Thursday, 9 May 2013

Welcome in Webs

Part 16 of my Star Wars short story.
Enjoy


Welcome in Webs

He entered the atmosphere of Dathomir after much effort. The entire planet was hidden in the Force, repelling utterly everything. The power swirling around the planet – no, the power that emerged from the planet – required Wraith to force his way through. Coating his ship in the Force, he had finally made it through and cruised gently within the stratosphere. The gravitational pull took effort and the autopilot indicated the trajectory for landing. Wraith took the controls, doing his best to follow the trajectory.
The storm came out of nowhere. Dark grey clouds formed around the ship, obscuring Wraith’s vision. The entire ship shuddered. Thunder rumbled, causing every inch of the aircraft to vibrate. The controls slipped out of Wraith’s control and the ship’s instruments went crazy. The ship spiralled out of control. Wraith felt himself spin and he no longer could figure out which side was up, down, left or right. He saw a flash of light and remembered the day his shuttle was destroyed by Mortris’s lightning. That had led to his imprisonment. This was a planet run by warring witch clan. Wraith cursed his luck and hoped that this was part of the universe’s plan for him. Either way, he was not a fan of this plan.
Wraith was unconscious long before his ship crashed in the valley. He came to when the remnants of the vessel was in complete stillness. He heard something creaking close to him. ‘You’re in a wreckage. At least it’s creaking, not an explosion,’ he thought. Slowly he got feeling back in his body and moved his extremities. No waves of pain: nothing broken save his only means back home.
He heard the creaking again and felt something solid begin pressing on his chest. His eyes focused and an ugly head filled his vision; four sets of eyes and a pair of pincer-like fangs filled its head. The spider was as wide as Wraith and weighed as much as he did.
It was the shock and sheer horror more than instinct, which took over him. Lightning arced all over his body, electrocuting the giant arachnid. A horrid smell of burnt fluids wafted throughout the air. Wraith’s stomach nearly turned and thanked the stars that he wasn’t fully functional. With a look of revolt he Force pushed the beast away and managed to stand up. He heard a hiss and saw the spider service itself, its fangs clicking menacingly. It launched itself at Wraith. His fingers wrapped around his lightsaber and, with a swift motion, bifurcated the spider.
‘It managed to resist the Force,’ thought Wraith. His lightsaber would serve him well against these creatures. Still clutching his weapon wearily, he made it out of the wreckage. His ears picked up slight clicking and his body reacted. His lightsaber sliced into a spider, this one larger than its cousin. He heard multiple clicks and saw a large black spider emerge in view. His stomach sank – he was surrounded by giant arachnids, each more menacing than its neighbour.
He twisted his weapon, separating it into twin weapons. The spiders sensed the challenge and commenced their assault. Wraith felt his body shift from one stance to another, felling one spider after the next.
He noticed a figure hiding between the boulders and large spider legs. It wore dark clothing and dark hair whipped around it. Wraith sliced his way closer towards the figure. He heard it hiss and croak. A large spider, probably half as large as his entire ship, leapt towards him. Undeterred, Wraith slipped under it, slicing its legs. The creature buckled down and its head cracked on the ground. Wraith levitated a large boulder and released it on its head. The strange humanoid creature leapt forward. A glint of silver caught Wraith’s eye. His red plasma blade met an undulating knife. Wraith observed the creature. She was a female Witch garbed in sashes and leathers. She wore skirting pants, billowing around her legs. Amulets of spiders covered her body and every inch of her arms, chest, neck and head was marked with tattoos of spider webs. She snarled, revealing blackened gnarled teeth and yellow eyes, indicating the Dark Side. She crouched and a second undulating knife appeared in her hand. She attached ferally, using quick attack-and-retreat tactics. ‘Just like a spider,’ thought Wraith. His swordsmanship skills were greater and, after parrying her second lunge, he snapped a blade and beheaded her.
He closed his eyes and sighed in relief. Quiet rang once more.
“Sister.” The voice echoed from all over the valley.
“You shall pay for harming our sister.” They appeared from everywhere:  riding behemoth spiders, popping from holes in the ground and emerging from nowhere. Wraith raised his weapons. He decided he didn’t like Dathomirian Witches, especially the ones who wanted to kill him for no apparent reason.

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