Asajj Ventress/Legends

"I am fear. I am the queen of a blood-soaked planet and an architect of genocide. I have helped to crack the Galaxy in half with this war and conquered every enemy I have ever faced&mdash;including death. All except for you."

- Asajj Ventress to Obi-Wan Kenobi

Asajj Ventress was a Dark Jedi and one of Count Dooku's Force-sensitive Dark Acolytes. As a child, she was trained as a Jedi on her homeworld of Rattatak by Jedi Knight Ky Narec, but she gave into her anger when he was slain and started down the path to the dark side.

After taking up the lightsaber of her dead master in addition to her own, she became a user of the Niman/Jar'Kai form of lightsaber combat, and she slew all of the warlords on her homeworld. Eventually, her actions came to the attention of Count Dooku, and after a test of her abilities, she became a commander in the Confederacy of Independent Systems. During the Clone Wars, Ventress had several run-ins with both Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, but after suffering a severe injury inflicted by Skywalker, she grew weary of fighting and disappeared into the unknown.

Early life
"You are no Jedi, girl. You are simply hatred and bile given form."

- Jedi Master Fay



Asajj Ventress hailed from the barbaric planet of Rattatak. She became cold-hearted and merciless from a lifetime of cruel hardships that began with the death of her warlord parents. They had been assembling a large army on Rattatak's southern hemisphere to challenge Osika Kirske, but were defeated and killed by a coalition of other warlords under Kirske. Ventress, alone on a harsh, unforgiving world would have died, had it not been for the arrival of a Jedi Knight named Ky Narec. Narec had become stranded upon Rattatak, and sensed Asajj's connection to the Force. Although Narec was cut off from the rest of the Jedi Order, he decided to train Ventress as his Padawan.

The two Jedi quickly became favored by the people, until Narec was killed by Osika Kirske before Asajj could become a full-fledged Jedi. Because of this, Asajj was as skilled as any Jedi, but had not yet achieved mastery over her emotions. Asajj soon became a force of authority on her lawless homeworld, defeating most of the remaining twelve Rattataki warlords and getting her revenge on Kirske.

She tattooed a black stripe on her bald head for every warlord she slew. Ventress, now in control of the land once held by the warlords, had a castle built on Rattatak, from where she controlled her new kingdom. Asajj kept Narec's lightsaber as a memento of the good times with her mentor, and developed a hatred of the Jedi, who she believed had abandoned Narec. Her bitterness and lust for revenge sent Asajj spiraling down the path of the dark side.

The new face of war
"The dark side is strong in me, for I am Sith.''" "''A bold claim, but you are not Sith. You wear the trappings of the Sith. You fight like the Sith. But this can be imitated, however. You lack a vital quality found in all Sith. Sith have no fear, and I sense much fear in you."

- Asajj Ventress and Count Dooku



Ventress was still in command on Rattatak when the Clone Wars began. After Echuu Shen-Jon killed Sev'rance Tann on Krant, Count Dooku went in search of a new Dark Acolyte to serve as a Commander in the Confederacy of Independent Systems. He traveled to Rattatak, where he was met by a waiting humanoid co-conspirator. As he sat beside the Count in a nearby observation chamber, this robed individual was silently and swiftly dispatched by a dark, cloaked figure who then took his seat. Dooku noted the presence of the killer, but initially voiced doubt about her combat abilities&mdash;until Ventress threw herself into a gladiatorial pit fight in the Cauldron and easily annihilated such foes as Blorga, Granda Dolma, Nilo, L8-L9, Flalios, Jasper McKnives, Krutch, Anchor Blue, Swyy'm-Ee, and Giant Flog.



Dooku was impressed with Asajj's talents, but she then went too far by declaring herself a Sith, and that Dooku knew nothing of the dark side. Dooku decided to "enlighten" her. After rendering her unconscious with a blast of Force lightning and later beating her in a sparring duel, Dooku presented her to Darth Sidious, who made Ventress a commander in the Separatist forces, and ordered her to kill a certain Jedi&mdash;Anakin Skywalker. After her departure from their presence, Sidious told Dooku that it was irrelevant whether or not Ventress actually succeeded in this task. Thus it is likely this was yet another of Sidious's psychological games. If Ventress killed Anakin, then she was a more worthy future apprentice than Anakin. If Anakin killed (or as it turned out, defeated) Ventress, it was likely that in the course of the battle Anakin would use his rage, bringing him yet closer to the dark side. Either way, the Sith Lord would win. "The child's skill with a lightsaber is most impressive. You have found a promising disciple, my apprentice. She shall serve us well."

- Darth Sidious to Dooku



Before sending her on her way, Dooku gifted Ventress with the twin red blades of his former Padawan, Komari Vosa. The twin blades could be wielded separately or joined together to form a saberstaff, one more difficult to handle than the traditional design, given the curved nature of the handles. Dooku, having taken the blades from Vosa after her fatal fight with bounty hunter Jango Fett, now intended that Ventress should use them&mdash;much as Komari Vosa had&mdash;to be a bane to the forces of the light.

Ventress trained at Dooku's fortress on Kohlma, and first revealed herself to the Jedi at Ruul, where Mace Windu was to meet with the Jedi dissidents led by Sora Bulq. Bulq had been converted to the dark side by Dooku on Bakura following the Battle of Geonosis, and was part of Dooku's plan. Ventress was sent in as an assassin, whom the dissidents were led to believe had been hired by Windu. The Korun Master eventually uncovered the truth, though not before Ventress killed Mira and wounded K'Kruhk. Though Ventress briefly dueled Mace Windu, she realized she was no match for his skill&mdash;even using her deadly saberstaff&mdash;and fled Ruul in a solar sailer. "She will be more than a match for young Skywalker." "It matters not. She is merely an instrument to bring forth the eradication of the Jedi."

- Dooku and Sidious



A few weeks later, Asajj battled the Jedi Master Darrus Jeht in a jungle locale where, after stabbing Darrus in the chest with her lightsabers, Darrus tormented Asajj with Force lightning before being rescued by clone troopers. Soon after that, Ventress traveled to Muunilinst to carry out her first command; kill Anakin Skywalker. Flying her Fanblade starfighter, Ventress attacked Skywalker over Muunilinst and then lured him to the jungle moon of Yavin IV. There, she destroyed his starfighter and the clone squad sent by Obi-Wan Kenobi to assist him, then battled the young Jedi through the moon's jungles and one of the ancient temples. The duel ended when Anakin gave in to his rage, and knocked Ventress from the pinnacle of the temple. Anakin escaped, and Ventress, wounded but alive, was limped back to her Masters to lick her wounds. Ironically, she would later become obsessed with Anakin's master rather than Anakin himself. "I'm going to make you pay for what you've done." "Come, Padawan. Your fall will be my ascension to the Sith."

- Anakin Skywalker and Asajj Ventress



Believing Asajj to be dead, Obi-Wan and Anakin were completely unprepared for her cold-hearted attack on the Gungan colony on Ohma-D'un. Ventress released swamp gas on the Naboo moon, decimating the settlement, then waited with the bounty hunter Durge for Jedi to arrive. She and Durge ambushed Kenobi's team; during the fight, Ventress decapitated Glaive, injured his Padawan, Zule Xiss, and nearly killed Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, the arrival of Skywalker and Alpha-17 forced the Separatists to retreat&mdash;though now the Jedi would undoubtedly remember the new face of war.

Kenobi and Ventress met again several weeks later, on Queyta, where Ventress and Durge fought Kenobi, Nico Diath, Fay, Jon Antilles, and Knol Ven'nari for the antidote to the swamp gas chemical weapon. Ventress eventually yielded the antidote to Kenobi after she and Durge wiped out his strike force, though with her parting words, Ventress promised to kill Obi-Wan at their next meeting. It is probably for this reason that she developed a vendetta against Kenobi.

At some point, Ventress became worshipped as a goddess on the planet Mauk.

Ventress's obsession
"All she has ever known is violence! We'll never reach her through a lightsaber! I still think there's a part of her Dooku hasn't corrupted!"

- Obi-Wan Kenobi



Although she had been tasked with eliminating Skywalker, Ventress slowly became obsessed not with the boy, but his master&mdash;Kenobi. She and Kenobi squared off at Ord Cestus after she incapacitated Kit Fisto, though she was unable to defeat the Jedi. However, during the Battle of Jabiim, Ventress finally managed to capture Kenobi, and transported him to her castle on Rattatak for interrogation and torture, to show the Count how worthless the Jedi Knight was. However, Kenobi escaped with Alpha-17, and again fought Ventress before leaving. Kenobi stole both Ky Narec's lightsaber and Ventress's own starfighter, using the latter to reach Riflor, and leaving Ventress broken and tearful on the landing platform. Asajj later met up with both Anakin and Obi-Wan on the planet Vjun, but turned tail when faced with the task of fighting them both.



During the initial stages of the Battle of Rendili, Obi-Wan discovered the renegade Quinlan Vos aboard the exploration vessel Titavian IV. He had betrayed Dooku's trust, and the Count had sent Asajj and Tol Skorr to eliminate him. Asajj and Obi-Wan battled yet again, though this time Asajj felt assured of victory, riding a ferocious rancor in pursuit of her nemesis. Obi-Wan and Quinlan escaped, but Asajj followed Obi-Wan back to Coruscant.

Once there, Asajj ambushed Anakin Skywalker, engaging him in a duel atop the skyscrapers of one of Galactic City's industrial sectors. Ventress seemed to have the upper hand, and left a scar down the side of Anakin's face. However, when she taunted Skywalker with thoughts of killing his wife, Anakin again used his anger to defeat Ventress. He entwined her body in thick electric cables, then sent her plummeting down into the murky lower levels. As on Yavin IV, Asajj barely survived her fall, but was this time too weak to continue fighting without assistance. Oddly, Ventress was later seen dogfighting Skywalker and a young Boba Fett in a Fanblade starfighter over Xagobah.

Redemption
"Just far away. Far from the Jedi, from this war, from Count Dooku. Just fly as far away as you can."

- Asajj Ventress



Throughout their battles, Obi-Wan had learned more and more of Ventress's past. He concluded that Asajj was misled, not evil, and took it upon himself to find her and bring her back to the light. Anakin was convinced he had killed her on Coruscant, and that Obi-Wan was not thinking clearly, but the two uncovered a trail of clues that confirmed her survival and location, battling and killing Durge on the way.

Ventress had been sent to the planet Boz Pity, where she was placed in a bacta tank by Count Dooku and given cybernetic modifications to amplify her rage. When Republic forces attacked Boz Pity, Obi-Wan came upon the chamber in which Ventress was contained within a Separatist facility, and was subsequently attacked by her when she detected him in her trance. She fought against both Kenobi and Anakin, only to be unexpectedly abandoned by Dooku, who did not want her to delay his escape. He ordered an IG-100 MagnaGuard to kill her as she desperately tried to reach Dooku's shuttle. Using a blaster rifle, the droid shot Ventress down as she approached the shuttle.

Enraged and wounded, Ventress attempted to kill Kenobi, who was trying to help her, only to be dealt a mortal wound by Anakin. As she lay dying, Ventress told Obi-Wan the location of the Separatists' next target, and finally let go of her anger and rage. Perhaps, she mused, Obi-Wan had been right about her. With that, Ventress appeared to die, and Obi-Wan ordered her corpse to be placed aboard a medical shuttle.



Despite appearances to the contrary, Ventress did not die, instead placing herself in a Sith trance on Boz Pity using her Sith healing techniques to heal the wounds she suffered. She was loaded aboard the Republic medical frigate Bright Flight, and, while on board, emerged from her trance and ordered the pilots to alter their course; to take her as far away as possible from the war, Dooku, and the Jedi. The pilots complied.

The fate of Asajj Ventress after the fall of the Galactic Republic is unknown, although it is known for sure that she survived the Galaxy-wide Clone Wars.

Audio clips
[[Media:asajj.ogg|Hear Asajj Ventress]]

Behind the scenes



 * Asajj Ventress was voiced by Grey DeLisle in Star Wars: Clone Wars.


 * The design for Asajj Ventress comes from early Attack of the Clones brainstorming sketches by Dermot Power for the design of Palpatine's apprentice that would later become Dooku. The concept art can be seen in The Art of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. However, the character itself was created specifically for the Clone Wars multimedia project. Note that the concept art was later converted into comic content of the character in Star Wars Republic: The New Face of War.


 * Leland Chee suggested to use "Asajj" as the first name for Ventress, naming her after the character Asaji from Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood.


 * Through the Star Wars: Battlefront II Xbox Live content, Asajj Ventress is available to download to the game. In the game, her lightsabers are connected together by a fibercord at the hilt.


 * In a recent issue of Game Informer, it was stated that Asajj Ventress may be one of the Force users hunted down by Vader's apprentice in the next-gen Star Wars video game The Force Unleashed.