Synopsis: Obi-Wan and Anakin form a plan of attack on the Geonosian Droid factory, but little do they know the Separatists are expecting them.
Counterattack!
With the clone army stretched in a desperate attempt to engage General Grievous' starfleet,
Separatist planets that were once thought secure
are now rising up against the Republic.
On Geonosis, Separatist leader Poggle the Lesser,
safe in his newly ray-shielded factories,
creates thousands of terrible new weapons which march off the assembly line against the outnumbered clone army.
The Jedi, resolute in their effort to restore order to the Republic
mount a massive invasion to retake Geonosis and shut down Poggle's factories of terror once and for all.
Me, Emeryx, Ki-Adi Mundi and my master were standing on the bridge.
"I cannot believe we're back here again," Obi-Wan said unhappily.
"It is unfortunate," Ki-Adi Mundi replied. "The resistance from the Geonosians were... stronger than we expected."
"The same can be said for there loyalty to Count Dooku," Obi-Wan said.
"A fact that is often overlooked," Master Mundi told him.
There was a creak as Anakin and Ahsoka entered the bridge. "So you've finally decided to turn up," I said flatly.
"Sorry masters," Anakin said, not sounding apologetic at all. "We were busy routing seppies near Dorin."
"My squadron alone had fifty-five kills," Ahsoka informed us.
"Yeah, but mine had seventy-six," Anakin said cockily.
"Show off," Ahsoka replied.
"I'm glad you two are enjoying yourselves," Obi-Wan said.
"It's just a little friendly competition, Master. Nothing to worry about," Anakin reassured him.
"What I worry about is the way this war seems to be drawing out with no end in sight," Obi-Wan said.
"Which is why it is crucial our invasion of Geonosis meets with success," Master Mundi said.
"Agreed," Anakin said. "Contact the Outer Rim command. We're ready for our briefing."
"They're already waiting for us," Ahsoka told him.
"Let's get moving, then," Anakin said.
Me and Emeryx lingered behind to speak together. "This should be interesting," I said.
"Why?" he asked.
"Anakin and Ahsoka are on this mission," I explained. "Let's just say they have a unique way of doing things."
"I don't think I've ever worked with Padawan Tano," Emeryx said, frowning. "She any good?"
"Oh yes," I replied. "She's not quite as good as me, but at the speed she's improving, in a few years she'll be able to best us both easily."
"That good, huh?" I nodded. "Well, she'll need all her skills in this battle. Geonosis was hard to win the first time round, and I don't think this time is going to be any easier."
He didn't need to elaborate. We both remembered the Battle of Geonosis.
We arrived a the command table. The Outer Rim Command comprised of Chancellor Palpatine as well as the jedi masters Yoda, Windu and Unduli.
"Our ships are in position, and we are ready to begin our campaign against the Geonosians," Obi-Wan said.
"And what about Poggle?" Master Windu asked. "Any report on his location?"
"It seems he's holed up at the primary droid foundry here," my master said, gesturing to a map. "The factory is protected by a shield generator. Anakin, Ki-Adi and I shall attempt a three-pronged attack through their defense lines to a staging area just short of the shield. Once we have landed, we shall knock out the shield generator. That is our primary target.
"Isn't it risky committing three generals to one area of the attack?" the Chancellor asked. "If something went wrong, we could be dealt a serious blow."
"To ensure that rise again Geonosis does not, capture Poggle we must," Yoda said.
"Of course," the Chancellor conceded. "As always, I shall leave the strategy to you, Master Jedi."
"Our thanks, Chancellor," Obi-Wan said.
"May the Force be with you," Master Windu said, and the holograms shot off.
A few clones including Commander Cody and Captain Rex entered the room. "Good, Cody," my master applauded. "These are the coordinates for the rendezvous." He gestured at the map.
"When we hit the ground, we'll create a perimeter," Cody explained. "Getting past their defences here will be the trick. General Mundi will come across the defensive lines from the north. We will make our assault through the middle. General Skywalker will make his attack on the defensive lines from the south, and we will meet at the rendezvous point at 0700 exactly."
"If we meet with strong resistance and are forced down away from the landing zone, hold out until we join our forces before attacking the shield generator," Master Mundi said.
"Their front lines are heavily fortified," Ahsoka warned. "Look at that giant wall with all the gun emplacements. That won't be easy to get past."
"Don't worry," Anakin reassured her. "We're not going anywhere near that."
"Come now," Obi-Wan said, smiling. "What happened to all the enthusiasm I saw earlier?"
"Don't worry about us," Anakin replied. "You just make sure you get both yourself and Vaessa to that landing zone in one piece."
"We shall be waiting for you when you finally arrive," Obi-Wan said smugly.
"Gentlemen, if you are quite finished, we have a battle to begin," Master Unduli reminded them.
"Quite right," Obi-Wan said. "Cody, prep the gunships. We'll meet you in the hangar."
Me and Cody were given our own gunship for this mission because my master wanted our forces to be as spread out as possible. Of course neither of us could go in separately as it was 'too dangerous' but it wasn't exactly a hindrance to get a couple hours away from Obi-Wan. Don't get me wrong, my master was a good general and I trusted him with my life, but he could be very tedious at times.
"Sir, I wasn't involved in the first assault on Geonosis," Cody said uneasily. "What exactly happened?"
"You didn't miss much," I replied sarcastically. "Last time, I was chained to a pole and attacked by several humongous monsters, but nothing I couldn't repeat."
"That sounds... entertaining," Cody replied.
"You try doing that, and see if you say the same," I grumbled.
Our gunship took off over the rocky plains of Geonosis. To our surprise, when we landed we were immediately assaulted. "General Kenobi, don't land!" Cody yelled over his comlink as I deflected fire away from him. "The zone is hot!"
"But there's no where else to go!" I heard my master yell. "We're going down!" he continued. "Brace yourselves!"
We continued fighting until me, Waxer and Boil could break away long enough to go check on Obi-Wan. We forced the doors of the gunship open to see Obi-Wan and a collection of unconscious clone troopers.
"Vaessa, am I glad to see you," my master said, sounding relieved. "Trapper and I are the only ones still alive."
"Good to see you too, master," I said, helping him up. "Cody's established the square just a few clicks away. The geonosians are on the move and are attempting to surround us."
"We'd better get moving, then," he replied. We made our way over to the square.
"Are you injured, General?" Cody asked, running over to us.
"No, nothing too serious," he replied. "What's the situation here?"
"We've got no air cover, two generals on the ground beyond our position, and a mess of bugs surrounding us," Cody replied. "The enemy was more than prepared for our attack, sir. They knew our every move.
"I'm sure General Skywalker and General Mundi will make it to our position," Obi-Wan said.
"I'll go get Anakin," I said.
"How?" Cody asked.
I smiled, and whistled. A second later, a familiar nexu appeared. I climbed on. "I'll to have to name you soon," I told her, laughing.
"Er..." Cody looked at me, slightly perplexed.
"Vaessa tamed the nexu the last time we were here," Obi-Wan explained. "She has a knack for taming wild animals."
"I won't call her tamed," I replied. "She's still free, she and I just have a special bond." And we left, running through the rocky plains of Geonosis, the nexu following Anakin's scent.
…
We arrived at a large wall, fortified with geonosians. "Well, this is another fine mess you've gotten us into," I heard Ahsoka snarl from behind a rock.
"What?" Anakin asked. "Hey, it's not my fault. You were supposed to study the holomaps!"
"I did!" Ahsoka replied. "Remember when I reminded you about the giant wall, and you said, 'Don't worry, Snips. We won't be anywhere near that.'"
"Uh... hi?" I asked.
They started. "Vaessa!" Anakin said in shock.
"What in the galaxy are you doing here?" Ahsoka asked, eyeing the nexu cautiously. "And what's... that?"
"Oh, it's that nexu she tamed last time," Anakin sighed.
Ahsoka looked up at me in shock. "You tamed a nexu?" she said faintly.
"'Tamed' is a strong word," I replied. "Anyway, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the landing platform!"
"If you haven't noticed, we're a bit preoccupied right now!" Anakin replied. "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"I went to look for you!" I replied. "Obi-Wan is injured, and we need support!"
"Yeah well so do we!" Anakin yelled.
"Leave that to me," I replied. "I'll deal with the Geonosians down here, you deal with the ones up top?"
"Fine," Anakin replied. Him and Ahsoka jumped up to the top of the fortress as I cut down droids and bugs alike.
I looked up to see the wall exploding with fire. "Wanna go help my master now?" I asked.
Anakin smiled, landing beside me. "Definitely," he replied.
I contacted Emeryx. "Emeryx, do you read me?" I asked.
"We're here, Vaer," Emeryx replied. "We took a slight detour that put us out of communications for a bit."
"This has been a day for detours, Emeryx," I replied.
"Where are you, anyway?" he asked.
"I'm with the 501st," I replied.
"Why?" he asked. "Oh, never mind. I can see the landing zone. It does not look good."
"I know," I replied gravely.
"Anakin, can you get Admiral Yularen?" I asked.
He nodded. "Admiral, we're at the breaking point," he informed him. "You've got to get some fighters down here."
"You are in luck, General Skywalker," the Admiral replied. "I have one squadron available."
We found our way to the landing zone. I ran around, helping the forces wherever I could. "You okay, Master?" I asked Obi-Wan.
"I'm fine," he replied. "And you?"
"Never better," I replied, grinning. "The shield generator?"
"I have a squad on it," he replied.
I smiled. "Should I go help them out, master?" I asked.
A large explosion answered my question. "I think they have it under control," Obi-Wan replied, smiling.
…
A moment later, we were helping Obi-Wan and Master Mundi onto a gunship. "So, Master, what was your total?" Ahsoka teased.
"Not now, Ahsoka," Anakin grumbled.
"Come on," Ahsoka scoffed. "Are you afraid you lost this time?"
"Fine," Anakin snapped. "Fifty-five, that's my count. And you?"
"Sixty," Ahsoka said smugly. "Looks like I won."
"Yeah, but I called in the air strike. Tie," he replied triumphantly.
"You're impossible," Ahsoka said.
"I'll never understand how you can simplify these battles into some kind of game," Obi-Wan said.
"Take care of yourselves," Anakin instructed them. "I expect to see both of you back here by the time I've destroyed the main factory."
"We shall do our best," Obi-Wan replied. "Vaessa, Emeryx, you sure you'll be alright on your own?"
"Yes, master," I said fondly.
"Don't worry about us," Emeryx added.
"Sixty-five, Skywalker," Master Mundi said.
"I'm sorry?" Anakin asked.
"My total," he explained. "Sixty-five. So what do I win?"
"My everlasting respect, Master Mundi," Anakin said.
"Oh," he said, sounding disappointed.
"That is a gift Anakin rarely bestows, I assure you," my master reassured him.
"I cut down sixty-eight," Emeryx said happily.
Anakin looked at him in annoyance. "How?"
"He went round the long way," Master Mundi explained.
"Oh," Anakin said.
"I cut down seventy-two," I added.
There was a silence. "You cheated," Ahsoka accused me.
"There's no cheating in war," I replied.
"You had help," Anakin said. "That's cheating in my books, and I invented this game."
I rolled my eyes. Some people never change.
