I got the idea for this chapter from the Rise of the Empire mode on Star Wars Battlefront II.
The tension inside the Palace was building, day by day. Every Jedi had learned about what happened two nights ago, and everybody was feeling uneasy. After a report that a Star Destroyer had entered the system, everyone knew the fight was imminent. Jedi Master Dirk stood on one side of Queen Apailana and Trando, Moss, and Hooka stood on the other. They had been staring out a large window into the courtyard of the Palace where the Royal Security Force was setting up for the invasion. Everyone was silent as they watched the troops scurry around the courtyard. The sun was almost behind the horizon.
Moss looked over at Queen Apailana. She was wearing a simple red dress and a gold and red head piece. Moss looked behind him and saw Captain Panaka coming from behind. He bowed his head at everyone. "The officers are making the final adjustments to the auto turret grid you requested set up, your highness."
"Very well," said Queen Apailana. "Has anything new about the orbiting Star Destroyer come in?"
"Yes, it is sending down landing crafts as we speak. We predict a battle will happen tonight." Queen Apailana nodded and Captain Panaka walked away.
"The sooner the better," remarked Trando. "All of this waiting and anxiety is not what I prefer." The queen said nothing. She just stood there, looking out the window, a sad look on her face. And that is what they did for the rest of the night, stood there looking out the window in silence.
Moss's legs were starting to ache but he still stood. Nothing interesting happened, only RSF security officers running across the courtyard. The sun was way beyond the horizon and only the stars shone. It was a clear, peaceful night.
"Imperial stormtroopers have been spotted near the edge of the city," said a voice from somewhere.
Queen Apailana pulled out a comlink from her collar and said, "Acknowledged, commander. Do what you must to keep them as far away from the Palace as possible."
"Yes, your highness," replied the voice.
Queen Apailana shoved the comlink back into her collar. The three Jedi and Hooka were staring at her. "The Imperials will, without a doubt, decrypt that conversation. It will make them expect an attack in the city, and not expect the surprise attack on the Palace grounds."
"But they will expect something once the attack does not come when they are in the city," said Dirk. "And the Star Destroyer must have scanned the Palace area for any defenses."
"The Star Destroyer will think that the auto turrets will be reinforcement, should they get that far," countered Queen Apailana. "And the stormtroopers on the ground might think that the location we have on them was wrong," she paused, "I hope."
"This plan should have been thought-," Dirk was cut off by Hooka who roared.
"Look!" shouted Moss. He pointed out the window just as beyond the trees of the courtyard lit up with blaster fire. "They're trying to capture the south end of the Palace. They are purposely trying to not get into range of the auto turrets. The trap has failed."
"No surprise there," Dirk remarked. Queen Apailana's comlink buzzed with the conversation of the officers. There mostly screams of the dying coming through. How the Queen could resist turning it off, Moss did not know. "It looks like they have captured the south end," said Dirk. The stormtroopers made their way across the entry of the courtyard, trying to reach the other side. The auto turrets fired upon them and none got to the other side. "What do you know? Our trap didn't fail after all." The flow of stormtroopers stopped momentarily.
"They are going to have to get to the other side of the courtyard if they want to get the auto turrets offline," said Trando.
Suddenly a charge of stormtroopers ran across the entry to the other side. It was decimated by auto turret fire, but the one tenth that remained was still a threat. Moss stood with his mouth open. "Unbelievable," he said.
"That's what they are," said Queen Apailana. "Unbelievable. Their precision is one of the best in the galaxy, it is almost unnatural."
The queen's comlink buzzed again. She picked it out of her color and listened, "They have managed to sneak in a few repulorlift tanks," said a somewhat worried voice. The queen's face turned into sadness. She could see the inevitable. It was only a matter of time when she would give the order.
On the northern end of the Palace, the red glow of blaster fire splashed an ominous red hue onto the building's walls. Moss watched as an explosion lit up that end of the courtyard. "We've taken out one of their tanks!" announced a voice over the comlink. "Only one more to go."
They continued to watch the battle from the safety of the Palace. A few minutes later another explosion lit up the northern end of the Palace. "They've destroyed the auto turret console."
Stormtroopers poured into the courtyard. Not long afterward, the entire courtyard was engulfed in blaster fire. Queen Apailana's face never looked grimmer. "Send out the Jedi," she said into the comlink. Dirk, Trando, and Moss looked at the queen. They took a step back and were preparing to go outside into the battle. "Not you," she said, not looking away from the window. "I need you for when things get worse." They returned to their original places. The only thing that changed in the battle was the presence of people wielding lightsabers. But even they were being killed.
Moss searched the courtyard for something out of place. He found it, a red blaster bolt that didn't move in a straight line, and never hit a wall. It wasn't a blaster bolt, he realized. "It's Vader!" said Trando. So that was what Darth Vader looked like. Moss had never seen him. The traitorous Jedi walked up to the other Jedi and, almost too easily, cut them down.
Moss looked at Queen Apailana. A tear rolled down her cheek and she whispered, "It's time to go." She turned around and walked away from the window. Taking a final glance at the battle, Moss was about to become a part of, he left with the queen.
They all stood at the front door. Hooka had his bow caster ready, and the three Jedi had their lightsabers in their hands. The queen pulled out a blaster from within her dress. She took a deep breath and opened the door. The noise of the battle infused Moss's ears. The sight was utter destruction. RSF officers and stromtroopers were falling like flies. He and the rest of the Jedi lit their lightsabers. "Get to the Palace's hangar," said the queen over the noise. She bolted down the stairs as fast as she can, and Moss, Trando, Dirk, and Hooka kept up.
They did their best to deflect all the shots that came their way. Queen Apailana did not hesitate to fire her blaster. As they made their way across the courtyard, Moss could not help but cut down a few stormtroopers for himself. He rejoined the queen and continued. Queen Apailana pointed the way with her blaster. Incidentally, there was a stormtrooper in that direction and she shot him down. Moss could sense fire burning inside her. They all ended up straying away from each other, but still kept each other in their sight, and went in the same general direction.
Moss was having fun with this. It was almost like a free for all. He lopped off an arm of a stormtrooper and took his time severing the other. Both arms fell to the ground and he struck low for his final blow. He twirled around and cut the legs off. His lightsaber came to an abrupt halt. Moss looked up and found out why. Darth Vader had blocked it. It was impossible to hear his infamous breathing over the noise of the battle. "Help!" he cried. To his surprise, Trando heard his call and came to his side. Darth Vader flicked the lightsaber around and Moss barely blocked the attack. Trando tried to stab Darth Vader in the back, but Vader turned and blocked it. At the same time, Moss tried to strike Darth Vader across the chest, but that too was blocked.
Trando and Moss developed a technique: Strike at the same time Darth Vader was blocking and hope his reflexes won't be fast. It didn't work. Moss and Trando contorted in many different ways, trying to attack and defend themselves. They were growing tired quickly, and so they found the only solution to the problem. Trando and Moss reached out their hands and pushed Darth Vader with the Force. Darth Vader went flying half way across the courtyard.
There was no time to celebrate surviving Darth Vader. Moss had a tingling sensation in the back of his mind. He lunged out with his lightsaber in front of Queen Apailana and blocked, what would have been, a fatal shot to the head by a sniper. "We have to get there quicker," shouted Queen Apailana.
"Where's Hooka?" asked Moss.
"He's been shot down when you were battling Vader," said Dirk. Sadness and anger welled up inside Moss. But he didn't let that get to him. They continued to make their escape from the Palace. They were at the edge of the courtyard. A tingling sensation was in the back of Moss's mind again, but he ignored it, because he was already preoccupied with a group of stormtroopers. Dirk was leaping with his lightsaber, trying to deflect blaster fire away from Queen Apailana. Trando had his own problems with the stormtroopers. The queen herself was busy trying to clear a path out of the courtyard.
"There," she said, pointing with her blaster. They started running for the open. The tingling sensation in the back of Moss's mind was getting stronger, but still he ignored it. A sniper bolt sped out from a dark alley, toward the queen's chest. Moss deflected it. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw a sniper bolt speed from a bridge, connecting two buildings. Moss tried to deflect it, but he was a hair off. It hit Queen Apailana in the neck, and she dropped her blaster. The queen fell in the middle of the courtyard, arms spread outward.
"No!" he screamed in pain. The sight of Queen Apailana being dead was unbearable. She was the kindest woman in the galaxy and she was killed ruthlessly by the darkest force in the galaxy. He should have paid attention to his feelings and followed through on the tingling sensation. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dirk being shot down by stormtroopers. He fell backwards, lightsaber flying out of his hands. The stormtroopers wouldn't settle with just one fatal shot, they kept shooting him even after he was clearly dead.