Just a quick note: I haven't watched the film in a while (around two years) so I'm writing most of this based on memory. Sorry if things are a little bit off; I read the Wookiepedia article on the movie, so I refreshed my memory as much as possible. I'd also like to thank the increase in reviews in the past few weeks. You guys are great! 3
Chapter Six: Flight
Once the ship had started and was up in the air, Anna knew that she needed to explain herself. She knew that she looked suspicious, and it was not a feeling that she wanted to have with her for a long time. Lando and Chewie were too preoccupied trying to escape the city, but Leia was sitting, looking indirectly at Anna, waiting for answers, yet not in a way that would look too pushy.
"I'm not an Imperial," Anna said, and saw the former Princess relax. "I crashed on Dagobah when my ship malfunctioned, and Luke saved me. I would have died if he hadn't found me." At the first part of the sentence, Anna winced, knowing that it was now Luke who was gone from her. The feeling that he gave off had been obscured by the adrenaline running through her veins, which was now starting to wear off. She sighed and glanced down at her pale hands.
"During the time that I was on Dagobah, I learned that I was Force-sensitive," she continued. "I was trained, along with Luke, for a short amount of time, before a vision appeared in his head, and he was frantic to get here. My ship was completely smashed and drowned in the swamps, and I came with him."
"Where is he now?" Leia asked, keeping her voice calm. Anna sighed and shook her head, her eyes falling to the floor. "He jumped off a catwalk when Vader was about to kill him," Anna answered, refusing to lift her gaze up. "I only saw him fall, and I have no idea where he is, or if he's even alive."
Leia lowered her head and nodded, not making a sound. Anna lifted her gaze slightly to see the emotion in Leia's eyes, and that the Princess cared a great deal about Luke as well. After all, Luke had been the one to rescue her from execution on the Death Star, as Anna had heard, and had been the one to destroy the dreaded space station.
Suddenly, Leia's eyes went wide. "Luke…" she murmured, her small voice hardly even audible. Anna looked at her, confused, but in an instant, it was apparent to her. Leia had the same arm feeling that Luke had, but hers was no nearly as powerful as Luke's was, and not as apparent at first. Now that it was recognized, it felt as though its power was bombarding her heart.
"Turn the ship around!" Leia commanded, a sense of urgency in her voice.
"Are you serious?" Lando asked. "What about those fighters?"
"I know where Luke is!" she said in the same tone. "Turn us around."
"Lando, turn us around," Anna said, exhaustion heavy in her voice, but her mind had quickly perked up as soon as she knew that Leia had felt Luke through the Force. Anna herself had not felt him directly, but now she could feel it. It was a very weak power, and she knew that Luke was in an unstable condition.
The ship turned, and Anna forced herself to relax. Still, there was a chance that Luke was still alive, even though the fall he and taken looked to be a fatal one from first glance. She had been too busy trying not to fall at the hands of the Sith Lord that had revealed to Luke the shocking revelation that had made her own knees weak. The pained look on Luke's face had impacted her in a way that she couldn't describe. She knew that his heart was hurting, and she could feel it. As they neared the city in the clouds once again, the feeling became greater. Luke is alive, she thought to herself, and allowed a smile to break out on her face for the first time in what felt like forever.
The feeling of happiness didn't last long. The ship was now located underneath Cloud City, and hanging from an antenna, was a broken figure, barely holding on for his life. The pain in Anna's heart soared, and she knew that it was Luke before Leia made it known around the cockpit of the ship. Lando stood up and left the small room, and Chewie held the ship stable as is floated underneath the place where Luke was holding on for his life. Even though they were now close in proximity to one another, the feeling of the Force that he was giving off was still very weak. She knew that along with the obvious pain that he was in, he was also exhausted, both mentally and physically. She had never seen him so beat-up, and it was something that she never wanted to see.
It was even worse in person. Lando helped the wounded Jedi stagger into the cockpit, where Leia jumped up and hugged him. Anna felt rooted to her seat, unable to move very much, as her mind had completely locked her down. She didn't know what to do to comfort Luke, and she didn't know if she could. What he was going through was something that she could never even imagine. Lando sat down in the pilot's seat next to Chewie as they quickly sped away, trying in vain to get away from the TIE fighters that were pursuing them. Anna could care less about the threat that was continuously pressuring them, and followed the path where Leia and Luke had gone.
She stood in the doorway of the room, and Leia looked up. "Is everything okay?" she asked, and Anna shook her head.
"There are approaching TIE fighters," she said. "We're going to make the jump to light-speed in a few moments."
Leia nodded and stood up. "I'll let you have a moment," she said, and gave Luke a quick kiss on the cheek before she stood up and left the room, brushing past Anna, but not in a rude way. Anna's dark eyes travelled over to the broken form that lay on the medical cot. Luke barely even looked alive. He was only 22 years old, but he looked to be at least ten years older. The battle with the Sith Lord had made him lose his innocence.
She walked over to the side of his bed and let out a sigh. "I'm sorry," she said, avoiding making eye contact. "I tried to get there faster."
"It wouldn't have made any difference," he said. "Vader was after me, not you. I don't want you to become a target."
"I don't care," she said. "I've taken care of myself for years."
"This is the Sith Lord we're talking about," Luke said. "You've seen his power yourself. I'm not letting you fall under the same category that has me wanted by the Empire."
"Luke, I'm strong," she said. "You heard what Master Yoda said about me. My power is not as strong as yours, but I know what I'm doing. My Force knowledge is extensive."
"The Empire will still be after you," he said. "I'm not putting you in danger because of me."
"I was able to get away from Vader without any sort of physical injury," she said, standing up. "If that isn't strong to you, I don't know what is."
She turned to leave, but Luke stopped her. "You are strong," he said. "When I'm recovering, go back to Yoda. You need to finish your training. I'm further ahead in it than you are. I know that you can bear to leave me, just for a while."
Anna could only bring herself to nod, barely even registering the words in her mind. "I'll be out in the cockpit," she said. "I just need a moment to think." Luke gave her a small smile, knowing that he had won her over, and she left the room.
Sitting back down in her chair again, she shut her eyes and let her head fall back until it came in soft contact with the headrest of the chair. She tuned out Lando and Chewie, who were talking rather loudly to each other about their pursuers. She let Luke's words float around in her head, thinking about leaving him once again. She knew that she would have to come back, as she was in this war now, and there was no way to escape it. Her skills were still raw, and not yet finely tuned to a point where she would be able to use them with confidence. She had yet to even hold a lightsaber in her hands and fell the vibrating power that came with them. Still, the thought of returning to Yoda after he had advised them not to go was conflicting her. She didn't know how he would react when she arrived without Luke, the one that was supposed to bring peace to the galaxy, and the one that Yoda had bonded deeply with. She sighed and let her muscles relax in the chair. She was exhausted from all of the work that had gone into the day. There was nothing enjoyable about the feelings that were running through her, and she knew not to consider them for more than a few seconds. The one line that still rang clear in her mind was one of her first lessons that Yoda had done with her. "Beware of the dark feelings," he had said. "Anger, fear, and aggression. Do not dwell on them, or start down the dark path, you will." She opened her eyes once again, but heard nothing. Lando was frantic about something, but she couldn't see what it was. He was flipping switches, pushing buttons, trying everything, but Anna didn't care about his problems at that moment. She was watching everything closely, but she was not hearing anything. She had fallen into a state of relaxation and reflection. She shut her eyes and smiled to herself as the ship suddenly lurched forward, the familiar feeling of making the jump to light-speed.