The Shadow of the Jedi

14. A Shadow Ally

When I anticipated that my spy would finally be revealed, I instructed Ord Mantell to have the commando squad ready to intercept and extract the spy from prosecution so that he wouldn't be taken to Coruscant and executed for treason. On the other hand, my rooftop snipers group has verified and identified two prospective infiltrators: Anakin and Obi Wan, who have quickly gained notoriety.

Having previously discovered their ambush scheme, I assumed they were looking for an explanation, which they would find here. When I entered the room where Ventress was supposed to "welcome the visitors," Anakin and Obi-wan both tensed and went on the defensive, drawing their lightsabers as soon as I descended from my command base.

They both inquired about the attack on Christopsis as I stood above Ventress at the top of the room's steps. I said nothing as I watched Ventress brandish her lightsaber and tease the Jedi duo by claiming she knew they were coming from her informant—my agent, I assumed. As Obi-wan sarcastically thanked us for the greeting, Anakin did what was expected of him and struck Ventress, vaulting over her and aiming for an opening right at my chest as he quickly dispatched my illusions that I sent directly towards him with efficiency and accuracy.

As Anakin was mere inches away from slashing from my chest, his blade was halted by the force, as if there was a barrier stopping his advances as he tried to move it. He was suddenly thrown across the room towards a wall, on which, upon impact, he merely shrugged the rubble and sent the rubble directly towards me. As Ventress was going all out in her duel with Obi Wan, he was merely toying with her.

Anakin raced forward while continuing to hurl rocks, and instead of cutting, he lunged forward and attempted a thrust that, much to my surprise, passed through my shield. I unleashed a tremendous lightning bolt at the last second, directly at Anakin, who had shifted his focus to the other side of a wall of bookcases. After I returned the books to Anakin, where he had directed them, he rushed forward again and charged right at me, slicing through the books and pebbles.

I had no idea that every force push impact we used throughout our duel was causing damage to the floor on which we were standing. The last time I pushed Anakin with force, the floor fell, and we were all perplexed. But he hurried forward, chasing my disoriented state and ignoring the change in the surroundings, for Anakin's aim alone.

Anakin approaches, so I push him away from our confrontation and use illusions to keep him distant while I mount a floor to regain my equilibrium. I witnessed Anakin simply destroy the illusions. Anakin and Obiwan followed Ventress and me to the balcony, where a Tridroid was installed on the side of the building through a freshly smashed window.

In response, Obi Wan sarcastically mentioned the fresh group of reinforcements and how we were bringing new companions to this battle as the new batch of Droid Landers dropped off new troops. While Ventress was trying to entice Anakin and Obi Wan to carry on with the duel by mentioning a traitor among their ranks, I looked for an opportunity to hit them with a powerful push combined with lightning, which knocked them off the ledge and scattered most of the material to the opposite side of the structure. However, the blast was so strong that the upper half of the structure broke apart and was destroyed, not only Obi Wan and Anakin.

In an unexpected twist, Anakin and Obi Wan survived the blast and were able to intercept and control two of the STAP droid patrols, allowing them to flee. I directed the general to lead the droid forces in preparation for the assault, starting from point Alpha. Ventress was still absorbing what had just transpired as she glanced at the debris caused by the blast.

As I departed the area to supervise the landing of the remaining troops, I simply stared at the Horizon while receiving a holo transmission from Ord Mantell. They answer by alerting me that the Commando unit has planned an ambush spot for the patrol fleet that was assumed to be on route from chatters in Republic communications.