opportunity to plant his feet and swing down at Obi-Wan, aiming for his chest. Obi-Wan twisted as he parried the blow. His foot slipped on the mossy rocks and he landed on one knee. Pain sliced through him, followed by fear.
If he lost this battle, Bant would die.
Still on one knee, Obi-Wan managed to deflect Bruck’s thrusts. But he had allowed anger to pierce his heart - deadly for such an intense battle.
The muscle weakness he had felt outside Tahl’s quarters returned. He could barely keep the lightsaber moving in order to counteract Bruck’s blows. He tried to use the Force again, but it proved as slippery as the moss-covered rocks.
“Good move, Oafy-Wan,” Bruck sneered.
Bruck had given him that nickname when they were students in the Temple, making fun of his growing legs and his occasional misstep during
training.
At the memory of Bruck’s cruelty, a sudden passion for vengeance rose in Obi-Wan. Bruck’s cruelty had once been petty. Now it was dangerous. Xanatos had made Bruck a killer.
Boiling anger blurred his vision. He hated Bruck as he had hated no living creature. Anger drove out the Force completely, leaving him in a
vacuum that he filled with his rage. The rage united with his fear and panic and created a dark cloud that threatened to overtake him completely.
Bruck saw the change in his eyes. His own pale blue eyes flashed with cruel satisfaction. He planted both hands on the hilt of the lightsaber and raised it high.
In that split second, Obi-Wan saw the seeds of his own defeat.
This is the moment. The very worst time is the time you must follow the Code.
Cast away your doubt, Padawan. Let the Force enter you.
Obi-Wan raised his saber. He let his anger and fear move through him, exhaling them in a breath. He reached inside and found his center of calm.
Bruck’s lightsaber came down, and he blocked it. But his diversion had cost him. He struggled to the lip of the hill and gained it just as Bruck’s next blow fell. Obi-Wan parried the strike, but did not have the balance to counterattack. It didn’t matter. He had regained his calm. He could regain his footing. He knew now that he could defeat Bruck.
But Bruck was equally certain of victory. Obi-Wan’s fall and his unsteady footwork had con—
vinced him that the battle was his. Bruck’s flaw had always been overconfidence when he thought he was on the verge of winning….
Obi-Wan circled around Bruck, forming a new strategy. He bounded from a rock and flipped over Bruck so that he was behind him. He just needed a moment to check his chrono so that Bruck would not notice.
Miro was shutting down the system for twelve minutes. He had about eleven seconds until Miro began powering up the different systems, one by one. First, security. Then the water systems would resume.
Obi-Wan moved forward, pushing Bruck back toward the dry bed of the waterfall. He made sure to continue to block Bruck’s blows and retaliate, but weakened his stroke slightly. He still wanted Bruck overconfident.
“Getting tired, Oafy-Wan? Don’t worry. It won’t be long before I finish you off.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Obi-Wan saw the red security light beam on the service console. The water would be next.
Bruck’s ponytail whipped around as he whirled, attacking Obi-Wan from the left. Instead of blocking the blow, Obi-Wan stepped aside so that Bruck’s momentum would send him into the dry waterfall bed.
He heard a distant roar. If Bruck heard it, he
did not understand its significance. His entire being was focused on his anger and his lust for victory.
The water gushed from the hidden pipes and spilled out in a torrent. Obi-Wan had timed his counterattack, and Bruck found himself surrounded by water. He was barely able to keep his footing, but he swung his lightsaber back to aim another blow at Obi-Wan …
And hit the water with the laser. With a fizzing sound, the saber shorted out.
“That’s it, Bruck,” Obi-Wan said. “Give up.”
“Never!” Bruck yelled fiercely, hate still in his eyes. Bruck’s face contorted in a frenzy of frustrated rage. He leaned down to pick up a weapon to throw at Obi-Wan, any of the rocks that lined the bed. But the water pulled at him, and he slipped on the mossy rocks. He lost his footing and stumbled back to the very edge of the waterfall. He teetered on the edge for an instant, his eyes wide with disbelief and panic.
In one fluid motion, Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber and leaped forward. He reached out a hand, ready to pull Bruck to safety.
But it was too late. Bruck’s panic sent his arms windmilling, further unsettling his balance. Obi-Wan felt Bruck’s fingertips brush his as his opponent tumbled backward into thin air.
Obi-Wan stepped forward and grimaced as
he saw Bruck’s body hit a rock and bounce, then hit another. He landed on the dry grass beside the waterfall. His head lay at an awkward angle, and he was still.