Chapter 112
While the walk to the backdoor was short, especially since now there was no need to walk quietly, a million thoughts ran through Ari's mind during that time. How could this have happened? They had just needed a few more minutes and then the bunker would have been destroyed and the shield would have been done. It had all been timed carefully so it would all happen at once. Ari bit her lip. What would happen to fleet now? If they were not coming out of hyperspace now, it would be mere minutes before they did so. And the shield would still be up.
One of the stormtroopers noticed that Ari had a vibroblade and roughly took it away. He then gave her a small push and she stumbled, but did not fall. She clenched one hand at her side, but after a moment she was able to make herself become slightly more calm. She would not give this man, if he could even be called that, the satisfaction of seeing her upset. Besides, he had not seen her lightsaber, or if he had, he had not thought much of it, and she was thankful for that.
Her relief was short lived though as another stormtrooper paused and then reached out, grabbing it off her belt. He held for a moment and then instead of discarding it, kept it at his side, one hand tightly around the cylinder. She did not protest though she wanted to. Though she could not see his face, she could feel his gaze on her, watching her intently.
When they reached the outside, even though it was shady under the trees, it took Ari a moment to have her eyes adjust. When they did, what she saw made her gasp. The area that had been empty of others just minutes before now swarming with stormtroopers and large vehicles that stood on two legs that Ari recognized as All Terrain Scout Transports. Also, the rest of their team was standing surrounded by stormtroopers, hands on their heads. Glancing over, she saw Cal who gave her a look of apology. Ari gave the smallest shake of her head. There was no way that he could have stopped so many troopers. If he had tried, or had tried to warn the others in the bunker, he would have been killed.
Ari wanted to grab her lightsaber back from the trooper, but knew that it would be a dangerous thing to do here. They were greatly outnumbered and did not want to risk any harm coming to her comrades due to a reckless action.
"All right, move it! I said move it! Go on!" one of the troopers snapped at them. Han and Leia shared a glance and when she looked over toward them Ari saw another AT-ST patrolling the area. She was trying to come up with a way to overtake the Imperials, but nothing came to mind. She could not imagine it would end like this. They had been so close and so careful.
Ari slowly raised her hands, putting them on her head like she had been instructed as did the others. It was clear this was just as hard for them as it was for her.
Just then there came a shout from the forest. Rebels and Imperials alike turned and saw Threepio standing there.
"Hello! I say, over there! Were you looking for me?"
Ari just stared at the droid for a moment. What was he thinking? At least if he was hiding there was still a chance of victory. After all, these were the two droids that were the reason that the first Death Star was destroyed. She glanced at the others in the group and it appeared that they were also a bit confused as to what Threepio was doing. However, being a droid that prided himself on his logic, he had to have a plan of some sort.
"Bring those two down here!" the commander of the bunker ordered and it was then that Ari noticed that Artoo was there, though he was only partially visible.
Then Ari felt something in Force and quickly had to wipe away the look of surprise on her face. She hadn't noticed it at first because of all the troopers outside, but she knew there were a lot more lifeforms there than just the troopers she saw.
She saw the troops go around the tree where Threepio went and she wondered what was going on. Then she heard a few shouts and couldn't help but smile as she saw one trooper fall to the ground, an Ewok having over taken him. She had a feeling that it was happening with the others, though the tree obstructed her view.
The sound of a horn took Ari's attention away from what was occurring with the troopers and she looked toward where the sound was. It was coming from a tree and then another joined, this time from the other side of the clearing.
All of a sudden, Ewoks emerged from the forest, weapons in hand. They were surrounding the entire clearing. Wherever Ari looked she saw the small furry aliens. While she had considered them cute before, they now seemed like threats to the Imperials since they were armed with different weapons they had made. Many had bows and arrows and would shoot them at the same time. A rain of arrows seemed to descend and Ari covered her head for a moment as the stormtrooper next to her fell with a small shout as the arrow imbedded itself in the unprotected area between his helmet and chest plate.
Then it was madness as she saw Han swing one trooper into another, causing them both to fall. Chewie and Leia were fighting back as well and Ari saw that the Princess did have a blaster in her hand.
As of by instinct, her hand went to her side but there was no familiar feel of a lightsaber there, which she knew there wouldn't be. Even though the chaos, she glanced around, looking for the trooper that took her lightsaber. They all looked the same, but she found him off to the side, blaster in one hand and it was clear from the way he was holding her lightsaber that he was going to try to use it.
"Nice try," she muttered and reached out for her hand, feeling the Force working through her. It always was with her as long as she kept herself open enough to sense it. The Jedi did not control the Force, yet they could use the Force. She felt it then moving through her and she called her saber to her with her mind, giving a hard, sharp tug on it. It flew from the startled trooper's hand and into her outstretched one.
Almost instantly, she ignited it and the beam appeared with a familiar snap/hiss. It hummed as she moved it, putting both hands around the hilt, stance ready. She had practiced with it numerous times, but she had never used it in battle like this before.
She did not have time be nervous though. There was too much going on and she had to stay focused. Even though she had her weapon back, that did not mean she was safe.
She jumped into the fray, lightsaber moving as if its own will. It felt as if she was the instrument of the Force. She was not controlling the lightsaber, but it was where it had to be each time, deflecting shots, some hitting a tree or the ground, while others hit the stormtroopers that had shot at her.
While curious about the safety of her comrades, she could not focus on it. However, a glance over to the bunker entrance showed that the doors had been closed and both Han and Leia were taking cover there.
Ari's saber spun to deflect two more shots and even though it had been just a few moments in battle, she could smell the carbon smell from the blaster shots and she saw carbon marks on the sides of trees and saw a few arrows sticking out of the ground.
Seeing the retreating Imperials, whether to safety of an encampment or just to regroup, Ari was uncertain. She was certain, however, that she was not going to just stand there. With one last glance at the bunker, Ari ran out of the clearing, saber still ignited
Ari jumped over a stormtrooper, dead or unconscious she did not know, but she did not even give him another glance. She had seen a scout on a speederbike shoot at some Ewoks who were quickly trying to escape the attack. It was clear that the troopers felt the small furry aliens would be easier targets than the Rebels who had reclaimed their weapons or taken them from their fallen enemies.
One of the speeders came flying past her and instead of stopping the pilot by use of her lightsaber, she used the Force to push the trooper off his bike. Clipping her saber to her belt, Ari then ran a few steps and then jumped into the seat. It took a moment to gain control of the bike, but once she did she had to admit that under other circumstances, she might enjoy it.
She banked the bike to the side and was amazed at how sensitive the controls were. It made Luke's T-16 back home seem slow and sluggish.
Going back the opposite way, she saw another stormtrooper shooting at Ewoks. She frowned and shot at the other bike, distance quickly diminishing between the two bikes due to the fact that the other vehicle was almost coming directly at her.
Seeing that his comrade was no longer on the speederbike, the white armored man shot at Ari who barely managed to dodge the shots on the bike. One skimmed her boot so close that she could feel the heat, though she was lucky not to have it actually directly hurt her foot.
Another shot from her bike hit the front of the other and the bike exploded, the unfortunate trooper flying through the air and landing somewhere among the foliage.
Ari allowed herself a moment of triumph as she saw some of the Ewoks peek over the fallen tree they were taking cover behind. She knew that there would be injuries and even deaths, but she had managed to help them at least.
While she knew having the speeder bike was helpful, the trees and foliage were all obstacles and so numerous that Ari had to focus mostly on piloting, not fighting. While piloting tactics worked on Hoth, to draw enemy fire away from the transports, it would not work here.
Ari stopped the bike and then ignited her saber and pushed the blade into the control panel. While she knew it might have been helpful to use later, she did not want to let any Imperials have control of it.
Once off the speeder bike, and following the sounds of explosions, Ari found herself in the midst of battle again. However, while some of the troopers were able to push back some of the Ewoks, their furry comrades would come to the rescue and outnumber the troopers, able to bring them to the ground.
Something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she looked up. What she saw was a surprise. It was an Ewok on some sort of hang glider. The Ewoks appeared to have thought of everything and they always surprised her, which was good because she was certain that the Imperials had greatly underestimated the natives of Endor.
She followed the Ewok's flight and soon saw that he was going toward a group of stormtroopers who were battling the Ewoks. She started to run to catch up, but troops that were not busy fighting the Ewoks had seen her lightsaber and started to shoot at her.
Adrenaline and the Force helped her deflect shots as she continued to move. She had never felt so in tune with the Force with her lightsaber in her hand. It was as if it was truly an extension of herself.
Other Ewoks then came to her aid and she managed to move faster only needing to block a few shots and they were more random than anything else.
She saw the hang gliding Ewok drop stones on a stormtrooper and as he fell, the Imperial's blaster went off. It missed the Ewok but made a hole in the glider and the Ewok crashed into the ground.
While she wanted to go help take care of the other Imperials there, she rushed to the fallen Ewok. An AT-ST was approaching and if the Ewok was not out of the way in time, he would be crushed by the large vehicle.
Ari focused on running, finding footing on the uneven ground, saber back on her belt, hitting against her leg with every movement. Her foot landed on top of a moss covered stone but did not slip. The Force was with her as she reached the Ewok.
He was stirring slightly and Ari untangled him from the glider. Feeling the vibrations of the large machine, Ari looked and saw that the AT-ST was almost on top of them. Arms going around the Ewok, she rolled along the ground, not releasing the Ewok.
She stopped the movement three yards from where the glider had landed and looked up just in time to see a foot of the AT-ST, crush the delicate winged glider. Seconds had been the only difference between life and death.
She looked down at the Ewok and saw it was a bit dazed by all of that. Then it looked up at her, hugged her and started to make a purring sound. Even in the midst of battle, Ari had to laugh and hugged the Ewok back. "Be safe, little one," she cautioned and then got to her feet.
The Ewok took a hold of her leg and she gave him a small smile. "I will see you soon as long as you are careful." She did not know if he understood anything she said, but he let go of her and scampered off among the foliage.
Ari knew she could stay and help the Ewoks, but it was clear they were doing alright. Once she got her bearings again, she headed back toward the bunker, saber ignited once more.