Even though the Empire was on its last legs, it was still a feared force in the galaxy. Recruiting had was underway to try and rebuild, but there was no telling when , or even if, the Empire would rise again. The only thing that it had that it didn't before, was a young man thought to be pronounced dead six months ago.
Four had made it off of the Death Star II; Emperor Palpatine, Vader, Major Adam Shay, and Luke. Much of their fleet was lost and had forced them to be confined to a single area. However, there was still one small command ship that was still available to use, and it had just entered the Naboo system, under the command of the same man that had once been thought of to bring balance to the Force and peace to the galaxy.
However, this man was not in the public eye, in the sense of the command ship. He was in the hangar, preparing to board a shuttle to land on Naboo, and had left the command to Major Shay. He stood watching as the blue and green planet widened in the view screen as they approached.
"Anything new?" he asked over his shoulder.
"A cloaked figure was seen running through the Theed marketplace this morning, sir," the commander that he had addressed stated. "There is no confirmation that this is our target."
"It is," Shay said, turning back to face the view screen. "She would not reveal her face to anyone. She knows that she's wanted, and will do anything to keep her true identity a secret. Pass this information along to our lord. He will need to know where to position himself."
Shay clasped his hands behind his back, feeling the motion of the ship as it slowed. It had been the first time since she had escaped from the Death Star that any suspicious activity had been recorded. The New Empire was desperate for anything, as she still posed a major threat. However, for the higher-ups, this was personal. She had walked right by Shay, and he still had no idea why he didn't stop her. Surely, he thought that she would've been killed when the station had been destroyed, but she had other plans. An escape was not something he had factored into his, and it haunted him everyday. Now, he could hopefully have that chance if this lead was true.
A small shuttle departed from the belly of the ship, heading straight into the atmosphere of Naboo. There weren't many life forms aboard, just seven, but they didn't intend to kill anyone. Naboo abided by the rules and regulations the Empire had enforced on them, and were therefore not much of a threat. Even their target was to be captured, alive. She was not to be harmed whatsoever, which wouldn't be much of a problem. The man of importance on the shuttle, even though he now channeled the corrupt side of the Force, would never do anything to hurt her.
"Sir, we have been informed by Major Shay that she was last seen within Theed," a stormtrooper said standing at attention in the doorway.
"Good," the dark figure cloaked in black said. "Make landing preparations, and keep the civilians away. She is probably out hiding the outskirts."
"Yes sir," the stormtrooper said, and turned on his heel, striding confidently out of the doorway. The dark figure stood up and glanced out of the tiny view screen in the room, watching as Naboo's surface approached. She was on the planet, he could feel her presence in the Force, but there was something that was telling him to stop. Surely, he would not have been so far lost that he would hand her over to the Emperor so quickly. By the had realized what was going on, it was too late to save her, or even himself. The only thing that he could do know was hope that she didn't put up much of a fight. Embracing the ways of the Dark side had not been easy for him, and even though he liked the power associated with those dark feelings, there was always a part of him that was telling him to go back. To say he was conflicted was an understatement.
The shuttle landed on the surface of Naboo. The Theed hangar was located near the Royal Palace, but that didn't seem to bother any of the Imperials. After all, the planet still had to conform to the Empire, and it was not worth trying to revolt.
The ramp to the shuttle lowered and the dark figure walked down it, the six stormtroopers that were on the shuttle with him following suit. Two of them would come with him, but if he commanded, they would stay behind anywhere. He wanted to do this mission alone, but the Emperor wouldn't hear it.
Aside from his eyes, which now held yellow glow to them, and a few scars, Luke Skywalker looked the same. There were small, hairline scars along the sides of his face, which were hardly noticeable unless you were close to him. They were marks of the Force Lightning that had ripped through him months ago, reminding him of the sheer power that his new master held. To anyone else, he didn't look like he had embraced the Dark. He didn't hide his identity, everyone knew that he had turned, and it had sent shockwaves through the galaxy. He had bene so encompassed by the Light that it was near-unthinkable for him to turn. Some had theories over why, but there were only four people in the galaxy who knew the real reason, and they were the only survivors from the Death Star II, and all Imperials. He still went by his old name, which was odd to many, but to those close to him, it meant that he might be salvageable.
He strode confidently out of the shuttle, reaching out to the Force in order to find her presence, and smiled. She was definitely here, and she was close.
"Myra!" a voice called from the forest. The girl lifted her head, pausing. His voice sounded frantic, but something she had learned while she had been on the run, even before she had met Luke, was that her pursuers would do anything to get to her. She picked up her cloak, tossing it over her shoulders, and pulled the hood up. The last thing that she wanted was to get caught up in a trap.
She reached into one of the concealed pockets,and her fingers brushed the metal hilt of a familiar weapon. She relaxed, knowing that she had it for protection if she absolutely needed to. She had not ignited it since she had fled, and had been tempted to put distance between her and it, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. She had yet to be in a situation where her stealth was not enough to get her out, and she hope that she never had to ignite her saberstaff. The pearl-white twin blades were one-of-a-kind, and would be recognized easily. Not even Tyler knew that she carried the weapon.
Carefully she walked out into the forest, her head on a swivel, making sure that no one was around. She reached out with the Force, trying to sense something, and gasped when she felt darkness. Luke was on the planet, she knew. There was no one else it could be. She raised her head, knowing that the ship was still several minutes away, and she began to pick up her pace.
"Tyler?" she called out weakly. Her fingers wrapped around the hilt of her saberstaff. If she had to, she would ignite it. If Tyler was in danger, there was no sense in holding back. They had been through too much for him to lose his life over her.
She heard nothing back.
"Tyler?" she called again, and broke out into a run. She whipped through the trees, jumping over fallen logs and holding her free arm in front of her to try and shield her face from the onslaught that the leaves brought down upon her.
She nearly fell flat on her back when a dark figure appeared from around the trees.
"What?" Tyler asked, confused. She struggled to gin her balance back.
"We have to get out of here," she said. "Now."
He cocked his head to the side. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
"The Empire is here," she said.
"How do you know?" he asked.
"I saw their ship approach," she lied. It was a skill she had become quite good at.
He ran a hand through his dark hair. "Alright," he said. "The ship just needs some time to come up."
"Get it going as fast as you can," she said. "We don't have much time to waste."
The two began to jog through the woods toward the place where their stolen Imperial Shuttle sat, untouched for months. When she had first landed on Naboo, it had been her only thought to just stay on the ship and live within it. However, Tyler had found her out in the woods, and had questioned where she had found a shuttle such as that, much less an Imperial one. She had thought quickly, coming up with a story about being an ex-Imperial officer, and had stolen one from the fleet when the fall was imminent. It covered most of her bases, especially the most important one. There was no way to explain why the Empire was coming after her before, but this story was enough to keep him satisfied, and thinking that Myra Thorne was a real person.
She didn't even know what to call herself anymore. Anna reminded her too much of the past, but she just couldn't accept Myra as her new name. Maybe, once she found her sister, she would have yet another identity, as the people who had raised her had not bene her real parents. There was no doubt in her mind that "Anara" was not her last name, but Anna seemed right to her. Anything else just seemed to not fit her.
They reached the ship, and the six months of misuse were starting to wear on it. The once pristine white finish was marked up and covered in vines, which helped to conceal it, but at the same time, there was a possibility that they had grown into critical areas of the ship. However, now was not the time to worry about that. She needed to get off of Naboo.
The ramp was down already, and they both raced up into the shuttle. Both took their seats, Anna in the pilot's seat, Tyler in the co-pilot's. Switches were being flipped quickly as she tried to get everything ready for takeoff, but with the uncertainty over whether or not the shuttle could still fly in the condition it was in, it was taking a little while to boot up. "C'mon you old thing, let's move it, time is of the essence," she hissed.
"How far away are they?" Tyler asked.
"You know this place better than I do," she said. "Where's the hangar?"
"About ten clicks west of here," he said.
"Then we need to move it," she said.
He leaned back in his seat, swivelling it to face her. "You realize we're in a forest, where it looks the same in every direction," he said. "Do you really think that they could ever find us?"
"You don't know how well the Empire trains its people," she said. "I do. They'll find us fast, and they won't leave you either. We need to get out of here as fast as we can."
Tyler sighed, leaning forward to flip on some of the other switches, and with that, the shuttle roared to life.
"Okay, let's see if you can still fly," she said, half talking to the ship, half to herself. She was confident in her abilities, but her piloting skills were never stellar, as much as she wanted to believe. Carefully, she gripped the throttle and the shuttle began to rise up from the trees. Now was the moment of truth.
"Sir," one of the stormtroopers said, and Luke whipped around. He let out a low growl as he saw the familiar shape of a Lambda-class shuttle rose into the air not far from them. He cursed under his breath.
"What are you commands?" asked the stormtrooper.
"Leave," he said. "Inform Major Shay to track any air traffic departing Naboo."
"Yes sir," the stormtrooper said before turning away. Luke's hand clenched into fists as he watched the shuttle disappear into the sky. She had been so close to him, and once again, she had slipped through his fingers. He glanced down at the ground before he turned, the workers on the hangar parting to let him through as he stalked back toward his own shuttle. The Emperor would not be happy, but he didn't really care. It was the first time in six months they had any sort of lead, the first time he had even felt her presence in the Force. Now, she was gone once again. He only hoped that it wouldn't be for long.
A little late, but Wimbledon Tennis totally distracted me (by totally I mean that I couldn't get anything done until 2pm). Thank you for the feedback so far!
I have a poll up on my profile asking at what frequency you guys prefer this story to update. If you have time I'd love if you could answer it.