Chapter 5

by Saber Girl Leia

Relyan: Interesting points... I think Palpy is just interested in Leia because he knows that if he hurts her, Luke may fall much more easily... and he is just evil. Then again, nobody said my characters listened to me... lol.

Yeah, I love the whole internal conflict storyline. I wish they had built that up a bit more in the prequels... maybe in RotS.

Thanks for the continued support!

LVB: Thanks! Glad you're still enjoying it and commenting.

Cokiemunster: Ambience. Yup, I looked it up. It can be spelled like that or ambiance, apparently. Glad you like the interludes-- I always like that in other writing/movies. It can also help build tension.

Heeheehee. You're lucky I'm not a sadist. I shall restrain Mara as best I can... I just hope my characters listen to me this time... lol.

Nooo! You can't die:)

tensixtythree: Thanks, glad you're still reading. :)

rjcod: Thank you! I told Mara very firmly not to kill either of them... I just hope she listens. My characters occasionally rebel... ;)

Shadow131: Eek! Doom! Scary... Thanks for the review :)! Careful, don't smack out your brain. It'll leave a goopy stain on your desk.

Disclaimer: George Lucas, James Kahn, and Timothy Zahn. Is Saber Girl Leia on that list? No. You get the picture.

Author's Note: This is probably only the second or third full-blown battle scene I've ever written. Comments and criticism are very welcome! I am always seeking to improve. So I apologize for any not-so-greatness in advance, and if any of you great reviewers have any points to make, I am very thankful. :)

Funny little observation: It highly amuses me that my spell-check thinks that 'Threepio' should be 'Therapy.' Teeheehee

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Through my desperation I hear the Emperor say something about Endor...more destruction...

Endor. Han.

No!

But there is nothing Luke nor I can do. Is there? Is there? I look at Luke. He's trembling with anger. Anger is of the darkside... someone needs to stop him! But I am struggling so much with my own fear and anger and desperation that I cannot.

"There is no escape, my young pupils," Palpatine gloats, "The Alliance will die--" No! Everything we've worked for... "as will your friends." HAN!

I snap.

I have seen Luke pull things to him, with his mind. I have that power too... I must believe... Oh, shavit, I've never done this before, what do I do? What do I- Concentrate. Concentrate. I do concentrate, so well as I can. I focus on the minuscule blaster, made to evade most detection systems, hidden under my coiled hair. I pull it to my hand... and to my surprise and relief, it comes.

I know I have only one shot at this, and I have to move faster than I ever have before. But I know I am one of the best shots in the Rebellion... I swing my arm straight out and shoot the blaster directly at the Emperor's head.

And he effortlessly blocks the laser with Mara Jade's lightsaber. Its hissing fills the room for one short moment... and then the woman is atop me, hitting faster than I can counter... I went through some hand-to-hand combat training in the Rebellion, but it was never my strength. Now it is all I can do to roll out of the way of her precise elbows and feet. My blaster arm is pinned under her, twisted so that I cannot fire. At least she has not pulled a weapon... yet.

Luke hesitates only a moment; then his lightsaber flies into his hand and he swings it at Palpatine. His act is similarly futile, as Vader parries and my brother is forced to duel with him.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-

Interlude Three

Han thought of Leia.

He even thought, though less, of the Rebellion.

If someone had ever told him in his past that one day he would be a prisoner about to die and the two things he would be most worried about were the fate of a girl and the fate of a lost cause idealistic organization, he would have either laughed in their face or slapped them. But now it seemed perfectly natural. He could not think of anything else. That was not entirely true; he also felt for Chewie. And for Luke. But very little for himself.

Oh that this epiphany had come earlier! Before it was too late. Why did it wait until now, when he would never see Leia again and he was about to die? She and Luke might triumph in their battles up above, and yet they would come home to emptiness.

Could fate be so cruel? He knew it could, he had seen the consequences of it so many times before. But Leia... she deserved better! She was his idol. She and Luke were both young and idealistic and the last of a fallen race, and they were doomed.

And in those desperate waiting moments, Han Solo did something he had never done earnestly before. He prayed. He did not know how, so he strang together in his mind all the pleas to higher powers that he had ever heard. For Leia, for Luke, for himself and for all the other freedom fighters.

He saw Threepio and Artoo run, jabbering into the clearing, and wondered briefly if he should pray for them, too, though they were simple robots and annoying ones at that. The pair ran back into the woods, followed by a group of stormtroopers, and it was relatively silent for a moment.

Then the Ewoks struck.

They poured down on all sides of the clearing, and before he knew what was happening, Han was scattering with the other rebels. He dove to relative safety in the scooped out doorway of the shield generator, again completely focused on the task at hand.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-

I continue clawing at the attacking wraith as the Emperor's evil laughter fills the background. In the back of my mind, I can sense Luke and Vader- my brother and my father- circling each other.

Their fight is nothing like the one I am engaged in. Luke swings his saber down at Vader's head, but Vader parries, and brings his through an arc to slash at my brother's waist. Luke jumps back and knocks it aside. They circle once more.

My opponent and I share little of their grace. We are fighting like animals; rolling and kicking. I break her grip for one split second a jump up like a madwoman. She grabs my ankle and pulls. I stomp on her fingers with my other foot, and turn my stumble into a mad dash for the overhangs. I run behind one and shoot back at her with my blaster, but she has already moved. I frantically hope that she is no more trained in telekinesis than I am, or she could take it from me in an instant.

But she does not need telekinesis. She has all the advantages in this, and knows it too. The woman runs past the Emperor, grabbing and igniting her lightsaber as she goes.

I catch a glimpse of the duel as I climb into the catwalks. The little part of my mind that is Luke is nearly consumed by a vortex heading ever deeper into Darkness. He knows he has grown into his role. He feels his power, and wants more.

It sickens me, but I must not interrupt lest he falls through my distraction. Luke is now pressing his advantage, aggressively attacking and defending all in a fluid string of movement, like a dance.

And, even slighter than the part of my mind that is Luke, I feel a part of my mind that is Vader... and there is conflict. There is conflict!

I reach the end of the eave. Noise behind me indicates that Jade is not far behind. I look about wildly for some avenue of escape. My hair is in my face, blood from many little wounds is mingling with sweat to make my palms soaked.

"Use your aggressive feelings, boy! Yes! Let the hate flow through you! Become one with it, let it nourish you!" Palpatine goads. Luke falters for a moment, and Vader goes on the offensive, pushing Luke back and back towards the wall.

At the last moment, he leaps. With a somersault, my brother grabs the railing and flips onto a gantry near me. He tosses me the lightsaber before I even know what is happening, and I scream as it just misses my face. I catch it against my chest. Luke dashes off in the other direction.

And no sooner have I ignited the lightsaber than Jade is upon me. It is clear that although neither of us is proficient with the weapon, she has more experience than I. I manage to trip her but she catches herself with the railing, and slashes me across the arm, leaving a fiery pain and burn. Luke is hiding- I hear him declare, "I will not fight you, father."

Vader is answering... the room and the events begins to blur together in my mind. He throws his blade, and it manages to cut through supports to both the gantries, knocking them into diagonals from the ceiling to the floor.

I am almost thrown off, but so is Jade. Yet the fall allowed me to gain some advantage, and I slice at her back. Some of the fabric of her shirt burns away, and she screams at the trail of burns across her back and shoulder. I shove her off the causeway- hard- then yell "Luke!" and toss the saber to him.

For a moment it hovers in mid-air between the Jedi and the Sith. Then it flies to my brother's hand.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X X-

A tad shorter than usual, I know. But I'd love to hear from you all! Super, good, okay, bad, horrible, whatever! Let me know. Constructive criticism is much appreciated.