CHAPTER SEVEN
As Luke stood in the center of Ra-Sal's arena, he wondered if there would be a time where he didn't get involved with something that he had never intended to get involved with. Unlikely, he thought as a gate before him rose up, much to the excitement of the cheering crowd. Two robed beings emerged from the entrance, each carrying a heavy, metal chain that seemed to be connected to something.
Barely a minute had passed when, following the two beings, came a huge creature that was five times the size of Luke and nearly as large as the entire arena. It looked not unlike the rancor from Jabba the Hutt's palace, except it had large tusks, and was a lot larger.
And once again, Luke said to himself, I just realized that I don't have my lightsaber...
The bull rancor roared loudly, prompting the two beings to release it from the chains. Once it was free, the beast glowered at Luke and something similar to a malicious grin crawled onto its face. As it charged forward, Luke wondered if this habit of his would ever end.
* * *
After waking Kyle up and quickly explaining to him about the encounter with Sen-Axe Valan, and about Soral, Toah began gathering their supplies and headed for Valan's ship, with Kyle close behind. The ship was not far, but it was very well hidden by tall, looming trees. If Toah had not noticed Valan waiting near the boarding ramp, he probably wouldn't have noticed it.
"You two all set?" Valan asked. "Because it might be a long way, even with hyperspace."
Kyle grinned. "Hey, I've gone from Coruscant, all the way to the edge of the Outer Rim, and back."
Valan did not seem to have heard him. "Let's go," he told the two Jedi. "Master Soral isn't the most patient of all Jedi."
Toah and Kyle followed Valan onto his dark-colored ship and it soon lifted up from the ground and shot off into Telos' sky.
* * *
"Admiral!" the captain of the Imperious called to Evor, quickly running down the Star Destroyer's bridge. "Admiral, two Republic cruisers and a squadron of fighters are headed this way!"
Evor glanced out the bridge's viewport to see exactly what the captain had described: two Dauntless-class heavy cruisers and approximately two dozen X-wing starfighters.
Turning back to the captain, Evor said, "Send all TIE fighters immediately, but have them only attack the fighters, not the cruisers."
The captain stared at the admiral for a short moment before nodding. "Right away, sir."
As the captain rushed back down the bridge, Evor activated his handheld holoprojector, showing the blue, miniature image of Darth Sidious' apprentice, Sedriss.
"Lord Sedriss," Evor said, saluting the hologram. "When shall the Galaxy Gun arrive in the Empress Teta system?"
"Little less than an hour," Sedriss replied. "I've heard that the Republic had arrived in the system as well."
Evor nodded. "Indeed. The Emperor ordered us to use the Galaxy Gun on their ships as well as Empress Teta."
Sedriss rose an eyebrow. "Is that so? Wouldn't that destroy, or at least damage our ships as well?"
"I'm sure the Emperor has something in mind that will ensure our safety," Evor replied. "In the meantime, we shall hold off the Republic until your arrival, Lord Sedriss. Admiral Evor, out."
Once Sedriss' hologram had vanished, Evor turned back to the bridge's viewport, wondering if he was right on what Darth Sidious had in mind...
* * *
From the Defender's bridge, Ackbar watched as the two Republic starcruisers and Rogue Squadron advanced toward the Imperial Star Destroyers. As they did, the Mon Calamari admiral began to notice that the Star Destroyers were not returning fire. Instead, they were seeming to devote their power to strengthen their shields.
They must be up to something, Ackbar thought.
Turning to the ship's captain, he said, "Inform everyone to fall back!"
The captain nodded and began doing so. General Madine gave Ackbar a glance.
"Is something wrong, sir?" he asked.
Ackbar nodded. "The Star Destroyers are not returning fire at us. But they are definitely not trying to contact us and ask for a truce. They must be up to something!"
Madine looked out the bridge's viewport to see the immobile Star Destroyers. Suddenly, a huge object jumped out of hyperspace. After doing a double take, Madine gazed at the large, narrow, almost gun-shaped superweapon as it came into the system.
Madine gulped. "Yes, admiral. They were up to something..."
* * *
Luke barely managed to leap to the side in time as the bull rancor charged towards him. The beast somehow had predicted this and immediately turned its huge body around to face its prey. Luke thought frantically for a plan. Suddenly, he remembered what Qui-Gon had told him: he was immortal in this dimension. He stopped where he was and allowed the beast to charge towards him again.
What he was expecting did not happen. Instead of going right through him like Qui-Gon's lightsaber, the rancor sent Luke flying across the arena. He slammed into a wall, prompting mirthful laughter from the crowd. Luke struggled to get up, but the beast used its nails to pin him to the wall. Its solid black eyes glowered menacingly at him.
Suddenly, to Luke's utmost surprise, the rancor spoke. "Had enough already?" it asked, growling something similar to a laugh. "It would be a pity if have. I was looking so forward to fighting the son of the Chosen One."
The bull rancor wrapped its fingers around Luke and held him up closer to its face. "Perhaps you're not as great as I predicted."
The beast then turned around and threw Luke into the opposite wall. The crowd jeered at the defeated Jedi. Too weak to get up, Luke simply sat there against the wall. His eyes widened when he saw the bull rancor magically shapeshift into a humanoid man a foot taller than him, with tattered robes covering him.
The man raised his arms into the air and shouted, "Once again, another so-called 'great' warrior has fallen to Lord Animus!"
He then shape-shifted into a four-armed, large-eared gundark. Its maw curled up into a vicious grin as the crowd chanted. "Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!"
The gundark rose its huge forearms, ready to deliver the final blow on Luke. Still believing what Qui-Gon had told him, Luke simply braced himself.
Animus brought his arms down and everything went black.
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