Chapter 50

"Do you not think it was a wasted opportunity? Allowing Vader to escape that world?" Windu asked with arms crossed behind his back. His scowl wasn't harsh or judgmental, but it was thoughtful.

"It crossed my mind, but Vader was never far away," The Dark Woman agreed as they found a secluded corner of the Jedi Temple. "He would have either stopped me or forced himself onto our ship."

Windu nodded in understanding. "The Council is troubled by what was said. Both by Vader and whatever occurred to you all. Grandmaster Yoda intends to leave the temple to find answers."

"The Grandmaster?" The Dark Woman repeated with a raised eyebrow. "Surely he is not intending on going on there, or on some Force-blind quest?"

"Nothing like that. There is a sect of Force Seers in the Trailing Sectors. I know little of them personally, but the Grandmaster believes they will shed light on this," Windu said with a frown. "This ship of Vader's?"

"It was more advanced than anything the Republic has, no doubt. And he was unphased by the loss of it," The Dark Woman said, gazing out the window. "I've been chasing Vader for so long now, Windu. Sometimes, even with the Shroud of the Dark Side masking him, I can get a feel of his mood. There was no rage for the destruction of this craft."

"Meaning it was of no consequence. He has more," Windu realized, eyeing her pointedly. "There's something else, isn't there?"

She carefully buried the vague memory of her vision; of dying against Vader...and believing he could come back to the Light Side.

"Vader convinced me of something. About that...incident," she said carefully.

Windu's face softened into a neutral look of understanding. "Good Jedi were lost that day."

"But not by Vader's machinations."

Mace tilted his head up. "Are you positive?

The Dark Woman nodded. "Positive. Whatever attacked us attacked Vader's ship as well. I was just too blind to notice it at the time."

Mace Windu looked out again with a contemplative look. "If that is true, I believe I know what you faced that day."

The Dark Woman's head snapped to him in an instant. "What?"

"I did my own research. Only one thing fits your description. But they are something that not even the Sith could control. Things that attack all those strong with the Force," Windu explained.

She fixed him with a long stare, waiting for an answer.

"A starweird."

The Dark Woman was taken back. "A starweird? I thought those were a smuggler's story."

"No, though I can't blame you for that mistake. They are rare, but the Jedi Order has faced them before, long ago. Some believe they are creatures born of the Dark Side itself," Windu elaborated with a frown. "You're lucky to be alive."

Vader wasn't. It went without saying that a mere campfire legend come to life wasn't enough to put down the most famous Sith Lord in a thousand years.

The Dark Woman released some twisted knot of frustration from her, letting it go into the Force. The death of those Jedi was one thing, but the uncertainty of what they had faced was what bothered her for so long, what she had trouble detaching herself from.

"How are things here?" she asked finally.

"The Temple? The Senate? Or the planet?" Windu asked, his neutral tone carrying an underlying weariness to it.

"All."

Windu shook his head. "The situation in the Order is stable. Mostly. What happened five years ago seems to have inspired many in the Order to take more...liberal efforts to assist people across the republic."

"They are going off on their own without the approval of the Senate or the Council, to whatever planet they believe needs help," The Dark Woman deduced.

"Many claim they simply venture out, following the Will of the Force, to see these great "failures" Vader has hoisted on the Order and the Republic. Sometimes that's exposing corrupt politicians, other times it's helping farmers deal with a dangerous beast. Sometimes it's helping investigate violent terrorist groups, others it's helping a population fight back against a perceived oppressor. Sometimes it turns out well, other times..."

He left the rest unsaid.

The Dark Woman frowned. Simple, noble goals no doubt but... "Does the Council not try to rein them in?"

Windu gave a huff. "Some on the Council cover for them, vouch for their efforts even."

"And the Senate has been less than pleased, I'm sure," The Dark Woman said knowingly.

"Not as much as you might think," Windu said with a head shake. "The Storm of Sidious may have been silenced, but the Storm in the Senate has only grown louder. They squabble louder and louder. Systems accuse each other of everything from bribery to sabotage, even warmongering or expansionist goals. A few have even begun to close themselves off from the republic."

"They speak nothing of the Sith themselves?" The Dark Woman asked, her face approaching something akin to anger.

Mace shook his head. In answer or exasperation, she wasn't sure. "Sidious caused a stir, that is for sure. He had ties and strings to many in the Senate, as Senator Palpatine or Lord Sidious. We'll never be sure if they're all gone from the government. But after the Force Storm, there was a great commotion for a while. Even whispers of a bill to make it illegal for Force Sensitives to be Senators."

"That would be almost impossible to enforce. Ignoring the ones Jedi simply miss, some bloom late or are only barely Force-Sensitive," The Dark Woman noted.

Mace nodded. "It was talked about and quickly forgotten. The only thing the Senate is united on is dealing with the "Aftermath" of the Storm," he said, glancing off to the side, looking at nothing.

Or rather, looking in the direction of where the Works once were, where the Storm had torn through so much.

The Dark Woman glanced as well. "It's getting worse, isn't it? The creatures emerging from the lower levels?"

Mace took a deep breath. "We are constantly rotating five to ten knights and masters to aid with the Coruscant Security Forces. We keep them contained, we kill any that make it to the upper levels, but..." Windu paused with a dark look on his face. "They call it "The Jaw" now, the region where the Force Storm struck hardest. Where the cthons, ghouls, and other creatures come hunting closer and closer to the surface instead of simply lurking in the lower layers."

"The potency of the Dark Side, left as a mark by Sidious's Storm, stirs them, gathers them, and draws them towards the surface," The Dark Woman simplified.

Mace Windu looked grim. "Some Jedi have fallen victim to these creatures, but many more of the law officers have. It is so dire that entire criminal organizations have been pardoned in exchange for their aid in helping stem this threat."

The Dark Woman scowled. "They would trust scum that lords tyranny over the lower levels?"

Mace nodded. "I am not entirely pleased with it myself, but I cannot argue how little trouble the...former criminals have caused. If it means dealing with this horde and preventing Coruscant from being overrun, then I will welcome their help."

"Where does that leave us?" The Dark Woman asked.

Mace glanced at her curiously. "I've heard little from you of Darth Plagueis, as of late."

"Sidious's Master is proving either elusive or largely inactive," the Dark Woman explained. "I did have one lead. Though, not from anything new, but something the Force led me to."

The Master of the Order turned to her fully. "What is it?"

"I was guided by the Force to the Carrion Sector. There was a moon there, Mace. It was called Sojourn, but there wasn't much information on it," the Dark Woman answered. "But the Dark Side was strong there."

"What did you find there?" Mace Windu asked in interest.

"I couldn't even land," she informed with an unpleasant tone. "The entire place was radiated from, as far as my scanner could say, a nuclear weapon."

Mace inhaled sharply. Nuclear weapons were rare but not unheard of. They were destructive but crude weapons that left lands desolate and uninhabitable for most races if not entire worlds. The Carrion Sector was in the Outer Rim, so that made some sense. Such things were more likely to be found in the more lawless regions, but even there they were not common.

Galactic trades and travel ironically made it easier for most groups, legitimate or illegitimate, to get ahold of more advanced weapons. That left less incentive for something like a nuke.

"And why do you think this ties to Plagueis and not Vader?" Windu inquired with a troubled look.

"Among other reasons? This happened before Naboo. I traveled to other planets nearby, people used to go hunting there. And claimed it had been a resort for big players from around the Galaxy at one point," she explained.

"Targeting the wealthy and influential is more the MO of the Order of Bane, as far as we can tell," Windu agreed. "And you've found no sign of Vader's activities before the Invasion of Naboo."

"None, no. Those who speak of him, say he just came out of the void," The Dark Woman said with a smirk of hollow amusement. "Which leads me to believe, this moon was connected to Plagueis and Sidious. Possibly even their hideout once upon a time."

"But why nuke it? That would draw more attention than hide it," Mace wondered to himself before shaking his head. "We'll look into it. If there is any official trail about whom Sojourn belonged to, we'll find it."

Assuming the Sith hadn't destroyed any evidence, it went without saying.

Meanwhile

"Is there someone particular you're hiding from, Lord Plagueis?" Tanda Pyrl, Admiral of the Death Squadron asked flatly, standing in her personal office on the grounded Avenger, looking over some documents on her desk.

The Dark Lord unveiled himself from the opposite side of the room. "You're getting better. Soon I might actually have to use effort to hide from you, Admiral Pyrl," Plagueis greeted amicably.

Pyrl had known Vader for years now. She had been in the presence of the Emperor a few times before time traveling. Plagueis was a wildly different creature at times. She turned to face him with a respectful amount of caution in mind. "Your rebreather is gone," she noted with interest.

"Indeed. I decided to play the part of the vain, wealthy muun and had some surgeries done," he mused, rolling his neck in satisfaction. "You never know how pleasant it is to breathe on your own until you cannot."

"So Lord Vader has mentioned," Pyrl mused. "He will be returning soon."

"Yes, I already inquired. I hear he's assisting with building the shipyards. A Mechanist Sith Lord," Plagueis said in humor.

Inquired…Pyrl knew that meant he had plucked the answers from some trooper or engineer via illusions or gleaning it directly from their minds. It once unnerved her how this Sith could do such things. After the third year, she wasn't fazed by it anymore. Vader and Plagueis had strange boundaries that they knew not to cross with one another and their subordinates.

"Is that against a code of the Sith?" Pyrl asked with a raised eyebrow. "Dabbling in engineering?"

"Hardly. It just reminds me of my own master," Plagueis answered with a hint of whimsy. "I trust all has been well? I should hope so after all the credits I poured into it."

Pyrl looked unamused. "Speaking on Lord Vader's behalf, I believe said credits were well earned."

"That isn't an answer," Plagueis said with a frown. "You mask yourself well, Tanda Pyrl, but I do not need to read minds to sense the unease in the air. Tell me, what troubles Vader's people? Is it the shortage of females?"

Pyrl hummed, contemplating letting Vader answer these questions. But then again, she was privy to many things and had spoken with the muun many times. "I won't say that isn't a concern for many. But no, the current mood is the attack of some creature."

"A creature, you say?" Plagueis said with interest. ""Are you sure it wasn't just creepervines?"

"Very. This creature flew and ate someone whole," Pyrl answered.

"That's strange. D'Qar isn't known for anything that large and hostile," the muun said, stroking his chin. "I specifically selected this planet for the low amount of dangerous lifeforms."

"Unless it flew here from another planet, I don't see where else it came from," Pyrl said with a frown.

Plagueis raised an eyebrow and Pyrl realized she was probably pushing it.

She sighed. "I'm sorry. We're all growing restless as well."

"From not being able to leave the planet?" Plagueis questioned with a hum.

Pyrl shook her head. "Not that kind. We know what's happening out there. It's five years before the Clone Wars would have begun, but some of the older soldiers and officers say the tension is starting to feel like that again."

"You're restless in anticipation for a battle you know will soon come," Plagueis deduced. "And you're right. The Jedi smolder the flames as much as they fan them. More and more systems are going their own ways in all but name. Many senators are forming their own blocs, either trying to save the Republic or to support one another when it falls."

Pyrl nodded, knowing all of that well enough. "You were planning to rule the Galaxy once."

Plagueis was honestly a bit surprised by the directness of that comment. "I still might one day, but yes. Why bring it up?"

"I'm just curious. I know what Palpatine's Empire was like. I like to think I know how Vader's might be. But I'm not sure what you would have done with it," Pyrl stated.

Plagueis hummed. He liked this Admiral of Vader's. He sincerely hoped she didn't have to end up dying, by his own hands or some enemy in the coming wars. "Perhaps one day you will see for yourself, Admiral Pyrl. I might not intend to take the entire Galaxy any time soon, but I intend to cut out a personal domain for myself in this coming chaos."

Speaking of Chaos.

Both of them looked up sharply as the alarm suddenly went off.

"I think that would be your beast coming for another meal."

Pyrl was already moving to the side of the room, where a large screen was on the wall, along with a holo-projector and other things. "This is Admiral Pyrl, what's the situation?"

Even as she was asking this over her communicator, she was bringing up the external feeds.

"Admiral! Captain Tors here! That thing is back, south end!"

Just as the soldier said, the display showed the massive monster was wreaking havoc in the area again. Soldiers and turrets were firing on it, but the attacks did little more than anger it.

"Where are General Felks and the AT-STs?" Pyrl asked with a frown.

"Inbound, eta less than a minute. It- Oh kriffing stars, no! Get off of me!"

Pyrl jolted as she watched an officer, Captain Tors no doubt, being grabbed by the beast and throne into its large, gaping jaw.

"Damn," Pyrl muttered darkly. "Lord Plagueis, do you know-"

She turned, and stopped as she found she was alone in the room.

Meanwhile

Felk was no stranger to the deadly creatures the galaxy could unleash on a soul. He had been a refugee child during the Clone Wars. And many times when fleeing to the safety of a more remote world, you ran the risk of finding out just why those planets were remote. Rancors didn't scare him anymore. Nexus were almost fun to hunt now.

But he knew when to be cautious, and this creature was one of those times.

It didn't try to attack the agricultural section again, meaning it might just be smart enough to not attack the same place and the same way twice. More to the point, the blasters were having little effect on it.

Time for extra firepower then.

"AT-STs! Take aim and open fire! Maximum output!" Felk ordered as the two-legged vehicles lined up, forming a wall between the beast and the rest of the settlement.

The green behemoth took notice of them and let out a roar of challenge, floating with its ungainly wings.

One by one, the ATSTs began to open fire, raining heavily charged blasts into the monster and anything else. It snarled and raged, but to Felk's growing frustration and concern, its wounds were minor; Scorched, burns perhaps, but nothing deep…nothing to deter or kill it.

Having had enough of their effort, the tentacled beast suddenly flew high over their attacks and barreled into the AT-STs, knocking four of them over, outright destroying one or two of them. It tried if only for a second to bite and eat the AT-STs, but finding the taste of metal unappealing, it gave up and turned its attention to the other AT-STs.

They moved and turned as quickly as they were able to continue firing, but AT-STs weren't exactly agile.

Whether by coincidence or some instinctive intellect, it focused on Felk's own AT-ST, slamming its massive flat head against the machine, tentacles trying to rip the mechanical limbs off.

And that was exactly what it did.

Felk cursed every star and deity watching as he tried to think of something. The creature was still holding onto the "head" of the AT-ST, seemingly trying to crush it with its tentacles. Felk assumed that its primitive intelligence still allowed it to deduce he was the "leader" of the AT-STs.

He gritted his teeth. Dying like this, after being sent back in time of all things? How absurd, how pathetic.

"Don't give up on me now, General Felk."

Despite the groaning metal and sparking electronics, Felk scowled as he activated his communicator. "Who is this?"

"Your benefactor."

With that, the line was cut off.

Suddenly, without warning, a dismembered AT-ST leg was slammed into the wing of the creature, making it stumble and release its helpless prey while looking around in surprise. The other AT-STs had stopped firing in confusion as well.

Mainly because, as a rule, when things like that happened, Lord Vader was normally about to make an appearance.

Then, as Plagueis descended into the field, hood up and still invisible under his own illusions, the creature turned and looked right at him.

"Interesting," Plagueis said as a tentacle lashed out at him. With little effort, he dodged while dropping the illusion, drawing a lightsaber to cut off the limb. While the appendage wasn't invulnerable to the lightsaber, the blade was very slow to cut through it; Too slow to finish the job before yanking the tentacle back with a roar, "Very interesting."

"Who the kriff is that?"

That was the general question on everyone's mind, ringing over the coms. Felk eyed the red lightsaber, having exited his destroyed craft. He didn't like the feeling of being a coward, but he was more of a liability out on the field without a vehicle, at least with this thing. Still, who was this unexpected ally? Did Vader recruit another Force-user or-?

"Soldiers, that is Lord Plagueis! Give him covering fire" Admiral Pyrl ordered.

"So, that's him," Felk mused. "You heard her! All AT-STs, continue firing on the creature!"

Plagueis appreciated the distraction, calmly walking around the edge of the battlefield, eyeing the creature with dark interest as he reached out with the Force, both in the physical and mental realms. But what he found was alarming, if not fascinating.

This creature, he couldn't touch it with the Force. It was not like the Hutts, who were simply resistant to the unusual nature of their minds, or the Yinchorri who were immune to telepathy. No, this creature seemed to be entirely blank in the Force…which should be impossible. Even creatures that could not be directly influenced by the Force could still be felt by it. There were beasts that instinctive hid their Force signature, but this? This creature was not hiding, not at all.

He calmly paused as an AT-ST collapsed in front of him. It was slowly tearing through all of them.

"Certainly not intelligent, I'd wager," He mused as he brought himself into a floating, meditative position. But meditating certainly wasn't his intention. No, this was just going to take a great deal of focus.

The beast roared in triumph as another AT-ST fell, daring any to challenge it.

And someone answered that challenge.

It grunted as something slammed into its back, hard. It turned to see...the floating head of Felk's AT-ST. It looked momentarily surprised until the ATST was slammed against it as if the broken machine were head-butting the monster. It snarled and tried to attack, but Plagueis moved it away before bashing it again.

Plagueis smirked. Yes, a creature like this wouldn't question another beast's ability to fly and just keep attacking. With some care, to not draw the monster's attention prematurely, Plagueis levitated another downed ATST that was missing one leg, and moved it forward to "attack" as well.

He could feel the confusion from the imperials as two of their damaged walkers started bashing themselves against the foe, but the brave soldiers shot on. He gave them credit, they weren't easily deterred.

Slowly, carefully, Plagueis had his two head-butting puppets retreat, leading his predatorial prey back toward the forest.

One of its tentacles grabbed the remaining leg of the second one, and he used the Force to try and wrest it back, but in a moment of primal brilliance or animalistic frustration, it not only ripped off the leg but bashed it into the head of the offending walker.

Plagueis abandoned that one without hesitation. But between how far this was taking them, and the remaining AT-STs firing into its back, it seemed to have caught on to the idea that it was being led away. It turned and snarled at them for the apparent deception.

That was fine with Plagueis, this was far enough. He came out of his meditative stance and began to approach his enemy.

It turned its full attention on him once more. It instinctively recognized him as a larger threat than the metal machines with lasers. "You have some intelligence, it seems," Plagueis idly praised.

It roared and was about to fly and charge towards him, but Plagueis struck first.

With both arms raised and shot forth, he attacked with everything he could; Broken ATSTs, stones, building materials, tools, lesser vehicles, and even the broken fence marking the parameter. All of it came at once, slamming into the creature and pressing against it.

He couldn't use the Force to push this creature out, but he could use the Force to push it out with something else.

The creature obviously had no idea what was going on as it was slammed into a large tree, fencing, and ATST parts bending around it to try and pin it to the massive trunk.

The soldiers had long stopped firing once the new show of the Force had started, all watching the creature struggle against the makeshift bonds. Plagueis could sense their unease, as it was obvious from its thrashing that it wouldn't be contained for much longer.

With the speed and grace of the Force, he sped forth, leaping up the bonds and stomach of his foe, lightsabers drawn as it roared in defiance. Without hesitation, Plagues struck forth and stabbed both sabers into the creature's temples.

It roared and howled in agony, its tentacles breaking free as the sabers slowly started to burn through the flesh and skull.

Plagueis narrowed his eyes, debating between dodging and trying to use Force Lightning. However, the need to choose was negated, as two more trees were suddenly uprooted and slammed into the limbs on either side.

He didn't have to look to know Vader had arrived. But Plagueis decided that this once, this creature was his for the killing.

He looked into its large eye as his sabers finally pierced into the skull, hitting directly into the brain. It seized, body spasming briefly, but Plagueis felt as though those eyes kept some measure of feral hatred in them until the very end.

The deed done, he deactivated his lightsabers and looked at Vader.

Who was standing on top of a TIE Bomber that was hovering in mid-air, watching the scene below.

"Always have to make an entrance, eh, Vader?"

Meanwhile

Obi-Wan took in a deep breath as he was finally, belatedly, on Serenno and was now in fact walking towards Castle Serenno, the home of one Count Dooku.

It was a bit of a long walk, from the front gate to the main entrance. One had to walk through a very large garden. He supposed that was a given, as this cliff-side castle was one part a retreat and one part a fortress; Plenty of beauty and luxury, but practical and defendable.

Some people, Jedi or otherwise, thought that Dooku had left the Order simply to claim the title of Count of Serenno. And looking around, Obi-Wan couldn't blame that assumption. The reality was better and in some ways sadder in others.

Dooku thought he could help people more as a Count than as a Jedi Master.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi, is that you?"

The Jedi Knight smiled bashfully at the mock-scolding tone the gardener used, stopping him as he almost past her by. "I know, I know, I'm late," he said, holding his hand up in surrender.

"Late," she said in amusement. "From what I heard, you got tractor beamed into trouble again."

"Oh, he told you everything then," Obi-Wan realized dryly

"Everything you already told him. Which wasn't much," she retorted, giving him a look. "Everyone was okay, right?"

Obi-Wan's smile took on an assuring quality. "Yes, no one was hurt. Confused, but unharmed. Despite attempts to the contrary at times."

"I get the sense Vader was not entirely to blame for that."

Both humans turned to face a silver-haired man with smiles on their faces.

"Count," the woman greeted.

"Master Dooku," Obi-Wan said in kind, giving him a small bow of respect.

"Enough of that, Knight Kenobi," Dooku said with a chuckle. "We have much to discuss, and a spar that is long overdue."

"You both best show up to dinner without any injuries," the gardener warned pointedly.

Both men chuckled. "No promises are made, but we'll try our best," Obi-Wan assured.

She sighed and shook her head and headed towards the castle. "I suppose I'll go get cleaned up then. I'd hate to be the worst-smelling one in the room after you two have been sparring."

Obi-Wan hummed as she left. "She seems to have settled well here. You'd think she was in charge sometimes with how she talks to you."

Dooku snorted. "I've learned to choose my battles wisely with Shmi Skywalker."