From a majestically tall window in the throne room, Bail peers through a pair of elegantly adorned binoculars usually used for the viewing of chariot races. The King beholds a force of Mandalorian landing craft deploying their troops just inside the city’s perimeter walls. These ships resemble the tower shields used by legionary swordsmen of Alderaan’s pre-industrial era. Shafts of light in the crafts’ bellies disembark squads of heavily-armored clone soldiers, where they whip out their blaster rifles and form up for battle.
One of the Custodians advises Bail to step away from the window. Bail replies with a question of how long the Custodians can hold off the Mandalorians. Only long enough for the King to retreat to the Redoubt, the guard replies. He then says that the explosive charges lining the secret passage have been armed; as soon as the King has reached the other side they will be detonated. This will cause a cave-in which will prevent the Mandalorians from finding the Redoubt.
Bail decides that the people of Alderaan need a committed leader, even in a state of occupation. His abandonment of the Palace for a safe hiding spot outside the city would sap his people’s will to resist. Whatever the outcome of the ground offensive, Bail will stay in his Palace. The Custodians exchange stunned and apprehensive looks...then they resolutely declare that they will carry out their protective duties onto death.
At the open-air entrance to the Palace, Obi-Wan Kenobi arrives upon a platoon of Custodians taking cover within strategically-placed alcoves and behind fine sculptures. Their weapons are trained at the locked gate which is being slowly burned away from the other side by a Mandalorian siege laser. The soldiers’ nervousness is palpable. Obi-Wan draws his blaster pistol.
The locked gate finally breaks down into an ashen pile of debris and dozens of armored Mandalorian soldiers storm through, their blaster rifles loudly firing into the group of Custodians. Obi-Wan lands a bulls-eye on the first clone to emerge through the opening. The blue-robed men return fire and fell a handful of clones for each man they lose, but morale amongst the defenders starts to decline when a Taung clone brutally drags a Custodian aside and slices his arm off with a vibro-knife. The entire group of Custodians opens fire on this clone soldier; he falls down as a smoldering pile of flesh and armor. The Custodians falter in the pace at which they return blaster fire.
Kneeling behind a broken pillar and ducking to avoid lasers, Obi-Wan warily darts his eyes back and forth amongst his embattled comrades. The Jedi Knight shuts his eyes and calms his breath. He calls upon the Force to form a web of pathways between his mind and those of the men around him.
To be continued.