Chapter 14: Dusk on Geonosis. Beginning of the conflict
[Song suggestion: The Birthday Massacre- Red Stars]
*Author's responses to readers*
Ultor: I will consider that possibility, thanks for pointing it out!
Pt1oef: indeed it is easier, since I can visualize the action, thanks to the movies, games and animated series. Starcraft is harder to describe, especially if you deviate from the script, like I did.
I Judicator: Thanks for the good thoughts! I am glad you like the story!
/
Master Obi Wan Kenobi tried to use the Force to check if either Hivaarr or Erladin were still alive, yet he was unable to. Wether it was the battle or the Dark Side, something was clouding his senses.
"Pilot! What was the registration number of the downed gunship?" Padme suddenly asked, an idea forming in her head.
"Let me see… XW22P…"the copilot stated.
"Can you ask around if there were any survivors again she asked with hope in her voice.
"I can, maam!"
'Then do so quickly!"Anakin interfered, impatient to hear the news, any news of his brother-by-oath.
Their own gunship, paired up with master Yoda's and another one, launched waves upon waves of rockets at the enemy starships. Also, their laser fire and deadly raygun turrets made short work of the ground based droid lines. The clones and their jedi generals were thankful for the aid. The bothersome wheeled, rocket launching separatist contraptions- the wheelies, as they've been quickly nicknamed- destroyed quite the number of the Republic's AT-TA's tanks. With them and the spider droids crushed, the clone infantery was able to push forward from their assembly areas at last.
After little over one hour of fighting, the entire battlefield was turning into one giant scrapyard… and graveyard. Piles of droid, clone, geonosian bodies were scattered all over the sandy, rocky, dry, harsh landscape of the cursed planet.
"Madam… sir, we've found something! A distress signal had been sent by the ship. Someone's there to pick them up!"the copilot announced, bringing relief to the three passengers.
Suddenly, Obi Wan, Anakin and Padme's gunship came into contact with a fleeing Count Dooku, escorted by a pair of native flown fighters.
"Shoot him down at once!" Anakin ordered, but the pilots had to decline. They had no more rockets and the other weapons were too overheated.
" Then we have no choice but to follow him!"Obi Wan stated the obvious.
The two gunships were engaged in the pursuit of Count Dooku's speeder throughout the countless canyons, ravines and valleys. The renegade jedi master spared the a glance over his shoulder, pressed a button on his console, then sped up. The other two fighters slowed down their engines, coming up behind the Republic gunships.
The ensuing fight nearly resulted in them losing Dooku's trail, but the clone pilots were competent enough to avoid the worst of the enemy fire. By sheer bad luck, though, Padme and one of the clones were thrown out of the ship when one of the blasts rocked the armored craft. The two landed unceremonisely in the massive, red sand dunes of the planet. The low altitude that they were flying at prevented any real injury, though both seemed unconscious and far from friendly lines.
" Anakin! We don't have time for this now!" Obi Wan told his padawan off. "I know you want to help her, but she can take care of herself, plus she's got a clonse trooper at her side for now! Remember, Dooku's our first priority! With him captured or dead, we could end this war early!"
Skywalker didn't like the idea of leaving his lovebird like that at all. On the other hand, as much as he trued, he couldn't deny the truth in his master's words.
"Agreed! We'll do this!" he answered, his voice full of resolve.
Master Yoda watched as the Raygun tanks obliterated the last of the Separatist giant, ball shaped starships that hadn't taken off in time.
"Good day, commander! A ship for me, could you spare?"the wise green alien asked with a calm tone, one that didn't betray the ominous feeling that worried him.
The leader of the clones, number XT1205, otherwise calling himself Craig, saluted his superior officer and went on to make the preparations.
In the meantime, master Yoda's transmitter rang. Activating the holo-feed, he was surprised- and relieved- to see Krav Erladin, for the most part unharmed.
" Ah, Erladin, pleased to see you're fine, I am! The crash scared all of us!" he expressed his concern.
"I assure you, grandmaster, it scared us as well! Were it not for my padawan, I dare say we would have died horribly!" Krav Erladin spoke, but with a hint of urgency.
The Grandmaster of the Jedi Order obviously caught wind of that feeling. Even across that great distance, he could sense the zabrak's nervousness. Something was wrong. It revolved around his padawan, given the way he mentioned Hivaarr's role in saving his life.
"Unsettled, you are, my fellow jedi! Something I can do?"
" No-I… I mean yes!"Erladin then sighed. "It's about Nelo! My padawan… I fear that his recent efforts- given how straining they were- have affected him. With his energies at the minimum, he used his… emotions… to save us and the clone troopers. Everybody onboard our ship would have died otherwise. Please, grandmaster, I need your guidance on this extremely sensitive matter. Threatening to punish him by demoting him or worse, banishing him altogether would be detrimental, if not dangerous!"
Another sigh from him. The jedi knight was tired, both from the recent events and from having exhausted his mind in how to deal with the problems that arose with his padawan's growing powers. His eyes, his demeanor, his aura, everything looked as if it had been taken away, stripped from his very being- at least that's how Erladin looked like at that moment, Yoda thought.
Taking another dive into what some masters would call "The Living Ocean of Energy" that was the Force, the grandmaster was relieved to find out that Krav Erladin was not in danger, nor were his deficiencies… permanent. He would recover if given the proper rest, treatment and meditation exercises. He then ried to get a reading from young Hivaarr's Force signature, but the answer was strange. The teen human padawan's emanation was dimmer than usual, shrouded in a mysterious cloak of greyish shadows…
No, he couldn't concentrate any longer. He had to ponder on this, in a peaceful, quiet place, not on a battlefield.
"Much uncertainty, there is, in those dark times. Many challenges, even more dangerous, lie ahead! Ever mindful and vigilent, we must be! Leave the padawan to talk to me and rest, brother jedi!" Yoda answered, smiling apologeticly, to which Erladin simply bowed, thanked him and brought Nelo to the comm.
The boy wanted to be anywhere but there, speaking with the grandmaster. He did admit to himself that it could have been worse. Still, he hoped to get away in one piece-metaphoricly- out of this one. Lying was out of the question. Back to sincerity, perhaps?
" Hello, master Yoda! Sorry for taking your time!" Nelo greeted and bowed respectfully.
"No problem at all young one! Worried, your master, however, is! Why that is, explain you might?"the sympathetic green gremlin asked.
Nelo tried weaving an 80% truth-20% lie kind of story. He told master Yoda that, given his last mission, he exhausted himself. So when they were aboard the gunship, a warning from the Force prompted him to take action. His master trusted him with his life and the life of the others around them, so he went on with his last resort. Reaching into the spiritual side of the Vaapad style, he delved into his need to save others, molded his compassion into a driving sentiment, which in turn he used to fuel his powers.
And then he told him what he had told Erladin earlier…
After listening to the entire story from the padawan's point of view, Yoda went cold for a moment. It was child's play to put two and two together and draw the line, so to say. All the clues pointed to a certain Darkness- aligned power: Force Drain, the evil counterpart of Force Absorb.
It was then that he understood why the zabrak jedi knight was in that state. He should consider himself lucky, for not many would have been able to hold back when unleashing that leech-like technique. But the problem itself remained. What would he do with Hivaarr? Punishment was out of the question; it was not the time, nor the place for that. The expressions running about on the padawan's face: hope, fear, resignation to his fate, trust and mistrust… a mosaic of emotions, all of them swirling menacingly. The best approach would be a thorough talk back at the Jedi Temple, once the Battle of Geonosis was over.
Yoda's gunship arrived and he didn't have much time. The Force had warned that his former padawan, Dooku, was trying to leave the planet. That was out of the question. The latter had to answer for his crimes; perhaps even redeem himself by stopping whatever the Separatist Alliance had planned.
"Nelo Hivaarr, a new mission, for you, I have! Know that I trust you to finish this task!" he spoke to the boy at last.
The aforementioned padawan brightened immediately at the words. It meant that his approach was the best, at least for now, Yoda thought. Losing him to the Dark Side or alienating him would be tragic.
" Whatever it is, I will strive to do what's best!" Hivaarr answered with determination, also giving a bow.
"Good, good! Assume command over your master's clone trooper company, you must! A leader they need, while you need help. Let one help another in camaraderie. Go now, but do not forget yourself or your teachings!"
Nelo gave him a beaming smile, bowed, thanked the Grandmaster for his confidence in him, then left to prepare for what lay ahead.
He didn't hear the last words that were spoken.
"Only time will tell, if to trust you, right I was!"
The journey back to the closest troop assembly area didn't take long. He, master Erladin, plus the other 22 clones were given immediate medical attention. All of them, save for the zabrak jedi were deemed fit for frontline duty. To Nelo's great surprise, the jedi knight that had assisted him in taking out that giant shock cannon back in the execution arena greeted him.
"Hello there, Nelo! My name is Pal Taruk and I'll be helping you in the upcoming battle!" the green skinned twi'lek offered. "Although, as master Yoda previously told you, you will be the one leading the company; I'll just be giving you a helping hand!" Taruk smiled as he shook the teen's hand.
"I will do what must be done!" Hivaarr answered with determination, nodding his head.
"Alright then! Better get acquainted with your troops, though I have the distinct feeling that you've already met some of them!" the twi'lek stated as he went on to prepare himself as well.
So the clones that he saved were from his new company. Cool! Right next, he would have to have a talk with his officers so that he could get moving. He would find a name for the company later.
Less than half an hour later, they were on the move. With Hivaarr leading them- Pal Taruk close behind him, of course-, the 300 strong force made its way towards the seemingly unending mayhem ahead of them. With no heavy unit support and only twelve ATRTs combat walkers, they had to make the most with what they had: infantery weapons and tactics.
All around them, friends and foes, fellow clones and jedi, separatist droids and their commanders were falling by the tens, hundreds, thousands and growing. Only by sheer luck would one be spared from the deadly waves of laser fire that rained eitherway. Republic AT-TE tanks were pummeling the droid positions. Strong points, forts, redoubts, mountains and even small spaceships and factories were being raized to the ground into useless heaps of rubble. As a response, the enemy deployed more and more of their by now dubbed "Wheelies", droids that rolled on two giant wheels, quickly making their way towards their target across any terrain. Their rocket launchers had enough precision to lock onto and destroy the AT-TEs. Even if they missed the target, the area damage was nothing short of devastating.
There were two things that saved many Republic lives that day:
The droid army was taken by surprise, most of its factories and starports destroyed or captured, so regrouping was out of the question.
The Grand Army of the Republic employed its notorious gunships. Equipped with laser guns, lasser rays and rocket launchers, they were able to cut through the more heavily armed parts of the enemy lines with ease.
Nelo used the comm link of his helmet to coordinate his troops. Seeing as he spider droids were desperately trying to plug the gaps left by the demise of the wheelies and other heavier mechs, Hivaarr organized a spearhead formation. Himself at front, using energy shields and whatever Force Protection he could still muster to draw and deflect the brunt of the enemy fire, while his clones used their long range rifles to shoot down the common battle droids. In the end came their ATRTs speed walkers, their weaponry enough to destroy the spider droids.
The scheme worked, much to his and Pal's disbelief. The other companies quickly adopted similar moves, thus breaking through the enemy front. Four gunships roared overhead, delivering their lethal payload upon the Separatists. Losses were still mounting on both sides, yet the balance was irreversibly turned towards the Republic's side. That did not mean that it was time to celebrate; not at all. In fact, such a situation often led to fanatical, last ditch attacks. Droids did not fear shock or terror. Overwhelming odds did not matter to them, not if they've been programmed to obey their masters completely. Neither were family, friends, comrads, home or any such aspect meaningful to them.
Hivaarr watched in disgust as vulture droids were launching suicide attacks against his and his allies' lines. He and Pal had to Force Push a few of them away from their clone troopers. Casualties were mounting though. One of his sergeants reported 15 dead and 37 wounded on their company alone. Also, at the time of the report, two of the ATRTs were burned to a crisp.
Deflecting another incoming volley, he pulled his troops into a longer and more sharpened diamond formation, again using his Force Protect to keep them as safe as possible, much to the clones'relief. He didn't realize that Pal Terek was actually heping him maintain the flow of Force energy, feeding that taxing power. Master Yoda was explicit in his request of observing the padawan and he would do his best.
No sooner than half an hour later they shattered the enemy's left flank, completing the encirclement. An artillery bombardment later and the remaining droids were blown to smitherins.
Next thing he knew, he collapsed on the ground, just like that. He registered Pal Terek calling for a medic. Slipping in and out of a healing trance, he remembered being taken to a field hospital, where he was administered bacta injections, along with vital vitamins and nutrients that his body had been lacking in the last days. His master assured him that after a minimum sleep time of two hours, he will be allowed to go and retrieve his missing lightsaber and gear.
What had happened meanwhile…
Anakin cursed Dooku's luck. With no more rockets to spare and with the overheating of the rayguns, they could only follow the renegade jedi towards whatever hideout he was heading to.
As if it wasn't enough, the two geonosian escort fighters were giving the gunships an ever harder time.
After some more chasing, Dooku finally docked his speeder bike into a hangar hidden away inside a mountain. Anakin and Obi Wan jumped off their ship and immediately ran after him, lightsabers at the ready. The gunships, however, met their doom shortly after. With no means for escape, the two jedi'only choice was the violent one: taking the Count of Serenno captive or killing him.
Both stopped as they neared Dooku's spaceship. The Count turned and greeted them. In his young, foolish braziness, Anakin disregarded Obi Wan's attempts at a plan and charged the sith headlong. Seconds later, he was too surprised bt the Force Lightning attack to block it. The 20 year old padawan ended up smacked against the cave's granite walls.
"How particularly pitiful! I was hoping for a more worthy adversary!"the Count spat, before turning to the other jedi. "Master Kenobi, will you reconsider my offer?"he asked with a tinge of hope in his tone.
Having an accomplished jedi at his side instead of his still inexperienced dark acolytes would be a great asset. Who knows? If Darth Sidious would ever want to cast him aside like a useless pawn, he and Kenobi would take out the Dark Lord instead. Of course, he would only reveal his plans if Qui-Gon Jinn's former padawan accepted his alliance proposal. If not, then things had to continue as planned.
Obi Wan Kenobi, true to his vows and ideals as a jedi master, turned down that offer. In turn, he proposed that Dooku surrender and spare the Galaxy of another devastating civil war.
"Then, so be it!" was the Count's response, as he lit his crimson lightsaber and thus the duel began.
Obi Wan engaged in his preferred, defensive Soresu style, keeping his eyes open for any counterattacks that he might land on his adversary. Dooku, on the other hand, use his trademark Makashi, the second lightsaber form, one best suited for fencing and one on one battles such as this one. They exchanged many fast paced strikes, aiming for each other's necks, arms or legs, but with no result. Every hit would be met by a solid defence. Trying to break the stalemate, Dooku took a few steps back, then forced Kenobi into a saber-lock.
Obi Wan grabbed the hilt of his weapon with both hands, desperately trying to counteract this move. He was perfectly aware that his enemy was an adept of such moves; one slight miscalculation on his part and he could lose the battle, if not his life. Eventually, he broke the impasse, but, not too long after, Dooku caught him in yet another lock. Both lightsabers were giving off sparks and small lightnings from their continued collision.
The Jedi Masterr's hands were stretched out too far, his muscles too tense from the ongoing effort. It, therefore, didn't take long for Dooku to exploit the weakness. He pushed Obi Wan's lightsaber upwards, then shifted himself and cut his adversary, once on the left arm, near the shoulder and again on the left leg. Both wounds were deep enough to incapacitate the jedi, but were not enough to slice the members off.
Shaking his head in disappointment at the sight before him, Dooku silently apologized to his former friend, Qui-Gon, before twirling his lightsaber in his hand. He launched the final, fatal strike. Imagine the surprise in his eyes when green met crimson; the lowly Skywalker padawan blocking his strike.
" That's brave of you boy! But it's also incredibly foolish!" he bellowed. "You should have learned your place and stayed down!"
" I am a slow learner!" Anakin admitted.
His master shouted at him, throwing his blue lightsaber, which Skywalker easily caught. Then he engaged in a rudimentary Jar Kai assault against the Sith Lord.
Even with his successive whirlwind-like attacks, Anakin quickly lost his momentum- and his green coloured lightsaber. Left with his other, blue one, he retreated a few steps, cutting an energy coupling along the way. All lighting died out immediately. The two duelists took position. They measured each other for a full minute, before resuming their fight.
Anakin switched to a combination between Ataru and Djem So, trying to land swift, pin-point attacks on Dooku. When a strike would be blocked, he would have rotated, or sidestepped, then tried to swipe at him. However, none of his movements managed to at least graze Dooku, let alone incapacitate him. His adversary, on the other hand, drew him into exhaustion by allowing his flurry of strikes to reach him. By standing fast with his Makashi form, the Sith Lord eyed the perfect opportunity, in a too ambitious upper strike that Anakin wanted to land. Dooku then made to the right, parried and used the nigh-impossible angle to trace his lightsaber up until he reached Anakin's right arm, which he clinically amputated. A violent Force Push after, and the boy was sent into a nearby wall, right next to his master; unconscious from the shock.
As the renegade jedi master turned sith lord neared the duo, ready to finish them for good, he was Force Pulled a couple of meters. He felt an all too familiar presence approaching.
" Master Yoda, what a surprise?!"
What happened next was a brief exchange of pleasentries, followed by a Force duel and a lightsaber duel. To Obi Wan's amazement, the green, minuscule and, not to forget, old Grandmaster of the Jedi Order was almost too fast to register with his eyes. Even Dooku had to adit that his former master would best him if things went on like this. Also, the Clone Army was decimating his forces, so he had no choice but to flee.
Preying on the legendary, thousand year old weakness of the jedi- compassion-, Dooku used his free hand to pull apart a giant fuel reservoir, poised to fall on top of Anakin and Obi Wan.
Yoda had no choice but to break his attack and focus all his attention on saving his two fellow jedi.
Meanwhile, Dooku boarded his ship, which he used to escape. The relatively small sized and strong, hyperspace worthy craft managed to evade enemy fire and jump into the unknown. He would change his course randomly, then meet up with Lord Sidious. His acolytes would have to respect protocols and escape on their own, undetected.
Earlier, in another part of Geonosis…
After finishing off that obnoxious nautolan jedi, Inanna turned her gaze back to the battle. That forceful admission- that confused even her-, still lingered in her thoughts. She had been taught to- and learned to- avoid weaknesses like a virus. Because that's what they were, her master, Darth Tyrannus- Count Dooku, had told her during one of her first lessons. First and foremost: a sith doesn't depend on others, not even his or her own master. Emotions were the drive behind a sith's power; behind the strength of the Dark Side itself. It was an emotion- fear- that had driven her and still drives her to obey her master's every wish and not step out of line, not trust, appreciation or any other. Obviously, there was respect on her part, none of them would deny that. Yet respect would be hard to gain and even harder to maintain.
Aside from fear, there were other, more vicious emotions that… helped her to control her powers? Or was it the other way around?
It didn't matter to her. Fuel for the burning fire, the raging inferno that was her heart, her soul, if not her entire being. Hate for the Hutts, for slavers, for corrupt politicians that wouldn't give a damn for their own citzens, let alone for the denizens of more remote planets, such as Tatooine. Then there was the need for revenge against the said bastards, to which she also added the Jedi Order.
"Defenders of Peace and Harmony", "Guardians of the Weak", "The Fairest of the Bunch" and what not!
She was repulsed by the mere mention of those titles.
She hated them ever since all those awful things happened, all those years ago, back on Tatooine.
What she did not know back then, as she met Dooku for the first time, was the fact that the old man in front of her was one of the sith- a jedi master fed up with corruption, ignorance, weakness and injustice. How that one meeting would shape her future… he couldn't have possibly imagined.
Did she regret her decision? Not in the least! It was the only choice and a good one at that!
But here she was now, watching the great battle that would open a devastating new war, unfold. Tens, no, hundreds jedi knights and masters were facing the seemingly endless waves of droids that her master and Archduke Poggle had fabricated. Entertaining as it were, she only had eyes for one element of the enemy ranks: Nelo Hivaarr.
How a padawan like him would almost make her rethink her life was a mystery… or maybe not. Like she told that stupid nautolan woman: he was special in many ways.
She watched him as he dispatched of many droids, geonosians. Moving on, he took out one of the giant shock cannons, much to her surprise. Appearently, he was able to use two lightsabers at once.
There was no time to lay about; jedi were still scouring the tribunes, cutting down her allies. Not that she cared about the latters, but still, she had to pay attention to her surroundings. Just when she was about to pounce on a human, female jedi, the droid general, that strange cyborg Grievous, stepped ahead of her.
" 'Hope I'm not taking your prey, acolyte?" he asked, trying not to sound superior.
" Not at all!" she waved her hand as if this was the most trivial thing in the world. "Have fun, general!" she added, before making her way back to the factory complex. The screams of the droid general's victim echoed through the corridors, an eerie death's call, some would call it. To her, it was akin to music.
She felt sleepy for some reason. Dooku hadn't called her, or left an order, so it meant he didn't give a frack about her for now, which was good, she thought. The trek to her appointed room was uneventful. It couldn't have been otherwise, since most of the jedi died or were evacuated, from what the reports informed her. She had a meeting with a certain someone to attend to later and had therefore a lot of free time on her hands. Let the stupid tin cans take care of the Republic's forces. It did not matter if they lost or won this day. Essentially, as her master had said, it would be irelevant. What was truly relevant to her was seeing Hivaarr and perhaps it was wishful thinking, convert him to her cause. That way he could be at her side all time long, much to her heart's desire.
Even in her field bed, she didn't take off her armor and robes. For simple reasons too! She never truly fell asleep. Instead, she was going to fall into a kind of trance, somewhere inbetween sleep and being awake, thus staying aware of her surroundings.
She welcomed that state. Some rest was in order, after the last days. She would also need it for what was to come, she was sure of that.
Author's note:
A larger, though still intermediate chapter for you, until I get to accommodate to my moving to Germany for University. It could be some time before I update next.
Anyway, there you go! The war is here, Nelo is given another chance, though he seems to be under close supervision. Will he slip? Will the masters take action against him soon? It remains to be seen…
What of Inanna?
I can guarantee that she'll make things more interesting…
Any suggestions, observations you wish to make, please leave them in the review section or send them to me via PM
*credits for the song go to the band: The Birthday Massacre*
* I don't own Star Wars or any of its spinoffs, just the OCs, nothing more; no profit here, obviously *
See you next time, fellow Star Wars fans!