Several clones were running down the hallway to the platform, blasters at the ready. There were five missile launchers amongst the crew, and ten heavy artillery haulers. When the sergeant in charge turned the corner, he held up a hand to halt his battalion. The two clone troopers guarding the door were just regaining consciousness, groaning as they slowly rose to their feet.
"What happened here?" the sergeant asked them.
"Sir, a Jedi got through to the New Crucible," one of the guards said, standing up straight. "We fired at him, but he stopped our shots and disassembled our blasters."
"What do you mean he stopped your shots?" the sergeant asked.
"The shots just stopped in midair, sir," the other clone said, putting a hand to his knee to brace himself. "They never even touched him." The sergeant straightened up. He had never heard of anything like this happening. He looked over his shoulder.
"Medics, get these men somewhere safe," he said. "This Jedi's a tough one."
"That's the thing, sir," the first clone said. "If he's that good, why didn't he kill us?" Before the sergeant could think of an answer, they heard the sound of engines preparing for launch.
"Get those doors open!" he shouted, and the battalion fell back as two of the missile launchers took their positions and fired, blasting the doors away.
"Well, they're here," the Jedi said from the cockpit. He flipped a switch and grabbed hold of the steering, pulling it back. The ship began to rise, gracefully and slowly lifting up from the platform. Huyang watched as the battalion ran out from the smoking doorway, aiming their guns at the ship.
"They're aiming at us," he said worriedly.
"I know, I know," Bahsé said as he looked around. "Please tell me they put a shield in, please tell me they put a shield in," he said to himself. A few blaster shots pinged off the windshield as the clones opened fire. "Oh, well at least they reinforced the windows, that was smart," he said. "Ah, thank goodness," he said, reaching forward to press a button. "They did put in shielding!"
"Fire missiles!" the sergeant shouted, and the clones took their positions. They knelt down in an arrow formation and launched their artillery. The projectiles zoomed toward the ship and exploded, but no damage was done. Bahsé and Huyang peered out the window, looking at the smoke that rolled over the exterior.
"Some heavy-duty shielding, that is," the Jedi remarked.
"Well, after the last Crucible's adventure on Florum, I'm not surprised," Huyang said, walking over to a side panel. "Thankfully, that's not all that this ship was equipped with."
"Oh, you're kidding," the Jedi said, turning to the droid. "You mean they put guns on this thing?"
"They did indeed," the professor replied.
"Sweet!" Bahsé cheered. The guns lowered from the underside of the ship and took aim at the clones, opening fire and forcing them back into the hallway.
"Retreat! Fall back!" the sergeant shouted, diving into the hallway with the last of his troops. He watched as the ship turned and flew off, not into space but off to the right.
"Where are we going?" Huyang asked. "We have to get out of here! There'll be more clones waiting for us wherever we're going!"
"I don't doubt that," the Jedi said. "But there are a few young Jedi that I think would be grateful to be rescued. And I'm sure they'd be glad to see you again." He turned to look at his companion out of the side of his visor. Huyang wasn't certain, but he was willing to bet that the Jedi was smiling.
"You mean the last group of Younglings that I taught?" the professor asked.
"The very same crew," Bahsé said, steering the vessel toward the Jedi Temple. He looked forward and became very solemn. "I only hope that they are alive by the time we get there."
"Then we'd better hurry," Huyang said. "One of those little ones is a rather headstrong chap, and prefers to fight rather than make a tactical retreat."
"Well, he'll be a fun one to work with," the Jedi muttered.
The clone commander looked up and down the hallway slowly, both blasters in his hands. The purple stripes on his helmet gave the impression of angry eyebrows over black eye holes. He had two troopers behind him, his best two soldiers from his squad.
"Stay alert, you two," he said sternly. "Those Jedi kids are small and can slip away fairly easily. That makes it easier for them to ambush us without being seen too soon."
"Yes, sir," the soldiers said simultaneously. They both bore similar stripes of purple on their armor that ran down their extremities. One's helmet was decorated with angular stripes from under the eyes while the other's helmet sported triangles positioned above and below his.
"So where do you think they'll come from, Mute?" the one with the angular stripes asked. The one with the triangles aimed his blaster at the upper vents and the doors, holding a hand up with two fingers outstretched. "Very subtle, I suppose," the other replied. "What do you think, boss? Vents and doors, in teams of two?" he asked their commander.
"I wouldn't short-sight myself to such obvious opportunities, Banx," the commander said. "But then again, they are only Younglings, so they may not be all that clever. Toss a gas grenade in the vents just to be safe, though." The two clones nodded and opened the vent covers nearest to them. They took a small cylindrical canister from their belts and lobbed them in the vents, putting the covers back quickly.
The gas immediately seeped throughout the ventilation system, spreading straight to the Younglings hiding inside. They covered their mouths and silently crawled the opposite way. The six young Jedi made their way towards the outside landing, where the young Wookie kicked the vent open. He looked around and leapt down, signaling an all-clear to the others. One by one they jumped down, the last of them a young female Tholothian, who slumped against the wall.
"Why is this happening?" she asked frantically. "Why are these clones after us?"
"I don't know, Katooni," the young Nautolan named Zatt told her. "It doesn't make sense to any of us. All that I can tell you right now is that we need to get out of here, and fast."
"And just how are we supposed to do that, Zatt?" the young Rodian named Ganodi asked, hands on her hips. "We have no backup, no plan, no way of getting off this planet, and we're out in the open, just waiting for an attack!" At that exact moment, the clone commander and several more clones burst through the door, taking positions and aim. The young Jedi drew their lightsabers and took defensive positions.
"Looks like this is it, guys," the young human, Petro, said. "It's been an honor knowing you all."
"Prepare to fire!" the commander shouted. All blasters cocked at once, and the Younglings tightened their grips. The commander raised his hand and was about to fire when he looked up slightly, as if he were listening for something.
Sure enough, there was a low, rumbling noise, and it seemed to be getting closer. The young Ithorian, Byph, looked over the edge of the platform and jumped back, exclaiming in surprise. The Younglings turned and watched as a massive, familiar-looking ship rose up from beneath it. The guns on the starboard hull took aim and opened fire, blasting the platform in front of the troopers and forcing them back into the building. The ship turned so that its bow was facing the Younglings, and the ramp lowered to let them on. Running down the ramp to meet them was a figure with a strange helmet and a cloak, and he stopped just in front of the small group.
"Hurry, young ones, hurry!" the mysterious man shouted, motioning for them to get on the ship. "We don't have much time! Get in the vessel, now!" The Younglings looked amongst themselves, unsure if they could trust this being or not.
"Get them!" a voice shouted from behind them. The commander and his troops had come back out of the building and proceeded to open fire. In a blur, the cloaked figure leapt over the Younglings, reaching for his back as he did so. He hit the ground and rolled, stopping in a kneeling position with a double-bladed lightsaber handle in his hand. He activated both blades, one blue and one green, and deflected several shots into the knees of the troopers.
"Get on the ship, now!" the Jedi bellowed. The Younglings booked it into the ship, scampering up the ramp as their rescuer proceeded to spin his lightsaber in a windmill motion, blocking the clones' fire and moving back toward the ship. "Professor! Get us out of here!" he shouted as he backed onto the ramp and withdrew his lightsaber as it closed. The ship rose into the air, turned, and flew off into the sky. The clone commander, Mute, and Banx were the only clones left standing to watch the vessel disappear.
"Should we chase after them?" Banx asked.
"After what just happened to these men?" the commander replied, motioning to the clones laid out in front of them, clutching their knees and groaning. "We need to get these men to an infirmary, now."
"Thanks, Professor, I can take it from here," the Jedi said, sitting in the main pilot's seat and inserting a set of coordinates. The Younglings walked into the cockpit, and Petro crossed his arms.
"So who are you supposed to be?" he asked.
"The man who is disappointed at not hearing a 'thank you' from any of you, for one thing," the Jedi said flatly. Petro's face reddened as he shuffled behind the others. "I can't say I blame you, though," he added. "You've been through a lot today, so I think it's best if we get to the safest place in the galaxy. Better hold on to something, though, because we're getting there right about… now." With that, he pushed a lever forward, and the vessel burst forward into hyperspace.
The Younglings did a surprisingly good job of keeping themselves in place during the initial burst of speed. Huyang had braced himself in the doorway, holding on with one hand. Within seconds, everyone adjusted to the speed change, and their pilot stood up.
"In case you're still wondering, my name is Bahsé Sigré," he said as he crossed his arms. "I'm a Jedi Sentinel."
"A Sentinel?" Katooni asked. "Isn't that, like, the lowest class of Jedi?" The taller Jedi's head snapped to look at her, and he growled slightly, more out of irritation than anger.
"We may not be as well-known or as commonly relied on as Consulars, Knights, or Guardians," he said lowly, "but we are by no means to be seen as the weakest of the Jedi. Every Jedi has their strengths, and the strengths of the Sentinels is in the intuition and middle-road approach to problems. We're basically balanced between Consular and Guardian, blending the teachings of both schools and amplified them with several non-Force skills." He shifted his weight to his other leg. "We're also more covert, and if I recall… there's actually a secret base, a dojo of some sorts, where other Sentinels reside…" he said in thought.
"What kind of non-Force skills are you talking about, exactly?" Ganodi asked. Gungi voiced his agreement in the question. Before the Sentinel could answer, the console of the ship began to chime an alarm, and he turned to re-enter the pilot seat.
"That's a story for another time, young ones," he said. "We're coming out of hyperspace." He pulled the hyperdrive lever back and grabbed hold of the steering. "We're here." As the ship slowed rapidly and reached its destination, the Younglings all yelped in fear.
Looming ahead of them, silently moving forward in deep space, was a Venator-class Republic attack cruiser.
"Are you crazy?!" Katooni shrieked. "We're gonna get killed!" The armored Jedi merely chuckled and pushed a button on the console.
"This is Bahsé Sigré piloting the New Crucible, hailing the cruiser Guardian. I have another batch of survivors and am requesting permission to dock," he said calmly.
"About time, boss!" a cheerful female voice responded. "We were starting to get worried. R1 has been pacing back and forth for nearly fifteen minutes!"
Bahsé laughed. "Tell the little guy I'll be waiting for him in the hangar," he said. And let the crew know I made it back okay."
"Will do, boss," the female said. "Over and out!" With that, Bahsé steered the vessel to the underside of the flagship, lining up carefully and docking with the larger ship almost flawlessly. He shut down the engines and turned around to face the Younglings, standing up and crossing his arms.
"Younglings, Professor," he said, spreading his arms. "Welcome to the Guardian. My flagship." He strode forward, his cloak billowing behind him. The others followed him out of the cockpit and watched as he hefted the still-unconscious clone trooper into his arms. They all walked out of the docking port to the much larger ship, where two clone medics greeted them. They wore no armor and only grey uniforms. One clone had a pointed goatee with a blue stripe down the center, while the other had three stripes of blue in his hair, one running down the center and the others placed on either side. The Younglings jumped back, but Bahsé approached the two of them calmly, carrying Scrapper over to a stretcher they had set off to the side.
"Take care of him, and get that chip removed," he told the clones. "I don't wanna risk it staying in him."
"Yes, sir," they said in unison. "Find something special about this guy, did you, boss?" the clone with the goatee asked.
"I found something interesting about all you boys, Streak," the Jedi replied with a chuckle. "This one's no different. His name is Scrapper, and he has a certain interest in tinkering, it seems."
"He took a particular interest in a lightsaber handle before you arrived," Huyang said from behind them. "He asked me what material is was made out of in the middle of their raiding the ship." Bahsé looked to the medics and nodded.
"Like I said, he's just as interesting as the rest of you," he told them. "I'll let the doctor know you're on your way down." With that, the medics nodded and moved their brother down the hallway. Bahsé put two fingers to one of the antennas on his helmet, establishing a comm link to the medical bay within the ship. "Doctor? It's Sigré. I got another clone for you to help out. Streak and Ridge are on their way down with him now. Goes by the name of Scrapper." There was a brief pause. "Well, from what I hear, he likes to tinker, so may I suggest giving him something to work on with his hands when he wakes up?" He shuffled his weight and exhaled, seeming to think about something. "Ohh… well, Professor Huyang here says that he took an intere—huh? Yes, the Professor Huyang. From the old Crucible, yep. I'll let him know," the Jedi said with a chuckle, turning to look at the droid. "The doc wants to know if you'd be willing to help Scrapper actually build some sort of lightsaber or another kind of light weapon or tool when he wakes up," he said.
"Well, I've never had to help a clone build a Jedi's piece of equipment before," Huyang said. "But I suppose if I show him the diagram, he may be able to build one. I'll go get some drawers." The professor turned and went back into the New Crucible, and Bahsé looked to the Younglings. They were exchanging glances amongst themselves, unsure of how to respond to all of this. The older Jedi knelt down in front of them.
"You have nothing to fear, young ones," he said gently. "You are in a safe place now. No harm will come to you here."
"How do you know none of these clones will eventually attack us?" Zatt asked, skeptical. Byph grunted a question of his own, and Bahsé straightened up.
"The reason the clones attacked you at the Jedi Temple is because they were following Order 66," he said solemnly. "Each clone had a certain chip implanted into their brains when they were still infants on Kamino. I made the discovery when the few clones I worked with tried to turn on me. I rendered them unconscious and scanned them, detecting an anomaly in their heads. I brought them to the doctor on this ship, who was at the time on Coruscant, where he discovered and removed their chips."
"When you say 'each clone'," Katooni asked, "does that mean…?" The Sentinel lowered his head.
"Unfortunately, yes," he said lowly. "Almost every clone in the Republic has turned on their Jedi general and executed them on the spot. A few resisted, but I'm afraid it is not entirely enough to make a substantial difference now."
"What about Obi-wan Kenobi?" Petro asked. "Was he killed, too?"
"Actually, as it turns out, he managed to survive the attack from his battalion," Bahsé said cheerfully. "He sent out a message for all Jedi coming to Coruscant to turn around and do what they could to hide or avoid capture." Petro let out a sigh of relief. "There are a few Jedi who survived, and I've done what I can to locate them and bring them here, but I have no idea where Masters Yoda or Kenobi have gone," the Sentinel said. He looked back to Byph. "And to answer your question, Byph, there are less than two hundred clones aboard this ship, all with their chips removed, so you should have no worries about any of them attacking you."
He stood back up as Huyang returned with a few boxes of parts. "Why don't we help the professor get these down to the medical bay?" he suggested. "You can meet some of my crew on the way there."