33 Crisis 2 (1/2)
Jedi Temple, Coruscant
Padawan Ahsoka Tano was cooling her heels in her small room in the temple. Apparently the time she had spent in the presence of Delkatar was deemed a ”bad” thing and she was put under intense scrutiny. She was in what amounted to a house arrest as a result. But that was not the worst – many of the older Jedi and even a significant number of her friends were giving her wary glances when they thought she was not looking at them! That was... It was frustrating! What did she do wrong?! It's not like she had become a murdering Sith like Dooku or that skank Ventress! But did the other Jedi see it that way?
”It's not fair!” she grumbled quietly.
She jumped from the small bed on which she was sitting cross-legged in a futile attempt to meditate. She simply could not clear her mind and concentrate. It was supposed to be ”simple”! Just stuff all your emotions in a tiny mental box, lock it up and throw away the key. And the box while you were at it. Well, it did not work!
Tano started pacing around her room. She was exhausted by the unspoken accusations! Even since Anakin had run away to Naboo where the damn clankers had released a bio-weapon of all things she was left alone in the temple.
Her ordeal had started innocently enough – a strange look here, a whispered word there. Then she was summoned in front of the Council where they interrogated her in excruciating detail about every second she had spent near Delkatar. When she had refuted their thinly veiled claims that he was trying to turn her into a Sith Ahsoka could sense that most of the masters did not believe her. Interestingly enough, with the notable exception of Master Windu none of those who were vying for Delkatar's blood had even spoken to the man! By what she could gather from their questions they had no evidence that he had done anything wrong. In the past three thousand and six hundred odd years at least.
What she had ”overheard” from his conversation with Master Ti did not really count, right? Ahsoka would be the first to claim that torturing those ancient Jedi was anything but acceptable, however if anyone had something approaching a just reason for such action it surely was Veil!
She shook her head ruefully. Won't this madness end at last?
Her brooding was interrupted by the chiming of the doorbell. Ahsoka looked at the entrance to her humble home and smiled. She could sense Rex outside!
The Padawan hurried to open the door and grinned at the clone who was wearing his armor sans helmet. The man was looking at her with amused expression on his face.
”Commander Tano, I am bringing you 'requests' from Generals Skywalker and Veil to attend the Senate hearing which will be held this afternoon. I am here to escort you to the visitor's chambers of the senate.” he declared in a calm, professional tone.
At hearing that her face was stretched by a huge grin. She summoned her lightsaber which was resting on a table near her bed and eagerly nodded at the clone.
”By all means, commander! Lead the way!”
Rex gave her a very proper salute, spun on the soles of his feet and marched down the corridor as if he was on parade.
Ahsoka followed suit. She carefully wiped the grin from her face and did the best she could to give herself an outwards appearance of serenity. She wondered what stunt, Delkatar was trying to pull off this time.
Minute later both of them heard a frantic call from a republic general on Rex's com. They looked at each other and ran down the corridor.
They reached the huge hall leading to the main entrance of the temple and Tano heard the roar of forced engines. She looked at the huge, half-closed doors and saw three shuttles heading straight towards the opening.
She stared in the approaching ships with disbelief. The few Padawan and Jedi knights in the huge hall mirrored her reaction. This was the Jedi Temple! No one dared attack it ever since the Sack of Coruscant!
Ahsoka was still staring at the onrushing doom when Rex turned around, grabbed her across the waist and picked her up as if she was a little girl. The trooper ran to the closest row of columns lining the hall and used one of them as a cover. He was just in time because a missile flew through the opened doors and slammed in the ground nearby. The blast wave threw them off their feet under a rain of smoking pieces of marble.
The commander acted on instinct and grabbed Ahsoka again. He dragged her away to another column.
The entry hall shook when the first shuttle battered its way through the gates. Its wings were sheared off but its main body remained intact and it crash landed on the floor. The craft was deadly wounded – it would never fly again on its own but it did its intended purpose. Its passenger survived the crash and the moment the shuttle stopped scrapping along the ground ramps on its sides opened. Its two companions used the whole it battered to fly in mostly intact. They slammed into the ground further along the long hall.
A dazzled Ahsoka could see a young Padawan – no more than twelve trying to running towards an older Jedi who was laying bleeding on the floor near the first craft. The human girl looked up at the shuttle and gasped. Her hands scrambled to grab her lightsaber and yellow blade came to life. She managed to deflect the first six blaster bolts which splashed harmlessly on the armored bulk of the shuttle before a shot slipped through her defense and pierced her right shoulder. She shouted in pain and her arm dropped uselessly. The young girl had a moment of horrified realization before she was torn apart by a hail of blaster fire.
Rex scrambled to his feet and activated the comm built in his left arm-guard. He asked for help but did not hold much hope for reinforcements arriving any time soon. With the bases around the Senate attacked it was clear where the bulk of the Republic forces on the planet would be heading.
He glared at a commando droid which jumped from the first shuttle to crash into the temple. The machine raised its weapon and shot the bleeding Jedi multiple time. The commander drew his pistols and took aim but held his fire. More clankers were exiting the wrecked shuttle. Amongst the machines were two figures wearing black cloaks. One male and the other female judging by the curves of their armors. Those two activated blood red lightsabers and looked up. Six masked Jedi wearing light brown robes and light armor underneath jumped in front of the droids and their leaders. Each of the Order members had a saber staff which when activated revealed short yellow blades.