The Clone Wars: Battle in the Dark
Soon after the Battle of Geonosis, the Clone Wars spread through the galaxy like a virus. Once peaceful planets now found themselves having to choose sides in this costly war. Single choices could turn the tide of any battle. The newly formed clone army of the Republic endlessly battled the forces of the Confederacy of Independent Systems and their droid armies... Under the command of the ruthless cyborg General Grievous. Despite the Republic's efforts, many planets formed alliances with the Separatists. Each defection made one more planet the Republic had to fight.
While the clones were a vital part in the fight to restore peace to the galaxy, it was the Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice, that helped turn the tide of many of the planetary battles and skirmishes. Masters, Knights, and Padawans were all sent to the frontlines, commanding legions of clone troops. Given the rank of General, the Jedi increased morale among the troopers... The sight of a lightsaber made Separatist forces nervous and weary. One such Jedi General was a newly appointed Master, the Force was strong in his family, but despite his training... He was unprepared for the terrors that this war would bring...
Planet: Korriban
Jedi General Rino Trebor made his way to the war room of the Republic command center, walking briskly past the many clone troops under his command. Was it wrong of the Jedi to breed these men just as expendable pawns? Indeed these were troubling times, if the lives of others had fallen to the very bottom of Jedi standards. Under his command, the clone troopers quickly learned that Master Trebor would not let a single one of them die if he could prevent it. Though this was Trebor's first campaign of the war, his forces had already engaged Separatist's on this tainted planet.
The door to the war room slid open as he approached, and he did not delay in going inside. He walked up to the holoprojector and sent a transmission signal to the Jedi High Council, on Coruscant. After a few moments, the images of Jedi Grand Master Yoda, and the revered Jedi Master Windu appeared.
"Masters, we have engaged droid forces several times since our arrival. They were not as organized as we had first believed, however, both times that we engaged them, they retreated. I believe they are regrouping and awaiting reinforcements, the area that they are in is so tainted with the dark side that I dare not engage them. I seek your guidance, Masters." He said, bowing his head slightly as he awaited the wisdom he knew both masters could provide.
Neither Jedi Master spoke for a few moments, Yoda was the first to break the silence.
"Hmm, troubling this is. If too tainted is the area they are in, the Valley of the Dark Lords it must be." The wisened Jedi Master began, scratching his chin. "Sense trouble, I do. More than droids in the Valley, there are... Creatures of the dark side, awoken they have from their long slumber." He looked up to Master Windu.
Windu had been thinking on what Master Trebor had reported, and as Yoda finished speaking, he looked at Trebor.
"Engaging them within the Valley could prove perilous, however, we cannot allow the Separatists to gain a foothold on Korriban. Using the old Sith Academy, Count Dooku could spawn an army of dark Jedi against us... This would prove deadly. You will have to attack with everything you have in one swift strike. Do not give the enemy time to react." He said, crossing his arms. "We can spare no reinforcements, may the Force be with you, Master Trebor." He added, and the hologram of the two Jedi disappeared.
Trebor sighed, his first mission might be his last... But he had to do as Master Windu instructed. He left the war room and found his commander.
"Commander Syrn, get every tank, walker, and bomber ready. We shall engage the enemy within the Valley of the Dark Lords in two hours. Alert the troops, as well." He said, walking away to attend to other matters before this inevitably deadly battle.
"Yes, General." Came the Clone Commander's reply, he then rushed to carry out Trebor's orders.
Elsewhere, on the Sith planet, a meeting was being held. A meeting between the assassin Asajj Ventress, and her master... The Sith Lord Count Dooku.
"My lord, the Republic has dispatched a force of clone troopers to halt our operations here... They are lead by a Jedi." Ventress hissed.
Dooku responded quickly.
"I know all about this Jedi, he is of little concern to us. Remain within the Valley, they will not strike." He lied, he had already forseen that the Republic forces would attack Ventress... This was a test of her skills. Could she handle it?
Ventress bowed slightly, then looked back up to her master.
"Very well, my forces shall remain here, my lord." She said, then Dooku's image disappeared and she relayed the order to the droid commanders.
Trebor's forces were all prepared for the attack. He stood in front of his men, pacing, deep in thought. The time of battle drew nearer by the minute, and he was still unsure of this. He stopped.
"As you all know, we are to attack the Separatist forces within the Valley of the Dark Lords soon. I will understand should any of you decide to remain at the command center, it will not be held against you. Do any of you wish to do that?" He asked, completely serious.
Every clone answer their General's question in complete unison.
"Sir, no, sir!"
Trebor admired their courage, or was it their reluctance to back away from a good fight that made them admirable?
"I must admit, I am surprised... But also a little relieved. Even the loss of one man could turn the tide of this battle, since we are unaware of the enemy's numbers." He said, smiling faintly.
Commander Syrn then spoke directly to Rino, voice filled with anticipation of his first battle under his new General.
"We are clones, General. We never back away from a chance to scrap some clankers!" He shouted, recieving cheers of agreement from many clones.
Rino's smile grew.
"I'm glad to hear it, Commander. Alright, men, I've decided we should leave the bombers here... It would give us away before we even made it there." He paused, the sun was setting behind the rocky mountains of the planet. "Night has fallen... We move now." He said, leaping onto an AT-TE. "Move out!"
The clones obeyed the order immediately, marching away from their command center. Under the cover of night, Rino hoped they would catch their enemy by slight surprise... Anything less than mild shock could work against them.
The droid forces under the command of Ventress were nowhere near battle-ready. Since Dooku had assured Ventress that the Jedi would not attack, the droids saw no point in taking up battle positions. Some of Ventress' droids had been destroyed by some of the creatures... Barely enough to make a dent in her forces, but maybe just enough to give any group attacking an advantage.
The assassin had a surprise, though. If the Jedi did attack, he would be extremely regretful. Ventress smirked at the thought, she hoped the Jedi did attack... She longed to add another Jedi to her list of kills.
Trebor's forces were very close to the Valley, and Rino could already feel the presence of the dark side. Still, he could not reach out to the Force to get any idea of what they were up against, the dark side clouded his vision. Rino commanded his troopers to halt, he stood up on the AT-TE and turned to his men.
"There are more than droids in the Valley. Vicious creatures are likely to await us there, though I do not believe they pose as much of a threat as the droids." He said, turning back around and crouching once more. He ordered them to resume marching, up ahead was their destination... Up ahead was their possible doom.
The droids paid no attention to the barely audible sounds of the AT-TE walkers as they closed in on the Valley. But Ventress could hear them clearly, using the dark side. She could also sense the Jedi... This would be an excellent opportunity to use her new pets. She smirked again.
"Get to your posts! As soon as I order, I want the tanks to fire at the pillars at the entrance of the valley. I want the Jedi trapped!" She commanded, her hands on the hilts of her two lightsabers.
The clone forces were now inside the mouth of the valley. Trebor jumped off the AT-TE and took his lightsaber from his belt.
"All clone troopers... Charge!" He ordered, dashing towards the droid command center.
The blade on his lightsaber activated, it's brilliant blue light clearly visible in the dark. Blaster fire was beginning to come at them, and he deflected all aimed at him, maybe his fears were unwarranted, after all.
"All tanks, fire on the pillars!" Came Ventress' command.
The droids in the AAT's obeyed immediately, firing at the pillars and watching as they came down, entrapping the clones and taking some of them out.
"And release the terentatek from the openings of the four tombs." Ventress added with pleasure.
The doors to the tombs of Ajunta Pall, Marko Ragnos, Tulak Hord, and Naga Sadow opened, revealing four beasts that resembled rancors... But smaller. They had huge spikes coming off their backs, and four huge claws on each hand. The night provided perfect camouflage for the creatures.
Rino turned around when the pillars collapsed, he listened with grief as he heard the screams of some of his soldiers... Their deaths would not be in vain. Barely, he thought he heard the sound of stone doors opening... His imagination? He turned back around, deflecting more shots. Unaware that he was being stalked.
Just then, Rino was met by Asajj Ventress, her lightsabers activated... She had a wicked smile on her face.
"Hello, Jedi... I do not believe we have met, but the pleasure in killing you is all mine." She said with a chuckle, she could feel the terentatek closing in.
Rino knew who the woman in front of him was, her reputation was well known.
"A mere assassin could not hope to kill a Jedi Master." He said, blue blade in front of his face, he was prepared for a fight.
Ventress laughed.
"Foolish Jedi! I did not say the death would be by my blades!" She exclaimed, the terentatek were on the scene.
Trebor had been about to respond, when he heard the screams of more clones. He turned, and was horrified at what he saw. A terentatek.
"All walkers aim at the beast!" He shouted, knowing that his Force powers would be useless against it. Then he jumped, barely dodging an attack by a second creature. How many were there?
Ventress took delight in watching the Jedi fight for his life... This would be fun to watch.
Planet: Coruscant
Inside the communication room in the Jedi Temple, Jedi Masters Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Yoda stood in front of the holoprojector. The images of Master Plo Koon, and Luminara Unduli appeared.
"General Grievous has just destroyed another of our fleets in the Felucia system. My ships did not arrive in time to provide aid, but we briefly engaged Grievous before his fleet fled the sector." Koon said, crossing his arms.
Yoda was about to provide counsel, when he suddenly placed a hand on his heart.
"Master Yoda, what's wrong?" Kenobi asked in alarm.
Yoda replied slowly.
"In serious danger, Master Trebor is. Trapped he is in battle, fighting more than droids he is." He said, closing his eyes. "Send him aid, we must." He added, looking up.
Plo Koon spoke up.
"My fleet will go to Korriban immediately and aid Master Trebor." He said, awaiting reply.
"Very well, may the Force be with you. Hurry you must." Yoda said, then Koon's image disappeared as he went to give the orders to go to Korriban.
Rino had killed one of the terentatek, but three remained. He had already lost more than half of his men, but he could not retreat. He continued to order the tanks to shoot the creatures, but Ventress had ordered her forces to aim directly at the AT-TE's... Which proved unfortunate for Trebor.
He now had only one tank, and it had sustained major damage... It couldn't take much more. Ventress picked up one of the gunners on the AT-TE and threw him to one of the beasts... Rino watched as the creature ripped him to shreds.
"Why not surrender, Jedi? I will give you and your clones a fast death." Ventress said with a chuckle.
Rino looked at her, dodging the attack of another creature, and slashing at it with his lightsaber... It hit it in the back, but did not kill it.
"You have not yet won, Ventress. The arrogance of the Sith will not help you in this battle." He said, picking up a boulder with the Force and hurling it at the terentatek he had just wounded. It fell to the ground, spine broken.
Ventress growled.
"You dare mock me!" She shouted, lunging at Trebor.
Trebor blocked the attack, and then pushed Ventress away using the Force.
"No wonder you tend to lose so many battles. Your fighting style is reckless, sloppy... Typical of the Sith." He said, blocking another attack.
Ventress growled once more, then a smirk came across her face as the two remaining terentatek turned their attention towards the Jedi. Both creatures charged him, and Ventress thought for sure they would rip him apart.
Rino turned around when Ventress smirked, but he did so too late. He barely dodged one of the creatures, trying to slash at it as it passed. The other's claw hit him in the shoulder and he toppled to the ground, lightsaber shooting from his hand. The two beasts turned back to finish off their prey, but Ventress commanded them with the dark side to halt.
She approached the wounded Jedi, preparing to end his pathetic life with one swift stroke of her lightsabers.
"Any last words, Jedi scum?" She asked, gripping her sabers tighter.
Rino called upon the Forced and his lightsaber returned to his hand, he immediately activated it and jumped up. He landed behind Ventress.
"This battle is far from over." He said, swinging the blade at the assassin.
Ventress dodged, then shot a current of Force lightning at the already injured Jedi Master. He fell to his knees, lightsaber falling beside him. He held his head in pure agony.
"Fool! You underestimate the power of the dark si-" Ventress was cut off as turbolaser blasts began to bombard the surface of the planet all around her. She looked up to see a fleet of Jedi attack cruisers, and a few gunships coming towards them.
The attack cruisers had taken care of most of the droid forces and the two remaining terentatek, and the three gunships that landed handled the rest. Jedi Master Plo Koon jumped out of one of the gunships and landed in between Ventress and Trebor, blocking the current of electricty with his lightsaber.
"I believe you should surrender now, Ventress." Koon said, gesturing to a few of his clone troopers to carry Master Trebor to a gunship.
Ventress scowled at Koon, then she used the Force to dash to her personal starfighter.
"Move in a cruiser to intercept me, I am falling back." She said into her comlink disdainfully. She then retracted the landing feet and took off.
"Let her go, we must get Master Trebor to a medical facility." Koon said, deactivating his lightsaber and running to the gunship Trebor had been taken to.
Aboard the CIS attack cruiser Desolate, Ventress retired to her quarters and recieved a transmission from Count Dooku.
"My lord, the Jedi attacked us, but I managed to severely inure him with the terentatek. I was about to finish him off, but the Republic sent reinforcements and I was forced to retreat... My droids were destroyed." She hissed, knowing now that her master had lied.
Dooku was disappointed in his apprentice.
"I am most displeased, Ventress. You could not handle such a simple task, and yet I keep you as an apprentice. Perhaps my faith in you was misplaced." He said, glaring at her.
Ventress silently growled.
"I will not fail you again, my master." She said, cutting off the transmission angrily. "I will personally exterminate that Jedi, with or without the help of Dooku's pathetic droids!" She vowed, throwing a chair up against the wall with the Force.