บท 196: V.2-C.97│Mortis VII│
One may wonder about the timeline of events, but most of what is going to happen next is before Anakin and the group landed on Mortis...
[]
Dooku, otherwise known as Darth Tyranus for his Sith master, who was the one running the Galactic Republic as of this moment.
He is a man that had seen through the corruption of the Republic and knew that sooner or later he would be leaving. The build up to his departure wasn't anything too grand, but it had him trying to have some small form of protest that didn't work.
He at first from with the Jedi, trying to make them see the error of their ways, even towards his own master. Master Yoda.
But, his pleas and criticisms fell on deaf ears, blind eyes, and in general blocked off senses. Even the Jedi Orders capability to empathize with others was greatly hampered by their lifestyle and the way they tried to live their lives.
They disconnected themselves from the 'mundane' world and became monks that were holier than thou, which resulted in many, many failings.
There was the fact the Jedi constantly lied to the senate about how powerful their abilities were. Specifically in the instance where their abilities to foresee the future was diminished and no one had thought to tell the senate about this.
The Jedi's abuse of their powers through the use of mind altering and manipulation type abilities on innocent people.
Especially when it came to their inability to see that taking children away from their families was something incredibly wrong.
Years long training programs, used to initiate their new members, which were in a sense a way to brainwash the children into the way or lifestyle of the Jedi Order. Children as young as the age of three were taken from their homes, their families and then are forced into indentured servitude right from a young age.
Force do to things like blind combat with droids, along with simulated initiation test that see the children within fighting in life or death scenarios to test their Force abilities.
If the Jedi really cared about the children they took, then they would know that it is scientifically proven that it is wrong to separate children from their parents.
'Ignorance lead to suffering and suffering lead to hate.' Something that Dooku had seen before and if Anakin heard these thoughts, he would say this was also exactly what had happened to the original Anakin.
Because of the Jedi ignorance, it lead to original Anakin's suffering and because of his suffering, it lead to his hate of the Jedi Order.
'The legacy of the Jedi Order, is not about doing the right things. No. The Jedi's legacy is about putting toddlers into slavery, deceiving their parents, and then brainwashing said toddlers into becoming unquestioning members of their cult.' This wasn't something Dooku had learnt on his own but had been told by someone else very recently.
By the Empyreans Emperor, Anakin Skywalker. It seemed like he was able to perfectly encapsulate what the Jedi had become. Or, was it what the Jedi always were?
'And that is just the tip of the iceberg, believe me.' Something else that had intrigued Dooku, was that Anakin could say this even coming from the Jedi.
The lies. Their actions, hubris, hypocrisy, their outright refusal to give up control would result in the dark sides rising to power and the eventual downfall of the Republic.
Quite possibly, the Jedi's greatest failure is perhaps their inability to to change. Their inability to accept that they are in the wrong and then change because of it.
"Darth Tyranus. How good of you to join me." Dooku had come to Coruscant on the orders of his master, Darth Sidious because he wanted to tell him something important but also be better prepared for the events that would happen.
Not that Dooku was about to let Sidious gain control fully, as he had been awakened to Sidious and his way. He is intently aware that Sidious may very well be trying to kill him off in the search of a better apprentice for himself.
Dooku is aware of his own flaws, or flaws within the eyes of Sidious that would make him an apprentice that may not be too his liking.
"Master." Dooku got down on one knee as he bowed in servitude to Sidious.
"You may rise." Sidious gestured and allowed Dooku to rise.
"Yes Master." Dooku got up and then continued to ask himself. "If I may ask, my Master. But, I am unaware of the reason you have brought me here."
"Yes. I think that would do nicely." Sidious seemed to have this smile on his face that was absolutely radiating mad glee. "I have brought you here for something important. Something of extreme importance and it is somewhat akin to a test of sorts..."
"A test?" Dooku said this in a questioning tone, knowing not to question Sidious but instead redirect oneself in a way that would enable his mindset of power.
"Yes... A test that is for you in particular. I have been holding back on teaching you some more of the more powerful or dangerous secrets of Sith power, for I have been cautious of your loyalty. However, you have proven yourself to be a very loyal apprentice, so I have decided that it is time that you go through a test to learn some of the secrets to immortality." Sidious of course wasn't going to teach him anything, but wanted to lower Dooku's guard for what will happen next should not be something he is expecting.
"What is this test, Master?" Dooku was now curious at what it could be while at the same time expecting it to also be some sort of sadistic game.
"Curious, curious, curious, aren't we?" Sidious started to walk around Dooku, before blasting Force lightning at the man, fully prepared to harm him at the very least.
Dooku didn't see this coming, but he ignited his own lightsaber and quickly diverted the Force lightning before it could hit him.
Laughing with madness, Sidious stopped what he was doing and looked at his apprentice who was sweating a little bit after that exchange. Dooku was not young anymore and it would take time for him to recover if he was harmed as well.
Some heavy breathing was heard from Dooku as he was exhausted after that exchange.
Dooku didn't say anything and instead gave a confused look, which was something Sidious easily answered. "You have done your job, but your death would end the Separatists movement much better."
"I will use your death and then make the Separatists come under myself. They would not refuse the offer I am to propose to them, and given that the Trade Federation has dissolved as well, it only makes it all the more easily to control the assets under the Separatists control."
"Imagine if I came with you. Dead or alive." Another long blast of Force lightning went Dooku's way as Dooku was forced to use his lightsaber once again to absorb and redirect the lightnings energy away from himself.
A cackling was heard coming from Sidious, as if this was some sort of joke to him, which would have angered Dooku, but he knew that he was not Sidious match. Most certainly not his match by having created distance between himself and Sidious.
"Why?" Dooku questioned as the lightning came to an end.
"Did I not explain to you why? My apologies, Tyranus. Your usefulness has come to an end, and the Empyrean has become to much of a problem, then there is the conflict within the senate. I may have emergency powers, but it would seem that even with this, my authority is starting to decrease." Sidious said.
"And it was all because of taking the deal the Emperor from the Empyrean had created. If I didn't know any better I would say that the Emperor had planned for this to happen from the start." Sidious continued.
"Then what would you gain from me dying?" Dooku wanted to know, but he was in actuality trying to stall for time. Time enough for him to escape, for he knows that Sidious wouldn't want him alive and instead was trying to kill him.
"Oh? Who said I am the one to kill you?" Sidious had stopped attacking him by now and instead gestured to another area of their meeting place. Some abandoned building way far out of the Republic's capital of Coruscant, but still on the planet.
"Come out my budding apprentices."
"Yes, Master." The being that came out was quite tall, but the most distinct features of this person indicated that he was a Gungan.
"Yes, Master." The next to come out was a human.
They were Ferus Olin and Jar-Jar Binks, two incredibly powerful Sith apprentices that Sidious had decided to take under himself. He has had enough following the rule of two from those of the past and instead would focus on having more than one.
He had already gotten into whatever Dooku was doing, so he might as well also embrace this change. He was getting desperate after all, so he used Ferus Olin's dislike of Anakin Skywalker, and then changed him into his own apprentice.
When it came to Jar-Jar, Sidious didn't need to do much to shift and transform Jar-Jar's mind into the allure of the dark side. Using his insecurities against him, and proving to Jar-Jar that people didn't like him, in turn made Jar-Jar not like others.
And once that started it was all down-hill from there.
"So, what do you think?" Sidious asked his other apprentice, Dooku who was now on the opposing side of himself. "Nothing? Kill him." Sidious then ordered Jar-Jar and Ferus to attack Dooku.
Dooku would easily outclass the both of them, but there seemed to be something strange about the power behind these two. Jar-Jar shouldn't have come this far already without any training, and Ferus shouldn't have been this skilled with a lightsaber, but in the end, Dooku was defeated.
Dooku was on the edge of a long drop off of the old, rotting and decaying building everyone was on. Jar-Jar was approaching along with Ferus.
"I am sorry my apprentice, Darth Tyranus. But I have noticed some of your activities, and they seem to be going against myself." Sidious spoke as he waited for Dooku's end. Tormenting him. "Darth Jar-Jar just wouldn't fir, so I decided that Jar-Jar shall be reborn as Darth Immerbose. Then for Ferus, he goes by Darth Verdrehte. Quite nice aren't they."
Jar-Jar and Ferus, or should one say, Immerbose and Verdrehte raised their own lightsabers, red and glowing ominously. They both lunged forward, only for Dooku to willingly throw himself off of the edge of the building.
"Well... that should be the end of him..." Sidious said, feeling that Dooku would be dead.
[]
Dooku had not in fact been killed off, and had secretly survived the descent from the building. He landed not so gracefully, but landed nonetheless and was able to make his way towards the Jedi, for they would want to know some things.
He wouldn't just show himself however, and instead he would be trying to move himself to find someone he is familiar with. 'I only hope he is here.' Dooku was thinking about his own apprentice, Qui-Gon Jinn, when he was a Jedi.
Sneaking into the Jedi temple wasn't too hard, and Dooku was going to go as fast as he could, for he couldn't allow Sidious to continue his plans.
'Where would he be?' Dooku knew that Qui-Gon wasn't someone to be here within the Jedi High Council, but he had already been going around checking up on every area that he believed Qui-Gon to be.
Unfortunately he wouldn't find his student to help him and instead he would only find himself needing medical treatment. 'I doubt the Jedi would keep me here, and they wouldn't believe what I say.'
"Did you hear?" A voice spoke as they were passing by where Dooku was.
"Did I hear what?"
"You know... About Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn."
"Oh? No. I hadn't heard. I was out on a mission."
There were two voice and they were speaking to each other about Qui-Gon, which prompted Dooku to follow these two to see where the conversation went. If he didn't hear the information he was looking for, he was very willing to just take them both and force them to be quiet why also extracting information from them.
"So? What happened to the Master?"
"You really haven't heard? He went to the Jedi High Council a few days ago."
"Remember, I was out on a mission."
"Right, right. Anyway, Master is known for not liking the Jedi Code all too much."
"I am pretty sure everyone knows of this, especially since he was one of the Chosen Ones teachers."
"Well, Master Qui-Gon has left the Order."
"What?"
'What?' Even Dooku was surprised at this revelation, for he had not left the Jedi even after his own apprentice had left, neither when he discovered when and why Dooku had left as well.
"Yeah, he left. Supposedly he has left the Order and has gone over to the Empyrean, where the Chosen One is, believing that he is still brining balance to the Force somehow..."
"That sounds... reasonable. From what I have heard, the Empyrean is quite the place to be, and while it isn't a republic like government or a democracy, or full democracy, the Chosen One isn't a tyrant."
"That's not what I have heard when it comes to the things happening with those politicians within the senate."
"Politicians are always arguing and of course they would say that the Empyreans Emperor is doing something wrong. I am starting to see their corrupt ways..."
The voices continued for a while as Dooku extracted information from the both of them for a while.
'Qui-Gon had gone to the Empyrean... To follow after his apprentice?' It made sense to Dooku now that he thought about it, for he has also kept close contact with Skywalker. 'I need to go to the Empyrean then.' Coughing up a bit of blood, Dooku comes to a stop.
'But maybe, I should find a way to get myself some medical help.' Here within the Republic, it would be hard to do so and he would not have a way to escape especially in most other areas, so he would go to the underworld of the planet.
There he would find things are a bit different from what he was expecting.
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