Coruscant. Capital of the Galactic Republic.
It was already an evening with a gorgeous sunset, glorified by the people of the capital when Riv, Begnal, and twi'lek girl arrived at the Jedi Temple. The girl left them inside the Temple, and Begnal, together with Riv, talked to the Temple administration.
'I need to address to the Jedi council,' claimed Begnal.
'Please state the matter you want to bring before the council,' the droid administrator asked him.
'Knight Trial for a padawan,' stated Begnal. 'I need to discuss it with the council and ask for guidance.'
'Wery well. Your request is accepted,' informed administrator doid. 'We shall notify you when the council is ready to review your case. May the Force be with you.'
'May the Force be with you,' Begnal replied. He walked away but then returned to the administrator. 'I'm sorry, but could you please tell me? Are there any High Council members here at the Temple?' He asked.
'Only Jedi knight Anakin Skywalker is here. Would you liked me to ask him about a personal meeting?' Offered administrator droid.
'Thank you, but not this time,' replied Begnal and left the administration post.
Riv stood at some distance from his master. Thoughts in his mind were giving Riv a hard time. It could be the last time he ever walked into Jedi Temple. All those years of training, perseverance, and abstinence could end up with nothing. He dedicated so much time and effort to become a Jedi Knight and failed at the very end of his journey. Strong emotions tore Riv apart. He felt betrayed by his master and realized his own guilt and liability at the same time. And he'd need to calm down somehow before he made another mistake.
'Master, I want to meditate,' said Riv. He didn't want to meditate as much as he wanted to be alone now. Begnal agreed with a quick nod.
Starcruiser was descending into the lower atmosphere. Droid cannons kept firing and hitting the ship. Riv rushed and disabled cannons one by one. The cruiser was severely damaged but remained intact and landed safely. There, the vision has ended. Riv opened his eyes and saw himself being alone in a Temple sleeping quarters. A deep breath, closed eyes, and Riv went into meditation again.
Riv was back in the fight at the Pongarlon again. Their starcruiser in the sky was taking heavy fire from the ground artillery. Riv rushed to destroy droid cannons. He wiped out all the batteries again and heard Spike's cry.
'Behind you!'
Riv turned back and saw three super battledroids firing at him. He deflected blaster bolts, but more battledroids were coming, surrounding him. Spike, Notch, Madcap, and other clones left their positions and rushed to help Riv. Some of the droids fired at the clones. Madcap got hit, then Notch. The entire clone squad has gone in a matter of minutes. Riv finished the last battledroid and hurried to badly injured Spike. Lad dropped to his knees to help an injured friend.
'It was a great pleasure to serve with you, sir!' Spike said and died in Riv's arms. Tears run from down Riv's eyes. Everything faded away again, and Riv was back into the Temple
'Past stays in the past,' He said with a deep sight. Riv looked by the window and found it was already a late evening. No call from his master yet.
Riv closed his eyes and concentrated one more time. However, this time, he didn't focus on the past.
Riv couldn't see as if a dense black smoke had surrounded him. His senses remained sharp as ever, though. The inevitable threat has been coming from all around. An acute pain stroke Riv and paralyzed him.
'Power! Unlimited Power!' A strange voice shouted.
Riv has never heard this voice before. It was coming all around him.
'Rise!' The same murky voice said. The pain has left Riv just as suddenly it appeared.
'Do what must be done, Lord Vader. Do not hesitate. Show no mercy!' The voice gave an order.
It took Riv some effort to break down this vision. He was covered with sweat and could not catch his breath for a while. Questions tore his mind apart. This murky deep voice, Lord Vader, whoever he is? Was it past or the future Riv had seen in his vision? And should he speak with master Begnal about it?
The first place Riv decided to check was the Archive. He wanted to know more about the name he heard during the vision. Fortunately, the Jedi Archives had more knowledge than anywhere else in the entire galaxy, or at least he was taught like that. If Lord Vader had ever existed, Archives should have records about him.
On his way to the Archives, Riv met twi'lek Jedi girl he rescued from the escape pod on the Pongarlon. The girl smiled and walked to him.
'Hello. Riv, right?' She asked.
'Yes!' Riv bowed to Jedi knight.
'I didn't thank you properly for getting me out of that escape pod. I've been grieving for my Master way too much,' she sighed. 'Oh, I haven't even introduced myself. I'm very sorry about that. My name is Shiri Gella.' The girl offered a hand.
'Nice to meet you!' Riv shook her hand briefly.
'You look stressed. Is everything alright?' Shiri asked.
'Well. I don't really know.' Riv could not decide to her know about the vision.
'Might I can help you?' The girl asked him.
'Yeah!' Riv nodded. 'I need to get to the Archive and search for some information, which can be in the restriction section.'
'The information is restricted for a reason.' Shiri noted. Riv sighed and decided to talk about his recent experience.
'I had a vision,' he said quietly.
'A vision?' Shiri asked again, as if not believed padawan's words.
'I think it was a vision,' said Riv. 'Darkness, pain, suffering.'
'Oh dear...' Shiri looked slightly afraid.
'There was a strange voice I've never heard before,' Riv continued. 'And the name Lord Vader. I believe Lord is related to Sith Lords.'
'You definitely should be cautious with your vision and tell your master about it,' said Shiri with anxiety in her voice.
'I will, but I have to know about this Lord Vader first,' said Riv. 'He might have lived a thousand years ago. I don't want to raise the alarm for no real reason.'
A loud Temple alarm sound interrupted him.
'What is going on?' Shiri asked.
'Might another separatist ambush?' Riv looked up into the night sky but saw nothing unusual.
'I don't like it,' said Shiri. 'We need to get to the main hall and see what has happened and what help is needed.' The girl rushed first, with Riv following her.
Riv and Shiri met Begnal near the main hallway of the Temple.
'Master, what happened?' Riv asked.
'The temple is under attack!' Begnal replied. 'Every Jedi and padawan is to fight and defend the Temple.' He took out Riv's lightsaber and gave it back to the lad.
'Give your combat skills a good use, padawan,' said the master.
'I won't fail you, master!' Riv said. He was ready to prove himself and destroy any attackers who dared to assault their Temple. Now it could be his chance to regain his master's trust.
'Secure the main hallway!' Begnal ordered.
'Who is the attacker?' Shiri asked.
'I don't know, but whoever they are, we must stop them,' Master replied.
Riv and others heard the blaster fire. Riv could say those were clone's blaster rifles firing.
'Looks like we got reinforcement arrived!' Riv felt inspired. He sprinted to the main hallway to aid fellow clone troopers and destroy the attacker. The sight opened in the hallway astonished him.
No droids were attacking. Those were clone troopers with blue markings on their armor who attacked the Temple and fired at Jedi.
'How is this possible?' Shiri asked when she arrived at the main hall.
'It must be a mistake,' said Riv perpexedly. 'Clones would never turn against us.'
'We shall find it out as soon as Temple is secured.' Begnal ignited his sword and led the counterattack. The nearby clone trooper squads spotted them.
'More Jedi incoming. Open fire!' The clone sergeant ordered. Troopers with blue markings opened fire at Begnal, but the Jedi deflected all the fire back at the clones. Shiri and other Jedi joined defending forces. Only Riv stood at his place. He felt like his eyes have deceived him.
'This is wrong. All of this is wrong!' He said, watching the fight. 'Clones should not be firing at Jedi and killing each other. We got to stop it!'
Riv rushed to another squad of troopers with the same blue markings. He didn't know the legion number which had such markings, but he knew that every clone must follow Jedi's orders.
'Soldiers! Stand down! Hold your fire! We are not the enemy!' Riv shouted out loud. Several clones spotted him.
'We aren't the enemy! We are your friends! Put your weapons down!' Riv said again.
'Take down the traitor!' Clone trooper ordered. Riv swiftly deflected blaster bolts away.
'Hold your fire! It's an order!' Shouted Riv. None of the soldiers complied.
Riv has been deflecting blaster bolts away to avoid harming clones till reinforcements arrived. With more clone troopers coming, he could no longer avoid hitting clones.
'Sorry, pals,' said Riv. He deflected all the blaster bolts back and wiped out the entire clone squad.
'We need you here, padawan!' Begnal shouted out. Riv moved back to help other Jedi.
'If you think someone didn't try to talk to their minds....' Begnal tried to talk with him.
'I had to try it myself to believe!' Riv replied fast.
'Listen, master Cin Drallic coordinates the temple's defense,' Begnal said to Riv and Shiri. 'Find him, and follow his orders.'
'What about you, master?' Riv asked.
'I shall stay here and hold the attackers as much as possible. Now go. May the force be with you!'
'May the force be with you, master!'
Riv and Shiri escaped into one of the numerous side hallways. They sprinted as long they could hear a blaster fire.
'Master Drallic should be somewhere in the center of the temple.' Said Shiri. 'We better hurry if we want to help him!' She wanted to hurry up, but Riv stopped her.
'I have a better plan,' he said and grabbed Shiri's arm to hold her. 'We need to find out why those clones attacked us. We can end this massacre. And no offense, but the Troll won't find you to be helpful.' Riv shrugged.
'Don't call master Drallig a Troll!' Shiri retorted. 'And what makes you think I'm not helpful?'
'Alright, I shall be honest with you now,' said Riv. 'Your combat skills are average at best. You've barely stood against those clone troopers. In a fierce fight, you are going to be a burden.'
'A burden?' Shiri asked again.
'You better to realize it now, not in the middle of a fight.' Riv said. 'Anyway, we need to get one clone alive.'
'I guess you shall use your exceptional combat skill to make it happen,' said the girl. Although she tried to calm herself, she felt annoyed with Riv's words.
'Can you find a place where we could put a clone and check him?' Asked her Riv.
'I have no other choice, obviously,' sighed Shiri.
Four identical clones with blue markings went into the side hallway where Riv was already waiting for them.
'Another Jedi. Take him down!' Clone sergeant ordered. All four clones opened fire, but Riv was ready. He effortlessly deflected every blue blaster bolt, disabling three clone troopers. Rive pulled the last clone with the Force, sliced down his blaster, and pushed back into a wall, making sure the clone just loose conciseness.
Using the Force, Riv moved the clone to the small cell where Shiri was waiting for him. Riv put down the clone and removed his helmet. He saw the familiar face his best friends were sharing. The very last likeness he would associate with the enemy.
'They must be infected or somehow controlled,' said Riv quietly. 'Clones never attack us.' He looked at Shiri, but the girl shook her head.
'I have no idea about it,' she said. Meantime, the clone soldier slowly started to recover.
'A Jedi,' he said upon opening his eyes. 'A Jedi traitor.' He said again and attempted to get up, but Riv levitated him, using force.
'Why are you calling me a traitor?' Riv snarled.
'Jedi betrayed Republic. All traitors shall be dealt with lethal force.'
'But I've never betrayed republic! Never!' Shouted Riv right into the clone's face.
'That's what the real traitor would say,' said clone. Riv could no longer hold his anger. He ignited his lightsaber and stabbed the clone into his chest.
'Be it your way, fool. Traitors shall be dealt with lethal force!' He said, watching now dead clone. Riv turned back and saw Shiri standing in combat stance against him with her green lightsaber up.
'I sense a dark side within you. So strong. You are not even trying to fight it off!' Shiri said. Even though she was standing in combat stance, the girl looked frightened.
'Is this what you really want now? Fight an elusive enemy while a real one is about to strike?' Riv asked her, slowly approaching.
'The Dark Side is a path to destruction,' said Shiri and then lowered down her lightsaber. 'But you might still have a chance to find your way back.'
'I guess we have more important things to do now,' Riv said while hearing the clone's communicator got active.
'Drallig is down, I repeat, Drallig is down. Major threat eliminated!'
'Copy that, continue with the primary directive, eliminate remaining Jedi and take whole building under control.'
'Master Cin Drallig is dead?' Shiri could not believe the words she just heard. 'But how is it even possible? He is one of the best combat experts!'
'I doubt you want to know how it went through,' said Riv, walking outside the cell, leaving a dead clone. 'We have to get out of this place. Nothing more we can do here now.'
'But all those Jedi? Padawans, younglings? What about them? We have to protect them! We can't just leave!' Shiri insisted.
'Look around! We have already lost!' Riv shouted. "Drallic is dead, and he is one of the best combat masters in the Jedi Order. We won't stand a chance against those clones. Even I won't be able to fight forever!' Riv took Shiri's hand. 'We can't save them now. But I promise we shall find out what has happened. But we have to leave the Temple now.' He said it much more calmly.
'But... We are going to betray everyone left here if we leave the Temple!' Shiri's voice was trembling.
'We won't survive if we stay here. But we can warn other Jedi and save their lives.' Riv took Shiri's other hand and looked right into her eyes.
'Trust me. I know what we have to do.' He said.
Shiri had no time to say anything. Another clone trooper squad went into the hallway they were hiding.
'More Jedi here. Shoot to kill!' Clone sergeant gave an order.
'Run, get to the nearest hangar. I'll deal with them!' Shouted Riv to Shiri and engaged clone troopers. No more hesitations, no mercy, no more old empathy. Riv engaged and brutally eliminated clones wearing white armor with blue markings.
Breaking away from pursuers, Riv and Shiri managed to get inside the hangar control room and disable a couple of clones standing there. Riv glanced around quickly to see the situation.
'Nice, we have two LAATs gunships here,' he said, looking at the screen. 'I can fly it, and there is a place for a second pilot. Looks promising for me.'
'But there is like a dozen of clones inside the hangar,' asked Shiri.'Are we going to fight against them all?'
'No, I'm going to do it. You get into the gunship and start it up.'
'Are you going to kill all of them?' Shiri asked.
'I'll just make sure they won't be shooting us.'
Riv's plan worked well. He walked into the hangar, drawing clones' attention. The clone troopers opened fire, but he quickly deflected most of the blaster bolts back. Shiri sneaked towards the nearby LAAT gunship. When she was about to get on board, a clone trooper appeared, pointing his blaster over her. Shiri quickly cut down his blaster and threw the clone away using force. She finally got inside the gunship and activated it. She could see Riv fighting remaining clone troopers. Seven clones left, but they were shooting from all directions, forcing Riv to get into defense.
'Some help would be great here!' Riv shouted, deflecting blaster bolts. He managed to disable the clone trooper armed with a heavy blaster rifle, but then the door into the hangar opened, and master Begnal jumped into the fight. He flanked clone troopers, driving their attention away, helping Riv to get into a counter-attack.
'The temple has fallen. There was a traitor among us!' Begnal said, knocking off the last clone trooper.
'Who did it? The clone commanders?' Riv asked.
'Not only clones. The traitor is among Jedi. I believe it was....' master Begnal did not finish the talk as more clone troopers equipped with heavy weapons arrived at the hangar.
'Get out of here!' Begnal roared and jumped over the clones. Riv rushed to the gunship where Shiri was sitting inside.
'Sorry, I've never flown this type of ship!' She said, being embarrassed.
'I'll turn this thing around, and you aim the weapons on these clones. Don't hit master Begnal!' Riv said, getting into the pilot's seat. LAAT gunship slowly lifted from hangar's floor, and Riv managed to turn it around gently.
'Master, get on the gunship!' Riv shouted, but Begnal could not hear him. He was barely holding himself against clones with heavy blaster rifles.
'Fire! Wipeout these clones already!' Riv shouted to Shiri.
'I'm trying... I'm not really used to it!' The girl had a hard time aiming the weapon at the clones. 'Guess I've got it!' Shiri said, but Begnal got hit.
'No! Master! No!' Shouted Riv. He opened fire from the gunship's forward cannons, killed five clones, and destroyed the hangar's entrance and part of the hallway. Debris started falling, blocking the main door. One massive ceiling debris hit the remaining LAAT, damaging its wings.
'Get clear!' Shiri shouted. Riv turned around the gunship towards the hangar's main large gate and flew away. They left the hanger just moments before the ceiling collapsed, burying everything left there.
'Still can't believe it is all happening for real,' said Riv, looking at the burning Jedi Temple.
'It's all lost!' Shiri said with tears coming from her eyes.
'No! It's not the end. We are still alive, and there are still Jedi around the Galaxy.'
'But what we are going to do now? The clone said we are now enemies of the Republic. Are we going to be hunted down?' Shiri asked.
'I have no idea,' sighed Riv. 'But we are flying a republic military gunship. So everyone around shall think we are military, not a Jedi. All we need now is to lay low.'
'Where are you going to do it?' Shiri asked.
'In the Underworld.'