Star Wars: Saviors of the Broken

Chapter IX

"Your life matters. Don't let anyone forget it." - Michada Crasar, from Collected Wisdom of the Jedi Masters

"You know him?" Patrick said, glancing back and forth between Pete and the man who was holding a double-bladed lightsaber to his throat.

Pete nodded. "He's Khras' Padawan," he said. "Right, Brendon?"

"Amazing," Brendon said. "Every word in that sentence was wrong." Pete gave him a confused look, and Brendon explained, "Khras is dead, and I'm not Brendon Urie anymore."

"Who are you then?" Pete asked.

"I'm the Fourth Brother."

"What kind of a name is that?" Pete said.

Patrick looked to Pete, who seemed oddly calm, given the circumstances. Somehow, Pete was keeping Brendon - or whatever his name was - distracted, and Patrick wondered if his strategy might just work. Maybe if Brendon kept talking, they would be able to win this fight.

"It's the name Lord Vader bestowed upon me," Brendon said as he pressed his lightsaber closer to Pete's neck. "And tonight, with the powers he gave me, I'll be victorious."

Pete stepped backwards. "Hang on, Brendon," he said.

"The Fourth Brother," Brendon corrected.

"Whatever," Pete said. "Who's this Lord Vader person?"

"Oh, he's incredible, Pete," Brendon said. "You'd like him a lot. He lets me smoke spice and watch holograms and walk around the Imperial Base shirtless all day." Brendon went on and on about his new master, who was apparently a cyborg in black armor, but Patrick became more worried than ever when Brendon mentioned that this Darth Vader was a Sith Lord. This confirmed what the Jedi had suspected for years: after thousands of years of silence, the Sith had returned. The dark side of the Force was back with a vengeance, and if Pete and Patrick weren't careful, it could destroy them.

As Brendon talked, Pete reached for his belt and ignited his bright blue lightsaber. All of a sudden, he shoved it toward Brendon, using his lightsaber to push him away. Brendon stumbled backwards and then charged toward Pete, spinning his lightsaber as Pete stayed still and balanced, ready to parry his opponent's blows.

Their lightsabers clashed, and Patrick watched as Brendon carefully fended off each of Pete's attacks. His movements were energetic yet graceful, as if this was all a performance, as if he was the star of the show. On the other hand, Pete's movements were clumsy and ham-fisted, as if he was a nervous Youngling wielding a lightsaber for the first time. However, as he moved out of the way, hoping not to get involved, Patrick was sure that Pete would win. The light side always triumphed over the dark, after all.

Then again, sometimes he wondered why the two sides of Force couldn't just get along already.

Pete swung his lightsaber in Brendon's direction, but he easily jumped out of the way and counterattacked. He defended himself against Brendon's lightsaber strikes, but there were beads of sweat running down Pete's face as each attack came closer and closer to hitting him. One wrong move, and Brendon could end his life.

Pete parried off Brendon's attacks, but his opponent was too quick, too powerful, too elegant with a lightsaber. Before Pete could do anything, Brendon's double-bladed lightsaber was next to his face, singing off a few stray hairs. Pete looked terrified, and Patrick wished he could do something, but as he stared into the distance, toward the Imperial ship hiding behind the trees, he didn't think there was anything he could do to save his fellow Jedi. Torn between helping Pete and keeping the peace, he decided that he was better off staying out of this fight. He stood in the trees, keeping an eye on the lightsaber fight playing out in front of him.