Lady Syndra: Glad to hear I was able to get you to view Han Solo in a different light. I was sceptical at first of Han's failure as both a husband and a father. But then I realised that was just the nostalgia that wanted a 'happily ever after' ending for the rebel heroes. In reality, a largely amoral smuggler and criminal like Han would have problems settling down to raise a family and would likely spend months or years away from home to live a carefree life. That is what I love about the new trilogy. It is less comic book events and more realism.
TishaLiz: Thanks as always for your review. I always love to hear that people enjoy what I have wrote and that they like how the story is going. I hope you enjoy this chapter a well.
Guest: Thanks for the review. I have had lots of people asking me not to kill Han or too kill him. But I hope you enjoy this chapter.
wildcat717: As much as I hate cliffhangers when I encounter them I find that they do lend suspense. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
Rhyming With Oranges: Haha, thank you very much for all your kind words in your review. I wish I had the space to respond in depth to all of your comments. But I am glad that you liked the dynamic between Han and Kylo. I liked the movie, but I felt they missed an opportunity to explain Kylo's motivations in that scene. I know they went into it in the books but still. I have a grand idea of what Kuvira is going to do to Hux and I hope you enjoy it. And I am glad that you enjoyed the scene between Kylo and Kuvira through the force. It has been hard to develop their relationship while keeping true to them as people. But I felt that scene was a good place to break through to a new level.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
Gilyflower: Glad to have you back. It is always great to hear from everyone about how they feel the story is going. I am glad that you enjoyed the battlefront addition. I wanted to take a break from just the movie and see how Kuvira would react in that situation. I also killed Iden out of revenge for the utter lies that we were promised for her character. She was sold as an Imperial loyalist and later First Order protagonist only to defect to the rebels in two hours. So, I took her down and good riddance.
Artemis Persephone Jackson: I considered that but remember that Kuvira is still fighting in the fighter battle as this is happening. Even if she wasn't I don't think she would do it. Kuvira is always open to the 'Better alive then dead' policy towards prisoners. But she also follows the 'not worth the risk' policy as shown with Iden and Zay. At this point Han's continued interference is too much trouble for too little gain to be allowed to continue.
Setress: Thank you as always for the review. Yes, Kylo is now ready to kill his father at what he perceives as an attempted ambush. As for Rey and Finn, well you will see.
Loyal Imperial: Thanks for the review and I am glad that you liked the dynamic between Han and Kylo.
Kksambo: I really enjoyed reading your review. I would love to discuss all of the points you made in more detail but as it is I will just say. I don't have much of a problem with Rey. But I really to take issue with how she just becomes a mary-sue who is willing to do anything to save the Resistance (an unknown group), the Jedi (another one) and everyone else. These are not the actions of a person who has lived on Jakku alone fighting to survive on a daily basis. She should be more like Jack from Mass Effect or Kaliyo from Swtor. But instead her attitude makes no sense to her upbringing! Luke at least was raised by a loving family and had rebel sympathetic friends.
Anyway, that is my own rant over. On with the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 19 – The Crucible
Starkiller Base
Kylo Ren – POV
Kylo looked into his fathers' eyes (so much like his own) as he descended on him with his lightsaber crackling and spitting above his head in an attack that would sever Han Solo in half from his brain to his balls!
In those eyes saw many emotions flash across them in the split second it took for him to reach the zenith of his jump and begin to come crashing down on his intended victim. He saw the fear of his impending death with the knowledge that there was nothing he could do to stop it.
He saw the sadness that his plan to bring him back to the Resistance and to his pathetic excuse for a family had gone up in flames. And he saw the determination to die with some semblance of dignity.
But Kylo Ren was not interested in what Han Solo was or was not feeling in this moment. He had stopped caring about his father's feeling in the moment when his great shaggy pet Wookie tried to assassinate him while his father tried to trick him with soft empty words. He supposed that was only fair. Han Solo had not cared about his feelings in years. Or possibly ever.
Kylo was almost on Han as he began to bring his lightsaber down for the coup-de-grace, when the force screamed out a warning of imminent danger.
Using the Force to alter his path in mid-air, he thrust out with his power, causing him to reverse course and complete a backwards flip that brought him back to the walkway in a crouched position. Even as he had spun out of danger his lightsaber flicked out, guided by the force. He felt the impacts of the blaster bolts that would have fired into his chest ricochet away from his red blade.
His vision was a blur of crimson fire as his lightsaber flashed in every direction as the barrage of blaster fire coming his way suddenly intensified three-fold.
Through the haze of red and the lightning reactions needed to keep himself alive he could not divert his attention to see who was firing at him along with Chewbacca. With that being the case, he reached out with the force and allowed his hatred and his battle passion fuel his power. He expanded his senses and he intended to find out just who was going to follow the Wookie into a well-deserved grave!
As he stretched out with his feeling he was aware of his cowardly lying excuse for a father making his way towards the stairs back up to the platform that Chewbacca was standing on. His injured legs were not making the ascent easy. But he noticeably picked up speed when he was forced to duck as Kylo managed to send two deflected blaster bolts at his head.
He had no time to aim with the rabid fire he was dealing with. And as a result, his shots were only deflected on instinct. They missed their target and instead slammed into the platform structures as Han scrambled up the stairs to safety.
But then he found the two new comers that were currently firing their blaster rifles at him as fast as they could.
One of them he recognised after a few moments. It was the traitor. The Stormtrooper that had been on Jakku in Tekka's village that day. The one that he had sensed great turmoil within in the aftermath of the battle. The one that had later gone on to free that Resistance parasite, Poe Dameron.
FN-2187.
That repulsive deserter had been presumed missing. All their analysts had agreed that the maggot had most likely vanished into the remote outer rim or the depths of the galactic underworld. The only hope for those who did not want to be found. Especially from an organisation like the First Order, the took a very dim few on betrayal.
But it seemed he had taken his betrayal even further by joining the Resistance in the attack on Starkiller base.
And now he was trying to kill him!
Kylo snarled at the sheer gall of this man. He had originally intended to make his execution swift and clean as was standard in the First Order. Now he was going to make it slow and detailed!
But it was the presence next to him that really got his attention.
Rey! The scavenger had somehow managed to get out of her cell. But maybe he should have seen that as a possibility, given her immense natural talent in the Force. But now she was here as well. No doubt she was coming because she was desperate to save her newly found surrogate father in Han Solo.
Despite the situation he could not help but allow a sardonic smile to cross his face as he continued to defend against their combined onslaught.
He wished he could have seen her face when she realised that Han Solo was not going to be her new daddy. And even if he did agree to 'foster' her. She would realise very quickly how disappointingly inadequate he was to be a father or a father figure.
But she would never get the chance.
Because he was going to kill Han Solo, here, today. And when he was done wiping his father's blood of his boots. He would kill her too.
He would make sure to wrench the map from her feeble mind before he makes the killing blow of course. Earlier when he had tried he had been unable to push past the barriers in her mind that she threw up against his intrusion. He had been stunned at her deep connection to then Force. And that surprise had allowed her to finer her own way into his mind.
He had been so floored by her presence in his mind and her revelation about his thoughts on Darth Vader that he had fled the scene like a coward. He realised how with a derisive scowl at his own earlier weakness. He had actually run to his master begging him to solve his problem for him like a pathetic helpless child!
But now he knew he could get the map from her himself.
The Force was flowing through him like never before. He felt the Dark Side coursing through his body as if it had replaced the blood in his veins. He was not sure how or why. But since his anger and passions had exploded during his confrontation with his father, he felt more powerful then he had ever dreamed he could be!
His master had been right. By his attempts to kill his father. By his wanting, needing to kill the old bastard. He had finally freed himself of his remaining familial attachments. And in so doing. He had removed the blocks on his power by his holding on to his family and the light side. Now the blocks were gone, and the dark side was flowing through him unimpeded.
It was glorius!
He knew that this time she would have no chance of resisting him and now he would rip that map from her mind like a candy from a child.
And once he had the map and disposed of her and the rest of them. He would finally have what he needs to find Skywalker and fulfil his destiny.
But he had sat on the defensive long enough. Now he was going to find out just how powerful he had become.
He swung his lightsaber across his body as he simultaneously blocked three blaster bolts from the beast, the traitor and the desert rat and sent them flying away. Using the momentum of his swing he crouched and called the Force into his body to enhance his strength and speed.
With a speed that left his three enemies thinking he had simply vanished he darted forward under the relative cover of the platform girders, deactivating his lightsaber as he did so to vanish into the shadows. From there he leapt on the beams one after the other until he landed on the on directly underneath the walkway that Chewbacca and now his father were standing on.
His movement was a silent as a mynock in the dark and neither one of the fools even noticed his whereabouts beneath them. He grinned as he took his lightsaber in his hand and aimed the deactivated handle right at the spot beneath Chewbacca's feet.
He would activate the blade, which would sheer through the metal and spear the filthy animal wear he stood. From there it would be a simple matter to leap on to the walkway and finish him off (if he was still alive from the first attack).
Han Solo would not escape him. Not with his injured legs and not against Kylo Ren's new powers. He would finish him off and then proceed to hunt down the last two infiltrators at his leisure.
He turned his lightsaber hilt over as he aimed it at the still oblivious Wookie that was turning its head every which way searching for danger. He smirked as the dumb animal remained unaware that his death was below him, like a firaxan shark preparing to strike from the depths.
But just as he was about to activate the blade a voice called out from the far entry way. "Chewie, look out he is beneath you!" Rey screamed out as she gestured to the walkway Chewbacca was standing on.
Kylo Ren snarled as he realised what had happened. Somehow that filthy scavenger was able to tap into the Force at will now. She had sensed his presence, location and intent through the force, just as he had when he had sensed their presence in the room. He had been so confident of her lack of training that he had not bothered to hide himself in the Force.
He was momentarily thrown as he wondered how she had done that. When he had touched her mind, her power had been great but clearly untrained. She should not have had the knowledge to be able to sense where he was beyond a small tingle of danger at most.
He could only assume something had resulted in their mental connection that had allowed her to tap into the Force more deeply.
But he did not have time to consider all these possibilities. He activated his lightsaber and sent the crimson blade slicing through the metal directly at the Wookie.
But the Wookie (with the instincts natural to his people, and a lifetime of combat experience) threw himself out of the way. And just in time as the crackling blade burst from the walkway floor where he had been standing moments before. The Wookie rolled to his feet as Han came up and helped pull him up from his forearm.
Kylo seethed in silence as he slashed at the walkway with his lightsaber as he tried to cut enough of the metal away for him to weaken the structure enough. Within a few seconds he had done the needful and thrust out with his open palm.
The Force erupted from his hand and the invisible blast hit the damaged walkway panels and sent them flying from their fixings like shrapnel.
Then, like a dark spectre he lept through the glowing melted metal and landed in front of the Wookie and his father who stood about ten metres away from him. His lightsaber was in his hand and it remained activated as the red blade crackled as if it was too excited by the impending slaughter to remain still.
Rey and the traitor tried to fire at him to distract him. But they were not able to get a clear shot through all of the railing and the rest of the equipment between them.
Besides the Stormtroopers had finally come to their senses and were returning fire at the pair of them as they were forced to retreat away from the entry ledge.
Kylo looked into the eyes of his soon to be victims as they stared at each other. In his father's eyes he saw only sadness, anger and acceptance. He had failed to convince his son and was now accepting the truth that Ben Solo was gone. And Kylo Ren stood in his place.
But in the Wookie's eyes, there was only anger and defiance. He supposed that made sense. He had been close to Chewbacca when he was a young child. But that relationship had died quickly when the relationships with his parents began to crumble.
Now they viewed each other with nothing but contempt and hatred on both sides. The fact that both of them had proven perfectly willing to kill each other in this room today was proof of that.
But as strong as the Wookie was he was no match for him now. Soon he would be dead, and he would take his fur as a new coat. Maybe he would gift the pelt to Kuvira after the battle. He privately thought she would look stunning in fur.
His musings were interrupted as he noticed that Chewbacca was raising his hand. Kylo raised his lightsaber ready to deflect another blaster bolt if the stupid beast tried to fire at him.
But he noticed that the Wookie was not holding a blaster or his bow caster. Instead it looked like a simple detonation controller.
His eyes widened as he realised what it was just at the same moment that then Force shouted a warning in his mind. At the same moment Chewbacca's finger pressed down on the detonation button. With that he dropped the controller turned his back and sprinted down the walkway towards the entry way that his two companions were still perched on. He paused just long enough to grab Han and throw him over his shoulder as the smuggler tried to run on his bad legs.
Kylo Ren sensed the bombs placed across the oscillator chamber and cursed himself as a fool. He had been so determined to kill his enemies and too busy revealing in his new powers that he had failed to realise what they were actually doing in this place. What they were hoping to accomplish.
He also sensed one of the explosives was less than twenty metres from him right now.
With no time left, Kylo Ren pulled the force around his body to shield himself, just as the world around him became heat and light.
Kuvira - POV
She pressed down on the firing trigger and watched as a stream of green energy flew from her TIE fighter and slammed into the x-wing that was desperately trying to avoid her. The x-wing erupted in a ball of fire, then flew apart as the Resistance ship broke apart.
She flew through the debris as she took the moment to take stock of the overall battle going on around her.
What she saw was encouraging. The Resistance attack force was done to its last dozen fighters, give or take. They had been chased away from the Oscillator and they could not breach its defensive armour even if they were able to attack it.
The star was completely gone and by her calculations the weapon would be ready to fire in a few moments. With it the destruction of the Resistance base would be assured, and it would only take a short time to destroy all of the remaining Resistance fighters left in the sky.
They had paid a heavy price for it. She had lost no less then twenty-nine fighters, either to the enemy or to friendly fire from the seeker missiles before they had escaped higher into the atmosphere. But this battle would end in an overwhelming victory for the First Order.
She usually tried to avoid claiming victory before the battle ended. But in this situation she allowed herself to feel confident in the outcome.
She as snapped out of her thoughts as she saw a distinctively recognisable black x-wing streak past her viewport as it destroyed another of her TIE fighters in the process. Poe Dameron!
She engaged her engines and shot after Dameron's x-wing as it wove its way through the mad melee of fighters and energy blasts firing in every direction. If she could bring down Dameron, then this battle would be that much closer to being won. And she was not willing allow any opportunities for Dameron or his allies to pull off a miracle.
Suddenly her intercom beeped with an urgent transmission. She would typically ignore it, but no one would be insane enough to contact her in the middle of a battle with something trivial. At least no one who wanted to remain alive would be stupid enough to do that.
She opened her com channel and simply allowed whoever it was to relay the message. She could not distract herself any more then necessary in this combat situation. "Grand Admiral, this is Starkiller planetary command. Are you reading me?" The voice of the comms officer planeside called out in a voice that was noticeably frantic.
That got her attention. "I am here what is the situation?" She asked directly.
"Admiral, the Oscillator has taken damage. Reports have come in that a number of large explosions have detonated from within the central chamber." The officer reported in a slightly panicked voice.
Kuvira turned her head so sharply, it was as if there was a spring inside her neck. She quickly angled her fighter away from chasing Dameron and allowed her viewport to take in the surface of the planet and the oscillator chamber.
Even from in the high atmosphere she could see the flames glowing from the central structure. The fires and the explosions were clearly large and clearly damaging. The entire oscillator had ben turned into a huge beacon that could be seen even from space.
Kuvira's mind was momentarily lost as she tried to comprehend what had happened. The no way that the Resistance attack force could have broken through their fighter squadrons. They were out numbered and right now they were just fighting to remain alive. Even if they had managed to attack the oscillator. Their weapons could not have inflicted anywhere near that much damage on the armoured structure's surface.
There was the possibility of malfunction. But if the oscillator had malfunctioned at this crucial time then the damage would have likely taken the whole planet with them. As it was only a single side of the oscillator appeared to be damaged.
That left only one other possibility. Sabotage, infiltrators!
She gripped her fighter controls so hard she was sure that the knuckles had turned white under her gloves. Somehow, someway, the Resistance had managed to land soldiers on the planet, bypass all their defences, avoid all their patrols and troopers. And now they had managed to blow up a sizable portion of the planet oscillator!
Despite all her planning, despite all her logic, despite simple empirical evidence. Yet again the Resistance and their rebels had managed to pull of the impossible and she was left struggling to understand what was happening.
She could help but wonder if this was the feeling that Vader had after the battle of Yavin. Or Grand Admiral Thrawn had felt on Atollon. Or Grand Moff Pellion had felt after the battle of Endor.
Even as she was trying to wrap her mind around this sudden change in fortunes. She saw all the Resistance fighters disengage from the aerial combat and dive towards the surface. There were heading straight towards the burning oscillator like a swarm of moths to the flame. The were obviously going to send all their remaining fire power at the damaged section. And with the armour breached there was a good chance that the oscillator would fail.
And if that happened when the weapon was fully charged?!
She wanted to curse but she would not allow this to shake her composure. She quickly activated her comm channel. "All fighters, pursue and destroy. The Resistance is making a run at the oscillator. I want to you to use whatever means necessary to destroy them before they get the chance. Attack immediately!" She ordered.
Her fighters immediately formed up and flew after their enemies, filling the sky in-between the two groups with green energy blasts.
Kuvira held back as she reactivated her commlink with planetary command. "Officer, I want the weapon fired immediately. Discharge the weapon at the Resistance base now!" She barked in a tone that should have left no argument.
But the officer wasted valuable time questioning her orders. "Admiral the weapon is not fully charged, and the energy has not been properly converted into the quintessence phase yet. If we fire the weapon now it will likely dissipate in to nothing before it reaches the Ileenium system." The officer reported meekly.
Ordinarily Kuvira would have respected, maybe even commended his daring. But now was not the time to question her judgement. "If the weapon is fully charged when the oscillator is destroyed the entire planet will collapse into a firestorm. If we discharge the weapon before it is destroyed the damage will be greatly reduced and the planet might stand a change of surviving. Now relay my orders or I will have you court marshalled." She said. She did not yell but her calmly spoken words promised death if she received any further argument.
"Yes, Grand Admiral!" The suitably chastised officer said as she nodded.
"Good, once the weapon has been prepped to fire, order all remaining personnel to evacuate the planet. Even if we discharge the weapon, the damage will still be cataclysmic. We must evacuate the entire planet until its survival is clear." She added.
"Yes, Grand Admiral" The officer repeated and cut the connection to issue her commands.
Kuvira considered joining her flight squadron in pursuit of the Resistance fighters. But she decided against it. She had a feeling that the Resistance would succeed in destroying the oscillator. After this sudden reversal she had the sixth sense that this battle would end well for the Resistance.
Once again she wondered is earlier Imperial commanders had this sense when they saw the rebels snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
But one thing she could do was to locate and personally dispose of the Resistance infiltrators that had caused this setback. Afterall they must know that they only had a short time to escape the planet and that meant they must had kept their ship near to the oscillator compound.
Whoever they were she was going to make certain that they did not get to enjoy their fruits of their victory.
With that she activated the engines and bolted her craft toward the oscillator. Just as the Starkiller weapon began to glow and a split second later. The horizon once again burst into crimson fire.
Han - POV
From a distance the oscillator is ablaze and fractured from the explosives. Not far from the blazing inferno are a sprinting Rey and Finn, coming over a rise and running into the bare-tree snowy forest. Han and Chewie come running up behind them as the Wookie carries his human companion over his shoulder due to Han's weak legs.
The had all been standing stock still a moment ago as the horizon had suddenly burst into light as if the sun that had vanished earlier had been reborn on the planet surface.
For one truly dreadful moment. They had believed that they had been too late. That the oscillator had not been destroyed in time and that the Resistance base on D'qar was even now seconds away from being blown to cosmic vapor.
But then Finn had informed them that the weapon could not have been fully charged in the timeframe he was (fairly sure) that they had. He stated that the weapon had probably been fired to mitigate the damage done by the loss of the oscillator. And judging by the fact that the x-wings were still carrying out their attack, they seemed to think that too. Whether or not the weapon had the power to actually reach its target he could not say. But right now, their concern was getting off this rock before something else happened.
"The Falcon's this way." Finn yells out as they continued to run through the deepening snow and dodge between the treelines.
Chewie growled in agreement as they all continued in their mad dash to escape before anyone in the First Order could catch up to them. Even if that was not a great concern. They knew that if all went according to plan. The Resistance would destroy the oscillator entirely in a few moments. According to Resistance schematics. This would then cause the planet, (which they happened to be standing on) to collapse.
That is a great motivator to run faster then you have ever run in your life. Even in Han and Chewie's extensive lives as smuggler criminals.
But all that motivation did not matter when they all stopped dead at the familiar sound of a lightsaber igniting.
Kylo Ren moved through the trees until he stops in front of their path. A still figure amidst the gusts of wind and snow.
His black cloak and robes were singed from being engulfed in the explosion Chewbacca had set off in his face back in the oscillator. But aside from that he remained undamaged and ready to strike. His lightsaber blazed at his side throwing blood red light on the dark forest and snow around them.
But what was even more evident was how his eyes were blazing as well. And they were no longer their previous chocolate brown colour shared with his father. Now his eyes were blazing like molten gold and with the light from his lightsaber. They glowed in a way that looked appropriately demonic.
"We're not done yet." He states plainly and in a tone that drips of hatred.
Han had been set down by Chewie when they came to a stop and as he looked into the eyes of his son he could not help saying the worlds that forced their way into his mind. "I knew that this would happen. Leia believed that you would come back to us. She wanted to believe so badly, but I knew the truth. You have too much Vader in you. You always had darkness in you and nothing me or Leia or Luke could do to stop it." He said sadly but firmly.
Opposite him Kylo Ren's anger was deepening with every word and by extension his power grew.
"We tried to save you Ben, but we can't. Because you don't want to be saved." Han said sadly but firmly. "My son is dead. He died years ago. Kylo Ren is just the monster that stepped into the hollow shell that was left behind."
"I only wish now that Chewie had aimed at your head." He said as the anger he had felt towards his son for years now began to surface over the old grief and sadness.
Kylo Ren was silent for a moment. Then he began to speak. "Your right Han Solo. Your son did die years ago. But my father, died long before that. He existed so briefly that I can scarcely remember it. And Han Solo? He is not my father. He is just the man that would occasionally impersonate my father to gain access to a bed and the family accounts." Kylo spat at Han, his voice thick with contempt.
"Han Solo is nothing to me. He never was." He said, and despite himself Han could not stop his eyes from growing glassy at those words. "You should have stayed away from me while you had the chance. Kept to your drug dens, casinos, cantinas and dockyards and stayed away from things that actually matter. But you didn't. And now because of that, your done."
With that Kylo Ren thrust out his hand and bolts of purple lightning flew from his fingertips directly at Han's unprotected face.
Han was so surprised at the lightning that he did not even consider jumping out of the way. He simply watched in poker stiff shock as the deadly energy came flying at him and waited to meet his end.
But the next thing he knew, he was being pushed out of the way and thrown down into the snow. From his position with his face half buried in snow. He was only half aware of the terrible screaming and the sound of Finn shouting out Rey's name.
Han quickly rolled over to his back. Just in time to see Rey's body being blasted with his sons…..with Kylo Ren's force lightning. She was still screaming unceasingly as her body jaggified wildly from the power as she contorted in horrific ways from her torment.
Finally, after what seemed like ages. Finn turned to Kylo Ren and ignited Luke's old lightsaber. With the blue blade in hand he ran at Kylo Ren who was forced to break off his attack on Rey to defend himself. But before he broke off the attack he thrust out with his power. Rey flew off her feet and went crashing into a tree, only to fall to the ground seemingly as lifeless as a stone.
Han made his way to get to his feet but was stopped by both Chewie and Finn yelling as he swung his lightsaber at Kylo Ren, who dodged and weaved effortlessly out the way. "I'll hold him off. Go and get the ship. Get the Falcon and get us the hell out of here!" Finn yelled desperately.
He could not talk anymore as Kylo stopped playing passively with him and launched into his own attack that had Finn reeling back. His lightsaber was waving desperately to fend off the dark warrior.
Han looked at Chewie and then at Rey who was cut off between them and the battling warriors. With a sigh of resignation Han and Chewie got to their feet and headed off as fast as they could towards the falcon.
Kylo Ren - POV
Despite his fear, Finn raises his blade in welcome as he blocks another one of Kylo Ren's testing thrusts and prepares for another one to come his way. Kylo Ren charges at him and lunges forward in another half-hearted but still very deadly attack. Finn deflects Ren's spark-spitting blade and scrambles out of the way as Kylo turns and attacks with a waist high cut which Finn flings himself backwards to avoid
Finn rallies to his feet. But he is well aware that he does not stand a chance in this battle. He doesn't even know how to use a lightsaber. He had survived this long due to his training with the stun baton. But the lightsaber felt clumsy and awkward in his had and it felt almost completely weightless. So far he had come close to taking off his own arm with it at least three times.
It was only dumb luck and the fact that Kylo Ren was clearly toying with him that he was still alive. Even as he wondered how he was going to save Rey and get out of here. Kylo brought his lightsaber slamming down on his hasty defence and send him crashing to the ground due to the sheer force behind the blow.
Finn waited for the blow to come but instead of finishing him off while he was helpless. Kylo Ren clearly wanted to play with him a little bit more. He reached out with his hand and Finn felt himself being lifted off his feet as if he were in the grip of an invisible god.
Finn looked into the still golden eyes of Kylo Ren as the dark lord uttered a single word. "Traitor."
Then Finn felt himself flying backwards until he collided with a tree that sent him sprawling to the ground as he moaned in agony from the damage to his back. Luke's lightsaber flew from his hand and landed in the snow a short distance away from him as he had flown through the air.
Kylo Ren looked at the lightsaber, then back at his fallen enemy. He considered for a moment just using his new increased powers in the Force to end the pathetic wretch right here and now. He could use the Force to snap his neck like a twig or use his newly gained power of force lightning to reduce his body to a smoking husk in an instant.
But as he thought about it he realised that such as simple death in the middle of the woods would not do for a traitor to the First Order. A man (using the term loosely) who had betrayed them not once, but twice over. A traitor who had been the reason for Kuvira to put her life in danger both on Jakku and right now in the battle over Starkiller.
That realisation made Kylo Ren clench his fist in protective fury and his hatred for the miserable traitor spiked, fuelling the dark side with its burning heat. Kylo thrust out his hand again and once more lightning burst forth to engulf the wretch! He did not pour too much power into the lightning. While he was still getting used to the sensation of using it. He knew from his master's teachings that too much power would turn the victim to ash in a flash.
He wanted to make this hurt as much as possible. So, he reduced the energy to set his enemies nerves aflame, but to keep his body intact. For now.
Finn screamed in pain as the lightning engulfed his entire body in fire. He had experienced pain from his training and previous injuries, but this took him to new heights of pain as he writhed and flailed in his desperate half made attempt to escape the onslaught.
But it was no use. He couldn't escape and he could not fight back. He tried to curl into a ball to gain some small measure of shelter, of relief from the indescribable pain. But the lightning continued to flow, and he found himself unable to stop screaming!
He just wanted it to stop. For him to escape the pain. He would welcome death right now. He had run and fought for so long since Jakku. All for the aim of having a life of his own to lead. But he would gladly take oblivion right now if it allowed this suffering to end.
But Kylo Ren had no intention of allowing him the release of death just yet. He had only just begun to discover his power and he had only just started giving the traitor his well-deserved punishment!
He would have happily carried on until the bastard's heart gave out. But he was distracted by the sight of Luke's lightsaber flying past his face, apparently unassisted.
He whipped his head around, the lightning dying as his concentration was broken. The traitor stopped screaming as the lightning faded and he slipped mercifully into unconsciousness. His body left in the snow, smoking and giving off involuntary spasms. Kylo Ren was not sure if he would live or die. But he could not careless either way.
He was much more focused on the sight of the desert scavenger Rey standing before him. Staring at the lightsaber in her hands if she could not quite believe what had just happened.
To be honest neither could Kylo Ren. He knew that she was strong in the Force. And her warning to Chewbacca earlier had made it clear that she had a greater access to her sense and attunment to the Force then he had realised. But to call a lightsaber across a distance of twenty metres required at least a few months of intense training for a neophyte.
Kylo just continued to stare at her as he tried to puzzle out what the hell had happened to make this peasant girl suddenly so learned in the arts of the Force. Could it be that when he had linked their minds, she had been able to take more then just his personal thoughts from his mind?
Had she also gained access to his training experience?
But he was forced to abandon his musings when she activated the lightsaber and the blue blade burst from the hilt as it cast the forest in a sapphire glow. In response he activated his own lightsaber in case she was actually stupid enough to attack him directly.
The next thing he knew, she was charging at him. Lightsaber held over her head in a prepared swing at his head. He could not help a smirk appearing across his face. Her nativity and amateurishness. It was almost adorable.
She swung her lightsaber in a downward arch meant to bisect him from shoulder to waist. But he simply raised his weapon and battered the pedestrian assault away. She looked at him in shock. Had she had actually thought it would be that easy?!
After a moment of shock, she snarled in frustration and swing at him again. This time he did not even insult his blade by blocking it. He stepped out of the way of her swing and swung his own lightsaber down on top of it, sending both blades into the snow-covered ground.
He took the moment to swipe his elbow across her face as they both leaned over their downed weapons. He made contact with her left cheek and sent her reeling back in pain and confusion as she tried to get her rattled head in order. In that moment he thrust his hand out and sent her flying backwards with the Force. She came crashing into the snow bank and carried on by momentum to smash into a tree stump.
She got to her feet, swaying and groaning as she did so. She looked at Kylo with a mixture of rage, frustration and despair. But also, among her feelings in the force was confusion.
She seemed unable to process why she was being dominated so completely. It was as if with her retrieval of the lightsaber, she had expected to feel a sudden rush of power and skill to overwhelm and destroy him.
He had already figured out what was going on. She had gained access to his memories during their mind link and in that time she had virtually downloaded all his years of training with Luke and to an extent his time with Snoke. But she had no experience to draw on to use it properly. She was like a child who had been shown the correct way to use a technique but had never actually done it herself.
It made her stance, her strikes and her defences weak and predictable. Meanwhile he had years of actual training experience and years of leading missions into actual combat.
He twirled his lightsaber in an extravagant flourish, enjoying the look of hopelessness grow on her face as she realised he was done playing with her.
He lept at her and landed right to the right side before she could swivel around to face him. Using the moment, he lashed out with a side kick to her ribcage and was satisfied to hear her cry out as she went flying through the air to land hard on the ground again. This time he did not give her time to recover.
He dashed forward and brought his lightsaber slicing down, intending to take her head off her shoulders. But while she was a neophyte she had some reflexes. She rolled out of the way and scrambled to her feet just as his lightsaber bit a furrow in the wintery earth where her neck had just been.
He lept forward again and she ran to meet him, clearly desperately trying to call on the Force to anticipate and block his attacks. Kylo Ren could feel the Force flow into her. But she had no concept of how to grasp and direct it. It was like she was trying to grip water as it flowed through her hands. As a result, her moves were clumsy, and she was helpless as he smacked her blade to the side and followed up the movement up with a Ataru spinning kick that sent his boot crashing to her jaw.
She screamed as blood began to spurt from her mouth and he was fairly certain a tooth or two were now cracked.
He came at her again and attacked with the fury of the Juyo form. The most aggressive and dark side orientated of the seven lightsaber forms. With the strength and fury of a berserker he hammered at her defences as she was forced to stagger back and back under the power of his blow until she was backed up against the trunk of one of the tree's.
As he knocked her blade away, he slashed at her torso intending to cleave her in half. Only for her too duck at the last second and avoid his attack. A lock of her hair was sheered off by the passing blade as she ducked and the tree that she was up against was sent crashing to the ground as it was cut away from its stump.
Rey showed some sense and skill when she stabbed her lightsaber forward like a spear intending to skewer him as he was pressed up close to her from his last attack.
But Kylo had anticipated the blow and had spun out of the way as he used the force to pick up the fallen tree that had come to rest on the floor. The Dark Side rushed to obey and the tree lept of the ground as if it weighed nothing.
Before Rey's eyes could even widen at the display of power in front of her. He sent the tree hurling towards her like a battering ram.
He could feel Rey's shock with no time to dodge. She instinctively threw up a barrier to shield herself from the impact. It was partially successful. She was not killed on the spot. But she was still hit by the tree and came crashing to the ground in a screaming heap.
But it was then that Kylo noticed that the planet was shaking beneath his feet. Not just from the impact of the tree or the result of his duel with Rey which had saturated the area with Force energy. He could feel the ground beneath his feet vibrating and shuddering. With the magnitude of the tremors seeming to be increasing and quickly.
While his opponent was moaning on the floor he reached out with the force to sense his surroundings and the events on the planet. What he sensed filled him with shock and no small amount of horror.
The oscillator had been completely destroyed. Both by the bombs that filthy Wookie had set off and by the Resistance fighter attacks. He stretched his senses down into the heart of the planet and felt himself grow cold.
The planets core equilibrium was completely in flux. The planets stability and internal make up was literally crumbling down upon itself. Even now massive shockwaves were being sent out across the planet mantle and huge amounts of unfathomable energy were being fired across tectonic fault lines.
The reason was clear. Despite the ejection of the planetary weapons quintessence and accumulated dark matter. The sudden loss of the oscillator had caused the remaining power (which was still massive) to be released in massive shock waves directly into the core. Now the planet was in very real danger of shaking apart or exploding!
Even if it did not the tremors were going to be enough to shatter landmass and break continents in half!
Kylo Ren looked to see Rey staggering to her feet and making her way to where the traitor lay on the ground with her lightsaber still aimed at him. She was holding it in a sloppy version of the Soresu form, built for defence, but with the grace of a youngling.
He set his eyes in a grimace. He had played with her long enough. Too long in fact, and now time was running out fast. Now this needed to end!
He raised his hand as he prepared to unleash his lightning. And this time it would be to kill instantly!
He saw Rey raise her weapon to catch the lightning that she knew was coming. He also sensed her raise a force barrier to protect herself and her companion on the ground.
'No matter' he thought. He would simply rip through it and finish this.
But before he could unleash the lightning. A blaster bolt fired out of the forest and struck Rey in the back of her left shoulder! She screamed at the pain and the shock as she was sent to the floor and the lightsaber fell from her suddenly nervous fingers.
She lay there moaning from her multiple injuries as she pressed her new blaster wound into the cold snow for some relief.
Kylo was stunned as he watched a figure emerge from the darkness with her blaster pistol still aimed and ready.
'Kuvira?!'
She came out of the snow and darkness like a wraith. She was dressed in her First Order uniform and her greatcoat around her against the cold. She was looking at Rey at first to make sure that she was well and truly out for the count. She then looked at the unconscious traitor, and (not to gently) kicked him in the head to check if he was a threat.
With that done. She raised her head to look at Kylo Ren. She then turned to view the uprooted trees, lightning scorch marks and other evidence of battle left around the clearing. Then she turned back to him.
"Masterful work, lord Ren." She praised with a smile gracing her lips. It was a small smile, but it was clearly sincere. "I was able to get some images from my TIE fighter before I put it down. And I must say, I am deeply impressed." She said in her usual polite professional tone.
But beneath it was an undercurrent of something that made Kylo's heart race and his body tense up.
But before he could respond the Grand Admiral continued. "As I am sure you are aware we have a limited amount of time to vacate this planet. The core is unstable, and it is a fifty/fifty chance if the planet will remain intact." She summarised.
As she spoke, suddenly a colossal chunk of the forest right behind where she and Rey were dropped away as the curst began to crack under the tectonic stress. Kuvira and her wounded foes now found themselves standing on the edge of a large cliff as tree's fell into it with loud crashing sounds. The cliff in question also appeared to open up to a newly formed fissure of molten hot rock that ran across the gap like a river of fire.
Kuvira studied the fissure for a second before she turned back. "Case in point." She nodded to the gash in the earth. "The evacuation order has been given. We are likely one of the last people on the surface. My TIE is a short distance that way." She gestured back in the direction she had come. "But there is no guarantee it will be there for much longer based on the crusts fragility. I must ask that you accompany me back to my ship so we can escape the planet. We have a war to win after all." She finished as she looked at Kylo Ren expectantly.
Kylo did not need to consider long. "It would be my pleasure Admiral. Lead the way." He said in a tone that was bordering on…..playful?
Kuvira did not give much of a physical reaction. She was too disciplined for that. But he did notice that her nostrils flared slightly, and her eyes became slightly diluted at his words.
She shook the aroused emotions away as she looked down at the paralysed enemies. It was also a way for her to stop looking at his new and incredibly alluring golden eyes.
"Can you please carry Rey back to the TIE please. I assume you still want your map and I still have high hopes for her within the First Order. I will dispose of this scum right here". She said as she raised her blaster and aimed it at the back of the unconscious Finn's head.
"No, please". Rey weakly protested through her blood-soaked mouth as she feebly raised a hand to prevent her friend's death.
Kylo Ren rolled his eyes as he approached them. Kuvira meanwhile looked down at her with something akin to pity.
"I am sorry Rey. But you still have a service to perform for Lord Ren and I see your potential as to valuable to waste. He serves no such purpose." She said. Her words were soft. Almost kind.
"Besides Rey. This man is nothing more than a traitor and a deserter. He abandoned and even killed his long-term friends and squad mates on Takodana." She explained and her words took on the chant of a proverb.
'Trust not a man who has betrayed his master. Nor take him into your own service. Lest he betray you.' She recited
"Trust me when I tell you Rey. Your life will be better off without him in it. You will thank me for this one day." She finished as she raised her blaster and took fresh aim at Finn's skull.
"NO!" Rey screamed.
Kylo sensed the danger a second too late.
Using her last reserves of strength and with her emotions unstable and swirling inside her. Rey lashed out with the Force in a last desperate explosion of power! The Force was gathered into Rey and then instinctively released in a sudden outward burst that sent a shockwave through the forest in a small but powerful Force repulse!
Kylo Ren threw up a barrier just in time to prevent him from being hurled across the clearing. Instead he was only forced to take two large steps back to regain his balance.
But Kuvira was closer to Rey. And she did not have the Force to shield herself from the blast.
Before she could even think to react. She was picked up off her feet and sent flying backwards. The blaster pistol fired as she instinctively clenched her hand at the sudden flight. The bolt slammed into the ground less then a foot away from Finn's left ear.
Rey scrabbled to see to her friend she had saved from death moments ago.
But Kylo Ren could only watch in mute horror as Kuvira's form was hurtling backwards across the snow-covered ground. Then he watched as gravity inevitably reasserted itself.
And she was pulled mercilessly down into the canyon that had opened up to the lava below.
Authors Note
Wow. Finally finished. I kept rewriting that chapter, trying to get it right.
Please read and review. I would appreciate some feedback on this chapter and anything you would like to add or suggest.
In addition, I have another favour to ask.
I have in my spare time been working on some other fanfic idea's. I have not uploaded them because I hate when people work on multiple stories and then take ages to update them all. But anyway, I have too many draft stories and working on them all is taking up too much time. So, I would like to put it to a vote on which one to focus on in my spare time. When I am not working on 'The Reclaimer'.
I have listed them here. Just let me know which draft fanfic you like the sound of and would be interested to see uploaded. Cheers
Legacy of Carthage – Percy Jackson: Heroes of Olympus series with Carthaginian Demigods helping to fight the giants with the Greeks and the Romans.
Pharaoh's of Westeros – Game of Thrones: The Children of the Forest break the arm of Dorne in the Dawn War. But in doing so they create a huge river to form across Dorne. This causes Dornish culture and history to develop in a very different way. This river is called, the Nile.
House Aeducan – Game of Thrones/Dragon Age: The underground city of Orzammar is founded in the Riverland's during the reign of the Long Night. How will this affect the history of Westeros?
World of Monsters – Mass Effect/Monster Hunter: Hoping to adopt the 'World of Monsters' story by reptilia28. Have not asked yet. But have some ideas to continue it.
Anyway, that is all of them. Let me know if any of those sound interesting and if so let me know which ones you prefer. Thanks again.