Part 29: Duel Of The Fates (Part Two)

Outside behind the rocky hills near the Trade Federation transports and battle ship, Gertie Skywalker sat with her eyes closed, feeling out with the Force. Then aged Jedi Master smiled. "Help will be arriving in a few minutes."

"The Republic's Army?" Sid 3 PO asked hopefully.

Gertie nodded. Then she looked over at the large battle ship with a determined look and stood up. "I sense that I am needed elsewhere."

She began to walk off.

"Hey Pookie, where are you going?" Grandpa Phil called out to her.

The old Jedi only looked back a moment and said, "Don't wait up." Then walked off without another word towards the fight.

A squad of armed battle droids marched past a vent shaft cover somewhere on the eighteenth level of the Trade Federation Battle Ship headed for the source of the disturbances on the lower level. A few moments after the left and turned the corner, the vent shaft cover was kicked off and two young Jedi emerged and activated their lightsabers.

Arnold closed his eyes and sensed the Force coming from far ahead in the corridor. He could sense that Helga was still fighting, but getting slowly weaker from her efforts.

Just a little longer Helga, Arnold thought to himself, hoping she could somehow hear him somehow.

"This way, Master Gerald," Arnold said running down the corridor.

"Arnold! Wait up!" Gerald Windu called out, running hard to keep up with the padawan learner.

Arnold was just about to reach the end of the corridor when a dozen battle droids appeared to block his path. At their head was Harold fett wearing his green and silver body armor.

"Going somehwere, Jedi?" Harold Fett snarled, raising his blaster.

"Arnold! Beside you is another corridor, take it!" Gerald called out to him.

"What about you?" Arnold called back, not taking his eyes off of Harold, his lightsaber before him.

Gerald stopped and said, "I'll handle this, just go! Helga needs you!"

Arnold quickly darted down the corridor next to him, hoping that Gerald would be ok on his own.

Gerald smiled watching Arnold go, hoping that the padawan got to the one he obviously loved quickly. Now he focused all of his attention on Harold Fett and the battle droids.

"Ready to die, Jedi scum?" Harold Fett smirked.

Master Gerald Windu held out his lightsaber before him in samuri fashion and said, with a smile of his own and his eyes narrowing, "Just bring it, big boy."

On the bridge, a proximity alarm suddenly went off.

Commander Nadine looked at the readouts and felt her heart stop at the new information. "Viceroy! I-it's the Republic's Army!"

Viceroy Rhonda turned and looked as if she'd just been slapped. "What?! How?!"

"They are landing soldiers on the planet near the preimiter and attacking our ships in orbit!" Commander Nadine continued, looking as if she wished the results were different, which she knew without question was not the case.

"NO!" Rhonda screamed and banged her fist on the console. "If we fail I will be runined!" She turned to Nadine. "Come, we must go inform the Emperor of this!"

Nadine gulped and her hand went to her throat a moment before she nodded and followed.

Emperor Olga felt the first flashes of lazer-fire through the Force before she saw them with her eyes outside the window behind her. She turned and scowled as about two dozen Republic transports began to unload battle tanks and scores of white-clad Republic soldiers. Her fist landed hard enough on the arm of her rotating chair to crack it.

The doors opened behind her and Viceroy Rhonda and Commander Nadine entered. They looked a little nervous at the sight of Darth Curly and Helga Amidala fighting a lightsaber duel nearby. Both of them were seemingly too focused to notice their arrival, or care if they did.

Commander Nadine bowed and said, "Emperor, the republic's army is here and attacking our droid army!"

Olga turned to look at her, her eyes a rolling fury. "I am quite aware of that you little twit!" She turned her eyes to Rhonda. "Viceroy! I want you to order more droids to attack long enough for us to get away. We still have plenty of droids left in the ships that already departed don't we?"

"Um yes, your highness, but..." She sighed. "This is becoming very costly, we could be killed if we try to escape. Our only option is surrender."

Olga looked down at Viceroy Rhonda who looked very scared now at the look on her face, expecting any moment to feel the invisible talons around her neck.

However, instead of threats, Emperor Olga had a much better way to motivate Viceroy Rhonda. "Are you aware, that treason against the Galactic Republic is punishable by no less than life inprisonment?"

Rhonda snorted, "My connections and lawyers may get me off on lesser charges."

Olga nodded, "True, but that still means serving at least some time on the prison planet. Do you know what they make you wear as a prisoner?"

Rhonda looked at her worried, "What?"

The Emperor only looked at her and said flatly, "Black and White stripes."

For a moment, Viceroy Rhonda looked as if a taun taun just walked over her grave. Her powers of speech were jumbled as she attempted to repeat the word, "S-s-stripes?!" She turned to one of the battle droids. "Order all of our battle droids and drioid dekas into the fight! Leave none of them alive! That is an order! Move!"

"Roger roger!" The droid saluted and walked off.

Olga nodded, "Very good, now prepare my shuttle for departure, but first, I must finish take care of some business."

The two flunkies saluted and left.

Standing up, Emperor Olga turned to look over at Helga and Darth Curly as they continued to dodge, slash and parry each other more fiercely. Olga smiled. It was obvious that Helga was weakening with each passing moment.

"I am pressed for time, so I give you one last chance, baby sister," Olga called out. "Join me, or be destroyed! What is your answer?"

Helga backed away and shouted out, "Go bleach your roots, Olga!"

Emperor Olga merely sighed, as if bored. "Very well, so be it." She glanced at her fellow Sith Lord and said in an small angry voice, "Lord Curly...kill her!"

Darth Curly smiled. "Yes your highness." He looked Helga over one more time and said, "Pity, such a waste. You should have joined us, girl!" Then he activated the other side of his duel-sided lightsaber and attacked again.

Helga used the Force to hurl a large piece of equipment at Darth Curly, who simply used his control of the Dark Side to counter the move, sending it into another round window, where it shattered the glass. A gust of wind pulled Helga out and caused her to fall down a vast round pit in the center of the ship. Helga only managed to avoid falling to her death by quickly grabbing the side of one of the several bridges across the vast pit. She pulled herself up and found Arnold's lightsaber. She hold it in her hand and looked around.

Darth Curly suddenly jumped from the same window and landed in front of her. She quickly reactivated the lightsaber jsut before the onslaught of attacks and parries made her back away. She could only barely manage to hold off these violent attacks, but not mount any sort-of offensive of her own.

Watching from above, Emperor Olga giggled with glee and decided to get a closer look. She decided not to jump, but instead walk the way. As she passed by, she looked over at the seemingly still unconscious forms of Master Phoebe and her father laying in the corner. She thought about simply killing them right now, but then again, there was enough time for that before the droids were overtaken. Olga giggled and hurried off.

The moment she left, Big Bob opened his eyes and resumed trying to pick the lock on the collar that held the Force at bay from Master Pheobe.

"Hurry sir," the little Jedi said to him. Big Bob only nodded, not really needing to be told that twice.

Arnold ran down another corridor and ran into a squad of battle droids, all of whom had their lazers raised. Feeling that the girl he loved was now in very mortal peril, the young Jedi didn't even pause a step as he deflected the lazer bolts back at the droids and cut down the rest on pure instinct!

Up ahead, he saw a light at the end of the corridor and felt Helga's presence.

Hold on just one more minute Helga! I'm almost there! Arnold called out in his mind...

One level below him, fighting on the bridge, Helga felt his presence and heard the words spoken in her mind. She paused a moment.

Arnold?! She thought to herself.

It felt so real, like he were so close...

Unfortunately, this brief pause was all that Darth Curly needed for an opening. He attacked once more, this time using the Force to make a piece of the glass from the broken window to fly at her. She deflected it and sent it at him. It cut into his arm making him howl in pain and attack violently. He locked blades with her and kicked Helga in the stomach, stunning her.

Darth Curly then knocked the lightsaber from her hand sending it over the side to the bridge directly below and, with his lightsaber, he cut a gash in Helga's leg just above her left knew. Helga felt the pain and the smell of her own rosted flesh as the lightsaber blade cooked the meat of her leg as it cut halfway to the bone. She fell to the floor of the bridge, her leg in agony.

Above the action, Arnold appeared on the upper most bridge. He looked down and saw Helga and Darth Curly. Helga was on her knees and Darth Curly held the tip of the red lightsaber blade at her throat.

Oh no! Helga!

Helga heard the voice in her head as she felt the heat of the blade under her chin. She closed her eyes and a tear fell from her right eye down her face as she thought, Oh my Arnold, I wasn't strong enough, forgive me.

Her last thought (and she knew it would be her very last thought) was to hope that somehow she might end up a ghost with Arnold forever with the Force.

"Give my regards to your boyfriend," Darth Curly gloated, smiling in triumph as he reversed the blade and raised it for the killing blow...

To Be Continued....

Oh man am I a sadist or what? LOL! The next chapter is....Heh! Wouldn't you like to know? Stay tuned and see! D.R.