From within the dark halls of the experimental Umbra class super carrier Cold Nova, the cold glow of a holoprojector bathed the command center in a sterile blue light, illuminating a slowly rotating projection of Dantooine. Dust-colored, scarred by ages of forgotten conflicts, it was often considered a backwater by those in the Core, yet held symbolic value for the CIS as one of the earliest worlds to defect from the Republic.
Dotted in red on the screen across the planet's surface were Imperial installations. One in particular pulsed brightly, it was the primary target of this fleet, the capital city of Garang. Protected by an energy shield and several battalions of clone troopers amounting to 500,000 men, it was a fortress that could take a month to crack. Yet for all its defenses, Sev'rance Tann was determined to take it in a day.
As far as she was concerned, it was a competition. Revan took three planets, so she was about to take her fourth! He amazed the galaxy with healing, taking Eriadu without a single loss, then she would showcase her tactical brilliance, and do the same! Whatever he did, she would do better! She most certainly, absolutely, positively was not jealous!
Standing tall, arms folded behind her back, and dressed in a sleek black uniform, her chin tilted upward with theatrical disdain for the planet hanging in the air before her. Her cerulean skin caught the light, and her red eyes gleamed with a fire that was part ambition, part contempt.
"A world so primitive it might as well still be farming with hydrospanners." She said with a smirk. "And yet the large mass of food will feed billions. The Ruling Council have been begging me to relieve this planet, now it is within my grasp. After their gift of the Cold Nova, I wonder what more they will send to me?" Tann all but purred, her ruby eyes narrowed as she imagined how much power she could seize.
At her side stood a Super Tactical Droid, his designation was ST-661, though Tann never bothered to give the droid a pet name like the Jedi were wont to do with their clones. ST-661 had been repainted in a sleek charcoal finish at her request, and its yellow photoreceptors flickered with intelligence as it examined the map.
"Imperial pride is a statistically inefficient basis for military planning." The droid replied in its dry, matter-of-fact voice. "But it is a reliable weakness."
Tann turned toward the droid, a hand swept toward the map.
"The fleet is in position?"
"Affirmative." ST-661 replied. "The Mygeetan prototypes have been deployed in orbit. Stealth-equipped, hyper-maneuverable, and-according to your engineers-moderately unstable."
"They're perfect." Tann purred, ignoring the droid's warning. "Let the Empire see what their precious democracy has cost them. Those starfighters were only completed thanks to my designs, and Revan's computer genius." Tann placed her hands on her hips, and boasted.
ST-661 let out a whirring sound that might have passed for a dry sigh.
"Of course. The operation's success, as always, will hinge upon your brilliance." The droid sarcastically praised.
She ignored the sarcasm, and noted the comment for the false praise that it was, filing the droid's character quirk away for a later time. One could never be too careful or weary of treachery in this line of work.
"The frontal assault is a distraction." She continued, circling the hologram. "Let the clones panic. Let them rally to their shielded city and ready their cannons. Meanwhile..."
She tapped a section of the terrain east of Garang, where mountainous ridges gave way to an abandoned mining district.
"-we send in the drills. Recommissioned from a failed Banking Clan venture, their seismic signatures will be masked by the orbital bombardment. They'll tunnel beneath the shield grid, and emerge in the heart of the city. Right beneath their precious command center." Tann viciously grinned.
"Creative." ST-661 mused. "And illegal under no less than thirteen articles of the Galactic Convention on Ground Warfare."
"Good." Tann said. "I'd hate to be so unoriginal and polite that I held myself to the ideals written on a piece of paper."
The droid shifted its posture slightly.
"Risk assessment: moderate. Primary variable: whether the clones detect the sub-surface incursion in time."
"They won't." Tann said, the Force did not issue any warnings. The Darkside thrummed around her, wanting her to somehow speed up the emergence of the fleet, as it was impatient, and wanted to murder, mutilate, and maim now. "The clones are soldiers trained in the simulation. They think in lines and formations, not depth and surprise. Even the Commanders are only trained to counter clankers like you. That's what makes them predictable. "
She then walked to the edge of the projection, lifting her hand, a trace of Force Lightning crackled around her palm.
"And when the city falls-when Garang lies in ruin, and its defenders slaughtered from within-the CIS Senate will understand what it means to oppose the Confederacy under my command."
"Statistical likelihood of Senate understanding: minimal." ST-661 offered. "Statistical likelihood of their fear: approaching certainty."
"That." She said with a grin. "Will suffice."
The droid paused, then added, "Shall I prepare the propaganda footage now, or would you prefer to select your own angles after the slaughter?"
Tann turned to him, her smile cold and indulgent.
"Let's wait until the city is awash with fire. I always look better with lighting from the flames."
"Affirmative. Exiting lightspeed in ETA 5 minutes."
Tann strutted back to her throne-like chair, and crossed her legs, then flicked her long black hair.
'Oh Revan, handsome Revan. When next we meet, it is I who shall be rescuing you. At that time, I wonder who shall be on top?' Tann thought to herself with a cruel, yet excited smirk.
The Force Bond she shared with him pulsed, and she almost fell out of her chair as her legs squirmed due to the overflow of emotions.
"Supreme Commander?" ST-661 tilted his head, and asked.
Tann's face blushed purple, and she clenched her legs tight, her jaw grinding as she ignored the droid.
Just you wait, Revan! Just you wait!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An old passenger freighter landed with a quiet hum just outside the capital city of Garang, the largest population center within the fertile plains of Dantooine. The air was thick with dust and the wind wildly flopped flags as it was a particularly dusty day. Ahsoka Tano stood at the ship's open hatch, a chill caused goosebumps to rise on her light-orange skin. Her twin lekku were caught in the breeze and her cloak fluttered lightly behind her. Beside her, Captain Rex adjusted the scarf that concealed most of his armor, hiding the faded remnants of the Republic he had once fought for.
They had survived Order 66 by the skin of their teeth, and had crashed the Venator-as well as damned all the souls aboard-to mask their escape. Landing on a nearby moon, they had haggled with a local, and found transport to this remote Outer Rim world.
Dantooine, famous for its abundant crops, supplied food that fed the hungry mouths of hundreds of billions. Although it possessed no factories, valuable ores or researchers, it was the greatest source of food in the entire Galactic North. Furthermore, it was a sort of halfway point between the Core, and the rest of the Galactic North/North-West. Although simple in appearance, the strategic value of this agri-world could not be understated. That being said, the Republic presence was light, as most defensive fleets were positioned coreward to protect places like Corellia, Alderaan, and Coruscant. As the Outer Rim was incredibly large, only a single Legion was stationed in the Dantooine System.
It was on this breadbasket of the Galactic North that Ahsoka had fled. Taking her first step onto the cracked duracrete of the landing pad, her boots hit the ground with a reluctant finality. The planet was supposed to be quiet, a place half-forgotten by the wider galaxy. Where the largest threat was a drunk farmer trying to steal a feel at some dismal bar. And yet…something felt wrong. She could feel it in the Force. There was a subtle thrum of unrest, like a taut wire stretched too far.
"Sure feels like a backwater." Rex muttered, his eyes scanned the city's skyline where plumes of smoke twisted lazily into the air. Most buildings weren't much taller than six stories.
"Better for us to be forgotten. Until Master Yoda sends word, I won't trust the news on the Holonet." Ahsoka said quietly. "I heard whispers, rumors and tall tales of Jedi ruins buried in the old hills to the west. If there's any place left untouched by the Empire, that'd be it. Hopefully other survivors had made their way there too."
"Let's try to find us a map, maybe grab a bite to eat. You game, Commander?" Rex tried to smile, and keep his morale up, but Ahsoka saw that behind those curved lips, there was an unspeakable torment.
Just a few months ago, Rex had been forced to kill his entire battalion during their escape. The betrayal they had experienced during Order 66 was heartbreaking.
Her thoughts drifted unwillingly to what Maul had said before they had parted on that doomed Venator. About Anakin. About what he had become.
She clenched her fists, hiding the tremor in her fingers. 'No. It couldn't be true. Anakin couldn't have fallen that far. He wouldn't.'
Ahsoka refused to believe the words of the Sith, even the recordings she had seen of that supposed Jedi, Revan, were untrustworthy. Why couldn't that masked man be a psy-op by Palpatine? By lowering the Jedi's guards, this Revan could gather everyone in one place, then finish what Order 66 couldn't. She had never heard of the masked man, nor would she trust his words.
Taking a deep breath, and attempting to focus on the mission at hand, Ahsoka didn't argue with Rex, and simply nodded along. They would get through this, they had to.
Moving through the crowded streets of Garang, they shared a glance, as something seemed suspicious. The locals bustled with thinly veiled urgency. Eyes darted over shoulders more than they should. Voices whispered too low for comfort. Children clung tighter to parents. Refugees from other systems mingled with farmers, traders, and offworlders, but everyone shared the same expression: fear.
Ahsoka's senses tingled. There was no immediate danger, at least not yet. However, the citizens' unease was palpable.
"This isn't Nar'Shaddaa, why are these people acting like a thief is around every corner?" Ahsoka questioned.
"Keep your wits about you. Something major is about to go down, and I don't like it." Rex cautioned.
Passing by a checkpoint guarded by clone troopers, Ahsoka was preparing a Mind Trick, and noticed something was off. It was the way the soldiers moved, their weapons always half-raised whenever someone passed, their fingers hovered over triggers ready to blast without a moments hesitation.
"Do you think they suspect us?" Ahsoka asked, slightly panicked.
"They're preparing for something." Rex observed, voice low. "I overheard something just now. They're expecting an invasion."
Ahsoka nodded.
Before she could respond to Rex, a sound split the air above them. The high-pitched, shrieking sound of missiles and turbolaser fire met her ears. Various nearby buildings took direct hits before a shield gradually rose into view, blocking out the remaining orbital bombardment.
CIS frigates broke through the atmosphere in a tight formation, their engines flared orange-red as they punched through the cloudline. The capital's planetary shields activated just in time, lighting up the sky with a translucent blue dome that shimmered with the second wave of bombardment.
Explosions cracked like thunder overhead, and many different colors brightened up the sky with flashes of red and blue.
Panic erupted instantly. The crowd splintered into chaos: screams, stampedes, mothers calling for children, shopkeepers abandoning stalls, it was madness. Ahsoka turned, reaching instinctively for her lightsabers, though she'd kept them hidden for weeks. She didn't ignite them. Not yet. She wasn't willing to let her cover be blown, yet seeing the fearful expressions on the citizens' faces, she felt as if she had to do something.
"Shield's won't hold forever." Rex said, pulling her back into the cover of a crumbling stone archway. "The clankers aren't here for a raid. This is an invasion."
The ground quaked beneath them as giant drills punched a hole through the ground, bypassing the shields. Side grenade launchers peppered the area around them, and smoke grenades created a dense cloud of cover. The sound of hundreds, no, tens of thousands of metal feet pounding on the pavement met Ahsoka's ears. Whoever had planned this invasion had been farthinking, with an assault like this, the shield generators within Garang would be gone before long.
Droids poured out in a murderous formation, and emerged from the smoke. B1s, followed by Super Battledroids began to do battle with the nearby clones, their surprise quickly caught the troopers off guard, and the boys in white fell one after another. The choke points, and carefully designed city defense had been outflanked, and there was nothing the Imperial forces could do to rally.
Ahsoka stared toward the west, where the old hills loomed beyond the city's edge. Somewhere out there, if the rumors were true, lay the lost Jedi temple. A sanctuary. Her refuge, and perhaps the ultimate hiding place for the Jedi awaited.
But now, the war had followed her, refusing to let her go after all she had sacrificed.
"I have to get to those ruins." She said, half to Rex, half to herself. The words were like an oath, one said that would keep her from interfering in this war…and yet, she knew how cruel the CIS were.
Under Grievous, the CIS conducted a war of genocide. Many planets lost 50% of their residents, with many press-ganged into slavery. The Clone Wars were cruel, and Ahsoka didn't know if she could remain a bystander.
Rex looked at her, his face was grim, yet his twin blasters were drawn, prepared to support his Commander in whichever decision she made.
Before she could make a decision, a heavily shielded transport craft landed nearby, and Ahsoka sensed a powerful, dark presence from within. It was no weaker than her own!
Igniting her twin green lightsabers, she stood ready for battle.
Marching down a ramp, a blue skinned, red eyed alien with beautiful black hair strutted down to the street.
"Oh, a Jedi. Very good. Revan will be pleased when he learns I have rescued you." The alien spoke in a 'I'm superior to you' tone that pissed Ahsoka off to no end.
"I saw you in prison, you're Sev'rance Tann, a student of Count Dooku! Revan is a Sith, just like you, isn't he! It's all a conspiracy to herd the Jedi into a slaughter." Ahsoka accused, and pointed her lightsabers at Tann threateningly.
"It pains me to say this, Jedi, but I am on your side. Although a little thing such as you hardly enters my eyes. You have my permission to flee, girl. I am sure you will find your way home. Unfortunately, I have better things to do than to waste my time on Skywalker's tart." Tann dismissed, and then turned to leave.
"T-tart!" Ahsoka stuttered in anger.
"Now Commander, about the Temple…" Rex cautioned, and placed a hand on her shoulder, only to have her shrug it off.
"You aren't going anywhere until you tell me who Revan is, and the plan you Sith have concocted!" Ahsoka then lunged at Tann, lightsabers twirling.
"Jedi. So sanctimonious. Revan truly is a star amongst your headstrong order." Tann narrowed her eyes, and then brought her own lightsaber to bear.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Rex muttered before he too joined the fray.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
AN: Ahsoka is NOT a romance partner in this story. Just wanted to make things clear. This isn't a fic where every woman falls for the MC when she lays eyes on him. We're going for evil blueberry & tomboy minty green in this fic and that's it.
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