Second Chance/Part 4

The soldier hadn't given them much more than a few blocks of the city to home in on, but by the time they got into that radius it didn't matter. The dark side of the Force sent a clammy feeling down Narasi's spine, as if a drop of sweat had dripped down her backbone, and as all four Jedi turned their speeder bikes in that direction, she started to hear the screaming.

By the time she pulled up, Tirien and Mali Darakhan were already off their bikes, and Aldayr was hopping off his. Avoiding the younger Human, Narasi came up between Mali and Tirien, taking her lightsaber hilt in hand. She could see a handful of Sith troopers firing into buildings, then shooting at civilians as they came running out the doors. As she watched, one of them took aim at a crowd with a rocket launcher and fired.

Tirien thrust out a hand, and Narasi felt a surge in the Force like a gust of wind rushing past her. The missile started to curve in midair; with a groan of effort Tirien waved both hands, and the rocket soared straight upward, arcing harmlessly into the sky until it exploded a hundred meters up.

"Nice one!" Mali complimented. The rocket trooper scrambled to reload his rocket launcher, but Darakhan simply extended a hand, and the Sith soldier went flying backward, smashing into a brick wall and crumpling to the ground.

The remaining troopers fired on them, and Tirien and Mali went into the welter of blasterfire. Narasi noticed Tirien turning most of the shots down into the ground or up into the sky, wielding his blade one-handed in an uncharacteristic vertical guard; the wound in his shoulder was still smoking. Mali, by contrast, turned shots back the way they came, and three soldiers fell to their own reflected blasts.

"Aldayr!" the Corellian called; he did not seem at all troubled by splitting his focus. "Think you've practiced enough?"

Narasi, who had come up to Tirien's side to deflect fire, could not see the younger Human's face, but she heard him reply, "Yes Master!"

"Take them, I'll cover you."

Narasi did not see what Darakhan did, but the next thing she knew, a blue-bladed lightsaber was flying across the square like a spear. She felt sick as she remembered Karr Shadeez's blade spinning like a pinwheel and cutting Rhosa down. Aldayr didn't have nearly Alecto's control, but the blade speared one Sith soldier, then leapt up to cut another across the chest before opening the last one's side.

As the final soldier fell, screaming and trying to hold his insides inside, Aldayr's lightsaber wobbled back across the square…then stopped in midair. Aldayr stepped toward it, face screwed up in concentration. "What…I can't…"

"Aldayr," Mali said, his voice sharper now.

Two men had appeared at the other end of the square, wearing the hooded black robes and red face masks Narasi had grown to despise. Both had red lightsabers in their hands, and one had his hand stretched out for Aldayr's lightsaber. It started to drift toward them.

Tirien stepped forward, switching his lightsaber to his left and raising his sword hand tiredly. Aldayr's lightsaber jerked back their way, skipped again, then flew across the square, smacking into the surprised Aldayr's palm. Tirien lifted his green blade, but Mali laid a hand across his chest, avoiding his injured shoulder.

"I've got this," he said.

"Two of them," Tirien pointed out, "and two of us."

"You got the rocket and the last adept, you deserve a rest," Mali answered with a smile. He took a small coin from his pocket, flipped it, caught it, and tucked it away again. "Time for me to actually do something useful around here."

And he strode into the square without a backward glance. Tirien frowned, but ultimately closed down his lightsaber and clipped it to his belt. Following suit, Narasi stepped beside him. "Why not take them together?"

Sighing, Tirien crossed his arms and shook his head; Narasi wasn't sure whether his expression was disapproval or amusement. Maybe both. "Because he's a Corellian."

Aldayr came up on her other side and grinned. "Watch this."

Mali Darakhan walked into the square alone, lightsaber held casually at his side. The two dark siders moved to bracket him, already in combat stances, feinting with their movements to test the Jedi Knight's reactions. He didn't twitch, but he did stop in the middle of the square, raising his free hand with the palm up.

"This doesn't have to happen," Narasi heard him say. "Lay down your lightsabers and we'll treat you honorably."

One of the dark siders laughed, and they charged in unison. Narasi was sure Mali would be impaled, but he brought his blade to guard at the last second, swatting one blow aside and dancing out of range of the other. They came at him together, but he fended them off one-handed, smiling. It was not her master's one-handed style; it lacked entirely the miniscule movements and the carefully balanced stances. But Darakhan was as tall as the taller one and looked stronger than either, and his blocks were precise. He dodged, letting them exhaust themselves, putting one in the other's way. They did not seem to cooperate particularly well; Narasi considered herself something of an expert in that deficiency, and she recognized the signs.

The closer one swung hard at Darakhan's back; the Jedi slipped just out of range, and as the dark sider lurched past, Mali swung down and cut off his head.

Narasi blinked, startled by the suddenness of it, but the other dark sider did not seem to care. He pulled his dead comrade's lightsaber to hand, attacking with both blades. This time Darakhan did not retreat, standing his ground against the onslaught and giving as good as he got, his blue blade flashing at lightning speed. Narasi felt the little pinpoints of pain in the Force as Darakhan landed shiim strikes, nicking his opponent's shoulder, thigh, and side.

The dark sider, frustrated and howling his fury, crossed his arms for a brutal double slash. Dropping his own lightsaber, Mali caught him by both wrists. They grappled, shifting their feet, the dark sider straining against the Jedi's hold, until Mali suddenly kicked his enemy in the groin. As the masked man sank to his knees, Darakhan forced his arms back and uncrossed them, and the dark sider's head toppled free to join his comrade's.

In the ensuing silence, Darakhan knelt to recover his lightsaber, holding it up before his face in a brief moment of meditative contemplation. Then he rose and looked their way. "Aldayr, check these buildings, see if anyone's injured."

"On it, Master!" Aldayr said. He spared Narasi a grin. "I told you!"

As he jogged off, Tirien said quietly, "Narasi, take the houses on the other side of the street."

"I…right." Narasi jogged off, still a little in awe at Darakhan's calm command of the situation. For nearly a week she had seen him dominate the battlefield like he was born to be on one, and it seemed dueling came as easily as wiping out droids and destroying tanks. Aldayr might be off-putting, but Narasi could not deny that here, at least, his confidence was entirely justified. And she wondered, as she often had these past few days, what it would be like to be Mali Darakhan's apprentice.