Chapter 16
Anakin and Farra ran along the corridor from the elevator and eventually found their way to where Palpatine was being held. To their surprise he was alone. Farra hurried over to Palpatine and examined the cuffs he had on. Then the two Jedi heard a sinister laugh. Turning, they saw Dooku.
"Please hand over your weapons. We wouldn't want a mess in here," Dooku said.
Anakin and Farra responded by removing their robes and igniting their lightsabers. Dooku has his lightsaber in his hand and he ignites it then leaps down to engage the Jedi. Farra mutters to Anakin that they will take him together.
"I was just going to say that myself" Anakin replied to Farra.
Dooku leaps down doing a flip before he lands.
"You will be no match for him. He is a Sith Lord"
"Sith lords are our speciality" Farra said.
The two Jedi remove their robes and ignite their lightsabers. Dooku attacks the two Jedi fiercely and they defend themselves. He is surprised at how much stronger they have become. Suddenly Dooku levitates Farra and throws her across the room. She slumps to the floor unconscious leaving Anakin to fight Dooku.
The fight is fierce and seems to go on forever. Finally Anakin manages to cut Dooku's hands off. He catches Dooku's lightsaber and holds both lightsabers crossed at Dooku's throat. Palpatine is impressed.
"Kill him" Palpatine says.
Anakin hesitates remembering that Jedi do not kill unarmed foes.
"Do it!" Palpatine urges Anakin.
"No. I cannot" Anakin says. He turns off the lightsabers and hangs his own one on his belt while retaining hold of Dooku's lightsaber.
Anakin frees Palpatine by using the Force to undo his cuffs then runs over to Farra. He checks her and is relieved to see that she is just unconscious
"You should leave her. We must get off this ship," Palpatine tells Anakin.
"I can't leave Farra. I love her," Anakin said.
He gently picked Farra up and put her over his shoulder after re-attaching her lightsaber to her belt. Then he and Palpatine made their way back to the elevator. As the car wasn't there Anakin asked Artoo to summon it but before it came the ship experienced a gravity shift and Anakin and Palpatine found they could walk down the elevator shaft. They were heading back to the hanger to try and find something they could fly out of the ship with. When they were halfway down the shaft the gravity shifted again and Anakin had to grab onto something to prevent himself from falling. Farra woke to find herself looking at his backside.
"Did I miss something?" Farra asked.
"We are finding a way out of here. Dooku is alive but unable to hurt us. I cut his hands off"
Farra is relieved that Anakin hadn't killed Dooku and carefully moves so she is gripping what Anakin is gripping. They both crawl up in to the corridor along with Palpatine and make their way along it. Suddenly force fields come down around them and two droidekas roll up. The three are taken into custody and taken up to the bridge of the ship where Grevious is. Grevious looks at Anakin and Farra.
"Ahh General Sti and Anakin Skywalker. With your reputation I expected you both to be older" Grevious said.
"You're smaller than I thought" Anakin said.
The general had been given their lightsabers by the droids who had captured them.
"Your lightsabers will make fine additions to my collection" Grevious said.
"Now Artoo" Anakin whispered.
Artoo ran his most colourful beeps and lights creating a pyrotechnic display. This distracted the droids by Anakin and Farra allowing Farra to call her lightsaber to her hand. She used it to cut the cuffs holding her then freed Anakin who promptly called his lightsaber to him.
"Kill them" General Grevious commanded the droids in the room. Two droids advanced on Farra. She spun her lightsaber and slashed through the first droid then beheaded the second droid. Anakin was fighting two droids who were trying to drag Palpatine away. When he had defeated them the two Jedi advanced on Grevious.
"You can't win" Grevious said, then picked up the electrostaff of one of his manga droids and threw it at one of the windows of the bridge, breaking it. Anakin and Farra were leaping to attack Grevious but they have to turn their leaps into grasping for handholds before they are sucked outside. The general is sucked outside and he calmly fires a line at the ship's hull and crawls up the hull before re entering the ship. Meanwhile Anakin has hit a switch, which lowers a shield of some sort stopping things being sucked out. The two Jedi manage to regain their footing on the floor.
Down in the escape pod area, Grevious fires all the escape pods then leaves the ship and goes to another ship. Anakin and Farra decide its time that they and Palpatine leave the ship but to their dismay all the life support pods are gone.
"Grevious" Anakin says.
"Can you fly this thing?" Farra asks Anakin.
"I will land us safely on Coruscant, my love" Anakin promises.
He throws one of the dead Nemodian pilots out of his chair and takes his place. Soon the ship is descending into the atmosphere of Coruscant. Suddenly both Jedi and Palpatine hear something breaking.
"I think we just lost something," Anakin says.
"We are still flying half a ship," Farra says sarcastically.
After a tense period of time Anakin manages to land the half ship safely on Coruscant. The two Jedi and Palpatine return to the Senate building and Anakin and Farra then return to the Jedi Temple. It is discovered that Dooku was in the half of the ship that broke off and died when that happened. Anakin and Farra report to the Jedi Council on all that has happened. The Council decides that it is now time to confront Palpatine about being Sidious. At the same time Obi Wan is sent to Utaupu to deal with Grevious and Yoda goes to Kashyyyk to help defend the planet from the Separatists. Mace Windu and Anakin, Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar and Saesee Tiin go to Palpatine's quarters in the Senate building. There Windu tells Palpatine he is under arrest and that the Jedi know who he is.
The four Jedi ignite their lightsabers and suddenly Palpatine has a lightsaber of his own in his hand. It shines out red, the hated colour of the Sith. In a lightning fast series of moves he kills Fisto, Kolar and Tiin. He and Windu then fight, the fight ending up on the windowsill of the large window in Palpatine's quarters. Palpatine smashes the window with his lightsaber but Windu backs him into the corner of the windowsill.
"All you are is under arrest," Windu proclaimed.
"No, no, no, no" Palpatine said then unleashed Force Lightning. Windu blocks it with his lightsaber and the lightning deflects back in to Palpatine's face, which turns yellow and wrinkles up. Finally Palpatine appears to be beaten as the lighting decreases in intensity then breaks off.
While this has been going on Ferus has been at the temple wondering what is going to happen. Suddenly he senses that Palpatine is in danger and hastens to get to the Senate building. When he gets there he races up to Palpatine's quarters and bursts in to see Mace threatening Palpatine who is again unleashing Force Lightning.
"Help me" Windu called out to Ferus.
"No help me. I can't hold on much longer" Palpatine says.
His Force Lightning attack breaks off again.
"Weak, I'm too weak. You must help me so I can help you" Palpatine said.
Ferus ignites his lightsaber and without hesitation attacks Windu, cutting off his saber hand. The hand still holding the lightsaber falls to the sidewalk some several stories below.
Palpatine cackles and suddenly unleashes a powerful stream of Force Lightning. Windu is sent flying out of the window and falls to his death. Ferus switches off his lightsaber and looks at Palpatine.
"You did what you had to do" Palpatine said.
"I know" Ferus said.
He lifts his head and an evil grin is on his face.
"Kneel" Palpatine directs.
Ferus kneels.
"Henceforth you will be known as.." a pause while Palpatine reached into the Force to get the proper name, "Darth Tyro"
Ferus nodded, again smiling evilly.
"Rise Lord Tyro" Palpatine said.
Ferus rose and Palpatine told him that to be a full Sith lord he needed to carry out an important task.
"Go to the Jedi temple and kill all within. Leave none alive."
"Farra is there. Do I kill her too? I don't want to kill her. I want to break her and make her one of us. Imagine her being my dark and beautiful bride. She will stand at my side."
"Take her and do as you like with her. I will summon Skywalker so he is not there to defend her. He is a very great threat to us," Palpatine said.
"Are you going to kill him?"
"Not yet. It is not the right time. It would be nice to see his reaction when he sees Farra, with a red blade. Oh that reminds me I've got some Sith crystals for you. Put them in your lightsaber so it is red"
Palpatine gives Ferus the crystals and he quickly exchanges them with his old crystals. When he ignites his blade it shines out a bright red. Ferus smirks.
Back at the temple Anakin and Farra both sense the deaths of Windu and the other Masters with him.
"Something bad has happened" Farra said.
A few minutes later Anakin receives a summons to go and see Palpatine.
"Stay here you'll be safe here," Anakin told her.
He then took his leave of her and headed to the Senate building. When he was gone Ferus emerged from the shadows and a legion of clones arrived to help him. Ferus directed them to kill all but Farra Sti.
"Leave Farra to me" Ferus said.
He entered the temple killing all he encountered. Farra sensed what was going on and made to leave her room. As the door opened Ferus was there and he held a red blade. Farra's blade automatically leapt to her hand and ignited. The two fought but Ferus had become far more powerful as he was using his hatred of Anakin to give him power. He overpowered Farra and hit her head with the hilt of his blade knocking her unconscious.
At the same time Anakin had reached the Senate building. Suddenly he sensed what was going on at the temple and spun around. By the time he got back to the temple Ferus was leaving on a speeder, Farra unconscious behind him. He was too late to stop Ferus from taking Farra but he did manage to save many of the younglings by escaping out a back entrance of the temple with them. Ryal was dying as he had run into Ferus carrying Farra out and had attacked him trying to prevent him taking Farra. Ferus had left him near death intending for him to tell Anakin.
"What happened here Ryal?" Anakin asked Ryal.
"Ferus has apparently turned to the dark side. He has taken Farra and intends to break her and turn her to the dark side"
"I will stop him," Anakin vowed.
A brief surge of anger passed through him but he then composed himself using Jedi calming techniques and realised he needed to save the younglings. He began to herd them out of the temple to safety killing any clones he encountered. Anakin told them to disguise themselves and get passage on a ship to Naboo. He would join them there once he had rescued Farra. At the same time that this was going on Palpatine contacted the clone commanders and told them to carry out Order 66. Order 66 was to kill their Jedi Generals. All over the Galaxy Jedi died at the hands of their clones. Ferus had left a trap at the temple for any who escaped their clone commanders. He had set a signal to return to the temple to broadcast regularly. The clones still there would kill any Jedi who returned to the temple.
Chapter 17