Loden heard the report as clearly as if it had been beamed to his own comlink. He jumped forward, bolstered by his connection to Bell. Ro lunged with the lightsaber, but it was a clumsy move, the hack of a barbarian as opposed to the graceful line of a Jedi who had trained his entire life. Loden feinted back, the tip of the stolen lightsaber burning into the deck. Ro snarled in frustration, but he had already lost the battle. He just didn’t know it yet. Loden threw out an emaciated arm and grabbed at Ro’s chest plate, not with shaking fingers but with something infinitely powerful. Without pausing he pulled back, the wasted muscles in his chest crying out in agony, but that was nothing compared with the pain Ro felt as he was plucked from his feet. The Nihil leader whizzed past Loden as if caught on a line, the lightsaber tumbling from his grip. The weapon never even hit the floor. Loden caught it as it tumbled, feeling the coolness of the hilt, feeling like he had come home. Ro, on the other hand, flew through the smashed window to slam into the very equipment that had kept the Jedi bound for so long.


Star Wars The High Republic The Rising Storm Chapter 70