The Chosen One (onceasith) wrote in parabolical, @ 2008-04-22 21:37:00 |
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Entry tags: | jaina solo |
Chosen and Sword
Who: Darth Vader and Jaina Solo (brief appearance by Anakin Skywalker)
What: Talk of redemption, exchange a few insults, and Jaina follows in a certain family tradition
Where: Seashore
When: Sunset
Rating: R for violence
Status: COMPLETE
He stood at the water's edge, the black robe wrapped around him, the hood shielding his face. The water was calm, beautiful. He loved the water. It had frightened him, to see it for the first time on the planet of Naboo. How could so much water exist in one place? After knowing nothing but the barren, sandy wastelands of Tatooine, he hadn't known what to think of it. But when Padmé had poured a handful of the cool, clear liquid over his hand, he had laughed at the feeling of it, and she had smiled in that full, brilliant way of hers, and he'd known that he loved water.
Their wedding has also been on the shore. On that same, sacred bank where they had shared their first, stolen kiss. Water was soft and silken and forgiving.
Vader shut his eyes, his cybernetic hand closing around a stone and crushing it to sand. Water. Sand. Was there nothing in the universe that wouldn't bring some memory of her?
Jaina wasn't certain what had made her decide to visit the water. She couldn't say for sure why she was taking a seemingly casual stroll along the water's edge when she had so much work to do. Andrew's training, for one, was taking up a good deal of her time. He was coming along nicely, though. At least that much was going right.
Still, there were other things plaguing her as well. It was difficult to steer clear of the darkness, in this place, and it was slowly beginning to wear on her. Oh, there was no threat of her returning to the Dark Side, but that didn't mean it wasn't going to eventually claim her brother. It had already re-claimed her grandfather, after all.
So lost in her own thoughts, Jaina very nearly missed the disturbace in the Force warning her that someone was near. She only managed to look up from the ground - having been watching it pass beneath her feet - when she'd grown close enough to the other figure to make out who, exactly, it was. Coming to an abrupt stop, she swallowed. Hard.
Leave, her mind whispered. Turn and go while you still can, Solo.
Yet, she didn't leave. She didn't speak, but she didn't leave. Simply stood there, watching the form of a man she had spent an lifetime learning about and wondering what, exactly, had driven him back into the darkness that had consumed his life for the better part of two decades when, from what she could tell, he'd been given a second chance unlike anything anyone had ever before seen.
After a long moment, his eyes still closed, Vader spoke. "Did you have something to say, Solo?" he asked, his voice edging on that name. "Or have you just come to see?"
He wasn't certain if he wanted her to stay or to go. Her presence was a bouy in the waters of his mind; floating serene on the waves, but cutting through the current, interrupting the flow. One part soothing, one part static.
Perhaps he could frighten her away. He was certain he could. A show of force, a few violent close-calls, and he could make her run, grateful she still had her life. But the will for it simply wasn't there.
"See what?" Jaina replied, her tone casual even if her body was on edge and ready for just about anything. "You? I've seen more than enough of you as a kid, growing up. Thanks."
Okay. Being sarcastic to Darth Vader? Probably not her smartest idea ever. But what did he expect? Her parents were Han Solo and Leia Organa. It's not like she had much of a fighting chance to be anything but sarcastic. Especially when she felt as though her back was against the proverbial wall.
She was going to turn to leave, then, was all set to do so, but something made her take pause. There was something about him - the way he stood, the fact that he'd yet to even look at her - that made her stay where she was. And, after a second, she added with a slight frown, "You know, it's been a while since I walked the path of the Dark Side, but I'm pretty sure this is the part where you start making threats on my life."
"Holos and murals. Never in the flesh." The bitterness of those words were contained securely within him, not making an impression upon his voice. His children, his grandchildren. There were barriers to all. Emotional ties long broken, political ties long standing, simple grudges passed from father... to daughter.
Her words brought a smirk to his lips. The lack of respect showed more than the depth of her eyes that she was kin. "I tire of the old cliches. Perhaps I won't bother with the threats and simply kill you. Or perhaps I'll let you walk away. I haven't decided yet."
He opened his eyes, still overlooking the water. The sun was setting, casting a red glow against the waves. More memories flowed into his mind, but he didn't push them away now. "I married your grandmother as the sun was setting upon the water. She taught me to love the sea. There is no other soul living who knows this but you. I doubt anyone bothered to record that in the history files."
In a flash, the smirk was gone from Jaina's face as the significance of his words hit her fully. This wasn't the Darth Vader she'd been taught about. He didn't speak fondly of memories involving his time as Anakin Skywalker. He didn't tell personal information to an enemy, even if they were related to him. One of her uncle's greatest regrets was that he'd never gotten to know the man his father had been. So why, now, was she learning things about him that even Luke didn't know?
"She knows," Jaina finally spoke, her own voice significantly softer. "She's still alive and I'm sure she remembers, too." Slowly she moved closer, half-expecting every step to be her last, until finally she was standing beside him. Her own gaze went to the water, then, watching the rays of the setting sun reflect upon the surface.
A heartbeat passed, then another, before the young woman stated, "When I was training to become a Jedi, my brother and I were abducted and forced to learn about the Dark Side. About... you. I almost killed him, once, believing him to be you due to a visual trick. I swore right then and there that I'd never raise my lightsaber against my own family again." Turning to glance at the man beside her, she added, "I really don't want to have to go back on my word. It's just about the only thing left I have going for me, these days."
"I never told her about the water. She knows of our wedding, of course, but not the water."
He didn't know why he was saying these things. Why there was any desire to be known as less than who he was. Dath Vader, Lord of the Sith. Why should he bother with memories of Anakin?
Because that is the man worthy of Padmé's love.
He pushed the thought away, and slowly turned his head to look at the young woman. "So would you consider me to be family, then? This is hardly a promise you should relate to an enemy, family or no. It only makes them more keen to... strike."
In that instant, he had drawn his lightsaber from his belt through the Force, and the blade had extended in his hand, burying itself through her stomach. He watched, a smile lingering on his lips, as the life force drained from her eyes, and she fell against the blade, slipping to the ground and going limp, her blood flowing into the sand and the sea.
He saw it, in his mind's eye. He knew how perfect the death would be. But his will remained stubborn, and his hands stayed at his sides. "Family is important."
She'd half expected him to attack her, then. Part of her had been prepared to meet her demise. A rather pathetic end to a halfway heroic life, but a sacrifice she'd make if that was what it took.
Wait. What was she talkikng about? If that was what what took? Did she really think she could help him turn away from the Dark Side? Was she actually so naive as to believe she would matter near enough to him to actually help?
Yes. Upon further thought, Jaina thought something pretty close to that. Maybe she wasn't important to him - certainly not as important as her uncle had been - but she was family. That alone had to say something. Right?
"Family is all I have left," Jaina replied finally, her gaze going back to the still water. "And it keeps slipping away from me. First my younger brother, then my twin. Then my aunt." Slowly, she looked back to him. "And if things keep going the way they are, I guess you're going to be next."
Because yes, she did consider him family. He was her grandfather. Or, at least, he had been once upon a time. Maybe he could be again, too. Maybe.
"Next?" Vader looked at her, and his eyes flashed, shifting from clear blue to gold and crimson. "I was the first. You already told me as much, Solo. Nearly killing your twin for the single sin of looking like me? The things they taught you about me were all true. I slaughtered the Jedi. Purged them. The younglings of the Temple were killed by my hand. I've slaughtered hundreds, thousands. Ask your mother if she remembers the time we spent together on the Death Star. I'm sure the scars remind her every time."
He stopped, shutting his eyes and taking a breath. As he let it out again, Vader turned, his eyes moving back to the tranquil sea. Once more, they were blue, but the man had fallen silent.
Jaina didn't flinch at his words, didn't even bat an eye. She simply waited for him to fall silent before speaking. Her own voice was calm, fully in control. "See, that's the funny thing about just learning about you versus actually meeting you. You died long before I was born, so I never considered it a loss to me, personally. Now, though? Now it's different."
Turning her own attention to study his profile, she added smoothly, "And my mother remembers you. She's spoken of her time on the Death Star a few times, over the years. Sure they weren't fond memories, but she's come to terms with it all because she chooses to focus on the good that remained inside you, rather than the darkness you let consume you."
Using the Force to raise a pebble into her palm, Jaina glanced down at it. She twirled it around her fingers before tossing it lightly into the air and catching it once more. Turning slightly, she tossed the pebble across the surface of the water, watching as it skipped a few times before falling beneath the surface.
"She named my brother Anakin, you know," Jaina said quietly, watching as the ripples faded and the stillness returned. "She said once that the name gave her hope. It reminded her that any Jedi could turn back to the Light, no matter how long they'd been lost in the Dark." There was emotion present now, as she spoke of her younger brother, but she refused to let it show on her expression. No, that remained carefully neutral.
A mocking snort escaped him. "She always was a fool."
He wouldn't acknowledge that wave of emotion rising within him. Hope was a frail thing, easily crushed by might. There was none within him. None. It was a fool's errand, to hope. The path of Darkness was too strong, too free. To pretty a cage to allow for willing release. No matter who or what waited on the outside.
Are you sure about that?
Across that razor-sharp line of Light and Dark, the line he had danced on since his resurrection. Pushed across by the memory of a dead man; a man he could not be again. Who had that fall severed him from? Padmé, by her own words. She couldn't love a man who stood against everything she believed. And he couldn't convince her that this was the only way he knew to make her dreams into reality. His children, Luke and Leia. Luke was a child now, young and innocent. Padmé didn't want him near Luke. He didn't want him near Luke. The boy was far too sensitive in the Force - he didn't want his son to feel this darkness. Leia... Vader had already caused her so much pain. His grandchildren, Jaina and Jacen. And... Anakin.
Family. All he'd ever had was Shmi. And after the long years of separation, he hadn't had her, either. Obi--- He pushed that thought from his mind immediately. His former Master was no friend. No family. He had betrayed Vader. Enough about him. Vader had just found Padmé again when Shmi died. He hadn't seen his mother again until moments before her death. The way it had been... between Anakin and Luke.
Did he want history to repeat? To live another lifetime without the family he craved?
Slowly, Vader shook his head. "It's too late for me. I've walked in the Dark for so long, the Light burns and cannot be borne."
Jaina didn't bother to defend her mother, even though a large part of her wanted to. No, she reminded herself, that wasn't going to serve any purpose. Vader's opinion was his own and wasn't likely to change. Besides which, it wasn't Vader she was trying to reach, but rather the man he'd once been... and could be again.
Even if he didn't think so.
"I know a lot of people who would disagree with you on that," she eventually replied. She watched the water ripple for a moment - something below the surface breaking free then disappearing beneath once more. Turning her gaze back to Vader for a moment, she continued. "In fact, the entire new Order is based around the proof you provided that it's never too late."
She fell silent once more, a question bouncing around in her mind and demanding to be asked. Jaina stayed her tongue, trying in vain to keep the inquiry to herself, before finally deciding that this was likely the only chance she'd ever have to ask the man himself. She might as well take it.
"What made you turn to the Dark Side in the first place? It's one of the few things Uncle Luke could never figure out, even after all of the searching he did before he started the Praxeum." Of course, Jacen knew the answer. He'd discovered it, at some point, and the answer had driven him even further down his own path of darkness. Jaina wasn't about to tell Vader that, though. And she wasn't about to ask her brother for the answer, either. So either her grandfather would tell her, and she'd finally know, or he wouldn't and she'd likely spend the rest of her life wondering. The choice, ultimately, was his.
"That would depend on what you have to return for."
At her question, the Dark Lord's eyes closed, a ripple of pain flowing from him as he recalled the visions he'd had. More than two decades old, but the memories were as fresh as though they'd been moments ago. "Questions for another time, youngling. Suffice to say, the reasons have been declared moot. There is nothing for me to return to."
Padmé never wanted to see him again. The foolish mistake he'd made with Leia, a wild thought that having one of her children returned to her might make her happy, had cost him that fragile hope. Now he was cursed to walk the shadows forever, for everything the Light had to offer him was gone.
She wasn't pleased with his answer, or with being called a youngling, but she didn't object. She simply stayed silent and waited for a moment, thoughtfully looking back out to the water once more. When Jaina did speak again, her voice was quiet, comptemplative, and full of far more wisdom than she should really possess at her age.
"At the point in time I come from, my twin is responsible for the death of my Master; his own Aunt. I've spent the better part of a year learning how to stop him from killing others, and the only way I'm going back on my word not to raise my lightsaber against someone I love is to stop him once and for all." She paused, struggling to control the emotion in her voice as she spoke of things she wasn't quite sure she was even ready to speak of yet.
Her brown orbs - so very much like her mother's - shone with pain as she continued. "When I return home, I'm going to kill my twin. I'm going to be the only child left standing out of three." Slowly she turned to look at Vader. "But even when I do that, even as I deliver that final blow that's going to end his life, I'm going to cling to that single hope that somehow, some way, he'll find remorse for the things he's done. And even if he doesn't, I'll still find some way to forgive him once it's all said and done."
With a heavy sigh, she shook her head and once more turned back to the water. "My mother truly believes that there isn't anything a Jedi can do in Darkness that can prevent them from turning back to the Light. I agree with her. It's one of the few things we do agree on, in fact. It may be a foolish notion, but that doesn't make it any less true," she murmured. "Love is a bond much stronger than hatred, and there's very little that can really and truly sever it. No matter how much someone might say otherwise."
He turned to look at her. "You would strike down your twin. Your brother. You will kill him to stop him, and you plan for this, and await the moment. And yet, I stand before you, a Sith, as you know, and you tell me these things." Vader's eyes narrowed slightly. "Where is your sympathy for him? You train for a year to destroy him, him with whom you shared a womb, but there is sympathy for Vader? One whom you know not, and never shall, should you be returned to your time, as you seem to desire."
Vader looked her over, sneering slightly, and looked back to the water. "So much for believing your mother's words. If you know it to be foolish, then you know there is no truth to it."
The words hurt. Jaina wasn't going to pretend they didn't. But she also wasn't going to lose control of her temper. That would only lead her right down the same path the man beside her was walking. She couldn't - wouldn't - do that again.
"I pity my brother," she finally spoke, her voice calm and collected even while her mind screamed its rage silently inside of her. "I pity him because he's forgotten all he has and instead chooses to focus on that which he's lost. He's become blinded by his rage until it's all he can feel anymore and I feel sorry for him for having fallen that far." She also felt guilt - a great bit of it in fact - but she didn't tell Vader that much.
Glancing at him, her lips quirked upward into a smirk that proved without a doubt who her father was, had they ever met him before. "My dad thought attacking the Death Star was foolish but he showed up anyway," she said quietly, pointedly. "Just because someone thinks something may be foolish doesn't mean they don't still hold out some sort of hope that it isn't."
"Pity?" The Sith laughed. "He doesn't care about your pity." Vader closed his eyes, breathing deeply, lips twisted into a smirk. "This. This is what he wants. Your anger. Your rage. I can taste it. Tempered, sweet, and honed to a razor-edge. You've given in to it before. Would you again... to save his life?"
The mention of her father let his eyes open. Gold and crimson irises. "Ah, Solo." The smirk on his lips turned pleased. "He did make such a lovely ornament. The Hutt paid well for the prize."
He turned his head to face her. "Mother, father, brother... ah, yes. I missed one, didn't I? Dear little Anakin. The great hope. Where is he now, youngling? Where is your hope now?"
The mention of Han made her bristle but it wasn't anything she hadn't heard before. Granted it had never been spoken quite so cruelly, but it was the truth and she could accept that. It didn't sit well, but she wasn't going to react to it.
Then he mentioned Anakin.
"Don't," she said lowly, her entire features seeming to shift into a fierce expression in less than a blink of the eye. In actuality, her entire body shifted slightly, muscles tensing as she unconsciously prepared to defend the honor of her youngest brother. "Don't you dare talk about him like that."
Vader drew in a breath, his eyes half-lidded as he felt the satisfying burst of rage bubble within her. "A weak thing," he said, calling upon his own feelings towards that creature he had been before. "Frail as what he was named for. What is his destiny? To die, a broken recluse, at the hands of his own shortcomings?"
He raised a hand, his lightsaber already shooting away from his belt and into his grasp. He'd seen an echo of it in his mind's eye, and as his blade ignited, Jaina's crashed into it.
In that one instant between standing firm with her decision to not fight this man, and the moment when she drew her lightsaber to strike, Jaina felt something inside of her snap. Nobody spoke about her brother like that. Nobody. She didn't care who they were, it wasn't going to happen. Not as long as she still had breath left within her to fight.
Her grip on her lightsaber was firm, her expression one of pure, raw fury. "He died a hero's death. That's more than can be said for you," she all but growled over the hiss of the blades, already drawing back and coming around for another sweep.
Even though she was angry, livid really, her movements were still graceful and very much in control. She hadn't quite gotten pushed that far yet and, now that she'd actually engaged him in battle, she wouldn't let it get to that point either. She may not win this fight but she certainly wasn't going to lose because of her temper. And with that thought she struck once more, her ears filled with the sound of their blades connecting as her mind already began to thinking ahead to the next step and the best way to use her strengths to her advantage in a fight that was going to be, she could only assume, to the death.
Oh, yes. To the death. But that didn't mean he was going to make it an easy victory for her to claim. No, this little Jedi would earn her kill.
He parried her next move off-handedly. The blades crackled with energy. Then he gathered the Force into his limbs, his will, and used the crossed blades to push her back,hopefully off-guard, with all his might.
The one good thing about being as little as she was, was that Jaina had learned how to use her smaller stature to her advantage quite some time ago. So when the shove came, while she wasn't ready, she also wasn't knocked off balance. In fact, as soon as she felt herself moving backward she turned it around so it would benefit her instead.
Force Jumping was one of her specialties and she used it this time to launch her into the air and, twisting her body, landed a few feet away in a full crouch. Her toes had barely touched the ground before she was airborn once more, this time soaring over Vader's head and, with a flip, landing smoothly behind him. She struck out with her blade before she'd fully righted herself, a hard smile on her face as she questioned coldly, "Is that the best you've got, old man?"
He met her blade again as he turned, and smiled at the taunt. "Hardly." The shove had merely been a test, an ounce of power. It was all a test. He needed to knoew her capabilities in order to destroy her. He advanced on her, using his strength and speed to keep her moving backwards, bringing his lightsaber around in short, sweeping arcs against her upper body before lashing out with his foot to kick out her legs from under her.
Give a litte, take a little, it was all a part of the dueling process. Or, as her Uncle Luke used to tell her, "Sometimes, you have to give a little in order to gain the advantage, Jaina. It isn't always about who is the strongest, the most powerful. A true fighter knows when to give up ground in order to gain the advantage." Or, something along those lines. The only thing Jaina remembered word-for-word was the Sword of the Jedi prophecy, truth be told, but the lesson he'd been trying to impart had stuck, nonetheless.
So she gave up some ground. Allowed him to move her backward, skirting the edge of the water and testing the ground beneath her feet as she went. By the time he brought his lightsaber around and lashed out with his foot, she was ready.
Leaning backward enough to narrowly miss his latest sweep at her upper body, she felt her feet go out from underneath her and continued with the momentum. Her own lightsaber left her hand and she used the Force to send it sliding backward, away from him, as she did a veritable backbend then kicked herself back around into a crouched position. Her hand went out and her own weapon flew back into it, igniting once more just in time for her to block his next assault.
And then it was time to go on the offensive.
Shoving outward with the Force, Jaina was able to rise to a fully standing position. She didn't have the strength that Vader did, however, so she didn't waste any energy in trying to keep pushing. Instead she relied on her smaller size and speed, her swipes at him becoming faster and less followed through as she slowly but surely turned the fight from her weakest area - the Outer Ring of Defense - to her strongest - the Inner Ring of defense.
It was dangerous, fighting like this. It involved being closer to your opponent than was considered wise and it certainly didn't allow any room for error. One wrong lunge with your lightsaber, one wrong calculation of what came next, and you could easily find yourself missing vital organs or limbs. However, Jaina had been training in this style for most of her life and, while the Masters of the Old Order would likely have found that quite disturbing, her uncle had made certain she could handle herself more than effectively when doing so.
Still, she knew she couldn't keep it up forever so after a few lunges (just enough time to make certain she had her feet fully underneath her), she threw up a Force Barrier - never more grateful in her life that her uncle had made her learn that particular ability until she could perform it without batting an eye - and half-spun, bringing her lightsaber around at the midsection. Her intention wasn't to actually strike, however. She just needed to buy enough time to send a few of the boulders from a nearby ledge hurtling toward Vader. Which she did immediately, so by the time she'd finished her spin and was once more fully facing him, the boulders were on a collision course and soaring through the air at break-neck speeds.
She recovered well from the sweep. Vader could appreciate the training she had received, and wondered privately who had instructed her. All training, however, must have originated with Luke. How many of the lessons had been gleaned at the tip of the Sith's own blade?
Pushed into the defensive, Vader was ready. He used his lightsaber effectively, broad and stronger sweeps to combat against her short parries. He could feel the Force flowing through her, and noted its strength. Strong, yes, as all his kin. But the girl's sire was not Force-sensitive, and so she was not so powerful as she might have otherwise been.
Over the long years of fighting while within his black bio-suit, Vader had developed a personalized version of Djem So, battling with one hand only while keeping the other slack at his side. With this, he could utilize effective elements of Ataru and Soresu, while keeping the aggressive Form V style he had mastered early in his life. It helped him now, as he dropped one hand, retaining the lightsaber in his mechanical grasp to meet her blow, and extended the other. Lightning flashed out from his hand - an ability he had never utilized prior to losing his limbs, and had now both the will and physical ability to command.
The boulders were shattered to dust by the powerful Force lightning, and before his young opponent could recover from that, the lightning flared again, into the barrier she had constructed a heartbeat ago.
Right. Force lightning. Because Jaina hadn't had enough of that in her life recently. Of course, aside from her own ability to cast it (which her Master had made her promise to never do unless there was absolutely no other alternative left), Jaina also had one other means of defense against it. So when the lightning shot through her barrier and headed for her, she switched her lightsaber to one hand and flung the other out, blocking the lightning and sending it out toward the water and away from anyone who could be harmed by it.
She wasn't even close to being as skilled as Master Yoda had been when it came to this ability. Nor was she quite at the same level as her uncle. So the block managed to slide her backward a half a foot or so, one knee bending slightly to maintain her balance. Instantly her hand went back to the handle of her lightsaber and she was once again fighting with both hands in control, and slowly but surely inching her way closer to Vader as she blocked and thrusted.
To a casual observer, the fighting would have seemed like a near-blur, Jaina imagined. She even had a brief, proud moment when she realized that she was actually matching Darth Vader blow for blow at such a fast tempo. She had always been told she was a natural at this form, but hadn't really believed it until this very moment.
The thought, as it turned out, was a mistake. It made her take her focus off what she was doing and had it not been for a quick head's up from the Force - her own Force sense offering a proverbial thwap upside the head - she wouldn't have managed to block a blow that was far, far too close for comfort.
Pay attention, Jaina, she could almost hear her aunt's voice scolding her. This isn't one of your sparring sessions.
Then there was another voice, harsher and filled with nothing but contempt.
You will never succeed in besting him so long as you stick to that ridiculous Jedi code of fighting.
Boba Fett. Oh, how Jaina loathed that Mandalorian with every ounce of her being. She also respected him, though, and knew that his words rang as true now as they had when he'd first uttered them. She was fighting a Sith Lord. Better Jedi than she had fallen at his lightsaber, long before she was ever born. If she wanted to get out of this alive (the thought of actually winning never really crossed her mind), she needed to stop thinking like a Jedi.
Spinning on her heel, Jaina went back to using one hand and brought her lightsaber around for an overhead strike. Her other hand, meanwhile, yanked the blade tucked snugly in the waistband of her pants (hidden by her shirt - a very deliberate choice in clothing, in fact). The blade was Mandalorian in nature, similar to the one Boba Fett had given her father, and in fact a gift from Fett to her upon completing her training. It was small, sharp, and designed to cut through nearly anything.
With another shove with the Force to close a bit more distance between them, Jaina struck out with the blade without warning, aiming for Vader's side.
Vader had reason to be impressed. The strip of a girl was fighting a good battle. It was a shame she would die to soon. Vader had yet to unleash his true power. What she had seen so far was merely pressure and light. He had to use a bit of speed on this final assault, but Vader was barely breaking a sweat.
Anger gave him power. Rage gave him power. And while he had spurned this little Jedi to attack him out of anger, it was doing nothing for his own needs. The Sith Lord felt... uncomfortably numb.
"What a testament you make to your dead brother," he said, his voice heavy, words broken by the clashing of their sabers. "Attacking his namesake in vengeance. Very unlike the Jedi. But then again, you have walked this path before."
She spun her heel, releasing one hand from her lightsaber. Vader took an opportunity, raising his blade to deflect, and lifting his other arm to use the Force, and push her directly in the neck, to drive her backwards. His right arm moved for the block, and Vader growled in anger as he felt the blade of her knife cut through his robes, down his right shoulder, and through the leather glove, into the cybernetic arm. His plan of using a firm but delicate push to force her back was changed instantly, fueled by sudden rage, and he struck out with enough Force energy to send her reeling.
"I've never been a typical Jedi," Jaina replied flatly as she struck with her blade. Part of her was surprised she'd actually managed to do some damage - this was Darth Vader, after all - and it was in that instant that she realized she may actually stand a chance of winning this. After all, she was just getting warmed up and already she'd managed to inflict actual injury upon him.
No sooner had that thought flickered through her mind did he strike out and Jaina was suddenly airborn. This time, not by choice either.
Landing... hurt. There was just no other way to put it. Slamming into a nearby tree a few feet behind her, then completely through it, if it weren't for her quick use of the Force to shield herself from the bulk of it she would have likely broken her spine. As it was, every bone in her body screamed in pain as she finally came to a rest amist the splintered, fractured wood. She didn't give in to the agony, though, instead leaping back to her feet.
And then she laughed, a low and dangerous sound.
"You want to talk paths?" she questioned as she Force jumped and covered the distance between them in the air. As she began her descent back to the earth she sliced downward with her lightsaber, the blades clashing. Her feet landed on the ground with a muffled thump and Jaina added, "Fine. Let's talk paths, gramps."
Spinning, striking outward again - this time using the Force to put added power to the attack - she continued with her taunting. "How about the path you walked down that caused you to kill your wife? Not hard, I know, she was just a politician." Spinning the other way, another attack, and Jaina threw out a viscious, "Then, of course, there's my uncle. Great man, but bad judge of character. After all..."
By this point she had managed to get close to him, so close that there were mere inches between them, and their lightsabers. Her gaze locked with his as she finished with a downright chilling, "He actually thought you were a threat."
Vader felt his arm as his opponent went flying. It was wounded, yes, and the cybernetics would need tending. But otherwise, it could be ignored. He could tell that it wouldn't hinder his movements while continuing the battle. He heard her jump, from the movement behind her words, and met her blade as the girl returned to the ground. When her next slash had some added power behind it, Vader grinned. Now, perhaps, she would take things seriously.
His eyes narrowed, the smirk hardening when she mentioned Padmé. She was a child, a mere youngling. She had no concept of what he had felt then. Just a politician? Vader bit back his anger, letting it flow through him, and redoubled his efforts, using both hands on the hilt of the lightsaber and channeling the Force through his muscles. Speed and strength swept through him, and he attacked viciously, quickly, driving the battle away from the center of her body to give him the advantage of reach.
And yet, she spoke again. "I am a threat," Vader snarled. "You think I would stop with you? Your precious twin, so delightfully vulnerable to the temptations I could offer. Perhaps I'll offer him a position as my apprentice. Your father? I could take apart his precious ship in moments. Reconfigure the controls to send him crashing into the moon. Or perhaps I'll simply show him how another of his pathetic offspring has fallen. Tell me, does he still possess the walking mange?"
Too far. Too freaking far. There was a line you just did not cross when it came to Jaina, and Vader had not only crossed it, he'd re-doubled back over it a few times then proceeded to mock it. Brown eyes narrowed in fury as she matched his strikes, arms a veritable blur.
"You won't get near my brother or father," she vowed, meaning every word. She allowed her own anger to fuel her then, walking precariously close to the edge between the light and dark sides, much as the violet hue of her lightsaber did with the combined red and blue crystals that made it.
"I'm not soft like my uncle and I'm definitely not a weak, pathetic fool like your wife. I'm the Sword of the Jedi and I will defeat you. Even if it's the last thing I do!"
Her lightsaber went into one hand then, and from her other came Force lightning unlike any she'd ever summoned before. Her very body sung with the power of it as she aimed it his way, a hard, offensive blow of her lightsaber following the movement through, intent on striking any available area on his person. Hopefully something fatal, if the Force was truly with her today.
There was the anger he had been searching for. What he had been trying to force to rise. Here it was. But by this point, Vader was no longer in any mood for games. Whatever lock had been placed on his will, whatever had prevented him from harming her before, was gone. What replaced it, was cold anger.
His son, soft? Luke had stood up to the Emperor when Vader himself could not. His wife, a pathetic fool? Padmé had more fire and spirit than this youngling possessed in her entire body.
The rage blinded him, a crimson haze descending before his eyes. He saw the lightning an instant before it flashed, and didn't react to it. Only took care of it. The lightsaber secure in his right hand, Vader dropped his left, focusing his power and catching the lightning as it came from her hand. He roared wordlessly as he absorbed it, the red bladed lightsaber spinning in his hand. Once, twice, thrice he brought it down, in massively powerful vertical strikes, his already enhanced strength fueled by the power he'd just absorbed from her. And as he brought the blade down a fourth time, he willed the strike aside a few precious inches.
Cho mai. Vader had performed the move before, even once upon his own son. Luke had returned the favor a number of years later. Vader had lost limbs before, he had taken limbs, he had killed and slaughtered and basked in the carnage. And now he glared, with unyeilding crimson eyes, as his opponent's hand, still grasping her lightsaber, fell to the sand.
The roar was music to her hears and Jaina likely would have basked in it. If, in his rage, he hadn't managed to make a move she simply hadn't seen coming.
One minute they were dueling and the next... well, the next, her hand was gone.
Agony raced up her arm, across her shoulder, and flew from her throat in a shriek as she stumbled backwards. Her knees buckled and the color drained from her face as she fell to the sand. The world seemed to want to grey around the edges and she shook her head, trying to wrap her mind around what had just happened. Her hand was gone...
And Vader was still there.
Her attention went back to him, her expression suddenly, alarmingly calm despite the trembling throughout her bones. "You're going to fail," she said quietly, but with a great deal of feeling. "You will be stopped."
Then she turned her attention inward on herself, although her eyes remained locked on her foe, as Jaina poured everything she had into the bond she shared with her twin. Jacen, she sent out, not sure if he'd hear her thoughts but knowing he'd feel her distress, I need your help. Hurry.
Now all she had to do was wait for Vader to deliver her fate and hope, when Jacen arrived and found her body, he could manage to avoid the Dark Side long enough to end the monster that stood before her once and for all.
He wanted to laugh as his opponent
(granddaughter)made her proclaimation. "No one can stop me," said Vader.
"What have I done?" said Anakin.His eyes flickered from crimson to blue, and back again. Vader calmly stepped across the sand, and picked up the fallen lightsaber
Anakin tried to turn, to run away, but his body was moving against his command.removing the hand from it and activating the purple blade. He strode over to where the fallen was
to where his granddaughter was laying on the ground, holding her wounded arm to her."Jaina," he said, the quality of his voice changed to one of shock and dismay. "I... I mean..." Anakin faltered, and looked down at the lightsaber in his hand. With eyes wide, he deactivated it,
gripping it tightly in his fist as he tried to wrestle control back from the pathetic fool that would no doubt turn andAnakin turned on his heel, unwilling to let himself linger there long enough for that other essence to regain control. He found control of his feet, strengthened his legs with the Force, and sped away, as quickly as he could manage to run, throwing as much power as he could into his speed.