"Good day, General. Skywalker's waiting for you." Captain Rex said as he greeted the Jedi Master Luminara Unduli and her Padawan learner Barriss Offee, of which had just gotten off the transport.
"At it again, are they?" Luminara sighed as she saw the duo quarreling pair of Master and Apprentice off in the distance.
"Again, Master?" Barriss Offee said as she looked puzzled about her master's choice of words.
"Let's just say that they have a penchant for playing loose with regulations and rules of command."
"I see."
"Yeah, but when I say it, they actually listen to me." Said Skywalker.
"Well, if you don't trust me, then maybe you should send me back." Ahsoka shot back, clearly not wanting to be outdone
"Don't tempt me, Snips."
Luminara arrived at their position as she finally put a stop to the argument that echoed across the area.
"If you're both finished with your little discussion, we do have a factory to destroy. Well, Barriss? Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"
"Padawan learner Barriss Offee at your service."
"Glad to meet you. I'm Ahsoka."
The duo Padawans gave one another a good long stare of mutual respect as they held hands. The Masters didn't interrupt the greeting, until it was time, and Skywalker spoke first.
"It's good to see both of you again."
"I wish it was under more peaceful circumstances." Unduli replied.
Ahsoka meanwhile, had began to turn her head looking for Daud but she was unable to find him anywhere.
A frown formed on her face, she had hoped for him to meet with Barriss by now.
"What is it Ahsoka?" Barriss asked seeing that her new friend was distracted by something.
"It's nothing. I just thought a certain someone would've come out to greet you both by now. Though he is rather shy around people and prefers to be alone." She sighed as she shook her head.
"They'll come around I'm sure."
As the Padawans wrapped up their brief exchange. The Masters have already pulled up a Holomap of the oncoming battlefield.
The Geonosian Droid Factory, it looks more akin to what a Ant Hill would be if made into a tower structure.
Meanwhile there was a bridge going across a canyon gap.
"A frontal assault is risky. Our losses will be high." Luminara stated as she looked over the terrain kf the battlefield that the 501st scouts had been able to procure.
"But not as high as they'll be if that factory comes online."
"Indeed, but there is an alternative." Luminara mentioned as she interacted with the Holomap, adding new information to the terrain.
What can only be described as to what a Ant Colony would look like underground was brought up, many hundreds of tunnels that looked like tangled up roots was brought up to be displayed.
"Every Geonosian building has a series of catacombs beneath it that run deep underground."
"Some of the tunnels are close enough to this cliff wall so that you could cut a hole and make an entry point." Barriss Offee added.
"Once inside, we could find the main reactor, plant the explosives and blow the factory inside out."
"Well, looks like a good way to get lost, if you ask me."
"For the unprepared, perhaps. But I have instructed Barriss to memorize the labyrinth, all 200 junctions."
"You always were thorough."
"It pays for one to be prepared. Right, Barriss?"
"Especially when other people's lives depend on your success." The Padawan responded promptly upon her master's words.
"How do we keep the Geonosians occupied while someone else is setting the bombs?" Ahsoka mentioned when she realised there was a flaw to the whole plan.
"Good point, Snips. If whoever is going in there is going to be successful, we'll need to create a diversion."
"Precisely. That task will be carried out by you and I, Skywalker, while the destruction of the factory falls to the Padawans."
"Now, hold on. Who decided that? Walking into that factory could be suicide." The overprotective and sometimes hypocritical Jedi 'Master' spoke up, rather intently.
"Not if you and I are successful holding Poggle's attention at the bridge."
'Master, I can do this! I've had riskier assignments.'
"But unlike Barriss, you aren't prepared for this mission."
"Not to worry, my Padawan is reliable. She can lead them both through the maze."
"We'll be in and out, Master." Barriss responded directly to Skywalker to put his mind at ease.
"See? Dependable Barriss will get us through. Don't worry, Master. As you well know, I can follow orders. Besides, Daud will come with us." Ahsoka said as she glared at her Master smugly, clearly not having liked how their prior argument was about, all while taking another jab at her Master.
Luminara Unduli perked up at that as her eyes raised curiously as she spoke her thoughts aloud.
"I had assumed he left with Kenobi back to The Negotiator."
"Um, sorry but who's Daud you're talking about Master." Barriss was left in the dark as she realised this 'Daud' was someone even her Master knew and an individual she hadn't met yet.
Being the dutiful Padawan she was, naturally asked to be prepared ahead of time to greet this person with the appropriate respect.
Being the dutiful Padawan she was, naturally asked to be prepared ahead of time to greet this person with the appropriate respect.
The silence that followed Barriss' question was broken not by a humanoid greeting, but rather the primal, guttural sound of something far less civilized.
A low, guttural growl rumbled through the canyon air, vibrating with a primal energy that seemed to unsettle even the seasoned clones nearby, though by now they were us3d to such occurrences, as they carried on with their designated assignments.
From his high perch atop a jagged formation of Geonosian rock, Daud in his Viperwolf form shifted and in a fluid motion that defied conventional biology, he leapt downward.
In a single fluid and graceful motion, he leapt and landed like a predator ready for battle.
His pelt was dark, his limbs elongated and corded with wiry muscle, built for the kind of explosive speed that turned a hunt into a slaughter.
As he landed, he let out a piercing howl growl that echoed off the canyon walls, announcing his presence to the assembled Jedi.
"Oh, there he is!" Ahsoka exclaimed, her face lighting up with immediate recognition.
A relieved smile broke across her features as she spotted her best friend.
Barriss Offee froze. Her hands instinctively twitched toward her lightsaber as she stared at the creature before them.
Her training had prepared her for droids, for Sith, and for Geonosian swarms but she had not prepared herself for someone's friend who resembled a killing machine, one that was staring right at her.
The expectation of a humanoid ally evaporated, replaced by the instinctive unease one feels when confronted with a predator.
Daud didn't give a greeting as one might have expected. Instead, he lowered his head, hackles rising as he began to stalk toward Barriss.
His movements were deliberate, prowling like a Hunter ready to pounce on Prey.
Luminara Unduli straightened herself realising the situation might become dire, her brow furrowing with concern. The Force around the creature felt... unpredictable.
"Ahsoka, is this...um you're friend?" Barriss asked nervously asked took a step backwards instinctively.
Skywalker saw Luminara's concern and as Ahsoka was talking to Barriss, she said to Luminara in a whisper.
"Don't worry, just let it play out, trust me."
A smirk formed on his mouth. He didn't move to intervene, watching with obvious amusement. Luminara looked to Skywalker and saw that smirk expression, as she then turned ti see Ahsoka's relaxed posture. It was only then that she had the reassurance she needed.
"Honestly, you never change do you Skywalker." She sighed as she continued to watch the spectacle unfold.
Barriss, feeling the weight of the creature's predatory gaze, held up her hands in a placating gesture. Her voice was steady, though her pulse quickened. "Please... I mean no harm. I am a friend of Ahsoka." She tried playing the friend card, hoping it might work.
The words had barely left her lips when Daud exploded into motion.
He didn't just run, he blurred. His training alongside Ahsoka had honed his reflexes to a razor's edge, and in this lupine form, his agility was terrifying.
Before Barriss could even draw a breath to call for help, Daud launched himself through the air.
He hit her with the force of a battering ram, his weight sending her sprawling backward onto the dusty ground.
"Ah !" Barriss gasped as she hit the earth, the wind knocked from her lungs.
Daud was on her instantly, pinning her shoulders down with his forepaws, his jaws snapping shut inches from her nose.
The predator's breath was hot against her skin, and her eyes snapped shut in terror, waiting for the bite.
But the bite never came. Instead of the wet tearing of flesh, she heard something entirely wrong for a monster; a strange, echoing laughter that rumbled from the creature's throat.
Barriss opened one eye, trembling, only to see Daud rolling off her. The 'monster' wasn't attacking; it was playing.
He trotted over to Ahsoka, tail wagging with canine enthusiasm. Ahsoka laughed, reaching down to rub behind his ears and scratch his chin.
"Haha, guess Daud playing a prank on you too. He did it to me at the end of the last battle as well." Ahsoka explained, grinning at the flustered Padawan on the ground.
Then, her expression shifted to one of mock sternness. "But you shouldn't scare her like that!"
With a swift motion, Ahsoka clenched her fist and delivered what should have been a punishing blow to Daud's head.
Her fist connected with a solid thwack, but Daud's skull was as tough as steel.
The blow had virtually no effect on his alien physiology, though the creature immediately threw his head back with an exaggerated, theatrical whimper of pain, making a show of being wounded.
"Ah suck it up Daud! Don't play that card with me again!"
************
Apologies, I know I said I was gonna post same day as last Chapter. This was twice the normal chapter size to make up for that delay as well. But this one gave me alot of trouble where to introduce Daud. I want to keep accuracy of the script for a while until things start to take a change, but at the same time introduce original segments as well to not make the story seem a bland copy snd paste of the Clone Wars.
I recall mentioning before that for a while it will follow Clone Wars, but things drastically go off rails after the Mortis Arc, which will happen earlier than it's cannon timeline, and leading up to that I will be adding and shifting through new content.
My creativity had been slacking since I just returned and getting back into the feel and flow of writing these chapters so please give it some time to become reliably consitant and please send motivational comments. Really means alot just seeing even a few from time to time.