OSSUS

The Blue Harvest came out of lightspeed just in front of the orange surface of Ossus, and Sam sped straight on towards the colored clouds as fast as the command shuttle would allow.

"Look, they're evacuating!" Tahiri exclaimed, pointing to a Jedi consular ship blasting off from the surface of Ossus.

Suddenly, the radio of the Harvest beeped, and Sam switched it on.

"This is Commander Fel."

"Commander?" Tionne asked from the cockpit of the Corvette-class consular ship, "This is Master Tionne? Is Tahiri with you?"

"She is, and Kira," Sam replied.

"You should not be here," Tionne warned, "The Dark Master is carrying out a deadly attack."

"That's why we came here," Kira said into the radio, "I have to stop him myself."

"All of you, get out while you can!" Tionne replied, "That's an order!"

A young girl came into the cockpit to join Tionne.

"Master, where are we going?" the girl asked, her wide eyes full of innocence.

"We're going to a safe place, away from anybody that will hurt you," Tionne replied.

"Keep flying," Kira ordered Sam, her voice heavy with imperative.

They sped away from Tionne's Corvette towards the clouds, leaving her behind.

Tionne shook her head with dismay, yet realized nonetheless that she could not lose any more time.

"Where's Tahiri?" the girl asked her.

"She'll be okay too," Tionne reassured her, frowning uncertainly at her own answer.

Down below, the Jedi Knights making a stand realized that they could not hope to defeat their dangerous foe head-on.

"Fall back! Retreat!" shouted Ganner Rhysode as he led the surviving Jedi Knights down the main corridor leading away from the large Academy entrance.

The survivors followed Rhysode's lead, realizing that somehow, Ultor had become stronger than nearly all of them put together.

Talon had returned to her Infiltrator and was now lifting out of the forest in pursuit of the fleeing consular ships.

"Master, they're coming after us!" a young Rodian fretted, looking out of the viewscreen of the Corvette flown by Master Glut Nodlad.

Glancing back, Glut watched as Talon opened fire from her sleek, silver ship.

"I'm getting us out of here!" Glut promised, "Hold tight!"

He pulled the throttle to accelerate the Corvette out of Ossus's atmosphere, getting ready to jump to lightspeed.

As Talon pursued the evacuees into space, an additional Sith vessel appeared in orbit of the planet, flanked by an array of Coalition Viper and Syck fighters.

"You're not going anywhere, Jedi," Darth Nihl said from his Infiltrator.

The children screamed with fright as Glut Nodlad swerved with difficulty to avoid the enemy ships overwhelming him.

It looked hopeless as the Younglings aboard the Corvette were trapped with a swarm of fighters and two Infiltrators surrounding it...

But then, the Millennium Falcon appeared out of lightspeed, crashing into Nihl's Infiltrator as well as one of the Syck fighters.

"Get the Younglings out of here, Glut!" Luke shouted from the Falcon's radio, "We'll take care of them."

Glut instantly obeyed, pulling the throttle to bring the Corvette into lightspeed.

"Godspeed, Master Skywalker," he said, just before the Corvette blasted out of the Ossus system, with the children safely aboard.

Chewie operated the gunner's turret while Han, Leia and Luke worked the controls and front cannons of the Falcon.

In the emptiness of space, it was much easier and faster to take down the Coalition fighters.

The two Sith, Talon and Nihl, were a different story.

Leaving the wreckage of the Sycks and Vipers behind, Han and Leia steered the Falcon in a circle around the surface of Ossus, drawing closer to it in a spiral motion. Luke and Leia's reflexes were particularly helpful in keeping the two young apprentices at bay while avoiding their lines of fire.

"This should keep them busy while the rest of the Jedi escape," Leia said hopefully.

"What about Ben and Kira?" asked Han.

Night was falling on Ossus when Ben's fighter reached the Jedi Academy.

Ben leapt out of his StealthX as soon as it landed in the main hangar, in the wake of other Jedi fighters and carriers fleeing.

"Ben, what are you doing?" asked his fellow Knight Jysella as she ran into the hangar, "We have to evacuate!"

Before Ben could reply, something in the air grabbed Jysella and pulled her far away from Ben.

Ben pulled his lightsaber from his belt and activated its green blade, anxiously running from the hangar after the airborne Jysella.

Three Jedi faced down Ultor, unable to penetrate his deadly, two-saber fighting style.

The Dark Master yelled with fury as he cut off the arm of one Nautolan, before slicing into his blue tentacles. The human fell to his other lightsaber, both of his knees gashing with burn marks as he bled out.

The third Jedi backed away slowly, waving his lightsaber defensively in front of him.

Ultor took his time approaching the Jedi, enjoying the anticipation.

"You'll never get away with this," the Jedi, Raynar Thul, said.

"Time will tell," Ultor replied, "but you are nothing but a product of Skywalker's twisted and corrupt agenda."

Raynar tried to retreat, but Ultor advanced with both of his lightsabers, jerking away Raynar's blue blade with his red one while stabbing the Jedi in the abdomen with his other. The power flickered out of Raynar's blade a second later, just like his Jedi comrades.

"Raynar!" Jysella cried out as she landed on the floor with a thud.

"Thought you'd get away, did you?" Ultor snarled, rounding on Jysella now.

She screamed as Ultor lunged at her, and tried to climb to her feet as she backed away.

Jysella managed to ignite her lightsaber just before Ultor cut her head open, but she could not push back against him hard enough.

"Stop!" shouted a voice from the walled staircase from the stone corridor into the hangar.

Ultor turned and smiled at Ben Solo, who dipped his green lightsaber down as he scanned the room.

Ben took in the sight of his dead friends and classmates, absorbing the rushing emotions of grief. He could not help but shed a tear as he sensed over a dozen additional deaths throughout the Academy. Many Jedi who he had trained with, learned from, and mentored, dead within a single day.

"After all these years, I still can't believe it," Ben said, directing his grief and sorrow at his former friend now, "I can't believe you have it in you to kill all the Jedi who you grew up with, and commit so many more atrocities."

"You really learn slow, don't you, Ben?" Ultor replied, "I gave you the chance to join me. You could have been my equal by now, over the other Sith."

"You're not a Sith," Ben replied, "You're just a pretending worshipper."

"It will make no difference once we're through," Ultor growled, pointing one lightsaber straight up so that it gave his facial features a red hue, while he aimed the other blade straight at Ben.

Ultor slowly stepped over Jysella's dead body and approached Ben, getting ready to attack.

Ben widened his legs and gripped his lightsaber handle with both his sweaty, clammy hands, knowing that he could not brace himself enough for the duel to come.

He was more powerful than most Masters as well as his fellow Knights, but Ultor had gained an unprecedented level of skill in such a short time.

"You were too weak last time," Ultor recalled, "Too emotional and easy to crush. Will you show the same weakness today?"

In that moment, Ben found himself letting go. Letting go of his attachment to the Skyler he had once known, and of his hopes and sentiment.

"I will do what I have to to protect the others," Ben replied solemnly. If he needed to put Ultor down for good, then so be it.

Ultor went for the strike, swinging his left handed blade in Ben's direction.

Ben leaned forward and struck back, advancing to begin their duel.

Among the retreating Jedi ships, the Blue Harvest touched down on the yellow grass outside the Jedi Academy.

Followed closely by Sam and Tahiri, Kira ran out of the ship onto the grass, taking in the sight of the besieged Academy. The sunset glow made the entire structure, including its bridges and towers, appear as it it was burning.

"I have to find Ben," Kira said, "And make sure that Ultor is gone for good."

"Look!" Sam pointed into the dusk above, where the Millennium Falcon could be seen leading two silver Infiltrators in a chase around the upper atmosphere, just below the first layer of clouds.

"We should help them," Tahiri said.

"You guys help my parents," Kira said, filled with determination to weed out the main source, "I'll take care of Ultor."

"Kira, it's too dangerous!" Tahiri shouted, stepping and reaching towards Kira as she started towards the staircase leading into the main entrance.

"Ben will be there!" Kira replied as she started running, "Help my mom and dad!"

"There's no point stopping her," Sam said as he started back onto the ramp of the Harvest, "and they do look like they could use a hand."

A moment later, Sam and Tahiri were flying the Harvest in the direction of the dogfight between the Falcon, Darth Talon, and Nihl, choosing to fire at Nihl's Infiltrator first.

"Looks like Sam's here," Han remarked as he saw the Harvest.

"Kira is too," Leia said, "I can feel her."

"How's she doing?" Han asked.

"She's angry, and feeling guilty all at once," Leia replied, "She's in a bad place."

"Well, it sounds like she needs us," Han replied, diverting his attention a second later to the onslaught of fire coming from Talon's Infiltrator.

"We'll have to get rid of these two," Leia said, "And find the kids as soon as possible."

Luke climbed back into the cockpit at that moment and spoke up.

"I have an idea to get them off your tail," he said.

Ben and Ultor circled around one another as they repeatedly clashed blades, neither one immediately able to seize the upper hand.

Ben increased the intensity of his blows to match Ultor's shorter blades as they moved in a propeller motion.

He was wearing out fast, but his will and strength in the Force were consistently renewing his strength.

Despite the speed of the exchange of lightsaber blows between the two former friends, Ben felt as though time had stopped as he battled Ultor. He was trapped in an endless loop, constantly forced to keep a raging opponent at bay who would cut him down with one mistake in his saber technique or footwork.

Surprisingly, it was Ultor who broke away from their stalemate, planting his feet on the staircase leading up towards the next story.

Ultor stood with both his lightsabers extended sideways, daring Ben to come after him.

The Dark Master chuckled as Ben approached, raising his lightsaber over his head before bringing it down.

As Ultor went for a low parry, Ben Force-leapt over his head and landed behind him on the staircase.

Ultor let out a yell and dashed towards Ben, forcing him to back up very quickly to avoid his twin sabers.

Ben and Ultor finally reached the second floor, which led to both an abandoned meditation room and a ramp leading outside the Academy and connecting to the adjacent tower.

Ultor was fast, making chopping motions towards Ben with both lightsabers and leaving two red blurs of light on either side of him. Ben had to rotate his weapon from side to side at a rapid speed to keep Ultor from slicing off a limb. He was panting for breath now, losing his defense.

"You...have...nothing," Ben wheezed, barely able to talk, but knowing how he could knock his opponent off guard, "Your castle...your throne...it's all pretend."

"I control an army more powerful than that of the Republic," Ultor scoffed, his face a shade of red darker than his lightsaber blades, "I have a new Sith Order that will crush your Jedi in a heartbeat. It is all real."

"No," Ben said, circling around the confused Ultor, "You don't stand for anything but your own ego. Your apprentices, your Coalition, you're only with them so that you can feel more important. You don't have a cause to fight for."

"And you do?" Ultor was furious now, lunging on the offensive, but he missed Ben and struck the air just to the left of him.

Ben pivoted sideways, meeting Ultor's next strike with less difficulty.

"You trick yourself into thinking that you're the chosen heir to the Sith. But really, you just feel weak inside and you need to feel important."

Ultor's expression turned into that of a rabid beast, provoked by Ben's taunting words.

"You know nothing about my destiny!" Ultor yelled, swinging low with his right blade.

His increased rage allowed Ben to push away Ultor's lightsaber with his own, and roll in midair as Ultor tried to get him with his other blade.

Ben swung his lightsaber backwards to meet Ultor's right-handed saber as he lashed out, the green rod of energy slicing through the curved handle.

Ultor screamed in fury and he threw aside his broken lightsaber, with the red glow fizzling out as the two pieces of the hilt struck the wall.

Ben assumed a classic defensive stance as Ultor squared off for the attack, now armed with only one lightsaber.

Ultor charged with another scream, allowing Ben to jump aside and swing with his own lightsaber.

Ultor hopped out of the way of Ben's strike, but the green blade managed to scathe the side of his left shoulder.

Ultor glowered with hatred at Ben as the pain caused him to seethe.

True to his ways, Ben did not press on his advantage, but prepared to defend himself again.

"General, do you read me?" Sam asked Tahiri took the reins of the Harvest, dodging Talon's offensive with considerable skill.

"I read you like the Holonet broadcast," Han replied, swerving between blasts from Nihl and Talon, "I hear you have my kid with you."

"She kind of made me take a detour," Sam replied, "but we rescued Tahiri and made it back okay."

"Is she with you now?" Leia asked.

Tahiri spoke up, more openly concerned than Sam.

"She insisted on going to fight the Dark Master with Ben. I'm worried about her, I don't think she's in her best mind."

"We need to get to her now," Leia realized.

"Fly low over the north tower," Luke said to Han.

Han swerved the Falcon downwards, leaving Nihl in pursuit.

Luke climbed down from the cockpit and hurried through the round corridor towards the top hatch.

Both Artoo and Leia appeared as Luke prepared to climb out.

"Luke, where are you going?" Leia asked.

"When they see me, they'll go after me instead of you," Luke replied, "I'm going to find Ben and Kira and make sure they're okay."

"Please, keep them safe," Leia said softly, "And be careful."

"I will," Luke replied, climbing up the hatch onto the hull of the Falcon.

"He's getting out of the ship," Nihl marveled as Luke ran across the Falcon and made the jump onto the triangular prism on top of the Academy tower.

"Stay on the Falcon," Talon said, "I'll take care of this."

Nihl aimed his guns at Luke anyway, but was soon forced to contend with both the Blue Harvest and the Millennium Falcon.

He growled in frustration as he reluctantly flew his Infiltrator away from the Academy tower.

Luke allowed himself to slide off of the rooftop slope before falling off of the edge. As he started to fall towards the ground a hundred feet below, he managed to grab onto the balcony atop the highest story as Talon opened fire.

Luke rolled onto the balcony as the roof above him exploded from the Infiltrator blast, dodging the debris while still sprawled. He coughed as the air filled with smoke and debris, slowly climbing to his feet.

Talon fired again, more wildly and with passionate hatred.

Luke started to run into the smoldering tower as it started to erupt in flames, beginning the search for his niece and nephew.

Kira did her best to ignore the sprawled bodies of her fellow Jedi as she ran through the halls of the Jedi Academy.

Identifying which of her fellow trainees and Knight had been killed would be the last thing she needed, Kira decided.

She knew that Ben was alive, and that he was facing off against Ultor. She tried to get a sense of his direction through the Force, silently running towards the main staircase leading upwards.

An explosion above Kira led her to smell the ashes of smoke from several stories away.

She gripped her lightsaber without activating it, knowing that Ultor would be a far tougher opponent than Talon.

But Kira also knew that she and Ben were two of the strongest fighters in the Order, owing to natural skill as well as their bloodline.

Ultor came from a family extremely strong in the Force as well, and he had trained extensively in the dark side since defecting from the Jedi. None of that would matter though, once Kira was through with him.

"I'm coming, Ben," she panted as she reached the second floor.

"Kira, wait!" shouted a familiar voice from a short distance away.

Preparing to go out onto the bridge, Kira jerked her head sideways to find the shimmering apparition of her grandfather hovering towards her.

"I have to help Ben, Anakin," Kira said, "I have to beat Ultor."

"Kira, I don't want you to risk putting yourself and Ben in more danger," Anakin cautioned, "Ben is very protective of you, and I know far too well the dangers of trying to protect your loved ones in battle."

"It's my turn to protect him," Kira replied, turning away from her grandfather and sprinting out onto the bridge connecting the two towers.

Anakin watched sadly as his granddaughter's figure grew smaller in the sunset and between the columns of smoke filling the exterior of the Academy.

"I've tried to keep her from making the same mistakes I made," Anakin said, apparently to thin air.

"We can only have so much influence over them," replied the voice of Obi-Wan, who appeared beside his former apprentice, "In the end, it is up to them to make their own choices."

By now, Ben and Ultor had ascended farther up inside the tower, dueling throughout the robe spinning station, the gallery of past Jedi, and the nursery.

Hundreds of scorch marks had been left throughout the walls, gantries, and staircases as the two opponents continued to duel, both exhausted but determined.

Ultor's raw aggression was hindered only by his blind fury, Ben observed, and this would continue to be his disadvantage.

As Kira sprinted up the ramp leading to the garden level, Ben turned his head away from the duel as he and Ultor locked blades.

"So, the sister is here," Ultor said, "to join you in death."

Ben pushed hard against Ultor's blade with his own, silently screaming at Kira to get as far away as she could. The sounds of the ships above them engaged in blasterfire rang though the corridor as the duelist advanced into the Garden room.

"The Skywalker legacy will end today," Ultor continued, himself and Ben both illuminated by the glows from their lightsabers.

"I won't let you hurt her," Ben replied, striking to achieve a mercy kill.

He felt Kira getting closer, racing towards them through the burning staircases and corridors.

Kira choked on the ashes as she pushed out the smoke from her nostrils. She was ready to collapse, but she had to keep pushing forward, for Ben.

She followed the marks left by the lightsabers as the sound of clashing blades grew louder.

"Ben!" she called, running as fast as she could.

Ultor looked up past the canopy tree above his head towards the gantry above.

"She's coming, Ben. There's nothing you can do to save her now."

Ben didn't reply, but rushed to attack Ultor, who jumped onto the hanging tree branch before swinging into the air. Ben climbed up after him as Ultor propelled himself to the gantry about thirty feet above.

"Ben!" Kira shouted as she entered the Garden, which had been set ablaze. The grass was turning brown from the flames set by the lightsaber, and the trees were beginning to catch fire as well.

Kira's heart filled with dread and fear. Her breathing became faster and faster as she willed herself to collect and calm down.

"Please, Ben," she whispered, more terrified than ever.

She ran through the burning grass towards the sound of a lightsaber humming in midair. Kira looked up and saw Ben landing on the platform, his green lightsaber clashing furiously against Ultor's thrashing red blade.

On the bridge above, Ultor backed away as Ben did the same, each of them preparing to charge.

Ben gazed intently at his former friend, still regretting the job that needed to be done. Yet if Ultor succeeded, Kira would be in greater peril, as would the rest of the Jedi who had escaped from the Dark Master's wrath.

"I'm sorry, Skyler," he said with great sadness.

He raised his lightsaber, poised to strike. Ultor's battle cry came at the same instant as the sharp, burning pain piercing through Ben's stomach.

Ben gasped, feeling a hole of numbness burning through him as Ultor's blade hung inside him. He barely registered the feeling of his lightsaber handle slipping through his fingers and falling into the inferno below.

Ultor paused with his lightsaber piercing through Ben's entire body and sticking out of his back.

Then, the Dark Master pulled his lightsaber from the gaping hole in Ben's chest, and watched as Ben Solo fell from the bridge onto the Garden level below.

Kira had frozen in shock and disbelief as she had seen what had happened from below.

Her state of horror remained as Ben quickly fell to the ground below.

A shout of "NO!" escaped from Kira's lips before she ran to her brother's side, her world imploding with every passing second. She dropped her lightsaber without knowing what she was doing and sprinted towards Ben's limp body.

Making his way down the burning north tower, Luke froze as he sensed what had happened. He felt the life escaping Ben, his beloved nephew and student. Luke put a hand on his aching head in sorrow, feeling the loss.

Aboard the Millennium Falcon, Leia suddenly whimpered and slipped in her seat, slumping onto the floor.

"Leia, what is it?" Han asked, greatly alarmed.

Leia said nothing, but suddenly began sobbing as she climbed back up.

Han's heart filed with dread, knowing the worst had happened.

He held his wife tightly as she cried, his own eyes filling with tears that began to flow as quickly as Leia's.

As Kira reached the fallen Ben, she entered a state of panic, kneeling at his side and feeling his chest until her hand reached the wound.

Ben was stirring, but very feebly.

His smooth, young hand reached Kira's smaller one, lightly touching it.

"Kira..." Ben rasped, trying his best to keep his gaze on her.

Kira could not stop herself from crying now. "No," she choked, the intensity of her sobs coming out of nowhere, "Ben, please."

Ben was able to let out the word, "Go," with a faint whisper before the life left his eyes and his hand rested against his chest.

Kira's vision was blurred by her tears, and her throat was clogged by the lump inside. She wept openly for a good minute, before her vision finally cleared.

Her immediate reaction of grief being replaced by a sudden burst of rage, Kira trembled as she looked up at the bridge, where Ultor was staring down at her.

Kira slowly rose to her feet, the tears still flowing down her cheeks. She let out a growl of unprecedented fury, reaching her hand behind her to summon her lightsaber.

Once the metal hit the palm of her hand, Kira switched on the plasma rod of power, rushing with fury towards the staircase leading up to the bridge.