Senior Padawan Zati Vish smiled as she entered the Coruscant atmosphere. She had been on assignment in the Mandalorian system and was now returning with a handful of her troops at the request of the council. Zati checked her systems and made some small adjustments to her course before settling back. In less than a standard hour, she would be amongst her fellow Jedi in the Temple and be able to hear what her Master and his former Padawan had been up to since she left.
Zati's warning system went off while her mind was wandering and she acted on reflex when she yanked her steering yoke to the left. The Padawan's eyes widened when she saw a proton torpedo meant for her fighter go past. Instantly in defense mode, Zati pushed her fighter into a dive, looking above her for pursuers as she did. Seeing nothing but her troops' fighters above her, she glanced at her warning system and then back at the sky above her. This time she saw one of her troopers fire and adjusted her flight path so that the torpedo would avoid her as she looked below for the enemy they were shooting at.
Zati released her confusion into the Force as she flipped on the switch for her comms system and pulled the fighter out of its dive. "Captain Edge, where is the target? I am getting no Separatist readings on my screen." There was no answer and she was about to repeat herself when another torpedo shot past her cockpit.
Her warning system beeped and Zati jerked her fighter around a building. As the fighter rounded the corner and several torpedoes shot past, Zati felt the Force suddenly darken. The pain that rippled from the Force afterward caused her to nearly scream as she felt the echoes of other's pain. She let out a pained cry when she realized that the pain was coming from the deaths of hundreds of Jedi.
With no time to cry, the young Jedi checked her scanners once more. Still, no separatists signals, meaning she had been the target of those torpedoes. Her warning system began beeping madly again and she saw a brief message from her astromech on the screen before she began evading more shots from the once loyal troopers.
She had trained with these troops and knew their abilities. Moreover, she had taught them some of the off-book maneuvers that they were trying to use on her. Zati would not be able to escape them for long and if she did not figure out a way to survive soon, she would join Force much sooner than she wished. A spiral dive and steep climb shot her fighter above her pursuers for a moment and she quickly took stock of her situation. Below her, the clone troops were reassembling and the city guards were joining them. She had seconds left to come up with some sort of plan.
A brief glance showed that she was near the warehouse district. The one that was closest to the Temple. There was no chance of her pursuers allowing her to reach the Temple in her fighter, but there might be a way she could still get there.
The Jedi Padawan flipped her fighter, aiming it directly for the fighters below her. With no choice left, the General opened fire on her own men, shooting down a few before she dropped past them. Zati pulled her fighter level and began flying between buildings, a barely formed plan in mind as she raced ahead of her pursuers, trying not to look as if she was following a planned route.
She had just made it to the warehouse district when a shot hit her wing. Taking advantage of the situation and ducking low in her seat, Zati allowed her fighter to spin briefly out of control and go under one of the many cranes. She timed the moment she regained control of the fighter to coincide with the moment the arm of the crane was overhead. This caused the arm of the crane to rip the hood of the cockpit off the fighter.
Despite the rushing wind whipping her red hair into her face, Zati was satisfied that her maneuver had worked successfully. No sane pilot would intentionally cause the hood of their cockpit to be ripped off their craft while trying to escape, so she was also confident that her actions had looked accidental. The consequences for her maneuver became clear a few seconds later when the frantic beeping of the astromech alerted her to the left engine, which was billowing smoke. Zati's flight time was dropping and so were her chances of escaping from her pursuers if she didn't find what she needed.
Ignoring her stinging eyes and her hair, Zati finally found what she was looking for. Slightly to her left were two warehouses, the farthest one taller than the other. As her starfighter shook from the impact of ion blasts, Zati tightened the straps of the pack that she had retrieved from the storage compartment behind the seat. She also checked that her lightsaber was securely fastened before she initiated both a barrel roll and a tight turn to the left. Allowing her damaged craft to stop spinning early, Zati made small adjustments to the trajectory of the now upside down starfighter. The roof of the first warehouse filled the young Jedi's vision, close enough for her to brush with her fingertips. Blinded from the wind roaring around her, Zati closed her eyes and immersed herself in the Force. She jumped out of her fighter the moment she felt the edge of the warehouse roof pass by. She managed to avoid the shockwave from her fighter hitting the second warehouse and land on one of the lower levels below the warehouse.
The explosions grew louder as she retreated into the shadows and a grim smile came to her face. It would take days to find the remains of her fighter and verify that she had been in it if anyone even bothered to look. Staying in the shadows, she slipped off her pack and dug through it, pulling out a cloak and a comm with a direct link to the Temple frequency. After returning the pack to her shoulders, she wrapped the cloak around herself. Clothes concealed and commlink in hand, Zati looked at the warehouse once more.
Smaller explosions were still taking place further in the warehouse and Zati was sure that the building would collapse in only a few minutes. Her starfighter would be completely buried, if not melted in the ruins. The Jedi did feel a small pang for her astromech. R2-D5 had been a loyal droid throughout all of their flights, but there had been no way for the little guy to escape. Zati turned and began making her way out of the area as part of the warehouse finally collapsed.
Zati had navigated through the underworld levels of Coruscant until she found one of the sewer entrances that could get her to the Temple unnoticed. Once she entered one, she waited until the second passageway before attempting a transmission to the Temple.
"Temple Communication Center, what is the emergency?" Zati grimaced when the knight answered. She had forgotten about the formality of those who did not leave the Temple very often.
"This is Senior Padawan Zati Vish, I was shot down by my troopers after entering Coruscant airspace. I am making my way to the Temple, but all of the Jedi need to be warned that clone troopers cannot be trusted." Before the knight could protest Zati continued. "Listen to the Force, the words I say are true. Enough Jedi have already died today, the Temple needs to be secured!"
"Your information is getting relayed to the Council right now, Padawan." The older Jedi paused and Zati held her breath, both because of the stench in the sewers and what the knight might say next. "If what we sense in the Force is true, we will not be able to send you help."
"I have no need of help," Zati informed him. "I am making my way to the Temple as we speak and should arrive there without incident."
"May the Force be with you, Padawan Vish."
"May the Force be with you, Jedi Knight."
The transmission ended and Zati sighed. She had gotten the message to the Temple, what they chose to do was not her responsibility. She checked the map of sewer systems on her small data screen. As she walked through the systems, Zati reached for the bond shared between Masters and Padawans. It was there but stretched thin and she thanked the Force that it wasn't broken. The pain from her first bond breaking when Master Poof had died on Geonosis was not something she wanted to experience again. Her master must have been sent on an assignment off-planet and didn't know that she had been scheduled to return.
According to her map, Zati only had a few more turns before she reached one of the hidden entrances to the Temple. The feeling of approaching danger made her speed up and as she did so, Zati thought about looking for other force signatures, but ultimately decided against it. If all the Jedi had been labeled traitors, she didn't want to know who she wouldn't be able to find when she reached the Temple.
The entrance looked like every other part of the sewer tunnels around it. Zati could feel the Force protection around it though. Only someone who was Force sensitive would be able to see the entrance. And as she got closer, she realized that only someone friendly to those who resided in the Temple would be able to pass safely through. The entrance was a Force trap.
Comforted by the precautions, Zati passed through the entrance and was soon making her way through the lower levels of the Temple, toward the Council Chamber. She hit the main level and stopped. The main hall was full of Masters, Knights, and Padawans, all looking very concerned and agitated. She spotted Serra Keto among the crowd and made her way over to the duelist, ignoring the wrinkled noses of the beings she passed.
"Serra!" She called when the knight started to walk away. "Serra!"
The young human woman turned at the sound of her name and smiled when she saw the redheaded Jedi. "Padawan Vish, what are you doing here? Last I heard you were fighting with the Mandalorians."
"Yeah, yeah, stop reminding me that you got knighted before I did." The younger of the two grumbled. "I just need to know what is going on. The main hall hasn't been this full since before the war."
"Skywalker discovered that the Chancellor is the Sith Lord." Serra began. "Most of the council that is still on the planet went to confront him while Master Shaak Ti stayed behind. Senior Padawans and above were instructed to be ready for a Sith attack if the Council fails."
"If the council wasn't here, then they would not have gotten my message," Zati muttered, frantically going over the information she had. The pieces suddenly clicked together and she looked at her friend. "I need to talk with Master Ti, now."
She turned and began looking for the Togrutan Council member, using the Force to locate her Force Signature. Serra followed her, confused by the panicked tone in her friend's voice. Zati soon found Shaak Ti talking with a knight, but did not wait for an invitation to speak.
"Master Ti, we need to evacuate now." When the Togrutan Jedi turned her attention to the Padawan, she continued. "The clone troopers are no longer friends of the Jedi. They shot down my fighter in one of the Coruscant warehouse districts. Knight Keto has informed me that the Chancellor is the Sith. We know he has control over the Senate and he must have control over the clones as well. With all of the clone battalions currently on Coruscant the Order will have no chance of surviving if we do not evacuate immediately."
There was no immediate response from Shaak Ti. Zati and the two knights watched as the Council member first frowned and then turned to stare out toward the horizon.
"The young one is correct." She finally spoke. "Knight Veld, you must return to the Archives. Inform Master Nu of the evacuation and that emergency procedures need to be put into action. All of the information in the Archives must either leave in the evacuation or be completely erased from the archive database. That knowledge cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of the Sith. Once you are finished, get yourselves and all other Jedi in the Archives to Cargo Bay 9."
"Yes, Master." The Knight bowed and hurried away.
"Knight Keto," Serra stood to attention and bowed. "Take a few of the other knights with you and prepare the freighters in Cargo Bay 9 for evacuation. Send two of the padawans to warn Master Ali-Alann and the other Creche Masters of the evacuation and to aid in moving the younglings to the transports."
"Yes, Master." She gave Zati a brief smile before disappearing into the crowd.
"Padawan Vish, you would do well to remember proper protocol in the future. However," Shaak Ti continued, turning to face the young woman and smiling slightly as the young human blushed and shifted uncomfortably. "Given who your Master is and who you have fought with throughout this war, your disregard of protocol comes as no surprise. You have done well in warning us, but this trial is not yet over. We cannot risk alerting the Sith to our evacuation. None of the systems can be used, so you and a few of the other Senior Padawans are now tasked with finding and instructing all of the Jedi in the Temple to go to Cargo Bay 9."
"Yes, Master." Zati bowed and then hastily walked over to a group of Padawans. A quick discussion took place before she ran out of the main hall toward the Med Center. Padawans Zish, Jukassa, and Sil also ran out of the hall, headed for the Sparring Rooms, the Meditation Chambers, and the Sleeping Quarters.
Shaak Ti sighed as she watched the young ones leave. The four were strong in the Force and would be able to gather the Jedi scattered throughout the Temple. She could feel the window of time they had to escape closing and as the lone council member left in the Temple, Shaak Ti was responsible for the survival of the Jedi Order.
A pulse through the Force caught the attention of the assembled Jedi and silence fell as talking stopped and everyone looked at the Togruta Master that stood in the Entry.
"Brothers and Sisters," the council member began, "Many of you are aware of the discovery made by Skywalker this afternoon. For those of you who are not, the Chancellor of the Republic is the Sith Lord we have been looking for since the Invasion of Naboo thirteen standard years ago."
Muttering and cries of dismay filled the hall but quickly died down as Shaak Ti continued. "Council Members have gone to confront the Chancellor, but it does not seem to have been successful. One of the Jedi Commanders managed to inform us that her troops attempted to shoot her down in a Coruscant warehouse district. With this information, I am reluctant to admit that the Temple would not survive an assault by all of the troops on Coruscant. Jedi are assembling in Cargo Bay 9 with the younglings for evacuation as we speak. I have not ordered those in this hall to be evacuated because the evacuation cannot be discovered. If the Sith believes that anyone has escaped he will hunt them down. To kill or use it does not matter."
A horrible silence filled the hall as the Jedi processed Master Ti's insinuation. Then Gatemaster Jurokk stepped forward. "If the Temple is destroyed while Jedi are still believed to be in it, it may divert the attention of the Republic and the Sith."
"There will need to be a fight." Master Drallig spoke up from the hall that led to the Sparring Rooms. "The Temple being destroyed by explosions or fire with Jedi still inside may aid in deceiving the Republic into thinking that the Jedi are gone, but when no bodies can be found it will become suspicious."
"I cannot ask any Jedi to sacrifice their life to aid in the escape of the others." Shaak Ti protested.
"As the only council member left, you must be part of the evacuation." Master Ramag spoke up. "A Council Member, most of the Master/Padawan pairs currently in the Temple, along with any knights and padawans will be able to protect the younglings and continue the Order in hiding."
"I will stay behind and fight so our brothers and sisters may escape." A Zabrak Knight spoke up. His declaration was followed by other knights and padawans announcing their willingness to stay behind. A few masters stood beside their padawans, showing their desire to fight as well. Shaak Ti looked at the Jedi around her and was saddened by the many who stood without their masters or padawans. This war had torn apart so many.
After those who would stay were decided, the actions of the rest fell into place. Knight and Padawan pairs retrieved thermal detonators and other explosive devices from the outfitting level and made their way throughout the temple, placing the explosives in the spots that had been determined would ensure the collapse of the to Temple. Shaak Ti left Master Drallig in charge of the Jedi who would make their last stand at the Temple. She led the others to Cargo Bay 9, where the remaining members of the Jedi Order were already in the transports.
From the looks on the faces of the oldest of those gathered, Shaak gathered that they understood the situation. She found Padawan Vish helping to load supplies in one of the transports with a few of the other knights and padawans.
"Padawan Vish." The young woman straightened, a crate of medical supplies still in her arms.
"Yes, Master Ti?"
"How close are we to departure?"
Zati handed the crate to a younger padawan that offered to take it when he saw the older girl talking with a Master. "Only a few more boxes and then we will just be waiting for the rest of the Jedi."
"Finish with the crates and then get on board, understand?" The council member did not want to risk the padawan emulating those that came before her and getting herself killed. Force knew what her death would do to her master if he somehow managed to beat the odds once more.
"Yes, Master." Zati picked up another crate, but only made it a few steps before she turned around. "Master Ti, where was my master sent?"
"He was sent after General Grievous." The council member placed a hand on the young woman's shoulder. "The last transmission we received from Uptapua was that the General had been defeated. Of all the Jedi on the frontlines, I have little doubt that he could escape this. If he does not, remember that it is the will of the Force, young one."
"Yes, Master." As Zati hurried off to deliver the crate to a freighter, Shaak Ti watched. The girl had not asked if Kenobi had gone alone and she had no desire to inform her that Skywalker had most likely died at the Senate with the other Council members.
Serra Keto had finished prepping all of her assigned freighter's flight systems. She looked through the cockpit windows to the hurried Jedi in the Cargo Bay. She could feel the turmoil in the Force as everyone around her released their nervousness and fear. Many were also releasing the pain that they could still feel from the deaths of their brethren across the galaxy. Serra had been fighting tears when she realized that the sharp pain she had felt in her chest had been the Force echoing with the panic of the Jedi being betrayed by their own troops. The tears had disappeared as she had worked to ensure the evacuation could be pulled off, but now that she was just waiting for the order to take off, Serra had time to think.
She had noticed that Jedi were missing and she noticed that the Jedi who had arrived following Master Ti and were now divided between the available freighters, were downcast. They were not looking toward the exits waiting for others to show up. She realized that they knew no one would be coming through the exits. The Jedi who were missing were not missing. They were staying behind to guard the escape of the others.
Shock widened the Knight's eyes and she shot out of the cockpit. Making her way through the freighter, Serra passed injured Jedi on makeshift pallets, groups of young padawans, and youngling clans huddled around their clan master. The younger initiates had not been told what was going on, but it seemed that despite their best efforts, the younglings had figured out that something was very wrong.
Serra was on the loading ramp when she heard the order to take off. Pilots flipped their engines on and closed the ramps on the freighters. Serra staggered as the wind picked up in the cargo bay and she stopped. While she felt that her place was with the last defenders of the Temple and with her master, Serra was responsible for everyone on her freighter getting off of Coruscant safely. Torn, the young woman looked back the way she came, and then back at the exit. Pounding footsteps came from behind her and Serra turned as another Jedi ran up to her.
"Serra, we need to take off!" Zati yelled over the sound of the engines.
"You can fly a freighter, right?" Serra yelled back, a plan forming the moment she saw the younger woman.
"Of course I can!" Zati's face was confused and Serra knew that she was going to figure it out at any moment. "I need you to pilot, Zati. My place is here with my master, distracting the Sith." She said and she could see the moment it clicked for her friend.
"No!" Zati grabbed her arm desperately trying to hold the knight back. "No, don't. We've lost enough Jedi as it is!"
"Zati!" Serra shouted, wrenching her arm from the younger woman's hands. "The other freighters are leaving and you need to follow them. Our time is almost out."
Zati nearly fell from the force of Serra's movement but recovered herself. She knew that her friend was right, their paths lay in different directions now. The Force was urging her to hurry, now was no time for stubbornness. Tears escaped her eyes and were quickly dried by the wind from the surrounding freighters that were now leaving through the open hangar doors. Opening one of the pockets on her utility belt, Zati grabbed the spare two-way comm link she had grabbed from her sleeping quarters earlier.
"Take this, then." She yelled and tossed the comm to Serra. "Comm me when you escape and I'll come to pick you up, Daredevil."
"Don't lose the other one then, Wings," Serra replied after she stowed the commlink in her own belt. The two nodded and then went their ways, unwilling to say goodbye for what would most likely be that last time.
Zati hurried to the cockpit and turned the engines on full. Just before the redhead got the freighter off the ground, she looked out across the hangar, somewhat hoping to catch one last glimpse of her friend. Serra was there, waiting at the exit, arm raised and with her lightsaber in hand. Zati was reminded of previous goodbyes, ones that were not suicide missions.
Navigating her freighter through Coruscant airspace, Zati took a route that would get the starship to the jump point Serra had already programmed into the navicomputer. The route would take them past the Jedi Temple, making Zati thank the Force for whatever had prompted the Council to remove all of the Jedi symbols from the transports of Cargo Bay 9.
Zati had little to do but check her systems as she flew the freighter through Coruscant airspace. Her control of the Force wavered when she thought of the commlink that she had given Serra. The gesture had been almost completely useless, both women had known that Serra was probably going to be dead before dawn, but neither wanted to say the words out loud. So they had bantered good-naturedly like they usually did before a mission.
A beep from the transmission console broke through her thoughts and Zati froze for an instant when the noise was followed by the familiar voice of a clone trooper.
"Freighter 2187, this space lane has been blocked off, please move to another lane." A pair of clone troopers were in a military speeder and were directing traffic to other lanes. Zati didn't think that they needed a response, so she simply followed the directions and moved to another traffic lane. The one she was now on was a more roundabout way of reaching the jump point, but it would do. Zati glanced at the clone troopers as she maneuvered past and felt a wave of sadness when she realized that they were part of the 501st.
The freighter hadn't gone far when Zati realized why the traffic had been directed to another route. The Jedi Temple was to her right and Zati hoped that there were not any viewports in the back of the freighter. Smoke surrounded the Temple, billowing out of windows and obscuring parts of the ancient building. If she strained hard enough, Zati could make out red laser blasts by the Temple entrance. A fireball erupted from the side of a tower and she could only watch as the tower collapsed, bringing down other parts of the building. More explosions followed and the death that occurred each time echoed in the Force.
Zati wanted to scream. Traffic had slowed as all the passengers ahead of her watched in horrified fascination as the temple burned. Zati was trapped in her lane, watching as her home was destroyed. She could not pull out of her lane and speed out of the atmosphere. Not only would that cause potential danger to other beings as well as her passengers, but it would also be extremely conspicuous.
A knock on the cockpit door pulled her attention away from the Temple and she turned around as the door slid open. On the other side was the Jedi Knight Bultar Swan. Zati was surprised, she hadn't seen Swan since the MedCenter after the First Battle of Geonosis. The older woman took the co-pilot seat and looked toward the Temple.
"When the freighter slowed down and I could feel the echoes of beings dying in the Force, I knew something was wrong." The knight sighed as another of the Temple's towers fell. "Seeing that destruction makes the evacuation seem more real, more… desperate. "
Zati nodded. Few words could explain the feeling of watching the ancient building that had been home to so many, that held so much history, be ruthlessly destroyed. The two Jedi sat in silence, Zati occasionally making adjustments to their course as the traffic continued forward at a snail's pace. Eventually, as buildings blocked the view of what had been the Jedi Temple, traffic sped back up. It was not long after that Zati's freighter made it to the jump point and she made the jump to hyperspace. The streaks of space filled the viewport, but the two women only saw the Temple, smoke billowing from the smoldering ruins.
Constructive criticism is welcome, I am aware that this story probably needs a bit of help.
To anyone wondering, there is a mixture of canon, legends, and OC characters. This is a prequel/rewrite of Resurgence and I hope to update it much more frequently than Resurgence was updated.