PANIC CORD ━━━ l.skywalker ¹

03

T H R E E

Shifting back and forth on her heels, Clary glances ahead at her brother, clad in the white armor of a Stormtrooper. She's amazed they managed to trick the soldiers so easily, yet her heart feels heavy at the thought of the lives that were wasted. However, Clary knows that if she voices these opinions out loud, Han will find a way to get her black to planet Corellia, or perhaps even Tatooine, and out of his sight for good. Clary swallows nervously, gripping on tighter to her blaster as she slowly peers past the ramp as the gantry officer enters the room—before he has the chance to register what is happening, Chewbacca approaches him, and with a howl that makes Clary's spine chill, and flattens the officer with a single blow to the head. He collapses to the ground in silence, and the soldiers who had followed him in his aid reach for their own weapons, but before they even have the chance to aim, Han blasts at them with ease. As Chewbacca barks something his way, Clary jogs down the ramp followed by Ben, R2-D2 and C-3P0 at the wave of Luke's hand and they enter the control room, going unnoticed.

"You know," Luke says, removing his Stormtrooper helmet, "between his howling and your blasting everything in sight, it's a wonder the whole station doesn't know we're here."

Han scoffs. "Bring them on! I prefer a straight fight to all this sneaking around."

Clary remains silent, watching her brother carefully. She feels worried for him—he is reckless and ambitious, and Clary knows that will put not only him in danger, but the rest of the group as well. She immediately feels guilty for thinking such a thing about Han—he's her brother, she should only care about him and no one else (along with Chewbacca of course). She feels attached to the new strangers, though, and glancing back at Luke, who meets her gaze with those glittering blue eyes that makes her heart race, Clary worries for them as well.

"Clary?" She barely registers Luke is speaking to her until he nods at her. She blinks, out of her thoughts, yet she feels her pulse throbbing as his blue eyes look into hers. Her brow creases momentarily until she realizes what he's asking—does she agree with him, or her brother.

She tears her gaze away from Luke's, unable to look into his eyes any longer as she says, "Shoot first, think later." The response is almost mechanical, as if all her life she was trained to say such a thing. She had been (well, taught such a thing), but now, in this moment, Clary feels sympathy for the dead lying in the control room. She tries to avoid looking at them as she glances up, meeting her brother's gaze. He's watching her carefully, jaw clenched, yet he doesn't say anything or question her further. He doesn't have to. It's almost as if they share the same mind, anyway—he already knows about the dilemma that's running through Clary's head.

She's smuggled her whole life—Clary doesn't understand why she doubts her thoughts now. She blames the strangers who aren't so strange to her anymore; ever since she had set eyes on that glowing lightsaber in Mos Eisley, she feels changed. She doesn't feel the same anymore, and it frightens her. Not many things frighten Clary, but in this moment, she realizes many things frighten her—the almost familiar hum of that radiant Jedi weapon, Han's impending fate with Jabba the Hutt, standing in the control room of the Imperial Death Star with Stormtroopers that could find them any second, and Luke's eyes. She stares at her feet as she listens to C-3P0 reporting to the others that him and R2-D2 had found the computer outlet. Yes, Luke's eyes frighten her the most.