Hey folks, Grubkiller here.

Let me present to you, part 11 of this thrilling story.

Please enjoy.

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Invisible Hand, in orbit above Coruscant.

Flagship of the Separatist flotilla, General Grievous's kilometers-long dreadnought, the Invisible Hand, held to a stationary orbit above Coruscant's Senate District, just now is full sunlight, the most majestic of its forest of aeries standing tall above the clouds. Magnified holo-images of the buildings rose from the tactical table on the ship's bridge. Grievous studied the images for a moment before returning to his customary place at the forward vliewscreens.

Glinting in daylight, the wedge-shaped warships that were, for good reason, the pride of the Republic fleet were positioned to provide cover for the planet's most important centers. In the first moments of the sneak attack, Grievous had caught a few of the ships with their shields down, and those hapless few glided now like flaming torches above Coruscant's pearl-strung night side, fire-suppression tenders and rescue ships following in their wake, gobbling up escape pods and lifeboats. The surviving cruisers were managing to keep their Separatist counterparts at bay. Although that scarcely mattered, since neither aerial bombardment nor invasion was important to the plan.

From the point of view of Republic naval commanders, it must have appeared that Grievous lacked a plan; that desperation resulting from his previous defeats in the Mid and Outer Rims had driven him to gather what remained of his fleet and hurl it into a battle he couldn't possibly hope to win. And indeed, Grievous was doing everything he could to encourage that misconception. The warships under his command were haphazardly dispersed, vulnerable to counterattack, concentrating fire on communications satellites and orbital mirrors, lobbing occasional and largely ineffectual volleys of plasma at the world they had come so far and risked so much to assail.

All this was crucial to the plan.

The tactics of terror had their place.

From hundreds of areas on Coruscant's bright and dark sides streamed columns of passenger and cargo ships, determined to reach the safety of deep space. Indeed there were almost as many vessels attempting to depart as there were arriving, constrained to auto-navigation lanes and easy prey because of that. Elsewhere in local space, inward-bound ships that had reverted to real-space outside the battle zone had diverted from their approach vectors and were either hanging well to the rear, close to Coruscant's small moons, or deviating for the star system's inner worlds at sunlight speeds.

In the middle distance, droid fighters and clone-piloted star-fighters were destroying one another with a vengeance. Perhaps a wing of Vulture fighters had penetrated Republic lines at the start of the battle, but many had since been destroyed by orbital defense platforms, flights of high-altitude patrol craft, or ground-based artillery. Others had dashed themselves against the defensive shields that provided additional safeguards for Coruscant's political districts. But that, too, was part of the plan to inspire panic, since the sight of laser bolts or plummeting ships detonating against those transparent domes of energy could be terrifying. Smoke billowing from some of the capital worlds deepest canyons told Grievous that a few of the spearhead droids had succeeded in evading both shields and anti-aircraft fire.

Similarly, tentative maneuvers on the part of Coruscant's home fleet vessels told him how eager their commanders were to break formation and engage Grievous head-on. But they had a world to protect and, more important, were too meager in number to proceed with certainty. No doubt they were waiting for reinforcements to arrive from distant systems. Anticipating as much, Grievous had planted surprises for those Republic battle groups closest to the Core, surprises in the form of mass-shadow mines, and had stationed warships at reversion points along the major hyperlanes. If he couldn't prevent reinforcements from arriving, he could at least delay them.

If everything went according to plan, the Separatist flotilla would be ready to jump to light-speed long before reinforcements reverted in sufficient numbers to pose a serious threat.

Grievous took a long moment to absorb the silent battle that flared beyond the thick transparisteel of the bridge viewports. He loathed being so far from the action and bloodshed. but he knew that he had to be patient a while longer. Then all the waiting and frustration would be justified.

A Neimoidian addressed him from one of the duty stations.

"General, comlink transmissions are returning to normal in sectors of the planet. The enemy appears to have comprehended that we are jamming them."

"This is not unexpected," Grievous said, without turning from the view. "Instruct group One commanders that they should continue targeting orbital mirrors and communications satellites. Relocate the jamming platform to point zero-one-zero ecliptic, and intensify the shields."

"Yes, General." The Neimoidian paused, then added: "I am compelled to report that we are sustaining heavy losses in all groups."

Grievous glanced at the tactical table. Group One alone had lost two Lucrehulk-class battleships. The Neimoidians had managed to jettison the spherical core of one of the large warships, but the other had been blown completely in half. In the holo-field, the tiny dots spilling from the carrier's curved and now separated hanger arms were droid fighters.

"Override the survival and engagement programs of those droid fighters," Grievous ordered. "Issue a command that they speed directly for Coruscant. They are to convert to convert to explosive devices."

"Are any specific targets assigned?"

"The outskirts of the Senate District." Grievous said.

"General, some of our fighters have already infiltrated that sector."

"Excellent. Command those to target platforms, skyways, pedestrian plazas, and shelters. Wherever possible, they are to dedicate themselves to overwhelming Coruscant's civil defense forces."

"Affirmative."

"Have any Republic auxiliaries arrived?"

"A task force comprising four Arquitens-class light cruisers is decanting from hyperspace and advancing from Coruscant's night side."

"Order our commanders there to engage them."

'Sooner than expected', Grievous thought.

Ordinarily he would have given thought to contingency plans, but he trusted that Lords Sidious and Tyranus would apprise him of any changes. had it not been for the Deep Core hyperspace routes the flotilla had taken, the attack could not have been launched successfully. Those little-known routes had been furnished by Sidious, who was less concerned with battlefield tactics than with long-range strategies. it was warcraft of a sort Grievous had never practiced. Warcraft in which seeming defeats had resulted in victories; seeming foes proved to be allies. Warcraft of a sort that left the losers with nothing, and the winners with everything.

The galaxy itself.

The Neimoidian communications officer had fallen silent, apparently in reception of an update from one of the duty stations. Now he said: "General, a group of Jedi star-fighters has emerged from Coruscant's gravity well."

"How large a group?"

"Twenty-two craft."

"Deploy as many trip-fighters against them as are needed."

"Yes, sir."

Grievous turned from the viewports. "Is the strike force assembled?"

The gunnery officer took a moment to reply. "Your gunboat is ready, and your elites are standing by in the launching bay."

"Battle droids, as well?"

"Fifty, General."

Grievous nodded. "That should suffice." He glanced at the viewport a final time, then turned his gaze on the Neimoidian and droid bridge crew. "Carry on. Consider every Republic vessel a target of opportunity."

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Coruscant.

"I'm sorry Master, but the beacon still isn't transmitting."

Yoda continued to pace around the floor of a gunship's passenger bay, which had taken off from the Jedi Temple's hanger, and was now en route to join the main battle.

The bay was packed with trooper's from the Coruscant Guard, led by Clone Commander Thire, whom Yoda was familiar with, having participated with him on a mission to Rugosa. Now they were working together again, to drive the droids from Coruscant.

Yoda stopped pacing, then pointed the business end of his gimer stick at the hologram of a Jedi seated at the Beacon Control Room's main console.

"Nothing for which to be sorry," he said in reprimand. "The Separatist' fault this is. Jamming transmissions from this sector of Coruscant, Grievous is."

The Jedi - a brown-haired human female named Lari Oll - lifted her hands from the console and shook her head in confusion. "How could Grievous-"

"Dooku," Yoda cut her off. "Shares our secrets with his confederates, he does."

"If one of our star-fighters could get past the Separatist blockade, there might be a way of relaying a message through the HoloNet."

Yoda nodded. "Already considered that, Master Tiin has. Attempt to recall Jedi from Mandalore, Belderone, and other worlds, he will."

"Can they even get back here in time?" Commander Thire asked, joining the conversation.

"Hmph. On Grievous's objective, that depends. Leave Coruscant soon and slightly bruised, he might. Wait, we must, until he reveals his plan." Yoda paused to consider his own words, then leaned his weight on the gimer stick and looked hard at the hologram of Lari Oll. "Enabled the comm is?"

"Intermittently, Master Yoda."

Moments later, Windu's voice issued indistinctly from the console's annunciators, which could be heard through the holographic call.

"ffffzzzz . . . Fisto and I . . .fffzzzzz. . . Senate Building. Shaak . . . ffffzzzzz . . . to the Chancellor's quarters in 500 Republica. We . . . ffffzzzz . . . with them-"

"Raised, the defense shields are. Among one another, districts are unable to communicate." Yoda grimaced, then nodded once more. "Master Ti, try."

Lari Oll tried several frequencies before giving up. "I'm so-" She caught herself. "No response."

Yoda paced away from the hologram projection, turning away in a kind of countermeasure.

Shutting his eyes to distance himself further, he stretched out with his feelings, placing in his mind's eye Mace and Kit Fisto skimming through the deranged sky; Shaak Ti hurrying toward 500 Republica, and Stass Allie to checking the Senate office building; Saesee Tiin, Agen Kolar, Bulter Swan, and other Jedi Masters and Knights streaking through Coruscant's envelope in their star-fighters, local space flashing with energy bolts and globular explosions, ships too numerous to count embroiled in a monumental battle . . .

Grievous was loosing his war machines against both military and civilian targets, firing at anything and everything that wandered into his sights, commanding his droid fighters to dash themselves against Coruscant's defensive umbrellas or race down through traffic lanes, initiating chain reactions of collisions.

And yet, for all the diversion, disruption, and terror those stratagems incited, they had little to do with the real battle.

"Master, are you alright?" Lari Oll asked, prompting the clones that were in the passenger bay t look down with concern.

"Hmph. As was true of the war itself, being fought with the force the real battle is." Yoda said, before he stretched out further, immersing himself fully in the Force - only to feel his breath catch in his throat.

Frigid, the current became.

Arctic.

And for the first time he could feel Sidious.

"Feel the Dark Lord on Coruscant, I can."

Before anyone could react, the gunship was suddenly shaken violently.

"What the Hell is that?!" One of the clones, Jek, asked.

"Talk to me, pilot," Thire ordered.

"We've got heavy flak. Hang on!" The pilot called out before he started taking evasive maneuvers.

The flight of gunships flew right over a large concentration of Separatist landing craft, which started firing their AA guns, throwing up a massive wall of flak that shook the hell out of the three gunships.

One gunship was completely disintegrated, while the second managed to break off and fly to safety. But the last one, the one Yoda was on, was struck in the engines, before it began to crash down below, coming to a fiery stop directly in front of the Separatist landing zone.

Crashed Gunship.

The wreckage of the gunship was under heavy fire from the advancing droid army. The pilots and half of the men were dead. Some were wounded. As clone medic cared for the injured behind cover, Thire and his remaining men were fighting desperately for their lives.

The side hatch of the wrecked ship, facing the wreckage was blocked with cover, and the troopers were firing out of it. One trooper was actually using the right ball turret which had managed to survive, barely, and stated firing on the advancing droid army.

But despite the valiant efforts put on by Commander Thire and his men, the situation was desperate.

That's when Master Yoda climbed on top of the wreckage of the downed Republic gunship, which constituted the only Republic ground forces for blocks. When he got to the top, he could see a massive droid battalion in front of him. Blaster bolts flew all around him.

In the sky, coming around a skyscraper behind the droid battalion, a massive swarm of droid star-fighters were flying towards their position.

Undaunted, the short and old Jedi Master raised his hand and concentrated on the droid army in front of him. To the amazement of the clone troopers in the wreckage, the entire droid army started levitating into the air, as if gravity had disappeared. Hundreds of droids were now suspended in the air, where the droid star fighters started crashing into them, destroying all of them.

Behind Yoda, a C-9979 transport was disembarking its forces onto the battlefield. Knowing that his men wouldn't be able to shift their defense around in time, Yoda swiftly turned around and pushed the massive MTTs back into the ship. He then closed the ship's doors and began to push the ship backwards. Sparks began to fly out from under the ship as it scraped against the metal surface. Yoda then used the force to force a second ship, which hadn't landed yet, to crash into the first ship. Both transports fell apart in a crumpled heap before they went up in a brilliant explosion.

The clones cheered the small Jedi master on.

But celebrations had to wait.

Yoda sensed another pair of C-9979 ships behind him, and turned round to face them. They were coming in for a landing. Clapping his hands together, he used the force to cause the two 'H' shaped transports to crash into one another in midair. Both ships went up in another brilliant explosion.

The clones cheered again.

"That's the stuff!" One clone shouted.

"Take that, you stupid clankers!"

Yoda closed his eyes and lowered his hands when the coast was clear. What would've taken a fully equipped regiment of clones hours to deal with, only took the 900 year old Jedi a few seconds.

But it wasn't over yet. From inside the downed gunship he stood atop, he heard a message come in from its still working communicator.

"Alert: We're losing ground at sector 4! Repeat: Losing ground at sector 4!"

"That's close to here." Thire said.

Master Yoda jumped into the air and landed on the back of his pet Kybuck, which had also survived the crash miraculously.

"Secure this area," Yoda said before racing off to help the troopers in sector 4.

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Underground Tunnel System, 500-Republica sub-basement.

In the wake of the erratic and mostly unintelligible messages that had reached 500 Republica regarding the Separatist's surprise attack, Dyne had considered the sub-basement to be the safest place on Coruscant. But now that the team had discovered a possible finish to the long trail they had followed from The Works, the building's vast underground seemed the most dangerous place to be.

With the battle raging in space, and notwithstanding Mace Windu's command to the contrary, Dyne had been tempted to suspend the search for Sidious's lair and report to the Intelligence division at the Naval Intel HQ on the other side of the Senate District, as he had ordered the other analysts in the group to do. Bus as ARC commander Valiant had pointed out, the search team's objective was as important to the war as the actions of the ships and men that were protecting Coruscant.

So, while the team waited for Intelligence to deliver additional probe droids, a search of the sub-basement had begun - admittedly superficial and somewhat desultory, but only in response to the seeming impossibility of the task. Electronically tethered to the probe droids, Dyne and the commandoes had performed imagings of some of the partitions and walls, and investigated numerous unlit hollows and recesses. The basement became a kind of microcosm for the entire war, with everyone on the team contributing separate skills.

500 Republica hadn't sustained any follow-up jolts. Dyne had learned that the initial jolts owed not to bombardment, but to the fall of ships destroyed at the edge of space. With thousands of cargo ships and passenger vessels arriving at Coruscant at any given moment, he could scarcely imagine the chaos upside. Secondary shocks that had rocked the building had been traced to the firing of plasma weapons concealed in hardened emplacements surrounding the building.

The intelligence officer was struck by the fact that the shadowy figure that they were after was quite possibly co-ordinating the attack.

But who was it, and how could they track him?

at the lead clone commando's instruction, the probe droids began to home in on any communications exchange that was occurring on eccentric frequencies. It was difficult, seeing as how surface comms were sabotaged, and the HoloNet was jammed.

But the team members were astonished to find out that the droids had led them back to where they had left off. Where the footprints of the unidentified quarry had ended. The source of an unusual frequency was originating directly beneath them. They then discovered that the ferrocrete floor panels that they thought was the end of the trail, turned out to be removable, and concealing a doorway to an secret adjacent room, which revealed a large shaft.

One of the commandoes pressed a button, and moments later, a large platform ascended from the dark bowels of the building, and came to rest with an unsettling screeching sound, which echoes up and down the shaft.

'Definitely the most dangerous place on Coruscant to be.' Dyne thought to himself.

The walls of the lift's shaft, which scans revealed to end about 50 meters down, were cracked and stained in places, due to years of mismanagement, or rather no management at all.

Valiant gave a hand signal, and every clone commando and shadow trooper raised their blaster carbines and moved onto the lift, checking their corners. When everyone was on the lift, another trooper pressed a button, and the lift began to descend into the depths it arose from moments ago.

"If anyone's down here," Dyne said to Valiant, "they're probably aware we're on the way."

The spec ops clones didn't need to be told. Weapons enabled, they spread out into various firing positions before the lift came to a rest.

Ribboned with conduits and crowded with ancient machinery, the dismal space bore some resemblance to the tunnels and rooms they had passed through and explored since leaving the Works. But this one, Dyne told himself, was an archeologist's dream. Probably a maintenance node for buildings that had stood here in Coruscant's dim past.

Twenty meters ahead of them, flickering light lanced from the edges of a large metal door.

One of Dyne's intel analysts, who had decided to stay, sent the probe droids to investigate, then studied the processor's data screen.

"One flesh-and-blood behind the door," he whispered to Dyne and Valiant.

Dyne then looked at the ARC trooper. "It's your call, Commander."

Valiant regared the door. "We've come this far. I say we go in like we own the place."

"Dyne's heart began to race, before he repeated something that Valiant had told him earlier. "Find, fix, finish."

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Senate Rotunda Building.

"Hurry, Threepio," Padme said over her shoulder. "Unless you want the Senate to be your final resting place."

The protocol droid hastened his pace. "I assure you, Mistress, I'm moving as quickly as my limbs permit. Oh, curse my metal body! I'll become entombed here for sure!"

The broad, ornate hallways leading from the Great Rotunda were packed with Senators, their aides, staff members, and droids, many laden with rmloads of documents and data disks, and in some cases expensive gifts received from appreciative lobbyists. Blue-robed Senate Commandoes and helmeted clone troopers from the Coruscant Guard were doing their best to oversee the evacuation, but, what with the warbling sirens and flying rumors, alarm was beginning to yield panic.

"How could this happen?" A Sullustan was posing to the Gotal next to him. "How?"

To all sides of her - among Bith, Gran, Wookies, Rodians, and Twi'leks - Padme head the same question being asked: How could Coruscant be invaded?

Padme wondered as well. But she had more to worry about than Coruscant.

'Where is Anakin?' She reached for him in her thoughts, with her heart. 'I need you. Come back to me, my love - quickly!'

General Grievous's strike was impeccably timed. Many delegates, who might not have been on Coruscant, had come to witness Palpatine's State of the Republic address, and had remained longer to attend the lavish parties and event to celebrate.

In light of this attack, Palpatine's reassurances to the Senate that the Separatists were on the ropes now seemed woefully premature, now that many of Coruscant's ornate buildings were toppling, droid fighters and landing ships were swarming over the Skyline.

But despite all of that, she had convinced herself that the Home Fleet, despite being cut to half of its original strength, and under the Jedi's leadership, and the bravery of the clones, would drive the Separatists from the Core, just like they did against Admiral Trench at the Battle of Anexes.

Perhaps they would recall battle groups that were participating in the Outer Rim sieges, and direct them against the Confederate Invasion.

That meant that Anakin would be recalled, and come back to her.

She chided herself for being so selfish. But didn't she have the right? Hadn't she earned that at the very least?

Thus far, and aside from some stray damage from the battle outside, the Senate Building was almost entirely unscathed by the mechanical menace marching through the streets, miles away. Nevertheless, Homeworld Security felt it prudent to have as many people moved into underground shelters deep beneath the hemisphere as possible. And with the skylanes congested with aerial dogfights and the spaceports under heavy bombardment, it wasn't like anyone could just take a ship and leave Coruscant at will.

Jostled by the surging crowd, Padme collided with Senator Ask Aak from the Malastare delegation, who fixed his three eyes on her. "And you originally opposed the Military Creation Act," he barked. "What do you say now?"

She didn't have an answer at that moment. She wasn't against having a military force of any kind. She was more concerned about the Constitution, and putting so much power in the hands of one man. Something that her critics failed to understand.

That's when she heard her name called, and turned to see Bail Organa and Mon Mothma angling toward where she, Threepio, and Captain Typho were momentarily hampered. With them were three Jedi. An Ithorian, a Talz, and a Togrutan female, whom she recognized to be Jedi Master Shaak Ti.

"Have you seen the Chancellor?" Bail asked when he could.

Padme shook her head. "He's probably in the holding office."

"We were just there," Shaak Ti said. "The office is empty. Even his guards are gone. And no one in the shelters reported him there either."

"Then, I assume he is in his private residence." Bail said.

"500 Republica," Shaak Ti muttered to herself after a short pause, in seeming frustration. "I was just there."

"And the Chancellor wasn't?" Bail asked, gazing at her in sudden concern.

"I wasn't looking for him then," the Jedi Master started to say, then allowed her words to trail off. "I'll have Master Allie check the Senate Office Building." She then turned to her two companions. "We'll go to 500 Republica." She then glanced back at Padme, Bail, and the others. "Where are you going?"

"Wherever we're directed to go," Bail said.

"Very well," Shaak Ti said. "Good luck."

The Senators and the droid watched watched the three Jedi race off down the hallway, before they continued to follow the rest of the senators to the main plaza, where Clone Troopers from the Coruscant Guard were setting up defensive positions, and were also herding people into various turbo-lifts that would take them to underground bunkers.

"Come on, keep it moving!"

When Padme's group were about to walk past the clones, one of them blocked their path. "These lifts are filled to capacity. Wait until the next one." The clone officer, Commander Fox, said to Bail Organa.

The group stayed where they were, and waited for an eternity to go by before a lift was finally open. The clone officer who previously halted Padme's group waved signals to his white-armored comrades, and they all stepped aside.

But before they step onto the empty lift, and without warning, two beams of scarlet light stabbed at them from somewhere above the dome of the Senate, ripping through the main plaza.

"Vulture droids, incoming!" One of the clones shouted.

"Take them down!" Fox ordered.

As Bail and Threepio urged Padme into the lift, the Alderaanian senator looked back over his shoulder to see the sky suddenly fill up with blaster bolts from the troopers scattered across the plaza, and plasma turrets began to throw up a wall of flak.

Screams from terrified citizens and politicians were drowned out by the display of Republic firepower.

Padme looked back as well, and her moth fell open in astonishment, as one of the three Vulture droids had its wing sheered off, and began to spin out of control. This was something she had never expected to witness on Coruscant.

The other two began to turn back to make another strafing run. But two Clone Heavy Gunners arrived on scene with rocket launchers, and took up firing positions, and aimed at the incoming droids.

Two rockets flew up into the air.

Both found their mark.

One droid fighter disintegrated completely, but the other one was still in one piece, but still coming in hard.

"Take cover!" One of the clones shouted as droid fighter crashed on the other side of the plaza, and began to skid across it like a rock on a lake.

Citizens, politicians, and troopers alike dove for cover.

When they were in the lift, Bail hit the button, and the doors began to shut.

"We're doomed!" C-3PO said.

But the doors closed in time, and the lift began its descent, just as the Vulture Droid's debris slammed into the side of the building, the explosion causing the lift to vibrate. With tears streaming from her eyes, stricken with a sudden nausea, Padme placed her right hand on her abdomen.

'Anakin,' She said to herself. 'Anakin!'

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Sector 4, Coruscant.

The battle for the heart of the Republic was still raging hard. On a bridge that crossed over a deep gorge and was flanked on either end by large towering statues of Senatorial guardsmen. On the bridge itself, a battalion of clones were trying to hold off thousands of droids that were marching over. The Separatist droids marched across the bridge, and were under heavy fire.

The clones were on one end of the bridge behind several makeshift barriers. But they were struggling to hold their position with both hands. Clone Captain Fordo, a clone with red markings and a shoulder pauldron, was on the bridge speaking into his wrist comm with his back facing the bridge, while his men held the line.

"Sector 4 needs reinforcements! We are being overrun. Repeat, we are-," He stopped mid sentence when he saw one trooper fall beside him and another one withdrawing. He looked behind him to see several SBDs walking over and through the barriers.

One of them was standing atop the barrier right above him.

He turned around and pointed his DC-15a rifle at the closest droid. He fired three blaster rounds at the droid, tearing it apart and causing it to fall over. He felt another droid behind him trying to grab him. Fordo swiftly turned around and bashed his rifle stock across the droid's face, forcing him to the ground before he blasted the downed droid into a pile a scrap. A third droid tried to blast him from behind, but he turned around and threw his now empty rifle at the droid's face. The droid was pushed back, giving Fordo room to reach for his sidearm and blast several chunks out of the droid's head and torso. The veteran clone captain fired his sidearm as he leaned over to reach for a DC-15a rifle from a fallen clone. He picked it up and began to fire it rapidly with one hand, tearing apart several SBDs, as he fired his pistol with the other hand.

Despite his incredible efforts, it was too much. His men were about to be overwhelmed.

He began to wave his pistol hand back as he continued firing his rifle. "Fall Back! Fall back! Fall Back!"

Suddenly, an antlered creature jumped out of no where, carrying a little green goblin looking creature with a lightsaber.

"Hold your positions! Hold your positions!" Master Yoda ordered as his Kybuck rammed into an SBD, smashing it to the ground. As his Kybuck rammed into the droid, Yoda stood on its back and began to slash and plunge his blade through the droids that surrounded him.

As the Clones started to muster up the courage needed to slowly push their way back across the bridge, a vulture droid carrying a dark-skinned Jedi flew right above their heads and crash landed on the bridge. The Jedi jumped off the ship as it plowed through a wave of droids. He landed in the middle of a squad of SBDs and began to punch them with his lightning fast fists. One by one, each droid that tried to subdue him was met by the Jedi's bare fists. He punched them so hard that their circuitry was exposed. As he punched one droid, his lightsaber floated off of his belt and ignited through the head of another droid that got behind him. He swiftly turned around and grabbed the blade to assume a fighting stance.

As explosions dotted the bridge, Master Yoda was able to make out who the Jedi was.

"Master Windu!" Yoda called out as he slashed through another pair of SBDs.

Mace Windu heard who it was and went to join him. Both Jedi stood side by side and channeled their force abilities to push dozens of droid off of either side of the bridge. But more droids took their place and charged across the bridge.

Both Jedi (even Yoda) stood tall as the droids charged towards them. Mace looked back to see Captain Fordo's men rally behind them, rejuvenated by the presence of such powerful allies.

Both Jedi nodded at each other, then looked back at the droids charging down the bridge.

"ATTACK!" Windu called out as he and Yoda ignited their blades and charged into the wave of droids.

The Clones did as they were ordered and followed their generals into battle with a loud battle cry. The Jedi and their men blasted, slashed, and bashed their way through the wall of droids. In the chaos, more powerful explosions began to dot the bridge, blasting clones and droids alike apart or over the side.

But despite the casualties, neither side showed any signs of withdrawing from the chaos.

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500 Republica, Sub-basement.

Captain Dyne stepped cautiously from the platform that had dropped the team into the unexplored depths of 500 Republica. here, at an intersection of spooky corridors made of permacrete and surfaced with panels of plasteel, no water dripped, no insects constructed hives, no conduit worms nursed on electrical current. Strangely, however, the air was stirred by a faint and fresh breeze.

Dyne took a breath to steady his nerves. he was trained for combat, but had spent so many of the past few years doing routine Intelligence work that his once sharp reflexes were shot. Commanding the hovering probe droids to go to stasis mode, he deactivated the handheld processor and hooked it on his belt.

Drawing his Merr-Sonn blaster from his holster, he hefted it, then thumbed off the stun setting switch.

Ahead of him, ghost-like in the dismal light, the commandoes were moving toward the thick door at the end of the hall, keeping close to the walls, with weapons raised. Valiant had the point, with the squad's explosives expert close behind, a thermal detonator in hand.

Dyne stepped between the powered-down pair of probe droids.

They hadn't advanced three meters down the corridor when Dyne's ears pricked up at the sound of servos whining and metal footsteps clanking.

"Did you hear that?" One of the commandoes whispered.

Seconds later, the dark, quiet corridor lit up like a fireworks display and red blaster bolts flew down the hall, striking one of the commandoes square in the faceplate. Before the dead commando hit the ground, Commander Valiant shouted 'weapons free', and the clones fired back at the figures who had attacked them.

Blue and red blaster bolts filled the air.

That's when the team's explosive expert tossed an EC detonator, commonly known as a 'droid-popper', down the hall, frying all of the commando droid's circuits. With the way clear, the clone commandoes advanced down the hall, and one of them placed a small detonator on the door's locking mechanism, while the others stacked up on the walls and sides of the door.

When the detonator was primed, the commando got clear, before the rapidly beeping detonator exploded, knocking out the door's lock.

And as soon as the door started to open, revealing a room filled with blinking equipment, another commando tossed another droid-popper into the room, electrocuting two more commando droids. That's the clone commandoes rushed into the room, and started firing on targets of opportunity, blasting every droid that was in the room, many of them while they were still at their seats.

When all of the droids were dead, the commandoes turned their attention to a throne-like chair, which was facing a holo-table displaying the battle taking place in orbit, which was flanked by screens with scrolling data.

The shadowy figure continued to sit in his throne with the back of it facing the commandoes, before Commander Valiant stepped forward with his dual blasters pointed at the chair, his men doing the same with their blaster rifles.

"Turn around and put your hands behind your back." Valiant ordered.

The throne-like chair rotated to reveal a human of medium height and build looking at them, smiling sinisterly. He then stood up and started cackling, the laughs echoing throughout the room.

He then removed his hood.

Dyne and the clones found themselves to be astonished, because they recognized the man instantly.

'Incredible,' Dyne and the clones thought.

As the Jedi suspected, the Sith had indeed managed to infiltrate the highest levels of the Republic government.

Suddenly, another set of doors were slammed shut behind them by an invisible force, and two of the clones were lifted into the air, and screamed in terror as their bodies were grotesquely twisted and mangled before they died. When the bodies dropped, and to the horror of the men in the room, the figure activated a red lightsaber, and Valiant shouted out to the top of his lungs: "OPEN FIRE!"

The room was filled and illuminated with blue blaster bolts.

But the figure merely batted them away nonchalantly and began to walk towards the clones. Two clones were killed by their own fire, and other one was levitated into the air and flew towards the shadowy figure before being sliced apart by his red lightsaber.

As the clones continued to fight for their lives, in a manner that was considered playful by the dark figure, Captain Dyne tried to pull the door open with another clone, not because they were afraid, but because they had to warn the Jedi, which was becoming more and more futile every time.

Dyne's probe droids started blasting at the figure, who shot lightning out of his fingertips to make them explode, sending shrapnel everywhere and throwing the clones off. The shadow then started using his lightning to make many of the clones disintegrate and vanish into ash.

Valiant turned around to help Dyne and his comrade force the door open one more time.

That's when Valiant's one remaining trooper turned towards the shadow and started firing his blaster, shouting out a battle cry. The Shadow raised his hand and the trooper's blaster bolts froze in midair, before they suddenly flew back into the trooper himself, filling his armor with blaster marks.

Valiant then threw a pair of detonators at the Shadow, but the grenades froze in midair and flew back to Valiant. But when they exploded, the Shadow used the force to contain the explosion, engulfing Valiant in a ball of fire.

The Shadow then casually stepped over Valiant's charred remains to deal with Dyne, who was still trying to pull the door open. He then turned around and got a shot off with his blaster bolt. But the Shadow merely deflected the shot back into Captain Dyne's pistol, making it explode, burning his hand and filling it with metal fragments.

"GAHH!" Dyne shouted before he seethed in pain and dropped to his knees.

He then looked up to see the Shadow standing over him.

"I am most impressed you managed to discover my lair. But it was all hopelessly in vain." The Shadow said.

While still on his knees, Dyne stood up straighter and scowled at the Dark figure. "I've got nothing to say to you, traitor. So do your worst."

"As you wish." The Shadow said before he unleashed the full power of his Sith lighting on Dyne, who screamed in pain as his flesh was turned to ash, followed by his skeleton. And soon, Dyne was nothing but a pile of ashes.

When it was all over, more droids began to enter the room.

Sidious turned to them. "Clear this garbage out of my lair."

As the droids got to work, Darth Sidious walked away and let out a cackle that echoed throughout the depths of 500 Republica.

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Chancellor Palpatine's private residency.

The most powerful man in the galaxy sat in a luxurious, and decorative room, which was modest compared to some senators. The walls and floor were decorated in red, and the Senator filled every spot he could with works of art, mostly from the galaxy beyond Naboo, a sign of the Senator's worldly view.

He sat back and poured himself a cup of tea. When the tea was poured, a distant explosion caused the table to vibrate, shaking the glass and disturbing the liquid in his cup. When the tea settled, the old man wearing blue robes took the glass in his hands, brought it to his lips, and took a sip.

Chancellor Palpatine was watching the Battle of Coruscant unfold outside of his window.

Far off in the distance, Republic and Separatist warships continued to hammer away at each other, release troops onto the battlefield, or launch fighters into the air to dogfight with one another. Explosions continued to rumble in the distance, vibrating the floor beneath his feet. The building had been evacuated. But Palpatine didn't leave. He didn't mind. He was content with sitting back in his chair, in the middle of room, sipping tea, relaxing, and watching his forces protect the Capital.

He smiled before he took another sip of Tea.

But that's when he heard a chime at the door.

"Come in," he said.

When the door slid open with a hiss, three Jedi, a squad of clones, and several of the Chancellor's elite red guards filed into the room. The three jedi were Shaak Ti, a togrutan who was a member of the Jedi council, along with a Talz named Foul Moudama, and an ithorian named Roron Corobb.

"Supreme Chancellor, we must get you to your shelter immediately," Shaak Ti said.

Palpatine was very calm. He turned his chair around to face his allies and then stood up.

"But the battle is so far off," Palpatine said calmly.

"Please Supreme Chancellor," Shaak Ti urged. "We must follow safety protocol, and get you to-".

"I will not cower in the face of this treacherous attack," Palpatine said adamantly.

Suddenly, a faint banging sound began to pound through the ceiling. It caused everyone in the room to tense up. The clones and the Jedi looked around. They scanned the ceiling, they looked at the windows, and back at the door, trying to pinpoint the exact direction that the sound was coming from. The Chancellor looked up at the ceiling in confusion.

"What is... that... gah, what is that sound?" He asked.

The pounding sound got louder, which meant that it was getting closer and closer. That's when Shaak Ti began to use her Lekku's echolocation. She began to hear clanking metal and servos whining. It was a sound that she alone had experience with, of all the people in this room. And as she remembered correctly, it was an experience that nearly led to her demise on Hypori.

"We have to go! Now!" She urged.

That's when the sound suddenly stopped.

The Chancellor looked up at the ceiling and smiled. Then he looked back at the Jedi

"Mmmh. See? It was nothing," Palpatine said as a familiar cyborg poked his head into everyone's view while still outside.

Everyone tensed up.

"Chancellor-," Shaak Ti tried to say before the cyborg swung from the edge of the roof and smashed through the window. The Chancellor was thrown to the ground and glass flew everywhere.

Palpatine tried to get up. That's when a shadow was cast over him. He turned and looked up with surprise as he saw a large skeleton looking cyborg towering above him.

One of the fiercest adversaries the Republic has ever faced: General Grievous.

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Well folks, that was part 11. Part 12'll be right around the corner.

Keep an eye out for it.

Until next time, this is Grubkiller, over and out.