Hey Readers! I do hope the Force is with you today, and every day for that matter.

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Enjoy!

Chapter Eighteen

Coruscant

Jarrison attacked first, a wide looping strike which Aedan moved to capitalize on, but the moment he initiated his counterattack, the Pa'uan lashed out, and Aedan ducked low in mid swing to avoid the lightsaber cut. Jarrison had thrown a feint, enticing Aedan so the Pa'uan could strike. It had been a trap. Luckily, Aedan had sensed it just in time. Perhaps I underestimated Jarrison. Once more he had to create distance initially, but also keep them in front of him, relying on footwork more than anything, while still staying in a dueling mindset. He parried their attacks and moved backwards quickly, but his analysis of their skill and ability was nearly complete. Jarrison was good, better than Aedan had surmised. He wasn't as fast or as strong as Aedan, nor did he have the same level of Force ability, but his technique was nearly impeccable. Had Aedan not been fighting for his life, he would have been impressed.

This "Inquisitor" was a different story. He wasn't very good at all. For anyone that claimed to be preeminent, you'd think they'd be somewhat impressive. Not the case with this guy. His weird, spinning lightsaber however did off balance Aedan for a few seconds, but then he got the hang of it.

Time to take these guys down.

The Force flashed and Aedan barely got his saber up to deflect the hail of blasterfire coming from behind him. The troopers had arrived. He dove and rolled to the side avoiding Jarrison's stab that would have impaled him through the back. He backed into an aisle that had no exit. He was trapped.

This is not looking good.

The so-called inquisitor and Jarrison stepped into the entrance of the aisle, while the troopers circled around behind them.

"I must say, Kahl. Your last move alive was by far your dumbest. This is the end for you. And I'm not even going to give you the honor of dying by the blade. These clones will do the job."

"Clones just like the ones that killed Kyra?"

Jarrison's lightsaber dipped a half meter at that statement.

"What, you thought she would make it out?" Aedan asked him. "We were on a mission, and her clones turned on her. And now you've fallen in with the same people who murdered her."

His mouth opened and closed several times, but no words came out.

The inquisitor spoke instead. "She was part of a corrupt and evil organization that needed to be eradicated for the good of the empire."

Aedan glowered, "Really? Kyra needed to be eradicated? Did you ever even meet her?"

"Can't say that I've had the privilege."

Aedan smiled internally, that means he wouldn't be able to identify her. If he ever got into the archives, that is. And it wasn't looking like that was going to happen.

"Enough of this talk," the inquisitor said. "There are other jedi to kill."

The two spun the red blades in circles and stepped forward.

Then the lights went out casting the archives into complete darkness, save for the three lightsabers. The atmosphere changed in a heartbeat. The clones seemed to shift about, their instincts telling them something wasn't right. While the three force sensitive people sensed something different much clearer.

Someone or something was in here with them.

There was a scream and then the sound of a body dropping to the floor.

"What was that?" A clone yelled.

"I don't know," another responded. "Wait. Chipper, he's down."

Then another yell on the complete opposite side of the archives, blaster fire erupted, but was quickly cut short by a strangled cry.

Aedan could hear heavy footsteps running toward the noise. "Someone got the Sgt," a clone yelled. "And the corporal as well."

The inquisitor sighed, "Fan out and stay al-"

"Contact!" a clone yelled and fired one shot before he was silenced.

"What the frak is going on?" another clone asked.

Aedan crouched low, readying himself. He reached out with the Force for this new threat and felt nothing but white-hot rage.

More clones fell, more shouting, more ineffective laser blasts. In all the chaos though, he could have sworn he heard the snap-hiss of a lightsaber, as well as its hum while in motion.

Probably just wishful thinking.

The two dozen clones were being taken out methodically. There was a commotion in the corner, another clone being taken down, and Aedan saw a quick flash of purple, and then it was gone.

Then they heard a strangled roar coming from the second floor. But it was not coming from the clones. No this came from the demon cutting them to pieces.

"Oh my G-"

Two bodies landed with a thud right next Jarrison. Two bodies with lightsaber cuts on them.

"Bring this filth into my temple," a low, hoarse voice echoed throughout the room. "I will slaughter you all."

The clones were rattled. The ones Aedan could see were spinning around, looking this way and that, trying to find the demon specter that was tearing them to shreds.

Aedan deactivated his lightsaber and crept forward as Jarrison and the Inquisitor had moved further into the archives trying to figure out what was happening. He slipped out of the aisle, around the corner, and into the shadows just in time to see someone or something grab a trooper from with the Force, pick him up, turn him upside down and then slam him head first into the unforgiving marble floor. Then the specter landed a force enhanced left-handed cross to the back of another clone. Force-enhanced because there was now a hole the size of a dinner plate in the middle of the trooper's chest. Troopers turned and looked in horror at their fallen comrade, and began firing wildly. Some of their shots hitting their own. They were losing it. Which had to be the plan of this terror in the darkness.

Another lightsaber sound, only lasting a half a second, and then it was gone. The next sound was a trooper's head rolling across the floor, and his armored body clattering to the ground.

"You dare to claim this temple of the Force as your own," the demon sneered, its strained, unhinged voice seeming to come from everywhere. Aedan could sense the clones fear now. Hell, he was afraid himself.

Aedan took advantage of the chaos and approached the nearest clone from behind. He grabbed the soldier's gun, yanking the barrel upward, aiming at the clone's face and then pulled the trigger. He darted to his right behind another clone who was then lit up with frenzied laser fire from his own teammates, and then dashed behind cover.

"None of you are leaving this place alive," the gravelly voice reverberated through the hall.

Then Aedan really did see it, but he couldn't believe it. A purple lightsaber carved a path through four clones in mere seconds. The Inquisitor barely got his blade up in time to block the strike, but had no defense as a tattered, scarred, one-armed Mace Windu picked him up with the Force and threw him clear through the nearest wall.

Jarrison turned around and ran in the opposite direction which was straight towards Aedan. The fallen Jedi seemed to shake off his fear and focus his anger on the Jedi standing before him. Jarrison took a massive swipe at an unarmed Aedan, who stepped back, barely missing the blade, and then stepped forward, Aedan's right hand catching the back of Jarrison right wrist on his follow up strike, holding him there. Aedan thrust his lightsaber hilt forward, the end making contact with Jarrison's armpit and then thumbed the on switch. The blade extended through Jarrison's torso, exiting out the other side of him.

Jarrison turned his head slowly toward Aedan, eyes wide, mouth open. Aedan stared back for one moment, that's all he would give to this traitor. He thumbed the switch, retracting the blade, and the Inquisitor in training collapsed to the floor.

There was no one left in the archives now. No one but Aedan and...

He looked up in time to see a feral Mace Windu charging at him.

"Oh boy," he said, igniting his lightsaber and raising it in a defensive posture. The Jedi champion stopped two meters away from him. Aedan's blue blade lit up the darkness and he could see Mace clearly now. He was missing his right hand and half of his forearm, the limb ending in a bandaged stump. His right eye was completely white, and burn scars covered his face and neck. His robe was shredded, and there were large gaps in the fabric missing where more burned skin was showing.

Yeah, I'd turn into a crazed demon too

"Kahl." The Korun master stated, but didn't look at him

"Yes, Master. It's me." Aedan said softly, still weary of the disheveled master in front of him that very recently displayed some unwonted characteristics and tendencies.

Still looking elsewhere, Mace asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Jocasta and I..." Aedan didn't finish, and darted to the downed master. He knew before he even checked her pulse that there was no way she could have survived. He dropped to his knees next to her, hands grabbing at her tunic, pointlessly probing with the Force. She was gone.

Another light gone to the darkness. He bowed his head touching his forehead to Jocasta's. "I'm sorry," he said to her, and grabbed her lightsaber and attached it to his belt. He felt Master Windu next to him. "Mourn later, Aedan," he said softly, his voice sounding hoarse. "You had a mission here?"

Aedan nodded, still staring down at the fallen master. "Get into the archives, erase Kyra and all the force sensitive children."

"Kyra survived?"

"Yes."

Mace grunted, "Well, finish the mission."

"I can't. Only a council-" Realization dawned on him and he looked up at the badly beaten council member. He was only the second highest ranked member in the entirety of the Jedi Order, of course he could log into the archive's mainframe. "Oh. Right."

They jogged to the mainframe door, opened it up, and slipped inside. "You'll erase Kyra from them?" Aedan asked as Master Windu began accessing the mainframe computer with his left hand.

"I'm in, but it'll be faster if you do it. I'll coach you through it."

Aedan looked down at Mace's missing hand. "Right. On it."

It only took a minute to find Kyra Dawnstar and erase her name from everything. There was no official record of her now. Aedan felt the chains wrapped around his chest loosen considerably. He could breathe a bit easier. At least now she has a chance for a life.

"Alright, now the younglings," Aedan said. Master Windu instructed him as patiently as possible, but this was a system Aedan had never used before and there were thousands on the list.

"Is there any way we can erase them all at once?" Aedan asked.

"No, the council never believed we would need a consummate purge."

"Like they were sure that our clones wouldn't turn against us."

Mace grunted in response. "Even if we do finish, you know there are copies of this list, right?"

Aedan stopped, and turned around. "What?"

"Holocrons of this list were made by Jocasta Nu."

Aedan's nostrils flared, and he clenched his teeth together. "And where are these lists?"

"No idea."

"So, what the hell are we even doing here?"

"We're doing what we can. While there may be copies out there, this is the master list. Erasing this keeps it directly out of Palpatine's hands, because there's no doubt they would break the encryptions on the mainframe."

Aedan sighed, and nodded. He turned back to the screen. "You're right." Aedan worked diligently for the next few minutes as Master Windu coached him through it.

"Time to go," Mace said.

"I'm almost done."

"Now," he said, grabbing Aedan by the shoulder and pulling him away from the terminal, and into the corner. "They've already made it onto the Archive floor so we need to make another exit." He ignited his lightsaber and then tossed it upward, using the force to maneuver it into the ceiling, and then cut a man sized hole, letting the circular piece of permacrete fall to the floor with a thud. Then he leapt up through the hole, catching the hilt on the way up. Aedan followed and they found themselves in one of the refectories. They sprinted towards the doors, but skidded to a stop as they saw troopers coming down the hallway. A lot of troopers, but they hadn't spotted them yet. Both Jedi slowly backed further into the room.

"Don't think we're getting out the way we came," Aedan said.

Mace grunted, and looked around them, searching for a way out.

A sensation prickled at Aedan's mind, something nudging at him, willing him to trust his instincts. "We're only two floors away from the courtyard up top."

"Okay, and then what?"

He shrugged, "I don't know, but getting outside seems like a better idea than fighting our way through the temple."

"And if it only just backs us into a corner with no way out. I've had my fill of long drops from high places."

Aedan nodded, seeing the problem, but again the feeling grew stronger. "Mace, I think you're going to have to trust me on this one."

The Korun Master's scowl deepened and he was clearly about to disagree vehemently, but then he seemed to catch himself. He let out a long breath, and then nodded. "Let's go." They ran back through the refectory and into the kitchen where they found the back door there, and entered one of the many food store rooms. "This room has loading dock at the vey back," Master Windu said, as they jogged through piles and crates of food. "It's where they bring in all the food. We can make our way down to the street easily from there. It's our best option."

Aedan stared at him, unsure of what to do. His instincts were telling him to head to the terrace, but that made zero sense. Master Windu seemed to notice his hesitance, "What's so important about getting up there, Kahl?" They made it to the loading dock, and opened up one of the large bay doors. The sounds of the city and high winds assaulted them. They both surveyed the sector below. "It looks clear now, we probably won't get a better opportunity."

Aedan gripped the bridge of his nose. These were facts. Was he really about to ignore them for some hunch?

But this wasn't a hunch. It was the Force.

"Just...wait."

"Wait? Kahl, there's a company's worth of clone troopers heading our way, not to mention air support. Waiting any longer is a death sentence."

Then he heard a rattling noise coming from above them. He looked up to see a very old and very banged up freighter hovering down in front of them. It was bulky and boxy, and rust had gathered on parts of the hull.

"I'm going to bet that's not a republic ship."

Then a side hatch opened and a clone trooper without his helmet on looked at them. He held both hands up and shrugged.

"Ho. Ly. Frak," Aedan said.

Master Windu began to reach out with the Force, preparing to crush the life out of him, but Aedan stopped him quickly. "Don't. He's a friend."

The Jedi champion bared his teeth. "He's a clone."

"No. He's Hoppie. A friend. Unaffected by Order 66. He's already saved my life."

Then another person stepped into view. A shorter dark-skinned man that Aedan hadn't seen in years. He had a ridiculous grin on his face and was waving enthusiastically. It was Wil Asani. Aedan shook his head in disbelief.

"And who is that?" Mace asked.

"Another friend."

They both looked back at Hoppie and Wil, who were now both smiling and waving like idiots as the ship drew closer to them. "Come aboard!"

Aedan sensed Master Windu's doubt. "Trust me, Master," he said. "They're here to help."

"Fine," Mace said, and leapt across the gap onto the ship. Aedan followed him and landed lightly inside the hatch.

Aedan was about to greet the two men when a tall striking woman wearing a long maroon coat stepped into view. She didn't look at Mace or Aedan, and only looked beyond them. Aedan turned and saw a clone with a rocket launcher on his shoulder, and aiming right for them.

"RPS!" he yelled.

The woman stepped by him, drawing a blaster pistol from her hip almost faster than Aedan could track. She drew, aimed, and fired in a half a second. The perfectly aimed laser blast shot straight down the launcher's barrel, striking the rocket.

The blast knocked everyone off their feet, except for markswoman who had pressed herself against the bulkhead. She looked back out of the hatch at her handiwork, seeing a smoking ruin left behind. She nodded, and then walked over to Aedan and helped him up.

Once he was on his feet, she patted his shoulder with her right hand. "Thank you," she said, and started walking back to the cockpit. She stopped once she saw Master Windu. She looked down at his missing left hand, and then gave him an odd smirk and then jogged back to the cockpit, the ship accelerating forward a few moments later.

"What in the world just happened? And who in the blazes was that?"

"Yea, that's Dassa, Wil's sister. She's...special."

Hoppie walked over to Aedan and looked him up and down. "You look terrible," he said.

Aedan chuckled. "I'm sure," he said, then looked the man in the eye. "I owe you."

"Don't mention it."

"Where's Kyra?"

Hoppie sighed, "I don't know. She told me to come help you."

Aedan pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course, she did."

The intercom system crackled to life, "Come up to the cockpit. We might have a situation."

Aedan followed Wil and Hoppie to the front of the freighter, while Mace hung back several paces, still wary of the clone trooper.

"Whats up, Sis?" Wil asked, as they stepped into a shabby and shaky cockpit. Half the buttons were missing their coverings, exposed wires were loose and unconnected, and the leather on all four chairs was cracked and torn to shreds. This ship had definitely seen better days.

Dassa had pulled into a skylane, blending in with the crowd. "I thought I could get us out of there without being detected, but scans are picking up several fighters heading right for us."

Aedan checked the readings. They had a minute maybe two before a squadron of ships was on them. "There's no way this thing is getting past any of those ships."

"Agreed," Dassa said.

"It wasn't our first choice of transportation," Will added.

"Any ideas?" she asked.

"If we were recognized and the ship was identified, they will track us to the ends of the galaxy," Master Windu said. He meant it to be cautionary, but all it did was create an idea in Aedan's mind.

"Dassa, how much does this ship mean to you?"

She turned around in the seat, "Meh, there's a few things on board that are important, but the ship itself I don't care much for. But it's the only we have at the moment."

"If I promise to make it up to you, would you be okay blowing it up?"

She stared at him for a long second, and then burst out laughing. "You haven't figured it out yet, have you?"

Aedan's face went blank, "Figured what out?"

Dassa raised her hand. A very advanced looking prosthetic arm. "I have this because of you."

Aedan held his hands up, "I promise I did not cut your arm off."

She rolled her eyes, "The phrikite you gave to my brother. This is what he spent it on. I was able to make a life because of you, so I owe you, Aedan Kahl. I will gladly blow this ship up for you if it means saving us. I mean, it's a piece of junk anyway."

Aedan smiled widely, "Wow. Alright then," he said, turning to Wil. "You're a good brother."

Wil nodded, and then smacked Dassa's arm, "Told you."

"What's the plan, Kahl?" Mace asked.

"This thing has autopilot, right?"

"Yes."

Aedan nodded, "I'll take the helm while you gather your belongings. I'm going to turn into the skytunnel up ahead," Aedan gesture with his head toward the traffic lanes funneling into one of the many tunnels on Coruscant that cut through dozens of large buildings, by passing some of the more congested skylanes. "I'll set the auto-pilot, and we'll hop off half way through, and exit through one of the maintenance hatches."

Dassa nodded, "I like it."

"They may not shoot it down if it's moving along normally and obeying traffic laws," Mace added.

Wil raises his hand, "I can take care of that."

"How?" Aedan asked.

Wil gave him a smug look. "Easy, I upload a program focusing on evasiveness."

Mace shook his head, "Impossible. You know damn well ships' Auto-pilots have regulators."

"Regulators that are easily broken."

"And you'll be charged with multiple aggravated felonies, and named a fugitive."

Wil raised an eyebrow, "Like we aren't fugitives already. But how will they know? I've already wiped the logs and the ownership credentials. Plus, the ship is about to be turned into scrap, so it really doesn't matter."

Mace seemed to see the logic, and nodded.

"Do it," Aedan said.

Wil got to work, furiously typing away at the co-pilot's computer, while Aedan flew towards the skytunnel. He activated the intercom system, "ETA: Two minutes to drop off point, are we all set?"

Hoppie entered the cockpit. "We're all ready. Dassa said to stop the ship in between the camera coverage."

Aedan should have thought about that. "Are they spaced far enough apart for that? I'm not sure I know where they are."

Wil Raised his hand again, "I've got that covered too."

"How?"

Wil pointed to his computer screen. "I sliced into the security feeds, and am merely going to loop a few hours of footage. They'll never be able to tell the difference with the thousands of aircraft that pass through here."

Aedan did a double take towards Wil. "How are you slicing into the security feeds? That's a closed circuit."

"Right, we have a lot of catching up to do. I've been busy learning...well...this the past few years. Found out I had a knack for it."

"Wow, okay. Looking forward to hearing that story."

"We're all set by the way," Hoppie said, and then headed back to the rear of the ship.

"Perfect."

Aedan navigated the ship into the tunnel, luckily traffic wasn't heavy at the moment. They flew at a decent clip, and were nearing the halfway mark. "Ready?" he asked.

Wil flourished his fingers in the air, and then dropped an extended pointer finger onto the enter key. "Feed is altered now. We've got five minutes until the pursuing fighters arrive."

Aedan slowed the ship, and dropped down mere meters from the maintenance. "Auto-pilot is engaging in sixty seconds," Wil shouted, "Let's move."

Aedan exited the cockpit and ran into the cargo area where Hoppie and Dassa were loaded down with duffle bags, and a few crates. Dassa handed one particular medium sized crate to Aedan, "What's this?"

She nodded towards Mace, "It's actually for him, but you're just going to carry it for him."

"Okay, well what is it?"

"Important and necessary. You'll see soon enough."

"Fine. Let's go."

All five of them hopped out of the side hatch, and were in the maintenance corridor as the bulky freighter's auto-pilot took over, and the ship lumbered away.

They jogged down the narrow tunnel and found a freight lift and all five crammed inside. Aedan hit the button for the bottom floor, and they began descending.

"How will we know if they bought it?"

Wil held up his datapad, "This. I'm still logged into the security footage of the building. If my calculations are correct, which they normally are, the freighter should be exiting now." Everyone watched as the exterior security feeds captured the freighter exiting the tunnel. A handful of seconds passed by until four Arc 170's blasted by the camera, clearly in pursuit. The ships were moving pretty fast, and would soon be out of range of the cameras.

"Can you zoom in?"

Wil shook his head, "No, but I think..." he plinked away at his screen and the view changed. "Different camera, higher up in the building."

The footage showed the freighter make extremely slow maneuvers, but easily recognizable as evasive actions. A few seconds of that and the Arc 170's opened fire, turbolasers lancing into the freighter. One starfighter fired a pair of rockets, and the old freighter exploded in midair, leaving only pieces of the ship to cascade downward in a reign of durasteel and fire.

Aedan smacked Wil on the shoulder, "Wil you are a freaking genius."

The younger brother turned to Dassa and punched her arm, "Told you."

"Great job, Wil. You totally saved us," Hoppie said.

Wil shrugged, "Happy to help."

"Alright, Kahl, now what?" Mace asked.

Aedan turned to the old master. "Now we catch a ride on the grav-rail that is only two blocks from here. We take that to Coco town where I know someone that will let us hide until things cool off here."

"And then what?"

"And then we get out of here on my ship."

Master Windu's eyes went wide at that, "The 'Guile?"

Aedan grinned, "It's at a repair shop and will be ready soon."

"And with it, we can alter the transponder codes and activate the jamming system and be off planet and in hyper space in minutes," Hoppie added, his voice rising.

"Exactly."

"Frak me," Hoppie said, shaking his head. "This just might work."

"It will work."

The lift doors opened up, and the group headed out onto the busy promenade. All five had hats or cloaks that concealed their faces as they made the five-minute walk to the grav-rail. Everyone was skittish, their senses straining, searching for any and all threats that may accost them. Aedan continually reached out with the Force, trying to catch any threats before they sprang, but none did.

They made it to the station and Dassa paid for their tickets. They hopped on a tram and settled into seats.

"Okay, not that I don't mind carrying this for Mace, but what is it?"

Dassa smiled, "Think your guy in Coco Town has access to a medbay."

"Yes."

"Good," she pointed at the case. "That's my backup's backup."

"What?"

She held up her mechanical arm, "My secondary spare. I don't have any use for it," she said, then turned to Mace, "But he might."

Aedan's mouth dropped open, and then he looked at Master Windu who was also shocked. But behind that shock there was a small bit of relief. The Korun master turned to Dassa, he folded his lips inward, and then bowed toward her. "Thank you," he whispered.

"You're welcome," Dassa said.

After a forty-five-minute train ride, they made it to the Collective Commerce district, and soon were a few blocks from Dex's Diner. Aedan, Hoppie, and Mace stayed in an alley a block away, and sent Dassa and Wil in to speak with Dex, not wanting to risk being seen or getting the big Besalisk in trouble. A few minutes later, Dassa and Wil pulled up in a covered air speeder.

"He gave us a speeder?" Aedan asked.

"Dex is nice and all," Wil said. "But am I the only one that thinks he's a bit scary looking? Especially when he grins."

Dassa rolled her eyes, "He gave us this as well as the keys to an apartment he rents out. It's a few dozen levels down, and totally out of sight. We should be good for a while there."

Aedan nodded, and climbed into the speeder. "Well, now all we do is wait."

"And if that ship of yours isn't ready?" Dassa asked.

"It will be. Might take a few days, maybe a week, but it'll be ready, and we'll get out of here."

Mace Windu grunted, "And you're sure of this?"

Aedan looked to the sunrise, the artificial rays of sunlight shining on the ecumenopolis. "Yes, I am. Everything's going to be alright."