I forgot to post this in the first place but I haven't written anything in something like ten years. So I would appreciate it if you would post a review so I could get some constructive criticism and see if anyone actually likes this story. I'm going to try and post a POV of Korra and Luke once a month. If that means one chapter or two or more then, so be it. I couldn't get something out of my head so I wrote chapter 1 of Retirement. If all goes according to plan then, that will be posted on the fifteenth.
Chapter 4
Luke was profoundly troubled by recent events. Three dead and five injured. With the last two being sent to the prison. Even though Luke knew one of them, the woman whom he was following, was innocent. The man, whoever he was, said he was Sith. Luke wasn't sure if he believed him or not. But one thing was for sure, the man knew exactly who Luke was, parentage and all.
That man was highly proficient in Form IV: Ataru, Form V: Shien/Djem So, Form VI: Niman and Form VII: Juyo. With a heavy lean toward Forms IV and VII while wielding the Shien reverse grip. The man also seemed good at pattern recognition. Which considering his armor and his knowledge of Luke, would suggest he was this man's teacher.
The group of five, excluding the one on the stretcher, were close to the Base. The woman wearing blue seemed unnerved by the male Iridonian Zabrak moving the repulsor stretcher. She also seemed unnerved with the female Twi'lek who guarded her. She didn't seem to mind the A280 blaster rifles the Twi'lek and the other human male guard were carrying which meant one of two things to Luke. One, she's never seen an A280 and doesn't know it's power. Or, she's never seen a blaster rifle before. Which would also suggest she's never seen a slugthrower before, either. Since the only difference between them is the shot that comes out of it and how it's done and powered. Luke was still upset that the guards were needed at all. But that's what Luke was going to see Carlist Rieekan about.
When Luke looked at the woman in blue, he smiled. She was sticking close to the stretcher while holding the hand of the woman named Asami. Luke could see and feel the love that she felt for Asami. He was happy for them, but it only brought up sad memories. He thought about him and Mara and smiled a sad smile.
Luke was brought out of his memories when he heard the male guard say, "It's time to go." Luke didn't even realize that they had reached the medical center. The woman in blue nodded at the guard and kissed the hand of Asami. Before they turned away, Luke saw the others being treated by medical staff and 2-1Bs. One of the people, the teen that had yellow and orange robes, now only had white underwear on. He had an arrow tattoo on his head and was being lowered into a bacta tank. When Luke left, he saw two more guards at the entrance. Both were human males.
They reached the door to the command center. Luke stopped and said, "If you don't need me anymore, I'll just go and talk to the General."
The man looked at the woman in blue and replied, "That's fine. We can handle her from here. If she does anything, we'll comm you."
"Master Horn is down there if she really does anything though I highly doubt she will." Luke said as he turned to the woman, "Please don't do anything. I promise to get you out as soon as possible." With that, he went to the door and pushed a button. The door slid aside. After he entered, it closed behind him.
Luke saw Rieekan in the center of the room just watching everyone. When Luke entered, Rieekan turned and sighed at Luke. He motioned for Luke to follow and they went to the briefing room. When they entered, the General turned and said, "I know what you are here for. It was just a precaution until I got your input on the people we found."
"You're so quick to trust me?" Luke asked, dumbfounded that General Carlist Rieekan, one of the most paranoid men Luke had ever encountered, would trust him so easily. Luke again felt something odd about someone's Force signature from this time.
"Well, yes. If you are who you say you are, then, I trust you. I trust Commander Skywalker, so why not, Master Skywalker?"
"Hm. Well, I do know at least a little bit about one of them." Luke said and reached for the lightsaber he took, "Do you know whom this belongs to?"
"No." Rieekan replied, "Should I?"
"This is the Supreme Commander's lightsaber. I recovered it from the man who killed all those people." Luke said.
"You mean-."
"Yes. While I don't know how he got it, everything about him, from his armor to his fighting style, is his. Which means he taught him. But how he got his lightsaber is something I'm going to ask him if you'll let me. He knew exactly who I was, parentage and all."
"I'll let you speak to him. But first, what of the others? Are they on our side or theirs?" Rieekan asked while Luke reattached the lightsaber to his belt.
"From what I've seen, they're on no one's side. When I asked one of them, they said they didn't know who the Jedi or the Empire were." Luke responded.
"Hm. That's strange. Maybe they're from a world that hasn't yet been discovered." Rieekan suggested.
"Maybe. They seemed to know each other. Except for the lightsaber wielding man, of course. The woman who was taken down to the prison didn't seem to want to fight us. She seems to only be concerned about her friends." Luke said and thought to her interaction with Asami, "I don't think they are much threat now. That man did a number on them."
When Rieekan didn't respond Luke said, "You can keep the guards at the medical center until we can talk to them but the woman needs to be released."
"Why?" The General questioned.
"Because, for one, she's innocent. Two, she's terrified. Something's happened to her that she's terrified of prisons." Luke answered.
"Maybe that's because she did something wrong in her past."
"I don't think so. I sensed too much light inside of her. I also sensed the same thing with one of the kids that were hurt. It's kind of strange for non-Force users."
"I'll take your word for it. I'll release the woman but keep the guards on the others until they're awake." Rieekan said after a while.
"I'll head down there immediately," Luke said as he prepared to leave.
"Wait! Why you? One of the men can handle it."
"She trusts me and I said I would do it," Luke said.
"Okay, if you insist. I'll let the guards know you're coming."
"Thank you, General." said Luke, as he bowed, then left.
Luke left the room and headed to the turbolift cluster. When he got there, he signaled for the turbolift to come up. He entered when it came and went down to the prison. On the way, he felt uneasy about something. The guards greeted him when he entered the prison and led him to the woman's cell. He saw Corran at the entrance to the cell next to hers and nodded to him. The guards opened the cell and returned to their posts.
When he entered, he saw the woman being held in a containment device with her arms above her head. The look and feelings of fear and terror overwhelmed Luke.
"You're not real!" She said, "I got rid of you!"
Luke obviously could tell that she was hallucinating. He tried talking, "Miss? It's me, Master Skywalker. I'm here to let you go." He then approached her.
"Stay away from me!" She screamed in panic.
He continued to approach her slowly, "I'm just going to-."
He was interrupted by her breathing fire at him, "I told you to stay away!" She screamed of fear and anger. Luke was easily able to deflect the flames with the Force, but he backed off. Luke could feel Corran concerned and battle ready outside.
So Luke considered another option, "If you can hear me, I'm going to leave now. I'll be back with Asami." He said as he backed away toward the door. Before it closed, he heard her start crying.
"What happened? You okay?" Corran questioned.
"I'm fine." Luke said, "She just breathed fire at me."
"Breathed fire? I didn't know there are people who can do that."
"She can also manipulate water." Luke calmly said, "I'll be back. I'm just going to get someone to help calm her down."
"Your cloak is smoking," Corran called, as Luke was down the hall.
Luke looked down and stepped on his cloak until it was out. He then continued to the turbolift. Once he was out, he headed to the medical center. When he entered, he saw Asami sitting up asking one of the staff something. As he got closer, he heard what she was saying, "-ere is Korra? She's not here. So, where is she?"
"I don't know, miss." The staff member said, "You'll have to ask him." She said and pointed at Luke, then returned to whatever she was doing.
"Excuse me, miss…?" Luke started.
"Sato. Asami Sato. And you are?" Asami questioned.
"Miss Sato, I'm Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. I've come to you because of the woman I assume you were talking about."
"Korra? You know where she is?"
"If we are talking about the same woman, then yes. She has short brown hair, blue tribal clothing-."
"Yup, that's Korra. Where is she? Is she alright?" Asami asked.
"Well, that's why I'm here. You see, she was put into a prison cell-."
"Oh, no!" Asami whispered.
"-And she is having a panic attack. She breathed fire at me when I got too close."
"She didn't mean it!" Asami rushed to say.
"I guessed that. She is hallucinating." Luke said.
"Hallucinating? She's never done that before." Asami mumbled, "She would've told me."
"That's why I need your help. To try to either calm her down or distract her so I can release her."
"I'll do anything to help her," Asami said and stood too quickly. She would've fallen if Luke hadn't put his hands on her shoulders to steady her.
"You have a concussion." He said, "You need to take it nice and slow. We don't know how bad it is."
"I'm fine." She said, "I just need to help Korra."
Luke removed his hands from her shoulders and instead put his arm around them. He led her to the turbolift cluster and went down to the prison. When they entered, Luke had to vouch for Asami. They made their way to Korra's cell and Luke removed his arm from her shoulders.
"I'll go in first just in case she breathes fire again," Luke said. To which Asami nodded.
Luke opened the cell door and was met with the terrified and puffy-eyed gaze of Korra.
"Not you again!" She whined, "Why won't you just leave me alone?!"
"Korra? It's me, Master Skywalker. I brought someone to help you." He moved out of the way to reveal Asami.
Korra's gaze softened, "A-Asami?"
"Yes, Korra, it's me." She said. She went running over as best she could and hugged Korra. Which was difficult since Korra was a meter off the ground. Korra now cried different tears. This time of happiness and relief.
Luke tried as quickly and quietly as he could to remove Korra's restraints. But before he could move to the first one, he saw Korra look toward him.
"Korra, Korra, look at me. Korra, honey, look at me." Asami pleaded. When she did, Asami whispered something to her to calm her down.
Luke again tried to remove the restraints. When Korra would look at him, Asami put her hands on the side of Korra's face and whisper something to her. When he was done, Korra collapsed to her knees in Asami's arms who was still whispering to her.
Luke felt something odd around Korra and began to think. He, then, said to Asami, "I think I can remove her hallucination. I just have to touch her head. Can you tell her what I'm doing?"
Asami nodded and whispered to her again, "Go ahead and try." Asami said.
Luke reached out and touched Korra's head with his eyes closed. He could feel her fear. He was just searching, searching. Her mind was filled with pain, tragedy and one bright spot. Finally, he found what he was looking for and tried to banish to hallucination. He removed his hand and opened his eyes. He saw that Korra had squeezed her eyes tightly closed.
"You should be able to open your eyes now, Korra," Luke said.
Korra's eyes shot open, "M-Master Skywalker?" She asked, surprised.
"Yes, it's me." He said. He turned to leave when he heard her start crying again.
"What happened to her?" Corran asked when Luke came out.
"She was hallucinating. Of what, I don't know. I think she has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." Luke said.
"Really?! That young? By the Force! What happened to cause that at such a young age?" Corran asked.
"I don't know. Maybe she'll tell us eventually but I won't press it." Luke replied.
Korra and Asami came out of the cell holding each other, "Is there any place that we can go and rest?" Asami asked.
"You should go back to the medical center. You still have a concussion." Luke said.
Asami nodded and they went back to the turbolift. Luke felt bad for the couple as he watched them head to the turbolift.
Apparently, Corran thought the same thing Luke did, because he said, "At least they have each other."
"Yes, at least there's that." said Luke. He turned back to Corrin, "I'll take the next watch. You go back up and eat something."
"I was hoping you'd say that." Corran, then, went to the turbolift as well.
When Corran left, Luke decided to meditate. With his back to the door of the cell, he folded his legs underneath him and placed his hands on his knees with his palms facing down. He opened himself up to the Force. Blocking all thoughts, all sounds, but making sure he was still aware of the man behind him. Luke tried looking into the future to see what lies ahead and saw several detailed images.
The first is of a human-looking man wearing a red and blue outfit with a red cape. The man has some kind of symbol on his chest. The symbol is red with a yellow outline. Next is another human-looking man wearing black and gray with a black cape. He also has some kind of symbol on his chest but this one resembles a black sand bat. He has some kind of mask that resembles the symbol on his chest. The next is a human-looking woman wearing red and blue with another symbol on her chest. She is holding an old fashioned sword and shield. The shield has the same symbol that is on her chest. On her belt, there is a gold whip. The three people are all together in the next flash.
Then it cuts to a new set of people. This image switches to a new person. This one, again, a human-looking man, in green and purple armor that covers every part of his body except for his bald head. The armor has another symbol on its chest. The man wields a massive weapon with a green crystal on the back of it. Next image is of a bipedal humanoid wearing black armor with orange gloves and belt, wearing a mask with orange on the left and black on the right. The left is the only side with an eye. The person welds old swords on his back, and slugthrower pistols on their hips with knives all over their person. The next two people are shown together. On the left is a person that has red and silver armor with yellow gloves and boots. The person's silver mask has what seems like a target finder over the left eye. The person welds a pair on slugthrower pistols on their hips and a slugthrower sniper rifle on their back. And carries other, unknown, weapons on their wrists. The person on the right is seemingly a human man in a yellow and red outfit with a red lightning bolt that is surrounded by a black circle on his chest. He, also, has red metal lightning bolts coming off the ears of his mask and the sides on his red boots. The man welds no weapons. Then the image switches to the four standing together opposing the first group.
The next person to show up is another human-looking man wearing red, white and blue with a star on his chest, on the forehead of the mask he's wearing and the shield he's carrying. The next image is of someone who's a bipedal humanoid wearing, what seems to be, some kind of full body armor. It's red and gold with a blue glowing circle on its chest. Then the image switches to a person wearing similar armor but this armor appears not as advanced looking. It has black and gray coloring and there is a slugthrower minigun over the left shoulder. The image switches to the three standing together before switching to a new set of people.
These people aren't shown separately like the first three sets. They are all human-looking with two men and one woman. Their faces are clearly seen and they seem like they are all in their thirties to early forties. The man on the right is taller than the others and has red hair. In the middle is the woman with curly brown hair and nothing else standing out about her. And lastly is the next man, he is the one on the left and has black hair, glasses and what seems like a faded lightning bolt scar on the right side of his forehead. They all have simple civilian clothing on and all weld small wooden sticks of some kind.
Luke meditated some more to see if he could foresee any more until he felt a flash of fear very close to him. So, he slowly withdrew from the Force, back to his normal awareness. He opened his eyes and saw Korra standing there with her eyes closed and her hand on her chest. He stood up and waited for her to calm herself down. Her eyes opened and she looked shocked to see him staring at her.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Y-yes, I-I'm fine." She stuttered.
Luke didn't believe her but decided that if she wanted to tell him she would. So, instead, he asked, "What are you doing down here?"
"I, uh, I came to apologize. About before. Asami said that I breathed fire at you and Master Horn said that your cloak was smoking. I-I didn't know it was you. I thought-."
"It's okay." Luke interrupted, "I've dealt with flame throwers before. Though I've never had anyone breathe fire at me before. So, that's a first."
"You're-you're not mad?" She asked.
"No. I know that you saw me as something else. What it is, I don't know and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
Luke felt movement in the cell behind him, "If you'll excuse me, I have to go and talk to someone."
"You're going to talk to him?" Korra questioned.
"Yes."
"Can I come with you?"
"Why would I allow a young woman to come with me to interrogate a dangerous Sith?"
She seemed insulted. She put her hands on her hips and said, "I'm not just some young woman! I'm the Avatar! And I want to know who he is and why he attacked my friends and girlfriend."
She put her chin up when she said 'girlfriend' as if she was challenging him to say something. Luke had no problem with same-sex relationships and her challenge only intrigued him about her world. In fact, he had already guessed that they were together. They weren't being subtle about it. So, he wondered if people on her world thought badly of same-sex relationships. It wouldn't have surprised him. Considering the Empire was sexist, racist, xenophobic and homophobic. The New Republic and the Galactic Alliance tried to get rid of all those things. Even the New Jedi Order was fine with same-sex relationships.
Luke forced himself out of his thoughts since she was expecting an answer, "Fine, you can come in. But," He said, before she got too excited, "You must be very careful about what you say and do. Even what you think and feel. He will try to get into your head to mess with you."
"Yes, Master." Korra said. She sounded like she was fed up with that phrase. But, she put her fist into her hand and bowed.
"Then, come on," Luke said as he opened the door of the cell.
