Knightfall: Part Three
Quinlan Vos' mind burned with the power of the most powerful star in the galaxy as he felt his former Padawan die at the hands of the Sith Lord before him; heard her last breath be exhaled in an agonized scream. Like a friend of his, he had also struggled with the dark side during the past twelve years, and this was just one more test. He wanted to rush at Palpatine right then, his own martial prowess augmented by the rage that coursed through his body. Yet he held himself. All the anger and power in the galaxy wouldn't bring his Padawan back to life, and it would only create one more enemy for his friends and colleagues in the order to fight. He gritted his teeth and brought himself back to his senses. "Surrender now, Palpatine," he warned, a durasteel sharp edge to his voice. "This is your last chance."
"Surrender?" Sidious repeated, a hint of a laugh sneaking through. "It is you who should bow down before me and beg forgiveness. I just might grant it."
Mace Windu raised his lightsaber over his head and waited for the opportunity to strike. He gazed through the Force as if he were a jeweler looking at a gem, looking for its weak points; looking for where he should strike for the moment to shatter completely. It was odd, he thought as he peered at Palpatine through the context of THE Sith Lord. He wasn't the shatterpoint. Killing Palpatine wasn't the place to strike if this crisis were to be resolved. It confused him. Sidious took advantage of this momentary lapse of consciousness and attacked, only to his crimson blade intercepted by Vos.
Letting loose a cry of rage and hatred towards the Jedi order in particular, Sidious pivoted away from Vos' blade as the Kiffar Jedi Master aimed a riposte at his midsection. This was it, Sidious thought as he retreated, taking a few steps backwards, now meters away from his desk. This was his brightest hour. The Sith would escape and go into hiding once again, he thought. One day, maybe even this one, he would have their revenge.
Windu finally attacked Palpatine, not quite willing at the moment to slip into full Vaapad—a form of lightsaber combat that Windu had finished creating and mastered. He was the only living vaapad master in the galaxy, and that made him dangerous. His overhead strike was meant to cleave Sidious from collarbone to groin, but instead it met an early end several centimeters away from its target at the end of Sidious' lightsaber. Vos surged in, twisting around and targeting the Sith's undefended side. He, too, was blocked.
Sidious slashed twice, once at each of his two attackers, only to have them deflected harmlessly. He gritted his teeth and aimed a spinning kick at Quinlan, catching him under the chin and causing the Kiffar to stumble backwards for about a meter. Sidious swooped in towards Windu, hoping to take advantage of the short amount of time against him alone.
Darth Vader grinned as he viewed his opponents, wallowing in the effect that his reputation had on the three Jedi before him. First, however, he would have some fun. "Obi-Wan Kenobi…" he said, taking the slightest dramatic pause between each word in the bearded Jedi Knight's name. "We meet again."
Kenobi stood on edge, remembering the dark days after the death of Qui-Gon Jinn at the hands of Darth Maul, how he had been wounded early in the fight and unable to help his Master defeat the Sith. His first encounter with the newest Dark Lord had happened five years later. Yet they weren't exactly enemies then… He gave a pained look towards Siri before finally speaking out. "You won't goad me into the wrong path again, Vader," he said. "I am a Jedi, and no longer haunted by things in which I had no control over."
"Shall I test that theory?" Vader smirked. With inhuman speed, Vader charged. His blood-red blade aimed directly at Siri Tachi. All three Jedi moved their lightsabers to intercept the attacking Sith, each one ready to attack. Vader flipped over them, narrowly missing getting bisected by Siri's pink blade. K'Kruhk rotated and took Vader's blade on his own as the young Sith put his strength into his first attack. Obi-Wan pivoted in the narrow hall and swung towards Vader, his attack easily being parried.
Already with nothing between himself and the way to his master, Vader backpedaled slightly, allowing the Jedi to follow him through the hallway. He knew what would happen if he broke out in a run towards the turbolift. A thrown lightsaber to the back would end the rescue very quick. K'Kruhk sliced his way towards Vader, followed quickly by Obi-Wan and Siri. The three blades were aimed at different portions of the body, but all failed to hit the Sith. Vader powered his way back, each footstep backwards taking him closer to his master.
Yet despite his bravado and his taunts aimed at the enemy, the seeds of doubt had been planted inside of him. He was young when he had been freed from his life of slavery on Tatooine by his master, the Toydarian slave master that owned he and his mother slaughtered by Sidious. He didn't know what happened to his mother after that, but only he had left Tatooine that day. Sidious held his mother hostage from him in a way, saying that if he trained harder, one day he would get to see her. Vader blocked two incoming strikes and kicked towards Siri, the spinning movement of the kick enabling him to dodge the third attack. So far, he hadn't seen her since that day. It made him hate his master in a way, a tool that every Sith must have, for eventually, the learner must become the master.
Vader's next attack sliced through a portion of K'Kruhk's outer robe, burning a portion of the brown fabric and shredding it. The Whiphid Jedi Master brought his green lightsaber down after managing to dodge the nearly incapacitating blow, only to be blocked by the much more powerful Sith. For three against one, this fight was not going well at all.
CT-5338/CS—better known to his troops and the regularly birthed beings as Lieutenant Barric—led his platoon of troops through the halls of the senate building, the boots of the clones clanking against the floor. The soldiers held their DC-15s ready, never knowing where the droids that had infiltrated the building were going to be.
The sound of metal hitting metal was up ahead, around a curve in the wall. Barric motioned for complete silence from his platoon, each of the clone troopers readied their weapons for the enemy ahead. The clone soldiers rounded the corner and aimed their blaster rifles at what they believed to be a squad of battle droids. They not many of the metallic enemy but only one. Grievous.
The clones fired but did not damage to the charging cyborg save for slightly charring his body. Barric saw the front line of his already halved platoon fall to the lightsabers of the most terrifying non-Force-sensitive in the Confederacy. Then he screamed as two lightsabers plunged into his chest.
Sidious leapt backwards onto his desk, and then propelled himself towards the two Jedi Masters. Mace and Quinlan simultaneously dodged out of the way and aimed their 'sabers at the flying Sith Lord. Palpatine landed two meters away from the Jedi and feinted towards Vos. The Kiffar Jedi Master brought his blade up to defend against the imaginary attack, not allowing himself to defend Mace from Palpatine's curving swing.
Windu blocked the blow with his violet blade and then his mind became supremely focused on the moment. The two Jedi advanced towards the Sith, lightsabers blazing in the air. Sidious quickly and easily blocked the two incoming strikes directed towards him. It was almost odd, Palpatine thought as he continued his battle. He hadn't picked up a lightsaber in years, preferring to leave his own machinations in place to take control of the galaxy. Despite this, however, he was keeping up the pace against the two powerful Jedi Masters. It was his destiny, he thought as he nearly decapitated Vos before the attacked dodged out of the way. A dreadlocked piece of hair fell to the floor, the only thing disturbed.
The two Jedi continued their assault, attempting to pin the rampaging Sith against the wall and limit his speed advantage. Their blades arced towards the former Chancellor, only to see the robed Sith leap over them. A wave of his hand opened the hole in the ceiling above his desk, letting the besieged Sith escape from a room with far too little space to conduct a "proper" duel, into an arena in which he could move as freely as he liked. He leapt into the senate chamber, Mace and Quinlan quickly behind him.
Darth Vader spun around, wielding his lightsaber with precise control. An arc of crimson death surged towards the three Jedi, only for it to be blocked by Kenobi. Vader pushed outwards with the Force, sending Siri to the floor. A well-placed kick sent K'Kruhk stumbling backwards, leaving only Vader and Obi-Wan in the fight for now.
"You'll fail them again, Kenobi," Vader taunted, his two hands pushing towards Obi-Wan, the two locked lightsabers slowly moving towards the Jedi. Vader pushed against Kenobi's saber, knocking the knight back a meter. K'Kruhk had regained his footing now and attempted to press the numbers advantage, bringing his lightsaber down towards the young Sith. Vader sidestepped it and caught K'Kruhk's arm with a glancing blow. Whiphid howled in pain and dropped his blade. A now mobile Siri Tachi intercepted Vader's follow-up attack that would have burned a hole through the heart of the Jedi Master.
Vader pivoted to avoid Obi-Wan's blade and struck out towards the female Jedi with his own blade. Sparks flew and Siri cried out in pain as her left hand was severed. Wires "bled" sparks and hydraulic fluid as the prosthetic hand hit the ground. Vader took advantage of the moment when the pain receptors were still active and lunged towards the injured Jedi. Obi-Wan tried to block the attack, but he and K'Kruhk were both violently pushed into the wall. The Whiphid hit his head hard against the metallic wall of the hallway, knocking him out temporarily. The point of the red blade burned through Siri's midsection and out her back. Obi-Wan could only watch as she fell to the ground, mortally wounded.
Rage surged through him like it did in the Queen's apartment when the Zabrak Sith Lord had seriously wounded him and killed his Master. He suppressed the rage, determined not to give in to the dark side; not again. He closed his eyes and allowed the Force to calm him and clear his thoughts. By the time K'Kruhk regained his footing, the battle was renewed.