Ahsoka killed time by fighting Tinman on the simulator. B-1, of course, commanded the droid troops, and the girl commanded the clone troops. I sat on the sidelines, watching it all from the outside. It was quite a useful exercise, especially since the realism was almost complete—OOM was thinking at the very limit of his abilities as a commander, and he was acting according to standard CIS protocols, while the tactical table's AI recreated the clones' actions almost perfectly.
At that moment, Snips, with the help of three tanks and a battalion of clones, was holding back the advance of a large detachment of clankers supported by tri-droids.
"Well, Lieutenant, will we be there soon?" Trachta asked as he climbed onto the bridge, addressing Lichtendal, who was standing at his post. "Even though it's a fast ship, we're crawling along like…" The man wiggled his fingers, trying unsuccessfully to find the right word.
"Sir, estimated time of arrival is eight minutes," Lichtendal reported.
"Excellent." The man perked up. "Prepare the shuttle—I'm going to the hangar. I'll take off as soon as we enter the system."
Approaching me, the Moff stopped.
"It was nice to meet you, Vikt," Trachta said, extending his hand. "I have to get back to headquarters. Work."
"Likewise." I shook his hand. "Good luck fighting the bureaucracy."
"Don't remind me." Set saluted, then turned and disappeared into the elevator.
"What?!" Snips's indignant voice rang out, echoed by the amusing tinny voice of a B-1: "Enemy destroyed."
"How did you do that?" she demanded.
"Commander, you forgot to mine this section and that section," Tinman replied calmly.
"But did I ha—Hutt!" the girl cursed.
I chuckled. Did she forget that she has mines?
Meanwhile, the usual hustle and bustle began on the bridge. The operators studied their instruments more closely, and the gunners took their places at the joysticks, ready to open fire immediately if necessary. However, everything went smoothly—there were no enemy ships and no emergencies. As soon as we entered Coruscant's orbit, though, we received a message from the Temple. We were instructed to arrive at a meeting as soon as possible.
"A new assignment, Master?" Snips asked.
"Perhaps," I replied. "Cerri, arrange a shuttle for us there. Then land the ship. If there is a new assignment, we'll have to load supplies anyway… or something else."
Although it would have been more correct to leave the Akagi in orbit, but… something told me that my decision was the right one.
"Right away, General," the first lieutenant replied.
I headed for the elevator shaft.
"Don't fall behind, Ahsoka."
"Yes, Master."
Reaching the hangar, we boarded a Nu-class shuttle, which took us to the surface of Coruscant. On the way, we received a second message indicating the location of the meeting, so we had to adjust our course slightly to avoid a long walk.
After landing in the northwest hangar, the shuttle dropped us off and flew back, while we hurried toward our destination. Passing through a passageway along the northwest wall, we reached the north transverse corridor leading to the center of the building. The corridor, decorated in brown and gray tones, was well lit: a huge window, more than ten meters high, flooded it with light. On both sides were holographic classrooms, as well as some of the communication centers, in particular, the Large Communication Center.
Well, yes, large… as far as I know, there are four of them in the Temple, all completely identical.
That was the hall we were rushing to.
"This way, Ahsoka." I pointed to one of the passages with an oval archway. Entering it, we found ourselves in a rather large oval room, roughly forty by thirty meters. A stone staircase with a dozen steps led downward. In the center stood a massive tactical table about five meters in diameter, with a holographic projector at its heart; next to it, mounted on the wall, was a wide holographic screen. Seats reminiscent of an ancient Greek amphitheater rose around the table—broad steps arranged in four tiers, each fitted with thin cushions.
The hall was quite crowded—not only with living beings, but with holograms as well.
My gaze caught Yoda, Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Adi Gallia, and Plo Koon. They were standing below, engaged in a heated discussion. I caught fragments of their conversation:
…He slipped through my fingers… Count Dooku… the dark side… the message to Secura confirms… regrettable… our plan has failed… the risk was great…
In general, there was a certain nervousness and... something like sadness in the Force? Turning my head, I noticed Shaak Ti and Aayla Secura sitting on the lower steps. The Twi'lek was clearly upset, while the Togruta seemed to be trying to comfort her.
Something bad has happened.
Looking across the hall, I saw a dozen unfamiliar naval officers with ranks of admiral and above. Then, my memory faltered, but I finally recognized Palael Harimo, head of the Seer Corps; Hiram Mardin, head of the Balance Corps; and Master Dar'Kai Preston, head of the Order's Intelligence Division. Standing beside him was none other than Armand Isard himself. Beyond them were another dozen or two Jedi Masters and Knights. Among them, I spotted Luminara Unduli, with Barriss Offee seated beside her. There was an empty seat next to them, so we headed that way.
"Master Unduli. Barriss."
"Hello, Master Unduli. Hi, Barriss!" Ahsoka added after me.
"Knight Vikt. Ahsoka. It's good to see you," the Mirialan said, inclining her head. Barriss limited herself to a small nod.
Settling down beside Unduli, I asked quietly,
"What happened? Did we miss something?"