Chapter Fifty-Two: The Lightsaber

"Ah, welcome," Bendu's voice echoed as I made my way across the coral-like plains of Atollon. My ship's engines were barely even cooling and he already sensed my presence, greeting me as I descended into his pit. "A new person approaches me this day," he commented, sitting back on his haunches to regard me. "You are far less loud."

I couldn't help but chuckle at my friend. "I've spent some time thinking about what you said. And had some experiences that better helped me understand."

Bendu smiled gently. "You've listened to your crystal. I hear it now. It no longer screams as it once did."

"No, but it's still broken."

He regarded me with his deep gaze. "Are you? Still broken, I mean."

I breathed slowly, considering. "I have my scars, I'll admit. And I'm sure I'll get more. But no. I'm not broken. Not anymore."

"Then it's time your kyber was the same way. Are you ready?" He leaned back, gesturing to the cave I'd already entered once before.

I closed my eyes, drawing out my pistols and putting them on the ground. Pulling forth my ancestor's lightsaber and the new kyber hilt, I clipped them both to my belt. "Yes. I've reassembled this countless times," I breathed, touching the saber at my hip. "I can do it with my eyes closed."

"Forget all you've read," my friend suggested, shocking me. "Forget all you've studied. Your saber must be your own. You will be tested. Trust only in the Force."

"I will," I assured gently, walking into the tunnels with as much confidence as I could muster.

The air was stale. Potent with the scent of decay I knew came from the spiders. They were ancient. Maybe even as old as Bendu, who I knew had watched empires rise and fall. I couldn't sense them, but I felt their eyes on me. Heard their pinchers clacking with curiosity. I walked on, letting the Force guide me into the tunnels.

Aware of Bendu's thoughts following me through my journey, I focused on keeping myself centered. Now understanding the creatures that lurked here, I knew they would react as I did. Fear wasn't an option.

I walked for likely half an hour beneath the surface of the deserted planet before I felt drawn to a particular junction. It was parted five ways, with a long wall on one side. It was almost...reflective.

I stepped up to it, feeling it calling for me to sit before it. Kneeling and ignoring the hiss of the curious spiders that were blocking my exits, I drew out my lightsaber and new hilt, placing them on the ground before me. Closing my eyes, I let the Force take over, feeling the pieces lift and separate in the air, revealing the broken kyber crystal.

It hummed with pain. Loss. And hope.

I felt a whisper of the Force, opening my eyes to see my crystal floating before me. Further, in the reflection of the wall, I saw a shadow that looked nothing like me. The shoulders were wider, but the stature shorter. I looked boyish.

I was drawn to this unknown shadow, both by blatant curiosity and the gentle nudging of the Force. My fingers reached past my suspended crystal, the shadow mimicking me. As the pads of my bare hands touched the reflection, the other hand met it, the reflection clearing from a shadow to an image.

The boy before me was likely eight or nine, his skin tan and hair cropped short. He was wearing Jedi robes, some frost sticking to the edges.

I pulled my hand away sharply, the boy I recognized as a young Remulus Dreypa doing the same. We stared at each other, our shared crystal floating between us. I shoved down my fear and emotions, feeling the spiders behind me reacting.

Stilling myself and my whirlwind of a mind, I reached back out, prodding Remulus to do the same. Pressing my hand firmly against the wall, I could almost feel the heat of his hand against mine. And then his fingers curled, growing longer and stronger, emerging from the wall to link with my hand roughly.

I tried to pull away again, on instinct, as his face warped to grow older, his eyes turning a menacing yellow. Gritting my teeth, I felt the spiders hiss in anxiety, edging closer as I pushed down my panic. I closed my eyes, feeling the pull of the mirrored wall as it tried to drag me into what I feared most.

I steadied myself, turning my free hand to be palm up, resting easily on my lap. I stopped pulling from Dreypa's grasp, letting him hold me and glare through the wall. I looked him in the eyes, steeling myself.

"I do not fear where I come from. Nor do I fear the past. My gaze lies ahead now," I announced to the room, the spiders stilling as I spoke calmly. Clenching my jaw, I dared him, "Do your worst."

He only smiled at me, his grip becoming less severe as image faded to a slightly lighter complexion, his eyes turning a warm golden color.

"Rex," I whispered, earning another silent smile. Behind him, I saw the image of Qui-Gon. Yilria. Jango. Boba. Fives. Echo. Obi-wan. Anakin. Padme. Ahsoka. Merl. Rouva. Cody. Hardcase. Jesse. Kix.

My family.

I closed my eyes, feeling the warmth they brought me, even though they weren't here. And when I opened them, they were gone, the wall a dark stone, rather than reflective. And my crystal was glowing. Fractures ran through it like veins, but it wasn't cracked anymore. It was healed.

Scarred, like me. But no longer broken.

Concentrating in my meditation, I let the Force guide the pieces, ignoring how I'd once put it together when I practiced. Lifting my hands to better guide myself, I turned the mechanism over as it came together, watching the kyber slide into its place eagerly. The sleeve slid over the finished version, sweat beading on my brow as I allowed the Force to guide everything into its perfect position.

I felt the click in the Force more so than I heard it.

Standing slowly, I reached out to take the hilt from where it floated, feeling eyes on me in the darkness. The saber felt...right...in my hands. Strong. Powerful. But peaceful. Hopeful.

I thumbed the activator, the blade igniting to life. It shined a brilliant white-a symptom of a healed crystal, Bendu had told me-illuminating the cavern.

As I held my blade high in the air, I was shocked to find there were no spiders near me at all. It had been my worries. My fear.

When I let it all go in the reflection of the mirror...I let them go, too. And now I could get to work.

The blade came to my hand easily when I called for it through the Force, igniting in its blinding white brilliance. I spun it in my grasp, slicing my cuffs, before holding it at the ready.

Dooku glared at me through the holoprojector. "Kill her." I thrust out my hand, throwing Sobeck backwards and into the projector, cutting off the count. The special units leapt into action, but I deflected their bolts easily, rolling sideways to slice two of them in half before deflecting the last two back at the final ones.

I would've stuck around to finish off Sobeck and take down the Citadel from the inside, but the command droid was already calling squads our way. I could even hear the destroyers rolling down the halls.

So I bolted, hurrying from the room and sprinting down the halls, saber in hand. I made my way to an elevator, calling the button to bring me back up towards the holding cells, where I assumed Obi-wan and the others were being taken again.

Break-out...take two.

The lift doors hissed open, revealing a squad of unsuspecting battle droids. "Hey!" one of them yelled as I smirked before them, lifting my lightsaber for them to see. "Blast her!" They didn't get the chance as I surged into the lift, slicing them down easily.

In reality, Piell was right. A lightsaber really was so much more effective.

The lift brought me up quickly, opening to reveal even more droids. Oh boy...this wasn't going to be very easy.

Still, the bounty hunter that still resided in me revelled in the chance to finally use this weapon in the open. I recalled what the armorer had said. "Swear to wield this weapon with the honor of a Mandalorian...Use this weapon wisely, young Fett."

I gave the blade a little flourish with an easy smile. "Hi guys," I said, earning the attention of the dozen droids there. They all turned with fright, but had little time to react as I leapt forward, dodging through them easily.

The longer I wielded the blade, the more at ease I became. I felt myself connect with the Force...flow with it. I knew where to put my blade. To deflect a shot. To sweep through a droid. I knew where to step. To dodge. To deflect a shot. To get in close.

It wasn't until all the droids had fallen that I became aware of my knelt form, lightsaber thrust behind me. I panted, finally feeling fatigue from the use of both my body and my mind. Disengaging the saber, I hooked it to the front of my belt easily to assess the room. The droids were scattered in pieces-something I'd achieved with ease with my use of the Force. Maybe I should consider implementing the lightsaber and the Force when I worked my usual jobs. It certainly made things easier.

Then again, maybe it made things more dangerous, too. Higher stakes. Higher prices. Higher threats.

A comm beeped from one of the droids, drawing my attention. "To the hangar! To the hangar!" a droid cried through it. "The prisoners have escaped!"

Ah. So they didn't make it to the cells after all. I glanced around, grinning when I spotted a window at the far end of the hall. Conveniently, it was in the direction of the hangar.

Just what I needed.

I raced towards it, leaving the droid parts behind. The sound of destroyers echoed down the far hall, moving to cut off my escape. Well, I wouldn't allow that, especially considering I could hear the beginnings of a battle outside. As they rolled into my way, I grounded my stance, pushing my hands towards them.

And with my hands, the Force shoved forwards, launching the destroyers backwards and through the window. Yay. No glass shards in my face this time. I followed them shortly, leaping down onto a platform above the landing pad. Turrets were firing endlessly into the hangar below-likely at my fellow escapees.

Without even thinking, I rushed forward to the blinding shine of the spotlights. Igniting my lightsaber, I slashed through the base of the turret closest to me, spinning away as it sparked and slid forwards to crash into the hangar.

As much as taking out a turret helped the plight of my friends, it only drew attention to me. The next turret turned in its base, aiming at me. "Uh oh," I muttered before leaping backwards, barely dodging the twin green blasts it shot at me.

With the closest turrets turning to aim at me, I knew there was no more I could do up here but be killed. I turned and left the death trap behind, leaping into the hangar to join the others. Droid squadrons began to enter the area, emerging from the hallways of the Citadel, as I raced around the corner of the shipping containers.

The clones in 212th yellow nearly shot me as I came around, all seeming shocked at my escape. My lightsaber wasn't ignited anymore, but it was still easily seen hanging from my belt.

Piell eyed me as I joined them, giving me a small grin. "Nice to see you didn't need a rescue."

"Never," I smiled back, peering around the corner to see our situation only getting worse as more droids joined the frey. "Though you seem to always need one." I received some looks from the Kenobi and the clones alike, but Piell only chuckled at my teasing.

Shots sounded from behind us, a familiar tremor rippling in the Force. We turned, seeing Anakin's group racing over the rocky surface of Lola Sayu. I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw Echo and Fives, as well as Rex and Ahsoka, all doing well and fine.

Perhaps the sense of dread I'd felt while saying goodbye to Echo and Fives had only been my paranoia, rather than the Force.

"Sorry I'm late," Anakin joked as he joined us at our cover.

"How nice of you to join us," Obi-wan responded easily with equal sass, earning a smile from his former padawan. Ahsoka moved beside me where I was looking out at the hangar, Tarkin kneeling as well.

"The ship is surrounded," she announced, clearly getting tired herself.

"We need to launch a full scale assault and take that vessel!" I turned slowly, already knowing which worm was talking. Tarkin.

"I thought you were a renowned military leader, Captain," I bit, earning some looks from the others present. Notably...Rex. "Take a second to take in your battlefield. Rushing out there will get us all killed with those turrets up there."

"She's right," Obi-wan allowed, though I could sense his distaste at my bitterness. "If we don't take them out, they will use them to destroy the shuttle and prevent our escape."

Tarkin threw up his hands in exasperation. "Which is precisely why we should get aboard that shuttle and use the weapons systems to decimate those droids!"

I was going to say something back in a snarl, but stopped when Anakin rose to his feet. "Whatever we're going to do," he said, sounding as annoyed as I was. "We better do it fast." He lifted his hand, pointing in the direction his squad had come from. I followed his line of sight, seeing a squadron of droids on STAPs, heading our way. They open fired on us, everyone diving out of the way. I rolled to the next container, joining Fives and Echo as they worked to take down the droids storming the hangar floor.

Aiming my wrist gauntlet skyward, I fired the fibercord at one of the oncoming STAPs, watching it wrap around the battle droid's leg. I pulled hard, putting my whole body into it, before smirking as the droid was pulled from its mount and sent hurtling to the ground.

While the Jedi took care of the rest, I drew my lightsaber, getting in front of the brothers to help defend them. "Nice to see you again," Fives joked while he joined my side and fired his blaster at the oncoming droids. Echo moved out from cover right after him, throwing a detonator under one of the approaching spider droids.

I grinned at them both as the droids went down, only for the hangar doors to hiss open again. Sobeck's special units, equipped with shields, emerged from the interior hallways, heading right for us. "Stay behind me," I ordered, crossing my saber in front of my body, creating a ready guard.

As I deflected the incoming fire, Echo through another detonator. Unfortunately, while they did well against battle droids, these commandos were sturdy. They were flown backwards, but quickly found their feet again.

We ducked behind the crate again, my energy beginning to sap with all the Force use I'd been putting in that day...not to mention all the running.

"As helpful as that thing is," Fives muttered to me as we pressed our backs to the metal container. "I don't think it'll be enough."

"We'll figure it out," I assured him, breathing heavily as I examined the landing pad. Our odds were pretty grim. Especially since I spotted a commando droid climbing up to one of the turrets they'd shot a droid out of earlier.

"General Skywalker," I heard Echo say into his wrist comm behind me. "A droid is manning one of those turrets. They're gonna blow up the shuttle, sir."

We looked up as the turret's hydraulics hissed and groaned, aiming skyward. That didn't make sense… the shuttle was-

Anakin and Piell were both on a STAP together, zooming at top speed towards the turret. "Get 'em, General," Fives whispered as he and his brother peered around the corner with me. It was said almost like a prayer, rather than an encouragement.

Whatever deity he was praying to wasn't listening.

The turret caught the STAP in its front, sending both Jedi tumbling to the ground, their ride destroyed. We ducked behind cover again as the commandos began to advance on us again, Anakin and Piell racing for cover as the turret's blasts followed them across the hangar.

"This is our only chance," Echo said beside me, taking my place at the corner. "We've got to stop him."

I steadied myself as Fives nodded, stepping out after his brother, who was scooping up one of the shields a commando had dropped. As I turned to stop them, connecting myself with the Force, I was struck with a vision.

I didn't see much, but I was struck with the same sense of dread I'd felt when I'd said goodbye to the brothers. When I'd feared I wouldn't be there to protect them. My body turned cold, my breath hitching in my chest.

I saw a scorched clone helmet.

"Echo, look out!" I heard Fives call from only a few feet in front of me. Echo was rushing forward with the shield, making his way onto the gangway.

"Fives," I said urgently, grabbing shoulder pauldron and turning him away. "Move!" We dove backwards as the turret's blasts struck the shuttle, blowing it….and my friend...to pieces. I was nearly blinded by the amount of brutal grief I felt from the clones. And Skywalker and his padawan.

"Echo!" Fives screamed beside me as he found his feet. I looked over my shoulder, lightsaber hilt in hand. Echo's helmet laid on the hangar floor before us. Scorched and destroyed. Just as I had seen in my vision.

"We have to go now," Obi-wan commanded from behind us, lightsaber still up to deflect oncoming shots.

I swallowed past the emotion I felt not only from those around me, but from within myself. I touched Fives' shoulder, glancing at him. He didn't look at me for a second, before his head finally turned. I saw my own teary eyes reflected in the black visor.

He pivoted with me, shoving down his grief as I did, before running to catch up with the others as they raced towards somewhere to hide within Lola Sayu's deadly landscape.

Author's Note:

I know a lot of you wanted me to save Echo. However, I chose against doing that, not only because Echo's death plays an important role in Fives' arc, but also will tie into the next season coming out.

I don't want to lock myself out of potentially having Kida in the new season one day, if I mess with canon TOO much.

As always, likes/comments/reviews/shares are always appreciated.

-Ryder