Billowing smoke slowly began to cover the entirety of Coruscant. Eyes close to the action, spanning from the tallest buildings to the lowest of slums were locked on the Jedi temple. Beyond the explosions and the crackle of stray flames, the cries of dying Jedi echoed.
Even within the catacombs, (a name not-so-affectionately given to the city's underbelly) the scent of burning flesh and ash caused the residents to lock themselves in the safety of their homes.
But nowhere was safe, not really.
"Xin?!" His mother shouted as she clambered through the crowds whose singular mission was to get away from anything resembling an open space. "Xin?!" She repeated, this time her tone was more urgent.
But there was no response. The silence, even amid a thousand people was deafening. Mekali could feel the anxiety bubble up inside of her, a sensation that left her with feelings akin to an unrelenting hunger.
"Where are you…?" She asked herself pensively, her eyes scanning everyone that passed her.
Just then, Mekali spotted a hooded figure making their way through the horde—it was a Jedi, she was sure of it; from the dark brown of their cloak to the drape of their hood, this was a jedi.
She followed them as they ducked and dodged through the foot traffic, still looking for her son in the process. Her brows furrowed. As the prior feelings of emptiness left her, something else began to take its place – anger.
Bearing left, down a darkened alley; the figure stopped at the end of the pathway.
"You're not a clone…" Jedi Knight Mildow said.
"You are a jedi though!" Mekali responded as she drew the blaster concealed behind the length of her poncho. Mildow's eyes widened.
"Don't…"
"Why not? Huh? Your kind committed treason against the Republic." She said, aiming the weapon at the Jedi's head. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't take you in?"
"There's more to this than meets the eye."
"No there isn't," She overlayed. You tried to assassinate the Chancellor—that, in all definitions of the act, is treason."
Mildow visibly gulped, conflicted by her primal instinct to survive, and her teachings to never harm an innocent. "Listen to me… I'm just looking for a way off this rock. Regardless of what you believe, I'm telling you right now – I am not your enemy." Raising her hands slowly, the tip of Mekali's blaster following her as they did so, the Jedi lowered her hood.
"Yeah? Then what are you?"
But before Mildow could utter another word, an orange blaster bolt hit her from a distance. Mekali could not even hear herself scream over the noise. In fact, she would be surprised if anybody else heard that shot at all.
She redirected her aim every which way, furiously looking for the shooter as she slowly moved back to a safer position. That familiar scent, the one of death and burned flesh filled the air once more, only this time she was closer to its source.