-Chapter 127: Turn of the Tide-

Location: Ord Canfre

"A problem, difficult from a distance, can be simple when close at hand."

Located near the border of the Mid Rim in the Outer Rim territories, Ord Canfre was located in the eponymous system of the Cassander sector. A terrestrial world, Ord Canfre had surrendered to the Confederacy after a leadership blunder had seen to the total failure of the Republic presence situated there. Now it was one of the worlds very close to the contest Rim border, one Count Dooku was determined to keep secure.

Standing near a cliff, two super-soldiers beheld a hologram of the Count. One of which was the hulking genetically-modified Devaronian Scourge while the other was the athletic and mysterious Spectre. "The defence of our border territories is most crucial at this juncture. A single loss could weaken our hold on the Outer Rim." Dooku was telling them. "My spies suggest the Republic seeks to undermine us through espionage and sabotage, using subtle tactics to see to our downfall. I am entrusting your team of three to ensure this does not happen." He charged them.

"Understood, sir. It will be done." Spectre promised as Dooku ended the call. "Seems simple enough. We do a few loops around the planet and check out any anomalies to make sure the Republic aren't trying to get around us." He noted.

"Ugh, sounds as boring as ever." Scourge grumbled.

"I'll do the thinking then, you just hit whoever I tell you to."

"Works for me." The massive super-soldier relented with a shrug. He paused to examine his surroundings, taking note of the charred building foundations nearby, as well as he scorched earth all around them. "What is this place?" He wondered aloud.

"A former Republic base. It was blown to pieces during the attack." Spectre answered, ever the bookish and fact-based warrior.

"Reminds me of how we trashed that Republic base on Mygeeto. Remember that?" Scourge asked his shorter comrade, rolling his shoulders.

"Who doesn't?" Spectre chuckled in reply. Footsteps crunching against loose gravel signalled the appearance of the third member of their party as she emerged from within the ruined base.

"If you two are done reminiscing, I believe we have work to do." Banshee stated. Having survived the destruction of the Akiva facility, Banshee has been in need of a new set of armor in the aftermath. Her new attire was largely based on the uniforms of the militia fighters from her native Umbara; a blue and white bodysuit layered with silver impenetrable armor plating. Her lightsaber gauntlet and Shriekburst emitter remained unchanged, as was her traditional super-soldier helmet, albeit now connected to her suit at the neck to better improve the flow of her empowering gases. Gone was the duster, gone was everything that made her look like a female Wraith. She was her own being now, defined and distinct from her predecessor.

As she had phrased it once, future super-soldiers would now be based off of her.

"Yeah, simple stuff. Make sure no Jedi try to establish a foothold here." Spectre summarized.

"Like they could. Not with us around." Scourge snorted.

"Do not underestimate their cunning." Banshee warned. "I have dealt with Jedi before. They are rarely what they appear to be."


Emerging from hyperspace, a single T-6 Jedi shuttle made for Ord Canfre, carrying a trio of passengers.

"Seems quiet enough." Xur Eon remarked, glancing through the viewports and seeing no other vessels in the area. "Guess I was expecting some sort of ring of cruisers around it."

"They seem to only be doing that with major worlds." Anakin informed the Zabrak. "But even still, the Outer Rim is dangerous these days. If Dooku is sending super-soldiers here, we have to be in and out quickly. Let's make this survey as short as possible." He urged.

"But not before we take one or two down." Ahsoka mused. "But you'd think they'd want to reinforce a planet so close to the border."

"Intel says they're getting to that eventually, Snips, the Separatists are busy trapping the trade route worlds in strangleholds." Anakin told her.

"Super-soldiers would pave the way, I suppose." Xur agreed, rubbing his chin. "I wanna know how the Chancellor managed to get that intel..."

"A few brave souls willing to risk it all for our sake, I suppose." Anakin suggested. "Don't entirely know, but if the intel's good we should act on it."

"Right. Good thing I limbered up this morning." The Zabrak remarked. "I know we're here for in-and-out research, but I think if we can take two down that'd be alright."

"Oh yeah? Ten creds says we'll bag three." A chipper Ahsoka countered. The Zabrak looked over his shoulder.

"Tell you what Tano; we bag three and lunch is on me." Xur replied with a smirk.

"Then be prepared to pay for a big order, Eon." The Togruta teased her friend.


A short while later...

Down on the planet, the trio of super-soldiers had boarded STAPs and were whizzing through the air on patrol, Banshee and Scourge flanking Spectre as his advanced sensors and scanners investigated the terrain before them. As expected, their results were minimal and lacking any sort of trespassing signatures.

"Grid sector complete." He told his teammates through his comms. "Moving to sector aurek zero dash seventeen." He led the way by banking right and steering the team through the sparse treeline. Ord Canfre was a world of grassy hills, rolling knolls and patches of tress here and there. It was a calm and tranquil world, not that the Separatists cared. the super-soldier had a mission in mind and they fully planned to do whatever was necessary to fulfill it. Foliage would not stop them. Spectre kept his scanners running hot, pinging them for anomalies of any sort. He was in his element, primed and ready to get the drop on his enemies. Sure, he had his fair share of weapons with which to destroy his enemies, but there was something about finding them, sneaking up on them unawares... like a true spectre.

His scanner suddenly shifted and came alive with the location of a single energy anomaly.

"I'm reading some slight atmospheric fluctuations in sector dorn zero three." He announced to his team.

"Pulling ahead for a closer look." Banshee stated, gunning her thrusters to press further head and escape the trees. Accelerating ahead at an incredible speed, Banshee broke through the trees well before the others did, where her enhanced optical sensors quickly highlighted the landing T-6 shuttle. "We've got company. A craft just broke atmosphere and is making landfall." She reported back.

"Gotta be Republic. If it was ours, we'd know about it." Spectre mused as he and Scourge emerged from the woods. Banshee couldn't agree more and fell into line with her fellow super-soldiers. "Any thoughts, field commander?" The grey-clad Spectre inquired. His use of her newly-acquired title through promotion had Banshee smile beneath her mask. It was good to take charge, to be a leader, to inhabit the position Wraith used to hold over her. For now, the method of their approach was all too simple.

"We attack from multiple angles and force them back. We will drive them off the planet. Scourge, take the lead." She ordered.

"Sounds like fun. Let's hit it, Spectre!" The pitch-black super-soldier eagerly rumbled.

"After you, Scourge!" His ally offered with a quick gesture for him to advance. The Devaronian primed his thrusters and accelerated forward, tearing across the grass and guiding his machine skyward with Spectre right behind him. Banshee, however, cut her engines short and veered left, making to encircle the landing site and attack the invaders right where they would be most vulnerable.


Anakin and Xur left the shuttle first, Ahsoka trailing behind them. However, it was she who heard the sounds first... the sounds of a telltale engine whine...

"Do you hear that?" She asked aloud, her acute montrals picking up the sound well before the men's ears did. They paused, looking to her.

"No..." Xur trailed off, waiting to see if he could hear it as well. "Wait, maybe..." He admitted, staring in to hear whatever she heard.

"I can sense something... and it's getting closer." Anakin said, taking his lightsaber hilt in hand just in case. The telltale whine of an airspeeder engine soon reached all of them and they hurried out onto the grass, just in time to see a pair of STAPs clear the nearby trees in front of them and come baring down with blasters firing. All three quickly ignited their blades and started deflecting the incoming bolts with ease.

"You gotta be kidding me... The engines haven't even cooled yet!" Anakin complained.

"Yeah this was really quick!" Xur agreed, his blade flashing back and forth. "You sure that intel was good and not leading us into a trap?"

"I don't know anymore!" Anakin confessed as the STAPs roared overhead and made to do another pass.

"Two super-soldiers." Xur noted, seeing the hulking midnight-black armor adorning one while the other was clad in smoky grey. "Guess three's out of the question. I'm gonna say this is our cue to leave?" He asked of Anakin.

"Not yet." Anakin decided, removing a fairly large device from his belt and tossing it to his Padawan. "Ahsoka! Take the sensor and run a deep scan, we'll buy you some time!" He ordered.

"I'm on it!" Ahsoka affirmed, taking off towards a nearby hill she'd spotted. Xur looked up as the STAPs swung around and charged them again.

"As for us?" He wondered. Anakin looked to him with a smirk.

"We even the playing field." He stated. Reaching out with the Force, he took hold of the grey super-soldier's STAP and throwing it into an unrecoverable spin. Xur got an idea shortly after and sent his lightsaber spinning towards the all-black super-soldier. Each strafing shot fired from the STAP simply ricocheting off his spinning blade before it slammed into the front of the STAP and mangled it quite badly. The engine and electrics were promptly destroyed and the craft plummeted in an uncontrollable fall the super-soldier was unable to compensate for. Both STAPs crashed hard, fiery clouds erupting from the explosive epicentres as their pilots vanished from sight.

"You think that slowed them?" Xur wondered.

"Probably not." Anakin grimly replied, gripping his lightsaber tightly. As if on cue, the grey-clad super-soldier emerged from his flaming wreckage, his armor blackened and scuffed but no worse for wear. He advanced with a grim disposition, almost equal to Wraith's if not for his vertically-designed optics running from forehead to chin. Anakin briefly remembered him from Orron III.

"Your mistake was coming to this world thinking things would be easy." Spectre growled, addressing the Jedi. "Instead, this will be your grave." He threatened.

"Lotta talk but not a lot of action." Xur jeered. "I don't think we've met. So spare me calling you all bluster and no action and fill me in on who you are... or, at least, how you want to be remembered." The Zabrak demanded, dipping into the Force as he prepared himself for battle.

"Know my name is Spectre." The super-soldier's accented voice revealed. His twin scythe-blades slid over his arms. "And I am the vision of your impending doom." All of a sudden, Scourge burst out of his flaming wreckage with a roar and barreled towards the Jedi at top speed. Spectre quickly followed suit, breaking into a sprint as he charged Anakin. Xur quickly stepped to the side to better handle the approaching Scourge, the towering super-soldier slamming strains into the Force barrier he projected.

"Easy there, big guy." He remarked, quickly lunging ahead to deliver a sweeping blow with his titian blade. The lightsaber slammed into Scourge's armor with a burst of sparks, but did nothing to him. Realizing his trouble, Xur managed to look up as Scourge cackled, his angled red optics suddenly menacing. Scourge bowled him over with brute force as Spectre's blades collided with Anakin. The grey super-soldier was nimble and quick, his attacks rapid and precise as he forced Anakin to go on the defensive. The Jedi Knight was talented, without question, but even he was having some trouble keeping up with Spectre's onslaught.


Having sprinted into the nearby woods, Ahsoka primed the scanner for a quick pulse of the planet. It was a specially-designed enviro-sensory sweeper, made to analyze air particles and distortions in the natural rhythms of planetary ecosystems for signs of sentient/non-native activity. It wouldn't take long to perform such a check, but given the presence of super-soldiers, the Togruta had to be on high alert at all times.

"Do your thing, little guy," Ahsoka prompted as the scanner went to work, "I'll keep a lookout." She stood, taking her lightsaber hilts in hand as she reached out with the Force to test her surroundings. At first, she sensed nothing, the forest around her a pool of calm and natural Force energy. But then, a stone was throne into the pool...

An ear-piercing shriek filled the air, startling Ahsoka as she whirled around and ignited her blades just in time to block Banshee's twin blue blades. She rebuffed the assault and Banshee landed across from her.

"You've strayed far from your master..." The Umbaran super-soldier hissed. "He isn't here to save you, it would seem."

"I don't need him to a pop a tin can like you!" Ahsoka retorted. Banshee charged her and Ahsoka attacked quickly, lightsabers striking a clashing in a brilliant display as Banshee's raw power and force met Ahsoka's agile speed and fluidity. The super-soldier's heavy-handed slashes were easily parried by Ahsoka's nimble taps and strikes, warding her off at every turn. Banshee, however, was clever and thinking hard. She knew a Jedi as fast as Ahsoka wouldn't necessarily be easy to overpower... not without some mind-games, that is.

"Your skill is lacking, little girl." She jeered as they ground their blades together. "I'll never understand what Wraith saw in a tramp like you." She, like Admiral Sereva, had learned from Doctor Scipio all about Wraith's infatuation with her. It was old news now and his disappearance rendered it useless... except for in moments like these as a taunt. Ahsoka found the sudden strength to push Banshee off and, for a moment, anger flashed through her mind at the insult. But she thought better of the remark and chuckled in response.

"You're a super-soldier and 'tramp' is the best you've got?" She taunted. "You need to work on your banter, Seppie schutta." Normally, she didn't like using that word at all (it was a foul Huttese term for a 'loose woman') but it did give her the desired reaction. Banshee surged forward again, her lightsabers humming dangerous close to the ground and causing blades of grass to ignite and waft smoke in her wake. Their weapons collided again as Banshee went on the offensive once more. Ahsoka was used to over-eager Separatists taking the lead when it came to combat, it just tired them out quicker and let her take control of the battle soon enough.

Super-soldiers, however, were a different story.

Banshee would not tire so easily and proved as much when their blades locked again, using her enhanced strength to press against Ahsoka and force the Togruta to backpeddle unwillingly. Ahsoka wanted to push back, but even with the Force aiding her, Banshee was a very strong opponent. Ahsoka dared not tap into even more power, for fear of her desire to win or desire to attack Banshee allowing her to use far darker energy...


Xur's efforts weren't working.

Scourge's black armor may have been riddled with fading scorch marks and slash-lines, but he had not been hampered in the slightest. His lightsaber wasn't working and neither were his Force powers it seemed. A throw did nothing, a push did nothing, not even a burst of lightning was enough to keep Scourge down. The massive Devaronian simply shrugged of each attempt with a menacing chuckle that made Xur arch an eyebrow. The red-skinned Zabrak was already nursing a bruise or two, but he was also learning. With each avoided blow, with each failed strike, with each powerful smack from Scourge, he was learning how this super-soldier worked. And while he was notorious for overpowering his opponents with his wide array of Force abilities, Xur Eon was also very smart and very clever.

Overpowering Scourge was clearly not going to be the key to victory. But as Xur dodged and narrowly avoided each one of Scourge's incoming blows, he began to realize just how much this super-soldier relied on brute force instead of cunning or guile...

The bladed Spectre was giving Anakin a far rougher time than the Jedi originally anticipated. His speed was impressive and his stamina nigh-limitless, able to keep going and going despite Anakin's efforts to ward him off. The Jedi Knight slowly came to the realization that the super-soldier's were simply wearing them down, hoping to force them to a point of exhaustion where they could score some easy kills.

Well, that's not gonna happen. He thought to himself, and promptly used the Force to send Spectre sliding back. The super-soldier chuckled darkly.

"Good to see your creativity has not been hampered." He rumbled, popping the tendons in his neck. "It will make relishing your death all the more enjoyable." Anakin merely snickered at his words.

"They really do manufacture your kind by the dozen. That's the seventh time someone's told me that." He taunted. Spectre said nothing more and came charging towards him. But Anakin did not ready his blade and, instead, reached out with the Force. He'd been known to pull some powerful moves on the battlefield, but this one was to be far more methodical. He felt out the natural seams in the armor along Spectre's arms, each piece of plating stitched together or strapped down in some fashion. Using the Force, he wove its power amongst each piece, feeding it around and through the minute gaps in his armor. Then, snapping his eyes open, Anakin flexed his abilities as Spectre drew close and caused the armor around his right arm to explode away from his body, torn apart by the Force. The super-soldier lunged towards him, unable to fathom what had just happened as he continued to attack Anakin.

With ease, the Jedi sidestepped his lunge. Whirling his blade around, his own attack was guided by the Force as Anakin cut clean through the newly-exposed weakness in Spectre's armor and sliced off his forearm.

With a howl, the super-soldier stumbled to his knees, his free hand clutching the severed stump of his arm. Sucking in rasping gasps of air, Spectre coped with the pain as his discarded arm lay unmoving in the grass beside him. His free hand flexed involuntarily and he grit his teeth as the searing burns slowly faded and came to terms with the fact that he'd lost a limb. The humming of a lightsaber brought with it a brilliant blue glow as Anakin held his weapon by Spectre's neck. "Now then... where were we, Lefty?" He sneered, confident in victory. But while Spectre's body had been damaged, his iron-clad will had not.

"If you think the loss of a limb is enough to stop me... you are deeply mistaken!" He growled, whipping about with his bladed hand at high speed, catching Anakin off guard. The Jedi felt the scythe pass through the front of his robes and he staggered backwards, feeling no pain and no blood from any wound. But Spectre had come close... too close. The super-soldier rose and beckoned Anakin forwards, a deadly gleam in his crimson optics.


The duel between Banshee and Ahsoka had proven detrimental to the forest, swinging lightsabers carving through trees and felling them in the wake of their heated battle. Ahsoka had scored a handful of hits to Banshee, not that any sign of them could be seen as her armor remained virtually spotless. Each strike from Ahsoka's green and yellow blades simply sparked on contact, revealing the resistance nature of Banshee's composite armor. Yet neither woman was ready to concede and they both fought on.

Using the Force, Ahsoka glided across the ground as she delivered a spinning series of slashes that collided with Banshee in all manner of places. The super-soldier went unfazed as she lashed out with a series of kicks that Ahsoka ducked and rolled away from. Banshee lunged after her with another war cry, her twin lightsabers slamming into Ahsoka's crossed blades.

As their blades clashed, Banshee was already thinking, and used her leverage to drive her armored knee into Ahsoka's torso. The girl gasped as the air suddenly rushed from her lungs, her block faltering as Banshee swung her other arm around and hit her with a powerful blast of focused sonic energy. The blow was powerful enough to send Ahsoka slamming into a nearby tree, the Togruta crying out in pain as she slumped to the ground, thoroughly winded. She struggled to breath and refill her lungs with sweet air as Banshee strode towards her, lightsaber humming menacingly.

"Know you died by the hand of the galaxy's greatest super-soldier." Banshee gloated, priming her Shriekburst emitter as she did. Ahsoka let out a gurgling laugh, choking on it a little as she continued to renew her breathing.

"No matter... how tough or how deadly you... think you are... you'll always be in... Wraith's shadow." She shot back. An angry growl emitted through Banshee's synthesizer.

"Wraith is gone! Dead or deserted, I don't care! All you need to know, you little wench, is that I am now superior even to him." She scornfully growled. She was trying to be tough, trying to assert her dominance. But Ahsoka knew a very precise way around it.

"I seem to... distinctly recall Master Plo kicking your sorry butt... all over Charros. Not a good track record, oh superior one." She mocked, smiling a little as the Togruta shot Banshee a defiant grin.

"Says the Five-Oh-First's resident whore." Banshee spat back. Before Ahsoka could even retort, a burst of ultrasonics sent ripples of pain up and down her headtails, Ahsoka crying out and clutching them fruitlessly. The painful soundwaves died down after a moment, and Ahsoka was left stunned as Banshee continued her vocal assault. "Even your dress screams a street-corner slut. How fitting that an incompetent weakling of a genetic abomination falls for a used prostitute who bends over for Clones all the time! His standards were always so low." She sneered. The words sank in, registering with whatever coherency was left. Ahsoka had been called dozens of things before by equally uncouth Separatists. But to insult Dynnal in such a way?

That was going too far.

As Banshee's barb settled, Ahsoka snapped.

A rush of Force energy restored her senses and made her combat-ready in the blink of an eye. For a split second, the Togruta's eyes turned yellow and she bared her teeth, letting out a snarl as she unleashed a massive burst of Force energy that sent Banshee flying through several trees. The blow was hard enough to put a significant dent in her chest armor, the super-soldier laid out flat after Ahsoka's vengeful strike.

But even then, the raging Padawan wasn't done yet.

Reaching out with her powers, a crushing grip encircled Banshee tightly as Ahsoka lifted her up and threw her with a shout, the super-soldier sent tumbling through even more trees as Ahsoka stalked over, unleashing a final Force push that sent Banshee flying. She flew so fast with enough velocity that her body was partly buried in a nearby hill, kicking up a small explosion of dirt as she plowed into the grassy earth.

"He's better than you'll ever be." The fuming Ahsoka snapped. Her eyes returned to their normal color as she shook off the experience, not even consciously aware she had dipped into the Dark Side...

Calling her lightsabers back to her hands, Ahsoka turned and slowly worked her way to the scanner.


Xur had finally figured it out.

Scourge was putting everything he had into each blow with the hope that it would be the one to score a decisive hit. His moves had grown predictable and while this wasn't the Zabrak's preferred way of fighting, it had borne fruit after all.

He was busy fighting the super-soldier by the shuttle, as Anakin had blown open another armor wound in Spectre and driven his lightsaber through the super-soldier's shoulder, his heated blade causing permanent nerve damaged and connectivity issue between his limb and his brain. Back flipping away from another double-axehandle from Scourge, Xur called over his shoulder to his fellow Jedi.

"Hey Skywalker, ol' buddy ol' pal! Wanna help put this one in the dirt?" He asked. Anakin shoved the wounded Spectre down and raced over to Xur.

"Sure! Lead on!" The human replied to his friend. The Zabrak nodded and took point, sprinting towards Scourge who chuckled in readiness. He swung hard only to miss as Xur dropped into a slide.

"I got his legs!" He called out, sliding across the ground and swinging his blade as he passed between Scourge's legs. His saber hacked through the back of Scourge's knees and caused the super-soldier to collapse with a roar of pain. Anakin quickly charged ahead, making to round the downed Scourge and the super-soldier lashed out. Anakin lept out of the way and used the Force as he passed by him, a hard telekinetic shove knocking him into the side of the shuttle. Xur, who had climbed to his feet, vaulted over the super-soldier in a helix twist, his lightsaber cutting clean through Scourge's exposed neck. The armored head fell to the ground as Scourge's body collapsed, very much dead. "And his head." He mused with a grin, satisfied with his victory.

"Don't get any deader than that." Anakin remarked, the two fist-bumping in celebration. "Now, you wanna help me finish off mine?" He asked.

"I would, but I think yours has flown the coop." Xur pointed out, seeing there was no Spectre where Anakin had left him.

"Dammit." The Knight grumbled. "Guess we'll have to keep it at one kill only." He decided, shutting down his lightsaber. Then he spied Ahsoka sprinting over with the scanner in hand. "All good, Snips?" He called out.

"Had to ward off another super-soldier, but yeah, we're fine." She responded, still feeling what would likely become a bruise from Banshee's hard knee. "I can tell you this much, if there's any Separatists here, it's just these three..." She reported, having peeked at the scanner's findings. "Er, these two." She corrected, spying Scourge's headless body behind her allies.

"Works for me. Let's get out of here before they decide to bring in anyone else." Anakin suggested, taking the device as he lead the way up the boarding ramp. Xur followed as Ahsoka brought up the rear.

"So, how many kills?" She queried.

"Just one, Anakin's got away." Her friend replied. The Togruta sighed in defeat. "Sorry, Tano, I guess I'm not buying lunch after all." Xur smugly determined, folding his hands behind his head.

"Next time, Xur. Next time." Ahsoka promised with a grin.


Author's Note: RANDOM FOLLOWER SHOUTOUT - this one goes to Silmae564, you three-day binge-reading legend! Thanks for stopping by, we're happy to have you!

Until next posting, stay safe and stay sane.