The sun of Geonosis hung low, bleeding light across the dust-stained sky. In the heart of a Separatist fortress, Obi-Wan Kenobi was brought before Count Dooku. The fallen Jedi's posture was calm, his words measured, but the darkness that clung to him was unmistakable.
"You must know, Master Kenobi," Dooku began, walking slow circles around his prisoner, "the Republic is under the control of a Sith Lord. The Senate is corrupt, the Jedi blinded by tradition. Join me, and together we can destroy this deception."
Obi-Wan held his gaze, refusing to break. "You're lying. The Jedi would sense such darkness."
Dooku smiled faintly, tilting his head. "Would they? Even Yoda fails to see the storm that's already upon him."
Before Obi-Wan could answer, the Geonosian guards pulled him away, leaving Dooku's cryptic words echoing in the air. He didn't yet know it, but his distress signal had already reached Coruscant and Anakin Skywalker was coming.
The Naboo transport carrying Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, and R2-D2 emerged from hyperspace above the reddish planet. The air shimmered with heat and sandstorms, and sensor readings spiked with energy signatures factories, droid foundries, and fortress networks.
"This is the place," Padmé said, eyes narrowing as she peered through the viewport. "If Obi-Wan's message came from here, we're walking straight into danger."
Anakin smirked, though worry darkened his expression. "Wouldn't be the first time."
They descended in stealth, landing near a ridge. The sounds of mechanical drills and furnaces filled the air. R2 projected a faint hologram of the surrounding area, identifying movement hundreds of droids.
Before they could move far, a patrol found them. Laser bolts flared through the dust. Anakin's lightsaber ignited in a blue blaze, slicing through the first wave of battle droids. But there were too many. They were surrounded within minutes and dragged toward the droid foundries, wrists bound.
Padmé glared at their captors. "You'll regret this," she hissed.
The Geonosian overseer clicked his mandibles. "So will you, Senator Amidala."
The Geonosian arena was alive with sound a hundred thousand insectoid spectators buzzing and shrieking as they watched three prisoners dragged into the light: Obi-Wan, Padmé, and Anakin.
They were chained to towering stone pillars, the heat beating down on them like a furnace. Across from them, cages creaked open, and monstrous beasts emerged: the reek, the nexu, and the acklay all snarling, each one bred for slaughter.
Anakin gave Obi-Wan a lopsided grin. "We decided to come and rescue you."
"Good job," Obi-Wan muttered dryly, tugging at his chains.
Padmé was already working hers loose, agile and determined. "At least we're all in this together."
The beasts charged. Chaos erupted. The reek thundered toward Anakin, horns gleaming in the sun; he barely dodged, using his chain as a whip. The nexu leapt at Padmé, claws slashing, but she rolled away and climbed her pillar with desperate speed. Obi-Wan, cornered by the acklay, kicked his chain loose and grabbed a fallen spear.
The crowd roared as the prisoners fought for their lives.
Then the doors of the arena opened and salvation arrived.
The Jedi Strike
From the stands above, Mace Windu stepped into the arena floor, igniting his purple lightsaber. "This party's over," he said, his voice cutting through the chaos.
All around, dozens of Jedi revealed themselves Ki-Adi-Mundi, Kit Fisto, Aayla Secura, Luminara Unduli, and more igniting sabers of every color. The arena blazed with light as they leapt into battle against the droids.
The Separatist leaders watched from their balcony, including Count Dooku, Poggle the Lesser, and Jango Fett, his beskar armor gleaming in the Geonosian sun. Dooku's calm expression betrayed no concern; this had been anticipated.
"Deploy them," he commanded.
Geonosian guards activated panels. The gates burst open, releasing waves of super battle droids, each one heavier, stronger, and better armed than the last.
Blaster fire filled the air. Jedi fell one by one, overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Still, the survivors fought with impossible grace, forming defensive circles, sabers spinning and flashing.
Jango Fett vs. Mace Windu
Amid the chaos, Jango Fett dropped from the balcony, jetpack igniting in a roar of blue flame. His blasters spat fire, cutting down two Jedi who strayed too close. He moved with lethal precision, each step measured, his visor scanning for the greatest threat.
And then he saw him Mace Windu.
Their eyes locked across the smoke and sand.
Mace advanced slowly, saber humming. "It ends here, bounty hunter."
"Not today," Jango snapped, raising his blasters. Twin bolts flashed, deflected effortlessly. The two clashed in the center of the arena one man armored in beskar, the other draped in the power of the Force.
Mace struck in a blur of violet light. Jango rolled, fired, and launched a flamethrower burst that seared the ground inches from Windu's feet. The Jedi countered with a Force push that sent Jango tumbling across the sand, his jetpack sparking.
Jango ripped it free before it could explode, dropping into a crouch. Windu closed the distance only for Jango to trigger a miniature cloaking field, vanishing from sight.
The Jedi froze, eyes narrowing. The faintest shimmer in the air gave him away too late. A concussive charge detonated between them, throwing Mace backward.
When the smoke cleared, Jango was gone already jetting toward his ship, the Prowler, which uncloaked briefly to let him aboard before vanishing again into stealth mode.
Mace looked up into the burning sky, teeth clenched. The hunter had escaped.
The Grand Army of the Republic
As the battle in the arena raged, the sky thundered. A sound like rolling drums echoed across the plains as Acclamator-class assault ships descended through the clouds, escorted by LAAT gunships.
The clone army commissioned in secret and now unleashed flooded the battlefield.
Blaster fire turned the Geonosian desert into chaos. AT-TE walkers stomped across the plains, crushing droids underfoot. Gunships swept low, firing rockets into droid formations. Clone troopers poured from drop bays, executing precise maneuvers drilled into them since their creation.
In the midst of it all, Yoda arrived, commanding troops from the front lines. His green lightsaber flared, deflecting shots as he directed reinforcements toward the arena.
"Begun," Yoda said grimly, "the Clone War has."
Obi-Wan and Anakin fought side by side, carving through the last of the droids. Padmé, armed with a fallen blaster, covered their flank. The Jedi strike team, battered but alive, regrouped near the gunships.
"Where's Jango?" Anakin shouted over the gunfire.
"Gone," Obi-Wan replied. "But he won't stay hidden forever."
Dooku's Escape
As the Republic forces gained ground, Count Dooku retreated toward his solar sailer. His face was unreadable as he activated his commlink. "Begin evacuation. The Republic has its army but so do we."
His ship lifted off, pursued by Obi-Wan and Anakin in a speeder. The chase that followed would mark the first true lightsaber duel between Jedi and Sith in a century and the beginning of Anakin Skywalker's fall.
Return to Mandalore
Far away, deep in hyperspace, the Prowler shimmered back into realspace over Mandalore's second moon. The stealth plating cooled, and the ship's engines wound down. Inside the cockpit, Jango removed his helmet, sweat tracing down his brow. His armor bore scorch marks and dents, testament to how close he had come to death.
He exhaled slowly. "That was too close."
His second-in-command, a scarred Mandalorian named Varin, looked over the sensor data. "We lost two ships in the extraction. Dooku escaped, and the clones… they were impressive."
Jango gave a grim nod. "Shepard was right. The Republic's playing with fire. And we're standing in the middle of it."
He keyed the comms. "Patch me through to Mandalore. I need to speak with my brother."
On Coruscant
Back on Coruscant, the Senate erupted in frenzy. Chancellor Palpatine stood at the center of the chaos, his expression grave yet composed.
"I will not let this Republic fall into chaos," he declared. "The clone army shall serve as our guardians until this war is won."
Applause thundered through the chamber, and the motion to grant Palpatine emergency powers passed by overwhelming majority. The Sith Lord bowed his head humbly but beneath that calm exterior, triumph burned like fire.
In the aftermath of Geonosis, the galaxy shifted. The Republic had its army. The Jedi had their war. And Jango Fett, alive and in the shadows, sped home to Mandalore back to Shepard, to report what he had seen, and to prepare for the storm that was about to consume the galaxy.