**Chapter 482**
**Shadows and Secrets**
**Scene 1**
**Coruscant – Padmé Amidala's Apartment**
Padmé Amidala sighed deeply and looked at her friends gathered in the living room. The weight of the war, the protests, and the endless political maneuvering had left deep lines of exhaustion on her face.
"We should try to persuade what's left of the Senate to send more aid to Ryloth," she said in a tired voice, rubbing her temples. "The people there have suffered enough. If we can get emergency relief packages approved…"
"Yes, that will be for the best. If we can persuade them," Bail Organa muttered, his expression equally weary. Mon Mothma nodded in agreement, though her eyes showed the same doubt they all felt.
The front door of Amidala's apartment chimed softly.
"So that's what we'll do," Padmé concluded, standing up. "Let's meet tomorrow morning in the Senate and we'll start." She gave a brief, warm goodbye to her friends before heading toward the door.
She opened it, expecting perhaps a late delivery or a security check.
Instead, she found Anakin Skywalker.
At first, Padmé was overjoyed. A breathtaking smile lit up her face as she reached for him.
Then she saw the way he was behaving.
Her husband was a bit stiff. Thanks to her vast political experience, she could easily see that the smile he wore was forced — a mask hiding something. He was hiding something.
Without a word, she grabbed the front of his tunic and dragged him inside, sealing the door behind them.
"Anakin Skywalker!" Padmé snapped in a tone that brooked no argument.
A delicate finger poked his tender ribs, making him wince.
"Explain! Now!" Poke. Poke.
He grunted in pain.
"Only a scratch, is it?!" she grumbled, poking him again for emphasis.
"Wait, Angel! I can explain!" Anakin stammered, raising his hands defensively.
"This better be good, mister…"
---
Anakin twisted uncomfortably on the couch, trying to find a more comfortable position. His tender chest didn't help. In the end, he had been able to calm Padmé down after coming clean about what had happened on Ryloth. He had told her everything — from the beginning of the space battle to the disastrous assault on the village. About the way he had kriffed up and gotten most of his men killed. About how dagon had been forced to call in an orbital strike on his own position.
In the end, Skywalker had told his wife about his own injuries, which — along with Marek's stunts — were the two things that pissed her off the most. He was sure that Padmé would have "words" with dagon, which the general wouldn't enjoy, but that was cold comfort.
She was still royally pissed off because he had lied to her. As a consequence, he was sleeping on the couch. Alone.
Anakin grumbled and twisted on his so-called "bed." The damn thing was uncomfortable as hell.
**Scene 2**
**Jedi High Council Chamber**
The Council chamber was heavy with anticipation as Dagon and his group entered. Nox stood beside him, calm and composed, while Ashara remained a step behind, her presence a quiet anchor.
Dagon stepped forward, his voice steady. "Masters, you wished to see me regarding my eye and recent events."
Nox took the lead on the explanation, activating a series of ancient holocrons recovered from the Hundred Year Darkness, dating back nearly 12,000 years.
"As you can clearly see from these holocrons," Nox began, "the eyes — or the Sharingan, the Mirror Wheel Eye — is an ancient technique that users unconsciously develop. Unlike the standard dark eyes, which basically any weak Force user could manifest if they broke their heart or experienced overwhelming greed, this is special. It requires the manifestation of will. The reason it is different is because this is the next form — the Mangekyō Sharingan — which has various phases of evolution and some powers that are… well, just watch. Dagon, show them."
Dagon raised his hand. With a subtle flex of will, an ice sword suddenly formed in his palm, crystalline and razor-sharp, shimmering with cold blue light.
"It varies on different emotional levels," Nox explained. "The stronger the emotion, the more potent the manifestation."
The Council watched in stunned silence. Master Windu's eyes narrowed. Yoda's ears twitched. Obi-Wan looked deeply troubled.
Dagon lowered the ice blade and spoke directly to Yoda. "It is hard to trap a Jedi or Sith. Yet here we are — in the middle of the greatest trap for Jedi that this galaxy has ever known. But you suspect that, don't you, Master Yoda?"
"What are you talking about?!" Anakin snapped, stepping forward in confusion and anger.
"The Clone Wars. The trap, they are," Yoda clarified, his voice heavy with sorrow.
Dagon nodded. "The Republic or these Separatists — it does not matter who wins. It is irrelevant. In either case, the Jedi lose. That is the point of the war."
He remembered the teachings of an ancient Sith who had once been a Jedi. According to her, the real war had never been between the Sith and the Republic. The latter was merely a shell around the Jedi, which had to be attacked to draw them out. Just like the Jedi teachings were shells around the hearts of the men and women practicing them.
The conflict between the Jedi and the Sith had always been an ideological one. A battle of ideals. In the end, there was no greater victory than to make the enemy one of you… unless you were in it for vengeance. But that was another matter. Or perhaps not. War gave people many slights to avenge.
"Yes," Yoda nodded slowly, his ears drooping.
"You can't fulfill your purpose as guardians of the Republic without being a part of the war. Yet the moment you joined, the Jedi as a whole lost," Dagon stated the obvious.
The only saving grace for the Order was the nature of the conventional enemy — the bulk of the CIS forces were made of droids. That lessened the chance of the Jedi being warped as they fought and cut down countless living, feeling beings. It bought them time before more and more of their number would be tempted by the dark side, even without the Sith actively trying to turn them.
The other thing that 'saved' them was that, unless he was very much mistaken, the current so-called Sith planned to simply exterminate their enemies instead of turning whoever they could.
Windu gave Dagon a dark glare but said nothing. He, as well as all of them, sensed that this was Yoda's show. Besides, for a brief instant, the swirling vortex of the Force pushed aside the shadow blocking the Jedi's vision. They knew that Dagon was right. That revelation would have some interesting consequences down the line.
Dagon hoped it wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass.
The ball was in Yoda's court. Dagon decided to pour more fuel on the fire.
"You are the one who mentioned the prophecy of the Chosen One. We Sith know of it as well. Do you not wonder what 'one who brings balance to the Force' truly means?" Dagon smiled maliciously — it was a good thing they couldn't see his full expression beneath the calm mask.
"Skywalker is supposed to destroy the Sith! He should start with you!" Windu glared at him.
"Is he now?" Dagon countered. "How many Sith are there in the galaxy today? This Dooku you've mentioned? His Master — or is he a Master and not an apprentice? How many Sith does the Confederacy employ? How many Jedi are there in the galaxy today? Please, answer me, Master Jedi, and then think about whose side might need pruning so there would be 'balance' in the Force."
Windu's glare intensified. "So, Dagon, what are you? A Sith? And Nox is your Master?"
That accusation caused the girls behind Dagon to ignite their lightsabers in unison — a brilliant display of green, blue, purple, and yellow blades humming to life.
Ahsoka stepped forward, her green blades glowing. "Master Windu, with all due respect, you're wrong. Dagon is not a Sith."
Zule's dual blue blades joined hers. "He fights for the Republic. For us. For the galaxy."
Flare's voice was cold. "If you accuse him without proof, you accuse all of us."
The Council chamber erupted into tense murmurs. Yoda raised his hand for silence, but the damage was done. The lines were drawn.
Dagon stood calm amid the storm, the red star in his eye burning steadily.
The war within the Jedi Order had just begun.