Lives & Adventures

by Ryder Windham

  “But empty stormtrooper armor frightens them off?” Luke asked skeptically.

  “Sometimes,” S’ybll said. “Perhaps it is foolish. Still…it is not easy for a woman alone to defend her home.” She gestured to the ruins of an ancient structure that rose from the jungle floor. The structure included a flight of stone steps that led up to a series of architectural columns, some of which were still standing and supported broad lintels. Other columns lay broken. While a number appeared to have fallen, possibly because of erosion over many centuries, a few looked like they’d been deliberately toppled.

  Gazing at the timeworn structure, Luke was reminded of the abandoned base on Yavin 4. Then his stomach clenched as he noticed several more propped-up suits of stormtrooper armor. He said, “This is your home, S’ybll?”

  “You find it strange I use a ruin as my home?”

  “No, S’ybll. Coincidental. Until recently, Rebel Alliance headquarters were in something similar.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Luke realized that he couldn’t remember if he’d mentioned his affiliation with the Alliance to S’ybll. He rubbed his eyes, then gestured to the empty suits of armor. “What I do find strange is all this stormtrooper armor…and no stormtroopers. What happened to the men inside?”

  “I told you my planet is not quite the paradise it appears, Luke,” S’ybll said as she directed Luke to a clearing beside the ruins. “These Imperials came exploring, and learned just how dangerous this world can be.”

  In the clearing rested an Imperial Lambda-class shuttle. Covered by thick moss and fungal growth, the vessel’s exterior was heavily battered. However, its wings were raised, and both the landing gear and the ramp were fully deployed.

  “The damage to this shuttle didn’t come from a crash, S’ybll.” Luke pointed to the cockpit’s shattered transparisteel canopy. “This hole was made from the outside. It’d take something pretty terrible to inflict it.” He turned to S’ybll and was taken aback by the concerned look on her face. Hoping to make light of his comment, he said, “First, empty suits of stormtrooper armor to give me a scare…now a smashed Imperial shuttle! You’ve got weird taste in home decoration, S’ybll.”

  “This craft landed long before I settled in this ruin, Luke Skywalker,” S’ybll said testily. “Whatever happened to those soldiers, I merely propped their armor about to frighten off wild creatures.”

  Luke gulped. “I was only joking, S’ybll,” he said. “Didn’t mean to insult your defenses. But I doubt they’ll stop anything that could damage a ship this way.”

  Unexpectedly, S’ybll moved close to Luke and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “My planet is full of such dangers, Luke. I need someone to protect me. Someone like you.”

  Luke was surprised by S’ybll’s behavior but did not try to move away from her. As she tilted her chin toward the derelict Imperial shuttle, she said, “You see the damage done to this ship of the Empire, Luke. Suppose whatever inflicted it returns? I need protection.”

  “But, S’ybll…”

  “I need you,” she whispered before she pulled him closer and kissed him.

  Luke backed away. “S’ybll…please,” he said. “I’ll do what I can to help you. But…I have other commitments. To my friends. To the Rebel Alliance…and to…”

  S’ybll’s eyes suddenly brimmed with tears. Before he could ask her what was wrong, she turned away from him and ran from the shuttle, heading into the ruins.

  Flabbergasted, Luke stood beside the shuttle for a moment, then looked off in the direction that S’ybll had fled. Only then did he notice that night had begun to fall. “S’ybll!” he shouted. “Where did you run to? I didn’t mean to upset you, but I can’t just desert my friends here and—”

  Luke saw a shadowy form pass behind one of the old columns. At first he thought it was S’ybll, but a moment later, the hulking form emerged from the ruins to reveal itself.

  It was a humanoid creature, nearly three meters tall, with green skin, long arms, and a massive torso. It had fangs and reptilian eyes. Luke recognized the monster instantly. It was either the Night Beast—the creature he’d previously encountered on Yavin 4—or its identical twin.

  The monster growled, then sprang at Luke. Luke leaped away and started running. He tried to reach out to the beast with his mind but could not sense any connection. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw the monster lift a large block of stone and hurl it.

  Luke vaulted over a fallen column to avoid being hit by the flying block. The block smashed into the column. Luke kept running. He considered reaching for his blaster but decided against it. Not just because he recalled that energy weapons had little effect on the Night Beast, but because he didn’t know where S’ybll was hiding, and he was afraid an indiscriminate blast might cause a cave-in.

  “S’ybll!” Luke shouted as he ran. “Where are you?”

  The monster was catching up with him. Despite its incredible resemblance to the Night Beast, Luke was practically certain it wasn’t the same creature that had left Yavin 4 on a transport ship. The possibility of finding the Night Beast on such a far-flung world, and so shortly after their last encounter on Yavin 4…Luke couldn’t begin to calculate the odds.

  Remembering his comlink, Luke decided to summon help from Han and Chewie. Still running, he reached to his belt.

  His comlink was gone.

  Must’ve lost it when S’ybll and I fell into the river!

  The monster picked up another massive stone and hurled it. The stone crashed into the ground right in front of Luke.

  Luke stumbled over the stone and sprinted around the ruins. Arriving at a high, rough wall that was part of the structure’s foundation, he jumped up and began scaling it. He expected the monster to follow, and he planned on having his lightsaber ready. But as he gripped a chunk of stone and began to pull himself up, the ancient stone crumbled.

  “No!” he shouted as he fell backward through the air. He thought the monster was just below his position and that he’d fall right into its arms. Instead, he hit the ground hard. His back and legs took most of the impact but did nothing to stop the back of his head from striking the ground too.

  He lay on the ground, the wind knocked out of him. Forcing his eyes open, he saw that the sky overhead was now a deep, dark blue.

  He moaned as he rolled over and rubbed the back of his head. As best as he could tell, he hadn’t broken any bones, but just about everything hurt.

  And then he remembered the monster. He knew he had to get up fast, before it—

  “Luke.”

  It was a man’s voice. Still dazed and sprawled on the ground, Luke turned his head and saw the silhouette of a robed figure standing a short distance away, in the shadow of a still-standing column. Luke’s eyes flicked around as he searched for the monster.

  “The danger is past, my boy,” the robed man said, “but I’m concerned for your new companion.” The man moved out from the darkness.

  He was Ben Kenobi.

  “Ben?” Luke gasped. “How…?”

  “I’m always with you, young Luke,” Ben said. “And it seems my sudden appearance has driven away the creature which menaced you. But what of your new companion, and the dangers which menace her?”

  New companion? It took a moment for Luke to realize whom Ben was talking about. He said, “S’ybll?”

  Ben nodded.

  “Ben…I’m still groggy from my fall.” Luke struggled to his feet and looked around anxiously. “How did a monster from my past appear here? Where did it go?”

  “There are many monsters here, Luke,” Ben said with a shrug, “even on a planetary paradise such as this. That is why your new friend, S’ybll, needs you, my boy. That is why you must go to her.”

  Luke clutched his head. “Han…the droids…Chewbacca…They’re all waiting for me, Ben.”

  “There will be time for them later, my boy. For now, it’s S’ybll you must consider. Go to her.”

  “She hid before the monster appeared,�
�� Luke said absently as he staggered toward Ben. Glancing up at the ruins, he continued, “Was it here, Ben? You want me…to go here?”

  But Ben had vanished.

  “Help me,” Luke said. “I feel…so…so weak.” His legs buckled and he fell forward onto the ground.

  “B-Ben?”

  Luke tried opening his eyes but he saw nothing. Nothing at all. Somehow he had been engulfed by darkness.

  His mouth was dry and his entire body ached. Shifting his legs and elbows slightly, he realized he was lying flat on his back against a hard surface.

  “I must’ve blacked out,” he muttered aloud. “Where are you, Ben?”

  But it wasn’t Ben who answered. It was S’ybll.

  “Your friend is gone, Luke,” she said. “But all is fine. He convinced you not to leave but to join me here…here in my hiding place.”

  Luke felt her fingers push through his hair. “S’ybll?” he said. “There’s something over my eyes…?”

  “Just a damp cloth, Luke. Don’t touch it. You suffered a slight concussion from your fall. Just relax. Let me treat you.”

  Her voice sounded so tranquil, comforting…

  Luke felt a supple pressure against his cheek, and then S’ybll’s hair brushed against his face. He felt her take his right hand in hers, and she began massaging his fingers.

  “Funny, S’ybll,” Luke mumbled deliriously. “Ben Kenobi appeared to me…wanted me to find you…help you. But really…you’re helping me.”

  “Just relax.”

  “I felt like…you were kissing me earlier.”

  “Lie still,” S’ybll said soothingly. “I know what I’m doing. I’ve done this many times before.”

  Luke smelled something burning. Candles. Maybe dried leaves too. He cleared his throat. “S’ybll, is it still night? You’ve stayed with me for so long.”

  “I like being close to you, Luke.”

  “Didn’t think the fall hurt me much,” he said. “But…keep feeling weaker.”

  “Just relax,” S’ybll repeated. “Let me treat you. It’s best if you have quiet.”

  And then, unexpectedly, Luke heard C-3PO’s voice. “Master Luke? Master Luke!” the droid said. “Are you there, sir? Come in…please!”

  Luke was suddenly alert. He tried to push himself up from the flat surface he’d been resting on, and drew one hand toward his face.

  “Lie still,” S’ybll said. “Don’t move. Don’t take the cloth from your eyes.”

  “S’ybll,” Luke said, pushing against her shoulder. “That voice. It was one of my droids…Threepio!”

  And then C-3PO spoke again. “Artoo-Detoo, I feel most silly doing this. If Master Luke lost his comlink, he can’t possibly hear us!”

  “My comlink!” Luke said. He sat up fast, pulling the damp cloth from his face as he turned his head in the direction of C-3PO’s voice. He was in a gloomy chamber and had been resting on some kind of altar. Smoke was rising from an archaic urn as well as from several candles. A stone table was placed near the altar. On the table were his lightsaber, blaster pistol, and comlink.

  Luke stared at the comlink. “S’ybll…I thought it fell off…when we plunged into the river from the cliff. The only way it could’ve gotten here is if you…”

  S’ybll pushed Luke aside and snatched up the comlink. Only then did he see her face.

  Although she remained attired in the animal skins, the woman who stood before him was a wretched, withered figure, with filthy white hair and deathly pale, wrinkled flesh that was broken with many warts. Spittle flew from her yellow teeth as she snapped, “I told you not to take the cloth from your eyes!”

  Luke felt light-headed. He blinked as he tried to determine what was real and what wasn’t. “You stole my comlink, S’ybll.…Hid it here…in your quarters.…”

  “Yes, Luke,” S’ybll said, her voice a low rasp. “Right off your equipment belt. I wanted to use it later, to lure your friends to these ruins after I was through with you.”

  Luke shook his head. “S’ybll, what’s happened to you?”

  “You’re seeing me as I am, Luke. I’ve always looked this way. Until visitors like you—and an Imperial exploration team before you—arrived to help me. As your friends will arrive…following your comlink.” She extended a bony arm to place the comlink on the altar. “It might be difficult dealing with all of you at once, but by the time they’re here, I’ll be done with you.”

  Luke backed up cautiously toward the stone table.

  “Stand still, Luke,” S’ybll said. “You’re too weak. Too under my spell to escape now!”

  “D-don’t know what you’ve done to me,” he stammered as he grabbed his weapons from the table. “But I won’t just give up!” He scanned the chamber and sighted a curving flight of stone steps that appeared to be the only exit. Dim light shone down from the top of the stairwell.

  “Yes,” S’ybll hissed as Luke secured the weapons to his belt. “There’s great power in you. I sensed that. It’s what attracted me. But it’s mostly unformed…you’ve not yet mastered it. And now you never will!” She lurched forward and threw her arms around him.

  Luke gasped. His arms flexed away from his body against his will. He wanted to break away from S’ybll and reach for his weapons, but he couldn’t budge.

  “Don’t fight, Luke. Just give in to my embrace. The pain won’t last long.”

  Her breath was awful. Luke tried to pull himself away from S’ybll, but her arms remained locked around him. As his senses reeled, he thought, Who…what are you?

  “I’m a mind witch,” S’ybll said. “I was ancient when these ruins were new. I can reach into your memories and create illusions to ensnare and weaken you until a psychic link is forged. Then I drain the mental energy from you, the very life essence that will renew me…make me young again! Just as I drained the energy of the Imperial soldiers…”

  Luke closed his eyes and struggled to concentrate. He felt S’ybll probing his mind. He thought, Get out!

  “There’s no resisting, Luke. You’ll soon be an empty husk. It’s too late…even with the Force running so richly within your being.”

  She knows about the Force!

  “The hold of the mind witch is upon you. Give in!”

  “No!” Luke shouted as he opened his eyes and flung his arms out, launching S’ybll away from him and sending her to the floor. It took all his concentration to turn for the stone steps. Ignoring a human skull that had been transformed into a candle holder, he began climbing.

  As he ascended from the subterranean lair, Luke heard S’ybll’s cackle travel up the stairway. “You’re strong!” she said. “So much stronger than I suspected. But you’re too weak to run far. And with the psychic links I’ve forged, your very thoughts…your greatest fears…are mine to use against you!”

  Luke saw the exit ahead of him. It was daybreak, and a heavy layer of mist hung in the morning air. S’ybll cackled again, and Luke could still hear her dreadful laughter echoing off the stairwell’s walls as he emerged outside, amid the columnar ruins.

  Darth Vader was waiting for him. Looming beside a massive column, the Dark Lord of the Sith extended the red blade of his lightsaber and said, “I have you at last, young Skywalker.”

  Vader swept toward him. Luke cringed and nearly stumbled back into the stairwell. He had no intention of falling into S’ybll’s clutches again. Keeping his eyes on Vader, he edged away from the stairwell but accidentally backed into a column.

  Vader swung his blade at Luke’s head. Luke ducked and the lightsaber flashed over him, striking the column. The impact made a loud crack, and as Luke leaped aside and looked back, he saw what appeared to be a fresh gouge across the column’s face.

  Luke knew that Vader was just an illusion created by the mind witch, but…It seems so real!

  Out of the corner of his eye, Luke saw S’ybll emerge from the stairwell just as Vader advanced toward him again. Luke realized that there was only one way to resist.

  I�
�ve got to stop and be calm.

  Instead of staring at the illusion of Vader, he relaxed and stared through it.

  Vader stopped in front of Luke, raised the lightsaber, and swung hard. The red blade appeared to pass directly through Luke’s body, but it had absolutely no effect on him. Luke stood his ground as Vader swung again.

  “Your illusions are frightening, S’ybll,” Luke said as the image faded and vanished. “But the only way they can do real harm is if I give in to them.”

  “I’ve underestimated you,” S’ybll said bitterly. “Now you force me to demonstrate that a mind witch’s powers extend far beyond weaving illusions!” She clenched a bony fist at Luke. “I can wield physical objects!”

  Luke heard a loud breaking noise to his left, and he looked up to see that two neighboring columns had suddenly broken in half and were swaying toward him, along with the massive lintel they had supported for ages. Luke sensed it was no illusion.

  S’ybll said, “I hate to crush a source of mental energies which can feed and renew me, but your friends should arrive soon to replace you!”

  Luke instinctively calculated the trajectory of the falling stones and jumped just before they came crashing down where he’d been standing. He moved faster than S’ybll could keep track of him, and jumped over and behind a fragment of a broken lintel. Dust and debris flew in all directions.

  The cloud of dust was still settling when Luke heard a welcome voice call out from the jungle. “Luke? Luke! It’s Han and Chewie! You around, kid? What was that crash we heard?”

  “This way!” S’ybll replied. “Hurry! Please! Your friend’s been hurt!”

  Emerging from the rubble, Luke said, “Not as fatally as you think, S’ybll. You’ve weakened me, but not so much I couldn’t dodge one falling rock.”

  The mind witch glared at him. “You dare taunt me? Perhaps you need a final demonstration of just how far a mind witch’s ability to move physical objects can go!” She lifted her arms and gestured at the ruins.

  A sound like rolling thunder rippled across the area, and then the ruins exploded. Heavy stones rained down, smashing all around Luke. He suddenly felt as if he were trying to escape a meteor shower, but he also saw an opportunity to use S’ybll’s powers against her. He ran fast to dodge the debris, then turned and ran back toward S’ybll.