I'm back people! Time to move on with the story. As always enjoy.

With a flash of light, the Twilight ripped out of hyperspace and steadily made its way towards the planet off in the distance. The old G-9 Rigger Freighter lacked fire power along with thick armor and its speed was not to be admired but if there's one thing the old bucket of bolts had that no other Republic warship did it was a genuine disguise. Being as beat up as it was had its advantages which were highly applicable to the current mission at hand.

"There it is, Raxus Prime," Ahsoka said as she piloted the ship on a slow and casual course towards the remote planet. "It's an even bigger piece of junk than I thought."

The co-pilot let out a small laugh. "Now where have I heard that one before?" Dante said jokingly as he referred to the time when he himself used the same saying to describe the Nespis VIII space station.

"Very funny," She said with a sidelong look and smirk. "Regi, how we doing on the scanners?"

Behind the pilot's seats and plugged into the ship's computer, Regi let out a string of binary beeps that only one of the two pilots could understand.

"Good, keep us under the radar. No transmissions alright?" She got an affirmative beep from the astromech and turned back to face the view port.

Releasing a sigh, Dante leaned as fare back in the chair as he could without ripping the rivets that secured it to the floor. "Why they sent us on this mission I still don't get. What's so important about a junkyard world anyways?"

There was every right to complain about the mission. Only a short week after his and Ahsoka's trip to Dantooine they were assigned a new mission. There has been strange Separatist activity in the Outer Rim on worlds that held no strategic significance to either side. There were no resources, no factories, and no populations, just nothing on these random and abandoned worlds. Although the Separatist show great interest in these worlds they were being unusually discreet about their operations. So much so that they only sent small covert forces to secure the worlds with no naval support to speak off.

It was actually a stroke of luck that the Republic found out about the secret operations on Raxus Prime. A salvager team who frequented the world had spotted Separatist droids digging though junk piles as if they were looking for something. The salvagers' handed over what they knew to the Republic, for a hefty price of course.

And so the Republic dispatched a small team to investigate Raxus Prime and other suspicious worlds. Anakin assigned Raxus Prime to his padawan and boldly stated that she got the "fun planet". Ahsoka would've protested that there was nothing fun about the toxic, filthy and disorderly world but then again her master and Obi-wan were investigating the bleak mines of Kessel. She'd take Raxus Prime over Kessel any day.

With the Twilight looking like a salvage vessel, Ahsoka and her team should be able to land without being detected. The Separatist wouldn't attack them if they want to keep their cover.

"This is ridiculous," Dante grunted and shut his eyes, almost daring himself to fall asleep at a time like this.

In was Ahsoka's turn for a witty remark. "Now I know I heard that from somewhere." She too referred to something he said at Nespis VIII.

He opened one eye to give her a look and a smile before closing it again. "Yeah I guess you're right. I defiantly remember doing a mission just like this a while back."

"Well at least there won't be any monstrous droids or creepy space stations." She remarked.

"Don't forget mad doctors." Dante added and they both laughed. "But then again, I kind of liked those techno beasts."

"Because they're so good at killing stuff?" She asked rhetorically.

Dante nodded. "That and the golem made excellent target practice. Ever since Duro my bodies been a bit stiff from the battle but now I feel better than ever." He opened both eyes and straightened himself up in the seat, shooting a long glance at the yellow ball of junk that was Raxus Prime. "Let's just hope there some excitement on this heap."

Ahsoka was tempted to tell him not to jinx them but she had a feeling something was going to happen no matter what she said. She reached over the control board and flipped the ships' intercom on. "Look alive Rex, we'll be dirt side in a few minutes."

"Roger that Commander," Rex said through the intercom from the cargo hold of the freighter. He and three squads of his best men were jam-packed into the spacious and yet cramped cargo space. Stuffing twenty two clones with gear and speeders into the back of the ship had not been easy.

From the corner of the bridge a harsh grunt caught the two pilots' attention.

"Smell something bad back there Zion?" Dante joked with a smug grin.

The Tuk'ata rubbed his noise on the blue fur of his paw as he leaned against the wall and lied on the floor with his four legs under him. "Yes, I can smell that awful planet from here. When we touch its surface you too will be disgusted."

"Wait, how can he smell the planet from space?" Ahsoka asked Dante with a puzzled look. Dante simply gave her a palpable expression that implied the answer was obvious. "Oh right, the Force."

Not wanting to attract any suspicion, Ahsoka landed the Twilight twenty kilometers away from the suspected area of Separatist activity. The clones were more than happy to stretch their legs once the ship found a stable area to land on. They got the speeders out and readied them for the trek across the junk waste. Zion opted to stay and watch over the ship with Regi since he claimed the smell was worse to him than that of decaying corpses.

"Zion was right, this place is disgusting." Ahsoka commented as she took her first steps off the entrance ramp. As far as the eye could see there were parts from old spaceships, scrapped droids, disemboweled engines and many other machines that once served a purpose. Pools of toxic engine fluids riddled the landscape like ponds and some were large enough to be considered lakes. Mountains and hills were also numerous with not a single touch of life to be seen anywhere.

"You know, I heard about this place back in my time." Dante said. "It was supposedly the jewel of the Outer Rim with gleaming cities, vast blue oceans and rich grassy plains. I'm surprised it only took a few millennia to turn it into this." He made a broad gesture to the surrounding.

"I find it hard to believe that this place used to be habitable." Ahsoka said skeptically.

"This place really was once as important as Coruscant. So much so that the old Sith Empire planned on invading and conquering it. In the end we never did since we were more focused on the Old Republic and its Core worlds." Dante explained. As he said it, it reminded him of the Separatist and how they too were focused on conquering the Republic and the Core worlds. It disgusted him to think that Dooku had similar goals like his father.

"Sir," Rex addressed Ahsoka. "The men are ready to move out."

Ahsoka turned to regard the captain. "Good work Rex, let's get going."

Twenty two clones plus a Jedi and her friend raced along the waste and weaved their way in, around, and sometimes though junk pile after junk pile. Whatever couldn't be avoided was simply blasted till it crumpled and cleared a path. The sun beat down on the group with heat that was close to that of Tatooine. Everyone experienced more fatigue from the constant heat except for the young sith who rather enjoyed the warmness despite the fact he was wearing mostly black colored clothing.

Eventually the team had to abandon their speeders and complete the rest of the trek on foot in order to avoid making any noise. The enemies' numbers were unknown so the element of surprise was crucial to the mission.

The team approached a crater large enough to house an entire cruiser and slowly and quietly climbed their way up its outer edge. There were enemy sentry droids patrolling the rim of the crater but they were covertly taken out by Ahsoka and Dante's lightsabers. When it was safe, they peered over the edge and into the depth of the crater. They had found what they were looking for and then some.

The crater was more of a mining pit as Separatist droids used drills and pickaxes to excavate. The crater was easily a kilometer long which made it difficult to see what the droids were fixated on digging up. The crater was shallow and had a low slope to its interior. A handful of tanks hovered around the area on patrol and a large crane handled any heavy lifting. A few Vulture droids were in standby mode on the opposite edge of the site along with a shuttle that was secured to a makeshift landing pad. This excavation site had all the makings of a Separatist outpost.

"What do you make of this Commander?" Rex said as he gazed through his micro binoculars. The enhanced images it provided showed many droids working about with plenty of security to boot.

"I'm not sure," Ahsoka said. She too looked through a pair of micro binoculars at the crater. Something located dead center in the middle of the crater caught her attention. She magnified the zoom on the binoculars to get a better look.

What appeared to be a large crystalline sphere sat in the center of the droid dig site. It was dark green and wrapped by black chains with many archaic symbols marking every square inch of it. The crystal sphere was man sized and was covered in thick dust. And most oddly it gave off a peculiar feel in the Force. To Ahsoka it felt like the crystal and the area around was completely devoid of the Force.

Ahsoka assumed this was what the droids were digging for. She then recognized a few of the symbols on the crystal. They were like the sith markings from Dante's tomb.

"What do you see?" Dante whispered as he sensed the shock roll of her.

She took the micro binoculars away from her eyes and slowly handed them to him without a word spoken. Dante looked through the binoculars and directed his gaze at the center of the crater.

From the moment Dante saw the large dark green crystal, Ahsoka immediately sensed a change within him. At first guess she though he was upset because the crystal could've been a Force Crystal but that wasn't the case. For the first time ever she sensed something from him that she had never expected to feel from such a powerful warrior. It was unusual if not downright impossible for Dante to be exhibiting such an emotion. The fact that it's there means something is greatly amiss. What she felt from Dante was fear.

With a shaking hand, Dante took the binoculars away from his eyes which revealed to Ahsoka a bewildered look that betrayed his thoughts.

"Dante…" Ahsoka didn't know what to ask. The feeling she was picking up through their bond was instilling her with a little fear as well. She feared that something was so wrong that it even scared Dante.

But then as if by the flip of a switch, Dante's fear turned into sheer rage.

His hand twitched with an involuntary burst of anger and crushed the binoculars into a thin piece of scrap. He then stood up from his prone position and took a few steps forward down towards the crater. Each step was heavy and long with metal scrap being crushed under his feat.

"Dante what are you doing!" Ahsoka whispered loudly. The droids have no doubt spotted him by now. He only paused for a brief second to look over his shoulder and send a frightening look at Ahsoka.

"Stay away," He managed to say through clenched teeth before breaking off into a dead sprint towards the battle droids that were racing to meet him.

Ahsoka slumped down pass the edge of the crater and could hear the destructive sounds of a lightsaber and Force blast coming pass the edge.

She had never seen him so worked up like this. It was as if he had a personal vendetta with whatever that crystal was. She could understand if it was a Force crystal but even then he wouldn't be like this.

"Your orders commander," Rex said as he and his squad looked over the edge to watch Dante single handedly take on a small army.

Ahsoka sighed and got to her feet. "Fall back to the speeders and bring them back here. We'll need their firepower if we engage the droids."

Rex tilted his helmet a little when he heard if. "Are we not engaging right away sir?"

Ahsoka nodded. "I don't know what is happening with Dante but whenever he's this serious you do not want to get in his way."

Absolute chaos ensued as the lone warrior tore his way through the helpless droids. Whatever got in his way, he slashed it with his twin lightsabers. Whatever shot at him from a distance, he crushed it with the Force. And whatever had the nerve to run into him, he obliterated them with lightning. B1 and B2 battle droids proved useless in stopping the rampaging sith. The tanks were no match for Dante's unyielding power as they were crushed like cans and even the Vulture were ripped from the sky and plummeted into other droids.

By the time he made was near the infernal crystal, a trail of carnage marked the path he took. Tanks were inside out and in flames along with the unrecognizable heaps of Vultures and the torn corpses of regular droids. Just about everything that was in the crater had been destroyed save for the crane and shuttle off in the distance.

Dante took care to stay exactly ten feet away from the crystal. The sight of it filled Dante with rage and anger. The fact that this of all things from his past was still intact instilled fear into him. Fear was unacceptable in battle and so he used his old training to convert it into anger which he hesitantly used to destroy his enemies.

The first thought to strike him as he gazed at the green crystal was to destroy it but that thought was interrupted by a slow, exaggerated clap.

Spinning on his heels, Dante turned to meet whoever was still alive. When he did, his anger intensified.

A tall slender man with grey skin approached from the distance and stopped ten meters away from Dante. He wore a white coat that had been dirtied by the planets surroundings and a smooth red crystal hung from a string around his neck. "Quite the demonstration and I would've enjoyed it too if you hadn't destroyed all my assistances."

It was none other than Doctor Vindi, the mad scientist who operated for Dooku. "Judging by your reaction, I assume you have recollections of this artifact I discovered." Vindi remarked casually with a wave to the crystal.

Remaining silent, Dante ignited both lightsabers and began a slow and deadly pace towards the doctor with the intent to end his pathetic life.

Vindi winced and took a few steps back. "I see you are not in a loquacious disposition." He said and took hold of his Force crystal. "Perhaps this will lighten your mood!" He declared sadistically and drew power from the Force crystal around his neck. The ground shook violently like an earthquake and mounds of scrap metals levitated in the air. The ground Vindi stood on rose and merged with the metal surrounding of the area. The metal formed into a cylinder at first before becoming flexible and bending side to side. At one end there was a sharp arrowhead tail with the opposite end being a head that resembled that of a serpent. Four red eyes glowed from the head and a long slithering tongue extended from the giant techno beast.

"I present to you the paramount of my genius! This will be your doom!" Vindi boasted loudly as he stood on the head of the colossus serpent that was a lumbering twenty meters long. "Enjoy what diminutive amount of time you have left for you will not leave this planet alive!" Letting loose an annoying laugh, Vindi climbed down from the techno beast serpent and ran towards the shuttle parked at the far edge of the crater. Dante would have pursued him but the mass of metal stood in his way.

Had this been different time under different circumstances Dante would've smiled at facing such a tremendous beast. But this is not the time to indulge in his fighting spirit, the galaxy was at stack and he's the only one who can stop the disaster that could be unleashed from the dreaded green crystal.

Putting one foot forward Dante launched himself in a single leap at the techno beast. Both red and violet lightsabers pierced the nose of the serpent. The larger flailed about, not in pain but in an attempt to rid its opponent of his weapons. Dante held on to his sabers with an unbreakable grip and he didn't let go, not even when the creature drove its head and Dante into the ground several times.

A Force barrier protected him from being crushed and when the snake raised its head for another drive into the ground Dante ripped his sabers away from its noise and slid down its back, carving his lightsabers along the thing as he went. Chunks of metal bled out from the gashes left by the lightsabers but they were quickly drawn back in to the techno beast.

The young sith held his ground as he watched the techno beast rebuild itself at an alarming speed. Unlike other scrap metal wonders this one had enough Force energy infused into it to rebuild itself with more metal. The more he cut it the larger it got. It was obvious that conventional tactics wasn't going to kill it.

Now twenty five meters long, the serpent hissed a metallic screech that pierced Dante's ears. It raised its head high into the air and burrowed into the ground. It disappeared as it dug underground through the metal that made up the area. Dante got ready and awaited for it to strike, predicting that it would come up somewhere close. After a handful of long suspenseful seconds, his prediction came true. The serpent burst out of the ground from behind with its jaw wide open and threatening to swallow Dante whole. He dodged right with a great leap and avoided the mouth but was struck by the tail as it came around. The hit sent Dante falling back nearly a dozen meters before he could catch the ground and regain his stature.

By the time he was ready for another attack, the serpent had again burrowed underground. Dante growled with announce as his eyes glowed a little brighter with a sinister yellow. "If that's how it is then so be it!" Forcing the energy to surge within him, his tattoos formed across his body in a quick flash. They may hold back his power but when they fully form he can use Force Sense to detect where the serpent is.

Not too long after he detected the creature coming from directly below him had the ground pulsated upwards with the serpent's head breaking through the surface. Dante saw this coming and jumped upwards at the last second. The serpent stretched forward in an attempt to catch Dante midair. Letting loose a barrage of slashes Dante turned the serpent's head into a shredded mess. The serpent, now lacking sight, went into a hurry to rebuild itself. Not it was vulnerable and Dante took full advantage of the opportunity.

He sheathed both his weapons and returned them to his belt before clasping the palms of his hands together and sending a rising surge of Force energy to them. The darkside power that was the centerpiece of his arsenal took shape and a black spear with a white outline formed in between his hands as he separated them. This may be gross overkill but he didn't care about having to use the Spear of Midnight Black on such a weak opponent.

He took the two meter long Force weapon into one hand and pulled it back for the throw. Aiming directly for the now rebuilt head and thrust it forward with a great deal of strength. The spear pieced the smoggy air as fast as sound and found its mark. In a massive explosion of darkness the serpent disintegrated along with everything else within fifty meters of it. Dante had tried to limit the power he put into the spear but even he hasn't been able to master it entirely.

Pain run across his body from the restraining tattoos just as he expected. Despite the pain he managed to stay conscious and able to fight.

A multitude of sounds then filled the air just after he vanquished the serpent. The most noticeable of the chorus was the whining of the Separatist shuttle's engines as it hovered directly over the green crystal in the center of the canyon. The next sound was that of grinding metal being crushed together to form a legion of regular techno beast. And finally the third sound was off in the distance and was distinctly familiar Dante but he had no time to decipher what it was.

Standing in between Dante and the green crystal were hundreds over regular techno beast that were all being put together and controlled by Vindi who stood at the foot of the shuttle's extended entrance ramp. Then, the lower cargo hatch to the shuttle opened up and cables extended from it and attached to the crystal.

Realizing what Vindi was trying to do, Dante roared with rage as he hurdled at the techno beast. He cut and slashed with every bit of strength left in him and the techno beast didn't stand a chance. But there were many and he was far from the crystal, too far to be able to doing anything as the Separatist attempt to take the green crystal into the shuttle.

And then what seemed like a bleak situation for Dante turned into a brighter one. Rushing over the edge and diving down into the crater were a group of speeders with a young, powerful, and concerned Jedi Padawan leading them. They volleyed blue blasted fire at the legion of techno beast and tore them apart. The techno beast shifted their attention at the speeder bikes as they raced around the crater.

With fewer enemies in the way Dante was able to clear a path towards the center of the crater with one devastating Force blast. By the time Dante made it to the shuttle it had already taken the green crystal halfway off the ground. Dante hurled both his lightsabers at the cables attached to the crystal and severed them, dropping the crystal back to where it once been.

The shuttle rocked back and forth from the sudden loss of weight and caused Vindi to fall of his perch on the entrance ramp. He fell with bone shattering Force into the hard ground. Miraculously the doctor was still alive and he groaned in pain as he pushed himself to his hands and knees. With shaking hands he reached for his Force crystal for more strength but it was gone. The doctor fumbled around in the metal scrap to look for the Force crystal that he thought he had dropped. It took him a minute to find it but it wasn't on the ground, it was in the hand of Dante who lumbered over him with a long casting shadow. The powerless doctor crawled away as Dante ignited a lightsaber and walked slowly forward to intimidate him.

"P-p-please don't kill me!" He begged as he raised a hand in a vein effort to shield himself. "I was only following orders!"

Dante took a long while to consider killing him. The doctor had unearthed something that should have never existed to begin with. The green crystal was far more of a threat than any amount of Force crystals. If he had been his old self he would not have hesitated to butcher the cowardly doctor.

He glanced at Vindi's Force crystal in his hand and then crushed it into dust. The doctor's jaw fell open as the dust blew away in the wind along with any hope for him of escaping. "I won't kill you," Dante began and moved his lightsaber to just within an inch of Vindi's throat. "But that doesn't mean you get to live a nice life. When we're back on Coruscant I will make certain that you suffer."

Vindi gulped as he can already imagine Republic interrogators torturing him for information again. Dante sheathed his weapon and looked around the battle field. The last of the techno beast had fallen apart when he destroyed the Force crystal and the remaining clones made sure everything was dead. Ahsoka approached Dante on foot and came up to his side. In the heat of the battle Dante had forgotten how harsh he was to her which reminded him he needed to give her an apology.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

A mask of gloom covered her face along with a pair of riding goggles. "I should be asking the same about you." She retorted plainly in regard to Dante's still visible tattoos.

He grimaced as he glanced at the green crystal that sat ten meters away and tried to think of a way to explain everything. The chance never came as a loud bang came from above. The shuttle that had been left unpiloted was now careening out of control with smoke coming from its thrusters.

The two glared at Vindi who shrugged innocently. "Oh my, it looks like I left the hyperdrive motivator on a detonation timer. I'm afraid it is overloading now." He said with a sadistic grin. Dante drew back a fist and punch the doctor out cold.

"Ahsoka, together!" Dante called out and the two of them combined their Force power to keep the shuttle from crashing into them and their troops. They raised both hands in the air and grasped the shuttle with an invisible grip. The shuttle sputtered and swung violently as its engine systems were overloading and causing all of its thrusters to go off at random. When they got a secure lock on it they delivered a Force push that sent it flying away from them. But the shuttles systems had gone critical at that moment and the ship exploded like a bomb. The shockwave struck without warning and both dust and people went flying.

A large dust cloud filled the air and blinded everyone. Dante had been thrown off his feet and he could tell something sharp had made its way into his back. He bit back the pain as he sat up and used a hand to feel for the object stuck in him. A jagged blade of scrap metal had found itself in Dante back and he could tell it was in deep. Taking in a deep breath, Dante reached around his back and pulled on the metal shard. Pain exploded from the wound as the metal shard was removed and a splash of black blood soon followed. With what little Force energy he had left he put to use by slowly regenerating the cells around the wound.

Dante stood weakly as he looked around for survivors although he did hope Vindi was killed.

"Ahsoka," He called out. When he didn't get a response he stretched out with his Force senses to feel for her. When he located her Force signature it was all wrong, diluted almost, as if she her life Force was being altered. Dante panicked as he feared for the worse. He turned in the general direction he felt the presence from and used a light Force push to clear away the dust clouds. What he saw made his heart sank.

"Ahsoka!" He screamed in horror. The shuttle explosion didn't injure her but it did throw her on her back and landed her right next to the green crystal, just within inches of it.

Dante commanded his weakened legs to carry him with all their speed towards Ahsoka. The green crystal was sinister and dangerous to any who came within a few feet of it. Dante's tattoos would protect him from the crystals effects but Ahsoka was vulnerable to it.

As soon as he came within reach he grabbed Ahsoka's lifeless body from around the waist and carried her on his good shoulder and limped away from the crystal. When they were ten meters away, Dante dropped to his knees and, as gently as possible, placed Ahsoka on the ground.

He eyes were closed shut behind her riding goggles which were shattered by the explosion. He took them off and tossed them assigned. "Please Ahsoka," He said in a sobbing tone. "Don't let it change you."

Suddenly Ahsoka's eyes shot open as she took in a gasp of dusty air. She coiffed a few times before sitting up and found Dante with his arms around her in a tight embrace. "What… happened?" She said in confusion and then noticed the black blood protruding from Dante's back. "Dante you're injured."

He took her out of the embrace and looked at her directly in the eye. "Ahsoka I need you to listen to me." He breathed inwardly to steady his breathing. "Are you alright? Do you feel different?"

She shook her head. "Never been better. In fact I feel great." She rose to her feet and helped Dante stand. "You on the other hand need to get back to the ship."

"No, Ahsoka…" He coiffed, "I need you stay with me and…"

He was interrupted by a loud fit of coifing that came from behind a cloud of dust. It wasn't from a clone trooper too. Ahsoka narrowed her eyes and waved a hand to use the Force to clear away the dust. Every bit of dust in the area dissipated and gave them a clear view of Vindi as he yet again survived something that should've killed him.

"Wait here," She said and let Dante sit back on the ground before approaching Vindi. Dante assumed she was going to bind him and make sure he doesn't get away.

Vindi crawled to his knees and looked up to the Jedi Padawan that loomed over him. "I… I surrender…." Vindi stuttered as he could hardly speak or see. The explosion had hit him with enough force that it broke a few bones and made several cuts across his body.

Ahsoka looked down at him with eyes filled with fury. "You hurt the man I love," She said in a low deathly tone that stuck fear into the other. "Unforgivable." She whispered ever so silently as a lightsaber unhooked from her belt and drifted to her hand. Before Vindi could scream a green blade of plasma ran through his long throat and severed his spine, killing him instantly. The once proud Doctor Nuvo Vindi slumped over and fell to the ground with the dirt covering up his last expression of horror…

Ah yes, the dreaded cliff hanger.

No your eyes do not betray you. Ahsoka really did just kill Vindi. You want to know why don't you? Well I'll tell you… in the next chapter. Don't worry though, I'm going to try to be more frequent with the updates.

Thanks for reading,
xander867