Zannah

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Star Wars

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This installment took a little longer to write because it intertwines with The Clone Wars story line. Specifically it touches around the events of the Malevolence story Arc. That story is just touched on here but is relevant. Here is Chapter 8. Enjoy!

{ } Signifies an alien language

…

Last time:

Year 22 BBY

Galactic Republic Ship Implacable

Padawan Barriss Offee found herself surrounded by very spirited Clone Troopers with artwork everywhere. Each fighter, transport and vehicle seemed to have a name and artwork. Some were aggressive, some were comical and some were a bit raunchy for her tastes. "Ummm… Master Uzumaki; why is everything on this ship decorated?"

The blonde gave a vulpine smile. "Just call me Naruto. The artwork promotes individual expression and helps morale in my humble opinion. Some of the men have a real flair for artwork and are in high demand. Train hard, work hard and play hard. Most importantly, think outside the box and be innovative. Talk to the men. You will learn as much from them as they will you Jedi Commander Offee. I hate war but we are stuck in one. The quicker we get it over with, the sooner we Jedi can go back to being the peace keepers we were meant to be."

Offee looked a bit amazed and Naruto asked her; "So what do you like to do?"

"Well; I like reading and studying ancient Jedi texts." said Barriss. "It's not much help during a war though…"

The blonde smiled, "Nonsense. I'm learning a lot about strategies and tactics from the Old Jedi/Sith Wars. A lot of knowledge was lost in those times that are just waiting to be rediscovered. I think once this war is over I'd like to do a little archaeology. Maybe then I could discover a way to prevent another war from breaking out instead of fighting in one. Keep reading. You never know what you'll discover."

She smiled. "You sure are different Master Naruto."

The general replied, "I try to be. It takes a lot of different people to make up a galaxy…"

…

Chapter 8

Year 22 BBY

Inner Rim, The Slice, Prindaar System

The Implacable had joined in the hunt for the Malevolence*①in the Prindaar System. The massive Confederate warship was damaged badly and slowly being bombarded into scrap metal. With her hyperdrive out it was only a matter of time as far as Jedi Knight Naruto Uzumaki and his Padawan Barriss Offee were concerned. The Implacable had just arrived and were catching up with the Republic Fleet as it stood. They were on the bridge with Captain Rom Franz and Commander Checker. That was when they received a transmission from the Jedi Council. It was Grandmaster Yoda. The diminutive Master seemed grave. "A mission I have for you Master Uzumaki."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "We are pursuing the Malevolence as we speak Master Yoda."

"Unnecessary; your presence is." said Yoda. "To lead the ship; more than capable your Padawan will be. To the nearby Airon Sector you must go." A set of coordinates appeared and projected on a map of the galaxy. "Count Dooku was tracked there by Jedi Master Loland*② and his Padawan Barkut;*③ help them you must."

"Do we have any idea why Count Dooku is there to begin with?" asked Naruto.

The Grandmaster shook his head. "Clouded, is the Dark Side. Solve this mystery; you need to…"

…

Inner Rim, Airon Sector

Hours later; Naruto came out of hyperspace in the Airon Sector over a planet he couldn't identify. Maneuvering his new Delta-7B Dragon Lady into orbit; he sensed the Dark Side of the Force emanating from the planet below. He also detected the beacon from the Consular Class*④ Cruiser Republic Banner. He said to his astromech droid, "R-4, start scanning for the Banner on the surface. I'm going to try to signal Master Loland and Barkut." Naruto's scanners showed the planet to be an arid desert but breathable. They soon located the cruiser Banner by a lake that positively reeked of death and evil. "Why the hell would they land there?" wondered Naruto aloud.

After signaling for either Jedi several times and getting no response; Naruto landed the Dragon Lady beside the Republic Banner and found no signs of life at all on board her. R-4 started beeping and buzzing in binary and the blonde got out his macro binoculars. "Life forms to the north and to the west R-4?" asked Naruto. Looking west he saw a pagoda like building that appeared to be charcoal colored. It looked to be ancient. Naruto couldn't see anyone there but he could certainly feel them. Like the rest of the landscape they stank of the Dark Side. Deciding that structure might be bad for his health, the whiskered Jedi looked north and saw a rock formation and a beautiful Twi'lek woman sitting on a rock in front of it in a meditative position. Beyond her appeared to be a small canyon.

His initial thought was, 'What a woman!' but then Naruto zoomed in and saw it was none other than Shior Atlee. 'Oh gods, of all the hot Twi'lek women in the universe; why did it have to be her?!' he lamented. Then she waved at him and blew Naruto a kiss. He turned to R-4 and said, "Keep the ship on standby. I'm going to go talk to her." Hearing the droid whine he said, "I don't like it here either."

Naruto trudged over to Shior and she greeted him enthusiastically. "Hey there sexy!" she said with a smile. "I was hoping you'd come. Sadly there isn't a decent place to shack up in this system."

The blonde sweat dropped. "What are you doing here Shior? I can't imagine you would want to be here even if you do embrace the Dark Side. This place reminds me of Korriban."

Her smile faded. "This is an old Sith world like Korriban. It's called Ambria.*⑤ I'm here serving as a lookout for Lord Tyranus. It's lonely."

"So Dooku is here." said Naruto with a frown. "Two Jedi Knights were pursuing him."

Shior pointed west to the pagoda. "Those two went to the old Sith Monastery over there. They wanted to wipe out the Dark Side monks. I can't sense them anymore. I doubt they're still alive now."

Naruto reached out with the Force and felt only pain and suffering echoing from the Monastery. Obviously there had been some serious bloodshed. His eyes turned back to Shior who had a bloodthirsty smile. "You could crush those monks Naruto. I'm sure they have many secrets just waiting to be taken. Your power is far greater than those two Jedi that were here before. It could be fun!"

Ignoring her suggestion, Naruto asked, "Why would two Jedi do that? It's not a Jedi's place to judge. They were supposed to be after Darth Tyranus."

Naruto heard a whisper like voice say; "Because they were weak minded fools. I sent them that way." Then the voice added sarcastically, "My how the Jedi Order has fallen…but the Sith are no better."

The blonde and Shior looked at each other and then over towards the north behind the beautiful Twi'lek where a small canyon in the rock was. There they both saw a short woman in black robes walking towards them in total silence. She was semi-translucent and was a force spirit. Her hood was up but her eyes blazed blue making her look eerie with her hood up. She said to the odd pair of Force users, "The one who calls himself Darth Tyranus came here to see me. He seems to think I have a holocron or some ancient Sith knickknack he can pass to his Master. He actually was arrogant enough to demand it of me… ME! Darth Zannah."*⑥

Naruto had heard of Darth Zannah. His thoughts turned to history. 'Legend has it she slew Darth Bane; one of the most powerful Sith that ever lived and the creator of the Sith Rule of Two. She was some kind of Sith Sorceress.'

Shior said, "You slew Darth Bane and became the ruling Lord of the Sith… Why would you kill your own Master?"

"That is the way of our order. An individual may die but the Sith are eternal." answered Zannah in a matter of fact tone. "Besides; I had learned everything he was willing to teach me. It was time to cast him off." Zannah lowered her hood revealing she was a striking blonde woman with blue eyes.

Shior gasped. "Naruto; she looks just like you!"

Zannah smiled showing her fangs. "Actually; he looks like me. He is of my bloodline." Then she chuckled, "Isn't that right Kurama?"

Kurama had been deathly quiet up till now. The ancient fox said. "I never thought I'd see you again Zannah. I tried to forget you unlike Menma. You know he-"

Naruto and Shior were both staring in disbelief. Darth Zannah looked self conscious and said, "Yes, I had a lover. His name was Menma. He was Naruto's grandfather and raised our daughter… who passed our genes down to you Naruto. It's a fluke that you look like a male version of me and that you hold Kurama like Menma did. The Force moves in mysterious ways to bring you here a thousand years later. Now my question is; why are you here?"

Shior piped up, "I'm the lookout for Lord Tyranus in case those two Jedi survive the old Monastery."

The Sith Lord stared at Shior in disbelief for a moment and asked, "They are one with the Force now. Shouldn't you be fighting Naruto then?"

"Nothing got mentioned about Naruto." sad the Twi'lek with a shrug. "It's not my fault old man Dooku forgot."

The Force spirit laughed. "I get the picture. You want Naruto to destroy Dooku. That's fine." Darth Zannah turned to Naruto and asked, "What about you Naruto?"

"My mission was to contact Loland and Barkut so we could capture Tyranus alive but that doesn't seem possible now." replied Naruto.

Zannah smiled in the same way Naruto always did when he was calculating. "So are you going to walk away…?"

Naruto mirrored her smile. "No, I'm going to ruin Dooku's day."

The Ancient Dark Lord pulled her hood up and chuckled menacingly. "I shall be observing then. Perhaps this will entertain me." Then she vanished on the wind…

"Man; she's got this evil thing down to an art form." said Shior admiringly.

The blonde sweat dropped. "Good grief. Well; I'm going to go after Dooku. I can't let him poke around Ambria too much. Will you help me Shior?"

Shior smiled alluringly and said; "I'm seriously tempted but what's in it for me Na-ru-to?"

"I've got to go." said Naruto as he walked into the canyon silently.

"Awwwww; come on!" pleaded Shior…

…

Inner Rim, The Slice, Prindaar System, Galactic Republic Ship Resolute

In the meantime; Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano watched from the bridge of his Venator class Star Destroyer, the Resolute. As the Malevolence's remains burned up on the surface of the Dead Moon of Antar Ahsoka said, "Gee Master, I'm glad it's a dead moon because you seriously rearranged the landscape."

He shrugged. "It's not like it was prime real estate or oceanfront property Ahsoka. Once the fire goes out we're going to send a team down to see the wreckage and try to figure out where the Malevolence was built. That way we can figure out a way to prevent another one from becoming a threat."

Ahsoka smiled. "That's pretty sneaky and sly Master. Who thought of it?"

Skywalker sweat dropped. "What makes you think I didn't think of it?"

She gave him a flat stare. "Because it's the kind of underhanded strategy your friend Master Uzumaki would use. Master Obi-wan told me you blew the front doors off a building early in the war while Master Uzumaki picked the lock on the back doors to sneak in. Then Master Kenobi said it was a perfect example of the way you two think."

The Jedi Knight cringed at the reminder. The VIP they were rescuing mistook Anakin for a terrorist and Naruto for an assassin. Obi-Wan managed to calm the poor sap down. Skywalker smiled weakly. "It's just two ways of creative tactics and strategies. Believe it or not; Naruto and I actually make a really good team."

Ahsoka looked over at Rex for answers but the Clone Commander just laughed…

…

Inner Rim, Airon Sector, Planet Ambria

It didn't take long for Naruto to traverse the canyon or to find Count Dooku. The fallen Jedi Master was speaking angrily too Darth Zannah who was sitting upon a stone monument(?) that was sandblasted around the edges. Naruto could hear Tyranus' raised voice and it looked as if Zannah was scolding him like a child. The Jedi Knight soon got close enough to overhear what was being said.

"You owe it to Master Sidious and I to pass down your knowledge of the Force Lord Zannah! It is the way of the Sith Lords!" growled Dooku. "I want in that tomb!"

"What would you know of the way of the Sith boy?" asked Zannah. "I learned from Darth Bane himself. I passed my knowledge on to my apprentice and died at her hands. You are just a doddering old Jedi with a Sith title. I owe you nothing!"

Darth Tyranus retorted. "I'll have you know I'm more powerful than any Jedi could ever be!"

Zannah's voice turned sinister. "Then prove it. I might teach you something then." She pointed at Naruto standing there. "I believe he will do nicely."

Count Dooku turned to Naruto and asked, "How long have you been there boy?"

Naruto smiled eerily like Darth Zannah and said, "For a while. You really need to work on your situational awareness old man."

Dooku growled, "Where is Shior?! I didn't sense her death."

"You mean the Twi'lek girl?" asked the Jedi. "She's chasing the other two Jedi. I guess that means we're on equal footing."

"You're no equal of mine boy." said Tyranus furiously.

"You right. With those adult diapers slowing you down I might laugh myself to death." replied Naruto.

Steam came out of Dooku's ears. "I'll crush you brat!" he roared.

Dooku took up his Makashi*⑦ stance while Naruto took up his Kyuubi stance. The Sith Lord was a supreme duelist but had to rely on defensive measures while the blonde was committed to total offense. At first Naruto was at a disadvantage but as the battle wore on Dooku found himself being pummeled. The older man felt himself getting weaker and more tired in the battle of attrition and Naruto was gaining speed and strength. As the two men clashed they started to end up in blade lock after blade lock. Dooku was forced down to one knee by the raw physical power of the younger man but he wasn't considered a Master of the Force for nothing.

Darth Tyranus unleashed a virtual wall of Force lightning that sent Naruto flying as he writhed in pain. The blonde was in agony but was slowly powering his way back to his feet by willpower alone. Then Dooku sent the young man flying into the cliff behind him hard enough to crack the rock and fall upon the hapless Jedi Knight. Seeing Naruto was down, Dooku collapsed to all fours panting and wheezing. The older man thought 'The boy isn't dead. He's a monster. I have to kill him!' He looked over at Darth Zannah who was sitting there looking thoroughly unimpressed. Dooku rasped out, "I defeated him!"

Zannah gave a fanged smile and said, "He's not dead yet."

The bloodied Naruto crawled out of the pile of rocks Dooku buried him in and stood up. The blonde's eyes were blazing blue with chakra and he roared, "Futon: Rasengan!" as he threw the wind jutsu at Darth Tyranus. Dooku saw the disk of death coming at him at impossible speeds and instinctively used the Force to shield himself. The net result was the rasengan was deflected but sheared the top layers of skin and clothing off Dooku's right arm and upper right leg. The old man screamed as blood flew everywhere. He grabbed his communicator with his good hand and cried out, "Shior! Get me out of here!"

Seconds later; the Twi'lek girl swooped down in Dooku's ship and pulled the Sith Lord aboard for medical treatment. She grinned at the blonde and said, "You'll have to try harder than that Blondie!" Then she took Dooku's ship shot off like a bat out of hell…

Naruto spat out some blood irritably and said, "Well; shit!" 'If Shior hadn't helped him…" Naruto picked up his light saber and sighed. It was badly damaged in the rock fall and the orange crystal was cracked. Then he heard a very slow clap coming from the Force spirit of Darth Zannah…

She laughed. "You did well Naruto. You made him angry enough to get sloppy and then capitalized on it. I was entertained. Very nicely done."

"I'm so glad you enjoyed watching me get my ass kicked." said Naruto sarcastically.

Darth Zannah got her laughter under control and said, "Now don't be that way. Since you defeated your foe I'll teach you something."

The blonde scratched his head and said. "I really don't think I'm cut out to be a Sith Sorcerer."

"You're not." she said with a sweat drop. "You have as much subtlety as getting hit with a brick in the face."

Now it was Naruto's turn to sweat drop. "What did you have in mind then?"

"I can teach you how to deflect and use Force lightning." said Zannah. "If you had knowledge of that then I believe your chances against Dooku would improve…"

…

Naruto spent three days with Darth Zannah until he had a firm grasp of Force lightning and how to deflect it (I.E. Zannah wasn't roasting him alive while cackling hysterically the whole time). She also gave him something rare and precious: a ghostfire crystal *⑧ to repair his light saber with. Darth Zannah was (secretly) fond of Naruto and hoped he might return one day.

The whiskered Jedi found no way of recovering the remains of Master Loland or Barkut without attacking the Sith Monastery which would have led to a totally unnecessary loss of life. He left Planet Ambria to the Force spirits and whisked away from the Airon Sector. The battered blonde reported in to the Jedi Council next. He said tiredly, "R-4, patch me through to Coruscant."

…

Galactic Republic Ship Resolute

Meanwhile; Senator Padmé Amidala was aboard a T-6 Shuttle with C-3PO with a command crew on board the Resolute. She had bid her friends Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi farewell and was headed to the Galactic Senate on Coruscant. Their little adventure on the Malevolence shook up the poor protocol droid but it made the Senator suspicious. She'd been sent exactly where the Malevolence was in order to negotiate with the Banking Clan about leaving the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Supreme Chancellor Papatine had always been a trusted friend but his sources were in doubt.

'Somebody knew where to put me in the exact right time and exact right place to become a hostage for that monstrous General Grievous.' thought Padmé. 'I need to consult an outside source. The Jedi Council would be a help but the pretzel logic behind this is a real riddle. Who is twisted enough to think that way...?' Suddenly the Senator got a mischievous smile on her face and giggled. 'I should have thought of him in the first place. I haven't seen that pervert face to face in a while anyway.'

She went to the communications officer and said; "How would I go about getting in touch with Jedi General Uzumaki Naruto…?"

…

Core Worlds, Corusca Sector, Planet Coruscant, Galactic Senate Building

Darth Sidious was looking at his apprentice Darth Tyranus. Shior brought the wrecked Dooku in for medical treatment two days ago covered in blood. Lord Tyranus was injured badly and after multiple skin grafts was floating in a tank of bacta*⑨ to heal. Palpatine was worried. 'I have no readily available replacements for Lord Tyranus right now. I can't use Uzumaki and Skywalker isn't ready yet. I discarded Maul… I was going to have Dooku dispose of Asajj Ventress eventually but she may be useful to me after all.' He turned to his medical droid tending Tyranus and asked; "How long will it be until Count Dooku recovers from his injuries?"

"It will take approximately four weeks for a full recovery." answered the droid.

Darth Sidious snarled. "That's too long! How long will it take for his mobility to return?"

The droid calculated for a few seconds and said, "Approximately twelve days with considerable cosmetic damage."

Sighing, Palpatine thought to himself, '…Nearly two weeks then. All that scarring will be a suitable punishment for his failure.' "Then twelve days it is then…"

…

Jedi Grand Temple, Council Meeting Room

Grandmaster Yoda and Mace Windu were receiving Jedi Naruto Uzumaki's report. "Planet Ambria you say?" asked Yoda warily. "Not good; the Sith locating it."

"What about Master Loland and his Padawan, Naruto?" asked Master Windu. "Was there any sign of them?"

Naruto answered, "Master Loland and Padawan Barkut are dead Masters. They attacked a Sith Monastery and after a great deal of bloodshed I sensed they were killed. The Dark Acolyte Shior Atlee confirmed this for me. She had no reason to lie about such a thing. They fell under the influence of the Dark Side there. Ambria is much like Korriban."

Yoda sighed. "A tragedy this is; too many lost already."

"Were there any signs of Count Dooku? He was the one Master Loland was tracking." said Mace.

"Darth Tyranus was there. I had to face him alone." replied the blonde. "I was wounded pretty badly and had to heal for a couple of days. Luckily I roughed Count Dooku up enough to make him leave the planet. Shior Atlee helped him to withdraw. I was too tired and injured to pursue."

Master Windu asked, "Do you have any idea what Count Dooku was doing there to begin with?"

Naruto sighed. "As far as I could tell he was poking around the tomb of Darth Zannah looking for artifacts. He left without any due to my interference…'

"More you have to add young Uzumaki?" asked Yoda.

"…I met the Sith spirit of Darth Zannah." said Naruto. Both Masters' eyebrows rose. "I'd like to discuss the matter in person if possible."

Yoda said, "Touched by the Dark Side…How feel you?"

The blonde replied. "Honestly; I feel fine spiritually. I'm just physically fatigued. It's much like the month I spent on Korriban. I just want to be sure."

"Wise you are to be cautious young one." said Yoda sagely. "Dark are the days we are experiencing."

Mace nodded. "Come to Coruscant then Naruto. We will inform your apprentice of your situation."

"Thank you Masters." said Naruto. "May the Force be with you…"

…

Jedi Grand Temple, Medical Center

Naruto arrived on Coruscant early the next day. Seeing the blonde's rather mangled condition; the Jedi healers immediately dragged the blonde kicking and screaming to the last place in the Jedi Temple he wanted to be; the Medical Ward. Naruto hated it there and had a record of breaking out that was second to none. The chief Jedi Doctor had him stripped to his underwear and locked down as a result. In addition two Jedi Guardians were outside his room to make sure he didn't escape. Despite Naruto's attempts to convince the healers he was fine; the blonde was stuck there for the duration.

That was when Grandmaster Yoda came in and nearly slipped a disc laughing at Naruto's expense. "Hohohoho! Caught you at last they did! Made my day you have! Hohohoho!" Things went predictably downhill for the blonde from there…

…After getting his laughter under control, Yoda was admiring the ghostfire crystal. "Perfect and untainted it is. A rare and precious gift indeed. Treasure it well." Over the next couple of hours; the diminutive Master was listening to Naruto's report and asked questions where appropriate. Finally; Yoda pronounced his judgment. "Uncorrupted; your spirit is. Trained you well; she did …if a little roughly."

Naruto relaxed a little. "I am glad Master. I was concerned about my bloodline."

Yoda nodded and said, "Our origins matter not; what we make of ourselves does. Strong in the Force; your family is."

…

POSTSCRIPT:

*①: Malevolence: The Malevolence is a Subjugator-class heavy cruiser that serves in the naval forces of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, as well as the flagship of Kaleesh Separatist General Grievous. See Wookieepedia and The Clone Wars for the full story.

*②: Jedi Master Loland: is a male human Jedi Master OC for this story.

*③: Jedi Padawan Barkut: is a male human Jedi Padawan OC for this story.

*④: Consular Class: The Consular-class cruiser, commonly referred to as Republic cruiser, was a Corellian Engineering Corporation starship used by the Galactic Republic to transport Jedi and diplomats to troubled spots across the galaxy.

*⑤: Ambria: Ambria is an unpleasant desert planet in tune with the dark side of the Force that is located in the galaxy's Inner Rim.

*⑥: Darth Zannah: Darth Zannah was a Dark Lord of the Sith and the Sith apprentice of Darth Bane, who was trained to carry her master's teachings and the Rule of Two forward after a war between the Sith Order and the Jedi Order. See Wookieepedia for her biography.

*⑦: Makashi: Form II, also known as Makashi (pronounced muh-KAA-shee), is the second form of light saber combat invented by the Jedi Order. A graceful combat style, it became a specialist form for duels with opponents belonging to the Sith Order. Form II relies on careful and controlled strikes instead of power and strength. See Wookieepedia.

*⑧: Ghostfire Crystal: Ghostfire crystals are transparent kyber crystals found on mountain peaks on a handful of Outer Rim Territories planets. Ghostfire crystals are incredibly difficult to find, and when found, make the light saber they are used in nearly silent, as well as the light saber's blade dim and translucent. Ghostfire crystals also have the property that they would produce afterimages that followed the wielder's motions, causing a target to become disoriented.

*⑨: Bacta: Bacta is a thick, gelatinous substance with seemingly incredible healing properties. It helps the body re grow tissue, including nerves, skin, and muscles.

This chapter was originally going to be about the naval engagement with the Malevolence. When I watched The Clone Wars arc for review I got to thinking; what was Dooku up to in the meantime? After that the chapter wrote itself. See you next time. Blue out. 12/23/23