Enneagram Battles!
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Darth Vader vs. R2D2
The events in this story take place in an alternate reality -- where Order 66 did not happen. Anakin Skywalker is presumed dead after his cataclysmic battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Jedi Knights are in disarray, and a mysterious ebony-cloaked figure is said to be hunting them down, one by one.
"Someone's killing Jedi Knights."
"Paranoid, you are! Not even a Sith Lord could deceive us so easily, Master Windu."
"Then how do you explain the deaths? They were all stabbed by a lightsaber."
"Confusion, deception, mistrust -- the dark side has invaded our ranks!" answered Yoda.
"What? How is that possible?"
"Weak we are ... easily influenced. Even the Jedi council is vulnerable ... sealed, our fate is."
"We must do something," Mace said, biting his lower lip and reflexively gripping his lightsaber, which was buckled to his belt.
"In the future, hope remains. Contact Senator Amidala, we must."
***
Jar Jar Binks finished brushing his teeth. He looked rather delicate in his white flowing nightgown -- he preferred the feminine look because it felt better on his body. Besides, he remained single ... he didn't have to worry about anyone seeing him in female nightwear.
After shutting off the bathroom lights, Jar Jar walked over to his dresser, and looked in the mirror. He admired his Gungan looks, and wondered when he would be able to go home and find a female to mate with.
A low thud shook Jar Jar from his reverie. He quickly turned his head and looked around the room. The dresser lamp in his bedroom provided dim lighting -- there were many long shadows on the wall and ceiling.
"Issa anybody dere?" Jar Jar asked, with voice trembling. After glancing around the room a couple more times, he slowly turned back to the dresser, and shut off the light.
A low hissing sound filled the room, like air being released from a pressure valve when a freighter lands after a long journey through hyperspace. A second hiss followed -- the sound of air whooshing when a permacrete door quickly opens or closes.
Jar Jar quickly looked towards the door, and saw that it remained closed.
"Whosa there?" Jar Jar yelled as he reached back for the dresser lamp. His hand ran into a cold, metallic surface.
Jar Jar swallowed hard, and slowly turned. The hissing continued, and Jar Jar laid eyes on a dark, shadowy figure standing in front of his dresser.
Jar Jar began to tremble violently, and step back. He tripped over his feet, and fell on his butt. His eyes nervously took in the tall ebony figure standing over him.
The ebony figure stepped forward, and said, "Jar Jar."
Jar Jar's expression changed from fear to confusion. Although he did not recognize the deep, powerful voice of the ebony figure, there was something in the way this stranger had said his name ... something that reminded Jar Jar of....
"Annie?" Jar Jar asked tentatively.
The ebony figure ignited a crimson lightsaber, and swung. His swing was quick, decisive, and sure. In a split-second, Jar Jar Binks was dead -- his head permanently separated from his body.
***
Obi-Wan was convinced that Anakin was alive, and behind the murder of Jar Jar Binks. The council, however, did not agree ... they speculated that the Sith were attempting to deceive the Jedi into thinking that Anakin had survived and had embraced the dark side. The possibility of the chosen one becoming a Sith Lord would only add to the fear and confusion afflicting the Jedi -- the council reasoned that Anakin could not have survived the fall into the lava pit.
Obi-Wan, however, thought differently. If anybody could've survived, it would've been Anakin.
***
That night, Ki-Adi Mundi walked the halls of the Jedi temple on Coruscant. He had just visited the Jedi archives, attempting to gain a new perspective that his binary brain could consider and process. He had been unsuccessful, and now played the complex situation in his mind as he walked.
A hissing sound from behind caused Ki-Adi to quickly turn and ignite his blue lightsaber. He reached out with the force and scanned the area where the sound had emanated, and found nothing. He turned and was greeted with a crimson lightsaber to the chest.
Darth Vader pulled the sword from Ki-Adi Mundi's heart. Ki-Adi clutched his chest, and collapsed -- staring at his murderer as he fell.
"So, Obi-Wan was right," said Mace Windu, who appeared from behind a pillar.
Vader turned to face the Jedi Master. Mace continued: "We were too late to save Ki-Adi Mundi, but that's it. The killing stops here, Anakin."
"Anakin is dead. I am Darth Vader," yelled the Sith Lord as he raised his lightsaber and charged Mace Windu. Mace deflected the blow, and parried with Darth Vader, before locking into a battle of strength.
Mace stared into Vader's mask and hissed, "I'm not alone ... Anakin."
Vader through Mace to the floor. Suddenly, four more lightsabers ignited. Vader turned to see four more Jedi Masters approaching.
"You will never stop me. The power of the dark side fuels me!" he said as he stretched his hand out. The four Masters were knocked violently off their feet.
Vader turned back to Mace Windu, who was still on the ground. "I don't need to kill you now. Your fear will make you weak, and then I will strike." Vader turned away, and jumped several stories up, landing on the launch level of the Jedi Temple.
As he strode confidently towards a ship, he tripped and fell. A wire hung taunt six inches above the floor -- Vader didn't see the tripwire. He pushed himself up and stretched out with the force -- he sensed no Jedis nearby.
Vader reached for his lightsaber (which had slipped from his grasp when he fell), and a an electric charge shot through the air, striking his weapon. When Vader finally retrieved it, he saw that it was now useless.
Vader could sense the Jedi Masters drawing closer. He knew now wasn't the time to fight them all at once. He ran towards a ship. As he climbed into the cockpit, Vader thought he heard a chirping sound in the launch bay, almost like....
A droid! Vader slammed his fist on the ship's console in frustration. He knew he had to act quickly, but he was too late. As he attempted to lift off, his ship wouldn't move -- the landing gear was held fast by ground clamps.
Mace Windu and the other Masters surrounded the ship Vader was in. "There's no escape," yelled Mace over the whine of the struggling engines trying to break free of the clamps.
Finally, Vader shut the engines down, and opened the cockpit. The anger in him was like a blast furnace.
Mace Windu approached, lightsaber drawn. Vader sensed he was about to die, and that only increased his anger and frustration. All of a sudden, Vader convulsed, and an intense force wave emanated from his body. Mace and the other Jedis were instantly killed. The ship Vader sat in was torn to pieces, immediately destroyed. Several ships within the vicinity were also scrapped by the powerful force explosion.
Darth Vader crashed to the floor, sprawled on his hands and knees -- the epicenter of destruction in the Jedi Temple launch bay.
R2D2 watched these events unfold from behind a transparisteel viewport. He had done his job -- he had disarmed Darth Vader, and prevented his escape -- but that wasn't enough.