Advance and Secure V

There were HASCO walls and weapon emplacements everywhere. Somehow, all of them were pointed at the exact spot that I cut through the wall. What kind of bullshit is that?

Fortunately, I came up with an idea. I put one of my lightsabers away and crouched. I put my lightsaber into the wall once more and started cutting with ease. I went up as far as I could reach and then took several steps as I cut across before cutting back down towards the ground.

Taking a step back, I estimated that the piece was about 7 feet tall and 10 feet wide. It would be enough.

I gritted my teeth and raised my left hand. Mustering as much strength as I could, I grasped the piece of wall with the force.

"AHHHH!"

With a piercing wail, I was able to push the piece of wall loose. Rather than just throwing it towards the enemy, I kept a hold on it. Through a lot of effort, I was able to keep it floating a few inches above the ground.

I felt my body straining as I continued to use the force for longer than I was used to. With some effort, I was able to suppress the urge to rest and started walking forwards, moving the wall forwards as I went.

"WITH ME!"

My platoon quickly fell in behind me as we now had some mobile cover. We slowly advanced. With every step I pushed away the exhaustion even harder as I resisted the push of hundreds of blaster bolts. Each of them was a blast of gas, heated to the point that they formed rays of plasma. The amount of energy in each shot was staggering.

It wasn't until this point that I realized how powerful a blaster bolt was. Usually, a blaster bolt smashes into flesh and then cooks it. I thought it was all heat energy. Then again, it made sense. Energy can convert into other forms of energy. Evidently, it was converting to kinetic energy as it collided with the concrete wall.

There was a simple symphony of noises that drowned out everything else. Endless blaster fire, intermittent screams, occasional explosions. The only interruptions were the roaring clouds that emitted streaks of light. Each burst of thunder would be followed by a fraction of a second of silence, the booming noise would cause everyone to flinch ever so slightly.

Through the grueling seconds, streaks of coldness would rush through my veins. Life was being snuffed out all around me. Each last breath weighed upon me heavily.

To me, however, none of this loss mattered much to me. There are four things in life that, when lost, make others pale in comparison. In no particular order, the loss of your child, sibling, spouse, or parent can never be matched by anything else.

Having lost my mother, loss was something I was all too familiar with. Unlike other players who were force sensitive, it would not get to me.

"HAAA!"

I threw my hands forward, sending the chunk of wall flying towards the enemy line. We had progressed far enough that the cover would make little difference. The herd of enemies had been thinned. We would be able to secure a foothold without incurring insurmountable losses.

My lightsaber flashed through the air. Countless blaster bolts were deflected into the ground as I spun it around.

With each flash of light resulting from a the bursts of energy smacking against my blade, I felt my bones shake and my muscles quiver. I was so little energy left but somehow, each time I felt that force, it energized me. Bit by bit, the adrenaline kicked up.

Swing. Stab. Deflect. Twist. Strafe. Every movement felt amazing. The rush of the battle was surging through my veins. My heart pounded in excitement.

This… This was Vaapad. The lightsaber stance that was originally created. While it is a variant of the original Form IV, Juyo, it has a crucial and highly consequential difference. Practitioners of Vaapad reveled in the glory of battle. Each clash of lightsabers, every ignition of gas inside of a blaster… everything in battle was absolutely exhilarating.

I reached down with my left hand and grabbed my other lightsaber.

*Bzhhhhh*

Then, I indulged. How could I not? There was an absolutely delicious main dish of pure carnage right before me. In the spirit of Vaapad, I let the cold blood flow through my veins. Declining it would just be wrong.

Twisting my right wrist, I deflected a blaster bolt as I stepped forward. I then leapt forth, closing the distance between me and the next cluster of enemies.

I continued to wander through the battlefield. Each patch of lives I came across was reaped with great efficiency.

Each step. Each twist of my torso. Each swing of my arms. My lightsabers came crashing down onto whoever was unlucky enough to be standing in front of me.

Every time my heart pounded, I felt more in sync with the force. My lightsabers slowly became a part of me.

It reminded me of one of those cliches that you'd hear in movies or read in books. Swords, spears, guns, none of them are weapons. The human is the weapon and these tools are mere extensions of our bodies.

As I gracefully danced across the ground within this purple halo, I noticed my robes becoming heavy and cold. For a brief moment, I looked around and noticed the rain pouring down.

The ground was soaked, unable to absorb anymore water. Glancing down, I noticed that there was almost an inch of water flowing over the dirt. Each raindrop was big and heavy, splashing over anything it hit.

"Sir."

I spun around with my lightsaber extended, ready to cut down whatever was about to attack me from behind. As I laid my eyes on what was behind me, I froze. My lightsaber stopped less than an inch from their neck.

With a blink, my eyes cleared, and I stumbled backwards. Clarity rushed back into my brain as I realized what I had almost done. I was losing myself in the battle. I had immersed myself too much in the rush of combat. As a result, I had almost executed my comrade.

Vaapad is dangerous. I had just proven that fact. The dark side nearly took me once more.

I deactivated my lightsabers and clipped them to my belt. Then I took a deep breath with my eyes closed. As my senses returned to me, I felt cold. The rain washed over me, soaking my clothes, wicking the heat off my weary body.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Mahmud. I got a bit carried away."

Mahmud shrugged. "Just be careful, sir. I've heard that most Jedi players have fallen to the dark side. I think maybe over 70%."

I frowned and felt nervous. "That is very concerning. I understand why though. I have already almost fallen a few times. I guess it can't be helped."

With so many players falling to the dark side, there are a lot of implications. Even if I'm thinking too far into it, this means that hundreds, if not thousands, of undying Sith are being handed to Emperor Vitiate.

Mahmud shook his head in response. "Allah has taught us through the Qur'an that every man has evil within. We can not purge this evil as it is part of what makes us human. We must rely on not only ourselves but also those around us to keep the evil at bay. From what I know, you do this already so you are a good man. You will not fall, shah Allah."

("Shah Allah" roughly translates to "God willing")

I smiled and nodded. "Thank you for that. You are very wise, Mahmud."

He then kissed his fist and pointed to the skies. "I am merely spreading the teachings of Allah. I can not claim this knowledge as my own."