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'ORDERED, the lock down was not,' Master Yoda's voice spoke through the communicator.

The three Jedi and padawan still stood in front of the closed off Senate building. Thick metal plates covered every inch of the building and they had no means of knowing what was going on inside.

The Senate Guards who had stood watch outside, tried to make contact with the members of the Senate, but their frequency seemed to be jammed. The building was radio-silent, till everyone's dismay.

Freia sighed as she stared at her wrist com. She had hoped the lock down had been deliberately, but not like this. She couldn't believe the Separatists had had enough nerve to take the whole Senate hostage. They grew bolder by the day; first they had attacked the Jedi Order by putting a blockade around Ilum, and now they had struck a blow right in the heart of the Republic.

'Rather abruptly, cut off, our conversation with the Chancellor was,' Yoda continued, snapping Freia out of her thoughts. 'Find a way inside, we must. In danger, I sense the Senate is. On our way, Windu and I are.'

'Yes, Master,' Freia said with a nod before ending the call. The flashing green light on her wrist dimmed down and she put her hands in her side, restraining herself from letting out a groan of annoyance when Estel grabbed his lightsaber once again.

He pressed the small button on the hilt and with a hum, the saber came alive. The green light reflected in his hazel coloured eyes like a venomous snake; vigilant and ready to strike.

'Now,' Estel started, 'may I finally do what I was planning to do several minutes back?'

Freia wanted to answer that the building in lock down could withstand war-like conditions and that one saber probably wouldn't be of any use, but she didn't get the chance.

Aramis ignited his blue lightsaber as well and looked at the other Jedi Knight.

'You won't get all the glory this time,' Aramis said with a smirk.

Freia rolled her eyes when the two Jedi ran simultaneously to the spot where the entrance was hidden behind the metal, yelling a fierce battle cry in the meantime too. Men. . .

Astaldo, on the other hand, seemed pretty excited to see two fully-trained Jedi in action and he followed their sprint with a broad smile on his young face and a sparkle in his eyes.

However, all four of them -- and some Guards of the Senate -- were astonished when the two lightsabers glided off the plates without even making a scratch.

'What?' Estel mumbled as his eyes shot between the metal plate and his saber.

Aramis tried to cut through the plate once more, moving his saber with more precision this time, but again, it didn't have any effect. The saber glided off the metal as if it was redirected by an invisible shield.

'Impossible,' Aramis muttered. Nothing could stop a lightsaber.

Astaldo chuckled, lighting up his double-edged lightsaber. 'Here, let me show you how it's done.'

Surely this couldn't be as difficult as they made it seem? He puffed out his chest and prepared to launch a blow, but Freia grabbed his wrist, cutting him short in his movement.

'Stop,' she ordered, observing the armoured plates around the building more carefully now. She pushed Astaldo's lightsaber away and slid with her hand over the plate, slowly starting to recognise it.

'This is no ordinary metal. . . This is made from the scales of the Zillo Beast*.'

✧✧

GOLDIE LED the four younglings out of the Crystal Cave while Anakin and Ahsoka trudged behind it. All of the Jedi faces were downcast and their hearts felt heavy from the loss. Seven younglings, they had lost seven of their own.

'No matter what comes our way next, we stay together this time,' Anakin said from behind as they ascended the staircase. Though Ventress might have fled, they were willing to bet the danger wasn't gone yet.

Goldie nodded but gasped in surprise when they reached the main hall of the temple and she stared right in the robotic eyes of a couple of battle droids. She shoved the younglings to the side, out of harm's way and dodged the blaster that swung towards her face. However, before she could light up her saber, one of the younglings ignited his own and cut down one of the droids by slicing its legs.

'Ey, not fair,' the droid yelled as it fell down on the marble floor, legless. It tried to fire its blaster but the youngling stabbed it through its head and with a sizzling sound, the droid shut down.

Meanwhile, Goldie used the Force to push the other droid to the other end of the hall, ignoring the pain in her shoulder as she did.

The battle droid yelled in confusion as it soared through the air, flying over the pile of still living battle droids and then it crashed upon the floor. Its head spun away the body and it could no longer harm them.

'Not bad, kid,' Anakin complimented the youngling. He and Ahsoka ran towards the pile of droids to finish them all off before more could untangle themselves and catch them by surprise.

'Thank you, master,' the youngling said, his face beaming proudly. He grinned when the fearful screams of the droids filled the air, the machines got what they deserved. He was about to join and help master Skywalker and padawan Tano, but he froze in his movements when suddenly, in the corner of his eye, he saw Goldie sliding down against one of the pillars.

'Master Ember? Are you alright?' he asked, the worry clearly sounding through his young, boyish voice.

'Yes,' she lied as her eyelids grew more and more heavily, but she fought to keep them open. 'Just let me sit and rest here for a moment.'

Goldie didn't understand what was wrong; she had been burned by a lightsaber before, but she never had felt this weak afterwards.

'Master Skywalker!' she heard the youngling call out. 'Something is wrong with master Ember!'

Goldie's eyes rolled back in their sockets and her head fell limply against the pillar, the sounds of her surrounding diminishing until her mind slipped into total darkness. . .

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* The Zillo Beast was a gargantuan serpent-like creature. At 97 meters tall, the Zillo Beast towered over all species on its native planet of Malastare, and its heavy plated armour was invulnerable to explosions, blaster fire, and even lightsaber strikes. It was believed to be extinct, but the last specimen was inadvertently unearthed by an electro-proton bomb used by the Galactic Republic. After its capture, it was brought to Coruscant for study. However, it broke free from its restraints and rampaged through the capital, leaving the Jedi with no other choice but to kill the last remaining Zillo Beast by using a powerful toxin. (excerpt from wookieepedia.com)

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