Earthlings 3: RISE

11 (Part IV)

Arion's grip tightened around his hilt as Vader's footsteps and mechanical breathing echoed in his ears, the hum of every successive lightsaber ignited creating a chilling vibration as they stared down the Sith Lord and his stormtrooper squad- the latter of whom quickly pounced on the rest of the rebels.

"Hera, go! We'll cover you!" Kanan shouted as Vader continued to stalk towards him and the rest of the Jedi. Arion drew in a breath, waiting to see who he'd strike first...

"Kanan, look out!" Not even a split second later, Vader raised his blade, and was stopped momentarily by Leda, whose outstretched hand restrained his attack for about 10 seconds before he prevailed, Force pushing her back against a crate. He then proceeded to lock blades with Kanan for another 10 seconds as blasterfire sounded from behind...

Suddenly Arion felt himself being Force pushed back a few inches from the walkers, along with the rest of the Jedi. Groaning, he pushed himself up to the sight of Kanan and Leda barreling towards Vader, their blades poised to attack. His eyes widened as the Sith Lord parried each of their blows before grabbing Kanan's wrist and sharply pulling both his arms up, forcing him to release his hilt while in a bladelock with Leda, who unsuccessfully attempted to extend a hand towards Kanan to release him. Vader tossed Kanan aside like a ragdoll, then promptly proceeded to disarm Leda and do the same to her. Then came Kendall and Eli- their combined power truly a force to be reckoned with. Yet even that was no match for Vader; after a few minutes of intense combat, he slammed them into the wall and the walkers, respectively.

Calling his lightsaber back to his hand, Arion stood up before charging at Vader along with Ezra, only to be Force pushed back against the legs of a walker- Ezra on top of Arion. Vader pinned the boys against the walker. "Your masters have deceived you two into believing you can become Jedi."

In seconds, Ezra's blue blade was inching towards both boys, the acrid smell of the plasma filling Arion's nostrils as his life flashed before his tightly closed eyes. If it came any closer, it would take off Ezra's head for sure, and with enough force, it could kill both of them...

Blue and green bursts of light flooded through his eyelids, which fluttered open to the sight of all the other Jedi simultaneously attacking Vader. In the wake, his grip loosened on Arion and Ezra, and they slid off the walkers and back onto solid ground. Arion took a moment to catch his breath amidst the ongoing blasterfire before picking up his lightsaber hilt. A laser fired from Marien's RK-3 flew past his face, hitting a buckethead squarely in the chest and making Arion grateful Roken forbade him from ever joining an Imperial Academy.

He charged, his lightsaber ignited and poised to strike. In a swift motion, Vader's blade came crashing down on his, the force of his blow so great that it immediately knocked Arion down, his hilt flying across the vicinity. Before he could be finished off, Eli's lime green blade blocked Vader's blood red, redirecting his attention to him. Seconds later, Kanan, Leda, and Kendall piled onto the Sith as well, the 4 Jedi creating a protective barrier for Arion and Ezra...

Which was quickly broken.

"AGH!" Kanan's pained cry rang out in the night, followed by grunts from Eli and Leda and a gasp from Kendall as the first was slashed in the shoulder, the next two were slammed hard against the shuttle, and the last was being held in a Force choke by the Sith Lord, her hands instinctively going towards her neck. Not even a second later, the walkers exploded in sizeable bursts of orange flame and black clouds of smoke, teetering downwards as Arion and Ezra got back on their feet...

"NOW!" Arion extended his hands along with Kanan, Ezra, Eli, and Leda, Force pushing Vader into the path of the falling walkers before pulling Kendall out of the line of danger. Smoke and sparks surrounded the wreckage as Leda helped her master up.