"Attention all Jedi: this is Steve Rogers. You've probably been told that I'm a traitor to the Republic, guilty of crimes against the Force. But you need to know the truth. A sect of dark Jedi called Hydra has infiltrated the Jedi Order. Alexander Pierce is their leader. I don't know how many there are, but I know they're in the Temple. They could be standing right next to you. They attacked Master Fari and it won't end there." Steve closed his eyes and bowed his head over the microphone, bracing his arms on the console before him. "I'm not asking you to trust me. Trust in the Force. Hydra has control of the clones and, if you aren't with them, they will try to kill you. I know I'm asking a lot, but remember: our loyalty is to the Force, not to the Jedi."
Switching off the comm, he straightened with a sigh. Behind him, Sam remarked, "Did you write that down first, or was it off the top of your head?"
Surprised into a laugh, Steve turned around. "You ready to take down the Sith?"
Clapping a hand on Steve's shoulder, Sam grinned. "I was born ready."
The sun had just set behind the tall buildings outside, casting long fingers of scarlet light through the full-length windows and across the Chancellor's office when Steve stepped through the door, Natasha and Sam close behind him. Supreme Chancellor Alexander Pierce raised his head, his hands flat on the mirrored surface of his desk, and smiled. "Jedi Knight Rogers. I must say, you're here sooner than I expected."
Steve's blade came to life in his hand as the other two activated theirs as well, coming up on either side of him. "You are under arrest, Chancellor, for crimes against humanity."
Pierce's eyes narrowed, the blue-green irises fading toward yellow. "Are you threatening me, Jedi?"
Natasha raised her saber on Steve's right. "I'm sorry, 'Lord Penetro'. Was that not clear?"
"This is treason." Pierce rose to his feet, his hands vanishing into the voluminous sleeves of his blood-red robe. There was an instant of warning in the Force, and Steve barely got his saber up in time to block Penetro's sickly reddish-orange blade. A second blue blade flashed in from Steve's left and the Sith flung out his free hand, sending Sam flying across the room. Natasha's saber slashed in, and Penetro ducked just in time to keep his head, slashing down toward Steve's legs as he did so.
Leaping into the air to avoid the hissing blade, Steve alighted on the desk and struck down at the Sith. Lightning burst from Penetro's left hand, and Steve just managed to catch it on his blade. The crackling fire flowed up and down the blue column, and he struggled to hold it steady as Penetro pushed forward, trying to eviscerate Steve with his own weapon.
Natasha and Sam came back in, sabers flying, and Penetro stepped back toward the windows, easily parrying their flicked his hand at Sam again, and the ex-Jedi was flung like a rag doll against the desk just as Steve leapt down, his saber once more under his control. There was a sickening crack as Sam's head struck the edge of the desk and he slumped to the floor. Yet, Steve could still sense his presence in the Force—he was unconscious but alive.
As Steve advanced on Penetro again, the Sith lord flung out a hand and pushed Natasha; ready for him, she held her ground, only her saber going wild. Her blade struck the window, shattering the glass into millions of fragments. Instinctively, Steve threw a Force shield up, reaching out to protect Natasha and Sam as well. The flying shards fell harmlessly around them, but Penetro fell to his knees, bleeding from hundreds of tiny cuts. Natasha snatched his lightsaber from his limp hand, switching it off. "You're under arrest, my 'Lord'." Her voice dripped with disdain.
Penetro's lips curved upward into a grisly smile. "I don't think so, my dear."
The second window burst inward. As Steve threw up another shield against yet another rain of glass, Darth Frigus landed on one knee among the sparkling shards, slowly raising his head as he activated the saber he held out to one side.
"Unless you want to die, I'd put your weapons down," Penetro remarked coolly.
Natasha's jaw clenched, her gaze flickering back and forth between Penetro and Frigus. "Not gonna happen."
The Sith lord's lips twisted into a smile as if he had expected nothing else, then he turned toward Frigus. "Kill them."
Stepping forward, Steve put himself between Frigus and his friends. Just like before, there was no recognition in those yellow eyes—nothing but hatred. And yet, there was something in the Force—beneath the choking cloud of darkness that surrounded him, Bucky's unmistakable presence lay nearly hidden, nearly consumed… but still there.
Raising his saber into a defensive position, Steve paced calmly toward his oldest, dearest friend. Bucky—Frigus—raised his blood red blade and came forward, meeting Steve halfway. A shower of red and blue sparks exploded around them as their sabers crashed together. Bucky had always been stronger than Steve, both physically and in the Force, and that had not changed. Steve's arms ached from holding the locked blades away from his face. And yet, he felt no fear, only peace.
Bucky raised his mechanical hand, pushing sharply with the Force; Steve stumbled but regained his balance quickly then backing away, leading him away from Natasha and Sam. "You know me," Steve said quietly as Bucky followed him, stalking him like a predator. "You've known me your whole life."
"No." Bucky's voice shook slightly, as if he wasn't altogether sure of the truth of his own words and Steve's hope flared ever brighter. "I don't."
Switching to the language they had both been most comfortable with before coming to the Temple, Steve replied, "Chunkee pee kasa James Buchanan Barnes. Mah pateessa."
"Schutta!" Bucky spoke without thinking, then his eyes widened as if he couldn't believe what had come out of his own mouth, and fury roared through his Force presence. "Shut up, Jedi! You're my enemy! Not my friend!" He slammed his hand forward, knocking Steve back with a burst of Force energy that sent him lurching, saber slipping from his grip.
A sense of emptiness behind him warned Steve just in time to fall to his hands and knees on the window ledge, catching himself at the edge. He made a grab for his extinguished lightsaber, but missed, and it fell spinning toward the street twenty stories below. He raised his eyes back to Bucky, who had stopped and was staring at Steve as if unsure what he was supposed to do now. The red lightsaber hung forgotten at his side. Steve spread his hands before him, palm up, pouring every drop of love he had within him into the Force until he wanted to squint against the brilliance of it. "Uma ji muna," he whispered.
Bucky's golden eyes widened. "Steve?" he said, his voice hoarse and barely audible.
"I said kill him!" Pierce shouted, his voice saturated with power, and Steve turned his head in time to see the Sith Master's hand rise, palm toward him. The Force slammed into Steve like a giant fist, and he fell backwards into the open air.
He met Bucky's eyes as he fell. The clear blue he remembered being so often bright with humour and joy, now suffused with shock and horror. Then Bucky dove off the edge after him.
Huttese translations:
Chunkee pee kasa James Buchanan Barnes. Mah pateessa. - Your name is James Buchanan Barnes. My friend.
Schutta - Shut it
Uma ji muna - I love you
