Amber woke up in a dark room. There were lights but they weren’t very bright. She sat on a bench and pacing back and forth in front of her was Mr. Tall, Dark, and Creepy. He stopped and stared at her behind his mask when he noticed she was awake.
“Why did you capture me?” Amber asked. Her wrists were held together behind her back by a set of cuffs. Her fingers were numb and the cuffs were uncomfortable.
“That is for me to know and you to find out.” He answered simply.
Amber gasped as she realized what his plan was. He wanted Seraphina. That was his reason for being on Yavin 4. So that meant that… “I’m the bait.” Amber whispered.
The man nodded. “You’re not as dumb as you look.”
Amber scowled at him. “You’re one to talk; you wear all black and a mask. Are you so ugly that you have to hide your face beneath the mask or are you so handsome that you’re afraid that people won’t take you seriously and fear you without it?” The air left Amber’s lungs and her throat began to tighten. Her lungs felt like they were being crushed and she couldn’t get any air.
He stepped closer to her while she struggled to breathe. “You know nothing about me.” He got closer. “I would mind my own business if I were you, Amber Leia Solo. I am more powerful than you know.” Spots began to appear in her vision and her lungs began to burn from her lack of oxygen. “I know more about you then you realize.”
The tightness around her throat faded away and she sucked in air. Her lungs slowly began to feel normal again. She glared at the Sith. “Tell me, Mr. Sith-“
“Do not call me that.” He hissed. “My name is Amaro.”
“Fine, Amaro.” Amber sighed in exasperation. “Why did you capture me if you could have gone after Seraphina on Yavin 4?”
She swore he was smiling under the mask. “Why should I chase after my prey when she’ll come to me?”
“What do you mean?” Amber raised an eyebrow. Amaro was probably tired of her talking and she was careful to ask her questions.
“There is too much Skywalker in Seraphina. She will willingly come to rescue you and…the other Jedi that we caught.”
“Nathan?” Amber asked, her voice rising in fear for her friend.
“Yes, that one. Seraphina will come shortly to free you. And yet, she will have to make a decision. She will either escape safely while you and Nathan remain aboard my ship, or she can choose to remain on my ship and you and Nathan will get to leave, or her final decision will be to fight her way out and you and Nathan will surely die.”
“Seraphina isn’t stupid enough to stay onboard this ship or leave Nathan and I behind.” Amber growled.
“No, she isn’t.” Amaro agreed. “But she will submit herself to me if it means you and your friend will be able to escape mostly unharmed.”
Speaking of harm…Amber checked her ankle by moving it, but quickly stopped when pain rode up her leg. She winced slightly at the ache. Amaro tilted his head slightly and then focused on her ankle.
“It appears to be broken or sprained.” He stated the obvious.
Amber rolled her eyes. “Obviously,”
For the next few hours, Amaro continued to pace in her cell. Her fingers had long ago gone numb from lack of blood. She wiggled them to get blood moving again but it didn’t work. Why Amaro didn’t just leave her cell, she didn’t know. It was unsettling to have him pace around in her prison.
Why is he still here?
Amaro couldn’t stop pacing. The need to do something was too great. He could feel Amber’s stare on his back as she watched him walk back and forth. He could feel her curiosity through the Force.
Should I tell her? He thought. No. I don’t need to give her any ideas.
Amaro kept pacing, ignoring Amber’s gaze. He did not need to worry about what young Solo did. He could just leave now, but he didn’t. Perhaps he could get some information out of her. Amaro stopped pacing and stood in front of Amber. Her amber colored eyes watched him closely.
“What are you doing?” she asked. Amaro could feel her fear through the Force. Her heart was beating faster and faster. Good. Her fear would help him find any information that could be helpful.
He extended a hand towards her head and her eyes widened. Amaro entered her head much easier this time than before. He breezed through old memories, searching for anything that could tell him about her family, past, and the Resistance. He stopped by one memory as he watched it play out. He could feel Amber tremble at the fact that he had stopped to watch this memory. That only made Amaro want to watch it even more.
A five year old girl ran across the carpeted floor. Her black hair stopped at her shoulders and the ends were curled. Her amber eyes were sparkling with fascination as she ran into an office.
Five-year-old Amber Solo stopped next to the desk where a middle-aged man sat, his black hair falling into his dark eyes and covering most of the faded white scar across his face as he looked over a datapad. A black cross guard lightsaber hilt sat on the desk and Amaro could easily tell that young Amber was resisting the urge to grab it and run.
The man didn’t look up as Amber pressed closer. “What are you looking at?” Amber asked, disturbing the peace that had existed in the room only moments before.
The man looked up. “Just Jedi stuff.” The man sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. He yawned. “I have to prepare for tomorrow’s presentation.”
“What are you doing tomorrow, Daddy?”
Amaro tensed at the word ‘daddy’. That meant this man was Ben Solo. He had once been Kylo Ren but had turned from darkness; from the power.
“Working,” her father sighed. He furrowed his brow as he stared at her. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”
The girl smiled up at him. “I should be…but I’m not.”
Ben groaned. “Amber, you need to sleep.”
“Why?” she asked.
“You and I have a busy day tomorrow. You’re going to spend the day with Aunt Rey and Daddy has to work.”
“You don’t like Aunt Rey, do you?”
Ben frowned and picked up his daughter. “What do you mean? Of course I like Aunt Rey.”
Amber shook her head. “Uncle Finn, Uncle Poe, and BB-8 told me that you didn’t like her. Because she gave you your scar and because she’s more powerful.”
Ben smiled slightly. “It’s true that I didn’t like her in the past, but I like her now. She’s nice and she loves you.”
Amber glanced around the room before her eyes settled on the lightsaber hilt. She picked it up and showed it to Ben. “What’s this?”
Ben took the hilt out of her tiny hand and placed it on the desk. “That’s my lightsaber.” He set her down and stood up. “Come on, let’s get you into bed.”
Amber followed her father to her bedroom. She climbed into the purple bed and got under the covers while her father tucked her in. “There we go.” He said, placing a kiss on her forehead.
Before he could leave, Amber asked, “Will you check for Tusken Raiders under my bed?”
Ben smirked. “There are no Tusken Raiders under your bed.” The look that Amber gave him said that she wouldn’t go to sleep unless he checked. Ben crouched down and lifted the blanket from the side of the bed. “No Raiders.” He said. He held up a stuffed Ewok and handed it to her. “I found this.”
Amber smiled and wrapped her arms around the Ewok doll. “Goodnight, Daddy.”
“Goodnight, Amber.” He whispered as he shut the door.
Amaro returned to going through Amber’s mind. He found more memories from her childhood though they seemed a lot more depressing than the first one. Finally, Amaro stopped in front of one that looked interesting.
Amber, now ten, yelled at her father who had his back turned to her. “You killed innocent people!”
“Amber! That was the old me; that was Kylo Ren. I have tried to make up for what I’ve done by killing Snoke and ending the First Order.”
“That doesn’t make up for all the people you killed, now does it?” Amber scowled. “Why didn’t you tell me that you did that?”
“You were too young to understand.”
“Too young? Why wait until I’m ten? Nobody, not even Aunt Rey or Grandma Leia, told me about your past. I assumed you had a boring history, but now I see that they didn’t want me knowing about how you killed everybody who opposed you.”
A young woman appeared in the room where Ben and his daughter were arguing. “Ben? I thought you wanted to spar?” She stopped when she saw an angry Amber and even angrier Ben Solo. “Should I wait?”
Ben shook his head. “No, Rey, we can go ahead and spar. I need to let my anger out?”
“Without breaking any more furniture?” Rey asked hopefully.
Amber rolled her eyes. “You don’t want to talk to me? Fine! You back away from a fight when you know you can’t win.”
“Amber,” Ben’s voice was dangerously calm. “We will discuss this later.”
Rey looked back and forth between father and daughter. “Is this about how I showed your daughter how to rewire circuits to make them explode?”
Ben whirled around to face his cousin who was several inches shorter than he was. “You did what?!”
Rey looked away. “Never mind.”
“Amber, stay here until I get back.” With that, Ben and Rey left the room.
Amber blinked back tears. “Right. Like I’m gonna wait for a monster.” She looked around until she noticed an old ship sitting outside her house. She knew that her aunt and father had worked on it for the last few weeks in a desperate attempt to get it working. She climbed into the ship and settled in the pilot’s chair. She flipped several switches and knew that her father would regret teaching her how to fly. “Goodbye, Daddy.” She whispered before taking off into the sky, leaving her home behind as she jumped into hyperspace.
Amaro withdrew from Amber’s mind and watched as the girl before him began to cry. Amaro knew that he had reopened old wounds from her childhood.
Amber swallowed hard before saying, “Don’t go through my head again.”
“Your father didn’t tell you everything about yourself, did he?” Amaro asked, trying to make her curious at the information he held.
“What do you mean?” Amber glanced up suspiciously but Amaro knew that she was interested.
“You are Force-sensitive like your cousin and father.”
Amber’s mouth opened and closed as she searched for words. “I-I’m not Force-sensitive!” she denied.
“Very well,” Amaro said. “Believe what you will.” He left the room, leaving Amber alone with her thoughts and that new bit of information.
Three hours later, Amaro stood on the bridge of his ship, gazing out of the viewport. He had recently visited the other prisoner, Nathan Mahir; Amaro had learned his name. The Jedi had been in the infirmary the entire time while being on this ship. The wound that Amaro had given him was being treated.
The ship shuddered and began to shake, nearly making Amaro fall over. He glanced at the view port in time to see an X-wing fly by. Three more X-wings followed the first one. A lieutenant walked up to Amaro. “Sir, squadrons of Resistance X-wings and A-wings are attacking this ship. One squadron of X-wings is attempting to get onto the ship. What are your orders, sir?”
Amaro almost smiled beneath his mask as he felt Seraphina’s presence fly by in an X-wing as she was followed by five others. “Let them in.” The look of confusion on the lieutenant’s face made Amaro want to laugh. “I want them brought to me…alive.” The lieutenant left in a hurry while Amaro made his way towards the prison level. He waited near Amber’s cell for the rebels.
Seraphina flew by what she assumed to be the viewport of the Star Destroyer. She could sense the Sith’s presence onboard the ship, watching her. She shook the feeling aside. She needed to focus on finding Amber and Nathan.
“Blue Squad,” she spoke into the headset. “Let’s go in.”
“Roger that, Skywalker.” A voice responded.
Seraphina guided her X-wing into the hanger of the massive Star Destroyer and jumped out, waiting for the other pilots to land. No Stormtroopers or First Order officers patrolled the hangar and no TIE fighters had been sent out to stop the Resistance. Seraphina had a nagging feeling that something was wrong.
Master Aven exited his own X-wing as it slid to a stop. “We’ll have to hurry.” Seraphina nodded in agreement at her master’s remark. They had no time to goof off and spend precious time exploring the ship. They had to find Amber and Nathan before anything could happen to them.
Seraphina led the Blue Squadron down the never-ending halls of the First Order ship. She focused on finding Amber, using the Force to help locate her. Once they neared the prison level, Seraphina sensed the Sith and she guessed that he could sense her as well. Her master set a hand on her shoulder when she stopped, letting her know that he, too, had sensed the Sith ahead of them. Seraphina rounded a corner and stopped when she saw the Sith.
He seemed even more menacing than before. His red lightsaber hummed with energy as it rested by his side, loosely held in his right hand. Seraphina reached for her own lightsaber, watching the Sith as she unclipped the hilt from her belt. Seraphina activated her lightsaber but didn’t attack.
The lights overhead flickered and dimmed before going out. The only light in the corridor was the illumination of the two lightsabers. The light swords cast a red and blue glow at the ends of the hallway. Between the two combatants where the red met the blue the area was a light purple. Seraphina tightened her grip on her hilt when the Sith twisted his blade in his hand.
“Give up, Amaro!” Master Aven shouted from behind her, activating his green lightsaber. The glow from his sword mixed in with the blue and red glow of the other two lightsabers. “You are outnumbered.”
“Outnumbered, yes; but you are outmatched.” Amaro said. A wave of force crashed into the group and they fell down.
Seraphina looked up in time to roll out of the way as Amaro’s lightsaber cut into the floor. She quickly climbed to her feet and had barely enough time to block Amaro’s crimson blade with her blue one as it swung towards her midsection. The Blue Squadron readied their blasters to shoot at Amaro but Seraphina stopped them before they could.
“No!” she shouted, struggling beneath Amaro’s push against her blade. “Get Amber and Nathan!”
The squadron hesitated for a second before moving quickly towards the cells. Amaro made an attempt to block them before Seraphina stepped in front of him, stopping his blade from hitting one of the squad members. Amaro glared at Seraphina as he returned his attention back to her. They continued fighting in the small corridor. Seraphina realized that Amaro had his advantages in the fight just as she had hers.
He was taller and stronger than she was. His blows were strong and rattled her bones with every strike; threatening to send her crashing to the ground. He fought hard and had quickly forced her into the defensive side of their fight seconds after it had started. It was all she could do to keep from getting cut. His strikes were quick and hard and he continued to move forwards with every hit.
Seraphina was smaller and a lot quicker than Amaro. She could use that to her advantage, assuming, of course, she managed to break out of her defensive position for even a few seconds. She analyzed his fighting style, deciding that he seemed to use more of Form Four when fighting. His blows were quick, hard, and were coming from all different directions. Amaro paused right before one strike which gave Seraphina the chance that she needed. She kicked Amaro in the stomach, sending him back a few paces.
She quickly changed her stance and when his blade swung towards her, she ducked under his swing and arm, appearing behind him. She swung her blade, grazing the back of Amaro’s legs. He let out a scream and swept his blade towards her feet and she jumped over the blood red beam. Amaro struggled to stay on his feet as he swung his blade towards his adversary, who was quick on her feet as she tried to outmaneuver him with her quick strikes and footwork.
Amaro quickly recognized the form and changed his attacks. After blocking her blade as it sliced through air towards his waist, he swung it away and immediately went to create a counter-attack towards her neck. Seraphina was a little too slow in blocking it.
Right before the red blade could make contact with her sweat dampened skin, it swung away, deflected by a green saber. Amaro snarled at the man bearing the weapon. Master Aven raised his saber and Seraphina did the same. Amaro took turns defending himself from both opponents and attacking them. They attacked again and again, forcing Amaro into the defensive part of the skirmish.
At one point, Seraphina and Dabir were on either side of Amaro, both breathing heavily and sweating profusely from the fight. Amaro was also sweating beneath the black mask that covered his face. He raised his saber and waited for one of them to attack. They didn’t move. The squadron made their way towards Seraphina who stood between Amaro and the rebel pilots.
Two of them supported Amber who was glancing at Seraphina and Amaro. She watched the three combatants, waiting anxiously to see what they would do. Master Aven was the first to say anything.
“Seraphina, get the squad out of here. I’ll follow in a moment.” He ordered.
“Master, I can’t just leave you here.” Seraphina argued, tightening her grip on her hilt as she glanced at Amaro and her master.
“Seraphina, do as I say! I will follow you.”
Seraphina realized that she didn’t have a choice. She turned to run with the squadron back to the hangar when Amaro reached to grab her wrist. Right before he could grab her, Master Aven’s lightsaber appeared between them. Amaro growled and fought with the master as he watched Seraphina and the others run off in the direction of the hanger.
Seraphina felt horrible as she ran towards the hanger. She felt as though she was abandoning her master by leaving him to fight that Sith. The squadron burst into the hangar and quickly jumped into their ships while two men supported Amber. Amber glanced over her shoulder to see Seraphina gripping her deactivated lightsaber hilt tightly.
“What are you planning?” Amber asked, though she already knew the answer.
“I’m going back for my master.” Seraphina answered determinedly. “The rest of you, get Amber and Nathan out of here.”
Amber turned to face her. “You are not going alone. You Skywalkers have all the fun. If you go; I’m going with you.”
Seraphina smiled gratefully. “Just stay behind me.” She raced off down the hallway where they had just existed. Amber followed, limping slightly. A few other pilots followed her and Seraphina. When they neared the prisoner cells, the sound of lightsabers could be heard.
The flash of light that erupted between the two lightsabers was like looking straight at a sun. Amber had to blink several times to clear the spots dancing before her eyes. Seraphina was about to help aid her master who was struggling to keep his balance and footing when he made a mistake and Amaro’s saber plunged into his chest.
“No!” Seraphina screamed. She watched her master’s weak form slide to the ground once Amaro had removed the red blade from Aven’s heart. Amber gasped at the sight of the dead master, her hand flying to her mouth as she stared with wide eyes at the corpse.
Amaro turned to Seraphina. “You have a choice to make, young Skywalker.”
Seraphina had to make a decision.
Seraphina knew what her choices were. And she didn’t like any of them.
- a) She could escape, leaving her friends aboard this vessel with this maniac Sith lord,
- b) She could remain on the ship in the custody of Amaro while her friends escaped, or
- c) She could choose to fight in which her friends would die and she would end up caught by this Sith anyways.
Seraphina went ahead and ruled out choices A and C. She wouldn’t put her friends in danger nor would she abandon them. She considered surrendering herself to Amaro when a fourth choice popped into her head. She just hoped that she could pull it off.
Seraphina stepped forward and Amaro watched her with interest. His gaze was unsettling; as though she were an animal. She set the hilt of her lightsaber down on the ground, a sign of surrender. Forcing herself to meet the Sith’s eyes beneath his mask, she said, “Don’t hurt them.”
Amaro nodded in agreement and moved towards her. When he drew close, Seraphina pushed him into the wall with the Force. “Amber!” she yelled. Thanks to the Force, she understood. Amber aimed her blaster at Amaro who was dazed and shot at him. The bolt slammed into the Sith’s chest, forcing him into unconsciousness.
Amber muttered something under her breath as she looked at her blaster. “The stupid thing was set to stun, not kill.”
Seraphina exhaled and called her lightsaber to her hand with the Force. “That’s okay. We need him alive.” Grief weighed down on her shoulders as she glanced at her master’s body. Along with the grief was anger and guilt. She quickly brushed the emotions away. “Someone get Amaro back to the base. We need to get out of here and fast.”
Three men moved quickly to get the unconscious Sith lord to the hanger. Turning to Amber, Seraphina said, “Nice shootin’, Solo.”
Amber smiled and shrugged. “It was fun. Besides, that was a small bit of payback for him capturing me and then going through my mind. Can we go now? I don’t want to be here when he wakes up.”
Seraphina nodded and followed the group back into the hanger where they got into their X-wings and prepared to head back to the Resistance base. Seraphina tried to shove any other thoughts out of her mind since her one focus right now was making sure that they all got to the base safely. And she would be sure to be the one to interrogate Amaro.