Order 66: A Star Wars Story

Shaak Ti

The Twi'lek Jedi Padawan Dylek had proven a very capable swordsman. However, Fox and his three clones were also prepared.
Fighting a Jedi whilst not wielding any powers of your own always posed an extremely risky task and this Padawan had proved to be very dangerous.
Fox fired three blue bolts at the Jedi who blocked them with ease.
Fox then felt as if something had grabbed his entire body and stopped him from moving. He then looked down at his feet to see he was being lifted off the ground and into the air.
Cyclops, Brekkan and Margo were Fox's three remaining men. Cyclops went into to tackle Dylek at the waist, but was shifted to the ground with a mere side step.
Brekkan and Margo fired their blaster rifles unrelentingly, making the Jedi have to focus much more on parrying their bolts.
Fox could feel that invisible grip loosening.
Brekkan, Margo and Cyclops were all firing, each at a tactical angle in which allowed the three of them to put the Jedi in the middle.
Dylek's lightsaber work was admirable but soon he was forced to let go of Fox and concerntrate fully on deflecting every bolt fired at him.
When Fox regained his footing, he aimed at the Jedi's hands. Cyclops aimed at Dylek's legs. Margo aimed for the head and Brekkan aimed for the torso.
For a Padawan, he was excellent when it came to his blade work and it seemed as if he wasn't struggling but soon, a stray bolt fired from Brekkan hit Dylek in the abdomen which caused the Jedi to stumble, opening his guard up.
'Now!' Fox shouted.
At unison, they all fired full auto at Dylek.
    Dylek attempted block as many bolts as possible but the effort was futile because his body was littered with burn holes from the blaster bolts.
    Dylek fell to his knees and struggled to suck air into his lunges.
    Fox walked up to the dying Jedi, raised his rifle and fired a bolt into the Twi'lek's skull not even allowing the Jedi a final word.

The four clones stood over the dead Jedi before Fox broke the silence.
    'What are we still standing here for? We still have work to-' Fox's words were cut off from a powerful push into his back that threw him forward, crashing into a pile of rubble.
    Slowly turning around, his vision blurred and his T-Visor cracked, he couldn't see properly. He could feel warm, thick liquid dripping from his brow into his eye.
    It all happened so fast. A blue streak of light cut down Margo with ease, then, Cyclops was picked up off the floor and pulled into the blade which pierced completely through his torso leaving only Brekkan to fight, which lasted no longer than two seconds before that blue light decapitated him.
    'Lord Vader, we need your help. A Jedi is attacking us and we are outmatched!' Fox desperately shouted through his comlink.
    The blur of blue light had now stopped and Fox could see clearly that the Jedi was non other than Master Shaak Ti.
May as well call it a day. We're not making out of this alive, I don't even think Lord Vader can win this battle.
    Master Shaak Ti was of Togruta species. The same as Ashoka Tano. However, Shaak Ti was one of the most powerful Jedi and a master swords woman who could contend with the best. Her victories and skill had earned her a massive amount of respect not just from clones she fought with, or the Jedi order, but also with the citizens she saved.
    Then, suddenly, a second blue blur had entered the picture and Shaak Ti had then became a blue blur herself. Vader was here.

Vader and Shaak Ti has exchanged no words and instead jumped straight into action.
Shaak Ti was a Master of Form II, Makashi. But, Vader had already killed the true master of Makashi in the general's quarters above Coruscant.
Shaak Ti jumped high into a back flip,
dodging Vader's lightsaber which were aimed at her knees.
When she landed, she let out a strong force push that sent Vader back into one of the broken down shelves.
Vader's air had been knocked out of him but he quickly got back to his feet and regained his composure.
'I do hope that's not all you have.' Vader said.
'You must know there's no outcome where you win this battle against the Jedi.' Shaak Ti said in her always calm and monotone voice.
'Funny. Cin Drallig said the same thing before I split him in two.'
    This comment would have shaken most Jedi, but not Shaak Ti. She was as still as stone and calm as the lakes of Naboo.
    'Nothing to say? Nothing to lament about?' Vader goaded.
    'Thank you.' Shaak Ti said.
    Vader hid his confusion.
    'He's one with the force thanks to you. However, this path you have chosen will deny you that reward.'
    'Maybe, but with the dark side I will gain a different reward. Eternal life.' He countered.
Before Shaak could argue, he leapt forward into attack. Fully giving himself to the dark side.
Vader could see and also knew Shaak was a master of Form II, so, he did what he did against Dooku. He attacked her with hammering strikes. What worked better for him now was, when he was Anakin Skywalker, he had to remain on his Jedi discipline to hold him back, but now? Under the command of Darth Sidious, he no longer had to restrain himself.
Form II was a form that sacrificed power and strength in favour of precision and elegance. It was employed mainly for lightsaber combat. If you were to fire a blaster at a Form II practitioner, they'd block it but would soon be overwhelmed as it's specialty was sword play only. However, even when fighting someone with a lightsaber, there were still limits. Because it sacrificed power and strength meant that if the wielder wasn't careful, they could be easily overwhelmed by a physically superior fighter, which is exactly what happened between Anakin Skywalker's and Count Dooku's final duel.
Shaak Ti was pushed back constantly from Vader's furious strikes that would knock her off balance, she would call upon the force to steady her stance and enhance her physical strength in order to compete with the more powerful Sith Lord.
Shaak Ti had never fought along side Skywalker much, but she heard many tales of his impossible accomplishments. From him saving Kenobi countless times, to foiling assassination attempts, to winning battles considered to be lost to killing Dooku and safely landing a crashing star ship which had lost its back half. She didn't expect to survive this fight but she would damn well make sure to make him work for it.
Vader had rarely seen Shaak Ti fight much but knew she was on the same level as Mace Windu. She was extraordinarily powerful and excellent with a lightsaber. She didn't rely on flourishing or over doing her attacks and instead conserved her energy for better use. She was next to Yoda and Obi-Wan, the most calm minded Jedi in the order and while she didn't have as much raw power in the force as he did, she still had an awesome command of it not many could contend with. She was known to spar with many Jedi and even reach a stalemate with Master Windu. An accomplishment as impressive as some defeating Count Dooku.
When it came down to it, it wasn't who was the better swordsman, it wasnwho was more powerful. Vader knew that answer. After all, if it wasn't himself, Sidious would have targeted her as his apprentice.
Locked in another blade clash, their eyes met. Vader's filled with blood thirsty rage and Shaak's filled with collected determination.
'Your powers are considerable but without discipline, they are useless.' Shaak Ti said in a struggled voice, fighting for control over the blade lock.
'Please. I've heard enough Jedi lectures. One of the main reasons I've enjoyed invading this temple is to shut your bible thumping mouths.' Vader spat before using his physical strength to push Shaak Ti back, and turning his back to her he had flourished his blade to confuse her before twisting back to face her and instead of doing what he usually did (which was attacking with his lightsaber again) he kicked his foot out and connected with the Jedi masters face.
Shaak Ti would have fallen to the ground totally exposed but as soon as Skywalker's kick had lifted her off the ground, she allowed the force to carry her into a backflip before landing safely, unharmed.
Blood leaked from the Togruta's nose. Togruta blood was red, the same as human blood but slightly darker.
Instead of allowing himself to goad, Vader attacked again before Shaak Ti could process what happened.
    Vader instantly noticed Shaak Ti had changed her form from Maskashi to Soresu.
    Vader decided then to switch his stance to Makashi in order to mock her attempt.
    With two piercing strikes, he had managed to catch Shaak's shoulder and inner thigh which caused her to stumble backwards.
    Vader closed his eyes and focused on his hatred. He let it flow through him and encase his body in a firey blanket of rage before opening his now glowing yellow eyes and let out a roar of pure anger, instantly switching back to Djem So.
    With each strike that hammered against Shaak Ti, Vader could feel her form weakening and her grip loosening.

Fox was back up on his feet thanks to a bacta injector had clipped onto his utility belt. However, now that the blood flow on his head stopped, and the stinging pain ceased, what took over was a throbbing headache. Thankfully his blurred vision had cleared up but, as suspected, that didn't make a lick of difference in the battle proceeding before his eyes.
    The only thing that helped Fox differentiate the two blue streaks of light was that Vader was wearing a black cloak, therefore, he could also see this shadow flickering around with a blue light.
    The Jedi had suddenly slowed down, desperately defending against Vader.
    Fox was shocked if he was honest. He didn't think Shaak Ti could be beaten by anyone apart from Master Yoda of course. But no. Shaak was being pummelled and soon that blue streak of light she used to be now turned into a Jedi simply wielding a lightsaber whilst doing all she could to stop the dark lord from cutting her down.
    Three massive strikes was what it took before Shaak Ti lost her fighting arm and she fell to her knees, at the mercy of Vader, who was clearly not in a merciful mood.

    'What brought you to this?' She asked. Clearly in pain but fighting off the need to show it.
    'The Jedi brought this on themselves, Shaak. I just happened to be the conduit.' He said.
Shaak let a little smile spread across her lips, 'I suppose we were ignorant to truths that should have been obvious to see.' She said.
'At least you can admit it.' Vader said with a nod of respect.
    Shaak looked over to Fox who was now walking over to the two of them.
    'What are you waiting for, sir?' Fox asked.
    Vader shot him a glance that caused Fox to retreat within himself before he looked down in shame or fear. Vader could feel fear from the clone.
    Anakin Skywalker never liked Fox because of the time when Ashoka was accused of murder, Fox seemed more than happy to keep her contained. He also disliked him because of his hand in Five's death. Fox was the killer.
Vader still had some Anakin-"isms" in him and would allow moments from his past to effect his future.
    'Well, what are you waiting for?' Shaak asked.
    'Savouring the moment.' Vader said, smiling as he raised his blade and struck down the Jedi Master.

To be continued...