Alrighty, here's the chapter you all have been waiting for so patiently. It's a long one, but I hope y'all won't complain. I guarantee, it's going to be a doozy of a chapter, and a pretty big divergence from the movie. So here's the disclaimer and here's the chapter!
Kylo Ren: The following is a non-profit fan-based fanfiction. Star Wars and all its affiliates are all owned by Disney, Lucasfilm, and George Lucas. Please support the official release and join the First Order! We will wipe out that Resistance!
Chapter 11: A Family Divided
The job was simple. Monotonous, even, if planting explosives every few columns could ever be deemed monotonous. Place an explosive here, just out of sight so a cursory search by the occasional stormtrooper wouldn't spoil their entire mission. The fact that there were no stormtroopers in the facility as of yet was encouraging to Mara, but she knew better than to relax in the middle of perhaps one of the most important missions in her life. Not with that powerful presence in the Force slowly but surely marching towards their location. It had the taint of darkness upon it but at the same time, it felt like it was a user of the light side. The Jedi Master was perplexed by this feeling, but she had to withdraw her presence, as this Force-user had felt her touch and was attempting to figure out her location. Mara drew her own Force presence in, relying on her natural senses to watch out for any threats. She placed another bomb under a column and moved on, her task not yet finished. The Jedi Master glanced upwards, scouting for the perfect spot to place her secret weapon.
"I'll never forget your words Aves," she said to herself, "Never use this unless you know you're screwed, cause you're probably going to take out yourself and half a city. Baradium is powerful enough in a warhead. Now imagine the capability of half a baradium warhead and that's what you have in your hands there." Mara placed a hand on the grenade in her pouch, knowing the raw power it contained. She had a few more explosives to place before she ought to find the appropriate spot to place the baradium grenade, but the Jedi Master had a feeling she knew where to place it. She sensed Han and Chewbacca moving along at a steady, though still swift pace and continued along, keeping up with the two elderly smugglers. Things were about to get crazy though, she could sense that much.
Starkiller Base Oscillator Entrance
Kylo Ren wasn't sure what it was he had felt, but he knew that whoever this Force sensitive person was, he was going to have to be on his best to defeat both her and his father, who he knew was down there in the oscillator. Whatever he was planning to do to that oscillator could not be good for Starkiller Base. He knew that the base was at his most vulnerable as it was charging for an attack, so whatever it was that his father was planning, he had to delay it long enough for the base to fire at the Illeenium system wiping it out and the core of the Resistance. He gripped his lightsaber tightly, knowing that the Supreme Leader expected him to take the final steps towards the darkness. Killing someone dear to you was a crucial step into the dark side, as it meant you were capable of turning your back on anyone, attaining a ruthlessness necessary to become a true master of the dark side. He thought he was ready for it, and yet there was a bit of doubt in there. Why this doubt persisted in pestering him, Kylo Ren did not know, but he could only hope that this doubt would vanish when he killed his father.
"Sir, what are your orders?" the squad leader asked the Knight of Ren as he approached. He knew that this was a special mission when Kylo Ren had called for him to meet him in the oscillator. Now it was time to find out just what it was that he was being called upon for.
Kylo tilted his head towards the trooper. Lieutenant Jori Lekauf, the grandson of a man who had served under his own grandfather. A loyal trooper, unlike that damn traitor FN-2187. Since the Fett clones had been decommissioned during the Empire's rein, attempts to recreate the perfect clone soldier had been fruitless. Still, if ever there were a template to use to recreate a clone army that enabled the rise of the Empire. Lekauf would definitely be among those Ren would recommend. "We have some pests to take care of Lieutenant. However, if you and your men find these rebels, comm me immediately. I'm certain that you wouldn't want to face a desperate Wookiee."
"I can't say I have much experience with Wookiees sir," Lekauf responded calmly, "but I'm sure we can handle them."
"You're a good man Lieutenant," Kylo Ren said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'd rather not waste you hunting down these rats." He couldn't see the man's reaction under his helmet, but Ren sensed a smile from the Lieutenant.
"We may be hunting rats, but you're proving that you're your grandfather's son," Lekauf answered, "You don't ask your troops to do anything you won't do yourself. So let's make both our grandfather's proud." Kylo Ren nodded and led his squad of a dozen troops into the core of the oscillator. There was a moment's pause as the Knight of Ren cast his senses out, trying to pinpoint the location of his father. For whatever reason, the Force seemed muddied to him. The disturbance of this very base and the darkness it held, because he didn't have full access to the dark side he couldn't sense the entire room. It seemed that he would have to do this the hard way. Luke's teachings about the dark side were false. The path of the dark side wasn't any easier than the light.
"Find them," Ren said simply, motioning for the squad to split up and begin their task. "And do not engage unless you absolutely have to." He felt a flutter in the Force and glanced upwards. The room was too dark for him to see the ceiling, but he could've sworn he'd seen something move up there. Perhaps it was just another one of the native shreikbats that had infested the facility time and time again. Then again, why take the chance? He began to stride towards the catwalk, intent on crossing towards the turbolifts that would take him to the upper levels.
Starkiller Base Oscillator Exterior
Rey took the speeder up to the edge of the oscillator's south entrance, where Finn had explained that they could back up the older members of their group at a higher level. Finn was explaining to Katerina about what they could expect to find once they had climbed that built in ladder up to yet another maintenance hatch, but Rey was awestruck by the view. Now that she had a moment to pause, she could see the energy of the rapidly dimming sun streaming into some point beyond the horizon, and the Jakku scavenger didn't need the Force to tell her that this was very very bad. After watching the oddly mesmerizing sight a moment longer, she spun and ran after Finn and Katerina, beginning the climb up the ladder.
The New Force Awakens
Mara watched the stormtroopers fan out in the standard Imperial search pattern. She could evade that pattern in her sleep, even after all these years. With the need to keep a low profile an absolute necessity at times, anti-Imperial tactical training had been drilled into her by Palpatine just in case she needed to counteract some traitorous Imperial commander or governor. How ironic that such training was going to aid her now. The Jedi Master let go of her Force-attachment that had been keeping her attached to the ceiling. Not long ago she had leaped up there and attached her baradium grenade to one of the stalactites up there. She had the faint sense of this Force-user entering while she was focused on her task, but with her Force presence drawn inwards, she was not going to be found easily. This Force-user wasn't bothering to hide his own Force presence. In fact, he was expanding it outwards to try and find her, Han, and Chewbacca. And speaking of Chewbacca, Mara dropped to the end of the catwalk that the Wookiee was prowling along, as silent as the shadows she took advantage of. Getting the Wookiee's attention as he finished placing his bombs, she signaled the need to escape to Chewbacca, who signaled back that she needed to get to Han. Nodding, Mara made her way to the lower levels, melting into the shadows whenever she sensed a trooper in the immediate vicinity. About halfway down to Han, she saw a dark figure in a mask heading out on one of the numerous catwalks across the chasm. Given her past experience with such ominous figures, Mara resolved to stay away from him until she could confront this dark-sider at a better opportunity, or at least she would have had a single word not rang out, echoing across the oscillator.
"BEN!" Han's voice wasn't angry, or sad. It was the tone of one who simply wanted to get another's attention, but was ready for confrontation as well. Mara looked down to see Han at the edge of the catwalk.
"What is that idiot doing?!" she muttered to herself, mildly irritated. You were not supposed to compromise a stealth mission by shouting at the most threatening figure in the room. "He's going to get himself killed!" Then the name Han had shouted fully registered in her mind, cutting through the mission focus she had had going. "Wait, Ben?"
"Han Solo," came the response from the dark figure, Ben, who seemed to be fixated on his father. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time." Mara saw several stormtroopers below begin to take up firing positions, ready to shoot the smuggler on Kylo Ren's command. About five yards to her left, the Jedi Master saw another trooper take up his position before he noticed a bit of movement to his right.
"Who's there?!" the trooper demanded, but Mara was gone, swift as the shadows that now concealed her. Rattled, the trooper turn back towards the family reunion below before a pair of hands grasped his helmet and twisted, granting the trooper a quick, painless, and most importantly silent death. Mara let the body fall, the brief distraction out of the way, she could focus on the bizarre scene playing out below. She knew that Han was gambling with his life once again, even as he strode forward on the catwalk. A light from outside seemed to shine on the two and the Jedi Master glanced upwards to see Finn, Rey, and Kat on a balcony, having opened the maintenance hatch and were now spectators to the drama below.
Han continued to stride forward, towards his son. This was his moment to bring his son back, for Leia, for Luke, for the Resistance, and perhaps most importantly, for himself. He deliberately kept his hand away from his blaster. No need for any sudden moves. The old smuggler looked at the mask that had become the visage of the man Kylo Ren. It honestly sickened him how much his son had wanted to become the next Vader. First things first. "Take off that mask. You don't need it."
The artificially deepened voice that boomed from behind that mask seemed to taunt him, mocking him for his failure. "And what do you think you'll see if I do?"
No turning back now. Han stopped about twenty yards away from the dark figure. He had given a command, and now he needed to explain why. It was the only way to get through. "The face of my son!"
Mara froze as she made her way down the next flight of steps. The Jedi Master sensed the confusion of the younger ones above her, but she, like everyone else in the room, was too focused on the interactions on the catwalk to care. She was one level above Han now, not sure if she should intervene just yet. So it was true. Ben Solo, her nephew in this dimension, was on the side of evil. What could possibly have happened to have driven him to such an act? She watched, morbidly fascinated as the man raised his hands up, unlatching the mask and taking it off. Mara looked at his face, revealed as it was now. It wasn't scarred, or burned, or deformed in any way. He wore a mask simply for preference. In many ways, this man reminded her of Jacen. Granted, Jacen tended to wear his hair shorter, and his face was just a tad less angular than this dimension's version of Leia's son, but Mara could definitely see that this man was the son of Leia and Han. The fact that he bore her own son's name angered Mara, especially with how he defiled that very name by going to the dark side.
Han was fighting back tumultuous emotions. In many ways, it was too easy for him to forget that the man now responsible in part for the complete annihilation of an entire star system was also his own flesh in blood. There had been many a night, the amount of Wooskie consumed unrelated to the matter, that he had sworn that Ben Solo had died in the Jedi Temple along with the rest of Luke's Jedi, and that some damned Force spirit had stepped into his son's corpse, wearing it like a man would a suit. But here, now, it was undeniable. His son glared back at him, daring him to get closer.
"Your son is gone!" Kylo Ren said to Han, hurling the words at him like they were blaster bolts and he the target. "He was weak and foolish like his father, so I destroyed him!" The way Ren said it, though, didn't fool Han.
"That's what Snoke wants you to believe," Han countered, striding forward, slowly but surely. One step at a time. "But he's wrong." He looked at the mask held in Ben's hand before looking back at his face. Han took a deep breath. "My son is alive!"
"No," Kylo Ren retorted, though through the many years of playing sabacc, Han had learned to read a person. "The Supreme Leader is wise." Ben was in denial, and he seemed determined to ride this to the end. There were days where Han wished he wasn't so stubborn, because he knew his son had inherited his stubbornness.
"Snoke is using you for your power." Han hated using logic against a stubborn person. He wondered belatedly whether or not this was how it was for Leia at times when she argued against him. "When he gets what he wants, he's going to crush you because he fears what you could do against him!" He was within striking distance now, arms reach. But Han could see it in his son's eyes. There was doubt, indecision, as though he knew what he had been doing was wrong. "You know it's true."
Han could see the tears that were on the brink of his son's eyes. "It's too late," Ben said simply.
"No it's not!" Han stepped forward, halving the distance between them. "Leave here with me, come home!" He knew that his son was probing his emotions, and while he had no Force sensitivity whatsoever, he was doing his best to feel his true emotions, letting his love for his son, his pain for what Ben had become, and his disappointment in himself rise to the surface, knowing that his son could feel his pain. "We miss you."
There was a pause. Ben seemed to be waging as fierce an internal debate within himself as the clash of fighters outside. He met Han's eye, and the smuggler could see the pain in his eyes. "I am being torn apart," Ben said at long last. Han could hear the pain in his voice too. He said nothing, allowing his son to continue. Perhaps talking about it would allow Ben to release his pain and make the right choice. "I want to be free of this pain!" Ben took a deep breath, fighting back a shudder. "I know what I have to do, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it."
Mara took note of that last statement. That could've been taken in a myriad of ways, especially as she felt the turmoil within the young man. Still, she could sense a little fist of resolve beginning to form in Ben Solo. What it was tightening in resolve to, Mara couldn't sense, but the Jedi Master decided to wait and see how this would play out, as they were going to need every Force user they could get against the First Order in the long run, if they even survived this mission. If Han could convince his son to return from the dark side, it would be a serious blow to the First Order, taking away one of their assets and making it one of their own. She crept towards the catwalk, using one of the support pillars by it as cover. Mara could cover the distance between there and Han within a second, though a lot of things could happen in one second. She trusted Han though to know when to get the hell out of there.
"Will you help me?" Ben asked Han, gazing at him hopefully.
Sensing an opportunity, Han stepped forward again, close enough to embrace Ben tightly. "Yes, anything!" He let his love for his son rise up, knowing that he could sense it. Ben dropped his mask, the simple metal object clanging to the catwalk. It was awfully loud compared in the tense silence. There was a click. Han glanced down to see Ben holding his lightsaber. It wasn't the one he had had when he was training with Luke. It had what appeared to be exhaust ports on its side, as well as not being as finely crafted as his old lightsaber. Still, it was his lightsaber, and he was holding it out to Han. The symbolic meaning was not lost on Han. Over the years with Luke, at least before Skywalker vanished, he had come to realize that each lightsaber meant the world to a Jedi. So he grasped his son's lightsaber with one hand, ready to accept his son's offering. It was time to go home.
Rey and Finn both glanced backwards nervously as the outside light dimmed considerably. The sun was practically gone, and while energy still streamed towards the massive cannon unseen past the horizon, they knew that they were almost out of time. Katerina also glanced back, taking in the situation and reached out to Master Skywalker, knowing that while she was aware of why the lighting in the room had changed so suddenly, but Kat figured there was no harm in sending a pulse of urgency to Master Mara.
Han was dimly aware of the light fading. It made it harder to see his son's face, but he could see the resolve on his face hardening. The old smuggler made to pull the lightsaber away from Ben, but his son seemed reluctant to give it up, tightening his grip on the lightsaber instead. Perplexed, Han glanced down at the lightsaber before looking at his son's face. He saw the hard look on his son's face and had a moment to wonder just what it was his son was thinking about when he suddenly felt as though he was about to vomit fire. A red glow down below was the only other clue as to why he felt that way, although you didn't need to be a Jedi to figure out what had happened. The old smuggler looked up at his son, using his diminishing strength to place a hand on his cheek. He didn't feel any anger or frustration at this turn of events. Only sadness. He heard his best friend, a friend he had saved over forty years ago, and one he realized would be in a deep torment from his life debt, howl in despair. He heard the desperate cry of Rey, feeling a pang of pity for her. She seemed familiar to him, and not just because she was a mechanical genius. But his primary emotion, the one overwhelming all the other emotions, was sadness.
That sadness only intensified as his son leaned in, yanking his lightsaber out of Han's gut. "Thank you." Han was losing feeling in his body, though he was dimly aware of his body flying backwards all of a sudden, as though he had been snagged by some invisible tow cable. The next thing he was aware of was Mara grasping his limp body, telling him that he was an idiot and that they needed to get back to the Falcon now, but Han summoned the strength to grasp Mara's shoulder.
"Save my son!" he gasped out before the blackness covered his vision and the old smuggler sank into oblivion.
"Come on Han, stay with me!" Mara said as she sensed his consciousness fade. She opened herself to the Force, feeling the stunned reactions of the younger ones above. That someone would stab their own father, Mara glanced at Ben. No, not Ben. He didn't deserve the name Ben. Mara glanced at Kylo Ren, who was still holding his lightsaber, ignited. The red color didn't surprise Mara, though the small blades extending perpendicular to the hilt did. As for the man himself, he seemed just as surprised at his actions as everyone else. Then he saw Mara holding Han as the Jedi Master prepared to sprint away, intending to stabilize the dying smuggler to try and save him and Kylo Ren's face contorted with a combination of shock and fear.
"Impossible," he whispered, holding his lightsaber up in a guard position. He remembered how he and the other Knights of Ren had gotten the drop on the Jedi in the Temple when Snoke had decided to move against the Jedi. Ren remembered Skywalker's cry of anguish when Kylo had stabbed Luke's wife in the back, and he had sensed the life extinguished within her. And yet, this woman, who met his gaze with the same intensity he remembered, was here. It defied all reason.
The anguished roar of Chewbacca got everybody's attention as he took aim with his bowcaster, then hesitated. This was a boy he had watched grow up, and a part of his being still felt the pull of the life debt that he had extended from Han to Leia and then Ben when he first came into the world. His rage faded as he glanced down at Mara, who locked eyes with him. Chewbacca got the message. Blow the bombs and retreat, and hopefully save Han if they were quick enough. The Wookiee turned his gaze away from the boy who he had once sworn to protect with every fiber of his being and made his way towards the exit, blasting any trooper that got in his way.
"GET BACK HERE!" Kylo Ren roared as he started down the catwalk towards Mara, who used the Force to help keep Han breathing as well as make him easier to carry, hoisting Han onto her shoulder in a firefighter style carry before seeming to vanish, the Force augmenting her speed as she sprinted out of the oscillator. Mara had a mission to do, and she had to do it fast if she was to save Han Solo. Chewbacca blasted two more troopers as he too made it to the entrance of the cavern, pulled out the detonator and pressed the button.
Katerina had activated her lightsaber as soon as the stormtroopers had turned at Rey's anguished cry of shock when Kylo Ren had stabbed Han and was busy deflecting blaster bolts away from Finn and Rey. She heard Rey choking back sobs as both the Jakku scavenger and Finn began to fire back.
"We've got to get out of here!" the young Jedi shouted at her companions, her statement of the obvious punctuated by the denotation of the bombs that had been planted in the oscillator. The explosions rippled all along the wall, decimating the squad of troopers. One of the troopers, a command insignia emblazoned on his shoulder, made to climb up towards the trio, but a quick Force push from Kat knocked him off the wall and he landed with a heavy thud in front of Kylo Ren, who had been charging from the catwalk. The Knight of Ren looked up at them, making eye contact with each and every one of them. The traitor, the scavenger, and the Jedi. There was an ominous rumble from the ceiling as pieces began to fall from the ceiling. Ren looked away from his enemies, down at Lieutenant Lekauf at his feet. Incredibly, he was still alive, even after that long fall.
"Go, my Lord," he gasped out, "Just leave me."
"I'll never leave one of my men behind," Kylo Ren declared, using the Force to lift the Lieutenant to his feet. While Lekauf couldn't stand on his own, with Ren's help, he was able to escape the oscillator with Kylo Ren and onto a speeder towards medical. The Knight of Ren could sense that there was an even bigger danger within the oscillator, and that he had to get away immediately.
Illeenium System, Resistance Base
"The oscillator has sustained damage," Admiral Ackbar noted, taking in the new readouts. "But it's still operational."
Leia remained silent. She had felt the pang in the Force. Her husband was badly wounded, possibly even mortally. She could only pray that whatever had happened, it wasn't too late to save everyone.
"Admiral!" came the scared cry of the technician. "Their weapon will fire in two minutes!"
Dan watched the data stream in, fists clenched in anger. "Come on Master Skywalker, I know you can do it!"
Starkiller Base, Outside the Oscillator
"Come on!" Finn shouted to Rey as they stumbled up another snow covered embankment. "The Falcon's this way!" The former stormtrooper glanced back in time to see a huge explosion erupt from the oscillator. "Whoa!"
"That must have been Master Mara's baradium grenade," Katerina noted solemnly. The fact that she had watched the son of Han Solo just try and murder Han Solo had really struck a chord with her. She had never really known her own father that well, orphaned on Corellia as she had been, and that someone would try and kill their own father, well, she resolved to show Kylo Ren the error of her ways.
"Baradium?!" Finn repeated in astonishment.
Kat nodded. "We need to move." She could sense the dark presence of Kylo Ren approaching, and as she got a scope of his raw power, she could feel the Force telling them to move. Yet they had barely made it twenty yards into the forest when the sound of an igniting lightsaber brought them to a halt. The young Jedi blinked in surprise. When had he gotten in front of them? Yet there he stood, fresh and ready for battle, Kylo Ren, lightsaber pointed away from him but at the ready. She blinked again, surprised by the apparent cross guards.
"We're not done yet," Kylo Ren said, the tone of voice sending a chill down Rey's spine.
That fear quickly turned into anger. "You're a monster!" Rey spat at him
"You don't know the power of the dark side," Kylo Ren shot back. "Han Solo can't save you now, and certainly not this," he swept his hand forward disdainfully, "Jedi."
Kat stepped forward, unclipping her lightsaber from her belt. "You two better go on ahead, I'll hold him off."
"You aren't going anywhere!" the Knight of Ren snarled, holding up a hand, pinching with two fingers. Katerina suddenly felt a pressure at her throat and used the Force to push back. Glancing at her companions, she saw that they were gasping, hands clutching at their throats, trying to pull away invisible hands that restricted their precious ability to breath. The sheer power that Kylo Ren wielded lifted those two off the ground, only adding to their fear.
"Let them go!" Kat commanded, trying to put as much authority in her tone as possible.
"Who's going to stop me from wiping out a traitor?" Kylo Ren snarled at her. "You?" The young Jedi could feel the pressure intensifying, and knew she couldn't offer any chance of surrender. With that in mind, and a wish that she had Dannard by her side, she thrust a palm forward, sending a wave of Force energy at Kylo Ren. Her Force push didn't send him flying as she had intended, but it did have the effect of cutting off his Force choke as he stumbled back a couple of steps. Rey and Finn collapsed to the ground, gasping for air, coughing as the oxygen flowed back into their longs.
"How could you?" Katerina asked, lightsaber still not activated. She tried to analyze the situation, like Dan would. The snowy terrain would both aid and hinder her in a duel, and the trees could be utilized in combat with precise slices. Still, she had no clue as to Ren's style, and the raw power in the Force he gave off told her that there was a good chance she was outmatched. Still, as a Jedi Knight, she had to fight. For the freedom of the galaxy. "Your own father!"
"I did what I had to!" Ren spat back. "Like a Jedi could understand the pain I was going through. But now I am free, free to become the strongest Knight the galaxy has ever seen!"
Katerina ignited her lightsaber, the purple blade lighting up the forest, and held it up in the Makashi salute. "You'll have to get past me first." She spun her blade and held it in the Makashi opening stance, one arm pointing her blade at Kylo Ren, the other arm at her side.
Kylo Ren grinned. "That's the idea."
"Rey, Finn, get out of here!" Kat shouted, "While you have a chance!"
Finn heard the urgency in her tone and it galvanized him into action. He helped Rey to her feet. "Let's go!"
Ren had other ideas. "No, you're staying!" He flung out his hand again, the power of his Force push flinging both Rey and Finn into the air with a scream of surprise. That shriek was quickly cut off as both slammed into a tree, their heads snapping back with a sickening thud. Fortunately, the snowbanks they landed in cushioned the fall, preventing any further injury, but Kat sensed that they weren't going anywhere for a while.
'Master Skywalker, please hurry!' Kat thought, sending her cry out through the Force as she steadied herself. Kylo Ren smirked at his work before he charged, lightsaber held high in the air with both hands. He brought it down in a powerful slash, knocking aside Kat's parry easily. That first blow told her that the finesse style of Makashi that she preferred to use was going to be damn near useless. She barely got her blade around to block his reverse slash, stumbling backwards in an effort to put some distance between herself and the angry young man.
"Come on Jedi, I thought you were going to give me a challenge!" Kylo Ren taunted as he stepped away, allowing Kat to recover. She didn't like his confidence as she changed positions, placing both hands on her lightsaber and took up a sturdier guard position, shifting her swordplay from Makashi to Soresu. Ren just grinned and charged again, spinning this time to add momentum to his swing. Kat saw this, and instead of trying to intercept the blow merely deflected the swing, merely altering the momentum of the swing away from her body. It was a remarkable improvement over those first couple of swings, as the energy required to try and completely stop Ren's frenzied slashes was far greater than that needed to merely deflect them. Now instead of dying in a minute, she might die in three. Joy.
Airspace above the Oscillator
The skies lit up as another TIE fighter exploded, quickly followed by the explosion of another X-Wing. The fight had been rising in the atmosphere, as the need to avoid both turret fire from the ground below and the quick lancing blasts from the swarm of TIE fighters, Black Squadron was slowly getting whittled down and pushed backwards.
"We just lost Black One!" Black Five announced grimly.
"We're overwhelmed!" Jess Testor cried out, doing a barrel roll to avoid the blasts from the pair of TIE's on her tail. With a quick flash of laser blasts, Black Four, Jami Franclo saved Jess from that particular pair of TIE's. "Whatever we do, it isn't working!"
Franclo's attack run took him through another maze of fighters, but the view he got was rather enlightening. "Black Leader, it looks like someone just blew the top off that oscillator. I think our friends got in."
Poe glanced out the side of his X-Wing, seeing the pillar of fire and smoke rising from the center of that oscillator. "Home Base, is that thing down?"
The gravelly voice of Admiral Ackbar responded quickly. "Not yet. Keep at it though, we're reading some minor power fluctuations. Not enough to destabilize the weapon."
"You heard the Admiral," Poe shouted, casually shooting down yet another TIE, "Black Four, Black Six, cover us! Everybody else, hit the target hard, we're going in for one last bombing run!" With the chorus of acknowledgment from the remainder of Black Squadron, Poe dove for the planet surface, aiming right at the oscillator. Whatever bomb had gone off in there, it had completely blown the roof off the oscillator, leaving the interior exposed. Sensing this weakness, it seemed as though the First Order fighters were throwing themselves into the path of the Resistance fighters, trying anything to prevent their enemies from succeeding. Still, the superior skills of Black Squadron enabled them to make it through the outer defenses mostly intact.
"Don't hold back," Poe instructed, "Fire everything you got!" It was an awe-inspiring sight, the sight of nearly a hundred proton torpedoes raining down from the skies into the open oscillator, and the explosion was even more spectacular. Poe actually saw the shock wave of the explosion ripple through the ground.
"Nice shooting!" Jess whooped in triumph.
"Does anyone have eyes on the Falcon?" Jami asked. A chorus of negatives came over the chat.
"I'm not leaving til I see them," Poe declared. "We'll hang on as long as we can!"
Starkiller Base Forest
Katerina blocked another two wild flails from Kylo Ren. His form was a wild variation of Shii-Cho, his tendencies aggressive, and his overall lightsaber skills rather poor for one so powerful in the Force. The sheer power of his swings made up for his lackluster lightsaber skills, forcing the young Jedi into her basic Soresu techniques in order to survive. She thought she saw a couple of Juyo techniques in one of his attack katas, though Kat would've preferred to have had Dan to confirm her suspicions. As it was, she kept backing up, hoping to outlast Kylo Ren's overly aggressive swings, perhaps wear him out so that she could go on the offensive. A parry here, a desperate deflection there, then Kat saw an opportunity, attempting to slide her blade down Ren's in order to strike at his hands. If she could just wound him, it might be enough to turn this Duel around.
To her dismay, Kat had forgotten about the cross guards and her attempt to disarm Ren was deflected away by the cross guards. Ren made her pay for that attempt in blood, punching her in the face and nicking her thigh with his own blade. Katerina spun with the blow, using the momentum to slide away from Ren and gain that split second needed to recompose herself. She was breathing heavily, drawing on the Force to sooth her aching muscles. Her mobility was now more limited than before. Kat dove to the side to avoid a crashing tree, as while she had composed herself, Ren had cut down a tree and nudged it to fall towards her. Kat rolled along the ground and brought her blade up in time to catch Ren's downward slash. He pressed down on her, using gravity and his natural strength to his advantage, then twisted his blade so that the cross guard was aimed at her shoulder.
The young Jedi saw the mini blade slowing sinking towards her and decided to gamble. She let herself collapse, using her legs and Kylo Ren's momentum, as well as some help from the Force to launch the Knight of Ren away from her. She scrambled back to her feet, using her free hand to grasp at the sudden pain in her shoulder. In the chaos, the cross guard had nicked her shoulder. She definitely wasn't prepared for such a lightsaber, though Kat could see why Kylo Ren used that lightsaber. Time to reveal her own surprise. Kat dipped her hand into the pouch on her left hip, pulling out a pair of her signature throwing stars. In one smooth motion, the young Jedi flung her secret weapon at her opponent, who had recovered in time to take the first star to his right shoulder and the second opening a flesh wound on his left cheek.
"Cute," he commented, though his tone barely hid the rage behind it as he yanked the star in his shoulder out and flung it to the side.
"You know what they say," Kat quipped, a pained but cheeky grin on her face. "The cute ones always surprise you."
"I'll be sure to mark those words on your grave," Ren spat back as he charged once more, another two-handed overhand slash crashing down onto Kat's purple blade.
Millennium Falcon
Mara could sense the distress of her former apprentice and the darkness of Kylo Ren pressing down on her, but she was more focused on stabilizing Han. The Falcon had a very basic medbay, good enough to stabilize someone after an amputation, but it was going to be touch and go for Han until they could get back to a proper medical wing on D'Qar. Still, Mara refused to give up on Han, scouring the Falcon for every bit of medical supplies available and improvising with what she had.
"Come on Han, you're too stubborn to die," the Jedi Master said encouragingly as she finished setting up the IV. She had patched the hole in his gut as best as she could and was providing nutrient bags to keep his body from shutting down. The heart monitor was beeping weakly, but the fact that it was still beeping was all Mara needed to hear. She had finished setting up a second drip, this one to provide various drugs that would keep Han alive when Chewbacca came rumbling on board, and upon seeing his best friend lying in the medbay came rushing over, throwing his bowcaster aside and grasping Han's hand in two giant fuzzy hands. The Wookiee growled a fearful question at Mara, looking at her hopefully.
"If we're quick, he might just live," Mara told him quickly, feeling a rumble pass through the ground. If the planet was collapsing like the Resistance technicians had predicted, then they were going to have to get out of there quickly, but they weren't leaving without the three younger members of this little group. "Chewie, you're going to have to get the Falcon ready for takeoff. I've done all I can for him, and I have to go get Kat, Finn and Rey." The Jedi Master placed a comforting hand on the Wookiee's shoulder. "If we want Han to get through this, we have to move quickly." Chewbacca barked an affirmative and sprinted towards the cockpit. He wasn't going to fail his life debt to Han. Not while there was a chance.
Mara allowed herself a smile before she too sprinted for the entrance hatch. There wasn't any time to waste.
Starkiller Base Forest
Kat was in a bind. After the surprise factor of her throwing stars had scored her first hit of the duel, Kylo Ren had been on her relentlessly, not giving her any time to pull out any more stars. Ren had her backed against a tree when their sabers locked.
"Well now Jedi," Ren taunted, "Any last words?"
"I might have a few," Kat grunted, straining to hold him back. "Like this one; timber!" With a Force-augmented shove, she redirected the blades to cut through the tree she had been pressed against. She darted out of the way, allowing the tree to fall between them and gain some precious space she desperately needed. Quick as she could, she went for another throwing star and had it raised high above her head, ready to throw it when Kylo Ren leaped over the tree. A part of her sensed Rey and Finn coming to behind her, but the rest of her was focused on blocking Kylo Ren's frenzied slash. She flicked her left hand to throw her weapon, then her eyes grew wide as she realized that the Knight of Ren wasn't slashing at her body. The red crackling blade sliced through her left wrist, catching her follow through and leaving her one hand short. She couldn't hold back the cry of pain from her disarmament and stumbled back, her right hand holding her purple blade in front of her to block any other attacks.
Kylo Ren grinned as he regarded her on the ground, her features still showing defiance in the bleak situation. "You still intend to fight me with only one arm?"
"A Knight will never back down," Kat retorted, fighting back tears as she held her stump under her arm, the pain excruciating. Whatever Kylo Ren was going to say was cut off as a blue blade ignited in the darkness and Finn charged, shouting a war cry with the lightsaber of Anakin Skywalker held high above his head.
"That lightsaber!" Ren noted as he sidestepped Finn's charge easily. "It belongs to me!"
"Come and take it!" Finn shot back as he swung the blade at Ren.
"No Finn!" Kat shouted as she lunged forward, intercepting Kylo's stab at the former stormtrooper with her blade held in her one good arm. Finn slashed at the Knight of Ren, forcing him on the defensive for once. The former stormtrooper trusted Kat to guard him while he attacks his former commander. This was a fight they couldn't afford to lose.
Kylo Ren nearly laughed at Finn's attempts to fight. Perhaps, if he had been shot a couple of times, Finn might have put up a fight against him, but he was fresh, baptized in the dark side, and ready for combat. His danger sense tingled and with a Force push giving him some space between the two lightsaber wielders, he spun and blocked a blaster shot from Rey, who, while appearing shaky, still held that fierce glare. "You!"
"Come on, we can take him together!" Finn shouted, recovering from the Force push quickly and lunging forward. The Knight of Ren sensed his attack and spun again, bringing his lightsaber down hard to both stop Finn's attack cold and utilize the cross guards to deliver a nasty gash along Finn's arm. With a yelp of pain, Finn dropped the lightsaber and stumbled back, saved by Kat's desperate block. Rey shot at Ren again, and the Knight of Ren used the Force to stop the blaster bolt in midair.
"You can't stop me!" Ren shouted, "Han Solo couldn't! Luke Skywalker couldn't! The First Order will reign supreme!" The ground rumbled ominously as if to punctuate his statement. Kat saw in the distance the ground seeming to collapse, creating a chasm that appeared to lead directly to the planet's mantle. She resigned herself to joining the Force soon, her only regret being that she couldn't be with Dannard in these final moments.
Kylo Ren raised his lightsaber above his head, ready to deliver the final blow to Kat when a wave of Force energy launched him into the air. He came down about ten yards away, lightsaber held in a guard position as the blaster bolt he had frozen in midair earlier was released from his grip, slamming into the tree next to the Knight of Ren. His eyes grew wide as he realized just who was facing him. "You! You aren't my aunt!"
"Good," Mara Jade Skywalker said as she ignited the blue blade of the lightsaber, given to her by her husband so many years ago. "Then it won't be a family crime to cut you down."
So, how was that for a chapter? Crazy how not taking an overpowered bowcaster shot to the gut can allow a guy to be that much more threatening. So, I buffed Kylo Ren ever so slightly, made a not so subtle reference to the EU, and made chaos go down. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
Response to Guest Reviews (In order with which they reviewed)
Prashant: I enjoyed the Force Awakens as a whole, and while I could complain about the flaws that so many complain about, I figure it's better not to let it get you down. Also, Rey's theme was pretty damn good, so I don't know how you can say John Williams didn't make another masterpiece in 7
CG: 1, fair enough, having read the Bane trilogy, I can see where you're coming from. 2, in canon that makes sense, though in real life, Vader's armor came first, so I'm not surprised Vader's armor is a "rendition" of "traditional" Sith armor. 3, I just want to see the Jedi in action again, truth be told. I want to see a massive battle of Jedi vs Sith. I want action! The name is Star Wars, so while it will take a long time to truly restore the old Jedi Order back to its peak, I just want to see something indicating that it will happen by the end of IX. 4, that's getting into the Fate of the Jedi series almost, lol. 5, I honestly don't know. I want to watch Rouge One and determine it for myself. I so desperately want Mara to be Rey's mother in canon, as she was my favorite EU character. Her, Thrawn, and Jaina are my top 3 EU characters.
I don't know about this prophecy of the Chosen One shenanigans sparking the conflict. There's simply not enough info for me to confirm or deny such ruminations.
I would love to see an Old Republic type trilogy. I mean, the cinematics for The Old Republic MMO are absolutely incredible, if expensive to make, but damn I would pay big money to see such a movie.
We've got a long ways to go in Season 3 of Rebels, with a tease of an Obi-Wan vs Maul rematch, to Thrawn, to the Bendu. As for the light and dark holocrons answering any question, I'm certain that Ezra will want to try again. That kind of power is very tempting to anyone. It might be a tipping point towards the dark side. I don't know, but I'm looking forward to finding out.
I really don't care if Skywalkers like older women, and the Clone Wars only lasted for 3 years anyways, so we're looking at a minimum 3 year gap between Luke and Jyn anyways, which isn't that big of a deal. And the age gap between Anakin and Padme was 5 years. Skywalker was 9 in Ep I, Padme 14. Which still isn't that big of a deal.
Guest: I try to update as soon as I can, but I have college, work, homework, and life also cutting in, so I can't work on my stories 24/7 as some people would like. Be patient with me, lol, for I will not abandon a story. I might take a month or two in between updates, but I will deliver.
Denz-El: I try to respond to everybody whenever possible, even if they make a bad Palpatine quote, lol. I enjoyed the prequels thoroughly. Haters be damned, if they want to blindly hate some movies because it didn't feel like the 1980s, well, that's their loss. Every movie has its flaws. Just enjoy it while you can, and if you don't like it, then make your own story.
Yes, Mara is faring better than Ben, lol, she's still alive. I like that idea as to why the Death Star Duel was….not as good as the Mustafar Duel. It's a logical explanation at least.
Now, I'll admit that Kat was not as clear with her hint as it sounded in my head, but I was trying to convey that she wanted them to activate the speeder when they had hotwired it, signaling her to move and get to the speeder. But I suppose that's water under the bridge at this point. I probably shouldn't be working on this story at 2 in the morning, lol. Too much attempt at being the mysterious Jedi, I guess. Regardless, glad you're enjoying the story, as well as being a Rey Skywalker supporter, God bless my friend and hope to hear from you soon!
Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Please leave a review, as I welcome any and all constructive criticism. As an author, I'm always looking to improve. Until the next chapter my friends!
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From your Nutty Buddy,
The Eagle Nut