Final Showdown (9781484719855)

by Watson, Jude

  He saw all this, and still he didn’t move.

  And then Omega moved, reversing course once again, quickly retreating away from the tomb.

  Anguish on his face, Obi-Wan turned away from the Jedi and followed him.

  Real time came rushing back, and there was not enough of it.

  Anakin turned away from Darra and raced after his Master.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The tomb narrowed at the rear. The stench almost made Anakin gag. It was as though everything foul was concentrated back here. He could barely make out Obi-Wan ahead, running, attacking the undead that guarded Omega, circling him constantly like a cloud of rotting flesh.

  Anakin put on a burst of speed. His Master was battling with incredible speed and accuracy. Anakin could feel the Force like a great pulsing, speeding, enveloping wave that barreled Obi-Wan toward his opponent. Toward his destiny.

  My destiny, Anakin thought. Mine!

  He focused so much on his Master, on his need to catch him, that he blundered into an energy trap.

  Anakin was caught. He couldn’t move. Frustrated, enraged, he slashed at the invisible cage with his lightsaber. He could not free himself. He kicked. He hammered. Caught.

  He had met a power greater than his. Impossible!

  “Master!” he called, but Obi-Wan didn’t hear him. The energy trap sucked his voice out of the air and imprisoned it.

  I just need the Force. Obi-Wan said a Master can summon the Force and fight this. I am as good as a Master. I can do this.

  Strange, though. He could reach out for the Force, but visions got in the way. And not visions from the dark side. Visions of what had just happened. Tru’s mouth, open in a howl of anguish and disbelief. Darra, falling, eyes wide with the shock.

  Darra, her head turned toward him, her cheek in the dust of the tomb.

  He had seen her like this before, when she’d been wounded on Haariden. He had felt her wounding then was his fault. Unsure of her abilities, sure of his own, he had leaped to protect her and crashed into her instead. He had thought himself the better fighter, and because of that, he had pushed her into blaster fire.

  She had never held it against him.

  He saw her face again, so pale. The bright ribbon she always wove through her braid, trailing in the dust of the tomb.

  He knew she was badly wounded. He felt it choke him. He had not gone to help Ferus. Darra had. She was lying on the ground. He tried to put those facts together to have them make sense.

  Tru’s lightsaber had slipped to half-power.

  Anakin had never offered to check the flux aperture, just in case. He had meant to.

  What is happening to me? Anakin wondered. His mind felt suddenly clear, sharp. Why didn’t I help my friends? Have I changed? Am I changing? What am I becoming?

  When he had first become a Padawan, he would not have hesitated. His first loyalty had been to them.

  Things were more complicated now. There was more at stake.

  Maybe he was changing for the better.

  Control rule supremacy greatness…

  Was he more mature now? A better fighter? Better able to assess a situation, move toward the goal? Was that why he had raced to confront Omega? Or had his own jealousy propelled him? How could he separate those things? Why did he have to?

  Power rules by results…

  Anakin shook his head. The voices would not leave him.

  He thought of Darra. Tenderness filled him, and the voices went away.

  Years ago, he had gone to see Darra in the med clinic, filled with remorse. She had shaken him out of his guilt with a grin. Now I have something to impress the younglings with. I’ve been wounded in battle.

  And then he remembered something he hadn’t thought of in years. He had always thought of her strength during that time. Now he remembered her fragility. He remembered her hand on the coverlet. Her fingers had so briefly touched his sleeve.

  Stay with me until I fall asleep. It’s lonely here.

  Anakin beat at the trap again. He felt the rage rise inside him. He knew the rage was interfering with the Force, but he couldn’t control it. If only…if only he could use the rage. But that was something a Jedi should not do.

  The frustration boiled in him. He could not move. His Master was gone now, into the darkness.

  Obi-Wan shouldn’t have been surprised when the visions of the Sith Lords faded and he saw Qui-Gon. But he was. He should have known the Sith were capable of drawing his most painful memory from within him.

  Qui-Gon, with a gaping wound in his chest where Darth Maul had struck.

  “You were always so afraid of disappointing me,” Qui-Gon said. “And you have.”

  Obi-Wan stopped. His lightsaber dangled in his hand.

  It’s not real. It’s not real.

  “You’ve failed me, Obi-Wan.”

  Not…real.

  “And you don’t even know why.”

  Obi-Wan took a breath. He walked forward, straight at Qui-Gon. The image disappeared.

  Shaken, he continued into the darkness. Now it was easier to walk past the Sith Lords, the visions who snarled and hissed and sent out grasping fingers as he walked past. He had seen the worst.

  He heard a hiss, felt the dark side surge, and barely had time to prepare when the flash lit up the darkness. A luma blast, sent by a rocket, designed to blind him.

  Obi-Wan threw himself on the floor and rolled. Behind his closed eyes, he saw explosions of orange and yellow, bright as a double sun. Using the Force, he guided himself alongside a tomb and crouched behind it. When he opened his eyes, he could see nothing.

  Then more blaster fire, so rapid he realized that Omega must have set up a repeating blaster. From the sound of it, an E-Web, one of the most powerful repeating blasters ever manufactured. It sat on a tripod. It took two gunners, but one could handle it, if very skilled.

  Omega didn’t know where he was…yet. Obi-Wan was painfully aware that the E-Web had enough power to punch through armor plating on a cruiser. He heard the stone tombs shatter across the space as they were hit. He couldn’t remain here. He had to keep moving.

  He kept himself low to the ground and felt his way around the tomb. He could track the blaster fire through the Force, could defend himself if he had to. It was part of Jedi training to be able to fight without sight. Younglings learned with novice helmets that blocked their vision. Obi-Wan was suddenly, fiercely glad for that training.

  Omega would expect him to hide. Therefore, he had to expose himself. He had to trust in the Force.

  Blinded, Obi-Wan rushed forward. He felt the air against him as a guide. Objects displaced air, and with the help of the Force, a Jedi could feel the displacement and adjust. Obi-Wan raced forward confidently. His vision would return. In the meantime, Omega was close. So close he could hear the creak of his armor-weave tunic as he moved his arm.…

  A wrist rocket. Obi-Wan dodged and weaved, knowing the targeting laser system was working to get a fix on him. He moved like quicksilver, flowing from one position to the next. He heard the rocket release and he put on a burst of speed, running blind, running straight at Omega now. He felt the whistle as the rocket whizzed by his ear.

  “I love watching you run,” Omega said. “Ready, set, go!”

  Another wrist rocket. Obi-Wan Force-leaped. He felt the rocket behind him and he swerved at the last minute. The rocket crashed into a tomb. Splinters of rock showered over Obi-Wan.

  “I could do this all day,” Omega said.

  Blinded, breathing hard, Obi-Wan allowed himself a fraction of a moment to rest. Inside him blazed the memory of every battle with Omega. From the beginning Omega had set out to confound him, humiliate him, destroy him. He had set out to impress the Sith by attacking the Jedi, and he had managed to do it again and again, always escaping at the last possible moment. He had even managed to kill a Jedi Master. Yaddle had sacrificed her life for this man’s greed and revenge.

  It had to end here. It had to end no
w.

  He saw streaks in his vision now, a sign that his sight was returning. He just needed a few precious minutes.

  “You mentioned having the help of the Sith, Omega,” Obi-Wan said, raising his voice to carry without shouting. “How is that you’ve ended up alone back here?”

  “I’m not alone,” Omega said. “I have his help.”

  “Really? Can you feel him? I can’t. And remember, I’m the one who can feel the Force. Not you.”

  “You arrogant fool,” Omega snarled. “I am to be a Sith! He told me so.”

  “And you believed him.” Obi-Wan was beginning to make out the shape of the tomb opposite him, fragments of shape fracturing the orange streaks in his vision. “Flattery will get him everywhere, it seems.”

  “He wasn’t flattering me! Right now I am a Sith without the Force. I can use his power.” There was a note of defensiveness in Omega’s voice.

  “It seems to me that he gets to use you.”

  “He would not abandon me!”

  The shapes took sharper form. His vision wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do.

  Obi-Wan stood. “You’d better hope so.”

  He could just barely make out Omega standing behind the E-Web. “Your arrogance will bring you down, Obi-Wan!”

  “Funny. I was just about to say the same.” Obi-Wan activated his lightsaber again. The blaster bolts were so powerful they sent shock waves down his arm as he deflected them. The fire was fast and furious. Where was Anakin? He could use his help. Or someone’s…

  He had to concentrate on the moment. Not on what he didn’t have.

  You have everything you need, my Padawan.

  This time, Qui-Gon’s voice was kind. The voice was inside him. It was true, it was real, and it gave him strength.

  His lightsaber whirled, spinning in an arc to gather momentum with each strike against the bolts. He could hear Omega breathing heavily. Obi-Wan was sending bolts back to him at a steady pace, but Omega was managing to evade fire as he deployed the E-Web repeating blaster.

  The orange streaks were fading now. Obi-Wan could clearly see the outlines of the last tombs. Omega was silhouetted against the blaster bolts that sent faint, electric illumination through the air. He was gripping the blaster on the tripod, intent now in the full fury of his lust to take Obi-Wan down.

  Something Anakin had once said floated through his mind. Anakin knew more about machines than Obi-Wan ever wanted to know.

  Funny. No matter how advanced, a weapon always has a flaw. It can always turn against itself.

  The flaw. What was the flaw?

  The E-Web needed two operators because it was liable to overload if one operator didn’t keep track of power flow. If overloaded, it wouldn’t simply shut down—it would backblast.

  Obi-Wan put on another burst of speed. He went after each blaster bolt with skilled parries. But instead of advancing he moved laterally. He only appeared to advance.

  Out of rockets now, Omega tore off the wrist launchers. They were heavy, and he was getting tired. Sweat was pouring down his face. The E-Web was smoking now, and he didn’t notice.

  Obi-Wan’s arms began to shake from the effort of deflecting the blaster bolts. He was tired. His vision was still faulty. With sudden clarity, he realized that he could lose this battle. He was calculating on the failure of a machine he wasn’t terribly familiar with. He was counting on a bit of luck.

  It took all of his concentration. One stumble could send him straight into a blaster bolt that would rip through him like pudding.

  Through the smoke, across the haze, Omega’s blue gaze was hot and burning. Hate blazed at Obi-Wan. Omega was screaming incoherently now, his voice barely heard over the sound of gunfire. The E-Web pounded and smoked.

  Obi-Wan stumbled and hit his knees. Omega smiled. He leaned forward to aim.

  The weapon gave in. It shuddered and stopped for one small instant. Omega shook it.

  The blast was tremendous. A concentration of energy blew Omega back, his body dangling in the air, a shocked expression on his face. He slammed into the tomb wall. Broken. The shock on his face faded as his life drained from him.

  “You…” It was all he managed to get out.

  Obi-Wan heard pounding feet behind him. Anakin ran up and stopped. “Master—”

  “It’s all right. He’s gone.” Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber. “It’s over.”

  “I was caught in an energy trap.”

  “You got out by yourself. That’s good. Come, Padawan.” Obi-Wan turned. “Let’s see to the others. We—”

  A gathering roar came from behind him. Omega threw himself forward, a blaster firing in his hand, his teeth bared. “You killed my father! You…will…not…win!”

  Obi-Wan activated his lightsaber as he turned. The moment he had not wanted to come had arrived. No matter how much he had wished to stop Omega, he had never wished to kill him. He remembered how Xanatos’s death had haunted Qui-Gon. He did not want the same fate.

  But fate had taken away his choices.

  His lightsaber rose, as if in slow motion. Yet it moved faster than an eyeblink. It came down and cleaved into Omega.

  He fell to his knees.

  Instead of retreating, Obi-Wan walked forward. He did not want to see Omega die, but no one should have to die alone.

  Omega looked up into his face. His lips were drawn back over his teeth in a gruesome smile. A spasm of something crossed his features. What was it? Satisfaction, Obi-Wan realized. What did it mean?

  “Do you think you won? You didn’t,” Omega said. Every word was an effort. “I know…who he is.” He toppled over, curling up like a child. “You will wish…you did.”

  Still smiling, still holding his hatred and rage, Omega let go of his life at last and collapsed into the dust.

  Something rushed out, as if a great power had removed its protection from Omega.

  The visions of the Sith Lords faded. The dark side of the Force retreated. The Sith would not be found. Obi-Wan knew he had withdrawn both his presence and his protection.

  Obi-Wan tucked his lightsaber back into his belt. “Let’s see to Darra,” he said.

  Soara cradled her in her arms. Tru had wrapped his cloak around her. Ferus sat on the ground, his head in his hands, and did not look up. Siri and Ry-Gaul stood on either side of the group, as if guarding them from harm. But harm had come and done its work.

  Darra was dead.

  Obi-Wan knelt in front of her. Her eyes were closed, her face composed and impossibly calm. Anakin watched as Soara very gently unraveled Darra’s Padawan braid. She plucked the bright ribbon from the coils of soft hair and held it in her fist. Tears streaked down her face. Anakin could never have imagined seeing Soara Antana, fabled warrior, in tears.

  Anakin heard Darra’s voice rise like a cry inside him.

  Stay with me until I fall asleep. It’s lonely here.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The Great Hall seemed more vast, the journey to the Council room longer than Obi-Wan ever remembered. His legs had never felt so heavy. He walked without seeing. He felt strangely numb. He had never felt so tired.

  He knew about the rumors at the Temple. He knew that Tru’s lightsaber had been faulty, that Ferus had fixed it secretly, that neither of them had told their Masters. He knew that Tru had been censured. Ferus was in seclusion but would be facing the Council directly after Obi-Wan.

  He knew these things, and he knew that in the eyes of the Council, the mission had succeeded, in part. They had caught Granta Omega. Zan Arbor had escaped, but the Council felt she was easier to track. Without Omega’s wealth, she would not find it easy to hide.

  They had missed uncovering the identity of the Sith, but the Council did not fault them. They had been close to him. They had uncovered one of the planets that sheltered him. They had taken a small step forward.

  He should feel some sense of satisfaction, but he did not. Obi-Wan found himself wondering about things he had not thought about s
ince Qui-Gon’s death.

  Was the loss of Darra’s life worth what they had obtained?

  Was there something he should have done that he did not do?

  Had the first vision of Qui-Gon in the tomb come from the Sith, or deep within him?

  Had he failed?

  Darra’s death would once have been an aberration. Why did he feel it was a portent? With every second that passed, he felt more death approach. Time and again he had to shake off the memory of Granta Omega curling up like a child as he let go of life. What could he have been, if he had not been in the grip of his obsession? The Sith found weakness and exploited it. They took a flaw and twisted it into a weapon. Whoever the Sith was, he had goaded Omega, used him, and abandoned him. How could the Jedi fight someone who had no mercy for anyone or anything?

  Over the last few days, Anakin had retreated to the Map Room where he liked to meditate. Obi-Wan couldn’t put his finger on it, but he felt that somehow Anakin was involved in what had happened to Darra. Not directly, but somehow…

  He hated himself for having this feeling. Of course, if that were true his Padawan would have told him.

  Obi-Wan found himself outside the Council Room doors. He tried to clear his mind before he entered. Some days it was difficult meeting so many Jedi gifted in Force-sensitivity at once.

  The doors slid open. The full Council had assembled. The members all acknowledged Obi-Wan as he took his place in the middle of the room, where he had stood so many times.

  “A sad conclusion to the mission, it was,” Yoda said. “Grieving are all of us.”

  “Darra Thel-Tanis has joined the Force,” Mace said. “We will celebrate her life.”

  “Uneasy we are with the conduct of the two Padawans, Ferus Olin and Tru Veld,” Yoda said.

  Adi Gallia nodded. “We have reconsidered our decision to speed up the trials for chosen Padawans. We fear we put too much pressure on them.”