Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 4

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“No…”

Malik and Windu arrived at the Jedi Temple in his airspeeder, horrified at the devastation being wrought on the residents. As they made their way through the hallways, they discovered the bodies of both Jedi and clones alike. Though many of the Jedi had been slain by blaster fire, it was evident to the pair that the stronger ones had been struck down by a lightsaber instead.

“Skywalker,” Windu sighed.

“Where would he be headed, Master?”

Thinking for a moment, Windu realized Skywalker’s goal. “The beacon!”

Working their way towards the center of the temple, they soon came upon the lightsaber training rooms. Seeing that a nasty battle had taken place here quite recently, they began to search the area for survivors. Both were horrified to discover the crushed body of Serra Keto on the floor ahead of them.

“Serra! NO!!!” Malik cried, rushing to her side. Inspecting her body, he at first mourned her apparent death, but soon was able to sense the truth through the Force. “She’s alive! Hanging by a thread, but she’s not gone yet!”

“Can you save her?” Windu asked.

“It’ll take some doing, but I think so. She’s lucky the pillar rolled off her,” he replied, nodding at the nearby piece of stone.

Malik drew on all his knowledge and abilities as he inspected Serra’s body. Her pulse was faint, and her breathing was almost nonexistent; he knew he hadn’t much time. He first attempted to use the Force to strengthen her heartbeat, hoping that would bring her out of the shock of her injuries, but to no avail. Out of desperation, Malik began to try anything he could think of to save the girl who meant so much to him.

“Serra, you’ve always said I’m such a good influence on you, provided logic and reason where your emotions would blind you, but you’ve also been the same for me. So you aren’t leaving, not after all this!” Feeling something strange awaken within him, Malik placed his hands on Serra’s chest and pressed down.

“BREATHE!!!”

Before he could even comprehend what he had done, a charge of electricity flowed from Malik’s hands and into Serra. Her body twitched at the sudden introduction, and upon further inspection Malik could tell that she was close to recovering. Though he had no idea how, he managed to shock her once more, causing Serra to gasp and startle herself awake.

“NO!!!” she screamed on instinct.

“It’s ok! You’re ok, Serra! It’s me, Malik.”

“M… Malik?” she asked, coughing and heaving.

“Yeah… you gave us a scare, but you’ll be-”

Serra silenced him by planting a kiss on his lips. She was unable to help herself; she already knew how she felt about this man, and now he had just saved her life! Malik was so stunned he couldn’t believe what was happening. He knew this was wrong, but she was so beautiful. With her soft lips pressed against his, Malik was powerless to do anything to stop her. At last, they parted, panting and heaving from the experience. Serra then caught sight of Mace Windu out of the corner of her eye.

“M-Master Windu…”

“More important things to deal with right now, Serra,” Windu replied, waving her off. “Malik, do you have any idea what you just did?”

“I think so… Force Lightning.”

“Yes, but unlike any I’ve ever seen in a Jedi as young as you. You managed to draw out a power of the Dark Side without being consumed by it… only one other Jedi has managed to do that.”

“Master Plo Koon?”

“Indeed. He calls his ‘Electric Judgment,’ of course, but the principle remains the same. You may have far greater potential in you than I ever realized. After all, you used a power of the Dark Side to give life, rather than take it!”

A muffled gasp from Serra interrupted their thoughts.

“Shh, easy there. You’re still hurt,” Malik said. “You’re breathing, but I think your ribs are broken. Hold still… this may hurt a bit.”

Focusing on Serra’s ribcage, Malik channeled the Force into her cracked and broken bones. She squirmed in pain and discomfort, but he assured her the process was working. He could sense her bones being mended, and continued to provide a stabilizing touch with his hands. Finally, the pain subsided and Serra was able to sit up without much discomfort.

“Thanks…” she sighed. Hearing a commotion outside, she realized that Cin Drallig had likely engaged Skywalker. “Master!”

Serra leapt to her feet and dashed to the broken window ahead of her, followed by Malik and Windu. She peered out onto the terrace, seeing her Master’s blade locked with Skywalker’s. Drallig was giving the war hero everything he could handle, dashing around the terrace at blinding speeds and attacking from every angle imaginable. But Skywalker was cunning, and telekinetically shifted some of the rubble on the terrace to trip Drallig up. The veteran slowed, but still managed to defend against Skywalker’s counterattack, Force Pushing him to gain some breathing room.

“Always a powerful warrior, yet so impatient,” he lectured. “You failed to learn how to be fully at peace with the Force and so turned to the Dark Side.”

“I… am no longer… the LEARNER!!!” Skywalker shouted in rage.

Using the Force to sense and predict Drallig’s movements, he anticipated his oncoming attack and hurled his lightsaber into the air. Before any could comprehend what had happened, the blade was lodged in Cin Drallig’s chest, killing him instantly. One of the greatest swordsmen the Jedi Order had ever seen was dead.

“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…

To Be Continued...