Star Wars 2.0

Episode 6: Vengeance of the Sith

Chapter 9

Former Chancellor, now Emperor, Sheev Palpatine walked with his advisor Mas Amedda and his most trusted guards along the grand hall toward his office. They had spent a lot of time speaking with other senators, shoring up their support to make this work. The most important part of committing a coup, Palpatine knew, was to have powerful allies who stood by you.

The few voices of descent would be silenced as the threat of repercussions would now be too great. His only real challenge, the Jedi, were all but extinct. That job would be finished soon enough. Now was a time for relief and rest.

The hour was growing late, and most everyone was gone from the building. The hall was empty, and the small group was unopposed… until they rounded the curve to Palpatine's office. There they were confronted by two figures. One was short with long, pointed ears; Yoda. The other was average size for a human with dark blonde hair, Obi-wan Kenobi. "A word with you, we will have… Emperor," Yoda said accusingly.

Palpatine and Amedda stopped. Their guards did not hesitate. They pointed their Force pikes at the pair of Jedi, prepared to strike. Neither Obi-wan nor Yoda budged. As the guards began their charge, Yoda waved his hand. They flew backward, as did Mas Amedda. When they hit the ground, Yoda lowered his hand, and they fell asleep in unison.

But Sheev Palpatine remained standing. Obi-wan's eyes grew wide. Yoda sighed. "Suspected, I had, that you are of the Sith."

"Lord Palpatine is how you shall address me… Jedi." Palpatine said the last word through spiteful, gritted teeth.

Then another figure strode confidently around the bend. He wore a long, black cloak and a helmet of pure evil. "Allow me to introduce you to my new apprentice, Darth Vader."

The mechanical, heavy breathing of the beast was unnerving. Obi-wan noticed the lightsaber he was holding. It was Anakin's. Darth Vader lit it. Obi-wan lit his in response. It was not the Jedi way, but he would have vengeance for Anakin.

"Boys, boys," Palpatine said. "No need for that." He lifted his hands, then pressed them forward. Lightning shot out of his fingers.

Yoda lifted his own hands and sucked the lightning into them. After all the energy had been released and Yoda had captured it, he returned it in the form of a strong wind which threw Palpatine back toward the wall, and through a doorway into the senate chamber.

Darth Vader leaped at Yoda, slashing down with his red saber at the diminutive Jedi who was distracted with his nemesis. His energy blade was met with Obi-wan's, who parried his blow and held it there. The deep red, glass eyes of Vader were an inch away from Obi-wan's blue eyes. Though they were without expression, Obi-wan felt an anger and hatred emanating from them which were now entirely focused on him.

While the two lightsaber wielders engaged in melee, Yoda went to check on Palpatine. If he was indeed a Sith lord, he had to be stopped.

Entering the Senate chamber, Yoda spotted no body of the emperor. He instead found himself on a platform overlooking the entire chamber; a giant, round tube that dropped to the ground 50 feet below and went into the sky for hundreds more feet. The disks that senators rode lined the walls, including one in front of Yoda.

Yoda scanned them quickly; but not finding anyone immediately, he closed his eyes and felt for him through the Force. He found his adversary just too late; when a lightning bolt was striking at him. He took the hit and fell over the side of the balcony, landing on a couple of platforms before coming to a stop.

A horrifying cackling echoed throughout the giant chamber. Yoda pulled himself up and searched for the source of the sound. Before he found anyone, an entire hover platform flew full speed in his direction like a massive Frisbee. Yoda pulled another platform up with the Force, blocking the first one, but missing the second, which sent him sliding down the side again.

Outside in the hallway, Obi-wan and Darth Vader's sabers were clashing. A bright light strobed with each parry, and clashing sounds rattled as each of them struggled for dominance. It seemed they were evenly matched.

"What are you?" Obi-wan asked.

The only answer was a series of blows, all of which Obi-wan parried; and the final one he held in place while he said, "You're a better swords master than any droid, including General Graves." The beast still did not answer, and they went back and forth again for a moment, then held in place again. "And you have the Force flowing through you. I can feel it." The beast filled with rage. He pulled back his saber and swung harder and faster, nearly knocking Obi-wan's blade from his hand.

Yoda got his footing, and found a disk platform he could reach out to with the Force. He began to spin it. Just at that moment, another platform disk flew at him from above. Yoda tossed the one he was spinning into the one that was coming at him and it ricocheted off to the other side.

Once the platforms had flown away, Palpatine became visible further up. He had a smile on his face; a look of pure joy at the destruction he was causing. Yoda shattered that laughter by pulling down his fist, which caused the platform the emperor was on to drop down suddenly. The platform and its occupant tumbled, and Yoda lost track of them in the chaos; but he knew the emperor was out there. He could not leave without finding him.

Obi-wan Kenobi and Darth Vader were still trading blows with their lightsabers, neither causing a hit. The fight had drifted through an office, then onto a balcony. The rain was pouring down, and droplets that hit the sabers sizzled into steam. Obi-wan was agile, striking and retreating, kicking off the railing and performing roundhouse maneuvers to increase his momentum. Darth Vader's moves relied on strength, beating at his opponent's saber to push it out of the way, and relentlessly moving at him.

Both were equal in skill, and neither was making any headway in breaking through the other's defenses. So they both tried using their powers through the Force. Obi-wan felt his neck tighten; Darth Vader clearly trying to Force choke him, but he pushed it back and his throat cleared. He tried to Force push Vader off the balcony when he came close to the edge, but Vader kept his footing and lunged at him.

Obi-wan avoided an attack by leaping onto the roof of a building. Darth Vader followed by leaping onto the roof in a high, arcing pattern, bringing his saber down on Obi-wan from over his head. Knowing that such an attack would blow through his defense, Obi-wan dodged it, and again tried to use his powers against the beast, but nothing worked. Its natural defenses against any Force power used against it was impenetrable. It rose up before him, and the rain continued to dribble over both of them.

The two Jedi Masters inside the Senate chamber were hurling platforms at one another, as if destroying the last semblance of the Republic and its representation of all worlds. Neither of them were nimble, but both were strong with the Force, and soon entire sections of the room were emptied of their décor.

While Yoda concentrated on where the platforms were and how to counter them, a sudden burst of lightning smashed into him, sending him flying off the edge. Bouncing from one hover platform to the next, Yoda dropped further toward the bottom, feeling the brunt of every metal rim along the way.

The cackling continued above him, echoing across the chamber, and ratting within Yoda's mind. When at last he settled on a hover platform near the bottom, Yoda got to his feet, prepared to fight back with his powers.

But he was horrified to see every single platform in the chamber – all the way to the very top – pull away from their anchors on the walls to hover above him. This was not only a horrific threat, but it was an unmistakable show of power. No Jedi had ever had that level of ability.

Yoda wondered for a moment how such a powerful Sith Lord had avoided detection for so long, and in the open! There was no point in wondering now. He had to escape.

As the platforms began to rain down, Yoda leaped to the bottom floor. As he did, he fell out of his Jedi robes. He left them behind in hopes they would be found, and he would be assumed dead under all the rubble. An exit was near where Yoda landed, and he used it to make good his escape.

On the roof, the dueling opponents faced off as the rain continued to pelt them. Obi-wan studied the stranger clad in black. He liked to know who his opponent was so that he could plot his moves against him. But now he had to guess.

The stranger, meanwhile, just stared at him, his vociferous breaths sucking in, then breathing out. No other movement was made visible. He remained still, clutching his lightsaber with both hands.

"You are well trained," Obi-wan said. "What name have they given you? Darth what?"

"Darth Vader," the voice said in response. It still neither flinched nor revealed its next moves. But it did reveal something. The voice. Beyond its mechanical alterations, it was deep and distinct and… familiar somehow. Obi-wan could not place it. He once had a student whose voice was so low it did not sound like it should come out of a body like the person speaking. Could it be this former pupil?

"Who trained you?" Obi-wan asked. Darth Vader stared back at him, and suddenly scooted forward. Obi-wan flinched, pulling back. Vader moved at him again and Obi-wan gave ground. He was trying to find an opening he could exploit, but could not find any. He would eventually lose ground and the street was more than a thousand feet below.

So Obi-wan took in a breath, closed his eyes, and trusted to the Force. His arms pulled back the saber in a guardian stance. He felt the cool rain on his face, and the Force flow through him.

Darth Vader saw his opening. He charged his enemy and swiped down on him. Obi-wan's lightsaber leaped forward just in time and swiped away Vader's saber just in time and with magnificent strength. Vader's blade swept far to the side and he desperately pulled it back to defend.

Obi-wan still had control, and his body and saber moved as one, lunging at Vader, whose blade tried to intercept the attack. But just before it connected, Obi-wan swept his blade beneath Vader's, and came up the other side, reaching his breastplate. But much to Obi-wan's surprise, the glancing blow was deflected by the armor, and did not cut through. Still in his half-trance, Obi-wan realized that he would need to make a more direct hit, or slice through a joint. He wondered for a moment how this armor had been made, but he could not dwell. All that mattered was the Force that was guiding him.

Darth Vader now gave some ground and recovered. He felt the rage of being beaten back and let it flow through him. It gave him strength, made him powerful, and he used it to fuel another attack. He leaped at Obi-wan and swung. Still giving over his skills to the Force, Obi-wan blocked the oncoming blade, but it smacked against his own so hard it sent him flying back.

Obi-wan opened his eyes enough to see the man coming at him. He put up his saber, but again was knocked back. Darth Vader was unrelenting, continuing to follow him, so Obi-wan leaped back, twisting and jumping in the air to make some room between himself and the monster. He came within a few feet of the ledge. There was no more room to go. Vader was still charging at him. His saber was raised and his momentum was in full force.

Obi-wan slid under him and sliced just as Vader's hand was coming down. The blue saber cut right through Vader's wrist, and the two men flew past one another. When they came to a stop, Darth Vader's hand and saber were lying halfway between them. Vader himself was doubled over in pain, grasping onto his severed arm.

Obi-wan stood. He pointed his lightsaber at his opponent and said, "You betrayed us. You betrayed us all. Surrender now, or I will cut you down."

Darth Vader stood. Obi-wan could feel his hatred radiating like a furnace. It was as if the rain hitting him could turn to steam from his anger alone. Obi-wan took a step toward him, and suddenly Darth Vader stepped back and leaped off the building. Obi-wan ran to the edge and looked down. He got there just in time to see Vader disappear into a window several floors down.

Obi-wan searched for a way to pursue, but he suddenly sensed an approaching speeder, and a familiar presence within. He turned to face it, and spotted Bail Organa in the driver's seat, and two green ears sticking out the top. "Get in!" Organa shouted.

"I have to stop that beast!" Obi-wan shouted.

"No!" Yoda cried as he stood in the seat so he could be seen by Obi-wan. "Escape, we must. A pyric victory only, you have won."

Obi-wan was torn. He hesitated a moment, looking over the edge. He could probably make the same jump his adversary had. Vader was wounded. He could stop him before he killed any more Jedi. "We must hurry!" Organa shouted.

At last, Obi-wan relented. He took a moment to run to the severed hand and remove Anakin's lightsaber from it. He would avenge his friend, sooner or later.

By the time he leaped onto the speeder, guards were emerging on the roof. Blaster fire was chasing them as they disappeared into the canyons of buildings.

To be continued…