Anakin and Obi-Wan flew toward the Separatist flagship through the chaos over Coruscant. Their starfighters weaved between turbolaser fire and vulture droids. R2-D2 fed stabilizing corrections as Anakin cut down pursuers with practiced precision.
Inside the hangar bay, they leapt free of their cockpits and fought through waves of battle droids. Obi-Wan kept a steady cadence of dry remarks as Anakin rushed ahead, driven by urgency rather than protocol. When they reached the observation deck, they found Chancellor Palpatine bound in the command chair. Anakin freed him while Obi-Wan surveyed the room for traps.
Count Dooku appeared from the shadows. Obi-Wan muttered that this was getting repetitive. The duel commenced: Dooku held the upper hand at first, using measured precision, until he incapacitated Obi-Wan with a Force-assisted strike that sent him crashing against the rail. The sound of metal and low groans filled the chamber as Anakin pressed forward alone. Palpatine encouraged him. Anakin surrendered to anger, overwhelmed Dooku, disarmed him, and executed him. The Chancellor's silent approval lingered in the air.
They carried Obi-Wan from the room, battled through more corridors, and reached the bridge. The ship began its catastrophic descent. Anakin wrestled the collapsing flagship into a controlled crash, landing it on the surface of Coruscant. Rescue crews and senators applauded the return of the Chancellor, while Anakin received a flood of praise and startled commentary from clone officers and ground controllers who witnessed the landing.
Within the Jedi Temple, fires and smoke choked the air. The bombing had collapsed halls and shattered statues. Healers dragged injured padawans from debris. Masters barked orders over comms while clone emergency teams assisted in evacuation.
The vault robbery went unnoticed for hours. When archivists attempted to access sealed data, entire sections were gone. Then security masters checked the High Security Vaults. The vault doors were sliced open with surgical precision. Holocrons, relics, rare materials gone. No alarms, no traceable explosives, no footprints, no smudges, no evidence.
Panic spread through the archivists. Several padawans were sent away from the area after breaking down in tears at the sight of the empty vault shelves. Masters who entered the vault stood in stunned silence. Some swore softly. Some trembled. The theft was not merely material; it was a violation of the Order's heart.
In the Council chamber, the emotional weight was visible. Windu's voice was clipped and razor-sharp as he demanded reports. Shaak Ti explained the clean cuts in the vault doors. Plo Koon asked what could slice that way without leaving slag. Ki-Adi-Mundi argued that the Separatists did not possess such tools. The Chancellor was not informed of the robbery's full details. Only the bombing.
Yoda listened without interruption. When Windu finally listed what was stolen Jedi artifacts, forbidden research, sealed records, unknown holocrons Yoda lowered his eyes. His voice was faint, burdened.
"Grave this wound is. Violated our home has been. In darkness, knowledge now moves."
The Council fell silent. The Temple had been defiled, and they did not know by whom.
Then came the most devastating report: Eno Cordova's holocron was missing. The holocron containing a list of Force-sensitives across the galaxy young and untrained, the seeds of future generations gone.
The room erupted. Windu demanded an immediate containment strategy. Shaak Ti called it a critical blow to the Order's future. Plo Koon slammed a hand on the console in frustration. Even Ki-Adi-Mundi's mask of calm faltered.
Yoda closed his eyes, sorrow etched across his face. When he spoke, his voice carried the weight of centuries. "Dispatched, the Guards will be. Seek they must the holocron of Cordova. Without it, blind we walk, and fewer our young will be."
Elite Jedi Temple Guards and intelligence masters received sealed orders: retrieve Cordova's holocron at any cost. Their mission remained secret, known only to the High Council.
While the Jedi mourned their losses, the Chancellor delivered speeches about unity and sacrifice. The Senate expanded emergency powers. The public focused on the heroic rescue. No one knew the Jedi had been robbed at their core.
Across the galaxy, on Oraven, Shepard waited in a secure hangar. He paced, calculating potential failure points in the nano-droids' escape routes. He expected pursuit, tracking, surveillance, or interdiction. Instead, they arrived silently, carrying sealed cubes filled with artifacts, data, and ancient secrets. Shepard inspected the cubes with clinical precision, verified structural integrity, and dismissed his earlier concern as unnecessary caution.
He assessed the situation with cold clarity. Dooku was dead. The Separatists would fracture and decline. Palpatine and his circle would inevitably seize their legacy, but Shepard refused to allow the Republic or the Sith to absorb the Separatist's intellectual or industrial wealth uncontested.
He began drafting his next phase of plans. The galaxy would not remain balanced between Republic and Separatists for long. When the collapse came, he intended to be positioned above the ruins, not beneath them.