0. Prologue

This story is the translation from German into English of my almost complete story "Darth Plagueis und die Passion der Shaak Ti" about Plagueis and Shaak Ti. It is based upon an event, which did not happen according to the SW-canon, though it is not contradicting either. But I found, that the meeting of Shaak Ti and Darth Plagueis fits perfectly into the canon of the now seven movies.

You don't need to read or to know the Darth-Plagueis-novel to understand this story, just basic knowledge of the films, maybe The Clone Wars, is absolutely sufficient.

My story will abide by the canon. It will cover events in the life of Shaak Ti from the two trilogies, The Clone Wars and some comics related to that series. There will appear scenes and characters from the novels "The Force Unleashed" by Sean Williams and "Aftermath" by Chuck Wendig, which covers events after the battle of Endor, as well. For Plagueis' live I will refer mostly to the events given in the novel "Darth Plagueis", by James Luceno. I will give the sources in each chapter in a footnote.

Thus the story itself will cover events beginning in the time of "The Phantom Menace" until after "Return of the Jedi" covering a span of about forty years.

Please feel free to tell me when you will find some contradictions in logic, events or other mistakes of mine.

All rights on the characters are to George Lucas, Dave Filoni and Disney.

I'm always glad about getting reviews. I hope you will enjoy the story!

1. A Spontaneous Idea

Lost in his thoughts, Darth Plagueis glanced on the grey disk-like vacuum-cleaning-droid, which almost for one hour ploughed his lines through that ample room of the gigantic apartment-complex covering the upper half of the Kaldani-Tower, which was the residence of the Sith-Lord while staying at Coruscant. He did not only dwell here, but he owned that apartment, like the whole Kaldani-tower, situated in the upper-class Manarai-District of the galactic capital-planet. Plagueis was about to empty the second glass of the heavy wine, which Master Jedi Yan Dooku has brought from his now more frequent travels to his home-planet Serenno.

Hego Damask did appreciate those little courtesies of the Jedi Master, who was ad odds with his order, very much. He and his apprentice did agree upon one fact: The ambitious and elitist Dooku was made for the Dark side indeed. It was only a matter of time, when he would be ready to bring the ultimate sacrifice, which would make a return to the Light side of the Force impossible. Then Dooku would be his, like Sidious already was.

He was gasping for air suddenly after a gulp through his nose hit the wrong pipe in his throat. He was compelled to take every food and beverage by his nose after that cursed assault of the Maladians twenty standard-years ago which did almost cost his life. Since that time he was compelled to wear that transpiratory-mask, which enabled him to breathe, but not to take up any food with his mouth destroyed during that assassination-attempt. Just in the last moment in time he managed to get the liquid from the wind-pipe into the gullet. Then he turned his attention towards the cause of his choking.

The vacuum-cleaning-droid had suddenly stopped his work and made strange noises. Such he hadn't done in the almost forty years in which he meted out his cleaning work in his apartment.

Plagueis put his glass of wine on a desk and stood up, to investigate the droid. Actually such was the duty of craftsmen but he liked to repair things. He lifted the droid to find a bunch of silvery hair right in the hoover-opening. Disgusted he removed the bunch in order to throw it into the waste-sucker in one wall of the room instantly.

Sure, since he was at Coruscant again and his human apprentice was often in his apartment, Sidious' hair was spreading all over the floor, the chairs and the sofas. Not that the destined chancellor would do his hair too often in his rooms. But it was the nature of human male hair to fall out at a certain age, especially at the age of Sidious of forty-nine standard years. Plagueis had informed himself about all these peculiarities before he had decided to take a human apprentice. Und some human hair laying around in his apartment was on of those things he was more than ready to accept, when in turn he together with his apprentice would rule the galaxy later.

He recalled yesterday, when he and Sidious stood at the window in their clandestine Sith-headquarter in the LiMerge-Building situated in The Works, an industrial district of Coruscant. The two men were peering towards the Jedi-temple – like they did so often. But yesterday something was different.

"That Togruta isn't looking bad, isn't she?" did Sidious ask his master with that mischievous glance in his pale blue eyes, while both Sith-Lords did watch with macrobinoculars the lightsaber training of the clueless Younglings and Padawans at the vast exercise ground of the temple.

"Who is she?" Plagueis asked his apprentice.

"Shaak Ti. Usually she is mostly with her Padawan at her home world Shili, as Dooku told me. It is probably an exception that she is attending the lightsaber training today", Sidious replied.

Plagueis hit the stingy feeling, that the benevolent look, he had bestowed on the tall red-white-blue Togruta, did not escape the attention of his apprentice. Next time he would cover his thoughts and feelings better. That was none of Sidious' business!

But now, alone again in his apartment, he contacted per comlink Master Jedi Dooku, to tell him his latest matter of concern.

"Greetings, Master Dooku", the tall Muun opened the conversation.

"Greetings to you as well, Magister Damask, in what matter I can be helpful?"

"As you know, the security measures in the light of the coming election of the chancellor at Coruscant are definitely higher than ever. And for there where already two attempts to take my life in the past, I would like to have a member of the Order in my apartment around to take care of my safety", he came straight to the point.

"Did you think of someone especially?" Dooku inquired, to make things right according to the wishes of his secret ally. He was aware of the fact, that the Magister from Muunilinst did actually have his Echani Sun Guard for such matters. But he did know also, that it was that Sun Guard which failed badly to safe the boss of Damask Holdings during those two attempts of murder in the past. It would surely be an honour for the Order of the Jedi, to protect that galaxy-wide prominent businessman for certain hours.

"Master Jedi Shaak Ti would be ideal", Hego Damask proposed.

"That should be no problem", Dooku replied self-confident.

"You may bring her tomorrow evening at five PM to my apartment. You know, where to find me", the Sith-Lord declared with high-handed easiness.

"Yours anytime", Dooku gave back and Hego Damask caught a generous smile in the blue three-dimensional image of the usually brown-gowned Jedi Master, hovering over his comlink.

After Darth Plagueis had ended the connection, he took another deep gulp from his glass of wine, watching the vacuum-cleaning droid being back at work again. Peacefully but steadily the plain grey gadget ploughed its way. What a nice template to meditate in front of or for carving out plans. But it did stop one time! And Plagueis hit the bad feeling that it soon would stop again. That anxious thought about the transitoriness and the apparently failure of that droid he deemed indestructible until now did sent a cold shiver done the spine of the Sith-Lord.

Author's note: This chapter is about events taking place during "The Phantom Menace".