The more he probes the Twi'lek's Force Presence, the more Vader confirms it. As ridiculous as it is, he has indeed found himself interacting with yet another fallen Jedi… another fallen Jedi Master at that. Aayla Secura is awash in the Dark Side, the Light she hides behind more of a sheer veneer at this point than anything else.
When did this one Fall? How did she Fall? Vader is tempted to ask outright, or at least tempted to wait for the right moment before revealing himself and putting her in her place. But… no. It would be far more amusing to see exactly where she took this. If she hoped to bring him over to the Dark Side… well, he'd be curious to see how she went about it.
Her last questions still hang in the air between them.
"Do you think that's why you're so Light now? Because you were pulled out of that Darkness and taught the lessons of the Jedi after learning the harsh realities of the universe?"
Vader pretends to contemplate Aayla's words… before throwing her a bit of a bone as he smiles grimly and shakes his head.
"You think too highly of me, Aayla. I'm not some Paragon of Light like you seem to be imagining…"
She hides her physical reaction well enough, but now that Vader is much more in tune with her, he can all but feel the Twi'lek 'perk up' in the Force, clearly sensing weakness of some sort in his admission.
"Oh? But… they say you're the Chosen One. Your destiny is to bring balance to the Force. And… you were trained by Master Kenobi, the Sith Killer."
He holds in the urge to snort derisively at that. Obi-Wan technically wasn't even a Sith Killer, given that Vader just sent Ventress to Lotho Minor to clean up his old Master's mess. Still, he's supposed to be playing a role here. Letting out a sigh, Vader looks down at his hands, allowing his 'defenses' to seemingly fall a bit more.
"That's what they tell me, yes. Master Jinn thought it, anyways. The Council was never quite so sure. And yet, the title of 'Chosen One' has followed me all this time…"
Despite being the one trying to play him here… Aayla falls for Vader's act hook, line, and sinker. When she reaches out and places a hand on his shoulder, Vader can feel through the Force that she really sympathizes with him. It's not just part of the act. She's starting to truly feel bad for him.
"I… I never thought about it like that. That must be a truly terrible weight, Anakin."
Vader 'rallies' and shakes his head. After all, 'Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker' is not a consistently sad sack of shit and angst. He's the kind of person to suppress first and ask questions never.
"It's nothing. I try not to think about it very much, there's no point in it after all. Instead, it's more important to focus on what's happening right in front of us. The galaxy is at war, the Sith are lurking in the shadows… and its up to us, to the Jedi, to do everything we can to set things right."
Pulling back upon seeing him speak with such vehemence, Aayla slowly nods.
"You're right. You're absolutely right, Anakin. Whatever it takes, right?"
Vader smiles and nods right back.
"Whatever it takes."
The Twi'lek falls quiet after that, likely feeling like she's sown the seeds of something in her quarry and not wanting to push too much harder. Especially not when he'd made her feel things she hadn't anticipated feeling from their conversation.
The Dug Band across the room continues to play in the interim, and Vader ponders this situation. Aayla Secura was trying to make him Fall to the Dark Side. Of that, there was no doubt. But… why? It was one thing for her to have Fallen and another entirely for her to start seeking the Fall of others. Neither Shaak Ti nor Depa Billaba, for instance, had been overly eager to share their newfound Darkness with anyone. Both had tried to kill him for his 'discoveries'.
Hm… what would Aayla do if he revealed his knowledge to her too soon? She might try to kill him too… and that wouldn't be very fun. Because then he would either have to silence her or reveal himself in full to her. No, better to let her work at her own pace.
He had experience being manipulated into Falling to the Dark Side, after all. Though somehow Vader didn't expect Aayla to have nearly as much finesse or patience as Darth Sidious. That was okay though. She was far more physically attractive than the aged Sith Lord, so at least she had that going for her.
Turning his attention away from the Twi'lek Jedi Master for a moment, Vader spreads his senses out through the Dug Imperial Palace once more. This time, as more and more of the Council start to arrive, he senses what had been missing before… hostile intent.
The corner of his mouth twitches up as he feels out the shape of the hostility and what their enemies are planning. Well… no point in sitting around.
"The Council has arrived. We should see to meeting with them immediately."
Aayla jolts as he rises to his feet, standing herself a moment later.
"Wha- but they told us it would take hours for them to all arrive!"
Vader inclines his head in acknowledgment of that fact.
"Yes. They lied. Most of the Council was already onsite. Those who were not have just arrived. They gave us a timeframe of hours in order to give themselves time to meet and figure out where they all stand before giving us an audience. However, if we allow them to do so, then the Dug who actually called the Separatists to Malastare will be able to carry out his assassination attempt on the rest of the Council."
Aayla's eyes get progressively wider the longer he speaks. Her mouth opens, no doubt to question how he could possibly know all of that… and then clicks shut, no doubt as she realizes she'd rather support him and build further rapport rather than be questioning him at a time like this.
"Very well. I'll follow your lead, Anakin."
Vader makes sure to give her a 'genuine' and 'grateful' smile.
"Thank you, Aayla."
With that, they make their way towards the door. Nobody stops them, amusingly enough. The Dug Musicians watch them leave, but they aren't secretly security or anything like that and they definitely aren't being paid to hold them against their will.
No, in fact… the general vibe that Vader gets is there was an assumption that two Jedi would just… stay put. Because of Jedi Honor or something. Vader wasn't expecting the Dug to be so… naïve truth be told. But maybe it was just the mistake of one particularly foolish Dug in particular or something.
Of course, the musicians back in the lounge area DO still contact someone. In this case, it's the Dug who met them on the landing pad in the first place and he comes rushing down the hall towards them when Vader and Aayla are halfway to their destination.
"Master Jedi! I see you are taking a stroll. For security purposes, I must insist that you return to your lounge and await the arrival of the rest of the Council Members immediately!"
Aayla stays quiet, ceding the lead to Vader who continues to stride forward while shaking his head.
"No. The Dug Council is already in session… and for security purposes, we must meet with them immediately."
"I cannot let you do that!"
He's tempted to Force Choke the Dug and leave him unconscious… but that would perhaps be too telling. That wouldn't just be a 'sign' to Aayla that he was susceptible to Falling, that would be a glaring red flag that he'd already taken a leap off of the cliff.
Something more subtle, perhaps… lifting his hand, Vader presses on the Dug's mind.
"The Dug Council are in immediate danger. You will come with us to their meeting room and clear the way for us to save their lives."
The Dug's eyes dilate as he dutifully repeats Vader's words back to him and falls in with them as they continue to make their way down the hall. Of course, once he's done echoing Vader's Force Command, he begins to panic a little bit.
"T-The Council is in danger?! Master Jedi, what is the nature of the threat?"
Vader just grunts.
"All will be made clear in time."
That's suitably mysterious enough that the Dug falls quiet. Meanwhile, Vader can feel Aayla looking at him out of the corner of her eye. She makes no comment on his use of the Force to persuade the Dug to let them help. But then to be fair, Force Commands, or 'Mind Tricks' as some called them, were a common enough Jedi tactic.
He'd let just a hint of his irritation and frustration leak into the Force as he'd used the mind trick however, allowing Aayla to sense the negative emotions. It would be interesting to see what she did with that, exactly.
They arrive outside of the Dug Council Chambers a moment later, where normally a throne room might lay in an 'Imperial Palace' like this one. But the Dug had no Emperor or King, merely a head of their Council called a 'doge'.
Regardless, there are guards outside of the Council Chambers… but the Dug with them is able to make the guards stand down and let them inside without issue. Which of course, is when things get hectic.
"You had no right to act without this Council's approval!"
"I had every right! You old fools would see us kept under the boot of our oppressors!"
"You have brought war to our world!"
"I have brought us a chance at freedom!"
"… The Jedi are here."
Vader and Aayla arrive to hear the Dug Council in fiercely hot debate, only for that debate to immediately shut down upon everyone noticing their presence.
The head of the Dug Council, Doge Nakha Urus if Vader is remembering his name correctly, turns and stares at them in disbelief.
"What… why are you here? We did not call for you yet?"
Before Vader can speak, their Dug Guide helpfully steps forward, eyes wide with fear.
"Doge! The Council is in imminent danger! I've brought the Jedi in order to protect you from the threat!"
Different Councilmembers all start to speak at once. Vader only has eyes for two of them however. One is the Doge of course… and the other is the younger Dug that he had been verbally sparring with before Vader and Aayla arrived in the chamber.
The younger Dug looks surprised to see them there, and perhaps a little hunted. However… his eyes dart to his bodyguards behind him, four fully masked and armored humanoids in cloaks… and he relaxes. Of course he does.
"Jedi! Speak! What exactly is the meaning of this interruption?!"
Again, Aayla cedes the floor to him without a word. Vader keeps up the pretense of checking with her beforehand, but when she stays quiet, he steps forward, hands clasped behind his back.
"Our guide speaks true. I sensed a threat to all of you… a threat from within. If Master Secura and I did not intervene, you were all going to die."
"Preposterous!"
"Jedi Nonsense!"
"Utterly ridiculous drivel!"
Not all of the Council insults and berates Vader for his words. In fact, some of them look to be taking him very seriously. Including the Doge. Nakha Urus leaning forward, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"And where would this threat from within have come from, exactly?"
Vader doesn't speak. He simply raises his hand and points. The young Dug Councilmember stiffens up, likely thinking that Vader is pointing at him… but in reality, he's pointing behind him.
"From them. Your fellow Councilmember's bodyguards are disguised assassin droids."
Silence falls over the chamber as the young Dug freezes in place at the accusation. His four bodyguards, all lined up against the wall behind him, are perfectly still… unnaturally so.
"That… that's a baseless accusation. They aren't…"
Vader just smirks.
"Then all they have to do is remove their masks and expose me as a fool."
Of course, they don't move to do that. Finally, the Dug's face scrunches up in fury and he snarls.
"Kill them! Kill them all!"
Vader can't help but be amused. It's always lovely when the opposition digs their own grave for you. Without missing a beat, the four IG-100 MagnaGuards unfurl from the wall, discarding their now-useless disguises and unfolding their signature electro-staffs from within their cloaks.
Pandemonium erupts as the rest of the Dug Council panics and ducks for cover or flees, while their own security forces all turn towards the assassin droids to try and stop them.
Of course, it's an immediate one sided slaughter. MagnaGuards were designed to defeat Jedi Knights. Against simple security forces, they were overkill. Anyone too close to the assassin droids goes down almost instantly, while the handful of blasters in the room do almost nothing to the armored droids.
But then... that's where Vader and Aayla come in. With a pair of snap-hisses, their lightsabers activate and Vader throws himself across the chamber and into the fray with Aayla right behind him. The MagnaGuards immediately reorient to face them… but there's only four. And while they might have been designed to defeat Jedi Knights, they were in no way designed to face off against a Sith Lord and a Jedi Master.
Vader cuts down three in the time it takes Aayla to deal with her first, but in all fairness to the Twi'lek, that's more to do with his speed than any lack of capability on her part. Even if it were just her, he suspects she could have dealt with all four assassin droids still… albeit with far more difficulty and likely far more lives lost.
As it is, in the short timeframe between the Dug Councilmember giving his order and Vader and Aayla destroying the MagnaGuards, the only casualties were security personnel. Everyone else is untouched and unharmed.
Turning back to the Dug Council, Vader deactivates his saber and clips it back to his waist. Then, he smiles.
"You're welcome."
There's a momentary pause… and then the traitorous Dug is tackled out of his chair and promptly restrained. He snarls as he's yanked up to his feet.
"You fools! You think you've won? As soon as the Separatists take this system, you'll be begging me to speak on your behalf!"
Hm. Interesting, Vader didn't think that bravado was entirely false… and indeed, a moment Vader and Aayla's comms begin to chirp at the same time. Pulling his out, Vader answers the call, Yularen's voice coming in crisply from the other end.
"General Skywalker, the situation in orbit has just changed. There was apparently a smaller Separatist Fleet already in-system before we arrived, parked and powered down on the dark side of one of Malastare's moons. They've just launched and Trench's fleet is moving to engage us. The Separatists now have the numbers-advantage and are aiming to press the attack."
Ah… and there was the gambit.