Subject: [OTL]: (alt. Betsy/Star Wars) Fanged Butterfly 2: Knightcross 17/? (PG-15; viol From: Phil Hartman Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2008 18:52:17 +0000 wil-@earthling.net Fanged Butterfly Vol. 2: Knightcross Chapter 17 by Phil Hartman DISCLAIMER: Marvel's are Marvel's. LFL's are LFL's. Any original characters are mine. The rest belong to their owners/creators. No money is being made off of this. Please don't sue. WARNING: Violence and graphic imagery. ------------------------------------------ 40 ABY: Jabiim, Outer Rim Territories: ------------------------------------------ Luke stirred; the Force was rippling with ... #A presence I haven't felt since ...# the Grand Master realized - he sat up carefully, focusing his attention on his kidney. It was almost healed. The day spent in a healing trance had helped ... But something was closing on the Jade Shadow, and Mara was dozing - not anymore. "An Ugly," Mara pointed out, using the passive scanners to paint an incoming cobbled-together starfighter. "They're not coming in for a pass, though. It's like they're trying to sneak up on us and doing a terrible job of it," Luke thought. Then a vision hit him through the Force, wrapped in Ben's Force-signature, and a terrible darkness ... Luke's eyes opened and he asked Mara, "What's on Vulpter?" "Vulpter? Run-down Deep Core manufacturing planet. Doubles as a smuggler's crossroads, unofficially - poor sentient's Corellia or Nar Shaddaa, with more pollution. Why?" Mara asked - even if she was annoyed, she humored Luke. One of many reasons he loved her so. "Just had a Force premonition. I need to be there sometime ... soon. Not immediately, but it involves Ben," Luke said, concentrating - Ben was hiding, but he was all right. For now, Luke was satisfied with that. But he wasn't going to wait anymore. And he was going to trust in the Force to guide him to take ACTION, not just advise. Luke opened himself to the Force, and let it nudge him. Right out the main hatch. He told Mara, "Take Artoo and head to ... Agamar. Betsy and K'urod need a lift. I'll get Ben." "HOW? Skywalker, Agamar - and Vulpter - are a week's flight from here! And Ben is OUR son - why shouldn't we both go for him?" Mara demanded. Luke pulled his hood up in the rain, then smiled and said, "Because you'll miss your chance at Jacen if you don't get Betsy and K'urod. Trust me?" "Always. But what happened to save everyone from the dark side? You're letting the ex-Emperor's Hand with the skinning knives and rancor owner's directory go after your nephew?" Mara tried to joke. "I trust you, too. It's a Force thing. Not a protectiveness thing, or a Skywalker thing - a Force thing. I have to walk this path alone for a while, Mara. Please?" Luke asked. He was NOT going to order this. Not anymore. The Grand Master poodoo had to stop. (And ordering Mara was just ... suicide.) Mara sighed, her green eyes flashing as she said, "He's our boy, Farmboy. Bring him home." "I promise, Dancer. We'll find each other again. I love you - Artoo, watch Mara's back?" Luke asked, as Mara closed the hatch reluctantly. Artoo's worried trill was cut off, and the Jade Shadow's repulsors lifted the ship out of the mud as the yacht blasted off. Luke smiled; that was one part of the puzzle in place. He hadn't felt this ... free, this ABLE, in years. Not since the battle with Lomi Plo - not since ... #Not since the last fight with the Vong. Anakin was right - the light side's where we belong, but not if we drown in it. We have to WORK for a better galaxy,# Luke thought, concentrating. The ship was closing in - some ugly combination of an A-Wing's body and a TIE Interceptor's wings - Luke reached out with one hand, slowing the electrical flow from the wings to the main drive. The craft started to stall, and its pilot managed to land, getting out with a frustrated growl. And Luke was thrown back almost 40 years - kark, further than THAT. An image of Tosche Station rang in his mind as his would-be assailant slid down from the Ugly and stomped toward him through the mud ... "TANK?" Luke gasped - the Force really DID work in mysterious ways. Former Imperial Captain Janek Sunber - "Tank," among the close-knit circle of childhood friends Luke had from growing up on Tatooine - had aged pretty well; short black hair graying, but otherwise looked fit. "You did survive that battle on Rebel One," Luke exclaimed, smiling - cautiously. "Well ... you did give me a reason to live, kriffit. I threw in with a smuggler's consortium out of Nar Shaddaa, helping to supply the Rebellion, then retired to Ison. Then an ex-Imperial contact with the Guard called me and said the Jade Shadow was wanted for suspicious activity," Tank grumbled. "But you let it go," Luke asked without asking. "Stang, Wormie, you're YOU. We go back too far for me to just blindly trust government where you're concerned. When you got out of the Shadow, I had to ask you: What brought you to Jabiim?" Tank demanded. "Recovery. My nephew's been playing with things too dangerous for him, and one of them injured me. He has my son, Tank. I need to get to Vulpter soon, and Mara has to be somewhere else. Can I trust you?" Luke asked. Tank sighed and said, "After you use that Force of yours to unkriff my ship's power converters." Luke blinked - "Power converters? POWER CONVERTERS?" Luke snorted - that'd been his excuse whenever he'd wanted to sneak off to hang out Tank, Biggs and the rest of the gang. It was like he was 19 again for a moment, and Luke and Tank laughed despite the mud and rain. Now, Luke was ready to continue. #Ben. I'm coming, son.# ------------------------------------------- One week after the Battle of Corellia: Coruscant, Galactic City: ------------------------------------------- Things hadn't changed THAT much since the Corellians had been reinforced by Commenorian and Adumari forces. There'd been a few skirmishes along the picket line; more GA ships of the line were being activated, more brush wars were erupting and stretching the Alliance thin. But Coruscant kept rolling along, with few outbreaks of war-related violence. The Guard were doing their job. Ben could almost believe it wasn't his to do anymore. He'd found that Shevu's training helped him escape the gait recognition cameras - a pebble in a shoe was surprising for how well it changed one's step. And Ben no longer blinked when he saw brown hair in the mirror after showering and dyeing his now-1/2-inch thick buzzcut. Another week, and Lieutenant Skywalker would be a memory. Ben STILL couldn't shave, though. Frustrating. He was glad he could worry about such silly things. Ben did Shevu and Shula's dishes - the least he could do for being hidden - and Shula brought Ben holobooks to study. It was like a vacation. Except that Ben felt worse and worse the longer it lasted. #I need to DO something. Mom and Dad and everybody else've been gone for so long ... I should try to HELP, but I'm the one who needs help ...# he lamented, watching the latest news. Ben had made a point of listening to the political news - Jacen had tried to drum that into him, that being a GAG officer meant you had to know what was going on. Mostly, the Coruscant Senate News Channel was dry poodoo. Except for a little bill that had amended the Legislative and Regulations Statute Amendment ... giving wartime officers unprecendented powers to bypass the Senate in expenditures and drastic action. It'd taken a bit of research in political holobooks Shula had provided, to confirm what Ben had feared: Jacen and Admiral Niathal now had effectively unlimited power to change laws. And nobody seemed to understand that. If it'd been Niathal, Ben might not've worried. She'd felt nice enough when he'd met her on the few occasions he'd been permitted into a meeting with Chief Omas. Jacen ... it was a nightmare come true. #Did Palpatine plan something like this? Jasa ... how can you get so much power and nobody's watching you?# Ben worried. He should've gone to the Jedi Council by now, but his disappearance had touched off a firestorm of worry at GAG HQ - Jacen's Force-sweeps were getting more and more frequent - He tensed at a ripple of excitement in the hallway; a passive Force-scan didn't seem to draw attention. The door whisked open, and Captain Shevu - Lon - poked his head inside, grinning. "Hey, Lars," he called, using Ben's cover name. "What day is it?" "Mid - wait, oh SHAVIT! I forgot!" Ben gushed - he almost sounded like a kid again. His BIRTHDAY. It'd totally passed him by. Ben was 14. Shevu closed the door, chuckling, and said, "You need to get outside. I think we can risk one night - Girdun's turned down the heat, since the colonel's been focusing on his little power grab." "You saw it too, huh?" Ben asked, getting up and stretching. Going out for dinner would be nice ... if risky. "Kind of hard not to, the way Girdun's acting like a Neimoidian dropped into a bank vault. Jacen's not abusing his new powers, exactly ... but there've been more questions and confrontations with Jedi. And I got an ... interesting call from someone," Shevu said, his voice dropping when he tossed Ben a holocorder and earphones. Ben caught the device, put on the earphones and listened, gasping - "Captain, I'm sure you know who I am. I'll get to it: If you have ANY idea where our mutual ... acquaintance ... is, please, tell me. We're worried about him. And Colonel Solo is not alone in this," Ben heard Anakin say, worry clear in his voice. He fought back tears, removing the earphones, and felt Shevu clap him on the back. "Problem is, the Temple is watched VERY closely. Worse, there's been an increase in heavy-weapon patrols there," Shevu said, as Ben thought on that. "That's a bad sign. Shock troops near the Temple ... SHAVIT, Jacen's not really gonna - !" Ben blurted, fighting down an urge to HIT something. Shevu squeezed Ben's shoulder and said, "Listen, come on - there's a safe place downtown. A little rough, but you're not a little kid anymore. I'd even bring your `saber." "You think it's safe?" Ben asked - he'd learned to not even answer the door. Meditation had helped him keep his sanity ... Shevu grinned. "Cop bar. CSF cop bar, no less. And you, my young friend, need a fun night out," he said, as Ben grabbed his lightsaber and slipped the weapon into one of the deep pockets in his pants. Ben just hoped the captain - Lon - was right. "Sir - Lon - thanks. For everything. You're a real friend, and I ... I wish I could do more," Ben said, smiling as Lon ruffled his hair. "You're an excuse to stick it to that freak Solo - sorry, but he's gone bad. And you're a buddy, Ben. Besides, who else is gonna clean my dishes?" Lon joked, as they headed outside. The Mando saying about family being more than blood made more sense than ever to Ben, and he allowed himself a little hope. -------------------------------------------- Agamar: -------------------------------------------- Well, it was official: Betsy was karked off. For a Jedi, this was a bad thing. For an X-Man, it was an excuse to focus on inventing new ways to torment one's pursuers. It'd been bad enough when the Angel's Wing had been hit by a gauss bomb - an EMP device, scrambling the navicomputer and the power systems. It'd been worse when various alien mercenaries had chased her and K'urod away from the likely permanently-fried shuttle Betsy had called her home for more than 10 years. And THAT had been a week, two storms and an angry farmer chasing them out of his barn ago. The occasional bath in a stream, augmented by Agamar's fortunately summer season and plenty of fresh fruit and game, kept them clean, fed and watered. What it DIDN'T, though, was get her and K'urod any closer to one of Agamar's few starports, or help them backtrack to where N4-EL was hidden in a cave near the Angel's Wing crash-site. They were resting a few kilometers from the cave Neal was hiding in; Betsy was NOT going to abandon her droid. Not unless it was absolutely necessary. But there were a dozen focused, malevolent minds nearing their location ... "How are they tracing us? Vornskrs would leave a trace of hunger in the Force," K'urod pondered, hiding below a stone wall as Betsy psi-swept the area ... "They're lead by a Bothan named Dyur. He's shielding well - I suspect they have some kind of midichlorian sensor. Rumor is that Intel was working on ways to perfect one after the Vong War, and the GAG would be first in line," Betsy sighed - Her ship might be ruined, she might be outnumbered, and she might be dead-tired. But Betsy was a Jedi Master, an ex-X-Man, and a daughter of Otherworld. She smiled wickedly at K'urod and asked, "You take the six on the left, I'll ... ?" "Make sure you count correctly this time," K'urod teased back - even he could get frustrated enough to stand and fight. They ignited their lightsabers, leapt the wall - and gaped when a sonic boom and a green flash dove toward them, making their hunters spin around in shock. "SCATTER!" the Bothan bellowed, as turbolasers raked the attackers - Betsy Force-pulled him to her outstretched hand, and laughed when the Jade Shadow flew overhead, then spun about for a landing. "All right, my good sir. I want names, hiring dates, and most especially your insurance agent, because you SEVERELY damaged my ship. And the power pack from your blaster - my droid is likely run down after your obnoxious pursuit," Betsy growled at Dyur. "You're kidding. You think I'm frightened that easy?" Dyur snarled - then the Shadow's hatch opened, and Betsy smiled as Dyur's fur somehow paled. "If not by me, then I'm sure Master Jade-Skywalker has a set of her own frustrations to work off. And I'm the NICE angry Jedi Master," Betsy said, her grin becoming utterly malevolent while Mara walked over. "Took me six days to get here, another to find you - life-form readings are always a positive, but kriffing hard to sort out. So yeah - frustrations galore," Marasaid, her eyes narrowing as she pulled a knife from her boot. "Masters, as much as I appreciate the art of interrogation, perhaps we should depart before Mr. Dyur's employer sends another wave of attackers?" K'urod said, heading after Neal. "Some Kuati noble! Here's the comlink code - I SWEAR, she only said to keep you delayed!" Dyur begged as he gave Betsy his comlink and watched Mara check her knife. "Hmm. Well - hello? Evil schutta at home?" Betsy asked, not QUITE seriously once she'd dialed the code - "Language, Braddock. Once again, you seem to have the Force on your side. However, you're too late. Our mutual associate is close to his goal ... as am I," Lumiya rasped over the comlink, and Mara's expression became positively frightful. "BRIE!? *YOU'RE* behind this shavit-pile of Jacen's!? I KNEW he'd gone Sith, but YOU - oh, sister, are YOU in for it!" Mara raged. "I mean it, Lumiya - Nelani will not go unavenged. And don't even dream of getting near Ben. Luke isn't here, but Ben's mother and godmother are - you have NO idea what we're capable of," Betsy promised, all ice now. She had Mara at her back, a ship to Coruscant, and absolute proof the Sith had returned. Mara returned Betsy's nod as Betsy crushed the comlink, and dropped it at Dyur's feet, letting the Bothan go. Revenge was unbecoming of a Jedi. Killing Sith? Expected. "Nelani's dead from -?" Mara asked, sounding tired. "Jacen. She appeared as a Force-ghost and warned me before Lumiya destroyed the asteroid. He stabbed her. Mara, I know Luke wants to try and save Jacen, but -" Betsy began, watching as K'urod floated Neal over to the Shadow and Artoo greeted them. Mara's determination flooded the Force, and she gave Betsy one of those vicious smiles. "Ben first, Betts. Then you get to play sabaac with me for who gets the can opener, and who gets the skinning knives," Mara said, putting an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Let's hope it's that simple," Betsy mused. ----------------------------------------------------- Coruscant: Undercity: The Winking Hutt: ----------------------------------------------------- Ben had been in cantinas. He was Han Solo's nephew, and Lando Calrissian was an old friend. But this ... was something QUITE outside the limited experience the boy had with ... less than Jedi life. #Are those ... clothes or rags?# Ben pondered, glancing at a couple of Twi'leks dancing atop the bar in ... well, they were technically clothed. The music wasn't terribly loud, but the place was so dark that Ben had to resort to Force-boosted senses to make out the Defel bartender - or at least read the canine-like alien's presence. Most of the other regulars were CSF, so Ben felt safe, even if a few gave Shevu kind grief for bringing a kid in here. "Corusca ale for me; Starblaster for my cousin," Shevu told the Defel, and Ben saw the shadow put a shot glass full of some kind of amber liquid in front of him. Shevu grinned at Ben, and accepted a mug of the standard Coruscant loyalist drink before Ben picked up the glass. "Not a trace of alcohol. Promise," Shevu said, and Ben trusted him - he tossed back the drink - "SITHSPAWN! What WAS that!?" Ben wheezed - SHAVIT, that was scorching - between coughs. "Suspension of tufral root in cinder-drop. Like eating a raw tufral fresh from the garden. Told you you'd like it. Happy Life Day, pal," Shevu said, letting Ben buy a fizzade and toasting the boy. He looked around, then gave Ben a package from his jacket and whispered, "It's a clean one, like you requested. What the shavit you want one of THOSE for, though ..." "Thanks, Lon. Think of it like the ultimate wire," Ben said, opening the stasis box and slipping the piece of Vongtech inside up against his nose as he faked a loud cough. The chilab, a memory-replicating creature which could occupy a host's sinus cavity, slid up Ben's nose and further in - it HURT, like nothing he'd felt before. And then it was connected, like some kind of echo of Ben's own thoughts. It was eerie, but ... if anything happened to him, his parents would have evidence. Then the door opened, and Ben felt a familiar presence - His jaw dropped when Master Cilghal, the Council's female Mon Calamari healer and an old friend of Ben's family, walked in, dressed in a simple jumpsuit. She scanned the room, waving at some of the unsurprised cops, and Ben asked Shevu softly, "Do you know -" "Master Cilghal? Who d'you think helps the forensics lab on Jedi-related cases?" Shevu said, as surprised as Ben to see Cilghal walk in - this wasn't a setup. Ben wouldn't have minded, though - he could TRUST Cilghal, this was a sign - but Shevu clamped a hand on Ben's shoulder and met the boy's eyes. "If you're ready for this. I still don't trust the Jedi. Cilghal's almost a cop - a decent sort - but I promised I wouldn't betray you. Not even to the Order, if you want," Shevu said. Ben smiled, but said, "It's OK - Lon. It's -" "Excuse me, but - FORCE PRESERVE ME!" Cilghal gasped, reaching Ben's chair as he turned and beamed at her. "Sorry I didn't call - Lon's been giving me a place to stay. I've got a lot to tell you," Ben gushed, letting Cilghal hug him as she laughed. "You have NO idea how worried we were! Thank the light you're safe - Captain, thank you - we have to get back to the -" Cilghal began. Then she started choking, turning gray, and turned with a horrified gaze toward the door. And Ben's heart plunged. Jacen stood there, just ... expressionless ... his fist clenched. "Cilghal. A little out of your element," Jacen - CAEDUS, Ben warned himself, still shocked his cousin would stoop to attacking one of the kindest members of the Order in public - said. "SIR! For kark's sake, Cilghal is like one of us! Whatever your issues with the Order -" Shevu snapped, as Cilghal's breathing became labored. He was pinned against the bar, and Ben screamed, "STOP IT!" "Hmm? Oh - Lieutenant Skywalker. You never com, never write ... dereliction of duty in wartime is a serious offense," Caedus - Jasa was gone, and Ben KNEW it - said coldly. The boy felt that familiar Force-clench, but this time he didn't resist. Instead, he looked at Cilghal in horror - not a hard thing to do - and then at Caedus. "Please - I won't run, I won't fight - please, if there's anything of you left, PLEASE -" Ben begged. It wasn't hard to do. Cilghal wheezed, "Ben, NO -" Her neck made an unspeakable noise, as Caedus finally unclenched his fist and let her fall to the floor, his eyes boring into Ben. They were yellow-orange. It was the Ganner, only WORSE, because at least there, the Jedi Master in danger had been carbon-frozen - Ben knelt beside Cilghal, holding her as she spasmed. [I'm so sorry,] he sent, projecting one last message to her, fighting his tears before letting Shevu help him up. Caedus nodded, as Ben told the horrified Shevu, "Captain ... thanks for everything. "But nobody else dies for me. PLEASE." "Ben - BEN!" Shevu exclaimed, watching Ben walk out of the bar with Caedus - but Shevu got the message. Now, it was purely Ben against a Sith Lord. He punched a specific button on the datapad in his pocket, then followed Caedus to a waiting speeder, and got in, as Caedus leapt into the driver's seat. "I'm sorry about Cilghal. But you know Jedi - always turning up at the worst possible moment. And things are reaching a critical point. Ossus is boiling with subtle insults to Serpa; the Council is insinuating the worst things about me. As if being Sith was illegal?" Caedus said, driving back into traffic as if he hadn't just ... just ... #Cilghal ... Aunt Cil ... I'm sorry I left you there ...# Ben let himself sob; he knew it'd look like surrender. Part of him almost believed it. He felt gentle fingers ruffle his hair, but no attempt at a mindrub, and he looked over at Caedus, who was ... "Jasa?" Ben whispered. "I wasn't serious about the dereliction of duty charge. Shevu's a good man. I respect that he was protecting you. I promise, nothing'll happen to him or Lekauf. You ... I won't lie. What I need from you is going to hurt," Jacen said. It was almost worse than Caedus sitting there. "Gejjen, the motherkriffer, sent Aurra Sing to kill Allana - some pre-Clone-Wars darkside schutta came for MY LITTLE GIRL. My parents and Chewie stopped her, but they'll never have the strength to crush Gejjen like the gravel maggot deserves," he said - Caedus was back. "Assassination?" Ben asked - somehow, he shouldn't be surprised at anything his cousin suggested anymore. "You make it sound so demeaning. It's war, Ben. Trust me, though - once you've gone through your final training, you'll be ready to deal with that filth as he deserves," Caedus said, oddly ... supportive. "And what about the Council?" Ben asked, dully - realization HURT, somehow fresh each time. It didn't matter that Cilghal wasn't human. She was a PERSON - she loved Ben, like an aunt. "Cilghal ... was a message. So is Girdun. I'm sure you've been watching HNE-Coro's updates," Caedus said, pulling in at GAG HQ's private garage. "The increased patrols at the Temple Plaza," Ben said, letting the shock help him pretend ... Pretend he wasn't walking beside a murderer who was wearing his cousin's face. Who wasn't walking Ben to ... a private elevator. One Ben wasn't familiar with. Unlike the one to the detention cells, which he knew too well. "My private facilities. Can't trust the rank and file with everything," Caedus said, winking as his palmprint unlocked the elevator and Ben followed him aboard. It descended, like Ben's hopes. -------------------------------------------- GA Naval HQ, Galactic City: -------------------------------------------- Cha Niathal was a patient woman - the term applied as equally to female Mon Cals like herself as it did to female humans, she felt. Like her mammalian sisters, Niathal also had a limit to how much male absurdity she'd put up with. The Jedi were useful, like one might use a commando team. Jacen Solo still hadn't exceeded his propaganda uses ... even after Dathomir, Fett, alienating the Hapans. But this was just the limit ... #Cilghal. Ackbar, I'm sorry.# "CHA! Kriffit, get OUT of my way!" she heard - some kind of disturbance, with the hum of a lightsaber, in the hall, and she sent the all-clear signal to her security chief. If the Council were so desperate as to let blades be swung, Niathal wasn't about to waste good people on stopping the rude interruption. Kenth Hamner, the one Jedi Council member Niathal really trusted - human, with short, grey-blond hair, angry blue eyes, and an admiral's uniform he'd earned during the Vong War and later the Dark Nest fiasco - stormed past the security staff and into Niathal's office. "GRAND ADMIRAL. The report from the Undercity - this Shevu's been reliable before, yes?" Hamner asked, sounding like he was about to lose his temper. "Totally," Niathal said, waiting for Kenth to shut off his lightsaber and for her doors to close before she met his eyes. The Jedi sat down, head in his hands, and breathed, "Cilghal ... that monster Force-choked her without so much as a warning, and he forced Ben Skywalker to leave that bar with him. You HAVE to revoke Jacen's commission - have to send Ben to the Temple -" "The Council had every chance almost two months ago to lead GAG. And the Skywalker boy is outside of my protection, now - Colonel Solo is technically my equal where security matters are concerned on home soil," Niathal said. "So because the Council acted within the law, you're letting a DARK JEDI hold Luke Skywalker's son hostage and letting the same traitor run the war effort?! How long is it before Omas ends up face-down in a gutter!?" Hamner snapped - it stung Niathal because it might be true. "That's not going to happen, Kenth. Not even Jacen is that crazed. Before you go charging into GAG HQ, consider that he probably has some trumped-up charge of impeding the war effort he can slander Cilghal with. And provoking him could ... widen the conflict?" she said. Kenth had never been slow on the uptake. His eyes widened when he sensed what Niathal was suggesting. "Ossus. The Academy - the CHILDREN -" he gasped. "Maybe. Maybe closer," Niathal replied, shrugging. And THAT sent Hamner running, as Niathal hated herself. ------------------------------------------------ Jedi Temple: Hangar Bay: ------------------------------------------------ The signal was almost as old as the Order; Luke had kept the "imminent Temple assault" code the same after discovering it in holocrons and the Chu'unthor tapes. That it came from Ben Skywalker's datapad had provoked quick doubt and angry discussion among the Council. An outraged Anakin Solo had ignored the discussion and started loading younger Knights and the few Padawans at the Temple onto shuttles as a precaution - Ben wouldn't lie. Then Cilghal had been rushed in by CSF forces, gasping a message: "Ben - still in the light - warned me -" And then the Temple Plaza had filled with GAG speeders. #Bennie ... thanks for the message,# Anakin thought, watching as the last shuttle with noncombatants lifted off. The Council had - bitterly, reluctantly - acceded to Anakin's plea to get offworld before an orbital intercept could cut off the Jedi exodus. The Masters had to escape. The front gates were locked, with GAG troopers waiting outside for ... something, as night approached. But Anakin was kriffing determined NOT to let the Temple be used against the Order. There were still the computers, the records ... He turned to the 19 other Knights who'd remained with him and said, "For Cilghal. And for Ben." They were 20 against Force knew how many. The Son of Solo just smiled in acceptance - not arrogance. The Jedi had been purged one too many times. NEVER AGAIN. ---------------------------------------------------- tbc ...