Chapter 9: Darkness Falls
Obi-Wan's hand shook as he slowly lowered the blaster to his side; he closed his eyes for a moment, as he reached into the Force and took a long, trembling breath as he tried to calm himself.
He could still feel the dark tremor that he had sensed in the Force only moments ago. It had torn through him like the searing hot blade of a lightsaber; something had happened, that much he knew, and his instincts told him that, whatever it was, it wasn't good, and it troubled him, deeply.
What bothered him most, though, was what the dark sensation had stirred in him. He opened his eyes, slowly and looked through the haze of smoke and sparks that filled the room in front of him; the General's body lay only a short distance from him, his long cybernetic limbs still twitching erratically.
Obi-Wan grimaced as he reached up and took hold of the control station beside him and slowly pulled himself up off the cold, hard floor. He reached over and rubbed his arm gingerly, his back still aching from his impact with the control station, as he walked slowly across the smoke filled chamber and looked down at the General's mangled, smoking corpse.
The General's body, if it could truly be called a body, lay before him, and he looked at it for a long time. The high-powered blaster that he had stripped from Grievous' side had done its job well; he wasn't sure how many times he had pulled the trigger, but the force of the weapon's multiple blasts had nearly cut the General cleanly in two, leaving his burned and decimated body lying on the hard floor, held together only by a few wires, cables, and a mass of sinewy flesh, bones, and metal. Obi-Wan could see the dark combination of blood and hydraulic fluids that oozed out of the abdomen of the horrifying mixture of flesh and machine, pooling on the hard floor beneath him.
You didn't have to do that, Obi-Wan thought to himself, as he took a long, deep breath as he cringed at the General's decimated mid section; one shot would have been enough.
He watched for a moment, quietly rubbing his shoulder, as Grievous' long cybernetic arm lifted slowly and twitched again. He turned his attention to his gray, faceless mask; the General's eyes peered out at him, yet they saw nothing as they stared blankly at the ceiling of the chamber above them. He knew, instinctively, that whatever part of the General that could have truly been called alive was now dead, and it was just a matter of time before his cybernetic systems caught up and shut down for good.
He closed his eyes and took another deep breath, as he felt the dark wave of anger welling up inside of him again. No, Obi-Wan thought to himself; you know better than this. You can't give in to anger.
He knew in his heart, though, that he already had to some extent, and it troubled him deeply, just as it had when he had confronted Qui-Gon's killer all those years ago. The combination of the dark tremor that had surged through the Force and the knowledge of what the General had been guilty of had proved to be too much, even for someone of his calm, forgiving nature. He had lashed out, violently, and he could still feel the dark, angry satisfaction that he had felt each time he had pulled the trigger on the weapon that he still held tightly in his hand.
He opened his eyes, and raised the blaster up in front of him, looking at it thoughtfully for a long moment. Serves him right, Obi-Wan thought, as he looked down at his fallen adversary with contempt, and tossed the blaster onto what remained of the General's chest. He turned his eyes to the lightsabers that lay strewn about the smoke filled chamber near the General's body; He killed those Jedi, Obi-Wan thought, with the weapons from those he'd already killed. Even he had to admit, whether he liked the fact that he had lashed out so violently or not, that there was a deeply poetic justice in the fact that this coldhearted killer had died at the business end of his own weapon.
Obi-Wan turned and looked at young Ardmak's translucent-handled weapon lying on the floor not far from him; he stretched out his hand toward it, and it leapt from the floor effortlessly and flew through the smoke toward him. He caught it and looked at it thoughtfully for a long moment, as he turned it slowly over in his hand. Ardmak would never know how well the weapon that he had fashioned had served the Jedi Master who held it now.
"You promised me a long, painful death, General," Obi-Wan said, turning and looking back at his fallen adversary as he reached down and secured Ardmak's saber at his side. "Sorry to disappoint you," he said, "but I promised Ardmak that I'd get this back for him."
Obi-Wan closed his eyes and took another long breath, as he felt another wave of dark tremors surge through the Force that flowed through him. He didn't know what was happening, but of one thing he was sure; he had to get out of here and contact the Council. He needed to know what was happening, and he needed to know now.
He took one more long, disdainful look at General Grievous' corpse, and then turned quickly and started to make his way toward the tunnels and the surface.
Bail Organa looked up from his desk in his study, as he heard the door open and saw his wife look toward him, a concerned expression on her usually lovely face.
"Yes, Breha," Bail said, regarding her curiously as he looked up from the brief that he had been reading; he knew, instinctively, that something was wrong. Breha never interrupted him in his study, even though he had told her many times that it was all right to do so. "What is it?"
"There's an intern here from the Senate, Bail," Breha said quietly. "Something's happened. Chancellor Palpatine has ordered an emergency session of the Senate. You're wanted back at the Senate Building immediately."
Bail's own expression grew more concerned as he looked at her, puzzled. "An emergency session?" he asked, as he laid the datapad in his hand down on his desk. "At this late hour in the afternoon? Why didn't they just contact us as usual?"
"I don't know," Breha said, shaking her head. "But the intern says that it's extremely urgent. You're to leave for the Senate building with him immediately."
Bail didn't like the sound of this, not at all. The Chancellor had been calling these sessions far too often, lately, and they never centered around news that he found particularly positive for the Republic, or their efforts to bring the Clone Wars to an end.
"Does he say what's happened?" he asked, as he stood up and switched the light off on his desk.
"No," Breha said, shaking her head again as he walked quickly toward her. She reached over to the chair beside the door and retrieving her husband's cloak, holding it up for him, as he turned his back to her and slipped his arms into it.
"He only said that it was very urgent," she said, as she placed the cloak on his shoulders and watched as he turned to face her again. "It must be," Breha said, her face showing her concern, "for them to have sent him to get you directly."
Bail nodded his head, slowly, and then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek gently. "Don't worry, my dear," he said, offering her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure that it's nothing too serious. The Chancellor has just grown a bit impatient as of late. He doesn't like to be kept waiting these days."
Breha smiled back at him. "I hope it's not," she said, and she watched him as he fastened the collar of his cloak and look back up at her.
"I'll be back shortly," Bail said, as he reached over and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry," he said, as he reached for the door. "We shouldn't be long."
Breha nodded, and watched as he turned and walked out of the study and headed toward the front of their residence, where the senate intern waited for him.
He sat down quietly in his chair behind the large, ornate desk, and reached over to the small drawer to his right. He opened it, and then reached into the drawer and retrieved a small, translucent datadisk; he closed the drawer slowly, and then leaned back in his chair, holding the small device up in front of him, studying it for a long, quiet moment.
Even he had to admit, as a sinister smile spread across his face as he looked at the tiny, shimmering disk, that it seemed impossible that so small a thing could hold the fate of so many. Even more so, he thought, when he considered whose fate it was that he and this tiny device now controlled.
He looked back across his now devastated chambers, toward the bodies of the three Jedi that lay strewn across the floor. Chancellor Palpatine smiled as he looked at them for a long moment, and then turned and placed the small disk into the slot on the communications terminal that sat on his desk. He reached over and pressed the switch on the display, and watched as the system loaded the access codes and beacon transponder frequencies into the transmitter's database and prepared it for transmission.
Palpatine sat back and folded his hands in front of him, as he watched the access codes sort quickly on the display in front of him. Count Dooku had done well indeed, when he had commissioned the Kaminoan cloners to produce the army so long ago. His hard work, it seemed, was about to pay off, as he watched the thousands of codes feed themselves into the transmitter, as he prepared to put his own, simple design request to the Kaminoan cloners to the ultimate test.
The thing that pleased him most, though, as he reflected on the simple genius of what was about to transpire, is that the Jedi, with all of their wisdom and knowledge, had never seen it coming, and they never would, until it was far too late.
The shear beauty of it stretched even beyond his own expectations, and he smiled as he watched the last batch of access codes feed into the transmitter; thousands of warriors, all highly skilled and trained, cloned from a single, fierce bounty hunter; a formidable army, by any measure or standard. And now, that massive, powerful army, one of the largest ever created, was spread throughout the galaxy, the Jedi commanders of its many battalions leading them on a vain crusade to rid the Republic of the pitiful droid armies of the Separatists.
How deliciously fitting, the Chancellor thought to himself, as he reached over and pressed the button on the console, engaging the long range transmitter that sat high atop the Senate Building, that those Jedi would now find themselves facing those very same soldiers that they had commanded only moments before.
Chancellor Palpatine smiled as he stood up slowly, watching the transmitter change transponder frequencies quickly, sending groups of command codes to one battalion, then another, as the long prepared program executed itself with deadly precision, one matched only by the cold brutality of his young apprentice who now made his way to the Jedi Temple.
Palpatine walked around his desk, and then paused for another moment beside Mace Windu's body; he stretched out his hand, and watched as the fallen Jedi Master's weapon leapt from the floor and into his outstretched palm.
"Thank you, Master Windu," Palpatine said, as he tossed the weapon in his hand with a thoughtful smile, and then started to the door of his chamber. "You've been most helpful, as always."
Palpatine laughed to himself, as he placed Windu's weapon inside his cloak, and then walked through the doorway, closing and locking it behind him.
Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes as he ran quickly out of the dark tunnel and out into the waning sunlight; it was late afternoon now, but the obscured sun in the orange-gold, cloud strewn sky was still bright enough to cause him to squint, as he raised his hand to his face, shielding his eyes as he looked up toward the lip of the crater where Commander Cody had concealed himself earlier.
Obi-Wan caught a glimpse of movement across the crater's floor to his left; he turned around, just in time to see the bright flash of the blaster rifle in the clone trooper's hand as he leveled it at him.
Obi-Wan leapt backwards into the tunnel's opening, reaching for the saber at his side as the blast narrowly missed him and struck the hard, stone wall at the chamber's entrance. "What in the blazes is going on!" Obi-Wan shouted, as he turned his head and closed his eyes as the weapon's blast sent a shower of sand and pulverized rock over him.
He reached for the comlink on his belt, bringing it up quickly to his face as he powered up the light saber in his hand. "Commander Cody!" Obi-Wan yelled into the comlink, as another series of laser blasts struck the wall near him. "It's me, Obi-Wan!" he shouted, as he leaned carefully to his left and peered out across the crater. "Break off your attack, immediately!"
Cody didn't answer; Obi-Wan looked out again, carefully, and saw the two groups of clone troopers that ran quickly down the steeply sloping surface of the crater a short distance from him. He watched in confused amazement, as he saw Cody step out from behind a large rock formation sixty or seventy yards from him, and then motion toward the opening where Obi-Wan now stood as the troopers approached him.
Maybe something's wrong with the comlink, Obi-Wan thought, and he leaned out from his hiding place just inside the tunnel's entrance, exposing himself clearly so that Cody could see him as he shouted loudly to his friend.
"Commander Cody!" Obi-Wan yelled again, "It's me, Obi-Wan! Break off you're attack, I'm coming out to…"
Obi-Wan watched in disbelief as Cody shouldered his weapon and opened fire on him again. Obi-Wan jerked himself back inside, turning his head and closing his eyes just as another shower of sparks and pulverized stone rained down on him again.
"What the hell is going on around here?" Obi-Wan shouted, as he looked out cautiously and looked up toward the rim of the crater. He watched as more and more troopers ran over the lip of the crater, their boots kicking up huge clouds of dust as they ran quickly down the sloping surface toward him.
"This is unbelievable," Obi-Wan sighed, as he looked down at the comlink in his hand, tapping its controls quickly as he changed the frequency, just as another barrage of laser fire surged through the tunnel's opening and struck the wall across from him. "What else can go wrong today?" he sighed under his breath, as he locked the frequency into the comlink.
"Arfour," Obi-Wan shouted, as another series of laser fire struck the wall near him, "Arfour, can you here me? I need you to get the ship down here, as fast as you can!"
The two young Jedi watched, as they stood quietly on either side of the main Council chambers, as the dark, hooded figure walked toward them, his boots echoing off of the smooth marble floors as he made his way toward the Council chambers.
They looked at each other, curiously; Masters Windu and Mundi had assigned them to guard the Council chamber, and had ordered all of the first year Jedi and young padawans to return to the old dormitories until further notice; no one should be here now, not until the Council returned.
"I'm sorry," Ilan, the older of the two said, raising his hand as he watched the mysterious figure approach them, "but you're not supposed to be here. No one is to leave the dormitories until Master Windu returns. Council's orders."
Ilan felt his blood run cold, as he saw the glowing, yellow eyes under the hood look up at him; he glanced down, his hand reaching for his weapon, as he saw the light flash off of the saber that the dark figure produced from under his cloak.
Ilan and his companion both ignited their weapons, as they saw the brilliant red blade blaze forth in Vader's hand, as he lunged at the two young Jedi Knights viciously, swinging the blade of his weapon up high over his head.
Darth Vader pushed the doors to the main Council Chamber open, and stepped inside; the crimson blade of his weapon still glowed at his side, as he looked back for just a moment to the bodies of the two young Jedi that lay outside the doorway.
They had been little more than a nuisance to him, and he shook his head disdainfully as he turned and made his way toward the head of the Council Chamber, powering down his weapon as he walked.
Vader walked past the senior member's chairs to the large, round structure that stood behind them, near the window. He reached out and pressed the small button on the side of the smooth, round device, and then watched as a panel near the top slowly opened, revealing a small electronic transmitter and display hidden inside.
He pressed the power switch on the side of the display, and then quickly tapped the control pad, entering the command sequences that he had memorized long ago.
He smiled, his eyes shining with a haunting, evil satisfaction as his fingers flew over the control pad; it was working, just like he'd practiced many times in the simulations that he had run over and over on Kamino during his training with Count Dooku.
Vader tapped the control pad several more times, the light from its display reflecting in his haunting eyes as he worked, and then reached to the side and engaged the transmitter; he watched, as the transmitter's beacon indicator began to flash brightly, as it sent its signal out from the transmitting dish perched high atop the Temple's main spire.
Vader pressed the switch on the outside of the structure, and watched as the access panel slowly closed and dropped back into place. He turned, still holding the hilt of his weapon tightly in his gloved hand, as he turned and walked back across the Council chamber to the computer terminal near the door, the sound of his boots echoing loudly off the walls of the large, empty chamber.
He touched the display, and it lit up instantly; he tapped the screen in several places, and he stopped as a map of the Temple appeared on the display. Vader studied it, for a long moment, as he traced his finger along the display from the Chamber where he now stood to the larger meeting halls and dormitories.
Very helpful, those two. They saved me quite a bit of searching, Vader thought, as he marked the path to the dormitories in his mind. He turned and walked back through the doorway, stepping over young Ilan's body unceremoniously, and headed down the hallway toward the lift that led to the padawan's dormitories below, his long, black cloak swirling around his boots as he walked.
Anakin had only taken a few steps toward their ship's cockpit, when he felt another dark, sinister tremor travel through the Force that flowed through him; he placed his hand on the ship's bulkhead and closed his eyes, as he took a deep breath and reached out with his feelings again.
He understood, now, what it was that Yoda had been trying to tell him the night before, as he allowed his love for Padmé to flow through him as he focused his mind and attention on her familiar tremor in his heart.
Rely on the Force, and your companion, you must, just as she relies on you, Yoda had told him. He had always known how deeply he relied on her love and her strength, but not until now had he ever truly realized how much, and just how strong that love truly was. He took another long breath, exhaling slowly, as he felt the dark, sinister weight subside, as Padmé's familiar tremor swept it away into the darkness from which it had come.
Anakin opened his eyes, and stood quietly for a moment, looking thoughtfully out of the ship's window a short distance from him. He knew, instinctively, that Padmé would be able to sense what was going on, and he knew that she'd be worried. He needed to contact her as soon as he could; she needed to know that he was all right.
Anakin turned and looked back over his shoulder toward Yoda. The tiny Jedi Master sat meditating quietly on the bench, his eyes closed and his head lowered, his small hands folded in his lap. He knew that Yoda was sensing the same things that he was, and he truly understood how powerfully the Force was with Yoda now, and it humbled him greatly as he watched him. Anakin had his ever present connection to Padmé and her love to rely on to help him through this; he couldn't imagine facing what was happening alone, as Yoda now was. He had always respected the aged Jedi Master, but never as much as he did now.
Anakin turned his attention back to the cockpit, as he walked up and stood beside Captain Netaka, as he piloted their ship quietly toward Coruscant. "How much longer till we make Coruscant, Captain?" Anakin asked, as he looked out of the ship's window and watched as the stars swept by them as they streaked through hyperspace.
Captain Netaka looked down at the navigational computer on the ship's console, reaching over and tapping the controls quickly. "One hour, forty seven minutes, sir," Netaka said, looking back over his shoulder at Anakin. "Give or take a few minutes."
Anakin nodded his head slowly. "Very good," he said, as he looked back at their clone pilot. "Keep an eye on the communications console. Be sure to let me know if you see any kind of reply to our transmission to the Council."
"Yes, sir," Netaka said with a nod, and he turned his attention back toward the viewscreen in front of him. "I haven't seen anything yet, but I'll be sure to…"
Anakin reached out and placed his hand on Netaka's shoulder, as he watched the young pilot reach up suddenly and place his hand to his helmet as he slumped forward in the pilot's chair for a moment. "Captain," Anakin said, his face growing concerned, "are you all right?"
"I think so, sir," Netaka said, as he sat back up slowly in the pilot's chair, shaking his head. "I felt a bit dizzy for a moment," he said, "but I think I'm fine."
"You're probably just tired, Captain," Anakin said, as he watched Netaka shake his head again, still holding his hand to his helmet. "I'm going to tell Master Yoda that I'm going to take over and give you a break for a while," he said, patting Netaka's shoulder. "Just sit tight a moment and I'll be right back to relieve you."
Netaka nodded his head, slowly, and Anakin turned and started back toward the passenger's compartment, where Yoda sat meditating quietly. Anakin walked up beside the tiny Jedi master, and reached down and touched Yoda gently on the shoulder.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, Master," Anakin said apologetically as Yoda opened his eyes and looked up at him. "Captain Netaka looks like he could use a break for a while," Anakin said. "If it's alright with you, I'm going to relieve him for a while so he can come back here and get a little rest."
"Reasonable, that is," Yoda said, as he nodded his head approvingly. "Far from Coruscant, are we?"
"Not far at all, Master," Anakin said, shaking his head. "Less than two hours, actually. Hopefully, we should be there in time to…"
Anakin stopped in mid sentence, as he heard the shrill tones that suddenly began to sound from both his and Yoda's weapon belts. He and Yoda exchanged glances for just a moment, as the high-pitched tones echoed through the ship's cabin.
"Activated the homing beacon, someone has," Yoda said, his face growing deeply concerned again as he reached down to his small belt and retrieved the tiny device from its pouch.
They were a standard item that every Jedi carried; a tiny transmitter/receiver combination, each one coded to a unique frequency and powered by a tiny khyber crystal, the same type of crystal used to construct a lightsaber. Combined with its tiny fuel cell, the transmitter produced a signal so strong that its owner could be located across the galaxy if necessary, a tracking device that was unmatched, either by design or efficiency, perfected over thousands of years by the Jedi Order.
But when the homing beacon was activated at the Temple, the devices served another purpose, allowing the temple to summon every Jedi in the galaxy in a time of crisis. Anakin reached down and retrieved his own from its place on his belt, and looked at the tiny display on the small device intently, as the broadcast message from the Temple scrolled slowly across it.
"I don't understand, Master," Anakin said, his expression deeply puzzled as he looked back at Yoda. "I thought they were supposed to tell us what was going on when the homing beacon was activated," he said, as Yoda looked up at him. "All I'm getting is a short message that says we're all to return to the Temple, immediately."
"And I as well," Yoda said, pressing the tiny switch on the side of the device to silence it. "Expected, I would have," Yoda said, as he slowly returned the device to his belt, "some news, at least, from their confrontation with the Chancellor."
"Deeply disturbing, this is," Yoda said, his small face growing concerned as he looked back up at the Jedi Knight who stood beside him.
Anakin let his mind drift back, uneasily, to the dark tremors that had struck him so viciously a bit earlier. "Only the Council would be able to activate the beacon, Master," Anakin said quietly, as Yoda looked at him thoughtfully. "And if they're there to activate it, then why haven't they responded to our calls? It doesn't make sense that they wouldn't…"
Anakin's senses were suddenly on fire; he reached around with his right hand, retrieving the saber that hung at his left side, and spun with lighting speed toward the cockpit of their ship; he pressed the igniter and swung his weapon up in front of him just in time for its brilliant white blade to catch the laser blast from Captain Nataka's weapon and send it harmlessly into the thick decking just below the ship's main door.
"Captain, what are you doing!" Anakin yelled over the hum of his saber, as he watched Netaka take another step toward them and level his weapon at them again. "Have you lost your mind? Put that weapon away," Anakin yelled, "or you're going to get us all killed!"
He looked at the clone pilot's eyes as he leveled his blaster at the two Jedi again; they were filled with an unbelievable rage, cold and empty like the vast expanse of space that their vessel hurtled through. He swung his blade around to his left, just as Yoda jumped down beside him as Netaka fired at them again.
Anakin swung his blade smoothly, catching the first blast and sending it toward the same thick decking to which he had directed the other; he caught the second as well, and cringed as he saw it fly back toward the front of the ship toward the cockpit.
The ship lurched hard as the onboard computers cut the hyperdrive and fired the sub light engines, as the errant laser blast struck the ship's navigational computer and destroyed it, sending a brilliant array of sparks through the cockpit. Anakin, Yoda, and Netaka were all pitched hard against the ship's bulkhead as the ship's inertial dampers kicked in, attempting to slow their drop out of hyperspace.
Anakin saw Netaka struggle to regain his footing, as he tried to lower his weapon toward them again. He turned and watched, as he saw Yoda leap to his feet and take a quick step forward, and then stretch out his hand toward their clone pilot.
Anakin watched as Netaka's weapon was instantly stripped from his hand, and then flew across the ship into Yoda's small, but nimble hands. He watched as Yoda turned and tossed the weapon behind him, and then turned to face the Captain again, just as Netaka cried out angrily and ran toward them.
Yoda stretched out his hand again, and Anakin watched as the clone captain was suddenly lifted off his feet and thrown hard into the ship's bulkhead. Netaka cried out in pain as he contacted the hard, unyielding surface, and then collapsed limply to the cabin floor as Yoda released him.
Anakin stood quietly for a moment, and then extinguished the blade of his weapon and returned it to his belt as he and Yoda walked to Netaka's side and looked down at their unconscious pilot.
"What's going on, Master?" Anakin said, as he turned and looked at Yoda, a look of utter disbelief on his face. "Why would he suddenly try to attack us like that?"
"Tried to kill us, the captain did," Yoda said, as he looked back up at Anakin, his face deeply troubled. "Sensed the Dark Side in him, I did, as he attacked us."
Anakin ran his hand through his hair as he looked at Netaka. "None of this makes any sense," he sighed, and then he turned and walked quickly to the cockpit and took a seat in the pilot's chair.
Anakin turned his attention to the navigational computer, reaching over and pulling away the damaged cover as Yoda came and stood beside him. "Get to Coruscant, as quickly as possible, we must," Yoda said, as he watched Anakin examine the damaged guidance system. "Repair the damage, can you?"
"I think so, Master," Anakin sighed, as he glanced around the cockpit quickly. "I can probably use some of the parts from the ship's other systems."
"How long will it take, do you think?" Yoda asked, as Anakin ran his hand through his hair again, a frustrated look on his usually calm face.
"I don't know, Master," Anakin said, shrugging his shoulders. "An hour, maybe a little longer."
Yoda nodded his head, as Anakin looked back up at him. "Suffice, it will have to," he said, as he turned and walked back to the passenger compartment. "Secure our attacker, I will, while you make repairs."
Anakin nodded his head, as he stood up and walked to the tool compartment just behind the cockpit. He opened the small door and took out the toolkit, and then turned and went to work on the damaged navigational computer, working as fast as his exceptionally skilled hands would allow.
Obi-Wan reached down to his belt quickly, as he heard the sharp, high pitched tone begin to echo off the stone walls inside the tunnel where he stood.
"You had to ask, didn't you?" he sighed, as he pulled the small tracking device from its place on his belt and looked at it carefully. "You just had to ask what else could go wrong today," he said, and then his expression grew puzzled as he watched the short message scroll by on the tracking device.
Obi-Wan pressed the button on the side of the small device, silencing it as he returned it to his belt, and then looked back out around the edge of the tunnel's entrance as he heard the familiar sound of his ship's engines approaching.
"Come on, Arfour," Obi-Wan said, as he lifted the glowing blue blade of the saber in his hand up close beside him as he watched his ship cast up a huge swirl of reddish-brown dust as it topped the crater's edge and dropped quickly down to the base toward him. "Just like we planned," he said, as he squeezed his weapon tightly as he watched the clone troopers begin to open fire on his approaching ship.
Arfour brought the ship in fast, directly toward the open ground in front of Obi-Wan; the little droid spun the ship sideways as he fired the breaking thrusters and dropped the landing gear, kicking a huge cloud of dust into the air as he dropped the ship quickly toward the ground below him.
"Ataboy, Arfour," Obi-Wan said, as he watched the thick cloud of dust fill the air between him and his attackers. He watched for another second or two, as the blasts of the laser rifles streaked blindly through the thick cloud of dust, as the clone troopers began to run through the haze toward his ship. Obi-Wan looked up at his ship; he could see the cockpit over the pilot's station slide open, as Arfour quickly dropped the ship onto its landing gear as the blasts from the trooper's weapons bounced wildly off of the ship's deflectors.
Obi-Wan bolted out of the opening toward his ship, as fast as the Force would allow, swinging his weapon smoothly as he deflected the laser blasts as the troopers opened fire on him. He ran straight toward the ship through the thick haze of bronze dust, his weapon returning the laser blasts that managed to reach him back to his attackers with deadly accuracy.
He was only about twenty yards from his ship when he heard the loud, angry cry off to his left; he turned, just in time to see Commander Cody running toward him, his blaster leveled directly at him as he approached. Not him, not now, Obi-Wan thought, as he swung his weapon up as his friend opened fire on him as he ran toward him.
Obi-Wan and Cody had served together on many missions; indeed, he had grown to trust the exceptionally brave, eager clone commander as a friend over the last four years. Obi-Wan stopped, for an instant, his boots sliding through the dust as he swung his blade up and turned three of Cody's blasts harmlessly aside into the dust in front of him as he charged directly at him.
"Don't make me do this, Cody," Obi-Wan shouted, pleading with his friend, as he watched Cody run toward him at full speed. "Please don't make me do this."
Commander Cody never paused, not even for a moment; Obi-Wan swung his blade quickly, turning the blasts aside, as Cody approached him, screaming angrily, his weapon firing as fast as he could.
Obi-Wan felt his heart begin to sink, as he turned the last two blasts from his friend's weapon aside as Cody reached him; he spun quickly, closing his eyes, as he allowed the Force to guide his weapon as he swung it around cleanly into Commander Cody's chest.
Obi-Wan spun around completely before he allowed himself to open his eyes. He had done what he had too, he knew that; yet his heart cried out in sorrow and anger, and he took several quick breaths as the cold realization of what he had been forced to do finally sunk in.
He never looked back at Cody's body; he bolted toward his ship, swinging his weapon furiously, turning blast after blast aside, as he quickly closed the distance to the ship. He reached deeply into the Force and leapt into the air and onto the wing of his ship, his weapon glowing brightly at his side as he leapt into the pilot's seat.
"Arfour, go!" Obi-Wan shouted, as he deflected several more blasts away from the ship's cockpit as the little droid fired the engines, kicking up another huge cloud of red dust below them as they lifted into the air.
Obi-Wan extinguished the blade of his saber, as he reached over and pressed the button on the console beside him. He looked down below him, as the cockpit slid quickly closed, at the wild array of laser fire that surged through the thick cloud of dust as Arfour fired the main engines.
He felt the ship jump several times, as the last few blasts bounced off the deflector shields as they blasted quickly up the sloping surface of the crater, trailing a huge cloud of red dust that spiraled into the air behind them as they surged up into the sky and toward the planet's atmosphere.
Obi-Wan looked down at the saber in his trembling hand, as Arfour powered up the ship's sub light engines and pushed them toward the upper atmosphere. "Arfour," Obi-Wan said, his voice trembling as he spoke quietly, "Get us back to Coruscant, as quickly as possible. Understand?"
Arfour whistled and beeped affirmatively, as Obi-Wan slowly turned the weapon over in his still trembling hand. "And see if you can contact Anakin and Master Yoda," he said, quietly. "They should be on their way back there, too."
Arfour whistled again, and Obi-Wan sat quietly for a long time, looking at the lightsaber in his hand as he turned it over, slowly, again and again.
It's not right, Obi-Wan thought to himself, as he looked at the weapon in his hand, as he sensed another dark tremor travel through the living Force; None of this, none of it, was supposed to have happened.
This weapon had belonged to a friend, a very young friend, who never should have died. Obi-Wan had taken it from his young friend's killer, an abomination who never should have been created, who served a master who never should have existed. And he had used it, only moments before, to kill another friend, one more death that never should have happened.
Now, he found himself traveling back to Coruscant, to face a dark evil stronger than anything he ever could have imagined; and he would do so alongside Anakin, the closest friend he had ever known, a friend who had left everything he had ever loved and held dear to help him face a menace that they should never have had to face.
"Damn!" Obi-Wan shouted suddenly, as he reached back and threw the weapon down into the floor of the cockpit at his feet. He closed his eyes for a long moment, and then looked at the display of his console as Arfour unleashed a long series of beeps and whistles.
"Yes, Arfour," Obi-Wan said with a deep sigh, "I'm all right. I'm just a little upset right now, that's all," he said, as he lowered his head and rubbed his eyes for a long moment.
"Do me a favor, Arfour," Obi-Wan said, as he looked up slowly at the cockpit window in front of him. "Do whatever you have to, but get Anakin on that comlink, as fast as you can," he said. "I really need to talk to him."
Arfour whistled in reply, and Obi-Wan watched as the little droid's answer scrolled across the display in front of him. "Thank you, Arfour," he said, and he leaned back in his seat and watched as the dark gold sky turned black again, as Arfour pushed them through the atmosphere and back into open space. He sighed deeply, and then closed his eyes, as Arfour prepared their ship for the jump to light speed.
Bail Organa looked up from his seat on his Senate pod, as Mas Amedda stood up from his seat beside Chancellor Palapatine as the Chancellor's pod slowly approached the central speaker's position in the massive Senate Rotunda.
The excited, nervous chatter that echoed through the Rotunda began to die down quickly, as Amedda approached the podium on their pod and raised his hands. "Honorable delegates and representatives of the Senate," Mas Amedda said, his deep, resonate voice echoing loudly through the massive hall, "This emergency session of the Republic Senate will now come to order."
Bail folded his hands on top of the datapad that lay in his lap, as he watched the Chancellor rise from his seat as Mas Amedda spoke. "May I present His Excellency, the Honorable Supreme Chancellor of the Republic."
Bail looked around, yet sat quietly as he watched the other representatives of the Senate burst forth in thunderous applause, as Chancellor Palpatine approached the speaker's podium of his pod. He looked back up, after a moment, and watched as the Chancellor raised his hand, and the chamber began to fall silent again.
"My distinguished delegates and representatives of the Senate," Chancellor Palpatine said, lowering his hand to the podium beside him, "It is with an extremely heavy heart that I have reluctantly called this emergency session this evening."
Bail's expression grew more serious as he listened intently as the Chancellor continued. "A turning point has been reached in the affairs of the Republic," Palpatine said, as an unusual silence filled the massive chamber. "This is indeed a dark and troubling moment, and I must beg your indulgence as I bring this deeply disturbing news to your attention."
"Earlier this evening," Chancellor Palpatine said, his own expression growing deeply troubled as he spoke, "Five senior members of the Jedi Council forced their way into my chambers atop the Republic Senate building..."
The Chancellor paused, as he took a deep breath; "…and attempted to assassinate me."
Bail looked at the Chancellor in utter disbelief, as the Rotunda suddenly filled with loud, angry, shouting voices. "Order!" Mas Amedda shouted, rising to his feet from his seat beside the Chancellor and approaching the podium. "We shall have order in the Senate immediately," he shouted, as the chamber began to fall silent again. "All delegates and representatives will afford the Supreme Chancellor their silence and attention while he addresses this deeply sensitive situation."
Palpatine turned and nodded gratefully to Mas Amedda, and then watched as Amedda bowed reverently to him, and then went to take his seat again as the Rotunda fell into a hushed silence.
"During the time that I was held captive by the Separatists," Chancellor Palpatine said, placing his hands on the podium as he continued, "I was able to uncover troubling information regarding the Council's involvement in several events, events which have directly contributed to the unrest that we are now forced to endure."
"Specifically," Chancellor Palpatine continued, "It has been discovered that the Jedi were directly responsible for the commissioning and creation of the clone army that now serves the Republic."
Bail and the other delegates listened in disbelief as the Chancellor continued. "Furthermore," Palpatine said, "It was determined that this clone army was commissioned many years ago, long before hostilities with the Separatists ever developed."
"In addition," Palpatine said, "It has been discovered that the Separatist armies have been, for some time, under the coordination of Count Dooku, a highly respected member of the Jedi Council for many years, until his mysterious disappearance years ago."
"It is believed," the Chancellor said, "that Dooku has spent these many years in hiding, secretly working with the cloners on Kamino to develop this army while spurring the Separatist leaders toward the confrontation that ultimately resulted in the commencement of the Clone Wars."
"I recently brought these discoveries to the attention of the senior members of the Council," Chancellor Palpatine said, turning his deeply troubled face toward the podium before him. "It is that revelation, I believe, that has resulted in this assassination attempt on my life this evening."
Bail turned and looked to the pod directly across from him, as he recognized the familiar voice that suddenly echoed through the chamber. He watched, intently, as Jar Jar Binks stepped to the podium in front of him as the Chancellor turned his attention toward him.
"Exqueeze me, yousa Supreme Chancellor," Jar Jar said, wringing his hands nervously, "B\but deesa Jedi been da guardians of disa Republic for a longo time," he said, his ears flapping nervously as he spoke. "Meesa finden dis bombad hard to believe, dat da Jedi would beesen tryen to kill yousa Honors."
"I understand your skepticism, representative Binks," Chancellor Palpatine said, nodding his head as he looked at the tall, gangly Gungan, "and I'm quite sure that it is shared by every member present here this evening."
"But," Chancellor Palpatine said, "I would not have brought this accusation before the Senate if we did not have irrefutable proof of what has happened."
Chancellor Palpatine reached under his robe, and Bail Organa watched, along with the other delegates, in stunned disbelief, as the Chancellor produced a lightsaber and held it up at his side, as he looked slowly around the Rotunda.
"This is the weapon that Master Windu used this evening in the assassination attempt," Palpatine said, a look of great sadness on his face as he spoke. "It was retrieved this evening, shortly after my guards thwarted the attempt on my life."
Bail's mind drifted back to the conversation that he had had with Mace Windu only the day before; he had listened, in shock, as Mace had recounted to him what he and the Council suspected about the Chancellor.
He had never trusted Chancellor Palpatine, ever since he had been instated as Supreme Chancellor during the blockade of Naboo nearly fourteen years ago; yet even he had found it hard to believe what Mace had told him. Yet now, as he listened in disbelief to what he was hearing, he began to suspect that the Council could have been correct.
It's not possible, Bail thought to himself, as he considered the Chancellor's accusations. There is no way that the Council would consider assassinating the Chancellor.
"Your Excellency," Bail said, rising to his feet and walking to the podium in front of his chair. "May I speak?"
Mas Amedda rose to his feet, and watched as the Chancellor nodded at him. "The chair recognizes the representative from the sovereign system of Alderan," Mas Amedda said, turning his eyes toward Bail and nodding his head as the Chancellor turned his attention toward him.
"I do not wish to imply that the Supreme Chancellor has been anything other than completely truthful with the honorable members of the Senate assembled here this evening," Bail said, gesturing toward the members assembled around him in the great hall. "But I must agree with the honorable delegate from Naboo," Bail said, nodding his head toward Jar Jar's pod.
"The Jedi have served as the protectors of the Republic for thousands of years," he said, directing his attention to his fellow delegates. "It is inconceivable that they could have orchestrated such a sinister plan to damage the Republic that they have worked, for so many years, to protect."
"I would ask that we call Master Windu and the other members of the Council to the Senate, immediately," Bail said, turning his attention back to the Chancellor, as he watched him intently from his podium at the speaker's station. "Bring them here, and let us hear their response to these accusations."
"I wish that were possible, Senator Organa," Chancellor Palpatine said, his expression growing deeply sorrowful as he spoke. "But I am afraid that Master Windu, nor any of his associates, would hear the pleas of my guards during their attack this evening."
"I am afraid," the Chancellor said, as the Senate chamber fell into a hushed silence, "that they all chose to die rather than to end their assassination attempt."
Bail sat down slowly, and looked down at the floor of his pod in stunned disbelief. Master Windu, and the senior members of the Council, dead? It couldn't be, he thought, as he looked back up and watched as the Chancellor laid Windu's weapon down on the podium before him. He had seen the Chancellor's guards on many occasions; they would have been no match for any one of the Jedi who sat on the Council. To imply that the Chancellor's guard could have killed them all was simply unbelievable. Something else was going on here, something far more sinister than an assassination attempt.
"As I said earlier," the Chancellor continued, "it is with great sadness that we have reached a turning point in the affairs of the Republic."
"It is clear," Palpatine said, "in light of this evidence, and the attempt on my life this evening, that the Jedi have knowingly and purposefully drawn this once great and peaceful Republic into war," Palpatine said, "a war that was conceived by the Jedi and orchestrated with deadly precision by those in their own number."
"In light of these events," Chancellor Palpatine said, "it is with great sadness that I must declare that the Jedi are now, and have been for some time, enemies of this grand Republic."
Bail watched from his seat, a dark sense of despair slowly overtaking him, as the Senate Rotunda burst into loud shouts and discussion. He watched, as the Chancellor raised his hands again and spoke, his loud voice echoing through the Rotunda.
"I realize," Palpatine said, as the din that rang through the massive chamber began to die down, slowly, "the devastation that this revelation and declaration brings to all of us, on both a political and personal level," he said. "Many of us share deep friendships with many of those in the Jedi Order."
"Yet, I am afraid," Palpatine said, as the Senate fell quiet again, "that we must place the needs, and the security of this great Republic above any personal commitments that we may have."
"In light of the seriousness of this situation," Palpatine continued, as he looked around the Senate chamber slowly, "I am, effective immediately, by authority of the emergency power granted to me by the Senate, implementing Article thirty seven of the Republic Constitution and placing the Republic under the protection of martial law until this crisis has abated."
The Senate erupted into loud shouts again, and Bail leaned back in his chair as an empty, hollow feeling began to fill him, the same one that he had felt the day he had stood on the balcony with Palpatine and watched the first of the Republic's battle cruisers lift off and head to battle at the start of the Clone Wars. He looked back up at the Chancellor, as he watched him raise his hands again, trying to bring the shocked, distraught delegates back into some semblance of order.
"We have regained control of our clone forces from the Jedi," Palpatine said, as the delegates began to fall silent again as he spoke. "As soon as we have control of this situation, I shall advise you all as to our progress and our plans."
"In the mean time," the Chancellor said, as he looked slowly around the massive chamber, "I would remind all of you that you are sworn to protect and serve this Republic against any and all enemies," he said, and then stood quietly for a moment.
"This is a difficult time for all of us," Palpatine said, after a long pause. "We must stand together, so that we may bring the Republic through this threat," he said. "I tell you, we will survive it," Palpatine said, "and we will see the return of peace and democracy as soon as this crisis is over."
Bail sat quietly, as he watched the Chancellor turn and take his seat as Mas Amedda stood and approached the podium. "This emergency session of the Senate is now dismissed," Amedda said, and then he took his seat as the Chancellor's pod turned and moved slowly back to its dock near the head of the chamber.
Bail stood up, slowly, and then turned and stepped off of his pod, making his way quickly down the stairs and toward the exit behind him. His long cloak swirled around him, as he very nearly ran through the corridor and down the long, marble hallway. He reached into his pocket, and looked down at the small signal encrypter that Mace had given him during their conversation the night before.
It might be too late, now, Bail thought to himself, as he returned the small device to his pocket, and then opened the door at the end of the hallway and made his way to the transport pad above as quickly as he could.
Even if it is, he thought to himself, she's my only hope. I have to try.
Our story continues shortly!