Chapter 24
"Ahhh, you're the one I've been waiting for." Saza said, smiling at Zack who walked closer to them.
Zack's eyes glanced at Ru'Bik who was on his knees in the prison cell, behind Buck. "Buck, take him and leave. I'll deal with her."
"Oh he can go." Saza said, waving their existence away as if they were an annoying fly. "I doubt they'll escape this place and Ru'Bik is a pretty useless prisoner at this point."
Buck helped Ru'Bik to his feet. The shorter Vulatn placed his arm around Buck as they walked away from his cell. Buck got to his helmet and carefully picked it up so as not to cause Ru'Bik any discomfort before passing by Zack.
"Zack, be careful." Buck said, stopping beside him.
Zack nodded. "Get to the ship and I'll join you after I'm done here."
Buck nodded before walking on. The former trooper glanced back and saw Saza's calm and serine face. The image of the look she had when she was about to kill him trickled into his mind. He gulped nervously and prayed that she died on this day. He continued on leaving them alone.
/
Kisto entered the prison and saw its various occupants.
"Kisto?" The green Twi'lek heard someone say behind him. Kisto turned around and saw a green Rodan looking at him. "What are you doing here? Were you caught?" The Rodan said playfully, punching Kisto in the arm.
"No, I'm not stupid enough to get caught." Kisot jokingly said. "I'm the one breaking you guys out."
"What?" The Rodan said in disbelief. "Your right, you're not stupid. You're worse."
"You're not armed? That's disappointing." Kisto said, wondering if Buck or Zack were still alive as they had failed to arm the rebels like he asked.
"All the rebels here are stealing the guards' weapons." The Rodan said. "We're planning on storming the ship hangar. There are two large ships that will be more than enough for all of us to escape with."
"Hijack a ship, huh?" Kisto said. "That sounds beter than the plan I had." He looked around at the chaotic battle happening around them. "Look, I'm going to need one of those for me only."
"Don't be greedy you Twi'Lek dog!" The Rodan said with a smile. "You can't haver a ship all to yourself."
"It's not like that." Kisto said. "You see these small red beings? They're my friends. I promised them I would help take down Ekadi and I'm thinking of actually keeping my promise."
The Rodan nodded in understanding. "Why do you need another ship for?" The Rodan asked suspiciously.
"Remeber what I did on Kaller?" Kisot said with a sly smile.
"You're planning to... Okay now I know you are worse than stupid." The Rodan said. "But we'll help you anyway we can."
"Good Rodan!" Kisto said patting his old friend in the back. "I'll just have to call a droid about bringing my ship here before we start." Kisto said taking out his communicator.
/
"Mmmm, unlike your friend you have a mixture of hate and rage coming off you." Saza said as she and Zack circled each other.
"I don't care what you have to say witch!" Zack snapped. "I just want to see your head roll of off your shoulders!" Zack said before charging forward. Their blades met and Saza was pushed back. Zack pressed on aggressively, forcing Saza to constantly step back and block to avoid getting sliced to ribbons.
She jumped back and stopped at the foot of a cell opening. She glanced back, fearing geting cornered in the cell. That gave her an idea as she held her lightsaber out in a one handed Makashi style and waited for Zack's next attack. Zack lunged forward and their lightsabers met and parried. Through careful footwork and lghtsaber technique, Saza was able to manuver herself around Zack and him into the cell.
She used her superior skill to drive him deeper into the cell and closer to his doom. Zack relaised that soon he would be trapped and his Ateru style would be impeded in a closed space such as the cell. In the dark prison cell, their green and red lightsabers met and disconnected only to be forced together again. Zack was dangerously losing ground with each lightsaber exchange.
Saza was able to parry Zack's lightsaber blade away before punching him in the face with the curve from her lightsaber hilt that covered her hand. Zack stumbled back before his back hit the wall. There was no more ground to be given; he had to escape or face certain death. Zack felt the Force welling up deep inside him and he thrust it out in a wave force attack.
Saza raised her hand to defend herself against the invisible attack. Her feet slid back a distance under the starin of trying to stave off the attack. Zack groaned as he walked forward while his hand was thrust out in a commanding gesture of the force.
"That's it... give in... to... your passion, boy." Saza said through clenched teeth while trying to hold back the Force powered attack. "It will... make you stronger!"
When Zack got close enough he unleash a flurry of desperate attacks until he could take a gap out of the cell. He had to dodge a downward strike to his body while escaping but he was able to retreat to a safe distance. Saza smiled at him, which only fuelled his anger.
"Aw, it looks like I can't hold back this time." She said before running at him. Zack charged at her, refusing to back down.
/
Buck looked at Ru'Bik who he was supporting. Now that he was in full light he could see the Vultan properly. His eyes were sunken in and looked sorrow filled; he was deathly thin and he did not seem to acknowldedge the world around him.
"Ru'Bik? Are-Are you okay?" Buck asked.
Ru'Bik looked up at Buck's face. The Vultan narrowed his eyes at the man. "I know you, don't I?"
Buck but his lip. How could he not remember him? Buck was the man who killed his wife; who was entrusted to deliver his baby girl to safety; who failed to keep him out of the clutches of the Empire. What had they done to him? Buck found himself asking.
"I-I met you on the day you were captured." Buck said, struggling for words. "To be honest we met way before that but..."
"You," Ru'Bik weakly said grasping Buck by the collar and forcing him to a hault. "You had my baby daughter. Where is she? Is she alive?"
For moment Buck saw a flash of Ru'Bik in this husk of the Vultan before him. If anything could help bring back the man he knew it was knowledge of his daughter's survival. "Your daughter is alive, Ru'Bik. She is with your brother. You need to fight, be strong so that you can see her again. You need to live for..." There was the sound of a blaster fire and Buck's eyes went wide as Ru'Bik went a little limp in his arms.
He looked back and saw the Warden pointing a smoking pistol at his direcion and he was flanked by his men. "That is Buck Johnson, the traitor!" The warden said before releasing a few more shots.
Buck grabbed Ru'Bik and dived behind a protruding section of the wall. He placed Ru'Bik against the wall while eh reached his holster only to be met by emptyiness instead of the handle of the pistol he had left behind during his battle with the Inquisitor. He looked at Ru'Bik and saw the wound in is abdomen, a result of being shot in the back by the warden.
"Ru'Bik, you're-you're going to be okay." Buck trired to assure him.
The Vultan shook his head, knowing he was not. He gave a weka smile, with teeth stained in his own blood. "Who are you? Why did you... do this?"
Tears began shining in Buck's eyes as he saw the man he came to save die. "I-My name is Buck Johnson. You might not remember me but I come from the planet Vicon, a mining planet."
"Vicon," Ru'Bik smiled in rememberance. "Filled with good... people who... inherited a bad... land."
"Yes, you helped us." Buck said trying to keep the tears from rolling down his face. "And in return I arrested you."
"And in... return you saved... me." Ru'Bik said. "Like I said... filled with... good people. Check on my daughter once... once in a while. I now go to be with my wife." Ru'Bik's eyes closed for the final time.
Buck wiped away his tears and put on his Stromtrooper helmet. The Warden and some of his men were still firig at him. And soon, his meagre cover would be blown open and so would he.
/
The guards and prison personel were trying to get into one of the huge ships when the freed Rebel prisoners and a few Cloubits burst into the hangar room. There was a short intense fire fight that forced all the unarmed personel to escape in smaller ships, leaving the bigger ones. The unlucky ones were soon gunned down by the escaping prisoners.
"Alright, get any rebel and anyone who wants out in there and guard that no one enteres the other ship." Kisto commanded.
Kisto enterred the bigger ship and closed the door behind him. He went to the control room, which was built for a small group of people to fly. He knew he could get it off the ground but not far after that. For what he was planning, that was all he needed.
He firedd the ship up and waited for the other, carrying his rebel friends, to do the same. The other ship released a green bolt into the hangar door and blew it open before it flew out. Kisto followed. While the other ship flew away into space, Kisot angled his ship up, and flew it straight up into the night starry sky, with Ekadi prison below his steadily rising ship.
/
Buck was in a truly desperate situation. He knew that soon he would be shot up. The only reasoned he guessed the warden had not sormed to his postion and shot him point blank was because they assumed he was armed. He made his body as small as possible as he waited for the enevitable.
He suddenly heard a loud buzzing sound and an end to the blaster shots. He hazarded a look and saw a Stormtrooper in familiar armour standing before an unconscious group of people who a few seconds ago, were shooting at him.
"Canoe?" Buck said.
Canoe pointed his rifle blaster at Buck. "You know I get a promotion if I kill you?"
"Good thing you don't care about that kind of stuff, huh?" Buck said getting to his feet and slowly raising his hands.
"Says who?" Canoe said. "Unlike you, I'm a career man. But I guess I can't kill my friend just for more money." Canoe said, lowering his blaster. "So, were you able to save him?"
Buck looked sadly at the body behind him. Canoe saw and understood.
"Buck, I'm s..."
Buck raised his hand. "It's okay. My friend is in trouble, are you willing to help us?"
"If I can help without being seen," Canoe said, "than yes."
/
The ship Kisto was piloting got to its maximum help height without a full crew and began falling downwards towards the prison, and with Kisto's help towards Ekadi. Kisto rushed to the communication section of the big control room.
"Attention. Attention all people in Ekadi prison at this moment." Kisto's voice sounded throught out the prison. "As we speak I, Kisto the Rebel, am currently flying a ship into the prison facility." Kisto said. "If you value your life, I suggest you leave, for I am going to destroy this tower of evil and Empire supremisy." The last part was added to inform the Cloubits that he was doing this to help them. "I suspect you have a few standard minutes before this ship destroys Ekadi. Kisto out!"
Kisto returned to the controls as he the ship slowly re-entered the red atmosphere.
/
Rubit, who had joined the fight inside the prison heard Kisto's words of warning. He sent out the call for the surving members of his race to vacate the prison facility before it was too late. They all caught a ride on a few Wyrmbins and began vacating the doomed building.
/
Buck took out his communicator and conatced Kisto. "Kisto! What the heck? What's this about you crashing a ship into Ekadi while Zack and I are still in it?" Buck shouted. Canoe looked at him and Buck added, "me, Zack and some of our other friends I mean."
"Yeah, sorry about that." Kisto said. "It was a sort of spur of the moment thing. I've already called my droid, he'll be waiting for you guys on the roof of the prison. I suggest you and Zack... and anyone else with you get there immediately."
"I'm going to get Zack now." Buck said running down the hall towards Zack's position. "Tell your droid not to leave us, no matter what!"
"Buck, I think we should leave now." Canoe said, getting worried about the ship heading for them.
"We will, just let me do this please." Buck said.
Buck looked to the distance, hoping that Zack had killed off Saza so that they could leave immediatly.
/
Zack and Saza had stopped their battle momentarily to listen to Kisto's message of warning.
"You heard him." Saza said. "Are you willing to give up now and live?"
"If I don't kill you before that ship comes, then I'm afraid this is where we'll both die." Zack said taking a ready position.
"Or I could kill you first and then escape."
They charged at each other and their blades met in a flurry of exchanges. Saza aimed the other side of her ligtsaber at Zack and another blade shot out towards his head. Zack used his own blade to block it and push it to the side before striking at her. Saza was surprised by this move and jumped back while parrying his strike to avoid a critical hit on her body. He gave her no room to breath and fearlessly pushed forward while she fought with her double sided lightsaber.
She was able to create some distance between them before she leapt back with her lightsaber spinning like helicopter propellers, helping her get further away from him. Zack was taken back by this move as he did not know that she could use her lightsaber that way.
Saza smiled at his surprised face. "You're not the only one with tricks under his sleeve. Watch!" She said before throwing her rapidly spinning ligtsaber at him. Zack was even more surpised by this attack. He raised his own blade up to block and the spinning lightsaber nicked the back of his shoulder, illiciting a groan of pain from him.
Saza ran toward him but because she was unarmed he raised his lightsaber ready to strike her down as he ignoring the pain in his wounded shoulder. He heard a familiar hum coming from behind him and blocked behind him just as the boomeranging lightsaber tried to cut his body in half. The lightsaber passed him and landed in Saza's hands where she deactivated one blade and fought with the remaining.
Zack was forced to go on the defensive as Saza pushed forward into him. He was able to jump back and in seconds was charging at her again with furious blows aimed at her head. Saza was forced back as she parried. Zack angled a slash to her unprotected legs. Instead of bringing her lightsaber down, Saza raised it up and activated it the other blade again before creating the helicopter effect to fly up and out of the way of his low swing.
Saza deactivated the helicopter function and dropped down with her single lightsaber blade over her head. She brought it down in a red arcing swing, forcing Zack to roll to his side to avoid getting split down the middle. Zack focused on some exposed pipes. He detached them from the wall using Force-powered telelikineses and launc hed them at Saza. Saza released the other blade and made her lightsaber spin again, creating a shield of red that protected her from the incoming projectiles. The pipes were shredded, leaving her unharmed.
Zack charged at her while throwing a force wave at her. She was able to block it through great concentration which left her open for a second to the oncoming Zack. Zack did a samusault and struck down at her and to his surpise she blocked him and disarmed him of his weapon. She struck at his leg, bringing him to his knee and before he could blink, her red blade was inches from his neck.
"Something tells me that was your best move." Saza smiled at him. Her brow was shiny with sweat like his. They both had reached their limits and it seemed that Saza had won.
Zack gritted his teeth as he realised that he had failed. "Do it." He dared her.
"Don't be so eager to die." Saza said. "Your talented, Zack, and with the right training, on the right side, you could be powerful."
"What are you saying?" Zack said.
"Join me. I can train you to be strong." Saza said, her face midway to looking psychotic.
"You want to train me?" Zack said. "Why would I even except your training. I want to kill you!"
"I teach you to be strong and if you feel your strong enough, you can kill me... or at least try. That is the way of the darkside, that is the way of the Sith." Saza said.
"I am a Jedi!" Zack said defiantly.
Saza laughed at this. "You're part of an extinct group? And what have the Jedi given you, boy? A power so weak that you could not even use it to protect your loved ones or even avenge them?"
Zack closed his eyes and images of Lona's death came into mind.
"The Jedi lied to you. Their philosophies were all lies. There is no peace, only power." Saza continued. "You know this. You've given yourself to this knowledge, which is the only reason you lasted this long against me. You've tapped into the darkside and have seen the truth. I could teach you to harness it. And when you're strong enough, you can try and take your revenge but by then, I doubt you will want to."
Zack thought about it. In all honesty, he had recently begun to believe that the Jedi were weak and their philosophies were flawed and maybe that's why they had been destroyed. He looked up into her eyes and decided that if he wanted revenge against her, he could not rely on the Jedi way. "Fine. I'll join you."
"Prove it!" Saza demanded.
Zack reached into his clothes and produced a cube. "This is the source of all my knowledge on the Jedi."
"A holocron?" Saza took it into her hands greedily. "Good, welcome my pupil." She said withdrawing her blade from his neck.
Zack got up. He looked around for his ligthsaber which had been knocked away. When he saw it he began walking toward it.
Saza guessed what he was doing. "Leave it!" She hissed. "It represents your past and weaknesses. Leave it behind!"
Zack clenched his fists. For a long time that lightsaber was his only possession. He forced himself to turn his back on it and followed Saza. She pressed a button and elevator doors opened up for them. Buck appeared around the corner and Canoe was able to hide behind that same corner while Saza's back was turned.
"Zack!" Buck called out and then when he realised that he was in an elevator with Saza he looked at him confusion. They weren't fighting and except for a limp in on leg, he was not majorly hurt, so he realised that he was going with her willingly. "Zack, what's going on?" Buck demanded as the elevator doors began closing.
The last thing Buck saw was Saza's evil smirk and Zack's dark eyes glint yellow before the elevator doors closed.
"Your friend seems to have changed sides." Canoe said, coming out of his hiding place.
"No," Buck refused to believe it. Zack would never have joined the person who killed Lona.
"Buck we need to leave now." Canoe said. "If you don't, then I'm leaving you behind."
Buck clenched his fists as he stood there in confusion. He looked to the floor and his eyes happened upon Zack's discarded lightsaber.
"Buck!" Canoe said.
Buck ran to the lightsaber and picked it up. "Alright, let's get out of here."
/
Kisto was now sure that the ship would crash into Ekadi. Now he had to get to an escape pod. He had to pull himself along the walls in order to get to the nearest escape pod. Alarms were blearing out at him, forcing him to hasten his escape.
The ship would occasionally shake and cause him to fall back but he would crawl up the walls again to the escape pod. "I should've gotten a jetpack." He said through gritted teeth.
He finally got to the doors of an escape pod and reached out with tired arms at the button that would open the door. The door slid open and he climbed over into the egg-shaped pod. He quickly punched in a few coordinates before launching the small craft from the ill-fated ship and into the safety of the stars.
He looked down as the craft was now even closer to Ekadi. "Buck, Zack, I hope you two made it out alive."
/
Buck followed Canoe who had claimed to have a fast way to the roof. They got to an elevator and with shaky hands punched in the top floor. The elevator rose unsteadly rose as alrmas rang out across the prison before it pinged open at the top floor and they ran up a long case of winding stairs to the roof where a door barred their way.
Canoe tried to open the door but it was stuck. "Dammit, the door's locked shut. Must be the power outage!"
"Shoot it down!" Buck said before Canoe unloaded a small volley of fire into the door but it did not budge.
"I can't get through it!" Canoe said desperately and uselessly kicking the door.
"Don't you have any charges?" Buck asked.
Canoe shook his head no. "I can't believe this is how I'm going to die!"
Buck crumbled onto his knees. They could hear the oncoming ship that was soon going to crash into Ekadi and crush them in the process. He looked down to the object grapsed in his hands and quickly got up. "Canoe, get out of the way."
Canoe looked at him with a confused look but did as he was told. Buck held the lighsaber in front of him and activated it. A green blade leapt out of the hilt, with a green halo forming near the base of the lightsaber. Buck plunged the lightsaber into the door and began carving a hole. A round man-sized chunk of the door fell out, creating an opening for the two. Canoe crawled through the opening first, the molten metal giving him no problem due to his Stormtrooper armour. Buck did the same and they were out onto the roof. Above them was the looming ship that was getting bigger and more menacing as it got closer.
"Where's our ride out of here?" Canoe asked looking around desperalty.
"Kisto said it would be here!" Buck said over the roar of the wind, caused by the oncoming ship.
They looked around but they could not see the Diversity or Lona's Room anywhere.
"See? Never trust a rebel!" Canoe angrily said before the Diversity showed up. It opened up its platform entrance and the two friends ran for it before jumping on. The door closed and the ship started flying away. The giant ship finally crashed into Ekadi, creating a giant explosion of fire and debris that threatened to engulf the fleeing Diversity with Lona's Room attached to it.
Buck rushed to the droid flying the ship in the control room. "Hey, why are we not getting away from the explosion?" He asked desperately as the feiry explosion was cathcng up to them.
"The-The ship is-si carrying too much we-wei-weight." The droid crackled and buzzed.
"The other ship!" Canoe exclaimed. "We need to detach it."
Buck kept quiet for a while. Lona's Room was the only thing they had of Lona left. He felt that it would be dishonouring her if they let the ship go but if they did not, it was likely they would die.
"Buck!"
"Alright alright." Buck said as they were plaugued by a quake of the ground beneath them "Droid, detach Lona's Room." He reluctantly said.
The Droid pressed a button and the ship fell away to be fully engulfed by the could of pursuing fire. This gave the Diversity a chance to pull away safely from the explosion and go out into space. Buck looked down through a window at the destroyed Ekadi. At least the Cloubits would now be free of the Empire, he thought to himself. It was unlikely that the Empire would bother to rebuild the facility again. He looked out into the distance of space and wondered if Zack had survived.
/
Zack looked at theruined facility of Ekadi. He was sitting in the cockpit of Saza's personal space ship. They had gottent to it in time, before the facility was destroyed. He breathed in and looked out into the deep dark space. He did not know where his new journey would lead him but he knew it would make him stronger. He looked to his side at the beautiful woman piloting the ship, the woman he made an oath to kill but for now would be studying under.
He still did not fully understand her reasons for wanting to make him stronger but he knew she would one day regret it, even if it cost him his own life. But from this day on, he would no longer seek to be a Jedi.
/
A few standard hours had passed and Canoe had opted to be left on a planet that had good ties with the Empire. Buck was looking at him from his ship.
"Are you sure you want to go back to the Empire?" Buck said, worried about his firend. "It could be dangerous."
"Hey, as far as anyone knows, I'm still loyal to the Stormtroopers." Canoe said. "I can simply say I escaped the whole event."
"You could just come with me." Buck offered.
"And give up my job and paycheck? And for what? Being hunted across the galaxy. No thanks." Canoe said.
Buck smiled at this before shaking his head. " Well, regardless,Thanks for everything." Buck said.
"Although it pains me to say this but, anytime." Canoe said. "Anytime you need me, just call."
Buck nodded. "I will and same to you." He was walking back to the ship when Canoe stopped him.
"Buck wait! Could you do me a favour?" Canoe said.
"Anything." Buck walked back to to his friend.
"Give me your helmet."
Buck was confused by this but handed him over his helmet. "Why do you need it?"
Canoe aimed a pistol at its middle and shot it, createing a whole. "Proof."
"Of what?" Buck said, disturbed by what he had just done.
"That I killed you." Canoe said to his friend. "This is going to give me my next promotion." Canoe held up the helmet with a hole in it.
Buck smiled at him. "Well congradulations on your promotion."
"Congradulations on your death." Canoe said.
A silent moment of respect passed between them before they nodded and went their separate ways. Buck launched the ship, heading for where Dyna was.
/
"I don't understand, what happened to Zack?" Dyna said. She understood as Buck had explained it to her but she, like some part of Buck, did not believe it.
"He lost his way." Buck said sadly.
"Will he ever find his way again?" Dyna said getting emotional.
Buck patted her on the head gently. "I don't know. All we can do is just hope that he does." Buck said. "I think this belongs to you now." He said offering her the lightsaber Zack used to carry. She took it into her hands and Buck gave her a moment to be alone. Dyan went to her room in the Diversity while the ship rumbled to take off. Her room became dark as soon as the doors whizzed closeed and the window was currently shaded so no sunlight came in.
She was not sure what to think about Zack. Had he really betrayed them? No, she thougth to herself. He would come back and she was sure of it. She took the lightsaber in her hands and activated it, allowing the green light to fill the room.
"He'll come back and if he doesn't I'll bring him back." She said to herself and as she looked at the humming weapon with a green halo near the base, she knew as long as there was light there would be hope.
The End
Author's Note
And... we've reached the end of this adventure. It too me some time to get this last chapter though, its just been sitting in my pc... waiting to be proof read. Tell me how how I did and thanks for reading and making it this far!
Sub Ink, signing off... for now.
