Title: Republic Saga - Alliances, Chapter Four
Author: Jonathan Evans
Author email: noggins@btinternet.com
Summary: A long dead threat has re-emerged and its up to the Jedi on Coruscant to deal with it...
REPUBLIC SAGA
ALLIANCES
CHAPTER FOUR
"They don't look very extinct," Leia said as a laser blast flew
passed her ear. "In fact they seem pretty much alive from where
I'm standing."
"Obviously they weren't outlawed everywhere and this is kinda out
of reach from the public." Anakin ignited his lightsaber. "Now,
are we going to deal with this or just stay here arguing?"
"Dealing with it sounds like a plan!" his daughter replied and
took her weapon from her belt, the glowing red blade extending for
almost a metre out of the hilt. She moved from her hiding place
and deflected a blast back at the droid that fired it. She ran
forward, hacking her enemies down as she went. Anakin followed
suite and was soon beheading them with his own weapon.
Keylar grabbed his Mandalore blaster and fired yellow energy at
the battle droids. One's head flew from its neck with the force
of the blast. It fell to the floor and the other tripped over
it in their relentless pursuit of the group. "Are these things
really as stupid as they seem?" Keylar asked.
"Look like it," Leia replied as she swiped a droid in two pieces,
one a mirror image of the other. "They make stormtroopers seem
positively sensible!"
Anakin threw his lightsaber forwards, cutting a pathway which
was quickly filled with more droids which were taken out as
he brought his weapon back to his hand with the Force. "They
may be mindless drones but in these kind of numbers they're deadly!"
"Don't I know it! It's as if this place is infested with them!"
"We have to find out where they're controlled from," Anakin said
as he hacked forward, brushing the droids aside with the Force until
he got through thier blockade. "It's the only way we can stop
them!"
Leia somersaulted over the battle droids, taking the heads off
several as she went. By the time she landed, Keylar had blasted
his way through them. "I have a feeling there's more. We have
to do this quickly."
"Then where do we go?"
"Follow me."
A set of blast doors to their left seemed to be creating a massive
power surge. The droids that were once on the floor and unable to
get up were now standing and heading towards them with renewed
vigour. "I guess this is what they're trying to protect."
Anakin quickly hot wired the controls and the doors opened. They
jumped inside and closed them before the droids could catch up.
"They should be blast sealed. It'll take more than a group of
dumb droids with rifles to get through here."
"I hope so or this mission is finished."
Leia looked at the Mandalore ambassador who was staring at a
body leaning over a console. It must have been there for decades,
the skin almost completely decomposed and a hole in its back
now a home for a family of turb-maggots. "I think we may have found
the control room!"
* * * * * * * * *
Sel'ine Dr'alik walked through the halls of the Republic base on
New Naboo, her head tails moving with each step she made. It
had been a long, hard time for her since her teacher, Mace Windu
became Darth Vader. If it hadn't been for Adi Gallia she would
be dead now, killed at the Sith Lord's hands. Being frozen in
carbonite allowed her to miss the Imperial regime and for that
she could only be thankful.
She looked ahead and saw Evajo Siinit, another Jedi apprentice,
his teacher being Master Gallia, the woman who had saved Sel'ine.
He too had grown weary of the wars and looked much older than
he really was. At this precise moment in time the expression
on his face was not a good one.
"What's wrong?" Sel'ine asked.
The young Jedi looked up to face his Twi'Lek friend in the eye.
He was trying his best to hold back his anger. "It's Mon Mothma!"
he replied. "She is still refusing to allow the Jedi to enforce
order in the galaxy. She just doesn't understand hwo important
we are."
"I'm sure Master Gallia is doing her best to..."
"That's the problem - she isn't doing enough. We could easily
persaude a few senators to side with the Jedi..."
"But that is using the Force for reasons that could lead to
the Dark Side."
"No it wouldn't. We'd be doing it for the right reasons."
Evajo seemed insistent. Were these the same thoughts that had
gone through Mace Windu's head before he became a Sith? The
thought of this happening to her friend send a shiver down
Sel'ine's spine. She had to convince him to change his mind
"And at what point do the right reasons become corrupted by
what you desire?"
"I... You're right. I shouldn't have been so stupid."
"I'm sure that isn't what you were doing. You know what is
right but sometimes the Force isn't the only way to make
sure that everything works out."
They walked down the corridor together. "No doubt Chancellor
Mothma is too occupied with what's happening on Coruscant to
think about what place the Jedi have. If it doesn't go well
there'll be no Republic for us to protect anyway."
Evajo nodded. "True. I wonder how Leia is coping right now."
Sel'ine smiled. "Oh, do you?" she asked playfully. Siinit looked
at her. "What?" he asked. "What are are smiling about now?"
"You really like Leia don't you?"
"I care for her as a fellow Jedi..."
"Yeah. Right."
"I'm serious!"
"I sensed something when you first saw her on the Death Star
two years ago."
"You couldn't have. I was too occupied with beating Palpatine."
"You had time to admire her though." Sel'ine grinned even more
watching Evajo squirm. "And you're old enough to be her father!"
"What?" the young Jedi snapped back. "Do I look forty?"
"Carbonite can take years off you, and you know it!"
She continued as her friend stood looking dumbfound. "I resent
that!" he called to her. "Eeven if I wasn't frozen I'd still be
young at heart."
"Hmmm."
"Seriously!"
* * * * * * * * *
The rebel transport came down near the bottom of the shield generator
that portruded from the top of a building small by Coruscant
standards but still towering miles above the surface. Three
stormtroopers walked up to it and tapped on one of the doors. It
slid open to reveal Narril Calrissian.
"Hi, what can I do for you?" he asked with a charming smile on his
face. One stormtrooper popped his head inside to look at the back
and was pulled inside by a set of arms. The other two didn't seem
to notice and remained occupied with questioning Narril.
"Do you realise this is Imperial property and no civilians are allowed
here?" the first asked.
"If would kindly leave and find a public docking platform we would
be most pleased," added the second.
Narril put his arms behind his head and leant back with no
intention of moving. "Oh, but I'm soooo tired. I couldn't possibly
drive any further. My bones are just aching."
"Well, I'm sorry sir, but..."
Before the trooper could finish his sentence, the former slave had
pulled out a blaster and blew a hole through his chest. The
other scrambled for his own rifle but was too late and received
another shot through his head. "Well, that was easier than I
thought," he said to the rebel leader sitting next to him.
Lando and ten other rebels climbed out of the back with explosives
ready to be used. "Okay,!" Lando ordered. "Get them planeted all
around. I don't want this thing to be standing when we're
finished here!"
The leader seemed annoyed by Calrissian taking command of the situation
but let him do it nonetheless. The first three charges were planted.
"How long should we set them for?" someone asked.
"Make it a minute. That should be enough." Lando attached one to
the side. It clung on magnetically. He began to press the timer set
buttons when he heard a voice behind him.
"Hey! Stop there! Turn around - slowly!"
Lando looked back and saw something like thirty stormtroopers coming
from a doorway that led from the inside of the shield generator.
He'd underestimated their numbers when they planet the decoy explosives
at the museum. He didn't think they'd be as well armed as this. He
put his hands behind his head and turned around fully. The rebels
were in the same situation and were having their weapons conviscated.
An Imperial officer came from the doorway followed by the black-clad
figure of Darth Maul.
"You did well, Captain Dasson," the Sith said to the human who
was much shorter than him.
"Thank you Lord Maul. The Emperor will be pleased with this victory."
"It was much easier than I had originally expected," Maul nodded.
"But anything could happen before we have executed them all."
"Yeah," Narril shouted as he yanked his blaster back off a stormtrooper
and blasted several of the Imperial soldiers. "Something like this!"
Another ten rebels poared out of the back of the transport and began
firing like madmen at their enemies. Dasson looked at Maul with fear
in his eyes. "This was not expected," he stuttered.
"Yes it was. You underestimate the Republic. You should never to do
that." He ignited both sides of his lightsaber and headed towards
Lando who had his back turned, firing away at the white armoured
warriors. He suddenly sensed something coming up behing him with the
Force powers that Adi Gallia had always told him that he had. He
span around and took a shot at Maul's stomach.
The Sith Lord was knocked back by this surprise attack. The laser
ripped through him, hitting an important motor circuit that
controlled his robotic torso. His left leg stopped functioning
and he stumbled forward. Lando grabbed his robes and threw him over
the top of the barrier around the platform and dropped him down
to the depths of Coruscant. He picked his blaster up again
and turned to see the rebels outnumbered and outgunned. They could
never win here. They had to escape. "Retreat! Retreat!" he shouted
at them.
A rebel soldier got hit in the chest and flew over the fencing. Lando
ran to grab him but was too late. It was the boy he had saved only
ten minutes earlier. He had saved him once only to see him die
again. He had died before the fall, the blast penetrating his chest
and creating a hole that left his heart a scorched wreck. Things
were going to get worse if they didn't evacuate. "Retreat!" he called
out again but no one seemed to listen. Lando shot a stormtrooper
through the head as he ran back to the transport.
It was taking off just as he got to it yet most of the rebels were
still on the platform. Through the window he could see their supposed
leader running away from battle and leaving his comrades behind.
"You son of a womp rat!" Lando shouted before a red streak flew through
his shoulder and his vision went black.
* * * * * * * * *
Keylar looked at the body that lay slumped over a console. He touched
it and the piece of flesh that was just hanging by a thread fell
to the ground revealing yet more of the bones. "Looks like he's been
here for quite a while."
"Yeah. Probably since those droids back there were built," Anakin
added as he observed the blast hole in him. "Maybe even killed by
his creations..."
"But surely this isn't the man who designed battle droids?"
"Baktoid Combat Automata had many people working for them. This
could easily be one of them, forced out of work by the banning of
the droids and having to come here."
Leia was looking at one of the computers after brushing away the
web of a local arachnid. The screen must have been on for the last
fifty years but with the vast supplies of power of Coruscant no
one would have noticed this slight drain on resources. "Father,
ambassador, I think you should both look at this," she said
with signs of worry in her voice.
"What is it?" Anakin came by her side and looked the read-out.
"Oh. This isn't good."
Keylar read the information soon after and all three looked at
each other carefully. It was several moments before they spoke
and for the first time they heard the sounds of blasts on the
door that was keeping them safe from the battle droids.
"So they've become sentient? They can think for themselves?"
"Looks like it. A power surge must have gone through the entire
system years ago and destroyed the control module. Our dead
friend here must have tried to work on the droids to make them
act as better troops than they were during the Battle of Naboo."
Leia sighed. "And he succeeded. Or so he thought."
"Oh, he succeeded, all right. To the extent that his babies no
longer needed him."
"But they're still as stupid as Imperial stormtroopers," Keylar
added. "He can't have done that well."
"You have to remember that stormtroopers are sentient, despite
being clones. If Palpatine had known about this maybe it would
have saved him a lot of money and saved the galaxy the clone
wars."
"But then we may have had the droid wars..."
The blasts at the door stopped. The two Jedi and their companion
turned around slowly. "They've stopped," Leia whispered.
"Maybe they've given up."
"I doubt it. That'd be too convenient for us. Maybe they're trying
something else."
"There's only one way to find out. We have to get to the top
of the Temple sooner or later and I'd rather it be sooner."
"Let's go."
Anakin activated the door controls and the metal barrier slid
slowly open. He pulled out his lightsaber and jumped into the
corridor. Nothing. The droids had gone. He motioned for Keylar
and Leia to follow. "It's okay. They've gone for now."
"Like you said, Skywalker. Too convenient."
"Indeed," the Jedi replied. "Unless they're using their brains
like they're meant to."
"Uh, it doesn't look like it!" Leia said, pointing ahead of
them. Four wheels were moving towards them at a faster and
faster velocity. They didn't seem like they were going to
stop. "What are they?"
"Droidekas!" Anakin whispered.
Just before they reached the Republic trio, they stopped and
transformed into their battle configuration, multiple arm-
mouted blasters pointing at Anakin, Leia and Keylar. Their
shield generators switched on and they began to fire.
TO BE CONTINUED.....
Author: Jonathan Evans
Author email: noggins@btinternet.com
Summary: A long dead threat has re-emerged and its up to the Jedi on Coruscant to deal with it...
REPUBLIC SAGA
ALLIANCES
CHAPTER FOUR
"They don't look very extinct," Leia said as a laser blast flew
passed her ear. "In fact they seem pretty much alive from where
I'm standing."
"Obviously they weren't outlawed everywhere and this is kinda out
of reach from the public." Anakin ignited his lightsaber. "Now,
are we going to deal with this or just stay here arguing?"
"Dealing with it sounds like a plan!" his daughter replied and
took her weapon from her belt, the glowing red blade extending for
almost a metre out of the hilt. She moved from her hiding place
and deflected a blast back at the droid that fired it. She ran
forward, hacking her enemies down as she went. Anakin followed
suite and was soon beheading them with his own weapon.
Keylar grabbed his Mandalore blaster and fired yellow energy at
the battle droids. One's head flew from its neck with the force
of the blast. It fell to the floor and the other tripped over
it in their relentless pursuit of the group. "Are these things
really as stupid as they seem?" Keylar asked.
"Look like it," Leia replied as she swiped a droid in two pieces,
one a mirror image of the other. "They make stormtroopers seem
positively sensible!"
Anakin threw his lightsaber forwards, cutting a pathway which
was quickly filled with more droids which were taken out as
he brought his weapon back to his hand with the Force. "They
may be mindless drones but in these kind of numbers they're deadly!"
"Don't I know it! It's as if this place is infested with them!"
"We have to find out where they're controlled from," Anakin said
as he hacked forward, brushing the droids aside with the Force until
he got through thier blockade. "It's the only way we can stop
them!"
Leia somersaulted over the battle droids, taking the heads off
several as she went. By the time she landed, Keylar had blasted
his way through them. "I have a feeling there's more. We have
to do this quickly."
"Then where do we go?"
"Follow me."
A set of blast doors to their left seemed to be creating a massive
power surge. The droids that were once on the floor and unable to
get up were now standing and heading towards them with renewed
vigour. "I guess this is what they're trying to protect."
Anakin quickly hot wired the controls and the doors opened. They
jumped inside and closed them before the droids could catch up.
"They should be blast sealed. It'll take more than a group of
dumb droids with rifles to get through here."
"I hope so or this mission is finished."
Leia looked at the Mandalore ambassador who was staring at a
body leaning over a console. It must have been there for decades,
the skin almost completely decomposed and a hole in its back
now a home for a family of turb-maggots. "I think we may have found
the control room!"
* * * * * * * * *
Sel'ine Dr'alik walked through the halls of the Republic base on
New Naboo, her head tails moving with each step she made. It
had been a long, hard time for her since her teacher, Mace Windu
became Darth Vader. If it hadn't been for Adi Gallia she would
be dead now, killed at the Sith Lord's hands. Being frozen in
carbonite allowed her to miss the Imperial regime and for that
she could only be thankful.
She looked ahead and saw Evajo Siinit, another Jedi apprentice,
his teacher being Master Gallia, the woman who had saved Sel'ine.
He too had grown weary of the wars and looked much older than
he really was. At this precise moment in time the expression
on his face was not a good one.
"What's wrong?" Sel'ine asked.
The young Jedi looked up to face his Twi'Lek friend in the eye.
He was trying his best to hold back his anger. "It's Mon Mothma!"
he replied. "She is still refusing to allow the Jedi to enforce
order in the galaxy. She just doesn't understand hwo important
we are."
"I'm sure Master Gallia is doing her best to..."
"That's the problem - she isn't doing enough. We could easily
persaude a few senators to side with the Jedi..."
"But that is using the Force for reasons that could lead to
the Dark Side."
"No it wouldn't. We'd be doing it for the right reasons."
Evajo seemed insistent. Were these the same thoughts that had
gone through Mace Windu's head before he became a Sith? The
thought of this happening to her friend send a shiver down
Sel'ine's spine. She had to convince him to change his mind
"And at what point do the right reasons become corrupted by
what you desire?"
"I... You're right. I shouldn't have been so stupid."
"I'm sure that isn't what you were doing. You know what is
right but sometimes the Force isn't the only way to make
sure that everything works out."
They walked down the corridor together. "No doubt Chancellor
Mothma is too occupied with what's happening on Coruscant to
think about what place the Jedi have. If it doesn't go well
there'll be no Republic for us to protect anyway."
Evajo nodded. "True. I wonder how Leia is coping right now."
Sel'ine smiled. "Oh, do you?" she asked playfully. Siinit looked
at her. "What?" he asked. "What are are smiling about now?"
"You really like Leia don't you?"
"I care for her as a fellow Jedi..."
"Yeah. Right."
"I'm serious!"
"I sensed something when you first saw her on the Death Star
two years ago."
"You couldn't have. I was too occupied with beating Palpatine."
"You had time to admire her though." Sel'ine grinned even more
watching Evajo squirm. "And you're old enough to be her father!"
"What?" the young Jedi snapped back. "Do I look forty?"
"Carbonite can take years off you, and you know it!"
She continued as her friend stood looking dumbfound. "I resent
that!" he called to her. "Eeven if I wasn't frozen I'd still be
young at heart."
"Hmmm."
"Seriously!"
* * * * * * * * *
The rebel transport came down near the bottom of the shield generator
that portruded from the top of a building small by Coruscant
standards but still towering miles above the surface. Three
stormtroopers walked up to it and tapped on one of the doors. It
slid open to reveal Narril Calrissian.
"Hi, what can I do for you?" he asked with a charming smile on his
face. One stormtrooper popped his head inside to look at the back
and was pulled inside by a set of arms. The other two didn't seem
to notice and remained occupied with questioning Narril.
"Do you realise this is Imperial property and no civilians are allowed
here?" the first asked.
"If would kindly leave and find a public docking platform we would
be most pleased," added the second.
Narril put his arms behind his head and leant back with no
intention of moving. "Oh, but I'm soooo tired. I couldn't possibly
drive any further. My bones are just aching."
"Well, I'm sorry sir, but..."
Before the trooper could finish his sentence, the former slave had
pulled out a blaster and blew a hole through his chest. The
other scrambled for his own rifle but was too late and received
another shot through his head. "Well, that was easier than I
thought," he said to the rebel leader sitting next to him.
Lando and ten other rebels climbed out of the back with explosives
ready to be used. "Okay,!" Lando ordered. "Get them planeted all
around. I don't want this thing to be standing when we're
finished here!"
The leader seemed annoyed by Calrissian taking command of the situation
but let him do it nonetheless. The first three charges were planted.
"How long should we set them for?" someone asked.
"Make it a minute. That should be enough." Lando attached one to
the side. It clung on magnetically. He began to press the timer set
buttons when he heard a voice behind him.
"Hey! Stop there! Turn around - slowly!"
Lando looked back and saw something like thirty stormtroopers coming
from a doorway that led from the inside of the shield generator.
He'd underestimated their numbers when they planet the decoy explosives
at the museum. He didn't think they'd be as well armed as this. He
put his hands behind his head and turned around fully. The rebels
were in the same situation and were having their weapons conviscated.
An Imperial officer came from the doorway followed by the black-clad
figure of Darth Maul.
"You did well, Captain Dasson," the Sith said to the human who
was much shorter than him.
"Thank you Lord Maul. The Emperor will be pleased with this victory."
"It was much easier than I had originally expected," Maul nodded.
"But anything could happen before we have executed them all."
"Yeah," Narril shouted as he yanked his blaster back off a stormtrooper
and blasted several of the Imperial soldiers. "Something like this!"
Another ten rebels poared out of the back of the transport and began
firing like madmen at their enemies. Dasson looked at Maul with fear
in his eyes. "This was not expected," he stuttered.
"Yes it was. You underestimate the Republic. You should never to do
that." He ignited both sides of his lightsaber and headed towards
Lando who had his back turned, firing away at the white armoured
warriors. He suddenly sensed something coming up behing him with the
Force powers that Adi Gallia had always told him that he had. He
span around and took a shot at Maul's stomach.
The Sith Lord was knocked back by this surprise attack. The laser
ripped through him, hitting an important motor circuit that
controlled his robotic torso. His left leg stopped functioning
and he stumbled forward. Lando grabbed his robes and threw him over
the top of the barrier around the platform and dropped him down
to the depths of Coruscant. He picked his blaster up again
and turned to see the rebels outnumbered and outgunned. They could
never win here. They had to escape. "Retreat! Retreat!" he shouted
at them.
A rebel soldier got hit in the chest and flew over the fencing. Lando
ran to grab him but was too late. It was the boy he had saved only
ten minutes earlier. He had saved him once only to see him die
again. He had died before the fall, the blast penetrating his chest
and creating a hole that left his heart a scorched wreck. Things
were going to get worse if they didn't evacuate. "Retreat!" he called
out again but no one seemed to listen. Lando shot a stormtrooper
through the head as he ran back to the transport.
It was taking off just as he got to it yet most of the rebels were
still on the platform. Through the window he could see their supposed
leader running away from battle and leaving his comrades behind.
"You son of a womp rat!" Lando shouted before a red streak flew through
his shoulder and his vision went black.
* * * * * * * * *
Keylar looked at the body that lay slumped over a console. He touched
it and the piece of flesh that was just hanging by a thread fell
to the ground revealing yet more of the bones. "Looks like he's been
here for quite a while."
"Yeah. Probably since those droids back there were built," Anakin
added as he observed the blast hole in him. "Maybe even killed by
his creations..."
"But surely this isn't the man who designed battle droids?"
"Baktoid Combat Automata had many people working for them. This
could easily be one of them, forced out of work by the banning of
the droids and having to come here."
Leia was looking at one of the computers after brushing away the
web of a local arachnid. The screen must have been on for the last
fifty years but with the vast supplies of power of Coruscant no
one would have noticed this slight drain on resources. "Father,
ambassador, I think you should both look at this," she said
with signs of worry in her voice.
"What is it?" Anakin came by her side and looked the read-out.
"Oh. This isn't good."
Keylar read the information soon after and all three looked at
each other carefully. It was several moments before they spoke
and for the first time they heard the sounds of blasts on the
door that was keeping them safe from the battle droids.
"So they've become sentient? They can think for themselves?"
"Looks like it. A power surge must have gone through the entire
system years ago and destroyed the control module. Our dead
friend here must have tried to work on the droids to make them
act as better troops than they were during the Battle of Naboo."
Leia sighed. "And he succeeded. Or so he thought."
"Oh, he succeeded, all right. To the extent that his babies no
longer needed him."
"But they're still as stupid as Imperial stormtroopers," Keylar
added. "He can't have done that well."
"You have to remember that stormtroopers are sentient, despite
being clones. If Palpatine had known about this maybe it would
have saved him a lot of money and saved the galaxy the clone
wars."
"But then we may have had the droid wars..."
The blasts at the door stopped. The two Jedi and their companion
turned around slowly. "They've stopped," Leia whispered.
"Maybe they've given up."
"I doubt it. That'd be too convenient for us. Maybe they're trying
something else."
"There's only one way to find out. We have to get to the top
of the Temple sooner or later and I'd rather it be sooner."
"Let's go."
Anakin activated the door controls and the metal barrier slid
slowly open. He pulled out his lightsaber and jumped into the
corridor. Nothing. The droids had gone. He motioned for Keylar
and Leia to follow. "It's okay. They've gone for now."
"Like you said, Skywalker. Too convenient."
"Indeed," the Jedi replied. "Unless they're using their brains
like they're meant to."
"Uh, it doesn't look like it!" Leia said, pointing ahead of
them. Four wheels were moving towards them at a faster and
faster velocity. They didn't seem like they were going to
stop. "What are they?"
"Droidekas!" Anakin whispered.
Just before they reached the Republic trio, they stopped and
transformed into their battle configuration, multiple arm-
mouted blasters pointing at Anakin, Leia and Keylar. Their
shield generators switched on and they began to fire.
TO BE CONTINUED.....