Many thanks to those who've read, and those who've reviewed! We continue progressing toward the climax, and intrigue abounds. Please enjoy the next chapter! ~F
Chapter Twenty Eight
Temple Liberation
Diábolis was impressed that Ms. Granger had restrained herself to merely recovering her tool and weapon, rather than attempting to make use of it against him. Undoubtedly she was planning to gain some sort of advantage through this infiltration of the Coruscant Imperial Palace. Diábolis did not care for the time being. So long as he got what he wanted he could always kill her later. There were ways for him to locate her through the Force now that he had interacted with her.
Strangely enough, he knew that this was possible, and yet Veneficus had never used that technique to locate them before. Clearly he had had adequate contact with the female Mage-born, and therefore could do so whenever he wished. Unless he honestly hadn't considered her a threat, or else there was something that she had done that could prevent even the Force from locating her.
Still, as they flew down from orbit in a stealth shuttle, he kept these thoughts and worries to himself. They were here to find the ultimate secret of his Master, and through that Diábolis would ascend to the throne of the Galaxy himself.
With them in the shuttle, a squad of elite assault troopers carried the weapons that the Mage-born indicated would harm the crazed beast that Veneficus kept in the sewers of the palace. They were an archaic design, long range rifles that shot the prewar blaster bolts that lacked any of the magi-technology that had been pilfered from the woman they flew with. She had obviously been affronted that they held so many of her designs and work, but Diábolis had only smirked when she scowled, and moved on when she indicated that they were not what they needed for the beast.
"Are you sure that these will work?" he asked again, probably for the tenth or eleventh time, but he wanted to be absolutely sure.
"They are the only thing that you had that will pierce the magically resistant hide of the creature." She replied, annoyed at the constant asking, "And even still it may take several shots to bring it down."
"I hope, for your sake, you're right." Diábolis said, adding only a subtle threat.
She only rolled her eyes in response.
Soon enough they landed in a small square only a few streets away from the entrance ot the Palace sewers. Diábolis led them to the entrance swiftly, keeping out of sight just in case there were any fools that dared to draw close to this particular location.
Holding up a hand to stop them as they arrived at the entrance, Diábolis unclipped his twinsaber from his belt. "From here we go cautiously." He warned, even as the troopers drew their weapons, and Ms. Granger took out her wand.
Slowly, Diábolis led the way into the sewers, sweeping the area with the Force to try and sense where the beast was hiding. He could sense nothing, but that meant little as the beast apparently had its own gifts with the Force.
"So, if this massive serpent has the ability to hide itself from all know means of detection, how will we flush it out?" Granger asked, and Diábolis frowned at being questioned, but gestured at some of the troopers. They produced small pikes from their supplies, "These have been designed to make a sonic boom on a low frequency every few seconds." He explained, and Granger's eyes brightened.
"You'll draw it with the vibrations, which as a snake it will be sensitive to," she said, and Diábolis smirked coolly. If she wasn't so diametrically against the Empire, he could have seen them working well together. Perhaps he would give her a chance to officially join him, with promises of power and control over the Empire, a near compromise that might peak her interest enough to serve him.
The troopers went about placing the devices in every space that they could lodge one safely. Meanwhile, the two with the long range sniper blasters found a clear area to set up and wait for their shots. Diábolis and Granger observed from the rearmost area of the sewer from this place, and Diábolis fingered the trigger that would activate all the devices until the troopers were well away from them.
"Ready?" he said, and Granger nodded. He pressed the trigger, and at once all the devices started their pulsating, the rhythmic thumps echoing through the tunnels. Within moments, Diábolis sensed the movement of the beast as it dropped all sense of stealth and came flooding to their location. The Sith Lord could only presume what the beast must have thought that the sound resembled. A section of the murky water exploded upward, and the crimson beast reared up and towered over them.
"Open fire!" Diábolis shouted, and the other troopers started bombarding the creature's hide with their weapons, distracting it with trifling attacks that only served to anger the beast. But even as the serpent started to dive down and bite at the troopers, Diábolis shot out a hand, unleashing a blast of lightning to catch the serpent in the head, just under the eye.
The shock and surprise of the attack did more than any damage, forceing the creature to rear back once more, and as it turned Diábolis knew that the other eye of the creature was now exposed to the scopes of the snipers. Half a dozen rapid shots rang out, the old weapons spraying bolts with deadly accuracy.
Despite this, the creature moved swiftly, and dodged most of the bolts, although a few struck true. The creature roared in pain and the one eye was blackened and useless to it. It slammed headlong into one of the walls and bucked back. Its concentration disrupted, Diábolis then pounced. Using the Force, he threw the head of the creature the other way, allowing the snipers to take the shot once more, and brought the creature down.
The beast collapsed with a massive splash into the murky water, and Diábolis called for them to move quickly. It was unlikely that such noise went unnoticed from those far above them, and he wanted to be far from here when the investigation teams arrived.
Granger hesitated, looking at the corpse of the beast, and while Diábolis suspected that she did not care that such a monster was killed, she more likely wanted to run some tests or take a sample or two from the body. "There's no time," he said, snapping her out of her thoughts, and he hurried to follow them.
Flooding through the narrow passages of the labyrinth, it was particularly simple to navigate with the beast dead and out of the way, Diábolis found the secret lift in the center of the maze. They piled in, and Diábolis hit the button form them to ascend.
"That was the easy part," he said, confirming what all the troopers likely feared. There would be significantly more to come, and the horror that the royal Arcanamach could exact probably exceeded the quick and painless dead that being devoured by the serpent would ever cause.
Displaying a small holographic map of the palace from his wrist device, Diábolis pointed to where they would arrive after the lift finished its process, "We'll be very close to our target from here, just outside the archive, and for all I know the Emperor has set his guards to protect the valuables that he treasures above anything else."
Moving to point at the chamber he had marked previously when he scouted out the archive, he continued, "This is where I suspect his secrets are held, Ms. Granger, that will be where your skills in the Wild Force are required."
"I understand," the woman replied, "I'll just need time to analyze the wards and how to undo them without trigger whatever curses may be attached to them."
Diábolis nodded, "That's why the troopers will go and cause a small disturbance on the far side of the temple, and I myself will guard you in case we're discovered."
The Sith could tell that she was not pleased with this arrangement, and it probably tied into the unknown scheme that the woman was planning. Diábolis wouldn't be surprised if she sought to take command of the automated defense platforms over Coruscant and shut down the planet to Imperial traffic.
Truth be told, when he thought about it as the lift arrived at the end of its ride, that most assuredly had to be what she planned. And he would even be willing to let her do it, as it would allow him to slip away unnoticed and make the entire incident look like a rebel attack rather than his plot against Veneficus.
As soon as the doors opened, Diábolis gestured and the troopers fanned out, scouting the archive for any signs of life. Walking ahead of Granger, the Sith Lord pierced the eerie silence with the Force, curiously finding no signs of Force sensitive life in the chamber, which was as equally good as it was concerning to them.
Indicating the door in question, he watched as the Rebel leader went straight for it, her wand already flicking in the complicated patterns of their magic to decipher the hidden powers that kept it sealed.
"I don't like it, my Lord," the lead trooper stated, approaching Diábolis, "It's too silent here, something's not right…"
Diábolis didn't respond, but silently he agreed. The Emperor was not here, and that knowledge left a hollow pit in the Devaronian's gut. Where had Veneficus gone that was more important than his secret work here in the core of the Galaxy?
Still, they had their orders, and the troopers departed to make their distraction. Surely with the Emperor gone a least some of the Arcanamach remained to guard his precious archive, and Diábolis did not favor the idea of engaging them if he could avoid it.
Thus, he waited on edge, saber hilt in hand but not activated, just sensing if there was anything amiss in the building. Minutes passed, with the only sound being the quiet mutterings of Granger as she used spell after spell to probe the defenses of Veneficus' door.
"Any progress to report?" Diábolis asked at one point, but she ignored him, concentrated on something she had found, working her wand like a spanner to try and tear some unseen thing away.
The Sith Lord narrowed his eyes, but not regarding the woman. It had been long past the time that normal patrols would have rounded through this area, and yet nothing had appeared. Suddenly, the foundation rocked with the force of the explosion of the distraction. Diábolis knew that meant that his force had engaged with the guards, and were warning him of their presence.
He turned, activating his weapon just as the Force called a split second warning. He dodged backward, avoiding the impact of the saberpike as a royal guard dropped from an upper floor.
"Lord Diábolis…" the guard said, his voice muffled behind the heavy helmet that he wore, "You are not permitted on this world, and the Emperor has ordered your execution…"
"I thought as much," Diábolis said, brandishing his weapon and hoping to keep the guard's attention on him and not Granger. The longer she could work undisturbed, the sooner they could get past the door.
"I will enjoy taking your head to the Emperor personally," The guard added sinisterly, and lunged forward, his pike aimed like a spear at Diábolis' face.
It was painfully simple to dodge out of the way, but Diábolis knew that was what the guard wanted. They were trained by Veneficus himself, and were no sloughs at combat. He parried, holding his ground and dropping to a crouch to slip under the attack. Crimson blades clashed off each other and sparks flew.
Diábolis countered, trying to ram the other end of his twinblade into the armored body of the guard, knowing that the weave of the body armor would block most of the saber's impact, but still throwing the Arcanamach back. The armored boots the masked man wore slowed his movement, and he reoriented himself quickly.
Diábolis spun his saber quickly, blocking the probing stabs of the pike as the royal guard tried to attack without closing distance, even as he pulled more of the natural Dark Side aura of the palace into himself. Blue-white lightning exploded outward from his outstretch hand, ricocheting over the open air and collecting on the blade of the royal guard, who still was forced back another step from the sudden manifestation of the Force.
What the Devaronian did not expect was for the guard to throw back the lightning with an easy grace, and leapt forward, eliminating all the distance between them as he tried to slam the base of the overlarge saber hilt into Diábolis' face.
He had understood that these guards had been specially bred to serve the Emperor, given power over the Force in addition to their natural Wild Force abilities, but he did not fathom that they would have been particularly powerful when compared to a full Sith.
He took their existence as a personal affront now. They may have been bred for their purpose of slavery, but Diábolis had been chosen to be the equal of their master, a Sith Emperor in his own right and due time. And that time was nigh; he wouldn't let them stand in his way.
Indignation surged through him, and he allowed the Force to rage outward in a telekinetic wave, slamming the guard backward once more, and crashing into a reinforce pillar of the room. Surprisingly, as the man impacted the pillar, chains and ropes spontaneously appeared, wrapping themselves around the figure and binding him fast to the pillar.
Diábolis turned to see Granger, her wand aimed at the guard, the door behind her slowly opening. He smirked at her ingenuity. It was no wonder that his master had wanted to preserve her for as long as he did.
Crossing the distance to her and the door swiftly, Diábolis took point as they entered the chamber beyond, the door sealing itself behind them once they had passed. Lights slowly illuminated the chamber, and Diábolis found himself in a laboratory of some sort. Esoteric charts and maps were on the walls, and countless trinkets and devices littered the tables.
Dominating the center of the room was a large cauldron, filled with bubbling red liquid, but Diábolis took little notice of this. He focused on the datapad on the main table, which seemed to hold some measure of importance over everything else. Gingerly he lifted it, and activated the records therein.
While not a personalized journal or some other record, it nevertheless detailed much of the Emperor's experiments with the search for immortality. The latest entry was fairly recent. It detailed that the Emperor had secretly gone to a secret vault on one of the prime Sith worlds, and discovered means of a special ritual that would grant him what he sought at long last.
Diábolis' eyes widened as he took in the full importance of what he was reading. Veneficus had found the secret of immortality, and was heading to Ruusan to enact the ritual himself. If he wasn't stopped, Diábolis would never have his opportunity to rise, and would most likely die in the attempt to wrest control away from an all powerful Sith Emperor who couldn't die.
He had to go now, and put an end to this ruse of a Master-Apprentice relationship. Granger had made a quick circuit of the room, in awe of all the items therein, but Diábolis was through with her, and contrary to all his previous momentary thoughts, he needed to tie up this loose end. "I have found what I needed," he said, indicated the datapad.
Granger started closer, but Diábolis moved faster than she, one blade of his saber finding its way into her torso, "and with that," he hissed, as she gasped and staggered backward, knocking heavily into the large cauldron and sinking to her knees, "my need for you has ended…"
The wound was mortal, but he had wanted her to suffer somewhat before she died in a few minutes, but he lacked the time to stay and watch. Stopping Veneficus was the highest priority at the moment. Leaving her to wither and die in the silence of the chamber, Diábolis swiftly retraced his steps, leaving the troopers behind as well to die fighting the guards.
He would depart long before whatever trick Granger had started arrived, and be well on his way to defeating Veneficus once and for all. Clutching the data pad for all he was worth, Diábolis knew that all the information here regarding that ritual would be invaluable for him to stop it, and make sure that Veneficus was weakened enough for the apprentice to at last kill the master.
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Hermione felt her life leaving her. The bastard, Diábolis, had betrayed her, much as she had expected of him, but he had made a terrible miscalculation.
Hermione's hand dug in her robe for a vial, which she had stealthily used to collect something from this room with the power to save her life. The moment she had laid her eyes on the cauldron, she had known what was inside.
The Elixir of Life…
The Emperor had kept much of it prepared for whatever occasion he needed, and the fool of an apprentice either did not notice its significance, or else had no understanding of the ways of magic that the mage-born possessed. Downing the sweet liquid in one swallow, Hermione felt the pain of her near-fatal wound abate. Her clothes would be damaged from the energy blade that had impaled her, but underneath the skin and organs knitted themselves without a fuss.
"I can't believe that it's real…" she breathed, looking from her fingers probing the healed skin of her chest and the vial, which contained a few drops of the precious liquid still.
She had to collect as much as she could, and hope that even without the stone itself Severus could synthesize more. As soon as she felt strong enough, she rose back to her feet, and quickly went about draining the cauldron into as many vials as she could find in her heavily dimensionally expanded pockets.
There was an explosion somewhere else in the former temple, and Hermione had a feeling that there was supposed to be some sort of diversion so that Diábolis could escape. But she too could use it as a diversion for her own plan. It was unlikely that anyone would come to this room, and with a master console in the corner that she had immediately noticed when they had entered, she could do a ton of damage to the system without even leaving the room.
A few choice charms to bar the door just in case anyone tried to enter, she approached the console and lifted her wand. She had noticed that in this room, the Emperor had specifically strongly used magic here out of all chambers and places in the former temple. It was as though he resisted using his heritage in favor of the traditional Sith methods, or even thought that the classical training that he had lived through were superior.
Hermione hoped that she could help show him otherwise, and reinforce the strength of magic in the man's insane mind. The charms over the console were simple, and Hermione removed them with little effort. She still had a sample of her virus from when she had been captured, and eagerly she fed the data stick into the console, urging on her creation to take on the largest target that she could have hoped to use it on.
Process was much slower, the security on the planet-bound facility much higher than on a military cruiser, and Hermione had time while it uploaded and found its key targets to explore the room fully. From what Diábolis had taken, she guessed it was a map where the Emperor was currently located, and that the man was up to something that worried even the monster of an apprentice. Let him deal with the Sith Lord, hopefully they would kill each other, and if not them Hermione would be here, stripping the victor of their prize and reestablishing the capital world of the Republic.
There were many tomes and artifacts of magical origin, and Hermione was amazed that Harry had left so many things, with how much it seemed that he had despised their magic and their advantage in the universe. She knew that Severus would have a field day with the amount of information on their enemy in this private chamber alone and therefore left as much alone as she could.
The console pinged, informing her that a system had been rerouted to her, and she went to investigate which had fallen to her virus first.
She smirked when she found that it was the external communication system, for both deep-space messaging as well as planet wide communications. Fingers flying over the keys, Hermione input a clear message to the rebellion, notifying them of the situation and urging them to send all available forces to seize control of Coruscant. Adding her personal security clearance, she hoped that they would believe and not presume that she had been compromised. She was prepared for that possibility as well, and sent an even heavier encrypted message back to Sanctuary, calling for all the war-droids that she had held in reserve to activate and engage with protocol one.
Protocol one summoned them all to her side, and utilized a scale model of her old super-ship. They would fly as swift as the ship allowed, like the phoenix rising from the flames, and smash through the picket lines guarding the Republic capital to liberate it from Imperial control.
As she prepared these messages, she also started a text-based broadcast across Coruscant, decrying the Sith Lords and calling for all who would listen to rise up and rebel, as the war was not over, and the Republic would be restored. The propaganda might not be terribly effective on such a morally crushed world, but it would sow confusion and help whatever forces were coming to get on planet.
Several other systems pinged as they fell under her control, and Hermione flew into a frenzy of issuing commands, locking off the archive from all intrusion, and marking the royal guards as enemies so that the auto-defenses would engage them as well as other intruders. Even the orbiting defense platforms were turned on their Imperial masters, and Hermione laughed at the chaos that she created.
This was just the beginning, and her eyes flashed as all imperial codes started to scan before her as her virus pierced the information vaults of the Emperor.
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Ist stood with Admiral Weasley as they observed the long range message that they had intercepted in Hyperspace. "I don't know what to think…" the red haired officer said, even as Ist read it for the third time. It was Director Granger's security clearance, and declared a full assault on Coruscant, explaining that she had seized control of the Imperial palace and was creating a riot across the planet to cover their invasion.
"It is something she'd realistically do, given the chance…" Ist said honestly. And it was true. The problem was whether she was acting in their interest, or if it was a very convincing ruse to lure them into a trap.
"Do we divert our course, or push onward?" the Admiral said, submitting to Ist's judgment. It was endearing that even now, the former military of the Republic greatly respected the intuition of the Jedi, and Ist did have a conviction in the matter. "We go on," she said, "if it's a trap, we will be the first to know, and can stop others from walking into it."
"They might not expect us to respond so swiftly," Weasley added, smirking at the idea. They were already within hours of the central planet of the Galaxy, and once they arrived, it would be apparent instantly if it was a trap or not. They could prepare a jump to some other direction just in case, and activate it should the Imperials to try and trap them.
Soon enough, they arrived at the outskirts of the Coruscanti orbit, and Ist unconsciously held her breath as they pulled out of Hyperspace. It left her in a sudden whoosh as she observed the chaos that had appeared before them.
Coruscant was in flames.
Even from orbit they could see that large sections of the city-planet seemed to have rioted in response to a very real message that Director Granger had spread out across the planet. The orbital platforms had also turned on the small fleets surrounding the Core world, and were firing nonstop at each other. Meanwhile, from all directions there were small squadrons of ships appearing from various systems and planets across the Galactic Core.
Apparently the Empire had been heavily oppressing the wealthy core worlds and limiting their abundant freedoms, and the moment that the rebel broadcast appeared signaling that Coruscant was a target, they had rallied to get a piece of the action themselves.
It was unlikely that they all had such noble ambitions, and Ist was sure that there were more than a few bandits and pirates hoping to take advantage of the chaos and steal whatever they want. Ist would have preferred not to have to temporarily allow such things to occur, but their objective stood. They were bound now for the former Jedi Temple, and rescuing Director Granger from the very heart of their enemy's fortress.
Despite the heavy aura of the Dark Side around the planet, it did not seem that the Emperor was present at the battle, which would simplify the worst of their problems. "I want those shuttles launching as soon as were close enough to cover your decent," Admiral Weasley said, turning to face Ist, "Good hunting. We'll keep your route of escape open as long as we can."
"Thank you admiral," Ist replied, activating her comlink as she turned away, "It is time," was all she had to say. Every Jedi on the ship knew the signal, and would be making their way to the hangar and the waiting shuttles for their drop into the center of the most heavily protected planet barring the Imperial Core worlds.
Checking her gear as she walked, Ist nodded to herself. She had everything she could possibly need for a general situation. The advantage that they had was that they were entering their former home. And while many of the Jedi Knights with them had never set foot inside the temple before, they had enough that the trek to wherever the Commander of the Rebellion was holed up would go as smoothly as possible.
Ist arrived in the Hangar in time to hear the general announcement from the bridge. "We are in high orbit over Coruscant. Shuttles, launch now. Bring our leader home!"
Climbing aboard among a dozen rebel troopers and just over half that number in Jedi, Ist steeled her nerves for what they were to find on the surface below. The shuttle doors rattled shut and they were thrown into darkness.
"We're going in for a hot landing, so everyone had best be ready for some turbulence," the pilot stated, even as the ship shuddered to life and lifted off. Ist tried to read the Force auras of their companions, but it was a large mash of the same emotions and feelings. Smothered worry and edginess from the prospect of battle, mixed with nervous excitement for something as pivotal as the Galactic Core world.
Not for the first time, Ist wished that Master Lovegood had survived whatever strange fate it was that she had met fighting with Gor-lak and Veneficus on Dathomir, in order to see this moment. Clutching her saber in one hand, and the overhanging straps with the other for stability, she braced herself against every jarring motion as the shuttle plunged through the atmosphere of the city-planet.
"We're entering the precincts of the former Jedi Temple now. Look alive boys and girls!" the pilot said, and soon the ship rocked sharply as they dodged the plasma spray of a defense turret.
Within moments they had touched down, and the boarding ramp of the shuttle dropped heavily, revealing what almost looked like an active warzone. The riots had done a great deal of damage as beings converged on the Imperial Palace. There were streams of blaster-fire and explosions of grenades and other ordinance up the massive staircase that once was lined by the statues of great Jedi Masters of countless ages past.
Rushing out of the shuttle along with the rest of the group, Ist had to shield her head as the shuttle lifted off once more the moment they were clear of it, going back swiftly to ferry down their reinforcements.
"It's time to take by our ancestral home," Ist said, fixing her face on the stairs of the Temple, and refusing to be distracted as she advanced with the other Jedi to the nexus of Force energy. As they mounted the stairs, the chaos before them between the guards, Royal Arcanamach, and rioters was intense, the riots being out matched and out gunned despite having the upper hand in numbers.
The snap-hiss of their many lightsabers stunned the entire melee between the Jedi and the gates of their temple. Ist knew that they clearly struck a significant nerve in those that saw them, hope resurging in those that fought for their freedom, and fear in those that though them extinct.
"For the Republic! For the Light!" Ist screamed, and as one the half dozen initial Jedi ran at their adversaries. The dark adepts, Royal Guards, and Imperial soldiers rushed to oppose them, while the rioters cheered and struck back against the Imperials, hemming them in on both flanks so that the Jedi had a limited section to face off against.
Ist knew that they were sorely outnumbered, but this was an important move to make, as not only did it put a powerful front against the Sith and their minions, but it would also notify Director Granger that they were here, and that she needed to do what she could to aid their entry to the Temple.
Almost as though she heard Ist's thoughts, the various automatic defenses that protected the Jedi Temple in ages past shot up into activity, rapid-fire blaster shots ripping through the ranks of the Imperial warriors. The combination acted together as the perfect distraction to the mainstay of the Force-based Imperial forces, allowing the half dozen Jedi to engage their front ranks without being swarmed three to one.
Ist, for her part, lunged forward and clashed lightly off the crimson blade that attempted to block a far stronger swing than she gave. This allowed her to redirect her strike, and with the flick of her wrist being the probing tip of her yellow saber to bear, skewering the dark adept in the neck, killing him instantly.
Typically, the Jedi looked down upon the Shiak, or the fatal stab, aside from times of war. And as far as Ist was concerned, this battle was just the recommencement of the same war that had being going on between the Jedi and the Sith for countless years.
There were so many that they had to get through just to enter the old temple, that Ist figured that everyone of their force would need to commit many such war-time acts in order to turn the overwhelming tide against them.
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Hermione was overjoyed when she saw, through the many Temple security cameras, the return of the Jedi to the temple that was once theirs alone. Swiftly, she keyed in commands for the automatic defenses to protect their old masters and to fight the Imperial occupiers.
She had thought for a time that all that would be fighting the good fight here would be herself and the rioters that emerged from all walks of life to rebel against the imperial hierarchy that had imposed themselves here on the central Core world in light of Veneficus' presence.
But for the rebellion to arrive so swiftly added a stamp of official action to their fight here, and a rallying point for the rioters to fall behind. If they succeeded in liberating the Jedi temple, they would gain a foothold on the planet that would be near impossible for most of the Empire to shake again.
Luckily, the guards of the temple had not as of yet discovered where Hermione was hiding, although she could see that they were searching for her with everything they had. The virus prevented them from electronically scanning the temple, which added to her anonymity. Opening the front doors of the temple, she set the auto-cannons to maximum and watched the Imperial forces fall back as their own guns turned on them with a vengeance.
The Jedi cut through the initial line of the Imperial Dark Adepts, and charged through to the entrance of the temple. Hermione knew that the moment they got inside, they would have the home field advantage. Even those Jedi who had never before set foot inside the Coruscant temple would feel the residue of Light Side energy that hearkened back to the old times before the Sith won the war with the Republic.
Monitoring their advance through the corridors of the temple, and the attempts of the Imperial royal guards to try and counter their infiltration. Smirking at her power, Hermione opened and sealed doors, activated lights in a sporadic pattern, and did everything in her technological power to direct the Jedi strike force in the right direction, and avoid as many of the guards as they could as they drove further and further to the most secured section of the temple, the Archive where Hermione hid.
She wanted them here for several reasons, but the primary one was that a small group of the royal guards were trying to get into the archive, likely for some other reason that nothing to do with Hermione's presence there, but once inside the chance of discovery would be significantly higher. Hermione would very much prefer to remain in control of the technology across the plant that her control of the Temple allotted, and having a Jedi guard and funneling their enemies to them would buy her all the time she wanted.
Apparently, the lead Jedi, the brilliant Bothan Ist, had a suspicion that Hermione was there helping them, as she occasionally weaved at a camera as their group passed, heading perfectly in sync with the directions that Hermione offered to them.
The virus signaled another system falling under her control, and Hermione paused to check it. She froze when she read the characters. "What in Merlin's name?"
She couldn't describe the amount of hatred that she felt at learning what the madman of an Emperor had kept beneath this temple. There were far more dangerous and disgusting secrets than even Diábolis had been aware of.
She had never thought there was room for such a large vault under the temple, but according to the readout, some of the darkest aspects of the Sith religion were being kept there. but why would such a interior place require such security?
This required investigation, but Hermione would not be able to get there alone. Hacking the intercom of the temple, she scanned for the frequencies of the Jedi comlinks. It would be eaier to guide them if she could verbally communicate the instructions to meet at the far end of the archive.
As the scanner went on, Hermione set to work constructing a portable version of the console, allowing her to move and keep in control of the automatic functions of the planet. The communication crackled to life, and she smirked.
"Hello?" the voice on the other end asked, "Who is this?"
"Director Granger," Hermione replied, "This is the Jedi strike team I assume," she said.
"Director!" the voice responded, "Jedi Knight Ist, it's great to hear your voice again. We're in route to your location, thank you for helping direct us away from the patrols and counters from the Imperials."
"I'll be grateful for the assistance, I'm not sure how much longer I can keep the Imperials from searching this area, and there's something I've found that we need to investigate."Hermione explained.
"Understood, we'll be there shortly," Ist replied, and Hermione heard the traditional sound of lightsabers igniting, "As soon as we get past these guards…"
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Ist cut the communication with Director Granger as they arrived outside the Temple Archives. There was a squad of royal Arcanamach waiting outside, seeming to have been trying to get through some sort of security lock. Ist was willing to bet that that was caused by the Director, and she was eager to get through and reunite with their leader.
Dashing forward, she sliced upward, catching the end of the Dark Adept's hastily raised saber, knocking the crimson blade out of the way and opening the figure's torso for the counter-stab through the heart. The shock of their sudden appearance had granted the other Jedi a momentary advantage to eliminate those guards outside the entrance.
The moment the last one fell, the door sprung open and they darted inside. Sensors and other electronics in the archive were powered on, and they could see through the screens that their pursuers were being hampered by closing blast doors and other natural hindrances.
One of the many side rooms of the Archive opened, and Director Granger emerged, waving them down to the level she was on and tapping furiously on a datapad in her arms.
"Leave it to the director to find the one way to sow chaos into even the most secure of systems," one of the other Jedi commented, and Ist smirked, before throwing herself over the edge and letting the Force slow her decent to the bottom level of the Archive.
"I've sent out the encrypted distress call back to our allies," the Director explained as she approached, still focused on the pad in her arms, "they may not have much to send to aid us, but if we can move as many of our people here we can take the temple as our formard base of operations."
"It's been a strange series of attacks and counters the last few days," Ist commented, and Hermione nodded in response.
"It's only just started, too…" she added, "We need to go this way to investigate the strange thing I found. But I warn you, it's likely the source of the Emperor's power here in the Dark Side."
"Anything that gives us an advantage," Ist said, clutching her saber and letting Hermione lead the way, "If we can destroy this place, all the better for our rebellion against that tyrant."
The Director led them to a strangely bare wall in the side of the Archive, and searched around for a moment. Her hand caught a hidden latch, revealing a hidden doorway that led into darkness.