Horizons ( Luke Skywalker )

chapter XIX

She wakes up too early, even for her, to find Luke pulling a tunic over his head, rummaging around the room and preparing this bag. He has to leave soon, rebels are attacking Imperial military bases and there's no time to spare. He knows immediately when she wakes and his pace notably slows.

I'll be back soon, he promises, assuring her that she can return to sleep. Still, she leaves the bed and prepares to send him off. The last she sees of him, he's strapped into a fighter jet. She glares, angry that she has been ordered to stay behind. She's never been a great pilot.

"This mission is below you, Mara," he says with a grin, trying to make her feel better, before the hatch locks him in. Her glare fades as she watches Luke prepare to fight his old comrades, prepares to fly far far away. She watches him until his jet is out of sight.

     . . .

     She spends her time before her own mission in the gardens. Even on a big metal ship, it almost feels as if she's back on land. There are few pleasures that Mara allows herself; the greenhouse is one of them. It's peaceful, quiet, usually solitary. The fresh air helps clear her mind, usually so busy and worried.

It's also the worst place to stage an ambush. She feels connected with everything in the room, feels the life force of every plant, flower, and vine. She feels when a presence enters. And she feels the dart flying in her direction. Luke has taught her well. She leans to the side, ducking as the dart flies past and embeds in the branch before her. There's a sting at her ear and she reaches up to feel; her fingers pull away to reveal blood. It's barely nicked her.

These attacks are becoming more frequent, she thinks in her daze. She feels Luke, feels his urgency as he rushes towards her. He'll never make it in time, being so far away on his newest mission.

She pushes herself up from where she was kneeling on the ground, turns to face her attacker. Fury swells in her chest, angry that anyone would be so bold as to repeatedly attack her. She will end every single one of them.

"You kriffing coward," she snarls, when she sees nothing but the greenery surrounding her. Whoever it is still lurks in out of sight, too scared to reveal themself. "Haven't grown impatient with trying to poison me yet?"

Suddenly, he steps forward into the light. A cloak is draped around his shoulders, hood pulled up over his head. He's close enough that Mara should be able to see him in striking detail but she's horrified to find that she can't. Color is fading from her vision and the figure grows more blurry with every passing second. It's the dart doing this to her, she realizes, the one that had nicked her ear.

She hears the pounding of her heart, and with each pulse her ear burns a little more. The figure steps closer to her; he's large, towers over her and Mara wish she had the strength to flee. She can't fight this man in her state. She can barely stand in place.

But then he pauses, his head whips to the side. Mara tries to follow his line of sight but she falls to the ground before she can see what caught his attention. She blacks out only seconds later.

. . .

     When she wakes, she finds herself surrounded by white walls, tucked into a bed under white blankets with droids shuffling around her. It's disorienting and confusing; the last thing she remembers is her fall in the greenhouse, surrounded by the plants and trees. Now, she's in the medical bay.