The Battle of Geonosis

Thanks to mjeffery416 for following this story

The cavalry of gunships flew through the skies of Geonosis, while Acclamator-class assault carriers landed below and began disgorging more troops. Tey and Livia were aboard Gunship Four. "One thing I don't understand; where did this army come from?" Livia wandered.

"Kamino." Tey answered. "They're a Clone army; grown from Jango Fett's DNA."

"The bounty hunter?" Livia furrowed a brow. "But... who ordered this army?"

"Now that's a good question, Liv." Tey replied. "Unfortunately, we'll have to look into it later. Right now, we'll just have to roll with it."

Yoda, Windu, Fisto and Mundi were aboard Gunship One. "If Dooku escapes, rally more systems to his cause he will." Yoda said grimly. "Stop him, we must."

The gunships banked around and approached the sea of Federation battleships and Techno Union Hardcell-class ships. "Hold on." Obi-Wan warned Anakin and Padme aboard Gunship Two as ground defences opened fire on them.

The gunships opened fire on the Techno Union ships. "Aim right above the fuel cells." Anakin ordered, and the gunner fired a pair of missiles at the spot right above the fuel cells of one of the Hardcells. The missiles struck their target and the ship exploded in a huge fireball, falling debris crushing several droids below.

"Good call, my young Padawan." Obi-Wan praised.

Gunships Three, Four, Five and Six came into land and the Jedi and Clones aboard them disembarked, ready for battle. Tey and Livia were among them. "Now, are you up for this, Liv?" Tey asked her apprentice.

"I'll be fine, Master." Livia replied, ignited her borrowed orange lightsabre. "Let's send these droids to the junk pile!"

"That's the spirit." Tey smiled, igniting her own lightsabre. "Ok, boys," she said to the Clones, "training's over. Now it's the real thing."

"We stand with you, Master Sacul." the Clones responded, and so they charged into the fray. The battle was on.

~8~

Dooku, Gunray, Poggle and other Separatists were gathered in a secret war room, watching the unfolding battle on a holographic display table. "The Jedi have amassed a huge army." Gunray reported.

"That doesn't seem possible. How could the Jedi come up with an army so quickly?" Dooku wandered, sounding only lightly surprised.

"We must send all available droids into battle."

"There are too many."

"Our communications have been jammed." Poggle reported.

~8~

The occupants of Gunship One watched as Gunship Five was blown out of the sky by anti-aircraft fire from below. "Pilot, land in that assembly area!" Windu ordered the pilot of their ship.

"Yes, sir." the pilot acknowledged, and brought the ship into land in an open area where Clones were waiting.

Windu, Mundi and Fisto disembarked and were met by a Clone commander. "Sir, I have five special commando units awaiting your orders, sir." he reported.

Windu nodded and began issuing orders.

"To the forward command centre take me." Yoda ordered the pilot of Gunship One, and the ship took off again, giving Yoda a panoramic view of the advancing Republic forces below.

The Separatists sent out Battle droids, Super Battle droids and Commerce Guild Spider droids, which were met head on by the Jedi and Clones. "For the Chancellor!" the Clones yelled as they engaged the droids, while the Jedi chopped up the droids with their lightsabres.

Gunship Two was overflying the battlefield. "Attack those Federation starships, quickly!" Obi-Wan ordered the crew, and the ship opened fire on one of the Lucrehulk cores.

Gunship One arrived at the forward command centre and Yoda disembarked. "Master Yoda, all forward positions are advancing." a Clone commander reported.

"Very good. Very good." Yoda acknowledged. "More battalions to the left. Encircle them, we must, then divide."

More forces were deployed; Republic dropships unloaded All Terran Tactical Enforcers, while the Separatists sent out Banking Clan Hailfire droids, which began firing missiles at the AT-TEs, managing to destroy one.

~8~

"This is not looking good at all." Gunray groaned, seeing that the Republic were gaining the upper hand.

"We must get the starships back into space." Rune Haako said, and both Nemoidians left the war room.

"We have to order a retreat." Poggle said to Dooku, seeing that the battle was lost.

"My master will never allow the Republic to get away with this treachery." Dooku said grimly.

"I'm sending my warriors to hide in the catacombs." Poggle said, going over to a console at the side of the room. "The Jedi must not find our designs for the ultimate weapon. If they find out what we are planning to build, we're doomed." He downloaded a holocron and gave it to Dooku.

"I will take the designs with me to Coruscant." Dooku acknowledged, taking the hologram. Contained in it were the designs for an armoured orbital battle station with enough firepower to destroy an entire planet. "They will be much safer there with my master."

~8~

The battle was swinging in the Republic's favour. The gunships made short work of the Hailfire droids, while Clones on speeder bikes engaged the Spider droids. They zoomed beneath the Spiders and threw thermal detonators at them, which destroyed the Spiders with ease. The Acclamators deployed Self-Propelled Heavy Artillery Turbolaser walkers, ready to engage the escaping Federation ships. The Jedi and Clones meanwhile continued to fight their way through the droids.

"Jango Fett was right about one thing; these Clones are doing their job well." Tey remarked to Livia as they carved their way through droids.

~8~

The Separatist leaders were preparing to cut their losses and evacuate Geonosis. Gunray and Haako boarded their waiting Shethipede-class shuttle and it departed, while Dooku climbed aboard his Flitknot speeder bike and zoomed out into the open air, escorted by two Geonosian fighters.

~8~

The battle on the plains continued to rage, with the Republic steadily forcing the droids back. Yoda noticed that the Federation ships were trying to escape. "Concentrate all your fire on the nearest starship." he ordered.

"Yes, sir." a Clone captain acknowledged. "Move all quadrants to sector 5-1-5." he ordered a trooper, who in turn relayed the order to the SPHA-Ts. The walkers fired their heavy-duty turbolasers at the nearest Federation ship, taking out it's engines and sending it crashing back to earth, releasing a huge dust cloud. The Clones and droids continued to exchange blaster fire through the dust.

Gunship Two flew through the dust cloud and emerged out the other side. "Look over there!" Obi-Wan called, pointing at something ahead. It was a speeder bike and two Geonosian fighters flying away from the battlefield.

"It's Dooku." Anakin realised. "Shoot him down!"

"We're out of rockets, sir." the Clone gunner replied.

"Follow him, then!" Anakin ordered.

"We're gonna need some help." Padme pointed out.

"There isn't time." Obi-Wan told her. "Anakin and I can handle this."

Dooku realised he was being followed and tapped a few buttons on the dashboard of his speeder. The two fighters escorting him broke off, looped round and came up behind the gunship, then they began firing at it. The gunship rocked and rolled as flak erupted all around it. One blast caught the ship in a glancing blow and the resulting lurch knocked Padme and a Clone trooper out through the open side. "Padme!" Anakin screamed as Padme landed in the sand below and rolled down the side of a dune. "Put the ship down!" Anakin yelled at the pilot.

"Anakin! Don't let your personal feelings get in the way." Obi-Wan told him sternly. "Follow that speeder!" he ordered the pilot.

"Lower the ship!" Anakin tried to countermand him.

"I can't take Dooku alone, I need you!" Obi-Wan tried to get him to see reason. "If we catch him, we can end this war right now. We have a job to do!"

"I don't care, put the ship down!"

"You will be expelled from the Jedi Order!"

"I can't leave her!"

"Come to your senses! What d'you think Padme would do if she were in your position?"

Anakin took a breath. "She would do her duty."

~8~

"The droid army is in full retreat." a Clone commander informed Yoda.

"Well done, Commander." the Jedi Master acknowledged. "Bring me a ship."

~8~

Dooku's speeder approached a Geonosian tower and flew in through an opening in the side. Gunship Two took up position by the opening and Anakin and Obi-Wan jumped out, lightsabres at the ready. As they ran inside the tower, the gunship was destroyed by the Geonosian fighters.

Anakin and Obi-Wan rushed into a hangar, where Dooku was preparing to escape aboard an interstellar sail ship. He'd just given the superweapon hologram to a Pilot droid when he sensed the two Jedi's approach and turned calmly to face them. "You're gonna pay for all the Jedi that you killed today, Dooku." Anakin snarled, raring for a fight.

"We'll take him together." Obi-Wan said. "You go in slowly on the left..."

But Anakin had other ideas. "I'm taking him now!" And he charged at the Count.

"No, Anakin, no!" Obi-Wan warned. "No!" But it was too late.

Dooku calmly raised a hand and blasted a bolt of Force lightning at Anakin, which sent him flying across the room like ragdoll. He crashed into the opposite wall and slid down it, groaning in pain. Dooku then turned to Obi-Wan, who raised his borrowed lightsabre in a challenging pose. "As you see my Force abilities are far beyond yours." Dooku said told him. "Now... back down." And he fired a blast of lightning at Obi-Wan.

The Jedi Knight quickly raised his lightsabre and used the blade to absorb the electricity. "I don't think so." he said smoothly.

Dooku smiled. "Ah, but if I must..." He drew his own lightsabre, with it's distinctive curved hilt, and ignited a red blade; the colour of the Sith. Obi-Wan came in fast, swinging at Dooku's head. Dooku parried the cut easily and as they fought, it quickly became clear to Obi-Wan that Dooku was the complete swordsman; elegant, graceful, classical; a master of the ancient forms of lightsabre combat. "Master Kenobi, you disappoint me." he taunted. "Yoda holds you in such high esteem." He parried another cut. "Surely you can do better." Another parry. "No, I'm surprised. Has Jedi swordsmanship degenerated so quickly, or are you trying to make fun of me?" He made a cut, which Obi-Wan only just managed to block. "Which is it?"

Anakin could only watch, too drained by the Force lightning to intervene.

~8~

Groaning, Padme regained consciousness in the sand. "Are you alight?" the Clone trooper asked her.

"Uh-huh." Padme muttered groggily.

The Clone helped her to her feet. "We'd better get back to the forward command centre." he said.

"No. No. Gather what troops you can. We've gotta stop Dooku." Padme said. "Get a transport. Hurry!"

"Right away!" the Clone acknowledged, and they both hurried away to find help.

~8~

Dooku and Obi-Wan continued to clash lightsabres. "Come, come, Master Kenobi. Put me out of my misery." Dooku goaded. Obi-Wan took a deep breath, gained a fresh grip on his lightsabre and went in again. For a moment, he drove Dooku back, but then the Count's superior skill began to tell again, and he forced Obi-Wan to retreat. Dooku increased the tempo of his attacks and Obi-Wan was pushed to the limit to defend himself. Presently, their blades locked. Dooku gave Obi-Wan a slasher smile and then forced his lightsabre down, the blade jabbing Obi-Wan in the shoulder.

"Ah!" Obi-Wan groaned, dropping his lightsabre, which skittered across the floor. Dooku then jabbed him in the thigh and he slumped to the floor.

Dooku raised his lightsabre, ready for the kill. Obi-Wan looked up at him helplessly. Dooku's lightsabre swung down and promptly collided with a green blade, which blocked it mid-strike. Dooku looked over to see Anakin standing there. "Brave of you, boy." Dooku sneered. "But I would have thought you'd have learned your lesson."

"I am a slow learner." Anakin retorted, and with that, he charged at Dooku. The force of his attack caught the Count off balance. Anakin's lightsabre flashed and Dooku drew back, putting a hand to his arm, while Obi-Wan managed to use the Force to call his blue lightsabre back to him.

Dooku took his hand away and looked at the smear of blood from where Anakin had nicked him. "The Force is strong with you, young Padawan." he observed. "But not enough to save you."

"Don't bet on it!" Anakin retorted.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan called, tossing his lightsabre to his apprentice.

Anakin caught it, and now armed with two lightsabres, he attacked. Dooku was initially caught off-guard and was pushed back, but he soon regained the upper hand and began to push Anakin back. The three blades clashed furiously, then Dooku managed to even up the odds by slicing Anakin's green lightsabre in half. Undeterred by losing one of his weapons, Anakin simply pressed on with the blue lightsabre, sparring furiously with Dooku. A stray swipe severed a power cable, plunging the hanger into darkness, save for the blue and red flashes of Anakin and Dooku's lightsabres as they clashed against each other in a fantastic display of motor skill. Crackles and hisses filled the air as the fight continued. The hanger's backup generators then kicked in and the lights came back on, distracting Anakin long enough for Dooku to take advantage. In one flashing move, he sliced his lightsabre through Anakin's right bicep, sending the lower arm flying across the room, lightsabre still in hand. Anakin barely had time to yell out in pain at the loss of his limb, for Dooku Force-pushed him back and he crashed to the floor next to Obi-Wan, unconscious.

Dooku deactivated his lightsabre and gave the two fallen Jedi a pitying look. He then sensed a presence and turned to see a familiar, diminutive figure appear at the hangar entrance. "Master Yoda." he raised a brow.

"Count Dooku." Yoda reciprocated.

"You have interfered with our affairs for the last time." Dooku said, and used the Force to throw a heavy piece of machinery at the Jedi Grand Master. Yoda threw his gimmer stick aside and used the Force to send it away to the side. Dooku then sent another piece of machinery at him, but Yoda again sent it elsewhere. Dooku then used the Force to bring great blocks of stone from the ceiling down on Yoda, but he simply used the Force to catch the rubble in mid-air and threw it aside.

"Powerful you have become, Dooku." Yoda observed. "The Dark Side I sense in you."

"I've become more powerful than any Jedi." Dooku retorted. "Even you." And he fired a blast of Force lightning at Yoda, who caught it bare-handed and sent it back at Dooku, who deflected it into the ceiling. Dooku then fired another blast, but Yoda was able to simply absorb it.

"Much to learn you still have." he said with a wry smile.

Dooku wasn't beaten yet. "It is obvious that this contest cannot be decided by our knowledge of the Force..." he ignited his lightsabre, "but by our skills with the lightsabre." He raised his sabre up in a salute.

Yoda reverently drew out his own lightsabre, it's green blade humming to life. Dooku leapt at Yoda, who gave a battle cry and leapt up himself. They landed at each other's feet and the duel was on. This time, Dooku was the one at a disadvantage. Yoda parried every cut and thrust that Dooku aimed at him. Nothing the great swordsman tried could get through. It went on and on for many moments, until Dooku's flurry began to slow and he stepped back fast. But not fast enough. With a sudden burst of sheer power, Yoda flew forward, his blade working fast and intensively. Dooku held strong, though, his red blade parrying brilliantly, each block backed by the power of the Force or else Yoda's strikes would have driven right through. Just as he was about to launch a counter, though, Yoda was gone, leaping high and turning a somersault to land right behind Dooku in perfect balance, striking hard. Dooku reversed his grip and stabbed out behind him, intercepting the blow. He let go of his weapon altogether, tossing it just a bit, and spun about, catching it before it had even disengaged from Yoda's blade. The fight continued, with Yoda leaping and spinning away from Dooku's attacks and delivering swift strikes of his own. This went on and on until the two swordsmen's blades locked. "Fought well you have, my old Padawan." Yoda said grimly.

"The battle is far from over." Dooku stubbornly argued. "This is just the beginning." Using the Force, he took hold of one of the hangar's huge cranes and threw it down at Anakin and Obi-Wan below. Quick as a flash, Yoda caught it with the Force and stopped it in mid-air. While Yoda was distracted, Dooku ran to his sail ship, ready to make his escape. Concentrating with all of his might, Yoda sent the crane away to the side, away from Anakin and Obi-Wan. Behind him, the ramp of the sail ship closed and the ship's engines roared to life.

~8~

A gunship hovered outside the tower entrance and Padme, Tey, Livia and 10 Clone troopers all scrambled out just in time to see the sail ship burst out of an adjacent launch tube. "Dooku." Tey realised. "Stop him!"

Padme and the Clones all opened fire on the fleeing ship, but it was no good. The sail ship left Geonosis' atmosphere, deployed it's solar sail and was gone.

~8~

Anakin regained consciousness, breathing heavily as he processed the loss of his arm. Beside him, Obi-Wan felt his wounds, while Yoda retrieved his gimmer stick. Tey, Livia, Padme and the Clones hurried in. "Anakin!" Padme cried as she rushed over to him and embraced him.

"His arm!" Livia gasped in horror when she saw his injury.

"Tell Master Windu we have casualties." Tey ordered the Clones as she helped Obi-Wan to his feet. "I'm afraid Dooku got away." she told Yoda.

Yoda gave a heavy sigh. "A dark day it is." he said solemnly.

Author's notes: And here's the Battle of Geonosis. Straight off the bat, I know Tey and Livia don't do much in this chapter, as I mainly focussed on Anakin and Obi-Wan here. I did consider having the two female Jedi be present for the fight with Dooku, but I struggled to think of how to incorporate them into the the fight, so I had them participate in the ground battle instead. One funny thing I've noticed about the merchandising for Attack of the Clones is that Anakin wielding two lightsabres got pushed quite a lot even though it only lasted a few seconds in the film. Yoda vs Count Dooku was a great moment. I can only imagine what it must have been like seeing that in cinemas for the first time back in 2002. I used the novelisation for reference when writing that sequence for this chapter. With this chapter we're approaching the end of this story. See you next time for the wrap-up.