"First, I want you to go to the Jedi Temple. We will catch them off balance. Do what must be done, Lord Vader. Do not hesitate; show no mercy."
―Darth Sidious

Watching from his vantage point the young Padawan looked out the viewport, there was quite the gathering as LAATs had been swarming around the temple. The hulk of a Venator could just be seen from his vantage point skulking above the temple. "What's going on? One of the group could be heard asking, "There must be threat of an attack! like when they took the chancellor!" But it all stopped when they saw him. Leading lines of white and blue clad stormtroopers up the steps towards the temple there was a figure clad in black robes. There was something about the way he held himself, while the robes were that of a Jedi something was different. He closed his eyes, like many around him had done stretching out with the Force as best he could. He was still trying to sense the being in the Force when he felt a sharp pain, opening his eyes he could hear some of the other Padawans around him cry.

Looking down he saw why, the gatemaster had been slain... by a lightsaber. With that the LAATs erupted into activity, like carrion beetles after their nest had been kicked. The Temple shook under the barrage, troopers stormed the temple and despite the distance between his group and the main entrance he could hear the sounds of blasters resonating throughout the temple. He pulled his hand down to his belt as a squad of four troopers ran around the corner, however he did not ignite his blade. Where the other Padawans failed to find his voice he spoke up. "Trooper, what is going on? Who is attacking the temple?!" With that his question was answered as four rifles were levied at the group of Padawans. He managed to ignite his lightsaber, blocking what would be a fatal blow however the others around him were not so fast falling to the rapid fire shots from the blaster rifles.

Tears stung his eyes, hate welled within him. He knew it was wrong but he could not help it, pushing out in the Force the four clones went flying back into a nearby wall. However at the same time he felt something pierce him back, looking down he saw the tip of a blade protruding from his stomach. The lightsaber in his hand dropped to the floor, closing his eyes for the last time he pushed away his anger. There is no death, only the Force.

---

Tyrell spun his blade on front of him, a yellow disk of light appearing on front of him with how fast the blade was moving. Concentrating on two things along, the Force and the Lightsaber. He allowed one to control the other, as the clones continued to pour through a breach in the wall. He turned to those who had gathered behind him, in his helmet he could hear the calling of his fellow guards and he knew they were all in similar positions as him. They had sworn to defend the temple however an assault on this scale was not expected. He turned his head slightly to face those behind him "Fall back, fall back to the-" His sentence was never finished, an explosion ruptured the wall next to him. Blown of his feet, vision blurred and with ringing in his ears he was cast down a nearby corridor, he barely managed to keep a hold off and deactivate his lightsaber let alone prevent from hitting his head.

He ached all over when he came too, no more than a couple of seconds later. He already knew those he had been protecting were now dead, only the Force had sustained him. He stood up, painfully and began to run with a limp.

He would gather anyone he could, and find a way out of the temple. It had fallen, but the Jedi would survive.

Shir-Val-Kuul was in her room, reading through one of the historical files on her datapad which she had requested from the archives for about the third time. She felt about her a particular uncertainty which had really strengthened in the past few months, though to say it was a recent development would be innaccurate. In reality, it had never been a secret, to herself or to her peers, that Shir's views on the Jedi and the code were somewhat unconventional, but she had always acted within acceptable bounds. Overall, no matter how she felt, Shir believed in the Jedi. She felt that the point and goal of the Jedi Order was something the galaxy desperately needed, but all of the little flaws she had noticed over the years, the things which did not seem quite right in her mind, they had been building up undeniably.

Shir let out a scarcely audible sigh as she dropped her datapad down on her desk. The Mandalorian Wars, they were a well-known event of history, something most educated beings were taught about, something young children loved to reenact with their toy blasters. But to Shir, they represented a failure of the Jedi. Such was not an uncommon view among scholars and historians, but she wondered in exactly what way they truly failed? The Jedi Council of the time refused to act and allowed entire planets to suffer, while those who defied them fell prey to themselves. In that, it was no different from much of galactic history, the cycles of peace, then failures of the Jedi to stop the wars. Shir could not yet profess to knowing exactly what it was, but if history had repeated itself so many times, then she coudl not shake the feeling that something was fundamentally wrong.

Suddenly, Shir's focus was snatched from her thoughts, and into the moment. He heard it, she felt it, strongly and intensely all around her. It was battle, that unmistakable sensation with whcih she was all too familiar. Even the dullest of Padawans could feel the disturbance which was so close by, the pain which filled the air. The Temple was under attack; that was unmistakable.

Shir grabbed her primary saber in her hand and snapped her tool belt around her waist. Like most of her species, it was all she wore. She rushed out of her room and started down the hallway. Normally, most Jedi would not be in their rooms for another few hours, so she saw no others until she turned the corner to three clone troopers. With all that she could feel and hear, Shir did not need to hesitate. With a thought, she activated her lightsaber while pulling her shoto to her other hand from her belt. Her suspicions were confirmed when the trio opened fire, but her well-honed reactions were more than enough to protect her. Two of the bolts she deflected, while the third she reflected into the center clone's knee.

As the middle clone was collapsing to the ground, the other two fired their second volley, through which Shir began to rush forward. She deflected the two bolts, then threw her shoto forward into the chest of the clone on the left, while sprinting at the one on the right. He was only able to fire one more shot before she reached him, and after she dodged to the side, there was nothing he could do to stop her from nearly bisecting him. By this point, the clone on the ground was bringing his weapon to bear, but a simple force push was all it took to divert his aim, followed by a clean slash across the neck.

Retrieving her shoto, Shir quickly moved on in the direction of the atrium. A few clones combing what they likely believed to be a less populated section of the temple were not too great a threat, but she had a feeling there were far more than a few present. She had no real plan yet, but finding someone to group up with seemed like a solid start.

"There is no ignorance; there is knowledge. There is no fear; there is power. I am the heart of the Force. I am the revealing fire of light. I am the mystery of darkness. In balance with chaos and harmony. Immortal in the Force." These words Alecar Drey repeated quietly to himself as he sat cross-legged in his quarters; the room lit only by a series of candles scattered about, covering the room in a refulgent orange glow. The Miraluka paused in his recitations to telekinetically summon a steaming cup of tea to his hand, taking a long sip before putting the cup back down at his side, now remaining silent.

Typically he would spend the later hours of the night studying in the Temple Archives, or helping a wayward Padawan who was kept awake with questions or concerns. But there was something wrong, Alecar felt, something that bode a certain sense of dread...the seemingly serene environment of the Temple did not ease his anxieties...perhaps the calm before the storm.

So he chose to meditate, letting the Force cleanse his mind and give him clear insight on what was causing his tensions; self-reflection, maybe. But his worst fears were about to be realized as his focused meditations were suddenly interrupted by a deep and hollow pain he felt. Not a physical pain, no, but something worse - a pain in the Force...so near.

Alecar could feel the Dark Side creeping up around him, and knew that something terrible was going on. As if on cue, he could sense two presences walking down the hallway, nearing closer to his door - Clone Troopers. Easily sensing their intent, Alecar quickly made a subtle ripple of the Force to blow out the candles around him, but otherwise did not move from his seated position.

It was strange...he could feel no semblance of hatred, anger, or wrath from these Clones...as if this was nothing more than a simple duty. But his own connection to the Force, coupled with the distant sounds of blaster scores only confirmed his fears...there was a coup against the Jedi, by the Republic they had swore to protect.

He knew it would only be moments time before the Clones opened his door and tried to gun him down, and thus took a drawn out sip of tea before slowly standing to his feet, curbing his anxiety by letting his mind go to the Force to give him strength, and to give him peace.

True to his thinking, he could 'see' the two Clones stop by his door and examine it for a few moments before one of them pushed the button on the side wall to open it, his companion readying his rifle.

The moment the door slid open, a massive wave sent both Clones flying back against the wall; crashing hard and crumpling to the ground from the impact. Alecar slowly stepped out of the doorway into the hall, his hands crossed behind his back as he inclined his head down at the semi-conscious Clones on the ground. Turning to head towards the Atrium and try to look for survivors to group together, Alecar was seemingly oblivious to the fact that one of the Clones had slowly recovered from his collision, and retrieved his DC-15S Carbine, managing to point it at the Miralukan Jedi's back when another telekinetic grasp sent him crashing into the ceiling and back onto the ground again; knocking him out cold.
~~~
Hearing the sounds of blaster fire and lightsabers colliding quickened Alecar's pace as he traversed through the halls of the Temple. He would have to hurry if he wished to find any other survivors and find a way out of here...the Jedi Order had been overrun, the only plan now was to escape alive.

Gar was where he was every night, in the archives studying a combination of public records of senate meetings and the latest in programming methodology. The Senate's public rhetoric had been really becoming more warlike after the events above Coruscant. The growing number of troops outside was almost ignored by him, he could feel their presence but it was nothing that couldn't be accounted for in their speeches and public attitudes. Normally he didn't follow politics, but his master had impressed on him the need to understand the state of the universe if one wanted to be ready for what might come next. Even he had to admit, the ability to see the pieces of the universe falling into place without a need to rely on something like visions or feelings would be incredibly useful. So while Vookta would normally have ignored something like this in favor of a technical manual, the benefits pushed him in that direction.

His studying was interrupted however as the first wave of death washed over those in the room. All turned to the main entrance as the masters readied themselves. Unfortunately that moment of distraction lessend their ability to react as the archive windows burst in. A few smoke grenades filling the space with dense smoke, quickly followed by troops coming in through them. Gar was pulled out of his chair, datapad still in hand as his master shoved him towards the door leading deeper into the temple. The yellow lightsaber showing through the smoke along with deflected blaster fire.

"Go! Get out of here, save as many as you can." His mastered shouted, and Gar did as ordered. He ran, picking up a the younger jedi he could see or sense and moving them to the doors leading away from the fighting. It was as he escaped down the hall he felt it, his master had fallen. Gar would mourn the passing of a great woman later, right now he needed to focus on getting as many people out alive as possible. Keeping his lightsaber off for a moment he used the memorized building blueprints to try and keep the few Jedi with him away from likely entry points, instead focusing on maintenance areas and crawlspace. Working towards where the exits that would lead to the non-spacefaring vehicles. Likely already destroyed save for a few, but it was the best idea he had that wouldn't lead them to a fight against the Republic Navy or trying to hack their way through troopers.

The entire building felt of death, anger, and sadness. A part of him was absolutely shocked, yet another small voice told him that he shouldn't be. That he should have seen something like this coming in his studies. Yet he had not, it was a mistake he could never afford to make again, he had to understand the political and military machines as well as he understood a speeder or building blueprints. He wouldn't bother learning it to use it as a diplomat, he would learn it to see where the winds of change blew. To understand where was likely to be safe and where was likely to get him and whoever remained of The Order killed. While he knew for a fact he wouldn't be the only Jedi to possibly escape, he couldn't know if any other Sentinels would make it. That was the thought that distressed him most out of all of this, that not only would his master die, but that an entire school of thought might die this night.

"Follow me, I'll do my best to get you out of here. Hopefully without needing to raise our blades." He spoke to the few with him.

"We should be fighting." A girl about his age said, to the agreement of another.

"No, we should be surviving. We have neither the numbers nor the skills to take on however many are out there. Our focus must be on surviving this night, or else all will be lost for all we know."

Salhaine sat in quiet contemplation, having recently completed her studies for the evening. She had been focusing on troop movements and deployment of large-scale forces, after the previous day's efforts to understand synergies between differing units. It was a slow process, even with assistance from Jedi Knights and Padawans such as herself who visited the archives as she did. But the apprentice was patient and disciplined, as she most often was. Understanding would come in time. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

The chamber was silent save for faint hints of breathing, and the occasional rustle of fabric. Salhaine was at peace, reaching out to the Force and feeling it wrap around her. A smile played on the corner of her lips as she sensed the currents and their movements.

Then something shifted. An abrupt change, as if a switch had been flipped and inverted the flow. Her eyes flew open; she could no longer feel the peaceful tides that usually gathered about the Temple and its halls. Salhaine sprang to her feet to investigate, reaching out to the Force to see what had replaced the serenity. Instead of the previous sense of calm, death and pain sliced across her as a lightsaber would tear through wood. Salhaine recoiled from its touch. Intent on finding its source, the Padawan hurried from her chamber. The intensity of the Dark Side - for that was the only source she could think of that could cause such a drastic shift in the Force - strengthened as she paced the hall.

"Salhaine!" A voice called her name from further down the hall. She sped up to find its owner, a black-haired Human she recognised as a fellow Padawan. A green-hued lightsaber was readied in his hands. Two bodies were sprawled on the floor, their armour - clone trooper armour - bearing the clear signs of damage from a lightsaber's blade. "Jorath? What is this, what's going on?"

"The Temple is under attack. The clones, the Army of the Republic... they're here. And they're killing any Jedi they find. Younglings, Padawans, it doesn't matter. I saw them cut some down without hesitation... or mercy." Jorath was short of breath. "I don't know how this happened, Salhaine, but they've turned on us. We have to leave. Now." Already he was hurrying past her in the direction of the closest hangar bay. Stunned, Salhaine didn't move. She couldn't believe this. It didn't make any sense.

"Salhaine! We don't have time - "

"More of them! Open fire!" The voice of a clone trooper, recognised by Salhaine from her time in the war, interrupted Jorath. The Echani spun to face the speaker, her lightsaber in hand and ignited almost on instinct. Six clones, rifles up and aimed at the two Padawans. Blaster fire erupted through the hall, and Salhaine slipped into her tried and true Shien-style deflection of the shots. One rebounded back into a clone and he fell: Jorath moved in to close the distance, cutting down two more.

Then one of the remaining troopers turned from Salhaine and fired three shots into Jorath while his back was turned. At that range he couldn't miss. Salhaine rushed forward as her fellow Padawan crumpled, engaging the clones in close quarters. The first dropped with his right arm severed, the second took a diagonal slash across the torso, and Salhaine staggered the third with a Force-assisted shove before killing him. The threat eliminated, she rushed to Jorath and turned him over. "Jorath?"

"Go, Salhaine... run while you can." Jorath coughed up a glob of blood, but spoke no more. Salhaine felt his death add to the unease and pain within the Temple, but he was right. She had to escape. Giving her fellow Jedi a final courtesy by closing his eyes, she took a deep breath, then got to her feet and continued through the Temple, intending to make her way to a hangar bay within the Spires.

Peace. Arlana moved among the young Jedi in the infirmary. Jedi training was a bit of a rough and tumble affair, and just about every apprentice would end up here at least a few times, from a smack with a training saber that left a scorch to an error that sent a rock into their face. She treated them all, touching fingers lightly to burn and break and bruise and cut and letting the Force flow into the hurt, easing the pain, speeding the healing. This was where she wanted to be, where she would spend this war if she could. Unfortunately this was a War, not some outer rim scuffle and they needed every Jedi capable of wielding a sword to fight, not to be a nurse in a galaxy of bacta. She had received her orders - she would rendezvous with a new unit of clones at Fondor in one week, taking her place aboard the R.S.D. Aullanger.

Peace had come to an end. The thought ran through her mind, and as if fate itself had a twisted sense of humor, it was made more true than she would have liked.

The temple shuddered from a distant explosion. In a flash she had twisted away from the young boy with the bloodied nose, stretching out with her senses, her mouth widening in horror as she felt distant pinpricks of light that were other Jedi, wavering and flashing and fading before her eyes. She heard the children began to cry, one young girl - perhaps five - sensed the distant horror and let out an ear-piercing scream. Arlana shot a glance at the other fully-fledged Jedi in the room, an old, gnarled Master.

"Can you...?"

"Go, Arlana, I'll watch after these young ones."

"Get them out of here, Master. Find a way, I'll protect this pathway."

She didn't wait to hear his response, hitting the door for the infirmary and drawing her lightsaber from her belt as she ran. Anger surged through her at the thought of an attack on her beloved temple, of her fellow Jedi dying, Then she saw it, as she stepped to an open staircase and saw the atrium below - a few Jedi huddled in a corner, being advanced upon by a unit of clones, pouring blaster fire into the Jedi. Whirling blades deflected most of the bolts, but they were being slowly but surely overwhelmed, their meager skill not enough to protect them. Trainees, Padawans...she didn't stop to contemplate her outrage at seeing clones attacking Jedi, instead leaping into the battle, taking the clones by surprise and scything through them. Form III wasn't much of a combat style, but up close against surprised opponents it wasn't much of a challenge, her blade sweeping through soldier after soldier, leaving them a huddled mess on the ground. Her mind quailed at causing such death, yearning for the simplicity of cleaving an unthinking droid rather than a man.

It was no time for that.

She turned her head as the last of the Clones fell, her heart sinking. Their defenses had failed a moment too soon, each lying on the ground, a smoking hole in his body. One of them still twitched, the oldest, a boy of perhaps sixteen. She rushed to his side, pressing her hand against his wound and letting the Force flow into it. His breathing eased, and his eyes met hers. She knew him, Kalen Voth. A good Jedi, not quite a friend.

"Master Kailor...are they alright? The children?"

She couldn't bear to look at them, stifled her tears and the anguish in her voice, and said, "You did it, Voth. Just hold still, you'll be okay." She was, for once, a good liar. The boy smiled at her, then his breath stopped and he went still. She let out a raspy breath, and rose to her feet, tears streaming down her face as she reignited her saber.

The temple shook, pain radiated all around him however he climbed to his feet. Letting the Force wash through him however no more than that, he had a feeling he would need to use everything he had to escape the temple and he didn't want to tire himself anytime soon. He pressed the now bruising parts of his skin gently, he stretched out in the force. He wanted to recoil from it, hide from it. From the pain, anguish and fear. Things that should not be present in the Jedi Temple. He found the nearest presence, he wasn't typically familiar with it however it was a Jedi and that was all he needed to know. Throwing off his mask, and letting his hood fall down he clipped staff on a modified clip that ran along his thigh and pulled out his own personal saber. Running in the direction off the person he sensed, he jumped around a corner, thats when he saw the reptilian Jedi. However he spun around as lines dropped behind him and clones came down them. He held his lightsaber blade at one of their necks. "Don't make me do this."

One of the other Clones simply cocked his rifle and the blue blade went out... replaced by a purple blade. Thinner but also longer the new blade sliced through the Jedis throat. Tyrell moved in a spin, his longer blade cutting swaths in the floor while blocking blasters shots. Circling the clones. When he finished his arcs he brought his blade up on front of him and smiled before plunging his blade into the ground in one of the few untouched spots. The rough circle below the clones feet fell to the next floor and he turned to the Jedi, bowing his head slightly. "I do not know how many remain, however if we have any chance we should stick together." Another explosion shook the little dust that had settled in the temple.

This was bad, this was really bad. Jedi Temple under attack? He knew this was a time of war, but here he was looking barely out into the corridor and he could see a glimpse of clone troopers busting down doors and firing at the first thing they see, besides other clone troops that is. He was strangely calm, but he did not doubt it, such a thing was instinct to him by now. Many times he had been searched for, and the adrenaline of hiding came under his control. On the other hand, he had to figure out where to go next... The hangar was an obvious choice, but it was possible that the clone troopers have already moved to secure it and prevent escape, though all the same, Jedi both knights and otherwise of any rank may already be there trying to secure an escape. It all came down to speed then... If they can get there in time, they can secure a vehicle for escape quite easily. The problem was that Asher himself had very little experience with vehicles. So his best option was to find a strong survivor and join them while offering assistance.

The clone troopers down the hall quickly made their way down the hall in his direction. He slipped back and away from the hall as the clone troopers would simply run by, and after they did so, Asher moved down through the hallway they had just exit. After many other similar encounters, he kept a low profile as he soon found the main hallway towards the hangar. Predictably, he could also sense a troupe of storm troopers running down from the other way. He had to find another way in... Perhaps through the control room a floor above...? Deciding this was the best course of action, he quietly walked to the ventilation, and using the force he slowly and quietly undid the fastens. Usually you would need tools to do this, but he has seen technicians do this enough times to understand roughly how it went. After a couple mess-ups he finally did, lowering the lid and hiding it before with the aid of the force, he leaped high enough to grab onto it, and off he went.

Following a small adventure in the ventilation system he eventually ended up beside the control room, and two clone troopers were there, along with a few dead Jedi, and among that, dead clones, though he couldn't see the actual count for any of them. The troopers were putting away their weapons, or at least one of them was as they began hitting the controls, likely to lock down the hangar, while the other was on watch. Normal process. Fortunate was his position too, he can see them both clearly, and can see the other exits. There was no one else. In fact this was probably one of two teams, one heading for the hangar directly and the other hitting the control room, this one. He waited for his chance... He didn't have the agility to jump out and strike them both down, that wasn't his thing. He may be able to deflect some shots, but he was no good at deflecting them back for a reflect-kill, yet at least. So he waited, and as one trooper came close enough, he tripped him with the force, before extending his lightsaber through the vent and stabbing him. With one swing he ripped the vent door apart as well, and before the last trooper could properly draw his weapon he was pushed back into the console before Asher reached him with his green blade. After that, he began to take a few deep breaths... Taking another life... Practical, it was easy... But the adrenaline, was going to take time. It was fortunate these men were not men with families, such an act would weigh heavily on him.

"Now then... Let's see if anyone else made it to the hangar yet...", he said, as he walked towards the main console, with the entire hangar in view before him behind the glass.

There was a flicker in Arlana's senses, and her attention shifted away from the fallen Padawan to the hall she had just come from. Horror twisted her features - they had gotten behind her somehow, she could sense the horror from the children, and even as she rose to her feet and readied her lightsaber she knew she would never get there in time. Pain and rage flowed together and she felt a darkness all around her, beckoning her with the power she would need.

Run, Arlana. Don't give in to hate. The voice of the old master broke into her thoughts for a moment, and his spot in the Force shone bright and clear as a star, resolute against the darkness. Then a moment later it faded away, and with him all the little pinpricks of light began to blink out, one by one. Arlana turned and bolted, tears streaming down her face, barely restraining the scream that longed to rise up her throat. She ran blindly, not sure where she was heading. Towards the rear of the Temple, she thought, but beyond that nothing.

Tactus stopped suddenly in the middle of one of the many large open hallways of the Temple. He looked up from the datapad in his blue hands and listened. He cocked his head to the right and aimed his ear behind himself down the long hallway. He had heard a blaster go off, but it wasn't one set to stun. Then more......and more, barrages were beginning to break out. He focused intently on the noise trying to see if he could decipher the weapons that were being discharged. It only took him a moment to realize that it was a DC-17 being fired, but why though? If there were separatists attacking.......Tactus thought to himself for a moment before it hit him. The death he could feel in the force like some kind of dull pain. He turned around listening more intensely to the sound which he had become so accustomed to during his time in the war. Then an explosion shook the ground beneath him. It felt distant but it was some large weapon, he thought maybe a turbo laser. Then the marching came, as he focused on what he was hearing the marching was growing louder. Perfectly in step marching in the temple was rather, and if it was separatists it would be more metal not to mention a lack of separatist weapon discharges. Clones, he thought it has to be clones. But why were they here at all and why were they shooting up the place? No........no it can't.....

Before Tactus was able to finish that line of thinking a row of clones maybe 10 wide began rounding the corner towards him from the direction of the front entrance. If Tactus was even half right it was time to leave. Tactus quickly turned on his heels and began sprinting away from the clones. He knew there would be more than the 10 he had seen that was how they fought. He rounded a corner just as a absolute wave of blue fire enveloped the hallway he was just in. For a second he thought what if they had just misidentified him? But if that was the case they would have yelled or something. He quickly pushed that thought down into his mind and again returned to sprinting. Where would he go though? If they really were under attack nowhere in the temple would be safe from the clones. Having fought along them and even lead them he knew how they operated. These men were extremely efficient, having caught a glimpse of there armor though he was able to identify them as the 501st. This just hastened the idea in his head that regardless of what was happening he needed to get away from the clones and figure out what was happening. He thought for a second as he continued sprinting rounding corners into hallways where he couldn't here that march. The hanger, he could get a ship and get above this and find out what was happening.

He quickly plotted out a route from where he was to the hanger in his head. But as he rounded another corner he came apon a gruesome scene. Clones cut in half or crushed with a dead human Jedi in between the group of about 7 clones. His mind raced as he tried to process what he was looking at, all the while steam was still rising from the corpses. Maybe the knight had aggravated them? He didn't know for sure, but again he pushed the thought out and stepped over the bodies. But just before he left the pile he picked up a DC-17S off one of the clones. He then quickly went around and picked up as many spare cartridges as he could find. Though it wasn't much it was better than nothing. He had left his carbine in his quarters seeing how he wasn't expecting to be attacked today. He gripped the weapon tightly and put the extra ammo into his belt pockets as fast as he could without breaking the fragile cartridges. He backed away from the bodies slowly still not wanting to believe but then he heard the marching again. He jumped into a sprint again and realized he was getting near the hanger.

He knew that he was running towards a firefight without even using the force to hear. Other jedi must have had the same idea as him, but so would the clones...... He quickly corrected for the hanger control room. He knew that there was an overlook there and he would be able to asses his changes of getting a ship there. As he neared the hanger he began to see more scenes like the one he had seen earlier. Though most of these looked less recent than the one he had just seen. There was a particular concentration of dead around the control room door. He could feel the death in the force strongly as he stepped over the bodies and got to the door. It was unlocked but when he opened it he saw a figure looking out of the overlook. Tactus quickly drew his saber before realizing it wasn't a clone. Still hesitant of lowering his saber he called out to the figure "Identify yourself now!"

At the pace Shir was rushing through the halls, it was not long before she came across another. He disposed of a few ambushing clones, but they were hardly out of danger. They were near to the atrium, which was undoubtedly under heavy attack. As she was fighting ranged opponents, she had both of her sabers in hand and active, as there was no disadvantage to carrying two blades when deflecting blaster bolts.

Shir nodded to the other Jedi, still keeping her senses tuned to movement around them. "Agreed, we stand a better chance together, but this attack...we cannot fight them, not directly. These clones are the army of the Republic, which we are at the very center of. We cannot fight them, not directly. I have fought by the side of clones like these, and they are designed to be perfectly loyal. They were ordered to attack us, and all other clones will certainly do the same. We need to find as many of the others as we can, then escape not just the Temple, but the Republic itself." Shir said. As hard as it was to find someone in a place as massive as Coruscant, Shir did not think for a moment that they would be able to be safe anywhere on the planet. They had to escape Corsucant completely, but first, they needed to get out of the Temple itself. The clones would no doubt have all of the obvious exits blocked, so they would likely need to be creative.

Drell has been sitting in the privacy of one of the rooms for isolation. Meditation was his order of business today, and he had been trying to perfect his hold of the powers which he had learned. With his meditation, he had brought himself to slightly hovering above the floor so as to be as split away from distractions as possible.

Peace. Silence. Concentration. Focus on the hum of the Force. Feel it work, and flow through you and around you.

It was mostly typical, which Drell was thankful after so much news had been coming out about the war. It was supposedly going to be over soon, which while a rumor was heartening to say the least. Drell's thoughts on the galaxy finally being back at peace was interrupted by reality as suddenly he felt the entire temple shake. Felt being the right word even in the air he sudden felt death happening all around him, snapping his concentration as he fell to the ground and the temple shook physically underneath him. His mind began to process what was happening even as his body reacted instinctively.

We're....under attack! Being bombed! Troops everywhere? I need to...make my way out of here. The- Drell's thoughts were cut off as Clone Troopers blasted the door open, obviously not caring about the occupant that possibly was inside. Unfortunately for the troopers, the feeling was mutual as Drell swung his blade in a quick arc, neatly slicing a trooper's arm off before spinning back to deflect several shots from other troopers. Drell wasted no time, feeling that it was time to be aggressive, for he didn't know who was even left at this point. He needed kill these troopers, and get out of here. Now.

Thinking even quicker, Drell shoved one of the troopers with the Force into another, freeing him from deflecting bolts for a moment to step forward and slash the chest of the nearest clone. By that time the other two had recovered, but with several quick swings deflected the bolts back at his attackers, which struck a trooper in the chest, and one in the head. As they collapsed, Drell was already sprinting down the hall, towards the back of the Temple. They would have the front doors already secured, Drell reasoned, so the best of chance to escape this bloodbath was to get to where they weren't yet. With any luck, he could find other Jedi....alive Jedi, he grimly noted as he found some Jedi already littering some halls that he passed....only to finally see someone with the same idea as him. A human female, running down the hall.

Good, we are not all gone. Hopefully I have just been unlucky in my run, and there are many others. Please may there be many others.

"Hey!" Drell called after her. He didn't know what else to do, as he didn't find himself catching up. That, and just wanted to make sure that he wasn't following something that his mind had made from the thought of the Jedi Temple now being burned down around him.

Someone was coming, he simply knew someone was coming, no more than that. Instinctively he jumped over the console to hide with lightsaber in hand, but this voice that called out to him to identify himself... It was not the filtered voice under a helmet. He peered out from behind the console and identified who it was that came in, another Jedi, though based on the braid, also a Padawan like him, but older.

"Uhh... Asher, Padawan", he said, complying with the request, standing up as he identified the man as a Jedi... Actually, he probably may have seen him before, though he is an older Padawan, so maybe not really.

"And you?... Also I think it's safe to put the lightsaber away... I don't sense anyone else yet", he commented.

As Alecar reached the Atrium, he could feel his senses become overwhelmed by the Dark Side. There was so much death and pain abroad that he felt closed in, drowning. Bodies of Clone and Jedi alike were scattered across the Temple floor, the abundance of blaster scores and lightsaber scorch marks alike gave testament to the raging battle taking place at the Temple, the distant explosions and sounds of cannon fire showing deep intent on destruction - genocide.

Alecar did his best to reach out into the Force, looking for any Jedi still alive out there, Jedi who would need his help. He could feel their screams, pleas for helps, only then deafened by a terrible silence. But there was still life amidst the Jedi, life that needed his help.

He sensed a single presence not too far from him, running in the direction of the hangar bay. He could not tell if the individual was a Knight, Padawan, or even an Initiate...but if there's one thing this massacre was showing him: it was that numbers, and the element of surprise could overwhelm any force - no matter how old or respected they were.

Honing in on the presence with the Force, it didn't take Alecar long to find a young Echani woman running down the halls, apparently towards the hangar bay. "Stop! Padawan!" Alecar called out, hoping to catch the young woman's attention before she continued to the hangars by herself.

Before he could explain himself to her, however, he was interrupted by a feeling of danger approaching...turning around, he had a split-second before a squad of three Clone Troopers advanced towards him, holding their rifles up and preparing to fire.

Reaching out to the Force, Alecar knew he had to protect himself, and the Padawan at all costs. Without even motioning to draw his lightsaber, he shot both arms out at once; causing a massive wave that sent all three Clones flying back down the corridor. However without a wall to break their flight, they didn't lose much in the way of consciousness, only giving Alecar a few moments to prepare another attack before they were up and firing.

Now reaching for his lightsaber, Alecar only held it in his hand long enough to hit the activation button before throwing it out in front of him, managing to slice a sizable gash in one Clone's belly before the blade returned to his hand. Lifting up another Clone with the Force, Alecar telekinetically pulled the Clone to him just in time to slash him across the chest with his blade.

Deflecting a few stray blaster bolts from the single remaining Clone, Alecar lifted the Clone up in the air and repeatedly slammed him against the sides of the corridor before dropping his limp body onto the ground and deactivating his lightsaber, clipping it back onto his belt.

Turning to the Echani girl, Alecar finally took the time to formally introduce himself. "Padawan, my name is Alecar Drey. I am a Knight here at the Temple. I feel it might be safest for you to stay with me for the time being until we can find more survivors to group together with."

Tactus hesitated a moment as the fellow padawan adopted a less aggressive stance and commented on his no longer needing a saber. He extinguished the blade and attached it to his hip. He then looked at the younger padawan and said "Tactus..." As he stepped over the bodies littering the floor into the room. It seemed to Tactus that he had become so used to the smell of burnt flesh he almost didn't notice it in the room. It was rather strong but Tactus didn't exactly have the luxury of caring at the moment. Something that didn't surprise him however was that he had never seen this padawan before. He had been fighting with the clones for so long he hadn't been at the temple much the last few years.

"I suppose we're equals then." Tactus said as he reached his hand up and rolled his braid between his fingers for a moment."It would be best if we stuck together atleast untill we find a ship or more jedi. Have the clones secured the hanger yet? It would be standard procedure for them to do so." Tactus said almost solemnly. He was rather dissatisfied that his command and comradeship with the clones was at an end.

Arlana spun on her heel, raising her lightsaber into a high, two-handed guard, the tip of her saber pointed at the...Duros' face. A fellow Jedi Knight, she thought he looked familiar, but she couldn't place the name. She stood there for a long moment, her eyes wide with terror and rage, then she marshaled her emotions, let out a breath, and closed down her saber. "There's not time to talk, we have to get out of here. The Grand Army is trying to wipe us out."

The sentence hung in the air and her mind for a moment, and for the first time she really thought about it, the standard questions whirling through her mind - who had arranged this? How? Why? Nothing seemed to make very much sense, but she didn't have time to sit here and ponder it. The moment of contemplation and the appearance of the other Jedi had jostled her out of her blind flight.

"If we're going to escape we need a plan. The hangars are bound to be watched, probably filled with soldiers." She directed the other Jedi to move with her, trying to fall back on her war experience to guide her. She had slowed from her sprint to a steady walk, saber clutched but unactivated in her hand, stretching out with her senses to try and find the enemy and other Jedi before they would sense them.

The Jedi with Gar had decided enough was enough. The rushed out of the maintenance crawlspace and engaged a group of clones. It seemed like they may have done well for themselves, but the few jedi with him were soon cut down in a hail of blaster fire. He however, stayed in that shaft, retreating deeper into the shadows and focusing, bending energy around him, hiding himself from view of the trooper that entered the space, looking for more Jedi. He had practiced this technique, it was draining and he couldn't maintain it very long, but it was just long enough as the trooper reported that no others were seen and left. Soon after, Gar had to end the power to maintain what energy he had. Continuing forward he did nothing to hide his force sensitivity or alignment. At this point the temple was filled with so much sadness, fury, and desire to avenger those fallen that the only way he could tell a consular from a sith lord would be if the sith lord wore a handy name tag including the word darth in it.

Following older and older maintenance paths he worked toward the hangar. Figuring the control room would be crawling with troopers to prevent an escape, he instead worked his way upward. Planning to use the girder supports and gangways closest to the ceiling to look over the hangar with the least chance of being seen himself. It meant he would be slower to steal a vehicle, but it was better to have the highest possible vantage point to make his plan before trying to enact one. He just hoped that there would still be a functional vehicle there.

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(I have no idea how this happened)