Gray Jedi Ch. 01

"No... Master..." Serra cried from the window.

"Serra, get down!" Windu scolded her, pulling them out of sight of Skywalker.

"What are you doing?! We have to stop him!" she protested.

"Engaging him now would not be courageous, it would be foolish," Windu replied. "He is not just drawing on the Dark Side, I have no doubt he has sided with Palpatine to become a true Sith! We three are nothing to him. Malik specializes in healing, not combat. You nearly died a moment ago. And I've lost my weapon... and my hand. No, attacking would not be the prudent move at this point."

"Besides, Skywalker thinks you two are dead," Malik observed.

"That's true," Serra realized. "We have the element of surprise... but how to use it to save the Order?"

"By now, it may be too late," Windu admitted. "The Jedi Temple has fallen, and I can only imagine that Palpatine has some contingency plan for the clones to turn on the Jedi. I would wager he has executed it already. As for the beacon, I could override any false message Skywalker placed within it... if the security access were not coded to my right hand."

"So there's nothing we can do..." Malik realized.

"Right now, no. I recommend we make our escape," Windu agreed. "The fact that two of us are supposed to be dead is a tremendous advantage, and we must bide our time until the opportune moment."

"It seems you're right," Serra agreed. "So how do we escape undetected?"

"Follow me," Windu said with a grin.

The trio made their way through a series of hidden passages and stairwells, traveling deep into the depths of the Jedi Temple. None of these areas had been touched by the onslaught; Malik and Serra speculated that only the Council knew about them. They soon arrived at a secret hangar containing a single starship.

"What is that?" Malik marveled.

"That is one of the most treasured relics from the early days of the Jedi," Windu explained. "She's a Defender-class corvette, the last of her kind. The High Council has had possession of her for generations, taking the initiative to preserve and maintain the ship. They just don't make 'em like this anymore..."

"Talk about an escape plan," Serra mused.

"The only situation in which we are to use this ship is an emergency. I think tonight qualifies as just that. You two get on board and start the departure process, I'll open up the hangar," Windu instructed.

Serra and Malik traversed the boarding ramp and made their way to the cockpit, powering up the ship's systems. Meanwhile, Windu activated the hangar doors, which began to slowly slide open. But as they did so, they were surprised to see an approaching gunship of clones. When the ship placed its searchlight directly on Master Windu, the Jedi knew they were discovered.

"Go! Take off!" Windu shouted into his comlink.

"What?! Master, we won't leave you behind!" Malik protested.

"That's an order, Malik!" Windu replied, dashing towards the ship.

Sighing, Malik said to Serra, "Get us in the air. I'm going to try and help Master Windu aboard."

"Will do."

Malik hurried to the boarding ramp, keeping it open as the ship began to rise into the air. He saw Master Windu running in his direction, narrowly evading the missiles and blaster fire from the gunship.

"Master! Grab my hand!" Malik called out.

Windu called on the Force and leapt into the air, managing to just grab the edge of the boarding ramp with his remaining hand. Malik dove forward, grabbing the hand to try and keep him from falling. By this time, the gunship had turned its attention to their new ride.

"Serra, I've got him! Get us out of here!"

The thrusters roared to life and Serra blasted the ship off into the night air of Coruscant. But with the gunship hot on their tail and peppering their hull with blaster fire, gaining enough altitude to break the atmosphere was difficult. Meanwhile, Malik struggled to try and bring Windu aboard.

"You're hand's too sweaty, Master! I need your other arm!"

Try as he might, the toll from Windu's previous battle with Palpatine was weighing heavily on his body. His muscles still ached from the electric shocks he had endured. Attempting to use the Force to help lift him up onto the ramp, Windu's hand slipped from its grip.

"No!" Malik cried, desperately grabbing his wrist. "Master... hold... on!"

"I... don't think I can..." Windu heaved with resignation.

"No... no, don't give up!"

"It's ok, Malik. I'll be ok... I was never supposed to survive that battle with Palpatine anyhow. This... this is the will of the Force."

"Master..."

Malik struggled for a few moments more with Windu's weight, but it proved to be too much. Soon, the Jedi Master had slipped from his grasp and fell to the city streets below. All the while, Mace Windu kept the same look of confidence and determination on his face that he had become famous throughout the Order for. Soon, Malik could no longer sense Windu's presence in the Force. He was gone. Walking up the ramp and into the ship, Malik sighed as he closed the access hatch, preparing the ship for entry into outer space. As he entered the cockpit, Serra gave him a concerned look.

"Where's Master Windu?"

"He... he couldn't hold on. Not with one hand, and not with his injuries. He's dead, Serra."

Reaching over to hold his hand, she replied, "You did everything you could, Malik. It's not your fault."

Before he could respond, the ship was again rocked by blaster fire from the gunship on their tail. But now that Malik was on board, they were capable of defending themselves. He pulled up the remote targeting systems from his copilot's chair and fired a series of precision shots at the gunship. Though it was heavily armed, the clone vessel had little in the way of armor or shields. A few light hits were all it took to throw them off the trail. Now in the clear, Serra engaged the thrusters and took off into the stratosphere. The two Jedi had no idea where they would go or what they would do. They only knew that they no longer had the Jedi Order to rely on. For the time being, the were on their own...