The Mandalorian way

Of fathers and sons

The two swung high. Blades connecting with a violent clash as the two hit. Pulling back the two continued to circle each other. Jumping, Ephraim tried to land a high strike on Ezra. Dropping to one knee and spinning he dodged the attack. "To slow!" Jumping up he kicked Ephriam in the side of the head. As he slanted forward from the force of the kick Ezra spun around and pushed him back with the force. Watching the older man slide across the floor Ezra readied his weapon.

Rushing forward with force enhanced speed they clashed their sabers together a second time. The speed behind the impact sent Ephraim sliding back a second time. Again, at a distance, the two tried to stare the other down. Running at each other Ezra jumped, landing behind Ephraim he pulled a fuel cell from one of the tall racks and threw it at him.

Sensing danger he whipped himself around in time to see the fuel cell flying at him. With widened eyes, he returned it to Ezra with equal speed. Using the force to dash out of the way Ephraim watched the cell effortlessly rip through the bay door. Not a moment after it disappeared through the door the building rocked. An orange light filtered into the storage area from the hole in the bay door. "That was my ship you just blew up."

He refocused on Ezra after his brief statement. The two crossed blades at blinding speed as both utilized force enhanced speed. The large room was illuminated by the red and yellow sabers. And occasionally, when the two sabers met, orange. Maintaining the barrage of attacks Ezra yelled out as he caught Ephraim's blade with his own. "You should have stayed dead!" Deactivating his upper blade Ezra ducked under Ephraim's as he fell forward.

Spinning around he slashed Ephraim in the back. "Ah! Damn it!" Seeing the opportunity to end him Ezra raised his saber high, ready to kill him. Sensing danger Ephraim threw his hand out, hurling Ezra across the room. Hearing a thud as he hit the far wall Ephraim got to his feet. Turning around he saw the long and deep gouge in the durasteel floor where Ezra's lightsaber dug in.

Following the trail to Ezra, he narrowed his eyes when he saw he was gone. Jumping up onto the catwalk he jumped down from earlier he surveyed the area, looking for his wayward son. A quiet thud, nearly masked by the winds of Krownest and his heavy breathing came from behind him. It was followed by a slight swaying from the cable suspended catwalk. "Ezra, please see reason! I couldn't beat Vader! You, your Master! Neither of you could beat Vader! He is unstoppable, relentless! He's barely human, more machine than man! Something like that can't be beaten!"

Ezra didn't respond to his fathers' last attempt at negotiation. He leveled his hand at him. Ephraim looked into his sons' eyes and found not the blue he was expecting, but a cold, callous disregard for him that nearly concealed a wild look of hate. Letting loose a massive volley of lightning Ezra narrowed his eyes as he watched it fly towards Ephraim. Raising his saber he blocked the attack. He tried to walk closer to Ezra, hoping he cease the attack if he got too close. Instead of getting closer, he found he was steadily getting pushed back by the attack.

He knew he was overpowered by his son. He knew he needed to come up with a new plan, get Ezra somewhere he had the advantage. Looking around him he saw a large fuel tank to the right of him, standing as tall as the room they were fighting in. Quickly checking behind him he saw a door. Not knowing where it went he weighed his options. If it leads somewhere he could get the advantage over Ezra it was worth an effort. If it happened to be a storage closet he would be doomed.

Deciding to take the change he reached out with the force and ripped the catwalks support cables. As the catwalk dropped several feet due to the loss of several cables Ezra staggered, ceasing his attack. Using the force he ran through the door and found a long hallway leading to a duracrete staircase. Continuing to use the force he ran up the staircase. Blowing the door at the top of the staircase open he dashed out and found himself on a narrow fueling platform.

Running along the platform he looked for a way out. He stopped at the far end of the narrow platform. "Damn it, I cant make the jump." He huffed out as he looked down and saw the length of the fall. "Yeah, nowhere to run now old-timer!" Turning around he found Ezra walking towards him, lightsaber in hand. Striking his stance he noticed Ezra wince as he stuck his starting stance.

The two ran at each other again. Ezra tried to land a hit on Ephraim's left side. His attack was deflected, making the two slant to the side, slicing two pieces of railing off the platform. Ezra tried to straiten himself out to attack Ephraim. But the older man still hopped up on painkillers got in position faster.

Ezra watched the red blade glance across his face. Unable to move fast enough to avoid the attack. He cried out as he dropped to one knee. A fresh new, red and angry burn ran across the left side of his face and whited out his left eye. Throwing his right hand out only to get it lobbed off past the elbow before he could throw Ephraim down the platform. He screamed again, letting the pain fuel him he got up onto his feet and check slammed into Ephraim.

Using the momentum from Ezra's attack he spun himself around and slashed Ezra's stomach. Using the force to pull his lightsaber towards them at blinding speed, Ezra ducked. Ephraim saw the yellow blades spinning and flying towards him. Throwing his hand out he hurled the weapon flying through a window back inside the depot. Not a moment later the entire facility rocked as a massive explosion blew half the building out of existence.

Before he pulled his attention from the explosion he got punched in the face. This time, he was hit with Ezra's lighting. Sending him sliding across the platform as he writhed on the floor.

Suddenly, the attack relented. Looking towards Ezra he saw him bent over coughing up blood. Jumping to his feet he rushed him and began slashing. A vertical swing left a deep wound from his hip to his shoulder. Turning the blade he slashed his throat. He stopped when Ezra tilted side to side, slumped down, and bounced off the railing, and hit the floor with a dull thump.

He stood there, panting, the heat from the freshly destroyed depot robbed Krownest of its normal bitter cold. Looking down at his dead son he shook his head. "I'm sorry it came to this Ezra." He sighed as he walked away. Leaving Ezra where he died.

                       A/N

Hello, sorry about this one coming out a bit later than normal. I know it's a lot longer than any other at 1194 words before for the note. That aside I hope it didn't drag on for you. I know for me it took a while to get it here and I'm still thinking it's so so on quality. Either way, that's all I wanted to say about this chapter. Have a good and or night and may the force be with you.

Ian.