A loud murmur resonated through the ventilation shafts which snaked through the walls of the Training Halls, the sound slowly building until it was almost recognizable. Two bodies tumbled in a free fall, propelled by the power of the Force which had flung them into the air duct after which gravity had taken hold for the remainder of the journey. Sor-Jan thought he may have screamed at one point, his voice lost in what seemed a continuous echo that drowned out his own hearing as light and dark became alternating glimpses of a world without either direction or orientation. There was merely the fall.

Finally, the raven-haired Anzati’s body connected with something, a ventilation grate that gave under the youngling’s weight, spilling the boy out so that he very nearly collided with a crimson haired Vahla as the teenager went running past where the youngling was unceremoniously spilled out onto the floor, before a second youngling tumbled out behind him.

Disheveled, dirty, blistered, and bleeding, the two younglings peered up in a fog of panic as each struggled to try and get their bearings now that they were no longer tumbling through the ventilation shaft. As Sor-Jan eyes focused on the three individuals he saw now, his mouth fell open with a million questions… and, yet, so much confusion that he wasn’t certain what any of them were anymore.

When the pair nearly collided with her as they fell, Keilara spun around. Startled and unsure of what nearly hit her, she had ignited her lightsaber as she moved. However, when she spotted the frightened younglings she tapped the switch again and restored it to the holster on her thigh. She was too on edge, but she couldn’t quite tell herself it was uncalled for. Wincing from the pain of the previous sudden movement, one hand still covering the wound on her side, the Vahla girl offered a hand to the closer, young Anzati. “Come on. You must get up quickly.”

She lightly jerked her head in the direction of the Temple Guard and other Jedi, reading the confusion on his face, “They might be able to tell us what is happening, too.”

“Indeed I can tell you. The Temple Master has ordered a full retreat. The Temple has fallen, a Sith is responsible for leading the attack and is highly dangerous. I have strict orders to round up any survivors I can find and ensure they escape. These were the last orders given to me by the Temple Master and they be his last, so either way I am honor bound to make sure all of you escape this defiled place alive.” Kraytan said to the padawan’s. Right now he seemed the most capable to lead as well as to fight. He was the only uninjured member of the group, but he didn’t believe that would last long though. The other knight however he trusted would be strong enough to fight in needed, but as of right now he would take point and cover the others.

With a turn of his heels Kraytan began walking with his Lightsaber Pike in hand down the hallway they were in. He reached the end of the hallway and hear the sound of boots marching as well as voices. “Check over here! We must do a full sweep of the Temple, General Vader’s commands…” Kraytan knew the sound would cause panic for his group and moved quickly to not keep them waiting on what his plan was. He placed his hand on the large marble wall and slid it back and forth, using the Force to search for something. His hand stopped as he felt the lever behind the wall and used the Force to pull on it. A small door opened up in the wall and he ushered everyone inside. It was a small two person wide dusty hallway that had was dimly lit, but it was their only hope for staying out of sight right now.

“Come younglings this way there is no time to waste.” Kraytan said as he stood by the door and waved his hands ushering them forward.

Rego heard the clones too, he then watched the Temple Guard open the secret door, it was nice little trick he had to admit that, would get the younger Jedi out of danger for the time being. He looked at the young Jedi and spoke to them, agreeing with the Guard. “He’s right, move it.”

The Jedi knight hoped they would find a larger group, he didn’t feel that confident in his chances for survival even if he was with a skilled Temple Guard, the issue that concerned him was the younglings. They were the most vulnerable, he didn’t know how they would do in a fight against a large wave of clones and especially didn’t want to think what would happen if they ran into this ‘Lord Vader’ that the clones had mentioned, who was most likely the force user that had led the attack on the temple. Anyone who could literally walk into a Temple full of hundreds of Jedi, defeat many of them and live through it was someone powerful indeed.

“So am I right to assume that we’re going to face the clone troopers?” Rego asked Kraytan quietly, still clenching his lightsaber, he didn’t dare to speak too loud in case the clones heard him. “We could probably get the jump on them, leap out right as they come, catch them by surprise.” 

“No, the time to fight is over, we must flee. The Temple is filled with secret passages and for now we shall use them to our advantage, because it won’t be long before the clones figure that out. This passage will lead us to the heart of the Temple Guard Chamber’s, it is a secret place and only the High Council knows of its location. If we are lucky we shall meet up with any other survivors there. If not we have two options, press on into the maintenance shafts the run underneath the Temple and into the city or head to the cargo bay and make our escape through there.” Kraytan said as he readied to shut the door once everyone was in. The sound of marching was growing closer and he could sense his heart as well as the others beginning to speed up.