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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2681973" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 15: Not the Front LinesThe four young apprentices arrived at the edge of the forest and the clearing that surrounded the main Temple grounds without incident...well, beyond the shaking of the ground and deafening shrieks of TIEs overhead. And when they exited the dense jungle and stepped out into the clearing, they were greeted with a sight that was actually expected: Chaos. The first thing the eyes locked onto were the bodies that littered the ground...and it wasn’t hard to realize that there were only about four types.Black clad, tunic wearing young humans that were definitely students of the Shadow Academy, more casual clothed, even younger students of various species marked dead students of the Jedi Academy, brown and white uniformed figures of even different species were the small contingent of New Republic Troopers that had arrived to help defend, and white armored stormtroopers were scattered among the dirt and underbrush. For a long moment, the four students stood frozen, staring blankly at the scene in front of them. But sounds caught their ears and drew their attention to the fighting still ravaging the Temple. Eyes shot towards the sounds to see a mass of people at the entrance to the Temple’s hangar...    They spoke no words but all four quickly ran to help. Among the group ahead of them, every kind of uniform could be seen. Cowan and Cira activated their lightsabers halfway to the ground, and Esah raised her blaster pistol to fire a quick shot at a stormtrooper who had taken notice of them coming from behind. Gant simply held his tree branch back and ready, still in his refusal to take a life but damn well ready to cause concussions. At Esah’s blaster shot that took down the stormtrooper, others began to spin around to face the four approaching students.    Blaster bolts shot out at them from weapons none of them could actually see, and Cira and Cowan were lucky to deflect a few away just before they dove into the mass. None of them had any real way of knowing what was actually happening, and it was amazing they didn’t cut(or gun or club) down fellow students and New Republic troopers. But they didn’t. Maybe it was the Force...as they ducked, spun, pivoted, and pushed through the line, there wasn’t time to think what was doing what. There wasn’t even time to check if they’d taken any casualties. Something simply guided their actions through it, and in a matter of moments they were on the other side and standing next to a group of older students who were forming the front line of the defense. So far, it was working, as no one had gotten past them and into the hangar yet.    But just as they turned to help in the defense, a familiar voice yelled from behind them, “Gant! Back here!”    It was likely that the Miraluka was named because of how much taller he was, but when he shifted his range of ‘vision’ around behind him and caught that the speaker was Master Hamner, Gant quickly said, to the other three, “Come on.”    And they stepped back from the line, leaving others to take their place and defend the hangar. Quickly, and ducking a few blaster shots in the process, they retreated back to a small section of the hangar behind a large pillar where Master Hamner was ordering a few other apprentices, who then ran to the nearest turbolift. The tall Jedi Master spun around to face them and said immediately, “The shield is down.”    That froze them again...the one defense from the bombers...    “How?!” it was Cira who blurted that out, her borrowed lightsaber still thrumming at her side.    “How doesn’t matter right now,” Master Hamner snapped, “We need to get all the young students into the lower levels and out of their quarters immediately.”    Esah didn’t even wait for him to finish the sentence. She holstered her blaster pistol and started for the nearest unused turbolift, “We’re on it.”    As the others headed after their Mon Calamari companion, deactivating lightsabers and getting out of ‘combat mode’ as it were, Master Hamner called after them, “Be careful! There’s reports of explosions so there may be enemy troops up there!”    Nothing else was said. The four students reached the turbolift and hit the switch that would take them all the way to the top level. The last thing they saw in the hangar before the turbolift doors slid closed was Master Hamner igniting his lightsaber.    There was nothing to be said on the way up. The adrenaline was still flowing and they all knew what had to be done. But, only halfway up, Gant spoke up in his usual calm voice and said simply, “The top level is clear of anyone but the students.”    “And the others?” that was Cowan, sounding a bit nervous again...almost back to normal, even.    Esah, who had been doing the same thing as Gant and reaching out in the Force to check the levels, fielded that question, “Some do have guests.”    “We should go there first,” Cira stated firmly.    “No,” Gant answered immediately, and then quickly waved a hand to silence her protest, “There are others there, too. They will be safe for now. We start at the top and we work down. No leaving anyone behind.”    All of them nodded. The turbolift came to an abrupt halt a few seconds later and the door slid open to reveal the stone-walled corridor at the top level. Immediately, the four of them ran out and started going from door to door, yanking out children if they had to and getting them to the turbolift as fast as possible. As they got halfway down the corridor, the TIE Bombers began to make their first pass on the unshielded Temple.</blockquote>

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