Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 4- Battle for the Temple
Traffic has begun to slow down a bit on Coruscant. It's so late that many people have turned in for the night.
However, few except those involved realize the chaos that is about to commence on Coruscant. On the main street leading to the entrance to the Jedi Temple, thousands of clones are marching towards the Jedi Temple. The clones are a mix of clones from the 501st Legion currently on Coruscant and clone shock troopers from the Coruscant Guard. Commander Fox is leading the massive clone force. They have received direct orders from the Chancellor to attack the Jedi Temple, as Order 66 has been issued and the Jedi have declared traitors.
Up ahead, at the Jedi Temple, the Jedi still at the Temple are preparing for battle. Trusting Anakin's skill at tactics, Mace had designated Anakin to jointly organize the defense of the Temple alongside Cin Drallig.
Anakin and Cin, despite the fact they only had a few minutes to organize the defense of the Temple, had organized a reasonably good defense. Although they only had about 1,500 combat ready Jedi at the ready, on top of the almost 500 younglings and Padawans not considered ready for front line battle, they had organized a good defence. As many younglings as possible had been sent to hide in the Jedi Council Chambers, and the rest had been ordered to take shelter in vaults under the Temple. They had stationed almost five hundred Jedi just inside the Temple entrance. Other Jedi were stationed in groups of a hundred to protect some of the most important parts of the Temple, including the Archives, the training grounds, the security center, the Room of a Thousand Fountains, and the gardens on the roof. Other, smaller groups of Jedi were stationed in other areas of the temple to protect them. The rest were either placed to protect the younglings or waiting with Cin to move wherever they needed to. Most of the Jedi Temple Guards are with the group in the entrance into the Temple, but with a handful still watching the perimeter of the Temple.
Anakin is at the entrance with the group assigned to resist the incursion into the Temple. While it pains him to know that he'll be having to fight against the clones that he has commanded and served alongside, he knows he has to. Bail and Padme have let them know that the Senate will not be able to convene until morning, so they will have to resist all assaults on the Temple until then. He also knows they have to try and hold on until Ahsoka and her troops arrive.
As Anakin is milling among the Jedi, trying to give them encouragement, a Jedi Temple Guard assigned to keep watch comes running into the Temple. "They're coming! The clones are ascending the steps!"
"Everyone ready!" Anakin shouts, drawing his saber and igniting it. In rapid succession, the rest of the Jedi with him draw their sabers and ignite them.
Anakin heads to the front of the group, with the Jedi Temple Guards fanning out on either side of him, and the rest of the Jedi forming up behind them, all of them settling into a combat stance, sabers at the ready, although some, at Anakin's orders, hide themselves behind pillars and corners, ready to ambush the clones that get past them.
As the Jedi ready themselves, they can hear the sound of the clones bootsteps coming up the steps leading into the Temple, and they can finally make out the helmets of the first line of clones coming towards them.
"We are Knights of the Jedi Order. This is our home, and we will fight to the end!" Anakin declares loudly to try and inspire the Jedi and give them a little extra morale boost.
The clones continue their march up the steps, more and more coming into view. Then, as they near the entrance, they seem to notice the Jedi, and the front ranks slow down, allowing more and more clones to reach the entrance. Then, once hundreds of clones have reached the entrance, Commander Fox issues the order, and with several shouts, the clones charge into the Temple.
The clones start firing their blasters at the assembled Jedi. Hundreds of lightsabers flash as the Jedi desperately block the incoming blaster bolts.
As Anakin ordered, the Jedi begin to pull back slightly, drawing the clones towards them. A few Jedi are hit and killed, but most of the Jedi are still fighting. The clones, believing they need to keep up the pressure on the Jedi, pursue them, continually firing and presing closer and closer.
As they pass the Jedi that have hidden themselves, Anakin shouts, "Now!" The Jedi hiding leap out of hiding, igniting their lightsabers, and attacking the clones, cutting down dozens of clones.
"Charge!" Anakin shouts, with a series of shouts, the Jedi behind Anakin charge behind him towards the clones.
The Jedi attack the clones in a mass of flashing lightsabers, fighting as hard as they can, knowing this is a fight for their lives. Anakin is the first to reach the clones, lunging into them and cutting across a clone's front with his saber. A pang of sadness hits him, as he recognizes the clone he just killed, but he knows he has to do this. This is a fight for their lives.
The fight in the entrance to the Jedi Temple quickly degenerates into something of a free for all. Clones and Jedi are intermixed, fighting any enemy within range.
Anakin is trying his best to cut down the clones' numbers, slashing his way through the clones while dodging every blaster bolt flying at him. Anakin cuts down clone after clone, not a single blaster bolt coming close to him.
However, as Anakin looks around, he realizes that things are quickly starting to go bad. A number of the Jedi, namely the younger and less experienced Jedi, are beginning to fall. The clones are merciless, and more and more clones are pouring into the Temple, firing their blasters into the midst of the battling Jedi. A number of Jedi are unable to keep up with the constant stream of clones coming into the Temple and are gunned down by the advancing clones.
As the minutes pass and the fight continues, Anakin is keeping careful track of how the battle is going while continuing to fight. He knows he probably can't hold off the clones forever, and knows he can't just fight all his Jedi to the death. He's going to have to pull them back eventually, but wants to hold out as long as he can for Ahsoka and her portion of the 501st to arrive to reinforce them. But his team is taking losses at a greater rate than he anticipated. Of course, that's in part because the clones they're facing are probably the best trained clones in the entire Grand Army of the Republic.
Anakin continues fighting, as he feels pangs of guilt with every clone of the 501st he fights. As he continues cutting his way through the clones, he sees a clone he recognizes well. Appo.
Anakin whirls his lightsaber, blocking the blaster bolts that Appo and the few clones with him are firing at him. As he moves in closer, he shouts, "Appo! It's me! General Skywalker! Stand down!"
"You've been marked for execution by Order 66, General. You'll pay for treason, General," Appo says in return, not ceasing firing.
"Appo, this isn't you! Fight it! I know you can!" Anakin pleads with the clone. Appo doesn't respond, only presses forward, still firing his blaster.
Anakin feels a bit of sorrow, realizing that all of these clones remember him, but are still compelled to try and kill him, and that just furthers his anger at Palpatine. Using that anger, he lets out a wave of energy, sending Appo and a number of other clones flying through the air.
Anakin looks around, and his heart falls a bit. The clones are pressing their attack harder than ever, and bringing some pretty heavy weapons to bear. Then, to his shock, an AT-TE appears at the top of the steps. The walker fires its main cannon on its back into the midst of the battle where a number of Jedi are concentrated. About a dozen Jedi are killed by the blast, along with several clones. Several Jedi charge towards the walker in an attempt to disable it, but all are gunned down before they can reach it.
Anakin, knowing he has to act fast, charges towards the walker. As he gets close enough, he summons all his strength in the Force and lets out a massive blast of Force energy. The blast knocks the walker off of its legs and over onto its back, sliding back down the steps, crushing a number of clones as it goes.
As Anakin looks back into the entrance, he sees that the battle is going more poorly. A number of clone sharpshooters have taken up positions and are trying to snipe the Jedi, meeting with some success. Other clones are bringing heavier weapons into play, and a number of ARC troopers attached to the 501st are attacking the Jedi with great ferocity.
Anakin does a quick headcount from a distance, and his heart sinks a bit as he sees that already, after about 15 minutes of battle, he's lost over half of his Jedi, and more Jedi are falling by the minute. He can also see a number of his Jedi are tiring quickly under the relentless clone assault.
Anakin knows they have to retreat and regroup, and hopefully get some more Jedi to reinforce them. Anakin dashes back into the midst of the battle, cutting down every clone in his path. "Retreat! Everyone, pull back!"
The Jedi fighting all hear Anakin's shout and begin to pull back through the clones, still deflecting every blaster bolt fired at them. The Jedi retreat deeper into the Temple, Anakin and the surviving Temple Guards covering their retreat. As they go, Anakin lifts his wrist and shouts into his commlink, "Cin, we're overwhelmed! We've lost almost 300 Jedi already, we're pulling back!"
"Understood! I have more Jedi on their way now!" Cin Drallig replies. Within moments, almost 200 Jedi, drawn both from the reserve and from those guarding other areas of the Temple.
Anakin and the surviving Jedi pull back, losing a few more Jedi in their retreat. They pull back further until they reach the entrance to one of the main open areas in the middle of the Temple, where Anakin halts them, determined to hold this spot.
"We hold this spot!" Anakin shouts.
The clones quickly catch up to the Jedi and attack again. The Jedi try to resist, but the clones have brought up another AT-TE walker. The walker fires into the midst of the Jedi from a distance, killing almost 40 Jedi in seconds. Several Temple Guards charge the walker, and although several are gunned down, several manage to make it to the walker. Two cut through its forward legs, and a third cuts the barrel of the main gun in half. Unfortunately, the Guards are quickly surrounded by the clones and gunned down.
The clones press on against the Jedi, firing blasters and adding a few grenades into the mix. Numerous Jedi fall, but they hold their ground.
As the minutes pass, Anakin begins to get a bit more worried. He's had several close calls with almost getting hit by blaster fire, and his group is now down to less than a hundred Jedi. Anakin knows he has to hold the clones here. Clones have already started taking other paths into other areas of the Temple. If the clones can get past the Jedi here, they will be able to go anywhere in the Temple.
Right then, Anakin hears a series of shouts. Looking behind him, he sees the Jedi sent by Cin Drallig to reinforce him. To his surprise, Shaak Ti is leading them. Anakin had expected her to remain in the Council Chamber with Mace coordinating everything.
Shaak Ti quickly reaches the front of the group, deflecting every blaster bolt fired at her. "I see things are not going so well, Skywalker," she says.
"You could say that," Anakin grunts as he deflects a flurry of blaster fire.
"We must hold them here," Shaak Ti says firmly.
"That's what I said," Anakin responds tersely. He then charges ahead, into the midst of the clones, and attacks them at close range. Shaak Ti follows his example with a number of the reinforcements, while the rest of the Jedi hold back, just deflecting the blaster bolts fired at them.
As the Jedi desperately try to fend off the clones, outside, Commander Fox is approaching the Temple with more clones. Only about half of the clones assigned to attack the Temple are already inside the Temple, the rest still gathering outside the Temple.
As Fox is watching the clones making their way into the Temple, he hears something from overhead. Looking up, he sees a fleet of LAATs, and a few carriers bring AT-TEs, coming down from the direction of orbit. The gunships and tank carriers fly down and set down a short distance away. Hundreds of clones come pouring out of the gunships. Just over a thousand clone troops come out of the gunships, forming up around the three AT-TEs that got set down.
Fox feels nothing in terms of alarm. These must be reinforcements, as Fox already knows that things are not going so smoothly inside the Temple and he's lost a lot of troops.
However, it's not so fine as Fox thinks. Just a short distance away from Fox and his massing troops, Rex takes a quick look through his binocks at the situation. He realizes that the force attacking the Temple is superior to the force he has on the ground right now. He also knows he only has about 1,200 more troops aboard the ship, which will probably still leave his force outnumbered. However, Rex knows he has one things on his side. Surprise. The clones attacking the Temple won't expect him to be attacking them, and he'll be able to catch them from their side.
Rex turns to Ahsoka, who came down with the first landing group. "They've already begun making their way into the Temple. We need to move quickly," he says.
"Got it," Ahsoka responds. She then turns to the clones and says, "Alright, boys. I know this will be difficult, but we have to do this. Don't hold back, but if they retreat, let them go. With luck, we'll have them out of Palpatine's control soon enough." She pauses, then nods at Rex who shouts, "Let's move!"
The clones of the 332nd Division all begin their advance towards the entrance to the Temple, moving quickly, but not so quickly as to arouse concern in the clones attacking the Temple. Rex and Ahsoka are in the lead, with Rex carefully tracking how close they're getting.
Finally, Rex figures they've gotten close enough. He raises hand and gives the signal. Instantly, the three AT-TEs fire their main cannons and start firing their other laser cannons. The clones raise their blasters and start firing.
The clones of the 501st and the shock troopers of the Coruscant Guard are completely caught off guard. Most didn't even realizes that the clones of the 332nd were coming, and are shocked to have clones suddenly attacking them. Hundreds of clones fall to intense blaster fire and fire from the three walkers.
Fox is caught completely off guard, not having expected this. He issues orders to turn and attack these apparently treasonous clones, but the orders get fuddled as they pass through the ranks. The clones are in chaos, unable to get their senses back together, and some begin to retreat, thinking they are facing a heavier attack than they actually are.
Inside the Jedi Temple, the Jedi are still fighting desperately. Anakin and Shaak Ti have led the Jedi in a fierce counterattack, and have managed to push the clones back a good distance. However, the Jedi are tiring, and more Jedi have fallen to the clones. Both Anakin and Shaak Ti are getting worried that they may not be able to hold on much longer, and they have to call in the Jedi stationed in other areas of the Temple to protect it.
Suddenly, glancing at the entrance, Anakin sees new clones beginning to enter the Temple. As he gets a better look at them, he begins to smile broadly, especially once he sees a figure wielding two blue lightsabers enter the Temple. "It's the reinforcements!" he shouts.
The Jedi see the new clones arriving. Rex had ordered that any clone attached to the 332nd who hadn't already painted their helmets with Ahsoka's face markings had to do it before leaving the ship. Any shock troopers that had agreed to join their cause made similar alterations to their armor. These color changes were to signal to the Jedi that they were allies.
The clones inside the temple quickly realize something's wrong when they start taking blaster fire from behind. The clones quickly see Ahsoka and clones from the 332nd, along with a few shock troopers who allied with them, attacking them from behind.
The clones are quickly sent into a bit of a panic as they realize they are caught in a pincer. Dozens of clones are killed by their brethren and Ahsoka, and more as the Jedi take advantage of the distraction to press their counterattack.
A number of the clones begin to realize that they are severely outnumbered, and begin to set down their blasters and get down on their knees with hands on their hands. Others continue to fight back, but are quickly gunned down or cut down. In a matter of minutes, the only clones left in the Temple are those who are surrendering and a few that had already made it around the Jedi and gotten into the Temple.
Anakin rushes up to Ahsoka as the last resisting clone falls. The clones of the 332nd move to begin taking their brothers into custody, a few Jedi lending a hand.
"Ahsoka! I cannot tell you how relieved I am to see you!" Anakin says with relief evident in his voice.
Ahsoka grins back at him. "It's good to see you too, Master. Looks like we got here in the nick of time," she says.
"I'll say !" Anakin exclaims.
Jesse walks up right then. "General Skywalker. Good to see you alive," he says.
"Damn right, Jesse," Anakin says with a smile.
"General, my boys are cuffing all of these boys. What do you want us to do with them?" Jesse asks.
"I'll have some of the Temple Guards escort them down to the holding cells. Once we have time, we'll get to work removing their inhibitor chips," Anakin says. Jesse nods and goes off to instruct his men and coordinate with the Guards.
Outside, Rex is leading the counterattack against the clones still outside the Temple. The clones are starting to get a bit more organized and fight back against Rex' troops, but they're struggling pretty hard, and still taking serious losses.
As Rex orders a full press against the hostile clones, and calls in for two orbiting gunships to come in and make an attack run on them, Commander Fox makes a decision. He's already lost a few thousand clones, about half of his force, and although he knows hundreds of Jedi are already dead, he knows there are still more inside the Temple, and he knows his forces have hardly made a dent in the 332nd, all of which are still fresh and well rested, while his men are not all so fresh and well rested, and he has heard that the 332nd has another wave of landing craft bringing down more troops. Deciding that continuing the attack will only end badly, Fox decides he has to pull back. Fox issues orders to all his troopers to pull back, with the intention of setting up a siege of the Temple until he can get enough reinforcements to make a second attack.
Within minutes, the shock troopers and men from the 501st are in full retreat from the Temple. Rex, seeing that Fox' men are retreating, orders his men to cease fire and hold their positions while he heads into the Temple.
As Rex enters the Temple, he finds Ahsoka, Anakin, and Shaak Ti waiting for him. Anakin smiles with clear joy and says, "Rex. Once again, you prove yourself the best soldier I've ever fought beside."
"Thanks, General. But that may be an over exaggeration," Rex says.
"I'm not so sure about that, Captain. Had you not had enough self restraint to give Ahsoka the secret she needed to uncover the truth behind the chips, you and your brothers would not be free, and we might have been overrun," Shaak Ti says. Rex can almost feel a slight blush coming on at the praise, but suppresses it.
"Just doing what I knew was right," Rex responds.
"And that's what makes you a great man," Anakin says proudly. Rex just smiles in return.
Everyone glances around for a moment. Most of the clones that had surrendered have already been led away. The remaining clones of the 332nd are kind of milling about with the Jedi, who are all expressing their profound gratitude for the clones for coming to their rescue.
"What do we do now?" Ahsoka asks.
Rex speaks up. "General Skywalker, General Ti, with the few men we lost, and the further reinforcements I have coming down from orbit, we will just over 2,300 clones down here, along with about half a dozen walkers several dozen gunships at the ready. The cruiser is ready to assist if necessary, but with the Home Fleet in orbit, she'd be obliterated in an instant, so I issued orders for them to just be ready for an evacuation if needed," he lists off the situation for the clones.
"Good, Rex," Anakin responds.
"How many Jedi have we lost already?" Ahsoka asks with sadness in her voice.
Both Anakin and Shaak Ti look somber, and Shaak Ti says, "While we have not made a count of everyone who has fallen, just over 400 Jedi have already fallen defending the Temple. We have just over 1,000 left in the Temple, not counting the younglings and Padawans not quite ready for front line combat."
"Just 2,300 clones and 1,000 Jedi. That's bad. If Fox returns with a much larger force, I'm not sure we can hold for long," Rex says solemnly.
"Maybe. But we don't have to. We just have to hold out until morning, until the Senate can vote to strip Palpatine of his titles and appoint a new Chancellor who can take action," Anakin says.
"So, what are your orders, General?" Rex asks.
"I want squads of clones stationed at every entrance to the Temple to keep watch for any hostile forces approaching the Temple. The rest of the clones will prepare defenses at this entrance, and we will prepare for a siege, which I think is what's going to happen. And then we just wait for Senator Organa and Senator Amidala to call us," Anakin says.
"Yes, sir," Rex says, and hurries off to issue orders to his men.
Ankin looks out at the dark sky. Morning, and the meeting of the Senate, is only hours away. Hopefully, the clones won't attempt another attack on the Temple before then. All they can do right now is wait.
And, I'll end the chapter there.
So, I hope you liked this one. It was long, but I hope it was enjoyable.
Next chapter will be up soon. Until then, please leave a review, and stay tuned!