Star Wars: The Rogue Knight

Great Hall, Jedi Temple, Coruscant

Rex was trying to pull back Ahsoka who was grimly standing her ground. That delay let them have a front row view of the fate of the six guards.

The commando droids ignored the Jedi and moved away leaving them to their melee armed comrades and the pair of organics with lightsabers of their own. First to attack were the eleven Magna guards who charged the Jedi with their staffs spinning in tight circles around their bodies. They were closely followed by the two Force wielders who reeked of the Dark side. That skirmish was short and vicious.

For the first few seconds the six men held their ground by working as a team. The wave of droids literally bounced from a wall of lightsabers leaving one of their numbers on the ground in a smoking heap. Yet that was only a probing attack. What followed was an all-out charge which was about to overwhelm the Jedi. The two guards in the center of their line used the Force to push away six of their foes. That however bought them just a moment. The droids flied back only couple of meters before being stopped in midair and hurled back at the Jedi. The two Dark Acolytes had waited for something similar to happen before engaging in combat.

This surprised the Jedi who were caught off position in an attempt to overwhelm the remaining robots. That's when the droids slammed into them, force staffs first. One unfortunate man landed on the ground hard with three of the machines on top of him. Before he could recover, one of the robots grabbed his head in its metal fingers and twisted. The Jedi's corpse convulsed once and laid still.

Another was a bit luckier if such a term could be used for a Force user. He managed to interpose his weapon between himself and the two droids which hit him. He hissed in pain when the sparkling tip of a force staff connected with his left t.h.i.g.h however that was a small price to pay. The droid that hit him on the right side ran head first into his blazing blade. That was one clanker that wouldn't bother anyone again.

The second one tried to use its machine strength to overpower the Jedi but ended being thrown in the air and met a whirling of yellow blades when it fell.

The last of those three Jedi managed to slice through the waist the droid that collided with him but not before his face was struck by a staff. His mask shattered revealing a middle aged human man who was knocked unconscious.

The other three Temple guards were not that lucky. The man on the left lank of their original line found himself facing four Magna guards who fell on him like berserk uncaring for their own safety. He exchanged a flurry of blows with them while failing back from their unrelenting assault.

Two of the droid attacked him simultaneously from the both sides. He managed to interpose the blades of his saber-staff between their weapons but that pinned him down for a moment. A third of the elite robots landed a crushing blow in the middle of his weapon shattering both it emitters and the Jedi's right hand. The man's pained scream was cut short by multiple bone-breaking blows from the other three droids.

On the right flank, the other two Jedi had it much easier. For about five seconds. In that time they were facing a single droid each. The Temple Guards knew that only seconds remained before additional enemies engaged them so they went on the offensive. That caught the droids by surprise and they were forced back under an unrelenting assault. One of the Magna Guards was not fast enough to reposition his staff to parry a diagonal slash and his staff was sliced in two. That was followed with a short upward cut which melted through the lower torso of the machine. While not immediately disabling, the damage slowed it down considerably and the Jedi took the opportunity to cut it to pieces with few precise attacks. His partner was still busy with the other droid when the two Acolytes choose to attack.

They darted from both sides of the robot and struck simultaneously. The Temple Guard managed to throw away the droid with a Force push and met the attack from the right with one of his blades but was not fast enough to intercept the slash from the woman on his left side. He grunted when her crimson saber cut a fiery line through his c.h.e.s.t. His legs refused to support his weight and he fell to his knees. He saw a flash of red and the world rolled madly. The Jedi blinked in confusion at a kneeling headless body before his eyes closed for one last time.

Meanwhile Ahsoka was slowly stepping back under the onslaught of multiple commando droids who were shooting rapidly at her. Behind her Rex was returning the favor with his two pistols.

They watched helplessly how the Temple Guards were taken out one after another. It was worse for the Padawan who could feel them dying through the Force.

And they were not alone. Of the thirty odd Padawan and knights in the hall prior to the beginning of the assault only eight were still alive.

The Magna Guards concentrated on the Jedi that had taken out two of their numbers while the Acolytes attacked the last of the Temple Guards. Both battles were over within the seconds. The man facing the droids was simply buried under an avalanche of swinging Force staffs.

The Jedi attacked by his dark counterpart fared a bit better. He was retreating under a rain of slashes and jabs expertly delivered by his opponents until the woman used the Force to pull him towards her. He tried to counter her technique but to his horror found out that he was simply not strong enough.

She sidestepped a desperate attempt by the Jedi to impale her and surged forward. She cut off the left hand of the man at the elbow and sent his staff flying away. In the next moment her fellow Acolyte finished the Jedi by plunging his scarlet blade in his c.h.e.s.t.

=RK=

Council Chambers, Jedi Temple, Coruscant

Both Yoda and Windu, the only two Jedi Masters currently on the planet had made their way to the Council Chambers when they felt a strong disturbance in the Force. Unfortunately their sight of the future was even worse than usual so they did not know what to expect besides being aware that it would be bad. For all their experience and supposed wisdom, or perhaps because of it, neither of them could have imagine what was happening. They stared at a holo-image from a security camera showing the Great Hall. What prompted them to check what was happening there? Was the barely heard sound of explosions and even worse the Jedi deaths they felt?

"Dark day this is." muttered Yoda.

He had a sad frown on his face and his ears had drooped in a sign of regret.

"Distraction this is." he said.

Windu nodded. They both sensed Jedi dying from both east and west sides of the Temple – far from the site of the main attack. But where their Sith prisoners were held.

"I'll go after Dooku. Undoubtedly he is their real target."

"That you must. Greet our uninvited guests I should."

Before they left towards their targets they called the young-lings caretakers and ordered them to take the children deeper in the Temple where they should be reasonably secure as well as ordered additional guards sent to protect them as well as the Archives. All other combat ready Jedi were ordered to converge upon the Great Hall.

The Jedi Masters ran in different directions. One who did not know better would be surprised at how fast Yoda moved – by jumping from the floor and walls more often than not.

=RK=

Great Hall, Jedi Temple, Coruscant

If it was not for the Jedi Knights and Padawan joining the battle in constantly increasing numbers, Ahsoka doubted that she or Rex would have lasted much longer. The clone commander was taking cover behind a column and she was holding her ground in front of him, facing a semicircle of commando droids who were trying to shot them to pieces with mechanical precision.

"Hey! 'Soka!" exclaimed a voice which was all too cheerful considering the circ.u.mstances.

A short Mirialan woman sprinted from a side passage and joined Tano in deflecting the storm of blaster bolts. Her midnight blue robes were a stark contrast with the lighter colors that most Jedi preferred to wear.

"You know me, Barriss! It appears that trouble finds me no matter where I am." Ahsoka chuckled despite their situation.

Which had become grimmer. The two Dark Acolytes noticed them and headed their way. The only silver lining was that the commandos decided to go search for other prey but the remaining Magna Guards from the first shuttle moved their way.

"This is going to be unpleasant."

"You think?" asked a new, male voice.

The Padawan glanced behind and grinned at the young Mon Calamari male who had joined them. Nahdar Vebb gave the girls a rueful smile and activated his blue lightsaber. The new Jedi Knight – he had been promoted mere weeks ago did looked with disapproval with the six droids marching towards them and their dark masters. The sheer audacity of those CIS people... frustrated him. They had the sheer gal to attack the Jedi Temple itself!

The Jedi Knight strode forward and took position between the Padawan.