Star Wars: I Am a Slave ✓

Chapter 77 - Execution

Admiral Ackbar stared out across the hills at the specks of light in the sky surrounding the planet Khalkha. The snow continued to fall, and he was impatient to return to his command post. Only a few ships were left in the fleet after Starkiller took out the Hosnian System. He felt the impatience to be back in the action, the impatience to rebuild the fleet, the impatience to do something.

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Master Luke Skywalker sat in a distant area of the command cave, meditating, searching the Force for any indication of the next step. Ben Solo sat in front of him, kneeling in the subservient posture of the Padawan learner. The High Command held the trial this morning, and a jury of his peers had found Ben Solo guilty of 40 counts of pre-meditated murder from the Second Jedi Purge, treason, and multiple counts of war crimes against innocent civilians. He was also convicted of patricide, matricide, and two counts of attempted manslaughter. The convening council's sentence was death. The only thing they did not like about the sentence was that Ben Solo could only die once.

Because of Ben's powers, his fate was left in the hands of Master Skywalker. Luke was torn in many pieces over this circumstance. Luke was spending the time mastering his feelings, torturing Ben even more with the prolonged wait. Luke did not want to administer justice in anger or vengeance. The pain of Leia's death was still too raw. Luke was trying his best to come to terms with it, with Han's death, with Rey's defection, even with Naluma's and Baby Anakin's deaths so many years ago. And even with their unborn daughter's death from years before the Purge, which Ben had admitted to during the trial.

These deaths irritated Luke's feelings, like salt rubbed into an old would. And so, he meditated. Jedi took lives in battle, but this was different. When Luke released his anger through the Force and attained perfect peace, then his compassion overwhelmed him, and he was unable to act.

Ackbar had re-entered the cave, hoping to see the task done. Luke looked up at him from his own position on the floor. The Jedi Master stood smoothly, grabbing his weapon from the dirt floor. "I cannot. The Force will not allow me to take a life for a life," announced Luke.

Ackbar looked at his old friend, impatient. "Just kill him, Master Skywalker. There need not be any emotion. Just administer justice."

"If I take his life, I will endanger the Resistance by the change it will work in me," announced Luke. "It will corrupt me, Admiral. Where would you be if your only Jedi left goes dark?"

"What are we supposed to do? The boy can prevent anyone else from killing him," argued Ackbar.

"Sedate him and then kill him," stated Luke.

"That is inhumane," argued Ackbar.

"What you ask of me is worse," stated Luke as he walked away from the prisoner out into the hills. Ackbar watched as Luke climbed the hills behind the cave, moving to the upper elevations that were packed in snow.

Ackbar turned back to Solo. The man had not moved. "Medic!"

A medic hurried over from the southern end of the cave and addressed, "Yes, Admiral?"

"Sedate the prisoner," ordered Ackbar.

The medic followed the orders and then asked, "Should I move him out to the med bay?"

"No. Drag him out to the front of the cave. I'll assemble a firing squad," indicated Ackbar sadly.

"Yes, Admiral," responded the medic.

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It took longer than Ackbar wanted to find enough soldiers without any duties to perform the task. Solo lay on the frozen snow, comatose. Ten soldiers stood twenty paces away, hoisting a variety of blasters. The captive moved. The sedative was wearing off.

Ackbar ordered, "On my mark, three, two, on—"

The firing squad was flattened by the afterburners of two TIE-fighters chased by an X-Wing. The X-Wing fired on them as they sped over the area. The TIEs fired on the cave, just above the heads of the execution squad.

Ben Solo sat up, holding out his hands, deflecting the energy bolts outward. They both split their directions, melting the snow. Ben grabbed one of the fighters with the Force and sent it into the other, both exploding a few hundred meters away.

Ackbar hung his head low and ordered, "Prepare to evacuate! Someone go find Master Skywalker!" Two more fighters entered the atmosphere, chasing the lone X-Wing pilot.

"Scramble all fighters! Scramble all fighters!" ordered Ackbar. "Is there any sign of a star destroyer?" he asked to the fleet.

"Nothing on our long or short-range scanners, Admiral. Even our arrays in the neighboring systems show no activity," indicated the flight operator.

"How did these TIEs get here, then? Keep monitoring," ordered the admiral.

He turned to find Ben Solo gone. In the distance, Ackbar saw a lone figure running toward the landing field, a blue-and-white astromech droid following him to one of the empty X-Wing fighters.

Ben Solo had escaped.