Luke
fought fervently, his breaths becoming more frequent as sweat began to bead on
his forehead. Vader swung, Luke parried, repeatedly, Luke's chances to strike
diminishing as Vader warmed into the fluid dancing battle, the force flowing
through him and deciding his every move.
Like tried to reach out with the force, but his concentration belonged to the
fight, every ounce of it poured into defending his life from the flashing red
menace of Vader's lightsaber.
Luke stumbled back into a fallen bookshelf and lost his footing. As he tumbled
over, Vader exerted his energy through the force and sent him ends-over across
the large bookshelf and onto the floor. Luke hit his head, and his eyes went
blurry as he fought to stay awake. He heard Leia cry out. She rushed over and
crouched beside him as his saber self-deactivated and rolled away.
"You are beaten, Skywalker," Vader gloated as he walked slowly around
the bookshelf.
Leia picked up Luke's saber and looked resolutely at it. She closed her eyes
and stood, then glared at the large black figure as she turned on Anakin
Skywalker's saber.
"It's not over yet, Vader," she said.
"You are as foolish as your father," Vader said.
Leia took a few steps forward to block his passage to Luke. "Maybe,"
she replied, "but without your precious Death Star you're going to have to
fight fair."
"This will not be a fair fight, young princess."
