The Boy Who Lived

[Abarai Loki]

His hands trembled. The air was hot and still and he sucked at it with desperate heavy pants. He stood alone in a wide hanger. His senses gathered and he looked down at the bodies at his feet. There were two of them; one broad, hulking, bloodied and spread-eagled, the other diminutive, pale, and curled up like a stillborn. Like his, their clothes were torn, charred, and stained with glistening crimson. He winced, it was the first time he'd smelt burnt flesh.

A deep thud resounded through a large blast door at the far end of the hanger. He looked up and cast his weary gaze along the length of the room. Near the blast door there was a vacant speeder bay, scored black and smoking where the metal was melted. In the corner, the workshop was in disarray and peppered with bright licking flames. There was a louder thud against the blast door which echoed like a tired old bell.

He dropped to his knees and rested his weapon in his lap. His eyes closed and he poured all of his concentration into breathing, drawing in air softly though his nose and exhaling slowly through his aching mouth. The pain dissipated and the recurring clang of metal faded like a ship lost in the fog. Then the blast door opened.

It creaked and groaned as its metal mass lifted and vomited garish sparks from its control port. Beyond the entrance, two shafts of light hung eerily against the heavy dark of night and in the warm red glow stood the silhouettes of two men. They loomed over a third body, the light of their humming weapons danced in his lifeless eyes. There were footfalls and the looming shadows took on shape and definition. One of them called out, his voice sang with hungry malice.

"This is where your story ends, Jedi."

The boy stood, his lightsaber sprung to life, and he approached his enemy.

[Acacius Blade]

As they advanced, a jovial, short laugh interrupted their stride. It echoed momentarily throughout the glossy surfaced hanger. They looked around for the source; their eyes resting on the outer doors as they opened suddenly. But before they could act, their bodies found themselves defying gravity as they levitated up into their air. Then came the return of the amiable laughter, followed by the entrance of a tall, balding man garbed in cream-white robes with a dark brown throw-over around his neck and falling down either side of his chest. He walked rather quickly, his hands by his sides and a smile on his face.

"Nonesense gentlemen. Why, I'd bet two shiny new belt buckles and a cream-filled cake it's just the beginning. Good evening sonny!"

He bowed his head slightly towards the boy. The perplexed assailants then started to rotate in the air. They tried to fight against the ageing mans power but to no avail. So in unison, they lashed out with their hands, both lightsabers spiralling malevolently in a wide arc, up and around towards the jolly fellow. But with little effort, and no sign of a hand gesture, the sabers clashed together moments before impact and fell to the floor harmlessly. he then rolled his head in a circle, his eyes also rolling as he did so. And the two agents of evil started orbiting each other, their defiant fidgeting accomplishing nothing more than turning themselves upside down. The man then turned back to his unknown companion.

"Now what, praytell, is your name, my young friend?"

[Abarai Loki]

His gaze snapped back to the aging stranger, his eyes narrowed and he bristled, coiling his fingers around his weapon. He stood fast. When he spoke, his voice was soft and husky, and his words weighed heavy with resolve.

"Who are you?"

[Acacius Blade]

The man jumped back several feet, planting his feet down hard and firm as he landed. One arm was held straight by his side, his hand clenched into a fist while the other was held out firmly and equipped with a reprimanding finger which wiggled from side to side.

"Ah-ah-ah! I asked you first. Come now, my boy. If you don't play the game, you can't win the prize."

He glanced back at the vile cutthroats who looked a little bit woozy now. The man tilted his head back and gave a hearty laugh.

"Ha ha ha! Let this be a lesson to you! I don't know what kind of a lesson, but nevertheless! Ha!"

He spun around in a rather animated fashion. Locking eyes with the boy once more he spoke with a slightly more serious tone.

"I tell you what then. I'll go first. You ready!? Get ready!"

Bending his knees suddenly, the man vaulted high up into the air, arching his back into a backwards somersault of epic proportions. The overhead fluorescent lights seemed to intensify to almost blinding brightness as he glided to the far side of he hanger, landing in between the two criminals who were on the brink of passing out. The man then held his arms in the air with his fingers spread wide.

"Ta-da! I am Acacius Blade!"

The two captives then fell to the floor with a thump.

"Oh my! I'm sorry, I must have gotten excited."

[Abarai Loki]

He frowned at the theatrics and kept his eyes locked with the curious man, the burning tip of his blade remained pointed at his chest.

"And what is it you want?"

[Acacius Blade]

Acacius rolled his eyes - an undesirable mannerism but one infinitely preferable to frowning. He shook his head, chuckling to himself as he helped up the two miscreants who had turned green after their topsy-turvy imprisonment.

"What's with all these questions!? There are only two facts of importance right now - your name and my name. Now we're half way there already, can't you just go out on a limb!? Come on, just tell me your name. I promise I won't laugh if it's bad!"

The two athletic, brooding men found their footing on solid ground once more. But once they realised who had aided them back to their feet they lashed their arms free and reached out for their weapons laying on the floor. But once back in their grasp, no matter how hard they tried, neither would ignite. Acacius' eyes widened somewhat as he looked at the boy who stood cautiously.

"You really are a tough nut to crack, you know that!? I guess I'm going to have to lay it all out on the table aren't I? Will that satisfy your lust for knowledge? Your longing for incremental cranial stimuli!?"

A klaxon sounded on the far side of the hanger. And a simple look from Acacius silenced it again.

"I think we'd better leave before I start to ramble. I do tend to go on and on once I've got going. I guess you could say I have a penchant for long-windedness. See, I almost started right there! Let's get to the gone, what do you say?"

But without waiting for an answer, Acacius was headed for the door. The two mystery men signalled for him to stop, shouting unutterable curses. But then their lightsabers sprung to life in their hands and began to clash with each other. They seemed to not only be fighting with each other, but with their lightsabers as well; struggling to control them, pulling back with their weight to disengage one another. Acacius waved a hand back to them without stopping or turning.

"Futile my good men. Futile! Come on lad!"

Suddenly the blast doors opened and an angry mob of laser rifled grunts spewed forth from the adjoining corridor, bringing their weapons to bear on the boy.

[Abarai Loki]

The boy showed no sign of moving until the armed soldiers appeared. They wore white armour and their helmets housed empty black eyes and a cold scowl. In an instant, the hanger was filled with red light and the sound of thrashing blaster fire. Over the din, he heard the cry of the strange old man and ran in his direction, every scorching laser intercepted by his blade and returned to the enemy. The ranks of soldiers thinned.

It seemed their attentioned was fixed on him, Acacius had slipped away unscathed and as he approached, they closed the gaps left by their fallen comrades. His icy blue weapon danced about him with short certain movements and by the time he was upon his aggressors there were three left standing. They huddled close and squeezed off as much firepower as possible before...

The boy vanished. An angry buzzing swept past the soldiers and their blaster rifles fell to the floor in pieces. They turned just in time to see him disappear into the dark horizon.

[Acacius Blade]

Outside the air was chilled and still. Acacius could see his breath as he ran. He exhaled deep and abruptly, causing his breath to come out thicker. He ran past the tall conifers that reached up to the starry sky. Looking up as he ran, not worried about tripping over any rocks or bumps in the ground, he tried to count how many there were. So many, he thought. But plenty of time to visit them once they were off the planet. His gaze ran up one particularly tall tree, then higher past it to the sky where there were no stars. A large black wedge hung in space above him.

He could sense the boy some distance behind him, catching up. His ship was not much farther. He seemed to glide effortlessly over the uneven ground, neither tiring nor short of breath. Well, not really - the panting was just for his own amusement. As he gained altitude up the small incline, he could see the distant glaciers through the trees on the far side of the city - marking the barrier between the habitable, temperate equitorial region and the barren, frozen northern hemisphere. The southern hemisphere was equally cold, but he was too far north to see it from here.

He was far up the hill now, and close enough tio the cliff face to fall to an untimely death should he choose to. Choose to, since he would never accidentally fall - he was too good for that. A black shape descended from the blacker wedge in space, approaching quickly. Search lights suddenly jumped out from it, illuminating his position with powerful spotlights that lit up the surrounding forest. Acacius glanced back down the hill - the boy was just now emerging from the thick trees; the conifers were much more sparse this high up.

"Ah, good boy - you're just in time for the light show!" he bellowed as a blue blade awoke from his left hand. And not a moment too soon either, as green beams of death shot from the black shape, which from this distance was easily identifiable as an Imperial shuttle. And with perfect timing yet relatively slow, calm movements, Acacius fed the bolts straight back at the ship. They bled harmlessly into the energy shield.

"Come on, my young nameless friend - get their attention and give it a try! It's quite easy." His voice was interrupted by a further volley of green which were similarly dispatched back up to its source. "Just be careful where you reflect the bolts - try not to hit the city down below!"

[Abarai Loki]

The edge of the spotlight reached his toes and he hopped back into the cover of the thick wood. He pressed his back against the nearest tree trunk and looked up, the shuttle approached quickly and swallowed up the space overhead. The ground stirred in its wake, the trees trembled and the underbrush swayed and thrashed like a frothing ocean in a storm. The seering green volleys intensified and they rained down upon the wood, tearing into it at the edges and setting the trees ablaze. Over the sound of screeching laser cannons and bellowing engines, the boy called out:

"This is not a game! Are you out of your mind? You're going to get us killed!"

[Acacius Blade]

Acacius deflected the volleys in such a carefree manner that any onlookers would get the impression he was enjoying himself.

"Oh nonesense, my little anklebiter! This is nothing more than a minor inconvenience. A minute annoyance. Why, a trifling matter that serves only to delay our inevitable escape. Why you and I..."

He stopped himself, gesturing towards the ship wih an open palm. It bore to the side, pitching back with it's lasers firing, sending a volley high into the air to scorch the twinkling starry sky. It took a few moments for it to correct its orientation before resuming its emerald barrage.

"You see what I mean - rambling, my dear boy, rambling! Now let us hasten our departure. I say departure and not retreat because lets face it. With my wisdom and your courage we'd annihilate every last one of the swines. But we don't have the time nor I the attention span! To the shuttle at once!"

And with that, he was off and running once more. As he jetted further up the incline, he flung his saber spinning out over the cliff in a direct line towards the shuttle. In seconds it had cleaved through the starboard maneuvering wing, severing it from the shuttle. As the weapon returned to its owners hand, the shuttle veered off to the side and then below the cliff and out of sight.

At the foot of the hill came the sound of screetching, juttering metal. The trees were dense at the base. And without warning a torrent of red blasts errupted from the darkness beneath the conifers as an entire battlegroup of stormtroopers poured out of the foliage. And behind them a trio of AT-ST assault mechs ripped through the canopy to join the mayhem. Further behind them, a large Lambda shuttle raised up out of the unseen clearing and blasted back up towards the crusing black wedge of the Star Destroyer several thousand feet above.

"There's a shuttle atop this hill with a lone pilot and guard. I'm leaving if you care to join me. I can explain everything once we're out of orbit - unless of course you'd prefer to leave in their custody!" He was already a few hundred yards away as he shouted back down to the boy.

[Abarai Loki]

There was a flash of red light and the tree trunk exploded above him, showering him in glowing splinters. The broken mass of wood creaked and groaned as it plummeted towards him and he darted out of its way. He stood in the clearing now and the soldiers opened fire, unleashing a hefty opening volley of blaster fire straight at him. His lightsaber hissed to life and parried any shots that were on target.

His feet carried him swiftly over the uneven terrain all the way up the hill, the cool evening breeze lapped at his face and swam in his hair. Behind him, the large mechanical walkers broke clear of the tree canopies and unleahed a mighty barrage under his feet. He was thrown into the air, sparks danced around him, and when he landed he tumbled backwards. Nimble fingers tore and scratched at the soil while large segments of earth were thrown skywards all around him from the relentless assault. He stopped long enough to stand and ran immediately, his breathing was laboured and shallow and his thighs burned.

Peeking out from the top of the hill was the tip of a shuttle wing, a green light flashed on it like a beacon in the fog. His strength renewed and he pushed foward, ignoring the tumultuous racket which assailed his senses. The stranger's jovial tones broke through the sound and a small part of him wished he'd ran the other way. He reached the top of the hill, dived to the ground for cover and gasped for air.

[Acacius Blade]

A small blaster turret mounted underneath the command cabin's chin began firing as Acacius neared the craft. He ducked and weaved out of harms way, the odd rolling dive adding a little flourish to his movements. It only took a few moments for him to close the gap until he was right under the turret. Leaping up, he lashed out with his blue lightsaber, rendering the weapon useless. Then, right on schedule, the boarding ramp descended and an armour-clad guard armed with a hefty medium repeating blaster trudged down to meet him. The armour plating was thick and heavy, clanging against itself as the weighty soldier approached.

Acacius raised an eyebrow with a sly grin. Suddenly the suit of armour toppled forward, it's pounding boots making an awful racket as the guard stumbled out of control. As he hit the floor, his head smacked against the bottom of the ramp. The helmet came off to reveal a rather scared butch woman. Acacius stepped forward, the lights mounted on the shuttles underbelly causing a harp, deep shadow beneath his robed figure. He bend down and grabbed her arm to help her up.

"There there my dear. It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you. I just need the ship, thats all." he said with a reassuring smile.

Only a minute or so passed. And the boy found himself standing at the foot of the ramp next to quite a deep hole in the ground. It was easily nine feet deep, with an armour-clad woman inside it, screaming to get out. At the top of the ramp, just inside the cargo hold, sat a profound dune of soil and assorted rocks. The speaker crackled to life.

"Come on up boy! It's quite nice in here. Very cosy indeed, for an Imperial ship at least!"

The engines flared to life at the rear of the shuttle as it lifted off every so slowly. It raised to around twelve feet off the ground in a matter of seconds; the boarding ramp still fully extended.

[Abarai Loki]

When the sprightly voice boomed, the boy froze in his steps; behind him he heard thundering boots and mechanical grinding and to his side there was an angry armoured woman in a hole, he stood in silence for a moment, staring at his feet. He shook his head and leapt onto the boarding ramp and scrambled into the bowels of the shuttle. The screech of blaster fire pierced the air again and before the boarding ramp hissed shut, he caught a chilling glimpse of the small army as it reached the top of the hill.

The drumming and crashing of battle was muted when the thick durasteel plate sealed shut and the boy sat and buried his head in his knees. His insides turned and sloshed with the manouvering of the ship. He closed his eyes, his mind raced through all that had transpired prior to the stranger's arrival, the images still vivid and raw in his memory, until a violent shudder snapped him out of his thoughts. He stood and proceeded into the cockpit, his eyes were heavy and his feet dragged. The stranger called Acacius was busy at play with the piloting controls.

"What is going on?"

[Acacius Blade]

He swivelled in the high-backed chair to face the boy.

"Well now let's see. I mean, that's a very general question. There's a pod race tournament on Malastare - my money's on Okram Boontaba this year. Then there's the Festival of the Harvest on Dunanar, it's the fifth week of eight - very nice Purple Peaches on sale. And there was a prison break somewhere on Corellia. I saw it on the news just the other day. But more immediately we're trying to break orbit in one piece, I don't know if you noticed the large capital ship in front of us..."

He turned and pointed at the Imperial Star Destroyer that was taking up ost of the forward window. A green storm of energy flew towards them, narrowly missing the shuttle as it soared up and passed through the atmosphere.

"Don't worry, they shouldn't hit us. The gunners are shooting blind at the moment. We should be free of the planets gravity well in a few minutes. I'll make a jump to the moon of Loklar and then we can have a nice cup of hot chocolate while we talk, sound good?"

He smiled. Well, not really. He was already smiling, he just seemed to intensify it after he spoke.

[Abarai Loki]

"Sounds outlandish."

He rocked towards the co-pilot's seat as the ship juddered from a glancing shot against the port shields. Once seated, he strapped himself in at the waist and stared up in awe at the gargantuan shadow looming above them. His fingers dug into the armrests. Pulling his gaze away from the view, he took one look at the control console before turning to Acacius.

"I know nothing about interstellar travel. Is there anything I can do?"

[Acacius Blade]

"Nothing at all? Oh my. I'd better cover the basics then."

Acacius stood up sharply, his eyes scanning the cockpit wildly. He moved to the centre of the room and spread his arms wide open above his head.

"This...is a ship. It's completely air tight, which is a good thing since space is a vacuum. If this ship weren't air tight then everything inside it would get sucked out in an instant. And space itself is very vast - that means it's hella big! Luckily most ships of this nature are equipped with a hyperdrive - an engine that lets it travel faster than the speed of light - whoosh!.

He made small explosion gestures with his hands. Not that every hyperjump resulted in a cataclysmic destructive blast zone, but he thought the illustration would make it more fun.

"Neat, huh?"

[Abarai Loki]

"Don't be a fool! I know what a ship is and I know about space."

The boy folded his arms and scowled. His gaze returned to the view beyond the window; a meteor shower of angry green lights plunged into the glowing atmosphere and from out of the large angular vessel poured tiny things which glistened in the dark like tears amongst the stars. They dived in unison towards the shuttle.

"I think now would be a good time for us to go... whoosh."

[Acacius Blade]

Acacius folded his arms and spun arund in the chair to face the other way.

"Well there's no need to be condescending."

A small yellow light began to flash calmly on one of the forward panels, drawing his attention. His eyes began to widen in time with the flashing, and as he fiddled with various controls his mouth slowly joined in the mimicry. After a few more seconds his head began to bob. He soon stood up, reaching for various levers and moving his entire body in unison with the bliking indicator as a faint, high-pitched tone grew louder. Then he suddenly stopped, his body ridgid with his arms by his sides.

"Stop! Woosh time!"

He punched a square blue button which threw the ship forward past the ship, it's fighters and the nearby planets. The view screen was momentarily filled with white lines before being replaced by a swirling blue vortex.

[Abarai Loki]

When the ship lurched forward, the boy pressed himself hard against his seat and clung to the armrests. He turned his head away from the blinding light until it twisted and morphed into an engulfing maw of spiralling colour. He exhaled and took in the sight with a mixture of apprehension and wonder etched into his face. He was silent for some time while Acacius prodded a sequence of keys, then he relaxed and spoke.

"I'm amazed we got out of that mess alive."

[Acacius Blade]

With the navicomputer and hyperdrive handling everything, Acacius stood up and approached the boy. While he was still wearing an almost beaming smile, there was a subtle change in the magnitude of the grin that could almost pass as the jovial giants equivalent of seriousness.

"Is that to say there was a moment of doubt, my young friend?"