Chapter Three: The Battle of Coruscant
The Liberty erupted from hyperspace into a hellscape. Artus had joined the rest of Tau Squad on the bridge as the Star Destroyer entered the Coruscant system. The Liberty smashed through a small Separatist frigate, splitting it in two.
"Shields down! Hull integrity reduced to 80%!" yelled a clone from his station. In the distance, Artus could see a large Separatist capital ship split in two. The bridge began to hurtle towards the planet's surface.
"That was the Invisible Hand!" exclaimed Barran. "Hopefully Grievous was caught in the explosion." Artus was skeptical; he had had several run ins with Grievous and couldn't bring himself to believe that the General hadn't fled the floundering ship.
"Sir, the Separatist fleet is retreating!" Shouted the bridge officer. Artus could see his master smile. Before he could say anything the entire Liberty shook, knocking everyone over. Artus scrambled to his feet to see a burning Separatist ship had smashed into the Liberty, punching a large whole in the starboard side of the ship. "We're going down!" shouted the officer. "All engines are offline! We're being pulled into the planet's orbit!"
"Abandon ship!" replied Barran. "Open the hanger doors and tell the crew to use escape pods and all ships still flyable! I will ensure the medical bays are clear. Tau Squad, with me! Artus, get to your starfighter. Rig the Liberty's engines to explode in twenty minutes and inform all crew. If this ship reaches the surface thousands could be killed."
"Sir yes sir!" Several voices replied in unison. Ryth, Bridge and Parsec sprinted after Barran towards the turbolifts. Artus pulled out his commlink.
"R9, get the ship ready!" he shouted. A series of beeps confirmed the droid had received his instructions. Artus sprinted towards the starfighter bay. Alarms screeched around him and steam whistled from broken pipes. It felt as if the Liberty was barely holding itself together. The young Jedi raced into the hanger. He could see his fighter still intact. His faithful droid, R9-W5, was desperately powering up the engines. ARC-170s were taking off all around him. The entire ship creaked as a warning of imminent destruction was broadcast through the comms. Artus slid across the black and red wing of his fighter and into the cockpit. Gripping the controls he lifted the ship into the air. "R9! Chart a course to the Republic High Command!" he shouted. The fighter burst from the Liberty and into the battle.
Artus manoeuvred his ship towards the planet, ducking and weaving through the battle. Despite being a gifted pilot, he was barely able to avoid the heavy fire coming from the remaining Separatists. An explosion boomed behind the fighter, sending out a shockwave which sent the whole ship spinning. For a brief moment Artus could see the remains of the Liberty explode, taking two Separatist frigates with it.
The cold vacuum of space transitioned to atmospheric heat, and finally cloud cover, as Artus hurtled towards Coruscant's surface. Immense towers of stone and steel surrounded him; skyscrapers made his descent all the most complicated. He could see smoke arising from across the surface from the battle. The fighter hurtled across the city towards the Senate district. Artus was surprised to see that even the Senate itself had sustained damage. As he drew closer to the surface he could see squadrons of clones eliminating the few battle droids that remained operational. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Republic High Command came into view. Its cold stone exterior remained untouched, despite the carnage that had enveloped the planet.
"R9, set us down." The droid beeped as the fighter came to a gentle landing outside the building.