WAIT FOR ME ⇾ LUKE SKYWALKER AU

chapter eight

chapter eight: the mission

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I woke up sometime later, lying in the medical bay. At first, the bright lights and sounds of beeping machinery confused me, but as I sat up, the undeniable pain in my left shoulder reminded me of my fight with Luke.

"Hey kid." I whipped my head around to find the speaker. In the chair next to my cot sat Han Solo. He cocked his head at my questioning look. "Heard ya got into a fight. Wanna talk about it?"

I lowered my head, knowing that sooner or later he'd draw the truth from me but still not wanting to relive the events that landed me here. Instead, I look at the restraints on my hands and ask, "What did I do?"

He shrugged, "You don't go down without a fight kid, thats for sure." While he chuckled at his own joke, I get the panic swell inside me. Who had I hurt?

Han rose from his chair and came to sit in the edge of my cot, "Soyara, you were blacked out on the floor of Home One with a severe stab wound to your shoulder. There are scratches on your face and a fresh line of stitches down your left arm because you keep clawing at them. Do you know who did this to you?" I noticed the worry clearly written on his face, but once again, stayed silent. I couldn't be the one to tell him about my new connection to Luke. I just couldn't.

Leia walked in just in time, "Soyara, how are you feeling? We're looking at the security cams for that sector, but we're having trouble with the footage. Can you tell me who did this to you?"

Han huffed, standing up from his position, "She knows, but she won't tell us. She's hiding something, and I'm ready to find out what it—"

Leia placed a hand on his chest, stopping him mid-sentence. She asked once more if I could give the identity of my attacker. Finally, I caved, "I don't know if you'll believe me if I told you, so let me show you."

My restraints are removed as I signal both of them to give me one of their hands. They both cautiously placed their hands in mine as I reached out in the Force, using what little strength I had to project my memory for them to see. Although I chose to keep certain parts to myself, they saw the entirety of our most recent encounter before I was forced to pull away, exhausted from the effort.

Leia was the first to speak, "Luke did this to you?" She was in shock, much like I had expected her to be.

I looked to Han, who had a much different response. He was silent. In his eyes, I could see the fear that came with seeing a "ghost", but I could also see the fiery anger beneath it all, wanting nothing more than to take his revenge. I had been afraid Han would react this way. In all our time together, Han had never been one to lash out too harshly, but as I watched him closely, I started to worry about that very possibility. "Han," I looked him in the eye, making sure he heard my next words, "Don't do anything you might regret later. It's not worth it. Let him go."

He shook his head, "He nearly killed you! Did you forget that? I can't let that go as easily as you have, because unlike you, I'm able to see that you're being manipulated by him, even now. He wants you to forgive him. That's how he gets under your skin." He stopped to take a breath, "Also, I won't regret anything I 'might do'. He's betrayed us all. In fact, he's a dead man if he ever is foolish enough to show his face to me ever again." With that, he stormed out, not bothering to give any form of goodbye.

I expected Leia to walk out too, upset by my lies and willingness to hide information from her, but she stayed with me, staring out at the door. When her gaze returned to me, she asked, "Why did you hide your connection to Luke? We could have helped you."

"As easy as that sounds, we both know the Force is not that simple. I wasn't sure at first that it would become a reoccurring issue. Hopefully you can understand that I didn't hide it just to keep you in the dark. I hid it so that I could protect you all from the pain you're all experiencing now." I held my breath for the lecture I was expecting to follow. However, it never came.

      Instead, Leia placed her hand on top of mine, giving it a light squeeze, "I can understand that, more than you know. This Rebellion was built on secrecy, but that changes once you are in it. This information is proof that Luke hasn't severed his ties to the Rebellion, which provides a new opening."

       I raised an eyebrow, not yet seeing where this conversation was going, "What are you suggesting?"

       She exhaled deeply, "We are sending someone who has Imperial connections to infiltrate their new Super Star Destroyer in order to both relay new intel for its schematics and provide some news about this rising Sith, Darth Malevolence, that we already know i-was Luke."

      I laughed, "Leia, as you can tell, that might be a little hard considering I'm restrained to a medical cot, and I'm assuming Captain Kallus is still with the Lothal operation."

       She cocked an eyebrow, "Soyara, we aren't sending you or Kallus this time. We are sending your Lieutenant, Wedge Antilles."

My heart sank. No. Not Wedge. "Leia, Luke will recognize him in a heartbeat. There has to be someone else. Anyone."

"Soyara, this isn't your call. We need that information and it has to come from someone who can get onto that Star Destroyer without being blown to bits. Wedge is ex-Empire. I believe he is more than capable of this mission." Leia reasoned. "My decision is final. Besides, your new-found connection to Luke poses a new issue. We need to make sure you aren't going to betray us like—"

She didn't have to finish her sentence. I knew this would come up eventually, my loyalty. Since Luke sold out the Rebellion, mistrust was sown into the hearts of each freedom fighter that had once idolized him and his abilities. Now that he was gone, I was left to face the consequences. My loyalty to the Rebellion versus my fellow Force-wielder was now in question.

Instantly, she tried to back track, "Not that you're not loyal or anything—"

I cut her off, "Leia, it's gonna take more than that to offend me. I knew this conversation would come up eventually, but you know more than anyone in this Rebellion where my loyalty lies."

She nodded, "I do. Which is why it's better for you to stay here, and fight from behind the scenes."

I was floored. She thought I would choose Luke over the Rebellion. If she believes that, I'm more than willing to bet the entire Rebellion feels the same way. My fists clenched, but I said nothing as she left the room.

Next came Wedge, dressed in the blacks and armor of a TIE fighter pilot. The sight alone made me sick. "Hey, Trix." I rolled my eyes at the nickname he gave me back when I flew under Hera Syndulla's Phoenix Squadron. Despite my slight irritation with him, Wedge was still able to bring a smile to my face. "How ya feeling?"

I shrugged, wincing at the pain in my shoulder. This action alone spoke louder than anything I could say. "That bad, huh?"

I sighed, "Unfortunately. I've been grounded for the next week. No flying, no missions..."

He raised an eyebrow at my choice of words, I hadn't been as subtle as I thought I had, "Ahh, so that's what this is about. Look, Soyara—"

I faked a smile, "Don't worry about it, Wedge. I get it. Just...just please be careful."

Laughing heartily, he nodded, "Will do, Commander."

As he said his goodbyes, I watched the door, waiting for the next visitor to walk in. However, no one ever did. That gave me just enough time to come up with a plan. Force forgive me for what I'm about to do.