Hiya! It's been a month or two lol.
Before we get started I wanted to mention a couple things:
1. Starting in this chapter I am going to start inserting my own story lines and chain of events which could start deviating from the movie.
2. Unlike the movies, I want to explore more on the Knights of Ren as well as Poe's squadron
3. Bantha is basically a Star Wars version of a cow
4. As a reminder, updates are super slow but I am trying to update sooner
Disclaimer: All star wars characters except Klara (and her story line) belong to George Lucas.
Note: This chapter is unedited.
Chapter 11: A Solo Lament Part 1
The landing was rough as they tore through the wilderness and onto the snow-covered terrain. All of them groaned from the impact as they had been jerked forward with their adrenaline slowly fading after they had come to a complete stop. After grabbing what weapons they needed, they quickly shuffled to the hatch as Han began to open it. They were greeted with a piercing coldness that made each of them shiver at the impact of the newly decreased temperature. Once the hatch was open, the light reflected easily off the snow and bounced into their eyes, making each of them squint until their eyes adjusted to the brightness.
Finally adjusting her eyes to her new surroundings, Klara paused as she was walking down the ramp. She could feel the planet cry through the Force. It knew its fate, Klara thought. This planet knew what was going to happen to it. She could feel it in the air, and she was certain that whatever animals still existed on this planet knew as well. The thought saddened her forcing her to let out a sigh.
"Cutting it a little close, don't you think?" Klara heard Finn yell.
She turned her attention to Finn commenting on Han's landing job, her feet carrying her to where he stood. Feet crunching with every step she took in the snow; she came to a halt where Finn peered over. She let out a low whistle from the edge of the cliff, noting just how far down they could have gone had they teetered off the edge. The thought made her chuckle as she turned towards Finn.
"Trust me, in comparison to his other many crazy stunts he's pulled, this is nothing." She laughed out as she patted Finn's back with encouragement. "Let's go." She motioned him and they made their way to Han and Chewie, whom were still near the hatch opening.
Knowing the rush and just how far they had to trek before they could even enter the base, the group broke out into a sprint towards their destination. Klara felt the crisp air whip her face as they ran, her body fighting against the cold. As she ran, she could see the huffs of air Finn drew as he led them closer towards an outpost that became more visible as they drew closer.
"The flooding tunnel is over that ridge. We'll get in that way." Finn huffed out and turned to face Han as they gathered to the corner of the outpost.
"What was your job when you were based here?" Han questioned out of pure curiosity.
"Sanitation." Finn stated stoically.
"What?" Klara questioned, slightly alarmed as she and Han shared a concerned look.
Klara watched as Han grabbed the collar of Finn's jacket and pushed him against the building. "Sanitation?!" He exasperated. "Then how do you know how to disable the shields?"
"I don't. I'm just here to get Rey." Finn pleaded.
Klara's irritation flared at his comment before she went up and jabbed her finger onto his chest, blocking Han in which he released Finn. "Listen, buddy." She gave him a glare. "I get you want to save Rey; we all want to save her, but that doesn't give you the right to straight up lie to our faces to pursue a selfish, and might I add, stupid, desire to save someone you just met without a damn clue as to how to disable the shields?" Klara finished as she watched Finn's face contort between anger and guilt.
Han slightly pulled her away from Finn, to ease the building tension. She obliged but huffed in irritation, folding her arms across her chest. "People are counting on us. The galaxy is counting on us." Han stressed.
"Solo, we'll figure it out." Finn paused in thought. "We'll use the Force."
Klara let out a frustrated chuckle, already done with this conversation, as she moved to peer across the ridge they were going to cross.
"That's not how the Force works." Han drawled out in annoyance.
Klara pulled out her monocular from her pouch that was attached to her hip, and scoped out the ridge, making sure it would be clear for them to walk across. As she continued to investigate, she heard Chewie complain about being cold which brought a chuckle from her lips. She was tunning out the continued argument between Han and Finn, hearing her name mentioned a couple times in the argument but chose to ignore and focus on her task. Just as she was about to be satisfied it was safe to cross, she caught something black from the corner of her eyes. She removed the monocular to make sure she was seeing it right before pulling it back to her eyes.
"Um, guys." She called out, grabbing their attention. "We might have a slight problem."
The group rushed up to her and she handed Han her monocular for him to peer. It did not take long for him to spot what she was seeing. "Yeah, I'd say that could be a problem." He stated handing the monocular to Finn.
Finn quickly peered through the monocular and his breath hitched from what he saw. "There's no way we can get around that thing. That's a Spider Probe." He stated with irritation as he handed Klara back her monoscope. "That thing will see us coming as soon as we get down there and alert the base."
"And you didn't think of this before?" Han argued.
"I didn't think one would be on this side." Finn stated in defense. "We have to find another location to get in, this was the easiest, but it can't be helped."
"There's no time for that. I will just have to shoot it from here." Han stated as he aimed his blaster, readying to shoot.
"Wait!" Klara yelled slightly as her hand shot up to his blaster to move it down. "No offense Han, you may be a good shooter but you're no sharpshooter."
"Then what do you suppose we do?" Finn questioned, annoyed. "We have to try."
"And we will." Klara paused as she started to relax her mind. "I will take care of it."
"What are you-" Finn started but she tuned him out.
Klara relaxed her mind, closing her eyes, and furthered herself deeper into the Force. She had not done this in such a long time, and she was out of practice. In and out. Her breathing regulated, calmed, as she felt the Force hum around her with energy. She had done this countless of times while training, so it should not be too hard for her to do it from this far of a distance. She hoped at least, and that was all she needed. Opening her eyes, knowing the Force was with her, she outstretched her hand towards the droid's location and focused on it. She focused on the energy surrounding it and held it in place. Even from a distance she could see the droid struggle. Klara focused on the energy around the droid and started closing her hand slowly. The closer her fingers reached her palms, the more the droid crushed under the Force. Once her fingers reached her palms, she slowly turned her closed fist upright and continued to crush it inward towards itself. She then pulled her hand slightly towards her before forcing it back out, opening her hands, and sending the droid crushing into the small mountain behind it.
She let out a breath and turned towards the men. "Problem solved, now let's get moving." Klara stated simply as she started to trek down to the ridge.
"Remind me to never get on her bad side." Klara heard Finn say to Han in which she chuckled under her breath.
Once inside, the change of temperature was very much welcomed among the group, especially for Klara. Her small build was not meant to endure such freezing temperatures for long. A shiver ran through her body in the aftermath of the cold draining from her as they walked towards the lift Finn had instructed they use.
A bad feeling was eating away at Klara the closer they got to their destination. A feeling that she felt involved Ben and whatever misfortune he would cause on their stay here. She glanced at Han as they entered the lift, taking in his rugged look he continued to wear for as long as she knew him. She never really took the time to realize just how much he and Leia have aged in her absence from their lives. The thought made her mind wander to her father and how much he would have aged in her absence. Klara won't lie and say she didn't miss the days before all this chaos happened. When Ben and she were still training along with the others under her fathers teachings. When Leia was part of the New Republic as a senator before Senator Carise Sindian revealed her true heritage that got her humiliated and disowned. When her father and her were close and almost inseparable. When they all could genuinely smile. But those days were gone. They were gone and replaced with this darkness that has their hopes slowly diminishing.
Klara let out a sigh.
Being here now, and close to Ben, she knew he could sense them both here. She also knew that he would seek Han out. His rage for his father was nothing like his rage for her father, but she could still feel that anger he held towards his own father. It was understandable but Han tried to be the best father her could be to Ben. Even after all the destruction Ben has caused, she knew that Han's love for his son would never waiver. Just like it wouldn't for Leia. And for these reasons, Klara felt that she should seek Ben out to deter him from encountering Han. She wasn't sure how far Ben would go, if he would kill his father or not, but she didn't want to take the chance.
"I think it's best if I went after…" Klara paused glancing at Finn as he gave her a curious look, "Kylo Ren."
"What?!" Finn yelled.
Klara glanced at Han to see him having his full attention on her. They were both having some sort of silent communication, not taking notice of Finn glancing back and forth between the two.
"Klara, I don't know if you know this, but that guy is insane. He is not, and I repeat, not, to be messed with." Finn tried to reason with her.
Sighing, Klara turned her attention to Finn. "Look, he knows we are here and will start to make his way towards us. It's only logical that I move to find him to give you guys more time. I can handle him." Klara smirked. "I'm not a Jedi for nothing. I will be able to sense him like he senses us, and that will guide me to his whereabouts."
Chewie let out a complain to Klara after she finished. She chuckled slightly at his concern.
"No, you need to stay here with Han, Chewie. Make sure this old Bantha doesn't get himself into trouble." Klara replied.
The Wookie shrugged knowing that Klara was right.
Han stepped closer to Klara, holding out his hand to her. She looked down and grabbed the comlink he was offering to her. "As soon as we are done, we will inform you and then you get your ass out of there."
Klara nodded, pocketing the comlink.
The lift finally reached its destination and the door slid open, revealing a stormtrooper that had them all facing front and center, ready to attack. The Wookie was quicker to react, and after a startled "hey" from the trooper, Chewie fired quicker than Klara could blink.
Stepping forward, they all started to leave the lift.
"The longer we're here, the less luck we are going to have." Han pushed, glancing around. "The shields?"
"I have an idea about that." Finn motioned.
Klara glanced around, feeling the Force and trying to find Ben's Force signature. She glanced in the opposite direction Finn had motioned the group go to. "I feel his signature this way." Klara called out. "I will rendezvous with you as soon as you guys are finished."
Han nodded. "Stay safe kid."
"Oh, you know me." Klara chuckled before departing.
Klara snuck around the base, following Ben's Force signature. She sought cover whenever she heard stormtroopers march by her. Although she was a skilled Jedi, she wasn't stupid enough to waltz through these halls filled with stormtroopers and make a commotion. It has always been said that one jedi is equivalent to that of an army, but in truth, that was always over-exaggerated. It could simply take one skilled stormtrooper to kill a jedi. However, most of these stormtroopers were far from skilled. The imperial royal guards were the only soldiers that could stand a chance against a Jedi. Although times have changed and as has their name, they could still very much be a threat. They were trained to fight against Force users.
Klara was so focused on trying to find Ben that she didn't realize someone was behind her as she paced through the halls until it was too late. A shockwave of kinetic energy sent her flying to the nearest wall, forcing the air out of her lungs upon impact. She fell immediately to the ground, trying to catch her breath and fight through the pain, no doubt from her ribs. Klara immediately glared at the cause of her pain.
"My, my, it is indeed my lucky day." A muffled male's voice sounded, sadistically. "And a pretty little Jedi at that."
There before here stood one of the Knights of Ren and she almost laughed. She had come across them before with Ben, and they tried to lure him to the dark side then. The Force seems to work in mysterious ways, Klara thought. She grunted as she stood up, now facing her perpetrator as her hand slid to her lightsaber.
"I was hoping I'd never see the likes of you and your band of miscreants again." Klara spat out as she engaged her lightsaber on and getting into a defensive stance.
The Knight was cladded in armor and of course it was in all black. He wore a helmet, similar to that of the other Knights of Ren. Klara noticed his weapon of choice: a war club. Her father had briefly explained to her when they first came across them that they all were Force sensitive to the dark side. When her father had briefly fought them, he had mentioned that they were untrained in the ways of the Force and heavily relied on their weapons and hardly ever accessed the Force. This put Klara at an advantage.
Tilting his head to the side in thought, he hefted his weapon over his shoulder. "Ah, you are that Jedi from those many years before. How…tasty." He drawled out and it sent shivers though Klara.
"We don't have to fight. Just let me through." Klara tried to reason knowing that it wouldn't do anything.
The Knight lifted his hand and shook it back and forth with his finger up. "Tsk, tsk. Jedi's and their need for peace over battle." Klara could hear him imitate a gag through his mask. "You lot are always so depressing." He grunted out and lunged at Klara.
Klara reacted immediately and blocked his attack. Surprise ran through her when his weapon didn't break upon impact from her lightsaber. The Knight saw this and pushed her back and watched as she slightly stumbled.
"Cortosis Ore is very helpful when it comes to dealing with Force users or lightsabers." The Knight said as he ran his hand along his blade. "You'll find that when dealing with our 'band of miscreants' that we are always prepared against Force users."
The Knight lunged again at Klara, and she rolled to the side, hoping to strike him from behind, but he was quick to react. Her lightsaber met his war club and as she pushed against him, he pushed just as much.
"I could never understand the use of a lightsaber." The Knight grumbled out. "You could never see your enemies bleed out. The death is much too quick for my liking." He swung at her again and she ducked under his weapon, narrowly missing the blade.
Klara used the force to rip out the metal slating from the wall and threw it at the Knight. Before it could hit him, he shielded himself by putting his war club in front of him before he was thrown against the wall. Klara twirled her lightsaber in her hand as she watched him push the metal slating off him and shook himself off, swiping at his shoulder.
"I like you, pretty Jedi." He drawled out slowly and almost seductively. "What is your name?" When Klara didn't reply, he chuckled. "Ushar is my name."
"Why would I care to know your name?" Klara scoffed.
"So you can scream my name as you beg for mercy." Ushar growled out as he slammed his war club on the ground.
Klara shielded her eyes as she was sent flying against the wall again from the kinetic energy that was released. She had to admit that she was not a fan of being thrown against the wall. She grunted as she found her balance and swiped at her mouth as she felt hot liquid release from her gritted teeth, no doubt from her insides screaming about being crushed so many times.
Klara lunged at him again, her lightsaber meeting his war club. It was like a dance between blades as they crossed each other, each one trying to dominate the other. She found an opening in his swing and used the Force to Force push him back but was surprised when he didn't budge an inch. He chuckled and kicked her leg causing her to lose balance and fall. Ushar didn't waste a second before his war club came slamming down on her laying form. She easily blocked it but grunted at the force of the impact. From her position, his weapon was gaining more distance closer to her vital areas. With a grunt, Klara kicked him enough to stumble him back and kick herself up. She reached for her mother's light saber and ignited it.
"Now we are talking." Ushar chuckled manically.
Dual wielding, she started to attack him and with each attack, he only managed to block. Ushar was indeed a challenging foe. Just as challenging when it came to fighting against another Jedi from her training and almost as challenging as Ben.
Then something happened.
She felt a tug in the Force. A loss. A life taken and a life given to the Force. It cried out to Klara and the waive of this loss slammed into her. It overwhelmed her so much that she was barely able to miss Ushars attack. She dogged to the side but not without the blade coming into contact with her arm. She felt it slice through her skin, ripping away at the cells that held her skin together as fire erupted drawing a hiss from her mouth. Her first instinct was to secure her hand over the wound, but both her hands were occupied.
"What's wrong little Jedi?" Ushar drawled out as he attacked her. Klara blocked his attack with both of her lightsabers crossed. The force of his attack sent another waive of pain through her injured arm, but Klara pushed the pain away.
As they continued to fight, Klara heard her commlink go off but ignored it. She knew what it meant, and she had to finish up here.
Ushar swung his war club down to the ground to send another kinetic wave, but this time Klara was prepared, knowing what this move signified. After she connected her lightsabers together, freeing one hand, she focused on the energy sent her way and used to Force to create a shield in which the kinetic wave traveled around her. Looking above her, Klara used the Force and pulled another metal slating from the roof of the hallway down onto Ushar. He dogged out of the way and was about to attack when a shockwave coursed throughout the building, making them both tumble around and the ground shook. They both looked around their surroundings as warning lights began to erupt with sound.
She watched as Usher equipped his weapon behind him. "Well, it would seem we will have to continue this fight later, pretty Jedi." He started to run away but not before turning around to face her. "That is, if you make it out alive." He snickered as Klara watched him swing at the controls near him, which caused the blast doors she had come from to shut between them.
Klara disengaged her lightsabers, taking them apart and hooking them up on their designated location on her waist. She could hear explosions emit around her as she focused on using the Force to pry the doors open. Once they were open, Klara made a run for it, retracing her steps from which she came from. She got to the lift and thanked the Force that the area had yet to sustain much damage as she punched the button for it to lead her out.
It didn't take her long to be met with the harsh temperatures outside and was met with a full-on aerial battle in the sky, and the base on fire and about to meet its destruction.
"Kriff." Klara cursed out loud to herself. She pulled out her comlink and put it close to her mouth. "I'm sorry I was delayed, are you guys back at the Falcon?" Klara questioned as she began to run through the snow to where she last knew where the Falcon was. She was met with silence and began to panic. "Come in guys, I repeat, I am out of the base and currently headed towards the Falcon, are you guys out yet?" Klara repeated herself. She paused in her trek when she was met again with silence. If they were still inside, Klara had to go back in and find them. "I repeat, I am out of the base. Are you guys at the Falcon?"
Klara cursed to herself again and started to turn back to the base when she heard an airship fly by her before turning around to hover close to her. It was the Falcon. She watched as the hatch lowered and was greeted by Rey.
"Hurry!" She waved Klara to enter. "We have to go!"
Klara didn't need to be told twice as she ran and jumped into the Flacon with Rey closing the hatch after she entered. Klara took a moment to catch her breath before speaking. "The others?"
She watched as Rey gave her a somber look and Klara finally pieced together what had happened earlier through the Force.
Han was gone.
Authors Corner:
Honestly, I what hard for me to decide on whether to keep Han alive or kill him off like they did in the movie. I followed the movie because this is the turning point for Ben. Killing his father is supposed to make him feel better, to dive deeper to the dark side, but he soon realizes that's no the case.
How did you guys like Ushar? He is only one of the 6 Knights of Ren. I do plan to dive into their origin soon.
