DXUN, 40 YEARS ABE:
Revan's blade crashed down on Leia. She barely managed to fling her own lightsaber up in time to stop the blow from taking her head clean off, and several strands of one graying braid evaporated in a curl of bitter smoke.
The strain of holding the ruins of the ancient temple off their heads was wearing on her. Being forced to stand in place while she fought was as well. There were only so many ways to block a blow without lifting one's feet from the floor, and Leia was quickly exhausting every one she knew. Lightsaber combat was meant to be a fluid thing, twisting and weaving through the air at the behest of the Force, a deadly dance of light and speed and movement. It was not meant to be fought in place like this, stiff and tethered tight.
Revan, by contrast, was constrained only by the confines of the tumbled stone around them. The Dark Lord was taking full advantage of the unfairness of their freedom, dancing in and out and battering Leia with snakebite-quick blows then sweeping back out of range before she could retaliate. It was impossible to tell whether or not Revan was sweating beneath that ancient helmet, but they moved like someone fresh and alert and confident that they would never reach the limits of their strength.
Leia...Leia was tired.
Unlike Revan, her focus was also split. The Dark Lord had come here alone and had nothing but the battle in front of them to concentrate upon, while Leia had an injured husband to fret over and absent children for whom to worry.
Han clawed at the rim of the altar for purchase and pulled himself up groggily to a sitting position. He slumped back against the cold, carved stone and blinked at the blurry lights of the duel.
"Sweetheart?" he called, his voice hoarse.
"Doing great," Leia lied. "You?"
"Been better," he said, blinking the world back into focus and looking around.
"See my generosity?" Revan taunted. "I let him live for you, for now."
"I'll have my droid compose a proper note of gratitude as soon as I'm back in my office."
Han rubbed his head and muttered something about not even Threepio knowing enough curse words for the occasion, and Revan spared him a moment's glance and a soft chuckle.
Leia's blade leaped out, trying to take advantage of the moment of distraction, but the Dark Lord battered it away carelessly.
Then it was Revan's turn to go on the attack, first with a vicious cut from the side. Leia got her lightsaber down in time to block it but had to extend a foot backwards to brace herself; the shift in position moved her outstretched hand a few centimeters and a trickle of dust and pebbles poured down on them all from the makeshift ceiling as the stones shifted.
Han looked up, decided there wasn't anything he could do about the potentially lethal collapse of the citadel on top of them, and looked down again. He spotted his broken blaster and hauled it into his lap. The old DL-44 hadn't done him much good against Revan even before being slammed into the wall, but Han had spent his whole life fighting opponents who outmatched him. He wasn't about to stop now.
"Surrender is an option," Revan offered mockingly. "I am the greatest warrior of the last age and the next; recognizing the inevitable is a sign of wisdom, not cowardice."
"Sorry," Leia drawled, her dry tone strained by the exertion of the battle but still biting, "but I've made kind of a lifestyle out of winning losing battles. I'd hate to break my streak now."
Revan laughed, the soft sound echoing harshly off the fallen stones. "You are a brave Jedi Princess, I will give you that. But you are not the first of your kind I have met, and you will not be the one to defeat me now." A savage overhead blow staggered Leia, shifting more stone dust loose to rain down on them all. Revan curled both hands tight around the hilt of that bright red humming lightsaber and pushed, making Leia wobble. She strained to hold her blade up one-handed, eyes darting once nervously towards the unstable ceiling.
"We'll see," she said, and gathered herself for a desperate push against the slowly descending red blade. She twisted her saber sideways around Revan's, throwing both their blades wide, but Revan broke free by simply stepping away. Leia, trapped in place by the grinding stones overhead, could not pursue to press the attack.
The Dark Lord circled her, lightsaber held low, prowling for another opening.
Leia pulled her feet back into place, gritted her teeth, and raised her blade to block the next blow. Their lightsabers crashed together with a fresh burst of light and noise while the shadows flickered around them.