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IV

Anakin rushed through the halls of the Hoth base with Dack, Hobbie, all the others he had met since finding passage off of Tatooine on the spur of Mon Mothma's "Generals, you're our only hope..." It had taken so long to return to a mask of his former, almost-Chosen self with the help of his Master Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon who appeared corporeal sometimes for his protégés' convenience, and Yoda as a voice on a Jedi signal device Anakin had retrofitted into an interspatial commlink. Again they played a step above the military; again a rugged strange band would draw attention to the Rebellion.

Imperial forces had swept into Echo Base before the Jedi and others had even gotten to their ships to repel the attack on the power generator.

Obi-Wan -- the troops knew him as Ben, ancient skilled warrior with his semitragic companion--signaled for their group to flank a doorway to a secondary hanger . His whitening hair and white clothing almost blended into the ice-colored walls. "The Dark Lord is in there.", he said calmly.

Dull anger and pain raised its toothless head beneath Anakin's control; Obi-Wan had taught him peace after the worst times in the house in the Dune Sea, while Anakin was still numb to his healing body and Force ability and while Palpatine and his new minion, Ruen (an old Order's Padawan) had captured and killed Anakin's child after--after Padmé died.

Obi-Wan continued, "Leave him to me. Take the stormtroopers." He looked at the fighting men and broken Jedi, and the Imperials opened the door with loud blasterfire pouring in.

Anakin shifted some of the smoke and slipped inside, began whetting his saber edge on unseen stormtroopers. He tripped against other Rebels, walked flat-footed, but kept on, kept moving, tracked the troops. This hanger held the Millennium Falcon in its cold light, and Anakin came around one of that ship's legs in a swift quiet moment when the shouts and chaos of the fighting men were muffled.

Obi-Wan stepped out from behind another angle of the ship and Darth Ruen, a slim human Anakin knew only from the Battle of Yavin, came opposite from the smoke of his stormtroopers' guns.

Ruen said to Obi-Wan, "I've been waiting for you, Jedi. We meet at last."

Obi-wan moved into a stance of his new technique, useful for his venerable strength and Anakin's crippled might. He mumbled, imbued with the Force as far as Anakin could tell from where he stood pinioned by surprise. "You are only a master of evil, Darth..."

Their lightsabers struck together once, twice, enough for Anakin to start toward them. Obi-wan deftly caught an overhead strike sideways, and while the Lord Ruen swept his blade in again the Jedi fixed Anakin intently in his gaze. No, the look seemed to say, coursing command through the remaining circuits of Anakin's Force-knowledge. No, these are things meant to be. Ruen's saber came against Obi-Wan's stability in twists, eights, innovative tight cuts, and his lips twitched back over his teeth in echoes at the impact of each exchange.

The red blade fell down and Obi-Wan pulled his block up to it.

"You are weak, old man."

Obi-Wan was failing, seizing his guard closer and closer to himself, leading the fight in a straight line. He stopped, the Force sinking like the deepness in his eyes. 'You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

"Yes...", said Ruen, and stepped, and stabbed.

Anakin surged forward again, and stopped when his Master's cloak fell to the ground empty. The pool of the Force whirlpooled down before him like blue calmness. He staggered, stalled. Ruen poked the white cloak with a deft foot and switched his gaze to Anakin with the mismatched lightsabers held down in their hands.

They stared and hated each other.

Ruen quietly said, "You can not do this."

A squad of orange-suited rebels paused in their flowing toward the Imperial saboteurs. Some stood in the doorway along with one of his acquaintances, a pilot. "Anakin!", she shouted.

Like an echo, Obi-Wan's voice and presence resounded for him. "Run, Anakin! Run."

The Jedi limped to the communal arms of his squadron.