Chapter 1

Obi Wan Kenobi stands aboard the bridge of the Venator-class star destroyer the Negotiator. He faces the holo-terminal which contains the holographic images of Jedi master Yoda and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.

"… And of your losses, what news is there?" The diminutive Jedi master asks.

"The Resolute and Negotiator sustained minor damage; however we lost the Serenity. I have teams retrieving the escape pods now. Grievous' ship went down on the planet below," Obi Wan reports.

"And what planet did you say this was, Master Kenobi?" The Supreme Chancellor inquires.

Obi Wan shakes his head, "I didn't Chancellor. Suffice to say this planet isn't on our charts. We're not too far off of the Hydian Way and the Bandomeer system is just a jump away. According to our sensors the planet itself is covered in thick foliage with regular irradiated areas; and a large amount of durasteel on the forest floor."

A look of suspicion sinks onto the Chancellor's face, "Master Jedi, could you please forward your current coordinates to me."

"Of this planet, know something, do you Chancellor? Hmm?"

"Perhaps master Yoda, I hope I am wrong however," Palpatine distantly responds as he pulls up several classified files and compares the information Obi Wan had sent to him. The suspicion in Palpatine's eyes turns into dread.

"Master Kenobi, did any escape pods land on this planet?" Panic clear in the politician's voice.

"No. Chancellor Palpatine is everything alright? I've never seen you this afraid, where are we?"

"That planet was once known as Taris, it has been under quarantine since the Galactic Civil War. It is home to one of the most virulent and dangerous plagues in the galaxy."

"Taris, heard of this planet, I have. This plague, engineered by ancient Sith, it was."

"You surprise me master Yoda, Taris has been forgotten by the galaxy at large I did not expect you to know it. However policy states, any that land on Taris are to be written off as dead and no rescue missions are to be carried out. That is why I am relieved that only droids are on the surface, Master Kenobi, if any ship attempts to leave that planet you are hereby ordered to shoot it down. We cannot risk this plague spreading."

"All due respect Chancellor but Anakin and Ahsoka are both on the planet's surface. They took a portion of the 501st to capture Grievous."

Sorrowfully the Chancellor looks at Obi Wan, "That is regrettable Obi Wan, but the order still stands. We cannot risk an outbreak. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other vital matters of state to attend to."

"Wait, Chancellor, please reconsider. Not only are two of the most capable Jedi on the surface of this planet but an entire legion of clones are accompanying them…" Obi-Wan says, as he begins on the daunting task of trying to persuade the Chancellor to change his mind.

Captain Rex of the 501st sits upon an AT-RT his Macro-Binoculars scanning the path the rest of the battalion would take to reach the wreck of Grievous' ship. Increasing magnification a legion of droids comes into view at the base of the ship. Rex shakes his head, "We're going to need a lot more than a Battalion for this; that is a lot of clankers."

"Sir, I can't raise the other scout group on the comms. Should we investigate?" One of two rookies, Echo asks.

"Don't bother; Captain Rex you may want to have a look at this," the other rookie, Fives, points towards the droid army.

Rex raises his Macro-Binoculars toward the droid army again and what he sees causes his breath to catch in his throat. The head clanker, General Grievous, stands before what remains of scout group 2. Grievous seems to be interrogating the lead Trooper before beheading him with one of his many stolen lightsabers. Rex lowers his binoculars with a mournful shake of his head.

"Sir, shouldn't we report this to General Skywalker?" asks Fives.

"We should Fives, get on it. The rest of you mount up we're going to the other group's last location; see if they missed anyone."

With a resounding affirmative across the squad Troopers began mounting their respective AT-RT's, if they had dismounted, powering them back up if they hadn't. Once Fives finished the report to the General, and mounted his walker, Rex gave the signal to move out.

'I have a bad feeling about this', Rex, thought to himself unaware of the hunched figures stalking the clones from the trees.

"Captain Rex Sir, why are we heading to the other squad's last position? We already know what happened to them." The rookie Fives asks, moving his walker up towards the senior trooper.

"Like I said earlier rookie there were only seven troopers there. The other three could be injured or dead. The least we can do is find their bodies. We've reported our findings to the General, but we also know nothing of the wildlife here. Our sensors on the landing ships didn't recognize any sentient life on this planet. That doesn't mean there isn't any."

The young trooper allows his walker to fall back into formation seemingly deep in thought. Rex turns to face forward looking at the instruments on his AT-RT's central console, the motion tracker displays 15 blips following the ten troopers at a distance of roughly 100 meters.

"Heads up boys we're being followed. Just keep moving don't let whatever it is know we're aware of its presence. Keep your guard up and be prepared to act on my signal." Rex instructs the other troopers then returns to watching the motion tracker. The blips remain at a constant distance with more joining every few minutes. The number of blips continues to climb for the next kilometer up into the triple digits, then as suddenly as they appeared the blips scattered like bugs before a flame, replaced by a single blip 150 meters ahead of the group.

"Troopers we've got a hit on the MT, 150 meters straight ahead and closing. Power up cannons; get ready for a fight."

The hum of blaster cannons in a ready state fills the air around the clones. The tense atmosphere is punctuated as the troopers tighten their grips lightly squeezing the triggers of the AT-RTs; as the brush before them begins to rustle and shake. The underbrush parts and what, or rather who, emerges puts the assembled troopers in an even more guarded state, A humanoid figure in dark tattered robes made of thick cloth that conceals its form with some sort of mask that resembles a skull to a degree made of a silver-grey metal.

The figure lets out an amused, yet mournful laugh, "Shh, do you hear that? The hum of an idling blaster, there's no other sound in the galaxy like it.' Oh Andronikos…"

The woman's voice is distorted by the mask she wears, yet to Rex she sounds young; older than Ahsoka for sure but not yet with the waiver that age introduces, and has what sounds like a refined Coruscanti accent. She shakes her head seemingly to try and rid herself of whatever memories plague her.

"I've come across a few of your fellows, they were… wounded. I chose to prevent their deaths."

'Chose to prevent their deaths? Why phrase it like that? I'll figure it out later after I get my men back.' Rex thinks before addressing the woman, "If they're safe take us to them and no funny business our blasters will be trained and ready to fire."

With an overly elaborate mocking bow the woman says, "Your wish is my command. Although you may want to leave your walkers here the 'ghouls are drawn to them; or rather you're all making quite the racket. Some of the larger predators on Taris are drawn by loud noises, especially Eyeless."

"Eyeless? What type of creature is that?"

The woman shrugs, "Largest 'ghoul of the lot as big if not bigger than those walkers your main force has with them. My advice; don't poke a sleeping Krayt Dragon, best to steer clear of it if at all possible."

Turning she waves her hand in a 'follow me gesture', heading deeper into the forest through foliage too dense for the troopers AT-RT's. Rex sighs dismounting his walker and drawing his twin DC-17's. "Alright men dismount, but keep your blasters primed and ready for combat."

"Sir I don't like this. It screams trap." A trooper comments nervously whilst dismounting.

Yaera Saleem, more infamously known as Darth Nox, sighed in irritation for the third time that day. She had spent the better part of three millennia in seclusion on Taris even having gone so far as persuading the Republic, with the help of her twin sister Larilet the third Barsen'thor of the Jedi, to quarantine the planet using the Rakghouls as the excuse. Now in a matter of hours her seclusion was broken, Jedi were on her planet, and a member of the reformed Sith of the "Line of Bane" was on the way. Oh and the Republic discourteously dropped a capital ship on her Fury class interceptor, or more accurately her home.

Then while she was spying on her new, unwanted, neighbours a group of bumbling 'Pubs ended up drawing the Rakghouls right to her. Most were still on their walkers but two had dismounted for whatever reason. The 'ghouls swarmed the dismounted troopers, the still mounted troopers had opened fire on the monsters only to end up drawing the droid army that had emerged from the downed ship right to them, The 'ghouls scattered leaving one of the dismounted troopers barely alive and the other very much dead.

In the resulting chaos in the fight between the Droids and 'pubs, she snuck the two dismounted soldiers away from the fight hoping that she might buy a hyperspace capable ship or just a way off planet by saving their lives. Using one of her last doses of Rakghoul Vaccine on the trooper barely breathing to eliminate any possibility of his turning and giving him a dose of kolto to keep him alive, she turned her ministrations to the dead trooper; she dug deep into the Force for the first time in centuries calling upon her Sith sorcery she resurrected the still warm corpse. She then took the two soldiers to the ruins of the old republic reclamation base and reactivated the defences leaving them a Holo of what had happened in case they woke up before she returned.

Now the droids had, quite by accident, stumbled upon them; by her count three tanks and fifty droids of various models, forcing them to surrender. To say the least Yaera was quite a bit beyond angry now, and to top it off she could swear that a smooth baritone laugh was ringing in the back of her mind. The troopers placed their respective weapons on the ground and she convinced the droids she was unarmed, and she truly was having lost her lightsaber after her apprentice Xalek and loyal servant Khem Val helped her fake her own death. It was an unavoidable necessity to sell the ruse.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the lead trooper with the shoulder pauldrons and half-skirt; discretely tap a few buttons on his wrist mounted communicator. It grated on her that she could not let loose her full wrath upon these droids to relieve her pent up irritation, because she didn't want to reveal her true nature to these troopers, and by extent the Republic. Not until she had a better understanding of the events and circumstances that now surrounded her.

As the droids marched them off at blaster point the lead trooper fell into step beside her.

"So, I never did get your name." He says in a low voice.

She scoffs in mock indignation, "Don't you know it's rude to ask a Lady her name without first offering yours?"

"My apologies, I'm Rex, Captain of the 501st of the Grand Army of the Republic."

Stifling a laugh she says, "Relax Captain no need to be so formal, I was teasing. I'm Yaera. I trust you have a plan to get us out of this mess?"

He shakes his head, "Not me, no. But I trust General Skywalker and Commander Tano will figure something out. We've been in tighter spots before and I'm still here."

One of the droids notices their conversation and strikes Rex with the butt of its rifle.

"No talking Prisoner." It says, she assumes, seriously but the droids vocabulator makes it sound silly and incompetent. Not wanting to push their luck they continue on in silence.

"General, there's an incoming transmission from Captain Rex."

"Well what are you waiting for? Put it through trooper."

Complying the trooper taps a few buttons and after a short delay a woman's modulated voice filters through Anakin and Ahsoka's comms.

"…ave a plan to get us out of this mess?" the voice asks.

Rex then responds, "Not me, no. But I trust General Skywalker and Commander Tano will figure something out. We've been in tighter spots before and I'm still here."

A loud crack of something hard striking armour, a grunt of pain, followed by the unmistakable vocabulator of a B-1 battle droid demanding silence. Anakin turns to Ahsoka his signature relaxed grin plastered on his face after the transmission is cut off, "Well Snips looks like we have our work cut out for us. You think you're up to the task?" breaking the tension of the moment.

Crossing her arms with defiance and bravado the young Togruta looks at her unorthodox master, "I think I can handle it, Master. I do put up with your plans on a daily basis."

With a confident laugh Anakin pats his padawan's shoulder, "I have no idea what you mean Snips. My plans are always perfect."

"Yeah 'perfect', whatever you say Master. What about our last mission, I seem to remember having a walker exploding next to us, falling unconscious, getting captured, oh and Master Obi Wan had to come and save us… again."

"But we escaped and we captured a separatist leader. See perfect."

Their banter is interrupted by the persistent beep of Anakin's communicator. With a huff of indignation Anakin turns to his padawan, "It's Obi Wan, I better take this. Get the troops moving I'll find you after he stops talking."

"No problem, Master."

Obi-Wan sighs waiting for his student to answer the holo, he and master Yoda had convinced the Chancellor, to rescind the shoot on sight order, but only if the troops on the surface of the planet left within the hour and were quarantined until vetted by doctors on Coruscant chosen by the Chancellor himself; this included Anakin and Ahsoka. Obi-Wan glanced at a monitor that displayed the Galactic standard time, 14:23:36, less than forty minutes to pull every trooper out. He had a feeling that Anakin would make it by the skin of his teeth, again. When Anakin finally picked up Obi-Wan let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"You called, Obi-Wan?"

"Anakin, good, I need you to pull everybody out now." Obi-Wan couldn't prevent the urgency his words carried with them.

"Why we have Grievous cornered. There's no way for him to escape this time. Besides Rex got captured while scouting, I won't leave him behind."

Obi-Wan sighed, he knew this wouldn't be easy; anything involving Anakin rarely was. "Anakin, listen to me you have half an hour to get off planet or we have been given orders, by the Chancellor, to shoot you down. This planet was quarantined during the Galactic Civil War due to a plague that was engineered by the ancient Sith. It caused the Chancellor to pale, whatever this plague is it's dangerous."

Anakin sneers, "Fine I'll give the order, but I'm still going to try and rescue Rex."

Obi-Wan knew this was likely the best he'd get from the temperamental Jedi, "That's all I ask Anakin, just make sure you leave that planet within the hour."

Grievous grinned beneath his face plate, his droids had captured another group of clones, and found two more in a ruined settlement guarded by outdated equipment both just barely alive. With the group of clones that were brought in was a black clad humanoid female that looked like she had been living in these jungles for many cycles. Her silver-grey mask struck a chord of memory from his youth on Kalee but he couldn't place it. He began to laugh, coughing periodically, at his good fortune as he looked over the captured clones and recognized Skywalker's pet clone; the one that called itself Rex.

"So little clones, which one of you will die first? How about… this one." He taunted as he ignited one of his lightsabers and plunged it through the two injured clones that were supported by each other. "Oh, two for the price of one, I'll have to send the Republic a thank you holo." He laughed again before once more falling into a coughing fit.

The masked female growled, "Schutta," she said, "I spent time and resources making sure they wouldn't die only for you to kill them, and for what? Nothing. I will make you regret that." The glare directed towards him from beneath the soulless eyes of her mask, made Grievous remember his hunts of the times where he went from being a hunter to the hunted. Before either he or this woman, that made him feel like he was in the presence of his master, could act a loud THUD echoed through the forest and ground, causing some of the clumsier B-1's to lose their footing, followed by an ear shattering roar.

A.N.

Hey-o! Sorry for the long delay but I had next to no free time until recently, and most of that was spent hanging out with friends to unwind after 6 days of work. BUT I got laid off so while I am looking for a new job, Happy Birthday. Here's the first not prologue chapter. =D

I apologize for the cliff hanger but it's 6am and I haven't slept and this just felt right and I need to steel myself for the overwhelming (unlimited) power to come.