As the war resumed in the Sullust system, Ventress piloted her ship and engaged the enemy without flinching, locking onto a vessel carrying Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker and beginning a tense pursuit.
After several precise strikes, she observed them performing rapid evasive maneuvers.
"Who to choose," she muttered, her eyes fixing on Kenobi's ship. She quickly adjusted controls to focus on him while commanding her droids hunting down the other Jedi, Anakin.
The chase continued, with Ventress attempting eliminating both Jedi Generals. They were so agile dodging her attacks that she found them remarkably difficult opponents. Though one of the Jedi destroyed a Separatist ship's outer hull, creating cover, Ventress used the smoke and debris concealing her approach while continuing pursuit.
She drew closer, close enough to fire. She shot at Kenobi and launched another devastating attack on his vessel. Kenobi's ship appeared losing control, forced into an emergency landing on the Separatist flagship. Ventress smiled smugly, about to capture Kenobi when she was suddenly attacked from behind.
The sudden assault caught her off guard. She eventually crash-landed on the Separatist flagship. After recovering from the crash's chaos, she slid across the platform and slammed into the wall, leaving her somewhat disoriented.
As she tried steadying herself, her console began beeping. Someone was calling. When she answered, she saw a holographic projection of Dooku.
Before Dooku could speak, Ventress interrupted him.
"Master, I need your assistance," she pleaded. "I'm surrounded, and—"
However, what emerged was chaotic audio and intermittent words. "You... must stop... you've failed again... my apprentice... you will die here," the Count said before the holographic projection suddenly cut out.
Because of the signal disruption, Ventress couldn't accurately judge Dooku's true intentions. However, she knew she was in desperate circumstances and had to find escape.
Had she disappointed him? Had he decided abandoning her completely after all the failures he'd witnessed?
Ventress's call sounded again in the communication, but was met only with empty silence. How could he be so heartless?
Disbelief and anger surged through Ventress's heart, causing her cheeks to flush with rage.
"He—how dare he abandon me? I gave him everything!" She roared internally. Frustrated, she punched the control console repeatedly before leaving the Banshee angrily.
At that point, Kenobi and Skywalker ignited their lightsabers. She turned to face them.
"Ventress, you don't appear well," Obi-Wan said calmly.
Meanwhile, Anakin quickly leveled his weapon at Ventress.
"You've failed, Ventress. Surrender," Obi-Wan's voice was firm and cold.
The word "failed" carried multiple meanings for Ventress at this moment, making her even angrier.
"Never!" Ventress roared.
She ignited her twin lightsabers and leapt from the Banshee, engaging the Jedi in fierce exchanges of blows and parries. Each Force-sensitive dodged and maneuvered nimbly on the platform. Before long, various Force techniques were being employed hoping to gain advantage over opponents.
As the battle progressed, Republic fighters began gaining the upper hand. Various attacks began breaking through and taking down Separatist flagships. This chain of events would eventually end the battle favoring the Republic.
Asajj continued fighting, swinging her lightsabers viciously, keeping both Jedi in tense standoff. For a moment, she seemed having the advantage, successfully knocking Obi-Wan back and cornering Skywalker. But Kenobi quickly recovered and rushed to his friend's aid. Together they forced the assassin back.
Ventress was pushed back by their combined force, slamming hard into the Banshee and nearly falling. Anger and frustration mixed in her heart, but she knew the fight continued and she had to persevere.
Kenobi and Skywalker approached her. Her mind raced with feelings of failure, deep disappointment, and a sense of being abandoned and used. These thoughts flashed through her mind like lightning until suddenly something snapped inside her. It seemed awakening an untapped rage, making it more intense.
Ventress thrust her hands out. Suddenly, with incredible strength, she grasped both Jedi Knights by the throat, lifting them off the floor with ease, screaming out bloody fury. Her Force connection was stronger than ever, as if something was stirring inside her. If there were words describing it, it might be an adrenaline rush, a passionate burst. Whatever circumstances had driven her, she'd overpowered them with incredible strength.
But this came to an abrupt end when an explosion roared and the flagship began shaking violently. Her control over the Jedi Knights collapsed. They quickly launched a counterattack to subdue her. Ventress fought desperately but found her power slowly draining. Her mind, her heart, her entire body began feeling strange. Dooku's abandonment weighed on her heart like crushing weight, until she was finally disarmed and fell to her knees.
She looked up in frustration, only seeing the two Jedi regarding her calmly. Anakin's voice broke the silence. "It's over." He pointed his lightsaber at her neck.
If only things were that simple.
At this moment, Obi-Wan heard a whistling sound and turned to see a spacecraft rushing toward them from outside, without slowing at all.
"Anakin, watch out!"
The Jedi Master pushed his former apprentice aside, allowing them avoiding the crashing ship. As both regained their footing moments later, the ship exploded.
They looked around, but there was no sign of Ventress. The explosion's aftermath made them decide against pursuing for now. "We need getting out of here," Obi-Wan said.
They quickly returned to their respective spacecraft, lifted off, and reentered space where the battle resumed.
"Anakin, Obi-Wan, are you alright?" a voice from another ship asked.
"We're coming, Rhodey," they responded.
"Good god, what happened to you? Why didn't you respond to my previous calls?"
"We were detained by Ventress, which led us engaging her aboard an enemy ship," Anakin explained.
"That's why you two have been missing so long," Rhodey muttered to himself. "Did you catch that bald psycho?"
Skywalker snorted with slight dissatisfaction. "No, unfortunately, we weren't so lucky. Perhaps blowing up her ship will give us the chance eliminating her."
However, Rhodey was silent for a moment. "You know that probably won't work, right?"
"Rhodey, please."
"I'm just saying, maybe your Force powers can keep her alive."
The two Jedi then flew back to the Republic fleet.
When this occurred...
The alarm sounded: "Abandon ship! Abandon ship!"
Ventress quickly climbed back into her ship, sealed the hatch, and attempted starting her vessel to escape. She had to get out before disaster struck. Fortunately, her ship moved with difficulty on the metal floor. She pushed the thrusters as hard as possible to escape.
She was fortunate making it out of the hangar. Once her ship was sufficiently distant, she looked back and witnessed the explosion behind her.
Anakin observed the explosion, smiled slightly, and asked, "Think she survived?"
"It's difficult determining. An enemy's death can only be considered genuine death if we witness it ourselves. Relying on speculation would be quite naive and unacceptable."
"You're boring, you know that?" Anakin complained.
"We won, didn't we?" Obi-Wan reminded.
"Yes, but Ventress—"
"If she somehow survives, we'll be cautious if encountering her again."
In Dooku's estate, Count Dooku received the latest report from tactical droids in the Sullust system. The report indicated no survivors from the capital ship's explosion, which made him feel heavy.
Tyranus was uncertain if Ventress was truly dead, as the sudden Force disturbance made it difficult sensing his connection with her.
He was unsure if she'd actually died, or if she'd been captured and taken somewhere unknown.
But if she was truly gone, he would feel it in his heart. Count of Serenno was certain of this.
Despite his doubts and anxieties, the Count still had to address important matters at hand. When he contacted Sidious via hologram, Dooku immediately knelt before him.
"Tyranus, what is the situation?" Sidious asked.
"Asajj Ventress has fallen, as you wished," Dooku replied.
Sidious smiled with satisfaction and praised Dooku for once again proving his loyalty.
After the call, Dooku remained alone in his office, feeling lost and confused. He didn't know what to do next because he'd lost an extremely important asset.
"That was a great presence."
"Asajj, I'm sorry. Don't—"
"The Force has great plans for you."
"Our revenge must find another way."
In the chaos, Ventress's vision gradually blurred. Bright light flashed before her half-closed eyes. She seemed remembering something but quickly lost consciousness.
Before passing out, she reflected on her failure defeating the Jedi and how she'd failed her master once again. This could be the last time, as she was abandoned.
As she was pulled from her seat, she gradually regained consciousness. The Banshee's cockpit had been blown open, and someone was beside her.
After a while, when she fully woke, she realized she was still alive, though her fate was full of uncertainty.
She felt a sudden sharp pain in her arm and looked up. Before her, a blue male Twi'lek wearing goggles squatted, holding a sharp blade in his hand.
Behind him, several Niktos stood holding blaster rifles.
"You took quite a beating there, haven't you, spoiled little lady?" the Twi'lek male said mockingly, pointing his blade's tip at her.
"Which side are you on in this war?" he demanded.
Faced with such threats, she responded with an angry glare.
"Oh, looks like you're not very talkative," he sneered.
"Dathomir," she whispered the name unconsciously.
In fact, she didn't know why she'd blurted out this planet from her memory. Honestly, she hadn't done it deliberately, but another planet where she'd once felt safe suddenly appeared in her mind. However, this planet—Dathomir—this was her birth planet.
Her voice was nervous and trembling, but she tried making it clear to the scavengers. "Please take me to Dathomir."
"Why would you want going to a place like that?" the Twi'lek male asked. "There's nothing there but mist and witches." He continued, "Perhaps it's best you stay with us, dear."
She observed the expressions on their faces and sensed the tension about to explode. She didn't want giving them any opportunity to advance further, so she mobilized most of her Force and quickly subdued them. After she focused her attention, they seemed restrained by an invisible power, unable to move, as if their throats were being strangled and they had difficulty breathing.
However, this was insufficient, as Ventress decisively ended their lives by crushing their throats.
After seeing them all fall, she approached the cockpit of the ship she currently occupied.
As she attempted inputting a possible destination into navigation, images of Dathomir kept flooding her mind.
Ventress held her head in pain. She'd wanted going somewhere else, but she was intensely determined reaching Dathomir. Was it the Force guiding her, or something else?
Regardless, it seemed she had no choice but to input coordinates for a planet she'd never visited.