A Long Time Ago, In a Galaxy Far Away

Chapter 141

Luna really, really wanted to lay down and close her eyes for three seconds. That's all she wanted to ask for: three seconds.

Her brain had yet to win the argument with her will power, although she doubted she'd be able to last much longer.

"Come on, Luna. Keep your eyes open," she muttered to herself. "Don't fall asleep."

She dug her nails into her fists for a moment, but it didn't do anything besides tire out her hands.

Luna sighed, struggling to reach into the Force to try and be aware of her surroundings, but didn't manage to sense much of anything.

It'd only be three seconds. What could happen in that amount of time? a reasonable sounding voice asked. It's not like being awake is doing much good. Besides, what are the chances there is an assassin if he or she hasn't already made their move? Sleep now to stay awake tomorrow.

Or, there is an assassin nearby, and three seconds will get us killed, another voice said. It sounded rather tired, but not yet prepared to give in.

Being exhausted won't help anyone. Could we even sense it if someone tried to shoot at us? I'm pretty sure we'd be dead anyway. Would you like our last few seconds to be miserable or at least mildly enjoyable?

Besides, a third chimed in, it's not like we're needed anymore. Either the Empire will rise or never come to be in a matter of days. What's done is done, and it's unlikely anything that happens now will affect what is to come. At this point, us living through the night is largely irrelevant. We might as well sleep.

Our death would affect them, a fourth voice commented.

Enough to alter things? I think not.

We are not going to gamble with the fate of the galaxy or Anakin's soul.

We aren't gambling with it if we don't affect it.

And Force knows how much our death would affect things.

Exactly. If we're dead, we can't mess up more, and it will be one less person Anakin has to worry about protecting. It's a win-win. Of course that is with the assumption that an assassin is planning to kill us tonight.

I hate you.

Right back at you.

Are you two done? I want sleep, the first voice said.

We aren't sleeping, the second and fourth voices said in unison.

The chances an assassin will chose the next three seconds to kill us are probably over a gazillion in one, the third voice pointed out.

Three seconds could very easily be changed into three minutes which will accidently transition into three hours, if not more, the second voice stated.

So?

So, I don't want to die!

Luna shot back up, having begun to slouch downwards after her eyes had closed at some point. It gave her a momentary jolt of complete alertness before quickly returning to the state she had been in previously.

"Come on, don't fall asleep. Don't get comfortable. Eyes open," Luna told herself.

It was a struggle to try to prevent her eyes from drooping closed, and one that she was steadily giving up on.

That was why she didn't hear or see the faint flashes of light coming from behind the window blinds as someone or thing deactivated the security system around the window, nor hear the faint sound of a small portion of glass being removed to make way for the barrel of a blaster that slide through as two long fingers silently parted the nearest slats.

No, Luna was oblivious.

But she wasn't unconscious.

This time it wasn't the shift of her center of gravity that jolted Luna back to temporary alertness, but the sudden sound of a door opening. She looked up to find Anakin striding into her room.

"Ana—" Luna cut herself off as Anakin put a finger to his lips, having easily spotted the danger the girl was still completely unaware of. Luna froze, quickly understanding that there was something very, very wrong.

Less than a microsecond later, the shot was fired.

Anakin's lightsaber was out, destroying the dart before it could find its mark. Luna's reaction, rolling off the bed and taking cover on the other side, was delayed, enough so that had Anakin not blocked the dart it would have easily gotten her, but it managed to help her dodge the next round and allowed Anakin to focus on the assassin rather than protecting the both of them. In a split second decision, he gathered the Force and pulled the assassin straight through the glass window.

Aurra Sing landed on the glass blanketing the floor hard with a grunt. She didn't have time to react before the hilt of Anakin's lightsaber found her skull with a crack, knocking the Bounty Hunter into unconsciousness.

The room was silent, save for the humming of Anakin's lightsaber, for a few moments before Padmé came rushing in.

"Is everything al—by the Force!!" Padmé shouted, seeing Aurra's unconscious form at Anakin's feet.

"Luna?" Anakin asked. The girl shakily stood from where she had taken cover.

"Still breathing," she said, her voice unsteady as she stumbled over to Padmé's side, taking comfort in the woman's arms as she eyed Aurra's motionless figure with wide eyes. Anakin took a studying breath and sheathed his lightsaber. "Is she...."

"Unconscious, and will probably have a nasty headache when she wakes up."

"Alright," Luna said, her voice a slightly higher pitched than normal, very clearly not alright.

"Padmé, perhaps we should bring up Captain Typho to take care of Sing?" Anakin suggested. Padmé quickly nodded in agreement.

"Right.... How do we explain...."

"Perhaps you could bring my tunic to me first? We could say that I sensed something amiss, came over to check on Luna and," he gestured to Aurra's motionless form, "that happened."

Padmé nodded, knowing it wasn't the best cover story, but they had managed to work with flimsier. She left the room to grab Anakin some clothes.

"Luna?"

Luna looked up him, still rather openly terrified.

"Get ready to leave, we're not staying here tonight."

She just nodded, too stunned to argue.