Star Wars Episode VII
The Shadow Revealed

by: Rob Hare

Disclaimer. I do not own anything from Star Wars or any related propaganda, and am not seeking money in this Fan-Fiction.

Chapter Two

Anakin was outside his ship now, standing in front of several large mounds of burnt, scorched scrap metal. In some places fires still burned, and the piles of metal extended all the way to the mountains encircling the once-wonderful city.

In some of the heaps, he saw personal belongings. In the large ones, he saw several different things; in on of them, a blackened shell of a speeder. He bowed his head.

But where were the people? This surely was the city, and, if, as Anakin feared, it had been destroyed, surely there would be survivors? Or bodies at least?

He sighed. “Nade,” he turned to face her, as she stooped to pick something up, “go back to Coruscant and tell the Council of what has happened here. They will be grieved to hear it, I am sure”

Nade nodded. “Here,” she said, thrusting the thing she’d picked up into Anakin’s hand. “Take a look at this. I’ll be back before sunrise. May the Force be with you”

Anakin nodded, acknowledging. Nade jumped into the starship and flew off into the night sky. Anakin looked now at the small handheld viewscreen Nade had found. He activated it, and saw, on the screen, the moon. Several birds were flying across it. The birds wheeled down, and small sparks issued from their wings. A building exploded, brilliantly lighting up the streets and several people walking around in it.

Then Anakin saw what the birds were; red and black gunships, hovering to a halt, firing lances of laser, and missiles everywhere. People ran back and forth, some flying, tossed aside from the shockwave of buildings exploding. One man pulled out a gun and began firing at the gunships. One of them swung round to face him, and blasted several bolts of laser into him.

Anakin flinched, watching the city’s last stand. Somewhere a child was crying. There was a shriek of terror as a rumble shook the screen. A missile flew straight at whoever was holding the viewscreen and it went blank.

Anakin was trembling in anger now. Another rumble rocked the ground he stood on. He froze.

He had thought that it had been the screen, and the pictures on it, but two gunships had just landed. Without time to turn or even cry out in shock, Anakin was knocked on the head, and knew no more.

---

Nade was flying back towards Coruscant when she saw the Comm Unit on the starfighter blinking. She flipped a switch and her viewscreen, showing a red glowing dot moving slightly on Corellia’s hologromatic self, showed that Anakin was moving rapidly over the surface of the planet. Nade sighed, and then spoke to the astromech droid on one of the wings of her craft.

“R3, Scramble Four to the Jedi Temple, via the OTS,” she said. The OTS was the Outer Transmission Station on the ship. R3 did as he was told and whistled to Nade to start talking.

“Masters, I will return to you shortly, I just have to deal with something that’s just come up. End,” she said. R3 transmitted this then made a series of beeps.

“Corellia again,” answered Nade after reading the translated text on her viewscreen. “I need to check on Anakin, he’s moving too fast cross-country, and he said he’d stay put. He might be in danger”

---

As Nade’s transmission ended, Luke and the other Masters looked nervously around. They could all sense something dark and troubling going on on Corellia, and two of their Knights were in danger.

Sirna Ti was waiting patiently as the Masters had viewed the transmission from someone, but he couldn’t make out what was going on. He cleared his throat, getting attention. He was sweating, because the Jedi had just subjected him to one of their tests.

The Masters looked up and considered him. Yoda then spoke to him.

“Assign you to a group, we will,” his gravely voice announced, “and we hope you will understand that, if refuse you will, we will have to destroy you now. Yours and yours alone, the choice is”

Sirna nodded and Luke sighed with relief. Anakin Skywalker spoke now.

“We will add you to a current group, that is at your level, taught by a Jedi Trainer. Obviously we are short of Jedi, so there are very few Masters, and if we did things the traditional way, with one Master teaching one Padawan, it would be inefficient. Many of the Trainers are not yet Masters, because of the little number, also”

Sirna nodded and turned around and was escorted from the room to begin his training already.

---

Nade flew in low to the spot where she and Anakin had landed a few hours earlier. She got out of the starfighter and surveyed the scene.

A ship of some sort had landed earlier, but after Nade and Anakin had first landed. Four bipedal creatures and one tripedal, probably a Rishian, had gotten out and walked over to Anakin, and then dragged something back with them, parallel to the other tracks.

Nade guessed that the five beings had knocked Anakin out and dragged them into their ship and flown away across the ground. She ran back to the starfighter and got in, taking off so fast she was closing her windshield when she had cleared the nearest ridge of mountains.

---

Sirna Ti was being introduced to his Trainer. The Trainer was busy training seven young Jedi—between ten and fifteen years old—, teaching them how to wield their first lightsabres.

The Trainer then grabbed Sirna’s hand and shook it.

“Hello, my name’s Kejor Shel, but you can call me Kej,” he said. His long black hair hung down to his shoulders, his piercing brown eyes boring into Sirna.

Sirna smiled and said, “I’m—“

“—Sirna Ti,” finished Kejor. “Luke sent someone to tell me about you. It’s tricky to begin teaching someone at your age to accept the Force, but you say you’ve been attuned to it for ten years. All we have to teach you now is to control the Force, or, rather, to learn how to tap into it and become one with it.

“So jump into the group and we can start!”

Sirna smiled, but showed that he wasn’t very happy with being put with younglings.

“Okay, hold your lightsabre vertical. Parallel to the wall then,” Kejor added after seeing the youngest few Jedi’s confused look. “Now tilt it forward slightly and ignite. Yes, press the on-button”

Sirna rolled his eyes. He watched as half a dozen or so lightsabres ignited, four blue and three green. The eighth, his, shot out and a few of the younglings gasped. Kejor stared for a moment, his eyes glowing with the three colours. He pulled out his own lightsabre and ignited the blue blade.

“Now,” he said, “let’s pretend that you’re being shot at by, say, a DR,” he finished with a devilish smile as nine Droid Remotes flew out from the wall. DRs were small balls, twenty centimetres in diameter, with little jets with which to fire to move, and little lenses with which to emit a small, orange prick that stings the person hit for a few seconds.

The younglings then proceeded to block the bolts they thought were coming, or, at least, try to. Sirna, with a graceful sweep, turned aside one little shot, then jumped out of the way of the next. The DR fired three within a second, but Sirna deflected each one.

After another minute or so of this exercise, the Trainer froze the DRs with a wave of his hand, and motioned his one closer.

“This,” he announced, “is the traditional Jedi Lightsabre block”

The DR fired once, and the Trainer brought his blade horizontal to send the bolt back at the droid. The droid went to the side, dodging, and readying to fire again, but Kejor froze it, too.

“Now, a few of you have got this move naturally, but no matter what your skill, it will take some time to get it right”

Sirna seriously doubted that.

---

Nade was still steadily flying over Corellia’s beautiful landscape, watching Anakin’s position on the viewscreen. She was nearly on top of him; she could sense him, as well as see on the screen that he was close.

Suddenly she cursed and hit the Eject Button, shooting straight up as Anakin’s fighter, as well as R3-T25, was engulfed in a massive fireball. Nade felt the concussion from the blast rock through her body as she drew her lightsabre. It flashed on as she landed on the green grass, looking quickly around, seeing nothing but mountains to the right, and grassy hills as far as the eye could see in every other direction.

She felt a second projectile soaring towards her, and tapped into the Force, as if opening a book and falling into it, becoming one with it.

Her body became an extension of the Force, which was at this very moment pulling her up to avoid the second bolt of laser, which blew up the ground which she was previously standing on. She was moving so fast that she was running past as fragments of Jedi Starfighter wafted slowly, to her, past her to find the ground. She then spun and raised her lightsabre horizontally and deflected a third proton blast, sending it back to where it came from—a Sentinel, or pop-up security gun four metres high and one wide.

The Sentinel exploded, adding to the shard of searing hot metal Nade had to dodge.

Suddenly five figures appeared, seemingly coming out of the ground; two humans, one Twi’Lek, one Gran and one Rishian. The Twi’Lek’s head tentacles shook as he laughed, grabbing a Wookie BowCaster from his belt.

One of the humans, the male, pulled out an E-11 Blaster Rifle, while the female got out a Bryar Pistol. Gran naturally were exceptionally good throwers, so this one had a Thermal Detonator in his hand. The Rishian was standing as Rishians do, supported by three legs but leaning heavily on the back one. Its four arms were each occupied by a different weapon.

The Rishian’s head drew the most attention; Nade had gotten used to nearly all races of creatures in the galaxy, but Rishians were the oddest.

They had elongated snout-like, reddish, bony, ridged muzzles. They had two ears, sticking out, and had slant eyes, with a ridge above each one. Spikes ran from the top of the head, down the back between the lanky arms, between the glistening gossamer wings and down the tail, which ended in a spike.

They came from a newly discovered planet in the Rishi Maze, aptly named Rishi.

Right now, eight weapons were firing at Nade, all different coloured bolts of laser, or metal coming from the offenders. Four of them fanned out, but the Rishian’s wings started buzzing, and soon they were nothing but a brownish-clear blur.

It disappeared over Nade’s head but she was too busy with the others to notice. She blocked a yellow bolt from the Bryar, jumped over four bolts issued out of the E-11, shook as an explosion from a Thermal Detonator rocked through the earth, and Force-pushed the green-laser-encased shard of metal coming at her from the Bow.

She then Force-pulled on the E-11. The owner didn’t feel like parting with it though, so the foolish man held on. It soared two metres with him on it before it collapsed. Nade had used enough Force to pull the gun alone, not the man as well. Instead she grabbed a Thermal Detonator and threw it back at the group of attackers and leapt aside as the grenade exploded at the group’s feet knocking three to the ground and killing the Twi’Lek.

She breathed, thinking she had a break, but then the Rishian attacked.

A Heavy Repeater, a Blaster Rifle, an Energy Wave Emitter, and a DEMP fired at her, and she became one with the Force again, enhancing her speed fivefold so that she could block or dodge all the separate bullets. Suddenly she felt something sharp hit her neck, and the last thing she saw was a dusty, bloody Gran retrieving its Toxide Dart from her neck.

---

Anakin was awoken by water splashed on his face. A Twi’Lek man was standing next to him with an empty vase.

“A chuba da nolia,” it said in Huttese before leaving.

Anakin looked around. He was on the floor in a cell; it seemed, with electro-bars humming gently all around him. It was underground, he assumed, because his cell, and its four companions (two of which were already occupied) and tunnel running by it were both carved out of the earth.

The two occupied cells were also protected by electro-bars. One of the occupants, the closest to Anakin, was a man. He was lean and his beard was unkempt, so Anakin guessed that he had been here a while. The other cell was holding a Mon Calamarian, whose salmon skin and comically large eyes gave it away immediately. Its pushed-out mouth and nose opened and closed simultaneously as it breathed, staring at Anakin. Anakin felt uncomfortable in plain view of the alien, so he decided to distract himself.

He got up and started trying to find a way out. His lightsabre was gone, as well as Guit’s. He sighed as he thought of his Master. He could really use Guit’s help right now.

Suddenly Anakin heard a shuffling sound. Soon an Aqualish, its four tusk-like mouthparts twitching, came into view dragging a body behind it.

Its four black eyes blink and it attempted to shield its furry head from the light of the electro-bars. It went to the empty cell next to Anakin and dumped the body there before quickly darting away and activating the electro-bars on the newest captive’s cell. Then it disappeared.

The control panel was facing away from Anakin, so he couldn’t manipulate it with the Force. If he could, he still wouldn’t be able to get anywhere without a weapon, he reckoned.

The new prisoner stirred in its cell. It got up and immediately searched its surroundings for a way out. Anakin felt the Force in this one. Very high. He even recognized it.

“Nade?” he asked. The figure stiffened and turned slowly around.

“Annie!” she exclaimed as she realized it was him.

“What are we doing here?” he asked.

Nade shrugged. Then the Mon Calamari spoke.

“We’re here to be put into the Arena. We have until sunfall to live,” he said.

Anakin was shocked.

“What happens in the Arena?” he prompted.

“Well,” replied the fish-like being, “four people are put into the Arena to face whatever the spectators vote for the most. Last time it was four highly trained bounty hunters. The bounty hunters left with four or five scratches. The Prisoners left in four or five pieces. Sometimes they are pitted up against monsters or beasts from exotic worlds. Other times they are forced to fight one another”

Anakin’s mind reeled. Why was it here on Corellia? Why was this planet the target?

Nade spoke now. “What is your name?”

The Mon Calamari blinked, and then said, “My name is Ackbar. My father is Admiral Ackbar, who fought against the Empire to regain peace in the galaxy. We were visiting Corellia when the attacks began. The city we were in crumbled around us. All survivors were rounded up to be brought here. About two hundred people are in cells here”

“Who gets chosen to go into the Arena?” asked Anakin.

Ackbar smiled wryly. “The most misbehaved, or the ones who rebel and give the guards trouble. Or unauthorized offlanders coming here. Most of the people come here to watch the Arena Battles; beings from all over the galaxy, mostly shifty or dangerous gangsters. Most are from Tatooine, in the Outer Rim. They pay a lot of money to get in, then gamble greatly on who will live, and who will die, and how long they take to die, and so on”

“Alright,” said Anakin, breathing deeply. “Do you have any idea why they are here on Corellia?”

“No,” said Ackbar. “A person called Darth Evisce controls the happenings. We rarely see him, until we are sent out to watch our friends die. Every time there is a Battle, all the Captives are forced to watch,” he explained after seeing Anakin and Nade’s nonplussed looks. “Who are you?”

“My name is Anakin Solo,” said Anakin, “and this is Nade Sinh. We are Jedi Knights, and I came here to find my parents”

“Oh yes, Leia and Han!” exclaimed Ackbar. “They had gone out to Endor to visit some friends when we were all captured. My father managed to send a transmission to them saying to get the Republic. We hope they have received the message”

Then the Aqualish returned, grunting in their strange guttural language. The man in the other cell woke up and sighed, obviously accepting his fate.

The Aqualish was being flanked by six tough-looking Niktos, their tan-coloured skin shifting over massive muscles. The four Prisoners were led out of their cells, all the while being threatened by six blaster rifles.

Soon they reached the end of the tunnel and a door slid open, letting an immense about of light in, dazzling the Prisoners. They walked out into the Arena to spectacular applause, the darkening sky silhouetting the giant stands all around the Prisoners.

They were taken out into the very middle of the giant, smooth Arena, where everybody could see them. A large box was situated right in the middle of the largest side of stands. There were some beings there, and Anakin could tell immediately that on of them was Evisce, the Dark Side of the Force emanating strongly from the figure.

Suddenly a voice was boomed out. It was Evisce’s, and Anakin could hear it all around him, even though Evisce didn’t have a megaphone. Everyone could because they cheered when he spoke.

“Welcome, one and all, to today’s Arena Battle! Our four Contestants are … Anakin Solo, a Jedi Knight from Corellia!”

The crowd cheered. Evisce waited before continuing. The fact that he knew his name sent a shiver down Anakin’s spine.

“Nade Sinh, also a Jedi Knight, but from Coruscant!”

Applause.

“Ackbar, son of a Rebel Leader, from Mon Calamari!”

Booing came out through the applause.

“Galik Fortis, Corellian citizen!”

The applause exploded, nearly blowing the stars from the sky.

“They will be pitted against …”

The applause died instantly, but the tension in the atmosphere was so thick that Anakin could have sliced it with his lightsabre, if he had it there with him.

“…Four monsters so ferocious, we lost three animal catchers in the process of obtaining them!”

The applause exploded again, deafening Anakin.

“Guards, please leave the Arena, lest you find yourself in mortal danger!”

The guards keeping Anakin, Nade, Ackbar and Galik ran for the exit, leaving the Prisoners where they were.

“We have, entering the Arena, the spectacular acklay, from Geonosis, in the Outer Rim!”

As soon as Evisce finished, a gate slid up from one of the sides of the Arena, and a distinctly angry-looking creature jumped out; it was green on the top, but creamy underneath. It had a mouth full of needle-like teeth, and blue eyes. Its head was crested, three metres above the ground, a widening, flat, two-metre-long bony structure protruding from the back of its skull. It had about eight legs, it was moving to fast to count them, circling around the Arena, jabbed with vibro-shockers into position. Its two forelegs were raised before it, praying mantis-fashion, tipped with huge pincers. It had six other spindly, spiky, jointed legs, which it walked on. It gave the large impression of a shell on sticks.

Evisce waited for the crowd to quiet; then he spoke, saying, “Next we have, entering the Arena, the awesome rancor from a confidential planet, we are sorry to say …”

If the crowd was groaning, it wasn’t at the beast. Another, taller door slid open to reveal a six-metre-tall monster. It was brown and its skin hung in tight flaps, like an elephant’s, around its muscly physique. It had a square mouth full of chomping, yellow teeth. Its eyes were small and squinty, situated above two slits that were the nose. Its long, powerful forearms were twice as long as its legs, and they dragged along the ground behind it, huge claw-tipped fingers making tracks as it passed. Twenty fearless guards were prodding this one, jabbing the small, squat legs. A tiny tail stuck out from its behind, barely more than a pointed stump.

It roared, a full sound, one huge outburst in sound, with another, primal, animal sound mixed in and around the larger sound. It drowned out the acklay’s shuddering, reedy cries.

Evisce gestured for silence. “Next, we have the wampa, from the Ice Planet, Hoth!”

A three-metre-tall, furry pile of snow emerged next. Anakin looked closer. No, it was the creature’s immense amount of fluffy, pure white fur that made him think this. Its hands were large and flat, and its legs and feet were a lot like its arms and hands. Its face was some un-furred skin, its mouth very strong. Its nose stuck out a bit, but not much. It had long, curly, brown horns. It had large, bulging eyes that looked wild. Only two herders with vibro-shockers were pushing this one about.

“And lastly, finally, last but not least,” announced Evisce, obviously enjoying the crowd’s suspense, “… we have … the kranin!”

The crowd gasped.

“The kranin are from the planet Rishi, in the Rishi Maze”

The fourth gate slid open, but before it reached the top a huge, scaly, four-fingered hand grabbed it and yanked it down, bending it with ease. Then the thing smashed out, bellowing in fury and rage, crumbling the permacrete around the gate. It stood eleven metres tall, had feet the size of Anakin, ending in foot-long claws. It was green and scaly, with huge long arms, ending in five two-foot-long fingers, tipped with brown claws. It had a huge torso, three metres wide, with a tail sticking out behind it, with a massive spike on the end. Its head, atop a large neck, was long and pointed, with sharp horns extending from just above the base of the bottom jaw to the end of the snout. Its eyes glowed yellow, reflecting any light they could. It walked erect; its hands turned inwards, arms held at leisure. It opened its mouth again, saliva dripping from its metre-long maw, showing teeth as long as Anakin’s forearm. It had spikes, two feet tall, running from the top of the skull to about half way along the tail.

“Anakin …,” said Nade, obviously apprehensive. Ackbar looked pale, and Galik was panting.

The kranin didn’t have any herders prodding it, for obvious reasons.

The herders herding the rancor, acklay and wampa hand cleverly put them at strategic points, separated by ninety degrees between one and the one to its left, or right. Right now the herders were all running for the nearest exit.

Anakin swallowed. “Spread out!” he yelled, “Confuse them!”

Ackbar and Nade had the attention to do as he said, and ran apart from each other.

“Galik!” yelled Nade. The acklay was scuttling their way, apparently getting bored at swiping at the audience.

Galik ran as fast as he could, in a different direction from Nade, Ackbar and Anakin.

Suddenly Anakin saw another gate open. What!? he thought, another monster?

It was actually two dozen permacrete platforms, no more than three feet across, that zoomed out and situated themselves all around the Arena. Anakin immediately realized what they were for; the spectators’ interest. Some of them, the higher ones, had weapons. Anakin saw his own lightsabre before the platform moved so high he couldn’t see the top. How was he to reach it?

Then he understood; some of the platforms were low to the ground, and led to another, slightly higher one, near it, and so on until the Prisoners could actually reach some weapons.

Anakin shook himself and scolded himself for not watching the acklay, for it was running flat out straight at him. He stood his ground until the crustacean-like creature was a foot away from barreling into him, before leaping away. It screamed, before pausing momentarily at the sound of the wampa, a grisly growl that was extended and made louder by the animal.

Then the acklay charged on, pincer raised to slam down into Anakin. He noticed a platform three metres from him, and summoned the Force to carry him to it, the acklay’s arm slamming into and shattering the rock where he was standing a millisecond ago.

The Geonosian monster roared in frustration. Anakin jumped, and jumped again, but was knocked out of the air by the rancor, which had swiped at him. He landed on his stomach, the air knocked from his lungs.

Then the rancor advanced on him, drool dripping in huge ropes from its jaws. It roared its terrible, furious scream before grabbing him around the waist and opening its mouth wide. It then shifted Anakin from one hand to the other, this time holding him by the foot. As Anakin dangled, a dozen possibilities raced through his mind, most of which involved his lightsabre. The rancor then let go of him, and Anakin felt the creature’s mouth close around him. The head tilted back, ready to swallow him live.

Horror and adrenaline coursed through Anakin, and he summoned the Force. He Force-pushed as hard as he could against the beast’s teeth, dislodging one loose one and shooting it right out of the creature’s gums.

It opened its mouth to bellow, and Anakin used this chance to leap out, wet and bedraggled, to the ground. He then grabbed the tooth and hurled it at the rancor. It bounced off harmlessly, and landed next to Anakin. He groaned in frustration before leaping away again as the enraged rancor swiped out again with its paw.

Then the kranin barrelled, roaring, into the rancor, slamming it to the ground. Anakin used his chance to run off. The rancor slowly got back up, shaking its boxy head.

Then the kranin ran off to attack the wampa, which was advancing on Galik and Ackbar. Nade was standing on one of the platform, just above the acklay’s reach. The monster was furious at being teased. It circled, stalking its prey.

The rancor got up and started shakily towards Anakin. It soon gained its balance, and started again, going in the right direction this time. Anakin watched as the wampa grabbed Galik and flung him to the ground again, where he lay quite still.

Anakin jumped out of reach of the rancor, landing on a platform eight metres from his beloved lightsabre.

The kranin was now advancing on the wampa. The wampa turned and growled, accepting the challenge. Then the wampa swung a huge, clawed paw at the kranin, which ducked, and sent its tail-spike deep into the wampa’s thigh. The wampa bellowed in pain and confusion, its challenger somehow moving so fast that it could duck against it.

Then the kranin grabbed the wampa around the shoulders with its arms, in a gesture reminiscent of a hug. Then it close its jaws around the wampa’s head, held the body still, and then jerked slightly with its head. The wampa fell dead to the ground, its head facing the wrong way.

Then the kranin picked up Galik’s limp body. Anakin couldn’t watch any more, because the rancor was now bunching up, winding up its fat, but sinuous body, ready to spring.

As it did spring though, Anakin leapt away. As he did he Force-called on his lightsabre, and met it in mid-air, igniting it before he hit the next platform. He landed facing the rancor, lightsabre ready.

The rancor’s jaws closed around the platform Anakin was standing on before, and crunched it to dust. It landed, and shook the whole Arena.

The crowd gasped. Anakin deftly leapt to the next platform, and it bobbed slightly as he landed. It had a rocket launcher and one rocket on it. He picked it up, put away his lightsabre and aimed the rocket launcher at the big box with Evisce in it.

“Evisce!” he called out, his grimy, sweaty face grim. “You will die, Evisce! The Jedi are hunting you as we speak!”

The crowd booed and hissed at him to quiet, but he spoke on.

“If you dare kill Nade or myself, we will be greatly avenged, and your Temple on Iridonia will be destroyed. The choice is yours, Evisce!”

The Sith Lord shook his head, and held out his fist. Anakin shook his head and fired the rocket at the great box.

Evisce laughed, and opened his fist. Anakin felt a great surge in the Force, and watched the rocket hurtle back towards him. He jumped, enhancing his leap with the Force. A deafening bang sounded and Anakin felt a surge of heat and energy as the missile hit the platform behind him.

As he fell, he ignited his lightsabre and slashed down, aiming at the rancor’s outstretched hand.

As Anakin landed, he took off again, leaping up into the maze of platform, each one swaying slightly when he landed on it. He looked back now, and saw the rancor’s massive hand land with a thud on the ground. The rancor was howling, a long low wail. In its rage, it picked up its own hand and Anakin could get a look at the wound and how the rancor had lost its hand. He saw the typical signs of a lightsabre cutting through armour and flesh, and realised that he had sliced the hand off.

At the moment though, the rancor was readying to throw its dismembered limb at Anakin. He waited for it to throw, then ducked and watched it soar harmlessly over his head—and land on top of the acklay cornering Nade.

The acklay thrashed and struggled to get the rancor’s paw of its back. Anakin noticed Nade’s lightsabre, ten metres away. He Force-called on it and grabbed it, calling out to Nade.

Nade replied, and Anakin threw the Jedi’s weapon to her. She caught it with grace, and ignited it elegantly, just as the acklay managed to haul the massive hand off it, and shakily get up.

Nade then jumped down, shearing the acklay’s forelegs off as she fell. She then proceeded to jump onto its back and stab down repeatedly.

Anakin decided he needed his concentration on the rancor, so he spun around to face it. It was sitting on its stumpy tail, moaning and growling, clutching its wrist.

Anakin turned back to the acklay, the rancor seeming defeated, only to see the kranin towering over him. He yelped before remembering himself.

The kranin uttered its shuddering call before whipping its tail around to strike at Anakin. It struck just as Anakin lifted his lightsabre. The last metre of the kranin’s tail fell to the ground, no longer connected to the creature.

The kranin was furious. It kicked Anakin, sending him flying eight metres, his lightsabre falling from his grasp. He landed near the rancor, he could hear its sporadic howling close by.

The kranin advanced, its horns spreading apart from each other, so the mouth could expand sideways to accommodate Anakin. He scrambled away, but the monster was too quick. It grabbed him around the midriff, pinning him to the ground. One of his arms was also pinned to the ground, but he struggled feebly with the other one to rid himself of his assailant’s grasp.

The kranin’s massive jaws opened, and it roared one final time before reaching down to eat its prey.

“Anakin!” came someone’s voice. Anakin twisted and saw Ackbar carrying his lightsabre. “Catch!”

He threw the lightsabre, and Anakin caught it in his free hand and swiped horizontally. He shoved the hand off him and turned to the kranin. Its hand was gone. Anakin had cut the hand off this creature as with the rancor.

The kranin was bellowing, obviously ready to begin rampaging. Anakin threw his lightsabre, using the Force to keep it ignited as it flew up. It spun and connected with the kranin’s neck. Anakin Force-called the lightsabre back to him, leaping out of the way as the kranin’s huge head fell down.

Then came the body, The creature’s body was swaying. Then it fell, fell towards Ackbar.

“Ackbar!” yelled Anakin. He used the Force and froze the kranin’s massive, hulking body in mid-air before Force-calling Ackbar. As soon as Ackbar was out of harm’s way, Anakin let the kranin drop. There was an earth-shattering crack as the kranin hit the ground. Anakin, exhausted from using the Force, collapsed where he stood, in between the head and hand of the kranin.

---

Sirna Ti stood with a helmet on. The blast shield was down and he couldn’t see a thing. He felt frustration course through him as he heard the youngling’s movements. This was too easy. He brought his lightsabre down, diagonally from top-right to bottom-left, slamming the harmless dudsabre into the youth’s neck. He heard a sizzling sound and the boy’s gasp of pain.

Sirna knew that the duds didn’t hurt too much, they just stung for a few seconds. It was nothing serious.

“Well done,” praised Kejor. “That’s the fourth youngling in a row you’ve beaten in less than thirty seconds

“Now you’re ready for a new challenge!”

Sirna heard the shuffling of the disgraced youngling’s feet, and the bold, graceful step of Kejor.

“Kej?” asked Sirna.

“Yes,” came the man’s reply. “Use your real lightsabre, Sirna. I trust you. You must trust me also”

Sirna threw aside the dudsabre’s handle, and Force-called his own sabre to him. He lifted his hand, palm facing upwards, and used the Force to push his sabre handle ten centimetres from his open hand. It began to spin horizontally. After two seconds of this he ignited it in mid-spin. He felt the younglings gape in awe. He could feel all the emotions coming from whoever was around.

The lightsabre stopped spinning, and descended slowly into his hand. Sirna’s palm and fingers closed around the handle,

Sirna could sense Kejor’s growing unease. As Sirna raised his sabre to his shoulder vertically, Kejor cleared his throat and told Sirna to begin.

Sirna smiled as Kejor waited patiently for him to start. Sirna then made a tricky move; he brought the lightsabre down at Kejor, and, when Kejor lifted his own blade to block, Sirna swung his sabre down and around with such force as to send Kejor’s lightsabre flying. The handle clattered off to Sirna’s right. He then brought the lightsabre up to Kejor’s throat, stopping a centimetre from his right jugular. He then removed his helmet and saw Kejor looked down at the red blade at his throat in obvious fright. No one had beaten him that fast. Never.

---

Anakin Solo awoke. His body felt defeated. He struggled to force his eyes open. He saw a massive mountain of greenish-blue flesh and skin. He coughed out sand. Something was growling in a defeated way.

A hand appeared in front of Anakin’s. It belonged to Nade Sinh, Anakin recalled with a lot of pain. He grabbed at the hand, and stood up. His world was reeling, and lines became less and less distinct as he got up. Then the swimming shapes came slowly into focus.

Nade was talking, Anakin could see that, but not hear it. Slowly his hearing returned.

“—all right, Anakin?” said Nade.

Anakin looked dazedly up at Nade, and mumbled something he didn’t understand. Apparently Nade did, and she nodded.

Anakin took a few breaths, and he felt himself becoming balanced enough to say, “What’s happening?”

Nade shrugged and looked around.

“I think they’re all waiting for something,” she said.

Reality came back to Anakin. He was on Corellia, his homeworld, at about dusk, halfway through the planet’s cycle around its sun. He had just killed a massive monster, and cut off the hand of another. He turned to regard the rancor. Spittle was forming in ropes that dripped from its jaws. Its breathing was uneven.

A booming voice suddenly filled the air. Though it spoke with confidence, Anakin could tell the voice was somewhat unnerved by something.

“The three surviving contestants have fought gallantly,” stated the voice. “They have defeated all four of the monsters set before them. But, never fear, my audience; we always have a creature in reserve, as one might say. Observe”

The speaker was Darth Evisce, it was clear now (as Anakin could see the cloaked figure in the top box looking around), and as he finished, Evisce raised his right hand. Chutes opened all around the arena. There was the sound of something like the hem of a cloak slithering over leaves.

Anakin and Nade stood calmly, reserving energy, lightsabres in hand. Ackbar was jumping around nervously whenever the crowd roared louder than normal. The odd slithering grew louder and Anakin had to consciously tell himself to lower his heart rate. Then with a huge hissing noise, the source of the sound presented itself.

---

Sirna Ti stood before the Jedi Council. He was watching Yoda, who was talking about the Force and its connection to the Physical World.

Sirna waited respectfully for Yoda to finish, nodded, and asked permission to present an issue to the Masters. He was granted that permission, and asked, “Masters, what leads do you have on the mysterious Temple on Iridonia?”

Yoda looked to Anakin Skywalker, then back to Sirna.

“How has this information to your attention come?,” asked Yoda.

“I can sense it,” replied Sirna without hesitance.

“Leads, we do not have,” said Yoda with a certain gravity that meant that this issue was over.

“Well you should. Why haven’t you sent out a Jedi to check the situation out?” cried Sirna, a fire lighting in his eyes.

Yoda didn’t look taken aback, if he was at all.

“You Jedi are pathetic!” yelled Sirna. “All you do is sit on your comfortable chairs, and not satisfy the publics needs! My Master will be pleased at the poor quality of your investigations, fools”

“What Master?” Luke asked, intensity in his voice now.

“The master that has taught me all my skills, of course,” Sirna hissed. “As if I would have just found them, as if the Force had told me how to do all this. I’m sick of this stupid training. I’m better than this! You Jedi are pathetic!” he reiterated as he Force-called his lightsabre. He ignited it, and as the guards came to subdue him he sank into the Force, cutting one of the guards’ hands off, before leaping head-first over the Masters’ heads through the window.

He fell for what seemed to be an age. He turned off his lightsabre, then, spotting a hovercar he thought suitable to steal, he slowed his descent with the Force, and landed with a thump on the car.