Dooku's shuttle landed on his command ship. He exited, followed by a very obedient looking Barriss Offee carrying a nearly unconscious Ahsoka Tano. The lesson Dooku wished to impart had been brutal indeed.
"You know," Ahsoka looked up at Barriss, "I feel pretty terrible." Barriss had initiated some of her healing power, but was completely emotionless and did not respond. She looked down at Ahsoka with eyes that carried a hint of yellow in them.
"Follow me!" Dooku ordered. She complied without hesitation. They walked down a hall and into a command center. Droids were bustling about, but ignored them.
Barriss knelt dutifully while holding Ahsoka, who was still barely conscious. Dooku looked at them and smiled. "Ready for the big reveal?" He knelt before a large, table sized communicator.
The image of another Count Dooku was revealed. "My Master!" The first Dooku bowed. Barriss' jaw HIT. THE. FLOOR.
The Dooku on the other end waved a hand. "Report!" The Dooku before them was not a fake, nor an imposter, but more of a double, more like...
"A Clone!" Barriss whispered. Dooku seemed to have been taking advantage of this technology from Kamino. There could be hundreds of him; thousands, scattered all across the galaxy, doing his will. And each was Force sensitive! An army of Dookus!
"We have convinced the Nemon to help us. They have punished Ventress with a ceremonial death. I have her two friends here. Barriss has embraced the darkness quickly, but I must work on the puppy called Ahsoka!" The clone reported.
"What of the treasure of the Nemon!? Have you discovered it yet!?" The real Dooku inquired.
Clone Dooku responded with enthusiasm "We have been given the proper coordinates by the Nemon, who were very cooperative. A shame they will not live to see our triumph!"
Ahsoka listened, pretending to be knocked out. Barriss clutched her closely as they listened, her eyes glazed over with the power of darkness. She watched the two Dookus plot together, and understood the power of deception. It was certainly more powerful than what she had been taught in the Jedi temple. Those good intentions... The Nemon had good intentions, and now they would be utterly annihilated. Ahsoka had good intentions, and because of her friendship, she would be punished even more. Barriss could feel the power of the two Dookus. Even for a clone, his powers were immense. She wondered how good people with good intentions could ever stop such greed and hate.
"Send the pirates to finish them off!" The Real Dooku had commanded "Take the treasure, train the Padawans and bend them to my will. Report back to me on Serenno."
Clone Dooku bowed, acknowledging that the will of true Dooku would be done. Dooku's image faded, and Clone Dooku laughed viciously "And when we arrive, 'my old Master', you will find out who the truly more powerful Dooku will be!" Barriss took note of the irony. Even the deceivers played games with each other. The darkness was an eternal power struggle... but the winner... oh what power the winners could hold!
Clone Dooku walked to the door "Wait here, Barriss. Make sure Ahsoka stays obedient. I don't want to have to punish her again... not yet."
"Yes... my Master!" She replied. Dooku left. Barriss sighed, trying to keep up appearances. "How are you feeling?" Barriss looked down at Ahsoka.
Ahsoka could barely move after the beating she took from Clone Dooku's Force lightning "Like a can of smashed Jawas."
Barriss went over to a computer console and did a diagnostic check of the ship. "I have found the nearest escape pod for you, Ahsoka"
Ahsoka looked at her, and did not like the implication of that sentence "You mean an escape pod for BOTH of us!"
Barriss sighed, not looking at Ahsoka "Somebody has to warn the Nemon and the others... Then, somebody needs to sabotage this ship from getting away... Then, somebody is going to kill that bastard!" The yellow tint in Barriss' eyes glowed a little more. The beast within awoke a little stronger.
Obi-wan led Conradin and the Doctor past the cargo bay of the shuttle in the cockpit. He was about to strike when he heard the Clone Dooku address the droids piloting the ship. "... You will return with the fighter squads and destroy the Nemon and the pirates. I want no one left alive!" The droids gave their 'roger roger' as Obi-wan entered the cockpit and decapitated them.
"Sorry, boys! There's a change in schedule!" He took the controls. Conradin and the Doctor entered in behind him. They saw a large Banking Clan Frigate in the distance. "I guess that was to be our ship to take us to trial. Well, they can wait a little longer!"
Obi-wan turned the shuttle around as the others strapped themselves in "You hear him?" Conradin points to the communicator device "He's gonna fry the rest of the Nemon! He's going to finish what he started three years ago!"
Obi-wan grabbed the communicator and retuned the frequency "No worries, we'll warn them. Well land, meet up with the others, and then figure out what to do next. All part of my plan!" He grins.
Conradin gave a snarky grin, then stops to think. "Let's get the girls." Obi-wan looked at him for a moment. "Nobody will be expecting us. Let's land on Dooku's ship and get them off of there!"
Before Obi-wan could answer, the Banking Clan Frigate hailed them. "Shuttle 1138, you are adjusting course! Please realign with the proper course!" A droid voice called out.
Obi-wan reluctantly takes on the communication "Ummm, what?"
The droid voice continues "You have changed your course. Is something wrong?" Obi-wan looks at the others. He wasn't expecting this.
"Ummm, no, we're fine. We had a small weapons malfunction but we're fine now...we're all fine here. Thank you...umm, how are you?"
"We're activating a tractor beam to pull you in." Conradin and the Doctor look at Obi-wan with some distress. Obi-wan fumbles with the communicator.
"Ummm, negative. Negative. We have a radiation leak on board. Give us time to lock it down. Uhhh, large leak, very dangerous!"
The droid on the other end was unconvinced "Who is this? What's your operating number?"
Obi-wan, in frustration, finally just shuts off the communication and sits back, taking a breath. He shakes his head as the tractor beam takes hold of the shuttle and pulls them in. "It was a boring conversation anyway. We're going to have company!"
The Doctor casually pulled out his sonic device "No. No we're not." He aimed it at the controls, beaming his signal to override the signal from the main Frigate. The tractor beam shut down, giving Obi-wan control of the shuttle. Conradin and Obi-wan looked at the Doctor in amazement. The Doctor simply put his feet up on a computer terminal, leaned back in his chair putting his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. "Wake me when we get to where we need to go." He grinned.
Lux ran to the safe house where Colonel Hendricksson was rearming, along with Malcolm and Katniss. "Katniss! Are you alright!?"
Hendricksson aimed his gun at the boy, then frowned angrily "I know this city may look like a mess to you, boy, but do you think you can knock before running in here!? I could've blown your frikken head off!" Lux put his hands up, trying to calm the soldier down.
Katniss talked everyone down. "It's ok. He's with us, I believe. I had to rescue him from the pirates."
Hendricksson did not give up the frown. "Which is another reason to worry. Your little stunt against Dooku and the Droids was bad enough, but you stole a pirate chopper to get here, made a whizbang of an entrance, and now we are going to be punked from both ends, my friends!"
Lux looked at him confused, and was about to speak, but the colonel marched up to him to read a riot act "You stole a chopper, and the pirates will want revenge. You attacked Dooku, of all people. I'm surprised he hasn't bombed the ruins back into a new stone age. Either way, this place is about to get swarmed and the Nemon will be wiped out because of your reckless stunt!"
Lux was stunned at getting lectured by a man he didn't even know. "Oh, excuse me, I didn't realize my rescue interrupted you plans to be tortured and executed by the Separatists. My friends were being hauled off. I had to do something, which is more than what you were able to do at the time!"
Malcolm held his hands out as the old Colonel and the young man were about to bring it down. "You know, I could just let you two beat the farkle out of each other for fifteen minutes, and then we'd be right back where we started. How about we skip that and go into the part where we discuss avoiding a new stone age. Hmm?"
Hendricksson and Lux stared a little longer, but both knew they could not waste time. "Ah what the hell." The Colonel lit up another deathstick "You gotta die of something, Right? I will admit kid; that took some serious balls to face down Dooku." Lux nodded, suddenly wondering if maybe he could have been a little more stealthy in his approach. He took the compliment in the meantime.
Ventress quietly wondered down an endless tunnel. It was a vast maze of hollowed out tunnels that led everywhere and nowhere. There was no place to climb, no good spot to dig upward. She was trapped and forced to simply wander down one massive, horribly carved passage or another. She walked slowly, without uttering a noise.
She could often hear Kastor in the far distance, echoing his mad rants as he let terror overwhelm his senses. If he was trying to hide from the great Lord Eihort, Kastor was doing a terrible job of it.
In the distance, hundreds and hundreds of meters down one tunnel, she finally spotted a human figure running, and shouting in a crazed fashion. That idiot, Kastor, was making attention for himself. Something had driven him to complete madness. She saw several seconds later what had driven him mad.
A huge, bloated fleshy thing with multiple blobby legs pursued Kastor. It was bigger than two banthas... and it was fast! Even so far away, and though it did not see her, Ventress crouched in terror at the sight of it. It looked huge from the distance, and its voice echoed through the tunnels. Ventress fell to her knees to uselessly hide from it. Kastor and Eihort were out of sight now, but she could hear it talk. Its voice boomed from every direction, like an intelligent but Malevolent God.
"I offer you the gift, pirate" it boomed. "I offer you a chance to redeem your useless life to my will. Take my children, and nurture them..." Kastor begged and pleaded like a raving maniac.
Ventress listened in horror, and could hear him finally cave in, and beg for a few more hours of life. Eihort obliged him. Ventress did not see what happened next...but she could hear the agony of his impregnation. His screams of pain lasted... and lasted, and finally devolved into the lunacy she witnessed in the Nemon prison cells. Kastor was now hysterically mad with the knowledge that he would give birth soon. Ventress clutched her heart in terror. How was she supposed to defeat the God of the Dead? Worse, she saw how fast it was. She could never outrun it.
She sat there, and tried to control her breathing. She hid her face in her hands, just a bit terrified. She could still hear Kastor's screams as Eihort guided him back to the entrance of the maze.
Her terror was increased a hundred fold as she heard him call out to her. Eihort's booming voice echoed from every direction. The maze was his ally. "Rattatakian woman. I can sense your heartbeat, and I can feel your fear. I shall return! You and your friend shall be offered grace and redemption by my will."
She had no idea what the last phrase meant, until a hand grabbed her from behind. She let out a small noise, startled. But her face constricted in a shock and a smile as she turned and stared. Relief washed over her like an avalanche.
It was Riddick.
"I told you I'd be back." He said quietly. Ventress smashed herself into him with the biggest hug she had ever given anyone. He felt slimy, covered in the moistures of the Sarlaac, and he had more than a few scars. Riddick put up a Hell of a fight.
"How did you get here?"
"I had a little help..." Vincent floated in the distance, and he was covered in slime and Sarlaac digestive juices. Ventress became alarmed.
"Are you ok? Did that thing...?" She could only imagine what it was like to be almost a part of a stomach that would digest a person slowly over a thousand years.
Riddick smiled like a fool "I tried cutting my way out and found myself here, in the bowels of Hell. But, we better hurry. I don't like the sound of that thing out there coming to get you." He handed her a knife.
She smiled. At least the odds would be a little more even. "It's Eihort, Lord of the Dead. DON'T let it impregnate you!" She said seriously. Riddick looked at her and resisted any comments about first dates or not being that easy. Instead, he raised an eyebrow at her warning.
"It would take more than dinner and a movie." He almost resisted. Riddick led them back through another tunnel, back to where he came from. Apparently he dug his way through the Sarlaac to the maze of Eihort. Ventress smiled at his tenacity. He was definitely a keeper.
Vincent hovered there, waiting. "Ms Ventress! Very good to see you!" The droid beamed. They looked up at the exit. It was a hole in the side of the maze wall, a little far up, but Vincent could hover them up to it when the time came...if it would come. Eihort had returned, and Eihort was fast.
The thing rumbled up in front of them as they reached the escape hole. Riddick was not fully ready for what he witnessed. A huge, blobby skinned thing with uncertain number of legs and eyes that seemed to... "float" on the surface of the wrinkly, jello skin. The mouth opened and featured a long thin tentacle-like tongue with a needle on the end; a needle for the purpose of injecting its babies into victims.
Ventress crouched into a defensive pose "Vincent, go ahead and lift Riddick first. I got an idea."
"You gotta be joking!" Riddick was not about to leave.
Ventress turned to him as the beast Eihort moved a little closer and whipped around its needle tongue. "Do you trust me, Riddick?" He looked at her. With the goggles on, she could not quite tell his expression, only that she asked the same of him now that he did of her not too long ago. "Do you trust me? I can handle this...now get moving!"
Riddick held onto Vincent. "Honey" he said quietly "I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Vincent picked him up and took him to the hole above them. Ventress could see bits of the Sarlaac's stomach dripping through, just on the other side of the cave wall.
Eihort looked down at her with three of its five floating eyes. "Are you ready to serve me?" It bellowed "I will crush you if you choose, or you may have the honor of giving birth to my divine spawn!"
Ventress suddenly lost all fear. She felt a sense of power and adrenalin. "No..."
Eihort looked at her for a moment. "No, you do not wish to be crushed, or no you will not-"
"I SAID NO!" She responded maliciously. She started breathing a little more aggressively, readying herself for an incredible stunt.
"Explain yourself!" Eihort bellowed, trying to intimidate her. She stood her ground. Eihort, perplexed by her unusual reaction, straightened up a little. It was almost indignant. It had not faced such arrogance in thousands of years. "WHAT do you mean by this negative?"
"It means NO."
"You little wretch!" Eihort almost laughed and sneered at the same time "You will be destroyed!"
Ventress sneered back "NO! Because this is what I'M going to do...I'm gonna cut you up like the fat bitch you are, and I'm gonna squeeze and pop as many of those little snot babies you got crawling inside you like bubble wrap...and then, I'm going to leave!"
Eihort roared with disbelief at her absolute disrespect and arrogance. It darted the needle tongue at her. It tried to impale her, but this was a true professional, not one of those reckless pirates. Ventress grabbed the needle tongue and attempted to cut it out of the beast! Eihort, angered by her audacity, pulled the tongue back in, but she wouldn't let go.
Riddick and Vincent watched in amazement as Eihort scooped her into its mouth. As victorious as it felt to swallow her, its satisfaction was very short lived. In fact, it bellowed in agony. Riddick smiled.
Ventress was cutting a path through it with the knife. She pulled herself through a wound in the top of the beast. Eihort bucked and bellowed with pain and rage. Ventress had little gooey spider babies crawling on her, but they were mostly dormant. They were not active while inside their own "mother". Ventress also took note that, individually, they were harmless.
Vincent hovered down to her as she wiped off the little gelatin spawn from her body. She was covered in a sickly yellow substance. She assumed it must be Eihort's blood "You ain't so tough!" she kicked the beast one last time as Vincent lifted her to the hole.
Riddick helped her through. "You ever wonder about the anatomy of a Sarlaac? Well here's your chance!" He grinned. They started climbing up the veining tentacles.
"Well, it's better looking inside the Sarlaac than the Eihort." She quipped. Ventress looked around. The Sarlaac looked like a huge, hollow tunnel going down. Pulsating blood vessels lined the sides of the beast, and tentacles were everywhere. She looked up and could barely see the surface.
All thoughts were interrupted by Eihort. The Lord of the dead started ramming into the wall behind them. The hole was tiny, but it was in such a rage it was about to tear through the maze wall, tearing through the Sarlaac, just to get at Ventress!
"Well shit!" Ventress raised an eyebrow and climbed faster. Vincent tried to blast any tentacles that reached for the others, but soon found that the Sarlaac was extremely distracted by Eihort, who was ripping its way into the stomach. Tentacles started attacking the great beast. The sarlaac was still ravenously hungry, and pulled at Eihort while the three kept working their way to the top.
"You really pissed off that thing! I think I'm in love!" Riddick grins. Ventress almost blushes a little; sort of proud she faced down such a beast and is climbing away with the last laugh.
On board Clone Dooku's command ship, Dooku watched from the observation deck as the fleet moved through the thick polluted clouds. "Dooku to the Bridge!" He called on the communicator. "Have our patrols found anything at the coordinates Seven-Max-Triad?"
The droids on the bridge below chimed in their whiny voices the same answer. "Negative, Commander. We have not detected any minerals, life signs, structures or unusual terrain. If there is a treasure of the Nemon, they must have been mistaken."
Dooku grew tiresome and irritable "It MUST be there! Elder Pardek swears the treasure and legacy of the Nemon is at those coordinates. Keep searching the area!"
"Master, the pollution is very thick. The ground units cannot even see our fleet."
Clone Dooku furled his brow at the droids "The ground units don't need to see the fleet! They need to keep searching the territory around this sector."
"Begging your pardon, Commander," one of the Bridge officer droids requested, "but what are we looking for? There's nothing in this sector."
Dooku huffed "It is the greatest weapon or wealth of the Nemon people, and I WANT IT! No more delays! I want results!"
Dooku switched away from the bridge and contacted his command center near the bridge where Ahsoka and Barriss waited "Apprentice Offee!" He barked out.
Barriss stood by wounded Ahsoka, who lay on a luxurious couch. "Yes, Master?" She sounded sterile, like a robot.
"Bring Ahsoka to me on the observation deck. I wish to be in your company."
Barriss picked up Ahsoka. "Yes Master." She replied. She walked by a weapons locker, and found spare light sabers Clone Dooku kept for emergencies.
Ahsoka struggled a little "You can put me down. I'm getting more movement from my muscles."
Barriss shook her head, hinting that she should keep up the deception of being helpless. Ahsoka frowned and was nervous looking into those yellow eyes. Barriss carried her into the hallway...
Hendriksson had spent some minutes calling up the Nemon representatives from their bunker. Elder Pardek and two others approached from the bunker entrance to his safe house. "What is the meaning of this? Surely there is nothing more to discuss in the matters of the Separatists?"
The old soldier puffed on his deathstick with frustration. "What about the Pirates? They are certainly still a threat. You keep running into them every time you try to walk on the surface. I certainly have my hands full trying to keep control of the Screamers that help watch over this dump!"
"This dump," Pardek frowns, "is still the capital. I do appreciate you being a little more delicate in the matter!"
"I'm as delicate as a frikkin flower, but when it comes to war, I don't pull any punches, Pardek. You know why I don't? Because THEY won't! Dooku and the Separatists are going to screw us all once they get that treasure you graciously handed them on a silver platter!" Hendriksson barked.
"We have no qualms with Dooku. He has nothing to gain by destroying us when he already gave us Ventress!" Pardek shrugged, unable to comprehend any danger.
Lux looked at him in shock "What happened to Ventress? Where is she?" He looked around at the old soldier and the others.
Hendriksson looked at him without blinking. "They put her on trial, though give the circumstances I can't say they were entirely wrong. Still, they put their trust in a man who has probably burned half the galaxy by now!" He looked at Lux with a little more sympathy, implying that the punishment was probably death. "I'm sorry, kid. I'm pretty sure they found her guilty."
Pardek was almost blunt, but not in a hostile way. "She freely admitted her guilt. The Phantom Queen fulfilled her part in Nemon Prophecy"
Lux could not keep up with the turn of events. "Wait... Phantom Queen? Prophecy?" He looked at Pardek with anger. "What the Hell's going on?! WHERE IS VENTRESS!?"
"I'M right here, Lux; guilty as sin, but still standing!" Ventress' voice caught everyone off guard as she entered the safe house. Pardek was in awe, Lux smiled. Hendriksson nearly swallowed his deathstick, like he had seen a ghost.
Mal and Katniss looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "Shiny" they both concluded.
Pardek was awestruck "The legend unfolds before my eyes. I didn't think it was possible!"
Riddick and Vincent followed behind her. Ventress wasted no time. "I made it through the trial, Pardek. Your Lord of the Dead was...well, unimpressive. Now, any word on the others?"
A static burst fired through one of the radio receivers on Hendriksson's computer workstation. Obi-wan's voice crackled through. "Hello, planet Beaudicca! Anyone there? Obi-wan Kenobi to anyone that is not a pirate. Anyone who is not a pirate, please come in!"
Hendriksson makes his way to the radio and answers. "This is Colonel Hendriksson! We read you, and I'm sure we are not pirates. What's your status?"
"Ah, excellent! We've taken control of the shuttle and are making our way back to Dooku's ship. We think we may be able to get to Ahsoka and Barriss! Colonel, Dooku has ordered a strike on the Nemon. He's sending droid fighters and the Pirates to intercept your position! You may want to consider evacuating the ruin!"
Ventress came up to the radio to talk "Obi-wan, this is Ventress! Do you think you can land first? I need to get on that shuttle!" She turned to Hendriksson and Pardek "Time's going to run out soon, and I need to get to the coordinates of Seven-Max-Triad! That's where Varda said the treasure would be!"
Obi-wan crackled back on the radio "Will do, Ventress. It is lovely to hear your voice again!"
Pardek looked at her funny "Varda!? How do you know Varda? How do you know about Seven-Max-Triad!? Only Dooku was given those coordinates!" The elder Nemon was confused. Ventress just looked at him, desperately trying to ready them for a huge offensive.
"Pardek," Ventress went on, "do you have any other weapons, any ships, heavy vehicles? ANYTHING to help defend this place?"
Pardek stammered a little, but he knew the Nemon had nowhere else to go. Defending the ruins was their only hope against invading pirates and droids. "Well, uhhh...we have Master Kenobi's Jedi fighter, fully repaired. Why?"
Ventress turned to Hendriksson. "Those screamers...how good are they?"
He lit up a quick deathstick "They're the best defense we have next to the Nemon gunners, and a small fighter craft...plus if anyone else wants to throw in with us." He looked at Lux, Mal and Katniss before continuing. "There are several hundred of them wondering in that fenced off zone, and I can program them to spread out beyond the zone to attack the pirates before they get here. It'll take a moment but it can be done!" He got to work quickly, typing in new commands to the Screamers.
Ventress turned to Lux. "Can you fly a Jedi Fighter? I need someone to do recon on the pirates and the droids."
Lux grimaced "Which sounds better: I think or I hope?"
Ventress patted his shoulder. "It's like riding a speeder bike. You'll be fine. You don't have to fight them, just find them and get back here. Get going. Pardek, have your people prep the fighter for him. And you'd better arm any able-bodied Nemon who can fight... because this is it."
Pardek bows hastily, and leads Lux out to their hangar bay in the bunker. Pardek takes time to announce to every Nemon of Ventress' reappearance, and her victory over Eihort. Ventress soon hears the shuttle landing.
Ventress exited the safe house, but looked at Riddick and Vincent. "Listen to Hendriksson. He knows the territory. Get a defense built up!"
"How are we going to stop an army of droids and pirates?" Riddick raised an eyebrow. Ventress shrugged. She was flying by the seat of her pants on this. Riddick looked over at the old soldier, Hendriksson. The old soldier took a puff of his death stick and motioned Riddick and Vincent to a wall map of the city. Now was a good time to learn how to do this.
The shuttle landed very clumsily. Obi-wan was not nearly as good a pilot as Anakin might have been, but he was adequate. Ventress waited as the cargo hatch opened up. Obi-wan, Conradin and the Doctor exited. "We've tracked some pirate activity, and we believe Dooku is sending all his fighter squads over here to bombard the city ruins. His fleet is in some uncharted, deserted sector of the Nemon planet-"
"-He's trying to find something valuable, Obi-wan! I have to find it first. Can you pilot this thing to Dooku's ship?"
Obi-wan smiled and answered quickly. "I'm on it!" He went back to the cockpit.
"Conrad! I need you to help with the defense of the city. Go to Hendriksson, put yourself to good use. Trenchcoat!" She called out to the Doctor. "I need a guy who's good at all this science stuff. We may need your help! Get back in the shuttle."
Conradin and The Doctor move quick without saying a word. Ventress closed the cargo hatch as Obi-wan fired up the engines again. They sat down in the cockpit.
"What are we looking for exactly?" Obi-wan asked as they lifted off. "The clouds of pollution are very thick around the atmosphere. I was lucky to find the ruins!"
Ventress shrugged. "I have no idea. All I know is that I want to see Dooku's face when I beat him to it!"
Barriss carries Ahsoka down the long corridor to the elevators. She stops near them.
Ahsoka starts moving more, signaling to be let go. "It's okay, you don't have to carry me anymore. We will need to form a strategy to tackle the Clone Dooku! Quick, give me one of the light sabers."
Ahsoka feels herself get pushed into a small escape pod with incredible force. "What are you doing, Barriss!?" Ahsoka hears the door to the pod close. She turns around, but Barriss has sealed her in. "No! We can take him together! Do you understand? WE can take him together!"
Barriss just looked at her for a moment. Ahsoka could see small changes in her eyes, in her expression. "I don't think you want to see this." Barriss concluded. "Get to the others. Remember me however you want." She punched the launch button. Ahsoka was sent sailing out in the escape pod. Barriss watched for a few seconds, and then walked calmly to the elevators.
Ahsoka pounded on the door in frustration and looked out the window as Clone Dooku's fleet was getting more and more obscured by the clouds. She frowned. Then, she saw something else out the window; something that made her jaw drop. A radio in the escape pod crackled to life.
"Ahsoka? Barriss? Can either of you hear me!?" It was Ventress, calling on the shuttle radio. "Anyone? Ahsoka!? Barriss? Can either of you hear me?" Ahsoka ran to the receiver.
"This is Ahsoka! Asajj! YOU'RE ALIVE!" Ahsoka grinned. She felt a bit of relief, but time was running out. "Asajj! I'm in an escape pod! I'm making my way to the surface!"
"I see you, Ahsoka! We're plotting a course to land. We'll pick you two up!"
Ahsoka got desperate. "There's no time! I'll catch a ride with you up here!"
"What!?" Ventress gasped on the radio. Ahsoka popped open the hatch in midair, and spotted the Shuttle in the distance. She waved quickly and jumped! Free floating away from the pod, Ahsoka drifted through the toxic clouds at incredible speeds. The Shuttle slowly got next to her.
A small hatch opened up on the top. Ventress popped out and spotted Ahsoka heading towards her like a speeding bullet as both she and the shuttle matched speeds in the plummet. Ventress grabbed her by the arm and pulled her close. "I ought to kick your butt for pulling this stunt!" Ventress nagged like a mother hen, but started hugging Ahsoka as she pulled her back into the shuttle. Obi-wan hit the thrusters and started to climb again.
Lux wobbled a little awkwardly as he flew Kenobi's Jedi fighter out. "Ugh, I'm not used to this!" He flipped on communications. "Lux to home base. Colonel, do you copy?"
Hendriksson sat by the microphone, waiting to hear from the pilot. "I copy, Lux. How's your visual status?"
Lux flew the craft at a low altitude "Lots of bad clouds on this planet. My radar is inoperative as well. Too much radiation, I suspect."
"That will work to our advantage. They won't be able to use radar either." Hendriksson concluded.
Lux started thinking. "Colonel, I have an idea. Whatever happens, and whatever I say over the radio... play along." Hendriksson looked at Mal, curious.
Barriss Offee enters the observation deck quietly, giving Clone Dooku a smoldering stare as he looked out at the thick desolation of clouds surrounding his fleet. He turned to her for a second and raised an eyebrow. "Where is Ahsoka Tano!? You are to both be here to witness my final triumph, and continue your training!"
In an almost ceremonial move, she pulled out two red light sabers and struck a pose, preparing for combat. Clone Dooku furled his brow, almost twitching an eye in surprise and anger. "You... you dare to use sabers against me?"
"I am ready to serve a lesson to you, Imitation Dooku!" She stared. "Lesson Number One: Never trust a Sith."
His mouth twisted in disgust as he lit up his two sabers. "It's treason, is it? You are no Sith... You are a mere girl!" They launched at each other, but Clone Dooku was surprised at the extra tenacity in her as they crossed blades.
They swung and parried each other, and she started pushing him back a few steps. "You assume too much!" She said calmly, her eyes a bright yellow. Sparks of red flashed as they danced a deadly dance in dueling combat. They each looked for a weakness and fueled the anger of the other. Each of them felt the power of the Dark side like a hunger.
Lux searched through the clouds without much success. "Maybe if I get lower to the ground." He exited the clouds at a lower altitude. He finally saw the pirates on the move. His jaw dropped at the number of jeeps and tanks driving across the wasteland to wipe out the Nemon. It looked like several thousand pirates armed to the teeth. His jaw hit the floor of the cockpit at the sight of a dozen choppers. His shock worsened when he realized that he had also just lowered out of the clouds in the middle of a number of vulture squadrons that were on route to join the pirates! There must have been about 5 or 6 squadrons, and he was in the middle of it all. He recovered fast and remembered his plan.
One of the vulture fighters suddenly noticed the extra ship flying in their formation. Lux noticed, and grinned at the thought that maybe the droid's jaw would hit the floor in surprise if it could.
He opened up his radio, all frequencies "Red 1 to Red and Blue squadrons, this is Red 1 to Red and Blue squadrons... I have found the enemy at coordinates Delta-Charlie-Niner! I repeat, the enemy is below us. You may fire at will... I say again... you may FIRE AT WILL!"
Back at the base, the Nemon and the others took up defense positions to prepare for the assault, they were too few, but Hendriksson, listening on the radio, understood perfectly well what Lux was doing, and it was brilliant. He got on the receiver. "Copy that, Red 1, we are engaging the enemy! All units put your deflector screens at double front and fire at will!"
The radio signal had been open for all droids within the area to hear. For a moment, the pirates and the vulture droids had an 'Oh shit!' moment, breaking formations and panicking; not expecting a massive surprise attack from above. Lux swung through the vultures and maximized the attack, blasting away at everything in sight still shouting into his comlink for all fighters in the non-existent Red and Blue squadrons to reign death on the enemy. He even ducked in and out of the clouds, so as to look like 'multiple fighters'. It was working to psych out the pirates. Droid communications blew up the airwaves!
"Command ship! We are under attack! Requesting reinforcements! Repeat! Requesting reinforcements! Immediately!" The vulture panicked.
On Dooku's ship, the bridge crew scrambled in confusion. The head droid communicated back to them. "Reinforcements? For what? Our radar cannot confirm any large attack force in your area. Please acknowledge!"
Lux ducked out of the clouds again, switching from lasers to missiles. He aimed one at a time at the tanks rumbling across the desert terrain, creating pandemonium while the droids still scrambled in a panic. Pirate vehicles were getting blasted left and right. Pirate scum scurried about as the entire convoy broke up into smaller groups to avoid getting vaporized. Lux jumped back up to the clouds firing lasers at the vultures. He shoots down two of them, causing the mass of droids to follow him up into the swirling maelstrom.
"I'm telling you we not only have two full squadrons, they are Jedi! I repeat, we are up against Jedi fighters!" The vulture screamed at fleet command.
The bridge crew on Dooku's ship were ready to blow fuses at the panic. "We cannot detect any enemy aircraft! You are in error! You are... Droid leader? Report, droid leader!" A droid looks to its communication officer. "Squad leader has been shot down!"
To make matters even worse for the droids, Hendriksson opened up the channels again. "Red 1, we have been requested by Purple and Gold squadrons to join in the fun. I repeat... Purple and Gold squadrons want to participate in the kill zone!" The old Colonel nearly chuckled on air as he cracked a big smile at the panic he might be causing. It worked.
The bridge crew were suddenly flooded with panicked requests from droids and pirates. Klaxon alarms were sounding off in every capital ship of Clone Dooku's fleet. The bridge commander could not compute the error in radar and the panicked requests for help. "Launch all fighters! Repeat! We are under surprise attack! Launch ALL FIGHTERS!"
Swarms of vultures left the fleet to engage the enemy, without realizing they were only up against one fighter and two guys on the radio. It was enough chaos to delay the attack, and Lux was able to shoot down several droids in the panic.
Barriss and Clone Dooku continued a desperate struggle on the observation deck, sabers clashing together. Clone Dooku pushed her away and launched his lightning attack at her. She absorbed it with her sabers, and was only getting madder. "You don't really expect to defeat me! By now... your powers are draining! I will not kill you, but you will know the pain of a thousand years of punishment when I am through! Your anger will not be enough to stop me! I have been trained by the real Count Dooku!"
He doubled his efforts with the lightning. Barriss concentrated hard on holding back his power. Both struggled in their mental abilities to channel the Force. The lightning started to electrify everything in the room. Terminals and computer panels started blowing fuses, scorching from the power being unleashed.
Clone Dooku let out a frustrated yell, but Barriss was a master of meditating and focusing. More importantly, she was no longer afraid of the power coursing through her; power from the Dark side. She had not fully embraced it yet, but she knew what she needed to do to become what she felt destiny called her to do. It was going to happen after all.
Clone Dooku had not anticipated such enormous power from such a small person, but his lightning was being deflected away. He stopped his attack, feeling more tired than triumphant. Barriss did not hesitate and dueled again with incredible ferocity underneath her calm exterior. Clone Dooku was winded trying to deflect her saber attacks, backing away. Her attacks started to batter at him, beating his sabers. In a swift move, he pushed her away with the Force, giving himself a moment to breathe.
Barriss detected it was time for the killing move. Her sabers had a small mechanism in their handles, allowing her to connect them end to end into a long double blade. She took off in a running start and slammed the now single blade to the floor. It flew out of her hands, twirling like a red baton into the air. Barriss built a momentum towards Clone Dooku, and began a series of summersaults towards him. Shaken by this new style of attack, he tried to stab her as she flipped at him. He missed. At the last second, she leaped into the air over him, grabbing her saber in mid flight and landed behind him. He tries to deflect this new attack, but miscalculates terribly. She cuts off one of his hands in a smooth transition as she lands on her feet and twirls the blades.
Dooku gasps as he falls to his knees in shock. Barriss lifts him in the air with a devastating choke hold. For several seconds, she lets him gasp helplessly for air. "I'm taking away a year of your life, Imitation Dooku!" She almost smiles. "Let us try ten years..." She squeezed her hand slowly as he floated like a rag doll.
The elevator lights behind her lit up. Reinforcements were coming as the doors opened. Clone Dooku gasped enough power to cry for help. "Stop her, my droids! SHOOT HER!"
Barriss was fully enjoying the beast from within that was unleashed, and she could sense them behind her, but she had enough time to finish him. She raised both hands, ready for one final crushing of Clone Dooku's entire skull. Her fall was almost complete.
Almost, except for the timely arrival of not the droids, but Asajj Ventress, who grabbed her from behind. Barriss yelled in surprise. Clone Dooku fell to the floor, but was covered by Ahsoka, who held her lightsaber to his throat while Ventress held Barriss in an iron grip.
"It's me!" Ventress called out as Barriss struggled like an animal. "It's me! Let it out! Take a deep breath and let it go!"
Barriss tried to resist. "HE MUST DIE!" She shrieked. She struggled, the darkness struggled to stay alive in her, but Ventress pinned themselves in a brutal hug, not weakening until Barriss used up her energy.
"It's ok! It's ok, kid. You're feeling the power of the Darkness. It feels good, doesn't it? I know, I know it does..."
Everyone watched quietly as Barriss continued to struggle as Ventress held her in place. The Doctor watched by the elevators. Some of them activated, as if droids were coming up to assist Clone Dooku.
The Doctor deactivated the elevators, halting any intrusion. "We're going to have company eventually. I can delay them, but they'll find a way soon enough!" He concluded.
Ahsoka watched Ventress work; watched the terrible look Barriss had in her eyes with the yellow power that flowed in them. "Is she going to be ok? Has she fallen?"
"You must KILL her! She is a Sith now, and she will destroy us all if-"
"-You will SHUT YOUR FILTHY MOUTH!" Clone Dooku babbled in fear, real fear, but was cut off by an annoyed Ventress as she held back the small Mirialan who channeled the dark energy out of herself in the struggle. "You open your mouth again, I'll cut off your wrinkly balls personally!" Asajj had venom to spit, and even considered letting Barriss kill him. But, she had responsibilities to attend to. Barriss was now out of breath, the struggle leaving her as the yellow faded from her eyes.
"I can't stop it... I need the power!" Barriss grimaced.
"You're almost there, kid, but you have to LET IT GO! The power feels good, it makes you feel alive and you want revenge, but you need to listen to me. Let it go. Take deep breaths with me and let it go. You kill him and you will fall into a world of hurt. Trust me, I know. That's it, just slow your breathing. Slow it down. I need you to just be Barriss Offee again. Ok?"
Barriss let the darkness fade, the wild beast from within died down. Her eyes were almost back to normal. "He did terrible things... He..."
"Shhhh, I know, kid. I know. You got him good, kid. You got him, you beat him. More importantly, you beat the power of the Dark side. Take a deep breath, because revenge isn't the answer. Don't let it consume you. You doing ok, kid?" Ventress released her grip a little at a time every minute or so. The elevators struggled to move, but the Doctor countered each one with an adjustment by his sonic screwdriver device.
"I'm ok... I'm ok..." Barriss finally gave out and relaxed. She took deep breaths and felt the darkness leave her, or perhaps it was simply caged up under her control again. She felt relief from the pressure, the desire to kill, the passion for power.
Ventress let go of her and massaged her shoulders and wrists. "I didn't bruise you, did I?" She asked. Barriss, a little worn out, shook her head and frowned. Ventress looked to Ahsoka. "Ahsoka, the elevators are taken, so we'll get to the hanger bay the fast, dangerous way." Ventress took a lightsaber and busted through the observation glass. Gusts of wind flowed through, but it was not too violent.
"Get going! You too, Doc! I'll be there in a minute."
Ahsoka, Barriss and the Doctor, exited the deck, trying to precariously climb their way down the side of the tower of the cruiser. Ventress waited for them to leave... and turned to the Clone Dooku.
Clone Dooku was apprehensive. Ventress gave him a deadly stare. "She has become a Sith, and has deceived you all! She will turn on you!"
Ventress marched up to him and punched his face. She sneered with contempt and punched him again, knocking him to the floor. His mouth and nose bled, but she did not stop. She grabbed him by the tunic, pulled him to his knees and slapped him across the face. "So, you thought to burn these children with lightning, huh? Made you feel like you were a big man, huh?" She punched him again, busting his nose, ignoring his cries and his pleas. "You were going to turn them into dark Sith playthings, huh?" She slapped him two more times. His face was red from the brutal markings.
"You're just a Clone, I hear, yet you think you're such a badass like Dooku. The REAL Count Dooku!" She punched him again. "The Real Count Dooku would never have let a girl beat him... The REAL Count Dooku would never have been this incompetent..." She kept punching and slapping him, bruising him with such punishment it might have horrified the others, but Ahsoka had told Ventress what had happened; what Clone Dooku had planned for them. Ventress was going to make her point in the hardest way possible.
"You know, I'll say one good thing about the Real Count Dooku." She wound up for one more punch. "He might have been a bastard to those girls, but he wouldn't have been a fucking bastard like you!" She sent him sprawling to the floor with a knockout punch and spit on him.
Droids started pouring out of the elevators and tried to shoot Ventress, but she jumped through the window. She measured the distance to catch up with the others and let the Force glide her down to them. They could hear Clone Dooku shouting angrily to destroy them.
The others looked at her cautiously. Barriss looked at her, almost knowing by the way Ventress flexed her sore hand. "I thought you said revenge wasn't the answer..."
Asajj smiled and patted her hair to reassure her. "I didn't need to get revenge. I simply had a one-sided conversation with him to explain my thoughts." Ventress led the others to a center point on the command ship and used the lightsaber to punch a hole into the ship.
After a few minutes and a lot of droid calculations, the vultures began to realize they had been duped. "It's a trick! There's only ONE FIGHTER! After him!"
"Well, shit. The party's over. Time to head out!" He flew his Jedi craft upward at full speed to the outer atmosphere. The droids followed him through the clouds. He climbed, hopefully to drag them away from the main attack. As long as he kept them on a merry chase, they would not attack the others. It was the least he could do at this point. "Hey Red Squadron," he chimed in to Hendriksson as he went into orbit, "I'm gonna be a little late for dinner."
The Colonel smiled as he could hear some of the pirates start to skirmish around the edges of the danger zone. He could hear few screams, and knew the pirates were running into the Screamer droid defense as they crossed past the barbed wire. "You did good, Big Red One. I'll keep the light on for when you get back. Red Squadron out." He picked up his gun and prepared to launch the screamers at the main pirate force approaching. It wouldn't stop all of them, but the screamers evened the odds a little bit.
Lux flew into space, and was surprised so many vultures still followed him. "Hmm, I guess they were really humiliated by one fighter." He sighed. Pulling them from the main battle was a victory of sorts, but now he didn't know what to do with them.
His prayers were suddenly answered by the timely arrival of a large flotilla of Republic warships! Jumping out of hyperspace, they reach the edge of the orbit. The lone Banking Clan frigate that was to transport all of the male prisoners was still there. The main fleet open fired on it while dozens of Republic fighters swarmed out of their hangers to meet the oncoming droids. The Frigate is obliterated in seconds.
"This is Anakin Skywalker! Obi-wan! Are you ok?" Anakin was leading the charge, and mistook Lux for his mentor.
Lux quickly opened hailing frequencies. "This is Lux Bonteri! Commander Skywalker, it is good to see you! There is a whole fleet of Separatist ships on the planet below."
Perhaps Lux should have worded things differently, perhaps Anakin misheard the statement. Lux was trying to make him tactically aware, but came across in another way.
"Lux Bonteri, Separatist ally! I gotta hand it to you, bragging about your fleet like that, but flying Obi-wan's own fighter against us... Yeah, that takes guts!"
Hearing Anakin's reply sent a chill down Lux's spine. "No, that's not what I meant! I'm warning you-"
"And I'm warning you! The Republic will not stand for this. Prepare to have your Separatist ass handed to you!" Anakin signaled his forces to open fire.
Lux steered the craft hard and fast to do a complete 180 degree turn. He could hear the strain on it and the R4 unit that dutifully worked to keep it in one piece. "Well, this is a complete mess!" He grimaced as he flew right back into the middle of the horde of vulture droids at full speed. The droids tried to fire at him as he passed by, doing more damage to themselves than to him. Anakin took it as a sign of retreat and pursued Lux with the same determination as the droids. Everybody wanted a piece of him now.
"Aw COME ON!" He almost pouted as everyone started firing at him.