STAR WARS: Presage of the Force (A Fan Fic by Michael Holiday)

Chapter 5

Nineteen minutes later.

From beneath the hangar floor, a squad of stormtroopers rose from the grave. The lift platform, an elongated polygon, teemed with white armor.

The Millennium Falcon was a jewel to behold despite the carbon scorching pocking its body from laser fire. The deceptively antiquated patchwork of upgrades and the shotty repairs that concealed armor plating—that beyond legal limits—lent the appearance off a rundown freighter ready for the scrap heap. The fading paintjob completed the ruse. But right now, it was the most beautiful thing in the galaxy to Luke Skywalker. That, and the gorgeous woman standing next to him. Her soft facial features and radiant smile only accented the intoxicating aura of confidence and strength.

"Look. I'm not going to tell you again, Kid. We did our part. We rescued the princess. Besides, the old man said to leave with or without him."

Luke opened his mouth to reply.

"Who rescued who?" Leia raised an eyebrow.

"I just hope that he was able to deactivate the tractor beam," said Han.

"Wait-what! That's your plan?"

"Relax, your Worship. Just leave everything to me."

The Wookie stifled a disapproving howl and then huffed.

"Hey. Whose side are you on, Chewie?"

"Oh no." Luke sighed and shook his head. "It doesn't matter, we'll never get past those stormtroopers. Wait. Look. Something's happening."

Whether a ripple in the Force, or just strange luck, Luke could not tell. But when the first stormtrooper turned his attention from their post, others followed suit. One trooper motioned to another and then to another—and soon, the entire battalion migrated to the opposite side of the hangar.

"Let's go, everybody. It's time to go." Han smiled and gestured to the Falcon.

The ragtag band darted out, added to their numbers as R2-D2 and C-3PO joined their ranks. Where is Ben, Luke wondered. He scanned the corners and crags between the crates surrounding the hangar deck for any sign. Where is he?

Luke's answer came when the he searched beyond the throng of stormtroopers gathering near a hatch at the far end of the hangar. Inside the hallway, two figures faced off. One, dark like the infamous Smuggler's Moon, clutched a glowing red lightsaber in his hand. The other, he couldn't make out through the growing wall of white trooper armor.

***

Obi-Wan stared down the black stormtrooper, this one unlike any he'd never seen before. And something else. Something familiar.

Anakin?

"Do not call me that. Anakin is no more," the mechanical voice hissed.

Anakin, no! Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber.

Respirator hissing, the black cyborg extended his hand at Obi-Wan. The Jedi flew backward. But Obi-Wan kept his feet—sliding back—blue blade aglow in the dim corridor, until the Force push ebbed, and he moved no further.

The stalemate lasted but a moment.

They converged, their blades humming in perfect unison with each step closer. The lights in the hallway flickered, and Anakin lunged forward, crimson blade slashing. Obi-Wan swept his blade low-to-high with a grunt and deflected the attack. The red lightsaber ate through a section of the wall, slicing a scorched sneer on the dark-gray canvas, sparks spitting from the toothless grin. The two closed the gap between them.

The pair exchanged a series of strikes. Anakin finished a short swing and then pulled back before snapping his blade around in a powerful crossing attack.

Obi-Wan, ducked, dropped to the ground, down on bent leg with the other out ahead of him for balance. The red blade sizzled overhead, the warmth toasting his forehead. He swung at black legs.

Anakin leapt just in time, the blue energy sweeping under him dangerously close.

The Jedi sprang up and swiped at the dark helmet, sword blazing a scar across its cheek. Anakin crossed his blade and shoved Obi-Wan back. The duo reset and then charged, both swinging. Their lightsabers crisscrossed and locked, weapons crackling and sparking until they pulled away.

"No. You are the Chosen One. We are all making sacrifices to see this through, but it is you that must confront the Emperor, your son that will reestablish the Jedi Order. You must remember." Obi-Wan bit his lower lip, brow furrowed. "Remember."

The respirator in the Anakin's suit hissed.

"No! My Force vision showed me that my daughter can be turned. She will be. I can feel it. There is another path to end this. There is another way."

"The dark side is tempting you. You must stay true to our pact. It is the only way. The Jedi are meant to protect the galaxy, not rule it."

They exchanged thrusts and parries and then their blades locked again. Energy popped and crackled, Anakin's respirator punctuating the strain of the battle.

"Master Yoda has foreseen the Emperor's cloning facility. The fox has been drawn out. We can end this, but you must stay the course. Palpatine will share the location with you. He trusts you. Your destiny is along another path than Leia's."

Anakin's red blade glowed off the eyes of his helmet. "You lie."

Obi-Wan drew a quick glance behind Vader. "You see? Both your children are on their way to safety—never meant to be in your grip. Brother rescues sister." The Jedi held his hands out, submitting for a truce. "I have done what I was assumed of me. Remember. We all had the same Force vision. My part, to make sure your children escape, so they can fulfill their own destinies. It doesn't have to end like this."

Anakin froze in contemplation, caught in a tractor beam.

Obi-Wan pleaded with a stoic stare.

In the end, Anakin—twisted man and machine—raised his lightsaber at Obi-Wan, taunted him with the humming blade. "No, you fool. This time, I have the high ground."

***

More stormtroopers caught sight of the battle and shuffled over in droves. Luke slowed and stopped, affixed on the spectacle, and on something else. Ben? Ben!

***

Obi-Wan struck low at Anakin, and then raised his guard, absorbing a barrage of crossing slashes. The sickly respirator hissed again, and the Jedi winced in sympathy.

"When I left you, I was but the learner. Now, I am the master."

"Only a master of evil, Darth."

At that moment Obi-Wan spotted Luke gazing at him from across the hangar. For a moment he just stood, trying with his eyes to explain what this all was, what it meant. Why it had to be like this—to end this way. There was so much he wanted to tell the boy and teach him.

Obi-Wan turned back to Anakin. He bowed his head in acceptance and lowered his blade.

Seeing the advantage, the Dark Lord of the Sith moved in, and swung.

His crimson blade tore through the air, its energy wreaking death. The humming weapon consumed Obi-Wan, cut him in two—but in that same instant, the red blade flashed and Obi-Wan vanished. His robe fell to the ground. The Jedi, gone.

[Cool remake of the classic lightsaber battle that started it all by Djk on YouTube

Published on May 30, 2019 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf2Xd80mFdE&feature=youtu.be)]