Chapter 4: Sidious


Was it just Zannah, or has Coruscant gotten even bigger?

Its the thought that strikes her as they step out of the dropship onto a landing pad, a hub to be transported to different locations on the world. The last time she had visited here hadn't been long before she'd put herself in stasis. They just kept on building higher and higher it seemed. It was a wonder none of it had rusted and crumbled down. Perhaps they had an army of maintenance droids towards the bottom.

Idle curiosity made her muse aloud, "I wonder when is the last time someone actually saw the ground."

"Probably before even you were born," said Anakin, "I know that street gangs, criminals, and those in poverty live on the 'lower levels', lower being questionable for Coruscant, but I don't think that comes close to actually hitting the bottom."

"Probably not," she agreed, "So, where to?"

Kenobi stepped off the dropship, arms folding into his sleeves. "Reporting in I'm afraid. There is bound to be a bit of a mess to deal with after Ventress's death and your... waking up. The council wants a debrief first before they meet you."

He gave Anakin a not so subtle look. "The Chancellor also made a request for an in-person report after my initial report to the council was forwarded to the Senate. Perhaps you'd prefer to go do so? Unless you'd prefer the council..."

"Oh no, no no no, they're all yours," said Anakin, "'Sides, ought to introduce Rain to the Chancellor."

Obi-Wan nodded. "Very well, come along Ahsoka, we will go give our report and our impressions."

Zannah's eyebrows narrowed briefly. Impressions? Hmm... likely about her. She pushed the thought aside from the moment, instead focusing on the Chancellor. The likelihood of him being the descendant of Bane's Line, Her Line. The Dark Side was thick around Coruscant, breathing in felt like taking in a drug with every breath, it was intoxicating, empowering. Combined with the death spreading through the galaxy at war, it made her feel like she was in her teens again. It was also slightly unnerving, the euphoria of it all made her want to howl to the world aloud the supremacy of the Sith and the Dark Side. It fueled her anger, her hatred, to levels she was actually having to put effort into controlling.

She didn't like not feeling completely in control.

She was also wary of how the Sith Master might react to her. Only two there were, no more, no less. She was not supposed to be awake right now. There was the possibility that this could go very, very, south, very quickly. Sith were not hopeful beings, so she was not hopeful for a certain reaction, she instead assumed that Palpatine wouldn't be a moron and try to kill her then and there if he didn't like the Rule of Two being broken. Because she would fight back to survive, even if that jeopardized revealing them both and ruining the Grand Plan. Honestly though, he ought to have kept a better damn control of his acolytes then, it wasn't her fault she was awake after all.

She and Skywalker make for the senate, and the boy starts chatting about how great a man Palpatine is. Zannah mostly tunes him out, nodding her head or giving a quick response when prompted. She's more paying attention to how Skywalker talks rather than what he's saying. The boy is firmly in Palpatine's grasp. Subtly trying to peel him away will be tedious and difficult. Not to mention considering how Skywalker runs his mouth and gushes over his current favorite, he'd easily out her influence to the Sith Master when she started overtaking him.

She smiled a little at that. No easy apprentice would have ever been worth it.

Her eyes flicker around and take in the senate building as they move. The rotunda had, evidently, been renovated, but the thing was still mostly the same in structure. Annoyingly though, she was going to need to restart her own information network on what Senator fit where in the grand scheme of things, unless the current Sith Master was willing to 'share' information. Even then, she'd need to double check it, and try to see what had been held back or hidden from her. She believed he wouldn't try to immediately kill her, not until the Grand Plan was done, or at least until she was out of his office at minimum. But she would expect treachery every step of the way.

He would test her at every opportunity, and if he found her wanting, she would be disposed of, if he were capable of the deed.

The deeper they moved into the senate, the closer to the epicenter of the Dark Side they drew. Her skin felt aflame, burning and tingling with the power radiating through the Force. Yet the Jedi didn't have a clue. It was so carefully hidden, shrouded effortlessly. The Dark Side pulsed through the senate building, tendrils and lines of power threaded through the halls, into objects, people, specific rooms. Its almost like an... an attempt by the Sith to create their own version of a Force Nexus. Not nearly as powerful, but the Dark Side was focused here, by the Sith Master's sheer will and power. Its influence... it was corruptive, of everything, and what could not be directly corrupted would be clouded. There would be little that happened here that the Sith Master was not at least somewhat aware of.

She very intently does not try to tap into it. Not yet. She's not going to poach on the current Sith Master's terrain like that, not carelessly anyway. Especially since he would likely be aware of it and not find it amusing. That would be a quick way to get herself in trouble with him, and she's not nearly ready for that. If she's honest, she doesn't really feel ready to meet with him yet. She'd wanted to have more time to observe from afar and learn. Skywalker dragging her to the Chancellor was not quite what she had in mind. She didn't particularly have a reason not to that she could offer him, not without disappointing him on meeting his 'friend'.

She grins slightly. Bringing him to heel and wrangling him was going to be a long, challenging process.

They paused at a receptionist to announce themselves. Zannah briefly gazes around, taking in the very obvious dark red coloring to the walls and the carpeting, and through the doorway to the Chancellor's Office. Nice touch, all in Sith coloring and structure. Right under the nose of the Jedi and... wait... she couldn't quite catch it at this angle, but was that a... a bronzium of one of the Four Sages of Dwartii? He had that kept in plain sight?

She dismissed the thought as they were waved in. She fell in a step behind Skywalker, and walked through the door.

Everything faded away.

There was no doorway.

No furniture.

No decoration.

No floor.

No walls.

No ceiling.

No windows.

Everything faded away into the Black Hole in the Force outlined in the shape of a man.

Zannah reflexively swallows back everything she feels in that moment. That sheer moment of pure, unadulterated, terror. She blinks once to refocus everything back to the physical, giving skin to the creature in front of them. She has never felt or read about any Sith who has ever felt anything like this, aside from maybe Vitiate. He barely even feels like a sentient lifeform, almost feels like the Sith himself IS a Dark Side Nexus given flesh and form. She recognizes instantly how she had vastly underestimated how powerful the Sith had become since her time. The power of merely being in his presence is intoxicating, nauseous, corruptive, and absolutely destructive.

Whatever shielding was grounded into this room to contain his presence from her sight was truly impressive. Even inside the room he was so neatly woven into the Dark Side that it took a Sith Master such as herself to even perceive him through it all when he was wrapped in its embrace. But she sorely wishes she hadn't. If she's honest, she wishes she were back in stasis right about now. She is no coward, but she wants to be anywhere but here at the moment getting every concept and notion of what power truly meant shattered. She is not ready for this, hells, she will never be ready for this, not without Skywalker properly trained as her apprentice. She will never be able to directly contest and fight this creature without ridiculously unrealistic setup.

Skywalker moves to the center of the room and bows to the Chancellor who sits at his desk, Zannah briefly fallowing suit for appearance sake. "Chancellor."

The Sith gives the boy a warm grandfatherly smile. "Ah, Anakin, I was hoping they would send you to deliver the report."

And doesn't Skywalker perk up at someone wanting to see him. Except that smile isn't for Skywalker. Its for her, and underneath the outer skin, its condescending and smug as hell. She sees the spite in his eyes. He sees right through her and knows who and what she is, and he had obviously felt her brief fear, and was mocking her for it. There is only faint interest in his eyes, he does not consider her a threat, just entertainment. She straights her spine, reinforces her shields under her false aura of light as much as she possibly can, and narrows her own eyes in warning at him.

She might be completely outclassed, but she will not cower before him.

"So my boy, did I hear right? Ventress is no more?" posed the Chancellor.

Anakin nods, grinning. "That witch is finally gone."

He glanced at Zannah. "Ventress ran into 'ol Rain' here."

"Not that old Skywalker," drawled Zannah, "I'm like... forty-seven."

One good thing about starting with an adult apprentice, coached Cognus for over a decade and then left her for the Holocrons to finish up.

"Older than Obi-Wan."

She kicks his shin, he deserved it.

The Chancellor chuckled. "Well miss...?"

"Rain," she offered.

"Just Rain?"

"Clan names didn't exist on my homeworld."

"Interesting, I suppose I'll have to inquire on that another time, how did you defeat Ventress?"

"She sprung a trap and I ran her through."

The Chancellor slow blinked. "And here I was thinking Anakin here gave the most, concise, reports."

She's not willingly giving him anything more than necessary.

Anakin coughed, flushing a bit. "I'm not that bad..."

The Chancellor gives him a knowing smile. "Would you care to demonstrate then?"

Anakin squints at him, a mock-betrayed look on his face despite it being his own fault for walking into that, but does so. Skywalker makes it seem like a very engaging tale, even when he's mostly bitching about getting swamp muck all over him. Honestly, drylanders, she lived on her homeworld just fine back in the day. Boy probably wouldn't have survived the Bog Cough as a brat.

"That seems rather callus," mused Palpatine after the end, "To set up their 'Jedi Shadow' up as bait and then just leave you there when as was said and done."

The undertone made it clear what he thought of her deception. He didn't seem impressed. Petty bastard, the hell was she supposed to do with like .01 seconds planning in a do or die situation like that? Side with the Acolyte? That would have been a great way to end up really really dead. She was good, but she had literally just woken up, and would have been confronted with two separate Mandalorian clone units, the most powerful Force Sensitive ever, and an apprentice on top of that. All she would have had was a cornered Acolyte. She wasn't placing her bets on Ventress. She would have needed her Sorcery, and hoped it could have incapacitated Skywalker long enough to get the hell out of there until she got herself oriented and situated.

This was the more sure path however.

"I didn't think highly of it either," muttered Anakin, "But, their loss our gain. I think Rain being here will definitely help us in the long run."

"I suppose we will have to wait and see," said Palpatine, looking her over, "You've certainly come out the door strong. Though, you being here does offer another certain historical outlook, tell me, how were politics in your time?"

The face Skywalker makes is exactly what she feels, but she knows where her descendant is going with this: Driving Skywalker off so they can talk alone. So she complies, reciting what she recalled of the senate, their policies, and how the fractured galaxy operated at the time under various Jedi Lords and the Brotherhood of Darkness. She's actually rather impressed that Skywalker lasted ten minutes into their dialogue before he bowed out.

"If you don't mind Chancellor, I think I'll let you and Rain discuss politics while I go check up on a friend."

Palpatine gives him a knowing smile. "Do give Senator Amidala my regards."

Anakin flushes a little before he recovers and bows. "Of course."

Zannah very carefully does not react to the emotions that spill out of Anakin at the name 'Amidala'. She does not like any of them, and feels a headache coming on from yet another tedious complication likely to arise from Skywalker. She and Palpatine keep it up for about a minute after Skywalker leaves, just incase he comes back for some reason, until the conversation slowly trails off and the pair of Sith regard one another. Zannah doesn't have all day however, she will be summoned by the Jedi Council at some point.

She reaches to begin to shroud the room, but Palpatine acts the moment she does, smothering the room in his hidden darkness effortlessly and batting her efforts aside. The arrogant ass.

Both of their eyes bleed yellow seconds later as they let down their masks in the shielded room. After her poor start, she decided to immediately take the lead, and the offensive. "Have you no control of your acolytes, descendant? I should not be awake."

Palpatines lips peel into a sneer. "My name, ancestor, is Sidious, Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith."

Oh that was one hell of a name, she'd give Sidious's master credit for that. "The darth and the title is kind of implied. My point still stands."

Keep him on the defensive...

"Ventress was my fool tool's acolyte, had she been mine, and still alive, she would be dead for this foolishness. There was no need to awaken you. Our line is not faltering, nor are your services required to finish the Grand Plan."

Tool? It would seem Dooku was not a true apprentice then, just a stand in.

"Not that your services were called upon the one time they could have been of use either," said Sidious snidely, "The Sith had no use of a coward who ran from death at her apprentice's hand."

Zannah narrows her eyes, her presence flaring and pulsing darkly. "Only two there are, no more no less. While sound in theory, it leaves much to dangerous chance. The premature or accidental death of a Master could have left a apprentice floundering and threatened our line. If Cognus had found me or caught me during setup, I would have accepted death. I did not run from my duty, I shifted it to being a backup plan if it became necessary to restart or repair the Rule of Two."

Then she frowned as she caught what he had said before the insult. "And what do you mean the 'one time I could have been of use'? What happened?"

Sidious makes a noise of disgust. "Gravid, a disgrace of the Order of the Sith Lords, not worthy of the title Darth. He tried to blend Jedi and Sith teachings together, drawn to the light while trying to stay in the dark. It drove him mad, and with the loss of his sanity, he destroyed much of the Sith's collection of holocrons, artifacts, and lore..."

"HE DID WHAT?!" exploded Zannah in furious rage, the room pulsing black in the Force, chill deepening.

Sidious pauses for a moment to sample her fury, his disregard for her slightly lessening. "His apprentice, Darth Gean, managed to stop him from destroying it all, but was grievously injured, and untrained, to the point where she was not a worthy test for her own apprentice. Gravid set us back centuries, the Grand Plan should have been completed well before I was born."

Zannah takes that in for a stunned moment before she hisses, "Why the hell wasn't I awoken after that?! I could have recompiled the knowledge that was lost and completed Gean's training!"

Sidious goes still for a moment, and regards her with something aside from contempt or dark amusement: actual interest and dark desire. "Hmm... that is right, you existed before Gavid destroyed our knowledge. It would appear there is a use for you after all. Some of what was lost was recovered, but not nearly all of it. You could fill in that gap by the time the Jedi are wiped out, the Sith fully restored in their knowledge as the Grand Plan is completed."

"You didn't answer my question," she snaps.

"Because I don't know," admits Sidious, "Its likely Darth Gean did not know you existed. Her training was largely incomplete because of Gavid's incompetence and madness."

"That shouldn't have mattered, I left failsafes that should have led the apprentice to me if the Master died...," muttered Zannah, crossing her arms, before she feels the mocking laughter of the Dark Side, and judging by the brief twitch from Sidious he felt it too. Then, the Dark Side whispers a single name to her:

Cognus...

Rage engulfs Zannah. "That little bitch!"

Sidious lets out a soft chuckle. "Well now, if I had to guess, your apprentice did find you, but chose to let you rot in stasis forever rather than kill you. "

Zannah ground her teeth in frustration, all the while she admits to herself she's a little impressed with her apprentice in discovering her and wiping away her failsafes. She underestimated Cognus. Though she is very curious how any of her line even knew about her if Cognus tried to shove her under the rug. "And thus, treachery and betrayal again weakens the Sith."

Sidious hums, whether in thought or agreement she doesn't know.

"You disagree?"

"While you have use, I question your worthiness of your station," said Sidious, sneering at her.

She glared at him. "I earned my position as a Sith Lord."

"So says the so-called Sith Lord who quaked in fear at my mere presence?" mocked Sidious.

Zannah doesn't allow her anger to manifest. Her initial reaction to her descendant hadn't been controlled at all, wasn't befitting of a Dark Lord of the Sith. She had earned the contempt radiating off of Sidious. So she considers her words carefully. "It is one thing to envision the culmination of the Rule of Two, it is another thing entirely out of imagination to witness it given flesh."

Sidious lips turn to a patronizing smile, his words dripping of arrogance, "So I am everything and more than Darth Bane ever thought possible?"

"Bane and I envisioned a powerful Sith, yes, the most powerful ever perhaps," said Zannah without agreeing, "I don't think either of us actually understood what that meant."

He narrows his eyes at her. He caught the slight then. "I'm sure Lord Bane had more understanding than you assume."

"You know, for all you seem to want to kiss his boots, you seem to forget that I defeated him," said Zannah icily.

"After he grew old."

"Oh don't give me that shit," said Zannah flatly, "For one, age is meaningless before the power of the Dark Side, especially on the Force Nexus we fought on. For two, the final part of the confrontation wasn't physical. He kriffing Essence Transferred into my body. I killed him in a soul on soul fight. No one can deny exactly what that meant for all you seem to prop him up and put me down."

She narrows her eyes in warning. "And before you even hint that he let me win, let me advise you of how stupid that would be for a Sith Lord who could just body hop his way down the line to the death of the Jedi and ruled forever snatching the bodies of his apprentices to let me defeat him."

Sidious looked like he swallowed something sour. "I suppose I can acknowledge that."

"And I suppose I can see what the Sith have lost and fill in the gaps," she grudgingly offers as a token of armistice, "I will also make plain that I have no interest in endangering the Grand Plan. I will not challenge you nor interfere in a way that would risk the ruination of all our efforts, unless you try to directly kill me of-course."

She will not challenge him until the Grand Plan was finished, that is. But Skywalker was fair game before then.

She allows her shields to briefly dip, and Sidious is a brief mixture of surprised/suspicious, and cautiously senses for the truth in her words, expecting a trap. There is none except for the deception hidden in the truth of her words. She wont endanger all of their efforts on petty infighting. He pulls back and slowly nods, considering her for a long moment.

"I will gather a listing of what knowledge we have and alter the shielding of one of my storehouses for you to sense in a week," says Sidious, "There, I will leave that list for you to view."

"I will look at it, though it is likely I am going to have to run through a few hoops dealing with the Jedi and not be able to devote the required effort to filling in the gaps for some time," she said in disdain, "Ventress gave me less than a second to think when she woke me up. The whole 'I'm a Jedi Shadow' bit was on the spot. Honestly, the idiocracy, the Jedi were right there!"

It also makes sure that if he wants all of what she knows to be given, he will not try to kill her preemptively.

"Hmph," grunted Sidious, "I would have thought you would have been able to slip out regardless."

"Yeah, if I wanted to be hunted down after with no knowledge of when I was let along the circumstances or if there was even a ship to steal," answered Zannah, "This way draws less direct suspicion, and because I've already made my dislike of the Jedi of this day and age clear, should I ever decide to 'leave' their Order, it wont be as questioned."

He gives a slow nod. "Still, they will pit you against the plans of the Sith as best they can."

"Probably, but that's what personal comlink codes are for," she said, giving him a sly look.

He scoffed. "You expect me to do your work for you?"

"No, but I expect you to know what has to be maintained that I can choose to fail at, and what can serve as a calculated sacrifice," rebutted Zannah, "Speaking of which, I'd like if you let me know the moment you don't need Dooku alive anymore. I want to take Ventress's idiocy out of his hide."

"Dooku has his uses, and his death is one of them," he said in warning, "As a test for my future apprentice."

Ah... it was time.

"Oh?" she said, moving to sit in the chair across from him, crossing one leg over another, "Found a winner then? It'll be interesting to actually compare apprentices with another of my line."

He stares at her with an air of incredulity. "You cannot be that blind."

She raises an eyebrow at him. "I woke up days ago under the eyes of Jedi, I've barely investigated anything yet."

"He is the most powerful Force Sensitive ever born, the perfect servant," said Sidious dryly, contempt for her in his voice, "You spent the last few days with him. From what I could tell, you spent them currying favor."

She forces her emotions to mirror his own incredulity and begins the most deadly game of her life, all the while the phrase 'perfect servant' starts to set something uneasy in her gut. "You... you can't be serious. Skywalker? You want that whinny little bitch as your apprentice?"

Sidious slow blinks at her, eyebrows climbing. "You disapprove?"

"There is more to a Sith Lord than pure power, and he has far to many issues to work in the long run," said Zannah in disdain, "That 'favor currying' puts me in place to kill him when he least expects it if need be."

"I find myself curious," said Sidious slowly, "What do you think makes him unfit to be a Sith? Don't waste either of our time with failings that can be beaten or trained out of him."

"His past as a slave could have served him as a source of anger and hate," said Zannah, "Instead, he whines for mommy. He is traumatized by it if he lets himself dwell. He actually cried on my shoulder when I pushed and he admitted to considering himself a child of rape."

Sidious's nose wrinkled in distaste, a tsk escaping his lips. "I'm surprised he admitted that to you. Prying into his past as a slave is, at times, like pulling teeth."

"Never underestimate the power of a pretty sympathetic female face," said Zannah mockingly.

Sidious scoffed.

Zannah grinned. "It works far more often than you'd think."

"I suppose being born female has some uses."

Did he just... really? Disregarding and underestimating almost half the damn galaxy over something petty like gender was ridiculous. Bane sure as hell never had that issue. Whatever, his loss her gain, she merely gives him an unimpressed look. "As opposed to being born male with something squishy hanging between your legs to be kicked or crushed that cripples you in agony?"

He returns the unamused look.

They stare down eachother for a few moments longer before returning to the previous topic.

"You truly don't believe Skywalker would serve well?" posed Sidious, skeptical.

"Ignoring that his opposition to slavery could cause issues with Sith rule, his attachments are his biggest problem," she said, truthful in that while hiding her desire behind deception, "They will always pull at his loyalty to the Sith."

"Such attachments can be severed," said Sidious.

"Skywalker is a needy little shit," she said flatly, "If you strip his attachments away, he will merely find more because he cannot truly live without them, and while I see that you have planted yourself as an attachment to him, that will not survive long should he temporarily find himself your apprentice."

"I did not particularly hate Bane, not until the stupid shit he pulled towards the end, but there was no comradery or love between us," said Zannah, "Any 'friendship' you two have will not last. Sith have no use of friends."

Sidious regards Zannah for a long minute, eyes betraying nothing nor his shrewd face. Finally, he allows a small frown to show. "Perhaps it requires a step back and perusal of options, one cannot be to careful in the selection of an apprentice, but I do believe he still will provide the most useful tool out of what is available. A dark enforcer of my will while I rule the galaxy."

Zannah careful does not react to his words. Tool? Enforcer? The way Sidious said that... it fills here with a sense of unease and wariness. Apprentices were tools, yes, but they were also legacy. The continuation of their line. Zannah might have not died by going into stasis, she had honestly kind of done it on a whim, but there was no greater success and proof of a Sith Master's greatness than their apprentice finally overtaking them. Anakin would be her apprentice, but unlike last time, she was not going to survive to go back into stasis. He would become far to ready, and far to powerful, very quickly. To the point she was concerned he would surpass and kill her before she could teach him enough to actually be considered a proper Sith Apprentice, let alone Lord or Master.

The sensation Sidious gives off... does not share that same vibe. Not even close. Ventress had not awoken her by Sidious's will, that was definitely for certain. It was possible she had come on her own, but Zannah doesn't believe that. She believes Ventress had been sent, likely by Dooku. She needs to locate and interrogate the current active 'apprentice'. Something is amiss, it almost... almost sounds like Sidious does not want a real, actual apprentice...

"I can't really say otherwise," said Zannh, "I haven't seen more than the boy's direct lineage. Kenobi is too sickeningly light for his own good, and Skywalker's apprentice is a brat."

Sidious hummed with that. "Kenobi has potential in certain regards, but yes, the effort to try and actually turn him is either not likely to work, or would require breaking him and rebuilding him from the ground up, a pointless endeavor when there are so many more to chose from."

"From what I've read of him, Dooku would have actually served as a decent tool rather than a stand in if he wasn't even older than you were," she said dryly, poking at Sidious's decision, "As an apprentice though..."

Sidious scoffed. "Dooku still has far to much Jedi in him to truly serve in the long run. He still, honestly, believes that I intend for him to live through the war. That would only happen as an absolute last resort should every other potential worthwhile apprentice fail."

Zannah chuckled. "Blind to the end. Seeing the look in his eyes when he realizes the truth might be worth staying my hand."

They both share a sadistic conspiratorial grin, the Dark Side pulsing with shared malice between them, a brief euphoric feedback loop of dark delight.

Sidious hummed briefly, eyes half closed, savoring the sensation. "Its been quite some time since I was last in the presence of another actual Dark Lord of the Sith."

"How long ago did you succeed your Master?"

"A little over a decade."

She nodded thoughtfully. "You learned what you needed from him, you had the chancellorship, and you were ready."

"I could have used him a few more years," admitted Sidious, "There were a few of his... abilities, that I have not mastered that I had the desire to. However, his ridiculous desire for co-chancellorship when his public persona was not a politician, let alone a senator, and had been secluded in his laboratories experimenting for most of the last few decades of his life was absurd and could have caused extensive problems and questioning."

The last part was spoken in a snarl, Zannah raised an eyebrow, "He left the legwork solely to you?"

"Mostly," corrected Sidious with grudging admission, "But yes, he preferred to waste time with his experiments while I set up the political sphere. Its not to say he did not give his input or direction on certain events, but he had started to grow... complacent, and that was the end of him. He practically begged me to kill him with how easy it was to snuff him out."

Zannah scoffed and shook her head. "Bane started delving into holocrons towards the end, but he still carried his weight, and honestly, I understood the holocron bit, leaving behind one's knowledge for future use, a more... personal legacy, rather than our descendants. Have you given thought to your own Holocron yet?"

A patronizing smile crossed his face. "Perhaps when the Jedi are dead, the Republic converted into an Empire, and I have proper tools to delegate to, I can devote the time to one, but not yet."

She nods. "Fair."

"I'm also curious if I can find the Telos Holocron instead of crafting my own, there have been a few rumors I've been interested in investigating but haven't the time."

Zannah's eyebrows climb. "Ambitious of you."

Sidious scoffed before slowly he stands and moves to the window, gazing out across Coruscant, to the Jedi Temple, and Zannah moves to stand beside him. "I've seen it, in visions, the Temple burning, the Force screaming as the Jedi die. Its so close to the proper time, I can feel it."

"How far are we from execution?"

"Oh, I can execute at will," he answered, smugly satisfied, "I'm merely waiting for the Republic to become more... disenfranchised with the Senate and the Jedi, but more importantly, a proper apprentice."

She slow blinked. He's already set up? Completely? She's not sure if she'd have the discipline to have the death of the Jedi Order at her fingertips and hold off. "Just as an FYI, I'm not interested in becoming an apprentice again."

"You were the first apprentice, I was the last," said Sidious, "I have no interest in taking you into that position."

The last? Again his word choice tugs uncomfortably with her. "Good."

He gives her a considerate look. "Your potential place within my Empire will depend on your worthiness and abilities. Your past deeds, while they may have set up our line for the future, are where they lay, in the past. You prove yourself here and now, or you will be disposed of Lord Zannah. Am I clear?"

"I suspected as much," was all she answered.

He nodded. "One such use will be Skywalker. I will take a step back from him being my confirmed choice and observe, I will thoroughly have him tested, and I want you to observe and report on these tests. I do believe the phrase is, 'the gloves come off'. I'm sure Dooku will be thrilled to have me retract my orders to preserve Skywalker's life."

"You held Skywalker's hand that much?" asked Zannah, just a tad incredulous.

A Sith Apprentice should regularly be tested with life and death situations to make them show their merit. She's more than willing to watch and observe these tests, if only to make sure Skywalker IS the right choice.

"He has been placed in many situations more meant to push him towards the dark or cause tension between him and the Jedi Council," said Sidious, "The intent was to turn him, not kill him."

He smiles fondly in remembrance. "Oh, his emotions after being forced to save the Hutt's child were delicious. A slave saving the child of a slaver."

He chuckles darkly. "Such delights."

Ouch, Zannah almost feels bad for Skywalker. Well... not really. She snickers. "You were named appropriately, Sidious."

Sidious smiles patronizingly. "I know."


"And I never really thought I'd find another Jedi just like me," said Anakin, "Well, a little harsher when she really goes off, but hey, she had to deal with Sith a lot more then we do."

Padme smiled briefly at him before refocusing on her datapad, you know, her actual work that Anakin knew he was distracting her from, but she was honestly to strung out sometimes. Needed to take a break now and then. "I'm glad you found a friend."

"Oh Force, you sound like Obi-wan when I told him."

She laughed. "Maybe because we both agree?"

He crossed his arms petulantly, grumbling, "Not my fault most are holier than thou look down their noses at me assholes."

"Anakin!"

He smiles a little. "Not a lot were like Darra and..."

He cut off with a grimace. Force... it had been a long while since he had thought of his old dead friend... dead because of him.

"Anakin?"

He shook his head sharply, lips pursed.

Padme, bless her, didn't press, instead she hums thoughtfully in consideration. "I'm moderately curious about the legalities of it all with Rain."

Anakin blinked. "The-what?"

"The Ruusan Reformation reshaped both the Jedi and the Republic, Anakin," she answered, "She comes from a period of the Jedi Order that had not yet agreed to any reformations or concessions as the current Order did, as such, neither has she. She is a Jedi, yes, but legally... I don't think Rain actually answers to the Senate, or even your own Council, unless she agrees to accept being incorporated into the Order as a whole and the rules and restrictions that come with it. I'd have to actually talk with someone more versed in technicalities and law than I am to be sure."

That was... oh. Well... Rain would probably like that, wouldn't she? "Well, I can probably kiss getting her assigned to the 501st goodbye then. Tch."

Padme slowly looks up, a slight frown on her face. "You... wanted her assigned with you?"

"Well yeah, she'd be awesome to fight alongside."

"You two seem to have hit it off really well," said Padme quietly.

Anakin frowns a little, not sure what to make of the emotions coming from her. "Yeah?"

"Should I be jealous?" she asks, uncertain honesty pulsing off her.

Anakin slow blinks. What? She thinks he would do that to her? Rain was hot for an older woman, yeah anyone would admit that, but Padme was his angel. "Padme, I'm married to you!"

"That hasn't stopped others."

"I'm not others," he said sharply, a little hurt, "Where is this coming from, Angel?"

"It's just... she can understand and work with you in ways I can't because of the Force."

"Padme, a lot of the reasons I love you is because you don't have the Force," he said deadpan, "I can... just be normal around you, can actually feel around you without you getting mental whiplash through the Force or me getting talked down to for having feelings, and that's... that one of the greatest reliefs I've had since... since I lived with mom."

His heart melted and the hurt went away when she gave him that shy smile he'd never seen her give others, not even her handmaidens, just reserved for him. "I'm sorry for doubting, I'm... if I'm honest, I've dated once or twice, but I've never gotten anywhere in a relationship before like this. There's a lot of uncertainty with it all for me."

"Well, me neither."

She laughed a little. "I do love you Anakin, I wouldn't chose another over you, and you wouldn't chose another over me. Honestly, even if you died I couldn't imaging falling in love again anytime soon, decades maybe if I ever could."

That was... scarily sweet and honest yet... something in him twisted at the thought of Padme being so unhappy for so many years because of him. He'd want to be grieved for, yeah, but... not if it destroyed his Angel. Never if it destroyed his Angel. He'd die in a heartbeat for her, even if it was to only make her happy. He would have died for his mom if he could have to see her live. "Make me a promise, Angel."

She blinked. "A promise?"

"I'm... I'm not going to say I'm unkillable," he admits quietly, "I'm aware every day I'm on the front it could be my last. If I do die, grieve, but... but don't be afraid to live again. I wouldn't want you to be unhappy for so long because of me."

She full on stares at him in astonishment. "When did you grow up Anakin?"

He gives her a glare. "Hey!"

She smiles with a mixture of warmth and sadness at him. "I just..., didn't think I hear something like that from you."

Owch. That smarts. He knows he's not the most romantic guy around (flirting using sand as a metaphor still makes him cringe to think back on), but still! He'd tried hard right there!

She giggles at the expression on his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend, I'm proud of you."

Okay, okay, he'd forgive her this one time for that.

"I'll make the promise, but only if you do in turn," she answered.

His heart skipped a beat at the mere notion of Padme dying. "You're in a lot less danger than I am."

She raised an eyebrow. "How many times has Gunray tried to kill me again?"

Okay... point kind of taken.

"We both know that we're going to lose our positions once it gets out we're married," she said softly, "I accepted that, if I can help settle the war through politics, then I've done my service, and... and I know you're not happy in the Order, that's been apparent to me since we got married, so I honestly think leaving after the war to start a family would make you happy. If I die Anakin, promise me you'll find a reason to be happy again. Whether its a person or a cause, promise me you'll leave the Order and be happy."

Anakin swallowed thickly, throat and lips so dry. "Padme..."

She looks at him with those eyes of hers, and Anakin can't imagine living without her. He is still getting to know Ashoka, and sometimes Obi-Wan is so distant, she's all he has after mom died. "I..."

She waits, she doesn't press, doesn't try to Force him, she asked him as he had asked her. "I..."

"I promise."

Force, why did it feel like he tore his own heart out to say that?

She smiles at him, gets up, and moves to pull him into a hug. "Mmm, we should do this more often."

"Do... do what? Hug?"

"Talk," she said, laughing, "Serious talk as a couple. We've had so little time since the war began we kind of just push it aside to simply be together. But... taking care of important conversations is... hard, but fulfilling."

That's not quite how he'd phrase that promise exchange.

"Now if only I could get the Chancellor to sit down and have meaningful dialogue..."

Anakin groaned. "Way to ruin the mood Padme."

She laughed and separated, a charming smile his way a treat for him before moving back to her desk.

Except... despite that smile, he can feel she's serious. "I thought you liked the Chancellor?"

"He was one of my early mentors," she said diplomatically.

And while Anakin might not be the smartest womp rat in the desert, he had spent enough time around Obi-Wan and Padme to spot that obvious of a non-answer. "And...?"

"I'm just... concerned for him," said Padme, "Power is a dangerous and addictive thing, and the Senate is starting to practically pile emergency power after emergency power on him. At the rate they're going he'll have the legal power to rewrite the constitution in a year or two. I'm not... I'm not accusing him of anything, Anakin, I'm just worried of the power going to his head, him getting... comfortable with it. He hasn't after all refused a single one yet."

"The Chancellor is a good man," said Anakin, trying not to take a flat tone, Force he wished his few friends and family would all just get along, "He wouldn't abuse his power without just cause, and even IF he did, he'd have you there to nag-nugde him back on the right path."

She raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him. "Pardon me, Knight Skywalker, but did you just say I nag?"

Oh kriff...

"Umm..."

"Guess who gets the couch tonight!"

Ah dammit... "Me?"

"Mhm, well...," she reflected, slowly moving to sit ontop of her desk, one leg crossed over the other, that look on her face, "I can be persuaded otherwise with showers of love and affection."

Anakin flicked his wrist and locked the door, smilingly wryly at her. "Of course, my most beautiful and beloved Angel."

Rain and Palpatine would probably be talking politics for awhile, he had plenty of time to 'earn' forgiveness. If it happened to be enjoyable for the both of them? All the better...


Review Responses: Damn there's a lot to respond to O.o.

To all the people asking, yes, its going to eventually be Anakin/Zannah. How/why will remain to be seen, especially if its going to be anything remotely 'close' to a healthy relationship (proooobably not).

ItsJustABook: Its prior to Ventress being betrayed by Dooku ofc, but aside from that, I haven't really decided when in the Clone Wars timeline we are. Oh, actually, since no one knows Maul is still alive, its before any of those episodes too.

Mathias/Bjermen: I do want Zannah to go to Mortis with the rest, haven't decided how that will pan off yet, its awhile away.

Pyromania101: Thanks, getting her level of power and strength down is a careful thing, especially since she's not actively using the Dark Side or her Sith Sorcery.

DarthTitan: Assuming things happen the way they do before, maybe. But I can guarantee one of those things you listed isn't going to happen for a reason you might not expect. Won't spoil which.

Anon: Darth Vader: Hero of Naboo is awesome, on that I will agree.

1nt3rd1ct0r: Oh, I agree, as does Zannah in this chapter. She knows she needs Anakin to topple Sidious. Reality bending Anakin probably won't happen in 'this' story.

Sewrtyuiop: I'd read Wookiepedia on Zannah and Bane at least. Padme and Anakin are already married. TBH, if Anakin was a counselor, I think he'd be even more arrogant and cocky than he is in cannon because of the insane shit he'd be able to do with the Force. Even the basic shit, if he pinned anyone to the wall with the Force, there is literally nothing most would be able to do to get out of it, stuff like that breeds superiority complexes.

I might be wrong on my view of Shadows as an active force within the Jedi Order, I've read more fanfiction than I've paid attention to movies/books if I'm being honest. Sentinels are a hybrid mix between Force User and Lightsaber Duelist and tend to go on missions not quite suited for either Guardians or Counselors.

M1dnight217: Oh, they have their laughs, at poor Anakin's expense. :D

Guest123: It might be slow for a bit until Zannah actually gets sent out into the Galaxy on missions.

Guest: A temporary alliance of evil, but really, neither of them trust eachother at all.

AzureTemplar3535: Would you like to learn about the Force or Lightsabers? Anakin: Lassseeerswooooordssss!

1saaa: Really though, Obi-Wan and Zannah bounced off eachother mostly, neither could beat each other's Soresu. Zannah's not going to exactly have it easy, she needs to balance corrupting Anakin under Sidious's nose + keeping appearances as Rain + Jedi Scrutiny + Sidious's machinations + Dooku's own shit once they meet + whatever else.

Sciny: Unabridged Plagueis was a decent read, looking forward to more of it. Oh, I agree on Sidious's cunning, there are people that really disliked that Sidious pulled out his lightsaber in RoTS, they would have preferred him solely as a master manipulator or a Force user. I personally go, in my stories, with the angle that 'If Sidious uses his lightsaber he's mocking you'.

Machiavelliwasright: Windu VS Sidious is a very long-standing argument among the fan base that I'm not willing to really get into. The Rule of Two DID work even IF Sidious legitimately lost to Windu. Sidious is overall more powerful, not JUST in the Force or lightsaber combat. His political and manipulative influence is leagues above Bane's, than even Zannah's. He has foresight capabilities to the degree that very few Sith have ever had. In those aspects he'd probably dance around Bane and Zannah combined. As would be Sidious's connections to senators and the criminal underworld. That is a large area where the Sith have gained in strength. On the flip side his arrogance is leagues above theirs too.

The concentrating the power of the Dark Side thing kind of is bullshit to me. The Force isn't finite, its infinite. Dark or Light the Force has no limits. The Sith grew stronger since they had more time to devote to getting stronger, rather than being forced to deal with fellow Sith's treachery or jealously (like a bunch of Sith realizing one of them is getting to strong to handle and teaming up to kill them), and could stay hidden to learn and grow.

Guest: There is a cannon definition of Balance, fanbase definition of balance, and many places inbetween depending on the writer. I personally lean somewhere in between the #s game (lightsiders # should equal darksiders #), and being in-tune or accepting of both sides as an examples of Balance. I view that both the Jedi and the Sith unbalance the Force, one towards light, one SEVERELY towards dark. In that, the Sith are the more active and conscious unbalancer.

DarkLordComp: Its more of a respect-your-enemy kind of thing than anything actually positive. The Jedi ruined anything potentially positive when they murdered Laa when Zannah was a little girl called Rain. Especially when one considers they were going to make a child soilder out of Rain (she was literally ten years old at the time, her cousins close to the same age).

Jaenera Targaryen: Oh yes, Full Potential Anakin or Unsuited Vader would be unreal to fight against.

Everyone else, thanks for the reviews, glad you enjoy.