Chapter 24

The following is the true story of the Great battle of Kesh, taken from first hand accounts, Naval transmission recordings, and sensor readings. These events really happened

Location: The Planet Kesh

Vestara's body was being pulled in all directions, not by THE Force, but by the forces: inertia, momentum, and gravity. While she was holding on to her chair for dear life, Ship was trying to ensure that her efforts were not in vain by jinking and juking through turbo laser and blaster cannon fire.

Crazy flying notwithstanding, she thought she might spontaneously erupt into flame due to the extreme hate and anger she was feeling.

"Good... good, give me your hate Lady Khai; It gives me more strength and more power!"

The Ship trying to save her life needed more power? She would oblige. Vestara allowed the whole betrayal to sink into her body and devour her. She slammed her fist down on the semi-organic looking arm rest of the chair she was in.

How could she have been so gullible? Luke had been feeding her false visions this whole time hadn't he?

She scoffed in disgust: "Sith'ari."

That one word had an instantaneous effect on Ship: Fear.

"Why did you say that?" Ship asked in a tone that was dark, fearful and menacing.

She told him about her vision, the one she and the Lord Yur had shared; the one she had kept hidden from ship.

Now it was his turn to be angry: "YOU STUPID GIRL AND YOUR STUPID PLANET OF WEAKLINGS. TO CALL YOURSELVES SITH IS BLASPHEMY."

Vestara taken a back by the all to human like reaction from ship, needed a moment to fetch her voice: "Skywalker didn't just deceive me, he deceive the whole dark circle and..."

He cut her off: "HE HASN'T DECEIVED ANYONE! YOU, YOU MONGREL SITH DECEIVED YOURSELVES!"

She couldn't even begin to make sense of what he was saying, so he added: "He is indeed the Sith'ari; the force has spoken! But you... you people welcomed him with open arms!"

Vestara's mind hurt, partially from the events of the last 20 minutes and partially from trying to follow Ship's reasonings.

"He is our chosen one, he is supposed to lead us!"

Ship radiated unchecked rage and he roared: "YES LEAD YOU!!!AFTER! AFTER HE DESTROYS YOU!!! THE PROPHECY IS CLEAR! TRUE SITH DON'T WAIT FOR A LEADER, THEY TAKE LEADERSHIP. THEY DON'T LET THE FORCE DICTATE TO THEM THEIR DESTINY, THEY ENSLAVE THE FORCE AND BEND IT TO SERVE THEM. THEY SET THE GALAXY ON FIRE AND WATCH IT BURN. (Then in a voice as unforgiving as the void he continued) You have failed me for the last time Vestara Khai."

With that small forks of force lightning pulsed from her chair directly into her body. And that's when she knew: She was going to die, he wouldn't stop striking her until she was...All of the sudden the craft shook violently.

"That's a blaster hit" she thought.

So caught up in his rage, Ship had allowed a Jedi StealthX to close in on them. They had escaped Kesh's atmosphere not 2 seconds earlier. Ship's damage was starting to take it's toll, he couldn't go one on one with the fighter; he needed cover, he needed... Vestara watched as a large purple object loomed in the viewport: They were headed for that small moon (the only 1 of 3 moons that had breathable air, yet was uninhabited).

Ship swirled, flipped, and dodged incoming fire from...

"From Ben" she realized with a mix of horror and satisfaction. The two ships seemed to be be joined by an invisible thread. In one last desperate attempt to rid himself of the Jedi pest, Ship headed for a narrow canyon. He tried, he really did try to get far enough around the next bend to escape Ben's aim but, the previous damage had prevented him from flying at his optimum.

Then, it happened. Ben's cannons, blasted apart one of Ship's wings. Ship involuntary slipped into a downward spiral. This was it, they were going down to a fiery death. But Ship apparently thought that this was too good of a fate for Vestara Khai. He screamed in a fit of rage, and unleashed another lightning attack on her. He transformed his rage and disappointment into her pain and suffering. He would not be robbed of this one Last... Impact!

Ben Landed his Xwing on the moon's surface; right beside the smear of wreckage, which had been ship. In the middle of all that debris sat a girl still safety strapped to the pilot's chair. That is, what was left of a girl.

The flesh of her robotic limbs had melted, revealing their true nature. Most of her clothing has been burned away, and any expose skin was angry with burns and welts. This included her face and half of her scalp where her hair had been burned away. He walked up to her, every bit the executioner he was. His eyes locked with her tear filled ones.

He came and stood in front of her with his lightsaber now ignited. With a hoarse voice that was the result of smoke inhalation and extreme emotional distress she screamed at him: "DO IT! JUST DO IT BEN! PLEASE!"

She then broke down into a continuous sobbing plea: "Please!... Please!... with that, darkness fell upon what was left of Vestara Khai.

Meanwhile, On Kesh the Jedi momentum was dramatically slowed with the arrival of the Sith Air Force. The Uvak's handlers were Sith that came from a long line of Uvak handlers. They knew their craft well. As thousands of Uvak filled the skies, the Jedi knew they were in trouble.

Uvak's would swoop down upon the Jedi troops, while their handlers used force lighting and lightsabers to unleash pain from the air. Within less then 3 minutes, Admiral Bwua'tu ordered all starfighter squadrons to engage the arial threat, and protect the ground troops at all cost. The capital ships and cruisers tried to provide top cover fire, but the beasts were too small and they moved too fast for the gunners to get a lock.

The Sith squadron weren't finished pulling tricks out of their robes. About a dozen or more Uvak's would join up in a vertical flying circle. Then each rider would send a stream of lightning into the circle's centre. In the air it looked a bit like a wheel with lightning spokes. From behind the wheel came a lone Uvak and it's rider. The Sith mount would then punch through the build up of lightning with a stream of his own, cause a destructive projection of force energy to shoot out from the ring's centre. This impacted one of the low flying cruisers, causing it to plummet in a ball of flames.

On witnessing the unprecedented threat unfold, the admiral began muttering: "too many, too many..."

He was thinking this was too many casualties too soon. This battle could last a week or two and their were already outnumbered by millions. They couldn't afford a loss like this within the first 20 minutes. It was then that his mind reluctantly went to a dark place.

In orbit they had enough firepower to turn the planet into a cratered moon. He didn't want to go there, but victory was non optional. He just hoped his hand would not be forced.

Meanwhile, in the skies above Kesh, after seeing this new threat, the StealthXs would target any Uvaks that were grouping up, with a shadow bomb.

It was at that point the fighting grew more and more desperate. Sith riders, were now landing on cruisers trying to cut their way inside. Jedi knights were dropping out of the sky to land on top of the Uvak's, and engaging their riders in lightsaber duels while the beast flew on. On the ground, troopers and Jedi were having more success. Their battle formation was an ever tightening noose. From the sky the entire city looked like some kind of multicolour plasma storm. The only advantage the Jedi had was, the lack of organization on the Sith part. If they pressed that advantage hard and fast enough then they would succeed with minimal casualties.

Meanwhile, Calrissian's drone had just reentered the system, with clear instructions: Wipe out all carbon based life forms, on the planet Kesh. Of course Lando was not aware of the battle between good and evil, that raged on the planet's surface and in it's skies. Thanks to the Magnetic field that surrounded the system, he was blind to the tragedy that was about to unfold.

No one was aware of the stealth drone except Luke. Although he could not sense it in the force, he sensed the future death and destruction that it was destined to cause. Closing his eyes, he opened himself up to the force and pushed the engines to the max to increase his lead on the drone.

"Almost.. there... Almost ... there!" A long forgotten voice rang out in his mind.

Then it happened: The drone fired it's payload of certain death toward the planet. The Jade Shadow had already entered that atmosphere and found itself flying right through the heart of a terrible war. Luke flew the ship to a spot only he knew the significance of and then... opened his eyes. Without a word, he got up from his seat and rushed to the back of the ship, all the while ignoring an ever increasing barrage of frantic inquiries from his crew.

At that Moment, every force sensitive being on the planet, could feel it. They felt the presence of the powerful force creature that had just arrived and the force also imparted to them all, the unshakable knowledge of impending doom. Dena who had been trailing behind Luke was taken a back when Luke rushed into the Shadow's cargo hold and slammed the cargo hatch controls with his fist. Immediately the hatch opened down, turning it into the loading ramp. Inside the cargo hold, the sweet and floral smell of Kesh's breeze filled the hold. Luke turned around and held both of her arms in a tender yet firm grip.

He locked onto her soul, through her eyes and said: "Thank you Dena. You always believed in me... and now I know what I must do."

She was stricken with emotional overload.

Her lungs refused to function leaving her words shaky and desperate: "Please... Lu... Luke...Don't leave Me.."

he looked at her with a failed grin and said calmly: "I will be with you Dena... always."

With that, he let go of her arms and pulled away. She went to lunge for him; to save him, but it was not to be. The two Jedi that had followed them into the back grabbed her and pulled her back. They could sense the force's hand at work and would not interfere.

Through tears and heartbreak she just kept screaming out: "LUKE! LUKE! DON'T DO THIS! LUKE I NEED YOU!"

And he knew it: She needed him. They all needed him: His crew, the Jedi, the armada, the Sith, the innocent... They all needed him. With the force pulsing through his veins and filling his lungs, he ran down the ramp at impossible speed, and leapt off into oblivion.

In that moment, time slowed to a crawl. His whole life flashed through his mind. It was as if he could touch all the lives that had ever been lost in his lifetime.

He felt the moment Alderaan was obliterated, and was able to merge with every mind that was on the planet at the time.

Simultaneously he was at the Death Star and experienced the same thing. Over and over this happened in the blink of an eye.

He even witnessed Mara's final moments even though he was not actually there. That particular death threaten to swallow him up in a burst of rage and sorrow.

Thankfully, different images continued to flood in before he could be overwhelmed. This continued right up until the death of his dear Mon Cal friend.

The visions did not stop there, it continued into the future: All those killed on the planet, the future genocides that would continue, and never stop. Enough... It was Enough!

Still hurtling forward he spoke with a voice that carried planet wide yet was as soft as whisper: "No More!" And at that moment The ACR Missile shot through the air and collided right into Luke

Skywalker's chest.

In the blink of an eye, Luke's whole body became semi translucent, and then...All those who witnessed the sight on the ground and in the air were blinded by a burst of impossibly bright light that replaced the silhouette of Luke Skywalker. And then... nothing. There was no killer shockwave, no instantaneous destruction. When everyone's sight had returned, they saw an object falling from the sky.

Grand Lord Yur watched as the body of Luke Skywalker dropped from the sky and impacted the beach in a cloud of sand and dust. The entire arena of battle turned into a scene set in glass. No one dared move a muscle. Uvak's glided silently through the air. Troopers caught their breath while they sat on the ground, leaning over their assault rifles. Jedi and Sith just stood beside their foe from a minute earlier, reaching out in the force to grasp the magnitude of what had just transpired. The eyes of command crews on starships, were transfixed to view screens.

Meanwhile, back on the beach where Luke body made landfall, Lord Yur started to walk toward the impact crater but was frozen in mid step. Out of the Crater, to his disbelief, walked: Luke Skywalker. Impossibly he had survived. And he was walking toward him just as he had foreseen. He seemed to be surrounded by a bluish flame, but he was not burning up.

He walked straight up the Grand Lord and said. No More! And with that he crouched down and then opened both arms, releasing a bluish purple wave that shot outward and upward. It filled the sky and the planet. No, this was not the devastating wave that had been carried inside the missile. He had used that incredible destructive power to augment his own, and had created a wave similar to the one he had unleashed on the Pirate station.

The effect of the wave was instant. All lightsabers suddenly deactivated. All blasters, and turbo lasers, were likewise disabled. Not only that, the force failed any Sith or Jedi that sought to use it as a weapon. The Battle had unceremoniously died, and at the same time:

Balance had been reborn!