Chapter 141

Ari frowned. Who in the name of the Force was the Emperor's Hand? And why did she all of a sudden feel that she was in over her head? She wasn't even a full Jedi Knight and it seemed the woman in front of her was trained and could probably best her in a lightsaber battle, even with her additional training. She wasn't Luke or Siri, but was ready to fight, no matter the outcome.

The woman lunged at her again and the two of them started to move. Parry, thrust, fake to the left, lunge. This woman was nearly impossible to read and Ari knew she did not have the upper hand in this, though she managed to block most of the attacks, she was on the defensive, not the offensive.

Ari tried to keep distance and objects between them, dashing to a pillar so she could manage just a half a second to breathe, before jumping high over the arc of the saber that was swinging to meet her.

The deadly dance continued and Ari could sense her own tiredness. Did this woman feel fatigue at all? She seemed fine. Then Ari saw that there was a bit of perspiration on her face. At least she wasn't completely inhuman.

As she felt her back connect with another stand, she felt the same feeling she did with the lightsaber. A brief glance showed her a crystal or glass cube with strange etching on the sides. This had to be the Jedi holocron. Ari couldn't risk grabbing it though, not with the attack that Arica, though that was clearly not her real name, had launched

Though they were using lightsabers, Ari decided it was time for the fight to become more physical, to give her the time she needed to grab the holocron. She quickly struck out with her leg. The other woman saw it and while it hit her shoulder, the woman was already moving. It only gave Ari a moment, but that was all she needed. One hand on her lightsaber for defense, the other hand reached out and grabbed the cube, managing to shove it in her pack before putting both hands on her lightsaber hilt again as she jumped backward over the stand. A moment later, the other woman's blade cut the stand in half.

Ari knew that she was fighting a losing battle. She didn't want to consider herself a coward, but knew it was better to run so she could live to fight another day. They had abandoned Hoth and while that was a battle they lost, they had won the war. This might have to be her personal Battle of Hoth.

Ari attacked again and forced the woman to step back three steps before she turned and leapt toward Master Yoda's lightsaber at the same time, reaching with the Force to call it to her hand.

A snarl caused her to turn and she could feel the lightsaber almost taken from her grasp. Arica had to be doing it. However, Ari was not about ready to let go. Instead, she ignited it, causing a green blade to appear. It felt more clumsy in her hand, but she could still fight. Her biggest concern was now to leave.

A loud hissing sound made both Ari and Arica turn. What they saw made Ari's blood run cold. It was a large, over nine foot tall reptile with green scales. It had sharp teeth that rivaled that of a Krayt Dragon's. It had spikes that went all the way from its neck to its tail. Its sharp claws dug into the stones, leaving dark gouges in the floor.

"Hssiss!" Arica announced and Ari couldn't tell if it was from fear, surprise or happiness. Perhaps it was a surprise to the other woman. Or perhaps it belonged to her. Ari decided not to find out. Clipping Master Yoda's lightsaber to her belt, she took off running for the doors.

The creature roared and she could feel its footsteps shake the ground as it ran over her. She could hear crashing and while Ari didn't want to look back, she had a feeling the creature's tail was damage to the room they just left.

Using the Force, she slammed the door shut and the creature roared. That didn't slow Ari though. She grabbed her comm and contacted R4. "R4, I need you here! Immediately!" She knew the droid could follow her coordinates from the comm itself, so she could focus just on running.

Remembering where she had run before, she took the first turn, and then heard the loud roar again, followed by a large crashing sound. It must have escaped. And from the way the walls and floors were shaking, if the creature kept this up, the entire structure would collapse.

Ari felt like her lungs were on fire, her muscles ached and after the attack by the Sith Hound and then from Arica, she was not in her best physical state. However, stopping could result in death and she was not about to let that be a possibility. She had too much to live for. They had won the war and she wanted to see the Republic be rebuilt. She wanted to see the Jedi Order reborn. She also wanted to be with Luke and the friends she had made over the years. She was not going to fail her task.

She burst outside where the wind was howling and she was almost certain she could hear the howls of the Tuk'ata hounds, adding to the haunting quality.

"R4, where are you?" she whispered then, hearing a distant roar from inside, she decided to start running again. The Dark Side was still all around her and her fear from the encounter was making the whispers of the Sith even louder. She could not understand what they were saying, but it filled her ears and she felt as if her blood was getting colder. Memories of her family rose in her mind and once again, she started to feel the helplessness she had faced years ago.

An anger started within her. She didn't know how it was possible, but she didn't want them to invade her mind and force her to relive such painful events. The sounds became louder and she could hear certain words now. Urging her to give into her anger, to use it.

"No," she whispered, pushing the anger back. "I am a Jedi." She wouldn't allow her emotions to take control now. She wouldn't allow anger to flood through her or to let the helplessness she felt that hinder her abilities now. She did miss her family, but she allowed herself to think of happy times and the painful memories were replaced by ones that were bittersweet and even made her smile. The voices now sounded angry, trying to get her to fight.

"You couldn't help them…"

"You failed."

"You will never be a Jedi."

She did her best to ignore them. She wanted to be off planet though. If one stayed here long enough, she had a feeling a person could surrender themselves to the Dark Side. She briefly thought of Arica and wondered how long she had been on the planet.

Sight of an approaching ship caused her hopes to rise, especially when she saw it was hers. "Thank you, R4," she whispered and rushed through the Valley, since there no place for R4 to land in the Valley.

She took out her com. "Don't land. Just hover a few feet above because we have to get out of here as soon as we can." She jumped over a pile of rocks that had probably been a monument or at least part of one. As she did, she heard the sound of the large creature again.

One glance over her shoulder didn't show any sign of the creature and that make her even more nervous. She would much rather see something she had to face.

A rumbling could be heard then and when she turned again, she saw the large building shudder, a few stones falling to the ground, bouncing and rolling in various ways. Yet, the temple stayed standing.

She finally made it to here R4 was hovering, loose strands of hair sticking to her neck from a cold sweat. Even with training, she could feel the leg muscles shaking and her lungs were burning from the run.

Yet, she picked up speed and leapt, landing in a crouched position on the wing of the fighter, fingers spread the metal to balance herself. She took only a moment to scramble into the now open cockpit.

R4 beeped at her and she thought the droid sounded concerned. "Whatever it is, I will tell you about it later," she answered, not bothering to look at translator. She slid into her place and started to buckle her harness while closing the cockpit.

As soon as she was settled, she took over manual control and the ship started to rise.

As they rose, she flew over the valley to pick up acceleration. She could go directly up, but that was harder on the ship and though she didn't get motion sickness, if she did it fast enough, her head would spin.

She stole a glance down at the valley. There was no sign of the creature, but a flash of light caught her eye. The woman, Arica, though she must have used a fake name, was there, her lightsaber still in hand. Though they were far apart, Ari was almost certain that the other woman was looking at her. Whoever she was, she had a feeling they would encounter each other again. This time though, she had been the victorious one.

This meant she passed her trials. Letting out a deep sigh, she told R4 to take control and then leaned back. She had passed her trials. She thought she would be ecstatic, but decided the first thing she would do would be catch a nap on the way back.