When She Was Gone

Chapter 11

Leia crawled, shimmied and squeezed through the ventilation shaft behind Darth Makari's black robes.

She knew that she may be following her into a trap, but no internal alarms were going off.

Was Makari genuinely trying to help her?

She was so lost in thought that when Makari stopped, Leia got a face full of her rear. Luckily, it was covered with several layers of robes. She rubbed her nose.

"What's the holdup?" Leia asked.

"Shut up, beastie," Makari whisper-yelled at her. She shut up.

Makari seemed to be listening for something as they made their way through the tunnel; she would stop sometimes, press her--well, she didn't really have ears--to the cold metal, wait, then nod to Leia and move on.

After the fourth time this happened, Leia whispered rather agitatedly, "What are you listening for?"

Makari shot her an annoyed look. "Patrols pass under us every few minutes. Sound travels in this ship. Now shut up." She shut up.

~~

He activated his lightsaber.

Hiss-buzz.

He waited at the top of the ramp. Voices of stormtroopers buzzed outside.

"Go, go, go!" "Let's move!" "Hold your ground!"

And when the ramp was lowered, Anakin Skywalker charged into battle in the giant hangar of the Destroyer.

He deflected bolts as fast as they could come at him, cutting down one bucketbrain after another. Every battle from the Clone Wars came rushing back to him, fueled by his need to get to Leia. 

He remembered how to hold his blade in the heat of the firefight, remembered how to focus his attention only where it needed to be.

He remembered Ahsoka, when she had first been apprenticed to him, the scrawny little fourteen-year-old who couldn't see over the rail. Suddenly she was standing beside him, back to back, and the stormtroopers became battle droids.

Roger roger.

They sliced the droids side by side, taking on wave after wave. Anakin grinned at her, but she didn't see him. He frowned and tried to put his hand on her shoulder, but it went right through what should have been solid orange Togrutan.

Then she dissolved into the air, and the battle droids turned back into stormtroopers. Obi-Wan came up behind him, hooking his own lightsaber back on his belt and breathing heavily. A lump formed in Anakin's throat. He swallowed it and stepped over the stormtroopers, heading for the turbo-lift.

I'll find you, Leia, he thought.

But all he could think about was his Padawan.

She was here. 

He could feel it.

~~

Makari couldn't believe she was taking Skywalker's daughter to safety.

She had sworn to use her as bait and kill him. So this meant she was disobeying direct orders.

As she crawled in the tight space with Leia behind her, a memory resurfaced. And this time, instead of shoving it back into the recesses of her mind, she let it show itself.

"Sometimes it's better to ask forgiveness than permission."

Suddenly she was hit with a wave of emotions that she hadn't felt since before her apprenticeship to Kaivo. Sadness, remorse, happiness at reliving her memories.

But just as the floodgates burst, she sealed them again. 

No. This is wrong. 

I am loyal to the Empire. And I will kill Skywalker.

He chose the wrong side.

~~

Darth Makari slowed, and Leia slowed with her. Instead of pestering her this time, she tried to sense what the woman was thinking.

Leia received quite the surprise when she touched her mind.

Happiness.

She had only ever felt darkness, anger and ruthlessness from this person. What had changed in the last five seconds? 

She smiled as a memory brushed across Makari's mind. A man said, "Sometimes it's better to ask forgiveness than permission." It was her father who spoke.

Wait. 

What?

Then the happiness was abruptly cut off, and before Leia could open her mouth to ask about Anakin, Makari fully stopped and removed a grate from the bottom of the shaft. She jumped down and motioned for Leia to follow. Hesitantly, she swung her legs through the opening and dropped to the floor.

Makari closed her helmet, straightened her cape, and regarded Leia for a moment before grabbing a fistful of her hair.

"What are you--"

"Guard!" Makari shrieked. "I've found the girl!"

"What?!" Leia cried, trying to pull away. She tightened her grip on her hair. Leia yelped in pain.

Four stormtroopers came running around the corner. Makari handed her over to them. "You'll regret this," Leia growled.

The Togruta cocked her head. "No," she said. "I think I will receive praise from this."

And they dragged Leia Skywalker back to the brig.

~~

As the turbo-lift climbed the levels, Anakin straightened his armor. He didn't know how it was possible, but he'd somehow shrank and now it was sliding down his shoulders.

"Mine seems bigger, too," Obi-Wan muttered, unclipping his forearm armor.

"I'd hoped I wouldn't have to wear it."

"Yes, as had I."

"I'm also starting to think brown's not my color."

Obi-Wan chuckled.

"Maybe I'll go back to blue--" He suddenly stopped speaking. Pain and betrayal was rippling through the Force.

He could hear Leia's shrieks as she struggled against something. Someone? He couldn't be sure.

Obi-Wan's voice broke through his thoughts. "Anakin. What's going on?"

"Leia's in trouble." He stabbed the stop button on the lift console and ran into the hallway. Obi-Wan ran after him.

"Anakin!" He hissed. "Stormtroopers--"

"They already know we're here," Anakin called, jogging around the corner. He stopped and doubled-back. "These ships are Republic-era designed."

"Yes."

"Do you remember where the brig would be?"

Ooooooohh! Things are getting suspenseful...what will happen now??

Did anyone catch that "beastie" Maleficent reference? ;) *wink wink nudge nudge* Should I put more homages in these chapters? Comment a request if you think so

May the Force be with you,

-Little Tano