WELLSPRING OF LIFE
Still standing in the chamber of the Force Priestesses, Anakin concentrated with all of his energy on the millions of microscopic life forms inside the Dark Lords of the Sith. They were now on Tatooine, slowly destroying the Jedi resistance. He needed to kill them all with the manipulation of their life forces, but he couldn't afford to fall prey to the dark temptations innate to this kind of power.
As he reached with extreme effort through the Force towards the distant desert world that had been his home, Anakin suddenly broke his concentration.
"Kira needs help," he realized, "she's dying."
"We must do this quickly!" Damask urged, "There is a way for Kira to defend herself against his attempt to drain her life force. Your son, Grand Master Skywalker did the same against me when we fought on Tatooine."
Anakin drifted away from his efforts to communicate with the living Force and instead turned his attention to Kira, who he sensed was in serious mortal danger.
Indeed, Kira was lying nearly breathless as her heartbeat slowed. She looked up feebly at Darth Ultor as he concentrated on the midichlorians inside her, willing them to shut down with all of his energy.
Kira could see the intense effort etched in his face, as well as his deep hatred. Ultor's cheeks and forehead were nearly the same shade of crimson as his lightsaber, and his hair was pouring with sweat from both the fire-induced heat and the Force power he was exerting.
Let go of your hate, Anakin said, his voice ringing in her mind as though he was a part of the air that was rapidly growing colder.
Another voice, her Uncle Luke, spoke to her as well.
It is the only way to stop what is happening.
As she struggled to breathe and stay awake, Kira flashed back to that fateful duel on Tatooine, when Plagueis had tried to take away both her life force and Luke's. She remembered Luke putting up a shield around himself with the Force, resisting the Sith's efforts while restoring Kira's vitalities.
Kira! shouted a third voice, the voice of Ben Solo. Fight back! Let the light inside you be your guide. Use your feelings for good, don't let them destroy you.
Kira snapped awake at that sound, desperately fighting back the hate that threatened to consume her at the sight of her foe. Ultor didn't matter, he was only a symptom of the dark side's evil. What mattered was Kira's family and friends who needed her. What mattered was Ben, calling on her to live.
To Ultor, Kira appeared dead, lying motionless on the library floor. He had used her midichlorians against her, and he would now ensure that he was the only one with that kind of control over the Force.
"Kira Solo, a pest finally eliminated," he said with a gloating smile, "None of your Jedi training or your long efforts to fight against me served you in the end. Now you will rot forever, as you were always destined."
Ultor started back down the library walkway, through the flames which were now beginning to change color, burning blue as well as bright red.
Kira choked and coughed on the floating embers as she fluttered her eyes, continuing to use the Force to halt her dying midichlorians.
Kira could steadily feel her breathing resume its normal pace, along with her heartbeat, but Ultor was paying little attention to her now. His gaze drifted to the distant chamber behind the flames, where two former Sith Lords were working to use the midichlorians to stop the army one of them had created.
TATOOINE
As the battle raged between the Republic artillery and the alliance of Jedi, Tatooinian farmers, and Tusken Raiders, Leia managed to reach Tahiri through the chaos, leaping through hails of cannon fire.
As a team, the two Jedi deflected fire from the AT-GT cannons as additional Republic gunships swarmed the area.
The Tuskens and non-Tusken Tatooinians jointly began firing their weapons at the Omas-loyal Brigadiers standing inside the open passenger carriers, with one Twi'lek being hit in the chest and falling from the gunship onto the sand with a yell.
Sam stayed under the cover of the landspeeder, firing his weapon at any available target.
"Your plan is to directly target and kill the Grand Vizier?" Hoff Praxium asked his son as he remained crouching.
"Affirmative," the younger fighter replied, shooting his pistol at the cockpit of a carrier transport, "If Omas is out of the way, then they'll be confused. That'll make it easier for outside to take command ."
"If this doesn't work and we lose, then you'll be put to death," Praxium said grimly, "Even if you do take out Omas. I don't want you to act without thinking everything through."
"I have, trust me," Sam replied.
He looked over to Tahiri and shouted, "I'm going to need some cover!"
Tahiri raced over to the two Praxiums hiding behind the speeder.
"I'm sure assassination is outside the guidelines of the Jedi Code," Tahiri said, "I shouldn't be a part of this."
"I just need you to give me cover on the way to the Vizier's transport," Sam replied, "then I'll take it from there."
"No, wait!" Hoff exclaimed. "I have a better idea."
Sam opened his mouth to question him, but suddenly, his father's fist slammed into his mouth.
Taken by surprise, Sam stumbled onto his back against the sand, gaping in confusion as Hoff gave out a yell and struck Sam in the stomach with his boot.
Tahiri was frozen in shock at first at the suddenness of the older man's actions. Then, she recovered her senses and lunged with her lightsaber.
Sam had dropped his blaster onto the sandy bed in the confusion, and Hoff grabbed it and held it up to his son's temple just as Tahiri pulled her lightsaber over his back
Hoff suddenly picked up his son by the shirt collar and held him by the neck, keeping the pistol pressed against him.
"Don't try anything," he hissed, with his ruthless military fury resurrected from its temporary slumber.
Tahiri allowed her lightsaber to waver as Hoff began to drag his son away, making a pathway towards Omas's AT-GT underneath the hail of laserfire through the battlefield.
The combatants around the circle of AT-GTs paid little attention to the scene as Hoff led Sam towards Omas's vehicle. Casualties were beginning to mount, with one Bantha toppling over after being shot.
The Tusken rider roared with a vengeance as he flew off of his mount and landed in the sand. As soon as the Tusken warrior recovered his footing, he ran towards his fallen Bantha and knelt beside the deceased animal, letting out a wail of mourning.
The top hatch of the AT-GT opened up once again, with a platform lifting out on which Omas and four of his specialized Brigadier bodyguards stood.
"So, you've decided to do the right thing after all, General," Omas declared.
"I had to make the Jedi think I was on her side so she'd let her guard down," Praxium replied.
"Well, then I think this should turn the tide in our favor," Omas said, "We can take him from here. We'll have to let the Princess know of our prisoner so that she can tell her army to stand down."
Hoff Praxium didn't flinch at the threat of his son's death, but nodded with cold calculation, practically drilling the nozzle of the stolen blaster into Sam's head.
Tahiri stood a respectable distance back, angling for the right time to wrest Praxium's weapon away from him with the Force.
Her concentration was broken with a terrible sensation in the Force. She had just suffered a personal loss, Tahiri realized. Another one after Tionne.
In fact, not twenty meters away, Frey Veila was lying mortally wounded on the sand from ammunition sent by a Republic gunship. His wife Shalyn was shouting, "Frey! No!" as she shook his lifeless, still body. A moment later, an explosion directed at the couple from another AT-GT sent Shalyn flying as well, her body bursting into flames as she landed in the sandy beds.
By the time Tahiri returned her attention to Sam and the predicament at hand, Praxium had released his son to the Republic guards, whose long rifles remained fixed on Sam.
His face completely blank in the face of capture and the threat of execution, Sam raised his hands in surrender, while Praxium retained the pistol he had taken.
The cockpit platform began to rise back up towards the top of the AT-GT.
Tahiri knew what she had to do. She pulled her ignited lightsaber all the way behind her back, then brought her arm up and released her saber, using the Force to guide her strike towards the mechanical arm holding the platform.
At that exact moment, Praxium aimed the pistol at Omas to fire, but one of the guards was too quick on the uptake, striking the heavyset general in the face just before he could pull the trigger.
Praxium fired as the blow hit him, falling from the platform as the shots blew between Omas and his bodyguard.
Just then, the entire platform came crashing down onto the sand as Tahiri's violet blade severed it from the vehicle, sending Sam, Omas, and the guards flying and crashing to the ground with along with the round platform itself. Praxium had dropped the pistol he had fired at Omas with, weakly turning his head towards the weapon lying in the sand.
Sam saw that one of the guards who had fallen had also let his blaster slip through his grasp.
The young renegade jumped to his feet and dove towards the rifle as the officer tried to grab his weapon.
Both of them caught onto it at the same time, wrestling for control.
Just then, ten more Brigadiers came pouring out of the AT-GT, their blasters aimed to fire.
Tahiri jumped in between the Republic soldiers and their targets, preparing to use her lightsaber to deflect a new hail of bolts.
Leia saw the trouble and raced to help, assisting Tahiri in drawing fire from the Brigadiers as they shot at Sam and Hoff.
As Hoff slid through the sand towards the pistol, Omas's foot appeared and kicked it out of the way.
Omas then dove towards the pistol and caught it, his gloves picking up a handful of sand along with the weapon.
"Sam, look out!" Tahiri shouted as Sam continued to struggle for control of the rifle he was wrestling against the bodyguard for.
Sam turned his head to see Omas picking up the blaster and aiming it between himself and his father, trying to decide who to shoot first.
Tahiri and Leia moved to help, but then found themselves under fire from more ground troopers.
Omas then decided to settle for the helpless Hoff Praxium, aiming the blaster at the man lying in the sand.
"Dad!" Sam shouted, finally letting go of the blaster. In desperation, he ran towards his father as Omas took a shot.
Hoff Praxium was struck in the chest and collapsed back onto the sandy bed as he tried to get up onto his feet.
"This is what betrayal earns you!" Omas shouted fanatically.
Sam gasped silently in horror, not noticing the Brigadier aiming the rifle at his back.
He stopped in his tracks for a split second, then continued running furiously towards Omas, who then turned to shoot at him. He was too far away to reach the Supreme Commander in time...
As she continued to deflect fire from the surrounding Republic soldiers, Tahiri looked towards Sam and the man about to shoot him dead.
"Prepare to join the scrap heap where you belong!" Omas shouted, aiming his blaster at his charging foe.
Omas fired at Sam, but fortunately, his experience in combat was limited compared to that in the political arena. He fired a second time and missed as Sam kept running at him.
Once again, Tahiri raised her lightsaber to throw it, this time towards Sam.
"Take it!" she shouted, tossing it in his direction.
Sam and Omas both turned in confusion as Tahiri's lightsaber flew across the air towards the two of them.
Sam failed to catch the lightsaber as it reached him, but Tahiri's throw was accurate enough to direct it to land at his feet.
Tahiri now had to rely on her reflexes to avoid the laserfire directed at her, jumping from one direction to the next as Leia continued to send the bolts back to the soldiers who had fired them.
Tahiri couldn't help but wonder if she had made the right call as she barely dodged a blast that hit the AT-GT behind her instead.
Leia was holding her own for the both of them, but she was starting to wear out.
The Banthas had begun to retreat, along with the Tuskens on them. Several moisture farmers and guerrillas had begun to abandon the battle as well, lest they join the dead already among them.
Some brave fighters in both camps remained however, slowly wearing down the AT-GTs.
Sam was fortunately quick on the uptake, crouching to pick up Tahiri's lightsaber. He didn't take any time to ponder the strangeness of holding such an unfamiliar weapon, only holding it up in a clumsy manner as Omas fired.
Sam's grip on the lightsaber was in poor form, letting it awkwardly dangle from his hands, but he did the job of deflecting Omas's aggressive fire well enough.
Sam didn't notice as one of the shots he redirected hit the Republic guard who had been preparing to shoot him from behind, causing the man to topple dead onto the sand.
Finally, a blast caught Sam in the hand and he cried out in pain, bending over and dropping the lightsaber.
Omas smiled menacingly as he aimed at Sam's head, preparing to finish him off.
Just then, a shot from a bowcaster struck Omas from above, drilling a hole straight through his head. The Grand Vizier of the Senate and the Supreme Commander of the Republic military forces flew limply through the air, landing on the sand with a final thud.
Chewbacca gave a loud, triumphant roar as he stood on the open ramp of the airborne Millennium Falcon.
"Oh, stop the madness!" Threepio hollered from inside the cockpit of the Corellian spice freighter.
Sam gazed into the sky and grinned in spite of everything terrible that had happened as Han Solo piloted the Falcon in a circle around the battle.
"Time to clean up shop here," General Solo said.
Tahiri had been struck in the leg once again, this time by a blaster bolt.
She fell onto the sand weakly as Leia stood protectively in front of her, preparing to go down fighting.
Leia's rate of deflection was slowing as the Brigadiers kept firing...she was running out of time...
Then, the entire unit was blasted away by an explosion as Han fired the guns of the Falcon into the sandy patch of ground where they had stood.
Leia looked up and smiled as her husband continued to fire at the enemy forces.
One tank after another imploded or collapsed, and the faith of the Tusken and Tatooinian forces had been renewed. Many of the retreaters now rejoined the battle as the Falcon turned the tide.
Bodies were scattered as far as the eye could see, including the fallen Banthas. All except one Republic tank had been reduced to smoldering heaps of scrap metal.
While Leia waved to the Millennium Falcon, Artoo Deetoo came flying out of the open ramp to join her. Chewbacca let out a roar as Han slowly piloted the ship down into the war zone, gently docking amidst the piles of bodies and wreckage.
Sam crawled slowly over to his father, who was lying still on the sandy ground. He couldn't pay attention to the scene around him, only the fallen general.
When he reached Hoff's side, Sam gently placed his sweating, trembling hand over his father's blaster wound. Hoff's eyes fluttered open, his chest barely moving.
"Come on, Dad, stay awake," Sam shouted, looking around desperately for help. He shouldn't have expected anyone to take notice, Sam realized, everybody around him was contending with the dangers that remained.
Hoff managed to raise his arm in an effort to take his son's hand, but then his eyes closed again and he was silent forever- his last sight being Sam's grief.
Sam took a brief pause to mourn the death of his father, before turning his head to the Falcon as it landed on the sandy battlefield.
Leia raced forward as the ramp of the Falcon came sliding down to reveal Han and Chewie, eagerly embracing her husband.
WELLSPRING OF LIFE
Back in the fiery chamber, Damask and Anakin stood facing one another, using the Force to interact with the surrounding midichlorians.
"Can you sense the life force inside her, snapping back into ignition?" the old Muun asked.
Anakin nodded and said, "It's taking all the energy she has to block his efforts to shut down her living Force."
"Then we must do the job quickly, before the midichlorians are used for any more dark purposes," Damask urged, "Now, reach out, Skywalker, and feel the life force that connects us, that communicates with itself through sheer will. Now, use the Force and make that will your own."
Anakin and Damask were both visibly straining from the effort- calling to midichlorians of an immense magnitude halfway across the galaxy was a monumental task.
"Do you sense them?" Damask asked, "The Sith on Tatooine?"
"They are feeding on the energy that their midichlorians give them," Anakin replied, "The dark side is growing stronger with the unnatural use of the Force that brought them back."
"But you have the same luminous matter in you," Damask said, "Concentrated far more than any other being. Use your life force, bind it to the midichlorians and bend them to your will!"
Just then, Damask howled in pain as his tall, slender frame bent over, grasping his chest as well as the area of his lightsaber wound.
Anakin ceased his concentration and caught hold of the elder Force user.
"Are you all right, Magister?" he asked.
"I can...no longer...sustain...myself...and the midichlorians...you must continue..."
Anakin gently helped the old Muun through the flames towards the nearest wall that was not set ablaze, leaning the taller being against it.
"I still need you, Hego," Anakin said urgently, helping Damask continue to stand by keeping him propped against the wall, "You are the master of the midichlorians' secrets."
"And that is why they have rightly turned against me," Damask gasped, trying to conserve his energy, "Use my knowledge, stop the unbalanced darkness from consuming everything in its path."
Anakin nodded solemnly and asked, "How much longer can you hold on?"
Damask released himself from Anakin's hold and staggered back towards the middle of the chamber, sputtering on the ash drifting around then both.
"A little more," he replied, "Now, we must continue. The midichlorians, here and across the galaxy. Can you sense them?"
Before Anakin could reply, he suddenly began to gasp for air, stumbling towards the rising flames and crying out as a stream of fire caught onto his Jedi robe, burning onto his back.
Anakin dropped to the floor to roll and get rid of the flame, but continued to struggle for breath.
Darth Ultor was slowly walking through the flames, staggering with the might of trying to deactivate the midichlorians of both Anakin Skywalker and Hego Damask.
Damask feebly knelt beside Anakin and caught hold of his light-colored robe.
"Hurry! He is using the midichlorians against us now!"
Anakin rolled over and got up on his knees, watching the distant figure of Ultor grappling with both his life force and Damask's.
Ultor was buckling at the knees, his hand outstretched with an effort to call on the midichlorians that were responding to Anakin and Damask to listen to him instead.
Anakin called on his own strength and got up, reaching towards Ultor as well in order to retain control.
Damask joined in Anakin's resistance of Ultor's command of the midichlorians, before he finally collapsed to the patterned floor of the Force chamber.
Finally, the strain of Force power knocked Ultor backwards, causing him to land a safe distance away flat on his stomach.
Seeping in exhaustion from the effort, Ultor glared up at the distant figures, concentrating on his raw power and his hatred.
As Anakin climbed to his feet, he once again supported Damask, who was fighting harder to stay alive.
"It must be you who finishes the duty of restoring balance," Damask gasped, "Forgive me, Chosen, for all I have inflicted."
Anakin was silent for a moment, peering into the eyes of the old Muun whom he had once seen as a figure of myth, the key to unlocking the ultimate power.
"It's only thanks to your knowledge that I can restore order and peace," he said earnestly.
Damask managed a weak smile as he slumped against Anakin's body onto the floor.
In that moment, both of them finally understood- the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise was not that he had died, but that he could not die, could not let go of the physical world and his fear of transferring to another plane of existence.
Whatever laid ahead, Damask knew, even if it was nothing at all, it was time for him to face it.
"You've taught me more than I could have ever mastered," Damask managed to say, "Now, restore balance as you are meant to."
Anakin's eyes drifted with remorse to the lightsaber wound he had inflicted on Damask, then he returned his attention to the Muun in his arms.
Finally, Damask let his eyes close, rolling out of Anakin's supporting hands towards the fire.
As the former Darth Plagueis died for the last time, his midichlorians began to shut down and go to sleep, eager to finally be liberated of his command. Damask's consciousness drifted on, beyond the physical realm, finally at peace.
His body remained still before Anakin finally released him and stood up solemnly, taking the briefest space of time to reflect on the tragedy of Darth Plagueis and both of their voyages back to the light.
Then, his concentration returned to the midichlorians across the galaxy that had been awakened to his presence.
As Damask's body rested on the floor, a spark of Force-induced mist appeared out of the fire and consumed it until it was gone from sight.
Anakin closed his eyes and focused on the infinite web of microscopic beings until he reached the large collective bundle that occupied the Dark Lords on Tatooine.
It was time to put them to sleep, and restore the natural laws of the Force.
TATOOINE
"Do you sense it?" Darth Bane asked his fellow Sith as the alchemical spell that had been cast on them from the onset of their rejuvenation was lifted and the manipulative forces controlling their actions vanished.
Darth Acherin nodded vigorously. "Our controller has been vanquished by his own weakness. He went soft in the end and proved himself unworthy of our mantle. We have control over our own destinies now."
"Now the true Order of the Sith will be reborn," Bane crowed, "and the vision of the Grand Plan will finally be realized. Let us finish our hunt and drive our Jedi foes into extinction."
The remaining Dark Lords raised their ignited lightsabers and cried out in jubilation at the final death of Darth Plagueis and their impending victory.
"The power that we once held, before we were reduced to foot soldiers, it is returning," Zannah declared.
The pack of Sith warriors thundered through the streets of Bestine over the remains of the fallen Jedi and Republic warriors as they marched towards their conquest.
Meanwhile, in the depths of the Dune Sea, the surviving forces of the battle against Omas's faction gathered around the Millennium Falcon, led by the rows of bantha trodding along through the sand.
"You made it," Leia breathed, looking past Han's shoulder to spot Artoo and Threepio hobbling down the ramp of the Falcon.
"We had a little help from Lando," Han replied, "Then Omas ran away to pick on someone his own size."
"The Sith..." Leia gasped, "How did you get away?"
Han's expression darkened. "Some of the other Jedi kept them busy, but it didn't look good for them last I saw."
"The Sith's powers are being generated by a dark force beyond their control," Leia said, "They can't be defeated the way that we've beaten them before."
Han had no idea what that meant and he knew better than to ask about it.
"What are we supposed to do then?" he asked, "We've still got to deal with Black Sun and the Hutts and their mercenaries."
Sam looked towards the lone figure of Tahiri, who was standing off to the distance, gazing at the pile remains of the Tusken Raiders who had perished in the battle, along with their banthas collapsed in the sand.
He slowly approached her and stopped just behind her. Sam knew he didn't need to say anything, she would sense his presence.
Finally, Tahiri turned her head back to face him and said, "Even if I wasn't a Jedi, I know I shouldn't feel anything. They were ready to kill me just hours ago, and now I'm mourning their deaths."
Sam replied, "I understand. You're mourning for could have been, if things were different. I feel the same with my father. "
He extended his hand to offer Tahiri the deactivated lightsaber that she had thrown him, and she gratefully accepted it with a somber smile.
"Thanks for the help," Sam continued, "Your lightsaber bought me some time. I'm sorry about your parents."
"The people who are there for us are the ones who really matter," Tahiri replied, finally turning away from the fallen Tuskens, including her parents. "I'm sorry about your father too."
"Come on," Sam replied gently, gesturing towards the battle survivors gathering around the Falcon and the herd of remaining Bantha.
As Sam and Tahiri rejoined the surviving Jedi, Tuskens, and militia fighters, Chief Rothlan was angrily addressing Han and Leia.
"The Tusken clans have done their part," he declared, "We owe no more debt to the settlers and the Jedi invaders. Our losses have been far too great, and we will not risk our own blood and flesh against your Sith enemies."
"We do not want to create any unnecessary losses against the Sith," Leia replied, "We will not stop you from leaving."
"Very well," Rothlan replied. He gave an unintelligible command to his fellow Tusken leaders in the local dialect, and gestured them away from the gathering, beckoning them towards their bantha mounts as he ran.
One of the militia leaders spoke up as soon as Rothlan and his fellow Tuskens began departing.
"We are not selfish like the Tuskens, but if these so-called Sith Lords cannot be defeated by our weapons, then we see little purpose in risking our lives against them."
"Our objective is not to defeat them just yet," Leia explained, "We just need to keep them occupied and buy some time."
"Time for what?" one of the moisture farmers asked.
Leia looked at Han despairingly, knowing that the reality of their situation was too difficult to explain to those who had little to no understanding about the nature of the Force and its corruption. Not even Han himself understood everything, Leia knew.
Now it was Tahiri who spoke up. "Our friend has traveled to the center of the galaxy to deal with the source of the problem," she said, "Until she completes her mission to destroy the Sith's power, the Jedi are equipped to fend them off. There is no need for you to put yourselves in harm's way any longer."
Suddenly, Artoo began beeping and whistling wildly, beginning to spin in circles along the sand.
"Artoo, you must calm down!" Threepio exclaimed, "Whatever is the matter?"
Artoo gave a long and frantic reply.
"A message? From Admiral Calrissian?" Threepio interpreted. Artoo replied in the affirmative and transmitted the communication that had been sent to him.
The hologram of Lando appeared from the projector built into Artoo's domed head.
"Han, do you read me, old buddy?" Lando asked urgently.
"Right here," Han replied.
"I'm bringing the fleet your way," Lando replied, "The Sith Lords are coming, they've taken out half of our Forces including most of the Jedi that remained."
"I felt Master Hamner succumb to them," Leia said mournfully, "Along with Tionne and Master Sebatyne."
"This isn't going to be easy," Lando replied, "But the Hutts have regrouped with the remainder of Black Sun's fleet and they're mounting an offensive as well."
As Lando piloted the Lady Luck through the sky, an array of Interceptors, gunships, and carriers followed. In the cockpit of his command shuttle, Lando patched another message to the stray units of Brigadiers remaining.
"Attention to all Republic units under the command of Grand Vizier Omas. This is Admiral Calrissian. The Supreme Commander is now fallen and I am uniting all Republic forces against the Coalition. You will rendezvous at the coordinates I am transmitting, and we will put an end to the division of the Republic once and for all. I will be expecting all units to come. Thank you."
"Do you think Omas's troops are going to respond to that?" Han asked doubtfully.
"It's our best option if we have a chance of winning this thing," Lando replied.
Just then, the Lady Luck flew just a few meters to the left of a severe hail of laserfire streaking towards the canyon below.
"We're coming into an ambush!" Trix Azer shouted from her cockpit as a trail of Syck and Viper fighters emerged from the direction of a looming Hutt Cartel Dor'bulla command ship.
From the safety of the Black Sun skyhook in orbit of Tatooine, Vigo Serri said, "Now we crush the Republic fleet while they are vulnerable."
"Looks like trouble found us sooner than expected," Lando said as he activated the guns of his command shuttle, using the lever on the ship's controls to turn it around to fire back at the incoming fighters.
"We'd better go help," Han declared.
"We'll be facing the Sith attack at any moment," Leia replied, "We can't possibly contend with both at once."
"Chewie, Sam and I will help Lando in the Falcon take care of them," Han replied, steel determination heavy in his voice, "You and the rest of the Jedi can handle the Sith."
Leia understood that Han was not relegating the task, but rather expressing his faith in her abilities. Unseen by anyone else, husband and wife exchanged a small, forlorn smile.
"We can't waste any time then," Sam declared.
Han leaned in and gave Leia a kiss on top of her hair.
"Be careful out there, Princess"
"Jedi, prepare for defense formation on my mark," Leia said to the fellow Knights and Masters around them.
"Come on," Han said, clapping his partner on his hairy back. To Sam, he said, "Good to have you back, Comander Fel."
"General Solo?" Sam asked hesitantly.
"What is it, kid?" Han replied.
"If you don't mind, General, Sam said, "I'd like to be known as Commander Praxium."
He couldn't stand to reject Hoff's legacy now, even while shedding the rank of Major. Rather, he knew that he needed to claim his identity with honor.
Han regarded his second-in-command with a mixture of sympathy and understanding.
"Very well, Commander Praxium. Welcome back."
Sam smiled at his former commanding officer, then returned his attention to Tahiri.
"Be careful out there," he said, "try not to get killed."
"That's all in the life the Jedi," Tahiri replied with soft humor. Then, before she knew entirely what she was doing, Tahiri leaned into Sam's face and kissed him on the lips.
Sam returned the kiss eagerly before Tahiri pulled back, finding himself disappointed when it was over.
"Good luck," Tahiri repeated before stepping away to join Leia and the other Jedi.
"May the Force be with you," Sam replied as he followed Han, Chewie, and the droids onto the ramp of the Falcon.
"Chewie, get ready for takeoff," Han urged as he climbed up the ladder into the cockpit, "Commander Praxium, man the lower guns. I'll need you there while Chewie helps me navigate up top."
"Yes, sir!" Sam saluted, hurrying around the circle corridor towards the gunning turret.
By the time he made it into the seat that operated the Falcon's guns, Han and Chewie had already begun listing off from the ground, over the wreckage of the Republic AT-GTs.
Down below, the Jedi stood rank and file, with Leia taking the lead, as they waited for the army of Sith to approach.
Within minutes of the Falcon's departure, about thirty dark, towering figures appeared among the sandy dunes, all of them activating a menacing red lightsaber blade that streaked the late afternoon sky with a hue of blood.
"Dark Lords of the Sith!" Darth Bane proclaimed, "Today, we fulfill our true destiny, and wipe out the Jedi Order once and for all. Today, the dark side proves itself as forever stronger than the light, and the Sith prove that we are meant to rule as the strongest beings in the galaxy. Only the Jedi stand in our way. And now; they will be no more!"
An echo of battle cries from the undead Sith Lords rang out.
As the Sith began to charge in a storm of fury across the sandy beds, Leia looked back at her fellow Jedi and shouted, "Jedi Knights, fall back!"
"You mean run away?" asked Jedi Knight Valin Halcyon, "Are we going to let them chase us indefinitely?"
"We'll have a better chance at staying alive them when they have more to contend with," Leia replied, "We'll draw them to the Coalition army in Mos Eisley!"
Leia turned and began to run, lifting a finger to make a signal to her fellow Jedi. She called on the Force to propel her speed to a superhuman magnitude, while silently urging the Jedi under her command to do the same. She sensed Tahiri picking up on her signal, then the others one by one.
"The Jedi are running away!" Darth Malten scoffed as he continued running a short distance behind Bane.
"They know they cannot overtake us in battle," Zannah replied, "They reveal themselves as the cowards they are."
"We will pursue them until they have nowhere to hide," Tenebrous said.
With a flash of light, Leia disappeared from view into the evening, twin-sunned horizon, then Tahiri, then Valin, then the rest of the Jedi.
"After them!" Bane ordered, "We can go as fast as they can."
With that, Darth Bane called upon the same power of Force-speed that Leia had, taking off in a blur of light coming from his blade.
The rest of the Sith followed suit, until they reached the edge of Mos Eisley.
Leia and her team of Jedi had reached a storm of laserfire flying between Pyke artillery tanks and Republic AT-GTs and ground soldiers.
Above them, Black Sun and Hutt Cartel fighters did battle with Republic gunships and Interceptors that had been under the command of Cal Omas.
Local mercenaries, hunters, and farmers of different species had joined the right, some siding with the Republic and a few fighting along with the Pyke soldiers.
As soon as the Jedi arrived on the scene, Brigadier Colonel Jarrik, flying a swoop bike, signaled for his tanks to fire on the arriving Jedi.
Leia instinctively held up a hand to stop the incoming onslaught.
"We come in peace to fight against the Coalition forces," she said, "I'm sure you've received Admiral Calrissian's order to cease fighting against Republic forces."
"So it's true?" Jarrik asked, "Omas is gone and Calrissian's faction controls the military now?"
"There's no time to discuss politics now!" Tahiri shouted as she deflected fire from a Black Sun gunship up above.
"Stand down and concentrate your fire on the Coalition ships!" Jarrik ordered his unit, "Our goal is to penetrate the city defenses. Once we're inside, we can get to Gorga the Hutt's command station."
"Looks like we have another problem!" Captain Carner, one of Jarrik's officers shouted.
Several dozen flashes of red, orange and black appeared as the army consisting of Bane's Sith lineage appeared, forming a perimeter around the Jedi, Brigadiers, and Pykes.
Both Republic and Coalition ground forces began firing at the newcomers, to little avail.
Led by Bane, Zannah and Tenebrous, the Sith slowly advanced on their Jedi rivals as they deflected fire from the enemy guns, slashing their lightsabers back and forth in harmonic motion.
"Fire on them!" Jarrik ordered his men and women.
Darth Zannah raised a pale hand and pointed it at Jarrik's speeder. Without looking at him, she sent Jarrik and his bike flying into one of the AT-GTs, causing both to collide in a fiery explosion.
On the screen inside the Falcon's cockpit, several ships came into view, exchanging hails of laserfire as one after another was blown apart.
"Here we are, Chewie," Han said, "Time to put the old girl to the test again. Commander, you ready?"
"Like never before!" Sam shouted from the turret, jamming his fingers against the triggers.
One Syck fighter turned its attention from Lando's ships to the Falcon's shooting straight in Sam's direction. Sam turned the guns of the Falcon to strike its right wing, sending the ship crashing into the rocky cliffside below.
"You came just in time, you old pirate!" Lando said from the Lady Luck's communication channel.
"Like I always said, she's still the fastest ship in the fleet," Han replied, grinning in spite of everything as he steered the Falcon between two jets of multicolored laser hail.
One fighter crashed directly into the hull of the Falcon before spiraling out of sight in the direction of the Dor'bulla from which it had come.
"Admiral!" came the voice of Captain Carner, "We're entering Mos Eisley but we have a problem. There's an army of warriors attacking us. They're not with the Jedi but they're just as powerful, they..."
The sound of an explosion cut Carner off, possibly for good.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Han grumbled.
"That doesn't sound good," Lando replied.
"Tahiri's there, with Leia and the other Jedi!" Sam shouted, "It sounds like they're in trouble."
"We'll help them as soon as we can, but we've got problems of our own here!" Lando pointed out.
"We'll have to take out their command ship," Han said.
"Now? General, are you serious?" Sam exclaimed.
"Come on, kid, we've taken out Coalition command ships before," Han reminded him, "Remember the skyhooks over Ord Mantell?"
"No time to lose then, General!" Sam replied.
The Sith continued to back the Jedi, Republic, and Coalition forces into the city of Mos Eisley. Behind the retreating armies, civilians and militia warriors alike fled deeper into the streets and alleyways, hoping to take refuge from the devastation.
The sandy floor was littered with bodies as well as wrecked vehicles, some of which were still going up in flames.
"You've got nowhere left to run, Jedi!" Bane shouted, "The Sith will forever be unbeatable."
Against a storm of blasterfire and Force-pushes sent at them from the Brigadiers and Jedi, the Sith slowly charged into the streets of Mos Eisley, ready to lay waste.