Supernova || Luke Skywalker

Five

Luke couldn't sleep. Wedge's snoring in the other bunk was particularly loud that night. Despite the sound, every time he closed his eyes he could see the burnt out bodies of his aunt and uncle. They had been collapsed only a few feet from their home. They had almost made it and it tortured him that they only been a few feet away. The smell of burnt bodies and the dry air of desert sand slinging his nose. The strike air of a star destroyer. Ben's cloak dropping empty to the floor. The dark helmet and rasping breathing of Vader as he struck down the closest thing Luke'd had to a grandfather. Then the bright lights of ships exploding in space, voices on the radio screaming as they are abruptly cut off. Briggs, a boy who he had known since their early teens and Briggs had been that cool older brother figure, his voice shouting before his ship exploded.

He rolled over and huffed as he stared through the dark to the snoring form. Wedge was a man roughly the same age as Lars had been. He had been the only man in the red squadron who had a free cabin. The other vacancies had been caused by death and it wasn't right to to room him in there until the cabins had been cleared of belongings. He had been shoved in with Wedge, which could be worse but the snoring was getting on his nerves that night. R2 beeped quietly as he got up and pulled on a jacket over his cotton sleepwear. "I'm just going for a walk Artoo", he reassured, rubbing a hand over the top of the droid' head. He pulled on his boots and R2 hummed as he left the room. The door whooshing shut behind him.

The rebel base was never truly quiet. People on night shift, monitoring the radios and scanners. A skeleton crew manning the flight bay for any ships that could arrive in the night. Luke nodded at a few people as he passed. The night shift all weary and quiet, aware that most of the base was asleep. He let his feet lead him through the stone corridors, mind drifting. So it wasn't a surprise when he found himself being carried towards the flight bay where his ship was resting. Just as he was turning the corner, he bumped into a small body with a oof.

"Luke", Leia sighed as he caught her by her arms. The Princess smiled tiredly at him as he steadied her. She was dressed in a long white skirt and a matching woollen jumper. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Not a wink", Luke smiled. In the last few months, since he had rescued her, Leia had become a fast friend. She was like something he had been missing from his life. A presence he instantly felt at home with. It was as if he had known her since birth.

"Good. Me neither", Leia grumbled. She looped her arm through his. They only had a few inches between them. Then she blinked round at the flight bay. "Oh. I didn't aim to arrive here".

"Me neither but I guess that's where midnight wandering gets you". Luke shrugged and Leia nodded with a sigh. It was weird that they had both ended up in the same place at this time of night. Luke mentally reached out and frowned. The force was flowing strongly. It was nudging at him. He looked out into the large room. The flight bay doors were shut but the room was lit with the white lights in the high ceiling above. But large shadows still lingered around each ship. The room sharp in black and white.

"Shall we go and see if Han and Chewie are awake?" He suggested. The falcon was parked in the corner. Han and Chewie proffering to sleep on their ship rather than one of the cabins they had been offered.

Leia nodded. "Might as well. We both no that they have no proper sleep schedule". That was true. People who spent a lot of time in space and hopping from planet to planet had their own circadian rhythms. They didn't sleep according to sun up or sun set, there was no dawn or night in space. Instead, they slept according to their own schedules. Though, Han had a tendency to ignore sleep until he was passing out in his seat.

The two of them picked their way through the ships. As they crossed through the room, the sound of voices became audible. One voice louder than the other. The volume echoing in the empty space. Tones of laughter and awe. "And that's two minutes. Wow. Two minutes. Damn, how long did you train to do that?" There was a thud and the low murmur of a second voice. A crack, something hitting steel and a laugh.

Luke and Leia rounded past a Y-wing and paused. Two people were in the empty space between the Rogue one ship and the rest of the fleet. The two heroes of scarif were standing on the stone floor. The one with a long dark hair and the scruff of a beard was in baggy, mismatched clothes and was watching the other man. The other man, the one Luke had stared at, the one with the force swirling around him. He was in a black robe with his usual red skirt underneath. He had a long metal staff in his hands and was moving it through the air. His body moving fluidly through what Luke realised what a series of formations. It took a few seconds of staring to pick out the forms. The man was moving through them so quickly and smoothly that it was hard to pick up. He spun his staff through his hands, lunging and jumping and twirling. His companion watching calmly, with the air of having seen this before.

"Oh", Leia muttered upon seeing them. "They seem better. I was worried".

"Who are they?" Luke asked, voice low as not to disturb the two men. The man with the staff sill had his dark red scarf pulled up over his face but he looked young, maybe Luke's age.

"I haven't introduced you yet, haven't I", Leia frowned. "These men are the survivors of scarif. They are the ones who got the Death Star plans to my ship. Come on", she began tugging Luke towards them. "I'll introduce you". She held up a hand and waved. "Hello".

The man with the staff fell into a neutral pose at the sound of Leia's voice. The two of them turned as they approached. Luke noticed that despite the impressive display, the man could definitely fight well, the man was edging behind his friend. He caught the softness on Leia's face for a second as they drew to a stop a few feet away. "Good evening, mind if we join you?" Leia asked gently. The two men seemed almost nervous. Luke understood this, Leia had that effect on people. But the nervousness seemed to be because of him too. The blonde tried to smile reassuringly. The man with the scarf cast his gaze to the floor

"Princess"- the long haired man began, voice soft and slightly stuttery.

"I've told you, you can call me Leia".

"Leia. You're welcome too". The scarf man leaned over closer to his friend. The other man tilted his head to listen then nodded. "Feel free to join us". He gestured to the open ramp of their ship. Luke wondered what they had done to the inside. All those weeks of seeing them working. Now he was curious. He was curious about a lot of things.

"Thank you", Leia smiled warmly at them. Luke was surprised to see her acting so gentle towards two men at lest a head taller than her. "This is my friend Luke Skywalker. He's the Jedi I told you about". Luke watched as both the men's eyes widened.

Unedited