On the Wings of Valkyrie

Chapter CXXXIII

"Well, this is going spectacularly."

"Keep up the optimism, Kid," Han said in response as he and Luke took shelter behind a wall. "Where's the gray lady? Shouldn't she be back here by now?"

"I mean, maybe? Ahsoka didn't exactly say how she planned to make contact with the guy."

"Well then, got any Jedi tricks up your sleeve?"

"A few, just don't know if now would be the time," Luke responded as a ball landed in front of them. He didn't even take a moment to look at it before he threw it back the way it had come with the Force without a second to spare. The thermal detonator went off close enough his ears were ringing.

The moment he could hear clearly again, Han was saying, "Now's the time, Kid!"

"Right," Luke agreed, green lightsaber snapping to life as he rolled out of cover, deflecting laser blasts left and right. He was marching forwards to dispatch the group of enemies so that they could move to a better position when it hit him like a punch to the gut. Sudden pain that wasn't his.

If it weren't for the Force, the young Jedi would have probably been blasted off his feet. As it was, it took a second to regain himself, block off the sensation enough to move back to where Han was so he could figure out what the hell he was feeling while not being shot at.

"Are you alright?" the Smuggler asked the moment Luke had ducked back into cover. "You're pale."

"Something happened," Luke answered, trying to figure out where the sudden pain had come from even as it became harder to sense and easier to block out, as though it was being hidden away.

"Is Leia alright?"

"Leia's fine...." the Rebel Commander responded. This was true, the pain was not coming from the bond to his twin. "It's Father."

"If something can injure Vader, I'm having my doubts about the fine part," Han huffed. "Tell Ahsoka to hurry up! We need to go help!"

~*~

"Do you want to regroup?" Leia questioned through the commlink. Not even a handful of seconds ago she got the strangest feeling that perhaps she ought to catch up with the Sith. That said, it was hard enough to hold position let alone march forward, so she wasn't about to do something unless it was definitely necessary. Honestly the Princess didn't even know why she was concerned, she'd witnessed Vader and his apprentice do enough impossible things to half believe that the two of them were invincible. Logically she knew that was impossible—she'd witnessed Luna be injured before—but it was still difficult for her to imagine something like assistance as necessary.

"That is unnecessary," came Vader's response after a moment. Not that Leia had expected anything different. She mentally shrugged and continued on with what she was doing.

~*~

Being stabbed with a lightsaber was not a pleasant experience.

Luna would have been able to tell anyone this despite having never experienced it herself—not that one needed to experience it to come to such a conclusion—but as she was currently sensing it second hand, she was fully capable of telling anyone who asked exactly what it felt like. Given it would have taken her a few moments to sort out the injury from all the other symptoms of sickness that had just decided to hit her at full force, but she could.

It took a moment before she could pull herself together enough to move once more, an action that was assisted by the true owner of the pain blocking it off from all who were bonded to him. It helped somewhat, but Luna could still feel the gaping abdominal wound as though it was her own as she moved forward, determined to ignore the now present headache, upset stomach, and the sudden desire to curl up in bed and stay there for the foreseeable future. Luna had a base to destroy, and she would destroy it.