All That We Are: A Star Wars Story

9

Both Force users rushed to meet each other in the middle of the hall. As Ark brought his blade down on Nasia's head, she stopped the weapon in its tracks while pushing up with her own. The crystal-like blue and red clashed, resulting in a prolonged sizzle. With no end in sight to the battle of strength, Nasia slid her plasma blade along her enemy's to give her room for a brief escape and by using an extra step, she appeared behind him.

Arkeous swung the blade in her general direction without a first glance, which must have been the reason why his lightsaber slashed at the wall instead. Nasia coughed up a laugh before spinning her saber towards the man's tinted helmet. Riding on the momentum of the spin, she turned and landed a kick in his midsection, sending him crashing into the wall opposite of them. As her feet pushed off of the ground in a sprint, Ark reached toward her, pulling the Jedi onto her back and cutting her breath short.

Ark rolled to his knees, then feet, and charged at the grounded Jedi with another overhead slash. Nasia held her breath as she jumped out of the way into an attack-ready position, but not before her shoulder could make it out of the line of heat coming at her. She barely noticed the stinging on her skin as she swiped at the air, trying to find an opening in his defense. It wasn't difficult, as it wasn't there to begin with. Every now and then, Arkeous saved himself from a near-fatal blow but focused more on stepping back than he did finding time to throw in his own attacks.

That was before Nasia's toe collided with her other boot, causing her to lose her footing. 'Unacceptable.' A younger version of her voice appeared in her head and her face scrunched in humiliation. She managed to stay upright but thrusting her lightsaber toward the man's torso turned into a thrust towards the wall. Ark parried and unleashed a fury of uncontrolled, side-to-side blows to which Nasia leaped backward, flipping at the peak of her jump, only to painfully land on a knee a few feet away from him.

Whoever was after her, his defense was weak for the most part, which was to her advantage. However exciting the fight was, putting some space in between them allowed her time to bolt to the communications room. She knew exactly where to go and exactly where to press. The only obstacle aside from the man was the droid standing in front of the controls.

"Out of the way, bolts!" A quick shove sent PeeToo to the ground with a groan. He was never dramatic, just light on his wheels. 'Too light,' Nasia rolled her eyes and smashed a fist on the lock controls. Lifting her head and ready to run, her eyes froze on an airborne blade slowly coming her way. Arkeous eyed her from the doorway, out of breath, and his arm stretched outward.

The Jedi tilted her head, blinked, and reached for the lightsaber herself. Midair, the red-hot line came to a sudden stop and Nasia threw her open hand to the ground, taking the weapon with it. The matte-black hilt hit the ground with a satisfying clank before she spun her lightsaber into a reverse grip and drove it into the floor, piercing the hilt and shattering it into pieces. The rubble revealed a glowing, red crystal that hummed as her blade made contact with it and sent a radial burst of energy outward. The Force users flew backward in opposite directions, colliding with the first obstacle their bodies came across.

Nasia grimaced, and with no time to lose, she pushed herself up into a run, eyeing PeeToo and the helmeted man on the ground. She gripped the fabric around her ribs as if it was a cure for the pain and her limp turned almost non-existent the more she pressed on. The entry door slid open with a wave of her hand and the sudden change in air quality brought a smile to her lips. She slowed but refused to stop until she put a good amount of distance between her and the base.

Reaching the greenery, she turned to jog backward and shot an obscene gesture to the distant facility as well as the man and droid inside, but her breath quickly caught in her throat. A tree trunk guarding the forest knocked the heel of her boot and threw her off balance for the second time that day. She was airborne for merely a second before hitting the ground and rolling down the rough terrain for what seemed like a lifetime. By the universe's will, what stopped her in her tracks once, stopped her again. Her body barreled into another trunk protruding from the ground and she finally landed still on her back.