Chapter Twelve: Battle of the Lights

To Luke's dismay, the sun set, just like any other day. But as the sun disappeared under the horizon and the color faded from the sky, Luke knew that another day had passed and they still hadn't found Leia.

"I think we should continue," Luke said, turning to where Han and Anakin were standing a few paces away. "Under the cover of the dark, it should be easier to break into the compound and find her." They were standing outside of the Imperial compound where they had tracked the origin of the transmission signal, and were now hidden out of sight as they worked to survey its walls and find a way inside.

Han, who was standing with his hands on his hips, turned to look at Anakin, as if to check for his opinion. "We're close," Han finally said. "But we'll need more than just proximity for this to work out."

"It'll require planning," Anakin agreed. "We can't just storm a compound, especially when we don't know what to expect."

"What do you recommend then?" Luke said impatiently, and he was surprised to hear how irritated he sounded. Immediately ashamed, though, he closed his eyes and reminded himself that they were doing the best they could. His father and Han were speaking reason, but his own emotions were clouding his judgment. When he opened his eyes again, both Han and Anakin looked concerned.

"We could go check it out, at least," Han suggested. "And formulate a plan for tomorrow."

Luke hesitated for a moment, but eventually he nodded.

They circled the compound, taking into account the size and security of the building. To the left side, there was a large ship hangar, and even though the entrance was heavily patrolled by stormtroopers who blocked his vision, inside Luke could see glimpses of numerous Imperial fighters. It seemed an Imperial base in all ways to Luke, except that he knew Leia had been here. He could sense her stale presence hanging lightly over the area, like the wisps of a cloud after a storm.

Stormtroopers around the base seemed unnaturally active, in Luke's opinion. He watched as they jogged back and forth, in and out of the base like a colony of insects. To his left, there were two stormtroopers conferring, although Luke was too far away to hear what they were saying.

Luke's eyes scanned the walls of the compound. The main entrance would be too heavily guarded; it was constantly patrolled by stormtroopers, so Luke realized they would have to search for alternate ways in which to enter the compound.

Luke turned to his companions, motioning for them to rise. It would probably be a good idea for them to continue on, observing other possible entrances.

Anakin nodded in understanding, and after signaling Han, followed Luke as he moved along to the left, circling clockwise and keeping down so as to avoid detection.

They were passing perilously close to the conferring stormtroopers when suddenly Luke found the ground to be uneven under his step. The whole thing happened in slow motion; caught unawares, Luke felt his ankle twist underneath him and he pitched forward to take his weight off of that foot. He landed on his hands and felt unbelievable spikes of pain shoot up his leg. It took all of Luke's self-control to keep from crying out in pain. He sat down heavily and bit his lip, knowing that one yell and the nearby stormtroopers would be alerted to their presence.

The pain faded in a moment, making Luke believe that the injury was not going to be bad. He turned around to communicate to Han and his father that he was all right and met their alarmed stares. He shook his head at them, motioning that they could keep going.

Luke was about to continue on when suddenly Han grabbed his arm. Luke turned back in surprise, and saw that Han was motioning towards the stormtroopers conversing a few steps away. Han then pointed urgently to his own ear, as if to tell Luke to listen on.

Recognizing what Han was trying to tell him and realizing that the conversation between the two stormtroopers must be important, Luke piqued his ears.

"…No sign of her," one of the stormtroopers was saying to the other. "We've searched the surrounding area."

"She's probably out of the vicinity by now," the other stormtrooper replied.

"Should we call off the search?"

"My orders tell us to continue," the stormtrooper said. "Until we get the all-clear, order your troops to do one final scan of the area."

"Yes, sir," the trooper replied, and he set off to the right.

The other stormtrooper headed in the opposite direction, leaving Luke startled. He glanced at Han, who looked just as stunned. Out of the vicinity? Escaped? Could they have been talking about Leia?

Han seemed to think so. A slow grin spread over his face. "She got out," he whispered. "Ha! She showed those bastards!"

Luke found Han's smile contagious. Relief spread through him as well, and he allowed himself a smile, although he found himself even more emotionally exhausted than ever. "Where should we go from here?" Luke asked them, determined to work off of their findings. Right now, they didn't have any leads as to where Leia might have headed.

"She couldn't have left the planet," Han said. "Chances are that she's still in Theed."

Luke found the thought encouraging. For once he was grateful for the Imperial blockade. It limited the area and would make it easier for them to find Leia.

"We'll have to wait until morning," Anakin said, speaking up for the first time in a while. He was staring at the darkening sky above them. He lowered his eyes, looking at Luke and Han for assent.

Han looked put-off by Anakin's words, however reasonable they sounded. "And what then?" challenged Han. "How do you suggest we find her in such a large city?"

"The Force will guide us," Anakin answered him shortly, appearing to believe that his response was sufficient. Although Han did not appear to be satisfied by the answer, if he had a problem with it he did not reply.

"We should head back to the marketplace," Luke offered. "That's where she would have gone."

At the assent of Han and Anakin, the three quickly put distance between themselves and the compound, leaving it and its patrols of stormtroopers in their wake. Luke felt relieved to leave the building behind. He had formed distaste for the building's gray walls and domed roof, knowing that his sister had spent many days trapped inside. But all the same, he found himself more at peace than he had been for the past two weeks, knowing that Leia was still alive and that she had managed to slip through the compound's defenses.

Anakin was the one who led them back towards the center of Theed. He took a back route, moving through the alleyways and around the private residences in order to avoid detection. Luke followed close behind his father, trying to keep his eyes open and focused as time dragged on and the night's shadows slowly settled down over them, casting a dark blanket over the city. As the hour grew later and later, Luke became more and more tired, remembering that he had not slept since a small nap in Ben Kenobi's hut, during which he had been too preoccupied with worry to truly rest. Now his eyes were struggling to stay alert.

As a breeze brushed past them, Luke shivered. The night air around them had grown crisp. He glanced back at Han, who looked just as tired as Luke felt. Although it was growing darker by the moment, Luke could see lines underneath Han's eyes. Like Luke, he had not gotten much rest either. They would need to find somewhere to sleep.

"Father," Luke called softly.

Anakin turned, pausing for a moment. "Yes, son."

"Is there anywhere we could find rest for the night?" Luke asked him, slightly ashamed that he was admitting his exhaustion.

Anakin looked at him for a moment, then at Han, before something in his eyes softened. He nodded. "Okay," he replied.

Suddenly, however, right when Anakin turned to continue walking, there was a loud echo of a blaster shot, and a red laser beam whizzed by them. Luke ducked, and, immediately recognizing that the shots were originating from the roof of a nearby building, hurried over to press himself up against the alleyway wall, where the shots could not find him. A second later, both his father and Han were at his sides. Luke grabbed his lightsaber's hilt. They were under attack.

The shots eventually stopped ricocheting off the alleyway walls, and Anakin and Luke pushed themselves away from the wall, both igniting their glowing blades. Anakin's eyes scrutinized the rooftops for the would-be assassin.

All was still for a moment, and then there was a heavy thump. Luke and Anakin whirled around, where a figure appeared at the entrance of the alleyway behind them.

She was a woman, a human, and was dressed tight pants, tall combat boots, and had a tunic top made from purple leather. On her utility belt there was a gun sheath and other instruments Luke did not recognize. She had dark hair, pulled tightly underneath a helmet. She had dropped from the roof of the building and landed on her feet.

"You," growled Han. "You tried to kill us."

"It appears I have," she answered. It was the voice of the woman in the transmissions they had overheard. It was the woman called Renne. She smiled coldly, gripping her blaster in her right hand.

"You're messing with the wrong people," Han warned her in a low voice.

Renne gave him an amused glance. "I'm afraid not, Captain." With a flourish, she twirled her blaster, and then returned it to its holster in her belt.

"You can't possibly hope to defeat us," Luke said, watching her closely. He pulled his lightsaber up in front of him as he shifted into a defensive position. "I'm afraid you won't get very far, Renne."

Renne's smile grew. "I'm afraid you underestimate me. Your naivety is apparent, Skywalker, but inexcusable."

"You're making a mistake, Renne," growled Anakin. "You'll pay for what you've done." He began to circle Renne, but their eyes never left one another.

Renne's eyes narrowed at Anakin's words. "You fool," she hissed at him, her eyes flashing gold. "Unlike you, I know the true meaning of loyalty."

"You have no loyalty," Anakin cut across her. "Your loyalty is to your masters' pockets."

Renne's lip curled. "You're wrong," she said in a low tone. "My loyalty lies with my master and the Empire. …Oh, yes, I believe you know him. He was killed by… none other than you, in fact." Anger crept into her voice, which quickly evolved into a low hiss. "Now tell, me, is that loyalty, Lord Vader? Or is it cowardice?"

Anakin's head snapped towards her, his eyes flashing.

"That's right, I know who you are," she hissed. "I know your true nature. Your cowardice, your weakness… My master saw right through you."

"Palpatine was not your master," he snapped.

"There were many things you did not know about him," she continued, her eyes narrowed. "And you called yourself his apprentice. Did you know he was planning to kill you? That he was searching for a younger, more adept apprentice?"

Anakin's face darkened at Renne's words. He was slowly realizing what Renne was hinting at. "I suppose you would have made a good replacement," he snapped.

A slow smile spread across her face. "I was trained in the Dark Arts, just as you were."

Anakin's saber hummed as he twirled it impatiently. "Your next move?"

With a snap-hiss, a glowing red blade extended from a lightsaber hilt in her palm. "Battle of the Siths," she said softly, although here eyes flashed dangerously. Then, with an inhuman cry, she twisted through the air, saber extended, as she began a full-fledged assault on Anakin.

Luke quickly caught up to his father's side, where the two were exchanging blows faster than anything Luke had ever seen, even from his own battle with his father on the Death Star. Luke could practically see the anger radiating in heat from their blades. Luke immediately found himself balancing half of Renne's vicious attack, and he forced himself to let go into the Force to keep his concentration and match Renne's speed. It was difficult for him at first: adapting to such a different style of fighting; he was used to fighting Darth Vader's grounded, powerful, but practical style. In contrast, Renne's style was highly aggressive and confrontational, filled with flourishing twirls and acrobatics.

His father seemed to be having no trouble adapting to Renne's attacks; he had adopted Form V, a form Luke had observed he preferred, but unlike his style as Vader, he was mixing his form with Ataru acrobatics, which allowed him to match Renne perfectly, as if they were two dancers in a deadly dance. Luke had never seen such energy before, but it filled him with adrenaline and excitement.

Luke and his father pushed Renne backwards, until soon they were at the entrance of the alleyway. With an aggressive push, Renne shoved them away from her, allowing her to retreat a few feet, although her eyes continued to flash dangerously.

"What does it feel like?" Renne taunted. "…Do you miss it? The Dark Side?"

Anakin's lightsaber rose with a hum as he readied his attack position once more. He waited for a moment, however, watching Renne like a bird of prey.

"The raw power pulsing through your veins, the endless destruction and terror…" Her eyes flashed. "You could return in a moment. Absolute power, once more."

Luke watched his father closely, watching for any signs that Anakin might be taking her words to heart. For one horrible moment Luke could see the hunger in Anakin's eyes. Anakin knew that what Renne was saying was true, as did Luke, but soon the aggression melted into a determined hardness in his eyes.

"No," he said, finally, firmly.

Renne smiled. "I admit… I expected more of you, Lord Vader." Then, launching into a huge backflip, she jumped to the third story rooftop, drawing the fight to up herself.

Anakin glanced at Luke, who nodded, and the two leapt up after her.

When Luke's feet landed on the rooftop, he immediately noticed the change in temperature. Cold wind brushed against his neck and seemed to seep right through his shirt. Beside him, Anakin squinted his eyes against the wind, his cloak billowing in the wind's strong gusts.

Renne was standing a few yards away, twirling her red lightsaber impatiently in large circles.

Luke and Anakin stepped towards her threateningly, but they waited until she moved her blade to continue the battle. With loud crashes, the blows began to fall heavier than ever in brilliant bursts of green, blue, and red. As the sky darkened, the glowing blades flashed and danced in spectacular patterns.

Suddenly, Renne dealt out a kick, which Luke felt land on his chest. Luke felt the air leave his lungs, and he fell backwards across the roof, sliding dangerously close to the edge.

As he pushed himself back up again, he was suddenly aware of blaster shots below him. Alarm spread through him. Han! Looking down into the alley, Luke watched as stormtroopers jogged in, priming their weapons and heading to where Han was crouching behind storage crates, firing shots back at them. He needed to go help Han.

Luke looked backwards, where the blue and red blades were retreating together, pushing one another along the city rooftops. They were growing farther and farther away. His father should be able to hold her off.

Making a quick decision, Luke leapt off of the roof and into the alleyway, placing himself between Han and the stormtroopers, and began to fend off their shots. He used the Force to push away the first line stormtroopers, causing them to stumble backwards. He could see Han's shots continue to whiz by him, although he trusted Han's aim enough to give up concern of being hit.

Eventually, after about three minutes of deflecting shots, the stormtroopers, gravely reduced in numbers, turned tail and began to run off in the opposite direction. Luke ran after them, chasing them away from the alleyway so that Han could have a chance to slip out of danger.

The stormtroopers apparently knew the streets of Theed better than Luke, because they winded their way through the streets like they had the city memorized. Luke continued in his hot pursuit, his feet hammering on the ground and arms pumping to keep going. Eventually, however, after a few moments his energy seemed to drop away, and his adrenaline gave way to exhaustion. He was already tired from the duel with Renne, and chasing stormtroopers at full speed only exhausted him further. Luke put his hands on his knees, panting for a few moments, before surveying his surroundings.

He was surprised to find himself in the middle of another alleyway, one that looked nearly identical to the previous, or at least under the shadows of nighttime. He was also surprised to realize that he had no idea where he was, and that he could not remember which way he had turned.

As his surprise gave way to worry, Luke began to wander back in the direction that he believed he had come, but all of the streets and buildings seemed unfamiliar to him. He was not sure how long he had chased the stormtroopers, or which way he had traveled. They had gone through so many streets that Luke had lost count and all sense of direction.

After wandering for five minutes among the streets, Luke eventually was struck with an idea. Uniting himself with the Force and bunching up his muscles, he jumped to the nearest roof, hoping that the view would help him locate Han and his father. He had to return to see if they were all right.

The wind on the roof whipped at him, colder and lonelier than ever. He stretched his gaze out across the top of Theed, but there was nothing but the shining domes of buildings glistening under the moons' light. As hard as he looked, he could see no dancing blades in the distance. He was hopelessly lost.