Dark Acolyte/Legends

A Dark Acolyte, also known as a dark side apprentice, was a title granted to any Dark Jedi that joined the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars and directly came to serve its Head of State, Count Dooku, secretly the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Tyranus.
These dark side adepts were embedded in the military and functioned as anything from assassins to spies to civilian commanders, depending on individual vocations, but all operated first and foremost as the Confederacy's enforcers. Though all trained in the Sith arts by Tyranus, none could claim the mantle of Sith due to the Rule of Two.
Most of the these disciples would become casualties of the war, and eventually even Tyranus was killed during the Battle of Coruscant.
==Description==
===Recruitment===
A Dark Acolyte was a rank filled by the Dark Jedi recruited by Count Dooku of Serenno, the public personna of the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Tyranus, and his Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars. Many of their number were themselves likewise former Jedi, having defected to the Separatist Alliance due to their increasing frustration with the corruption and ineffectiveness of the Galactic Republic. Some joined out of personal loyalty to Tyranus himself, though others joined out of a misguided fascination with either the dark side of the Force or Sith lore, both of which the organization championed.Jedi: Mace WinduI, JediThe Official Star Wars Fact File 116 (DOO8, Count Dooku)'' However, some members of the Acolytes had been directly approached by the Dark Lord, and in the case of Force-sensitives who had no prior training, were tutored by Tyranus himself.
Being inducted as a Dark Acolyte appeared to be relatively easy, with most capable Force-wielders being accepted without argument. However, such recruits typically remained minor players within the group until they gained Tyranus' trust, either through displays of fealty or on occasion, the rage-fueled depravity indicative of the dark side of the Force. Once this was gained, Acolytes were provided with more important assignments and sometimes Sith training. While not true Sith in their own right, and therefore not a violation of the Sith Rule of Two, certain members were provided with tutoring in certain elements of Sith knowledge and philosophy. A notable example is Asajj Ventress, who was trained in the Sith Quey'tek meditation.The Cestus Deception
===Equipment===
As the enforcers of Tyranus, they served at the whim of the Order of the Sith Lords and adhered strongly to Sith philosophy, many of the types of equipment made available to members were of Sith-design. Most notably were the Sith Enforcer battle tanks. Each of these craft were armed with a pair of supercharged blaster cannons and two missile launchers. Though effective in one-on-one attacks, Darth Tyranus insisted that they travel in groups of three for improved effectiveness.Star Wars: The Clone Wars video game All members of the organization were provided with red synth-crystals for their lightsabers, and most wielded these proudly.Star Wars: The Clone Wars novelization Notably, Quinlan Vos was provided with the crystal originally used by Darth Andeddu. However, some members chose to continue to use the Ilum crystals they carried as Jedi, particularly if they were operating as infiltrators and spies within the Jedi Order.
Beyond these standards, the equipment and weapons used was left to their personal discretion, due to the various roles they performed within the CIS' military. Those who publicly displayed themselves on the battlefield, such as Savage Opress or Tol Skorr, typically opted for some type of armor.Star Wars: Republic: Dreadnaughts of Rendili Asajj Ventress, who usually worked as an assassin or covert operative, favored variations on a Sullustan Leather jumpsuits and long combat skirts. Sora Bulq, uniquely, continued to favor his original Jedi robes, even after being ousted as a Dark Acolyte, and only chose to distinguish himself by adopting the standard red lightsabers.
===Ideology===
A Dark Acolyte had little in the way of formalized ideology or philosophical teachings, and was for the most part motivated by a simple opposition to the Jedi and their teachings. Overall, a Dark Acolyte desired the overthrowing of the Galactic Republic, with many of the former Jedi constituents especially being exasperated by its bureaucracy and greed. Quinlan Vos cited that since this desire was rooted in their disgust with the Republic's corruption rather than a thirst for power, they were still acting in accordance with Jedi teachings.
However, each Dark Acolyte was strongly influenced by Sith philosophy, and was deeply rooted in the dark side of the Force due to this. Tyranus cited during his meeting with Jedi Grand Master Yoda on Vjun that since all beings carried the dark side within themselves, turning to it was simply to acknowledge another part of one's self, and was not in itself inherently evil.Yoda: Dark Rendezvous In a separate exchange with Quinlan Vos, Darth Tyranus stated that the Jedi's refusal to use the dark side was motivated by fear of it, and if the Jedi simply stopped fearing it, they could use it to correct the injustices of the galaxy. However, as Tyranus was a fully-fledged Sith Lord at the time, his beliefs cannot be taken to represent the attitudes of the Dark Acolytes as a whole. In fact, many were capable of partaking in spectacular displays of depravity with only the flimsiest of justifications. Nikkos Tyris, notably, was of the opinion that the attainment of strength and power eliminated the need for any justification at all; a Sith ideal.
==List of Dark Acolytes==
===Artel Darc===
Artel Darc commanded the Confederate legions on Dagu, where he enslaved the Rybet inhabitants. His activities drew the attention of the Republic, and a military force led by Jedi Master Shaak Ti attacked Dagu. Darc led his forces against the Republic in the ensuing skirmish.
===Asajj Ventress===
Asajj Ventress was arguably the most prominent member of the Dark Acolytes, even receiving an introduction to Darth Tyranus's own Sith Master, Darth Sidious. A Dathomirian sold to Rattataki slavers, Ventress became a powerful warlord on the blood-soaked world.Republic 60 When Tyranus arrived onplanet during the weeks following the beginning of the Clone Wars, Ventress challenged him, impressing him with her lightsaber skills despite being soundly beaten. After becoming one of the Dark Lord's top lieutenants, she operated primarily as a commander and even an administrator, being frequently teamed with the mercenary Durge and leading military campaigns on Ohma-D'un and Teth, to name a few,Republic 51Star Wars: The Clone Wars film as well as being given control of the swamp gas production facility on Queyta, though her main vocation was that of assassin and spy.Republic 53
===Dark Acolyte Trio===
The Dark Acolyte trio were a group of anonymous acolytes who participated in the Battle of Geonosis. Their origins and identities were unknown. During the battle, they helped cover Tyranus' retreat by guarding the ground entrance to the Dark Lord's private hangar. Piloting Sith Enforcer battle tanks, they came into conflict with Jedi Master Mace Windu, and all three perished, but they succeeded in delaying him long enough for Tyranus to escape.
===Doppelgänger of Darth Tyranus===
It is unknown how these replicas of Darth Tyranus came into being, whether as a cloning experiment or a Force-based construct/illusion, but they served as members of the true Dark Lord's acolytes. Compared to the genuine article, these replicas served largely mundane purposes, one being assigned to guard Foreman Wat Tambor's C-B3 cortosis battle droid factory on Metalorn, while another was stationed at Tyranus' homeworld of Serenno. Both were slain by the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker,Star Wars: The New Droid Army who also eventually killed the real Darth Tyranus during the Battle of Coruscant near the end of the Clone Wars.
===Kadrian Sey===
When the Clone Wars began, the Jedi Kadrian Sey essentially vanished, failing to report to Coruscant following the Battle of Geonosis. One of Darth Tyranus' earliest known recruits, Sey served as a personal bodyguard for the Dark Lord, alongside Tol Skorr. She and Skorr enjoyed a tense relationship, being set against one another by Tyranus, but both would unite against a perceived threat to their position.
===Karoc===
Alongside his twin brother, Vinoc, Karoc was one of Darth Tyranus' servants. He and his sibling evidently had a low rank within the organization, and were assigned the relatively mundane duty of guarding the C-B3 cortosis battle droid factory on Metalorn. Unfortunately for Karoc and his twin, they were confronted by the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, who killed both in the ensuing lightsaber duel.
===Kern===
Kern was a male Zabrak who wielded a red double-bladed lightsaber. He and another Dark Acolyte Ror lead the Attack on Kashyyyk with the main objective of destroying the Jedi Outpost on the world and the capture of Jedi Master Mavra Zane and her Padawans. He then was present on Felucia where the Jedi Master and her padawans were to be executed but they freed themselves with the help of Yoda and the Star Runner. After engaging in a duel Kern was killed by one of Mavra Zane's padawans.Kinect Star Wars
===Quinlan Vos===
The Jedi Master Quinlan Vos was dispatched by the Jedi Council to infiltrate the Dark Acolytes as a double agent, and while he was accepted with open arms, he was relegated to more mundane assignments and minor errands due to Darth Tyranus' lack of trust in him. Vos confronted the Dark Lord over this, and was rewarded with renewed favor and lessons in the dark side of the Force. Vos was part of Tyranus' retinue of Acolytes that accompanied him to Kiffu to negotiate with Sheyf Tinté Vos, exposing himself as a double-agent to protect his aunt when the Dark Lord ordered her assassination. Tyranus momentarily incapacitated him before revealing that he had known of Vos' role all along, before further revealing Tinté' involvement in the death of Quinlan's parents. Quinlan Vos butchered his aunt in a violent rage, genuinely turning to the dark side, and was fully accepted into the fold.
===Ror===
Ror was a male Zabrak who wielded a red double-bladed lightsaber. Alongside his fellow Dark Acolyte Kern lead the Attack on Kashyyyk with the help of trandoshans during the first year of the Clone Wars. Later he was present on Felucia during the rebelion where he was killed by one of Mavra Zane's padawans.
===Saato===
Saato was a Dathomiri witch coerced by Darth Tyranus to his cause. While offered a limited military command, Saato's primary role appeared to be counter-intelligence, as shown by her apprehension of Republic spy Raala Ponchar on Tatooine. She had no qualms about hiring bounty hunters, using Aurra Sing to help capture the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker when he was sent to rescue Ponchar. Skywalker and Ponchar escaped, and Saato pursued the former to the Great Pit of Carkoon, but was bested and slain in a lightsaber duel.
===Savage Opress===
Effectively recruited as a replacement for Asajj Ventress after Darth Sidious ordered her execution, Savage Opress was a Zabrak born into the Dathomiri Nightbrothers, essentially as a slave to the Nightsisters. Reinforced by Nightsister "Shadow Magic", Opress was presented to Darth Tyranus ostensibly as a new apprentice, but in truth as an agent of the vengeful Asajj Ventress. Opress' initial assignment was the seizure of the Devaron Temple of Eedit, a task Opress completed with brutal efficiency. Greatly satisfied with Opress, Tyranus immediately took him under his wing, training him as a true Sith apprentice, believing they could one day rival Sidious.
===Sev'rance Tann===
Sev'rance Tann was a Chiss female who left Chiss Space to become a Dark Acolyte and general in the Separatist Droid Army during the Clone Wars. Hailing from Csilla in the Unknown Regions, with the aid of Darth Sidious she became one of few Chiss to leave her people during her time, along with her lover Vandalor, both becoming minions of their patron's apprentice, Darth Tyranus, and the Confederacy shortly before the outbreak of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY. Tyranus taught Tann the use of the dark side, and she became one of his most trusted lieutenants. A tactical genius, Tann served primarily as a military commander.Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns
===Sora Bulq===
Thought dead during the Battle of Geonosis, the Jedi Master Sora Bulq emerged accompanying Tholme to Bakura. There, they both confronted Darth Tyranus, himself having just fled Geonosis and fresh from an engagement with Yoda. Despite the advanced skills of both Jedi, they were overcome. Taken and treated for his injuries by Tyranus, Bulq was swayed to his cause and recruited into the Acolytes. He rescued the wounded Tholme and returned to the Jedi Temple as an enemy operative, and was tasked with creating a schism within the Jedi Order.Star Wars: Clone Wars Volume 8: The Last Siege, the Final Truth The scheme was exposed by Jedi Master Mace Windu, squandering Bulq's potential as a double-agent, though this allowed him to become one of the most prominent and capable of the Dark Acolytes. Sora Bulq was made secondary leader of the Dark Acolytes shortly afterwards. He was often at Tyranus' side during the war, acting as bodyguard and advisor, though he was occasionally trusted with high-level administration and government positions.
===Tol Skorr===
A former Jedi, Tol Skorr was shot down by pirates above Korriban, but was rescued by Tyranus. Developing a strong loyalty to his savior, Skorr followed Tyranus unquestioningly ever since, even leaving the Jedi Order and defecting to the Confederacy. A faithful acolyte, Skorr served primarily as one of Tyranus' bodyguards, alongside Kadrian Sey. Set against one another by the Dark Lord, the two enjoyed a tense relationship, though as Jedi Master Tholme noted, they would unite against a perceived threat to their positions. After Kadrian Sey's death, Quinlan Vos became Skorr's nemesis within the Acolytes, the two jockeying for Tyranus' approval.
===Trenox===
The Dark Acolyte known as Trenox was involved in the Coruscant Insurrection, helping Darth Tyranus command the Confederate forces during the battle. Encountering Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Trenox fled from him into the Coruscant underlevels. He encountered and threatened Dexter Jettster, though the Besalisk managed to evade him, and Trenox was again confronted by Skywalker within a club. After a brief duel, the acolyte opted to flee again, escaping on a speeder bike. Trenox accompanied Tyranus into the Jedi Temple, and again was confronted by Anakin Skywalker. This time, Trenox stood his ground, and the two fought long against one another. However, Trenox was ultimately cut down.
===Vinoc===
The twin brother of Karoc, Vinoc also counted among Darth Tyranus' Dark Acolytes. The siblings appeared to prefer operating in partnership with one another, and shared duties. They evidently were of low standing within the cult and were assigned with the relatively mundane duty of guarding guarding the C-B3 cortosis battle droid factory on Metalorn. Vinoc died alongside his brother in a lightsaber duel with Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker.
==History==
===Origins===
One of the earliest recruits into what would become the Dark Acolyte was Sev'rance Tann, a Chiss female from Csilla, Tann was a tactical genius brought to Republic space together with her lover, Vandalor, by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious and trained by his apprentice, Darth Tyranus. Her skills and high level of success won her a great deal of favor from both Dark Lords, as well as numerous other Confederate figureheads. During the Battle of Geonosis, Tann was charged with clearing out Tyranus' escape route during the fighting. While her actions allowed the Dark Lord to flee the carnage and facilitate the Clone Wars, it is generally assumed that the battle may have gone differently if the Dark Acolyte were allowed to lead the separatist droid forces, as opposed to the support role she performed.The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia The Battle of Geonosis also saw the deployment of the Dark Acolyte trio, three anonymous members of the organization who piloted Sith Enforcer battle tanks. They guarded the ground-level entrance to Tyranus' hangar, and successfully delayed Jedi Master Mace Windu long enough for the Dark Lord to make his escape, though all three perished in the fighting.
After meeting with Darth Sidious on Coruscant following the Battle of Geonosis, Darth Tyranus traveled to his stronghold on Bakura, where he was ambushed by Jedi Masters Tholme and Sora Bulq, who had managed to discover the fortress. Tyranus fended off both assailants, subduing Bulq with a blast of Force lightning while burying a stubborn Tholme beneath a pile of rubble. While Tholme sought for a way to escape, Tyranus levitated Bulq's unconscious body away and treated his injuries. Reasoning with the Jedi swordmaster, Tyranus made Bulq acknowledge the anger within himself, and turned him to the dark side. Tasked by the Dark Lord with infiltrating the Jedi Order, the Weequay rescued Tholme and returned to the Jedi Temple as a hero, using this newfound credibility in an attempt to divide the Jedi from within.
After the Battle of Geonosis, a number of Jedi failed to report to Coruscant for assignment. Tol Skorr, for one, was shot down by pirates above Korriban while on a mission, but was saved by Tyranus. Skorr gratefully followed Tyranus' lead without question ever since, including into the Confederate camp. Little is known of the circumstances behind the Jedi Kadrian Sey's defection, she simply failed to report in and reappeared within Tyranus' cadre of Dark Acolytes.
Approximately two months into the war, Darth Tyranus traveled to Rattatak looking to recruit. While surveying the battle within the local gladiatorial arena known as The Cauldron, Tyranus' host was swiftly dispatched and replaced by the cloaked figure of Asajj Ventress. The Dark Lord complimented her skills with Force concealment, though he stated that he hadn't come looking for a spy. Ventress leapt into the Cauldron and displayed her combat prowess against the myriad of gladiators, killing all. Tyranus was impressed by the display, but Ventress then overstepped her bounds when she declared herself a Sith. The amused Dark Lord levitated down to the arena floor and stated that while she fought like a Sith and displayed their trappings, she was still awash in fear, a trait that a true Sith lacked. Ventress moved to attack Tyranus, but the latter subdued her with a blast of Force lightning. Ventress awoke within a large penthouse loft carved out of the local rock formations, presumably Tyranus' residence on Rattatak. She was swiftly attacked by the Dark Lord just after locating her lightsabers, and the two fought back and forth across the chamber. While Ventress impressed Darth Tyranus and Darth Sidious, observing via holocom, with her lightsaber skills, she was ultimately subdued, her lightsabers destroyed. Expecting execution, she was instead recruited into the CIS' military, and given a pair of curved-hilt lightsabers to replace her Jedi weapons. Darth Sidious also gave her the standing order to find and eliminate the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. Darth Tyranus also approached the Dark Jedi Nikkos Tyris and his Jensaarai followers on Susevfi, promising the Anzati access to a Sith holocron in his possession in exchange for his services.
===Emerging from the shadows===
After the Battle of Geonosis, the droid armies were vastly reduced, as many of their transports weren't able to escape the planet. To recover, Darth Tyranus had Sev'rance Tann emerge from the sidelines and coordinate a number of military campaigns to either acquire the necessary resources, or stall the Republic's battalions. Tann first took control of the Kaer Orbital Platform, an abandoned InterGalactic Banking Clan installation that contained a wealth of raw materials. While battling against the Republic forces led by Jedi Knight Jor Drakas, Tann had a considerable number of battle droids constructed on-site. Once she attained an adequate number of troops, she retreated. Most of the army was sent to Raxus Prime for eventual use in the invasion and subsequent defense of Sarapin, while Tann traveled to Tatooine to meet with Boorka the Hutt, a representative of the Hutt Cartel. In exchange for the destruction of the local Republic forces, Boorka provided information on a Republic superweapon; the Decimator.
Sev'rance Tann attacked the Decimator research and development facilities on Eredenn Prime, capturing the complexes and a number of the weapons themselves, though she lacked the control codes to operate them. Tann subsequently attacked the research facility on Alaris Prime, defeating the Wookiee forces defending the installation and obtained the codes. Fighting her way through the defenses of Asteroid 426 to neutralize the defense grid protecting Sarapin, Tann headed the invasion of the world, utilizing the Decimators to great effect. Jedi Knight Jor Drakas was one of the casualties of the Separatist invasion, slain in single combat with Tann. Sarapin would later be recaptured by Jedi Master Echuu Shen-Jon, who would become Tann's personal nemesis. Shen-Jon eventually tracked Tann to Krant, and the two fought to the death. Sev'rance Tann was defeated, though unrepentant, taunting Shen-Jon with her dying breath and confident in the eventual defeat of the Jedi Order.
Another Acolyte, Asajj Ventress, was given control of the bioweapon laboratory on Queyta, where the aerosol nicknamed "Swamp gas" was developed. Ventress planned on releasing this deadly weapon into the atmosphere of the Republic world Naboo, but she needed to test it's effectiveness first, and unleashed it on the Gungan colony on Naboo's moon, Ohma-D'un. Released by a contingent of B2 super battle droid rigged with aerosol sprayers, the bioweapon proved highly effective, and most of the Gungan colonists died within seconds of exposure. She and the Gen'Dai mercenary Durge led the Confederate forces on Ohma-D'un; Ventress planning on using the disgruntled Spice miners on the moon as scapegoats by releasing the gas into Naboo's atmosphere with their transports.
A Jedi investigation team composed of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Glaive, Anakin Skywalker and Zule Xiss arrived on the moon at the request of Gungan Boss Rugor Nass to investigate the sudden loss of contact with the Gungan colony. Durge engaged the intruders, and had little difficulty dealing with the Clone troopers accompanying the Jedi, though the Knights themselves provided some difficulty, and he called for reinforcements. While Skywalker and the ARC Trooper Alpha-17 broke off to free the captive spice miners, Ventress quietly infiltrated the battlefield and decapitated Glaive. After an initial bout with Kenobi, she dismissed Durge to oversee the attack on Naboo while she dealt with the Jedi, using the Dark side of the Force to reanimate a number of Gungan corpses to act as her reinforcements. Ventress almost defeated the Jedi, cleaving off Zule Xiss' arm, but was forced to break off when Skywalker and Alpha-17 returned. The attack on Naboo was a failure, with the Swamp gas transports destroyed, and the Confederate forces routed. However, while Durge felt that Tyranus would view this mission as a failure, Ventress was satisfied with the turn of events, having confronted and come to know her enemies.Republic 52
===Failed Schism===
Using his credibility gained from rescuing Tholme after their duel with Dooku, Sora Bulq began executing a plan to create a schism within the Jedi Order. Bulq retreated to his family estate on Ruul, and sent invitations to various leaders of dissident Jedi who refused to join the Republic war effort. He was joined by Sian Jeisel, K'Kruhk, Rhad Tarn, and his former padawan Mira. In addition to the dissenters, Bulq invited a Jedi Council member to attend, specifically requesting Jedi Master Mace Windu. When Windu arrived, Bulq greeted him personally, and claimed that while he was saddened by the loss of so many Jedi at Geonosis, he remained impartial as to the debate of whether or not to join the Republic. However, Bulq gave himself away during the meeting when he quietly sided with the radical Rhad Tarn, who advocated joining the Confederacy to bring down the corrupt Republic.
After the meeting, Bulq left the main group, ostensibly for a quiet walk about the estate. However, he instead rendezvoused with Asajj Ventress, and the two engaged in a mock lightsaber duel designed to appear as an assassination attempt. When the other Jedi arrived, the Dathomirian assassin killed Mira before breaking off, claiming to be operating on Mace Windu's orders. Windu searched about the grounds for Ventress' ship, an enraged and suspicious Rhad Tarn shadowing him. Windu found Ventress' landing site, and realized Sora Bulq's treachery; the Weequay host had established earlier that no ship could land on Ruul without his knowledge. While Windu left to confront Bulq, Tarn happened upon the landing site and was attacked by Ventress. Ruthlessly taunted and toyed with, Tarn fell to the dark side, and accepted Ventress' offer to join her. When K'Kruhk and Jeisel came to investigate, they now had two Dark Jedi to contend with.
Mace Windu found Sora Bulq within the main house of the estate, mourning over Mira's body. Confronted by Windu over his turn to the dark side, Bulq revealed that his study of the dangerous Vaapad lightsaber form had left him fascinated by it, and he had been quietly dabbling in it for years, before being turned by Tyranus. Windu's revelation forced Bulq to change his plans; instead of making Windu look the aggressor against the dissidents to start a schism, Bulq would kill Windu and the other Jedi and pin the murders on the dead Windu. Both duelists drew their lightsabers and engaged one another. As they battled, they sensed the disturbance caused by the other Jedi's duel with Ventress, so Windu broke off to go rescue them, subduing Bulq with a Force push. Rhad Tarn was cut down by Jeisel, though K'Kruhk didn't fare nearly so well, and was only saved by Windu's timely intervention. Ventress fought back against Windu, but was unable to compete with the Jedi Swordmaster, and fled. Windu, K'Kruhk and Jeisel fled Ruul soon after, attacked by Sora Bulq's droids.
===Destruction of the Queyta bioweapon facility===
Asajj Ventress would serve in many capacities during the war, but the repercussions of her first mission to Ohma-D'un would remain a focus of the Republic for some time. The Jedi began to devote many of their resources towards tracking down the source of the "Swamp gas" bioweapon. Ventress and Durge got wind of this development, and holed themselves up in the laboratory on Queyta. The installation itself was kept minimally staffed to avoid infiltration, and was precariously positioned on a massive rock formation that drifted along one of the many lava rivers of Queyta, ensuring continual mobility. Their primary objective was to secure the samples of antidote to the bioweapon to prevent them from falling into Republic hands. As they prepared to leave, and scuttle the facility, a Jedi strike team composed of Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi, Knol Ven'nari, Nico Diath, Jon Antilles, and Fay arrived.
While Ventress singled out Kenobi, Durge went to create a distraction, firing upon three of the Skakoan members of the facilities staff and detonating their Methane-filled pressure suits. The resulting firebomb incinerated the main lab and cracked through the rock foundation, allowing lava to break through, as well as killing Knol Ven'nari. Ventress and Durge escaped in the resulting chaos while the Jedi broke off to assess their losses. The Jedi pursued Ventress and Durge as they moved to escape the doomed complex. Ventress was attacked by Kenobi on a narrow catwalk, but she escaped by cutting apart the platform with her lightsabers, only to be confronted by Jon Antilles. However, Durge intervened and killed Antilles, and Ventress covered their escape by cutting apart overhead pipes conveying lava, raining fire on the Jedi and killing Nico Diath. Only Kenobi and Fay were left, and Fay managed to disable Ventress with a telekinetic assault, impaling the Dark Jedi with small shards of metal and glass. The prone Ventress was then telepathically attacked by Fay, and was rendered unconscious when she attempted to retaliate.
Kenobi and Fay took a sample of the Swamp gas antidote from Ventress' inert form, but their escape was cut off by Durge. While the Jedi managed to fend off Durge, Ventress regained consciousness and impaled Fay with her lightsabers. Kenobi was hanging off the edge of the facility above the lava river below when Ventress found him. She revealed that Tyranus had left standing orders that he be taken alive, as the Dark Lord had plans for him, and offered to save his life. Kenobi refused, and Ventress declared that the next time they met, she would kill him, regardless of Tyranus' instructions, beginning her intense obsession with the Jedi. Ventress and Durge escaped in an evac ship.
===Duel on Yavin IV===
Acting on her standing orders from Darth Sidious to find and kill Jedi Commander Anakin Skywalker, Asajj Ventress travelled to Muunilinst, where Skywalker was leading the Republic space forces during the battle there. Entering the space battle aboard a Geonosian fanblade, Ventress shot down Blue Squadron to get Skywalker's attention. The two Force-wielders engaged in a vicious dogfight, with Ventress baiting Skywalker before fleeing into hyperspace. Skywalker pursued her to Yavin 4, landing on the jungle world and searching the jungle, aided by a squad of clone troopers sent by Obi-Wan Kenobi to assist him. As Skywalker and his troops swept the jungle searching for her, Ventress covertly attacked them, killing them off one by one with her telekinetic abilities. She then destroyed both Skywalker's fighter and the Republic troop transport before confronting Skywalker directly.
Their duel tore through the jungle undergrowth, Ventress using every weapon in her arsenal to attack Skywalker, reinforcing her lightsaber skills with telekinetic attacks. However, Skywalker responded in kind, and managed to disarm Ventress with clever swordplay, though Ventress simply retreated into the jungle canopy, retrieving her lightsabers with the Force. Skywalker pursued her into the tree tops, where Ventress led him on a wild chase, punctuated by sudden bursts of combat. Eventually, their duel took them to one of the ruined Massassi temples that dotted the planet. Ventress managed to get the better of Skywalker, attacking him with dislodged chunks of masonry before blasting him off the elevated platform she occupied. After a brief pause, during which it began to rain, Skywalker attacked, assailing Ventress' position and driving her off the platform. Ventress retreated to the interior of one of the temples, Skywalker in close pursuit. Their battle took them to the upper levels of the structure, and back outside, where they fought their way up the rain-slicked ledges and stairways of the temple exterior towards the crumbling rooftop. On the rooftop, their battle continued with increasing ferocity until Ventress managed to disarm Skywalker. Skywalker responded by seizing her wrists, and crushing the one grasped in his prosthetic hand, which caused Ventress to drop one of her dual lightsabers. Skywalker took up the lightsaber and attacked again, pushing Ventress to the edge of the roof before driving her to her knees. Drawing on his rage, Skywalker hammered her repeatedly with power blows until the stone of the rooftop crumbled, and Ventress fell off the structure into a gorge beneath.
===Ventress introduced to Grievous===
Despite Asajj Ventress' repeated failures, she managed to retain Tyranus' favor. However, the Dark Lord desired to gauge her effectiveness against his newly emerged primary enforcer, the cyborg General Grievous, and sent her and Durge to the Space Station Trenchant, his personal retreat. Ventress and Durge were told that the security sensors had alerted Tyranus to an intruder aboard, and ordered them to find him. They combed through the station, finding nothing, eventually reaching the trophy room. It was there that Grievous attacked them.
Durge was assaulted first, thrown across the room to Ventress' feet, though she failed to spot the attacker. When she leapt atop one of the trophy displays for a better vantage point, Grievous surprised her with an electrostaff, knocking her off the display. Ventress was caught by Durge, and the two got their first good look at Grievous. In the ensuing melee, Grievous managed to throw Ventress aside, but was distracted by Durge long enough for the Acolyte to recover and land a devastating blow across his metal back. Grievous brandished his own lightsabers and disabled Durge, but was driven back by Ventress' attack. Ventress managed to disarm Grievous, though the cyborg retaliated in brutal fashion and throttled her into unconsciousness.
Tyranus prevented Grievous from finishing off Ventress and Durge, feeling that their usefulness had not yet run it's course. Ventress and Durge eventually recovered, though Grievous was dubbed the Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies for his accomplishment. This first meeting between Ventress and Grievous set the stage for a poor working relationship in the future, one that consisted primarily of heated rivalry and intense hatred, although the two did share rare moments of cordiality.
===The Cestus Deception===
Just after the Clone Wars began, the Cestus Cybernetics workshops on Ord Cestus produced a new type of security droid; the JK-13 Bio-droid. The JKs, colloquially termed the "Jedi Killers" for their effectiveness even against Jedi, were ideal Battle droids in almost every way, save for the fact that the Force-sensitive Dashta eel that was used in the machine's processor was native only to the Dashta Mountains on Ord Cestus. As Confederate scientists were still having difficulty cloning the eel, mass production of the JK-13s for battlefield use was not an option. However, due to Cestus' financial situation, the Sith planned on manipulating events to drive the planet into the Separatist fold, before allowing the Republic to conquer it to prevent the JKs from getting into their hands, and acting as an example to push other worlds into the CIS. Darth Tyranus dispatched Asajj Ventress to execute this scheme.
She landed in the Ord Cestus wilderness, planting a powerful Force-field to protect her ship before departing with the X'Ting Fizzik to meet with the local crime lord Trillot. Presenting salt, water, and two Windsnakes as ingredients for a X'Ting ritual feast to open negotiations, before inquiring as to why she hadn't been taken to meet the Five Families who controlled Cestus Cybernetics yet. She learned that a Jedi had been sent to negotiate with the corporation on behalf of the Republic; Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Ventress opted to deal with Kenobi before she met with the Five Families, telling Trillot to keep her presence on Ord Cestus and identity secret. She spent several days watching and waiting, also shadowing Kenobi during a formal X'Ting mask ball while he danced with G'Mai Duris, the political leader of Ord Cestus, and a puppet of Cestus Cybernetics. Ventress' knowledge of the Sith Quey'Tek meditation allowed her to evade Kenobi's notice. Ventress also eavesdropped on Kenobi's meeting with Trillot, telling the crime lord to be help Kenobi for the time being to gain his trust, before shadowing Kenobi to the Cleft Head cantina and listening in his secret meeting with G'Mai Duris.
To make the Five Families more willing to deal with the Republic, Kenobi and Kit Fisto initiated a false assassination attempt on them. Fisto, masquerading as Dark Acolyte and calling himself "Nemonus," hijacked the private railcar the Five Families used to travel about the planet and threatened them, claiming that the Families' attempt to renegotiate had eroded Tyranus' faith in them. Before "Nemonus" could kill them, Kenobi intervened, and apparently drove him and his forces off. Ventress provided a recording of the entire incident to G'Mai Duris, revealing that the assassination attempt was a sham, and forcing Kenobi to leave Ord Cestus in disgrace. However, Ventress fully expected Kenobi to make a return appearance, and remained ready.
Kenobi joined with Fisto out in the Cestus wilds, where the Jedi and his squad of ARC Troopers had been training the local revolutionary force, Desert Wind, in advanced guerrilla warfare tactics. The Ord Cestus industrial complex was attacked on all fronts by this force, resulting in chaos. Into this Asajj Ventress stepped, approaching G'Mai Duris as Darth Tyranus' representative, and offering aid against the Desert Wind incursions. Using her Force abilities to pinpoint the location of Kenobi and Fisto's base, Ventress gave the data to Duris and the Five Families, who sent a cadre of JK-13 droids to the site. The Desert Wind was scattered, most of the members captured by the droids. Now in desperation, Kenobi and Fisto decided to attempt to break into the Five Families' production facility and shut down the lines, while the Desert Wind remnants, led by the ARC troopers, would provide the coordinates of the power and water filtration plants of Ord Cestus to be destroyed by a bombardment from the recently arrived Republic fleet. Ventress countered by recalibrating the coordinates so that the bombardment would hit a cave fault, destroying an entire industrial complex and it's millions of workers, and intercepting Kenobi and Fisto as they traveled through secret underground tunnels to the production facility. The Jedi were trapped within an energy field within an underground grotto, while Ventress gloated over them. Ventress herself admitted that she was acting under standing orders from Tyranus to bring Kenobi to him alive, though he also admitted that she would like nothing better than to fight him to the death.
The Separatist plot would have succeeded were it not for one of the ARC troopers, Jangotat, who sent in new coordinates for the Republic bombardment, instead firing on the Five Families' bunker, killing him in the process. The resulting power surge caused the energy shields containing Kenobi and Fisto in the grotto to momentarily short out, allowing them to escape. Ventress first set her personal cadre of X'Ting warriors against them to observe and gauge their fighting forms, before attacking Fisto. The lightsaber duel between Asajj Ventress and Kit Fisto was fast and furious, but Ventress managed to pierce his guard after landing a kick to his jaw. While Fisto fell into water of the grotto, Kenobi attacked Ventress. Both duelists fell into the grotto when Fisto cut apart the loading dock they fought on before passing out. Ventress was forced to flee from Kenobi's relentless determination, as he demonstrated a willingness to die to bring her down. With the Five Families dead, and all of Ventress' manipulations laid bare, the Cestus deception was a failure.
===Capture and Escape of Obi-Wan Kenobi===
During the Battle of Jabiim, Obi-Wan Kenobi and the ARC trooper Alpha-17 were seemingly killed when they were caught inside an exploding Walker, but they were actually captured by Asajj Ventress. Ventress took them to her homeworld of Rattatak and imprisoned them within the dungeons of her fortress. The Dark Jedi infected Kenobi's body with Muscle maggots to drain his strength, while using a Sith torture mask to obscure his connection to the Force and prevent him from escaping, all in an attempt to break him and demonstrate his uselessness to Tyranus.Republic 59 For Alpha-17, Ventress relied on more conventional interrogation techniques. Ultimately, Kenobi managed to escape Ventress despite her safeguards by breaking the water pipes he was suspended from, freeing himself and Alpha-17. They broke out of their cells and led a prisoner revolt, making their way to the landing platforms with the aid of Ventress' old enemy, Osika Kirske, and stealing Ky Narec's lightsaber along the way. Ventress managed to catch up with them at the landing platform, killing Kirske and dueling Kenobi. As she fought Kenobi, who wielded Narec's lightsaber alongside his own, Alpha-17 hijacked Ventress' Ginivex fanblade and retrieved Kenobi. While enraged over Kenobi's escape, Ventress was left despondent over the theft of Ky Narec's lightsaber.
===Quinlan Vos' infiltration===
As the Clone Wars picked up, the Jedi Master Tholme proposed a bold scheme; dispatch Quinlan Vos to infiltrate the Dark Acolytes and provide intelligence on Darth Tyranus' plans. Only Mace Windu was made aware of this plan, the rest of the Republic forces being left to believe that Vos was a traitor. Quinlan was accepted into the Separatist ranks, though he was delegated to being a simple errand boy, due to Tyranus' lack of trust in him. Frustrated by the mundane tasks he was being set to, the undercover Jedi Master traveled to Antar to confront the Dark Lord about this. Arriving at the entrance to Tyranus' stronghold, Vos was confronted by Tol Skorr and Kadrian Sey. Perceiving him as a threat, the two drew their lightsabers and attacked him. Vos easily held them off, though the scuffle alerted Sora Bulq, who intervened. Bulq escorted Vos to meet with Tyranus. Vos presented his case that he was being wasted on mundane tasks while "lesser skilled Jedi" performed the important jobs. Tyranus countered that the other acolytes had earned his trust, unlike Vos, though he agreed to give him a chance. Tyranus first demanded that Quinlan's abilities and skill sets be evaluated, and sharpened if need be. As Vos left the chamber, Sora Bulq counseled that Vos' inherent darkness made him potentially useful.
Vos was provided with a number of lessons in the dark side of the Force, all the while using his psychometric abilities to gather intelligence, learning of Tyranus' negotiations with the Kiffu Guardians. During a sparring match with Tyranus, Vos' fighting skills were heavily criticized by Tyranus, who gave him a sound beating. Immediately afterwards, the Dark Lord traveled to Tibrin, which had just been captured by the Confederacy. Accompanied by Vos, Sora Bulq, Tol Skorr, and Kadrian Sey, Tyranus negotiated with the Ishi Tib dictator, Suribran Tu. Tu was compliant, though Tyranus turned to his acolytes for council on what to do with him. Kadrian Sey recommended keeping him in power to ensure administrative continuity, while Quinlan Vos called for his removal, questioning his trustworthiness and citing that leaving a tyrant in power only demonstrated a lack of meaningful difference between the Republic and the Confederacy. After pressing Vos for his reasons, Tyranus opted for his argument, and decapitated Suribran Tu on the spot. Sora Bulq was given control of the local government, Skorr and Sey were tasked with clearing away Tu's body and placing his head on display for the local populace. Quinlan Vos was given a completely different task; intercept the duplicitous Falleen Senator Zurros at The Wheel and assassinate him.
Over the course of the six days that Quinlan Vos was off-planet, another Jedi infiltrator, Shylar, was found out and captured. Taken to the dungeon level of a stronghold, she was mercilessly tortured by Kadrian Sey while Darth Tyranus quietly interrogated her. Vos entered the dungeon, supposedly with Zurros' head, but only with his topknot. Vos revealed that he had only intimidated Zurros rather than killing him, stating that Tyranus would only have to start over with Zurros' replacement, where the Senator now knew what would happen if he failed again. Tyranus was apparently pleased with Vos' actions, valuing intelligence. The Dark Lord then told the undercover Jedi Master about his negotiations with the Kiffu guardians, planning to establish a Confederate base on the prison planet Kiffex, but experiencing resistance from Sheyf Tinte Vos. Tyranus wanted Quinlan to accompany him.
===Subjugation of the Kiffu Guardians===
Arriving on Kiffu with Quinlan Vos, Tol Skorr, and Kadrian Sey in his entourage, Darth Tyranus negotiated with Sheyf Tinté Vos. The proceedings quickly soured when Sheyf Vos revealed her intent to use the post-war confusion when the Clone Wars ended to gather power for herself. Tyranus ordered his underlings to attack her guards and assassinate her. The battle was already slanted in favor of the Dark Acolytes when the Dark Lord decided to demonstrate his power, blasting numerous members of the Sheyf's guard with Force lightning. The acolytes began competing with one another to reach the Sheyf first. Quinlan Vos overlapped the competition and seized his aunt, lightsaber raised, only to turn and cut down Kadrian Sey when she moved to attack. Revealed as a Republic agent, Quinlan Vos grabbed hold of Tinté and fled the scene. Tyranus ordered Skorr to finish mopping up the remaining guards while he quietly pursued Vos.
Within the Guardian complex, Quinlan Vos attempted to convince his confused and enraged aunt to gather the Kiffu clans to resist Tyranus, but was interrupted by the Dark Lord himself. Tyranus revealed that he had known all along that Vos was a Republic mole. As he and Vos crossed blades, Tyranus deduced the infiltration to be Tholme's plan, and explained that he wanted Vos to continue serving as a spy, but serving the Sith instead of the Jedi. Vos refused, and Tyranus subdued him with the Force before telling him to ask Tinté the truth about his parents' death. Tyranus further pressed Vos to augment his psychometric abilities with the dark side of the Force and literally read the information from his aunt. Quinlan Vos learned that Tinté Vos had sacrificed his parents to Anzati as part of a deal. Returning the enraged Vos' lightsaber to him, Tyranus encouraged him to strike down Tinté, and Vos complied.
Now certain that Quinlan Vos' conversion to the dark side was no longer an act, Darth Tyranus took him under his wing and accepted him fully into the Dark Acolytes' fold.
===Rise of the Cortosis Battle Droids===
One of the Confederate constituents, Foreman Wat Tambor of the Techno Union, began mining cortosis ore and using it to create new model of battle droid with upgraded armor, increasing their battlefield effectiveness and even allowing them to compete with Jedi. These droids were deployed in very limited numbers on Tatooine, led by the Dark Acolyte Saato and the Force-sensitive bounty hunter Aurra Sing. The Republic managed to get word of the attack, and Anakin Skywalker was sent to investigate. As he conducted his investigation, he battled with several of the cortosis droids before being led to Jabba's Palace, where he was confronted by Sing and Saato. Sing was subdued, though Saato choked the Jedi into unconsciousness with telekinesis and imprisoned him in the palace dungeons. Skywalker broke out of the dungeons, freeing many of the other prisoners before fleeing the scene aboard a skiff. Saato pursued him to the Great Pit of Carkoon and shot him down. The two dueled next to the Sarlacc, but Saato was defeated and killed.
While Skywalker did report the events on Tatooine to his superiors, it was too late to prevent Tyranus' attack. The Dark Lord personally led the Confederate forces in a surprise raid on Coruscant itself, accompanied by the Acolyte Trenox, and reinforced by a cadre of cortosis battle droids. Skywalker and Trenox encountered one another during the battle, but Trenox fled into the Coruscant underworld. Linking up with Tyranus, Trenox joined the assault on the Jedi Temple, breaching the Jedi Archives. Trenox was again confronted by Skywalker, though this time opted to hold his ground, and paid for it with his life. He was, however, successful in delaying Skywalker long enough for Tyranus to steal at least one Holocron and escape.
The battlefield effectiveness of the cortosis battle droids was deemed too great by Darth Sidious, who was worried it might upset the continuous stalemate he was creating. In his alter ego of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, he allowed information of the cortosis Droid factory on Metalorn to be leaked to the Republic, and Anakin Skywalker was dispatched to destroy the factory. He confronted Karoc and Vinoc, who guarded the facilities power core and cut them down. Skywalker even managed to capture Wat Tambor, though he was confronted by one of the doppelgängers of Tyranus as he made his escape. Their duel was largely evenly matched, until the false Count began taunting Skywalker with knowledge of the Jedi's dead mother. Skywalker cut down the Tyranus-replica in a rage, though the doppelgänger used his last breath to taunt Skywalker over his use of the dark side to defeat him.
===The Retrieval of the Holocron of Heresies===
Darth Tyranus eventually became aware of the location of the Holocron of Heresies, though whether this was due to his own researches, or if he was informed by his master, Darth Sidious is unknown. Whatever the case, he traveled to Korriban with Quinlan Vos and Tol Skorr, dispatching them to retrieve it. The mission quickly became a competition between the two, with Skorr lying in wait for Vos to retrieve the Holocron, using the secret paths he discovered during his previous visit to get the drop on Vos. However, Vos countered by guiding a Tuk'ata Sith hound into the fray and effectively siccing it on Skorr, retaking the holocron in the confusion. Vos fled up a large shaft towards the roof of the Sith temples, with Skorr in close pursuit. Vos reached the ramp of the ship hovering above first, and kicked Skorr back down the shaft. Tol Skorr would have died then and there had Darth Tyranus not intervened, levitating Skorr back up to the ship with the Force.
Tyranus voiced his disappointment in Skorr while the latter raged at Vos about the outcome of their contest, though Quinlan dismissed this, reasoning that the only thing that mattered was that their master had the holocron. Tyranus acknowledged that Quinlan Vos was rapidly becoming the most reliable of his lieutenants. Vos accompanied Tyranus to one of his strongholds as a guest, and even had the Holocron of Heresies displayed to him. Tyranus and Vos engaged in a brief discussion about the Sith, during which the former denied the rumors that he was a Sith Lord. Tyranus then presented Vos with a gift; Darth Andeddu's synth-crystal. He also gave the Dark Acolyte another mission; to travel to Coruscant and perform an assassination.
===The Assassination of Senator Viento===
Quinlan Vos was provided with only a small amount of information, and was led to believe that the target was none other than the elusive Darth Sidious. Infiltrating a Senate gathering disguised as his dead uncle, he was given the target's identity by Darth Tyranus via communicator. Waiting until Senator Viento had returned home and went to sleep, Vos infiltrated his apartment, dodging the security systems and the notice of the target's bodyguard; Jedi Master K'Kruhk. As Vos moved to finish Viento, the ozone stench of his lightsaber alerted K'Kruhk to his presence. Vos was momentarily stalled by the Jedi's intervention, though he quickly cut down Viento, only to be shocked to discover his target's true identity. Vos moved to escape, with the Jedi in close pursuit. Khaleen Hentz was supposed to pick him up, but she was a no-show, and Quinlan was left to with K'Kruhk to contend with. Landing atop a cargo tram below the apartment, Quinlan and K'Kruhk scuffled before Vos blasted him aside with a Force push.
Meeting Tyranus at the rendezvous point, he learned that Khaleen had been prevented from picking him up by Tol Skorr, acting on orders from their master. When he revealed to the Dark Lord that he mistook Viento for a Sith, Tyranus pointed that out as his mistake, and made clear that this was just a political assassination, and another test for Vos. Tyranus pointed out that while Quinlan had turned to the dark side, he had not yet embraced it, and he had disappointed him yet again. Darth Tyranus departed Coruscant with Tol Skorr.
===Quinlan Vos' subsequent missions===
Operating as the Dark Lord's envoy and executioner, Quinlan Vos was dispatched by Darth Tyranus to dispense with Kh'aris Fenn. Fenn had used credits allocated by Tyranus to facilitate a takeover of Ryloth to instead pursue a personal vendetta against the Jedi, hiring bounty hunters from the Crimson Nova guild. The Crimson Nova had been brought to heel by the Jedi, and Fenn's identity had been discovered. Vos, masquerading as Rh'ajah Fenn, delivered Tyranus' message, and execution order. Revealing his identity, Vos handily subdued Fenn as he attempted to defend himself before igniting his lightsaber through the Twi'lek's chest. Vos decapitated Fenn's corpse, taking the head as proof of kill to Tyranus, and leaving a recording of the incident at the scene as a warning to others. The Jedi who happened upon the scene later were appalled by Vos' cruelty, and the obvious pleasure he took in the deed.
Quinlan was later dispatched to Honoghr to retrieve the Scientific Instrument Package for the Separatist bioweapon Trihexalophine1138, an aggressive defoliant that had been released on the lush world during a battle in orbit. He happened upon his former Jedi Padawan, Aayla Secura, and one of her surviving clone troopers, Bly, being attacked by the Noghri natives as they moved to take the SIP for the Republic. He intervened and gunned down the Noghri, and offered to work with the Jedi. Despite initial tensions with Bly, they advanced quickly through the Rakatan temple the Noghri had hidden the SIP within, evading the traps and overcoming the Noghri in their path. Guiding Secura and Bly to his escape ship, the Skorp-Ion, Vos made his play, offering them safe-passage off-world in exchange for the SIP. Secura and Bly resisted, and Bly was quickly subdued while Vos crossed blades with his former student. Secura was eventually brought down, and Vos demanded she hand over the SIP. She refused, and Vos prepared to kill her, but hesitated. As he paused, he was fired at by Bly, who had recovered. Opting to retreat, Vos leapt aboard the Skorp-Ion and fled, without the SIP.Republic 68
===Lure on Vjun===
Darth Tyranus conceived of an ambitious plot to assassinate Jedi Grand Master Yoda, luring his old mentor to Vjun with an invitation to meet for peace-talks. The initial message was delivered by the Jedi Jai Maruk, a spy who was intercepted and defeated by Asajj Ventress before being given the message by Tyranus and sent back to Coruscant. The Sith Lord sent a secondary message of his own with a holoprojector built into the damaged lightsaber taken from Jang Li-Li after the Dark Acolyte killed him. Ventress also began appealing to Dooku to make her his formal apprentice, though Tyranus refused, citing her growing thirst for power would lead her to an eventual desire to betray him. He then tortured her through the Force and treated her as a lackey to humble her. While Tyranus' message to Yoda was intended as a lie, and a lure to assassination, Tyranus was having very real second thoughts about his allegiance to the Sith.
Darth Sidious discovered Yoda's plans to meet with Darth Tyranus on Vjun when the Jedi met with his alter-ego; Chancellor Palpatine; to explain his absence. Sidious told Tyranus to treat Yoda as "he deserves". Asajj Ventress was charged with intercepting and killing Yoda en route, but instead she captured the decoy Palleus Chuff above Ithorr. Chuff a famous actor who had made reputation for himself as a Yoda-impersonator. Ventress was provided with the location of the real Yoda by the droid agent Solis, and traveled to the Phindar spaceport with a cadre of assassin droids in tow. She attacked the space station Yoda and his Jedi escort were aboard at the time, setting the assassin droids against the Jedi Jai Maruk and Maks Leem. The R2 unit droid casing Yoda had concealed himself within was pinned to the ground with prototype personal tractor beam projectors that the droids carried before being cut apart by Ventress. However, Yoda had cut a hole in the floor with his lightsaber escaped into the parking levels below. Ventress sent a team of the droids after him before turning on Jai Maruk, as she was denied his life the last time they fought by Tyranus.
Maruk fought hard against his attacker, but Ventress was simply a better duelist and prevailed, cutting him down. Maruk's padawan, Whie Malreaux, attacked Ventress, though the Dark Acolyte easily held him off, and explained her motivations to him, tempting him with the dark side of the Force. She used an explosive dart to create a hull breach in the side of the station, using this to distract the surviving Padawans while she made her escape; she had killed Maruk, and Maks Leem had been killed by the droids. While Ventress fought Maruk, Yoda rescued Palleus Chuff and the two sabotaged Ventress' ship, forcing her to hijack a different ship to make her escape. Tyranus was ultimately displeased by the turn of events, though he remained committed to luring Yoda to Vjun. When Ventress made her report to her master, she suggested that Tyranus choose now to rebel against Sidious, assassinating him and assuming his place, as per the Sith way, with herself as his apprentice. Tyranus ordered Ventress to return to Vjun.
Ventress was posted in the sublevels of Tyranus' base in Château Malreaux, guarding the entrances to secret passages into the system of caverns permeating the area, while Tyranus awaited Yoda in the study. When Yoda arrived, he and his old pupil began speaking, attempting to reason with and sway one another to his own cause, while Ventress intercepted the Padawans with Yoda, Whie Malreaux and Tallisibeth "Scout" Enwandung-Esterhazy, when they attempted to infiltrate the Chateau through the secret passages. Ventress would proceed to physically and psychologically torture the two, intent on turning the promising Whie Malreaux to the dark side. Tyranus used similar methods against Yoda, though Yoda remained stubbornly resistant to Tyranus' psychological tactics, and responded in kind. Ventress' attempt to turn Whie failed, though before Ventress could kill the Padawans, the droid Solis intervened, looking for payback after Ventress backed out on their earlier arrangement and refused to pay him.
It was then that Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi arrived in the Chateau, looking to rescue Yoda. Ventress had managed to destroy Solis, but was wounded in the process, and decided to flee from the newly arrived Jedi. Tyranus, who had begun to crack and consider re-defecting back to the Jedi, was enraged by the arrival of the two, especially Skywalker, whom the Dark Lord viewed as his own "replacement" as the rising star of the Jedi Order. Tyranus attacked Whirry Malreaux, the mad Viscountess and mother of Whie who lived in the Chateau, using the distraction to lash out at Yoda, scoring a hit along the Jedi's side. However, even with this early success, and even with the dark side aura that permeated Vjun reinforcing him, Tyranus was no match for Yoda, and retreated, using an orbital missile aimed at the Chateau to cover his escape.
===The Infiltration of the Jedi Order===
Darth Tyranus conceived of a plan to infiltrate the Jedi Order, dispatching Quinlan Vos to return to them, pretending to re-defect back to the Republic. For added credibility, he sent Asajj Ventress and Tol Skorr to retrieve him, intending them to fail but keeping them in the dark about the nature of the mission. Vos fled to the deserted science vessel, Titavian IV, and sent a Jedi distress signal. He repaired his ship and was scrounging the Titavian for supplies when Ventress and Skorr found him. The call for aid was answered by Obi-Wan Kenobi, who boarded the Titavian and found Vos being harassed by Ventress' attack droids. Kenobi decided to aid his former friend, and helped Vos escape the droids. When Kenobi pressed him about his activities, Vos claimed that he was still a Republic agent in the enemy camp. As Kenobi and Vos searched through the Titavian they were again set upon by Ventress' droids, who herded them to Ventress and Skorr themselves.
While Skorr attacked Vos, Ventress fixated on Kenobi. Skorr managed to subdue Vos, though Kenobi evaded Ventress and released a Rancor from its onboard holding pen, effectively siccing it on Ventress and Skorr. While they broke off to deal with it, Kenobi rescued Vos. Vos was sent out it Kenobi's one-man starfighter to retrieve his own ship, the Skorp-Ion, while Kenobi delayed Ventress and Skorr. However, Kenobi was forced to contend with the Rancor as well, as Ventress managed to dominate it. Kenobi made it to the hangar, where he was attacked by Skorr aboard his own ship. Leaping atop Ventress Rancor mount, Kenobi kicked her off and killed the beast before retreating to an overhead catwalk. Ventress pursued him and attacked, but was forced to break off when Skorr fired on the platform. Unfortunately, Skorr was himself shot down by Vos aboard the Skorp-Ion, allowing Kenobi and Vos to flee. However, Ventress had placed a tracer aboard Vos' ship, allowing her to track Vos. Despite this, the retrieval was a failure, and adding insult to injury, Ventress and Skorr were in turn retrieved by Grievous. Kenobi brought Vos before Master Saesee Tiin just prior to the Battle of Rendili, and Vos was disarmed and incarcerated. However, during the battle, power surges aboard the Republic flagship from the battle damage allowed Vos to escape and retrieve his weapons. Taking a Jedi starfighter, Vos joined the Republic forces. Vos' aid proved instrumental to the Republic victory.
Afterwards, Quinlan Vos was brought before the Jedi Council for judgment, with Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Tholme testifying on his behalf. Quinlan Vos was accepted back into the Jedi Order. During the latter stage of the trial, Anakin Skywalker stole away to receive a message from Padmé Amidala, his secret wife. Asajj Ventress, who had arrived on-planet in pursuit of Vos and Kenobi, decided to attack him instead. Ventress declared that first she would kill Amidala to torture Skywalker, before killing him. Skywalker attacked her, and the two battled back and forth across the deserted Coruscant rooftop. Ventress managed to slash at Skywalker's face, leaving him with his distinctive facial scar next to his right eye, though she was subdued by Skywalker's brutal retaliation. Entangled in a mess of electrified wires, Ventress was dropped off the side of the building. Despite her injuries, Ventress would survive to fight another day. Kenobi would later visit the Coruscant underlevels beneath the site of the duel, and see the scavengers and slum-dwellers who missed limbs and sported lightsaber burns, victims of Ventress' escape.Star Wars: Obsession
===The Kidnapping of Rotta the Hutt===
The Confederacy of Independent Systems began looking to gain control of all the hyperspace lanes to the Outer Rim, and were looking to deal with the Hutts to get them. However, they didn't trust Jabba Desilijic Tiure to side with them, so Darth Sidious and Darth Tyranus began plotting with Jabba's uncle, Ziro Desilijic Tiure, to kidnap Jabba's son, Rotta the Hutt, to force his hand. On the off-chance that Jabba appealed to the Republic for help, Asajj Ventress was dispatched to delay the only two Jedi who would be available to help; Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Ventress took command of the Separatist forces on Christophsis, where Kenobi and Skywalker were leading the Republic campaign. She enlisted the disgruntled clone sergeant, Slick, as a Confederate agent, and he began supplying them with intel on the Republic's movements. When the Republic forces became aware of a spy in their midst, Kenobi and Skywalker traveled to the Confederacy's command center to attempt to discover his identity. However, while Slick was discovered by the Clones, he used the Jedi's absence to engage in a campaign of sabotage, destroying the Republic gunships and weapon depots. The Jedi confronted Ventress within the command center, though the duel was ultimately little more than a stalling tactic, and the Jedi learned too late the identity of the spy. They also beheld the arrival of Confederate reinforcements.
While the Jedi moved to lead their diminished forces against the Separatist reinforcements, Ventress departed for Tatooine, kidnapping Rotta personally. The Huttlet was taken and ensconced in a CIS-controlled B'omarr monastery on Teth, guarded by the Dark Acolyte and a large force of battle droids. When Republic forces led by Anakin Skywalker and his new Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, arrived, Ventress allowed them to gain entry into the monastery and retrieve the Huttlet, recording the event with a her personal spy droid, 4A-7. The droid then edited the footage to make the Jedi treatment of Rotta appear abusive before sending the recording to Darth Tyranus on Tatooine, who presented it to an infuriated Jabba the Hutt. Ventress called in droid reinforcements before moving to retrieve Rotta from the Jedi, pursuing Skywalker and Tano deeper into the monastery as they made their way to a secondary landing platform at the rear of the complex. She managed to head the Jedi off in an abandoned Hutt throne room - the monastery was formerly Hutt-controlled - before they fled into a Rancor pit below the chamber. As Ventress battled the Jedi, the Jungle rancor kept within the chamber attacked them, and Skywalker outmaneuvered her, and Ventress was nearly crushed under the beast's bulk. Escaping the beast, Ventress pursued the Jedi to the landing platform, left with only Tano to contend with while Skywalker attempted to break in a native Can-cell. Ahsoka didn't last long against Ventress' fury, and she only survived because Skywalker intervened with his new steed. Skywalker and Tano escaped to a nearby landing platform with a ship landed on it.
Forced to rely on the Confederate air support to shoot down Skywalker, and allow Tyranus to twist the facts and make the Republic look responsible to Jabba, Ventress then went to deal with the newly arrived Kenobi. Luring Kenobi deeper within the monastery, Ventress engaged him. Kenobi simply fended off Ventress, all the while prodding and enraging her, and it wasn't until they reached the outer ramparts of the monastery that Ventress understood that Kenobi was simply stalling her, preventing her from taking direct command of the CIS forces and buying time for Skywalker to escape into hyperspace. Ventress broke off and reported to Tyranus, who had her deliver a false message to Jabba that Skywalker had killed Rotta. On Tatooine, Skywalker and Tano split up, with Tano delivering Rotta to Jabba's Palace while Skywalker acted as the decoy. Taking matters into his own hands, Tyranus confronted Skywalker out on the Dune sea, and the two crossed blades. Tyranus managed to cut open Skywalker's weighted backpack, that supposedly contained Rotta, only to discover the ruse, though he was unsurprised and prepared, having left a trio of IG-100 MagnaGuards as Jabba's palace to ambush Tano. Skywalker broke off to rescue her, as Dooku planned, expecting the MagnaGuards to kill Tano while Skywalker confronted Jabba. The plan nearly worked, save for the fact that Tano defeated the droids and returned Rotta to Jabba. Darth Tyranus departed Tatooine and reported to Darth Sidious, who was largely unconcerned with the outcome of the scheme, having arranged it as a win-win situation.
===Failed Negotiations on Rugosa===
When the Republic opened negotiations with the Toydarians to build a military base in their territory, the Confederacy took steps to counter this. Jedi Grand Master Yoda was ambushed en route to Rugosa for face-to-face negotiations with the Toydarian King Katuunko, and Asajj Ventress arrived instead, negotiating on behalf of the Confederacy. However, Yoda and a squad of Clone troopers were able to land on Rugosa and contact Katuunko. Ventress, having brought a battalion of Battle droids, proposed a challenge; if Yoda and his clones could survive Ventress' assault and reach Katuunko's position, the King would side with the Republic, but if Yoda failed, he would side with the Separatist Alliance.
Yoda agreed to the terms, and spent the remainder of the day fighting his way through Ventress' forces. Yoda's success prompted Ventress to dispatch a force of Droideka to reinforce her failing troops, violating the terms of the contest. However, even this measure failed, and Katuunko sided with the Republic, his decision backed up by this display of Separatist treachery. In response, Tyranus ordered Ventress to assassinate Katuunko. The Dark Acolyte made quick work of the King's guards, but was prevented from killing Katuunko by Yoda's intervention. Yoda advised Ventress to surrender, but Ventress instead detonated a series of pre-planted explosive and used the ensuing distraction to flee the scene. Tyranus, who witnessed the event via holocom, remarked that it was a shame he wasn't there in person, a sentiment that Yoda echoed.
===Assault on Kamino===
As the Clone Wars wore on, the Confederacy concocted a bold plan to attack the Republic Cloning Laboratories on Kamino. Asajj Ventress infiltrated the planet as a spy, relaying intelligence to Grievous. The General attempted to quietly take the Republic Listening post on the remote Rishi moon to allow for a surprise attack on Kamino, but failed when the Clone troopers staffing the facility scuttled it to prevent it from falling into Separatist hands. Grievous decided to go ahead with the attack anyway, though an intercepted transmission between him and Ventress alerted the Republic to this.
Using diversionary tactics, Grievous sent the majority of the fleet in a frontal assault on Tipoca City, while debris dropped into the ocean below was actually disguised components for Trident drills that were assembled by aqua droids. Ventress linked up with Grievous when he breached the city. This meeting was the first proper face-to-face introduction between the two, as their first encounter was a vicious fight, and all subsequent interactions had been via holocom. The two bickered over who held command of the mission, during which Ventress derided Grievous's skill and effectiveness, before the two separated to pursue their respective objectives. Ventress makes for the DNA storage facility within the Tipoca City laboratories to secure the prime DNA sample of Jango Fett. While she successfully breached the lab and stole the sample, she was confronted by Anakin Skywalker. The two had a brief duel through the corridor outside the storage lab before Ventress fled. Skywalker pursued her to the landing platforms on the City exterior, where they renewed their contest. Skywalker managed to momentarily disable Ventress and take back the DNA sample, though Ventress viciously fought back and very nearly reclaimed it, only to find herself cornered by a battalion of Clone troopers. Ventress managed to escape on board Grievous' escape pod as the General fled the lost battle, fresh from his own contest with Obi-Wan Kenobi.
===Asajj Ventress' subsequent missions===
Asajj Ventress was involved in the retrieval of intelligence from a CIS-affiliated Republic Senator, working with the agent Messo. The Senator was betrayed, and Ventress cut him down with one of her lightsabers. Ventress then killed the Clone troopers led by Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi sent to retrieve the Senator, dueling Mundi and destroying their gunship in a bid to commandeer it. While Ventress managed to escape to Mon Gazza, Mundi was told of the leaked intelligence and the rendezvous on Mon Gazza by the mortally wounded Senator before he expired. Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano were sent in pursuit of Ventress and Messo, and eventually discovered the agents they were set to meet with. During the local podrace, the Jedi pursued the racer Maxus, secretly the CIS agent in possession of the data disk the intelligence was stored on, and Ventress intervened, dueling Ahsoka Tano atop a moving Podracer. Ventress managed to retrieve the disk from Maxus, though Skywalker, who was riding alongside on a speeder bike, destroyed it with the Force. Ventress fled the scene.The Clone Wars: Crash Course
During the Battle of Khorm, the Confederate forces being routed by the Republic troops under the command of Tauht, Plo Koon, and Kit Fisto,contacted Darth Tyranus for assistance, who dispatched Asajj Ventress. Ventress' arrival on the planet revealed the existence of a Separatist Weather-control station, which caused a gap in the ever-present storm that blanketed the world to open and allow Ventress to fly in and land, while keeping out the Republic fighter wings. Ventress managed to infiltrate the Republic base and kill Tauht, and the base was overrun. Interrogating one of the captured officers for the locations of Fisto and Koon, Ventress went and ambushed them. While her assassin droids initiated a firefight with the Clone troopers, Ventress had a brief bout with Plo Koon, ending it by bringing down an avalanche on the battlefield. She led her surviving forces in a search for enemy survivors, though she was forced to break off and return to the Confederacy's base, where the captives had escaped. Deducing that they intended to flee to the Republic staging area, Ventress led a military force to destroy it and break the Republic's foothold on Khorm. However, she was undone by Koon and Fisto, who managed to reach the Separatist base and destroy the weather-control station. The Jedi came to reinforce the Republic forces as their fleet destroyed the Confederate battle group. Ventress was again confronted by Plo Koon, but broke off and fled the field when Kit Fisto came to his aid.Star Wars: The Clone Wars: In Service of the Republic
Darth Tyranus began dealing with the previously neutral world of Valahari, who provided his forces with their advanced engines. The increased performance of his fighters as a result prompted the Republic to intervene, demanding the Valahari stop selling these engines to the Confederacy. The Valahari refused, so the Republic blockaded the planet. In order to make the Republic forces appear the aggressors, and gain the allegiance of the world, Darth Tyranus had Asajj Ventress sabotage the vessel of the Valahari Viscount Harko Vane, destroying it. The manipulations of the Sith were initially successful, with the late Viscount's son, Tofen Vane, becoming an ace pilot within the Confederacy military, while Vane's widow, Elodore, began contemplating marriage to Tyranus. The Dark Lord's machinations were eventually laid bare, and he was banished from Valahari, though too late to save Tofen, who died in combat.Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Hero of the Confederacy
===The Rescue of Nute Gunray===
During a "diplomatic" mission to Rodia, one of the Confederate chairpersons, Viceroy Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation, had gotten himself captured by Senator Padmé Amidala and Representative Jar Jar Binks, and he was ensconced aboard the Star Destroyer Tranquility for transport and interrogation. Both Darth Tyranus and Darth Sidious were aware that their cowardly Neimoidian ally wouldn't last long under Jedi interrogation, so Tyranus sent Asajj Ventress to either free Gunray, or silence him. Sidious was initially hesitant of Tyranus' proposal, Ventress' numerous failures having eroded his faith in her, though he ultimately approved his apprentice's course of action. Tyranus reminded Ventress that this mission had no margin for error, and her credibility was on the line. As the Tranquility went under way, a number of Separatist boarding pods appeared and latched onto the ship, deploying a force of Super battle droids and Ventress. While the droids distracted the security forces aboard the vessel, Ventress executed a clone survivor in the hangar and made off with his comlink, using it to monitor the communication chatter. She infiltrated the engine room, pre-planting numerous explosives throughout the chamber. To get the attention of the Jedi, Ventress aggressively broke into the Tranquility detention level and attacked the guards, and engaged Ahsoka Tano. The duel was cut short by the arrival of Jedi Master Luminara Unduli, who had been leading the security forces against the droids. Ventress triggered the explosives in the engine room and fled the detention level, with Unduli in close pursuit. However, Tano was ordered to remain behind and guard Gunray.
In the ruined engine room, Unduli and Ventress fought in earnest. Luminara provoked Ventress into a rage when she criticized the Acolytes dueling skills, and Ventress got the better of her, pinning her under a series of industrial pipes. As Ventress moved to finish Unduli, Tano arrived and drove her off before freeing Unduli. The two Jedi worked together against Ventress, as Ventress had planned, and she signaled her associate, the turncoat Senate Commando Faro Argyus to make his move in the absence of the Jedi. Argyus had been a longtime sleeper agent of Tyranus. Argyus killed the other guards and freed Gunray, and the two hijacked a small frigate in the Tranquility docking bay. Ventress outmaneuvered the Jedi and rendezvoused with the frigate in a Republic escape pod. Unfortunately for Argyus, Ventress killed him in a fit of hubris after he slighted her, though Gunray was unconcerned. The Republic would attempt to track down the Viceroy and recapture him, tracking the Republic frigate used for his escape, but the Sith expected such a move, and lured the Jedi to General Grievous's castle in the Vassek system, both as a trap and a test for Grievous himself.
===Expulsion and Retaliation of Asajj Ventress===
Ventress led the CIS space forces during the Battle of Sullust, opposed by Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. During the dogfighting, she singled out Kenobi, damaging his fighter, while she in turn was shot down by Skywalker. Both Ventress and Kenobi crash-landed on the Separatist flagship. While Ventress led the battle, Darth Tyranus received a communication from Darth Sidious. Ventress' increasing power had caused Sidious to view her as a threat; a potential violation of the Sith Rule of Two he and his apprentice nominally adhered to. Sidious ordered her eliminated before she became too powerful to handle, and after initial resistance, Tyranus obeyed. When the wounded Ventress contacted him from her downed starfighter, calling for aid, Tyranus refused. The Dark Lord concealed his master's execution order and instead claimed that he was abandoning her because of her repeated failures. With no aid from Tyranus, Ventress limped out of her downed fighter and attempted to escape the ship, but was confronted by Kenobi and Skywalker. They demanded her to surrender, but she refused, brandishing her lightsabers and attacking them. While they fought, Tyranus ordered the flagship destroyed to ensure Ventress' death, forcing all the combatants to break off and attempt escape in their starfighters.
Ventress limped away from the battle in her damaged Ginivex fanblade, drifting through space until discovered by the salvage vessel Raider. She killed the crew and hijacked the vessel, traveling to her original homeworld, Dathomir. She was found by the Nightsister clan led by Talzin, who greeted her as one of their own, taking her in and treating her injuries. Awakening from her feverish slumber, Ventress swore an oath of vengeance against Tyranus. Talzin decides to help Ventress in her quest, sending the clan's two finest warriors, Naa'leth and Karis, to accompany and aid her, as well as a set of captured Jedi lightsabers. Talzin also used Nightsister Force-magic to cast a cloak of invisibility upon the trio.
With the Nightsister warrior pair in tow, Ventress traveled to Serenno and breached Dooku's palace. The three darksiders made their way to the bedroom, where the Dark Lord lay sleeping. Ventress fired a poisoned dart at Tyranus, instantly awakening him, though also dulling his senses. Even with the poison hindering him, the Dark Lord was still a powerful opponent, quickly seizing the offensive and leaping at his assailant with his lightsaber. However, he remained unaware of her identity, due to his poison-dulled senses and her invisibility cloak, instead believing his lightsaber-wielding attackers to be Jedi. Ventress and the two Nightsisters narrowly managed to overcome Tyranus, disarming him. Despite this, the Dark Lord was far from helpless, and lashed out at his foes with Force lightning, sending them flying out of a bay window of his palace and disrupting their invisibility, though he failed to ascertain their identities.
Shortly afterwards, Tyranus was contacted by Talzin. The Nightsister claimed to have learned of the assassination attempt on the Dark Lord, and was willing to provide him with a new warrior and bodyguard to replace Asajj Ventress. Tyranus accepted the offer, traveling to Dathomir.
===Recruitment of Savage Opress===
Talzin's offer for a new bodyguard and warrior took the shape of Savage Opress, one of the Zabrak Nightbrothers of Dathomir. Secretly, Opress was an agent of Asajj Ventress, selected after a series of brutal combat exercises and reinforced by Nightsister Force-spells, turning him into a hulking brute. Opress was presented to Tyranus in his palace courtyard on Serenno, and the Dark Lord was quick to put his new Acolyte to the test, sending Opress to Devaron to capture the Temple of Eedit. While Opress questioned the wisdom behind a military attack on a Jedi temple, he was assured by Tyranus that the temple was a front for a Republic military base. Inserted into the chaotic battlefield in front of the Temple, Savage charged the edifice, cutting down the very Separatist battle droids aiding him in his rush to confront the enemy. The ARC troopers fighting for the Republic were scarcely a challenge, and Opress was quickly facing the Jedi Halsey and his student Knox. While Halsey was a skilled opponent, he was disarmed and subdued by Opress' vastly superior physical strength, and was impaled with his blade. Knox met a similar fate.
Tyranus was greatly satisfied with Opress' performance on Devaron, and began training him in knowledge of the Force immediately. Like his relative, Darth Maul, Opress opted to train with the double-bladed lightsaber. In a marked difference from his training methods for his other Acolytes, Darth Tyranus trained him as a true Sith apprentice, promising that the two may one day become powerful enough to contend with Darth Sidious and supplant him, enabling them to rule the galaxy side by side. However, Tyranus also showed himself to be a harsh mentor, heavily criticizing Opress' sloppy and brutish lightsaber technique, and took to torturing his student with Force lightning to provoke his hatred. By channeling this anger, the Zabrak warrior was able to strengthen his connection to the dark side. After this series of tests, Tyranus sent Opress to Toydaria to capture King Katuunko alive and haul him on his knees to the Dark Lord. Savage massacred the King's guards and subdued the monarch himself, but was confronted by Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi before he could make his escape. In the ensuing duel, Katuunko managed to escape the Acolyte, so Opress killed him in the heat of combat. Fending off the Jedi, Opress escaped with Katuunko's corpse.
Tyranus was less than pleased with Opress' performance, having specified he needed Katuunko alive. Deriding the Zabrak as an "ignorant beast", the Dark Lord viciously tortured him with Force lightning, only to be interrupted by his old assassin: Asajj Ventress. Opress revealed his true colors as Ventress' agent, and the two banded together to defeat Tyranus. The duel was swift and brutal, and the Dark Lord was driven onto his back foot by his two opponents, until he began retaliating with Force lighting. Able to easily match Ventress as a duelist, Tyranus focused the brunt of this assault on Opress, who was driven to his knees. Derided and scorned by both of his masters for his failure to cope with this attack, the enraged Zabrak turned on both. In the resulting three-way free-for-all duel, Tyranus and Ventress drove back Opress before escaping through an escape hatch. Before Opress could pursue, he was confronted by Kenobi and Skywalker, who had followed him from Toydaria. While Opress engaged the Jedi, Tyranus and Ventress renewed their contest in the corridors of the cruiser. The Dathomirian was ultimately no match for her former master, and was forced to flee aboard an escape pod. Darth Tyranus informed the droid forces aboard the cruiser of Savage Opress' treachery, and the Dark Jedi was forced to break off from his duel with the Jedi to defend himself. Opress destroyed the droids and escaped the cruiser aboard a hijacked solar sailer.
===Ventress' Rehabilitation and Final Disappearance===
Asajj Ventress eventually resurfaced on Boz Pity, where she was receiving medical treatments and cybernetic enhancements with the Confederacy's medical base on the planet. She was widely believed to be dead, though Obi-Wan Kenobi refused to believe these reports, obsessively hunting across the galaxy for clues as to Ventress' whereabouts. Kenobi was eventually led to Boz Pity, and took part in the Republic invasion of the planet. During the battle, Kenobi quietly infiltrated the base and discovered Ventress recuperating in a Bacta tank. Tyranus was present, confronting Kenobi and essentially siccing the wild Ventress on him. Their battle broke through the outer walls of the complex, sending Kenobi falling to the battlefield outside, Ventress in close pursuit. Anakin Skywalker leapt to his master's aid, though he was restrained by Kenobi, who was determined to redeem Ventress.Obsession 5Obsession 4
While Ventress engaged Kenobi and Skywalker, Tyranus quietly fled the base. As he made his way on foot to his evac ship, he was confronted by Mace Windu, though the Dark Lord only dueled the Jedi Swordmaster briefly, opting to delay him with a pair of IG-100 MagnaGuards while he continued to make a run for it. Kenobi sighted Tyranus, and pointed out to the raging Ventress that her master was leaving without her, abandoning her again. Ventress broke off from her duel with Kenobi and Skywalker and rushed to rejoin Tyranus. However, the unimpressed Dark Lord ordered one of his MagnaGuards to gun her down, knowing that she would never reach the evac site in time, and not wanting her to become a Republic captive. While Tyranus fled the planet, Ventress attacked Kenobi with a shard of metal, only to be cut down by Skywalker. Asajj Ventress apparently died in the arms of her nemesis, providing him with intel on the upcoming Separatist attack on Coruscant, and even acknowledging that Kenobi may have been right about her possible redemption. In truth, Ventress slowed her bodily functions with a Sith meditation technique and faked her own death. When her "body" was placed on one of the Republic medical, she awoke from her meditation mid-journey and hijacked the vessel, disappearing to parts unknown.
===Creation of the Morgukai Shadow Army===
Seeking to establish a viable counter-measure to the Republic's clone army, the Confederacy recruited one of the last remaining Morgukai, Bok, using him as the template for a new clone army. Sora Bulq was given control of this operation, with Tol Skorr operating as his lieutenant. To train the Morgukai clones, Bulq recruited Anzati assassin teachers from Anzat. The necessary cloning facilities were constructed in the magma chambers beneath the capital city on Saleucami, also doubling as the training ground and all powered by the geothermal power stations also built into these catacombs. The clones and their instructors were all equipped with cortosis alloy blades, to allow them to combat Jedi, though the source of these weapons is unknown. According to the assassin trainer Rath Kelkko, the Morgukai clones adapted quickly to the Anzati methods and techniques, though he noted that proper mastery required years.
However, Sora Bulq's frequent trips to Anzat to recruit trainers for the army alerted the Jedi to something amiss, and the Jedi Tholme and Aayla Secura were sent to investigate. Tholme followed the trail to Saleucami, and after witnessing Bulq and his cohorts reporting to Tyranus within the Morgukai cloning facility, he contacted the Jedi and informed them of the situation. However, Bulq sensed his presence and attacked the Jedi. As the Dark Acolyte battled back and forth with his former comrade, he revealed the circumstances of his conversion to the dark side of the Force, and his reasons for saving Tholme's life then. In his rage-addled state of mind, Bulq stated that having saved Tholme's life then gave him the right to take it now. Tholme, aware that he couldn't defeat Sora Bulq, opted to evade him and lose himself in the maze of passages and catacombs that made up the cloning facility. Bulq was forced to contend with Tholme's campaign of sabotage while he prepared for the impending Republic invasion.
Concurrently with these events, Quinlan Vos pursued his obsession with finding the "second Sith" - Darth Sidious - coming into conflict with the Anzati assassin Sajé Tasha. However, Vos was forced to set aside his quest when he was selected by Master Oppo Rancisis to be his second in command during the upcoming Siege of Saleucami, his intimate knowledge of both Anzati and Morgukai being judged invaluable. Darth Sidious, who had had a personal interest in Quinlan Vos for many years, expected the Jedi's obsession with finding him to bring about his turn to the dark side.
===Fall from grace===
The Republic invasion of Saleucami effectively pinned the CIS forces on-planet, preventing them from widely deploying the Morgukai Shadow Army. However, the Shadow Army was used against the Republic forces, and their high level of combat effectiveness inflicted heavy casualties on the Republic, despite their being led by seven Jedi and bolstered by Master Oppo Rancisis' Battle meditation. Quinlan Vos fought for the Republic, awaiting Darth Tyranus' summons while maintaining his cover. Despite the effectiveness of the Morgukai soldiers, the Separatist forces were still forced to give ground as the Jedi attacked their strategic weak points. All the while, Tholme remained hidden within the maze of tunnels that made up the below-ground Confederate base, and was intensifying his campaign of sabotage. During a report to the Dark Lord, Tyranus demanded that Tholme be removed, though he ultimately wrote him off as a distraction rather than a true threat. Tol Skorr delivered Tyranus' summons to Quinlan Vos via Vos' "agent" Khaleen Hentz. The following day, Vos and Aayla Secura led a battalion of clone troopers through the streets of the Saleucami capital city, encountering Tol Skorr on the battlefield. Quinlan used his pursuit of Skorr to separate himself from the Republic forces before the two of them disengaged and entered the Confederate base to report to their master. Tyranus ordered Sora Bulq to mastermind the assassination of Oppo Rancisis, removing the aid of his battle meditation, and Quinlan Vos to hunt down Tholme and end his campaign of sabotage. Tyranus then placed Sora Bulq in overall command of the Confederacy's forces, as the Dark Lord's affairs elsewhere required his attention.Star Wars: Republic: Siege of Saleucami
Quinlan Vos located Tholme quickly, finding him meditating above an underground lava lake deep within the catacombs. Vos revealed to Tholme that he had come to believe that Sora Bulq was the "second Sith" and he wanted Tholme to join with him and kill the supposed Darth Sidious. Tholme pressed Vos for his reasons, and Quinlan confessed to executing Sheyf Tinte Vos. Tholme attempted to calm Vos, knowing his former student was in danger of falling to the dark side permanently. Vos only became enraged, and attacked Tholme. The duel ended when Vos shorted out Tholme's lightsaber with his pure cortosis gauntlet, and Quinlan delivered his final ultimatum; join him or die. Tholme refused, though before Vos could kill him, the rock ledge they stood on crumbled, and Tholme fell into the lava lake. Meanwhile, Tol Skorr led the Morgukai troops in an attack to distract the Jedi and Republic forces, allowing Sora Bulq and his cadre of Anzati assassins to infiltrate Oppo Rancisis' meditation chamber. However, Rancisis sensed the presence of the assassins and moved to defend himself, killing all the assassins, only to be impaled from behind by Bulq.
Quinlan Vos returned to the Republic HQ to find his fellow Jedi mourning Rancisis' death. As he was second in command to Rancisis, Vos was placed in command of the Republic forces. As Rancisis kept his battle plans in his head, only revealing them during their execution, Vos was forced to use his psychometric abilities to literally "read" the plans from Rancisis' corpse. In truth, Vos simply made up his own, ordering the Republic air forces to attack the shield to cover for Vos and Aayla Secura while they infiltrated the Confederacy's base and destroyed their power centers. While Secura planted the explosives, Vos went alone to the Separatist command center, where Bulq and the other lieutenants were reporting to Tyranus. Vos then explained the entire battle plan to Tyranus, and the Morgukai prime clone Bok was dispatched to hunt down Secura. While satisfied with Vos' actions, Tyranus felt that one final test was necessary. Tol Skorr arrived with a captive Khaleen Hentz, and Tyranus revealed that she was actually an agent of his who had infiltrated Quinlan Vos' spy ring to keep the Dark Lord posted on its activities. In addition, she was to seduce the Jedi Master and gain his confidence. The nature of the test was to provoke Vos' anger and push him into killing Hentz. Hentz pleaded with Vos to use his psychometric abilities and learn the truth about her feelings for him, and Vos obliged. Quinlan Vos refused to kill her, instead cutting her bonds and declaring himself a Jedi.
While Sora Bulq taunted Vos, Bok contacted the command center, revealing that Aayla Secura was not in the power plant as Vos said she was; Quinlan Vos had lied. At this moment, Tholme revealed himself, having faked his death during his duel with Vos so he could watch and wait to see what Vos would do. Tholme helped Vos fend off the Anzati assassins, and the Jedi and Hentz moved to flee, only to have their path blocked when Sora Bulq hurled his shoto lightsaber at the door controls, triggering the security system. Tyranus then gave his Acolytes permission to kill Tholme and Vos. Bulq focused on Tholme, while Skorr attacked Vos. While the duelists raged through the control center, the CIS base began falling apart, the lava pumping stations having been sabotaged by Aayla Secura, while she fought Bok just outside the entrance to the chamber. Vos and Skorr fought their way to a ledge above a lava lake, and Skorr was thrown off the ledge into the lava by an enraged Vos. Tholme fared considerably worse against Sora Bulq, a former Jedi lightsaber instructor and practitioner of Vaapad, and he was disarmed and thrown to the ground. However, before Bulq could execute Tholme, Vos intervened, declaring that he would kill Bulq, whom he believed to be the "second Sith". Tyranus, whose communication link remained open, ordered Vos to give in to the dark side and execute Tholme and Khaleen, as this was the only way he would survive. While Quinlan Vos and Sora Bulq raged against each other, Quinlan struggled with his own inner darkness, his battle aided by Aayla Secura's meditative connection to him. His mind clear, Vos turned and cut down Sora Bulq, slicing him open through the shoulder. Tyranus was ultimately unconcerned by the death of Bulq and Skorr, or the loss of Vos, citing that the victory of the Sith was inevitable.
Artel Darc meanwhile soon met his end during the Battle of Dagu, where he commanded the CIS forces. Coordinated by Darc, the Confederacy's droid armies subjugated the native Rybet population, and established a military base managed by enslaved prisoners of war, a combination of Rybets and captured clone troopers. Among the prisoners was a courier with damaging information on the Republic, and Darc was tasked by Tyranus with apprehending him. However, Jedi Master Shaak Ti was also among the prisoners, and she went about taking advantage of discontent among the slaves to start a revolt. The situation fell apart, and Artel Darc personally went blade-to-blade with Shaak Ti, and presumably perished.Escape from Dagu
Towards the end of the war, Nikkos Tyris would follow. When the Jedi located his compound on Susevfi, following rumors of Sith cultists, they confronted Tyris and two of his Jensaarai apprentices. After a momentary dialogue, the Dark Acolyte led the charge against the Jedi, focusing on Nejaa Halcyon. After a brief duel, Tyris brought down his opponent with a telekinetic onslaught, which Halcyon had no counter against, as he lacked such abilities. Disarming Halcyon, Tyris gloated for a moment before moving to finish the Jedi, impaling him. However, Halcyon used tutaminis to absorb the energy of Tyris' lightsaber blade, and channel it into a telekinetic counterattack. Nikkos Tyris was pulverized, his every bone shattered, and his body exploded in a blast of Dark Side energy, collapsing the compound dome. All but four of Tyris' apprentices died, and all the Jedi, save Halcyon, escaped. Tyris' surviving apprentices went on to reform the Jensaarai with the intent of defending themselves against the Jedi, free of Tyris' influence.
During the Clone Wars, the Dark Acolytes defended the ruins of the Sith Academy on Umbara from invaders. When a unidentified Jedi Knight tried to infiltrate the academy ruins around the time of the Battle of Umbara was taking place, these dark side sorcerers aggressively tried to defeat the Jedi Knight. Many of them were killed or defeated when the Jedi eventually made it into the academy.
===Legacy===
The very existence of the Dark Acolytes as force-sensitive servants to the Confederacy of Independent Systems served Darth Sidious' concoction by eroding public faith in the Jedi Order, as some citizens came to believe that Jedi could no longer be trusted, and any of them were capable of treachery. In fact, when Sidious declared the Jedi enemies of state and enacted Order 66, he claimed that Tyranus had never really left the Jedi Order, and was instead acting as their agent in initiating the Clone Wars; effectively scapegoating the Jedi for all of his own actions. In keeping with this propaganda, the Dark Acolytes themselves were likely labelled as Jedi agents,Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the ForceStar Wars: Dark Empire II
During the war, Sidious as Palpatine assigned the Republic officer Trachta with investigating and capturing Jedi defecting to the Confederacy, and Trachta was heavily injured in the line of duty.Rebellion Era Campaign Guide This incident no doubt left Trachta with a healthy distrust of Force-sensitives, and he was later involved in an attempted coup to wrest control of the Galactic Empire, feeling that power shouldn't be left in the hands of the Force-wielders, be they Jedi Knights or, in this case, Sith Lords.Star Wars: Empire: Betrayal
However, perhaps the greatest impact of the Dark Acolytes was the formation of the Jensaarai. After Nikkos Tyris' death and the destruction of his training facility at the hands of the Jedi, only four of his students survived. These four reformed the Jensaarai with the goal of defending themselves from the Jedi Order, adhering to the light side of the Force despite their reverence for Sith traditions. While they vilified and feared the Jedi Order for decades, they were eventually approached by Grand Master Luke Skywalker's New Jedi Order, and made peace with them.
On a more minor note, Asajj Ventress was worshipped as a goddess of Death on Mauk, with ritualistic sacrifices dedicated to her name.Obsession 1
==Behind the scenes==
Technically, the first appearance of the Dark Acolytes was in the 1998 novel, I, Jedi, with the character Nikkos Tyris. However, Tyris' connection to Darth Tyranus, whose character hadn't yet been conceived, would not be elaborated on until the release of The Official Star Wars Fact File 116 in the 2000s. The first Acolyte that was created explicitly to be Tyranus' apprentice was Asajj Ventress, who was based on unused concept art for the Count himself.Mythmaking: Behind the Scenes of Attack of the Clones She made her debut in the Star Wars: Clone Wars animated shorts, becoming Anakin Skywalker's nemesis throughout the second season. She would become a recurring villain in the Star Wars: Republic comic series, though she would ironically become the personal opponent of Obi-Wan Kenobi throughout the various story arcs, rather than Skywalker.
The number of Dark Jedi servants to Darth Tyranus would be bolstered by the release of Jedi: Mace Windu, which featured Sora Bulq and Rhad Tarn, and Jedi: Count Dooku, which introduced Tol Skorr, Kadrian Sey, and most notably, Quinlan Vos. Sev'rance Tann was the primary villain of the game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns. Saato, Trenox, Karoc, Vinoc and the Doppelgänger of Dooku were all boss characters introduced in Star Wars: The New Droid Army, and were each killed off in short order. Other minions included the Dark Acolyte Trio featured in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars game, and from whom the organization derived its name.
Most of the surviving Dark Acolytes were gradually killed off in storylines leading into Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. Tyranus himself was executed by Skywalker during the events of the movie, which effectively heralded the end of the Dark Acolytes.
When the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series debuted, beginning with The Clone Wars movie, the character of Asajj Ventress was featured as a recurring antagonist, though the existence of the other Dark Acolytes (save Quinlan Vos, albeit serving for the Republic) was effectively overlooked.: Many of the Jedi's comments towards the start of the episode suggest that Ventress was Dooku's only Dark Jedi servant prior to Savage Opress' recruitment This article assumes that Savage Opress was recruited into the Dark Acolytes when he was apprenticed to Darth Tyranus, though it remains to be seen whether or not the existence of the organization has been completely retconned.
==Appearances==
===Non-canon appearances===
*Star Wars: Battlefront II 
*Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron 
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*LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 film
*Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron 
*LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 game
==Sources==
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*The New Essential Chronology
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
*Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded
*The Essential Reader's Companion
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==Notes and references==
Category:Confederacy of Independent Systems titles
Category:Dark side titles