Dark Disciple

by Christie Golden

  “What do you mean?” Windu asked.

  Kenobi worked it out as he spoke. “We sent him to kill Count Dooku. Perhaps if Vos sees the count again, and has the chance to assassinate him, he’ll be able to resist the dark side. He could redeem himself—come back from it. Isn’t that what we really want? Or are we all just looking for sport?”

  “That is untrue and you know it, Master Kenobi,” chided Plo Koon.

  “I do, and I apologize,” Obi-Wan said. “But this is Vos’s life we’re talking about.”

  The three who had called for execution exchanged glances. Yoda’s gaze was fixed on Kenobi, and Obi-Wan could tell he was pleased.

  “Go on,” said Mace.

  “Vos is completely unaware that we know of his transition to the dark side. So—we set a trap to test his allegiance. We’ll send him after Dooku. If Vos sides with him, then we’ll know.”

  “I fail to see how giving Vos back to Dooku is a good thing,” Mace said.

  “You misunderstand. We’ll follow him, and watch his every move.”

  Windu considered this. “You will stay close to him.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Should Vos fail to execute Dooku, you will need to intervene. Do you understand, Master Kenobi?”

  Kenobi took a deep breath. “I believe I do, Master Windu.”

  “Cloud your judgment, your feelings must not,” Yoda said. “Do what you must, you will.”

  “I shall. Thank you, Master Yoda. This test will allow us to see Vos’s true colors. And,” he added, “his true heart.”

  Yoda nodded. “Reveal himself to us, Quinlan Vos will. And his own fate, he himself will decide.”

  They had taken to meeting in one of the popular floating parks that hovered above the surface of Coruscant. A little under two thousand square kilometers, it boasted meadows, forests, and even an artificially created mountain and several lakes. Non-threatening wildlife had been brought in from various worlds, and the lakes were stocked with fish. When Vos had first suggested it, Ventress felt exposed. She was a creature of the dark skies of space and the dim light of a cockpit; of shadowy alleyways and bars with out-of-the-way alcoves. Even on her homeworld of Dathomir, which was not crowded with beings, the Nightsisters had preferred the confines of the artificially lit cavern to the open.

  The two had been meeting nearly every day, as often as Vos could sneak away from the Temple. “Think about it,” he said once, as they walked hand in hand on a trail beneath towering trees. “This is what our new life could be like. Not having to hide who we are, and how we feel.” He nodded pleasantly to a pair of Nautolans who passed them by, also holding hands. “Here, we’re just like they are.”

  Ventress had thought the idea was like the park itself—a beautiful but imaginary escape, nothing more. But as time passed, she felt it shift to become her new reality. This could indeed, she realized, be who they were—just two lovers, nothing more and, assuredly, nothing less.

  Vos was late today. It didn’t bother her at first. He was nearly always late, and it was not unpleasant to sit on a bench by the lake with her face turned up to the sun and wait. But time crept past, and worry crept upon her. Had the Jedi discovered their plans to escape?

  Then Ventress sensed him behind her, his presence warm and strong and welcome. His hands came down on her shoulders, thumbs working to ease the knots, and she smiled as she leaned back. He kissed the top of her head, then jumped over the bench to sit beside her.

  Her pleasure abated as she saw the furrow on his forehead. “What’s wrong?”

  “You’re not going to believe it,” he said.

  “Try me.”

  Vos draped an arm around her as he spoke, and she leaned into him. “The Jedi,” he said, “have assigned me a new mission. Or, rather, asked me to complete an old one.”

  Ventress stiffened and pulled back, her eyes searching his. “You’re joking. They want you to try to kill Dooku? Again? Vos, you almost didn’t make it out the last time!”

  “I know. But I’m much stronger now.”

  “Are you sure you’re ready to confront him again?”

  He nodded firmly. “I’m ready. I now know exactly what he’ll try to do, and I’m prepared for it.” Vos tilted up her chin and kissed her softly, lingering for a moment before drawing back to smile at her. “You don’t need to worry about me.”

  Ventress trailed her fingers over his face, tracing the yellow tattoo, the curve of his jaw. Alarm bells were going off inside her. This wasn’t a good idea.

  “Leave the Order. Let’s get out of here. Now.” Her voice was low and urgent.

  He laughed softly, his breath stirring her hair. “Temptress,” he growled playfully, then leaned back and sighed. “I can’t.”

  “Why not?” Vos didn’t answer right away. He took her right hand in his left, intertwining their fingers. The alarm bells clanged louder now, shrill and insistent, and Ventress’s heartbeat quickened. Had he changed his mind about leaving the Jedi?

  “I didn’t realize it until they assigned me this task, but…Asajj, you and I…we’re not free of Dooku. Not really. Not yet, and not ever, until he’s dead.”

  “I don’t believe that,” Ventress said. “I don’t care whether he lives or dies, I don’t care about making him pay. Not anymore. I don’t need it. The Jedi will get him, or they won’t. But someone will. It doesn’t have to be me. Or you. Quinlan…the only thing that matters to me now is being with you.”

  “That’s exactly why I have to do this,” Vos said. “How can we possibly find the life we want if we’re always looking over our shoulders? That man casts a very long shadow.”

  “Please.” The word came hard for Ventress, and he knew it. Surprise flickered over his face. He closed his eyes for a moment.

  “Asajj,” he said, “I have to. It’s the only way I can find peace. You and I met because I had this task. Now I have a second chance to truly end the threat he poses. And that will give us our chance to be together.”

  Together. Ventress remembered when Vos first, quite literally, leapt into her life, tackling Moregi on Pantora. How he had kept pushing for them to work together until she agreed. It was a word he loved to use, a word that always made him smile, just as he did now.

  “Then let’s do it. I’m coming with you,” Ventress stated.

  “No,” Vos said. “Absolutely not. I’m not going to risk losing you. Not now.”

  “But you expect me to simply sit by, wring my hands, and hope you come home in one piece? Not a chance!”

  Vos frowned and started to protest. Ventress wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. She felt the tension in his body dissolve as he pulled her closer. She melted into the kiss, putting all the things she felt but couldn’t say, not yet, into it. All too soon, Vos drew back. Both of them were trembling.

  Vos pressed his forehead to hers. “I should have known better than to think I could talk you into staying behind,” he whispered, smiling.

  Ventress chuckled warmly. “Yes, you should have.”

  “Together?”

  “Together.”

  —

  Ventress had allowed herself to hope that she had seen the last of the Jedi Temple, so she was not at all pleased to be following Vos inside not just the Temple, but to the Jedi Situation Room. Each of the Temple’s towers had one, Vos told her, and it filled an entire level. She stood next to Vos as they ascended the turbolift in silence, shifting uneasily. Even though she had been given a full pardon, she knew what she and Vos were planning, and she was on edge. When the blast doors opened to admit them, Ventress saw that the room was as imposing as Vos had intimated. The walls were covered with tactical displays, and in the center of the room, standing around a huge holotable, were several Jedi Masters. The expressions on their various faces ranged from Yoda’s mild, surprised acceptance, to Kenobi’s confusion, to everyone else’s outrage.

  After the recent weeks of newfound connection, it was hard for Ventress to feign disin
terest in Vos. He, however, seemed to have no such difficulty, perhaps because he had already been hiding their relationship from the Jedi on a daily basis.

  “What is she doing here?” Mace Windu demanded. “This is a highly sensitive area, Master Vos!”

  “Master Windu,” Vos said, “the Council asked me to research and prepare for my mission to assassinate Count Dooku. I consider Asajj Ventress the ultimate resource for that task, and I will remind the Council that it ordered me specifically to seek her out the first time.” His manner was calm, but his voice was strong.

  “So we did,” Ki-Adi-Mundi said, his voice laden with regret. “And she was indeed granted a full pardon.”

  “You should have cleared this with the Council first,” Windu continued.

  “With respect, I’ve learned something from young Skywalker,” Vos said. “Sometimes it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission.”

  “Ventress,” said Windu, giving her a withering glance. “May I inquire as to whether Vos asked you here solely as a resource? Or did he invite you to tag along?”

  Before Ventress could answer, Vos stepped in smoothly. “Ventress and I came very close to achieving the goal last time,” he said. “We’ve learned from the errors we made then. We worked well as a team, and I’m sure we will do so again.”

  “But—” Ki-Adi-Mundi began.

  “Must I remind the Council of its own actions a second time?” Vos said. “You pardoned her, remember?” For a moment, Ventress was certain that they were about to have her forcibly ejected from the Situation Room. Then Master Yoda spoke up.

  “Pardon her, we did,” Yoda agreed. “Trust her, we do.” To her surprise, Ventress felt a flush of…was it shame?…under his kind gaze. She did not like this, any of it, and the sooner she and Vos were well away from here, the easier she would be.

  “It’s settled, then,” Kenobi said before anyone else could utter another protest. “This is the most up-to-date information we have on Separatist activity.” He activated a button on the holotable’s side, and images of several different worlds appeared.

  Ventress walked slowly around the table, examining the holographic worlds, quickly analyzing and dismissing options. She did not miss the questioning look that Kenobi threw Vos, nor Quinlan’s calm nod of reassurance. She paused in front of one of the translucent blue orbs.

  “Here,” she said. “Christophsis.” She touched the hologram and it zoomed in on a city, not small, but not obviously key, either. “Grievous will be here.”

  “This battle?” Windu asked. “It’s so…irrelevant.”

  Ventress smiled thinly at him. “Not to Dooku. He has his own vendettas. And Grievous’s boss will be…” She zoomed in further, then drew her hand upward. The view changed from looking down at the city to up at the skies above it. She expanded outward again, then yet again, and pointed a slender finger triumphantly at a Separatist dreadnought.

  “…right here,” she purred.

  “You’re certain?” Kenobi asked dubiously.

  Ventress narrowed her eyes. “Why,” she said, “after everything that Dooku has done to me, would I possibly lie to you about this?”

  “A point, Ventress has, hmm?” Yoda commented. To Vos, he said, “Full circle, you will have come, when complete this task is. May the Force be with you.”

  Vos bowed, then turned to leave. As she followed him, Ventress muttered under her breath, “Yeah, yeah.”

  —

  “You did great,” Vos said to her as they approached the Banshee. It was sitting in the middle of a row of Jedi vessels. Ventress thought it was an accurate reflection of her own recent position.

  “You weren’t so bad yourself,” Ventress said. “No wonder it took me a little while to catch you out. You’re good at this.”

  “We’re good at this. We.”

  He grinned at her. She smiled back. And for a moment, it was just like old times. Then Ventress stiffened. Vos caught it at once. “What is it?” he asked.

  She paused and looked around the landing platform. “Are you sure this is a solo mission? They seemed kind of jumpy in there…I wonder if we’re being followed.”

  “Actually,” Vos said, “I’m counting on it.”

  Ventress eyed him narrowly. “What sort of game are you playing, Vos?”

  “No game, I assure you,” he said. “Well…perhaps gambling. But it’s a risk I have to take.”

  “I don’t like this,” she warned him.

  “I know, and I promise you, everything will soon become clear.”

  “There was a handsome idiot who told me once that for a team to work, there has to be trust.”

  Pain showed in his brown eyes. Vos placed his hands on her shoulders. “Hey,” he said. “Sometimes secrets have to be kept for a little while. That doesn’t mean you can’t trust me.”

  “Not from me, Quinlan,” Ventress said. “You shouldn’t keep secrets from me.”

  “I could say something really cruel right now about Master Tholme, but I’m not going to. You could say something cruel right back. Or,” Vos said, lifting her chin with his forefinger, “you can trust me. Or at least trust in what I feel for you.”

  Ventress still felt uneasy, but she nodded. That was one thing she was sure of. It would have to be enough.

  “Come on,” she said. “Let’s go kill a count.”

  The Banshee came out of hyperspace near Christophsis. “Wow,” Vos said, peering out at the fleet of battleships in the distance. “I don’t even know what this vendetta is about. Do you?”

  “Don’t know,” Ventress said drily, “don’t care.” She touched the controls. “Well, well, it pays to arrive when a battle is in progress. The doors are open and all hangar shields are deactivated so the ships can get in and out as needed.”

  “Asajj,” Vos said quietly.

  Ventress froze at the tone in his voice and looked up at him. “Don’t you dare,” she said, her own voice a warning.

  “There’s no way we can hide this ship in the hangar. And…this is my battle. You yourself said you didn’t need to see Dooku dead. I still have to. I want to do it for me, and I want to do it because I know what good it will do the galaxy.”

  “You want me to just hang around and drive the getaway speeder, is that it?”

  Vos knelt beside her chair. “I want you to be safe,” he said, taking her hand, “and wait for me. Because I am coming back to you when this job is done. I promise.”

  Ventress’s eyes searched his. Then she reached out, grabbed the front of his robe, and pulled him toward her, bending her head to kiss him. He returned the kiss eagerly, almost desperately, one hand cupping the back of her head, the other around her shoulders. Then Ventress released him.

  “You better,” she said. “Because if you don’t, I’m coming in after you. That’s my promise.”

  “Deal,” he said, and rose. She watched him make his way to the back of the ship and take position beside the door, and then she turned to the controls. Gently, she moved the cloaked ship beside Dooku’s massive dreadnought, taking it slowly and carefully toward the open hangar doors. Vos was right—a single person might be able to slip in unnoticed, but her ship would not.

  “Opening the doors,” she called, and suited action to word.

  “Almost, almost…,” Vos said. “Just a little closer.”

  Ventress dropped deep into herself, using her awareness of her surroundings in the Force to bring the door close enough for Vos to leap to safety, but not so close that she would slam into the hangar. She closed her eyes, moving her fingers on the controls, then opened them. She was there.

  Ventress turned to look at him. “Now!” she cried.

  Their eyes met. Vos gave her a confident grin, and leapt.

  —

  The shuttle had been Anakin’s idea. Naturally.

  They had brought a commandeered Separatist shuttle aboard the Vigilance, complete with two defunct battle droids Anakin had reprogrammed to be operated remotely. Hidden behind
the two droid “pilots” seated in the cockpit, Kenobi and Anakin were pressed tightly together in the cramped space.

  “Anakin,” Kenobi said, maneuvering the handheld controls, “this plan, like most of your plans, is completely insane.”

  “Try not to be a downer. Just for once. For me.” Anakin spoke into a jury-rigged comlink, and his voice now issued through the droid’s metallic mouth. He shot Obi-Wan a triumphant look.

  “You’re going too fast. They’re going to know something’s wrong,” Kenobi warned. Unlike Anakin, he chose not to speak through the makeshift comm.

  Anakin’s droid hit Obi-Wan’s in the arm with a touch too much enjoyment. “Lighten up, will you? Okay. Our intel shows that Ventress and Vos have split up, and Vos is inside that cruiser. That must be where Dooku is.”

  “And clearly, you just plan on waltzing in.”

  “Roger, roger,” Anakin said, and grinned.

  The reprogrammed droids continued to be useful even after the trick enabled the Jedi to, as Obi-Wan had said, waltz in. Now on foot and following a good distance behind the clankers, Anakin and Kenobi sent them up ahead into corridors, seeing what the droids saw. At one point, Kenobi said, “We need to find out where Dooku is. I’d say on the bridge.”

  “Hold that thought,” Anakin said. He marched his droid up a corridor toward a group of blaster-holding battle droids.

  “Anakin—”

  “Shhh,” Anakin said. His fingers tapped the controls, and his droid pointed to its own throat. “My vocabulator’s broken,” he said.

  “Wow, you sound terrible. Better get that repaired,” one of the other battle droids said.

  “Roger. I have information for Count Dooku. Where is he located?” the Anakin-droid asked.

  “He’s on the bridge, but he’s heading to the observation room now. I’d change your voice first, though,” the other one advised.

  “Roger, roger,” Anakin’s droid said, and marched on.

  Kenobi turned and said with reluctant admiration, “Well done, Anakin.”

  “Roger, r—”

  “No,” Kenobi interrupted. “Let’s get to the observation deck before Dooku does.”