CHAPTER 14: A BROKEN TURBOLIFT
The ominous sound from above ceased, and a new just as terrifying sound, that of the turbo lift motors, could now be heard. Each Jedi clutched and then ignited their lightsaber. Small flashes of blue, green and even violet could be seen throughout the high-celinged dining hall.
The Jedi had a look of determination in their eyes, they came expecting a battle and now, they were going to get it. As Obi-Wan said: Hell had been unleashed, and they were ready for it. No one knew quite what to expect, except Obi-Wan, he knew the extensive arsenal of Sidious and he was expecting it all.
The turbolift doors shot open with a bang, and hundreds of droids poured out and began to fire their laser-cannons at the well prepared Jedi. Two types of droids were among the vast numbers. One type were the droidekas, that Qui-Gon and Xanatos had seen during the Federation's invasion of Naboo. The other type were flying seeker droids that Obi-Wan was familiar with from his time spent in the training levels above.
The seeker droids were similar to probe droids in size and shape. They were small, round and fast. They were, however much deadlier than the probe droids, they were mounted with large laser cannons on either side and a stout force pikes mounted to the front and rear which they would use for ramming.
The Jedi deflected the fire of the droids and tried to get close enough to strike them. Deflecting their fire back would do no good, the seeker droids were too fast and the destroyer droids had shield generators. Which meant in order to dismantle a droid one had to get dangerously close, in the case of the seeker droids this was not only dangerous, it was not easy.
The task was difficult, but not impossible. Just as the Jedi started to feel confident about their chances, they heard the motors of the turbolift once more. It was ascending to the second level again, most likely to pick up reinforcements.
Xanatos felt a bit of desperation at this sound, he turned to Obi-Wan who was beside him, deflecting blaster fire and asked him to validate his fears. "There's more?" He said with a sigh.
"Much more." Obi-Wan responded grimly.
The turbolift doors opened once more to reveal a large group of approximately fifty Kilks. Kilks were very primitive, humanoid/reptilian type beings that lived on the planet Aldoon. They were tribal as well as violent in nature. They were carnivorous and would eat anything that moved. Obi-Wan knew that Sidious used to capture and starve them so he could use them as attackers.
Obi-Wan was sure the Kilks were looking to eat the Jedi and that is why they fought with such ferocity. He thought it morbid that they would have to destroy these beings when all they were trying to do was survive, but he knew that they too were trying to survive. He was sure that Sidious loved it, the Jedi having to destroy innocent beings to save themselves. Even though he himself set the trap, Obi-Wan was sure Sidious would use this as an example of Jedi hypocrisy.
Each Kilk was armed a bowcaster and either a vibroblade or a vibroaxe. More fire was now erupting in the great dining hall. Kilks leapt about firing their crossbows and swinging their vibro-weapons, droidekas kept up an unrelenting pace of fire and in the air the seeker droids swarmed. The Jedi were expert fighters, yet they still felt they had their hands full.
They were greatly outnumbered and each of them felt their heart sink a little when they heard one more time, the sound of the turbo lift returning to the top floor for reinforcements. The Jedi deflected more and more blaster fire. Siri was getting backed into a corner by a destroyer droid. Using her powers of the force, she ran up the wall, somersaulted over the droideka landing behind it and thrusting her lightsaber through the droid's control box before it got a chance to turn around.
Qui-Gon was deflecting fire from a seeker droid when a Kilk rushed him, trying to catch him off-guard. Qui-Gon saw the attack and leapt in the air. In mid-air he cleaved the seeker in two and landed perfectly beside the Kilk. With a mighty swing of his lightsaber, Qui-Gon decapitated the Kilk, eliminating his threat, yet killing him quickly to ease his suffering.
Mace fought his way next to the turbo lift doors, he was going to try to disable the turbolift before it returned. Obi-Wan noticed this and rushed to stop him. He knew it was too late. The turbolift was practically there and he was trying to prevent Mace from being caught off guard by whatever it was that was coming out.
Mace plunged his lightsaber hilt-deep into the turbolift's control box. The control box sputtered and smoked. The turbo lift was disabled and judging from the sound of the distance of the motors, Obi-Wan could tell it stopped only about a foot from this floor. Mace pulled his lightsaber from the control box and turned to face Obi-Wan.
Mace held up his lightsaber in a defensive stance, he figured this whole thing was an ambush set up by Obi-Wan and that Obi-Wan was now trying to attack him. The trubolift doors opened and as Obi-Wan had predicted, the turbolift platform was only about a foot higher than the floor. Mace's attention was on Obi-Wan and not the turbolift.
He looked at Obi-Wan who was saying something to him which he couldn't hear over the deafening sound of blasters and the shrill shrieking of Kilks. Finally, Obi-Wan got close enough for Mace to hear him.
"Look out!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, indicating to the turbolift.
Mace looked in that direction, just in time to see the largest vibroaxe he'd ever seen swinging at his head. The Jedi master froze, he hadn't been expecting anything like this. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground and the giant vibroaxe had missed him by no more than an inch. He looked up to see that Obi-Wan had pulled him down, and then the realization came to him: Obi-Wan wasn't trying to attack him, he was trying to save him.
There was no time for thanks as about twenty more Kilks had leapt out of the turbo lift. Mace and Obi-Wan sprang to their feet to defend themselves. Mace finally saw the wielder of the giant vibroaxe, it was a lumbering beast known as a Krixu. Krixus were related to Rancoors and Mace noticed several similarities between the two types of creatures. The two major differences were the shade of the Krixu's sickly green skin and the fact that the Krixu was a bit more intelligent, at least intelligent enough to swing a vibroaxe that someone had fashioned for him.
The Kilks were able to duck under the archway of the turbolift doors in order to leap out but the Krixu was too big to accomplish this maneuver, it was trapped. 'Finally, a break!' Mace thought, but as soon as the thought crossed his mind, the beast crashed through the archway, forcing himself into the dining hall. Pieces of duracrete flew everywhere as the Krixu, who like the Kilks was also probably starved, burst his way through the wall. The beast was now a part of the battle.
With one mighty swing of his fist, the Krixu sent a small group of Jedi, Kilks and droidekas who were fighting off to the side, flying. They hit a wall and then the Jedi sprang immediately to their feet, the Kilks took a moment to clear their head and the droids were shattered The beast couldn't differentiate whom he was supposed to be fighting for, but he was still a formidable foe for the Jedi with his large vibroaxe.
It was all a bit overwhelming, but the Jedi didn't panic, Jedi never panic. They just kept fighting. Mace fought with such a ferocity that several of the starving Kilks could be seen fleeing from him; even they were not desperate enough to take on the great Mace Windu. Yoda was a blur. He leapt and twirled and flew through the air. He dispatched droids and Kilks so quickly, neither computer nor organic brain had time to register what happened, they were merely no more.
Siri was the first to attack the Krixu, the girl had always been ambitious. She maneuvered around the massive vibroaxe and then leapt up and thrust her lightsaber into the beast's midsection for what she thought would be the killing blow. The Krixu just looked down at her as she hung from the hilt of her lightsaber that was still plunged into the beast's stomach. He grabbed her in his large hand and pulled. Her lightsaber came out of the mammoth beast's gut yet remained in her hand.
He began to squeeze her with the intent to crush her. Siri felt the pressure increase around her body. She tried to slice his hand with her lightsaber, but she couldn't move it. It impaled the palm of his hand and the creature didn't seem to care. Siri felt his grip tighten and she could feel the pressure increase as she gasped for air. She prepared herself for death.
Xanatos had been close behind her as always. He never let Siri get too far when they were in battle together and it usually annoyed her but today, she was glad for his over protectiveness. Xanatos ran at the creature and began to swing his lightsaber wildly, slicing it's legs, yet leaving no more than scratches on the thick-skinned monster. The beast grew irritated and turned his attention to Xanatos. The Krixu threw Siri aside as though his holding her was now an annoyance.
Siri hit the wall hard, Xanatos was worried about her but couldn't go to her, he was busily engaged in a battle with the Krixu. The towering giant looked down on his less than formidable foe. Xanatos peered at the creature with a gaze that would ordinarily intimidate any foe, yet the Krixu's sheer size allowed it to remain constantly unintimidated.
The creature took a downward swing at Xanatos with it's massive vibroaxe. Xanatos had to leap nearly ten feet in the air to avoid the mighty swing. The giant weapon hit the ground with a tremendous amount of force, sending pieces of the floor flying through the air. A piece of flying duracrete hit Xanatos in the chest causing him to crash onto his back rather than land with grace.
The number of Kilks and droids was diminishing, the Jedi were winning. Several of them now turned their attention to the mighty Krixu. They pierced the creature's flesh numerous times with the scalding blades of their lightsabers, yet the beast withstood it all. Several more times, the Krixu had swung it's vibro axe, only to connect with the floor, sending large pieces of smoking debris flying through the air.
Obi-Wan latched on to a seeker droid, he knew the droid's programming, he trained against them many times. He knew that if a droid was grabbed it was programmed to head higher. The droid did just that. Obi-Wan held on tightly until he was directly over the Krixu. He then let go of the droid and swung upward with his lightsaber, cleaving it into two smoking pieces.
He dropped onto the creatures shoulders and began to stab it in the head with the blue blade of his lightsaber. The creature roared with pain and swung it's head violently to try and shake Obi-Wan off. Obi-Wan lost his balance and went flying smacking against the wall that Siri had hit. He landed next to her, she was still laying there, wincing in pain.
"This is fun, remind me again why you left." Siri said with smirk.
"Oh, how I missed your charms." Obi-wan said, returning her sarcasm.
The Jedi had now defeated all the Kilks and droidikas and a handful of them were finishing off the last few seekers. The Krixu was now greatly outnumbered and with one last thrust from Mace the exhausted beast gave up the fight and crashed to the floor.
The floor had been badly damaged from the Krixu's mighty swings and when the beast collapsed, so did the floor. The Jedi now lay amongst rubble and the carcasses of their fallen enemies. They each began to get to their feet and make sure everyone else got to their feet. Everyone seemed to be fine, so they began to look for an exit that would lead them back to the street where Garen and the transport were waiting for them.
It was all for nothing, the Sith had expected them and moved to a different location, but there was no time to reflect on such a disappointment, they needed to get back to the temple and tend to the wounded.
They found a service staircase and began to descend it. Xanatos had trouble breathing because the piece of duracrete had broken one of his ribs. He began to complain about having to descend one hundred forty seven floors.
"Why can't we take the turbolift?" he said wincing in pain. He knew the reason he was just trying to give Master Windu a reason to feel sorry for him.
Mace turned around and gave him a hard stare that made him stop his complaining for the rest of the trip. Obi-Wan gave a chuckle and then Mace turned to face him. Obi-Wan expected a reprimand. He expected that Mace would place the blame for the ambush squarely on him. Obi-Wan prepared for the verbal onslaught.
Mace looked him in the eyes, said: "Thanks," and continued his descent down the staircase.
Obi-Wan knew that Master Windu was a man of few words and even fewer compliments. He knew Mace was genuinely grateful to Obi-Wan for saving his life. Gratitude from Master Windu was rare, and very valuable to anyone in the Jedi order. Obi-Wan just took the compliment, smiled to himself and continued down the stairs. Perhaps winning the Council's acceptance wouldn't be as hard as he thought.
The ominous sound from above ceased, and a new just as terrifying sound, that of the turbo lift motors, could now be heard. Each Jedi clutched and then ignited their lightsaber. Small flashes of blue, green and even violet could be seen throughout the high-celinged dining hall.
The Jedi had a look of determination in their eyes, they came expecting a battle and now, they were going to get it. As Obi-Wan said: Hell had been unleashed, and they were ready for it. No one knew quite what to expect, except Obi-Wan, he knew the extensive arsenal of Sidious and he was expecting it all.
The turbolift doors shot open with a bang, and hundreds of droids poured out and began to fire their laser-cannons at the well prepared Jedi. Two types of droids were among the vast numbers. One type were the droidekas, that Qui-Gon and Xanatos had seen during the Federation's invasion of Naboo. The other type were flying seeker droids that Obi-Wan was familiar with from his time spent in the training levels above.
The seeker droids were similar to probe droids in size and shape. They were small, round and fast. They were, however much deadlier than the probe droids, they were mounted with large laser cannons on either side and a stout force pikes mounted to the front and rear which they would use for ramming.
The Jedi deflected the fire of the droids and tried to get close enough to strike them. Deflecting their fire back would do no good, the seeker droids were too fast and the destroyer droids had shield generators. Which meant in order to dismantle a droid one had to get dangerously close, in the case of the seeker droids this was not only dangerous, it was not easy.
The task was difficult, but not impossible. Just as the Jedi started to feel confident about their chances, they heard the motors of the turbolift once more. It was ascending to the second level again, most likely to pick up reinforcements.
Xanatos felt a bit of desperation at this sound, he turned to Obi-Wan who was beside him, deflecting blaster fire and asked him to validate his fears. "There's more?" He said with a sigh.
"Much more." Obi-Wan responded grimly.
The turbolift doors opened once more to reveal a large group of approximately fifty Kilks. Kilks were very primitive, humanoid/reptilian type beings that lived on the planet Aldoon. They were tribal as well as violent in nature. They were carnivorous and would eat anything that moved. Obi-Wan knew that Sidious used to capture and starve them so he could use them as attackers.
Obi-Wan was sure the Kilks were looking to eat the Jedi and that is why they fought with such ferocity. He thought it morbid that they would have to destroy these beings when all they were trying to do was survive, but he knew that they too were trying to survive. He was sure that Sidious loved it, the Jedi having to destroy innocent beings to save themselves. Even though he himself set the trap, Obi-Wan was sure Sidious would use this as an example of Jedi hypocrisy.
Each Kilk was armed a bowcaster and either a vibroblade or a vibroaxe. More fire was now erupting in the great dining hall. Kilks leapt about firing their crossbows and swinging their vibro-weapons, droidekas kept up an unrelenting pace of fire and in the air the seeker droids swarmed. The Jedi were expert fighters, yet they still felt they had their hands full.
They were greatly outnumbered and each of them felt their heart sink a little when they heard one more time, the sound of the turbo lift returning to the top floor for reinforcements. The Jedi deflected more and more blaster fire. Siri was getting backed into a corner by a destroyer droid. Using her powers of the force, she ran up the wall, somersaulted over the droideka landing behind it and thrusting her lightsaber through the droid's control box before it got a chance to turn around.
Qui-Gon was deflecting fire from a seeker droid when a Kilk rushed him, trying to catch him off-guard. Qui-Gon saw the attack and leapt in the air. In mid-air he cleaved the seeker in two and landed perfectly beside the Kilk. With a mighty swing of his lightsaber, Qui-Gon decapitated the Kilk, eliminating his threat, yet killing him quickly to ease his suffering.
Mace fought his way next to the turbo lift doors, he was going to try to disable the turbolift before it returned. Obi-Wan noticed this and rushed to stop him. He knew it was too late. The turbolift was practically there and he was trying to prevent Mace from being caught off guard by whatever it was that was coming out.
Mace plunged his lightsaber hilt-deep into the turbolift's control box. The control box sputtered and smoked. The turbo lift was disabled and judging from the sound of the distance of the motors, Obi-Wan could tell it stopped only about a foot from this floor. Mace pulled his lightsaber from the control box and turned to face Obi-Wan.
Mace held up his lightsaber in a defensive stance, he figured this whole thing was an ambush set up by Obi-Wan and that Obi-Wan was now trying to attack him. The trubolift doors opened and as Obi-Wan had predicted, the turbolift platform was only about a foot higher than the floor. Mace's attention was on Obi-Wan and not the turbolift.
He looked at Obi-Wan who was saying something to him which he couldn't hear over the deafening sound of blasters and the shrill shrieking of Kilks. Finally, Obi-Wan got close enough for Mace to hear him.
"Look out!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, indicating to the turbolift.
Mace looked in that direction, just in time to see the largest vibroaxe he'd ever seen swinging at his head. The Jedi master froze, he hadn't been expecting anything like this. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground and the giant vibroaxe had missed him by no more than an inch. He looked up to see that Obi-Wan had pulled him down, and then the realization came to him: Obi-Wan wasn't trying to attack him, he was trying to save him.
There was no time for thanks as about twenty more Kilks had leapt out of the turbo lift. Mace and Obi-Wan sprang to their feet to defend themselves. Mace finally saw the wielder of the giant vibroaxe, it was a lumbering beast known as a Krixu. Krixus were related to Rancoors and Mace noticed several similarities between the two types of creatures. The two major differences were the shade of the Krixu's sickly green skin and the fact that the Krixu was a bit more intelligent, at least intelligent enough to swing a vibroaxe that someone had fashioned for him.
The Kilks were able to duck under the archway of the turbolift doors in order to leap out but the Krixu was too big to accomplish this maneuver, it was trapped. 'Finally, a break!' Mace thought, but as soon as the thought crossed his mind, the beast crashed through the archway, forcing himself into the dining hall. Pieces of duracrete flew everywhere as the Krixu, who like the Kilks was also probably starved, burst his way through the wall. The beast was now a part of the battle.
With one mighty swing of his fist, the Krixu sent a small group of Jedi, Kilks and droidekas who were fighting off to the side, flying. They hit a wall and then the Jedi sprang immediately to their feet, the Kilks took a moment to clear their head and the droids were shattered The beast couldn't differentiate whom he was supposed to be fighting for, but he was still a formidable foe for the Jedi with his large vibroaxe.
It was all a bit overwhelming, but the Jedi didn't panic, Jedi never panic. They just kept fighting. Mace fought with such a ferocity that several of the starving Kilks could be seen fleeing from him; even they were not desperate enough to take on the great Mace Windu. Yoda was a blur. He leapt and twirled and flew through the air. He dispatched droids and Kilks so quickly, neither computer nor organic brain had time to register what happened, they were merely no more.
Siri was the first to attack the Krixu, the girl had always been ambitious. She maneuvered around the massive vibroaxe and then leapt up and thrust her lightsaber into the beast's midsection for what she thought would be the killing blow. The Krixu just looked down at her as she hung from the hilt of her lightsaber that was still plunged into the beast's stomach. He grabbed her in his large hand and pulled. Her lightsaber came out of the mammoth beast's gut yet remained in her hand.
He began to squeeze her with the intent to crush her. Siri felt the pressure increase around her body. She tried to slice his hand with her lightsaber, but she couldn't move it. It impaled the palm of his hand and the creature didn't seem to care. Siri felt his grip tighten and she could feel the pressure increase as she gasped for air. She prepared herself for death.
Xanatos had been close behind her as always. He never let Siri get too far when they were in battle together and it usually annoyed her but today, she was glad for his over protectiveness. Xanatos ran at the creature and began to swing his lightsaber wildly, slicing it's legs, yet leaving no more than scratches on the thick-skinned monster. The beast grew irritated and turned his attention to Xanatos. The Krixu threw Siri aside as though his holding her was now an annoyance.
Siri hit the wall hard, Xanatos was worried about her but couldn't go to her, he was busily engaged in a battle with the Krixu. The towering giant looked down on his less than formidable foe. Xanatos peered at the creature with a gaze that would ordinarily intimidate any foe, yet the Krixu's sheer size allowed it to remain constantly unintimidated.
The creature took a downward swing at Xanatos with it's massive vibroaxe. Xanatos had to leap nearly ten feet in the air to avoid the mighty swing. The giant weapon hit the ground with a tremendous amount of force, sending pieces of the floor flying through the air. A piece of flying duracrete hit Xanatos in the chest causing him to crash onto his back rather than land with grace.
The number of Kilks and droids was diminishing, the Jedi were winning. Several of them now turned their attention to the mighty Krixu. They pierced the creature's flesh numerous times with the scalding blades of their lightsabers, yet the beast withstood it all. Several more times, the Krixu had swung it's vibro axe, only to connect with the floor, sending large pieces of smoking debris flying through the air.
Obi-Wan latched on to a seeker droid, he knew the droid's programming, he trained against them many times. He knew that if a droid was grabbed it was programmed to head higher. The droid did just that. Obi-Wan held on tightly until he was directly over the Krixu. He then let go of the droid and swung upward with his lightsaber, cleaving it into two smoking pieces.
He dropped onto the creatures shoulders and began to stab it in the head with the blue blade of his lightsaber. The creature roared with pain and swung it's head violently to try and shake Obi-Wan off. Obi-Wan lost his balance and went flying smacking against the wall that Siri had hit. He landed next to her, she was still laying there, wincing in pain.
"This is fun, remind me again why you left." Siri said with smirk.
"Oh, how I missed your charms." Obi-wan said, returning her sarcasm.
The Jedi had now defeated all the Kilks and droidikas and a handful of them were finishing off the last few seekers. The Krixu was now greatly outnumbered and with one last thrust from Mace the exhausted beast gave up the fight and crashed to the floor.
The floor had been badly damaged from the Krixu's mighty swings and when the beast collapsed, so did the floor. The Jedi now lay amongst rubble and the carcasses of their fallen enemies. They each began to get to their feet and make sure everyone else got to their feet. Everyone seemed to be fine, so they began to look for an exit that would lead them back to the street where Garen and the transport were waiting for them.
It was all for nothing, the Sith had expected them and moved to a different location, but there was no time to reflect on such a disappointment, they needed to get back to the temple and tend to the wounded.
They found a service staircase and began to descend it. Xanatos had trouble breathing because the piece of duracrete had broken one of his ribs. He began to complain about having to descend one hundred forty seven floors.
"Why can't we take the turbolift?" he said wincing in pain. He knew the reason he was just trying to give Master Windu a reason to feel sorry for him.
Mace turned around and gave him a hard stare that made him stop his complaining for the rest of the trip. Obi-Wan gave a chuckle and then Mace turned to face him. Obi-Wan expected a reprimand. He expected that Mace would place the blame for the ambush squarely on him. Obi-Wan prepared for the verbal onslaught.
Mace looked him in the eyes, said: "Thanks," and continued his descent down the staircase.
Obi-Wan knew that Master Windu was a man of few words and even fewer compliments. He knew Mace was genuinely grateful to Obi-Wan for saving his life. Gratitude from Master Windu was rare, and very valuable to anyone in the Jedi order. Obi-Wan just took the compliment, smiled to himself and continued down the stairs. Perhaps winning the Council's acceptance wouldn't be as hard as he thought.