WAIT FOR ME ⇾ LUKE SKYWALKER AU

chapter two

chapter two: the traitor

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     As the suns rose over the desert, I packed the few items I had acquired from Kenobi's hut including: a weathered journal and green kyber crystal I found within the worn, leather-bound journal's pages. Although I had come to Tatooine for answers about Luke, there was a larger plan in place here, the rescue of Han Solo from the palace of Jabba the Hutt.

     I had been with the Rebel fleet when Leia and Chewbacca returned without Han or Luke. We hadn't known at that point about the treachery of the Jedi. All we knew was that here was the pride and joy of the Rebellion, the Millennium Falcon, without half of her usual crew. It wasn't until I had seen the tears threatening to spill over in Leia's eyes as she walked down the ramp that I realized that something had gone terribly wrong. Together, we had walked to the bridge as she explained everything. The loss of Han. The trap meant for Luke. The fall of the Jedi.

     Since then, we had been gathering intel on the Hutt crime lord last know to have Han's carbonite-frozen body. His operations here on Tatooine were not limited to the average theft and small smuggling runs. I knew from personal experience that Jabba dabbled in operations ranging from high risk smuggling runs from Kessel to anonymously placing bounties on high-ranking officials and members of society, such as senators or governors.

So in order to locate Han, Leia sent Lando, Chewie, and I to scout out the palace. Lando had been posing as a guard for about a month now, gaining the trust of the Hutt's security detail. Chewie had been watching the Falcon and collecting the information that Lando was able to relay back the ship while I spent a week at the hut of Ben Kenobi, Luke's first Master, in a desperate attempt to find any answers of how to bring Luke back.

     I slung my leather bag over my shoulder and walked out to the junky speeder bike that I had commandeered back in Anchorhead in order to get me here. Although it was practically falling apart, it served its purpose of transporting me around the desert planet fairly well. Now, all I needed was to head back to the Falcon, where Leia had come in Luke's old X-Wing, disguised as a the bounty hunter, Bousch, in order for the next phase of the plan, retrieving Han from carbonite using a simple deception. I mounted the bike and gave the hut one last glance before speeding off through the twisting canyons of Jundland Wastes.

     As I raced across the golden sand dunes and  through faded red canyons, I caught a glimpse of a small igloo shaped homestead in the distance. Against my better judgement, I decided to take a closer look. When I finally reached the little house, I realized it had been abandoned. Sand had long since taken over, filling in a portion of the home. I hopped off the speeder bike and cautiously entered the building.

     I walked through the house, tracing my fingers over the scorch marks running along the walls. By touching them, I could see glimpses of what happened here. I could see the older couple who lived here trying desperately to escape, but I noticed am armored man flushing them out by fire. The deeper I went into the house, the more I began to see. Suddenly, I tripped over something buried beneath the sand. I stood to my feet as I picked up a small model of an Imperial cargo ship. I immediately dropped it to the ground when I heard his voice. "You can call me Luke. Just Luke."

     I sank to my knees, "This was Luke's home." Suddenly, a foreign feeling washed over me. I placed my hand on the model, closed my eyes, and reached out through the Force. "I need to know. Is he—" I couldn't bring myself to finish the thought.

      After a long moment of silence, I opened my eyes to find that I was no longer kneeling in the sandy house that served as Luke's old home. Instead, the sound of marching closing in and the sight of pristine black walls alerted me that I was in the heart of an Imperial establishment. A breath got caught in my throat as I noticed a figure at the door, dressed in all blacks, facing away from me. My immediate thought led to Vader, who I was certain wore the same cape and boots as the figure in the doorway. I looked for anywhere to hide, but the simplicity of the room provided no cover. Slowly, I backed away, hoping to be able to escape whatever vision I had stepped into. However, when I bumped into a desk, knocking over a datapad that now laid on the tile floor, the figure turned to face me.

     Both of our faces relayed shock as we took in one another. My mouth hung open, trying to form words that would not seem to come out as I saw him standing before me, clad in black from head-to-toe with his signature blonde hair starting to fall in his face. My voice came across a whisper, "Luke?"

He took in a sharp breath at the mention of his name, "Soyara. Is it really you?"

Tears started to form as I ran to him, letting him hold me in his arms like we would after long missions away from each other. "It's me, Luke. I'm here."

He chuckled, "I-I can't believe you're here. How did you get here?"

I shook my head, "I don't know, I was—" I trailed off, suddenly realizing that this wasn't my Luke. I pulled away, putting distance between the two of us. He looked at me with confusion written across his face. However, my gaze was only able to see the golden flecks that had replaced his usual sky blue eyes. The eyes of a Sith.

"So it's true." I sighed, not surprised by the truth.

Luke reached out to rest his hand on my shoulder, but I stepped back once again, "Soyara, you don't yet understand. I'm stronger in the Force than I've ever been. The dark side isn't like the Jedi say it is. It's liberating and enlightening. I've learned so much already as a-"

"A Sith, traitor to both the Rebellion and the Jedi. Take your pick," I seethed.

He opened his mouth to argue, but I chose this moment to make a quick attempt to escape the room through the open door. Before I could reach the doorway, he grabbed my arm tightly, not looking at me as he spoke, "Don't be so naive. The Jedi Order is holding you back, Soyara. I know you can feel that too. If you could see that, you'd understand, you'd join me."

I turned to face him, "To keep us in check. Luke, I don't know what is running through your mind, but you would have to be insane to believe that I would join the Sith. You have abandoned Ben, Yoda, and all the Jedi who have come before you. You have abandoned me."

He looked slightly hurt at my accusation, "Soyara, I would never abandon you. In fact, I've been trying to reach out to you for the past two weeks, but you've never responded, until now. I need you to understand that I turned to protect you. Vader was going to kill you, but now he's promised mercy if you'll just come to me." He let go of my arm and softened his gaze. "Come with me, Soyara. We could—"

So this is was Ahsoka meant about my attachment to Luke. My heart ached as I managed to loosen his grip on me. He was using our friendship as a weapon. I could feel the sincerity of his voice, tempting me further, but I was able to fight it, "No."

He looked at me in unbelief, "No?"

I nodded, "Luke, I can't—"

He held up his hand to silence me, "Can't or won't?" I didn't reply. I just lowered my gaze, unable to answer. He gave me a sad smile, "That's what I thought. Soyara, you have a choice. Don't make the wrong one."

When I glanced up, I noticed that I was back in Luke's childhood home. I chose to linger a moment longer, mourning the loss of my best friend. I let my tears fall onto the sand. Luke. I'm sorry I wasn't there save you. This is my fault.

I sighed and walked back through the house to the speeder bike. This time, I kept my hands glued to my side. I decided I'd rather not see anymore about Luke's old life if I could help it. Once outside, I mounted the speeder bike and took off, not once looking behind me as I sped off in the direction of the Falcon.