Last Stand Of A Jedi SOLDIER.
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...
For many years, the Galactic Republic stood as a strong shinning beacon in the galaxy, thanks in no small part to the powerful Jedi Order, who served as guardians of peace. However, as a war broke out between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the once peaceful guardians were forced in to military roles, leading the mighty clone army in to battle against the vicious droid army. The war lasted for 3 long and bloody years, with both sides suffering heavy losses. However, unknown to everyone, the entire war was nothing more than a piece of a grand plan developed by the Sith Lord, Darth Sidious.
Using his position as the Supreme Chancellor, Sidious would declare all jedi as traitors to the republic, after issuing an order called Order 66, which lead to the clones gunning down their own jedi commanders, bringing the once powerful jedi order to the brink of extinction... however, not all jedi were killed in the great purge, some managed to survive...
A jedi knight, named Zack Fair...
Zack was walking across the landscapes of an unknown planet, his mind trying to piece together everything that had happened. He remember being knocked out after a heated battle against a dark jedi, though his memories were foggy on who it was, before waking up inside an bacta tank, located inside a hidden lab, where some people were experimenting on him. From what he'd learned, they were trying to study the midichlorians inside his body, trying to learn how they worked and if they could be use to grant force abilities to people who didn't have a strong connection to the force. Safe to say, Zack wasn't to pleased about someone using his people for experiments, so he broke free and destroyed the facility.
However, those insane people had somehow succeeded in their goals. Or at least somewhat succeeded, as Zack wasn't the only one they experimented on... They also had his best friend, Cloud Strife, and used him as a test subject. They succeeded in raising Cloud's midichlorian count, but since the force isn't something just anyone can use and control, Cloud was left in a un-responsive state, forcing Zack to carry him, as he refused to leave his best friend behind. However, the experiments would be far from the biggest shock Zack would experience upon his awakening.
Even while unconscious, Zack still sensed something horrible was happening around the galaxy... He sensed so much death, like people were just dropping dead all over the galaxy. And when he woke up and looked through all the records he could find... he learned that not only had he been unconscious for 4 years, but during that time, the jedi order had been wiped out and the Republic had been transformed in to the Galactic Empire, lead by Emperor Palpatine... And while he did bring peace to the galaxy, it came at the cost of freedom.
"This is insane, Cloud..." Zack said as he was sitting down to rest for a bit, after having put cloud down by a rock in front of him "Four years... we've been out of it for four years, only to wake up to this... The galaxy feels so dark now... like I've woken up from a bad dream, only to enter a nightmare".
Cloud didn't say anything, as he was still recovering from the experiments.
Zack sighed "The jedi are gone and this Empire has taken over... I hope Aerith is alright".
He couldn't stop thinking about the beautiful girl he knew, Aerith Gainsborough. She spent most of her time at the jedi temple, tending to the gardens they had there, mainly the flowers, which lead to many nicknaming her the Flower Jedi. Aerith's presence in the force felt like a shinning star, the darkness of the war hadn't even touched her spirit, she was a jedi of pure light. Zack spent most of his free time with her, and despite jedi being forbidden from forming any romantic attachments, the two would develop feelings for each other, which they made sure to keep secret.
Only one other person knew about their relationship. Anakin Skywalker, the chosen one of the jedi order. Zack and Anakin had a friendly rivalry with each other, both being nearly equal in lightsaber combat, but Anakin was far more powerful in the force. Their trust in each other grew to the point that both told each other of their secret relationships, with Anakin revealing he was even married to the well known Senator of Naboo, Padme Amidala.
"Anakin... If anyone could survive the jedi purge it would be him... but why? Why would everyone turn against us like this? We're not traitors, we risked our lives for three years to protect them, and yet they still turned on us... What was even the point of all those years of pain and suffering? Did any of it even matter? Did anything we did matter?" Zack wondered to himself before looking at Cloud "Well, just laying around here isn't going to help anyone, time to keep going buddy".
Zack picked Cloud up and continued their journey. However, he sensed something was wrong and noticed several white armored troopers approaching them... But they didn't look like clone troopers, their armors were different. Zack put Cloud down and approached the troopers.
"Hey there" He said calmly.
"Don't take another step" The Commander ordered sharply "Who are you? And what are you doing out here?".
"I could ask you the same thing" Zack said.
"Don't try to be funny with me. This is a restricted area, and you're trespassing" The Commander said in a dangerous tone.
"I am? Sorry, I had no idea. I'll be leaving right away" Zack said, hoping he could avoid a potential fight.
"I don't think so, sir. You're under arrest. You'll be coming with us" The Commander declared.
Zack had only one trick left, he waved his hand "You will let us go and forget you ever saw us".
The Commander looked confused "Are you high on death sticks or something?".
Zack sighed, this is what he gets for focusing more on his combative force abilities "It was worth a try".
He took out his lightsaber, and the blue energy rose from the weapon as he activated it.
"He's a jedi!" The Commander realized as he and his troopers aimed at Zack.
"Last chance: Walk away, or I'll strike you down" Zack warned.
"Open fire!" The Commander ordered as he and his men began firing.
Zack charges head on into the incoming fire, blocking the blaster bolts that come his way and strikes them all down. But there are more troops up ahead. He takes out some of the troopers before leaping over the enemies and began striking them all down. He keeps running till he sees stormtrooper preparing to shoot rocket at him. He used the force to send the rocket back, killing the trooper. He looked to see the remaining trooper running away. Zack knew the trooper would call for back up, so he needed to grab cloud and leave, quickly.
Later, the two hitched a ride on a train. Zack takes in the air and the wind on his face. He was thinking about what to do now that the jedi order was gone. To survive they would need credits, but with the Empire hunting jedi, he wasn't going to make a living anywhere they were watching. Maybe he could become a bounty hunter? As long as he hides his identity, he should be able to make some money without the empire catching him. He looked at Cloud, hoping he would make up soon and help him out with some ideas... And hopefully he could find Aerith.
Suddenly, they're being shot at. Zack shields and grabs Cloud and leaps off the train. Zack sets Cloud down and looks over him with a smile. He rubs Cloud's head before walking away. Cloud is regaining himself, and reaches out to him as he leaves. Up ahead, an Imperial army lie in wait, armed with all kinds of weapons.
"Boy, oh boy. The price of freedom is steep" Zack said as he takes out his lighter and holds it near his forehead, remembering the words of his dead master "Embrace your dreams. And, whatever happens, protect your honor as a Jedi! Come and get it!".
Zack fights through waves and waves of enemy soldiers. As the battle goes on, the memories of his friends go through his mind. He continues fighting, refusing to let himself die here. His lightsaber slashes through the troopers left and right, blasters bolts being either dodged or sent back at the shooter. Some tried to attack him with shock batons, but as should've been obvious, they were no match for Zack in close combat. He blocked one strike before pushing his foe back and delivered a powerful strike which broke clean through the trooper's guard and cut him down. Zack then put his saber in a reversed grip to stab a second trooper through the chest.
Zack deflected several blaster bolts as he ran forward and cut down the troopers that fired at him. A trooper threw a detonator... bad move as Zack caught it with the force before sending it back, blowing up the trooper along with several of his allies. Zack then unleashed a force wave, which sent several troopers off a nearby cliff. The battle was long and brutal... but against all odds, Zack managed to defeat the army.
He smiled to himself. Now all he had to do was head back to Cloud and then... He suddenly stopped when he sensed something... something cold... something... horrible. He heard loud mechanical breathing and looked to see someone approaching. He appears as a very tall man in his mid years. From head to toe, he is covered in heavy black armor and fabric and a flowing drape, the helmet which features a skull theme and covers his entire face while also acting as his breathing apparatus.
"Zack Fair... I am surprised you managed to disappear for 4 years. But you can't hide from me now" The dark figure said.
Zack could feel the power, the hatred, it raged around this man like a storm... and yet, he seemed familiar "Who are you?".
The figure was silent for a moment before he spoke "I am Darth Vader. And I am your end".
Vader activated his red lightsaber. Zack narrowed his eyes, a sith lord, of course. He got in to his Djem So stance, ready to face this demon.
Zack opens with the first attack, delivering a series of powerful strikes at Vader who defends himself from each of the attacks, Zack continues his offensive, throwing out heavy overhead strikes, and acrobatic jumps to get at Vader's guard, but Vader again blocks these strikes and then rebounds with his own strike, using powerful swings to put Zack on the defensive. Zack barely blocks the inhumanly strong blows as Vader forces him on the back foot. But Zack managed to hold on, and blocks an attack as they enter a saber lock.
"It seems like your strength hasn't faltered these past years" Vader said as he tried to over power Zack.
"How Nice of you to notice!" Zack said as he broke the lock.
Zack goes on the offence again, and the two trade blows like a deadly dance, with Zack trying to use his superior ability to work around Vader's guard. Zack then delivered a Force Augmented kick to Vader's chest, knocking him back. Zack then used the force to pull down large stone pillars on top of Vader. Zack takes a moment to catch his breath, hoping his opponent had been crushed.
Suddenly, chunks of rocks flies at him, forcing him to quickly dodge them as he looked up in shock as Vader emerged from the rubble, having only suffered minor damage to his cybernatic body, but otherwise he is ok... And he was angry. He speed walks towards Zack, sending some rocks at the jedi knight who was off-balanced by the projectiles and barely blocked Vader's oncoming attacks. Each strike forced Zack back, unable to contend with Vader's rage fueled strikes. An overhead strike forces Zack down on one knee as Vader pushed down.
"You're to weak. You never knew the true power of the force" Vader said.
"The... force..." Zack said before closing his eyes and focused... the force was his ally "I'm one with the force... and the force is with me!".
He suddenly pushed Vader back, surprising the sith lord as it was now his turn to be forced on the defensive as Zack's attacks were faster and stronger than before. Vader tried to counter, but each time he did, Zack would force him back. Zack managed to unbalance Vader before unleashing a full power force push, which sent Vader flying in to the side of a pillar. Using Vader's earlier tactic against him, Zack sent a large boulder at him, which Vader blocked and tried to go on the offence, only for Zack to deliver a swift strike which severed Vader's right arm and finished with a swift strike to Vader's mask, making the sith lord drop down on his knees.
"You've lost... surrender!" Zack demanded while breathing hard. He hasn't pushed himself this hard in years, he would need a long sleep after this.
"Zack..." Vader spoke in a clearer voice... a familiar voice... he looked up, his left eye visibla "Zack...".
Zack had wide eyes "Anakin...?".
In his shock... Zack let his guard down... and suddenly the sound of a Lightsaber going through flesh was heard... Zack looked down and saw that Vader had used the force to pull his lightsaber in to his remaining hand... and stabbed Zack through the chest.
"Why...?" Was all Zack managed to get out.
Vader didn't answer as he turned of his saber, allowing Zack to fall to the ground. Vader struggled to stand back up and looked at Zack for a few seconds before limping away. He thought killing Zack would free him from some of the chains of his past... but all it did was leave him with another empty hole in his soul.
It starts to rain. Zack is lying on the ground, dying from his wound. His saber lays on the ground beside him.
Cloud crawls his way towards him "Z-Zack...".
"Cloud... For the both of us..."
"Both...of us...?" Cloud asked.
"That's right. You're gonna... You're gonna... " Zack lifts up his arm to Cloud's head and brings him to his chest "Live. You'll be...my living legacy... as a jedi..." His hand collapses into the puddle beside him. Cloud looks over him. Zack tries to lift up his saber "My honor, my dreams... My life as a jedi... they're yours now".
Cloud grabs onto the saber "I'm...your living legacy... I... Will be a jedi".
Zack smiles "Cloud... the path of a jedi... is long... hard... and full of trials... but I know... one day... you... will be... a... Jedi...".
He slowly closes his eyes as he finally becomes one with the force. Cloud cries as he looks up at the rainy sky and lets out a scream.
Vader limps towards his ship but stopped as he looked back. He thought he sensed something, but whatever it was, it's gone now. He had no time to think about it, as he needed to leave and repair his suit. Whatever it was, he could deal with it at a later time.
Once the rain stopped, Cloud stood over the grave he had made for Zack. He looked at the lightsaber Zack gave him, and while he was never a jedi, Zack believed he could become one. So he will become a jedi, and he will never forget what Zack told him. He turned on the lightsaber and looked at it for a while before turning it off.
"Thank you. I won't forget. Rest well" He turns away "Zack".
He walks away, taking the lightsaber with him. Zack rests peacefully in the force.
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A one shot I made to celebrate Star Wars day. As you can see I took a lot of inspirations from both series to make this, and I am fairly happy with how it turned out. Wasn't easy to make a Star Wars day special since I had several ideas before landing on this one, and maybe I could've made a full story out of this, Zack's final stand was the part I wanted to write, so I ultimately decided on a one shot.
As revealed in the chapter, this takes place 4 years after Revenge of the Sith, so Vader was yet to become the near unstoppable terror we know him as today, which is why Zack managed to get the better of him. I decided before even beginning to write this that Zack should loose, but I didn't want to make it easy.
Since due to loosing so much of his body, and being outfitted in a cybernetic suit which limited him a lot, Vader would be forced to rebuild his skill set from the ground up to compensate for his short comings, which would ironically make him even more dangerous than he was during his time as Anakin. And it was ultimately his greater power in the force, as well as using his past bond with Zack to distract him, which granted him the win.
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Anyway, in the end this is just a short one shot to celebrate Star Wars, so tell me what you think.