Have ne fear, Grubkiller is here.
Hey guys and gals, this is part 6 of the re-written version of my 'Clash of the Sith Lords' story, which has elements of the Son of Dathomir story in it.
Be sure to leave your thoughts down in the review section when you're done.
And please, enjoy.
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RSV Pride of the Core, Mandator II-class Star Dreadnought.
The Mandator II-class was a powerful vessel. While a single Venator could withstand an attack from several separatist destroyers, the mandator was said to withstand an attack from a thousand, which spoke volumes about the power of this 5 mile long, wedge-shaped warship.
Developed by the Kuat Drive Yards at the beginning of the Clone Wars, these powerful dreadnoughts were ordered by Chancellor Palpatine, as a part of the newly centralized Republic navy, and were meant to smash the Confederate Navy and blockade CIS space. But since there were so few of them, they were used sparingly, to command fleets and besiege certain sectors of the galaxy.
But in the Dromund Kaas system, one Mandator II was being used for the role it was meant to play, by destroying the Republic's ancient enemy: the Sith Empire.
From here, the Jedi Council commanded the armada they brought with them to this system, and cut a deadly path of destruction across the system. Hundreds of ships had already tried to break the Republic's heavy blockade over their capital and destroy the flagship, but none have even come close to succeeding.
Any ship that the Sith threw at the Republic was cut apart by tens of thousands of turbo-laser blasts and ship-to-ship missiles. Any ship that did make it through the blockade was merely a toy to the Republic's present dreadnought, the Pride of the Core.
From the bridge of this mighty warship, Jedi Grand master Yoda looked outside as explosions blossomed across the system, and red and blue laser bolts crisscrossed between the two opposing fleets. Jedi-led clone squadrons and Sith-led imperial squadrons engaged in dogfights between the two sides, and even zipped around each other's warships for better control of the space battle.
The knee-high, and 900 year old Jedi master hobbled back across the bridge on his cane, and he made his way to the command center. There, he saw a holograms of master Shaak Ti and Master Plo Koon, who were leading the overall mission to take the system.
Admiral Tarkin was there as well, commanding the space forces.
"Master Yoda," Shaak Ti said with a bow. Plo bowed as well.
Tarkin merely turned and acknowledged him. But he didn't salute or bow.
"Wish to know the status of the battle, I do," he said.
A clone officer turned to the holo-table and brought up several images of the system, and the battle for control over it.
All across the Imperial system, tens of thousands of Republic troopers were pushing their way through Imperial lines, led by their Jedi generals.
"Most of the planet's from here to the edge of the system are under our control. But the majority of the system is stil under Imperial control. We're holding off what remains of the Imperial Navy for now, but we believe that it is only a matter of time before they break through." Plo Koon said.
"We still have yet to find Maul or Dooku. But we believe that they're still in this system, somewhere." Shaak Ti said.
"Hmmm, sense a powerful presence, I do." Yoda groaned as he studied the map with great interest. He then saw an image of Kaas City. It was there, that the Empire was making a vicious last stand. Master Kenobi and Windu's forces were smashing there way towards the Imperial Citadel, in the military district. Master Tiin's forces were flanking around the city to cut off the Imperials. He pointed at the area where Windu's forces were with his cane. "Contact Master Windu. Break through to capture the Palace, tell him. Send reinforcements we will."
The Jedi nodded, and clone officers began to carry out his orders.
"What is it, Master Yoda?" A hologram of Kit Fisto asked.
"Well co-ordinated the enemy forces are. Guided by a powerful force user they are. Take the Citadel and end this dark influence at its source, we must."
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Kaas City, Imperial Citadel's outer defenses.
"The Republic is breaking through! DON'T LET THEM GET TO THE PALACE!"
In one of the streets just outside of the Imperial Citadel, Red and Blue laser bolts were flying back and forth. Dead Imperial Soldiers lied everywhere, and more were trying to hold their ground at the front entrance.
Sith troopers had set up heavy weapons to try and hold the Republic back. They used repeating blasters, flamethrowers, rocket launchers and grenades. But it wasn't enough. Despite their best efforts, they were unable to hold off the wave of clone troopers, tanks, walkers, and speeders that were blasting their way through the Imperial checkpoints.
Gunships flew overhead, blasting at multiple targets at a distance with volleys of air-to-surface rockets.
The Clones of the 212th Attack Battalion advanced yard by yard. They were led by four Jedi. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Aayla Secura, and Tiplee. The four Jedi moved down the street, using their lightsabers to expertly deflect multiple incoming blaster bolts. Sith troopers fell from their own blaster fire.
Buildings were blasted apart by the advancing AT-TE tanks.
Gunships flew overhead, blasting at multiple targets at a distance with volleys of air-to-surface rockets.
The Sith's situation was getting desperate. But despite their tenuous position, they didn't fall back. They held firm, for they had standing orders not to retreat under penalty of death. So they fought and died where they stood. Imperial troopers that were firing from balconies and window sills disappeared in a series of explosions that took out the face of the building.
With the district nearly clear, the four Jedi continued to lead their forces to victory.
But before they could exit the street and move onto the massive open space in front of the Citadel grounds, a rocket streaked out of nowhere, and struck the AT-TE at the head of the Republic column. It's cockpit exploded, and it's servos whined before they gave out from underneath the tank's failing weight. Several clones flew in several directions from the force of the blast.
The Jedi looked behind them to view the carnage. The column ground to a halt. Then the Jedi turned around. More Imperial troopers - no, Death Watch commandoes - had taken positions on rooftops on either side of the street. Some of them used their jetpacks to hover above, harassing the Republic column with yellow blaster fire.
Cody's men, who took some casualties, fired back and began to inflict casualties in return. Several commandoes were speared through the exposed pars of their armor. One was struck in his jetpack before he flew out of control, striking one building and exploding.
The Jedi used their lightsabers to deflect blaster fire, and used the force to make some of the commandoes come to them, where they were then cut apart at close range.
"Keep pressing forward! We have to reach the Citadel-" Mace Windu said as he continued to deflect more blaster bolts.
But before he could say anything else, a pair of familiar figures appeared right in front of them, hacking away at several clone troopers with their red and black sabers.
"Or better yet-" said the figure with a gray beard and brown cape, "-let us come to you."
The figures were Dooku and Maul.
"So it is true," Obi-Wan said as he and the other Jedi assumed a defensive posture, "you two, and the empress, are all working together!"
"Of coarse," Maul said. "Only our shared hatred of you could be strong enough to unite us!"
As Maul finished speaking, Dooku outstretched his arms and fanned his hands out, before he used the force to concentrate on the buildings behind him. He clenched his hands and bent his arms back towards him, and suddenly the buildings began to rumble violently. Then they began to collapse. Soon, a avalanche of debris came crashing down, sealing off the street.
The Republic convoy was blocked off from the Citadel.
"Stand down in the name of the Republic..." Windu said as he raised his saber, but outstretched his hand in the Sith's direction, "This has gone far enough, Dooku!"
"Agreed. I can promise you that your deaths won't be remembered." Dooku said, before he raised his hand and unleashed an arc of blue Sith lightning at the four Jedi, forcing them to raise their lightsaber to defend themselves.
When the onslaught was finished, Dooku lowered his hands. That's when he and Maul struck. Obi-Wan and Tiplee dueled with Dooku, while Aayla defended herself against Darth Maul.
But Mace didn't enter the fight just yet. He turned to Commander Cody, who's men were still firing on the Death Watch commandoes above.
"Commander, take your men, and find another way around to the Citadel. We'll deal with these two," he said before he ran into the fight.
Cody nodded and then turned to his men, giving them silent hand signals, directing them to get the convoy moving. As the clones and tanks turned around to find another way around, Mace Windu saw Aayla struggling against Maul. She blocked and parried his attacks, but the aggressive form VII style that Maul was using was too much for her. She stumbled backwards, and when Maul had an opening, he delivered a kick to her face with his metal feet, knocking her out cold before she even hit the ground.
But before Maul could deliver a finishing strike. Mace jumped in and blocked the attack, saving the unconscious Twi'lek knight. The Jedi Master and the renegade Jedi Hunter were both locked in a saber lock, their purple and dark lights clashing.
Maul cracked a demonic smile. "Finally, a fair fight."
Windu merely looked at him with a slight frown. "Trust me Maul, you wish it was." And the fight began.
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Imperial Citadel.
On a landing pad that jutted out from the center of the Citadel, over the city, a pair of Imperial troopers were standing guard. They watched as Republic and Imperial warships continued to engage one another all around the city. The skies glowed orange from all the fires of battle, and columns of dark smoke rose into the skies, obscuring some of the naval engagements.
"First the False Sith attack with their War droids, and now the Jedi attack us with their duplicated soldiers. This is why we will win: their armies have no spirit. They can only fight us with fake soldiers."
"When will we be able to fight. I live for the day where I will finally see a Jedi before I kill it."
"You will fight when your Empress tells you to. Now be quiet and keep an eye out for any infiltrators."
That's when they heard the sound a shuttle coming in for a landing. They looked off in the distance and saw something disturbing the air. Then they saw the frame of a ship appearing out of no where. It was a ship that had folding wings and a sphere at the back of a long bow. It rotated and touched down on the landing platform. The two guards went to investigate. That's when a ramp extended from the back of a ship and a door opened.
A hooded figure wearing maroon and purple robes walked off of the ship with his hands clasped together. He walked up a small flight of stairs. The two guards blocked his path and raised their blasters.
"Halt!" One of them ordered as the figure began to raise a hand and clench his fingers.
Suddenly, an invisible force began to put pressure on their necks. They dropped their weapons and grabbed their throats as they began to suffocate. As they struggled for air, the figure casually walked passed them and went up to the door. He pressed a few buttons, and the door opened with a hiss. He walked through. The doors closed behind the figure just as the two guards collapsed to the ground... dead.
Throne Room.
As her new subordinates - Darth Maul and Count Dooku - led her forces into battle against the full might of the Jedi Order and their Clone army, Empress Acina sat in her throne room, which was dark from the clouds of black smoke that formed over the city. Darth Vowrawn, her apprentice and heir apparent, kneeled in front of her.
They were both using their combined power to use a force ability called 'battle meditation', a powerful force ability that allowed them to direct their armies and fleets. With a small version of the Star Forge pumping out more ships for them, their army under their influence, and the new Sith Lords leading the charge against the Jedi, Acina felt confident that her Empire would emerge victorious.
Suddenly, she felt something. It was a tremor in the force. Then unfolded her legs from her meditative position, and leaned over in her throne before she held her head. "Hmm. I sense a presence - an incredibly powerful presence, nearby".
Vowrawn looked up, concerned. "What is it, my master?"
She massaged her head and tried to concentrate. Then she looked up at the large double door at the end of the throne room. "...Sidious!"
Suddenly, all of the troopers standing at attention in the room began to choke and gurgle. Then they were slammed against the walls where they were positioned all around the perimeter of the throne room
Acina and Vowrawn got up and faced the door, which opened to let a cloaked stranger walk through. When he was through, the limp bodies of every trooper in the room fell to the ground.
Acina sat up from her throne and walked over to meet Sidious halfway.
"I see you've finally decided to crawl out of hiding to do your own dirty work," Acina said.
"I must admit, I am most impressed that you were able to defeat Dooku and Grievous, and hold your own against the Jedi. You have proven to be a worthy adversary." Sidious said, his obscured face cracking a smile.
"An Empire that has been in exile for a thousand years doesn't survive with incompetent leaders. We survive, we rebuild, and we adapt, or we die," Acina said.
Darth Sidious looked passed Acina at Vowrawn, who was pacing behind his master, ready for a fight that could happen at any moment. Sidious then turned away to look outside at the dark clouds of smoke over the city, which flashed blue and red from the naval battle. "How unfortunate, that we had to come to blows. We could've ruled over the galaxy."
"But your 'Rule of Two' would've reduced my followers to nothing more than cannon fodder." Acina said.
"And now... you are a RIVAL!" He exclaimed before he turned back and used the force to push both Acina and Vowrawn across the room. They hit the wall on either side of the throne.
They crushed the wall, and were pinned. They struggled to break free. But Sidious merely held his hands up to pin them there as he cackled.
Acina and Vowrawn looked at each other. They nodded. They then turned to Sidious. With all of their might, they ripped their arms off of the wall and clapped their hands together. A shockwave of force lightning came from their hands and flew towards Sidious.
He looked up and growled. He let go of Acina and Vowrawn, and tried to avoid the lightning blasts, by dashing back several feet. He did so, just in the nick of time.
When he was done, he looked at the two Sith Lords in front of him. He scowled at them and hissed. Acina activated her two purple lightsabers, and Vowrawn activated his double ended red lightsaber.
Sidious allowed a lightsaber to fly out of both sleeves and into his hands. He activated them and assumed an aggressive stance.
Acina and Vowrawn nodded at each other. That's when she went in and circled around to Sidious' right, While Vowrawn hung back.
Sidious twirled his swords around before he dashed forward and dragged his swords through the floor behind him, leaving two orange glowing cuts. Acina flipped through and the air and brought her words down on Sidious. They dueled until Sidious' back faced Vowrawn, who jumped away from the thrown and swung his blade into the fight.
Darth Sidious spun around and raised his blades just in time to block Acina and Vowrawn's blows.
All three combatants were caught in a saber lock.
As they all stood there, Sidious began to cackle maniacally.
This was just the beginning.
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District 3, near the Citadel.
As Commander Cody and his men continued to press on down their new path, The Jedi stayed behind to deal with the Sith Lords they were after in the first place. It wasn't off to the greatest of starts. Aayla Secura was unconscious, and Obi-an and Tiplee were dueling with Count Dooku.
That left Mace Windu to fight Darth Maul.
Both duelists circled one another, before they both struck at the same time. They crossed their blades in a saber lock. They stared each other down, daring each other to make a move.
Maul pushed against Windu, making him lean back. Then Windu pushed back so that it looked like they were evenly matched. Both combatants knew that what happened next was going to be nothing less than a fight to the death, even though Mace would rather keep Maul alive for interrogation.
Both combatants broke off to circle one another. After a few long seconds of staring at each other, Maul used his aggressive Form VII fighting style to start the attack, aiming for Master Windu's head.
But Mace responds with Vaapad, a variation of Form VII that Mace invented himself. It was an aggressive fighting style that allowed Mace to channel the dark-side, while still remaining in the light.
Maul began to clash against Mace's saber, the two of them engulfing in a battle more aggressive and fast then Maul has ever seen before. Blow after parry after blow, the two of them looked like streaks of black and purple light, jumping around the street as if floating through air.
That's when Mace used the force to summon a thermal detonator from a fallen clone, and throw at Maul. The beeping detonator flew towards Maul, who ran to try and avoid the blast, which sent flaming debris in every direction. The red-skinned Zabrak was thrown into a wall, which he slammed into.
When he looked up, he saw Mace standing right above him, with his blade pointed at his throat.
Mace looked down at the defeated Sith with a frown.
"This party is over."
On the rooftops overlooking the embattled streets of Kaas City, Rook Kast and her Mandalorian warriors were doing everything they could to support the Imperial defenders on the ground, as they fought to protect everything they've built over the last ten centuries.
But as Death Watch's star-fighters, warriors, and light warships tried to slow the Republic down, Kast couldn't help but feel that the battle was lost in the back of her mind. Which was why finding Lord Maul, and ensuring his survival was of paramount importance.
They flew from rooftop to rooftop until they found the last known location of Lord Maul and Count Dooku. They saw a score of their fellow Mandalorians already dead from the Republic scum. But she decided that they could norm later, because they just found Lord maul, who was in a bit of a pinch.
She turned to her warriors.
"There's lord Maul! Ready your rockets..." she called out, while pointing at the dark-skinned Jedi about to execute him, "...and target the one with the purple lightsaber!"
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Throne room.
Back in the throne room, high above the war-torn streets of Kaas City, a vicious duel was underway. A duel that would decide the future of the Sith. Darth Sidious was facing off against Empress Acina of the Sith Empire, and her apprentice, Darth Vowrawn.
The three combatants dueled each other across the throne room. Acina and Vowrawn found this fight to be more difficult than they first thought. Sidious was using lightsaber techniques that had evolved over the years during the era of Darth Bane's order. The warriors of the order that Acina didn't stand a chance against Dooku, or Sidious.
Not alone anyway.
But Acina and Vowrawn were the most powerful warriors in the Empire. And they had Sidious outnumbered two to one. They had to use this advantage for all that it was worth.
Acina actually managed to force Sidious out of the throne room and onto the balcony. She dueled with one of her purple blades, and pushed him back. The duel went back and forth until they locked blades. It would've been a stalemate, but then Sidious thrust his second blade at Acina. Reacting quickly, she jumped back up onto the railing, and kept her balance. They both stared at each other for a split second, before Sidious heard someone grunting. He looked to his right to see Vowrawn come charging out of the throne room, with his dual-edged sword raised.
Sidious raised both of his blades to block Vowrawn's blow. He deflected it, but the blow from the giant Sith master almost sent Sidious over the edge. He flipped back over the railing and was about to plummet to the base of the building.
But before he did, he raised his hands in their direction. Then, Acina and Vowrawn felt a presence surround them and pull them off of the balcony. They grunted as they both were pulled over the railing, and were sent plummeting with Sidious.
Darth Sidious turned over and faced the ground, spread-eagling his arms and legs to slow his decent. When he was about to hit the ground of the main courtyard, he planted his feet to the ground and landed in a crouched position.
Acina and Vowrawn landed on either side of him.
He looked to either side of him at his two opponents.
Vowrawn re-activated one end of his lightsaber, and pointed it downward to try and plunge it into Sidious' head. The Dark Lord leaned back to avoid the blow, causing Vowrawn's blade to plunge into the concrete ground beneath them. Sidious reactivated both swords and swung them at Vowrawn. Acina's apprentice and heir, with his blade still plunged into the ground, reactivated the other end, blocking Sidious' strike.
With Sidious stalled, Acina tried to swing her purple sword at Sidious' unprotected flank, but then Sidious swung one blade back to block Acina. He had both opponents in a saber lock. He kicked Acina in the stomach, sending her back. At the same time, he used the force to push Vowrawn back. He swung his blades down at her, but she dashed backwards to avoid his blades. That's when Vowrawn tried to swing his dual-ended sword at Sidious, who placed one sword over his back to protect himself. Then he dashed into Vowrawn's defenses and used his elbow to bash the giant Sith warrior away.
Then he turned around just in time to see Acina jumped at him with her leg extended. Sidious leaned back to avoid the kick, and allowed Acina to jump over him.
Acina landed next to Vowrawn, and Sidious did a back flip to put a little distance between himself and his opponents. They began to circle around him, trying to attack from two directions. Vowrawn jumped up and somersaulted over Sidious, before landing at the bottom of the stairs. Sidious turned with him to keep track of him. Then he turned back in time to block an Attack from Acina. She combined her sword swings with some force pushes to force him back down the stairs into Vowrawn.
Just as Vowrawn raised his lightsaber over his head, Sidious back flipped and kicked Vowrawn away, who went flying across the plaza.
That's when Sidious deactivated his lightsabers, dropped to his knees, and let out a long and raspy sigh.
Empress Acina smiled before she jumped up and prepared to small her saber down onto Sidious. But before she landed, Sidious threw his hands forward, and sent a force blast in her direction. She went flying into a wall, which had a mural of Ancient Sith fighting Ancient Jedi. When she landed, she was put out of commission and slipped in and out of conciseness.
With Acina out of the fight, for now, Sidious turned to focus his attention on Vowrawn, who was just getting back up. He looked at Sidious with an animalistic rage in his eyes. He snarled and charged at Sidious. He swung his blade at him, but Sidious flipped over Vowrawn's blow and landed behind him. He then turned around and began to swing his double edged saber at Sidious, who merely stepped back to avoid the strikes. Then, Vowrawn spun around and brought the sword down on Sidious, who reactivated both blades to block Vowrawn.
Both combatants were in a saber lock. Sidious had a blade blocking each end of Vowrawn's. Acina's apprentice snarled and tried to push down on Sidious with all of his brutish might. But then Sidious delivered a strong kick to Vowrawn's stomach, who grunted as he doubled over. Then Sidious began to flip and spin around him, striking at him and then withdrawing, trying to disorientate the much larger warrior.
It was working, as Vowrawn was having trouble keeping up. This allowed Sidious to launch a reinvigorated offensive against him. Vowrawn struggled to keep up with Sidious and block each of his lightning like strikes.
Adina began to wake up again, and her vision came back into focus just in time to see Sidious attack her apprentice with a combination of saber strikes and force pushes. Sidious attacked him from behind with a force push, forcing Vowrawn to stumble forward. Sidious jumped over him. When his back was facing him, he pointed his sabers behind him and dashed backwards.
Vowrawn grunted when both of Sidious' blades plunged into him. Sidious cackled as his blades cooked Vowrawn's organs. When he withdrew his blades, he turned around and faced Vowrawn, before force pushing him into the plaza in front of the palace courtyard.
Acina's eyes nearly bulged out of her skull as she saw her apprentice and heir being thrown int the plaza.
"No!" She exclaimed under her breath before she ran down the stairs and past Sidious.
He let her run passed him. She jumped down into the plaza. She ran up to Vowrawn's body, and saw that he was still alive... barely.
She held his hand and looked down at him. He struggled to stay awake, as he tried to look up at her.
"M-master. I... I'm sorry. I've...failed you. I am not worthy to be your apprentice..." He said as he held her hand. He propped himself up with his elbow with what was left of his vanishing strength to look into her eyes. "Kill him. Lead our Empire to the greatness it was meant for." He said.
And with a final breath, his eyes rolled up into his head, and he collapsed onto his back, dead.
Acina squeezed Vowrawn's hand, and tears began to stream out of her eyes. She had been his master for years. He was supposed to lead the empire when she was gone. And now he was the one that was gone.
"So far, this fight has been one to see who's ideology was superior," a voice echoed out across the plaza. It belonged to Sidious. "If you look out over the horizon, you'll see which one is failing as we speak."
Acina looked up to see a city in flames. Smoke columns rose from the many fires that raged across the city. Heavy blaster fire and explosions echoes out across the city. Republic warships hovered above the skyline, hammering into the surface with every cannon they had. Clone and Jedi star-fighters zoomed overhead, blasting at targets that she couldn't see that she couldn't see.
Fire reflected off of the dark clouds of smoke, washing Acina and her surroundings in a dark orange.
Acina looked around to look at Sidious, her eyes focusing on him like she was a huntress. It awoke something inside of her. Something that could not be contained.
Rage.
She stood up and turned to face Sidious, who already had both blades activated. She activated both of her own.
"Dromund Kaas may fall. But if it will fall, then you will go with it. And after I destroy you... I will bring down everything that you've built". Acina hissed.
They both stared at each other for a few moments, before Acina lunged at Sidious. She swung her blades wildly, forcing Sidious to use both blades to block her strikes. After a few minutes of defending himself from her wild strikes, he delivered a kick that he had aimed at her stomach. When she was forced back, Sidious charged at her. She flipped back a few times and then stood her ground to face him before they resumed their fighting. He in turn struck back wildly, trying to force his defenses open with his sabers. Sidious thrust one of his blades forward, but Acina ducked underneath it and slashed at his ankles. He jumped up to evade her strike, and when he was exposed, she kicked him across the plaza.
Then she charged at him. When Sidious recovered, he charged back at her. But to throw him off, she launched a powerful arc of Sith lightning at Sidious. He crossed both blades in front of himself to protect against the lightning. This allowed Acina to come down hard on him with her sabers, when she was close enough. They were caught in another saber lock. But Acina wasn't planning on a stalemate. Instead, she pushed down as hard as she could, trying to force Sidious' swords onto his own face.
Sidious seemed like he was struggling, but then he pushed back, and forced Acina to lean back. Then he slid his swords over hers and burned her hands.
She screamed and withdrew from the saber lock. But then she tried to charge at him again, but Sidious gave her a full blast of lightning that overcame her. She locked up and screamed in pain. When Sidious was done, he used the force to lift her up and slam her into the walls around the plaza. Then he threw her to the ground. He walked up to her and stood over her.
She looked up at him. "I won't beg," she sneered defiantly.
"Good, then you'll save me time," he said before he plunged his blades deep into her torso, and into the concrete below.
She gasped, then she looked down at the blades in her torso. Then the life began to escape from her eyes - and from the little one growing inside of her - and she leaned back, finally dying.
Sidious withdrew his blades from the fallen empress, and looked out over the city. It was the end of the ancient Sith. This battle was its last dying breath before being cast off into the ash bin of history.
Now, all that was left for him to do was tie up loose ends, starting with Maul and the Witch Talzin.
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District 3, near the Citadel.
Even with the Empire falling apart all around them, the Jedi and the Sith's battle was only intensifying.
Maul was at Windu's mercy, and Dooku was being cornered by Obi-Wan and Tiplee. They continued to duel and parry each other's strikes, until Dooku was pressed against the mountain of debris that he brought down earlier.
Realizing that he had to get out of this spot, he unleashed a powerful arc of lightning at the two Jedi, forcing them to block the attack. As lightning crackled off of their blue lightsabers, Dooku raised a hand and used the force to pull Master Tiplee towards him.
"Come here, little Jedi..." he said before he caught her in his grasp, "...I have something to show you."
Obi-Wan reached out, in a vain attempt to save Tiplee. "NO!"
"Ack!" Tiplee exclaimed as Dooku's blade was thrust into her abdomen, piercing and cooking her internal organs.
"Master Tiplee!" Obi-Wan shouted, as tears began to well up in his eyes.
He then lunged forward to try and attack Dooku. But the Count merely used the force to levitate Tiplee's corpse, and throw her across the road, where Obi-Wan ended up getting knocked to the ground by her.
Mace Windu, who had just put Maul in binders, was about to rejoin the fight, when a volley of missiles streaked down from the rooftops. Thinking quickly, the Jedi master leapt from his position, and used the force to contain the blast of the missiles just as they impacted the street. Even though he managed to suppress the blast radius and save his fellow Jedi from destruction, the force of the blast was so much that it still sent him flying into a nearby wall, not far from Aayla Secura's still unconscious body, before falling unconscious.
Obi-Wan was all that was left, and he was kneeling down, with the corpse of Master Tiplee in his arms.
Maul, on the other hand, was just freed by one of his warriors, and Dooku was still standing. Both Sith Lords stood triumphantly over the vanquished Jedi. But just before they could move to finish off the battered Jedi, a flight of Republic gunships flew in with all guns blazing.
The Mandalorian super-commandoes fired on the approaching gunships, only to suffer heavy casualties. Clone Troopers began to repel down from the troop bays of the gunships. Before their boots even hit the pavement, they started to blast away at the Sith and their troopers.
Darth Maul and COunt Dooku began to deflect blue plasma bolts from the inbound clones. As this was happening, Rook Kast landed next to Maul. "Lord Maul, Empress Acina has been reported to be killed..." Kast said, much to the surprise of Maul, "...the situatuion in this system is rapidly falling apart. We have to leave. You're fighter is ready for lift off."
Obi-Wan was able to hear this.
"They're heading for their gauntlet fighters. Don't let them escape!" Obi-Wan ordered his men, who continued to flood the street and blast away at their retreating adversaries.
The remaining Mandalorians retreated towards the Nightbrother, while Maul and Dooku casually walked up the ramp.
"Don't worry, Kenobi!" Maul said as he deflected a final series of blaster bolts. "We'll be seeing each other again, soon enough!" He then reached for his com-link to radio the pilot. "Get us out of here."
As the last Mandalorian retreated into the ship, the ramp retracted back into the ship, just as it lifted off, and blasted away from the crumbling Empire.
Citadel Courtyard.
All throughout the system, Imperial forces were soundly defeated wherever they were encountered. Without their Empress to guide their motions with her battle mediation, the Sith Empire quickly fell apart. The Republic was now routing out the last pockets of Sith resistance wherever they popped up.
The remnants of their fleet was making a final stand over Dromund Tyne, on the other side of the system.
Pockets of Imperial troopers were putting up fierce resistance on several different planets and refusing to surrender, while Sith warriors went on suicide missions, or tried to hide, failing at both. They were usually executed on the spot.
Officers and aristocrats were committing suicide.
Imperial Special forces were trying to deny any access to sensitive information, and were even trying to set the Imperial archives ablaze, not wanting to let them fall into Republic hands. It was a last ditch, and ultimately futile attempt to resist defeat for as long as possible.
But in the courtyard outside of the Imperial Citadel, the Republic was busy setting up the occupation.
Clone troopers set up field hospitals for their troopers, and even set up relief stations for any civilians that needed food and medical attention in order to win over the hearts and minds. Imperial troopers were being marched into prison transports, their weapons and armored plating being piled up before they left.
Mace Windu was looking over the area of operations, and looked up above as Republic cruisers formed up over the city's skyline. Others were blasting away at targets in the distance, in response to the sporadic fighting far away.
He then looked down at the ground and saw the body of Darth Acina on the ground. The body of a blonde-haired Spec Ops commander laid next to her, with one arm draped over her. He had several blaster marks on his chest. Commander Cody said earlier that he was in charge of the palace defenses. He had died fighting, before ending up in the position he was in. They were lovers apparently.
Mace then looked over at his fellow Jedi.
Obi-Wan and Aayla Secura, who had an icepack held to her head, were standing over the body of Tiplee. They gave their final respects before closing her eyes, allowing her to rest in piece, and become one with the force. Mace shook his head as he looked at the scene with a hint of anguish that he immediately suppressed.
That's when a clone trooper rushed up to him, with a communicator in his hand.
"General Windu - the Chancellor would like a word." He said as he presented the holo-projector to Windu, who turned around to address it.
Chancellor Palpatine's private yacht, undisclosed location.
The Chancellor sat in his private quarters aboard his private yacht, speaking to a hologram of aster Windu, which emitted from his desk. Palpatine stood by the window as the conversation carried on.
"I would like to pass along my congratulations for your success in the Dromund system. We've dealt a decisive blow to the enemies of the Republic this day. Though it pains me to hear of the tragedies that have befallen many of your fellow Jedi, and your troopers."
"Yes. We managed to route out a remnant of the Sith that have been hidden away for a thousand years. If they sided with Dooku and Maul, there is no telling what kind of damage they could have inflicted. It also appears that Count Dooku and Darth Maul are allies now, which could solve a long-standing mystery..." Mace Windu's hologram said, "...which is that Count Dooku is the Sith Master we have been seeking all this time, and Maul is his apprentice."
Palpatine looked over at Windu with surprise written on his face. But then he looked out the window of his quarters, and out at the stars, deep in contemplation.
"Fascinating," he finally said, "Still, is there no explanation for the war fought between the Separatists and the Underworld cartels? How can they be fighting one moment, and then allies the next?"
"A deception, perhaps?" Windu suggested.
"A puzzle indeed," Palpatine said. "You and your colleagues have done well with the Sith exiles, and all that you can. It is unfortunate that this opportunity to swiftly end the Clone Wars have slipped through your fingers," Palpatine said as he continued to look out over the stars, "I fear in the end it could prove disastrous for the Republic."
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Well folks, that was part 6.
Hope that ya'll enjoyed.
I'll be working on the 7th, and final, part soon. Keep an eye out for it.
Until then, as always, this is Grubkiller, over and out.