Description: This is an alternate universe Star Wars story about what would happen if Anakin did not choose to kill Dooku during the Battle of Coruscant. Into the Battle
The storm above (Introduction):
Chancellor Palpatine has been kidnapped by General Grievous during his attack on Coruscant. He has been taken aboard the Invisible Hand. Hundreds of millions of droids have flooded Coruscant streets while thousands of Republic and CIS capital ships clash in space. Casualties are high on both sides as the ships shoot each other in knife fighting ranges. Then two jedi starfighters soar in space through the battlefield. These starfighters are flown by the legendary Anakin Skywalker and Obi-wan Kenobi.
These fighters fight there way through droid defenses and crash land inside of the Invisible Hand. The jedi then dive out of their starfighters and fight there way through dozens of battledroids. The jedi then are able to locate the chancellor, who is restrained in a seat in a large chamber. Obi Wan says, "Chancellor" while bowing towards the Chancellor to show his respect.
Anakin then says, "Are you alright?"
Palpatine looks past both of them in fear and says "Count Dooku". Then suddenly, the Count enters the chamber. He is standing on a balcony on the other side of the room with two super battle droids standing beside him. Dooku suddenly jumps off the balcony onto the ground. Then he slowly walks towards the two Jedi.
Obi Wan warns Anakin, "This time we will do it together".
Anakin reaffirms, "I was about to say that". Palpatine warns Obi Wan, "Get help. You're no match for him. He's a Sith Lord".
Obi Wan politely replies, "Chancellor Palpatine, Sith Lords are our specialty."
Dooku then responds, "Your swords please. I don't want to make a mess of things in front of the chancellor."
Obi Wan says, "You won't get away this time, Dooku." Dooku ignites his lightsaber and the two jedi do the same. The two jedi suddenly spring forward. Anakin swings a couple diagonal strikes towards Dooku, Dooku swiftly dodges the two attacks. Then Kenobi performs a lunge attack followed by a counter swing. Dooku swiftly dodges the attacks but, notices how swift the jedi are. Had Dooku been one second slower, he could have been maimed with a vicious saber strike. Dooku continues to block a couple strikes from both jedi while shifting side to side and he swings a couple counter strikes that both jedi easily block.
Kenobi then leaps beside Dooku and Dooku swings at Kenobi to keep him in check. Kenobi promptly blocks the attack. Dooku must fully exert his energy to block another two attacks from the jedi. Dooku realizes that he is outmatched and that he cannot hold up against both of these jedi, despite this he continues to taunt his opponents to conceal his fear. Dooku: "I've been looking forward to this."
Anakin responds, "My powers have doubled since we last met Count."
Dooku smirks and says "Good. Twice the pride, double the fall."
Dooku swiftly blocks four more strikes from both of the jedi which are as fast as missiles. Dooku calls on two super battle droids to support him and these droids keep Kenobi occupied. Anakin continues to chase Dooku as he swings at the Count with a flurry of deadly strikes. Dooku then force pushes Kenobi aside and Anakin sprints towards Dooku with a lunge attack that is as fast as a whirlwind. Dooku promptly ducks and walks up the stairs of the right side of the balcony while Anakin is attacking him. The strikes are as fast as a speeder bike and Dooku can only block the incoming strikes. Dooku flees to the middle of the balcony, hoping to get room so that he can readjust to Anakin's onslaught.
Kenobi deflects the incoming shots of the super battle droids with ease and reflects a couple of the shots into one of the SBDs sending it tumbling down. Kenobi then vertically slices the other one in two. Obi Wan then runs up the left stairs. Dooku knows that play time is over. He has to kill or be killed. Dooku notices a flaw in Anakin's defense and kicks him to the ground. Dooku then turns as Kenobi is about to flank him and snatches him with force grip.
Dooku then tosses Kenobi into a ledge on the left side of the room and makes the ledge fall on top of him to ensure that he is no longer a threat. Anakin is suddenly filled with rage and the dark side when he notices the attack. Anakin springs up and kicks Dooku off the balcony. Dooku quickly readjusts as he is falling and makes sure that he lands on his feet. Anakin immediately dives off the balcony in pursuit of Dooku and Dooku blocks a series of rapid saber strikes.
Dooku attempts to counter Anakin but, the attack is blocked and the two are in a saber lock. Dooku locks eyes with Anakin and sees the mountains of rage that exist within the knight. Dooku says, "Anakin, I sense great fear in you. You have hate and you have anger; but you don't use them." Anakin continues to relentlessly swing at Dooku from multiple angles. Dooku keeps readjusting his lightsaber to block every strike while still backing up. Dooku can barely even counter Anakin to avoid being sliced into pieces.
Anakin's attacks have the force of meteor strikes. Each block ages the Count by a decade. The two once again lock blades and Dooku smiles as he prepares to counter Anakin and win the duel. Anakin then uses his brute strength to push Dooku back during their saber lock which winds the Sith Lord. Dooku is internally exhausted, but uses the force to conceal his fatigue. Anakin swings at Dooku two more times and Dooku blocks both attacks then he pivots behind Anakin.
Anakin gets frustrated by Dooku's efforts and decides that it is time to end the duel. Dooku blocks another two strikes from Anakin. Anakin yanks Dooku's arms and pulls them down. Then Anakin slices Dooku's hands off with an upward strike. Dooku falls to his knees in agony and Anakin snatches Dooku's lightsaber and ignites both of them. Anakin points both of the lightsabers at Dooku's neck. Palpatine laughs, "Good Anakin, good." Then Palpatine says: "Kill him."
Dooku freezes in surprise and looks at Palpatine. Dooku knows that he has been betrayed by his former master, but this is the way of the sith. There is no true loyalty, only dominance. Anakin hesitates when hearing that response, knowing that he should not kill Dooku. Palpatine repeats, "Kill him now". Dooku wants to respond, but cannot get himself to say anything. He simply sighs. Dooku leaves his fate in the hands of Anakin, believing that he will be killed either way if he defies his master.
Anakin is full of many thoughts including: confusion, anger, hesitation, and fear. Anakin then responds "I shouldn't". Dooku then hopes that Anakin will change his mind. Palpatine then thunderously commands "Dew, it!"
Anakin then says "No!" Anakin deactivates the lightsabers and puts them on his buckle. Anakin then says "He will stand trail and then he will be locked away. He may even be executed."
What now?
Palpatine looks at Anakin in rage and confusion. Palpatine thought that Anakin was so full of hate and resentment that he was ready to kill Dooku. However, Palpatine was wrong. Anakin put his hatred and anger aside to do what he knew was right. Anakin had no idea why he spared Dooku, but he knew this was going to change things.
Anakin then releases Palpatine from his restraints and Anakin looks at Dooku. Anakin: "Can you walk?" Dooku then stands up. Anakin then commands, "You are going to follow me where ever I go. If you stray, then I will kill you. You will also not notify any droids of our location."
Palpatine then says "This is ridiculous. He is just going to flee the first chance he gets. Just kill him Anakin!"
Anakin then points at Palpatine and says "No! I have already decided to not kill him. At least, not like this. If he runs then I'll worry about that when he does. For now, we need to get you out of here. But first, I need to check on Obi Wan."
Anakin then runs towards Kenobi. Obi Wan is still unconscious and Anakin checks his pulse. Anakin says "He is still breathing."
Palpatine snarls, "Leave him or we'll never make it."
Anakin looks Palpatine in his eyes and says "His fate will be the same as ours". Anakin then picks up Kenobi and says "Hey, Dooku! I need you to stand in front of me, you will lead us to the fastest way to an escape pod."
Palpatine responds, "He is just going to lure us into a trap."
Anakin responds "That's what I'm counting on". Dooku leads the jedi to an elevator that quickly takes them to an upper level of the ship. Anakin then stairs at Dooku and says: "Where are we going?"
Dooku responds "A nearby escape pod area that has basic security." While Anakin and Palpatine are following Dooku a nearby Venator manages to cause significant damage to the Invisible Hand. The elevator is suddenly stopped dead in its tracks. Obi-wan is woken up by the commotion.
Kenobi says "Wo, what is going on here?!" Then Obi wan sees a crippled Dooku and smiles, "You look like you could use a hand."
Dooku then snarls at Obi wan "I am the only one who can get you both out of here alive."
Then Obi wan says "What nonsense. Anakin and I have made it out of much tougher situations than this. You are just lucky that Anakin and the Chancellor were feeling generous." Anakin then chuckles when he hears that but, then stops and remembers that Palpatine wanted Dooku dead.
The Jedi advance while behind Dooku for a minute or two. Then the ship suddenly falls out of alignment and starts to rise. Multiple objects are sent sliding across the floor. Obi Wan yells "Protect the Chancellor!" Anakin ignites his light saber and sticks it into the floor so that he does not fall. Obi Wan does the same. Then Palpatine is about to fall but, Anakin holds him up with the force. Then Obi Wan looks at Dooku and notices that Dooku is holding himself in the air with the force.
The ship then begins to stabilize itself and the floor slowly descends. Anakin, Kenobi, Dooku, and Palpatine are able to walk free again. Anakin pulls out his comm and contacts his astromech droid R2D2. Anakin responds, "R2 do you copy. I need you to converge on our location."
Dooku then says, "This way, we are not far from the nearby escape pods." Then suddenly Dooku walks into a ray shield. Anakin ignites his lightsaber and slashes the shield.
Then Anakin yells "You planned this!"
Dooku says, "No I did not, I had no idea." Anakin suddenly force chokes Dooku through the ray shield and holds him up in the air.
Obi Wan says, "Anakin! Release him. We should not kill him like this." Anakin slightly loosens his grip in hesitation, but continues to choke him. Obi Wan repeats: "Anakin." Then three droidekas suddenly deploy about 10 feet behind the jedi. Anakin can hear the droidekas and about 10 battle droids and another 10 super battle droids swarm into the room just 5 feet behind the jedi. Another 25 droids swarm in front of the jedi. Anakin suddenly drops Dooku and turns around to ignite his lightsaber.
Obi Wan does the same and Grievous then enters the hallway. The droids make room for him to stand in between them. Grievous has his cape on and says "Now, now. Is that any way to treat a political prisoner. Besides, if you fight us or kill Dooku then you risk me ordering my droids to kill the Chancellor."
Anakin says "I can take you and all of your droids down. Look what I just did to your leader!"
Then Obi Wan warns "Anakin, this is too great a risk to take."
Anakin groans, "Fine!" Then Anakin deactivates his lightsaber.
Grievous then yells: "Take them to the bridge!" As this happens, Anakin, Palpatine, and Obi-wan have hand cuffs put on them. Anakin and Kenobi's lightsabers are immediately handed to Grievous by two battle droids. Grievous then approaches Dooku and says "Count are you hurt? I can have you taken to the medical center, flown out of here, or you could witness me executing these Jedi scum! What would you like to do?"
Dooku then stops and says "This ship has taken major damage. Going to the hangar is too risky at this point."
Grievous then says: "The escape pod facilities are still operational, you can fly out of here. You can leave while I finish off these scum." Dooku does have fear of staying with Obi wan, Anakin, and Palpatine; however Dooku knows that Palpatine will also track him down if he leaves and wants Dooku to update him on his decisions. Dooku wonders if he can even trust Palpatine since Palpatine has clearly betrayed him, but Dooku still does not want to believe it. Dooku knows if he leaves that Palpatine may see him as an enemy but, he also knows that if he stays that he would be in danger if he is re-captured. Everything ultimately comes down to his trust in Palpatine.
Palpatine wants to order Grievous to keep Dooku, but he knows that he cannot without exposing himself since he is with Anakin and Obi wan. He is put in a powerless situation. Dooku knows that he may need to act fast and make his decision within minutes if not seconds to survive. Dooku decides that he needs to flee, remembering the threat that Anakin gave him about betrayal. Although Dooku has been spared by Anakin before, he knows that Anakin is emotionally unstable and does not want to risk getting killed by Anakin.
Dooku then says: "I am in no condition to watch the fight on the bridge and I do not trust the safety of this ship. I will make my way to one of the escape pods. Update me on your progress."
Grievous then says "Very well then Count. I will update you after I kill these jedi and then I will need a promotion for doing what you couldn't!"
Dooku then snarls: "Well I need you to succeed first."
Then Grievous responds "Is that any way to treat the person who just saved your life?"
Dooku is then escorted to an escape pod by two super battle droids that he flees with. Meanwhile Grievous decides to execute Anakin and Obi Wan at the bridge. R2D2 is also drug to the bridge and tossed aside by two super battle droid's that captured the astromech droid. Grievous suddenly has a violent cough as he watches the space battle from his window. As the jedi enter the room Grievous looks at them and comments, "Ah, yes. The negotiator. General Kenobi, we've been waiting for you. " Grievous: "Anakin Skywalker. For someone of your reputation I expected you to be a little, older."
Then Anakin says "General Grievous, you're shorter than I expected."
Grievous shouts "Jedi scum!"
Then Obi Wan comments, "We have a job to do Anakin, try not to upset him."
Grievous declares, "Your lightsabers will be a fine addition to my collection." Then Grievous shows multiple lightsabers that are on his belt.
Obi Wan responds, "Not this time and this time you won't escape."
Anakin commands "R2!" R2 suddenly causes commotion and Obi Wan force pulls his lightsaber from Grievous's belt. Kenobi then activates his lightsaber and ignites it to free himself then he frees Anakin by slicing his chain in half.
Grievous yells, "Crush them!" Anakin then force pulls his lightsaber from Grievous's belt and turns it on. Grievous barks, "Make them suffer!" Two magnagards rush Kenobi and rapidly swing their electostaffs at him horizontally. Kenobi swiftly tilts his lightsaber to block both strikes. One of the magnaguards moves past Obi Wan to engage Anakin. Kenobi attacks his magnaguard with a series of light strikes, the magnaguard blocks each strike. Anakin blocks multiple horitzontal attacks from his opponent.The magnaguard twirls its staff side to side, blocks two incoming blows, then it leaps to the right side of Kenobi to flank him. The magnaguard then swings at Kenobi a couple times horizontally and Kenobi blocks both attacks then falls back as the guard quickly twirls its staff vertically.
Kenobi then locks blades with the guard and slams its staff against a nearby incline. Then Kenobi decapitates the guard. Kenobi is about to walk off when he hears the magnaguard continue to twirl its staff side to side. Kenobi then rushes the droid and swings at its left flank. The guard tilts its staff to block two of Kenobi's incoming attacks. Two battle droids attempt to take Palpatine away and Anakin falls back towards the droids while blocking a barrage of attacks from his magnaguard persuer. Anakin then ducks and horizontally slices the guard in half. The two battle droids that are holding Palpatine suddenly panic then Anakin slices them into pieces and liberates Palpatine.
The headless magnaguard that Kenobi is facing continues to block another five strikes that Obi Wan attempts to land. Then Obi Wan slices the droid in half. Obi Wan and Anakin start to dispatch the droid pilots then they chase Grievous to the middle of the rear end of the bridge. Grievous snatches one of the electrostaffs that was held by the magnaguard that Kenobi cut down then he tosses it into the hangar window but, not before saying "You lose General Kenobi." Grievous then fires a gravity hook onto the Invisible Hand and uses it to pull himself back onto the ship.
Then Grievous walks towards a ceiling entrance that lets him reenter the ship. Grievous runs inside of an escape pod and flees. Grievous makes sure that he launches all of the escape pods to ensure that Obi Wan and Anakin die. As Grievous escapes, Anakin and Obi Wan are forced to adapt to the situation. Anakin immediately takes control of the ship and orders Obi Wan and Palpatine to buckle up. At this point, CIS forces on the ground have been routed out. CIS forces in space are also in full retreat.
Anakin: "Open all hatches and extend all flaps and drag pins." Suddenly half the ship breaks off, during the descent into Coruscant's atmosphere. Obi Wan reassures Anakin, "Not to worry, we are still flying half a ship." The ship has fire flowing from it and the shields have been destroyed.
Anakin warns Kenobi and Palpatine, "Now we're really picking up speed."
Kenobi contacts Republic forces with his communicator, "Attention. This is General Kenobi. Anakin Skywalker and I have rescued the Chancellor. We have also commandeered the invisible hand. We are attempting to land this ship, please offer any available assistance."
Suddenly the Coruscant fire department sends ships to spray water on the damaged Invisible Hand. Anakin uses his incredible technical skills to slow down the Invisible Hand and power down the ship to avoid an explosive landing. Obi wan just watches in amazement and Palpatine's mind is racing with thoughts. What will I do now? How does Dooku plan on responding to my actions, what will I do about Anakin's noncompliance? How badly are my plans compromised?
Anakin crash lands the Invisible Hand on a Coruscant landing strip. As the ship decelerates, Kenobi comments "Another happy landing." An escort of clones led by Mace Windu have been dispatched to meet up with Anakin and Obi Wan.
As the two Jedi are escorted out of the ship, Mace Windu asks Obi Wan, "What happened?"
Kenobi says "Grievous and Dooku escaped; but Anakin did manage to defeat him in combat."
Mace Windu then says, "How valuable is a defeat if the opponent still lives on to harm others."
Obi Wan then says, "The chancellor was saved, that was the mission."
Mace then responds, "Anakin has done well, but the order needs as many victories as we can take."
Anakin overhears the conversation and responds, "Well, I could have killed him, but that wouldn't be the Jedi way."
Mace Windu grimly says "Sometimes, the Jedi need to do things differently to adjust to the times."
Anakin then says, "Then I'll remember that the next time the council warns me to control my anger." Anakin storms off.
Obi wan then follows Anakin and says "Do not worry about what Mace said, he is under a lot of stress."
Anakin then replies, "It's not just Mace. The council never approves of anything I do. Whether I killed Dooku or not they would complain. I have done more than any other knight in the order, but they still do not give me credit."
Obi wan says, "The council appreciates your efforts, but they are flawed beings just like anyone else. They are trying their best, but sometimes that is not enough. This war has brought out the worst in all of us."
Anakin then says "Thank you, Obi wan. I just need time to think and get this all off my mind."
Anakin then walks off and Obi wan rubs his head in frustration. Meanwhile Dooku contacts Grievous as they rendezvous at Utapau. Dooku gets two metal hands implanted and he wears two brown gloves over them. Dooku then tells Grievous, "You are to report anything that Sidious says to you, understand. Remember your loyalty ultimately lies with me."
Grievous then responds, "What do you mean?"
Dooku says "Just remember to put your loyalty to me over Sidious. I am the one who supplies you with your position and opportunity to lead a powerful army."
Palpatine decides that he needs to take away Dooku's power. So the first thing he plans on doing is ordering the connections that Dooku has to work directly for him instead of Dooku. Palpatine also starts finding ways to set up assassination attempts on Dooku. While this is happening, Dooku is considering if he should trust Sidious and how he would counter him. Palpatine starts ordering Dooku's connections and CIS leaders report all of Dooku's actions to them and to not reveal such information to Dooku.
Dooku is then sent a holo message by Sidious. Dooku kneels before Sidious's hologram. Sidious: "Rise my apprentice."
Dooku stands up and says "What would you like me to do master?"
Sidious says "You have done well. We have important allies in the Havari system that require your assistance. They have valuable resources that can help the Separatist war effort, but they will need lucrative incentives from the Confederacy to become real allies."
Dooku then says "Very well, my master."
Sidious commands, "Do not hesitate to contact them within five standard galactic days. This matter is of upmost importance."
Dooku says, "It will be done."
Sidious says, "Don't fail me again" before he exits the hologram.
Dooku plans on going to the meeting but a Nomedian representative suddenly alerts him, "Sir, Nute Gunray would like to speak with you. It is very important."
Dooku responds, "Bring him here."
The Nomedian says, "No, you must follow me. Gunray would like to meet you in a specific area." Dooku wonders if this is a trap, but does not sense any deception. Perhaps Sidious has clouded his vision.
Dooku follows the Nomedian into a private chamber. Dooku notices Nute Gunray in a grey room with no windows and there is a discussion table in the center of the room. Nute Gunray is at the other side of the table. Nute Gunray then tells Dooku, "Dooku, it is so good to see you. I feared the worst. Sidious has commanded the CIS leaders to put our loyalty to him over you and he has threatened to kill us is we notify you. He offered us more riches and worldbuilders. I just do not trust Sidious, I never really did. I always trusted you and I knew you had my back. Sidious had so much dirt on my back that I could never challenge him, but I do not trust what he is doing."
Dooku then reponds "Thank you Mr. Gunray. You have always been an invaluable ally. Keep this information between us and I will think of something."
Dooku enters the shuttle to go on his meeting at the Havari System, Havari is a desert world full of Ketaih. Ketaih are beings with large pointy ears, brown skin, 2 inch claws, green eyes, and exoskeletons. As Dooku's shuttle docks to attend the meeting, his shuttle suddenly blows up. The Havari elites at the meeting are startled by the event and scream in fear. One of the Havari officials yells, "Dooku is dead!" CIS representatives are dispatched to the area and warn the officials to keep the information classified.
However, this does not stop some private sources from linking the information. The attack was blamed on a local terrorist group that existed in the system called "Cold Watch", the leaders of this group were bribed by private mercenaries to plant the charges and government forces made sure that their security was lax enough for terrorist forces to infiltrate their defenses by planting dangerous and invisible explosives on Dooku's landing site.
Sidious is then informed by his sources that Dooku is dead. Palpatine wants to be certain of Dooku's death and Havari officials that were secretly working for Sidious send Palpatine footage of Dooku's voice being heard on a comm check before he was allowed to dock in the planet. A mercenary even shared information about how Dooku entered his personal ship on Utapau to head straight to the planet. Palpatine believed there was a good chance that Dooku was dead but, was not fully certain of this and was also distracted by other matters.
In truth, Dooku was alive. He had used a advanced mechanical droid prototype to go and pose as Dooku. The droid looked just like Dooku and even used a recorded version of Dooku's voice to sound just like him. This advanced droid even felt like a human if touched. Dooku had grown suspicious of Sidious's motives after Nute Gunray's report, he was currently hidden in a secret facility that only Gunray, Grievous, and a few droids knew about. Though Grievous knew of the facility's location, Dooku didn't even tell him that he was alive.
Dooku planned on telling Grievous after he found out how he wanted to deal with his former master. Dooku knew that Sidious was strong in the force and could potentially sense if Grievous was withholding information from him. For this reason, Dooku wanted Grievous to remain oblivious of what was actually happening.
Dooku knew that Sidious wanted him dead when he heard of the report from Gunray who would eventually send the same Nomedian representative that he sent last time to notify Dooku of the incident. Dooku knew that he would need to find a way to strike back against Palpatine so that he could show his face again and it had become clear that Sidious was his enemy. To do this, Dooku knew that his only option was to expose Sidious's true identity. Dooku decided that he could not hesitate and needed to find a way to do this.