Luke and Leia - Rebels [2]

5: An Unwelcome Visitor

Luke blew out a long breath as he deactivated his lightsaber and took his helmet off, observing the blinder that was placed down. He hadn't used the helmet in awhile which showed in this most recent training session, and he winced as he rolled his shoulders that were sore from both exercise and being zapped several times by the training droid.

As he left his quarters after dropping the helmet and lightsaber off he noticed that the normal hustle and bustle of the base was more subdued than usual, which was nice because it allowed him to think a little more clearly. But at the same time, on days like these where his surroundings were less active he found himself missing Leia terribly.

He leaned against a railing that bordered a one-sided window looking out into the mountains, his mind wandering. It was times like these when he'd give almost anything to have her chide him for either being stupid or naive, anything to replace the silence of her absence. Han also drifted across his mind every now and then, and Luke wondered what the smuggler was up to nowadays. The last time he'd seen him was the last time he'd seen Leia as well, when all three of them had gone their separate ways indefinitely. Luke and Leia had travelled to separate Rebel bases, while Han was still torn between taking off in the Falcon and staying around a bit longer. Either way, neither twin had the luxury of finding out before they were forced to say goodbye. Now for all Luke knew he could be all the way across the galaxy.

A passing glint in the distance in a trough between two mountains caught Luke's attention and he froze, straining his eyes to attempt to see it again. There it was again, except when Luke moved his head to one side the glint stayed which meant it wasn't moving. He felt a sudden chill down his spine, and couldn't help but wonder if he was being watched.

Luke scoffed and stood back up. There was no way anyone or anything could see him; the window was one-sided and the base was well camouflaged. Besides, there had been no signs of Imperial activity since before the base was established and it was doubtful that the activity would start now.

Another wild thought crossed his mind: what if he went to investigate? Luke frowned at the outlandish thought, but at the same time he was considering it. Something about the chill that ran through him upon seeing it made him wonder if he was somehow meant to notice it and explore it.

Luke's frown grew deeper, but a gut instinct and his own curiosity told him he should go. So, he strode into the communications center and told a commander that he was going on patrol. The commander nodded absentmindedly, too preoccupied with whatever was on his datapad to be concerned with what Luke was telling him. Luke walked back out and towards the speeders, but paused as he passed his quarters. Artoo was inside, shut off. Should he bring the astromech with him?

The answer was almost immediate. Luke walked in and powered on Artoo, and the droid whistled a greeting. "Good morning, buddy. Are you all recharged?"

Artoo beeped an affirmative and inquired why. Luke smirked. "Because we're going on a little adventure."

:-:-:-:

Before Luke had left he'd programmed a tracker to find where the glint was coming from, and he was relieved that he'd done so because the trail towards it was more convoluted than he'd thought. But nevertheless he made it with Artoo twittering either from nerves or excitement the whole way there.

He parked the speeder under a tree and unstrapped the droid. "Artoo, scan for anything out of the ordinary nearby."

Artoo beeped obediently as Luke set him down with a grunt, wiping his sweaty palms off on his pants as he looked around with a slight frown. Everything looked normal, but something about it still unsettled him. Everything about this felt wrong in a way he couldn't completely identify, an itch he couldn't quite scratch. It made him restless and jumpy, and when Artoo asked if he was alright he nodded but the frown remained.