Sacrifice - A Star Wars Fanfic

Chapter 14

Anakin tried his best not to explode with anger. Carefully, he closed his eyes and let loose a long, drawn out breath.

"I...guess we should start looking for her?" Luke asked timidly.

Opening his eyes, Anakin stared at his son and how guilty he looked. He sighed. "Of course. And Luke...it's not your fault. I'm sure, wherever she is, she's perfectly alright."

Han scoffed. "Knowing Her Majesty, she'll probably find her way back here and then get mad at us for wasting time looking for her."

Luke smiled a bit at that, trying to stay his usual optimistic self. Han turned to one of the Rebel officers, letting him know about the situation. The officer nodded and then started yelling orders to the other rebels in the strike team.

"Alright, we meet back at the shield generator at 0300. That should give us plenty of time to find Leia." Han explained to Luke, Anakin, and Chewie.

The three nodded, and Luke turned to his astromech. "Come on, Artoo. We'll need your scanners." Artoo beeped in affirmative and trailed after his Master, Threepio and the beginnings of his complaints following as well.

***

A strange little furry face with huge black eyes peered slowly over the log, staring curiously at the prone form of Princess Leia. The creature was an Ewok by the name of Wicket. Wicket was somewhat puzzled by the Rebel woman, and cautiously approached her, prodding her with his spear. The princess suddenly groaned, startling the stubby ball of fuzz back a few feet before he prodded her again.

Leia groaned as she blinked her eyes open, a blurry view of the sky and the tall tops of trees coming into view. Slowly, she sat up, moaning at the sudden pain ripping through her temples.

Her clothes were torn and her hair was disheveled under her helmet, covered in twigs and leaves. Quickly, she inspected herself for injuries, wondering where she had landed when she jumped off her speeder. 'Oh stars, the others are probably sick with worry. How long was I out?'

Before she could think too hard on that thought, something shifted in the corner of her eye. Her hand instantly went to her side, hesitant on picking her blaster up.

As she looked closer, she suddenly noticed the three-foot-high Ewok staring at her with scared black eyes, wondering what she was going to do. However, once Wicket's eyes caught sight of the blaster on the princess's hip, he jumped up and grabbed his four-foot-long spear once more, holding it in a defensive position. Leia watched the creature with a bemused expression as he circled her warily and begun poking her with the sharp point of the spear.

Leia, suddenly annoyed, pushed the spear away. "Cut it out!"

She stood up then, brushing herself off and watching as the Ewok drew back nervously, not realizing she had been taller than she looked. Leia smiled at the thought, glad to be taller than someone for once. Even Luke was rather short and still managed to best her in height.

However, a sudden stab of guilt hit her as she looked at the terrified Ewok. Sympathy replaced anger, and Leia smiled kindly at the creature. "I'm not gonna hurt you." She whispered the promise, trying to look genuine.

Once she was satisfied that the creature had been temporarily eased, she began looking around to see if her speeder had survived the crash. She sighed as the charred remains of the bike caught her eye. So much for that. She had no idea where she was at the moment, still disoriented from the small concussion she had received while falling.

Exhausted, Leia collapsed into a sitting position on the log. Wicket stared at her, wary yet intrigued. "Well, looks like I'm stuck here. Trouble is, I don't know where here is." Leia said, wondering if the creature spoke or understood Galactic Basic.