Chapter 15 – Battles and Betrayals

Luke Skywalker observed the situation. He, Leia Organa, R2-D2, and a dozen rebels were surrounded by thirty-six Star Troopers led by the bounty hunter Cad Bane. They were trapped in the middle of an Imperial base on Christophsis, and they had no way to escape the planet. Ahsoka Tano, their faithful Jedi leader, was distracting Darth Vader and the Empire. And, given the design of the tower, all of their possible paths were being blocked by Star Troopers. Luke deduced that their only possible escape was to go back the way they had come. But as soon as they would turn around, they would all be gunned down.

Bane laughed again in triumph. "Yes, Skywalker, we know who you are. You have been Imperial Enemy Number One for a year now. And I get to be the one who collects the reward. It's a shame, though. I would've expected more of a challenge from you, and that wasn't much in the first place. How disappointing."

It was then that Luke understood the reason for such a large force. He had thought that the Empire was after Ahsoka. That was true, to a certain extent. But it wasn't just Ahsoka whom they were after; it was Luke as well. Somehow, the Empire found out who they were and knew that they would both be on Christophsis. Ahsoka's distraction was pointless now.

Luke quickly looked around for a solution. Even if all of the rebels fired at the same time, they would still be outnumbered. The Star Troopers' armor was twice as strong as standard stormtrooper armor. And their quad-barrel weapons were up to four times as fast as regular blasters. The only way the rebels could escape them was with a distraction. Luckily, Luke had an idea.

Bane continued, "So, I'm going to give you a choice, Skywalker. You can come quietly and beg for mercy from Lord Vader, or we can shoot you all on the spot. Which will it be?"

"Neither," answered Luke, to everyone's surprise. "Artoo, now!"

On Luke's signal, R2-D2 twirled around, using his built-in fire extinguisher to create a smokescreen between the rebels and the Empire. He even used his arc caster to zap the Star Troopers with electricity. Taking advantage of the distraction, the rebels turned around and ran back up the hallway, shooting behind them as they went. R2-D2 cheerfully rolled after them on his three driver treads.

Luke yelled, "We have to finish the mission! Get to the ground floor, set the bombs, and get out! If anyone falls behind, don't wait for them."

Bane and the Star Troopers broke through the smokescreen just in time to see Luke and the rebels spilt up at the corridor junction. "Now I'm starting to be impressed," Bane commented to himself. To the rest of the Star Troopers, he ordered, "Kill them all! But Skywalker is mine!" The Imperial forces chased the rebels, splitting up at the junction. Bane purposefully took the same turns as Luke did.

Ahsoka Tano, with lightsabers in both hands, charged at Darth Vader. To add strength to her attack, she jumped, flipped forward, and brought both of her lightsabers down on Vader. But the Sith Lord simply blocked the attack with his blood-red lightsaber blade. Ahsoka tried to push her blades into Vader, but he was deceptively strong, and instead pushed her away. And that was the beginning of the duel.

Ahsoka was a formidable opponent. She had long ago integrated acrobatics and dance into her fighting style. And with two lightsabers, she had extra defense and was able to strike from two directions at once. One would think that she had a slight advantage. But Vader, despite his limited flexibility due to his mechanical limbs and suit, wielded his lightsaber with grace and strength, and he only needed one arm. He had, after all, practiced on a hundred Jedi, most of whom did not live afterwards to tell the tale.

Vader drove Ahsoka back into the secondary tower, and the duel continued in the massive generator room. They were on the topmost walkway that encircled the room. It was a ten-story drop to the ground below. Ahsoka attempted to Force-push Vader over the railing, succeeding in causing him to slide away from her, but he caught the Force energy with his left hand and fired it back at Ahsoka. Caught unprepared, Ahsoka was thrown over the railing. But she didn't fall to the ground; she landed on the cone-shaped roof of the generator housing. It was just steep enough so that she could stand, but if she didn't step properly, she would slide off onto the floor.

Ahsoka then had a sudden feeling that told her to duck, so she did. She was just in time to avoid being hit by a pipe. Vader was using the Force to throw objects at her in an attempt to make her lose her balance. But Ahsoka was clever enough to catch some of the objects with the Force and throw them away from her. The others she dodged or cut through with her lightsabers.

And then Vader surprised her by jumping onto the housing with her, using his mastery of the Force to keep himself balanced. The two combatants continued to swing and block, careful not to lose their balance. Ahsoka was becoming even more hard-pressed to fight her opponent. Vader didn't show any signs of tiring or yielding. Finally, their lightsabers locked, and Ahsoka found a way to hinder Vader. Using one of her lightsabers, she sliced through a pipe next to Vader's head. Smoke poured from the broken pipe and sprayed Vader's mask. Ahsoka's tactic worked; Vader lost his balance and fell off the generator.

But Ahsoka knew that a ten-story fall wasn't enough to hurt a Sith Lord. Vader would be back soon. She leapt back onto the walkway and ran out of the building, not stopping until she had reached the main tower.

Somehow, Luke had become separated from the rest of the rebels as he ran from the Empire. Looking behind him, Luke noticed that there were no Star Troopers following him. They must have all gotten distracted and followed the other rebels. Luke stopped running to catch his breath. He hoped that everyone else was alive, especially Ahsoka. He wondered how well she was faring against Darth Vader. Part of him wanted to go and help her, but his heart told him that the mission had to come first. Hopefully, he would catch up to the other rebels when he got to the ground floor.

Luke continued down the hallway, heading toward the elevators. He stopped short when Cad Bane appeared in his path. The bounty hunter grinned and tipped his hat. "Greetings, Skywalker." Then he drew his blasters and began firing. Luke returned fire with his own blaster, taking cover in a recessed doorway. One time, when he popped out to shoot, Bane fired a reel of clingwire that wrapped around the barrel of Luke's blaster and pulled it out of his hand.

Now, Luke had no weapon to fight Bane with, and he considered running. And then he remembered his lightsaber. He pulled it off of his belt and ignited it. Using the skills Ahsoka had taught him, Luke deflected all of Bane's blaster shots. But the bounty hunter had more tricks up his sleeve – and around his ankles. Bane fired his jet boots and flew down the hall to collide with Luke. They both tumbled across the ground, losing their weapons in the process.

But they didn't need weapons. They engaged each other in hand-to-hand combat. For a minute they alternated throwing and blocking punches and kicks. At one point, Luke swung upward against Bane's face, knocking off his hat. This only seemed to make Bane angrier. He swept Luke's legs, knocking him to the ground. Then he gave Luke a hard kick to the face. Luke yelled in pain, and he felt blood running out of his nose. Meanwhile, Bane bent down and put his hat back on his head. "You put up a good fight, Skywalker. Perhaps I should ask for extra when I collect my reward."

Slowly, Luke edged away from Bane and grabbed his lightsaber. He performed another trick that Ahsoka had taught him; a lightsaber throw. Luke threw his ignited weapon like a boomerang, sending it spinning at Bane and then drawing it back into his hand. The bounty hunter dove out of the way to avoid this new attack, giving Luke the opportunity he needed to run.

Bane stood up and growled, "You want to play, boy? I win every time." And then he gave chase.

Ahsoka reached the end of the walkway and ran into the main tower. Once she was through the door, she sank against the wall, breathing heavily. Her duel with Vader had spent much of her energy. He was even more powerful than she had feared. She knew that it was pointless continuing the duel. She had to find the other rebels so they could escape from the Imperial base. Hopefully, the bombs had all been placed. And hopefully, the Empire hadn't disabled them all yet.

Ahsoka ran down the hallway, hoping to outrun Vader. She reached the junction by the elevators and looked behind, looking to see if anyone was following her. When she saw that there was no one, she breathed a sigh of relief. Then she turned forward and yelled in surprise. Someone was standing right in front of her. But it wasn't anyone Ahsoka had expected. It was a man wearing green Mandalorian armor.

"Boba!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Boba Fett stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "I got your homing signal."

Ahsoka was confused. "I didn't send out a homing signal."

"Well, your ship self-destructed, and the data from your computer and a homing signal were sent to Slave I. I assumed that you needed my help, so I followed the signal here."

"Oh!" Ahsoka had almost forgotten about that. When she programmed her ship's self-destruct function, back when she first got it, she programmed it to send her computer data and a homing signal to her partner, Boba Fett. "Well, I'm glad to see you again."

"Really?" asked Boba. "Because I can't say the same to you. I was expecting to find Ashla Fett here, but instead I find Ahsoka Tano."

Ahsoka gasped, "Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot to tell you that I had chosen to be a Jedi again. I guess I was so busy…"

"What were you thinking?" interrupted Boba. "Don't you appreciate everything that I've done for you? After the Jedi Purge, I gave you food, protection, shelter, and a job. I helped you start a brand new life as a bounty hunter. And this is how you repay me? By forsaking that life and revealing yourself as a Jedi? I thought you loved me."

"Boba, I do appreciate everything that you've done for me, and I do love you. But then I met Luke Skywalker, Anakin's son. And I realized that he was Force-sensitive. I knew that, if he could be trained, with my help, he could defeat the Empire and rebuild the Jedi Order."

Boba laughed. "You honestly think that could happen? You think that some kid can kill Darth Vader?"

"I believe in Luke. He has a lot to learn, but there is a lot of potential in him. I want to help him so we can see the glory days renewed."

"Do you really believe in him, or are you just using him to replace your master?"

Ahsoka was taken aback by this question. "What? Of course not! I mean, I do care about him, and they are a lot alike."

"Then you should know that he can't bring back the Jedi. Remember what happened to your master. You told me that when the Jedi Temple was attacked, he turned to the dark side. And then he was betrayed and murdered by Vader. If this boy is like his father, he'll meet the same end."

Ahsoka shook her head angrily. "You're wrong! And even if Luke doesn't survive, I can still rebuild the order myself." Then she calmed down and offered, "You could help me. We could work together, just like old times, and do good for the galaxy."

Boba laughed. "If you think for a second that I'm going to help you, then you're dead wrong."

Ahsoka was shocked. Was Boba really turning against her? "What's happened to you? For twenty years we have lived and worked together. We loved each other, and we had a plan to start a family."

Boba shook his head. "That wasn't you; that was Ashla Fett. I'm not interested in getting involved with Ahsoka Tano anymore."

It was then that Ahsoka came to a heartbreaking realization. "You never really loved me. You only wanted a partner so you could build your reputation as a bounty hunter. You were using me!" Ahsoka began to cry as she remembered the Force's warning about Boba. Boba Fett does not truly love you. He only asked you to become a bounty hunter because of his own greed. He does not feel that he can love a Jedi.

Boba nodded. "That's one way to look at it. Cry all you want, but know that the Empire is hunting you now. Don't expect me to help you." Boba turned around and headed toward the balcony.

"Where are you going?" asked Ahsoka.

"To hunt down Han Solo, alone. Because that's what I am now. Goodbye, Ashla. I mean, Ahsoka." With that, he ignited his jetpack and flew away. Ahsoka watched him through tears. She wondered, what could have changed him enough to abandon the woman he loved? Actually, did he even love her at all? Ahsoka couldn't believe that he had betrayed her.

But she composed herself, knowing that if she was to be a Jedi, she would have to let go of her attachments. She had let Boba distract her, and Darth Vader was probably on his way. Ahsoka had to get down to the ground floor and rendezvous with the other rebels. Hopefully, they had completed their mission. But when she leaned over the balcony and looked around, she couldn't see the rebels anywhere. Ahsoka immediately knew that something had delayed them, and she needed to give them more time.

She decided to take the elevator to the top level and make her way to the roof. After that, she would need to create another distraction for the Empire. While she was in the elevator, she thought of several different possible ways of achieving this. But none of them seemed likely to work as effectively as she wished. Her best hope was that Luke and the other rebels were still alive.

Luke continued to run from Cad Bane. It was a long and tiresome chase that didn't seem to end in anyone's favor. They were both firing at each other as they ran, but none of their shots hit their marks. Luke worried; if he was barely holding his own against this bounty hunter, would the other rebels be able to survive against the Star Troopers? As he ran down the main hallway of the tower, he turned and continued running down a side hallway.

Suddenly, a blast door shut and locked itself in front of Luke, leaving him in a dead end. He turned around and ran back, but he stopped short when Bane turned into the hallway. Against the wide window behind him, Bane's silhouette appeared menacing. "Nice try, Skywalker," said the bounty hunter, "but you're stuck with me. Lucky for you, I'm feeling generous today, so I'll repeat my offer; surrender or die. Take your pick."

Luke, despite his entanglement, put on a determined face and pulled out his lightsaber. "I'll die fighting you, if you don't die first."

Bane smiled. "So be it, Jedi." With that final word, Bane pulled out his blasters and fired repeatedly at Luke.

But, thanks to Ahsoka's training, Luke was able to block every shot. Bane continued to fire until his blasters ran out of ammunition. With Bane apparently defenseless, Luke charged and swung at his head. But Bane was quick to duck, and he avoided every attempt Luke made to attack him. Finally, Bane kneed Luke in the gut, temporarily stunning him. Bane continued to throw punch after punch until Luke had fallen to the ground and his lightsaber clattered away. Luke tried to get up, but his muscles were too weak. He had been defeated.

Bane stood over Luke's fallen form and laughed triumphantly. "Congratulations, Skywalker. You have haven proven to be quite a challenge. But you should have known that you couldn't defeat me when you father failed multiple times. And now, you will be added to my list of Jedi kills." Bane raised his left arm and held his right hand over his wrist flame thrower. And then he hit the button that fired a continuous stream of fire at Luke.

But something unexpected happened, all within two seconds. Just as Bane pressed the button, Luke held his hands up defensively and unwillingly used the Force against Bane. Bane was thrown backward and engulfed by the flames from his own flame thrower. As he burned, he let out an inhuman scream that was sickening to the ear. And then, Bane crashed through the window and fell. Luke got up and ran to the window to see what had become of Bane, but all he could see through the smoke was Bane's signature hat, burning as it floated to the ground.

Luke breathed heavily for a minute, realizing the gravity of what he had just done. He had killed Cad Bane, one of the most feared bounty hunters in the galaxy and the killer of dozens of Jedi survivors. And Luke had used the Force to do it. Never before had he performed a Force push so strong. Ahsoka would be proud to hear that…

"Ahsoka!" Luke gasped. She must still have been with Darth Vader. She could be hurt, or worse. Luke had to find and save her. But where was she? Luke remembered Ahsoka teaching him how to locate people using the Force. So he closed his eyes and concentrated on finding any sign of Ahsoka. Finally, he found her. She was on the roof of the main tower, and she was in pain. And worst of all, Darth Vader was near her.

Luke grabbed his lightsaber and ran to the elevators. He could only hope that he wasn't too late.

Ahsoka got off of the elevator on the top floor and took a flight of stairs up to the rooftop. She pushed open the trapdoor and looked around. She didn't see Vader or any other enemy, so she climbed out and stood up, preparing to try her first diversion. But then she heard the trapdoor slam shut and lock. Ahsoka turned around and saw that Vader was behind her, lightsaber in hand.

Quickly, Ahsoka drew her own lightsabers and clashed with Vader. Ahsoka was still tired from her previous duel with Vader, but the Sith Lord didn't appear tired at all. In fact, he attacked more ferociously than ever. At one point, Ahsoka blocked one of his attacks with the lightsaber in her left hand, but Vader's blade slid down against hers and sliced through the hilt. Ahsoka tossed away the useless weapon and held her remaining lightsaber with both hands.

As the duel continued, Vader progressively began to tire Ahsoka out. She began to pant with each blow, and her hands began to sweat. She knew that Vader was beating her, but still she pressed on, determined to buy the rebels as much time as she could. She swung as hard at Vader's neck, but he stopped her attack with his own blade and their lightsabers locked. Ahsoka pushed as hard as she could, but Vader was stronger, and Ahsoka's lightsaber slipped out of her sweaty hands. She reached out with her right arm to grab it, but Vader was quicker and sliced through her wrist.

Ahsoka screamed in pain and cradled her cauterized stump against her body. Then Vader Force-pushed her and she fell onto her back. Ahsoka edged away from Vader, who was pointing his lightsaber threateningly at her face. He said, "At last, it ends. You have fought many battles, seen many perils, and survived unknown for twenty years. But your tale has come to an end, as all tales must."

Ahsoka, breathing heavily, replied, "I won't give up. As long as I live, I will continue to fight you."

"You are in no position to fight now, Ahsoka. But if you surrender now, I can have you healed, and you can fight me to your heart's content until you give up."

"After all that you've done? You killed the Jedi, you destroyed Alderaan, and you killed my master."

Vader said, "No, Ahsoka. I am your master."

Ahsoka was speechless. She stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at Vader, who claimed to have been the Jedi who had trained her and protected her through the Clone Wars. Finally, she shook her head. "No. It can't be. I would have known…"

"But you did know," replied Vader. "You simply refused to accept it."

After a few seconds, Ahsoka sighed in defeat. "You're right. I couldn't accept that my master had become a cold-blooded, murderous monster!"

Vader raised his hand and used the Force to squeeze Ahsoka's throat. As she choked and clutched her neck, Vader said, with much more emphasis, "It is me, Ahsoka. There's no use in denying it. I was once Anakin Skywalker until I realized the corruption in the Republic and the treachery of the Jedi. You know what that means, Ahsoka. Luke Skywalker is my son."

Ahsoka gasped to hear Vader mention Luke's name. "How did you…"

"We received a report that told us all about you and Luke, including your mission, which has failed. Your rebel friends are dead. The base is secure. And Luke is being dealt with by Cad Bane. You must realize that there is no hope for him. You will all die."

Vader released his grip on Ahsoka and let her fall, coughing and gasping for breath. Once she had recovered, Ahsoka sat up and frowned. "Luke is more skillful than you think. He will blow up this base, and everyone will die. You might as well kill me now and get it over with."

Vader shook his head. "Oh, no. I do not plan to kill you. Luke's feelings for you will lead him here. And once I have him, you will die together. All we have to do is wait for him."

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