//------------------------------// // Chapter 40: Holocron Heist // Story: Star Wars: The Great War // by ShootingStar25 //------------------------------// A lesson learned is a lesson earned. Recap: Jedi trapped on Felucia! Clones are surrounded by droid forces. Their only hope is to escape on Republic gunships waiting to land on the embattled surface. Jedi cruisers have managed to blow a hole in the droid defenses, and have sent gunships to the rescue. The Jedi cruisers in space were engaged in a field of battle. They managed to break through the defenses as a small squad of fighters being led by Jedi Master Plo Koon was shown. "Warthog, protect the gunships. I will take out the fighters," said the Jedi Master to his pilot commander. The Jedi Master was now taking on a huge wave of vulture droids as he was clearing the way for his troops. The rest of the fighter squadron was providing escort for the gunships that were heading towards the planet. The reason being is down on the surface of Felucia, Anakin, Obi-wan, and Ahsoka were with their clones as they were being attacked by oncoming Separatist forces. "They made it through the first wave. Concentrate all fire on the cruiser on the left," said the clone navigator. A Republic cruiser did that as it took out a Separatist warship. The gunships and fighter squadron were shown entering the planet's atmosphere. They dived below the clouds as they were heading to an opening where tons of AT-TE walkers were shown as a field of droids were closing in on their allies. In the middle of those walkers were Anakin and Obi-wan deflecting the shots from the droids who were meters in front of them and closing. Their clones had taken cover behind the legs of their walkers as they fired back. Two vulture droids were chasing after one of the fighters escorting the gunships. "I can't shake these two droids!" shouted a pilot. "Come around, and I'll try to get them off your tail!" ordered Master Plo. He then turned his ship as he raced behind. "General!" shouted the pilot for aid. He moved out of the way as the Jedi Master blasted the droids out of the sky. One of them was now heading for the spot where the Jedi were as Anakin and Obi-wan saw it. "Look out!" shouted Kenobi to his student as he grabbed Anakin and pulled him out of the path of the droid. It fell and collided with one of the walkers they had as an explosion occurred. "That was close," said Anakin to his teacher. "If those fighters got through, then our gunships can't be far behind," stated the Jedi Master as his student was deflecting some blasts. "Prepare the troops to evacuate." The gunships arrived as they landed behind the Jedi and clones as the doors opened. The clones onboard began to fire at the droids as their allies ran inside. "Come on, grunts! We are leaving!" shouted Captain Rex to the men as they were falling back. "Ashoka should be back from her jungle patrol by now," said Anakin to his master while deflecting blasts. "I'll try to contact her again. Ashoka, where are you?" asked Obi-wan through his comlink while deflecting. In another part of the jungle, that was not that far from where the boys were. The padawan was with her patrol as they were engaged with some droids themselves. The girl was on top of the AT-TE walker as she blocked some blasts. She did a standing backflip while deflecting a shot as she returned to her feet and kept on spinning her blade. "Ahsoka, what is your location?" said Obi-wan to the girl's comlink. "About six clicks east, Master. We've engaged the enemy, and we've got them on the run," said the Padawan as the gunner next to her was shooting and mowing down the droids in front of them. "They're here to extract us. We're leaving." "What? Wha... We can't retreat now, Master. I've broken through." said Ashoka to Obi-wan. "Move it, trooper! Double time!" shouted Anakin as he got the last bit of the men on board. "The droids are retreating," stated the padawan. "We're outnumbered. You must evacuate. That is an order!" shouted the Jedi Master to the girl. "Master Skywalker taught me never to let up when the tinnies are on the run." Anakin had entered the ship when he heard this as the doors closed behind him. Their ship was now flying towards where the girl was located. "They are running back here to regroup with the main force," said Obi-wan as he knew what the droids were doing. "You are putting your troops' lives in danger, young one. You will get on this gunship when we arrive!" shouted the Jedi Master to the stubborn girl. "Where's Ahsoka?" asked Anakin. "Following your teachings," said Kenobi giving his protégé a snarling look. "Is she winning?" asked the Jedi Knight. "For now," responded the Jedi Master to his student. Ahsoka and her group were still driving the droids in front back as they fell over. Above, the gunships and fighters were shown as they saw the girl directly below them. "She's not stopping," said Obi-wan to Anakin. "Land in front of them." The gunships listened to the Jedi Knight's orders as they all stopped in front of the girl and the troops. "What are you doing?!!!" shouted Ahsoka as they were blocking her path. "Get in the ship, now!!!" yelled Anakin to his student while the troops ran by him. "Can't you see they're retreating?" said Ahsoka to her teacher. "They're about to overrun you, Ahsoka! You just can't see it! Now follow orders and get in the ship!!!" shouted the Jedi Knight. The girl had an angry look on her face as she stubbornly listened to her teacher. They got on board as the rest of the droids from before were shown a few meters behind the ones that were retreating. The gunships now lifted into the air as they managed to get everyone on board. From the ship, they could see the droids surrounding the vehicles they left behind as they exploded. Safe to say, had Ahsoka not listened to Anakin then she wouldn't be alive. The girl now realized what her master and Obi-wan were telling her all this time as both had disappointing looks on their faces. It was nighttime at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. The trio had arrived from their trip as they had to report to the Jedi Council. Along the way, they ran into Storm and Twilight as they had heard their friend had returned from his little trip. But right now, wasn't the time for catching up as it appears the two Jedi Knights were also being summoned to the Jedi Council. All five entered the room as inside were Master Yoda, Master Windu, Master Luna, and Master Celestia. All four Jedi Masters were pissed off. They were even more pissed off as Obi-wan sat in his chair next to them. He began to recount the details. The three Jedi Knights and Padawan stood in front of the five great Jedi Masters as they waited to hear what they all had to say. "Padawan Ahsoka, do you feel Master Kenobi's description of the incident is accurate?" asked Windu as the anger in his voice could be heard. "Yes, my Masters," said the girl to all five Jedi Masters sitting before her. "More to add, do you?" asked Master Yoda. "I know I was wrong. I just got so caught up in my own success. I didn't look at the battle as a whole." said the girl clutching her arm. "I wasn't being disobedient. I just... forgot." Before any of them could speak, Anakin spoke up. "Masters, this incident is my responsibility. Because of Ahsoka's advanced abilities, I forgot how young she is. I gave her more freedom than I should have." "That may be, but it doesn't excuse what happened on Felucia!!!" shouted Luna making sure to look at Ashoka with a mean look. "I think she needs some time away from the battlefield!" stated Celestia as she too was unaccepted of the padawan's behavior. The girl now turned as she could tell the Jedi Masters were not pleased with her. "On archive security, reflect on your actions you can, Padawan," said Master Yoda. "Guard duty? For how long?" asked Ahsoka. "Longer now!" glared Windu. "And to make sure, you will be under General Twilight's supervision! Maybe then, you'll finally learn a lesson in listening to your superiors!" said the Jedi Master keeping that glare before turning to her student. "Twilight?!!" "You have my word, Masters," said the girl as she bowed before all five Jedi Masters. "Good. At least I can count on you to do your job and listen," scowled Celestia. "Dismissed!!" shouted Luna to all of them. With that, the three Jedi Knights and padawan left. All five highly skilled Jedi Masters still held an angry look on their faces as they saw the young ones leave. The four Jedi were in the Jedi archives as they were walking. "I'm sorry I let you down," said Ahsoka to her teacher. "I know. I was a Padawan not that long ago," said Anakin as he knew the feeling his student was going through. "Madame Jocasta Nu, this is Ahsoka Tano. She is to be your new security officer." "And she's to report to both you and Twilight," said Storm to the Jedi librarian who turned to look at all four of them. "Hello, Madame," said the padawan as she introduced herself. "So good to meet you," said Jocasta to Ahsoka. "And it's a pleasure to see you again, Twilight." "Any new books for me to check out?!" asked the girl with her eyes going big. "And I'm leaving," said Storm as he didn't want to be around Twilight when she was in her nerd mode. "Just promise me, Sparky. You don't leave a puddle when you're done having a private session with your books." "Shut up, Storm!" said the princess to her partner as she glared at him for making such a comment. "Hey, Anakin. Wait up. You said you wanted to hear what I was up to." said the Jedi Knight as his voice trailed off. He left with his friend as the boys were leaving the girls with the librarian. "He's so... ugh, why is he always on my mind?!!" said Twilight as she couldn't get the thought of Storm out of her head. "Let's show you around," said Jocasta as she and Twilight began to give Ahsoka a tour of the entire Jedi Archive. The trio was on the central floor of the library as they passed by so many shelves filled with knowledge. So much so, that Twilight was trying her hardest to not rush over to the shelves and began picking out stacks and stacks of books. "There is more knowledge here than anywhere else in the galaxy," said Jocasta. "Master Kenobi says that there are even texts here that are forbidden to read," said Ahsoka. "Oh, he's right. I've tried to get Celestia to let me look at them, but even she's stubborn about it," said Twilight putting on a small pouting face at how Celestia was acting like a mother. Jocasta merely chuckled at the girls as they were heading in the direction of a vault, "Oh, the archives hold a great many secrets, 'tis true. Beyond this door lies the holocron vault. The holocrons contain the most closely guarded secrets of the Jedi Order." At that moment, Kit Fisto was seen walking to the vault as he approached the scanner. "Good morning, Master Fisto," said Jocasta as the Jedi Master smiled at the girls. He then waved his hand in front of the scanner as it recognized the Jedi and opened the doors. "Can we go inside?" asked Ahsoka as they saw the Jedi Master enter the tunnel and disappear into the room as he had a holocron in his hand. "Oh, I'm afraid not, my dear," said the librarian leading the two girls away as the doors closed. "I haven't been inside myself for years. Only members of the Jedi Council are allowed access." "Another thing, Celestia won't let me see. At least not until I become a Jedi Master," said Twilight as she pouted even more at how her teacher was restricting her from expanding her thirst for knowledge. "Guarding the holocrons is one of the most important duties a Jedi can be given, Ahsoka," said Jocasta. "Do you think you're up for the task?" "Definitely," said the Padawan with a smug smile. "Believe me, I asked Celestia to give me this task when I was a Padawan at least 100 times," said Twilight. "I wonder why," mumbled Ahsoka to herself as she knew the answer was for Twilight to have an excuse to read all the books she wanted while on guard duty. Elsewhere on Coruscant, there was some ominous music playing. The scene now showed a room as inside there was a Duros male bounty hunter. He had red eyes and blue skin as the man looked out of his window with a toothpick in his mouth. At that moment, he was being contacted. "Excuse the interruption. As I was saying, bounty hunter, I have need of your services," said the person contacting the man who was none other than the dark lord, Darth Sidious. "I'm listening," said the bounty hunter named Cad Bane as he flicked his toothpick. "I need a Jedi holocron." "To get a holocron, I'd have to break into the Jedi Temple. It's impossible, not to mention deadly," said the bounty hunter. "Perhaps your reputation has been exaggerated," taunted Darth Sidious. "I want a Rogue class starfighter with elite weapons, cloaking device, the works. Oh, and triple my usual rate," said the bounty hunter sitting in his chair. "Your price is of no concern. I will also provide you with the means to get inside the temple," said the dark lord. "You've got a deal," smiled Bane. At the temple, Obi-wan, Anakin, and Storm were with Master Yoda as they were discussing what to do. After the boys left the girls, Storm began to tell his buddy about his little trip to Twilight's homeworld. The Jedi Knight did tease his partner about getting cozy with a princess as the boy countered by reminding him that he was married to a senator. Eventually, the two let out a laugh as they entered the room where Obi-wan and Yoda were waiting. With the three friends reunited, they were figuring out what the plan was given what occurred on Felucia. "The setback at Felucia has affected our efforts in the whole sector," said Kenobi. "It'll take weeks before we can..." At that moment, Master Yoda closed his eyes and he let out a small groan. It didn't go unnoticed by the trio or the other Jedi Masters who appeared not long after Storm and Anakin entered. "Master Yoda, what is it?" asked Anakin looking at the little green creature. "A disturbance in the Force. Intruders there will be in this temple," spoke the Jedi Master. All three Jedi looked at one another as they didn't like the warning that Master Yoda spoke of. While this was happening, Cad Bane was in his hotel room as he was preparing for his mission. In his room, he had a helper droid named Todo 360. "You know, if you would just tell me what it is you're doing back there, I could probably be of some assistance," said Todo as Bane was opening the back of the droid. "Look, I'm just doing some maintenance. You've been having memory crashes," said the bounty hunter as he opened the back of the droid and pulled out a small device from his coat. "That is preposterous. I have no memory of any crashes. Oh, my goodness. I have no memory of any crashes." said Todo unaware that Bane put something in the back of the droid as he closed it. "Exactly." said the bounty hunter as he finished. "Oh, no. I am doomed. Bane, you have to help me." said the droid as he turned to look at the man. "Calm down, I'm done," said the bounty hunter as he made his way to his desk. "Oh, thank you." "Get the door," said Bane as an electronic buzz went off. "I am a techno-service droid, not a butler droid," said the small robot. "Can it, Todo. You are what I say you are," responded the bounty hunter as he turned on the terminal at the desk. "Well! Then..." scoffed the droid as he went to answer the door. He pushed the button as it was pulled back and revealed who was there. "Who are you?" said the individual. The individual in question had a helmet to cover their face. "I am Todo 360, a techno-service droid. Who are you?" asked the small robot as the individual walked in. "None of your business," said the individual. "Everyone is in a good mood today," said Todo with a tone. The individual then pushed a button on their helmet as it lifted the vizor. Their face revealed that the individual was a Clawdite female bounty hunter as she walked to where Bane was seated and looked at the screen. "Who is that?" asked the female bounty hunter name Cato Parasitti. "Bolla Ropal, Jedi, out in the Mid Rim," said Bane as they saw the image of the individual on the screen. "We going after him?" asked Cato. "Soon. Right now, we're stealing a holocron," said Bane pushing a button as the holographic image of the thing appeared. "Impossible. The only place you can get a holocron is--" "I know. Inside the main vaults of the Jedi Temple," interrupted Bane. "Fortunately, our Sith Lord client has set us up with some help. For one, the map of the temple you're looking at right now. For another, a security chip that I've placed in my droid." "I have been given all the technical data regarding security systems in the Jedi Temple," said Todo. "Both the vent shafts and the vault itself are equipped with all kinds of traps and security measures. Todo can take them out, but we'll need help from someone inside the Jedi Library," said Bane. "And that's where your talents as a changeling will come in." The bounty hunter gestured his head to his side as the female changeling looked. On a nearby chair was the body of a deceased individual. "He looks like a Jedi," said Cato. "He was. His name was Ord Enisence," said Bane as he changed the hologram to show the interiors of the Jedi temple. "You should be able to walk into the archives and monitor us without a problem." Cato now walked over to where the deceased Jedi was. The changeling began to use her skills as she placed her hand on the Jedi as she had now taken the form of the Jedi Master. "Now that I am a Jedi..." spoke Cato in her regular voice as it soon transitioned into what the Jedi actually sounded like, "I can do that." "Good. You will need these," said Bane, "They're ear comlinks so we can keep in communication." stated the bounty hunter tossing the device to the disguised changeling. "Mm, the vault is in the library, which backs onto the communications center. There will be swarms of Jedi nearby," said the changeling. "We'll use those to our advantage," replied the bounty hunter. "Even if you get into the vault, how are you going to crack that safe?" asked Cato. "Let me worry about the safe. First things first." Obi-wan, Anakin, and Storm were walking side by side. They were shown walking in a hallway as they were discussing what Master Yoda said about intruders being in the Jedi Temple. "Where do we start looking for these intruders?" asked Anakin to his pals. "More importantly, what could they be after?" stated Storm. "I doubt they've come to hijack starfighters," replied Kenobi. "What can they get here that they can't get anywhere else?" said Anakin. "Information," replied Obi-wan. "The Jedi transmitter codes," said Anakin. "Every piece of troop information in one place," stated Storm. "And it's all in the east tower," shouted Anakin. "The east tower communications center," replied the Jedi Master. "We'll head there right away," said Storm to Obi-wan. "I'll monitor the perimeter defenses from the central security station," said Kenobi as he ran in an opposite direction as Storm and Anakin rushed to their destination. At that moment, there were two figures shown rocketing on the side of the temple. Meanwhile, in the library, Ahsoka was on patrol as she finished her latest report to Twilight. The padawan was near the entrance of the library as she saw Jedi Master Ord. However, what she didn't know was that it was Cato as the changeling was walking in the direction of the girl. "Good afternoon, Master Enisence," said Ahsoka. "Good afternoon, young one," said Cato as her voice sounded like the Jedi she was impersonating. "May I be of assistance?" asked the padawan. "No. Uh, no, thank you, my dear. I don't want to bother you," said Cato hoping to get the Jedi away from her to complete her mission. "Oh, it wouldn't be a bother at all, Master. Things are slow right now," said Ahsoka as she stopped in front of the fake Jedi Master. "The only thing I've been doing is reporting to Twilight my latest patrol. I could use something to do," said the girl as she was a bit bored. "Oh, uh, uh, I..." "Cato, come in," said Bane through the earpiece. "Cato, are you there yet? Cato, come in." "Thank you. I'll be fine on my own," said Cato as she walked past Ahsoka. "You sure?" asked the girl. "Listen, youngling! I said I was fine. Now let me go about my business!!" shouted Cato while pointing at Ahsoka. "Can't do anything right these days," sighed Ahsoka. "Ahsoka, come in. What's your latest report?" asked Twilight through the girl's comlink. "All quiet. As usual. Moving to the next section, Master Twilight." said Ahsoka as she listened to Twilight's command. The girl groaned as she left. In the background, Jocasta was shown reaching for a book when she saw the padawan walking away. She then noticed Master Orn as the imposter had taken a seat at a nearby terminal. "I'm in," said Cato to Bane as she logged in. "It's about time. Just tell us where to get in," said Bane. "All right, there's a weak point in the shield that Todo should be able to break through. I'm beaming him the coordinates now," said the changeling. "Okay, I have got it," replied Todo as he did a few clicks and beeps. He then proceeded to hover to where the weak point was located. "I'll jam the temple's scanners," replied Cato. "Let's see. It's around here somewhere," said Todo trying to pinpoint the spot. The droid then located the crack in the shield as a small opening allowed both the droid and bounty hunter to enter. "In." said Bane to Cato. "You're welcome," said Todo. The moment the pair entered, the sensors blacked out for a bit. Obi-wan saw this as the screens in front of him flickered a bit for a few seconds before going back to their normal state. "What was that?" asked the Jedi Master to the small droid next to him. "The system is just recycling, sir." The transmitter in front of them now came online as the images of Storm and Anakin were shown. "Master, we're in the tower. No intruders, but something just happened," said Skywalker. "All the scanners were behaving strangely for a moment," stated Storm. "Yeah, something happened to the system down here too. It cannot be a coincidence," replied the Jedi Master. The door opened. In walked Master Yoda as all three boys noticed the Jedi Master. "Arrived, the intruders have," spoke the little green creature. "But if they are not in the tower, what are they after?" asked Kenobi. "The communications center, perhaps, their target is," replied Yoda. "They must be in the central ventilation system," suggested Anakin. "Let me check the system," replied Obi-wan as he began to push some buttons on the panel in front of him. Up on the screen, the blueprints for the temple were shown. The scanners picked up something as a highlighted location was circled in red. "You're right," said Obi-wan to his student. "There's been a disturbance. It's near the top of the south tower." "We'll meet you up there," replied Storm as the transmission ended. "On high alert place the temple," stated Yoda to the Jedi Master. In the ventilation, Bane and Todo were still moving about as they activated their rocket boots and drifted down a tunnel. They were coming upon a fan that was swirling below them as they got closer. "The control board for the fan should be on your left," instructed Cato as she was guiding her comrades. Todo pushed a button as the fan stopped moving. "All clear, sir," replied the droid. The pair once more turned on their rocket boots and descended even further down the tunnel. "Not quite. The fan you're passing through has a security switch," said Cato looking at the schematics in front of her. "I do not see anything," replied Todo. "Besides, we've already gotten past the fan." The droid was proven wrong as they descended by a motion sensor that was the security switch. It now turned everything back on as it was pushing the droid and the bounty hunter upwards into the fan. "Oh," said the droid. "Todo, we're getting sucked into the fan. Turn it off!" shouted Bane as he was getting closer to the blades. "I do not know how!" shouted the droid as he too was about to make contact. "Cato, do something!" replied the bounty hunter. "I've got it from here," replied the changeling as she began to input some commands. She managed to save her allies as they were but inches from the blades. "Sorry," replied Todo as Bane glared at him. They continued their path as they descended. They made it past the second fan as they came to a crossroads with different paths. The bounty hunter looked around as he gestured towards the tunnel to go as the droid followed him. "Okay, Bane, the next part is relatively simple," said Cato to her comlink. "Make your way down the shaft until you reach--" "Excuse me," said a voice as Jocasta appeared next to the Jedi Master. "I... I don't mean to disturb you, but, uh, the whole temple is on high alert." "Thank you," replied Cato as she stood up and grabbed the librarian by her throat. She managed to knock her out as she landed on the ground. The changeling dragged the woman to a secluded spot and she then touched her as she had taken the form of her. "This is it," said Bane. They had managed to make it to where they needed to be. They saw the grate as below them were some lasers. "Perfect. Let's go in," stated Todo. "No. Cato, come in. We are over the vault," said Bane. "Give me a moment to check out the security system," said the changeling as her voice was that of Jocasta. "What's wrong with your voice?" asked the bounty hunter as he could tell it was different. "Change of plans. I'm the librarian now." "Hurry it up, Cato. We can't stay hidden for long." At that moment, the boys had made it to the south tower. "Well, looks like this is where they broke in," said Anakin as they saw the shield and hatch that was opened behind it. "Fortunately, we'll have a less troublesome time," stated Obi-wan. The Jedi Master simply scanned his hand over the security system as it recognized his authorization and lowered the shields to allow the Jedi access. "Oh, I can't wait to be a Jedi Master so that I can have access to everything in the temple," said Storm as that was one of the many things he was looking forward to when he reached that rank. With the shield down, the trio entered and climbed into the shaft. "The vault is filled with laser sensors that go in every direction. I'll try to deactivate the whole system from here," said Cato. "Just hurry! I can hear them. They're looking for us in the vent system." said Bane as he could tell the Jedi trio were nearby. Using Obi-wan's clearance, the trio was able to bypass the security measures. They were lowering down into the shaft as they had attached a line to a steady hold and descended. They landed at the crossroads that Bane was at moments ago as they began to figure out where their intruders were. "Great. Which way do you think they went?" asked Anakin. "The communications center is this way. We'd better hurry if we're going to catch them," stated Obi-wan as he began to lead his pals into one of the tunnels. "The Jedi are coming closer," said Bane as he could hear the footsteps of our heroes. "I've got it. Go in," said Cato. The lasers now turned off below the pair as they popped the hatch and dropped down. With the trio of Jedi, they were crouching along one of the tunnels as Anakin came to another fork in the road. He looked both ways before turning to his pals. "I don't think they came this way." "Master Yoda, are you picking up any other life signs in this quadrant?" asked Obi-wan through his comlink. In the communications center, Master Yoda was present along with a few other Jedi Masters. Jedi Masters Windu, Fisto, Aayla, Luna, and Celestia were all in the room as they were watching the security system to see if anything was out of the ordinary. "Deep in the temple, the intruders are," responded Yoda to Kenobi. "Then how the hell are they managing to stay out of our way?!!" asked Storm through the comlink. "Hmm. Possible it is, receiving assistance they are, from inside," responded the green creature. "Wonderful," said Kenobi with some sarcasm in his voice. Meanwhile... "Almost there. Are you done deactivating those laser beams yet?" asked Bane to his droid. "We are good to go," responded Todo as he managed to get past the last bit of security. "Good. Start cutting through that wall," ordered the bounty hunter. "This job just keeps getting weirder and weirder," said the droid as he began to do as he was told. In the library, Ahsoka was still patrolling as she once again reported to Twilight about her latest surveillance. The girl's comlink then went off as Master Yoda's voice could be heard. "Padawan, alert you must be. Sense deception, I do," said the Jedi Master as he informed her of the situation at hand. "Posing as a Jedi, the intruder is. Find Master Jocasta, you must." "Understood, Master Yoda," said Twilight as she too had received the call. With that, both girls took off from where they were as they began to find the librarian. Ahsoka had turned the corner and began to walk down an aisle of bookcases when she overheard something. "Bane, the three Jedi have turned around and are making their way towards you." "Who are you, and what have you done with Madame Jocasta?" asked Ahsoka as she appeared behind the changeling. "The same thing I'm going to do to you!" shouted the imposter as she pulled out Jedi's lightsaber and swung. Ahsoka ducked under as she turned hers on and blocked another swing. The two then began to engage for a few moments as the imposter leaped over a chair and ran with the padawan in pursuit. In another part of the library, Twilight was shown casually walking through the many aisles of books. Ahsoka ran along the long table as she managed to cut off the imposter as their blades clashed. The changeling managed to push the girl onto the table as she did a downward attack to which the girl moved to the side as it made a dent into the wooden structure. The imposter immediately went for another swing as Ahsoka ducked down and then backflipped onto the table holding her weapon backward in her hand as she blocked another attack. Once more the imposter ran as Ahsoka chased after her on the table. Once she reached the end, the changeling did a cartwheel over the table and took off down the aisle with the padawan still on her tail. More brief exchanges were dealt with as the girl was pushing back the imposter with ease. A few kicks and dodged as Ahsoka was in full control of the fight as the imposter was forced to turn the corner and run. They looked back at the girl chasing them as they were unaware of what happened in front of them. A chair was thrown in the path of the changeling as she failed to notice it and fell. Emerging from one of the nearby aisles was Twilight as she was still casually walking. She had a smile on her face as she pointed her lightsaber at the imposter as Ahsoka did as well. "You may have Madame Jocasta's shape, but not her skills," said Ahsoka. "Surrender," stated Twilight. The imposter got rid of her disguise as the girls saw Cato's true form. While the girls were dealing with the changeling, Bane and his droid were just about done with their tasks. "Todo, are you done yet?" "These things take time." "Some butler droid you turned out to be." "I am a techno-service droid!" shouted Todo. The boys had made it to the hatch where Bane and the droid were as they saw it was open. "Looks like you were right," said Anakin to his master. They all took a few steps in when their comlinks went off. "Master Skywalker. Me and Twilight have captured the imposter disguised as a Jedi. She says the intruder's in the holocron vault." "A holocron is no good without a Jedi to open it," stated Obi-wan. "So what are they up to?" said Storm. "They must be trying to gain access to the communications center from the vault," responded Anakin. "Let's get in there," declared Kenobi as they kept on moving. "By the way, good work, girls," said Storm as they smiled at the praises that were given to them by their friend. "I am not going to be able to do this without a diagram," said Bane trying to bypass the lock. "Cato, come in. Cato?" "What has happened?" asked Todo. "Something's gone wrong. Todo, is the hole finished?" asked the bounty hunter. "Yes, but--" "Go to the communications center." "What?" responded Todo. "You heard me." "Bane, the communications center will be crawling with Jedi. Why do I need to go in there?" "Now!" shouted Bane. "Okay. Okay." The droid then push the cover and it fell from the hole he made. He then entered the shaft as he began to make his way toward his destination. Once Todo was out of sight, Bane took out a small thing and attached it to the lock he was trying to bypass. It was a small timer as it counted down. The trio had just turned the corner of the shaft as they were above. The timer reached zero as a small explosion went off. They could feel it from above as they wobbled a bit. They soon crawled over to the grate that was exposed as they jumped down. They were now in the room that Bane was in just seconds ago. "Quick! The communications center! Let's go!" shouted Obi-wan to his pals. They saw the small opening that Todo made to the next shaft as they followed through. They were unaware that Bane had his droid create the hole as a distraction as he emerged from his hidden spot. He then approached the door as the small bomb managed to destroy the security lock. The bounty hunter now pulled back the door that was slightly open as he soon came to a room filled with small blue lights. The bounty hunter approached one of the walls as he pushed one of them and a holocron appeared. With his target in hand, the bounty hunter now began to make his exit. At that moment, Todo had made it to the communications center as the vent popped open. The Jedi Masters that were all there noticed the small droid as they all looked. "Oh, uh, hey guys." Obi-wan, Anakin, and Storm had turned the corner as they were meters from where the opening was. They could see Todo's shadow as he was talking with the Jedi Masters. "I was just... uh, testing the access hatch. Works great," said the droid grabbing the hatch. At that moment, the small thing that Bane put in him earlier went off. "Bomb!" shouted Windu as he used his Force instincts to sense danger. "Bomb? What bomb? Is there something that's going to blow up?" said Todo unaware of what Bane did to him before the mission. Windu wasted no time in putting his hand out as he Force pushed Todo and the hatch as they fell into place. The droid landed in front of the Jedi trio in the vents as they realized what the beeping meant. "Bomb!" shouted Obi-wan. "Oh, shit!" shouted Storm as all three turned to run from being caught in the blast radius. "No. No. No. No. No. No!" panicked Todo trying to reach his back to shut off the bomb. But it was useless, the explosion went off. The droid was destroyed and the trio barely got out of the radius as they bounced against the vent walls. The Jedi Masters turned as the explosion happened near the hatch. With the girls, they had Cato in custody as they were guiding the changeling. Madame Jocasta was shown standing and clutching her head as she recovered from getting knocked out. "Madame librarian, are you okay?" asked Ahsoka. "I, uh, think I'm all right," replied Jocasta. "We must call security." The girls now led the changeling away as nearby Bane was shown. He was wearing a Jedi cloak as he began to head out of the temple undetected. The Jedi Masters in the communications room and our heroes made it to the vault. "Hmm. Our war operations, it was never about," said Yoda. They all saw the missing holocron. "Come on, changeling," said Ahsoka as she began to lead the prisoner away. "We have a new home for you." "What would someone want with a holocron?" asked Obi-wan as he was walking with his buddies. They all exited the vault when Cato began to speak. "Wait. Bolla Ropal." "Huh?" said Storm. "What did you say?" stated Luna. "Bolla Ropal," said Cato once more. "That's who Bane's next target is, some Jedi." While the Jedi Knights and Padawan were confused, all the Jedi Masters knew exactly who the changeling was talking about. "What's wrong?" asked Twilight to the masters. "Who's Bolla Ropal?" said Anakin as he was speaking for all of them. "He is the keeper of the Kyber crystal, the data on which can only be read by holocrons," answered Windu. "What's on the crystal?" asked Ahsoka. "A list of every known Force-sensitive child in the galaxy. The future younglings. The future of the Jedi Order." said Celestia. "We have to warn him," said Obi-wan. "That's going to be hard to do. He's out of contact, somewhere in the Devaron system," said Windu. "Seek him out, you must," said Yoda. "Ahsoka, Storm, Twilight, and I will head out immediately," stated Anakin as his padawan handed Cato over to Kenobi. "If this Cad Bane is still on Coruscant, I'll find him," said Obi-wan as he began to lead the changeling away before going on his search. With that, the whole group split up. Obi-wan going to search to see if the bounty hunter hadn't left. While the three Jedi Knights and padawan went to go find the lost Jedi. As for the Jedi Masters, they all broke apart as Master Yoda stayed behind as he watched all of this. A serious look on his face as he knew what was at stake.