Chapter 2: Swirling Thoughts
Luke could not wipe the ridiculous grin off his face as he quietly padded down the corridor back to his quarters.
The halls were completely quiet - the only sounds were Luke's footsteps and the low mechanical whirrings of the sleeping base.
Had he really just kissed that Imperial woman's hand? Since when had he become so bold?! Needless to say, his emotional state was really not the greatest right now…maybe that had been a really really bad decision.
Luke knew that he was old-fashioned, and liked to take things slow – so slow in fact that he had never really kissed a woman before, not how he wanted to.
It was more than a little embarrassing to think about, now that he was almost twenty years old, but Tatooine was just not the place to go out and meet women - not the kind that he wanted to meet, anyway. Not only that, but Moisture farming was not the kind of job that attracted many admirers…only the desperate kind. There was one girl, Venussia, but he was fortunate that it never went anywhere – she had turned out to be trouble. She had heard that Moisture Farming was a highly profitable business, and when she discovered that Luke's family was as poor as could be, she ended all communications with him.
After that, Luke had hoped to go to the Academy not only to work towards becoming a pilot, but also to finally cure his loneliness, and maybe find a real girlfriend for once. If only his Uncle could have understood that he was crushing more than just his career goals each year that he denied him leave from the farm.
His swirling thoughts raced back to Rue.
She liked it too…he just knew it! Or maybe this was yet another delusion made possible by his mind's crisis-mode at the moment. It was a very bad way to cope…
"Maybe I had better cool it, I don't want her reporting me", he said aloud to himself as he made his way back to his quarters. She is a guest here. And for all he knew, she could be a spy."
"Hell, she is the enemy. I'm wanted by the Empire…"
What in space was he doing?
"Oh boy, am I going to get it! That was probably the worst thing I could have possibly done – Leia is going to flip out that I told Rue anything."
Luke paused in the hallway to process his sobering thoughts.
He knew that Leia's first impulse would be to send Rue right back to where she came from to be dealt with by the Imperials in their own special way. She did not want any more bounty hunter bait hanging around than was absolutely necessary…but, if Han could stay, then he surmised that by that logic, Rue could stay too. She was as much of a "hero" as he was. AND, if she were forced to go back, things could backfire for the Rebellion if Rue decided to betray them in any way…"no small thanks to me and my big mouth", said Luke to no one.
"But, you know what? I don't care…let Leia flip out a little bit!" he snickered to himself, thinking about Leia's now-notorious short fuse as he resumed walking. She owed him one.
He knew he had almost died in that battle; had it not been for Han, he'd have been toast. But he wasn't dead – far from it - he was alive, and for the first time, actually felt like it too if he were being honest about it. If he wanted to kiss a beautiful woman, then dammit, he wasn't going to feel sorry about it, he reasoned.
He just hoped that she wanted him too. There was no reason she should, he thought to himself.
"I've spent far too much of my life feeling sorry about things. No more. It's time to move forward- " said Luke just as he opened the door and walked right into his bunkmate, Wedge Antilles, having just staggered in from a late night as well.
"Woah there! I'd say…it's time for bed, boss, don't you think so?" said Wedge, looking sleepy but in surprisingly good spirits.
Wedge was Luke's best wingman and newest friend since the battle. Though they had known each other for only a short time now, Luke could tell they'd be friends for life.
So few of the Rogues had made it back alive, and Wedge was taking it particularly hard, he knew, though he hid it well. Luke understood his friend's grief all too well; though Luke had really only known Biggs – Wedge had been close with all of the Rogues, and only he, Farlander of Gold Squadron, and Luke had made it out alive. Wedge would talk about it when he was good and ready, Luke knew. His friend needed time to cope. They all did.
"Wedge!" said Luke, "Sorry, I hope I didn't startle you! I was wondering where you had gone."
"Ah well, the mechanics and a few of the pilots were up late making a few repairs to the fleet so that we could relax a bit more tomorrow – we have the huge ceremony to prepare for in a few days, you know, and wanted to leave at least a day in between to get the grime and grease off of ourselves!", said Wedge with a laugh looking at his black, grease-stained hands and filthy nails. "We may have also indulged in a few frothy beverages as well…just a few. I looked for you, but I figured you might have wanted to sleep after all the recent excitement...so I had one..or three for you."
"Oh haha, that's ok Wedge, thanks. At least I'm not the only one up this late", said Luke, still smiling.
Wedge noticed, and said "Say, what's got you so wide awake at this hour anyway?"
"Oh you know, the usual. I couldn't sleep, so I went to grab some water, then checked up on Artoo, oh, and, uh, spent the rest of the night talking with a beautiful woman—" said Luke, casually.
"Wow Luke, I've heard some tall tales on this base, but never have I heard that one before - we all know there's one woman on this base, and she wants nothin' to do with pilots!" said Wedge, elbowing Luke in the arm. He could only imagine why and how Leia had developed such a reputation as the Ice Princess.
"Hey now, I'm not kidding, Wedge! She's the woman that stole the Death Star plans; she was rescued by Han before he rejoined the battle, and has been recovering in the med bay ever since." said Luke.
"She was a Lieutenant aboard the Star Destroyer that captured the Tantive IV. Instead of carrying out her orders to bring Leia in for questioning, she instead slipped her the plans, and jumped in an escape pod headed for Tatooine during the scuffle."
Wedge smiled and raised his eyebrows, clearly not intoxicated enough to lose his sense of humor. If he had worn oculars, he'd have shot Luke a sly and knowing glassy-eyed look over the top of them.
"Our very own Red Five, goes an' blows up the ol' Death Star, and then fraternizes with an Imperial dame, all 'n one night – well, sir, I'm impressed." slurred Wedge as he climbed into his bunk. "She could be a real ally", he added with an exaggerated wink before sinking back into the covers.
Luke just rolled his eyes, and then threw the nearest pile of dirty flight-clothes at him! "Real funny, Wedge", laughed Luke, before laughing even harder as Wedge didn't even try to bat the wretched payload away, instead letting it cover his face. Wedge just let out a tired grumble beneath the pile, and then mumbled, "Oh thank you, dear. I'm all tucked in now…nighty night!"
Now that was a man that was thoroughly exhausted, and maybe more than a little tipped from a night of drinking with the boys. Luke could forgive him for his teasing…for now; he'd be sure to get him back later. "Alright, 'night Wedge".
With the smile that had yet to leave his face, Luke climbed into his bunk, laughing again upon hearing Wedge's muffled snores filtering through his "blankets" not a minute later.
Lying in the darkness, Luke's thoughts returned to Rue – her face as he'd kissed her hand, her bandaged hand and body, her beautiful auburn hair falling around him – wait, around her! – get a grip Skywalker! – and now, being all alone in the med ward with the creepy med-droids. He wondered what had really made her betray the Empire, and literally jump-ship.
Luke knew she must've had a good reason to put her life in the special brand of jeopardy reserved only for those that wronged the Empire…especially for those that sided with the Alliance in any way.
Maybe she would tell him more, in time.
One thing was for sure - not every Imperial was "bad", and surely not every Rebel was strictly "good" – people were just people, doing what they do, regardless of what insignia they displayed, thought Luke as he finally grew tired. His sadness had temporarily lifted, and he could finally begin to rest.
Above all, he hoped that she would never have to endure any more pain at the hands of the Empire. In his last moments of consciousness, Luke decided that he'd visit her again tomorrow – he had something very important that he wanted to ask her.
Hopefully, she would be well enough to accept…