[center][h3]~| The Jedi Temple on Coruscant |~
~| Day 1, 11th hour |~[/h3] [/center]

Sounds of blaster fire and combat echoed through the walls of the Temple as the surprise Sith assault continued. Through a wide corridor, eight identically armored Sith troopers marched, almost in precision with each of their steps. Each of them clenched blaster rifles in their gloved hands, their faces covered with helmets. They were on the search for more Jedi, ordered by their superiors to find and capture them. 

As they turned a corner they stumbled upon a single Jedi. Accompanied by two droids, they were not sure if there were more with the boy, or if he was just wandering around on his own. Still, just one Jedi, even young was still a threat. They leaned against the wall, as the highest ranking soldier in the group peeked at their new target. Then he shot his hand outwards and the eight troopers broke cover, rifles raised as they marched towards the Jedi. 

“Halt! Give yourself over peacefully and no harm will come to you.” The ranking soldier shouted as he too held his rifle high, pointed at the Jedi, his finger hovering over the trigger.

“Sorry, but I can’t,” Xid cried out as he raised his hand, the droid at his right turned then opened fire at the men. It was the larger ones on a three legged base. The energy rippled through it causing it to brace itself and several bolts, about two sets of three, were sent into the trooper’s direction. 

Meanwhile, Xid pulled out his lightsaber and started to rush to the other direction. He wasn’t about to stick around to fight a possibly losing fight as he still needed to find Shiri. 

“Open fire! Take down those droids, don’t lose that Jedi, we need him alive!” The trooper leader hollered as two of the men went down with screams of pain, another was hit but stumbled behind rubble. 

The others dashed for cover, then as soon as they had openings unleashed upon the droids, rapid blaster bolts kareeming out while a thermal detonator was flung at the three legged droid, hitting the ground but slowly rolling towards the machine. The leading trooper broke from cover as he ordered for covering fire, flanked by another trooper as they sprinted after the lightsaber wielding Xid.

Xid hadn’t bothered to pay attention to his droid ally until he spotted the thermal detonator, the small device tossed and immediately exploded underneath. The leg crumbled causing the machine to collapse on its side, its aim off. It whirled then grinded as it shoved up before it fell back down. A loud, metallic rumble echoed through the hallways when sudden its ‘skull’ was shot clean through. It twitched… finally becoming still. 

As two shots came his way, Xid flicked his wrist and ignited his lightsaber. The blade came to life with a dull buzz as it batted away the fired shots. They hit the nearby walls while Xid came to a sliding stop, prepared to block any additional fired blasts. 

The other droid had one of its arms popped off during the assault while it raise its other one and two more sets of four shots came out, directly aimed at the remaining troopers.   

Another trooper went down with a yell of pain as a shot struck him right in the neck. The other troopers continued their assault, the remaining ones tucked behind covering continuing to hammer the surviving droid with blaster fire. Once they took down that machine they'd be able to focus solely on the Jedi, even if they had lost several men already.

 The trooper commander and the other soldier tailing Xid kept their rifles aimed at the boy. Then they both squeezed the triggers and opened fire on the Jedi, trying to break through his defenses.

Xid gritted his teeth as his lightsaber whirled, the pain in his shoulder throbbed with each rotation. He was running out of stamina and was no wonder why. Between a fight just minutes ago and then he tried to chase after Shiri, he barely had any time for a single breath or recover. Now he was roped into another conflict. 

His peripheral vision caught the droid go down under a rain of fire. In several moments, it was nothing but smoldering ruins. Xid cursed under his breath before he began to go on the offensive. His feet moved forward, cutting the distance between them, as his blade whipped out at the nearest two. With a right vertical slash from right to left, he severed the trooper to his right’s blaster thanks to his lightsaber. 

Meanwhile his left hand reached out to touch the gun forcing it to malfunction shortly afterward. As the trooper shook and rattled it, Xid kicked his foot into the man’s gut flinging him into the wall. The other was still a bit shocked to see his own weapon useless giving Xid a chance to turn off the lightsaber then quickly smack the harmless end of his lightsaber into the ribs then followed up to the head side.   

As the second droid went down the three remaining troopers switched their attention to Xid. Even now without their commander they still were focused on the task at hand. Each of the three soldiers opened fire at the Jedi, spraying blaster bolts towards him as they attempted to break through and find an opening. The sounds of blaster fire echoed through the room.

Something scurried across the chaos, small and ignored during the attack on Xid. It was a little six legged droid, Navi. He ducked and weaved through the rubble, his little cord trailed in his wake, just in the path of the incoming troopers. The moment the first trooper tugged the hidden trap, Navi tightened the cord. About three troopers immediately trip over their own feet and collapsed into a pile, their firing disrupted much to Xid’s relief. 

Navi unmagnetized the end then snapped it back into his body before he began to rush toward the commander. His little body doing a zig-zag to avoid blaster coming his way as it leapt and landed hard on the man’s shoulders, its laser pulled from its slot.    

The three shocked troopers struggled in their pile as they tried to untangle themselves and get to their feet. The commander fired at the small droid but missed all of his shots as it land on top of him. He swung his free hand at Navi, trying to smack it off of him. 

Navi’s legs tighten and pressed deep in the skin, not caring for the human’s wellness obviously. His laser poked out then pressed to the man’s neck back as he continued to flail about in attempts to detach the determined droid. His hand brushed a leg causing Navi to slip down a bit and lose his grip before jerking upright to the shoulder again. It wasn’t easy for the droid to remain on the human who started to pull and tug, preventing Navi from actually putting his laser to use. 

Upon contact on the skin, any skin, Navi activated his mechanic laser. It seared into the side of the neck, about several inches from its original mark, and took a chunk from the commander’s throat in the process.

The man, likely in shock, dropped to the ground while the droid promptly ducked under a semi propped up beam then vanished. 

Xid had already knocked both his troopers out and was trying to reach Navi’s location in order to assist his droid ally.  

From the same corridor the troopers had charged in from came another set of footsteps, much calmer and composed than the frantic ones of the soldiers. A figure in a maroon colored cloak appeared, an unlit curved lightsaber in her hand. As she walked into the room her eyes were upon Xid, having watched the battle from a distance. She had ordered the soldiers into combat, and now it was her turn up and she planned to finish the fight. 

She rose up her free hand, motioning it towards Xid, then with an almost casual maneuver she lifted him into the air with the Force. Holding him there for a moment with a telekinetic tight grip on the boy’s throat. Vivithe simply stared at the Jedi as he choked in her grasp, breathing becoming harder and harder.

A devilish smile crept into her face, almost as if she was toying with the exhausted Jedi. Then she tossed him into the wall hard, dust lifting up as he collided with it. Then the Sith Lord strolled towards him, igniting her crimson red lightsaber as she continued her confident walk in his direction. 

Xid felt his throat constrict only moments before the Sith Lord lifted him up. His arms gripped at the invisible fingers curled about his airway and tried to pull them away, in zero success. In moments, his lightsaber slipped from his grip and clattered to the ground, deactivating upon impact. 

Upon tossing him, his figure balled barely in time upon pain filling his attention. He gasped after feeling his throat released causing him to cough and wheeze, his eyes watered from the experience as he tried to reach for his lightsaber. It twitched then shot toward his hand. 

Navi, unable to keep hidden for long, shot from his hiding place. His cord dragged behind it and smacked the ground, a broken piece of metal in the magnetic grip, before whirling it at the Sith in order to distract her.      

Vivithe blinked as she noticed the small machine break from cover, she had noticed the interesting creation before and knew when she entered the fray to keep her eye on it. As it flung a piece of metal in her direction, she reacted appropriately, contorting her body as the broken piece whizzed by her harmlessly. She then lifted Navi up with the Force, simply hoisting it upwards.

“So you have a talent with machinery don't you boy? I saw those other two droids accompanying you before as well. Quite an interesting contraption you have created here.  But, I knew it was here.” The Sith Lord stated with another confident smile before she flung Navi across the room, far away from her and Xid. Then she focused back upon the young Jedi in front of her.

The moment Navi had flicked the metal at the woman and was sent flying, Xid had gripped his lightsaber. His eyes widened upon seeing the droid skid across the floor after an ear splitting crunch was made on landing. Xid’s heart stilled for a moment in shock at seeing his friend, his ally and creation laying limp there. He couldn’t see the damage but he knew there had to be some. 

The spell was broken causing Xid to whip his head about to face the Sith, his teeth gritted and expression hardened. His feet found themselves underneath him before he realized as his lightsaber came to life. The blade came from a lower left point at his own hips to a diagonal slash toward her right shoulder, crossing over her chest, through his exhaustion seeped into his limbs during the action. 

“Leave him alone!” He screamed.  

“Now now, boy. Don't fret, he's probably just a little shaken. Perhaps I'll hand him over to the Empire’s technicians and turn him into a machine fit for the Empire.” Vivithe cruelly taunted as she expertly blocked the attack, her lightsaber waving up to deflect the tired Jedi’s weapon. 

Then she went on the offensive, in her ever confident Makashi stance, her legs spread and exerting the smallest amount of strength needed. A rapid swing at the handle of Xid’s weapon, then back in same direction as she took a step forward with each attack. The Sith Lord attempting to disarm her opponent.

Xid jerked with the swing at his blade as it was nearly wrenched from his grasp. His fingers, tired and weak, barely held on while she advanced. Xid’s own feet moved backwards trying to increase the distance with very little effectiveness and blocking the next attack with even less strength than before. His head jerked quickly around for an escape route only to open himself on his left side, his attention averted and distracted for a brief second.   

Vivithe moved with motion that betrayed her seemingly relaxed demeanor. Her free hand twinged as she focused the Force in the Jedi before she moved to throw him back into the wall again. Xid was almost beaten, she could practically feel it. She just had to keep up her assault and he would surely go down.

With the last swing, his lightsaber flew from his hand successfully disarming him. His fingers were completely numb as he stepped back from the Sith Lord baring down on him like predatory beast. 

As Xid lost his weapon he bounced off the wall, more pain vibrating through his body. Vivithe showed no hesitation as she then swiftly kicked him right in the side of the head with her boot, knocking the boy out cold. Another smile was on her face, all the Jedi saw as he blacked out was her boot slamming into his head. The Sith Lord then flicked off her her weapon and used the Force to scoop up the Jedi’s dropped lightsaber, slipping it into a pocket of her robe. 

She then signaled for more troopers to come to her location and take away the boy. She had wasted almost no energy and had more Jedi to hunt.