“Rise.”
Dooku did so. Sideous, as always, walked calmly along, allowing Dooku to fall into stride beside him. Beyond, Coruscant loomed, but a fading background as the ship made a rapid ascent.
“I apologize, my master.”
“There is no need. But our time is limited, so there is no sense in wasting it on formality.”
Dooku nodded.
“As you wish, Lord Sideous.”
They stopped walking. Sideous admired the view. Dooku, more used to it, simply watched his master.
“Imagine it,” the Sith began, and Dooku turned to the planet, “imagine it, Count Dooku, imagine it in flames.”
Dooku raised an eyebrow. “Would you?”
Sideous bared his ugly grin. “Perhaps. It is but one possibility. I perceive they will take their Emperor well. They may even build a monument.”
They might, Dooku conceded with a shrug. Of course, his part in the creation would be no less important, yet publicly, would be regarded as far less heroic. None of that mattered to Count Dooku. The Sith would take the day… and in time, he would take the power his master would offer knowing that he helped to bring about the end of the Jedi.
There were but the minute particulars…
“As per your wishes, my Lord, I will fight them again. Have you foreseen how the battle will progress?”
“Naturally, my good apprentice. There will come a time when you will have it within your power to isolate the boy and immobilize Obi Wan Kenobi. Do so; Obi Wan will be critical in the destruction of the Jedi.”
“And the boy?” Dooku asked with inquisitive eyes.
Sideous turned to him, cold. “Dispose of him. He is not relevant and should prove no challenge.”
“Yes, my master.” Dooku turned back to Coruscant. “It will all be ours.”
“After the trial.”
“After the trial,” Dooku repeated, a small sigh escaping his lips.
“Lord Tyranus, you know the necessity of your trial to creating a trusting and subservient populace?”
“Would it not be simply easier to subjugate them to your will?”
Sideous turned to him. “Easier? Not likely. More enjoyable?”
And as the Sith Lord flashed his sadistic grin, Dooku returned it in kind.
“Have you considered, after the trial, where you will go?”
“I have. It will have to be somewhere… out of the way. A world with a burgeoning culture I can use to support myself as I serve out the ‘term’ of my ‘incarceration’.”
“You speak of specifics, Count Dooku. Do you have a planet in mind?”
“I do,” he replied, and he spun. Sideous followed him to the opposite rail. With a gloved hand, Dooku searched until he settled index finger on a dim, distant star. “It is called Cradesh.”
“Cradesh? I have not heard of it.”
“Nor would you have. It is a star on the very edges of the outer rim. Known only locally to a pair of inhabited planets with very limited cultures. One in specific, a world known as Kiyar, is full of vegetation and empty space. It will be easy for me to live there, unobserved, for the decades it may take until I can make my return.”
Sideous nodded, slowly. “Shall I have a ship brought? Perhaps a small legion of battledroids, or clonetroopers?”
Dooku calmly shook his head. “There is something I have always wondered, My Lord…”
“Yes, My Apprentice?”
“Why, with all of our resources and power, did we employ such a worthless collection of antiquated robotics as the federation armies?”
Sideous allowed a small cackle to leave his lips. “They were merely there to provide the illusion of danger. One does not win battles with droids or clones, but with their intelligence. We could have just as easily substituted clones for droids and droids for clones, and the outcome would have been the same.” Dooku nodded, unsurprised. “The true power of Empires is not the armies, but the Emperor.”
Dooku allowed a grin to spread across his face. “You’ve been speaking to Wilhuff, haven’t you?”
Sideous returned the grin. “He is a clever man. What position do you think we should give our young Admiral Tarkin?”
Dooku was dumbfounded. “I imagine, if he continues to show such promise as he ages, you will have to make one up for him.”
Sideous nodded listlessly. “Of course.” Sideous paused, arching his head. “There are the Venerators now.” Dooku saw them, nodding. The two turned again, walking to the opposite rail in perfect polarity. “And those would be Jedi Starfighters.”
“I must prepare. If I may take my leave of you, I would meditate before the coming battle.”
Sideous nodded his consent. “You may. Eventually, history with revere you for that which you have done.”
Count Dooku smiled. “History is insignificant next to the power of the force.”
With that, Dooku turned and walked to the door, turning again only when Sideous next spoke. “Fight well, old friend…”
And Dooku nodded as the door closed, and he was gone.
“…that you may die well,” Sideous finished his sentence. “Admiral Thrawn. Join me.”
Behind him, a door opened with a hiss, and he could hear the young Csillian admiral enter the room.
“Yes, my Lord?”
Sideous turned to him.
”I did not have the opportunity to convey upon you my gratitude for your work in the Outbound Flight Project meeting an unfortunate fate.”
“There was no need,” Thrawn said. “The official commendation was gratifying enough, and even then, more then was required. I am but your servant, Lord, and carrying out your order is all the gratification I require.”
“Nevertheless…” Sideous said, but thinking of no way to finish the sentence, instead chose to leave it at that. “I have another task for you.”
“Of course, my Lord.”
“Our friend, Count Dooku, has confided to me that he intends to take refuge on the world of Kiyar. It is possible he has contacts there whom he has made aware of our plans.” Sideous said. “You must eliminate them; as we don’t know who they are, you must destroy the entire world.”
“I will do as you ask,” Thrawn said, coldly. “Shall we make them an example?”
“No, that is not necessary. Leave their destruction a mystery; I trust you will devise a plan with which our touch shall remain invisible.”
“If that is the Lord’s command, then that is what shall transpire.”
“Good. You serve me well, Admiral. I see bright things in your future,” Sideous told him appreciatively. “Now, you must go.”
“As you wish. Before I depart, however, I offer my congratulations,” Thrawn said, “Emperor,” allowing for the first time a smile to cross his face. A smile that Sideous returned.
“In good time, Admiral Thrawn. All in good time.”
Dooku did so. Sideous, as always, walked calmly along, allowing Dooku to fall into stride beside him. Beyond, Coruscant loomed, but a fading background as the ship made a rapid ascent.
“I apologize, my master.”
“There is no need. But our time is limited, so there is no sense in wasting it on formality.”
Dooku nodded.
“As you wish, Lord Sideous.”
They stopped walking. Sideous admired the view. Dooku, more used to it, simply watched his master.
“Imagine it,” the Sith began, and Dooku turned to the planet, “imagine it, Count Dooku, imagine it in flames.”
Dooku raised an eyebrow. “Would you?”
Sideous bared his ugly grin. “Perhaps. It is but one possibility. I perceive they will take their Emperor well. They may even build a monument.”
They might, Dooku conceded with a shrug. Of course, his part in the creation would be no less important, yet publicly, would be regarded as far less heroic. None of that mattered to Count Dooku. The Sith would take the day… and in time, he would take the power his master would offer knowing that he helped to bring about the end of the Jedi.
There were but the minute particulars…
“As per your wishes, my Lord, I will fight them again. Have you foreseen how the battle will progress?”
“Naturally, my good apprentice. There will come a time when you will have it within your power to isolate the boy and immobilize Obi Wan Kenobi. Do so; Obi Wan will be critical in the destruction of the Jedi.”
“And the boy?” Dooku asked with inquisitive eyes.
Sideous turned to him, cold. “Dispose of him. He is not relevant and should prove no challenge.”
“Yes, my master.” Dooku turned back to Coruscant. “It will all be ours.”
“After the trial.”
“After the trial,” Dooku repeated, a small sigh escaping his lips.
“Lord Tyranus, you know the necessity of your trial to creating a trusting and subservient populace?”
“Would it not be simply easier to subjugate them to your will?”
Sideous turned to him. “Easier? Not likely. More enjoyable?”
And as the Sith Lord flashed his sadistic grin, Dooku returned it in kind.
“Have you considered, after the trial, where you will go?”
“I have. It will have to be somewhere… out of the way. A world with a burgeoning culture I can use to support myself as I serve out the ‘term’ of my ‘incarceration’.”
“You speak of specifics, Count Dooku. Do you have a planet in mind?”
“I do,” he replied, and he spun. Sideous followed him to the opposite rail. With a gloved hand, Dooku searched until he settled index finger on a dim, distant star. “It is called Cradesh.”
“Cradesh? I have not heard of it.”
“Nor would you have. It is a star on the very edges of the outer rim. Known only locally to a pair of inhabited planets with very limited cultures. One in specific, a world known as Kiyar, is full of vegetation and empty space. It will be easy for me to live there, unobserved, for the decades it may take until I can make my return.”
Sideous nodded, slowly. “Shall I have a ship brought? Perhaps a small legion of battledroids, or clonetroopers?”
Dooku calmly shook his head. “There is something I have always wondered, My Lord…”
“Yes, My Apprentice?”
“Why, with all of our resources and power, did we employ such a worthless collection of antiquated robotics as the federation armies?”
Sideous allowed a small cackle to leave his lips. “They were merely there to provide the illusion of danger. One does not win battles with droids or clones, but with their intelligence. We could have just as easily substituted clones for droids and droids for clones, and the outcome would have been the same.” Dooku nodded, unsurprised. “The true power of Empires is not the armies, but the Emperor.”
Dooku allowed a grin to spread across his face. “You’ve been speaking to Wilhuff, haven’t you?”
Sideous returned the grin. “He is a clever man. What position do you think we should give our young Admiral Tarkin?”
Dooku was dumbfounded. “I imagine, if he continues to show such promise as he ages, you will have to make one up for him.”
Sideous nodded listlessly. “Of course.” Sideous paused, arching his head. “There are the Venerators now.” Dooku saw them, nodding. The two turned again, walking to the opposite rail in perfect polarity. “And those would be Jedi Starfighters.”
“I must prepare. If I may take my leave of you, I would meditate before the coming battle.”
Sideous nodded his consent. “You may. Eventually, history with revere you for that which you have done.”
Count Dooku smiled. “History is insignificant next to the power of the force.”
With that, Dooku turned and walked to the door, turning again only when Sideous next spoke. “Fight well, old friend…”
And Dooku nodded as the door closed, and he was gone.
“…that you may die well,” Sideous finished his sentence. “Admiral Thrawn. Join me.”
Behind him, a door opened with a hiss, and he could hear the young Csillian admiral enter the room.
“Yes, my Lord?”
Sideous turned to him.
”I did not have the opportunity to convey upon you my gratitude for your work in the Outbound Flight Project meeting an unfortunate fate.”
“There was no need,” Thrawn said. “The official commendation was gratifying enough, and even then, more then was required. I am but your servant, Lord, and carrying out your order is all the gratification I require.”
“Nevertheless…” Sideous said, but thinking of no way to finish the sentence, instead chose to leave it at that. “I have another task for you.”
“Of course, my Lord.”
“Our friend, Count Dooku, has confided to me that he intends to take refuge on the world of Kiyar. It is possible he has contacts there whom he has made aware of our plans.” Sideous said. “You must eliminate them; as we don’t know who they are, you must destroy the entire world.”
“I will do as you ask,” Thrawn said, coldly. “Shall we make them an example?”
“No, that is not necessary. Leave their destruction a mystery; I trust you will devise a plan with which our touch shall remain invisible.”
“If that is the Lord’s command, then that is what shall transpire.”
“Good. You serve me well, Admiral. I see bright things in your future,” Sideous told him appreciatively. “Now, you must go.”
“As you wish. Before I depart, however, I offer my congratulations,” Thrawn said, “Emperor,” allowing for the first time a smile to cross his face. A smile that Sideous returned.
“In good time, Admiral Thrawn. All in good time.”