Knight Errant

Chapter 2: Battle of the Temple (Part 1)

Anakin sat on the floor in utter defeat for what felt like an eternity, lost in a vision of his wife and the life they could have had, when he felt it. A low, menacing rumble beneath him that pulled him out of his misery and set him on edge. He lifted his head and rubbed his puffy eyes on the sleeve of his robes, seeking out where the noise had come from.

The floor rumbled underneath him again, more distinctly this time. An icy shiver ran down his spine and the hairs on the back of his neck rose. Something terrible was happening, he decided after a moment. What he could only describe as wrongness echoed in the Force.

Shakily, and with much trepidation, he peeled himself off the floor and slowly walked to the transparisteel windows to get a better view of what was going on. The wrongness intensified exponentially in his mind the closer he came, like a malodorous Rylothian carrion flower blooming in the darkness. He shuffled closer, eyes closed and filled with dread until he felt the toe of his boot scoot against the wall. With a deep breath, he opened his eyes and peered down the transparisteel at the base of the Temple.

What he saw below him left him paralyzed with fear and surprise. Rows and rows of Troopers in their gleaming white armor marching towards the Temple. On the Temple, his mind corrected. It was in that terrible moment that he finally understood. This has been Palpatine's plan all along, he reasoned to himself in shock as he watched in horror. The entire war had been a sham. A great deception to destroy the Jedi Order once and for all. And he had bought into it. A stupid little boy desperate for attention.

I have to do something, he thought numbly, watching them march closer. I have to fix this. But the rising horror of what he knew was about to happen left him unable to move. There were not nearly enough Jedi in the Temple to repel a force that large, and no one close enough to come to their aid. This was going to be a slaughter.

The floor rumbled again ominously, kicking his mind into gear.

The ornate wooden doors of the Council Chambers smashed open as Anakin dashed through them at full speed. He ran past the empty benches towards lift at the far end of the antechamber, and slapped slapping his metal hand on the control panel repeatedly.

Nothing happened.

Kriff.

He leaned his ear against the metal doors, listening desperately for the hum of the repulsorlifts, but the only sound he could make out was the frantic beating of his heart in his chest. . Double Kriff. The lifts weren't working.

Anakin's stomach sank. He'd have to take the emergency stairs all the way down. There was no way he'd be able to warn them in time.

Emergency safety protocols, he repeated to himself, remembering the decade-old emergency protocol lectures he'd endured as a padawan.

In case of an explosion, all Temple lifts will shut off. In most parts of the Temple, this obstruction can be easily avoided by the use of the grand staircase. In other sections of the building, where the grand staircase is either too distant or unreachable, a series of emergency stairwells are available for evacuation…

He scrambled back into the Council chamber and dropped onto his hands and knees in the center of the room, searching desperately.

…If you are in the high spire at the time of the explosion there is a trapdoor entrance to the emergency spire emergency staircase located in the center of the Council room that will go as far down as the entrance hall. In the center of the room, inlaid in the tile pattern, there is a small button-

"Found it!" Anakin said to himself, as he snagged the catch in the tile with a fingernail. He traced his fingers around the crack in the tile until he found the miniscule button that controlled the hatch. Jamming his metallic finger on in, he dropped down into the stairwell as soon as the hatch opened far enough for him to squeeze through

Not quite deep enough in the floor for him to stand straight, the emergency stairwell spiraled down in front of him, disappearing into the dim emergency lighting.

He barreled down the staircase as fast as his legs would take him. He hadn't made half a dozen rotations down when he felt the first death below him. Not two steps later, he felt two more. He pushed himself to go faster.

The Force shuddered around him, death and terror and pain leaking through his mental shields. The feeling only intensified as he descended further down into the Temple. Narrow doors started to blur past him with more and more frequency until he slammed into the door at the end of the stairwell.

Gasping for breath, he forced the door open and slid through.

And descended into chaos, lightsaber in hand.

He recognized the armor right away, to his abject horror - the blue and white of the 501st. Of all the Clones stationed on Coruscant after the Separatist attack, he thought painfully, it had to be my men. The betrayal stung.

Stuffing down his emotions and the nagging feelings of self blame, Anakin ignited his saber and dived into the fight. He immediately began deflecting bolts, scouring the battle before him for whoever was leading the defense, but there was too much chaos around him to discern anything meaningful..

The Force sang in his ear, despite the death and chaos around him and he suddenly knew what needed to be done. The Temple is going to fall, it whispered. There is no stopping it. The Order is going to fall - here is your path. He knew without a doubt it was right. They didn't stand a chance against a force this large. The very best they could was protect their future. Protect the younglings.

He spotted a small group of Padawans being pushed back into a corner to his left. Two humans, one of each gender, and a pink-skinned female Twi'lek. None of them over the age of 16, and all of them terrified out of their wits. A plan unfolded in his mind.

He vaulted over the squad of troopers between them, managing to slice the arms off of two of them as he went past before landing gracefully in front of the padawans. He made quick work of the other six, caught off guard as they were, stomping out any emotion that sprouted from killing his own men. There would be time for that after they got out of this mess. Hopefully.

He turned off his lightsaber and hauled the three of them behind a nearby statue."What are your names?" he shouted.

"Hankor Reed, Master Skywalker," the dark-haired human boy said immediately.

"And you two?"

The girls shared a worried glance before responding. "Mira Solaris," and "Ofaw'tani Echosdeso," the two girls said together, quick;y.

He nodded, reassuringly. "Hankor, Mira and Ofaw-tani," he memorized. "I have a special mission for you," he said, placing his hands firmly on Mira's shoulders (she looked to be the oldest). "The Temple is lost," he told them bluntly. Mira's lip wavered and her blue eyes watered up. "I'm not telling you this to scare you. I'm telling you so you know how important this is, alright?" The teens nodded shakily.

"Get to the crèche. Grab a few of the younger Padawans on your way. Grab as many younglings as you can and get the hell out of here. We will keep the clones occupied for as long as we can."

"But where will we go?" Hankor asked incredulously.

"Grab as many younglings as you can. If there's any crèche Master's down there, you tell them Master Skywalker said come up here and help hold the line. Take the younglings to the statue of Bala Nisi – it's right outside of the crèche. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"I do," Ofaw'tani said quickly, her lekku bobbing.

Anakin nodded. "Good. Behind the statue there is a small hatch. Open it. There's a secret passage that will lead you out of the Temple to the lower levels." He took a deep breath. "Head straight for the Republica apartments just west of the Senate building. It's a tall, fancy building with a curved top. You can't miss it. Go to apartment 500. Senator Amidala will help you."

"Senator Amidala? What if she doesn't help us?" Mira asked worriedly. "What if we -"

Anakin gave hera weak, reassuring smile. "Senator Amidala is my wife." The three pairs of young eyes widened in surprise, but Anakin ignored it. "She'll know what to do. Tell her, I said to get off this rock. I'll rendezvous with her when the battle is ?"

"How will she know where to find you?" Ofaw'tani asked quickly.

"She'll know where to go," he rushed and jabbed his finger on her chest. "You make sure she gets out of here, do you hear me?" They nodded. "Good. Now go. And don't be seen!"

He watched them run off through an empty hallway with a sigh of relief. They would get Padme and the baby far from here. Far from Palpatine. Now all I need to do is get myself out of here...

"TO ME!" He shouted, reigniting his saber and jumping back into battle. "EVERYONE TO ME! FORM A LINE!"

IIIIIIIIIIIII

Obi-wan Kenobi threw the blaster off the side of the platform with disgust. "So uncivilized," he said to himself in his clipped Coruscanti accent.

Wiping his hands on his leggings, he stepped over the smoking carcass of General Grievous and back towards the catwalk. Finally, he thought to himself with relief. With Dooku and Grievous dead, we can finally put an end to this horrid war.

He retraced his steps towards the sound of battle. The clones had attacked the hanger bay right on schedule, it would seem. Excellent. He reached for his lightsaber and groaned, remembering that Grievous had kicked it over a platform. Blast! Anakin will never let me live this down…

He turned a corner and saw Commander Cody hiding behind a nearby stack of supply boxes waiting for him.

"Ah General," Cody said, coming to attention. "There you are!"

"Didn't want to miss all the fun," he replied sarcastically, ducking down next to him.

"General Grievous?" Cody asked.

Obi-wan frowned. "Dead." He always hated killing, no matter how necessary it was. "How goes it here?"

Cody grunted. "As well as can be expected." He pulled something off of his belt and handed it over. "You dropped this."

Obi-wan looked down in confusion, and let out a sigh of relief. His lightsaber. "Excellent work, Cody. Thank you." He risked a glance around their makeshift cover, to check the progress.

"Not a word to Anakin, Cody," he said as an afterthought. "He'll never let me live it down."

"Yes sir."

"Good." Passing the saber to his dominant hand, and gripping it tightly. "Let's get a move on. We've got a battle to win here," he added cheekily.

Taking a deep breath and gathering the Force in around him, Obi-wan ignited his saber and ran off towards the thick of battle.

Now if I could only remember where I left that Boga.

IIIIIIIIIIIII

Cody hunkered down by a fallen spider droid to answer his beeping comlink. He tapped the wrist comm with the butt of his blaster.

"Commander Cody," Chancellor Palpatine drawled over the line. "The time has come. Execute Order 66."

IIIIIIIIIIIII

Parry. Parry. Step. Duck. Parry. Remise. Step. Slice.

Everything was numb. From the prolonged vibration of his saber climbing up his arms. From the exhaustion and repetition of fighting. From all of the death around him. From the betrayal of seeing his own men turn on them. From the howl of indescribable pain and loss in the Force that threatened to overwhelm him.

Anakin continued to reflect the endless barrage of blaster bolts, determined to keep their line from breaking. Again. Jedi and clones died all around him without end.

As soon as he'd sent the Padawans to the crèche, he'd gone into "General" mode, barking orders at the few Jedi left to defend the Temple. But their hastily formed line had broken in minutes and they'd been forced further back into building. Then they had reformed in a last ditch effort to defend the crèche. But the number of clones pouring into the Temple was just too great. They'd been plowed right into and split them down the middle.

Which was where Anakin found himself now. On the opposite side of where he needed to be.

From where he was standing, he could just see over the battle to the opposite line defending the route to the crèche. He could only hope that the Padawans he had sent had managed to get the younglings out. I should have sent a Master with them, he regretted. If that line breaks, they won't be able to defend themselves. Won't be able to defend Padme.

The young Padawan next to him fell, her death bleeding into the torrent around them. Neema Tharis, he noted, adding it to his tally. As if he'd ever get out of here to report their losses…

Shoving his emotions down before he could choke on them, he stepped over her filling her space. On the other side, Master Shaak Ti wordlessly adjusted as well. They continued to hold the line wordlessly, but he could feel them tiring. His own arms ached at the endless movement.

A blaster bolt pierced through his other thigh from behind. He stumbled forward, losing his balance temporarily. "KARKING SON OF A BANTHA!" He shouted through the pain, turning to see where the shot had come from.

Clones poured down the grand staircase, in an attempt to box them in. Bastards, he thought viciously. I taught them that maneuver. They had to abandon this spot quickly before they were decimated. He glanced at the line defending the crèche, knowing if he abandoned this position they would be overwhelmed in short order.

"RETREAT!" he shouted over the din of battle, trying to control the emotion in his voice and stomp down the horrific knowledge of what he knew was about to happen here. What he was going to let happen. "EVERYONE RETREAT!"

He limped quickly into nearby hallway, leading his group out of the oncoming trap. He had a dozen people, he counted quickly as they ran. They would have to circle around, he reasoned. If they were quick, they could back up the crèche line and give the Padawans more time to escape.

IIIIIIIIIIIII

Obi-wan held on tightly as the Boga sprinted up the wall towards the higher levels of the complex. It took everything in him to hold onto the reins and his lit saber at the same time. I'm getting far too old for this.

He was gathering the Force around himself, trying to retain a grip on the exuberant creature when he felt it. A great disturbance in the Force, like nothing he had ever felt before. Cold, sticky darkness bleed through his connection to the Force like ink in water.

He had a bad feeling about this. The Boga continued to climb, and Obi-wan spurred it on with the heels of his boots to a breakneck pace. A very bad feeling.

Out of nowhere, the side of the sinkhole next to him exploded into a deadly mix of rock and shrapnel. He held on to the Boga for dear life, as it jumped out of the way in surprise. What in the blazes!?

He looked over his shoulder, searching for the source of the blast and nearly dropped his saber in surprise.

His men had re-aimed the cannons and were now firing on him.

He didn't have more than a moment to contemplate what was going on, before he was falling.