Chapter Summary: Prompt from cartweel: Luke Skywalker saving you from Jabba the Hutt's palace.
He warned against you going out to Tatooine on your own, insisting it was too dangerous and that you were going straight into Hutt territory, but you insisted on going anyway. You knew Tatooine wasn't a good place for him, a place where the bodies of loved ones lived and old ghosts haunted, but someone needed to go. There was an informant who had information that could be vital for the Rebellion and gaining the aid of those who controlled the Outer Rim. This couldn't be passed up: the fate of the galaxy was potentially at stake. So you volunteered.
Of course, Luke had been right. This was his home and he knew it better than anyone else. You should have listened, but there was no use crying about it now.
Jabba, for all of his slug-like ugliness, had a sharp mind behind the huge eyes. He wasn't head of the Hutt family for no reason and he caught you and the informant easily. You had tried not to lose your stomach when the informant was fed to the rancor amid the cheers of Jabba's courts and had resigned yourself to the same fate. Jabba, however, had other plans and had you stripped down in front of the court, making you all too aware of your weakness and powerlessness under his control. Those in the court mocked and humiliated you in a thousand tongues and gestures, and all the while, Jabba watched you with a sadistic grin on that ugly face like the monster he was.
It made you burn in indignation just thinking about it. You pulled in tighter on yourself, squinting in an effort to see in the pitch black of the cell they had stuck you in but it was pointless: you couldn't see a damn thing. You had no idea how much time had passed either and tried to ignore the nagging thought that you were going to be left to die here.
What a way to die, youthought bitterly. You had failed and Princess Organa would never get the information the rebellion needed. It made you sick to your stomach thinking about all of the people whose lives had depended on that information. I'm sorry, Luke. I'm so sorry.
Noises outside of your containment unit startle you; it's the first sounds you've heard besides your own since Jabba dropped you in here. You freeze and listen as the noises get closer and louder, your heart pounding in your chest. Was someone here to take you back to Jabba, for more humiliation or torture at the hands of the crime boss? Despite your best efforts, fear pours like ice water through your veins.
The noises stop just outside of the darkness you are in and silence descends. Every sense is strained as you listen for anything that can give you a clue about what's going on, what will happen, and then gears begin grinding together and mechanisms begin to move. The noise startles you and the pounding of your heart only gets louder.
And then light pours into the darkness, nearly blinding you. You flinch and cover your eyes, turning away from the brightness as white spots danced before your eyes.
"There you are." A familiar voice, Luke's voice, says. He sounds like the serene Jedi Master he has been training to be, but there's an undertone of relief in it. "I knew you were here somewhere."
"Luke," You nearly choke on his name, trying not to cry from relief that someone came to rescue you. He drops down quickly next to you, pulling his black cape from off of his shoulders to put on you and cutting through your bonds with his lightsaber. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you, of course." He says, helping pull you to your feet. You waver slightly, muscles protesting slightly from days of sitting. "Do you believe me now when I say it's not safe to come here alone?"
"Yes." You nod, a weak smile creeping on your face. "But it's always nice to know that the Rebellion's Jedi Master will come save me."
He smiles at that, even as he shakes his head at your words. "Stay behind me. It's time to get out of here."
When Luke Skywalker tells you not to do something on Tatooine, it would be in your best interest to listen to him.