Jedi Insurgency 246

The underlevels of the Senate District had become devolved into heaps of rubble, and shattered stone. 

Miles beneath the grand rotunda, the foundations of Coruscant shook continuously. Great support columns had collapsed into molten rivers of durasteel. Entire districts above groaned under tectonic strain as Force energies rolled through the planet’s bones like earthquakes. Fires burned in sheets across shattered platforms. Vaporized metal rained from ceilings that no longer properly existed. Tens of thousands of years worth of construction had come undone due to the violent clashes of but a handful of people. Countless planets across the galaxy had been scourged of all life due to the Force in the past. Would Coruscant-home to a trillion sentients-join them? 

The dust of the Zillo Beast blew upon a stormy breeze as strength sapping rain water dripped upon this lower floor. 

Floating several feet above the ruined ground, robes whipping violently in the wind, and wearing a wide smirk across his once again youthful face was none other than the Emperor. Scarlet lightning crawled endlessly across his body as if it had a life of its own. The principle of hunger, of endless devouring and desire permeated this crimson force, promising to take, take, take. 

Despite this light, a paradoxical event ensued.  Darkness swirled around him in a concentrated hue. It was so deep that reality itself seemed to recoil in fright. A black storm of clouds slowly churned around him, and floated up into the atmosphere. Every other second, a life form on Coruscant became prey to these clouds, feeding the man they called Emperor, fueling him with power. 

Nearby, Mace Windu lay unconscious against a collapsed pillar, blood running from the corner of his mouth. Bones shattered, he was like a marionette with its strings cut. 

Jax was sprawled beside him, barely breathing, one his lightsabers still clutched in a pair of lopped off robotic arms that were sparking a foot away. His ice-blue eyes were mere slits as the blackened stumps of his arms & legs were subjected to continuous torture from the rain. 

If Palpatine was the heart of the storm, or the depths of Hell, then Yoda-who had arrived moments ago-was the sun. 

A warm current swept through the ruin, protecting Jax & Windu from the bone chilling, life sapping rain water. The raging fires in the distance bent backward, and with a closed fist, Yoda quashed the black clouds that were heading to the surface, transforming them into small particles of light, like those a firework gives off when exploding. 

Palpatine’s smile faded, yet his ravenous aura only seemed to intensify. 

The ancient Jedi Master walked slowly atop the broken ground, leaning lightly upon his cane, he sadly glanced down at his fellow Jedi, and sighed. 

“Sorry, I am. Too late I was.” Yoda murmured, wishing he was a healer. That for all his power, he was powerless in this moment. 

“Your delay has cost you, my little green friend. Today, the Jedi shall never recover from this most heinous attack on the capital.” Palpatine crowed, all too happy to kick a ‘Nerf Herder’ whilst he was down. 

Yoda didn't say a word. The ancient Jedi merely raised his head, and looked at the Sith. There were no promises of violence, oaths of vengeance, or hatred from his lips. 

Instead, Yoda felt old. The grip upon his cane wasn't what it used to be, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to have tripled since that fateful night six months ago. Today, he should have passed the Grandmaster title over to someone else, celebrated Master Skywalker's ascension to the Council as a formal Master, been sunbathing with the Uneti tree whilst enjoying the cheerful chatter of the younglings. He had told Obi-Wan that he had resigned from his post, yet the Force and Revan had piqued his curiosity. Fighting off the Army of Light, and the Brotherhood of the Sith, Yoda had learnt much about himself. What he was willing to fight for, and if he must, what he must die for. 

Squaring his shoulders, The Resigned Persistence stared Sidious down. 

No grand display of might or power ushered forth, and yet…and yet the pressure radiating from him was immense! The Force flowed around him like an ocean forging mountains, forming rivers, valleys, and building the very basics of life itself. His mere presence alone put a restriction on the poisoned waters of death, significantly hampering Palpatine’s efforts. 

And behind him came ghosts.

One bright blue.

The other dark red.

Lord Hoth appeared first. The ancient Jedi warrior wore heavy armor scarred by countless wars, his spectral blue cape snapping like a banner in the wind. His beard was wild, his eyes fierce. He had a wild look about him, like a dog waiting to be let off its leash. Yet despite his wild look, his eyes held deep cunning, and belied an incredible intelligence. Whilst the ‘orthodox’ Jedi that had formed the Ruusan Accords a thousand years ago cowered away on Coruscant, Hoth had led the charge against the Sith. He was the last Jedi to inherit the teachings of the Old Order, of the likes of Satele Shan, and even the inheritance of Revan. 

Beside him drifted Lord Kaan.

The founder of the Brotherhood of Darkness appeared cloaked in crimson spectral fire, his hood was pulled tight. Unlike Lord Hoth, he was not as bold in appearance or temperament. 

He lingered slightly behind, and to the right, slowly circling his fellow Dark Lord. Kaan's eyes were narrowed as he silently calculated their odds. 

“It appears the ghosts of Life Day's past have come to haunt me. You, Hoth, Kaan are the past. You, Yoda, are the present. But I? I am the future.” Palpatine triumphantly declared, and opened up with a double handed crimson burst of lightning. 

“When we break you, and we will break you, I'll ram this fist up your arse.” Hoth threatened in a deeply masculine voice. 

Lord Hoth then advanced forward without fear, moving into the tide of electricity like an avalanche. Holding out his offhand, [Force Stun] met an oncoming beam of crimson, entering a beamlock. 

However, instead of waiting to see who emerged victorious, or for help to intervene, Hoth shoved his body forward like a battering ram, and waded through the devouring crimson light as if it were tall water. Step by steady step, the barbarian trudged forth. His boisterous boyish grin was all teeth as he closed the distance. 

Once he drew near, the massive Jedi exploded forward with terrifying speed, his Form V skills-focused entirely on power-and utterly overwhelming aggression made itself known. At his level of power & knowledge, the kyber crystal in his ghostly blade had achieved a Force Bond with him, and contained enough explosive telekinetic power to cleave apart entire sections of skyscrapers with each swipe. 

Palpatine met the strike with one of his own. Crimson lightning snaked its way from across his body into the tip of his blade, blasting Hoth in a focused cone. 

A massive explosion erupted onto the scene as the raw power of their impact shook the very foundations that they stood upon. The impact detonated the floor beneath them, and a shockwave tore outward through the chamber, pulverizing nearby pillars into clouds of dust. This opening strike was merely the prelude, and thousands more were due to arrive. 

Hoth roared savagely, hammering blow after blow against Sidious with barbaric fury. Overhead strikes, brutal diagonal cleaves, bone breaking thrusts, the blue ghost acted like a juggernaut, forcing his way through. Not even Darth Bane had dared challenge this mighty foe upon the battlefield, resorting to trickery to achieve victory. Now, Palpatine, the inheritor of Bane's philosophy was meeting this legendary Jedi face to face! 

Beneath Hoth's apparent recklessness was a frightening acuity. Every strike herded Palpatine in a certain direction. Every movement constrained his escape vectors.

Although he was often mistaken for a brute, and proudly adopted this persona to deceive his enemies, he was by no means an ignorant slouch. A supreme master of [Battle Premonition], he  was reading the future seconds ahead. Whereas Palpatine excelled in long term foresight, Hoth placed all his skills into the here and now! 

Palpatine realized this instantly. Although he was put on the backfoot and outnumbered, he had a plan. Beginning his counterattack, the Emperor vanished into a blur of black motion, aiming for a Form II stab with one hand, and baiting with a wild diagonal slash inspired by Form VII. 

Hoth pivoted before Sidious even reappeared, side stepping the furiously fast stab by a centimeter, he wore a wide boyish grin as he blocked the Form VII blade, then kicked out with a powerful war stomp at Palpatine’s feet. 

The Darklord brought his blade that was a centimeter apart down for a cut, willing to sacrifice some damage to take this ghost out. 

Hoth laughed, and jumped back. He truly wished to win this 1v1, but he wasn't so stupid as to throw away his advantage! 

Running at the Dark Lord once more, he was intent on denying Palpatine any time to recuperate, to grant his allies time to move into position. At their level, where a casual glancing blow could destroy buildings, a group battle sometimes meant getting in the way of your friends, or even distracting them from the fight. 

Their blades collided again.

And again.

And again.

Blue and crimson became storms of light.

Palpatine’s Form II was flawlessly elegant. Involving minimal movement, and impossible speed, he proved himself no lesser than this ancient legend. He flowed around Hoth’s raw aggression like silk on the breeze. 

But Hoth refused to yield ground.

The Jedi fought like a berserker king from the stories of old, laughing as he fought in his final war. 

Palpatine ducked under a horizontal sweep, and just as he was about to reposition himself, he was wrapped in a bone crushing hug. The Dark Lord felt the lifeforce being squeezed out of him, and retaliated with a mixture of [Drain] & [Sith Lightning]. 

Although he began to fry his own skin due to the close proximity, Palpatine began to laugh as his face rapidly aged healing his own wounds, only to have it return to youth as he sucked the ancient Jedi Lord dry. 

Electricity exploded across his spectral form, and he weakly let go, losing half his lustre. 

As the blue ghost flickered violently, and before Palpatine could end him, Yoda stepped in. Whilst Hoth had engaged Palpatine, the Grandmaster had run far away, taking Jax & Windu to safety. Now he had returned, ready to fight! 

The Grandmaster became a blur of green light as he advanced. His Ataru erupted into motion so fast the eye could scarcely follow it. Yoda flipped through a pile of collapsing debris, emerging through a cloud of smoke like some trickster god. Spinning around Palpatine in a dozen seemingly uncoordinated arcs, his tiny green blade struck from every conceivable angle.

Palpatine snarled.

The Emperor suddenly found himself pressed from two directions simultaneously as Hoth rejoined the battle. 

Hoth-although diminished-was not out yet, and battered him head-on. Yoda attacked from every blind spot, and even landed a glancing blow on the shoulder, cutting away a section of robe, and revealing blackened skin. 

Whilst Hoth & Yoda were on the offensive, cutting through buildings, and destroying every construct for miles around, Kaan was slowly following behind them. 

Kaan's lips moved as he silently chanted in an alien tongue.  The red specter lifted both hands slowly, and the minds of Yoda & Hoth seemed to link, the power of all three of them was shared, their coordination becoming unmatched. 

This was: [Battle Meditation]. 

Suddenly Hoth’s strikes became sharper.

Yoda’s movements faster.

Their coordination deepened unnaturally, as though all three minds had become linked into a single will.

Palpatine felt it immediately. The ancient Sith Lord narrowed his eyes toward Kaan, his hatred as threatening as a sword to the throat. 

Kaan smiled beneath his hood.

“A curious thing, power. It is only as good as the one who wields it.” Kaan said dismissively towards Palpatine. 

Upon Kaan's arrival, the entire battlefield shifted. More of a ‘spell caster’ than frontline combatant, he supported Yoda & Hoth from a distance. Broken pillars ripped upward from the ground under Kaan’s telekinetic control, hurling toward Sidious like missiles. Palpatine was forced to slice through them, leaving his flank open. 

Yoda managed to graze Palpatine’s shin, shaving off a fine layer of skin. 

The Emperor opened his mouth, and unleashed a [Force Scream] the likes of which had never been heard before. 

Darkness exploded outward from his mouth, billowing forth like solid globs of glue. 

A [Force Wave] blasted through the chamber with apocalyptic power. Hoth was hurled backward through three pillars. Yoda flipped away through the air.

Kaan alone remained still. The Sith specter extended one hand, halting the debris, and then reversing it back at Palpatine. 

Thousands of tons of shattered metal surged back toward Palpatine from every direction simultaneously. There, these chunks of ferrocrete & durasteel met those black globules. Those orbs of darkness-about the size of a fist-ate whatever matter they met, and began to expand like a black hole. Although they moved somewhat slowly in comparison to these top tier fighters, in actuality, they were no slower than your average blaster bolt! About 30 of these orbs ‘slowly’ made their way towards the trio, acting as a bulwark for Palpatine, allowing him to catch his breath. 

Although he didn't show it, this latest attack of his was extremely draining, and pulled deeply upon all the knowledge he had obtained from Naga Sadow's holocron, then warping that knowledge with his own understanding. This nascent technique had drawn upon his reserves, rapidly aging him to middle-age. Whilst the enemy were occupied, he looked up at the open sky. Although they were several miles below where the Senate chamber had been, the night sky was over head. Pressing a few buttons on a commlink, he issued several orders. Seconds later, hundreds of ARC-170's began to make runs at his three foes. Catching his breath, Palpatine meditated upon the life force the tainted rainwater was absorbing, and slowly rejuvenated himself. 

“This isn’t working.” Hoth complained as he deflected several bolts, and brought down a handful of ARC-170's with [Force Stun]. 

“Those orbs are truly curious. I can halt their advance, but otherwise, I'll be taken out of the fight.” Kaan said in frustration. Squeezing his fists, he crushed the heart of one pilot after another, leading to many starfighters suddenly spiraling out of control and crashing. 

Yoda solemnly glanced at Palpatine. He had a method to end this conflict once and for all. But with just the three of them, this was an unlikely prospect. 

Raising from his slouch, he prepared himself. 

Whatever came next, he would not retreat. 

Not again.