Chapter 26: Luminous Beings
As promised, Valin cleared a path for him, cutting through the black clad warriors with practiced timing as Ben ran through them with all his might and strength. He had had a vision, had seen the death of his father, and had sworn to change the outcome of this one to prove that the future was in motion. To prove that he could not only save his father but himself. His legs muscles ached as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop, tracing his way back to the Separatist tower where they had first touched down.
Ben figured it would be easier to track the residue of his father's Force essence then to try to pinpoint his location when it was obvious the older Skywalker was in a battle. Once he and Valin reached the Bellalt tower, wind whipping their longish hair, Ben waved him off with a burst of gratitude through the Force. He hoped that this meant he and the older boy could now be friends instead of enemies.
As soon as Valin headed back to the Jedi team, Ben leaped over the same edge he had seen his father go over and reaching out ran his fingers ever so lightly against the permecrete of the tower, his fingers like tiny olfactories, searching for his father's sent. He picked it up almost instantly and let it guide him as he plummeted through the air. It wasn't long before Ben was on the same landing pad that Luke had followed the warriors to and he traced his finger along the edges of the ruined door picking up the static sense of his father.
He was growing closer he could feel it by the way his father's aura grew stronger, less washed by time, but the urgency inside of Ben did not waiver. Luke was in trouble of that he had no doubt, but would he get there in time, and there was an even harder question to answer...would he be enough to save his father.
Ben closed his eyes as he continued his pursuit of his father's essence, letting himself fall as deep into the Force as he could without losing the requisite control of his connection, he let the soothing energies calm his torrent. If he were to save Luke he would need the levelheaded guidance of the Force, not the emotion filled swirl that was encompassing him now. The memory of his mother's death mixed with the vision of his father's had been plaguing him since he and Luke had tried to control when his vision's came. Ben now could to a point but it was still tentative and many of his dreams had been plagued with memory and Force-induced visions.
Pausing briefly, Ben found one of the black clad warriors dead, his head sitting off kilter on his neck. Beyond saving, there was little Ben could do for the warrior. He could feel his father's Force signature echo in the room but he had never seen his father snap anyone's neck in such a manner, causing Ben to wonder what exactly was going on.
If not for the urgency he felt in the Force, Ben would have liked to remove the shielding mask from the warrior but it was a matter of Luke's life that was at risk. Ben's body was already worn and strained by the rigors of the battle but he continued to push it forward, his fingers reaching up to touch the nearest wall or sometimes even the air to pick up on Luke.
When Ben heard in the distance and barely heard over the howling wind the sound of crashing and sizzling lightsaber, he doubled his already headlong pace. He was coming out onto another landing pad when he the sound intensified. Ben's grey stained eyes flicked from around the area, heart- pounding in his chest threatening to burst from his rib cage. The sound of lightsabers assaulted his ears but the tumultuous wind made tracking the sound next to impossible. Ben had never had such a hard time finding his father in the Force and it more then a little frightened him.
Snatching at his belt, he pulled his own lightsaber and held it in a white- knuckled grip. The calm he had felt in the Force was quickly dissipating and he fought to hold on to the few strands he could grasp. [i]Mom, I need you with me,[/i] he sent the mental plea, knowing that it was purely sentimental and that his mother was lost in the waves of the Force. But if such sentimentality helped him save his father he cared little for how foolish it seemed.
Ben was about to send himself rocketing upwards to the overhanging balcony above his head, when blaster fire erupted at him. He had noted the ship as soon as he had stepped out onto the landing pad but his concentration had been on finding his father and the location to the clashing lightsabers, two lightsabers meant more then just the warriors they had met up with so far, that he hadn't paid it much mind to it having encountered other ships in his defense of the Yuuzhan Vong and then in his search for his father.
Ben whirled to meet and deflect the oncoming blaster fire and felt a momentary pang of fright to see how many of the warriors there were against him. More then there had been encircling each of the Yuuzhan Vong groups, nearly double. Instead of feeding the fear, Ben reached out to the Force and used it to calm his self-doubt. He would just have to survive this, before catching up to his father and whoever he was facing.
His lightsaber became a blur of motion in front of his eyes, so much so that he could barely see the warriors firing at him, but he didn't need to see, he just needed to trust in the Force. Yes, trust. The Force wouldn't allow both of his parents to die in front of him, wouldn't allow him to be alone in this galaxy, when his future promised to be so dark.
He vaguely thought that if he had kept the squad together he wouldn't have this problem, but he couldn't very well leave the separatist Yuuzhan Vong unprotected, even to save Luke Skywalker. From behind him, more black clad warriors came and surrounded him from the back side. Now Ben was trapped. Even if he managed to block all the blaster fire he wouldn't be able to leap to his father's aid. For the second time in his life a dreaded sense of failure loomed over Ben increased by the first failure.
Settling himself into the pattern of deflection, Ben sent another message to Anakin.
[hr][/hr]
[i]Father's in trouble. Come as quickly as you can,[/i] Anakin heard Ben's mental voice reverberate in his head so loudly that he looked to Analsa to see if she had sensed it. If she did she gave no sign and continued her hurried pace towards the trapped Yuuzhan Vong. Every inch of him wished to turn around and join Ben to save Luke but there were also the beings that he and his family had sworn to protect.
[i]I'll be there as soon as possible,[/i] Anakin sent back not nearly as strong, but clear enough for Ben to catch.
It was then that he noticed he had stopped in the middle of the corridor prohibiting the rest of his decreased squad from continuing. Analsa looked up at him, her own height only coming to his shoulders. ''Somethings happened,'' it wasn't said as a question.
Anakin nodded. ''Master Skywalker has run into some sort of danger, Ben's gone to help him,'' he answered in a much more calm tone then what he was feeling. He had already lost Chewie because of his inaction, Fonder in a less direct way, and so many others in the last Yuuzhan Vong war, he didn't want to lose his beloved uncle as well.
He looked down the darkened hallway, as if hoping to find Ben and Luke there, fine and ready for anything, but instead all he saw was the swirling gloom. They had already delved much deeper into the building then Anakin had initially anticipated, their travel becoming an intricate path through the winding hallways of an office building. It reminded Anakin of the Senate building back on Coruscant when it had been the central system in the New Republic, where his Leia Organa Solo's office had been, the one place in Anakin's youth he would rather not have investigated.
He hoped to just get in save the trapped Yuuzhan Vong and get out.
''What are you going to do?'' Analsa asked, and their was no mistaken the urgency in her voice.
''Do what I came here to do,'' Anakin answered straightforward. He couldn't very well leave her here, where the others wouldn't be able to divert their attention towards protecting her if he did leave to help Uncle Luke and Ben. ''Besides Ben can take care of himself and Uncle Luke.'' Anakin only wished he could believe that.
[hr][/hr]
''All fighters pull up and engage in one by two pairings,'' Jaina ordered into her headset. Her squadron's were dwindling and she was doing her best to keep them in this battle.
But through her viewscreen she could see how many of the enemy ships were now surrounding her fleet and soon there would be no gape to make an escape in. She had tried to reach Uncle Luke both through the comlink and via the Force but had come up with a no answer and an extremely busy mind when she had tried that. She couldn't link as well with Ben and Anakin was also preoccupied and his comlink blocked by some interference.
The decision to go or to stay could cost the lives of her fleet but if she did go her uncle, cousin, and brother was certainly signed to a death warrant. Jaina was at a lose at what to do. There had been no promise of additional help that would arrive any time soon and she wasn't sure if she could consciously allow very good pilots and Jedi to die in these cloaked coordinated attacks.
She walked up to the transparasteel window that gave her a panoramic view of the battle wagging and pressed her forehead against its coolness. The ships temperature gauges and climate control was supposed to negate the iciness of space from freezing the glass but it never entirely took the chill from it.
So many lives in the balance and they rested upon the edge of the sword of the Jedi. Her choice to abandon or stay could very well mean not only the lives of the Jedi she instructed or the family down on Bellalt but the planet itself and its inhabitants. This was what it meant to be the sword, whether to strike or defend, to push and offense or defense, to retreat or to stand and die. How could one make such a choice, when so much hung in the balance?
Jaina turned her sad-darkened eyes to her communications officer. ''Be ready to call the retreat on my mark,'' she ordered. The bulbous eyed Calamarian regarded her with shock but said nothing to her startling statement.
''Yes, General Solo-Fel,'' the Calamarian said, and prepared her switch board in front of her, her webbed hands floating easily as if they were still in the species native waters.
There was no harm in preparing for whatever may come ahead. She wasn't calling the retreat yet. A good leader always looked at every possibility before making a choice. She, like her uncle, knew the necessity of placing the people she loved in danger. But why did she feel like she was betraying them by making this order. Outside Jaina could see the enemy fleet continuing to close their circle around the Jedi.
[hr][/hr]
Dancing away from a quick series of thrusts, Luke was on the edge of his ability. He was no longer the young spry Jedi that had faced Darth Vader or the middle-aged but greatly learned Jedi Master that had battled in the war against the Yuuzhan Vong. The Force was his ally but the Force also carried the violent cycle of life, in which there was the torrent of birth and the hurricane of death, and the resurrection of the cycle. Death was something that Luke had prepared for many times in his life, something that had been easily accepted if it came, it had always been harder for him to accept the deaths of those closest to him starting with his aunt and uncle.
Luke was not a blur in motion but a shimmer in the eye, flipping and maneuvering around the Nefarion that the Sith Lord knew that he could not get the upper hand either. The battle was intense with both Force-users pulling stunts that were looked upon in fascination and were nearly forgotten as the next one rolled out. Luke's limbs did not obey his whims but those of the energy field that had guided him even before he knew of its existence. Whose power and light had been something he could not believe he could use or even to Master but a gift that had come to him through time and training.
No he did not fear passing from this life to the next but feared what would happen to those he would leave behind, namely his son, Ben. The boy had so much potential, a light that he could not contain and needed to be taught to fuel with control. The way his mentors had taught him. His training had been precarious, a danger that Yoda had been hesitant to take on, a hope that Obi-Wan had yearned for.
Luke dodged left and then right as Nefarion used a figure eight type stroke, cutting the air like red ribbon. The blue of Luke's lightsaber came up to intersect with Nefarion's, grinding it to the right until their lightsaber's both dug into the permecrete of their current rooftop. Luke broke the saber contact turning it into a spin kick that caught Nefarion, he thought, on the chin, if was difficult to tell whether or not his kick had landed where he wanted it to or not with Nefarion's cowl covering nearly every inch of the man.
The Sith Lord staggered backwards but it was only momentary before Nefarion was back on him with a vengeance. Luke's saber collided with his in a path that only the Force knew and to which Luke was only a vessel for its interpretation. Flipping backwards, Luke caught sight of his son below.
Ben was spinning like a top below, his lightsaber arched out and catching every lance of energy that was fired in his direction. Instantly Luke took note of his son's measure in the Force and was not surprised how immersed Ben was. If he wasn't surprised he was worried. He did not want Ben to fall in too deep with the Force. That could lead to Ben going into a comatose state, one he would not be able to get out of alone and certainly one that would get him killed.
This Nefarion had probably set up the attack to distract Ben while he dealt with Luke, but he did not know about Ben's abilities, the gift and curse he had been born with and although Nefarion wanted him alive he was coming very close to killing him.
Luke had to do something to save his son, before it was too late.
[hr][/hr]
They were moving the Yuuzhan Vong captives. Anakin was sure of it now. Just when he thought they had reached a certain destination where he had felt the Vong captives previously, he reached out and caught them in a different area. They were playing with them, and he in specifically, although he couldn't imagine how anyone could be aware of his ability to sense the Yuuzhan Vong in the Force.
He was torn. If the Vong were being moved did that mean they were working with their captors or was that completely off the mark. Then there was Ben and Uncle Luke. Ben was not given to states of paranoia or so Anakin had observed since his return from the dead and Uncle Luke wasn't the Jedi Master he remembered from before his capture. Anakin wished he had Ben's tactical mind, that he knew more about the changes in the Yuuzhan Vong and the galaxy around him, and he wished he could back in time to before Myrkr where everything was hard but so simplistic in nature. There were the enemies that needed to be stopped and you knew who they were. Now everything was elusive and cloaked in mystery.
It struck Anakin harder now then it had when he woke from the [i]oombassl[/i] just how much the galaxy seemed foreign to him. It was a place he had hoped to find a place in, to find solace, but instead it grew more and more frightening.
Anakin Solo didn't belong in this time. He belonged in a place fifteen years gone by, where he had been nothing more then a seventeen year old apprentice, who had wanted for nothing more then to follow in his uncle's footsteps.
There was very little though that he could change right now, he would press forward, whether it was in the direction of the continually moving Yuuzhan Vong or towards his cousin and uncle he didn't know.
''They're toying with us,'' he whispered to no one in particular.
Analsa however, customarily at his side, heard. ''Who and why?''
''I don't think that the Vong are under duress. I think they are a part of this,'' Anakin answered, knowing that he wasn't making much sense.
Analsa shook her head. ''That doesn't make any sense. I felt them in trouble, so did you,'' she pointed out.
''There's been a bait and switch,'' Anakin realized abruptly. ''Their leading us away. There's something that whoever is running the show, doesn't want us around for. But what?'' Again Anakin was contemplative, not really talking for the benefit of his team, but to run the facts through his mind.
''There was nothing there except those warriors,'' Analsa interjected. ''No reason to lead us away from the other Yuuzhan Vong to save these.''
''You're right, it's not about the Vong. It's something else,'' Anakin bit at his lip. There were a lot of things about this whole assault that didn't fit together. If they had come to Bellalt to demolish it in the hopes of starting a war then why send ground troops and why come with a fleet large enough to thwart it without the troops?
Then there was the disturbance that Ben had sensed surrounding his father and had gone off to help Luke with, but a disturbance Anakin hadn't been able to sense until Ben had mentioned it.
And then everything snapped into place with such clarity that Anakin couldn't believe he had missed it before and subconsciously swore to study under Ben in strategy. ''Ben. They wanted us away from Ben,'' Anakin came to the conclusion.
''But why?'' Analsa asked, the anxious look in her eyes startling Anakin.
''I'm not sure, but this is a trap and one I'm not going to throw myself into,'' Anakin said. Louder, Anakin called, ''Fall back. It's a trap. ''
In customary Jedi fashion there was no questioning his orders, just instant reaction. However, Analsa hadn't been amongst the Jedi very long and she made her objections clear. ''You don't know that those Yuuzhan Vong aren't in danger. You don't know what's going on.''
''You're right I don't know, but I can feel it, if I continue it won't be right,'' Anakin countered. Every step he took towards the exit was another step that he felt the nagging that had weighed him lift.
Analsa stepped in front of him, stopping him. ''And this is right?'' she demanded.
''Yes,'' Anakin said, and nudged past her.
[hr][/hr]
Sarlana knew that there was no way to turn Anakin Solo away from his pursuit now that he had figured out her Master's plot to get Ben Skywalker alone. The fact that the older Skywalker had managed to intercept her Master was surprising enough, Nefarion's warriors were meant to lead him away from Ben but to lead him to Lord Nefarion himself, did these beings have any thought in their minds?
Reaching out to her Master's dark aura, a presence she had known for the better part of her life, she made a connection to her dark Master. [i]Solo knows.[/i]
[hr][/hr]
An arch of two beings passed over Ben as he continued his defense against the warriors and his heart went out as he identified it as his father. He couldn't reach him yet, but he could feel Anakin growing closer and closer. It wouldn't be long before Anakin could relieve him and Ben could help his father. [i]Hold on just a little longer, Dad,[/i] he thought without actually sending it to Luke. He could feel his father's strength waning along with his own.
Ben's lightsaber was hot in his hands, sweat dripping from every pore in his body as he pushed it to limits he had never reached before, he dared not go any further in the Force for fear he would lose himself in it, but every time he blinked he could see the vision of his father in his arms, could see the man he loved take his last breath.
He couldn't spare a glance up to the two battling combatants, but his father's presence was with him and as long as it was there, he wouldn't have anything to fear.
[hr][/hr]
Luke could now see Ben much better but his glances towards his son were quick and furtive, all he could afford in the titanic battle with the Sith Lord. He could feel Ben dwindling into the Force, could feel his boy's strength and control wavering at the continual defense against the blaster fire. He wished he had answered to Ben's mental call now, had told his boy not come after him, that he could take care of himself.
He knew that Anakin was coming, he could feel it in the Force, and he was glad that his nephew was on his way, but would he be here in time enough to save Ben. Nefarion wasn't letting up on his assault, where Luke was wearing down and showing the signs of his age, the Sith Lord was still going strong. This battle had to end so that Ben could be saved and Anakin wasn't going to make it in time.
What Ben needed was something to distract those warriors...or someone. As a memory from years gone passed floated to Luke's mind he felt a sad resolution fill him. To save Ben he would gladly give this, but what would be the price to his boy?
''Give it up Skywalker. Your son will now watch you die,'' Nefarion said and cocked his cowled head in the direction of Ben.
''If you strike me down I shall become more powerful then you can possibly imagine,'' Luke returned, unknowingly echoing the words that had been spoken by his mentor, his son's grandfather, over three decades ago.
And flinging out his arm, he tossed his lightsaber just when he felt Ben start to recede too deep inside the Force, guiding it with the energy field that surrounded them and bound them together towards the group of warriors that were seconds away from killing his boy. [i]Remember son, I am always by your side.[/i]
Nefarion rushed him at the same time that Luke's lightsaber hit through the group and the blood red blade plunged into his midsection, searing through his skin, muscle, and bone. Luke gasped in a slight breath before Nefarion disengaged the blade and he crumbled to the ground. He had to concentrate to keep himself alive long enough to say goodbye to his son, his last hope.
[hr][/hr]
Ben saw the second lightsaber cut through the warriors surrounding him, with such precision he could not believe it. Then a heartbeat later he felt a pain ripe through his stomach that he was sure he had been shot, but when he looked down at the spot he saw clean tunic lacking any sort of charcoal hole. In the blink it took him to understand, he spun on his heal and saw his father go down.
''Nooooo!'' It was a cry that echoed the past, the present, and the future. A sorrow that echoed through the Force and became a palpable essence throwing the remaining black clad warriors to their feet.
Heart pounding in his chest, breath coming in rapid gasps, Ben pushed his legs upward and towards his father's killer.
[hr][/hr]
Anakin felt his pulse go as if ice had been inserted into his veins as there was a great disturbance in the Force. One so terrible that it nearly sent Anakin to his knees. Reaching out to the Force he found the source of the disturbance. "Oh, no, Uncle Luke."
As promised, Valin cleared a path for him, cutting through the black clad warriors with practiced timing as Ben ran through them with all his might and strength. He had had a vision, had seen the death of his father, and had sworn to change the outcome of this one to prove that the future was in motion. To prove that he could not only save his father but himself. His legs muscles ached as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop, tracing his way back to the Separatist tower where they had first touched down.
Ben figured it would be easier to track the residue of his father's Force essence then to try to pinpoint his location when it was obvious the older Skywalker was in a battle. Once he and Valin reached the Bellalt tower, wind whipping their longish hair, Ben waved him off with a burst of gratitude through the Force. He hoped that this meant he and the older boy could now be friends instead of enemies.
As soon as Valin headed back to the Jedi team, Ben leaped over the same edge he had seen his father go over and reaching out ran his fingers ever so lightly against the permecrete of the tower, his fingers like tiny olfactories, searching for his father's sent. He picked it up almost instantly and let it guide him as he plummeted through the air. It wasn't long before Ben was on the same landing pad that Luke had followed the warriors to and he traced his finger along the edges of the ruined door picking up the static sense of his father.
He was growing closer he could feel it by the way his father's aura grew stronger, less washed by time, but the urgency inside of Ben did not waiver. Luke was in trouble of that he had no doubt, but would he get there in time, and there was an even harder question to answer...would he be enough to save his father.
Ben closed his eyes as he continued his pursuit of his father's essence, letting himself fall as deep into the Force as he could without losing the requisite control of his connection, he let the soothing energies calm his torrent. If he were to save Luke he would need the levelheaded guidance of the Force, not the emotion filled swirl that was encompassing him now. The memory of his mother's death mixed with the vision of his father's had been plaguing him since he and Luke had tried to control when his vision's came. Ben now could to a point but it was still tentative and many of his dreams had been plagued with memory and Force-induced visions.
Pausing briefly, Ben found one of the black clad warriors dead, his head sitting off kilter on his neck. Beyond saving, there was little Ben could do for the warrior. He could feel his father's Force signature echo in the room but he had never seen his father snap anyone's neck in such a manner, causing Ben to wonder what exactly was going on.
If not for the urgency he felt in the Force, Ben would have liked to remove the shielding mask from the warrior but it was a matter of Luke's life that was at risk. Ben's body was already worn and strained by the rigors of the battle but he continued to push it forward, his fingers reaching up to touch the nearest wall or sometimes even the air to pick up on Luke.
When Ben heard in the distance and barely heard over the howling wind the sound of crashing and sizzling lightsaber, he doubled his already headlong pace. He was coming out onto another landing pad when he the sound intensified. Ben's grey stained eyes flicked from around the area, heart- pounding in his chest threatening to burst from his rib cage. The sound of lightsabers assaulted his ears but the tumultuous wind made tracking the sound next to impossible. Ben had never had such a hard time finding his father in the Force and it more then a little frightened him.
Snatching at his belt, he pulled his own lightsaber and held it in a white- knuckled grip. The calm he had felt in the Force was quickly dissipating and he fought to hold on to the few strands he could grasp. [i]Mom, I need you with me,[/i] he sent the mental plea, knowing that it was purely sentimental and that his mother was lost in the waves of the Force. But if such sentimentality helped him save his father he cared little for how foolish it seemed.
Ben was about to send himself rocketing upwards to the overhanging balcony above his head, when blaster fire erupted at him. He had noted the ship as soon as he had stepped out onto the landing pad but his concentration had been on finding his father and the location to the clashing lightsabers, two lightsabers meant more then just the warriors they had met up with so far, that he hadn't paid it much mind to it having encountered other ships in his defense of the Yuuzhan Vong and then in his search for his father.
Ben whirled to meet and deflect the oncoming blaster fire and felt a momentary pang of fright to see how many of the warriors there were against him. More then there had been encircling each of the Yuuzhan Vong groups, nearly double. Instead of feeding the fear, Ben reached out to the Force and used it to calm his self-doubt. He would just have to survive this, before catching up to his father and whoever he was facing.
His lightsaber became a blur of motion in front of his eyes, so much so that he could barely see the warriors firing at him, but he didn't need to see, he just needed to trust in the Force. Yes, trust. The Force wouldn't allow both of his parents to die in front of him, wouldn't allow him to be alone in this galaxy, when his future promised to be so dark.
He vaguely thought that if he had kept the squad together he wouldn't have this problem, but he couldn't very well leave the separatist Yuuzhan Vong unprotected, even to save Luke Skywalker. From behind him, more black clad warriors came and surrounded him from the back side. Now Ben was trapped. Even if he managed to block all the blaster fire he wouldn't be able to leap to his father's aid. For the second time in his life a dreaded sense of failure loomed over Ben increased by the first failure.
Settling himself into the pattern of deflection, Ben sent another message to Anakin.
[hr][/hr]
[i]Father's in trouble. Come as quickly as you can,[/i] Anakin heard Ben's mental voice reverberate in his head so loudly that he looked to Analsa to see if she had sensed it. If she did she gave no sign and continued her hurried pace towards the trapped Yuuzhan Vong. Every inch of him wished to turn around and join Ben to save Luke but there were also the beings that he and his family had sworn to protect.
[i]I'll be there as soon as possible,[/i] Anakin sent back not nearly as strong, but clear enough for Ben to catch.
It was then that he noticed he had stopped in the middle of the corridor prohibiting the rest of his decreased squad from continuing. Analsa looked up at him, her own height only coming to his shoulders. ''Somethings happened,'' it wasn't said as a question.
Anakin nodded. ''Master Skywalker has run into some sort of danger, Ben's gone to help him,'' he answered in a much more calm tone then what he was feeling. He had already lost Chewie because of his inaction, Fonder in a less direct way, and so many others in the last Yuuzhan Vong war, he didn't want to lose his beloved uncle as well.
He looked down the darkened hallway, as if hoping to find Ben and Luke there, fine and ready for anything, but instead all he saw was the swirling gloom. They had already delved much deeper into the building then Anakin had initially anticipated, their travel becoming an intricate path through the winding hallways of an office building. It reminded Anakin of the Senate building back on Coruscant when it had been the central system in the New Republic, where his Leia Organa Solo's office had been, the one place in Anakin's youth he would rather not have investigated.
He hoped to just get in save the trapped Yuuzhan Vong and get out.
''What are you going to do?'' Analsa asked, and their was no mistaken the urgency in her voice.
''Do what I came here to do,'' Anakin answered straightforward. He couldn't very well leave her here, where the others wouldn't be able to divert their attention towards protecting her if he did leave to help Uncle Luke and Ben. ''Besides Ben can take care of himself and Uncle Luke.'' Anakin only wished he could believe that.
[hr][/hr]
''All fighters pull up and engage in one by two pairings,'' Jaina ordered into her headset. Her squadron's were dwindling and she was doing her best to keep them in this battle.
But through her viewscreen she could see how many of the enemy ships were now surrounding her fleet and soon there would be no gape to make an escape in. She had tried to reach Uncle Luke both through the comlink and via the Force but had come up with a no answer and an extremely busy mind when she had tried that. She couldn't link as well with Ben and Anakin was also preoccupied and his comlink blocked by some interference.
The decision to go or to stay could cost the lives of her fleet but if she did go her uncle, cousin, and brother was certainly signed to a death warrant. Jaina was at a lose at what to do. There had been no promise of additional help that would arrive any time soon and she wasn't sure if she could consciously allow very good pilots and Jedi to die in these cloaked coordinated attacks.
She walked up to the transparasteel window that gave her a panoramic view of the battle wagging and pressed her forehead against its coolness. The ships temperature gauges and climate control was supposed to negate the iciness of space from freezing the glass but it never entirely took the chill from it.
So many lives in the balance and they rested upon the edge of the sword of the Jedi. Her choice to abandon or stay could very well mean not only the lives of the Jedi she instructed or the family down on Bellalt but the planet itself and its inhabitants. This was what it meant to be the sword, whether to strike or defend, to push and offense or defense, to retreat or to stand and die. How could one make such a choice, when so much hung in the balance?
Jaina turned her sad-darkened eyes to her communications officer. ''Be ready to call the retreat on my mark,'' she ordered. The bulbous eyed Calamarian regarded her with shock but said nothing to her startling statement.
''Yes, General Solo-Fel,'' the Calamarian said, and prepared her switch board in front of her, her webbed hands floating easily as if they were still in the species native waters.
There was no harm in preparing for whatever may come ahead. She wasn't calling the retreat yet. A good leader always looked at every possibility before making a choice. She, like her uncle, knew the necessity of placing the people she loved in danger. But why did she feel like she was betraying them by making this order. Outside Jaina could see the enemy fleet continuing to close their circle around the Jedi.
[hr][/hr]
Dancing away from a quick series of thrusts, Luke was on the edge of his ability. He was no longer the young spry Jedi that had faced Darth Vader or the middle-aged but greatly learned Jedi Master that had battled in the war against the Yuuzhan Vong. The Force was his ally but the Force also carried the violent cycle of life, in which there was the torrent of birth and the hurricane of death, and the resurrection of the cycle. Death was something that Luke had prepared for many times in his life, something that had been easily accepted if it came, it had always been harder for him to accept the deaths of those closest to him starting with his aunt and uncle.
Luke was not a blur in motion but a shimmer in the eye, flipping and maneuvering around the Nefarion that the Sith Lord knew that he could not get the upper hand either. The battle was intense with both Force-users pulling stunts that were looked upon in fascination and were nearly forgotten as the next one rolled out. Luke's limbs did not obey his whims but those of the energy field that had guided him even before he knew of its existence. Whose power and light had been something he could not believe he could use or even to Master but a gift that had come to him through time and training.
No he did not fear passing from this life to the next but feared what would happen to those he would leave behind, namely his son, Ben. The boy had so much potential, a light that he could not contain and needed to be taught to fuel with control. The way his mentors had taught him. His training had been precarious, a danger that Yoda had been hesitant to take on, a hope that Obi-Wan had yearned for.
Luke dodged left and then right as Nefarion used a figure eight type stroke, cutting the air like red ribbon. The blue of Luke's lightsaber came up to intersect with Nefarion's, grinding it to the right until their lightsaber's both dug into the permecrete of their current rooftop. Luke broke the saber contact turning it into a spin kick that caught Nefarion, he thought, on the chin, if was difficult to tell whether or not his kick had landed where he wanted it to or not with Nefarion's cowl covering nearly every inch of the man.
The Sith Lord staggered backwards but it was only momentary before Nefarion was back on him with a vengeance. Luke's saber collided with his in a path that only the Force knew and to which Luke was only a vessel for its interpretation. Flipping backwards, Luke caught sight of his son below.
Ben was spinning like a top below, his lightsaber arched out and catching every lance of energy that was fired in his direction. Instantly Luke took note of his son's measure in the Force and was not surprised how immersed Ben was. If he wasn't surprised he was worried. He did not want Ben to fall in too deep with the Force. That could lead to Ben going into a comatose state, one he would not be able to get out of alone and certainly one that would get him killed.
This Nefarion had probably set up the attack to distract Ben while he dealt with Luke, but he did not know about Ben's abilities, the gift and curse he had been born with and although Nefarion wanted him alive he was coming very close to killing him.
Luke had to do something to save his son, before it was too late.
[hr][/hr]
They were moving the Yuuzhan Vong captives. Anakin was sure of it now. Just when he thought they had reached a certain destination where he had felt the Vong captives previously, he reached out and caught them in a different area. They were playing with them, and he in specifically, although he couldn't imagine how anyone could be aware of his ability to sense the Yuuzhan Vong in the Force.
He was torn. If the Vong were being moved did that mean they were working with their captors or was that completely off the mark. Then there was Ben and Uncle Luke. Ben was not given to states of paranoia or so Anakin had observed since his return from the dead and Uncle Luke wasn't the Jedi Master he remembered from before his capture. Anakin wished he had Ben's tactical mind, that he knew more about the changes in the Yuuzhan Vong and the galaxy around him, and he wished he could back in time to before Myrkr where everything was hard but so simplistic in nature. There were the enemies that needed to be stopped and you knew who they were. Now everything was elusive and cloaked in mystery.
It struck Anakin harder now then it had when he woke from the [i]oombassl[/i] just how much the galaxy seemed foreign to him. It was a place he had hoped to find a place in, to find solace, but instead it grew more and more frightening.
Anakin Solo didn't belong in this time. He belonged in a place fifteen years gone by, where he had been nothing more then a seventeen year old apprentice, who had wanted for nothing more then to follow in his uncle's footsteps.
There was very little though that he could change right now, he would press forward, whether it was in the direction of the continually moving Yuuzhan Vong or towards his cousin and uncle he didn't know.
''They're toying with us,'' he whispered to no one in particular.
Analsa however, customarily at his side, heard. ''Who and why?''
''I don't think that the Vong are under duress. I think they are a part of this,'' Anakin answered, knowing that he wasn't making much sense.
Analsa shook her head. ''That doesn't make any sense. I felt them in trouble, so did you,'' she pointed out.
''There's been a bait and switch,'' Anakin realized abruptly. ''Their leading us away. There's something that whoever is running the show, doesn't want us around for. But what?'' Again Anakin was contemplative, not really talking for the benefit of his team, but to run the facts through his mind.
''There was nothing there except those warriors,'' Analsa interjected. ''No reason to lead us away from the other Yuuzhan Vong to save these.''
''You're right, it's not about the Vong. It's something else,'' Anakin bit at his lip. There were a lot of things about this whole assault that didn't fit together. If they had come to Bellalt to demolish it in the hopes of starting a war then why send ground troops and why come with a fleet large enough to thwart it without the troops?
Then there was the disturbance that Ben had sensed surrounding his father and had gone off to help Luke with, but a disturbance Anakin hadn't been able to sense until Ben had mentioned it.
And then everything snapped into place with such clarity that Anakin couldn't believe he had missed it before and subconsciously swore to study under Ben in strategy. ''Ben. They wanted us away from Ben,'' Anakin came to the conclusion.
''But why?'' Analsa asked, the anxious look in her eyes startling Anakin.
''I'm not sure, but this is a trap and one I'm not going to throw myself into,'' Anakin said. Louder, Anakin called, ''Fall back. It's a trap. ''
In customary Jedi fashion there was no questioning his orders, just instant reaction. However, Analsa hadn't been amongst the Jedi very long and she made her objections clear. ''You don't know that those Yuuzhan Vong aren't in danger. You don't know what's going on.''
''You're right I don't know, but I can feel it, if I continue it won't be right,'' Anakin countered. Every step he took towards the exit was another step that he felt the nagging that had weighed him lift.
Analsa stepped in front of him, stopping him. ''And this is right?'' she demanded.
''Yes,'' Anakin said, and nudged past her.
[hr][/hr]
Sarlana knew that there was no way to turn Anakin Solo away from his pursuit now that he had figured out her Master's plot to get Ben Skywalker alone. The fact that the older Skywalker had managed to intercept her Master was surprising enough, Nefarion's warriors were meant to lead him away from Ben but to lead him to Lord Nefarion himself, did these beings have any thought in their minds?
Reaching out to her Master's dark aura, a presence she had known for the better part of her life, she made a connection to her dark Master. [i]Solo knows.[/i]
[hr][/hr]
An arch of two beings passed over Ben as he continued his defense against the warriors and his heart went out as he identified it as his father. He couldn't reach him yet, but he could feel Anakin growing closer and closer. It wouldn't be long before Anakin could relieve him and Ben could help his father. [i]Hold on just a little longer, Dad,[/i] he thought without actually sending it to Luke. He could feel his father's strength waning along with his own.
Ben's lightsaber was hot in his hands, sweat dripping from every pore in his body as he pushed it to limits he had never reached before, he dared not go any further in the Force for fear he would lose himself in it, but every time he blinked he could see the vision of his father in his arms, could see the man he loved take his last breath.
He couldn't spare a glance up to the two battling combatants, but his father's presence was with him and as long as it was there, he wouldn't have anything to fear.
[hr][/hr]
Luke could now see Ben much better but his glances towards his son were quick and furtive, all he could afford in the titanic battle with the Sith Lord. He could feel Ben dwindling into the Force, could feel his boy's strength and control wavering at the continual defense against the blaster fire. He wished he had answered to Ben's mental call now, had told his boy not come after him, that he could take care of himself.
He knew that Anakin was coming, he could feel it in the Force, and he was glad that his nephew was on his way, but would he be here in time enough to save Ben. Nefarion wasn't letting up on his assault, where Luke was wearing down and showing the signs of his age, the Sith Lord was still going strong. This battle had to end so that Ben could be saved and Anakin wasn't going to make it in time.
What Ben needed was something to distract those warriors...or someone. As a memory from years gone passed floated to Luke's mind he felt a sad resolution fill him. To save Ben he would gladly give this, but what would be the price to his boy?
''Give it up Skywalker. Your son will now watch you die,'' Nefarion said and cocked his cowled head in the direction of Ben.
''If you strike me down I shall become more powerful then you can possibly imagine,'' Luke returned, unknowingly echoing the words that had been spoken by his mentor, his son's grandfather, over three decades ago.
And flinging out his arm, he tossed his lightsaber just when he felt Ben start to recede too deep inside the Force, guiding it with the energy field that surrounded them and bound them together towards the group of warriors that were seconds away from killing his boy. [i]Remember son, I am always by your side.[/i]
Nefarion rushed him at the same time that Luke's lightsaber hit through the group and the blood red blade plunged into his midsection, searing through his skin, muscle, and bone. Luke gasped in a slight breath before Nefarion disengaged the blade and he crumbled to the ground. He had to concentrate to keep himself alive long enough to say goodbye to his son, his last hope.
[hr][/hr]
Ben saw the second lightsaber cut through the warriors surrounding him, with such precision he could not believe it. Then a heartbeat later he felt a pain ripe through his stomach that he was sure he had been shot, but when he looked down at the spot he saw clean tunic lacking any sort of charcoal hole. In the blink it took him to understand, he spun on his heal and saw his father go down.
''Nooooo!'' It was a cry that echoed the past, the present, and the future. A sorrow that echoed through the Force and became a palpable essence throwing the remaining black clad warriors to their feet.
Heart pounding in his chest, breath coming in rapid gasps, Ben pushed his legs upward and towards his father's killer.
[hr][/hr]
Anakin felt his pulse go as if ice had been inserted into his veins as there was a great disturbance in the Force. One so terrible that it nearly sent Anakin to his knees. Reaching out to the Force he found the source of the disturbance. "Oh, no, Uncle Luke."