Vanguard

Chapter 1

"Just a nickname"

[19 BBY, Late months of the Clone Wars]

[Coruscant, Sector B-32]

Former Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress was making her way to the nearest space port to leave Coruscant sometime after helping a 'friend' with some trouble with the Jedi Order. She was passing a small bridge crossing over one of the many crevices that led down further into the planet-size metropolis when she spotted a pair of members of the Coruscant guard adorned in their usual red and white phase-2 battle armor armed with a riot shield and the compact but deadly DC-15S blaster. She nonchalantly turned her face hoping her brown cloak would help her not grab the guards' attention as they passed by.

"You placing bets on the next pod race Briner?" one trooper asked to the other.

"Nah, been losing too many credits on bets recently, think I'm gonna sit this one out" the other replied.

As the troopers passed Asajj she faced forward once more, having to avoid the clones was one of the many reasons she wanted to get off-world as soon as possible. They're easy to kill no doubt but she rather get out of here without a Republic cruiser chasing her down, the sector was still brimming with clone activity due to the recent events involving her 'friend'. After walking for several more minutes getting ever so closer to the nearest port Asajj was presented a new problem, a military checkpoint manned by troopers of the 719th Guard Division. There was no way for her to make it through without being recognized by the guards which would force her to just slaughter them all, fortunately Asajj wasn't one for taking main routes, thanks to her training as an assassin she was used to using 'back roads' to reach her objective. She noticed an alleyway to her left between a food stand selling fruit and a droid repair shop not too far from the checkpoint; she decided that this was going to be her only way to get through. At the next bridge crossing she took a left and snuck into the alleyway, normally the alleys would be filled with the poor or low-life scum but something was different. The alley was near empty with an exception of a few Jawas and what looked like an unusually large broken down droid, she couldn't care less about the Jawas normally but something about them disturbed her. The Jawas were known to be seasoned scavengers when it came to droids, but these Jawas were utterly afraid of the broken down droid that sat against the wall across the alley from them. As a precaution she slowed down, either that droid was still active and presumed very dangerous or these Jawas were simply acting out in paranoia.

As she approached with caution, one of the Jawas ran to confront her waving its arms indicating danger and for her to turn back. The Jawa then notices Asajj's lightsaber and then suddenly urged her to see about the droid and deal with it. Normally she would ignore its plead but something still bothered her, the only thing that was causing such a disturbance was the hopefully deactivated droid that sat there.

Asajj spoke in her usual cold tone "I'm doing this for myself not for you. Stand aside."

The Jawas did as they were told and left the alleyway, when they were gone Asajj decided to examine the droid from a distance just to be safe. It looked to be a mix between a clone's Phase-2 armor but yet with the potential looks of a commando droid used by the Separatists Alliance, it's steel black armor covered only the major body areas with the exception of the waist area which was only covered by a flexible black suit. She steps to the side to get a better view, on the side of the head was a white marking printed on the side, these marking were very unusual and she had never seen before, the marking simply appeared as [Mk. V E.O.D.]. Walking back in front of it, she decided to take a risk and kneel down to take a better look at it; she rests her left hand on the droid's right shoulder and tried to make out some of the white markings that were printed on his chest, markings such as [U.N.S.C. and Mk. V MJOLNIR], she then took hold of the droid's head and began expecting it carefully turning the head around to get a closer look.

"Mm. . . ugh" the droid groaned as Ventress raised its head.

Asajj leaped back quickly and drawn her lightsaber hilts in preparation for battle, that is until she saw how damaged it was . . . or wounded. Normally droids don't feel pain, 'So why this one?' she wondered, she puts one of her sabers away and approached the being carefully. The being raised its head and caught sight of her, the two simply stared at one another while Ventress was planning on a counter-move if it attacked. Then she realized what was really causing such a disturbance, the being was clearly organic and hurt but the real problem was 'Why can't I sense anything from it!?' she thought frantically.

She stared into the black visor and demanded in her cold voice "Who are you, answer me!"

The being simply stared at her for the quietest moment then said in a in a weak but deep male voice "You . . . first."

Normally Asajj would end its miserable life but its 'unique' abilities was the only thing keeping her from striking it down with her red blade, and despite its clearly obvious state of health Asajj was not willing to underestimate its potential strength and power and decided to oblige its request.

"I am Asajj Ventress . . . now you" she ordered.

The being coughed lightly the answers ". . . Longarm."

"What kind of name is that?" Ventress asked with a hint of frustration.

"Just a nickname" the being answered.

Longarm moved his arm and grabbed hold of a nearby crate and began painstakingly pulling himself to his feet. Ventress took a step back as she hadn't anticipated its height at around seven feet tall compared to her near six feet height. She raised the tip of her blade against Longarm's neck as a sign to keep his distance.

"Stand down Ventress" Longarm demanded with a cool head towards the situation.

"There is something odd about you and I intend to find out what . . . even if it means killing you" Asajj warned.

Longarm stood there quietly staring at her and the blade and then said with a calm eerie tone "Have it your way . . ."

The SPARTAN prepared himself for a difficult fight, judging from Ventress's body she was quick and agile relying on speed to her advantage. Her red blade reminded him of a Sangheili's Type-1 Energy Sword, he also knew that Ventress had an invested interest in him for some reason so there was no way she would kill him because she needed him alive for something, 'Might as well make her work for it' he thought.

The SPARTAN threw a quick left punch and caught Ventress by surprise as it connected with her lower jaw, she staggered back several steps then came charging back swing the blade up high in an effort to decapitate him. He quickly ducks avoiding the blade and takes several steps back, he finds a broken pipe and picks it up, by the time he got his sights back on Ventress she had already leaped into the air and now coming down with two blades. Longarm hastily raises the pipe in defense but his opponent's blades had cut right through them with no effort, he tosses what remains of the pipe aside and prepared for a counter-move. As expected she swings both of her blades from the right and in response he performs an acrobatic maneuver by throwing himself into the air between the two blades and landed on his two feet. Ventress's facial expression indicates that she had not anticipated that sort of move as the SPARTAN charges in and performs a roundhouse kick sending her into a wall; she quickly recovers and lets out a war cry as she charges against him. Longarm grinned underneath his helmet for this was a mistake on her behalf, the moment she came into arm's length the SPARTAN quickly disarmed the former assassin of her sabers and held her in a sleep hold hoping to render her unconscious. It was a sure victory as Ventress began to black out until an invisible force grabbed him and hurled him into the air and slamming him into the ground with force. Longarm looks around to find the source until he realizes that the source was coming from Ventress herself who was on her knees attempting to bring air into her lungs, the SPARTAN was then repeatedly slammed into the side of the building and pinned there as Ventress picks up her sabers and holds them right against his neck. However Longarm was not finished just yet as he used his augmented strength and fought against the power of what ever held him in midair against the wall; his right arm slowly began to reach out for Ventress until she threw him into the ground and held him up once more above the ground. Suddenly her powers began to squeeze around his neck and he began to suffocate, the SPARTAN struggled to fight against whatever supernatural power she possesses but his chances were now fading as his vision begins to grow dim, moments later his body began to go numb and eventually Longarm passed out.

Asajj was taken by surprise at how strong and agile Longarm was despite his previously assumed condition, she lets go of his body letting him hit the ground with a loud thud. She knew that she had to find answers about this mysterious warrior, she knows very well that Count Dooku will kill her despite her intriguing find and the Jedi Order will sentence her to prison. As she kneeled down by the unconscious warrior she began to think deeply, wondering who was able to help her without being imprisoned or dead, and then she remembered someone who she had helped before not too long ago. She stood up and lifted Longarm with the force and began heading towards the space port.

It was a near fifteen minute stroll through the network of alleyways until she finally reached a vantage point overlooking the port; the port was bustling with civilian commerce and the clone military forces that were stationed there. It would prove to be very difficult to get off-world with all the security, then again this time she wasn't looking for a way to leave Coruscant, at least not yet. Not only was the port filled with interstellar spacecraft but it was swarming with speeders she could commandeer for her little road trip, she finds a suitable speeder that was large enough to carry the surprisingly heavy soldier and fast enough to evade the clones should things go bad. She turns around and hid Longarm behind a dumpster and buried him with garbage bags for her quick return, she then made her way towards the landing platforms in order to steal the speeder.

Several minutes passed as Ventress sneaked through the first set of clone guards which was easy enough. She blended in along with the crowd that was coincidentally moving in the same direction towards the speeder on their way to a transport to take off-world. When Asajj got close enough she broke away from the crowd and casually walked towards the speeder, she carefully watched for any movement until something to her left caught her attention, what happened was that a pair of carrier droids accidently dropped a crate of supplies and luggage starting a commotion that attracted several guards. She continued watching the event and walking until she accidently bumped into someone in front of her, she turned and found that she bumped into the back of a clone guard who was now turning around and faced her.

"Hey watch where you're going!" the clone barked.

Asajj did her best attempt at an innocent voice without showing her face "I-I'm sorry sir, I wasn't paying attention."

Another trooper came by and shoved the first out of the way saying "Hey lay off Kor! Sorry miss, Kor here is just a bit stressed that's all."

"I can't imagine, with you being soldiers of the Republic and all" Ventress states hoping to get away as soon as possible.

"Yeah it's hard work. You better get moving along now miss" the trooper said politely.

Asajj then started to walk away quickly but carefully, that was too close even for her. She continued on her designated path towards the speeder until something large came by and accidently knocked her over onto her side and knocked one of her saber hilts off of her belt and exposed itself. One of the troopers from before heard the thud and turned around in time to see Ventress on the ground and a hilt lying on the ground.

The trooper takes a better look at the hilt and Ventress's struggle to hide again and mutters "I remember that saber . . ."

He then saw Ventress's face as she looked around wondering if anyone saw and then called out to every other trooper nearby "IT'S VENTRESS! GET HER!"

Asajj looked in every direction and found clone guards rushing towards her with weapons raised, the civilians began a panic as the troopers closed in. She then darted for the speeder ignoring the chaotic crowd hoping that would slow the guards in pursuit, to her right a pair of troopers were in the clear and began firing blue bolts of highly concentrated energy at her. She reached the speeder climbing into the driver seat and began the ignition procedure, more troopers began to open fire but it was too late as the speeder took off with several stray shots darting out towards it but none hit their mark. She quickly made it back to the hiding place and began digging out Longarm; she only had a few precious minutes before the clone gunships would be on top of her and have her cornered. She lifts the one ton soldier up and into the speeder in the back passenger seat; she spots the police dropships inbound fast as she climbed back into the driver seat and took off with the dropships not too far behind.

Former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano was resting in her rented apartment room several kilometers away from the Jedi Temple after leaving the Order. She sat on the end of her bed as she held her lightsabers in her hands remembering all the times she had with her former master and friends, though the Clone Wars rages on in the galactic outer-rim Ahsoka has finished her tour of duty indefinitely. A tear came down from her eye as she imagines how much pain Skywalker must be in, she knows that he will eventually pull through and continue on as a Jedi but he will not forget her. Her plans were to spend the night in the apartment and when tomorrow comes, she will wonder about the stars looking for something to do. She lays her lightsaber on the nightstand next to her bed, turned out the lights, lay down in her bed and closed her eyes. It was just before an hour later when she woke up to someone knocking on her bedroom window, she felt a familiar presence as she reaches for her lightsabers in preparation for an attack. She stood up with her saber ready to activate and slowly walked towards the window where a dark figure stood there knocking with their knuckles. She then opens the window letting in a nice breeze of air flow through and backs away letting the figure come in, the figure then used the force and turned the lights on revealing herself to Ahsoka.

"What do you want Ventress?" Tano asked coldly waiting for an attack.

"What? No hello it's good to see you again Ventress? Not even an insult? I'm hurt" Ventress sarcastically comments as she reaches out with the force to something outside.

"Why are you even here?" Tano asked not letting her guard down.

"To show you something that I found intriguing" Asajj states as she pulls in a large object through the window.

When the object came into the light of the room, it looked like a large droid that took some damage from a fight not too recently. She watched as Asajj placed the droid on her bed unusually gently and stepped away allowing her to walk over and examine it.

After a brief examination, Tano concludes "It's just a broken down droid . . . what's so interesting about it?"

"Take a look one more time, this time more carefully" Ventress said almost frustrated with Tano's inadequate examination.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes not believing the ridiculous situation Ventress brought upon her, she checks over the droid more carefully just to find that it's not a droid, but a living being. She glanced down at the stomach section of the being and watched it go up and down gradually as the being breathed; the armor was somewhat similar to a clone's but the entire physiology was all wrong for it to be a clone at all.

She turned towards Ventress and asked "Where and how did you even get him?"

Ventress had her arms crossed as she answered "It's a long and complicated story, but I would be careful around him. I found him near dead and even then he almost had me, I only survived because of the force."

"Really? You?" Tano comments intending it to be an insult to Asajj's skills in combat.

"Real funny, tell me if something strikes you odd about him" Ventress said not moving from her

Tano then knew that this person was extremely dangerous if he was able to overwhelm Asajj in hand-to-hand combat especially if said person was in a critical state. She continued examining until she found several strange white markings on the black armor plating; she couldn't even make out the weird language at all.

As she held up the being's arm to feel the flexible body suit she asked "Did you even catch his name before knocking him out?"

"He only gave me a nickname, Longarm. Then I 'kindly' asked to come with me and that's when he attacked" Asajj recollects from earlier that day.

Ahsoka scoffs and said "Somehow I think your definition of 'kindly' didn't agree with his. Either I'm honestly surprised that someone was able to beat you in hand-to-hand."

Asajj frowned at Tano then grudgingly states "I'll take that as a compliment."

Ahsoka returned to examining Longarm until she noticed something she didn't realize at first. Despite that this was an organic being and that he was clearly alive, she could not sense the force within him. She was dumbstruck but she pulled herself together 'Maybe it's a species that doesn't contain Midi-chlorians in their bloodstream' she thought but there was no species that she could think of that can live without the life sustaining micro-organism.

She took several steps back turning towards Asajj and asked "What is this thing?"

"I don't know that's why I brought him to you" Ventress states.

"What makes you think I can do something about it?" Ahsoka states with arrogance.

Ventress states "Watch and study him, we are dealing with something even your Jedi council can't comprehend. Until we understand who and what he is, we can only watch."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Tano asked waiting for Asajj to reveal her ingenious plan.

"Well it's obvious that we can't watch him here with clones walking about, you need to take him somewhere where we can watch him without the intrusion of anyone else."

"Wait me? Why me!?"

"I had a run-in with some guards earlier today; I can only make it off-world alone without attracting too much attention. You on the other hand can go without any complications at all; once we're out we can decide on where to go from that point."

Asajj began walking towards the open window when Ahsoka asked "How am I supposed make him come along with me? You forced him into a fight you nearly lost!"

Ventress turned around one last time and makes her last statement "You forget, you're not me . . ." and climbs out closing the window behind her.

Tano sighed heavily as she turned towards the unconscious soldier lying on her bed, 'No way I'm going to let him sleep with me just so he can snap my neck in the middle of the night' she thought to herself. She used the force and lifted Longarm off of the bed and took him into the living room and gently laid him on a couch, thankfully the couch's metal support frame is strong enough to hold his weight but it was clear as the couch creaked after releasing the full weight.

After making sure Longarm was still out like a light, she quietly turns back into her room closing the door behind her and locking the door, she then turned out the lights and climbed into bed with her lightsaber close by. At first it was hard for her to fall asleep knowing that a locked door was the only thing standing between her and a potentially dangerous man, eventually her eyes grew heavy and finally convinced the former Jedi to fall asleep.

Please leave your comments and thoughts. Thank you.