The Fate of Master Sifo-Dyas

[YodaBreaker]

Thank y'all for letting me know that you're reading; I need the wee encouragement to keep up the good write.

[awesomejedi]

I read them, I think they are GREAT!!!!!!!!!

1 MC

Thanks for writing these stories YB!

[YodaBreaker]

After some struggles, the sixth installment:

---

The dagger of the Sith Infiltrator's hull sliced through the fog that passed for an atmosphere on Dagobah. Dooku's recollection guided the thrusters, the pitch and the yaw of the ship, its trajectory arcing toward an all too familiar dark side sink. A place where frightening visions visited all who traipsed through its murky depths. The last place that Sifo-Dyas was ever seen alive. Where Dooku had committed his last treachery against the Jedi for Darth Sidious.

Dooku's first treachery against the Jedi came shortly after Lott Dod arranged a meeting between Dooku and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Enough pleasantries and diplomatic fluffs were exchanged among them to make the meeting appear to the Neimoidian senator to be merely the meeting of like-minded political dignitaries. However, Palpatine's extension of an invitation to dine with Dooku alone in the Chancery left little doubt that the two men had much left to discuss.

Before they started the meal, Palpatine bade Dooku to join him for a stroll around the Chancellor's Office. He showed Dooku the artifacts he had gathered throughout his political career that now adorned the walls of the office, which included a bas-relief frieze recovered from Yavin 4 and the sinister-looking chalice that decorated a table on the far wall of the office. Dooku's lips drew up in a sneer as he recognized the depiction of the Jedi-Sith battle in the Great Hyperspace war, the Sith chalice with its dagger-like protrusions. Already, Dooku wondered if Palpatine foresaw what he intended to say during their dinner.

Throughout the meal, Dooku led his host through a brooding discussion about the state of the Jedi Order. Though the two men agreed that the Jedi had done much to preserve order in the galaxy, they also perceived that a certain inflexibility had crept into the order. Palpatine inquired whether Dooku had experienced any recent difficulties in his dealings with his fellow Jedi.

Dooku sensed his opening. He detailed the dark currents that had been flowing in the Force, how he had been tracing their source in ways that the Jedi Council did not approve. Palpatine's brow perked at the mention of the dark Force currents, noting that he thought the dark side had been defeated millennia ago. Dooku chuckled and said that such disingenuity was hardly becoming a Dark Lord of the Sith.

Dooku sat back with a smug, self-satisfied smile, waiting for Palpatine to respond. The seconds passed. Dooku's smugness fought for control over his face. Seconds stretched into a minute. Dooku shifted in his chair. Finally, Palpatine chuckled in return. His throaty cackles echoed throughout the Chancery, bringing the smile back to Dooku's lips momentarily.

Palpatine arose from the table and walked to one of the statues adorning his office. Dooku followed him slowly, at a distance. On the way to the statue, Palpatine gamely played along with Dooku, as if humoring a small child with a most outlandish theory. Dooku explained himself carefully, bearing Palpatine's patronizing tone gracefully.

As he reached behind the statue, Palpatine asked Dooku to whom he had told these suspicions. Dooku's eyebrow thingyed, and his hand moved surreptitiously to the hilt of his lightsaber. However, the advantage that Dooku tried to gain in stealth was Palpatine's. Palpatine used the Force to pull his lightsaber from inside the statue, twist his hand away from and in front of the statue, and ignite the crimson blade before Dooku's fingers even reached his saber. Palpatine snarled that Dooku's secret would die with him that night.

Fortunately, Dooku's reflexes allowed him to grasp his own lightsaber's hilt and ignite its blue blade just in time to parry Palpatine's unexpected attack. The duelists clashed their lightsabers repeatedly, with Palpatine always pressing the attack and Dooku deftly defending himself with his precise Makashi lightsaber combat. Palpatine kept Dooku circling around the Chancellor's desk, darting left, then sliding right, then turning left again, using the desk and his Ataru acrobatics to prevent Dooku from slashing at his legs. In turn, Dooku used sharp, quick movements to deflect Palpatine's onslaught, hoping to wear Palpatine down through sheer exertion.

But Palpatine's aggressive thrusts were so demanding that Dooku did not recognize he was being lulled into stereotyped, patterned movements. Palpatine probed Dooku's defenses through vicious attack sequences as they jostled around the desk, allowing Palpatine to observe the very few weaknesses of Dooku's combat style. Palpatine honed in on Dooku's growing complacency as they moved in two dimensions. Dooku became so focused on continuing their deadly ballet along the surface of the floor that he forgot about the possibility of Palpatine launching an aerial attack against him.

Thus, when Palpatine abruptly jumped over the desk entirely, clearing the tip of Dooku's blade with a meter to spare, he glanced his blade in a shiim against the back of Dooku's left knee with impunity. Dooku staggered as he pivoted on his right foot in disbelief at Palpatine's surprisingly spry strike, giving Palpatine room to slice the back of his right knee, as well. Dooku fell to his knees before Palpatine in an apparent gesture of utter obeisance and fealty, his lightsaber clattering to the floor. Palpatine cackled again as he Force pulled Dooku's lightsaber into his hand, igniting it and crossing the blades of the two sabers in a scissors before Dooku's neck. The smell of ozone wafted up Dooku's nostrils as he blinked hard, awaiting his fate.

Palpatine asked Dooku why he should spare Dooku's life. Dooku reached into his pocket to produce the Sith Holocron he had taken from his last visit to the Jedi library, saying that he had brought an earnest gift for his new master. Palpatine's eyes flared in lust for the knowledge contained in the Holocron, his eyes crinkling in glee at Dooku's submission. After confirming that Dooku had used the word “master,” Palpatine deactivated the lightsabers and reintroduced himself as Darth Sidious, the one who would complete Dooku's instruction in the totality of the Force. Instruction that would culminate in the eradication of the Jedi Order.

[awesomejedi]

Cool!

[Phoenix]

You're "meeting with the chancellor" was my favorite chapter yet. Great descriptions!

[YodaBreaker]

Yay! I'm so glad you liked it; I had to put a good deal of research into the last installment to make sure I wasn't screwing up combat styles and the like.

[awesomejedi]

Ya that was my favorite one so far.

[Phoenix]

beevomit said:

Yay! I'm so glad you liked it; I had to put a good deal of research into the last installment to make sure I wasn't screwing up combat styles and the like.

It definitely shows! I could picture the whole battle clearly. Looking forward to more...

[tayryu]

Very nice

[YodaBreaker]

Thank you all for supporting my writing of this story. It's fun to do, and I hope I can keep it up Without further ado, here's the seventh installment.

---

Deep in the bowels of Chancellor Palpatine's Surgical Reconstruction Center, Dooku took quickly to the teachings of the Dark Lord of the Sith. Those teachings agreed with his sense of superiority, forced him to use it to prove his mettle against Darth Sidious's ever more malicious battle exercises. Rather than being encouraged to withhold his emotions – to sublimate them – he was told to let them flow through him, build within him, guide him, and perfect him. Now, he could channel the reservoir of decades of anger into a caustic, withering series of merciless strikes against anything or anyone who dared to oppose him.

And perhaps the Dooku's favorite Sith discipline was that of Dun Möch – the utter domination of an opponent's spirit by whatever means were at hand, be they spoken taunts or flying obstacles. Secretly, the old fencing instructor relished the notion of demolishing an opponent without ever igniting a blade. At last, his preeminent intellect could be used against his foes – and only his intellect. No longer would he need to resort to violence against weak-minded fools who were not worthy of his exertions. Now they could destroy themselves. Besides, though he was strong with the Force, he was growing ever more cognizant of his advancing age and the slowing effect it had on his once-lightning reflexes. Better not to chance a fight if it could be avoided; Dooku knew not how many more engagements he could survive.

As Dooku's strength in the dark side grew exponentially, Sidious recognized that Dooku would need to sever his ties with the Jedi, lest they stumble upon the Sith accidentally. Dooku concurred. He was glad to shed his commitment to the Jedi and their strictures. Nonetheless, he felt more than a mere twinge of nostalgia regarding his tenure with them. For as obtuse, limiting, and ultimately unprofitable as their doctrines were, the Order had provided him respite from the administrative duties incumbent on the Count of Serenno. They had also allowed him a measure of glory when he led the Jedi during the Battle of Galidraan, in which the fierce Mandalorians (who had often allied themselves with the Sith throughout much of their shared histories) were all but exterminated.

But now, Dooku had his chance to avenge his own slaughter of those proud warriors. He could make amends for heeding the Jedi Council's dictates then – the first of many misguided fool's errands the Council had sanctioned in the last twenty years. He could set right the grave wrong he had perpetrated on the Mandalorians. If all went well, he might even be able to repopulate the galaxy with their race in the ultimate act of repentance.

Dooku realized he was letting his thoughts race too far ahead again. One side effect of his training in Sith techniques of domination was an increase in his already considerable devotion to the Unifying Force. Sidious challenged him to peer with dark clarity into the future, to arrange events to his liking and then work backward in time to see how those events must be brought to fruition. Once again, Dooku demonstrated unusual talent in doing this, his visions often focusing on the annihilation of the Jedi Order. If the Jedi no longer existed, perhaps they would no longer haunt his dreams.

And no matter how Dooku envisioned the Jedi meeting their end, it all started with him making his formal break with them – and soon. So he steeled himself with dark side Force disruption meditations that Darth Sidious taught him and made an appointment to meet with the Jedi Council. Many of the Council members were shocked to hear from Dooku; it had been two months since he was seen conducting his researches in the Jedi Archives.

Dooku left the Holocrons in his Sith Master's care before jetting to the Jedi Temple. His regal strides down the august hallways leading to the Council's meeting place drew innumerable stares from Younglings, Padawans, and even Jedi Knights. As Dooku passed them in his simple brown Jedi cloak, innumerable whispers and hushed voices pullulated in his wake. The Jedi Masters on his route regarded him coolly, warily, but respectfully as he wound his way to the top of the spire that housed the Council chamber.

When Dooku was bidden into the center of the Council, he was permitted a brief declamation about the corruption of the Jedi Order before some of the assembled Masters attempted to interrupt him. Dooku continued over them, his low baritone forcing the other voices down into submission as he detailed the perversion of the Jedi from a vibrant body dedicated to the defense of the ideals of the Republic into a self-serving cadaver that had decayed into a twisted, unrecognizable, putrefied mass that threatened the very principles of the Republic.

When he finished, the Council was silent. Even the members who had initially piped up to defend the Jedi against Dooku's accusations recognized the kernels of truth from which the sentiments expressed in Dooku's tirade germinated. Their impotence in the face of the Sith menace confirmed that they were unable to confront – or reveal the identity of – the direst threat to their Order. Nor could they initially stop the cowardly Neimoidians from blockading the helpless planet of Naboo. Inwardly, Dooku chortled that even now, none of the Council suspected that a nascent Sith Lord spoke in their midst.

With that, Dooku resigned his commission in the Jedi Order. Though no one was terribly surprised, audible gasps still escaped the lips of half of the members of the Council. The assembled Masters knew they were witnessing a historic event – he was only the twentieth member to renounce his commission voluntarily. Following tradition, Dooku detached the cloak from his shoulders, letting it whisper to the floor before he turned around and stepped on it once with each foot as he left the Council chambers. The Council could only stare at the empty brown cloak, lying there as if the spirit that previously inhabited it had deserted it utterly, leaving it a limp and dead hulk. Just as Dooku had described the Jedi Order.

[awesomejedi]

Very cool!! mc

[YodaBreaker]

Now for the eighth installment:

---

Dooku strode quickly out of the Jedi Temple, unburdened by his last tie to that fading Order and yet shattered by the finality of it. A lifetime of friendships, of camaraderie, of shared adventures. Gone. A way of life, of serving beings throughout the galaxy. Deserted. A path to understanding the mysteries of the Force. Abandoned.

Now, he was a disciple of the dark side of the Force. Proud. Strong. Merciless. Never to return to the light. To know its comforting, healing rays. NO! Dooku would not let himself backtrack. Would not let his mind dwell on the past. Would focus only on the task at hand. Impassioned. Unfettered. Victorious. The Jedi must be destroyed. And he would be the instrument of their destruction. NOW!

Upon his return to the Surgical Reconstruction Center, he ran to the death arena and unleashed his fury on wave after wave of training remotes, battle droids, and slave warriors. Dooku used shards of transparisteel, duracrete, or any other sharp or blunt material lying about in the death arena to rip them apart, then finished off the strongest of them with his lightsaber. Palpatine's hideous grin spread over his face as he watched Dooku's mindless rage being ventilated on each and every target. As he watched Dooku shred his forbidden attachments to the Jedi with his hatred.

In a matter of hours, Dooku had laid waste to the entire training armamentary that Sidious had collected over his months as Chancellor of the Republic. Sidious's cackles echoed through the shadowy chamber as he told Dooku how good it was to see him use his aggressive feelings. Dooku merely slumped down and doubled over against a wall, perspiration coating every inch of his skin, making his dark but dapper clothing cling to his aged skin. He had nothing left inside, could not utter even a grunt in response. His body gasped for oxygen, his lungs swelled and shriveled in their desperate efforts to exchange air with the environment. But at last, Dooku's mind was empty. At last, he knew peace.

For Dooku had finally experienced the the cleansing power of unadulterated hatred rushing through him. Just as Sidious had told him, it focused him, made him stronger. It brought clarity to his mind, made plain the purpose of each strike. He saw every single being, droid, and object around him. He perceived exactly what they were going to do. He anticipated their movements as if they were dancing an elaborate but predetermined choreography. He could turn that choreography against them, leading some of them to their own doom before Dooku had to do a single thing to them.

And Dooku's vision about the destruction of the Jedi Order attained further clarity. He now saw the instruments of their demise, marching in phalanxes of white and black armor. Dispersed across the galaxy on thousands of battlefronts. Surrounded by droid parts and carcasses. Orange explosions with black smoke billows reflected from their visors. If only he could see under their helmets...

It all started, inexorably, with the actions of a single Jedi. But there was no way Sifo-Dyas would be persuaded now. Not through ordinary channels, anyway. Not since Dooku stormed out of the Jedi Council chambers. No, Dooku's dark ingenuity was put to a first diabolical test. He had to consider the ways in which his Jedi and Sith training could help him gain control over Sifo-Dyas. Only then could Dooku set his plan in motion so that the ruin of the Jedi could never be traced back to Dooku. Or the Sith.

So after Dooku straightened up, wicked the perspiration from himself, and returned to his dank Sith quarters to change and meditate, he crafted an encrypted, coded message for Sifo-Dyas. In it, Dooku abjectly apologized for his treatment of his old friend during their last meeting. He nearly groveled with obsequious platitudes regarding how he treasured their friendship, despite his resignation from the Jedi Order. He blatantly lied that he had to leave the Jedi because of pressures being exerted on him within and without the Order. Dooku ended the message with a plea for Sifo-Dyas to meet him at the Galactic Museum to reestablish their friendly ties, supplicating Sifo-Dyas to help him regain his mental footing in those chaotic times. Dooku laughed softly to himself as he pressed a button to send his message, baiting his trap for the Jedi.

Sifo-Dyas received the message during his routine comm check six hours later. His first shock was the identity of the sender of the message – from what Master Windu had told him, Dooku had completely severed all ties with the Jedi. Sifo-Dyas was not entirely surprised at that turn of events; he had wondered whether Dooku would be able to stay the course in the Jedi order since their last meeting. Nevertheless, he was disheartened when he heard nothing at all from Dooku – no visits, no communiques, no second-hand messages delivered from mutual friends.

And now, after all these months, a single message, with such complex encryption that Sifo-Dyas's terminal required several minutes just to decode it. The second shock around the message was that it was only text – he had been certain that Dooku would have transmitted a video message with such intense decoding requirements. It raised klaxons in Sifo-Dyas's mind – why would Dooku go to such length to keep the message contents secure?

The third and final shock was the sycophantic tone of Dooku's message. Never had Dooku seemed so desperate to make amends with him; then again, never had Dooku sent Force lightning coursing through his body. However, there was a desperation to Dooku's tone that Sifo-Dyas had never seen before. Something that seemed utterly foreign to Dooku's otherwise refined, regal bearing. It was congruent with how unbalanced Dooku's mind was during their last meeting. Nevertheless, it seemed inconsistent with the reasoned but vitriolic denunciation of the Jedi less than a day ago that Master Windu had detailed.

Sifo-Dyas was left with a terrible conundrum that the Living Force was no help in solving. Too many conflicting thoughts caromed through his head, which were accompanied by equally conflicting currents in the Living Force. Hours of meditation did not help him achieve a clearer vision of these currents. And the Unifying Force was clouded by the same dark eddies that Dooku had been so insistent on fighting during their last meeting. His Force sense was impotent, and if he made a decision on his own, he would have to use his own faculties to do it.

He recognized that he could bring the message to the Jedi Council to help him decide what to do about it. There was nothing in Dooku's message that forbade Sifo-Dyas from bringing it to the Council's attention; surely, given recent events, the Council would be eager to read it. But if Dooku had meant for his concerns to be brought to the Council's attention, would he have not done so in his meeting with them? Especially with as drastic an action as Dooku took – leaving the Jedi Order altogether, rather than struggling with it – in it – to combat the darkness threatening the stability of the Republic.

Sifo-Dyas made a decision guided by his instincts, the feeling he had about Dooku's plight in his gut. He resolved that no matter how erratic his friend's behavior had been recently, he had to come to Dooku's aid. He reasoned that Dooku's servile importunateness resulted from his consternation about a matter too severe for the Jedi to handle as an order. Perhaps Dooku's researches had finally borne fruit that the Jedi Council was not willing to consider. Perhaps Sifo-Dyas's intimate knowledge of Dooku's methods and findings gave Dooku the framework he needed to share them. Yes, Sifo-Dyas would go to Dooku's aid. He would protect his friend, perhaps even bring him back to the Order.

Sifo-Dyas cast his die for Dooku. The bait was taken. The trap was slamming shut.

---

Sifo-Dyas shot back a quick message to Dooku, consisting only of a date and time, using the same ciphers to encrypt it. Dooku had proposed the “where” of their meeting, Sifo-Dyas had responded with the “when.” Sifo-Dyas hoped that the “why” of the meeting would become clear soon after he arrived at the Galactic Museum fourteen hours hence.

Sifo-Dyas decided to arrive an hour early, to ensure that nothing unseemly awaited him within the museum. He strolled casually through each hall of the museum, using the Living Force to sense any untoward or unduly watchful presences, anyone who seemed to be paying just a bit too much attention to his movements. But no one seemed to be paying him any mind, not even the token security guards. If anything, his Jedi robes encouraged people not to pay him any mind. Though the vast majority of the residents of Coruscant respected the Jedi, they also feared the Jedi because of their incomprehensible powers, their preternatural ability to sense the future, and their uncanny knowledge of what passed through people's minds. Most of the Coruscanti believed that if they stayed far enough away from the Jedi, their minds would remain unreadable, so Sifo-Dyas was granted a wide berth by the patrons of the museum.

Finally, with half an hour to spare, he parked himself on a bench inside the museum's atrium, across from its only entrance, and waited peacefully. He continued and deepened his meditations on the Living Force, which helped him stay focused, mindful of the present and any threats that might appear. And fifteen minutes into his meditations, he felt the overwhelming Force ripples that would only be generated by a powerful Force sensitive like Dooku. Sifo-Dyas opened his eyes and stood to greet his old friend, smiling as he strode toward Dooku.

Dooku's gaze lit up when he spied Sifo-Dyas through the crowd. He quickened his pace and embraced Sifo-Dyas as they met. Sifo-Dyas could not help but startle as the folds of Dooku's cape fell along Sifo-Dyas's arms – this was the first sign of tenderness that Dooku had exhibited in at least ten years. Never mind the fact that to Sifo-Dyas's knowledge, Dooku had never embraced anyone, never let anyone violate the vacuum of half a meter of space he cultivated around himself. But there Dooku was, releasing Sifo-Dyas from a warm clasp, effusive about how happy he was to see Sifo-Dyas.

Something had changed. And Sifo-Dyas was determined to figure out what.

The two men strode out of the museum, rendering Sifo-Dyas's surveillance efforts moot. They ambled down the glittering pathways of the upper layer of Coruscant's architecture, which were suspended in the sky by architectural legerdemain and repulsorlifts. The footfalls of Dooku and Sifo-Dyas mingled with the air blown up by millions of vehicles passing under those pathways, tracing through hundreds of stacked and staggered hoverlanes. The volume of the unending traffic dwarfed the two men, their cloaks rustling softly, in their trek to nowhere in particular.

Dooku's dulcet voice had regained its silken smoothness. No longer sounding bedraggled and desperate, he told Sifo-Dyas about his discovery of the identity of the Sith Lord. Sifo-Dyas blanched at Dooku's words, but he was not entirely surprised. The former Senator from Naboo had always instilled a vague sense of unease in Sifo-Dyas, though he could never pinpoint precisely why. After all, like most Jedi, he was at least somewhat uneasy around nearly all politicians. Their self-serving duplicity was foreign to the Jedi way of thinking.

And yet, politics made perfect cover for a Sith. A host of curiosities, oddities, and mysteries regarding the behavior of the Trade Federation and Galactic Senate were resolved for Sifo-Dyas in a stunning flash of insight. So that was why the seemingly insignificant planet of Naboo had been blockaded! Why Senator Palpatine had convinced Queen Amidala to move for a vote of no-confidence in Chancellor Valorum! But how had Palpatine concealed himself from the Trade Federation viceroy Nute Gunray – of course! By using only his Sith name, by dressing as a Sith whenever they communicated. And that hooded, cackling voice Sifo-Dyas had heard when he last opened his mind to Dooku – Dooku had discerned the identity of the Sith Lord subconsciously all this time!

A small smile creased Dooku's lips as he saw Sifo-Dyas's eyes widen in understanding. And Sifo-Dyas now understood why his friend seemed possessed of an almost unnatural calm now. Dooku's laborious researches, so costly to his body and mind, had finally borne fruit! Sifo-Dyas felt a swell of pride puff his chest for his friend's accomplishment, which was all too quickly followed by a deflation of defeat as he remembered that he had doubted Dooku and his methods. But they were beyond the need for apologies. Yet Sifo-Dyas also recognized that it would be difficult to reveal the dark lord.

For even with the regents of the Trade Federation facing prosecution for their actions over Naboo, Viceroy Gunray had steadfastly refused to divulge his co-conspirator's identity to the tribunal. Who would believe him, even if he spoke the dark lord's name? To blame his invasion on a member of a long-dead evil order would have been as ludicrous as a child blaming his misbehavior on the mythical imps of Ithor. Though Palpatine likely would have...induced...Gunray's silence through other means. Threats against Gunray's family, his fortune, his power would likely be carried out, were the name of the Sith revealed outside the black vortex of their conspiracy. It was clear that Palpatine had taken pains not to be exposed.

Thus, Sifo-Dyas restively inquired as to what Dooku planned to do to stop the Sith from continuing its rule over the galaxy. Dooku replied that his designs were indeed complex, perhaps too complicated to explain with mere words. He asked Sifo-Dyas to open his mind to him, to allow Sifo-Dyas to see for himself what he was planning. By so doing, Sifo-Dyas might also spy flaws lingering in Dooku's plans that Dooku had overlooked.

Sifo-Dyas was now convinced. Dooku had returned to his somewhat grandiose but cautious self. No longer was he insisting that his way was the only way. He was inviting criticism now, not running from it. This was the Dooku that Sifo-Dyas knew, the Dooku he had befriended decades ago. The Dooku he had trusted with his life so many times before.

Sifo-Dyas opened his mind to Dooku. Immediately, crimson and black streaks of psychic pain felled the Jedi Master, sending him to his knees, then to the ground. All too easy, Dooku mused silently as he bent down to pick his friend up while sending the most horrific visions imaginable through his mind.

[awesomejedi]

8-)Very Cool!!!!!!!!!!!!

:)700th Post! ;D

[YodaBreaker]

Well, crikey. I realized (all too late) that I posted the ninth installment as the eighth. I've pasted in the real eighth installment on top here, leaving the ninth installment where it was. Sorry for the apparent nonsensicality of the story To make up for my screw-up, here's the tenth installment, as a bonus. To summarize:
1) If you're interested, read the previous post I made. It's got two installments in it now, one of which is all new!.
2) After that, read the story below for more all new goodness

Oh, and awesomejedi, thank you for your continuing words of encouragement

---

To the casual observer, it appeared as if Sifo-Dyas had just fainted. However, losing consciousness would have been much preferable to the blinding pain hammering Sifo-Dyas's psyche, the agonies wracking his mind, the monstrous visions flooding through his consciousness – blood, dismemberment, agonized cries, corpses strewn across formerly verdant fields, entire planets laid to waste through orbital bombardments. He tried weakly to defend himself with the Living Force, but Dooku had caught him off guard. He simply could not focus for more than a couple of microseconds at a time. The Force could not obey such an abridged call, no matter how many midichlorians screamed it.

Slowly, his mental defenses buckled, overwhelmed by Dooku's psychological onslaught. Dooku used the opening of Sifo-Dyas's mind to call up his fears, marching through them as his defenses fell, making it easier for Dooku to access ever more petrifying images. Though Dooku did this for only a few seconds, Sifo-Dyas's terror stretched those seconds into hours – days – eternities. As Dooku bent down to pick up Sifo-Dyas's collapsed frame, he placed his hand on Sifo-Dyas's forehead, intensifying his contact with Sifo-Dyas's mind and the emotional torture he could perpetrate on it. I'm sorry, old friend, Dooku cerebrated into Sifo-Dyas's consciousness, but you were the only Jedi who would open your mind to me and who had sympathy with my cause.

And yet, Dooku continued the torture. It took a substantial amount of emotional control for Dooku not to be overwhelmed by Sifo-Dyas's anguish, to continue the sequence of ever more disturbing images flashing through his mind. Yet Dooku's brief training in the Sith arts had so desensitized him to others' distress – even the distress of an old friend – that he contemplated Sifo-Dyas's wracked psyche as an object of curiosity, like a sadistic scientist who vivisects animals for study.

Finally, Dooku cerebrated another suggestion into Sifo-Dyas's mind. This can pass, my friend, if you do what I ask. Dooku's dulcet baritone echoed through Sifo-Dyas's mind, piercing through his grisly visions. Sifo-Dyas put up a valiant resistance at first, marshaling his remaining psychic defenses to prevent his mind from caving to Dooku's simple, seductive demand.

Please, Master Sifo-Dyas. It is the only way to cease your agony. Do not shut me out. Keep your mind open to me and simply do what I ask.

The last shreds of Sifo-Dyas's dignity were destroyed, ripped asunder by Dooku's relentless ravishment. No being's psychological defenses could last long against such a direct assault, with the mind's own worst fears used against itself by a skillful master of manipulation. And when relief from the psychic attack was promised with such sweet words, with such a stark contrast against the terrifying thoughts and perceptions flooding about, Sifo-Dyas's mind relented to protect itself.

To ensure its survival.

No matter that one formerly called friend was the source of the terror.

That friend now promised release from the terror. Was the release.

Thus did Sifo-Dyas's will fall to Dooku. His mind betrayed him, capitulating to Dooku's whims. For he could no longer close his mind to Dooku; Dooku had wedged too wide a psychic doorway with the Force. A doorway that would close only when Dooku willed it.

And Dooku's will had other plans for the mind of Sifo-Dyas.

Thank you, my friend. Now, you will join me. You will meet my new master. And you will know peace.

Sifo-Dyas's body collapsed onto Dooku's. In turn, Dooku staggered back to his transport with his friend's body in tow, his friend's mind in bondage.

Dooku took Sifo-Dyas down to the bowels of the Sith headquarters within the Surgical Reconstruction Center. He brought the broken Sifo-Dyas into the chambers of Darth Sidious to present the Jedi Master to the Sith Lord for his approval. As Sidious listened to Dooku's account of how he subdued the Jedi Master, he expressed astonishment at how quickly Dooku had bent Sifo-Dyas's will to his own, and he was doubly surprised that Dooku did it in broad daylight and in full view of numerous passersby. A thought fleeted through Sidious's mind that he may have underestimated the strength of his new apprentice.

Dooku then described why Sifo-Dyas was brought to the Sith's inner sanctum. Dooku recapitulated the plans he and Sidious had made for destabilizing the Republic. Dooku was soon to exploit his political contacts to create a Separatist movement that would break away wholly from the governance of the Republic. This movement would involve worlds rich in natural and martial resources whose departure would threaten the very sustenance of the Republic. Thus, the Republic would be forced to fight the Separatists to maintain its existence.

Dooku then proposed to use Sifo-Dyas as a decoy to order a clone army in the name of the defense of the Republic, ostensibly under the auspices of the Jedi Council. However, this clone army would receive special programming delivered to the cloners through Chancellor Palpatine himself. It would ensure that Palpatine would maintain direct control over the clones, no matter what circumstances in which the clones might find themselves.

Dooku had drafted 100 separate Battle Orders to cover all manner of combat exigencies. They would provide clones with guidance on how to respond to being captured, lost in space, subverted by foreign powers, and threatened by virulent and deadly biohazards, among other contingencies. Sidious's gaze was immediately attracted to one order in particular, buried seemingly innocuously among the rest: number 66. It provided for the immediate extermination of any Jedi in the area of the clones if they were to attempt somehow to assume control of the Republic.

A sinister grin spread across Darth Sidious's countenance as he contemplated the myriad ways in which Order 66 could be used. While Sidious gloated, Dooku noted that after Sifo-Dyas had placed the clone order, he would appear to be killed so as to ensure that the true source of the clone army could never be traced. In truth, Dooku would deposit Sifo-Dyas on a system practically uncharted by the Republic, in case his services would be required in the future. Dooku would then recruit the template for the clones himself by testing the mettle and cunning of a variety of contenders. This recruitment strategy would further confuse anyone who hoped to unravel the apparent mystery surrounding the origins of the clone army.

Darth Sidious cackled in sheer joy at Dooku's guile. He approved heartily of Dooku's strategy and insisted that he start it in motion as soon as possible. Then, with a mocking look of concern, he turned to Sifo-Dyas and wryly asked what he thought of Dooku's plan.

Sifo-Dyas could only utter a defeated grunt of despair. Through the fog of Dooku's manipulations, Sifo-Dyas still perceived that he was to be the unwitting agent of the destruction of the Republic...and perhaps even the Jedi Order. But the conduit Dooku had forced into his mind prevented him from resisting. From breaking away. From expressing anything less than grudging approval. From being anything less than the instrument of destruction of all he held dear.

[awesomejedi]

Your Welcome Yoda Breaker. But thank you YodaBreaker, it must take a long time to write these stories, because its like you are resurrecting Star Wars, since there isn't alot of that coming out.
1 MC for you!

I just noticed something, wouldn't this story take place at the same time of The Phantom Menace? Think about it wasn't it (in Star Wars Time) 10 years from when Syfo Dyas orderded the clones and untill they were found about and ready?

Tell me if I am wrong.