Chapter 149 - The Disturbance In The Force

When the dust settled, the Temple of Asheress has tilted to one side, and was half-buried under snow and dirt. Debris covered the whole area around it, and the nearby buildings had all been pelted with stones, and some had even collapsed.

Dageer felt nothing but satisfaction when he saw the already damaged columns that sustained the temple crack and break, furthering the destruction. He couldn't think of a better way to get his revenge against Ventress for what she did to him and his brothers.

Unknowingly to him, when he turned around and led the clones away from the valley where the temple was, the red crystal that he had trapped inside a box glowed stronger.

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Ventress made a grabbing motion with her hand, and an unlucky clone that was firing at her from meters away suddenly discovered that his feet weren't touching the ground, and that he was being pulled towards the dangerous woman. His last memory was of the smile on her lips as a red lightsaber pierced his heart, killing him immediately.

Usually, she wouldn't mind playing with her victims a little, but now she was in the middle of an intense battle, and even with her arrogant self couldn't be careless.

Using the information that the clone officer she captured gave to her, she had intercepted the main Republic force on Mygeeto. She frowned when she remembered the resilient officer. She had been able to squeeze some very interesting information from him, but when she asked about the battle plans of the Republic, he had closed his mind.

Somehow, he hid from her that the Republic had not one or two AT-TEs, but half a dozen of them, plus, a myriad of smaller vehicles. She didn't want to admit, but she had to order a retreat, otherwise a whole slew of her troops would be lost, impacting the Separatist campaign on Mygeeto.

She jumped forward, and sliced two clones with one move. She despised the clones. They were weak, emotional, and persistent like bugs. Suddenly, her expression of disgust became one of astonishment. Like a wave, she felt something hit her mind, and affect the balance of the Force. She turned around, and looked to the mountains, but her mind was on the Temple of Asheress. Something had happened.

So absorbed on her thoughts, she didn't notice a clone sergeant aiming his blaster at her back until a droid captain warned her. Spinning around, her lightsaber moved at inhuman speed, deflecting the blue laser back to its origin. The clone sergeant tumbled to the ground surprised, and soon life vanished from his eyes.

Ventress ignored the man she just killed, and stopped in her tracks, letting the droid vanguard engulf her. She grabbed a droid with yellow markings.

"Captain, order total retreat."

"But, madam! Bzzz... We are winning!"

"Total retreat, captain. Now."

"Yes, madam. Bzzz... All units, retreat back to quadrant 86-909. I repeat... Bzzz... Retreat to quadrant 86-909."

As if they were one single machine, the droid army stopped dead on its tracks, and turned around, rearguard becoming vanguard, and vanguard becoming rearguard. Orderly, they started their retreat, but the Republic soldiers, seeing their enemy run, became even more audacious, and countless droid units were shot on their backs. Some of the clones even started chasing after the retreating army, only to be called back by their superior officers. However, nothing could extinguish the satisfaction of winning the battle.

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General Di was on the frontlines, fighting side by side with Commander Keeli. Both clone and Jedi were exhausted, but neither was willing to give up and retreat. A little to the left, Ragout seemed much better than them, jumping and dashing amidst the droids, cutting them down and reflecting their lasers.

"General! They are breaking through the left flank!"

Quickly, General Do analyzed their options in his head. There was a mountain range to their right, so they were safe from attacks from that direction, at least until the right flank held strong. However, if the left flank fell, the droid army would be able to split the Republic's troops, and systematically eliminate them. It was one of the favorite Separatist strategies.

"Commander Keeli, retreat what is left from the left flank. Let's put that mountain range behind our backs!"

"Yes, general!"

That was what Commander Keeli was about to suggest. This way, even with they didn't gain any ground, at least they could hold what they had. However, before he could give the order, he saw General Di stop moving. Even the lightsaber on his hand turned off.

Immediately worried that something had happened, Commander Keeli signaled two of his men to stay in front of General Di to serve as a shield while he checked the Jedi.

"General, sir! What happened?!"

He checked his general but saw no wound or blood. Instead, General Di was looking straight forward, right through the Separatist forces, as if they weren't even there.

"A disturbance in the Force. This is our chance."

His voice was so quiet that Commander Keeli had trouble understanding what he was saying amidst the noises of the battle. He followed General Di's line of sight, and saw no disturbance on the Force or whatsoever, but the droid army retreating. Immediately after, he heard one of his men calling after him.

"Commander! The clanckers are on the run!"

All over the battlefield, Republic soldiers fired a few more shots at the retreating army, then started celebrating.

Commander Keeli wasn't carried away by the victory, because he knew very well that the Republic had been on the losing side. He ordered the clones to stay ready for battle, and the medics to start treating the wounded before the enemies returned. However, minute after minute passed, and not a single clancker was in sight.

"General, I think they are really gone. Why? They were clearly winning."

"Something happened, Keeli. I just don't know what."

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Many hours later, Ventress arrived at the Temple of Asheress in a STAP speeder. What greeted her was the broken remains of the temple. The middle portion had collapsed on itself, leaving the interior of the temple open to the sky.

Without even waiting for the STAP to stop, Ventress jumped out of it and ran inside the temple through the hole. She couldn't care less about the building itself, but what was inside of it...

The red crystal inside the temple was a kyber crystal, and a powerful one on top of that. Her master, Count Dooku, had sent her to get it for him.

Kyber crystals were the core component of a lightsaber, and usually come in many colors, but never red. A red crystal meant that the owner of the crystal had been tortured and killed, and that his mind had been broken beyond repairs. The pain, anguish, and despair that the master of the crystal generated dyed the crystal with the color of blood.

Like her master, and the master of her master, and the master of those who came before, Ventress had gotten her Sith lightsaber by torturing and killing a Jedi, and stealing the kyber crystal.

She didn't know why her master wanted another crystal, but the one thing she knew was that he wasn't lenient with those who disappointed him. Looking to the direction where the clones had run, a cold smile crept its way on her face. They would regret doing this. They really would.