(I DO NOT own Star Wars or any of its characters/brands/names, (as much as it pains me to say ;_;), but I own all OCs unless I state otherwise. All this being said, enjoy the story, and please remember to review. ^^)

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

STAR WARS

"FAITH IN THE FORCE"

The Jedi Order has been destroyed!
Due to the plans of the sinister Sith Lord
Darth Sidious, the Jedi Knights are all but extinguished
across the entire Galaxy.

Deep in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, the surviving Jedi
are being hunted down by the Clone 501st Legion, led by none
other than the recently-anointed DARTH VADER.
Many of the Jedi Knights have fought bravely,
but most of the Jedi have perished thus far.

Meanwhile, in other places across the Galaxy, the Jedi commanders
of the Republic armies is dealt the same fate as the Jedi
on Coruscant, with very few having survived the surprise onslaught
of their own soldiers against them.

But, even in the middle of those terrible events, the Jedi Knights
are continuing their fight against the darkness on Coruscant,
being sure that this is their last stand...

Chapter One: "Operation: KNIGHTFALL"

Fire and smoke filled the skies around the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant. A massive invasion of the temple was in effect as the Clone soldiers of the 501st Legion killed any Jedi they found with heavy losses on both sides. Jedi Knights fought Clones, Jedi Masters fought Clones, even many of the young Jedi Padawans fought the Clones as well... it was a bloodbath for everyone involved.

"Operation: KNIGHTFALL" was succeeding more and more by the hour; by the minute even. The Clones were fulfilling their objectives to kill whatever Jedi they could find and secure everything they could inside of the Jedi archives. Dozens of Jedi fell at a time, some of them taking dozens of Clones with their blades before they succumbed to their blasters... The Clone troopers managed to secure the majority of the Jedi Archives before the Jedi could purge their knowledge, but there was still much left behind by the Jedi... It was mostly a failure, as the Clones had almost every bit of Jedi knowledge they needed to acquire.

The Jedi Knights were just trying to survive, they were trying to keep the Jedi Order alive... but it was all for nothing. Too many Jedi have fallen, and both sides knew it would all be over by the next morning... maybe even within an hour or two... A former Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker, who was now known as "Darth Vader", was there, fighting alongside the Clones. He was the one who led Operation: KNIGHTFALL. He was the one killing Jedi like it was nothing. He was the Sith Lord decimating the Jedi Order for his master...

Darth Vader had a deep frown on his face as he walked out of the room where most of the Jedi younglings were hiding. He deactivated his Lightsaber for the time being, having just used it to slaughter the many defenseless children inside... He didn't want to, but the Jedi needed to pay for everything they done, and killing the younglings had fully immersed himself into the Dark Side. He had nightmares that his wife Padme would die... He needed the full power of the Dark Side to keep her alive...

A Clone commander suddenly ran up to him and got his attention, quickly saluting and then gesturing to a nearby fight between a massive amount of Clones and Jedi.

"My Lord, we're winning the battle! Jedi positions are being overrun, but we need immediate support in the northern end of the Temple!" the Clone commander said.

"Good." Lord Vader replied. "Send in the gunships and land reinforcements on the outer platforms, then send the gunships to strafe the upper level courtyards. Destroy any Jedi in your way." he ordered.

The Clone nodded in confirmation and he proceeded to run down a nearby hallway, helping nearby Clone troopers to engage a pack of Jedi that was cornered in the archives. Lord Vader reactivated his Lightsaber once he went into a large inner courtyard, eyeing one Jedi Knight that was back to back with his Jedi Master. Their blue and green blades reflected the blaster fire of Clones and took out a very large number of them...

Vader slowly started to walk into the courtyard, frowning with anger and hate as he saw his next two victims... Even though he was furious at the Jedi, Vader couldn't help but feel impressed with how the two Jedi were holding their own against dozens of highly-trained elite Clone soldiers...

He knew he would have to deal with them himself.

Rafik Thul didn't know what to do. He and his Master, Dalo Fal-Cona, were both cornered in the center of a courtyard by Clones from the 501st Legion, and several other Jedi were scattered all over the area. They tried to get to the younglings so they could try and help them escape the Jedi Temple... but they sensed that Vader got to them first. The poor children didn't have a chance against him...

A Clone trooper charged at the pair of Jedi, but was quickly cut down by Dalo's blade. Rafik used the force to grab the fallen Clone's blaster, firing at other Clones while deflecting their own laser fire. A stray laser grazed Rafik on his right shoulder, causing him to cringe as he kept fighting the Clone soldiers. As Rafik fired his blaster and deflected laser blasts with his Lightsaber, he couldn't help but notice that he and Master Dalo were completely surrounded by the 501st Legion.

"Master, we're surrounded!" Rafik exclaimed.

"Keep calm, my young apprentice!" Dalo replied, calmly. "We shall find a way out of this!" he added.

Rafik didn't know if Master Dalo was right. The odds were against them, and all they had was the Force, their skill and their wits to protect them. There were literally thousands of Clones that were attacking the Jedi Temple as they defended themselves. It seemed as though all of the Galactic Republic was against them now... maybe even the rest of the Galaxy as well... He assumed they were in a last stand and were going to die. But they would die for the Force... Rafik wouldn't have it any other way.

Master Dalo used the Force to pull a large and heavy column down onto a group of Clones, proceeding to use the Force to grab a nearby Lightsaber from a fallen Jedi Knight. Using the green and blue bladed Lightsabers in his hands, Dalo charged at a nearby group of Clones and easily took them down. Dalo then saw multiple Clones attacking from a nearby gunship, managing to kill a few of the last Jedi Knights in the courtyard. The gunships laser fire separated Rafik and Dalo as they both ran for cover. They ended up on the opposite sides of the room, the Clones attacks intensifying now that their prey was separated...

As Rafik fired his blaster and used his lightsaber against the Clones, he heard his Master's voice as if he was still right next to him... It still sounded completely calm, as if he was at peace.

"May the Force be with you, Rafik..." he heard Master Dalo say.

The young Jedi Knight looked at the position that his Master was at... and he felt nothing short of horror at what he saw was happening... His eyes widened as he saw that none other than Lord Vader himself was approaching Dalo, raising his Lightsaber against the old Jedi Master. Dalo was easy for him, way too easy even for the old master's talents. Vader just simply sliced the Master's second Lightsaber in half, using the Force to push him to a nearby column and causing him to drop the original Lightsaber he had. Vader then stabbed Dalo in the chest, right through the heart and causing the tip of his blade to poke out through the other side of the column.

Rafik was watching his master die...

"NO!" Rafik screamed.

Master Dalo's eyes were widened by the shock and force of the Lightsaber piercing his heart, but his eyes quickly shut themselves after a few seconds, signalling that he was dead... Vader grabbed the corpse of Dalo, frowning as he pushed it down to the lower level of the courtyard, making it land just a few meters away from Rafik. The shocked apprentice looked up at Vader, seeing that the Sith Lord was frowning with anger at him, pointing the tip of his lightsaber towards Rafic, challenging him.

"Your master can't save you now..." Vader taunted.

Rafik couldn't help it. His fear was intense, but then his rage was beginning to build up... Everything Dalo taught him, everything the Jedi Order was about was not to give in to hate, revenge or anger. They were the paths to the Dark Side of the Force... Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering... He couldn't hold back as he furiously tossed his blaster and using the Force to pull into his hand the functioning Lightsaber that Dalo had from the floor.

Vader frowned as Rafik Force-jumped up to where he was, the two blue blades in his hands shining bright as he approached him. They both then engaged in a heated Lightsaber duel, both not losing concentration as they used their hate and anger to attack each other. A few Clone troopers aimed their blasters at Rafik, but Vader pushed the Jedi across the room with the Force and threateningly pointed his Lightsaber at the Clones.

"He's mine!" Vader warned.

The Clones immediately ran off to find different Jedi to fight. None of them wanted or even dared to get in Lord Vader's way... Rafik made himself stand up and get in a defensive stance with his Lightsabers, frowning at Vader as he watched him approach.

"You betrayed us, Skywalker! Why?!" Rafik demanded to know.

"You know why, traitor! The Jedi betrayed the Republic and tried to kill the Chancellor! And all for more power?! You have to pay for what you've done!" Vader retorted, the Dark Side clouding his mind as it distorted the truth.

"The Dark Side is against us all, Skywalker!" Rafik retorted.

As several more squads of the 501st Legion arrived and overran the last of the Jedi in the courtyard, Vader and Rafik kept dueling. Their duel brought them outside onto a landing pad, much to the surprise of the crew and soldiers of a gunship that was landed there. After several minutes of their dueling, Vader managed to kick Rafik in the head, using the momentum to quickly slice his Lightsaber in half and use the Force to toss the other one off the landing pad...

Rafik felt dazed as he stumbled back, the remains of the first Lightsaber falling off of the pad and landing thousands of feet below to the streets with the other still-functioning one... Vader approached Rafik, pushing him to the ledge and causing him to fall over the side. Rafik managed to grab the ledge, however, but he was now entirely left to the mercy of Darth Vader.

"Anakin, please! Listen to me!" Rafik exclaimed as he looked up at his former comrade. He didn't care if he was killed by him, but he just wanted to try to get him back to the Light... He sensed there was still good in Darth Vader, and he knew that somewhere deep down within him... Anakin Skywalker still lived.

"Please! Just come back to the Light! The Jedi are your family, Anakin! Listen to me!" Rafik pleaded.

Vader felt no sympathy, no empathy, and no regret. His fate was decided. He was with the Dark Side now... His wife would not die thanks to the powers of the Sith. The Sith would rule the galaxy, true... But he was content to know Palpatine would help save his wife from certain death...

"You tried to overthrow the Republic. The Jedi betrayed us all. All of the Jedi need to be punished for what they tried to do to the Republic and to the Chancellor, and I will see to that!" Vader frowned.

As Rafik felt himself beginning to lose his grip, he watched as Vader approached the side of the landing pad. Vader pressed his boot down against Rafik's fingers and worked to make him release himself, which was successful. Rafik screamed as he fell from the landing pad, the last he saw of Vader was the Dark Lord's frown before he walked away... Vader knew that he might probably survive, but he wanted to hunt him down... And, as a result of the fall, Rafik was sure this was the end.

Suddenly, after falling hundreds of feet, an airspeeder vehicle went under where he was falling, inadvertently catching Rafik and saving him from death. Rafik, wide eyed as he realized he was now sitting in the backseat of an airspeeder, quickly sat up and looked around.

"What?" Rafik asked himself, shocked at how he survived.

The driver of the airspeeder instantly turned her head and looked in the back of her vehicle. She went wide eyed with surprise as she saw her new unexpected passenger in the back of her vehicle.

"What?!" the woman, an orange-skinned Twi'lek, asked.

"What?!" Rafik retorted, shocked at the suddenness of landing in a vehicle.

"...WHAT?!" the woman repeated, now fully realizing the situation of a stranger landing in her airspeeder.

The woman reached for her glove box and grabbed a small blaster that was inside of it. She aimed it at Rafik, but he managed to grab it and toss it out of the airspeeder before she could fire it, also pinning her arm to the arm rest. The two of them kept fighting for control of the airspeeder, causing it to go out of control as it gained and lost altitude on the air streets of Coruscant.

"Let go!" the woman exclaimed.

"You let go!" Rafik retorted.

"Well, you're the one who fell into my airspeeder!" the woman retorted.

"Not on purpose!" Rafik retorted back.

"You still fell in it!" the woman retorted again.

Rafik and the woman kept struggling for control of the airspeeder, making it go through oncoming traffic for a while and barely dodging other airspeeders before it took a steep dive. The woman gasped though, when she saw Republic dropships chasing them from afar... The gunners on the dropships started firing on them as the woman and Rafik quickly took cover behind the front seats.

"What in the name of-?! What did you do?! Are you a criminal?!" the woman demanded to know.

"What? NO! I'm not a criminal! I'm a JEDI!" Rafik explained.

"You're a JEDI?!" the woman asked, in a mixture of disbelief and confusion. In any event, as they fought over the steering wheel, the airspeeder finally crash landed on one of the streets of the city. The Clones in the dropships kept firing at them as they climbed out of the airspeeder, but Rafik grabbed the woman's arm and started to hurriedly lead her away from the ship.

The woman had no idea what was happening. She was pulled through the lower streets of Coruscant as the Clones in the dropship kept firing their weapons at the fleeing persons. The alarms sounded throughout the 501st Legion's communication channels, all announcing that a Jedi managed to escape the Temple, and soon even more Clone troopers arrived to deal with the threat. Rafik and the woman ran, and they ran and ran and ran... but no matter how fast they ran, the Clones seemed to be right on their tail.

But Rafik finally saw a way out of this mess... but it was risky. It was a squadron of Clone troopers blocking the way, and also a few speeder bikes were parked as a blockade. So, he Force-pushed the woman out into an alley for safety, much to her shock and confusion. But Rafik didn't get her into the alleyway like he intended... the woman landed right onto a Clone commander, sending both of them tumbling onto the ground. She and the commander were both momentarily stunned and confused by the sudden event.

But, nearly instantaneously, they both realized the situation. The Clone commander tried to restrain her, but she managed to grab the blaster he had in his right hand. There was a short struggle over it, but the woman managed to elbow him in the helmet, stunning him long enough to take the blaster and to shoot him in the chest with it, seeing the Clone's body collapse a short distance away.

She couldn't believe what she just did. She killed a man... As she stood in shock, Rafik managed to fight several of the Clones with the Force, pushing several of them into a nearby store and the rest high up into the sky, never to be seen again by them.

Rafik used the Force to lift up one of the speeder bikes from its position, getting it up into the air as the gunner in the gunship set his sights on him... but it was too late. Rafik already threw the speeder bike towards the gunship and it hit it directly in the pilot's canopy, sending the gunship down to the ground where it exploded in a fiery inferno...

Rafik grabbed the woman's hand and started running. He didn't know where, he didn't know how long he would have to, but he did what he knew he had to do. Run from the Clones or die by their hand.