Sheev Palpatine sat in his office busy at work until Mas Amedda and Sly Moore walked in. Their presence meant something important.
"Mas, Sly... Any word yet?" Palpatine said not bothering to look up from the holopads Infront of him.
Mas was the first to speak. "Yes Chancellor. It seems this Noctis is gathering Republic senators from the Mid and outer Rim, who have either joined the CIS or haven't decided yet. They will be having a meeting in a weeks time on the planet Tython."
Palpatine paused from reading the holopad Infront of him after hearing Tython.
"Tython?" Palpatine's eyes narrowed as his mind went to the Jedi. He didn't know what they were up to after discovering the Sith alter under the temple. The temple has been more strict with entry from the public, and they even contacted him about extra security. Any word on the Jedi movements?"
"From what my sources say the Jedi are currently going through a inner schism. Nothing has gotten bloody yet, but from what my sources say some Jedi are leaving with a padawan Cain. Fellow padawans, knights and even Masters are choosing to leave with him. Even Skywalker."
Mas then handed Palpatine a holopad with the names of the Jedi who are confirmed to leave the order.
"Oh is that so" Palpatine said with intrigue. Palpatine new Cain had a lot of potential when he heard about him. But when he met him he was amazed. When he looked into his eyes it was like looking at a golden sun that could shine across the galaxy. His presence in the Force was amazing and Palpatine new he wanted to have him as a apprentice. But then Anakin came into the picture and Palpatine's plans shifted.
So he made it a point to influence both boys. If he could get them both then perfect but one would have been more then enough. But what Palpatine didn't expect is how powerful the two grew when together. He read the reports about the Feats the two had. He even felt a shift in the Force several times over the years. He knew it was Anakin and Cain always at the center of it.
Palpatine started to notice that Anakin stop being available for him. Whenever he would come around Anakin was always busy with training or something. But when he did have time Palpatine noticed Anakin wasn't the same little sad slave boy from Tatooine.
Little by little Anakin was becoming happier and less isolated. He knew it was due to Cain's influence so then he tried to slowly influence and convert Cain. It helped that the boy already saw things differently then how he was taught growing in the order at a young age. Palpatine thought it would be easy to influence the boy. But he saw the way Cain looked at him. It was like he could see right through him. Palpatine didn't know what it was, the Force , instinct. But he did know converting Cain would be next to impossible for now.
So Palpatine chose to be on good terms with the boys, waiting for the cracks to form before he made his move. Now to hear he was leaving the order with Anakin to start a new one. It seems like the cracks are beginning to form. And Palpatine new all he had to do was apply a little pressure to get things to proceed a little faster.
As Palpatine read the list of Jedi names he was surprised to see certain names on it. Plo Koon, Fay, even the droid Huyang. Besides them in total only around 40 Jedi are leaving. Barely 10 of them are Masters, with between 5 being knights. the rest are padawans and younglings.
"Mas do we know if they are going to be part of this meeting?"
Mas nodded. "From what I heard the new order will have two grandmaster's. No identities have been confirmed yet."
"I see. Have they already left for Tython?"
"Cain and his group of fellow padawans and Master Fay have left the planet. As far as we know they are heading to Tython with a stop at Tatooine."
Palpatine's expression was stoic and his gaze was calculative. He was putting the pieces together on what to do next. That's when Sly spoke next.
"Chancellor." She said. "I also have word of a possible defectors who will be a spies for us. A Jedi master and their padawan."
"Oh! Do tell me more...."
Later after Mas and Sly left Palpatine's office. He then closed his skyline windows overlooking Coruscant and placed on a hood covering his face. He reached for a hidden holo communicator in his desk and began to make a secure call.
Planet Serenno
Dooku was in the middle of a intense saber training session. He was fighting against 3 custom made 11-4D droids that held Vibro blades in their four arms. While three mini spheres flew across the room shooting stun blast between his attacks.
Dooku wore heavy clothing that weighed down on his body and a mask that impaired his sight and breathing. Dooku was covered in sweat but stilled moved with elegant grace of a season duelist. The droids swung their arms in a aggressive manner. They're attacks were fast and aimed for Dooku's joints and recorded weak spots. But Dooku blocked and deflected their strikes in a constant succession. His Makashi saber form was barely able to keep the two droids at bay. Then while busy with the two droids Infront of him the spheres sent two blaster bolts to him behind his back.
Then in one clean motions between being attack relentlessly from the front and sensing the danger from his rear. Dooku incorporated Soresu in to his defense. He redirected two of the 8 vibro blades attacking him into each other. Which cause the two droids to land a attack on each other. This disrupted their attack sequence which was based off of Ataru and Djem So. The two droids staggered as they distanced themselves to not get in the others way. Then in a small movement Dooku shifted his body to a tight defense position and deflected the incoming blasted bolt from behind him to one of the droids in front of him.
The bolt hit dead center in the face. Which gave Dooku the opening to slice across both droids in one fluid flawless strike. As the two droids were decapitated three blaster bolts were sent Dooku's way. Without turning Dooku deflected all three bolts in quick succession. All three bolts hit the droid spheres and they dropped to the grown with a loud clank.
Dooku took off the mask with a calm heavy breath, as sweat dripped heavily from his face. Then he heard a beeping sound from his work desk. After pressing it he noticed it was Sidious and knelt.
"Master."
Palpatine just gazed deeply at Dooku in his training gear and sweaty face." Tell me Tyranus, how fairs your training?"
"It has progressed greatly Master, I thank you for letting me use your droids."
Palpatine waved a hand. "Think nothing of it, they are being put to good use. I take it you heard of a upstart from the Jedi order is leaving with a number of Jedi to start their own order?"
"Yes master I have heard the rumors." Dooku said not even raising his head.
"Apparently there will be a meeting on the world of Tython between a mysterious figure named Noctis and some senators from the inner to outer rim. Including some members of the CIS. Have you also heard of this." Palpatine said his voice sounding irritated.
"I just received a invite this morning my master. I was going to inform you once I gathered more information."
"I see. Then go to this gathering and get first hand knowledge on this new order and who the grandmasters are going to be."
"It will be done master. And should Cain and Skywalker become obstacles?"
Palpatine smiled. "Do what any senior master would do. Educate them!"
Palpatine then ended the holo transmission. Dooku rose up and slowly took off his training gear. pieces of clothing hit the floor with a thud. Until Dooku was standing shirtless. His old 59 year old body was lean but covered with thick muscles. The definition of his muscles showed the dedication of his training for one of his age. A small four pack barely visible. Dooku's Arms, legs and shoulders showed a good amount of muscle for someone his age.
"Droid come here." Dooku said to a droid that waited on the side of the room.
"Yes count" The droid presented two cups on a try. One filled with a reddish liquid and the other a blueish liquid. "Here is your nutrition red blend for blood flow and daily required vitamins. And here is your banthas protein milk."
Dooku then took and drank both drinks in a quick succession of each other. "How was my time this time." He asked.
"Very good Count. Your reaction time has improve by 40%. Your speed and strength have improved 24% compared to when you started a year ago. Your saber form has improved greatly since you started to incorporate your other saber forms. Your best time to defeat all 5 droids was 11 minutes and 24 seconds. As of now it is 9 minutes and 7 seconds. Compared to your original time of 15 minutes and 45 seconds when you first started..."
"Enough I get it." Dooku said cutting off the droid. 'Have them repaired and ready in 2 hours I must see to some preparation." Dooku said grabbing a towel and leaving the room."
Tatooine
Cain stood alone at the bottom of a large eerie valley. He knew from seeing the Huge skeletons as he flew over the desert that this was the spot. He took a deep breath readying himself to enter the valley and possibly have to fight a dragon. Then he felt a soft hand on his shoulder.
"Are you nervous Cain?" Seris said.
I shook my head. "No I'm not nervous I just don't like the vibe here and want to get some pearls and anything else useful and go."
Seris nodded. "I'm with you there." Seris said looking around. "Tell me. Why did you let everyone else go with Anakin to find his mom, but you chose to come out here. If I didn't choose to go with you, then you would have been here by yourself."
"I'll tell you a secret" I said. "Anakin's mom hasn't been on Tatooine for a while."
Seris's eyes widen in surprise. "What do you mean. That was the whole reason for us coming here until you mention this place. Why didn't you tell Anakin? Cain are you hiding things from us again?"
Seris said with her eyes narrowing on Cain in worry.
I swear this girl only ever shows emotions when it comes to me. But she has a right to be worried about me hiding things from them.
"Well I'll tell you if you promise to keep it a secret until I am ready to tell Anakin myself."
Seris folded her arms and looked at me with a knowing look. "I can't promise that if it's something bad. Anakin is my friend too."
I had a warm smile on my face from hearing. "I am glad to hear you say that, and it's nothing bad I swear."
I then told Seris why I didn't say anything to Anakin. Seris's eyes widen in surprise. "Wow you really did that?"
I nodded "Of course I did. Nothing less for Anakin considering what's coming up"
Seris looked confused again. "What is coming up?"
I just smirked. " Let's just focus on what we came here for okay. I will tell you later."
Seris nodded. After a few hours we picked up the others. Anakin's face looked he was worried.
"Cain my moms no longer on the planet." Anakin said.
"Was she sold again?"
Anakin nodded. "No she was apparently bought by a moisture farmer the day after I left. And then she was freed right after. When I went to find the farmer their neighbors said the family was hired off planet to work on another planet as regular farmers and merchants. They didn't know the planet but apparently they were given a lot of money and resources."
I looked at Anakin. The guilt gnawed at me as I looked at his sad face. He looked genuinely sad to not know where his mother was.
I placed a hand on his shoulder. "You gonna be okay?"
Anakin nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to come back and save her one day. But it seems like someone else beat me to it. I'm genuinely happy she's free and off that planet. I just hope wherever she is at, She's happy and alive. That's all I can ask for."
Master Fay put a hand on his shoulder. "That was well said Anakin." She said with a warm smile on her face. That's when Barriss gave him a hug. "I know you will meet your mother again Anakin. And if you to want to go looking for her I will help."
"Me too." Derren said.
Then Seris spoke. "Aren't you and your master about to get very busy with a secret mission Derren?"
Derren just smiled. "Don't worry about it Seris, I got it all figured out."
Soon the group landed on Tython. They were welcomed with the sight of the other Jedi hard at work restoring the old Jedi temple. The temple was old but stood strong. It was from Grand master Satele Shan's era. It would take a lot of work and a lot of credit and even more time.
Plo koon welcomed us at the landing site. "Your all back sooner then expected. Tell me how did your hunts go?"
Derren and I carried out multiple containers of dragon pearls and bones. All the pearls were between the size of a bowling ball or a baseball. but they were beautiful. " It was good master. All together 20 were found with plenty of bone pieces and 4 poison sacks.
Plo nodded. "That's very good. By the way the farmers and merchants you mentioned Cain were here waiting for us. They are set up across the valley." Plo said as he pointed toward the direction. As Plo said that a number of people walked over from the valley. There were a number of humans and Aliens. From Twi'lek, Nautolan, Togruta, and Mirialan.
That's when a nine year old little Ahsoka approach master Plo. "Master." As she tugged on his robe. Plo knelt down to speak to little Ahsoka. "Yes Ahsoka. How can I help you?"
"There is a lady by the temple asking if Padawan Skywalker has returned." Then she pointed in the same direction.
As we All turned we could see a older looking woman with sunkissed skin and long brown hair walking our direction. Before any one could say anything Anakin ran to her. When the woman noticed Anakin her face brighten as she began to run to him. They met in the middle and embraced one another.
"Mom, It's so good to see you. What are you doing here?"
Oh Ani your so big now..." Shmi Skywalker said as she held Anakin's face."
"I thought I'd never see you again."Shmi said with tears running down her face.
Anakin just held her tight with tears running down his face as well. "I went back. I went back for you mom. I'm sorry I didn't come back sooner." Anakin struggled to say as his demeanor was being broken by each word.
"It's okay Anakin. I believe you and don't be sorry. I didn't want that life for you. I'm just glad you got to leave and be free.
The tears didn't stop, and no one judged Anakin for this. To some this display was foreign and they didn't know how to feel. For others they smiled. Even Tython let the clouds part directly on top of the two with sun shinning brightly down on just them. Right here and now Anakin wasn't the chosen one. But a boy who found his way back to his mother.