Star Wars Tyranny on Teth

Chapter 26

Dev eyed the Jedi. He stood still while he considered his options.

There was only one way in or out of the room and Rhodes was standing in that entrance so running was not an option. Rhodes also came alone so there was no opportunity to use hostages against him.

Dev's emotions were scrambled. His hate was beginning to turn to fear.

For the first time in his military career, he was afraid for his life. In the past, he had reinforcements and backup plans to rely on but this time he was on his own.

The eye contact was broken between the two when Dev looked down at panel of buttons on his wrist.

"What kind of tricks are you going to throw at me this time? Or have you exhausted all your cowardly tactics?" Rhodes asked, breaking the silence.

Dev scoffed and a grin spread across his face. "Not quite all of them."

As he said this, Dev tapped a button on his wrist. The ceiling above Rhodes began to rumble. The metal surface magnetized and took hold of the weapons on Rhodes' belt.

His lightsaber and blaster pistol flew from his belt attaching to the ceiling. Rhode swiped at his saber as it was ripped away but was unable to react in time.

His eyes met those of Dev who was watching his plan unfold.

Dev turned to the super tactical droid next to him saying, "Kauri, dispose of him."

The tall droid nodded and removed a blaster attached to its back. Kauri took aim at Rhodes and opened fire.

The Jedi dove forward avoiding the shots. The bolts struck the ground where he was standing leaving black carbon scoring on the floor.

Rhodes jumped to his feet and ran toward his adversaries while Dev ignited his electrostaff. The Force flowed through Rhodes, accentuating his speed as he closed in on the enemy.

Kauri sent another volley in the Jedi's direction. Seeing the next round of fire, Rhodes leaped in the air avoiding the attack. His leap took him over the head of Dev who took a clumsy swing with his staff that wasn't even close.

Rhodes came down on Kauri, sending a kick to the droid's metal chest. The droid went down, its blaster skidding across the floor until coming to rest under one of the computer terminals. The head of the old droid smashed into the floor, shattering upon impact.

After landing on the droid, Rhodes spun around to see the purple electricity of Dev's electrostaff coming toward him.

He ducked, narrowly avoiding Dev's attack. Rhodes quickly spun around on the ball of his left foot sending a kick into the calf of Dev. The man fell to his knees coming eye to eye with Rhodes.

The two scrambled to their feet and each braced for an attack.

Once Rhodes realized that Dev was not attacking, he took a few steps back to compose himself. Dev did the same adjusting his grip on his electrostaff.

"So master Jedi, let's see how good you really are without your lightsaber."

Dev ran at Rhodes, electrostaff at the ready. The Jedi remained patient waiting until the last second to grab the wrist of the lunging Dev. Rhodes pulled the man's wrist past him, sending Dev running by.

While Dev recovered, Rhodes reached out through the Force and tried to retrieve his lightsaber. The hilt slowly moved away from the ceiling as Rhodes strained to separate his weapon from the powerful magnet.

His grip on the lightsaber loosened as Rhodes lost his concentration. The hilt reattached itself to the ceiling once Rhodes sensed danger.

Dev had recovered, swinging at Rhodes' head, causing him to lose his focus. The Jedi ducked out of the way, rolling backward to avoid the attack. He scrambled to his feet as Dev began to laugh.