Saga Fall of the Sith (AU RoTS, A/P, Mace Windu, and more..)--**COMPLETE** **New Story Link Posted**

Title: Fall of the Sith
Author: Souderwan
Timeframe: AU
Characters: Mace Windu, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Various other supporting characters
Genre: Action/Adventure
Summary: Mace Windu makes a critical decision that changes the outcome of the entire SW saga.


----------------The Chosen One-----------------------

Palpatine staggered, snarling, but the blistering energy that poured from his hands only intensified.

He fed the power with his pain.

"Anakin!" Mace called. His voice sounded distant, blurred, as if it came from the bottom of a well. "Anakin, help me! This is your chance!"

He felt Anakin's leap from the office floor to the ledge, felt his approach behind--

And Palpatine was not afraid.

Mace could feel it: he wasn't worried at all.

"Destroy this traitor," the Chancellor said, his voice raised over the howl of writhing energy that joined his hands to Mace's blade. "This was never an arrest. It's an assassination!"

That was when Mace finally understood. He had it. The key to final victory. Palpatine's shatterpoint. The absolute shatterpoint of the Sith.

The shatterpoint of the dark side itself.

Mace thought, blankly astonished, Palpatine trusts Anakin Skywalker...

Now Anakin was at Mace's shoulder. Palpatine still made no move to defend himself from Skywalker; instead he ramped up the lightning bursting from his hands, bending the fountain of Mace's blade back toward the Korun Master's face.

Palpatine's eyes glowed with power, casting a yellow glare that burned back the rain from around them. "He is a traitor, Anakin. Destroy him."

"You're the chosen one, Anakin," Mace said, his voice going thin with strain. This was beyond Vaapad; he had no strength left to fight against his own blade. "Take him. It's your destiny."

Skywalker echoed him faintly. "Destiny..."

"Help me! I can't hold on any longer!" The yellow glare from Palpatine's eyes spread outward through his flesh. His skin flowed like oil, as though the muscle beneath was burning away, as though even the bones of his skull were softening, were bending and bulging, deforming from the heat and pressure of his electric hatred. "He is killing me, Anakin--! Please, Anaaahhh--"

Mace's blade bent so close to his face that he was chocking on ozone. "Anakin, he's too strong for me--"

"Ahhh--" Palpatine's roar above the endless blast of lightning became a fading moan of despair.

The lightning swallowed itself, leaving only the night and the rain, and an old man crumpled to his knees on a slippery ledge.

"I...can't. I give up. I...I am too weak, in the end. Too old, and too weak. Don't kill me, Master Jedi. Please. I surrender."

Victory flooded through Mace's aching body. He lifted his blade. "You Sith disease--"

"Wait--" Skywalker seized his lightsaber arm with desperate strength. "Don't kill him--you can't just kill him, Master--"

"Yes, I can," Mace said, grim and certain. "I have to."

"You came to arrest him. He has to stand trial--"

"A trial would be a joke. He controls the courts. He controls the Senate--"

"So are you going to kill all them, too? Like he said you would?"

Mace yanked his arm free. "He's too dangerous to be left alive. If you could have taken Dooku alive, would you have?"

Skywalker's face swept itself clean of emotion. "That was different--"

Mace turned toward the cringing, beaten Sith Lord. "You can explain the difference after he's dead."

He raised his lightsaber.

"I need him alive!" Skywalker shouted. "I need him to save Padme!"

Mace froze. His lightsaber lowered imperceptibly as he looked at Anakin Skywalker in the Force. His blood curled. His eyes widened in shock. Seething around The Chosen One was roiling waves of dark energy interspersed with the light side of the Force. It was unlike anything Mace had seen. It was conflict like nothing Mace had ever imagined. It was if the dark side and light side of the Force were battling for the very soul of this young

 

Ha, very nice twist.

 

Wow...

So, Mace is a Dark Lord of the Sith now? What'll his Sith name be?

 

Thank you very much. More posts are coming. This is an ongoing story. I hope I don't have too small an upper limit on my posts!

 

------------The Light Side of the Force --------------



Battle roared in the deep green undergrowth and along the white-sand shores of Kashyyk. Droid armies attacked the powerful Wookies from the depths of the seas and from the air that was once blissfully calm. The Wookies were fighting valiantly. The clones acted as they were trained. The battle would end, as most such engagements did--in a victory for the Republic. After all, droids can never match the cunning of a living mind or the gallantry of the living heart.

Master Yoda sighed as he watched the battle unfold from the relative safety of the command center, high in the trees. It was primitive by Republic standards. It was, Yoda noted with a wry smile, a rather large tree house. Of course, the clone commanders had customized it with communications equipment, sensors and computers to help coordinate their attack. The system allowed for virtually instantaneous execution of the directions from General Yoda and the Group Commander. But to Yoda, these machines were an intrusion. They ruined the vista surrounding the living, breathing world. All machines did this. They were an incursion in the Force.

Necessary, this is, Yoda thought. Necessary, but evil.

Yoda pondered the fate of his fellow Jedi Masters who were no doubt engaging Darth Sidious at that very moment. Yoda's leathery face creased even further into a contemplative frown. The Jedi Order was on a dark path--one that brought something to Yoda's heart that he knew was a path to the dark side. Fear.

Yoda had been unsuccessful in his attempts to probe the future. Hours spent in solitary meditation in the Jedi Temple brought no clarity to the decisions of the Council. Gone were the days when Yoda knew. As always, the Force would always guide him in battle, Yoda knew. No Sith Lord could cloud the Force that much. But guidance for long-term strategic planning was all but impossible. So the diminutive Jedi Master had relied, instead, on his years of experience to guide his decisions. He knew absolute consent in the Council was out of the question now. Now, he relied on the collective wisdom of his fellow masters to help steer his path.

But today was different. Mace Windu was going to face the Chancellor of the Republic. This had serious political ramifications. But that was not Yoda's concern. Yoda was concerned for his friend. So closely had he tread the dark side of the Force in battle. So often he had faced the darkness and returned unscathed. Mace spoke with Yoda often over the last two years regarding his experience on Horun Kal and the loss of Depa Billaba. Yoda was convinced of his friend's ability to defeat Darth Sidious. But he worried, as he always did when his friend went into battle, that he may lose his soul.

Yoda leaned heavily on his gimmer stick as he hobbled across the control center, observing the battle rage on. It was going well. The Confederacy had not committed a large number of troops to this siege--perhaps expecting an easy victory over the primitive inhabitants of this small planet. The powerful Wookies and remarkable clones were teaching them the consequence of underestimating thier opponent in war.

No intervention from me, do they need, Yoda thought. Win this battle alone, they can.

Then Yoda felt his legs give out.

Opening yourself to the Force is much like operating a throttle. Most Jedi have a limited maximum flow of the Force. Midi-chlorian counts were the only corollary to this phenomenon and were naturally assumed to be the cause. A Jedi spends his entire life mastering the skill of controlling that flow. Very few people risk fully opening themselves to the Force--opening the throttle all the way. It can be an overwhelming experience. Clarity is achieved on an unimaginable level as you become one with your surroundings. It is...to say the least...disorienting. This is why Jedi Masters must exhibit control. They become flow regulators--opening the throttle slowly to allow the Force to take control. If one does not do this, he could over-drive his se

 

----------------------The Call of a Friend------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pau City was a cauldron of battle.

From his observation post just off the landing ramp of the command lander on the tenth level, Clone Commander Cody swept the sinkhole with his electrobinoculars. The droid-control center lay in ruins only a few meters away, but the Separatists had learned the lesson of Naboo; their next-generation combat droids were equipped with sophisticated self-motivators that kicked in automatically when control signals were cut off, delivering a program of standing orders.

Standing Order Number One was, apparently, Kill Everything That Moves.

And they were doing a good job of it, too.

Half the city was rubble, and the rest was a firestorm of droids and clones and Utapaun dragon cavalry, and just when Commander Cody was thinking how he really wished they had a Jedi or two around right now, several metric tons of dragonmount hurtled from the sky and hit the roof of the command lander hard enough to buckle the deck beneath it.

Not that it did the ship any harm; Jadthu-class landers are basically flying bunkers, and this particular one was triple-armored and equipped with internal shock buffers and inertial dampeners powerful enough for a fleet corvette, to protect the sophisticated command and control equipment inside.

Cody looked up at the dragonmount, and at its rider. "General Kenobi" he said. "Glad you could join us."

"Commander Cody," the Jedi master said with a nod. He was still scanning the battle around them. "did you contact Coruscant with the news of the general's death?"

The clone commander snapped to attention and delivered a crisp salute. "As ordered, Sir. Erm, Sir?"

Kenobi looked down at him.

"Are you all right, Sir? You're a bit of a mess."

The Jedi Master wiped away some of the dust and gore that smeared his face with the sleeve of his robe-which was charred, and only left a blacker smear across his cheek. "Ah. Well, yes. It has been a...stressful day." He waved out at Pau City. "But we still have a battle to win."

"Then, I suppose you'll be wanting this," Cody said, holding up the lightsaber his men had recovered from a traffic tunnel. "I believe you dropped it, Sir."

"Ah. Ah, yes."

The weapon floated gently up to Kenobi's hand, and when he smiled down at the clone commander again, Cody could swear the Jedi Master was blushing, just a bit. "No, ah, need to mention this to, erm, Anakin is there, Cody?"

Cody grinned. "Is that an order, Sir?"

Kenobi shook his head, chuckling tiredly. "Let's go. You'll have noticed I did manage to leave a few droids for you..."

Commander Cody was still smiling when he saw his General's eyes go distant and his face become drawn.

The Jedi Master had gone stone still and his dragonmount seemed to respond in kind. The creature no longer fidgeted, as creatures normally do. Its tail stopped swishing in anticipation and its head hung low to ground. Cody didn't quite know what to make of it.

He'd been working with Jedi now for the last three years of his life and his entire life in the GAR. In all the time he'd worked with the Jedi, however, Cody had learned one thing about them. He didn't quite know what to make of them.

The Jedi were fierce warriors, remarkable tacticians, and natural leaders. Cody could remember several engagements that were won only because a Jedi was with him. A Jedi had saved his life more times than he could count. They had his utmost respect.

But when it came to that thing they kept referring to as "The Force" with a capital "F"...well... Cody just accepted that as long as it kept them alive a little longer and the Jedi kept winning battles for them, the Jedi can believe in flying banthas if it makes them feel better.

On occasion, though, Cody had seen the Jedi do amazing things--things no living thing should be able to do. They leaped higher and ran longer and faster than any of his clones. But that is just impressive, not unbelievable. Watchi

 

--------------------------------------Korun Master-------------------------------------------------------------


Anakin was tired.

During his training as a padawan, Obi-Wan once had him run a twenty-mile obstacle course?carrying Yoda?s dinner! He had to run for what seemed like hours, carrying around this plate of the foulest-smelling concoction Anakin had ever experienced with express orders not to drop any or he would spend the day getting lightsaber ?training? from Master Yoda, himself. It didn?t sound so bad a punishment until Anakin leaned that this training involved learning how to avoid having a half meter tall master swordsman burn your backside with his lightsaber blade at minimum power as he hopped around the room using his Ataro fighting style?with you unarmed.

Needless to say, Anakin wasn?t about to risk the humiliation that such training would bring so he was extra careful. The task was difficult enough as it was without the additional hurdles to jump?some of them 10 meters high?or mountains to climb. He certainly didn?t find Obi-Wan?s later comment about him having trouble with the hills funny?not at all. The only reason the snow had melted off his feet was because the last leg of his journey had been through a desert. It was, as far as Anakin could remember, one of the most taxing things he?d ever been asked to do. But, being who he was, he accomplished the task in less time than anyone had in recent memory, and he didn?t spill a drop of Yoda?s dinner?a fact Anakin noted with hidden glee when he saw what appeared to be a look of disappointment on the Jedi Master?s face when his dinner was placed before him.

After that exercise, he thought he was tired. He thought he was so tired that he slept for almost an entire day.

Now, as he stood motionless in the now-dead Chancellor?s office, watching Mace Windu casually step over the Sith Lord?s body for what must have been the tenth time as Mace walked about as if inspecting a new home, Anakin realized that he had, indeed, merely been winded then. Even then he still could call on the Force to give him strength enough to take on a hoard of Maldorians, he was sure. But right now, the best he could hope for was to get out of that room with his head intact and time to regroup, rest, and figure out what to do.

The fact that he hadn?t slept in days and hadn?t eaten for a similar amount of time, coupled with the enormous amounts of energy he had expended in that time frame would already have most men at the nearest medical facility.

But Anakin was more than just physically tired. That, he could deal with. The problem was he was emotionally drained. Anakin realized now that he had been feeding off anger and fear for so long that when they left him, he felt empty. The Force was flowing into him easily. He felt more powerful in the Force than he ever had. But part of him?.missed his anger. Anakin frowned at the thought. He contemplated how close he came to a critical choice. He realized that had Master Windu swung his lightsaber instead of pausing to look at him, Anakin would have killed him! I might have joined the Dark Lord of the Sith! Anakin thought in amazement. Anakin breathed out slowly, trying to breathe his problems out of him, like Obi-Wan had tried to teach him on so many occasions. Tried to breathe out the betrayal of Palpatine and his sudden death. Tried to breathe out the terror he felt in Mace?s presence right now. Tried to breathe out his mother?s death. Tried to breathe out his failure to save her. He tried to breathe out his failure to save Palpatine. He was not very successful.

What is taking him so long? Anakin thought to himself. He instantly chided himself as he could almost hear Obi-Wan voice, Patience young one! Anakin shook his head slowly with a wry smile as he thought of his Master and friend. I guess he does have an entire galaxy to cross?ship?s to commandeer, hyperspace vectors to calculate, space lanes to get into to get here?and I know he hates to fly. Anakin breathed in slowly. The Force flowed into him. It had

 

Ooh, I really like the creative twists here! I love the references to Stover's narration, with all the inferences to the shatterpoint... and Stover really does make Mace somewhat dark, doesn't he? I love how you expanded like this.

 

Brilliant Stuff!

And good work charting the emotions and stuff.

 

Thanks so much for your wonderful feedback! I'm really working hard on this and it makes me feel so good to know that you guys like it! You can expect the next installment around Sunday if you want to see what happens next.

 

Great job. I was shocked at the suddenness of Palpatine's death, and Mace saying that HE was the chosen one. Pretty well-written.

 

I was going for shock, so I guess that was good. Was shock a good thing?

 

Yes, it was a good thing. I like surprises.

 

Cool! (I was a little worried there...) What do you think of the story as a whole? I've gotten mixed reviews from my friends so brutal honesty is perfectly acceptible and encouraged (just be honest, not just brutal).

 

Seriously, I loved it. You did a great job of merging Stover's narrative style with your own, and it flowed well. I also loved the sequence talking about Obi-Wan's 20-mile obstacle course while carrying Yoda's dinner! I've had to do similarly challenging and ridiculous things for Army training, so I totally felt Obi-Wan's pain there. That kind of training does build you up mentally as much as physically, and after doing 20 miles (which is ridiculously tough, it'd be two hours of straight running even for an extremely fast runner) you feel like you can do anything, which definitely would make for a more confident Jedi.

I hope my comments have been helpful. I'd definitely appreciate yours in my new Obi-Wan fiction (http://boards.theforce.net/The_Saga/b10476/20078399/?2) and my far-future fiction (http://boards.theforce.net/message.asp?topic=19671825&start=20080582). Have a good one!

 

I'm a huge Mace fan, and it's just torturing me to read this. BUt I'm loving it1 You're doing a great job, and you've definitely got me on the edge of my seat here. Can't wait to see what happens next.

 

Rassick,

I'll read you stories first chance I get tomorrow! I'm really looking forward to it.

Thanks so much for the great feedback. It feels good to be appreciated.

 

Jabba-wocky,
Stop by on Sunday (probably in the evening) for the next installment. I'm really glad you guys seem to like the story so far.

 

Sounderwan...so we meet again! I've always questioned the second level character of Mace... Like the idea of him being more... Keep it comin'!

 

Wow. I really like this story so far. I liked when Mace stabbed Palpatine in the head with his lightsaber just like Palpatine did to Agen Kolar (novel version).

 

Ragozy,
As always, a pleasure to see you! I just finished your story last night! I'm going to post my congratulations on a job well done over at your page:

http://boards.theforce.net/The_Saga/b10476/18038408/?2

 

Luke's Destiny,
I'm glad you like it so far. Hopefully I won't disappoint with future chapters. Next chapter should be out on Sunday.

 

Awesome Story! It seems that Mace truly was going to overthrow the Republic like it was hinted in Stover's book. The writing is very proffesional. I'm going to put this one in my signaure for a quick link to this story. Can't wait till' Sunday!

 

DarthAJ,
I am truly honored! Wow! I don't know what to say (an oddity for me, I assure you). Thanks.

 

----------------------------A New Republic--------------------------------------------------

Mas Ameda was uncommon even among his own people.

The Chagrian, in general, were highly sensitive to the impact their imposing features had on the other species they met. The two large horns that grew from their heads, sometimes to lengths as great as 1.5 meters along with the other two horns that grew from appendages which grew from the back of their skull were reminiscent in many cultures of the very darkest of demons and evil creatures. The appendages were not unlike those worn by the Twi?lek and Torgata women. But somehow, for the Chagrian, their appendages weren?t considered attractive. In fact, they were often considered repulsive. This, in and of itself, often led most species to be suspicious of them during first encounters. Added to this difficulty was their rather imposing height. The smallest full-grown Chagrin males were almost 2 meters in height. The largest grew to as much as 3 meters. For the Chagrin, the challenge of their appearance was often so great that they shied away from most public interaction with other species, preferring instead to communicate through intermediaries when conducting trade.

Mas Ameda was the exception. In every way, Ameda relished his physical self. He was once no different from the lesser Chagrian from his homeworld. When the senatorial elections had come up on Campala, Ameda only volunteered on a whim, considering his chances minimal at best. It had been a suggestion by his good friend Palpatine who, at the time, happened to be visiting Campala on a diplomatic errand for his Queen. Of course, Mas Ameda came to learn that by entering his name he had guaranteed victory. It?s easy to win a race when no one else is in it.

What Mas Ameda found, when he came to Coruscant was that his physical appearance was his greatest asset. He commanded respect simply by walking into a room. When he stood to his fullest height and turned his head about the room, waving his horns in a show of force, he could quiet an army of senators with ease. This ?skill? opened doors for him right into Supreme Chancellor Valorum?s private circle.

It was then that his friend Palpatine began calling in favors. At first, Mas Ameda was little put off by the requests. In fact, he might never have helped Palpatine had Palpatine not revealed his plans. Palpatine was a genius. Mas knew that Palpatine would never reveal all his plans to him, but what Mas Ameda could see what that Palpatine would be in power for as long as he was alive. And he knew that as long as that were true, he would remain in power also.

So when it came time to tamper with Finis Valorum?s files to create the appearance of impropriety, he was willing to oblige. When the time came to start the rumors that would result in the Chancellor?s demise, he was ready. When called upon ensure that the Senate ignored the Trade Federation blockade of Naboo, he did his duty. He was certain, at the time, that somehow Palpatine?s plan would fail. The Jedi were involved and were always able to sense these things. Palpatine assured him that the Jedi were not to be worried about?and he was right. In fact, the one thing Mas Ameda was convinced of, was that Palpatine seemed to know everything.

When Palpatine finally revealed himself to Mas Ameda as a Dark Lord of the Sith, Mas was hardly surprised. In fact, based on everything he had seen to date, it only made sense. Mas Ameda was a pragmatist. He was in a position of power that would never diminish and would only grow with time. He was not concerned about philosophical and theological differences between groups of people with remarkable powers. In fact, he told Darth Sidious?as he seemed to prefer to be called when they were alone together?that, as far as he could tell, the Jedi and the Sith were identical in virtually every way. He remembered Palpatine smiling thoughtfully at the comment and Mas Ameda remained proud of it. He had successfully ingratiated himself to a man with seemi