Chapter Text
33 BBY -The Shrine of the Depths
Darth Sidious inhaled deeply, taking in the aroma of dark side. Over five millennia ago, a Sith Temple had stood upon the Sacred Spire mountain range. The tall black edifice casted its long shadow over Coruscant, long before it had been transformed into a planet wide bustling metropolis.
The Sacred Spire mountains had been home to a naturally occurring force nexus, one strongly connected to the light. The Sith had built their temple over this nexus in hopes of corrupting it.
And they had.
The Sith and their acts, though long since passed, could still be felt in this place. Their evil permeated all throughout this shrine, and that evil had taken on a life of its own. The corrupted nexus was alive. Filled only with the desire to be used.
The Jedi had seen the danger in this, so when they retook Coruscant, they had razed the Sith temple. Reducing it to rubble and bedrock foundation. They built their own temple over the foundation, hoping to silence the nexus and to eventually heal it.
The Jedi had been successful in negating the Nexus’ influence and even managed to heal it. With so many Jedi gathered in one place, the light within them shined and quieted the Sith Shrine. But they had foolishly believed that this had been enough. They thought the Shrine had been healed along with the Nexus, and over the millennia, they had forgotten about it.
How wrong they were.
The Shrine, while quieted by the presence of so many Jedi, had never been healed. It lived and fed off the misery generated by the beings living on Coruscant. From criminals, spice addicts, public officials, and those miserable little beings who lived in the lowest levels of Coruscant. Their pain, and the pain they inflicted on others, fed the Shrine.
Perhaps, if the Jedi had remembered the Shrine, if they had spent more time trying to heal the nexus, or spend more time trying to heal Coruscant itself, then the Shrine could’ve lost all its power.
Luckily for Sidious, the Jedi had done none of these things.
Sidious walked deeper into the Shrine, until he stood in its center. Directly beneath the Jedi High Council spire. Sidious then began his ritual. The Shrine awakened more fully, and coiled around the Dark lord eagerly, demanding to be used.
The ritual would strengthen Sidious’ connection to the Shrine. When the time was right, when the Jedi were all destroyed, the Shrine’s power would belong to him, and him alone.
After completing the ritual, Sidious felt the Shrine sigh in satisfaction. Yet, he knew it hungered more.
It whispered to Palpatine, Use me…
Through the Force, Sidious coddled the Shrine like he would a pet. Then, for the first time since entering the Shrine, Sidious spoke.
“Soon. When the Grand Plan is complete.”
The Shrine accepted this and whispered to Sidious again.
A gift… Dark master…
A vison came to life before Palpatine.
He saw Coruscant being invaded by what could only be described as... living ships. They were grotesque, made of membrane and flesh that seemed twisted and contorted in unnatural ways. Rock-like shells, that seemed to quiver in anticipation, covered the space craft. They were unnatural. Even if they were somehow alive, nature had not made these things, only a sentient mind, a mind like Sidious' could’ve conceived of something like this.
The ships decimated the Coruscant city-scape. The Senate building, 500 Republica, even the Jedi Temple were razed and reduced to rubble.
Then, from the ships, they emerged.
Beings that were twisted and mutilated, utilizing living things as tools, and covered in a strange type of carapace. What was more curious, in some manner, they were completely invisible to Sidious. It was as if he could see them perfectly, and not at all at the same time.
The beings, whatever they were, massacred the denizens of Coruscant. Those who survived were tortured, enslaved, and sacrificed in twisted rituals.
The blood of these victims screamed from the ground at their murders, and the Shrine fed upon this misery. Becoming more powerful, cackling as it grew. Then, from the very depths of Coruscant, an ancient evil corrupted all that encountered it. Driving them mad, spewing forth lava and dark side energy.
Then, a man stepped into view.
Sidious could not make out any details or features of this man, but in his blackened heart, he knew that the man was a Sith. The Sith held the shrine in his hands, soaking in the power of its dark side aura. The power was his to command. He would be worshipped by an army of Dark side warriors, he would rule the galaxy, and he would even master the power of life and death itself! That man, that Sith, would be him! It had to be!
Then, the vision ended.
Sidious was left standing in awe of the vision. The Shrine’s presence, pleased it had satisfied its master, slithered away and slept once more. Awaiting the great and terrible days that lay ahead.
Three hours later - 500 Republica
Senator Palpatine gave a small laugh, pretending to find another senator’s joke amusing before excusing himself.
He mingled with Coruscant’s Elite, and Palpatine had to smile to himself. After so many years, he was on the verge of becoming Chancellor of the Republic.
Chancellor Valorum’s term had been nothing short of a disaster, while his own support and popularity were only growing. Once the Naboo crisis was finally executed, he could have Valorum voted out of office, and he would use the opportunity to have himself voted in as Chancellor.
Now, all he needed was to deal with his Sith Master, Plagueis.
Before he could put his plot into place however, he needed to deal with yet more guests that Doriana was sending his way.
“Forgive me for adding more to your plate Senator, but I insist you must meet the representatives of Chio.”
Palpatine was about to decline, but there was something about Doriana that gave him pause. The slight sweat on his brow, his darting eyes, his agitated movements, and his emotions that Palpatine sensed. Doriana was… nervous about these representatives, but why? Not only that, but if he was nervous, why not simply dismiss them?
Palpatine had never heard of Chio, he wasn’t sure if it was the name of the planet or the sector, but if he didn’t know of it, then it likely wasn’t important enough to get an invitation to such an event. So, how did they get such an invitation, and why were they here?
“Very well. Please, lead me to them.”
After a short walk, Palpatine met the two representatives. They were a man and woman, slightly taller than himself, but of unremarkable faces. They smiled, and Palpatine could see there was a tightness to their eyes and a restrained agitation to their movements. Like the pair wanted to jump out of their own skin.
Palpatine reached out with the Force to try and sense their intentions, only to hit a wall and discover they were completely absent in the Force. How could this be? Palpatine had never heard of such a phenomenon. Were they Jedi? If so, how had they accomplished this, and why were they here?
“Pleased to make your acquaintance, I am Senator Palpatine of Naboo.” Palpatine said, acting as if nothing was wrong.
“Pleazed to mke yours az wel.” The man said in broken Galactic basic.
The woman gave a short nod but stayed silent.
“How has your stay on Coruscant been? Pleasant I hope.”
“Not az wel az we ould az hoped.”
“Friends, might I inquire as to your business here?”
The man and woman shared a look. Finally, the woman spoke.
“Wee or ooking for my sister. She waz last seen ere.” She said curtly.
Before Palpatine could inquire further, they bowed their heads and walked off without another word. Doriana turned to look at Palpatine.
“What do you think they are, spies?” Doriana whispered conspiratorally.
“Most definitely. Very poor ones I might add.”. Palpatine said casually.
“But for who? Should we be worried?”
Palpatine waved his hand dismissively.
“No Doriana, I don’t think so. There are plenty of spies in the Senate, and I prefer to keep track of the ones I can spot, rather than risk having them replaced with ones I can’t.”
Doriana nodded, but Palpatine could tell he was unconvinced. Normally, Palpatine would’ve had Doriana pry into the matter, but Palpatine did not want him to be involved any further. At least for now.
During their brief conversation, Palpatine had tried again to sense the representatives, and had even tried to manipulate them with the Force. Only, nothing had happened. Nothing Palpatine had tried had any effect on them. Whatever they were, they were no Jedi. There was something wrong with them. If they couldn't be sensed or manipulated by the Force, they were a threat.
His mind drifted to the vision he had experienced earlier. Those beings, the ones he could see, yet not see. Could it be, these representatives were somehow connected?
When he had the chance, Palpatine slipped away from the party, and called his apprentice on a private channel.
“Maul, I have a new assignment for you.”