Author's Note: One year ago, today... this story was published. I had no idea that one year later my story, revolving around a crazy idea and a 'what if' I came up with one day, would've exploded like this. I'm incredibly thankful and grateful for all of your support and ideas and feedback over the past year, and I hope I can continue to provide for you all.

On that note, at the end of this chapter I've included a few teasers for what's coming next and the ideas I'm working on. Hopefully they'll pique your curiosity enough for you to hang around with this story.

Once again, thanks for the support and sticking with me. Now enjoy this chapter!


-Chapter 21: Anger Issues-

Location: Abandoned Factory, Geonosis

"The best fighter is never angry."

This wasn't how he liked for his days to go.

Streaking through hyperspace, Wraith was just coming off a mission to steal some Republic data from a listening post. In an attempt to both discover the secret frequency the Republic used to communicate between listening posts, the Separatists were hoping to render them useless. So far, Wraith had achieved what he was looking for.

But it had quickly gone awry.

At the last possible second, an unseen alarm had been tripped and alerted his presence to the Republic. Although he had managed to escape back to his shuttle, he now had a cruiser on his tale.

That cruiser was the Resolute. Anakin Skywalker was on his tail.

"Doc, you there?" He asked into his comms.

"I'm right here, my boy." Scipio replied, grateful to be back in communication with Wraith. "What's the situation?"

"I have the data, but the Republic's following me." Wraith reported, tapping in a few commands into his nav computer. "I've jumped into hyperspace in an effort to try and avoid them. I'm going to take a detour to the nearest planet, see if I can't throw them off somehow."

"Which world is that?" Scipio wondered, ready to pull up any necessary information.

"Geonosis."

"G-Geonosis?!" Scipio sputtered. "That's a Republic-controlled world now!"

"I know. It's not ideal, but maybe I can get lucky."

"Luck is not tactically sound, Wraith." Scipio retorted.

"True. But it seems to work for Skywalker all the damn time." The commando grumbled as he made ready to drop out of hyperspace.

Wraith's shuttle was the first craft to exit hyperspace and continued streaking towards the desert world of Geonosis as a Venator-class Republic cruiser appeared behind him. Ignoring the potential threat not far away and not caring if they could track him or not, Wraith piloted his craft down through the caramel-colored clouds to the surface below. Wraith didn't really have a plan going into this, all he knew was that Geonosis was the nearest planet to his position that might provide some kind of aid from the pursuing Republic.

In reality, Wraith was hoping there would still be some Geonosians who could help him.

The commando pinged his scanners, looking for some telltale sign of aid or something that could bail him out. The results that came back were quite surprising.

"Looks like the high-intensity scanners are picking up some electrical activity in what appears to be an abandoned factory." He mused.

"Might be one of the old droid factories." Scipio informed him. "The Republic certainly tried to make sure they were all destroyed. One might've survived."

"Courtesy of some rebellious locals." Wraith surmised, immediately choosing to fly to the signal.

The partially collapsed stone structure certainly resembled a lot of Geonosian designs he'd studied in the past. Given the Geonosians were a founding member of the Separatists, Wraith had been tasked with studying both their society and their language as part of his basic training. The latter he had a very strong command of, partially thanks to a special device built into his helmet which could mimic the clicking insect-like noises Geonosians made. Wraith had never used it before, but had a feeling it would come in handy today.

Landing his shuttle with all possible haste, Wraith jumped out from his craft, data in hand, and made a mad dash to the nearest entrance-looking hole. Within it he found a steel door, covered by several fallen rocks, that resembled the giant gates from which legions of battle droids would pour forth. Deciding whatever behind it was better than waiting for the Republic to arrive, Wraith quickly lifted it up and crawled underneath before letting it slam back down with a clang. The room on the other side was open and dusty, indicating it had not been in use for a very long time. It was dark, there were no lights anywhere. Wraith switched on his thermal scanners, deciding to rely on his gear instead of trying to find a power switch. Stepping further into the room, he looked back and forth as he examined his surroundings. Through his optics, he could see ruined and unused machinery, some of it perfectly fine, some bent and smashed beyond repair. Wraith deduced this place had been hit with a bombardment of some kind, either orbital or artillery, which had resulted in its shutdown. The Republic had used field pieces during the battle, perhaps this had been one of their targets.

He stopped in his tracks when the flutter of wings registered with his sensors. Rapidly glancing around, Wraith tried to catch a glimpse of whatever was in here with him.

Although he was quite confident he knew what it was.

Adjusting the settings in his mouthpiece and calibrating the new vocator feature, Wraith address the emptiness around him.

"I am not here to harm you. I am with the Separatists." He stated in Geonosian. "Reveal yourselves." Cautiously waiting, muscles tense and reflexes ready to go, Wraith braced himself for the possibility that the Geonosians might not be as friendly as they once were towards Separatist-aligned individuals. But as he pondered this, a group of twelve Geonosians stepped out of the shadows, surrounding him. Given their armor and its design, he quickly deduced them to be low-ranking members of the warrior caste. Anticipating a fight, Wraith was pleased when they started speaking, the equipment in his helmet translating their clicks and screeches into basic.

"You speak our language?"

"I do." He replied, equipment translating his basic into Geonosian.

"Why are you here?" They asked.

"The Republic chased me. I need your help to defeat them." They seemed open to fighting against the Republic, which was a good thing.

"We can only do so much."

"What kind of weapons do you have here?" He asked.

"Spears. A few sonic blasters."

"No droids? No cannons? No tanks?"

"No. These factories have been dark for a long time." That was ill news. Still, there may be some power left for the command hub. If Wraith could at least take control of his surroundings, that would a be a step in the right direction.

"Then we'll use what we have. With my tactics and your help, the Republic will leave Geonosis. You have my word."


Outside...

The Resolute hovered in the Geonosian skies, casting a long shadow across the ground below it. Anakin had tracked Wraith to this abandoned factory, made useless during the second battle of Geonosis, and believed he had the super commando cornered.

With luck, he might be able to retrieve the data and capture The Wraith today.

He, Ahsoka and a large company of Clones had made planet fall and had set up a perimeter around Wraith's abandoned shuttle, part of an effort to make sure he didn't appear and leave without encountering resistance.

Right now, though, there biggest concern lay before them.

"Seems likely he found a way inside the factory." Rex mused, gazing at the remnants of the steel door before them.

"And ten credits says he's prepared an ambush for us directly on the other side of this door." Anakin added. In recent weeks he'd been taking Thrawn's briefing on Wraith's tactics to heart and was now trying to outsmart Wraith rather than overpower him. "There's not a whole lot of room for him to work with, what with the factory having partially collapsed." The Jedi continued. "Maybe we could 'smoke him out' somehow."

"Sir, might I suggest we send in an ARC Trooper unit to attack him from behind. They could get in through one of the old maintenance shafts." Rex theorized.

"It might work. Still, Wraith has had some time to prepare for our arrival and I doubt he'd be willing to come along quietly." Anakin responded. Trying to outsmart a near-perfect solider was proving quite taxing on the mind.

"Perhaps Commander Tano could lead the charge." Rex offered. "If Wraith truly likes her as everyone says, he'd probably think twice about fighting her which would give our men a chance to take him down."

"I'd hate to use her as some kind of bait." Anakin muttered, not enjoying the idea of using Ahsoka, the apparent object of Wraith's desire, to take on the Separatist without Anakin himself being there. "But you may have a point, Captain." After a moment of thoughtful consideration for both of them, Anakin finally decided to put Rex's plan into motion. "Let's get a holomap of this factory so we can visualize things."

The plan was soon settled on and Ahsoka was placed in charge of a group of nine ARC Trooper Clones, making for a total squad of ten. While Anakin continued to build their defenses around Wraith's shuttle, the young Togruta led her troops in a climb to the top of the factory, scaling the rather climbable rocks that had fallen upon it. Fortunately, ARC Trooper were trained in all forms of terrain-based combat and knew their way around practically every obstacle. The maintenance access was not hard to find, but was covered with a rock that ended up being quickly moved by Ahsoka with the Force. They pried open the duct and managed to squeeze themselves into the narrow shaft and descended via a ladder. They ended up in a darkened hallway, illuminated only by the light from their skyward access.

"Okay guys, look sharp." Ahsoka commanded, igniting her green lightsaber to help illuminate the hall. "You never know what else might be in here."

"Roger that, Commander." The squad sergeant acknowledged. "Lights on, men." He ordered, the rest of the Clones triggering their helmet-mounted flashlights moments later.

"Look at this place." One of them gawked, eyeing the dust-covered walls and vacant corridor. "We must've really done a number on it."

"Cut the chatter shiny." The sergeant commanded. "We need to push forward. General Skywalker wants us to force The Wraith out into the open."

"But what if he finds us?" Another Clone wondered. "You've seen the reports, heard the stories. He's probably watching us right now!"

"Then we shoot him as soon as he rears his ugly head." The sergeant reassured him. "Commander Tano, lead on." Ahsoka nodded and proceeded to take charge.

The metal hallway eventually opened up into wider catacombs that resembled the kind Geonosians commonly built. Ahsoka quickly assumed this kind of upper tunnel had been constructed by the Geonosian foremen as a form of easy access between different levels of the factory. She had seen the holomap before entering, the factory was split into a manufacturing department and a deployment bay. If Wraith had entered through the deployment bay, and the manufacturing bay was offline, then he could either be playing things safe and setting up his defenses in the deployment bay or he could be trying to get the manufacturing department back online, trying to build a small army of droids to aid in his escape. This left Ahsoka in a bit of a leadership dilemma. Either she could take the Clones down to the deployment bay and have them start prepping for an ambush or she could take them to the manufacturing department and see if they couldn't force Wraith out with a combined assault.

"Trooper, your scanners picking up any electrical activity?" She wondered to the sergeant. The Clone quickly checked the various sensor equipment he possessed.

"Nothing, Commander. This place seems to be pretty empty." He replied.

"That's a problem." Ahsoka mused out loud. "We've gotta find Wraith, but he could be anywhere around here."

"Might I offer some advice?" The sergeant asked. Ahsoka nodded. "Let's stick with the original plan and we'll deal with whatever obstacles come our way." He suggested.

"There's one problem with that: Wraith could be setting up an ambush right now. What if we stick with the plan and it turns out to be wrong?" Ahsoka responded, sharing her doubts. The Clone went silent as they continued to walk.

"Let's get to the end of this tunnel, then we'll figure out where to go and what to do." He replied. Accepting that solution, Ahsoka continued to lead the Clones forward through the darkened tunnel. They continued for a few more minutes, their maps indicating the exit was close by. But before they could, Ahsoka sensed a ripple through the Force.

There was something wrong.

"Hold on." She whispered, holding up her arm and motioning for the troopers to stop. "Do you guys hear anything?" She wondered.

"No Commander." The sergeant replied after a brief listen. "What's wrong?" Ahsoka said nothing, trying to focus and determine the source of this ripple. Her training had taught her to trust such instincts and now she was honing in on where this trouble was coming from. Closing her eyes, the Force showed her a series of explosives...

Planted right beneath them.

Snapping her eyes open, Ahsoka was about to cry out when the ground beneath them rumbled and suddenly gave way, sending all of them tumbling down. Fortunately they only fell a few feet before landing hard on solid ground in what could only be another tunnel. Groaning as they recovered the Clones tried their best to get back up, as did Ahsoka.

But they swiftly discovered they were not alone.

Two sonic cannons and four spears were pointing at them, held by a group of six Geonosians.

"Bugs!" One of the troopers exclaimed. The Geonosian closest to him, holding a spear, hissed at him like he wanted him to be quiet.

"Steady lads, we're at a slight disadvantage here." The sergeant ordered them. "No sudden moves, but we can take them." Hopeful, the Clones did as they were told.

But their hopes were dashed when a pair of bright red optics lit up at the end of the tunnel.

Emerging from the darkness, Wraith stepped up next to the Geonosians, blaster carbine in hand. Pressing it into his shoulder, he trained his crosshairs on the nearest Clone.

"You would be wise to drop your weapons." He growled.


Ahsoka and her Clones were soon relieved of their weapons and equipment, cuffed and led down the tunnel and into a single, well-lit control room where another two Geonosians were waiting. Wraith ordered them up against the wall and on their knees, permitting the Geonosians to guard them as he strode over to a series of monitors where he could see what was going on beyond the factory's walls and within the tunnels and halls of the building.

So that was how he had ambushed them.

"What are you going to do with us, Wraith?" Ahsoka wondered.

"Use you as leverage against Skywalker as my way of obtaining safe passage." Wraith explained nonchalantly. "But for now, you're all going to wait here until I make certain he can't get in here." Scanning across the various screens before him, Wraith surmised his best bet would be to totally seal them off to make the steel gate their only point of access. Now that he had prisoners to barter with, things might be able to swing in his favor.

But he knew Skywalker to be too stubborn to just roll over for him. Especially now that Ahsoka was Wraith's captive, Skywalker would more than likely give his all into overpowering him before submitting to any demands Wraith might have.

Determining he needed to prioritize, Wraith walked over to the nearest Geonosians to speak with it. "We need to cave-in that tunnel. Can your blasters bring down walls?"

"Perhaps." The creature replied.

"Give it a shot, cave-in both sides. No one else gets in here." Wraith instructed it. With a nod, the creature summoned the rest of the other Geonosians to accompany it. Walking back before the Clones, Wraith clasped his hands behind his back. Glancing back and forth from Ahsoka to the last Clone in the line, Wraith quickly identified the markings on their armor and recognized them to be ARC Troopers. "Skywalker must be truly desperate if he sent ARC's after me."

"Nah, he'd be desperate if he sent Torrent Company after you." One of the Clones muttered.

"Zip it Shiny!" Another hissed, trying to avoid sparking anything. Wraith overheard them and chuckled.

"You mean Captain Rex's over-glorified duplicates? Not even they would stand a chance against me."

"That's what you think!" The 'shiny' continued. "If you can handle them, then why are you hiding in here?" With that comment, Wraith's demeanor suddenly changed. Dropping his arms by his side, the observing Clones swore they saw his vision narrow.

"You're starting to get on my nerves." He rumbled.

"Good! You need to have something to fear!" The Clone shot back at him.

"Shut up rookie!" The Clone next to him demanded. But the damage was already done. Stalking over to the rookie, Wraith grabbed the Clone by his chest armor.

"I'm not afraid of any Clone. Least of all you." He growled.

"Keep telling yourself that!" The rookie spat. A sudden and uncontrollable spike of anger shot through Wraith's mind, fueling him and reminding him of his sudden surge of emotion during his confrontation with the voice in his head. Lashing out, he struck the Clone across his helmeted face, the impact hard enough to crack the armor. Suddenly stirred up into a frenzy, Wraith grabbed the Clone and proceeded to punch him in the face over and over again. The others watched, frozen with fear, as Wraith mercilessly beat their comrade until the Clone's head was nothing more than a mess of blood, flesh and fragments of helmet. Breathing hard and shoulders heaving, Wraith stood up with a growl and shook off his bloodied fist before turning back to the screens without another word. The Republic prisoners were struck dumb by his sudden brutality, while some were greatly sickened by it.

"A word of caution, guys: don't irritate him. Okay?" Ahsoka quietly recommended. The Clones silently nodded in understanding.


Outside...

"We should be due for an update in a little while." Anakin was saying. "Ahsoka said she'd update us before they made a move on Wraith. Once we have a sit-rep, we'll know what to do."

"Sir, what if there's bugs in there helping him?" Rex wondered. "For all we know they might've led him through some kind of secret tunnel we don't know about."

"We don't even know if there's any Geonosians in there to begin with." Anakin replied. "But it might be prudent for us to start poking around the building perimeter, just in case we missed something."

"Shall I assemble Torrent Company for a recon mission, sir?" Rex wondered.

"Yeah... do that." Anakin nodded.


Back inside...

This was turning into a pretty hairy situation.

Wraith's new omniscient view of the factory premises had alerted him to the presence of Clone teams working their way around the perimeter. No doubt they were looking for another way in. What if there was something Wraith couldn't stop, an entrance he couldn't seal or if the Clones cut their way inside.

Wait... what if Skywalker used his lightsaber to open up the steel gate? That would certinaly be the end of him.

Possibilities of what could go wrong suddenly flooded his mind and Wraith breathed deeply, exhaling loudly as he tried to ease his mind and steady his thoughts. His nerves felt electrified, bundled up as though they were ready to snap. His body felt tense and taught, as though he were exerting himself to his limit even though he wasn't doing anything.

It suddenly occurred to him that he was stressed.

Wraith? Stressed? Those two words seemingly didn't belong together. And yet they were, with good reason too. This was as close as he'd ever come to failure...

Alright, the mission to Mygeeto and the detour to Brentaal came in pretty close, practically tied with right now for 'mission almost failed'. And there was also that one time on Honoghr when Bly had destroyed the SIP...

But neither of those missions involved Wraith in danger of getting captured.

This was something different entirely. In all of his missions and deployments, Wraith had never faced odds quite like this. He paused to reflect on his history, recalling his first undercover operation to Christophsis, his role in conquering Ryloth, his final trial on Felucia, his deployments on Malastare, Mandalore, Onderon, Muunilinst, Antazi, even here on Geonosis, his infamous mission to Tibrin, that one time on Gwori and that other time on Alderaan. He really had gotten around and had truly evolved from a simple science experiment into a deadly warrior. And on all of those occasions, even during his most trying times on Cono, Aefao, Saleucami and Mygeeto, he had never once backed down from a challenge and had always emerged victorious. It was practically his mandate: failure was not an option.

But that was then. The situations were different then. Now he was known and the Republic wanted him done for. He felt like this detour was not only a waste of his time but also an issue that could've been easily solved. He wished he could simply vanish and disappear from the Republic's line of sight, only to reappear and taunt them as he left. If only...

But wishes would not save him from his current reality. He still had his work cut out for him.

Rising to full height, Wraith turned and walked over to his captives, specifically the kneeling Ahsoka. Standing beside her, Wraith turned around and leaned against the wall before dropping to the ground with a sigh. Ahsoka curiously eyed him, wondering what he was up to.

"You ever have one of those days where it seems like absolutely nothing is going your way?" He wondered aloud, not even looking at her.

"Yeah." She calmly replied.

"Well, today is one of those days for me." He told her. "Everything was going so smoothly until I tripped that one alarm."

"Maybe you shouldn't have tried that then."

"I'd prefer you try to sympathize with me, rather than correct me." He responded. Both of them went quiet before Wraith tilted his head to glance at her. "What was your 'nothing goes right' day?" He wondered. Ahsoka lightly chuckled at his question.

"Take your pick," she remarked, "Felucia, Ryloth, I screwed up a lot during my first few missions." She revealed, particularly remembering the entire naval affair she was involved in during the Republic's campaign to retake Ryloth. A moment of quiet ensued as Wraith remembered his own mission to the Twi'lek homeworld.

"I was on Ryloth when the Separatists invaded." He spoke. "I killed Ima-Gun Di and his Clone commander personally. Then I helped Wat Tambor pillage the surrounding villages, guarding him and his droids." Ahsoka turned to him, not only surprised that he had also been there but also a little upset that he was the one responsible for the death of Master Di.

"You mean you've been around for that long?" She finally said, not quite knowing what else to say.

"Even longer. I'm older than you, that's for sure. I've been in this since the war started." Wraith replied, not willing to divulge any more information. There were Clones around after all. He turned to her. "You don't sound repulsed by me. Are you feeling well?" He asked. Lost for words, Ahsoka quickly said whatever came to her mind. She hadn't been in such a situation before where words escaped her like this. This was truly a first.

"I guess it's just nice to be able to carry on a... 'normal' conversation with you. Let's me know you're not completely lost to the Separatists." Wraith sighed.

"Please, not right now." He told her. "This is as close as I've come to total failure. The last thing I need is you telling me I can switch sides whenever I want."

"What's so bad about failing? They say it's the best teacher and I believe it." Ahsoka responded, curious.

"When perfection is what you've been designed to do, you can't really do much else." Wraith told her.

"You can always learn from your failures. Surely the Separatists understand that." She pressed, hoping he was still listening to her. He turned away from her, his gaze distant and his mind busy. She assumed he was worried about the kind of response he would received if he returned empty handed. "It's okay Wraith. It's okay to fail. You don't have to beat yourself up." She gently told him, cuffed hands reaching out and resting on his armored shoulder.

"Your words are... reassuring." He quietly said. Feeling his body through the Force, Ahsoka could sense Wraith was feeling very tense. His emotions were running erratic, but his mind remained a closed door.

"You seem awfully tense." She stated.

"I feel awfully tense." He replied. "Your master has put me in a very precarious position. Then again, I'll bet you're no stranger to those... given you work with him everyday."

"Anakin has his moments. But he means well."

"Riiiiiight." Wraith muttered. The captive Clones watched their interaction with curiosity and bewilderment. It seemed so incredibly odd to them that such a vicious opponent would just plunk himself down and have a casual chat with their Jedi commander.

Ahsoka felt the same thing.

"Why the sudden change?" Ahsoka asked. "First you go from irritable and angry, and now you're sounding tired and worn out." She was intrigued as to why he went from ready to murder someone, which he had done, to sounding so... spent. "Are you feeling okay? Did someone do something to you?" She asked. His response was quick.

"No one can do anything to me unless I approve of it." But Ahsoka thought his words to be a cover-up for a deeper issue. She had seen this in other beings before and it appeared Wraith was no different when it came to psychological issues.

"Wraith... you don't have to suffer alone." She gently told him.

"Thank you... but I'm not suffering." He replied. Thinking this conversation had lasted long enough, Wraith made to stand, the Clones following his every move.

"Who would've guessed The Wraith was such a sap." One of them joked.

"Yeah! What a softie! Better let the General know what his weakness is: a good conversation!" Another laughed. The other Clones started chuckling, finding the insult rather hilarious.

"You guys!" Ahsoka hissed, trying to avoid inciting Wraith.

But the damage had already been done. Wraith was mad

Stalking over to the second Clone who started speaking, Wraith delivered a swift kick that shattered the trooper's jaw. An impressive feat, considering the Clone was still wearing his helmet. Bits of armor had been buried in the Clone's skin while the lower half of his helmet had been crushed by Wraith's boot. Sputtering on the ground, Wraith rolled the Clone over with his foot before planting his foot on the trooper's throat.

"Please... h-have mercy..." The Clone rasped.

"Towards you?" Wraith wondered scoffingly. "Not a chance." Raising his foot, Wraith stomped down and crushed the Clone's neck, killing him instantly. Turning back to the other speaking Clone, Wraith drew his knife and promptly buried it in his head. As crimson fluids began to drip down the white armor, Wraith ripped out his blade and the dead Clone slumped over.

No enemy would mock him and get away with it.

Sheathing his weapon, Wraith turned back to the monitors and resumed his planning and plotting. The other Clones remained silent, mouths tightly sealed after watching the brutal murder of their comrades. While sickened by the violence, Ahsoka took the opportunity to observe something in her opponent. It seemed to Ahsoka that Wraith was on a real hair-trigger temper. He seemed really unstable today, clearly there was something going on in his head. She made a mental note to be really careful about anything she said to him. At that moment, the Geonosians returned.

"We have finished destroying the tunnel." They reported. Wraith turned about and nodded.

"Good. There's something else I need you to do." He began.


Wraith's plan involved the Geonosians explaining the tunnel network they used to get around this factory. They had been using his place as a replacement home, since the Republic had made a very concerted effort to torch their hives and force them into submission. Once he had an approximate idea as to how their network functioned, Wraith tasked them with attacking the Republic troops circling the factory perimeter. Grateful for a chance to take revenge for their kind, the bugs accepted.

Rex and his men were scaling the rocks around the exterior of the building and had reached the rear of the facility when the droning of wings alerted them to the fact they were not alone. They looked to the skies as all twelve Geonosians dove down, sonic cannons blasting away. Rex quickly ordered the Clones into a defensive position and counterattacked. The Geonosians attacked fast and low, desire for revenge fuelling them.

But the Clones were prepared for such an eventuality.

Recalling the tips and tricks they had learned during the first battle of Geonosis, the 501st Legion troopers surrounded the advancing swarms and swiftly made quick work of them, killing half of the small swarm. The rest immediately surrendered, throwing their spears on the ground and putting up their hands. Deeming this a tactical achievement, Rex quickly summoned his General in order to inform him of the new development.

Wraith watched the whole thing from his station, confident at first but grew more and more irritated with each passing second as the Geonosians lost. When the remaining six threw up their hands in surrender, he lost it.

"Gah! I can't believe this!" Wraith growled, slamming his fists down on the desk before him. He thought the Geonosians could be trusted, that they were capable warriors.

It appeared that wasn't the case.

"Hey, Seppie! How does it feel to lose?" One of the Clones jeered. The other Clones started chuckling, deeming his insult rather hilarious.

But Wraith did not.

Stalking over to the one who had spoke, Wraith promptly took hold of his head and proceed to rip it off, tearing away the Clone's head as he screamed in pain. Throwing away the head in disgust, Wraith watched the headless body fall, feeling some satisfaction as he watched blood spurt from the open neck. The Clone right next to him was horrified.

"Y-You... You just killed him! He was my friend!" He exclaimed.

"Don't worry. I'm sure they'll make another one." Wraith curtly replied as he turned back to the monitors. He needed to plot out his next move, he had to keep the Republic out of here. The Geonosians would serve as a decent distraction to keep Anakin occupied. As long as a suitable amount of Clones left the area around his shuttle, he might be able to make a break for it. With a possible plan in motion, Wraith began to ponder his next move.


Anakin had forgotten how difficult communicating with Geonosians was.

When Rex had reported in that they had captured a group of six Geonosians, he was quick to make his way over. Determined to get one of them to talk, Anakin quickly called to mind his interrogation tactics when they had apprehended Poggle the Lesser.

But these Geonosians were stubborn. They weren't willing to say anything to the Jedi.

He'd asked them if they were working with Wraith, where he was hiding, what they were doing attacking the Republic, where did they come from and all sorts of questions.

By now, the Jedi was growing frustrated.

"These bugs are the most annoying creatures in the galaxy!" Anakin grumbled, turning to Rex.

"Gungans hold first place for me, sir." The Clone replied. "So the straightforward approach isn't working. Maybe we could coerce them."

"How?" Anakin wondered, eyebrow raised. "You mean... promise them something?" Rex shrugged.

"Geos are a simple species, surely it wouldn't take much." He added. Mulling over the option in his head, Anakin decided to give it a whirl. He walked back over to the kneeling insectoids, summoning the Force to interact with their minds so they understood him.

"If you tell me what I want to know, I promise you will be allowed to live in freedom." Anakin told them. "You won't have to hide any longer. You'll be able to do whatever you want." The Geonosians shared wary looks.

"You would do that for us?" One of them clicked.

"You have my word. We don't want you to live in fear, we want you to be free." Anakin replied as sincerely as possible. "We will let you go, as soon as you tell us what we want to know." The Geonosians proceeded to chat amongst themselves, quickly discussing Skywalker's offer.

Unlike Wraith, who needed them to do his work, the Jedi was promising them freedom to be themselves.

To them, it seemed like a better offer was in reach.

"The Separatist is hiding out in the central control room." They explained. "He had us help him kidnap the other Jedi and her men." Anakin was shocked.

So that's why Ahsoka hadn't called in yet.

The Jedi turned back to Rex, knowing there was only one way to find out for cortina if the bugs were telling the truth.

"Rex, contact Ahsoka! Now!" He ordered.


While he was deep in thought, Wraith was stirred from his planning when a series of beeps started to echo from the pile of confiscated equipment next to him. Dropping down and rifling through them, he quickly found the holocommunicator he had taken from Ahsoka. Wraith stood up as he realized Anakin was trying to get a hold of her.

"Let's see what your master has to say." Wraith mused. Kneeling before Ahsoka he held up the holocom before her. "Go ahead. Answer him." He instructed, switching on the device.

Waiting tensely for a reply, and really hoping the Geonosians were wrong, Anakin was relieved when Ahsoka finally appeared before him.

"Master!" She exclaimed.

"Ahsoka! Where are you?" Anakin urgently wondered. But the figure in his display suddenly changed as Wraith was revealed.

"Ahsoka is in my clutches Skywalker. As is her Clone squad." He stated.

"Wraith." Anakin growled, his free hand balling into a fist. "I swear, if you do anything, anything at all to her, I will-"

"You'll what? Make a bunch of empty threats you can't uphold? Typical." Wraith scoffed. "Here's the deal Skywalker: Ahsoka will remain unharmed as long as you do what I say." Deeming it better to not risk anything out of the ordinary, Anakin relented.

"Fine. I'm listening." Beneath his mask, Wraith smirked.

"You will allow me safe passage out of this factory, back to my ship." He began. "You will also allow me to keep the data of have acquired from your listening post and you will also allow me to leave the planet and enter hyperspace without interruption. Fail to comply with either of these demands... and you will suffer the consequences." Anakin frowned.

"Are you threatening me?" He wondered.

"Unlike you, I don't make threats. I make promises." Wraith retorted. "I'll give you some time to think this over. But remember, I can do this all day." With that, Wraith ended the communication. Anakin grumbled in annoyance.

"This is going to be trouble." He muttered. "I wish we didn't have to bend to that bucket-head's every whim. But..." He trailed off, thoughts switching to how worried he was about Ahsoka.

"Don't worry sir. We'll come up with something." Rex reassured him. Having overheard the conversation, the Geonosians decided there might be something they could do.

"We have tunnels that lead inside the factory." The group leader explained. "We could get you inside." Anakin perked up upon hearing the bug's words.

"You would?"

"As long as the Republic promises to leave us alone."

"We will, I promise!" Anakin readily agreed. "Stand down men. Let the Geonosians up." He commanded the Clones guarding their prisoners.


It seemed like freedom would be within reach.

Wraith turned around and leaned back against the desk, ignoring the monitors behind him.

"Looks like our little soirée is about to come to an end." He mused. "As long as your master is smart and makes the right call. Then again, his intelligence has always been in question." He chuckled.

"Anakin would do anything for me." Ahsoka retorted.

"I wouldn't go that far." Wraith growled. "When push comes to shove, it's always a matter of saving your own skin before saving someone else's. Just you watch, Ahsoka, there will come a time when Anakin fails you... and then I will be the only one left for you to turn to." Ahsoka recoiled a little.

"That sounds way too creepy, coming from you." She stated. Wraith shrugged.

"Reality sometimes is creepy. You can't expect everything to be normal all the time." Silence ensued as Wraith waited for Skywalker to call him back. It appeared the Clones had learned their lesson now and made no snide remarks or insults, the bodies of their dead a reminder of the consequences of such actions. Minutes passed by as Wraith patiently waited for Skywalker to make his decision. Drumming his fingers against the desk, Wraith decided the allotted time was almost up and was anticipating a call from Skywalker when the six Geonosians walked into the room. Feeling something was off, Wraith stood up, switched on his vocator and tossed the communicator aside.

"You escaped?" He wondered, approaching them. The imprisoned Republic members looked on in surprise, also wondering how the Geonosians had returned. "What happened?"

"The Republic made us a better offer." They explained. "We will be free, in exchange for giving them your location. They are coming now."

Wraith was shocked. The republic troopers were shocked.

"You led them...?!" Wraith trailed off as the shock of the Geonosian's betrayal set in.

It was swiftly replaced by rage.

"You lousy, useless...!" Wraith swore as he suddenly wrenched a spear from one Geonosian and promptly shoved it through the head of another. The Geonosians quickly recoiled as their fellow twitched in the the throes of death, the rest of them realizing they had made a grave mistake. Ripping the spear out, Wraith gripped it in one hand and plunged it into the body of another bug. He stabbed it over and over again, green blood splashing about as the frequent screams of the Geonosian filled the room. With the bug flat on its back and bleeding out from the multiple stab wounds, Wraith ripped the spear out and launched it, pinning a Geonosian to the wall with a spear through its head. "Kriffing traitors!" He roared in their language. The remaining Geonosians quickly decided to vacate the area and took flight, believing their aerial abilities would give them an advantage over the raging Wraith.

But they were wrong.

Firing both grapples, Wraith dragged one bug back to him until it was close enough for him to stomp into the ground. Then he promptly tore off its wings before he ripped off its head, the Geonosian screaming all the while. Deploying his blades, Wraith lunged ahead and tore into the last Geonosian ripping it in half with a roar as his anger reached a new high.

By the end of it all, Wraith was covered in green Geonosian blood. Breathing heavily as his anger slowly abated, Wraith did his best to wipe off a few splatters from his jacket. He realized that Skywalker and Rex were not very far away and that he would need a new plan of action. Quickly forming one in his head, that was by no means good but certainly sufficient, he set about enacting it. "Time for the backup plan." He rumbled, drawing his slugthrower. In methodical fashion, Wraith proceeded to execute each of the remaining Clones with single shots to the head, blood and brain matter staining the wall behind them.

"Wraith what are you doing?!" Ahsoka cried.

"Going with my less than ideal solution." He replied walking over to her and taking her arm. "Up you get." Pulling Ahsoka to her feet, Wraith had just enough time to pull her close before Anakin and Rex, accompanied by a crew of Clones, appeared where the Geonosians had been.

"Stand down Wraith!" Anakin ordered, lightsaber igniting as he spoke.

"Not a chance!" Wraith shot back as he suddenly pressed his pistol against Ahsoka's lekku. The action caused everyone to freeze, looks of fear written across Anakin and Ahsoka's faces. "I have had a pretty miserable day. So far, nothing has been going right. The data is mine and you are not getting it back! I will do whatever it takes to accomplish my mission." He growled, pressing the gun a little harder against Ahsoka. "Don't think I won't do it." Anakin paused, carefully weighing the suddenly dangerous situation that had taken shape.

"You wouldn't. You like her too much." Anakin replied, trying to see if he could weaken Wraith's resolve.

"There are two slugs left, one for your apprentice and one for your captain." Wraith stated. "Neither of them have to die, but if they do then their deaths will be on your hands." He rumbled. "You will have forced my hand." Anakin looked down at the bloody remains of the Geonosians.

"This is how you treat your allies? This is how you treat people who help you?"

"This is how I treat traitors! Their reward is death!" The commando retorted. "Now open the gate and let me pass and I will not harm Ahsoka." Anakin eyed him warily.

"How can I trust you?"

"You said it yourself," Wraith responded, "I like her too much." Anakin said nothing further, carefully deciding between which was worth losing: the data or Ahsoka. Wraith also said nothing, his finger resting on the trigger of his slugthrower. Part of him didn't want to have to resort to this, but he knew that if he were to accomplish his mission he had no other choice.

But then, suddenly...

Woah, woah, WOAH! Time out! You are not doing what I think you're doing!

"For real?!" Wraith quietly growled. Now was not the time. Not the time for this voice to be pestering him... let alone return from his subconscious.

"Alright. You win." Anakin muttered. "Let Ahsoka go and we'll let you go."

"She stays with me." Wraith replied. "Take me to my ship and I will release her there." The Jedi sighed.

"Fine. Let's go."


The trade off had been incredibly tense but had proven successful.

Wraith was soon flying away from Geonosis, data secured and the Republic far behind him. Ahsoka was freed from her bonds and back alongside Anakin and Rex, regretting the loss of her men but grateful that Wraith had not resorted to any more extreme measures.

And that he hadn't taken her life.

She had noticed him to be very much on edge, his mind and actions to be turbulent and erratic, as if his emotions were careening out of control. During this encounter, she had seen him to be not the calm, calculating and precise soldier he had always been. But he had been far more impulsive and emotional.

And angry. Very angry.

Though he did his best to hide it during the lull in action and their conversations, Ahsoka could easily sense that he was irritated and moody. Like a lit fuse just waiting to blow.

There was something wrong with him. And she had to wonder who was responsible.

Wraith, on the other hand, was glad to be finally away from the Republic. After a tense few hours in what could only be described as a standoff, Wraith was happy with a little peace and quiet.

That was dumb, there were ten other moves you could've pulled and you know it! What is with you?

Wraith sighed. Maybe it wasn't so peaceful or quiet right now.

He needed to do something to de-stress. After today, he was feeling way too tense and way too emotional.

He had to question why he was feeling so angry all of a sudden. Ever since the recent Mygeeto mission, he'd been feeling extra hostile and temperamental.

Maybe he was due for another psychological examination... hopefully Scipio could find out what was wrong with him this time.


Author's Note: As promised, teasers! Here's a look at what's on the horizon:

-Rage...: Wraith's violent tendencies continue to grow as Scipio tampers with his emotions. But actions have consequences... how will the Republic respond to his increasingly brutal assaults?

-TV Arcs: borrowing straight from the Clone Wars show, Wraith is about to embark on a few iconic escapades, including Ahsoka's misadventures on Wasskah and Florrum, the war for Mon Cala, the prison break at the Citadel, the mission to Zygerria and the Onderon Rebellion!

-A few twists and turns...: Wraith is going to encounter some facts and situations that will shake him and change him... and (hopefully) leave you all slack-jawed!

-She loves me, she loves me not...: Wraith dives deeper into his feelings for Ahsoka and the young Togruta will have to endure his flirtatious advances. But will she reciprocate or stay true to her Jedi teachings?

Hopefully those will be enough for you all to keep reading and waiting for future chapters. They will be coming, that's a promise!