came.”
“We could go out the front entrance,” Solace said. “Take our chances. Leave the Temple and let it be destroyed.”
“I can’t,” Ferus said.
Solace nodded. “Neither can I.”
They raced through the main hallways. There was no time for subterfuge.
Malorum and his officers had withdrawn most of the stormtroopers, but they had left attack droids to continue the patrols, to prevent interference from intruders. Ferus bounded toward the first
group as it wheeled to engage them. His lightsaber moved rapidly as he mowed through them from one side while Solace took the other. She was all movement and no wasted motion, her lightsaber a
blur. She was faster and better than Ferus and together they destroyed the droids in only seconds. They met in the middle and raced through the gap they’d created, smoke rising around them.
Trever kicked through the hot metal and followed.
They knew where the central core generator was. The only chance they had was to shut it down before the bomb was fully armed.
Not trusting the turbolifts, they swung downstairs, leaping down and letting Trever catch up when they had to pause to dispatch more attack droids. They made it to the power source, a white room
where the mighty sublight generator hummed. The reserve power light was blinking.
“Here’s the bomb,” Trever said, hurrying over to it. “They didn’t bother to hide it. You’ve got to shut down the main generator. But do it gradually, or it
could trigger the bomb.”
“Thanks for telling me.” Ferus turned his attention to the power-core controls. He knew how to do this. He had made it a personal course of study to find out how the infrastructure
of the Temple worked. Quickly, he accessed the power computer bank. He went through the necessary series of steps to shut down the system. He went slowly, powering each subsystem down from green to
yellow to red.
The lights flickered and failed. They heard the gentle sigh as the air system shut down.
“What now?” Solace asked.
“We wait,” Trever said. “And hope we don’t blow.”
Solace held up her lightsaber, which gave a soft blue glow. Trever got out his glow rod. The seconds ticked by. He looked at the power indicator on the bomb. Slowly, the indicator began to
move.
“It’s draining,” he said. “It won’t arm.” He looked up at Ferus. “You can kill it now. It’s dead.”
Ferus swiped a clean strike through the bomb. The device split into two neat halves.
“How long before they figure it out?” Solace asked.
“Soon,” Ferus said. “I would imagine that Malorum is nearby. He’ll want to see it blow.”
“We stopped him this time. But all he has to do is set another one,” Trever said.
“I think Vader will find out and stop it,” Ferus said. “That’s my guess, anyway. Word will get back. If the Emperor wanted the Temple completely destroyed he would have
ordered it done. He wants it to remain. It’s a symbol to the galaxy—the wreck of the Jedi Order. But to us, it’s a symbol of what we can be again.”
“I don’t know if it’s a symbol of anything anymore,” Solace said. “I just know it was my home, and I don’t want them to blow it up.”
They walked out of the central power control center and started down the hall again. Suddenly they heard the noise of stormtroopers clacking down the hallway. Ahead, from this vantage point,
they could see the entrance to the Temple. As they looked, the doors flew open and stormtroopers poured in. Malorum was at the head. They could hear his voice boom, bouncing off the high stone
walls.
“Find them!” he screamed.
A sea of white flooded the main hallway. They turned and ran. They could not meet this display of force. Overhead, seeker droids began to fan out, searching for them.
They ran back the way they had come. They had to get to Solace’s ship. It was their only hope for escape.
Pursued by a seeker droid, they raced down the hallway. Ferus leaped and
“We could go out the front entrance,” Solace said. “Take our chances. Leave the Temple and let it be destroyed.”
“I can’t,” Ferus said.
Solace nodded. “Neither can I.”
They raced through the main hallways. There was no time for subterfuge.
Malorum and his officers had withdrawn most of the stormtroopers, but they had left attack droids to continue the patrols, to prevent interference from intruders. Ferus bounded toward the first
group as it wheeled to engage them. His lightsaber moved rapidly as he mowed through them from one side while Solace took the other. She was all movement and no wasted motion, her lightsaber a
blur. She was faster and better than Ferus and together they destroyed the droids in only seconds. They met in the middle and raced through the gap they’d created, smoke rising around them.
Trever kicked through the hot metal and followed.
They knew where the central core generator was. The only chance they had was to shut it down before the bomb was fully armed.
Not trusting the turbolifts, they swung downstairs, leaping down and letting Trever catch up when they had to pause to dispatch more attack droids. They made it to the power source, a white room
where the mighty sublight generator hummed. The reserve power light was blinking.
“Here’s the bomb,” Trever said, hurrying over to it. “They didn’t bother to hide it. You’ve got to shut down the main generator. But do it gradually, or it
could trigger the bomb.”
“Thanks for telling me.” Ferus turned his attention to the power-core controls. He knew how to do this. He had made it a personal course of study to find out how the infrastructure
of the Temple worked. Quickly, he accessed the power computer bank. He went through the necessary series of steps to shut down the system. He went slowly, powering each subsystem down from green to
yellow to red.
The lights flickered and failed. They heard the gentle sigh as the air system shut down.
“What now?” Solace asked.
“We wait,” Trever said. “And hope we don’t blow.”
Solace held up her lightsaber, which gave a soft blue glow. Trever got out his glow rod. The seconds ticked by. He looked at the power indicator on the bomb. Slowly, the indicator began to
move.
“It’s draining,” he said. “It won’t arm.” He looked up at Ferus. “You can kill it now. It’s dead.”
Ferus swiped a clean strike through the bomb. The device split into two neat halves.
“How long before they figure it out?” Solace asked.
“Soon,” Ferus said. “I would imagine that Malorum is nearby. He’ll want to see it blow.”
“We stopped him this time. But all he has to do is set another one,” Trever said.
“I think Vader will find out and stop it,” Ferus said. “That’s my guess, anyway. Word will get back. If the Emperor wanted the Temple completely destroyed he would have
ordered it done. He wants it to remain. It’s a symbol to the galaxy—the wreck of the Jedi Order. But to us, it’s a symbol of what we can be again.”
“I don’t know if it’s a symbol of anything anymore,” Solace said. “I just know it was my home, and I don’t want them to blow it up.”
They walked out of the central power control center and started down the hall again. Suddenly they heard the noise of stormtroopers clacking down the hallway. Ahead, from this vantage point,
they could see the entrance to the Temple. As they looked, the doors flew open and stormtroopers poured in. Malorum was at the head. They could hear his voice boom, bouncing off the high stone
walls.
“Find them!” he screamed.
A sea of white flooded the main hallway. They turned and ran. They could not meet this display of force. Overhead, seeker droids began to fan out, searching for them.
They ran back the way they had come. They had to get to Solace’s ship. It was their only hope for escape.
Pursued by a seeker droid, they raced down the hallway. Ferus leaped and
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