Chapter 5
The farther down he ran, the hotter this arctic wasteland seemed to become. At this point, Ben had lost all visual contact with the sith and was now running down the tunnel full speed hoping to catch him. Finally, Ben came to a room that glowed an orange-red color. The walls and floor was made primarily of metal with computers scattered about like some sort of lab.
At the far end of the room, Ben saw the sith exiting the room through a door. Quickly, he followed after him. The room he entered was not what he expected. It looked much like the previous, but with a giant, glowing ball of fire in the center. It was separated from the rest of the room by a thick layer of anti-melt glass. 'This whole facility is meant to study the planet's core.' Ben thought to himself.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ben saw the sith placing det-packs on the glass. 'He's going to blow the whole planet!' Ben thought as he activated his lightsaber and ran towards the sith.
Having sensed the presence of the jedi once more, the apprentice looked up from his work and activated his lightsaber. This time, it was he who was taken by surprise. The jedi pushed him away from the glass and held him to the wall. It felt as though his bones were being snapped while being suffocated at the same time. Finally, as the apprentice knew the weak jedi always did, he was released from the death grip. The apprentice fell to the floor, gasping for air. As his lungs filled, he reached for his saber and pulled it towards him.
Ben raised his saber to block a surge of lightning that came towards him. The pressure was almost to great to bear, but he stood strong. The lightning stopped and the sith came charging at him. The two force users clashed sabers. Sparks flew as the sabers spun, each of the combatants looking for an opening to finish the fight. Finally, Ben saw that opening. Seeing a flaw in one of the sith's saber spins Ben took his saber and slashed at his arm.
The apprentice jerked back just in time to keep from having his arm severed from his body. The pain was agonizing, but he would suffer worse at the hands of Vader if he failed. The apprentice unleashed a powerful burst of Force knocking the jedi away from him. The apprentice deactivated his saber and exited the room. Once outside, he removed the remote from his belt and activated the det-packs. He had set them for two minutes. It would take up to two days for the planet to be destroyed, but after the explosion it would not be savable.
Ben groaned. He had failed to stop the sith. He was much more powerful than he had originally anticipated. He ran as fast as he could to escape the impending explosion. As he ran back through the caverns, the air began to grow colder and it almost stunned him. As he left the cave where he had found his crystal, he heard the explosion. 'This planet is at its end.' Ben thought with sadness in his heart. He ran towards his ship and quickly made the jump off world.
On the star destroyer…
The apprentice knelt before Vader, staring straight at the ground. "You have done well, my apprentice. Although I sense that you encountered something or someone that you did not expect." The apprentice spoke, still staring at the ground, "Yes master, I encountered a jedi knight. He nearly defeated me in combat, but he did not manage to stop the explosives." The apprentice awaited Vader's answer. "Your training with your saber and the Force will double from now on. You will need all the power you can if you are going to fight jedi," Vader paused, "but remember our ultimate goal." The apprentice rose and finished the sentence. "The emperor."