PART 3: ASTRAY ACOLYTES
CHAPTER 15: CORUSCANT DOWN
Anakin's small ship pelted through the skies of Coruscant, without heeding the small battle taking place between the meager planetary defense force and the fighter squadrons of the huge battleship. Anakin made for the senate building. The huge domed roof already had smoke issuing from it and there was a gaping whole where some ship had either fired its lasers into it or else had crashed, which it was, Anakin didn't know. Landing his ship on one of the many platforms at the senate building, Anakin hurried out of the ship. He paused a moment on reaching the doors into the senate building. The guards that normally would have challenged him were all dead, lying against the doors that led inside the senate. The attackers were already inside. Anakin's heart raced, what if Ahsoka and Asajj were already hurt or dead?
Padmè stood in the middle of the large lobby on the third floor of the senate building with about thirty others. The lobby meeting that was taking place shortly before the vote on whether or not to open peace talks with the Separatists was interrupted only moments after Padmè's arrived. With a blaze of blaster fire battle droids came into the lobby. At their head was a huge droid, with a hacking cough, draped in a red and black cloak that trailed over the stairs as it descended from the mezzanine.
"Were under attack!" senator Troock screamed to the ceiling of the lobby.
"Holt." the battle droids ordered as some senators made to run. Any that had thought of running froze in their tracks.
"What is the meaning of this?" Palpatine demanded of the huge droid. Padmè felt a lurch of fear as the cloak clade droid paused before the group of senators. Reaching behind itself the droid pulled out a lightsaber and slashed the siring green blade out, killing a senator and then again killing two more senators instantly.
"Now that I have your attention," the droid said, its yellow eyes boring out of the mettle mask that was its face, "you are all going to die at the hands of General Grievous, general of the Confederacy of Independent Systems."
Padmè's eyes locked with the droids and it was then that she realized that the droid was actually some twisted creature, the eyes were organic. Grievous approached Padmè and somehow she felt as if it had singled her out, as if it had been looking for her. Padmè was hyper aware of the data disk about the clones in her pocket, she had not yet delivered to the senate records, or to the chancellor before the vote. Was the creature after the information? But she was not the only who knew, Obi-Wan and Jango Fett also knew what had been happening on Kamino, the information would survive even if she didn't.
Chancellor Palpatine stepped in front of Grievous, "I will not allow you to take this senate hostage. How dare you attack this assembly." The old man's voice was full of righteous anger. Grievous laughed another hacking cough.
"I was not planning on taking hostages." Sweeping one metal arm Grievous knocked the elderly man to one side. Palpatine landed hard on the floor several feet away.
"How dare you," Bail Organa said. The man always ready to fight politically now seemingly he was ready to fight the part droid creature hand to hand.
"Easily." Grievous turning to Padmè again adding, "now it is time for you to die senator." Grievous raised his lighted saber over his head to strike.
"Grievous!" came an angry and challenging voice echoing from above. Padmè, as well as everyone else in the lobby looked up. Standing on the mezzanine a young man with curly dark hair and a blue lightsaber burning in his right hand.
"Jedi!" Grievous accused when it saw the man.
Padmè gasped recognizing Anakin Skywalker instantaneously. Her heart leap with a new kind of fear, fear for Anakin.
Anakin attacked descending the mezzanine in three short leaps, Grievous shoved senators out of his way to meet his opponent in a mortal combat. Anakin went blow for blow with Grievous, but this time Anakin was not struggling to keep his head, it was Grievous' turn for that.
...
Grievous disengaged a moment with the young Jedi whose skills had improved much since the last time they had met. Taking another saber from his belt Grievous decided if he could not out maneuver the young Jedi he would overwhelm him.
...
The battle droids that had come in with Grievous stood blocking exit from the lobby, several of them moved around the edge of the room attaching detonators to the wall. Padmè's attention, as was that of all the other senators, was riveted on the battle taking place between Anakin and Grievous. She knew she couldn't do anything but Padmè wanted to help. She sensed Bail standing near her, and briefly wondered if any of them would make it out of the senate alive.
...
Grievous had one advantage over the human, his machine body made him far stronger. Hammering down with his full strength Grievous felt the Jedi's arms physically buckled under the assault. Keeping up the blows Grievous took the upper hand in the battle and forced Anakin backwards.
...
Palpatine had been helped up from where Grievous had thrown him, and now stood with the senators. Everything had been playing out just as he'd foreseen, until the young man had appeared. Though he carried a lightsaber the boy was no Jedi. Yet he had managed to foil another life attempt on senator Amidala. No matter she could still die before the attack on Coruscant was over. Palpatine was becoming very angry with the young man's interference in his plans. He was waiting for Grievous to strike the annoyance down when he felt the force stir.
...
Anakin used the training he'd received from Dooku and reached out with the force, became one with it, and took hold. Power flushed through him and he reached out. Anakin threw the droids backwards. Grievous was on the defensive now, blocking instead of attacking, retreating instead of taking ground. When his guard was down to low pure energy cut through the mettle of his forearm. Screaming in pain Grievous scrambled away from his adversary calling to his battle droids "kill the Jedi!"
Two dozen battle droids turned their weapons on Anakin and fired. "Anakin watch out!" Padmè called. Anakin rolled to one side and narrowly avoiding the red laser bolts fired by the battle droids. Getting back to his feat he deflected several of the bolts back at the droids.
...
"Anakin!" another voice called from a few floors above. Anakin glanced up and saw Asajj just as she leapt over the balcony and landed at his side.
"What are you doing here?" Anakin asked as he deflected back another bolt.
"Saving your butt form another stupid decision," Asajj said "together." Both pirates flung out a hand and shoved the battle droids closest to them. The droids fell over and struggled to right themselves as Asajj leapt to cut them down more.
Anakin sensed it before it happened and turning he met Grievous' attack from behind, blocking the green lightsaber before it cut into him. Anakin locked sabers with the droid general for a long moment. Suddenly Anakin realization the hilt of the green blade the droid general was wielding.
"Where did you get that?" Anakin demanded, he had never learned the exact details of Qui-Gon's death, but his lightsaber was unmistakable.
Grievous laughed, "I killed the Jedi and took it."
...
Palpatine felt the hair on the back of his neck rise; the force swirled up around the boy all at once. Anger and rage swept the force and the boy rained blow after blow down on the droid general.
...
Anakin took off two more of Grievous' limbs, and then with a powerful force shove slammed the droid creature into the wall with such force the cracks spidered over the plaster. Grievous had dropped his remaining lightsaber and Anakin advanced.
"Kill the Jedi, both of them, kill all the organics!" Grievous screamed to his troops. The droid commander responded "roger, roger" and pressed the button of a device it was holding. Around the walls lasers sprang to life from devices the droids had been placing around since they had first entered the lobby.
"Get back, don't touch them." Bail Organa holding an arm out to keep several panicked senators from touching the red lasers that now crisscrossed the lobby.
"Everyone to the middle." Padmè called, gesturing for the others to gather in the center medallion on the carpeted floor.
...
Palpatine found himself herded to the center of the floor; Grievous had gone too far in his attack on the senate in respect to the detonators. Palpatine himself might be in real danger of being killed. Yet Palpatine had still not taken his eyes off of the young man. Or the small battle taking place beyond the lasers between the young man and Grievous, and the Zabrak woman and battle droids.
...
Anakin raised his lightsaber over his head and tore the blue energy through the metal body of the droid general. Grievous gave one last scream and then slumped silently to the floor of the senate mezzanine. Anakin scooped up the fallen lightsaber of Qui-Gon. Asajj leaped forwards and cut down the droid commander, without any leader the battle droids paused a moment while they processed what to do. "Attack" one finally ordered.
"Anakin?" Asajj called as she cut down another droid.
"Go!" Anakin called more battle droids were streaming in from the platform they had taken. "Get back to Starkiller, I'll follow!" Anakin called to her over the sound of the battle they were now taking part in.
"Anakin, Ahsoka's somewhere in the building." Asajj deflected a bolt. Anakin's heart stop for a moment, Ahsoka might be dead, if she'd been in there when the attack had started.
"We'll find her." Anakin called back, it was all he could do.
"Already got that covered." came Ahsoka's voice crackling over the comm on Asajj's wrist. "I'm at the East entrance, your rides waiting, and hurry."
"got it." Asajj took the three mini thermo-detonators she had brought to blow the Jedi volute doors and threw them into the thickest part of where the battle droids were clustered. "Now!" Asajj called and broke for the side exit that would lead them away from the lobby where the battle for the senate was taking place.
...
The lasers which had started to beep now beeped faster and faster as they counted down before detonation, "help us!" Orn-free-taa pleaded.
Padmè looked up to where Anakin was. He had paused when he heard Orn-free-taa's cry. Padmè's eyes were locked on him for a long second, the rest of the senators was looking up as well, frozen in a second of helplessness.
Anakin jumped without heed of the few remaining battle droids that were still firing at him after Asajj's detonators had turned more than half of their numbers into slag. Arching up and over the lasers Anakin landed in the midst of the senators. "Everyone to the middle now!" he ordered. Anakin stabbed his lightsaber into the marble floors and started dragging it around the edge of the medallion the senators were standing on.
...
Palpatine jockeyed for position to see the young force wielder as he attempted to save them.
...
"Nine second" Mon Mathma called out.
"Aim the rocket." Came the tinny voice of a battle droid.
Anakin didn't have time to slowly cut through the entire floor; the area was too large of a circle. "Hang on!" Anakin called to the senators.
"Five second." Mon's voice held a note of panic in it.
"Ready." came the response from the battle droid holding the rocket launcher.
Anakin thrust one hand down towards the floor and called on the force. He felt the seam in the floor he'd made crack. The piece of senate floor gave way breaking into several large pieces and everyone plummeted to the second floor below. Landing hard, senators and staffers scattered in every direction, tumbling off the pieces of floor and landing hard on the solid marble of the second level lobby below. Anakin took a moment to right himself from the fall and then ducked as the bombs above exploded mingling with the droids rocket which sent pieces of marble raining down on the second floor through the large whole in the ceiling.
...
Padmè was helped up by Bail who was sporting a cut on his temple that was bleeding. "Is everyone alight?" Bail asked.
"I think we all lived." Mon's voice was pained as she held her shoulder, it looked as if it might have been dislocated in the fall to Padmè.
"Where's Anakin?" Padmè asked looking about.
There was the sound of doors being forced open and six Jedi Knights and several padawans came running into the senate lobby led by Master Shaak Ti. "Senators," the Jedi said "are you all unharmed?"
"We'll all live," Bail said.
"Secure the building and bring any other survivors to this lobby" Shaak Ti instructed. "Ferus take Caleb and search the upper offices." she ordered the young knight. "Chancellors." the Jedi master turned to Palpatine, "the enemy has been beaten back, Coruscant is ours once again."
"That is good news," Palpatine said, he brushed off some of the fine white dust that coughed his black robe. "Where is the young man who saved us?" Palpatine looked about.
"He's gone, I saw him leave when the Jedi arrived." Orn-free-taa pointing to one of the side halls that led away from the lobby.
Anakin tuned the frequency of Dooku's ship to that of Starkiller the moment he reached the cockpit. He'd had to take a different way out then Ahsoka had offered, there had been too many battle droids in-between himself and them by the time he'd left.
"Anakin!?" Ahsoka's voice was panicked a little as she responded to his message.
"I'm alive, we need to get the hell out of here," Anakin said, "rendezvous at Baska-Low ."
"Copy that." Asajj's voice came over the comm.
They cut their communications after that and headed for open space; the battleship was no longer in the sky as they exited the atmosphere.