Red Dawn

Part 1

Republic Cruiser "Chimera"

First Assault Fleet Flagship

High Orbit over Geonosis

"Look that station go!" exclaimed one of the sensor operators.

"Easy, kid. Remember where you are." Pellaeon chided his subordinate.

"Sorry, sir! It won't happen again."

"Better not. Though off the record, I agree with the notion."

Few chuckles answered the Commodore's quip.

"The heavy missiles did better than the initial projections called for." Lieutenant Olen added.

"That's the second time the boffins knew what they were talking about." Yularen chuckled. "It make's me apprehensive. What's the status of our magazines?"

"Down to ten percent on the siege missiles."

"Flush the rest of the birds. The fleet will advance. Capital ships are to concentrate fire on the remaining enemy mobile forces. Once thosse are dealt with take out the Golans. Our escorts are to eleminate the defense platforms. One the battle line is engaged, bomber wings are free to strike targets of opportunity."

"Aye, sir. Relaying orders."

=RK=

Couple of hours submerged into the Force, using the Light side to recover from the strain caused by the Battle Meditation, an energy bar and a lot of the local equivalent of Aspirin, did wonders for my disposition. Oh, I wasn't up for fun and games, like joining the first wave of the ground invasion, that was reserved for my apprentice and the Jedi, but at least I was more or less functual.

Which meant that I had a job to do. So, while I munched on another energy bar, there was a data pad in my other hand and I was busy browsing the compiled list of fleet losses.

They were rather severe, though nothing like the butcher's bill that this battle should have yelded. At least on paper both sides were evenly matched. The most optimistic estimates called for about fifty perecent fleet casualties, if we won. Thanks to my Battle Meditation and the plan Valentra, the ONI Director and me cobbled together, we got out of the scrap relatively light. If you can call a third of the fleet lost low casualties.

That had been unpleasant for more than the obvious reasons. I felt every single death during the battle, thanks to the Battle Meditation connecting me with my men and the few organics in the CIS fleet. They fed the Dark side, and while actually making me a bit stronger in the Force, strained my control. It was making it harder to deal with the persistent seduction of the whispers in the back of my head.

Oh, it would be soo good to just let my control go and revel in all the Dark Side had to offer. All the power, the immortality it promised. No longer having to pay lip service to Palpy and the Republic… To build my own Empire…

I shook my head. Even if I knew that it was all a lie, or at best a short lived gain before I was left tottaly insane, her whispers and suggestions had a dark alure that I found hard to resist. All I could do with the unrestrained power of the Dark Side on my disposall… I just had to stop fighting it at every turn… I shuddered as a familiar chill went up my spine. The Dark Side was coiling around me, anticipating the next round of slaughter.

I focused my mind, doing my best to ignore the whispers.

=RK=

Light Cruiser "Corellian Fury"

Task Force Lacoon Flagship

First Assault Fleet

High Orbit over Geonosis

After the immediate aftermath of the Fleet on Fleet engagament was dealt with, Jole became a spectator. His Cruiser squadron had fallen back, behind the main body of Republic ships in order to escort the remaining carriers. That in turn left him free to watch the fireworks, somethig that warmed his old, smuggler's heart.

It had all started innocent enough. The fleet had reformed just out of the Planetary defense grid's effective weapon range. The ships had pumped their ECM levels as much as possible, followed by ripple firing shoals of missiles. Part of the ordinance sent downrange were antifighter Darts as well as electronic warfare birds, meant to sweep away what was left of the enemy fighters and target weapon emplacements. On their heels were waves of Lancer siege missiles.

Those new weapons were big, a bit longer than two bombers strapped together and with similar dimensions. The concept of the weapons was all but new, it has been known for a very long time, though believed inefficent in the age of shields. Further it was meant for long range engagements, something that would be only usefull if the enemy could be pinned defending a stationary target. Like Geonosis for example. Even then, it was expensive weapon, that was really usefull in a handful of tactical scenarious. Conventional wisdom said that just using turbolaser was much better. Much less fuss and less strain on your logistics train.

Not to mention that in order to defeat shields, those missiles needed to came relatively close before detonating and thus activating their laser heads. Which made them vulnerable for intercept from fighters and point defense.

However in this case, those weaknesses were anything but. The standard doctrine was to send your fighters forward to deal with missiles of this kind. Which the Seps, refused to do, in order to preserve the Vultures they had left. That course of action had predicatable results. No one was particularly surprised when the Darts failed to cause any noticible damage on the battle stations, merely diabling a few of their weapons. Yet they did their jobs, screening their much larger sisters.

Only ten percent of the first Lancer wave was picked off, before they reached stand off range and detonated… all of them missing the Golan stations they were flying at.

Solo grinned viciously. Shields flared briefly, fighting to abosrb and deflect lances of pure energy. Then the defensive fields failed and ten more Munificents died, their hulls shattered by invisible beams of pure energy.

That awoke whoever was in charge and the Vultures surged on dashing straight at the next wave of missiles… Which only looked like Lancers. The large missiles blew up few seconds before the enemy fighters fell upon them, releasing a swarm of Darts down their throats. The Vulture flight stood no chance and slammed straight into the trap. The explosions caught on camera by the recon birds in the vanguard of the fleet were beautiful to behold.

Then the second Lancer wave struk true. This time they did target the battle stations. Two of them to be precise. The missiles didn't even attempt to kill them outright. Instead they were instructed to take out the shield generator and heavy weapons.

Few hundred missiles concentrated their fire on a small section of the deflector fields, temporaly overwhelming and piercing the defenseses. A lot of the incoming energy was either absorbed or dispersed, a big fraction of what went through wasted itself ablating armor, yet enough remained to damage the generator on one Gollan and outright destroy that of the second. When the next missile salvo struck, those two stations were left as drifting, toothless hulks.

=RK=

DCS "Nemesis"

Low Orbit over Geonosis

Admiral Ningo glared balefully at Grievous. The damn cyborg had survived after all and even managed to get to his ship… Just in time to order the suicide charge of most Vultures that had survived the previous engagements. Yet, he held his tongue. The Sulucian didn't feel like dying by the hand of the madman who was in his nominal command. It had been obvious that the missiles were some kind of bait. Sending all but the first wave without a covering force of a barrage of antifighter ordinance… He shook his head and turned his sight towards the tactical plot. It appeared that the enemy had fianly exhausted their supply of heavy missiles. The Republic fleet was picking up speed, advancing towards their position.

While before the relentles barrages, Ningo had been reasonably sure that he could further bloody the enemy, now even that was going to be denied to him. Only seven battlestations were still largely intacts, backed up by what was left from his mobile forces and about seven hundred or so defensive platforms. But the latter were more or less evenly spread over the planet, unable to concentrate their firepower for the final round of the space battle. Even wordse, now there was insuficient number of fighters left to blunt the impending attacks from Republic bombers, which were massing up together with their own escorts.

"Maneuver our remaining units behind the Gollans. We'll use them as a shield until the enemy is in effective range." Ningo suggested.

That way, their mobile forces, which were much less defended in comparison would survive longer and would have a chance to take out enemy ships weakened by the battlestations.

"Multiple new contacts detected!" exclaimed one of the B1's which was monitoring the sensors.

"So their ground units arrived." muttered the Admiral.

"And thaks to your incompetence, we no longer have the forces to intercept them!" Grievous seethed.

The Admiral rolled his eyes behind his back and called the sensor data. As if. Those Acclamators and their escorts were a potent force in their own right, more than enough to deal with whatever would have left from the CIS fleet even if they had won and destroyed the Republic fleet. Now all he could do was ensure that as many of the enemy ships were taken out before his remaning units were gone. If Grievous let him fight his fleet.

=RK=

Republic Cruiser "Negotiator II"

Battle group "Titan" Flagship

Five Light Seconds from Geonosis

The commanders of the ground forces had gatthered for a final briefing before they joined their units for the drop. Shaak Ti looked around, evaluating the men and women in the room. Needless to say, most of them wore the same face. With few exceptions those had the rank of Commander or General. The rest were either the Jedi or the officers in charge of the new units, which weren't made up by clones. It remained to be seen how they were going to mesh with the GAR forces once on the ground. While she had heard of only a few problems, that didn't mean much at this stage.

"I can confirm the good news. The fleet won a major battle over Geonosis and is in the proces of dismantling the orbital defense network. By the time we are in position, we will have orbital superiority." She had to pause for few seconds while almost everyone cheered. She allowed herself a small smile and continued. "Now, thanks to the extensive network of anit orbital weaponry that the locals had built, we won't be in possition to simply orbital strikes all over the place and just mop up."

"Good to know. What about air support?" General Villem Maxtro, the commander of the Anaxxian Rangers asked.

"We'll be getting plenty. From what Admiral Yularen told me, I believe that First Assault's bomber force is largely intact. Then there are our own fighter and bombers too. The main opposition in the air is expected to be from Geonosian air breathers, because the Vultures in system are a spent force."

"So we are going with Red Three then?" Colonell Gyro Pell, the CO of the Caamasi Laners asked.

"Yes. Our heavy divisions will land at the desiganted areas with heavy orbital support, while the airmobile units will drop in, bypasing the nearest defensive lines and striking at various strategic targets. Those include local C&C centers, power stations and of course the theater shield generators."

"What about the planetary shield?" One of the Clone Commanders asked.

"We have contingency in place to deal with them. I'll be leading units from First Shock Army against the main generator complex. We will be going in to support General Veil's Helldiver Regiment. That will be the first of our strategic objectives. We will have to either hold the place while reinforcements arrive or trash it and exfilatrate. Now for the different unit asisgments. There won't be any major alternations on Red Three at this point." That announcement got a few relieved chuckles. "

Seventh Army will be landing here, two hundred klicks from the shield generator complex. They will be shielded by the artillery positions emplaced around it by this mountain chain, though either corssing or going around it will slow them down." She nodded at Obi-Wan.

"I'll be spearhead the push towards the Experimental Droid factories. As you all know that is our primary objective on Geonosis. Unfortunately the place is protected by extensive network of overlaping theater shields, so we will have to crack it the hard way. General Myndi's troops and the Rangers will assist in the initial push."

"The Caamasi Lancers will as well as the Ryloth First Ranger Regiment will make a push towards this valley, " Kenobi zoomed the image of Geonosis floating in the center of the table dominationg the meeting room. "This is the place where the locals rebuit most of their war related industry after our last visit. You will be cleaning the way from any light enemy forces and provide support for Ninth Army's heavy armor which will be making a landing on these coordinates..." he pointed a large plain, two hundred clicks from the Caamasi projected drop point. "Once their leading divisions are deployed, they will be heading your way."

=RK=

Part 2

71st Bomber Squadron

Low Orbit over Geonosis

Falk drove his bomber into a roll, barely avoiding a burst of flak fire. His craft shook from the blast wave, but he compensated and dived at the battle station below. His squadron followed, deftly avoiding the last ditch effort of their target to fend them off.

Around them, space was lit up with explosions as the fleet was duking it out with what was left of the CIS ships and the remnant of the Orbital defenses. Falk saw a Munificent frigate being blown apart by turbo laser bolts bigger than his fighter, then he spun again and his cockpit view was obscured by the Seventy First's target. He waited for a moment, before unleashing his bomber's load of proton torpedoes in quick succession. The armor plating protecting turbo-laser turrets and concussion missile launchers shattered in a handful of hits, the following impacts disabling or outright destroying the weapon emplacements.

By the time his squadron finished their run, a quarter of the Gollan's offensive firepower was gone. Falk glanced at his readouts. Two of the newbies didn't make it. He shrugged, privately glad that he hadn't gotten to know them all that well, before banking right.

"Good job, lads. Follow me in. We are making another run then we are off for reloading."

As they headed in, a swarm of bombers overflew them, heading for one of the handful CIS battleships that were still operational. He doubted that the battle-wagon would be more than a powerless hulk once they were done with it.

However the battle wasn't as one sided as the Lieutenant might have hoped. While he was diving at the battle station he had a great view of a Venator which went afoul of two Gollans and was pounded into scrap before most of the stations weapons could be silenced.

=RK=

Republic Cruiser "Chimera"

First Assault Fleet Flagship

High Orbit over Geonosis

"Sir, the remaining Confederate ships are making a break for it. Their frigates are screening that DCS." The sensor operator shouted.

"Their Capital ships won't make it past the planet's gravity well before we pound them into scrap." The Admiral frowned.

He zoomed in the tactical display. Almost all remaining Vultures were converging at that point of the battlefield.

"Re-task our fighters in the nearby sectors to intercept. They are most likely covering the escape of their commander. Concentrate the Guardian system efforts on that sector too."

Soon enough, the plot shifted, whole Torrent squadrons swarming the Confed ships which were attempting a breakthrough.

"Kriff! Sir look at that!" The same Lieutenant shouted again, earning himself a dirty look from Pellaeon.

Yularen zoomed out the display. A few seconds later a look of displeasure appeared on his face.

=RK=

"Talon" Squadron

High Orbit over Geonosis

"This better work!" Grievous snarled as he forced his fighter's engines to the point of overload.

"If it doesn't we are dead anyway." Admiral Ningo shrugged in the back of the cockpit of a two seater Selucian starfighter. He had a squadron of those birds on his ship, which were meant as his personal escort. Now they were about to prove their worth.

The small craft went on afterburner, straining their engines to their melting point in an attempt to break clear from Geonosis' gravity well. They were screened by a hundred odd Vultures, which were instructed to fly in a funnel formation, using their bodies as a physical shield against enemy fire.

It was a race, between the Guardian missiles that would be undoubtedly sent their way and whatever enemy fighters were still in the vicinity after most of them were sent against the bait.

They had fifteen seconds head start before Ningo's cockpit was bathed into the shrill beep of the lock on alarm. Targeting sensors were locked on his fighters and missiles were sprinting their way. He glanced out and saw the Vultures shifting, moving to better protect their charges.

The Admiral helplessly waited as long seconds slowly ticked by, when suddenly the cockpit was bathed in bluish light. A Vulture blew up, then another and another in quick succession. Ningo glanced at the instruments. They were still thirty seconds from the edge of the gravity well. At this rate, they weren't going to make it.

His pilot, the leader of Talon squadron apparently agreed with that assessment.

"Gentlemen, it was honor serving with you. Now go intercept those damn missiles!" He ordered.

Half the squadron peeled off and charged the swarm of ordinance heading straight at them. They opened fire with laser canons and their own missiles, which was merely a drop in the ocean. That is until the lead two Talons opened their cargo compartments, spilling reserve parts behind them. The rest of the Selucian fighters charging the missile swarm did so too, a couple of seconds later.

It was the last thing that they would ever do. Moments later missiles either found their mark, blowing up fighters which didn't even attempt to evade, but flew straight firing all the way until the bitter end, or ploughed in the small artificial debris field, detonating harmlessly.

That desperate maneuver was far from enough to take out all the Darts, yet it bought precious seconds for the rest of Talon squadron and their charges.

Ningo grit his teeth as the last of the Vultures expended itself against a missile flying straight at his ride. Just few more seconds…

The Admiral winced when his fighter shook viciously, almost throwing him out of his seat despite the restrains. In the same moment the cockpit was bathed in blinding light.

=RK=

Republic Cruiser "Chimera"

First Assault Fleet Flagship

High Orbit over Geonosis

"The kriffing bastards got away..." Pellaeon, who was leaning over the sensor station muttered.

"Pity. It would have been great if we nailed their commander. Whoever it was did pretty good." Yularen stated.

"Yes. They will be trouble in the future." the Commodore added.

The Admiral returned his attention to the bigger picture, disgruntled that he had fallen for the feint. He honestly hadn't believed that the enemy would try getting out using small craft once they knew the true capabilities of the Guardian. However they had masterfully made him focus his attention at a tempting bait, buying themselves enough time and distance to get a chance at surviving the inevitable missile strike. He silently cursed the missed opportunity at depriving the enemy of one of their competent Admirals and turned his attention at mopping up the Orbital Defenses. Freedom's battle group had the breakout attempt well in hand, and the rest of the fleet was reducing the remaining two Gollans. Those would be dealt with shortly by bomber wings, which were already moving in for the death strike.

"Sir, we are mostly done here." Pellaeon surmised the situation. "However the planetary shields are up and running. How are we going to deal with them?"

"Apparently it's a need to know." Yularen.

"It was." a new voice interjected. "I have an acquaintance down there." He waved at the planet below. "It remains to be seen if we'll be taking the shields the easy or the hard way."

The Admiral turned around to see General Veil entering the bridge, looking somewhat better. At least he didn't look like the death warmed twice over.

Pellaeon looked incredulous at his commander. "A single being?!" he exclaimed.

"Yep. He is perfect for the task."

=RK=

Planetary Shield generator command center

Geonosis

Vikkal Plog, surveyed his domain from a raised platform in the middle of the room. He was the Geonosian Elite in charge of the one of the most important installations on his home world, and by the Queens, he was going to make sure it ran perfectly.

He stared in turn at the backs of the workers manning the stations controlling the intricate network of generators and shield emitters protecting Geonosis, as if daring them to make a mistake. He would have preferred that his installation was manned exclusively by Warrior caste members, but unfortunately that was impractical. Whatever else you could say about the workers (most of it less than flattering) they knew how to fix tech. Fast. On the other hand, Plog and his exalted kind were best on the battlefield or in charge of important facilities. While he knew that his job was vital, Vikkal couldn't suppress the instinct to go out and be amongst the first to meet the kriffing Republic forces. If they managed to actually pass through the shields.

After their previous visit, the Queens were displeased, issuing orders that their world must be turned into fortress, thus making a repeat performance highly unlikely. While it would have been better if the Geonosians allies had managed to win in space, Plog actually preferred it this way. The last battle had been over before more than a handful of his kind could engage the enemy, because they were stationed at locations rather far away from the places the GAR attacked.

This time it was going to be different. The Geonosian Elite Warriors were mobilized and ready for battle. They, just like Vikkal, were cybernetically enhanced war machines, wielding powerful beam weapons and protected by master crafted armor. He smiled at the thought and almost reverently petted the heavy weapon which encased his right hand, before returning his attention to the holographic display representing his world's orbitals.

The defenses were almost gone and the enemy transports were growing near. He smiled when the nearest comm station hissed to life, announcing that now all ground based anti-orbital weapons were free to seek targets of opportunity.

He was still smiling when moments later, a monomolecular blade found a weak spot in the armor surrounding his neck and severed his spine.

=RK=

The command center stood still, the six Elite Warriors who were providing internal security just staring at their leader. First they saw the blade, sticking from the back of his neck. It sparkled, the air around it warping, revealing a dull red metal hand, to which it was attached.

"One Meatbag down." A mechanical voice muttered.

The guards raised their weapons a moment too late. The air twisted further, showing a heavily armed droid, which had sneaked in their midst. Before they could line up shots, the command center was turned into a charnel house when multiple explosions shook it, pelting everything within with half molten shrapnel. Consoles became pieces of fast flying death, scything unprotected Geonosians.

HK-117 jumped back, thermal detonators flying from his hands. At the same time, two stealthy drones became visible near the ceiling, sending crimson lances at a single Elite Guard.

In all the bedlam no one noticed how the locking mechanism of the doors was fused shut.

The assassin droid would have smiled if he could. This was what he was made for! Pure, unrestrained havoc! HK-117 danced, faster than most organics could follow, barely evading beams of amber light. The Command Center shook again, bathed in the light and heat of thermal detonators blowing up.

In bare moments, four of the seven Elites were taken out, evening the odds.

The assassin rolled left, amber beam briefly grazing his shield. That alone drained a third of his deflector, sending warnings through his system. He jumped over a trashed console, a repeating blaster in his hands. Behind the droid, the drones were playing tag with one of the Elites, while the last two were engaging him. HK-117 hit the ground and rolled, avoiding a sweeping beam. His weapon spoke, shredding blaster bolts at the unprotected feet of the overgrown insect. Its agonized screech was music for the droids audio-receptors.

The heavily armored being crashed on the ground, while his buddy tried to bisect the assassin with its weapon. HK evaded by a hairbreadth and threw a thermal detonator, finishing its wounded victim. Then he vaulted forward, using the blast wave as booster for his jump. The nimble machine flew over the other Elite Geonosian, avoiding a sweeping beam of deadly energy. HK-117 landed lightly on his feet, moving in a blur. His blaster clattered on the ground just as the droid slammed a pair of vibroblades in the back of the big Geonosian. The local whimpered when the assassin twisted its weapons, before withdrawing them an letting his latest victim fall bonelessly to the ground.

HK-117 turned his head to the right and his artificial eyes glared at the single remaining drone. The other one was already turned into molten slag by the last remaining Warrior.

"I expected more from you, guys..." the droid shook his head sadly. "You couldn't handle just a pair of meatbags!" He sounded affronted at his synthetic siblings' failure.

The Geonosian turned his head towards the sound a moment after disposing off the second drone with a well aimed shot. Only to see the cooling corpse of his comrade and no sight of the infernal machine.

"Looking for me?" A hated voice asked from behind. Before the Warrior could swing his bulk around, HK jumped on his back, blades slashing down.

A few seconds later, the ancient droid made his way to the raised platform where he assassinated the facility's commander. It was the one place that was still somewhat intact. HK plugged himself in the Command Centers network and started working, while the base's security were attempting to breach the door. He wasn't concerned. It was a really nice door, the finest Geonosian engineering could make. It would hold for a few minutes. More than enough time.

By the time the entrance was breached by the base's security, the shields were powered down, leaving the complex vulnerable. It would be fifteen minutes before one of the secondary command centers could bypass the lock down initiated from the command center. Even longer before they could reactivate the shields.

It would be far too late.

=RK=

Republic Assault ship "Unto the Breach"

Low Orbit over Geonosis

Shaak Ti suppressed a shudder when the drop pod sealed around her. A moment later the HUD of her light armor lit up with green light showing that all systems were nominal.

"Drop in T minus thirty!" The commander responsible for the initial part of the deployment shouted in her communicator.

"All units, sound off." The Jedi ordered. She was pointedly trying not to think about the madness she was about to take part in. Shaak Ti patched herself through the frequency of her command battalion, listening.

"First Platoon, A Company is green!"

"Second Platoon, A Company is nominal..."

She took a deep breath, calmed by the professional discharge of her soldiers. Just ten of the pods showed red lights and she was thankful for the excellent job the engineers did in making the new tech perform up to spec. For now. The real test was about to commence.

She switched channels, listening as the battalions started reporting their readiness.

"Second Battalion, Helldiver Regiment is green. Only seven malfunctioning pods." A Clone Commander reported.

"Third Battalion, Helldiver Regiment is green. Five pods down." This crisp voice sent shiver down Shaak Ti's spine.

She was still unable to make up her mind about Veil's newest apprentice. Aria Astra. A clone of a Chiss woman, who was also a Sith. Not to mention that she led the first attack on the Jedi Temple in millennia. Yet Veil had saved not only saved her at the end of the battle, but taken her under his wing. While Ti knew that what happened wasn't really the woman's fault, not when she had been used as a brainwashed, disposable weapon, she simply couldn't help it. Long time friends of hers, good people, had died in that attack. The fact that Aria was a Sith didn't help either. It wasn't like she was seeking redemption by trying to turn a new leaf and join the Order.

What she felt towards Astra wasn't hate. Not really. It was something she couldn't really place into words. It was more akin to resentment, because of how easy she was given a second chance. Not even a slap on the wrist for her actions, instead she was rewarded by being apprenticed to a powerful Force Adept.

"Ten, nine, eight…" Shaak Ti's scattered thoughts were interrupted by the pre-launch countdown.

She took a deep breath and spoke: "May the Force be with you!"

"One..."

A loud thump later and sudden acceleration slammed into the Jedi Master.

=RK=

Part 3

10 km above Planetary Shield Generator Complex

Geonosis

Aria hadn't been more afraid in her short life. Certainly not when she led the attack on the Jedi Temple. That had been exhilarating, the first time she had felt alive. Not even while she laid dying in the great hall, broken and defeated. Then she had been relieved more than anything else. She had failed in her mission, no matter that it never had a chance of success and accepted the price.

When her Master held her very soul in his hands and saved her… She was both stunned and fascinated at the raw power she felt. As if the Force itself was his to command.

Oh, Aria knew that he was one of the most dangerous men she would ever meet, that in anything resembling a stand up fight she would lose. At least before her training was fully completed and that was many years away. Yet she didn't fear him. There was respect of the man and the power he wielded, but strangely enough no fear despite the simple fact that she survived only because of his good will.

Now however, she was terrified. Strapped in a flimsy shell of durasteel composite, protected by a thin sheet of armor and shield barely enough to survive a high speed reentry… Hurling through the atmosphere as a shell send downrange… Fear clawed at Aria's mind, cold sticky fingers gripping her very soul. Despite the high temperature caused by the re-entry and the environmental controls of her armor, she felt chill spreading from the frozen pit that was her stomach. Aria shuddered and gritted her teeth.

She was better than this! Aria snarled. She loathed her fear. It was a weakness, making her vulnerable. It was unacceptable.

That thought was promptly thrown out of her head, when her pod jumped and shook. Aria squeaked, dimly remembering that it was all going according to plan. The drop pod was supposed to enter a wild and erratic flying pattern, making it harder to hit.

It didn't help her. At all.

Aria closed her eyes and for the first time in her life she started praying. First to the Force and then to anyone, anything that was listening.

No one was listening. Her ride started shaking even harder, as if it was already coming apart. Alarm blared and sudden wave of DE-acceleration slammed into the young Sith. Aria had time for one last shriek, before the pod peeled off around her, letting her free fall for the last kilometer or so. Her HUD lit up with warning signs, marking targets of opportunity and active sensor envelopes.

"Kriiiif!" Aria shouted just as the gravity reestablished its hold over her. Finally her training kicked in, moment after a rail round buzzed near her head. She slammed the controls of the repulsor pack on her back and darted at the ground, hoping to get below the engagement envelopes of the myriad of AA emplacements pinging her.

Moments later the anti gravity pod whined in protest as she returned it to default setting and it tried to prevent her from slamming in the roof of nearby building. It was a somewhat successful maneuver, because Aria didn't become a stain on the roof. Instead she landed hard, the mechanized joints of her armor protesting as they absorbed the hit. Her HUD flashed with yellow warnings, showing marginal damage to her knee and ankle armor joints.

Aria smiled. While her armor was damaged, her body was not. More importantly she was back on a firm, solid ground. Roof. Whatever. She wasn't falling down from orbit anymore and that was the important thing!

The Sith in training retrieved her Carbine from its magnetic hook on her back, discarded the spent repulsor pod and looked around, using both the Force and her armor's built in sensors to get her bearing. She was about a click from the control center of the Shield Generator Complex, which was the primary target. Shock troopers and pieces of pods were raining around her, further confusing the defenders.

Aria braced herself. She had wasted entirely too much time on that roof. It was time to join the action. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down a bit her heart, which was pounding like a jackhammer in her chest. It didn't help. "Damn. And we Sith were supposed to be fearless..." she muttered.

Aria gulped, steeled herself and sprinted toward the edge of the roof.

=RK=

Planetary Shield Generator Complex

Geonosis

"Woohoo!" Boil exclaimed as he slammed into a confused B1 droid, instantly turning it into a pile of scrap.

Waxer landed about thirty meters to the west and wasted no time in retrieving his AR and opening fire at a nearby squad of SB droids. He shot the neares, which was facing him and then pumped a grenade in the midst of the others. The following explosion threw mechanic limbs and heads in all directions.

"Kriff it, that was awesome!" Boil shouted at his brother, who was dashing his way.

A woman shrieked nearby. The Clone whirled that way, his blaster at the ready. His grin grew wider when he saw the General's apprentice jumping from the roof of the building to his left. She opened fire from mid-air, suppressing a pair of Command Droids which were sneaking at him. Her wild bursts nailed one, which made for an awesome video, the other machine ducked behind a nearby cargo hauler. While the droid found temporarily reprieve from the crazy lass, it made a perfect target for Boil who didn't waste the opportunity and blew up the clanker.

"Ma'am, Troopers Waxer and Boil reporting. What are your orders?"

Aria stared at them for few seconds before shaking her head and pointing at the biggest building on their right.

"We are taking the control center."

"Just the three of us?" Waxer asked, a hint of incredulity creeping in his usually professional voice.

"Awesome!" Boil grinned.

"Do I look suicidal?" She asked, sounding affronted. "They are coming with us, she waved behind the pair.

"The more the merrier." Boil shrugged.

His HUD was showing the better part of a company of Helldivers converging on their position.

"Kriff. My HUD's busted." Waxer grumbled after glancing behind them.

"Just shoot any clanker or overgrown insect you see." he quipped at his brother.

"Enough chit-chat. We are going in!" Aria ordered and sprinted towards the command center.

The two Clones glanced at each other, shrugged and ran after her.

=RK=

Republic Cruiser "Negotiator II"

Low Orbit over Geonosis

Obi-Wan stared at Cody's smug looking helmet. Then at the heavy blaster in the Commander's outstretched hand.

"You are never going to drop it, are you?" Kenobi moaned, resignation written all over his face.

"And risk that you slide back to your old ways?" The Clone shook his head sagely. "Not a chance, sir. Now grab the kriffing blaster and that rocket launcher."

"Veil put you up to this, didn't he?"

"The General might have given us a suggestion or two."

Obi-Wan was positive that Cody was beaming under his helmet.

"Did he now?" The Jedi asked.

"Yep. No charging the enemy to get into melee range for us. Next time you decided that doing so is a great idea, we'll just let you go on your own and provide moral support while staying back in cover."

"Ah. So he did read that AAR."

"Among others. It might please you to know that he had some… enlightening things to say to us, because we chose to charge right after you."

"I have no doubt about that." Kenobi muttered.

"So, lets make sure. No suicidal charges, attacking well defended position with light weaponry…" Cody started checking out items from a mental list.

Obi-Wan groaned. He could swear that the nearby Clones were snickering at his predicament.

"We'll be in position in three! All units, board your transports and strap up!" The voice of the Cruiser's Captain blasted from hidden speakers.

"You heard the Skipper!" Cody roared. "Mount up, on the double!" The Commander returned his attention to Kenobi. "Good luck, General." The Clone handed him the heavy blaster and headed towards his own transport.

Kenobi shook his head, a small smile creeping on his face. At least Cody and the rest of his troopers were warming up a bit towards him after the disaster that was Ryloth.

When he thought about it, his face became a granite mask. That battle had been an utter mess and he had been chewed up about it by both Veil and Valentra. Hell, right now it was a part of the Officer Training Course as a textbook case on what not to bloody do.

Obi-Wan jumped in the LAAT that would be carrying him down, placed his blaster on the weapon rack and unhooked his helmet from his belt where it had been hanging, before placing it in place and sealing it. At Ryloth he had acted as he has been trained. As a peacekeeper. And it had gotten a lot of people killed, including the villagers who he had hoped to save by not engaging the enemy with heavy weaponry in their vicinity. That had backfired in spectacular fashion, though not as bad as with Skywalker's unit.

Once that debacle had been over, after he had been debriefed on the operation by GAR brass and intelligence officers, something that was now a SOP after any major operation (minor too if it was practical), all his mistakes had been pointed out to him in painstaking detail. Then he had been handed some light reading – books on military tactics and strategy. To top it all, he and the Jedi Officers on Coruscant who weren't expected to be immediately shipped out to the front were sent to mandatory short courses of Command Training as Valentra had dubbed it.

Most of it had been useful stuff, downright vital even. Things that the Jedi should have been taught before being handed command and sent straight in battle. Frankly in hind-sight he had to agree with Veil. Considering some of his command decision, it was miracle that Cody or one of the other Clones hadn't fragged him.

Kenobi was returned to the present, when the two squads that were supposed to act as his bodyguards piled in and started strapping in. He briefly glanced at each one of them. They and their brothers would live or die based on how good a job he did as a General. Obi-Wan gulped. For this operation all ground forces that were nominally under his command were present. He had the fate of more than a hundred thousand men in his hands.

It should have been just as every other time a Jedi had a job to do. He should be viewing them with a dispassionate detachment, not allowing any sentiment he might be feeling to color his better judgment. That would have been the case if Ryloth never happened. His friendship with Cody and few of the other Clones under his command wouldn't have mattered. Or the way he had almost lost it during that ill thought battle.

Now however, Obi-Wan simply couldn't force himself to view his men as simply assets that needed to be spent to achieve victory, the way a proper Jedi was supposed to.

"We are deploying in twenty! Clear the hangars!" the Captain ordered. Moment later alarms came to life and a calm female voice started a count down.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and called the Force to his aid. Her cool embrace calmed him down, yet provided no answers.

The count down came to zero and the LAAT shot out of the hangar, joining thousands of others, which were about to make plantetfall. Bellow them, heavily shielded Acclamators were already entering the atmosphere, preparing to provide close air support before disgorging their own gunships and transports closer to their targets.

With the planetary shield up, such an attempt would have been a suicide, but now, with the fleet busy delivering orbital strikes, most of the first assault wave would make it down. And the real bloodbath would begin.

Kenobi opened his eyes and stared at the holotanc in the center of his LAAT, which was showing the tactical situation. Despite the overwhelming surprise and the saturation orbital strikes, transports were winking out of existence, taken out by ground emplacements that were silenced seconds later. Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed. His men were already dying and he couldn't do anything to help them. Veil's words echoed in his head.

"Obi-Wan, one day you will have to chose between being a one of this era's good little Jedi and a General. From what I've seen, more often than not, those positions don't mesh well together."

"And become a Sith instead?"

"Well, if you want I probably can find time for one more apprentice, but we both know that this isn't what I mean."

"I've given a look or two to the ancient Holocrons. They do paint quite a different picture of the Jedi. Especially those who weren't exclusively trained on Coruscant."

Kenobi shook his head. He knew what Veil has been doing. Not that the man even tried to hide it during their conversations. He had planted seeds of doubt in Obi-Wan's heart and left him to make his own mind. Dealing with someone who just tried to turn him against the Order or the Republic would have been easy, simple even. This however, was something different.

How do you fight the truth staring you in the face?

Then they hit the atmosphere and the ride became rather bumpy.

=RK=

Chancellor's Office

Senate Building

Coruscant

Palpatine sat behind the desk in his brand new office. While it was a rather spacious room, even bigger than his old one, his new little kingdom was in the depts of the building, behind more than a dozen checkpoints. Now there was a whole legion in the Senate and around it as a matter of course. More concerning were the myriad of intelligence agents crawling all over the place. Even one such as him simply couldn't mess with all of their heads without no one noticing. Especially when there was a rotating squad of Jedi on the premises.

It was all Veil's fault! That kriffing upstart had suggested the Senate's security overhaul, presenting multiple options…. And the current one was the best for Sidious. The rest made him all but prisoner despite all the power he wielded. The worst was that he simply couldn't worm his way out of accepting. After all, those suggestions had made his life as the Chancellor not only safer but easier too… As Sidious however...The new security measures had significantly curtailed his freedoms as the shadow figure behind the Confederacy.

The worst thing was that in practical terms, it didn't meant all that much. Not with the mess that was the CIS leadership right now. Dooku was still on his hunt, trying to find out who exactly was backing the mysterious faction that had been messing up his plans lately.

The only bright news on the horizon was that no matter what Veil did, Geonosis was going to be a bloodbath, which was going to inevitably damped his popularity with the Senate and the public at large. Unfortunately, simply ordering him killed or arrested on trumped up charges wasn't going to hold up on a smell test anytime soon, not with GAR loving the man and likely to rise up a stink if something direct was done through official channels. Which left more subtle ways of dealing with Veil.

Well, there was always assassinating the man, however it was unlikely that it would work, after all he was rather powerful in the Dark Side. That still left using bounty hunters as additional distraction. Yeah. That would be best, combined with keeping Veil away from important pieces of his plan. Perhaps sent him to Mandalore next. The General appeared to be rather fond of that mercenary he had met on Ryloth. She and the Death Watch would prove a nice distraction, while the Sith reestablished their place in the CIS command structure.

Besides, it wasn't as if Veil's disruptions were all for the worse. The Self proclaimed Sith was doing a splendid job of discrediting the Jedi. Not to mention that Veil was concentrating most of their attention on himself. On the other hand all that would be a moot point if he could get Veil as his new apprentice. Perhaps him and Anakin both…

That left the war itself. The conflict should have been a grand deception more than anything else. Instead now it was fast escalating into a full scale war, one which was resisting anyone's attempts at controlling it. The original plan of ending it and simply eliminating the CIS leaderships while they awaited a reward, the fools, wasn't going to work. Because now the Republic's public and Senate wanted their heads mounted on pikes for everyone to see. While he personally found all that hatred delicious and empowering, it presented a problem. Now the Confederacy was starting to play for keeps and the only reason they haven't won yet was his machinations, leading them to spent ships and troops by striking secondary targets. Oh, Veils victory at Ryloth and probable success at Geonosis would go a long way in balancing the scales, but it would be a close run thing. So much so that he had to be very careful when doing anything that might affect the Republic's war machine.

At this stage a fast CIS victory wasn't in his best interest. It wouldn't be until he and Dooku were able to reestablish themselves as the undisputed leaders of the Confederacy. Some blackmail, assassinations and honeyed words would go a long way to achieving that goal. However it would take some time.

Of course, ideally, the war would go on for years yet, enabling him to finish building the foundations of his Empire. Unfortunately the slaughter of the senators did more harm in that regard. Oh, a significant part of his standing opposition was gone, however a lot of his supporters went with it too. Now he would have to deal with a lot of new faces, which in turn would mean a that he would have to rebuild a part of his power base.

After all, it simply wouldn't do for the Senate not to elect him as an Emperor when the time came.

Part 4

=RK=

Planetary Shield Complex

Geonosis

Shaak Ti loved the orbital drop. Diving through the atmosphere at breathtaking speeds, called to a primal part of her being, making her predator instincts cry in joy. The Force, enhancing her senses, made it even better. There was a thrill in risking one's life, when everything was placed on the line and adrenaline pumped through her vein. A feeling, she had learned to suppress during her years as a padawan.

There were only a few times Ti allowed herself to let loose, reveling in her Togruta nature – only during her brief visits to the native savannah of Shili.

This was one of those occasions. Shaak Ti could feel the pod wrapped around her, the way it sliced through the air, the acceleration as she headed towards the ground as fast as her ride could carry her. The Jedi sensed the danger of targeting sensors glancing over the thin armor protecting her, the fight or flight reflex awakening in her system making her blood race faster. The General had to force her mind to focus, letting the Force flow through her. Her senses stretched, searching for enemies within her range.

There was a veritable hive of droids below her, most of them ignoring the dropping soldiers, and moving towards the control center. So the agent who brought down the shields was probably still alive. She took a moment to search for them, finding only vague impressions of scared or determined locals and lots and lots of droids.

The journey down was over all too soon. The pod around her flaked open, letting her free fall for the last few hundred meters with only a repulsor to soften her landing. The Jedi master used the Force to guide her descent, gathering a halo of telekinetic energy around her. Some of the machines below looked up, finally paying attention to the shock trooper's approach. A few of them raised their weapons, opening fire.

It was too little, too late. The Jedi ignored the few wild shots that somehow managed to hit her, the blaster bolts splashing harmlessly over her shield. Her attention was consumed by controlling the increasing field of power she was gathering.

Then Shaak Ti hit the ground, landing on her hands and knees. The repulsor pod attached to her back burning out with the strain of slowing her down. The moment she touched down, the Jedi released all the gathered energy in a tightly controlled shock-wave, throwing away every single droid in a ten meter radius around her. The machines flew like rag-dolls, breaking apart when they hit a solid surface.

The Jedi stood up, her lightsaber eagerly jumping into her open palm, following her will and she dashed forward, heading for the nearest group of droids. To her right, the open entrance of the Command Center as inviting target, however Shaak Ti had no intention of getting herself exposed to whatever defenses waited there. Instead she charged a squad of SB droids, introducing them to her blade.

All around her, the Helldivers started landing, raining plasma and explosives upon the exposed enemy. Among them was a familiar presence, casting dark shadows through the Force. The Jedi Master frowned. Veil's new apprentice had just arrived.

Shaak Ti submerged herself deeper in the Force, ignoring the rising anger within her heart caused by the new presence and continued dicing droids. At least that had calming effect upon the Togruta.

=RK=

Republic Cruiser "Chimera"

First Assault Fleet Flagship

High Orbit over Geonosis

"Commodore Holt's battle group will be brought up to full strength within the hour," Yularen reported.

"Good. She is to hit the targets on the Alpha list immediately after her command resupplies."

"Are you sure, sir?" The Admiral asked.

"Yes. Don't worry. I'll deal with it if someone says that I'm exceeding my authority."

"Your plan will escalate the war even further."

"Can't be helped. We've been very lucky so far. However, the Republic is one major operation going awry from being put back on the defensive. Right now we have a temporary advantage in space and the window of opportunity will close shortly, as you very well know."

"I've seen the figures. The CIS will make good on today's losses withing two to three weeks. We won't be having much new construction coming online in the same period." Yularen frowned. "At least we have the Corellians on our side. Without their aid this wouldn't be possible. How would their government react?"

"Positively. I raised the possibility with their Governor-General and Senator Iblis."

"Having one of their officers in charge would help soothe them, too." The Admiral added.

"That's politics for you. It's not like you don't know it, Wulif. You can't get to such a rank without getting your hands dirty by dealing with the Senate's 'finest'."

"I have no idea what you are talking about, General." He attempted looking innocent.

"Riiight. Now back to work. What's the situation with the ships Skywalker borrowed?"

Yularen's expression became thunderous. "SAR is going over the somewhat intact wrecks. At least two third of the crews are gone for sure and most of the ground forces. His ship crash landed about thousand kilometers from our nearest LZ. Orbital scans confirm that there are survivors, who will be swarmed by the natives soon."

"I have half a mind to let the idiot to his fate." I muttered. Anakin's stunt had wasted the lives of a lot of good men, something which could have been avoided if the young fool stopped to think and came to me for help. Hell, we might have gone with exactly the same plan, just using skeleton crews and keeping the ground ponders, and not essential personnel off the Venators.

Still, he might prove useful for something, besides the men stranded with him didn't deserve to die because their commander was acting like immature imbecile.

"Subject the surrounding area to saturating orbital strikes, before sending in escorted Assault Shuttles to pick up the survivors. At least two squads of special forces too. They are to place General Skywalker under arrest and bring his damn carcass here."

"I'll see to it. Is that all?"

"Yeah. Just keep the fleet on alert in case the Seps still have a surprise or two for us. I'll go check the progress of the ground forces."

Part 5

LAAT Troop transport

En route to LZ "Kyber"

Geonosis

The initial landings were going much better than Obi-Wan expected. The uncontested orbital superiority had something to do with that. Then again, Veil's disregard for the locals and their world helped too. Every time when someone or something opened fire on the descending transports, it was promptly obliterated from orbit. The exceptions were the long range proton cannons, which were protected by theater shields. However those weapons were mere nuisance. All Landing Zones were chosen so they were out of effective range from those position.

Even in this situation, with the GAR having almost all possible advantages on their sides, Kenobi knew that the first phase of the invasion was anything but bloodless. He could sense Clones dying when their transports were struck by lucky enemy shots. He could sense groups of locals scream for a brief moment before their existence was snuffed out by return fire.

Kenobi's shoulders slumped. He had thought that Ryloth had been bad. Compared to this it was a joke. Even without trying he could feel the Force shift as people and other living things were immolated by turbo-laser fire. He concentrated, reinforcing his mental shields and the death cries became subdued and eventually quiet enough so he no longer heard them without trying. That very act made him feel shame, as a coward who ran from the truth.

Which was simple one. As a Jedi he had no place on this battlefield, no matter if his cause was just or not. What he and his fellow Order members should have been doing was to try mediating peace. Unfortunately that speeder had long left. There could be no settlement. Not after Naboo, Coruscant and Ryloth. There was only one path left to follow and it led to the Confederation surrendering unconditionally.

A spread of turbo-laser bolts struck something just over the horizon, lighting it up with sapphire fire. Obi-Wan recoiled, feeling tens of thousands die.

"What the kriff was that?!" He shouted.

One of the Clones assigned to his command squad, who was monitoring the situation, answered promptly.

"The enemy unmasked concussion missile launchers in a nearby town and were preparing to fire. One of the cruisers took them out." The Sergeant stated calmly. As if it was nothing out of the ordinary.

Obi-Wan wanted to shake the man. There were civilians in there. Were being the operational word. They were all dead now.

Kenobi looked around, faceless helmets stared back. He had a revelation then. The Clones surrounding him wouldn't, couldn't care. To them those people were enemies at worst and collateral damage at best. Oh, if ordered they would have tried to find another way to take those weapons or they would have had simply absorbed the losses and kept doing their jobs. However he wouldn't find any sympathy here beyond someone probably saying that it was "too bad".

Kenobi thought about calling Veil, until he remembered something. Everyone, including him knew the ROE for this campaign before the fleet was fully assembled. The only grumbling were about how constrained the rules were, at least in certain cases. What was worse, he had a suspicion that the non-Jedi officers commanding this campaign knew exactly what would happen when the enemy opened fire and used their own civilians as living shields.

And he already knew what Veil's answer would be. "Don't do this the next time and we won't have to vaporize your noncombatants." The worst thing was that most of the officers in this army might very well agree with the sentiment. He knew why too. Such wanton destruction would have been frowned upon before the CIS showed their real face. Not, the galaxy at large wouldn't really care. The nature of the war had changed and he had failed to really comprehend it.

"We are over the LZ." The pilot informed them.

That shook Kenobi out of his funk. Oh, he was going to have a chat with Veil, Valentra and the Council about the way the war had to be prosecuted. There had to be a way to avoid such wanton bloodshed in the future. He hoped so.

The door of the LAAT slid open revealing a large rocky expanse. It should have been covered with the red sands and rocks of Geonosis. Instead it was filled with thousands upon thousands of soldiers and war machines, with more arriving every second.

Not for the first time, Kenobi wondered what the kriff he was doing here.

=RK=

Planetary Shield Complex

Geonosis

Shaak Ti glared with disapproval at Veil's apprentice. That insane woman used a blaster rifle as a club against a SB droid, before she remembered that she had a lightsaber and ignited it, before jumping a short platoon of B1 droids.

"Crazy Sith..." The Jedi Master grumbled.

"General, we have the entrance secured. Most enemy security teams are either dealt with or contained." A Clone Lieutenant reported. "I have squads going after the AA emplacements."

"Good. Do you have two heavy weapons squads ready?"

"Three actually. They are near the gate."

"Well done. It's time to take the command center."

=RK=

HK-117 was getting bored. The meat-bags were still trying to breach into the control room, leaving him with very little to do. At least after he bobytraped most of the place. He would have grinned if he could. It would be impolite if he didn't have additional presents for his host.

The assassin droid almost trembled with anticipation. The locals had about to finish cutting through the door. They took their sweet time too, the incompetent fools.

The fireworks show caused by the cutting stopped. It was time. There were subdued noises as the equipment was moved and the assault team got in place. HK activated his stealth field and vanished from sight.

The heavy door was thrown in by shaped charges. A spread of concussion grenades were next, followed by eight commando droids and two Geonosian warriors. HK merely sent a signal which activated the explosives with which he had lined the walls around the door. They were shaped charges too, concentrating most of their power in narrow cones. The two massive locals were gutted in the initial explosions as well as three of the droids in the back.

The rest scattered, searching for threats. HK threw his last thermal detonator through the destroyed door before he took aim and blew off the head of the nearest commando. Their return fire splashed over his shields doing no damage. He laughed when the detonator exploded ensuring that the inferior CIS models wouldn't be receiving reinforcements any time soon.

=RK=

Republic Cruiser "Chimera"

First Assault Fleet Flagship

High Orbit over Geonosis

I slumped in my bed, after drinking a couple of painkillers. The stunt I pulled with the Battle Meditation had side effects and they were home to roost. My body felt on fire, which was getting worse. I was doing my best not to access the Force, but it was hard. A long time ago, keeping in constant contact with the energy field which was everywhere had become an instinct just like breathing.

The fact that I could acutely feel the death and suffering on the planet below didn't help matter. The opening moves of the invasion were feeding the Dark Side, indirectly making me and any Sith who might be in this system a bit more powerful. It was a small, subtle thing. Not really measurable unless it was over a long period of time, but it was nevertheless true. It was one of the greatest traps of the Dark Side. She fed on strife, conflict and suffering. In turn she made the Sith being in their vicinity more powerful even if they weren't actively participating. Even worse, she twisted one's perceptions, making them enjoy those sensing those negative emotions.

It was no wonder that most if not all Sith got insane in the end. It was addicting, making you crave more and more violence and suffering. It was something I reveled in after my training in the Sith Academy. If it wasn't for meeting Vette and later Ashara I would have succumbed to the madness. They kept me safe and more importantly, they were my consciousness.

Here and now, there wasn't such a person in my life. While there were a few people I would call friends, none of them counted as far as keeping me in check went.

I closed my eyes, exhaustion numbing my senses. The Dark Side of the Force laughed all the way until sweet oblivion claimed me.

=RK=

"My naughty apprentice..." A painfully familiar voice rumbled to my right.

I cracked an eye open and groaned. Garish, yet tasteful robes. Check. Short, blond hair. Check. My second Sith Master. Just my luck.

"You look better." I quipped. Damn, my head hurts.

"I know, its great." She winked at me. Bloody infuriating woman.

"Am dreaming, ain't I?"

"Ohh, do I feature often in your dreams?"

"You know very well that I don't dream. You taught me the technique to secure my mind during sleep yourself."

"I also know how to bypass it at need, apprentice."

"I haven't been your apprentice in a long, long time."

"Now, now. Even if you helped me arrange my 'death' I don't remember terminating our relationship, Veil." She pouted.

"As if you couldn't have jumped in another body without my help."

"Details." She sniffed.

"So any reason to haunt my dreams?"

"I'm glad you asked." There was glint in her eyes. Yeah, that one.

"What did you do this time?"

"I'm actually going to ask for help."

"Pull the other one."

"If you insist. It will be a moment, I just need to find my shock gauntlet. Ah, no matter." She raised her left hand, purple lighting dancing between her fingers.

"It's you all right. What did I do to deserve that?"

"Do you want me to answer as a Sith Lord or like one of the lesser beings populating the galaxy?" She gave me a disarming smile.

"What do you want?"

"I'm in a bind and you are going to rescue me, my knight in not so shining armor!" She declared imperiously.

"I'm a damn Sith! Leave that nonsense for the Jedi."

"From what I hear, these days they are even more pathetic than usual." Zash snorted.

"I can't honestly disagree." I shrugged. Most of the Jedi weren't that impressive. On a very good day.

"Now, how soon can you came and rescue me?"

I gave her a deadpan look.

"I might have made a tiny miscalculation and ended in a bind." She pouted.

"And that's my problem why exactly? I already have one wanable Sith Lord and his cronies as competition. Why the hell would I want to unleash the real deal?"

"Because you have much bigger problem than Sidious?"

Now that got my attention. Not that I trusted anything she said, no matter how fun she usually was.

"Ah, I got you now!" She jumped in triumph. Honestly considering her general bearing and attitude, Zash would have been killed a long time ago if she wasn't one of the most powerful Sith I've ever met. Most Sith took offense at her usually chipper and cheerful attitude. Then again, most who were dumb enough to voice their displeasure didn't live long. Or just got embarrassed depending on her mood.

"Zash!" There was a hint of warning in my voice.

She grinned. "I need you to retrieve the body I'm currently stuck in. And get me a new one if it's not too much trouble."

"Why now?"

"I finally got back enough of my powers to manifest myself this way."

I glared.

"Oh, don't be like that. I know you like me."

"I do. You are my favorite Sith, which isn't a secret. That still doesn't answer the question why I might consider helping you and making my life much more difficult."

"Two reasons." She smiled brightly. Then she proceeded to tell me why I was going to rescue her and like it.

I didn't stop cursing long after I awoke hours later. After wrapping the mess on Geonosis and dealing with Skywalker I had my job cut off for me.

=RK=

Old Republic Assault Cruiser "Victory"

High Orbit over Tython

A Force projection appeared in front of a stasis pod containing a desiccated corpse. The apparation of blond woman smirked before noticing another presence. She turned around and frowned.

There was a Force Ghost waiting for her.

"Well, this is unexpected. To what do I own the 'honor' of your visit, Master Shan?"

"Did he agree?"

"But of course! My former apprentice is a gentleman! Not like yours!" Zash smirked.

"If he is, it's despite your efforts, not because of them."

"Spoilsport."

"You still haven't answered my question."

"I forgot. It's probably because of my state." The Sith waved at the stasis pod. "My memory is not what it once was."

"You are enjoying this, aren't you?"

"I'm still alive, all my enemies are now dead. Besides, I'll soon be free to conduct my research in peace." Zash grinned. "What's not to like? Besides my apprentice is still around to needle. How's yours? Oh, I forgot. He's insane, isn't he?"

"I'm already regretting this arrangement." The Former Grandmaster of the Order glared at her accomplice before vanishing.

Zash chuckled with delight and closed her eyes. Her projection was slowly absorbed into the stasis pod containing her current body.