Of Love and War Book 4: When Darkness Falls

Chapter 14: Cornered Animals

Zelina stiffened when she felt the first death in the Force.

Had she not already been keeping such close tabs on the Force due to the uneasiness that led her here, she would have missed it. However, such an event as a loss of a life was not something that went unnoticed by her senses when she was tapped into the ebb and flow of the Force, not even in the back of her mind. If it had been a loss of consciousness, she might have missed it, or written it off as someone falling asleep. However, it was the sudden, violent ripping away of an entire light and presence in the Force, one that was relatively nearby as well.

Her momentary hesitation as she tried to figure out what had just happened was jostled away and swiftly replaced by the instincts of war when she felt two more deaths in rapid succession, telling her that this was not just someone dying of old age or a singled out assassination.

"Children, put up your materials, now," Zelina said in a calm but sharp tone of voice. "We need to leave. You're going to wait for me or Master Nu before you leave though, all right?"

Zelina felt some flickers of fear at her words, flickers that drew the attention of other Jedi in the room, but the children obeyed. Lowering any guards she typically kept over her emotions enough to let the Jedi know she was worried and something was wrong, Zelina made her way swiftly to Jocusta Nu as the older woman worked on putting away some of the holocrons that had recently been returned to the Archives.

"The Temple's under attack," Zelina said bluntly to the other woman. Running around shouting it would only incite a panic, but the alarm needed to be raised, and the best way she could do that was to start telling people, especially those who held positions of power, like Master Nu, in a calm and direct tone.

"What?" Master Nu asked, startled by Zelina's proclamation.

"By the entrance to the Temple. Three...four deaths and counting already."

Zelina waited only with partial patience as the woman stretched out with her senses, another death coming with unfortunately great timing for the Jedi Master to sense another loss. As soon as the older woman felt the death, an urgent air settled over the two Jedi.

"We need to spread the word, mount a defense, get the younglings to safety. If it's too big of a force, we need an evacuation—most of our people are spread across the galaxy, we won't last against a sustained attack from a large Force," Zelina said quickly and firmly, her General mindset taking over.

Master Nu put a hand on her shoulder to stop her from making any further premature plans. "Go see who is attacking, then we can figure out those details. I will start to spread the word and get the children somewhere safe."

Zelina nodded, swiftly leaving the Archives behind while Master Nu turned to address the room as a whole. She didn't hear what Master Nu said, as Zelina had already made her way out the door by the time the woman started to speak.

Zelina didn't dare move to the ground level that the attacking force had to have entered if they came through the main gate, only going down enough levels so that she would eventually come out on the mezzanine that would allow her to look down on the invaders from the shadows.

Zelina lifted the hood of her robe, allowing the dark garments to further blend her into the shadows of the Temple, her steps quick and silent as she rushed to see what they were up against.

As Zelina neared the front of the Temple, she could hear the rhythmic march of feet echoing off of the Temple's grand marble and stone structures, accompanied by the occasional blaster fire and, every now and then, the briefest hums of lightsabers.

Finally, Zelina came upon the great hall, taking care to stick to the wall until she was far enough in she would be able to see what was happening down below. At that point, she hurried towards one of the pillars, barely peeking around the corner so that she wouldn't risk getting spotted and shot at before she could report back to Master Nu.