--Action, and some nummy Anakin's POV. Not had that in a while, eh? Much of this post is, erm, paraphrased from the awesomeness that is Greg Keyes' writing. Read Conquest and Rebirth or die, f00ls (kinda essential for understanding this story, too)
--CDs are so much more affordable than Star Wars characters
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Cursing the Peace Brigade for the fifth time in as many minutes, Anakin tried to tell himself that at least the Yuuzhan Vong hadn't landed first. They were still farther out in the system – that was where the big patch of nothing was, anyway. No, there were just Peace Brigade fighters to deal with at the moment. Scum, thought Anakin bitterly, the conversation – if it could be called that – he had just had with the leader fresh in his mind.
He let off another blaster bolt at the group of men huddled around three freighters in the landing pad, missing his target but scoring a hit on the hull of the largest ship; it left a black scorch mark, but no real damage. Concentrate, Anakin, he told himself. You need to get them all. All of them, otherwise Tahiri and the others won't be safe. Not that they would be safe anyway, unless Talon Karrde hurried the Sith up and got to Yavin 4.
Some of the Peace Brigaders had finally managed to locate their blasters – Anakin hoped none of them had been in the New Republic military, with those reaction speeds – and were returning fire. The bolts burned into the stone of the temple, unaffected by the weak particle shield that Anakin had set up earlier. Most of the fire was concentrated around Anakin's narrow window, but occasionally, shots were fired at the levels above and below him. The shots weren't wild; the Brigaders were obviously aiming at something.
"What are they shooting at up there?" Anakin asked Ikrit, taking a chance to lean against the window briefly and study the scene below. Still the Peace Brigade were remaining in the landing pad and concentrating on the temple, which was a good sign. It meant they still thought everyone was inside.
"Ghosts of mist and madness," Ikrit answered slowly, his eyes still closed.
"Don't they notice that no one's shooting back at them?"
"Not yet. They believe they see bolts of energy weapons, shadows of targets."
Anakin nodded thoughtfully. "How long can you keep that up?"
"Longer if the occasional bolt is real."
"Got you," Anakin replied, and leaned out to fire a bolt at one of the Peace Brigaders, knocking the man's blaster out of his hand. He had to pull himself back in quickly to avoid falling out, however, when he glimpsed something moving in the sky. Not another Peace Brigade ship, which he had been dreading since the arrival of the third, but the familiar outline of an X-wing, drawing closer to the temple.
A brief flash of relief coursed through Anakin. It was help. Then it was immediately replaced with anger – didn't they trust him to do this on his own, and make it back safely? He reached out through the Force, and swore under his breath when he found that it wasn't his sister, whose help he might have accepted, but Kyp Durron. He didn't need Kyp's help with this; in fact, he was starting to regret having asked for it in the first place.
Ikrit, noticing the fighter and Anakin's resentment, spoke up, his scratchy voice interrupting Anakin's thoughts. "He may be of some use, Anakin."
Anakin looked over at the Jedi Master, who still had his eyes closed, concentrating on the illusion he was creating in the minds of the Peace Brigade. "How?" Anakin asked. "How can he help—"
He stopped suddenly in shock as an energy bolt pinged! past him, angled down, mere inches from the window – and Anakin's blaster. The scarlet bolt hit its target, drawing a cry of pain from the same man Anakin had shot at moments earlier.
"But that—" Anakin leaned out again, turning his head to look up and behind him. "But that came from above! In the temple!"
"Of course," Ikrit said simply, earning himself a disbelieving look from Anakin. "You knew she would return, did you not?"
"Who-?" Anakin started to ask, then stopped as he realised what Ikrit meant. He reached out to confirm his suspicions, and yes – Tahiri was above them; Tahiri, and two of the other trainees.
"Great," Anakin muttered sarcastically, withdrawing back into the safety of the control room, away from the window. "Time for a few plan revisions, then."
"Do not underestimate the aid of those who seek to help you, Anakin," Ikrit called to him, not moving from his spot near the ledge.
"Hm. I better not overestimate their usefulness in getting off this rock now, either." Anakin holstered his blaster and unclipped his lightsabre, holding it for a moment before returning it to his belt. "Meet us in the grotto, Master Ikrit, when you're done here."
"Of course. May the Force be with you."
"And you," Anakin called back, running from the room and down the corridor to the turbolift, his sense of dread growing with every step.
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Anakin's mood was not lightened when he reached the refectory and saw the three young Jedi there – Tahiri, Valin and Sannah. Tahiri and Valin held blasters – where they had found them, Anakin didn't want to know – and crouched to either side of the window directly above the one Anakin had used. Sannah sat beside Valin, a discharged power pack in her hand.
Tahiri looked up and grinned, waving her blaster at him. "We got two-!"
"What are you doing?" Anakin exploded.
"We're helping you, dummy!"
"But how did you—"
"Kam thought we were on Tionne's boat, and Tionne thought we were on Kam's." Tahiri was still grinning. "Simple enough, with a little planning."
Anakin shook his head in disbelief – he had already known that, of course. Hadn't he and Tahiri tricked Kam and Tionne often enough in the past? "But what about Valin? He's only eleven!"
"Twelve!" Valin corrected him, very seriously. "I can help."
"We had to come and help," Tahiri continued, her grin fading. "We couldn't leave you on your own."
"Doesn't anyone think I can handle this alone?" Anakin glared at his friend. "And how do you think you're going to get back? All we have is an X-wing." He scowled as he remembered who would soon be joining them. "Two X-wings."
"I… oh." Tahiri's tone was flat as she realised her error. "I guess I didn't think that far."
"No, guess you didn't." Anakin bit his lip in frustration and tried to think. How were they going to get out of this one? The shield would only hold a few more moments, and then—
The floor suddenly vibrated beneath his feet, a faint rumble through his body.
"What's that?" Sannah asked nervously.
Valin leaned up and glanced out the window. "The shield's down," he answered, watching the scene outside. "They're shooting at the doors. Some people coming up the stairs, now."
Anakin swore and thought quickly. "No time… We'll have to think as we go." He spun round to face the room's exit and corridor beyond, wondering just how far into the temple the Peace Brigaders that Valin had seen were. "I told Master Ikrit to meet us in the grotto."
"We'll be stuck underground," Valin pointed out, obviously unsure as to whether Anakin had realised this or not.
"Yeah, well next time, you work out the half-second plan." Anakin sighed and rubbed at the back of his head. "We won't be for long."
"So there's more to this plan than hiding in the grotto?" Tahiri asked him.
Anakin hesitated a moment, going over his new idea in his head quickly, then nodded. "Sure. We'll take a Peace Brigade ship."
Tahiri grinned again. "See? Not that hard."
He didn't reply; simply led them in a run down the corridor to the turbolift. Just as the doors closed, he caught a glimpse of black at the end of the corridor, by the outside stairs, and a blaster bolt pinged against the lift. The lift started to descend, but Anakin's relief was short-lived – it would stop at the next level. He knew this, with the same certainty that his affinity with mechanics and circuitry always provided. "How many Peace Brigaders were in the corridor?" he asked to anyone who could answer him, too busy trying to work everything out to sense it himself.
"One," Valin answered instantly. "Moving down to the second floor now."
"Sithspit, they're all going to be there… OK. The lift's going to stop on the second floor-"
"Can't you override it?" Sannah asked him.
"With some wire cutters, access to the circuitry and five minutes, I could control the whole system in this temple. We have lightsabres and about ten seconds." Anakin ignited his own lightsabre, his left hand hovering by the lift controls. "The door will stay open for three… four seconds. If they're out there…"
"They are," Valin confirmed quietly.
Anakin didn't have time to answer, or even wonder how Valin was so sure – the lift door was open, several blaster muzzles mere centimetres from him. He slapped the 'down' button and leaped out into the midst of his enemies, his violet blade slicing through one of the blasters. Bolts sizzled against his lightsabre as he deflected them into the ground, the ceiling, back into the crowd of Peace Brigaders. Two seconds…
Those with blasters – that were still in one piece – backed up a few steps, frantically trying to get to a range they could use their weapons from. Two others rushed him, stun batons in hand, obviously hoping to catch him by surprise. As Anakin jumped clear of the floor and disarmed them – dishanded in the case of one attacker – he thought about chastising them for even thinking they could surprise a Jedi. But his words were lost in his throat a second later; he had to leap again to avoid another blow – and landed to find himself facing another blade, this one a brilliant blue, wielded by a grinning Tahiri.
The lift was gone, Valin and Sannah with it. Get to the grotto, Anakin sent after them, certain that Valin would get the gist, if not the exact meaning, of his words. He swallowed and tore his gaze from Tahiri's, spinning round once again to face the Peace Brigaders.
They had backed off a further two metres, regrouping and, presumably, re-equipping themselves. Anakin counted them quickly – there were five, plus one who didn't look as if he would be confronting Anakin again any time soon; he was taking the loss of his hand quite hard – and brought his lightsabre up in a guard position. "You don't have a chance," he told them, sensing Tahiri move to his side. "I've been trying not to hurt you. That ends with the next person who fires a weapon at me."
The woman in front – obviously this group's leader – spoke up. "They can't get all of us," she assured the others.
"Of course we can," Anakin said, sensing rather than seeing Tahiri's nod.
The woman smirked. "All of us?"
Noise behind her signified reinforcements, and Anakin swore. He hit her with a telekinetic blast, pushing her hard into the people behind her, and most of them crashed to the floor. One man, at the rear of the group, took a step back before those in front of him hit him – and stumbled right into Kyp Durron, who spun him round and punched him hard enough to knock him out.
"How you doing, kid?" he called nonchalantly, brushing his hands on his flightsuit.
Anakin glanced at Tahiri, who had shut off her lightsabre and was clipping it back on her belt. "Little better now." He didn't add, 'thanks.'
Kyp nodded at something behind Anakin and Tahiri. "Might want to get out of here before it gets worse again."
Anakin turned and swore again – there had been reinforcements on the way after all. They were just coming from the other side.
"I'll get them," Kyp said, igniting his violet-silver blade, its snap-hiss combining with the buzz of Anakin's. "You get the kids. And Tahiri," he added hurriedly, obviously anticipating an outburst from the girl.
Anakin acknowledged this with a nod and whirled to face the turbolift shaft. The doors were closed, of course, and the lift itself was several floors down, but neither situation was much of a problem – not to two Jedi with lightsabres. He made four quick slashes, cutting a hole in the durasteel big enough for both him and Tahiri, then faced his friend. "Go," he told her, shutting off his blade. "You say you're ready for all this? Jump."
Without even a moment's hesitation, she did so. A half-second later, Anakin followed, leaving the sounds and lights of the blasters and lightsabre behind, falling into a world of nothingness. Together, they hurled through the darkness.
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