The sounds of Rio de Janeiro and its Carnival festival were distant and muffled in the dilapidated basement room Luke was standing in. He stood casually, apparently unconcerned, with his hand outstretched towards the bloodied middle-aged man tied up and bound to the wooden chair before him. "This is going to hurt." Luke warned, not because he cared. He didn't. But more because he liked to see the look of preparation on his victims' faces – the mental bracing they engaged in - right before they experienced the severe pain that they were truly not prepared for in the slightest. This time was no exception.
Rifling through someone's memories with the Force was apparently an excruciating experience. Well, for the victim it was, at any rate. Luke smirked. Not that he would know how it felt, of course. He didn't feel bad about doing this, either: These were evil men. Every last one of them and they had knowledge that would eventually bring him directly to Palpatine's doorstep…and the final confrontation that would determine the fate of them all. Without compunction, he'd do what he needed to do to get that information.
He was determined to succeed in this quest.
So, he extended his considerable power into the Force, feeling the darkness that welled up around him as he drilled his power into the man's unprotected mind. The man's memories filled Luke's own consciousness, and he practically drank them in, looking for anything that could be of use to him. Most of it was information he'd already seen in Lt. Joakin Strife"s mind, and therefore, utterly useless. As the man screamed in agony, Luke quickened his search, delving meticulously through the man's memories before he hit jackpot: The man's contact. He found a name: Asajj Ventress. His contact within Palpatine's organization was Asajj Ventress.
Luke immediately felt an unshakeable coldness seep into his bones. Damn. Ventress of all people. It figured. He knew exactly three things about Ventress: First, she occasionally visited Palpatine's various compounds to inspect and train the Inquisitors. Second, she was very good at what she did, which involved a lot of hiding and a lot of death. Third, she hated Luke almost as much as he despised her, and he did despise the woman. As far as he was concerned, she was evil incarnate…only Palpatine himself was worse.
He'd never had a particularly good reason to hate her. She hadn't done anything except pick on him during her training sessions and push him to his absolute limits. Other than that, she basically ignored him, which was fine by him. But, whenever she was around, he got this...feeling. He had never fully identified it, but it was almost as if he knew that she'd done something... unforgivable. If anyone worked for Palpatine, they'd likely done plenty of unforgivable things, though why Ventress was any different than most of the kids Luke had grown up with or even Luke himself, he didn't know. Nor did he care.
He just hated her. Period.
None of that, however, erased the fact that she was apparently his next target. He'd never tried to defeat her, and though the almost cocky-part of him believed that he could, there was an even bigger part that was unsure if he could do it. He'd seen her in action. She was no Padawan. He would deal with that though when the time came: Right now, the bigger problem was that he had literally no idea where she was at the moment.
He probed harder, deeper, looking for any sign of a location within the man's mind, but there was nothing else. With a frustrated growl of disgust, Luke retreated from his head, the man slumping over, unconscious and useless. Luke activated the two-way communicator that he and Mara had purchased for missions such as this. "Jade." He said, his voice dark with frustration even to his own ears.
"Well?" Her voice, smooth, calm and collected, replied back. "What did you find out?"
"I found out my next target." He scowled at the unconscious man. "It's not good."
A pause. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means," Luke said, "That I know the target. Asajj Ventress. She's very close with Palpatine."
"Oh, okay, so you found exactly what you've wanted to find in his head. That's so not good." The sarcasm in her voice made Luke roll his eyes.
"I'm serious, Jade. She isn't like the others. She's very Force-sensitive, and very good at wielding that power."
"So," She interrupted smoothly, "We take her out together. We can do it." Luke paused. Actually, she had a point. Mara was no Padawan either. If they combined their own considerable skills, perhaps they could defeat Ventress.
"We can discuss that later," Luke finally put in, "But the bigger problem is that I have no idea where to find her, dammit!"
Another pause. "He didn't have her location?"
"No. He's given everything useful." Luke ignited his lightsaber, pulling out his calling card with a gloved hand from within a pocket of his black jeans.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Mara suddenly cut in, probably having heard the lightsaber being ignited. "After all, he doesn't have a bounty…"
"Oh, he would have. By now. Before I kidnapped him, I hacked into his computer and leaked out all his dirty deeds on the internet. The authorities are probably on their way to his office building to arrest him as we speak." Luke's tone of smug delight was evident. He approached the unconscious man, steadying himself for the killing blow.
"This isn't you." Luke paused: She'd said that to him before, only a week ago. Again, he wondered why she thought that of him. He needed to correct that. Pronto.
"Then you don't really know me." He said before plunging his lightsaber into the chest of the man before him. The man's body shuddered, his eyes flying open, as he mouthed a silent scream of pain, before the life died from those eyes, and he slumped again limply in his seat, dead, his head lolling to the side. There was a notable silence on the other line as he de-activated his lightsaber. "I'll meet you at the rendezvous point." He said at last.
She didn't answer immediately, and when she did, her voice was tight with concern. "Yeah," She said softly, "I'll bring the ship."
Anakin stared down at the dead man tied to a rickety wooden chair in the basement of the unpretentious office building in Rio de Janeiro. He'd seen many a dead body before, certainly, but it had been quite a while since he'd found a body that literally reeked of the Dark Side. In his hand, he held the literal calling card of the killer: a black, laminated card with the word "Starkiller" scrawled across it in white MV Boli style script.
Obi-Wan knelt by his side, examining the body more closely, stroking his beard as usual when contemplating a serious matter. "Obviously, the cause of death was a lightsaber." Obi-Wan pointed out the obvious. His best friend had decided to come with him to Rio for support, which had not made Leia happy. She had wanted to come on this mission, but Anakin and Padme had insisted that she stay and focus on her schoolwork. Galen had wanted to come too in order to help bring to justice the man who was running around killing people using his old Sith apprentice name, but Anakin had ordered him to stay in Houston and help Leia protect the Skywalker and Kenobi families. Galen hadn't liked it, but he'd obeyed. They all knew what had happened the last time no one had stayed behind to protect them, and no one wanted a repeat performance.
"Well, whoever it was," Anakin murmured, pocketing the card, "They reek of the Dark Side." Still, as Anakin stretched out with the Force, something about that Dark presence felt….familiar. He couldn't place where he knew it from, though.
"The death is recent. Almost certainly within the last hour," Obi-Wan suddenly announced, standing back up. "The killer may still be close by. Perhaps…."
"…We can track him through the Force." Anakin finished his friend's sentence, already turning around in the direction the Dark presence had left by. He began to follow it, and Obi-Wan fell into step next to him, sensing the same presence as well.
"Whatever we find," Obi-Wan said, as they followed the Dark signature, "I have a very bad feeling about this." Flicking his glance at his fellow Grand Master, Obi-Wan shook his head.
The sense of foreboding in the Force was strong. They both knew it. Anakin didn't say anything. He didn't need to. He had the same disquieted feeling as well…and with each step they took, it was intensifying.
Luke sat in the far corner of the crowded, run-down bar, a glass of untouched beer sitting on the table surface in front of him. He peered out from beneath his black hood, watching the rowdy crowd that filled the room. He didn't know what they were celebrating exactly, but it almost looked fun, like something he may have joined in had he not been on a mission where he had just killed a man. Still, he smirked and shook his head at their drunken revelry. None of the bar's patrons seemed to notice him sitting by himself in the darkened corner, which he was more than fine with. In fact, anytime a drunken bystander looked like they were considering sliding into the booth with him, he used the Force to gently suggest that they go elsewhere. So far, it was working, and he had remained alone and unbothered.
He needed to wait for Mara, and then they'd distance themselves from this place in her smooth, two-man, long-distance speeder that they always took on these missions. The longer he waited though, the more anxious he became. She was running late. That wasn't like her. She was usually right on time. Had something happened to her? A shiver of dread ran up his spine, and he shook his head, trying to clear the suddenly intense worry that had overcome him. She was fine, he told himself, no need to panic. She'd handled herself on her own just fine over the years. She didn't need saving every time she got herself into trouble. She was no pushover.
Talia's face flashed through his mind, unbidden. She hadn't needed saving either, and look how that turned out, he thought bitterly. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he took a swig of his beer and monitored the crowded bar.
He continued to try to convince himself to calm down and not worry about it, but he soon found himself reaching out with the Force to search for danger. He frowned for a moment, concentrating through the haze of the hundreds if not thousands of presences in that area: Rio was not known for being sparsely populated. It therefore took him a moment to notice three very alarming things: First, he couldn't sense Mara nearby at all. Second, there were two very Dark presences closing in on his exact location—his hand went to his side where his lightsaber hung from his belt. Damn! Inquisitors. But worse, the third thing he noticed were two other presences also closing in on his location. Steeped in the Light of the Force, these were presences that he knew despite the many years since he had last sensed them. His uncle, Obi-Wan Kenobi…
And his father.
"Shit!" He hissed, suddenly standing up and immediately cloaking his presence within the Force. He self-consciously made sure that his hood was securely pulled up over his head, as if his father would enter the room right then and recognize him through it. It was possible, he knew. His father was extremely strong in the Force. It was why Palpatine hesitated to move against him, even if he hadn't also lived on a massive fortress-like property with other Jedi on the premises outside Houston. Honestly, Luke was a bit surprised that his father hadn't brought the whole cavalry to take him down, given that he hated Luke with a near blinding passion and had already tried to kill him himself at least once. Unless he didn't know Luke was here, and he just happened to be in the same place at the same time?
He'd been so careful about keeping his true identity a secret. He didn't care who knew his assassin name, Starkiller, but Luke Skywalker was a name that literally only Han, Chewie, and Mara knew. It had to be a coincidence. Unless Palpatine had decided to leak that information to his father? No, impossible, Luke thought. For some reason, he had a feeling that despite Luke's split from the Inquisitors, Palpatine didn't want Luke to meet up with his father any more than Luke himself did. Why, he wasn't sure, and he really didn't have time to consider it. He was about to be cornered, and he needed to escape. Now.
He was in danger, both from Inquisitors and his father. He had to move and fast.
As casually as he could, Luke began to edge towards the back door of the bar, making sure to hide his presence both in the Force and literally as much as he could. With so many Force-sensitive enemies closing in on him, he knew his hold on that wouldn't last long. If he didn't move quickly, his father would figure it out before he ever reached him, and if he hadn't known already who Starkiller was, he'd go nuts trying to find and kill him.
No. If the Inquisitors didn't kill him, Anakin Skywalker would.
As he pushed through the back door of the bar and into a narrow, grimy alleyway, he reached up and hit the communicator in his ear. "Mara, where in blue blazes are you?" He hissed, trying to keep the hysteria out of his voice. He needed to stay cool. Panic would only cause him to slip up, and slip ups were deadly.
There was a long pause, and Luke began to worry that perhaps the Inquisitors or his father had gotten to Mara, when finally her voice filled his ear. "Sorry, Han and Chewie are here."
Damn! Of course, they were. Just perfect.
Luke rolled his eyes. How was he going to explain all of this to them? He was half tempted to ask how they'd found them, but he didn't have the time or the patience. "I'm in a bit of a jam here. I need an escape. Now."
"What kind of jam?" Mara's voice had turned deadly serious, and in the background, he could hear Han and Chewie arguing over something.
"I have two of Palpatine's goons chasing after me," He took a deep breath, "And my murderous father. Sound like trouble to you?"
"Oh," Mara said, "That's it? No tanks? No explosions?"
"This is not the time for sarcasm!" Luke snapped, reaching out with the Force. Oh Shit! The Inquisitors hadn't been fooled by his presence-cloaking trick. "I need a pick up, NOW."
"Calm down, alright! We're coming. Get to the roof so we can see you, and try to stay in the same quadrant of the city." Mara replied, and the line went silent before Luke could think of a snarky reply. Not that he had time for that: Now he had to concentrate and figure out how to get to the roof without getting himself caught and killed.
It turned out the way to the roof was easier than he thought. A rickety metal ladder hung from a questionable-looking fire escape not far from the bar. Using the Force to give him an extra push, Luke leapt up, closing the distance between him and the lowest rung of the ladder. He began to climb, and before long, he was standing on the flat rooftop, overlooking other dilapidated rooftops nestled close together for miles on end. Some of the buildings were so close together, he doubted he'd even have to leap to make it.
He climbed onto the ledge of the roof to leap onto the next roof, but the familiar snap-hiss of a lightsaber being activated froze him in place. "Starkiller," A hard male voice called from behind him. Luke didn't have to stretch out with the Force to know that the Inquisitors had arrived. He also had no doubt that his father and Obi-Wan would soon be joining them.
Unless he could defeat the Inquisitors and get away before they did show up.
He pulled out his own lightsaber, igniting it, the brilliant red blade lighting up the night as he calmly turned to face them. They stood there, wearing almost identical-black outfits with a mask to conceal their faces. They stared at him with Sith-gold eyes, looking sinister beneath their hoods. "Traitor!" The other one growled, raising his red-lightsaber to an offensive position.
Luke grinned, adopting an almost cocky persona, even though, at the moment, every nerve in his body felt like it was on fire, as if he were about to explode from tension. "My problem isn't with either of you. I'll give you a chance to turn around and go and pretend that you never found me." Luke searched out their Force signatures, and realized, with some relief, that neither of them were as strong in the Force as he was.
They didn't respond, at least not with their words. Instead, they both used the Force and leapt forward, lightsabers high over their head in what would have been a killing blow if Luke wasn't anticipating it and prepared for it. He moved to the side, swinging his own lightsaber at them. Despite having missed him, they recovered quickly and dodged before coming back at him together with all the force they had. That was the typical tactic of the Inquisitors: Attack together, attack first, use raw strength and the dark side of the Force to gain the advantage, then destroy.
Luke had to admit the approach had its merits, but even in his own time as an Inquisitor, Luke hadn't cared for this approach. Too much could go wrong. It was too easy to underestimate your opponent, and it was too easy to leave oneself open to a counter attack. As a result, Luke managed to match both of them equally, despite being only one person. His blade collided with one, and while the other tried to attack his weaker point, he used the Force to slam them back, tossing them towards the edge of the roof. They managed to recover, however, and continued to come at him with blinding speed, and it was only his years of training and complete and total immersion in the Force, coupled with his natural innate Force capabilities, that kept him from losing his own ground. He was so concentrated on the fight, however, that he almost didn't notice when two men climbed onto the roof, pausing for a moment to observe the battle raging in front of them, before igniting their own blue lightsabers to join in the fray.
Almost. Luke cursed under his breath: This fight needed to end. Now.
They had sensed three presences shortly after they began to track the Dark signature, or rather, three very Dark presences indeed. Two of them had been advancing on the third, who had seemed to notice the impending arrival of the ambush, and before Anakin could get a good feel for this third presence, they disappeared, obviously cloaking their Force signature, leaving only a muddled sense of a life form behind. "Just a guess," Anakin had said dryly to Obi-Wan, "But I think that's Starkiller. Don't you?"
Obi-Wan, also monitoring the situation through the Force, had nodded his head silently, and they picked up their pace, following the remaining two. After a while, the presences stopped advancing forward and something in the Force seemed to change. "I think they're engaging Starkiller." Obi-Wan said as they neared the location. Rio's streets were busy and loud, so when Anakin strained to hear the sound of lightsabers, he heard nothing but the merriment of the drunken crowds in the streets. Still, given the way the two presences were moving, Anakin had no doubt Obi-Wan was right.
"Up here." Anakin said as they finally reached their destination. He motioned to a fire escape ladder that looked like it was about to collapse.
Obi-Wan sighed. "I'm getting too old for this." He muttered, but nevertheless he followed Anakin up the fire escape.
"Oh, come on, Ben!" Anakin teased, "If Yoda could be active at over 900 years old, I'm sure you can at 51 years of age…Why you're practically a Spring chicken!" Mirth dripped from Anakin's voice as he teased his long-time friend.
"Yoda," Obi-Wan grunted, ignoring the feathered jab, "Was also a different species, y'know." Anakin grinned, and probably would have made another clever come back had they not climbed over the edge and onto the roof…
Where a very heated battle was taking place.
There were three men. Two of them looked to be wearing some sort of assassin-like uniform with hoods and masks, while the other, slightly shorter man wore more casual black clothing. He wore a black leather jacket with a deep hood that, in the darkness, completely concealed his face. All three of them wielded red lightsabers, and though the other two assassins attacked the smaller man, he seemed to be not only holding his own, but matching them. Anakin stretched out with the Force, trying to identify the boy, but though he stood right there in front of him, he was hiding his Force Signature well within the Force.
Still. There was something…familiar about him. In those brief seconds when Anakin observed the scene, he couldn't help but feel drawn to him. Despite not being able to figure out the boy's identity through the Force, he could still sense the boy's anger and fear and immense sense of loss, as if those feelings were his own. It almost made it difficult for Anakin to breathe.
The two Grand Masters glanced at each other. They didn't need to communicate what they would do: They'd worked together for so long, at this point, their decisions in battle were almost of one mind. With just a slight nod to one another, they pulled out their lightsabers and ignited them, preparing to join the fray.
The smaller boy suddenly went wild. With one massive Force-push, he slammed the two bigger assassins towards Obi-Wan and Anakin. Obi-Wan immediately moved to attack, but Anakin stood there, unmoving. The boy was turning now, using the Force to propel him to the next building's rooftop, where he'd broken into a run. All form of control over his Force-presence was gone, and it surrounded Anakin, causing the Force in him to swell with an urgent need to run after the boy.
So run, he did, and as ran, he stretched out with the Force, really digging into the boy's presence. It was dark, malevolent, the feelings of hatred and fear and loss even more potent, but there was something else. Something Anakin knew, would recognize anywhere no matter how changed he'd become, no matter how long it had been since he'd seen him. Anakin would know his son anywhere.
Luke.
Anakin forgot all about Obi-Wan. He forgot the other two assassins. He forgot his original mission to apprehend Starkiller. All he could see, all he could feel, all he could sense was Luke. His firstborn son, who, at that moment, happened to be running away quickly across the rooftops, as if he had a wild, murderous Gundark chasing him, not his own father. Anakin used the Force to propel himself over rooftops, not caring that each landing sent a jarring jolt of pain racing through his legs and low back. At 41, he certainly wasn't old, of course, and he was still in fantastic shape, but his body certainly wasn't as young as it used to be, either, and Luke was absolutely using that fact to his advantage.
He stretched out through the Force, trying to touch his son's mind, but Luke's mind was blocked off completely behind an impenetrable wall of mental steel. Anakin tried to dig deep down as he had multiple times over the years, trying to find familial bonds that had connected them for so many years, and like before, he came up empty. Frustrated, Anakin resorted to yelling. "Luke! Wait! " The sound of his voice managed to carry over the distance, and he saw Luke stumble before catching himself, as if he hadn't expected him to call out his name. Still, the boy kept running, as if he didn't recognize him.
But, how could that be? He was his father after all. After years of being under Palpatine's control, he expected Luke to…actually, he didn't know what to expect. It could have ranged from anything between a full-fledged Sith apprentice to someone completely broken, or defiant and opposing Palpatine until Anakin could find him. He hadn't expected Luke to turn and run like Anakin had a deadly plague. "Luke!" He tried again, "Wait! Son! I'm your father!"
Luke leapt onto yet another roof top, and Anakin thought he would continue, but he stopped at the far edge, as if his words had finally brought him to a stop. Perhaps they had, but as Anakin leapt onto the roof and began to move towards him, his emotions swirling out of control with his need to touch Luke, to hold him in his arms again, to actually speak to him, he stopped cold. Luke's mind may have been fully guarded, but his emotions…Force, they were furious. Anakin barely had time to re-ignite his lightsaber before Luke whirled around, his own red saber suddenly ignited, and used the Force to rapidly close the distance between them, attacking him with an angry vengeance that startled Anakin.
"Wait!" Anakin barely managed to get the word out between Luke's hard killing blows—Yes! Killing blows! Luke was actually trying to kill him! The whole situation of actually finding Luke had almost put Anakin into a state of shock. His mind felt sluggish. All he could see was his son, his face shadowed by the hood, attacking him as if Anakin himself was Palpatine, not his own father. This normally would have been a situation he could have handled easily had it been anyone else but his missing son. But why…?
This was not how he imagined their reunion.
"Luke…" Anakin tried again, practically begging him, but the attacks came faster, to the point where Anakin was forced to stay completely on the defensive. Dimly, he remembered their battle on the second Death Star, how he'd struggled to defend himself from Luke after Luke had gone on the offensive. His son could have killed him then, and it seemed that now he was trying to do so again. Except this time, Luke had been more fully trained, and for whatever reason, Anakin had a bad feeling that if he gave Luke the opportunity, Luke would kill him without any remorse.
He had to put space between them. He had to give himself enough room to regain the advantage. He had to somehow impossibly forget about his need to hold his son again and handle the situation not only as a father, but as a Jedi Grand Master. It was the only way he'd get out of this situation alive, as sad as that realization was. As Luke brought down his lightsaber for another attempt at a killing blow, Anakin reached out, using the Force to push his son back. It wasn't a hard push. He didn't want to knock him off of the roof. It was just enough to put the needed space between them. Luke skidded backward, managing to keep his balance, but as he did so, the hood fell from his head, finally revealing his face.
The words died in Anakin's mouth. For a moment, father and son stared at one another. There was pure venomous hatred in Luke's sky-blue eyes, as well as betrayal. As if this entire situation was all Anakin's fault and not the fault of Palpatine and Ventress. As if he truly believed Anakin was the bad guy in this. Even as Darth Vader, Luke had never quite given him a look filled with so much venom.
It was the look of a true Sith.
Anakin felt all the breath whoosh from his lungs. His beloved son was a Sith! Everything else about Luke was as Anakin remembered both from his Force dream, as well as his son's childhood. The sandy-blonde hair. The gentle lips that were currently twisted into a snarl. His skin was tanned now, unlike it had been in his dream, but much like it had been in their old galaxy. He'd grown and as nearing six feet in height. Yes, Luke was every inch his son.
"Stay the hell out of my way." The first words he said to Anakin after nine long, torturous years. They were not at all what Anakin had expected…or hoped for. Luke's voice was not the same calm voice he remembered from their old galaxy, or one filled with happiness like it had been as a child in this galaxy.
There was so much to say. So much that needed to be done to bring him home and bring him back from whatever dark path he was descending. But, in that moment, stunned as Anakin was, all he said was, "Why?"
He might have said more. He would have, for the moment the word left his mouth, Luke swelled not only with anger, but also confusion. But a split second later, a very familiar ship swerved into view over the rooftops, headed straight for where they were facing off.
The Millennium Falcon.
Anakin was, of course, aware that the freighter model was in use here on Earth, but it was not a common ship. Still, it wasn't just that, but from the moment he saw it, the Force seemed to whisper that it was the exact same ship he'd chased relentlessly across their old galaxy. He didn't have to know who was piloting it, or why it was racing towards them. Frantically, he began to run forward, determined to keep Luke with him. He couldn't lose him again. Not now, not ever! "Luke, please listen to me, your mom…"
At the word mom, all confusion and doubt left the boy completely, replaced by white-hot fury that was almost palpable in the Force. "Don't you ever," He pushed Anakin back with the Force so hard, Anakin was actually knocked to the ground, rolling to the other edge where he almost slipped off. "Speak of her again!" Anakin scrambled to get up as Luke approached, the red blade of his lightsaber casting a frightening glow across his son's face, but before he could close the distance…
Bullets sprayed the top of the roof as the Millennium Falcon made a pass overhead, cutting both Anakin and Luke off from one another. Luke jumped back, cursing, but without hesitation, he deactivated his lightsaber and whirled, headed straight for the ship, where the top hatch was being opened…
No. Not today.
Anakin pushed himself fully to his feet and began to run…only to be stopped by another spray of bullets. "NO! PLEASE don't go!" He yelled frantically, but Luke didn't listen. Instead, his boy used the Force to jump the distance between himself and the ship, landing on the hull with ease before disappearing into the hatch. Anakin attempted to do the same, but the moment he took a step forward, another round of bullets narrowly missed him, as the ship turned and the thrusters engaged, the engines deafening as it flew away across Rio's skyline.
He couldn't let them get away. He didn't care that the ship he'd taken here, the only one who would have any chance of catching the Millennium Falcon likely in the entire city of Rio, was miles away. He didn't care that his new, hasty plan to steal the closest ship to attempt to catch his son would fail. All he knew was that he was so close, and he didn't want to ever lose sight of his son again. Deep down, though, Anakin knew he was going to lose his son again, at least temporarily. That didn't mean that he was going to stop the chase. Never. He would never stop.
He was going to bring Luke home.
The chase has intensified! I will say this before reviews come in: the fight between Anakin and Luke in this chapter is by no means a full-fledged fight...at least on Anakin's side. Anakin went into the situation expecting to find some random Force-Sensitive guy named Starkiller. It was a typical mission. Then, all of a sudden, Starkiller is Luke. That fact, combined with the fact that Anakin has been searching for Luke for nine years, is enough to put him into a bit of shock where he isn't thinking clearly. Have you ever had something insanely urgent happen so unexpectedly, and you have like moments to come up with something to handle it? That scenario is heightened if the situation could determine the course of your life or a loved one's life. Idk about you, but when I've had that happen, I can't think straight...and with my anxiety, I start shaking and can't breathe. Anakin's got more composure, but had he come into the situation knowing that he was going to find Luke, that battle would have turned out extremely differently. Now he knows what to expect, so...you'll have to see what happens.
Three reviewer concerns I'd like to address: first, someone complained that I have guest reviews moderated. That is not my concious decision, and I wouldn't mind turning that off, but I didn't even know it was set up that way and I have no idea how to change it. I'll figure it out when I have the time to do so. It can't be that hard, right?
Second: Someone asked why Luke hasn't seen Padme in like news feeds or public stuff. Very good question! Basically, Luke's guilt is so intense, he doesn't want any reminders whatsoever of his family. Growing up under Palpatine, he had extreme limited access to info from the outside world. Now that he's free, he doesn't purposefully go seek out information on his family because he's afraid to confront his inner demons. Right now, Luke is still very much in denial mode, hence why Mara is trying to help him by frequently reminding him that he's better than this. Actually, back in ch. 58 when Luke watched the beginning of that NASA broadcast where Anakin was introduced as the new director, had he not gotten angry and destroyed the TV, he would have seen footage of his mother joining Anakin's side on stage.
Third and finally: Don't worry. I'll bring more Padme/Anakin stuff into the story. I haven't forgotten that main couple.
Finally, the song for this chapter is "Run Boy Run" by Woodkid and "Zam the Assassin and the Chase Through Coruscant" by John Williams.
Review!
Love,
Sarah
