Warning: There are dark and violent scenes.
Chapter 13 - The Temple Ruins
The steps that edge along the ledge
Is much higher than it seems
That I've been on that ledge before
You can't hide yourself from me
-X-
It was the beauty and engineering that attracted Anakin's eye to the BSG-16 airspeeder as it entered the Jedi Temple's hanger bay. Although he possessed a strong desire to take it for a test drive as a means to get into the Temple, he knew that idea was ludicrous.
After two days of reconnaissance The Erased discovered why there was so much Imperial activity at the Jedi Temple. It was now the Headquarters for the Emperor's Inquisitors. That information was more than enough to anger The Erased, more so Anakin, Barriss and Ferus, until they discovered the Inquisitors were Dark Side Adepts.
It would take more skill and stealth than Anakin and Barriss anticipated if they were going to get into the Temple undetected. The BSG-16 belonged to Inquisitor Noémi Rioux, who loved to dine at the upscale restaurant, Baccalá. Ironically, Anakin had already dined there and knew the layout of the building which helped them figure out the details for the first step of the plan.
With their electrobinoculars focused on the restaurant, Anakin and Barriss waited on the top floor of the parking garage across the skyway from Baccalá. While the cuisine and decor were Mon Calamarian, the architecture had to fit the standards for Coruscant. The hybrid design made Baccalá look like a giant fish bowl in the middle of a durasteel jungle. This was an advantage since the domed windows gave Anakin and Barriss a clear view into the restaurant.
After studying Inquisitor Rioux's routine The Erased discovered she liked to dine late in the evening. This worked to Anakin's advantage. He wouldn't have to come up with an excuse to avoid going to dinner with his coworkers. The disadvantage was that he wouldn't get any sleep tonight and would be exhausted tomorrow during the last day of the Imperial Engineers' Convention.
"Rioux is here," Barriss announced. Through their electrobinoculars Anakin and Barriss watched her walking along the skyway. Though they were unfamiliar with her species, she looked like a cross between a human and a bird, with pale blue skin, and long, white feathery hair.
Once she was inside Baccalá, the host seated Rioux without hesitation. A Mon Calamarian waitress came by right away to take her order.
"I don't think we have much time," Anakin said. "She probably knows the menu by heart."
"We have the coordinates. Let's go," Barriss stated. Trever had hacked into the garage's security holocams to watch where Rioux parked three levels down. Getting there would be an obstacle, even with Trevor's help. Along the way the two Jedi had to be sure to avoid the view of the security holocams, even though it would be hard to see them since they were masked and dressed head to toe in black.
Anakin and Barriss came down the stairway and approached the door to the correct level. They sensed all was clear, but knew from the floor plans they memorized a holocam pointed towards their door. Anakin pressed a button on the wristband concealed beneath his sleeve. When he felt a slight vibration, that was Trever's sign that they were clear of the holocams' view.
They then swiftly moved along the wall and carefully maneuvered their way to Rioux's airspeeder in the middle of the lot. A risky place to be seen breaking into a vehicle, but for a short time they were not being watched. Nonetheless, while Anakin kept a look out Barriss opened the aft compartment with the code Trevor procured for them.
Barriss stepped aside and gestured for Anakin to crawl in first. Once he positioned himself as far back as he could go, Barriss climbed in and closed the compartment door.
The space was tight for two adults, leaving Anakin and Barriss feeling uncomfortably intimate. Anakin was perfectly still as Barriss shifted into as comfortable a spooning position as possible.
Minutes of awkward silence soon became meditation, shielding their presence as they waited for Rioux to return. After some time they heard the sound of the lift followed by soft footsteps approaching.
Even Rioux's walk was birdlike as she glided to her speeder. Without an inkling that something was suspicious she got into her luxurious vehicle and headed to the Inquisitor's Headquarters.
x
The BSG-16 flew like a dream and Rioux was an exceptional pilot. Anakin and Barriss barely shifted in their close quarters. The only indication that they approached the Jedi Temple was when they heard the voices of the Stormtroopers at the security checkpoint of the tower hanger. The Jedi had switched on their electronic wristbands to send out a false signal to the Stormtroopers' instruments so they could not detect a difference in weight or temperature. Just as Ferus promised, they passed the screening.
Within each of the four spires of the Temple was a three-story hanger facility. The garage for individual ships and airspeeders was on the main level. After Rioux parked Anakin and Barriss waited a few minutes till they knew for sure the coast was clear. This time Trever could not hack into the security cams to help the Jedi avoid detection. Opening the compartment just enough to peek out, Barriss looked for any cams pointed in their direction, and used the Force to turn them away.
Free from the confines of the compartment they crawled their way under ships and between speeders to an entrance of the service corridor. The service corridors ran parallel to the halls and chambers through most of the Temple. They were once used by the Temple employees and droids to move supplies, machinery, and even the laundry around unnoticed.
It looked like the service corridors were not being used at all either because of budget concerns or it was not a necessity for the Inquisitors. Before the Purge the service corridors were softly lit and always active no matter the time. Now Anakin and Barriss made their way through the pitch black passageways with glowrods as their only source of light. Anakin thought back to his teenage years when he used come through these corridors to sneak out of the Temple to go to the junk yards. All these years later he could still navigate the labyrinth well. Still, it was not the most ideal way to get around the Temple. A tremendous time saver was that Rioux parked in the Tower of First Knowledge, where the Jedi Archives were located. It was speculated by The Erased that the reason the Inquisitors were using The Jedi Temple as their headquarters was because of the Archives.
Peeking out through the door Anakin could see down the First Hall of the Jedi Archives. Before The Purge the First Hall was considered the main entrance to the Archives. At the center was a great rotunda with computer terminals, which allowed access to any information in the four halls, narrowing down a search to a specific area. Anakin could see why the Emperor would want to keep it intact. There was an unfathomable collection of knowledge and artifacts dating back thousands of years, from different civilizations, as well as thousands of holocrons stored within its vaults.
Jocasta Nu would have been heartbroken if she saw the Archives in the possession of the Empire. Her essence lingered in the atmosphere of this place and Anakin swore he could hear her whispering her famous mantra, "If an item does not appear in our records, it does not exist."
Anakin could vividly picture what the First Hall looked like the night of The Purge; Master Nu, and the other librarians defending themselves and the Archives till their last breath. He could sense their panic and surprise mixed with courage and determination. They were outnumbered by the Clone Troopers. As the Jedi and Padawans were shot down by the Clones a hooded figure stepped out, lifted Master Nu off the floor with the Force and impaled her through the chest with a blue lightsaber.
Anakin jumped. Barriss gave him a strange look and then telepathically apologized. She did not mean to startle him as she crept over his shoulder to take a peek as well. Although it was the middle of the night some Inquisitors were nocturnal and were going through the stacks of records. Waltzing down the hallway and using the terminals in the rotunda was out of the question. They needed to avoid, or at the very least stall being discovered.
Barriss reached out to Anakin's mind, "Let's use one of the private rooms in the Study Hall."
Within the Study Hall were private rooms once used by the Jedi to review and collect research when they were preparing for missions. When Anakin and Barriss found an empty room they realized the Inquisitors were using them as their private offices. There were several computer terminals in sleep mode. There was a couch with the impression of a body that had been sitting, and the light above the garbage chute told them it was completely full. Anakin and Barriss had no way of knowing if the person using this office would be gone all night or would be returning soon.
They sat at their own terminals and immediately got to work by hooking each computer to a small data pad. It would be able to open low security files, decode the encryption and download the information.
Anakin wasted no time and searched for information on Avel when he was a Padawan, his former master, and their missions. He searched by looking through the list of Padawans who resigned before Knighthood in the last two decades. Then he looked up the list of Masters who died during a mission. As was already suspected there was nothing. Avel had deleted his file and his Master's. Defeated he turned to Barriss, "Find anything?"
"Possibly," Barriss answered as she searched for new data added within the past year. With enough time the program on their data pad could decode a few files, but they expected most of them were so heavily encrypted it would take a skilled slicer a few weeks to crack them open.
Anakin moved on to search for the most accessed Archive files. Most were the personal journals of the Jedi Council. Anakin could only imagine what details the Inquisitors were looking for in those memoirs. He would theorize later, right now with the opportunity at his fingertips he was going to find some information to satisfy his own curiosity.
He did not have the high level clearance before the Purge to search the records, but he hoped he could get through the system now. His fingers quickly typed "Darth Plagueis."
The results came on screen immediately: "No results found."
While Anakin was not surprised, he was annoyed. The Council would say it was their responsibility to eradicate all Sith teachings and their artifacts throughout the galaxy. That doesn't mean they did. It would not have been the first time the Jedi withheld information.
"Anakin," Barriss interrupted and pointed to the screen as a list of names scrolled by. Anakin looked over and was confused until he saw his own name, Obi-Wan and Barriss on the list. It was a list of the Jedi who escaped during Order 66.
Wanting a closer look Anakin stood up with such urgency he startled Barriss. Then her senses were alarmed when she felt an ominous presence.
The doors opened as Inquisitor Noémi Rioux entered. Surprised she jolted back then drew her blaster on the unidentifiable figures. All she could tell from their frames was that a male and female humanoid were in her office.
From across the room Anakin deflected her blaster shots with just his hand and then took her weapon. It was no secret now that Jedi infiltrated the building.
Raising her arms and jerking them to the side, Barriss threw the Inquisitor into the service corridor. There was no lock but it would take a while for Rioux to figure out how to open the door in complete darkness. "Open this door!" she demanded.
Grabbing the data pad the Jedi ran down the hall. It wasn't long before Stormtroopers were chasing them down, and their weapons were not set to stun. Anakin didn't bother to turn and shoot back.
"Plan B!" Anakin communicated. As he and Barriss ran toward the lifts they combined their power to open the doors in time to jump down the shaft. As they accelerated down they knew a crash at the bottom would break them. Before that could happen Anakin took a wire from his belt and swung the end to catch any mechanical part as leverage. Grabbing Barriss he altered their course through an opening in the speed and sudden turnabout was a perfect combination for a tumbled landing.
Barriss found herself face down on stone and dirt, but that was not the first thing she noticed. The room was filled with a foul, moldy stench. Barriss concealed her coughs with her hand. She lifted her head and saw a jungle of brown and black dried up vines, leaves and flowers. Scorch marks from blasters scarred the walls and the dismantled catwalks. There was no sound from the waterfalls. That rhythmic sound used to be her favorite thing about this place.
The Room of a Thousand Fountains once filled with beauty and peace was a place for Jedi to meditate and reflect. The only reflection Barriss saw now was decay.
This was no time to mourn. She found Anakin lying just a few feet away in a dried up river bed and got him to sit up. "Anakin?"
He groaned in response, but more so because the back of his head was throbbing. Opening his eyes was a mistake. The room was spinning as figures battled. Clone Troopers fired their weapons at Jedi and Padawans who fought back valiantly. The light from their weapons flared and flashed around like a kaleidoscope. Anakin closed his eyes but it didn't stop the blaster bolts that whooshed by his ears.
When he opened his eyes the Clone Troopers were being led by a hooded man. His blue lightsaber slashing the Jedi who stood in his path. With each death Anakin felt their life extinguish and a fiery pit formed in his chest. He screamed in rage, and agony, and frustration. He couldn't do anything to stop it because he couldn't move. A numbness crawled over him, starting with his head and then spreading. The vision of the blaster shots and swinging lightsabers blurred and reshaped. Anakin blinked to regain his focus and saw cerulean blue eyes staring into his. The face was masked but there was no mistaking her presence and healing abilities.
Barriss was in state of concentration as her palms rested on Anakin's temples. He took her hands away and mouthed the words, "I'm fine."
They both became alert to the sound of marching echoing in the room. "Then let's move. They tracked us faster because they heard you screaming." Barriss took the blaster from Anakin and led the way to the service corridor. With the exits blocked and the place on high alert there was no where to go but up.
After navigating the dark passageways, running up many flights of stairs throughout the Temple, and taking a few different lifts they made it to the High Council Chambers.
Upon entering Barriss shivered. It was deserted, freezing, and in disarray. A layer of dust and ash covered the floor and twelve empty chairs. The chairs were not in their perfect circle but randomly scattered and thrown around the room. Scorch marks streaked the walls. The windows that had been blown out were covered with clear tarpaulin. The lights of Coruscant's nightlife seemed so far away in this chamber of death and sorrow.
Though her heart ached and she yearned to grieve, it was time to go. She double checked the straps and buckles wrapped around her. "I'm good to go. You?" Barriss turned to see Anakin was completely still, his eyes watching something only his mind could see.
"Anakin," she reached out to his clouded mind. Quickly she checked his straps. "This is not the time for PTSD episode. Wake up!"
Behind her she heard the doors to the lift open. Inquisitor Rioux and ten Stormtroopers stepped out.
"Blast!" Barriss thought. Not knowing what else to do she acted on impulse. A Force push sent Anakin toward the edge of the glassless window, then she shot repeatedly at the tarpaulin. The blaster blots melted a space large enough for both of them to fit through.
"Freeze and put your weapon down!" Inquisitor Rioux ordered in a predatory manner.
Out of the corner of her eye Barriss saw Anakin give a slight nod. Finally he answered her question. Dropping her blaster and grabbing his hand, the Jedi jumped.
Their parachutes released and Anakin and Barriss sailed along the Coruscant sky, slowly descending to the under levels. Neither one bothered to look back at the Temple.
They were almost positive they were not being followed or tracked, but still their plan was to be extra cautious. Once they landed they did not head straight back to Thugger's Alley.
Barriss pulled off her hood and mask, then released the parachute from her back. She threw the parachute in an empty barrel and ignited it. "What happened to you back there?"
Anakin threw his parachute in as well. For a moment he just stared at the flames. "I had a vision." Then he turned and walked down the alley, "We should keep moving."
Barriss quickly caught up. "What did you see?"
Anakin didn't know how to answer since he was not quite sure himself. It could have just been a vision of the past, but how would he explain the hooded figure he saw leading the Clone Troopers? "I saw what happened that night."
"Burning stars," Barriss whispered. "Let me examine your head." She went to pull off his hood but he swatted her hand away.
"You can look at it later," he snapped.
They took the long way round back to Thugger's Alley through junk yards, abandoned buildings, skyways, and outdated lifts. The silence made the trek feel longer. When they reached the Orange District an hour later they were more than positive they were not tracked.
Everyone in the Erased was waiting with anticipation and sighed with relief when Anakin and Barriss entered their headquarters. A flood of questions were asked about how it went, what information did they bring back, did anyone notice their presence.
Dex got everyone to quiet down, "Give them a chance to talk," then he addressed the two Jedi, "here sit down and have some caff."
Anakin sat down and passed the data pad to Trever and Oryon so they could get started on going through the information. "There is a list of all the Jedi they're hunting. I think we were able to download it all before we were caught."
The room erupted with questions. Again Dex got them to listen instead of talking over one another.
Barriss pulled off Anakin's hood so she could exam where he hit his head. She already knew he did not have a concussion. "No cut or bruising. You're lucky you're so thick headed."
"That's great, now tell us what happened!" Trever demanded. The Jedi recounted their whole night, omitting the part when Anakin completely zoned out.
"Both of you can't stay on Coruscant much longer," Ferus said. "They're going to go over every recording in the Temple and find out who are. It might take some time, but they will narrow it down. I'm sure they already know you're Jedi."
"We realize that," Anakin said. "I'll be on my way back to Naboo by tomorrow night anyway."
"I'll leave when you can get me a copy of the information," Barriss added gesturing to the data pad. "For now, I need to get some sleep."
x
As Anakin left the headquarters to head back to his hotel, Barriss caught him at the end of the alley. She wasn't going to let it go."What did you see in the Council Chambers? It was like you weren't even there. I thought we were done for."
"I realized where I really was when you pushed me and blaster shots flew past my head." Anakin was trying to lighten the situation and avoid the question, but they both knew this was serious.
"You really scared me," she frowned.
Anakin hesitated and looked around as he thought about how he would tell her. The dim orange lights casted eerie shadows in Thrugger's Alley. He was afraid what he was about to say sounded too ominous. "There were younglings hiding in that room. Someone came for them," he paused for a moment, "and they were trapped."
There was silence for what seemed like a long time. Barriss eyes welled up with tears as she tried not to picture what his vision must have been like, but the images would not stop flashing through her mind. Whatever she was imagining, what he saw was worse as the Force brought Anakin back to that moment. "I'm sorry you had to see that."
She did not know about the nightmares he had of the Temple in the past or the guilt he felt for not going back to help them. She didn't know how different these visions were. "I don't want to-I can't think about it right now."
"We both need to get some rest," she wiped her eyes with her sleeves. "Normally I would advise you to mediate, but you should draw yourself away from the Force for the rest of the night. If you need something to sleep, Felucia tea with a drop of whisky and a drop of honey helps." After she saw the skepticism on his face she added, "Trust me."
"Thanks, and I'm grateful you barged in on my trip. You were right," he whispered.
Barriss gave a small nod and then turned back to the headquarters.
-X-
When Anakin got back to his hotel he wasn't sure he wanted to sleep, but forcing himself to stay awake was draining. The only reason he fought the physical and mental exhaustion was because anytime he closed his eyes he viewed the evening's visions on repeat. Not that keeping his eyes open kept them away. After distracting himself by pacing the room, taking a shower, and watching the HoloNet, he knew he needed sleep.
Finally he took Barriss' advice and her trick with the tea helped. Not only did he fall fast asleep, but he slept through his morning wake up call.
It wasn't until he woke up right before lunch that he realized he missed breakfast with his colleagues and there were nineteen messages left for him.
As he made some caff, ordered room service, and got dressed he tried to understand why the visions were different. Over a year ago they were more like premonitions. Sidious was taunting him. He saw Obi-Wan and himself die. Last night felt more like he was viewing a vision of the past, but then why was he leading the Clones? The child who spoke to him in the premonition was in the Council Chambers last night, but he spoke to Anakin as if he had been there that night. Then what followed was unspeakable.
Anakin's comlink buzzed. Message number twenty. It was time to go downstairs and pretend he was Den. He didn't want to go. It was more that just exhaustion. Something was pulling him back to his room. As he got into the lift he felt like he was being shot out of a canon.
"It's just one more day. Go and get it over with," Anakin thought.
x
As Anakin walked down the aisles of the convention he noticed the attendance was less than it had been the previous days. Most of the representatives started packing up their booths just to look busy. There was about an hour left until closing time. Anakin messaged Nikkei that he would be there soon, but first he wanted to try out the TIE simulator. The queue was the shortest he'd seen it. The longest he'd have to wait was half an hour.
The new TIE fighters were the hottest topic with engineers these days. Sienar Fleet Systems ,along with a couple of other companies, was one of the major suppliers of military vessels for the Empire.
The head of the company, Raith Sienar, gave a lecture the first day of the convention where he unveiled this newest TIE prototype. Having the public test out the simulator was considered a once in a lifetime opportunity. That privilege was usually only for company engineers and military cadets. So it wasn't a surprise that the Empire was using this exciting opportunity to recruit the young attendees to enroll in the Imperial Academy.
As Anakin waited on the queue he saw Nikkei and Joaquin approach him. "Really guys, twenty messages?"
"We were trying to wake you up. Why did you oversleep? Drink too much at dinner?" Joaquin teased.
Nikkei jumped in, "You're one to talk. You got hammered trying to compete with those Corellians last night."
"Not the Corellians!" Anakin mocked.
"We went out to a sports cantina with some of the people from the Corellian Engineering Corp after dinner. They are ruthless at sabbac." Joaquin explained.
"They can also drink you under the table." Nikkei said with a laugh.
"So I have heard. They built quite the reputation for themselves this week. So why aren't you hung over?" Anakin asked.
Nikkei and Joaquin spoke over each other with Nikkei suggesting, "Who says he isn't?" and Joaquin explaining, "A greasy breakfast cleared that right up."
Anakin just shook his head and laughed. "So what are you both up to now?"
Nikkei answered, "This place is winding down. We've already started to pack up our aisle. So we're going out to get some food for everyone. You want us bring you anything?"
"I just ate. But I'll join you all after this flight simulation," Anakin nodded towards the TIE.
x
Anakin stepped into the cockpit that looked like a giant eyeball. The first thing he noticed was that it was too cramped for his tall form. These fighters were designed not to be luxurious, only practical. The vessel was equipped with the bare minimum it needed to function. Weapons at the front and the engine at the aft.
The screen in the viewport lit up and the program began. Anakin maneuvered the ship to engage the enemy and the very distinct screeching swoosh sound of the ion engines filled the cockpit.
Though none of it was real it was as thrilling as it had been during the war. The senses were stimulated by the sounds of battle, the inertia of flying at top speeds, and flashes of light from explosions that lit up the small space.
However, all battles must come to an end. This simulation was not equipped with a missile lock warning sensor. Anakin sensed it was coming and kept the simulation going longer by avoided the missile with evasive maneuvers. Only the best pilots would survive the real thing by being aware of their surroundings during a battle while also engaging the enemy.
By trapping the enemy's squadron leader Anakin got a lock on the starfighter. He placed his thumb on the button and BOOM!
Anakin opened his eyes to find himself laying on his side. At least he thought it was his side. It was hard to tell what was up and what was down. The ringing in his ears was maddening. What was worse was that he couldn't move. The cockpit had caved in, pinning him down and pressing on his chest. Breathing took too much energy.
He tried to lift whatever was crushing him so he could squeeze out but the burning pain shooting up his right bicep caused him to collapse. The last thing he sensed before passing out was the smell of burning wires and flesh.
-X-
Author's Note: Lyrics from "The Devil Wouldn't Recognize You" by Madonna.