The Confederate base on Tatooine was a massive underground complex, designed with multiple floors that descended deep beneath the planet's sands. The structure extended both downward and upward, with guard towers and firing platforms spread across levels above ground to protect the approaches. From the outside, only a few visible turrets and anti-aircraft platforms suggested the fortress that lay hidden beneath.
Each level of the base was heavily defended and equipped with the latest Confederate defense systems: long-range blasters, heavy artillery cannons, and automated turrets covering all approaches. The upper floors contained additional defenses, such as droidekas deployed in strategic groups and AAT tank units stationed to defend the main exits and perimeter. Further inside, shield generators protected critical areas, while security cameras monitored every corner.
The hallways were wide and dark, filled with a constant metallic echo. As they descended, security became more intense; automatic alarm systems, reinforced doors, and additional droid storage areas were ready to activate at any time of emergency. B1 and B2 battle droids, as well as super battle droids, patrolled the corridors ceaselessly, and droidekas were placed in key positions to form defensive barriers.
Asajj Ventress walked forward, her gaze fixed and her determination steely. At her side, the imposing General Grievous moved with that characteristic mix of grace and ferocity. The strategy was clear: hold out as long as possible. Ventress knew they did not have a perfect defense, but she was aware that the longer they managed to hold the line, the greater the chances of reinforcements of some kind arriving.
"Deploy droidekas to the south entrance and heavy turrets to the rooftops," Grievous ordered in his sharp, mechanical voice. "We will not let the Covenant overwhelm us unopposed."
As the first waves of Covenant approached, the situation became desperate. The huge, brutal Brute warriors advanced with their heavy armor and maces, cutting through the lines of B1 droids and crushing them effortlessly. The Unggoy and Kig-Yar advanced as well, firing their stingers, which pierced the weaker droids with ease. Despite their limitations, the battle droids tried to maintain a defensive formation, firing bursts of blasters to stem the enemy advance.
Ventress swung her red lightsabers with deadly precision, sliding between enemies and cutting down those who managed to get past the first line of defense. Her face was set in concentration and disdain for her rivals. A pair of Covenant Elites leapt toward her, brandishing energy swords, but Ventress met them with agility, deflecting their attacks and eliminating them in a matter of seconds.
Meanwhile, Grievous coordinated heavy fire from the B2 droids and anti-aircraft turrets on the outer platforms. From the surrounding hills, artillery cannons began firing heavy shells toward the Covenant, causing explosions that lit up the dusty sky of Tatooine.
"B1, flank left! Droidekas, cover the rear and prepare shields!" Grievous shouted. The droidekas deployed their energy shields, forming a protective barrier in the rear line, as blaster fire raged against the enemy.
As the minutes passed, the battle became increasingly bloody and brutal. The B2 droids attempted to hold back the waves of Brutes and Jackals, but they were clearly outnumbered and outnumbered. Each explosion shook the base and vibrated the floors, creating a sense of utter chaos in the bowels of the facility.
"Where's the UNSC's response?" Grievous growled, slamming his mechanical arm into a wall in frustration. Ventress, focused on the fight, kept her face impassive.
"All we can do now is buy time. If the Republic gets there first, we'll serve as a distraction. If the UNSC gets there, then we might have a real chance of survival," Ventress replied coldly as she decapitated another enemy.
To the north of the base, a unit of AAT tank droids was firing their powerful laser cannons at the Covenant vehicles, attempting to stop the Wraith tanks from charging in with their own plasma projectiles. The fighting was fierce, and the ground burned beneath the combatants' feet. As Confederate losses mounted, Grievous ordered more reinforcement units to be activated from his underground storage facilities.
Asajj Ventress fell back, continuing to unleash Force attacks that obliterated Covenant vehicles and troops in her path. However, her efforts seemed insignificant against the endless waves of enemy forces. All around her, B1 and B2 droids fell under relentless fire from Covenant fighters and troops, while enemy transport vehicles continued to descend upon the surface of Tatooine, unloading more troops and war machines.
Grievous, with his four lightsabers spinning, advanced into the midst of enemy lines, shattering any soldier or elite that tried to block his path, but he was also aware that the Covenant advance was unstoppable. "Ventress, we must fall back or we will be annihilated!" Grievous roared, as his mechanical gaze detected more and more reinforcements on the horizon.
Asajj surveyed the landscape of destruction around her. In the distance, the searing fire of the vitrification process spread like a burning blanket across the horizon, transforming the ground into molten glass. With each passing second, the Covenant gained ground, and their forces only seemed to multiply. Frustration grew within her as she launched another wave of rubble and enemy soldiers into the air with a burst of energy, screaming in an effort to stem the advance.
"Keep falling back!" Ventress shouted to the remaining troops. The droideka units rolled back, deploying in defensive mode to provide a last line of resistance in the upper corridors of the base, as the AATs fired on the Wraiths and Ghosts advancing upon them.
As the Covenant soldiers began to surround the entrances of the fortress, Asajj tried to control her frustration. She felt that each second lost in this place brought them closer to complete defeat. She looked at Grievous with a mix of rage and resignation.
"Where are the reinforcements?" She muttered to herself, not losing hope that the UNSC or Republic would appear at any moment to balance the scales.
The Covenant moved relentlessly, taking down the fortress's anti-air defense systems one by one. With no other options, Asajj Ventress and General Grievous were forced to retreat into the underground base. There, surrounded by reinforced metal walls and a labyrinth of narrow corridors, they began to activate as many droids as possible. The situation was critical, and Ventress knew it well: each unit deployed was a last-ditch effort to stop the avalanche of enemy forces that cornered them.
Grievous, with his usual brutality, called out to his personal Magnaguards, who quickly took up defensive positions around him, twirling their electro-staffs and preparing for close combat. The halls of the fortress were soon filled with gunfire, explosions, and the distinctive sound of metal clashing as droids advanced. Battle droids, from B1s to massive B2s, advanced in ranks, defending every inch of the fortress as they attempted to hold back the Covenant.
Elsewhere in the base, Count Dooku stood serenely in the briefing room. His imposing figure was illuminated by the glow of the holotransmission as he attempted to contact the Hutt Clan. The screen flickered, showing the connection to the leaders of this criminal syndicate, whom he needed to bolster his defenses or secure escape routes.
"Ladies and gentlemen Hutts," Dooku began authoritatively, his voice calm but with a hint of urgency. "The threat we face here is on a scale that surpasses the galaxy's usual conflicts. If you do not help us defend ourselves against the Covenant now, their entire network and power in the Outer Rim is at risk. We need reinforcements and transport to evacuate what remains of our forces. Help us contain this invasion, and I assure you that the Confederacy will be an invaluable ally in the times to come."
The holograms flickered as the Hutts considered the proposal, murmuring amongst themselves in their guttural tongue. But time was ticking, and Dooku felt the fortress walls tightening with every minute. Outside, the rumble of gunfire and explosions indicated that the Covenant was already at the gates of the upper level.
Meanwhile, in the corridors, Ventress and Grievous coordinated close combat. Ventress, lightsabers spinning in a deadly arc, repelled the waves of elites and Grunt troopers advancing through the narrow hallways. Grievous, escorted by his Magnaguards, attacked without mercy, his four sabers cutting through the Covenant troops, but even his elite forces felt the crushing pressure of a horde that seemed endless.
Despite their efforts, the Covenant advanced. The situation was desperate, and the possibility of a retreat seemed increasingly unlikely.
The holographic image of the Hutt Clan representative appeared with a smirk, looking at Count Dooku with a disdain he did not bother to hide.
"Count Dooku," the Hutt began, drawing out the words in a thick, gravelly voice. "We find ourselves... perplexed? We thought the leaders of the Confederacy were more... capable. But now you are here, begging like a simple beggar."
Dooku kept his expression firm, though his eyes flashed with suppressed rage. "This is not a request for humility or submission. It is a chance for the Hutt Clan to maintain order in the Outer Rim. The Covenant will destroy everything in their path, and when they are done here, they will seek out more worlds."
The Hutt burst into deep, resonant laughter, while other members of the clan murmured in mocking tones. "Order? Since when did we care about something as boring as order, Dooku? Tatooine is of no use to us anymore. It's just a dusty, lost planet, a place where we send the discarded and the forgotten. It has no value to us."
Another Hutt chimed in, hissing, "Your threats do not affect us, and your weakness is amusing to us. So we suggest you meet your fate in that forgotten dumping ground... and be quick, before the Covenant decides to vitrify it all."
Count Dooku pursed his lips in a mix of rage and contempt as the Hutt Clan's transmission abruptly cut off. These selfish, cowardly beings had just condemned them, choosing their own self-interest over any strategic alliance or help in slowing the Covenant's advance. To them, Tatooine was just a forgotten place in the Outer Rim, worthless on the grand scale of their own domains.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm the frustration that was burning within him. The situation was critical, and now, without the support he had sought, his room for maneuver was drastically reduced. The murmur of distant explosions intensified with each passing second, and he knew that the Covenant would soon breach the fortress's inner defenses.
Dooku left the briefing room and walked down the dark corridor toward the control room, where the monitors showed alarming images: B1 and B2 droids falling to the Covenant, who were advancing with a relentless array of Elites, Brutes, and Hunters that decimated their defenses with terrifying efficiency. In the corner of the screen, he could see Ventress and Grievous fighting fiercely, but even they were being forced back by the siege.
With no outside support and the fortress turned into a battlefield, Dooku knew his only option was to continue to hold out until, somehow, unexpected help appeared or the Covenant was forced to retreat.
Dooku walked through the dark corridors of the base, lost in thoughts he rarely allowed himself to have. For the first time in years, a sense of uncertainty plagued him. Was this his destiny? He had done so much, betrayed so many, eliminated obstacles with precision and coldness. And now, here he was, trapped in an underground base on a forgotten planet, waiting for help from a fleet that might never arrive.
He found it hard to believe that the Jedi would ignore such a critical situation, but he also couldn't forget how many times he had underestimated them in the past. Could it be that the Republic really decided to abandon him? That everything he had done was coming back to haunt him, condemning him to this final fate?
In the midst of this internal conflict, he remembered Qui-Gon Jinn, his beloved Padawan, who had represented to him a voice of sanity and compassion, qualities that Dooku had worked hard to snuff out in himself. What would Qui-Gon have done? he wondered, almost wistfully. Qui-Gon would have tried to find a way out that would avoid the slaughter, that would save lives, a solution that would unite rather than divide.
Dooku sighed and looked around. He could hear the sounds of explosions in the distance and the echo of gunfire from battle droids struggling to hold back the Covenant forces. He knew he had no time for nostalgia or regrets; the decisions he had made had brought him here. He had only one option: to resist and, if help did not arrive, to face his fate with dignity.
Dooku advanced through the underground base, each step bringing him closer to the desperate resistance that Ventress and Grievous maintained against the Covenant. But as he walked, an unexpected thought crossed his mind, something he had prepared years ago. He suddenly remembered a secret exit that he himself had ordered built at the base when the Clone Wars had just begun. It was a detail that he preferred to keep hidden even from his closest allies, a guarantee of escape in case of an unforeseen defeat. In his ambition, he never thought he would actually need to use it, until now.
With his pulse racing with tension and a coldness that concealed his growing uncertainty, Dooku turned abruptly, taking an alternate, dark and lonely corridor. His footsteps echoed off the walls as he advanced, and the silence allowed him to hear his own thoughts and questions, doubts that had haunted him since the beginning of the Covenant invasion.
He ignited his lightsaber, and the red luminescence illuminated the narrow, damp corridor, leading him to a sturdy wall. Focusing the Force in his hand, Dooku made a precise gesture, and the rock began to slowly creak and separate, revealing the opening to a cavern hidden deep within Tatooine.
Dooku paused at the entrance to the cavern, feeling an uneasiness he could not ignore. Something drove him to think of his allies, who, despite their own treacherous nature, had risked everything just as he had to stop the Covenant. A strange weight of responsibility washed over him, and he reached for his communicator.
"Ventress, Grievous, Watt Tambor, Nute Gunray, Bec Lawise," Dooku called coldly. "I have found an exit in the subterranean level. Join me immediately. We have no more time."
The communication ended just as a new explosion shook the base. Dooku waited in the gloom, listening to the echoes of footsteps and the sound of approaching combat. Before long, Asajj Ventress arrived, wounded and exhausted. A deep cut ran across her shoulder, and despite the pain visible on her face, her eyes were still filled with defiance.
Soon after, Grievous appeared, his armor battered and smoking in several spots. His eyes gleamed with anger, and his mechanical breathing filled the cavern. He was escorted by several of his ever-faithful magnaguards, their electrostaffs at the ready.
Behind them, staggering and visibly shaken, appeared Watt Tambor, Nute Gunray, and Bec Lawise. All three wore fear on their faces; even Gunray, who was usually so arrogant, was pale and trembling.
"An escape?" Nute Gunray asked in a tone of hope and nervousness. "It will take us away from the Covenant, won't it, Count?"
"He'll get us out of here, if they move quickly," Dooku said coldly, not stopping to reassure.
"The battle droids are holding off the enemy for now," Watt Tambor commented, trying to remain calm. "But not for long."
"It's a retreat, then," Ventress muttered, her saber still in hand and her voice laced with disgust. "I didn't think it would ever come to this."
"Shut up, Ventress," Grievous replied dismissively, advancing forward with his magnaguards. "It's the only way to survive."
Dooku did not respond, simply turning on his heel and advancing through the cavern, his saber illuminating the dark passage. The others followed in silence, each immersed in their own frustration and fear. Footsteps echoed on the rock, the atmosphere was filled with tension, and the weight of impending defeat hung in the air.
As they advanced, murmurs among the leaders of the Confederacy grew, though no one had the courage to question the Count. Each knew that it was the end of their position, the end of their former strength, and they clung to a slim hope of escaping this hell.
End of Chapter 25.