Fragments of the Dark

Chapter Twenty Six

Din's cry died on his lips as he watched her.

She flew forward with more speed and grace than he ever thought possible. Her red-colored weapon- lightsaber- connected with the first raider severing him in half. She blocked the next oncoming shots, deflecting them back into the raiders.

Din opened fire on any other that dared approach her. The villagers gave a cheer from down the line, surging forward and over the barricade, doing their best to tackle the raiders on their side.

Celene reached the edge of their deeply dug trench. The walker fired at her now and she rolled to the side. There was nothing he could do to help her take down the massive machine. She was on her own.

Celene flipped to her feet and threw her lightsaber at the walker. It spun through the air slicing off the left gun. She leapt into the, inhumanly high, and snatched her weapon in her hand.

"Fuck," he said.

Cara shook her head. "Be glad she's on our side."

Celene wasn't finished. The walker, now unbalanced from the loss of it's gun was teetering. She took a running start, one bound then two and launched herself into the air right for the walker. Mid-leap she stabbed down into hull of the machine, her blade burying deep. She flipped her body around, adjusting her grip on the staff and landed on her feet.

She stood atop the walker and shattered the glass. The raiders inside shrieked in terror and she threw them from the cockpit. A shot flew past her and she ducked spinning around. The raiders that had made it through were firing at her.

Celene withdrew her lightsaber from the hull of the AT-ST and neatly sliced off the remaining gun. She looked across the clearing now, atop the walker. There were still dozens of raiders opening fire on the villagers.

She crouched and jumped off the top of the walker. Din swallowed watching her fly through the air.

And where she land, the ground split in two.

A massive wave of energy exploded from her, sending the water spraying into the sky around her. Wood flew, dirt raining down and shrubs were ripped from the soil. The raiders near her screamed and flew backwards, striking objects with a sickening thud. Even from where he was, Din felt the shockwave of her power, sliding back a fear inches.

"Holy shit."

Celene was stalking toward the remaining raiders, some outright running into the woods in terror. She extended her hand and they lifted from the ground, thrashing in mid air as they were slowly dragged back to her. The red blades of her saber moved so fast he only saw flashes of light from the fog.

She emerged, scar gleaming in the glow of her lightsaber, dark hair streaming behind her. Her saber in one hand she stopped ten yards from the disabled walker. Fog and ashes rolled around her as she raised a hand.

The walker creaked as it shifted. The hull slowly began to concave downwards, the metal groaning. Pieces sparked and shattered, the huge machine crunching beneath her power. First one leg buckled, then the other, the AT-ST shrinking into the ground. The metal shrieked and then went still, laying in a crumpled heap.

Destroyed.

Celene dropped her hand. Her lightsaber deactivated with a hiss and disappeared into the folds of her clothing. She slowly turned to face them, backlight by the smoking fire of the grass behind her. Smoke swept around her, curling across her shoulders. The raven strands of her hair lifted in the breeze. The scar across her face was bone white against the moonlight, sending a chilling shiver down Din's spine.

From this distance he could faintly make out the rest of her face, the sharp angle of her jaw. The faint glow of her eyes, no longer onyx but amber. Glowing amber.

He let out a breath.

Omera had appeared beside them. "Who is she?" her voice barely more than a whisper.

"Dark Lord of the Sith." Cara answered, resting her blaster against her thigh. "Empress Keres."