Chapter 21

Anakin cried out as the shock and pain of the Temple attack assaulted him. He stumbled against the glass wall of the apartment building atrium and clutched his head as he slid to the floor, moaning. He wasn't sure how long he stayed like that, but he slowly became aware of someone calling his name.

"Anakin!" A man's voice, sounding like it was under water. "Anakin!"

"Ani, are you all right?" A woman's voice this time, worried. A warm hand touched his brow.

As the images swam back into focus, Anakin saw Jahn and Sabé kneeling beside him, their faces concerned. "Dis…disturbance…in the Force," he managed. "The Temple…." He rolled onto his side, afraid that he would be sick.

Sabé rubbed his back as he took several deep breaths. When he was fairly certain that his last meal would remain in his stomach, Anakin sat up. He remembered the blare of the siren and the rumble of explosions. The atrium was rapidly filling up with panicked beings looking for an exit. "What happened?"

"We're under attack," Jahn said grimly. He pointed toward Government Center, where they could see the gray-armored soldiers leaping from the shuttle and storming into the building.

"Those look like the clones from Tatooine!" Sabé said. Her blaster appeared in her hand. "They're attacking the Senate!" She pulled out her comlink and had a hurried conversation.

Anakin struggled to his feet and reached for his lightsaber. "I have to get to the Temple." He swayed, and Jahn caught his arms before he could fall.

"You can't go anywhere right now, Anakin," Jahn said.

Anakin leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. The floor seemed a bit unstable.

That must have knocked every Force-sensitive on Coruscant for a loop.

Sabé put away her comlink. "Padmé and the others are headed for the Senate. Apparently Obi-Wan suffered the same reaction as Anakin. He is going to the Temple to see what happened." She adjusted her grip on the blaster. "I have to go protect the Queen."

"I'm coming with you," Anakin and Jahn said at the same time.

Sabé rolled her eyes. "You're not armed," she said to Jahn. "And you're not recovered from…whatever just happened to you."

Anakin heaved himself off the wall. "I'm fine," he snapped. "And I'm not letting Padmé go into that fight without me."

"The hard part will be getting over there," Jahn said, waving his arm at the frenzied civilians crowding through the atrium.

"No problem," Anakin said. He ignited his lightsaber and plunged the blue-white blade into the transparisteel wall. He cut an opening just big enough for them to squeeze through. They crawled out onto the ledge.

The gritty winds that blew through Coruscant's canyon-like buildings whipped at their hair and stung their eyes as they crept along the half-meter wide ledge toward the elevated walkway that connected the apartment building to Government Center and other Republic official buildings. Anakin peered down at the endless drop and hoped that Sabé and Jahn had no fear of heights.

They stopped under the walkway and looked up at it with some apprehension. It was at least ten meters above the ledge. Anakin could easily jump to it, but Jahn and Sabé...

He saw Sabé fitting an ascension attachment to her blaster. I should've known – she's never unprepared. "Okay, you two use the ascension gun. I'll spot you from here, then I'll go. Hurry!"

Sabé fired the grappling line. She motioned for Jahn to hold on to her. He reached for the gun instead.

"Let me. I'm too heavy for you to hold."

Sabé held the gun away from him. "I am perfectly capable of pulling us both up, Lieutenant Elluis. I am not some helpless female!"

"I didn't say you were," Jahn retorted as he grabbed for the gun again. "Come on, Sabé, give it to me!"

"No, it's—"

"Would you two knock it off?!" Anakin yelled. "We're standing on a little ledge kilometers above the ground, getting ready to go into a battle, and you laser-brained idiots are fighting over who gets to hold whose gun!" He brandished his lightsaber. "Now get up to that walkway or I'll knock you both down into the garbage pits!"

The pair looked sheepish. Then Jahn grabbed Sabé around the waist and she towed them up. Anakin watched them nervously. The sounds of weapons fire and screaming were already audible from Government Center. When Jahn and Sabé were on the walkway, he leaped up to join them.

"Come on!" he shouted. They sprinted down the walkway, their boots pounding on the metal.

As they approached the access door to the Senate building, two Mandalore soldiers appeared, blocking their way. Anakin's lightsaber flashed, deflecting the blaster bolts. Sabé dropped the soldiers with two quick shots. They ran over to the bodies and grabbed their weapons.

"I'm armed now," Jahn said to Sabé, flashing her a cocky grin as he hefted one of the heavy blaster rifles and charged it.

Sabé rolled her eyes as she put away her pistol and picked up the other rifle. She flipped up the faceplates of the soldiers' helmets and shook her head in disgust. "Clones."

They stepped over the bodies and entered the building. Chaos greeted them. Beings of every species ran through the wide halls, screaming. The Mandalore soldiers charged behind them, dragging people from offices and conference rooms and killing anyone that showed signs of resistance. Smoke and static filled the air.

Memories of Mos Espa in flames roared through Anakin's head. With an angry cry, he leaped into the midst of a Mandalore unit. His lightsaber twirled and slashed, cutting down the soldiers one after the other. Another squad came charging up the hallway. Anakin swung his arm, using the Force to slam them into the walls. Precise fire from Jahn and Sabé finished the job.

There was a momentary lull as the panicked crowd fled down the hall away from them. Stragglers emerged from the stairwells and side rooms and scurried past them. The three of them stood back-to-back. Anakin positioned his saber to protect them while Jahn and Sabé picked off stray soldiers with their blasters.

Anakin stretched out with the Force, searching for Padmé. But he sensed only the agony radiating from the Temple. He gasped and closed it off before it could cripple him again.

"Sabé, can you find Padmé?" he asked. The handmaiden already had her comlink out, relaying their position to someone.

"We're about ten levels above you." Padme's voice crackled through the 'link. "On the opposite side of the main Senate Chamber." Static. Then, "It's not wholesale slaughter. They appear to be herding people towards the Main Chamber. We're doing okay, but we'll need some real reinforcement soon." Her voice faded – she had turned away from the 'link to shout at someone. Anakin caught "Panaka," "fighters," and "rapid reaction force."

Anakin turned towards the window as two Republic Navy Headhunters flashed past, with several clone fighters in hot pursuit. Farther away, thick black smoke rolled from a large building, and he realized with a sinking feeling that most of the Republic Navy's fighter craft on Coruscant had probably been destroyed. The nearest major base was in the Corellian system. It'll be hours before help gets here….

"Come on! We've got to get up to Padmé!" Sabé put her comlink away and took off down the hall, Anakin and Jahn on her heels.

They skidded to a halt in front of a turbolift. Sabé stabbed at the call button. The lift door opened and they crowded in, only to have the lights flicker and the power die.

Anakin swore viciously. "They've disabled the lifts!"

"We'll take the stairs," Sabé said, darting out. Anakin grabbed her dress and jerked her back just as two blaster bolts zinged past the door.

Jahn stuck his head out, fired a couple of quick shots, and pulled back in. "We're cut off! There's at least a platoon out there!"

Anakin lit his saber and stepped out. He deflected shot after shot while Sabé and Jahn laid down withering fire, but two new soldiers seemed to appear for every one they cut down. Anakin felt the familiar anger and desperation grow in him. He itched to jump into the clones and slaughter them, but his need to find Padmé was greater. "We don't have time for this!" he shouted. "Where is the damned reaction force?!"

"Jahn! Anakin!"

The men turned to see Sabé's boots disappear up through the turbolift maintenance hatch. "I love that woman," Jahn sighed, a giddy expression on his face.

Anakin grinned and jerked his head toward the lift. Jahn ducked inside and hoisted himself through the hatch. Anakin backed into the lift and shut the door, then jammed his lightsaber into the control panel. He leaped through the hatch, kicking it shut behind him. Almost immediately, the sound of blaster fire came from below.

Jahn and Sabé were hanging on the ladder. "Keep going!" Anakin said. He jumped and grabbed a conduit pipe that ran along the side of the shaft. The hatch door started to spark from laser fire. Dangling from the pipe by one hand, Anakin slid his lightsaber down the side of the turbolift car and ignited it. The car tilted crazily. The blaster fire from inside ceased for a moment, then resumed with greater intensity.

Anakin leaped across the shaft to the ladder and repeated his actions with the other side of the car. He watched with grim satisfaction as the car plummeted down the shaft. Several clone soldiers who had been standing in the lift's open doorway were dragged along with it. Anakin slammed the access doors shut with the Force, then scrambled up the ladder after Jahn and Sabé.

"Jahn! Psst! Jahn!" he called softly as he caught up.

"What?"

"Quit looking up Sabé's dress!"

"I'm not looking up her dress!"

"You are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

Jahn grinned down at him. "But it's such a nice view…."

Anakin canted his head. "Yeah…I guess it is, now that you mention it."

"I HEARD THAT!"

Jahn and Anakin gulped, then kept their eyes straight ahead as they continued their climb.

***************

Padmé sent a hail of blaster fire down the hallway, killing several more clones, then jerked back behind the cover of the alcove to avoid the return fire. She looked around at her small team of handmaidens and Senate Guards, scattered across the corridor. So far, they had held back the Mandalore in this section of the Center, but she knew more were coming. At least we have some heavier weapons now, she thought, checking the charge on her blaster rifle.

"Captain Panaka!" she shouted into her comlink. "Captain, where is the reaction force?"

Panaka's voice crackled back through the 'link. "The Senate Guard barracks were hit. They're putting an ad hoc team together, but it will take some time for them to get there."

"We don't have much time, Captain. There's too many of them. What about our fighters?"

"All of your escort fighters lifted off safely. I've seen a few Republic fighters, but the main base was hit hard. I wouldn't count on much air support."

Padmé's mind raced as she considered and discarded several alternatives. How the hell did they manage such complete surprise? They must have taken out Traffic Control, or we would have at least SOME warning. "Very well, Captain. Step in there and get that reaction force moving. We're all right for now, but we're badly outnumbered."

"Yes, Your Highness. Panaka out."

Padmé put away her comlink and turned to look down the hall again. A flurry of red-orange skirts caught the corner of her eye, and Saché dropped to the floor beside her, puffing.

"There's another unit coming up from the lower levels, Your Highness. We sealed and blocked the lifts and stairwells as much as possible, but if we don't move soon, we'll be trapped."

"Any civilians?"

"A few," Saché replied. "We told them to stay in their offices, under cover. These things still seem to be herding people into the Senate." A grim look crossed her face. "We appear to be the only ones fighting, Your Highness."

The screech of blaster fire cut off Padmé's reply. The Mandalore were making another push in their direction. Her team laid down withering return fire, dropping a squad of clone soldiers. Then a handful of grenades sailed towards them, spewing thick white smoke. Padmé fired blindly, her eyes watering from the stinging smoke. Suddenly the only things visible were wildly flying blaster bolts.

Padmé coughed and squinted through the smoke, looking desperately for a target. The cries coming from around her told her that her team was being hit hard. She hoped that her handmaidens were all right. Suddenly a shadow loomed right in front of her, and she barely got her shot off as she rolled to one side. She heard a muted grunt and the Mandalore's body collapsed on top of her.

Fighting her revulsion, Padmé struggled from beneath the heavy body. As she kicked it off of her, she heard a scream, and a figure in a flame-colored dress hit the floor beside her.

"SACHé!" Padmé cried.

She grabbed her handmaiden and dragged her into the alcove, out of the line of fire. Saché's face contorted in pain as she held her hands over her chest. Padmé felt the bile rise in her throat as she pried Saché's hands away and saw the wounds on her chest and stomach. The stench of burned flesh stung her nose. She dug her comlink out and called for Yané.

"Saché…." She hugged her friend close and looked around desperately, but saw nothing but smoke, blaster bolts and the beetle-like shapes of the clone soldiers as they moved past. Saché coughed violently, and Padmé stared in dismay as flecks of blood sprayed across her white suit. "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!" she screamed.

Out of nowhere, a lightsaber blade flashed. Padmé could not see its wielder, but the blade swung and slashed with incredible speed, cutting down every armored soldier in the immediate vicinity. Then Master Mace Windu emerged from the smoke. He knelt next to her and looked at Saché.

"Can you help her?" Padmé asked, on the edge of tears.

Mace laid his hand on Saché's forehead and closed his eyes briefly. Saché relaxed in Padmé's arms. "I have eased her pain some," Mace said. "But she needs immediate medical attention."

Yané appeared and dropped next to Saché, her medic's kit already out. She grimaced at the sight of the ugly burns on her friend's torso. "Hang on, Saché, hang on," she murmured through gritted teeth as she dug through her kit. "Lay her down, Padmé."

Padmé lowered Saché gently to the floor and held her hand as Yané checked her over. She turned when Mace tapped her shoulder.

"There are more coming, Your Highness," he said. He stepped away from her and pulled his lightsaber from his belt.

Padmé squeezed Saché's hand and moved to the edge of the alcove. The smoke was clearing somewhat and she saw Rabé, Eirtaé, and two of the Senate Guards they had picked up bringing their weapons to bear. Then the armored soldiers appeared around the bend in the hallway, and Padmé and her team opened fire.

Despite the intense volume of fire, the clone soldiers kept coming. It seemed that two more appeared for every one they killed. Two of the Senate Guards were down, and Rabé's dress sported numerous burns from near misses. Even Master Windu's cloak was singed in several places. Then a Senate Guard at the front of their line went down, opening a gap in their defense. The clones surged forward.

"There's too many of them!" Master Windu shouted over the din.

"Fall back!" Padmé shouted.

Then a barrage of blaster fire came from above and behind the charging soldiers, cutting half of them down. Padmé saw three figures drop from near the ceiling, then a blue-bladed lightsaber slashed through the remaining soldiers. Suddenly, Anakin was in front of her, his eyes cloudy, a terrifying look on his face as he swung his saber and decapitated the last two clones. Their helmeted heads rolled to a stop at her feet.

"Anakin!" she cried.

He stopped and looked at her. Then his eyes refocused and his face relaxed. "Padmé…" he breathed.

Sabé and Jahn ran up behind him, staring at the dead soldiers, then looking at Anakin with a mixture of admiration and horror.

"Calm yourself, Padawan," Mace instructed Anakin. "Your anger rules you."

Anakin glared at him as he pulled Padmé into his arms. She felt the tautness in his body. He thrummed like a live wire. She wrapped her arms around him and some of his tension drained away.

"Your Highness."

Padmé whirled around at the sound of Yané's voice. Oh, no…. She ducked into the alcove and knelt next to Saché. Yané looked at her and shook her head, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Padmé. I tried…."

Saché's peaceful expression contrasted sharply with the cruel burns on her chest and stomach. Her brown eyes stared sightlessly at the ceiling. Her vision blurring, Padmé reached out and gently closed her handmaiden's eyes, then pulled the red-orange hood over her face. She bowed her head and struggled to keep from breaking down.

Then she felt Anakin's breath on her neck, and his arms circled her waist and held her close. "I'm sorry, Padmé," he whispered, his voice cracking.

Padmé wanted nothing more than to turn into his arms and cry. But instead she stood up and walked back into the hallway, her face impassive. When she spoke, Padmé disappeared and Queen Amidala stood in her place.

"The Mandalorians are here for a purpose. I believe we will discover that purpose in the main Senate Chamber. Ready your weapons."

All around her, handmaidens, Senate Guards, and Jedi snapped to her orders. With a fresh wave of determination, Padmé hefted her blaster and jogged down the hall towards the Congress of the Galactic Republic.

****************

The boy was very confused. He had been sitting with his friends, playing the Quiet Game where Master told them to sit still and not think about anything. Just feel. Then when he was sitting, he got a very bad feeling. Then the room started shaking and he didn't remember anything else.

And he couldn't see. He blinked his eyes to make sure they were open. They were open, so why was it so dark? It was never this dark, even at night when they went to bed, because they had a little light for Master to see them. And his arm hurt really bad. He couldn't move it. It must be a really bad hurt if he couldn't move it. And his head hurt a lot. But he didn't think it was really his head. Other people's hurts were making his head feel bad. He knew he could feel other people's hurts sometimes.

He closed his eyes and tried to make the other people's hurts go away, like Master showed him. But his arm felt too bad. And he was scared. It was so dark. And dirty. He could feel the dirt on his face, the same way he got when he played in the dug-up beds in the gardens. Where was Master? Master always knew when he was scared and would come and hold him and talk to him in that quiet voice that made him feel warm on the inside.

And other people were scared, too. He heard them screaming and crying. But he didn't hear them with his ears. He heard them inside his head and that made him even more scared. He tried again to make the scariness and hurts go away, but he couldn't. He wanted Master bad. Bad enough to do something he knew only babies did. He opened his mouth and screamed and cried.

His throat was starting to hurt from the screaming when he saw a little bit of light. He cried harder and there was a little bit more light, like when Master opened the curtains in the morning. It hurt his eyes after being in the dark so long. He blinked and saw a man, a human man with hair on his face like they had sometimes. And he could see now that he had rocks on top of him. How did rocks get on top of him? That must be why he felt so dirty.

"Here's another one," he heard the man say. The human man pulled some rocks away, and the boy could see that he was a grown-up Jedi, like Master. The Jedi picked him up, being very careful not to touch his hurt arm, then held him close. The boy felt something warm run over him, like he did when Master held him at night. Safe at last, he clung tightly to the man's neck.

***************

Obi-Wan located the source of the screams and dug through the debris. A small Rodian boy blinked rapidly at him. His cries became more frantic, and Obi-Wan dug faster. The boy's arm was badly broken. It hung at an odd angle, and Obi-Wan saw a bone sticking through the bloody sleeve of the child's tunic.

"Here's another one," he called to Master Htapme. He pushed aside another rock and reached for the boy. The child's fear and pain screamed through the Force. Obi-Wan lifted him carefully, trying not to jar the injured arm. He hugged the boy close and sent waves of reassurance through the Force. The boy's fear subsided and he clutched Obi-Wan's neck tightly.

He just stood there for a moment, hugging the boy and trying to comprehend what had happened. The cries of terrified babies and toddlers echoed all around him. Dazed Initiates wandered aimlessly. Knights and Padawans offered what comfort they could while trying to herd them toward the lower levels.

This was deliberate, Obi-Wan thought, his anger mounting. They targeted this area. The rest of the Temple was relatively intact, but this whole side was laid open - the living quarters, training rooms, gymnasiums, the dining hall - the most populous areas of the building. And the Créche…. Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut, trying to shut out the horrible picture of the gutted nursery. He was sure that the memory of the tiny broken bodies and the pitiful screams of terror and pain would haunt him for the rest of his life.

But how did they know where to strike?

Master Htapme, the Créche Master, came over and took the boy from him. "I think that's all in this area, Obi-Wan," he said, a deep sadness behind his eyes. "All of the living, anyway." He turned away, carrying the Rodian child and guiding several others toward the one functioning lift.

Obi-Wan just stood and watched, his hands hanging by his sides. Who would deliberately target children?

"The Sith."

Obi-Wan looked down to see Master Yoda standing beside him. "He is here, Master?"

"Yes."

Obi-Wan's fist clenched around his lightsaber. "Where?"

Yoda closed his eyes. "Unknown. But he seeks something…someone." Then he looked up. "With your apprentice, you should be, Obi-Wan. He walks a narrow line. Much anger in him. Killed his mother, these creatures did. Seek revenge, he may."

Obi-Wan nodded. Outside, the ground shook, and the distant rumble of explosions reached his ears. "Will we fight, Master?"

Yoda's ears drooped. "Guardians of the Republic, we are. Its destiny is intertwined with ours."

The deafening screech of space engines split the air as a flight of Republic star fighters roared by. The Temple shook again, showering them with dust and plaster.

"Fight, we will."

***************

Padmé blasted yet another clone soldier and mentally cursed their slow advance. They had fought a half-dozen skirmishes with small units, and wasted precious time in the ventilation and turbolift shafts trying to bypass the larger ones. On the upside, they had picked up more of the blue-armored Senate guards, bringing their number up to fifteen, including two Jedi. A formidable force, despite its small size.

But not big enough to get where they needed to go in a hurry.

Their destination lay just two hundred meters beyond their current position. But they had to get past this bunch of clones to reach it. No going around, except perhaps by going back into the ventilation system, something that Padmé did not want to do. But staying here much longer would mean being trapped and encircled. There was almost no cover. Her fighters sheltered themselves in wall niches, alcoves, and behind open office doors. They offered flimsy protection at best. Decorative columns and trees afforded a bit more protection, but they were few and far between.

A blue lightsaber blade hummed in front of her, deflecting a blaster shot back to its origin. Another clone went down. But with another to take its place, Padmé thought grimly. She glanced up at Anakin and tried not to think about what had happened to the last Jedi who protected her in such a manner. But where Qui-Gon Jinn had been all cool competence, Anakin Skywalker was nothing but heat and barely contained anger. His eyes burned and his jaw clenched so tight that she wondered how his teeth stood it.

"This is taking too long!" Padmé growled in frustration. "Ani, can you tell how many there are?"

He half-closed his eyes, even as he continued to deflect shots coming her way. "I'm not sure," he said finally. "All I'm getting is that weird clone-sense. Those things just aren't…right. And the Temple…." He shook his head. "There's at least twenty, probably more."

And they're defending, which gives them the advantage. They needed to penetrate quickly, then exploit. Let's see…there's a crossway about a hundred or so meters behind them…. Padmé quickly formed a tentative plan based on her knowledge of the building's layout and relayed it to the rest of her force.

When everyone was set, she unleashed another barrage of blaster fire. Combined with that of the Senate Guards positioned across the hall, it blew a hole in the Mandalore line. Padmé yelled, "Let's go!" and took off, holding her rifle across her chest as she sprinted down the hall. Behind her, the rest of the team followed. Master Windu brought up the rear, watching their backs as they advanced on the Mandalore.

Padmé barreled into the Mandalore line. She dropped one soldier with her blaster, and plowed into another with her shoulder. Beside her, Anakin swung his saber and lashed out with vicious roundhouse kicks. The battle degenerated into hand-to-hand fighting as Padmé's team closed with the clone warriors. Farther down the hall, another contingent of soldiers advanced on them.

"Padmé!" Anakin screamed. She turned just in time to see Anakin's billowing cloak before he tackled her. He landed on top of her, driving the blaster painfully into her chest.

"Anakin, what the--?"

He pushed her head into the floor and covered it with his arm. Less than a second later, the hallway shook as a thermal detonator ripped through the Mandalore ranks. Padmé heard the whistle of shrapnel flying past them. Two of their Senate Guards were caught in the blast and thrown back against them.

Then Anakin's weight lifted off her. Padmé raised her head to see him dashing into the smoke, lightsaber swinging. She sat up slowly, shaking her head, a bit dazed from the explosive concussion. Her thigh burned where a piece of shrapnel had grazed her, tearing her leggings. She hissed softly as she tugged the scorched fabric away from the wound. It wasn't deep, but blood seeped from it. That's going to leave a mark. And it hurt like hell.

As she tried to slide back against the wall, Anakin suddenly loomed over her, the same wild, unfocused look in his eyes that she had seen earlier. "Anakin, get down before you get shot!" she ordered.

"What…?" Anakin looked confused for a moment, then his features hardened. "Don't worry, they won't be attacking." He dropped down beside her.

"What happened?" Padmé asked.

"They tried to give us a thermal detonator. I sent it back to them. Then I killed the rest of them."

Padmé saw the rips and burns in his cloak and realized how near a miss it had been. "Thank you, Ani."

"Anytime," he said with a grin. Then he saw the blood on her thigh. "Padmé, you're hurt!"

"It's just a scratch." She winced. "It smarts a bit, though."

"Obviously, I wasn't fast enough. Here, let me." Anakin pushed her hands aside and pulled the fabric farther away from the wound. Then he put his own hand over it and closed his eyes. Padmé felt a tingling sensation, and the pain subsided.

Sabé trotted up. "Your Highness, we--" She broke off when she saw Anakin's hand on Padmé's thigh. "For 'Vala's sake," she said, rolling her eyes, "can't I leave you two alone for a minute?"

Padmé reddened. "What is it, Sabé?"

"We lost three Guards to that explosion. And Eirtaé is injured."

Padmé caught her breath. Not again…. She struggled to her feet and went over to where Eirtaé leaned against the wall. Yané, Jahn Elluis, and Master Windu all knelt around her, while Rabé hovered worriedly.

Jahn shifted to let Padmé in next to him, and relinquished Eirtaé's hand to her. The handmaiden's face was deathly white. Padmé gasped at the sight of her leg. It was crushed. Yané cut away the blood-soaked skirt and worked desperately to staunch the flow. Eirtaé bit her lip, but the cry of pain escaped her anyway. Master Windu put his hand on her face, using the Force give her some relief. Padmé sighed as the vice grip on her hand eased up.

"What happened?"

"Column fell on her leg," Jahn said. "I think she got hit by some detonator debris, too. Probably glass."

Padmé glanced over at him. Jahn had shed his high-collared uniform tunic at some point. He now wore only his undertunic, which had once been white, but was now dingy and gray with dirt, sweat, and smoke. Padmé realized that all of them looked much worse for the wear. The handmaidens' flame dresses were scorched and filthy, and her white suit was grimy and blood-spattered. Even Master Windu looked disheveled.

And it wasn't close to being over yet.