Chapter 28 (The Battle for Naboo's Heart)

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Location: The far edge of the Great Grass Plains, on the planet Naboo!

And the battle raged on!
Gradually, the number of bodies in motion began to decrease, while the field became increasingly littered with lifeless grey mounds and unmoving armoured lumps.
Every once in a while, a Biot would break the line of Jedi protectors, and lunge at Luke. He reacted by disappearing in a flash and reappearing, almost instantly, in a nearby location out of danger. It gave the others a few extra seconds to take care of their own foe, so they could then neutralize Luke's attacker.

Jaina just finished "nutrilizing" such an opponent, when the force warned her of lethal danger. She instinctively ducked her head, allowing a swinging Beskar blade to pass above unhindered. She lept forward while spinning to face the blade's wielder.

The helmet that faced her, was one she was familiar with: Goran Bevin
Her heart sank at this realization.

A killer, Goran may be, but he was also a man with a personality that exuded honesty and fullness of character.
While Boba Fett had been a cold husk of a person, Bevine was complete of heart.

"Don't make me fight you, Goran!" She said to him.
Recognizing the Jedi that he had almost decapitated, he paused and removed his helmet, dropping it to the ground.
At seeing her face with his own eyes of flesh and blood, he may have let the slightest trace of regret slip through. He had enjoyed the time the two of them spent training together on Mandalore. Nonetheless, he had the ability to live in the "now"; treasuring every moment, even the ones spent with "the enemy", while at the same time being able to destroy that enemy on the field of battle.

"Hello Aruetii" He said with a genuine smile and an accompanying wink. Then, something in his eyes changed. No! Nothing changed. Something turned off! A conscience? Restraint? Whatever the case, in that moment he ceased being a reasoning, sentient being, and became a beast that knew nothing but violence and aggression.

With a roar, he reached behind his back and unsheathed a second Beskar sabre, and then... He attacked.

She should have known what to expect. She had fought Bevin while he was in this state before, but his ferocity and total abandon still took her by surprise

One moment he was using both sabres like  blacksmith hammers, pounding them rhythmically against her violet blade with overhead blows, and the next he was spinning his whole body like a deadly hurricane.

Jaina was genuinely frightened. Not for herself! She was never frightened for herself! Her body was no longer hers, but belonged to the helpless child that was completely reliant on her for life and protection.

Between Bevin's senseless attack, and Jaina's own maternal instinct, her distraction would become lethal if she didn't centre herself, and quickly.

Forget centring herself! She couldn't fight like a good wholesome Jedi! Rules of engagement, the force; these things could not compensate for the sheer animalistic wrath she faced. She needed to mirror her opponent, in order to defeat him.
So she gave up on "finding her centre" and in turn channeled the raw maternal instinct that had previously threatened to distract her, and in turn used it to fuel her own savageness.

Not far away, Ben was becoming overwhelmed be a horde of 6 Yuuzhan Vong biots, and was one mistake away from annihilation. Even if he blocked every strike perfectly and parried with flawless skill, he would soon tire out. When he did, they would surely rip him asunder.

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