The Chommel Sector
15-04-2007, 18:08
In Orbit over Coruscant, 23:00
Jedi Master Kodo Saat stood on a podium at the front of the large converted cargo bay of his personal ship, a converted freighter. In front of him stood 50 clonetroopers, each one wearing a black set of Phase II armour and brandishing a DC-15 blaster carbine. The gathered troops looked up expectantly at the Jedi, nervous about their task.
"Clones of the Republic, you and I have a very difficult task ahead of us. It goes against what we have considered our jobs in this war so far, perhaps it seems somehow treasonous. Whatever your feelings, you also know that these are your orders, handed down from the highest authority. You will obey them to the letter, and to the fullest of your ability. The Republic will thank you for it later."
The troops remained silent, and simply turned and marched into a small transport, followed by the Jedi Master. He himself wore his usual black cloak over a suit of ARC armour, black to match the armour of his troops.
The heavily-armed and sleek craft left the cargo bay, it's stygium-laced hull preventing detection by any of Coruscant's many sensor facilities or orbital defense platforms, it's powerful engines propelling it quickly to it's destination: the Jedi Temple.
After two minutes the transport was hovering just outside the temple, barely illuminated by the more subdued lighting of the Temple district. A brief but powerful sonar pulse quickly mapped out the interior, and onboard computers analysed the map for the target zone. Just seconds after the ship arrived on the scene, the clones had their objective in sight. A powerful electronic warfare suite subdued the alarm systems for the target zone and locked all of the doors, giving the clones sole access. That was the subtle part.
A powerful missile launcher popped out of the hull, and blasted a hole just large enough for the ship to enter. Smoke and flames billowed out of the new entrance, and unconscious wounded Jedi littered the immediate area. The shot was just right. The clones and their commander immediately filed out and made their way through the smoke-filled corridors to their target.
Just as they were about to enter the main hall of the Jedi archive, their path was blocked by a tall Cerean Jedi, his yellow lightsaber ignited.
"Who are you, and what are you doing with Master Saat?"
Saat made his way through the crowd of clones. The Cerean sensed something terribly wrong, as did the rest of the skeleton staff of the temple. Saat ignited his krayt-tooth saber.
"It's unfortunate that you had to see us, but we can't afford any witnesses."
The Jedi master's speed and his unsettling aura caught the Cerean off-guard, and he only managed to parry once before being decapitated by a powerful blow from Saat's blue blade. The shock of the sudden killing sent waves throughout the Temple.
"Quickly. They'll be flocking to us very soon. I can feel them moving."
The clones marched through the entrance to the Archive, weapons levelled at the few occupants. Saat spoke up, again.
"Please put down your weapons and do not resist. You will not be harmed."
The four Jedi in the room immediately felt the insincerity of Saat's words, aand in a display of blinding speed were amongst the clones in less than a second, blades flashing, killing a dozen before they could react. Saat smashed one Jedi into a wall with a gesture, with a force so great the Jedi's spine was shattered. As the other Jedi felt the echo of his death, two were blasted apart by high-power fire from the clones.
The last Jedi stood at the centre of a circle of clones, on top of a pile of disembodied black limbs. Saat once more moved through the crowd of clones (now missing more than a fifth of their number) and approached the Jedi, his saber in a one-handed grip.
"I don't have time for this. Put down your weapon and make it easy. Clones, do your job."
The clones immediately began ransacking the archive, packing as many of the holobooks as they could into crates, ignoring the shell-shocked Jedi int he centre of the room. A couple of clones packed the Great Holocron into a special armoured container and scurried off to the transport.
The Jedi dropped his weapon and sat down on the ground, head in his hands. Saat, not without compassion, turned and headed for the transport. The clones knew what to do, and they'd do it quicker than him. Just as he turned the corner, he heard the whine of a single high-powered blaster shot.
As the last troops carrying crates boarded the transport, the humming of lightsabers was heard, soon followed by the screaming of the sentries that were supposed to cover the retreat. Just as the ramp closed up Saat could see Jedi rush to the transport, and clearly felt the anger simmering beneath the surface of their Jedi calm. Before they could reach the shuttle, it was in the air, off to a secret rendezvous point on a nondescript asteroid in the Outer Rim. The atmosphere on the shuttle was not good. The clonetroopers left a dozen of their comrades in the Jedi archive, and had killed several members of an Order they had all grown to respect immensely. Saat too felt guilt and a little remorse for the killings.
"It's a good thing we decided to go for the unmarked armour."
Jedi Master Kodo Saat stood on a podium at the front of the large converted cargo bay of his personal ship, a converted freighter. In front of him stood 50 clonetroopers, each one wearing a black set of Phase II armour and brandishing a DC-15 blaster carbine. The gathered troops looked up expectantly at the Jedi, nervous about their task.
"Clones of the Republic, you and I have a very difficult task ahead of us. It goes against what we have considered our jobs in this war so far, perhaps it seems somehow treasonous. Whatever your feelings, you also know that these are your orders, handed down from the highest authority. You will obey them to the letter, and to the fullest of your ability. The Republic will thank you for it later."
The troops remained silent, and simply turned and marched into a small transport, followed by the Jedi Master. He himself wore his usual black cloak over a suit of ARC armour, black to match the armour of his troops.
The heavily-armed and sleek craft left the cargo bay, it's stygium-laced hull preventing detection by any of Coruscant's many sensor facilities or orbital defense platforms, it's powerful engines propelling it quickly to it's destination: the Jedi Temple.
After two minutes the transport was hovering just outside the temple, barely illuminated by the more subdued lighting of the Temple district. A brief but powerful sonar pulse quickly mapped out the interior, and onboard computers analysed the map for the target zone. Just seconds after the ship arrived on the scene, the clones had their objective in sight. A powerful electronic warfare suite subdued the alarm systems for the target zone and locked all of the doors, giving the clones sole access. That was the subtle part.
A powerful missile launcher popped out of the hull, and blasted a hole just large enough for the ship to enter. Smoke and flames billowed out of the new entrance, and unconscious wounded Jedi littered the immediate area. The shot was just right. The clones and their commander immediately filed out and made their way through the smoke-filled corridors to their target.
Just as they were about to enter the main hall of the Jedi archive, their path was blocked by a tall Cerean Jedi, his yellow lightsaber ignited.
"Who are you, and what are you doing with Master Saat?"
Saat made his way through the crowd of clones. The Cerean sensed something terribly wrong, as did the rest of the skeleton staff of the temple. Saat ignited his krayt-tooth saber.
"It's unfortunate that you had to see us, but we can't afford any witnesses."
The Jedi master's speed and his unsettling aura caught the Cerean off-guard, and he only managed to parry once before being decapitated by a powerful blow from Saat's blue blade. The shock of the sudden killing sent waves throughout the Temple.
"Quickly. They'll be flocking to us very soon. I can feel them moving."
The clones marched through the entrance to the Archive, weapons levelled at the few occupants. Saat spoke up, again.
"Please put down your weapons and do not resist. You will not be harmed."
The four Jedi in the room immediately felt the insincerity of Saat's words, aand in a display of blinding speed were amongst the clones in less than a second, blades flashing, killing a dozen before they could react. Saat smashed one Jedi into a wall with a gesture, with a force so great the Jedi's spine was shattered. As the other Jedi felt the echo of his death, two were blasted apart by high-power fire from the clones.
The last Jedi stood at the centre of a circle of clones, on top of a pile of disembodied black limbs. Saat once more moved through the crowd of clones (now missing more than a fifth of their number) and approached the Jedi, his saber in a one-handed grip.
"I don't have time for this. Put down your weapon and make it easy. Clones, do your job."
The clones immediately began ransacking the archive, packing as many of the holobooks as they could into crates, ignoring the shell-shocked Jedi int he centre of the room. A couple of clones packed the Great Holocron into a special armoured container and scurried off to the transport.
The Jedi dropped his weapon and sat down on the ground, head in his hands. Saat, not without compassion, turned and headed for the transport. The clones knew what to do, and they'd do it quicker than him. Just as he turned the corner, he heard the whine of a single high-powered blaster shot.
As the last troops carrying crates boarded the transport, the humming of lightsabers was heard, soon followed by the screaming of the sentries that were supposed to cover the retreat. Just as the ramp closed up Saat could see Jedi rush to the transport, and clearly felt the anger simmering beneath the surface of their Jedi calm. Before they could reach the shuttle, it was in the air, off to a secret rendezvous point on a nondescript asteroid in the Outer Rim. The atmosphere on the shuttle was not good. The clonetroopers left a dozen of their comrades in the Jedi archive, and had killed several members of an Order they had all grown to respect immensely. Saat too felt guilt and a little remorse for the killings.
"It's a good thing we decided to go for the unmarked armour."