Author's Games: Star Wars

Task Four: Kanan

Just so everyone knows, I DID finish my entry on time, but I just now had time to post it (life has been crazy busy lately... sorry). The word count was: 2,480. Enjoy!

Having Adaara in his arms again made Kanan feel as if the world was complete. It made him forget that his world was falling apart.

"Kanan..." Adaara's hands on him tightened as tears threatened to spill over her eyes. His chest clenched to see her so vulnerable. It was rare anytime she ever showed so much emotion in front of others. The room was filled with what few tributes were left living.

His eyes shifted to Aevo, watching them beside the Twi'lek girl from the corner of the room.

The Sith also kept his eyes on them, making Kanan's hands shift into fists.

Seeing his harsh gaze, Adaara shook her head. "D—Don't worry about him, Kanan."

Kanan nodded, glancing at Jenaara. "You alright?" he asked her.

Silently, she nodded, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kanan kept his arms protectively over Adaara, ensuring she was unharmed. Her eyes closed as she leaned against him, sleeping while she could. Aside from being tired, she appeared to be unharmed, but he can sense her emotions were unstable... and something darker lurking beneath the surface. Something that she tried to hide from him. Instead of letting on that he knew, he trained his eyes on the door.

It flew open with dozens of Stormtroopers. They began rounding up the rebels. One a time, each of the rebels was taken out the door, along with their companion.

The waiting nearly drove Kanan insane. Images of the attack on the Jedi Temple filled his mind in the same moment their screams echoed in his ears. As if she noticed the slight tremor in his hand, Adaara clutched his fingers tightly. It was her beside him that kept him from focusing on the images, bringing his mind into the present rather than the past.

His eyes met Jenaara's, unable to help remembering how she had helped him. His heart raced at the sudden knowledge that he wanted to deny: he cared for her deeply. Everyone I care about dies. Adaara is the only one alive. His eyes shifted to Aevo before he roughly pulled them away. For reasons he couldn't explain, allowing himself to care about one other person made him that much more terrified that they both would die. Losing Jenaara... or... or... Kanan rested his gaze on his wife, soaking in her beauty both inside and out. Gently rubbing her lekku with his left hand, he kept his right firmly in her hand.

Closing his eyes, he called to the Force, using it to drive away the fear. Yet no matter how desperately he tried, the fear stayed, like a drum in the back of his mind, pounding and pounding and pounding, wearing him away a little at a time.

What... What is this? Why can't I get rid of this fear? The Stormtroopers that entered into the room next headed toward them. They grabbed Adaara and shoved her in front of him, dragging him behind her. As exhausted and pain-riddled as his body was, he allowed them to drag him along the winding hallways and into an elevator.

The obstacle course had left him utterly drained, so he and Jenaara had fallen asleep after Aevo's reveal that he was actually Sev. When he had woken up, they were in the previous room with the other rebels. Now, his muscles screamed in protest and his wounds throbbed as they traveled down the passage.

At the end of the hallway, they tore Adaara away from him, yanking her to the right. "Kanan! Kanan!" She screamed, tears streaming down her face.

Kanan's stomach twisted. If you separate now, you will never see her again... a voice whispered in his mind. He couldn't explain where it came from, but he struggled against the hands holding him back, to no avail. His injuries and exhaustion were no match against the Stormtroopers health and strength. "Stay strong, Adaara! I love you!" The last words he said to her barely escaped before she was dragged out of his sight.