Chapter Four
Jedi Temple, Meditation chamber
Meditation was a restful and sometimes enlightening pastime for a Jedi of sufficient experience. Such was Master Shaak Ti, Who at the moment was immersed in the Force, listening to it with a growing look of concern on her face. She could sense all the other Jedi on the floors below her, but in the Library, where there was normally a feeling of curiosity and learning, fear, outrage, and a smack of terror were the dominant feelings now. Powerful individuals, strong in the force, suddenly vanished from her senses, as if cut down by powerful but strangely invisible force. The determination of clone troopers she had sensed earlier wavered to panic. And they were getting closer. Suddenly the need for a sixth sense ceased with the sounds of blaster fire and barked orders close by. A young padawan, his light saber drawn, hurried past, a company of troopers following. "Get in defensive position now!" barked the sergeant, looking for a piece of cover. "General Ti, try to get us some support, we're being pushed back!" "Wait, we're under attack!? By who?" "General Grievous ma'am and we can't stop him!"

General Grievous was pleased. Very pleased. 16 Jedi and 3 dozen clones had already fallen to his blades, with the promise many more on the floors above. "The hunt is good, but that droid had better done his job," he thought grumpily, as he quartered the shaking padawan before him, "Otherwise it'll all be for nothing." Dispelling the troubling idea, he chased the retreating clones up the main stairway, his army close behind him. "There had better be a competent master up there, not some dusty librarian, or this will take a while," he growled. Upon thrusting open the doors that the clones had retreated behind, a pleasant surprise awaited him: Shaak Ti, her weapon ("My next trophy!" he chuckled) ignited, stood in the middle of the room, her face defiant. "Ah, Shaak Ti! How nice to see you alive," he eyed her saber, "And armed! Nevertheless, neither you nor your pitiful attempt at an ambush, (he sprang forward as they rappelled down) will stop me and my army!" He snapped his fingers, a sound that immediately set off a preprogrammed firestorm from the HMP gunships, barbecuing the clones but leaving the now impressively furious Shaak Ti barely singed. "You abomination!!" "Now, now, don't be sore, you're only about to be cut down, then blasted to ashes!" And to his astonishment, she regained her composure and strange smile alighted her face "Blasted to ashes? By who?" and she gave what seemed to be a cheery little wave. "What do you...? WHAT??!!!" The doors whizzed shut, and the durasteel shield came down over it. The General turned slowly back towards his prey, eyes bulging in anger. "For this, I will tear you limb from limb!"

In the Library, once a war zone was as quiet as the grave, save for the sparking of destroyed archives, the whirring of crippled droids trying to stand... and a faint groaning. Anakin Skywalker unsteadily rose from the floor, his eyes bloodshot, head bleeding, with a strong desire to murder someone. In particular, General Grievous...

Back in the meditation chamber, things have gone haywire. Grievous is a whirling dervish of sabers, making it progressively harder for Shaak Ti to parry as he draws out more sabers. "You're weakening Jedi, and you know it!" "Grievous, unless you want to be reduced to scrap, surrender! You may fight well, but the Force is stronger!" She leaped back, then swung all the debris in the room at one spot: Grievous. The resulting hit crumpled him against the blast door with a sickening crunch. With a sigh of relief, she looked out the shattered window for something to climb down with. "I'm not finished with you yet, Jedi." With a thrill of horror, she whirled around to see Grievous rising from the floor, a manic gleam in his eyes, and, though she saw it only for a moment, a spider web of energy covering his torso, infusing him with power not seen even at Hypori. Knowing that any further resistance would utterly futile, Shaak Ti leaped from the window all the way over to the main spire, temporarily safe...

500 Republica
IGX-113 was anxious to prove its worth to its master, and knew that nothing could stand in its way to do so…