One moment was all it took.
Everything he had believed was as broken as the remains of the hut he had crawled out of, splinters still sticking into his skin. The clothes he wore, once clean and regal, were now as dirtied and tattered as a Nar Shaddaa street urchin. It hadn't taken much to escape, he'd brought the brunt of the structure down on his uncle's head ahead of him leaving little to escape from.
But even without exerting much effort, he still felt like he had run for a whole day without pause.
He had woken up to find his uncle at his bedside, lightsaber in hand and bloodlust in his eyes. The burning blade of green had illuminated the once dark cabin, and that brief instant of fear and betrayal gave way to another emotion: Rage. Channelling his anger he'd summoned his own lightsaber to clash against his uncles blade, using the clash to call upon the force. He had known better then to target his uncle directly with the force, which was why he'd called down the roof upon his head, burying them both in rubble. His own blade was lost in that moment, the weapon dropped as the roof fell upon them both. He had reached out to grab it during his escape. But instead of his blue blade he'd claimed the very weapon his uncle used to try to destroy him.
He looked down at the weapon, hand still shaking as the moment replayed itself in his mind like a broken recording. His uncle, the man who destroyed the Emperor and bested Darth Vader. The man who had guided him, taught him how to hold a lightsaber and how to call upon the force. Who had been with him every step of his training, encouraging him to reach heights he didn't know he could achieve and do things he didn't think possible. That man who was more of a father to him then his own had ever been, had just tried to kill him. His world hadn't come crashing down, no, it had just fallen out from under him and into a burning sun.
"B…en…"
#
A familiar voice tore him back into the physical world. It was a voice he'd heard countless times, but it's tone was pained and it spoke at almost a whisper. Raising his head, he looked ahead of him. Smoke rose from the temple ahead, the once proud halls burning. And there, sitting against the wall of the hut in-front of his own was the origin of the voice. And what he saw was enough to bring him to his feet and rush to his friends side.
The Chiss clutched at her stomach. Her once vibrant red eyes now dull and weak. Tenderly, he grasped her wrist and lifted it, spying the injury she was cradling. Even in the low light, he could tell that it was a stab wound. Yet, he felt no dampness on her palm indicating there was no blood. That narrowed the weapon down to just one that could have caused this.
"No! No! No!" He released her hand, moving his own up to the side of her face as his stomach sank. "Jaina! Hold on! Stay with me!" The woman weakly rested her head back against the wood of the building behind her, staring at him.
"Ben…I…I…Master Skywalker…com…ing…here. H…his rage, he…wanted to…to…ki..ll you. I-I foll..owed b-but…but…I…" Ben raised a finger to her lips, silencing her.
"Don't try to talk, save your strength." He closed his eyes, shaking his head in the vain hope this was some kind of nightmare he could wake from. But upon opening his eyes, Jaina was still there, still dying, just like everything else in his life crumbled away.
This really was hell.
He thought about her words again, realizing that he was not mistaken earlier: His uncle had wanted him dead, enough that he was prepared to kill the only other person he cared for. Never in his life had he felt more afraid and lost.
#
"Master Skywalker, we're under attack!"
Looking sidewards, Ben saw three other students, their robes in various states of wear and tear. One look at the temple once again reminded him that it was not just his friend who suffered injury. "Ben! where's Master Skywalker?" The man at the head of the column frowned, spying the destroyed cottage that had once been Bens quarters. "What happened…here…" He trailed off, Ben noticing that his gaze focused down on his left hand. Ben followed his eyes, his own widening as he saw that he was still holding his uncles iconic lightsaber in his hand. The mans gaze also turned to Jaina, his features slowly hardening.
"What have you done!?" The man activated his blade, the rare gold blade springing to life with a hiss.
"Wait! Hold on!" Ben got to his feet, backing away with hands up. "T-this wasn't- J-jaina…Master Skywalker…" He stammered, in the throes of panic. Words failed him as his mind continued to race, still trying to process the absolute hell he had woken up in. The gold-saber wielding man charged him, the nephew of Skywalker narrowly dodging to the side from the downward swing. He stepped back as the blade swung diagonally towards him, the blade narrowly missing his throat. The others activated their own blades, about to charge in when the left-most one was suddenly propelled through the air, slamming into her comrade. Ben looked to the side to see Jaina, hand outstretched and glaring at the duo before slumping forwards into the ground motionless. "Jaina!"
He paused in his movement as he saw his friend succumb to unconsciousness, looking back just in time to see the lightsaber of his foe coming towards him. On instinct, he ignited his uncles blade, parrying the strike and clashing with his opponent. Through grit teeth, he pushed his foe back and swung upwards from the right, putting the other Jedi on the defensive and forcing him to take steps back. His enemy jabbed at him, yet Ben swatted the weapon aside and went for another strike. His foe blocked the attack and took another step back, prompting Ben to strike again. He clashed, kicking his foe in the stomach and forcing him to stumble back. With more distance between them, Ben held his weapon with both hands in-front of him. He raised his uncles blade in-front of him, aiming to keep his foe at a distance.
The Gold-blade wielding Jedi brought his blade back behind him, preparing to strike him down with a single attack. The move betrayed his opponent's inexperience, demonstrating that he believed himself out of options. Or more likely, that he thought he could end the battle quickly. His foe launched toward him, both hands on his blades hilt as he swung the weapon around at Ben. Effortlessly, Ben shifted his blade around and parried the incoming blow, staggering his opponent and causing him to drop his weapon. Not giving him even another moment, Ben lunging forward and ran his foe through with his uncles green blade.
As his blade punctured his foes chest, it dawned on Ben what he had done. Eyes widened as his enemy slid down his blade, shock just as visible on his foes features as his own. Feeling him grab at his shoulder, he grit his teeth, pure malice in his eyes alongside pain.
"You…Treacherous Bilge…Rat!" As his opponent expired, Ben stumbled back. The blade once embedded in his foes chest slid free, allowing the former Jedi's corpse to hit the ground.
"No!" One of his cohorts cried out, getting to their feet and igniting their blade. As Ben turned to face her, the sound of a blaster rang out. A bolt of red flew through the air, hitting the back of the womans head. Her saber fell from her grip, body crumpling to the ground like wet paper. The other jumped to her feet, only to receive three blasts: Two at her legs, which forced her to her knees while the final hit her square in the back of the head as well. Looking beyond the two, he spotted the perpetrator. A lone figure, cloaked in black with a hood obscuring their face. Two blaster pistols, one held in either hand, were currently pointed in his general direction.
The accuracy of the attacks and swiftness of the shots put Ben on the alert. It took an especially skilled gunslinger to catch a single force user unawares, let alone dispose of one so efficiently as they did their second kill. He assumed a stance, preparing to block and deflect any incoming blasts.
"Easy with that, your Highness. Don't need you poking any holes in me too." Ben watched as the figure twirled the twin blasters in his fingers, holstering them both simultaneously at his sides as he pulled back the hood, revealing the all-too familiar Mirialan underneath it.
"Keth?" Ben lowered the blade, his stance relaxing. "What the hell are you doing here? You were exiled."
The Mirialan approached, shooting his trademark smirk and playfully punching Bens shoulder, earning a grunt from the other man.
"I thought that was obvious your highness. We came back for you." Ben frowned at that, deactivating the lightsaber.
"We?" Keths smirk faded, a more serious and solemn expression replacing it.
"I had a vision. A terrible one. I saw Master Luke standing over you, you were asleep. He activated his lightsaber and killed you in cold blood."
"Me and the gang decided to come back and see if you were alright, but the moment we asked about you everyone drew lightsabers and tried to kill us." Keth grabbed Bens shoulder, looking him in the eye with a furrowed brow. "Ben. They were all in on it. They all wanted you dead, it's why they cast us out. It's why they killed Jaina. Because they knew we'd always be there to protect you if they tried anything to get rid of you."
"N-no! That's impossible. This…this is all a misunderstanding. My uncle wouldn't…do something like this…" He trailed off, but Keth didn't relent.
"Ben, Listen to me!" Keth shook his friend, keeping his hand firmly on his shoulder. "I know it hurts to hear this, but they all wanted you dead. This whole place is a cult: A crazy cult that bows to the whims of a power-hungry old maniac obsessed with being the 'chosen one'. And they knew how powerful you were getting, and they couldn't have that." Keth sighed. "What was the first thing we learned about power?"
"All who gain it are afraid to lose it." Ben repeated slowly with a troubled brow. "We need to get a message out to my mom and dad. If my uncle's gone mad, they need to know so they can put a stop this."
"Your parents knew what this place was the moment they sent you here." He shrugged. "It makes a sick kind of sense: Why else did they never contact you?" Keth sighed. "Look, I know how crazy this all sounds but it's the truth." Seeing his friends uncertainty, he reached out and put his other hand upon his other shoulder. "Ben. Have I ever lied to you?"
Ben stood in silence, processing his friends words before responding with a shake of his head.
"Then if there was ever a night to trust me, it's tonight. We have to get out of here before the republic troops show up. I know a guy who can help us, he can show you what the jedi have really been up to." Keth stepped away, walking passed the Jedi Ben had impaled a moment ago as he made his way toward the clearing. "The others were on the way back to the ship, I parked it over there. Bit of a walk, but if we're quick we can make it there before reinforcements arrive."
Ben turned to Jaina, walking over to her side and kneeling down. Keth stopped, turning back to look at Ben.
#
"Ben, there's no time."
Placing a hand at the side of her neck, he checked her pulse. The heartbeat was weak and it wouldn't be long before she left the land of the living, unless he did something.
"She has a pulse." He replied, earning a frown from the Mirialan.
"The republic's going to be here any minute! She's dead anyway, and only going to slow us down." Keth's tone betrayed his urgency, the Mirialan glancing at the horizon of the burning temple. "Karabast! They're almost here!" Glancing to the horizon, he saw a dropship approach the temple. Even in the low light, he could make out the symbols that showed its allegiance to the republic.
"We'll put her in the bacta tank on your ship." He remembered how much of a big deal Keth had made about it when he'd purchased the vessel. And right now, it was Jaina's only hope.
"Leave her or we'll never make it!"
No, he wasn't going to abandon her! The thought didn't cross his mind for even a second, no matter how great the odds stacked against him were. He'd lost so much already tonight, and he'd be damned if he lost the closest thing to family he had left.
Kneeling down, he clipped his Uncles lightsaber to his belt. Placing his hands under Jaina, he lifted her up and turned her around, hoisting her into his arms.
He looked to his friend, expression one of grim determination.
"Her fate will be the same as ours."