Star Wars: The Truce at Bakura by Tyers Kathy

Author:Tyers, Kathy [Tyers, Kathy]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780307796271
Publisher: Spectra
Published: 2011-06-28T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

16

One alien raised a paddle. A thin silver beam shot out of its narrow point. Confidently Luke stepped toward the beam and swung his saber into it. It didn’t deflect. It only bent slightly. Before he could react, the beam swept through him. It left his midsection tingling. Relieved that it didn’t do worse, he adjusted his grip on the lightsaber. The second alien moved out from behind the first and added his beam, aiming low, shooting for his legs. The first shot hadn’t injured him noticeably, but a second might. He pivoted aside, setting one brown Ssi-ruu in front of the other. One beam snapped off. The other tracked him, closing.

Big Blue stepped to one side and projected a beam down the room’s central aisle, halving Luke’s space.

“No!” Gaeri raised up onto her elbows and shot at the blue alien. Her blaster bolt missed. The alien trained its beamer at her. Silver light illumined the hollow of her throat. She gave a little cry, crumpled, and lay still.

Luke charged the small, V-crested brown and swung his saber at its mysterious weapon. The Ssi-ruu lost a foreclaw with his paddle-beamer. Fluting wildly, he spun away from Luke.

“Don’t!” Dev wrung his hands. “Don’t harm them!”

“What has he done to Gaeriel?”

“She’s not harmed. She’ll recover.”

But she wasn’t moving. Unless Luke killed or disarmed them all, they’d abduct her. The larger brown stomped toward him, muscular legs pumping like pistons. Even if he destroyed its weapon, it could physically crush him or Gaeri. Luke flung the saber in a long spinning arc. The big brown Ssi-ruu fell headless as the saber spun back into Luke’s hand. “Stop!” Weeping, Dev dashed toward the fallen alien.

Big Blue projected his beam through Luke again … or, rather, where Luke had been. Luke somersaulted over the beam, thrust out a hand, and tried to wrest the weapon away.

That pulled the Ssi-ruu’s forelimb toward him. The beam focused at the top of Luke’s right leg.

It collapsed, nerveless. Staggering, Luke tried to jump backward. He struggled to balance, to regain full control of the Force. The weapon scrambled nerve centers, then. Gaeriel was probably conscious. “Artoo, drag her out of here!” he cried.

As the little droid rolled toward her, both aliens pressed their advantage. They swept forward, backing him between beams against an upturned table. He caught a whiff of their weird acrid odor.

He leaped left-legged almost into one alien’s arms and swept up the saber. As he did, he relaxed deep into the Force and spun without thought. The hum of his saber didn’t change pitch as it sliced through the blue giant’s weapon. Big Blue dropped both halves and backed away, whistling energetically.

One more weapon down. Artoo reached Gaeri, seized her by the leather waistband of her belt, and dragged her toward the front door. Luke hopped crookedly onto the nearest orange tabletop. His numb right leg twisted as his full weight landed on it. That’ll probably hurt, later. He had to use the Force to stay upright.

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