Star Wars: The Rogue Knight

CIS Frigate Midnight Solace

Near Rodia

Outer Rim

The direct way to our objective was blocked by a solid wall of Super Battle droids which had a group of four droidekas with deployed shields in front of them. Between the silver combat robots and the leading destroyers stood a lithe figure who was mostly hidden by a heavy black cloak. Her face was disguised with shadows cast by the hood of her mantle.

The clones following me took what little cover they could find and aimed their weapons at the enemies.

"Asajj Ventress. I wondered when I would run into you." I whispered barely restraining my irritation.

She was an obstacle that I did not need right now. Securing the reactors was paramount and the short platoon behind me would be unable to deal with that many droids fast. It was time for improvisation.

'I want a missile and combination of frag and Ion grenades all over them on my signal. I'll make sure that Ventress won't sent them our way.' I sent a mental message to the clones who turned their heads towards me in surprise. I gave them a small nod.

"So you are the man who has my master worried. I expected you to be taller."

I snorted. The idle banter could wait for later when we no longer had audience. I raised my left hand and smirked. Sparks of electricity appeared and started dancing around my palm. Ventress stiffened and took a step back.

The so called Force lightning, more commonly known as Sith Lightning. It was created by the ancestors of my kind a long time ago. Despite some misconceptions and the way it was often used, it was not strictly speaking an offensive power. It was crafted as a way to torture people. Using it as a weapon was inefficient – the lightning needed much more power than the various other offensive techniques Sith had at their disposal in order to make it practical. However if you had the power to burn it was a useful trick to have on your disposal.

I was never interested in senseless torture, the bastards who engineered my wife's death being notable exceptions. Vael's wife damn it!

That's why I modified that technique for my own use. Instead of a wave of 'electricity' which was aimed at creating superficial burns and lighting all your nerves on fire, my variant was more condensed. It was carefully crafted to disable or kill as fast as possible with no power lost to theatrics or unnecessary sadism. Unlike some Sith I knew and had to work with, I knew that war and combat were no games played for one's amus.e.m.e.nt.

Thin concentrated lighting arched from my outstretched palm. It struck the droideka's shields and staggered the droids. A light tap of my telekinesis was enough to activate my shield. I reversed the grip of my saber to a backhand one and thrust my right hand forward.

"Now!" I shouted.

The Clones were already acting. Grenades were thrown at the wall of robots followed by the distinct sound of missile engine igniting.

Despite its ferocity my lightning attack was little more than distraction. It scrambled the sensors of the destroyer droids and effected at least a bit the targeting capabilities of the SBs behind them. Their return fire was not accurate and my shields absorbed the blaster bolts that hit me. The four clones in the vanguard were not so lucky and fell after enemy shots carved up their armor and seared the flesh within. But it was too late for the droids. I accelerated the missile and grenades with a telekinetic push. What's more I was concentrating on enveloping the ordinance in spheres of Force energy which prevented Ventress attempt to throw the explosives back in our faces. I could feel her shock when she understood that her attempt had failed and death was sailing towards her.

=RK=

Shaak Ti growled quietly. She and the platoon accompanying her were in front of the armored doors leading to the bridge. There Grievous was waiting for them. He had four droids with gray cloaks and armed with staffs as bodyguards and a couple of dozen Super Battle droids as a backup. The general pointed at them.

"Kill them!"

The staff wielding droids jumped forward preceded by a hail of red blaster bolts. The clones wasted no time in returning fire. Master Ti sent a telekinetic wave at the approaching elite robots which halted them mid jump. One of their numbers was bisected by a line of blue energy shot from a blaster cannon wielded by a heavy weapons specialist. Another was staggered when a frag grenade hit it in the c.h.e.s.t. It exploded in the next moment shredding the machine. But by then the remaining two elite droids were already in the air. The blast wave just gave the more speed as they flew at the Jedi and her clones.

Shaak Ti sidestepped on of the robots who used its momentum do deliver a powerful overhead strike with its staff. One of the electrified heads of its weapon struck the deck plating and purple energy arched from the place of the hit. Before it could recover from its unsuccessful attack, the droid was shot to pieces by three clones wielding heavy blasters. Those weapons could burn through droideka's shields in few hits. No matter how powerful its armor, the cyborg's guard did not have a chance when faced with such a firepower from point blank range.

The last of the elite droids faced with the Jedi. It waved its weapon in wide arks witch swept three clones off their feet. The Republic troopers were thrown back from the sheer force of the hits and remained laying where they fell.

Master Ti was holding standing her ground. Moving back even a step would leave the clones exposed. As it was the Super Battle droids had to be careful where they were shooting or risk hitting their comrade in the back. Shaak was dodging the sweeping strikes of the staff by hairbreadths. Her own attacks were parried by deft twists of the machine's arms which interposed parts of its weapon between her lightsaber and its body. To her surprise the staff was resistant to her blade.

She ducked under a strike which was aimed at shattering her skull. The sweeping enemy weapon instead hit the helmet of a clone trooper who went down without a sound. That was the fourth of her men that machine downed! For a split second she was gripped by frustration and rising anger. From her kneeling position after evading the last strike of the droid she raised her left hand.

The elite droid was lifted in the air and flailed wildly in surprise. She wasted no time and delivered a powerful upwards strike. She added more strength to her attack by jumping in the air. Her lightsaber hit the machine between the legs and sliced it as if it was made of butter, exiting from the top of its head after bisecting it in two.

Shaak Ti landed over the softly glowing parts of the scrapped droid and looked at the situation. Half of 36th platoon was down but they had decimated more than two thirds of the enemies.

Her satisfaction with the performance of the Clones was short lived. Grievous choose that moment to join the fray. He retrieved two blue lightsabers from the depths of his gray cloak and jumped forward activating them mid-flight. Master Ti smiled at him and charged the cyborg. She rolled under his bulk and used the Force to puck him from the air and smash him in the deck. Blaster bolts splashed over the armor plating covering the General leaving half melted craters.

For the next few seconds the clones had to deal with the cyborg by themselves as the Jedi was busy deflecting blaster bolts and the remaining Super Battle droids. Grievous used that brief respite to jump over the fire of the clones and land in the midst of their vanguard. His blades flashed in semicircles in front of him and the closest four Republic troopers were cut to pieces by a whirlwind of laser swords.

The CIS commander tried to advance towards the remaining clones but found himself unable to do so. He twisted his neck so he could glance backwards and saw that the Jedi was deflecting blaster fire with the lightsaber in her right hand. Her free left arm was pointed at him and its fingers were twisted like claws. She was holding him with the kriffing Force!

That distraction cost him dearly. Grievous roared when a near miss melted a piece of his face mask and burned out his right eye. He stumbled to the ground when his left leg was shot to pieces by a blaster cannon. He threw one of his sabers at the clones but the blade shut down before the faintly smoking hilt hit the chess plate of the armored man to no effect.

Five of the clones shot what at first glance looked like grappling hooks at the crippled cyborg. Each of them was tipped by four digit claws which clamped at the General. A press of a button later Grievous shrieked like a damned soul as electricity coursed through his metal body and the flesh encased within.

=RK=

The front ranks of the droids blocking my and my men's path were annihilated in a series of rumbling explosions and pulses of Ion radiation. In fit of desperation Ventress had jumped forward arching her body over the thin wave of lighting with which I was bombarding the robot's ranks. The combined blast waves picked her and threw her with enough force that she passed through my lightning as struck the ground in front of my feet with a groan. Her cloak was smoking and I knew that if it was not for my helmet I would be able to smell the stench of seared flesh.

I pointed my crimson blade at her throat and smiled.