Author's Note: Welcome back dearest readers! Our epic finale continues with its second installment. Please be aware that something is wrong with the fanfiction website and notifications are not being sent through email. The same is true for reviews not showing up until days later. I write this because I don't want you all to think I am ignoring your reviews, it is just an issue with the site. I read all of your comments and they go straight to my heart. The fact that you take time to tell me how you feel really means a lot to me. So thank you! This being said and because of the website, I'm going to do one more review shoutout for the ones this website lets me see!

Lightsabers are sparking up for:

Codywhite162, 0x15, CJG98, Darth Dracul, Jake, and CoconutColonoy! Thank you all and to all reviewers still coming in! You are all appreciated.

Because the website is having issues sending out emails about chapters, be sure to check in on scheduled Fridays for chapters. When you finish reading today's installment, I have a schedule in the final note for you. This being said, enjoy today's show!

Long Live Imagination,

~ Michael Gavilán

ADVISORY: The following chapter contains sensitive material relating to: Mass murder, bodily injuries, intense trauma, and terrorism. Remember to practice self care before, during, and after reading.

Chapter: 117 The Beginning of the End (Part II)

"There are no winners in war. Only survivors."

Invasion! The heart of the Republic is under siege on a never before seen scale. In a shocking surprise attack, thousands of Separatist warships have launched a full scale assault on the planet of Coruscant. While its citizens find safety, those willing to fight now rally to the capital's defense. Many view the attack as a pivotal moment in the Clone War and believe the victors of such an assault will decide the fate of the galaxy...

"Most statistically improbable" had become Watcher's most repeated phrase as the Coruscant situation continued to develop. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't mentally fathom the concept of literally thousands of Separatist ships suddenly attacking Coruscant. She couldn't imagine the chaos of so many vessels blasting out of hyperspace and wondered where they possibly could've assembled. Better yet, Watcher contemplated how this armada could've even made it so deep into the Core Worlds without the slightest warning. The Guardian was the most advanced Venator-class Star Destroyer in existence. It had enough satellite and scanning modifications for someone to think it was some monstrous droid combing the stars for information. Its crew was always watching...always listening.

This rigorous and dutiful patriotism had cost Watcher a healthy disposition. Her strained eyes had only sunken deeper into their dark circles, all of which were hidden behind glasses anyway. Grey roots dominated her once imposingly dark hair and her restless legs were constantly twitching. She'd endured all of these physical changes in the name of her glorious Supreme Chancellor...and the capital was still invaded. Watcher had failed. At least that's how she saw it. Somewhere along the line, no matter the reason, she'd missed an insight. And because of her team's negligence, the Republic was about to burn. Not if she could help it. For if the Republic was to go up in flames, so too would she. Every sacrifice was made willingly for the honor of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, and she wouldn't stop now. Gathering her courage as they prepared to exit hyperspace, Watcher gave her commands.

"I want all power routed to shields and comm devices once we arrive," she decreed. "The other vessels know to protect us. Without Starpoint, those on Coruscant need an eye in the sky. We're going in to lead, not blast our way through." Watcher sighed upon noticing the unsettled looks on some of her officers. Even if they were genetically conditioned for war, her clones had never seen the frontlines. It was a miracle they weren't all fitted in glasses or cybernetics with how much they too had stared at computer screens. "I know some of you are frightened," Watcher professed. "I..." She swallowed hard, choosing only to make this confession to her crew. "I am too. But this is it and we're all Coruscant has to stand a chance out there. Depending on how this goes, this war could end today. So let's tilt the scales in our favor."

"Ma'am," Spenz reported. "We're coming out of hyperspace."

"Brace," Watcher intoned while gripping the ends of her holotable. She stared intensely into the lightspeed vortex, waiting for the final push. There was a daunting delay as the Guardian lulled. And with a powerful bang, the Venator rocketed into Coruscant's atmosphere. Clones turned away from their computers and even Watcher's jaw dropped at the sight of a full scale space battle over Coruscant. Flaming Venators and dreadnoughts engaged each other at point-blank range. Chunks of blasted metal and flaming warships descended into the atmosphere below, dealing unfathomable amounts of collateral damage. There was no order to the battle, and it appeared as though warships were merely shooting at the ship nearest to them in an effort to survive. The chaos was made even more difficult to follow by more Republic Venators emerging from hyperspace from across the galaxy. Some of the vessels didn't anticipate how many ships were already present, and would immediately collide with another upon exiting hyperspace.

The madness infuriated Watcher and pushed her to call for order. She found a safe gap among Venators and barked at her officers. "Move us into that backline and patch me in to all Republic channels!" As their ship moved into position, Spenz gave her a thumbs up once she was good to speak over comms. Leaning in to her holotable, she made her declarations proud and true. "This is Watcher of the Galactic Republic's Guardian calling in to all channels. To Republic warships across the Core and Mid Rim, we need reinforcements effective immediately. Coruscant is under attack. I repeat, Coruscant is under attack." She typed away on her datapad and sent the calculations to Spenz. "Jump to the designated hyperspace coordinates and fall into formation. If you can hear my voice, that means you are still in this fight. And we are not losing Coruscant today. I want every available Venator and frigate building up a planetary defense. Get us back in formation and then prepare to launch a counteroffensive. Because these ship to ship fights are going to get us nowhere." Thriving in her fast-paced element, Watcher swiped across her holotable connections. She pulled up a holomap of the city's districts and said, "Ground forces, what's going on? Talk to me!"

"Sector Four is holding," Captain Fordo reported. "Master Yoda and General Windu are with us."

"Good to have you back in the fight, captain." Watcher lauded.

"I never left," Fordo remarked.

"This is Master Mattias calling in from the Collective Commerce District," another voice crackled through as Watcher swiped to its designation. "My fellow Jedi and a unit of guards just cleared droids off the streets here. They're spread pretty thin. Trying to figure out where the concentration of their forces are."

"Standby, Master Jedi." Watcher answered while swiping through. "Focus on damage control and civilian recovery."

Watcher tapped on several blips and answered another call. "This is Officer Toya! CSF! Police station is hit and we're overrun!"

"Reinforcements inbound," Watcher responded calmly. Checking the distance between Mattias and Toya, she swapped calls. "Master Jedi, I'm rerouting you to the CoCo Town Precinct. Police forces are under attack by droid forces and need immediate assistance."

"We're on our way!" Mattias assured before dropping the call.

A sudden rumble shook the Guardian, causing Watcher to actually look up from her screen. One of the nearby Venators had taken a turbolaser to its starboard side, prompting a shockwave to reach them. More Venators answered Watcher's call, soaring out of Hyperspace from behind to join the fight. As swarms of Republic fighters zoomed out to engage the enemy, Watcher felt comfortable enough to return to her table. Switching attention to the Senate Building, she dared to make a pulse-pounding call. She'd never fathom doing so regularly, but given the circumstances...she had to speak with Palpatine.

To her surprise, Palpatine answered with befuddling calmness. "Yes?" he inquired, his tone almost singsongy.

"Supreme Chancellor," Watcher persisted. "This is Watch-...Admiral Nuri of the Guardian. I must implore that you evacuate and get to your bunker effective immediately."

"While your imploring is noted-" Palpatine assured. "-now is not the time to show weakness, admiral."

"But...with all due respect sir-"

"I refuse to be removed and cowering in a bunker until this engagement is decided," Palpatine affirmed. "This will not be the day the Republic falls. I promise you that."

As the call ended, Watcher was left rigorously tapping her boot. On one hand, she wished she had Palpatine's confidence. His ability to remain so calm during a full scale invasion of the capital was as brave as it was admirable. But on the other hand, she could never forgive herself if something happened to the chancellor. If she had let it happen for just accepting his pride as a fact. Acting quickly, Watcher searched for any available units in the area. While many groups were engaged in fierce firefights throughout the city, Watcher was able to locate an idle unit securing one of the perimeters.

She immediately put herself through to their comms and announced, "This is Watcher of the Guardian. Who is active commander of this unit?"

A woman's calm, yet authoritative voice met hers. "This is Master Shaak Ti. Go ahead."

A wave of relief came over Watcher as she found herself talking to a Jedi. "Master Jedi, we have a principal level extraction from the Senate Building. I need you to evacuate Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to his bunker." Watcher winced after giving the order, hoping that the chancellor would understand her precautions.

"We're on our way," Ti answered. "We've just finished locking down the Industrial District. The droids have lost ground here. Should I expect reinforcements enroute to the chancellor?"

"I'll see if I can get you assistance," Watcher verified while expanding her search. "Only other unit in your area is-" The admiral froze. Not from fear...but from the sheer audacity of which irony had chosen to come for her. She'd seen the Deathchaser ID codes over a holomap enough times to have them memorized by heart.

"Watcher?" Shaak Ti beckoned, making sure she hadn't lost contact.

"Knight Dellian," Watcher confirmed.

There was a spark of confidence in the master's tone. "Anna Dellian? Get her to me if you can. I've kept an eye on that warrior ever since she was a Padawan. If there's someone I'd want by my side on this, it's her."

"I'll see what I can do," Watcher murmured, almost dreading the call as she opened the familiar frequency. "G-" Watcher bit her lip, feeling a twinge of guilt for how she'd basically banished Anna from the war to live out her days on Coruscant. Understanding that there were greater risks at stake, the admiral steadied her pride and spoke up. "Knight Dellian."

"Watcher?" Anna's voice panted over comms. "Didn't expect to hear from you again."

"Neither of us expected to be fighting on Coruscant," Watcher asserted. "But we don't have time for formalities. Listen, I need your help."

"Of course you do," Anna mumbled.

"Stow your personal gripes because neither I nor the chancellor have time for them," Watcher brayed. "Master Shaak Ti has requested your squad's assistance with escorting Chancellor Palpatine to his bunker."

"Would love to help but-"

"Anna!"

"I'm not being snarky!" the Jedi insisted. "We kinda got our hands full here. My team and I were at the assembly in Walroy Plaza when the invasion started. We can help Master Ti, but we've got to get Senator Mothma to safety first."

Watcher gritted her teeth while scouring the map for all assets at her disposal. "What do you need?" she asked sternly.

"Our transportation is down and we're legging it across-" Anna huffed while Sparx's distorted voice read one of the street signs. "Samotzi Avenue!"

"Standby," Watcher commanded while formulating a plan. "Keep heading down that street and turn right at the corner. Once there, you'll see a warehouse. Enter it and make your way to the roof. I'm sending two gunships your way. One will get Senator Mothma to an established safe zone. The second will take your squad to the Senate Building."

"Those ships better kriffing be there!" Anna cursed.

Watcher ended the call and whispered, "Here's hoping." She hurriedly got on comms with nearby gunships and relayed her plan. As she did so, the space battle around her only intensified. Yet no matter how destructive the situation felt, Watcher had to stay on her toes. She had to keep believing that they were one step closer to victory. One slip in her resolve would topple the rest of her crew's morale. Gathering her nerves into a single, frantic boot tap, the admiral watched as her assigned gunships began their reroute.

Emergency sirens and blasterfire were a peculiar mix to hear in one's dazed state of mind. It was like hearing war and peace locked in a deadly duel, each battling for the city's fate. To repair or to shatter...to live or to die. While Belle O'Har was granted a moment of clarity to observe the smokey skies above, a horrifically intense pain soon followed. Slightly moving her left arm caused greater pain to the blaster wound in her side. All she wanted to do was clutch her ribcage as it felt like someone had set it on fire. It didn't help her mind that the rest of Walroy Plaza was burning around her. The stage had been reduced to ashes while countless bodies lay strewn across the ground. A gentle nudge came to her head as she noticed her camera droid worriedly hovering.

"Ch-...Chip?" she winced. No longer recording, the feeble droid desperately tried to push her up by the head. "I-" Belle coughed. "Can't move. Fly away. Fly to Papa's."

Chip beeped in protest, refusing to leave her side even as she lay among the dead and dying. The agonizing sounds of wounded bystanders filled the air as their exasperated silhouettes reached through the smoke. A dazed Bith made it four steps through the wreckage before succumbing to his wounds and collapsing into a mound of flames. He just accepted a fate that he didn't even know was coming. Too dizzy to comprehend and too weak to resist...he simply perished. Although she was immobilized, Belle could see several figures moving through the smoke. Her heart raced, unsure on whether or not the droids had returned.

To her astonishment, a trio of paramedics emerged from the darkness. Acting on her sheer willingness to survive, Belle mustered her strength to unleash a deathly screech. Doing so made it feel as though her ribs were being pulled apart, but she was able to get someone's attention. "Frang!" the lead paramedic cursed. The Twi'lek's yellow lekku swished as she slid down to Belle. "We've got another one over here!" she hollered. "Get a hover-stretcher!" The Twi'lek's brown eyes widened when an explosion echoed in the distance. "Hurry!" Her partners dashed back to the ambulance while the Twi'lek checked her patient's vitals. She observed an ashy journalist tag on her belt and read the name out loud. "Belle...can you hear me?"

"Y-yes," the reporter croaked.

"Okay," the Twi'lek said while steadying her head. "I'm Terina. You've been shot, but I've got you. We're gonna get you-" Several blastershots rang out somewhere beyond the smoke. "-out of here." Terina's partners arrived with the hover-stretcher and set its repulsorlifts to idle. "We lift together," Terina commanded. "Belle, this might hurt for a second...but I need you to trust us." She glanced over at her team. "One...two...three!" With a swift heave, they transferred Belle to the stretcher. Her exasperated screech was short, yet blood-curdling. Catching her breath, Belle writhed in the stretcher while Chip hovered beside her. The paramedics moved quickly, getting Belle off of the razed platform and into a secured ambulance. As the doors sealed behind her, Belle embraced her pale and frigid surroundings.

"All teams," Terina called over her comlink. "That's everyone. Get your ambulances back to Coruscant General. Fly low and watch above. Travel only on skylanes marked safe by scanners. May the Force be with you."

Even in her pain, Belle found it unique to see a non-Jedi putting her faith in the Force. It was, in it's own way, comforting to have a paramedic who admired the Jedi way. As she was given a mask for fresh oxygen, Belle let her mind wander. She tried to distract herself from imagining that a droid ship could blow their ambulance out of the sky at any moment. Her other thoughts weren't much better, as she feared for her father's safety. Having no idea how widespread the invasion was, she could only hope that Maurice and all of his droid inventions were alright. Without any means to contact her, he was probably terrified about her fate.

Every bout of turbulence heightened Belle's anxieties, even as Terina kept temporarily numbing her wound with bacta spray. "We're almost there," the Twi'lek said for the seventh time since they'd started flying. Belle had been counting amid her panic. By the eleventh reiteration, there was finally accuracy to Terina's words. The ambulance was on its final approach to Coruscant General. As a safety precaution, Republic forces had deployed a battalion of clones to secure the hospital. Gunships hovered overhead while troopers and AT-RTs created checkpoints around the compound.

The ambulance pilot zoomed past the checkpoints and skidded into an emergency hangar. "Standby," she said while Terina prepped the doors. "And...clear!" The Twi'lek hurriedly flung the doors open as a rush of frigid air surged in. Belle shuddered, even while bracing in her sturdy state. The ambulance's calm interior was quickly replaced by the sights and sounds of rushing first responders. Terina guided Belle's stretcher directly to a pair of medical personnel as they rushed from the emergency room entrance.

Ever on their toes, Dr. Mardeth Grey and Der Sheparr were eager to treat another patient. Along with the rest of the hospital staff, they'd been receiving victims to treat since the invasion began. It was only a matter of time before they ran out of beds and were forced to turn patients away to another hospital. And that was if said hospital was still standing in the attack.

"Belle O'Har," Terina explained to the doctors. "Age twenty-seven. Blastershot wound to the left side of her torso. Shallow breaths and should be treated for possible pneumothorax."

"We'll take it from here," Der assured.

"Thank you, Terina." Mardeth added as they rushed the reporter inside. "Stay with us, Belle. We're going to get you-" Mardeth paused as an ear-splitting screech rang out across the sky. Furrowing her brows, she and Der slowly turned to see a swarm of droid fighters descending from down the block.

"Inside," Der panicked. "Inside now!" He and Mardeth pushed Belle through the doors as quickly as possible, all while laserfire erupted from behind. Republic forces were able to blast the initial fighters, but the majority cut through the checkpoints with their heavy lasers. The clone AT-RTs were no match for such a bombardment, and many of them exploded from the first overhead hits. Troopers scattered, struggling to find cover amidst the strafing run. As the droid fighters finished their attack, they paved the way for a cluster of hyena bombers to glide in. Extending their ventral chutes, the droid vessels dropped a wave of proton bombs directly over Coruscant General.

Mardeth and Der were trying to get Belle to a lower, safer level when the bombs struck. Such a concentrated strike crippled the hospital's foundation on impact, breaking beams and shattering windows in the process. Even as the doctors lost their footing, they refused to let go of Belle's stretcher. Holding their patient close, the duo observed their unstable surroundings. Based on their destructive situation, it was safe for them to deduce that anyone on the hospital's upper floor was killed on impact. Dust spewed as the ceiling crumbled above them.

Thinking of Mardeth and their patient's safety, Der reluctantly threw his hands up. "Hold on!" he warned while calling upon the Force. Heaping chunks of rubble rolled to the ground. As the rest of the hospital came crashing down, Dr. Sheparr Force-pushed upward. The only thing worse for Belle to be panicking in a collapsing building, was her inability to move because of the injury. She was at fate's mercy, stifling her whimpers as all faded to blackness.

Cracked roof panels clattered across the CoCo Precinct's ashy carpeting. Complete tears in the ceiling let brief, slivers of light emerge and shine down on the dead. Several, gaping craters still sizzled across the office where super battle droids had unloaded their wrist rockets. Loose wires sparked from broken terminals while other panels were completely dislodged from the walls. A dazed police officer limped his way through the smoke. Still trying to regain his footing after the last explosion, he was entirely unprepared to take a cluster of shots to the chest. The thud of his body was proof that droids were still in the building and that Lieutenant Tan Divo had to stay down.

The inspector pressed his back against a charred desk and hoped it wouldn't fall over. Discreetly powering his comlink down, he kept absolutely still and listened for incoming footsteps. He firmly clutched his pistol and glanced at another huddled figure across from him. Officer Toya was crouched behind a toppled cabinet, ready to strike back.

"No," Divo mouthed and rigorously shook his head. He exaggerated his mouth gestures to help her read his lips. "Don't...know...how...many."

Toya gritted her teeth, knowing Divo's words to be true. She tensed up as the heavy stomping of B1 units filled the room. It was enough to have the duo's eyes widening as they contemplated how many droids had swarmed the precinct. Divo took a deep breath and chose to cautiously peek out from cover. His heart thundered as he observed a sea of droid legs clanking together. They were like a swarm of metal ants, flooding down the main passage and clearing the stairwell. Much to Divo's horror, a surviving policeman groaned from the wreckage. His grunts caused one of the B1s to break formation, approach, and take aim.

"Wait," the officer coughed. "No-"

A daunting blast had Divo ducking back into cover. Officer Toya's hands were shaking. Sweat soaked the grip of her rattling pistol as she gulped. Resting her head back against the cabinet, the force of doing so caused a loose drawer to plummet from the opposite end. Toya's heart fell with that drawer as terror took hold. The droid marching lessened, as multiple B1s took it upon themselves to investigate. Their firm stomps drew nearer as Toya glanced at Divo. There was a genuine fear in her eyes as the pistol shook in her trembling hands. Their attackers were closing in, and she couldn't help but wonder if Divo would even help her. He'd remained hidden while they executed survivors across the office. Even if Toya was nearby, she didn't rule out him trying to save his own life.

Divo could see the fear festering in Toya's reddening eyes. That unruly fear became desperate fury as she steadied her hands on the pistol. For if the officer was to go down cornered, she would take as many droids down with her as possible. If it came down to it, Divo was willing to do the same. Yet he couldn't stop thinking about his own journey. The uphill battle he'd been fighting against corruption and the justice system ever since he was a police cadet. And yet for every nightmare he'd faced as a member of the CSF, he never could've prepared himself for a Separatist invasion. It was the concept everyone jested at, yet never believed would actually happen. A threat politicians loved using to stir distrust with their political opponents. But to be living the nightmare...to see fellow officers dead...to watch droids march down a common street while warships descend from above. The thought of such a reality was unfathomable. Yet whether he liked it or not, Divo was in it. His promising career in the fight for a cleaner Coruscant had come down to a few mere seconds. For even if they engaged the droids, he deduced that they'd likely run out of ammunition and be overrun within moments. For Divo, it became a matter of not when...but how he'd die. As the ominous droids closed in, every case Divo had been working on felt beyond minimized. To him, his life and the duties of his work would mean nothing if they were all to be wiped out.

Preparing herself, Toya steadied her feet for a lunge. One of the B1s rounded the cabinet, and immediately tasted her pistol's bolt. The fierce shot caused the droid's scorching head to swivel before it ultimately collapsed.

"What the?" another B1 computed and ran to engage Toya. While she was able to gun it down quickly enough, she glimpsed a third B1 in the corner of her eye. It was already taking aim, and she braced herself for the inevitable strike. Flinching, Toya suddenly heard another police pistol's sharp-pitched blasts, the likes of which ended her-would be killer. Toya's head snapped leftward, where Divo had risen from his desk with smoking pistol in hand.

She nodded to him as the rest of the droid advance switched directions to attack. "This is it!" Divo shouted and shot his pistol at random. He and Toya picked the first targets they could find, striking droids and taking cover amid a storm of laserfire.

"Conserve your charges!" Toya reminded and blasted a B1's neck. She was forced back into cover when a trio of lasers skimmed the cabinet.

Age was getting the better of Lieutenant Divo, and conserving ammo wasn't his specialty. He'd fired three shots into a single B1 before having to drop behind cover. Meanwhile, his younger counterpart had proven to be quite the gunslinger. The officers left a pile of droids clacking at their feet, but more were inbound from the stairs. Riding a wave of adrenaline, Toya rose from cover again. She was about to blast another B1's head off when she heard a heart-stopping sound. It was the click all soldiers and officers feared. Toya gasped and dropped down to see that her pistol had made it to zero charges. "No no!" she shouted over the laserfire.

"Although he was overwhelmed himself, Divo acknowledged who stood a better chance in the defense. "Toya!" he shouted and unclipped the last energy magazine from his belt. "Make it count!" he added before tossing it across the room.

She graciously accepted it and was swift to reload her pistol. "We can still get out of this!" she shouted while opening fire. Toya kept shooting, even as a bulkier unit stomped in from behind the attackers. As the B1s were gunned down, their fallen bodies paved the way for a super battle droid to march in. Watching for its wrist rocket, Divo found relief in noticing that the droid was favoring its blaster. With the advanced droid's head sunken into its bulky shell, Divo struggled to land a direct hit. And even when Toya did strike the droid's face, her blasts barely scathed it.

"Dank farrik," Toya cursed before dropping to cover again. Checking her limited charges, she truly had to make every shot count. But the super battle droid was relentless. Its reinforced duranium plating was designed to withstand heavy laserfire.

"Two shots!" Divo alerted from his side.

"Four!" Toya hollered back. "Now or never!" she declared as they both emerged from cover and unloaded their bolts. The small, yet powerful blue beams darted across the office. Each blast met its mark against the super battle droid's limbs and torso. And while it briefly staggered, the B2 prevailed. It marched closer, leaving both of its adversaries clicking their empty pistols.

A fighter to the end, Toya scavenged a fire extinguisher from the wreckage and sprayed it across the droid's body. While she attempted to slow it down, the now white-coated droid only intensified its rate of fire. "It's been an honor, sir!" Toya shouted while finishing off the extinguisher's remnants. Bracing for the inevitable, Divo thought he'd have been more anxious. But at the end, he knitted his brows and willingly emerged from cover. Fear could not take him any longer, for he had performed his sworn duty to the Republic. Divo had fulfilled the promise he'd created for his younger self in a darker Coruscant. Countless criminals were behind bars and he'd devoted his life to justice. If this droid was to be his end, he'd look it in the photoreceptors.

As the B2 aimed his wrist blaster, a glowing...humming light emerged from the lower doorway. This green beam swished, revealing Master Mattias as he Force-pulled the droid away from the officers. With a mighty swipe of his saber, he cleaved the droid in half and dashed to the survivors. "Two up here!" he called to the rest of his team. Lieutenant Divo choked, almost losing his balance for a moment. Being forced to come to terms with his demise, having his life so hastily saved was just as jarring as losing it. "We have you," Mattias assured and gripped his arm for comfort. While Divo mentally recovered, Tori and Vedkan entered alongside the temple security guards. While they secured the floor, Mattias knelt beside Toya, who'd impulsively started tearing up. "You're safe now, officer," Mattias spoke calmly. "Are there more droids?"

"Up-...upstairs," Toya uttered, her hands shaking all over again.

"I'll keep these two safe," Mattias insisted. "Tori. Vedkan. Sweep the rest of this precinct."

"Let's scrap'em," Tori said and twirled her guard shotos. "Everybody, with us!"

As the rest of the team proceeded upstairs, Mattias received a call on his comlink. "Watcher?" he quickly answered.

"Mattias," another woman replied. "It's Zodra."

Just hearing the Nautolan's voice was enough to make him relax his shoulders. Given their attachment, Mattias took an extra step away from the officers to listen in. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine and so is everyone in the temple," Zodra said. "Are you safe?"

"We're securing a precinct in the Commerce District."

"This is madness," Zodra sighed. "I've been watching things unfold from my scanners and more warships keep dropping out of hyperspace from both sides. I'm not sure if it's enough. Maybe...it's time."

Mattias pursed his lips as he weighed their options. "I understand your concerns, dear. But think of what that means."

"This precinct was in trouble until you and other Jedi arrived," Zodra implored. "Firepower is one thing, but Coruscant needs the power of the Force on its side. If I activate my emergency beacon, I can call all Jedi back home now."

"And while our situation may seem dire-" Mattias considered. "-you must also think about how many planets those recalled Jedi would be leaving behind. Especially in the Outer Rim." Zodra's pensive silence had Mattias sighing. "Let us see if we can hold," he insisted. "Please trust me. I do not believe the Republic shall fall today."

"Mattias, we need more Jedi."

"We cannot sacrifice the rest of the war effort-"

"Losing Coruscant could mean the end of the war today!" Zodra brayed. There was an exasperation to her tone that had Mattias wincing. "I...I thought you'd understand."

"Zodra, I-"

The Nautolan sighed. "Just...stay alive out there. Please."

The elder hung his head before whispering into his comlink. "Yeah...you too."

Things were worse than the others feared as they ascended to the precinct's next level. The Separatist battalion had massacred officers and police droids alike. While a trail of bodies was left in their wake, the droids proceeded to smash and blast the precinct's foundations. Computers and entire database archives were fried under a storm of mindless laserfire. Among the dead and destroyed was the body of GU-13. Divo's robotic partner had fallen over a desk that no longer was. A chaotic array of blaster holes lay riddled across his chest. Even after being deactivated, GU-13 was still holding his pistol like the dutiful officer he'd been. Flames spread across the office, reducing the rest of the computers to crackling heaps. Among the millions of lost datafiles were those concerning Celenia's murder case. GU-13 had finished his directive moments before the Separatist invasion began. Clear, air traffic footage of Hans entering and leaving the crime scene vanished beneath the rising flames.

The hum of flourishing sabers and clicking of powered rifles had the remaining droids turning for battle. "Attack!" Tori shouted, leaping into the fray. Setting her sabers to spin, she drew the majority of the droid's fire while Vedkan moved in from below. There was ferocity in the Trandoshan's eyes as he kicked off of the wall and drove his saber into a droid. Springing from above, Tori flung both of her blades like deathly pinwheels. They swirled over the advancing droids, lopping several heads off before she recalled them with the Force.

Kristoff and Sven went back to back, firing away at B1s encroaching from behind the flames. They weaved between blasts and alternated positions, keeping up a steady rate of shots. Adjacent to them, Maku was trying to get a better vantage point to shoot from. But as he moved up, a super battle droid's ominous hand snatched his rifle. With a mighty thrust, the droid lifted the Duros off of his feet with ease. Before it could shoot him in the face, a precise blast struck the droid's red chest sensor. The direct hit was followed by a second, equally precise shot which damaged vital components. The malfunctioning droid dropped Maku before toppling over altogether. As the Duros recovered, he peered with wide red eyes to see his savior standing atop the ashes. Lyn Ferix lowered her rifle and sighed.

"H-how did you do that?" Maku blathered.

"Aim small, miss small." Lyn jested before kicking his weapon back to him.

Another super battle droid emerged, but Tori leapt on top of it. Deactivating one of her sabers, she used the other to impale the droid's upper components. Utilizing a trick Master Sumar had taught her, she twisted just enough to cause a weapons malfunction. As if on command, the super battle droid raised both wrist blasters and fired without direction. Taking advantage of the glitch she'd created, Tori then guided her deadly puppet towards the remaining droids.

"Wait!" one of the B1s panicked in its nasally tone. "You're on our side! Stop!"

Tori paid little mind to their irksome pleas as she turned their own weapons against them. Once the B2 was finished gunning down its metal brethren, the Pantoran pushed her saber until she vertically bisected the droid. Vedkan stood over one of the droid's halves, mouth agape over Tori's stunning feat. "Did you know that would work?" he asked.

"Yes," Tori boasted before immediately wrinkling her nose. "Maybe...Kinda? No. Absolutely not." Vedkan chuckled at her remark as he called down to Master Mattias. "Upper level secure! Precinct clear!"

"Excellent!" Mattias shouted back while putting Divo and Toya's arms over his shoulders.. "Let's get these survivors out of here!"

Anna brought her boots to a skidding halt outside of the warehouse Watcher had marked. Rusted doors and dilapidated windows were a testament to the rest of the underfunded district. "This is it," Anna said. "Now we just need to get to the roof." While Anna observed the building's height, Mon Mothma took a moment to catch her breath. The winded senator pressed her back against the nearest wall while Sparx and Speedy watched her sides.

"Think those gunships are actually coming to pick us up?" Blazer muttered while observing the ominously quiet sky.

Suddenly, a deathly whirring had everyone looking down the adjacent street. "Do you have a better idea?" Sparx said.

"What is that?" Mon worried while even Anna leaned towards it.

The Jedi's tired eyes shot open when the bulky barrel of a tank rounded the corner. Although it was powered by repulsorlift systems, the assault vehicle toppled over streetlights and parked vehicles alike. As it drew nearer, the group collectively agreed to flee inside the warehouse. "Go! Go! Go!" Anna shouted while ushering her team towards a closed door. Frustrated and running out of time, Anna frantically pulled at the locked door. "Kriff!" she screamed and angrily kicked it. Anna's violent act spurred a bout of genius as she quickly ignited her lightsaber. "Stand back!" she warned and plunged her saber into the warehouse doors. Keeping a calm mind and steady grip, Anna proceeded to trace a circle with her blade.

Despite their ramshackle condition, the doors were denser than anticipated. "Come on! Come on!" Anna grunted while dragging her saber across. The tank took aim, firing off a high-powered laser near the group.

Chunks of duracrete spewed through the air as Speedy blocked Mon with his body. Realizing they were out of time, Blazer withdrew a charge from his utility pack. "Get clear!" he yelled before slamming the rectangular explosive to the doors. Anna relinquished her blade and the group dashed away from the doors just as the tank fired on their position. A second crater formed in the street, and Blazer used the ensuing smokescreen to press his detonator. Triggering his charge, the blast tore a hole straight through the warehouse doors.

"Nice one, brother." Anna lauded. "Let's go!" Mon and the Deathchasers rushed as the tank hovered to them. Instead of relying on its primary cannon, it unloaded several rounds with its smaller, repeating cannons. The rapid, scarlet lasers tattered the already unstable building. It felt like a house of cards, already caving in as Anna desperately searched for the nearest roof access point. Her head swiveled between the tank's laser bursts, until she found a rattling ladder against the wall. "There!" she alerted. "Move!"

Blazer led the way, making sure the ladder was as safe as it could be even amid a bombardment. Sunlight crept in as he popped the upper hatch, revealing the sought after rooftop. Sparx followed him up, securing the roof while Speedy guided the senator. "After you, ma'am," the trooper said. Noticing how shaken she was, Speedy patted Mon's hand. "The others are up there waiting for you and I'll be right behind you. We won't let anything happen." His words brought a twinge of comfort to Mon as she started her cautious climb. Speedy was quick to follow her up, leaving Anna to join them. Before the Jedi could do so, another heavy laser pierced through the warehouse and struck one of the lower support beams.

Anna's gasp had her squadmates peering back down through the hatch. Running out of places to keep her footing as the lower levels were collapsing, Anna had to climb fast. She sprung for the ladder, barely catching her breath as she desperately clawed her way up. "Come on, Anna!" Blazer urged. "You can make it!"

Anna knew not what amount of Force power she could gather, especially in such an intense situation. But as the ladder dislodged from its hinges, all she could do was pull up and grant herself a sporadic burst. The likes of which was as chaotic as it was powerful. She was able to hover in midair just long enough for Blazer to grab her hands. "Gotcha!" he growled and hauled her up to the roof.

While they'd all successfully made it to the rendezvous point, the tank had destroyed the warehouse's foundation. With the lower levels crumbling, the forward most wall caved in completely. Even the droid tank didn't anticipate such a collapse, and was briefly buried in the rubble. As the roof crumbled on an incline, those on top found themselves sliding back to the street. "Brace yourselves!" Anna shouted as they scraped across the tiling. Their heavy shuffling was soon accompanied by the long-awaited sounds of familiar engines.

A pair of Republic gunships glided over the ruined roof, opening their hatches as their companions slid down. "Jump for it!" a clone trooper beckoned from one of the gunships. Anna and her Deathchasers kicked off of the collapsed roof and tumbled into the ship. Once she was stable, Anna reached back out and used the Force to literally throw Mon Mothma into the second gunship. Despite Anna's attempt at using concentrated Force in the heat of the moment, her toss fell short. Mon desperately reached for the gunship's hold, and wouldn't have made it had a Jedi's hand not snatched her wrist.

Gasping as she was safely pulled aboard, Mon found herself in the company of Master Mace Windu. He nodded to Mon before guiding her to a handhold. "That's everyone!" he hollered to the pilot. "Let's go!" As Mon tried catching her breath, Mace took a moment to explain their situation. "We've established a safe zone in Sector Four. I have orders to get you there."

"Thank you," Mon said, still shaken. As the gunship's hatches started to close, she took one last look at the ship next to her. Anna and her squad was already off for their next mission, but she hadn't even been given the chance to thank them nor say goodbye. In the waning moments before both gunships parted ways, Anna happened to glance over at Mon too. Perhaps it was fate...or the luck of the Force drawing them into this final stare. They locked eyes from across the winds, looking beyond each other's tiredness and bruises. Throughout her service in the Senate, Mon had come to meet many Jedi. Yet each had always found a unique way to surprise her. Anna was no different, and Mon felt the same spark of potential she'd had with budding senators. To see a young woman in military command was invigorating. As the hatches to both ships finally sealed, the gunships went their separate ways. With one vessel heading into chaos and another away from it, Mon Mothma hoped that she would see Anna Dellian again someday.

During the flight to Sector Four, Mace grew increasingly concerned while trying to make a comlink call. "Master Ti," he beckoned. "Shaak Ti, come in." His eyes narrowed as he switched the frequency. "Watcher, this is General Windu."

"Go ahead, general." Watcher responded, still multitasking between the space battle and her holomaps of the city.

"I've lost contact with Shaak Ti. Can you get a call through from your ship?"

"Standby," Watcher said before switching comms to the Senate Building sector. "Master Ti," she called. "This is Watcher. Come in, Master Ti." Remaining calm, Watcher attempted to call the nearest air traffic control center. When the call failed, her theory was proven correct. "General Windu," she called back. "I'll have my officers run a scan, but it's looking like comms are down in the Federal District. The Separatists must have set up a jammer somewhere in the area to eliminate contact to the Senate Building and Jedi Temple. We'll need a unit to sweep for that jammer and take it down."

"What about Ti?" Windu queried.

"For all we know, she could be fine. Or quite the opposite. General Dellian and her squad are enroute to the Senate now, but I'm going to pull for reinforcements wherever I can find them." It took everything for Watcher to step away from her holotable. She had basically become a droid, just waiting to be bolted to the floor so she could permanently watch everything. "Spenz!" she beckoned. "Get me the whereabouts of Clone Force 99."

"Occupied, ma'am." Spenz revealed without even turning in his chair. The clone's eyes were becoming just as strained as Watcher's were. "They're reinforcing General Billaba's battalion on Kaller."

"Blast," Watcher cursed under her breath, knowing how vital they could be to helping on Coruscant. With the Republic capital under attack, it was easy to forget that many other planets in the galaxy were still under siege. "Come on, Spenz. Give me something." She stared into the seemingly endless space battle as Venators continued to clash with dreadnoughts. We need more units."

"Ma'am!" her prized officer alerted in a way that had her raising her brows. "Two units on standby after putting an end to the droid occupation on Yerbana. The 501st Legion and 212th Attack Battalion."

"Spenz, you're brilliant." Watcher admired. "Patch me in to Admiral Yularen." The clone's fingers pattered away at his keyboard, and the old admiral's hologram was quickly projecting on Watcher's holotable.

Noting the frequency of where she was stationed, Yularen grew concerned over a call from Coruscant. "Watcher," he greeted cautiously. "What's going on?"

"Admiral Yularen," she responded. "The capital is under attack by Separatist forces. Scanners indicate that the Invisible Hand was spotted in battle, meaning Grievous himself is leading the assault. I've been in command of both land and space since the battle began, as Starpoint has fallen."

Yularen's eyes briefly widened at news over the space station's demise. But he reeled in his emotions given their grim situation. "What of the Supreme Chancellor?" he asked.

"Master Shaak Ti was sent to protect him, but contact has been lost. It is my belief that a jammer has been set up in the area. Admiral, we need all the reinforcements we can get. As active oversight and commander for this battle, I am redirecting you and the rest of the Open Circle Fleet to Coruscant. It's all hands on deck if we are to win this battle and the war."

Yularen nodded. "I shall inform General Skywalker and General Kenobi. We can be there within the hour."

"Excellent," Watcher concluded as the transmission ended. She then returned to her table as ships continued to explode outside of her viewport. Betwixt the ongoing battle, Watcher placed a call to the Deathchasers.

Anna hadn't had a true moment to catch her breath since the invasion had started. Standing in the gunship's darkness gave her time to recollect herself. Letting her mind wander amid the whir of its engines, Anna glanced at her squadmates. No one wanted to let on to how they were really feeling, but exhaustion was prying at them. Scrapes and ash stains lined their plastoid armor from head to toe. Anna could still taste blood on her lip and felt tenderness from her facial bruises. Her knees twitched occasionally, making her wish the gunship had seats. Her team had been on their feet for hours, and had no idea how long the battle would last. Hoping to keep morale afloat, Anna broke the silence.

"Hey," she professed, garnering the attention of her weary team. "I never would've imagined that it would come to this. And that we'd be defending the capital through an invasion of this scale. But we're in this," Anna sighed. "And in truth, there's no one else I'd rather have at my sides. I love you guys."

"We're with you, sister." Blazer affirmed while Sparx nodded in agreement.

"You're stuck with us," Speedy quipped, prompting Anna to smile. Their pleasantries were short-lived as a holocall rang on the ARF troopers' belts.

Snatching his device first, Blazer read over the frequency. "It's Watcher," he explained.

"Put her through," Anna ordered as Blazer placed his holocomm in the hold's center. The team braced themselves as Watcher's holographic body illuminated the gunship's darkness. Seeing the admiral's stern visage again left the team with mixed feelings. They had embarked on countless, death-defying missions under Watcher's command in the past. And through that vast array of chaotic endeavors, none stung more than Yalbec Prime. The blatant distrust and defiance Watcher had shown them all before completely cutting them off in the end. Those wounds were reopened with Watcher's returning presence. But as much as Anna harbored a resentment for the woman, she understood their reality. As fate would have it, getting reassigned to Coruscant was the only reason she'd be able to help defend against the invasion. And if they made it out of this ordeal alive, perhaps the Deathchasers honorable actions could get them back to the frontlines. Whether they liked it or not, Watcher and Anna needed each other. Anna wanted to put on a cold disposition of her own, but she was much too tired. She nodded her head to the projection as Watcher began.

The admiral herself was less for formalities and spoke in the heat of the moment. "Deathchasers," she huffed. Her hologram glitched as turbolaser fire echoed behind her. "I'll keep this brief because we're running out of time. The Separatists have likely set up a jammer in the Federal District. Once your gunship enters the zone, you will be going dark. We've lost complete contact with Master Shaak Ti and anyone else on the inside. I've also sent for reinforcements. I'm told General Kenobi and General Skywalker should be in Coruscant within the hour."

Anna furrowed her brows at Blazer before returning attention to the hologram. "This is the first I'm hearing about a jammer in the city," she murmured. "Why use only one in the Federal District?"

"Things aren't clear," Watcher admitted. "But I have a working...concerning theory." Keeping a taut grip on her handhold, Anna leaned closer to the hologram. "My teams have analyzed readouts from land and space. For having thousands of warships, the Separatist armada is using an odd strategy. They're focusing the fight against our fleets in orbit. As for down in the city, attacks have been random and concentrated on destruction."

"Okay?" Blazer inquired. "What are we missing here?"

"That after this colossal droid offensive, it doesn't appear that the Separatists are trying to conquer Coruscant as I first presumed. Instead, they are using the space battle and intense firefights to keep our armies distracted."

"Distracted from what?" Anna asked as Watcher's transmission glitched.

Her hologram buzzed as several distorted words hissed through. "This may...be...to...Palpatine...Be...guard...Grievous' ship was...and-"

"Watcher?" Anna haplessly inquired before the holocall dropped entirely. "Kriff," she whispered while the Deathchasers checked their devices.

"We're in the zone," Lieutenant Sparx realized. "All comms are down."

"Then it's up to us," Anna said. "We've come this far, why stop now?" As the gunship leveled out and began its descent, Anna initiated the pre-battle ritual. She wouldn't allow the Separatist surprise attack to stop tradition as she knocked on Blazer's helmet. "Come on, Sarge." Making her way to the others, she raised her voice with each knock. "Let's go, Sparx. Bring it, Speedy!"

For the few times Anna had visited the Galactic Senate, she never imagined that she'd be landing a military vehicle on its steps. "Keep the engine running for extraction!" she shouted to the pilot before disembarking with her team. Sparking up her lightsaber, she let its green glow serve as a rallying point for the clones to form up behind. "Keep it tight, brothers," she ordered and they bunched up. "Heads on a swivel. Be prepared for anything."

Without backup intel on comms, the Deathchasers were forced to adapt and rely on instinct. While Anna was expecting to find the Senate Building under siege, it was eerily silent. The sounds of explosive conflict echoed far off in the distance as they entered the quiet building. Not taking any chances, the Deathchasers cleared their corners. The once bustling atrium had become a vacuous chamber devoid of all life.

"This is creepy," Speedy whispered.

"Everyone's likely been evacuated," Sparx added while swaying his rifle to the next corner.

Watching their backs, Anna activated the elevator and let each clone slip in. She then boarded herself as they ascended to Palpatine's personal floor. Deja vu crept in, as Anna felt prior memories of protecting the chancellor. It truly was a time to believe in the will of the Force. For if she'd never been sent to guard Palpatine when Fives had gone rogue, she might not have ever known where to find his office. The elevator dinged and its doors slid open to reveal a pair of armed figures.

As the Deathchasers aimed their blasters at the first sign of weaponry, so too did their adversaries. "Freeze!" both Blazer and the grey-armored clone across from him yelled instinctually. Realizing they were among allies, both parties lowered their weapons.

"We didn't know reinforcements were coming," the grey clone said.

"Comms are down," Anna explained and deactivated her lightsaber. "Is Master Shaak Ti here?"

The clone jabbed a thumb to the office doors down the hall. "The general's with Chancellor Palpatine," he directed.

Confused over the lack of an evacuation, Anna advanced with her squad. They cautiously entered, checking the office to find Master Ti standing alongside a calmly seated Chancellor Palpatine. The elder simpered. "And the support keeps coming," he jested. "Young Dellian, how kind of you to join us. Although I must assure you that I am quite fine."

"I'll be the judge of that," Anna murmured before storming up to Shaak Ti. Stepping aside, the Jedi moved to the nearest window together. "Master Ti...Why hasn't he been evacuated like everyone else?" Anna whispered sharply.

Ti glanced at the chancellor as he casually stirred his tea. "He refuses to leave as a show of strength to the people," the Togruta answered. "And will not be removed until the battle ends."

"Look-" Anna began. "I don't care what kind of bravado he's trying to show the Republic. We can't just guard him here."

"But the fighting is so far away," Palpatine interrupted, having heard Anna speak so loudly.

Anna sighed. "That might be true," she admitted. "But something is amiss. The rest of the building is cleared out and yes, the fight is elsewhere. But why are the Seps specifically jamming communications to this district then?"

"Perhaps to stop me from sending inspirational messages to the troops," Palpatine considered while Anna rolled her eyes.

Stepping even further away to avoid the chancellor's eavesdropping, Anna continued her conversation with Master Ti. "I will drag that man across the duracrete if I have to-"

"Stay your temper, young Dellian." Ti remarked only to have a calm grin appear on her pale lips. "I've watched you grow from being that adventurous Padawan back on Kamino into the leader you are now." She carried that pride to Blazer, Sparx, and Speedy. "You've all grown since Kamino." While he'd been recruited in the squad from a separate battalion on Felucia, Speedy nodded...for he was grateful to be included.

"Yes well-" Anna sighed. "All of that growing has taught me what really matters, master. And it's shown me how often the Jedi cater to our politicians' whims."

"It is our duty," Shaak Ti intoned.

"To serve the people of the Republic, yes. But on our terms. We're too exposed if we guard the chancellor here. And with communications jammed-" Anna paused as Shaak Ti squinted. The Togruta bowed her head forward, as if sensing a disturbance. "Wh-what?" Anna questioned. "What is it?"

In that instant, laserfire echoed from outside of the office. The muffled screams of Shaak Ti's clones were accompanied by the paired thudding of their corpses. "Kriffing hell!" Anna growled and activated her lightsaber. While Shaak Ti ignited her blue blade, Palpatine remained seated. He gasped when Anna leapt up on his desk, knocked over his tea, and flourished her saber towards the door. "Defensive positions!" Anna hollered.

While Sparx and Speedy aimed their weapons from flanking sides of Palpatine's desk, Blazer knelt in front of it. He rested the Onasi pistol against his forearm and said "Here we go again" before steadying the weapon.

The sudden burst of laserfire had come to a close, swapping an intense break in silence for an even more harrowing one. Sweat trickled down Anna's forehead as she anticipated anything breaching the door. Listening closer, she heard a series of metallic footsteps marching through. Blazer swallowed hard, as the ominous gyrations of commando droids echoed from the hall.

"Chancellor," Anna uttered without taking her eyes off of the door. "Does this room have any other exits?"

Taking a deep breath, Palpatine's answer was as straightforward as it was chilling. "No," he spoke, almost unsympathetically.

Anna could hear regret in the politician's voice. He'd wanted to show courage, yet still the enemy had come for him. Prepared to defend but also ready for the worst, Anna started forming her own exit strategy. Her mind raced to do so when both a green and blue lightsaber pierced through the office doors. The sabers turned like ominous, pulsing dials...grinding away at the sealed metal. Once they completed a full rotation, the sabers retracted into a haunting stillness. A taloned, metallic foot kicked through the makeshift hole and Anna didn't hesitate with orders.

"Light'em up!" she yelled as the Deathchasers blasted away. A storm of blue lasers spewed into the breach, striking metal and plasma indiscriminately. The convulsing, smoking body of a commando droid toppled over first while a second tried to leap through. Shaak Ti Force-pushed it back into the bombardment while the Deathchasers kept up their fire. Realizing that her men would risk overheating their weapons soon, Anna monitored the breach. She tensed up as a hunched figure stomped through the smoke. "Hold your fire," she ordered. No amount of months could diminish the dreadful memories seared into Anna's mind. She could never forget the scraping of the Separatist leader's talons, nor the intensity of his piercing...reptilian eyes. His skeletal mask lurched from beyond the breach, accompanied by the glow of his blue and green lightsabers. While Anna had lost connection with her midway, the pieces of Watcher's theory were coming together. Coruscant had never been the target...Palpatine was. And General Grievous himself had arrived to see the task done.

Partly-functioning emergency sirens could barely be heard beneath piles of rubble. The distorted screams of those trapped throughout the collapsed hospital stretched across the entire, damaged compound. With the Separatist bombing run concluded, Republic forces were able to delve into the wreckage and search for survivors. Unfortunately, many were buried far too deep beneath the refuse.

Dirt and dust clung to Mardeth's hair as she awakened in the shadows. Her first instinct was to gasp for air, only to immediately be met by a cloud of confined smoke. Mardeth's coughs were shallow and raspy, as she felt a great pressure against her chest. Panic set in as she observed the tremendous, duracrete slab wedged directly above her. Although physically incapable of moving such a piece, Mardeth attempted to push up out of sheer desperation. Doing so only wasted her breaths and increased the cramped feelings of claustrophobia. "H-help!" she wheezed, almost bringing herself to sudden tears. "Somebody hel-" Mardeth couldn't even shout without the slab's pressure straining her body.

As she fought to stay calm, Mardeth noticed a cluster of tousled...dusty brown hair beside her. Although injured from her blaster wound, Belle was still alive beneath the debris. A metal support beam had wedged itself between her and Mardeth's slab, pinning them both into place. Mardeth slowed her breaths at the sight, knowing her patient wouldn't make it without proper treatment. And given the placement of rubble above them, even a rescue team could unknowingly kill them by moving the wrong piece from above. Running low on breath and options, Mardeth rested her head back. She let her listing eyes wander across the very slab imprisoning her, and thought she was hallucinating when it shifted.

"What?" she uttered breathily as the slab started to grind. "No...no no no." The duracrete continued to budge as all Mardeth could do was brace for an inevitable collapse. And yet it never came. For all of the crunching and crumbling above, not once did her imprisonment fall. In fact, Mardeth actually felt the pressure leaving her body. The slab was getting further away...as was the beam above Belle. As if everything was falling in reverse, or if some powerful strings were manipulating the world around them. As the rest of the slap dipped upward, Mardeth learned the truth.

There stood Der Sheparr, arms raised through his own injuries. Gritting his teeth, he focused on the Force and lifted the debris away from their deathly entrapment. "Der..." Mardeth whispered.

Focused on his endeavor, he kept pushing. He used the slab as its own guided blade, piercing through the heap above. And as sunlight beamed down to them, it brought a twinkle to the lightsaber hilt clipped on his flowing lab coat. With a mighty final push, Der breached the debris in its entirety. The ensuing crash sent rescue teams dashing over and peering into the hole he'd created. "We've got three down here!" a clone trooper shouted. "Get a medic!"

Der dropped to his knees, shaking out his hands before crawling to Mardeth and Belle. "Are you alright?" he croaked.

"Yes," Mardeth assured as he helped her up. "Thanks to you." A series of sharp hisses emanated from above as several clones rappelled down with a hover stretcher. While they dropped to assess the situation, Mardeth was quick to point at Belle. "Take her up first," she coughed. "We can wait."

Exhaustion gripped Der, almost bringing him to his knees again until Mardeth caught him. They leaned on one another, watching as the clones hauled Belle to safety. "The more I try to leave the past behind me-" Der sighed while looking at his hand. "-the more it keeps coming back into my life. I wanted to be a doctor at Coruscant General so I could leave the Order and its politics behind. And yet-"

"And yet what?" Mardeth cut through his lamentation. "Der, your abilities saved us. I know you want to renounce what the Jedi Order stands for and has become, but maybe the life you live can do just that. Without denying who you are and what you've been gifted with. You don't have to leave being a Jedi behind," she said. "Just redefine what it means to be one."

Der smiled softly and let is gentle eyes rest within Mardeth's gaze. Feeling peace in her words, he took it upon himself to follow them and pulled her into an embrace. She accepted that warmth, feeling safe in spite of the transpiring destruction. And as he held his brilliant partner, Der placed an endearing kiss atop her forehead.


General Grievous had earned himself multiple reputations throughout the war. While some called him a coward for fleeing multiple engagements, many considered themselves lucky enough to have survived meeting him. He was a Jedi killer, and the trophies clinging to his cyborg body had only grown. For any warrior beneath the rank of Jedi, encountering Grievous was a death sentence. This fact had kept Anna up many a night. Especially since she'd watched Asajj Ventress slaughter troopers so easily on Bespin. For as skilled as clones could be, Anna knew they were still no match for a lightsaber. The odds were stacked against Anna as the world slowed around her. If there was a jammer in the area, all comms were down. No aid would easily find them, even if reinforcements were on the way. Their space in the office was limited...and apart from defeating Grievous, Anna had to ensure the safety of both Palpatine and her brothers. She trusted Master Shaak Ti to be able to hold her own. She was out of time to formulate a plan and needed to buy some.

"General Grievous," Anna growled while still brewing plans in her head. She hoped to prod the cyborg into a conversation.

Grievous squinted and swayed one of his sabers towards Palpatine behind the desk. "Your Republic has fallen," he decreed. "In just a matter of hours, I have proven how easily my forces can crush your defenses."

"Surely you must realize this is a fight you cannot win," Shaak Ti asserted. "Republic reinforcements are on the way."

"Good," Grievous cackled. "More ships to send plummeting into this pathetic planet. Chancellor Palpatine," he beckoned again, extending two skeletal digits from his weapon. "I offer you a chance to call your Jedi dogs off. Surrender to me, and I will spare their pathetic lives."

In spite of their cornered situation, Palpatine remained bold. Knitting his old brows, he reclined in his seat and declared, "The Republic will not negotiate with insidious rabble such as yourself."

Anna continued to observe their opposition. Two commando droids flanked each of Grievous' sides. There was no telling how many other units or surprises were waiting back down the hall, so the main exit wasn't an option. Realizing what had to be done, Anna solidified her plan.

"Then you will all suffer!" Grievous roared and swished his sabers.

Shaak Ti and Anna both thought to let their opponent make the same move. Spinning his sabers like pinwheels, he lunged at the chancellor's desk. Shaak Ti slashed from the side, striking Grievous' blade and throwing off his momentum entirely. With the general staggering back, Anna leapt from the desk to engage. Grievous blocked each of their attacks, all while the Deathchasers battled his droids.

The commandos moved in, leaping across the office and firing scarlet lasers toward the clones. "Stay down!" Blazer ordered before shoving Palpatine beneath the desk. He blasted one of the commando droids in the chest, but the other four kept leaping.

"Left side!" Speedy warned as they switched directions.

Shaak Ti Force-pushed Grievous back, trying to line him up for an impalement from Anna. Prepared to counter, the general spun in midair, snatched Anna with his taloned foot, and flung her across the room. Her armored back struck the wall with a thud as the battle raged on. "Anna!" Blazer called out after seeing her fallen body.

Gunning down the second droid, Sparx sprinted over and slid to Anna's side. "Keep away from him," she grunted while getting up. "Don't worry about me, just keep away from-"

"Dellian!" Shaak-Ti warned. All eyes fell to her as Grievous slammed his sabers against her own. Increasing the speed of his arms, he kept her occupied while slowly dislocating his wrists components. Ti's heart raced as Grievous' second set of arms activated two more lightsabers. "Hurry!"

"Kriff!" Anna gasped before dashing back into battle. Shaking off her daze, Anna took a slash at Grievous' back. Ready for her, the cyborg spun himself at a 180 degree angle. While two hands deflected Anna, the other pair kept attacking Ti. Grievous was toying with them as he shoved both Jedi back and jumped to the ceiling. Propelling himself like a metal bat, Grievous launched towards Palpatine's desk. Realizing what was at risk, Sparx fired at Grievous to draw his attention. With a swish of his saber, the general deflected one of Sparx's bolts back into his rifle, destroying it on impact. Disarmed and backed against a wall, Sparx was rendered helpless as Grievous closed in. "No!" Anna shouted as she and Shaak Ti charged again. They rushed Grievous from behind, forcing him to turn. "Blazer!" Anna grunted while locking blades with Grievous. "Get the...chancellor...out of here! Just like...Onderon!"

Speedy shot one of the commando droids in the head, leaving the last to roll for cover. Meanwhile, Blazer contemplated what Anna meant. "Goodness," Palpatine huffed beside him. "What does any of this have to do with Onderon?"

Blazer's head perked up as his general's plan dawned on him. "That's it," he understood before turning to Palpatine. "Supreme Chancellor," he said. "I'm gonna need you to hold on tight."

Speedy ducked behind the desk as the final commando returned fire. Exchanging lasers, Speedy briefly flinched when a droid's blaster beamed from behind him. Having scavenged a rifle from one of the downed droids, Lieutenant Sparx had caught the commando off guard. When it emerged to fight Speedy, Sparx blasted a hole through its head.

"You're only delaying the inevitable, Jedi." Grievous taunted while dueling Anna and Shaak Ti. With a hefty lunge, he slammed all four of his sabers against the floor. The carpet scorched on impact as Anna and Shaak Ti backflipped away. Mid-flip, Ti used the Force to pull one of Grievous' trophy sabers off. The second blue blade sparked up in her hand as she uttered, "May my service of this weapon regain its owner's honor." Now dual-wielding, Shaak Ti twirled her blades and assumed a Jar'Kai stance. Arching her back like a predator ready to pounce, she kept her sabers close for swift strikes.

Meanwhile, Anna raised her saber in a Form IV stance. Glancing rightward, she noticed Blazer moving Palpatine towards the office window. Good, she thought to herself. He got my hint. Understanding that all she had to do was buy time, Anna prepared herself for the most aggressive Ataru she'd ever utilized. Her endurance had increased significantly over the years, and she was prepared to unleash her fury on Grievous.

Shifting weight to the balls of their feet, Shaak Ti and Anna were done playing by Grievous' rules. With the goal in mind to overwhelm him, Shaak Ti gave the order. "Attack."

The Jedi charged at Grievous, giving him a taste of his own disorienting technique. Shaak Ti swirled both sabers while Anna performed multiple front flips. The young Dellian turned herself into a human pinwheel before gaining enough momentum to strike Grievous. Acting on their synergy, Shaak Ti timed her double slash with Anna's attack. Together, all three sabers were enough to stagger Grievous. The Jedi didn't stop, continuing their fury in a storm of swaying and crackling sabers. Blue and green sparks of plasma spewed with each heavy impact.

When Anna and her team had been sent to Onderon, they'd utilized ascension cables to rappel to a target. Reading Anna's message, Blazer understood that the only way out...was down. Palpatine's concern grew as the clone kept staring out the window. "Trooper?" he fretted. "Just what exactly are you planning to do?"

"Trust me, sir." Blazer assured. "We're getting you out of here." Palpatine covered his ears when Blazer raised his pistol to the wide window. He fired several rounds into it, shattering the glass and letting the city's winds howl into the room.

The crash drew Grievous' attention, but Anna and Shaak Ti attacked again to keep him distracted. "Go, brothers!" Anna shouted, straining her voice between attacks. "Go!" Blazer hesitated, wondering if Sparx and Speedy could take Palpatine while he helped the Jedi. "That's an order!" Anna growled. "We've got this!"

Trusting his general, Blazer nodded and addressed the others. "Prep cables," he said. Blazer, Sparx, and Speedy clipped their hooks into the window's edge. "Chancellor," Blazer beckoned while giving the elder his back. "Hop on." The sergeant grew impatient with his hesitation, as Palpatine kept glancing back at Grievous and the Jedi. "They'll be fine, now hop on! I need to get you out of here!" Although skeptical and possibly frightened over the plan, Palpatine obliged. He wrapped his arms around Blazer's back and neck as the sergeant approached the window. The chancellor's grip tightened after peering down at the vertigo-inducing streets. "Now or never," Blazer huffed. "Drop!"

At his command, the Deathchasers started rappelling down with the chancellor. They kept their descent slow and steady, even as the saber duel intensified upstairs. "What about Anna?" Speedy worried.

"She'll be alright," Blazer assured, both for his squadmates and himself. "We need to get the chancellor out of the jammed zone, re-establish communications, and then call for immediate evac."

Noticing the clones escaping with his prize, Grievous tried to reach the window. But Anna and Shaak Ti wouldn't yield, continually backing the general into a corner of the office. The Togruta would alter her attacks, switching to Force pushes between saber spins. Each brought Grievous further against a wall while Anna moved in for a killing blow. Her leaping slash came with enough momentum to push one of Grievous' sabers down. As he swatted her blade away, she carried her momentum into a retracting swing. The likes of which grazed his masked forehead. Grievous' modulated voice growled as the smokey scrape blackened within seconds. Infuriated, Grievous flailed all four of his arms, forcing Anna back on the defensive.

Grievous had encountered enough complications with his mission. Regardless of its outcome, the invasion of Coruscant would cost the Separatists millions in resources. Galactic policies, perspective, and the Core Worlds specifically would never be the same. Attacking the Republic capital meant solidifying the demonization of Separatists across the stars. But that was a risk General Grievous and his masters were willing to take if it meant kidnapping Chancellor Palpatine. Grievous had no idea what Darth Sidious' plans for the supreme chancellor were, but he dreaded the consequences of returning to his master empty-handed. Rage against the Jedi surged through Grievous as he jabbed all four sabers at Anna. The multi-blade jab had her stumbling back while Shaak Ti took her place in the fight. Yet Grievous didn't yield, and powered his entire swing towards both of her sabers. The strength of his quadruple-blade swing was enough to stop the Togruta in midair.

Ti backflipped while recoiling. Refusing to yield, she kicked off of the wall and swung her sabers again. The blades crashed against a saber in one of Grievous' right limbs, causing him to drop it under pressure. Without wasting a moment, Grievous turned his free hand into a fist and aimed it at the Jedi. With a quick flick of his wrist, a hidden compartment emerged from the back of his hand. While Ti was still recovering from the attack, Grievous aimed a wrist launcher at her torso. Ti turned, only to briefly glimpse a bright flicker sparking towards her. In that instant, Grievous fired a set of electro bindings around Ti. The pronged, pulsing net wrapped around her waist while its netted tips magnetized to the wall behind her.

As soon as those tips clanged against the wall, the netting sent a powerful electric current pulsing through Shaak Ti's body. The older Togruta's agonizing shrieks had Anna rising from her daze. She dashed towards the writhing master, desperate to cut her free. "N-no!" Shaak Ti winced between shocks. "The chancellor...Save...the chancellor!"

General Grievous cackled, knowing he'd left Anna at an impasse. He stomped towards the window while her gaze darted back and forth. If she went after Grievous, Shaak Ti could die in her bindings. But if she saved the Jedi master, Grievous could catch up to the Deathchasers and kill them...kidnapping Palpatine. Could. She weighed the consequences of both possibilities and considered all which they'd risked. And as Anna stared at Shaak Ti's wriggling body, she knew what had to be done.

Grievous approached the window's edge. He leaned over, letting his frame hunch like an ominous bird of prey. The clones were still rappelling and making their way to a lower rooftop. Grievous tilted his head towards Sparx and Speedy's cables. Since they weren't carrying the chancellor, they were nothing but obstacles in the general's path. Grievous laughed insidiously and raised his saber to slice their wires. Before he could do so, Anna came sprinting at him from behind. Her chaotic scream drew his attention sooner, forcing him to turn and lock sabers with her. While Anna's plan had been as reckless as usual, she still didn't anticipate striking with enough force to make Grievous lose his balance. She leaned with him, and both combatants went toppling over the edge.

Metal tumbled with flesh as they swirled through the air. Briefly eyeing the approaching roof, Anna forced her way atop Grievous so that his cyborg's frame would land first. They struck the upper panels with a tumultuous boom, nearly causing the roof to collapse along with them. Anna was quick to recover in the dust and reignited her lightsaber. She swayed the green blade towards Grievous as he skittered back to his upright position. "Jedi scum," he cawed and readied two sabers. He started to spin them, and laughed as an engine roared in the distance.

Any hope for Republic reinforcements went up in flames with Grievous' laugh. As Anna glanced up at the skylanes behind them, she saw a Separatist shuttle gliding towards them. Her observation was short-lived as General Grievous took a swing at her and their duel resumed.

"She can't take him alone!" Speedy fretted as he and the other Deathchasers descended. "I'm gonna go help her out."

"She's doing her duty so we can do ours," Blazer asserted while also fearing for her life. "We get the chancellor out, then we can help her!" Palpatine's grip on his shoulders was starting to get to the sergeant, but he persisted by focusing on Anna. Come on, sister, he urged while watching the duel. Hang in there.

The Deathchasers reached the lower rooftop across from where Anna and Grievous had fallen. "How terrible," Palpatine uttered while observing the sight.

"Sarge," Lieutenant Sparx implored. "If we keep heading east from here, we'll reach the Jedi Temple. Signal or not, that'd be our best chance for securing the chancellor."

"Good thinking," Blazer affirmed while setting Palpatine down. "Can you run, chancellor?"

Palpatine's chuckle became a mild scoff. "I'll do my best but-"

"We've got you," Blazer assured while at least making sure Palpatine kept a steady pace. The group had just started their jog when the Separatist shuttle glided overhead. "Now what," Blazer groaned. The hovering ship's ventral hatch hissed open, revealing a group of MagnaGuards. With scarlet photoreceptors and pulsing, purple electrostaffs, these acrobatic droids leapt down to engage. Unlike standard MagnaGuards, this trio was adorned with Kaleesh capes. The intricate markings on the fabric solidified them as some of General Grievous' personal bodyguards. As the elite droids closed in, Blazer realized that they were out of options. With Anna occupied and Palpatine in their care, the only way out was through. "Karabast," Blazer whispered under his breath before yelling, "Attack!"

The sergeant pushed Palpatine back, and tried using his own body as a shield. While the MagnaGuards couldn't block fire with their electrostaffs, they were incredibly agile droids. Zipping and darting between lasers, the three of them scattered to engage the Deathchasers. The only angle Blazer was able to get was a quick shot on a MagnaGuard's back. The Onasi pistol's heavy bolt scorched through its components, slowing it down long enough for Sparx to line up a shot with a recovered commando droid's rifle. He was able to blast it in the face, but not before another MagnaGuard struck his arm. While non-lethal on impact, electrostaffs were extremely disorienting. Especially if the subject was hit with them repeatedly through combat. Sparx winced at the electric shock, but tried to retaliate with several rounds from his blaster. The MagnaGuard was quicker than anticipated, and jabbed its staff into his leg. Violet bolts of electricity beamed through the lieutenant before Blazer fired again. Meanwhile, the other MagnaGuard rolled to escape Speedy's shots. It dashed closer, ultimately striking the rifle out of his hands and shocking him in the torso with a swift jab. As if perfectly synced up, the surviving MagnaGuards withdrew their staffs as both Sparx and Speedy fell over.

On the opposite rooftop, Anna and Grievous were locked in a heated duel. Grievous never seemed to tire nor blink as he ruthlessly slammed away at her saber. To Anna's surprise, he kept his other hands bare and attempted to grab her throughout the duel. While she considered it to be another unorthodox grappling technique, Grievous had other plans. He simply waited for her to dodge him in just the right spot to line up a kick to her chest. The pressure felt by Grievous' weighted foot was nearly crushing, knocking the wind clear out of Anna. The impact alone sent Anna spiraling through the air, off of the rooftop, and crashing into a lower awning.

While his comrades groaned from their electric shocks, Blazer prepared himself for the fight. "Come on," he growled as the MagnaGuard duo sized him up. Only he stood between Chancellor Palpatine and a Separatist victory. Sweat drenched his face, trickled down his neck, and soaked his mesh undershirt. His scarlet helmet listed as the reflection of both approaching droids appeared in the corners of his visor. Staying on his toes, Blazer decided to make the first move. He quickly aimed his pistol and fired, prompting one of the MagnaGuards to roll. Blazer had purposefully aimed to miss, almost trying to corral the droids closer together. Using his concealed free hand...Blazer tossed a droid popper into the air. Discreetly unclipped from his utility belt, the EMP grenade swerved through the air. But before it could burst and short-circuit the droids, one of the MagnaGuards swatted it away. Its quick reflexes were as stunning as they were disheartening. But unwilling to sit in his disappointment, Blazer channeled his feelings into fury.

He fired twice, and while he did miss...that wouldn't stop Blazer from taking the MagnaGuards head on. He tried to surpass their anticipatory programming by lunging at one of the MagnaGuards. He gripped its staff, and the duo wrestled for the weapon. Growling and refusing to yield, the sergeant got in the MagnaGuard's face. It maximized power, pushing back as he continue to resist. Blazer's wrists trembled as he kept up the fight. Knowing his distraction would only hold for so long, he spoke through grunted calls. "Chancellor! Get...out of here! Go to-" The second MagnaGuard prodded Blazer's back with its staff. It held the shock long enough to bring him to his knees and then struck him across the head. With all three Deathchasers downed, the MagnaGuards set their soulless sights on Palpatine. Contrary to Blazer's orders to him, the chancellor hadn't budged. Palpatine appeared frozen in shock as the droids stomped over to him. As if no altercation had even happened, one of the droids snatched Palpatine by his arm and locked him into an inseparable grip.

"Unhand me!" Palpatine brayed as the droid continued to drag him.

Amid the shocked and dizzied Deathchasers, Speedy would be the first to stir. He awakened from his aching stupor to see the MagnaGuards hauling Palpatine up into their shuttle. "Blazer?" he uttered. "Sparx? Anna?" His squinted eyes listed towards his stirring brothers before returning to the shuttle. With his squadmates down or missing and the chancellor in Separatist custody, Speedy's heart sank. Staring at that shuttle, he realized that the moment he'd been training for since the Battle of Teth had finally come. And this time...he would be fast enough. "Come on, Speedy," the trooper whispered to himself. "Come on, Speedy..." Gritting his teeth and rising to his cybernetic legs, the trooper made an all-out sprint for the shuttle.

His cybernetics whirred and gyrated while memories of chasing Admiral Trench's shuttle returned. His legs, a constant reminder of his resilience, carried the rest of his body onward with a valiant stride. With the chancellor secured aboard, the shuttle picked up Grievous on the next rooftop. "Oh no you don't!" Speedy panted and quickly aimed his blaster at the ship. Several well-placed shots darted for the ramp's extension mechanism. The rod-shaped device sparked from the impacts and forced the ramp to stay open. While the pilot raced to override the malfunctioning ramp, Speedy siezed his opportunity.

It truly was Teth all over again. Only this time, Speedy had no intentions of missing his jump as he eyed the ramp. He'd visualized himself making the jump to Trench's shuttle hundreds times, and each had only stoked the flames within. He would make it because he had to. He had to prove to himself that he was more than anyone could ever say of him. As Speedy bolted for the shuttle, flashbacks of Anakin Skywalker's words echoed within his mind.

"I don't need to hear your excuses," Anakin had scolded. "You summed things up well enough. You failed."

The concept of failure no longer shackled Speedy to his doubts, but rather pushed him harder. He'd never stopped thinking about what Anakin told him, knowing that he'd never let it happen again.

"I'll be faster next time," he'd told Anna. "Count on it."

Anna's supportive words sparked courage as he heard them all over again. "I know you will."

Picking up speed, the trooper dashed and kept the shuttle in his sights. He was like a ferocious predator, darting to capture his target by all and any means. Thanks to his enhanced cybernetics, Speedy easily leapt from rooftop to rooftop, closing in on the ship. As he did so, the rest of the Deathchasers started to recover. Blazer and Sparx rolled over, witnessing the action from across the way. "Kriffing hell," the sergeant growled and scrambled to his feet. "Come on, lieutenant!" Although slower to rise from the shock sustained, Sparx forced himself up and trailed behind. Meanwhile, Anna had survived Grievous' kick and just finished climbing back up from the awning. As she vaulted over the edge and back to the roof, she witnessed the astonishing scene. Desperate to catch up, Anna battled intense exhaustion and hurriedly limped onward.

In an attempt to lighten his load, Speedy threw down his rifle and helmet. He let the unique piece of plastoid clack against the roof and continued his sprint. Eyeing an air conditioning unit bolted on the next rooftop, Speedy planned his ascension. His timing had to be perfect if he was to launch himself aboard the shuttle.

Acting on instinct, Speedy propelled himself towards the square unit. The nearby shuttle's engine had his heart racing as he tightened his grip. His cybernetic legs were firm and stable before mustering all of their strength. Speedy then launched himself through the air and targeted the approaching ramp.

Time seemed to slow as Speedy leapt towards the shuttle. His legs had launched him as far as they could, leaving the rest up to his arms. They flailed and stretched across the open air as Speedy eyed the ramp. There was no room for doubt and he could already imagine himself sticking the landing. And as the slow passage of time within returned to such a hasty moment, Speedy felt a clang. A firm...ever so satisfying clang.

Shock overwhelmed Speedy at first. And if he cared to imagine what it was like when Anna fully recovered on Ilum, this was his moment. To have made the jump and finally stuck his landing. Speedy's eyes widened along with his toothy grin as he observed his feet on the solid ramp. He cheered with an impulsive "HAH!" before returning to the mission at hand.

"What the?" a stationed B1 blurted while standing watch over Chancellor Palpatine.

After making that jump, Speedy felt like he could do anything. And without his helmet, all would look upon his excited face as he disarmed the B1 and blasted it with its own weapon. Yet despite Speedy's enthusiasm, Palpatine remained unmoved. "Chancellor!" Speedy rejoiced, still riding the high of his success. He ran over to his seat and blasted his binders off. Still the chancellor didn't rise. He wasn't even fazed by the blastershot. "Let's get you out of here," Speedy panted. The clone's grin slowly faded as Palpatine remained stern faced. "Chancellor?"

Palpatine slowly...coldly shook his head. "I don't believe that's the best...'course of action'...trooper," he said.

"I-" Speedy knitted his brows. "I don't understand. I can get you out of here. I promise. We'll-" A sharp clanking sounded as the cockpit doors opened into the hold. Palpatine peered behind Speedy as a massive shadow loomed over them. Speedy turned, and found himself face to face with General Grievous. Before Speedy could utter another word nor raise his rifle any higher, the general plunged a blue lightsaber directly through his chest.

Blazer was racing to catch up with the shuttle when its glide became a hover. The sergeant's boots skidded to a halt as he gazed up at the ramp in sheer terror. Clutching the still impaled Speedy by his shoulder, Grievous stepped further out on to the ramp. He made sure all of the Deathchasers could see what he'd done before withdrawing his saber and tossing Speedy out of the shuttle. Blazer sprinted under the ramp as it resealed, diving just in time to catch Speedy.

With the hatch closed once more, Palpatine was left to sit in darkness. He remained silent as Grievous leaned in with a laugh. "So much for your rescue," the general taunted. "No one is coming to save you and your Republic is finished." As Grievous returned to the cockpit, a faint smirk found its way to Palpatine's shadowy face.

Blazer and Speedy tumbled together, all while Sparx rushed to catch up. "Brother!" the sergeant beckoned, shaking his unresponsive squadmate. Blazer's gaze drifted to the smoking saber wound in Speedy's chest, as unbridled rage took hold. Letting go of his companion, Blazer aimed his pistol at the fleeing shuttle and fired like a madman. He screamed until his throat ran agonizingly raw. His trigger finger numbed as he continuously unloaded poorly-aimed lasers towards the shuttle. He kept up the fire even as Grievous' ship faded above Coruscant's atmosphere. His pistol's barrel was practically glowing from overheating, and the results almost burned Blazer's hands. He didn't care until the pain became so unbearable, that he was forced to drop the weapon. As his pistol clattered to the ground, Blazer returned to his fallen brother.

Anna had just caught up when she noticed the limp, cybernetic legs nearest to Blazer. "Sp-Speedy?" she uttered. "Speedy!" Anna nearly collapsed while sliding over on her knees. Her heart shattered at the sight of his saber wound. Brokenness clashed with hatred as she wished she could murder Grievous right then and there. But seeing Speedy barely move quelled her thoughts as she focused on him. "Try to lay still," she whispered. "Sparx...Blazer. Someone call a medic!"

"General," the lieutenant lamented.

"Just do it!" Anna shouted.

"Anna," Blazer intoned and somberly removed his helmet. For all of the blood and sweat he'd endured, there was nothing but shock written across his bearded face. "We have no communications," he said.

"No," Anna fretted. "Come on, there has to be something for him then. We'll carry him! Pull or drive him to-"

"Anna..." Blazer grieved as the Deathchasers glanced back at Speedy. "He's-" It was as if Anna and her best friend truly were of the same mind. For as Blazer's voice cracked, so too did hers. Lightsabers had been a way of life for Anna from as far back as she could remember. She knew a devastating wound when she saw it, and was fighting to flee her own denial.

"I-" the Jedi uttered, struggling to find a breath. Her adrenaline was depleting and hours without rest nor food had caught up with her. "I don't know what to do," she admitted until Speedy's hand grazed her knee. His trembling fingers drove her to tears as she swiftly took his hand.

"Just-...be...here," Speedy choked.

"Of course," Anna assured and fought to put on a wobbly smile for him.

"We're all here," Sparx said, removing his helmet to kneel beside the others.

"No one's-" Blazer shut his eyes tight and gritted his teeth. He willed for himself to keep it together as he murmured, "-going anywhere."

His squad's words brought a soft grin to Speedy's lips as his head fell back. Blazer kept it cradled as the trooper stared up at the sky above. "I made the jump," he coughed. "I...did it."

Anna, Blazer, and Sparx looked to one another before understanding what he meant. "You did great, brother." Blazer admired while the others nodded.

"I always knew you could," Anna choked, fighting back her own wave of emotions.

Speedy's dry and bloody smile only widened as he observed the gleaming clouds. "H-hey," he whispered. "The sun's out again." As Speedy peered up into the brightening sky, he glimpsed something beyond the conflict. The shimmer reminded him of 79's, the bar where he'd first learned to trust his legs again and dance among those he'd sworn to protect. Speedy couldn't tell if the sun was getting brighter, or if the world was fading around him. "Let's all go dancing," he whispered. "We were always...enough."

Speedy's smile faltered as his cheek pressed against Blazer's hand. It was that dreadful limpness that had Anna swallowing hard and Sparx moving in to respectfully close his eyes. "Speeds," Blazer spoke, fully succumbing to their reality. Tears puddled in his eyes the longer he tried to hold them back. And as the sergeant pulled Speedy's body into an embrace, they streamed across the trooper's shoulder.

Anna's heart felt like it would explode. She wanted to break down into hysterical screams, but her outburst would aid no one. A battle was still raging around them, and she was desperate to dry her eyes. Yet no matter how hard she tried, the tears just kept flowing. The longer she looked at Speedy's body, the more she was reminded of the vibrant and positive clone he had been. In order to survive such a harrowing experience, Anna had to turn her grief into anger. She wished an enemy would leap onto their rooftop, just so she could tear it to pieces with her bare hands. But for all of her bravado, Anna had to face the facts. The capital of the Republic was in flames and Chancellor Palpatine had been kidnapped. They had failed.


Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading this week's installment of "The Frozen Force." It is an honor to embark on this emotional journey with you all. This season hit hard, so I can only imagine reading it. Please remember to practice self care before, during, and after reading. This website has been having issues with reviews as of late. So I want to apologize that I have not been able to do shoutouts properly or that I may see people's comments a week later. There is also something wrong with the website's email notifications, as numerous readers say they haven't been getting chapter updates. To assist with this process, I would like to share the upcoming chapter schedules for the rest of the season! I'm going on vacation in two weeks, so I've coordinated things to bring the finale to the end of the year.

Friday. December 9th - Chapter 118: Into the Frozen Heart (Part I)

NO CHAPTER on Friday December 16th (Code Naboo: Author on Vacation)

Friday, December 23rd - Chapter 119: Into the Frozen Heart (Part II)

Friday, December 30th - SEASON 4 FINALE - Chapter: 120: Knightfall

And that will conclude Season: 4! Stay tuned for more announcements as we proceed. Because of the timing and events of Revenge of the Sith, there will not be a holiday special this year. Thank you so much for adventuring with me!

Long Live Imagination and May the Force be with you,

~ Michael Gavilán