Chapter 8

"Open the blast doors! Open the blast doors!" The commander of five stormtroopers said. He was running down the main hallway that led to the control bridge. He was calm and ready for what was to come. Apparently there had been an intruder there! He turned a corner and there was the dark, gray blast doors being opened diagonally. He waited from the to fully disappear into the walls. Just before they closed, the commander glimpsed a swift, dark shape go in front of the doors and then disappear again. He became puzzled and strange about this. He knocked on his helmet to see of his visor was malfunctioning. Nothing seemed to be wrong.

He motioned for the other three troops to follow him in. Once inside he saw the aftermath of the massacre. Dead stormtroopers everywhere! Over by the control panels a few captains lay slain on the floor. The commander examined them closer. He knelt down and observed. A single cut right down the middle of his mid-section. A clean cut, no blood or guts. He had heard of the mysterious weapons of the Jedi but had never seen them in action. Besides this could not have been a Jedi's work, they were all extinct. It could have been the doing of Lord Vader, for there were rumors of he being a former Jedi himself. No that would be impossible. There was something troubling here.

He turned around to find nothing. His troops gone. They had vanished? The commander slowly walked back to the entrance of the command bridge. He turned again so he was facing the mysterious room. Everything was still. Boom. His face left the sight of the room to the hallway in which the sound had come from. There on the ground, was one of his comrade's heads! "What the!" A quick hum from behind, then swoosh! His own head rolled across the gray floor.

"He he." Yoda laughed to Ben. "Learning much Skywalker is! The element of surprise he has in his blood. No?"

"Yes his father was quite sneaky." A smile warmed Obi-wan's face. "He is learning the same fighting style as Anakin did also. Form five I believe. Quick, fast, and choppy. He no doubt picked this up with his duels with Vader."

"Hmm...Correct you are Master Kenobi." He paused. "A dark presence I feel. It is not far from here. Strong he has grown."

"Yes..." Ben took a another breathe. "Vader. I have hope that Skywalker will succeed in his confrontation with him."

"Try to turn him, Luke will. Maybe he has more of a chance then you did, hmm?"

Obi-wan nodded. "Vader is not the only one in the ship, Master Yoda. I can feel it."

"Dark Lord, is it not?" Yoda's voice became hopeless. "No chance there is to defeat alone, our apprentice has. Do something we must. Battle him again! My failure that day on Coruscaunt many years ago must be redeemed!"

"And I must help also. Surely you can not go alone."

"Make that mistake again, I will not. Tried to end his rule I did. Succeed I did not. Powerful he is. Underestimated him we did. The three of us must make an attempt to challenge the Sith."

"Four, I believe." A mysterious and yet comforting voice said.

"Excuse me, Master Yoda? What did you say?" Ben said in confusion. "Four?"

Yoda nodded. "That was not me Kenobi." He turned his attention to a spot next to him. "Master Qui-Gon Jinn, battle with us you will. All the help we can get, we need."

"I may not be able to fight in any physical form like you, but I can still talk. It will not be easy, but I can distract and taught him threw the Force."

"Then decided it is. Fight Sidious we will! The Jedi will return."

Luke stood in the center of the control bridge. He was alone, except for the dead stormtroopers around the floor. More reinforcements would come soon. He had to press on with his mission. On the other side of the room was an elevator. He slowly made his way around the dead bodies. The doors parted automatically and he entered. It was a small circular and tubular space; only about one meter across and two meters high. Luke walked in. He pressed the button panel and the elevator started moving. He could see through the glass tube the black and grey walls of the shaft.

His emotions were running wild. He tried to focus his energy but he could not. He became nervous and queasy. This was it. His whole life had come up to this moment. This was his destiny; to confront his father and the Emperor himself. Luke calmed his mind. Cleared all the thoughts, all the worries. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He opened his eyes again. Bing! He was here.

The doors opened again. It was a dark room and it had a cold feeling about it. To the sides were big panels showing the outside. Star destroyers passed by and once in a while he caught a glimpse of Coruscaunt. In the middle were two flights of stairs that led to a higher platform. He stared at that level. There on the top of the stairs was a tall, dark shape. Luke silenced himself. A faint breathing came to his ears. A few seconds went by and then an all to familiar voice spoke.

"Hello again, Skywalker."