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“You want me and Naloh to… What?” Asajj asked, incredulous, “I’m sorry, Tano, but this is insane even for your Line.”
Ahsoka smiles, awkwardly.
“Technically it’s our droid’s idea?” she says. “And, honestly, he’s never steered us wrong, so I try not to question him, especially when he knows things he shouldn’t be able to.”
Asajj shakes her head. It may be the “terror droid”, but she wants no part in whatever Dooku is planning this time.
“I am sorry, Ahsoka,” she says sarcatically, “But no.”
Ahsoka just smirks.
“Great,” she says, “I’ll send you the coordinates. It’s still two weeks out, but be there by 1400 West Hyperspace Time.”
Asajj sighs.
“I’m not going,” she says, but Ahsoka just continues to smirk.
“We’ll see about that.”
Maul makes his way measuredly through the room. (Never calm, though. Calm was the antithesis of the Sith. “Peace is a lie, there is only passion”.) Savage followed not far behind.
“Well it’s a larger and prettier cage,” he says. Skywalker laughs.
“Don’t worry,” Skywalker says. “You’ll be out of here in a week. I promised a chance at revenge, and the Jedi shouldn’t be as lying and treacherous as the Sith are known to be.”
Maul just scoffs.
“The Sith are a schism gone right,” he says, “And their reasons weren’t terrible.”
“I know,” Skywalker says, “I’m not going into this blind.”
“And what is ‘this’?” Savage asks.
Skywalker smirks.
“I have a meeting with Dooku and probably Ventress if my Padawan knows what she’s doing,” he says. “And I’m leaving you all alone with them, if you promise not to go after my Master for at least a year and two months.”
Maul turns to Savage. He doesn’t know why. The Sith were never a democracy, but…
Well, he’s been patient in his pursuit of Kenobi thus far, and Savage has a chance for his revenge staring him in the face.
“Fine,” he says.
“Good,” Skywalker says, “The meeting is in about two weeks.”
Then he holds out a datapad.
“Please tell me I didn’t break anything, Jedi hate politics,” he says.
A note that this is unofficial , and held only on good word. Should the words of this document be maintained, however, there is a promise for the benefits herein to be maintained on both sides.
Maul stares.
“What is this?” he asks.
Skywalker hmms.
“A chance,” he says. “Now, once you’ve read, know that I’d prefer your signature for the Sith over Dooku’s.”
Maul nods, and keeps reading.
He’s not entirely an idiot.
Sith
The Sith and any affiliated Force Users, shall aid the Confederacy of Independent Systems for the remainder of the Clone Wars. Following the War, they shall attempt to negotiate a peace with the Republic Equal to that of the CIS and Republic. Open hostilities are to be avoided. At this time, the Republic represents Yan Dooku and Darth Maul as the leaders of the Sith, and Sith Masters.
An new Order of Sith will not be stopped by the Jedi or Republic unless they are shown to violently slaughter innocents.
He needs to think about this.
(He does eventually end up signing, mostly to flaunt his being recognized as, essentially, a force of equal power as the manipulative troll currently in charge of the Jedi Order.
And of Dooku.)
Naloh laughs as Asajj complains. Asajj growls.
“This isn’t funny,” she says, “I want no part in whatever Dooku’s planning now.”
Naloh just shrugs.
“If you go, I go with you,” she says, “And, though it might hurt your relationship with Tano, you could just go there to kill him.”
Asajj just scoffs.
“You don’t know what Dooku is capable of,” she says. “For all that we know, she wants Dooku dead after what he must have done to Skywalker.”
This hadn’t been her first conversation with Ahsoka since the girl had run off to get to Skywalker, after all.
“Well,” Naloh says, “I suppose the only way to find out what she wants is to go. Especially if you want a chance with her.”
Asajj decides to ignore her friend’s insinuation.
“I guess so,” she says.
Ahsoka smiles as she opens her comm, somehow just knowing that it’ll be Asajj.
“Hello there,” she says when, sure enough, it is in fact the former Sith Acolyte.
Asajj just sighs.
“Naloh and I are coming,” she says. “Don’t make me regret this.”
Ahsoka just laughs.
“I hope not,” she says. “Because I still have no clue where this is headed.
Asajj just groaned.
“Go call Skywalker,” she says.
“This is still a terrible idea, Anakin.” Obi-Wan says, but Anakin just shrugs.
“What ideas of ours aren’t?” he asks. “Besides, we’re not the ones who’re gonna be having to deal with fall-out if this goes wrong. We get him to sign an agreement and leave him with two angry zabrack and Artoo at the helm.”
Obi-Wan sighs.
“Let’s just get this over with as quickly as possible,” he says, “Has Ahsoka contacted you about Ventress?”
Anakin shakes his head.
Naturally, that’s when Anakin’s comm beeps, and a hologram of Ahsoka pops up.
“She said yes,” she says. Anakin laughs.
“Well, what else was she going to do?” he asks. “Thanks for confirming, Ahsoka.”
There’s a bunch of double meanings that Obi-Wan doesn’t quite understand inside that sentence, but he’s fairly sure he sees Ahsoka’s lekku darken before she hangs up, although it’s hard to tell with the blue of a hologram.
“Did you just insinuate that—”
Anakin turns to him.
“What?” Anakin asks. Then Obi-Wan starts actually thinking his whole thought process through, and he decides not to ask.
“Never mind,” he says.
Anakin just smiles again, but it goes dark as he looks back at the console.
“One hour before conversion to realspace,” he says, and he pulls down some of his weakest shields within their bond. Obi-Wan sighs. Their bond is fully open, most of the time now, but, sometimes… well, it closes, and that in and of itself is a sign.
Still, Anakin really is so much better, now.
And, Obi-Wan thinks, that’s probably a warning sign that things are about to go wrong.
But he should try to be hopeful. This is so much better than everything has been the past half year or so.