This chapter is named after another part of this Sith code. To understand it you must hear it all. Peace is a Lie, there is only passion. Through passion I gain strength, through strength I gain power, through power I gain victory. Through victory my chains are broken, the Force shall free me. And this chapter says through numbers I gain victory rather than power.
Chapter 22: Through Numbers I Gain Victory
The Sith and Jedi clashed sabers in the shuttle hanger of star destroyer Eclipse, they were deep in battle now, each attack more ferocious then the last, they had been fighting now for at least twenty minutes. Anakin was slowly, slowly gaining the upper hand on Darth Sidious, the man was far to old for this kind of thing and was tiring out quickly. His cuts came with less surgical precision, his strikes with less accuracy and his parries with just enough strength.
Darth Traya was gaining the upper hand on Mara, as Anakin was Sidious. With the Force aiding her she was not able to tire out, she was so strong in it, stronger than Sidious. Mara wondered why she did not just kill him but she had learned at least one thing about her former Jedi master. She always did things for a reason. For example, she always struck fast at the head and faster at the feet to tire Mara out. She launched forms of attacks at her, uppercut, flip of the blade, kick, feign left, cut right. Overhand strike, cut, cut, kick.
She did this so fast she backed Mara up to walls so she had no choice but to use the Force to flip over Traya, wasting more energy and tiring her out further. Then Traya would repeat the same process, and each time Mara was even more exhausted making her even less helpless to get on the offensive. Her face was glistening with sweat, her chest rose up and down rapidly as she breathed in. She had to do something, and her chance came when Traya launched herself in a move Traya had taught her. Upper cut, feign a kick and stab. Mara parried the uppercut, didn't even bother to move at the feigned kick and dodged to the left when Traya stabbed, her saber hummed as she pulled it back.
Mara used this split second to crouch low, extend her foot, and spin.
Hard.
The shin part of her rancer leather boot struck the side of Traya's leg. There was no way she could regain any balance, the Sith Lady Darth Traya fell down on the hard durasteel of the hanger bay. Right when her shoulder made contact with the black floor there was a huge boom and another huge metallic screech. So loud everyone covered their ears.
"What the hell was that?" Mara cried.
"MY SHIP!" Sidious bellowed. "The main reactor, it died!"
Sure enough all power flickered and died, then the hanger was lit again by secondary red light. Mara glanced behind her and out of the hanger, she could clearly see the half of the Eclipse. It had split.
She looked to Anakin and he sensed her thoughts in the Force. Both regrettably sprinted to their shuttle. Sidious and Traya were nowhere to be seen. Anakin leaped into the pilots seat and began working frantically, the ship lurched under them, the gravity was gone, thankfully the shuttles landing struts were magnetized and it had gravity of its own, Anakin raised the ramp. Primed the engines and started them up. With deep hum and blast they took off and zoomed out of the hanger. Just as Anakin lowered the wings of his shuttle a heavily modified, heavily armored Lambda class shuttle shot out of another hanger not far from theirs. He clearly sensed Sidious and Traya aboard. He shot at them twice but it was no use. He turned the shuttle around and headed back for the Executor II He pulled up and came across the hull of Sidious's broken flagship and what he saw hit him like a kick in the gut. All of his victory class cruisers were gone. GONE! He could see their remains scattered across the battle field. Next to that they were missing five Mon Calamari cruisers which were currently burning and hanging lifeless, and he could not see a single Corellian corvette in sight.
How long had be been dueling? But to top that, the Eclipse seemed to be the only ship, as well as one other Imperial class star destroyer and several Tartan patrol cruisers, that Sidious had lost. One word flashed through Anakin's mind, outnumbered. And another, retreat. It his him like a kick to the jaw. He made his shuttle pick up speed and headed for his ship, noticing most of the turrets to one side were not functioning.
XxX
Anakin and Mara Jade sprinted onto the bridge of the Executor II. Piett saw them and immediately ran up to Anakin, not bothering to bow.
"Sir I have a status report. All victory class cruisers are gone, as well as all Corellian corvettes, we are down from ten to five Mon Calamari cruisers and we have fifteen Imperial Class star destroyers left, Terror is gone. The Emperor's forces outnumber us. Mon Mothma has contacted us, she wants us to run and get reinforcements. She is confident the ground forces can handle it."
"Alright." Anakin said sadly. "Set a course for Kuat, there are ship yards there where we can get more. Alert all ships to do the same."
"Yes sir." The comm officer and they hyperspace monitor said in unison. Seconds later the comm officer spoke.
"Sir Admiral Ackbar and General Antillies request to stay behind on the Dodonna and hold off Sidious's fleet for as long as they can."
"NO!" Anakin cried. "I am not losing another ship and they are to come!"
"Just a moment." The officer replied. Seconds later he called again. "They reluctantly agree."
"Coordinates are set!" Another officer cried.
"Jump!"
The Coruscant disappeared and everything else did as well, replaced by a vortex of swirling stars.
XxX
Sidious's robes were now singed from his lightsaber duel, which made him looked even older as he gazed out of the viewport of his new flagship the Gorgon, Daala who was thankfully alive hadn't given him much choice about that. It was alright though the Gorgon was a nice ship. He smiled, revealing his yellow teeth to the stars of space as Anakin's fleet retreated into hyperspace. His new apprentice Aurra Sing stepped up beside him. She straightened the furrows out in her red leather pants and spoke.
"What will you have me do now, milord?" She asked, her blood red lips contrasted with her chalk white skin as they moved, forming words.
"Take the army down to Coruscant." He said turning to her. A strand of his white hair hung askew on his young mask face. "Take the palace, find the chancellor and bring her to me, alive. When the palace is taken I will come down."
"You wish me to lead the attack?"
"No, I wish you to find the Chancellor. It is after all your profession to hunt, is it not?"
"Yes milord."
"Use this." He said. He pulled a small hilt from under his singed robes. A lightsaber, Aurra looked down at the others already clipped to her belt. "But I already have…"
"Ah but the lightsabers you have are the color of the Jedi, green and blue. This is red."
"Ha! The color of your lightsaber is meaningless." Traya spoke from behind them. "It is what you believe in that matters, but that is not what I wish to discuss. I would like to interrogate the chancellor once you have her."
"You have helped me enough," Sidious said. "You may interrogate her."
"Excellent." Traya replied. Then she would find Padmé, kill her and her children, find Anakin and Mara Jade and kill them, then Sidious, Aurra Sing, and finally herself. Then the Force would die.
Next Chapter: Mon Mothma's Second Capture