[AN: I realize there have been a lot of outside POVs lately (three in a row, oh my), and I have a couple more planned, too — at least one for Sidious and some for the coming first battle. Some people might find that slightly tedious, going so long without a Gonk POV. Next chapter will be all Atom, though, and I can only ask that you bear with me.
This mini-arc is all about starting the Clone Wars. And while the Gonks do play a role in that, they aren't the only ones in the equation. To properly see the start of the Clone Wars, these outside POVs are necessary (And fun, I think). Otherwise, we'd just see the Gonk part and perspective, with none of the interesting workings that led up to that.
Don't worry, though, after the Clone Wars have started, we'll return to Gonk POVs for a while. I'm definitely not planning on, like, following the Clone Wars show one-to-one or anything (to say nothing of the changes already in motion), and the Gonks still have their own business to take care of. Which, ya know, is still the main focus of the story. I'm not suddenly shifting this into a 'Clone Wars story'. The next time we see the Clone Wars will be when they intersect with Gonk business, not Clone Wars first-Gonk second. Just… trust the process and don't start thinking this story has completely changed its structure and MCs with this new major arc/era. :]
IIIII
— Obi-Wan —
He hung there — immobile, suspended by ion manacles — and Obi-Wan couldn't help but wonder and reflect.
"Shooting stars, how did it come to this…?"
Obi-Wan thought he could safely say that his new mission hadn't gone as he'd hoped or planned. Not that it was ever going to be a simple assignment.
"The Masters weren't asking much of me…" He remarked sarcastically to himself. "No, just investigate a former Jedi Master, now-galactic leader, for being a Sith. Simple. Easy. What could've gone wrong?"
Obi-Wan sighed, knowing the answer to that rhetorical question. He was living the answer, now. His infiltration had been sussed out rather quickly, for his target certainly wasn't taking his security easy.
To say nothing of Dooku's skill and experience as a Jedi Master. Even if Obi-Wan had uncovered not-so-circumstantial, yet not-so-concrete evidence that Dooku had Fallen and taken up a Sith mantle, he hadn't lost anything that'd made him so dangerous as a Jedi. No, he'd only added to that personal danger rating, as Obi-Wan now knew well.
He'd begun his investigation with pure information gathering, calling on an old connection from a… troubled past that Ani didn't quite know about.
Ani thought him perfect, unimpeachable. She thought he'd always been a proper Jedi. Obi-Wan… dearly wished he was, had been. But he'd been troubled as a youngling, just as Ani had been.
Youngling Obi-Wan was arrogant and angry. The Order's teachings came easily to him. Too easily. Quite frankly, Obi-Wan knew he'd been somewhat insufferable then. And he'd paid for that anger, that arrogance.
Unlike Ani, Obi-Wan had technically aged out of the Jedi Order. He'd missed his first chance for Qui-Gon to take him as a Padawan, a pain that lingered even years later, if only minutely. He'd been shipped off to wretched Bandomeer by the Jedi ArgiCorps, and there, he'd been chained by the Offworld Mining Corporation.
Obi-Wan… dearly hoped the Order hadn't known the fate that awaited him there. That he hadn't been sent off as a twisted test of humility… But 'coincidentally', Qui-Gon hadn't been far behind, taking a mission to the same world. It could've been arranged, Obi-Wan knew. The thought had never sat easily with him. But arranged or by chance, the result was the same: Obi-Wan had still known chains for a few painful, desperate months. It wasn't a time he liked to remember…
Bandomeer… had been hell, perhaps worse than any equivalent time Ani had spent in slavery. While she'd been born to chains, they weren't chains of hard and lethal labor as Obi-Wan's chains on Bandomeer had been. Sent for the ArgiCorps, yet he certainly didn't become any kind of farmer. No, he was chained and conscripted into the Offworld Mining Corporation's exploitative efforts as a deep-sea minor.
At merely 13, he was made to dive into the crushing depths of Bandomeer's Great Sea, praying to Mighty Leia — the starry sister so new and unfamiliar to him at the time — that his equipment didn't fail and leave him to implode in watery darkness. Each trip into the depths could've been his last. He saw the siblings chained beside him fail to return to the surface on multiple occasions. Their deaths were… undescribable, utterly pulped in their shoddy diving suits by the pressing weight of a whole sea.
Obi-Wan still carried each of their names in his shared star. Enjer, Amyal, Re-En, Pil Gex, Ce Tap, and many more… Their stars, even from the darkest depths of the Great Sea, rejoined Mighty Leia's Sky. And the ones left behind could only pray they didn't go out the same way.
Before Obi-Wan was freed from his relatively short but significant stint in slavery, he'd befriended one of his fellows. A reptilian Phindian man named Guerra, with an annoying, chuckling verbal tic. Together, they'd investigated a plot to kill Qui-Gon, orchestrated by his Fallen former Padawan, Xanatos. The mad Dark Jedi had set bombs on the underwater mining station, looking to let in the crushing, chilling sea and bury them all fathoms below if it meant killing his former Master.
Obi-Wan… had been fully prepared to sacrifice himself to thwart Xanatos's plot. Better a death with meaning than a life without hope in chains, he had thought. However, it seemed Mighty Leia and the Force had other plans for him (and Obi-Wan was thankful for that; he wouldn't have met Ani if he'd truly died on wretched Bandomeer…).
Qui-Gon, seeing his sacrifice, returned to rescue him at the last moment, marking a complicated new beginning to their ever-complicated relationship. Obi-Wan had been freed and taken on as Qui-Gon's Padawan. Before they left the world, they helped free the rest of the mining station's slaves, and Guerra led them in righteous rebellion. The rest was history, never to be forgotten.
Guerra was the old connection Obi-Wan reached out to for information gathering. The reptilian man had continued to fight in Mighty Leia's name, rising to be a significant freedom fighter in the galaxy. Specifically, he specialized in corporate slavery. That meant he had to be rather… plugged in… to the talk and movements of the galaxy's cruelest corporations, many of which were key players in the Separatist movement.
Contacting Guerra, Obi-Wan had confirmed that the Separatist movement was now being rather openly led by Dooku. Sith or not, Count Dooku was certainly a Separatist. THE Separatist, perhaps.
Yet curiously, the megacorps entrenched in the movement had fallen out of focus since Dooku assumed open control. They, it seemed, were being truly led now, instead of the disorganized, barely united, committee-esque leadership structure amongst themselves that the Separatist movement had been founded on.
Guerra had practically gushed, with that chuckle tic of his interrupting every sentence, about the limitations he'd seen placed upon the megacorps he fought. Without them having complete and utter free rein, his fight against corporate slavery had gotten much simpler.
Dooku was keeping the megacorps beneath him in check and control, and by Guerra's estimation, had a clear vision for their role in his movement. He was almost… single-handedly nationalizing the megacorps and their operations for a galactic state that didn't officially exist… Yet, that is, for that dictatorial new leadership said some damning things about Dooku's intentions to take the Separatist movement to its logical next level.
While he had no concrete evidence that Dooku was a Sith, the Separatist evidence was enough, Obi-Wan felt, for him to further his investigation. Through Guerra and the inside sources his freedom-fighting work required of him, Obi-Wan pinpointed where Dooku would be and set out to get a closer look.
The potential Sith's full schedule obviously eluded him, but appointments were being made and kept through the megacorps that Guerra had inside access to. Dooku was a busy man. Briefly, Obi-Wan wondered how he could possibly find the time to practice dark Sith arts…
He immediately dismissed that thought. If Dooku was truly Sith, he would find a way. And Obi-Wan had been tasked with uncovering that 'way'. He aimed to do so with his own eyes, his own senses in the Force. And that meant getting into close proximity with the dangerous potential Sith.
The appointment Obi-Wan used to his advantage was to take place on a shipyard — a full, planet-scaled, artificial ring in orbit around Raxus Prime. Raxus Prime was a bustling and important planet in an influential system, one that openly cleaved to Dooku's Separatist movement.
It was heavily industrialized, prodigiously productive in just about every manufacturing sector one could think of, with presences from all of the major megacorps somewhere in the system. Yet it wasn't an ecumenopolis like Coruscant; more a… forge world with concentrated hives of population totalling just shy of 40 billion sentient souls spread across the polluted wastelands of the world's surface.
The massive and productive orbital ring shipyards pumped out ships by the thousand per day — mostly small craft, but some much larger and more militarized models as well. They could easily rival, if not completely surpass, other major shipyard worlds in the galaxy — Kuat, Rendili, Corellia, Eriadu, and so on.
Lucrehulks were produced there, as were Munificents Frigates, the ever-reliable Gozanti Cruisers, the expensive but potentially effective Providence Dreadnoughts, and even, Obi-Wan heard from Guerra, a never-before-seen model of battle cruiser — fitted with solar sails of all things — getting their first production runs.
Considering what Obi-Wan had learned about the intentions of the Separatist movement under him, the increase in shipyard productivity and Dooku's presence there made a worrying amount of sense. Guerra claimed the megacorps were growing incensed by Dooku's 'overreaching' reform and improvement efforts, not that Dooku seemed to care about their opinions. He ruled them with an iron, potentially Sith, fist.
If Obi-Wan had to guess, Dooku was no longer satisfied with simply nationalizing the fleets of his megacorp 'allies' (read: subordinates, as Obi-Wan had come to learn). No, he was aiming for a navy to call his own, and Raxus Prime seemed to be at the center of that militaristic escalation process. And even more worrying, the Raxus system seemed to be completely behind him in those efforts.
Guerra reported that Dooku seemed to be leaning away from the megacorps' collective overreliance on droids, at least where his new navy was concerned. On Raxus Prime, he was building new ships, hiring and training new, sentient crews, listening to competent naval advisors and veteran officers, and defining a new, purpose-designed naval doctrine in preparation for… all to come. He was already preparing for war, and compared to the Republic, he had a rather significant headstart…
Traveling to the Raxus system and even getting onto the orbital shipyard ring were simple for Obi-Wan. For now, Raxus was still part of the Republic; trade and travel still flowed freely.
But as soon as Obi-Wan's ship — an undercover and purposefully scuffed YT-freighter, for he wasn't stupid enough to come in his Jedi Starfighter — entered the system and contacted system control, he could sense the underlying tension, as if the whole system already knew what was to come, and that it was much closer at hand than Obi-Wan could've anticipated.
Docking at the ring of Raxus Orbital, Obi-Wan put his ship in for service. And while he 'waited', it was simple to slip away into the mind-bogglingly massive, artificial, labyrinthine internal complex of the orbital ring.
Raxus Orbital was three cities unto itself, the major centers situated equidistant along the ring's structure, with miles upon miles upon miles of shipyard facilities in between each of them. It was easily home to a billion sentient souls, and saw daily traffic from more still. Finding Dooku in that labyrinth would've been impossible for anyone but a Jedi investigator.
Obi-Wan thought himself up to the task. He wasn't. His undercover investigation ended as soon as it truly began. He managed to sneak into a position close to Dooku, covertly tracking his presence in the Force. There, still hidden (or so he thought), he came upon Dooku in a closed meeting.
Yet it wasn't with the megacorps as his schedule would've suggested; it was with senators and system leaders won over to his cause. It was with movers and shakers from across the galaxy, all dissatisfied with Republic rule and looking to… do something about that dissatisfaction. The secession of the Separatist movement had already begun, and Obi-Wan witnessed its first breaths in motion.
'Worrying', 'troublesome', 'problematic': the words didn't begin to cover the reality of the situation and all its implications. The Republic was no longer 'in danger of' secession and civil war; the danger had arrived.
In that dangerous action, Obi-Wan saw Dooku in his element, standing tall at the head of it all. The Count didn't bother concealing himself anymore. Obi-Wan saw and sensed the dark gravity of his being — his soul authoritative, dominant, and leading. In his mind, there was no denying that Dooku was a true Sith.
But he didn't get long to linger on that discovery. Obi-Wan had been so focused on the Sith in front of him that he missed the Sith behind… A second dark presence on the orbital ring snuck up on him, and Obi-Wan didn't realize until an unlit lightsaber was tapped under his chin.
Slowly, Obi-Wan had turned. Quickly, he'd realized how fucked he was. Immediately, Obi-Wan knew that reaching for his lightsaber or the Force would've been the last thing he did.
"Always in two, the Sith come. Master and Apprentice, there are," Master Yoda had told him, and he had forgotten.
Except… even the Masters had been operating under the assumption that Dooku would be the Apprentice. A grave and costly mistake. The bald and gray-skinned, predatory-looking young woman smirking at him was certainly powerful and filled with even more dark potential. But it was just that: potential.
Obi-Wan couldn't believe that she was Dooku's Sith Master. Had… Dooku already killed and replaced his Master, as was the Sith way…? Was that what was enabling him to act so openly now?
Obi-Wan wouldn't get his questions answered then, the Sith Apprentice taking him into custody, where he now found himself. They certainly remained on his mind, though. As did his relief that he'd come with a contingency plan. His undercover YT-freighter, still in the process of being serviced, was fitted with a covert beacon that would broadcast the information his investigation had already uncovered and a distress signal if he didn't check in before a set interval. The information would go to the Jedi Council, while the distress signal would go to the person he trusted most in the galaxy: Ani…
Ani would come for him, Obi-Wan knew. He just hoped she would stop and think for a moment before she did. An actual plan would be much more helpful to his rescue and long-term survival than her usual… freeform methods, as frustratingly effective as they could be.
In the end, he'd just have to wait and see, hanging there at Dooku's mercy in the meantime. He'd been left alone with his thoughts so far, but judging by the approaching dark presences in the Force, that wouldn't be the case for much longer. Obi-Wan steeled himself, just the Sith pair came to speak with him. The Apprentice stayed back, leaning casually against the wall of the room while Dooku approached.
"Traitor," Obi-Wan greeted, keeping his calm.
Dooku returned the greeting with something that brought Obi-Wan up short, "Grand-Padawan."
Obi-Wan's composure broke at that, his mouth falling open in a confused whisper, "… What?"
Dooku just raised an imperious brow, "While we have never met, you must know what I am referring to, Obi-Wan."
"No, I believe I do…" Obi-Wan said hesitantly. "I'm just… surprised you're claiming me like this. Almost… fondly…? I'm afraid I don't understand your thought process here."
"Jedi or not, my legacy is important to me. You are a part of that — an inheritance passed from me to Qui-Gon, and from him to you. I claim you fondly because you live up to my admittedly high standards, because you embody the impact I firmly believe every Force User should have on the galaxy," Dooku explained.
"Impact?" Obi-Wan warily asked.
"Impact," Dooku confirmed with a single, curt nod. "Jedi or Sith, Light or Dark, we are blessed by the Force. We are invested with the potential to be and do so much more. You do not fall short of my expectations there, Grand-Padawan. Sith Slayer. A Master before your time to a 'Chosen' Padawan of your own. And I'm sure you've had many adventures I'm no longer privy to."
"You, blessed by the Force and carrying my legacy, impact the galaxy, Obi-Wan," Dooku concluded.
"Everyone impacts the galaxy in some way or another," Obi-Wan argued.
"But none so much as Force Users," Dooku retorted, certain in his stance. "None more than us so blessed with greater purpose."
Obi-Wan fell silent. He certainly wasn't expecting his captivity to turn… philosophical. If he were honest, none of this was going the way he'd expected. Secession had already begun, and he was too late to stop it. Dooku may very well be the Sith Master, with an Apprentice of his own. He also openly and willingly claimed Obi-Wan as part of his legacy and seemed to approve of his life's achievements.
"I'm afraid you have me at an unfair disadvantage here, Dooku," Obi-Wan said conversationally. "You are free to preach your philosophy as you wish, and I'm forced to hang here and engage with you, when I might otherwise not. How can I be expected to do so in good faith like this?"
An amused quirk came over Dooku's lips, "I fully believe you capable of rising above that disadvantage, Grand-Padawan."
"Perhaps I can," Obi-Wan nodded. "Perhaps I can't. The issue is that I shouldn't have to if you think your philosophy can stand on its own merits."
In the back of the room, the Sith Apprentice snorted a laugh, "Hell of a way to argue for your release."
"I try," Obi-Wan said, trying and failing to shrug in his suspended state.
"Indeed, you do," Dooku agreed. "And despite Asajj's amusement, I commend you for your effort. You do raise good points. Perhaps philosophy is a flawed approach to this situation. Tell me, Grand-Padawan, why are you here, skulking about where you shouldn't?"
"Guess," Obi-Wan challenged.
"If I must," Dooku nodded once. "The Jedi Council has tasked you with investigating me, have they not?"
"You've become rather open in your leadership of the Separatist movement, a movement against the best interests of the Republic," Obi-Wan admitted to only half of his mission. "You are going to start a war, Dooku. Why would the Order not send someone to investigate that?"
"And what has your investigation discovered there?" Dooku asked curiously, humoring him.
"I've discovered the truth of all you're doing here," Obi-Wan explained confrontationally. "I've seen your seditious ideas, your reforms, and your all-out attempt, now. You would throw the whole galaxy into a war that will cost trillions of lives. And by now, the Order will have seen that as well. You won't get away with this, Dooku."
Still, the partial confession didn't convince Dooku completely, "Ah, but there is more, isn't there? More than just the corruption of the Order, always serving the Republic's interests before its own. More than the issue of Loyalist vs. Separatist. You are here, Grand-Padawan, on Forceful business, too."
Warily, Obi-Wan stuck his nose up at the accusation, "I'm sure I don't know what you're referring to."
"The Council must be beside themselves," Dooku estimated, beginning to pace a casual circle around Obi-Wan and dragging his immobile form to follow with a light touch of the Force. "It's a rare thing that a proven Jedi leaves the Order, much less a Jedi Master who once served on the Council itself.
"Why, how much damage could such a storied Master do if he were to Fall? Obviously, in such a situation, the Council must stick its nose where it doesn't belong. You say you're here on behalf of the Republic. I think that's a front, a half-truth. You are here on behalf of the Order, for they worry that I've taken up a Sith mantle."
Dooku stopped and stared straight into Obi-Wan's eyes, "And they are right to worry. I have. I am a Sith, a Master by the title Darth Tyranus. Yet, there is more to the situation than you could possibly kno-…"
"Just like that?" Obi-Wan interrupted him. "You would admit it, just like that?! Your arrogance does you no favors, Dooku! Traitor! Kill me now, and the truth will still come out! You've turned on your former brothers and sisters! The Order won't — can't — leave that betrayal unaddressed! We will rally! We will rid the galaxy of your darkness! The time of the Sith has long passed! You won't be allowed to revive that twisted era!"
Incensed more in shock at the outright confession than any calculated righteousness, Obi-Wan was left panting after his tirade. Dooku just stared, just raised a single brow.
"Are you quite done?"
Obi-Wan glared back, "Neve-…!"
"You are," Dooku interrupted him. "And now, Grand-Padawan, you will listen. Silently."
"A Sith has no right to claim me," Obi-Wan growled in defiance.
"I am still the same man who once taught your Master," Dooku retorted. "The only difference is time and experience. I have every right, for, Sith or Jedi, you are still my legacy. Now. Be silent. And listen."
The last was said so sternly that Obi-Wan couldn't help but obey. It was only for a moment, struck by some echo of Master chiding Padawan passed down from Qui-Gon to him, but that moment was all Dooku needed to begin speaking his piece.
"As I said, there is more to the situation than you could possibly know. I am Sith, yet I did not become so alone. There is another dark player lurking in the shadows, orchestrating everything, Grand-Padawan. He had his tendrils in me. He still has his tendrils in all you know. I tell you this as a warning, a lesson passed down through my legacy. All you know, all you find confidence in, is already in the choking grip of another Sith Master."
"Three, then?" Obi-Wan scoffed. "Are there not always two?"
"The Rule of Two," Dooku nodded. "It exists, that much is true. A teaching passed down from Darth Bane, one I personally believe is somewhat inherently flawed, if still effective at what it sets out to do."
"If it's flawed, as all Sith teachings are," Obi-Wan shot back. "Why do you cleave to it?"
"For now," Dooku noted. "I cleave to it for now. It was how I was inducted, the mantle I took up. Yet unlike my former Master, I remember other ways. Ways that would serve me better than they serve him and his selfish ends. But my potential plans going forward are not the focus of this conversation, Grand-Padawan. Focus. And listen to what I am telling you."
"I don't believe you," Obi-Wan said. Stubborn, he knew. "You must have killed your former Master already, usurped his place, and are now trying to lead me astray."
Strangely, Dooku sighed… "Oh, how I wish, Grand-Padawan…"
The sincerity in his tone brought Obi-Wan up short, "You… wish…?"
"I would like nothing more than to have already completely ridded myself and the galaxy of my former Master," Dooku admitted. "Unfortunately, I can't claim that pleasure just yet. He is a formidable foe… No, 'formidable' barely begins to cover him… Sidious is perhaps the most dangerous man in the galaxy now, and I don't give that title lightly."
"Yet," Dooku drew himself up with conviction. "Despite his attempts to the contrary, he has not achieved immortality. And despite his schemes, his concealment, his… insidious competence, and the powerful Dark Side shroud he has cast over the Force, he is not invincible, either.
"I have proved that much to myself, breaking free from his arrogant control and turning against him in earnest. In his — admittedly earned — arrogance, Sidious has yet to realize that his downfall is already arrayed against him. He is not immortal. He can be killed. He will. He is not invincible. He can be fought. He will."
"Congratulations," Dooku deadpanned. "You haven't just rediscovered the Sith, Grand-Padawan. You've been allowed to see within this troublesomely potent philosophy I now claim. You've been freely told of the Sith schism I head. You come upon me, Grand-Padawan, not as a subordinate Sith Lord, but as a Lord and Master in my own rights. In a very real way… we share an enemy most foul."
In the face of that sincerity and conviction, Obi-Wan had to remind himself that the Sith were inherently deceitful and exploitative souls. Dooku could very easily be lying to him, even after steadfastly continuing to 'claim' him as 'Grand-Padawan'. Yet… Dooku's words rang true in the Force.
"Who?" Obi-Wan challenged. "You can't expect me to believe you without even an accusation. Who, then, is this insidious Sith Master?"
Dooku shook his head, "I can't say."
Obi-Wan clicked his tongue in vindication, "Tch, as expected. You're spinning smoke and lies, Dooku-…"
"No, Grand-Padawan," Dooku flatly continued. "I quite literally can not say. Darth Sidious and his Dark Side shroud over the Force are more powerful than you can comprehend. Through no bidding of my own, my tongue is held. I cannot reveal Sidious's public identity or position.
"All I may say, forcing my way through this shrouding geas… is that even publicly, Sidious holds great power over the Republic. Hundreds of Senators, Grand-Padawan, and dozens of institutions, all look to a Sith Lord, nonethewiser."
Obi-Wan was shaken by that reveal, both the information of the Dark Side shroud's power and the corrupting extent of this Sidious's reach, but he didn't show it, "… And I suppose this is where you ask me to join you as a Sith, Dooku? Say that we may defeat him together and replace him with whatever you deem fit?"
"In another life, perhaps," Dooku chuckled. "But no, not this one. Thank you for the offer, Grand-Padawan, but I'm quite content with the Apprentice and successor I'm molding now."
"… It wasn't an offer," Obi-Wan grumbled.
From the back of the room, the Sith Apprentice spoke, and Obi-Wan could hear the teasing smirk in her voice, "Eh, I could take you or leave you, old man."
Dooku ignored her, continuing to address Obi-Wan, "You are already my legacy as a Jedi, Grand-Padawan. I don't need you to be my legacy as a Sith as well. Furthermore…"
He looked Obi-Wan up and down, judging him, "I don't believe the title of Darth would suit you, Grand-Padawan, and I'll accept only the best from those I deign to claim. You are a great Jedi. But you would make a terrible Sith."
"Wha-?! I could be a Darth-! Wait, no, good!" Obi-Wan shook his head free from the short, strange moment of offense he felt. "I have no intention of ever becoming a Sith. I'm loyal to the Jedi Code and the Light Side of the Force."
Dooku nodded his understanding, "And for you, that is for the best."
A cackle came from behind Obi-Wan as the Sith Apprentice taunted, "Master almost got you there, Jedi."
He firmly denied the very idea, "He most certainly did not."
"Did to."
"Did. Not."
"Yeah-huh, did to."
Dooku raised a questioning brow at both of them, "Should I leave the two of you to… work through your pseudo-incestuous differences?"
"I-Incestuous-?!" Obi-Wan sputtered. "I'm certain I'm not related to your Apprentice in the slightest!"
"Pseudo," Dooku corrected, his tone matter-of-fact, but the twinkle in his eye gave away his amusement. "You're both parts of my legacy. I would count that as a sort of family. You are my Grand-Padawan. She is my current Apprentice. Think of her as a sort of… step-aunt."
Obi-Wan's mouth fell open, at an utter loss for words.
The Apprentice wasn't so speechless, chuckling, "He'd make for a tasty and taboo appetizer, Master, but I'm afraid I have my eyes set on a… different meal. A full entrée~…"
Dooku shrugged, waved dismissively, and began to leave the room, "Do what you will, Asajj, so long as you don't break him. I will approve of play, not harm. He is my Jedi legacy, just as you are my Sith.
"That said, I am holding out some hope that you will at least get to know each other better. You may not be on the same side, but that's hardly an excuse to ignore and disregard the ties that bind us."
"You won't get away with this!" Obi-Wan called out, a dreadful feeling in his gut at the predatory smirk on the Apprentice's face. "Ani-! Someone-! The Order will come for me!"
"I know better than you what will come, Grand-Padawan," Dooku said without turning back. "I have prepared for it as best I can. I only hope you can say the same…"
With that, the revealed Sith — and Obi-Wan's 'Grand-Master' — left Obi-Wan to an unknown fate at the hands of his Apprentice. Still immobilized by the ion manacles, hanging there at her mercy, the young woman stalked toward him like a sleek beast on the hunt. She bared her teeth at him, and Obi-Wan tensed…
"So…" She purred dangerously before suddenly switching to a more genuine curiosity. "What's the Jedi Order actually like?"
Obi-Wan blinked, "… What?"
The Apprentice shifted awkwardly for a moment, not seeming to know what to do with her body. She eventually decided to lean against a wall of pure, invisible Force, trying for 'casual' with a feat Obi-Wan knew was anything but.
"My… first Master…" She began, glancing down. "Was a Jedi stranded and forgotten by the Order on the world of Rattatak. He found me, saw me on that war-torn world, rescued me from chains, and raised me as his own. I think… I think he wanted to show me the Order eventually, once we managed to get offworld. I think he wanted to give me a chance to belong somewhere, with him… He was killed before he could see that through; I ended up with Dooku, and well… yeah."
She shook her head and raised it to look at him, the expression on her face showing the sincerity of her question, "So I've kind of always wondered what the Order is really like. I could ask Dooku… but he's old, and a bit hard to have a casual conversation with, even for me. I mean, he's a worthy Master; don't get it twisted. But he always expects the very best from you and is constantly pushing, pushing, pushing, with little time for me to ask about the little things from his past-…"
The Apprentice began to ramble like that, opening up to him. Obi-Wan could only stare, forced to confront the fact that even Sith — perhaps especially Sith — could have hidden depths. It was… a somewhat jarring and humbling realization, being stuck listening and actually talking to a Sith…
But Obi-Wan hadn't missed her mention of chains. That, in a way, made her a sort of family twice over. And so, despite her nature and mantle, despite his captivity… Obi-Wan found himself earnestly engaging with her as he told her about the Order she might've been raised with if her life had been written differently.
"Well… When you're just a youngling, the Temple is the most magical place you can imagine. And as you grow, that feeling never fully fades-…"