Eye Of The Needle (Star Wars)

Chapter 103: Anakin's Betrayal

I lunged towards Maya, who stood just a few feet away from me. I swung my lightsaber towards her. Maya quickly dodged, missing the blade by a few centimeters. She then turned around, raising her lightsaber. At once, our lightsabers clashed against each other. I used all my strength, giving into my anger, pushing Maya back, causing her to stumbled back.

"Jinx please stop this. You're going down the wrong path." She begged.

"No, I'm doing this for our own good. Once we return to Coruscant, you'll see." I protested.

I swung my lightsaber again, but Maya ducked before spinning around, swinging her lightsaber towards me, colliding our blades with one another. As we pushed with all our might, I placed a hand in front of Maya's face. I reached out to the Force, making Maya fall unconscious at once. I grabbed her before she could hit the ground. A grin slowly grew on my face. Once I return to Coruscant, Palpatine will fix everything. I'll no longer be in Storm's shadow. Things will quickly change...for the better.

~Storm's P.O.V.~

I still couldn't believe everything that happened. How could my own troops turned on me. All of the sudden, I remembered what Maya said about Fives telling Anakin, Rex, and her that the clone troopers had organic chips in their heads to make them do whatever the person who planted in them wants, even to kill Jedi. I could still remember my sister's words. "Fives even went as far as to say that the Chancellor was in on the chips in the troopers' heads."

It was then when I began to connect all the navpoints together. It was Palpatine...Dooku must've given the order to begin the creation of the clone army, while Palpatine must have ordered the chip to be placed in everyone of the clone troopers. He forced our own troops against us. But Echo was immune, which meant when Echo was with the Techno Union, something must've happened to his chip. At that moment, I received a message coming from Coruscant. I opened it up, revealing a hologram of Obi-Wan.

"This is Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. I regret to report that both our Jedi Order and the Republic have fallen, with the dark shadow of the Empire rising to take their place. This message is a warning and a reminder for any surviving Jedi: trust in the Force. Do not return to the Temple. That time has passed, and our future is uncertain." Obi-Wan warned. "Avoid Coruscant, avoid detection. Be secret, but be strong. We will each be challenged: our trust, our faith, our friendships. But we must persevere. And, in time, I believe a new hope will emerge. May the Force be with you always."

My heart dropped at his words. I can't believe his words. The Jedi Order and the Republic were gone...But where do I go? What do I do now? With this in mind, I contacted Obi-Wan through our secret channel that I created along with Anakin's help in case any of us got in trouble. In a matter of seconds, Obi-Wan's hologram emerged.

"Obi-Wan, I'm so glad to see you! Are you all right?" I inquired.

"Yes, I'm all right. Are you?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yeah, my own clone troopers turned on me, but I managed to escape the planet." I informed him. "Where are you?"

"I'm back at the Jedi Temple with Master Yoda." He informed me. "We had to take care of the beacon, it was calling all Jedi to return to the Temple...it was a trap."

"I don't know where to go...I'm heading there right now." I said, giving an authoritative tone.

Obi-Wan looked as though he wanted to protest, but upon hearing my tone, he closed his mouth. He must know there's nothing he can do to argue against me. I'll still ignore his order and head to the Jedi Temple anyways.

"Be careful." He warned. "We'll be waiting for you at the Temple."

With that, I made my way back to Coruscant. As soon as I reached the Jedi Temple, I noticed smoke rising from the Temple. My heart dropped upon seeing the horrible sight. Who would damage such a sacred place? As I walked through the temple, I was horrified. I saw dead bodies of Jedi Knights, padawans, Jedi Masters, and even younglings. My heart shattered into millions of pieces. Amongst the bodies, I noticed several of the bodies of the Jedi such as Jinx, my sister's padawan, having lightsaber wounds. I furrowed my brows. Did Palpatine do this? My heart clenched as I remembered the dream Master Yoda and I had on the Wellspring of Life.