WINDU (eng)

by Pacycs

The Republic has fallen and the newly formed Empire is rising. After his nearly fatal fall, Jedi Master Mace Windu must find his way in a world that is completely alien to him. The Empire hunts surviving Jedi and so he must also be careful that he does not fall into the clutches of the new Emperor.

*disclaimer 1*

This is the english version of my story "WINDU". It was originally written in german so if you want to read the original version, check it out on my profile. As english is not my first language, I apology for all gramatic mistakes. I tried my best.

*disclaimer 2*

This story is not finished yet. It is only the first chapter. I'm working on continuing the story but it might take a while, especially since I don't really know how it should go on. I already have an idea, but it's not fully developed yet. So I would be happy if you could give me some feedback on the plot so far. If you have an idea how the whole thing could go on, then you would help me a lot if you could put it in a short comment. Thank you :)

WINDU

Chapter 1 – A fallen Republic

1

He fell. He fell far. Further than he had expected.

Then everything went black.

"You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them!" Obi-Wan Kenobi shouted to someone. "Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!" he continued. The Jedi Master stood on a small mound of black rock. His face reflected a thousand emotions at once: Fear, grief, regret, despair, pain. An ominous bubbling could be heard in the background, something like flowing lava. Obi-Wan turned around and picked up something from the ground. Suddenly, someone who couldn't be seen screamed: "I hate you!". His or her voice sounded like he or she was being tortured by unbearable pain. But Obi-Wan turned away and the scene changed.

Master Aayla Secura could be seen. She stood on a hill with soldiers from her own unit, the 327th Star Corps. Around them grew oversized plants more than four times the size of a human. They were clearly on Felucia. Suddenly Commander Bly, standing directly behind his commanding officer, and all the other clones raised their blasters. The Jedi turned in amazement, but it was already too late. They opened fire and cruelly executed their general.

The image changed one more time and a huge hall was visible. The Jedi Temple. Countless blaster shots flew through the huge halls and blue and green blades danced all around. It were the lightsaber blades of the Jedi that were in the temple. But there were other people in the Jedi's holy cities. Clone soldiers. But these fought not at the side of the Jedi, as they had done the last three years, but against them!

Then everything went black again.

2

Two standard days passed before he regained consciousness. He should actually be dead. Nevertheless, the man opened his eyes. Dazed, he tried to sit up, but a sharp pain filled his left hand. When he turned around to see what was causing him this pain, he wanted to be unconscious again right then and there. His hand - it was gone! Disturbed by the sight of his arm without its hand, he looked around and was startled for a moment to realize that he was on one of the countless rooftops of Coruscant. This explained the deafening hum coming from the millions of spaceships and other transport and passenger planes above and beside him.

Barely 100 meters away from him, the dome-shaped Republic executive building loomed. His memories were still sketchy, but there was one thing he could remember very clearly: the fight with Chancellor Palpatine - or rather Darth Sidious in which he ended up falling out of the window. That also explained why he was here on this roof. He quickly realized how lucky he was. If he hadn't hit the roof, he would have died on impact with the ground. He pulled himself together to keep himself from passing out again and tried to keep a cool head. He dared to take a second look at his non-existent hand and immediately regretted it. He felt dizzy and nauseous. "I need to get off this roof, and I need to do it as soon as possible" he said to himself.

But that was easier said than done. Despite his extraordinary abilities as a Force user, the Jedi had difficulty getting down from the building. He jumped onto a narrow ledge below. From there, he swung onto a loose cable to reach an even narrower ledge. So, he climbed down, like an Ewok in his forest, until he finally did one last somersault and landed on the ground. As he joined the drifting crowd of Coruscant, he tried to hide his severed hand as best he could. Only now did he realize that the wound was clean and it wasn't bleeding at all. It was as if something extremely hot had cut off his hand. It must have been a lightsaber, he suddenly remembered. More and more fragments of memory appeared in his mind, now that he was no longer on the edge of unconsciousness. But whose lightsaber? Skywalker! it shot through his head. It was Anakin Skywalker who had come to the Chancellor's aid at the last second, he thought. That meant... No, it couldn't be! The Jedi completed his train of thought, and he didn't like it at all. Speaking of lightsabers, where was his anyway? He didn't have it with him, and he couldn't remember seeing it on the roof. It probably flew out of the window when Skywalker cut off his hand. He had to recover his weapon at any cost! But he would have to look for it later, because his mutilated hand had priority for now. He had to get it treated as soon as possible. Hidden under the hood of his robe, he went over his options: He could leave the planet and go somewhere else to get his wound treated. But that would probably take too long and put his arm and his weapon in danger of losing them both. He had to stay here. But here in the government quarter, he might be recognized. He needed to go to a secluded infirmary where he would not be noticed so much, he decided. It would be too dangerous for him here. If Darth Sidious, the former chancellor of the Republic, is still alive, he would most likely believe that he was dead and he did not want to lose this advantage.

3

His suspicions turned out to be true. Unfortunately. As he boarded one of the countless Magnaline 3000 shuttles that roamed all over Coruscant and served as public transportation, propaganda posters greeted him. All advertised the "Empire". The Jedi had no idea what this Empire was, but it did not bode well for the Republic to which he was loyal. He continued to look around the shuttle and recognized two clone troopers at the forward end with red decorations on their white armour. They were members of the Coruscant Guards, he assumed. These were stationed exclusively on Corsuscant and their job was to protect the chancellor and the senators of the Republic. Sometimes they also helped the local police. At the same time, they were an elite unit within the Grand Army of the Republic, men you'd better not mess with, especially if you're unarmed. But what were they doing here in a line shuttle? He had so many questions, but he suspected that he wouldn't get a lot of answers in the nearest future. Suddenly he remembered that he needed money for his treatment in a med-station. Careful not to show his damaged hand, he searched his pockets for money. But he had nothing on him. Instead, something else caught his attention. A small silver item tucked away in one of his belt pouches. It was a location transmitter. A flashing orange light signalled, that he had received new messages. Maybe he could get answers to his countless questions. But he would have to worry about that later. His mangled arm had priority now. How could he get credits quickly? He had an idea, but he didn't particularly like it. His destination was getting closer and closer on the battered display board in the shuttle, so he felt compelled to put his idea into action. He kept an eye out for a passenger who looked like he had enough credits on him. As soon as he found someone, he immediately walked to towards that person. The man looked at him confused and asked, "Can I help you?". The Jedi answered with a "Yes." He hesitated briefly, afraid that the two Coruscant Guards would see him. But with a cursory glance in the direction of the two soldiers, he saw that this was not the case. The power user extended his healthy hand and made a brief gesture towards the man. "Give me all your credits. I need them more than you do," he said softly. The man's expression did not change. But suddenly he spoke in the same low voice: "I'll give you all my credits. You need them more than I do." The man reached into his jacket pocket with one hand and pulled out a small bag. The contents jingled softly as the Jedi took the money. In this moment, the doors of the Magnaline 3000 opened and the artificial female voice announced loudly from a speaker, "Medi-Center Sector 14-B."

4

The automatic doors opened, and the robed man stepped out into the open. He wasn't exactly proud of what he had done in the last few hours, but he didn't know how to help himself. The same mind trick he had used to steal money from an innocent passenger, he also had to use twice on hospital staff to avoid being exposed. In the waiting area, he passed his time thinking about what to do next. The Jedi had come to the decision to go into hiding. But where? At least not on Coruscant. Moving his new metal hand felt strange, but he had to get used to it willy-nilly. He wasted no time and immediately boarded the next shuttle that would take him back to his crash site. He had to find his lightsaber before Darth Sidious or anyone else found it. As he noticed, there were propaganda posters hanging in this shuttle as well. They were all different, but all spread the same message, "Come to the Empire!"

5

With a hydraulic hiss, the hydraulic doors opened once more, and the mysterious man got out. He looked around and then walked purposefully down a busy street. He tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, but his clothes were still very different from the clothes of the other people he met on the street. He turned into a side alley that reeked of excrement from humans and other species. The alley led into another street, which was larger than the previous one. He followed this street until the executive building of the Republic towered in front of him. A huge, silver dome of steel shone in the sunlight of the setting sun. But to his horror, the Jedi found that the huge area around the building was cordoned off. Clone troopers patrolled everywhere. Some were in two-legged AT-RTs. There were also two AT-TEs stationed in front of the main entrance to the government building. Further back, these heavy combat runners were also present. This made his task a lot more difficult. He had expected that he would not be alone, but that such a huge military contingent would guard the government building, he would not have thought. Another indication that the era of the Republic was coming to an end.

The man continued toward the silver dome. All of the clones possessed a malevolent aura that was foreign to the Jedi, since he had been on the same side with them for years and they were fighting for the same thing. The Jedi couldn't explain why, but a feeling inside him said to stay away from them. They were no longer on his side - they were no longer his friends. But this feeling... All at once he remembered again the dreams he had had while lying half dead on the roof. In his adrenaline rush he had completely forgotten them! They had been confused scraps that he still couldn't quite explain now, yet they fit perfectly into the picture he had gained of Coruscant and the Republic in the last few hours. The clone army had turned on the Jedi and the Republic. But what reason did the clones have? Perhaps Darth Sidous? He lifted his gaze and now looked at the building. Only upon closer inspection, could it be seen that it was abandoned. The hangar decks, which extended in two levels over the whole building, were empty. He was at a loss. Suddenly his stomach spoke up and he remembered that he hadn't eaten in the last 24 hours. The Jedi moved further away from the patrolling soldiers until he finally fan a small pub on the side of the road. He luckily had a few credits left, because the operation was cheaper than he had thought. The pub wasn't busy, yet he had to wait a while until what seemed to be the only waiter, a Duros, came to him. Since the menu didn't include much and everything was way too overpriced (which was probably because he was here in the government district), he ordered a bantha burger. When the waiter left again, Jedi felt as if he knew him or had seen him before. While he waited for the food, he took out his location transmitter from one of his pockets. The orange light was still blinking. The man pressed a button next to the light. The display activated and a message appeared. According to the transmitter, the message was 2 days old and came from the Jedi Temple. It took the Jedi a moment because the message was coded. But when he decoded the message, it raised even more questions. He decoded it a second time, but the message undoubtedly read: The Jedi High Council orders all Jedi back to Coruscant. The Jedi was confused. Darth Sidous was certainly a powerful Sith, but the fact that the High Council needed all Jedi to arrest the Chancellor was extremely strange. He must have had help. Then he remembered Anakin Skywalker and the clones he had seen in his dreams. They were his help! Suddenly he noticed that the transmitter was still blinking. It was a second coded message coming from the temple. It was sent only a short time after the first one. After the Jedi had decoded this message as well, he could not believe his eyes a second time. This message was the complete opposite of the first. "All Jedi are ordered to avoid Coruscant at all costs. All Jedi are to immediately depart from their missions and go into hiding," he read aloud quietly. How could that be? All Jedi throughout the galaxy are ordered to come to the Temple, yet only a short time later everyone is ordered to hide. The Jedi could not make sense of this. At that moment, the waiter turned the corner and came to him with his bantha burger in his left hand. Now he remembered who the Duros reminded him of. Cad Bane. He was of the same species and at the same time one of the most dangerous and most wanted bounty hunters. He had cost the Jedi and the Republic many nerves. He didn't expect much from the Bantha Burger, but it didn't taste bad. By the time he finished eating, the sun had set completely, and it would have been dark, but because the planet was one city, it was still light. He paid with the remaining credits he had on him and left the pub. Still puzzled by the two messages he had received, he walked back toward the Republic's board building, and again great doubts rose in him. Should he really put so much at stake? He decided to walk closer to the otherwise silver dome. The Jedi had trouble spotting the soldiers, however, because Coruscant Prime, the sun around which the planet Coruscant orbited, was now almost completely set. There were only faint outlines left, for although it never actually got dark on Coruscant, whether it was day or night, the building was shrouded in a black darkness. Not a single ray of light penetrated from the otherwise always illuminated government building.

Just before the last block before the massive board building rose, he stopped. He watched the soldiers as they walked up and down the same path. A few minutes passed before he realized that most of the soldiers were only guarding the entrance areas. Only rarely did a clone walk along the sloping steel walls he planned to search.

When two clones turned the corner and the Jedi could no longer see them, he seized the opportunity and ran crouched toward the boardroom building. From his memories, he was able to narrow down the area he would search as long as no one else found his weapon. He didn't think his chances were that bad. The clones wouldn't have been searching the entire area for a lightsaber for 48 hours, and he didn't think the chancellor had taken an impromptu stroll around the building. The two main entrances were on the north and south sides of the structure, and the Jedi could remember that the Chancellor's apartment was on neither side. This meant that the chamber was either on the east or west side. From Palpatine's apartment, there was a breathtaking view of the Coruscant skyline. The Jedi was pretty sure that in the many times he had been in that apartment, he had never seen the Republic Senate Building, which was nearby and otherwise impossible to miss because of its size. The Senate Building was on the east side of the building. Thus, the apartment he was looking for was on the west side.

Crouched, he ran across the open strip between the houses of Coruscant and the government building about 100 meters away. The sloping walls were steel, like most buildings on Coruscant. He turned around one last time to make sure that the troops on the south side were also guarding them and not looking at him. According to his observations, a troop would not be heading in his direction for another 15 minutes or so, but he couldn't say for sure. Until then he either had to disappear again, or he thought of a plan B in the meantime. Unfortunately for the Jedi, there was nowhere to hide. The steel walls were completely smooth and there were no niches or crevices where he could have hidden. However, forcibly eliminating the clones was not a solution either. After a few minutes at the latest, the disappearance of the soldiers would be noticed and they would raise the alarm, which he did not want at all.

He was just about to move on, when he suddenly heard a distant, deep rumbling above him. He suspected that a ship had taken off from one of the abandoned hangar decks. But it had to be an unusually large ship for him to still hear it so loudly from here. As he looked up with his head on the back of his neck, a gigantic black blur suddenly slid into his field of vision. It was then that he realized what was causing this now almost deafening hum. It was a Venator-class cruiser of the Republic. Slowly, it slid across the skyline of Coruscant. The hangar bay on the Venator's underside was closed and only two of the four main engines were operating. The cruiser was probably getting ready to make the hyperspace jump. I wonder if the Empire will continue to use these cruisers. In any case, there were not many of them left. In the last weeks and months, the Seperatists had more and more success in destroying these ships. The Jedi loosened his gaze. He had to concentrate again. He had already wasted too much time.

Five minutes later, he still hadn't found his weapon. Nevertheless, he was quite sure that it must still lie here somewhere. However, a growing uneasiness spread through the Jedi, because according to his calculations a troop of clones should appear any moment. At that moment, something flashed on the ground. He almost thought it was just another reflection of the light in the steel wall, but upon closer inspection, he recognized the gold-embellished hilt of his lightsaber. With great relief, he picked up his weapon and slid it into the same pocket where his location transmitter was. It would be least noticeable there. Now he just had to make a run for it. Crouching again, he crept away from the huge structure. But suddenly he heard footsteps behind him. He was about to run back to the steel wall to seek shelter, but it was already too late. The two clones had already seen him. So, he had no choice but to run. "Hey you, stop right there!" one of the two soldiers shouted. When the two noticed that the Jedi made no effort to follow this request, they gave chase. The Jedi had now reached the canyon again and immediately turned into a narrow side street. He was already out of breath, which was probably due to the fact that he was still not completely fit after his fall. He turned around and saw the two soldiers going down the same alley. This time cautiously and with their weapons bent. The Jedi hid behind a tall crate that stood on the left side of the street, surprising them from there. The Coruscant guards were closing in. "Should we call for reinforcements?" one of them asked. "We can handle a harmless snoop, can't we?" the other replied. Good, thought the Jedi. They hadn't seen him take his lightsaber. Never would they suspect he was a Jedi. Now they were almost on the same level as the Jedi. The latter jumped out of his hiding place and disarmed the first clone with a well-aimed blow. The second clone wanted to help his colleague and took out his weapon to hit the Jedi with it. However, the latter suspected this and dodged. Thus, the barrel of the DC-15 Blaster hit the forehead of the disarmed clone. He staggered back in a daze. In the meantime, the Jedi took a step back and easily ripped the legs off the second clone. Painfully he landed with his face on the ground. The first clone was about to activate his commlink to call for help when the Jedi made the same gesture toward the two clones that he had made to his last three mind trick victims.

"You don't need to call for backup. "I am a harmless rogue and have no importance whatsoever. It is better if you return to your post and tell no one of this incident," the Jedi spoke to them. The Coruscant guards repeated this approvingly and immediately headed back.

The Jedi's heart dropped as the two elite soldiers turned the corner and disappeared from his sight. He caught himself bringing out his lightsaber with his right hand. Like a baby, he cradled it in his hands. But then he couldn't resist the temptation. He pressed the activation button. The glowing purple blade immediately extended from the hilt. He felt the power in his hand that this weapon radiated. But suddenly the blade diminished again and then finally went out. Unfortunately for him, he found that his lightsaber had been damaged in the fall from Darth Sidious' apartment. Nevertheless, one thing was certain: he was back. Mace Windu was back.