Emotion yet Peace; Peace is a Lie, There is only Passion

Part 1

Kaliida Shoals Medical Center

Ryndellian Sector

near Naboo Star System

The victorious remnants of the bomber wing and its escorts landed in one of the empty hangars of the half evacuated Hospital facility. I parked my fighter next to Skywalker's Y-Wing and after shutting down the engines I popped open the canopy and got out. I moved around Anakin's bomber and met him and Master Koon, who was congratulating the young Knight for his "excellent" leadership abilities.

"Excuse me?!" exclaimed Ahsoka. "Delkatar was the one who knew that the original plan wasn't going to work! He warned us!"

"You are correct smarty pants." snarked Skywalker.

"It depends on the point of view." declared Plo.

"Indeed, Master Koon. Skywalker, a word." I said after hearing their exchange.

The younger man turned around to face me.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Tell me, how often have you led clones or other pilots who are not force sensitive in battle?" I inquired.

Skywalker frowned at my question.

"I've been a general for less than a month and I was assigned a fleet to command three weeks ago. So a few tims." Anakin answered after a moment of reflection. "We didn't get any new training."

"That figures. Did you have any military training before being given command? Has someone tried to hammer in your head that most people could not perform as well in combat as Force Adepts? We were fortunate that Grievous didn't send more vultures to intercept us, not to mention the pylons supporting the Ion cannon were actually vulnerable to our torpedoes. If that cruiser didn't try to fire just after the we hit its weapon this station would be gone and Kenobi's ships would be in a heap of trouble." Not to mention the excellent odds of us being shot to pieces by that behemoth on our way out.

The Jedi Knight looked positively mutinous. It seemed that no one had taken him up to a task in a long time. At least I could see him thinking, which was a good thing. There were many more ways the bomber raid could have gone to hell than I could think of from the top of my head and as far as I could tell the plan to take out that thing if we failed consisted of throwing two tiny fleets at it. Given that both Kenobi and Skywalker were really commanding battle groups, not proper fleets, it would have been a disaster – the Malevolence looked like it could take out their combined forces conventionally.

"Skywalker, you need to understand that expecting normal people to be able to keep up with you, will only get them killed. There are few aces that might be able to pull off stunts just like you in the cockpit of starfighter and that is before the Force is factored in. So in the future plan accordingly or you'll get a lot of good men killed." Me in particular, which was the important point.

I shook my head. "I'll never know whose idea was to put you Jedi as generals without first giving you at least basic military training!" I grumbled.

"That's not fair! We do good work out here!" disagreed Ahsoka.

I removed my helmet and looked her in the eyes. "Look kid, I am not disputing that you are doing your best and thats often better than could be reasonably expected. However, the way this war is being run is Insane! How many people will die because you have to learn the craft of war on the battlefield, where every mistake is paid with blood and lives?" I asked.

"I... but..." muttered Ahsoka. "Arghhh!" The young Togruta clasped her hands into fists and growled.

"Too damn many..." whispered Skywalker.

The smirk which was on his face ever since the Ion Cannon was blown up was gone. I suspected that he was recounting all the battles he's been part of since the start of the war. I had no doubt that a lot of Jedi had been killed and battles lost because the newly minted commanders of the GAR had no idea what the hell they were doing. That explained the attitude of Yularen towards the Jedi too. While he followed their orders, the Admiral had no respect for the Order members. Probably he has been part of battles in which the Jedi's lack of experience (and the disturbing tendency of some of them not to listen to advice) had let to easily avoidable losses. Then, considering his rank, Yularen would have undoubtedly read a lot of reports showing debacles caused by the new generals. No love lost there either.

"Then see to it that you do not make the same mistake twice. And listen to the military commanders you have access to. For example, it is very unlikely that Admiral Yularen has gotten his rank without knowing what the hell he was doing." I continued to dispense free advise.

Why couldn't have I ended up at least few years before the war began? Then I would have had more viable options than joining either side of the war or going somewhere to hide while Palpy build his Empire. I guess I still could try the later, yet this conflict offered too many opportunities to simply ignore. Ah, no point in grumbling about what might have been.

Skywalker gave me a sharp nod and left. He had a thoughtful expression on his face. I found myself alone with Ahsoka and R2-D2 who whined after Anakin. I grinned at the short astromech droid.

"So, you have your manipulators full with him, haven't you?" I asked the droid.

"Beeb-boo-br-bep!" It pointed its photoreceptor at me.

"I see. My condolences. It's hard to keep a hard-headed Jedi in one piece." It would have been much harder if I had ended up in better position to make first contact with the Confederacy.

"Booop! Wheep! Breep! Boop!"

"So your mistress wants him intact. Well, good luck with that." I chuckled. Did R2 D2 put with Anakin just because Padme Amidala asked him to? That sounded right coming from properly programed droid.

"That's Master Skywalker. He is one of a kind." said Ahsoka with a sad expression on her face. "Was it different in your time?"

I nodded.

"Military strategy and tactics were taught at both the Sith Academy on Korriban and the Jedi Temple. It was a different galaxy I think. It's not like I've got the time yet to see what happened after my mishap. You've had it easy. What was it? A millennium of peace? If you said that such a thing was possible during my time you'd be called mad and laughed out of the compartment. For us, the Sith, the very concept of peace is a lie. There is only passion. Conflict. It's how we grow and evolve. But that is also a trap. For way too many Sith conflict meant a war with the Republic, battle with other Sith, you get my drift. While that also helped to make us stronger and understandable mistake given the situation, that understanding was flawed."

"That is the contrary to what we are taught in the temple. There is no emotion, there is peace."

"What. The. Hell?!" I ground out every word as if I was shocked and furious. "So the idiots are still teaching you to suppress and ignore your feelings?!" You would think the Jedi would learn but no. Apparently the Empire didn't considering there was a Republic running things nowadays.

Ahsoka shrugged her shoulders and gave me a small, helpless smile.

"Emotion, yet peace. That was the first creed of the Jedi I respected from my time." I looked at Tano who was staring at me with huge eyes full with undisguised interest. "If I recall correctly the version of the Code you've been taught was the way an empathic and telepathic Jedi re-iterpreted it to serve better people like him, not for general consumption."

"Really? What was the Jedi Code from your time? Why did you learn it? How did the Jedi back then dealt with emotions?" Ahsoka did her best performance of puppy dog eyes and peered at me expectantly.

It should be criminal to look that cute. To wear such an outfit at her age too. Down boy, there will be a cold shower soon.

"They accepted their feelings but trained themselves not to be influenced by them when making important decisions. We however, accept our passions. We do not fear them, nor let them rule us but use them as a fuel for our power." I explained.

"That is certainly different. We are taught that emotions lead to the Dark side!" exclaimed the Padawan. "What about the Code? Come on, tell me!"

"That is lie. Denying your emotions? Ahsoka, you are a living, thinking and, most importantly, a feeling being. What do you think happens when your emotions become too much to handle after you've denied them all your life?" I asked quietly. "It makes you that much easier to turn to the Dark Side and if there's a war on, you might not need a Sith or Dark Jedi trying to seduce you."

Ahsoka shook her head in denial. "Nope. Not me. I'm still waiting to hear about that Jedi Code of old!"

"It is ironic, you know. For you Jedi, my kind are despicable servants of the Dark side. Do you wonder what we, the Sith, think about that? Each one of us is in conflict for control with the Dark side. It never ends. It is what defines us. And here is the biggest difference between our world views; How it all started. The Jedi believe that you either have to suppress your emotions or learn how to disregard them. We on the other hand seek to control our feelings. We accept and revel in them. But we do not let our emotions control us. To do so means that we have lost our eternal conflict. "

We stood, shoulder to shoulder, and watched through the force field how the flashes of light made by Obi-Wan's fleet as it tried its best to deal a death-blow to the Malevolence.

"You are trying to corrupt me, aren't you?" asked Ahsoka in a small voice.

I chuckled. "That depends on ones point of view. I am trying to teach you to think for yourself. If that's all it takes to demolish the Jedi Dogma you've been spoon fed in the Temple... Well in that case you could reach your own conclusions. Do you still want to hear about the Code?" I inquired while wondering what possessed me to... what was really doing? Trying to get myself an apprentice? Nah. It would be too much bother especially with the way the Order would jump on my case for corrupting one of their own.

"Of course I want to hear it. As long as its the Jedi Code not a Sith one!" Tano gave me a pointed look.

"Emotion, yet peace." I smirked. "The difference is quite profound, don't you think? Both from the Code you've been taught and from the Sith one. Through passion I gain strength. For me, emotions and conflict are the foundations of my power. It is dangerous path though it beats having to waste years in navel gazing and meditation for the same amount of power through the Force. Then that same time could be used to improve yourself. Or to have fun."

"That's certainly different." There was contemplative expression on her face as she thought over my words. "What's the rest?" Ahsoka continued to pester me.

"There's no ignorance, there's knowledge. There's no chaos, there's harmony… Shall I continue?" I inquired when I could feel her distress growing. Such a curious reaction to something so deceptively innocent.

"I need to think. I'll be back to hear the rest. I think." Ahsoka 'harumped' and walked away.

Tano was a bright kid. I hoped that she'll be able to see the Jedi teachings for what they truly were.

=RK=

Part 2

The Negotiator, Obi-Wan Kenobi's Flag ship

Ryndellian Sector, near Naboo Star System

From the bridge of the Venator class star destroyer, our target looked positively huge. The Malevolence dwarfed the three cruisers which were unleashing hell on the crippled dreadnought. Its stabilizers were destroyed yet that did not deter the Flag ship of General Grievous from attempting to flee.

For the last few hours, the Negotiator, Resolute and their sister ship Dauntless were sending barge after barrage of blue turbolaser bolts at the battle cruiser, yet the colossal energies bombarding the enemy had no apparent effect. The sheer bulk of its energy-dispersing armor was absorbing the onslaught without a scratch. It was meters thicker than any smaller ship could boast in its wildest dreams, then there was the sheer size of the ship itself which would be able to take a lot of punishment even after its armor was compromised. Frankly, finishing mission killing it would be much easier but the Republic lacked the firepower at hand for even that lesser feat.

The disheartening sight which could be seen from the command tower of the Negotiator was observed by four Jedi one Sith and a Republic admiral. We all knew that the best bet of dealing with this monstrosity was with the help of reinforcements. Unfortunately the nearest fleet, which was under Jedi Master Luminara was engaging a Separatists force in a nearby system. No help was coming from that direction any time soon.

"They are not making a jump to hyperspace. Their hyperdrive is down." declared Yularen.

"For how long?" I asked. "The fleet could batter at that thing for a week. If nothing changes its crew will have more than enough time to repair their hyperdrive."

"The enemy ship is losing speed." reported on of the clones manning the bridge.

"Concentrate all fire on their command tower!" ordered Kenobi.

The fire from the three star destroyer's slackened for few seconds while the turrets acquired new target. Then death rained all over the bridge of the Malevolence. We stared at behemoth. The effect was underwhelming.

"At this rate we'll be here for a long time." I said with a hint of exasperation in my voice. We were unbelievably lucky that the attack run on the Ion Cannon disabled the rest of the dreadnought's weapons. Otherwise that thing would have made a short work of the Venators. These carrier/battleship hybrids were clearly outclassed by such an adversary. "You should redirect fire at the engines."

"That might be prudent. With the engines crippled it will be much easier to outmaneuver and we might get another chance at it if it flees to hyperspace." Yularen nodded and looked at Kenobi.

"Do so." The Jedi sighed. "We need more ships." He muttered.

What happened next confirmed something I was suspecting – it's been too long since I've seen anything about this era otherwise I might have remembered an important detail of the current mess we were in. It all started innocently enough. Ahsoka, who was looking over the sensor feeds was the first to detect a small transport ship exiting from hyperspace on top of the Malevolence.

"Are those enemy reinforcements?" asked Anakin just as the Admiral opened his mouth to do so too.

"No..." the Padawan trailed off. "It's just one small craft. It looks like a Naboo ship..." Tano grimaced.

"Cease fire!" exclaimed Kenobi. "What in God's name is she doing here?"

Now I remember. It figures. Thanks brain. I decided to play dumb because there shouldn't have been a way for me to know who arrived unless I wanted to play the card of the vague Force related visions from this era I was going to be using to cover any unexpected insights. It was better this way I think – no need to make myself stand out more than I had to for the time being.

"Is that a friend of yours?" I asked innocently. Or as innocently someone like me could.

"Ahsoka, contact that ship!" snapped Anakin, rudely ignoring me. I couldn't blame him really – if my wife had just jumped on top of an enemy ship in the middle of a battle, even one as weird as this one, I wouldn't have patience for a snarky Sith either.

"Naboo transport, identify yourself! You are in the middle of an active war zone!" The communications officer spoke urgently over the comm.

"This is senator Amidala from Naboo!" a distorted female voice came over the comm system. "I need assistance!"

A small hologram of hissed to life over the control station on which Ahsoka was working. To tell you the truth, the former queen looked better in real life that in either the Clone Wars or the movies. While her features were generally the same, they were a softer and had few miniscule differences which made her look stunning. I could see why a nine years old Anakin thought that she was an angel.

"Padme! What are you doing here?!" Anakin exclaimed.

"I am on diplomatic mission!" Amidala sounded peeved at her predicament. "Which your battle interrupted!"

"Tell that to Grievous. I have the feeling he won't be impressed." I snarked.

"Anakin, what is that bounty hunter doing on your ship?!" Amidala glared at me.

Skywalker winced. I wondered how he was going to explain who I was and why I was tolerated. I did not think that Padme would feel generous towards a Sith. Not after that mess on Naboo while she was still a queen.

"Later, just get out of there." Anakin implored.

"You have bigger problems senator." I added unhelpfully earning myself a glare from Skywalker. I couldn't help it – messing with the Jedi was turning out to be an unexpectedly fun pastime.

A moment later we could see her rocking in her seat. There were even more alarms blaring in the cockpit of her transport.

"It's a tractor beam." I deadpanned. "Our cyborg friend intents to use the senator as a hostage I recon."

"I won't be used by the likes of Grievous as a bait! Continue the attack! Destroy that monster!" Amidala's mood suddenly changed. Did it just register who caught her ship?

I could feel a rage awakening within Anakin. He gripped his right fist so hard that the metal of his prosthetic fingers groaned in protest. He fought with his anger and subdued it into a controllable, cold determination.

"Admiral, order all attacks stopped." Skywalker sounded deadly calm.

That's one way to properly channel your anger – I approved.

"Grievous will use this opportunity to repair the hyperdrive." I said.

"What would you have me do, Sith?! Destroy the cruiser while Padme is on it?" Anakin snapped at me. "Oh, but we can't – we've been shooting at it for hours!"

"I propose that we go with plan 'B'." I calmly ignored his sarkasm.

"And what is that?" asked Kenobi who looked relieved that I was not baiting Skywalker.

I pointed behind my back at the smoking Malevolence.

"We go over there, save your girlfriend and deal with Grievous the old fashioned way. We either capture or destroy that ship, whatever's practical."

"Padme... She... She's not my girlfriend!" Anakin spluttered.

Then he headed towards the exit and I followed suit. It was time to see if Skywalker was all that he was hyped out to be.

"And where are you two going?" asked Kenobi.

I could sense a tiny bit of forlorn hope that Anakin was not about to do something dangerously stupid. That was promptly dashed.

"Someone has to save her." Skywalker shouted over his shoulder.

"And I have an appointment with Grievous. I hear he's a warrior of some renown. I'm going to put that to the test." I added. Taking the cyborg out would be a good way to get myself some goodwill with the Republic and enhance my reputation. It would be fun too – three birds with one lightsaber thow.

"I knew you'd said that." Kenobi muttered and followed us.

Behind us Master Koon showed his pessimistic side "I am afraid that they are making a terrible mistake."

The last thing I heard from the bridge was Asoka's voice: "Master Skywalker's brainstorms are an acquired taste. You'll get used to it. Hopefully..."

=RK=

"Skywalker, you need a new ship." I groaned when we ended in the cockpit of the Jedi's flying scrap pile. What is it with an ugly rust buckets and 'heroes' in this universe?!

"Well, it flies..." trailed off Kenobi. He apparently wanted to defend the choice of personal ship that his former padawan had made but the words refused to exit his mouth once he carefully looked around. "Anakin, the last time this thing at least looked barely space-worthy."

"What can I say, master? These things happen." Anakin shrugged.

"Only to you Anakin. Only to you. I gather that you have a plan?"

I smiled at the banter between master and padawan but it was short lived. It reminded me about one of the few regrets I had – I had never taken an apprentice, which in a sense was the ultimate test for one of my kind; that crazy Jedi I made fall and used to follow me around under Baras orders certainly doesn't count.

"In fact, I have." Anakin nodded happily.

"And a plan B?" Obi-Wan asked.

"And a C and D? Having contingency plans is important, Skywalker." I added my obviously unwanted advise.

"That I don't have yet. Why don't you two grouchy old men figure it out while I get us to that cruiser?" Skywalker grumbled.

"You, know Kenobi. It's your fault." I smiled at the bearded Jedi.

Said "elderly" man slumped in his chair.

"So they keep telling me," he grumbled. "Where did I go wrong?" he asked of the heavens.

'Where do I start?' I thought.

=RK=

The Force was with us. That is the only explanation why the first part of Anakin's plan went flawlessly. We just flew to the Malevolence and docked to an airlock in a sector of the ship where the sensors were down. We didn't get noticed by one of the thousands of droids crewing the leviathan. If we were somewhere else I would have said that it was pure luck, but with the Force in existence and sometimes playing favorites...

Kenobi agreed with me. He also didn'tt like Anakin's piloting. That was captured spot on in the movies. The boy was crazy.

We exited Skywalker's scrap pile and found ourselves in a small elevator. Most of the floors to which it led were blocked by debris or fires. We headed upwards in a search of a free passage until the elevator stopped on one of the upper decks and the doors opened. We were greeted by a pair of unarmed B-1 droids.

To my surprise, the robots really bantered just like in the cartoon.

"I knew it! It's them!" said one of the machines while it was carefully stepping back.

"Oh, no! There are three of them this time!" added the other, which was waving its hands in resemblance of panic.

The Jedi make a short work of the unfortunate synthetics and we raced down a long hall. The side corridors were blocked, so for the moment we didn't have much choice in picking up our direction. We had ran couple of hundred meters from the elevator when Skywalker's comm started beeping.

"Master, we have found the Senator. I am patching you through."

Skywalker's flame was on one of the lower levels. While I listened to the exchange between the married couple I wondered how no one besides Palpatine figured out that those two were madly in love. I could hear it in the inflection of their voices; the way Anakin's aura flared protectively when he spoke with (or about) the senator while she was in trouble. My lips twitched with amusement. Amidala was not glad that we were here to rescue her if the angry shouting was anything to go by.

The lovebirds finally agreed that we should meet into a big open space that was detected by Ahsoka in the middle of the dreadnought – probably a tram line to shuttle men and equipment. It was the only practical way for something this big to operate.

Few minutes and five unfortunate droids later we were overlooking an internal monorail system which had multiple levels. Not too bad way to move a vast quantities of supplies and spare parts quickly but to me it looked like that the empty space in that compartment was too big for the task. Perhaps if it was used to transport more vulture droids or very big single parts, because there was no other way to justify such cavernous tunnel… or perhaps it didn't matter – it wasn't like the Malevolence hurt for internal space.

Finally Anakin decided to use his Jedi senses and confirmed that Padme was nearby. Considering that beside us and Grievous, she was probably the only other living sentient being on the super cruiser, it should not have been hard to sense her position. I shook my head in exasperation and pointed to a corridor on the other side of the monorail tunnel. Then I cringed seen Amidala's companion. It was the contender for second place in the race for most annoying being in the galaxy. C-3PO. I started crafting plants for disposing of goldenrods. If Padme really needed a protocol druid I probably should find her a nice HK model which could mask as such.

Kriff it! I was starting to miss my faithful companion HK-117. I wondered if by any chance his data core has survived the millennia.

I should have known better. There was no way for those two lovebirds to reunite without drama. A squad of B-1 droids choose that moment to appear behind Amidala. The husband and life had just laid eyes upon each other when Padme had to duck under not particularly accurate blaster fire. She was forced to abandon her position and jump on a speeding train. The annoying droid stumbled after her and fell on another of the loaded transports.

The two Jedi activated their lightsabers and started jumping all over the trains speeding on the monorails. I drew my heavy blaster pistols and followed suit, but much more careful. I never understood why most force users did not carry at least a pistol as a backup weapon. You never knew when you needed to take out something at range and there are some things resistant to the Force.

Another group of clankers showed at one of the corridors overlooking the monorail. One of their numbers was dumb enough to shoot at the Jedi and was promptly blown away by its returned blaster bolts. The apparent leader of the squad said something that suspiciously sounded like 'I told you so!'.

Those were its last words, because a second later a hail of bolts shot from my blasters demolished it and its remaining companion. My weapons, which were designed to take out heavily armored troopers made short work of the mass produced cannon fodder.

Then I was jumping over the carts of a speeding train, which were loaded with various crates. I was submerged in the Force, using it to guide me to a safe course.

Soon enough I caught with the Jedi just in time to see Amidala jumping from the train she was riding. I noticed that the monorail it was ridding was a blown up in front of it, making it a twisted, burning wreck.

Anakin plucked his wife from mid-jump and guided her to his embrace using the Force. I had a good vantage point to watch the cuddling couple when I landed on the wagon behind them.

From above them Kenobi shouted that he was going after the golden droid. A waste of time in my opinion.

Anakin was about to kiss Padme and give me a bit of blackmail material when Obi-Wan interrupted them. The damn protocol droid was in a trouble. Fatal I hopped.

That was not the only snag. Kenobi had overheard droids talking about the hyperdrive. Soon the Malevolence would have a way out of here and this whole exercise would be for nothing. The Jedi Master, who was closer to the hyperdrive told us that he'll deal with it.

"Skywalker, get your girlfriend to safety. I'm going to assist Kenobi. With any luck Grievous will be there." I shouted to the lovers so they could hear me over the noise of the rail.

I left the married couple behind and ran back to the monorail tunnel. If the scans taken by the fleet were accurate, I could reach the FTL engine by passing through there. It appeared to be the shortest way from my position.

=RK=

Today the Force was with me. I didn't have to fight my way to the one of the best guarded locations on the ship. Instead shortly after I came back in the tunnel I saw a train heading my way from the side of the cruiser where the hyperdrive was located. Obi-Wan was on it and Grievous was chasing him. The cyborg had a light saber in each hand and was demolishing the containers that stood in his way. I raced towards my prey.

Grievous had Kenobi cornered on the train engine when I reached them. I vaulted over to the high tech locomotive just as the Jedi jumped away. For the first time since finding myself in this universe I drew my lightsaber from its hiding place. Gripping its curved handle gave me a measure of comfort I had not felt in a long time. I grinned maliciously and pressed my weapon's activation button. With an angry hiss a crimson blade snapped to life.

=RK=

Part 3

Malevolence

Ryndellian Sector, near Naboo Star System

"Who are you?" growled Grievous.

The cyborg was looking at the newcomer through narrowed eyes. Many things may be said about the being who was hailed as the best commander in the Separatist's military. While very few of them were flattering, the one thing on which both allies and enemies agreed upon was that he was an accomplished warrior. There were few beings who could boast as vanquishers of multiple Jedi. Even less were the ones who were not Force sensitive. Grievous was on the top of that very short list.

Thanks to countless hours of training with Dooku and IG-109 droids, he had become an accomplished Jedi killer – a fact that only served to enhance his ability as the Supreme Commander of the Droid army. Now he had the skills to easily handle most of the Order members, something at which the droids under his command were pathetic.

The warrior in the being that was once Qymaen jai Sheelal was why Grievous did not follow his standard modus operandi where Jedi were concerned. He could feel it in what little of his flesh remained. This masked creature he was facing was a breed apart. Then the man produced a lightsaber of his own and activated it. The general's hate filled eyes gazed at the ruby colored energy beam.

"My dear Grievous. You should recognize my kind." mocked a voice that was distorted by the armored helmet of its owner.

=RK=

I could feel the unrestrained might of the Force bubbling all around me. My blood sung with battle lust. I welcomed the sweet embrace of the Dark side and let it slide through my body. It strengthened my limbs and made my reflexes something to be envied by even a cyborg as Grievous.

I held my blade loosely, not unlike a rapier from ages past back on my homeworld.

"I've heard that you've been trained by a Makashi master, general. Let's put that to the test!" I leered at the being which was more machine than flesh.

I surged forward. My blade sang with the sound of burning air. Grievous ran to meet me in the middle of the engine where our sabers crashed. I deflected a pair of diagonal slashes from the blue and green weapons in his hands and moved faster than the cyborg expected. I was within his guard in a blink of an eye. My left arm struck like a viper and clamped over his right wrist. That stopped a strike from his blue blade which was about to lop off my head. My Force enchanted muscles and the cybernetic strength of Dooku's pet monster strained against each other.

While that contest of strength was going on, the lightsabers in our free hands were locked in a game of their own. Energy flashed between our blades as they struck each other with the unmistakable sound of lightsabers locked in a deadly struggle.

For few seconds it seemed that our raw physical strength was evenly matched. Technology held its ground against flesh empowered by the mystic power of the Force. However this was not a fair fight fought in a tournament circle.

Our stalemate was ended by a crate that flew from the cart behind the train engine and swept away the cyborg's legs. Thanks to the racket the machines racing all over the monorails around us made, Grievous had no chance to hear how the container separated from the stack on which it was secured and moved directed by my will.

"Argh!" shouted the General.

I kicked his chest with enough strength to dent durasteel and Grievous went sailing into the next cart. I could hear a faint hiss of pain emanating under his mask as the sack containing his few remaining organs was rattled by my strike.

Grievous found himself in a heap at the back of the cart right behind the engine. He had landed in a bunch of crates, few of which toppled over him. I followed with a Force enchanted jump. The momentum of the train speeding away under me added to my closing velocity with the general.

While I was in mid-air, the cyborg roared in defiance and used his synthetic limbs to throw away the containers under which he was buried. One of them was heading my way and it shattered over a cocoon of Force energy which I had formed around me to counter something like that. Yet the strike was good enough to slow down my approach.

Grievous jumped on his feet to meet me. My crimson blade few in an arc towards the rising cyborg. My weight and momentum combined with his unsteady stance into an unstoppable force which battered through his crossed lightsabers. His right hand was separated just below the shoulder plating protecting the Separatist's commander torso and flew away from the moving train.

Unfortunately, the loss of a limb didn't slow him down. My charge had me out of balance for a moment and I had to duck under a sweeping strike from his remaining weapon. The Force screamed a warning and I was barely able to cross my hands in front of my chest as he kicked me as only a machine could. The durasteel armguards protecting my hands groaned under the sudden strike that fell over them. I was thrown back by the attack and was staggered when my flight was interrupted by a stack of crates which shook by my impact.

If my body wasn't enhanced by the force that would have been the end – my arm would have snapped like a twig and the impact at my landing would have left me dazzled and open for the killing blow.

"I will kill you slowly for this!" snarled Grievous and lumbered in my direction.

I snapped my left arm in a well-practiced motion and a pair of darts with a micro Ion energy cell within shot at the approaching General. His lightsaber flashed in front of him and to my surprise, Grievous managed to intercept one of the missiles which sparkled as it was slicked in two.

It was not enough. The other flew true and struck him on the right side of the armored torso. Disruptive Ion energy was unloaded in his entrails and Grievous screamed like a damned soul. He waved his left arm madly as if trying to smite an invisible assailant. Small electrical discharges ran over his armored bulk and he shook as if being electrocuted. I guess what was happening to him was similar enough.

A grappling hook shot from his left hand and, by accident or design, latched on the underside of one of the monorails that were overhead. I didn't think that he was acting consciously but that did not matter. His body was picked up by the taunt metal wire attached to the grappling hook and he flew away from the train which was carrying me in the opposite direction. Before I could think things through I had thrown my lightsaber at the departing cyborg. The crimson blade hissed through the air and was guided unerringly by my will.

The train on which I was on choose that moment to take a slight turn to the right and enter a tunnel. I lost sight of my target and my concentration wavered.

"Kriffing machine!" I roared in anger while doing my best to keep my lightsaber from smashing into something.

The train engine felt my wrath and it caved in as if struck by a giant hammer. Emergency brakes activated and I had to draw on the force to keep myself upright as the cart on which I was lurched to a sudden stop.

I jumped in the air and headed to the back of the train. I had to nearly kneel as I moved over the wagons which were at the back of the open carts. The tunnel ceiling was that low. I vaulted over the last wagon and my feet struck the monorail line. Thanks to the emergency stop, the computer controlling the train system had stopped feeding energy in it. What power that still remained in it washed harmlessly over my well isolated armor. It was nothing compared to Sith lightning and my protections were designed to blunt the attacks of some of the most powerful Sith that existed in my time.

You gotta love genius engineers and well applied Sith Alchemy.

I ran over the monorail line back to the transport hub. To my irritation I could see no sign of Grievous.

"Lucky kriffin' bastard!" growled in barely restrained rage.

The Dark side was whispering sweet, seductive suggestion in my ears. It would have been so easy and satisfying to let myself be controlled by my fury. It promised me power and invulnerability. I sneered at the dark seductress and wrestled control from its influence. I knew those whispers for the lie they were. I was NOT a common rabble that would be enslaved by the Dark side's desires! It was mine to control! Not the other way around!

The Force twisted in a cloud of living shadows around me while I reasserted control over my feelings. The fury subdued to a simmering pool of anger and I could think clearly again. The Force gradually calmed down around me and I used it to guide me towards my lost lightsaber.

I found it down below, half hidden by the shadows cloaked bottom of the monorail hub. The low light vision mode of my helmet and its zoom function helped me see the hilt of my blade. Dozen meters away I could also see something that looked suspiciously like the right foot of Grievous. By the Force, I had taken another piece of that bastard! He should be easy to track down and dispose as crippled as he was now! After a nice long chat about all of the Separatists secrets he knew, of course. I was not foolish enough of discard such valuable intelligence source if it was possible to capture and interrogate him.

I levitated my saber to my outstretched right hand and was about to start searching in the Force for the running General when Obi-Wan called me. I cursed myself for a bloodthirsty fool! I had forgotten all about the Jedi who had let me deal with the local Boogie Man by myself. I had been so focused on my prey that I didn't pay attention to anything else. Talk about tunnel vision…

"Veil! I am with Skywalker and the Senator! We are heading to the Shadow! Anakin set the Malevolence on course towards a nearly moon! You have only few minutes to get over here before it's too late! "

Kriffing Jedi, I seethed. At least they gave me a warning.

"Negative! I have Grievous on the run! It is unlikely that we'll have such a good chance to deal with him any time soon. I'm going after him. You'll have to pick me up from one of the hangers when I'm done with him." with that I cut off the comm.

On a whim, I wasted few more seconds to retrieve the cut off foot of the General. If Grievous got away because of Skywalker's stunt I was going to beat that young, impulsive bastard unconscious with that piece of scrap.

=RK=

I was running through debris lidden corridors hot in pursuit of the Separatist Army's Supreme Commander. My progress was slowed down by groups of droids which were vectoring to intercept me. In the beginning of the chase, that was not a problem. The squads of three or four B-1 droids couldn't even slow me. They wouldn't have been a credible treat even if they could shoot straight. I wondered who in their right mind would produce "battle" droids without giving them adequate targeting algorithms and optics. Or even better a build in dedicated targeting computer. It was harder to deflect their wildly scattered fire back to the unlucky little buggers than it would have been if they were accurate shots! Talk about ironies…

As I said the B-1 were just an entertaining sideshow. However the comic relief was soon replaced by groups of advanced battle droids. They were two meter tall, heavily armed and armored metal gunmetal gray machines They rained fire upon me with their wrist-mounted dual repeating blasters.

While those things, at least at the numbers I was facing, were not even a moderate threat, they were slowing me down nonetheless. It wouldn't do for me to get careless or overly arrogant and get myself shot. I believed that my armor and shield, which I had not bothered to activate yet, would provide at least moderate protection against modern weaponry but I was not going to risk it. From what I've seen on this ship, the weapon's performance was average for mid-range gear from my time. However that was against the materials I've seen on the Malevolence. I had no idea how it stacked against what was used four thousand years ago. And the few B-1 I blew up with my blasters were not a particularly good test. It was obviously that those things were mass produced models which were build to be as cheap as possible.

I turned around a corner and ran in the middle of a quartet of Super Battle droids. For a split second I stared in the photoreceptors of one of the silver killing machines. Then all hell broke loose.

My lightsaber roared to life and I stabbed at the red eye of the machine that was glaring malevolently at me. My lightsaber swirled to the left and cut its way through the armored bulk of the dying droid. On its way to then next target if sliced in half the right arm of the robot I just dispatched. The second droid was bisected through the waist and its torso slid to the ground before the first two machines of the quarter, the ones I had ran past as I dashed around the corner could turn around.

One of the remaining Super Battle Droids tried to backhand me with its left arm. I ducked under the strike and planted my blade in the center of the offending machine. I moved my lightsaber upward on a ninety degree angle leaving a melted hole in the synthetic. I immediately followed with a diagonal slash which cut the last robot in two. I spun around and ran down the corridor.

The next thing that tried to stop me were a pair of destroyer droids. I could hear them approaching as they were rolling my way. They unfolded in an intersection which was in my way and were joined by four squads of B-1's. Before the dangerous machines could activate their shields I rewarded their determination to keep Grievous away from me. The moment I heard the Droideka's approaching I had prepared a pair of grenades. I lobed the Ion one at the crossroad second before it was reached by the droids. When they saw it, it was too late to do anything.

"Ouch." said one of the B-1 which had its head painted yellow. Some kind of command unit I think.

That was its last thought before a powerful Ion pulse overloaded their circuits. The still forming defensive barriers of the Droidekas were no match for the energy wave and they slumped to the ground while lightning tendrils were arcing all over them. My second grenade put a stop to that when it detonated, its blast wave and shrapnel shredding the machines. The two destroyer droids were wracked by few internal explosions as well.

=RK=

I reached the destination of the general's way out. I found him on the other end of a large hangar that was filled with wrecked vultures, droids and various burning debris. He was carried by a pair of Super Battle droids toward a fighter that looked like something straight out of a pulp science fiction from the middle of the previous century.

I waved my right hand and a piece of smoking metal which was lying near the general's fighter shot at the Separatist's Commander and his helpers. It swept their legs from under them and the trio fell in a heap on the ground. I sent a wave of telekinetic force at a pair of B-1's who tried to stop me while chattering about how doomed they were. The flimsy synthetics hit a nearby bulkhead with enough force to splatter them all over it.

Smiling under my mask I headed towards Grievous, who was shouting to his henchmen to help him up. At a mental command, a blaster flew from my belt to my left hand and I opened fire on the two SB droids. Those were made from sterner stuff. My shots boiled craters in their armor but that did not deter them. One picked up the General and headed towards the fighter while the other moved in my direction and started providing covering fire.

I activated my lightsaber and weaved a barrier between myself and the killer robot. I continued to shoot at it and after a dozen hits on its chest plate the armor gave away. Its shining, silver chassis was a melted ruin by that point. My next two blaster bolts exploded within its chassis wrecking its internal components. The SB droid fell face down on the deck like a cut down tree.

I ran forward towards my quarry and I was shooting at Grievous and its last guard all the way. Energy bolts rained all over them. The cyborg screamed obscenities after the robot helping him few to the ground when I hit its knee joints from behind. I was already anticipating the face to face chat I was about to have with the Separatist commander when the Force screamed a warning to me.

Only a frantic roll to the right which led me behind a big piece of a blown up ship saved me from being torn to pieces by the concentrated fire of four vulture droids. The bloody fighters were in their walker configuration and advancing my way. Their wing had separated in two stick like legs and the droid fighters were doing their best to take me out.

"Damn it I should start paying attention! That is the hangar of a Separatist ship! Of course there will be vultures inside!" I grumbled to myself. I was acting impulsively without thinking through my actions. It was good think that Skywalker was not around to see me! The kriffing Jedi would have had a field day at my expense after the chat we had earlier.

I looked around to see what I had to work with. There were a lot of debris and remains of unlucky fighters. My attention was grabbed by a vulture droid which was smashed by a fallen crane. I smiled. I closed my eyes and concentrated. The totaled fighter droid moved carried by invisible strings. Its twisted frame gave a protesting groan when I picked it up and used it as a battering ram against its operational brethren. I propelled it with enough velocity to crumble on impact with the leading walker which was coming too close for comfort.

The machines smashed in each other with scream of twisting metal. They fell over a large cluster of burning debris. Sparks and flames danced over their broken open frames and found their way to the solid pellets of fuel with which the vultures operated. If the energy source was not being used to feed the engines of the droid that was operational mere moments ago, the flames might not been hot enough to cause a chain reaction. But as things stood they were the last ingredient needed for a colorful explosion. The impressive detonation threw the remaining three vultures to the deck.

That was my cue to act. I threw ion grenades at the two farther machines and jumped to the closer one. I ignited my lightsaber while in the air and landed on the frame of the droid next to its head. It tried to turn its cannons towards me but I put my blade to good use and stabbed it in his electronic brain. It took only a second for my laser sword to drill through the armor.

I glanced at the other two vultures. They were temporary incapacitated. That was good enough for the moment. Then I looked at where Grievous and his fighter used to be. Only the crippled Supper Battle droid was there. And it was crawling towards me.

That fucking tin can escaped, damn it all to hell!

The fury was back in full swing. I glared at the droid which had helped Grievous to escape and flung my right hand at it. It rose in the air with its limbs flailing uselessly around. I made a gripping motion with my fist and its arms and legs became taut. One by one its limbs were twisted away from the struggling machine. When only its torso remained the robot gave off a piteous whine before being squashed into a football sized sphere.

I let the useless clump of metal to hit the ground and redirected my attention to the disabled vulture droids. I vent my anger on them next by cutting them to pieces with my lightsaber. I, at least, was sane enough to be careful not to ignite their fuel.

=RK=

What got me out of my snit was the voice of Kenobi who wanted to know where the hell I was. I cut at a dismembered droid one last time and answered. "I am in one of the hangars. Grievous got away."

"We have a lock on your signal. We'll be there shortly. The Malevolence is about it hit the moon."

"Understood." I grumbled.

I could feel slight vibrations in the deck. The ship was too close for comfort to the planetoid if the armored bulk of the leviathan was shuddering.

At least the Jedi didn't let me to hang and the Twilight entered the hangar in high speed. I rushed to get on board and Skywalker got us away just as the super cruiser was entering the upper layers of the thin atmosphere of the moon. At full speed.

The leviathan struck the moon with enough force to wreck a continent. It left behind a fireball that easily reached orbit. I wondered if the impact would be sufficient to cause enough tectonic upheavals and shatter the moon…

=RK=

Part 4

Kenobi's command ship Negotiator

Ryndellian Sector, near Naboo

Kenobi was out of the hook. While I dealt with Grievous he had made a sensible decision and went to disable the hyperdrive. The one I had a bone to pick up with was Skywalker. The Malevolence was dead in the water. Damaged and without working hyperdrive it was ripe for the taking.

A Sith, a bunch of Jedi and the clone ground troops assigned to the three star destroyers which were bombarding the dreadnought... Even if we did not receive additional reinforcements it should have been enough to capture the Separatist's flagship. By itself, the super cruiser was a great prize, not to mention its propaganda value. As it were, I hoped that at least Grievous would be out of action for some time. However unless my Ion dart caused more damage than I suspected all the cyborg needed were some spare parts and a good engineer. To make matters worse, I didn't think that the Separatist general would be dumb enough to face me alone again. For our next meeting he'll probably have at least few squads of those elite droids seen in ROTS.

"Skywalker! Tell me what exactly were you thinking when you sent that cruiser at the moon?" I asked after we landed and disembarked.

"The ship needed to go," he shrugged.

"Please tell me that you were out of comm reach from Kenobi and did not know that the hyperdrive was totaled?"

"Our communications were disrupted by jamming. I was only able to speak with Anakin shortly before we met near the Twilight. Why?" asked Obi-Wan.

"Well, with the hyperdrive taken out the Malevolence would have made a nice prize. Even if the ship itself was beyond repair it still could be sent to the breakers. You saw how big it was. Even if it was only used as raw materials, it could have provided enough for a whole new fleet."

The pair of Jedi looked at each other. Apparently neither of them thought about that.

"That's a good point." said Amidala. "Who you are anyway?"

I honestly forgot that we were not officially introduced.

"Delkatar Veil at your service, Senator Amidala." I gave her a courteous bow. Who said that we Sith had no manners? We just picked carefully to whom we showed any kind of respect!

"It's a pleasure. Did you really fight that monster Grievous to standstill as Master Kenobi said?" she asked curiously.

I grinned under my mask.

"Really, Kenobi? Do you have so little faith in me?" I asked and retrieved the cyborgs foot which I had secured at the small of my back.

I showed them my souvenir.

"He lost an arm and a leg but got lucky and escaped."

They stared at the piece of the cyborg. If I am not mistaken so far no one on the Republic's side had managed to even scratch the local Boogie Man.

"Ah. That's certainly impressive." mumbled Obi-Wan.

I could see it in his eyes. His estimate of my combat abilities had risen dramatically and with it the potential threat I presented.

"I just hope that with Grievous is disabled for the time being, so there so there might be a lull in the war." as she spoke the former Queen had a faraway look in her eyes.

"It's unlikely. The Separatists must have other somewhat competent generals. Besides he is mostly machine now. All he'll need are some spare parts and few repair droids." I had to be the voice of the common sense. The CIS was on the offensive right now and it had strategic surprise on its side. There was no reason for them to slow down their attacks.

"Unfortunately Veil is correct, Senator." said Kenobi. He was one of the best generals the GAR had and knew the situation better than me.

Amidala looked at me with thoughtful expression.

"You appear to have a firm grasp of the strategic situation." she said and frowned. "I did not expect to see a Jedi with such an interesting outfit. You look more like a mercenary than an Order member, Master Veil."

"Why, thank you, Senator. I am certainly no Jedi. You could say that in this day and age I am a mercenary with a contract to fulfill."

Padme raised her delicate eyebrows in surprise.

"He's apparently a Sith from a few thousand years ago and fancies himself a mercenary." Anakin explained.

"That is not a wise thing to do. Many powerful Jedi had tried and failed. What makes you think that you'll succeed?" asked the former queen, then Skywalkers words fully registered. "A Sith, like the one who hunted us on Tatooine and Naboo?!" Padme took a step back.

While her dislike for mercenaries was evident, it was now replaced by fear and distrust. But was that a tiny bit of curiousity below it all?

"Precisely because I am not a Jedi, Senator. They are peacekeepers. I am a soldier trained in the art of war. In order to win a conflict such as the one the Republic had found itself a different mindset is needed." I said with conviction.

"And what is that?! To bomb innocent civilians?! Take over neutral worlds? Do you want us to become as bad as the Separatists?" Amidala growled at me. "As the Sith?!"

Joy. I was pushing her buttons without even realizing it.

"Bombing civilians, unless they are unfortunate enough to live near strategic objectives? No. That is usually counterproductive. It simply creates more resistance. From what I've seen since my arrival, Senator is the simple fact that the Republic has the better army and the Separatist possesses the better generals. As things stand, even if your side wins, it will be over mountains of bodies and oceans of blood. All you'll have in the end will be a long list of shattered and poisoned worlds." I gave them a piece of my mind.

She looked away.

"There are already too many such worlds." Padme muttered.

Anakin placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We'll stop them, Padme."

She gave him a small smile then her piercing gaze returned back to me.

"Veil, you said 'your victory'. You are not on the side of the Republic, are you?" Amidala asked.

"I am merely an enemy of Dooku and his so called Sith. That does not mean that I have any loyalties or love for your side, Senator. I am, however, available for hire." I made my position clear. It wasn't as if they would believe I was helping them from the goodness of my heart – which I certainly wasn't.

Little did I know how my last words would came back to bite me in the ass.

"So, at best Sith mercenary with flexible morals?" Padme rubbed her forehead.

"You have no idea." muttered Anakin.

"I am who I am, Senator Amidala. If the Republic declines my services, well it's your loss." I left the group with these parting words.

=RK=

Master Plo Koon watched the strange ancient Sith as the man was eating in the mess hall while reading from a data pad. For the time being the Council had decided to let Kenobi handle the newcomer. For the foreseeable future, the younger Jedi Master's fleet was to be an operational reserve so with any luck the Sith would be contained for the time being. That would give them time to observe this Delkatar Veil and get accustomed to the presence of one of his kind who was not overly hostile - at least that was the plan.

The old Jedi wondered if the Force had other ideas.

For Koon, the existence of a Sith as Veil was a contradiction of everything he knew about them. Was Delkatar one of a kind or were the records in the Jedi Temple overly biased? Or perhaps this man was just biding his time and playing them for a fools…

No matter how much he meditated, Plo could not pierce the shadows obscuring the Force and thus the future. All he got was a vague sense that Veil won't be danger for them unless provoked.

All he really knew was that the presence of that man had made the maelstrom that were the Clone wars even more chaotic and complicated.

Of course what Veil would consider a provocation no one really knew...

=RK=

Chancellor office

Coruscant

"I see, commander. It was fortunate that Senator Amidala was saved by our Jedi friends. But what is this I hear about a mercenary's involvement with that sordid business on the Malevolence?" Palpatine asked the officer assigned to brief him on most military matters.

"By all accounts, the Senator was saved by Masters Kenobi, Skywalker and a mercenary named Delkatar Veil. Furthermore that man was able to wound Grievous and even took his leg as a trophy." came the reply from the Republic Intelligence agent.

"Fascinating!" whispered the Chancellor. This was certainly different than expected. At least Grievous got away if not intact. With a bit of luck, losing a few pieces would make him more prudent the next time.

Sidious had received a report from Grievous who claimed that an unknown man, who was wielding a red lightsaber had taken him apart. It was the mercenary he was currently being briefed about. The Sith Lord wondered how a fallen Jedi could have become an apparently successful bounty hunter without his knowledge. Or was that man trained by one of the few independent groups of Dark Side aligned Force welders? Yes, that was the most likely answer. It's not like the Jedi would have left on of their rogues go free if they had anything to say about it.

That man needed investigating. Sidious wondered how best this new element could be used. Palpatine smiled. The man had helped save that troublesome girl, Amidala. His former queen had a penchant for getting in and out of sticky situations. Perhaps that was something he could use. Besides he needed more information about the mercenary – so he could determine if he could be an asset or merely a complication to be removed.

Sidious sighed in exasperation. If it was not for that new shadow in the Force that was obscuring most of even his vision he would know more about this stranger. He wondered if the mercenary had anything with the disturbance in the Force but dismissed the idea. Someone powerful enough to cast such a shadow would not play such a petty little games!

=RK=

Republic cruiser Negotiator

Hyperspace

I spent the next week as a guest on Kenobi's flag ship while the Jedi general and his forces were acting as a reserve force, one among many which were discouraging an attack on Kamino. It was obvious what the Jedi were up to but I didn't mind it for the moment. I used the time to good effect. A lot was spent meditating (yes Sith do it on occasion, especially when we want to straighten up our minds) and getting used to the idea that everything I knew had been gone for close to four thousand years.

The rest of the time I was either buried under data pads as I was catching up on current events or speaking with Kenobi. We were often seen arguing about the difference between the Jedi and the Sith as well as discussing tactics and strategy. Say what you will about Vael but he was an accomplished general and some of his skill had rubbed on me.

Right now we were discussing the consequences of my suggestion to Skywalker when the headstrong young Jedi refused to pull back his forces from Bothawui. When I heard that he was about to ambush Grievous (who had recovered as fast as I predicted and was leading the Separatist offensive with a vengeance) in an asteroid belt, I gave him the idea to seed the expected battlefield with whatever charges he's fleet had in stock. He had done that in addition n to placing combat walkers on some of the bigger asteroids and using them as artillery platforms.

The improvised mines and the asteroid fragments thrown in all directions by them had shredded the particle shields on the majority of the Separatist fleets and even damaged some of their frigates. This ambush left CIS ships open for a hammer blow from Skywalker's cruisers and the walkers which had a field day with the enemies who had lost their defensive fields and managed to mission kill a number of them. The enemy formation had shattered and Grievous had fled leaving his dying fleet behind. That was one of the greatest GAR victories in the war so far. To make it even sweeter the only Republic's losses were couple of dozen fighters and score of walkers with their crews. That was a bargain price for a whole fleet. The only thing that might have made it better was if when the cyborg fled, Anakin was not too busy dealing with a swarm of vulture droids to follow and take out the bastard.

"That was a great idea! Without the mines, Anakin's men would have easily suffered at two or three times more casualties. With his novel use of the walkers his forces would have most likely won anyway but they would have been mauled in the process.

"It worked well enough." I shrugged. "Skywalker controlled the flow of the battle because Grievous had to come to him if he wanted to assault the world. It's not like he could ignore such a force at his back. Not when he needed to invade the planet instead of bombing it back to the Stone Age.

"Certainly. Anakin's cruisers were perfectly capable to execute an attack run while Grievous was busy sending his troops down to the planet. It would have wrecked the Venators, but it would have gutted the ground component of the CIS forces. While Grievous's fleet was formidable it simply did not have the firepower to stop the cruisers before it was too late."

"Yeah. While we are talking about Skywalker, pray tell, how long has your former apprentice been in love with the delectable senator?"

My question was carefully timed so Kenobi was just taking a sip of Caf when it registered what I was asking him. He spluttered, spraying black liquid all over the small table around which we were sitting.

"Sith spit! What are you talking about?!" he exclaimed.

"First, you are the one spitting. And second it's obvious. Don't give me that. You were his master for how long?! A decade? More? There is no way you do not recognize it for what it is." I smiled at him and awaited answer.

Amidala and Kenobi were the keys to keeping Anakin from becoming Vader and I did not need or want to deal with Skywalker going on the deep end. So I decided to proceed with my tentative plans for changing the Jedi and naturally I started with my minder.