Han was in agony. He could feel the throbbing in his head as he was dragged alongside his screaming daughter. All he wanted to do was crawl to her and embrace her, but he couldn't even move. The blow to his head was hard and his vision was blurry. Where did it all go wrong? The last thing he remembered before ending up on this demonic planet was talking to Finn. They were rushing to get off-planet and Naya was getting Jaina ready. Naya. He was overwhelmed with grief as he thought about what they had done to his wife. Murdered her in cold blood, and he was powerless to protect her. The tears flowed freely down his face. He had to figure out a way to save Jaina.
The Sith cultists dragging him and Jaina had finally stopped in the middle of a large Sith temple. He knew exactly where they were. They were in the Valley of the Dark Lords. There were large monuments which held the crypts of ancient Sith Lords of the past all around them. He and Jaina were in the Moraband execution chamber, a place where Jedi of the past were sacrificed. A hooded Sith Eternal cultist who seemed to be the leader, dragged Jaina to the edge of one of the crypts where there was some sort of opening at the edge of the tomb. She was kicking and screaming but the cult leader's grip on her was too strong. It didn't stop her though, she managed to turn her head and bite down hard on the man's forearm. The man yelled in pain and hit her across the face. Seeing this, the rage clouded Han's very being, and he was able to fight off the two Sith Troopers holding him in place. He rushed to the cult leader and punched him in the face. He managed to reach Jaina and held her tiny cowering form in his arms.
"It'll be okay. I'm here," Han whispered to Jaina, gently wiping the tears off her face before he was dragged away by two other Sith Troopers. They punched him in the gut for good measure before forcing him to his knees. The cult leader had his hood down and his lip was bleeding from when Han punched him, but he didn't seem bothered. He had his eyes closed and arms raised. The other hooded followers followed suit and they began chanting. The sarcophagus they were facing began to glow red. Han was chilled to the bone. They were preparing a resurrection ritual for a Sith spirit and he understood why he was here now. His body was going to be used as a vessel for it, but what did they want with Jaina? The leader suddenly stopped chanting and went over to Han, placing his palm on the top of his head, like he was blessing him, but Han knew it was anything but.
"Your plan to bring Palpatine back will never work. I may have his blood running in my veins and we may be connected but I will fight, and I will not be a willing vessel," Han said, with conviction. The leader smiled chillingly at him.
"It is not Palpatine that we are bringing back. His return was just a means to an end for the Sith Eternal. We are bringing back Lord Plagueis," he said. Han almost felt like throwing up.
"No. You…can't! Why do you need me then?"
"The Sith have tried for generations to create an artificial dyad in the Force but they have always failed. Plagueis taught his apprentice everything he knew about it and Palpatine had tried to use that knowledge to create a dyad between himself and the Chosen One. As we know it failed, but what Palpatine never knew is that Plagueis had tried to create a dyad between him and his apprentice. It failed of course, but a connection was established," the leader explained. He still had his hand on Han's head.
"So that's why you need me. I'm a suitable vessel because I have Palpatine's blood in my veins and Plagueis can use this connection to return," Han said.
"With the added bonus of being a direct product of an actual dyad created by the Force itself, coming from the direct bloodline of the Chosen One. He will be unstoppable."
"Why are you telling me this?" Han asked. The leader smiled.
"Because we need your hate and your fear to consume you. We need you to be filled with the dark side."
"Well, you've failed. I am not afraid, nor am I filled with hate," Han said. The leader then turned his head towards Jaina and began walking towards her.
"In order for the ritual to work, we need a sacrifice. One that shares the same connection with Lord Plagueis. Blood for blood. A life for a life. And since you are needed alive as a vessel…" the leader trailed off, as he stroked Jaina's cheek. He didn't need to finish his sentence. Han knew exactly what the leader meant. His blood went cold, and his head fogged over, he couldn't even remember what he was thinking. All he could think off was crushing the leader and feeling the life leave his eyes if he ever dared touch his daughter. Before he knew what he was doing, he grabbed the blaster from the Sith Trooper beside him and blasted whoever he could that was closest to him. He ran to Jaina and took hold of her hand, pulling her along with him as he ran.
Sith Troopers opened fire on them with stun blasters and he turned around, shooting back, shielding Jaina from the onslaught. He saw the cult leader giving orders, but he looked almost bored, as if he wasn't worried they'd ever escape. Han realised that they were indeed trapped here with nowhere to run. He reached the entrance to the temple, but he kept being assaulted with blaster fire. He started to despair, there was no way they were going to escape this.
Just when Han believed this whole thing was futile, there was blaster fire and the sound of a lightsaber igniting behind him. They were shooting back at the Sith Troopers. He turned around and relief flooded him as he saw Finn and Poe and a handful of Republic soldiers come to their rescue. Finn was directing the Sith Troopers' blaster fire back at them, while Poe was shooting at whoever he could reach. However, Han's elation was short lived when he realised that this was it. This was the rescue party. A handful of soldiers and a lone Jedi against an army. There was no way they would make it.
"Finn?! This is it?! We're not gonna survive!" Han screamed at him, taking cover as he blasted troopers back.
"This is all we could spare! We're preparing for an all-out war with these fools!" Finn yelled back, amidst the blasts. This was not good. Han noticed Jaina, crouched down and trembling with fear. He crouched beside her and held her. He had to protect her. He stood up and pulled Finn beside him as Poe and the other soldiers tried to hold the troopers back.
"Finn, you have to take Jaina and go. We can't hold them. They plan to bring back Plagueis and they need Jaina as a sacrifice," Han said urgently. Poe was beside them and nodded his agreement.
"No, I need to be here to defend you. You won't make it without a Jedi!" Finn protested.
"You have to go! Please, protect my daughter. I can't come with you; they'll notice I'm gone. With us as a distraction, they'll never see you sneak away," Han told Finn.
"You'll die, Han!" Finn said, desperation in his voice. Han looked away.
"Protect my daughter, Finn," was all Han said as he turned back to the firefight and continued blasting troopers. He noticed Poe put a hand on Finn's shoulders before he could argue, which silenced him. He knew deep down Han was right. Most of the soldiers they had with them were already dead. It was only Poe and two others left.
"Daddy no! Please don't leave me!" Jaina suddenly cried out. Her cries hurt Han's heart.
"Jaina. Be strong for me alright? Go with Finn. Remember what I always told you?" Han asked.
"You'll always be with me?"
"I'll always be with you my darling," Han told her. She was still crying but she followed Finn out the temple, trying not to be seen. Han turned to Poe.
"You have to defend them outside. I'll hold the rest of them in here!" Han told him. Poe nodded and rushed outside with Finn. Han knew this was it. It was just him and the two Republic soldiers. He didn't know their names, but he was grateful that they had volunteered to help him. They managed to blast as many soldiers as they could but in the end, the two soldiers were shot down. He knew he was next and braced himself, a trooper brought out a stun blaster and shot him down. He fell into unconsciousness before he even hit the ground.
