Unforgettable Melody - S01 E31

Story 1 week ago

Unforgettable Melody - S01 E31

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 31

As the pair stepped out into the dusty streets of Mos Espa, they began to make their way towards the city gates where Burke’s X-34 speeder was parked. The large crowds of shoppers and day’s end travelers, however, made their progress quite slow. As they neared the gates, the amount of Imperial troops patrolling the area increased dramatically. However, they kept their cool, simply walking as if they were on business. Sadly, as the gates were in sight, a passerby bumped into Kana, knocking her over in such a way that she accidentally pulled Burke’s jacket open, revealing the lightsaber clipped on his belt.

“Look! There’s the Jedi! Shoot to kill!” a Stormtrooper shouted.

In the blink of an eye, Burke drew his weapon, igniting the blue blade. “Kana go! Get to the speeder!”

As a trio of Stormtroopers open fired, Burke deftly deflected their shots back at them, instantly killing one of the three. Taking advantage of their surprise, he leapt directly at the remaining pair, landing between them and executing them both with a horizontal spin. He deactivated his weapon and sprinted for the speeder, pulling out with Kana just as reinforcements were arriving.

Flying through the desert at top speed, Burke’s speeder was suddenly rocked by a near miss of blaster shots. Kana peered behind them to find two Imperial speeder bikes in hot pursuit of them.

Burke warned, “We’ve gotta lose them before we hit the canyon, or they’ll track us right to my ship.”

“On it!” Pulling out her blaster, Kana expertly aimed back at the speeder bikes, glancing one with her first shot. These pilots were better than most, however, and managed to easily stay on target. Changing tactics, she now fired a quick series of shots at both of them, breaking them up and bringing one of them nearly alongside the speeder. Steadying her aim against the hull, she aimed dead center and fired twice, knocking the pilot off of his ride.

“YES!!!” Kana squealed.

“Nice shooting! Second one’s on our six!”

As she was attempting to get a clear shot, the second pilot showed his extreme skill, deftly weaving back and forth to avoid her sights. “Dammit! I can’t get a clean shot, he keeps evading!”

“Ok, I’ve got an idea.” Burke lowered the front windshield and sharply veered right. “Get ready to fire straight ahead!”

He quickly leveled out and immediately hit the brakes, causing the biker to zoom directly past them. Burke then sped back to full throttle so as not to lose him. “Ok, he’s dead center, get ‘im!”

Kana took careful aim and fired two shots directly into his rear engine. As smoke billowed from the bike, it finally exploded in a ball of fire. “Got it!” Kana shouted.

“Scratch two! We’re clear, let’s get off this planet.”

Entering the mouth of the canyon, Burke navigated the speeder through the maze of rock formations, finally arriving at secluded outcropping containing his ship.

“Nice ride…” Kana marveled.

“Yep, she’s a Defender-class, custom built for the old Jedi Order. After my master and I escaped the Great Jedi Purge in it, we worked to modify the hell out of this baby. Added a powerful cloaking system, made it completely undetectable. Once we’re in space, nobody will find us unless we want them to.”

Burke activated the entrance ramp, anxious to get on board and take off. In the worst turn of events imaginable, however, the hydraulics malfunctioned, with the ramp stuck halfway open. As the pair worked to reactivate the lift, Burke suddenly felt an ominous presence approaching. “Get that ramp working, now,” he warned Kana. She nodded, clearly frightened by his change in demeanor.

As Burke stood facing the narrow entrance to the outcropping, he heard a distinctive sound, slowly growing louder. The closer it came, the clearer it was what was approaching. Recognizing the distinctive breathing described in the countless stories from the cantina, he soon stood face to face with Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith.

“Fascinating…” came the voice from within the mask. “If I am not mistaken, I am now addressing Burkateer Lark. It seems that the Padawan has gained some slight skill.”

Determined to show no fear, Burke shot back, “Darth Vader. You smell better than the stories of you describe.”

Eyeing each other momentarily, each was fully aware of the likely consequences of this encounter. As Vader’s gaze shifted to Kana, frantically working to repair the ramp, Burke instantly drew his lightsaber. “You leave her out of this,” he threatened. “She has nothing to do with us.”

“If that is what you wish,” Vader said, igniting his crimson blade, “then you know what you must do.”

Nice try, but I’m not playing your game.

Using his quick thinking, Burke began to size up the upcoming duel. Vader was renowned for his strength and physical prowess. His reach would also be his advantage, and he had a good 8” height advantage over Burke. Vader was, however, known to be rather slow moving, at least on his feet. His suit also made it impossible for him to use any acrobatics, even with the help of the Force. That would be Burke’s edge: mobility.

Vader lunged forward, opening with an overhead attack common to his fighting style. Burke defended easily, though he immediately felt how powerful even Vader’s simplest strikes were. Damn, he really is strong. Now knowing a head on assault from either combatant would put himself at a distinct disadvantage, Burke immediately began his hit-and-run tactics.

As Vader upped the tempo of his slashes, Burke started using a simple yet effective strategy. Defending each strike lightly, so as to redirect, rather than block with brute force, he continually sidestepped, slowly encircling Vader. This style was also common of old Kenobi; he was renowned for his defensive capabilities back in his prime. As Vader began to realize this, changing his attacks to precision strikes assisted by the Force, Burke immediately somersaulted over his opponent.

Striking at Vader’s back with a horizontal strike, he was amazed at how deftly the Sith Lord defended, simply flipping his lightsaber over his shoulder, effectively executing a no-look one-handed block. The stories don’t do him justice. Still, he knew Vader enjoyed toying with his prey before closing for the kill. As he turned to face Burke, the young Jedi knew he had to formulate a victory condition before said toying ended.