STAR WARS: Gray Jedi

Chapter 26

TORMIR. OUTER RIM.

Destin ran desperately, with incredible speed, barely dodging the AT-AT's canon shots until he came to a clearing within the forest. He stopped, his lungs on fire. He took deep breaths and turned to face Rovan. He stood right in front of Rovan's gigantic metal beast of death, calm and resolute. The war-machine stared at him with that inanimate, lifeless face, aimed and ready to fire. Destin waited. He heard Rovan's voice once again.

"Sacrificing yourself for your friends, huh?" Rovan exclaimed. "Noble, but it won't make any difference. They'll all be dead eventually; today or tomorrow, it doesn't matter. They and all their filth, will die! Just like you! Goodbye Jedi! This is for my mates!"

It was as if everything slowed down. Destin could see the blaster canons as the AT's head aimed right for him. He could hear the slow and deep hum of its plasma round rising as it charged to fire. It was then, Bahda Han's words echoed once more. 

'Trust in the Force.'

Destin closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. His breathing calmed, and his body eased.  Everything became silent in his mind. Then he raised his hand, palm facing outwards towards the AT-AT. He reached out to the Force.

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Inside the AT-AT cockpit, Rovan looked upon the arrogant Jedi in front of him and relished in this moment. His time for vengeance finally came, and he could not have asked for a better instrument of death. The AT-AT's canons would slice the Jedi to pieces and he would revel in this boy's death. Rovan aimed the canons and pulled the trigger, but they didn't fire. He looked at the controls, bemused. He pulled the trigger again. Nothing. Frustrated, he pulled the trigger again, again, again, and again, but still nothing.

"What?" He cried. "WHAT!?? NO! NO! NOOO!!!! WHAT"S GOING ON!!!??"

Then, he felt the cockpit begin to shake. At first it was subtle, like a tremor, but then the shaking grew violent, frightening. The entire cockpit shook in a wild fury as the controls began to spark and burst into small flames. Rovan panicked.

"WHAT IS THIS? WHAT"S HAPPENING!??"

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Destin focused all his strength and concentration on the AT, grabbing it with the Force. With all the strength his mind could conjure, Destin slowly lifted it from the ground. The bottom of the AT-AT's metal feet left the dirt floor as the war-machine was raised into the air. The weight of it was unimaginable, causing Destin extreme mental and physical strain. Destin extended his other arm to get further grip on it. Legs nearly spent and arms shaking, Destin raised the machine higher and higher, its mechanical legs now dangling in the air as if it were some dead animal hung up as some prize. The pain grew within his mind, but Destin didn't let up. His head ached, but he fought it. His nose bleeded, but he ignored it. Destin cried out as he suspended the AT-AT in the air with the Force.

Destin heard Rovan's voice echo in the forest from on the broadcast system as he screamed and shouted bloody murder. 

"STOP!!! STOP!!! DAMN YOU!!!DAMN YOU JEDI SCUM!!!!"

Destin rose the AT-AT to the point he couldn't hold it any longer. He thought to himself, 'Time to finish this.' Destin crunched his fingers as if he were squeezing a nut shell in his hand. The body of the AT-AT squished inward into itself, it's outer shell morphing into a crater of crushed metal. Destin squeezed his fingers further, crushing the AT once again with the Force. Its legs tore off, sending them falling to the ground. Finally, Destin crunched his fingers one last time, balling his hands into fists, mushing the head of the machine. Then, with a sweep of his arms downwards, the entirety of what remained of the devastated war machine was thrown with incredible force to the ground, exploding into a massive heap of flames and black smoke.

Destin fell to his knees, his legs given out beneath him. He was weak. Everything was fuzzy as his vision began to tunnel. All he could see was the blurry orange hue of searing flames and the mesh of a black cloud of smoke. With all his strength gone, Destin fell to his side. His head thumped hard onto the dirt. Then, a searing light struck his eyes as he saw a ship hover above him. A rope unraveled from it's underbelly and he saw the end of its line land beside him.  Everything went dark as he swore he heard Neema's voice cry out to him.

"Destin!!! Destin!!!..."

Then, darkness...