The Last Apprentice: A Star Wars Story

Part 13: The Duel

Del and his troops rushed towards the Imperial Headquarters, not caring much about stealth along the way. They were met with multiple squads of Stormtroopers, but easily got by all of them. They finally reached the stairs leading up to the Imperial Headquarters when they saw that the firing squad was already aimed at the prisoners. In a split second, Del reacted by throwing his lightsaber, perfectly cutting through the necks of the firing squad, and using the Force, he was able to bring his lightsaber right back into his hand. The troops who were with him stared with wide eyes and gaping mouths. They had never seen someone with such great skill before. This truly was a Jedi Knight.

"Well what are you guys waiting for? An invitation? Let's get these guys free!"

The troops scrambled up the steps to free the prisoners, but before they could reach them, a dark figure appeared from the sky and landed right in front of everyone. She slowly got up and ignited her lightsaber, the prisoners still behind her in shackles. Del immediately recognized her as the Inquisitor he fought in the village.

"How brave of you young Jedi. Unfortunately, not very wise of you. You should know this city is nearly a fortress with all the soldiers we have here. Your best chance of survival is surrender."

"Sorry, but we've come for some innocent hostages. I believe you know what I mean." Del responded

"Hostages? I see no hostages. I do have a group of traitors if that's who you're referring to."

"Those people did nothing wrong."

"And the Jedi Order was said to be invincible. We all have our misconceptions. So if you'll excuse me, I have some executions to oversee."

At her command, the more Stormtroopers arrived and aimed their weapons at the villagers.

"Now!" Del said and his troops all fired their weapons simultaneously. In a split second, Melenna turned around and used the Force to stop the blaster fire mid air. The bolts of deadly energy were suspended in mid air. The Stormtroopers backed away, and using the Force with her mind, Melenna made the villagers stand up. Then, she looked Del straight in the eyes as she let go with the Force. The sounds of bodies hitting the floor dead echoed through the streets of the city. The rebels looked on in horror as they realized that they were outmatched. Del, sensing the fear in the troops, turned and faced his men.

"Go find the others, half of you reinforce Mira and Commander Thorn. The rest, go find Coris and give him support. I'll handle this."

The troops agreed and were dispersed to their locations. Now it was just Del and Melenna.

"You know I really should thank you. You've made getting rid of the rebellion on this planet much more simple than it was going to be."

"What do you mean?"

"Wow, you really are stupid. In your desperate attempt to rescue innocent people, you've brought both a major rebel force as well as their leader to my doorstep. With the forces amassed here in the city, we'll easily overwhelm your puny rebellion, and finally eradicate you Jedi filth from the face of the galaxy."

At this remark, Del ignited his lightsaber. He could take the mind games and verbal attacks of Melenna, but he swore to himself to defend the Jed Order, even though it may not be around anymore. He felt it was his duty to defend the memories of his masters.

"Oh, that touched a nerve didn't it. Yes, it'll be a happy day when all you Jedi are gone. You know you were the reason that there was no peace or progress. The Empire was the only answer to your indecisiveness. I'm glad I left and joined the Empire. I've never felt stronger."

Del, while Melenna was busy delivering monologue, decided to try and read what her mind was saying. He tried to get as much as possible, but her mind was so enveloped in darkness, he couldn't really work with anything. Eventually, as Melenna was wrapping up, he found something. He was certain it would initiate a fight, but Del needed to do something to stop her plans of capturing the rest of allies.

"You know, you may be right about some of those things, but I know something that you have been blind to due to your new power."

"And what's that?"

"That your master would be very disappointed in you Melenna."

That was enough to send Melenna into a mad rage as she leaped forward and crossed blades with Del. The two locked in a struggle, the energy cracklings from the lightsabers was loud enough to hear.

"I have become stronger than you will ever be!"

"You only did it out of fear, this isn't you Melenna. You were once a Jedi too."

Melenna broke the deadlock and assaulted Del with furious attacks. Del was doing excellent to block them all, hoping that Melenna would eventually get tired. Sure enough, she did, and Del made his move to go on the attack. His blue blade striking true with every attack, but tired as she was, Melenna was able to block. The two continued to duel on the steps of the Imperial headquarters. The onlooking Stormtroopers stood in silence, not even aiming at the two, waiting for a victor to emerge. Del was gaining the advantage, Melenna's blocks were being broken, and she couldn't keep up. Finally, Del was able to break Melenna's defense and land a clear strike on her shoulder. Melenna screamed in pain as she clutched her wound. Del then used the Force to launch her back into her own troops. The rest of the Stormtroopers who had not been knocked down by Melenna's body fired at Del. With ease he deflected all blaster fire aimed at him right back to the troops, killing them and leaving only him and the injured Inquisitor.

As Del began walking forward to demand for her surrender, Melenna got up with just her rage fueling her now. Del took a step back as his dark enemy roared in an intense rage and fired her Force Lightning at him. Del, learning from their last battle, was able to block it using his lightsaber. Doing so wasn't easy however, and Del could feel himself being pushed back by the power. Nevertheless, he continued to block the lighting, thinking that if he could outlast Melenna once again, she would having nothing left for energy and he could defeat her or ask her to surrender.

He held on as long as he could, but Del couldn't contain all the energy being thrown at him, and finally, he broke the lock. Melenna had stopped using her lightning at the same time, but she was far from done. She ignited her lightsaber and locked blades with Del once again. However, Melenna had a trick up her sleeve. While the two locked blades, Melenna activated something that caught Del off guard. Melenna had activated a second blade to her lightsaber, making it a dual-bladed weapon. Del didn't worry too much, seeing as how he had experience fighting enemies with a double bladed lightsaber, but that feeling of assurance left him immediately when the blades on Melenna's lightsaber began to spin in a circular motion. It was like a deadly propeller, and Del was the victim of superior technology as the power of the spinning blades broke his defense in seconds. This gave Melenna the opportunity she needed to finish the fight. In one swift motion, while Del was recovering, she landed a blow that slashed Del from his chest all the way up across his right eye. Del screamed in agony as he fell, defeated, injured, and unable to see clearly out of one eye.

He was forced up to his knees and put in handcuffs by two Stormtroopers. Facing a maniacally smiling Melenna, Del couldn't believe the raw dark power that lied within her. It was while staring at his enemy that he sensed Coris and Mira were nearby. He turned his head to the left to see both of his friends in shackles, followed by Commander Thorn and his troops, all held at gunpoint and being escorted by hundreds of Stormtroopers and Korran. Del's heart sunk; they had failed, and even worse, they had fallen right into the Imperial trap. Del looked back towards Melenna as Coris and Mira were placed on either side of him. The gates to the Imperial Headquarters opened up and out walked someone the three had never seen before. He walked calmly towards the Jedi, his gaze fixated on them and the group of captured insurgents. Melenna turned to face the man.

"Mission accomplished, Grand Admiral Thrawn."