The assault had gone horribly! Vestara, Ben, Valin, and Jysella were ambushed! The last thing Vestara remembered was feeling a blunt, aching pain before losing consciousness. She woke up to the Sith Lords and Ladies talking about her and… Ben? "Why does Abeloth want them both? And alive at that?" Lady Sashal asked.
Vestara didn't know what they were talking about, but didn't want to find out. She heard distant commotion, but it didn't sound like it was getting closer. Why did the other Jedi have to not trust me? Vestara had forgotten how good it felt to have others willing to rely on her. Now here she was, defenseless because of her Sith heritage. Maybe if I hadn't killed Natua, this wouldn't have happened. She thought.
"Perhaps she wants to kill them personally." Another Sith suggested.
That theory seemed to make the most sense, so they all went with it. Regardless, Vestara wasn't going to see what'll happen. If even Sith didn't know, then it was indeed something terrible. Vestara noticed a dead Jedi Knight. He still had his lightsaber next to him, and a comlink was still on his wrist. She quietly took a deep breath. She knew that she was disobeying orders, but her life was certainly on the line at this moment.
In a swift, fluid motion, Vestara used the Force to grab the lightsaber and comlink, then used its blade to cut the legs out from under 5 of her Sith captors!
Vestara parried an attack, and kicked the opponent in the gut. Without turning, she jabbed her elbow into the neck of another Sith, who crumpled to the floor gasping for air.
Vestara called upon the Force, and lept higher than normal. She sailed over his captors, landed on her feet, and took off running.
The good news was that the Sith weren't great at dueling. The bad news was that neither was Vestara. Because of that, she knew her only choice was to run.
Corridor after corridor, Vestara kept running. She realized that after running aimlessly for who knows how long that the catacombs of the Jedi Temple were becoming more riddled with yorik coral.
She had to squeeze past multiple walls of yorik coral. Her throat ached, and her legs and chest burned with the running and heavy breathing she was doing. She was relying entirely on the Force at this point. Nevertheless, she had to keep moving! Her pursuers were never far away, and it seemed like they were slowly gaining on her.
Her only guide in the dimly lit hallways was the repetitive, droning beeps on the comlink. The only thing it could be leading her to had to be the secret tunnel Han organized after the Mandalorian Siege. That was her only hope.
Ben wiped sweat from his brow. He had been chasing Sith for what felt like hours now. Though his chrono suggested that it was only about 25 minutes. He felt certain he stank of sweat and other things, but he didn't want to check. He and Jysella hid behind a wall. There was a small group of Sith in the opening.
Ben was determined to find out where they had taken Vestara. He gathered his thoughts, and drew his lightsaber. Jysella tried to stop him, but he was too swift! Her eyes widened, and she jerked her hand to slightly punch the air. Not wanting him to get killed, she charged after him.
Ben took out 3 Sith, and Jysella was mainly covering him from those behind him. The sounds of lightsabers clashing echoed throughout the room. Eventually, only the leader remained. Ben kneed him in the groin. The Sith crumpled to the ground in agony. Ben aimed his lightsaber at his neck. "Tell us where Vestara is, now!" He demanded.
The Sith Lord looked up. "Is that what you want? A trade, young Skywalker?" he asked, suppressing his anguish.
"You bring us Vestara, we let you live out the rest of your life. However short or long it may be."
Jysella saw the Sith's shikkar unsheath itself. Thinking quickly, and dove for Ben! She was too slow! The glass blade had embedded itself into Ben's thigh! Jysella turned to the Sith, and beheaded him. She turned to Ben, and smacked him hard in the face! "What were you thinking?!" She yelled.
Ben wasn't worried about either of what Jysella did. He was focused more on the wound in his leg. Drawing on the Force, he pulled out the shikkar. Jysella grabbed his face, and made him face her. "Listen! Open your eyes! You could've died because of that stunt you pulled!" She scolded.
Ben looked down in guilt. "I was worried about Ves."
Jysella was having none of it. "I don't care! You know, you won't be able to save her if you're dead, right?!"
Ben nodded a little. Jysella took a breath to calm down. "I understand that she's your girlfriend, and I understand why you're worried. But we need you in the now, not in your thoughts and worries."
Wynn Dorvan regretted his actions. Had I kept my mouth shut, perhaps the Jedi assault wouldn't have gone this badly.
He sighed, then gathered his thoughts. I must make this right.
The Sith escorting him to Abeloth's chambers in the temple held onto him tightly. He eyed a blaster loosely attached to one of their belt's. Maybe…
He faked a fall, taking the Sith Lord down with him. The others didn't know what had happened, but quickly rushed to Dorvan to get him up. "Get up," one hissed, "You're no use if you're dead."
While on the ground, Dorvan had snuck the blaster into his coat. It was small enough that the bulge was barely noticeable in the dimly lit hallway. He kept himself calm, as the Sith would immediately sense his plan. He needed to make things right. He needed to avenge the deaths of the Jedi who've died because of his foolish idea.
