Always In My Head

Chapter 8

Sofie sat in the ship's chair and zoned out. She felt completely helpless. Her mind filled with worse-case scenarios and any drive she had was now replaced with dread.

She decided that the only thing she could do for now was to go home.

Sofie returned to the Resistance base on D'Qar and tried to ensure that her arrival had minimal fanfare. She tried not to blame anyone except Ben for Lana's abduction, but it was hard to ignore the 'what-ifs'.

Sofie returned Leia's ship, put on her best poker face, and made her way to her room with minimal conversation. Once she made it to her room, she flopped into her bed, held onto her pillow tightly and cried.

She gave herself a moment to miss Lana, be furious with Ben, and be disappointed with Leia. She also scolded herself, thinking of all the things she could have done differently.

Then, her emotions subsided as she fell into a deep sleep.

Knock, knock.

"...yes?" Sofie woke up and said sleepily, trying to regain her composure. She wondered how long she had been asleep.

"Sofie? It's Leia, can I come in?" She heard the voice say through the door.

Sofie got up in a rush and a pit appeared in her stomach. She opened the door and saw Leia standing with her arms folded. Sofie guessed that she already knew how her attempt to retrieve Lana had gone.

"I wanted to see how you were doing," Leia told her.

Sofie let Leia inside and they both sat at the standard table and chairs provided in each room.

"I'm doing... not too well." Sofie told Leia. She avoided eye contact with her.

Leia sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't do more," she started. "I had no idea. I trusted Sadiana." Sofie shook her head in understanding.

"I know. I did too, and she was so supportive of the Resistance." Sofie said.

"Sofie," Leia started bluntly. "I know that rescuing Lana is your top priority right now, but I have a proposition that might benefit both of us."

Sofie eyed Leia curiously. Admittedly, while consumed with issues that were personal to her, she forgot about the conflict that had started to overtake the whole galaxy.

"I have intel coming in that will tell us where Luke went. If we convince him to come fight with us, maybe he can help find Lana as well." Leia told Sofie.

"You think he'll listen to me?" Sofie asked her. She knew she could probably make an emotionally-driven case for Luke to come back, but she reflected back to him leaving the Jedi Academy after it burned down. He didn't care.

"At this point, we're getting desperate and anything is worth a try. Besides, you were one of his students." Leia told her.

Sofie thought of Lana, and decided that Leia was right. It was worth a try.

Within the week, Leia had successfully located Luke, and once Sofie heard the news, she was ready to go to him within the hour. She grew more anxious for Lana with every passing day.

She borrowed Leia's ship once again and began to travel to the coordinates given to her.

Sofie landed on a lush, green archipelago surrounded by a seemingly endless amount of water.

She exited the ship and took in the air. For some reason, it reminded her of the Jedi Academy.

She walked carefully across the island, taking in the sight of the cliffs and ocean. A short walk from where she had landed, she found a cluster of huts. She walked through them and eventually spotted a figure standing near a cliff. Sofie walked faster towards the figure.