Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars.
Note: Thanks again to readers/subscribers/reviewers etc...and to Liisiko for helping me so much with this chapter! Couldn't have done it without you!
Also, on a semi-unrelated note. Do any of you guys hang out at the 'Star Wars Legacies' rp place? If so, ping me a private message! I'm new there and would like to hear from you! Anyhoo, here's the showdown chapter you've been waiting for.
CHAPTER 10 - Duel
Location: The XF-32
Galen dropped instantly into a defensive stance; the whirr of active lightsabers balanced and ready in each hand.
"A little jumpy, aren't we?" The clone descended the three wide steps to join Galen on his level.
Twisting the sabers into his favored reverse-grip, Galen spread his feet a little wider and readied himself. The strength of the Dark Side filled the cabin, pulsing from the clone with unrestrained abandon. He was clearly trying to intimidate his foe into making mistakes.
Galen would ensure that strategy didn't work. After all, he had fought Vader and won. This mere apprentice was-
-Was at least as strong as he was.
Without warning, Galen lanced forwards, using the power of the Force to enhance his speed and bring him face to face with his adversary in less than a second. Lashing inwards with both blades, he brought them down on the Apprentice's head, crossed over one another to enhance the strength of that blow.
With reflexes as sharp as lightning, the Apprentice's red blades had come up to parry Galen's first attack and for a moment there was a brief struggle for dominance. The muscles in Galen's arms pulled taut as he forced downwards, attempting to lock down on the Apprentice and drag the weapons from his grasp.
Unfortunately the plan backfired.
The Apprentice – clearly thinking along the same lines – had managed to hook his saber correctly and all it took was a small adjustment of his weight for him to take that advantage. His arms levered upwards and Galen pitched forwards, over the Apprentice's head. In the same motion, the Apprentice whirled and followed up with a hefty blast of Force energy that slammed into the recovering Galen and sent him flying across the room.
Galen only just saved himself from being crushed against the side wall, using the Force to cushion him from harm and slow his momentum. Under control once more, he dropped to the ground and lifted his sabers-just in time to meet the Apprentice's headlong attack.
Their lightsabers clashed with a fierce hissing.
"The galaxy is not big enough for the two of us." The Apprentice hissed, lashing out with cruel swipes of his blades, driving his opponent backwards in his attempt to prise out an opening. Galen was forced into a defensive posture, focusing on the attacks being thrown in his direction and rising to meet each and every one.
If the battle had not been so deadly, it might have been considered a beautiful thing. Like dancers, the placement of their feet and their arms was crucial to ensure their own protection from the cold, hard bite of death. They swung and span and pivoted out of harm's way, lancing in for an attack before side-stepping from another strike. Each clone seemed able to match the other in speed and strength, teasing for a weakness that had yet to make an appearance.
The Apprentice struck low, attempting to cut Galen's legs out from under him. The move had been predictable, perhaps, because Galen easily leapt out of harm's way; finding footing on the console and cracking the fragile displays under his boots. With another back flip, he put distance between them, lashing out with his right arm out as he fell to prevent being backed into another corner.
Their blades met with a tremendous clash and instantly they engaged in another duel; battering at each other's defences as if looking to smash their way through barriers instead of finding a way around them.
They were so evenly matched that when Galen landed a hit, they both faltered in shock; a smoking streak now emblazoned across the Apprentice's tunic. It had not bit deep enough to do little more than graze the skin beneath the fabric but it gave Galen the strength he needed to continue when his arms had already begun to shake from the strain of the duel.
However, the Apprentice reacted with such violence and rage that his first string of attacks almost saw one of Galen's lightsabers wrenched from his hand. Only by the use of the Force did he keep it within his grasp, lifting it instantly to protect a swift follow-up attack. Their blades moved with incredible speed; carving red and blue loops in the air and turning purple where their edges met, slicing up anything that got in their way.
Pain flared in Galen's shoulder; a tell-tale sign that he'd been hit, and he pushed forward with both blades crossed, trying to put more distance between them. He turned into a back-flip, and pushed off against a wall to launch himself back into the fray, hoping to take the Apprentice by surprise.
They clashed again but the Apprentice had been ready. His stronger sword arm braced against the impact and the other saber carved across Galen's side; tearing fabric and scoring against his ribs. This time Galen did cry out in pain; spinning out of trouble to give himself a brief second to gather his wits.
The Apprentice was not about to give him that needed moment.
He came at him again; revolving both blades in a strange 'figure of eight' sweep that knocked Galen's nearside arm away, leaving him momentarily defenseless.
To Galen's surprise, the twisted clone did not take that opening. Instead, he stood back and smiled. "It is strange. You have my face, but you are so much less than what I expected. Master was right about you."
Galen felt the familiar heat of fury in his veins. "Vader knows nothing of strength." He lunged forwards and the Apprentice's hand came up, bringing forth an incredible surge of Force power. It flung Galen back and he struck the wall hard; falling face-down, groaning as he hastened to pick himself up.
The ship reeled again, throwing Galen sideways as he attempted to stay upright. Then, in the blink of an eye, the Apprentice was back, throwing half a dozen testing blows to check on his opponent's reflexes. It did not come without discomfort, but Galen fended each one off, slapping the blades away with all the strength he could muster. The Apprentice went high, attempting to decapitate Galen with one vicious sweep. Sides heaving, Galen blocked the attack; the force of it jarring painfully through the bones in his arm. Gritting his teeth, he fought back; sweat running into his eyes as he attempted to restore the balance between them.
"You should not fight so hard." The Apprentice goaded. "You. Cannot. Win." He punctuated each swing with a snarled word; his golden eyes glowing feverishly.
With sudden inspiration, Galen ducked beneath one of the Apprentice's attacks, pivoting on tips of his fingers as he struck out with the heel of his boot. The move caught the Apprentice behind the back of a knee, buckling him forwards and, in that moment, Galen seized opportunity. Dropping the lightsaber in his right hand, he reached up, grabbing the Apprentice by the back of the neck and using his own momentum to drive the other clone's head down; smashing his face into the floor. The Apprentice tried to roll free but Galen flipped him onto his back with a kick and swung the blade down to his throat.
The Apprentice's pale face was split wide open; a bloody gash that trailed across a clearly broken nose. His pupils had sharply contracted under the intense blue light of the lightsaber; unfocused in shock.
Galen pressed the toe of his boot over the slice in the Sith's tunic and pressed down hard. "Do I meet your expectations now?"
"I saw you die. I saw it. In my head. You…died…" His hands groped upwards. "I saw you die, so die. Just die!"
Galen blinked, momentarily disgusted by the mad ranting of the tainted clone. Without warning, the Apprentice jerked upwards and Galen's saber burned a line into the side of his neck.
"Just DIE!" The crimson blade in the mad clone's hand seemed to pulse in echo of its handler's fury and Galen brought his one active blade in a vertical slice, driving the red back downwards towards its owner. He'd used this tactic once before…a move that had blinded Kota.
The light of the red and blue sabers banded across the Apprentice's face; the eyes glowing intensely in their sockets. The pale skin was slick with perspiration and strangely whiter when compared to the blood that marred it.
So intent on maintaining superiority over this clash, Galen did not notice the Apprentice raise his free hand until it was too late.
Releasing his hold, Galen curved his blade upwards to protect himself from the Sith Lightning. But nothing he could have done would have prevented it from reaching its target. At this close range, the Apprentice risked electrocuting himself. Unfortunately, things played into his favor and the blast of energy sent Galen careering backwards and clear of the Sith lying prone on the ground.
Paralyzed with agony, Galen arched his back, pressing his shoulders firmly down against the metal grate beneath him. His head was screaming at him to get up, but his body seemed unwilling to do anything until the pain had lessened.
The distant crackle of more lightning filled the room with static energy and, through bleary eyes, Galen saw the Apprentice preparing for his final strike. His saber sparked with purple lightning, the energy licking wildly across the crimson blade.
"This time you will die! I will not let you steal my destiny from me. You are inferior. Do you hear? INFERIOR!"
Sensing what would come next, Galen reached out with the Force; the act made almost impossible by the pain and fatigue settling over his body. The feeling conjured a memory. A recent one.
"What is it this time, old man?"
"You need to clear your mind. You're making mistakes."
The Apprentice drew back his arm and with the forward motion, he released the saber and sent it arcing towards Galen. In that moment, his connection to the Force was restored and Galen's outstretched fingers claimed the dropped saber lying some meters away. It ignited mid-air and turned, connecting sharply with the Apprentice's blade and sending it spinning wildly off course.
Rolling to his feet, he extended a hand to retrieve the falling weapon, feeling better for its weight in his grasp. Then, armed again, he reversed his grip on the blades, setting himself into a defensive posture.
The Apprentice, snarling with rage, sent his other blade flying towards him. Galen ducked and knocked it from the air with a clean swipe. Turning back, he cast a mocking glance at the Apprentice, only to find the Sith wearing a bone-chilling smirk. In the corner of his eye, Galen caught a flash of red and realised – to his disbelief – that the clone had thrown the other blade again. This saber was luckier than its brother; searing across Galen's back even as he jerked sideways to evade it.
With a rush of anger and wounded pride, Galen set loose a powerful blast of Force energy across the deck. It struck fast and true, slamming the Apprentice into the far wall. Without pause, Galen sent ribbons of that same energy up around the overhead displays and directed them downwards with a dragging motion of both clawed hands. They ripped away from their attaching cables and came down on the Apprentice with a sudden eagerness.
Or that was the intention…
The Apprentice emitted a staggering Force Repulse that turned the displays to molten shards; driving them straight back towards Galen.
Surprised, Galen threw up a shield to protect himself from being sliced to ribbons, watching as the deadly fragments hit the enveloping blue light and were sent hurtling in all directions. The ship tilted sharply again; the creaks and groans sounding like the warning growl of some great beast.
On the far side of the room, the Apprentice was hunched over, his head clasped tightly in his hands as if in agony. Blood dripped from a new wound on the top of his head, painting a red stripe down one side of his face. Looking closer, however, it was clear that this was not the source of the problem. His shoulders bowed up with pain and a ragged scream tore from his bloodied lips. "What is happening to me?" The Apprentice lurched backwards, shaking himself as if to try and free himself from the agony that had wracked through him. The walls of the chamber behind the insane clone warped as if struck by a huge, invisible fist.
"You! Tell me! Why does it hurt?"
Galen startled, not sure what the other clone was getting at and unwilling to waste time and energy trying to reason with a mad man. Whatever Vader had done to him…it wasn't good. If he had thought himself mad, he had nothing on this clone.
"TELL ME!"
The Apprentice drove forwards at an incredible speed, slashing his blades so fast they were nigh untraceable. Even Galen could hardly keep up with them, his eyes flashing from blade to blade, his hands rushing to keep up. Then, suddenly, there was a horrible splintering sound and – with a sharp 'crack' – one of the Apprentice's red blades shattered.
Left only with the broken stump of the hilt, the Apprentice brought it down like a knife, his intent clearly to plunge it down into Galen's vulnerable chest.
Feeling the edge of panic draw closer, Galen clutched at the Sith's shoulder and drove his knee up against the mad one's midriff. The act stole the breath from the clone's lungs and left him open for a follow-up attack. Galen did so, aiming a heavy kick that sent the Apprentice flying backwards; the broken saber thrown free from his grasp.
But, even down to one blade, the Apprentice seemed to be filled with nothing but confidence and strength. The insane anger that surged through him seemed to bring forth endless power. Lifting his hands he drew forth the strength of the Dark Side and let it surge forwards, battering against Galen with devastating vigor.
Crossing both blue blades in front of him to help dispel the strength of the blasts, Galen's boots began to slide along the grating even as he dug in his heels to retain his ground.
Then, without warning, the floor tilted dangerously beneath them and the screams of the battered ship became deafeningly audible. Anything not fixed down began to slide, gaining speed as the angle tilted even further. Warning alarms blared wildly and – if the displays had still been working – they would no doubt have flared red with the sign: 'abandon ship'.
Dodging a rolling crate, Galen grabbed the lip of the console and vaulted himself over it, spinning to meet the Apprentice's blade and press the attack. He was all too aware, now, that if he didn't finish this quickly, neither of them would be getting out alive.
But, before they could even make contact, a tremendous, explosion shook the whole ship.
Galen was thrown back the way he had come, slamming into the viewport that splintered like cracked ice under the impact. One of his lightsabers came free from his grasp, bouncing uncontrollably across the deck. Lying at this angle, he could see the right side of the ship aflame, huge chunks of debris spinning through space. It took him a moment to realize that they'd hit a small starport and that a large part of it was still attached to the 'wing' of the XF-32.
He tried to pick himself up; a horrible sensation of vertigo driving through him at seeing the ominously close planet floating beneath him. Stretched out on the transparisteel, suspended above the emptiness of space, Galen could feel nothing but the sickening twist of dread coil through his gut.
If the transparisteel shattered…
Clearly, this thought had crossed the Apprentice's mind as well.
As Galen tried to move, the cracks began to fork outwards, creaking in ominous warning. There, practically a sitting target, the Apprentice fired another blast of Force power straight at him. It punched a hole through the damaged screen and Galen felt the cold vacuum of space reaching to claim him. He twisted, turning head over heel and snatched at his only chance for safety. A warped girder had been torn out along with him and hung now – still half-attached to the ship. His fingers hooked around its edge to hold him in place and, looking up, he saw the Apprentice leering at him from inside the bridge.
The failsafe shield had yet to fall into place and Galen realized the girder was preventing its release.
Perhaps there was still a chance for him to bring this back in his favor.
Holding on for dear life, he brought up a hand and – sending out roots of concentrated Force – found a twisted object large enough to suffice. He snapped it forwards as if it were no heavier than a feather, striking the Apprentice across the back and sending him hurtling out through the gaping viewport.
The bloody-faced clone's mouth contorted in anguish and rage as he tried to use the Force to stabilize himself. The attempt sent him tumbling backwards, slamming into the ship and then rolling out of sight.
Galen – feeling the last of his strength depleting – used the girder to swing himself back inside, surviving by the use of the Force alone. Dropping down inside the ship, he used the last of his energy to pull the girder free. A second later and the shield activated.
Gasping for breath and close to collapsing from pain and exhaustion, Galen's shaking hand reached for the com-link, hoping that it had not been lost during the brawl. Thankfully, it was still there.
"Juno." His voice sounded strangely hoarse and weak. "You there?"
"Galen? Thank the Force—are you okay?"
"Can you get to the bridge?"
"I had to draw back when the ship hit the starport." She sounded frantic. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to get to you in time."
"I need to stop it."
"What?"
"The ship. I need to stop it."
"You can't. Listen to me. It's too late. You're about to hit the atmosphere. You need to get out of there. The ship will not survive this. It will break apart!"
The ship had started listing to the left and Galen attempted to use the unbalanced weight of the ship to his advantage. He'd manipulated the 'flight' of ships before, so why couldn't he level this one off?
Wracked with exhaustion and forced to rest back on his knees, his attempts at leveling off the ship were made in vain. The unbalanced ship continued in its downward trend and, realizing it was time to admit defeat, he raised an arm to protect his eyes as the ship descended down through the atmosphere.
Juno's voice crackled inaudibly over the com-link.
The turbulence that followed felt strong enough to shake the ship to pieces around him and for a brief moment he expected to be consumed in a ball of fire. He tried to remember what it had been like to die the first time. Had it…hurt?
"Get Bail and the others out of here. I'll be right behind you."
Sith Lightning struck Kota square in the chest, shoving him roughly off of his feet.
Knowing then, that his fate was tied, Starkiller intervened, placing himself between the Jedi and the Emperor.
"GO! Hurry! Protect the Senators!"
Starkiller, bracing the power of the Force against his open hands, stepped towards the Emperor and towards his death.
Blinking to clear himself of the memories of the original Starkiller, Galen drew his eyes back up to the viewport. Ahead, the fiery clouds parted, revealing the ocean planet below. Its purple-blue oceans were still and calm. Tiny figures had frozen in place, heads cast up to the sky. It was as if the whole world was holding its breath, waiting for the impact that would bring fire and pain to its once orderly surface.
Spires of the industrial sprawls seemed, to Galen, a wall of spears – held up to fend him away.
But nothing could keep this ship aloft now.
Struck by a sudden revelation, Galen dragged himself back to his feet, moving to the forefront of the ship to gaze out across the sea world beneath him. There, off to the left, was a great stretch of open ocean and with the ship already tipping in that direction, he would need only to give it a little more encouragement to plunge it into the waves.
Drawing in the energy needed to perform the feat, he braced his legs against the grated floor and drew up both arms, fingers curled and ready to direct the energy into diverting the ship's course.
The reaction was not immediate and even before the ship started to turn, the strain of the concentration and strength needed was beginning to drain from him. Then, at long last, the ship shuddered; as if to give a dying breath and gave up the fight.
The power of the Force almost rolled it completely and, without warning, the whole ship plunged downwards, gaining speed as it went.
Realizing his mistake too late, Galen tried to slow the ship's descent, spreading the energy across its hull and pushing back.
The damage, however, had already been done and a second later, Galen left the ship alone, scrambling back and away from the viewport as the sea rose up to greet them. The nose dipped into tall waves, driving downwards and Galen felt a sudden rush of success flow through him. The feeling of achievement was squashed a moment later when the ship's nose crippled itself against the seabed. In that moment, the energy failed and Galen was thrown forwards through the now unprotected viewport. Water surged in through the opening, dragging him down into the currents and pulling him out into open depths.
He struggled weakly to reach the water's surface that wavered like ribbons of silver above his head. But wounded and tired, his attempts failed and, with burning lungs, he couldn't help but think that this was a terrible way to go.
To be continued...