The shockwave of the explosion sent metal fragments flying, whistling as they slammed into Duchess Satine Kryze's makeshift cover. She instinctively ducked, her fingers gripping the Westar-35 blaster pistol so tightly her knuckles turned white. The air was thick with the smell of molten metal, and… something charred.
"Get down!" a deep voice boomed, carried by the wind pressure.
A blue light tore through the smoke, a buzzing hum grazing her head. Obi-Wan Kenobi's figure appeared like a phantom, shielding her. His blue lightsaber danced into a blur, deflecting several yellow blaster bolts with sharp cracks. Splattering sparks hissed on the scorched ground. The lines of his profile were taut, like carved stone, his robes flapping wildly in the blast, covered in the dust of battle.
"You…" Satine managed to utter a single word before her throat tightened from the smoke. She saw it! Behind the ruins diagonally ahead, a Death Watch soldier was clumsily fumbling with a heavy rocket launcher. The thick muzzle pointed dangerously downwards, not at her, but at an unsuspecting squad of New Mandalorian soldiers on Obi-Wan's flank.
Her body reacted faster than her mind.
"Look out!" A scream tore from her throat. She practically lunged forward, relying on vague muscle memory from previous assault training. She raised her arm, aimed at the helmet, and pulled the trigger!
Pew!
The blaster bolt whizzed past the Death Watch trooper's helmet, exploding in a blinding flash and scattering debris on the broken wall behind him.
Too late. The rocket, trailing a scorching exhaust flame, roared out of the launcher.
Obi-Wan didn't look back. He sharply swung his left arm backward, his robe unleashing an invisible force field—The Force control! The deadly rocket was as if gripped by a giant hand, its trajectory suddenly veering off, plunging into a teetering tower on the flank.
Boom!!!
A deafening explosion. The tower looked as if a giant beast had taken a bite out of it, its massive metal structure groaning, twisting, and collapsing. A rain of debris and burning wreckage fell, instantly engulfing the Death Watch launch point and the surrounding area. A scorching wave of air, laden with dust, rushed towards her, pushing Satine back a few steps, making her lose her footing.
A strong hand timely gripped her upper arm, steadying her. The sensation, through the fabric of her combat suit, was dry, steady, with a slight tremor from exertion.
"You…" Obi-Wan's voice was tight, his blue eyes swirling with a mix of anger and fear she had never seen before. His gaze swept back and forth between her face and the direction from which the rocket had flown. "Don't leave cover!" He suddenly let go.
Just then, a Death Watch speeder bike swooped down from the thick smoke, its side cannons firing red blaster bolts. Satine's pupils constricted.
Obi-Wan was faster. He didn't even look up; his lightsaber had already naturally swept upwards, precisely parrying the first volley of blaster bolts. Sparks exploded everywhere. His left hand quickly reached behind his waist, pulling out the grenade Satine had secretly slipped him earlier.
"Catch!" He tossed the grenade backward without looking, describing a short arc.
Satine instinctively caught the grenade. The shriek of the speeder bike's engine bore down on her, the swirling airflow disheveling her hair. She saw Obi-Wan's back, locked in the crosshairs of enemy fire.
There was no time to think. She pressed the grenade button and, with all her strength, threw it at the speeder bike!
The grenade landed precisely on the speeder bike.
Whump—!
A muffled boom. The explosion flashed, destroying the entire speeder bike.
The bright flash of the explosion reflected on Satine's face. She stood amidst the swirling smoke, clutching the now-hot blaster pistol, her breathing ragged.
Obi-Wan turned around, his lightsaber hanging at his side. He looked at Satine through the diffusing smoke, his face smudged with black ash, his gaze complex. The initial anger and fear had receded, leaving behind a deep, ineffable something. The sounds of the battlefield seemed to recede in that moment.
He opened his mouth, seemingly about to say something. Perhaps to scold her for risking herself again? Or perhaps… something else?
"Satine, you…"
Boom—!
A larger explosion from the flank swallowed all words.
Meanwhile, Kort and Thor were still locked in fierce combat.
"Clang—!!!"
A deafening, Soul-shaking clang of metal erupted! Blinding sparks, like molten stars, burst across the street!
After one exchange, Kort was clearly weaker, flying backward and landing flat. But he managed to steady himself using The Force.
But Thor instantly charged, bringing his dark saber down. Kort quickly defended, and a piercing metallic shriek exploded, sparks raining down. The ground beneath Kort's feet cracked like a spiderweb with a "crunch," his lower legs instantly sinking into the concrete.
"Is that all the strength you have?" Thor's voice from beneath his helmet was hoarse and mocking, his arm muscles bulging as he pressed his dark saber down. "Your father was much stronger than this!"
"Shut up!" Kort roared, a low growl erupting from his throat. He sharply shifted his body to deflect The Force, and the dark saber sliced viciously into the ground, grazing his chest plate. Debris and molten asphalt shot skyward, leaving a burning trench! The heat seared Kort's cheek.
An opportunity! Kort didn't retreat but advanced, his blade tracing a dazzling silver arc along the ground, aiming directly for Thor's exposed waist and joint. Thor reacted incredibly fast, blocking with a horizontal sweep of his dark saber.
Clang!
Another resounding clash, and the two instantly became entangled, the beskar steel sword and dark saber blurring into a shimmering light. Each collision erupted in blinding sparks and deafening explosions.
Thor's style was a furious, crushing assault. Every swing of his dark saber carried a raw power that seemed to tear space, forcing Kort to retreat step by step, dodging frantically.
The heavy sword wind stung Kort's cheeks; each strike was barely avoided. Kort was like a small boat in a storm, relying entirely on the Mandalorian training ingrained in his bones and The Force to sustain him.
His sword was faster, more agile, repeatedly thrusting cunningly into the gaps in Thor's armor, his knees, his elbow joints. But these blows against the beskar steel only left shallow white marks and dull thuds, utterly unable to shake the terrifying power encased in Thor's heavy armor.
"Futile!" Thor laughed wildly, a powerful horizontal sweep forcing Kort back several meters again. Kort gasped, sweat soaking his bangs, mixing with the smoke and clinging to his face. The disparity was too great. With the dark saber in hand, Thor was a pure machine of destruction.
*I must get close! Disarm him!* Kort's mind flashed with the Mandalorian disarming techniques his father had taught him.
Thor once again raised his dark saber, preparing to end this bothersome little insect with a single blow. Just as his arm reached its highest point, in that thousandth-of-a-second gap in his power exertion—
Kort moved! He didn't retreat; instead, he ducked and slammed into Thor like a cannonball. Simultaneously, his left hand shot out like lightning, not to attack, but to fiercely grip Thor's sword-wielding right wrist—that wrist covered in beskar steel! His right leg delivered a vicious hook kick, precisely sweeping behind Thor's supporting knee!
Thor was caught off guard, his center of gravity suddenly shifted, and the motion of raising his dark saber became a huge vulnerability. His body lost balance, and he stumbled backward!
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