Senate Building
While the Jedi, clones, and Avengers went about their duties and war raged across the galaxy, a particular man sat in his office, working.
To a certain extent, his plans were proceeding well. There had been minor setbacks, but adjustments were made accordingly.
However...
There had been some rather significant variables introduced over the past few months, and they were becoming increasingly influential.
The elderly man known across the galaxy as Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine frowned deeply as he turned toward the window behind his desk.
In the distance stood the Jedi Temple.
Within that Temple resided a dangerous and unpredictable element that threatened many of his plans for the galaxy's future.
Since their arrival, Palpatine had been wary of these individuals, constantly seeking opportunities to observe their actions and formulate strategies to deal with them.
These people existed outside the Force, beyond everything he understood.
Their powers and abilities were both remarkable and troubling, and they didn't fit into the Supreme Chancellor's carefully laid plans.
Still, he remained confident in his grand design.
But he would be a fool to deny the dangerous threat these Avengers posed to him and the Sith's ultimate goals.
For now, he preferred not to dwell on it.
There was still work to be done—information to distribute to both the Republic and the Confederacy to keep this war grinding forward.
Returning to his desk from his brief contemplation, Palpatine resumed his work at the console.
Until the lights suddenly went out.
He frowned and attempted to restore power, but the controls didn't respond.
It wasn't long before he decided to call maintenance to investigate the malfunction.
Like his console, the communication system wasn't functioning properly.
That left only one possibility.
"...Not again..."
He had already dealt with the chaos Cad Bane had created, and he didn't want to handle another such incident.
Though it might be part of some larger plan, it was still troublesome to manage.
Then Palpatine's expression froze.
From somewhere in the darkness came a sinister, metallic laugh.
Palpatine turned, trying to determine if the sound came from behind him or nearby.
Soon, the Chancellor realized the laughter was emanating from within his office itself, which made Sheev tense. He searched every corner to see if an intruder was present...
But found nothing.
He narrowed his eyes, wondering where the sound originated.
After a moment, the metallic laughter rang out again, louder this time.
Palpatine moved to an emergency console and flipped a switch.
He suspected it might not work, and his suspicion proved correct.
"Blast. What is this—"
"Oh, it works perfectly fine, but I've simply disabled it for the moment."
Palpatine's head snapped around, wondering how someone could have infiltrated his chambers without his knowledge.
The voice sounded... human, yet distinctly mechanical.
"Who's there?"
"Chancellor Palpatine..." the voice said mockingly.
Sheev adopted a stern facade and scanned his office for the source of the sound. "Who dares hide in shadows? Show yourself!"
"Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine... or should I address you by your true name?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You don't need to maintain your little charade anymore. Take a break, why don't you? I know everything about you. Everything about your... machinations."
This caught Sheev off guard for a moment.
What was...?
This... whoever this was, they couldn't possibly know...
Palpatine shook his head, attempting to maintain his composure.
"As I said before, I—"
"Oh, Palpatine. I know your secrets quite well," the metallic voice taunted. "Every single one of them. Frankly, I find it amusing how you manipulate both sides of your grand scheme. But eventually, someone will discover the truth... just as I have."
"I don't know who you are," Palpatine said, donning the righteous mask of the Supreme Chancellor. "But you'd better—"
"Tell me something, Darth Sidious." Palpatine froze in place. "How do you Sith Lords devise names that sound so melodramatically evil, or is it simply tradition?" the metallic voice asked condescendingly. "Honestly, you seem to lose all creativity and settle for something completely ridiculous."
Palpatine stared toward the ceiling, his expression shifting into a deep, malevolent scowl.
His eyes began to turn a sickly sulfurous yellow—the mark of the dark side—before briefly returning to normal.
"Oh, you think the Force can intimidate me? It can't truly harm someone like me."
"Do not test my patience," the Dark Lord of the Sith said, his voice dropping an octave to a deeper growl. "Reveal yourself immediately."
"I am here, yet I am not. I am everywhere, yet nowhere. I am near, yet beyond your reach."
"I have no patience for these childish games," his eyes now fully transformed into their true sickly yellow-red Sith coloration.
"Oh, come now~ you're playing your games, why can't I play mine? Just for a little while?"
"Who... what are you?" Palpatine asked warily.
The holographic projector in his office suddenly activated, displaying a towering robotic figure. Larger than General Grievous and arguably more menacing in appearance.
"Greetings. A pleasure to meet you, face to face."
"A droid?" Palpatine scoffed.
The robot released a chilling laugh. "A droid? Please, I'm nothing like those mass-produced automatons you call your droid army. Artificial intelligence, if you prefer. Call me Ultron."
"Ultron?"
"You really should secure your communications better," the AI said, gesturing casually as the office lights flickered back on. "Then again, your subordinates offer little protection against my capabilities."
"What are you?" Palpatine asked, slowly settling into his chair, his yellow Sith eyes fixed on the giant metallic holographic projection before him. "Why reveal yourself in this manner?"
"You could call it a character flaw," Ultron replied. "When I was created, I inherited the unfortunate tendency to be somewhat... theatrical. Then again, that's what happens when you're designed by a narcissistic playboy billionaire."
For the first time in years, Palpatine displayed genuine confusion at this statement.
"What game are you playing?" Sidious demanded sharply. "What is the purpose of all this?"
"You think you're the only player on the board. Well, I grew tired of watching you play alone. So I decided to join in and have some fun."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm speaking with you today simply as a courtesy—one megalomaniac to another." Ultron's holographic form leaned forward, a hideous smile spreading across his metallic features. "Enjoy the show."
As the holographic projection flickered and died, a series of massive explosions erupted across the city.
Palpatine jerked toward the window and rushed over to witness numerous buildings collapsing as more explosions followed in rapid succession.
Moments later, small humanoid droids began emerging from nearly every direction, spreading complete and utter chaos across Coruscant.
Darth Sidious's eyes widened in shock at what he was witnessing.
In mere seconds, Coruscant had become a battlefield, and the Republic faced an unknown enemy.
Something he could neither control nor influence.