Star Wars: From the Clone Wars to Starfaring Heroes

Chapter 82 - Assassination
Something inexplicable seemed to have changed in the air, creating a subtle disturbance.

The surrounding Bosa people were completely oblivious, still engrossed in their scheming and quarreling.

Tann remained impassive, pretending to still be pondering their words, but his gaze had already quickly swept over the dense forest on the mountainside behind them.

Third vision.

open.

Tann saw a faint red light flicker among the leaves.

boom!
Immediately afterwards, the dull sound of the blaster firing rang out.

A deadly beam of energy tore through the air and shot straight towards us!

The energy beam pierced directly through Tann's skull, causing his head to explode into a cloud of blood mist.

Tann's body lost all support and fell straight backward.

In the instant her consciousness completely dissipated and she fell into boundless darkness, a heavy, cold, and empty feeling instantly engulfed her chest.

Tann was acutely aware that he was dead.

She was no stranger to this feeling.

When she was an interplanetary flight trainee in Napoleon, she "died" countless times in simulation training.
Torn apart by the gravity of a simulated black hole, vaporized by the radiation of a virtual pulsar, destroyed and killed in the chaotic turbulence of a nebula, crushed by a stellar dragon made of data... each time is so real and profound.

The "third vision" she possesses grants her the ability to foresee the future, rather than simply having ordinary intuition.

Intuition stems from experience.

Experience is accumulated through repeated attempts to navigate the turbulent currents of hyperspace, constantly pushing the boundaries of life and death.

Most Keith Starflight cadets begin their service at age 7 and typically lose their amazing "third vision" ability by age 15.

Severn Tann is already 26 years old.

She has experienced "death" more times than any living Qiss.

Just as the energy beam from the blaster was about to hit his head, Tann suddenly opened his eyes!

Her movements were as fast as lightning. In an instant, she drew a lightsaber from her waist with her right hand. With a "hum," the golden plasma blade lit up in front of her, emitting a dazzling light.

She twisted her body rapidly, parrying the lightsaber upwards!
A deadly red lightning bolt was precisely intercepted by the lightsaber, and the enormous impact was directed towards the roof above.

With a deafening roar, the roof tiles were shattered, and dust and rubble rained down like a storm. Sharp fragments cut Tann's cheeks and arms, leaving small, charred holes in her dark general's uniform.

The three Bosa men standing nearby were terrified and scrambled backward.

At the same time, the combat robots guarding the balcony reacted immediately, their blaster guns spewing out dense tongues of fire, bullets raining down on the forest location where the assassin had just been hiding, sending branches and leaves flying everywhere.

Tann held his lightsaber steadily, scanning his surroundings.

She slowly raised her other hand to her mouth and pressed the communicator, "Colonel Fasta."

A rapid response came through the communicator: "It's being handled, General!"

“It seems the Bossa spy network is really desperate,” Larin Crey’s voice was hoarse, with lingering breaths of shock, “to act so blatantly!”

“The assassin hasn’t gone far; he’s still nearby,” Tann calmly assessed, her sharp gaze sweeping across the edge of the forest.

Upon hearing this, Kreffer immediately shut his mouth tightly, his eyes darting around in a panic.

"Get out of here," Tann commanded.

The three Bosa men, as if granted a pardon, readily agreed and stumbled down the stairs, disappearing behind the door.

Tann stood motionless like a cold statue, his lightsaber still held high.

She was waiting, waiting for the hidden sniper to be forced to move.

A strong premonition struck again, and almost simultaneously, a red light flashed in the forest!
Tann reacted with lightning speed, his body instinctively twisting and turning, his golden lightsaber drawing an arc to meet the incoming energy beam.

However, this attack was unusually strange.

Just as the lightsaber was about to successfully intercept the beam, the crimson energy beam subtly deflected in mid-air, bypassing the lightsaber's defensive trajectory!

At the critical moment, Tann's arm muscles bulged, and he forcefully pulled the lightsaber to the left!
The lightsaber's blade finally struck and shattered the energy beam before it hit her body.

But the scattered energy beam, along with the exploding ultra-high temperature plasma gas, spewed out like scorching lava, instantly burning through the fabric of her arms and chest, leaving several horrible, charred, and deep wounds on her blue skin.

The intense burning pain made her clench her teeth.

If it weren't for the rigorous, almost cruel, lightsaber parrying training that Count Dooku had subjected her to back then, she would definitely have been doomed this time.

Tann gritted his teeth against the excruciating pain, tensing his nerves once more, bracing for the next deadly barrage. Just then, the sound of intense firefights erupted from the depths of the forest, followed by the rapid approach of heavy footsteps.

Colonel Fasta led a squad of soldiers, panting, as they rushed onto the roof.

His hair was disheveled, his uniform was soaked with sweat, and his face was covered with dust and leaf fragments.

"Please forgive me, General, I'm late!" he reported hurriedly, raising his hand in a weary salute. "I've already dispatched detection robots for a thorough search according to standard procedures, followed closely by assault robot squads to wipe them out... This assassin has no chance of escaping!"

Tann did not respond immediately. She focused on sensing the movement around her and only relaxed her tense nerves slightly after confirming that the deadly sense of being locked on had temporarily disappeared.

With a flick of her wrist, the golden lightsaber blade retracted into its hilt with a soft "hum".

The colonel’s gaze fell on the charred wounds on her arms and chest, the skin at the edges of the wounds still twitching slightly.

"General, your injury...should I call the medical officer over?"

"Immediately seal off the entire planet's atmosphere," Tann said, his voice as cold as ice, as if he hadn't heard his concern. "No spaceships, including those marked as friendly, are permitted to take off or leave port."

“Uh—but…” Fasta was taken aback by the chill in her voice and stammered, “Yes…yes, sir! As you command! Our BOSA allies believe this was definitely the work of the BOSA spy network. If it really was them, sir, I strongly suggest we launch a full-scale attack on Drevstahn immediately…Excuse me for being blunt, General, the situation just now was far too dangerous!”

Tann did not answer; her gaze pierced through the balcony railing, fixed intently on the dense canopy of trees in the distance.

“It wasn’t the Bossa spy network,” she said with certainty, the image of that strangely distorted energy beam clearly replaying in her mind. “Whoever it was… I sensed traces of the Force within that energy beam, though very faint, but it was definitely there.”

"Jedi assassins?" Colonel Fasta frowned, looking very puzzled. "I didn't expect them to use sniper assassination."

“They won’t,” Tann scoffed, a hint of disdain in his voice. “The Jedi would consider using a blaster beneath them. This is a dark side user.”

"Another kind of Jedi?" Fasta was even more puzzled.

“The Sith, or the users of the dark side,” Tann explained, “prefer lightsabers with red blades.”

“I suspect… this isn’t just a matter of personal preference, is it?” Colonel Fasta cautiously probed, his gaze involuntarily drifting to the hilt of the lightsaber that emitted a golden glow at Tann’s waist.

“It’s more like… a faction marker,” Tann said thoughtfully. “That makes it much easier to distinguish them. How many Jedi have you seen with red lightsabers, Colonel?”

“Hmm… Commander Ventress is one, and…” Fasta’s expression suddenly became somewhat stiff and reserved, and his voice lowered, “Count Dooku, I heard that he has also recruited some corrupt Jedi to serve him. Sir, this kind of topic… is very risky to discuss in private.”

indeed……

Tann had long anticipated that Count Dooku would eventually find a way to get rid of her, but she never expected it to be in this way.

She focused her mind, activated her "third vision," and tried to find clues and directions in countless future timelines...

However, this time, her precognitive abilities failed her.

It was as if a thick, impenetrable gray fog shrouded the scene before my eyes.

No matter how hard she tried to concentrate, all she could see of the future were blurry outlines and chaotic, flickering fragments of light and shadow.

Tann's heart tightened, and he instinctively took half a step back.

At this moment, she was more certain than ever that the forces of the dark side were interfering with her, or even setting a trap for her.

If Count Dooku is so eager to kill her, it can only mean one thing.

He was afraid she would jeopardize one of his important plans.

What kind of plan could it be?
"Has Admiral Pols Tonis contacted us?" Tann suddenly asked, his thoughts drifting in another direction.

“I haven’t received any reports,” Fasta replied immediately.

Tann didn't linger, turned around and strode towards the stairwell. "Connect me to his communication channel."

"Yes, sir!" Colonel Fasta nodded vigorously and jogged ahead to lead the way.

When the robot army arrived at this magnificent manor, the original owner had already disappeared, most likely having fled days before the siege began.

Today, it has been fully requisitioned and transformed into General Tann's frontline command post for the Battle of the Bosa system.

On his way to the communications center, Tann took a detour and entered the wing of the mansion, which had been temporarily converted into a medical area.

The strong smell of disinfectant filled the air, and the nursing robot quietly moved between the beds.

She found the medical officer and quickly obtained several Baca patches that could relieve burning pain and accelerate wound healing, which she then deftly applied to the most severe wounds on her arms and chest.

When she met up with Colonel Fasta who was waiting, and they entered the communications center, the holographic projector in the center of the room was already activated, projecting a blue bust of a tall, thin, long-faced, and shrewd-eyed Muen.

It was General Pols-Tonis.

(End of this chapter)