Alex Rider: Jedi Knight

Jedi Goat

Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider or Star Wars.

Author's Note: I'm back! Thank you to all the readers who waited - I will try to post as fast as I can to make up for my hiatus.

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Chapter 14: Retrospect

Alex woke up slowly, blinking in the bright light. He squinted blearily around the room and vaguely recognized it as a hospital's plain white interior. Equipment was put away neatly in a cupboard in front of him, and the rest was on display on the walls. There was a large window set into one of the walls, through which he could see darkness and a scattering of stars. There was an empty chair stationed beside his bed on the right, and a small table on the left, where there was a vase of fresh flowers and a bottle of water. How long have I been out of it? What happened?

"What?" he croaked out in confusion. The battle was coming back to him, images as vivid as before. He remembered Anakin striking the winning blow, and the smirk on his face as Alex fell away. Instinctively, Alex reached for his lightsaber.

He felt his shoulder wrench and he bit back a yelp of pain. Settling back down against his pillow, he noticed the thick white gauze around his shoulder.

Alex felt a hand on his arm and glanced up to see Sabina. "Watch it," she chided him gently before sitting down.

"My 'saber?" whispered Alex. Sabina handed him the lightsaber hilt and he took it with his good hand. Placing it on the table beside his bed, he asked, "What happened?"

Sabina explained the events of that afternoon to him, her voice a comforting murmur. Alex closed his eyes and listened.

"I was waiting for you outside the bank, like you told me to. It had been a long time and you still didn't come, so I went inside and the receptionist told me you were downstairs…." She trailed off uncertainly.

"Go on," Alex urged her hoarsely.

"Well, then he came." Sabina's voice wavered slightly and Alex knew she was referring to Anakin. Hatred and the pain of betrayal rose in his throat like bile, and he swallowed it back down. It didn't matter that Anakin had once been a Jedi; now he was their enemy, and that was all that mattered.

"He pretended to be you for a while," continued Sabina. "Then I figured out he wasn't and…and somehow he started choking me."

"With the Force," Alex guessed. It was another of the powers the Sith had, just as deadly as their Force lighting. Memories of white-hot pain scorched the edges of his mind, and Alex sympathized with Sabina. It must have been even more terrifying than his ordeal, not understanding what was happening and being just as helpless as he had been.

"The receptionist came by and he stopped. He was going to attack her, too, but she ran outside. I tried to escape. I crawled upstairs to the roof and then…then I saw you." Sabina gently brushed the hair away from his sweaty forehead. "I thought you were dead, Alex. I was so scared. I thought he'd get both of us." She paused. "Then he came out on the roof and…this strange feeling came over me. I think I used the Force, 'cause I just stuck out my hand and he went flying across the roof and got knocked out." Sabina held out her hand and examined it for a moment, as though trying to figure out how it had happened.

"Good job," Alex told her. "You see? The Force is with you."

A smiled played at her lips. "It was the least I could do. I mean, I didn't fight an epic duel or anything."

"The least you could do!" Alex coughed, his whole body shuddering with the effort. Then he blinked back up at her and said fiercely, "Sab, what you did was great. You faced him, and that alone was brave. Then you used the Force against him, even though he was stronger. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be dead."

"Thanks," she murmured embarrassedly. "I guess you're right." She got up and poured a glass of water from the bottle on the table. She placed the cup in Alex's good hand. "Here."

Alex drank, the cool liquid soothing his throat. He nodded thankfully to Sabina and she sat back down, continuing with her story.

"But anyway, after all that happened I fainted and the next thing I knew I woke up here. Some lady from the bank called Mrs. Jones came by. She said the police arrived soon after and searched the building for him. They found us instead and brought us to the hospital. We'll be safe here and they're still looking for him."

"They won't find him, though," Alex added with a touch of bitterness. Anakin was powerful, and he had that Darth Sidious as an ally. He was probably halfway across the galaxy by now.

Sabina wasn't finished. She shook her head sadly and lamented, "I'm sorry, Alex. I should have listened to you and taken Jedi training. Then maybe…maybe none of this would have happened. I'm so sorry."

Alex reached up for her hand. "It's all right, Sab," he reassured her. "We're together, right? And I'll give you training, if you like."

"Yes, thank you," Sabina murmured, her eyes glistening with tears. She turned away, wiping at her eyes.

"I called Obi-Wan," she said offhandedly. "He's coming."

Vaguely, as if it had been years ago, Alex remembered Ian's words and wondered if he had told Obi-Wan anything. "Is that what he said?"

"He said, and I quote, 'I'll be right there'. That's it."

"Okay," Alex mumbled, pushing all this information away for later consideration. Leaning back, he drifted off into the welcome dark blanket of sleep.

To be continued...

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