Chapter 6 – Battle in the Dungeon

Luke Skywalker faced the adversary that stood between him and the energy field that held Ahsoka Tano. "Moff Arndt. I see you've plucked up the courage to meet me in person. You must realize that you are hopelessly outmatched."

Arndt laughed. "I don't think so." He pressed a button on his wrist comlink and six ceiling panels, arranged in a circle around Luke, slid aside. One red-robed Imperial Royal Guard dropped in through each hole and landed on the floor, surrounding the Jedi. At the same time, two panels in each wall opened to reveal security turbolasers that, when activated, would automatically lock onto enemy targets and fire blaster bolts at them in rapid succession.

Each guard wore red battle armor concealed by a scarlet robe and a matching helmet that appeared to blend into the robe. These guards underwent brutal training in many types of combat, particularly in martial arts. They wielded meter-long force pikes, which weighed between two and seven kilograms, so were only used by the most adept warriors. The pikes, at low setting, delivered electrical shocks that could knock a full-grown Wookiee unconscious. At higher settings, they caused paralysis and death. At maximum setting, they could slice through thin durasteel plating. They were also resistant to lightsabers.

Luke ignited his lightsaber and assumed a defensive stance. He looked around, weighing his options. Would he be able to last against six Royal Guards and eight turbolasers? Perhaps, but could he protect Ahsoka at the same time? Unlikely. Luke had walked into a very grim situation, indeed. But he was a Jedi, and Jedi showed no fear. Luke was determined to win, for the sakes of Ahsoka and the rebels. He said to Arndt, "Impressive, but illogical. You think that be destroying me, the Rebel Alliance will fail? You think I'm the only person who can rebuild the Jedi Order? You think the fate of the entire galaxy revolves around me?"

Arndt smiled deviously. "Oh, I don't care about the future. I'm only interested in revenge. You destroyed the Emperor, and brought about the Empire's decline. It's because of you that the galaxy is rising against us."

"Revenge will gain you nothing. The Emperor is still dead, and the rebels have begun our attack on Coruscant. You have already lost."

"No!" yelled Arndt. "It is the Jedi who have lost! They may have been proud warriors once, but now they have been killed because of their own weaknesses. You possess those same weaknesses, Skywalker. You and Ahsoka. What chance do you think you have?"

Luke frowned. "I defeated the Emperor because I rejected those weaknesses. You are the one who's weak. I know a lot about you, Arndt. You grew up in a home where no one loved each other. You have never known true happiness, so you use your prisoners to obtain that which you could never have."

Arndt was now enraged. "You dare tell me about my own life? You know nothing about me! I have no attachment to Ahsoka. I could kill her anytime I want." Arndt reached into his jacket and pulled out what Luke recognized as Ahsoka's lightsaber. He ignited it and pointed it at Ahsoka's neck. He drew back and prepared to swing.

Reacting quickly, Luke used the Force to summon Ahsoka's lightsaber to his left hand. With two lightsabers, he had a better chance of defending himself. That, apparently, was the cue for the Royal Guards to attack. They converged on Luke, swinging their force pikes with surprising speed. But Luke had learned well. He swing his lightsabers in circles to stop the pikes. Then he somersaulted over two of the guards, swinging his lightsabers to slice through their necks.

Two of the guards were dead, but four still remained, and they would not make the same mistake. As soon as Luke landed, he lashed out with the Force, pushing them all backwards. As soon as the guards were down, however, the turbolasers began firing. Luke twirled his lightsabers to catch all of the blaster bolts and deflect them away from himself. With careful calculation, some of the bolts hit their sources, destroying two of the turrets.

Arndt, still standing next to Ahsoka, pressed a button on the detention block control console and told the Royal Guards, "I've lowered the blaster intensity. Your armor will protect you. Take him!"

The four guards charged forward and thrust their force pikes at Luke, who leapt backwards in order to avoid being stabbed. He swung one of his lightsabers downward to push the pikes aside and then used the other to swing at the guards. But they were quick enough to dodge the blow. Luke now had to fight the four guards and avoid blasterfire at the same time. Even though the blaster bolts weren't as lethal, they could still harm Luke.

Luke ducked and rolled when he couldn't block or attack, which was often. At one point, one of his lightsabers sliced through the wall, setting off an alarm. Oil sprayed out of the broken pipes, and sparking wires ignited the oil, setting the detention block on fire. One of the royal Guards was hit by oil and began to burn. As the fight continued, smoke began to engulf the room. On one hand, this meant that the turbolasers in the walls couldn't target Luke, but, on the other hand, it was harder for him to see, so he had to rely on the Force more than ever to defend himself.

Moff Arndt could see that Luke was beginning to overpower the guards. They couldn't see as well as Luke could, and even with their martial arts and force pikes, they were at the disadvantage. Formulating a plan, he deactivated Ahsoka's containment field, allowing her to drop to the floor. Arndt pulled her up and held her in front of him, as though she were a shield. Arndt then drew a blaster and stuck the barrel into Ahsoka's mouth.

"Enough!" the Moff exclaimed. When everyone had stopped fighting, Luke realized Ahsoka's predicament. Arndt said, "If you do not surrender now, Skywalker, I will blow her brains out. Now get out of my way." Arndt slowly began to circle around Luke, pulling Ahsoka with him, towards the door.

Luke held his lightsabers ready, prepared to strike Arndt. But he knew that if he made a single movement that Arndt didn't like, Ahsoka would die. Luke could tell that Arndt wasn't bluffing. But there was always hope that things would turn out in the Jedi's favor. Luke decided to play along, just to be safe. He deactivated his lightsabers and said, "I surrender."

Arndt chuckled. "That's better." Addressing the three Royal Guards, he ordered, "Take his weapons." On his command, two of the guards snatched the lightsabers from Luke's hands. Arndt, standing against the open doorway, said, "You've made a wise decision, Skywalker. Your capture will make me the envy of the Empire. I would thank you by saving the rebel prisoners, but I'm afraid that would reflect badly on my reputation. So, I will allow you to spend the last few moments of your life with your friends."

Luke frowned at Arndt. "So you lied to me in the message. You said that unless I come alone, you would kill the prisoners." Luke held out his hands and said, "Well, here I am. I fulfilled my end of the bargain. It would reflect badly on your reputation if you didn't do the same."

Arndt laughed out loud. "You see? That is why the Jedi fell in the first place! They, like you, put too much trust in faith. Faith that they were on the right side. Well, they paid, and now it's your turn. And as for Ahsoka, I am happy to say that she will suffer no more." He rammed his blaster further into Ahsoka's mouth, causing her to gasp in alarm. It seemed that her end had finally come.

But then, unexpectedly, Arndt yelled in pain and fell to the ground. Luke saw that there was a hole burned into the back of his heart. Someone had shot him from behind! Luke looked up and was pleasantly surprised to see Don Dain charging through the smoke and firing at the Royal Guards. Luke took advantage of the distraction to take back his lightsabers and kill the remaining guards. The battle was over.

Dain kneeled beside the shallowly-breathing Ahsoka and placed a hand on her heart. He announced, "She's alive."

Luke then remembered. "Arndt didn't deactivate the self-destruct sequence. We only have about five minutes to get everyone out of here."

Dain nodded. "Then let's hurry." He and Luke ran into the cell hallway, opening each cell and releasing the prisoners. Most of them were still fit and left the detention block quickly, and they helped those who were too weak. Once Luke and Dain had ascertained that everyone had been freed, they ran out of the dungeon just as it exploded.

As Luke watched the prison burn, his comlink beeped, indicating that someone was contacting him. He pressed the answer button and said, "Skywalker here."

Luke heard a sigh of relief and Lando Calrissian's voice. "Luke, are you okay? Is everything fine?"

Luke smiled, "Better than fine. Commander Dain and I have rescued the rebel prisoners, including Ahsoka. How are you?"

"Well, we've broken into the command center and the Imperial leaders have surrendered. They are calling off their attack on the fleet in orbit. Coruscant has been freed."

The rebels within earshot cheered upon hearing this news. Luke said, "Then it appears that the Liberation of Coruscant has been a success. Unfortunately, there is still much to do. The power transition will be difficult, but I sense that peace is impending."

At that moment, another voice spoke through the comlink. It was Admiral Ackbar. "Attention, all teams. The Imperial forces have surrendered. Halt your attacks, and stand by for further orders. Also, well done, everyone!"

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