Chapter 32 - The Future of the Order (1/2)

Part 1

Jedi Temple, Coruscant

”Sir, Jammers are going up all around the Temple. We just lost sensor coverage over most of the building.” one of the clones reported calmly, showing no sign that the explosion had affected him in the least.

”I can't sense the intruders with the Force,” stated Master Secura.

”There are a lot of techniques and trinkets that can aid someone evade the foresight of a Force Adept,” I shrugged.

I wondered what had happened with my stash of Force related artifacts in the last few millennia. They were probably plundered by now.

”As Master Secura observed, its your temple, Master Yoda. What do you need done?” I asked Yoda. ”The Republic Army is ready and willing to ȧssist the Jedi in their hour of need.” I didn't add aloud the obvious ”again”.

”Track down the intruders, we must. Their true purpose we know not.” grumbled Yoda.

By his expression, I could gather that he wasn't relishing almost being blown up to kingdom come in his own Temple. Then, there was the fact that a smug, smirking Sith Lord was standing in front of him, offering to help them. Again. Yeah. That had to grate.

I could hardly conceal my glee. Who could have thought that being evil could be so much fun?

Yoda's ears twitched with exasperation.

”Secured the younglings and the archives must be. The Communications Tower, handled by Kenobi and Skywalker will be.”

”I'm going to the archives. I don't think that any of you would tolerate me being anywhere near your Younglings.”

They didn't disagree with my ȧssessment of the situation.

”Escort the General, you will, Master Ti,” declared Yoda, disregarding the glares headed my way. Or perhaps not. I could almost feel a tingle of amusement in his aura.

I turned to my apprentice. ”Aria, stay here and make sure that the security center remains more or less intact. Besides, I won't risk some overeager Jedi mistaking you as one of the intruders. That's a complication neither of us want.”

This time the Jedi agreed with me.

”This way, Veil.” Shaak Ti darted towards the door, without sparing me a second glance.

I dashed after her. I reached the Jedi Master when she was next to the exit. I was just in time to have a front row view of the armored door sliding to the side and a lot of heavily armed clones trying to rush in. Trying was the operative word.

The door was bȧrėly opened, when my security detail rushed through, almost colliding with Shaak Ti. Only her deft reflexes allowed her to slide to the right, avoiding Waxer, who was leading one of the squads charged with keeping me in one piece.

”Watch out!” warned Waxer, and moved to his right, opening space for the rest of the men.

If the damn building wasn't under attack, (and the Jedi who was almost trampled wasn't Shaak Ti), it would have been an amusing accident.

”Sergeant Waxer, your squad is with me,” I ordered. ”The rest of you, protect the security center.”

”Right away, Sir!” answered me the freshly promoted NCO.

Waxer was one of the many clones who found themselves bumped up a rank after the AARs from the Ryloth debacle got completed. There were a lot of free slots that needed filling when the dust settled. And that was a victory for what it was worth. A decent one even, considering that we were ordered to go straight into a trap.

I could detect a tiny hint of disapproval in his voice. Ah, yeah. He wasn't relishing the thought that the general he was supposed to protect was about to get himself in another mess. It was a good thing that I had chosen my security detail with the idea that they would be acting as a back up instead as a bunch of glorified bodyguards.

=RK=

GAR Detention Center SIGMA

Classified Location

Coruscant

They headed to a nondescript building, which as far as anyone knew, contained a minor R&D lab working for the Republic. After the attacks on Coruscant, no one was surprised that the army was providing security for the site. However, it was anything but. The place was home of one of the GAR's most secret detention centers. From outside it looked like just another building ȧssociated with the Army. Nothing special. It was simply another one of the hundreds, if not thousands ”ordinary” GAR facilities on Coruscant.

”Sigma Station, Avatar Zero-Three-One requests permission to land. Stand by for identification code.”

”Roger, Avatar flight. Send the identification code.”

”Sending ident...”

”Code received... and its clear. Avatar flight you have permission to land. Head to pad two.”

”Wilco, Sigma Station.”

Thirty seconds later, the three LAATs landed on the designated platform. The only door leading deeper opened, revealing two squads of heavily armed clones. The troopers moved towards the transport calmly and professionally. They did a brief scan while taking a position around it.

=RK=

Communications Tower

Coruscant

A man wearing a work clothes sneaked through the top levels of one of the Jedi Temple's towers. His mission was complete and he only needed to get away clean. It was both easier and more difficult than one might expect. The Temple's sensor grid was either disabled and the Jedi themselves couldn't sense him.

Yet, he was far from safe. There were clones converging on his position, and soon reinforcements would arrive at the building, sealing it.

He was running out of time.

He was running out of luck.

'Make that he was all out,' he observed to himself as five clones turned the corner. They were carefully sweeping the corridor, their weapons at the ready.

Had he been less professional, he would have cursed. Instead he acted, would have hesitated. Instead he acted.

Before the clones could react, he was already in motion. He blasted them off their feet with the force, and was in their midst before they could even cry out in surprise

He landed blade down, impaling their leader, before pulling a second soldier to him. The clone's armor provided no resistance to his crimson energy blade, and landed behind him, neatly divided in half.

The last thing he saw was the nondescript face of his killer, as he pulled his weapon from his torso, his expression as dispassionate as any Jedi.

The man pretending to be a common worker, deactivated his weapon and ran. A minute later he passed through an air vent and crawled to the exterior of the building. One of the LAAT gunships patrolling around the Temple passed near him and he jumped inside through an open side door.

There, he donned a suit of clone armor, making him appear just as one more of the countless duplicates of Jango Fett.

=RK=

Near the Archives

Jedi Temple

Coruscant

We met a human woman, dressed as an employee of the security company helping upgrade the Temple's defenses.

”What an honor,” she chuckled after studying us for few seconds.

The fact that she was out and about to begin with was remarkable. In a situation like this, it was a warning sign, one and enough to detain her with lethal force... However, that was almost an afterthought. She got our undivided attention, for a different reason. We couldn't sense her in the Force.

She gave us a demure smile and charged, activating a blue lightsaber. I drew my own weapon and sent a telekinetic wave at her, which she canceled with one of her own, with no apparent effort at all. Then she counterattacked, blasting us with a solid wall of Force energy.

I managed to remain on my feet by shoveling a wedge of telekinetic energy in front of me. Shaak Ti did almost as well. I think that facing something who wasn't there in the Force had surprised her a lot and kept her off balance. She stumbled few paces back, but remained upright.

I had to break Shaak Ti of that habit. Being surprised by someone or something ”blank” in the Force was a good way to get yourself killed. There were various artifacts and Force disciplines which could create that effect.

For me, it wasn't anything I hadn't faced as an apprentice on Korriban, and that's before you take the various Sith Assassins into account.

There was no more time for thinking. The woman, whose most distinctive feature was an utterly ordinary, forgettable face, was upon me. That in itself was ringing alarm bells in the depths of my mind, but I was too busy fighting to pay enough attention to whatever my subcouncience was trying to tell me.

She was an unpleasant surprise. This nobody, turned out to be one of the most dangerous opponents I faced ever since coming to this time. She was fast. Strong. Unpredictable. And a damn fine blade-master.

Our blades clashed in a screech of released energies. Moment later, Shaak Ti was at my side, yet we couldn't immediately overwhelm our adversary. She ducked and weaved around our blades, parrying and riposting.

”Who are you?” I asked.

Her smile grew wider.

=RK=

Communication Tower, Jedi Temple, Coruscant

Anakin and Obi-Wan followed a trail of death. While they couldn't feel the intruders responsible for the massacre at the comm center, they could sense the death of a Jedi. The Force signature that winked out felt familiar, but neither of them could place a name to it.

Despite what someone might expect, neither of them knew all ten thousand of their brothers and sisters.

It wasn't too far away. They rushed that way, only to find a Jedi Knight and squad of clones, who were cut to pieces.

They could hear shots and the distinctive sounds of blaster bolts being deflected by lightsaber, coming from nearby. The two friends wasted no time and dashed that way.

Less than a minute later, they reached an intersection. There they found another group of gutted clones. A human girl laid sprawled on the ground. Her unseeing eyes looked accusingly at Anakin.

He frowned, noticing her padawan braid. He knew her face, but the name escaped him. Helin? Helen? Something like that. And now she was dead, cut down within the Temple, where she should have been safe.

There was a charred hole where her heart used to be, a testament of how much both the Jedi and the GAR had failed that day.

Behind the death, the two Jedi could see one of their own facing a pair of men in worker's coveralls.

Kenobi recognized the man facing the intruders. He was Kolren Plox, one of the better healers in the Temple. However, the medic had never been particularly good with the blade, preferring to dedicate his time to studying medicine.

Anakin and Obi-Wan activated their lightsabers and charged at the enemies. It took them exactly three seconds to reach the intruders.

More than enough time for the infiltrators to deal with Plox. One battered aside Kolren's azure lightsaber, leaving the man open for a slash. A crimson blade cut through his ċhėst, leaving him to fall back to the ground without uttering a sound.

A moment before Obi-Wan and Anakin were upon them, the duo of ȧssassins whirled around and faced them. Blue and crimson blades clashed in a deadly dance.

=RK=

Lower Levels

Jedi Temple

Coruscant

While the Jedi and their clone ŀȧpdogs were loosing their heads trying to contain multiple threats, a single figure stalked through the corridors of the Temple. She was cloaked thanks to a stealth field and a liberal use of her Force powers.

Deception, within deception, within deception... Rinse and repeat. That was her master's modus operandi.

Everything that was happening on that day was a sleight of hand. Strictly speaking, they didn't need to steal a Jedi Holocron. Not from the Temple anyway. Her true master had access to few of those toys. Only a Jedi who would know how to bypass the encryption on the crystal containing the names and location of the Force sėnsɨtɨvė children across the galaxy was really needed. However, that wasn't her concern.

She had an objective to achieve, and in the great scheme of things, the games played by Sidious and the Jedi were irrelevant.

Down she went, level after level. Each one was less traveled than the last. Soon enough, she was stalking through halls which haven't been visited in years, perhaps decades. The only ones which paid any attention to these places were few old cleaning and maintenance droids.

The infiltrator continued to decent. She was closing to her objective. She could almost feel it.

=RK=

Kelins, Outer Rim

Meanwhile, thousands of light years away, Bolla Ropal was oblivious to the four figures stalking him.

It wasn't surprising. When all was said and done, the Jedi and most other Force Adepts through history, were reliant to their extraordinary perception and senses. Too reliant to them.

An experienced clone trooper or mercenary might have noticed the stalkers. Not that would have done them much good.

The four hunters stalking their prey, passed through the crowds on the busy streets of this relatively new colony world as a bunch of ghosts. No one looked twice at them.

Nearly an hour later, Ropal reached his destination. It was a small home on the outskirts of the town. He was there to pick up a particularly powerful Twi'lek boy. The kid was going to make a great addition to the Order, the Jedi Master was sure of it.

Bolla was few hundred meters from the house when he was able to clearly feel the child's Force signature. It was notable, because he was not even trying.

The Rodian took few more steps towards the house and halted. He sensed something, though it wasn't through the Force. Perhaps it was some kind of instinct, or his sense for self preservation.

Rapol could feel eyes upon his back, something that wasn't surprising. No matter where they went, the Jedi were often stared at by the populace. Yet, there was something different this time.

He turned around and frowned. Four figures disguised by black cloaks were walking towards him, like predators ready to pounce on their prey.

If he wasn't a Jedi with all that imply, his eyes would have popped out of their sockets. He could see them, but as far as the Force was concerned, they were non-existent.

He felt eyes upon his back and turned around. Four figures disguised by black cloaks were stalking towards him. His huge eyes almost popped out of their sockets. He could see them, but as far as the Force was concerned, they were non-existent.

The Jedi's right hand fell on the hilt of his lightsaber.

The figures continued walking towards him. They drew lightsabers of their own, which snapped to life a moment later.

=RK=

GAR Detention Center SIGMA

Classified Location

Coruscant

The three LAAT's that just landed, shut down all their equipment as the welcoming committee was surrounding them. The clones in the transport carefully came out, wary of their ”prisoner”.

The lights in the hangar blinked once and cut off. The computer system of the detention center crashed under a dedicated cyber attack. At the same time, the men who got out to secure the new prisoner were mercilessly cut down by a hail of blaster fire.

”Good. Let's go.” grunted the man who played the role of prisoner. He towered almost two heads above the clones who acted as his escorts.

They ran towards the entrance of the Detention center.

=RK=

Part 2

Lower Levels

Jedi Temple

Coruscant

It didn't look like much. Just a plain metal door, one among many, in a long, dusty corridor.

She took a deep breath, tasting heavy, stale air. Her body tingled in anticipation.

The woman wiped the dust and grime covering a panel on the wall, next to the door and started typing a long sequence of numbers. It took her thirty seconds to enter the whole code.

Then she paused, waited for a five seconds and did so again.

To an impartial observer, her actions might have looked pointless. After all, the panel appeared to be out of power, dead like everything in the deep warrens under the Jedi Temple. After all, this part of the maze under the Jedi's home had been cut off from the power grid for a long, long time.

However, her actions were rewarded by a mechanical clicking, which came from the door. It slid in the walls, revealing a short corridor, which was lit by a soft blue light.

The infiltrator, stepped in and waited for the door to close behind her. Moment later, she heard quiet buzzing and actually felt the beams of ancient scanners mapping up the depths of her body.

A quiet ping latter, and the machines concentrated their attention on her head.

The buzzing grew louder. She felt a tingling sensation within her cranium, where one of her implants came to life. A blinding lance of power slammed in her head. An ancient computer up-linked with her implants. It touched her mind, probing, watching. Judging.

For an endless moment, she felt like ice picks were stabbing her brain. She stumbled, almost falling.

She knew if it found her lacking, her life was forfeit. If the security system had been set up by ordinary Jedi, she might have hopped for non lethal protections in place, but she knew better. That place had been created by the Old Republic's Special Operations Command and the some Jedi who weren't afraid to get their hands dirty when it was needed. And that place's contents needed protection.

The machines around her chimed in content, almost as if the AI was happy.

After all those countless years, it finally had purpose!

The presence of the Old Republic AI became a soft buzz in the back of her head. Her codes and implant signatures checked up, matching what was stored in three thousand and six hundred years old data banks.

The door in front of her slowly opened with a quiet grinding noise.

The infiltrator looked at the large room that was revealed to her and smiled. Her prize was at hand.

=RK=

Communications Tower

Jedi Temple

Coruscant

This anger he felt. It brought comfort.

Obi-Wan knew it was wrong.

It shrouded his senses, numbing the pain of seeing one of his friends cut down in front of his eyes. Feeling Korlen die, drove him even closer to the breaking point. Another friend lost due to this senseless war.

For a first time since Qui-Gion's death, Kenobi lost his calm. Again. hate tried to worm its way within his heart, but this time, it succeeded.

If it wasn't for this second attack on the Temple in little more than a month, Obi-Wan would have remained in control, the Model Jedi Master.

Instead, he was betrayed by his own feelings.

Anger and hate surged through Obi-Wan's being and he fell on his chosen target as a rabid Krath hound. The ȧssassin was caught off guard by the ferocity of the onslaught.

The infiltrator fell back in a desperate attempt to avoid the savage bite of Kenobi's azure blade. He took a defensive stance parrying the furious attacks raining all over him.

The surprise almost did him in. He was facing a Jedi Master. They weren't supposed to attack in a berzerker rage!

For Kenobi, that moment was a solitary slip in judgment, one that would have... interesting consequences down the line. He had to draw on all of his experience, years of training, and sheer willpower to pull himself out of that maddened state.

The sudden outburst of fury tampered off, but the anger was still there. The events of the past weeks were of sufficient gravity that his outage was too great to silence. Instead, his burning rage was tempered into a frozen spear of determination by a force of will that only a Master Jedi could accomplish.

Obi-Wan took a brief moment to focus himself. He lost some of the momentum his outburst had gained him, but that was a small price to pay in comparison. One that Kenobi would pay gladly.

He regained some of his control, yet this time the anger he felt, refused to be banished. All he could do was to clamp down on this emotion, prevent it from distracting him in the heat of combat.

Nevertheless, the anger effected him. While Kenobi fought it on one level, on another, deep within his subconsciousness, the Jedi used it. It made him faster, stronger. It gave Obi-Wan a killer instinct he usually lacked, no matter who or what he faced.

=RK=

Anakin glared at the man who faced him, his own anger burning in his belly like a furnace, but not yet to the point where it overcame his good sense.

'This is The Jedi Temple, not a kirffing Sith playground!' he silently fumed.

Skywalker bit off a snarl and went on the offensive.

This madness had to end!

He was angry that these bastards would date to attack his home. Furious that they dared murder his brothers and sisters. And frustrated that he seemed completely unable to stop them

So he reached down into that pit of fury sitting in his belly and seized it. Harnessed it, and shook as a he felt the passion surge through his body.

=RK=

Near the Archives

Jedi Temple

Coruscant

Something was terribly wrong. I could feel it in my bones.

It went beyond the irritating woman we were facing, but she was the immediate threat. I knew that the warning within the Force wasn't something that should be disregarded, though we needed to deal with her before I could investigate what my instincts were telling me.

But that was proving out to be somewhat troublesome.

The obnoxious woman we were facing was a different type of threat. She wasn't skilled enough with a lightsaber to pose a significant threat to either one of us, much less both of us. The main problem was that whatever she used to cloak herself from the Force, removed one of our main advantages. Sith and Jedi both, we depended a lot on anticipating our opponents through the Force.

But even that, wasn't enough to completely explain it.

Doing so could be extremely useful, at times, but it came at a steep cost. An artifact could hide your signature, the proper techniques could conceal it, but drawing on the Force in that state was like turning on a light while hidden in the shadows. The moment you used your powers the veal would drop.

While often forgotten in the face of our more obvious abilities, one of the things that truly separated Force Adepts from the common throng was our ability to enhance ourselves. Even a Jedi Youngling could boost their strength and reflexes to a point that could challenge even a seasoned warrior.

Shaak Ti was a Jedi Master, one of the best the Order had. Her skill was admirable, even to someone from my era, and I was a kriffing Sith Lord, with all the power and ability that such a title implied.

This woman should have been limited to human physical norms, yet she was matching us blow for blow. What she was doing should have been physically impossible.

To make everything more irritating for me, there was the nagging feeling that she was somehow familiar. While I could swear that I had never laid my eyes upon her, somehow I knew her. It was maddening.

”Veil, have you faced someone like her before?” Shaak Ti asked a moment after ducking under a lighting fast swipe and riposting only to meet air as the infiltrator jumped back, avoiding my attempt to remove her sword hand.

It was a good question.

”I'm not sure...” I muttered.

I propelled myself forward, using the Force. My blade crashed into the infiltrator's stolen saber a moment before I slammed into her.

I was a head taller, twice her mass, and not to mention in heavy armor. The collision should have thrown her off her feet, sending her dazzled to the ground. The first did happen. She flew couple of meters back, before rolling at a low crouch. As she glared at me and her eyes shone with soft blue light.

A smile came to my face as the situation finally made itself clear. I stretched my neck, letting the bones pop quietly for effect.

”Ah. It's been a while since I faced something like you. Pray tell, how much are you enhanced?” I asked.

=RK=

GAR Detention Center SIGMA

Classified Location

Coruscant

The masked mercenary leading the raid grunted in displeasure. There was almost no resistance while he led the troops under his command into storming one of the better defended facilities on Coruscant.

Just as expected. Most of the building were on lock down, cutting off the defense forces stationed within the detention center from his path.

When all was said and done, he had to face a short company of clone troopers. Piecemeal.

If he'd had to take them head on, he'd have never taken the job. But with the aid of benefactor and the agents he had within the Republic, a suicidal ȧssault had been transformed into a cake walk.

Enough that he felt a pang of disappointment. While he might be a merc, and this was easy money, he still wanted a bit more of a challenge, kriff it all! Damn Sith and their schemes!

Still, he reflected as he blew the head off yet another clone, killing all of these cut rate Mandalorian knockoffs was still quite cathartic

The conclusion of his primary objective was underwhelming. A bunch of shaped charges blew the doors leading to their target. They were followed by a spread smoke and fragmentation grenades, with couple of Thermal Detonators for effect, which left the last defenders easy prey for few well aimed burst of fire.

The last squad of clones trying to stop him never knew what hit them.

A hacked door later and he entered a small cell, dominated by delicate life support machinery, surrounding a large cylinder filled with clear liquid. Inside he could see a few pathetic bits of meat and one glaring eye.

Behold the great and mighty General Grievous in all his terrible glory!

This was all waste of time, if you asked him.

”Pack this cretin and lets go, before the Republic drop a regiment or something on our heads!” grumbled Durge.

”Roger, sir!” answered one of the soldiers aiding in the jail break.

=RK=

Kelins

Outer Rim

Bolla Ropal steeled himself in the face on the oncoming ȧssault.

”This is a first.” he muttered.

Facing ȧssailants who were apparently non-existent in the Force was a new experience for the Jedi Master. Under different circumstances, he might have found it fascinating.

But not now. Not only his life was on the line, but that of the Force sėnsɨtɨvė kid he had come to recruit.

”I gather that just going on our separate ways isn't an option?” Bolla inquired calmly, and fell in a Soresu stance, waiting them to act.

The cloaked men ignored his words and charged.

The Rodian met their onslaught without flinching. He parried a slash aimed at his head, sidestepped an overenthusiastic lunge and jumped over a swipe which tried to cut off his legs, only to receive a kick in the ribs for his trouble.

Bolla was caught mid air by the strike and it sent him crashing on the ground. He wasted no time and rolled away, bȧrėly avoiding one of his attackers, who jumped at him and nearly impaled him with his blade.

Ropal sent a Force wave at his attackers before jumping to his feet. To his unpleasant surprise it only staggered them for a brief moment. But at least it allowed him to regain a bit of the initiative in the fight.

He ran away, in an attempt to get some distance between himself and the strangers trying to kill him. From the brief encounter it was painfully clear to him that facing them all together was a losing proposition.

Bolla sprinted to the nearest house and jumped to its roof. A moment after he landed, the Jedi turned around and his blade was singing through the air.

He caught the fastest of his pursuers off guard and cut through the ċhėst of the cloaked man, sending him back over the edge to crash on the ground, meters below them.

The remaining ȧssassins moved as one, jumping together after their prey.

=RK=

Lower Levels

Jedi Temple

Coruscant

She smiled. The large room was full with tables and shelves, each one of which was covered by artifacts from the Great War. Any one of them alone would be a great prize, yet she didn't spare them a second glance.

Those trinkets, no matter how dangerous and useful, paled in comparison to her goal. At the far wall of the room, behind a solid wall of warship grade armor laid her targets.

She went to a lit up terminal, which was near the goal and started typing, all the while the AI protecting the small sanctuary under the Jedi Temple watched her with ill disguised curiosity.

It took her minutes of manually inputting codes which no living being should have remembered after all those years, before she heard a series of mechanical clicks. The room rumbled and sections of the nearest wall slid down, revealing another room, much smaller this time.

The infiltrator smile grew and she walked into the computer core of the AI. She retrieved a datapad from her belt and hooked it to the ancient machine.

Moment's later a chime rang in announcing that the new device was recognized and connected to the core.

”Copy all information to projects under Case Red and above.” she ordered aloud, while sending a mental command through her implants.

The AI hesitated for a split second and obeyed. The woman had the necessary codes and had followed the procedures hardwired in its computer core.

Meanwhile, the woman walked to the back of the room. Her next prize waited there.

A pitch black cube, with a meter long sides. A cylinder made by transparent metal in which a gray humanoid droid was suspended into a stasis field. A pedestal with a single silver Holocron.

That was it. She frowned. There was supposed to be something else there too!

”Computer. Where is Subject 'Ascension'? ”she asked.

”It was removed three thousand six hundred eighty eight years ago.” answered a bland, emotionless voice.

”To where?”

”No data available.”

”Damn it!” she cursed, though three out of four should be good enough.

The woman removed a star-burst shaped necklace from her neck and concentrated on the Force. She reached with her right hand and the Holocron rose in the air. It started shifting under her directions until it revealed an emerald which was in its heart.

The crystal flew to her outstretched hand, while the Holocron returned to its previous shape and gently laid back to its resting place.

The infiltrator pocketed her prize and went to the cube.

She started pressing various points on it, apparently at random, while sending brief bursts of Force energy through her fingers.

Soon enough, it rang with a single note. A pulse of silver energy ran all over it's surface and it started shifting. It's outer edges became blurs, leaving an impression that the object now existed in more dimensions than a human could perceive.

A quiet hum could be heard in the computer core. It was slowly becoming louder.

”It actually worked!” she exclaimed.

She could feel how the object was drawing in Force energy to power itself.

Moments later, she could feel a confirmation from the AI that the data transfer was complete.

”Erase all logs concerning my presence here and delete the data concerning projects under Case Red and above from your data banks.” she ordered after retrieving her data pad.

It was time to make herself scarce. Her job was done and the device she activated should deal with any physical backups of the information that remained. Or so she thought.

She left without sparing a second glance to the room containing the AI's computer core. So it was no surprise that when the former cube started sending electrical discharges all around itself, it went unnoticed.

One of those lightning bolts struck the pod containing the droid and disrupted the stasis field.

=RK=

Part 3

Kelins

Outer Rim

Master Ropal dashed over rooftops, moving away from his pursuers. His mind was racing. He had to draw them away from the kid. Bolla didn't have enough time to ponder how they tracked him, though considering they were undetectable through the Force, that wasn't such big a surprise as it would have been otherwise.

He had kriffed up. Relied too much on the Force for a warning that never came. He should have known better.

Ropal landed on the street behind the house, with pursuers hot on his heels. He looked around, noticing a pair of box shaped droids. The machines were cleaning the street, paying no attention to the commotion.

If the Force didn't work particularly well when directly applied on the ȧssassins, then he would have to improvise. To be fair, he was unpleasantly surprised when his Force push didn't throw them off their feet, but he had the nagging feeling that his plan was going to work.

Bolla turned around and used his free hand to more easily grab the droids with the Force. When the attackers jumped to the street, they were meet by a pair of heavy metal boxes flying straight at them.

One managed to use the Force to deflect the incoming projectile, which slammed at the side of the house behind the trio of cloaked pursuers. The man next to him wasn't so fortunate. He was unable to fully push away the droid, and it caught him on the right shoulder. The impact hurled the ȧssassin back, who crashed on the ground in a mȯȧning heap.

The Jedi Master used the opportunity to counterattack. He not only temporally incapacitated one of the remaining attackers, but had bought himself precious seconds before the one who deflected the droid could rejoin his unimpeded fellows.

Ropal charged the masked man who was able to reach him ahead of the rest. Their blades met in a fury of blows and counter blows.