Star Wars: Heir to the Sith (Part 1) (#Wattys2018 shortlist)

Chapter 31: "You won't feel a thing, Princess."

His face softened.

"I'm sorry."

He put the device to her skin and she heard a faint rush of air, but felt nothing. Then, working quickly, he stripped her of the royal insignia that she wore on her shoulder, and disposed of her personal affects. He had just finished when one of his men emerged from the darkness.

"Colonel - the TIE," he said. "It's here."

"Is the heavy blaster ready?" Arnaud asked.

"Yes sir."

"Well done. Get into your positions."

Tayre watched as the men vanished into the dark, leaving her alone. Above them, the sound of the TIE approached with an unhurried menace. It took all her effort to turn her head to see the fearsome shape approach over the treetops.

She followed it as it tilted over the clearing and killed the silence of the evening with a sudden burst of fire from its cannons. Tayre was bathed in green light as the treetops burst into flame, sending a hundred shrieking creatures up into the night sky.

And then the TIE was gone, carried out of her vision with a sudden burst of acceleration.

"Is everyone okay?" Arnaud asked from the shadows.

Three voices replied in the affirmative.

"Hold position," the colonel said. "The TIE's just trying to flush us out."

The burning trees gave her enough light to see. On her right, opposite the cairn, she identified the two crewmen who manned the heavy cannon on its support, its broad muzzle aimed skyward, waiting for the TIE to return. Her view was obscured by a sudden cloud of smoke that billowed over the clearing with an unnatural speed.

At the same time, the sound of the TIE filled her ears.

Tayre blinked as the smoke stung her eyes. And then she saw it. The figure in black, striding from the smoke with a slight limp. She tried to scream, to shout a warning, but her nerves were subdued and she could make no sound.

The black figure was upon the two men with the heavy cannon before they had perceived it. Tayre watched as a blazing red line extended from the figure's hand and plunged it into the chest of the nearest man. It impaled him instantaneously and struck the second man standing immediately behind, giving him only enough time to cry out as his blaster fell from his lifeless hand.

Both men fell sideways to the ground. The black figure turned its back on them, already forgetting them as it confronted its next enemy.

Tayre willed all her hate at the figure. She screamed in her mind, condemning it with as much anger as she had ever possessed.

Her emotions were shared. The third man of the security team leapt out of his hiding place and fired without aiming. The first shot went wide. The second stunned Tayre as the figure's red saber moved a fraction to intercept it, deflecting it off into the darkness.

The figure retreated as the man continued firing. It ducked into the smoke and danced as the blaster bolts failed to hit their target. Suddenly, the figure spun and reached out with its hand.

From the two dead men near the heavy cannon a small object flew into its palm. A blaster.

The figure whirled and twisted wildly. The red saber came up and intercepted a bolt that would otherwise have struck it in the chest. The force of the blast made it stagger, but then it raised its gun hand and fired three times in quick succession.

The Farsalt security man took the first bolt in the shoulder, spinning him around. The subsequent two shots propelled him face down into the earth, dead.

Where was the colonel? Tayre wondered. Why hadn't he intervened?

Tayre watched as the killer turned its attention toward her. She felt the person's eyes lock on to her own, even behind the black metallic visor.

"It is time," the voice laboured the words.

Then the killer strode toward her.

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This shows how even simple Force powers can give big advantages on battlefields. Neerada using the Force to drive the smoke before her to hide her attack is a nice use of a staple Force ability, and it is these angles of difference that I like to explore - what other tricks could you do with Force abilities and how could you use them in interesting and novel ways?