Jedi, robed in brown, hundreds of them, swinging blue and white sabers into thousands of clones. The same face, repeatedly, falling in battle, shooting down the Jedi they surrounded. Mixed faces and races, all of the saber-wielding defenders, and among them Ben Kenobi, young and powerful, full of grace and speed, wiped down three at a time. Nothing could account for the numbers that swallowed them whole. Jedi fought and died, one by one, steadily, victims of the universe. A single-person battleship dropped down from above and sent wave after wave of spraying red energy into the ranks of the clones, taking down hundreds in every pass. Clones shot and fell, until none remained, and all but three Jedi had died. A red bolt shot out and tore through the small fighter ship, forcing it to land abruptly. The hatch opened and out jumped Anakin Skywalker – slim and dirty blonde, nearly identical to Luke, but bearded and wisened. He joined the ranks of the remaining Jedi and watched the modified TIE fighter set down before them on the rocky terrain. A small triangular ship landed behind them. The pilots dropped from the open tops of their vehicles – Darth Vader before them, a tall, black-skinned bounty hunter behind. No words escaped, only the constant wheezing, electric squealing sounds of Vader's breath mask. Obi-Wan stared into the red eyes of the black death mask, searching for the boy that had once been his pupil. Darth Vader turned on his red lightsaber and stepped up to the four Jedi. The bounty hunter shot one in the back, a light-green reptilian humanoid, and the white-furred humanoid behind Kenobi swiveled his white- bladed saber on the bounty hunter, who calmly stepped back and widened his glowing green eyes. Anakin charged Vader. In a flash of blue and red Skywalker laid on the ground, clutching his saber and a mortal wound. Kenobi raced to avenge his fallen friend, but Vader reached out his hand in a pinching motion, and Obi-Wan fell to his knees, choking. The white-furred Jedi turned and ran after Vader, but the bounty hunter shot him in the back, then stooped to collect a few sabers. Kenobi closed his eyes and began to meditate. Vader spun and fell to the ground, as though knocked out by an invisible force. Obi-Wan leapt up, spun, and swung on the bounty hunter, but missed by a few centimeters as the hunter jumped back and turned on the black-handled saber, letting its white blade escape once more. He swung at the Jedi, but was easily blocked. He flew back into the side of his ship with a gesture from Kenobi, who then turned again to face the looming black figure of Darth Vader. Vader struck down on him, but Obi-Wan parried, spun and slashed for Vader's midsection. Vader stopped the blade on his own just in time, and swung again. Blue clashed red repeatedly, crackling and hissing, fast yet skillful. Obi-Wan Kenobi spun and cut off Vader's saber hand, then kicked his chest, knocking him to the ground. The Jedi knight knelt beside Anakin and took his hand. Anakin looked up at him, his life fading from him, the small hole in his brown tunic singed and wet.
Thunder crackled through the air, startling Luke awake. He sat up and rubbed the back of his head, looked at his surroundings. He had fallen asleep in a field of dry grass, beside a pile of wet ash surrounded by stones, a log his pillow. He rubbed a hand through his blonde hair, tousling it a bit as he yawned and stood. "Threepio, how long have we been walking through this swamp?" he asked.
The gold-plated droid stood between R2-D2 and the princess's tent. "One standard week, sir, and I must say…"
"We'd better find a settlement soon, or we're going to starve out here." Luke looked down at his white tunic, now covered in mud and soaked through, fixed his belt. "Come on, Leia," he said loudly. "It's time to start walking."
He looked at the tent as it began to stir, then suddenly felt a prickling sensation on the back of his neck, a premonition of danger. He pulled his saber and switched it on.
"Oh my," Threepio said as Artoo started chattering. "Artoo says that…"
"We're surrounded," Luke said.
Leia poked her head out of the tent, her hair frizzed and fallen all over her shoulders. "What is it, Luke?"
A large brown ball of fur with patches and stripes of green covering its body shot out from the brush. It stood a meter tall, supported by four short furry legs with two cloven digits on each foot. The creature's thin, bald tail flittered around behind it as it watched them with wide pink eyes. Luke and the creature stood eyes locked for a long, moment, Luke's humming lightsaber the only sound. Eight more nearly identical creatures burst out from the bush, into their campsite, and began to chatter among themselves. Luke drew in a deep breath and tried to calm his mind, to feel the force. Leia turned to get her blaster from her tent, and when she turned back around the creatures were gone. Luke turned to her and sighed slowly while turning off his saber and replacing it on his belt. "Come on," he said. "Let's fold up the tent and get out of here."
They walked for hours, nibbling on space rations and wading through muck. Nobody spoke; minds wandered down trails of scattered thoughts, CPU's heightened sensors to aid them in finding civilization. Luke observed Leia's spacer outfit, once stately and casual, now a sagging brown mess. Suddenly the droids stopped, and Artoo chirped excitedly.
"Artoo says his sensors have detected a large amount of movement in this direction," Threepio said, pointing over his shoulder. "He thinks it may be a settlement of some kind."
"That's a relief," Luke said as he started off toward it. "How far is it?"
Artoo beeped and followed the group.
"Approximately forty eight and one half meters," Threepio translated.
