Chapter Three.
"So... who are you?" asked Anakin.
The stranger sighed. "I suppose, by now, I am something of a myth amongst the Jedi and the Sith," replied the stranger. He turned a wryly-amused look on Anakin. "Oh, yes," he continued, "I know both the Jedi Order and the Sith... probably better than they do."
"But you do have a name, don't you?" asked Anakin.
"I've had several names, over the eons," the stranger replied. "But, now, I mostly call myself Er-Ranalantae," he said, "It means The Fallen Wanderer in Galactic."
"Fallen Wanderer?" asked Anakin.
"Yes. You may have surmised by now, from the snippets of information you have overheard, that I was once a great lord amongst my people, a prince. My father was our uncrowned king," replied the stranger. "And he was acknowledged the mightiest of us all, in knowledge, skill and power. But he, my brothers and I threw away our birthright when we all took that oath I mentioned earlier."
"The one that none should make and none should take," said Anakin.
"Yes," replied the stranger. "And this," he said, taking off the glove from his right hand," was one of its results." He showed his hand to Anakin. On its palm and fingers Anakin saw the scar of what was clearly a third-degree burn. "And before you ask," the stranger said, as he painfully put the glove back on, "I have tried several forms of healing, including bacta therapy. Because of the nature of my wound, none have succeeded."
"What caused it?"
The stranger sighed. "A jewel of great power and sanctity," he replied. "You could call it a physical manifestation of the Force." He looked into the distance at something that Anakin could not see. "It was one of a set of three made by my father. It contained a... kind of light that came from neither sun, nor moon nor star. My father captured it and incorporated it into these three jewels. They were blessed by a very powerful being, and another said that the fate of... well, everything, was bound up in them." He fell silent, still looking at a scene only he could see.
"What became of them?" asked Anakin.
"They became separated. One is now a star, one is in the bowels of my home world, and one is in its seas. It has been foretold that they will be reunited one day." The stranger looked at Anakin. "And they were another part of my family's birthright, the jewels of light made by my father, that we threw away, thanks to that accursed oath and all that came from it." He turned away and looked in the direction of the Temple. "I really don't want to talk about this any more," he said.
Palpatine angrily strode through the military spaceport's communications centre. It had been from here that he had issued his instruction to 'Execute Order Sixty-six', and it was also here that he had learned that his plans had been thwarted.
Only half! he thought furiously. Only half of the clone legions! And two of them are engaged in fighting with two other legions here! He paced in front of the communications suite, taking in reports from all over the Republic. What should have been my Empire! he thought. At least I have destroyed about half of the Jedi Order, and at least one-third of the Council. Soon, I will tear out its very heart and destroy any real future the Order may have.
The reports coming in gave him little comfort. The one legion that was loyal to him out of the three positioned at the Senate was being overwhelmed by the other two. On several worlds vicious three-way battles had broken out between his forces, those of the Separatists and those still loyal to the Republic. On several others, both his forces and those of the Separatists had been overwhelmed. In addition, he had lost his best asset, the cyborg general Grievious, to that blasted meddling Jedi Master Kenobi! he fumed, and on the Wookie homeworld his loyal senior officers had been taken out by both Yoda and officers loyal to the Republic. In both cases, the Separatist forces had been destroyed. No doubt Yoda and Kenobi will be on their way back here, thought Palpatine. But interstellar travel takes time. Time I'll use to both destroy the Temple and make my escape. He continued to pace as he both thought and listened to the fighting going on in the military spaceport.
Everything was going perfectly! Everything! he angrily thought. I had young Skywalker in the palm of my hand! If only... His thoughts trailed off as he contemplated what had happened back in the Chancellor's office.
As a Sith Master he had knowledge of many things that many Jedi did not. He had managed to surreptitiously probe, over the years, the minds of many of the Council, and had succeeded in muddying the Force to their senses, while he had kept his own clear and focussed on his chosen path. It had never occurred to him that someone who could conceal his presence in the Force so completely that not even he could detect him.
That was, until today.
What he had learned when the stranger let him into his mind only far enough to learn what he allowed Palpatine to find out still shook the Sith lord. The Sith archives he had managed to salvage had mentioned a powerful, mysterious figure, and Palpatine had no doubt that that the Jedi archives held similar information. But to find that this figure actually existed, and was far more powerful than any known Sith or Jedi master (including Yoda! Who I had thought my greatest threat! he thought) shook Palpatine to the very core of his being.
A chime from the communications suite informed Palpatine that there was an incoming call. He strode over to the suite and hit the acknowledge key. The image of a clone officer materialised in front of him. "Well?" he demanded.
"We are approaching the vicinity of the Jedi Temple, my lord," reported the officer. "However, we are encountering some resistance."
Palpatine bit off a curse. "What kind of resistance?" he demanded.
"We have encountered an outer perimeter of rebel clone troopers, my lord," replied the officer. "Initial indications are that the Temple and its immediate vicinity are defended by at least one full legion of troopers."
Palpatine let the rage that had consumed him at this news flow out of him, in order to clear his mind. A legion! Who... he thought. Then, he remembered the stranger. That terrifying stranger.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. It always allows someone to have twenty-twenty vision of events after they have occurred. Palpatine learned the truth of that saying that day, in the communications centre of Corsucant's main military starport. It was now all so clear, the reason his plans had gone awry. The stranger had indeed been watching him: hadn't he admitted it himself? And, realising what Palpatine was up to, and seeing how he had so confused the Jedi Council's perception of the Force, had, quite possibly at the same time as Palpatine, laid out his own plans to counter Palpatine's scheme. And part of that was to preserve the Jedi Order, Palpatine thought. Both the Order and the Temple. It was quite clear now, that another part of his mysterious opponent's scheme was to somehow subvert the process by which his "Order Sixty-Six" command was implanted into the clone troopers. And, most likely, replacing it with an order of his own, Palpatine thought darkly. And, it was equally clear that that order had, in at least half the clone legions, proofed them against his order.
Equally clear was the unpleasant fact that there was now nothing for him here on Corsucant. Nothing, that is, save for one thing. With that thought in mind, he turned to the clone officer's image. "Hold your current positions," he ordered. "I will send assistance." He then turned to the communications officer manning the post. "Send a general order to all loyal forces here on Corsucant. They are to disengage and march immediately on the Jedi Temple. Once there, they are to utterly destroy both the Temple and all life within it." At least I'll have that pleasure, he thought to himself. "I will be leaving Corsucant to rally all loyal forces off-planet," he continued. "Once this is done, I will return, and crush all treason both here and throughout the Republic." He turned to a clone naval officer. "Have my personal transport readied for immediate departure," he said. He turned to another officer. "Prepare a list of all systems that are under our loyal forces' control," he said. "Have it ready by the time we reach orbit." As the clone officers went about his bidding, Palpatine closed his eyes and began to sketch out a rough plan of action. He would make his final decision as to what course of action he would take when he had further knowledge of the worlds that his forces held.
"Herulva, we have reached the outer defence cordon surrounding the Temple," said the gunship pilot. "We have received the challenge and have sent the countersign."
"Good. Set us down at the main entrance," replied the stranger. He then turned to Anakin. "You'll get out first," he said. "As a junior member of the Council, they'll look to you for answers."
"What about you?" Anakin asked.
"Oh, they'll ask questions. Even have some suspicions," replied the stranger. "But having you establish my bona fides may well make our task that much easier." The stranger looked out of the hatch. "We're about to land. Get ready,' he said.
Anakin looked out of the open hatchway. Already, he could see that the clone legion had erected barricades and had emplaced self-propelled turbolaser and projectile artillery on the approaches to the Temple. However, on the main Temple platform, confusion reigned as those Jedi currently resident within the Temple argued with clone officers who were trying to establish defences there. Have to sort that out, and soon, thought Anakin, as the gunship settled down in front of the main entrance to the Temple.
No sooner had he disembarked from the gunship and had taken some half-dozen steps towards the Temple entrance Anakin found himself surrounded by Jedi of all grades, ranging from venerable Jedi Masters to senior Jedi Knights and their padawans. Anakin did his best to try and answer all the questions he was bombarded with, but he also kept scanning the faces of those Jedi surrounding him. Finally, he saw a Council member come out of the main entrance, and felt a sensation of overwhelming relief flood through him. "Madame Gallia!" he cried. "Over here!"
The crowd around Anakin parted to let Madame Adi Gallia, Jedi Master and member of the Council, through. She halted in front of Anakin. "Jedi Skywalker," she said, "can you explain to me what is going on?"
"I can," Anakin replied. "But first: what is the condition of the Council, and of the Order?"
Gallia shot Anakin a rather unreadable look. "Masters Kenobi and Yoda are alive. So is Madam Billaboa. Master Rancsis is alive, but wounded. Masters Ki-Adi-Mundi, Kloon, Poof and Madame Allie are all dead, slain by the clone troopers they led." She looked around. "Where is Master Windu?
Anakin had paled at the roll call. "Master Windu is dead," he replied. "So are Masters Tiin, Tolar and Fisto. I was lucky not to have fallen. And the Order?"
"Madame Yaddie is within the Temple receiving reports, but it appears that half the Jedi who were leading clone legions have been killed by the troops they led," replied Gallia. "As a result, many here, including myself, are somewhat... wary about the trustworthiness of these troops."
A voice came from behind Anakin. "I can vouchsay their trustworthiness," it said. Everyone within hearing turned in its direction. The stranger stood before them, the gunship that had brought him and Anakin to the temple lifting off behind him. A breeze rustled his cloak.
The Jedi surrounding Anakin immediately went on their guard. Adi Gallia frowned as she began to concentrate on the stranger... and took on a look of astonishment as she felt the strength of the stranger's presence in the Force. "And cow can you 'vouchsay' for these troops?" she asked.
The stranger smiled. "Tell me, Madame Gallia, do I feel like a Sith Master?" he asked, spreading his hands wide. Gallia frowned again, and examined his presence still further. In reply, the stranger only smiled as he let Gallia probe his psyche.
Gallia's frown grew even deeper as she realised that he was opening himself up to her probe to an extent that most Jedi Masters would not allow. Then, as she probed deeper, her frown abruptly changed into a look of shock mingled with astonishment. Eventually, she shook herself. Looking the stranger in the eye, she said, "Well, you are unlike any being I have ever encountered."
"In what way?" asked the stranger.
Gallia hesitated. "You seem... like a great Jedi Master from ages past," she said. "Long ages past... before the Republic was even thought of."
The stranger gave a small, but elegant bow. 'I thank you for the compliment," he said. "However," he continued, looking around," we have a defence to put in order against at least a legion of Palpatine's troops." He looked at the spires of the Temple's towers. "I take it that you didn't allow the troopers to put anti-aircraft weapons up there," he said.
Gallia looked at him. "No," she said. "As I said, we could not be sure of these troopers."
The stranger continued looking at the towers. "Too late to put heavy weapons up there," he said, "but we might be able to get some teams with repeating blasters and some portable concussion missiles up there." He looked at Gallia. "If you like, you can put some Jedi in charge of them. I'll tell them to obey their commands." He looked around the platform. "I would also strongly recommend," he continued," that you also permit the troops to establish defence posts at the corners of the Temple platform and in front of the main entrances." His tone of voice made his recommendation more like a command. To Anakin's surprise, he noted that it had an effect on Gallia, for she straightened her shoulders like a trooper coming to attention. "I would also suggest that barriers be erected on the edge of the platform and at the top of the stairs to fight from behind, and that Jedi masters, Knights and the senior padawans man them alongside the clone troopers.."
"You clearly expect an attack on the Temple," said Gallia.
"It's obvious," said the stranger. "Once Palpatine realises that his plot to take over the Republic by wiping out the Order and then blaming you for 'attempting a coup against the Chancellor and the Senate' has misfired," he said, ignoring the look of shock on Gallia's face, "he would at least try and salvage something from the wreckage. And if it also dealt the Order a massive blow that it would take a long time to recover from, if ever, well, that would be worth trying. Destroying the Temple and all Jedi that are within it would fit that bill, don't you think?"
Gallia stood stunned at the enormity of what the stranger had so casually dropped on her. Finally, she shook herself and said, "Yes, it would." She turned and began to issue instructions to the Jedi who surrounded them, listening to every word they had been saying.
The stranger took Anakin off to one side. "Anakin," he said, "I want you to begin organising defensive positions within the Temple's entrances. Put clone troopers, with mid-level padawans and Jedi behind barricades. Organise a defence-in-depth, with interlocking fields of fire."
Anakin nodded. "And what are you going to do?" he asked.
The stranger grinned. "Find the Jedi Archivist," he said. "She has some things of mine I left in the archives some time ago." Before he could go into the Temple, though, a clone officer came up.
"Herulva," he said, "the outer perimeter reports that a legion is coming from the east. They have engaged its lead elements after they could not give the proper countersign. Your orders?"
"Tell them to delay the enemy's forces as much as possible," said the stranger. "They are to fall back onto secondary positions only if it looks like they are going to be overrun. They are to bleed the enemy's forces as much as possible." The clone officer acknowledged the stranger's commands and turned to carry them out.
The stranger turned to Anakin. "We'd both better get a move on," he said. "There's a battle to get ready for." They both headed into the Temple on their respective tasks.