Star Wars Episode IIIAU: Sith Rising (Star Wars AU Series #1)

Another One Bites the Dust

Will's POV

"Someone call for a taxi?" Bail Organa pulled up his speeder. For a second, I couldn't believe he was really there. For the longest time, I had been shooting Mandos here and there.

"Thanks, Organa!" I credited as I got into his speeder.

"Where do you wanna go?"

"We gotta find Anakin. We were fighting together and then we got separated."

"Alright." Organa prepared to take off. Suddenly, someone shot at the back of the car. "But don't expect a sweet ride. I gotta get to the Temple as soon as possible."

"I'm ready."

"Here we go!" Organa pressed on the gas pedal, and suddenly, I felt like I was on a roller coaster. Organa did some sharp twists and turns past skyscrapers and speeders alike.

"Where could he be?" I looked below and hoped to find a guy wearing black with shaggy, brown hair.

"He's probably being chased by his own troops. I hear the clones are trying to kill their generals one by one. What do you think?"

"You tell me!" I shouted over all the honks and ruckus. The car suddenly dropped for 2 seconds.

"Outrageous, isn't it?" Organa got the car moving again.

"Yeah."

"I never knew Palpatine wanted to be a dictator."

"I come from a whole planet of dictators. Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler..."

"Sounds like a nice planet."

"Hey, I think I see Anakin!" I pointed at a figure cloaked in black below. "And look, there's Obi Wan!"

"You want me to drop you off here?"

"Yeah, thanks for the ride." I said as Organa prepared to drop me off.

"Hey, Will! Looks like you found us!" Anakin exclaimed.

"So, how's every---oh." I saw Mundi's corpse in Obi Wan's arm.

"The Temple's not far from here. We can place his body in the funeral room." Obi Wan noted.

"Another one bites the dust." I whispered underneath my breath.

Padme's POV

"Master Secura! Have you seen Anakin?" I asked when I saw Master Secura. Her clones were trailing behind her.

"No, I haven't." Secura shrugged. We were still inside the Jedi Temple. Dead bodies lied here and there, and chaos was still in the air. Oh please, Ani, don't be dead!

"Master Secura? Do you know why the clones are turning on the Jedi?"

"No. It's really weird.

"Okay, now stay close to me." Secura gently grabbed my arm.

"Okay." I said as she dragged me through hurricanes of blaster fire and lightsaber noises. Mandos shooting in the corridors of the Temple was bad enough, but in the heart was where it was at its worst. Screams of children in despair shook my ears. Toddlers surrounded by Mandos were mercilessly slaughtered like animals.

"Execute Order 66." That same voice from before instructed.

"It's that voice again!" I cried and crouched to the floor.

"What voice?" Secura asked. Her clones aimed their guns and shot her mercilessly. I closed my eyes. When it was all over, I looked at the body in front of me. Aayla Secura was lying on her side, her eyes missing pupils and her mouth gaping open. I tried to scream, but no sound came out of my mouth. I crouched close to the floor and covered my ears.

"Padme!" A voice cried. It was Ahsoka. "Get out of here while you can!"

"Okay!" I shouted as I zigzagged past blaster fire and corpses on the ground without looking back. Tears began to flood my eyes. How could anybody be so cruel as to order a whole organization that stood for peace to be obliterated? Why would the clones kill their Jedi commanders, whom they had dire respect for? And what upset me most was...why would the majority of the Senate agree to this hellish Empire?

---

Author's Note: Did you catch the reference in the title? Yeah, I used a song title as the title of the chapter. Gotta have some originality, eh? Now, what do you like best about this AU fanfic? Let me know in the comments below.

The above song is Burn It Down by Linkin Park. Like The Catalyst, the lyrics somehow foreshadow what is to come in the story. Please give this song a listen and tell me what you think, and may the Force be with you!