Luke gasped. His right hand gingerly explored the edges of the blaster wound that made his left shoulder feel like both suns of Tatooine were blazing inside. He dragged himself further upright, propping his back against the dank, damp wall of the man-sized refuse drain that hid him.
How did they let the fight get away from them so quickly? Luke shut his eyes against the pain and tried to think back, trace what happened. It was as if the stormtroopers could read their very thoughts. No matter where they ran. No matter what diversion they tried. The white armored drones beat them to the punch, blocking their way, herding them with covering fire into a tighter and tighter spot with no possible escape.
And Luke lost the Force.
It disappeared just as he needed it the most. He called on it as the stormtroopers approached, but as soon as they came into range, the Force…vanished. The sudden absence shocked him, his mind flailing while all other reflexes ceased. He stood motionless, the perfect target.
A trooper drew a straight bead on Luke. Han picked off white armored figure before the kill shot went off. The blaster bolt went through the strange contraption the armored soldier wore on his back. The stormtrooper went down.
The Force flooded back, filling Luke's senses like a blind man suddenly seeing the sun. But only until the next trooper appeared. It was as if the soldiers carried with them some sort of…bubble…that shut off all contact with the Force.
Luke managed to keep his head the next time his Force sense went dead. He ignited his lightsaber. The trooper stopped short at the sight of the glowing green blade. His hesitation gave Luke just enough time to spot a large drain at the end of the street. The next few minutes were a blur, punctuated by the sound of blaster bolts and the rapid hum of his weapon. He vanquished his opponent, and the Force flowed through him again. Automatically, he reached out to check on Leia, Han and Chewie.
Nothing. They were gone. He couldn't feel them that all.
In that moment of incomprehension and disbelief, his shoulder exploded in a burst of flame and agony.
He turned, slashed blindly with his lightsaber. The blade caught the bolt aiming for his heart. The trooper sneaking up on his blind side fell, hit by the ricochet. The Force flowed black and Luke didn't wait for it to vanish again. He leapt for the storm drain, the Force propelling his legs the extra distance needed. He wouldn't be able to help Han, Leia and Chewie if he were dead.
In the smoke and heat and confusion of the battle, the stormtroopers did not notice his immediate absence. And almost before he could blink, it was all over.
Han, Leia and Chewie stood in the middle of the street, hands on their heads, guarded by one set of troopers while another set put their fallen comrades onto sled carriers. And then Luke's friends were marched out of his sight.
Luke tried to move. He couldn't just sit there. He put out a hand to help lever himself upright but he only fell down. The shock and sheer pain almost made him black out. He stayed conscious through sheer will.
It wasn't over. He would find them. And rescue them. Just like on Bespin. Even if this time it meant trading his life for theirs.
Deep, shuddering breaths wracked his chest. He ignored the stench around him, preferring to keep his lungs working. He reached inside himself for calm, serenity. Fear for his friends would not help him, and it would definitely not help them. A pain suppression technique taught to him by Yoda, half remembered, finally cleared enough of his mind to enable him to reach out with his senses.
Just as he suspected. As the troopers marched away with their captives, the Force returned.
He still couldn't feel Han, Leia or Chewie. No doubt it was because they were within the range of whatever it was the troopers carried that pushed the Force away. So he wouldn't be able to track his friends.
He could, however, track where the Force wasn't. And find them that way.
He hoped.
Grimacing, he rose to his feet. The pain suppression helped to keep his mind clear of the every-present throbbing hurt, but it required a lot of his concentration. Too bad Yoda or Ben never taught him how to heal his wounds, if such a thing were even possible. But first things first. He needed a change of clothes, a bacta patch if possible, and information on whoever took his friends.
When he reached the mouth of the drain, he paused. Was the coast clear? But the townspeople were already going about their business, as if it were another quiet day like the one before. Nearby, he could hear a woman haggling with a shopkeeper over eggs, while another wanted to know if the bread was fresh. Aside from a few blaster burns in the duracrete walls and some scuffmarks in the dirt that marked where stormtroopers had fallen, it was if the skirmish never happened.
There was no sign of Leia's contacts. The building where Leia met them remained open for business. As far as Luke could tell, no Imperial search party still rummaged around the premises. All was normal.
Too normal.
In fact, he thought with a frown, the pain still rattling around his head…perhaps the whole meeting had been a set up. Somehow, those troops zeroed right in on them, knew exactly where to locate them and how to cut off all their escapes.
And they knew he was there. A Force sensitive. They carried something to neutralize him.
That meant only one thing.
One of Palpatine's Beasts had found him.
And the Beast had his friends.