Where Light and Darkness Meet (Part One of the Pallona Saga)

XII

Chapter XII
Attack

     I feel the girl getting closer every minute, and it makes me feel helpless knowing that I'm trapped in here.
     But you're not, my mind whispers. I take my lightsaber from my belt, run through my quarters to the main locked door, and push my lightsaber through the metal. It's extremely thick, forcing me to use all my body weight as I slowly cut through the door. It takes at least ten minutes for me to create an opening wide enough for BB-3 and me to slip through, but I bolt down the hallway as soon as we're free, BB-3 right at my heels.
     I realize that I don't know where I'm going when the droid and I are riding down an elevator, the same red lights still flashing above us.
     "BB-3," I say, kneeling down in front of him. "Do you have a map of the base stored in your memory?"
     "Wee-boo," he replies, retrieving the map. "Bloop ee-woo beep whir-woo."
     "Excellent!"
     With BB-3's guidance, we make our way down to the ship docks, running all the way. As the droid leads me down a flashing red passage, the Force pounds in my ears, making me stagger against the wall. It's the familiar thrum indicating the Force is trying to lead me somewhere; a beacon, as Master Luke once called it.
     "Wait," I shout to BB-3, who has managed to get to the end of the hallway already. "We have to go this way."
     He follows me as I lead us in a different direction. We're still going down, but the Force takes me through a sort of hidden way. At one point, I'm led to a tight crevice in between two walls. As I squeeze my body through, BB-3 beeps sadly behind me.
     "Bloop bloop," he says, demonstration how his round figure can't fit through the crevice.
     "It's okay, BB-3. Go back to our quarters and I'll meet you back there. Okay?"
     He responds hesitantly, and my heart hurts at how frightened he is of leaving me alone. But I usher him away again, and watch as he finally rolls away.
     I squeeze through the small gap, periodically stepping over broken bits of metal or ducking away from a broken wire that could possibly electrocute me. As soon as I stumble out of the crevice, I look around to find myself in a massive, circular room. It must be the bottom of the planet, because there's no floor to be seen in the darkness and I feel colder than I did before. There's a long, narrow bridge below me, connecting my side to the one across from me. One long path stretches around on either side of me, also connecting the whole room.
     My Force beacon is gone now, leaving a huge silence in my mind. But just as I'm about to run somewhere else, I notice Ben Solo standing in front of another man, this one older and slightly shorter than Ben.
     "Han Solo," I breathe, unable to ignore the similarities between father and son. He must be here on a Resistance mission, and he might even be trying to convince his son to come home!
     Then I feel three figures run into the massive room, but they're on a higher level than me. One of them is the Force-sensitive girl, the other a man, and the last a huge, hairy Wookie, who runs off seconds later with his arms full of something I can't see.
     A loud thud breaks the silence as Ben drops his helmet on the bridge. Han Solo puts a hand on his son's shoulder, and they exchange words I can only hear as whispers. I reach out to Ben, feeling so many emotions: anger, fear, confusion and relief. In the eldest Solo, I only sense peace and happiness. But then I feel great pain that makes me draw inwards. When I open my eyes everything is happening so fast that time seems to slow down just so I can keep up.
     Ben Solo is driving his red lightsaber through his father's stomach, the Wookie is bellowing out in pain, the girl and her companion are screaming in shock. As Han Solo falls from the bridge, dead, Stormtroopers burst into the room, firing at the three Resistance fighters. Ben simply stands frozen, letting chaos ensue around him. Two Stormtroopers approach me without me realizing and grab me by the arms.
     "There you are," one says as they both begin to drag me away from the scene below and above.
     I scream for them to let me go, making Ben whip his head around and find my eyes. I can't see his face well enough to make out his expression, but I desperately hope that he can see the rage in mine. He killed his own father! After everything I've done! After all the manipulating on my part, the conversations we had, the fights we had, all for him to forget everything—to forget me—and murder his father!
     I jerk my arm out of one of the Stormtrooper's grip, ignite my lightsaber and slash through the two soldiers. I run up to the railing, lightsaber still glowing green, and scream as loud as I can.
     "Ben Solo! How could you! Murderous monster!"
     He stares back at me for a moment, but then he whips his head around. Just as he's turning back to me and reaching out with his black gloved hand, I'm thrown backwards as a giant explosion erupts in the room. I hit my head hard against the wall, and the last thing I see before blacking out is flames beginning to engulf me.