Anakin started violently as a surge of familiar agony roared through the Force. "Obi-Wan!" He shouted. He broke into a run and dove to the right inside the door just in time to avoid a powerful surge of lightning as it leaped all around the space he'd just been standing. A red lightsaber whirled through the air, and as he ducked it, a ball of lightning lanced forward.
He brought the blue glow of Obi-Wan's blade up and countered the lightning in rapid sequence of moves. Anakin sank into the Force, refusing to yield to the fury that rose in response to the attack. The Force was so out of balance here. Obi-Wan was bleeding. He could see it, could feel Obi-Wan writhing and struggling to focus on the Force, to stop it. But power surges kept hitting him and something was spinning up from the well below him. Anakin could see the movement even as he leaped and spun, dodging the blasts of Force lightning and countering the flurry of red streaked blows. It took all of his focus to resist the rising fear for his friend.
The object was red gold metal and the electricity seemed to reflect and be attracted to it. It spun faster and faster around the captive Jedi master. Anakin could feel Obi-Wan's agony and his own anger rose with it. He furiously lashed out at the tormenter, who seemed to be enjoying himself. He was a black shadow in armor, similar to Vader's. But he bore a massive chest plate that had an alien shaped etched in it. Anakin managed to strike a blow through his defense, powering passed the other's block. But instead of cutting through the armor it left a mere scratch. Anakin's eyes widened as the other countered by kicking him back and striking with Force lightning. Anakin flew back into the wall, still deflecting, but unable to stop his momentum. He hit with a painful thud. Anakin regretted his loss of limb at times like this. Force lightning was a Dark Side power and needed organic limbs, partly to generate it and to deflect. Unfortunately prosthetics would short out either way. As it was, he could only depend on Obi-Wan's lightsaber. The device holding the Jedi was spinning faster and it now had an ominous orange glow. It cast red and purple sparkles on Obi-Wan and suddenly his clothes smoldered. His blood flow was picking up speed draining down into the well. The Dark Side was strengthening and Anakin was beginning to feel ill. In the back of his head, he could almost hear Palpatine's cackle.
Luke and Ahsoka leaped out of the cockpit and landed at a dead run. Artoo was squealing and bouncing in wild greeting. Han jumped out and followed them.
"Hey, you droids wait here!" Han yelled to the astromechs.
Two obeyed. Artoo, however had been waiting long enough. He rushed after them. More of the metal and glowing glyphs were visible now as they used the Force to aim for the disturbance. Han's blaster was out, which was just as well. Panels opened and weapons fire lashed out at the three. Artoo squealed as it passed over him. He had his sensor dish up and was screaming about something in whistles and squeals but there was a rumbling of generator's powering drowning him out. Luke and Ahsoka's green lightsaber's were deflecting the bolts, but instead of causing damage to metal they just reflected back.
"Hey!" Han yelled as he was forced to avoid the ricochets. He aimed carefully, ducking behind Artoo and hit the weapon emplacement with two quick shots. One down. Many more to go. Luke and Ahsoka were also more precise now, reflecting shots back at the weapons. But now the weapons had metal shielding rising over them after each shot.
"This is not good!" Ahsoka said, wide eyed. They were hardly making progress.
"Any ideas?" Luke yelled at Han.
"Bring in the Falcon and blow it to fragments?" Han yelled back, hopeful.
"I don't think…" Luke started.
Suddenly Ahsoka spun and bolted back to the ships. "Hang on!"
Han hesitated, torn between following and Luke, who was refusing to back off. "Kid, we can't get through!"
"I won't leave them!"
Suddenly there was a roar of engines and a yell both in the Force and in the comlink. Weapon fire blasted from the Y-Wing, dipping into the narrow canyon and diving over the two rebels. Luke and Han threw themselves flat as Ahsoka shot with both lasers and ion cannon. She roared forward but unfortunately, the canyon narrowed, it's walls were getting way too close. Suddenly one of the shots got through. Luke and Han were now running behind, using the Y-Wing for cover.
"Ahsoka!" Luke yelled, sensing the danger. The shots were obvious but unavoidable. There was no room for maneuvering. The ship smashed into a fireball. For a brief, horrible moment it looked like Ahsoka had gone up with it. But then the ejector seat soared high enough for them to see it. Luke made a flying leap heavenward, deflecting the weapon fire from the few weapons that survived the magnificent demise of the fighter. The ejector seat was tumbling right toward the heat and smoke. Ahsoka cut herself loose and boosted herself away. One hand stretched out as she tumbled toward the ground, shoving the seat at the weapons ahead and right up against one. It exploded and the back blast was enough to take out the weapon.
They raced ahead and with a distressed wail of warning Artoo bumped into Han. "Hey, he yelled, knocked forward and catching himself with one hand. "Watch it… OW! Hey the floor's hot!"
Ahsoka and Luke both glanced up from their battle long enough to realize it was glowing.
They looked at each other, and ahead to the door some distance up the corridor. They powered into a Force enhanced sprint, taking out weapons as Han dodged after them, half hanging onto Artoo to avoid placing weight on the floor. It was starting to burn through his boots.
Anakin was suddenly aware that their battle was in part fueling the terrifying power of the alien base. But he couldn't stop. He forced back his anger. It would do no good whatsoever to help Obi-Wan by fueling the place. Something in it was gaining power from the old man's pain and Anakin could feel it feeding his own anger as well. No. He remembered the Emperor's lessons and as much as he disliked the memories, knew he had to remember them to counter the negative feedback. He'd been fighting this battle from the moment he turned away from the Sith training and title. But until now, the danger had been mostly personal risk to himself. Had he fallen back in, there were others keeping an alert eye on him and ready to stop him. Now it was all on him. Even if help came, no-one could help him with this battle with the darkness. And he did not dare to think what the cost of failure would be.
The ring's spin seemed to lesson and Anakin realized that there were crystals embedded in the metal. Something was rising from the depths of the well and Obi-Wan, meanwhile, was being raised even higher toward a conical metal thing in the ceiling. He was being rotated now and Anakin could feel his Master had lost his connection to the Force. It was like feeling his life drain out of him, or the shadow of the dark itself was squeezing him of all his strength. Worse, the weaker Obi-Wan got, the stronger Dariqsen and the malevolent power of the place became.
Anakin ground his teeth, feeling his own fear and anger rising. For this upstart to be threatening his friend after all they'd been through was almost more than he could bare.
"Teach me the Sith ways, Lord Vader. Think of the power we could share, you could be the next Emperor and I your apprentice!" The man's eyes sparkled with anger.
"Somehow I don't think apprenticeship is what you are after."
"Isn't the Sith way, one to have power, the other to crave it?" He bared his teeth in cold grin.
"You obviously have the craving down. I hate to break it to you, but the Sith line is at an end. And so is the tyranny of it's Empire. I no longer seek power." Anakin countered, nostrils flaring.
"No? Not even to save your friend?" He motioned to Obi-Wan, still being tormented.
Anakin's lightsaber clashed into the others falling from above and hitting in a flurry of powerful strikes.
"Funny, I can feel great power rising with your anger. Why should you care what happens to the man who crippled you for years, abandoned you to a life of torment?"
Fury and confusion rocked Anakin for a moment. From a certain point of view, his foe was right. But he was well aware of the dun moche technique the man was using to counter his defense against the dark side. Anakin shifted almost on reflex, his lightsaber blade becoming an impenetrable barrier, as he tried to regain his inner balance.
"Fool. Without power you'll never save your friend."
"I'm not in the habit of falling for the same lie repeatedly." Anakin's voice was frosty. "The dark side only kills, never protects. Never saves!"
"Join me. Teach me the Sith ways and I will release him."
"Oh? And if you need blood to power this horror, what will you replace his with?"
"There are others." He gave an amusing smile. "There are definitely still others."
"He wouldn't want that." Anakin leaped back from an extra fierce strike.
"Does it matter? What is one more death to you, with the blood of uncountable numbers on your hand, the blood of the entire Jedi Order."
Guilt slammed Anakin at this. Self loathing made his lips tighten and slowed his blade. His enemy yanked him forward with the Force and got in a swipe so close it burned his shoulder.
He feinted a few times, sank into the Force and with an effort, let go. Let go of family, friend and love of life. Let go of hopes. Only one thing mattered. Only one way to honor those he'd loved, those he'd betrayed. Stopping this. He dove, rolled forward and did a sudden leap over Dariqsen, powered by the Force. The lightsaber blade slammed into the ring and Anakin hung in mid air, yelling in shock and pain as the hilt violently vibrated his arms. He couldn't let go and the weapon seemed to be stuck as if magnetized. A blast of Force lightning brushed from behind. Some sort of power surged along his arms, making the electronics spasm with warning pain. But Anakin was being swept around in the circle. The crystalline edgings seemed to hang up the lightsaber. But it was burning through very, very, slowly.
He was being blasted from behind every time he was spun toward Dariqsen, who had a wild laugh. The man was getting more powerful, not weaker. Below, Anakin could sense some sort of computer database of purely alien origin was rising from below them. Obi-Wan was white as a sheet, his blood streamed and flecked Anakin. Anakin himself had shrieks of pain blasting his screaming nerves from the lightning. A hologram space map was rising below Anakin. It had glowing dots and constellation patterns. It suddenly crossed his rattled mind what it might be, but he had no time to analyze it.
Ahsoka and Luke leaped through the door. At last the Force lightning stopped as the enemy turned away.
The lightsaber had almost broken through the ring when a second smaller ring rose up and spun around Obi-Wan. This one was pure crystal, looked sharp, and was somehow shrinking inward as if it would shrink right through the Jedi. Obi-Wan's eyes were wilder than Anakin had ever seen them. Had he ever seen Obi-Wan truly afraid? Dizzy, Anakin shut his eyes. He was afraid for his friend and that fear only aided the enemy. He focused on Obi-Wan, the reason for his fear, the love he felt for him. He let go of the fear and focused on that love. Live or die they would go together. The Force's light side strengthened and Anakin pushed off with the Force. Ahsoka and Luke were battling Dariqsen and with the deflection of the man's attention he had more room to maneuver. He flipped part way up, forced one hand free, and grabbed the outer ring and used his own spinning momentum, adding more power to his throw. He finished the flip going head first inward with the blade of the lightsaber finally breaking free and spun into slicing into the shrinking green crystal. It rattled violently and then shattered and Anakin's eyes snapped shut as it sprayed him with a multitude of tiny cuts. He gave a sweeping force punch to send most of the crystal arcing outward.
Anakin twisted to land precariously on on the still spinning but broken outer ring, sticking with the Force alone, he threw the lightsaber and it slammed through the Conical protrusion before returning to his hand. The protrusion shattered and rained fiery sparks, but it had been connecting the cuffs that bound Obi-Wan in the circle. Now, Obi-Wan started to drop but sheer centrifugal power seemed to hold him in place. Apparently the ring also was connected to the cuffs by a magnetic field. But the ring was wobbling, sagging and breaking. Obi-Wan was still spinning and bleeding from numerous wounds. Obi-Wan fell slowly, Anakin with him, both slamming into each other with extreme pressure growing as if to make them implode. Anakin gave himself an extra Force shove from above and spinning wildly in the pressure, fell past his Master to get under him. But the outer ring finally destabilized due to the damage and Anakin's yanking on it. It shattered, twisting and bending, flying debris went everywhere.
to be continued
