CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Luke couldn't sleep. He kept tossing around in his bed. He glanced at a chronometer on the nightstand next to his bed. It was 0400 hours. Luke sighed and got up. There was no use going to sleep. He would just get more nightmares.
He got up and decided to get ready, even though it was still early in the morning. Insomnia was just another one of Luke's demons.
After exiting from the refresher, he went back to the closet. Apparently all of the clothes were his. Luke frowned. Why would he ever need toddler clothes? But the closet had more than just toddler clothes. It had clothes of all sizes, all boy clothes. He even found several sizes of school uniforms.
Luke just picked something random, glad he could get out of his worn-out clothes. He was still so shocked by the sheer opulence of the room that he was given. What trick were the Jedi trying to play with him? Did they think they could brainwash Luke?
He sighed and opened the glass doors that led out to a small balcony adjoined to his room. As he stepped out into the cool breezy air of the Coruscant night, he was finally able to appreciate a real view of the skyline. This view from Mara and Lenore's studio was nothing compared to the view from this penthouse suite in the middle of the Senate District. Luke set on the edge of the balcony on the floor and swung his legs over so that they were sticking out in the air. The wind blew across Luke's face and through his blonde locks of hair. It was refreshing—and much better than sleep.
He only enjoyed the breeze for a little while. Luke's eyebrows furrowed into a frown as he felt the familiar presence of his brother nearby.
Luke narrowed his eyes. Jared was on Coruscant again. As if he had not messed up enough the first time by pitching Luke off to the sharks. What more could he want?
He stood up and left the balcony, returning to his room once more. He paced around, What do I do?
Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind. It would be risky, though.
Luke opened the door to his room and peered out. It seemed that everyone else was asleep. He quietly and slowly stepped out of his room and into the dark hallway, the only illumination offered to his eyes came from the outside lights of Coruscant peering in through the several windows.
He tiptoed past the master bedroom and peered in through the open door. Luke could clearly make out Anakin and Padmé's figures in the bed. They were fast asleep.
Luke made his way downstairs and slowly opened the door, hoping he wouldn't wake the Jedi and his wife.
He wasn't running away or anything. He just needed to… run an errand. Exactly.
He took a turbolift all the way down to the lobby of the building. He exited through the revolving doors and found himself on a busy street in the middle of the Galactic City.
At first he thought he could simply steal a speeder and fly it all the way to Mara's house. It would be much quicker.
He shook his head; he couldn't get into any more trouble right now.
Luke thought about finding a cab. But he didn't have any money…
So in the end, Luke secretly hopped onto the back of a large cargo vehicle making its way downtown. Once Luke was close enough to Mara's neighborhood, he would hop off.
It took him a while to get there. Luke hoped that his Jedi prison guard would not find out about his disappearance and catch him. Luke knew that if he was absent for too long, he would get into deep trouble.
And it wasn't like Luke could leave Coruscant, either. Anakin probably had his profile sent to all the spaceports on the planet. Even if Luke used this opportunity to run from Anakin, he could never really hide from him.
Luke found the old studio apartment that he had stayed in a few days ago. Once he was inside the apartment, Luke took the turbo lift up to the right floor. Using the Force, Luke opened the front door and went inside.
He slowly and quietly made his way to Mara's bedroom, not wanting to wake up her older roommate Lenore. Who knows what she would say to Luke's father if she caught a glimpse of him. Luke didn't want to have to explain to anyone about how he was a captive of the Jedi—even though he wasn't. It was too complicated, and people like Lenore didn't know how the Force worked anyway,
He found Mara fast asleep and shook her arm to wake her up.
Mara grumbled something unintelligible and turned her back to Luke, still fast asleep.
Luke sighed and shook Mara even harder.
Mara's eyes snapped open. She turned around and opened her mouth, about to yell at anyone who dared to wake her up.
She stopped when she saw Luke.
"Luke?" Mara said unbelievably.
Luke smiled, "In the flesh."
Mara sat up and hugged her friend, "You did it! You escaped!"
Luke shook his head, "It's not like that. I have to go back."
Mara frowned, "What are you talking about? You're going back to prison?"
Luke shook his head again, "It's a long story. I can't stay long though. I need your help. Where's Han?"
Mara shrugged, "He went out yesterday and hasn't come back since."
Luke sighed.
"What's wrong?"
"It's Jared," Luke explained, "he's on Coruscant."
"How do you know?" Mara asked.
"I felt him." Luke said. "He's here to finish me off and I don't know what to do. I don't have a lightsaber anymore."
Mara groaned, "Luke, where are you staying right now? If you're not in prison…?"
"They made me go in front of the Jedi Council. They're literally watching my every move. If I don't go back before Skywalker wakes up, he'll have an army on my tail. And then I'll be in real trouble."
Mara frowned, "That's not good, Luke. What will your father say?"
Luke groaned and stood up, "I have to go find Han. It's urgent. I'll come back another night, Mara, and I'll explain everything then. For now, go back to bed."
Mara yawned and lied back down, "Fine," she said sleepily. "Don't do anything stupid."
Luke couldn't help the smile that spread on his lips as he rolled his eyes. He was already doing something stupid.
After he left Mara's apartment, he knew it would be hopeless to try to search the entire planet-spanning city of Coruscant for Han. He couldn't risk running into his older brother either.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Luke. A smile spread across his lips as he realized where he could find Han.
He made his way back to the CPPD—the Coruscant Prison and Police Department.
When he arrived, he didn't dare get too close to the actual establishment. He decided he would scope the place out from a safer distance—atop a nearby building perhaps.
Luke smiled as he found his friend diligently studying the perimeter of the prison with a pair of vision enhancers, crouching at the edge of the roof of this building.
He stood behind Han, who hadn't noticed him yet.
"Find a way to break me out yet?"
Han gasped and turned around, surprised to see Luke here. He stood up and looked at his friend angrily, punching him in the shoulder.
"Ow," Luke chuckled as he rubbed his shoulder.
"What are you doing out here?" Han said, his voice angry and relieved at the same time, "How did you get out of jail?"
"I didn't. Well, my 'sentence' is a little more complicated… I'm pretty much a prisoner to the Jedi. It's a little weird..."
Han shrugged, not thinking much of it, not understanding Luke's natural hatred for Jedi. "Better than being locked in a cell."
Luke shrugged, "Yeah, whatever."
Han shook his head, "I still can't believe you did that for me."
Luke sighed, "It was the only thing left to do."
Han smiled and slapped Luke hard on the back.
Luke sighed and looked at Han, "I'm here for a reason, because I have to get back soon. Jared's back."
Han's eyes popped out of his head.
Luke nodded, "I don't know what to do. I don't have a lightsaber anymore."
Han whistled, shaking his head. "What are you going to do? Is he going to get you in trouble?"
"I don't think it's like that anymore," Luke said quietly, thinking about Jared's completely psychotic twist in his relationship to Luke. One minute they were brothers, the next…
"He wants me dead."
Han stared at Luke, not believing him.
"I've made a decision, Han. I don't think you'll like it though."
"What?" Han asked.
Luke looked down on the floor, "I'm going to have to steal a lightsaber."
Han nodded, "Stealing isn't bad."
"And then I'm going to kill him."