being Sith. But I wish... I wish I had the chance to live a different life."
"I'll do my best to live for the both of us," said Siri quietly, nestling the Holocron in her robes. "Take a rest Rain."
Rain gives a nod and her Gatekeeper fades, the Holocron shutting itself for the time being. Siri adjusts her robes and turns, pausing briefly to see the Jedi full on staring at her. She purses her lips, not quite comfortable with what she sees in their eyes, before moving past them back to the Bouncers. The ride back to their ship is long and quiet, the Bouncers are silent. Pleased and feeling fulfilled, but silent.
There are no goodbyes. The Bouncer's don't ask, and Rain doesn't come back out. They board the ship and liftoff. Tholme apparently had paid enough attention to how Rain got them to Ruusan to get them out of the nebula, and back towards Coruscant...
Chapter 62: Granted
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
One year later...
Some days, Obi-Wan can only marvel at how far Siri has come.
Others...
He's reminded how little she's changed.
Especially when she's so damn creepy about it.
"Come little Jedi I'll take thee away, from all the pain and the sorrow..."
He watched through the monitors alongside his Grandmaster, Master Tholme, and Master Windu, as Siri dispatched yet another Shadow training exercise in the lower levels of the Temple. Actively using the Dark Side or not, she was still dangerous and skilled. The scenario this time was simple: The Jedi have tracked down the Sith to a complex facility, the objective was to capture the Sith while preventing them from escaping. Of course, Siri never made anything simple, and it was a fair point that neither would Sidious if they could corner him.
Siri was currently walking down multiple corridors at once, making the lights flicker, then appearing to disappear and reappear elsewhere all the while singing a creepy tune that she somehow made her illusions sing as well. They were allowed to give support to their fellows down below trying to pin her location, an imitation of the Jedi perhaps having hacked or controlled security. Which proved very, very useless when Siri could just use her illusions to keep where she really was hidden, use the Force to disable cameras as she went, and pick off Jedi with her lightsaber (at a training setting at least).
"She's not actively trying to escape," said Dooku dryly, "I dare say she's entertaining herself."
Windu sighed. "She always is."
Tholme hummed. "The Jedi have a long way to go to match the Sith, especially in favorable terrain."
Windu turned his head. "You consider being pinned down in a facility... favorable?"
"For her, yes," said Tholme tiredly, "We haven't been able to surround her. She is able to retreat and disappear all the while ambushing my Shadows and their support at her leisure. If we ever discover Sidious's identity, we have to be very careful where we want to confront him. Pushed into a corner with escape cut off and forced to engage in a fight is what we prefer. He works in the shadows, we must engage him in the light."
"That," said Dooku, "Will be easier said than done."
"Hells yeah it will be," came Siri's voice followed by a snap-hiss and a blue-lightsaber appearing alongside Obi-Wan's neck.
He went still, heart briefly giving a panicked erratic beat.
"Especially when you make it oh so easy," said Siri, voice mocking.
Windu, Dooku, and Tholme turned, irritation visible on their faces. Dooku crossed his arms. "If you would stop threatening my grand padawan...?"
The lightsaber disengaged and was tossed over to him. Obi-Wan turned around to see a very bored-looking Siri. "When did you get out?"
"Oh Obi-Wan," she said, grinning mockingly, "I was never actually down there. This is just basic levitation of my lightsaber along with some illusions, it's not difficult at all. Takes a bit of focus sure, and watching it through your cameras to make it walk and fight right certainly helps, but this is childsplay for a Sith."
There was a pool of dread in Obi-Wan's stomach. If Sidious could do this as well... how were they ever supposed to both track him down, and lock him down? Honestly, there had been five teams of five going through the area, with teams on every exit. Yet they hadn't realized she'd never stepped down there, only an illusion had, probably using that same trick she did to make Rain's Gatekeeper temporarily physical. And how the hell did singing work if she was in the same room as them and they never heard her specifically? He wants to bury his face in his hands a groan.
"Chin up Kenobi," teased Siri, "If you Jedi actually engage him in a fight, Sidious is more likely to just slaughter everyone in his path by overwhelming power than play hide and seek."
"Yes, because that is so much better," he answered flatly.
"Well, at least there is an illusion of a chance that way if you think you can fight him," she commented slyly.
Tholme shook his head and hit a button near the monitors. "The exercise is over, the Sith escaped."
There is a collective sense of resigned irritation, but it's gone from the Force after a few moments as the training exercise ends and teams gather to discuss it. Obi-Wan is glad he's not the one that has to tell them it was lost from the start. Honestly, she was able to block their bond enough that he didn't sense her in the same room. When had she learned how to do that? He doesn't bother asking, he doubts she'd give a sincere answer...
Obi-Wan glances over when Dooku and Windu's comlinks go off. Dooku frowns and checks his, "Hmm, it would seem I've been requested at a Council meeting. I wasn't aware of anything pressing that would demand my presence."
"Neither was I," agreed Windu, bringing the comlink to his mouth, "Windu here, what is it?"
A tiny Yoda hologram appears over the comlink. "Returned early, my grandpadawan and his padawan have."
Qui-Gon and Anakin?
Did their first mission since Anakin was injured go poorly?
"...and this requires the full council?" posed Windu cautiously.
"A brief message, my grandpadawan sent," said Yoda, voice tired, "An old injury, re-opened. Implications there are. Know better I do to let it fester this time, wish for my padawan to be present for Qui-Gon."
Dooku frowns intently, moving around to try to peer at Yoda's face for clues. "...as you wish."
He looks distant, eyes somewhat glazed, trying to figure out what this is about. Obi-Wan will admit he is cautiously curious as well. They leave the room shortly after, Tholme to go debrief his shadows from the exercise, the rest of them heading up topside to the temple proper. Once they reach the ground floor, Obi-Wan hones in on Qui-Gon's presence at a distance for a very uncomfortable reason.
It's not often he has felt his Master this agitated, this filled with self-flagellation. Prior to Anakin's injury, it had been a great long while.
They cross paths a few minutes later, but Qui-Gon doesn't even turn to acknowledge them. "Padawan, go with Obi-Wan, I will handle the council meeting."
Anakin looks hesitant, like he wants to reach out, but doesn't. "...okay."
Dooku moves to walk alongside Qui-Gon in companionable silence, Windu behind them, and disappears down the hallway.
Obi-Wan knows better than to have a discussion about whatever this is in the hallway, so he leads Anakin back to his apartment, Siri tagging along radiating amusement. Obi-Wan waits until he's gotten Anakin back to his apartment, seated, and tea set before the tense teen before prying.
"What happened?"
"Well, we were investigating some company for ties to the Confederacy," said Anakin, "I don't think it would normally matter, but there was something about price gouging and taking advantage of worlds in argued space?"
Obi-Wan nods. "The political uncertainty and transitions between governments leaves many worlds unfortunately vulnerable," he wonders if he needs to start keeping his ears open for..., "What was this company's name?"
"Offworld."
Obi-Wan can't help the reflexive flinch. Force, he hasn't had to really think about that spectacular mess in a while. "I can guess why Qui-Gon wouldn't naturally be happy with this mission, though he would be knowledgeable about that company."
"Yeah," said Anakin quietly, "He was only a bit sour about it at first, didn't really show it, at least... at least until we had a run in with the CEO."
"Who is...?" posed Obi-Wan.
"A guy named Granta Omega, he was... weird," said Anakin, "I think Qui-Gon said he was a... um... Force Null?"
Obi-Wan's eyebrows climb and even Siri whistles, commenting, "Annoying little buggers. Jedi would have just as much trouble tracking a Null as they would someone shrouded by the Veil."
"What about you?" asked Anakin.
Siri grimaced. "Okay, and Sith too. Though there are other methods. Paying someone to track them down tends to work better. So, why'd this little Null put Jinn in such a mood."
"Umm...," Anakin fidgeted, "I kinda figure it's a taboo topic, but the... Omega kinda had a screaming fit at Qui-Gon, accused him of murdering his father."
"Oh I have a bad feeling about this," muttered Obi-Wan, "Who?"
"Some guy named Xanatos?"
Obi-Wan suckered in a breath.
Siri let out a fit of hysterical laughter.
"It's not funny Siri," said Obi-Wan sharply.
"I... I dis... agree," she gasps out between laughs, "Jedi mistakes coming back to haunt them is always funny."
He gestures to the door. "By all means, laugh it up, in your own apartment."
"Touchy," she mocks, turning and making for the door, "Have fun cleaning up Xanatos related messes!"
Obi-Wan closes his eyes and begs the Force for patience, he hasn't wanted to strangle Siri in a long while, but sometimes she severely tries him. This is not a laughing matter, anything relating to Xanatos is bound to cause Qui-Gon to spiral, and Anakin doesn't need to be exposed to that.
"Umm... one sec Siri," said Anakin.
She pauses at the door. "What?"
"I mean... it's not just because of this Omega guy we came back early, Qui-Gon kinda... well... snooped around," said Anakin, hesitating, "The guy is trying to get in contact with the Sith, wants to offer them Offworld's support in exchange for... well... Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan dead. That, along with Omega trying to blow us up, had us coming back."
Oh, that's just lovely.
Siri huffs and crosses her arms, leaning in the doorway. "From what little I know, Offworld isn't that tempting of a target compared to other companies or trade conglomerates. Especially if Sidious has free reign to use Confederacy resources, so why would he need Offworld? Or more importantly, why would he waste time with it when he could be doing other things? A Sith can't be everywhere at once."
"It's a potential resource," posed Obi-Wan.
"Fair," agreed Siri, "But good luck proving it to the Senate. Information that Jinn illegally gained won't help you, even the 'blow you up' could be passed off at taking hostile actions against intruders."
"We will figure it out," is all Obi-Wan says, motioning again to the door.
She rolls her eyes at him but departs...
Siri hasn't had such entertainment in a while.
She can feel Qui-Gon's sourness all away across the temple. Anakin is a bit awkward and skittish, but leaning more and more towards frustration. Most likely because the boy has no idea what's going on and doesn't like to be kept in the dark. Obi-Wan is a fun mixture of self-flagellation, frustration, bitterness, and wariness over the whole thing. Dooku she can relatively feel growing more and more exasperated.
Best part is she doesn't even need to pay for the show or even be there. Shame she doesn't have snacks. Ah well...
She lays on her bed, one leg crossed over the other, reciting what she knows about the whole Xanatos mess to Rain, who looks bemused. "A little fallen Jedi, not even a proper Sith, causing such fun? Leaving a little bastard behind too. What a shame neither of us are there to pull a few puppet strings, it could be amusing."
"And here I was," said Siri, bringing a hand mockingly to her chest, "Thinking after that touching family reunion on Russan you'd be turning a new leaf."
"Kriff off Siri."
Siri merely laughs before going serious. "You think Sidious will be interested?"
Rain shrugged. "Do you know how many little leeches would try to attach themselves to the Sith for power? For revenge? There is an entire galaxy worth of them. If he's even aware of this, I'm not sure he'd get personally involved."
"Not for another attempt at Anakin?"
Rain snorts. "Skywalker is already in the crossfire by behind Jinn's apprentice, Sidious doesn't need to do anything special to put the brat in danger from this 'Granta Omega'. Feasibility-wise, he has an upcoming war between the Republic and the Confederacy to prepare, dealing with small fry like this is beneath him and a waste of time. However... it might be something he puts an apprentice, acolyte, or even a bounty hunter on. Though he already tried and failed with an acolyte, and I'm not sure he'd be ready yet for potential open warfare if C'Baoth gets outed for getting involved this early."
Rain tilts her head back. "He didn't personally go for Skywalker last time, and I don't see him doing it this time either, not with so small a prize."
Siri nods her head in agreement and stretches out briefly before deciding to laze the day away feeding off Jedi negativity for a buzz, she rarely has anything better to do with her days after all...
The months pass in a slow crawl for Siri with Qui-Gon, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Jinzler out of the temple. Apparently, the Glass Tooka is stable enough for missions, and the council decided to assign two teams for Omega. Though every time they come back, more irritated than the last, is a breath of fresh air and amusement. Kenobi continues to be pissy about the whole thing and refusing to give her any juicy tidbits. But really, the fact that four Jedi haven't been able to apprehend Granta Omega is hilarious.
That Force Null must be a slippery little bastard. Though he does have a corporation behind him...
It wasn't until one particularly bad return that the stakes were upped. She overhears Jinn and Kenobi arguing furiously. Skywalker was apparently injured in the Halls of Healing, and she can hear Jinn ranting about someone? She sits next to the wall, presence muted, and enhances her hearing...
"How the hell was she sprung from the penal colony without anyone knowing?" said Obi-Wan with agitation, "It was supposed to be for life!"
"Yes well, I don't doubt the Sith would be interested in her 'expertise'," said Qui-Gon flatly, "This is getting far too dangerous, it needs to be ended swiftly, neither of our apprentices should be exposed to that woman. Spying on Omega meeting with her is going to be fuel for nightmares to come."
Well now, Siri is very curious who this is.
"We know for certain that he's meeting with the separatists since she mentioned being the head for one of their research labs, and we can get the senate involved on our side once we prove that she escaped the penal colony...," began Obi-Wan.
There is the sound of a door opening and footsteps followed before Dooku's voice rings out, "I'm afraid, my grandpadawan, that they covered their tracks well. Jenna Zan Arbor was apparently found deceased and cremated a year ago, cleverly leaving no body to check to confirm. I severely doubt the Confederacy is going to admit to having her. Do you have any other proof aside from your word on what you saw?"
The room goes uncomfortably silent, and Siri just slow blinks as she takes in the name. Jenna Zan Arbor, now there was a name she hadn't heard of in a very long time, since she was a Jedi Padawan herself. She thinks of how she, Master Gallia, and Obi-Wan found Qui-Gon near death in the woman's labs...
Her lips peel back into a snarl.
She doesn't want that bitch anywhere near Kenobi or Skywalker. Of course, she's still on parol bound to the temple for another kriffing five years...
"What's got your panties in a bunch?" comes Rain's mocking voice from the couch.
Siri scowls, fishes out her datapad, does a quick search on Arbor, and flings her datapad at Rain to read.
Either they figured out she's listening, or they just moved elsewhere, because she can't hear anything else after that.
"Hmm, this Jenna could be useful," mused Rain.
"If she doesn't end up dead before I get out of here, she will be after," is all Siri said flatly in response.
Rain rolls her eyes. "Your infatuation with that Jedi is annoying and wasteful. Arbor could be a valuable asset."
"Oh yes, let's allow a crazy scientist to research into the Force and potentially find something that could be a threat to us," said Siri sarcastically.
Rain huffed. "Whatever Siri, excuse it any way you want. You feel that your infatuation is threatened and you want the threat dead, there's not much more to it."
Siri glowers at her but doesn't respond.
Rain, the little bitch, gives her a smug look before returning to browsing the holonet.
A few hours later, both Jinzler and Anakin, the latter walking with a slight limp, end up at her door.
"Well now, to what do I owe the Padawan duo?" she asks.
She has a good idea of what already, and isn't surprised they came to her.
"Our masters are being sketchy," said Anakin flatly, "We were tracking down Omega, could have had him to, but we learned he was meeting some separatist big wig, so we held off to see who it was. Then some lady walks on screen and both my Master and Obi-Wan just go numb in the Force, like, outright horrified. No one has told us anything, council was tight-lipped too, told us not to mention it to any other Jedi or anyone outside the temple for now... you know, both of which you don't qualify as."
Siri grins. "Loopholes are fun, aren't they?"
Jinzler scoffed. "They're going to be annoyed when they learn we went behind their backs, Anakin."
"Feel free to walk away," said Anakin, a single eyebrow raised cockily.
Jinzler scowled but remained.
Siri motioned them in and moved to the couch. Rain takes one look at Jinzler, gives her a death glare which the padawan returns, and blinks out of existence back to her Holocron. Siri pockets the holocron as to not let Jinzler have the temptation to do something, and pulls up a chair while the padawan pair sits on the couch. "Before your latest mission, had you ever heard of the name Jenna Zan Arbor?"
Both shake their head.
"She's a mad scientist who secretly caused a whole slew of biochemical problems then came in as the supposed savior after and fixed them," explained Siri, "Then, once she had her reputation, she started to go after Jedi, wanting to experiment on them and figure out the Force. Jinn was one of those Jedi."
Anakin's fists clench. "She experimented on my Master?!"
"Yeah, back when I was a Jedi Padawan, I was part of the rescue team, it wasn't pretty," she admits.
Jinzler briefly looks at Anakin, uncomfortable with the anger radiating from him, before asking, "Anything specific to watch out for?"
Siri shrugged. "She obviously has no ethics or morality to speak of, so really, don't get yourself captured by her if she's involved. You might end up wishing you were dead."
They both blanch.
She leans forward. "I'm curious, did you just see her, or did you hear what she and Omega talked about?"
Anakin scowled. "Only saw."
"And? Impressions? A lot can be learned from body language."
"Umm, she well...," he hesitates, "She kind of looked at Omega like you look a people when you're dueling them sometimes."
"Gnats not worth my time?"
"Yeah, that."
"Not at first," said Jinzler quietly, "She looked interested, then eager about something in that creepy kind of way you get when you're being particularly sithly, then she started getting annoyed."
Siri leaned back a little on her chair. She didn't care about the half-insult, but she does run it through her head and what it might mean. "Hmm. Both of them probably have a bone to pick with Jinn. I wouldn't be surprised if the thought of teaming up to kill him appealed to her, but whatever method he chose irked her. As much as she'd want to get the Jedi that got away, if she's flying high in the Confederacy, why risk losing everything for it?"
"I mean... you did say mad scientist," said Anakin.
"Mad doesn't mean stupid or actually insane," Siri rebutted dryly before frowning, "Though really, I'd prefer if she got involved and got herself locked up or killed now, rather than letting her live unhindered for years to come. Giving that woman free reign in a lab with Confederate resources is... a really, really bad thing."
Anakin's comlink beeps, followed shortly by Jinzler's. They check them and stand up, Anakin scowls. "Ah man... we barely got here and we're shipping out tomorrow."
"Anakin," she said softly, "This is a threat that needs to be dealt with, quickly. It's enough that I'd offer my own services to kill the woman if she stays involved, unfortunately, the Council wouldn't accept an assassination. Pity that."
"So you think Arbor is the bigger threat?" asked Jinzler.
Siri tilts her head. "She the looming one, yes. But don't underestimate a Force Null. If Granta Omega sneaks up behind you with a blaster, you won't sense it coming."
The padawans nod and depart, leaving Siri to darkly brood and poke at the Force, getting nothing but the Viel of the Dark Side laughing at her...
The next time she learns anything is about a month later, and it's from the summons of the Council. Now, she didn't know that beforehand, so really, it was common sense, precaution (paranoia) to not put herself actually in the Council Chamber with that many Jedi. Not to mention it would be funny to see if she could trick them again. Once she got out of her door and away from the heat/motion sensor, she hid herself and sent an illusion following the messenger leading her to the council spire.
She looks and listens through her illusion's eyes as she goes up the elevator and is ushered into the Council Chamber.
"So... been a while," Siri drawled before anyone else could speak, "What goodies do you have for me today? Can't imagine much left to question for an interrigation. Oh, oh, is it off with my head today?"
Windu gives her an utterly exasperated look. "Do you always enjoy acting like a child?"
"When it gets a reaction out of people, yeah," she cheerfully admits, "I'm utterly bored here, so I take what I can get."
Fay ignores the chatter and leans forward. "What can you tell us about Korriban?"
Siri slow blinks, frowning. "Its not a place Jedi should tread, why are you asking about it?"
"Master Jinn, Knight Kenobi, and their padawans have tracked Granta Omega to Korriban and are following him there...," begins Fay.
Siri freezes.
Fay notes the change, but continues, "We have sent Master Dooku in support and he is in transit now. We plan to briefly contact him to pass on what you say before he lands."
"Get them off of Korriban," Siri snaps through her illusion.
In reality, she already knows they won't listen, so Siri is already starting for the hanger. Korriban, KORRIBAN, of course, the stupid kriffing Jedi went to Korriban. Idiots!
"Concerned, afraid, you are," posed Yoda curiously, "Dangerous the planet is, yes, know this we do, but experienced both Master Jinn and Knight Kenobi are, and senior padawans the younger are soon to be."
Siri grits her teeth. "There are enough traps, malevolent spirits, Dark Side influenced creatures, and the absolute stain of the Dark Side on that planet to kill, drive mad, or make fall plenty of Jedi. It's a baren, unforgiving landscape, they will find no food or water that isn't laced with the Dark Side, and hell, I personally left traps there. If you want more specific reasons, Jinzler was an absolute mess not that long ago, so exposing her to Korriban is a terrible idea. Jinn won't be at his best dealing with anything Xanatos related..."
"Know Qui-Gon's struggles we do, why we sent Dooku, it is," said Yoda calmly.
"Korriban will show no Jedi mercy," warned Siri, "You are to tell Dooku he is to recall them the moment he exits hyperspace..."
"The council makes its own decisions, Tachi, and besides, Granta Omega believes he is to be meeting a Sith there," said Master Windu.
Siri swallows thickly. "And you think, if this is a real meeting, that fighting a Sith on Korriban, is an intelligent idea?"
"If it's not a wild chase, we believe it is likely it would be whoever is standing in for you as the apprentice or the current acolyte," explained Windu, "Sidious has yet to physically involve himself in any confrontation with us. The potential chance to capture them, especially if it is C'Baoth, is something that cannot be passed up."
She does agree that Sidious wouldn't be there, but this is still stupid. "I don't care, pull them out."
"Tachi," said Windu in warning.
"THERE IS A BLOODY TERENTATEK ON KORRIBAN!" she roars at him, silencing the Council, "None of them can face that. Even if Dooku is with them, five on one it will kill all of them if they encounter it."
"Certain of its presence are you?" demands Yoda sharply.
"Yes," she seethed, "It tried to kill me half the damn times I go to that Force forsaken planet."
Yoda hesitates, but Fay presses on. "There is no guarantee they will be on the same part of the planet as the monster, and I think you underestimate their strength."
"Or you underestimate the dangers of a Terentatek," snapped Siri, "Those monsters were made to kill Jedi. The only one here who has any idea of what it means to fight one is sitting right there!" she jabbed at Yoda, glaring at him, "So tell me, Master Yoda, can they beat a Terentatek? A monster basically immune to the Force, its hide resistant to lightsaber damage, its venom can paralyze and kill you. Its claws and teeth will rip you to shreds, and let's not even talk about it being strong enough to plow through most obstacles."
Because Siri remembers the old creche tails, that Yoda had once fought and killed a Terentatek. But that was Yoda, and no one ever said how difficult the fight was. But Siri knows, Siri knows. She wouldn't be able to face an adult or Force forbid and elder Terentatek unless she was a Sith Master herself, even then it wouldn't be easy, even then a single mistake could kill her.
Yoda looks visibly uneasy for once. "Dangerous, very, very dangerous it would be. Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Dooku, defeat it perhaps they could together, a great bond they have between them, but a great risk it would be. Better for them to not encounter it."
He's not agreeing with her. Force damn it!
"Pass on the warning we will," said Yoda, "If sense its approach they do, order them to withdraw we shall."
Not good enough, not bloody well good enough! She doesn't have time for this! Depending on where they left from, they'll already have been on the planet for hours or perhaps even a day by the time Siri arrives!
"If you are going to be this bloody stupid about it," snapped Siri, "I'm obviously going to have to deal with this myself."
The Council stares at her for a long moment.
"You will not be leaving," said Windu slowly, "We are not risking sneaking you offplanet again, and the Senate will not tolerate another unsanctioned leave."
Siri's illusion smiles and waves, "Bye," before it begins to dissipate.
The last thing the illusion hears before it fades is, "Dammit! Get the hanger on the line, close it down!"
Siri's on a small ship and out of the hanger long before it can, shooting off into space...
Sidious pauses, his finger on the button for his secretary to call in the next meeting. He slowly stands up and moves to the window, gazing up. He feels that his apprentice is leaving the Jedi Temple again, alone this time. He senses... fear... anger... determination. Curious, what would have caused her to...
His eyes widen, and slowly, a malevolent smile spreads across his face. What an opportunity, Skywalker, Kenobi, and Tachi soon to be all in one spot. This is... tempting, far too tempting to pass up. But beyond his stand in apprentice to deal with. It's time, at long last, its time to reclaim what belongs to him. He goes for his personal comlink and calls for C'Baoth. "Apprentice, status?"
"I will be landing on Korriban soon, preparing for the arrival of the Jedi," said C'Baoth.
"There has been a change of plans," said Sidious, "Lord Tyrosus has become involved."
The former Jedi looks irked, even on the small image. "We are abandoning the plan then? After months of stringing the Jedi along?"
"Oh no, Jorus, no," said Sidious, "I've decided that it's time I reclaim my wayward apprentice, personally."
C'Baoth nods slowly. "Will you require my aid?"
Sidious scoffs. As if he'd leave his back turned to one apprentice while dealing with another and the Jedi. "Return to managing the Confederacy, I expect a report on our more... important projects upon my return."
"It will be done, Master," said C'Baoth, bowing out.
Sidious hits the button for his secretary. "Cancel my meetings for the rest of the day, tentative for tomorrow, I'm feeling unwell."
"Of course Chancellor."
Sidious is in his own private craft less than half an hour later, off to finally reclaim his true apprentice...
Notes:
Who's ready for Masters to meet apprentices again next chapter? :D
Rain and Bane.
Siri and Sidious.
Chapter 63: Master and Apprentice
Chapter Text
Siri touches down in a dreadfully familiar spot on Korriban, two Jedi ships near her own pilfered one. Is it a coincidence that Granta Omega is meeting an apparent Sith in the Valley of the Sith Lords? Perhaps, it would be fitting after all. But her gut says otherwise, that this is a jab at her. She needs to grab her idiot Jedi and get the hell off of Korriban either way. Because this is most certainly the part of the planet with that kriffing Terentatek among other things.
"This is a terrible idea Tachi," snapped Rain, materializing next to her.
"I'm aware."
"Those that dwell here will not take kindly to a Sith who returned coming here," Rain hissed.
"It's more of an extended vacation," said Siri flatly.
Rain scoffs. "You better make this quick Siri, in and out, do not dawdle. Knock the Jedi out if you have to, feed off Korriban if you have to, fall again if you have to. But Do. Not. Dawdle."
Siri is out of the ship seconds later, Rain's gatekeeper fading back into her holocron...
The moment her feet dip into red sand, she feels it. Not being the atmosphere, not being on her ship seconds earlier, nothing had prepared her to step onto Korriban merely dark and not fallen. The Dark Side is overwhelming here, oppressive, and rather than singing in her veins, it feels like sludge coats her entire body. She is dark, yes, but not as she was. Not as this place wants her to be. She is not fueled nor empowered here, but she could be. She knows that, she feels that... but its not...
Rather than the embrace she was used to, it felt... it felt kriffing filthy. Like some sick perverted freak was pressing up against her, trailing their touch across her body and whispering into her ear all these sweet promises if only 'you accept me' if only 'you let me in'. She has a moment of intense nausea, resisting the urge to bend over and retch. She doesn't understand... why is it like this? She had noticed a difference in her own quarters that the darkness she had embedded there hadn't felt the same after Anakin had yanked her out of being fallen, but even then, it wasn't like this. She is dark, maybe not quite fallen, but still, why does Korriban make feel like this?
She doesn't understand.
She doesn't understand.
She doesn't have time to understand either. She forces herself to move, following Kenobi's presence. There is a dark thrum in the air, quiet malevolence seeping everywhere, and yet... no action is taken towards her. Not a single Sith spirit speaks a single word to her. It makes Siri's skin crawl because it would be better if they harassed her, better than this ominous watching. The stillness in the air is a warning calm before the storm. She catches sight and senses a few of the initial traps she had set had been sprung in the time since she had last been here.
All five Jedi are still alive, however, so nothing ended up lethal. She's not quite close enough yet to sense any damage. She can feel Obi-Wan's irritation and exasperation when he finally detects her presence. She forces down the bond her absolute fury and a demand to come to her. He ignores her. Of course, he does. Her feet pound on tombstone, dust kicking up behind her. She considers the Dark Side pressing in against her, demanding her to let it in. She will if she must, but not yet. She does, however, the equivalent of cracking the window. The dark hound in her mind outside the gate slowly stands, its muzzle peeling back into a gruesome delighted grin.
'Use me,' it seems to whisper to her.
'Be ready,' she counters instead.
The hound howls, laughter in its cry as it paces hungrily outside her gates.
She comes across a pack of sabered tuk'ata, flinging them to the side of the hallway with a flick of her wrist and the Force. She recognizes these hallways, she's been down these specific pathways several times at this point. She also notes that some of the side-hallways have sealed themselves, trapdoors and triggered walls closing them off. The Jedi had been herded one specific way, and Siri has a terrible notion of which way they are being shepherded to. When she finally catches sight of the Jedi, they are walking into Bane's tomb.
"You stupid, kriffing idiots!" she snarls.
The group pauses and turns to her, and oh, she is grateful they don't appear anything more than a little tried and scruffed up.
"Siri," snaps Obi-Wan, "You cannot keep doing this! If the senate..."
The moment she passes through the entrance, a wall comes down behind them, locking them in. Obi-Wan cuts off, frowning. "Well then."
The area pitches red, the flickering of blue through parts of the air. Slowly, Darth Bane's blue glowing form appears in front of his tomb, staring past the Jedi right at Siri. Then... he frowns, eyes flickering downwards towards... Rain's Holocron in her robes. Ho boy...
"I did warn you," Bane's voice comes out coldly, his eyes flickering back up, "What would happen if that chain remained unbroken. Did I not?"
"Stay the hell back," hissed Siri to the Jedi, moving forward.
Dooku glances at the Gatekeeper. "Which Sith is this?"
She ignores him, striding halfway across the room until she stood center. "You did, Lord Bane."
"And was I not correct?" mused Bane, "Here you stand, inbetween light and dark, worthless and weak. I can feel, just as I said there would be, your conflicted loyalties between the Sith and those you have attached yourself to."
"That would be a matter of perspective," she answered flatly, "I am still more powerful than the majority of..."
"This, Tachi, is nothing compared to what you could be," he cuts off firmly, "Even as a gatekeeper, I am connected to the currents of the Dark Side, to the Rule of Two. I felt it when you achieved ascension, when you became Darth Tyrosus and left Siri Tachi behind for a fleeting few minutes. She was far, far more powerful than you are at this moment."
"The price to achieve that power wasn't something I was willing to pay," Siri rebutted, "And honestly, I am so sick of that stupid notion of becoming a true Sith kills your former self. I've been both Siri Tachi and Darth Tyrosus, there is no difference."
Bane narrows his eyes. "Then you fail to understand the lesson, and beyond this, was it not degrading enough to have failed yourself, but to have dragged my apprentice down with you? Show yourself Zannah, what do you have to say for yourself?"
Rain flickers into view, childlike face emotionless and cold. Bane's face scrunches up in disgust. "Unbelievable. That child died on Russan, and yet here she stands again. It would appear that indeed I was right, in the end, you were not worthy."
Rain sneers. "And just like before, your ignorance and stupidity are what drives you. You see and act without thinking. Neither Siri nor I willingly chose to leave the Dark, it was forced upon us."
Bane pauses, blinks once, then frowns. "And yet you have not sought to reclaim your place."
Rain shrugged. "I'm a holocron, I'd need someone else to..."
"Your deception will not work on me," snapped Bane, "I can feel the shard of your soul in the Holocron, you are no mere gatekeeper. You could bring yourself back to the Dark Side easily enough. But, yes... yes... it makes sense, doesn't it? Darth Zannah was wise to cut out your weakness and throw you away, Rain."
Rain growls, predatory and furious. "Don't think I can't rip your holocron to shreds."
"Petty threats apprentice?"
"I don't make threats," she said coldly, "I destroyed you once, Bane, don't think I can't do so again, especially against a mere memory."
They stare eachother down, the Force heavy and thick, oppressive even to Siri.
"Perhaps I was cast away, perhaps my original self made me in order to get rid of me, but you know what Bane?" said Rain, "I'm still alive, still influencing the Galaxy, still making my mark, but you? Darth Bane is dead and gone, nothing left but those who came after, his last memories sealed away in this crypt that few will ever tread. Your time is over, mine never ended."
"Perhaps," said Bane, not taken by her words, "And yet, why is it that you still exist in merely a shard? Don't think I don't know what you are capable of. Are you too much of a coward to reach forth and claim life anew? You have had almost a thousand years to find a host whose soul you could eat from the inside out to rebirth yourself, and yet, here you still are, a pathetic little girl, hiding away in your holocron, afraid. I sought immortality not because I feared death, but to make sure our purpose was fulfilled, can you say the same about yourself, child?"
There is a crack, a piece of the ceiling falls away, and out tumbles a red and black Sith Holocron. It lands before Rain with a heavy thump. Bane doesn't look at it, he holds Rain's gaze, impassionate. Siri feels it seconds later, Rain's Holocron opening itself to Korriban. The Dark Side rushes in, and Rain's form slowly changes, aging, clothes transforming, until she is as she was before Yoda blasted her with light. Molten sulfur eyes meet molten sulfur eyes as Rain... as Zannah... lifts a hand. Bane's holocron levitates between them.
"The last time I was a child was when we first met. A child dying on the inside from sudden brutal loss, from the suffering drowning Russan, but rather than save that child, you took and molded her into what you so desired," said Zannah coldly, "Now though? Now, I am who and what I choose to be, Bane, and I am not your apprentice anymore."
His eyebrows furrow. "You regret what I made of you?"
"I regret that I never saw a choice otherwise."
She clenches her fist.
The holocron ruptures apart.
The last shred of Darth Bane winks out of existence.
"I was always destined to destroy you," mutters Zannah, relaxing her fist and letting the holocron pieces fall to the stone floor, "Apparently in more ways than one."
Zannah turns to look at Siri for a long moment...
Then she lets go.
Siri is flabbergasted to sense it.
The dark pours back out of the holocron like a receding tide, and little Rain is before them once more. "Maybe one day Zannah will have a purpose again, but for now, I choose to be Rain."
She flicks her wrist, and a stone wall at the other end of the tomb opens up. "Get off Korriban, Siri."
Rain winks out of existence, gatekeeper returning to the holocron.
Siri gapes for a moment, openly shocked that the holocron could let go of the Dark Side on kriffing Korriban, but banishes the emotion when Dooku grits out, "Eat a soul from the inside out to rebirth herself?"
"Not the time," snapped Siri, turning to glower at the Jedi, "We need off Korriban, now."
Qui-Gon stares at the pieces of the destroyed holocron, solemn. "So that was Darth Bane then..."
Oh for kriffs sake. "Yes, now moving on..."
"Siri," snapped Obi-Wan, "We were brought here for a reason, we have a mission to complete."
"Granta Omega is not worth the risk," she snapped back, "Not on Korriban, and especially not in this part of the planet. This is the most malevolent of places here, filled with spirits, trapped to hell and back, and is the part of the planet the Terentatek dwells on."
"A teren-what?" asked Anakin.
Siri shoots Dooku and annoyed look.
The elder Jedi doesn't acknowledge her. "It is a deadly Sith beast that is best left unencountered. Even with myself, Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Tachi facing it, it is unlikely all of us would walk away alive."
Anakin scowls. "Hey! I can help!"
"Absolutely not!" thunders Qui-Gon, startling Anakin as the man turn to point a finger at the teenager, "In the event we encounter the Terentatek, you and padawan Jinzler are to retreat to the ship and prep them for takeoff. Under no circumstances are you to engage that beast, am I clear Anakin?"
Anakin hunches a little. "Y-yes sir..."
Jinzler puts a hand on his shoulder and murmurs, "Anakin, these things are abominations. When we get back to the temple after the mission I can show you the records on them, Master Dooku is right, we should be nowhere near them. Even my and your Master shouldn't be facing one."
Qui-Gon twitches at that, but Obi-Wan merely nods in acknowledgement. "We have not sensed it yet, and when if do, we will retreat. But until then, we have a mission to accomplish."
"Yes," drawled Siri, "And how do you plan on tracking down a Force Null in the winding tombs, catacombs and deserts of Korriban?"
"Our last encounter had us distracting him while my padawan slipped into his ship, put a tracer on it, and embedded a few smaller ones into pieces of his clothing incase he had gotten away," said Obi-Wan, a touch of pride in his voice, "We have been trailing him as we landed."
Siri purses her lip. Not bad Jinzler, but still, "In and out Kenobi. We nab this idiot, and we are gone. Jedi should not linger on Korriban."
Obi-Wan takes point, Siri behind him, then Jinn, then the padawans, then Dooku to cover their flank as they move through the tomb, the signal steadily getting stronger. All the while, the malice in the air intensifies, along with glee, but still the Sith spirits who dwell here do not act. She gets the sense they are waiting for something. She'd bet a credit they called for the damn beast again, but... the air doesn't feel the same, the sense of oppression in the Force makes her wary of something else, but she's not sure what.
Whats worse to her is no one else is reacting to the increasingly oppressive atmosphere, its like they can't even feel it. Is this truly what it means to be blind to the Dark Side of the Force? The Sith spirits here are practically screaming in her ear that -very bad things- are going to happen and they're going to delightfully watch said things happen. She's mentally preparing herself for a do or die situation, and they're treating it as if its just another mission baring the possibility of a Sith monster coming to eviscerate them.
They close in on the Omega as they exit the tomb and find him standing upon the crest of a dune, facing the other side. Considering he's making motions to someone with his hands and arms, he's speaking to someone. Lovely, are they going to have to deal with whoever the current stand in for her is? As much as she'd hope it was C'Baoth so they'd have a good chance of killing him, now is not the time nor the place.
"Its over Omega!" calls out Qui-Gon, taking point and pausing a short few feet from the dune. "Surrender."
Omega turns, and Siri resists the urge to whistle, because not bad handsome. The man's lips peel into a sneer. "Surrender, Jinn? Why would I do that? I've gotten what I came for, I have found the Sith! I know the truth! You could only wish you knew. Together, we will-URK!"
A red lightsaber sprouts through his chest, and he can only stare down at it, stunned.
Well... not really surprising...
Then a voice comes out that, despite the heat of Korriban, sends pure ice down her spine and makes her audibly choke. "You will find, that I have little use of someone so blindly devoted to revenge at the cost of all else. But you have provided me with an opportunity, so I do thank you."
Siri watches, horrified, as Darth Sidious crests the top of the dune, wrenching his lightsaber out of the man and flicking it as the man falls, decapitating him. Sidious returns his lightsaber to his robes and nudges the body to roll down the hill with the Force. "I believe you were looking for this, Jedi?"
"Siri," demanded Obi-Wan, "Is that..."
Confusion coats the other Jedi, at least until Sidious unmasks his presence. Then five lightsaber ignite, Siri doesn't bother, she only grits out, "I didn't think you'd be here, Sidious."
His mouth is the only thing visible from the depths of his hood aside from gleaming sulfur eyes, the rest shrouded in darkness. He smirks, smug amusement radiating off him. "Why ever not, my apprentice? You, your attachment, and Skywalker, all in one spot. Two experienced Jedi Masters to take care of, and I suppose a little toy to give to your current stand in until you retake your proper place. All the better, you placed yourselves upon Korriban of all places. There are almost no other location that could have been chosen more in my favor. An unbelievable chance, why would I turn away an opportunity so graciously offered to me?"
Kriff.
Kriffing kriffing krififty kriff.
She stares at him as cold reality really sets in.
Sidious is here.
Sidious is here.
Obi-Wan swallows thickly. "We'll take him together..."
"No," said Siri softly, for she knows her fate is sealed. But if she can sacrifice herself to get him and Skywalker out of here, she has little choice, "He's not getting his filthy hands on Anakin. You are going to take Anakin and..."
"So foolishly blind. Primarily," Sidious says aloud, sneering. "I did not come here for the boy, I came here for you."
She frowns, then goes over what Sidious had said, and she grows wary. "Retake my proper place?"
"Oh Tachi, did you think I was going to kill you?" mused Sidious, a dark chuckle escaping his lips, "No, you will be punished for your transgressions as never before. You will have little choice but to delve as deep into the Dark Side as you can to survive it, and when you have taken your proper place back within the Sith, you will kill Kenobi at my feet as an offering re-affirming your loyalty to me. But your transgressions demand more than simply severing your attachment, you will yet prove yourself again, against the one I consider your possible replacement. Skywalker will be taken, turned, and when you both are ready, you will face one another, and the victor will take their place as my apprentice."
He sneers. "Am I not merciful?"
Siri grits her teeth. The Dark Side is howling with laughter, roaring in triumph. Without a damn miracle, there is no way all of them are getting out alive, she's not going to risk even attempting ordering them all to run without something to stall. "Jinn, get Anakin the hell off this planet, now. Kenobi, same with Jinzler. Dooku... I don't think I can hold him for long alone. Are you willing to stand by me until they are off planet?"
Is he willing to lay down his life for his lineage?
Dooku eyes her sideways. "You do not believe all of us could take him?"
"We'd have better luck against the kriffing Terentatek."
"Ah," mused Dooku, flourishing his ligthsaber, "I see."
"Padawan Jinzler and Skywalker, retreat to the ships," orders Obi-Wan, "If we fail, you are to take off and return to Coruscant."
Oh for Kriff sake. DO THEY NOT LISTEN?
"We're not leaving you, any of you," says Anakin, and unlike with the possibility of the Terentatek, his voice is steel.
"Apprentice," says Sidious in an appalled tone, "This sentimentality is disgusting, how can you stand it?"
"Practice," she butts back mildly, then...
Then she flings open the gates.
She beckons Korriban.
It all rushes in, the Dark Hound in her mind sprints through the gate carried on the desert winds and slams into her, melding into her flesh. The Dark Side sings through her veins, and with a roar, Siri launches herself up the dune. Her purple saberstaff activates, and she goes for Sidious's throat. The ever mocking smile is on his face as he draws his own and parries aside her initial blow. She is more than aware he is mocking her with his lightsaber, but what the kriff else can she do? She needs him contained and focused on her so...
Of course not.
Dooku joins her moments later, coming at Sidious from behind, Jinn coming from the side, Kenobi moving to circle around to the other side.
Of course they don't listen.
They were all going to die here.
Stupid bloody fools.
"Well," muses Sidious, his lightsaber a blur as he so casually takes on four opponents at once, "Your power in the Force has relatively stagnated, but I suppose at least your skills with a lightsaber improved. Though I have to ask, what did you do to the kyber crystal?"
The indignation of it all. Of Sidious holding a conversation, mocking her, as if he's not being boxed in is infuriating.
He ducks a slash by Dooku, parries Siri's jab, throws a hand out to send Kenobi flying off the dune, and has Jinn jerked up into the air grabbing his throat without a shred of obvious effort. "You belong to me apprentice, there is no escape."
"She belongs to NO ONE you kriffing slaver sleemo!"
The dune they are on explodes under the force of Anakin's power.
Sidious gives a startled cry as he goes flying. Siri yelps as shes sent tumbling back down the remains one way, Dooku another, and Jinn just drops down onto the half-dune that remains. Siri glances towards Anakin, seeing the teen with his hand outstretched, fury radiating off him, Jinzler clutching his shoulder and whispering in panicked tones to him. Siri stretches out and feels...
"Anakin!" she roars, "Drop the anger, now! DO NOT USE THE FORCE ON KORRIBAN!"
If he can't control his emotions he cannot afford to use the Force here. He'll fall like a brick.
Jinzler tugs him back, continuing to whisper as the combatants right themselves. Dooku quickly rejoins Jinn, Obi-Wan jogging back from where Sidious had tossed him. The Dark Lord of the Sith himself is already walking back slowly, but his gaze is on Skywalker. "Impressive anger, I suppose."
For once, Siri is well and truly baffled. It almost sounds as if..., "I'd almost say you sound disappointed, Sidious."
"The boy has impressive power, to be sure, and is the obvious choice should you prove, unworthy," said Sidious, sheathing his lightsaber back into his robes, his mouth twisting into a mocking smile, "But it would be so easy to turn him. Tell me, apprentice, where would the sport be compared to our years together? I do look back on your insolence so fondly."
Before she can respond, lightning rips out of his hands at an insane speed. It arcs over an absolutely mind boggling distance and area. Obi-Wan, Jinn, Dooku, are brought to their knees in seconds, screaming and writhing in pain. Siri barely brings her lightsaber up in time to catch the parts directed at her, using Korriban's power to help steel herself under the assault. Anakin and Jinzler's screams sound seconds later. The amount of energy he's pumping into the ability to keep it up over such a distance is incredible, but his power doesn't fall in the slightest.
Facing Sidious on Korriban is suicide.
He has literal unlimited power here.
But...
Her eyes go wide.
So does she.
She doesn't have time to think out which would be the best, so she goes for one of the highest outputs for Sith Sorcery, one she needs High Sith for, and one she doubts she'd normally have the power for without being on Korriban. The burning language spills from her tongue, and the very sands of Korriban shiver under her feet to feel an incantation spoken upon its soil once more. "Nu tnamri ri dziana an ki waria, diâ andijki zo asimi iw jina'tis..."
Dark clouds rush to pool together in the skies overhead as the first verse finishes.
Sidious's lightning cuts off, and she feels his eyes boring into her.
Her tongue feels like its on fire. "Ri dziana jiti imdniji diâ ri dziana wirzansiti rauswas..."
Black and red lightning begins to crackle in the clouds overhead. The landscape is illuminated in an ominous glow.
"Sith Sorcery," states Sidious, stunned, "The holocron taught you Sith Sorcery?!"
A hole forms in the clouds above, lightning beginning to pool in its center. "Ri Jin' Tnirma tuti tinri tutsatsa, driyi risota, driyi natura..."
Sidious steels himself, the Dark Side flowing around him. But rather than try to stop her... she feels interest, eagerness, possessiveness, ownership. "Show me, apprentice, show me your power."
Siri's eyes are burning. Her entire body feels like its burning. She finishes the incantation and points her finger at him. "Hikiyitmi tuti wisa anas tuti naiti ir ri wisûo!"
A massive streak of red and black lightning bursts from the clouds above, raining down upon Sidious...
He laughs.
He laughs near hysterically as he throws his hands up to meet the lightning, the Dark Side pooling around him.
The sorcery impacts.
Everyone is knocked flat on their asses as it explodes, a wave of destructive energy washing over the area. The Jedi cry out in pain, but Siri...
Siri is laughing as hysterically as Sidious was.
She's never felt so Force damn high in her entire life. The Dark Side is a chorus in her ears. The filthy sensation she had before is gone, and now the echoes of Korriban resound through her. She feels as if terrible and hungry eyes are ravaging her body, claws gripping her body hard enough to scar and bleed. Korriban wants her, it wants to sink its fangs into her, drag her down into its depths beneath the sands, and never let her go. Part of her wants to let it. She's never felt the Dark Side so deeply as she has now. Not even on Naboo when she'd temporarily broken her chains. Nothing...
Nothing has ever felt like preforming Sith Sorcery, like performing an incantation in High Sith upon Korriban's soil.
"Magnificent, Lord Tyrosus," comes Sidious's exulted voice, "Magnificent."
No.
That's not possible...
He took that head on! THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!
She rises to her feet, blinking away spots. Waving her hand to force the dust clouds away...
Sidious is standing there, off in the distance.
Unharmed.
She stares at him, speechless.
"Had you used and hit me with such power outside of Korriban, not that you would have been able to do so elsewhere, I can admit I would have at least been wounded," mused Sidious, sulfur eyes gleaming out from under his hood, "But here? I have access to the same amount of power you do, and I know how to use it better."
The Jedi groan and bring themselves back to their feet. Siri twitches when most of their eyes land on her in disbelief, rather than keeping them on Sidious. She feels an odd amount of grief from Obi-Wan for some reason...
"Is it not glorious, Lord Tyrosus?" posed Sidious, "To cast off Siri Tachi's corpse? To embrace yourself, to embrace the Dark Side, in its fullest? Cast off these last chains, my apprentice, and return to your proper place. I will not be merciful, but in the face of this, I may offer leniency if you do so willingly. I could use you so well..."
Siri regards Sidious for a long moment, and then lets the Dark Side high slip through her fingers. "There is no difference."
He blinks, not following her words. "No difference?"
"Siri Tachi and Darth Tyrosus are one in the same," she says, clenching and unclenching her fists, "There is no difference. Taking up a new name doesn't magically kill who I was anymore than being Darth Sidious kills whoever you were. If you truly think it does, then you are naive and willingly blind."
The exulted look about him fades into annoyance and contempt. "Even when you impress me, somehow you still manage to ruin the moment with such disappointment."
She returns the look. "To be Sith is to evolve. To struggle. To change. I may not be the original Siri Tachi, but that isn't because she truly died. She changed, she became me. She most certainly isn't dead. Though I imagine at times the padawan I used to be would have preferred it."
Master and apprentice regard eachother for a long moment, dust kicking up and blowing between them...
Then a familiar hunger fills the air.
Siri hardly has time to swear before the wall of the tomb they exited from explodes from the force of the Terentatek smashing through it, roaring loud enough to shake the very air. There is a flicker of surprise and interest from Sidious. "A Terentatek? I see that you are not surprised, have you been hiding this from me as well?"
"We're old friends," said Siri flatly, half turning to regard the beast as it takes a few steps forward, "And like hell was I ever planning on informing you of that thing."
Sidious was dangerous enough without having a Terentatek at his command. Speaking of which, it pauses, growling deeply. Its hungry eyes flicker between the groups. The three Jedi Knights/Masters. Sidious. Siri. The two padawans. Drool drips down its chin, claws scraping one another, indecisive of where it should strike first. But she can feel the truth. It wants them all.
"What a magnificent beast," mused Sidious, "I had not thought they survived still on Korriban considering the last purges."
She feels Sidious reach out with the Force, pressing against the monster's mind, and all she can think is shit-shit-shit-shit...
Except the unexpected happens.
The beast bucks his touch, turning and snarling at him. She feels a swirl from the ancient Sith dead who dwell here, angry and possessive of their precious beast. Siri's eyes go wide, her breath hitches, and she sees a way out of this alive. She shoves down her force presence as much as possible, shoves the same thought down the bond to Kenobi, and crouches down to seem smaller, hissing out towards Anakin, "Push down your power as much as possible!"
Siri is never more thankful for Sidious being Sidious, for he has never been one to be denied his treat. He narrows his molten eyes at the Terentatek, and the pressure in the air, of the dark, intensifies, nearly bringing Siri to her knees. "You will obey me, beast, kill the Jedi."
It's response is to roar, brute force push right through his attempt to control it, and charge at him. Sidious's mouth twists into a furious scowl, he raises a hand, and lightning explodes out. But the Terentatek is a Force resistant beast, it plows right through the lightning and takes a swipe at him, much to Sidious's surprise, forcing him to dodge backwards. Then...
Then he stops holding back.
His presence fluctuates.
The next burst of lightning is at full intensity empowered by Korriban, and the Terentatek, a kriffing Terentatek, screams in pain and is brought to its knees.
"Run!" yells Siri.
Thankfully, for once the Jedi don't argue. They all sprint towards the way they came. Sidious roars, "APPRENTICE!"
But he cannot pursue, the moment he lets the lightning down, the Terentatek attempts to rise and strike at him. They run into the tombs, and Siri reaches up with the Force to collapse the ceiling as they run, either slowing Sidious down if he tries to pursue or forcing him to find another way. She does not collapse a little bit at the entrance. No, she's collapsing it as she goes. Because honestly, kriff Korriban and kriff the ghosts here. Regardless, they need to get off this hellhole. They need to get off this hellhole now.
"Siri, what the hell was that?!" demands Obi-Wan, "What did you do?"
"Not, now," she snaps.
"There will time for questions later, grandpadawan," says Dooku in a tired, strained voice.
She keeps her senses primed towards Sidious as they flee. His rage is a malevolent vortex in the Force, along with his frustration. She can feel him searching for a way to come after them, but the hunger of the Terentatek is always after him. If he spends the time to actually put the thing down, they're sure to get away. If he tries to avoid it and pursue them, it will nip at his heels, and a single mistake against a Terentatek is lethal. Not to mention he can't be so stupid as to put himself in a position where he is pincered between the Terentatek on one side, and them on the other. She did not stay to try to take advantage of the situation for the simple reason of a three way fight between her, Sidious, and a Terentatek is a kriffing stupid fight to take, but being pincered between them is another matter, and Siri can escape the beast if it comes down to it.
She feels it a few minutes later.
The shockwave of the Force.
Sidious's wrath is extreme.
The Terentatek's hunger is crushed under Sidious's power. She doesn't feel it die, but whatever he did certainly knocked it the kriff out. "Terentatek is down."
"Do we have enough of a lead to escape?" posed Dooku.
At least he's intelligent enough not to suggest going back and fighting.
"Less talking, more running," she says grimly as she feels Sidious gaze at them through the Force.
He is coming.
He is coming for them.
He is coming for her.
He is moving so much faster than the beast ever did.
They get off Korriban or they are dead to rights.
They make it back to Bane's chamber, but the way out is blocked...
And then its not, the wall rising up and clearing the way.
'Flee little sorceress,' comes a purr in her mind.
Siri blinks. Did she just get a blessing from these old bastards?
She feels it a second later. The ambient malevolence of this place, shifting, turning. Doors shifting and opening and closing all throughout the tombs. The path laid so clear for them, Sidious blocked at every turn. Siri... Siri is so confused with her life right now. All she can think is 'Why?'
She gets a sensation of hunger as her response. The feeling of someone pointing something out to her. It takes her but a brief moment to notice how... fresh... the Dark Side feels after that ritual. Power flows so readily through Korriban's dark soil. It begs for more, demands her power. Quiet chanting fills her ears, indistinguishable verses of rituals hosted here in ages long since past. Korriban hungers for more.
'You are in our debt,' whispers a voice, 'And you will return one day to preform more rites as payment.'
She purses her lips, but nods. 'Very well. If I'm alive when the time comes.'
'Oh little sorceress, he hungers for your power as readily as we do, he will not give up his desire, not after that. He will own and posses you, willingly or otherwise, unless you best him and take his place.'
Siri swallows, but doesn't respond.
They make it out of the tombs minute later. The Jedi pile into their ship, Siri begins to make for the one she stole, but Obi-Wan yanks her towards theirs. She sighs, but relents. Less than a minute later, the engines ignite and they shoot off into the atmosphere. Sidious's fury sends shivers down her spine. The padawan's clutch themselves, gasping. Qui-Gon grits his teeth, and Dooku closes his eyes, slumping against the wall. Obi-Wan sends them into hyperspace not long after, and there is quiet.
At least until he leaves the cockpit and stands in the doorway, staring her down.
Its an uncomfortable few minutes before he speaks, "No difference? You say there is no difference between you and the monster you became on Naboo?"
Of all the things to ask...
"I had a long time in that cell," said Siri, "To look back on Naboo, and you know what Kenobi? Those memories are no different than the rest. Being utterly consumed by the Dark Side does not make me a different person, just a fool who was willing to throw everything away for nothing but power."
His jaw sets. "And I suppose your eyes being the same now as they were then doesn't matter? Shall I be calling you Lord Tyrosus then if you are one in the same?"
Were they yellow now? Oh Sidious had to have been delighted. "Kenobi, I literally just preformed a high powered Dark Side piece of sorcery on Korriban. Its going to take awhile for that to bleed out of me."
He purses his lips, but seems grudgingly satisfied with the answer.
Dooku opens his eyes and looks bemused "A Sith calling herself a fool for chasing power?"
Siri doesn't answer.
She thinks of her early experiences with the Dark Side.
She thinks of how different the Dark Side feels; Fallen, dark but not quite fallen, and long ago as a Jedi.
She thinks of how the Dark Side had felt those few minutes she had broken her last chain on Naboo, on how she had welcomed it eating her alive for power.
She thinks of what she felt when Skywalker let her look through his eyes into the Force.
She thinks of how Korriban felt, before years ago and now earlier in the day.
She thinks of the magnificence of that ritual, the specific ritual hadn't mattered, just how she had channeled the Dark Side.
On how she hadn't been eaten alive for it after. Oh she could have been, if she hadn't let it slip through her fingers after, but she did.
Siri doesn't know what to make of it all. It feels like she's staring at something monumental, waiting for her to make some kind of realization, but she just doesn't know.
"Sith Sorcery," states Dooku, "Explain."
Siri shakes her head.
Dooku scoffs. "Do you think we're going to just leave it at that?"
"Do you have a means to force me to answer?" she rebutted.
"Shall we discuss instead what Darth Bane implied about the holocron?" posed Dooku.
"Rain has had a thousand years to do so, and she hasn't," said Siri, narrowing her eyes at Dooku, "Drop. The. Topic."
Dooku opens his mouth, but Qui-Gon cuts in. "Master, enough. Let it be for now. Granta Omega met an unfortunate end, and we've escaped that disaster with our lives, I'm more than content to call it a day without more bickering."
Dooku sighs, but relents.
Anakin fills the silence a few minutes later. "...how am I ever supposed to beat him?"
You already can.
The words rest on the tip of her tongue, but she keeps the comment to herself. He wouldn't appreciate nor understand it yet. Skywalker is at times, incredibly impressive and far more wise than he should be at age. He can also be as dense as duracrete. Telling him that he has all the power he needs before he actually knows how to use and control it will only get him killed at this point. She leaves the Jedi placation to the Jedi and leans her head back against the ship wall, tired.
Siri isn't invited to the debrief in the council room when they get back.
She waits outside, and after, Fay pretty much frog marches her to her room and revokes her travel privileges around the temple. Escort at all times or not at all. "Ungrateful, the lot of you."
Fay regards her coolly. "Ungrateful for what? Sidious's own words say that he would not have come if you had not enticed him there. You, Sith, put them in more danger than they already were. Your attachment blinds you as readily as it does anyone else."
"Can you say for certain they would have survived if I hadn't been there? If the Terentatek had found them without Sidious there to piss it off and draw its attention? If my stand in had been there in his steed and fought them?" Siri counters.
"Can you for certain say they wouldn't have survived? That the Terentatek was not drawn to the combined darkness of master and apprentice?"
Siri and Fay regard eachother for a tense moment before the latter shakes her head. "In light of what you've hidden, and you yet again breaching the rules of your parol, you will not leave this room without purpose. If it were up to me alone, that holocron would be destroyed for the danger it poses. I do not know why Yoda keeps speaking up on your behalf, but consider yourself fortunate or the response would have been worse."
Fay leaves without further word.
Rain materializes after the door closes, regarding Siri. "You wont have the advantage of surprise sorcery anymore."
"I'm aware," she answers dryly.
"Why in the nine Corellian Hells did you chose that incantation?" posed Rain.
"I was in a pinch!" she defended, "So I went for big!"
Rain rolls her eyes. "Something quicker and more deadly rather than flashier would have been better."
"Bite me."
"Tempting, but I wouldn't taste the blood."
Siri snorts. "Love you too Rain, you lucky little bitch."
Rain raises her eyebrow.
"You got to kill your Master. Twice."
Rain shrugs, a satisfied cat as she stretches out on the couch. "So I did. Who knows, maybe you'll get such a chance yourself."
Siri pauses on the way to the shower, not liking the way the Force rippled at those words. She brushed the thoughts off and walked inside. She leans against the wall, water running down her flesh, staring at the floor aimlessly, listening to the patter of water and slurp of the drain. She lets herself, in the confines of her quarter, of the small shower stall, finally unwind. She slumps down and lets it hit her.
Sidious wants her back as his apprentice.
That shouldn't terrify her as much as it does.
But its kriffing terrifying.
There was a time when she would have craved such possessiveness, such hunger for her, if not from Sidious than from Zannah.
But now...
He wants to own her and her power. Her potential.
Her desire to see him dead fights with her desire to hide away and never see him again for the rest of her life.
She knows she doesn't particularly have a choice.
Chapter 64: Dimming the Stars (Part 1)
Notes:
Last short arc before we scoot over to the end of Siri's parole. I think... 3 chapters total?
Chapter Text
Some say that discretion is the better part of valor, and really, that ought to be a Sith motto. The fact that after Korriban, she had heard and felt nothing from Sidious in any way-shape-or form for almost a bloody year makes Siri uneasy. Really, her time in the Jedi Temple on parole has been... relatively unmolested. Sure Sidious wiped something out of her memory in retaliation for her revealing secret, and sure, he came after them on Korriban (her, he still craved her as his apprentice and the thought never failed to make her shiver), but honestly, Korriban had been a given. So many things had been set up near perfectly for Sidious that it would have been stupid for him not to try. He cut her off from the Veil of the Dark Side, but she's glad he did. Aside from that... nothing.
She was so used to his punishments for even the slightest failures that as the months pass, she grows more on edge.
She knows of course that he's working on the Separatists, it has his name written all over it, as does C'Baoth. The idiot former Jedi might as well have 'Property of Sidious' stamped on his forehead, him and Krell both. What she's not sure about on that front is all the Jedi that went with them during/after the Schism. After the Second Huk War closed in a bloodbath in the Separatist favor, there had been surprisingly little information on the holonet on any Separatist Former-Jedi that wasn't C'Baoth himself, and very rarely Krell. At most, she had seen some hooded figures with lightsaber's serving as guards for C'Baoth or the Separatist Council on the holonet. She is... skeptical on C'Baoth being able to fool so many for so long, which leaves her suspicious on what he would be doing with them.
Or rather, she has an idea, but while C'Baoth is strong, if he tried to forcibly torture and turn the Jedi who went with him dark, there is no way they wouldn't overwhelm him. So... she's a little confused. Perhaps lacking information she supposes.
Either way... she has way to much time on her hands nowadays to think.
After Korriban, the Council had given her once chance to spill the beans on Sith Sorcery. She had of course refused, as it wasn't something Sidious related so they had no grounds to demand it of her. This in turn got her favorite play time mostly scrapped. She was very rarely requested for sparring, and even her time messing with the Jedi Shadows in their training exercises seemed to lessen. Of course, that might as well have been because the shadows were out doing something elsewhere, they couldn't stay in the temple all the time after all if they wanted to earn their keep.
This coupled with Anakin being off on missions with his Master more often than not was driving her up a wall. Even Kenobi was out with Jinzler with increasing frequency.
"Raaaaaaaain, entertain me!" whines Siri, poking the holocron with the Force.
The gatekeeper poofs out of her holocron, says, "Kriff off, I'm sleeping," and then vanishes again.
Everybody was a downer lately.
She contemplates bailing on her parole for the umpteenth time, but scraps the idea yet again. She's well over halfway done with it, so she might as well finish it...
She pauses when she senses Supernova's presence closing in on the temple. Finally. "Thirty minutes from him to mission debrief then its time for a lunch walk if I do say so myself."
Her non-existent audience agrees.
When she opens the door, the Temple Guard turn. "Reason for leaving?
"Lunch," she grits out.
Because she still hasn't had her normal travel privileges unrevoked after Korriban. It grates. The Temple Guard practically frog march her to the dining hall, and remain standing against the nearest wall, watching her. Still, true to teenage hunger, Skywalker ends up there after reporting in with his Master, who walks in with him. The boy looks tense for some reason. Curiously, she notes that Jinn spots her first, then nudges Anakin to the line. She watches, irritated, when Jinn apparently decides they're going to eat in their apartment. Siri decides she's eaten enough, drops off her tray, and makes to leave with them...
Then Dooku is there. "Walk with me Tachi."
She eyes him, but relents, the Temple Guard falling in behind them. "That wasn't the least bit subtle."
Were they all so pissy that they were going to be keeping Supernova away from her too?
"I profess ignorance," he says with amusement, "But regardless, I have been meaning to do this for awhile now."
"Do what," she asks.
"Tell me, would you be interested in speaking with Vosa?"
Well now, consider her willingly distracted from Skywalker, this could be amusing. "Whatever for?"
"I've hit a... block," he admits, "In her willingness to even speak with me anymore. Mostly she merely glares at me through the doorway if she even deigns to show herself."
"Not willing to go inside?" she taunts.
"She is not you, and I am not Knight Kenobi," he chides, "I only ever attempted it once."
"What happened?
"She went for my throat, with her teeth."
Siri snickers. "Not surprising. No lost love there it seems."
There is an awkward pause and uncomfortable sensation from him in the Force, but he smothers it. "No. There is not."
She considers prodding at him, but lets it go. She's more interested in poking at the Sith Acolyte. At her previous so called 'stand in', It had been a long while since she had taken Vosa's hands and delivered her to the Jedi. She wonders how captivity has treated her. Speaking of which..., "So, how have you dealt with Force Suppression?"
"We renovated," said Dooku mildly, "And attached a new empty room that is completely isolated save for a very small air vent and locked door that we control when it opens. We allow her half an hour of meditation a day."
Siri nods. "Would have been nice to have for myself."
"If it had existed then, you would likely still be in the cell," said Dooku mildly.
Siri scoffed. "If you hadn't handed me the trial on a platter, Sidious would have had me, or I would have been forced to escape during the transit between trial and temple."
"So sure of yourself."
"Dooku," she said flatly, "Considering how easy it was last time, yes, I could have escaped at will once I was out of the cell and centered again. I stay here because I choose to do so."
"Because you are attached."
Siri rolls her eyes. "Hypocrite."
Dooku doesn't deem that worthy of anything more than a derisive sniff.
They enter the lower levels, and before long, Siri stands infront of a very uncomfortably familiar cell. She raps on the wall next to it. "Knock knock Little Acolyte, its time we had a chat."
Dooku maneuvers himself so he is out of sight, but stands ready and attentive. She wonders what he is getting out of this, he hadn't even asked her to speak about anything specific.
Vosa comes into view in a standardized orange prison garb that Siri thankfully never wore. "Lord Tyrosus."
Siri glances down and whistles. "Nice mech-hands," her eyes flickering back up, a mocking smile on her face.
Vosa glares at her, but reigns her anger in, surprisingly successful for being in Force Suppression, but she'd had longer to practice. Vosa stares at her with cold intensity. "...what is Dun Moch?"
Siri blinks, and has to take a moment to figure out why Vosa was asking. Siri does vaguely recall baiting the acolyte with it when they fought. She goes with a textbook definition as an answer." Dun Moch is the art of distracting your opponent in battle, though its useful in far more than just combat. Generally, you distract with taunts, jeers, and jests to expose and draw out their weakness. To make your target doubt themselves, their beliefs, their intentions. It's especially useful against Jedi, as concentration is necessary for Jedi to use certain abilities. Not to mention pressuring them into a mistake."
Vosa considers her for a long moment before scowling. "I see."
Siri watches with interest as the white haired woman sits down crossed legged. "...why did you turn on Sidious? How did you even work up the nerve to?"
'How could she even consider facing that power' is the unasked question.
"I was always going to turn on Sidious," admitted Siri, "I was never a docile apprentice, at least, not since the start when I needed to shake off the last trappings of being a Jedi. I always challenged him, even with his punishments. I was afraid of him to be sure, but I mastered my fear, my anger," relatively," That is what makes us different then so many feckless dark neophytes throughout the galaxy. We rule our emotions, not the other way around."
Siri considers Vosa before allowing her a courtesy. She sits down and mirrors her, legs crossed, watching her watch Siri through the force field door. "I was always going to turn on him, it was merely a matter of when and how. This... wasn't how I imagined it happening, but its what I chose because I do not wish to let him take what is important away from me."
"So you protect the Jedi?" said Vosa, sneering.
"I couldn't give a flying kriff what happens to most of the Jedi Order so long as Kenobi and Skywalker survive," said Siri flatly, "Maybe Kenobi's extended lineage and friends because they are important to him, but otherwise? I could merrily watch the Jedi Temple burn and not care."
Vosa frowned, considering. "You were angry I maimed Skywalker, you referred to him as 'mine' I believe."
"I did," agreed Siri, "I am very possessive and protective of those I view as belonging to me."
She gets an air of heavy disquiet from Dooku at that.
Vosa frowned, nibbling on her lip. "You are strange for a Sith. Everything I have heard about in here, or even before, does not quite line up with Sidious's description of his most 'insolent' apprentice."
Siri laughs. "He always called me that so fondly."
"He was right on your skills, of course," admits Vosa, "But not on much else."
"Sidious does not really see people as people, just as tools and things to use, especially woman and non-humans," agreed Siri, "How was his training, hmm? Plenty of lightning?"
Vosa's face sours. "Far to much of it."
"He teased you with a holocron yet?"
"No," gritted out Vosa.
"Tsk," lamented Siri, "I suppose we couldn't all have our own Zannah."
Vosa slow blinks. "Who is Zannah?"
Now it was Siri's turn to sour. "Did he teach you nothing of our lineage? Vosa, what exactly was your training like?"
Vosa's jaw clenches. "What do you think it was like? Did Dooku not tell you anything we talked about before I asked for you here?"
Siri blinks and very carefully does not look at Dooku. "Ah... clever Jedi. He never mentioned that you were asking for me, nor did he mention what you and he talked about."
"So he held on my request and just all the sudden put you here?"
"How long ago did you demand to see me?"
"After the first month of wishing to tear your throat out for taking my hands," snapped Vosa, "I decided it would be more useful to speak with you instead."
"Pragmatic," mused Siri, turning over the idea in her mind that Vosa had been wanting to speak to her for quite a long time now and she never heard anything about it, "Perhaps they were afraid of me being a bad influence."
Vosa scoffed. "I'm already fallen, I'm already a Sith Acolyte. To me, the only good Jedi is a dead one, especially my old master. So what are they expecting?"
"Especially viscous," mused Siri, "You really hate Dooku, why?"
Vosa bared her teeth in a snarl. "Not all of us are lucky enough to have the one fool we loved return it."
Siri was about to comment on Kenobi being far to platonic about it before it hit her what Vosa said. "Gross, he's old enough to be your grandfather."
"I didn't care at the time," snapped Vosa, "But rather than accept, or even just say no, he threw me away! Ended my apprenticeship! The temple was my home and they cast me off!"
"So bitter," mused Siri, a delighted smile on her face.
"You think its funny?" gritted out Vosa.
"Oh, Jedi missteps are always funny when they come back to bite them," mused Siri, "They handled an unusual and problematic padawan in a poor over-the-top way, and lost said padawan to the Dark Side. You'll find, Vosa, that this is a very common theme among the Jedi all throughout their history."
Vosa raised a single eyebrow. "I was lead to believe you chose the Dark Side at least somewhat willingly."
"Oh, I did," agreed Siri, "In order to attain the power to kill Sidious, but I wasn't talking about me. More recently, do you recall Xanatos?"
Vosa wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Absolute arrogant bastard that one."
"From everything I heard, I agree," said Siri, "But sending him on a mission against his own father was both a conflict of interest and cruel all the same. He wasn't tortured Dark like you were by the Bando Gora, but it wasn't a fair choice. Though I suppose it was still his choice either way."
She recalls Obi-Wan being a pest about that in one of their cell arguments years ago. Unfair choice, but still his choice. "Though speaking of the Gora, I'm rather curious, last I knew before you popped up as an Acolyte, you weren't quite... sane. How'd Sidious deal with that?"
Vosa freezes, loses all color in her already pale skin, and starts shaking. "I... I'm not talking about it."
Oh she wishes for a moment Vosa was out of that cell, her terror would be delicious. "Having someone root around in your head is never fun, is it?"
Vosa gets up and walks away deeper into her cell.
Siri huffs a laugh. "Bye Vosa, such a shame about you and Dooku. If you'd had brats they would have been disgustingly adorable, in a prissy bloodthirsty way."
Dooku makes a small noise of disgust. Vosa yells back, "Kriff off!"
"Well, if that's all, I'm off, I doubt we'll be speaking again," called in Siri.
She waits a few moments, and sure enough, Vosa crawls back, glowering at her. "I want to make you an offer."
"Do you?" mused Siri, "And what is it?"
"You could teach me," said Vosa hungrily, "And together, we could destroy Sidious."
Siri smiled thinly. "Ah. Let me guess, you might have said something like that to Dooku. He would have pushed off our meeting for it. But there is one thing both of you failed to consider Vosa, you maimed Anakin, and I am not the forgiving sort. You will never be my apprentice, I'd sooner kill you than take you on."
Vosa glared. "You maimed me back!"
"I did, and that hasn't made me close to satisfied," said Siri, smiling widely, "Sith don't just get even, Vosa, they go beyond revenge. So, you had best hope you stay inside this cell for the rest of your life, because all I need is an excuse, Vosa, and you will regret being born."
Siri rises and sweeps away, walking past Dooku who falls in behind her.
"Learn anything new?" she pokes.
"Perhaps," was all he said.
"On the offchance I said yes to her offer, what would have been the Jedi's response?" she posed.
"No," was the short answer.
She laughed. "Good, good. I do hope she enjoys that cell for the rest of her life, or until Sidious razes the temple and kills her."
She can feel him glaring at her, but doesn't comment back. He serves as an escort back to her room, but she pauses in the doorway, slowly looking off in the distance towards the Skywalker/Jinn apartment. She feels...
"What's up with Supernova?" she poses, "Haven't felt this bungle of emotions from him since he lost his arm to Vosa."
There is a wind of frustration, anger, and helplessness that the boy is trying, and failing to suppress.
"Its nothing to concern you," said Dooku coldly, "We have been far to liberal with your freedoms over your parole. In-case you haven't noticed, that ended when you slipped out to go to Korriban. Stay away from my Grandpadawan."
He turns and stalks off. She watches him go, lips pursed tightly, before she turns and walks into her apartment. She considers her apartment and herself for a moment before shaping an air of boredom around it and herself. Its not quite an invitation, the Jedi probably wouldn't react well to her trying to get Skywalker here intentionally, but it's served to drag him to her before when he's equally bored and looking for someone to pester or get his mind off things.
He doesn't come that day.
He doesn't come that week, before he ships out again.
But all the while, that mixture of emotions from him is still there, peaking at morning when he wakes up, but weaker during the day until it builds back up towards when he's going to sleep.
Curious...
Chapter 65: Dimming the Stars (Part 2)
Chapter Text
Skywalker returns two weeks later, perhaps even more miserable than before, with a tint of fear to his presence.
Go Go Go...
Siri slowly sits up on her couch, pausing her lazing, head tilted in curiosity. Well now, it wasn't often the Force directly prodded her like this. It wants her to speak to Skywalker. She considers it for a moment, and dwells for a few hours on how best to approach it. She decides to go the careful route first and waits for Kenobi. Since apparently the Jedi are cracking down on her parole. From what she recalls him saying last time he was in, he ought to be back sooner rather than later from his current mission.
It takes another two boring days, in which, the Force keeps prodding at her...
Aid.
Go.
Save.
Save what? Save who?
She feels a surge of very real anger from him at one point, and an irritated response from Jinn. An argument, but again, she learns nothing further. Kenobi returns later that day near nightfall, and she raps on the wall between them when he finally makes his way inside. "Kenobi, get in here, we need to talk."
There is a pause, then a very loud sigh. "Can it wait until tomorrow Siri? The mission and council meeting were exhausting."
"Whats up with Supernova?" she demands through the wall.
She feels his exasperation. "I don't know, and yes, I can feel it too from here. I've heard the comments already about him needing to meditate on his anxieties in passing. I'll check on him in the morning."
Siri scowls as she feels him move away from the wall, settling in for another night.
The Force keeps pressing, and it makes for shitty sleep to wake up every so often to a 'Go'. She ignores it, though she is a bit baffled. She is a Sith, saving someone really isn't her thing. Unless of course it involves killing someone in order to do so. That she could readily do. And wouldn't that be nice, to be asked something by the Force very much in her skillset. Tee hee.
The morning comes after a night of drawing the Dark around herself to block out the Force interrupting her beauty sleep. She can faintly hear Kenobi and Jinzler in the next apartment, starting their day. Shower, meditation, then they leave for the dining hall. It takes an annoying long time for Kenobi to return, but she did sense him in Jinn's vauge direction, so she doesn't complain when he walks into her apartment.
"Good morning, Siri."
"Kenobi," she drawled.
He sighed softly. "It was kind of you to inquire about Anakin, but Qui-Gon tells me its nightmares giving him anxieties and that he'll deal with it."
That was... vague and unhelpful. "...is the Force prodding you about it?"
He slow blinks. "...to speak with Anakin?"
"Yes."
"I mean... I felt a nudge?" he said slowly, "He did look rather stressed, I could go and give him an ear to speak to."
A nudge was all he felt? She feels like she's getting prodded by a stick.
"How have you been?" he asked, "We haven't really spoken in quite some time."
"I'm bored out of my mind," she said flatly.
"Yes, well, considering just how much you are holding back about yourself and your capabilities, the Council is being rightly cautious," he answered in an annoyingly reasonable tone, "And that you broke your parole, again. You're fortunate they decided not to mention it to the Senate, or you could have found yourself here longer."
Most likely because they don't want to have to admit publicly that they can't actually contain her outside of a Force Suppressant Cell unless she plays along. Wouldn't be good for the Jedi image.
Siri makes a face. "You're welcome."
He sighs once more. "I'm glad that you were worried for us, but, I do lean towards Master Fay's thoughts that Sidious may not have come for us if you hadn't been there. But of course, I acknowledge that it is not a guarantee."
"Even if so," she growled out, "How do you think facing the Sith Apprentice there on Korriban would have gone for you?"
She'd mention the Teretatek, but she is pretty sure the old Sith ghost bastards had sent it after her and not them.
"I don't know," admits Kenobi, "To be frank, I wasn't exactly convinced prior to Sidious appearing that Grant Omega was being taken seriously by the Confederacy, since Arbor had made no further appearances."
Siri groans. "That woman is going to be a nightmare at some point, mark my words."
"Oh, on this, I wholly agree," said Obi-Wan, grimacing, "That creature needs to be in prison for the rest of her life."
Siri grins toothily. "Why Kenobi, no chance for redemption with that one?"
He gives her a flat look. "You were there when we rescued Qui-Gon from her years ago. If there was ever anything good in that woman, it died a long, long time ago."
Siri looks away. She'll give him that one. "...yeah. Honestly, I want to make taking care of her a priority once I'm out of here."
Obi-Wan closes his eyes. "...Siri please do not mention plans of premeditated murder to me, no matter whether the person deserves it or not. A Jedi does not take justice into their own hands.
"Not a Jedi," she sing-songed.
"Fine then, please do not cause an incident that would give the Confederacy a reason to declare open war on the Republic," he said flatly.
"Obi-Wan," she said quietly, "You know that is where things are going regardless. Sidious will have his war."
He folds his arms into his robes. "Perhaps, perhaps not. But we will not give him the public backlash of us instigating it."
She considered him for a moment. "Well, at least the Jedi have learned something. But who starts the war I don't think will matter in the long run."
She stares him straight in the eye. "I don't believe he intends for any of you to be alive by its conclusion. I've warned you before we're almost at the endgame. Its just around the corner Obi-Wan, and I don't believe the Jedi Order has done or changed nearly enough to survive it."
He went quiet for a minute eyes distant. "Perhaps, perhaps not. We'll see. We've taken measures either way."
She raises an eyebrow.
He smiled thinly but didn't respond.
She didn't press further. "Suppose that's it for now. Say hi to Supernova for me."
"I suppose it is," he said, tipping his head and walking out.
The more time that passes, the more restless Siri gets. If Kenobi's talk with Skywalker even happened, it did nothing to quiet the insistence of the Force.
She parks herself frequently in the dinning hall, three times a day for meals. She rarely sees Skywalker alone, and she honestly rarely sees him there at all. Either he's eating at off-hours... or he's not eating at all. The one time she does see him passing close enough to her table...
"You alright Supernova?" she poses cautiously, noting the bags under his eyes.
He doesn't even look at her, just grits out with hostility. "I'm fine."
Bantha shit.
But he's already gone, grabbing his food, and stalking off back to the Jinn/Skywalker apartment, a tut of disapproval in the Force from various Jedi at his sourness bleeding out into the Force. She wars with tracking him down VS getting the Jedi Council on her ass. If Dooku's warning it to be taken seriously, its likely they want her to not interact with Skywalker anymore. She normally wouldn't care, but she has the feeling that she's treading on thin ice, that she has been since Korriban. She revealed a hand she hadn't wanted to reveal until it was time to kill Sidious.
Now both he and the Jedi Council knew about Sith Sorcery. That she was adept in it, even if the Jedi would know less about what that means than Sidious would.
She doesn't want to give them an excuse to go to the courts to challenge her parole, even if she doesn't think they'd want to reveal they can't actually control her. If she did something they might not, but she does feel that there would be consequences one way or another. She dwells on it for a few days, until...
She wakes up.
There is no more insistence from the Force.
Its... quiet.
She goes through her morning in an uneasy silence. Its about lunch time before she prods the Force, because really, the Force had kept pushing and pushing and pushing her to speak to Skywalker, and all of the sudden, it stopped caring? It made no sense to her, there was just a growing sense of sadness of... of...
Too late, too late, too late...
Icy dread filled her, her lips closed tightly. Kriff, she waited to long.., no, no, she refuses to believe that. She stopped believing in fate and destiny and the Will of the Force a long time ago. She will find out whats wrong, and she will deal with it. She waits until dinner and then slips away when she rounds a corner ahead of the guards tailing her, cloaking herself and sending an illusion along. She makes her way steadily through the Jedi Temple, and into the Jinn/Skywalker apartment. The Master was out wherever, Skywalker was sulking in his room. She opens the door, slips in, closes it, shields the room, and unmasks herself.
Skywalker doesn't even react, he merely sits on his bed, staring down at his hands.
"You look like hell froze over Supernova," commented Siri.
He startles briefly, glancing over at her. "What are you doing here?"
She stares at him for a long moment. "What is going on? You've been brooding for ages, and I've been told off for wanting to come and see you, at least until I decided enough what enough and masked my way in."
"They're going to be annoyed if they find you talking to me."
"I don't care. What is the problem?"
He swallowed thickly and looked away. "I've... been having dreams."
Her eyes narrow. "Dreams? Or dreams?"
"Doesn't matter," he answers bitterly, "As my master says, 'dreams pass in time'."
Of all the stupid shit... "That's absurd. There is an entire portion within the Jedi Order, the counselors and seers, that are prone to visions. Regular knights, hell, even padawans and initiates get them. They can be sneaky little things, with hidden meanings and messages, that can be misread by your own desires and fears, but they should never be ignored."
"You've... had them?" asked Anakin, hopeful.
"Once in a long while, but I'm not prone to them, and they're generally not clear for me," she admitted, "That doesn't mean I ignore their importance. Your master is a Living Force fanatic, the Unifying Force is beyond his grasp. And while having such a teacher can help ground you from intense visions, 'dreams pass in time' is a piss poor way to deal with them."
There is a flicker of anger, but it's battled by conflict. His desire to defend his master VS his agreement with her.
"What is the vision?"
"Visions or... or nightmares," he said quietly, "They've been going on for months now."
Ice pours down her spine. "Months?!"
Oh, now it makes plenty of sense. She had been the last resort of the Force since apparently everyone else was being an idiot and doing nothing about its warnings.
"I mean... it wasn't bad at first, I just saw mom doing things... you know, day to day stuff. It was... nice," said Anakin, smiling a little, before it fell away, "But then it started changing slowly. I started smelling smoke, then fire, then burning flesh. There was a shadow following behind my mother, and the people she... belonged to or lived with, back to their house."
"A shadow?" asks Siri warily.
"I don't know, it kept shifting and changing," said Anakin before he grimaced, "That's when I started trying to talk to my master, but... he just kept telling me to let go of my mom, concentrate on the here and now, dreams pass in time. Master Dooku wasn't much help either, he just quotes Yoda and says 'always in motion, the future is'."
"That's true," said Siri, "But when it repetitious like that... the Force can be subtle, Skywalker, but it can also beat you over the head with a club."
"You... you think its a warning then? Something bad is going to happen to mom?" he asked, honestly scared.
"The Force speaks louder to you then it does the rest of us Skywalker," she answered, "If its telling you something, you should listen to it."
He wrings his hands together, and she starts feeling deep fear from him. "This last week... I've been seeing the house burning. I..."
He choked. "I see her burning..."
Too late, too late, too late...
"I'll go."
Anakin startled. "What?"
"I'll go find and protect her until the threat is over."
Anakin stared at her, wide eyed. "You... what? But... but you can't leave the Temple!"
"Watch me," said Siri flatly.
For a moment, Skywalker looked so completely and utterly vulnerable. His voice is gutted and raw and desperate. "Why?"
Siri opened and closed her mouth a few times, not sure how to answer, that Skywalker had become fairly high ranked on the small list of people she liked. Instead, "I will leave tonight, I want you to fill a datapad out with all the information you can. Who owned her, where she lived, what she looked like, all of that. It will take me time to find her, that should shrink that timeframe. Understood?"
Relief pours out of him, he nodes and immediately starts ruffling through his room looking for one.
She smiles as he tosses aside junk and clothes in his search. "Let me know how much of a storm I kick up when I leave when I get back."
He snorts. "Its going to be like watching a podwreck."
He gets a datapad, but doesn't turn it on, glancing at her with worry. "Do you promise you'll keep her safe?"
"I promise."
Too late, too late, too late...
The Force can go kriff itself.
She watches impatiently as he fills out the information and hands her the datapad. She nods once and leaves, cloaking herself and making towards the hanger, timing her entry with another to cover the door opening incase they're tracking that sort of thing nowadays. She directs her illusion, solidifying it for a brief time, and has it take its tray of food back to her apartment. It sets the tray down on the table, and retires to her room. She keeps a loose connection to it incase someone comes in to speak with her, but otherwise she watches the hanger activity, considering when to go that wont be immediately noticed.
Her time comes shortly before the close of the day, a ship prepping to leave with an escort. She slips into another ship, and when they take off, she leaves with them. She wonders if they even bothered to notice they had an extra, they were kind of careless about Temple security if she's honest. Or at least, not careful to the degree a Sith would be. When they leave for hyperspace, she doesn't. She actually had to waste time looking up where the hell Tatooine's coordinates were and groans.
"We'll, at least I'll have time to read the notes he gave me," she mutters to herself, punching them in and entering hyperspace...
Chapter 66: Dimming the Stars (Part 3)
Chapter Text
Sidious leans back in his chair, looking thoughtfully at Jedi Master Windu and Fay standing across his desk from him. "Do you believe Tachi will return?"
Windu folds his arms into his robes. "Likely, but it still does not excuse that she has, yet again, broken her parole."
"Yes, quite," he agrees quietly, "But like last time, she did it for the sake of others, so I am loathe to advise discipline in what should be wanted behavior from her."
Not wanted for a Sith of course, her attachment to Skywalker is an annoyance, but he doesn't believe it will hamper him in the long run. She is also far too late to stop what is to come. The bounty hunter should be taking care of that pathetic little slave wench today. Tachi doesn't have enough time to finish traveling through hyperspace to get there in time. She shouldn't have enough time to find the bounty hunter before they get off planet either... but it wouldn't hurt to send a message that they're being pursued and to get off-world. The bounty hunter could have further use and he'd rather not lose it because they wanted to get drunk post-mission at a bar.
He clears his throat. "There is also the matter that I am curious about. I am not so knowledgeable about... visions I believe their called? Tachi obviously believes there is merit to Young Skywalker's dreams. Does the Jedi Order disagree?"
Oh, please say they disagree. He will gladly show that to Skywalker as yet another way to drive a wedge between him and the Order. They just keep offering these to him on a platter. Its honestly ridiculous on how little he has to try.
Windu and Fay exchange glances. The latter speaks, "We were not aware of it. I personally had thought whatever issues Padawan Skywalker was having was a matter his Master would handle. After digging into it while investigating Tachi's disappearance... I wish the padawan had approached someone else about it."
Windu nods. "Qui-Gon Jinn, while he acknowledges them, has notorious dislike for Force Visions after a rather unfortunate incident in his youth involving misreading them. It makes him... cautious..."
Not to mention Sidious's own needling of Jinn about Shmi Skywalker could have also influenced the decision. Such rewards reaping themselves later on is oh so gratifying.
Windu hasn't stopped speaking, "...after asking Master Dooku, he had not been aware of the repetitious nature of the dreams, he'd only been asked the one time by Skywalker. I'm not sure what should have been done about it either way, as it is not the Jedi Way to leave those in dire need to fend for themselves when we know if it. But we have been stretched thin as of late, and Skywalker would not be involved with whatever the end result would have been, as it would increase his attachment and have him emotionally compromised during any mission involving seeking out his mother."
Fay sighs softly. "We also do not have jurisdiction there either. Shmi Skywalker is a slave last we knew, we cannot simply go and take her to safety. We cannot leave a team in the area indefinitely if there is no immediate threat, and purchasing her freedom is, unfortunately, not something we can do without setting a precedent that could be taken as 'why don't we buy everyone's freedom' and 'its okay to buy slaves' even if we were to free them after. Qui-Gon Jinn was fortunate to get away with the heavy handed way he attained Padawan Skywalker's freedom as it is."
Sidious does a fake grimace. "Yes, I wasn't exactly thrilled myself to hear that Anakin had participated in a podrace, as much as it did help the then Queen Amidala. Especially less-so when I learned of Master Jinn's 'gambling'. Sometimes I did wonder if it had occurred to him at all what it would have done if Anakin hadn't been able to win. The predicament it would have placed them in, and the crushing guilt it would have put on the poor boy."
"The council was not particularly impressed with him," agreed Windu, "But we had other more pressing matters than Qui-Gon Jinn following his own desires and chalking it up to the Will of the Force yet again."
"Mm, quite," said Sidious, noncommittal, "Still, I hope nothing ill befalls the poor woman. She's already suffered enough."
He had given orders for the death to be painful, he hoped the bounty hunter doesn't disappoint.
"As for Tachi herself," he muses, "I don't believe bringing this before the courts is the best course of action, but I do agree that, in light of yet another breach in her parole, there needs to be consequences."
He has things coming up that he does not want to risk his insolent renegade apprentice getting involved in if she has another flight of fancy. "Revoking of all travel privileges around the temple potentially? A house arrest, limiting her solely to her apartment, for the remainder of her parole perhaps?"
"Quite agreeable," said Master Fay, "I will recommend it to the rest of the Council.
Good, good. He'd rather she be locked down until the expected time. "Good, keep me appraised upon her return."
"Of course, Chancellor," said Windu before both Jedi bowed and made to leave...
MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Both Jedi give small shrill shrieks and crash to their knees. Sidious grimaces at the psychic scream ripping through the Force, clenches his jaw, and gives a small gasp. "M-master Jedi, are you alright?"
He feels something trickling down his nose and quickly wipes it on the underside of his arm-is that blood? Did that slave brat give him a nose-bleed just by screaming in the Force? He smothers his anger with the potential question if he killed anyone closer to him with that. Or at least damaged them. It would be a pleasant surprise. But still, perhaps Sidious should have waited until he was off planet and on the other side of the galaxy for the bounty hunter to make the kill, because that had been... unpleasant.
Both Jedi shakily rose to their feet, Fay swayed a bit before taking in a shaky breath. "Padawan Skywalker screamed in the Force."
"Oh... oh dear," said Sidious, "Oh dear."
Windu massages his face and swears quietly under his breath. "I believe we need to return to the temple, now."
He watches them rush out before rising to his feet and making way to the window, staring out at the Jedi Temple. He raises his arm and twists the clothes, glancing at the small blood smear.
He scowls and turns away.
Obi-Wan is running through the halls of the temple, Jinzler at his heels despite the dizziness and pain she got from the backlash of that scream. Sweet Force, and Obi-Wan thought he had been a projector when he was young. That was... that was brutal. There are Jedi standing around dazed, or helping one another back to their feet. He had a sense that the Halls of Healing were going to be a mess after this, and he hopes that the scream hadn't given any of the elders a heart attack or damaged anyone in intensive care. The creche was a bit more shielded, so he was at least somewhat confident none of the youngest and most vulnerable had received permanent damage.
But still..
Sweet Force...
The only thing he feels from the bond to Qui-Gon is a high pitched whine and a sense of 'painfully dazed'. His old Master had been right with Anakin if he felt right, right at the epicenter, he's definitely going to need medical attention if not a mind healer to make sure there isn't permanent damage.
"Master... what was that?" asked Jinzler finally, "Anakin?"
Obi-Wan's jaw clenches. "That, was Anakin suffering a great tragedy, and him most likely going to be upset with all of us for a very long time."
To say the least. Kriff, just kriff. He hadn't thought it had been anywhere near this bad until the Council had got involved with Siri's latest disappearance and started asking questions. Anakin had been one of the first questioned since he had suddenly been in a good mood right after her disappearance after being so sour for so long, and well... after a great deal of prodding...
Months.
Premonitions for months.
Why hadn't the teenager mentioned it when they were talking? Anakin just... seemed so unwilling to trust in him, in anyone really. Only Qui-Gon, and Siri he supposed, and that hadn't been enough. The lack of trust in others aside from a very specific few... its not a good thing as a Jedi, not a good thing at all. He's not sure what they would have done if they had all the details from the get go, but... he hopes something. He's not sure either way, and now its too late regardless, and...
And...
He feels the rage and anger and grief.
Then he feels Qui-Gon's agony.
Oh kriff.
Obi-Wan taps into the Force and speeds down the halls at a rapid pace, sidestepping around or leaping over others until he barrels into the Jinn/Skywalker apartment...
"...YOUR FAULT!" screamed Anakin, eyes mad with pain and suffering, "ITS YOUR FAULT!"
Qui-Gon Jinn is slammed into the wall of the apartment, clutching his throat with his hands, face shading, held there choking by Anakin's titanic grip in the Force.
"Anakin stop!" cries out Obi-Wan.
The teen snarls and waves a hand...
"Omph!" exclaims Obi-Wan before he's slammed into a wall and slides down, dazed by the force of the blow.
Jinzler arrives in time to see it, and see Qui-Gon. She leaps across the room and tackles Anakin to the ground. "Anakin get a hold of yourself!"
Qui-Gon crashes to the floor, taking deep, pained, rasping breaths.
"SHE'S DEAD!" screamed Anakin, sobbing, "SHE'S DEAD AND ITS HIS FAULT!"
Obi-Wan forces himself to his feet and rushes over to help his padawan with tackling Anakin and forcing the crying teen into place. "I'm sorry Anakin, I'm sorry, shh, it will be okay, shh..."
"Siri said," Anakin hiccuped, "She promised she'd save her..."
"Siri is likely to not even be out of hyperspace yet," said Obi-Wan softly, "I'm so sorry."
Anakin clutches Obi-Wan and sobs into his tunic. Its only Qui-Gon's rattling breath that forces his attention away. "Padawan, please help Master Jinn to the Halls of Healing."
"If... if you're sure," she said slowly, her fear for his own safety apparent.
"I'm sure," he answers, "Go."
Jinzler puts Qui-Gon's arm over her shoulder and drags him from the room, leaving Obi-Wan with the distraught teen. He hefts him up and carries him to the apartment's couch. Definitely not as easy to lift as he was when he was nine.
"It... its like...," rasps Anakin, "Its like there is a hole in me... it hurts... it hurts so much..."
Obi-Wan purposes his lips. A hole? That suggests...
Anakin had premonitions for months... he was powerful in the Force, but to feel someone's death across the galaxy? Did he perhaps... had there been a Force Bond to his mother? Even potentially worse, had she been Force Sensitive as well and reciprocated it unknowingly? Oh dear... oh dear...
"Oh brother padawan mine," he said sorrowfully.
Anakin is definitely going to need to have a mind healer check for a ruptured bond, especially one that would be as deep as a Force Sensitive mother and son who only ever had eachother to rely upon during their time together as slaves. That would... he had never even thought about that before now...
He holds him until the teen had exhausted himself to a fitful shaking state before summoning the Force for strength and steadily walks to the Halls of Healing. He drops Anakin off with a healer, a promise to return, and seeks out his old Master to see how he's doing. He finds Master Che tending to Qui-Gon's neck, healing light emanating from her hands. Jinzler is there standing by the door.
"I'd prefer if you talked as little as possible for the next few days, not that you will listen," said Master Che, "Be careful eating, and for Force sake, do not do anything to re-injure the area anytime soon. Considering the strain I feel you are very lucky your neck wasn't snapped."
"I would have deserved it," said Qui-Gon softly, "I always fail my padawans..."
Oh not this again.
"Feemor, Xanatos, too many times in Obi-Wan's apprenticeship, and now Anakin..." he rasps.
"What did I say about talking?" snapped Master Che.
Obi-Wan frowned. Who was Feemor? To his knowledge, Qui-Gon hadn't had an apprentice before Xanatos...
The door opens behind him, and he turns his heed to see Dooku walk in, worried eyes looking over Qui-Gon who doesn't even seem to realize anyone else is in the room. Obi-Wan nudges him and nods towards the door, and they step out.
"Jinzler sent me a com message, how is he?" asked Dooku.
"He'll survive, but I fear he is going to enter another episodic like when Tahl passed, or I imagine like it would have been when Xanatos fell."
Dooku grimaced. "I suppose I don't need to ask the specifics of what happened considering the Council's recent questioning and Skywalker's Force Scream."
Obi-Wan sighs and shakes his head. "No, but I don't think any of us considered that his mother might have been Force Sensitive, and had a bond between them."
Dooku scowled. "Would one truly have lasted these years?"
"He's the most powerful Force Sensitive ever born," Obi-Wan reminded, "And he is a very attached individual."
Dooku sighed and rubbed his face. "Point."
Obi-Wan likes his lips. "Qui-Gon mentioned..."
He hesitates, unsure how to ask, or if he truly wants to know.
"Grandmaster," asked Obi-Wan slowly, "Who is Feemor?"
Dooku froze, and for perhaps the first time ever, Obi-Wan saw Yan Dooku look so mortified he thought the man might faint as he near squeaks out, "He never told you?"
"No?"
Dooku swears under his breath. "Damn you Qui-Gon Jinn for forcing this on me."
Oh that's a lovely start and promises nothing good.
"Feemor was... Qui-Gon Jinn's first apprentice," admits Dooku, and Obi-Wan's heart lurches to hear those words, "But after Xanatos fell to the Dark Side... well... Qui-Gon never reacts well to such personal loses. He swore off his first apprenticeship and dismissed it as a fluke that never happened, even going as far as to badger the record keepers about pulling it from his files, then he cut ties with Feemor."
Obi-Wan gapes, because really, there isn't a proper response to that.
"I'd tell you to close your mouth, but I understand the sentiment," said Dooku mildly, "We were all thankful that Feemor was a knight of his own and couldn't actually be repudiated that way and lose his Knighthood. Qui-Gon was in pain over the loss and was looking to assign blame. He chose everyone around him, save Tahl of course, and it was around that time we truly fell out of touch, but as he tends to do, he blamed himself the most."
"It doesn't excuse what he did to Feemor, that's...," Obi-Wan shakes his head, "Of all the bantha shit he's ever done..."
"Quite," agreed Dooku, "I do care for my padawan, and think he is a good man. But when truly terrible events happens and he makes choices, well, they tend to go very wrong. I wasn't close with Feemor myself, but we do occasionally speak and have tea once every few years when we're both on-site, have a spare moment, and think to do so. He trained a padawan himself to Knighthood, but hasn't taken another since to my knowledge."
He hesitates. "...I could introduce you two sometime? Perhaps invite you to our next tea?"
"I would appreciate meeting my brother-padawan," agreed Obi-Wan mildly, "But right now I want to either scream at Qui-Gon on his behalf, or go check on Anakin."
"Oh by all means," said Dooku, motioning back to the door, "I can keep an eye on Young Skywalker..."
He hesitates. "As I feel at least somewhat responsible that I did not press more."
"It goes both ways," said Obi-Wan softly, "He didn't trust in us with the full extent of it either."
Dooku sighed and walked off.
Obi-Wan walked in and dismissed Jinzler, "Padawan, get yourself checked by a healer then you have the rest of the day to rest that Force Scream off. No strenuous activity, and no active use of the Force for the time being."
"Yes Master," she said and walked out.
He crosses his arms and waits until Master Che is done with Qui-Gon and leaves the brooding man.
"Qui-Gon," he said slowly, "Why did you never speak of Feemor with me?"
The man blinks at him slowly. "Feemor?"
He blinks rapidly and rises to his feet. "Feemor, yes, he was a good boy. He didn't deserve what I did to him, he could help Anakin, he could take over his mastership, surely he'd be willing."
Obi-Wan startles. "Excuse me?"
Qui-Gon brushes past him and leaves the room.
"Qui-Gon!" Obi-Wan exclaims, but the man is already gone, his giant strides carrying him down the hallway.
Obi-Wan groans and lets his head thud against the nearest wall, muttering, "My master is a walking disaster."
He takes in a deep breath and starts after him. As much as he loves his lineage, sometimes Obi-Wan truly wishes he had a calmer, quieter one. He follows Qui-Gon's presence, and gets a firsthand meeting with his brother padawan screaming in Qui-Gon's face. He is tall for a human, but not quite as giant as Qui-Gon himself. He had fair skin, shortly trimmed blond hair, blue eyes that he could imagine might usually be calm if they weren't a storm now. He bore the standard Jedi Robes, and had a single lightsaber at his belt.
"...and the first thing you say to me in years is a demand that I take on your padawan?!" roars Feemor, "Qui-Gon are you out of your mind?"
"I'm sorry Feemor," said Qui-Gon hoarsely, "I did upon you a cruelty you didn't deserve, I recognize that, but... Anakin hates me now, I saw it, I felt it. I don't... I don't think he will want me as his master anymore. He shouldn't be forced to have me."
Feemor grits his teeth. "How about you ask him first before you dump him on another Jedi? I can guess he is angry and upset over whatever the hell that screaming was, but suddenly tossing him away is not going to help. I know from experience. Give him a chance to calm down and..."
"My doubts and inaction got his mother killed."
Feemor slow blink and closed his eyes tightly. "Force dammit Qui-Gon."
He opens his eyes and glares. "Why not ask someone else? I don't even know him, why not Yan?"
"I think we both know few do well under Dooku."
Feemor looks to the ceiling, to the skies, for patience. "IF Skywalker agrees, and IF the Council agrees, I will temporarily take the boy on if he needs space from you for awhile. It will be revisited if he wants to go back at a later time."
"Thank you.'
"Go, I really... really don't want to speak to you right now," snapped Feemor.
Qui-Gon bows and turns to go, pausing when he sights Obi-Wan. "Padawan."
"Master," said Obi-Wan in a flat tone, radiating disapproval.
Qui-Gon's shoulders hunch. "I'll... be in my apartment."
Wallowing in grief and regret most likely.
Obi-Wan lets him go, he'll try to find the forgiveness, motivation, and patience to help his old master out of his misery later. For now...
"Its... good to meet you, Feemor," said Obi-Wan cautiously.
"Is it?" returned his brother-padawan mildly.
"In my defense, I didn't know you existed before today," said Obi-Wan quietly, "I'm not sure if I'd even heard your name before, maybe once, and not from Qui-Gon."
Feemor exhales in frustration. "I'm not surprised."
He shakes his head and motions inside. "Would you like tea? I imagine we have much to talk about that we both missed, and I could use your advice and observations if I'm really going to go through with Qui-Gon Jinn's latest idiocracy."
"Certainly," agrees Obi-Wan, and steps inside...
Siri slams her face into the cockpit controls, hissing in pain as a wave of anguish in the Force hits her. It only takes a second to recognize the scream as Anakin's.
No.
No no no.
That wasn't fair!
She was supposed to have been able to stop it!
DAMMIT!
Siri grits her teeth at Anakin's anguish, staring out into hyperspace with grim intensity. "I don't know who the hell you are, but you're dead for killing his mother."
Her fury boils and then cools into cold malice. She does not sleep during the trip, she waits. When she finally touches down in Mos Espa, she prowls out, and begins her hunt for Watto the Toydarian. Those she asks cower at her malice bleeding out in the Force and don't hesitate to point her along. When she finds him, she's disgusted. This is the bastard that owned Supernova? She approaches, grabs his scrawny little neck, and slams him into the stone wall of the building behind his stall.
"Shmi Skywalker," she hisses, "Where is she."
No one is stupid enough to get involved, quietly going about their business.
The Toydarian gasps out. "W-what is with e-everyone and a-asking about her these days, eh?"
She lightens her grip. "Someone came asking about her recently?"
"Y-yeah, was a J-jedi!" he exclaimed, "All business like, w-wanted to f-free her on behalf of little Ani, but I don't own her anymore!"
Siri narrows her eyes. "Are you sure it was a Jedi?"
"Y-yeah, had the cloaks and the lightsaber and acted all holier than the rest of us," he stammered.
"Are there camera's around here?" she asked mildly, "Because I felt Anakin's anguish over his mother's death not to long ago, so I'm pretty sure the one you gave her location to wasn't a Jedi."
Watto beats his wings in alarm. "W-ha? No no no that ain't my fault! How was I supposed to know?"
"Are. There. Cameras?" she snapped again.
"T-the Hutts have a few plastered around," exclaimed Watto.
"Who would I need to talk to to get access to them?" demanded Siri.
Siri's first meeting with Jabba the Hutt was one she'd rather not have had. Watto doesn't seem happy to have been dragged here either, but she's not letting him out of her sight until she's done with him.
"Hoo hoo hoo," booms the ugly slug, his droid translating the next part, "You wish access to my planet's security? What do you have to bargain for it, little Sith?"
She smiled thinly. "If you know who I am, then you know that denying me is not wise."
"Neither is crossing me in my own court," warns the translator droid to Jabba's angry reply, "Surrounded by all of my men. Including those who will warn others that you are not supposed to be where you are, Sith. I have kept attention on anything related to your order on the holonet. I know you should still be in the Jedi Temple for another few years."
Siri grits her teeth at the threat. She's not concerned about killing everyone in this room, but one of them potentially escaping and conveying to the public, especially the courts, that she had left the temple and had made an attempted dealing with the Hutts wouldn't look good. She considers how to get what she wants...
"A favor," she offers, "I will grant you a favor."
"Ahhhhh," rumbles out Jabba, motioning to his droid, "What kind of favor? And how do I know you will simply not disappear and refuse to deliver?"
"Because if you have a spare comlink, I can deliver on it now," said Siri.
Jabba allows it, one of his mercenaries offering a transmitter. She dials a number she knows by heart and waits.
Siri smiles when Alexi Garyn picks up and his ridiculously handsome mug shows up. "I don't know who this is or how you have my personal com-number..."
"Alexi darling!" Siri exclaims, "Its been ages!"
There is silence for a few moment before he squints through the image. "Iris, its been awhile indeed. I was expecting a call at some point, though this is later than I thought it would be. Do you need a place to lie low?"
"Lex, I'm in love with that fact that you're still looking out for me," she answers, "But no. I'm going to be riding out the parole, well, if this unscheduled outing doesn't blow up in my face anyway."
"Unscheduled outing," mused Alexi, "What do you need?"
Siri grimaced. "I need information from the Jabba the Hutt on something important to me. I was hoping you could help me with that, I've offered a favor."
Alexi hums. "The Black Sun and the Hutt cartel do business on occasion, is he there?"
"Yes."
"Oh, throne room audience?"
"Yep."
"If I imagine where you are, for my peace of mind, please step off the grating," said Alexi, "I'd rather you not be rancor food if this doesn't work out."
Siri glances down and takes a few steps back, earning roaring laughter from Jabba and the crowd. His translator droid speaks up as he does. "Alexi Garyn, Underlord of the Black Sun. You have great ties indeed, Sith. Very well, I will humor this offering..."
After getting a time from Watto, Siri clicks through recordings, a Hutt merc watching behind her as she does. It takes her awhile to find the right camera, and sure enough, there is a humanoid being in close to Jedi robes speaking to Watto. The recording isn't very good, but she can see a cylinder that looks kind of like a lightsaber. The thought that a Jedi would readily carry a lightsaber out in the open on Tatooine though...
She follows the Jedi on various cameras until they step inside an alleyway...
And their face melts away to an ugly form before changing to more human look, their clothes changing with them. "A Clawdite, a changeling. Well well well..."
She freezes the image and motions to the merc. "This shit is ancient, how do I take a picture of this and send it to my datapad?"
The merc rolls his eyes and mutters under his breath before doing so for her.
"Don't suppose you recognize them?"
The merc shrugs. "One clawdite is the same as another to me, but there are a few that his excellency occasionally hires. You could ask him, or try asking around as well."
Siri nods and leaves the security room, returning to the audience chamber. Jabba is busy discussing something with a guest, so she pokes around the crowd. Showing the picture around.
"...and what does a dar'jetti want with this clawdite?" posed a Mandalorian bounty hunter.
Siri bares her teeth. "To kill it for harming what is mine."
The bounty hunter huffs. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't be smart to get between a dar'jetti and their prey for no reason. I can't say it was nice knowing her, she's backstabbed me once and was lucky to walk away alive. I'm fairly certain that is Zam Wesell. Do tell her Jango gave her his regards before you kill her."
"Will do," she said before pausing, "Jango, as in Jango Fett?"
He goes still. "Heard about me have you?"
She'd heard all about Galidraan and that colossal kriff up. "Loosely, my once-master mentioned a stupid move by the Jedi once upon a time that involved you and yours."
She can sense him baring his teeth and glaring at her. "Get lost."
Siri really can't help herself. "My my my how the mighty have fallen. From Mandalore to a Bounty Hunter slumming it out with Jabba the Hutt."
His hands rest on his blasters. "Do not test my patience dar'jetti."
"Its an honest question, and a potential warning."
"Are you threatening me?"
"No," she said, "But my old Master did keep an ear out for you. Someone who could unite the Mandalorians under one banner could be an tool to use, or a threat to eliminate. Its an offering to be careful."
There is an odd sense of dark amusement from him. "I will be. As for your question, it never hurts to keep an ear open, you'd be surprised what you hear in places like this."
She narrows her eyes at him. She gets a sense of him knowing something and mocking her, but she doesn't press. Not here anyway, and not now. She takes her leave and walks with Watto flying beside her. "Now... where was Shmi Skywalker located?"
"Damn, mighta been a slave most her life, but she was a good woman, shame" muttered Watto, flying around the burned down moisture farm.
Siri stares down at what she assumes is Shmi Skywalker's melted skeletal corpse. The Force burns with sorrow and lost opportunity. There are flickers in her mind, of herself and this woman sitting and talking at a table, but the shaky vision melts away much like the woman's flesh had, leaving ash in its wake. She had already known she had failed before she began when she had felt Anakin's anguish. She slowly shakes her head and begins looking around, trying to see if there are any further clues.
She doesn't want to even begin to think of the ramifications this is going to have with Anakin.
Her search ultimately comes up fruitless on the farmstead. At least, in relation to the murder. She sits on the rented speeder, playing a partial burned holo-journal she found, Shmi Skywalker's journal:
...you might enjoy something to remember Watto by, so I left that as entry one. He's not so bad, as masters go, and I do believe there are times when he truly misses your mischief.
Ani, this diary is for you. I know you'll be gone a long time, and that you'll be very lonely at times. So will I. This diary is so that when you come home someday, you'll know you were always in my heart...
Siri clicks it off, lips pursed tightly. This isn't for her. It won't give her a lead on Wesell, well, the last few entries if the elder Skywalker noticed anything wrong might, but the Force nudges her against it. This is for Anakin, and she will not tread upon it. This... might be something that helps him recover. Or pushes him further in. She doesn't know, and the Force offers no further advice. She pockets it before levitating Shmi's corpse and a few others they found. She buries them in the sand, and makes turns on the speeder.
"You think anyone would mind if I scrounge a few parts from here, eh?" comes Watto's voice.
Siri turns her cold eyes to Watto, reaches out with the Force, and snaps his filthy little neck. She turns on her speeder and flies away, leaving the dead slaver and the burnt down farm behind...
Siri had not been able to locate Wesell on Tatooine, and she knows she has to return to Coruscant sooner rather than later, so return she does, brooding the whole way back. There is only a single Jedi waiting for her when she lands in the Temple hanger. Obi-Wan. She gets out of the ship and dusts herself off. The first thing she's doing when the Jedi are done screaming at her and she's given Skywalker the journal, is shower. For hours. Kriff sand.
Obi-Wan glances down at a bit of sand around her. "So you did go to Tatooine."
Siri raised a single eyebrow. "You know that, how?"
"I think the Council might have already questioned him and knew, but, Anakin was screaming that you promised to find and keep his mother safe," said Obi-Wan softly.
"Bit difficult when she was dead before I got there," said Siri sourly before sighing, "How is he?"
"He pinned Qui-Gon to a wall and nearly choked him to death with the Force in his grief," he said uneasily.
Siri closed her eyes, grimacing. She can't say she's surprised. If Skywalker had Zam Wesell in his grasp, Siri doubted the bounty hunter would be alive at the moment. Considering Jinn's negligence... he's lucky to be alive.
"Siri, what you did was well intentioned, but you broke your word again, your legal word," said Obi-Wan, "To remain..."
"Kriff off Kenobi," she snarled, opening her eyes, "There are far more important things that need to happen now."
"Siri," said Obi-Wan sharply, "The Council demanded your presence the moment you returned..."
"Kriff the council," she spat, "I need to see Anakin."
He frowned. "Why?"
"I could feel the pain and suffering coming off him from across the damn galaxy, Obi-Wan," she said, "I... found something I hope can help with that."
Obi-Wan nods slowly. "Very well. He's in the Halls of Healing, he had a Force Bond with his mother. The damage wasn't pleasent. It could have healed over time, but not well without treatment. Of course, getting him to allow them to seal the bond has been an exercise in patience."
"Its all he has left of her," she comments mildly, "As I said, I found something of hers that might help."
He sighed. "Very well, lets be quick, the Council is not happy with you."
"I'm not happy with them either."
"They did not know," he rebutted.
"Anakin has been pissy for weeks, is it that hard for someone to care enough to ask?" she posed, "Rather than just assume and leave it to your Master?"
Obi-Wan grimaces. "I'm not particularly impressed with Qui-Gon as of late either, not after meeting Feemor."
"Who?"
"Qui-Gon's first apprentice that he apparently repudiated in all but knighthood after Xanatos fell in a self-induced pity party."
Siri actually stops walking and stares at Kenobi. "Wow. Your Master is a disaster."
"I'm aware," he said dryly.
Siri shakes her head and walks with him to the Halls of Healing. They walk into a room, finding Anakin alone and sitting on a bed, legs drawn up to his chest, utterly miserable. He takes one look at her and glares, his shields are raised high, but she doesn't need to Force to see the accusation and betrayal in his eyes. "Siri."
"Don't even start Supernova, I was still in transit," she snapped, though she is perhaps at fault for not doing something earlier, but the excuse Obi-Wan had for the Council also applies to her. She hadn't known in time."
He grits his teeth and looks away.
She sighs and withdraws the holo-journal. "I found this, I only listened to the first part of the first entry where your mother labeled this as for you, but no further."
Anakin's head snaps towards her near instantly, eyes going wide at the sight of it. His voice cracks. "Its... its mom's?"
"It is," Siri agreed, walking forward to the bed.
She leaned forward to whisper into his ear as she handed him the journal and whispers, "I investigated and found out that she was killed by a clawdite bounty hunter named Zam Wesell, changlings who can change their shape, I don't know who hired them."
Anakin clenches the journal tightly, the anger and hatred burning deeply in his eyes barely contained by his shields. He meets her gaze as she pulls back, and nods at her. The accusation and betrayal is gone, replaced by grim acceptance. She might not have saved his mother, but she did bring him the promise of vengeance. Wesell will die one day, and it will be by Skywalker's hands.
She can feel it.
Chapter 67: Out the Door (Part 1)
Summary:
The parole is coming to a close, but complications have a habit of cropping up.
Chapter Text
22BBY
Feemor was having one-of-those-days, really, one of those years. Several times over.
Ever since he was re-adopted (abducted) back into his original lineage to take care of Anakin while Qui-Gon had to pull his head out of his ass, things had become a mess. Sure, Anakin was a nice kid and all, and hadn't deserved what happened to his mother, but the boy resisted help like the planets orbit their suns. Half the time at the start, he ended up stepping on the young man's toes because nobody had bothered to mention Anakin had been a slave. You know, one of those important pieces of information that a 'Master' needs to know to start on the right foot and not cross or say a taboo.
Sad to say that it had been the bloody Sith Holocron and Skywalker having a snipping-storm at eachother that clued him in when it called him 'slave trash'. Its really not how Feemor had wanted to learn that. Sometimes Feemor wondered how this had become his life when he was forced to chaperone any visits Skywalker had with a Sith Apprentice. Its also sad to say the only real sympathy he got was from either Obi-Wan or the Sith herself. And the occasional glance of pity thrown his way. Master Windu had once at the start squeezed his shoulder and wished him strength, he supposed that counted?
Feemor considered it a victory though, when he had told Anakin he didn't have to call him Master if he didn't want to. The teen honestly looked like he had been either going to die of embarrassment or die of gratitude. The Sith of course had noticed it when Anakin had suddenly stopped calling him that and seemed to favor him more. Then, even more terrifying, it seemed that decision had made the Sith like him.
"When your temple burns, little Jedi, I'll see if I can't secret you away for Supernova's sake," she had said with that darkly amused smile on her face.
Yeah... Siri Tachi scared him shitless, he's Jedi enough to admit that. He honestly thinks more people should realize having a Sith feel anything but indifference or even having awareness of you is not a good thing. If not from the general danger/mess of being around one, then because the other even more terrifying Sith was after the renegade and would look upon anyone who got too close. But as much as Feemor is terrified, he is a Jedi, he puts aside his fear, and he does his best to help his temporary padawan regardless.
That is, if the bloody boy would accept the idea that seeing a mind healer for anything aside from a critical injury wasn't a weakness, that it was a good idea to talk to someone about his past. Force knows Feemor had needed it after Qui-Gon Jinn threw him away. He had suggested seeing one, or a therapist, or whatever they called themselves depending on the race and planet, and Anakin had exploded at him and stormed out. Because apparently going to a mind healer meant you were broken and worthless and were going to be thrown away, again. He'd been forced to backtrack and apologize. He can't well force it, because Anakin wont cooperate, and it will likely destroy any trust between them and any that *might* exist between him and the Council if they agreed with him to make Anakin attend. Even if it helped him in the long run, he'd figured out quick that boy held grudges.
He groans and rubs his face. How had this become his life?
Its sad to say, that he ended up going to the Sith for a suggestion when everyone else either failed to give good advice or told him to have Skywalker release it to the Force. His request for an idea on how to get Anakin to a mind healer earned him roaring laughter and a comment of 'Good Luck'. But she had given him that darkly bemused smile that she seemed to reserve for him once more, so while she offered nothing worthwhile he had the sense he had moved up in her rating of him again.
Joy.
On the plus side though, he did like having Obi-Wan as his brother padawan. Though it made him ache sometimes, for the years they could have known eachother prior if Qui-Gon hadn't been such a...
He lets the thought trail away, because he has more important things to concern himself with.
Like the rising anxiety of his padawan and the entire bloody Jedi Order now that the Sith's parole end-date is right around the damn corner. On one hand, things will be more peaceful around here with her gone, on the other hand, things will be less peaceful elsewhere without her contained. Skywalker will also be losing a friend, as flabbergasted as it makes Feemor to think about it no matter how many times he does (how does Anakin befriend a Sith?!). Sure, she's different, but she's not the first weird Sith, he'd gone back and looked through history. She's not the first Sith that worked with the Jedi, not the first one that had a thing for a Jedi (though it usually ended badly for both of them), and she's not the first Sith that's wanted to remake their order in their own fashion/detested their Order's thing for betrayal. He might be willing to work with her if he must, but he will not ever forget that a Sith is still a Sith, and this Sith has committed terrible crimes that she ultimately got away with for the sake of taking shots at Sidious. Even if she had turned away from the Dark Side, it wouldn't have undone whats been done.
Of course, he knows better than to say such things to his padawan. He's not honestly sure of Anakin has a blind spot to the Sith or not, but she's the only one that tried to save his mother, and he holds his own debts like he does his grudges. So Feemor isn't going to risk alienating an already isolated Jedi over the subject. He really, truly does not like how Anakin has basically no friends in the entire Jedi Order outside of him, sometimes Obi-Wan, and maybe Jinzler. Anakin should have been put in the bloody creche to start with as to not play favorites taking a Master while coming out of nowhere. It would have let him make friends and learn more of their ways steadily before he hit thirteen, and its very likely someone if not Jinn would have taken him at that point anyway. Its just... the more he learns as time goes by, the more frustrated he gets with how things have been handled since the bloody start.
He also doesn't approve of his padawan having apparently been visiting the Chancellor since he was nine. He tries not to point fingers without proof, but that's a situation ripe for abusing a child. Even if there was no abuse, its not appropriate in his mind. If the Chancellor wanted to build a rapport with a Jedi like Valorum had with Jinn, he should have bloody well waited. Regardless, to be sure about it all, he'd carefully asked about those meetings, and even got himself invited along, so the best he's been able to do is supervise.
He gets the feeling that Palpatine doesn't like that he's there, no matter how grandfatherly he smiles. Good, because frankly, Feemor doesn't like a politician who got into that office off the suffering of his own people.
The Sith had laughed hysterically when he said that once while speaking to her and Obi-Wan, and he's loath to admit they agree on something
Finally, of all the things he feels like bitching about lately, is the fact that even the responsibility of guiding Anakin in the Force is so ridiculously out of Feemor's reach. Feemor considers his best strait his sturdiness, that no matter how many things try to knock him down he's always gotten back up. That does not however mean he is powerful. He's not as strong or as skilled as pretty much anyone else in his lineage, Jinzler even looks like she'll pass him in a few years once she's knighted. As such. even meditating with Anakin feels almost impossible, its staggering to get swept up into his meditation the few times the boy actually manages to properly do so. He can ground the boy and help him not get lost in the tides of the Force, but helping him make sense of the overwhelming amount of things he feels in meditation is so far out of Feemor's abilities.
Its just... overwhelming, but no one else really will have Anakin's trust if they take him on. Feemor had only worked because Anakin latched on to the fact Jinn had kriffed up with both of them and it created a point where the young man was willing to try. He'd honestly prefer if Masters Windu or Fay or Yoda took the boy on, they'd be the best equipped to deal with guiding that power. Master Koon wouldn't be a bad bet on at least making Anakin comfortable, as no one resists his kindness for long, but to his knowledge, Anakin and Master Koon haven't really spoken much.
It sometimes really feels like he helplessly is in a no-win situation, but all he can do is try.
And no, he doesn't believe in do-or-do-not, that saying is asinine.
He sighs and stands up, moving to open the door and step out onto the apartment balcony. He stares out aimlessly over Coruscants metallic landscape. Stretches his senses, and feels the overwhelming Dark blotching out the guidance of the Force. With the Sith's warnings, with the sharp rise of the Confederacy, and the signs that things were going to lead to an open conflict, he honestly wants to take Anakin, no, take the entire bloody Order and run. But he doesn't have that authority, and he doesn't think they would listen anyway.
He feels trapped.
He has no idea what to do...
Siri walks into the Council chamber, arms folded into her robes all business like, Kenobi a few paces behind her
"You requested this meeting, Tachi," said Windu, "Why?"
"I'd like to negotiate a few things," she said.
"Such as?" he posed.
"When my parole is over, I want my ship," she stated.
Like hell was she leaving the Scimitar here, even if she had to steal it back.
He frowns in consideration. "I don't particularly like its stain being in the temple. If it hadn't been for the potential of gleaning information off it, it would have been dismantled."
She smiled. "Did you manage to actually hack its databases?"
"Parts, its multifaceted security is more... inspirational, than anything we uncovered," he admits.
Her smile widened. "Did you understand anything in it?"
Having a database entirely in Sith was a glorious thing.
He glowers at her. "We've translated a few things, not much that I will admit is useful."
"So its not quite useful to you," she mused, "So the question begs, what do you want in exchange for giving me my ship back, fully intact and ready to go the moment my parole is up."
He exchanges glances with Fay, eyes flickering over a few of the Councilors. "Is there anything you deem offlimit?"
"Information on Sith Sorcery is a no go," she says, grinning.
He gives her a flat look.
"Mmm, a favor, would you give?" posed Yoda.
Fay looked exasperated. "Master Yoda, you expect her to honor it if nothing is here to bind her to do so?"
"I'm more inclined to be offended by him wanting a blank check to cash in at any point," said Siri honestly.
"You expect us to believe you would honor a 'favor'?" said Fay, skeptically, "And to what degree?"
Siri frowns, tilting her head back. Hmm... what was the Scimitar to her? "Five small favors, three medium favors, or one large favor. We can argue the semantics of what is small medium or large at the time of the request, and you can mix and match small to medium. I will send a comcode to Kenobi once I've obtained one and you can contact me through him. As for the idea of honoring it, we both have the same goal of destroying Sidious, if I discover who he is, I will likely need your help in killing him. You cannot and should not trust me, but you should trust in that I will do what needs to be done to defeat him. Alienating the Order needlessly from this point on isn't a goal."
"And it wasn't before?" she posed.
Siri grins. "No, it was entertainment."
Obi-Wan sighs in exasperation. "Must you Siri?"
She shrugged. "Might as well."
"We will discuss it, and if there is anything else we might want instead," said Windu, "You had other things you wished to negotiate?"
She smiled thinly. "I've been doing some thinking, and I need Obi-Wan to go deliver a message for me since you wont let me out of the temple until my parole is over..."
Obi-Wan sometimes wonders how he gets involved with Siri's messes.
He does not like the look of this warehouse district. He also feels at least five snipers training their aim on him.
He also doesn't like that he senses... is that a Nightsister? On Coruscant?
"What does a Jedi want here?" she poses, stepping up and scrutinizing him, "There is nothing... illegal... occurring here after all."
Right. Of course there isn't.
"Siri wanted me to speak to a... Lex on her behalf?" he posed.
The Nightsister blinks and scowls. "Of course she does. Her vacation is nearly over and I suppose she wants us to ease her back into things. Lazy, ungrateful, wench."
Her tone is biting, but Obi-Wan feels fondness from her more than anything. So, Siri has a Nightsister friend, useful information to know.
"He isn't here, but I can get in contact with him," said the Nightsister, "Come."
She turns to go before pausing. "Oh and Jedi? You saw nothing."
Of course he didn't.
He doesn't see crates filled with who knows what kind of contraband. He doesn't see a few people that he is vaguely sure are on a Coruscant wanted list. He most assuredly doesn't hear the term Black Sun either. Of course he doesn't. He especially doesn't see when kriffing Alexi Garyn, the Underlord of the Black Sun, appears on a holopanel and lights up at the mention of Siri's name.
"She's friends with the leadership of the Black Sun, of course she is," mutters Obi-Wan with exasperation.
Not quite enough apparently, it earns a quirk of an eyebrow from Garyn, a smug challenge in his tone. "Its very likely Jedi, no matter her interest in you, that I know her far better."
Obi-Wan cocked his head. Was that a tint of jealousy? Good Force, had Siri been in a relationship with a crimelord? "Perhaps."
"The message?" posed Garyn.
Obi-Wan pulled out a transmitter, but when he hit play, rather than a pre-recorded message, Siri herself popped up. "Lex darling!"
"Hello Iris," Alexi, "To what do we owe the pleasure? Am I readying a place for you?"
"Not quite," said Siri.
Obi-Wan sighed. "Siri, this is not a pre-recorded message."
Siri turns her head and blinks innocently at him. "Why Kenobi, we agreed upon a message being delivered, how and by whom wasn't negotiated. You brought a comlink so I could deliver a message, see?"
Garyn gwaffed, and Obi-Wan gives her a withering look.
She turns back to Garyn, her face going cold, tone business. "I've been doing some thinking since we last spoke and I... think a precaution needs to be taken."
"A precaution?" said Garyn, "Against Sidious?"
"No, not him," admits Siri, "Someone who could potentially be worse if things go badly in the upcoming war."
"I see, I thought things were heading that way too, nice to know you agree," said Garyn slowly, "Is this going to be anything like the Plasma deal you advised me against awhile back?"
"Exactly like that actually," agreed Siri, "And unlike that, you're probably going to like this even less. But... it might save your life in the long run."
Garyn sighed. "Hit me."
"Get the Black Sun out of the Slave Trade," advised Siri.
Obi-Wan blinked. What? Not that he was complaining, but what?
Garyn swore. "Iris, really? Do you have any idea how much this will cost me? How many people, deals, future revenue..."
"Its not worth your life nor the existence of the Black Sun," snapped Siri, "If the person I referenced Falls, there is a very good chance anyone even remotely involved with Slavery will be hunted down and exterminated with extreme prejudice."
Wait. Was this about Anakin?
"So this change is over a possibility?" said Garyn, incredulous, "Not even a guarantee like Sidious?"
"The person I referenced is one of my favored," admits Siri, "And I swore to him that if we both we're alive after Sidious was dealt with, I'd help him abolish slavery, so... this is giving you advanced warning to get out of it."
Obi-Wan considers Siri quietly. She had sworn that to Anakin? That's...
"Of course he's favored," muttered Garyn, "You can't make anything easy and let me just shoot whoever it is?"
"Ignoring that he'd kill you if you tried, if you raise a weapon against him I would kill you Alexi," said Siri in a soft tone, "You are dear to me, both of you are, but if either of you initiates against the other neither will not like the consequences."
Garyn sighed. "Iris dear, you do make things so complicated some times."
"Chin up Lex," said Siri cheerfully, "I know it must have killed you to give out a favor to the Hutts awhile back, this'll let you start snipping at them."
"Oh that's nice, you want me to go after the Hutt Cartel too?" he stated flatly, "Iris, I have limits. I can phase out the Slave Trade over a few years, the Hutt Cartel is not negotiable at this moment."
"I never said it had to be an active thing," rebutted Siri, "Even just refusing deals with them over the Slave Trade will hit their bottom line, the Black Sun isn't a small syndicate anymore Lex, not even medium sized really. I have been reading the holonet over my parole, you've been busy."
Alexi grinned maliciously. "Oh yes I have. A rather large amount of rivals, small and large alike, we're hit over your parole by Jedi and the Republic and left quite a few openings for the Black Sun to slide into, you wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
Siri smiled. "Not a thing dear."
Obi-Wan stiffened. Had she really? Had she used them to prop up the Black Sun?
She turns to glare at Kenobi, probably got something along the bond from him. "The groups I had advised you against did belong to Sidious, Kenobi, don't even start. That their downfall also benefited my group, well... opportunity costs and all that."
"He has made demands over the years you were away," posed Garyn cautiously.
"Of course he did, I'm not surprised, its good that you kept your neck intact," said Siri, "Keep your cover for now, but be ready. When the time is right, the Black Sun will cut him off. You need to have things set up before then, fallback bases..."
Garyn cut in. "Iris, I began planning for this the moment I made you one of mine."
Obi-Wan frowned. One of his?
Then Garyn made a face. "Did the Jedi or the Courts take the ring by chance? Do I need to make another, or steal it back?"
Ring? What ring?
"Oh no, I've got that hidden away," said Siri, "I'll be collecting it after I leave the Temple, I've got a few things... well... a list of things honestly, that I need to do before we meet up. I will need a place to do a thorough scan and search for trackers sooner however, sorry Kenobi, not trusting the council's word that they wont defile my baby with one."
"Your baby," he said flatly.
"Hey, that ship is precious," she said cheekily before turning, "Oh and Lex? Probably don't need to say this, but scrub the warehouse."
"Of course," he agreed, "Until we meet again Iris."
"See ya Lex," she said, cutting the connection, Garyn doing so after giving the Nightsister a pointed look.
Obi-Wan gave a long suffered sigh.
"She has that affect," agreed the Nightsister, crossing her arms and scowling, "Things were much simpler before she appeared."
"They were," agreed Obi-Wan, turning and leaving.
As much as he'd like to bring this whole warehouse and everyone in it to justice, taking on an unknown Nightsister and far to many criminals/mercenaries wouldn't end well. Not to mention... he doesn't particularly want to cause a scene if they're actually going to listen to Siri. The Black Sun is almost as massive and powerful as the Hutt Cartel, them leaving the Slave Trade... that will have far reaching consequences in the criminal world, and lessen the suffering of the Galaxy. Better to let that happen he thinks then start a confrontation and risk it.
He returns to the temple, and meets in Feemor's apartment. The lineage, even Qui-Gon standing awkwardly near the door, is there for the impromptu debrief, as are Mace and Fay. The former raises an eyebrow. "Well?"
He gives a rundown of what happened...
The Force around Anakin suddenly goes blank. "...she was involved with the Black Sun?"
"It would seem so," said Obi-Wan slowly, giving him a wary look.
Anakin's face contorts with anger, and he's out the door heading Siri's way. Obi-Wan sighs and massages his forehead.
"I'll follow," said Feemor, putting a hand on his shoulder and heading out.
"She played us," said Windu flatly, rubbing his face, "She used us to weaken Sidious's reach in the underworld while propping up her own. Schemes within schemes, she's not so different from her master as she thinks."
"Agreed," said Fay.
"Perhaps," said Dooku, "But... the enemy of my enemy. The Black Sun opposing Sidious could have benefit for us..."
Siri looks up as Anakin storms into her apartment, rage on his face...
"KHOOOOH PUUUHRR."
Oh kriff, what the hell? Why is the Dark Titan looming behind Skywalker again?!
"You!" snapped Anakin, pointing a finger at her, betrayal ripping from him in the Force, "You! How many?!"
"How many what?" she asked.
"HOW MANY PEOPLE DID YOU PUT IN CHAINS HELPING THE BLACK SUN!" he roared at her.
Her face goes blank. Force dammit Kenobi.
"Anakin, I..." she begins.
"Kriff, I don't even want to hear it," he said, shaking his head, "How could you?"
"You forget Anakin," she said quietly, "I'm a Sith, and for a time, I was Sidious's dutiful little apprentice."
Anakin is shaking in anger, but before he can say anything, a voice speaks up from the doorway, "I'm not saying forgive her, but she's trying to fix it."
Her eyes flicker to see Feemor standing there, arms cross.
"She's covering her ass and trying to safe a worthless sleemo's life because she likes him," snapped Anakin, "She's not doing it because she cares and wants to fix it."
"Then what would it take?" she asked quietly, tensely, the death head mask glowering at her.
She wants that Dark Titan gone.
He sneered at her. "Oh I don't know. Think about how many people you helped deliver into slavery directly. Then think about how many were indirectly enslaved by you propping up the Black Sun. Times that by ten and maybe I'd forgive you."
"You're putting a lot of weight on my actions in assuming what may or may not have happened because of my involvement," said Siri, "If my interaction with the Black Sun had ended up with them dead, the Hutt Cartel or who knows who else would have filled in the power vacuum anyway."
He glared at her. "Excuses Siri, really?"
"Facts," she snapped back, "How about this..."
"Oh, I'm all ears," he drawled out, "Lets see you worm your way out of this."
"I'm ending it in the Black Sun, I'm not able to take on the Hutt Cartel myself, but," said Siri, "One of the first things I'll do after getting out of here is find and take out one of the top slaving rings in the galaxy for you. Alexi's got to be able to point me in the right direction."
Anakin clenched his jaw and grit his teeth. "Do you even really care?"
"Anakin," she snapped sharply, voice darkening, the Dark swirling around her, "I'm not capable of it anymore."
He blanks.
"I really, truly don't think you have an understanding of what being a Sith Apprentice costs you, even after the last damn decade," she gritted out, "I haven't been capable of caring about the general whole of the galaxy since like a year into my apprenticeship to Sidious. I care about you because you managed to become important to me, and thus I care about your concerns, but that's as far as I can realistically feel. A planet could blow up on the other side of the Galaxy and I wouldn't be capable of honestly caring about those lives lost outside of the principle of it and thinking it a waste of resources."
He looks at her, shocked and stricken.
"I'm not a good person Anakin," she said softly, "If you thought I was underneath being a Sith, then you've been lying to yourself. I want the Sith to change, to be better than what they were, and I will make it so if I can. But that doesn't change who I am and what I've done. Some things I regret, yes, but not to the depth you'd wish I did. I will do whatever it takes to see my goals done, especially Sidious dead, and its likely little of it will be legal or done in away you approve of."
He shakes his head and takes a step back.
"I promised you I'd help you destroy slavery, and I meant it," she said.
He turns and walks out, rushes out really, emotions a mess. Honestly, he's hit his majority and he still had shit control of his feelings.
Feemor folds his hands into his robes, considering her. "If I may make a suggestion on the slavery front?"
She nods.
"Do you know the name Krayn?"
Siri makes a face. Oh kriff. "Pretty much the lord of Nar Shaddaa behind the puppet that rules there."
"The council has wanted him gone for awhile now," said Feemor, "I overheard Mace talking about it once, that their last attempt to infiltrate his organization ended in failure."
Siri gives a heavy sigh, rubbing her face. "Well..."
Taking bloody kriffing Krayn down would probably earn Skywalker's forgiveness and then some.
"...this is going to be fun," she muttered, before pointing a finger at him, "Don't speak a damn word of this to anyone. Not even the Council, I don't know Sidious's eyes and ears in the Order. Krayn catching wind of me would make things... complicated."
"Not even Anakin?"
"Anakin likes to blab," was her answer.
Feemor nods. "Good luck then."
"Have fun wrangling Skywalker while I'm gone," she shoots back.
Feemor makes a face and walks out.
Siri waits until hes closed the door before groaning and putting her head in her hands. "Kriffing Krayn. The things I do for you Skywalker, the things I do..."
Chapter 68: Out the Door (Part 2)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"...and do you find, Master Windu, that the parolee will repeat their offenses? Will we be back here in a few years?" poses the Chief Justice of the Courts.
The sourness of Windu's face is adorable, its an honest struggle not to mocking coo at it. But Siri wants this over and done with, so she has little intention of dragging it out. The faster she's out of the court room, the better.
Windu's arms are folded into his robes in typical Jedi fashion. "Siri Tachi has made plain and obvious her own stance regarding her former Master, if she does return here, it is not likely to have been because of his orders. I do not believe she will actively strike against the Republic unless provoked into it."
Hmm, he had a sense of half-truth half-lie to his beliefs. Evidently for the first and 2nd half of his statements. But really, it could almost be a full truth, if he added 'unless she sees a reason to and believes she can get away with it.' But really, she doesn't particularly desire to start something with the Republic if she doesn't have to. It doesn't mean she wont however.
The Chief Justice reads over the datapad. "Her behavior was cited as less than stellar I believe."
"Most of us were never expecting a miracle in that regard," stated Windu, "She has changed in the last decade, not to the degree some would hope, but its more than I realistically thought possible for a Sith."
"Careful Master Jedi," posed Siri, always acting as her own defense, "That almost sounds like religious prosecution if that statement is solely based on my views of the Force."
She can't help herself sometimes, its just so fun to poke at them.
Windu gives her a withering look. "History would suggest otherwise."
The Chief Justice cleared his throat. "Do you have anything further to add, Master Windu, any reasons to consider the terms of the parole unfufilled aside from her brief violation at Master Dooku's behest early on?"
"No, your honor," said Windu.
Lie, lie lie lie rippled off him in the Force. Siri has to hold back a laugh. Really, considering the number of trips she took, they'd probably have grounds to extend it. They could have potentially brought the courts into it then to make it an official violation, but as she thought at the time, it would have exposed weakness in the Jedi Order in their inability to contain her. Really, she thinks the Jedi are just tired of her squatting in the Temple. Good, because she's tired of it too.
The Chief Justice nods and turns to her. "Do you as the parolee have anything to add?"
"...would murdering Sidious in cold blood count for putting me back in here?" she poses, blinking innocently.
He wags his gavel at her. "If you locate him, bring it up to the proper authorities, do not take justice into your own hands."
"Of course your honor," she answers dryly.
Proper authorities, ha! She can imagine someone trying to cuff Sidious. Honestly, taking Sidious alive would likely involve taking all of his limbs and keeping him perpetually unconscious because really, all he needs is the focus to use the Force to be lethal. Not gonna happen regardless, the judges have no true concept of what it is to face a true Dark Lord of the Sith if they honestly think taking them alive is a realistic option. She could imagine Sidious either sneering at the statement, or having the judge killed simply out of offense of implying it could be done.
"Well then, the courts finds the terms of your parole met, collect your things from the Jedi Temple which are to be released to you no later than the end of the business day, dismissed," he said, waving them off.
She plans to be gone within the next two hours, the Jedi better not dwaddle in that regard.
"It must have killed you to say that," she mused as she walked out with Windu.
"Can you simply not hold your tongue until you leave?" he asked.
"Temper temper Master Jedi," she chided, tone teasing.
He shook his head and didn't rise to the bait. The ride back she allows him his silence, truth be told she's cataloging what she needs to get done. Check and cleanse any tracking mechanisms from her ship is an obvious first once she's gone. Second...
She shifts with a slight discomfort. She doesn't actually like the prospect of Kenobi and Supernova being so far out of reach. She wont have any reason to be in the Jedi Temple anymore and likely wont be back in, and trying to figure out where they are in the galaxy at a given time on a mission isn't going to work without judicious use of slicing or sticking a tracker on them that they'd be sure to find. She considers if sorcery could be used to keep them protected...
Now there's a thought. She's aware of being able to create an inscribe Sith Talismans, really, any kind of jewelry. They could be used for protective means, or even healing. Though she's rather curious on the how of it, the Dark Side generally doesn't lean itself towards healing. Probably a catch or opportunity cost somewhere, but there should be something in Freedon Nadd scriptures back in the hideout on it. So...
Clean the ship. Less than a week, mostly in travel time.
Head back to her hideout and look into protections for her favored idiots, probably something for Alexi and Mighella as well. Maybe something for the extended lineage, not to sure about that. Depends on what she finds for timeframe, hopefully no more than a week or two.
Deal with Krayn and his organization. Unknown timeframe, will likely involve killing relatively everyone involved aside from slaves, so she can't say she wont have fun.
She considers it, and makes a face. Rain is going to bitch at her again about infatuation and attachments... but then again, maybe she can tempt Rain with some extracurricular activities in dealing with Krayn. It had been far too long since that first time Zannah caused chaos in the Coruscant underworld, maybe she'd like to... stretch her legs and kill something. Siri smiles with a touch of malice, oh yes, she could buy off Rain no problem.
She's aware Windu is side-eying her now. She just smirks at him.
"Is there anything you actually want out of the apartment?" he asks, when they touch down in the hanger and got out, "I didn't think you had picked up anything."
"Not really," she confirmed, "I suppose I'll grab my ship, my lightsaber, and be off."
"Try not to get us sent after you in the first month," said Windu dryly before clearing his throat, "Your ship will be flown out of its secure location and brought here within the hour. You will be handed your lightsaber before you get in and not a moment before. As you are no longer held in parole within the Temple, you are not to be moving through it without an escort and permission of the Council, which you do not have as of the moment."
She shrugged and leaned against the transport. "Waiting here then."
He left after that, leaving her a little bemused that she had no minder...
Ah, there was Kenobi walking in, her lightsaber on his belt. "Good afternoon Siri."
"I suppose," she said.
He raised an eyebrow, voice calm and civil. "One would think you would be pleased to be leaving, having evaded any desire to turn away and better yourself after all."
She smiled. "Why Kenobi, is that bitterness?"
"Is it?"
"Hard to tell," she said, "Your shields have improved, the bond is quiet, and that baby-face of yours is oh so difficult to read."
"I am going to grow a beard one of these days," he muses, "It does get tiring not being taken seriously sometimes."
She made a face. "Ick, and come now, being underestimated is always useful."
"Is grating you mean."
"Not when you get to turn it around on whoever the idiot of the day is."
"A Jedi does not partake in revenge."
She rolled her eyes. "Don't lie Kenobi, I bet you find it so satisfying proving people wrong on missions and giving them a mock-charming smile afterwards while being passive-aggressively pleasant."
"Well, I am usual pleasant company, it never hurts to smile," he said in a reasonable tone.
Siri huffed. "You're just lucky most people don't know your weakness."
"And what is that?"
"Breaking your nose," she deadpans.
He returns a withering look. "You haven't done so in years."
"Opportunity Kenobi, I'm just waiting for a good chance," she said, "All those fancy words, putting an end to it is as simple as bloodying that pretty face with a physical shut-up.
"Yes well, most beings try to be civilized."
She snorted. "No they don't. Most people would rob a stranger for a credit if they could get away with it."
"I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree on the overall outlook of the galaxy."
"Pessimism is more reliable than optimism," she advised sagely.
"You two flirting is terrible," comes Rain's voice, shimmering into existence ontop of the transport, glaring down at them.
"I'm fairly certain we were arguing actually," he said.
"Sure," said Rain, "Siri, what is our ETA for out of this hellhole?"
"Less than an hour? Give or take," she answered.
"If I ever have to see this place again, it better be burning," muttered Rain, glaring around at pretty much everything before vanishing back to her holocron.
"Always pleasant, that one," said Obi-Wan, "I dare say you are the more positive of the pair."
Siri coughed. "No, not really. I just don't mind keeping face with Jedi, Rain considers that beneath her."
"Quaint."
"I still don't think she's forgiven Yoda for that light acid bath when they first met."
Obi-Wan made to say something before frowning and glancing towards the bay entrance. Ah, there it was, that familiar stain in the Dark Side. Her baby was flown in and landed, the pilot exiting a minute later, giving the ship a distasteful glance and a shiver, before hurrying away.
"Right, well," said Obi-Wan, "As agreed, your ship, fully fueled, stocked with a number of perishables."
She hummed and walked over, laying a hand on its hull, a shiver of the Dark running down her arm. "Oh I've missed you."
Obi-Wan sighed and followed her to the ship. "Siri..."
She turned her head. "Yeah?"
"Try... try to reign in some of your worse impulses, please," he pleaded.
"Obi-Wan," she said slowly, turning, and giving him a cold look, "I will do what I must to see Sidious destroyed," and further her goals, "My targets will not be the innocent, not anymore," they shouldn't be anyway, "If I kill someone, its very likely they deserve it."
"And if the innocent do end up in the crossfire?" he challenged.
"I'll try not to have needless death Kenobi," she said flatly, "But really, I have no intentions of being involved in conflict that could involve civilians. Not like you will be in soon enough."
He soured. "War is not guaranteed."
"Fat kriffing chance its not," she snapped back, "The general outlook on the holonet thinks its heading that way, planetary governments all over the galaxy are preparing for it, the senate..."
She laughs. "Have you seen the laws and ideas and amendments being thrown around and suggested to combat this 'Separatist Crisis'? Its like I told the Council years ago, the Republic is going to kill itself, and out of its rotting corpse Sidious will build his Sith Empire. The baseline is already heading that way, term extension was created for Chancellorship which, once Sidious offs Palpatine and slides into his spot, will legally be the basis he goes for lifelong rule. Just you keep watching Kenobi, as one stroke at a time, the Republic dies and the Sith Empire is born out of its rotting corpse."
She shakes her head. "You Jedi had the chance to get into politics and try to combat it, but its far to late on that end."
She does wonder how Organa is doing with his hunt, he'd been wise to keep his head down so far, she hadn't really found much on him on the Holonet. He was also still alive, so that spoke well of him not being obvious about it.
"The Republic isn't lost, not yet," said Obi-Wan firmly, "We will find Sidious, and we will cut him out of the Republic."
"You'll try," said Siri, holding out her hand for her lightsaber.
He passes it over. "Do or do not."
She clips it to her belt. "Do I look like a Jedi to you?"
He sighs softly. "No, no you do not."
Ten years of prodding it her, must have killed him to admit defeat. She gives him a curt nod and a quick not-mushy goodbye. "Later Kenobi, try not to mess up that pretty face of yours."
She turns and heads up the ramp, he calls out, "Just for that, I'm growing the beard."
"Gross Kenobi."
With that, she taps the button and closes the ramp, walking into the ship. She does a quick pass over, checking for damages, bugs, and the like. She can vaguely sense where the Jedi might have pried into the wiring and poked around, but she doesn't actually sense any trackers. Still doesn't mean she wont have the Black Sun look over the ship. She makes for the cockpit, straps in, contacts flight control and briefly waits for an all clear. When she has it, she is out of the temple, off of Coruscant, contacts Garyn quickly for a set of coordinates, and then goes into hyperspace.
She sighs and leans back in her chair.
Rain materializes next to her. "Finally free, eh?"
"I suppose."
Rain scoffs. "You need to ditch your attachments, if not permanently then for awhile."
"Does the name Hardin ring a bell miss hypocrite?"
Rain scowls at her and evades. "So, what are we up to?"
"Oh not much, cleaning the ship, heading home, looking up a few peices of sorcery I never looked into properly at the time, then we get to go play," said Siri nonchalant.
"Play?" said Rain, eyes gleaming.
"Tell me Rain, how would you like help me terrorize and kill a whole organization?" asked Siri, slowly smiling with malice.
Rain matched that smile. "Siri darling, I'd love to."
So she was gone.
Sidious stares out of his office window at the Jedi Temple, lost in thought.
He had been undecided on whether he wanted to call his insolent apprentice to his office or not and begin integrating her unwittingly into his plans. She had the tendency to cause a bit of a mess, and things were still a little delicate until the war started. Finding a Clone Template had taken longer than he originally intended, since he had to waste time prepping Vosa for use, so the longer he can hold off, the longer the Republic's army has to grow. It can be initiated now if need be, but even the oldest Fett clones look more like older teens than young men at the moment. That presents certain risks...
He doesn't believe the Senate will balk at it, not with his influence, but taking in a Clone Army will already present moral issues that will strike at the Republic, which was intended. If that army even somewhat resembles a child army, it will get worse to the point it might become problematic. Not that he particularly cares about moral, but he cannot risk sending too many more systems to C'Baoth's hands less his temporary apprentice decide he'd rather take over the Galaxy through force than follow through with Sidious's plans. As it is, an army of droids along with a small army of fallen Jedi under C'Baoth's control makes him rightly watchful.
He wasn't afraid, but it did prompt due caution, especially with his renegade of an apprentice a wild card in the whole thing. He hadn't intended to worry about the immortality part of his regime yet, but he had begun perusing his options, just incase. Essence Transfer into a clone body looked to be the easiest option. Though with what Skywalker had told him after Korriban, about the confrontation with Darth Bane and Darth Zannah, it had made him take a closer, second look, at why Zannah had possibly not taken a new body. The resulting research had been... annoying.
A clone body would not be the same as his true, birth body. It would not be eased or adapted into his current powers, or future ones. He has a hunch, based off a number of old writings on other Sith who had tried this and experienced difficulty with their new bodies, that there could be... complications. Anywhere from the body not being able to contain his power and imploding, to having to carve parts of his power out to be able to fit in, to the bodies suffering degeneration. There were potentially many side effects ranging from small to large.
Its not that it couldn't work, he could simply keep hopping bodies if need be if the bodies didn't instantaneously fail, but it didn't seem like a permanent, perpetual solution. Damn Plaguis, all that time in his labs and the Muun hadn't finished his research into Midi-chlorian Manipulation and eternal life. Or if he did, he had never hinted at its finished state. It would have made this much simpler.
He sighs. He can have a basic setup crafted soon enough as an emergency fail-safe, but he'd rather discover another solution. He simply doesn't have the time to find one yet.
He turns his thoughts back to the war and decides: A single year, no, even half a year more, and he wouldn't have to concern himself with the clones appearing too young. Though really, if they were helmeted all the time it wouldn't generally matter unless someone went digging, and considering all the vultures over the years poking around the Senate and its voting history, its likely someone would dig in and discover how old they appeared very quickly. As it is, he'd been very thorough with C'Baoth cleaning up any potential links between the Sith and the Clone Army, because he is fairly certain it will be investigated. How fortunate that it will be confirmed that the late Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas and the late oh so generous Hego Demask coordinated and funded the army.
How useful that using his dead Master let him neatly tidy things up.
He sends a message for C'Baoth to hold off on sending Fett after Amidala until the next break and following session of the Senate, let her have a few months more, it matters not.
For now, he suppose he will see what trouble his wayward apprentice gets into.
"Your excellency, your appointment with Senator Organa starts in five minutes," came a chime from his secretary.
"Ah, thank you dear," he said, false smile on his face, before moving to sit down.
Hmm. Organa was it? The replacement of the late senator Antilles. He hadn't heard much of him yet outside of what one would normally expect from one of Aldaraan's. But otherwise, he'd been... quiet, watchful, learning. Interestingly, he'd heard of the senator talking with senators and groups one from that world normally wouldn't associate with. A friendly lunch with the representative of the current head trade conglomerate had been a rather surprising thing to hear. Though why the man had requested a meeting was anyone's guess at the moment. Probably to try to get some support for some pitiful little bill helping the pathetic and needy.
"Good afternoon your excellency," offered Organa, a brief bow before he sits.
"Senator," he greeted back, "What brings you to my office today?"
The man frowns, looking down at his hands, lost in thought for a moment. "The Queen and I differentiate in where we believe the Separatist Crisis is going."
Well now, a conflict between husband and wife, or more importantly, senator and queen, is always something to take advantage of, but he's not honestly sure he needs Aldaraan for anything. Still, never hurts to put his hand in the pot. "How so?"
"In my honest opinion, I believe this will end in war, she disagrees," he said, "I ask you personally, not officially, what do you believe, your excellency?"
Sidious leans back, considering the man. Well now... a senator of Aldaraan believing that peace will fail? Not holding out for negotiations or trying to press for them? Color Sidious surprised. "It is unfortunate, but, I do agree with your assessment. I have hope that perhaps this can somehow be averted, but I will not risk the Republic by clinging solely to that hope and not preparing for reality."
Organa sighs and rubs his face tiredly. "Agreed, and its why I came to you specifically. Naboo and Aldaraan hold many a similarity, and potentially a similar fate. My people value culture and education, the arts, we on principle prefer a peaceful resolution, but some people will not ever seek nor desire peace. I could very so easily see the Trade Federation Occupation of Naboo happening to Aldaraan, and unlike Naboo, we have no secret Gungan army."
Oh Sidious liked where this was going. "Surely not! Outside of the Sith plot, one of the reasons the Trade Federation got away with it until they were defeated was because Naboo was a Mid Rim world, not Core, surely you don't think..."
"Aldaraan has long been part of the Republic, taking the world would be heavily symbolic in taking the Republic, and from what I understand of the man, Jorus C'Baoth likes grand overreaching gestures," pointed out Organa.
Well then, Organa had his temporary apprentice pegged accurately. Its not a bad plan either though it comes with risks. Attacking a Core World like Aldaraan, especially Aldaraan, will stir the hornets nest and would take a great deal of support from C'Baoth's Separatists. Actually, yes, a very good plan then if he needed to get C'Baoth's support trimmed a bit. Not early in the war though, perhaps the later parts of it. Surely it would be a rallying cry, to give the Chancellorship more power to protect the Core.
He echoed this aloud. "I don't think he would risk it early in any offense, but later on, if he feels he is winning and doesn't feel concerned about the backlash of attacking a peaceful world..."
Organa nods. "He could do so, and so I was hoping if you have the time, to go over Naboo's experiences with the Trade Federation Occupation, and perhaps go over how your planet adapted and changed in the aftermath."
Oh now that is tempting. To slowly whittle away at Aldaraan's pacifism, why, if he could use Organa as a basis to begin twisting them away from their ideals... My oh my, they just kept throwing themselves at him, didn't they? The Jedi, the Senate, various planetary governments, so many organizations and trade conglomerates. They just all made it so easy...
"Most certainly Senator, I can even put you in touch with Senator Amidala for her perspective as well," he said sagely.
"Indeed, I would not mind the young, former queen's advice, but I would still prefer the more experienced voice," answered Organa, eyes appraising.
Sidious smiled. "Of course Senator Organa, of course."
Another sycophant in the making.
Notes:
Organa: I'm having absolutely no luck finding this damn Sith Lord, lets try poking around the chancellor and see if I can find his influence there.
Resident Sith Lord: Why hello there.
Chapter 69: Out the Door (Part 3)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Having Freedon Nadd's scriptures in her hands again after so long is a feeling that's hard to describe. She runs a light finger down its spine, humming in contentment. She moves to Zannah's desk, well, her desk now since its her hideout and all that, then sets it down. She really ought to see about sprucing this place up if she's honest. She has the sense that she will be spending a lot of her downtime here if not with the Black Sun. She'll get some furniture and load it into the Scimitar eventually, but that's for later, for now, she props open the scriptures and begins flipping through, looking for her desire...
There it is, Talismans.
She browses through on their uses, and more importantly, how to make them...
"Aha," she said, a nasty smile on her face, "There's always a price to be paid."
Or at least with this method anyway, and really, she prefers it consider what she's going to be getting up to soon enough. "...to be able to grant life onto what has been torn, one must have given life to the talisman itself. A ritual sacrifice is requires to drain the life out of the one chosen, to grant into the one you wish to heal."
She laughs darkly. "How good it is that I'm about to have a lot of potential sacrifices, and really, who cares if a slaver or ten go missing? Or whoever else Krayn has in his organization. Its so nice to have an easy target that no one should bitch about killing off."
Her eyes wash over the ritual diagram, pressing it into memory. It doesn't hurt to take a picture with a datapad either just to make sure she gets it right the first few times. She considers the picture after, then the scriptures, and purses her lips. She wishes she could take them with her, but she does agree with Zannah's command years ago, that these should not leave the safety of this place. Though even that was questionable, as it had been invaded by a Dark Jedi before. Though that was with near a thousand years for Zannah's traps to decay. But really...
She wants a copy of this made, just incase something happens to the original. She sets Rain's holocron on the desk, taps it, draws Rain out, and proposes the idea.
Rain frowns. "I understand the desire, but what if someone gets their hands on the copy? Force forbid its Sidious because there will go any method of you taking him out down the drain."
Siri scowls. "I still don't like it."
"Well, add more protections to this place then," said Rain flatly, "The ones we put up over your apprenticeship are decent, and will deter or kill the random interloper, but we need much stronger ones incase someone powerful finds it."
Siri nods. "Fair, I will at some point. Its, well, on the list."
Rain rolled her eyes. "Don't think I don't know you have an ulterior motive for going after this 'Krayn', Siri, I'm not blind nor dumb. I just don't know which of your needless Jedi attachments its for."
"I have like two 'Jedi attachments'," Siri answered flatly, "Guess."
"Two is still two to many," chided Rain, "But I suppose everyone has their own crippling faults."
"Does the names Bug and Tomcat ring a bell?"
Rain scoffed and vanished back into her holocron with a parting, "Let me know when its time to play."
"Oh I will," murmurs Siri, "But first, I want to get a few of these talisman's ready for imbuement, and maybe a bit more light reading. I might need to hit up Alexi to get the materials I need..."
Siri is honestly taken aback when Alexi pins her in a tight hug. "Ten years Iris, try not to get yourself on house arrest again."
She gives him a bemused look, then glances over his shoulder. "Do I get a hug too, Meg?"
"Call me that again and I will fry you," said the Nightsister dryly, Force Lightning crackling between her fingertips briefly.
Siri laughs, good-natured. "So, want to give me a run down of how things have gone over the last decade?"
Alexi hums in agreement and leads her off the docking bay and deeper into his cruiser, but really, its a yacht if she had a say. He had certainly done himself a service by going for a mobile base of operations. Harder to pin down. She's lead into a room with a wide holo-map of the galaxy in different color codes depending on the areas. Siri doesn't know what any of it means, but still, the whole set-up looks impressive. There are a few Black Sun Vigos studying the map with a few other aids pointing out things and taking notes.
"Black is under out control," he says, and really, Black Sun and all that makes it somewhat amusing, "Green is under our influence, yellow is various business deals with other groups, orange is competitors, and red is our outright enemies. If there is no color, we haven't formed anything official or delved into it yet."
Siri's eyebrows climb, because that map is dark. "Nice."
"Well, when our competitors drop out, we move in," he answered, "And when the Republic tore the Trade Federation apart after Naboo..."
His shoulder's shook with laughter. "Oh Iris, you have no idea how much that shook things up, because the TF had its dirty fingers everywhere, and suddenly, they were gone. That combined with all the Republic hits over the last decade left so many openings for us to fill in. Sure, a few new corporations have stepped up on the Confederacy side, and a little bit in the Republic, but really, they aren't as massive, influential, nor have the credentials that the TF had built up. Groups would rather do business with a proven and reliable partner such as us. We've become the greatest Crime Syndicate since the old days of the Exchange way back when. If things keep on going as they are... well..."
His smile was all teeth. "The Hutts will need to watch their backs."
Siri hummed, approaching the map and considering one spot in particular. "Ah, goodie. Nar Shaddaa is orange. That keeps things uncomplicated."
"Why the interest in the Smuggler's Moon?" he posed.
"I'm going to wipe out Karyn and his organization," she answered nonchalantly.
Alexi's eyebrows climb. "Does this have anything to do with you nagging us out of the Slave Trade?"
"In part," she agreed, "I suggest if you have anyone buried in his organization, you get them out, because I won't be leaving survivors. At least, not in the Nar Shaddaa portion of his organization."
"Noted," he mused, "I assume you would like all the info we have on his operations?"
"I would love it," she agreed.
He nods then considers the map. He types in a few commands to the console, and the rest of it fades away only leaving the orange. He types in a few commands, and part of that fade away as well. He considers what is left, a slow cruel smile on his face that honestly makes her want to pin him to the wall and chew it off. "This is all Karyn's organization and influence, if we're in place when he's gone and everything falls apart..."
"Ever the opportunist Lex," she muses.
"Its in our nature," he agrees, "I even might have a good way to get you into place."
"Oh?"
"Karyn has wanted to make ties with the Black Sun, if I send someone he assumes is a Vigo as an envoy... you do have your ring, don't you?" he posed.
She drew it out of her robe pocket and rolled it between her fingers. "Mhm."
"Tsk," he chides, reaching out to grasp her wrist.
She watches, curious, as he takes the ring, slowly sets it on her finger, then brings it up to kiss, his eyes locking on hers. "Do wear this when your out and about on the ship. Its been far to long since I've had a chance to show off my claim."
She gives him a bemused look. "I suppose it has."
"Though, I suppose I should ask," he mused, "If 'Kenobi' will cause a disruption in our status quo."
Oh, definitely jealousy there. She has to honestly think about it, she knows she had wanted to cut it between them at one point during her parole because of said Jedi, but really, she and Kenobi are never going to be an actual thing as much as she craves him. And really, she's not going to waste away pinning when she has a perfectly good male specimen right here to satisfy her. Its not like there is actual love between her an Alexi either. She favors him, but she certainly wouldn't tie the knot with him. Still...
Siri makes a face. "Is it bad if I wished it did?"
He raised an eyebrow.
"He's entirely platonic about the whole thing."
"Oh good," he says, pulling her to him and devouring her lips in her own.
Mighella gives a mock-gag. "Spare me of this."
Alexi waggles his eyebrows at the Nightsister who sniffs in derision in response.
Siri licks her lips hungrily as they part. "Don't start anything you can't finish right here and now Lex, I've had to be married to my hand the last damn ten years."
"Ouch," he sympathizes, "Stay the night then?"
"Oh kriff yes," she stated, "But first, work before pleasure. I need an assortment of materials to make a few goodies."
"Goodies?"
"How would you like a Talisman that I craft by consuming the lifeforce of its victims, which can be used by a Force Sensitive to heal you from life-threatening injuries?" she asked, blinking innocently at him.
"I think... that I really want to throw you in my bed right now," he muses.
"I'll take that as a yes," she said, grinning, "In fact, do you have anyone set up for execution I could practice on? I could have you and Mighella having your own before I head out. I also need jewelry to use as the base."
"We have a few people who were foolish enough to double-cross us currently being shown the errors of their ways down in the brig," answered Alexi, "And really? Do I have jewelry? Come now dear you know me."
Translation: being tortured to death. "Oh good. Would you like to watch?"
"Iris," he said slowly, "I would like nothing less than to watch you work again. I was honestly a little worried the Jedi had potentially made you soft."
Siri lets a rumble out of her throat, baring her teeth. "You can't tame a Sith. I was forced to sheath my teeth for the most part, but I'm more than ready to prove that I haven't lost my edge."
He tilts his head. "Prove to whom?"
She twitches, a little annoyed. "To myself I suppose. I... won't say that I'm the same as I was before, but..."
He nods. "You need to see if you still have it in you. Come then, lets see if you're capable of ritual murder then."
She was.
Oh how she was.
The screams, the howling of the Dark Side roaring in her ears, the blood on her hands and knife, Sith Sorcery pouring from her lips, the lifeforce draining out of her victim and into a necklace. She feels honestly drunk by the time she's done, so sated in the Dark for the first time since Korriban. She hangs her creation upon Alexi's neck, and honestly doesn't know how they made it back to his room before she pinned him down underneath her, nothing upon their flesh between them but his ring and her talisman as they took one another...
Siri wakes up the next day, naked in Alexi's bed. She hums in satisfied contentment, fingers fiddling with the Sith Talisman hanging down on his chest. The feeling of her creation being worn by her favored is honestly a high-worthy sensation...
Of course now that she thinks on it, there is no way Kenobi is going to wear a Sith Talisman. Not with the sensation it gives off, hell, Skywalker probably wouldn't either even when she gets back in his good graces. Dooku... might be pragmatic enough if she gives them to him in case of emergency. She wonders about masking their presence in the Force, because really, objects created by Sith Sorcery and ritualistic murder have a very hard to miss feel in the Force. She'll have to consider it later. As she was want to do over a decade ago, she dresses and slips out of the room.
Alexi had gathered a bunch of random trinkets from the ship's storage to serve as talismans for her sorcery. She goes back into the bloody cell she had used as a ritual room, and sure enough, a number of jewlery were still on the cell cot. She pockets it all into her robes and makes her way back to her ship, storing them away. She leaves and makes her way back to the galaxy map room, crosses her arms, and studies it with interest. Knowing where she can make port with allies is always useful information to know. The moment she flashes her Vigo Ring, she will have the unquestionable obedience of the Black Sun in any area. She starts taking notes on her datapad...
"Iris dear," comes Alexi's chiding voice, "That model looks positively ancient. Let me get you the latest, with much better protections, since your jotting down highly sensitive information."
She gives him a sheepish smile. "Fair enough, I wont say no to the latest tech."
An hour later, she's copied over all her old information and finished taking notes. She considers if she wants to stay another day, to bask in being here again, before the panel suddenly starts ringing. Alexi takes one look at it before freezing and ordering, "Out of sight, now."
She obeys, curious, watching as Alexi hides the talisman under his suit before pressing 'accept', the map fading out of sight and...
Siri goes ridged to see Sidious's holographic image appear. "Garyn."
"Lord Sidious," said Alexi, bowing briefly, "To what do I owe the honor?"
"Has my wayward apprentice made an appearance yet?" he posed.
"Briefly, to get the Scimitar checked for trackers, before she left," said Alexi.
Quite clever that one, telling a truth, but not the full truth.
Sidious's cowl shifted, an air of brief surprise in his voice. "The Jedi returned her the Scimitar? Interesting..."
Ah kriff. She's not sure she wanted him to know that, but its more surprising to her that he hadn't already known. Apparently the Jedi had kept that under wraps.
"I suppose better it be in Sith hands than the Jedi's," mused Sidious, "Even an insolent renegade."
Alexi clasps his hands behind her back, tilting his head slightly to the side. "Do you have orders regarding her?"
"I do," confirmed Sidious, "You are to aid in her in whatever foolish endeavors she gets herself into for the time being."
What? Why would he...
Alexi slow blinks, a flicker of confusion on his face before he masks it. "As you wish, though if I may... I'm rather curious about that choice. To my knowledge, she has dealt you considerable damage over the last decade."
Yes, good, fish for more information. He's not likely to learn much, but even the littlest slip...
Sidious laughed darkly. "Garyn, I was not hindered nearly as much as you think I was. In fact, I dare say I am ahead of where I was, save for my apprentice being... misplaced for the time being. Her actions helped to lead to a beautiful schism in the Jedi Order and the creation of a Confederacy that has gone beyond my original expectations. Whats more, I have learned certain... secrets... that she kept from me that make a desire to replace her to a minimum. Make no mistake, she will be punished for her treachery, but death will not be a mercy I grant to her, not when she still shows such use and promise. After all..."
His mouth twists in amusement. "It is her hatred of me, her desires to supplant me, that drives her. She will still make for a fine Dark Lord of the Sith Lord."
So, her Sith Sorcery was that enticing was it? Hmm...
Alexi nods slowly. "I see."
"Continue as you are in spreading your influence and funneling money into the Confederacy," ordered Sidious, "When the time comes, Alexi Garyn, you shall be the lord of the entire underworld, and have your revenge against the Jedi for foolishly passing over you."
"Of course, Lord Sidious."
"Oh, and Garyn?"
"Yes?"
"Do clean up better in the morning," came his mocking voice, "That love bite is unbecoming of someone who prides themself on professionalism."
Sidious cuts the connection after laughing.
Alexi scowls and adjust his collar. "Must you have, Iris?"
She shrugged, giving him a sly smile. "Well, I like staking my own claims."
He huffed. "Of course dear."
"So... revenge against the Jedi?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
He gives a wry smile. "I may have played up my hatred of the Jedi for considering me to old to train. One thing a Sith always appreciates is hatred of the Jedi, its not even entirely false either."
She rolls her shoulders, giving a distasteful look at the projector. "I don't like him having any interest in you. Just... be careful."
He shrugged. "I will, but really, its not like I've met him face to face since our original meeting. There is only so much he can get over a holoprojector."
"Maybe," she mused, "But don't underestimate his intuition, even if he's to far to get an accurate read in the Force. He can still meditate and probe the Force for answers if he is dissatisfied. Trying to play word and mind games with Sidious is incredibly dangerous. Getting one up over him is not easy."
She also wonders... did Sidious know about her kind-of-relationship with Alexi? She'd never hinted at it to him, but... it seemed odd for him to bother pointing a hickey out unless he was making a point. Its possible he just did it to get a rise out of Alexi, to put the man down, or... to snub at her. It could also be his idiotic sexism, snubbing the idea of a woman marking a man in power. Its probably a good thing Sidious couldn't see the clawing she left on Alex's back either. She supposes it could also just be her paranoia speaking, because Sidious might not know if Alexi's potential lover was even female.
He pops the map back up on the projector, looking over his territory with satisfaction. "Life is a dangerous game, Iris, as is any dealings with the Sith. I am very much aware that being caught between you and Sidious could end up with me very much dead. But truly, playing the game, and playing it well, adds spice to a droll life. My life wouldn't be nearly as exciting had you not stumbled into it."
Or very long she admits to herself. Because if she hadn't converted his loyalties to the Sith (to her), then he would have ended up dead.
"So then, lets get down to business," said Alexi, "I'm going to create a false ID and history for you to slip into Karyn's organization. Using Iris is a no go, have any preferences?"
She considers it for a minute, probing the Force for input...
...and gets a dark laugh in response along with a name.
"How does Zora sound?"
Notes:
Next chapter wont be for the faint of heart, or maybe it will? Terrible, horrifying things happening to terrible people, and will be told from Karyn's perspective to add more to the flavor.
Chapter 70: Hunted in the Dark
Summary:
Terrible things happening to terrible people.
Chapter Text
"Find whoever the hell it is and KILL THEM!"
The roar echoed through the dirty run-down factory floor in one of Krayn's many facilities on Nar Shaddaa. The fearful glances thrown his way and shudders from the slave trash working the plant did little to soothe the anger burning through his veins. As a T'surr, he stood towering over most. Incredibly tough blue flesh, double sets of red eyes giving him better vision than most. He preferred to keep his top half bare save for a pair of pauldrons on his shoulders, showing off his impressive muscles. He generally wore shorts, and bands around his ankles and wrists. All in all, he was a towering wall of muscle that most knew better than to get in the way of.
Shame these slaves were slow in realizing that, especially when he was enraged.
He snarled and grabs the nearest one, lifting it by its throat and slamming into the wall before throwing it across the damn room, enjoying the way the body hit and crumpled. The act edges the worst of the desire to kill away and he reasserts control. Lessons in discipline were good and all, kept the merchandise in line. Killing them randomly cut into his bottom line, and too much fear could make the slaves sloppy, which would affect the merchandise they themselves made which would hurt his profits more. Not to mention it could incite the filth if it got too out of hand.
The last slave revolt a few years back might have failed in the end, but it had taught him lessons and cost him a kriff-ton of money to clean up the mess and buy replacement slaves. New slaves had to be broken in, and sometimes they'd get that one defiant slave that had to be made an example of. But in general, slaves were simple creatures, they expected cruelty, expected to be worked hard, but they did not outright expect to be killed unless they did something to cause it. So his early methods might have caused a few long term problem. He'd been more concerned about the Hutts breathing down his neck than a few hundred dead slaves. But still, lesson learned.
That, however, didn't matter as of the moment. He didn't believe this was the work of a slave, no, it was to... neat. To unexplained. Too many deaths without evidence or clues. At first, he hadn't made much of it. One of his officers ended up dead, shit happens on Nar Shaddaa, there were a million ways to die here. The second had been an annoyance, because while there were many who would enjoy sliding into a position of authority in his organization, not many were actually good at their jobs. So hiring a potential slacker or at least training someone new to their role was irritating. The third death had been an exasperation. It hadn't been until the fifth that he actually started getting suspicious. Because really, who would be foolish enough to target him and his organization? They owned Nar Shaddaa!
But they were on their estimated sixty-fifth death in not even half as many days. It wasn't just officers anymore, anyone in his organization was fair game it seemed.
"Hmm, have I come at a bad time?" came mocking female voice.
Krayn snarled and turned, sizing up a an orange haired yellowed eye woman with diamond tattoos encompassing her eyes, dressed in a rather revealing red and black jumpsuit, a blaster-rifle strapped to her back, being escorted into the room. "Who the hell are you?"
She raises a single eyebrow, raising a hand to brush aside her hair-
That ring on her hand!
That was a Black Sun Vigo Ring.
"And after Lex decided to take you up on your request too," she mused, "Sending little ol' me to take a look at your operations. Such a warm welcome."
Did she just... did she just call Alexi Garyn, the Underlord of the Black Sun, Lex?! Was this woman close with him? Oh he had to do this carefully, had to make a good impression. While his position was strong, he was the true power of Nar Shaddaa, that was where his path to power ended under the Hutts, and he wanted so much more. They would never let him grow powerful enough to challenge them. But if he were to join the Black Sun, work his way up to Vigo, eventually usurp and become the Underlord...
Krayn cleared his throat and rolled his shoulders, giving a 'charming' smile full of teeth. "My apologies miss...?"
"Zora."
"My apologies Lady Zora," he offered, "We've been having... difficulties."
"So I heard on the way here," she said, smiling nastily, "Sounds like you really pissed someone off."
His nostrils flared, but he reigned himself in. For the time being, this woman was untouchable, no matter how irritating she was. "We have yet to figure out it is a lone enemy or a group."
"Hmm," she mused, "What have you discovered so far?"
Very little, which speaks a lot. "They're clever. They cover their tracks damn well. To the point where even our camera's arn't catching anything."
"Which suggests...?"
"They can hack into and erase footage, or they've got stealth field generators," he grits out.
"Either would certainly make things difficult," mused Zora, "Bantha shit like this is why Lex went mobile. Nobody can mess with him if they can't ever find or get to him. A command ship, or well yacht, is an amazing thing."
The idea is certainly tempting. "Slaving Ships are one thing, but the Hutts would unfortunately never authorize such an expenditure."
Not for anyone but themselves anyway.
"Shame your bosses lack the... vision... to properly equip their employees," she mused again, "Lex is much more lax about that kind of thing so long as the investment is realized. But then again, that's why you reached out to Lex, wasn't it?"
"The Hutts are... both terribly long-lived but terrible shortsighted," agreed Krayn.
Zora hummed, stretching her arms above her head and leaning back slightly, giving an impressive view of herself, before she slowly righted and said, "Alright, give me a rundown and a walkthrough of your operations. Time to see if Lex should even bother with measly Hutt Slaver, Lord of Nar Shaddaa or not."
Krayn bristled. How dare...!
He reigned it in. "Of course."
"At least you have some self control," she mused, flicking her fingertips, "Lead on."
Krayn and a small detachment of guards begin leading her through the facility. He rattles on about near a hundred facilities across Nar Shaddaa. He details the goods they make, the profit margins, their workforce, filled to the brim with slaves and low-income workers along with turnover rate. Their paired partners that fish out new slaves all across the Galaxy from the Outer Rim to the Core. The best part of it all? He doesn't have to exaggerate at all, their operation is titanic in scope. Yet... if anything, Zora seemed unimpressed.
So he showed her another facility, and another. Cracked the whip a few times on unruly slaves. Presented her a few goods. Showed her the luxury suites for the higher ups, including one she'd be given for the stay. He ended the tour with one of his favorite restaurants. Its only afterwards, when they are sipping on fine Aldaraan Wine, that she speaks her mind... its not to his liking either.
"Your operation is impressive, to be sure," said Zora, "But I think, Krayn, you fail to see the point of why I am here. What does the Black Sun need with yet another few factories filled with cheap labor? What do we need with average goods? What do we need with more slavers? What do we need with yet another contact? The answer is, we don't."
He grit his teeth. "Then why did you come?"
"For you," she answered honestly, "We're looking for quality in those who work for us, those who stand out above the rest. The reason you drew interest was because you were lauded as the man behind the machine, the one this entire operation is dependent on. But frankly, I haven't seen anything yet that couldn't be gotten with any above average thug. You're rather fortunate then, that you have a crisis going on right now for your organization."
He narrowed his eyes. "Am I?"
"With the upcoming war comes a lot of uncertainty, and yes, Lex is betting on it going to war between the Republic and Confederacy," she says, swirling her wine glass and taking a sip, savoring it for a moment before swallowing, "We need people who can take command, who can lead when shit hits the fan. Who can keep cool under pressure if either side shows up near our operations, and of course, who can turn a profit on war torn worlds."
He wonders if the Black Sun set up the current killer taking out his captains as a test. "You wish to see how I handle this then."
"Correct," she says, leaning back in her chair and...
Is her wine glass levitating?!
She smirks. "I'd love to see if you can rout out and kill this meddler. It would be a useful skill set."
He eyes the glass, and wonders if this is yet another undercover Jedi. One would think after the last they were tipped off about the Jedi wouldn't bother. But this is a forceful display, no Jedi sneaking about would do this. "You're Force Sensitive."
"Hmm, hadn't noticed," she mocked, then smirked as she tilted her head back and levitated her glass to pour it down her throat.
She sits up, sets the glass on the table, and grins. "For the record, so are Lex and a few of our higher ups. So you better impress, Krayn, because you have a high bar to meet."
He stares at her retreating form when she leaves, sweat sliding down his back.
Alexi Garyn was Force Sensitive?
That... made usurping him a lot harder. It made a lot of things harder. Hells, if he understood that Force shit right, Zora had probably sensed Krayn had wanted to kill her most of the day. It was a message, a warning, and a threat. But that was fine, he'd done high stakes most of his life, and he'd killed Jedi before, someone without official training who picked up a few tricks? More difficult, but certainly within his abilities.
He bares his teeth, chuckles deeply and downs the rest of his wine. "Challenge accepted."
Animals don't necessarily do well on Nar Shaddaa, but they have a few hounds for hunting down and sniffing out runaway slaves or tracking their goods that might have mysteriously disappeared. The next time one of his captains vanishes, he has a hound brought in to sniff him out. The scene them come across...
The man's throat was ripped open, not by a knife, but by teeth. Even more is the dozens and dozens of stab wounds to his chest. The hound handler grimaces. "Damn, this kill was viscous."
Krayn motioned the hound's handler. "Well, see if you can get a scent off it."
But the animal refuses to get closer, it wines and trembles, whimpering and trying to scoot back. "The hell is wrong with it?"
There is a soft patter of feet as Zora comes to stand beside him, frowning. "Interesting."
He turns to her. "What is?"
"I'm getting one hell of a sketchy vibe here in the Force, hell, even the mutt picks up on it," she murmured, "And look, what is that on the ground surrounding him?"
He frowns. "Its just blood."
She flicks her hand, and the body levitates. "That's not just blood, that is a symbol drawn in blood all around him.
Krayn goes silent, eyeing it, and wondering if he missed this every single time.
"Damn boss," said the hound handler, "You've got one sick bastard on the loose."
"You said it was... sketchy in the Force, what does that mean?" asked Krayn.
"Someone or something very dark killed this person and used the Force to do so," said Zora warily, "Who the hell did you piss off Krayn?"
He doesn't honestly know, so he evades. "I'd think the throat bite or the knifes would have killed him."
"No, that's not what the Force says," countered Zora, narrowing her eyes at him, "I'd almost say the life was drained out of him... an Anzat maybe? But this isn't their usual MO. Its... very excessive, and the blood symbol doesn't seem familiar."
Krayn shivered a little at the thought of an Anzat. "Know many Anzati?"
"I've met one in my life, and one was enough," she said flatly, "I read up on them to be on the safe side though."
"Smart," he agreed, "So you don't think its one?"
"I don't know," she said, withdrawing a datapad from her pocket and taking a snapshot of the symbol, "I'll see if I can't research it. I ain't doing your job for you, but..."
Her eyes go distance. "I've got a bad feeling about this, I need to keep myself aware."
She turns and walks away, pocketing the datapad.
Krayn rolls his shoulders, eying the bloody mess. "We need to up patrols, and no one goes out alone anymore. Should have already had that rule in place."
The hound handler nods. "Yes sir."
"Clean up the mess and get back to HQ," orders Krayn, walking away.
He goes a few streets before he feels a chill roll up his spine... then he hears a child's giggling. He scoffs, and glances towards the sound. Standing there at the turn of a side-street is an obviously poor, blonde human girl. Blue eyes, thin cheeks. A baggy white shirt, blue shorts witha s trap barely keeping them bound over her shoulders, and... no shoes? Was this kid kriffing stupid? She was a human, not a tough skinned species. This was a city of metal, but by all means if she wants to cut her feet on rusty scrap, more power to her and her idiot parents. Speaking of which... she was alone... were the kids parents really this stupid? On Nar Shaddaa? Well... he wasn't one to pass up on getting another slave free of charge.
He could just grab the kid, or could trick her by offering her something to come with him, less screaming that way...
The girl giggles again and clasps her hands together, swinging her arms back and forth. "Hello Krayn."
"Know of me, eh?" maybe this was one of his men's kid? "Wheres your parents kid?"
"As dead as I am."
He blinks. "Excuse me?"
"Why did you kill me, Krayn?"
He stares at her. "Why did I wha-."
The girl explodes, her body ripping apart from the inside around her shoulder, blowing an arm clean off, nearly taking her head off, and ripping open her chest in a gory bloody spray the coats the street, her, and him. Just like a slave chip blowing."The kriff?!"
The girl's nearly separated head giggles. "Killed me dead Krayn, blew me up!"
He reaches up and rubs his eyes quickly. When he lowers his hand... the kid is gone. There is no blood or gore. "The hell did I drink today?"
There is a soft giggle again, and Krayn... Krayn bugs out. He does not run, but he walks quickly, blaster drawn.
He doesn't hear or see anything odd for the rest of the day.
Krayn keeps seeing the girl as days pass.
Vanishing around corners. Scattered among his slaves in his facilities. Sitting on boxes with her legs swinging too and fro. Sometimes he only hears her giggling. Usually the kid is whole, but sometimes... sometimes he'll hear a gruesome splotch, a detonating slave chip and the girl will just be there, blown apart. She vanishes when he pursues her, when he blinks. The one time he got close enough to touch, he felt actual flesh and blood, looked away towards a distracting sound, then looked back and it was all gone. Even the blood he had on his fingers was gone. Even more... no one else seemed to hear or see anything, when asked...
"Boss? I don't see any girl."
"We don't keep kids in this facility, they're bloody useless for this kind of work."
"I... don't see any blood? Boss are you okay?"
"No? I didn't hear any explosion, no slaves were detonated today."
"I looked in the camera recordings, there is no kid there boss."
What the hell was going on?
The next time he sees the kid, walking down the hallway of one of his facilities, he pulls out his blaster and just shoots her. It hits the girl and just... ripples into her.
The girl smiles, and blood drips down from her eyes, her nose, out her ears, dribbles out of her mouth and down her chin. "You can't kill the dead, Krayn."
He shoots her again.
"Why did you kill me Krayn?"
"I don't know who the hell is doing this, but when I find out who is kriffing with me, they're going to suffer," he snarled.
She giggles at him.
He snarls and reaches for her, but his hand passes through her, making him stumble through as well.
"I knew it," he seethed, "Hologram, whoever the kriff is messing with me is dead! We have more important things to be worried about then fooling around like this!"
She giggled again and steps up to him. "I'm not a hologram, Krayn."
He lashed out with his arm, trying to make it vanish... only for his arm to hit real flesh, send the girl rocketing back and slamming into the wall hard enough to rattle it, and at an angle that snapped her neck, indenting her head, leaving a bloody smear as she slid down the wall. She smiled a bloody smile at him despite this.
"Why did you kill me Krayn?'
She detonates again in a spray of blood, her severed arm flying forward and hitting his head, making him stumble back in alarm. He catches it and squeezes, feeling real resistance. His heart is pounding, there is a chill in the air. What the hell is this? He turns and bolts back down the hallway, into the floor of the workshop he's in, and raises his hand with the arm to show one of his men...
Its gone.
What the hell?!
"Yes boss?"
He takes a deep breath, unsettled, confused... and afraid. "Where the hell is Zora?"
The woman is in her suite, typing on her datapad, but puts it aside to listen when he speaks.
"...and you keep seeing this girl?" she asked, frowning.
"Yes," he grits out, "And no, I'm not insane! This has to be some weird Force shit! Its the only explanation!"
She rolls her eyes. "I wasn't going to say you were. Its been a very long while since I've seen or heard of such an impression left in the Force. But usually its on very strong and very dark places filled with the Force, not on Nar Shaddaa."
He blinks. "...an impression?"
"Superstitious people would call them ghosts," she said slowly, "But they're more an impression, an intelligent will, left behind. Usually bound to one area, by someone powerful in the Force."
"Its followed me all over the bloody planet!" he snapped.
She crossed her arms and frowned. "Maybe not that then. Though... is it just a coincidence?"
"Is what a coincidence?"
"I wonder if this has anything to do with the killings?" she said, "That sketchy feeling I had in the Force..."
He paused. "No one has been able to find any evidence. Its as if... as if the killer doesn't exist."
"You said you felt... cold? Right? That last time?"
"Yeah, that mean anything?"
"Usually means the Dark Side," she mutters, crossing her arms.
"I don't know what that means," he grits out.
She doesn't answer for a few minutes, thinking. "Ritual killing, and a shade of some sort stalking you and your organization..."
She cocks her head. "I suppose I'll be blunt, did you kill the girl?"
"I don't bloody well know!" he snapped, "Do you know how many slaves we go through in a year?"
She opens her mouth to speak, but then a furious knock comes at the door. "Boos? BOSS!"
He snarled and moved to the door, throwing it open. "What?"
"T-t-the b-b-arracks," stuttered out one of his men, "Gods above Boss, the barracks!"
"What about the barracks?"
"M-m-massacre," he stammered out, "No one came up for the shift change, when we went d-down t-there to check..."
The man chokes a bit. "Gods above... its a bloody massacre."
Zora moves to stand by Krayn. "Show us."
Krayn had seen a lot of gruesome things in his life, but easily thirty of his men butchered in pieces, blood and body parts everywhere... is hard to stomach. The smell of ozone is oddly strong in the air, burnt flesh along with it. Some of them almost look like they'd been struck by lightning? He takes a step into the room... and feels like he is in a freezer, a chill settling into his bones.
"Holy shit," said Zora, frozen in the doorway, "The Force is screaming here."
"What... what does that mean?" he asks.
Zora takes a step back. "I... I'm contacting Lex, I want the kriff off this planet."
"You can't just leave!" he sputters.
"Krayn," she snapped at him, "If you were smart, you'd get the hell of Nar Shaddaa too. Whatever the hell this is is way above my pay grade."
"I can't just leave!" he exclaimed, barring his teeth, "I will not be driven from my Empire!"
She scoffed. "Didn't you want to leave your empire for the Black Sun?"
He hesitates.
"And besides, its not your empire, its the Hutts," she drawled, "All of this belongs to the Hutts, not you."
He grits his teeth and turns to some of his men shaking in the hallway. "Someone get me camera recordings of the room, NOW!"
They rush off, when they return, they have a terrified look on their face. "Boss..."
"Just show me," he growled.
He's handed a datapad, and a recording starts. His men are getting themselves ready for their shift, joking around with one another. One of them had a pleasure slave they were using, some of the others jeering him on. Nothing extraordinary yet. The men send the slave away when they're done, a few men walk out, then...
"Who the hell cut the heating? Its freezing in he..."
The recording tears, a high pitched screeching sound coming from it, then just static. Except... there are still voices.
"The hell? The door just... hey! It wont open, the kriff?"
"I got a bad feeling all the sudden."
"Boy, you got a bad feeling about everything."
Then a shiver rolls down his spine when that familiar giggling emanates from the recording.
"Wha- where the hell did that kid come from?"
There is an odd chanting in a harsh language he doesn't understand, then... then the screaming starts. Static overwhelms the recording, and he can hardly make out any other sounds. Then... then it clears, image restored, into the bloodbath that remained. Except... the girl is there, pristine without a shred of blood on her. She looks up at the camera, and smiles.
"One, two, I'm coming for you."
Krayn snarls and shuts the recording shuts off.
"Three, four, better lock your door."
The recording snaps back on without input, and the girl is floating, face inches from the camera, a creepy smile on her face. She reaches...
SHE REACHES A HAND THROUGH THE KRIFFING SCREEN FOR HIS NECK!
Krayn drops the datapad, kicks it away, pulls out his blaster and shoots it until its in smoldering pieces.
Zora is still frozen in the doorway, looking terrified. His men aren't any better. "Not a word of this gets out, you hear me? Not a word!"
He storms away, furious... and afraid. Then on second thought he looks back at his men and Zora, "With me!"
He's not going anywhere alone again.
Krayn had taken to keeping Zora near him, since she had the Force and could pick up on things, and managed to entice her to stay with a large sum of money. It worked so much as he never usually saw the girl when he was with Zora, but if he ventured too far... or hell, even one time while hitting the can.
"She can't keep you safe forever Krayn," he'd heard the girl whisper, giggling after, "I'm getting stronger..."
The one time they met, Zora lashed out and threw the girl down the hallway with unseen energy, but the apparition merely phased through a wall and was gone. Krayn gets over his irritation with Zora pretty quickly in favor of staying bloody well alive.
Ultimately though, keeping whats going on hushed up doesn't work.
Mainly because the massacre happens again, and again, along with the individual murders.
His people are dropping like flies, either dying or bailing out on the organization and fleeing for their lives.
By the time he's decided enough is enough, over two hundred killings have happened, and more than double that amount have bugged out. Its getting harder to staff his facilities as no one wants to join up anymore, the Hutts are furious and breathing down his neck, making threats if he can't get things back under control. The slaves are getting restless and afraid, Krayn is honestly surprised there hasn't been a riot yet. But he knows things are failing apart.
So he decides its time to go.
He asks for a big security loan to settle this once and for all, and the Hutts agree.
He buys a large yacht with it, loads up his remaining men, all the slaves he can fit along with machinery for them to work with, then leaves the Hutts high and dry. Let them deal with the kriffing Force monster-girl-thing. He asks to join the Black Sun, which is pretty much the only way he'll survive the Hutts coming after him, and Zora agrees, giving him coordinates and they're off. Zora toasts him at the yachts bar less than an hour into their trip. "To kriffing over the Hutts and high tailing it out of there. Sometimes, you gotta know when to cut and run, only an idiot would have stayed there in that mess."
He clinks his glass against hers, settled and relieved. "Agreed, to new beginnings."
He doesn't usually bed humans, but that night he finds his limbs tangled with Zora's, a bit drunk, pushing her into the bedding as he takes her. When they're finished, she lays half on top of him, humming. He rakes a hand through her hair, and decides he might keep this one around when he becomes top of the Black Sun. He settles into sleep...
They wake up with a jolt sometime later, feeling the ship coming out of hyperspace.
Zora slurs a bit. "Hrn? 'sposed to be a few day trip?"
Krayn scowls. "This bloody yacht better not have a defective hyperdrive or I'm going to have that dealer hunted down and killed."
He rolls over and grabs his comlink on the nightstand, going for his 2nd in command's number, he ought to be on the bridge. "The hell did we drop out of hyperspace for?"
Nothing.
He frowns. "Report!"
The comlink crackles alive.
"Why did you kill me, Krayn?"
He chokes.
Giggling emanates from the comlink, then it goes dead.
The bridge crew was massacred.
Krayn, Zora, and five of his most heavily armed men cautiously search through the bloodbath. The entire floor is literally covered with blood, dripping down from stations where the dead are leaned against. His men mutter prayers under their breath. Krayn... Krayn stars at a single bloody hand-print on the view-port and swallows thickly. It was supposed to be over, he was supposed to have escaped...
"It followed us," said Krayn.
"Yeah," said Zora quietly, "And now we're trapped on a ship with it heading to who knows where."
"Well find out where we're going!" he snapped.
She moved for a station, dumping a body out of the chair and presses a few keys, shaking her head. "I'm locked out."
He snarled and shoved her aside, jabbing his fingers on the key, entering the master code for the ship he was given when he bought it.
'ACCESS DENIED'
"WHY?" He roared
The screen went blank...
Then blood red letters started to appear on it.
'Why did you kill me, Krayn?'
Then the console itself starts bleeding out of its screen.
"The hell!" he screeched, stumbling away from it.
Then one of his men shoots the damn thing.
"IDIOT!" roared Zora, "You just shot our only way to get this ship back under control!"
Krayn pulls out his blaster and shoots the idiot in a rage. "We've got to have a mechanic! Get someone up here to fix this! I want this room under heavy guard all hours of the day! I want the ship under lockdown! No one moves without me knowing! No one goes in groups of less than five, and they must have a repeating blaster! Got it?"
"Yes sir!"
He runs a hand down his face, half turns to Zora, and mutters, "I didn't... I didn't know the Force could do things like this."
"The Force is full of many wonders," said Zora quietly, "But also many, many horrors."
"You've got to have some way to deal with this," he demanded, "You have the Force!"
"Yeah, the one thing about that is the Jedi and their splinter groups keep a tight reign on how to use it," she grumbled, "I'm mostly self-taught, along with what Lex and his Nightsister passed on. This is out of my league. I can ward it off when it gets close, but I don't think I can actually destroy it. Worse..."
She licks her lips. "Its getting stronger. Each kill is making it stronger Krayn, I can feel it now even when its not here. Not... not a general presence, but a subtle chill rolling through the air. We need to survive until we get out of hyperspace, get off this ship, and... kriff, I don't know. I'm almost tempted to say seek out the Jedi for help."
He snarled. "I will not surrender myself to the Jedi! I am KRAYN! I will not be defeated by this thing! I will triumph!"
"I hope you're right," she said quietly, frowning in consideration, "I'm... so bloody confused by this thing though. The other Force shit even somewhat like this requires an anchor of sorts, a place or an object that its bound to. We're off Nar Shaddaa, so it can't be the planet itself."
"Can it be bound to a person?" he asks uneasily.
It keeps coming after him.
"Not usually without certain signs or effects," she said, eying him, "You don't look like you're having the life drained out of you, its not possessing you either..."
"Posses?!" he demanded, "It can posses people?!"
"Probably?" she said with hesitations, "Some of the other things I'm aware of could, though usually it required a person holding the object the thing was bound to."
He contemplates that. "Could... it be possessing one of my men? Dragging around it's 'anchor' with them?"
"Possibly," she murmurs, "But I imagine it'd be hidden if so."
"We have to check," he said, "Because frankly Zora, I don't think surviving until we get out of hyperspace is a realistic option. We have to find and kill it."
She rolls her shoulders, turning to eye a mound of corpses being made of the bridge crew by the men moving them out of the way. "I don't like our odds. Its already killed hundreds."
He takes the repeating blaster from the man he shot. "We have little choice."
They search the ship inch by bloody inch.
Sometimes literally.
They find the odd corpse here and there, dead, blood etched into the floor around them, a chill in the air. Some of his men are... broken, sobbing to themselves and rocking, begging for forgiveness and offering apologies. He finds it disgusting enough to shoot one of them to force the rest back into line. He'll occasionally hear blasterfire and screaming. But the worst...
The worst is the quiet.
When hours pass and nothing happens.
They walk through the ship, and its freezing. It feels like he has something crawling over his skin, eyes on him at all times. They end up finding... nothing. Nothing at all. Its enraging, then... then a nearby scream. They rush towards it, burst into a room...
Krayn has never felt more terrified in his life.
One of his men is levitating slightly off the floor, his throat slit, screaming in gurgles. The girl stands next to him, chanting in a harsh dark tongue, above him levitates a golden amulet, below him a circle of glowing blood swirls. Some kind of energy is flowing out of the man, and he starts writhing in agony. Then...
Then a blue ghostly version is sucked out of the body, gives one last terrified scream, and is sucked into the amulet.
Krayn isn't superstitious.
But he's pretty sure that amulet just ate the man's soul.
The girl turns and smiles a wicked smile. "You'll all be going into one of these soon enough."
"FIRE!" he screams.
The room lights up with a torrent of blasterfire. When it clears, the girl and the amulet are gone.
He wakes up out of a nightmare the following morning, having dreamed of himself being sucked into the amulet, and shivers. He reflexively checks for Zora, finding her naked form asleep next to him. He had desperately needed to take his mind off the madness, and the pleasures of the flesh had been a much needed escape. He hesitates for a moment, before reaching for his comlink and dialing the new bridge crew.
"Status report?"
He dreads silence, but thankfully he gets an answer that isn't the girl. "Had to cannibalize a few work stations, but I've got the main console back up and running. I'm working on seeing if I can't override the lockdown on the console."
Finally, something going right. "Good, keep me appraised."
"Sir... we lost contact with two patrols last night."
Krayn snarls under his breath. "I... enough is enough. I want a patrol to fetch all the supplies they can and bring them to the bridge. Then I want all of the men recalled there. Leave the slaves to rot..."
He pauses. "The slaves."
"We never checked the slaves for the anchor!" he realized, "Zora get up!"
She groans. "Honestly... kriffs me into the bloody mattress and doesn't let me sleep in."
He garbs himself and throws clothes at her, impatiently waiting for her to dress before they leave, the guard outside his room falling in behind them. The men are silent, skittish, he's impressed that they manage to not even make a sound when they walk. He orders them to wait outside, then he and Zora walk into the Slave Quarters, which really, was just a large storage room for them to sleep on the floor...
Its empty.
There isn't a single slave inside.
"What the hell?" he whispers.
Zora walks in and raises a single finger to her lips, glancing around. "There's no one in here at all?"
For a moment, he thought he heard shuffling, breathing... but there is nothing there!
"No blood though... what the hell did it do with them then?" mutters Zora.
Krayn backs out of the room and turns, ready to order his men...
They're gone.
He freezes and then hisses. "Zora! Get out here!"
"I'm coming I'm... where are the men?" she said uneasily, jabbing a fist on the door button and closing it, "Krayn... Krayn I have a terrible feeling, we need to go, now."
They run, and as they do, he grabs his comlink. "All of you to the bridge, NOW!"
He waits for an acknowledgement, but hears nothing. "Report!"
That infernal giggling comes from the comlink. "All alone Krayn, all alone in the dark. There's no one left."
Then he hears a choking sound behind him. He stops, whirls, and finds Zora floating mid-air, struggling, clutching at her throat. She's... she's being strangled by nothing. He turns and runs, leaving her to her fate without hesitation. He's got to... got to... wait... yes! If he can shut down the hyperdrive, he can force them out of hyperspace and then get into an escape pod, trigger a beacon, and get out of here! He sprints for engineering...
The hallway lights start flickering.
They flicker once...
The girl is standing in his path, smiling.
He grinds to a halt and raises his repeating blaster.
"Why did you kill me, Krayn?" she asks once again.
"Because you slaves are worthless, weak, pathetic mongrels!" he roars at her.
She smiles widely, and starts walking forward. "Finally, some honesty. Its time to draw this to an end then."
The lighting flickers.
Instead of the girl there is... Zora? No... the hair isn't the same, she's dressed completely in black robes, and the eyes... the eyes are molten yellow. She trails a hand along the wall and leaves streaks of blood where she touched...
The lightning flickers.
The girl and the woman are gone. The blood streak remains.
Krayn is shaking.
"Krayn."
He whirls around and raises his blaster...
But its just Zora. Shit. He let her behind. He swallows thickly. "I... listen Zora, surely you understand, I had to run..."
Zora cocks her head, but when she speaks, its the girls voice that comes out of her mouth. "Zora? Who is Zora?"
Krayn steps back and raises his blaster and fires. It goes right through Zora like she's not even there. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?! What did you do with Zora!"
"Zora," mused the thing possessing her body, "Wasn't real."
The lighting flickers, and the girl is there instead of Zora.
He drops his blaster and stumbles backwards, terrified, and falls on his ass.
The girl cocks her head and stares down at him, dark satisfaction on her face. "Zora was never real."
"What... what do you mean?" he demands.
"She was an illusion I created," explained the girl, smirking, "You were, quite literally, kriffing compressed air particles. Did you enjoy yourself?"
"That... that can't be true, I felt her, I was in her!" he denies.
She laughs, shaking her head. "Oh this was the most fun I've had in so very long. But like all good things, it come to an end. Consumed by the dark."
"W-what are you?" he whispered.
"Some people call me Rain," mused the girl, "But you..."
The girl whispers hungrily, her young eyes flashing yellow. "Will scream the name Zannah for the rest of your agonizing existence."
He rolls and lunges up and away, making to sprint away.
Snap-hiss.
He blinks, and a red lightsaber is buried through his chest, a dark cloaked figure standing before him. Molten yellow eyes gleam out from under the hood, and a woman's voice whispers out, "Hello Krayn."
He staggers back as she withdraws the lightsaber, wheezing and clutching at his chest. A boot kicks him to the floor, and then Zannah and the cloaked figure stand over him. The figure withdraws an amulet from her cloak, and its the most terrifying thing he's ever seen.
"I'm going to drain your lifeforce out of your body, you worthless slime," seethed the woman, staring down at him with hatred so deep it takes his breath away "You will be trapped inside the amulet, tormented, until you are consumed to give your life more purpose than its ever had before."
"P-please...," he begs.
"How many have been in your position, Krayn?" she snarled, "Begging for mercy and their lives? How many people, how many slaves, have you and your men taken captive, sold and branded and bred like cattle? Beaten, abused, raped, and murdered? I've seen so many instances in my short time taking apart your organization. Having truly witnessed it myself, not as a mere outside observer, but watching it happen as it happened, has given me something I almost hate as much as him."
Than... him? Who... who was...?
She exhales, shaking with rage. "No hesitation, no doubt. You and yours deserved everything we did to you and more."
Zannah snorts. "I'd call you soft, but really, I'm impressed by the sheer amount of slaughter and mind-kriffing you did with his men."
The figure smiled. "I think I'll gift his amulet to Anakin."
Who...
Zannah snorts. "Of course you will Tachi."
Tachi... as in... as in the Sith?
Siri Tachi smiles down at Krayn and starts chanting in a burning tongue.
Krayn screams.
He never stops screaming.
Chapter 71: A Dark Return
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
*beep beep beep*
Obi-Wan Kenobi frowns at his comlink. He was just about to settle down for tea and relaxation with his padawan after returning from their last mission. With Anakin and Feemor on a mission to protect Senator Amidala, Yoda on council business, and Dooku trying to hammer sense into Qui-Gon yet again, he'd hoped for some peace and quiet. Apparently not, especially since its Siri calling. He sighs quietly to himself, mouths 'Siri' to Jinzler's raised eyebrow. She rolls her eyes and sighs.
"Just pick it up, Master."
He does so. "What is it, Siri?"
"I've just entered the system with a yacht full of slaves that need their implants removed and a fresh start at life, I could use a place to land."
"You... Siri, where did you get a yacht full of slaves?" he asked, incredulous.
"I might have taken on a slaving organization."
Well... at least she did something productive. "Ah, so you escaped with them?"
He hears a dark laugh from Rain over the comlink, Siri merely answers, "Escape is one way to phrase it."
He narrows his eyes. "Siri, what did you do?"
"Could you make sure Anakin is there? I did kind of do this for him."
Obi-Wan closes his eyes and begs the Force for patience. "Anakin is currently on-mission protecting the senator of Naboo."
"Ah good, aren't the Naboo a bunch of goodie goodies who'd take in a bunch of slaves? Give em a ring."
"Siri...," he grits out in a rising tone.
"Bye."
The comlink beeps off. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"I mean... she fought slavers and freed slaves, isn't that... good?" asked Jinzler.
Obi-Wan purses his lips. "The bad feeling remains all the same."
He dials Anakin. "Hey Obi-Wan, whats up? You usually don't call us during a mission."
"Siri made a mess," said Obi-Wan mildly, "She apparently has a yacht full of slaves she freed and wants you there."
There is a shocked silence for a long minute, so loud he can feel it in the Force from across Coruscant. That boy is ridiculous sometimes. "Is the senator of Naboo there? I don't wish to presume, but the former slaves will need help starting over."
He waits, but rather than Anakin speaking, Feemor does. "Sorry, had to pry the comlink out of numb fingers, apparently she surprised him."
Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "You don't sound surprised."
"Oh I know where she went and who she took on," mused Feemor, "The Galaxy will be a better place without Krayn in it."
He hears Anakin choke out. "S-she went after Krayn?!"
"Oh for Shiraya's sake," comes Senator Amidala's voice, "Give me the comlink."
"Good evening Senator Amidala," said Obi-Wan pleasantly, "Its been awhile."
"It has," she agreed in a mild tone, "I need details, now."
"I have little, apparently Siri Tachi took on a slaving organization and returned with a yacht full of slaves," he answered.
Senator Amidala sighs. "I need half an hour to make a few calls and set something up."
Roughly an hour later, things were a bit out of proportions if one asked Obi-Wan. He watches alongside his padawan, Feemor, Anakin, Senator Amidala and some of her handmaidens, half the Jedi Council, the Chancellor and his guard, a large chunk of medical and security staff, and a news crew as a pleasure yacht sets down on one of the larger Coruscant landing platforms. There are a number of medical frigates set up to handle the slaves for the time being until they are ferried out to their new lives. He purses his lips as the yacht touches down... and feels a chill settle down upon his bones, electing a shiver from him. He isn't even on the ship and his skin is crawling.
"Oh Siri, what did you do?" he mutters.
"Master Jedi?" posed the Chancellor, "Is something wrong?"
"Judging from what I sense," Windu answered for him, "The security staff wont be needed, there are no slavers alive on that ship to take captive."
"Ah, so she took the slaves and fled then?" asked the Chancellor, echoing Obi-Wan's earlier words.
Windu shook his head. "No, she did not. I feel... death. She took that vessel in a way that stains it in the Force."
He turns away from the Chancellor's perplexed expression and addresses the rest of the Council. "No one who isn't a master gets on that ship, and Vos is not stepping foot on it to get a reading, we're not risking him falling. Agreed?"
The Council nods, Fay's lips are pursed tightly, Yoda's ears drooped down.
"I would think the Jedi would be happy," posed the Chancellor cautiously, "That a former Sith took on slavers."
"Its not what, but how," answered Windu, "And from what I feel, 'former' is certainly not accurate."
The loading bay of the yacht opens, cutting off further conversation. Siri saunters out, a self-satisfied smile on her face, a horde of former-slaves hesitatingly at her heels.
She ignores all of them and walks up to Anakin. "So?"
He looks at the slaves streaming out, being directed by medical staff and security. He looks back to the ship. "Krayn is dead?"
"In a manner of speaking," she said, a sadistic smile on her face before she fished out a gold amulet from her clothes that made Obi-Wan's skin crawl, "Here."
Anakin stared at it. "...what is it?"
"A Sith Healing Talisman," she answered.
"I didn't think the Dark Side could heal," he said slowly.
"Not without a price being paid," she answered, "By the way, I named the Talisman."
Anakin frowned. "...okay?"
"Its called Krayn," she said, that sadistic smile stretching wide.
She named a piece of jewelry after the slaver? He stretches out with the Force and touches it...
Obi-Wan rears back, staggers away, turns and bends over to retch all over the ground.
"Master Jedi!" exclaims the Chancellor, "Are you alright?"
Obi-Wan is shaking, he feels his Padawan's confusion and alarm and feels her stretching out her senses for the...
He straightens, grabs her arm, and hoarsely grits out. "Do. Not. Touch that with the Force."
Jinzler's probe shrinks back, and she swallows. "Okay."
He hears a sharp intake from Anakin, who, when Obi-Wan turns, finds is actually holding the damn thing. Rather than be repulsed and horrified, he hefts it in his hand, tossing it up and down in consideration. "Krayn huh."
"Certainly putting him to more use now than he's ever had in his entire misbegotten life," said Siri coldly, voice filled with hate.
Obi-Wan watches Anakin and Siri's eyes connect. Some understanding passing between them, and... and Anakin pockets the abomination. Obi-Wan is rendered speechless by this, the council isn't far behind. Feemor just seems resigned to it. "How is it used?"
"Few ways," she said, "A Force Sensitive can direct the pull from the Talisman and use it to heal a fatal wound with ease. A None-Force Sensitive, to my surprise, can use it by pressing the Talisman to a wound with their intent behind it."
"How'd you figure that out?"
"A few slaves asked what I was doing by making these, I explained it, then one of them just straight up grabbed one and pressed it against another's maimed leg from an old wound, worked like a charm," she admits, bemused, "I ended up giving out a few to the ones who had more long term major injuries."
Obi-Wan swallowed. "And they were fine using these?"
Siri cocks her head, half-turning. "Obi-Wan. What justice means to the Jedi, and what justice means to a slave, are two very different things. Over twenty thousand years of slavery or so called 'indentured servitude' in Hutt space, millennia of utter suffering. You feel what I did and are horrified, they see what I did and they are satisfied."
Obi-Wan considers her words, and stretches out his senses. He samples what nearby former-slaves who overheard the words feel, and samples what Anakin feels...
Vindication.
They feel exactly the same, and suddenly, a lot about Anakin and his issues with adapting to the Order and its rules makes a lot more sense.
"I take it you don't want one?" she taunts, "After all..."
Her smile is downright nasty. "I made quite a few."
Obi-Wan is fairly certain he's not doing well keeping the horror off his face. "No thank you."
"Is there a problem here?" posed the Chancellor, stepping past his guards, standing a few paces behind Anakin, "When I was informed that this dreaded and notorious slaver had been taken down, I would have thought such things would have been cause for a celebration. Certainly newsworthy at least. Yet..."
"Oh, the Jedi just have weak constitutions, Chancellor," she said in a mockingly sweet tone, "I was not particularly merciful in how I dealt with the slaver filth, and they can feel that.."
"Yes, well, considering the issue of slavery is detestable and usually outside of our jurisdiction, they've escaped justice for too long," said the Chancellor mildly before eying Siri, "Speaking of jurisdiction, are we to expect an envoy from the Hutts in response to this?"
Siri smiled sweetly. "I'm not an official representative of the Republic, so it wouldn't matter for you anyway. But, no, considering that I discovered Krayn as he was robbing the Hutts blind and making off with this yacht after stealing a loan from them, they'd probably reward me. It was such a good opportunity that I just couldn't pass it up."
Lie. Truth.
A partial truth, but 'lie lie lie lie lie' echoes from her in the Force far more than truth, along with dark laughter that sends a shiver down Obi-Wan's spine.
"I see," said the Chancellor, "They are a backstabbing lot, aren't they?"
"Oh you have no idea," she agreed, "Now if you excuse me, I have a something I need to retrieve before I'm off. Things to do and all that."
She turns and walks back towards the ship before the Chancellor can say anything further.
"She's rather difficult to pin down for a conversation," muses the Chancellor, "I had hoped to speak to her after she had left the temple months ago, but she disappeared quite quickly. Though I can't disagree with the results. I don't suppose you could ask her for a moment of her time for me, Anakin?"
Anakin shrugs. "Sure."
When Siri returns and steps off the ramp, its like all the warmth has been sucked out of the area. She levitates a large crate, a medallion string hanging from the lid improperly sealed the only hint of what is in it physically. The Force itself writhes and screams around the crate, so many cries echoing from it that tear at his senses and assault his mind. He hears a gasp from Fay, and glances back to see her on the verge of collapse. She whirls and walks briskly away, apparently not able to stand being near such a collection of abominations. Windu stares at the crate with a cold stony look, Yoda... shakes his head and walks away as well. Obi-Wan is tempted to do the same. To him, to a Jedi, it matters not who they were and what their crimes were, no one deserves what he feels. Their life essence trapped inside a bauble to be consumed to heal another. The Dark Side is truly, absolutely, abhorrent...
Siri did this, she did this abominable act.
Obi-Wan stares at her.
"Believe me Obi-Wan, between me and Sidious, I'm the lesser evil."
He remembers her saying that to him once.
She pauses her walk and turns her head to meet his stare. She smirks. She has the audacity to smirk, and mocks, "Sure you don't want one?"
The lesser evil.
Right.
He turns and walks away.
At long last.
It was time to ignite the fire that would burn the Galaxy.
From it, his glorious Empire would arise.
Everything was in place.
Finally.
His apprentice disappearing off the face of the galaxy for a few months had annoyed Sidious, had risked setting him back yet again or to go forward with her a missing variable, but her return to the scene had been just on time, and glorious. The masses would eat it up so readily, slavers who escaped justice receiving their due punishment, along with 'rescuing slaves', all done by a Sith. His apprentice was rather clever, snipping in the bud Skywalker's anger with her, flaunting her power in the face of the Jedi, gaining approval with the public, practicing her sorcery, and sating her long-parched appetite for the Dark, all in one effort, and that ship... oh... the ship she arrived in was so stained with the Dark Side, Sidious had to reign his craving to explore every nook and cranny of the defiled ship until later. For the time being, Tachi needed to drop off her trove of Sith Talismans somewhere secure, but she had an appointment scheduled shortly thanks to Skywalker's prodding. He will admit to no one but himself, he's been waiting for this moment, and many like it, for the last decade, and yet... despite his anticipation he is actually apprehensive.
At the start of his apprentice's rebellion, he hadn't taken her seriously, at all. He still truly didn't, but unlike then, he recognized now that there was a threat with her that is more than an infuriating inconvenience. No one who could wield Sith Sorcery should be taken lightly, and especially not one who appears to take so readily to it. She may have stagnated for the last decade, but now that she is free of the Jedi, and with the upcoming war, she is going to grow. She will grow quickly.
He is quite looking forward to the day they meet in combat again, Korriban had merely ignited his appetite.
"Chancellor," pinged his secretary, "Your meeting is here."
He rechecks his shielding, and makes sure his presence is properly suppressed with extra caution before he presses a button and speaks into the intercom. "Ah good, do show her in."
His apprentice saunters in, a mocking smile on her face, a flourish of her arm and a bow so weak it was either an intentional insult or she didn't care enough to put in anymore effort. Hard to tell which. "Good day Chancellor, you called?"
Such an insolent thing she was. He raises a single eyebrow and motions to the seat across from him. "Please, have a seat."
She does and flops down.
"Anakin has told me, somewhat, of your ideals," mused Sidious, "About wanting to change the Sith to be something... 'better' I believe was the phrase?"
"He tell everyone about what I say?" posed Tachi mildly.
"I am the Chancellor," he rebutted, "And as such, I have a vested interest in the security of the Republic. You, Siri Tachi, are either a potential breach, or a potential boon. This is what I wish to discuss with you."
"Alright, shoot," she said, leaning back in her chair, a mocking smile on her face.
Always so insolent and disrespectful. Sidious finds it odd sometimes of how... fond... he is of it, and her.
He begins his gambit, the only gambit he foresees having potential issues. To be honest, killing off the Jedi Order and making his Sith Empire will be easier then wrangling his apprentice back to her proper place. "I have had briefings on the Sith ever since your public revelation as one. I have noted, one way or another, that the Galaxy has been caught between wars between the Jedi and the Sith Order at the cost of potentially trillions, if not more, lives. So much damage, so much waste, for a mere different in religious outlook on the Force."
He leans forward. "I wish for this to end."
Tachi cocks her head, a faint glimmer of interest in her eyes. "Its a bit deeper than religious outlook, but I agree otherwise."
Deeper indeed, but a supposed non-Force-Sensitive wouldn't understand that, and Sidious had a role to play. "As such, I wished to... test... your commitment to your desire for a better Sith. I can admit I was annoyed when you disappeared, the Jedi warned me likely to ill ends, but I can't say your return here disappointed me, far from it."
"From their point of view, what I did was ill ends," she pointed out.
He says nothing initially, noting the slight pursing of her lips. She's irritated about something. He wont risk her discovering him, so he does not probe with the Force. But... yes... its not hard to figure out her irritation. "Ah yes, Knight Kenobi did not accept your generous offer for one of those... Talismans?"
There is a slight twitch, an annoyance that proved he struck true. "No, he didn't, and it was foolish of him."
"I am curious though, why are the Jedi so... abhorrent of them?" he asked, testing to see how much she'd reveal to his public persona...
She shrugged. "I killed the slavers and consumed their life-force to make them. It uses that life-force to heal with."
That... was not quite true, and not quite a lie either. He was very much aware that the slavers very souls were trapped inside the Talismans, waiting to be consumed. She was blunt and forward enough to a surprising degree, but held back the worst of it. Perhaps she was testing his public persona as much as he was testing her. "I see."
She watches him, face passive, waiting for his reaction.
He leans back in his chair and considers her. "Like I said on the platform, those who partake in slavery have long since evaded justice as a whole. While I believe in the rule of law, I also acknowledge that it has weaknesses and faults, and that sometimes concessions must be made for the greater good."
Her eyes go distant for a moment, a frown on her face. "Be careful Chancellor, on how you use the phrase 'Greater Good'."
He blinks, a little curious where this is coming from. "Why?"
"One person's Greater Good is another person's personal nightmare," she mutters, "Some would use the phrase to justify their own atrocities."
That was precisely the point in using the phrase! Where in the galaxy did she pick up this from? "I'll keep that in mind, but forgive me, I'm rather curious where a Sith picked up such a viewpoint."
She smiled tightly. "A Jedi I encountered during my apprenticeship before I arrived in the temple."
Not Dooku, because he's heard the man use that phrase himself. Not her failed sacrifice, he had watched the recording of it several times. Not Kenobi or Jinn. So who...
Siolo Ur Manka.
Coldness sinks into his gut. A fury he has to contain that the Jedi who almost pushed her into returning from the Dark Side left a taint on his apprentice and her outlook. "I won't press on the circumstances."
"Wise."
He raises a single eyebrow at the comment, the idle threat of her tone, but lets that part rest. "But, do you truly agree with it? One could say how you handled the slavers would be for the greater good."
"I never said it was my viewpoint," she corrected, "I'm aware of it, and I accept the consequences of it."
Interesting.
He considers her, how important it is to try and peel apart what drives his apprentice beyond mere hatred of him. In her words she reveals that she is willing to do what must be done, but... what else? That she... is aware of the price to be paid when she does so? What of it? Who cares? The Sith will use what they will no matter the price so long as it is not disadvantageous to their overall goal...
No.
No, no generalizations. No letting potentially important observations slip by. She has been with the Jedi for a decade now. Analyze it.
If she says she is aware of the consequences of it, that may in turn imply she may wish to not incur said consequences... unless it is those she firmly believes deserve to be on the receiving end of 'The Greater Good', such as the slavers. He does not taste the Force to confirm, not with her right here, but he none the less feels that he is correct in his observation. Good... good... this is potentially important to note. He will have to wean her back into a disregard for civilian casualties most likely it seems.
Blasted Jedi and their influence.
After having considered it for a minute, he slowly nods. "Awareness is rarely a bad thing, especially in the times we are heading towards."
She gives a tight smile. "Funny that you mention awareness, as I have little interest in getting involved with the upcoming war."
One would think she would revel in such bloodshed. "May I ask why?"
"Once you step onto his gameboard, its hard to see the bigger picture," she explained, "Playing Sidious's game only serves him."
Not untrue. Its one of the reason he intends to throw the Jedi headfirst into the war as generals. Put them on the battlefield, force them to be responsible for the lives of battalions of men, force them to deal with logistics, ect... it will keep them from looking into things best left in shadows. But his apprentice studied under him long enough to understand a little of how he functions beyond what one would expect of a Sith. Which is more of an understanding than most Jedi will ever have. It makes her uniquely dangerous in potentiality. There are a few key pieces of information she can never be allowed to find out without actual dire consequences.
He had considered multiple avenues with the inhibitor chips; from only listing the executive orders as a mater of protocol, to mentioning the chips were only to prevent aggression, to not mentioning anything at all, to leaving it as mere paperwork buried somewhere, to giving orders that clones were not to ever mention them. Ultimately, with his apprentice as an active opponent, he played his hand more carefully in order to deal with her correct paranoia in regards to him.
Publicly in the paperwork, in a manual update for the clones themselves, and to all newly born and trained troopers: Order 66 was no longer an order to kill the Jedi, but to capture them and return them to the Jedi Council for trial. It is especially effective in the case of C'Baoth's fallen collection of Jedi, it gives it validity. In truth, it was never changed, and he has doubts that the subject of the Executive Orders will come up often, let alone that one of them was changed prior to the war. His designed ending of the Jedi Order, betrayed by the men they were to lead, hadn't changed. Still... he's not going to flaunt it, he won't desperately hide all traces of it, but keeping it carefully in the open, unassuming...
Well, the best case scenario is to not give her a choice but to get involved in the war, to keep her focus inside the conflict. "I'll have to keep that in mind myself. Now to get back to my initial point, while dealing with the slavers was an excellent start, there is still far more to go to make a 'Better Sith', to prove yourself to the Galaxy. To that end, I wish for you to join Anakin and Master Feemor in guarding Senator Amidala."
"I am a decade behind in preparing myself to face Sidious, and you want me to waste my time guarding a senator?" she asked, incredulous.
"Ah, but did you not say you believe Sidious was influencing things in the senate, in the public?" he posed, "Does that not mean you need to counter that, or raise your own image in turn? Was that not one of the reason's you destroyed the slavers?"
Judging by the look on her face, no, it wasn't. Had she truly not even thought of the public ramifications for destroying Krayn's Organization? Merely done it to get back into Skywalker's good graces? Force, sometimes as much as she pleased him, she could be such a disappointment. Then again, he hadn't quite reached the point in teaching her the fine arts of politics and manipulating the masses. He supposes he will do his duty in teaching her now, without her truly knowing. It amuses him to think she believes she will ever escape him and his influence.
She scowls. "Just because I want the Sith to be better doesn't mean I ever wish to turn them into the kriffing Jedi Order."
"Then what do you mean by it?" he asks honestly.
"I'm still working on it," admits his apprentice, "But the Sith have a tendency to lean towards atrocities..."
She pauses then adds, "...towards those who don't deserve it."
Ha, so what she did to the slavers was acceptable by her standards then? Making it up as she goes, how... amusing.
"Its one of the things that truly irritate me about my predecessors," she said, crossing her arms, leaning back... and planting her feet up on his desk, truly she tries his patience, "They will do things for purely the sake of it, to empower the Dark Side without purpose."
"How so? What must we be on the watch for if this truly goes to war?" he posed, wondering where she was going with this, as empowering the Dark Side WAS the purpose of so many actions.
"Don't be surprised if planetary bombardment happens," she said in a tight, grim smile, "All that death, destruction, horror, despair, outrage... everything will spill out into the Force, empowering the Dark Side and smothering the Jedi."
Oh, he wonders... can he use this? To create another fissure? Or at least more tension between the Jedi and Senate? Is she truly giving him a way to use this wonderful gift? "I am unsettled by the notion of bombardment, but, I'm sorry, what do you mean by 'smothering the Jedi'?"
She gives a coy, vindictive smile, and he knows, oh he knows, that she is about to readily spill the beans. Kenobi and Skywalker may have her favor, but the rest of the Jedi do not. "Sidious is clouding the Force, making it incredibly difficult for the Jedi to receive the Force's guidance or receive accurate foresight. Its only going to get worse for them when the war starts."
He makes a show of sitting back in his chair, a shocked look on his face, rendered speechless for half a minute before he swallows, licks his lips, and asks, "How long?"
"Roughly two decades at minimum," she said, "From where it started to become more obvious. If it was going on longer, it wasn't in a very noticeable manner."
"...and you swear this is true?" he posed.
"Corner Skywalker if you don't believe me, he'll back me up," she said, a sly look on her face, "I trust you will do so, after all, Chancellor, how many decisions have you and your predecessor made relying on compromised Jedi insight?"
"Too many," he said in a thin tone, and honestly, the arrogance of the Jedi; they already admitted to the damage done to them through the Senate by the Sith that Tachi revealed, why not this too while they were at it? They had the chance then to come clean, but now? It will seem like they were hiding it, and lying to those who had trusted in them. Oh they made it so easy, and his apprentice was apparently happy to aid in taking them down a peg whether it aided him or not, "I will ask Anakin for his honest word, then I will bring it up in the next senate session."
Oh the Jedi were in for major public backlash, even before the war was to begin. He's tempted to order C'Baoth to have his Dark Jedi cause an catastrophe, but no, no. He holds his desire back because far better it be if the actual Jedi Order is technically responsible for the start of the war. Its why, after all, he had Gunray look into posting a bounty on Amidala. The Jedi will find Jango Fett, he will leave a trail of evidence to lead them to Kamino, then lure them to Geonosis and it will begin. As a matter of principle, he shouldn't want his apprentice involved with this part in the slightest, and yet...
The Dark nudges him otherwise. It does not hint why, except to express a flicker of delight, a sense of potent rage on someone's part not his own. Something Tachi will do during this will amuse the Dark Side. That does not however mean it will benefit him. Still... he's pleased by his apprentice's latest foray into the Dark Side, he can hardly wait to investigate the slaver ship, so he will allow her to play.
"So," he said, "Will you agree to aid in safeguarding Senator Amidala?"
"What makes you certain they will want or agree to my presence?" she posed, "Small involvement or not, I was there for the Trade Federation Occupation of Naboo, she won't be receptive to that."
"She will if I ask, if I phrase your involvement a certain way," he said with his own sly smile, "So tell me, how does the phrase 'Agent of the Chancellor' suite you?"
She raises a slow, single eyebrow. "You are a bold man, Chancellor. Don't think I don't see you're trying to set a precedent of using me."
"You haven't said no."
"Public image isn't that important to me as of the moment," she said, eyes locked on his, not a greedy, but calculated one in her gaze, "I'll naturally gain it on my time overall so long as I don't stick my finger into the wrong pie. So what else do you have to offer?"
Yes, he thinks he will let his apprentice play, let her stretch her wings, if only to see what she does and delight in what he made of her. "What do you wish?"
She smiles.
Feemor is so incredibly tired of being pulled infront of the Council because of Anakin Skywalker. No matter whether the padawan actually did something to deserve the scrutiny or not. It also puts him at odds by making him sympathetic to Jinn having had to do this for most of the boy's padawan years. The young man himself makes a joke out of it, taking a tally every time.
"The fact that he took the Sith's twisted creation is cause for alarm, Master Feemor," said Windu, fingers pressed together as he sat in his chair in the Council Room, "If it were not for the fact he is on-mission guarding the Senator and hasn't defiled the Temple with it, he would be here himself explaining his actions. There is also the fact of what we felt from him. He was not horrified by it, he was satisfied."
For Force sake, they should know who they are talking about. "The boy was a former slave, surely you realize this?"
"A Jedi must let go," said Windu, "And not be affected by their past and personal vendettas. It is something he had always struggled with."
He is so tired of this. "Jedi come in many forms, Master Windu, Anakin will never be a stereotypical Jedi. Maverick in name, but not like others who take a more guideline view of the code. His own personal feelings do not make him evil so long as he does not act on them in harmful ways."
"And you don't believe taking the Sith's amulet counts?" posed Master Piell.
"He didn't create it, and I don't doubt he would use it to save a life."
"At the horrific cost of consuming someone's lifeforce?!" Master Rancisis.
"He wouldn't see it that way," admits Feemor, rubbing his eyes.
"Pardon?"
"There is nothing the Galaxy that would ever make Anakin not feel that slavers as a whole should be put to death, right to a trial be damned," said Feemor.
Windu frowns. "You do realize what kind of condemnation that is for your padawan, do you not?"
Feemor sighs in frustration and glares at him, earning a look of reproach back. "Honestly Masters? I am sick of getting caught in the middle of this the last few years. Either you want Anakin Skywalker to be a Jedi, or you do not. The boy has a good heart, he can be kind and thoughtful of others, giving when he so chooses to be. I like the young man to be frank, but that does not blind me to the darker parts of his nature. I am not unaware, nor do I refuse to see and acknowledge, that he has a much higher risk of falling than the average Jedi."
"You believe he should be released from the Jedi Order?" posed Fay.
"That is not what I said, as he has not yet done anything to truly deserve expulsion, taking the amulet is highly questionable, certainly, but expulsion for it? No. Regardless that isn't my choice anyway. If the Council desires him gone, then you should be prepared for the consequences of it," said Feemor, "So long as he is a Jedi, he is bound by our laws and rules. He might believe every slaver should be put to death without trial, but he wont actually go and do so. His lineage helps ground him, and more importantly, while he is here being a Jedi, he is not out there, alone and isolated and ripe for the picking by Darth Sidious."
He grimaces. "I don't believe, in hindsight, there was ever a realistic outcome but make him a Jedi once he was publicly known about. If the Council had turned him away at age nine, Darth Sidious would have picked him up and raised him Sith."
"So the crux of the matter is there is no choice but to go ahead and hope for the best?" posed Piell.
"No," said Master Fay, "As I said before. The boy is the Chosen One, and as the Chosen One, he will choose."
"And we have to help guide him to make the right choice," said Windu, sighing, "The righteous thing to do would be to take the Sith abomination Tachi gave him and destroy it, releasing what is trapped inside. However, the correct thing to do in this situation in regards to Skywalker is to let him keep it. Because if there came a time when he could have saved someone important to him with it, and he couldn't because of us... it could be a divide that the Sith Lord uses to an catastrophic outcome."
"So we are to compromise our beliefs, our way of life, for one boy, Chosen One or not?" posed Rancisis.
"From the moment we accepted him, compromise ourselves we did, too old he was," posed Master Yaddle, "But better than the alternative, it was. Correct Master Feemor is. Taken him the Sith would have, if cast out Young Skywalker, we had."
"There are other groups, other, smaller sects that he could perhaps have fit into better and protected him...," posed Master Piell.
"None of which could have a realistic chance in driving off Darth Sidious if he came for the boy," rebutted Windu, "None of which I believe the Sith Lord would have allowed to keep him."
Fay turns her head. "...allowed?"
"I have, unfortunately, spent too much time in the presence of the Sith Apprentice," said Windu flatly, "And have attained an understanding I'd rather not have. From the twisted perspective of the Sith, would their victory not be all the worse for us if he killed the Jedi Order with our own Chosen One? We train him, freeing that effort from the Sith, all they have to do is convert and turn him on us."
Yoda grunted. "Mmm, right you are. But, unrealistic I do believe Young Skywalker joining the Sith..., no, joining Darth Sidious, is. If only, because loath the Dark Lord and what he stands for, Skywalker does."
"That didn't stop him from converting Padawan Tachi," rumble out Master Koon.
"Mmmm, but a thirteen year old fallen padawan, Skywalker is not," said Master Yoda, tapping his stick on the floor, "The most powerful Force Sensitive ever born, he is. Unlikely it is that force him to fall by torture, by overpowering him, Sidious can. Chance for that, grows slimmer year by year."
"There are many other ways for a Jedi to fall, especially one such as Skywalker," said Windu.
"True that is, a careful eye we must keep," said Yoda before grimacing, a look if regret and distaste on his face, "Hoped better for Young Tachi, I had, lost much faith, I have with her last act. But... if inevitable Skywalker's fall seems, if impossible to turn him away from that path it becomes, directed to Tachi he must be."
"You can't be serious!" protested Rancisis.
"I see where he is going with this, and I will announce that I do not like it," said Piell, grumbling after, "Even if it is better than the alternative."
"Alternative?" asked Rancisis.
"Would we rather he fall and join Sidious, or fall and join Tachi," stated Windu, closing his eyes and leaning his head back, sighing heavily, "Both are bad outcomes, but one is vastly worse than the other."
For once in his life, Feemor actually hears something he didn't expect from Fay in regards to Tachi, one of the Sith's harshest critic on the Council. "Unlike Sidious, she would not try to keep him in the Dark Side if he did not wish to stay, if he sought to pull himself out. She wishes her apprentice to willingly join her in the dark, if Skywalker does not fall willingly, if he cannot handle staying afloat and falls, she may in fact pressure him to leave the Dark Side."
Yoda seems curious about her statement. "Believe this, you do?"
"I have had ample opportunity to observe this Sith," said Fay, ancient eyes flickering across the room, "In this, she is honest. She does not want anyone in the Dark who does not wish to be there. However... that means if she does find and take an apprentice, they will be devoted to her and to the Dark Side."
"Its a bit early for that, isn't it?" posed Piell.
"She is opportunistic, if she finds a potential, even if she is not ready she will take it," said Fay firmly, her lips pursed, "She will take an apprentice before this conflict with the Separatists is over..."
Her eyes go distant. "I feel it."
Tachi forfeited the yacht, had no interest in it, which was foolish of her. An asset was an asset, no matter where it came from. Especially this asset, which was so stained with the Dark Side it sent shivers of exultation down his spine. So, Sidious had made a claim about repurposing it, as a former slave vessel that would be used to transport refugees, make a public stint out of it. Tragically, a slaver would take offense to that and blow it up on its maiden voyage, having it assume destroyed. Leaving it solely for him.
He walks down the corridors of the slaver ship in the dead of night, shivering in delight as he trails his hands down hallway walls. The Dark Side whispers of his apprentice's triumphs, her malice and glee, the suffering and torment she afflicted on those here. Terror is embedded so thickly into the air its like breathing in pleasure with every breath he takes. He walks into a room, cleaned of all physical traces of what happened there, but he can sense it. He can feel it. He kneels down in the center of the room, touches the floor, and nearly passes out from the sheer ecstasy of what she did here.
A ritual, Sith Sorcery, and a sacrifice for a truly dark purpose. Multiple times in this very spot. Such an unassuming, barren room, yet it is so very stained. There is a thrum, a 'thump-thump' that echoes in the Dark so divine... and... a hunger. He kneels there for a time, poking and prodding the Force. There are multiple places in the ship like this, he senses, but this is the greatest. Even more, this is where he feels she stored the Sith Talismans for the journey here. It leaves an echo that has embedded so deeply that...
In all honestly...
This room, the ship...
It almost feels as if...
Oh.
Oh.
"Apprentice," he breaths, "There was a reason Sith Sorcery was not done so lightly, so casually. Certainly back in the empires of old, it saw continual, if not daily use across the Sith. Perhaps some did a few rituals a day on occasion. But not like this. Not the same ritual, again and again with so little time between in the same place. Not this specific type of ritual, of sorcery. Have you ever wondered, why the Force screams when using Sorcery? It distorts and bends reality to make your will manifest..."
He chuckles darkly. "How many pieces of jewelry could you fit in that crate, I wonder? A hundred perhaps? Two hundred? More? Did it ever occur to you, apprentice, what repetitiously using such a ritual would do? What such a collective left to embed would potentially create? You thought you were merely making trinkets to protect those you obsess over, and you certainly made enough to ensure their survival assuming they don't outright die. But the consequences of it... reality forced to bend and perhaps even rip; Ritual murder, staining the area and the Force; Life pulled from one form, flowing out of them into another... over and over again."
Molten eyes glean out from under his hood. "But like a true Sith, what do you care of rules or consequences? But... no, you have begun the creation of something you couldn't possibly fathom. Do not worry, do not be afraid. I will complete your masterpiece. There are so many rituals, so many spells I wish to try when I have the chance. I will add my own strokes to this canvas, will augment and bring to fulfillment this delight. We will create the most beautiful of nightmares together..."
He throws back his head and he laughs.
Its been a very long time since Siri had last dreamed of Master Gallia.
Especially when she is not dreaming herself as a young Padawan either. She stands exactly as she is in her robes, her current age, especially so cognitive in the dreamscape. Something is... off. She feels the Force at work here. Its not unknown for the Force to send visions via dreams, but... she's not prone to sleeping visions. She's barely prone to visions at all. So what is this?
She takes a cautious step into her Master-Padawan apartment, and finds her old master standing by the window, looking outside of it at something, a shake to her arms.
"Master Gallia," she greets cautiously.
That presence... feels both like it is and isn't her old master. It was brought here and created by the Force itself perhaps?
"Siri, what have you done?" comes her Master's voice.
Siri blinks, cocking her head. "You'll have to be a lot more specific."
Master Gallia turns, and she looks terrified.
"What have you done?"
Siri wakes up with a sharp gasp in the apartment the Chancellor had given out to her.
She does not get any further sleep that night.
Notes:
It will be sometime until we get to discover just what comes of this, mid or late Clone Wars timeframe, but when we do... ;dark evil laughter;
Chapter 72: Begin Cascade
Summary:
All actions have consequences, some immediate, some later...
Chapter Text
"Master Feemor and Padawan Skywalker are more than enough protection, Chancellor," said Senator Amidala in an ire filled tone, "More than I already needed."
Considering the attempts already made on her life, this woman had a bloody death wish.
Siri watches her argue back and forth with the Chancellor, and thinks she might like Amidala. She vaguely recalls liking the woman's policies when she was queen. Maybe? She was more interested in watching Supernova podrace at the time. The woman has surprisingly little slime to her presence akin to normal politicians. Oh the woman will still most likely have a way with words, and focus on her own priorities above the whole, but who wouldn't? She'd done a little reading on the speeder ride over to the woman's apartment, a quick browse of her profile, policies, and voting history. Considering the woman's popularity and record, Siri's rather surprised someone hasn't killed her prior to now.
Good and honest politicians who fight for the right things and spit in the face of corruption generally ended up dead real quick. Or cowed/threatened into submission, or a scandal would 'magically' appear out of nowhere to ruin them. All that and more. Its one of the reasons the Senate, any government body really, was so corrupt beyond the normal pull of greed. A goodie goodie wouldn't be willing to do what was necessary to truly secure themselves and fight for what they believed in. At least... not without crossing a few lines they'd rather not.
Siri's eyes flicker over the small but fierce woman in consideration. While the woman was a politician, Siri couldn't forget as a young queen the woman had returned to an occupied planet, raised an army out of primitives for distraction, assaulted Theed and infiltrated the palace for Gunray, and won. Albeit it had only worked out because Siri had been distracted by Jedi and had taken too long to deal with them. Honestly, had she killed the Jedi, it wouldn't have mattered that Supernova had blown up the control ship, or that Amidala had captured Gunray.
Siri would have killed them all.
Shame that Kenobi was just so baby-face adorable.
Though she'd seen him starting to grow facial hair on the landing pad.
Ick.
Her eyes flicker to the Senator's two handmaidens who were not-subtly-at-all glaring at her with hands on their blasters hidden in their robes, hostility blaring around them in the Force. She considers giving a mocking smile, but decides that trying to wrangle this senator will be annoying enough without her other guards getting in the way. So she merely raises an eyebrow at them. Neither change their stance in acknowledgement.
"So, Anakin," she muses, "Hows your mission been thus far?"
The boy shrugged. "Quiet."
She cocked her head. "I sense a bit of aggravation though."
He scowled. "I'm apparently still the little boy she remembers from back then, so I'm not sure how serious she takes what I can do to keep her safe."
She hums, but feels that there is more to it, so she does a brief pass to get a taste of his emotions, but he does the Force equivalent of swatting her away, shooting her an annoyed look. She just grins, unrepentant. Though really, the way his eyes turn back and hone in on the Senator... the way he looks at her, its not hard to figure it out. Young man basically still a teenager, young beautiful woman, mix them together and you get...
Someone's got the hots for the Senator.
Oh she's going to have fun with this.
Apparently, her amusement leaks through the Force, because Anakin shoots her a look and mutters, "Please be nice to the Senator. Or at least cut back your usual needling a bit."
Wrong target of her amusement, but she'll oblige Supernova anyways. "I suppose. No promises if she goes at me first."
The resignation he feels makes her want to laugh. She cuts it back, if only to watch the Senator and the Chancellor argue with tense smiles and fake-pleasant tones. The Chancellor wins eventually, and makes to leave before pausing, "Anakin, may I have a quick word with you? I need to discuss something I have been recently appraised of."
Anakin nods and leaves with the man, stepping outside. Siri doesn't resist the slow, malevolent smile spreading across her face.
"Is there a reason you are radiating such smugness?" posed Feemor cautiously.
"Oh, nothing much, just pointed out to the Chancellor something the Jedi had been keeping under wraps during our meeting," she said in a sweet tone.
He raises an eyebrow.
She chuckles. "Pester your apprentice about it after."
"Agent Tachi," comes the disgruntled voice of Senator Amidala, then her tone goes hard, "Before anything else, you and I need to have a discussion on what are appropriate actions while serving as a bodyguard. Please, have a seat."
Siri sits. "I'm all ears."
"If there are further attacks, collateral damage is to be kept to a minimum, and no civilians are to be caught in the crossfire on your end," Amidala said sternly, "If a assassin does attack, try to take them alive if possible, without excessive damage to them. We are civilized beings, not savages."
In her dreams.
Most beings would eat eachother if they were starving in Siri's opinion. "Of course, ma'am."
The Senator waits, as if expecting a 'but', except Siri merely holds her silence. "I'm curious how you convinced the Chancellor to propose this, and why."
"I didn't," said Siri, "He is the one who convinced me, as I would much rather be training and preparing myself to face my former master, but he made a few good points and an offer in order to see to your safety."
The Senator frowned, eyes flickering to Feemor who makes a pass at her shields. Siri lets it, but gives him the Force equivalent of flicking his forehead for his efforts, which he ignores. "I sense no deception."
Senator Amidala exhales in frustration. "I appreciate my old mentor, but sometimes he is a bit overprotective and overbearing. He did not need to do this."
"Oh, its not just for you," Siri muses aloud, "He's setting a precedent."
Amidala gives her a puzzled look, but Feemor gets it and sighs. "The Sith are not something called upon lightly."
"No, I'm not," agreed Siri, "He is a bold man. A risky man," her face turns to distaste, "He foresees a need of me in the upcoming conflict, and, as I said, wishes to set a precedent."
Feemor eyed her. "If you disagreed with it, why did you come?"
"He made me a damn good offer for at least this mission," she said, "And its not that I have issues being hired for a mission here and there, gotta make money somehow," well, Lex would probably cover anything she actually needed, but being financially dependent on him, on anyone, wasn't something she wanted, "Its that getting involved in Sidious's war is a terrible idea."
"Its not a war, not yet," said the Senator firmly, "I'm certain that negotiates can come through. There is no reason both nations can't co-exist or come back together after a reformation."
"So long as C'Baoth leads the Separatists, no, they wont," said Siri firmly, eyeing her, "He is Sidious's pawn after all."
Amidala raises an eyebrow. "Is there any proof for such an accusation? Last I heard he started his movement to break away from the Jedi Order because of you."
"C'Baoth was always going to start a schism, I was merely the very convenient excuse that let him do so cleanly."
"How kind of you to offer it to him."
Siri grins. "Oh I like you. You're fun."
Amidala is taken aback, and Siri leans forward, "But what of your precious Republic, hmmm? If I and the Jedi were the so-called start of this splinter, what of your senate and its countless failings C'Baoth and his ilk have been tooting all over the holonet about? Does the term 'Huk' ring a bell?"
The Senator grimaced. "That was before my time, but yes, I am not blind that our democracy has issues and failings that need to be addressed and fixed."
"And you believe it will be as simple as talking it over?"
"Negotiations are not a simple thing, especially with long held grievances, but it is a start."
Naive.
"As you say, Senator," said Siri, a mocking smile on her face.
Amidala scowls, but before they can continue, Anakin walks back in, radiating discomfort, so Siri shifts her focus. "Have a nice chat Supernova?"
"I really don't appreciate being put in that position," said Anakin flatly.
Siri shrugged. "He trusts your word."
The boys emotions do a flip from discomfort to pride and affection for the Chancellor. "I... guess. But I really don't want to be involved when he calls the Council out on it."
"On what Padawan?" asked Feemor.
"She um... Siri told the Chancellor about the Veil blocking the Force," said Anakin.
Feemor looks puzzled. "And? That's not a secret?"
"Erm... I think it kind of is, at least outside of the order," mutters Anakin, "The Chancellor certainly didn't know, and that's... that's not good."
"I don't exactly know what you're speaking of either," posed Amidala.
"What Anakin is referencing if a Veil, a cloud if you will, of the Dark Side that has shifted the entire Force darker," explained Siri, "It blocks and blurs the guidance the Jedi receive from the Force on many matters. Its something my former Master and his now-dead master empowered to smother the Force."
Amidala's eyebrows furrowed. "I... see. That's troubling, but I don't understand why that is an issue."
"The issue is, Senator, is that the Jedi have not told anyone outside their Order of this and yet are still giving advice as if they were not clouded," explained Siri, not citing Organa who did the wise thing and kept his mouth shut, "And decisions are being made based on Jedi advice."
Siri can tell the moment the Senator gets it by the flare of surprise, shock, cooled into a pool of outrage that sits in the woman's stomach as she purses her lips. "I see. The next senate session is not going to be pleasant then."
The Senator's eyes flicker and size up Feemor. "Based on your reaction, I assume this was a top down decision?"
Feemor holds up two defensive/placating hands. "To be honest, I'd never given it a thought outside of 'so that's why getting guidance is so difficult these days', its not my responsibility to do so. I can get why they wouldn't, to not advertise a weakness, but I would have thought the Chancellor at least would have been informed."
Amidala exhales in frustration. "I suppose we'll have to see what comes of this then."
"I imagine it will be entertaining," said Siri, smirking, "Now, business time, since I'm going to be helping to keep you alive when someone apparently wants you very dead, I wouldn't mind a tour to get an idea of entrance/exits and weaknesses that might be exploited by an assassin."
Amidala nods. "Very well."
The first thing that comes is... "There are far, far to many bloody windows in this apartment. Please tell me they are at least heavily blaster resistant, because this is an easy kill for a sniper or a rocket with a spotter."
"I'm surprised you don't know," said Amidala thoughtfully, "All windows in the building are reinforced permaglass. It probably wouldn't withstand a military-grade ordinance, but otherwise it should hold."
"I never had a reason to need to know," admits Siri, "Sniper rifles or going through a window really isn't my thing when I can just put an illusion up and walk through the front door."
Amidala makes a face at that.
Overall, the suite is well designed, there are few ways one would get into the building, let alone the apartment. With two Jedi here it would have been inane to try, yet... the Dark Side nudges otherwise, the dark hound trots at her side, phasing through people and objects as if they aren't there. It takes a whiff and looks up at her, bloody teeth bared in delight, a scent in its nostril. She makes a petting motion with her hand that gets her an odd look from one of the handmaidens who notices it.
The guard captain, the one Siri dubs 'Eye-Patch' since she doesn't care for his name, poses when they are done. "Your thoughts?"
"You care for them?" she posed back, "I get the sense that most people here would rather I not be."
The captain gives her a level stare. "Coming from someone whose perspective is usually on the other side is potentially valuable insight."
Siri hummed, a little pleased. "I think it would be a fools errand to try to get into here, not without a plan and the right gear. But, the Chancellor said that the assassin has made previous attempts that shouldn't have worked, correct? That would have killed the Senator if she had actually been where she was assumed to be?"
The captain nods. "Correct."
"Well, then whoever wants her head certainly isn't going to let a little thing like permaglass and bodyguards stop her, so... Senator..."
She gives Amidala a coy look. "Mind if I shroud myself in your image and take your room for the night?"
Wearing someone else's face is always an interesting experience. Especially when you need to learn their mannerisms quickly in order to pass muster. She hadn't done it more than a handfull of times outside of basic practice prior to being cooped up in the temple. She sits in a closed room with the handmaidens as they instruct her and critique her illusioned face. She senses their unease and disquiet, Amidala herself, now garbed like a handmaiden, shifted uncomfortably as she looked at her exact replica in Siri.
"Something the matter Senator?" posed Siri, Amidala's voice escaping through her lips.
"There are so many ways that ability can be abused," muttered the Senator.
"That's kind of the point," said Siri mildly, "Don't you have a job to be doing until nightfall that you're paid ridiculous amounts of credits to do?"
The Senator huffed, crossed a leg over the other, and pulled a datapad out of her pocket. They spend the rest of the day parading around the apartment, Siri 'working' on a datapad or 'making holocalls' in plain view of the window just incase someone was watching. Its a bit easier to do when Siri doesn't have to keep up the act in a truly public setting, a bounty hunter peeking in through a scope would not likely see anything amiss. When they're done for the day, Siri falls into a bed that is so sinfully comfortable it actually puts the Black Sun's to shame.
"Senators get all the good stuff," muttered Siri, sprawling on the bed with a content sigh.
She doesn't look at the camera's that Supernova installed as a precaution out of sight in the corners of the room. She doesn't think they'll matter, but no point in wasting them either. She lazes about, making herself seem asleep with the soft rise and fall of her chest. Nothing for the first half an hour, first hour, second hour, she's honestly contemplating just going to sleep before she hears a very soft hissing near the window. She cautiously cracks an eye open and sees a droid hovering outside the window, slicing in with a circular fusion cutter. Oh that's clever.
Then she sees a tube poke through and... are those Kouhuns plopping out? Well well well, incredibly venomous little buggers, this was a quality assassination attempt right here. To bad Siri is here instead of the Senator. Siri rises, flicking off the covers, and reaches out with the Force. She squishes the bugs, grabs the droid with the Force before it can withdraw, and waves her hand, releasing a burst of the Force that shatters the windows. She beckons the struggling droid to her and sing songs aloud:
"Oh Anaaakiiin! Got a tracer for me?"
Five minutes later and a little bit of hotwiring from Supernova, she and Anakin are in a speeder following the rigged-droid back to its master. Feemor had barely gotten a word out before protecting the senator had been dumped on him and they left to hunt down the assassin. "So... pretty hot senator isn't she?"
Anakin fumbles with the datapad tracing the droid. "Siri!"
She laughs. "So adorable Supernova."
"Shut up," he grumbles, going back to looking at the datapad, sending her brief nudges in the Force where to turn.
"You do know that nothing can come of it, right?" she posed, "Jedi attachment shit and all that, not to mention while the holonet might find it adorable, the scandal a Senator and a Jedi seeing eachother would kick up would get both of you in a mess. It would throw anything she did under question, not to mention get you censured at best, booted at worst."
He grips the datapad tightly. "I'm aware."
She also gets the feeling he doesn't particularly care. "Hmm, just offering the warning. I am, of course, blind and see nothing, as I'm all for breaking the rules, but you'd need to be stupidly careful as to not ruin both of your careers."
He deflates. "I don't even know if she likes me, so there's no real point."
The dark hound manifests and climbs between their seats, head settling on the armrest, eyes locked on Anakin, hunger deeply in them. The reaction... makes Siri cautious, enough to offer such rather than egging it on. "Perhaps, be careful either way not to get the Jedi needling about it."
"Yeah yeah yeah-turn right," he says.
She does so, all the while wondering why would Skywalker's interest in the Senator cause a reaction in the Dark Side? Its certainly a heavy crush, probably a bit more intense than it should be from what she is sensing, but there's hardly any more lust than she'd expect out of a teenager/young man, hardly any other negative things. She's aware it could lead to something more, but...
The hound turns to her, its maw grinning, black and red drool leaking down its chin. Its eyes mock her, laughter escaping its jaws. She gets the sense she is missing something that should be very obvious to her. 'No matter how far you plunged recently, you've been away for so long you miss what you should see.'
She rolls her shoulders, frowning, and pushes at the dark enough to get Anakin snapping her a quick glance before he refocuses on the datapad.
The hound clambers up on her, paws melding into her shoulder as it pushes it muzzle to her ear and whispers. 'She is a weakness.'
The apparition vanishes as the obvious of it smacks her in the face. Right, if he starts a thing with the Senator, she is a weakness because Skywalker is terribly attached. If he got to the point of truly loving her, you kill the woman and it would drastically unbalance the young man, making him easier to fight and kill, if it doesn't simply tip him dark. His mother dying nearly pushed him to kill Jinn, she had never asked how close to falling the boy had been in that moment. A repeat performance... it wouldn't likely end well. The smart 'jedi' thing would be for him to not get involved, hell even from her perspective, starting anything before Sidious is dead is a terrible idea.
Though really, nothing with Sidious is guaranteed, Skywalker may never get the chance to find love before their confrontation comes. She and Kenobi may not love one another the way she wishes to, and likely never will... but she'd still rather have their weird thing than nothing at all. So in the end, she doesn't press further on him and leaves it up to him...
Not that she had much more chance to anyway. The droid is honing on on a speeder, and she feels a brief flare of panic. "Gotcha."
The target turns in their seat and shoots the droid down before their head turns and sights Siri, she gets a taste of their presence in the Force and guns it, Supernova gives a excited 'whoop!', nearby traffic swerves, and the chase begins... and then the target plunges down, turns on automated piloting, draws a rifle, and tries to blow Siri's brains out. Siri wrenches the steering to dodge the first, Anakin fumbles out his lightsaber and awkwardly blocks the next.
"The kriff is this guy doing?" said Anakin, "He'd have better luck shooting our speeder if he wants to lose us."
Siri grins. "The assassin is still on mission, and I'm still wearing Amidala's face. Bait is a very tempting thing."
The assassin proves to be one mad bastard when they retake their seat, flips the kriffing speeder in a absolutely brutal maneuver, and guns right for them, the assassin reaches for something in their seat, as they close towards one another, an arm is raised, something is thrown...
"GRENADE!" she yells, reaching out with the Force and crushing it between their two speeders.
It detonates, knocking both speeders awry. Siri manages to keep them from crashing into anything, barely. There is a heavy crunch, and Siri looks up to see the assassin's speeder crash through a large viewing window and part of a wall, mow through a room, and rip out the other side of another window on the other side. Siri wrenches the speeder around and makes to go after it before pausing.
"The presence is still in the apartment, while the speeder is still going, clever, and good reactions to dive out so quick," mused Siri, "Get ready Supernova."
"More than ready to take this scumbag down," he agreed.
She drives the speeder into the hole the assassin made, shattering more of the glass, and sets down. She takes an assessment as she pars on a couch. The room is dim, flickering, perhaps the wiring was damaged. There is a bloody splatter near the other window, a leg pinched off, owch. A woman and child are dead on the ground, a blaster bolt put through both of their heads. Cold and ruthless. The presence is nearby, focus on them...
A flare of danger as something 'tinks' and rolls towards them. Anakin gets it this time, throwing a hand out and pushing everything nearby them away. The grenade still makes them stagger, heat and blinding light rushing over them. Siri feels with the Force, snaps her lightsaber out of the Senator's robes, and blocks the shots coming for her.
"Kriff! No one said the Senator was a Jedi," she hears snarled out.
"Ahhh," exhales Siri, "The problem with that is that I am not the Senator."
Siri grins as her face melts back into her own, she catches widening eyes across the dim room. She reaches out a hand and clenches, gripping the assassin with the Force. She wrenches up, and smashes the doomed fool into the ceiling, then back down and grinds them into the floor. Anakin crosses the distance, kicks away the rifle, and then forces the assassin's hands behind their back.
"Well, that was easy," muses Siri, "Anakin, get a light on them."
Anakin kneels down on the bound arms, and holds out his lightsaber. Siri walks over and kneels down, plucking away at a veil that blocked their lower face. "Hello there."
A human female face glares up at her. Siri's eyes wash over the outfit, looks more bounty hunter than assassin, though the coloring was good for blending in. A few things sprung out at her as making it a custom built suit, the odd elastic bands here and there, a symbol at a connector piece between armor and cape that Siri doesn't recognize. She returns to looking at the face and hums.
"Got a name little assassin?" she poses.
The woman says nothing.
"Lets try something else, do you know who I am?" posed Siri, grinning.
The woman swallows. "The Sith."
"Very good, so you should know that I'm willing to do what it takes to get what I want," said Siri, "The more you cooperate, the less effort I have to put in. Trust me, being arrested is the better alternative to spending quality time with me."
The woman's eyes flicker towards Anakin.
Siri laughs. "Don't think a Jedi being here will save you, not when you're trying to kill the Senator he has the hots for."
"Siri!" he snaps.
She grins at him, then looks back down. "So?"
"I'm already kriffed if I'm arrested," snapped the woman, eyes flickering towards the corpses, "Not good enough."
"That was your choice, and the gall to think you can negotiate with me in this situation," mused Siri, arching her fingers and letting lightning dance between them, "I think you should reconsider it."
The woman clenches her jaw and remains silent.
"Have it your way," said Siri, putting away the intimidation tactic and focusing on her in the Force, "You WILL tell me who you are and WHO hired you."
The woman gasped and shook, struggling with the pressure Siri was putting on her mind with the Force.
Anakin joins in. "You will TELL US who you are and WHO hired you!"
The woman whines in pain, gasping and shaking.
"Ease back a little Supernova, she's useless if we turn her mind to mush," advised Siri.
He does so, and they resume. The woman folds in less then a minute. "M-M-my n-name is Z-Zam W-wessel and I was hir..."
Siri barely has time to register the name before an explosion of absolute rage rips out from Anakin. "MURDERER!"
Anakin stands, grips his lightsaber, and stabs down, burying it through the woman's back, earning an agonized scream, the woman's face morphing into an ugly clawdite one in shock.
Kriff! What the hell were the chances it would be his mother's killer? "Anakin!"
He wrenches his lightsaber out at an angle, taking it through her chest, out the side, and taking an arm off at an elbow. "Anakin stop!"
He makes to plunge it back down, but Siri throws him across the room with the Force. "Idiot! We need the information, kill her after we get it!"
Anakin glares at her, naked rage in his eyes. "She killed mom!"
"I didn't say don't kill her, but we need the damn information," snaps Siri.
She kneels down and rolls the screaming clawdite over and presses in with the Force, not caring about damage now, the clawdite's dead anyway with their injuries. "WHO hired you! Who?!"
"J-J-a..." begins the woman.
Then a whistling sound rushes past her, Siri startles to see a dart bury into the woman's neck. The woman chokes, spasms, then dies absurdly fast. Siri whirls, a snarl on her face, and catches sight of mandalorian armor at the window before it shoots off with a jetpack. She tries to reach out with the Force to grab them, but the rage emanating from Anakin makes her attempt slip, then the Mandalorian is too far away. Siri scowls, walks over to the window and considers the disappearing form.
"A Mandalorian whose name begins with Ja," muses Siri, a memory tickling, "Now this is interesting."
Why would the Mandalore get involved with this? But then again, Jango Fett was more of a Bounty Hunter these days then a leader. He was also incredibly dangerous, a confirmed Jedi Killer. The Senator could not stay on Coruscant. Especially when tracking Fett would be obnoxiously difficult...
Then she reconsiders and looks back, walking over, kneeling down, and appraises the dart. "Rather lethal little thing. I wonder where you were picked up."
She pockets it... then she looks up to address the problem in the room.
Anakin sits against the wall where she had thrown him, tears of anger streaming down his face, body shaking. Anyone was capable of murder, especially with the reason Anakin had to kill Wesell... but there hadn't been a moment of hesitation. Just straight to cold blooded murder of a captured enemy. Anakin Skywalker wasn't quite the young innocent little boy he had once been anymore. It went without saying if the Council learned of this, Anakin's days as a Jedi were over. A Jedi does not attempt murder, especially not against a defeated enemy...
"Its not fair," he whispers, "I didn't... I didn't even get to be the one to kill her, to avenge mom."
Not a shred of regret either. "The dart finishing the job didn't matter. You have Wesell fatal wounds, she was dead regardless."
He blinks a few times and considers the corpse. "I... I guess either way, justice was done."
Justice huh, he had a vision of justice she tended to agree with, but... "The Jedi Order won't see it that way Anakin."
He looks at her stupidly, and sometimes she really wants to smack him for being thick. "To you and me perhaps that was justice, but here? That was a cold blooded murder attempt, Anakin. Unless we lie, you are getting thrown out of the Order, or given one absolute hell of a censure for it along with who knows what other punishments. Considering the Council's problems with you already, I'd bet on the former."
He blanches.
"How... unfortunate that when trying to save the family the bounty hunter took hostage, we were unable to do so, and the bounty hunter was critically, but justifiably wounded, by you. We attempted to perform emergency aid, but the other bounty hunter hit her with the dart," said Siri, eying him, "Agreed?"
He nods.
"Good, now I am going to give you a crash course on how to lie without really lying, and you need to press this to memory fast," she warned, "Deceiving the authorities is easy, deceiving a Jedi who can sense a lie is harder. So listen up..."
Anakin bows his head in shame. "I couldn't... I couldn't save them master. By the time I got to the bounty hunter and stuck her down, it was too late."
Feemor sighs, running a hand through his hair, grimacing at the corpses being loaded onto a stretcher by the Coruscant Police. "You tried padawan, you tried."
Anakin opens his mouth to say something, but wisely bites it back and keeps silent. Good, he listened. Being quiet and letting others come to the own conclusions was good for keeping a secret.
"Went to try and get some info out of em'," said Siri, watching Master Feemor for any hint of him detecting something amiss, "But the other bounty hunter hit them with the dart and flew off."
"Damn," says Feemor, "Do we have an ID on either of them?"
"Don't see how we'd get the name out of the corpse," Siri carefully says, avoiding offering a lie, "Unless the clawdite's DNA is on record in the system. I have suspicions about the other, but no actual proof. The dart might be a lead."
Feemor nods. "Got a way to track it down?"
"Perhaps, I need to send an image of it to a connection and see what they say," said Siri.
"Do so," said Feemor, "Anakin and I can handle protecting the Senator if you can track down the bounty hunter, or more importantly, who posted the bounty."
"You might want backup," said Siri, "If I'm right about who this is, he might a bit much for just you two if he does show up in person."
Feemor raises an eyebrow.
"Does the name Jango Fett ring a bell?" she poses.
That got Feemor swearing. "Yes, it well kriffing does. Yan Dooku is my grandmaster, I am very much aware of Galidraan. I'll put in a call."
Siri leaves the Jedi to their work and drives back to the Senator's apartment, gives her a rundown, then confiscates a room to take a picture abd make a call.
The look Alexi gives her when she wakes him up to identify the dart is amusing, even more so at his incredulousness after he glances at the picture. "Zoom in Iris... alright hold it... is that a Kamino Saberdart? Iris dear these are not cheap in the slightest. I mean yes, I have a few for when I need someone really dead, but they cost me an arm and a leg to get. Dealing with the cloners at all was a pain."
"Cloners?" she poses.
"Based out of Kamino," explained Alexi, "I was looking into backups just incase something happened to me, as none of the idiots who would vie for my position are actually worthy of it. Another version of me wouldn't be such a loss..."
Arrogant prat, she thinks affectionately.
"...unfortunately, cloning Force Sensitives apparently has issues," finished Alexi, "So that was shot. Honestly, I might have to end up siring a brat the old fashion way."
"I'm going to outright say not interested Lex darling," she teased, "You'll have to probably get a surrogate, or well, actually you'd probably have far to many willing to throw themselves at you. Unless of course you and Mighella actually are a thing."
Alexi snorts. "Could you imagine it? My genius and her powers all mixed into one tiny package? Brat would probably usurp me by thirteen, but no, Mighella would sooner kill me then sleep with me."
Siri grins. "Probably. Anyway, coordinates for the cloners?"
He sends it. "Have fun, they're hard to get a read on, bit I figure they're a bit xenophobic."
"Noted, see ya Lex," she says, getting the last word and cutting the connection.
Siri stays in there a few minutes, contemplating why Jango Fett might have dealings with cloners. She supposes she'll have to ask him herself. She exits the room about the same time as the Jedi return. She senses the uncomfortableness from Anakin and the sourness from Feemor before she actually sights the issue. The Jedi had been quick to send extra protection, Dooku himself being assigned to a Jango Fett related problem isn't unsurprising, Jinn being tagged along as well is though. She is a bit surprised all of them were on planet.
"Tachi," greeted Dooku tiredly, less pristine and immaculate at this hour, "Did your contact have anything?"
"The dart was a Kamino Saberdart, nasty and expensive little things apparently," said Siri, "The people who make them are cloners, so I'm rather curious why Jango Fett would have dealings with them. I don't know anything else in particular about Kamino, you?"
Dooku shakes his head and pulls out his comlink, hitting a number. Siri is amused to hear Kenobi's groggy reply. "Hrm? What is it grandmaster?"
"Bit of a night mission my grand padawan, I need you to check the archives for any information we have on a Kamino, they're apparently cloners. It has to do with the mission protecting Senator Amidala."
"I thought that was Feemor's mission?"
"We've been assigned as extra because of a complication."
"Alright, give me a minute to find something caffeinated, then I'll head down, I'll call you then."
Obi-Wan clicks off, leaving a brief silence.
"Four Jedi is a bit overkill," mused Siri, "Fett would be flattered, I'm sure."
"A botched mission or not, Fett killed six Jedi unarmed at Galidraan," said Dooku thinly, "He will not be underestimated."
"I'm sorry, who exactly is this 'Jango Fett'? asked Senator Amidala.
"No one important," said Siri in a mild tone, "Just the Mandalore in a self-imposed exile."
Dooku grimaced, while Amidala slow blinked. "Mandalore? Neutral system? Led by... Duchess Kryze I believe?"
Siri let out a small huff. "Mandalore is a bit more complicated than that. Kryze leads the faction the Republic approves of, the others... not so much. Mandalore in reference to the title is their leader, even if the New Mandalorians don't wish to acknowledge their older ways, even if Fett himself doesn't acknowledge anymore after the mess of Galidraan."
Amidala rubs her eyes tiredly, but asks the obvious question. "And what is this 'Galidraan'?"
Siri grinned. "Ask Dooku."
Dooku gives her a viscous glare, but goes to explain to Amidala that complete cluster-kriff. Amidala is muttering to herself about senate-oversight and bill ideas by the end of it. The handmaidens look to have given up any idea of sleep. Dooku sinks into a couch. Feemor is not-glaring in any direction but Qui-Gon, who is leaning against a wall in half-meditation. Anakin is... quiet. Given his mother's killer is dead, and his own involvement in that, its to be expected.
Obi-Wan finally calls back, with news that is... odd. "Kamino doesn't exist in the archives grandmaster, I did a search of the holonet and a quick reference check to the senate archives, nothing."
Dooku stares at the comlink for a moment in consideration before sighing. "I find it difficult to believe that the Jedi Order and the Republic do not know of these 'cloners'. This implies that the information was scrubbed."
"But... they'd have needed access to our archives, which implies a Jedi did so," said Obi-Wan, "Who w-."
He cuts off with a soft curse. "C'Baoth wouldn't have had the access level to remove information, would he?"
"Him, no, but two councilors did leave," said Dooku, "If he obtained their codes, and had an insider use them..."
Siri frowns, not liking this. If this involved C'Baoth, this involved Sidious. Why would he want this planet wiped from galactic knowledge?
"Why would Jorus C'Baoth want me dead?" said Amidala, perplexed.
"Its not necessarily him that desires it," said Dooku, "This could be an unrelated issue that was dug up. Tachi, hold off on leaving until tomorrow. I will need to brief the Council, and believe we will be sending you with a small team."
Siri sighs in exasperation. "I should have told the Chancellor no. I really ought to just pass on this, I was contracted to protect the Senator, I do not wish to get drawn into whatever mess this is."
Not when she has so much catch up to do.
"I could be sent," offers Kenobi, and damn him he knows how to draw her back in.
"Fine fine, make it Kenobi and sure," she said sourly, "He's about the only Jedi I'd tolerate working with aside from Supernova, and sorry Anakin, but you don't do subtle."
Anakin shrugged.
The lack of interest draws a furrowed eyebrow from Feemor, but the man doesn't press.
They break and retire for the night, she's sure the Jedi swap out who stays up, but Siri has earned her beauty sleep...
"We're taking my ship," said Siri flatly.
"Your ship reeks of the Dark Side," answered Obi-Wan with equal flatness.
"Tough shit," said Siri, "And I never said I'd be taking the Tooka too."
Jinzler gives her a withering look, but strides up the ramp without her leave to do so. Brat. "Shouldn't she be knighted by now?"
"I'm not going to rush her apprenticeship," said Obi-Wan, giving the ship a resigned look, "This have smoothed these last few years for her after the shaky start. I wont recommend the trials until both she and I feel that she is ready. Not with the situation the galaxy is heading towards, and especially not with C'Baoth out there."
She hums, pleased that he still agrees that C'Baoth would try to kill Jinzler. "Fair."
She glances back at the Senator's apartment. "Said your goodbyes yet?"
He hummed rather than answered, sending a flutter through the Force towards the apartment and getting several return acknowledgements. He gives the Scimitar a weary look, sighs, but gets onboard regardless. She makes to follow, but feels eyes on her, glancing back to see Anakin in the doorway from the landing pad to apartment, a troubled look on his face. She cocks her head, eyebrow raised.
He walks over and quietly says. "I... don't like lying to them. I don't regret what I did, but I don't like lying. Problems with them aside, they're... they're the closest thing I have left to family."
"Bit late for regrets Supernova," she said mildly, "You made a choice, and you either stick with it, or come clean and deal with the consequences, which will be worse now that our story is on record. I don't personally care since I can just piss off to parts unknown if they really want to charge me for lying to an officer, or pay a fine or whatever it is if its not actually arrest-worthy, you will have it worse."
His shoulder's slump. "Yeah..."
"Look at it this way Supernova," she said with mock cheer, "At least your not keeping a secret AND regretting what you did, that'd be worse."
He gives her a withering look. "You're 'really' helpful."
"Aren't I?" she mused before turning and heading for the ship, "See ya Supernova, whether its as a Jedi or a civilian, your choice."
Most likely the former. He was a stupidly attached individual after all, he wouldn't give up his Jedi Lineage. She gives him a jaunty wave before jabbing a fist into the close button and sauntering to the cockpit. "This is your captain speaking, all Jedis and Tookas best strap it because we are out of here."
"Does she ever shut up?" comes Jinzler from one of the side rooms.
Obi-Wan hums but doesn't answer.
Siri grins, straps herself in, and takes off, out of the city, the atmosphere, orbit, and into hyperspace. She unbuckles and takes a walk back towards the Jedi, finding them having commandeered the secondary sleeping room (which she wasn't going to tell them was usually used as a holding cell). She leans in the doorway, arms crossed, finding Jinzler laid down on the bunk, reading a datapad, Kenobi trying to meditate on the floor.
"Something you need Agent Tachi?" posed Obi-Wan without opening his eyes.
She frowns a little at the oh so formal address. She does a pass down the bond, only to find it firmly locked down, her poke rebuffed. "Something the matter, Kenobi?"
"I do not particularly enjoy being trapped on a Sith Ship with a Sith," was his sharp, firm retort.
She narrows her eyes. "You were the one who offered."
"Yes, because I felt that your assistance would be needed in this, and that my coming would be what kept it," he said mildly.
Cold and pragmatic. The hell was his problem? "Perhaps we should have a chat."
He opens his eyes, they're full of steel. "Perhaps we should."
Jinzler's eyes flicker between them, but wisely doesn't comment.
She leads Kenobi back to the cockpit, and motions to the passenger seating. He stands by the door instead. "What crawled up your ass and died Kenobi?"
He stares at her silently, not rising or even acknowledging the barb. She waits, not willing to lose the staring contest as petty as it is.
Finally he speaks. "I think, Siri Tachi, that I've finally come to terms with the fact that you do not wish to be helped. That you will never chose to turn away from the Dark Side. Anakin gave you a choice by pulling you away from it, and from what I've seen, you are more than happy to be walking back down it. On that landing platform after you returned to Coruscant, you felt almost as dark as you did when you nearly killed me on Naboo. Considering the sacrilege you preformed there, I'm not surprised."
"You didn't like me trinkets?" she mocked coldly.
"You might not agree," said Obi-Wan in equal coldness, "But the creation of those abominable talismans, and yes we could feel exactly what they truly are, is one of the most irredeemable acts that I know of you committing. I am not saying the slavers did not deserve punishment, that they did not need to be stopped, but not like that. You violated the sanctity of not one soul, but many, and soiled your own at the same time. I don't know if you realize it, but there is a different feel to your presence after coming back, that you didn't have on Naboo, your time during your parole, or even after preforming your sorcery on Korriban. I had thought it was just the talismans, but I feel now that its in you."
Was there? Curious.
"What you did... it was a desecration that has left its mark on you," he said, and for a moment, sorrow leaked through before he shored up his shielding of the bond, "So congratulations Siri, you are well on your way to becoming the exact same kind of monster as Sidious."
He takes a step forward before she can respond. "I don't particularly consider you the potential 'lesser evil' anymore, not after that. You have the potential to be worse, I am adjusting myself accordingly to reality. Whatever hope I had for your grows dimmer act by act."
"And I suppose," she said icily, "That me saving all of those slaves counted for nothing?"
"You didn't do it for them," he rebutted, "We both know that."
He turns and he walks out.
She's left standing there.
Alone.
Chapter 73: Cascade
Chapter Text
Siri hadn't realized how much she had taken the bond for granted until it had been slammed shut in her face. To always have a connection to Kenobi, gone in an instant behind towering walls. She wont say she had been anywhere near dependent on it, but it had been... nice... to be able to reflexively check on Kenobi's safety, to unwittingly drink in a little calm if she was in a mood. Now She spends far, far to much time staring down the closed bond, brooding, temper shifting between anger or bitterness. She scolds herself as they come out of hyperspace for the next lane jump, she had known, she had known this was the likely end result. Had been preparing for this eventuality, so why does it...
She stares out into space, jaw clenched.
Apparently, she wastes enough time that Kenobi returns to the cockpit, radiating disapproval. "Is there a mechanical problem?"
Her answer slips through her mouth before she can even think on it. "If I destroyed the Talismans, would that matter?"
She wants to grimace at how kriffing pathetic that sounds, how pathetic she seems, at the moment, but doesn't take it back.
"Would it be because you actually regret what you did, or because you think it would please me and get things back to where they were before?" he answered.
For Force sake. "I'm thinking, Obi-Wan, that you don't remember one of the first things I told you in that cell almost a decade ago."
"Which was what?" he posed neutrally.
"That I'm not kriffing capable anymore of caring about the vast majority of the galaxy," she snapped at him, "You are expecting of me something I am incapable of doing."
"Because you drown yourself in the dark and keep smothering and re-injuring yourself," he rebutted, "Because you refuse to try to turn to the light and heal the damage to your heart, your mind, and your soul that you took on during your Sith Apprenticeship, and that, Siri, is a choice."
She snarls, barely keeping herself from pinning him to the kriffing wall with the Force. "Get out."
"Was there a mechanical problem?" he posed again.
She grit her teeth, set the course, and jumped to hyperspace, vindictively enjoying the way he staggered and hit the wall, wincing. "No."
He straightens himself and leaves without further word.
Siri barely leaves the cockpit for the rest of the trip.
"Kenobi, we are approaching Kamino, get your ass to the cockpit," she snaps over the intercom.
He and Jinzler arrive a minute later, Obi-Wan silent and unmoving in the Force, Jinzler radiating a bit of discomfort. Siri considers how to approach the situation with Kamino, finger resting on the stealth field activation. Yet... the Dark Hound appears behind her and trots up, pawing at her arm. She slowly pulls her hand away, considering what she feels, and decides that they were going for the straightforward approach.
She makes a slow, obvious entry into the atmosphere, nose wrinkling at all the rain. She adjusts frequencies until she finally gets one, then decides to throw the Jedi under the speeder. "This is the Scimitar carrying Jedi Ambassadors for..."
The hound whispers a single word to her, and she tilts her head, frowning with bewilderment, but obeys. "...inspection."
"This is Topica City Control, we've been waiting for the Jedi for some time now, we were beginning to think they weren't coming," answered the voice, "I will send you docking coordinates momentarily."
Siri frowns as the comm clicks off. "...expected?"
"Inspection?" Kenobi poses.
"Dark Side nudged me at the word," said Siri distantly, the Dark Hound baring its teeth in dark delight, the Force swirling with terrible, unstoppable motion, "I have a bad feeling about this."
Obi-Wan turns his head towards Jinzler. "Stay close for this one padawan."
"No 'wandering off' and getting lost?" Jinzler posed innocently.
Obi-Wan smothered a smile. "No, not this time. Recon and investigation may be useful, but too many eyes will be on us here."
Siri could offer 'But not on me', but she doesn't. She's here for Fett, nothing more. Certainly not to help the Jedi with whatever mess they're getting into. They land on a platform high over a raging ocean, walk out into the rain, into the raised city and...
Holy kriff that neck is long!
"We are pleased that the Jedi have finally come to inspect their order," greets the long-neck without bothering with greetings, "The Prime Minister is anxious to meet with you."
"We would be happy to meet with him," agreed Obi-Wan.
They walk down halls that are so painfully bright Siri wishes she had lenses for it to slap over her eyes, because its obscene how blinding it is. How... sterile. They are led to a circular room with a single long-neck in it. "May I present Prime Minister Lama Su."
The Jedi bow, Siri stands back, observing.
"And may I present Master Jedi...?" begins the first long-neck.
"I am Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, this is my padawan Lorana Jinzler," introduced Kenobi.
The Prime Minister looked at Siri.
"Agent Siri Tachi," offered Siri, "Currently employed by the Republic Senate."
The Prime Minister nods. "Of course, the Jedi serve the Republic I am told, so their army would be of interest to you."
Siri slow blinks, keeping back her surprise, confusion, and... wariness. An army? An army of clones? "I imagine so."
Four seats descend from the ceiling, and all save the first-long neck take a seat. "You will be delighted to hear that we are on schedule. Three-hundred thousand units are ready, with another million more well on the way."
"That's... good news," said Obi-Wan, glancing around.
Oh yes, sound super excited there Obi-Wan. Subterfuge was not his thing.
"Please tell your Master Sifo-Dyas that his order will be met on time," continued the Prime Master.
"I'm sorry... master who?" asked Obi-Wan.
The Prime Minister cleared his throat. "Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas is still a leading member of the Jedi Council, is he not?"
"Master Sifo-Dyas was killed almost ten years ago," answered Obi-Wan.
"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that," answered the Prime Minister, who, feeling through the Force, didn't seem like he actually cared at all, "But I'm sure he would have been proud for the army we built for him."
"...an army," deadpanned Obi-Wan.
"Yes, a clone army, and I must say one of the finest we've ever created."
They made a habit of making clone armies? To who and to where?
"And this army was created for... the Jedi? The Republic?" spoke up Jinzler uneasily.
"Of course young one, master Sifo-Dyas was very clear on his order," confirmed the Prime Minister, before considering Jinzler, "I'm rather surprised a apprentice Jedi would be brought along for the inspection, but I suppose it is good to show youth the units they may be fighting alongside one day."
Jinzler does not appear thrilled by the slight nor the idea of fighting.
"Shall we go inspect these units?" prods Siri.
"Of course," agrees the Prime Minister, rising from the chair, "That is why you are here after all."
Siri gives a thin smile, rising to her feet. "I'm not one for pleasantries when there is business to be had."
Lama Su nods, agreement rippling through the Force. "Indeed Agent Tachi, indeed, we are of similar mindsets."
The long see through hallways they walk through reveal a complex so vast and sprawling, full of platforms that have so many containers filled with liquid and growing fetuses, clones. Her eyes widen momentarily, flickering about in sheer surprise and alarm. Obi-Wan's shields slip in a similar manner, Jinzler no better. This is no small scale thing, the words 'a million more units' ringing in her head. This... this is...
This is it.
She had thought Sidious would have the Republic start a Military Draft to match the Separatists, but this...
All the pieces are on the board.
All they were waiting for was to be discovered.
The Senator had been targeted by design.
Jango Fett just happening to use a Kamino Saberdart is no coincidence.
Kriff, if Siri had waited even one more week, hell, one more day, she could have avoided this.
Sidious's war is going to start soon.
"Very impressive," said Siri to keep appearances.
"I'd hope you'd be pleased," said Lama Su, "The Clones can think creatively, you will find they are immensely superior to droids."
"That's not a very high bar to meet, especially the mass produced type," said Siri in a mild tone.
There is a flicker of irritation, indignation at the slight towards their product. "We take great pride in our combat training and education program, Agent Tachi, if you wish to see simulation results we are more than happy to supply you with them."
"What are those children doing?" asked Jinzler, glancing through a window down at hundreds of mirrored faces.
"Basic lessons around protocol, orders, and military law in the Republic," informed Lama Su, "We instill obedience at a very young age, we have to with their accelerated growth. They are taught total obedience and will take any order without question. We modified their genetic structure to make them less independent than the original host."
Siri feels the disquiet from the Jedi and re-commands attention. "I would appreciate a packet of simulations for viewing to return to the Senate with, details of their training and upbringing, along with any other statistics you would like to... showcase, or believe relevant."
"Of course, Agent Tachi," agreed The Prime Minister.
"Could you explain the 'accelerated growth'?" posed Jinzler.
"We genetically engineered them to age at twice the rate of the template, otherwise it would take a lifetime to grow our soldiers, now, we do it in half the time," advised Lama Su.
"When does the aging stop?" asked Jinzler.
So bloody naive.
Lama Su gives her a puzzled look. "When they expire of course."
Jinzler's fist clenches, even Obi-Wan has to take a deep breath to not respond to the callous phrase.
"It... doesn't stop when they reach maturity?" asked Jinzler.
"Oh goodness no, young Jedi," said Lama Su, chuckling as if the question is silly, "That would require genetically manipulating each and every single clone post maturity, and such a thing is not done lightly. It was not highlighted in the initial contract to try and work towards. If it is something desired for clone longevity then it can be argued in a re-negotiation of the contract if so desired, though it is likely something that will cost an expenditure of a great number of clones to figure out, and may have side effects, as whole-body genetic changes of a grown adult, especially a clone, is a risky endeavor. It will also cost a considerable more credits to do, and will not have instantaneous results as we would have to discover a method first."
"Of course," said Siri, "Though knowing the Senate they are not likely to consider an increase in expenditure."
Obi-Wan gives her a displeased look. She raises an eyebrow, "Jedi Compassion VS Senate Greed, Knight Kenobi, you know as well as I do that the Senate won't agree to it. Speaking of which... payment for the clones is...?"
"Handled of course," agreed Lama Su, "Master Sifo-Dyas handled the original expenditure, any further units after the current order is finished will require a new contract."
Well now, how in the world did Sidious cover up the kind of money that would be needed to fund all of this?
"Could a copy of the contract and payment method be put with the packet you are to prepare?" she posed, "For our newer members of the Senate and Jedi Council who would likely wish to familiarize themselves with it."
"Of course, Agent Tachi," agreed Lama Su, "Though I imagine a new payment method will be needed for future contracts, as the late Magister Damask perished some time ago."
Siri frowns, hadn't they said Sifo-Dyas had handled it? Or had she misunderstood? "Damask?"
"Former Magister of the Intergalactic Banking Clans Hego Damask II funded the effort alongside Sifo-Dyas," explained Lama Su.
And both happened to be dead and unable to be questioned.
Convenient.
"Shame, I would have liked to meet him and discuss his involvement," mused Siri.
Her steps hitched a little when the Dark Side laughed at her words, though when prodded it would not answer why.
"If we could return to a previous topic, you mentioned a 'original host?', posed Obi-Wan, "Who is he?"
"A bounty hunter called Jango Fett," Lama Su informed them.
"Is he here?" posed Siri.
"Yes."
Siri nods slowly. Good, she wants this wrapped up and out of the way.
"Aside from his pay, which was considerable," lamented the Prime Minister, "He demanded only one thing, an unaltered clone for himself. Curious, isn't it?"
"Unaltered?" posed Obi-Wan.
"Pure genetic replication, no tampering with the structure to make it docile, and no growth acceleration," explained Lama Su.
"A son without having to go through the whole normal siring process," mused Siri, a slow, malevolent smile spreading across her face.
A vulnerability. "Is he here as well?"
"Yes."
Good. She had Jango Fett right where she wanted him then.
"We would very much like to meet this Jango Fett," said Obi-Wan.
The first long-neck (still don't have their name, not sure she cares enough to get it), speaks up, "I would be happy to arrange it for you."
They come to the end of a hallway, and look out over a vast array of marching clones.
"Magnificent aren't they?" posed Lama Su.
The Dark Hand trots into exist next to Siri, and leaps a little, putting its paws on the railing as it turns its head and grins at Siri. 'So many lives, all bred to die.'
It laughs and vanishes.
"I suppose that remains to be seen," said Siri.
They are led into a bland white apartment, a single child clone standing a ways in who turns to squint at them suspiciously. The wariness and aggravation makes him stand out immediately compared to most presences she had felt. The Dark Hound trots past Siri and up to the boy, licking at his hand with twisted affection.
'This one will kill many, and lead in so many future conflicts,' whispers the Dark Side, 'Or he will be killed early and die as nothing, worthless.'
The hound grins, blood seeping out of his maw. 'One day, you will hold his life in your hands, and it will be your choice whether to snuff it out. Do you have it in you anymore to kill a child?'
Siri doesn't answer, the Hound barks a laugh and vanishes.
"Ah Jango," their guide greets, turning, "Was your trip productive?"
They all turn to see who can only be Jango Fett walk out of a side room, adjusting a simple blue shirt as he did. "Fairly."
The man stands at attention, cool and collected.
"This is Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, his padawan Lorana Jinzler, and Agent Siri Tachi of the Republic Senate," introduced the long neck.
Fett's head tilts a little, eyes swerving to lock onto Siri. The boy clone's breathing hitches a little. But aside from that no other reaction. How nice to be considered the real threat in the room. "Yes, its a pleasure to meet you again, Fett, though I do believe this is the first time I've met...?"
Jango grit his teeth. "Boba."
"Met your son, Boba Fett," said Siri, slowly smiling, not hiding her malice in the slightest.
"I... wasn't aware you'd met him before," said Obi-Wan cautiously.
"Its when I was investigating the death of Anakin's mother," said Siri, before cocking her head, considering that Fett and Wesell had just been working together even if one had killed the other, "You... wouldn't know anything about a Shmi Skywalker... would you?"
If he had been involved, both his life and his son's were forfeit. She'd kill them both.
"No," he answered firmly, a frown on his face, "The one you were asking about Wesell for at Jabba's?"
"The very same," said Siri, pressing in with the Force, but sensing..., "Its fortunate for you that I sense the truth. Though the fact that you did business with her after I made my intent with the clawdite clear is... disappointing."
"Haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about," said Jango.
"Oh? So it was a different Mandalorian Bounty Hunter we encountered on Coruscant recently?" she said, grinning at the -lie lie lie- coming through the Force.
"I'm hardly the only one," he answered.
She smiled, amused. "I see."
"Your clone army is very impressive," said Obi-Wan softly, but with challenge, recapturing attention, "You must be very proud."
"I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe," answered Jango.
"Hmm," considered Obi-Wan, "And how did you end up meeting with Master Sifo-Dyas?"
"Never did," said Jango, "I was contracted through a third party, never showed his face. I only knew of him and Damask from the Kaminoans."
"Did you happen to get a name of this... third party?" posed Obi-Wan.
"I wasn't paid to ask questions," evaded Jango before diverting, "So, do you like your army?"
"We look forward to seeing them in action," answered Obi-Wan.
Jango's face is stone cold, but his presence in the Force is... a maelstrom. Its rather difficult to get a read on him in that moment. "They'll do their job well, I guarantee that."
There is a double-play in his words, but Siri doesn't know what it is. She's not sure she cares. She needs to finish her assignment and get out. Or just bail out regardless. She feels a noose coiling around her throat and it grows tight.
"Thank you for your time Jango," says Obi-Wan.
"Actually," said Siri, "As a Agent for the Republic Senate, I have several questions I would like to ask Mister Fett...," she smiles, "...and his son. If you would prepare rooms for us and return after...?"
"Of course," said their guide, "I will return in half an hour."
Jango tenses, Obi-Wan sighs softly, Boba fidgets, Jinzler rolls her eyes, and the moment the door closes, Siri flattens Jango Fett to the wall with the Force with a flick of her wrist.
"Dad!" cried out Boba.
Siri raises her other hand, and Boba Fett raises into the air, gasping and clutching at his throat. "I suggest, Jango Fett, if you care for your brat, you think very carefully on how you answer my questions."
"Siri!" snapped Obi-Wan, "We do not threaten children!"
"Jedi don't," she said with ice coldness, glaring at him, "I'm pretty sure you so recently hammered in that I am an irredeemable abomination of a Sith, not a Jedi. Do not interfere or I will report that interference to the Chancellor, and I doubt he will take that well. Am I clear, Knight Kenobi?"
His jaw clenched. "Perfectly clear, Agent Tachi."
"Good," she said, her eyes turn to Fett.
"I'll answer your questions about the Clones," rasped out Fett, "Just... don't hurt Boba."
"I don't care about the Clones," she snapped, earning surprise from the Jedi and Fett, "I was hired on to deal with the assassination attempts on Senator Amidala, nothing more. Who hired you to kill her?"
"Nute Gunray," conceded Fett.
"Stunted slime," hissed Siri, "I do wish I had killed him years ago."
She does a beckoning with her finger, drawing Boba Fett near, and runs a hand through his hair as the boy trembles and gasps for air. "Taking hits on a Senator, that's not putting on a good example for your boy... and you do wish to set a good example... don't you?"
Jango swallows. "I'll drop the bounty, and refuse to do any further work with Gunray, I'll give you everything I have on him, including where he should be at the moment."
"Jango, Jango, Jango," she mocked, "You're hiding something from me. After all, I think your use of the Kamino Saberdart on Wesell was very intentional. You wanted us here, and I sense... you now want us elsewhere. Where and why?"
"Geonosis," he gritted out, "Its where Gunray is."
"Confederacy Territory," said Siri mildly.
Right after discovering the Clone Army.
Oh she sees exactly where this is going.
Sidious wanted his war to start very quickly.
She runs a finger down Boba's face, cupping his chin. "And... no one else was involved with this? Tread carefully, I can sense lies."
"Gunray contracted me," Jango re-affirmed, "It was on his instructions that I use the dart, and to return to Geonosis after I was done here. No one else was involved with the bounty to my knowledge."
"Hmm," mused Siri, releasing her grasp on Boba and let the boy fall to the ground, gasping, his throat purpling, "Truth."
Odd. She would have thought C'Baoth had been involved on Sidious's orders. Or well... there is no guarantee he isn't, he might be being exceptionally cautious as to not create an obvious link between himself and the assassination attempt. He can pass off Gunray's actions as renegade and not state sponsored that way...
Her eyes flicker to see Obi-Wan pulling Boba away, placing him behind him and glaring full force at Siri. She ignores him and refocuses on Jango. "For your sake and your son's sake, Jango Fett, do not get further involved. Stay here, finish your contract, and disappear after."
She walks forward, places a hand on his chest, and leans up to whisper, "Sidious doesn't like leaving loose ends. Your life was forfeit the moment you got involved, extended only so far as he sees use in you. Run and pray Jango Fett, run and pray."
She releases him, watching idly as his feet slid down and touched the floor. "Am I clear?"
"Perfectly," he answered, eyes flickering briefly trying to get a look at Boba.
"Oh don't worry, he'll be bruised, but I didn't squeeze hard enough to leave permanent injury," she mocked, before her voice went cold, "Do not find yourself on the opposing side from me again, Jango Fett. If you do it won't be Sidious who nips you in the bud."
She turns and stalks out.
Obi-Wan comes after her a minute later. "Siri, what he hell was that? He is a child!"
"I don't care."
Obi-Wan grabs her arm, she stops, turns, and glares at him. "Unless you want your nose broken, unhand me."
"You didn't ask about the clones either, did you already know?" he demanded.
The GALL! "How dare you."
She lowers her shields and throws her fury and outrage and truth at him. "I knew nothing about this!"
He cringes at the mental barrage, but steels himself. "Yet you did not ask. Do you have no thoughts on it?"
Perhaps she could have voiced her thoughts on how sketchy this whole army was.
Perhaps she could have voiced the thought of where the hell did Hego Damask get the money for this without anyone knowing, if it was even him since he mysteriously died.
Perhaps she could voice how convenient it was that Sifo-Dyas had placed an order for a Clone Army and then mysteriously died as well.
Perhaps she could have voiced the thought of how absurd it is for Jango Fett of all people to have helped make a Clone Army for the Jedi and the Republic after Galidraan.
Perhaps she could have voiced that this setup smelt of a trap of Sidious design.
Perhaps it would be the right thing to do.
Siri isn't particularly in the mood to do the right thing.
If Kenobi doesn't realize exactly what this is, then his Order deserves to walk into Sidious's trap and die.
"The clones are your mess Kenobi, not mine," she said darkly, putting her hood back up and stalking away back towards her ship.
She'll dial the Chancellor first, then get the Jedi in, more chaos that way if they don't have a chance to prepare.
"...and Fett forwarded the contract to me with his oath to not pursue it anymore," advised Siri, standing in the hold of the Scimitar alongside the Jedi, reporting to the Chancellor and the Jedi Council, "I could have chosen to apprehend and return to Coruscant with him, but he is a mere bounty hunter, and it may conflict with his... other contract at the Republic's expense."
"Yes, this army," said Palpatine mildly, "Masters, did you know of this?"
"No," speaks Master Windu, "The Jedi Council did not authorize the creation of a Clone Army. Master Sifo-Dyas's actions would have had his mastership remanded at best, or more likely, suffered expulsion from the Order."
"Even if his actions were aimed at helping the Republic?" posed the Chancellor.
"The mere existence of this clone army is an extreme ethical violation," countered Windu, "No Jedi should have ordered this."
"And yet, it does not appear he was wrong," said the Chancellor, "The Separatists have been noted to be amassing droid armies, supposedly to protect themselves, but I ask, from what army? The Republic did not have a true standing army, and we do not technically have one if we do not accept this Clone Army..."
"That is a decision for you and the Senate," interrupts Siri, "My mission, Chancellor?"
Palpatine paused for a few moments, considering. "Would you be capable of infiltrating Geonosis and capturing Gunray?"
Oh she'd hoped he wouldn't say that. "Why not simply make a demand of the Confederacy to hand him over? We have proof Gunray ordered the bounty. If they refuse, it plays bad on them, not the Republic."
"Only if we are believed, they could say we falsified the report," said Palpatine, sighing, "As of the moment, more and more systems lean towards the Confederacy, the word of the Senate, of the Republic, and even of the Jedi, is doubted the further you get from the Core. The Confederacy's propaganda, both true and false, has been effective. Gunray must stand trial for his crimes, and they will not let one of their backers be put on trial by the Republic."
Siri exhales in frustration.
"You are on contract for this mission and are obligated to see it through," reminds Palpatine.
"I am aware, and very much regretting it," she said mildly.
Palpatine raises an eyebrow. "Do you believe yourself incapable of capturing Gunray?"
"No," said Siri, "But I am very much aware I am walking into a slotted role and I do not like it."
"...role?" asked Palpatine.
"This whole thing rubs me wrong, your excellency," she evaded, eyes locking on him, "You are aware, that once the Confederacy learns of this army, they will use any excuse to come after the Republic, whether through war or propaganda. Abducting Gunray could be an ignition that they will use."
"Are we to simply let him, and possibly the Confederacy if this is state sponsored, escape justice?" he posed back, "If we yield here, when will they stop pressing for more?"
"That's not my concern," she mutters, "Get in, get Gunray, get out. Anything else is outside my mission parameters."
"Of course," agreed Palpatine, eyes flickering towards Obi-Wan, "Though if the Jedi see anything of import to report..."
"We will keep our eyes open," said Obi-Wan.
"Good, now I believe you mentioned something about a... packet of information about this Clone Army?" said the Chancellor.
"Before I depart I'll direct them to forward it to the Republic Senate when its complete," said Siri, "I'll leave the ethics on what to do about the clones to those it concerns, Tachi out."
The Chancellor looks like hes about to say something, but Siri cuts the connection before he can. Jinzler snorts at that, while Obi-Wan sighs. "Must you have, Siri?"
"Its been Agent Tachi for awhile now, why drop it?" she snaps, "Send a message to the Prime Minister for the packet and that we can't stay, I'm prepping for liftoff."
Her anger stews, at Kenobi, at this whole situation, at Sidious. For the first time, in a long time, she sits on it as Sidious had once instructed. Simmering it into a cold rage that lurks below the surface. She should know she shouldn't be going to Geonosis, that she should tell the Chancellor to kiss her ass, and then piss off to the far side of the Galaxy. She should, but she's not going to. She could tell herself its because she doesn't want to deal with the consequences of breaking a legal contract, that it would burn bridges she could use later, perhaps even that pissed as she is she has to go because Kenobi would likely get himself killed.
For once, its not the latter.
She feels the eyes of the hound upon her, the Dark Side staring at her in wait. Cold and cruel and primal it beckons her to tell herself the truth. That Kenobi's rubbing the truth between them in her face, and his denial of the concession she was willing to make, has made the chain binding her to Kenobi (holding her back) loosen. The Dark whispers in her ear and asks 'what is it, mine child, that you so desire?'
She wants a front row seat to watch the ignition of the fire that burns the Galaxy to the ground.
She wants to be the one that starts it.
The thoughts makes her purse her lips, close her eyes, and clench her jaw, taking a deep breath, and uncaps the anger. The anger spoils and withers into a hostile flare of fury, enough to briefly draw Kenobi's attention, but then its gone. Booted out into the Force in order to clear her mind.
She rests her head on the controls. "You swore to yourself you would be more than a female Sidious."
She rights herself, straps herself in, and hits the intercom. "Nudge through the Force if you're done with the message."
She gets one.
"Strap in, we are leaving," she orders, flicking it off, giving them ten seconds, then getting them out of that rainy hellhole.
Chapter 74: Ignition
Chapter Text
The Scimitar slips out of hyperspace and engages stealth within the second.
Siri stares out at the red dust-ball she's steering towards and... her eyebrows furrow. She flicks the intercom. "Kenobi, Jinzler, push down your presences and raise your shields all the way. Do not drop your shields until we are done here under any circumstances."
There is far to much darkness oozing from around that planet to be from one person (Sidious not counted), C'Baoth couldn't emanate that, so... there were far more than one darksider on the planet. Siri had suspected... but... how did C'Baoth manage it? How did he get all those who followed him into the Schism to fall without a peep? She'd ask why they were so many gathered on this planet, but she has an idea of what role Sidious desired of her. Get captured along with Kenobi and Jinzler, force the Jedi and the Republic to act and take on the Clone Army, have the first battle igniting the war to be on this planet. Jedi VS fallen Jedi, Clones VS droids, a pure and utter bloodbath.
Shame if something would happen to that plan.
Though... Sidious knows she can use Sith Sorcery, should know she is skilled with illusions and masking herself if he has any eyes within the Jedi Temple (which he definitely had), so expecting her to be captured is... foolish. Sidious isn't foolish, arrogant perhaps, but not foolish. But then again, he wins either way, doesn't he? If she takes Gunray, the Confederacy will use that as an excuse to start a conflict anyway. The caught method would be preferred for him obviously, more bloody that way and more dead Jedi.
She'll admit, either way, she looks forward to testing herself...
Against her supposed replacement.
She remembers when she faced off against him and Jinzler years ago. C'Baoth is powerful in the Force, strong enough to overwhelm her with his almost one-hundred years on her. She's relatively stagnated since then, while he has delved into the Dark Side. If she faces him head on then she loses almost certainly. Of course, why would she do something so stupid? She is fairly certain she could dance around C'Baoth so long as Sidious didn't give him any advice, gifts, or teachings in how to counter her abilities. There is the possibility he did, but there is also the possibility this could serve as a test for C'Baoth.
Of course, she doesn't honestly believe C'Baoth is a true apprentice either, not when he's older than dirt and likely to die in the next decade, probably. The man serves a purpose in the Grand Plan, little else. She can see that, and if C'Baoth can't, he deserves to be discarded by Sidious when the time comes. Though, speaking of C'Baoth, she needs to inform the Jedi that they are staying put. Jinzler stepping foot on the same planet as her former master is a death sentence, and Kenobi doesn't have her powers nor subtly. They'd both give themselves (and her) away and get them all killed.
When she informs them of such, Kenobi raises a single eyebrow. "Then what will we be doing?"
"Keeping my ship warm and ready, the moment I call for you, you come and pick me up," she ordered, "No communications, no Force, and neither of you are to leave the ship under any circumstance."
"Even if you're captured?" asked Jinzler.
Siri smiled slyly, "Especially if I'm supposedly captured."
"Illusions?" asked Jinzler dryly.
"If they even figure out I'm there to begin with, I'll have a little fun," was Siri's only response.
"How long do you believe your infiltration will last?" inquired Obi-Wan.
Siri shrugged. "Depends how long it takes to find Gunray, and find an opportunity to nab him," he head tilts towards the planet, "I'm not going to risk exposure to do so, but I might look into a few things that have drawn my interest. No less than an hour at minimum, hopefully no more than a day at most. If its longer, then its longer."
She pushes past and opens one of the storage compartments, searching through for a few things. While she has the Dark Side to sustain herself, she slips a few nutri-bars and a canteen into her robes to be on the safe side. Then she starts going through her restocked goodies then Black Sun had refilled her on when she finally got her ship back. A silenced blaster because a lightsaber was a very noticeable thing, and using the Force with so many Force Sensitives there was risky. A single explosive charge if she needed a loud distraction, or as a backup hole-maker if something happened to her lightsaber. Then... the Force nudges her towards a recorder, she frowns, but obliges, checking its battery then slipping it carefully into her robes.
Its not that she doesn't get the use of it, she just doesn't see herself caring about whats going on here.
She hears the snickering of the Dark Hound, red gleaming eyes peering around a crate.
"Whats so funny," she mutters to herself.
She has the sense the Force is mocking her attitude towards the upcoming mission. It earns a scowl from her as she rises to her feet, leaves, and not-so-accidentally closes the door in the hound's face. Of course the damn manifestation just phases through it. Siri sighs in exasperation, ignoring the looks from the Jedi and leaves for the cockpit. She wonders sometimes when she got so used to this thing. It used to be a rarity, back during her apprenticeship, to see the hound outside of when she let the Dark take her, let it direct her around, and even then it was rarely as a manifestation even in her mind. Now... it comes without prompt, and she wonders why, she doesn't recall Sidious ever mentioning something like this.
The trotting stops, and the Force goes still.
Siri stops walking.
Slowly, she turns and stares at the hound.
The hound raises its muzzle and slowly grins. 'Why indeed.'
Siri opens her mouth to speak... then she's gusted away.
She finds herself watching her stupid younger self sitting at a campfire with Siolo Ur Manka, and it twists her stomach to see it.
"When I reach for the light, I remember it once feeling like a friend, taking my hand and leading the way," the younger Siri said softly, a minor tone of old longing in her voice, "But the dark... it's like a hound, it snaps at its master and pulls on it's leash. It will turn and bite you if you don't dominate it. It's far more literal than you might think, if I don't control the Dark Side, and try to let it guide me like the Light would have, it feels like being pulled in so many directions that I'm being physically ripped apart."
Its gone in a second, and she's back in the hallway, hand pressed against the wall for support. "Whats the point? I've viewed the dark as a wild, primal animal for a long while now."
The hound waits, it has a desire, a conclusion it wants her to draw, but...
"I don't really have time for this, if there is a point to be made, then make it," she snapped.
The Hound snorts, turns, and trots away, the stillness to the Force fading. Siri bristles in indignation and being so casually dismissed. Whatever the Force had been trying to pound into her skull was important, she just didn't know why nor have the time to figure it out. She yanks at Kenobi's presence down the bond and summons him to the cockpit. He gives her an offended pulse down the Force, but comes.
"I will give you a brief overview of piloting my baby," she said, "If you crash her, I will break far more than your nose."
"Its a ship," he deadpans, "I know how to pilot."
"Its a ship stained with the Dark Side, are you sure you can fly properly with it clawing at you while you're trying to focus?" she said pointedly.
"We should have taken another ship," he mutters.
"Ah yes, because the Republic has plenty of ships with a stealth field generator to hand out," she deadpanned, "Get in the bloody seat Kenobi."
"It better not literally be bloody."
"Was that a prod at me being female Kenobi? Tsk tsk didn't think you were sexist," she said coyly, "I did get my shot recently, so I don't need to worry about leaks anytime soon."
He gives her a sour look. "Must you?"
"I must."
He sighed and sits down. "It was more along the lines of wondering if anyone had been murdered in this seat."
"Beats me," she said, "Not during my apprenticeship, can't speak of previous owners though. Now, take her for a spin."
Thirty minutes later, she's satisfied and watching him fly along the rocky planet's surface. Though both of their attentions aren't really on flying, its on the incredible amount of large ships scattered on the surface...
"I thought the Trade Federation was dismantled," said Obi-Wan slowly.
"They were, though in reality, that just meant their ships and goods were passed onto whatever took their place," said Siri, eyes flickering.
She obeys the prompting of the Force and pulls out the recorder, thumbing it on. "Do another pass, don't get too close, we might be cloaked, but some sensors might sense an air disruption if we are within range."
When she's satisfied, she turns it off. "Find a place to park."
He nods, a frown plastered on his face. "I don't like this, I think this may be over our heads for a single team."
She doesn't acknowledge his concern. If it was a Jedi infiltration she'd agree, but she has the Dark Side and her Sorcery, she'll be fine. She leaves under the cloak of sunset, a soft chanting escaping her lips. Her physical form fades away, leave a small blurry distortion someone would have to be staring right at to see, and even then they might not notice without really paying attention. She does another spell to mask sound and scent, just incase. She sticks along rocky outcrops as a matter of principle, so she doesn't get accidentally hit if a speeder zoomed pass. Not that one comes by the time she reaches an entrance...
She pauses.
Is that Ki-Adi-Mundi?
The cone-headed former Jedi stands by an entrance, cold eyes flickered with yellow in them, staring off into the distance. He's dressed in a dark tunic and pants similar to her own. A lightsaber hangs at his belt, and she has the hunch its certainly not blue anymore. But... why is he just standing there? Does a former council member really just serve as a guard or patrol?
Then, as she draws closer to him... his head tilts in her direction and she swears her heart stops for a moment. His voice is low, "C'Baoth is an arrogant fool, Siri Tachi, in that, you are fortunate. Do not unmask yourself."
She's not stupid, but she does let go of maintaining her silence over sound. "How, and why?"
Ki-Adi-Mundi gives a thin, grim smile. "There are few things in my life I regret as I do my volunteering to infiltrate and keep an eye on C'Baoth's supposed new Jedi Order. It was a trap from the start."
He slowly reaches into his robes and pulls out... a mask?
He flicks it in her direction, and she catches it. She frowns down at it. It reeks of the Dark Side, of pain and suffering. "What is it?"
"I'm surprised you don't know," admits Mundi, "Its a Sith Torture Mask. I was told it was modified and altered for mass production by Nightsister Witches as part of some kind of exchange between them and the Sith. Its apparently worse than the original model, made for quicker and harsher falls. It blocks access to the Light Side of the Force, constantly assaults your mind with sound and thoughts and notions, preventing you from concentrating and pushing you into using the Dark. If anyone asks where you got it, you found it during your infiltration and discerned its purpose on your own."
She nods, pocketing it within her rob. She really doesn't like the notion of the Nightsisters and Sidious having some kind of deal going. She might need to see if Mighella is willing to take a trip to her homeworld and investigate on her behalf. "So that's how he turned you all then."
"Indeed," grumbled Mundi, "But... just because I am fallen, does not mean I am some subservient pawn."
The anger in his voice and presence throws her for a moment, if only because of how different it is to what she remembers of him. It... disturbs her, personally. The Dark may not care, may be delighted by another in its thrall, but Siri still stands by her notion that you should only be dark if you chose it. "We could get you out of here. Take you with us when we go. Anakin could probably yank you out of the Dark Side."
Mundi shakes his head sharply, and then smiles in her direction with malice so unfamiliar to a Jedi it throws her again. "No. I will not be denied my revenge. C'Baoth will pay for his treachery and betrayal a thousand times over in a thousand small and spiteful different ways. I, and several others still true to ourselves, will see to this."
Well... Darth Bane was certainly right in implementing the Rule of Two if this was an indicator of anything. "How did you sense me?"
"The Sith... C'Baoth and Darth Sidious... have been manipulating the Veil of the Dark Side, experimenting with it," said Mundi, "Rather than just shrouding the Force and blocking the Jedi, they've been using the Dark Side dominance it has placed over the whole of the Force to enhance their abilities... and to inhibit our own in certain ways."
Oh Siri really doesn't like this.
"Sidious holds the reigns of it, and C'Baoth is given scraps to use," said Mundi mockingly, "So drunk and arrogant on power he does not deserve..."
She cuts the rant off before it begins. "How is it used to perceive me?"
"Its not perceiving you, its perceiving the use of the Dark Side itself," explained Mundi, "It is... a choke-hold, an awareness, that gives the Sith an advantage over any other factions that use the Dark Side. Your typical methods of Force Clouding or Shrouding will not work, and when close enough it is evident it still works to detect your sorcery."
Siri gritted her teeth. "Kriff."
It was obvious why that had been developed, the Sith had never needed that before Siri went rogue. The schism had merely enforced that need. "Is there a way around it?"
"We have only found one manner that works somewhat for us, and its not something you'd recognize," said fallen Jedi, a touch of arrogance in his tone towards her.
She holds back her bite and merely says. "Explain."
"We have been experimenting with methods to buck C'Baoth's grip," said Mundi, "And the only method we've found testing against one another is, in essence, pushing down our presence within the Force as small as we can manage rather than cloaking it, along with releasing our hold on the Force, which is not something easily done while Dark."
Siri frowned. "...releasing your hold?"
"To cut ourselves off from its passive benefits, such as enhanced hearing, sight, movement, and the like," said Mundi, "We become smaller in the Force, a part of the current it flows through."
She considers the idea, yet frowns. This isn't a complex idea, she literally told the Jedi to push their presences down as it is, its... well... the point. Its used in most methods to hide one's self. "That's a natural part of clouding yourself."
Mundi snarls in impatience. "Yes, to a degree, but not enough, Tyrosus! Its not enough! Its paired with the clouding, but for this, you must push down more!"
Siri startled at the address. "...why do you call me that?"
"It is your Sith title, is it not?" said Mundi.
Siri doesn't answer that point. "There's got to be more to it than that, because that won't stop normal forms of detection like, oh I don't know, staring at me."
Mundi growled. "We've not had a great deal of time to work on it. Its useful for doing subtle work that deceives others while hiding from C'Baoth's notice. It works for us, you will have to make it work for yourself, and, you will not be entering here until you can successfully move passed me without me noticing."
Siri smiles coyly. She's more than capable of killing him, but that would announce her presence. "Fair enough."
"Finally, there is a price for this information I have given you," said Mundi, eyes boring towards her, "C'Baoth's life is to be claimed by one he has betrayed, not by you. We will not be denied our revenge, am I clear?"
"Perfectly," she answered, considering him for a moment, "How did you even know I would come this way?"
"The Dark Side told me that if I desired my revenge, part of it would be to be here," said Mundi, shoulders rolling uncomfortably, "Being directed by the Dark Side is... vastly different than the light."
"Not nearly so gentle," agreed Siri, "Now... care to explain how to do your method?"
"Trying to explain it doesn't work quite as well as showing," he informs her and then...
He doesn't combine his method with shrouding himself, as that'd counter him teaching her. Yet, what she senses from him in the next second makes no sense to her. She recognizes pulling one's presence back into one's self, to hide it beneath the skin to shroud it in the Force. Yet he is pulling deeper still. How? It feels like a quarter of his body doesn't even have the Force in it. Is that safe? Or is it merely fooling her senses?
"I'm going to need to meditate on this," she says before stepping back and turning away.
She falls back a distance and finds herself a small cave. She takes a knife out of her robe and etches a few Sith symbols into the walls of the cave, and with a spell, shrouds the entire area. Then, she unmasks her physical cloaking, and smell, sitting down in the center of the cave. She is not so arrogant as to not realize she is so very lucky. If she had stumbled into there still assuming her normal methods worked...
She cuts off the line of thought and merely muses, "Treachery is the way of the Sith."
She closes her eyes and falls into meditation, concentrating on pushing down her presence. Cloaking herself is easy when she takes up less space within the Force, and yet apparently that's not enough. She has to be so small, so tiny, that even the blight that is the Veil of the Dark Side can't perceive her. But... how? How does she push down her presence more than withdrawing it beneath her skin as Mundi did? Even more important, how does she pair that with physically hiding herself? Thirdly, her earlier thought, is it safe to do so? Or does that depend on how far one could suppress their presence?
Just how far could one do it anyway? He showed her far more than what she was used to, but it begged the question, just how small could someone compress their presence? Half of their body? Down to the size of her little pinkie-toe? Into a single kriffing cell? The notion is strange, but... if she can figure it out, it could have far reaching impact, so long as Sidious never learns of it anyway. Regardless, she thinks that mastering this rather than just getting it up to par is going to be a very long term commitment. So for now...
It takes hours of meditation to make any noticeable improvement, which is then lost the moment she tries to gauge herself from the outside in. She growls in frustration, yanking at her hair. "I don't have time for this."
Yes, the Jedi can sit for a few days on the ship if it comes down to it, but she's not sure she trusts them to actually do so without poking their nose into this mess and getting it bit off. She needs a shortcut, yet her usual tools of using the Dark Side or her Sorcery will draw attention if she is to close. She could try to dance and dodge through the complex, but there is no guarantee she won't draw to close to a Dark Jedi or C'Baoth himself. She rubs her chin in thought... then considers that perhaps her sorcery can still be of use, she merely has to try shaping it differently to adjust for this new variable.
She begins drawing gylphs in the dusty stone, not for actual sorcery, but as a soundboard. She's never actually made up her own incantation before, crafted her own spellwork. She's used what she's been taught, from Zannah, from Nadd's Scriptures, but perhaps its time to craft her own. She writes and erases words in the Sith Language over and over again, considering how they would be phrased paired with her intent. Because she needs to hide herself from, dare she say, the Dark Side itself, or at least those who have mastery over the Veil. It takes her another few hours to have composed a satisfying verse, which, ironically, is the opposite of what Mundi suggested.
Which, she supposes is offset by the fact she'd have preferred to have the entire mission done in the duration this effort took. She's not even sure Mundi will be there to test herself against, but... no risk no reward.
She pushes herself up off the ground, smothering the symbols written in the dust with her foot. Then, she exhales. Her intent is not to hide in plain sight, but to hide as part of the Force, within it rather than from it.
"Nu aukoti ja've kia tave Jen' Garthaz," slips past her lips with barely a thought.
She empties her mind, and lets her presence truly free for the first time in... perhaps forever. She's not sure she's fully lowered her mental shields and let her presence spill out into the Force at any point in her life. The Jedi teach themselves containment as a matter of respect, control, and not bothering others. The Sith keep themselves contained to hide, only revealing themselves at the right moment. If not for the glyphs she etched into the cave, she's fairly certain most Force Sensitives on the planet would have felt ripples.
"Nuyak akiva, tirji je'as tu'iea mudasoki," she recites.
The Dark Side accepts her offering, and its... odd. Its like her presence spills out of her and embeds into the air.
She offers the next mouthful. "Odacon is tu'iea tnoa pras ziurti iv edoui kuris valia rixik prasasja kia savas j'us."
Her vision spins, her head is throbbing, she feels... she senses... herself dissipating into the darkness clouding the planet. There but not there.
"Atitrazi tu'iea naudot jorath galez ziur jorath galez girdeti jorath galez gofi rak uosti," she manages to gasp out word by word.
Her body appears to dissapate into thin air, if not for the fact she could feel herself she'd say she'd vanished. It takes effort, great effort, to finish the incantation:
"Tik j'us, tik visaz j'us, oer re tita buti dary."
She closes her eyes, inhales, exhales, and feels... wind on her face? She opens her eyes to find everything has gone... grayish, hardly a spec of color in sight. Yet there are... currents, its the best she can describe it as. Traces in the air as if something is flowing, even through the rocky cave itself as if the stone were not there. She steps outside, and lets out a soft, soundless gasp. The currents are everywhere, its wonderous, and yet... something claws at the edges of her vision, a shadow. She turns her head, but its gone, or rather, moved to the edge of her vision again. Its...
She yelps when something nudges her, spinning to find...
She stares at the Dark Hound, looking oh so very solid. She hesitates, reaches out... and her hand touches its muzzle. She kneels down in baffled wonder, scratching under a chin that feels real. It gives a huff and jerks its head off in the direction of the entrance. Right, she has a job to do... and she's not sure if it is wise to stay like this for an extended period of time.
The hound grins. 'Not unless you wish to leave yourself behind to stay here permanently.'
Right.
She's evidently delved into something over her head.
She walks to the entrance, finds a different Dark Jedi there waiting, and walks passed without a hint of being noticed. Though... her eyes flicker back, perceiving within skin, a core of light, strangled by the dark, losing ground. Its... odd to see it rather than feel it. Its as if everything has a level of transparency to it now. She moves through rocky sculpted architecture, past a few large humanoid bugs, probably the natural inhabitants of the planet. Then... then she comes to a balcony, and she stares down over a absolutely massive production area of droids. She is uneasily reminded of the facility on Kamino.
She purses her lips, pulls out the recording device, and clicks it on as she moves through the place. The upper levels are mostly mass producing the standard B1 Battle Droid, worthless trash not worth the credits to make them if she was honest. The lower she got however... what was this silvery model? Taller, armored, with... wrist blasters. Oh that's clever. Jedi cant yank blasters from their hands if their hands are the blasters. Though some of those had what looked like single-use rockets as well, that was a nasty surprise waiting to happen. There were a few variant models that had only a single production line, thicker armor, some had what looked like jet packs embedded on their backs.
She doesn't like this, she doesn't like this at all. She knew war was coming, but knowing wasn't the same as perceiving and understanding...
The Hound trots at her side, sniffing in derision at the droids, it nips at her, growling in warning. She gets the message, clicks off the recorder, and starts getting on with her actual mission, heading down and deeper into the facility. Its funny how easy it is to hone in on Gunray, his pathetic, slimy, cowardly presence is like a disgusting beacon. Though the winding caverns and hallways and staircases are annoying to navigate. Eventually, she ends up on an overhead balcony looking down on a very large meeting room. She clicks on her recorder once more and settles in to wait.
C'Baoth sits at the head of the table, a Geonosian to his right, Gunray to his left. She recognizes San Hill of the Banking Clan. Wat Tambor of the Techno Union. Shu Mai of the Commerce Guild. A few others she doesn't know by name, but she faintly recognizes certain logo's such as the Hyper-Communications Cartel, the Quarren Isolation League. There is a lot of money at this table... she makes sure to hit them all with her recorder.
She doesn't know who the Holwuff is, but chalks it up to that planet being Confederate. She recognizes Grevious from all those videos about the Huk, his rifle strapped across his caped back. She didn't have a further chance to keep identifying people, as someone spoke up... wait, was that Ramsis Dendup of Onderon? She hadn't heard of Onderon joining the Confederacy.
"And is starting a war truly in our best interests, Jorus?" posed Ramsis dryly, and Siri hears the familiarity of the voice, the pair knew eachother, "All of this talk of marching droids makes me question my agreement. The Republic is horrifically corrupt, there is no doubt, but us being the aggressors of this conflict..."
C'Baoth shook his head. "You would think so my friend, but the truth of the matter is that the Republic have already begun preperations for domination. They were preparing to subdue the entire galaxy before we even existed."
"They already control most of the galaxy," voiced a Umbaran male, and Siri is faintly sure based on the clothing thats the senator of the planet, "Or did. You are implying what exactly?"
C'Baoth presses a button, and a holodisplay springs to life... of Kamino. Oh hell.
"Spies have informed me that the Jedi Order, yes, the Jedi Order, ordered a Clone Army on behalf of the Republic almost a decade ago, tell me my friends, what enemy did the Republic have back then, hmm?" posed C'Baoth, "The Sith were still relatively unknown, the Seperatist movement hadn't started, the Hutts were content to sit in their hole. The Mandalorians are still suffering from internal strife. Not a peep from the Unknown Regions. There are of course plenty of independent systems within our known galaxy, but hardly a threat. So I ask, what threats needed this army but to use on their own people?"
Siri has to hand it to Sidious, this was played so well. He'd get his war, and the start of it could potentially be pinned on the Jedi since they supposedly ordered the army.
"Their army is ready," said C'Baoth firmly, "All that's left is for it to be claimed, and my eyes within informed me only this morning that a ship fielding two Jedi and a republic representative touched down there recently. How curious that this representative is the Sith Apprentice Siri Tachi. What does it say about the Republic that they would employ the Sith?"
A image of the Scimitar sprung up, with the faint but recognizable forms of Kenobi and Jinzler along with her.
So.
Kriffing.
Well.
Played.
Siri hates, oh how she hates, that she walked right into this role, as much as she can appreciate how neatly it was all set up.
"I was under the impression that the Sith Apprentice had disavowed her master?" posed one of the Council Members, "I had heard that she had apparently recently destroyed a slaver group or something to that effect? I had only given the article a brief pass over."
C'Baoth sniffed. "Disavowed him does not mean disavowing her Order, and if you recall the holo-news report, the Jedi were horrified to even be near the ship, so tainted as it was. She had merely chosen an outlet for her dark ways upon that wouldn't upset the public, that would deceive and woo them. She is a symptom of the taint in the Republic, and seeks to usurp her foul master and take the Republic for her own."
The Council nods along, and Siri's lips peel back in distaste on how easily they are led along.
"Our time is short, and we must strike soon my friends, before the Republic has a chance to mobilize their army," said C'Baoth firmly, "I plan to present this information to the Confederate Senate by the morning. With all of your ratification behind me, we will declare war on this monstrous blight the Republic has become, and save the Galaxy from the oppression of the future Sith Empire to be."
The irony of his words isn't lost on her. The less greedy of the council, the idealistic fools, would eat that up. Would believe that they were in the right. Its actually kind of sad to say, that if the Confederacy hadn't been corrupted and deceived from the ground up by C'Baoth and Sidious they could have actually stood in opposition to the Sith Empire C'Baoth is paving the way for. They think themselves the defenders preventing the rise of the Sith, when in reality they are helping to usher in Sidious's Empire...
Before she can continue her thoughts, her vision shifts in a sharp spike of pain. Grayness flaring, the currents flowing through the air gain a pull that starts to tug on her. Dark murmurs begin to fill her ears. A craving flickers on the edge of her awareness, a craving for her. The gray in the air begins to tint darker at a slow pace. The darkness at the edges of her vision starts slowly seeping further into her view. She feels... a disconnect forming, between her body and the Force she has given herself to. She grits her teeth and takes in quiet, sharp breaths. She's running out of time to finish this.
"Jorus, is something wrong?"
Siri refocuses in time to see C'Baoth looking around the room, a frown on his face. "I thought I felt something..."
He shakes his head. "Regardless, my friends, are you with me?"
Siri watches impatiently as one by one, a pad is passed around, those in the meeting signing their names...
The Dark Hound growls behind her. She glances back, then follows its eyes towards the ceiling... which is blackening in her vision. She swears she sees something in the Dark moving, formless shapes clawing on the wall, down towards her as it spread. What the hell is that?
"We are adjured then," comes C'Baoth's voice.
Siri pushes away from the balcony and turns to leave in preparation for following Gunray, yet its like she is wading through sand, worse, she feels the Force tugging her backwards, and not in a guiding manner. She gave herself to the Dark, waded in so deeply in a manner she wasn't even close to certain of, now it feels like its trying to pull her in and drown her.
'If you stay much longer, not all of you will come back,' the Dark Hound speaks to her, 'Or perhaps worse, something else will return with you.'
She staggers down the steps, but its like the walls and steps have sticky goop trying to keep her in place.
"Siri, what the hell are you doing!?" comes Rain's raised voice.
Kriff, not now!
The gatekeeper materializes in front of her, and the child form looks terrified. "Cut it, cut it now!"
"I'll... be revealed..." gasped out Siri staring at Rain...
From several different angles?
Its like shes in multiple places perceiving...
Oh kriff.
"I shield you for the moment as best I can, drop whatever spell that is now!" said Rain sharply.
Siri tries to pull herself back, but the Dark has her presence scattered through it, and it does not want to yield her now that she gave so much to it for so long. Dark twisted laughter, so much more twisted and vile than she's used to, rings in her ears and she knows, oh how she knows, she went in to deep. She shivers when she feels hands on her, reaching into her, trying to tug and pry apart what threads connects her to her flesh. She closes her eyes, daring not to look behind her, and focuses on what is most important to her.
Obi-Wan.
Zannah.
Supernova.
Killing Sidious.
Her desires, ranging from large to small.
Everything that makes her who she is.
It is a struggle, oh how its a struggle, to pry them back to her. Its a viscous fight, a flare in the Force...
Then Rain... no... Zannah's possessive presence latches onto her, snarling into the Force her claim. She feels the flare of her bond to her kyber crystal in her lightsaber. Siri grabs them both and with do-or-die effort, jerks herself out of the embrace of her spell. Instantly everything snaps back into place, the world returning to normal. Siri stumbles down a circle set of stone steps, landing hard on her side, before she curls into a ball and screams into her legs in an attempt to both muffle the sound and outlet the agony.
"This is not the place for this, Siri," snapped Zannah, her older Sith form looming over her, "Shunt it away and pull yourself together."
Siri chokes back any further screams, jaw clenched tight, head pounding. Her entire body hurt. The Force is one giant throb, everything is so bright and loud. She hadn't felt this sensitive, this overloaded, since after she got out of the Force Suppressant Cell and oh she doesn't miss the sensation even if the source is rather reversed from that. She knows its going to hurt, but she reaches for the Force and blankets it over her in a normal shroud...
She retches at the sensation of the Dark Side after being so entrenched into whatever the hell that had been.
"I don't know what the hell you did Siri," hissed Zannah, "But do not ever do it again. Am I clear?"
"Perfectly," rasped out Siri, forcing herself to her feet as Zannah drops her own shaky cloaking over them.
The gatekeeper sags from the effort, older form returning to the younger form of Rain. "Finish what you came here to do and get out. You need to meditate and fix any damages that stunt did to you."
Rain vanishes, and Siri takes one step after another down the hallway. She uses the pain as fuel to keep herself going. All the while she is counting down in her head. She only has up until she runs into the first Dark Jedi paying attention to catch her shrouding. Then shit hits the fan. Worse yet, she senses the wariness leaking through the Force, her tussle with the Dark Side had kicked up something in the Force. Those in the facility were on guard. She is also not sure how long she can maintain her shrouding with the pain of touching the force. She legs it down the hallway, drawing up her hood as she went. She drops her physical illusion, as her clothing lets her blend in just fine considering what the Dark Jedi wear, and its less of a strain.
She spots the miserable worm Gunray and an aid walking down the hallway, a few droids as his guard escort, speaking with San Hill as they walked.
Kriff it.
It was time for the Galaxy to burn.
It was going to anyway.
She flicks her wrist, the droids crumple, San Hill and the aid are thrown into a wall hard enough to knock them out. "Hello Gunray, did you miss me?"
The Neimodian chokes and glances over his shoulder at her, terrified. "No! Not you!"
Siri lifts him with the Force and chokes him unconscious. She sprints forward, grabs him before he can fall, and throws him on her shoulder without breaking pace. She rushes down the hallways, following the running form of the Dark Hound to guide her. It only takes a moment for a sharp brush against her mental shields, a flicker of surprise then dark delight from C'Baoth. Alarms start blaring a minute later.
She hits her comlink and bites out a quick. "Kenobi, get your ass ready to go we are going to be leaving HOT! I'm sending you coordinates, be there!" before thumbing it off.
She thumbs in what she had noted the entrance she came in as and runs. Droids and bug-people start spilling out of the woodworks. Siri uses the Dark with grim abandon, flinging most out of the way. A quick jolt of lightning to stutter the droids. Its only when the blasterbolts start flying she draws her lightsaber and activates one end, because apparently they don't care if Gunray dies. Siri really wouldn't mind destroying everything in her path, but if she stops, she knows she's dead. There has to be who knows how many thousands of droids, and at least a few dozen Dark Jedi scattered through the building along with C'Baoth himself making his way towards her.
She slashes a doorway control and shuts a hallway behind her, buying time. She forces herself to boldly leap onto a construction belt. She leaps up to another, than another, bypassing a great deal of opposition, until she's back on where she originally viewed the assembly...
Then she promptly dumps Gunray and raises her lightsaber to block a red one. A cloaked Dark Jedi presses in, trying to overpower her. So she lets him, letting herself fall backwards, lashing out with her foot and kicking out their foot, causing them to stumble forward before shoving out with the Force and throwing them overhead off the balcony and down into the assembly below. She grabs Gunray, hefts him over her shoulder, and sprints out.
The ship isn't there yet.
Kriff what was taking him?!
Snap hiss.
"If it isn't the Sith Apprentice herself," comes a mocking voice, "How gracious that you come to save us the effort of killing you later."
Siri glances behind her to see Pong Krell, two Dark Jedi, and a squad of those silvery droids begin to spill out behind her. Siri grits her teeth, grimaces in pain, but reaches out with the Dark Side, not for them, but for the opening. She clenches her fist, and the walls crack and crumple. The Dark Jedi throw themselves out of the way, and half of the droid squad is caught in the collapse. Siri forces a sleep compulsion into Gunray's unconscious mind to be on the safe side, and moves to set him down before stepping away, activating the other end of her lightsaber.
"Spread out and surround her," Krell ordered, "As a unit, triangle formation, do not overlap efforts. Droids, you are to only fire if she begins to overwhelm one of us and force her back until we recover."
"Roger roger."
"The problem with that," said Siri mildly, "Is that I have a thing for messing up plans for me."
She throws a hand forward and unleashes a harsh barrage of lightning. Krell activates twin red dual-bladed lightsabers and catches it. "I am so much more than I was last time we fought, Sith. This time, I will TRIUMPH!"
He thrusts his lightsabers forward, and her lightning crackles back with a rebound. Siri cancels out the power and shields herself from the brief backlash, but that's all the time Krell needs. Dark robes are shed, and he is upon her, red blades arching through the air. Siri falls back as they fight, trying to keep Krell between her and the other Dark Jedi. He may have offered a sound strategy, but she feels the bloodlust taking him, the arrogant desire to crush her. She can sense he is used to dominating and getting his way.
Were she in top form, she's pretty sure she could take him, hell, him, the other two, and the droids.
She is nowhere near that at the moment.
The second Dark Jedi leaps overhead, trying to get into position to pincer her. Siri lashes out with the Force and shoves Krell back midswing, then backflips as the Dark Jedi touches down, going right for him and...
She barely gets a swing in before blasterfire starts for her. She sidesteps, trying to put the Dark Jedi in the line of fire, but he matches her footwork, she's forced to block blaster bolts between swings, and then it cuts out as Krell rejoins the fight, the third Dark Jedi running around them to get into position.
"You we're saying?" mocked Krell.
Siri grinned tilted her chin up. "Duck."
"D..."
The Scimitar roars into existence, cloaking fading as laser cannons open fire and demolish the droids.
Krell snarls, "Keep ontop of the Sith and the ship can't fire without killing her!"
Siri twirls her lightsaber overhead, the two Dark Jedi take a step back, unsure of where she'll strike, but Krell comes right for her, forcing her to block one of his sabers, and then leaping up as he swings the other. She lands behind him and pushes with the Force, throwing him forward and onto his face. The other two Dark Jedi come for her, and she falls back, Soresu blocking every strike without hesitation.
She briefly glances to the side to see the Scimitar setting down, the loading ramp lowering. She sights Jinzler gunning out for Gunray. Good, smart choice. Siri refocuses as the Dark Jedi come for her. All she needs to do is stall till Jinzler gets him on the ship, then run to it herself. Krell stands, snarling as he sights Jinzler. He starts towards her, but Siri lashes out, raising her lightsaber to catch both attackers swinging overhead, while reaching out with a fist and clenching the Force around Krell's throat. The Besalisk chokes briefly before warding off her attempt with a flare of the Force, but its enough to buy Jinzler a few seconds, the young woman grabs Gunray and starts running...
Then the entryway back into the facility explodes open with a powerful burst of the Force, enough to send everyone staggering offbalanced.
"Ah, padawan, I was hoping to see you again," comes C'Baoth's voice as he steps out of the dust.
He holds out a hand and clenches it. Jinzler chokes, dropping Gunray and clawing at her throat.
"Put her down Jorus, PUT HER DOWN!" comes Obi-Wan's voice.
C'Baoth, surprisingly, drops her, glancing over to see Obi-Wan descending from the ramp. A slow, malevolent smile spreads across his face. "Ah, Knight Kenobi. But of course. I suppose it is proper after all, if you want the padawan, make sure the master is dead first, that is how the saying goes, is it not? And I have yet to display my displeasure with you for your theft of my padawan."
Obi-Wan activates his lightsaber. "You lost the right to call her your padawan a long time ago."
Siri doesn't have time to watch any longer as Krell decides he wants a piece of her. Lightsabers sweep in from both sides, making to cleave Siri in half. She leaps over the swing and plants her foot right into his ugly face, sending him staggering back. The two Dark Jedi come to cover him, one swings at her, she blocks, the other comes...
Rain materializes right in front of him. "Hello Jedi."
The Dark Jedi startles and reflexively swings at her, his lightsaber passing harmlessly through the gatekeeper. Siri disengages from the first Dark Jedi and launches herself at the offbalanced other. The Dark Jedi doesn't have a chance to bring his out of position saber back around before Siri cleaves through him at the shoulders.
"How nice of you to help," said Siri dryly as the corpse drops.
"Always happy to help kill Jedi, fallen or otherwise," said the Gatekeeper, a dark smile on her face, "There's no reason not to anymore. The end, the Revenge of the Sith, has begun after all, its time to play."
"Ignore the Holocron," snarled Krell, "Its a mere illusionary image!"
The Dark Jedi launches himself at Siri, and she falls back, raising her lightsaber to block...
Only for the dead Dark Jedi's lightsaber to fly through the air, activate, and bisect the charging Dark Jedi. Rain mocks out, "Oops, apparently I can throw things around too! Who'd have thought?"
Krell glowers. "Worthless, the lot of them."
The Besalisk growls, sizing up Siri and the child form of Rain. He flexes his grip on his lightsabers. "You will die upon this pathetic world, and your death will earn my ascension to..."
"Force, this Jedi likes to hear himself talk, doesn't he?" mocked Rain loudly.
"I am no Jedi!" snapped Krell, "I am something so much more, and will become something even greater still!"
Rain cocks her head, smiling mockingly. "What you are, little Jedi, is expendable. Siri dear, do kill him slo..."
Siri and Krell both are knocked flat on their ass, Rain's gatekeeper dissipating as it withdraws and shields its holocron, by a massive surge of the Force. Obi-Wan cries out in pain, and Siri rolls, springing up and turning to see...
Obi-Wan levitates in the middle of the air, stuck in C'Baoth's grasp.
The elderly would-be Sith smiles a mocking smile.
He clenches his fist.
Obi-Wan's body gives an awful crack as it begins to crumple in on itself.
His presence winking out...
Siri blinks, and Obi-Wan is levitating there midair, whole, struggling in C'Baoth's grasp. Time slows for Siri as the premonition filters though her mind. A single thought echoes through her head.
Obi-Wan is going to die.
Siri deactivates her lightsaber.
She steps forward.
She throws her hands out.
She screams through the Force as lightning rips out of her hands.
The Force Scream hits first, throwing C'Baoth offbalanced and dropping Kenobi. Then the lightning slams into him, carries him back, and impacts him into the wall. Siri doesn't stop, kriff her word to Mundi, C'Baoth would have killed Obi-Wan. HE HAS TO DIE! She savors her pain as a feedback loop, drawing more from the Force as it hurts her yet empowers her. C'Baoth struggles and writhes, he slowly brings his hands forward and attempts to catch the lightning within them. Siri grits her teeth, takes another step forward, and opens her mouth to begin a spell to disrupt his concentration...
Two red lightsabers erupt through her body from behind, one through each lung. Krell's head leans over her shoulder and whispers, "Your attachment was your downfall, you pathetic excuse for a Sith."
He pulls his lightsabers out and kicks her back. She loses her lightning, staggers forward and to a knee. She laughs, she laughs an agonized laugh. She could have died there. She should have died there. But Krell was an arrogant idiot. "And not... aiming for my head... was yours."
She cocks a fist as she rises and turns, thrusting out and literally punching him through the Force fueled by the agony of being kriffing stabbed, sending him rocketing back. She pushes the Dark through her body, taking rapid painful breaths that likely lose more air than they gain. She can sustain herself for a time, she's read about Sith who literally kept themselves together though worse injuries than this, but has little experience in doing so herself. She doubts she can keep it for long, if she can get to her ship...
Obi-Wan is there seconds later, pulling an arm over his shoulder and hauling her towards the Scimitar.
"Leaving... so soon?" rasped out C'Baoth, his body smoking, but still standing.
Dammit!
He starts towards them, then pauses as Jinzler shouts through the Force. 'Hey Master!"
He looks to the ship, and his eyes go wide as the laser canons aim at him and fire. He snarls and holds out his hands and...
Holy.
Kriffing.
Shit.
He stops the lasers midair. She knew he was strong in the Force, but... she had badly underestimated his skill and control if he could pull this off. Stupid of her. He is older than dirt. She wonders though if Sidious knows just how capable C'Baoth actually is. Because that is beyond threat worthy level to her.
"Out," rasps Siri, "Out of here now."
C'Baoth gives them no attention, his entire focus on holding back the rapidly accumulating wall of red death building in front of him. Obi-Wan lugs her onto the ramp as the sound of droid ships screaming through the air head their way. It closes as laser fire begins to impact on the Scimitar's shields.
"Do you have anything to use as an emergence sealant?" pressed Obi-Wan.
"Storage," she rasps out, "Have better... wont like though."
They stagger as Jinzler takes off and tries to evade fire.
Kenobi slams a fist onto the storage control. "Where?"
She shakes her head, pulls her arm off him. "Back... get back..."
She remembers the Jedi's last reaction to them, she does not want puke all over her if he can't contain his reaction. She reaches for the familiar feel of her sorcery and unshrouds her container of healing talismans. Instantly Obi-Wan gags and staggers away. The ship lurches, Jinzler evidently affected too. Siri pulls the lid off, reaches down, grabs one, presses it to her chest, and focuses...
Its pure bliss...
Almost orgasmic for her if she's honest.
...as rejuvenating energy fills her. The essence in the talisman screams as its bled out, its life used to mend her body, flesh knitted and made anew. She shudders, gripping the container for stability as jolts roll down her spine. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and forces her focus back to the here and now. She puts the lid back on, chants a quick basic masking spell over the crate, and closes the door. She walks passed the revolted Kenobi, to the cockpit.
"Evasive dive then get out of my seat," she snaps at Jinzler.
Jinzler obeys, the ship lurching down from its previous trajectory spacebound before the Jedi scrambles out of the chair. Siri gets in, grips the controls, and comes out of the dive, hitting the stealth controls. The droid fighters begin firing everywhere, trying to hit them. A few shots get lucky and hit the shields, but they hold. Siri skims along the ground for a bit, until the droids are behind them, then shoots upwards to the atmosphere. They hit it, exit it, she calculates a jump to make their way towards Coruscant, and they vanish into hyperspace...
Translation:
Nu aukoti ja've kia tave Jen' Garthaz = I give myself to the Dark Side
Nuyak akiva, tirji je'as tu'iea mudasoki = my presence, cast into your wind
Odacon is tu'iea tnoa pras ziurti iv edoui kuris valia rixik prasasja kia savas j'us = Hidden in your currents beyond sight of those who would dare claim to own you
Atitrazi tu'iea naudot jorath galez ziur jorath galez girdeti jorath galez gofi rak uosti = Within your embrace none may see none may hear none may touch nor smell
Tik j'us, tik visaz j'us, oer re tita buti dary = Only you, only ever you, until our deed is done.
Chapter 75: Declaration of War
Chapter Text
Sidious watches as his wayward apprentice's recordings play through the Senate Dome for the second emergency session of the Republic Senate in a row. He is moderately disappointed that the initial battle of the war wasn't fought there. He had intended it to cull a great deal of the Jedi Order's active knights and C'Baoth's Dark Jedi. He supposes his apprentice managing to successfully infiltrate, for the most part, was to be expected. She has a habit of surprising him after all. Though he is very curious about something. She was discovered after she had already abducted Gunray, so how had she gotten that far without being found? C'Baoth had noted that he had felt a great deal of pain and tiredness from his apprentice when he had first brushed up against her presence. So the question was, what had she done? How had she known she needed to do something in the first place?
He had intended for her to discover her normal methods of subversion would fail at close range the hard way. There were a few things he could think of: perhaps one of the Dark Jedi had been careless and not properly paying attention? His apprentice could have noticed a loose awareness of her and backed off. He did not think her skilled in foresight, but he is aware of sorcery able to force visions, so perhaps she preformed one about the mission? She had seemed wary of it in that previous transmission before she went. There is also the possibility of treachery, one of C'Baoth's so called 'loyal' Dark Jedi pledging themselves to Lord Tyrosus, and offering a warning as a token of proof of loyalty. Or perhaps she had lied to the Jedi, and was still plying at the Veil of the Dark Side? He hasn't felt anything from her in that regard, but one can never be too sure. It could have been so many different things he supposes, he doubts she will reveal how, and he can't press on it without making her suspicious of how he could possibly know the Veil weakened the power of her ability to hide herself.
He refocuses on watching the recordings, if only for the offchance something she says or does reveals something. The only thing that truly offers a hint was after the end of C'Baoth's council meeting. His apprentice had neglected to turn off the recording. though from what he can tell, phrasing it as neglect may have been incorrect. She was in agony, and Darth Zannah had sounded... afraid. Making a Sith Lord afraid was not a simple thing. Whatever his apprentice had done to hide herself had likely been... unwise. Darth Zannah had implied it was a spell, but interestingly, hadn't known what piece of sorcery it was. There are things that suggests... that his apprentice had another source of her information on Sith Sorcery perhaps? But no, why would a spell have need been created to hide so much deeper than before? From the Veil? How would such a spell have even existed if the Veil had not been in existence in this state prior to now. This implied...
The incredulousness of it washes over him and he leans back in shock, which thankfully coincides with the start of her battle with the dark Jedi. They only really get sound plus a few flashes of lightsabers as her robes shift and the recorder gets a peek out, but...
Had she really, truly, devised her own piece of Sith Sorcery in such a short time-frame and then used it? It makes sense, but it was an inane undertaking. A basic spell, yes, could be devised for simple needs swiftly. But greater undertakings he had read, and had somewhat experimented with, took weeks, months, sometimes years of effort. Of careful phrasing of an incantation, meditation on the concept, attempting to pry guidance or foresight from the Force on the effort, of considering how so many different factors could influence the spellwork: Intent, location, terrain, time of day, which side of the Force the place leaned towards, the target and so many variables with them, all of that and more.
Yet she had most likely gone ahead and done it on the spot with little to no preparation.
How was she not dead?
Lesser Sith died or suffered worse fates for less reckless uses of Sith Sorcery, there were records and warnings attesting to that.
Force, he has more of a risk losing his apprentice to herself than anything else if this is how careless she is.
When the recording finishes the senate bursts into an uproar.
"ORDER!" roars Mas Ammeda, "We will have order!"
It takes a great deal of effort to calm the Senate back into anywhere near functional. Many had been dragged back to Coruscant for the previous session, and no one had much rest, going from an emergency session on the 'sudden appearance' of a Clone Army made 'by the Jedi' for the Republic, into another emergency session the following morning with hardly half a night of sleep, why... it made decision making a bit harder for those without the Force to sustain them, didn't it? How fortunate the timing worked so well. Everyone in the building is upset and tired, and even with but a small peak of the Force, many are afraid, confused, and angry.
"There are so many things," said Sidious, standing up and gathering attention, "That need to be addressed by this, but first, Senator Bonteri, would you care to explain your king's decision?"
Senator Mina Bonteri sits in her pod, speechless and pale, and shakes her head. "I... had not been informed of this, your excellency. I had known that the King was once friends with Jorus C'Baoth, but I thought that had ended when he turned away from the Republic and formed the Confederacy. He had been approached a few years ago, but refused the invitation at the time and I thought that was the end of it."
"I see," said Sidious, watching her expressionlessly, "Unfortunately, Senator, your planet did not even have the decency to publicly declare its treachery like many others, but did so in secrecy with full intent to wage war on us with but a token effort to suggest otherwise. I am afraid, Senator, while I believe you are noble at heart, I do not believe in giving declared enemies resources, you will not be returning to your planet until after this war is over with."
He thumbs his panel and signals security who are in her pod in within the minute. "Escort the former senator to a secure apartment where she will be staying for the foreseeable future."
Of course she doesn't have the decency to make a scene and allow him to capitalize further, but he lets the flicker of irritation go and rubs his face with fake tiredness. "Agent Tachi, if you would be amicable to explain a few things regarding what happened?"
His apprentice moves to stand up and take the center of the Naboo pod, that bumbling Binks as the senator's stand in, and one of Amidala's guard captains sitting on one side, Jedi Master Windu, Kenobi, and the Jedi's apprentice on the other. "Of course your excellency."
"I am already aware of the specifics, but a debrief on how you ended up on Kamino for the Senate?" he posed.
She nods and launches into it. The overview is brief: Assignment, standing in for Amidala, chasing the bounty hunter, tracking them down to Kamino, its there that she shifts on her feet, a scowl on her face. "I will voice, Chancellor, that I think it suspicious that the bounty hunter used a very specific weapon from a single planet that could be used to track him down. It may seem like paranoia, but I believe we were meant to follow him to the planet and find the clones."
Not incorrect, but he has to be careful how he handles this. While he does not wish to paint suspicion on the Clone Army, at least not of a kind he can't manage, he cannot be too dismissive of his wayward apprentice. He wants her to one: be willing to work for his public persona during the war and gaining a grudge isn't wise to that end; and two, wants the public to be willing to see her used in such a light, so giving her good publicity can work to his advantage in both so long as he mitigates or plays the downsides right. So he considers her words and leans forward.
"Explain your thought process on this."
"I've held my tongue on it until now," said his apprentice dryly, getting a quick glance from Kenobi; curious, were they still at odds from the ship if she hadn't disclosed her thoughts? Or was he overestimating how close they'd been at all? "The whole thing is a ridiculous set of circumstances that all aligned perfectly and goes in the face of incredulity."
Ah, good, if she had failed to realize that he would have been disappointed.
"A bounty hunter who uses a specific traceable weapon, a Clone Army built FOR the Republic and the Jedi using a bounty hunter who he has every right and reason to hate both after Galidraan," said Tachi flatly, "That alone is beyond suspicious, but counting that both the Jedi and apparently the benefactor who paid for this are both dead and unable to be questioned on it? And that somehow this 'Hego Damask' paid for it without anyone knowing?"
"Yes, I do agree at least on this that the ability to fund such an army without anyone being the wiser is alarming and needs to be looked into," Perhaps it was time to give Organa a test and see how he preforms? "Senator Organna, if you would form committee to investigate the matter of how this army was paid for without any notice?"
"Of course, your excellency," agreed Organa, "Though if I may ask, what is meant by... Galidraan?"
"Its where the Republic and the Jedi were deceived into slaughtering the faction of Mandalorian's led by the then leader of their people, the Mandalore Jango Fett, our bounty hunter clone template," said Siri with mocking admiration, "Frankly, if either the New Mandalorians or Death Watch wanted to, they could have argued for and launched a just war with the Republic over that, but the New Man Mandalorians are pacifist and the Death Watch are the terrorists who set it up. Funny how that worked out."
There is a lot of surprised murmuring, and Sidious is reminded of how ridiculously simple it was to keep that information hidden: Do nothing. He hadn't had to lift a finger, Death Watch covered most of it up, and few cared to dig deeper into it on the Republic side of things. He's not even sure when Dooku and the Jedi realized they had been set up. It was a travesty of their justice system, and yet a few decades later it is all but forgotten. Honestly, C'Baoth had even cited it in some of his speeches against the Republic and still there are so many senators who apparently never bothered to look into it. Its odd though that Organa wasn't aware of it, but then again, from their meetings he was aware that there we're difficulties on policies between him and his queen so perhaps that had eaten his focus. Regardless...
Its a reminder of how... disappointingly easy this was. But here and now... there is a genuine danger, depending on how insightful his apprentice is. "I do agree that it is... odd, to say the least, that he would offer himself to build an army for the Republic and Jedi which, in error, grievously harmed him. Why do you think then, that this Jango Fett allowed himself to be cloned?"
Tachi, crossing her arms, "He got a cloned son out of the whole thing, but honestly he could have just done it the old fashion way and found a spouse, adopted since Mandalorians are big on that kind of thing, or even paid a surrogate. One could argue money since his contract gave him a ridiculous amount, but he'd have to have completely gutted his own honor, morals and disconnected from his people to so callously serve his enemies. Frankly, it would have made sense if he had made that army for the Confederacy. A droid army plus a clone army would have been the end of the Republic, no contest. I don't think a draft could have matched a highly trained army with legions of droid meat shields to cover for them. But instead... here we are."
Sidious is rather curious why she did not fully interrogate Jango Fett on the matter. According to the report the Jedi had submitted, Tachi hadn't questioned Fett's purpose with the Clones at all. There was a partially true story Fett had been instructed to give that wouldn't exactly ring false in the Force, but he hadn't even had to give it. He finds it odd that she did not press at all. Still, she can guess where she is going with her statement, calling him out on his involvement...
"I find it very likely that, while he and the Confederacy will deny it, C'Baoth had a role to play in this," said Tachi, "To my knowledge, he and Sifo-Dyas were acquaintances and fellow masters, and surely he must have encountered Damask before. He could have pressed Sifo-Dyas into making the order, gotten funding, and then cleaned up loose ends, all in preparation for his schism and this upcoming war."
Sidious stares at her for a moment. None of what she said was exactly untrue, though C'Baoth had no part in the funding of it. Yet... she hadn't referenced him? "If true... why would he do such a thing? To give engineer the Republic an army to oppose him?"
"Knight Kenobi and his padawan can back me up on what I'm about to say. Jorus C'Baoth, and every single Jedi under his command, are fallen," she said.
"As in... to the 'Dark Side' I believe is what that phrase entails?" posed Sidious.
"Correct," said Tachi, "And what many might not realize is that war, open conflict, suffering spread around the galaxy, feeds into the Dark Side, it literally empowers darksiders. I've been on war-torn worlds before its..."
She pauses to reflect. "You feel good, incredibly powerful, all your senses are strengthened, its easier to draw on more power from the Force. Each death, each ounce of suffering is like a burst of pleasure in your mind. If it goes on long enough its like being on a non-stop high."
She eyes the Jedi. "It also serves to disrupt and weaken the Jedi's control of the Force, and as such an open war suits his purposes more than just rolling over a poorly defended Republic. It also serves to validate to his Confederacy his war."
Sidious considers this for a moment. He could use this, as a lead in to pushing the Jedi on their lack of revealing their blindness from the Veil of the Darkside, as they hadn't gotten to that during the last session, yet... he also sees and senses an unexpected opportunity. She has not mentioned him, nor any connection between C'Baoth and the Sith, in fact, to his knowledge that has never been publicly pointed out at all by Tachi or the Jedi. His quick and clever mind reminds him on recent readings...
In researching Sith Sorcery since his confrontation with Lord Tyrosus on Korriban, since he had started experimenting on her nightmarish creation of a ship, he had done been refreshing himself on history of a few thousand years ago when it was more common when he had the chance, and considering that, it has given him an amusing idea. "I suppose then, that once more, Jedi fighting against Fallen Jedi is to engulf the galaxy. Darth Sidious need not lift a finger if they destroy themselves in a Second Jedi Civil War."
Oh yes, it was a nice touch, wasn't it? There had been many conflicts and wars that could have technically counted as the second, but there had only ever been one officially titled first war when Darth Revan nearly defeated the Republic. The absolute affront that emanates from the Jedi is amusing and satisfying, whats more, he senses agreement and hears murmuring from a great number of senators. He had been considering what to coin this war as, if he had wanted to at all, and while he had considered calling it the Clone Wars as a catchy and rememberable one, this one is oh so more satisfying to use, to paint the Jedi as the source of the suffering about the sweep the Galaxy.
It is only in hindsight that he recognizes a slight error.
His apprentice narrows her eyes slightly at him, suspicion evident, though it is masked shortly after it appears.
Yes... that was overly heavy handed, wasn't it? Perhaps not to others, but to a Sith? He doubts she yet suspects his true identity, but perhaps his influence? She may lean towards the thought. Yet... that may in turn be a boon, to draw her closer to his public persona as she attempts to sniff him out. Though it is best not to feed into it too much, just hints here and there, yes, that could work. Now... to follow this up with a speech...
The alarm of an top-priority emergency transmission hits the Senate suddenly, and Sidious narrows his eyes. "What?"
Static filled the senate for a moment before a blurry image appeared in their terminals. "...eat, I repeat... Confederacy invasion force ...sting immediate aid from any..."
Shocked cries filled the air, and Sidious's lips pursed tightly. Yes, he had stated that C'Baoth's initial push should make a statement, but he had not authorized an attack on Kuat of all places, its shipyards were rather critical to the war to come, and to his future empire. Nor that it should be immediately before the Republic had even readied their Clone Army. He had held the impression C'Baoth would wait to confer with him based off their last conversation. This was going to put the Republic heavily on the back foot... but when had C'Baoth even readied his forces? It had taken time for his apprentice to return to Coruscant, but not that long... unless he had already been preparing them and putting them into position, just waiting...
Yes, he needs to keep a very close eye on on C'Baoth.
"...our Star Dreadnoughts can hold the line for... will need assistance soon... I repeat..."
Then more chimes hit. "Your excellency, we are receiving a high priority transmission from Corellia."
"Sir! We've got a transmission from the Tapani sector, Fondor is under attack!"
On and on it went, planets of military, technical, or economic value rang in one after another until Sidious finally silenced it. "Enough! The time for negotiations is over, pointless bickering will not serve us now. The Confederacy has brought war onto us and we have no choice but to meet it. I cannot act without your blessing, the Republic must declare a state of emergency and make an official deceleration of war. So I beg of you, give onto me the power to rise to face this threat and lead us through these troubled times."
Binks, bemusedly enough, fulfills his original roll Sidious had carefully prodded him towards, even if it was uneeded as there were many who rose up and agreed. Emergency powers and granted to him, and he wastes no time in playing his part of the opening act of the epilogue of the Republic...
Siri Tachi leans against the wall in a hallway of the Senate Building, arms crossed under her arms, lips pursed tightly. Annoyance flares through her, so furious, and yet so impressed, with Sidious's design. She played her role close to what he likely intended. Whats more, she is very certain her original impression of Palpatine was right, that he is either under Sidious's thumb, or being influenced by him. Worse yet, is that Anakin is close to Palpatine, which means Sidious could have indirect access to Supernova. A disaster waiting to happen. It all wiggles under her skin and makes her shift in discomfort and restlessness. Her enemy is on the offensive and in the far superior position, he always has been, but now its really been shoved in her face.
She doesn't know what to do about it either, about all of this. She's tired, with little to no sleep since the mission, sipping at the Dark Side to keep herself in working order. Sleeping feels more important than thinking at the moment but... the smart thing to do she supposes is to get out of the war ASAP. To keep her head down, observe at a distance, try to see if she can discover Sidious's overall game-plan. But really... its not hard to figure out, she already told the Jedi years ago. In war, so many rights can be stripped away all in the name of safety. The Chancellor position just got emergency powers, and its likely those will grow as the war progresses. After a year or two of war, things will likely be ready for Sidious to off Palpatine (if the man is in on things and thinks Sidious will allow him to walk away alive then he is a fool for he is a loose end). That is her time limit, and she's not confident she can meet it standing back and staying out of things. But if she stays in the war, how can she not just get swept away in it?
She obviously can't let herself be bound to the Republic military or government, so any contract anyone tries to get her to sign is an automatic no. She scowls when her eyes land on Palpatine walking out of the senate chamber, because really, he is the one she needs to keep an eye on. The one she needs to get close to, for if she can find evidence that Sidious has influence, or dare she fear, control, over the Chancellor, then she could potentially set him back drastically...
Then her eyes land on who is walking at the Chancellor's side rather comfortably and with an air of at least some familiarity.
Organa?
Interesting... so the man had honed onto the Chancellor well before she did.
She supposes that settles it then.
An unknown two prong attack. She can draw the main focus, while Organa likely lurks as an assumed sycophant. She forces away the scowl on her face and pushes off the wall, approaching.
"Ah, Agent Tachi, I never did get to say you did good work capturing Gunray," praised the Chancellor.
"Some would say my actions gave C'Baoth the ignition he needed," she said mildly.
"I think it goes without saying he intended to anyway, he had to have already had some of his forces in place to make such a brutal sudden assault," said Palpatine tiredly, "The Republic can only hope our worlds can hold in the time it takes to contact Kamino and for the Clone Army to be readied and sent out. If not, we will have a difficult path ahead re-taking them."
Yes, that was a rather curious thing, wasn't it? Now that she thinks on it, such a brutal onslaught right at the start could deal incredible damage if not cripple some of the Republic's ship production. That... doesn't seem quite to what Sidious would want. She considers the power C'Baoth exhibited in that brief confrontation, and wonders just how much control Sidious has over her stand in replacement. Its an honest shame the Confederacy was tainted by Sidious from the start, because propping them up would be the go to way to oppose him then. C'Baoth will not be any better in the long run, and aiding him would endanger Kenobi and Supernova.
"Yes, unfortunate timing that," said Siri, "I hadn't had the chance to finish my debrief, there was something rather important I needed to disclose that I hadn't gotten the chance to do so."
"And what is that, Agent Tachi?" comes Kenobi's voice, him and Jinzler leaving their spot in the senate chamber, Windu coming out behind them.
"I discovered how C'Baoth got every Jedi that followed him to fall," said Siri, reaching into her robes and pulling out the Sith Torture Mask.
The Jedi reach out with their senses and grimace at it, but Siri's eyes are on Palpatine, watching for any reaction. His eyes linger on it, curiosity in them; he offers a baffled, "A... mask?"
Either he didn't know about them, or he had amazing control. "A Sith Torture Mask. It blocks access to the Light Side of the Force, constantly assaults the victims mind with sound and thoughts and notions, preventing them from concentrating and pushing them into using the Dark. A week, a month, under the effects of these masks would be enough to buckle the average Jedi, I couldn't imagine even the staunchest lasting for more than a few months."
"Force," whispers Kenobi, horrified.
"You are certain of its effects?" asked Palpatine.
"I put it on myself," she admitted, "It was... an interesting experience, but I'm already dark, and unbound, so I could take it off at will."
"I see," said Palpatine, frowning...
How very curious...
Sidious had never covered Sith Torture Masks in his education of Tachi. It is a possibility that Darth Zannah may have educated her on it, yet she would have done so about the original iterations of them, the holocron would have no knowledge of the newer and improved model. It would seem that Sidious's original thoughts were correct, C'Baoth has a traitor giving Lord Tyrosus information, especially considering how she would have even obtained it anyway without it being given to her. He considers informing C'Baoth of this... yet the man's unsanctioned hard initial push over all the shipping yards and more lingers in his mind. Ultimately...
He decides no.
C'Baoth will not be informed.
Sidious needs multiple ways to keep C'Baoth and his Confederacy in check, to stop or stall them from becoming strong enough to actually destroy the Republic. If they succeed in destroying all three of the most major shipping yards, or worse, capture them, then the war is either already over or started on such a back foot the Republic will have a poor chance at coming back from. While he could usurp C'Baoth if it came down to it and control the Confederacy, that way would not be nearly so clean. In hindsight, perhaps he gave C'Baoth to much freedom and power that he has either grown reckless with it, or is already actively conspiring against him.
"This is troubling news, could anything be done for them?" asked Sidious with false concern.
Siri shrugged. "It would largely depend on the individual, how far gone they are, and how much damage they do before they are either captured or rescued, depending on your perspective. Anakin is capable of yanking someone straight out of the dark, but they'd have to willingly trust him into their mind to do so."
Yes, and how many Jedi would get themselves killed trying to save their fallen comrades with this knowledge? Truly, he is not concerned about the leak of this information, if anything, this leak's existence aids him twofold: in weakening C'Baoth, and in killing off Jedi. "It is my hope that some of them can be helped, but just because they were pushed into this does not ignore that they went with him to begin with, nor does it negate what they do while serving the Confederacy. I hold doubts that many will be so... fortunate to be offered the same chances you were."
He watches her, but she merely gives a mocking smile. "I doubt C'Baoth will give them access to the same kind of information I had."
"Speaking of such," said Sidious, so very curious, "You called them Sith torture masks..."
"Oh, its very likely C'Baoth is under Sidious's direction, might have been a bit premature naming the war the way you did," she mocked, "But I suppose you didn't know."
Sidious feigns offense. "Perhaps I let my anger over the situation get the better of me, but that does not negate their involvement. C'Baoth and those that followed him were Jedi. Their inability to keep their order together, splitting off from the Republic, and their own from falling has certainly enlarged the situation."
He can feel the Jedi about to retort, but he doesn't give them the chance, focusing on his apprentice. "But regardless, why did you not mention your belief in Sidious's involvement?"
"I won't give him the satisfaction of publicly acknowledging how damn perfect his plan was in front of the entire galaxy," she said flatly.
"Spite?" he stated, incredulous.
Why is he surprised?
Of course it was spite.
She gave him the opening she did out of a desire to spite him and deny his glory.
Of course she did.
He opens his mouth to speak, but Organa lays a hand lightly on his arm. "Your excellency, we don't have time, it wont take long to reach out to Kamino with the contact information they left in the packet Agent Tachi acquired for us."
Right, of course, he can't afford to focus to much on his apprentice at the moment while reigning in C'Baoth, at least not in the immediate. "Of course. Agent Tachi if you could write up a detailed report for the Senate before your mission is officially closed?"
Ought to keep her busy until he gets the next motions out of the way. She is also obligated to do so to wrap up the mission he contracted her for, which should keep her from running off, unless of course she decides to anyway. He supposes he'll see...
"Tell me Windu," he hears her faintly say as he walks away, "When you look at Palpatine, what do you see?"
He does not slow, but he does enhance his hearing with a faint touch of the Force.
"Nothing I care to share with you, Sith," said Windu flatly, glancing down at the torture mask in her hand with distaste, turning and near storming away, "Knight Kenobi, we need to report to the Council, now."
Its so nice when his opponents don't play well together.
Not that any shatterpoints should be properly perceived about him anyway, not with the Veil of the Dark Side under his command.
Sidious slowly smiles as he heads out.
Siri sleeps off that mission in her senate furnished apartment like a bad hang over.
Sleeping in hyperspace had been a no go, not after delving that deep and recklessly with her sorcery and still using the Force right after to fight with. As much as she's loathed to admit it, the Jedi Temple off in the distance had helped to settle how unbalanced she'd felt. Of course, thinking of the temple sours her when it reminds her of Windu not giving the insight she'd asked for, but whatever. She lazes in bed, still tired, and reaches for her datapad. She spends an hour or so typing up that damn report Palpatine wanted, it will give her an excuse to meet with him again.
She considers whether or not to give her impressions, or her thoughts on Sidious, before she decides no and sticks to bare facts. She said her piece to the Senate on the important things of how sketchy the whole situation is. They should be able to figure out Sidious had a hand in it anyway. She leaves out Ki-Adi-Mundi, merely notes finding the mask in a room, and sets the datapad down when she's done. She heads to the fresher, strips, and soaks in the shower for an obscenely long time. She slowly lets the Force back in as her body loosens under the heat. She still feels a little disconnected, the tinest of whispers in her ear that she can't quite focus on, she also still feels Rain's faint grip on her presence as a wary anchor.
She really needs to meditate.
She shrugs to herself, shuts the shower off, and sits down to mediate in the steam, breathing in deep and letting it out.
She retreats into the confines of her mental landscape and finds everything dulled and blurred. The boundaries of where she begins and where the Force is blurred slightly. She studies the odd phenomenon curiously, honestly baffled by it. She thinks about how disconnected she had felt from her body and the physical, yet she'd strangely still been conscious rather than losing herself. She'd started to perceive things differently, but... her sense of self hadn't dissipated. No, what had been alarming was the dark coming for her the way it did in that state. She shivers at remembering what she had felt when something in the Dark had reach into her, trying to sever her from her body.
She doesn't know what she delved into, and for now, it will remain that way. She doesn't think this is something she should investigate again until she is a Sith Master herself. For now, she materializes herself and walks her mind, solidifying herself back into the rigged form of her existence. Only when she is satisfied that the aftereffects are gone and that her mental shields are in tip top shape does she leave her meditation. She leaves the fresher, dresses, attaches her lightsaber to her belt, pockets her datapad, reaches for Rain's holocron...
Which materializes its furious gatekeeper. "You left that for far to long, Siri."
"Yeah yeah yeah," said Siri, reaching through her for the chain, pulling it over her neck and letting the holocron rest under her robes, "So, no idea what I delved into?"
"Siri," said Rain flatly, "I am the most recent Sith Sorceress of renown, likely the best in the last few thousand years, but I am not one of the Ancient Sith, they who make what we do seem like child's play. What I've read in ancient scriptures is whatever they felt like writing down and leaving behind, but do you truly think they'd leave their deepest secrets and discovers for anyone to find? That they would hint at any failures or near misses they personally suffered for us to learn from?"
Rain shakes her head. "It pains me to say, but we are children compared to them, Siri. I found my limits in Sorcery, and I very rarely pressed those limits because Sorcery is not something trifled with lightly, and it can have extremely dire consequences. I've only generally found warnings based off gloating of failed practitioners that others listed as lessons, or to prop themselves up in their place, but even those..."
Rain swallows. "You and I need to have a very long sit down where I instruct you on every single danger I've ever discovered. I should have done so at the start, but your safety wasn't really my concern then."
Siri gives an amused smile. "I was still the disposable acolyte then."
"You did not mean anything to me then," agreed Rain.
"When did you start giving a kriff?" asked Siri, curious.
Rain pops out of existence rather than answering.
Siri snorts and heads for the kitchen, thankfully the apartment had been refurnished during her absence, so she unpackages a few things, eats, and leaves for the Senate. She reads about what she missed, and finds it getting close to two days having passed, one from sleeping, a good chunk of another from her meditation. Night will be in a few hours. Awesome, its not like she really had a sleep schedule anyway she supposed. While waiting for a speeder to pick her up, she reads that the Jedi have been declared generals, to lead the clones and oppose the Dark Jedi in the Confederacy. A good chunk have apparently already shipped out to meet their forces in transit...
She grips her datapad tightly when she senses Kenobi isn't on planet. So he was shipped out too. She wonders about Supernova, Dooku, and Jinn on Naboo with Senator Amidala. Will they be staying with her or departing...
Her comlink pings an incoming transmission, and she fishes it out, eying the caller. "Lex."
"Iris dear, I hear you've gotten yourself into a mess," said Alexi, "Five million credits, I'm impressed."
Siri blinks. "Sorry? Five million credits?"
"Ah... you don't know yet then," said Alexi, "The Confederacy has put a bounty on the head of the 'treacherous Sith Apprentice Siri Tachi'."
Siri swears under her breath and flips her hood up. "Force dammit that is going to be a pain in the ass with random hot shots deciding to try to take a piece of me."
"Yes, I'd keep your head down in Confederacy or more neutral space for the time being," said Alexi, "I've sent out word that the bounty is not acceptable to the Black Sun, but aside from myself, Mighella, and those most loyal I'd be careful in who in our organization you reach out to."
"I appreciate the warning," she said before pausing, "Did they put out any other bounties?"
Were Kenobi and Jinzler targeted?
"There was a standard open bounty on capturing Jedi put up, alive, to be 'shown the light of the Confederacy' but not anyone specific," advised Alexi.
Tsk. More Jedi to put the Sith Torture Masks on and conscript. "Thanks for the warning, and Lex? Be careful sticking your fingers into the war. I know there will be profits to be made, but this is of Sidious's design, and no one but him wins in it."
"Noted, Alexi out."
Damn, she usually liked to get the last word. She pockets her comlink as a speeder pulls up, gets in and flips a few credit their way. "Senate building."
She keeps her hood up until she actually gets inside, pausing when she notes the heightened security. She gives her reason for visit, is called ahead, and granted access a few minutes later. She has to sit and wait in reception for Palpatine to get out of a meeting, but she's usher into his office within the hour.
"Ah, Agent Tachi, you look refreshed from your mission," he commented, "I assume you are better then? I do recall your... holocron I believe its called? Had expression concern for you doing something to yourself."
Siri smiled tightly. "C'Baoth has a way to detect my normal methods of shrouding myself in the Force, I had to... improvise in an unadvised manner."
"I see," said Palpatine, templing his fingers together, "Can this detection be worked around in any other ways?"
"Well, I only have to be concerned about it if there are Dark Jedi or C'Baoth himself present, and from what I can tell their detection is proximity based," said Siri, "If I can avoid them I can remain hidden. A full on counter to their counter though is... something I would need a great deal of time to devise."
"Well, unfortunately, we do not have time for that," said Palpatine.
"We," said Siri, eyebrow raised, fishing out her datapad, and pulling out a memory chip, setting it on his desk, "I finished my mission, and I told you before I have little interest in being dragged into the war."
Feign hard to get, lets see what he does...
Palpatine hummed. "Not even for the offer of protection? I don't know if you are aware..."
"I've been aware of the bounty put on my head. Its more annoying than concerning," said Siri, "And don't make me laugh Chancellor, the Republic can hardly protect itself. I'm likely safer hidden on my own."
"You don't strike me as a woman who wishes to simply sit things out, to hide away," he stated rather boldly, "If only to protect those you deign to care for."
Siri narrows her eyes slightly. Is that a pointed topic, or a subtle threat? It would depend if he belongs to Sidious or not. She is oh so tempted to force the truth out of him, but... there are risks of making enemies out of both galactic governments and both the Dark and normal Jedi and Sidious. "Perhaps, but understand this, I am not allowing myself to be legally tied down into anything. Anything I agree to will be on a mission to mission basis and I am free to deny your requests."
"Of course, and I assume you wish to set a standard payment for missions as well?" he posed dryly.
"Money is irrelevant to me beyond the basics I need to live and operate," she said flatly, considering him, "I am more interested in information. I need to know the goings of the war, troops movements of both sides if known, active battlefields, where C'Baoth is at any given point if we know, ongoing politics of both senates, all of that and more."
Palptine raises both eyebrows. "On our side at least, that is critical information that if it fell into the wrong hands could ruin the war effort."
"Do you think I would be so careless?" she said, "Though a state of the art secure datapad wouldn't hurt."
He huffed. "You don't ask for much, do you? I suppose I could run the idea by..."
"You just secured Emergency Powers," she said pointedly, eyes so very watchful, and sprung a trap, "At this point, you don't answer to the Senate on much. If you wish to do something you believe will support the war effort, it is so very much in your ability to do so without their leave."
Palpatine pauses.
Now... now she will get another gauge of his character, one way or the other.
"That is a very dangerous position you are pressing me towards," he said softly, "My position is not so secure that the senate could not pose a vote of no confidence and throw me out if I mishandle things, and a leadership change at this juncture could cause more harm and chaos to our efforts than good."
That isn't a no. "Perhaps, but you've already made it plain to me you want me aiding the Republic."
"And is there a threat of the opposite?" he posed, eyes as watchful as hers, "Of you giving that information to the Confederacy?"
Siri makes a face of distaste. "First, no, hell no. I want C'Baoth dead, and he happens to be their leader."
"And you couldn't take his place? That is the way of the Sith from what I've learned, isn't it?" posed Palpatine, "You did make it seem like he was working for Darth Sidious, that would make him the apprentice, would it not?"
"C'Baoth," she said, sneering, "Is an expendable pawn to Sidious, likely intended to die at some point after he has fulfilled his use, and if he is so blind he can't realize that, then he deserves what is coming to him one day. But beyond that, C'Baoth made me publicly enemy number one of the Confederacy, he based part of his argument for war, hell, for the original schism, because of me. He can neither recruit me if I so desired to join them, nor can I take over because their entire force pretty much wants me dead."
"Not even by subjugation?"
Siri slowly shakes her head. "Why would I care to rule a bunch of misbegotten piss ants who'd be more effort then they're worth to bring in line? I am not Sidious, not my predecessors, I consider the thought of ruling the same as any future apprentice of mine."
His eyes gleam at that. "Oh?"
"Both should be willing, to be ruled, or to be dark and learn from me," said Siri, "I have no interest in the opposite."
He gives her an odd look. "You are very strange, for a Sith."
"Thanks," she said dryly, "Are we in agreement?"
He considers he for a long moment. "I trust you will not blatantly reveal this agreement? It would for one, put a target on your back, and two, put the Republic in danger."
So he was willing to deal under the table then.
"Of course, the only ones who would know are us, and those you'd inform," said Siri, "Though before we go further, I will say it now: I will not be answerable to a Jedi at any point."
"But of course," agreed Palpatine, "As a Special Agent of the Chancellor, you would be answerable only to me."
Something in Siri twists, deeply unsettled, but not sure why. Rather than show it, she goes on the offensive. "Just tread carefully Chancellor, I wont take being given suicide missions well."
"I will speak plainly and say you are far to useful to waste on such things," said the Chancellor calmly, "And I am very aware that if I mishandle you, you will make your... dissatisfaction, known, loudly."
Siri grins, amused, and sits down in the chair across from him. "Alright Chancellor, what do you have in mind?"
"By now the Jedi should have or are soon to meet up with their forces and will be moving to engage the enemy on multiple fronts at the most critical worlds, Kuat and Corellia being the most important. I am afraid we may have to cede Fondor to the Confederacy for the time being. But regardless, the Confederacy is on full offense, which leaves their back... exposed."
"You have a target?" she inquired.
"Oh yes, one you have very recent information of as well," said Palpatine, "Your task is simple: C'Baoth is, last we knew, on Onderon giving a speech, his second in command Krell is with him, and we are led to believe most of his Jedi have been sent out with his forces. This leaves Geonosis unguarded by anyone who could trouble you, not to mention emptied of droids. You will destroy their droid production facilities and set back their ability to replenish their forces."
Siri hides the discomfort she feels at returning to that place and instead points out, "I don't have nearly enough explosives for that level of destruction, nor am I an amazing enough slicer to try and dig in for a self-destruct code, if they even have those for them."
"Ah, worry not, worry not," he said, leaning back in his chair, "You see, I've been given a briefing on many of our newly acquired assets, and shortly before you arrived, I had come to a decision on one of them. A small unit of four elite Clone Commandos, I do believe their designation is... Delta Squad. I desire for you to lead this elite unit, and with you as their commander, I think the squad will be one of our most prized assets."
Siri frowns. "I have no real military exposure, Chancellor, no experience leading others. I'm best solo."
"Are you unwilling to learn a new skill?" he said dryly, "Leading others could prove useful to you later in life beyond the immediate war."
She opened her mouth to counter... but he wasn't wrong. This... was actually something she ought to learn. She won't admit it anymore than a, "I suppose. Where is this 'Delta Squad' now?"
"I took the liberty of assuming how this meeting would go," arrogant bastard, "And had requisitioned them and a great deal of ordinance be routed to meet you here. They should be arriving within the next day or two. Your ship I was told had a cloaking field, as such, it is much more suited for such a mission than what Kamino has."
"Have to make room and restock on the essentials," she muttered, "But I can get that done today."
"Good," said Palpatine, "Get yourself situated and ready, Agent Tachi. I will see about getting you your requested secure datapad, and I will have you contacted when Delta Squad arrives."
Siri Tachi, Delta Squad Commander... she supposes she'll see how that works out...
Chapter 76: Delta Squad
Chapter Text
Siri paces in front of the Scimitar, hood drawn up, on one of the more private landing platforms of Coruscant that she'll stealth from and leave without anyone the wiser hopefully. She did double check, C'Baoth and Krell were on Onderon, and the initial reports from the first few fights that had actually been fought reported Dark Jedi on the battlefield. Geonosis should be very simple and clean. She doesn't feel anything in particular from the Force, nor the oppression of the Veil hiding anything about the mission. She still can't help her apprehension. She hasn't really been part of a team since... well... she was a Jedi Padawan. Ordering around Black Sun thugs over a decade ago didn't really count. Rain/Zannah was not a follower, but someone she considered an equal, regardless of the soul fragment being stuck in a holocron. Zannah had more than carried her weight during the purge of Krayn's slave organization. But they had mostly worked independently of one another until they came together on the ship, and at no point had what they'd been doing been difficult or dependent on the other to work.
These are supposedly an Elite Commando Squad, but really, these clones haven't actually been on field missions yet to her knowledge. So, excellent training or not, they're still unproven in a real situation. Top that all off with the fact she has no experience leading, no knowledge of what they can do, what their limits are. She is loath to rely on others to begin with, let alone those unproven, let alone those from a very sketchy origin. She has little doubt Sidious had a hand in the creation of the Clone Army, and that implies... several things she would rather not think about.
Her eyes flicker to the sound of a ship on approach. She sizes up the clone drop ship, two lasers up front, then two turrets to the side, what looks like missile pods attached under the wings maybe? For a transport, that thing is impressively armed. Or maybe its simply because she's unused to seeing a military grade transport. The Scimitar has weapons and shielding (and its very sought after cloaking), but... its sad to say the transport has more weaponry. Perhaps at some point she needs to have the ship worked on. Though that's likely to throw off the balance of the ship...
She tunes the thought out as the ship touches down and four clones step off it. They walk into a formation, one at the front, two at his back, one covering their back. They had individual coloring of their armor; white was a given and looked to be the base appearance of their armor. The coloring looked like paint? The front one had orange, to his left was red, right one had a mix of yellow and gray, the one at the back was green. They have individual weapons, different from one another, and from what she could see poking out from behind them, differing attachments to their back. No idea what models their weaponry and gear was.
They approach and then stand at attention, moving to stand side by side.
"Delta Squad I assume," she says, peering out from her hood, sampling them in the Force.
For clones, their presences rather differed from one another. There were similarities of course, they were based off the same base, but... surprisingly different. Then again, its not like she's met a lot of clones in her life to compare with, if knowingly any.
"Yes ma'am," says Orange, "I am RC-1138, head of the squad," he motions to Green, "RC-1140, who serves as our squads slicer, medic, and technology expert," then Red, "This is RC-1207, our sniper and weapons expert, excellent in recon and ambush as well," he motions to Yellow, "RC-1262, our demolitions and explosives expert."
Her thoughts of difference fade away instantly, hers lips peel back in distaste. "Numbers. You introduce yourself with... numbers."
"Is there a problem ma'am?" posed RC-1138, no emotions leaking through his control at her jab.
"I dislike working with those to weak to even claim a name," she said with disdain, "Come up with names for yourselves at some point."
Again, RC-1138 has impeccable control and doesn't even so much as bristle. RC-1140 bristles though, RC-1262 is indignant, RC-1138 is angry, and defensive of the others.
"I have one, its Sev, ma'am," RC-1138 snaps out.
The lead jerks his head in Sev's direction and the man instantly backs down, anger cooling with impressive discipline.
Siri though... is interested. She takes a few steps forward, drawing close to Sev; his body is held loosely, but she can feel the tension in his spine.
"He meant no offense ma'am," offered the lead.
Siri stops in front of Sev. "There is none taken, in fact, I prefer if you have a bit of spine. You all have names then? Tell me."
"My men tend to call me Boss."
"Name's Scorch."
"I'm Fixer."
She takes the names in. She resists the urge to frown. That's... not what she expected at least. Rather simple in naming. Almost... childish. Siri has a bad feeling about it, but pushes it aside to think about later. The names fit at least. Boss as the leader, Fixer as medic and mechanic, Scorch as explosives, Sev...
"I can guess where their names come from, Sev would you care to share?" she posed.
"Last digit of my number," he said flatly.
Partially true. She waits half a minute until one of them adds on.
"He has a habit of taking limbs off the training droids with his sniper, ma'am, thus Sev for severance or severing," offered Scorch dryly, "I think the name fits."
Siri's lips peel back into a grin. "Good shot then?"
Sev's helmet tips up a bit. "All commandos are good shots."
Hmm, she feels a fierce pride from him for his fellow commandos. Here and elsewhere. The Jedi would call him very attached to them in fact. She does not believe he would do well with any of his squad dying. "I'll hold you to that, but there should be very little shooting on this mission."
He tilts his helmet. "We were told we were going to be heading into Geonosis to blow their droid production facilities. We're aware most of their forces have left, but there should still be some resistance."
Siri smiles, and whispers softly under her breath a small chant, her physical form appearing to peel away from existence. She can feel his eyes go wide under his helmet, startlement from the others as well. She moves around behind Sev before negating the small sorcery. "You'll find that doesn't matter much to me."
Sev whirls, hand briefly going for his rifle before he reigns in the instinct. "You have a personal stealth field generator?"
"No," she said as the others turn around, "I have something much better, the Force."
"I wasn't aware Jedi could go invisible," said Sev.
Her tone goes cold. "I am no Jedi."
He glances down briefly at the lightsaber at her belt.
"My name is Siri Tachi," she introduces herself, giving a darkly amused smile, "Renegade Sith Apprentice of Darth Sidious."
"Erm... perhaps my history isn't that good, but weren't the Sith, one, extinct, and two, enemies of the Jedi and the Republic?" posed Fixer cautiously.
"Hmm, I take it you haven't been appraised of recent history then," she mused, "Lets just say I like breaking expectations. I can explain more later, but I do believe we have explosives to load?"
"Right ma'am, lets get them loaded Delta," ordered Boss, thumbing back to the drop ship.
She waits for them to each take an armful before grasping the rest with the Force and levitating them behind her. She gets the feeling Sev thinks she's showing off and resists smiling, he's going to be a fun one. She takes them aboard the Scimitar and shows them the storage, empty of everything but her crate of talismans and food supplies. They stack it full in a minute flat.
"Before we leave," said Siri, "I have a small... test I wish to do."
"Test ma'am?" asked Boss.
She reaches up and lowers her hood. "I will be brutally honest and expect the same from you in turn in private. I usually work solo. I'm not exactly pleased that I've been asked to work with others, let alone be asked to lead them when I have no experience doing so."
The Clone absorbs the information. "I see."
"If you're asking for brutal honesty, are you telling me you're completely shiny?" said Sev.
A small sigh escapes Boss.
"If by shiny you mean new, then in commanding at least, yes," she said.
"Solo operatives have their place," said Boss civilly, "We are expected to work well in a team, and on our own if separated."
"Still, we've been placed under command of a shiny," rebutted Sev.
Scorch snorted. "Technically, we're all shiny, this is our first actual mission."
Sev scoffed. "Vau's training is likely to be harder than our mission will be."
Fixer gives a mock shudder. "I'll agree to that."
Siri makes a mental note to ask who Vau is later.
Boss clears his throat. "Test, ma'am? Of our capabilities? There isn't much time for a training exercise if we want to hit the enemy before any of the battles end and they regroup possibly at Geonosis."
"Not of yours, but mine," she said, "I can maintain invisibility over myself easily, but I'm not quite experienced in maintaining that same invisibility over multiple people, especially if they end up at a distance from me."
"Wait wait wait, us?" said Fixer, "You can make us invisible too?"
"I should, if we're in close proximity I don't particularly think it will be difficult. Problem is, mission will take ages that way if we all just go together," said Siri dryly, "Get in and get out quick tends to work best. Missions that linger...," she thinks bemusedly of not killing the Jedi quickly on Naboo and how things ended up because of it, "...tend to have more chances to mess up."
"I concur with the thought ma'am," agreed Boss, "So long as a mission isn't needlessly rushed, mistakes are made in haste."
"They can be," she conceded, "Less so with the Force to nudge you about things. But I suppose that's cheating."
She gives Sev a brief mocking smile, and she can feel the scowl in response. "Out of my ship."
They stand in a line in front of the ramp, Siri at the bottom of it. She considers that the individuality of their presence might be as much of a boon as a deterrent. If they were all mirrors it might be easier to wrap them all around it, but uniqueness could work as a foundation. She chants softly and anchors her spellwork around their presence, examining her connection to it. By default, the fact that she's maintaining it over someone else rather than her own body makes an immediate difference in her awareness. Not quite like a bond, but with her power wrapped around them she is aware of them in a manner similar. They fade from view and Fixer whistles.
"Nice ma'am."
Siri closes her eyes and feels for herself. Gauging. Its only a tiny drain, a tiny focus now. They are all close and unmoving. "Spread out slowly to the corners of the landing pad."
Technically, distance matters not to the Force. The problem with that is in the foundation of belief, the unconscious notion of difficulty and impossibility. Its also a matter concentration and power. She would require far more focus to cover others than herself. Distraction could prove... difficult. Even the mere sound of Coruscant traffic in the distance is a surprising strain on her focus that normally wouldn't hinder her at all. She doesn't like it. It is also more taxing to spread her power in four separate directions. Not a problem short term, but if she had to maintain this for an extended duration it could become draining enough to weaken her in the event they were found and had to fight their way out.
"Start running around the helipad," she calls out.
Active motion is much worse, her focuses moving fast and in different direction, morso when they suddenly jerk and change direction. She should not be having her first mission with them be the first time she is doing this...
Then there is two loud 'omphs' of startlement when two of them collide. The sound, the surprise in the Force, and the brief flicker of pain from them when two armored beings slam into eachother, breaks her focus. All four flicker back into view, and Siri scowls.
She repeats herself aloud. "Our first mission should not be the first time we try this in an active setting. Ideally, we'd have more time for me to get used to this."
"Ideally," agreed Boss, "But we have a job to do. Why did it fail? Physical contact?"
"No," said Siri, "Me maintaining my cloaking of you requires focus. The sound, the startlement and brief pain echoing in the Force, broke my concentration."
"So if we're more careful...?" posed Fixer.
"Its not just you," said Siri sourly, "A simple mistake from my end like tripping over something, would be enough. If I were only covering myself I'd probably be able to maintain my ability, but of all of us? If I face-planted, then the startlement, and brief burst of pain, could be enough to disrupt my maintaining invisibility over all five of us. I need far, far more practice doing this with others before I'd be anywhere near comfortable doing this on a mission."
"If we're not immediately requested elsewhere, then we can return to Kamino for training exercises after," offered Boss, "But for now, would you only maintaining your focus be enough? Just sit on the ship and focus on keeping us invisible? Takes a large chunk of distraction out of the way, and the four of us will be enough to lay charges, especially if the enemy does not know we are there and we can move about unopposed."
Discomfort rolls over Siri. "Possibly, falling into meditation would allow me deeper focus, greater distance, and would require a bigger distraction from your end to disrupt me."
Boss considers her, then with surprising insight, says, "But, as a solo operative, you do not like entrusting the mission to us without your personal presence there, especially since we are unproven to you."
Siri's jaw clenches briefly before confirming. "Correct."
"With respect ma'am, we have a real chance to do severe damage to the enemy to counter their hard initial push of the Republic," said Boss, "If we take out their facilities there, we set them back, possibly massively depending on how many other droid production facilities they have scattered through their territory. This could provide the desperate breathing room the Republic is going to need to recover. We have a time limit, and we were honestly prepared to go in hot and fight our way through the facilities, blowing them as we go."
He clasps his hands behind his back, he is projecting pure confidence. "Give us stealth that doesn't interfere with or being disrupted by our gear? That wont be disrupted by something on their end? We wont have a problem at all. We were expecting to have to go in fighting, this will be simple in comparison."
She considers him for a long minute. She doesn't like it, but she is also aware that the Force doesn't confirm her dislike. In fact, she's getting the equivalent of a cuff upside the head from the Dark Side for her sullenness. "Very well. Just be aware, if there are Dark Jedi there, they can sense my efforts with proximity."
"How close?" asks Boss.
"Half a room or so?" she said, making a so-so motion.
He nodes slowly, considering it. "Understood."
Siri motions back to the ship, and they board.
"What else do you require on our end?" asked Boss.
"Keep your emotions as stable as possible," she said, "Spikes of emotions from you will likely weaken my focus. Pain usually feeds the Dark Side, but it is distracting when I'm trying to focus."
"Right," said Sev dryly, "No stubbing toes then."
Fixer snickers.
Boss sighs.
Scorch leans against a wall and says, "Can we get going? I really want to blow something up."
What a strange group. "Find a spot and make yourself comfortable then."
She starts for the cockpit, leaving the room and walks down the hallway, enhancing her hearing as she went.
"Fixer, Scorch, get your datapads, I want a quick search done and anything relevant on our commander downloaded before we hit hyperspace to review on the way." ordered Boss quietly, "We need to know more about our commanding officer. I don't know much about the Sith aside from the brief historic overview we all got, but someone who should be our enemy being our commander instead sounds... complicated. I'd rather not be more surprised then necessary."
Sev grunts. "Figure its two-fold sir. She'll be an asset to the Republic if that cloaking is a hint of what she's capable of, especially combined with us, but, we're probably supposed to be keeping an eye on her too."
Siri smiles, amused, and cuts her focus, musing softly to herself. "Very likely Sev, very likely."
She takes them into hyperspace not much later, which assuming they had datapads that weren't ancient, should have been enough to download a few videos and news articles. The thought makes her smile, fishing out not one, but two fancy datapads, one from the Black Sun, one from the Chancellor. Always nice to compare resources. She's not quite a software expert, so comparing the code for them isn't in her knowledge base, but she already knows she's placing nothing critical on the one from the Republic, who knows if anything was planted on it, but...
She did get one mass dump of information from the Chancellor, per their agreement.
Kenobi was assigned to the 212th Attack Battalion. Supernova had been assigned to... well then. The 501st Legion, under the command of Qui-Gon Jinn. Feemor was assigned to the 442nd Siege Battalion. Dooku was put into the command of one of the system armies that coordinated with them, a Jedi named Rael Aveross led the other. A quick look up cites him as one of Dooku's apprentices. Curious, he'd never shown up in the temple during her stay there, likely a story behind that. There were other smaller components, but all together they were titled the Third Systems Army. She leans back in her seat and considers it.
"All of that assigned to one lineage," she mused, "Probably an intentional choice."
The Third System Army was split across the middle, half rushing to defend the shipping yard at Kuat, half to aid Corellia. Two important battles assigned to them. She wonders if its intentional. The should be in combat by now, if not soon to be wrapping up their initial battles. Boss was right in that now is the time to hit Geonosis before all of them end. She doesn't particularly care to look up where other Jedi are assigned or fighting at the moment, as its all going to shift once the initial push is done. But...
She shifts to the hastily listed areas that were hit, most of them were industrial in nature, though there were a few hits on agricultural worlds that weren't apparently a priority to defend. That seemed... foolish. Perhaps people might not think it important, but city heavy worlds, especially Coruscant, would feel the pinch of that. It re-affirms her thoughts that this didn't seem planned by Sidious. The hits on the agricultural worlds... it could be explained by C'Baoth as a tactic to weaken the Republic, but... to her it was the beginning of the shift. The Confederacy had started out lamenting the sins of the Republic, how corrupt and monstrous it was, they would find themselves just as mired before this war was over.
She had warned the Chancellor of the possibility of Orbital Bombardment, and she would be very surprised if the Confederacy didn't cross that and other lines like it at some point. She looks at it objectively from a resource standpoint: all of the damage that would have to be repaired (if ever), all the future citizens and anything they would accomplish wiped away, the public outrage and consequences for it, all of that and so much more. Sith reveled off of chaos and destruction, all of what an OB would do feeds the Dark Side, but... she views it as a short term gain for many long term problems. The absolute extremeness of such acts are what she wants to cut away from the Sith...
Though she doesn't forget that she had once admitted to herself she would blow up a populated planet if it meant killing Sidious.
She smiles bitterly at the hypocrisy she exhibits.
She decides she has given Delta Squad enough time to start digging into what they downloaded, especially when a flicker of shocked outrage hits her. She's curious what triggered it specifically. When she enters the room, Boss addresses her immediately.
"You believe the Confederacy, that their leader had a hand in the creation of the Clone Army," stated Boss, his entire presence had settled from shock into cold fury breaking his discipline.
Ah, so they'd started from the most recent then, her testimony at the Senate for what happened at Geonosis.
"Do I believe you all were created just to die as part of a scheme?" she said, cold and cruel, "Yes."
The ripples from the Force tell her all four feel like they'd just been slapped, ice water poured out of them, and gutted for good measure. "What you don't know, and what I was not given the chance to explain though the Chancellor has been informed, is that C'Baoth is likely my stand in replacement apprentice for Darth Sidious."
Boss regards her. "He is a Sith then?"
She tilted her head in consideration. "I don't fully know how inducted into my Order he has been, as I believe his life is intended by Sidious to be temporary, but its likely he has adopted enough tenants and outlooks to be considered as such. So listen, and listen well as I tell you exactly the true enemy you face."
She slowly walks up to him. "He will feel that death is a mercy rather than a punishment. His empathy is completely shot. He will feel no remorse for anything he has done. He will draw power from any atrocity he commits. The death of every single one of you Clones will feed into the Dark Side smothering the Force and he will find it... delightful. Anyone and anything is expendable to him. The only thing that will matter to him is his own life and his power."
"This applies to Sidious as well?" posed Boss coldly.
"Who do you think I was talking about? C'Baoth?" she said, sneering, "He is a tool and a weapon to be discarded when Sidious is ready. But yes, he will have likely adopted those traits as well."
"...and what about you?" posed Sev across the room.
Siri gives a mirthless smile. "I am not unaware of my own shortcomings. My Sith Training has left me relatively incapable of true empathy to anyone not close to me, I can fake it easily enough, perhaps get a flicker of emotion, but a building full of civilians could be blown away in front of me and I'd be more likely to care about the waste of potential resources than anything else."
She enjoys the disquiet from them. "Make no mistake, I am not a good person. I work with the Republic not because I care for it at all, but to oppose Darth Sidious. The Republic is a blighted cancer as far as I'm concerned, I don't actually care if it falls or not."
"And we're expected to trust you?" posed Sev.
"You would be a fool if you did," said Siri cheerfully, "But you can trust in my hatred of Sidious, and that there are a few I would burn the Galaxy to the ground to preserve. My agreement with the Chancellor is more of an 'enemy of my enemy' thing. We are both using the other."
"You're pretty casual about this," said Fixer, "And upfront."
Siri shrugged. "If we're going to be working together through this conflict, then there are things you need to be made aware of. The truth of the matter, the war within the war, is one of them."
"What do you mean?" asked Boss.
"This war between the Confederacy and the Republic? Its a sham, orchestrated and prodded into existence by my former Master," said Siri, "I'm not saying some of the foundations and reasons of the war aren't real, but it most likely wouldn't have come to a head like this, in war, without his and his own master's manipulation, at least not for a long while yet. A thousand years of orchestration and it all comes down to this."
She stares Boss right in the eye, feeling the place to look through the Force. "The true war is between the Jedi and the Sith. What happens to the Galaxy depends on who wins."
Boss says nothing for a minute, standing there and parsing what she said. "So he intends to conquer the galaxy with the Confederacy and his army of droids and Dark Jedi? Sith?"
She shakes her head. "Only two there are, no more, no less, a master, and an apprentice. One to embody the power, the other to crave it. Sidious intends for every single Jedi, fallen or otherwise, to die in this war. He will likely sweep away other Force Sects as well while he is at it, leaving him and whoever he decides to have as his apprentice the sole trained Force Sensitives in the Galaxy. He could do this with the Confederacy I suppose, but it is more likely he aims to convert the Republic into a Sith Empire."
She takes one final step forward, her face inches from his helmet, and smiles mockingly. "Are you happy to know?"
Boss regards her, pushing down his emotions with impressive discipline. "I'd rather know than not. Sidious is our primary enemy and target then."
Good, it wasn't a question. She is... satisfied. The Clones took everything in, accepted it, and regarded Sidious as the threat he was immediately, even if they don't truly understand his capabilities. She turns and walks over towards the hallway to the cockpit, leaning against the wall. "Correct. The primary reason I accepted this position, is because I am receiving high level intelligence about the Republic forces and what is discovered about the Confederacy. I am hoping to piece things together and try to track down and identify who Darth Sidious is."
"So we eventually find him, we take him down," said Sev, hand running down his sniper rifle in his lap.
Siri laughed bitterly. "Force no. He'd kill all of us easily. If we discover who Darth Sidious is, we gather the entire Jedi Council, especially Yoda and Mace Windu, then confront him."
"That powerful huh?" posed Scorch, "Sure we couldn't plant a kriff-ton of explosives and blow him sky high?"
"It would be amusing to kill him in such a trifle way, but unlikely," said Siri, "He has incredible precognitive abilities, and last I knew of him, spent a good deal of time in meditation probing possible futures through the Force. Surprising him is... unlikely, possible but unlikely."
"How do you intend to find him then, let alone kill him if he is so all knowing?" posed Fixer, "I doubt he'll just let you come at him with the entire Jedi Council unless you surprise him."
That was a kriffing damn good question, there is no realistic scenario where Sidious loses if he is properly prepared. She not overestimating him as the Jedi would think, its just pure kriffing fact. He doesn't get taken down in this war unless... "Sith generally have one true weakness."
"Which is?" posed Boss.
"Their arrogance," she admits with a self-depreciating smile, "They reach for so much that in the end they claim nothing. Our chance to defeat him is likely going to be when he is so assured of his victory that he slips up or leaves himself vulnerable."
"At the last possible moment is what you're saying," said Sev dryly, "After who knows how many tens of thousands of our brothers have died in this 'sham of a war' as you call it."
"Its my honest thought," she admits, "Sidious is most likely not going to be found until he wants to be, unless something really goes sideways for him."
"So you're saying everything up until then is pointless?" demanded Fixer.
"No," she said sharply, "Make no mistake, I intend to try to uncover and destroy him. To weaken his power and strike at his assets. The longer you keep him from executing his endgame the more time you have to brace for it or try to disrupt it. Missions we go on will help to damage the Confederacy will preserve your...," what did they call them? "...brothers, and while I don't care if most of the Jedi live, them too. Every single Jedi that dies is a victory for Sidious, especially any powerful ones who wouldn't die five seconds into a fight with him."
Boss nods slowly. "A long campaign then. With careful consideration of our resources and maintaining our assets. Aside from the Separatists, do you have ideas of his assets within the Republic? If he intends to corrupt the Republic as you say, then he isn't starting from nothing."
Siri's face sours. "I assume you downloaded what you could find as quickly as you could. Start from the Senate's original questioning of me and you'll get an answer."
Its... interesting, years later, to look back on the start of her parole. Seeing herself weak coming out of Force Suppression is still infuriating, but she doesn't care as much about her public appearance then. She considers Palpatine's words on publicity, and recognizes that moment brought her an unexpected and unwanted boon at the time: sympathy, pity, and the like. She had wanted to appear strong and infallible, yet...
"So that's how you got involved with the Republic then," mused Fixer, "Tattled on your boss for parole."
"Thing about traitors though, how do you know they wont betray you in turn?" posed Sev pointedly.
Siri snorted. "Being a traitor implies I was ever loyal to Sidious to begin with. I am loyal to certain tenants of the Sith Code and my Order, yes, but certain long held goals of my line really don't matter to me."
"...that's still not exactly saying you are loyal to the Republic," said Fixer.
"Nope," agreed Siri, popping the P, "Not in the slightest. I did tell you that I was only working with the Republic to oppose Sidious."
"Well, certainly going to make this interesting," mused Fixer.
Scorch reeled the conversation back on topic. "So you told the Republic things... and what happened? I'm not getting a lot out of this."
"Basically nothing worthwhile," Siri informed them, "My questioning was delayed, and over a period of time initially. Sidious had so much time on his hand, that it was likely he could soften the blow, redirect the attempt, or cut his losses on anything that came his way. Sure, a lot of things were shuffled around; the Trade Federation was replaced with a new token corporation, a bunch of criminal groups were taken out, a few senators were sacked or pressured, but ultimately..."
She sours. "Ultimately, I don't think it amounted to anything but a brief delay, minor setbacks. A few things along the way probably disgruntled him or had to be worked around, like pointing out how the Sith were using the senate to cull the Jedi over time, but really, nothing that was lost was irreplaceable. The most likely aggravating thing for Sidious was the loss of an active apprentice for so long. He had Vosa for a bit as a weak stand in, but he didn't actually get a real stand in apprentice until C'Baoth. Believe me, he had me do a shitton of low-visibility leg work that I doubt he has the time for."
"Define low-visibility," asked Boss.
Good perception.
"Not just in keeping my presence to a minimum, but as in low vision to the overall scope of the Grand Plan. I knew what I did was towards an overall goal, but not exactly how. I did not have nearly enough high view of things to know how its orchestrated at the most important levels," she advises.
"So... you weren't exactly that important to them," prodded Sev.
Siri gives a coy smile. "I was an apprentice, a tool. I had not yet earned the right to be a Lord of the Sith. Though... Sidious had mentioned taking me into his confidence if I had succeeded on Naboo. Had I cast away Kenobi and delved into the depths Sidious and those before him have, I suppose I would have."
"So... you're what then? Still a Sith Apprentice?" posed Scorch, "Its been a decade, hasn't it?"
"A decade of stagnation," she said sourly, "In which I barely improved in anything but lightsaber technique, if not weakened in the Force. I let myself get... distracted on Nar Shadaa playing with slavers afterwards, and then I was dragged into all of this. Believe me, I was..."
She paused briefly. "I was stronger on Naboo when I was about to kill Kenobi than I am now. I need to devote time to actually improving myself."
"After the mission then, when we return to Kamino," suggested Boss.
"If we're not demanded right after," she muttered before musing, "Though I did say I would deny or accept missions as I so chose, so I can make the time if I need be."
She shakes her head. "If you have no other questions, I'm going to meditate and center myself for the mission."
Boss nods. "Nothing else that can't wait, if you need to prep, then go prep ma'am."
She gives a mocking salute and walks back to the cockpit.
Siri doesn't like the feel of Geonosis.
Its... different. In the Force, than before. What she did here left a lasting impact. Shadowed whispers in the back of her mind. A current of wind across her face that isn't physical in nature. She kneels at the entrance of the ramp out of the Scimitar, Delta Squad securing an absurd amount of explosives to their bodies in preparation to go out. According to them, if they didn't need to engage in combat, they could carry a lot more, as it would save on mission time and return trips to the Scimitar. The squad walks past her, boots clunking, and waits at the bottom of the ramp.
Siri takes a deep breath, and lets it out, settling into her meditation. She'd already masked them in the Force before they'd touched down, so she pokes around widely...
"One," she murmurs, "From what I can sense, there is only a single Dark Jedi stationed to watch over this place."
They really emptied out.
"Right, our only real issue then," said Boss, "Do you have a general vicinity for that enemy?"
She nods. "Another part of the planet, likely in another facility. If we hit there I can give you a nudge in the Force when you get near. It will be like a cold touch on your shoulder pushing you one way."
"I'll take that when the time comes then, no offense Deltas," said Boss.
"Right boss," said Fixer.
"Can we go lay these already? I'm dying to see this place light up," said Scorch.
"Most of this place is underground," said Sev, "You're not going to see much unless you want to get caught in the explosion."
"Spoil sport," muttered Scorch.
"Alright Deltas," said Boss, "Remember, Commander Tachi needs focus. Exercise discipline, control, and keep distractions to a minimum. We don't know the timetable of the enemy, so in and out, find good and hidden spots near anything that looks important or tough to replace easily. We probably don't have enough to level every inch of every facility on this rock, so spread the explosives out..."
Siri tunes them out, embedding herself into the currents of the Force. She is uncomfortable here, but this isn't using the same method as before, just standard cloaking with her sorcery. Nothing experimental and unknown. Still... even what she considers normal use of Sith Sorcery sends a shiver through the Force, a tone increase in the whispers, the sensation of eyes on her from afar, watching but doing nothing else. She certainly doesn't feel like something is trying to crawl out of the Force and rip her out of her body, not this time thankfully.
She really doesn't ever want to come back to this place again.
She wraps her sorcery around the Clones and anchors herself around the familiar darkness of the Scimitar, Zannah's Holocron a familiar hum as well. She gets the sense Rain doesn't like being here either, but the soul fragment keeps to itself for the time being. She feels her power take, their physical forms seemingly peeling away from existence. She senses a shiver roll down their spines, the sensation of cold drawn upon their shoulders regardless of their suits. They set out at a decent pace considering the heaviness of their gear and the extra explosives. Physical trained to a good degree. They'd probably be physically stronger than her if one didn't factor in the Force.
Oddly enough, the difference in the Force on this planet makes it easier to keep her focus on the Clones as they enter the facility, her focus carried along unseen currents. She gets... impressions. Flashes of hallways. Convery belts of droids. Avoiding Geonosians. A flicker of satisfaction from the first charge placed. There is an... overlay to her sight, she catches the placement, a charge hidden under a panel near a pillar with a conveyer belt spiraling up and along it.
'When it blows, ought to tip the thing over and smash through another few belts as it falls.'
If she wasn't meditating, hearing the thought probably would have startled and slipped her control for a split second. As it, the Dark Side consumes her flicker of surprise like a greedy glutton. She faintly hears trotting, and reaches her hand out to brush along the Dark Hound's fur without opening her eyes.
"Returned have you?" she murmurs.
There is a huff from it before she feels the apparition lay down next to her, watching.
She tunes it out, idly drifting her focus between Delta Squad's members. No close calls yet. She's not quite sure she likes this drifting perspective, its a continual update, lets her feel a little bit more in control, but its a little disorienting. She's not quite sure yet how to control the drift between Clones, the random whispers of thought are also brief startles. Slowly, hour by hour, the Clones planet more and more explosives. By the three hour point, they've finished their first load and return one at a time to fasten their next load to their body.
"Ma'am," said Fixer, "I hacked into the facility's database and got a map of the planet, got the location of other droid production facilities, notated based on production amount. I say we got... how many trips worth of explosives left Scorch?"
"Three," said Scorch, making a so-so motion with his hand.
"So we hit the next three biggest places," said Fixer, "I also got the facility the current head-honcho is at
"We'll hit that one last," said Boss, "Ma'am, airlift to the next cluster?"
Siri slowly pulls herself out of meditation and dismisses the cloaking around them. "Any complications?"
"None so far ma'am," said Boss, briefly scanning his men and getting headshakes from them.
"Its honestly cheating," said Sev.
"Is that a complaint?" she posed.
He scoffs, and she gets the sense he's rolling his eyes at her. She smirks and turns to Fixer. "Coordinates?"
He handed her his datapad, she glanced at it, nodded and returned it, then headed to the cockpit. She flew them a bit across the planet, set down, and re-settled into her mediation after they were set. Another shiver ripples in the Force around her from her Sorcery, whispers briefly flaring before settling to the back of her mind. Eyes resettle looking squarely at her back. She pushes aside the discomfort and focuses on maintaining her focus on the Clones. Its quicker this time, she gets the feeling that the facilities mirror one another and has given them good spots to plant charges at already.
Two and a half hours later, its finished and they return, rinsing and repeating once more before they fly to the last cluster of facilities they have charges for.
"Will you be able to tell when I've finished my portion of it?" posed Boss.
Siri nodded. "Think it loudly, why do you ask?"
"Once its done, do what you said you do and point me towards the Dark Jedi," said Boss.
Siri narrows her eyes. Is he crazy? "You believe you could take them?"
"I'll judge the situation as it comes up, but I'd at least like to identify who they have assigned here for potential future use," he answered.
She nods slowly, but gets the feeling that if he feels he can pull it off he will do so. She settles into meditation one final time, and they're off. Its more tense this time, with the Dark Jedi lazily patrolling the facility...
"Sev," she projects to him, wincing briefly at his startlement, "Turn around and find another path, the Dark Jedi is coming your way."
She keeps her focus on the Dark Jedi, ignoring Sev's wary discomfort. Nothing changes, the Dark Jedi didn't feel her message cloaked by the Dark Side. They're not really focused or paying attention either though. Watching droids make droids can't be very exciting she supposes. She only has to shift their course twice more before they begin to wrap up. There is a sudden blankness from Fixer, then confusion and interest. A brief image of him slicing a panel fills her mind, but nothing about what drew his attention within it.
"Ma'am, I'm ready," comes Boss's loud thought.
She hesitates, before grudgingly nudging Boss towards the Dark Jedi. A ten minute trek later through the facility has Boss approaching his target. She feels his focus, like a held breath. He considers his opponent...
A hooded figure walking steadily on an overpass, fingers tapping the railing as they walked, bored, a frustrated sigh escaping their lips, the desire to have been assigned elsewhere emanates from them, leaning over the railing to peer down at production, their hood drifting back as they did...
Boss bursts forward, though not a sound is made because of her sorcery.
Distracted by their own boredom, the Dark Jedi only start to register something is off with the Force when Boss is right ontop of them.
For a moment, she is looking out of Boss's eyes. She can perceive his cloaked hands as they grasp the target's chin, the top of their head and WRENCH-
Then its done.
Snapped their neck so fast they didn't have time to recognize they were even in danger. Boss clasps a hand over their mouth for good measure and stabs a vibroknife into their chest, slowly taking them to the ground and dragging the body off to hide.
Siri finds herself stunned and disquieted, before she wrestles the emotions back under control.
It really hits her then.
The Clone Army was cloned from a Jedi Killer, and given heavy military training. They really could kill trained Force Sensitives given the opportunity.
So why was this army given to the Republic when it makes sense for them to have been Confederate instead?
One could argue with it being used against the Dark Jedi, but... she knows from Kamino that the Clones were ordered before the Confederacy existed. Boss's kill fills her with unease, but she pushes it away after a second. She'll give it more thought later when continued distraction wouldn't botch the mission. She does note though... Boss killed a Dark Jedi, and there was hardly a flicker of emotion. Ruthlessly efficient that one.
Sev returns first, then Scorch, then Boss, she drops there cloaking as they come back...
"What's taking Fix so long?" mutters Scorch.
"Don't distract the commander," comes Boss's light reprimand.
Siri mutters without opening her eyes. "He's been slicing at one single panel for the past... hour or so. Something's got his attention."
"...is it not distracting to speak when you're doing this?" posed Boss carefully, "Or has it become easier with a little practice?"
"Slightly," she murmurs, "I'm only maintaining it around him now, still in a meditative state. Makes it simpler."
She doesn't mention how the Force feels around Geonosis. She doesn't want that getting out. Especially if it gave people reasons to send her back here for 'efficiency'.
Boss taps his helmet, tilting it slightly. "Fixer, status."
He waits a moment. "Have you deployed all your charges?
Another wait. "Fixer, the mission comes first. Just do a bulk download of as much as you can and we can parse through later... its in orbit around a moon? What is in..."
He listens, glancing briefly at Siri. "Assuming nothing drops in on us, we can do a pass by on our way out and record what we see. You have an hour, get it done commando."
Siri raises an eyebrow. "Share with the class?"
"Fixer said he found blueprints for something behind a firewall the other bases didn't have," answered Boss, "Said 'Geonosis's part' is being built around one of their moons."
"Part?" questioned Siri.
"He didn't know, said the blueprints were for some giant part construction that looked like a puzzle you'd slot together to make something," said Boss, "Not sure what this is all about."
Siri closed her eyes and probing the Force...
...and got absolutely nothing.
A complete blank.
No.
A shroud.
Siri opens and narrows her eyes. "Yeah, we'll take a pass."
"You got something with your Force shit?" posed Sev.
"No," said Siri wryly, "I got absolutely nothing to or for whatever this about. My ability to perceive it is being blocked."
"You can do that with the Force?" asked Scorch.
"Yeah, how do you think you snuck around? My power blocks you from being perceived by most methods including the Force, the proximity problem with the Dark Jedi is a new counter to my ability I don't have a good work around to yet," she answered, "Its largely how the Sith have run circles around the Jedi the last thousand years."
"So in the event we work alongside Jedi, we should keep in mind that their abilities may be hampered?" inquired Boss.
"In regards to visions, perceptions, and intuition, its a possibility," she corrected, "Not generally their combat abilities."
"Noted ma'am," said Boss, moving to sit on the floor against a wall with a soft tired sigh, the others following suite.
Fixer comes in roughly an hour later, and Siri lets out of her meditation and her Sorcery. She wonders if it would have been so easy to maintain for so long on another planet. Because really, she should be exhausted after keeping it up for so long. But honestly... she just barely stopped and it already feels like she has caught a second wind. How strange... it couldn't just be from what happened here before so what...
She stands there for a moment, and slowly tilts her head up, looking up and through the ceiling with the Force. Oh.
She really should have realized this sooner. Hell, she'd mentioned this to the Senate, not considering that she too would be on the receiving end during this war.
The Dark Side is swelling.
There have been several massive battles all throughout the Galaxy filled with death and destruction and suffering, feeding into the Dark Side. She's not even near or in any of those battles and she's getting scraps all the way at Geonosis...
"Ma'am?"
She looks back down to see Fixer holding out a datapad, a hologram of... something floating above it. Siri's eyes crinkle, bewildered. "What am I looking at?"
"Part 03 of the EBP, whatever the hell that stands for," said Fixer, "Its outer part looks like it is part of a ball-structure, and is heavily reinforced. The inside will be capable of being manned, crew quarters, life support systems, energy generators, hyperdrive, all the standard shit you'd see a cruiser type vessel, but it also has a metric kriffton of energy-transference systems built into it. It has only light covering for the other side, enough to resist impact damage and keep everything inside, but otherwise, look at this here, here, here, and here, sticking out like that yeah? Clamps and connecters, four big ones and a bunch of small ones. Its supposed to be put together with these other 'parts'. All together... if I got the scaling right... size of a small moon? Little less?"
"The hell are they building that big?" said Sev.
"Shame we used all the explosives, because I'd like to blow it up whatever it is," said Scorch, and Siri can hear the pout in his tone.
"You got something to record with?" posed Siri.
Boss taps his helmet. "We're automatically recording."
...good to know for future reference.
"Cockpit then boys," she said, sauntering pass, "And someone grab the detonator from storage. Ill hook it up to the Scimitar and broadcast it cross planet."
Siri straps herself in, and plugs in the detonator. "You got the activation code?"
"You want to do the honors ma'am?" posed Boss.
She doesn't particularly care. "Let Scorch have some fun."
"Ha!" said Scorch, "She's trying to challenge you for my favorite Boss."
"Just put in the numbers Scorch," said Boss with a sigh.
Scorch huffs, walks over, taps in a code Boss rattles off, then hits the button with satisfaction rippling off him. "Might not be able to see, hear, or feel it, but I know all across the planet, shit is being blown up."
"Glad someone got to have fun," said Sev dryly, "I didn't get to shoot a single thing this mission."
Siri eyerolls. "Brace, we're leaving."
When they hit the atmosphere, she poses, "Direct me Fixer, which moon am I scoping out?"
Five minutes later, Siri is eying a massive metal soup bowl filled with construction droids, several orbital platforms loaded with turbolasers, and if she sees that flickering around the in-progress '03 Part'... "Shield generator on the moon protecting it maybe? Or built in?"
"Planetside I think," said Fixer, "Sorry Scorch, we really don't have the explosives for this even if we had any leftovers."
"Maybe later," said Scorch.
Then the cockpit gave a warning blare. She reads it briefly. "Multiple hyperspace disturbances."
She turns the Scimitar around and flies back around the moon, sighting a fleet that was still coming out of hyperspace. Multiple ships are damaged. Returning from a battle. "Well, we had good timing."
"Right," agreed Boss, "Lets get out of here ma'am. I don't know what kind of encryption you have on this ship, but we have state of the art back on Kamino. I'd prefer if we contacted the Chancellor from there and passed on this new intel."
"Sure," she said, punching in the coordinates, and entered hyperspace...
It was time to unveil one of his pet projects. A little treat he had been preparing for his wayward apprentice.
Sidious had planned on waiting until later in the war to let them loose, but he'd rather them keep an eye on C'Baoth, and gaining experience wont hurt for their intended roll. His shift is over for the night, so he retires to his room, changes to his Sith robes, pulls up his hood, and then heads for one of his many hideouts on Coruscant. This one though...
He enters and sends out a flicker, a command of 'Attend Me' rippling through the Force.
He walks into a meditation room, two special acolytes, both Zabrak, kneeling in attendance. He walks in front of them and begins to pace slowly. "My apprentices. It is time."
Twin molten eyes flicker up, the younger speaks. "To avenge our brother, master?"
Sidious lets a malicious smile play across his face. "Do you truly believe that you and your brother are ready to face Lord Tyrosus, Feral Oppress? Unproven as you are?"
Feral bows his head. "No master..."
Sidious's eyes flicker. "And you, Savage?"
"No master, not yet," the older Nightbrother agreed.
"Indeed," said Sidious, "You two have come far since your Mother gave you to me as part of our... renewed agreement, and out of a desire for revenge for her son. You have been training in opposing Lord Tyrosus, her powers and style of fighting, but your lack of actual combat experience against Force Sensitives in a live environment will be a detriment. To that end, I will be sending you to C'Baoth. Your purpose there will be twofold: To gain experience outside this facility, and to keep an eye on him, as he has neglected to play to script."
"...do you believe he will betray you master?" asked Feral.
"Oh eventually without a doubt," said Sidious, chuckling darkly, "But not openly, and not yet. Not before he has played his part and is ready to be eliminated. However, I would prefer not to have to waste the time I have put into him yet. Your presence will serve to... keep him in line."
"...and if he does actively betray you?" rumbled Savage, "Kill him?"
Sidious considered it. Considers if they will be alive at that point. "If he tries to get you to join him, play along with it. Act as if you have become disillusioned with me and be my eyes within his forces. If he tries to kill you, then either escape or dispose of him depending on the situation at your discretion."
"As you will, master," said Feral, Savage grunting in agreement.
"Go, prepare yourselves," said Sidious, eyes flickering as they go, waiting until he senses them head down the hallway.
He considers the comlink he pulls out of his robes, before thumbing it on and waiting.
C'Baoth's image appears a minute later. "Master."
Sidious had given it some thought, and decided not to call C'Baoth out on his initial push. He won't show weakness, won't show how irritated he had been, the mere flicker of brief alarm that C'Baoth had potentially sabotaged the war from the start. He takes amused inspiration from Lord Tyrosus's spite and wont even acknowledge C'Baoth's efforts. "Now that we are underway, its time to put several projects in motion. I am sending you the Oppress Brothers, use them at your discretion so long as their efforts are focused against the Jedi, save for the Third Systems Army. I do not want anything to potentially draw Lord Tyrosus's attention to them until it is time for them to meet."
C'Baoth huffed. "Do you honestly think they will actually be able to do anything to a trained Sith? Lacking as she may be she is still one."
Ignoring that Sidious had been overseeing their training on and off when time permitted? C'Baoth was quick to slight them.
"The Oppress brothers are Lord Tyrosus's punishment, a test, and a treat," said Sidious in a darkly amused tone, "Her hatred of Maul will make it a delight for her to kill them, being able to kill them will be a test of her prowess and ability to adapt when I eventually give them leave to confront her, and I doubt she will escape or defeat them unscathed considering their training specifically to fight her. Until then, they will see use eliminating Jedi."
"If they actually do succeed in killing her?" posed C'Baoth.
"Then she proves herself unworthy," was the only answer Sidious need give.
He would be terribly disappointed if she did die, but if she did, then it was her own failing. He would send them after Skywalker next to test him, and if somehow they killed him too, well... he suppose he'd pit them against eachother and take the winner as an actual apprentice.
C'Baoth opens his mouth to speak before a beeping comes from his end. The man turns his head away for a minute, listening to something, before he turns back.
"I've been informed," said C'Baoth is a slow harsh tone, "That our primary facilities on Geonosis was bombed."
Ah Lord Tyrosus, always proving herself amusing.
"Why Jorus," said Sidious with a mocking smile, "Considering you sent almost your entire fleet and forces out, you were asking for someone to come sabotage you."
The man's jaw clenches. "I'll keep that in mind for the future."
"See that you do," said Sidious, calm, in control, and oh so satisfied to see C'Baoth lose his composure, "The Oppress brothers will meet you on Onderon, direct them from there."
"As you will Master."
Sidious's eyes bore into C'Baoth's in warning. "Always as I will."
He cuts the transmission.
Chapter 77: Eyes on the Weapon
Chapter Text
How in all nine Corellian Hells did C'Baoth bungle this badly?
Sidious's eyes wash over the blueprint Delta Squad had sent him, all of them standing at attention through the hologram save for his insolent apprentice who is watching his face for even a shred of emotion with both of her arms crossed under her chest. She hunts for any hint on what he might feel. Which is, currently, the desire to throttle C'Baoth. The battle station's plans were NOT supposed to be discovered this early into the war. He had the man's assurance they had been properly safeguarded, and yet... here they are. Their supposed top-line protection hacked by an overly curious commando. He had wanted Tachi to eventually discover them, yes, as it was part of his long term plans for her, but not in the first week!
Sidious makes his eyebrows furrow. "What am I looking at Agent Tachi?"
"Best guess? Some kind of battle station," she answered, "The outer hull is one hell of a durable shell from what we can tell. Littered in tough plating, shield generators, and turbolasers. If this thing pieces together as big as we think it will be, we're talking a battle station that can and will win any space battle with mere presence alone. Not to mention how genius its design is."
She sounds reluctantly impressed. "Oh?"
She highlights a few sections of the blueprint. "Lets assume all parts of this battle station share the same kind of construction. This mean each piece can operate separately from one another. Each can be jettisoned from the whole if it starts to blow up or suffer catastrophic failure. Each part has hyperdrive capabilities, which means that this battle station's parts can be built separately from one another and dragged around as needed to safeguard it from being targeted. Blowing up one segment will set it back, but not stop its construction. The Confederacy really has some top-line engineers for this thing. The only thing we haven't figured out yet is what all the energy transference mechanisms are for. Maybe a super-shield generator or a high-powered laser."
Oh... she is so dangerously close to stumbling onto its true purpose of destroying planets. He actually feels sweat start to form on his forehead, heart slowly increasing its pacing despite not showing any tell. This is too soon, and too close to the truth for any sort of comfort. Something needs to be done about this immediately. "Hm. Yes, I agree with you then considering this. Its likely it could severely cripple a capital ship in a single shot then, if not destroy it. Did you get any further intel on this?"
She shakes her head. "No, aside from this being part three of who knows how many."
Good, if C'Baoth had left a link to where the other parts were being constructed then Sidious wasn't sure he could stop himself from killing the man for such a disastrously colossal mistake. "I will have this sent to our intelligence division for investigation."
"Do keep me informed," she said mildly, "I'm very curious about what you find."
"Of course," he said smoothly, "I am a man of my word. Once we discover more, you and your team will be informed. Such a high stakes project will require a more potent approach, so it is likely your team will need to be involved. If these pieces can be destroyed, or better yet captured, it will be a massive win in our part for the future of the war."
He has a constraint now. He will have to steadily feed Tyrosus information every so often between her missions. She would be highly suspicious if absolutely nothing can be found at all, regardless of the supposed importance and secrecy the Confederacy's project would be implied to have. He may have to move up his timetable in regards to this, perhaps rather than towards the end of the war, midway through? Dammit, this wasn't supposed to happen now...
He forces the momentary panic away, irritated at himself, as it was pointless to linger. He wraps his mind around the concept that his superweapon has been partially revealed. Panic is useless, how he uses this is what matters now.
If he thinks on it. In his original designs before his chief engineer had given his update years ago, he had not even considered his superweapon to factor into his plans before he had taken over the galaxy and founded his glorious empire. The superweapon is not a requirement for the fulfillment of this phase of the Grand Plan. There are ways of course it could be used in this war that he had decided upon. It would have ideally been a later discovery by his wayward apprentice, an emergency scramble that would send the senate into a panic, in which any emergency powers he hadn't yet gained, any laws he needed to blunt force push, could be obtained and ratified. Then, they would 'steal' the superweapon from the Confederacy, he would either wrangle in his apprentice or subdue her for the remainder of the war, reveal himself to the Jedi, and when they tried to kill him, label them traitors to the Republic and wipe them out.
However, that was no longer feasible, at least not without stringing it along and making very plain to his apprentice that his public persona is either him or directly under his thumb. He is fine with her suspicious of him, but not with any degree of surety. Thus he considers... if they appear to be looking into it, if others are made aware... he intended one thing, but he can turn the partial reveal of the Death Star into something else entirely. There is risk to this... and yet it will allow him to further shape the direction of the war, and Tachi's involvement in it... even if one or two pieces of the Death Star are destroyed, while regrettable, it is acceptable as he hadn't originally thought it would ready for over a decade from now anyway...
He also considers if he does actually want the superweapon finished during the war, because the Confederacy would be overseeing its construction after all. C'Baoth's surprise onslaught weighs on his mind, and he has to acknowledge that C'Baoth having a completed Death Star under his command would be most... unwise. Libel to give the fool ideas above his station. Best to put pressure on the Confederacy and slow its construction through the war effort, give the Republic and the Jedi something to focus on that wasn't discovering Sidious himself, and at the end, allowing the Republic to swoop in and take pieces for themselves.
Yes, that would work to his advantage. No matter what the Jedi do, what his apprentice does, what C'Baoth does, he can always turn their successes and failures to his advantage.
They have no chance.
"Delta Squad and I will be remaining on Kamino for a bit," said his insolent apprentice into the brief silence, not a shred of care for seeking permission, "Our infiltration of Geonosis worked so smoothly mainly because of the lack of opposition to counterbalance our lack of experience working together, and my lack of experience being able to cloak others."
She could what?
He doesn't bother to hide his honest surprise. He hadn't thought of that. He had gifted her Delta Squad for many reasons. A reward for her performance in the opening act of the war and her lead in for the surprisingly useful naming of the war (Jedi popularity was diving). It also served, as he advised her, as a method in for her learning how to take command, to lead, which she would need as his right-hand when he transformed the Republic into his Empire. They of course also served to keep an eye on her, to keep her in-line when on-mission rather than off on her own causing who knows what kind of problems. They will serve as her personal elite just as he had his own, a source of fame during the war, a source of dread when the Empire was born. Of course, he was practical and had control chips inside her elite, he wasn't going to simply gift her free power.
The fact that she could hide them within the Force... hiding herself was an obvious known, hiding others... clever. Very clever. It would be useful during the war, and later on under his command. Perhaps he was being negligent in his regard for her abilities. Oh he had summarized her obvious desire for the healing talismans to protect her favored, but he had not considered how other selfish uses of sorcery could be applied to others... normally it wouldn't be a concern for a Sith, but his apprentice had her flaws he supposed. He would have to meditate on this.
"Very well," he said, giving a nod after the pause, "Such a potent ability does require proper cultivation I imagine. An update of how the initial battles went will be forwarded to your datapad once the proper report has been made for me. For the moment, both the Republic and the Confederacy are, I suppose, licking their wounds from the initial clash before they move forward. I suspect you would be pleased to know that both Anakin and Knight Kenobi preformed spectacularly. Anakin's supremacy in flying is regarded as one of the few key reasons the Confederacy's droid and Dark Jedi flight squadrons were repelled, I've heard he's become rather famed in Kuat for his feats. Knight Kenobi was also surprisingly insightful in regards to ground warfare and handled the battle on Corellia well without stepping on the Green Jedi's toes or so I hear."
C'Baoth's attack had been useful in that last regard at least. His sources had reported that Corellia's senator had been looking into a rather obscure clause in the Republic Constitution to try and sit out the conflict. Such a shame that wasn't an option anymore...
His apprentice pursed her lips, exhaling and drawing his focus back, "Well, Obi-Wan was involved with at least two wars as a padawan, and probably other conflicts that were military in scope after my... departure, from the Order."
Departure.
He has to hold back his amused smile at her choice of words. "Indeed, I'm glad to know that some Jedi can handle the responsibility. The transition from peacekeeper to commanding roles in the military must be quite the change."
Her grimace slowly fades into a cold blankness, she mutters, "That, is likely the point."
She shakes her head and abruptly ends the call. "Contact us when a mission comes up, Tachi out."
He tsks when her holographic image winks away, standing and moving slowly to the window of his office. "She will have to re-learn one day that she is only dismissed when I tell her she is."
He observes the Jedi Temple at a distance with consideration, a daily ritual he's started since the beginning of the Second Jedi Civil War. He could, at any time, start the end. He could send out Order 66 and destroy the Jedi, and a similar order planted within the droids of the Confederacy for the Dark Jedi. Sometimes, he contemplates the path he has chosen, not the destination, Force no, but to have the death of the hated enemy a mere comcall away is... tempting in a way few beings could comprehend, that few beings could hold themselves back from. He savors the power like a fine wine, his mental touch caressing an emergency communications device that will patch him through to every Clone and Droid Commander to issue his order. He tastes it, samples it, wonders what it would be like to indulge in the full bottle... but puts it away once more.
He knows he will sample that wine many times until the time comes.
For now, he will see if C'Baoth reigns himself back in and plays the game according to plan. He should, but one can never be to certain with potentially renegade apprentices if Tachi is anything to go by. He will also have Tachi monitored, more than just standard, he will have video feeds and recordings linked to him. He wants to watch her train, he wants to see what she makes of herself, to see a modern day Sith Sorceress at work, to see how much of what he imparted upon her shows through. Its an order he punches in quickly, the message sent to Kamino to be carried out. There will be a small time delay of course for these things, but it pays to be Chancellor and having access to the best technology can offer for such things.
He goes through a few meetings, both political and tactical, before a pause for lunch comes. So he settles at his desk, dining on fine food and drink, watching as a holographic image springs up of Tachi leading her squad in a simulation room...
One of the bonuses of being an 'Elite Squad', is that apparently it makes them first in line to try and give feedback on some of the newer, harder simulations that were crafted in response to the first few battles against the Confederacy. Their current objective is to blow a communications relay the enemy set up in an occupied world. Simple enough. Apparently some planets provided natural communications interference that such a relay was needed for directing droids rather than just from a ship. They're trying it normal before they try with her cloaking. So far, they'd only have to restart once, and that was due to a glitch in rushed programming. Otherwise... it was okay she supposed, if but inaccurate...
"No real Jedi, fallen or not, would be this stupid," she mutters under her breath, blocking a lightsaber strike, booting her foot up to slam into their chin, sending them staggering back and then falling when she clove them in two, "But I suppose simulations cant accurately portray the Force outside of just making them have better reflexes."
"Do you always monologue your opponents when you're fighting commander?" askes Fixer over the comms, "Its funny, but a little distracting."
"That's kind of the point, distracting them in combat is a valid tactic," she answers, flicking her wrist and sending a squad of droids careening into a wall... then the simulation cut, "What the kriff?"
She takes off the simulation helmet and glances over at Boss when a burst of frustration flows from him.
"Scorch and I were just cloven in half by lightsabers, Fixer was about three seconds away from a similar fate," he said dryly, "I thought you said Dark Jedi would be drawn to your distraction? There were three there and a squad of droids at the optimal detonation site. That's a bit much for us even with Sev's fire support."
"Well, real Dark Jedi would have come to me," she snapped back, "Considering how loudly I was broadcasting in the Force, they shouldn't have been there with you, I was clouding your intent, but again... simulations can't measure that, can they? Probably should have thought of that..."
"Bloody Jedi blocked every shot every time," interrupted Sev sourly, taking off his helmet, "Is that accurate for them or no?"
"Probably," she answered, "The Force would give warning. If you want to actually snipe a Jedi, they need to be distracted. You're probably better off hitting the droids first and taking out their support..."
The plodding of feet cuts away any further chatter as a few Clone engineers approach to debrief them on their first real attempt...
"...with respect ma'am, coding that isn't simple," said one of them, "How is a simulation suppose to know if you are 'broadcasting' in the Force?"
Siri considers how to answer. "All Force Sensitives give off a presence, some louder than others. Unless there is some kind of interference or cloaking involved, nearby Force Sensitives can sense eachother. This especially spikes if the Force Sensitive is using the Force itself."
The engineer nibbled on his lip in thought, looking down to type on his datapad. "Okay, we could do a proximity base awareness if a Jedi is in the simulation, then an alert if a Jedi 'uses the Force' in a way the simulation can register..."
"Force Sensitives can also feel other lifeforms," she advised, "In a base full of droids, living beings would rather stick out."
The engineer frowned and made a quick note. "Noted for future reference, but wouldn't the hypothetical Dark Jedi then be curious about the squad going away from you? Wouldn't that practically announce that you were a distraction? Or that there were separate objectives?"
"That's why I was broadcasting my presence and not being subtle in the slightest," she answered, "Ignoring my ability to shroud my squad's intent in the Force which is relatively unique to me, beyond that being loud in the Force is incredibly distracting, and can make it very difficult to focus, can make it possible for the Dark Jedi to miss what they should sense."
The engineer grumbled, then asked, "Do you have a few hours ma'am? Having an actual Force Sensitive to plan these out with could do wonders."
"You didn't have anyone on hand when you created these simulations for the Clone Army?" Siri asked, fishing for information.
The engineer shrugged. "No? When we took over making these, based on our training instructors suggestions and the information we had on the early Separatists, we thought our enemies were all going to be droids. Dark Jedi didn't factor into our flash training or simulations at all."
Hm. No training against Force Sensitives specifically? Not what she expected, but that was of course if her suspicions had merit.
"Some of the trainers had experience fighting Jedi, and of course the Prime did," mused the Engineer, "But that wasn't something the rank and file were instructed on. Kind of wish we had. I don't have a body count exactly, but I have a few Vode through the fleet who keep me up-to-date, I heard anywhere we didn't have a Jedi fighting off the Dark Jedi, losses were bad. A single Jedi could cut through squads easily before being taken down, if at all.."
Siri ponders it. Perhaps when this army was devised, the Jedi Schism hadn't been envisioned? But still... given the opportunity and surprise, a Commando could take down a Jedi. The Engineer had implied that even with heavy losses, some Dark Jedi fell to regular Clone Troopers without Jedi assistance. They didn't need to be trained specifically to kill Jedi, just given the chance or overwhelming numbers to do so...
So she has to really consider, is giving tips on improving these simulations for facing Force Sensitives a good idea? Her instincts still tell her that this army should have been made for the Confederacy since they were cloned from a Jedi Killer, but they're fighting with the Republic alongside the Jedi. It makes little sense, and the Force offers nothing to her prodding. So... she takes the selfish route. She wants to improve herself more than she cares if this somehow gets turned around on the bulk of the Jedi Order. Obi-Wan and Supernova could handle themselves.
"Sure, I got some time to sit and answer I suppose."
The Engineer nods in thanks before leaving. "Ill get a conference room set up."
Boss moves to stand next to her, arms clasped behind his back. "Its appreciated ma'am. This kind of additional preparation will save lives."
She simply shrugged in response. "I suppose."
He eyes her. "You seem... apprehensive about it?"
She considers him for a moment. "Do you recall our discussion about the creation of the Clone Army?"
His jaw clenches. "What about it?"
"It makes far more sense for an army cloned from a known Jedi Killer to have been given to the Confederacy rather than the Republic," she says softly, "So why wasn't it?"
Angry silence is her response, save for...
"Wow, I thought failing a sim for the first time in ages was crushing," said Fixer, "You really know how to kill an already killed mood, dontcha Commander?"
Siri laughed. "I do, anyway, I see the engineer coming back, come with if you like, or do whatever. I'm going to meditate after I'm done being prodded."
"Could be useful to hear first hand accounts or advice on what to expect," said Boss, expression and tone calm despite the agitation she feels waving off him.
"Not to mention ask for clarifications," said Sev pointedly.
Siri gives an amused huff. "Alright then," and leads them off...
Settling into the Dark Side to meditate when a galaxy wide war is going on now that she knows to consciously tap into that well of power, Siri imagines, is like taking in a puff of spice with every breath. Its also overwhelming how vast her meditative reach becomes. While most of the major battles have faded into a brief downtime as the combatants lick their wounds and prepare for the next targets, there are, for better lack of terms, echoes. Ripples in the Force from death and suffering and conflict. She can get a sense of where these happened, flickers in her minds eye of a landscape, but she doesn't have the knowledgebase to determine where these are without an outside resource to try and look them up.
She wonders if Sidious has the capacity and the vast knowledgebase to feel a battle across the Galaxy and know when and where and how it went. She has the unsettling feeling he does, and its kind of alarming to realize the kind of advantage that gives him. To also realize that any boon this war grants to her it also grants to him, and combined with his already vast advantage, is... well... bad. She doesn't think she could have stopped it from coming to war, not even if she had managed to assassinate C'Baoth first thing post leaving the Temple, but she could have potentially delayed it. Her willing ignition, going along with Sidious's plot out of bitter anger, hadn't been wise. But she'd let herself be backed into a corner, forced into a role, rather than bucking it and playing to her own tune, and there were consequences to that.
Its not to say she can't turn being in a war to her advantage, but when Sidious gains the same advantages and can use them better... its not something she can allow herself to forget...
Especially when he kriffing brushes against her presence across the bloody Galaxy!
'Is it not beautiful?' is the sensation she gets, rather than words, his eyes washing over a Galaxy descending into war and darkness and pushing that sensation to her.
She brushes it off, annoyed, and throws back her irritation at his gloating.
His responses comes a few minutes later, a chiding 'tsk'.
Siri hadn't been bothered to hide herself when she meditated, but if that is what she has to do to get peace of mind away from him then she is going to from now on. But for this meditation, she doesn't receive any further nudges, just the sense that he is watching her as she pokes and prods through the Force, examining how the Dark flows and thrives in a wartime galaxy, winds of energy rushing through the stars propelled by death and screaming. What he thinks of her examination, he doesn't express. She does not like how easy it is for him to reach across such vast distances and observe her like this. She's aware that as one of the few active trained darksiders, let alone arguably three Sith if C'Baoth even counts, she has to stand out, but to hone in on her like this...
Its uncomfortable.
Will she ever be free of him?
Siri swallows back the fear into her, tears it apart, and feeds it to the Dark. She imagines it like a treat, her hand holding it up for the Dark to eat out of. Funny enough, there is a chill across the palm of her hand almost as if it had. The sensation of fur under her fingers fills her before fading away. She turns her awareness away from Sidious, and gives herself to exploring the Dark...
Obi-Wan sits down in a conference room on their 212nd Attack Battalion's command ship and sighs. They would be leaving Corellia soon for their next destination, with only a little downtime between the hell that was that conflict. He can still recall it... the gut clenching nausea inducing feeling of seeing lightsaber clash against lightsaber in open combat, red and green and blue sparking against eachother, the Dark Side howling and overwhelming, blasterfire everywhere, screams, death, pain and suffering... former allies twisted into monsters. Former acquaintances, distant friends whose lives had ended, some at his own hand, some at his padawan's...
Siri had only been the beginning of the Sith's insidious corruption, a hint of what was to come.
His padawan sits down quietly next to him, mood morose. Both of them had been at the forefront of the carnage. Their combined Soresu a bulwark against lightsaber and blasterfire alike. Its safe to say, without the shift to Soresu, they'd likely both be dead. Or at least far more injured than a few burns from close calls. Being able to simply stay alive, and keep the focus of several fallen Jedi on them, had saved countless clone lives. He is aware that the Green Jedi had lost a number of their own, but wasn't privy to those details.
He senses she is as wound tightly up as she was at the beginning of their apprenticeship, if only for differing reasons so... "Do you wish to meditate together later?" he offers quietly.
She gives a jerky, uncomfortable nod.
He hesitates for a moment, not sure if he should bring something up with her. He had given an initial report to both the Council and the Chancellor, gotten his orders to ready his forces to head out... and then had a conversation with the Council. The Jedi Order as a whole had not been ready for this madness. Initial losses were not pleasant in the slightest, and as such, they Council had been looking for Senior Padawans to fill the gap of Knights lost to battle and to the Dark Side. His padawan had been brought up and it had been all he could do to not balk at the outrage, instead politely stating she needed more time. One should not be knighted simply because a gap needed to be filled, but because they were actually ready for it.
Lorana was at the higher end of skill and experience for Senior Padawans, honestly already at a knight level, and at twenty-nine years old, was on the later end of the spectrum for how long humans generally were padawans for. As much as he would always regard her as his padawan, he could not ignore that she was a grown woman at this point, she was older than he was when he had first taken her on as a padawan. Had C'Baoth not betrayed his oaths as a master and sabotaged her apprenticeship, she'd likely have been knighted a few years ago. But the fact was that she HAD been sabotaged. That took time to recover from, to correct. For her to come into her own confidence. Even years later, she still had trouble trusting in herself, trusting in the Force.
That could get her killed, that could get people under her command killed if she is always second guessing herself.
He is not willing to propose her ready for Knight Trials if she is going to be thrown unprepared into command and end up dead months later. Though he supposed very few Jedi were prepared to lead in armed combat regardless. He is not unaware that the pressure to knight her will rise as time goes on, but if he could only have a few more months, even a year to help prepare her in specific ways...
He takes the moment to school his hesitation away, and thankfully she doesn't ask even though he can tell she noticed. Likely assumes its over the battle they went through. This isn't the time nor the place to discuss it anyway, their commanding clone officer joins them shortly, a datapad ready for notes, he stands at attention at the door before Obi-Wan motions him to take a seat. He does, and when the meeting time hits, a holocall initiates. Obi-Wan is surprised to see Siri on the call, a set of clones behind her. A number of other generals also spring up along with the Chancellor, so not just their next standing orders then if its a full meeting.
"I'll not waste time," said the Chancellor, starting right away, "Thanks to Agent Tachi and Delta Squad's infiltration and destruction of the Geonosis main droid production facilities, we have been made aware of a dire upcoming threat."
Siri and this 'Delta Squad' hit Geonosis? He hadn't even known she was getting further involved in the war effort. Well... he's not going to complain if those facilities were crippled. Though he is... wary of Siri being in the war to any degree, she is already so far gone, she hardly needs anything else pushing her deeper into the Dark Side. She skirts far to close to the edge of what she had been on Naboo with her abominable sorcery as it is.
Palpatine hits a few buttons and... some kind of blueprint springs up? He'd call it a bowl, but his eyes hone in on connectors at the edges. So its a single part of some kind of structure? There appears to be an absurd number of turbolasers and shielding on it from what he can tell...
"We believe that the Confederacy has been constructing some kind of advanced battle station in preparation for war with the Republic," informed Palpatine, "We are not sure how long specifically, but evidence that Delta Squad gathered shows that there is some development with it. Intelligence has been directed into trying to discover more about this and the Confederacy's progress with it, but in the meantime, my advisors and I believe strategy should be shifted with this discovery. Judging by their analysis of the blueprint part we have, we believe this battle station will be capable of winning any space battle it is involved in once it is completed. This cannot be allowed."
That... wasn't good. He doesn't ever want to see this thing completed.
"To that end, applying pressure to their ability to both fund and build this battle station will prove beneficial," he continued, "Resource rich planets and trade routes are priority targets, along with of course putting pressure towards certain finance centers of the Confederacy," he paused briefly, eyes flickering towards Siri before he continued, "Because of the Confederacy's ability to force a Jedi to fall, need to know policies will be in effect. While broad overviews will be offered in meetings such as this, specific targets will be given in individual communications to to each general."
That earned a few grimaces, but, it was the truth. Those abominable Sith Torture Masks were a legitimate threat.
"That is all on my end," said the Chancellor, "I will contact individual fleets afterwards with standing orders."
The council dips in to speak of Jedi lost, or missing in action. They can't just assume dead because there is chance for capture, and they can't afford to be surprised if a former ally shows up on the opposite side twisted and warped. When they're finished, the Chancellor orders "Agent Tachi, please stay on. I would like the Third Systems Army to stay on as well."
Others blink out until those designated remain.
"You've made yourself clear in that you will not answer to a Jedi," began Palpatine, head dipping towards Siri, "But I would like you to be working alongside the Third Systems Army on their next objectives."
Siri shrugged. "Which is?"
The Chancellor turns to the Jedi. "It has been suggested to me that we follow the money, to that end, the Third Systems Army will work on hitting the more wealthy worlds and suppliers of the Confederacy in the northern sectors. Seizing complete control of Muunilist is one of the core goals I give to your forces."
"Hm," mused Dooku, "Last I knew Muunilist, and the Intergalactic Banking Clan, was trying to play both sides. They certainly have benefited off the chaos the Separatist Crisis created."
"They are and have," agreed the Chancellor, voice sour, "But publicly confronting them out on this would prove... unwise. They own the debt of and finance so much of the Republic that the risk of pushing them fully into the arms of the Confederacy would be a disaster. Muunalist does currently lean more Separatist than Republic last I was advised, but part of that has to do with San Hill's leadership, and the fact that the Planet is occupied by Confederate forces. I have been advised that the population of Muunalist is not pleased with the occupational forces however. If San Hill is captured, and Muunalist is taken from Separatist control, this would push their alignment towards us and weaken Separatist finances. Including the funding of their superweapon."
The Chancellor turns to Siri. "This in turn leads us to your squad's primary goal. While you will be expected to support the Third Systems Army and deal with other important matters that come up, your focus is on infiltration."
"Follow the money," mused Siri, considering Palpatine, "You want us to dig into the Banking Clan's records during the chaos. Find out where money is being funneled throughout the Confederacy. Because even if they lean towards the Republic, they are most certainly not going to willingly disclose their records."
"Correct, your cloaking ability both through the Force and with your ship, will allow you great stealth in this, and it goes without saying you are not to be caught," he said mildly.
"Of course, wouldn't want your fingers slapped by the banks," she said, a tint of mocking to her voice.
She really couldn't help herself, could she? Obi-Wan despairs a bit that she can't resist prodding the Chancellor.
"Quite," said the Chancellor, not rising to her tone, " I do believe you have quite the journey from Kamino to meet up with the Third Systems Army. I suggest you prepare for the trip. You are dismissed."
She smirks, wiggles two fingers in the air as a goodbye, and winks out of the meeting.
The Chancellor gives a soft sigh. "It goes without saying that an eye should be kept on Agent Tachi."
"Of course," agreed Dooku.
"In what regard?" chimes in Qui-Gon, drawing an annoyed look from his Master, "As much as she is a Sith, I do not believe she would betray us to the Confederacy. She loaths Jorus C'Baoth, nor would she return to Sidious"
"Oh, I agree Master Jinn," said Palpatine, "It is not outright treachery I suspect from her, she was rather upfront with me during our negotiations that she is using the Republic just as we are using her. I merely have the concern for mitigating collateral damage. Its why I gave her a squad to work with rather than just solo work. If there are eyes on her, there are less chances or inclinations to commit unsanctioned less than legal acts or make ethically unsound choices. She is to useful not to use for the good of the Republic, and to risky to allow her to go off on her own designs. Beyond that, public perception is important, and with the Confederacy calling out our use of her, of a Sith, as a rallying point, keeping her at least somewhat in line will be important."
"Good luck with that sir," said Anakin.
"Skywalker," admonishes Dooku.
Chancellor merely chuckles. "Oh, I agree with him. Controlling her is not a realistic goal, and being too constrictive can lessen her effectiveness as well. But she can be painfully blunt and confrontational. Any disagreements or dispute she has with the Jedi or with the Chain of Command should be kept in a private setting as to not effect moral. Its one of the reasons your forces were selected to work with her."
"Even after her parole ends, we are still stuck babysitting the Sith," said Dooku, sighing, "Very well."
"If there is nothing else, I have others I need to meet with," said the Chancellor, "Relevant information for your objectives will be forwarded shortly."
The Chancellor winks out, as does the other parts of the fleet.
Jinzler grumbles. "Is it bad if I cant decide on her involvement being a good thing or not?"
"Oh, its likely to be both, padawan mine," said Obi-Wan, running a hand through his hair.
"Sir," said their Clone Commander, "It may be prudent to brief the troops at some point that we are likely to work with her."
Obi-Wan blinks, a little startled by the coldness of his tone and bitterness coming off him in the Force. "You believe this will cause problems?"
"I wouldn't normally bring up something like this, as the men are more than disciplined enough to work alongside whoever we need to in order to do our duty, but, the recording of her report to the Senate over Geonosis has been passing through the ranks," said the Clone mildly, "With respect, sir, she outright more or less accused us of being created by the enemy. None of them will be pleased to work alongside her. We are loyal to the Republic, not the Separatists."
Oh.
He hadn't considered the reactions of the Clone Army to Siri's debrief by the Senate. "I'll keep that in mind Commander, pass word along, as well as a warning that she is often... confrontational with her wording, but to not rise to the bait. I'll try to minimize exposure to the troops if she ever does travel alongside us."
"Its appreciated sir," said the Commander.
Obi-Wan had to think for a moment, they had been thrown together so quickly, then into battle, and there we so many numbers to remember... "I do appreciate, CC-2224, that you came to me with this concern. I prefer that things like this are voiced to me to address rather than allowing an assumption that leads to an incident."
"Of course sir," said the Commander before offering his datapad, "I've compiled several reports for review when you have the chance."
Obi-wan takes it, eyes flickering over a list of links on the screen with a brief summary underneath, and resists the wince when he sees 'Casualty Report'. "Thank you Commander."
He really isn't looking forward to reading it, but for now, he has a few things he has to oversee before he can settle down to read and then meditate with his padawan...
Chapter 78: Little Steps
Chapter Text
Siri and Delta Squad meet up with the Third Systems Army at Dorin, apparently they had to drive off a surprise Separatist attack away from the Kel Dor Homeworld if the space debris is anything to go by. She sent over a com requests and waited for them to answer.
"Man, we missed all the fun," whined Scorch, peering out into space.
"There will be plenty of that later," said Fixer, patting his shoulder.
"Hardly," was the answer, "Aren't we going to be on infiltration duty?"
"Doesn't mean we cant use explosives to cover our tracks," mused Siri, "Hard to figure out a terminal was sliced if its in bits, isn't it?"
"It might draw suspicion if its destroyed," commented Boss.
"Well yes, that's why the terminal is made to appear to be collateral damage," she answered, the com-connection springing up mid-sentence.
"Collateral damage Siri?" comes Obi-Wan's voice, disapproval already present.
She rolls her eyes. "Discussing procedure Kenobi, when are we heading out?"
"In a few hours after cleanup is done, cant very well let any of this debris crash into the planet," he says mildly, "We will be discussing our departure and plans in a meeting in half an hour if you and Delta Squad wish to attend."
"We'll dock shortly, send over docking codes for your ship."
He nods, no further words offered.
They dock not much later, and the first thing she feels when she walks down the ramp is a surge of bitter hostility from multiple sources that pool together and feel so potent it causes a brief hiccup in her step before she corrects herself. Her eyes flicker to see some Clones outright glaring at her from their various tasks along the hanger bay, at least until someone nudges them back on task.
"How curious," she muses.
"Ma'am?" poses Boss.
"It would seem I am very unwelcome here, I wonder why," she answers mildly, before smirking, "Perhaps I should ask for a permanent room."
Sev scoffs. "You're kind of a bitch, ma'am."
"Sev!" snaps Boss.
Siri just laughs. "Guilty as charged."
"I mean, in the short time we've known you so far, he's not wrong, but isn't it obvious ma'am?" poses Fixer, "You did accuse us all of being created by the enemy in front of the Senate, which went out on the galactic net."
"...and?" she poses, "We went over this on the trip to blow up the droid facilities, and again on Kamino."
Fixer just sighs in response.
"We're made to be loyal to the Republic, ma'am," says Boss in an even tone, "Saying what you did, even implying it, is extremely offensive to us. Even knowing what you told us of Sidious does not lessen that."
"My sincerest apologies," she mocks, "For speaking harsh truths."
Boss holds back whatever his instinctual response is.
Sev doesn't though, voice bland and mocking, "Your apology is sincerely appreciated."
Siri lets an honestly amused smile cross her face. Sev is certainly her favorite so far.
They leave the hanger bay, and she takes point, following Kenobi's presence through the ship.
"Even if we we're truly created by some enemy plot," Boss finally continues once they are in a quieter hallway, "That does not change the fact that we are loyal to the Republic, and will fight and die to protect it and its citizens."
"Ah yes, the citizens who happily go on their merry lives because they don't have to submit to a draft thanks to their neatly packaged Clone Army," Siri needles.
"Honestly Ma'am?" says Scorch, "I would not want to have to fight alongside reluctant drafted civies who don't even know which way to point a gun, how to use cover, or how not to handle explosives."
Siri is bemused. "So all civilians are useless defenseless tookas in need of their big heroic Clone Army to save them?"
Probably not inaccurate in a military setting.
"Droids are mass produced waste of space," said Sev, "Most have the programming of a washing machine from what I've seen. A squad of clones will always been superior to a squad of droids, but a squad of inexperienced civies? Especially with how hastily trained they'd have to be to get them out in time to fight? They'd be slaughtered."
"I agree with Sev," Boss comments, "The Republic hasn't had an official standing army in almost a thousand years now. Not many worlds have anything resembling a real military, and even if they do it can't match the full Separatist army. They don't know how to wage wars anymore, they would be, as he said, slaughtered. The Republic needs us."
Yes, it does.
By design.
This is truly the endgame of the Grand Plan. A thousand years of Sith machinations. Any rival that could have forced the Republic to change and evolve in time to save itself, nipped in the bud. The Republic had not needed an army in the last thousand years, intentionally. Now they flounder, defenseless and unprepared. If not for the ever so convenient Clone Army coming to save the day, they'd be doomed. Either the Republic takes the dangled Clone Army, or they lose to the Confederacy. Either way Sidious wins.
She doesn't particularly feel like re-hashing the same warning about this yet again. What she hinted at in the Senate should have been enough.
It should be enough for her to know she is in the endgame, that she needs to get out.
They enter a meeting room, finding Kenobi and his pet tooka padawan already seated, a clone standing at the back of the room. Rather than take a seat, she simply leans against the wall near the door, waiting. Amusingly enough, Delta Squad mirrors her. She takes a moment to look over Kenobi and Jinzler, both aren't as they were last time they met. War has already marked them, shadows of pain and loss and grief already etched in, sure to grow in size and scope. She wonders if they knew anyone they fought against and perhaps killed in their fight against the Separatists.
She offers no sympathy, she warned them of the war that was to come.
The other members of that lineage flicker into view, calling in.
Obi-Wan clears his throat and begins.
"We'll be departing up the Celanon Spur Hyperspace Lane shortly, checking in on worlds along the route up until roughly Ord Mantell, which we will then shift to the Entrella Route and begin towards Muunillist," he explains, "Our first stop will be Myomar."
Siri frowns. "Myomar, Myomar, vaguely familiar in that I might have heard of it once."
He nods. "They're known for their shield generator production. Kuat among other shipyards are frequent customers."
"I think they actually supply our armor's shield generators too," Fixer murmurs.
Siri startles and glances at him. "You have personal shield generators? I thought those were discontinued ages ago for being to cancerous?"
Fixer shrugs. "They still are."
Oh, that's lovely. Her elite commando unit had radiation producing shield generators that were likely to kill them via cancer after the war if they didn't die during it. That's... she shouldn't care, but it flares her wariness. An army filled with clones that have numbers instead of names. The callousness of the Kamino that has given her the tour back before the war flickers to the front of her mind, about the rapid aging...
"When does the aging stop?" asked Jinzler.
Lama Su gives her a puzzled look. "When they expire of course."
She crosses her arms under her chest and quiets her urge to frown. She does not care for the Clones, their pitiful and unfortunate existence draws no tears from her. Its just... the casual cruelty of it all is so Sith... coupled that with some of the things she had overheard on Kamino snooping around plus how she's heard the Senate 'justifying' the emergency use of the Clone Army... it paints a picture that is hard to mistake for anything else but Sidious's involvement. She idly wonders if the Jedi have discovered the decommissioning yet and supposes it doesn't matter anymore than their lives do.
What does matter is that she is starting to consider not interrogating Jango Fett about the Clone Army to have been a mistake. No, not just interrogation. She needed to full blown rip through his mind for every scrap of information, regardless if it left him a vegetable or not. She should never have let Jango Fett escape her grasp. Considering the sorcery she could have brought to bear against him... letting him go hadn't just been a mistake.
It had been a disaster.
There is no way he didn't have key pieces of information lurking in his mind, and she let him get away because she was throwing a temper tantrum.
She shoves that rage down to use for later, refocusing. Most of the deployment strategy they're yacking about doesn't matter for her and Delta Squad. She listens idly, until finally they're addressed.
Kenobi regards her calmly, "Republic intelligence has conferred that while Myomar did not choose to join the Confederacy, there have been previously known ties between their chief producers and members of the Banking Clan known to support the Separatists. Beyond that, not only do they produce the type of shield generators we use for specialized troops and ships, but they are also well known for supplying shield generators that Destroyer Droids use. We will be stopping there to pick up supplies, meet with the local government, and give some of the men shore leave. We will be keeping eyes on us during that time."
"So, you want us to infiltrate and fish around while you are doing so?" she posed.
He nodded. "Yes. Intelligence is skeptical on them not doing business with the Confederacy, and we would like the their ability to build their more advanced droids reduced."
Sniffing around a company for signs of Confederate leanings. This is what she's been reduced too? She had started strong with blowing up the droid facilities, this feels so mundane in comparison, and yet... something about it ruffles her beyond that. "I assume checking to see if they are selling anything, period, to the Confederacy is also on the menu?"
He gives a tip of his head.
"Hm," she muses, tipping her head back to look up at the ceiling, "We'll nab as much of their info as we can and sort through it after."
"We're only looking for confederate ties," he chides.
"We will not likely be able to determine that onsite," she says, giving him a flat look. "I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt on assuming they aren't stupid enough to directly sell to them, but through a third party or a shell company. I have done this before Kenobi."
Ah.
Ah.
That's why it fills her with distaste, she used to do this type of shit for Sidious back during her apprenticeship. How... quaint that she is doing so again.
She imagines he'll be laughing when he eventually learns of this.
"We will leave it to your expertise then," Obi-Wan answers in a noncommittal tone, "How fast can you investigate?"
"How long do we have?"
"We cannot linger for too long, a few days at absolute most," advised Obi-Wan.
She hums. Once again its looking like split the cloaked squad. "We'll manage. Do you have a list of targets specifically?"
She is passed a datastick with a number of companies to investigate. "Anything else?"
"As of the moment, no. You are dismissed."
Something in her hungers to rebuke that dismissal. Desires to walk right up to him, lean over, and whisper 'what if I don't want to be dismissed'? To challenge his command. She quiets the Dark, makes an about face, and leaves the room, Delta trailing out behind her. She's already fucked up enough trailing after or challenging Kenobi just because she can. Or making decisions based around him. He has made his stance clear in regards to her, she needs to stop revolving so much of herself around him.
No matter how much something in her snarls at the thought.
Beyond that, while she might not directly answer to the Jedi, she is pretty sure things don't work the same way in a military setting as they do outside. He is no longer just Knight Kenobi, he has been made General Kenobi no matter how much he likely dislikes it. She could refuse his mission if she wanted because of her deal with the Chancellor, but she is pretty sure if she causes a scene or incident he might actually be able to land her in legit trouble.
She is, after all, been made a special entity within the military as well.
What was she thinking?
What was she doing?
"Ma'am, thoughts on the mission?" poses Boss.
She pushes away her churning thoughts and scoffs. "Simple and a waste of our time. Cloak, enter, slice, get the info, get out."
"While we all have some training, we only have one real slicer who wouldn't trip something," he comments, "We do not want to risk driving them away from the Republic by being caught read handed. Beyond that, will we be able to hit all of them in time?"
"I can slice," she says, rolling her eyes, "We split the squad, half with Fixer, half with me."
Boss hesitates. "Do you believe you will be able to maintain your cloaking ability while you yourself are active?"
"We did practice a bit on Kamino."
"Always a difference between live and simulation," he comments.
"We will be fine," she says, "And if someone catches us, I can just wipe their memory."
Boss falters mid-step before correcting. "...that is within your capabilities?"
"There are many things within my capabilities," she answers in a mocking tone, "Though I can't say I'm to practiced with it, might wipe a bit more than intended."
There were a lot of spells she knew, but had never had the chance to try often. If there is one good thing to come out of all of this, is she will be more than likely have the chance to practice and improve upon many of her abilities. She will be tested, of that she is certain. Though not so much here. If there is any challenge to be had on this mission, she would be surprised. She banishes the thought, ignores the sensation of discomfort radiating from them, and heads back for her ship.
She sits in the cockpit. Boredom warring with her annoyance of Delta Squad's doubt emanating from them. They have done split squad stealth simulations with her active before, this shouldn't be an issue. Is it just first time jitters? Do they dare doubt her ability? She taps her fingers in annoyance before plugging in the datastick into a datapad, thumbing down to look at locations they need to hit. She frowns, some are more than half way across the planet from one another. Distance should not matter for the Force, but...
She gets up and walks to the cargo hold, eying Delta thoughtfully as they check their weapons and gear. "Fixer, you got anything on you not very important that you are not likely to lose but also not likely to care if it doesn't do what its supposed to?"
The clone pauses, closing up a medkit he was poking through. "Hrm. I can think of a few minor things, why?"
"I can feel your doubt," she says flatly, part of her enjoying the way Boss tenses, ready to speak up in his squad's defense, "I normally would not care, but I have reviewed our targets. There is considerable distance between them, and while that should not necessarily matter in regards to my ability I assume you would all prefer some kind of back up plan or assurance."
"Its not a bad thing to have either," is Boss's diplomatic answer.
"I can place upon a piece of your gear an echo within the Force, to echo my sorcery, a way to assist honing in with my powers," she answers, "However, the sorcery is likely to cause issues with function if it has any."
"Could you just do a random piece of our armor?" asks Scorch.
Siri gives a tight smile. "You do not want to be directly touching unspecifically controlled Sith Sorcery for an extended period of time. Not without risking... side effects."
"And your cloaking...," drawled Sev.
"I said unspecifically controlled," she snapped, "Most of my abilities are tightly controlled."
"Right."
She rolls her shoulders briefly. "Whatever you choose also needs to be disposable, because this? This will pretty much be a beacon for any other darksider to sense. So we don't use them on missions that risk encountering Confederate Dark Jedi."
"Good to know," murmurs Boss before tilting his head, "Does the object have to have any kind of significance? Could we just pick up a rock, you do your ability, and pocket it?"
She does not let herself blush for not having immediately thought of that. "Something with living essence," to corrupt with the sorcery," or having been around something with such, would work better. But, as its a quick one day mission, that works."
"Quick pit stop for some junk then," says Scorch.
Boss nods then turns to Siri. "Can you forward us the targets? We can divvy them up while we wait..."
When they eventually arrive at Myomar, Boss ends up coming with her, while Sev, Scorch, and Fixer make up the second team. She figures its intentional that he keeps his men away from her, but doesn't comment on it. He obeys orders to work with her, but wisely does not trust her. It doesn't matter, so long as he doesn't stab her in the back (which she would sense beforehand) and makes himself somewhat useable, its fine.
They make their way to their first target at dawn, slipping in cloaked behind a worker badging in. Siri twiddles her fingers, making sensors by the door flicker and fluctuate with brief use of the Force to mask themselves. While the employee gets a once over by security trying to figure out what that was, they slip further in. Its honestly disgustingly easy. They find a high ranking employee in a fancier office, do a bit of Force meddling in his head to make him believe he needs to hit the bathroom until they leave, then hijack the terminal he is working at when he goes. She slices in right through the log-in and password like its not even there.
Honestly, they don't even use simple access cards outside of front door. Sloppy policy. Boss keeps an eye at the door while Siri starts a datadump. They are back out the door ten minutes later no-one the wiser. If the company notices a large datadump even through her brief efforts to hide themselves, well... sucks to be that employee then.
They're not all office buildings, they scout out a few warehouses and manufacturing plants, slicing for pickups, purchases, deliveries, and the like. Corporate espionage at its finest, and she cares for almost none of the information she steals. Hells, she really doesn't even care if they are selling shields to the Confederacy, playing both sides for profit and influence is smart unless they get caught doing it. Then they're kriffing stupid for not covering themselves better and being discovered. They slip out of a back alleyway after their latest infiltration, just another hooded person and a shore-leave clone in a crowd. Albeit Boss draws more looks than the average clone would. They hit a public hovertrain on their way to the next target.
She idly looks through some of the data as they wait between locations. Most of it useless or senseless to her, and yet... she frowns thoughtfully, looking at a delivery file for an on-planet location, and then opens the hit-list Kenobi gave her. How curious. There is a mention of a delivery of resources for construction at a primary manufacturing plant that's location is not on the list. She feels a nip at her heel that has her glance down at the Dark Hound crawling its way out of the floor into existence. It bares delighted teeth at her. No words, just a thrill, and anticipation of bloodshed and violence.
Well now... she wasn't honestly expecting anything from this mission. Color her surprised. When next they go invisible, Siri puts a hand on Boss's shoulder to stop him.
"Get in contact with the others, might have something interesting for the entire squad after the next place," she says softly.
"Interesting how?" is his quiet answer.
"There is an unlisted factory that gets an awful lot of activity from what I've browsed so far," she answers, "I get a sense of mild anticipation."
"Mild?"
"Something unexpected, unimportant in the grand scheme of things, but relevant to our mission," she answers, leaving out the likelihood of combat.
She should, technically, not want to risk combat. Yet... the Dark is hungry for it. She is hungry for it.
They head back to the hanger she parked the Scimitar in after their next target. The others arriving a bit later.
"Better dump and send what we have first before anything else," advises Fixer.
She hands off her thieved files without comment.
"We're only a little over half way done overall, we sure we want to stop and go for whatever this is?" asks Fixer as he taps at the datapad.
"Yes."
"Right, well, uploading this to Cody's boys, he has more manpower to look through this shit," mutters Fixer.
She considers asking who Cody is, but doesn't really care. "You do that."
She makes a show of flying off into space on the offchance someone was watching before engaging the Schimitar's cloaking and heading back down towards the coordinates. They land a ways away , touching down in a clearing in a forest area a ways from the plant. She leaves the Scimitar cloaked, cloaks them with her sorcery, and they head off. Less than half an hour later, they arrive, and all they can do is stare incredulously out of the forest onto a large production facility with an airstrip outside of it. An airstrip full of Confederate transports. Battle droids patrolling the perimeter. Scores of compacted destroy droids are being loaded into transports.
"They can't be this stupid," said Siri flatly, "They are not just selling parts, but building actual destroyer droids, for the Confederacy, inside Republic Space."
"We need to contact the 212th immediately," states Boss, "We need reinforcements to shut this place down before anything more can be sent out."
Siri frowns briefly before mocking, "Oh? Afraid of taking this place ourselves?"
She can feels his incredulousness. "Ma'am, Geonosis was one thing, this is another. We have no high grade explosives for one, for two, even we would have trouble taking on that many droids if discovered, especially that many destroyers. If we initiate combat, it could spook them into shipping out what they have. Even what we see now is enough to kill a lot of brothers. There is likely far more inside the facility itself."
The Dark howls in offense in the back of her mind. It craves a fight, this fight. To destroy. To dominate. If her allies could not keep up then what worth were they? If one or two of the squad perished then who would care about their worthless lives...?
Siri blinked and yanked back the Dark Side. She is really, really, going to have to learn how to better control herself and her impulses in a Dark Side swelling galaxy. She should recall her desire to not be caught in open warfare. Infiltration, subterfuge, abduction, sabotage, espionage, precision destruction, more controlled smaller encounters. Those and the like were what she wanted, not massive battlefields of death and destruction. No matter what the Dark Side in her craved.
Yet... it takes her a good minute of just struggling with the impulse before she answer.
"Very well," she said flatly, "I'll nudge Kenobi."
She closed her eyes, reaches down the bond, and gives a sharp jab at his shields. She catches forced impassiveness, a sensation of -use your comlink- from him. Yeah no, this shit could not be risked over a com, what if the transmission was intercepted? She jabs him again, pushing a sense of urgency and secrecy at him. Same response.
Kriffing really?
They have a means of communication that cannot be intercepted by anything short of extreme means by Sidious himself and Kenobi refuses to use it?
She forms an image of destroyer droids being loaded into ships and proceeds to not-so-gently smash it face first into his shields without a shred of remorse like a battering ram. He flinches, actual outrage and a burst of anger rippling from him before he controls it, releases it into the Force, glares at her down the bond, then actually catches a glance at what she sent.
She shoves an image of the facility, all the droids, their coordinates, and a single order.
Bring your troops.
There is nothing quite like air-to-surface missile barrage blowing away transport ships and huge clusters of droids in large explosions. The abrupt danger and destruction rippling through the Force brings a cold little smile to her face. Even if it took hours for Kenobi to actually kriffing get here.
"What took you so long?" she snaps when he steps off a transport, his pet commander and tooka with him.
Kenobi gives her a placid look. "One does not simple launch an invasion force on a planet unwarranted."
"We had reason."
"We did not have authorization until a little close to an hour ago," he countered, "Intel had no hints whatsoever that there was an actual droid production facility here. The Chancellor himself seemed rather caught offguard when I reported your findings in. He is not happy about this, neither is the Council. We are all worried about how far the Confederacy's influence and reach is. He mentioned he would be passing on orders for all generals to be wary and watchful of any Republic planet that they pass through with even a hint of connection or leaning towards the Confederacy."
Kenobi frowns, pulling at his beard. "We're going to have to occupy the planet while we assess and determine if the government is in on this or not. We don't want to be backstabbed while on campaign. This is going to slow the counteroffensive throughout the galaxy if this is anything close to the norm."
"Well, better hope your shadows learned something from me in our playtime," she mocks, smirking at his unimpressed look.
"If you would Agent Tachi, have your squad see if there is a foreman here, or at least a command droid of some sort, and capture them," Obi-Wan orders, "Republic Intelligence has questions they want answered."
"I imagine," she said dryly, watching transports fly overhead and set down, unloading Clone troops that advance on guarded entrances in a barrage of gunfire."
"Well, lets find or blow a backdoor then," says Scorch.
Siri thumbs her lightsaber. "Or cut one open."
"Where's the fun in that ma'am?"
She huffs and heads out, her sorcery emanating from her, her squad melting out of view, swallowed by the Dark Side. "Lets go Delta."
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