First chapter = disclaimers

This is a shorter update than usual. I'm trying to get as many of my fics updated as possible. This leads to shorter chapters as I don't have as much time to update.

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Luke Skywalker swallowed hard as he spun his fighter around and fired at the enemy ship. He could feel the Force tingle as the pilot died. It was not a pleasant feeling. It was hard enough living with the fact that he was killing a Jedi every time he blew up a ship. Feeling the passing just made it worse.

For a moment, he envied the ground force. They at least could leave their opponents alive so they could be rehabilitated. There were very few chance for that sort of mercy in a space battle between fighters.

On the other hand, Luke did not have to look in the faces of his opponents. He did not have to see their eyes when they died. In that, he was blessed.

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Several parsecs away, Ani was reflecting on the same subject as he dodged between pieces of space debris. He had followed a tip he had gotten on the underside of Coruscant. The tip had hit pay dirt. The only problem was that there were three Jedi waiting instead of the one he had been looking for.

He had easily dispatched the first one knowing that he would not get the chance to escape. The other two, however, had learned from the first one's mistake and were not exactly allowing Ani any opportunities to reenact the demise of the first pilot. That meant he was using fancy piloting to avoid the blasts of the other ships. With a flick of his wrist, he began twisting back through the space debris. It looked like it was going to be a long day.

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Obi-Wan glanced over at Qui-Gon as they made their way through the empty facility. They could still hear the sound of the fighting going on outside of the building, but the hallways were eerily devoid of their own noise. Of course, most of the Jedi that had been inhabiting the halls were now out fighting on one side or the other, but that did not explain the total lack of people.

 The only thing that explained the silence was a trap, a trap that they were willingly walking into. And why were they walking into it? Because it was who they were. Neither one of them knew better than to regroup and get more support. There had been a time when Obi-Wan would have been cautious and suggested getting help. Qui-Gon had pretty much trained that out of him.

Besides, if they missed an opportunity to take down one of the leaders, they would never forgive themselves. Well, Qui-Gon would never forgive himself. Obi-Wan would probably mope and do penance and then forgive himself.

With a single mind, they entered into the large control room of the facility. Two figures loomed ahead.

Obi-Wan cursed under his breath. Today was not his day.

"So, which one do you want to take?" he tried to make his voice jovial, but he did not exactly succeed. This fight did not bode well for Qui-Gon. One opponent had already killed the man once. The other had been his Master.

"I believe the one on the right owes me a rematch from a previous life. Are you certain you can handle the other, Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan sighed, "I don't have much of a choice now do I?"

"Oh, but you do," came Dooku's smooth voice, "You could simply surrender. You don't really want to harm me do you Qui-Gon?"

"I won't be the one harming you. Obi-Wan will. I have every faith in his abilities."

"Come now, you'd let your old Master die?"

"My old Master died long ago. To tell you the truth, I never really liked you anyway."

"What?" Dooku's voice was a mix of surprise and outrage.

"Why do you think I did such a good job looking serene and impassive? I could barely stand you. As a result, I focused on becoming objective and serene."

Impatient with the banter, Maul launched himself at the two Jedi. Qui-Gon quickly moved to block the Sith's swing as Obi-Wan moved to intercept Dooku.

Maul fought aggressively against Qui-Gon, but the battle was far more even than it had been before. Qui-Gon was not as old as he had once been and the years he had spent mostly deprived of the Force gave him a better grasp of it now.

The same could be said about Obi-Wan. With the major exception that where Qui-Gon had gained strength and speed, Obi-Wan had gained craftiness.  He had hidden from the Emporer and Vader for so long that he had gained a level of finesse in his battle strategy that Dooku did not expect.

All in all, the fighting appeared very even.

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Anakin grunted as he lunged out of the way of the piece of metal that his opponent had hurled at him. His team had successfully gotten out the Jedi who were not yet brainwashed, but not all of them were exactly helpful. Some were in near catatonic states or were so confused that they could not fight. It did not exactly buoy his spirits.

Tahiri swung around behind him as she deflected the next piece of debris that was being hurled around. According to what Siri had said, before she was separated by her own battle, their tall opponent used to be a member of the council.

Which, of course, meant that the guy had to be really, really good. It was just Anakin's luck. He was beginning to think that the Force hated him. Of course, the fact that they were fighting on a suspended walkway colored his perspective somewhat. Bad things happened when you fought on suspended walkways. Namely, people fell off of them.

He lunged towards the figure and deflected a blow that was aimed towards Tahiri while she swung underneath to hack at the attacker's legs. It was a brilliant move. It did not, however, work. Their attacker merely flipped over them and attacked from behind. Tahiri swirled to protect Anakin's exposed flank. At the same time, their opponent kicked out and hit Tahiri's leg. She flipped over the side of the railing and plunged out of Anakin's sight.

For a second, red filled his vision as rage swelled inside. Ki-Adi Mundi was going to regret the day he ever picked up a lightsaber.