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Language:
English
Series:
Part 1 of Star Wars Stories
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Published:
2020-12-19
Completed:
2021-04-21
Words:
1,688
Chapters:
3/3
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35
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457
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The Bright Night

Summary:

As Skywalker's temple burns, destroyed by fallen traitors, the last surviving student reaches out through the Force for aid.
A mandalorian answers the call.

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

        Ben- No! Kylo! He had to remind himself of his new name. Kylo Ren paced back and forth in front of the gleaming portal of light. Off to his left Mira drew her lightsaber and jammed it against the bright blue pulses of the Force. She wiped the sweat from her brow and then leaned against the hilt of her saber. It screeched against the fluctuating wall. The light bent inward and then rebounded out, forcing Mira to stumble back. Frustrated, the girl deactivated her lightsaber and kicked at the wall. From the far side of the strange Force power, Marrick lightly tapped the wall with his own lightsaber. It sparked at the faint touches.

        "What are we going to do, Ben?" the younger boy called to him. Kylo shook his head and ran a hand through his thick hair. He clenched his fingers around the fine ends and pulled at the strands in mounting frustration. They needed to breach the strange barrier. Kylo squatted down and squinted through the spiraling lights. At the center of the power stood the last surviving student of Skywalker. The little creature's dark eyes were shut and his long ears twitched as Kylo reached out to touch the wall. He pressed his hand against it. There was the slightest amount of give, but not enough to even begin to think about getting through to the youngling inside. Kylo cursed under his breath. His hand curled into a fist and he drew back and punched the strange energy. His fist slid off it. He and his new followers needed to get inside. Snoke had been clear - there could be no survivors from Skywalker's Temple. Proving their devotion to the man's cause hinged on killing Gro- Kylo shut his eyes. He couldn't think of the youngling's name. Couldn't think of how he'd felt fondness for the little creature. That was the past. When he'd been weak. When he'd been Ben. Kylo Ren had never adored the small student. He couldn't. "Ben?" Marrick asked again.

        "Kylo Ren. I'm thinking." He snapped at the boy. Marrick went quiet as Mira looked away. They needed to do this, but how? He'd never seen anything like the strange power the youngling was using now. There had to be some way to breach it, he told himself. "Together," Kylo began. He held up his lightsaber and activated the blade. "We strike as one and keep pushing. The youngling is strong but he can't keep this up forever. When the barrier falls... We kill him." The two hesitated and then nodded. They walked back to his side and all three pointed the tips of their sabers at the wall. Kylo Ren took a breath and braced himself. He leaned forward and put his full weight on the hilt. gritting his teeth as he strained against the Force. His arms shook with exertion. Kylo had always known the youngling was stronger than them in the Force, but he'd never thought it'd be such a hinderance. He'd been wrong to put off killing Grogu. Wrong to let his emotions cloud his judgement. Kylo swore to himself that he would never make such a mistake again. They just had to reach the youngling. It'd be easy after that.

        Through the Force he felt an echo of familiarity that wasn't his own. Ben looked up from the sparking tips of their blades to Grogu. The youngling's dark eyes were open now. He wasn't looking at them. Rather, past them. A long ear flicked up. One small hand reached out. The distant roar of a jetpack made Kylo startle. He turned and squinted up into the darkness as the others continued to press against the wall. There! Off in the distance a fire not of their making burned across the night sky. It streaked through the darkness towards them.

        "Kylo?" He didn't look away from the nearing figure. It was dark but clearly humanoid in shape.

        "Keep pushing," Kylo told them. He took a ready stance as the stranger changed his or her angle and adjusted course to fly straight for them. "I'll deal with whoever Grogu called. Just focus on breaking the wall." They had to do this. It was the only way.

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

        The fire of the jetpack leveled out for a moment and Kylo squinted as he prepared for blaster fire- He screamed as the spear shattered his shoulder pad and stuck through his flesh. Ben fell back and struggled against the pain as the spearhead pinned him to the hot ground. The stranger landed in front of him as the young man writhed. He wore a strange, dark armor- No. Ben could just barely make out what he was dressed in. Beskar. A mandalorian. The man stepped over Ben and strode towards Marrick and Mira.

        "Ben!" Mira turned from the shimmering wall and faced their attacker. She drew her lightsaber back and lunged forward as she thrust her weapon out. The mandalorian didn't even try to dodge. The blade threw off bright sparks as it slide off his chestplate. Ben's breath caught in his throat. That meant- Taken by surprise, Mira stumbled to the right as she tried to recover and strike him again. The man's fist smashed into her face. Her head swung hard to the side as her lightsaber flew from her hands. "Ugh!" The girl cupped her jaw and looked at the man with wide eyes as he drew a small blaster. The shot blackened the front of her temple robes and Ben could only watch as her lifeless body collapsed to the ground.

        "Mira!" He cried out to her, shuddering as her tightly focused Force signature turned light and airy. The mandalorian turned his blaster on Marrik and the boy's fearful eyes narrowed in concentration. He successfully deflected the shots back at the stranger. Again the mandalorian made no move to dodge as the energy glanced off his smooth armor. He instead took a single step forward and clenched his right hand as he pointed it at the boy.

        Fire roared out from the thin nozzle on his wrist. Marrick screamed as the flames burned him. He flailed back and beat at himself as the mandalorian continued to unload on him. The young man couldn't put out the flames fast enough. He fell back as he writhed, his clothes and skin wrapped in orange and white fire. Marrick's screams were horribly high and thin - he sounded more like an animal than a man. The mandalorian stopped his fire with the flick of a wrist. Ben could only watch as the man fired a single shot into Marrick's chest. The young man reached for the long shaft but winced when his touch moved the spearhead in his shoulder. He clenched his teeth at the agony and tried not to cry out.

        Ben could feel Grogu's Force presence dimming, those painfully bright strobes of light flickering back into darkness. He shifted as best he could to look back at the two. The mandalorian gently picked the youngling up. Ben shivered as that dark helmet swiveled back around to stare at him. The man began to stride back towards him as Ben looked around for his lightsaber. Where was it? Where was it? The mandalorian reached him before he could find it. Ben paled as the stranger put his boot to Ben's other shoulder and wrapped his free hand around the upper half of the spear. No, no-! Ben screamed as the man jerked the spearhead free. He curled in on himself and held his wound. Grogu whimpered and Ben felt the youngling’s presence in the Force wrap around the mandalorian.

        "Hey, hey," the man's voice was unexpectedly gentle. Ben watched through half shut eyes as gloved fingers stroked the youngling's long ears. "It's okay. I'm here, I've got you." Tiny hands reached for the man and the mandalorian cradled Grogu close. Without a second glance at Ben the stranger tightened his hold on the child. He crouched and then took to the air, his jet pack roaring to life as he streaked back in the direction he'd came from.

        No. Ben put a hand to the dry dirt and tried to push himself up. Pain screamed down his shoulder and the young man fell back into the charred grass. No! No! Ben clenched his hand around his wound and felt blood run through his fingers. Grogu was supposed to have died! He had to kill the youngling! For Snoke, he had to-! Had to... It was hard to breath in through the smoke. Ben wheezed as he shifted to look at the bodies of his friends. Mira with the scorched hole in her chest. Marrick, a blackening corpse. Ben felt his stomach clench. He rolled to his knees as he vomited, the pain from his shoulder radiating through him.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

        Din hadn't really been focused on the steps he'd taken to get the ship up and running. He couldn't recall what coordinates he'd entered, instead trusting in muscle memory to guide them both to safety. Long green ears twitched as the kid stood in his lap. Small clawed fingers curled tight around what the young one could reach of his chest plate. Din set the ship to autopilot and let himself curl around Grogu, The distress that had been screaming against his nerves finally quieted as he returned the hug.

        "Hey, you heard me," he kept his voice quiet. Barely a murmur. "It's okay. You're safe," he promised the child. "I've got you now." Large black eyes blinked up at him and Din thought a curse as he saw the tears. The man tugged his glove off and wiped them away. The kid leaned into the touch and held him close. Din's chest tightened as he carefully ran his hand over Grogu's ears. The trembling slowly subsided as the kid began to relax against him. The comm chimed and Din slapped it off. Calls could wait. He'd check to see who it had been later. All that mattered now was the kid. He was safe. They were going to be safe. 

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