Chapter 13

The two walk around each other, circling an invisible point between them, each has their saber ignited and pointed towards the other. Physically they are a study of duality.

One is young, barely a man, the other is old, nearing the end of middle age.

One fights for the life of the girl he loves, the other fights for the enjoyment of hurting someone.

One sports red hair, and a blue blade, the other black hair and a red blade.

One is calm and collected, while the other is a seething maelstrom of hate and anger.

One is a Jedi, the other is not quite a Sith.

Yes, they are a study of opposing characteristics, but for all their differences they fundamentally are the same. They both are powerful Force users. They both fight with flair, a love for the dramatic.

And ultimately, they both fight to win.

Then with a flash, Argor steps forward, propelling his blade down towards Ben, who is barely able to deflect the attack in time. As Ben recovers, Argor drops and pivots, snaking his leg behind Ben's dumping him to the ground.

Muttering a curse under his breath, Ben touches the Force and uses it to flip himself backwards, narrowly missing Argor's red blade as it cleaves into the floor where he had been laying. Landing, he steadies himself, and then steps forward, swinging his blade towards Argor.

Argor catches Ben's blade on his saber, and then releasing one hand from his hilt, slams his fist into Ben's jaw in a powerful uppercut.

The strength behind the blow lifts Ben up slightly, knocking him backwards. Ben shakes his head to clear the ringing, just as Argor blasts him once again with Force lightning.

Argor stops the lightning. "Now do you see my power, the power of the Dark Side. Now do you understand why you should fear me?"

Ben leverages himself up, gritting his teeth against the pain. "Been there, done that." Then with a blast of Force energy, he jumps; landing behind Argor and lunges forward with his saber hoping to impale the older man on his blade.

Argor spins, and bats Ben's saber away. A feral smile stretches the older man's face as he steps forward and swipes his blade at Ben. Ben throws up a Force wall which halt Argor's swing and advance, even as he starts to back pedal, hoping to give himself some breathing room.

Once more lifting his saber over his head in a high-guard, Ben begins sliding to the left. "So just who is your Master? I killed the last of the Sith."

Argor laughs. "If you had come peacefully, then I would have taken you to talk to my Master. Unfortunately, you had to fight." Then with a shrug, Argor attacks once again, feinting a left to right strike, which Ben falls for, lifting his blade that way to block. Then with a twist of his wrists, he turns his feint into a stab, pushing his saber fast towards Ben's chest.

Ben realizes at the last instant the feint, and begins to twist his body away from the strike, but is unable to fully move in time. Argor's blade scores a long stripe across his chest, and plunges into his sword arm.

Ben drops his saber in shock, as Argor pulls back his blade. Ben drops to his knees, grasping the neat circular hole in his arm, and bites back a scream.

A movement from the corner of his eyes attracts his attention, and he faces Argor just as the older man steps up to deliver a killing blow. With a flash of anger, Ben strikes out waving his arm in Argor's direction, sending a concentrated Force push his way, which slams into the older man, knocking him against the far wall. The anger still in his eyes, he reaches out and grasps Argor with the Force, and begins to compress, squeezing the life from him as he slowly clenches his hand into a fist.

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Han and Wedge stand side by side, looking at the holographic representation of the entire system. Han frowns at the green icons which represent the four dozen Corellian blockade runners that are currently in high orbit around one of Corellia's moons.

"You sure about this Wedge?"

Wedge nods his head and then points to one of the red icons which are scattered throughout the system. "This is one of the interdictors, and that one is going to be our first target."

Han reaches out and grabs the icon representing the star destroyer, and drags it to a secondary area, where it enlarges to give more detailed information. "The Mon Mothma huh?"

"Yes, I thought it fitting to rid the Federation of a ship named after her. Especially since the goals of the Federation are so opposed to what she had wanted for the galaxy."

Han nods his head. "You're the boss."

Wedge's laugh is dry and without any humor. Han turns towards one of the mission controllers. "Tell Runner A that she has the go ahead."

Han reaches out and grasps another icon, dragging it to the secondary area. The image of the Mon Mothma disappears, replaced by a new ship, one whose design Han does not recognize. "What is this?"

Wedge smiles once more, the humor that should be there, still lacking. "That's one of my surprises. It's called a Clippership."

Han looks at the oddly designed craft, noticing the long pointed, and the sets of three masts that stick out at regular intervals around the hull. Han fiddles with the icon, looking at it from every angle. Turning his attention from the Clippership, Han watches as one of the blockade runners detaches from the group, heading towards the interdictor in question.

"Get me a real-time visual feed from Runner A, put it up on seven.

A part of the displays changes and becomes a visual feed from the moving blockade runner. Han and Wedge watch as the craft gains speed and gets closer and closer to the Mon Mothma.

The distance between the Mothma and where the blockade runner started from was great, and the Mon Mothma's captain had ample time to see what was happening, and start to react to it. Wedge grins as the Mon Mothma starts to back away, trying to get away from the blockade runner.

Han nods his head. "It's working. Tell the rest of the runners they are good to go."

Each of the runners starts heading towards a specific capital ship. Each with a specific mission in mind. Their orders are simple: head directly towards their targeted capital ship at best possible speed, regardless of engine safety protocols.

Han once more grabs the icon representing the Mon Mothma and drops it on the secondary terminal, bringing up the various sensor readings provided for that ship. He watches with a smile as she starts to release escape pods. He turns to a mission controller. "Tell Clippership Captivator she is good to go for the Mon Mothma."

Wedge and Han hold their breath as they watch one of the clipperships get under way. As the ship nears the Mon Mothma, one of the masts, shoots out and impales the star destroyer. They stare at the red icon, watching it intently for minutes. Then they both let out a laugh as the icon switches to green, and a voice comes over the com. "This is Captain Hiram Olsa of the Corellian Defense Fleet Star Destroyer Mon Mothma, reporting for duty."

Han nods towards a mission controller, who quickly begins speaking orders to the star destroyer. When another of the controllers lifts there heads towards Han and Wedge. "Runner C reports that the Requiem is not abandoning ship."

Han nods his head sadly. "Tell Runner C to carry out her secondary mission."

Han turns back to the hologram of the system, and draws a box around the Requiem and Runner C, then drags that box bigger, causing it to expand. As Han and Wedge watches the blockade runner goes up to full speed, and rams into the Requiem. The green icon representing the blockade runner disappears as the red icon representing the Requiem turns blue for a disabled or dying ship. As the system gets more sensor information concerning the dieing ship, large chunks of the hologram turn the purple of destroyed subsystems.

"Their captain was an idiot, sacrificing them all just so we wouldn't get another ship."

Han pushes against the box holding the holographic representation of the Requiem, shrinking it until the entire system is once more displayed. As they watch, another group of capital ships come into the system on the vector that the Requiem was interdicting, their yellow icons appearing where there should be nothing.

"Sir, new contacts at point 0-7-6"

"Sir, we're being hailed by the new contacts."

Han nods at the ensign. "Turn it on."

A feminine voice comes from the hidden speakers. "This is Commander Alisha Ri'kora of the Hapan Battle Dragon Vengeance; by order of the Queen Mother we are here to aid you, and the Queen Mother pledges Hapan support in your stand against the tyranny of the Federation."