The high council selected two hundred and twelve Jedi Knights and Masters to form a strike force in order to spearhead the Geonosian campaign.

Airven, a Mirialan Jedi Master, was a part of the follow-up force. He knew that he’d been appointed as a general because he was a Jedi Master and he’d also felt rather intimidated with the enormous responsibility that had been saddled on his shoulders. He was one of the youngest Jedi to be granted the rank of master, he was twenty-six, in galactic years.

The fleet navigated through the Corellian Run, a hyperspace shortcut, between Coruscant and Tatooine. The trip elapsed over the period of about eight hours. During which time most of the officers and Jedi aboard the Valiant, an Acclamator assault ship, were reviewing the schematics for the Geonosian droid factories they had collected. Airven joined them.

***

In low orbit around Geonosis there was nothing obvious for as far a sight carried, then several Acclamator assault ships and escorting frigates dropped out of hyperspace, descending on the planet below.

“The Jedi strike team have began their initial assault, General.” Captain Fordo informed Airven, who was kneeling in his meditation chamber aboard the Valiant.

“Then we should prepare ourselves…” Airven stood up, quickly grabbing his lightsaber from its stand and his cloak. The Mirialan Jedi strode out onto the command bridge, fastening the belt around his robes, the clones aboard saluting him as he passed. Over the last few hours he’d learned to deal with carrying the rank of general in the Grand Army of the Republic and the respect that it demanded, even if he didn’t want it.

Airven had been a Jedi for as long and as far back as his memory went. He’d grown up in the temple. He’d grown up learning that violence was never the way, that anger only lead to further conflict, that there was no emotion… only peace. From this, he could not conceivably understand the decision making that stood behind bringing the Jedi into the coming war…

The Jedi were peacekeepers, not warriors… The concept of making a Jedi into a military General was nonsense to Airven… but he understood the necessity of it - if peace was to be preserved then the war must be short. And the best way, at the Republic’s disposal, was to give the reins over to the Jedi…

***

Airven had left the Valiant with Captain Fordo to take command of their sector on the surface. He’d left command of the Valiant and the battlegroup to Colonel Lenrii Stakor. Airven grew to appreciate the man over the course of the last day and decided that it was a good move to trust him with command. There were a few officers of higher rank than the Colonel, but Airven had given him control regardless.

“General, Phalanx Battalion is on the ground awaiting your orders.” Fordo’s voice came over the com-link fastened to Airven’s ear. Otherwise there was no visual sign that the clone had been speaking to him. “You also have Tau squadron at your disposal.”

“Fordo,” Ariven spoke galactic basic with the accent expected from the more sophisticated races, similar to Obi-Wan Kenobi. “I’m going to leave Tau squadron to you. Take them and disable our objective. I’ll have the rest of Phalanx Battalion keep their forces distracted in conjunction with the rest of the Republic forces… And I’ll see about confronting Dooku.” The Count had, for years, been Airven’s mentor and friend. He’d learned what rudimentary knowledge of makashi he had from the much older and much more experienced Jedi Master.

Rumors said and ground reports confirmed that he’d turned to the Dark Side of the Force. And in turn he’d left all that the Jedi stood for, all of the teachings of peace and harmony, in favor of the teachings of passion-driven chaos. He wanted - nay - he needed to confront his old friend about his decision. Perhaps he was being naive, but Airven thought that he could talk some sense into him… even if it was a futile effort. Maybe it was a deeper need to confirm that the reports and rumors were in fact true… it was always a sad day when a Jedi turned Sith.

The gunship touched down near a control hub. There were several hundred clone troopers, filed in ranks near the portable building, their shiny new armor glinting in the daylight, the battle raged nearby. The influx of starships didn’t help the wind levels on the canyon-like planet and as a result, dust storms were raging through the battlefield.

“Commander Braine, sir!” A clone, donned in armor with red markings, saluted Airven as he and Captain Fordo stepped off of the transport. The Jedi didn’t return the gesture, but Fordo did, seemingly in his stead. “You have Phalanx Battalion at your command!” He spoke in an orderly shout. The sound of the raging battles could be heard near by. As he’d stopped speaking his arm lowered to his side again.

“At ease, Commander.” Airven said as he kept walking, making his way into the hub. Braine and Fordo followed him in. There were several men inside who all were identical to each other - clones. They all wore headsets and were barking orders into them as they directed portions of the battle nearby through comlinks. Soon they were going to be shifted to direct Phalanx Battalion.

The Jedi stopped at the one side of the holoprojector in the middle of the large room. Many miniaturized gunships flew around it while soldiers ran about the surface and starships were much higher in its sky. “As you know, our objective is to disable the droid factories here on Geonosis. I plan to have Tau squadron pursue that goal while the rest of the battalion keeps the attention of the majority of Separatist forces, away from their factories. It is my understanding that several commando squadrons are being deployed for different goals and ours, as wells as a few others, is to destroy this underground droid factory.” He pressed a few controls on the console and the image zoomed into an underground location not too far into the fighting where the schematics for a droid factory came on display.

Rafma stood by one of the many droid assembly lines surrounding him in the factory. He watched as the mechanical fighters gradually took shape, first the legs, then the arms, then finally the head. B1 battle droids were cheaply produced in the millions by the Separatist Alliance in the hopes the droids would overwhelm the Republic's clone army. Rafma was not convinced. The droids may have out-numbered the clones 10 to 1, but the droids were weak and stupid, lacking the higher thought clones possessed which would allow them to identify traps, make split second decisions and more.

Next to Rafma stood a super tactical droid. The droid had been charged with marshalling the freshly produced droids against the impending Republic invasion, the droid was able to calculate the odds of winning a battle in seconds and devise competent battle plans in no time, but it lacked the ability to think beyond it's programming or to plan with creativity. Rafma turned to the tactical droid "I hope you have prepared a strategy. The Republic is advancing on our position even as we speak." he said to the droid. The droid stared at the Sith for a split second as it calculated a response "Do not fear commander. Our forces out-number the enemy by 10-1. The factories are producing soldiers at maximum speed. They will be overwhelmed by our forces with ease, I predict we have a 95.6% chance of victory." the droid replied in the flat, mechanical voice all droids spoke in. Rafma nodded at the droid "Very well. Make sure your prediction is correct, losing these factories would be a major blow to the war effort." After speaking, the Sith dismissed the super tactical droid to continue marshalling his forces as he searched through the force for any lifeforms in the factory.

Captain Tabor Seitaron stood at the front of the bridge of the "Pride of Caamas," staring down at the rust-colored world below. The Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser sat silently, its guns focused down towards the planet's surface, ready to pick off any ship that posed a threat to the fleet in orbit.

"Report, Lieutenant," he called out as he turned to the bridge crew. The majority of the crew was clones from Kamino, and this was unsettling to Tabor. He knew that the future of the war against the Separatists was going to rely on clones, but he still wished that the Republic could avoid them as much as possible. It wasn't that he didn't value human life, or any life, for that matter, but he felt that an army of clones was just like an army of organic droids.

The lieutenant, whose name was just a series of numbers, looked up from his station for a few moments. "General Yoda has ordered the troops to begin deployment. The fleet is to move in to low orbit and provide support."

Tabor nodded. "Inform the rest of our squadron that we will provide cover fire for the troops on the ground." The lieutenant nodded and began communicating with the other three Acclamator-class assault ships in their squadron. Tabor walked to the back of the bridge to where the holoprojector sat. Around it were two other officers, members of Tabor's personal staff. In the back, standing against the wall and with the hood of his cloak up, was the Jedi Master assigned to the ship.

"Master Halcyon, we have just received word from Master Yoda," Tabor stated. "The troops are to begin deployment. Will you be joining the ground force?"

Nejaa Halcyon shook his head. "No, captain, I will not. Master Yoda has asked that I stay with the fleet to coordinate the blockade." He stepped up to the holoprojector and pressed a button on it. A hologram of a clone trooper appeared. "Is Master Yoda available?"

The clone shook his head. "He is currently preoccupied. Do you have a message for him?"

Nejaa nodded. "Yes. Please inform Master Yoda that the Echo Squadron will be in position momentarily."

The clone nodded, and the connection cut out. Nejaa turned to Tabor. "How long until the transports reach the surface?"

Tabor shrugged. "Not sure. Shouldn't be more than a few minutes, though."

Nejaa's vision became distant. "Let's hope that they all make it to ground safely. Kenobi and Skywalker are relying on us."

***

During the first ten minutes of the ground deployment there wasn't much activity beyond groups reporting in that they landed. Nejaa paced back and forth near the holoprojector. Tabor stood nearby, but his attention was on a display that showed the status of the blockade. There were eight Acclamator assault ships, along with ten Dreadnaughts, including the "Pride of Caamas." They had moved out to provide the maximum coverage of the planet's surface. None of the Separatist ships had retreated yet, which meant that the ground force had taken the enemy by surprise.

Tabor turned to Nejaa. "Master Halcyon, I feel we should contact Master Airven. I do not like being kept out of the loop for this long."

Nejaa said nothing, but he stopped pacing and activated the holodisplay. He pressed a few buttons and Master Airven appeared in the air above the display.

"Master Airven," Nejaa said. "What is the report from the ground?"

Airven watched the holodisplay as the armies proverbially, locked swords and gave no quarter. There was an ebb and flow to the conflict. Both sides viciously fighting for control over the ground; gaining and losing their footing as though they were ripping it from the other’s grip. He noticed that the Separatists had began the process of launching their Lucrehulk control spheres. Tau squadron had already been sent off with Captain Fordo to infiltrate beyond enemy lines and carry out their assignment in assisting Theta and other squadrons with their mission to destroy the droid factories.

“Commander,” Braine saluted and stood expectingly. “Send our forces into the fray. Stop the CIS from launching their control ships and I'll join them shortly. I'm going to report back to the battle group.” As he finished speaking the holo displayed a projection of Jedi Master Halcyon, Airven had been hailed.

“Master Airven,” Nejaa said. “What is the report from the ground?” Captain Seitaron stood nearby and they both awaited Airven’s response.

“Nejaa, your timing is impeccable. I was just about to report back… Yes, there are several commando squadrons on their way to destroy, or assist in destroying, droid factories. We are successfully drawing the enemy's attention away from our infiltration teams.” He took another look back at the holo, several Lucrehulk command spheres were already in the air. “However, the Separatists are launching their control spheres. We are trying to bring them down but with distracting the enemy, gaining ground, and destroying their spheres - this is quickly deteriorating.”

“General! Hailfire tank headed this way!” Braine and several other officers began pressing buttons on consoles as the hub defenses kicked into gear. The defense turrets rotating to lock on and the shields activated as well, the tendrils licking the top of the dome that formed around the hub.

The hailfire had launched its many missiles and Airven didn't wait for a reaction from the defenses or anyone else. He felt the missiles whirling toward the shields. He was in tune with the Force, that's what it meant to be a Jedi Master. No Chaos, only Harmony.

He reached out and the missiles stopped, he knew that there were eighteen of them. He pushed them through his connection to the Force and they all collided with the tank. It exploded with a brilliant light. Airven turned back to the console amid the clapping of his men.