Disclaimer: I do not own any of Star Wars, the right of ownership of Star Wars belong to Lucasfilm and I guess Disney too. The only thing I own is the characters you do not notice and the plot.
Chapter 37: Attack on Jedi Temple
It was night at the Jedi Temple, when Mark and Rachelle were awaken up by an explosion. They rush down the hall as they grab their Lightsabers. Mark had a strong feeling Palpatine would try to make the Jedi look weak to turn the votes for him to get more power around.
They enter the main hallway of the temple. Mark stands behind the nearest column where he silently instructed Rachelle to the other one. Droids and Bounty Hunters march through the doors. There were more Droids than Bounty Hunters but they both look dangerous. The droids have a green force field around it.
Look like no one home. Oh well lets trash this place." say a female Bounty Hunter as she waves her hand. She stop when she her the buzz of a Lightsaber activate. She stops and looks around carefully. It was not the first time she dealt with a Jedi.
Mark uses the Force to knock a piece of rubble outside the open temple doors. The droids turn around firing. The Bounty Hunter looks around and approaches. Rachelle launches out quickly before Mark could do anything.
The Bounty Hunter throws a grenade which exploded into a net with electrical current going through it. Mark used the Force to rip the net apart. A Virbo-sword was drawn by the Bounty Hunter as she blocks an attack.
Mark looks around and notices it was a Bounty Hunter. The Bounty Hunter is a Togruta and has very tiny connection with the Force. Mark leaps out of the way. "Zane! I thought you were dead!" snaps the Bounty Hunter as she attempt to stab Rachelle and fire rounds at Mark. The Droids turn around and the machine blasters that were mounted along their legs and arms fire off rounds at Mark.
Mark stands there looking down to the ground. Not even attempting to run. The Bounty Hunter smiles. "Misfortunate always awaits those who underestimate their enemies. Just because I am not running does not me I am going to let you hit me." say Mark.
The blasts hit Mark but he vanished. Rachelle was in awe, he just use the Force to manipulate people into seeing things, even herself. That ability right there is called Force Projection or some call Force Illusion.
"Where did he went!" shout the Bounty Guard. "No where, I am still here." say Mark trying to solve this problem with out too much destruction. He notices Rachelle uses the Force to have the droids shooting at each other.
Mark stand behind the Bounty Hunter with his arms cross as the last Battle Droid fall. She quickly turns around and stabs Mark through the chest. It went in way to easy, and Mark faded from view. Mark then leap and activates his Lightsaber as finishes his flips.
"You are finish." say Mark as he points his Lightsaber at the neck of the Bounty Hunter. She can feel the heat from the Lightsaber and knows this is the real one. "Wrong Jedi, You think I am the only one here tonight!" laughs the Bounty Hunter. She tried to stab Mark again. Mark slashes her one hand off and hit her with the butt of his Lightsaber hard in the forehead. She collapses onto the ground.
Mark uses the Force to bind some of the metal from the fallen droid to her arms and legs to form a handcuff. Mark uses his Lightsaber to weld the pieces together so they will be harder to come off. Right then another explosion happens.
"Mark rushes down the hall and see a human male Bounty Hunter pointing his gun at a Twi'lek youngling. Mark did not even give him a chance to react. Mark use the Force to slams the human male into the glass. The male falls out to the ground landing head first. He died on impact.
The Force gave him another warning and like he was a machine his Lightsaber blocks another shot. Waves of blaster rounds come out from a door. Mark blocks the rounds with his Lightsaber which is guided by the Force.
The Twi'lek youngling was slightly crying his eyes out being scared. Some more droids came through the hallway that Mark has just come through. When the Twi'lek youngling saw this and he got very scare and got closer to Mark. He clips his Lightsaber to his belt and throws his arms to the side with the palms facing toward the door. He focuses the Force.
Mark swings both of his hands together and bunch of heavily armed droids came flying through the hall and crashing among each other. Shaak Ti came rushing through one of the door to throw her Lightsaber at a droid. Her Lightsaber went through the droid.
"Mark what in the name of the Force is going on here?" demand Shaak Ti. "How am I suppose to know!" shout Mark throwing his arms up. He senses someone coming. With a flick of his hand, a Droid's head went and nails a masked Bounty Hunter in his chest breaking most of his ribs.
""You seem to have a keen of knowing things." say Shaak Ti. "I am guessing Palpatine is trying to make the Jedi Order look weak or something along those lines." say Mark lightly.
"Rachelle has been hurt badly." say Shaak Ti. Mark looks at her as if the world has dropped from bellow him. "Wait what happen?" ask Mark. "5 Proton grenades and 3 Thermal Detonator. Some of the Jedi Healers are taking her to the Halls of Healing, but the temple is still under attack. I do not know who these are, but they know that a good time to strike, most of the strongest Jedi are not here." say Shaak Ti.
"I think your Padawan got too far ahead of herself and got injured. She was trying to protect the younglings and take down the guy but grenades exploded on her. The younglings are fine. She kill the guy." say Shaak Ti. Mark walk in the direction where he knows Rachelle. He grabs his Lightsaber and ignited.
Mark walks through one of the hall and notice it was heavily damage. This was the room that Rachelle was in when she got injured badly. They will need to propose to the Senate of getting permission to repair their temple. He knows as long as Palpatine is in office, the repairs would not get done quickly.
Shaak Ti follows him with her Lightsaber activate and a blue plasma blade was coming out of her hilt. Mark looks down and notices a Lightsaber on the ground. He uses the Force to summon it to his spare hands. He can tell that the design of the Lightsaber, that it was Rachelle's. Mark clips it to his belt and notices a guy who has his neck slash almost all the way off.
"Mark looks around as he let the horrors sink in a bit. Then he senses someone that is strong in the Force. He sees a gray plasma blade as the female walks forward. It was a yellow female Twi'lek. She sends Force Lightning at Mark. Mark uses the Force to leap out of the way.
Shaak Ti spins out of the way. "I will pay handsomely for your death, Master Zane." say the Dark Jedi. Mark rushes at her, easily she block a strong swing of Mark's Lightsaber.
Mark tried to kick her but the Dark Jedi use the Force to slam Mark back into the wall. The Dark Jedi tries to slash Mark through the shoulder as she spins toward him. She blocks an attack from Shaak Ti. Mark stands up but was slammed hard into the wall once more and falls.
"How could you betray the Jedi Order! You are working for the side that has killed your own mentor! Here your mentor stands, and you try to kill him!" shout Shaak Ti as she effortless blocks all of the Dark Jedi attack.
He is not my mentor, even so, someone is willing to pay great amount of credits fore his head! I could use all the money I can get!" laughs the Dark Jedi as she attempt to kill Shaak Ti.
Mark stands up and sends a powerful wave of the Force at the Dark Jedi to send her stumbling down to the ground. Mark unleashes some very impressive moves with his Lightsaber, which is breaking through the defense of the Dark Jedi and scarring her armor.
She tries to slashes at Mark's legs as she falls down. Mark leaps over them and flips behind her. She uses the Force to flip herself up from the ground. She tries to plunge her Lightsaber through Mark's stomach. A quick diagonal blow slashes her Lightsaber and a bit of her fingers. She screams in pain as she holds her fingers and went down on her knees.
Mark was about ready to put his Lightsaber away when Rachelle's fly off his belt into the hands of the Bounty Hunter. For the second time in Mark's life he is fighting against Rachelle's weapon, but in a hand of a more deadly foe.
A youngling tries to fight, but almost got killed if it was not from Mark taking a slash into the arm. It took a small chunk of skin and meat from his arm. The Force will glow that back with the aid of a Bacta Tank. Still that thought does not stop the feeling of pain that travel through Mark's body. He tries to ignore it as he fights the Dark Jedi that he of this universe trained. Mark can tell she has pay close attention.
She knows the moves Mark was going to make as if it was himself fighting himself. She was very skilled with the Force and a Lightsaber to stand up against him and Shaak Ti at once.
The Dark Jedi attempt to behead Mark, but since he was taller it made her stretch out. Both him and Shaak Ti swings at him. His Lightsaber cut her arms off above her elbow and Shaak Ti's swing took her Lightsaber straight through the side. The Dark Jedi drops to her knees and fall down. Mark uses the Force to summon Rachelle's Lightsaber to his belt.
Mark senses more fighting going on. Mark got up and walks into another room and sees Anakin Skywalker fighting another Dark Jedi. A powerful Force Push sends the Dark Jedi through a window when it got smashed head on to a Speeder.
Now there were bunch of Droids. Mark stands by Anakin. When they see the Droids coming at them, they disassemble them with their Lightsabers. For two Jedi, the advance Droids stand no chance against them.
Mark drops down to his knees as he holds his injured arm. Anakin reach down and helps him up. "What is going on? I came back and saw the Temple under attack." say Anakin. "Beside those attack us, none of us are dead, Rachelle is injured very badly." say Mark.
"Here let me get you to the Halls of Healing." say Anakin as they walk through some of the damage halls. They enter the Halls of Healing. Mark saw a very injured Rachelle in a Bacta Tank.
She does look very hurt. It appears that she will be in there for a while. Mark looks down as he sits down on the bed. Stass Allie, a Tholothian Jedi Healer, walks over to him. "Ouch look like missing a chunk of your arm. I can use the Force to heal this. You might want to bite into this, since it is going to be painful." say Stass as she hands Mark a thick rag. Mark bite into it as she begins to use the Force.
Painful was slightly an understatement. Now he knows why the cloth is used for, to prevent himself from biting into his lip or biting his tongue off. Stass is trying to use the Force to ease the pain too.
"Palpatine throws the glass of fine wine he was drinking when he senses that his plan was a fail. He was about to drink to the success of his plan of making the Jedi look weak failed greatly.
"He had personally request, as Darth Sidious, for Jabba the Hutt to send some of his best Bounty Hunters to the Jedi Temple. He supplied them with some very advance droids from his bass on Byss. When he becomes Emperor, he is going to make life hard on the Hutts. He paid them great amount of credits for the attack on the temple.
"Why can't everything go right, anymore!" complain Palpatine as he puts his head in his palms to calm himself down. He must remain in control of concealing his Force signature.
Master Zane is really getting under his skin as he keeps on missing with his plans. He cannot wait till the day he sees Master Zane's dead body at his feet. He wants to be the one who personally kills him after all the trouble he caused. Maybe he will make it as an example to the Jedi who is still alive after Order 66 is order.
Mark sits in his quarters eating a bowl of soup. His arm still hurts slightly from the pain he is feeling. He knows one thing; the quarters feel strange knowing that Rachelle would not be coming in.
Mark looks down to his belt and notices Rachelle's Lightsaber was still clip to his belt. Mark got up from the table and walks into her room. He puts Rachelle's Lightsaber on the desk. He looks around the room shortly.
The room is full of technology that Rachelle has been working on during her free time. Rachelle reminds Mark often of his own family back on Bakura, or what he knows of it in his universe. They are gifted on working on Technology. Beside his mother and farther, they run a business that builds ships, droids, and any other Technology thing.
Mark walks out of the room and turns off the lights. He sits back down to eat. Mark puts the spoon back into the bowl and put his head in his palms slightly. Why cannot Rachelle just listen to his teachings? Not to go rushing into things like that. He can see why she did. He would do the same thing, but he would have tried to thinking quickly what he could have done. He would have use the Force to defend himself too when he attack the guy who injured her.
Then again, she is learning. Even the Jedi who taught her before him even stating that she seem to enjoy learning from him. He is getting much farther then any of them, besides the mentor that she has lost because of Grievous.
Mark got up and just throws the bowl into the sink. The bowl bounces around in the sink before it stops. He has not eaten since breakfast and that fight made him hungry, but now he does not want to eat. All he wants to do is go to bed and wish this was some ugly nightmare he is having.
He grabs a glass of water and pop in a couple of pills into his mouth to aid him into falling asleep. He is still haunted by some of those visions, but not as much as he was before. Then he walks into his bedroom and falls asleep.