3rd person POV...
Utapau System...
Obi-Wan rushed over to Commander Cody on his mount, stopping before his trusted commander and good friend. "Commander, contact your troops! Tell them to move to the higher levels!" he orders.
"Very good sir," Cody says in agreement.
Satisfied, Obi-Wan turns away to re-enter the battle before Cody stops him, remembering something.
"Oh by the way, I think you'll be needing this!" he says, handing Obi-Wan his lightsaber with a small grin of amusement. Obi-Wan takes it with a smile on his face.
"Thank you Cody. Now lets get a move on, we've got a battle to win here!" Obi-Wan says, snapping the reins. His mount takes off with a fierce cry, and they start to climb to cliff side towards the other levels to assist in the battle.
Cody watches them go with a smile, putting his helmet back on. He grabs his rifle, about to head upwards with his men when his communicator beeps. Curious, he takes it off of his belt and accepts the call, wondering who it could be. To his surprise and confusion, and scarred old man appears, garbed in a black robe. Who is this?
"Commander Cody. The time has come. Execute Order, 66!" the cloaked man orders.
It's as if someone flicked a switch in his mind. He straightens up obediently, the chip in his head forcing him to accept the orders without question, and his friendship to Kenobi and Shan is forgotten. He receives knowledge that the Jedi betrayed the Republic, and must be dealt with. Good soldiers follow orders for the good of the Republic. It is his duty... all around him his men feel the same way.
"It will be done my lord." Cody promises obediently, ending the transmission.
He looks up for where the Jedi is scaling the wall with his mount, and gets the attention of one of his tanks.
"Blast him!" the commander orders.
The AT-TE gunner nods, following his commanders order, and turns the massive cannon in the direction of the Jedi, anticipating where he will move, and fires. A massive, blue laser bolt shoots out from the tank and slams into the cliff side just in front of the Jedi.
Obi-Wan widens his eyes in shock and horror as his lizard mount cries out in terror, being dislodged from the wall. That blast came from his own troops! What were they doing! He and his mount fall from the wall, all the way down through the air to the bottom of the massive hole, Obi-Wan stunned in shock the entire time. His mount continues to cry out in fear and pain as they separate. He just barely manages to brace himself before hitting the water.
The impact might as well have been on stone itself, with how high he fell. Luckily he managed to use the Force to soften his fall enough that it would cause serious injury, although he no doubt will have bruises later...
WHAT IS GOING ON?!
Mygeeto System...
Jedi Master Ki-Adi Mundi advanced down the line with his troopers, making headway on the platform in order to push back the Separatists. The combat has been fierce, lasting for weeks, but he and his group have persisted, and are now nearing victory. A separatist Tri-Pod droid walker swivels its cannon and fires, taking out one of their tanks. It's now or never.
Ki-Adi Mundi deflects many shots, scoring hits right back on the droids and clearing a path for them to go through. He turns around and waves his lightsaber to rally his troopers.
"Come on!" he cries out, charging for the enemy to finish the battle.
His clone troopers follow after him, prepared to do the same when they suddenly stop, preparing their blasters and lining up in formation. Ki-Adi turns around in confusion, and is bewildered and horrified to see the clones all aiming directly at him. What are they doing?!
The clones raise their blasters and open fire. The Jedi Master swings his lightsaber as fast as he can, deflecting many blasts and managing to take out a few troopers, but it is too much, and he is unprepared. The clones overpower the Jedi, shooting too many blaster bolts for him to handle, and their break through his defenses, blue lasers piercing through his chest repeatedly.
Ki-Adi stumbles back in agony, dropping his lightsaber and falling to the ground. By the time his body stopped moving he was already dead, as the clones rush up to make sure.
Felucia System...
Jedi Knight Aayla Secura is patrolling through the forests of he planet Felucia with her trusted Commander Bly, in search of the Separatist army that was reported to be hiding here. Behind them, a large platoon of clone troopers and walkers follow, all having the same mission.
Aayla turns around a large tree and spots the droid army as Bly rushes up to her.
"Bly, ready the men for battle," she says.
"They are ready," Bly responds.
The sound of blasters cocking makes Aayla glance behind her in confusion, only to widen her eyes in horror as the clones all aim at her. She raises her arms in surrender, trying to come to a peaceful solution, but before she can speak, the clones open fire.
Blue lasers pierce through her back as she falls to the ground, dead the moment her body hits the dirt. However the clones and Bly continue firing relentlessly into her corpse, doing what all good clones do, follow orders...
Kashyyyk System...
Grandmaster Yoda drops his grimmer stick in horror, stumbling back as he feels all of the pain and agony and terror through the Force. One by one, the lights in the galaxy that symbolize a Jedi scattered across the stars are snuffed out, helpless to do anything.
He raises a hand to his forehead in an attempt to soothe the pain, but relief will never come. An expression of absolute grief fills his face, and for the first time in his long life, Master Yoda begins to cry, his eyes welling up with tears at all of the suffering felt through the Force.
The Jedi failed... the Sith have defeated them...
Mandalore System...
"Well, looks like the mighty Sith Lord has fallen," Ahsoka taunted, smirking at Maul as he glared at her angrily. She and Rex, as well as the clones had managed to lure him into a trap, and now they had finally captured Maul with a ray shield, surrounding him.
"You will suffer dearly for this insult Lady Tano!" Maul roars, banging a fist against the shield.
"Yeah, good luck with that. Just imagine the fun Jarik will have messing with you," she says in amusement, and Rex laughs in amusement while Maul growls angrily in rage.
"Alright men, we've had our fun! Let's finish the remaining Shadow Collective forces and transport Maul back to Coruscant!" Rex orders the men.
To their confusion, none of the clones say anything, and Ahsoka eyes them warily. "Are you alright troopers?" she asks in concern.
Suddenly the Force screams in pain and fear, and Ahsoka clutches her head with a hiss of pain, shutting her eyes tightly. Rex takes notice and rushes to her side.
"Commander, are you alright?" he asks in worry.
"Ahsoka... clones... they've turned on us... RUUNN!" Jarik's voice screams in her mind. She gasps in horror, looking up to see Rex nearby, and then the clones suddenly cock their blasters, aiming them for Ahsoka. She backs up with wide eyes, and Rex whips around to face them. Maul stops glaring at Ahsoka and stares around his prison in confusion, looking thoughtful before smirking sinisterly.
"It appears they have a new master..." he muses quietly.
"Troopers? What are you doing?! Stand down!" Rex orders angrily, hands on his pistols.
"Good soldiers follow orders sir," Jesse replies in a monotone voice.
Beneath his helmet, Rex widens his eyes in shock and horror, remembering the last time he heard those words, from Tup...
"No..." he whispers in terror.
"What are you doing?!" Ahsoka cries out, backing away with her lightsabers activated while Rex pulls out his pistols, aiming at the clones. "Don't do this brother's... please!" he pleads with them.
"Kill, the Jedi," Jessie says in a trance, and the clones open fire. Rex leaps to he side and Ahsoka scrambles away in a panic, blocking the many blaster bolts with her lightsabers, not understanding what was going on. What was happening... is Jarik alright?! Rex fires at the clones with his twin pistols set to stun, taking out a few before they turn their attention to him, with kill shots.
Ahsoka widens her eyes in fear and confusion. She doesn't know what is wrong with the clones, but Rex seems to be on her side, always has been. She has to save him!
"Rex!" she cries out, thrusting her hands forward. Rex is blown out of the way by a Force push, and the clones refocus their fire on her, advancing quickly. She deflects the shots back at them with tears in her eyes as they fall to the ground dead. Why were the clones attacking her and Rex...?
Jessie suddenly tackles her to the ground, and she loses her grip on her lightsabers. They roll for a few moments before Jessie leaps up, aiming his blaster at Ahsoka's face. She raises her hands in helpless defense, shutting her eyes.
"Jessie! No!" Rex cries out, firing his pistol. The laser hits the trooper dead in the chest, and he falls to the ground with a smoking hole in his chest. Rex no longer had stun mode on his pistol... he killed his own.
Ahsoka eyes him fearfully as he stands there, hands shaking before blaster fire resumes. She leaps up and calls her lightsaber a to her with the Force, reactivating them to deflect the shots. Rex unfreezes and shoots back, killing clones as the two run away as fast as they can.
As the clones chase after the two, Maul takes the opportunity to break out of his prison, since no one is around to keep him contained...
Jarik POV...
I ran through the hallways, unsure of what to do, but slicing through any clones I came across. I didn't want to kill them, I didn't know what to do! But there was nothing I could do for the clones... Fives was right. There were chips in every clone to force them to comply, and it was too late to prevent it now. The archives had been destroyed after a line of clones tossed in dozens of thermal detonators. I barely escaped after a few pillars collapsed, separating me from that room. Most likely the Jedi in there were dead now.
I slid around the corner, stopping upon seeing a patrol of clones. They looked at me, and I got into a challenging stance, activating my lightsaber. The clones opened fire, and I ran straight at them, blocking their shots or dodging them. When I reached the patrol, I leaped over their heads, lashing out with my lightsaber and slicing their heads clean off, quick and painlessly.
I tried to convince myself that it was better to end their tragic lives than let them be slaves to a Sith Lord forcing them to do something I know they would be horrified at.
Continuing on through the Temple, I rushed through clone patrols and past Jedi who were fighting for their lives, fighting back against the army that continued to come, without limit. The Force was full of the dark side here, and the lights that represented fellow Jedi through to Force were all being snuffed out one by one. I could only hope that Ahsoka got my warning before the clones turned on her.
As long as the bond was intact, she was fine. Oh, she was going to be devasted when Rex turned on her...
I was shaken out of my thoughts when a terrified cry pierced through the air. I looked through another doorway to see of all people, Petro and Katooni lying on the ground, clones poised over them with their blasters raised. Feeling a rush of anger, I charged at the clones and raised a hand, unleashing a massive Force push.
The clones went flying against the far wall, and others not caught in the blast looked over as Petro and Katooni looked at me with wide, relieved eyes. Blue laser fire shot for me, and I rolled underneath it, coming up and slamming my metal fist into one's helmet. The visor cracks, and the trooper goes flying into a wall unconscious. I reignite my lightsaber and slash the chest of the last clone, the rest knocked out from the blast. Turning to the younglings I deactivate my lightsaber, and they gleam at me.
"Padawan Shan!" Petro exclaims in grateful joy.
"It's good to see you two," I greet quickly with a small smile. "Where's the rest of your clan?"
Their faces fall, and tears start to leak out of their eyes. "They're... they're dead. Master Sinube as well..." Katooni whispers in grief. Petro nods along with her.
I widen my eyes in horror and sadness, and pull the two youglings into a hug. They shouldn't have to suffer through this...
"I'm sorry..." I tell them quietly as they both cry.
"Why would the clones do this?!" Petro exclaims angrily.
"I'm not sure," I say quietly, not having the heart to tell him that the clones are being controlled against their will. Another nearby explosions makes me look up, and I release the younglings.
"Alright, we need to go now. Do you two have your lightsabers?" I ask them. They nod in response, eyes hardening as they hold them up for me to see. I nod in response.
"Good. We're making a rush for the hanger," I tell them.
"But... the Temple! We have to fight!" Petro protests.
"There's no argument, the Temple is gone, and the Republic is no longer safe for Jedi!" I say sternly, heading towards the door and raising up my comlink.
"R5, R5 you there? Get a shuttle ready in the hanger, we're leaving!" I tell him.
R5 squeals back in fear and confusion but I overlap his voice. "Don't ask questions, just get it done there's no time!"
Before he can reply, I shut off the comlink and open the door, checking the hallway before nodding to the younglings. "We're clear, come on. Follow my lead," I order them.
Katooni and Petro nod in understanding and follow me out the door, where we then break into a sprint. Out in the main hallways the sound of combat and death cries is much more audible, but I keep pressing the two on. We can't afford to stop in his situation, no mater how hard it is for them.
Rushing in the direction of the hanger, I wave my hand and slam an approaching group of clones to the side harshly with the Force, allowing us to pass. They shoot after us, but we're already out of range, and Petro deflects a stray blaster bolt that gets to close, as we all have our lightsabers activated right now.
It's a scary and intense rush to the hanger for us, since it is still so far away, and a much larger patrol of clones suddenly appears, and upon noticing Crys, Trapper and Woolley among them, I stop, Katooni and Petro behind me with nervous and angry looks on their faces.
"Crys, you don't have to do this." I tell the trooper hopefully.
"Good soldiers follow orders commander," he replies in a monotone voice, raising a blaster.
"Alright, maybe you do," I respond sarcastically, raising my lightsaber. The younglings do the same in response, and the clones open fire. The three of us start deflecting the blue laser bolts, but I can see Katooni and Petro struggling to do so, not being as experienced as I am. I move slowly to the side, shoving them along and the get the message, hiding behind one of the pillars. I raise a hand and blast the troopers with the Force, knocking them onto their backs.
"We're cut off!" Katooni exclaims fearfully as I take cover behind the pillar.
A nearby door suddenly opens, and a figure pokes heir head out. "This way! Come on!" he shouts, waving his hand.
"Go, go!" I tell them, shoving the younglings forwards and following after. The clones get back up and open fire, and I turn around, blocking the shots as I move backwards into the door. Once through, I slash the control panel so that it can't be opened, and turn around, only to stare in shock.
That shock turns to anger and defensiveness when I see Boil there, the younglings glaring at him, and I immediately rush forwards, lightsaber raised.
"Commander wait, it's me! Boil!" he exclaims, dropping his blaster and raising his arms. My lightsaber stops an inch from his neck, as I stare into his visor suspiciously.
"I know that," I say dangerously. "What game are you playing?" I demand.
"Sir, I'm not with them! They're being forced with inhibitor chips! I removed mine, I swear!" he pleads quickly, keeping his arms raised.
"That's ridiculous! You're a bunch of murderers!" Petro exclaims angrily, but I raise a hand out to him placatingly, keeping my focus on Boil.
"I know about the chips, but what proof do you have that you removed yours?" I demand, keeping my saber at his neck.
Boil slowly takes his hands to his helmet, lifting it off to make sure I can see his every movement, revealing his face underneath. His eyes are wide, uncertain, carrying fear and sadness. He drops his helmet and points to his head, where I recognize the scar from earlier.
"I got mine out; so did Rex. Me, Rex, and Wolfee all got ours out not too long ago," he says quickly. I look him in the eyes, and probe him with the Force carefully, searching for any sign of deceit. After a few moments I nodded, lowering my lightsaber and deactivated it.
"What are you doing? You can't trust him!" Petro protests.
"The clones are killing us!" Katooni says in agreement.
"Not voluntarily they aren't," I tell them. "Boil's right about the chips. I've been looking into them for the last few months, to know avail."
Boil sighs in relief. "Thank you Commander."
The door behind us begins to spark, which means the clones on the other side are cutting through.
"We have to get to the hanger. R5 is waiting there with a ship," I remind the others, and Boil nods, putting his helmet back on and picking up his blaster. "Yes sir," he says in understanding.
Petro and Katooni glare at Boil, and I usher them forwards. "You can be mad at him later you two, right now we have a Temple to escape."
The four of us raced through the Temple, blasting through multiple Clone patrols on our way to the hanger. Dead Jedi and clones littered the hallways, and battle passed by all around us as the Jedi struggled to fight back against the overwhelming clone forces. Boil was proving to be really helpful, scouting out areas for us and shooting clones down before they could realize what happened. I could sense how much it pained him, having to kill his own brothers in such a way, but we pressed on.
"We're almost to the hanger!" I told the others, blasting a clone away with the Force before we raced on, turning the corner to reveal the last stretch between us and our escape ship. We stop immediately upon seeing what was in front of us, our eyes widened in horror and shock.
Three Jedi of varying ages were battling fiercely against a single cloaked individual, whose presence was full of the dark side. He wielded a blue lightsaber, and suddenly grabbed one of the Jedi in a choke hold with his hand, easily holding back the others with his lightsaber. He stabs one Jedi, and the one in his grip is killed with a loud crack, their neck having been broken, and their body tossed aside. The Last Jedi fights desperately, now fighting on their own.
"Oh no..." I whispered fearfully.
"A Sith..." Petro whispers in shock, before his gaze becomes one of fierce determination. "We can take him!" he exclaims, rushing forwards with his lightsaber.
"Petro!" Katooni cries. I reach forward with wide eyes.
"Petro no! Stop!" I cry out, moving forwards after him, by it is to late.
The final Jedi is cut down by the Sith, and just as Petro is about to leap at him, he turns around, raising his arm. All of a sudden Petro is pulled violently towards the Sith, and the blue lightsaber is impaled through his chest. Petro gasps in agony and shock.
I widen my eyes in horror, as Petro's body falls lifelessly off of the blue blade.
"PETRO!" Katooni cries out, her voice in painful agony, and she lunges forwards in a panic. I just barely manage to hold her back and shove her to Boil, who grabs onto her, he being just as horrified.
"Get her to the ship!" I exclaim, and Boil nods, at a loss for words and pulls Katooni with him. She cries and screams, her whole demeanor filled with grief as they rush off to the sides for an alternate route to the hanger.
The Sith Lord looks directly at me, and even from this distance I can see the yellow in his eyes, his gaze full of hate. His hood is up so I can't see who it is, and I pull out my lightsaber, holding it in front of me defensively.
"So you're the Chancellor's new lap dog?" I question with narrowed eyes. He doesn't respond, but I sense his anger in the Force increase.
"Ok," I mutter worriedly, and the Sith charges at me like a bullet. I leap to the side, and his strike just barely misses me. I roll to my feet but he's already on me, hammering away. I deflect his strikes as fast as I can, finding it increasingly difficult to defend against his ferocity and obvious skill with the blade. I shove him back and raise my hand, unleashing a Force blast, but he simply tanks it, the only sign it happened being his cloak fluttering, before responding in kind, sending me against the wall.
I groan in pain as I hit a column, getting back up to see the Sith advancing. I raise my lightsaber weakly, already feeling exhausted just from this short bit against such an obviously powerful foe. At the end of the hallway a door opens and Boil walks through right in front of the hanger door, still holding onto a thrashing Katooni.
"Commander, come on!" he cries out, opening the door.
The Sith whips around, and I use his distraction to my advantage, jumping straight at him. He turns to face me, raising his blade to defend himself, but instead of attacking I jump off of his chest, swiping my lightsaber and grazing his hood, flipping over him before taking off.
Boil rushes through the door with Katooni, and hits he button to close it, having gone through this scenario many times with me. The Force screams in warning and I duck to the ground, stumbling as the lightsaber is thrown at me through the air, before being called back to the Sith with the Force. I turn around and gather as much power as I can, unleashing it against him.
The Sith raises his hands and blocks the attack, but his torn hood falls in response, and he lowers his arms, glaring back at me with furious, yellow eyes.
I gasp in response, standing here frozen in horror, not believing my eyes. It... it can't be...
"You will all die! Traitors!" Anakin Skywalker spits out, only this is not the Anakin I know... what...?
"Anakin?" I whisper, horrified. "What are you doing?!"
"Seeing the truth for what it is!" he exclaims angrily, reactivating his lightsaber with a harsh hiss.
"Commander! Come on!" Boil screams, and I'm broken out of my shock, and scramble for the closing door as fast as I can. I can't take on Anakin... how could he?!
Running as fast as I can, I can sense Anakin right on my heels about to swing his lightsaber, and just as the doors are about to close, I slip through. Anakin's lightsaber stabs through he door after me, and he begins cutting through the door. I stumble across the ground, and Boil pulls me up to my feet. Katooni had finally come to her senses, and was standing by the shuttle, where R5 beeped over at us loudly.
"Come on!" she yelled, and behind us, the door exploded. Me and Boil rushed for the shuttle, the trooper firing back with his blaster as Anakin and clone troopers rushed into the hanger.
"R5, go!" I yelled, jumping into the shuttle, Boil a moment behind me. R5 complies without any complaints, and the shuttle immediately takes off, the ramp closing in response. Blue blaster bolts hit the side of the ship, and Anakin is no doubt about to strike, but R5 blasts the ship out of the hanger at high speeds, getting as fast away from the Temple as possible.
From the outside, it looks awful. The Temple is basically glowing in the night sky, massive plumes of smoke rising from it, and fires of great magnitude flaring angrily out the sides.
I collapse into a seat, and Katooni sits beside me, tears in her eyes. Boil remains standing, but he is leaning heavily against the wall, emotionally exhausted and horrified.
Katooni starts to cry again, and I put an arm around her in response, staring at the ground with dull, unthinking eyes. All I could think about was Anakin's betrayal...
Why would he do this...?
Jedi Temple, 3rd person POV...
Clones stormed into the room, securing the perimeter before deeming it empty of all Jedi traitors. A cell door was opened, and the lone figure inside looked up in confusion.
"What's going on?" Barriss Offee asked. "Why is there so much blaster fire?"
She was wearing Force binders, which cut off her connection to the Force. She couldn't sense anything going on, but she could hear the chaos above.
"The Chancellor and Lord Vader are offering you a chance to redeem yourself former Jedi Offee," a clone states in a monotone voice.
She eyes him warily, unsure of what the Chancellor would have to do with her.
Man, that was an emotional chapter. I'm not the best with writing scenes that involve lots of senses of betrayal, fear, and horror, but I hope I did my best! :O
Ahsoka and Rex are in the fight for their lives to escape, Jedi all around the galaxy are dying, and Jarik realized the horrible truth that Anakin was seduced by the dark side.
What could the Sith want with Barriss Offee...?
