Chapter 23: Finding Ben
Han took down another stormtrooper that had attempted to advance on their position with a blaster bolt straight to the chest. He looked to the right to see another trooper crash against the hull of the landing craft as a blast from Lando's sniper rifle hit him dead between the eyes. The stormtroopers' advantage in numbers had been quickly wiped away when placed against the Force talents and superior marksmanship of their foes. Only four of the white armored soldiers remained, discounting the three that retreated into the desert as the fighting began. The odds were now in their favor.
Ben walked down the hallway, trying to remember the way outside. He reached into the Force for guidance like Master Yoda had taught him and stopped suddenly. They were coming for him. Ben's eyes grew wide as he backtracked down the corridor. The Darklighters let out a sigh of relief when they saw Ban standing in the middle of the corridor, but that relief was short lived when they saw three stormtroopers appear at the end of the hall.
The leader of the trio of Imperial soldiers quickly barked out to his companions "There he is. Set weapons to kill and deal with the others while I grab him." The soldiers were unable to react to the command when they found themselves being hurtled backwards by an unseen force. Ben dropped his hand as he started to panic. Unable to push at the stormtroopers with the Force again due to his fear, Ben sent out a mental cry for help through the Force just as his father had taught him to do if he ever found himself in danger.
Feeling his son's cry for help, Luke attempted to disengage from his opponent and go to Ben's aid. The Sith, however, had other ideas and sent his crimson lightsaber spinning towards Luke. Luke was able to leap over the weapon and avoid the attack, but the Sith simply called his lightsaber back to his hand and swung for Luke's head as the Jedi landed. Ducking the man's attack, Luke kicked his leg around to sweep the Sith's feet out from under him. The man was able to hop over the blow, however and brought his lightsaber crashing down at Luke. Luke whipped his own weapon up to stop the blow and their blades crackled against each other as neither man refused to give. The Sith growled at Luke. "The boy will be ours."
"He doesn't belong to you." Luke twisted his wrists and unlocked their weapons. He feinted an attack at the Sith's shoulder and swung his emerald blade at the man's legs. The Sith was able to swing his own lightsaber low just in time to meet Luke's attack. Spinning away from his Jedi foe, the Sith slowly circled Luke, waiting for an opportunity to strike once more.
Mara's violet blade became a blur in front of her when she received her son's call. She would not let them take Ben like they had her. The Emperor would not warp another child if while Mara could do something about it…especially when the child was her own son. Mara's furious assault knocked her opponent off balance, but the woman managed to turn her fall into an opportunity to attack and shot her legs toward Mara. Mara leaped over the kick and swung her lightsaber toward the ground as the Sith rolled out of the way. She had to end this fight. Ben needed her.
Leia felt her nephew's mental cry for help. Knowing that the situation with the stormtroopers was well in hand, she quickly turned and ran into the house yelling as she went "Hold the defense! Ben's in trouble!" Her order did not receive a verbal response. Rather, Han, Chewie and Lando increased their fire while Brea turned away the blasts of their remaining attackers. Her blade moved quickly sending the bolts harmlessly into the sand in front of her.
Han's blaster hit the side of a stormtrooper that was foolish enough to leave his cover. 'Only three to go.' A bolt from Chewie's crossbow lanced across the battlefield hitting the stormtrooper in his exposed helmet. 'Make that two.' The final two stormtroopers made a suicidal run at their opponents, not wanting to face the two Sith if they failed. They went down simultaneously as Han and Chewie fired their weapons in tandem. The victorious defenders looked out into the desert and saw Luke and Mara still engaged with their foes.
Breathing quickly, Ben pushed himself backwards along the floor as the stormtroopers approached him. The bad man in white wanted to take him away. Ben tried to push his would be kidnapper back with the Force once more, but was unable to find the necessary concentration in his worried state. The boy soon found pulled back along the ground by Gavin Darklighter, the only member of his family left alive after the stormtroopers had opened fire.
The lead trooper raised his blaster and aimed it at point blank range at Gavin's head. The young man closed his eyes, awaiting the killing shot, but it never came. He heard three thuds and something that sounded like an energy coupling shutting down. He opened his eyes to see the stormtroopers lying on the floor with scorch marks across their armor and Ben running for the brunette woman that stood in the hallway holding a metal cylinder shouting "Aunt Leia!" The boy hugged her leg as Gavin let out a deep breath and rested his head against the wall behind him as the tears began.
Luke twisted his saber down to block a slash intended for his side. He batted away his opponent's blade with a flick of his wrist and switched directions, cutting for the Sith's stomach. The black clad figure bent back to avoid the blow and kicked out, making contact with Luke's midsection. Luke stumbled back a few steps before regaining his bearings in time to leap over a slash at his knees. He cut for the Sith's shoulders as he came back down to the ground, but his foe rolled to the side. Luke paused his attack for a moment when he felt his son's panic fade away. Ben would be okay. Luke swung his lightsaber for the Sith once more. There was still work to be done here.
Mara jumped over a slash at her thigh and spun her leg around, making contact with her foe's temple. The Sith stumbled back and Mara brought her blade around to cut diagonally across her chest. Her foe was able to twist her weapon around to block the strike and shifted to return the favor. Mara twisted her wrists to bring her blade over to block the attack. Soon, Mara was able to push back the Sith with a flurry of high, swift strikes at her shoulders. Her foe broke off and sprinted for the lander she had arrived in as Mara's eyes caught another figure approaching from the side out of the corner of her eye. Mara turned her head to see that the approaching figure was Luke's opponent also retreating from the battle. She hesitated for a moment before deciding to let them go and ran for her son with all the speed she could muster.