******************************
Chapter Thirteen: Acts of Sacrifice
*
Luke Skywalker regained consciousness in time to see Obi-Wan flung against the bulkhead by a force push from the Emperor. The young Jedi hoped his Father's mentor would quickly get back up, but the older Jedi was knocked unconscious by the blow from hitting the bulkhead.
He watched in horror as the Emperor turned back to his Father, the latter trying to get up from the floor. The Emperor said something, then unleashed force lightening once again at his Father and knocked him back to the ground.
"There must be something I can do," thought Luke. "But the Emperor is just so powerful."
"Son," said Anakin wearily through the force. "Obi-Wan's light saber. Call for it when the time is right. I will distract the Emperor."
Luke searched the deck of the room, and found Obi-Wan's discarded light saber, laying on the ground not far from the unconscious, older Jedi. He now waited for the right moment to strike.
Anakin was very weak from the Emperor's barrage of force lightening, which had been pouring into him off and on for several minutes. He called upon the force, pulling on every ounce of will power and strength that he had, to put up one last fight against the Emperor's dark power. He was able to pull himself off of the floor, and stretched forth his hand.
A force shield formed around Anakin, and refracted some of the force lightening back at the Emperor. Palpatine screamed and fell backwards on the ground from the shock of being struck by his own destructive energy.
Anakin rose up from the floor, and marched towards the Emperor. The latter rose up quickly from the ground, and unleashed his lightening once again on his Jedi nemesis. Anakin stretched out through the force and once again refracted the force lightening, causing the Emperor to block his own power being directed back at him. Jedi and Sith fought a duel of energy with one another, with the Jedi weakening fast.
Luke saw the opportunity to strike withering away with each passing moment. He hesitated, but then heard his Father, barely calling out through the force. "Now," he said.
The young Jedi stretched forth his hand, and called Obi-Wan's light saber to him. He then leapt off of the ground, using the force to propel him through the air towards the Emperor. As he came down again, Luke activated his saber and swung it towards the Emperor. Palpatine did not see Luke coming until it was too late.
Luke plunged his light saber into the Emperor. The latter screamed in agony as the blade protruded into his chest. In a last desperate defense, Palpatine force pushed Luke back to the floor. But Anakin was upon Palpatine in moments, summoning the light saber from Luke's hand to his own.
"For Naboo, and the Jedi Order," said Anakin, as he sliced into the Emperor's robes. By the time the blade came through the other side, the Emperor's form had disappeared, consumed in death by the force itself.
Anakin stood with the light saber in his hand, still activated, for a few moments, absorbing the magnitude of what had just happened. But then, his strength left him, and he collapsed to the deck, the light saber deactivating on the way down.
"Father!" yelled Luke, getting up from the ground and rushing to his Father's side. He found his Father unconscious on the ground, his pulse very weak. Luke was about to reach out with the force to scan his Father and determine the full extent of his condition, but he heard a female voice behind him.
"Ani!" said Padme, weakly.
She dragged herself off of the deck, and stumbled over to her husband and son. Padme fell to her knees, and gently stroked Anakin's face.
"Luke, is he..." she began.
"He's alive," said Luke. "Barely. I need to reach into the force to find out more."
He closed his eyes, and meditated on the force, his hands on his Father. In his mind, he could see his Father's life force, and it was quickly slipping away.
Luke opened his eyes, and tears began to run down his cheek. "He's dying," he said. "There's nothing we can do."
**
Ralla sat behind the controls of the Millennium Falcon, joining the rebel fighters on the assault on the Emperor's flag ship. They were flying at extremely low level, so the other star destroyers couldn't fire on them without hitting the Emperor's ship. However, they had other problems, because Imperial fighters were pursuing them.
"Red six and eight," said the Rebel commander over the comm. "Hold off those fighters that got through green group. Millennium Falcon, assist them."
"Yes, sir," said Ralla, turning the Falcon hard about to engage the enemy fighters.
She blasted one out of the sky, then turned to attack another. In the meantime, she heard the rebel pilots over the comm, reporting the damage they were inflicting on the destroyer. They had taken out the bridge deflector shields, and were making torpedo strikes on the command section of the ship.
***
"We're almost to the shuttle," said Wedge, as he led Chewie and Han through the corridors of the ship. They met light resistance along the way, because of the distraction caused by the attacking Rebel ships. Every once and a while, the ship shook underneath the Rebel infiltrators as their friends outside scored sizable hits on the massive Imperial vessel.
Han was carrying an unconscious Leia in his arms, relying on the other two to provide them cover. After Leia had been shot, and collapsed into Han's waiting arms, he charged the storm troopers with two blasters in a fit of rage. He killed most of them, while Chewie and Wedge covered him and kept him from getting killed in the rash action. The other storm troopers who were left decided on a quick retreat, allowing the Rebels to escape.
"FASTER!" yelled Han. "Must go faster! She's dying!"
"We're going as fast as we can!" yelled Wedge. "And we still have to wait for the others before we can go!"
"Well they had better hurry up, because I wouldn't give this ship ten more minutes before our buddies outside blast it to hell!" yelled Han. "And I don't think Leia has too much longer, either! But the medical kit on the shuttle might have stuff to help her!"
****
"NO!" yelled Padme. "He can't! Not after...everything!"
She cupped Anakin's face in her hands and began to cry. "Ani! Please, don't leave me!"
"Luke," said a weak voice from behind them.
Luke turned around, and saw Obi-Wan pulling himself up off of the floor.
"Obi-Wan," said Luke, running over to help him up. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," he said. "But Anakin..."
The older Jedi joined Luke and Padme beside the unconscious form of Anakin. Obi-Wan placed his hands on Anakin, and like Luke, felt Anakin's life force draining away quickly.
"He is dying," said Obi-Wan.
"Isn't there anything we can do?" asked Padme.
"The force lightening," said Obi-Wan. "It has drained his life energy, his essence. It has damaged him greatly." He was silent for a few moments, as if in contemplation of what he needed to do. Finally, he closed his eyes, and said. "There may be a way. But, I need to be alone with him for a few moments. Luke, take your Mother and wait for me at the shuttle."
"I won't leave him!" said Luke.
"You must," said Obi-Wan. "It may be the only way to save him! No, do as I say, young Luke. Take your Mother and go."
Luke and Padme rose and went towards the door to the throne room. Obi-Wan watched them go, silently, and smiled. "Good bye, my friends," he whispered.
He then turned back to his former Padawan, placed his hands on him, and closed his eyes. Obi-Wan opened himself up to the force, and went into a deep meditative trance.
Everything went black for a few moments, but then Obi-Wan could see a light beginning to fill his thoughts. Everything became white all around him, and he stood in the middle of it, basked in the glow of the light side of the force itself. Ahead of him, facing away from him, he could see Anakin, walking towards a great swirling blue vortex.
"Anakin," called out Obi-Wan.
Anakin stopped his approach towards the vortex, and turned to face Obi-Wan. The former had a serene look on his face, as if he knew that death was fast approaching, but instead of frightening him, the knowledge filled him with peace.
"Master," he said. "What are you doing here?"
"I've come to save you, my former Padawan," said Obi-Wan. "I will not allow you to die."
Anakin smiled. "You can't stop it, old friend. The force beckons me to become one with it."
Obi-Wan approached Anakin, and stood face to face with him. "But someone else has called for you not to go," said Obi-Wan. He then recalled a memory from his mind, and projected that into Anakin's thoughts.
In his thoughts, Anakin could now see the form of his beautiful Padme, kneeling over his body, screaming for him not to leave her. He also saw Luke, struggling to hold back the tears as he watched his Father die, knowing there was nothing he could do to prevent it.
"Are you going to leave them?" asked Obi-Wan.
"I don't want to," said Anakin, now unsure of the serenity of what awaited him on the other side. He really didn't want to be apart from Padme, but how could he be with her? Then, Anakin saw in his thoughts what Obi-Wan was thinking, and knew what his former Master was planning.
"NO!" yelled Anakin. "You can't! You'll die! I won't allow it!"
"Anakin," said Obi-Wan, "I know we have not always been on the best of terms. I almost lost you to Palpatine's evil once, but you overcame it, and in the end, you destroyed the foul thing that he was. You have brought balance back to the force. You have earned a better reward than to die while there still could be so many wonderful years ahead with your family, more peaceful years where the threat of Palpatine's evil would no longer be shadowing your lives. Accept this gift from me, Padawan. Accept this last gift from the man who loves you as though you were my own son."
Obi-Wan's image in the force void then closed his eyes, and put his hands on Anakin. The latter resisted at first, but then stopped, knowing that he could not prevent what was about to happen. Suddenly, Obi-Wan's image vanished, and Anakin saw him reappear in the blue vortex that he himself had been approaching not long before. Anakin could now see Obi-Wan, as he once was years ago, standing beside many other forms that had joined him. Qui-Gon Jinn, Yoda, Mace Windu, Luminara Unduli, and the other Jedi Anakin had once known. They all smiled at him, proud of their chosen one for having restored balance to the force, and thus allowing them to be at peace.
Then, Anakin felt himself become heavy, as the vortex disappeared, and as the light gave way to darkness. But the darkness did not stay, as Anakin opened his eyes, now conscious and weak from his near death experience. He moaned, and slowly began to sit up, but stumbled a bit as the deck shook beneath him. Anakin remembered that he was on the Emperor's destroyer, and reasoned that it must be under attack. He could only guess that Obi-Wan and the others had some kind of plan to bring the Rebels...
"Obi-Wan," said Anakin, with sudden realization and remembrance of what had just happened.
He turned, and saw his Master's robes, lying empty on the ground next to him. Obi-Wan's light saber was also on the deck next to Anakin's body, Luke having left it with its owner. But the Jedi Master was no longer there, having given his life force to Anakin in order to save him. Now, Obi-Wan was one with the force.
"No," whimpered Anakin. He crawled over, and took his Master's robes in his hands. Anakin held them up to his face, and began to weep into them.
"Now's not the time, Padawan," said a voice through the force. "Run, Anakin, run! NOW!"
Anakin rose up from the ground, his former Master's light saber now clipped to his belt. He ran out of the throne room, and through the corridors of the star destroyer. There were Imperial troops and officers running all over the place, but none tried to stop him. They were too busy surviving, as their ship was falling apart around them. As he ran, Anakin reached out through the force, and could sense the damage to the ship. The bridge had been destroyed, and the main reactor had taken a direct hit. It was only a matter of time before the ship blew.
He got to the landing bay, as beams and piling crashed to the ground all around. Anakin saw Luke standing at the bottom of the ramp of an Imperial shuttle. The young man was surprised, but pleased, to see his Father alive. Father and son embraced briefly, before moving to go up the ramp.
"Wait," said Luke. "Obi-Wan..."
"Anakin!" yelled Padme, as she ran down the ramp before he could answer his son's impending question. She flung herself into Anakin's arms. "Thank God, you are alive! Where's..."
"He's gone," said Anakin. "He is one with the force."
"We've got to go, NOW!" yelled Wedge from the cockpit.
Anakin, Padme, and Luke ran up the ramp, as it closed behind them. The shuttle lifted up off of the deck, and flew out of the bay and away from the doomed destroyer. Not long after, a series of massive explosions ripped through the destroyer, and the Emperor's flag ship exploded.
****************************
-The battle may be over, but the story is not. Many questions are still left unanswered. What will happen to the Empire now that the Emperor and Hister are dead? Will peace and the republic now be restored? Will Leia survive her wounds? What is in store for the Skywalkers and their friends now? Don't miss the exciting continuation of this story to find out. In the meantime, please don't forget to post a review if you've got time. I'd love to hear your response to this important chapter, and the story up to now.
Chapter Thirteen: Acts of Sacrifice
*
Luke Skywalker regained consciousness in time to see Obi-Wan flung against the bulkhead by a force push from the Emperor. The young Jedi hoped his Father's mentor would quickly get back up, but the older Jedi was knocked unconscious by the blow from hitting the bulkhead.
He watched in horror as the Emperor turned back to his Father, the latter trying to get up from the floor. The Emperor said something, then unleashed force lightening once again at his Father and knocked him back to the ground.
"There must be something I can do," thought Luke. "But the Emperor is just so powerful."
"Son," said Anakin wearily through the force. "Obi-Wan's light saber. Call for it when the time is right. I will distract the Emperor."
Luke searched the deck of the room, and found Obi-Wan's discarded light saber, laying on the ground not far from the unconscious, older Jedi. He now waited for the right moment to strike.
Anakin was very weak from the Emperor's barrage of force lightening, which had been pouring into him off and on for several minutes. He called upon the force, pulling on every ounce of will power and strength that he had, to put up one last fight against the Emperor's dark power. He was able to pull himself off of the floor, and stretched forth his hand.
A force shield formed around Anakin, and refracted some of the force lightening back at the Emperor. Palpatine screamed and fell backwards on the ground from the shock of being struck by his own destructive energy.
Anakin rose up from the floor, and marched towards the Emperor. The latter rose up quickly from the ground, and unleashed his lightening once again on his Jedi nemesis. Anakin stretched out through the force and once again refracted the force lightening, causing the Emperor to block his own power being directed back at him. Jedi and Sith fought a duel of energy with one another, with the Jedi weakening fast.
Luke saw the opportunity to strike withering away with each passing moment. He hesitated, but then heard his Father, barely calling out through the force. "Now," he said.
The young Jedi stretched forth his hand, and called Obi-Wan's light saber to him. He then leapt off of the ground, using the force to propel him through the air towards the Emperor. As he came down again, Luke activated his saber and swung it towards the Emperor. Palpatine did not see Luke coming until it was too late.
Luke plunged his light saber into the Emperor. The latter screamed in agony as the blade protruded into his chest. In a last desperate defense, Palpatine force pushed Luke back to the floor. But Anakin was upon Palpatine in moments, summoning the light saber from Luke's hand to his own.
"For Naboo, and the Jedi Order," said Anakin, as he sliced into the Emperor's robes. By the time the blade came through the other side, the Emperor's form had disappeared, consumed in death by the force itself.
Anakin stood with the light saber in his hand, still activated, for a few moments, absorbing the magnitude of what had just happened. But then, his strength left him, and he collapsed to the deck, the light saber deactivating on the way down.
"Father!" yelled Luke, getting up from the ground and rushing to his Father's side. He found his Father unconscious on the ground, his pulse very weak. Luke was about to reach out with the force to scan his Father and determine the full extent of his condition, but he heard a female voice behind him.
"Ani!" said Padme, weakly.
She dragged herself off of the deck, and stumbled over to her husband and son. Padme fell to her knees, and gently stroked Anakin's face.
"Luke, is he..." she began.
"He's alive," said Luke. "Barely. I need to reach into the force to find out more."
He closed his eyes, and meditated on the force, his hands on his Father. In his mind, he could see his Father's life force, and it was quickly slipping away.
Luke opened his eyes, and tears began to run down his cheek. "He's dying," he said. "There's nothing we can do."
**
Ralla sat behind the controls of the Millennium Falcon, joining the rebel fighters on the assault on the Emperor's flag ship. They were flying at extremely low level, so the other star destroyers couldn't fire on them without hitting the Emperor's ship. However, they had other problems, because Imperial fighters were pursuing them.
"Red six and eight," said the Rebel commander over the comm. "Hold off those fighters that got through green group. Millennium Falcon, assist them."
"Yes, sir," said Ralla, turning the Falcon hard about to engage the enemy fighters.
She blasted one out of the sky, then turned to attack another. In the meantime, she heard the rebel pilots over the comm, reporting the damage they were inflicting on the destroyer. They had taken out the bridge deflector shields, and were making torpedo strikes on the command section of the ship.
***
"We're almost to the shuttle," said Wedge, as he led Chewie and Han through the corridors of the ship. They met light resistance along the way, because of the distraction caused by the attacking Rebel ships. Every once and a while, the ship shook underneath the Rebel infiltrators as their friends outside scored sizable hits on the massive Imperial vessel.
Han was carrying an unconscious Leia in his arms, relying on the other two to provide them cover. After Leia had been shot, and collapsed into Han's waiting arms, he charged the storm troopers with two blasters in a fit of rage. He killed most of them, while Chewie and Wedge covered him and kept him from getting killed in the rash action. The other storm troopers who were left decided on a quick retreat, allowing the Rebels to escape.
"FASTER!" yelled Han. "Must go faster! She's dying!"
"We're going as fast as we can!" yelled Wedge. "And we still have to wait for the others before we can go!"
"Well they had better hurry up, because I wouldn't give this ship ten more minutes before our buddies outside blast it to hell!" yelled Han. "And I don't think Leia has too much longer, either! But the medical kit on the shuttle might have stuff to help her!"
****
"NO!" yelled Padme. "He can't! Not after...everything!"
She cupped Anakin's face in her hands and began to cry. "Ani! Please, don't leave me!"
"Luke," said a weak voice from behind them.
Luke turned around, and saw Obi-Wan pulling himself up off of the floor.
"Obi-Wan," said Luke, running over to help him up. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," he said. "But Anakin..."
The older Jedi joined Luke and Padme beside the unconscious form of Anakin. Obi-Wan placed his hands on Anakin, and like Luke, felt Anakin's life force draining away quickly.
"He is dying," said Obi-Wan.
"Isn't there anything we can do?" asked Padme.
"The force lightening," said Obi-Wan. "It has drained his life energy, his essence. It has damaged him greatly." He was silent for a few moments, as if in contemplation of what he needed to do. Finally, he closed his eyes, and said. "There may be a way. But, I need to be alone with him for a few moments. Luke, take your Mother and wait for me at the shuttle."
"I won't leave him!" said Luke.
"You must," said Obi-Wan. "It may be the only way to save him! No, do as I say, young Luke. Take your Mother and go."
Luke and Padme rose and went towards the door to the throne room. Obi-Wan watched them go, silently, and smiled. "Good bye, my friends," he whispered.
He then turned back to his former Padawan, placed his hands on him, and closed his eyes. Obi-Wan opened himself up to the force, and went into a deep meditative trance.
Everything went black for a few moments, but then Obi-Wan could see a light beginning to fill his thoughts. Everything became white all around him, and he stood in the middle of it, basked in the glow of the light side of the force itself. Ahead of him, facing away from him, he could see Anakin, walking towards a great swirling blue vortex.
"Anakin," called out Obi-Wan.
Anakin stopped his approach towards the vortex, and turned to face Obi-Wan. The former had a serene look on his face, as if he knew that death was fast approaching, but instead of frightening him, the knowledge filled him with peace.
"Master," he said. "What are you doing here?"
"I've come to save you, my former Padawan," said Obi-Wan. "I will not allow you to die."
Anakin smiled. "You can't stop it, old friend. The force beckons me to become one with it."
Obi-Wan approached Anakin, and stood face to face with him. "But someone else has called for you not to go," said Obi-Wan. He then recalled a memory from his mind, and projected that into Anakin's thoughts.
In his thoughts, Anakin could now see the form of his beautiful Padme, kneeling over his body, screaming for him not to leave her. He also saw Luke, struggling to hold back the tears as he watched his Father die, knowing there was nothing he could do to prevent it.
"Are you going to leave them?" asked Obi-Wan.
"I don't want to," said Anakin, now unsure of the serenity of what awaited him on the other side. He really didn't want to be apart from Padme, but how could he be with her? Then, Anakin saw in his thoughts what Obi-Wan was thinking, and knew what his former Master was planning.
"NO!" yelled Anakin. "You can't! You'll die! I won't allow it!"
"Anakin," said Obi-Wan, "I know we have not always been on the best of terms. I almost lost you to Palpatine's evil once, but you overcame it, and in the end, you destroyed the foul thing that he was. You have brought balance back to the force. You have earned a better reward than to die while there still could be so many wonderful years ahead with your family, more peaceful years where the threat of Palpatine's evil would no longer be shadowing your lives. Accept this gift from me, Padawan. Accept this last gift from the man who loves you as though you were my own son."
Obi-Wan's image in the force void then closed his eyes, and put his hands on Anakin. The latter resisted at first, but then stopped, knowing that he could not prevent what was about to happen. Suddenly, Obi-Wan's image vanished, and Anakin saw him reappear in the blue vortex that he himself had been approaching not long before. Anakin could now see Obi-Wan, as he once was years ago, standing beside many other forms that had joined him. Qui-Gon Jinn, Yoda, Mace Windu, Luminara Unduli, and the other Jedi Anakin had once known. They all smiled at him, proud of their chosen one for having restored balance to the force, and thus allowing them to be at peace.
Then, Anakin felt himself become heavy, as the vortex disappeared, and as the light gave way to darkness. But the darkness did not stay, as Anakin opened his eyes, now conscious and weak from his near death experience. He moaned, and slowly began to sit up, but stumbled a bit as the deck shook beneath him. Anakin remembered that he was on the Emperor's destroyer, and reasoned that it must be under attack. He could only guess that Obi-Wan and the others had some kind of plan to bring the Rebels...
"Obi-Wan," said Anakin, with sudden realization and remembrance of what had just happened.
He turned, and saw his Master's robes, lying empty on the ground next to him. Obi-Wan's light saber was also on the deck next to Anakin's body, Luke having left it with its owner. But the Jedi Master was no longer there, having given his life force to Anakin in order to save him. Now, Obi-Wan was one with the force.
"No," whimpered Anakin. He crawled over, and took his Master's robes in his hands. Anakin held them up to his face, and began to weep into them.
"Now's not the time, Padawan," said a voice through the force. "Run, Anakin, run! NOW!"
Anakin rose up from the ground, his former Master's light saber now clipped to his belt. He ran out of the throne room, and through the corridors of the star destroyer. There were Imperial troops and officers running all over the place, but none tried to stop him. They were too busy surviving, as their ship was falling apart around them. As he ran, Anakin reached out through the force, and could sense the damage to the ship. The bridge had been destroyed, and the main reactor had taken a direct hit. It was only a matter of time before the ship blew.
He got to the landing bay, as beams and piling crashed to the ground all around. Anakin saw Luke standing at the bottom of the ramp of an Imperial shuttle. The young man was surprised, but pleased, to see his Father alive. Father and son embraced briefly, before moving to go up the ramp.
"Wait," said Luke. "Obi-Wan..."
"Anakin!" yelled Padme, as she ran down the ramp before he could answer his son's impending question. She flung herself into Anakin's arms. "Thank God, you are alive! Where's..."
"He's gone," said Anakin. "He is one with the force."
"We've got to go, NOW!" yelled Wedge from the cockpit.
Anakin, Padme, and Luke ran up the ramp, as it closed behind them. The shuttle lifted up off of the deck, and flew out of the bay and away from the doomed destroyer. Not long after, a series of massive explosions ripped through the destroyer, and the Emperor's flag ship exploded.
****************************
-The battle may be over, but the story is not. Many questions are still left unanswered. What will happen to the Empire now that the Emperor and Hister are dead? Will peace and the republic now be restored? Will Leia survive her wounds? What is in store for the Skywalkers and their friends now? Don't miss the exciting continuation of this story to find out. In the meantime, please don't forget to post a review if you've got time. I'd love to hear your response to this important chapter, and the story up to now.