Switch

by 19BBY

Summary:

Long ago, the Sith Order disguised themselves as Jedi, serving the Republic after killing all the Jedi. Soon, they would rule again.

Sheev Palpatine, the last surviving Jedi, has worked his way into power over the years in a desperate attempt to destroy the Sith. He plays the hand he’s been dealt, turning Sith to the light when he can, and is getting closer to his goal. The Sith have no suspicions. Soon, it will be time to make his move.

Or: the Clone Wars where the Jedi are all Sith and the Sith are all Jedi.

Notes:

I normally hate Palpatine with everything that I am. I still hate Palpatine with everything that I am.

But this idea fascinates me.

So we don't hate him in this one.

Chapter 1

Notes:

I was writing this chapter and just realized how so many of the nonhumans in the prequels, at least in the movies, are the bad guys. Like, take away the Gunguns and the nonhuman Jedi and who do you have left? I don't know, just a thought.

Hego Damask dies during the Naboo crisis. They say it an unfortunate case of his age catching up to him- and it was true; if Damask were a normal being, he would have been rather old and prone to just dying one day. But Damask was not a normal being.

No, Sheev Palpatine knew that his mentor, his former Master, most likely died because the so-called Jedi Order found out how much he knew and decided to eliminate him. Sheev could only trust that his former Master had left no clues behind, had not had any information torn from him to divulge their secret, not when they were so close.

Sheev, like his former Master, was a true Jedi, not like the Sith pretenders who went around calling themselves Jedi and living up in some palace they called a Temple.

And he was too close to fulfilling thousands of years of work and planning done by the secret survivors of his Order that came before him to be caught by the Sith now. Not when, in a few days, he could find himself in a position of power that would get him closer to the Sith, even an official superior to them, and then the endgame could begin. The plan that could reveal the Sith to the galaxy and maybe even destroy them once and for all.

But it would all fall apart if the Sith discovered him, so Sheev would have to be careful.

Alone in his apartment, Sheev grabbed his secret comm. "Maul," he said. "There's been a development. Master Damask is dead."

"I'm sorry," Maul said softly, sorrow in his voice for the loss of his grandmaster. "He is one with the Force now, and we will finish what he had continued."

"I guess I just never thought he could die," Sheev admitted. He shouldn't be talking to his Padawan about this, he was the master, it was his duty to be the strong one. But he still said it.

"He was a gifted healer," Maul agreed. "But that does not change the fact that he could die. It is the way of things, and the Sith are strong. But so was master Damask. Who knows?" Maul bared his teeth a little. "Maybe he managed to take one or two down with him."

Sheev gave a hoarse chuckle but waved a disapproving finger at his Padawan just the same. "Now, now, Padawan. We do not wish death on anyone, not even the Sith."

"I'm aware, Master," Maul said, and said no more.

Shaking himself from the grief, Sheev continued, "Be careful. I'm sending you to Naboo. Figure out what the Trade Federation is up to and maybe pretend you're there to aid them. For money, or something, I don't know. Maybe even revenge, but that might draw too much attention. Offer to help them with the..." and here, Sheev smirked a little, citing a private joke between him and Maul whenever discussing things from the view of the galaxy- "'Jedi'." At Maul's chuckle, Sheev continued. "And do just that, but try to find out who they're working for. And bring your lightsaber. Put the Sith on edge. Get them thinking, looking out for us. A splinter faction of their own, that's what we want them to think." Sheev grinned. "So do your best Sith impression."

"Not hard," Maul told him.

"Well, try," Sheev told him.

"What about you?" Maul asked.

"Simple," Sheev told him. "Politics."

Maul laughed in his face. Or would have, if he hadn't been on a comm communication. Instead he just laughed.

"I need to be here. This is my planet in crisis, and my opportunity. I don't know who sent the Trade Federation to my planet, but it's given me the opportunity I need. The Queen is coming." Maul leaned forward, interested. The Queen of Naboo was a trusted, if not fully in on their secret, ally, and involving her meant their plans were moving forward. Sheev pressed his lips together, before continuing. "I'm going to tell her to call for a Vote of No Confidence in Valorum."

Maul raised an eyebrow. "You'll have to go into more detail than that, and explain the details to the laypeople."

Sheev sighed. If there was one thing Maul was not interested in, it was politics. "The vote, should it succeed, and it will, would remove Valorum from office and open up the position of Chancellor. While my planet is in crisis."

Maul still didn't get it. Sheev sighed. "I would get sympathy votes, Padawan, and combined with my supporters, I would win."

"Ah," Maul said, and grinned. "So you would be Chancellor of the Republic."

"Indeed." Sheev chuckled. "Go now. Hurry. You should be to Naboo before I meet the Queen tomorrow."

---

"Your Highness," Sheev greeted warmly. "I'm so glad to see you unharmed."

"I'm afraid I cannot say the same of so many of our people," Padmé Amidala said sadly. "They are suffering greatly while I was delayed for a ship breakdown."

"It couldn't be helped, my dear," Sheev assured her. "At least you are alive, and here, to plead our case."

"Tell me honestly, Senator, what are the chances of them listening to us?" The girl was too wise for her age, and too young to bear this responsibility. But she was strong, that Sheev could see.

He sighed. "I must admit, it is highly unlikely the Senate will do anything unless we do something... drastic."

"The Jedi gave me much better estimate of our chances," she said sadly, and then glanced up slyly. "Drastic, you say?"

"The Jedi cannot always be trusted," Sheev couldn't help but warn her, before adding. "Well, it would at least get their attention if you were to, say, call for a Vote of No Confidence in the Chancellor."

She shot him a look. "Ambitious, are we Senator?"

"I never said I would run for the office."

"And I never said you would, either, so it must be on your mind, at least. But I must confess, I don't see what getting rid of the only politician besides yourself who has tried to help us would do, even if you were to enter that position."

"He sent two Jedi to you, and then did nothing after the actual invasion started. Not even sending two more! Valorum's power has been expended already. I don't wish to seem like I'm taking advantage of our people's situation, but..."

"I think you are absolutely taking advantage of their situation," she told him. "But I will allow it, because it will help us in the long run. But if that is all I can do here, then I will be returning home. If these people won't help us, then ours will have to do it themselves."

Sheev sighed. "Do try not to die, Your Highness. I would be most grieved."

A slight chuckle. "Thank you, Senator. I shall try my best."

---

The following days pass in a blur and it barely registers that he does it, that after all this time, he's been elected Chancellor. Not with the battle on his homeworld and Maul in the middle of it all.

The victory of the Naboo came at a great cost no matter who you were.

The Naboo and the Gunguns suffered at the hands of the Trade Federation, and lost many in the battle or before.

The Trade Federation was charged with many crimes.

The Sith lost a powerful member, with Qui-Gon Jinn's death. 

And Maul was missing.

Sheev finally tore himself away from his new duties that continued even as he visited his homeworld to enter the power control center. Maul was not dead, Sheev could sense that, but he was barely alive. Sheev couldn't help sending thanks to his late master in the Force for teaching them all a bit of healing.

He did find Maul, sliced in half, and he had to take a few moments to release his anger into the Force. Then he got a trusted assistant to get Maul off-planet and to the nearest medical center, just in case Kenobi got it in his head to come back to finish the job, or Maul's wounds finally killed him.

But for Sheev, it was back to work. He could only trust in the Force and hope Maul would survive.

He would be Knighted after this, Sheev would see to that. The Knighting had become less important after Master Bane had declared the Rule of Two so many years ago to keep them hidden, but so close to their goal, it was time to start rebuilding the Order and restoring their traditions. Already, Sheev was looking into Sith like Lord Tyranus that were hovering on the edge of the Light, ready to be the helping hand they needed.

Later, though. All for later.

---

At some point on their journey, the Sith had acquired an extremely Force-sensitive child. Sheev discovered this when he was introduced to said Force-sensitive child, as the 'Jedi' were showing off their new member who had apparently destroyed the droid control ship.

And they were giving him to Kenobi of all people.

He was such a bright boy, and something in Sheev tensed protectively. The Sith would take that bright boy and turn him into a monster.

Sheev wouldn’t let them.

Chapter 2

Notes:

I meant to get this out a lot earlier, sorry. The chapter's a little shorter than I wanted, too, but I just want to get it going.

"Chancellor!" an excited voice greeted, and Sheev looked up with a smile. He was always excited to hear that voice.

"Anakin!" he greeted warmly. He turned to his guards. He hoped he could trust him, but all the same... "Leave us."

Once they were alone, Sheev dropped the Chancellor act and fell into the role of Anakin's actual Jedi Master. Not Kenobi, who presented himself as it to the public and then taught him darkness when their backs were turned. It had actually been surprisingly easy to reach Anakin- most would be suspicious of an old man asking to meet alone with a child, but the Sith were either too twisted to see what was wrong with that or just didn't care.

"How are you?" Sheev asked with concern. He hated leaving Anakin with the Sith, hated it, but he knew it would probably only make things worse for the boy to take him away from that. Not to mention it would put them all at risk. So he had to deal with it for now.

"Fine," Anakin assured him. "Obi-Wan's, well... Obi-Wan, but at least the Council seems to be distracted from me, for once. Too focused on whatever Dooku's stirring up." Anakin flashed a grin. "Make sure to tell him he's got the Council super pissed. He'll love that."

Dooku would definitely love that. Sheev wasn't sure if he agreed with Dooku's reasoning that there should be multiple galactic governments for stability reasons- especially since he thought that it probably also had something to do with the fact that Dooku disagreed with him on the redeemability of the Republic- but he couldn't argue with the existence of the Confederacy as a temporary entity to incite change in the Republic. Although he could certainly argue its statis in their plans as a long-term or permanent entity all he liked.

He suspected Anakin and Maul, who were less into the politics of things, kept popcorn around just so they could have some when he and Dooku started debating the topic. However, given that Sheev had no proof of this, he wasn't going to call out how the snack was always conveniently on hand when the two wanted it.

"Dooku found a half-trained, abandoned Sith Apprentice on some world in the Outer Rim," Sheev said, smiling in amusement. "He didn't share any details, but apparently a rouge or abandoned Sith found and taught her, and promptly died, or something of the sort. He's going to bring her to Coruscant as soon as she's agreed to be adopted and trained by him. Not that you heard the first part from me. It's Dooku, after all, he would rather die than admit to caring for the girl. But maybe I'll send you out to talk to her, when I can get you on one of my 'personal missions'. I know you're worried about your mother."

Anakin's 'personal missions' for him were another thing Sheev would endlessly be shocked that the Sith weren't suspicious of. But then, they probably saw him as a power-hungry politician to be appeased until he could be assassinated, and were willing to sacrifice one of their Apprentices to fulfil that role.

Anakin sighed. "I always am. I mean, when you freed her, I knew she wouldn't leave others to our fate, but the fact that she's leading a slave revolution... something could happen so easily..."

"I understand," Sheev agreed. Master Damask had been like a father to him, and while he'd had to push aside his grief in the immediate aftermath of the man's death and focus on securing his new position, the loss had been hard. And he'd spent years preparing to have either of them be discovered at any moment. He did understand Anakin's worry.

"How soon do you think you'll be able to get me away?" Anakin asked.

Sheev shook his head. "I'm not sure. They're very worried about the Confederacy and the apparent threat that it definitely poses to the Republic. They're being oh-so-reluctant to talk about war, though, because of course the Jedi Order would have to be reluctantly dragged into the war.

Anakin chuckled. "I get through talking to the Council by thinking about how much it must grate on them to have to go around pretending to be peace-loving Jedi Masters who would never resort to violence unless absolutely necessary all the time. I mean, sometimes I think they don't get their Council seats because they're the most powerful Sith in the Order, they become the most powerful Sith in the Order because they're so angry all the time because they have to pretend to be serene and Jedi-like."

Sheev chuckled. "Whatever helps you, my boy. Personally, I let Maul in my head and have him insult them for me."

Anakin winked. "Much more dignified. You're as bad as Dooku."

"Perhaps you are just the uncivilized one, Padawan. You and Maul."

"I think you are confusing 'uncivilized' with 'to-the-point', Master."

"Whatever you say."

Anakin got serious then. "How is the plan progressing?"

"We're getting close to..." Sheev sighed. "War. I don't want to, but there's only so far we can push without doing something drastic, and it's the only way to expose the Sith as what they truly are. The Senate needs a push, too. We've collected enough willing droids that we could safely go to war against... however the Sith would plan to combat us, I guess."

Anakin grinned at that. He loved the murderous droids that tended to make up the Confederate armies. Sheev wouldn't pretend to understand that, but then, it was impossible to understand Anakin Skywalker in his entirety. The boy's mother had told him that, once, laughing to herself. Or possibly at Sheev. Sheev would never be sure about that, because Shmi Skywalker was an... interesting woman, and either was entirely possible.

"You think the Sith have a plan to acquire an army?" Anakin asked.

"My boy, I am almost entirely certain that they already have one. There's no way the Sith have gone as long as they have without a plan to take over the Republic, and to do that, they need an army. Now, we just have to force them to reveal that army early. It's a risk, but it's no less risky than letting them have an army in the shadows."

"Well then-" But Anakin didn't get to finish. An aide rushed into the room the moment Sheev let them in, breathing heavily and clearly panicked.

"What is it?" Sheev asked, concerned.

"Your Excellency, Senator Amidala has arrived," they informed him.

That explained barely anything. "Has something happened?"

"There's been an attempt on her life, Chancellor."

Chapter 3

Notes:

Sorry about the wait. I was having a little trouble getting this going.

"I don't like this," Padmé said, looking like she'd like to be pacing Sheev's office if she hadn't been trained out of that during her years as a Senator.

"I understand, my dear," Sheev told her, "but I don't see any other option."

"If we know the Jedi are corrupt, why are we sending them right to me?" Padmé protested.

"Because somebody is trying to kill you, Senator," Sheev insisted. "And the only person I can send to protect you without suspicion is Anakin. Which means Master Kenobi comes as part of the deal. I understand your hesitation, but this is the only way!"

Padmé sighed. "You'll have someone trying to figure out who's trying to kill me?"

"Of course," Sheev assured, though he already had his suspicions.

"Fine. But I still don't like it."

"I don't like any of this," Anakin commented, from where he had been pacing the room.

"And that is why you will be protecting the Senator," Sheev told him. "It will put all our minds at ease to have someone looking out for her."

Padmé nodded. "I'll see you soon, Ani."

Anakin chuckled. "Indeed. And think of it this way, Padmé. I can demonstrate my wonderful flirting skills to Obi-Wan while we're there."

Padmé laughed. "Oh, Ani, you do give him quite a bit of trouble."

"It's what I do best," Anakin joked, before Padmé left.

Sheev raised an eyebrow. "What was that about?"

Anakin shrugged. "Obi-Wan has been... encouraging an obsession of Padmé since I was a young boy with a crush on her. It's part of the reason my feelings for her didn't last, honestly. It felt too... weird, too messed up, after all he'd been doing over the years. Plus, she's like my sister, now. But anyway, I will find it funny demonstrating my 'obsession' to him through terrible flirting. Honestly, I'm well aware I don't know how to flirt with someone who doesn't like dead slavers."

Sheev sighed. He'd gotten used to his Padawan's slightly murderous tendencies when it came to slavers over the years, given that it didn't seem to be fading anytime soon. Still, it didn't seem to be drawing him into Darkness, at least, so he let it be.

"So, who do you think is behind this?" Anakin asked. "We know it's not the Separatists, since we know Dooku's on our side, but that only leaves, well... a good portion of the Senate and the entire Sith Order."

"If I thought the Sith were outright trying to kill her," Sheev said, "I wouldn't have sent you and Kenobi to guard her."

Anakin frowned. "So you don't think it's the Sith?"

"I think the Sith are behind this," Sheev said, "But I also think that the Sith would know better than to target the main ship. If anything, they'd destroy the entire landing pad. They wouldn't want to leave things up to chance."

Anakin caught on. "You don't think they're trying to kill her at all."

"No. I think there's two possibilities, depending on what the Sith are planning. I think they are possibly trying to scare her, to make her change her views, because... well. I don't expect you're interested, but if Padmé did die, from a purely political outlook, all it would do would remove a Senator- admittedly a powerful voice- from the opposition to the bill. But if she were to change sides, to suddenly speak in favor of an army, well... that would shift the vote toward the proponents of the bill, as other Senators would follow her. But there is another possibility, and it is that the Sith are trying to make her look more sympathetic." At Anakin's confused look, Sheev continued. "It's possible that, though the Sith are by nature violent and war-hungry, they are not yet ready to reveal their hand, and we are forcing them to do so. If they were to suddenly show up with an army, they would be heroes, yes, but they would also have no more secret army. Everyone would know about it. And it is possible that their plans do not work if their army is revealed early."

"Or," Anakin said, "They're worried that the Republic would create its own army before they could reveal that they already have one. First of all, that would mean they were no longer the heroes of the story- and might not even have power in the army- and second, the Republic would then have an army, which would make it harder for them to take over than an undefended Republic."

That was something that Sheev hadn't considered. That perhaps the Sith would not be forced into showing their hand if some initiative-taking Senator pulled out a plan to get the Republic an army before the Sith had their chance. He wasn't sure if that would be a good or bad thing- on one hand, the Republic would be able to fight back against the Sith, and he could still pull the Sith into the army and perhaps with less power, even, than they would have had with their own. But on the other, the Sith would still have a secret army somewhere and the true Jedi would still not know what to expect from them.

Sheev would have to consider his options carefully, and proceed with even more caution than before.

"An excellent point, Padawan," he said. "I hadn't even considered that. It certainly gives me much to think on."

Anakin beamed at the praise. Sheev hated that the boy was probably never made to feel wanted by the Sith. Sure, he had his Jedi family, but he couldn't see them as often as any of them would have liked, without drawing suspicion.

And on that note- "You should head back to the Temple, my boy. You don't want them to notice you missing, and Kenobi is sure to come to tell you about the mission soon."

Anakin nodded. "Agreed, Master." He sighed. "Good luck. May the Force be with you."

"And with you, Anakin," Sheev echoed, before his Padawan turned and walked out the door. Then he sighed. He had a lot of work to do if this was going to go as planned. And he had to make sure Dooku was ready at any moment. He knew what the Force was telling him, though he wished it weren't so.

Within the next few weeks, the galaxy would be at war.

Chapter 4

"Ani!" Padmé greeted. "My goodness you've grown." Right. Because she wasn't supposed to have seen him since he was nine. And, while he was supposedly creepily stalking her (they were actually just friends, Obi-Wan), this was supposed to be his first time seeing her in person since then.

So, of course, he was going to be his usually idiotic self and try to flirt.

(Sometimes Anakin thought he was driving Obi further into darkness instead of pulling him toward the Light like he'd been trying for years by being more of an idiot than a Sith.)

"So have you," he said. "More beautiful, I mean. For a Senator, I mean."

He could practically hear Obi-Wan's mental facepalm.

Padmé laughed at him, and then they all got settled. They discussed protection for a little before Padmé finally started the major discussion.

"I don't need more guards. I need answers. I need to find out who's trying to kill me."

"Senator, we-"

"We'll find out who's trying to kill you, Padmé!" Anakin declared. Obi-Wan, so far, had told him nothing of the Sith's plans for Padmé, but maybe he could discover something for his real master if he pushed Obi-Wan far enough. It was risky- pushing Obi-Wan always was- but so was proceeding without knowing the Sith's plans.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan snapped, before composing himself, reverting to the composed Master Jedi. "We will not exceed our mandate, young one."

"Perhaps simply through your presence, this mystery will begin to unravel itself," Padmé said. Anakin thought he might detect sarcasm in that reply. Her eyes, however, told a different story. Be careful, Ani, they said. Padmé might not know about the Sith, but she did know the danger of corruption, and that the Jedi were not all they seemed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I will retire." She left.

Remember your place, Apprentice, Obi-Wan warned through the bond.

But it's Padmé! Anakin protested, to keep up appearances. He needed to push further.

The Council gave us our orders for a reason.

Are they trying to kill Padmé? he demanded. It was a risk, but he had to ask. Had to get through to the truth, and remain the unbalanced Sith Apprentice.

Obi-Wan shot him a sharp look. You should trust the Council, Apprentice.

Do you even know? Have they told you what their plans even are?

Yes.

Then answer me, Master. Is the Council trying to kill her?

A spark of lightning flashed at Obi-Wan's fingertips before he composed himself. Anakin bit back a flinch. Sith lightning, a common punishment for Sith Apprentices, was exceedingly painful, and not an experience Anakin particularly wanted to experience ever again, though he knew he would. But Obi-Wan wouldn't use the technique here, when so many eyes were on them. Until they got back to the Temple, Anakin was safe.

Finally, Obi-Wan responded. No. They are not. Does that satisfy you, Apprentice?

The warning tone put Anakin on his guard. He had to be careful, here. Yes. No. He needed more information. He sullenly added, I don’t see how we're supposed to go through with our mission if the Council doesn't even tell us what our mission is.

Obi-Wan smirked. Our mission, my dear Apprentice, is to get a war started with that traitor Dooku and his Separatists through whatever means necessary. Our mission is to bring the fall of the Republic, as it always has been. A distant smile crossed Obi-Wan's face. Our mission, Vader, is the triumph of the Sith.

Anakin held back a flinch at the use of his Sith name. Obi-Wan never called him Vader. He called him Apprentice, and my dear Apprentice, and sometimes boy when he was very angry, but never the name the Sith had given Anakin. And somehow, the breaking of that rule was what truly sent shivers down Anakin's spine.

His Jedi Master might be preparing for the rise of the Jedi, but the Council was almost ready for the rise of the Sith. And the correlation between those things could only spell a disasterous conflict ahead.

Still, the arrogant, cocky Apprentice was back now. Well, Master, that's quite the ambitious goal. Tell me, how did we end up getting assigned to such a grand mission?

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, and Anakin internally relaxed. He was safe, for now. The Chancellor requested us.

Anakin barked a mental laugh. Well that was anticlimactic. We got picked to bring about the rise of the Sith... because another sniveling politician said it should be us? He hated refering to Master Sheev like that, but it was also a bit of a private joke for him now, to refer to all politicians as sniveling.

Obi-Wan sighed. Yes. Now, I'm going to go report on the security to the Council. I trust I can leave you alone here for that amount of time without you causing a scene?

No he didn't. Yes, Master. Anakin could use that time to contact Master Sheev and report on his findings.

Obi-Wan left, and Anakin sighed, standing to pace to the window, and then out onto the balcony. Staring out into Coruscant's traffic, he thought over what he had just learned.

Master Sheev had been right, at least, if Obi-Wan was telling the truth, and Anakin was pretty sure he was. (After ten years, Anakin had gotten very good at knowing when Obi-Wan was lying. The Force told all.) For whatever reason, the Sith did not want Padmé dead, at least for now. The Council was planning the return of the Sith. And Obi-Wan was reporting on the apartment's security. Another assassination attempt? Possibly. It would definitely be in the Sith's style. Would they send on of their own, or hire an assassin from the outside?

It didn't matter. That wasn't Anakin's job. Right now, Anakin's job was to pretend to be a Sith Apprentice, and get as much information as possible.

Still, maybe it was time to call in his Padawan brother.

Chapter 5

A Sith came flying out the window. Maul watched and allowed himself a moment to imagine that the Sith had tripped out the window- or better yet, that Maul's little brother has pushed him- before carefully beginning his pursuit. In the days when the Order had been more than just their lineage, he might have called himself a Shadow, now, he was just a Knight. One of few, at that. However, he was often on undercover missions, especially after the Sith had thought him dead.

Ironic, that the same Sith that had removed his legs and nearly killed him was the one to supposedly train Maul's younger Padawan-brother. And the same one he pursued now. He would have to be especially careful to avoid Kenobi discovering him, and especially his identity. Not only did he doubt the Sith himself would take kindly to Maul's return, but the reveal of Maul's survival could tip off the Sith Order that something larger was at play than a rouge Force-user and an influential Risen former member of their own order. There was nothing to connect Maul and Dooku, especially with the decade between Maul's supposed downfall and Dooku's current actions. But one couldn't be too careful. Especially when they had no trustworthy reports that the Sith had believed Maul was simply a rouge player, not a Lightsider.

And so, before Maul began to close the gap between him and Kenobi, he prepared the Force-illusion that would make his blade appear red. The same trick the Sith used to make their own sabers appear Jedi colors. Anakin's were white, somehow, and Maul decided to leave that at his younger brother being weird about Force stuff. Supposedly he was the child of the Force or something. Maul left that to Master Sheev and Anakin himself, because that was weird and complicated and Maul would take a simple deep-cover infiltration of a notorious crime syndicate any day.

The assassin who had sent the droid that Kenobi was clinging to shot the droid, sending Kenobi plummeting. For a brief moment, Maul had a vague hope that Kenobi would fall to his death- he wasn't supposed to hope things like that, a Jedi shouldn't wish for any sort of death, but Maul and Anakin and even Dooku were all occasionally bad at that. And Maul felt Kenobi deserved to be one of those exceptions in his case. But it was not to be, anyway, because Kenobi landed on a speeder, tossed the occupant out, and began his own pursuit of the assassin. Maul quickly leaped, yanking the screaming and falling driver toward him with the Force as he did. He quickly settled the man on a rooftop, checked to make sure he was okay, and leaped off again. This time, he landed near his speeder bike, quickly powered it up, and slipped into traffic. Kenobi was a reasonable distance ahead of him now, but not far enough to lose him. Neither the assassin, for that matter, who Kenobi was now chasing through the traffic around them. Maul followed, simply another driver intent on getting to his destination as quickly as possible, swerving around larger speeders when necessary.

Then Kenobi crashed his stolen speeder into the assassin's, sending both vehicles crashing to the streets below. Shocked crowds gathered as the assassin, closely followed by Kenobi, leaped out and started running. Maul drove his bike into a nearby alley, set the security systems to maximum just in case, and slipped back out, the gawking crowds easily giving away the direction the pair had run.

Slipping through an alley that would inevitably lead him into their path- unless either decided to attempt a climb- Maul slunk into the shadows to wait. Soon enough, the assassin burst into view, blaster out and ready to fire, glancing over her shoulder nervously.

Her distraction cost her, and Kenobi leaped from the top of the building behind Maul- in the direction the assassin had been going, not the one she was looking- lightsaber blazing as he ran her through with the blade. She gasped for breath, staring at him as he dropped her body to the ground disinterestedly. The attack had been far to quick for Maul to intervene, the situation too risky to reveal himself in.

Maul expected Kenobi to leave, but the Sith simply stood there, waiting. Soon enough, another assassin- Mandalorian, by the armor- landed behind him, weapons out but not in position to fire. Kenobi didn't turn, arrogance radiating from that single gesture. "You did your job well, bounty hunter," he sneered. "How goes our other... project?"

The bounty hunter didn't hesitate, didn't seem afraid of the Sith at all, despite the Jedi mask falling away. Not even surprised. Interesting. "Kamino is ready for whenever you need your army."

"Good." Maul couldn't see Kenobi's smile through the dark, but he knew it was there. Finally, Kenobi turned to the bounty hunter. "I suspect the Council will send someone to inspect the cloning facilities personally. Return to Kamino and wait for them."

Maul expected the bounty hunter to bristle at the order, but they simply said, "Understood," and took off into the air.

Kenobi surveyed his surroundings, and Maul didn't dare move, didn't dare to even slink back farther into the shadows, instead willing the Force to keep his signature hidden, make it seem as though nothing but air filled the space he did. Finally, the Sith turned and strode away, leaving the assassin's body on the ground in the alley.

When the Sith was far enough away, Maul emerged from his hiding spot, striding quickly to the assassin's body. A Clawdite, and very, very dead. Maul scanned her body, not even daring to touch it. Nothing that seemed like it could give away anything about her- even her comm was shattered, probably by the crash. Her speeder would undoubtedly be likewise, and was too out in the open for Maul to risk checking it. No, he would learn nothing from the assassin. Likely all he would have to go off of was the conversation he'd overheard.

A Mandalorian bounty hunter. Cloning facilities. An army. Kamino. All clues that Maul could piece together to paint a picture that he didn't much like. A clone army, one the Sith had likely had for generations, on a planet he didn't recognize. One likely guarded by bounty hunters and assassins hired by the Sith, maybe even used to train them. With one last glance around him to make sure he had left no trace, Maul leaped, making his way along the rooftops until he dropped into the alley with his speeder- it seemed that no one had tried to steal it in the short time he was away, which was always a possibility in the Lower Levels- and drove off, leaving all signs of the assassin and Kenobi behind.

After returning to the small apartment he used when on Coruscant- separate from the hideouts Master Sheev kept for their lineage- he called his former master.

"Did your surveillance turn up any new information?" Sheev asked. Maul knew his former master had been hesitant about sending Maul after Kenobi, but had known they needed any information they could get.

"The Sith have some sort of army prepared," Maul said. "Kenobi mentioned cloning facilities in a conversation with a bounty hunter- a different one than the assassin sent to kill the Senator- as well as the location Kamino, presumably a planet."

"I don't recognize the name," Sheev mused.

"I don't either. But if the Sith want to keep it a secret, it's entirely possible that we wouldn't. They've likely had centuries to erase the place from the galaxy, if they wished. We'll likely only find it if we get the location from the Sith." Maul frowned. "Kenobi mentioned the Council would likely send someone to inspect the facilities. If I knew who and when, I could follow them. If it's Kenobi and Anakin, it will be easy. If not, if Anakin could find out who their sending..."

"I'll talk to him," Sheev promised. "Be careful. All of you need to be careful."

"Always, Master," Maul answered with a grin.

Chapter 6

Notes:

Does the infodump at the beginning of the chapter drag too much? Looking for feedback.

Also, Sith names are HARD.

Anakin hated meeting with the Council. Between the Council Chamber itself- so full of oppressing Darkness that Anakin refused to hate because that felt like giving in- and the ever-present fear that one of those powerful Sith would see through him and discover that he still clung to the Light, the meetings were torturous, and Anakin always felt relieved when they were over. Standing behind Obi-Wan as was customary for a Sith Apprentice, he could keep his eyes on the ground and not look Darth Greatus or Darth Ragein or any of the other Sith Masters in the eyes, but he could still feel their eyes on him and Obi-Wan, judging them. As if they knew everything, from how Anakin had tripped up badly in training earlier in the week to the fact that he still refused to call his supposed Master by his Sith title, as was customary. The etiquette for the use of a Sith title or a Sith's old name was shaky- the only Sith who were only known by their Sith titles and only used other Sith titles were the Council. Otherwise, you were supposed to call any member of the Sith Order that outranked you by their Sith title... and then the regulations fell apart. Some Masters never called their Apprentice any name at all, while others used the title, while others said that had to be earned. Strangers that were ranked lower than you but had to be addressed... there was almost no consistency there. Among peers, it depended on the person and how close you were. And the youngest, those not yet taken from group training by Masters, had yet to be given titles at all. To be given a Sith title was supposed to be the greatest honor of your life by the time of your Apprenticeship, and yet for Anakin, he had just felt... numb. Confused. The same kind of numbness that he sometimes felt here, in the Council Chamber, before the most powerful Sith in the galaxy.

"Lord Trayal," Darth Ragein said, from his throne. The tall man was often the spokesperson for the Council, despite everyone knowing it was actually the ancient Darth Greatus that led the Council, by far the most powerful Sith in the Order, if only because he killed any challengers to the title before they could rise. (Anakin often wondered if the Sith had his eyes on him, if he was considered a potential threat to the Sith Master in the future.) "Your report on how your mission proceeds."

Obi-Wan made to answer, then paused. "Apologies, Masters, but should my Apprentice truly be here for this? The information I have to relay is... sensitive."

Anakin froze. No, they couldn't send him out, he had to give Maul the information he needed-

Greatus let out a grunt. "Young Vader, leave this room, this information does not. If discover, we do, that tell others before it is time, you have, unfortunate for you, it will be. Understand, do you?"

"Yes, Master," Anakin breathed, not daring to look up.

"Good," the ancient Sith said. "Continue, Lord Trayal."

Obi-Wan didn't look happy, but complied. After all, you didn't question the Council. Whatever orders they gave you, you complied, or risk their combined wrath. Anakin had never seen that unleashed- few were foolish enough to risk it- but he could imagine how terrifying it would be.

"I made contact with the current template, Jango Fett," Obi-Wan informed the Council. "He reports that the clone army is ready for deployment and has been ordered to return to Kamino to await further instruction, or the arrival of one of ours. As for the false attempts on Senator Amidala's life, after the supposedly close call last night, we should have enough support to convince the Chancellor to warn her away for the time being. I believe our objective still stands- the Senator will hold firm, and her faction will be useful in keeping the Senate useless until we can move against it, so the best option is still to drive her away before the vote occurs, and keep her around to be useful later."

"Agreed," Ragein said, as Anakin tried to process that. No wonder Obi-Wan hadn't wanted him in here. That information was dangerous, and if the Council discovered he'd shared any of it, his death would be neither quick nor painless. Fortunately, Anakin had plenty of practice with keeping things from the Council.

"Go to Kamino, you will, Lord Trayal," Greatus continued. "And escort Senator Amidala to Naboo, young Vader will." The ancient Sith closed his eyes. "The war, almost here, it finally is. Soon, rise, we will."

A shiver went down Anakin's spine.

---

"You will escort the Senator to Naboo," Obi-Wan said as they made their way to the hangar. "You will make sure she remains there, no matter what. She cannot be allowed to return to the Senate. You will not get distracted, or reveal anything you shouldn't." That one was accompanied by a pointed glance in his direction, probably thinking of Anakin's performance at Padmé's apartment.

"Yes, Master," Anakin said obediently. He very pointedly did not reach out with the Force to see if Maul was nearby. He trusted his Padawan brother to do his job well, and find out what, exactly, the Sith were building on Kamino. He wouldn't be surprised if Maul had eyes on them right now.

"You will not go galivanting around the galaxy with the Senator like a fool," Obi-Wan continued. Anakin had to bite down to prevent a laugh at that. "And, Apprentice?"

"Yes, Master?" Anakin asked.

"You will not make a fool of yourself and the Sith," Obi-Wan said, with almost a glimmer of a smile in his eyes. And then he turned and swept away like a dramatic ass.

Anakin almost did start laughing that time, as he watched his Sith Master disappear between the ships in the hangar. He was so... Obi-Wan, sometimes, and it was almost confusing, how sometimes he was cruel and every inch a Sith and sometimes he would half-joke with Anakin, and do all the things that made Anakin want to be closer, even if Obi-Wan was a Sith, even if Obi-Wan would never see him as anything but his foolhardy Apprentice. Maybe that was what made Anakin wonder sometimes about- well, never mind.

Pushing all thoughts of Obi-Wan aside, Anakin headed for his own ride. He would pick up Padmé, and they would make their way to Naboo. Master Sheev had thought it best to go along with the Sith for now, even if it felt like playing into their hands.

Anakin sighed. A nice, easy mission of basically taking a vacation with Padmé. Why did it feel like it would be the last easy mission he'd have for some time?

Chapter 7

Kamino, Maul decided, was a horrible planet. Even ignoring that the weather left much to he desired, the city he approached felt... strange. Wrong. Muted, almost, as if the sentients inhabiting the city he slipped through failed to leave a strong imprint in the Force. Overall, Maul didn't like it.

Didn't like how Kenobi strolled through the city like he owned the place. Didn't like how the man had introduced himself as Lord Trayal, or how the Kaminoans had accepted it without question. How they'd referred to him as 'my Lord' as often as with his Sith name, and never without the Lord part of it.

He didn't like, Maul supposed, how Kenobi was not hesitating to act like the Sith he was, and no one was questioning it.

Slipping through the hallways after Kenobi and his Kaminoan guides, Maul kept his illusions and the constant suggestion of look away nothing here you don't see me as strong as he could manage without them being detectable to Kenobi. The bright corridors were useless for stealth, but luckily, all the Kaminoans seemed focused on their work, and the clones, the army...

Something was wrong with the clones, especially. They barely seemed to notice anything as they marched through the halls, eerily uniform, so weirdly blank in the Force. Entirely focused on what they were doing, with no sense that they even registered those around them except as obstacles to not run into.

Something was very, very wrong here.

Finally, after being led on a tour through the facility- which was helpful for Maul, at least, to not have to find his own way through investigating- Kenobi said, "Excellent. Your progress is satisfactory. Begin preparations to ship out at once, and wait for further orders from the Council. They shall contact you shortly. Now, show me to Fett's quarters." With that, Kenobi spun on his heel, allowing one Kaminoan to lead him away as the other bowed to his retreating form.

---

Maul couldn't get into Fett's quarters while Kenobi talked to him, but when the two left, Maul followed Kenobi. Fett was going somewhere completely different, and while Maul might be able to get him to slip up and reveal something if he encountered him in cantina, he had no idea of where Fett was going. He had a better shot of following Kenobi and hoping he was going somewhere interesting, or to meet with the Council. If nothing else, maybe Kenobi would speak with a Kaminoan along the way, and Maul could learn something.

Except, when Kenobi stepped out into the rain, he paused, right as Maul slipped through the door behind him. Maul hesitated, not daring to get to close.

And then Kenobi whirled and lightning sprang from his fingers, through the rain, right at Maul. Instinctively, Maul activated his lightsaber, the blade appearing red as it blocked the lightning, even more deadly in the rain. He couldn't risk deflecting it back at Kenobi- if a stray bolt hit the wet platform, they could both be down in an instant.

Luckily, Kenobi seemed to realize it too, as he stopped the barrage of lightning. Not daring to lower his lightsaber, Maul stepped toward Kenobi slowly. He didn't dare activate his other blade yet- there was still a chance he'd go unrecognized, and he had not planned on revealing his survival here.

Ten years ago, he had lost to a Kenobi who was still an Apprentice. But they both had a decade more experience, and Maul had no intention of dying here today.

"You've made it impressively far, spy," Kenobi sneered. "You shouldn't have pushed your luck."

Maul took his typical approach to dealing with any enemy- he stayed silent. It was an intimidation method that tended to work in his favor, and sometimes, if you let an opponent talk long enough, they would feed into their own fear. He doubted that would be the case with a Sith, especially one like Kenobi, but he had done it ten years ago and he would do it again now.

"I suppose we'll just have to do this the hard way, instead," Kenobi continued, seemingly unbothered. And then, unexpectedly, he moved.

Kenobi had gotten better. His form, which had been sloppy and raging when Maul first fought him, had become refined, deadly. But Maul had trained, too, even harder as he tried to get used to his new legs. As he trained with Anakin so his Padawan brother could experience as little pain as possible while training. He'd asked Anakin to teach him Kenobi's style, so he could teach Anakin how to counter it.

Anakin's descriptions and untrained replications were nothing compared to the actual thing. But Anakin had learned to hold his ground against Kenobi, and he'd learned it from, and then with, Maul. So Maul blocked a quick blow to his side and launched the same attack that had allowed him to kill Kenobi's Master a decade ago.

He pushed back against Kenobi's blade and slammed his lightsaber hilt into Kenobi's face.

Kenobi must have recognized the move, if not made the connection to Maul's identity, because he roared and launched himself at Maul in a fury. His blows became less targeted, less precise, but they made up for it in brute strength from the rage Kenobi threw behind them. He didn't get sloppy- no, he was too good for that. He just got aggressive.

It put Maul on more familiar footing- he'd trained to take out Sith who threw all their rage into their attacks more than he trained for calm, calculating Sith, simply because there were far less of the second kind. But it also allowed Kenobi to knock Maul back, his hood falling away from his face as he fell.

For a moment, the two stared at each other, Kenobi in raging shock and Maul waiting for Kenobi's next move.

Then Kenobi growled, "You."

There was no question as to whether he recognized Maul, then. So Maul said, because he could, "Me."

Maul flipped to his feet as Kenobi stalked toward him. "You killed Lord Lorum."

So that had been Jinn's Sith name. Maul hadn't known that, but there was no question as to who Kenobi was talking about.

"You should've killed me," Maul responded. If he was talking, he might as well taunt Kenobi a bit, hopefully get him talking.

"I did," Kenobi snarled. "How did you survive?"

His master had come back for him, rescued him, but Maul wasn't about to tell Kenobi that. He briefly considered saying something ridiculous like he'd survived through the power of his rage, but that might be pushing it even for a supposed rouge Darksider. So instead he just flashed his fangs and said, "You'd love to know, wouldn't you?"

Kenobi growled and lunged. Maul activated his other blade and leaped to meet him. The two collided in a whirling clash of blades, faster than most would be able to keep track of. But Maul effortlessly blocked Kenobi's attempts to slice through him, attempting to land a strike of his own, though nothing seemed to make it past Kenobi's defense.

Still, he didn't have to win this fight. Kenobi had to win, had to kill him or capture him in order to question his intentions, who had sent him. Maul had gotten all he was going to get from this trip, now that Kenobi knew he was here. Now, he just had to escape, report to Master Sheev with what he had learned- and the warning that Kenobi had discovered him... and knew of his survival, whatever the implications of that would be.

Maul allowed Kenobi to drive him back, toward the end of the platform. His ship was hidden underneath a landing pad not far away, and he just needed the right method to disappear. Shoving Kenobi back with the Force, Maul leaped from the platform, deactivating his lightsaber as he plunged down toward the sea. He could feel Kenobi's fuming presence approaching the edge of the landing pad just as he hit the water, and for a moment, he wondering if the Sith would jump after him. But after a moment, Kenobi stepped away from the edge, his presence turning calculating as he no doubt informed the Kaminoans about the security breach. He'd have to be careful, leaving the planet.

But more importantly, he had to share his findings with his former master as soon as possible. They finally knew what they were up against, in the coming war. And from what Maul knew of both the Sith's and Sheev's plans, they didn't have much time before that war would be starting.

Chapter 8

There was a Jedi waiting at the Lake House on Naboo when Anakin and Padmé got there.

Anakin had planned to go in first, to make sure that the Lake House was secure and that the Sith weren't planning on listening in on them, but upon arriving he'd decided that that wouldn't be necessary, as there was a woman, probably around Padmé's age, standing in the doorway, lightsabers on her belt and presence radiating the hesitant Light of a newly-Risen Force-sensitive.

"You must me Dooku's new Padawan," Anakin said as he stepped out of the boat he and Padmé had taken to the house. "Sheev told me about you."

"Asajj Ventress," the woman said with a smirk.

"Anakin Skywalker," Anakin responded with a grin, helping Padmé out of the boat. The two of them made their way toward Asajj, who hadn't moved from her position in the doorway. "Dooku didn't say you were coming."

"Dooku says your clear favoritism toward Maul disqualified you from getting updates toward him," Asajj told him.

Anakin rolled his eyes. "Hey, Dooku's my favorite every other week when Maul starts to make fun of me for being the baby of the lineage. He should take what he can get."

Asajj raised an eyebrow. "I've known him for a few weeks..."

"And you know he'd never settle for anything? Yeah, I know. Me and Maul make fun of him for it endlessly. You should join us, next time we're all together."

"I'll keep it in mind," Asajj responded, turning back toward the house. Anakin fell in step with her, Padmé already moving ahead of them.

"So, you're the undercover Sith Apprentice?" Asajj said as they walked further into the house.

Anakin groaned. "Don't remind me. I'm not undercover for a few days, at least- hopefully longer, but Obi-Wan's efficient, so probably not."

Asajj snorted. "So I take it I should be glad I got the 'stereotypical super serene mini-Dooku Jedi Padawan' job instead?"

"Does Dooku think he's really that serene?" Anakin snorted. "But yes, yes you should. The Sith are terrible. And Sithly. And angry. And super annoying, sometimes. Maybe that's just Obi-Wan."

"Oh?"

"He flirts with his enemies. It's like he's trying to be one of those Sith you read about who seduce weak-minded Jedi before turning or killing them. It's stupid."

Asajj considered it for a moment. "Do the enemies ever flirt back?"

Anakin shot her a horrified look. "You said you're supposed to be the super-serene Jedi Padawan! You can't flirt back at Obi-Wan!"

"Who said I meant me?" Asajj raised an eyebrow. "I'm just saying, I've met some of these droids you guys collected, and some of them would definitely flirt with a Sith if the Sith flirted with them."

Anakin shook his head. "He'd never flirt with a droid. Supposedly, he has 'standards', which just means prejudices, but whatever." He paused, and wonderfully horrifying idea coming to mind. "What about Maul?"

Asajj's eyes widened. "What about Dooku?"

Anakin choked. "No way. Dooku trained Obi-Wan's Master. That would be too weird." However, if they were doing this... "What about Sheev?"

Asajj cackled. "Forget the war, all we need to do to get the Sith to reveal themselves is for the Chancellor to start flirting with any 'Jedi' he comes across."

"Oh Force," Anakin wheezed, "Imagine Master Sheev flirting with Darth Greatus!"

"The whole Sith Council!" Asajj countered. "But they don't know about the others, so when you leak that to them through Obi-Wan, they all go after him and each other for revenge for the 'cheating'!"

"Boom! Sith Order collapses!" Anakin said, clapping his hands. Both of them collapsed into laughter.

Padmé walked in, amusement coloring her features. "You two seem to be having fun."

"Just making fun of stuck-up Jedi," Anakin told her, catching himself in time to keep from giving something away.

Padmé knows about us but not that the 'Jedi' are really Sith, Anakin transmitted to Asajj. And she doesn't know Sheev is Force-sensitive or a Jedi.

Got it, Asajj shot back. Then she grinned at Padmé. "One of my favorite pastimes."

Luckily, Anakin thought Padmé had gone ahead, and wouldn't have been able to hear them through the house's thick walls. Once again, he thanked Naboo's culture of beautiful things that doubled as useful in case of threats. Not that Padmé was a threat, but Sheev didn't want to put her in danger with that knowledge yet, and Anakin didn't particularly feel like explaining to his master that he and Asajj had accidentally revealed it to her.

"Come on, then," Padmé said, a smile tugging at her lips. "I'll show you the house."

Anakin shared one last grin with Asajj, and the two of them followed Padmé.

Chapter 9

Anakin and Asajj flickered into view, the last to join the meeting of their lineage. Even if they weren't technically all in the same place, Dooku couldn't help but think that this was the first time their lineage had all been together since he'd brought Asajj into it. And a while before that, with him so busy getting ready for the war and Sheev doing the same on the Republic side and Anakin doing his best with the Sith and Maul... well, doing whatever Maul did.

"So, what's the news?" Anakin asked. "How long is my vacation on Naboo lasting?"

"Probably not as long as you would like," Maul told him, before turning to Sheev. "Kenobi discovered my survival."

Worry flashed across Sheev's face. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Maul brushed off. "He's angry but I got away unharmed. I don't know what this will mean, though. He knows I was there spying, and he'll want to know who sent me, if he wasn't coming after me anyway."

"We'll deal with that later," Sheev told him. "For now, the important thing is that you're okay."

"You should start a whole rival Sith faction," Anakin suggested cheerfully. "Make the paranoid about danger from their own as well as Dooku and whatever new Jedi Order he's supposed to be trying to create."

Dooku smiled in amusement- and Sheev sighed in exasperation- at Dooku's youngest lineage brother. (And that was still odd, when he was old enough to be the boy's grandfather. He guessed that came when he was older than their master, while Anakin was still a child, proper Padawan age.) Maul looked far too invested in that idea. Dooku would have to keep an eye on him. Though what he would do, he didn't know. Actually, he did. Absolutely nothing. That was Sheev's problem. Still, it would be amusing, to see Maul try to raise his own 'Sith faction'. Especially one where he supposedly had superiors to report back to.

"Yes, well, anyway," Sheev said, which Dooku took to mean that Sheev would not be doing anything about this, either, "What else did you discover on Kamino?"

"The Sith have created a clone army," Maul said, "Or likely had one for some time. The Kaminoans are cloners, and the bounty hunter Jango Fett- the one they used to fake the assassination attempts on the Senator- is the template for the army." There was clearly more, but that would likely be shared between Maul and Sheev alone. This meeting was to share the information they all needed to know about their situation as quickly as possible.

Which brought him to the question of whether or not to share his own piece of information regarding that... yes, yes he would. If only because the reaction would undoubtably be enjoyable.

“Curious," Dooku said. "Jango Fett has just come under my employ.”

There was a moment where they all stared at him, and then Anakin burst out laughing.

Sheev stared at him for a few more moments, clearly resisting the urge to tell Dooku to stop acting so reckless, Padawan, and attempting to comprehend the statement in general. Finally, he just said, "I don't suppose there's any way I can convince you to remove him from your employ?"

Dooku pretended to consider it. "But you see, if we get him to let his guard down, we could capture him and acquire information from him."

"You're not going to learn anything from him if he assassinates you," Sheev said pointedly.

"It's not likely," Dooku agreed. "However, he would have to be successful for that to come into play." And he gave Sheev the blank, placid smile he saved for Republic politicians and at one time the Sith Council, the once that politicians took as agreement with what they were saying and annoyed Sith to no end and let Sheev know that he wasn't going to win this argument. It was the smile that really said 'I think you're stupid but I'm going to let you keep talking because I can't interrupt or disagree with you but I'm disagreeing with you anyway'. Except with Sheev, then it said more 'I'm not changing my mind and you can keep going but it's not going to change anything'. Asajj had labeled it his 'stubbornness smile'.

Sheev sighed. "Fine. Just do be careful-"

A knock on the door. Dooku turned, reaching out with the Force. It was just one of the droids, likely a security droid. "Enter."

The battle droid, slashed with violet and blue stripes if paint, walked in. “Sir! We’ve captured a Jedi!” He glanced at the holograms of Dooku's lineage. “Sorry, a Sith Lord!”

"Very good, Commander," Dooku said. "I'll be there to take care of it in a minute."

"Yes, sir! Permission to use flamethrowers on any more Sith we find, sir?"

Dooku chuckled. "Granted, Commander Flash. Is that all?"

"Yes, sir!" Flash replied before leaving.

Dooku turned back to Sheev's raised eyebrow, Maul's smirk, and Anakin and Asajj's snickering. He thought that reaction was entirely undeserved.

"Unfortunately, I have to go deal with a captured Sith," Dooku said, as if they hadn't all been listening to his entire exchange with Flash. "Do attempt to not die without me."

Then he ended the call and swept out of the room. He had a Sith to question, and he had to perfectedly imitate the epitome of the Jedi in order to do so.

Serine, unflappable, and effortlessly dramatic. The perfect combination to annoy a Sith into telling you too much. And something Dooku happened to specialize in.

Chapter 10

Notes:

Dooku continues to get more and more unhinged as I keep writing him. I love this.

"Dooku," Kenobi snarled as soon as Dooku swept into his cell.

"Now, now, Obi-Wan, surely Qui-Gon taught you better manners than that," Dooku said haughtily, leaning into old habits for dealing with Sith. He had a... probably unhealthy enjoyment of annoying them. "You could cause an unfortunate breakdown of negotiations if you address a planetary leader the wrong way, much less one that controls multiple systems." Dooku raised an eyebrow. "Count Dooku or Master Dooku works, depending on your preference."

"I have no interest in showing respect for a traitor," Kenobi shot back.

Dooku held in a condescending smile. For Anakin's sake, he'd try to get through to Kenobi, and that wouldn't do much good if he pushed him too far. But is was just so tempting, and such habit. He couldn't be blamed for having a bit of fun. "Of course, of course, my mistake."

"The Sith will come for you," Kenobi warned. "And you will pay."

"I'll keep that in mind," Dooku told him. "Of course, they'll have to come through my army first, so I think I shall be quite safe for some time."

"I thought the Jedi were peaceful," Kenobi shot back mockingly. Oh, this was fun. Dooku could almost get why Anakin wanted to keep him. After all, he'd certainly add so much to the verbal spars Dooku liked to have with Sheev sometimes about their conflicting political ideas. At the moment, however, Dooku would have to stick with the temporary and more aggressive opponent.

He loved arguing with Sith, as much as he disliked the Sith themselves in general, for obvious reasons. Maybe he just liked arguing with people in the first place.

It was fun, alright? He could always blame his Sith upbringing for that.

"Well, they were, yes," Dooku said. "But one must always keep up with the needs of the times, and besides, I am building a new Jedi Order from scratch. I can make it whatever I want." Now that was an interesting idea. Sure, their lineage was actually as old as the old Jedi Order and they preserved that knowledge, but they'd built their own customs along the way, customs that would have to evolve as they continued to expand their new Order back toward its original, much larger size. They truly could rebuild the Jedi Order however they wanted, and share those teachings to new Jedi. He wondered how long until he had grandpadawans. Sure, he had to finish training and Knight Asajj first, and then wait for her to find a Padawan, but surely it wouldn't be too long.

Perhaps he should keep his focus on the current conversation.

Kenobi sneered at him. The face reminded Dooku nostalgically of Qui-Gon. He wished he'd had time to get through to Qui-Gon, but that was a musing for another time. "And what will you build this new Order from? Steal more of our people to brainwash them in your Jedi ways? More weak fools who share your ways? We will wipe you out."

"I guess that's a no on the offer I was going to make, then," Dooku said with a sigh. "I had hoped you would be amenable, as Qui-Gon could have been."

Kenobi stiffened. "My Master would never have joined you, and neither will I."

"Qui-Gon saw through the failings of the Council, even more than I did, once," Dooku countered, though to be fair, Qui-Gon had always been more rogue than Light. "You shouldn't be so convinced of his loyalty to your Order. Or so blinded by your own."

"I am not the one blinded," Kenobi shot back. "Your own foolishness hides your coming downfall from you."

"And yet the Sith have not yet come to kill me," Dooku said.

"Then I shall remedy that," Kenobi shot back. "You cannot hold me here for long."

"Perhaps," Dooku said. "But I would take care not to rely on things like Jango Fett coming to rescue you."

Kenobi's mask faltered, just for a second, revealing his shock, though it was carefully concealed in the Force. Impressive. "How did you...?"

"I might not be overly concerned about the attempts of your Order to, as you put it, incite my coming downfall, but that does not mean I am entirely ignorant to when someone is planning to kill me. While beskar does block the Force, it does not conceal the signs of a bounty hunter looking for an opening to stab me in the back."

Kenobi glared at him. "Do you think I need to rely on that pawn to get me out of here?"

"Perhaps not. But his not coming will certainly delay you, at the very least, and I do not intend on keeping you here forever, nor do I intend to stay myself. Though it should be fascinating to see what Fett attempts first." Dooku raised an eyebrow. "You should hope the Sith decide to make an appearance. I think that should go best for you personally."

"You don't seem overly concerned by the prospect of being outnumbered by your enemies," Kenobi noted.

"Who said anything about outnumbered? I do, if you remember, have an army, one quite eager to fight your Order. And with the war that is by this point inevitable, what time will the Sith have to come after me?"

"You will regret this," Kenobi snarled.

"Back to the generic threats, are we? Ah well. But quite honestly, young Sith, I regret a lot of things, but turning to the Light might be the only one I never will." Dooku sighed, the persona dropping away just a bit, to something more genuine. For Anakin, truly, this time. "My offer still stands, and will continue to stand no matter what. Think about it, Obi-Wan." And then Dooku turned and swept out of the cell, leaving Kenobi behind.

Chapter 11

Notes:

This chapter was supposed to be about two chapters ago, a least, but I kept having ideas for fun new chapters. However, we're finally here, and approaching the end of AotC. And then the real fun begins.

Darth Ragein strode down a dark corridor on a nowhere world in the Outer Rim and reveled in the Dark Side, in what was to come. They'd traced Trayal and Fett to Geonosis, and with neither reporting in, Lord Greatus had given him permission to take a strike team of their finest and begin the war that had been a long time coming.

The New Jedi had been building an army here. Hypocrites to their own Code, just as they had always been. And still the same, blind fools that had been wiped out centuries ago, learning nothing from history.

All the better. This new Order would be stomped out just as the old one had been, and this time, the weak Republic with it. And Ragein would be leading the charge. And perhaps, with the coming war, Lord Greatus's age would start catching up with him, finally paving the way for Ragein to take control of the Sith.

But those were thoughts for another day. For now, he would lead the Sith to their first victory in this war.

He approached the viewing box, above the arena where Trayal was fighting against battle droids, foolishly not even cut off from the Force. Blunt executions were not the Jedi's style, Ragein supposed, though what the purpose of this was, then, he didn't know.

...Perhaps a trap. But it was too late to turn back now, and besides, he had no doubt the Sith would triumph just the same.

The droids in the arena, and the ones in the box, were painted hapazardly, Ragein noted with a sneer. Had Tyra- Dooku truly fallen so far from their ways that he was allowing his soldiers- droid soldiers nonetheless- to paint themselves however they wished, with no sense of uniformity or control? Pathetic. Yet another sign of why the Sith would win this war, with the Jedi's weakness and how unprepared they were for this. Dooku was an old fool throwing pieces around the board and hoping they could survive against an older, more experienced power. And he would lose. Ragein allowed himself a moment to picture the old man kneeling before him, terror in his eyes right before Ragein skewered him with his own lightsaber. Ah, the satisfaction. That would come eventually. For now, though, Ragein activated his lightsaber and lunged into the box.

His saber activated, and in two quick strikes, the droids fell to the floor. Below, in the arena, the fight paused as Trayal glanced upward, spotting Ragein immediately. In the box, the Geonosians and Fett turned, though the bounty hunter knew better than to raise his blaster against Ragein, even to put up a front for Dooku. The Jedi himself turned slowly, almost carelessly, to find the source of the commotion, though Ragein would be a fool if he thought Dooku didn't already know who was behind him. A weak old fool, yes, but still a trained Force-sensitive, even if he had pushed many of those teachings aside.

He had still been one of them, once. One of the Sith. And for that, Ragein would make him suffer more greatly than any other Jedi, not that one existed. For all Dooku's threats of building a new Order- and he had sent warnings, made his intentions clear, when the Sith had come after him- the only Force sensitive here who was not a Sith was Dooku himself.

Still, Ragein would keep an eye out. Tyranus had not made empty threats, and they had no reason to believe that Dooku would be any different, Jedi or not.

"Master Windu," Dooku said loudly, almost amused. It was smart of him, at least, to use Ragein's Jedi title, to continue to keep his knowledge of the Order's true nature hidden even after he'd abandoned it. Less smart, perhaps, that he made no move to draw the saber at his hip. "How pleasant of you to join us." The smirk on his face spoke a different story. "We were expecting you."

Then he was a fool. Yet Ragein kept a leash on the anger ready to be thrown into battle, and grasped for an answer that could pass as a Jedi's. Dooku might see through him, but he was not the one Ragein needed to convince. "We'd hate to disappoint." He sent out a signal through the Force, into the cloud of Darkness that only grew as his Sith unveiled their presences, activating their lightsabers around the arena. He reveled in it. It would be more glorious if their sabers appeared as their true red, not the illusions of Jedi blues and greens, but that would come later. For now, Ragein let his satisfaction bleed into the Force, toward Dooku. "This ends now."

"I don't think so," Dooku responded easily. Ragein lunged at him, but Dooku dodged easily, and the warning in the Force came too late for Ragein to fully dodge the spurt of flame that came from behind him. Had Fett somehow broken through- no. A pair of droids, one he had missed, had come up behind him, one wielding a flamethrower. Quickly, Ragein considered his odds of staying in the box and decided against it. He gestured for Fett to take care of Dooku and leaped from the balcony, rolling to his feet in the sand below, smothering the flames as he did so. He glanced up at the balcony, hoping to see Dooku suffer the same treatment, but instead saw him toss Fett away, out of the box. The bounty hunter caught himself with his jetpack, but Ragein glared just the same. The bounty hunter was clearly no match for the Jedi, despite the skills he'd shown when they'd selected him, and had failed his objective. Ragein hadn't had much hope that the bodyguard position they'd maneuvered Fett into would allow the bounty hunter close enough to kill Dooku, but Lord Pridir had insisted. Still, it was good to use a tool as much as possible before disposing of it, and that time had come now. With the Alpha clone ready and tested by the Kaminoans, all Fett was now was a liability, a threat should the Jedi attempt to extract information from him, or if he should break free of the compulsions Lord Greatus had sown into his mind.

Yes, Jango Fett would die today, on the first battlefield of the war. Fitting, perhaps, that after all these years and the many templates they'd gone through, that the last one should die just before the army was finally unleashed.

A gate rose, and the first of the coming droids appeared, and Ragein let a grin split his face as he immersed himself fully in the Dark Side. A shame, perhaps, to some, that the Jedi had used droid soldiers, not living beings with lives to be snuffed out. But Ragein had always reveled in the violence as much as the deaths, and there would be plenty of time later for the latter. For now, the violence would do.

Around him, Sith charged, moving to engage the droids pouring in from all directions. Ragein felt a thrill go through him- at the challenge, something he hadn't had in a long time, and in the ability to fully unleash himself, to not hold back and pretend to be a weak, foolish Jedi but to throw himself into battle with no thought but to utterly destroy the enemy. On a whim, he grabbed a fleeing Geonosian with the Force and dragged them to him, slicing their head off with a single motion. Most of the rest of the crowd had dispersed, with only a few brave fools remaining to fire on the Sith as they fought the droids.

And then he caught sight of Jango Fett, clearing a path in the battle, and smiled. Perfect.

Ragein stalked across the battlefield, destroying any droids that came in his path. Not that it seemed to make a dent in the overall force- Dooku had been prepared if nothing else, it seemed, and the droid forces pushing into the arena had no end in sight- but Ragein didn't care. He stepped over fallen droids and Sith alike without a care, gaze locked on his new target.

It took barely a press on Fett's mind for the bounty hunter to go rigged, unnaturally still as Ragein stepped up behind him, and then paced around so Fett was facing him. If there was anything left of the man in there after what Greatus did to his mind, Ragein hoped it knew what was coming, that it was screaming and thrashing in an attempt to get free, to fight, to run from what was coming. The thought had him smile as he swung his blade.

Fett's head thumped to the ground, his body not far behind it. Ragein stepped over it casually, surveying the battlefield.

It was not as close to victory as he'd hoped. In fact, the number of Sith seemed to have been reduced greatly, while the droids were still coming. With a snarl, Ragein threw himself back into the battle, but it wasn't long before he realized the remaining Sith were being herded, pushed to the center of the arena and surrounded by droids on all sides.

Unacceptable.

Ragein made to signal another destructive push, but before he could, Dooku must have given an order of his own, as the droids stopped firing, though their blasters remained at the ready.

"Master Windu," Dooku called, unscathed and standing in his box, removed from the battle, like a coward. "It is over. Surrender..." he hesitated slightly, before adding, "-old friend, and your lives will be spared."

Weak. Weak, foolish Jedi, for even offering them that chance, not that Ragein would ever take it. "We will die before we become your captives," he shot back.

Something like regret crossed Dooku's face. Sentiment- a weakness that could be exploited later, perhaps, in some way. "Then I'm sorry," the Jedi responded, opening his mouth to give another order-

A blast cut him off, and he leaped back from the box, which was left little more than a smoking wreck. More blasts rained down on the droids as a cluster of sleek gunships descended into the arena, white-armored figures within firing on the droids.

Their army had arrived. Ragein smile.

Now, the war had truly begun.

Chapter 12

Notes:

The hardest part of writing this chapter was correcting myself every time I went to write Mace and was like nope Ragein...

His gunship flying above the battle, Ragein allowed himself to revel in the destruction below him. The Kaminoans had done their job well. Their army was more than a match for Dooku's droids, and Ragein could sense that they would win this battle.

But that was not his purpose now. With Lord Greatus taking over commanding the battle below, Ragein was free to pursue another goal.

Dooku had done well in dividing the galaxy, foolishly setting up the war that the Sith had long been preparing for. But now, he had served his purpose, and it would be much better to eliminate him, and move their own pawn into a position of power among the Separatists, one who could keep the war going exactly as the Sith wished it. Lord Greatus had yet to send anyone to look for Dooku, but Ragein would not wait for his command. Not when he caught sight of Dooku's speeder, fleeing from the battle, and Ragein's prey was practically in his grasp.

The Jedi might try to run, to escape his destruction, but Ragein had no intentions of allowing him to leave the planet alive.

"Follow him!" he barked to the pilot, who instantly changed their course. Ragein grinned. An army that never questioned orders... he had to admit that whoever had suggested it had been quite clever indeed, and once more, the Kaminoans had proved their worth.

Soon, Dooku's speeder entered a hangar in a rock formation, jutting out of the surface. Ragein grinned, not even bothering to have his pilot land before he leaped from the gunship, flipping through the air and landing in the entrance to the hangar. He stalked inside, unlit lightsaber in his hand. There was only one way this would end. Dooku had been a renowned duelist, but Ragein was the best in the Order. The Jedi would die.

"Dooku!" Ragein barked. Dooku turned, seemingly unconcerned. An arrogance Ragein would make the old man regret later.

“Mace,” Dooku said. Ragein snarled.

“My name is Ragein, traitor.”

"It wasn't always." Dooku's hands were out, almost as if he was trying to calm a spooked animal. Ragein almost growled at the insult. "It doesn't have to always be."

"I suppose this is the part where you try to spread your poisonous Light. Don't waste the breaths you have left. The Dark is strong, and it always will be, though you may have forgotten. There is nothing that would make me turn away from it, and certainly not your weak platitudes."

"No." Dooku's face hardened with resolve. "The Dark Side is weak, not matter what lies it whispers to you. I saw through the lies of the Sith."

"And became trapped in those of the Jedi. Tell me, what did you plan to do? A Jedi with no Order is a tooku kit in a nexu den. Only a fool would leave the Order for that."

"Then perhaps I am a fool." Dooku's words were careless, as if Ragein were a child he was indulging. He'd enjoy killing the old man greatly. "But the New Order does not die with me. Not anymore." He grinned. "So you see, I am not, in fact, a Jedi without an Order."

Oh. This would be even more fun, then. "Then they will die too. Your fledgling Order can not hope to defeat the full might of the Sith."

"We shall see," Dooku said. "Now I'm afraid I have a ship to catch."

Ragein's grin was back. Time for the real fun to begin. "I'm afraid you're not going to make it."

Dooku lunged before Ragein could, catching him off guard for half a second. It appeared his Turn to the Light had not made Dooku any less aggressive, or caused his form to slip. Dooku's Makashi was as deadly as ever, and Ragein reveled in the fight, in the way one misstep on either of their parts could lead to death. His own Juyo was relentless, refusing to allow Dooku any hits and attempting to push him back on the defensive. Still, Dooku was good at not staying there for long- likely, he knew that the moment Ragein truly locked him on the defensive, there'd be no other ending to the fight but in his death.

Amusing, almost, that he still thought he could walk out of here alive. That Ragein would ever let him escape.

Ragein shoved Dooku and reached out a hand, lightning shooting from his fingers and catching the Jedi off-guard. The short burst sent him flying back into the wall before collapsing to the ground, but Ragein released the lightning and stalked forward, his blade at his side. The lightning was a useful tool, and excellent at causing pain, but he would always prefer the fast pace of a duel. Some Sith saw it as their favorite tool, but Ragein was not one of them. Still, the way Dooku stumbled to his feet was satisfying, the weak deflection of Ragein's blade causing a grin to spread across the Sith's face as he stalked forward. Dooku gave ground, barely blocking Ragein's careless attacks. Blue caught on red- the true color of Ragein's blade, beautiful to see in action, and all the more satisfying to kill Dooku with- again and again, as Dooku backed closer to the hangar entrance. But his ship was on the opposite side of the hangar, his escape just out of reach, and Ragein grinned as the Jedi's back hit the wall.

"A valiant effort, but a futile one," Ragein sneered, blade ready to strike. "Perhaps your Light is not as strong as you thought."

Dooku's lips curled into a grin. "Or perhaps you are more blind than you realize."

Before Ragein could react, Dooku lunged on the offensive, taking him off guard and driving him back a few steps. The Jedi had been holding back, recovering his strength from Ragein's lightning, and was now pushing the advantage of Ragein lowering his guard. The Sith snarled. How had the foolish Jedi managed to deceive him? He caught himself, refusing to give any more ground, attempting to drive the Jedi back into the corner. He growled, lashing out, but Dooku danced out of the way. In the distance, the sound of approaching gunships reached the pair, and Ragein almost snarled. No, he would kill Dooku himself, without interference.

The Jedi let out a resigned sigh. "I had hoped it wouldn't come to this," he said, lowering his weapon. Surrendering? Ragein almost laughed. As if he would accept surrender from a Jedi. From Dooku. Perhaps he'd reward him with a slow death, since he seemed to wish it. But before he could strike, Dooku lunged forward, his blade slicing up through Ragein's right arm. Ragein screamed in pain and rage as his arm fell to the floor, still clutching his lightsaber. Dooku threw him back with the Force, and he landed on the ground across the hangar. "I am sorry," the Jedi said, lies slipping through his lips before he turned off his lightsaber and walked away.

Ragein tried to draw power from his pain, from his hatred for the Jedi, but the ship rose and flew away, slipping through Ragein's fingers as he tried to hold it back with the Force. Clones rushed into the hangar, firing at the ship, but it did no good.

A pair hurried up to him, identical in every way, until one reached out to help him up. "Get away from me," he snarled, flinging it away with the Force and standing himself, sweeping past the clones after collecting his lightsaber.

Dooku would pay. Ragein would make sure of it.

Chapter 13

Notes:

I love this Jedi family so much. That is all.

Anakin leapt silently across the rooftops of the industrial sector of Coruscant, a with the confidence of someone who had taken the path many times and the stealth he had learned from Maul. Already, he was missing Naboo, far from the Sith and with nothing to do but relax with Padmé and Asajj. But at least tonight he could slip away from the Temple and find his way to an abandoned building in this mostly empty sector of Coruscant. The building had become a sort of home over the years- the place where their entire lineage would meet up whenever they could, hidden and safe from the rest of the galaxy. Anakin found his way there whenever possible, even if no one could meet him there, though usually Maul or Master Sheev was available.

Obi-Wan probably thought he was sneaking out to the Lower Levels. Anakin actually did find his way down there and entered races every once in a while to throw off suspicion.

Tonight, they would all be there, including Asajj, who would be meeting the entire lineage in person for the first time. Anakin grinned at the thought of his lineage all being together again. It would be nice to have one last gathering before the war took over all their lives. Before Anakin was forced to fight on the side of the Sith, and as- well, that was the news he'd contacted Master Sheev about earlier, as soon as he could. The older man had only told him they'd talk about it that night, so Anakin assumed it would be alright.

Slipping into the building, Anakin grinned at the sight of the others gathered around, talking and laughing. "You have to admit, it would work," Maul said to Dooku, while Asajj leaned in, clearly invested in the conversation, and Sheev watched them with an exasperated expression.

"What would work?" Anakin asked cheerfully, already invested in anything that gave Master Sheev that look.

"Me pretending to be a part of an order of rival Sith," Maul said. "Led by a mysterious, shadowy, powerful Sith Lord who makes Darth Greatus look like..." Maul frowned. "Well, like a little green troll being, I guess."

Anakin snorted. "And what is the name of this mysterious Sith Lord?" he asked.

"Darth Insidious," Asajj said primly. Having known Asajj for a few days, Anakin knew that Asajj was not a prim person, but did love imitating her master when it would be funny. And annoy Dooku, which Anakin could get behind.

Dooku wrinkled his nose. "Absolutely not," he said. "It would never work. No self-respecting Sith Lord would go by Darth Insidious."

Anakin was highly tempted to point out that the leader of the Sith Council was quite literally named Darth Greatus, which was really not much better. However, he was also already invested in the idea of the fake Sith Order, and making fun of the names of Sith Council members could wait. He wondered if Greatus's name was really Yoda, or if he'd made that up to tell the Senators and people so no one would actually know his real name. Anakin wouldn't put it past him. Maybe Dooku would know, as his former Apprentice. Whatever. "Who says Darth Insidious has any self-respect?" he countered instead of voicing any of those thoughts.

Asajj started cackling.

Maul grinned. "It's settled then. I am a member of the crazy Sith Order-" Anakin and Dooku snorted, Anakin assumed at the same thing (the assumption that the real Sith Order wasn't crazy)- "and work for Darth Insidious. Naturally, mostly through several layers of intermediaries, since Darth Insidious does not concern themself with small concerns like enemy armies, but occasionally I have the honor to speak with them directly. And since clearly I'm as crazy as they are, the next time I go up against Kenobi, should I tell him I survived through the power of my rage and my desire for revenge on him?"

"Absolutely," Anakin, Asajj, and even Dooku chorused in tandem.

Master Sheev sighed. All four of them turned to him innocently.

And then Anakin realized. He was a fake Sith, Dooku and Asajj were openly Jedi with of a fake order, and Maul was a fake Sith of a fake order, but Master Sheev didn't have a fake Force-user identity, or even really a fake identity at all. Sure, he was the Chancellor, but that was actually his real job, secret Jedi or not. Which meant-

"Hey Master Sheev," Anakin said cheerfully. "Want to be Darth Insidious?"

"I'm going to assume," Master Sheev responded, voice strained, "that that is a rhetorical question."

"Of course it is," Dooku said, like he hadn't been protesting the impossibility of this idea just a few minutes ago. Maybe Maul saying he was going to go around acting crazy had changed his mind. Not that Anakin was judging. Anakin also wanted to see Maul go around acting crazy. And he might get to, if Maul and Obi-Wan decided to go after each other a lot. "None of the rest of us can do it, and Maul already needs to contact you anyway. It's practical."

Maul seemed delighted by that. "I'm going to call you Darth Insidious on every call we have just in case," he said cheerfully. "You never know who might be listening."

"At this point," Master Sheev said, "I'm just going to take you not calling me that in every interaction we have."

"We'll get you a cloak," Anakin declared. "A really creepy, evil one. I'll steal one from Obi-Wan's closet of dramatic Sith outfits. Or we can ask Padmé, I'm sure she could find something if we told her we're going to pretend to be evil sometimes."

"We'll need more members, too," Dooku said. "If we're going to truly build up a mysterious order."

"I could double up as a mystery Sith," Asajj said cheerfully. "And Ani can too. We can wear masks and take comm calls and maybe hover ominously in the background sometimes."

"Yes!" Anakin said. "I designed myself an evil Sith mask once, I can find some materials and make it!" At Maul's raised eyebrow, he shrugged. "I was fifteen and thought that if I was going to spend years undercover as a Sith, I could at least look cool while doing it. It had creepy mechanical breathing and everything. For intimidation purposes."

"We'll need black," Asajj said. "A lot of black. Crazy Sith would wear even more black than normal Sith, right?"

"And I'll make myself fake mechanical legs," Anakin said, "So I can be taller and the Sith won't even begin to think it's me!"

Maul glared at him. "You don't need to be any taller," he said.

"You're telling me you didn't make yourself taller when you got new legs?" Anakin asked.

"And yet I'm still barely taller than you," Maul said. "You're the baby. You're supposed to be short."

"Which, as amusing as this conversation is, brings me to something I meant to bring up as soon as Anakin got here," Master Sheev interrupted. Anakin blinked, ready to plunge back in- because Maul would not let the baby brother thing go, would he?- but the other three suddenly calmed, the amusement in the presences fading into something softer, yet more serious.

Anakin frowned, glancing around at his lineage. "What is it?"

The others looked at each other. Maul spoke first. "Well, it didn't seem fair- given that your Ascension's tomorrow- for you to be made a full Sith Lord before being Knighted."

Anakin held back a grimace at the mention of his Ascension- where he would rise from his place as Obi-Wan's Apprentice and become a full Sith Lord- but the other part caught his attention. "You mean-"

Master Sheev stood, moving forward. "It seemed perfect. We're all here, and the galaxy is about to undergo many changes... and you're ready. You're beyond ready. All the galaxy has thrown at you, and you've remained a steady Light, pushing through the Darkness. I'm- we're all- proud to have you with us as we rebuild the Jedi Order and change a galaxy that lets so many suffer." He put a hand on Anakin's shoulder. "If you feel ready for it as well."

The choice, offered to Anakin and every Jedi over the past thousand years that had reached this point- to stand against the Darkness, against a whole galaxy that overlooked suffering for the profit of a few, to stand as a Jedi Knight. Knowing the commitment, the sacrifice that would require. The choice to be a beacon of Light, of hope, of change.

There was never any question in Anakin's heart.

"I am ready, Master."

Sheev held out a hand, and Anakin's lightsaber flew from his side into Sheev's hand. "Do you accept this weapon and this duty, Anakin Skywalker, to stand against the Darkness, to keep this Order and its knowledge alive, and to protect and aid those who need it from you?"

Anakin bowed his head and placed his hand over his lightsaber, remembering the words from Dooku's ceremony, years ago. "I shall give all that I have to bring Light to the galaxy, and to protect my Order and the people of the galaxy." Words that generations of Jedi had adjusted and passed down, to represent their trials and attempts to keep the Jedi Order alive, passed down from Master to Padawan all the way to Anakin's little family.

Sheev smiled. "Then let the Force guide you, Knight Skywalker." He released Anakin's 'saber, letting him curl his fingers around it and pull it back to his side. Then Sheev activated his lightsaber, the others doing the same.

Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight, took a deep breath, and activated his own, the white blade singing as he stood among his family and smiled.

Notes:

How was the Knighting ceremony? I was going to use the canon words, but then I looked at them and was like 'oh, they're talking about the Council and stuff' and instead of just changing it a bit I made my own ceremony instead. Oops?

Chapter 14

Notes:

Fun new POV this chapter for a bit, yay!

Darth Trayal paced the Council chamber angrily, Lords Greatus and Ragein watching him, the latter clenching and unclenching his new metal arm. "He's not ready," Trayal growled.

"He's more than capable," Ragein countered. "And we need generals. It's a matter of practicality. Vader is one of our strongest, among the younger Sith."

"Capable, yes," Trayal said, not breaking his furious stride. "But strongest? He's barely embraced the Dark to acceptable levels-"

Ragein scoffed. "We've seen no evidence of this supposed weakness-"

They were hardly paying enough attention, but Trayal decided not to justify that with a response. "He needs monitoring. Put him out on his own and Dooku might just get it into his head to start poisoning him toward the Light-"

He cut off as a sudden blow of the Force slammed him back into the wall, pining him there. "Don't," Ragein growled, "mention that name."

"Why not?" Trayal sneered. "Scared, now that he's beaten you? Perhaps the weakness we should be discussing is your own-"

He was cut off again as Ragein dragged him to the air, wrapping an outstretched hand around his neck. He choked. "I'll show you weakness-"

Suddenly, there was a flash of blue, and agony engulfed him. He might have let out a scream, he wasn't sure, but then the lightning vanished, and he realized he was on the floor, Ragein lying beside him. Every movement, every breath, every thought was agony, and there was no question who the source of the lightning had been. It was a uniquely painful experience, one only one Sith in the Order could bestow.

"Make you a member of this Council for you to question its decisions, we did not," a firm voice said, a note of danger dancing through it. "Young Vader's Ascension, tonight it will be." With that, Lord Greatus turned, the ancient Sith exiting the room. Ragein shot Trayal another glare before standing and following Lord Greatus out, leaving Trayal alone.

He glared at the door that the other Sith had disappeared through. His Apprentice's Ascension was a mistake, they would see that in time. But for now, he would have to go prepare the boy, and hope he didn't make an embarrassment of Trayal and his teachings.

---

Anakin grimaced as he stared at his reflection, intimidating black armor staring back at him. Last night, joking about fake Sith armor had been funny. But now, his actual Sith armor felt like it was weighing him down, taking all his strength to keep from sinking to the floor. He didn't wear it often- an Apprentice had to earn that right, often only at the very end of their Apprenticeship- but for his Ascension tonight, it was required.

Anakin sighed. Despite knowing that it was likely only because of the war, it still felt like he'd done something wrong, for the Sith to consider him worthy of Ascension. Obi-Wan didn't, he knew from the anger that had been present in him since the Council had made their decision, but the Sith Council did, and Anakin couldn't quite feel comfortable with that. A Sith Lord.

He tried to picture the aftermath. How he'd strut around the Temple- probably still wearing the armor, but it would feel more like a costume then- and rub it in the faces of all the other Apprentices his age. He'd be the very picture of pride and arrogance grown out of control, the cocky new Lord- the one everyone expected he would be. The persona he'd spent years building. But he would also be laughing inside, because it would all be pretending. A part he would play, but none of it was real. Not like his very real Ascension tonight.

It didn't mean anything, Dooku had assured him many times the previous night, before he and Asajj had had to leave Coruscant for Separatist space. After all, Dooku had been a Sith Master and not pretending, and it didn't make him any less of a Jedi now. So Anakin tried to cling to that reminder, to the memory of his Knighting the previous night- heavily shielded away from the eyes of the Sith, of course- and told himself that all this proved was that the Sith Council were idiots that couldn't recognize a Jedi when one walked into their Council Chamber. It wasn't him. It wasn't.

Maul would tell him he was being stupid. That if Anakin gave the Dark Side half a thought, Maul would kidnap him out of the real Sith Order and into his new fake one for rehabilitation. Asajj would probably help him. And Sheev... well, Sheev would catch him before he could Fall too far, keeping him in the Light like he'd done with Dooku, and Dooku had done with Asajj. His family wouldn't let him down.

Besides, his mom would be disappointed if he became evil. And probably give Sheev a piece of her mind for letting the Sith corrupt her son like that.

...Actually, that, Anakin would like to see, just for the sake of it.

A knock on his door shook Anakin out of his thoughts, and he molded his expression into one of superiority. The one he'd decided Vader would feel on being selected for Ascension. "Yes, Master?"

...He was going to have to start calling Obi-Wan Trayal out loud, wasn't he, now that he would no longer be his Apprentice. That would take some getting used to. He didn't think he'd ever called the man Trayal, either out loud or in his head- it was always Master out loud, and Obi-Wan silently. But he supposed he had been calling him Master, Trayal would just replace that.

Obi-Wan swept into the room, expression still displeased. "The Council is waiting for us."

Anakin nodded sharply, turning to exit, but Obi-Wan grabbed his arm.

"Do not disappoint me," he hissed, and Anakin got the idea that he meant more than the coming ceremony. It was a final warning, before Anakin was technically released from Obi-Wan's control, the last order he would ever give.

Probably a bit late for that, Anakin thought sarcastically. Unless you secretly had deep desires for me to be a Jedi. But Vader looked down at Obi-Wan, meeting his eyes in challenge. "Yes, Master," he said irreverently, every inch the Sith Apprentice Obi-Wan wanted but without an ounce of the respect he desired. But all the same an arrogant boy, who saw this as an opportunity to step into his own power, throwing off the control he raged against.

Internally, Anakin snorted.

Seeming to accept that answer, Obi-Wan started ahead, leaving Anakin to follow after. A power move, to remind his Apprentice of his place in these last few moments.

Anakin would almost miss him.

---

Anakin processed his Ascension in bits at a time.

The blood red of the Council's lightsabers. The hard floor where he knelt. The eerie words of the Sith Code chanted around him. 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.

Ragein spoke next, words echoing in the sudden silence. "The Dark Side accepts only strength. To accept it is to gain a power no others will understand. But it will allow no weakness, no hesitations, no doubts. To be a Sith is to contain strength and strength alone. Can you meet this challenge?"

"I can," Anakin forced out. He couldn't allow them to see his reluctance, not now.

"Do you have this strength?"

"I do."

"And will you prove it?"

"I will." Anakin looked up at the Council, defiance written across his features. Let them see what they wanted to see. It was all a part, a role, it wasn't him.

Ragein stepped forward, a knife in his hands as his blade remained hovering where it was. Anakin reached out, slicing his hand along the blade where the Sith held it, allowing the blood to drip down his palm and onto the floor.

He hated Sith rituals.

"Blood binds you to the Sith, to the Dark Side, to strength," Ragein intoned. "A price all must pay, a cost you have accepted."

“Rise, Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith,” Greatus said, an air of finality ringing with his words, and Anakin swallowed as he obeyed.

Notes:

I just made up two ceremonies in two chapters, I'm very proud of myself. Well, one is more of a cult induction, but same thing. And yes, it's a bit dramatic... but it's an ancient Sith ritual.

Chapter 15

Anakin tried to hide his trepidation as he walked beside Obi-Wan through the hangar of the Dominion, his former Sith Master's new flagship. Anakin's own battalion had sent a commanding officer over to meet him, but Obi-Wan had insisted on bringing him to the 212th's flagship first, for whatever reason. Anakin suspected it was a mix between a simple power play and wanting to keep an eye on Anakin. Trying to keep up with Sith motivations was tiring. Anakin was more bothered by the feel of the Force around him- more specifically, the feel of the men around him in the Force. Their presences were as blank and emotionless as their plain white helmets. No sentient being should feel this blank. A whole hangar of them was unsettling.

If Obi-Wan noticed, he didn't show it- not that it likely would bother him anyway. The Sith probably loved their emotionless, obedient army, perfectly willing to be sent to their deaths through whatever brainwashing they'd been put through on Kamino. And Anakin didn't doubt that there was brainwashing- the Sith wouldn't take their chances with anything less than perfectly loyal soldiers, not if they wanted their secret to remain hidden. And given that they'd provided the army... yes, it was too convenient. The clones were loyal to the Sith and no others. Hopefully, Anakin would be able to break his own men out of the brainwashing, at least a little. Both to protect his own identity and because they deserved to be free of the Sith.

But for the moment, all he could do was follow alongside Obi-Wan- alongside, because Vader, newly Ascended, would no longer tolerate walking behind his former Master, even if the man was now a member of the Sith Council and still technically his superior- and observe, in order to report back to Sheev and their lineage on exactly what was going on with the clone army. Maul had mentioned feeling something off about the clones, and Anakin could definitely feel it too. But what, exactly, was causing it... that was the real question, and information they needed before they could figure out a way to free the clones.

But Anakin would free the clones. He hadn't been able to help free Tatooine like he'd always dreamed, but it wasn't hard to see that the clones were a different kind of slave- literally bought and paid for by the Sith- and that made them Anakin's responsibility to save. Not least because no one but the Jedi seemed to care enough to do so.

They stopped before two clones, blank white helmets staring at them as they came to a stop. Anakin couldn't tell which one was his officer and which was Obi-Wan's- maybe he could convince the Council to allow him to have his soldiers paint their armor, at least a little, so that he could tell them apart from other battalions. Or maybe he wouldn't ask. Either way, it could give them a small means of rebellion, of self-expression. Thoughts for another time.

In the present moment, the two clones saluted, form perfect, minds as blank as their helmets. "Sirs," they said in unison, eerie in how perfect the response was. Even the same inflection on the word, by the same voice. That would take some getting used to.

"Commander," Obi-Wan said, a pleased little smile crossing his face that made Anakin's skin crawl. "I assume everything is ready for our departure."

"Yes, sir," the clone on the right said- Obi-Wan's commander, then.

"Departure?" Anakin asked, turning to Obi-Wan. "You're leaving already?"

"We are leaving immediately," Obi-Wan corrected, and Anakin's eyebrows shot up. "The Council is sending us to Christophsis."

"We?" Anakin repeated incredulously, even as he tried to think if he knew anything about the situation on Christophisis. "I wasn't informed of this!" Not that he really cared that the Sith didn't tell him everything- it helped to give Sheev their plans, but it wasn't like it hurt his feelings or pride or anything if they didn't- but he'd also assumed he'd be able to make his report to Sheev in person. And Sheev hadn't known he was being deployed either- which wasn't a good sign, if the Sith felt confident on deploying battalions without the Senate's approval or even knowledge. It would make it hard to keep a closer eye on them.

"I'm informing you now," Obi-Wan responded primly. "Your ship should be ready to make the jump when you arrive, and we will head straight there."

"Unbelievable," Anakin muttered, to keep up the facade. "Does the Council plan on telling me anything? I'm a Lord now, not some sniveling Apprentice-"

"The Council left it to me to inform you of our assignment, as I would be going with you." Another thing Anakin wasn't exactly thrilled with- being a double agent was always harder when Obi-Wan was looking over his shoulder. But he could live with that part. "And I chose to inform you now. We are leaving for Christophsis. I suggest you head to your ship with your captain immediately." His voice had taken on a dangerous tone, but Vader- emboldened by his recent Ascension- still scoffed before turning back to the clones.

"What's your name, solider?" Anakin asked the captain.

"CT-7567, sir," the man responded instantly.

"Pardon?" Anakin asked, caught off-guard enough to let the word slip out. Obi-Wan sent him a sharp, unreadable look.

"CT-7567," the clone repeated.

Anakin couldn't speak the words he wanted to say- which were mainly the worst swears he knew, directed at the Sith Council and their order in general- in front of Obi-Wan, or the brainwashed soldiers. Instead, he reached for Vader's haughty carelessness, saying, "Surely you have something more easy to remember than that." Which wasn't wrong- on a battlefield, Anakin or the clone he was speaking to could be dead before Anakin even finished speaking the list of letters and numbers. It just ignored the real problem grating at him- surely this man at least had a name...

But of course not. Because the clones had been created by the Sith. "No, sir," the man responded, and Anakin wished he could still feel surprise.

Then again, he probably shouldn't have been surprised in the first place.

Anakin exhaled sharply. "Whatever. With me, Captain." He spun on his heel, stalking away. The man followed without so much as a flinch- physical or emotional- and Anakin wondered if he had been trained for Sith tempers, or if whatever the Sith had done to him had simply left him incapable of feeling emotion at all. The thought sent a shiver through him. To deprive a sentient being of something so essential... yet of course the Sith would do just that.

Anakin had to talk to Sheev. Yes, they had to find out what had been done to the clones right away, because something was very wrong here, and Anakin was going to get to the bottom of it if he had to demand the Sith Council itself for answers.

But for now, he would follow Obi-Wan to Christophsis, and into the war.

Notes:

Next chapter, we finally bring in the character that everyone's been waiting for!

Chapter 16

The siege of Christophsis has taken much longer than Anakin would like. And playing a double agent in a war- especially when his undercover role was meant to revel in the violence- was even harder than he thought it would be. He tried to keep from harming the droids he fought beyond repair- any droid that fought him was instructed to play dead if he attacked them, along with the general orders not to kill him- but sometimes it was unavoidable. And as much as the men who fought by his side were technically his enemy, they were above all pawns of the Sith, with no choice but to fight and die- and they were dying all around Anakin. And throughout it all, Anakin hadn't even had the time to begin looking into the mystery of the clones and their strange blankness, which was not going away no matter how much time Anakin spent with them.

He'd tried to form the beginnings of a plan, but there wasn't much he could do here on Christophsis. He doubted the clones themselves would be able to tell him anything, and getting answers out of Obi-Wan was like pulling teeth from a nexu in the best of times- and these weren't exactly the type of questions he could just go around asking. He'd tried to figure out how to phrase it in a way that could be passed off as something Vader would ask, but the best he could come up with was asking about the possibility of clone traitors, which would have Obi-Wan looking closer at his battalion, which Anakin couldn't exactly have when he was contacting Sheev as often as he could manage to stay updated on the rest of the lineage and the war effort in general.

And then, a little over a month into the siege, Anakin walked into a strategy meeting- though 'into' was a misleading word, considering they were holding it outdoors in the middle of a battle zone, the buildings too dangerous to take shelter in- and there was a teenage Togruta there, black and red armor clashing against blue and white montrals, Force signature giving her away as a Sith Apprentice, though there was no Master in sight. Maybe they were already dead, a darkly satisfying thought. But then, Anakin hadn't heard of anyone coming to reinforce them, and Obi-Wan had been good about keeping him up to date while they were on planet, despite withholding the details of their deployment until they were about to leave. But then why else would there be a random Sith Apprentice in the middle of their war zone?

"Who are you?" Anakin drawled, sizing the girl up, trying to determine what, exactly she was doing here.

"Lord Vader?" she asked, and then at Anakin's sharp nod, continued, "Ahsoka Tano. I'm your new Apprentice."

Confusion and shock whirled in Anakin's mind as he turned on Obi-Wan, waiting on the other side of the open area. "She's what?" he demanded, unsure of whether to laugh at the idea of the Sith giving him an Apprentice or panic at the thought of exactly how much hiding he'd have to do if he ended up with an Apprentice. Keeping things from Obi-Wan for a decade had been one thing, and not an easy one, but a nosy student that he was supposed to teach? He certainly wasn't about to teach her the Dark Side, but could he really turn a Sith Apprentice to the Light right under the Order's nose, without her turning him in before he could get her on his side?

"Your Apprentice," Obi-Wan said, not even bothering to look up. "The Council is assigning Apprentices as Commanders, in order to support the war effort. I took the liberty of acquiring one for you."

Anakin decided not to even attempt to analyze Obi-Wan's reasons for giving him an Apprentice right now. He was too stuck on the words that preceded it- that the Sith were sending their own children out to war just for the sake of it. It shouldn't surprise him- they were Sith, after all, and any Apprentice's childhood would be filled with violence- but he found his eyes wandering to Ahsoka. She was so young, and they were sending her out to die.

He didn't know what to do.

"Let's get started," Anakin said, walking past his new Apprentice and to the table. Obi-Wan clearly noticed the lack of Naming Ceremony- the official words that would give her her Sith name and make her his Apprentice- but didn't comment, beginning the briefing. Anakin didn't pay attention to most of it- he already knew everything Obi-Wan was going over anyway- too busy studying Ahsoka. Despite her armor, she looked young, eager to jump into the fight but just a bit nervous. She was clearly intimidated by both him and Obi-Wan- her new Master and a member of the Sith Council. She hovered at the edge of the Dark, just Fallen enough to satisfy the Sith, but not nearly as much as he'd expect. As if part of her was resisting the Dark, didn't quite fit with the mold the Sith were trying to force her into.

Anakin didn't know what to do.

So when the briefing ended, he shoved her off on his captain to teach her the basics of how not to die in battle and slipped away, finding a shadowy corner where neither the Sith or the clones would find him, and pulled out his comm.

He hesitated over who to comm for a moment. Sheev was his mentor, the one he would always turn to with a question, but he hesitated a moment. And then he commed Dooku.

Because Sheev had turned Dooku to the Light from within the Sith Order, but Dooku had both turned a Padawan to the Light and hidden himself as a Rising Jedi within the Order, and he knew better than anyone the danger of keeping a double identity as a Sith.

"Anakin?" Dooku asked, concern coloring his voice as his image appeared before Anakin. "Is something wrong?"

Anakin took a deep breath, and told him, "The Sith Council wants to give me an Apprentice. Or maybe they already have, I'm not entirely sure what's happening. She showed up in the middle of my campaign today."

Dooku took in this information without blinking and nodded. "Talk to me." An open offer, someone else to bounce his thoughts off of and talk through his fears and his hesitation with either decision.

"I want to help her," Anakin admitted, because he did and they weren't going to get anywhere if he didn't say it. "She's so young, too young to be fighting this war. And I think I can do it. She's not meant to be Dark, you know how it feels." Dooku nodded. The Sith that were on the edge of the Dark and always felt like they were about to be thrown out of it at any moment, like their entire being was rebelling against it. The ones that were always watched the closest, because the Sith couldn't trust someone that close to the Light. Anakin didn't know how to feel about the fact that neither he or Dooku were one of those people. Sheev had found Dooku because he'd been questioning the Sith Council and had taken the chance to offer him an ear to listen and slowly guide toward the Light, not because he'd already been halfway there. And Anakin himself had started in the Light, and had never truly Fallen by choice and determination, not because the Dark didn't fit him. Sometimes, it was hard not to listen to it, to let it drag him down when it was all he was surrounded by. Those days, he'd always found his was to Sheev and stayed as long as possible, soaking in his mentor's Light and letting it keep him rooted. But Ahsoka? She was different. She was Dark because the Sith forced her to be, but she didn't belong there. But... "But she's still a child and I'd be putting both of us in danger. If she catches on too early, she could go to the Council, or if it worked, I'd be forcing her to live a lie, and we both know how dangerous it is. That's a lot of pressure to put on the head of a kid."

"You did it," Dooku pointed out. Not pressuring him either way, just stating the facts. "You did it and you had a Sith Master that was an actual Sith, which is a lot harder to hide than from outsiders."

He had a point. Still, "Do you think I could do it?" Anakin asked. "Get her to the Light without giving it away too early?" That was the real question, wasn't it? Could Anakin pull off what Master Sheev had pulled off, getting Dooku to the Light from inside the Order without tipping anyone off, including Dooku himself? Could he risk his own cover and identity to help this girl who needed him?

"You'd have to tread carefully," Dooku warned him. "Start by getting her to trust you, then to trust you over the Sith, and then coax her out of the Dark. It will help if it's already pushing her away- if it feels right, she's less likely to fight it, and go to the Sith. But if you're careful, I think you could do it. Especially if you're already her Master."

Anakin nodded. "I- I think I'm going to. She needs help. And I want to help her." This felt right in the Force. Ahsoka Tano would be his Padawan, even if he had to take her as an Apprentice first. He'd help her find her way. Help both of them find their way.

"Then take her on," Dooku told him. "And we'll be there to help. Well, mostly Sheev, but I'm sure the rest of us can talk to her too, under specific circumstances. He'll be very excited to meet his new grandpadawan, I'm sure."

Anakin smiled. "Thank you."

"Of course." Returning the smile, Dooku inclined his head, and the hologram faded away.

So after sneaking past the droid army and blowing up a shield generator, Anakin asked her, "Do you pledge yourself to me, and to the teachings of the Sith?"

"I do," she responded, kneeling before him.

"Then henceforth, you shall be known as Darth Oriri." A name picked from an ancient language, not for her pledge to the Darkness, but for the hope for her future.

I take you as my Padawan learner, Anakin told her silently. I will be your guide to the Light. I swear it.

Notes:

Ahsoka! Oriri is Latin for Rise, for those who have been asking what her Sith name was going to be.