CHAPTER 4: FALL OF THE GUARDIAN
Something I learned about Massikus was that he didn't sleep. Instead, he meditated. I couldn't break into his mind to tell what it was about, so I ended up just waiting for hours. Massikus was so distracted by his meditations he didn't sense anything in the Force until the alarms in the facility began going off. He quickly snapped out of his trance, and dove into the Force to sense the cause of the disturbance. It didn't take long to figure out what- Bail and Yula. Seeming more annoyed than anything, Massikus stirred. He grabbed his lightsaber and then headed off through the facility towards them.
I felt anger surge through his, wait, my body as he realized their destination: The landing pad. He broke into a sprint, but they were already too close for him to beat them to it. He zoomed through lava-lit corridors and hallways until he finally reached the pad. Yula and Bail were running, with only a small flight of stairs separating them from Massikus' Theta-class T-2c shuttle. He activated his saber, and Bail stopped. Yula kept running up the stairs, and turned to yell at him. "Come on!"
"Get out of here," Bail replied. He turned to Massikus and activated his lightsaber. "Don't let this be in vain."
She stopped for a second, her eyes watering, and then continued up the stairs and into the vessel. In bemusement, Massikus watched this all play out. Now he moved towards Bail, preparing to fight,
"You know," Bail remarked, "I always wanted to know which one of us would win in a duel."
As one, they both leap towards each other, meeting halfway in a saber lock. I could feel the intense heat and strain of the struggle.
"He's better than I expected, I'll give him that."
Finally, Massikus managed to push him back for just a second, giving Massikus time to build power. Behind Bail, the shuttle's engines begin to activate, and Massikus had an idea. Not one to waste time, Bail leapt again. Massikus Force pushed him back, leapt towards him, grabbed him in the air, and threw him against the engines as they fired up. Bail screamed, and the sound of sizzling flesh will reverberate through my ears for the rest of my life. I can't imagine the effort it must have taken, but he managed to leap out of the way of danger just before Yula lifted off into the night sky. Blast.
Lying on the ground, beaten, lied Bail.
"You fought well," Massikus said. "Better than most."
Looking us right in the eyes, Bail replied. "I haven't even started fighting yet."
Massikus raised his saber, preparing to plunge it into him. As he struck, Bail rolled out of the way, jumped up, and activated his lightsaber once more. Still, the wounds had taken their toll, and what was meant to be a wide swing became little more than a stumble. Moving quickly, Massikus sliced off his right arm, the one holding the saber, followed by both his legs in one sweep. As he fell, Massikus removed his left arm for good measure. Bail fell to the ground one last time.
"Know that you die with honor, Jedi."
He raised his sword, ready to decapitate. He swung, and again I tried to stop it. The blade faltered just above his neck.
"Ganner?"
"B-Bail?"
Massikus struck back, applying all his power to finishing the blow. I did the opposite. For a minute, we struggled against each other. For the slightest moment I felt a shift in Massikus' emotions, and then he let go of the saber., and it plummeted. Unlike the events leading directly up to it, Bail's death was quick and painless. I gave up, and Massikus regained control again. He looked to the sky, and let out an angry sigh. Then, grabbing his lightsaber, he set off towards the crash site.