A/N: I'm not good at battle scenes, yet they seem to end up in everything. I clearly do not learn. Mild battle violence/horror ahead.
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Chapter Twenty-Six – Combat on Temple Grounds.
"I'm going back to Naboo," Sabé announced to an unsurprised Padmé the following morning.
Padmé eyed her with amusement. "Did the Council approve?"
"They haven't said yet, but they can't stop me," Sabé pointed out stubbornly. "I've alerted the Temple to the situation, but I can't just sit here knowing they might be under attack at any moment. You understand that, right?"
Padmé nodded, recalling the countless times she'd given her security teams heart attacks by hastily running to someone's rescue.
"We all understand it, Sabé," Obi-Wan put in, "that doesn't mean it's a wise course of action."
The look she sent him was unimpressed. "Obi-Wan, there is not a single person in this room who hasn't blatantly ignored the wise course of action on multiple occasions."
Padmé shrugged guiltily when Obi-Wan glanced her way, and Gregar folded his arms, amused.
"Be that as it may," the Jedi went on, "as your protector it would be remiss of me not to strongly advise against recklessness."
Sabé studied him with narrowed eyes. "So…that's it? You're just advising against it?"
"I am," Obi-Wan stated.
"But if I ignored you and went anyway?"
"I would be duty bound to go with you, of course."
Sabé cracked a smile that Obi-Wan did not return, but Padmé thought she saw the corner of his lips twitch.
"I'm going too," Padmé declared. "I've reconsidered my decision not to visit Queen Apailana to discuss the termination of the marriage law."
"How convenient," Gregar said dryly.
"Isn't it?" Padmé agreed, refusing to be ruffled, even in jest. "I'll take you and Sabé for security."
"What about Moteé?" Sabé asked. "She won't want to be left out if the Temple is at risk."
"I know," Padmé answered with regret, "but I'd rather she was here to keep an eye on Ellé. I'll talk to her about it."
She knew Sabé would be glad to avoid that particular conversation, and she could see as much from the expression of relief that the handmaiden tried to hide.
"When do we leave?" Sabé asked.
"This afternoon, after my meeting with Orn Free Taa. I can't cancel it."
Sabé sent her an understanding nod. "Okay."
"Am I to assume that you'll want to accompany Sabé and Obi-Wan to the Temple itself?" Gregar asked nonchalantly.
Padmé read between the lines and picked out his real question. "I don't intend to put myself in harm's way," she assured him. "But they could use the help."
He nodded, albeit with a touch of reluctance. "Just don't die on me," he said eventually. "I don't want to have to explain that to my uncle."
"I don't intend on dying anytime soon," Padmé retorted with a tiny smile.
The sound of droid footsteps coming down into the lounge caught her attention, and she turned, words fading on her tongue at the sight of who Threepio was leading.
"Anakin," she said, belatedly kicking herself for letting her surprise leak into her voice.
Her husband tensed slightly, but sketched a formal bow. No doubt he was mindful of Obi-Wan's presence in the room.
"Senator," Anakin began. "I'm here to inform you that my squadron of clone troopers will be escorting you to Naboo. The Council anticipated your plans to return. Since Count Dooku has been spotted in the location, this is now a military issue."
Padmé inwardly winced at his detached tone. "The Council is very thoughtful to spare us a squadron. We depart at 16:00 hours."
Anakin nodded in response. "We'll meet you at the landing platform."
"Thank you," she answered formally.
Anakin's eyes briefly flicked to where Padmé knew Obi-Wan was standing before they returned to settle on her. Blue eyes, she reassured herself. Not that sickening yellow from her nightmare. Perhaps there would be an opportunity to talk to him on Naboo. Her heart clenched in fearful anticipation of the conversation, but she knew she had to do it. For all their sakes, she had to.
Sabé tracked her way through the western forest, her allies behind her. Obi-Wan marched at her side, the others forming up not far back. Padmé had insisted on coming, and both Anakin and Gregar stuck close beside her. Despite Padmé's obvious discomfort at such a juxtaposition, Sabé was glad she would be so well protected. A squadron of white-armoured troopers fanned out behind them, led by the ever-capable Captain Rex.
Sabé was mindful of what they'd most likely be facing. Daedrin was a fool if he attacked the Temple with anything less than a full squadron behind him, and the presence of Count Dooku – despite the fact that they hadn't been seen together – implied that he had exactly that.
In a hasty briefing between the Jedi, Rex, Gregar and herself, they had decided to move swiftly and stealthily through the forest. As stealthily as soldiers clad in white could move through a forest, in any case. She glanced down at the olive-coloured jumpsuit and black vest she'd chosen for herself and wondered why she'd tried to blend in at all. Walking beside the squadron rendered it entirely pointless.
The plan was either to come upon the Separatist forces and prevent them from reaching the Temple, or to get there first and help the Order lock the place down. But as they drew closer, Sabé had to accept with a sinking feeling that they were facing the third and least-favourable scenario that they had planned for: joining the battle late.
The noise filtering through the trees made their attempts at covertness completely unnecessary, not to mention Sabé's role as navigator.
"Senator, I strongly advise that you remain here," Obi-Wan said to Padmé, glancing back at her over his shoulder.
"I agree," Anakin cut in before Padmé could answer. "You'll be safer here."
"That's not a guarantee," Padmé pointed out calmly. "Now let's go, we're wasting time."
"I won't allow you to–" Anakin went on.
Padmé intervened with sharp words. "I said we're wasting time. Captain Rex, lead your troops onward."
Rex, clearly uncomfortable at the conflict between two people who outranked him, looked to Obi-Wan instead.
"Move out, Captain," Obi-Wan said quietly.
"But Master–" Anakin tried again.
"Focus on the battle, Anakin," Obi-Wan counselled. "The senator will be well protected by Captain Typho."
Anakin looked poised to argue again, and Sabé turned away with a huff, continuing on towards the Temple. She held her blaster ready, comforted by the reassuring weight of her sword across her back. She didn't expect to use it, but she liked knowing it was there.
A scream pierced the relative hush of the woods, and Sabé broke into a run. Rex's troops flanked her, dots of white on green in her peripheral vision. They were beyond being stealthy anyway.
"Sabé, wait!"
She disregarded Obi-Wan's yell, knowing he was more than capable of catching up with her. Instead, she broke through the first line of trees with the troops, emerging into a small clearing dominated by a huge, stone structure. The Order's temple was in a similar vein to others she'd seen throughout the galaxy, tall and built of mossy grey stone, a structure to sit naturally amongst the greenery around it. She had never seen it crawling with battle droids before, and the sight turned her insides cold.
Hastily, she dove behind the outer wall, taking cover and periodically stretching up to fire over the top of it. The troopers were doing likewise, and the droids were starting to take notice. The Order members were putting up a valiant fight, and the number of deactivated droids outweighed fallen warriors significantly. Still, Sabé knew not to get complacent. There was still Dooku, Daedrin and Nadini to worry about.
A flurry of movement next to her signalled Obi-Wan's arrival, and she send him a quick nod.
"Please don't run off like that again," he said.
"I assumed you and Anakin would go and track down Dooku."
"If I could persuade him to leave Padmé, I would do so," he muttered grimly. "I'm not prepared to take the Count on alone."
"Surely Anakin must realise that."
"You would think," Obi-Wan growled, the closest to angry she'd seen him in a long time.
Considering for a moment, Sabé reached up to activate the com in her ear. "Sabé to Typho, do you copy?"
"Typho here."
"Get Padmé to a safe place, Anakin needs to help Obi-Wan find Dooku."
"If I thought she would go…" Gregar mumbled, clearly attempting to hide his words from the others.
"Try and tell her it can be temporary, just as long as Anakin feels comfortable leaving her," Sabé snapped, exasperated.
Gregar's voice was laced with understanding, and the trace of annoyance that Anakin's behaviour seemed to be triggering in all of them. "I'll try. Typho out."
Obi-Wan sent her a glance, one eyebrow raised.
"It's worth a try," she defended with a shrug.
"Indeed."
In a blur of unnatural speed, Anakin joined them at their position, wearing an expression that was somehow half duty-bound determination and half petulant scowl.
"Let's find Dooku," he snapped.
"Let's," Obi-Wan agreed, wisely keeping his personal thoughts to himself. To Sabé he added, "Don't put yourself at risk unnecessarily."
"Likewise," she retorted at once.
They both knew that the need to capture Dooku outweighed Obi-Wan's duty to protect her. They hadn't even discussed it, seemingly in sync with their thoughts on the matter. He sent her a nod, then both Jedi were up and jogging away, joining the battle seemingly at random, their focus no doubt solely on seeking out the count. Sabé returned her own focus to the nearest droids, taking down one after another as the troops pressed forward towards the Temple.
"Gregar, is Padmé safe?" she asked, tapping her com.
"We're in a good position. I can cover her pretty well, and she can still fire at the droids like she wants to."
A faint feminine "Hey!" made Sabé briefly smile. "Good. Stay there if you can."
"Copy that. Take care."
"Will do."
She spotted three Order members taking cover a few metres ahead of her, including a silver-haired elder.
"I need to get there," she told the nearest trooper, pointing. "Can you cover me?"
"Of course, sir," came the efficient reply, complete with head nod.
"Oh…you…you don't have to 'sir' me. I'm not…that is, I don't think I outrank you."
"With respect, Lady Sabé, 'Lady Sabé' is a bit of a mouthful."
Sabé cracked a brief smile. "True. Sabé will do."
"As you wish, Sabé. I'll cover you."
"Thank you."
Exchanging a nod with her new ally, Sabé waited for an opportune moment, vaulting the low wall she was using as cover during a natural lull in blaster fire. She sprinted towards her sisters, hearing the occasional chirp of the trooper's blaster as he took out droids who planned to use her as target practice. She skidded down behind a fallen statue, sending grass and small, loose bits of gravel flying.
"Apologies, Elder Torré," she panted. "I wasn't able to make a more dignified entrance."
"You are forgiven, Sabé," the elder said with dry humour. She seemed entirely relaxed, despite their situation. The two warriors with her, however, appeared to share Sabé's heightened alertness, periodically straightening up to return fire over the statue.
"Have you seen the ringleaders of this attack?" Sabé asked, unwilling to waste time on more pleasantries.
"I have," Elder Torré said, her mouth twisting in a sneer. "The woman used to be one of us. She was leading the assassin to the records room. We couldn't stop them, there were too many droids. We beat a strategic retreat instead."
Sabé took in all the information, but found herself stuck on the first point. "Nadini used to be one of us?"
"Yes. At one time she was known as Larissé."
"I don't remember her."
"You wouldn't. She was here for a very brief time, and you were in service to the queen." Torré sighed deeply, shaking her head. "For a short while she was one of the most promising students we've ever had. But then we became aware of her love of violence. She took a great amount of satisfaction in beating her opponents, even to the point of injuring them during sparring. We began to realise that her brutal mind-set did not fit with our ideals. You know all too well how difficult it can be to be a warrior and yet not sacrifice our planet's peaceful nature. It's a delicate balance, one not easily maintained. Larissé was simply incapable of it, so we dismissed her."
Sabé's eyes widened. She knew how rare it was for a sister to be turned out of the Order.
"It seems she's taken it rather personally," Torré finished up with another gusty sigh.
"She's teamed up with Daedrin for some…petty vengeance?" Sabé said incredulously.
"Why are you so surprised?" Torré spoke up. "People will go a long way just to be petty, particularly for revenge."
With a frown, Sabé conceded the point. "I need to get to the records room," she announced decisively.
"They have it locked down. Why do you think we're out here?" Torré snapped.
"I understand, but I have to get in there. If I take the secret passages from the east side, I should come out close enough to take them by surprise. If Nadini…Larissé never graduated as a full Order member, then she won't know about the passages."
Torré looked thoughtful for a moment, seeming for all the galaxy as if the constant sound of blaster fire and yelling was simply the standard soundtrack to her day.
"That might work," she decided finally. "We'll come with you."
"I don't want to put you at risk, Elder," Sabé protested at once.
"We'll all at risk," Torré argued with conversation-stopping logic.
Unwilling to waste any more time in debate, Sabé gestured for Torré to lead the way, as was the right of her rank. Torré and her two dedicated followers took off at once, ducking to run alongside walls, taking cover where they could. Sabé brought up the rear, firing shots whenever a droid wandered into her range. In a lethally productive single-file procession, they made their way around the base of the building, towards the memorial stone in the grounds that marked the east entrance of the passages. Torré worked to move the stone aside while the rest of them covered, and it soon slid back with a protesting groan.
With startling abruptness Anakin and Obi-Wan rounded the far corner of the temple, locked in a furious battle with Count Dooku. Sabé stared, instantly distracted, awed and afraid at the speed of the three whirling blades. A dropped explosive from a fallen droid went off behind her, flinging her forward to skid across the grass with a grunt.
The harsh sound of a battle cry threw her instincts into overdrive, and she rolled herself up onto her knees, whipping the sword from her back as she moved. She brought it up just in time to block a jarring downward sweep. She felt the severe clash of the blades vibrate up her arms, making her jaw ache.
Nadini smirked at her, pressing the advantage of her aerial assault. Sabé clenched her teeth and pushed back with all her strength, keeping the blades as far from her skin as possible. A shot from Torré whistled past Nadini's ear, allowing Sabé the split second she needed to gain the advantage. Managing to get a foot under her, she found traction and pushed upwards, shoving Nadini backwards. Nadini regained her footing almost immediately, launching another attack. Sabé blocked her, keeping her eyes on the blade. The woman may have been cast out of the Order, but she had clearly remembered a lot of her training.
"Daedrin thought you'd come," Nadini said conversationally. "I'm disappointed that he's right. I thought you'd be smarter."
Sabé didn't deign to answer, focusing on seeking the upper hand. Idly, she was aware of the ongoing fight between the Force users not too far away, and she prayed that Obi-Wan wasn't worrying about her. He needed to avoid distractions as much as she did. More, in fact.
"Why did you yell when you attacked me?" Sabé asked her, curious despite their situation. "You could have taken me out."
"Where's the fun in that?" Nadini retorted. "Besides, I thought the Order was all about honourable battles."
Sabé blocked her again, and sent her a brief smile. "Usually it is, but…"
Nadini gave a grunt as Torré hit her across the back of the head, stumbling to the ground. Sabé kicked her blade away.
"I don't have time for that right now," she added, bringing the hilt of her sword down and knocking the woman unconscious.
"Get going," Torré ordered her with a jerk of her head. "I'll keep an eye on this one."
Sabé nodded, retrieving her fallen blaster and jogging over to the entrance of the passages. She could not resist a final look back at Obi-Wan and Anakin's fight, glad to note that they were both holding up against Dooku. It was difficult for her to turn her gaze away, but she made herself do it. She had her own job to do, and it wouldn't serve anyone for her to get caught up in her worries.
Determinedly facing forward, she descended the stone steps into the damp, dimly-lit corridor beneath the complex. One of Torré's companions followed her, the other remaining behind to help the elder.
"What's your name?" Sabé asked her as they walked.
"Ruté."
"Glad to have you standing with me, Ruté."
"Likewise, Sabé."
The secret passage emerged in an alcove behind a tapestry in one of the Temple's central corridors. Sabé peered out cautiously, squinting through the tapestry's tiny holes.
"Clear," she muttered, moving it aside.
On silent feet, the two of them glided through the corridor, stopping to listen every few steps. The sound of voices and clanking droids reached them only a short distance from the records room. Sabé was pleasantly surprised that they had seemingly only locked down the room and not the passages around it.
Glancing around a corner, she spotted two spindly droids guarding the entrance. She'd barely seen a battle droid since the fight for Naboo so many years ago. Seeing them again inevitably brought back memories, and she recalled trying to fight as a queen, knowing that Padmé's whole plan rested on her ability to fool them. Naively, she'd assumed that fighting in disguise would be the toughest challenge she'd ever face. How very young she'd been.
"Take the one on the left," Sabé hissed to Ruté, shoving her recollections aside.
Ruté gave a nod and levelled her blaster.
"Now!"
The two synchronised shots hit home, and the droids dropped noisily to the stone paving. Sabé waited, watching to see if another few droids would investigate, but it seemed they were smarter than that.
"Move out."
The two warriors left their cover, stepping over the droids to flatten their backs against the wall. Sabé leaned to look around the corner into the records room, and whipped her head back quickly when a blaster bolt pierced the air beside her. Annoyingly – but not unexpectedly – Daedrin was a good shot.
Mentally running through the weapons at her disposal, Sabé plucked a small capsule from a pouch on her belt. She bit off the safety seal, spitting it out, and threw the capsule into the room. It immediately began sputtering smoke, and she heard Daedrin cough. Dropping to one knee, Sabé glanced back around the corner, looking where the cloud was thinner close to the ground. With determined precision, she shot six droids in the leg.
"How long can you hold your breath?" Sabé asked.
Ruté sent her an amused look. "Long enough."
It was a less than ideal solution for dealing with smoke, but it was their only option. Taking in a deep lungful of air, Sabé charged into the records room. The cloud was already starting to disperse, enough for her to see Deadrin's shadowy, armoured form, and an additional four droids. She took out two before they could raise their rifles, and stifled a gasp as she saw Ruté leap for Daedrin. A droid fired, and Sabé dodged, returning the favour and catching it in its narrow midsection. The last one was aiming at Ruté, and Sabé blasted its head off before it could fire.
Taking advantage of his distraction, she came up behind Daedrin and gripped the side of his neck, pressing her blaster to his temple. He froze for an instant, then fired off a shot that had Ruté falling away with a cry of pain. As Sabé took in what he'd done, he spun, throwing off her grip. Sabé knocked his hand upwards, sending his blaster bolt up into the ceiling.
He recovered quickly, aiming at her head at the precise moment she aimed at his. For a long moment they stared at each other as the smoke cleared.
"So what now, Sabé?" he asked when the air was fresh enough for words. "We stand here until one of us drops dead?"
"Or you could lower your blaster," she answered him calmly. "That's an option."
Surprisingly he laughed, and she studied him with narrowed eyes, picking up on a strand of hysteria in his demeanour.
"I could," he agreed. "It's almost tempting, you know. This whole thing has just spiralled out of control."
"What do you mean?"
Deadrin disregarded her question, continuing on as if she hadn't spoken at all. "This whole time I thought I knew which side I was on, and now…" He laughed again, a short, bitter bark. "There aren't any. That's the big secret, Sabé. There aren't any sides."
"What are you talking about?" she snapped at him, losing patience with the cryptic words.
"Dooku's here," he stated, as if it explained everything. "The damned Separatists are backing me up, can you believe that?"
"So these attacks have been part of the war all along?" Sabé asked him.
"Seems so, doesn't it? Not that the war matters anymore. He wins either way."
"Who does? Dooku?"
Daedrin regarded her thoughtfully for a moment, then smirked. "No. You won't get that out of me. I'd be dead for sure."
"You will be if you don't start making sense," she growled.
"Oh, Sabé," he said, mocking. "We both know you're not a cold-blooded killer."
"Never too late to learn," she said, although she knew it was pointless. He'd never buy her bluff.
Nearby, Ruté was struggling to a sitting position, clutching the wound at her side. Sabé kept her focus on Daedrin, determined not to give her away.
"Stand down," Daedrin ordered her, some of his customary sharpness returning.
"You first."
Ruté staggered to her feet. It wasn't a quiet move, and Sabé saw Daedrin's eyes flicker to the side as he was momentarily distracted. It wasn't long enough for her to act, however, and his gaze rapidly snapped back to her.
"Don't try it," he called to Ruté. "I could pull this trigger before you even raised your weapon."
"And she could pull hers," Ruté countered with a pain-filled growl. "Drop the blaster." She raised her arm to the back of his head, just as an exterior explosion rocked the room.
Ruté stumbled, and Daedrin harshly shoved her aside. Sabé took the opportunity, despite her unsteady feet, lunging at him and gripping his wrist. Once again, she aimed his blaster upwards, away from harm. She moved her right arm, bringing her own gun up, and he retaliated by returning the favour, catching her wrist in a tight grip.
Almost nose to nose, she briefly considered head butting him, but knew it would stun her too. Instead, she jerked up a knee, unbothered about fighting dirty when she knew she had to win. Daedrin grunted, hunching over, and his grip on her slackened enough for her to pull her hand free. Before she could aim, however, he kicked out at her knee, causing one leg to buckle. She lost her hold on his wrist, and he didn't hesitate to swing his blaster towards her. Out of options, Sabé recovered enough to aim and shoot.
Her blaster bolt hit him square in the chest, burning a hole through the plating of his armour. He looked surprised at first, dropping heavily to his knees, which put them on eye level once more. He coughed, and a trickle of blood leaked out the corner of his mouth, then he glared at her, as if it had been a personal insult that she had shot him.
Sabé was too shocked to react, even as her rational mind pondered why she was shocked. Necessity had made her take lives before, after all. Then she felt the pain, seeping with hot, stinging fingertips across her abdomen. She hadn't been quick enough. Daedrin had fired at the same time she had.
Her shot had been the more accurate, however, and Daedrin slumped sideways, mismatched eyes fixed open, self-righteous fury frozen on his aristocratic features. Sabé felt herself fall too, dropping backwards onto the ground, which thankfully put Daedrin's body out of view.
She'd been shot before, enough to know that this one was the most serious wound she'd ever received. With a jolt of fear, she realised that her survival wasn't guaranteed. Ruté hadn't stirred, and gods knew how long it would take for someone to find them. Torré knew where they'd gone, but Sabé didn't know if the elder was even still alive. There was still a battle raging on the surface level.
Wait…just think.
Gritting her teeth, she reached up to press the button on her com. Every movement seemed to tug at her torn skin, and pained tears clouded her sight.
"S…Sabé to Typho," she said, wincing at her faltering words.
"Typho here."
"Gregar…"
Her jaw locked up as a fresh wave of pain caused her vision to briefly black out.
The single word seemed to be enough, though, and Gregar's voice cut through the oncoming unconsciousness.
"Sabé? What's happened? Where are you?"
"Records room," she mumbled. "Obi-Wan…"
The arm keeping the com activated trembled with effort, and darkness feathered the edges of her sight. Gregar was saying something else, but it got lost in the encroaching fog. Sabé was unconscious before her arm hit the ground.
A/N: Oops, I did a cliffhanger.
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