Chapter Twenty-Six: Coruscant: Duels
Poe was torn. Kaila was facing off against her ex-boyfriend- one of the Knights of Ren- and he was unable to help her.
Even if he didn't have to look for General Calrissian, he doubted there was anything he could do. He was amazing in the air. No one could stop him. He was fair in a fight. He had seen enough scrapes and come out on top... But against a Dark Side Force User? He had no chance and he knew it. He still remembered what happened to him against Kylo Ren. How had to watch Lor San Tekka cut down, the stormtroopers razing the village.
A brief, horrible thought entered his mind. What if he were forced to watch Kaila cut down?
Even just thinking about it caused him to become nauseous. Watching someone he cared about- no, someone he loved- killed while he watched had quickly become a fear of his. He'd only just met Lor San Tekka, but it had been horrific to watch him executed. But the person he'd put his mother's ring on?
No, he wasn't going to think about that. Kaila would be able to take care of herself. He needed to focus on the mission.
He was no longer circulating the party with any finesse. He was determined to find Calrissian. He weaved through the people, most of whom were confused by what they'd witnessed with the two Force Users.
As Poe approached the bar, he heard a deep voice chuckle. "Haven't seen something like that in years ."
His dark hair was slicked back and his moustache had gone white, but he was unmistakable with his blue cape and large smile. "General Calrissian," Poe stepped up to the man flirting with the bartender.
General Calrissian turned to Poe. He held up a finger. "Be with you in a minute, Kid." He turned back to the bartender.
"I don't have a minute." Poe grabbed a hold of Calrissian's shoulder, turning him. "I'm Poe Dameron. You knew my parents."
Calrissian blinked. "Dameron..." He looked over Poe. "You're Shara's boy. I haven't seen you since..."
"Her funeral," Poe replied. "Sir, I need to speak with you right away."
"Calm down," Calrissian replied. "Let me get you a drink. Jari, a glass of smooth Corellian whiskey for my friend here."
"Thank you, but no thanks." Poe leaned in towards Calrissian. "Listen, my girlfriend just threw herself off that balcony to get one of the Knights of Ren out of here. And she says I'm not allowed to rescue her until I retrieve you. Now are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way?"
Calrissian sighed and smiled at the bartender. He waved his hand. "Okay, I'm done..." He walked towards the door. "Come on, Kid. Your girl just pulled that stunt? She's a Jedi?"
Poe nodded. "Yes sir."
Lando paused. "But you-"
Poe shook his head. "No sir."
Lando considered that statement for a moment. "You must not win a lot of arguments. So what are a Jedi and the son of some of my Endor compatriots doing here?" He sighed. "Leia sent you, didn't she?"
"You haven't been answering her messages. After Crait... She was worried. She thought there was no way you would have left her out to."
Lando looked away. He stroked his moustache. "Yeah... Well... I couldn't get there. I had some problems getting off planet."
"Problems?" Poe repeated. "What kind of problems?"
"I lost my ship," Calrissian replied. "I had some bad hands of Sabaac and the Lady Luck is currently- temporarily- in the possession of Dominic Raynor. And I haven't had the credits to buy it back from him or get transport off planet."
Poe blinked. He then shook his head. "You haven't contacted General Organa because you're broke?"
"Having a string of bad luck," Calrissian insisted. "Sometimes the cards are with you and sometimes..." He threw his hands up in the air.
"How are you staying at the fanciest hotel in the galaxy without any credits?" Poe sighed. "You're scamming them, aren't you?"
"Scam is such a harsh word." Calrissian pat Poe on the shoulder. "Waiting for my luck to turn around."
"Well, your luck's just turned around. I've got a ship that can take you to Leia. Now if you please-"
"Right." Lando nodded. "So what are we going to do for your girl?"
Poe raised his communicator. "I got Calrissian. How are you doing?"
"In the middle of something," Kaila's voice was strained. "Just get back to the ship. I'll meet you there."
"Babe..."
"Just do it!"
"Come on," Poe jerked his head towards the door. "Let's get to the speeder."
"You're just going to listen to her?" Lando questioned. "You really don't ever get to win an argument, do you?"
The air was thin and heavily polluted. Kaila was having trouble drawing breath. Her lightsaber clashed against Kyps, creating purple sparks. The airspeeder driver swerved, off balance due to the fight that was happening just feet away.
It had been too long since she'd fought with a lightsaber. She hadn't even been around another lightsaber wielder for years before she'd picked up Ben. The most sparring she had was with a training droid.
Truth be told, she had never been in this situation before. She'd never faced a Dark Side User in a head-to-head battle. She swiped her lightsaber at him, very nearly catching him in the chest, but he jumped back enough to miss it. "Kyp, you don't want to do this!" Kaila cried out.
"My name is Exar Ren. I am the leader of the Knights of Ren," Kyp smashed his blade up against Kaila's. "I'm not some pathetic wretch like Ben Solo. I won't fail."
He pushed hard on the lightsabers, pressing the blade down... Down... down... The pressure caused Kaila's blade to graze against her left arm. She cried out as the flesh began to burn away.
She yanked her arm out of the way and disengaged her lightsaber. The sudden loss of resistance caused Kyp to lose his balance. He wobbled unsteadily. Kaila swiped her foot out, catching him behind the ankle. He yelled as he tumbled off the airspeeder and towards the ground below.
She was sure he would be able to survive. But for now, it was enough. She would be able to get away. Kaila sighed in relief, but she didn't remain idle long. She jumped- aided with the Force- onto the hood of an airspeeder heading back towards the hotel. She clipped her lightsaber back to her holster and covered her wounded arm with her hand. She jumped off in front of the hotel. Poe and General Calrissian had just stepped out.
"Didn't know if you'd still be here," she smiled tiredly at Poe. "We should probably not hang around long."
Poe strode to her wordlessly. He cupped her face and kissed her deeply, passionately. He then tenderly took her arm, looking at the wound. "You're hurt again."
"Yeah." Kaila shook her head sadly. "I nearly lost your mom's ring."
"And the rest of your arm," Poe added. "Is this what the rest of our lives are going to be? Me taking care of you after you do something stupid and heroic?"
"The rest of our lives?" Kaila repeated, arching a brow. She then kissed him on the cheek. "I'm sure I'll be taking care of you soon enough. You're just as stupid and heroic. It's just been a little off-balance lately." She pulled back and nodded to General Calrissian. "General Calrissian."
"Hello..." General Calrissian took hold of her right hand, bringing it to his lips. "What do we have here? For someone who has just be fighting a Knight of Ren you are a vision. I'm Lando."
"I know," Kaila replied. "General Calrissian, it's me. Kaila. Kaila Syndulla."
General Calrissian immediately dropped her hand. "Kaila Syndulla."
Kaila nodded.
"Hera's daughter."
Kaila nodded again.
"You used to babysit Ben Solo."
Kaila shrugged. "Still do."
Lando looked Kaila over before rubbing his forehead. "Do yourself a favour, kids... Don't get old."
"The First Order would very much like us to take that advice," Poe said, gesturing to the airspeeder. "Me, I'm not too hot on the idea. So if you'd please get in. I just hope everyone else will be at the ship when we get there."
"You can still back out of this," Ben insisted to the Hand. After the first clash of saber, he'd backed off of her. They were now in a holding pattern, Ben getting into fighting stance while the Hand crouched low and glowered at him.
The Hand didn't listen. She sprang out of her crouch and raced towards him. She was so fast, she must have been using the Force. Rather than strike him down immediately, she met his blade and shoved her boot hard into his knee, pushing herself back. Ben felt the agonizing pain of the tendons tearing. He stumbled, his lightsaber going wild and hitting the side of the building, tearing through some of the bricks.
The Hand skidded across the ground, still ready to fight. Ben panted, trying to calm the pain in his leg. He didn't have to fight her. He didn't have to give in to Kylo Ren. He just needed to give Rey enough time to get away with the Younglings.
It was agony to run, but Ben broke off in the opposite direction. He didn't care about the pain. He'd felt pain for years at the hands of Snoke. He'd been taught to ignore it. He needed to get the Hand away from her home. Give Rey the time she needed. He led her down a narrow alley between two dilapidated buildings. He was trapping himself, letting her get him into a corner. This was not how Kylo Ren fought.
But maybe it was how Ben Solo fought.
He heard the crunch of her boots behind him. She was in no hurry. She was confident in her skills. She had been trained by Darth Sidious himself.
But he had been trained by Luke Skywalker and Snoke.
Raising his hand, Ben brought the wall of one of the buildings down on top of her. Dust and debris filled the air as bricks tumbled down onto the woman. Ben kept his lightsaber out and felt with the Force. She wasn't dead. It wasn't enough to kill her. Just enough to immobilized her. A bloodied hand pushed out of the rubble, creating a gap. He could see one emerald eye and a silver of bloodstained face.
Some might have mistaken the action for helplessness. Ben knew that is was a trap. Something to lure him into a sense of superiority to his foe. He would show no mercy. He couldn't. She would take that mercy and make him pay for it. He brought his lightsaber down, ready to ignite it through the hole, right through her skull.
The rubble erupted as if a detonator had gone off, the Force sending bricks and fragments all over the alley. Ben was knocked back from the power of it, his body battered by the debris. He needed to get to his feet and face her. She was still injured, but she was like a wounded animal: ready to tear out his throat if he gave her the chance.
Ben ignited his lightsaber once again as she leapt at him. He cut her across the cheek, but didn't see the vibroblade in her left hand. It caught him just under the jaw. He threw out a hand and sent her crashing into what was left of the brick wall. This hardly slowed her down and she kept coming in for the attack.
He hurled debris at her with the Force, but she continued to come for him. She jumped onto his back. She was much smaller than him, but her kicking and pulling sent him down to the ground. They rolled along the ground, fighting for dominance. Their brawl led them back out of the alley into the main street. He should've had the upper hand. He was huge compared to her. But she kept slicing at him with her vibroblade and Force Pushing him back. His body was aching. When she was on top of him, ready to bring her lightsaber down, he sent her flying back with the Force, sending her into the side of a ventilation duct. She had lost her weapons in the melee. Her head was bowed. Ben approached her, gripping his lightsaber tightly in his hand. She was fighting to get back up.
He approached her, ready to plunge his lightsaber into her chest.
She then raised her head. But... It wasn't.
"Don't do this," Rey's beautiful face pleaded.
It was just a moment's hesitation. But it was enough. Ben felt the stab through his leg. A needle. He fell to the ground. Already the toxin was taking effect, paralyzing his body.
"What have you done?" Ben demanded. "What have you done to me?"
The Hand stood over him. "Don't fight it. Just let go." She raised her lightsaber over her head, ready to bring it down.
Her body jerked forward as the green blade shot through her chest. When it disappeared, her body fell in a heap revealing Rey, her face etched with fury and strength.
And there was one other thing... Love. Ben could see the love in her eyes.