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22 BBY (Before Battle of Yavin)
13:5:27 (6 days after FBOG)
Rayzon

"I am fear. I am the queen of a blood-soaked planet and an architect of genocide. I have helped to crack the galaxy in half with this war and conquered every enemy I have ever faced—including death."

- Asajj Ventress

The night. Many feared the darkness that it brought. The terrors that could hide in it. And they had right to fear it. Though, the sniveling fools did not truly understand the depth of darkness. What they believed to be terrors were just childish nightmares. True darkness – the apex of smothering terror was something very few understood. And even less of which understood and embraced.

For Asajj Ventress the night was, in a way, an extension of herself. It was a just a hint of the true darkness that stormed on inside her. A storm that had grown over the years to eventually consume her and – if allowed – those around her.

She hadn't always been an assassin; hadn't always been Dooku's apprentice. There had been a time she had even been a Jedi Padawan. But that age was gone as was any hope of the light. It had died for good when the man who mentored her was killed. She had exacted her revenge, destroyed the pirates who had killed him but in the end, he was still dead. As was the illusion that one called hope. In its place was hatred. Hatred and an intense passion to destroy and kill.

Asajj hated the Jedi girl. This Jacalyn Arden. This hatred only intensified when the woman had managed to sneak out of her attack back in the sewers. In her personal opinion, they should just lay waste the city, kill the girl and leave it at that. Especially as Asajj knew that Dooku wanted the girl to try and turn her.

This meant competition. And though there was nothing more exhilarating for her than to watch a Jedi fall, Asajj knew that if the girl did join up with Dooku, her personal usefulness would be at an end.

Though, when he moved to betray her, the Count will find that she was far more ready than he realized. He would regret it.

At the moment, Asajj was not able to take him out herself. He was far too powerful. But given time and as she continued to learn, there would come the day that she would no longer need the Count and on that day, she was going to enjoy killing him – watching his surprise as the tables turn and she would be the one to betray him. His 'faithful' and 'loyal' assassin.

But today was not that day. Which meant, she had to bring in the girl alive. Dooku didn't tolerate failure and Asajj knew that it would be better if she let the girl escape than to bring her in dead. At least escaped meant they still had a chance to capture her – slim though it was. Especially now that the Jedi knew they were after her.

Cursing, Asajj hit the wall in front of her and turned to find a droid standing there.

"What?!" She demanded angrily. "Did you find her?"

The Jedi had vanished in the intense jungle. The number of life signs coming from the tropical vegetation, as well intense density of flora made sensors practically useless. But in the end, it wouldn't matter. The Jedi would not survive long in the jungle. She would have to come out eventually. Unless she got lost. Which in that case would solve Asajj's problem. She couldn't be blamed if the Jedi died in the jungle.

Her hand tapped the lightsaber on her belt. Recovered from the filth of the Rayzon system, it had taken a lot to get them clean.

"No Ma'am. Captain Clu'to'fi wanted me get you. We have trouble."

Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the worthless pile of metal. Battle droids were so pathetic. She wouldn't even need her lightsabers to take one down. That and the annoying sound of their voice.

"Do I have to drag it out of you or are you going to tell me what it is?" She demanded. Her voice did not hold the anger that raged within her. It was cold, calculated.

"A Republic ship just entered the system. It's headed this way."

Force pushing the droid out of her way, she ran out of the room, toward the bridge. "What's this about a Republic ship?" She demanded.

Clu'to'fi glanced over at her, he clicked nervously. "One just entered the system. They'll be on us shortly. We have to run."

"Run?!" Asajj snapped.

She looked at the monitors. Sure enough, the Republic had sent a Venator-Class Destroyer to deal with them. That meant they knew about the Separatists here. They knew about the invasion. Which in turn meant someone had done a poor job keeping the communications locked down. She turned a steely eye toward the captain. The man's own three blinked very nervously at the deadly look in her eye.

"We can't fight them. We'd lose terribly. We have to cut our losses and run."

"If you had kept everything locked down they wouldn't even know we are here." Asajj snapped in reply.

She moved closer to the monitor and shook her head. This was why sometimes it was best just to send her in. She would have been able to apprehend the Jedi, kill the senator, and get out without alerting the Republic. And even if they did find out, they wouldn't send in a destroyer. Rayzon was neutral. Doing so without good cause would look poorly on them. That and the stupid Republic liked to play by the rules – or at least look like they were.

Her sharp eyes glanced at the monitors evaluating the surface. She barely listened as the captain complained behind her.

"We just have one ship. You can't expect to blockade a planet or catch everything going out with just one ship."

Her eyes darted to him. "What do you mean going out?" She demanded.

Clu'to'fi froze as if wondering if he said something wrong. "A small ship, nothing big really, managed to escape the surface. We sent vulture droids to intercept but it managed to evade them and hit orbit. We're too far out of position to intercept so it got away."

"What?"

Sometimes yelling was very effective. It showed people you were angry, got them to jump a bit. It was even intimidating to a point. But sometimes Asajj found that not raising one's voice actually could be even more intimidating. The venom portrayed in just that one word made the captain take a step back.

"I… We didn't think it would be an issue." He stammered even as he watched the Dathomirian finger her lightsabers. "It's just one ship. And the Jedi is in the jungle. There's no way she made it back to the city in time and then find a ship."

"Imbecile!"

Quickly moving back to the controls Asajj pulled up the history to see if she can spot the ship that escaped.

"Captain, the Republic destroyer is almost in range. Shall we run?"

Clu'to'fi looked from Ventress to the battle droid and then back again. The woman didn't even glance his way as she found what she was looking for.

Asajj watched as the sleek ship rose from the city. Vulture droids moved to intercept but the ship had a head start. Still, there was a slight engagement when it hit orbit, the blockade runner managing to avoid getting hit while effectively taking out one of the vultures before opening a hyperspace window.

Cursing, Asajj slammed her fist down on the console. "Fools." She turned and shook her head just as the Republic destroyer opened fire.

The ship shook slightly as the barrage hit them.

"Sir?" The droid asked again.

Clu'to'fi glanced once more at Asajj, feeling that she would kill him any moment.

"Get us out of here," she said snapping before turning away. "Though captain," she paused at the door, not even bothering to look back at him. "I hold you personally responsible for the escaped Jedi. And it will reflect that in my report to Count Dooku."

Asajj smiled slightly as she could well imagine the look on his face. Leaving the bridge, she braced herself as the ship shook with another explosion before making her way back to her quarters.

The Jedi had escaped. She was sure of it. If asked, Asajj knew she wouldn't have been able to provide any proof that the Jedi and senator was on that ship. Nor could she explain why she felt it to be so. But she didn't need to. Count Dooku was a man who knew the Force as well. He understood the subtle nuances in the Force.

Still, he would not be pleased. They had been given one task. Simple really. And with her sabotaging the senator's ship, it shouldn't have been difficult. Shouldn't have – the key operative. But it had been. The captain had screwed up the capture, allowing them to get away into the sewers. She personally would have had the Jedi if it hadn't been for that fluke move. Something Asajj knew that Dooku would not overlook.

The ship shook once more and she pulled up a monitor in her quarters to see the status. She nodded as she saw them dash away from the planet and the Republic destroyer, moving to get clear and open a hyperspace window. Mentally calculating she nodded, pleased that they would be able to do so, though they had to sacrifice all the droids on the planet's surface. No issue there. Besides, it might keep the Republic busy cleaning up the mess.

Turning off the monitor she closed her door and activated the communicator, sending a message to Dooku.

"My Master," she inclined her head slightly.

"I hope you have good news for me, Ventress." The Count frowned, almost as if suspecting she didn't.

Keeping calm, the Dathomirian did her best to come off as humble. "I do not, my Master. We believe she managed to get a ship and escape the surface. Captain Clu'to'fi is incompetent, thinking she was still in the jungle and thus allowed her to escape." There was a heavy sigh of disapproval but she quickly moved on before he could speak. "Also, a Republic destroyer is here. Venator -class. Somehow they heard we were here."

"So you're telling me that not only did the child escape but the Republic knows you are there." Dooku placed his hands in his robes. "I'm very disappointed in you, Ventress. I had thought you could perform this small task."

"I would have!" Asajj's head shot up, anger flashing in her eyes. "If I hadn't been handholding the ship you sent along. I had sabotaged the senator's ship. If I had gone in alone like I wanted then I would have been able to kill the senator and capture the Jedi for you."

Dooku's eyes narrowed slightly. "So the senator managed to live as well?"

Of course, he would harp on that. Asajj resisted the urge to smash something. "She is. Or was, last I saw her."

"You saw her?" Dooku raised an eyebrow. "Pray tell me, Ventress," his eyes narrowed slightly. "How you could see her still have manage to elude you?"

She knew this wasn't going to go over well.

"I encountered the Jedi and senator in the sewers below Rayzon. I almost had them but they managed to escape. They went into the jungle and we were attempting to track them down."

Dooku shook his head. "I don't want excuses." He sighed. "No matter, there will be another time." He gave her a look. "Return back here. I have another assignment for you. Hopefully, you won't mess this one up."

The image vanished leaving Asajj alone. She was a bit surprised. She had expected a lot more. Even a stinging rebuke. But despite being annoyed, there hadn't really been a concern that Asajj had failed in her mission. That was interesting. And she wondered what that could mean.

Had he wanted her to fail? Had he hoped expected it? Had this been a test?

This time she did slam her fist hard into the wall. She ignored the pain that resulted, instead angrily staring ahead. This had to have been a test. He wanted to see how she would do against the Jedi. If she had brought the girl in, then that would work for him as he could then work to turn the girl. But if she didn't – it just showed that the Jedi was better than her and give him all the more reason to replace her.

Asajj cursed. She pulled up the monitor and recalled the image of her target. She glared at the Jedi. "You haven't won yet, Jedi. I will find you and beat you. I will prove that I am indeed the superior one."

Then the Count would know her potential and finally take her as a true Sith apprentice.