A/N:MWAHAHAHAHAHA! I return! It's been a terribly long time since I last touched this story -and after that last chapter- I'm proud to say that we are finally back on track! As is my new job! It's rather bittersweet, living up here in the country now, after having spent nearly all twenty-three years of my life in town, but in the same vein, I think its high time for change. And on another note, we can finally see what's going to happen now that Naruto's taken an active part in the upcoming war...

...prepare thyself for the next chapter! Onward! Also! I very much recommend the Imperial March theme for the start of this chapter! And remember, I own nothing save the idea for Darth Karr! As a last note, this chapter is taking place DURING the events of Attack on the Clones...

Yes, the SHIP you see Naruto using here, is indeed from Fate of the Jedi Novels. I thought it fitting, all things considered...

"I am your wrath, your anger, your HATE...!"

~?

Predator

The fleet arrived in darkness.

In the cold, unfeeling, emotionless void known as space they appeared; summoned by their master's signal. Dreadnoughts, corvettes, frigates. Last came newly christened Star Destroyers, those grim, triangular shapes streaked with black and mottled grey. Dropping out of hyperspace one by one, then in the dozens, hundreds-thousands-until their numbers soon smothered the eastern hemisphere of Serenno in its entirety, threatening to blot out the very stars themselves from orbit.

From a distance, the blue jewel looked as though it were swarmed by tiny insects, besieged by sharp, angular shapes and deadly looking triangles. Their purpose here in the Outer Rim was twofold: the capture of Count Dooku, otherwise known as Darth Tyrannus, and, barring that, the destruction of the planet itself.

Darth Karr found it fitting that his tribe of Sith would gather here, striking at a place that often defied authority. His personal flagship, the Vindicator, lay perched at the back of the armada, allowing him to watch as still more of his fleet jumped into the system, more insects as it were, come to bite the giant. Standing at more than Nineteen thousand meters long, the Super Star Destroyer resembled like a giant dagger from the outside, its scarlet, bloody hull ready to plunge into the heart of the heart of Serenno and silence her, once and for all.

"Isn't it glorious?" the words were spoken as much to himself as they were his crew. "This is all possible only because of you." He felt their eyes fall upon him, and inspired, he continued. "You have followed me over the last twenty years, aided me without fail, until this very moment! Today is as much your accomplishment as mine!

"This world shall be the first." his voice, deep and booming, amplified by the Force, carried across the deck. "The first of many. For too long have we hidden in the shadows, waiting, biding our time. Nursing our wounds in the dark, hiding, like prey. No more. NO! MORE!" A gloved fist rose, the dark fabric clenching around his triumphant fist. "Toda,y is the day we strike! Today, we tell the world, the galaxy, the very universe itself, that we are not to be trifled with! That they are the prey! Today!"

He paused, letting those words, the encouragement, the charisma, wash over them all. Behind the mask, he grinned.

"Today, WE are the predators!"

A grand cheer greeted those words!

Naruto took a moment, letting those powerful emotions wash over him. Strengthening him. Empowering him.

"You have a way with words, I see."

"What can I say? It's a gift."

Once more Karr was grateful for the mask; because it hid his cheeky grin as Ventress sidled up beside him. His arm instinctively found the groove of her waist, pulling her into his armored chest. Her body yielded to his, her own hand drifting to his chest. When he looked down, the expression on her face was one of pure, rapturous delight. She was enjoying this. Looking forward to the death of her master-the one who had betrayed her and left her for dead-her vindication finally at hand.

"You promised me you'd kill him, and here we are." she murmured, content. "I'm surprised; you kept your word."

He frowned, taking his gaze from the stars. "Why?"

Her expression faltered, a hint of color staining her otherwise white face.

"When you left, I thought...

A touch of anxiety needled him through the force. Ah. She thought he'd leave her behind because of the child. Because she was pregnant. He'd only brought a handful of apprentices with his for this task, rather than his wives, trusting them to the wise council of Shikamaru.

And yet Ventress still doubted him, feared being left behind due in no small part to her impending birth. Well, they couldn't have that now, could they? He squeezed her tightly, drawing Ventress closer to his chest. Her eyes widened slightly and in the next instant his unmasked face kissed her with such ferocity that she was left momentarily winded.

"I wouldn't dream of leaving you behind." he growled, the sound sending subtle shivers shooting up and down her spine. "Believe it."

Ventress preened proudly. "Save it for the bedroom, flyboy."

Naruto laughed, kissing her again. "I'll try to remember that."

Together they had a perfect view of the festivities from the command center, bearing silent witness as the fleet encircled the planet. He watched it all from his flagship, clad in his resplendent black armor and cloak, his shoulders stiff and erect as he absorbed the full shock of the planet below. Ships were being marshaled, forces rallied to meet this sudden assault.

Too slow.

It was almost disappointing, really.

He had given his enemies a month to prepare, as promised, and now, it was time. A mere glance into the Force confirmed that Dooku was indeed still on the planet below, radiating shock and surprise. Not much longer, now. He'd been caught completely unawares, unprepared, and now he would pay the price. For daring to strike at him, his family, his child, he would lose everything. He would pay...oh, would he pay...

"Watch your thoughts." Celeste chided from a nearby console. "They don't become you."

Naruto scoffed, dismissing her with a wave. "Says the former jedi letting me nuke a planet."

"I..!" The former-jedi-in-question colored mightily at his unexpected jab. "Given the situation, I wouldn't call this light or dark." At the latter's bemused look, she hastened to continue, to expalin. "In my time, the people of Serenno openly defied the Republic for some time. I can't claim any of them to be innocents now, even so...

"See, that's good. Life isn't light and dark. Just grey. And Dooku's about to get a lot of grey...

Aayla gulped quietly from her place at his left, cringing at the dark thoughts radiating off her beloved.

She'd never felt such anger from him before; it felt like a cold, wet blanket, smothering her. She didn't like it. Her heart was with the man who could be warm and caring-not this angry specter of doom and demise. Part of her longed to say that, to ease him out of his self-inflicted anger, if only to rid herself of this terrible dread.

"I'm fine." he soothed, stroking her cheek. "Just fine. Or I will be, once this is over. Soon."

"Promise?"

His kiss was sweet and gentle; it made her lekku curl until he finally released her. His smile, when she saw it, was warm as sunshine.

"Promise."

Then his masked head turned towards the gunnery station. Crisp words followed.

"You may fire when ready, captain."

Lekauf saluted sharply and turned his attention to the main gunner, simultaneously hailing the entire fleet as one.

"All ships, open fire."

A terrible silence followed. And then.

And then.

The Vindicator trembled slightly as every one of her turbolaser batteries opened up, streaks of green flame shooting forward towards the planet below. Then the other ships unleashed hell, streaks of red and blue and an angry white streaking down from his mismatched fleet to pound into the planet below. Into the palace the reclusive Count often used as a base. Screams of terror and fear filled the Force.

Fire rained down on the world...

...and Darth Karr laughed.

Dooku started awake with a violent jolt.

All around him the Force screamed in agony, hundreds of lives snuffed out in an instant. Once, as a jedi, this might've pained him. Now he felt little more than a dull ache in his chest, an ache eclipsed by the sudden and savage realization that everything was shaking itself apart around him.

"What-

His next words were drowned out by a rising high-pitched wail that seemed to come from everywhere at once. A knot of dread formed in his stomach as he dragged himself out of bed, stumbling. Rising swiftly, he took a nearby comlink off his desk and strode for the exit in brisk, crisp strides.

The planetary defense alarms had sounded. Was still sounding. Enemy forces-Karr's forces!-were in orbit. Karr didn't need him alive; he just needed him dead. He wouldn't bother landing any troops, he'd just bomb the planet into dust and make sure nothing lived to interfere with his plans.

Desperately, he tapped his comlink, trying to reach the hangar and tell his servants to prepare his ship, but the connection didn't go through. The relays were already down.

He stumbled outside into chaos. The defense alert still sounded, nearly deafening in its bleat, but a new noise was starting to eclipse it. A distant, heavy booming, like thunder, and he realized what was happening. This was no blockade. It was an assault.

The orbital bombardment had begun.

People were streaming into the corridor from the occupied rooms like maddened wampas'; gesturing, shouting into comlinks and carrying hastily packed luggage. He saw a diminutive human trip over their own two feet and be trampled to death beneath the heels of his fellows without so much as a passing glance.

Before he could even think to follow them the air around him compressed in a massive blast wave and knocked everyone down in the corridor. The shock was followed by the loudest noise Dooku had ever heard. Around him the stone walls cracked like overstressed glass, and he felt sure his teeth would vibrate apart in his jaw. There was just a low-pitched thrum that seemed to be bouncing around inside his skull.

Karr.

As if in answer, another ripple of blasts echoed down the corridor, though they sounded further off. Then he was free from the corridor, bursting into the garden where he'd once meditated, so long ago. Smoke seized in his lungs, smelling of death and dust. Now came new sounds, the throb of starship engines and supersonic flight. Instinct compelled Dooku to look up as he darted away from the veranda and into the street.

He regretted it almost immediately.

Even something as vast as a Super Star Destroyer was too small to be seen clearly in orbit, but the ships could be spotted as the origin points of the massive laser and plasma blasts. Deadly heat streaked out of the sky and pounded the planet to rubble. A barrage of fire hit the mountain next to the palace a dozen times, blowing starship-sized chunks of rock off the mountainside and raining them down on the buildings-and people-only a few miles below.

In the distance, a few mountaintop batteries fired up into the air, golden plasma fire leaving trails of black smoke behind them as they rose. The crowd pressed in on him now, slowing his movements. Rank and privilege were forgotten in the need to escape, the need to survive, to live another day.

At long last, the winding path ended at a long flight of steps up, and a door out into the flight tarmac. Outside he could see the steady stream of ships launching from the docks, desperately trying to get off the doomed planet. As he and thousands of other refugees emerged from the stairwell, a heavy transport lifted slowly off the field, just starting to gain some speed.

BA-KRAM!

A turbolaser blast nearly cut the ponderous ship in half. It twisted sideways, awning, trailing black smoke from mortal wound in its side, its engines rising in a dying scream as ship crashed back down in a rain of heated shrapnel, shredding those who'd been too close to the explosion.

In that instant, Tyrannus made up his mind. He needed to leave. Now. Consequences be damned!

Snarling, he reached for his lightsaber, intent to make these cretins move-

He never saw the turbolaser bolt that killed him.

Time seemed to skip.

He found himself lying on his back in the street, grit and small bits of stone covering him. He couldn't feel his legs. Because there were no legs, realized. No arm, either. His body had been blasted apart by super-heated plasma, like so many air was filled with dust and more smoke and he could feel his vision going black and oh dear he was dying. Shock was taking him now, his shattered mind unable to see, unable to focus, to think, or even...

When the next blast descended, it blasted him into atoms.

The Vindicator's batteries chugged relentlessly, pounding the surface of Serenno into molten glass with each salvo.

Karr-Naruto!-watched it all unfold with frightening dispassion, standing stoically by as his fleet systematically blasted the planet into one giant crater. His attention was decidedly elsewhere, searching through the nether of the Force, seeking out the hated prescence of his nemesis.

There.

He mentally directed the near-most gun, taking aim, firing at the Sith in the crowd. Once. Twice. Three times.

Gotcha.

There was another moment of shock, rage, pain...and then Darth Tyrannus died. It was sudden and anti-climatic all things considered, his spirit ripped from his body with such suddenness that he likely hadn't realized he was truly even dead yet. Karr grunted, satisfied with his victory, short-lived though it was. But they weren't yet done.

"Prepare to launch all fighters on my mark." he commanded, addressing his officers. "Pilots, I don't want any survivors making it to hyperspace. Understood?" To some, it might seem contradictory to his plans; if no one escaped Serenno, then who would spread the tale? Who would tell of what had happened here, regale people the savage slaughter that had taken place? Ah, but that was the idea. The concept of a hard, fast strike with absolutely no witnesses was exactly what he wanted; it would simply pit the Republic and Separatists even further against one another.

Their stupidity made him proud, it did.

Crisp, brisk strides carried Karr out of the elevator and into the hangar bay where the rest awaited him. He passed countless vessels as he made his way towards his own, a quintent of Chiss clawcraft, a pair of battered headhunters, even the newer, sleeker models of refitted blast-boats before he found his craft waiting for him near the blast doors. He took a moment to compose himself, then asked:

"Ready, ship?"

Am I not always ready? came the reply, echoing through the corridors of his mind.

Naruto chuffed softly. "Sheesh, it was just a joke...

Your "jokes" still leave much to desired, Darth Karr. If the ship had a face, he would've sworn it just deadpanned. Come now, its hatch irised open, we have a battle to win.

The Sith Lord nodded and strode up into the bowels of his craft. "Indeed we do."

A male-programmed Sith Meditation Sphere, Ship possessed a round cockpit and resembled the Yuuzhan Vong creations he'd seen in his dreams. However, it was wholly, inorganic and had a rusty red-orange color. Its main weapon could make shrapnel out of most targets. The interior was blessedly bare, devoid of all distractions.

Naruto calmly folded his legs and sat in a meditative posture in the center of the cockpit and communicated mentally with Ship. Ready yourself. Then, stretching his senses outward, he communicated with the rest.

He felt a thrill of dangerous excitement from the hangar bay as Hanabi completed her pre-flight check and gunned the engines. "This is Ghost Leader." he said. "All squadrons, check in."

"Ghost one, ready." He preened at the crisp tone ringing in his beloved's voice as he stepped away from the command center and descended into the elevator. She might still be sulking about Miri and Shion, but when it came right down at it, she was still a professional and a damned good one at that.

"Ghost two, ready." Grievous's guttural voice sounded off.

"Ghost three, ready." answered Brood.

So it went, until all twelve wings had checked in. Naruto slid his mask on once more, the blank slate hiding his smile, his face, away from the world.

"Launching fighters.

The blast doors swung open with a harsh bang and Ship shot forward into the fray, swooping down like an angry hawkbat on the unsuspecting ships just beginning to rise from the surface of Serenno. Angry red spheres blasted forth, obliterating a pair of light cruisers and an early Y-Wing well past its prime before bursting past and onto fresher targes.

Down, he thought, and the vessel obeyed, carrying him towards another pair of transports. Seconds later, they were so much shattered steel, venting oxygen. Across the comlink, Hanabi gave a wild whoop of delight, a sound that would've terrified most men. He knew at once she wasn't pleased with having lost her kill.

"Hey, save some for me!"

Naruto's only response was to laugh.

What followed was blessed, glorious combat. Naruto gloried in it alls-the sweet feeling of thinking his actions and having Ship obey, his will made manifest.

After years of waiting it was time. His threat had been issued; the deal broken.

War was upon them.

A/N: And there we have it! The alliance is broken! The war is on! The events of Attack of the Clones are rapidly approaching, in fact, you'll see them next chapter! Expect to see a month's timeskip in that regard! Narutoa' plans are finally coming together, but just what are they? And Palpatine's getting ready to pull out that trump card...wonder what it is? On another note, it felt damned good to jump back into the thickof things and get this story rolling again! As I'm sure you've all noticed, I've been on a crazy updating spree, and though its taking its toll on me, and even with this blasted new job eating up all of my mornings and most of the afternoon, I'm still resolved to continue!

So...in the Immortal words of Darth Vader...

...Review...IT IS YOUR DESTINY! ANd of course, enjoy the preview! And one 'tis a shocker! For Naruto at least...

(Preview! (s))

Anakin felt, rather than saw his Padme's reaction.

"He's here."

Naruto seemed wholly at ease, uncaring for the attention garnered by his unexpected visit to Naboo. Each step clicked harshly against the floor, a steady gait carrying him through the palace.

Padme's face was a study of contrasts.

"What're you doing here?"

"Why, I've come to give the happy couple my blessing, of course.

Naruto froze.

Every fiber of his being, every muscle, every single cell, all turned to ice. A small part of him was keenly aware of the rain-the endless, relentless rain of Kamino-sputtering against his lightsaber, causing the crimson line to hiss and spark furiously in his grip. That fury was nothing compared to what-whom!-he saw standing before him.

Gentle eyes regarded him with cool contempt, the cylinder slowly rising from her belt and into the line of her palm. When the lightsaber snapped to life, he nearly flinched.

"I missed you, Naruto-kun" she smiled benevolently, the words at complete contrasts with her expression. "Its been such a long time...

Karr balked.

He was staring at a dead woman.

And then she came at him, saber swingingQ

Who is it?! Find out next time! R&R! =D