MOONDUST ▷ OBI-WAN KENOBI

CHAPTER XXI. every battle you won

☆ | CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE; EVERY BATTLE YOU WON.

{"your scars are a warning to all future monsters, of the hell you have survived before them, every demon you vanquished, and every battle you won."}

Ingrid knew that if Padmé or Obi-Wan caught sight of her, they'd never allow her to leave Coruscant. So, as Padmé assured her head of security, Captain Typho, that she would be safe now that the war was over and Obi-Wan was there to protect her, Ingrid snuck aboard Padmé's chrome yacht starship and stowed away in a storage compartment. With a racing heart, she listened to Obi-Wan and Padmé's footsteps as they passed by her hiding place, praying with all her might that Obi-Wan would not sense her and foil her plans to save them from their bravery. It seemed that the force was with her in the moment, for the door to the storage space did not slide open to reveal Obi-Wan's disappointed frown. Instead, Ingrid could only hear the muffled sounds of both Padmé and Obi-Wan entering the cockpit of the starship, unaware of the stowaway on board.

As the craft shuddered- signaling that the starship had left Coruscant's atmosphere- Ingrid's stomach sank. She could hardly see the ecumenopolis through the small sliver of a window that had been provided for her in the compartment, but a tear cut down her cheek as she watched the skyline become nothing but glittering lights dotting the planet's surface. Perhaps it was due to the unshakable feeling that she'd never see it again, but Ingrid thought Coruscant had never looked so beautiful.

The journey to Mustafar was agonizing. Ingrid's heart lurched with each shake of the ship, sure that every movement was the sound of them landing on the planet's surface. Images of Darth Vader flashed into her mind with each spike of fear, his orange-yellow eyes burned into the insides of her eyelids. She hardly survived her first encounter with the newly-annointed Sith Lord, and was not feeling too confident when it came to a rematch. In fact, she had never been so terrified.

Finally, the red planet came into the view of her small window, and she pressed herself against the transparisteel in order to get a glimpse of Mustafar. It was small in size, dwarfed by the gas giants that it was situated between, but somehow it managed to look menacing. The very surface of the planet oozed and bubbled with magma, giving it a volatile and dangerous outer appearance- just like the Sith Lord that had taken refuge upon it. As the ship descended through the atmosphere, a chill crept up Ingrid's spine. Even from the ship, she could feel the darkness that had consumed Anakin, which meant that he could sense her as well. There was no going back.

The ship landed smoothly on a landing pad, and through the door Ingrid heard the hiss of the lowering ramp. Padmé and Obi-Wan's footsteps came and went past her hiding place as they headed down to presumably meet Vader, whose presence Ingrid could sense coming closer and closer. Through the force, Ingrid could feel Padmé's desperation as she clung to the hope that they could bring Anakin back to the light. Back on the veranda, Padmé had been in denial about Anakin's turn, but now that she had seen Vader for herself, her life was crumbling around her, crushing everything she had ever worked for. Ingrid wanted to envelop her friend her arms and tell her that everything would be alright, but she truly had no idea what the future would be like for them. When she looked ahead, all she could see was darkness.