Back in the Game (COMPLETE)

9.16.2

Anakin didn't go down the shaft all the way, or even most of the way. When he saw an empty platform that didn't look like it was being used, he jumped off and abandoned his ride, ducking around a corner and leaning against it. It would take hours for the clone troopers to get down here, and he finally had a minute to rest.

He sunk against the wall and sat on the ground, catching his breath. Now was the appropriate time to wonder: What the BLAZING HELL was that?!?!? What memo had Fox and his men gotten that the 501st hadn't, and more importantly, what exactly was the memo??? What had Anakin done?

Did the chancellor know? Kayla Kanai had authority over all of the clone troopers, maybe she could tell him what was going on. Anakin activated his comlink, intending to give her a call, but his finger hesitated over the controls.

Something was gone. Something, someone. A piercing hole ripped into his chest, creating an emptiness that was too familiar to him. Anakin Skywalker knew the sting of death, he had felt it before. 

He didn't know who it was, though. A friend, someone he knew well enough to sense in the Force, but he couldn't pinpoint who it was. Anakin kept trying to identify who had been lost, but another tear in the Force broke his concentration.

No! Not right now!!! Holding his head in his hands, he tried to focus, tried to see who was gone, but a third death punched him in the gut, and then a fourth.

Another,

another!

Another!

NO!!!! No more!!

But they didn't stop. He felt more of them, like an onslaught of blaster shots hitting his chest. It came like rain, how a single drop turned into a downpoar, all inside of him. People kept falling, one by one, with no warning and no hope of survival. Life was fading, disappearing in all directions and leaving nothing behind. 

It wasn't the only thing that was fading, though. Anakin tried to find comfort in the Force, in the Light where he knew life thrived, but the Light itself was beginning to vanish. It grew dimmer with every death that pained Anakin, finally alluding to who it was that was dying:

Jedi.

The clones hadn't just been trying to kill him, they were after all Jedi. That was the only explanation for both the death he felt and the betrayal of the clones. For some reason, Dogma and his men weren't on the same page, but he couldn't depend on that for protection. Anakin breathed hard, his chest heaving with the weight of so much loss. Why? I don't understand!

A horrifying thought dawned on him. The Temple. Fox is going to go after the Temple next! Scrambling to his feet, Anakin ran back out to the shaft and caught a ride going up, not down. If the clones were about to march on the home of the Jedi, there would be no warning unless Anakin gave them one. He activated his comlink, making sure the call was encrypted. "Master Windu!"

No reply came. There was no verbal response or even a connection with the Jedi Temple. Fox is jamming all transmissions, he realized, groaning in frustration. Of course he was. It's what Anakin would have done.

He had to get there first if the Jedi had any chance of fending off an attack. The only problem? If he showed his face at all above the surface, he was going to get shot down. He needed a way in that wasn't going to expose himself.

It took a minute of concentration, but he vaguely remembered one occasion where such an entry had been made. Years ago, Cad Bane had snuck in through the ventilation system of the Temple. Anakin looked to the side of the shaft, seeing an exhaust port that looked promising. Using the Force, he ripped the cover off of its bearings and jumped in, hoping the clones weren't going to be checking this particular tunnel system. He didn't have a choice though, not if he wanted to protect the rest of the Order.