The Wanderer cut through hyperspace, its hammerhead bow slicing through the vacuum. Following it, the other ships of the Hammer Squadron materialized.
"And here comes the cavalry," I commented on the cruiser's arrival.
Along with my Padawan and the unexpectedly silent drone, I passed the time on the bridge.
The Defender hung in Teth's orbit, awaiting the arrival of the main forces. Onboard systems detected CIS droids on the surface, but for some reason, their starfighters were not eager to finish off the lone corvette. However, from the cartoon, I knew we were first meant to be drawn into the skirmishes on the planet—so that Dooku could obtain a spicy hologram of Skywalker speaking dismissively of the little Hutt.
But something else bothered me now.
On the approach to Teth, I felt someone's pressing attention upon me. Someone marked by the Dark Side of the Force was watching me with genuine interest. They skillfully masked their presence in the Force, resisting my attempts to locate them.
At first, I thought the source was Teth—after all, according to the cartoon, Asajj Ventress was there. Could she have become interested in my person? But after analyzing the observer's behavior, I concluded that Ventress was no match for them.
My unseen observer was trained, cold-blooded, and unemotional. Their curiosity was like that of a scientist contemplating a process of interest. Confirming my thoughts, the observer instantly hid as soon as I felt the vector of the Force emanating from them.
My hypothesis about Ventress was soundly broken by the facts. Palpatine and Dooku couldn't be the source either—whoever the observer was, their gaze stretched from the depths of Wild Space.
Comparing my sensations with the galactic map, I looked doubtfully at a section of space surrounded on three sides by the planets Lowick, Formos, and Aduba… somewhere there, in the center of the void beyond these fringe worlds, hid the one who had decided to spy on me.
The fleet's arrival pulled me from my thoughts. Surrounding myself with Force Concealment (to hell with Yoda and his quirks), I focused on the present.
"Have no new ships been built in three thousand years at all?" the drone inquired. No one on the Defender's bridge managed to answer him before the Republicans made contact.
"General," Pellaeon smiled upon seeing me. "We are glad to meet you."
"As am I, Commodore. I see you remained on the Leveler?"
"Exactly so," Gilad replied with a slight smile. "An Acclamator is more familiar to me than Hammerheads. This ship's bridge is my element."
"Well, I won't insist. Any details on the search for Jabba's son?"
"Affirmative," the officer looked somewhere beyond the hologram. "Scouts have detected droid activity in an abandoned B'omarr monastery on this planet. Until yesterday, there were no more than two battalions of droids there. But reinforcements have arrived—by modest estimates, there are now at least three regiments against us." I whistled in surprise. Well, what a bid for victory. I don't remember Skywalker and Kenobi having such problems with the clankers. Judging by the cartoon, Skywalker managed with just a battalion… Though, perhaps those were cinematic conventions?
Meanwhile, Gilad continued.
"Jabba the Hutt's mercenary ships here on the planet have been rendered useless by droids, but their presence on the planet near the monastery is also a sign. Since the mercenaries met their end here—we are on the right track. Alpha and Balda have organized a small bridgehead on the planet—the droids are sitting on a plateau and not poking their heads out, so we have the opportunity to unload the 204th and strike with all our forces."
"You're reading my mind, Gilad," I looked at the landing coordinates that had come in. "Organize a blockade of the planet. Send scouts to nearby systems—they couldn't have left their ground forces here without cover."
Pellaeon went silent, thinking.
"Do you suspect a trap?"
"More than certain, Commodore," I nodded. "If they wanted to hold the Huttlet, they would have taken him to Serenno. No, they are resolutely playing with us."
"I understand, General," the officer closed the communication channel. Almost immediately, numerous starfighters began emerging from the depths of the Hammer fleet. The cruisers themselves began moving, taking positions in a growing layered blockade with precise, practiced maneuvers.
"K1," I turned to the drone. "Land the ship at the coordinates received."
"As you command, General," the drone mimicked Pellaeon.
Olee burst into laughter but turned serious under my heavy gaze. The girl pretended to be interested in the edge of the matte-black cloak that covered the similarly colored elements of her armor. K1, not without grumbling, had repainted Starstone's armor in the shortest possible time. Well, now even by the color scheme of our armor, we were barely distinguishable. Master and apprentice.
The corvette, under the drone's control, descended, slicing through the atmospheric layers with its hammer-like bow. Along with the Padawan, I proceeded to the exit hatch.
Olee, though she tried to look serene, was visibly anxious. No matter how she tried to hide it from me—her worry was palpable in the Force. Even hiding myself from other sensitives, I could still feel her radiation. I wonder if Palpatine feels the same way, surrounded by Jedi?
"Everything will be fine," I assured the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder. Olee, unlike me, had refused armored gauntlets. Her small, thin fingers gripped the saber hilt. Her knuckles turned white, betraying her tension. "Don't lose control of yourself, and it will all be over quickly."
"Y-yes, Master," the girl nodded, glancing at the lightsaber clutched in her hand. "Your crystals… they help."
"Wonderful," I allowed myself to smile. Of course, she couldn't see it from under the helmet. But still. "Stay close to me, do as I say—and within twenty-four hours we'll be on Tatooine cursing the scorching sun."
"Your confidence didn't help you on the Salvation," the Padawan threw a barb. A nervous smile appeared on her face. Damn, the girl, though she seems ready, is actually one big ball of nerves. I need to relax her somehow.
Calling upon the Force, I directed a thin stream toward the apprentice, imbuing it with encouragement. The girl flinched, sensing my manipulation, but gratefully grasped the thread connecting us. However, the stiffness in her did not pass. Well, time for some jokes…
"By the way," I said sententiously. "Pointing out elders' mistakes was always considered bad manners, young lady. It's not proper to be such a thorn in an… inconvenient place!"
***
For a moment, my Padawan froze, like Windows Millennium when a printer is connected. Then, as soon as the meaning of the joke reached her, her detachment and tension slowly but surely began to crumble like a house of cards in windy weather.
"Look at that," I smirked. "The way to this child is through humor and a kind word. Interesting."
"What you teach, Master," the girl shrugged, smiling from ear to ear. "Is what I possess. Like always draws to like…"
With an independent, proud look, Starstone turned away and began descending the stairs leading to the entry hatch. As soon as the corvette's landing gear touched the planet's surface, she would undoubtedly bolt to be in the thick of events.
"Well then," I thought. "Now I'm in Skywalker's shoes!"
***
Watching the Republican gunships desecrate the planet's atmosphere, filled with violet clouds, Asajj Ventress could not contain her contempt.
Jedi. As always, they are too stupid to figure out what is happening. They obediently march to the slaughter, straight into her hands. Soon she would disembowel another couple of Jedi—so Count Dooku had promised her.
Once again, she would confirm her right to be called the best of Jedi killers. She would put an end to the life of the misunderstanding named Rick Dougan.
Standing on the edge of the landing platform, wrapped in a cloak protecting her from the wind gusts, she held a comlink, waiting for Dooku to deign to answer her call. He did.
"Your orders have been executed precisely, Master," the Dathomirian bowed her head before the appearing hologram. "The Hutt is locked in the casemates; the ambush for the Jedi is prepared."
"Wonderful, Ventress," Dooku broke into a smile. "Do not allow the Jedi to leave the planet alive. When you are finished with them, await my next instructions."
"The Republicans brought an entire squadron," she noted. "My ships will not be enough to break the blockade they have set up."
"I am aware of your difficulty, assassin," Dooku reminded the impudent girl of her place. "A support fleet has already been sent to you. In six hours, your enemies will experience the full lethal power of our fleet."
"I obey, Master," Asajj said obsequiously. "I will not fail you."
"It is in your own interest, Ventress," the Count said threateningly. "I hope you will take Tann's experience into account."
"Certainly, Lord," the acolyte thought with irritation that the assistant forced upon her would only distract her.
"Wonderful," Dooku's lips curled into a semblance of a smile. "I expect your report as soon as you pierce the Jedi's heart with your blade."
Asajj licked her lips in anticipation of the battle.
"I will bring you his head, Master," the killer promised.
***
With a pincer movement on the droids from two sides, we literally smeared the clankers across the courtyard. Unprepared for a strike from the rear, the droids panicked, opening themselves to Olee's clones. The entire operation took less than an hour.
And the remains of the monastery were under our control.
"Send search groups to comb the floors," I ordered Phay. "I sense a droid ambush. I wouldn't be surprised if there are secret rooms where the Seps are hiding."
"Will be done, sir," the commander of the 1st Regiment struck his breastplate with his fist and ran toward the clone lieutenants standing nearby.
"I don't sense a threat, Master," Olee shared her observation. "It seems we've killed everyone."
"You won't sense a threat from a droid until it fires," I informed her. "That is exactly why the Sith use a mechanical army. They have no feelings, no emotions. Only logic and algorithms that Jedi cannot sense."
"Oh," was all the girl said. "Maybe we should find the Hutt quickly and get out of here?"
"Good suggestion," I approved. "I think he'll be in the most secure place in the monastery…"
"Oh, mighty Master!" From the depths of the main hall, moving his legs slowly, appeared a golden droid with huge black "eyes." And he was moving straight toward me. "You have freed me…"
Well, no, you definitely won't succeed with that.
Calling upon the Force, I closed my fingers into a fist with a characteristic movement. Simultaneously, the droid, emitting a plaintive beep, turned into a spherical piece of scrap metal, hitting the floor with a thud.
"Master!" Olee exclaimed. "What are you doing? He's just a protocol droid."
"In a monastery swarming with CIS battle droids, an ordinary protocol droid suddenly appears?" I asked. "And whom does he serve?"
"Well…" the girl faltered. "The B'omarr monks, perhaps. I read about them at the Temple."
"And where are the monks themselves?" I inquired. The Padawan, feeling the gazes of Balda and Alpha standing silently nearby, was embarrassed. I wanted to explain my train of thought, but the Force touched me with the Dark Side. As I suspected, Dooku's servant was here. Ventress. How canonical. She never elicited sympathy in me, but if the animated series was to be believed, she caused many problems. I had to end this here.
"Let's go find the little Hutt," I caught the ARCs' attention. "Balda, you go with Olee to the casemates. Find the Hutt and get out of there fast. Remember—the Hutts only gave us twenty-four hours to deliver the child."
"Yes, sir," the commando activated his comlink, calling for reinforcements. Olee opened her mouth to say something, but the Jango Fett clone assigned to her, prudently and without stopping his talk, turned the girl by the shoulders and led her away.
"Alpha," the first among equals under my command, approached, removing his helmet. "There will be a separate mission for you."
"Whatever you order," the clone became all ears, listening to my quiet instructions.
***
Is there any point in describing the rescue of the Huttlet? I don't think so. Everything went as planned. Olee and the clones fought through a non-trivial droid ambush on the way to the lower levels and found the sick little one in the catacombs. A clone medic attached to the search squad stabilized the child, giving him antibiotics. It should have been enough until they reached the ship's infirmary.
The Seps attacked as expected. As soon as Olee reported the found Hutt, about a dozen Munificents led by a single Providence jumped into the system. The Hammer Squadron switched to repelling the attack.
Dozens of landing craft left the hangars of the Separatist armada, seeking to cause us more problems. Starfighters clashed in a fierce battle for control of the atmosphere and near space.
I heard all of this in my headset, moving silently through the far rooms of the monastery. As I had said, there were hidden rooms here, from which companies of B2s poured out, intending to strike the clones stationed here in the back. Fortunately for the droid commanders, the clones were ready for such surprises.
A battle erupted inside the monastery. As soon as the first landing barge reached the landing pad, the battle engulfed almost the entire monastery territory.
Despite the masking, I felt Olee, led by Balda, moving toward the rear landing platform from which my squad and I had recently entered the monastery. Now Alpha was on duty there, and the Defender, with its ramp lowered, hung in the air with surgical precision, hidden by the monastery's shadow. In five minutes, she would leave the system. Of course, she would resist, but both ARCs had instructions on that score.
The Hutt had to leave the planet regardless. With me or without me. Olee and the clones would deliver him to Tatooine and hand him over to Unduli.
I moved through corridors that had only recently been the site of battle, with a single goal. My blood boiled, demanding a rematch. My emotions, the lowest a human could feel, called out to throw myself like a wild beast and tear apart my opponent, who teased me with thin radiations of her aura, quite clumsily hidden with the help of the Dark Side.
No matter how she tried to hide, I smelled her. It's hard to hide from someone who has remembered your aura to the smallest detail.
The battle raged in the inner courtyard. Thousands of pilots fought in orbit and the atmosphere, dozens of them dying, their pain reflecting in the Force. But I barely paid attention to it. I had felt out my target, caught up to her. In a far hall where there were neither cameras nor electronics. While my body performed its usual function, moving my legs, leading me along the trail.
My first emotion when the streams of the Dark Side pierced me was fear. Lightning had scorched me, clouding my consciousness with blind panic. The power Valkorion spoke of, which I was supposed to command, had turned against me. The theory I possessed, the memories of Kun, of Rick himself… they were nothing compared to practiced practical techniques. The Emperor made me realize that, disappointed by my defeat at the hands of a servant.
The fear of death was lodged in my head. It should have paralyzed me, robbed me of my will, made me run away from the place where the source of fear hid.
But not today. I hadn't slept at night, honing my mastery. Time after time, entering meditation, I replayed Kun's knowledge in my memory, refreshing it, assimilating it, passing it through myself, making it mine, not borrowed. If before it seemed like the text of a book I had read, now it was a message written by my hand, with the ink not yet dry. No more half-measures. No mistakes. No doubts. No defeats.
Every emotion, every thought in my body—my strength.
Slowly moving along the trail, I turned my emotions into white-hot rage. I pumped myself up, slowly, filling every one of my cells with the Dark Side. Atom by atom, I saturated myself with hatred, anticipating the rematch. The masking hiding me from detection was already bursting at the seams. A slight trembling in my fingers showed me that the Force within me was about to burst out.
Finally, the last room was before me. From its depths came the radiation I had remembered while fighting Tann.
I didn't waste time unlocking the door that appeared before me. I blew it to pieces with rage.
Only predators were in this wing of the palace. Those destined by the very nature of the Force to hunt each other. But to the misfortune of Sev'rance Tann, sitting in the lotus position in the center of the semi-dark hall, she faced an apex predator.
"Jedi," the girl's lips curled into a predatory smile, revealing rows of even, snow-white teeth. "So you are here," the Chiss rose, activating her lightsaber. With a crimson-red blade.
With a monstrous crash behind me, a metal armored shutter closed the doorway.
The characteristic hiss of a pair of activating lightsabers drew my attention to the upper level of the hall, where small decorative ramps ran.
"Your path ends here, Jedi," Asajj said with grim satisfaction. With a dizzying jump, she covered the distance, landing a dozen meters from me. "Nowhere to hide," she poked one of her blades toward me in an accusing motion.
What a pity they couldn't see the smile on my lips.
"No one is hiding."
The Force within me reached its peak. I released the overflowing Dark Side. Like a pack of hungry hounds, it rushed in all directions, tearing my masking apart.
***
The Dark Side lashed both servants like a whip, reflecting in pain on their nerve endings.
Asajj hissed, trying to turn the pain into fuel for her own Dark Side. Tann faltered, struck by the impenetrable Darkness that had appeared in her path.
Ventress rushed forward, closing the distance between her and the Jedi. However, if before Tann had doubted whether her opponent had fallen to the Dark Side, those doubts now left her. Rick Dougan had entirely given himself to the Dark Side.
Asajj's double strike from above was blocked by the man's gold blade, which ignited a moment before. His blade deliberately and slowly stood in the way of the killer's weapons. For a moment, the opponents froze. Following that, a monstrous Force Push released from the man's free fist slammed the killer into the wall with a crack. Hundreds of cracks radiated from the impact site.
With a thud, the unconscious Asajj fell to the floor like a sack.
"Now we are alone," the Jedi stated, pointing his blade at her. "Tell me you missed me."
***
Olee literally gasped as she felt the Dark Side fill the monastery. Her master, who had been hiding his presence, appeared for a moment. Surrounded by the Dark Side, he disappeared almost immediately. He didn't dissolve into the Force. He was merely hidden by the raging Dark Side.
the thin thread connecting them told her he was still alive but conducting a fierce battle.
"We must go, Commander," Balda took her unceremoniously by the elbow, pushing her toward the gaping hatch in the corvette's side. "The order is clearer than ever—deliver the Hutt to Tatooine."
"But, Master…" the girl, carrying Jabba's offspring in a backpack, dug in her heels. "I must help him."
"You won't help him at all," Alpha hung from the ramp, holding onto the cargo hatch frame with one hand, helping clones get aboard the corvette. The rear landing pad was too small for the ship to land, so the Defender, piloted by the drone, balanced in the air, its hull barely touching the pad. The clones obediently moved inside the hold. After a few minutes, only Olee, Balda, and the little one, who had little say in the matter, remained on the platform.
"I must!" The girl tore the backpack from her shoulders and unceremoniously threw it into Alpha's hands. The clone, not losing his head, caught the baby and instantly passed him into the hands of clones inside the ship. "He won't make it alone!"
"He gave the order, Commander!" Balda shouted, straining to be heard over the engine roar. "You, I, the clones, and this snotty slug must go to Tatooine! The mission above all."
"Then go!" The girl unceremoniously broke away from Balda's attempt to grab her. "He's in danger; I must help him! I feel he's in a trap!"
Without a word, the girl rushed into the depths of the corridor.
Balda, flipping a switch, fired a paralyzing bolt at the retreating girl. The General had foreseen this moment and given instructions on that score. But the Commander, without much effort, reflected the bolt with her saber blade and disappeared into the monastery's depths.
"What the Hutt, Balda?" Alpha jumped across the distance separating the corvette and the landing platform. "Did you forget how to shoot?"
"Hey, I'm not used to shooting at Jedi!" Balda accusingly poked his comrade in the breastplate.
"Should have used a burst, not a single shot!" Alpha-17 lit into his brother.
"If you're so smart," Balda pointed to the corridor. "Catch her and immobilize her!"
"I'll do just that before the General slices us into strips!" Alpha unpleasantly snatched the rifle from the clone's hands and ran after the fleeing Padawan.
Balda froze for a moment, then turned to the corvette's open hatch. The clone standing on the other side understood him without a word.
A DC-15s crossed the distance between the ship and the platform, landing in the commando's hands. Switching the blaster to stun mode, the commando disappeared into the corridor.
Watching the scene unfold before his eyes, Clone Sergeant Hellagen could only express himself colorfully in the language of his ancestor.
***
The Jedi began the duel with a series of aggressive complex attacks. He moved quickly, slipping out from under intended strikes. He didn't attack himself, and Tann felt that her opponent was merely playing with her.
As in their last meeting, he was head and shoulders above her. Но в этот раз он не скрывал этого. He demonstrated his superiority, enjoyed it. And with every new strike, he only reinforced it.
In response to an inevitable counterattack, the Chiss retreated, staggering. The opponent had just parried her sweeping thrust and slammed an armored gauntlet into her face. The sharp claw-like spikes of his gauntlet sliced her forehead.
The battle continued in a habitual combat rhythm, with attack and defense alternating rapidly. The man controlled the fight, occasionally adding thrusts and counterattacks to his defensive style. Always unexpected, always calculated. But he attacked with laziness. As if giving her a chance to notice his attack and parry.
It was unlikely that, engulfed by the Dark Side, he was doing this on purpose. Most likely, these were new elements he hadn't fully polished. Clinging to the imperfection of his technique, the servant began to defend herself.
With the sliding wave of each exchange of blows, Dougan cautiously touched the Force, testing his opponent and looking for a weakness he could use to his advantage. After a few minutes of fighting, Tann realized with horror that her opponent had figured her out. And almost immediately.
Despite all her training, she had no real experience in long, sustained battles—none of her opponents had ever lasted long enough to make her truly strain. The previous battle, though it had shaken her, had not forced her to adjust her tactics.
Unnoticed, as she grew tired, the girl's strikes became less sharp, her parries less thorough, and her transitions less elegant. A thick fog of exhaustion gradually clouded her mind, and the Jedi knew that very soon she would make a critical and fatal miscalculation.
Cunning and calculation, the weapons of the Sith, the Jedi used against her.
In just five minutes, which felt like an eternity to her, he had extracted maximum knowledge of lightsaber dueling from her, forced her to give her all, and exhausted her physical and spiritual strength.
And, it would seem, it was time to put an end to it, but the Jedi only broke the distance.
"Funny that I could have been killed by you," he said. "You are truly weak."
"But I defeated you," the girl noted. "And almost killed you."
"'Almost' doesn't count," the man corrected. "Besides, you used Force Lightning. It's not proper to mix fencing with sorcery…"
"It's for me to decide how to kill you," her thumping heart, like the beating of drums, reflected in her head. It hindered her concentration, but the Dark Side energy gathered during the conversation should have been enough.
"You won't succeed," the man said categorically. A chuckle came from under his mask. "Don't even try."
In response, Tann thrust out a hand, sending a twisted white-blue bolt of lightning at the Jedi. The technique with which she had struck him last time.
Today the Force had left her.
With a laugh, the man caught the lightning in his palm, absorbing the entire discharge into a tiny, white-blue semi-transparent ball that he gripped with his fingers.
"I've done the work on my mistakes," he fueled the ball with his Dark Side energy and returned it to its owner.
The smell of ozone instantly filled the hall, stinging the Chiss's nostrils. A monstrous crackle filled the room's vaults like an echo, making the hair on her body stand on end.
He had turned her feeble thrust into a beautiful creation of the Dark Side.
Blue-purple lightning erupted from his left hand. They contained immense power, leaving matte-black scorch marks on the hall floor and walls. One end of the lightning jolted the unconscious Asajj; another stung her unbearably in the stomach.
The girl shrieked, experiencing all-consuming pain. From the mere realization that this Jedi had once had to endure far greater sensations, she felt fear. Fear of what the fallen Jedi who had survived such a thing would do to her.
But providence made its corrections.
With a roar full of rage, Asajj rose and rushed into battle.
A rapid onslaught forced the man to retreat. As if not surprised by what had happened, he performed a feint, about to attack, and by taking a step back, created enough free space between them.
Asajj, realizing she had been played, could no longer stop her thrust, her blades plowing the spot where the Jedi had stood.
"Don't just stand there, fool!" she shouted to Tann. The latter, as if shaking off a daze, joined the battle.
Together they pressed the Jedi. He had to defend against two opponents, each possessing her own arsenal of deadly moves.
But not even a minute had passed before the Jedi figured them out. Neither had ever worked in a team before, and thus they only hindered each other.
In the time it took Tann to deliver a couple of strikes, Asajj managed to shower the Jedi with twenty. She attacked from unexpected and peculiar angles, changing the position of her blades in mid-strike. The killer was not afraid to break sequences to mislead her opponent, seizing the initiative in the battle. Each of her thrusts could easily be taught to other acolytes as a model of lethal efficiency.
Tann literally took heart when she realized the Jedi now faced a perfectly trained opponent. In some ways they were alike—Asajj and Dougan. They seemed to have created themselves for battle. Equally mesmerizing in their lethal combat, they barely noticed there was a third person in their confrontation.
The Chiss thought for a moment, planning an attack that could end the Jedi.
A brief hesitation, but that was enough for the Jedi to suddenly drop the fight against Asajj and switch to her, attempting to burn out her eyes with his blade. At the last second, Tann dodged, hearing the hiss of the enemy blade and Ventress's shout. The gold blade sliced through her hair, tossing several locks to the floor. She had to lean back to avoid decapitation, but because of that unplanned move, the Jedi delivered a kick to her stomach that threw her back.
The girl landed on her chest on the floor. Air fled her lungs, and it took her some time to regain control of her body. A few seconds, no more. But during that time, Asajj was alone against this monster in Jedi guise.
And in that second the man gave her, Asajj intended to end the man's life with a double stroke of her blades.
Instead, her crimson blades only struck a barely visible, semi-transparent Force Bubble surrounding the Jedi. The blades made reverse movements by inertia, against their mistress's will. This maneuver almost knocked the saber hilts from her hands, causing Asajj to give a quiet cry—the girl's wrists twisted at an unnatural angle.
***
The Jedi raised his saber high, swinging at his opponent's head and forcing her to duck, and with a reverse strike continuing the unproductive sequence, the temple-dweller aimed at the killer's legs. This forced Asajj to jump away, performing an acrobatic backward somersault over her head. The girl avoided the strike, but the landing was quite clumsy.
Furthermore, the Jedi, like a machine, continued his advance. The Dark Side emanating from him literally flooded the hall that was supposed to have been his grave. Each of his new strikes became stronger and more dangerous than the last.
Another strike fell on Asajj. A wrong position forced her merely to block the gold blade instead of deflecting it. The opponent's strike was so powerful that the killer staggered and fell to the floor.
Not losing time, Tann rushed to the rescue. Seeking to distract the opponent, she threw Lightning at the Jedi, but it merely got bogged down in the surface of the gold blade. Gritting her teeth, the girl noted that this time the Jedi had indeed thought to surround his weapon with the Force, to which the lightning "stuck."
It seemed the Jedi barely paid attention to the appearance of a new opponent. He advanced on Ventress, showering her with a hail of blows, so that the latter, unable to get to her feet, was forced to retreat backward on her back, pushing off the floor with her legs while simultaneously parrying thrusts.
Tann realized she was weaker than the killer, but anger filled her with strength enough to drive back her male rival with a series of brutal and desperate strikes.
And the Jedi switched his attention to her.
Without looking at Ventress, he shifted his blade to his left hand; with his right, he released a stream of blue-purple lightning that pierced the assassin's body. Asajj screamed in wild pain. It took him a few seconds to incapacitate her, after which, with a flick of the Force, the Jedi tossed her aside like a useless thing.
"Do you understand that it's over?" he inquired.
Listening to his voice, Tann realized with a start that he was right. Asajj was barely felt in the Force. Tann herself was no match for the Jedi. His potential, his connection to the Dark Side, eclipsed even what she had seen during training with Dooku.
Defeat had made him stronger than before. Trapping him, neither she nor Ventress realized that before them was not a righteous man from the Temple, but a calculating Sith. And in truth, they were the ones in the trap.
"If you kill me, you will fall to the Dark Side,"—a warning all Jedi feared. Backing away from Dougan, she feverishly looked for ways to escape. And found none. All that remained was to stall him with talk. While she spoke, her brain calculated options.
"Oh," the Jedi laughed. "I am not a Jedi—I do not fear the power of the Dark Side."
"You could become Count Dooku's apprentice."
"Not interested," the Jedi dismissed listlessly. "I possess knowledge surpassing that of both the Jedi and the Sith. Well, I suppose you noticed."
"Then you could overthrow Dooku and rule half the galaxy yourself,"—a plan was born in Tann's head. Deactivating her blade, she knelt before the Jedi, extending the hilt to him. "I am ready to serve you."
"Is that so," the Jedi smirked. He approached Dooku's follower. His blade was not deactivated, and in the back of the Chiss's mind, a horrifying thought stirred. What if he doesn't need apprentices?! What if…?
She didn't have time to finish the thought.
Invisible fingers closed on her throat. The Force lifted the girl into the air so the opponent could look her over from head to toe.
"You wanted to kill me," he recalled. "And almost managed it. I gave you a chance to join me, but you rejected it."
"I… I… speak sincerely… I… want to… serve you… Master…"
"Before the fear of death, everyone speaks sincerely, Sev'rance," the man sighed. "To your misfortune, I already have…"
"Traitor!" A voice more like a roar than a shout, Ventress's reached Tann's ears. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a pair of crimson blades whose spinning flight was meant to end her life by cutting off her head.
"What a persistent bitch," the Force grip loosened, and the Chiss fell to the floor, convulsively gulping air.
Meanwhile, she could watch the battle unfolding before her.
***
Racing rapidly through the monastery's narrow corridors, Olee mechanically crushed the droids in her path. Like a lethal meteor, she swept away the enemy, leaving stunned clones in her wake.
She had to make it. Her master was in danger. She had to be with him.
The all-consuming darkness where her master was gradually clearing. Olee could feel that in the far hall, which she was only five minutes away from, there were three. One was undoubtedly her master. The other two… likely Dooku's servants. And she had to hurry. He might handle one opponent, but with two…
***
"Why the hell won't you just stay down?" the Jedi growled. Asajj, taking a defensive stance, bared her teeth, luring the man to her. Her body was aching from his techniques, her muscles sore from tension, but she couldn't flee without completing the mission.
This Jedi is dangerous. Perhaps the biggest problem for her master's plans. Asajj didn't know about his commanding skills, but in lightsaber combat, he was incredibly good. It was surprising how Tann had been able to defeat him last time.
The vile blue-skinned bitch had betrayed them. Seeing how easily the Jedi commanded the Dark Side, she had found herself a new master, betraying Dooku. Ventress had heard he had found her somewhere in the depths of the Unknown Regions. Brought her to civilization, trained her… and this was her gratitude.
Dougan easily deflected the Sith blades flying at the traitress with Force pushes and, holding his own with both hands, tip to the floor to his left (a typical Niman stance, Ventress snorted), moved toward her. The power of the Dark Side that had shrouded him at the start of the fight was gradually dissolving. As if he had accumulated the Force within himself, and now, during the long battle, it had left him.
But even so, Ventress could see his aura. Neither light nor dark… Grey.
If she had hair, it would have been standing on end by now. Her master had told her about those who combine Sith and Jedi teachings—Grey Jedi. He spoke of them mostly with a smirk, calling them weak fools, but it seemed her opponent was one of them. And she would be cautious about calling him weaker than herself.
She had killed dozens of Jedi and was well-versed in the skills of taking life. And her opponent was by no means a novice in this business.
He was perfectly trained—perhaps even better than Skywalker, but he still yielded to Kenobi. He couldn't be compared to Yoda—after all, the old stump had seen much in his time. But Dougan…
He had managed to easily knock one of the opponents out of the battle. And even against both of them, he held his own perfectly. Wherever he had studied, he was clearly not a Coruscant-bred product. If the Jedi were even partially like him—the Sith wouldn't have a chance.
"I will lay down my sabers when the last Jedi is dead," the killer hissed.
"Don't flatter yourself," the man laughed. "Dooku and Sidious will betray you sooner."
"You are mistaken, Jedi," Asajj said triumphantly. "I am Count Dooku's apprentice."
"Oh, no, you are the one mistaken. For a thousand years, a rule has been established—there can be only two Sith. A Master and an Apprentice. Did Dooku not show you Darth Bane's brochure? You are not an apprentice, Ventress. You are a consumable. A henchwoman. A killer. A servant…"
"I will kill you!" Asajj snapped her blades together, turning them into a complex lightsaber staff. "And bathe in your blood."
"What is it with you people and that particular hang-up," the Jedi said dejectedly, entering the fray.
***
The beep of a comlink pulled Dooku from his thoughts.
Watching his former associate from the Order depart, he thought with a smirk that he would likely have to cross blades with her soon too. Unduli, a recognized Master of Soresu, could have become a wonderful assistant in his endeavors. In place of the missing-in-action Vos.
The aristocrat did not doubt that the man had perished on Korriban—either Sith beasts or a rival had finished him. Either way, he would have to retrieve Darth Andeddu's holocron himself.
Ensuring none of Jabba's guards were watching him, he activated the communication device.
"The Jedi report that the Huttlet is with them," Sidious's voice barely trembled with anger. "You have failed, Darth Tyranus."
"My Master," the Count bowed in a sign of respect. "Tatooine is securely blockaded by my forces. Even if the Jedi manage to escape with the child, they will not be able to deliver him here safe and sound."
"If necessary—kill the Hutt," Sidious ordered. "But a Hutt alliance with the Republic is unacceptable!"
"As you command, my Lord," Dooku bowed to the vanishing hologram.
What bad luck. Four acolytes couldn't handle the simplest assignments. If it continued this way, he would have to do the dirty work himself.
***
Dougan instantly set upon her, hacking fiercely with his saber, not letting her recover. Asajj spun, dodging strikes, holding back the onslaught with her last strength. The Jedi combined his fencing mastery with Force techniques and hand-to-hand combat moves. The killer received several strikes from far-from-Jedi combat gauntlets to her torso, causing something in her side to crack—the bastard had hit her ribs. But using the impact's energy, Asajj rolled away and jumped to her feet.
The traitress silently contemplated the scene, not even making an effort to take one side or the other in the conflict. Waiting…
The man, on the contrary, pressed the opponent to the wall. Once he deprived her of the advantage of moving in space, her days would be numbered.
Stars and white spots danced before the Dathomirian's eyes; her left side was pierced with pain with every breath. She felt through her skin that her side was wet—she likely had an open wound at the site of the fracture. It was becoming painful to breathe, so instead of deep and rare breaths, she took frequent ones, barely catching a couple of gulps of air.
Giving her no respite, the Jedi launched a frantic attack. The next seconds in Ventress's consciousness merged into one: relying solely on instincts honed to perfection over so many years, she parried attack after attack and by some miracle didn't let the opponent land a lethal blow.
She ceased to discern what was happening. The entire battle turned for her into mere flashes of gold and crimson blades.
Her mind realized she couldn't last long at such a pace.
Asajj made three quick backward somersaults to break the distance. She realized her back was practically against the wall, but she needed even a second to rest. To draw on the Force and clear her mind…
She thrust out her blades, separating them beforehand. Like two spears, they were meant to stop the Jedi rushing toward her.
At the last moment, she saw the temple-dweller sliding along a trajectory on the floor slightly to her right. But she didn't have time to react.
A blow of monstrous force from Dougan's lightsaber, which had ducked under her blades, made her exhausted arms rise up, exposing her defenseless chest. Like a top, the figure in black armor turned on its axis, a breeze hitting the killer's face.
In the next moment, the gold energy blade pierced the thin threads of the cloth armor with immeasurable force, biting into her stomach. Following the laws of physics, the girl's body hit the stone vaults of the monastery wall with its back and the back of her head.
Fading consciousness burned with agony. Thoughts were confused by nerve endings screaming with pain. The hole in her stomach burned incredibly. Ventress tried to draw the Dark Side of the Force to her to dull the pain…
The Jedi blade left her body. Weakened, broken, shattered, Asajj collapsed onto the floor, releasing the blades designed in the image of Count Dooku's lightsaber.
With a blurred gaze, she looked at the victor's figure, who had knelt before her. The Jedi, like a seasoned hunter of the gifted, used the Force to toss her lightsabers aside, eliminating the danger.
"You fought well, Asajj," the Jedi's voice reached her ears. "Under other circumstances, you could have served me wonderfully…"
"I don't change sides," she said in a half-whisper. She clung greedily to the last seconds of her life, absorbing the Dark Side from the hall. She needed just a little. She would die, but this bastard would too. She just had to correctly turn her sabers…
"Had you lived a little longer, you would have," the Jedi said confidently. "You deserve to know the truth. Dooku would have betrayed you and taken a new apprentice. Then, he would have betrayed him too. And at the end of the war, when the Count himself plays out the role assigned in Sidious's plan, he will get rid of him using a new apprentice, a former Hero of the Republic, without fear or reproach,"—in Ventress's agonizing brain, a thought exploded like a proton bomb. The realization of what her killer had just said. — "But Skywalker will return to the Light. And finish Sidious."
"You're lying," she croaked. The sabers were almost in her power; let him talk just a little more… She just needed to spin them for a throw…
"I've seen it, Asajj," the Jedi smirked. "I know how it was all meant to end. But I will change the ending of this story. The Sith, the Jedi with their eternal war of the blind and deaf, will come to an end. I will rule this galaxy, and a new Order, not fearing the Unifying Force, will guard peace and order."
"A beautiful fairy tale," the killer smiled. She felt the taste of blood on her lips. Time. "But you won't live to see the end…"
"Oh, I don't think so," the Jedi smiled. He rolled aside, and a pair of crimson blades bit into the wall on either side of Asajj's head. The Jedi rose to his feet, brushing dust from his cloak.
"You could have been a wonderful assassin in my service," he said. Asajj felt him accumulating the Force in his hands. Even with her blurred gaze, she saw a huge ball, as if made of water, forming in his palms.
"It's regrettable that it all turned out this way."
***
Tann waited until the last. She saw the blades lifted into the air by Ventress. But she didn't say so.
The Jedi created a large sphere, up to half a meter in diameter, filled with the Force.
"It's regrettable that it all turned out this way," he said.
That phrase was like a trigger, releasing the sphere. With a deafening roar, it raced toward Ventress…
A moment, and stone fragments splashed in all directions. A huge section of the wall instantly ceased to exist, revealing Teth's virgin flora, which the two survivors could observe from a bird's-eye view.
"You didn't even warn me," the Jedi stated without looking back.
"I thought you were in control of the situation," Sev'rance added flattery. "You've proven you're stronger than me, but are you more cunning?"
The man smirked under his mask.
"Regardless of the result—whether I lived or died—you would have remained in the service of the Force adept best suited to the intrigues and cunning of his students,"—it was as if he had read those thoughts in the girl's head.
"Exactly so, Master," the girl bowed her head. "And I am glad that you proved stronger than Dooku's assassin. This proves the Count is nothing before you…"
"No," the man rejected. "It proves you are a two-faced bitch who needs one last lesson in your worthless life. Thrawn would be disappointed in you."
"What… I don't understand…" the girl realized in confusion that the Jedi had once again used a name he shouldn't know. How? From where was it known to him?
"That is precisely the problem," the Jedi turned to her. The girl felt a chill wash over her. Her legs and arms refused to obey her. Against her will, the Force emanating from the Jedi slowly but steadily dragged her toward the breach in the wall. "I don't need an apprentice ready to defect at any convenient moment."
The last thing Sev'rance saw before her feet left the monastery's permacrete floor was the fairy-tale panorama of Teth's violet-purple forest unfolding before her face. Approaching far too quickly…
***
She didn't make it.
The girl looked with anger unworthy of a Jedi at the massive bulkhead closing the passage to the hall where she sensed the presence of a strong sensitive.
"Commander!" after a few minutes, the ARC clones ran up to her at the hall. "We must proceed to the ship. Nyx has almost cleared the territory; Phob reports the monastery is under our control…"
"There's only one living being in there," she pointed toward the hall. "If it's not my master…"
As if in refutation of her words, the massive armored slab rose, and a silhouette familiar to all slid out from inside.
"Master!" Olee threw herself into an embrace with the Jedi without a shred of hesitation, whose entire posture made it clear he was not just surprised by the welcoming committee, but completely stunned by the presence of those who should have left the system long ago. "I was so afraid for you…"
"Eh… Alpha, what… is happening here? You should have been halfway to Tatooine by now."
"Sir, we tried," the clone spread his hands. "But she ran away from us. We even fired stunners…"
"Well… alright, we'll talk about this later," the Jedi waved it off. He stroked the apprentice's head with an armored gauntlet. "Olee, I'm alive. No need to reanimate me this time."
"I… forgive me, Master," the girl embarrassedly detached herself from the man. "I'm just so happy you survived. I felt such Darkness there that you were in a trap."
"It's all over, Olee," the man demonstratively hung his lightsaber on his belt. "They wanted to trap me, but they fell into it themselves."
"Does that mean we can fly to Tatooine?" Balda inquired. "Your pilot droid is asking if the Huttlet is still of value or if he can be thrown out the airlock."
"Oh yes, of course, he is," the Jedi caught himself. "We must depart for Tatooine immediately—our allotted time is running out. I hope someone has already reported that we have the Hutt?"
"I informed Commodore Pellaeon," Alpha-17 indicated. "He said he would pass it to the Temple."
"Wonderful," the Jedi praised. "Let's finish this assignment and return to pressing matters as quickly as possible."
"As you command, sir," the clones synchronously struck their breastplates with their fists.
The Jedi and his apprentice were about to head toward the landing pad when the man stopped, tapping the forehead of his face mask.
"Completely forgot," he touched his vambrace with his fingers, activating the built-in holoprojector. "Commodore Pellaeon!"
"General! Glad to see you!"
"The feeling is mutual. How are things in orbit?"
"We've destroyed most of the Sep fleet. Two ships are seriously damaged, but the overall results are in our favor."
"Excellent! We need to scan the planet's surface. I'm interested in one of the stone pillars. The top looks like a tooth eaten by cavities."
Gilad chuckled, seeing the humor in the description. Then, he snapped to attention, clasping his hands behind his back.
"Scouts have already been sent, General."
"Excellent! There is an ancient Hutt's tomb on that pillar. I want to know as soon as you find it. Out."
Extinguishing the hologram, the Jedi turned to the clones standing behind him.
"Balda, you will lead the search for the Hutt's tomb."
"Yes, sir. Only… why do we need it?"
"According to my information, there is something there that can force the Hutts to cooperate with us on our terms."
***
"Respected Master Jabba the Hutt," Dooku's mentor-like voice entered the Hutt's auditory holes like voluptuous poison. "I have come with a warning."
The haughty slug spoke in his barbarian tongue. Dooku waited until the Hutt passed his words to the translator droid. Like all Hutts, Jabba knew Basic. But he demonstrated his superiority over those gathered by passing his messages through a machine.
"The honorable Jabba is interested in what you wish to warn him about."
"I have discovered that the Jedi are behind your son's kidnapping,"—the last words were caught by the outcry of the servants and henchmen gathered in the hall. The slug himself appeared imperturbable. He grumbled something in response.
"Master Jabba wishes to know where Count Dooku obtained such information. The Jedi have volunteered to help find his little punky."
Dooku suppressed an inappropriate smirk.
"It is in the interest of the corrupt Republic. They kidnapped your son. Led the search themselves. And will deliver him to you themselves. To obtain preferences and permission to move through Hutt Space from the Hutt Council."
Jabba interrupted the former Jedi, once again filling the room with his low, foul voice.
"Master Jabba is not interested in Count Dooku's conjectures and assumptions," the droid explained. "Produce evidence."
"Evidence?" Dooku felt insulted. "An entire Jedi fleet is currently moving toward Tatooine. Is an entire fleet really needed to deliver one child to his natural father? They bombed a monastery like this one just to hide the traces of their atrocities. Meanwhile, the Jedi leading them—Rick Dougan—is a known butcher. He conquered Christophsis and Ukio, forcing their peoples to serve him against their will. He made them slaves and will try to do the same with you, Great Jabba. Allow my fleet to deal with the Republicans in Tatooine's orbit and…"
Jabba suddenly roared upon hearing the Sith's last proposal.
"The Master does not wish for armed ships to be in his orbit. If the Jedi arrive with a fleet, the mighty Jabba will crush them…"
Humbly bowing before the Hutt, Dooku could not hide a smile.
***
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