Accismus⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.• Anakin Skywalker⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.•

76.

An orange lightsaber plunged through Captain Des' back and appeared through his armoured chest plate. As the clone's back arched and a choking noise sounded through his helmet, Sol watched as Captain Des fell to the side. His fall caused the glowing blade to burn through the rest of his torso and he collapsed to the floor, his blaster still in his hand. Sol couldn't help but feel a twinge in her heart at the sight of her dead captain and she looked up to her saviour.

'You okay?' Revan asked with both of his hands clutching his lightsaber. Sol nodded wordlessly, her back still in pain from its collision with the fallen pillar. With clenched teeth, Sol used the pillar behind her to push herself up from the ground and she made sure to call for her fallen lightsaber. The silver cannister flew into her open palm and she glanced down at Captain Des' armoured, bleeding body.

'How can this be possible?' Sol muttered. She tried to separate the Des she knew from the Des that was going to kill her at point-blank range. The missions they completed and the successes they achieved together were gone, and by the state of the Jedi Temple's main hall, it had all been for nothing.

'They've taken over... the clones they're... they're wiping us out,' Revan said in horror. 'They're killing Padawans-'

'What about the younglings?'

Revan turned to Sol with wide eyes. Neither had thought about the most vulnerable people in the Jedi Temple. Sol looked back at the man with realisation that morphed into a deep horror. If all of the clones had changed allegiance like Captain Des had said, then the temple was doomed. There were more clones on Coruscant than there were Jedi in the entire galaxy. And the clones were knowledgeable on all areas of the temple and all of those who considered it their home. Without trained Jedi to protect them, the younglings were in danger, because the clones were committing a Jedi genocide.

'We have to find them,' Sol said, pushing aside the aches and pains that throbbed throughout her body. 'We need to get to the academy. They could still be alive!'

Revan went to reply but was distracted by the red blasts they singed past their ears. They turned to the clones that advanced towards them with their blasters aimed. Sol ignited her lightsaber again and joined Revan in a series of movements to deflect the shots back towards the legion. The rising and twisting of the Jedis' elbows led to the thinning of the clone legion, but even though clones were falling, they were inching closer to the two tiring Jedi.

'The academy is across the temple,' Revan said while the two began backing into the nearby hall. 'Do you think we'll make it? You're not looking too good, Sol.'

'I'm fine,' Sol said over the sound of blasts and the hum of their rotating lightsabers. 'You don't have to worry about me.'

While Sol and Revan ducked behind pillars that were still standing, Revan glanced at the woman he trusted. He noticed the blood staining her beige robes and the dust that caked skin. Even though she continued to deflect and block blasts while using the Force to jump behind pillars, Sol looked fatigued. Revan knew her shoulder and collarbone were bothering her, and the explosion that he had seen her suffer had to have injured her in some way. Even when the temple was on fire and the Jedi were falling, Sol still fought on. She even remembered the younglings and insisted she could make it across the temple to the academy. Revan admired Sol, but he feared that she wouldn't admit if she was fatally injured, and that he wouldn't be able to help her in time.

'Cover me. I'm going to make sure the hallway's clear, and we'll get to the younglings. I think I can still feel their signatures,' Sol said, and Revan complied. He stepped out from the pillar and took the blasts from the advancing clones head on, while Sol turned and headed into the hallway.