Star Wars Episode III: Fall of the Sith
A Long Time Ago, in a galaxy far far away.
A galaxy in peril! As the noble Jedi Knights and their clone armies teeter on the edge of victory, things take a turn for the worst. Coruscant has been attacked, and all droid forces are focusing their attack on the Senate building and the sacred Jedi Temple. As the Jedi fight to protect their adopted home planet, evil droid General Grievous marches inside the Temple and engages the vulnerable Padawans. Living Jedi Masters are scarce as the Jedi body count in the Clone Wars reaches a record high in the history of the Order. Once the attack on the Temple fails, the two Separatist leaders split up and flee to the capital planets of the Separatist movement. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi is chosen to lead a team of Jedi to bring the Sith Lord Count Dooku to justice, while Saesee Tiin leads a Jedi team to kill General Grievous. As the Jedi attempt to bring their known enemies to justice, a new threat shows his face, and the galaxy shall never be the same!
Chapter 1:
The pale moon above Corsucant was the only source of light at this time of night, which was perfect for Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn's plan. The older Master was hiding behind a pillar at the main Temple entrance. His clone troops of 81st Battalion waited patiently as well, waiting in darkness for the next wave of battle droids to march up the stairs. Jinn wrapped his right fingers tightly around the hilt of his lightsaber, almost anxious to ignite its green blade and begin chopping down the attackers of his home. He reached out with the Force, and finally began to hear the metal armies stomping up the main stair case. He nodded to his clone battalion commander, nicknamed Rhino. Rhino nodded back and loaded a gas clip into his DC-15S. Qui-Gon exhaled as the droids reached the top of the stairs. He heard the faint click of the other troops under his command loading their DC rifles. Finally the droids reached the top of the stairs and began marching down the walkway towards the entrance. "PUSH THEM BACK!" Qui-Gon yelled.
He let out from behind the pillar and ignited his lightsaber, immediately cutting down several battle droids. His troopers emerged from their cover and sprayed blaster bolts everywhere. The droids were caught completely off guard as Gui-Gon quickly cut down his metal opponents. He let go of his conscious self, and let the Force flow through him as he spun, twirled, swung, and flipped through the crowd of B1 battle droids. He front flipped into the air and landed behind a battle droid and, swinging his lightsaber around, beheaded the droid. The thin metal body of the droid fell to the ground as Qui-Gon moved onwards. Two LAATs appeared overhead and, using the side mounted guns, wiped out the rest of the droids coming up the stairs. "General Jinn, this is Breaker, General Grievous is making his way up the stairs, permission to fire?" Breaker asked. "Negative, we need him alive to stand trial. The 81st and I can take him." Qui-Gon said into his clone gauntlet comlink. He waved Breaker's gunships away as he prepared to fight the leader of the droid army. Suddenly Grievous leapt from the stairs and grabbed onto the wing of one of the gunships. He ignited one of his stolen lightsabers and pulled it through the wing, cutting it clean off. The gunship spun out of control and Breaker and the rest of his crew were engulfed in flames as it crashed into the Temple. Grievous jumped away before the LAAT impacted and landed back on the stairs. He charged at Qui-Gon, lightsabers in both of his primary hands. Grievous' blue blades clashed with Qui-Gon's as the 81st began to open fire on the droid general. Qui-Gon parried each of Grievous' saber attacks but was unable to advance forward. Grievous was pushing him back towards the entrance, and Qui-Gon simply could not allow Grievous to advance into the Temple where the younglings were hiding. He front flipped over Grievous and, while in mid-air, threw his lightsaber at his legs. The green blade slashed through Grievous' metal thighs and separated him from his legs. The General fell to the ground and the 81st advanced on him. They poured the might of their blasters into his stomach and arms, immobilizing him. The clones looked to Qui-Gon for further orders. "General Grievous, you are under arrest by order of the Galactic Senate and the Jedi Order for crimes against the Republic." Qui-Gon said. Grievous laughed as a shuttle landed to take him to the Coruscant Detention Center. Four troopers dragged him onto the shuttle and the ramp closed.
Grievous sat behind a cell on the detention shuttle. His lightsaber sat on a table next to the shuttle pilots. Another two troopers stood in front of the cell's ray shield bars. The shuttle was already halfway to the detention center, Grievous still had time. He raised his arm and the grappling hook launcher popped up. He aimed for his lightsaber and fired. The hook flew through the bars and past the clone troopers. It grabbed onto one of his lightsabers and he pulled back. His weapon whipped into his hands and he stood up. He sliced through the bars, separating them for a second before they reformed. The blade cleaved through two of the troopers and they fell apart. One of the pilots stood up and fired at Grievous with a DC-17S. Grievous blocked the bolts back at him and the pilot fell to the floor with a hole in his chest. The droid general cut a hole in the floor and jumped out.
Chapter 2:
Sgt. Katana's troops had been pushed back to the deepest depths of the Temple caves. Super battle droids had locked down all exits from the cave. Katana and his troops had been separated from the rest of the 81st Battalion and had been pushed back while the other half stood outside guarding the main entrance. "General Jinn, this is Sgt. Katana, do you read me? We are under attack. We are in the Trial Caves. WE NEED HELP!" Katana yelled over his helmet comlink. His helmets built in HUD was malfunctioning, therefore he had no way of knowing how much ammo he had left. The three troopers in front of him were blown away by a proton torpedo and the explosion knocked Katana off his feet. Ghost, Katana's best friend and fellow veteran of the Battle of Geonosis and Christophsis, ran up to him. Ghost hooked his arms under Katana's armpits and dragged him behind a boulder. Blaster bolts flew past them and slammed into the troopers trying to defend themselves. "There has to be some kind of secret exit that Padawans use to cheat during Trials. You need medical attention." Ghost said. He jumped out from behind the boulder and opened fire on the nearest battle droid with his DC-15A. Suddenly a blaster bolt hit him in the thigh, and he dropped to the rocky floor. To no avail the clone tried standing up, before another blaster bolt hit him low on his back and penetrated his stomach. He yelled in pain and rolled over onto his back. The remainder of the troops in the caves was wiped out. Katana and Ghost were the survivors, and even that didn't seem like it would last much longer. Katana ripped off his kama and tied it around his wound and pulled his DC-17 from his thigh holster. He then tossed it to his dying teammate. Ghost grabbed the pistol and sprayed down the droid in front of him. Suddenly the pistol made a sharp –CLICK!-, indicating it was out of ammo. Droids marched towards the dying clone, blasters raised. Suddenly the droids were blown away by a blast of invisible energy. Katana opened his eyes to see Qui-Gon's newest Padawan, Jed Zahn. Jed Force dashed past Ghost and swung his lightsaber through the three lead battle droids. Katana sighed in relief as the young Padawan easily defeated the droids. A minute later Jed walked up to the two clones and knelt beside either one of them. He raised his forearm and activated his gauntlet comlink. "Commander Rhino, I need a medic in the Trial Caves immediately. Katana and Ghost are gravely injured." Jed reported.
Chapter 3:
Anakin Skywalker's Delta-7 Jedi star fighter soared high above the Temple as two Separatist warships came out of Hyperspace. He pulled up and accelerated towards the lead warship. Launching two missiles at the bridge he pulled into a downwards dive and then back up to get a good shot at the engines. Jedi Master and High Council member Saesee Tiin pulled up next to him in his own Interceptor and together they opened fire on the warship. It exploded and Anakin accelerated through the wreckage. A Republic Star Destroyer entered the atmosphere and opened fire on the second warship. Anakin banked left and did a loop around the bridge to see who was in command. "Star Destroyer hold your fire! This is General Skywalker! Count Dooku is on that ship!" Anakin ordered. The top hangar doors of the Star Destroyer opened and six LAAT/i gunships exited the warship. They flew towards the Separatist warship to help Anakin take Dooku prisoner. Anakin pulled in the left hangar and set down his fighter. Saesee landed next to him and they Force leapt from their fighters. Anakin ignited his blue bladed lightsaber and cut through the battle droids nearest him. Saesee followed suit and cut through a Magnaguard with his own green blade. Across the hangar an LAAT/i touched down. Captain Rex, Sgt. Appo, Maverick, Dez, and four other troopers exited the gunship and took cover behind several stacks of crates. Anakin sprinted towards them and with a flick of the wrist pulled his lightsaber down and across through a super battle droids shoulder. The droid fell to the ground in two and the three droids off to Anakin's left dropped to the floor with blaster holes in their chests. The troopers walked out from behind their cover and regrouped around the two Jedi Masters. "Generals, we're here to help." Rex reported. Saesee nodded as Anakin opened his mouth to speak. "Rex, take three men with you and secure the lower levels of the ship. Master Tinn, you go with them. I will take Appo, Dez, and Maverick with me to take down Dooku. We will end the Clone Wars here and now." Anakin said.
Chapter 4:
The sun began to rise as the battle inside the Jedi Temple was coming to a close. The Senate had already been secured, and the GAR had managed to lock down perimeter around the Temple. ARC-170s protected Y-Wings as they bombed the cities where civilians had been evacuated. Two clone ARC troopers stood in the main hangar of the Temple. One of the ARCs, nicknamed Blaze, was holding a datapad with a holomap of the Temple. The map was a live feed of the battle in the upper levels. The other ARC, nicknamed Jerek, watched the feed in interest. "Droid forces are pinned down in the level right below the floor entrance to the Council Spires. If we utilize our gunships we can deploy troops on the roof and have them breach through. We can box the droids in and take them out." Blaze reported. Jerek nodded. Jerek raised his arm and began tapping on the holoscreen built into his gauntlet. "Only one gunship is available, and regardless of the fact that we are winning, we don't have troops to spare." Jerek contradicted. Blaze paused for a second, and flipped the com antenna on his helmet up. The holographic form of Admiral Yularen appeared on Blaze's built in holoscreen projector in his arm. "Commanders, I have a small squadron of troopers ready to deploy. 7 men, fresh out of training on Kamino, and hold the record for fastest mobilization among the batch they came from. They look forward to their first mission and the chance to etch tally marks into their armor." Admiral Yularen reported. Blaze held back a laugh at the last part while Jerek showed no restrain. "We all looked forward to that chance Admiral. Roger that, we'll take em. Equip them with DC-19s on this one though, if you can. We'll be using them for a stealthier operation this time around." Jerek said. The Admiral nodded and saluted them before the hologram dispersed. Blaze let his arm fall to his side and turned to his fellow veteran. "Time to dirty the shinies!" Jerek said happily.
Several minutes later the new squadron arrived in their LAAT. The gunship landed on one of the outer landing platforms that connected to the Temple's main hangar. Blaze and Jerek walked towards the gunship, ready to meet their brothers. The doors slid open and Jerek pretended to be blinded by the stark whiteness of the new squadrons' armor. "Greetings boys. I am ARC Commander Blaze. This is ARC Commander Jerek. We'll be leading you into your first combat mission. Get ready!" Blaze ordered as he and Jerek boarded the gunship.
Chapter 5:
Anakin stomped down the main corridor of Count Dooku's warship. He angrily cut through the waves of battle droids with his lightsaber. The four clones behind him kept up, but were unable to fire shots due to the sheer speed and precision Anakin used on the battle droids as he progressed. Maverick looked at Dez and jabbed a thumb at Anakin. "We've been assigned to the coolest general ever eh Dez?" Maverick laughed. Suddenly Anakin broke into a Force sprint down the corridor and the clones took off running behind him. They would never catch up, but he ordered them to follow him, and that's exactly what they had to do. Anakin reached the room Dooku was in and cut through the blast doors with his lightsaber. Dooku was standing on the far end of the central observation deck of the warship, watching ARC-170s being engulfed in flames as they were shot down by vulture droids and tri droids. Anakin broke into a rage and beheaded both of the magnaguards that had walked towards him. He stomped towards Dooku, keeping a firm grip on his lightsaber. The Count turned to him and chuckled. His white hair was slicked back as usual and the wrinkles on his face seemed to deepen with each passing day. Anakin assumed the Count's Sith Master was the cause of that. "Ah, Skywalker, what a pleasant surprise to see you alive and well. My master requested I end your life today, but I figured I would let the "Hero with No Fear" die the comfortable death he deserves." Count Dooku sneered. Anakin growled and charged at the Sith Lord. Using the Force Dooku's lightsaber flew into his hand and the crimson red blade appeared. The Sith Lord easily blocked all of Anakin's uncontrolled reckless lightsaber attacks. Dooku took a step back as Anakin raised his lightsaber in an attempt to bring it down through the Count's head. Dooku held out his hand and threw Anakin across the room with a Force push. He followed up the maneuver with a barrage of lightning. Anakin slammed into the wall as the lightning engulfed him. He fell to his knees and dropped his lightsaber. The weapon skidded towards Dooku and the former Jedi grinned. Suddenly there was an explosion at the entrance to the observation deck and four clone troopers breached the room. They opened fire on Dooku and he was forced to stop his attack on Anakin and bring his lightsaber up to block the blue plasma bolts that were coming towards him. The ship shuddered as Y-Wings peppered the ship with proton torpedoes. Suddenly it lurched onto its side and the clones slipped and fell to the wall. Dooku slammed his lightsaber into what used to be the floor he was standing on. The clones stood up on the wall and Dez ran over to their injured general. "Sir, get up, we have him right where we want him." Dez said as Maverick and Appo opened fire on Dooku. Dooku pulled himself up and braced his legs against the floor before back flipping. As he flipped he pulled his lightsaber from the floor and landed on the glass wall next to the clones. He laughed and cleaved through Maverick's stomach. The trooper's legs separated from him and he fell down against the glass. Dooku laughed and electrocuted Dez. The trooper disintegrated as Appo jumped back towards Anakin. Dooku raised his to hand to electrocute them once before when suddenly the ship lurched and turned upright. Anakin rolled onto the floor and grabbed his lightsaber. Dooku stood up and brought his lightsaber through Anakin's torso. His own legs separated from him as he dropped to the floor and screamed in agony. Suddenly a blaster bolt when through Dooku's saber hand. He dropped his weapon and gasped. Captain Rex stood at the doorway, smoke pouring out of the barrel of one of his DC-17s. Dooku Force sprinted past the two out into the corridor towards the escape pods.
Chapter 6:
Clone special forces leaders X1 and X2 led the defense of Coruscant's lower levels. Explosions rang out everywhere. X2 focused on the super battle droids with his DC-15A as the Republic Commandos covered his flank. "Watch those guns!" X2 ordered. X1 was already far ahead down the street, cutting through battle droids with his Force pike. Plo Koon stood off to X2's left, cutting through battle droids with ease. X2 rallied his troopers on and two sergeants ran past him, spraying down battle droids with their DC-15S blasters. X2 grinned and ran after them, shooting down droid after droid. Suddenly the bridge in front of him exploded and the troopers on it were engulfed in flames. The bridge fell into the dark crevice and X2 Force leapt across. He picked up the remainder of his squad with the Force and pulled them to the other side. Once they touched down they ran after X1. Plo Koon Force leapt across and while in midair tossed his lightsaber to X2. X2 clicked his rifle onto his belt and caught Plo's saber. He tightened his grip as he cleaved through several battle droids in a sweeping motion. Suddenly the Jedi master landed behind him. "Good to see you my friend. Are you ready to win this battle?" Plo asked. X2 nodded and handed the Jedi back his weapon. The special forces leader detached his rifle from his belt and followed his Jedi general into battle.
Obi-Wan Kenobi stood before his superiors inside the Jedi High Council chamber. Mace Windu, Yoda, Shaak Ti, Saesee Tiin, and holograms of Eeth Koth and Ki-Adi-Mundi sat in each of their respective chairs. Windu was the first to speak. "Master Kenobi, the Separatist actions here are unacceptable. Our clone intelligence units have located Count Dooku since his fleeing the battle. You will go to Cato Nemodia and bring him to justice. Master Mundi and Master Fisto will accompany you. We will take Dooku here and now. Master Koth, Master Kolar, and Master Tiin will engage General Grievous on Mygeeto. We will end this conflict now. May the Force be with us all."
Obi-Wan stood next to his fellow Masters on a deck overlooking his capital ship. Thousands of clone troopers were marching onboard in perfect formation. ARC-170s and LAATs landed in the ships hangar bay as AT-TEs and other artillery were loaded onboard. "This war will end today. The deaths of Dooku and Grievous will throw the Separatists into disarray. Peace…will finally return." Kit Fisto said. The hangar bay doors slid shut on the Negotiator and the troop boarding ramp closed. Commander Cody, Commander Devon, and Commander Bacara walked up to their respective generals. "Our troops are ready for departure. All vehicles are loaded and the ships are fueled and ready. We leave on your command general." Commander Cody reported. Kit Fisto grinned and Ki-Adi nodded. "Well then, we have a mission to complete and a Sith Lord to arrest. Let's go." Obi-Wan said. The group walked across the bridge to one of the warships blast doors that the boarding dock connected to and entered the massive ship. The bridge disconnected and slid under the observation deck and the blast doors on the warship slid to a close. The engines roared to life and the combined fleets of the three Jedi Masters departed Coruscant.
The fleet was in Hyperspace. Commanders Cody and Devon stood on either side of the holotable on the Negotiator's bridge. Obi-Wan and Kit stood at the helm of the bridge, staring out the viewports. Clone officers stood at their posts, monitoring the ship's statistics and maintaining a steady course through Hyperspace. Commander Bacara was in the hangar, preparing the LAAT that he and Ki-Adi-Mundi would fly in. He had sent his squad on a jog throughout the ship's main hangar to keep them ready for the coming battle. If Dooku was hiding on the Trade Federation's capital planet, then that meant the TF's entire droid army would be there. The fleets pulled out of Hyperspace and Cato Nemodia appeared. Obi-Wan took a step back from the viewport to direct his officers. "Launch all fighters, have the ARCs protect our bombers. Each cruiser launches six LAATs. I want this planet locked down. All batteries open fire on the blockade. Prepare for battle men!" Obi-Wan ordered. A chorus of yes sirs followed and officers scrambled. Holograms of clone platoon leaders onboard their LAATs appeared above the holotable. Cody took off his helmet and set it down on the table and picked up his data pad to brief the sergeants. "Listen up men; we'll keep the blockade busy while you head to the planet's surface. Your primary objective is to secure the sky bridge city that Count Dooku is in. Once we have control of that form a perimeter around the building he is in. Do not engage Dooku, I repeat, do not engage. The generals will take care of him. Commander Cody out!" Cody said. The holograms faded away as the LAATs flew through the blockade. The Republic fleet had already ripped apart several of the Separatist warships in the blockade by the time Cody had finished his briefing. "Focus the forward turbo laser batteries on the droid control ships. We take those out, and all of the battle droids on the planet's surface will shut down!" Obi-Wan ordered. The massive turbo lasers equipped on each warship turned and let out a barrage of blaster bolts on the circle shaped control ships. Obi-Wan turned away from the viewport and walked towards the blast doors. They slid open and he walked out into the adjoining corridor. He entered the nearest turbolift that led to the right side hangar.
The blast doors to the Negotiator's right hangar slid open and Obi-Wan entered. Several clone troopers were preparing their ARC-170 starfighters. Obi-Wan's red and white Jedi Interceptor was being worked on by two clone maintenance officers. One of them stood up and wiped off his grease covered face. He saluted the Jedi Master. "General, your ship isn't ready for combat yet. The long range heat seekers are battle ready, but the medium and long range blasters aren't functional. The new thrusters are glitchy as well. The new micro hyperdrive seems to be functional, but requires more testing. Your fighter won't be combat ready for three more rotations." Officer Ti reported. "I'm sorry Ti, but that's a chance I'll have to take. I need to assist in the space battle. That blockade is proving to be stronger than anticipated and we need to secure the planet before Dooku gets away again." Obi-Wan said. "But sir!" Ti argued. Obi-Wan walked past him and the cockpit hatch opened. The Jedi Master climbed in and the hatch shut. The airlock sealed and the starfighter roared to life. Several HUD screens showed static before booting up. The ship lifted up and Obi-Wan waved the two officers goodbye before blasting out of the hangar alongside Oddball's ARC-170. "Feels good to be in the cockpit eh general?" Oddball asked. "For once Oddball, yes it does. Now, we have a blockade to destroy! Squad Seven, on me. We are going to take out those Trade Federation control ships the hard way!" Obi-Wan ordered. Eight ARC-170s fell into tight formation around Obi-Wan's Interceptor. Obi-Wan pushed a lock of brown hair out of his eye and tightened his grip on the controls of his fighter as he accelerated towards the lead Separatist warship. A squadron of V-Wings were already attacking the ship, and quickly knocking down its shields. "Squad Seven, you know the drill. Spread out, I want two fighters attacking each warship. I'll take care of that control ship." Obi-Wan ordered. The starfighters broke off and carried out the Jedi's orders. Kit Fisto's LAAT sped past Obi-Wan's fighter as well as Ki-Adi-Mundi's. "Going to have all the fun without me, are we?" Obi-Wan laughed over the comlink. Kit laughed and Ki-Adi spoke up. "Yes Master Kenobi, enjoy taking down that control ship will you?"
Chapter 7:
Blaze and Jerek stood over the smoldering metal corpses of the battle droids that had attacked the Jedi Temple. Blaze walked up to the edge of the walkway they were on. Padawans everywhere were using to the Force to pick up the wreckage and repair their sacred Temple. The new squad that had been assigned to the two ARC commanders by Admiral Yularen stood proudly. "You did well today men. Combined you took out two hundred clankers. Impressive, most impressive. You will be assigned to Commander Keller's unit." Blaze said. The troopers saluted him and walked to the hangar. Jerek walked up to Blaze and folded his arms. "They'll do great. Wonder what Keller will call them." Jerek said. Blaze nodded. "Look forward to seeing them with kamas and pauldrons." Blaze chuckled. The two ARCs turned and walked towards the Council chamber.
Agen Kolar's warship, the Liberty, pulled out of hyperspace alongside the combined fleets of Saesee Tiin and Eeth Koth. The fleets pulled up over Mygeeto and the hangar bay doors of each Republic warship slid open. Hundreds of ARC-170s poured out and attacked the Separatist blockade. The three Jedi Masters assigned to take down Grievous entered the Liberty's hangar. Squadrons of LAATs sat ready for takeoff. The Jedi split and each climbed into the gunships. Squads of clones were already onboard and the cabin doors to each gunship slid shut. The squadrons climbed up off the ground and blasted out of the hangar. "I want V-19s protecting our descent, all fighters, on me!" Agen said into his gauntlet comlink. In Saesee's gunship, troopers of the 442nd Siege Battalion loaded their rifles. "22, your coms got static," a trooper said. 22 smacked his helmet. "Got it," 22 said. Another trooper cocked his DC and stepped into position. The leader of the squad, ARC trooper Blade, inserted several gas clips into his bandolier. Blade's Phase II armor consisted of black boots, OD green calf armor, a black combat belt, OD green breast plates, and black lower chest armor. His shoulder armor was marked with the Open Circle Fleet insignia on the left and the right the Jedi Order symbol. His black shoulder pauldrons slightly covered the symbols. The armor on his arms was OD green with black forearms and green hand plates. A kama was clipped to his belt and hung around his calves. Two DC-17s were sheathed in drop down holsters that hung over the kama. A long range comlink pack was attached to his back. Blade's Phase II helmet had been modified with a green tinted t-visor, target finder, and advanced optical sighting in his HUD. The ARC trooper carried a DC-17m as his primary weapon. The gunship rumbled as it broke Mygeeto's atmosphere. Saesee unhooked his lightsaber from his belt and took off his hood. Saesee was wearing a standard brown Jedi tunic with dark brown boots and two OD green clone gauntlets. His Jedi belt had been modified with several clone belt attachments. Clone shoulder and clavicle armor patted down his Jedi tunic. The doors of the gunship slid open as they approached the capital city. Saesee tightened his grip on his lightsaber and the clones of Blade Squadron prepared for battle. The gunship touched down on an intersection surrounded by buildings. General Grievous' castle was half a kilometer away. The 442nd troopers exited the gunship as more and more LAATs landed near them. The gunships dropped off their passengers and took off to provide close air support. Agen Kolar, Saesee Tiin, Eeth Koth, ARC trooper Blade, Captain Lock, and Commander Kalijan led their troops into battle. Separatist battle droids flooded the city. Republic gunships fired barrages of missiles and close range plasma beams, tearing through the enemy offensive. The three Jedi nodded at each other and Force leapt over the battle. They landed on the staircase to Grievous' castle and cut through the magnaguards with their lightsabers. The blast doors slid open and four super battle droids came out. The Jedi Force blasted the droids through the wall at the back of the castle. They walked in, their lightsabers providing the only light as the blast doors slid shut. The faint click of battle droids charging their rifles echoed throughout the darkness. Eight battle droids appeared and opened fire. Saesee batted all of the bolts back while Agen jumped in the air and threw his lightsaber at the droids. The blade cleaved through all of the metal droids and cut them in half. Before Agen hit the ground he whipped his weapon back into his hand with the Force. He landed next to Eeth as General Grievous came out of the shadows.
The droid general extended his limbs and split his arms into four. All four of his stolen lightsabers came alive and lit the room. "Jedi scum!" Grievous yelled. He charged at Saesee. The Jedi Master brought his blade up and blocked two of Grievous's weapons. Agen locked with the other two with his own blade. Now Grievous' hands were full Eeth charged at him. He prepared to slice through Grievous' stomach. Suddenly the Jedi killer back flipped and grabbed the two Jedi he had locked blades with by the hoods. He flung each of them across the room and they disappeared into the darkness. Eeth growled and charged at Grievous. Grievous spun all four of his blades and nicked Eeth's arm. The Jedi groaned and Grievous kicked him across the room. Eeth landed on his face and collapsed. Suddenly Agen tackled Grievous into the darkness. Eeth stood up and wiped the blood from his mouth. Saesee had regained consciousness and came out of the shadows. The two Jedi simultaneously ignited their sabers. "We'll take him together." Saesee said. Suddenly Agen was thrown across the room and he landed on his back and skidded across the durasteel floor. Grievous angrily marched out into the light and charged at the Jedi. He parried Saesee's attack and knocked the Jedi's weapon out of his hands. He picked up Saesee by the throat while blocked Eeth's attacks with his other two lightsabers. He slammed Saesee face first into the ground and sliced off his horns. Saesee screamed in pain as Grievous picked him back up and threw him into the blast doors. The doors slid open and clone troopers flooded the room. Grievous knocked Eeth away as Agen Kolar stood up. "It's over Grievous, surrender or die." Agen said. Grievous looked around. At least fifty clones had entered, and at least two of them had Z-6 rotary guns. Each clone had his rifle pointed at him. Suddenly the droid general leapt in the air and blocked all of the blaster bolts that flew at him. He hit the ground and butchered the clones nearest him. Heads were separated from their bodies, and arms and legs hit the ground after being dismembered. Screams of agony rang out as Grievous cleaved through the group. Agen pushed his way through the clones and locked blades with Grievous. Grievous put away two of his lightsabers and with his bottom arms picked up two clones and began to beat the Jedi Knight with them. Agen's knees buckled as he was being beaten with his own troops. Grievous threw the two dead clones at the remaining clone troops as Saesee charged towards him. The droid general laughed and swung his lightsabers. The blades seared through Saesee's neck and sliced his head off. The body's knees buckled and fell to the floor and dropped the lightsaber as Saesee's hornless head rolled across the floor.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Agen yelled as he stood up. He charged at Grievous, lightsaber ignited. Grievous laughed as the Jedi watched in agony as his friend's severed head rolled across the durasteel floor. Grievous plunged all four of his blades into Agen's stomach. Agen gasped and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. The droid general laughed and pulled the blades from the Jedi's bloody stomach. Agen Kolar's smoldering body fell to the floor as clone troopers charged at Grievous. Grievous behead four troopers in a sweeping motion and kicked away Blade. Kalijan and Lock opened fire on Grievous as their troops were wiped out. "We can't hit him! All troopers, fall back, I'll get General Koth!" Kalijan ordered. The few surviving troopers ran out the doors while shooting at Grievous. "WE NEED EVAC ASAP!" Lock ordered into his comlink. Six LAATs appeared in the sky and opened fire on Grievous. Kalijan had slung Eeth over his shoulder and was sprinting down the staircase as the building behind him exploded. The gunships were peppering the castle with missiles and blaster fire. Destroyed battle droids and dead clone troopers lay everywhere. The fountain in front of the castle was littered with the bodies of killed clones. A gunship flew towards Kalijan and came down to hover a foot above the corpses. The doors slid open and Kalijan and his fellow troopers boarded. Grievous had been chasing after them but once the gunships had arrived they began to pepper the droid general with blaster fire. Kalijan laid Eeth Koth's unconscious body on a hover stretcher as the gunship lifted up. He walked into the locker room and pulled a medpac from his locker. Kalijan entered the troop cabin to see Eeth standing at the edge of the cabin, lightsaber in hand. "Sir!" Kalijan yelled as the Jedi jumped. Eeth freefell and landed near the fountain in front of the wreckage of Grievous' castle. The droid general was standing in the wreckage of the castle, searching for Saesee and Agen's lightsabers. "GRIEVOUS!" Eeth yelled. He Force leapt behind Grievous and the leader of the CIS armies flipped around. They locked blades as rain began to pour. Their lightsabers fizzled as the two swordsmen clashed. Eeth spotted Agen's lightsaber and used the Force and whipped the hilt into his hand. He ignited the blue blade and greens and blues clashed as he relocked with the droid general. He severed off Grievous' two bottom arms and plunged his lightsaber through Grievous' chest. The general screamed and tumbled over the edge of the wreckage. He tumbled thousands of feet to the river below and disappeared in the water. Rain poured down Eeth's face and he deactivated his lightsabers. He hooked Agen Kolar's lightsaber onto his belt alongside his own. He bent down and picked up Saesee's as well. He hooked it on as his gunship came back around to pick him up. The doors slid open and before the ship could even land Eeth Force leapt into the cabin. The doors shut and flew towards the warship.
Chapter 8:
Qui-Gon Jinn stood in the troop cabin of his Republic shuttle. A squad of the 81st Battalion's Hunter Company, under the command of Sgt. Shark, was accompanying him to Illum to pick up his padawan, Jed Zahn. Zahn had gone to Illum to construct his own lightsaber. The saber Jed had used during the attack on the Temple was one he had picked up from a fallen Jedi. After lying it in the coffin of the dead Jedi Jed had flown to Illum to finally make a weapon of his own. Qui-Gon smiled, happy to have another padawan. He couldn't wait to see the design of the hilt and the blade color his padawan had chosen. The shuttle pulled out of Hyperspace above Illum. The ship rumbled as it accelerated and plowed through the atmosphere. "ETA one minute General Jinn," the clone pilot reported. "Good work trooper." Qui-Gon said. The shuttle soared over the snowy mountains of Illum and set down on a landing pad outside of the Cave of Wisdom. The ramp came down and Qui-Gon exited, followed by several clone troopers. The group trekked across the snow and to the entrance. They entered, and the clones turned on the flash lights mounted on their helmets. Jed appeared at the end of the ice hallway and walked towards the group. He brandished his own blue bladed lightsaber proudly. Qui-Gon smiled and bowed to his padawan. Jed copied his master and handed his creation to him. "Excellent work, my apprentice." Qui-Gon said. "Thank you master, it will be an honor to win the Clone Wars alongside you while using it." Jed responded. The group exited the cave and began walking towards the shuttle. Suddenly a missile hit the shuttle and it exploded. The force of the explosion threw the Jedi and their troopers off their feet. Jed back flipped and ignited his lightsaber as a CIS drop ship deployed several squads of battle droids. "We're outnumbered. Fall back into the cave!" Qui-Gon ordered. Jed blocked several of the enemy blaster bolts as Qui-Gon stood up and ignited his own weapon. "We can hide in the cave and take them from there." Qui-Gon said. The clones turned and ran back into the cave as Jed Force dashed after them. Qui-Gon blocked a few more blaster bolts before back flipping after them. Once inside he used the Force to bring down the entrance, sealing it off. "Good work Master, now, what's the plan?" Jed asked. Qui-Gon paused and stroked his short beard. "That ice rubble won't hold them for but a minute. Everyone find a spot and hide. We will outfight the enemy in the shadows." Qui-Gon ordered. The clones backed into corners and hallways and turned off their flashlights. The two Jedi leapt to the ceiling and held themselves up with the Force. The ice rubble blew apart and super battle droids flooded the cave. Qui-Gon waited for the bulk of the unit to march down the hallway before falling down. He snuck up behind the rear droids and his lightsaber came ablaze. Jed jumped down as well and they cut through the rear droids. The clones came out of the shadows and opened fire. The plasma blades of the Jedis' lightsabers provided the only light in between shots being fired as the clones blasted the droids apart. Qui-Gon continuously cut through the waists of each droid that came nearest him, separating them from their legs and rendering them useless. Jed was slicing from the head all the way down to in between their legs, cutting them in half. Sgt. Shark fired a bolt to the head of the final droid and the machine fell to the ice floor. Qui-Gon looked around to inspect their losses. Two of Shark's men, Dojan and Getter, had been killed in the firefight. Qui-Gon bowed his head and wished the Force be with them. Shark knelt down and pulled off the deceased clones' helmets. He closed their eyes and bowed his head. Jed wiped his face with his gloved finger as Shark stood up after putting their helmets back on. Suddenly the bodies lifted into the air as Qui-Gon Force picked them up. He grabbed sheets of ice with the Force and the ice molded around his fallen men. The bodies then turned upright and the blocks of ice molded into the broken walls. Jed pressed his hand against the ice wall that the clones were now buried in and then walked outside. Qui-Gon smiled in remembrance as he turned to leave the cave.
Ki-Adi-Mundi's gunship rumbled as it broke the atmosphere of Cato Nemodia. Several vulture droids exploded as the gunship pilot opened fire with the LAAT's forward guns. "Good work Kajiv, now, set us down on that sky city!" Ki-Adi ordered. The pilot nodded and the gunship lurched. Kit Fisto's own gunship followed close behind as the droid control ships in space exploded. Squad Seven of Obi-Wan Kenobi's ARC-170 starfighter platoon appeared led by none other than the Jedi Master himself in his red and white Jedi Interceptor. Several more red and white LAATs appeared in the skyline as the Republic launched a full on assault. Red and blue blaster bolts whipped past each other as the two opposing sides opened fire on each other. The gunship nearest Kit Fisto's exploded and crashed into the CIS' sky city ion cannon. The cannon disappeared in a massive explosion as the first wave of LAATs landed in the city. Clone troopers of three different legions flooded the city as battle droids appeared to defend their leader. Obi-Wan's starfighter landed in the midst of the gunships as the first wave took off to provide air support. The hatch opened and Obi-Wan jumped out. Kit and Ki-Adi were already slicing through the droid defensive. Clone troopers and their AT-TEs blasted apart battle droids as Obi-Wan front flipped towards the frontline. Commander Cody and ARC trooper Jerek stood at the ion cannon control center and took control of the remaining anti air guns. They turned the batteries on the droid tanks and blew them apart. The piles of destroyed droids began to rise as the Republic forces tore through the defensive. Kit sliced and cleaved through battle droids as his clones broke through. AT-TEs marched through the city and decimated the buildings. Obi-Wan spotted Fisto and ran to him. "Master, this is far too easy. The droids aren't even putting up much of a fight." Obi-Wan observed. "I see what you mean Master Kenobi. These droids aren't even maintaining accuracy when clones are mere feet from them." Kit said. Ki-Adi ran up and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "We need to fall back; we have reached this castle far too easy. This is a trap." Ki-Adi observed. Suddenly the Trade Federation headquarters exploded. Clones engulfed in flames as the Jedi backed up. "FALL BACK! IT'S A TRAP!" Obi-Wan yelled. Commander Cody was knocked off his feet as missiles hit the ground all around them. Battle droids and clones alike were blown off the bridge as missiles pounded the sky city. The rear support beams began to falter as the bridge engulfed in flames. LAATs swarmed the city trying to land. Four of them touched down near Obi-Wan and the Jedi Master picked up Commander Cody with the Force. He threw the commander in as an explosion knocked him off his feet. He began to lose consciousness as a clone trooper slung his general's arm over his shoulder. "General, we've got to get you out of here!" the clone yelled. The t-visor in his helmet had been cracked and several pieces of his armor were battered and broken. He carried his general to the nearest gunship and helped him aboard. He climbed on as well and the doors slid shut. The LAAT lifted up and flew away as the sky city exploded and fell away. The battle had been costly, with several thousand clone troopers dead and ten gunships shot down, the Second Battle of Cato Nemodia had been lost.
Chapter 9:
-Earlier that day-
It was true that Count Dooku had been on Cato Nemodia, just not where clone intelligence said. Count Dooku sat onboard his capital ship, the Vengeance as it cruised in Cato Nemodia air space. Dooku watched from the observation deck as Republic forces landed on Sky City. The Sith Lord's enemies tore through the Trade Federation defensive and charged at the castle. Dooku turned to his hologram communicator. "Open fire." Dooku ordered calmly. The hologram of his ship admiral droid nodded and the image dispersed. Count Dooku sat down in his throne and watched as hundreds of missiles launched from his ship towards Sky City. The missiles impacted as the clones began to march on the Trade Federation castle. Troopers were engulfed in flames and Jedi Master Kit Fisto was thrown over the edge of the city from the force of an explosion. The bridge erupted in flames as explosions covered the area. Dooku smiled. He had led three of the Jedi's best into a foolproof trap.
-Present-
Separatist fleets began to pull out of Hyperspace above Cato Nemodia. Admiral Yularen ran to the holotable onboard the Negotiator and a hologram of an injured Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared. "General Kenobi, our fleet has been ambushed. We have nowhere to run. We are being swarmed by both frigates and star fighters. We can't risk opening our main hangars either. The only defenses we have left are the small squadrons of V-19s deploying from the side hangars." Yularen reported. Obi-Wan was onboard an LAAT with an injured Commander Cody and three 212th troopers. "I know admiral. This whole thing was a deliberate trap set up by Count Dooku. He was relying on multiple Jedi with multiple legions arriving. We played right into his hands. Your fleet isn't going to last long unless I can take out some of those frigates. I will contact you shortly." Obi-Wan said. The hologram dispersed and Yularen turned to face the front viewports. Officers scrambled over the bridge, each running to his post. "Redirect all power to front shields and front cannons; we've got to assist General Kenobi!" Yularen ordered. He sat down at a computer terminal and zoomed in on Kenobi's gunship. The damaged ship was flying towards the capital ship of the attack fleet.
Obi-Wan's LAAT set down in the hangar of the warship and the cabin doors slid open. A limping Obi-Wan and a single 212th trooper jumped out. "Mavek, locate the engine room, we'll take down this ship the fun way." Obi-Wan ordered. The trooper nodded as he ran to the computer terminal mounted on the wall. He pressed a few keys as Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber. The Jedi batted away several blaster bolts as they flew towards them. A squad of battle droids stationed in the hangar had spotted them and opened fire. Obi-Wan signaled the LAAT pilot and Davijaan gave him the thumbs up. Davijaan rotated the front and side LAAT guns and opened fire on the droids. The cabin doors slid shut and the rear door opened. Obi-Wan limped to the back and pulled out one of the four BARC units. He climbed on and hovered out of the LAAT hangar. The blast doors to a corridor opened near the control panel Mavek was at and the trooper climbed on the back of the bike. "The engine room is straight down that corridor to the left. Along the way is a medbay." Mavek reported. "Good work Mavek, let's go!" Obi-Wan said. They sped off as the gunship pulled out of the hangar.
Kit Fisto began to regain consciousness and his vision. He looked around. He was in a dark cave. An unconscious 212th trooper lay next to him. A hole in the roof of the cave provided light. Kit assumed that was where he fell through. He and the trooper had landed on the solid rock floor of the cave. The wall appeared to be made of rock and dirt. Kit easily blew the walls apart with the Force. The trooper began to regain consciousness and Kit helped him up. "We took a dive; I assume these trees and that net broke our fall from Sky City." Kit said. They were standing in the middle of a lush green forest, and had landed and broke through a hunter net before falling through the cave. "Kriff, as if this day could get any worse sir," the trooper stated. Kit laughed. "What is your name trooper?" Kit asked. The trooper paused before picking up his DC-15S and hooking it onto his belt. "Davjik, sir. I am an airborne trooper in the Hornet Company of the 212th Attack Battalion." Davjik responded. Kit nodded. "Check your comlink, see if you can request pick up." Kit ordered. A yes sir was Davjik's only response as he pressed a button on his gauntlet. A hologram of Admiral Yularen appeared. "Sergeant, I am glad to see you alive, but now is not the time! Our troops have been wiped out. Only a few thousand remain. I will send an LAAT as soon as I can, but right now we are under attack!" Yularen reported. The hologram faded away. "Looks like we're on our own. We should set up shelter just in case. Night is almost here." Kit ordered.
Chapter 10:
Explosions appeared everywhere and danced across space above Cato Nemodia. Vulture droids and V-19s were locked in tight dogfights and the results were deadly each time. The Republic had no reinforcements to spare to the losing fleet of Open Circle starships as GAR forces were spread across the galaxy. The securement of Coruscant hadn't even been completed yet, let alone the process of rebuilding and organizing forces. Oddball banked left in his V-Wing, narrowly avoiding a proton torpedo as it slammed into the thrusters of a Separatist warship. Oddball laughed and pulled into a loop, ending up behind the vulture droid that had been chasing him. He slammed on the triggers, sending dozens of blaster bolts into the droid. It exploded and he accelerated through the spectacle. Suddenly a blaster bolt ripped through his cockpit viewport and tore through his HUD screens. The screens had stopped the bolt from hitting him. Oddball regained control of his fighter and steered towards the nearest frigate. It was the Separatist capital ship. He accelerated as the ship began to spin out of control. He ripped through the ray field and crashed against the durasteel floor, skidding to a halt and running over several battle droids. The ship was in flames and ready to explode. He punched the hatch open and grabbed his DC-15S before diving out. The ship exploded and the force of the explosion flung him fifty feet forward. He groaned and stood up as a super battle droid began running towards him. He front rolled and fired a spread of blaster bolts into the droids chest. The droid beeped before falling to the floor. Oddball laughed as he stood up. Suddenly an explosion rang out and Mavek and General Kenobi zipped into the hangar on a BARC. A gunship landed in the hangar and the doors slid open. "WAIT FOR ME!" Oddball yelled. He was on the opposite side of the hangar. He would never make it. Flames spread into the hangar. Oddball spotted a STAP unit and hopped on. He zipped towards the LAAT. Once he was within jumping range he dived off the flying machine into the troop cabin of Kenobi's gunship. The STAP crashed into the wall and exploded as the troop cabin doors slid shut. The gunship lifted up as Oddball stood up to greet his fellow GAR members.
Eeth Koth stood in the center of the Jedi High Council floor. He stood before Mace Windu, Adi Gallia, Yoda, Plo Koon, Shaak Ti, and Even Piell to debrief. "Our mission was a success. We secured Mygeeto and I managed to kill General Grievous. The casualties were costly, Master Kolar and Master Tiin are dead." Eeth said slowly. The surviving Council members nodded and held their heads low. "Many Jedi, these dark times have taken the lives of. In this war, a danger there is, of losing friends. Miss them we will, but move on, we must." Yoda said. "I agree Master Yoda, Master Koth you performed valiantly on Mygeeto. We promote you to the rank of High Council member." Mace continued. Eeth bowed to his fellow Jedi Masters. "Thank you masters, I will not fail." Eeth said after rising. A hologram of Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared in his Council seat. "Our attack on Cato Nemodia has failed. I sensed Count Dooku's presence, but he was not where we were told. We were heavily bombed. The sky city fell apart and a large portion of our forces were wiped out. Master Fisto is missing in action and Master Mundi and I are injured and our clone commanders are currently in medbay. We just escaped from a backup Separatist fleet that attacked while I was on planet. We don't have enough medical supplies for all of our wounded. We won't make it to Coruscant before we start losing men. We need medical ships to intercept us." Obi-Wan reported. Yoda was the first to respond. "Send the ships, we will. Search parties for any MIA, send them, we will. Go to fight Dooku, Master Windu and Master Koon will. Finish this war, we must." Yoda said. The Council members nodded and the hologram of Obi-Wan disappeared.
The river on Mygeeto that General Grievous had fallen into churned and boiled. Screams of pain and agony emitted from the river as it rapidly flowed through the valley around the capital city. The rushing river began to slow as a hand emerged out of the purple water. A humanoid body resembling a Kaleesh washed up on the shore. The figure coughed as he began to regain consciousness. "Where…am I?" the figure coughed. General Grievous had survived the duel with Eeth Koth. Grievous examined his grey, withered, bony hands as he stood up. "What am I?" Grievous asked. He turned to see his reflection in the water. He looked like his former self, the fallen solider from an Outer Rim planet outside of the Republic who was shot down on his gunship by an unknown star fighter that resembled a solar sailor. Darth Tryannus had come to his rescue, bringing him to a top secret Techno Union laboratory on Mustafar and repairing his broken form with cyborg technology. Grievous immerged from his flashbacks as one of his lightsabers washed up next to him. He grabbed his black cloak and covered his warrior frame with the material as he stared at the saber. Suddenly the weapon lifted into the air and flung itself into his hand. Grievous raised an eyebrow as he tossed it back into the water. Immediately after submerging it shot back out and into his hand. Grievous hooked it onto his belt and shifted his armor. The cyborg metal frame that was once his body had formed into vicious appearing armor around his renewed body. A Trade Federation shuttle flew overhead and landed on the cliff overlooking the valley that Grievous had fallen into. The rear shuttle ramp slid down and Asajj Ventress walked down. Grievous' eyes narrowed as he tightened his grip on his lightsaber. The Sith Acolyte assassin trained by Count Dooku ignited her blades as Grievous backed into a fighting stance. He front flipped over the cliff and landed behind Ventress. Ventress turned around and charged at him. Grievous growled and imagined Ventress being flung off the cliff. Suddenly that very thing happened and Ventress was thrown into the water. The gray skinned assassins head immerged and she Force leapt back to the cliff. Grievous was already walking up the shuttle ramp. "How did you use the Force? Dooku said you were powerless!" Asajj growled. Grievous chuckled as he picked up Ventress and slammed her into the shuttle before plunging his saber into her stomach. He stole both of her lightsabers before boarding the shuttle. Clone troopers spotted the shuttle and sped towards it on BARCs. The shuttle hovered off the ground before blasting off. Blue plasma bolts flew past the shuttle as it disappeared in the snow. "Count Dooku sent the assassin to kill me. I shall have my revenge."
Chapter 11:
Count Dooku stood on the bridge of his new capital ship, the Ravager, as it orbited Coruscant. A hundred Separatist warships poured out of Hyperspace and opened fire on the capital of the Republic. The five standing Republic Star Destroyers orbiting Coruscant were destroyed immediately by the Separatist assault fleet as Confederate gunships and starfighters flew past them. "Our attack will not fail; we will take this planet and destroy the Republic from the inside out." Dooku said. Already weakened from the first attack several days earlier and unable to afford mobilization of a new defense fleet Coruscant was left extremely vulnerable. "Bombers focus your attack on their military bases. We cannot let them gain a foothold," the Confederate droid fleet admiral ordered. TD-103 was programmed with no mercy and excellent strategy, and was chosen by Count Dooku to command his flagship. Two vulture droids screamed past the viewports of the Ravager's bridge as explosions covered Coruscants surface.
Mace Windu stood in the midst of Galactic City, cutting through battle droids with his lightsaber. Clone ARC Commander Fordo and Commander Ponds stood near him, crouched behind starfighter wreckage and blasting apart the Separatist attackers. "Our defense isn't gonna hold out much longer General! We need reinforcements!" Ponds yelled. Fordo's rifle clicked and he pulled out his DC-17 pistols and blasted apart a super battle droid. Mace twirled and cut through several battle droids and batted away several blaster bolts. Three AT-TE walkers marched past and blew away an entire platoon of droids. Hundreds of vulture droids flew overhead and ripped through the lead squadron of the V-19 Coruscant Defense Unit. Clone troopers desperately tried to repel the attackers all over the planet. "Fall back; we've lost our momentum, fall back!" Fordo yelled. The dark red and grey colored troopers of Windu's Splice platoon fell back towards the Senate building as dozens of buildings exploded and fell over. An LAAT/i crashed next to Mace as he beheaded a battle droid. An injured Aayla Secura crawled out and the blue blade of her lightsaber came alive. She cleaved through several battle droids in one swift swing as Commander Bly ran up. Carrying two DC-15S blaster carbines he easily blasted apart a dozen battle droids in mere seconds. Four LAATs flew overhead and landed in a line in front of the Jedi and their troops, shielding them from the hundreds of blaster bolts flying towards them. The cabin doors facing them slid open and the GAR members climbed onboard. The gunships lifted up and flew away from the city block as three Y-Wings bombed the area. On Mace and Pond's gunship a hologram of Commander Thire appeared. "General, we are maintaining a firm grip on the Senate building, but battalions spread across the planet are falling. We may have to retreat to the lower levels." Thire reported. Ponds pulled off his helmet as explosions billowed around the gunship as it sped towards the Senate building. "Master Koon, X1, and X2 secured the lower levels in the Confederacy's previous attack. While down there they reactivated numerous turbo lifts and tunnels leading to a secret underground hangar filled with hundreds of Republic Star Destroyers. Report this to the Chancellor. All civilians must be evacuated immediately, but only he can authorize that." Mace ordered. Thire saluted him and the hologram faded away. Ponds turned to his Jedi General and sighed. "Our platoon gained a foothold in the Senatorial apartment complexes south of the Senate building and evacuated any surviving senators. Only question is, where is the Chancellor?" Ponds asked. Mace's eyes widened and he unhooked his lightsaber. "Pilot! OPEN THIS DOOR!" Mace ordered. The right cabin door slid open and Mace jumped out. Ponds looked over the edge as the Jedi Master landed atop his Delta-17 and climbed in. Mace sped towards the Separatist attacking fleet. "Commander, where is the general going?" one of the pilots said. "He must think Count Dooku has him, cause he just frigging jumped." Ponds responded.
Anakin grimaced in pain as he opened his eyes. Two medical droids stood over him, welding two robotic legs to his newly installed robotic calves. Next to the cot he lay on sat a table with a holocom on it. A hologram of Obi-Wan dressed in full battle armor appeared. "Your injuries during your fight with Count Dooku were severe, but the repairs are finished. You are ready for combat. Dooku has attacked again, and the Chancellor is missing. Anakin your mission is to defend Galactic City alongside the 501st while Master Windu goes after Dooku and the Chancellor. May the Force be with you Anakin." Obi-Wan said. The hologram disappeared as Anakin swung his legs over the cot. R2-D2 brought him his lightsaber and Anakin grinned. The door to the medbay slid open and Anakin discovered he was on his cargo freighter, the Twilight. He ran to the cockpit and looked at the battle in the distance. His ship rested on the landing pad of the southeast hangar in the Jedi Temple. He sat in the pilot seat as Captain Rex entered. The 501st Torrent Company leader sat down in the co-pilot seat as the ship sped towards the battle.
Chapter 12:
Yoda stood in the Jedi High Council chamber, overlooking the Second Battle of Coruscant. Two 81st Battalion troopers stood guard at the Council chamber entrance. In Qui-Gon Jinn's Council seat a hologram of the Jedi Master appeared. "Master Yoda, I am almost to Coruscant, but my pilots are reporting we cannot land on the planet. Are any there any Republic Star Destroyers defending the planet?" Qui-Gon asked. Yoda shook his head as he hobbled towards the hologram of his friend. "Fallen back, our troops have. Decimated, the few ships we had have been." Yoda reported. Qui-Gon stroked his chin. "I may be able to land inside one of the Separatist cruisers and commandeer it. From there I can begin to level the playing field." Qui-Gon said. "Hmm, careful, you must be. May the Force be with you, Master Qui-Gon." Yoda responded. Qui-Gon bowed and the hologram faded away. One of the troopers standing guard at the door walked up to Yoda. "Sir, we need to leave. The Temple has been compromised. Battle droids are in the Temple!" the trooper yelled. Yoda hopped on his back and the doors slid open. "Leave, we cannot. Defend the Temple, we must. Rajik, prepare for battle, you and your men must." Yoda said.
The main entrance to the Temple exploded and hundreds of battle droids poured in. "HOLD THE LINE!" a clone yelled. Blaster bolts flew everywhere as battle droid, clone trooper, and Jedi fell in the battle. Jedi Master Cin Drallig led the Republic defense of the Temple. He Force leapt over his clone troopers as his lightsaber came ablaze. He landed in the midst of the battle and slashed through several battle droids. An LAAT sped around the Temple and came to a hover near where the front entrance once was. The left cabin door slid open and a single trooper stepped into view. He cocked his Z-6 rotary blaster and opened fire on the droids at the entrance. Plasma bolts smelted metal as the trooper tore apart the Separatist attackers. Cin identified the trooper as Nigel from the markings on his helmet. Two ARC-170s flew overhead and shot down the nearest vulture droid squadron. The fighters crashed into the outdoor Temple training area and Cin's clone troops cheered. Clone lieutenant Tech ran up to Drallig. "General, we have secured the Temple. Our primary defense force is ninety percent intact. I have already called for an LAAT to pick us up and take us to the Senate." Tech reported. Cin nodded and deactivated his lightsaber. "Good work; we'll assist Commander Thire in defense and try to reopen a secure comlink channel. We need to stream that channel through all of our troops and try to mobilize a tight defense network. Let's move!" Cin ordered. An LAAT landed near them and the two boarded.
The doors to Count Dooku's quarters on the Ravager slid open and General Grievous entered. Dooku sat at the other end of room, hovering above a bed that built into the floor in meditation. The Sith Lord's eyes opened. "General, I am pleased to see you survived. And, you seemed to have received a new body. Good….good. Your ability to use the Force and the reincarnation of your warrior body make you a worthy test for my new apprentice. Jek-14, you may attack." Dooku said. The floor beneath Dooku slid open and Dooku fell into a chute leading to the observation deck where Darth Sidious was monitoring the conversation. The floor where Dooku had been standing closed shut and the lights flickered before going out. Sweat rolled down Grievous' face as he unhooked Ventress' lightsabers from his battle belt. The doors to the room slid open and a Jango Fett clone entered. Grievous turned to face the clone and laughed. "What are you doing here, clone?" Grievous mused. The clone narrowed his eyes and ripped off the armor on his right arm. The arm was a clear blue and was completely see through. Force lightning flowed through the clone's arm. The clone's eyes turned a shade of yellow and he grinned. Grievous stepped back in confusion and ignited his stolen lightsabers. The clone unleashed a barrage of Force lightning at Grievous and the general slammed into the viewport at the end of the room above the bed. He growled in pain as the glass cracked. He fell through the bed, breaking it, and slammed against the durasteel floor. "My name is Jek-14, you have been replaced…general." Jek growled.
He unleashed a barrage of Force lightning on Grievous. The Kaleesh yelled in pain as he was engulfed in lightning. He reached for his lightsaber and unhooked it from his belt. Grievous ignited his lightsaber and the red blade absorbed the remainder of the lightning. Jek let his arms fall to his side as he readied his own saber. The red blade hummed as it came alive. Grievous lunged at Jek and the clone easily side stepped past and nicked the general's knee. Grievous growled and spun and swung his lightsaber at Jek. Jek ducked and the blade flew harmlessly over his head. He Force leapt in the air and kicked Grievous in the face. The Kaleesh stumbled back and slammed into the wall. Jek Force dashed towards Grievous and plunged his lightsaber in the general's stomach. Grievous screamed as his knees buckled and he slammed into the floor. "My master, it is done." Jek said into his Phase 1 clone gauntlet comlink. A figurine sized hologram of Dooku appeared above the comlink. "Good. But remember, Grievous will not die so easily. I know him; he will come back somehow, regardless of Force connection." Dooku warned. Jek nodded as he hooked his lightsabers on his utility belt. "And my next mission?" the Sith clone asked. Dooku stroked his white beard before opening his mouth to speak. "Jedi Master Kit Fisto went missing during the Republic assault on Cato Nemodia. I sense he is not dead. Go to the Cato Nemodia system, and kill the Jedi Master. Republic search parties are already searching for him, be mindful that no one in the Republic must yet know that you exist. Wipe out any intelligent life you find, leave no evidence." Dooku ordered. Jek bowed his head to the hologram before it disappeared.
Chapter 13:
Cin Drallig's LAAT landed in the Senate's east side landing zone. The cabin doors slid open and the Jedi Master and his clone troops unloaded. "Sir, we will need to reach the communications office to complete our mission. You go on ahead and we'll watch your back." Tech said. Cin nodded and Force sped towards the office in the Senate building. Tech turned to his men. "Let's move, stay frosty." Tech ordered. The LAAT lifted off to join the primary battle and the troopers marched into the Senate. They entered through the primary east side entrance. Several smoldering battle droids lay scattered across the carpeted floor, obviously destroyed by a lightsaber. "I like General Drallig's work." Wacko observed. Tech chuckled as a squadron of Senate shock troopers rounded the corner. Their red and white Phase II armor stood out proudly amongst the crowd of clone troopers as the leader of the squadron walked up to Tech. "Trooper, we need you outside in the east landing zone. Separatist drop ships are landing!" the sergeant ordered. Tech and his men turned and the shock troopers followed them back outside. Three Banking Clan drop ships deployed three squadrons of super battle droids before taking off. The clone troopers took cover behind stacks of crates as the droids opened fire. Blue and red blaster bolts were exchanged as the droids advanced towards the Senate building. Cin stood in the communication office control room. He sat down at a holocomputer and a holographic keyboard appeared in front of him. He entered in a passcode and a holographic image of a microphone appeared above the computer monitor. He tapped it and holonet radio waves appeared on the monitor. "All Republic troops this is Jedi General Drallig. Sync your comlinks to this channel, I repeat, sync your comlinks to this channel. We need to fall in sync and mobilize against our attackers." Cin ordered. The GAR had no choice but to sync through the holonet as the communication center in the primary Coruscant GAR base had been destroyed. Cin boosted the power to the holonet and a checklist of clone battalions on Coruscant appeared. Check marks began to appear next to each clone serial number and battalion by battalion linked up on the same comlink channel. "Excellent. 41st, 501st, 212th, I want you on surface defense. Wolf Pack, the Senate building. 81st Battalion, the Jedi Temple. Let's go, go, go!" Cin ordered. He looked out the window as masses of clone troops shifted and hundreds of LAATs scattered to redeploy the troops.
Qui-Gon Jinn's Republic shuttle landed in the primary hangar bay of the Ravager, easily going unnoticed in the chaotic battle between the massive CIS fleet and the Republic Star Destroyers that were covering the evacuation of the civilians. The ramp of the shuttle slid open and Qui-Gon, Jed Zahn, Sgt. Shark, and Predator squad exited. Jed squinted under the bright hangar lights as battle droids noticed the intruders. "Sound the alarm, the Jedi are here!" a battle droid yelled. Qui-Gon and Jed activated their lightsabers as Predator squad opened fire on the droids. "Head to the bridge, general! We'll cover your retreat!" Shark yelled. A gust of wind indicated the Jedi had Force sped down the corridor towards the bridge as the clones continued the battle. Qui-Gon and Jed Force sped to the other side of the ship and stopped before the blast door entrance to the bridge. The doors slid open and Qui-Gon and Jed walked in. Smoldering wreckage of battle droids was strewn everywhere. The controls to the ship were destroyed as well. "These droids were destroyed by a lightsaber." Jed observed. The lights flickered and Jed ignited his lightsaber to provide light in the darkening room. "This has got to be a trap." Shark said as he and his men entered. "Shark, you are your men get on those guns. Open fire on the Confederate fleet." Jed ordered. The troopers nodded and walked over to the computer terminals at the head of the bridge. The shadows in the dark corners quivered and a gray headed figure emerged from the darkness. Qui-Gon sensed the presence and turned to face the being. "Dooku," Qui-Gon growled. Dooku grinned and tucked his hands under his cape as he began circling the Jedi. "I'm sorry we have to meet like this, my old Padawan. But…it doesn't have to be this way. Join me….and together, we can overthrow the Dark Lord of the Sith!" Dooku offered. Qui-Gon sighed, disappointed. "You betrayed me, you betrayed Obi-Wan, and you betrayed the Order. I will never join you. I do not seek revenge, but merely justice." Qui-Gon said. The clones rose from their seats and aimed at Dooku. Qui-Gon waved them back to their seats and Jed pointed his saber at Dooku. "Master, what's the plan?" Jed questioned. Qui-Gon took a deep breath as Dooku charged at him. Jinn raised his saber, blocking the crimson red blade that meant to come down through his head. "Dooku, it is not too late. You can still turn yourself in. I promise the Order will oversee your Senate trial." Qui-Gon pleaded. Dooku laughed and Force threw Qui-Gon against the wall. Jed charged at Dooku in anger and the Count turned and poured the full might of his Force lightning into the Padawan. Jed howled in pain as his knees buckled and dropped his saber. Qui-Gon wearily stood up and watched as Jed was quickly subdued by Dooku. Shark and his men opened fire on the Sith Lord but quickly failed. Dooku batted the bolts back at them with his saber. The troopers dropped to the floor with smoldering holes in their chests. Jed finally collapsed as Qui-Gon walked towards Dooku, lightsaber ablaze. "You have so much potential Qui-Gon. I could make you the most influential Sith ever. With your abundant knowledge of the Force and powerful skill with a lightsaber you could take on Darth Sidious himself." Dooku cooed. Qui-Gon sighed and charged at Dooku. Dooku stepped aside and blocked Jinn's blade away but Qui-Gon sensed this maneuver and flipped around, cleaving through the Sith Lord's stomach. Dooku gasped before falling to the floor in two.
"You….you killed him." Jed said. The Padawan struggled to his feet, his robes still smoking from the intense lightning he suffered. Qui-Gon stood, motionless. The blade of his lightsaber dissipated, and the Jedi Master took a step back. "I did what had to be done, for the good of the Republic." Qui-Gon said. He walked past the remains of his former master and walked through the open blast doorway. "We need to continue our mission. Did Shark and his men begin to level the playing field?" Qui-Gon asked. Jed stared out the viewport, watching the wreckage of the warships that Shark and his men destroyed float past the ship. "They seem to have taken out ten warships, but there is still more. We need to board another ship, Dooku destroyed the controls for this one, and it won't be long before the other ships figure out what happened and turn their guns on us." Jed said. Qui-Gon nodded and they ran down the corridor to the hangar. The bridge behind them exploded as the rest of the CIS fleet began to batter the ship they boarded. Fire erupted behind them and the corridor was flooded with fire. The two Jedi rounded a corner and the fire shot past them down the corridor. Jed breathed a sigh of relief and they continued to the hangar. Their shuttle remained intact, but super battle droids had killed a pilot and were torturing another. Jed ignited his lightsaber and Force dashed towards the droids. He jumped in the air and spun, landing in between two droids and severing them both in one slice. Jed then turned and Force blasted the other droids away and helped the pilot up. "Are you alright Tuck?" Jed asked. The pilot nodded and pulled off his helmet. "They fried my heads up display; I'll be flying us out of here manually." Tuck reported. The ramp to the shuttle opened and the three boarded.
Chapter 14:
Kit Fisto emerged from his tent and stepped out into the daylight. He was still stranded on Cato Nemodia, with no help, no gear, no food, and no ship. He and Davjik had set up camp on a rocky clearing among the forests. Sergeant Davjik returned from patrol and nodded at the Jedi Master. "Sir, I caught a bite to eat. Don't know what it is, but it looks edible enough." Davjik greeted. He tossed a small blue four legged animal, with a smoldering blaster bolt shot in the head, on their makeshift fire pit. "Good work Davjik; hopefully it will be our last meal here." Kit responded. Davjik shook his head as he pulled off his airborne trooper helmet and placed it in his GAR combat pack. Most of Kit's armor had broken in their fall from Sky City, and Davjik's armor was beginning to wear him down. The trooper had already torn off his shoulder pauldrons and bicep armor, and ripped off the sleeves of his under suit. Davjik continued to modify his armor, as he ripped off shreds of his kama and tied them around his head as a bandanna. He had already cut his DC-15A into a crutch in case his foot injuries began to hurt again but kept the 15S intact to use in case of attack. Mud caked his armor, and his face. Davjik sat down next to the fire pit and began to skin his catch with his viroblade. "Hunting is a different experience from fighting in the war; your prey doesn't shoot back." Davjik stated with a grin. Kit began to laugh but was cut off by an explosion erupting nearby. A CIS shuttle emerged from the clouds and sped towards the Republic servicemen. Kit turned to run and Davjik followed after him. Kit dived into the tree line and Davjik ran after him. The shuttle accelerated before pulling to a hover above Kit's tent. The ramp came down and a clone trooper jumped from the ramp. The trooper landed next to the tent and scanned the area as the shuttle flew away. "Sir, that's Jek-14. He's a GAR special operations assassin. I don't understand why he of all clones would be sent to rescue us." Davjik said. He stepped out of the tree cover and saluted Jek. "Jek, why did a CIS shuttle bring you here?" Davjik questioned. Jek was dressed in a typical clone special forces suit of armor, with red stripes running down the arms, and red knees. Completely red shoulder bells and three red dots were painted on the bottom left corner of his left breastplates, indicating rank. His helmet was missing, and was replaced with a black hood. Suddenly Jek ripped off the armor covering his left arm, exposing his see through arm with Force lightning flowing through. Davjik cocked an eyebrow before Jek engulfed his brother in Force lightning. Davjik screamed in pain and Kit sprang forth, lightsaber in hand. He Force blasted Jek across the clearing and knelt down to tend to Davjik. Rain began to pour, and precipitation began to roll down the Nautolan's face. His lightsaber cackled and fizzled in the rain. Jek reappeared in the clearing, having been thrown into a pond beyond the tree line. The rocky ground that he had slammed into scrapped up his armor, but otherwise the Sith clone was fine. Kit raised his lightsaber in a defensive stance as Jek-14 approached him. "How are you able….to use the Force?" Kit questioned. Jek pulled off his hood and let the rain what parts of him weren't armored. "Count Dooku. He came to the cloning facilities on Kamino. It was hours after he had stolen an ancient Jedi Kaibur crystal. He slid the crystal into one of the tubes connecting to my bactapod. That tube connected my and eleven other clone's pods to a life support system, we didn't come out as good as a clone should. The crystal's energy merged with my DNA, infusing my blood cells with Midichlorians. It didn't stop there. The crystal was stuck in that tube for over a month. I now possess a higher Midichlorian count than Anakin Skywalker and Yoda. The power became too much, and after I came out of the pod…you could see through my arm, but there is no skeleton, no veins, nothing. Just Force lightning." Jek explained. Kit narrowed his eyes. "I did not think the Kaibur crystal capable of such feats; surely you cannot be wasting such power and talent serving Dooku." Kit inquired. Jek shook his head and ignited his own red bladed lightsaber.
"Dooku is a player in a game for galactic dominance. I am merely using him to raise myself up higher. When I am ahead of him, I will kill him, and take control of the Separatist Alliance. I will turn each branch's droid army on them, and wipe them out, starting with the Trade Federation. I have enough resources at my disposal to amass a battalion of the Blanking Clan's finest droid commandos right now. I will use that battalion to assault Count Dooku's castle on Korriban, and kill him and all the Separatist leaders in one strike." Jek finished. Kit took a step forward, remaining in a defensive stance. "Taking advantage of one of the wisest Sith Lords in galactic history will not end well for you." Kit warned. Jek growled and charged at the Jedi Master. Kit back flipped and threw his saber at Jek. Jek fell to his knees and slid across the rocky ground as the saber flew over him. Kit landed on his feet and slid back. Jek jumped to his feet and elbowed Kit. Blood flew from Kit's nose and he dropped his saber. "I am the perfect weapon." Jek stated. Kit staggered back, before wiping the blood dripping from his face. "Exactly, and you are nothing more." Kit replied. Davjik stood up and aimed both of his DC-15S carbines at his brother. The airborne trooper opened fire as Kit picked up Jek with the Force and began to crush him. Blaster bolts slammed into the Sith Knight and Jek howled in pain. Kit broke both of Jek's ribs, before slamming him into the rocky floor. A Republic shuttle accompanied by two LAAT gunships appeared in the sky, breaking through the cloud cover and accelerating towards Fisto and Davjik. Jek lifted his head up from the ground and watched as the ships landed in the clearing and deployed two dozen Galactic Marine troopers. The commander of the troop ran up to Kit as his troopers arrested Jek. "Sir, we're here to take you home. Onboard the gunships are two of my battalion's finest medics. We'll take care of you sir." Commander Retak reported.
Chapter 15:
The Twilight landed in the hangar bay of the Ravager, amidst the explosive space battle of Coruscant. The cargo bay doors on the Twilight opened and Anakin Skywalker and Captain Rex departed their ship. Dead clone troopers lay scattered across the hangar amidst smoldering wreckage of battle droids. Rex identified the troopers as Blade Squadron, serving under Mace Windu. "Sir, General Windu is here." Rex stated. The clone captain readied his DC-17 pistols as Anakin ignited his lightsaber. "Count Dooku is dead, I can sense it. We need to find Master Windu and the Chancellor, now!" Anakin ordered. They ran down the corridor that led to the bridge and were greeted by eight Blade Squadron troopers. "Sir, we cannot let you go past, Chancellor's orders." Sergeant Falco reported. "Trooper, where is the Chancellor?" Anakin demanded. "He is safe general, don't worry. Once General Windu's treachery is dealt with, you may see him." Falco stated. Anakin cocked an eyebrow and looked at his clone captain. Rex nodded and Anakin raised his hand. He Force threw the troopers down the corridor and knocked them out. The troopers slumped to the durasteel floor and Anakin and Rex continued on their way.
Mace Windu stood in the observation deck of the Ravager, watching the Supreme Chancellor circle him. "The dark side is a pathway to many abilities; some consider to be….unnatural." Palpatine cooed. Mace had already tucked his hands in his robe, his right hand firmly gripped on the hilt of his purple bladed lightsaber. Mace was dressed in his typical tan tunic, with standard Jedi boots and a GAR belt around his waist. GAR gauntlets decorated with the Jedi Order symbol covered from his wrists to his elbows, and a brown cloak rested upon his shoulders. His dark features stood out amongst the stark white and purple clone troopers aiming their blaster rifles at him. "You have ordered my troops to turn on me, and they listened. How have you done this?" Mace demanded. "I have control of the entire Republic, once the Jedi are gone, I will have the entire galaxy. The clones were programmed from the start to be one hundred percent loyal to me. They merely followed you into battle, but only in my honor." Palpatine smiled. Mace predicted what was to come, and he back flipped into the air, narrowly avoiding Palpatine's barrage of Force lightning. His lightsaber hummed to life as Mace hit the ground. "You have forsaken the trust of the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order; I promise you I will avenge them." Mace growled. A lightsaber flew into Palpatine's hand from within his robes, and a red blade appeared. "You are the Sith Lord that the Order has been looking for." Mace said. Palpatine nodded. "Fool, I have been in your presence for almost fifteen years….and you never knew a thing. And that is one of the reasons the Jedi must die, you are too foolish to protect the Republic. Troopers, the time has come. Execute Order sixty-six." Palpatine said. The clone troopers suddenly opened fire on Mace. Mace batted the blaster bolts away with his saber and used the Force to knock out the clones. Palpatine surged forward, his blade raised above his head. He brought it down against Mace's own blade, purple and red clashing. "You are no match for me Palpatine, or should I say…..Sidious." Mace growled. Sidious flashed the Sith grin that could send chills down the spine of a Mandalorian as the two swordsmen fought. Suddenly the blast doors slid open and Anakin Skywalker entered. Anakin's jaw dropped as he watched Master Windu and the Chancellor engage in a heated saber duel. Palpatine possessed a red lightsaber? Anakin ignited his own blade and, using the Force, slammed both duelists against the wall and held them there. "What is the meaning of this?" Anakin demanded. "The chancellor has betrayed the Republic! He has complete control of the clones and the senate!" Mace said. Sidious shook his head. "Don't listen to him Anakin! I told you this would happen! The Jedi are plotting to take over!" Sidious pleaded. Obi-Wan Kenobi walked in behind Anakin. "Don't listen to him Anakin, search your feelings. You know what Master Windu is saying to be true." Obi-Wan instructed. Anakin closed his eyes and bowed his head. Several seconds later Sidious and Mace dropped to the floor. Suddenly Sidious was picked back up and Obi-Wan approached him, lightsaber pointed at the Sith Lord's neck. "You betrayed us. Why?" Obi-Wan questioned. Sidious bowed his head. "I wanted control." Sidious said finally. Obi-Wan kept the blade at Sidious' neck and began talking to Mace without turning away. "What should I do with him Master?" Obi-Wan asked. Suddenly Sidious turned pale and gasped in pain. A blue lightsaber blade protruded through his back, going through his stomach. "You betrayed the Republic, the Jedi Order, and me." Anakin said. Anakin pulled his blade from the Sith Lord's stomach and the corpse of the final Sith Lord fell to the floor. "Ventress, Grievous, Dooku, Sidious, they are all dead. The Clone Wars….have been won." Anakin said finally.
Epilogue:
Jek-14 awoke in total darkness. He was inside a hover coffin onboard a Republic Star Destroyer hovering above Coruscant. The wreckage of hundreds of Separatist warships were scattered across the stars above Coruscant. Two blaster shots, Davjik's handy work, had hit Jek's armor, but did not penetrate. Jek, concentrating through the Force, blew apart the coffin with his mind. "Fisto will pay for what he has done." Jek growled. Jek-14, the final Sith Knight, stood in the hangar bay of a Republic Star Destroyer. Several clone troopers turned and saw the Sith standing bewildered. "You there!" a trooper yelled. The clones opened fire. Jek front flipped over them and slammed his fist into the floor, creating a Force wave that knocked the troopers off their feet. Jek dashed towards a V-Wing starfighter and opened the hatch. A dozen more clone troopers ran towards him, opening fire. Jek flipped into the cockpit and closed the hatch. The starfighter roared to life and lifted off the ground. Hundreds of blaster bolts flew past as the starfighter sped out of the hangar into space. Sergeant Appo of the 501st Legion stood in the hangar of the Star Destroyer. He raised his gauntlet comlink to his mouth and pressed the talk button. "Admiral, we have a problem. Jek-14 has escaped."
Anakin Skywalker stood in the center of the Jedi High Council chamber, before Masters Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, Qui-Gon Jinn, Adi Gallia, Shaak Ti, Plo Koon, Eeth Koth, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Cin Drallig, and Dak Drax. "Over, the Clone Wars may be, but victory, achieve it, we did not. Made terrible sacrifices, we did, to get here. Skywalker, proud of you, we are. Destroyed the Sith, you have. Brought Balance to the Force, you did. The Chosen One, you are. Know of your marriage to Senator Amidala, we do. Allow you to be with her, we do. "Approve of this, normally, we would not. Exceptions to every rule, there must be, as you have proved to us many times. Go now, you must, Master Skywalker." Yoda said with a smile. Anakin grinned as the Council cheered him on as he bowed to his Masters. Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker turned to the Council entrance to see Captain Rex and Padme Amidala at the door. He walked towards them and embraced the two, finally happy. "Another, there is. A Sith Knight, Jek-14, his name is. Send Skywalker, we cannot. An imbalance, it would create. Fully tapped into the Force, this Sith has not. Deployed ten Jedi to arrest him, I have." Yoda said. R2-D2 and C3PO stood outside the door and followed the three. As the three exited, Obi-Wan finally spoke, while looking at Qui-Gon. "I think….I did you well, my master." Obi-Wan said. Qui-Gon chuckled. On the way out Padme stood on her toes and leaned into Anakin's ear. "Ani, I'm pregnant."
THE END.
Noah Dylan Thomason
