The group sat in a packed hut, surrounded by the little Ewoks, all lining the walls. A fire lit the hut, the shadows of the creatures dancing and flickering onto the rough walls. On one wall, a group of ten Ewoks stood next to a throne of the chief, who watch as Threepio told stories of the Galactic War, from what the group had seen. He would point at the Rebels, who were leaning along one of the walls, and would enhance the story with sounds such as Vader's breathing, the hissing of a glowing lightsaber as it clashed with another, the sound of blaster fire. Although she couldn't understand most of it, Anna still listened intently, wanting to know what had happened to the group before she had joined them. She knew that Luke had been the one to seal away the first Death Star with an unbelievable shot, but that was pretty much it. She heard names that she had never heard before, Obi-wan Kenobi being one of them. Luke had always referred to him as Ben. From what she could gather, he was a Jedi, one of the last to remain from the Jedi Purge.
Artoo beeped, and Threepio looked down at him. "Yes Artoo, I was just getting to that," he said, a little bit annoyed that the other droid had cut off his story. Still, he got back into the flow easily, and she heard her name being mentioned once Cloud City, and smiled. Although the memory of Cloud City was less than pleasant, it had been a crucial turning point for her in her career as a Jedi. She would never have known just how fragile she was, and that no amount of a hard childhood could prevent her from surviving Vader, if she were to ever face him again. He still sparked fear in her heart whenever she heard his name, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been in the beginning, before she learned how to control her feelings.
Threepio went silent as his story concluded. The chief of the tribe and the others that stood near his throne began to converse among themselves, and Anna watched them curiously. They all nodded at each other, and the chief stood up, speaking in the Ewok's native tongue. Once he had completed his statement, everyone around them began to cheer, standing up. Drums began to beat, and Anna looked at Threepio.
"What's going on?" Han asked, just as confused as she was.
"I don't know," Leia responded.
"Wonderful, we are now a part of the tribe!" Threepio announced to them. Anna smiled as the Ewoks all huddled around the Rebels, and she knelt down so that she was at eye level with them.
"Just what I always wanted," Han said from behind her. One of the Ewoks wrapped its furry little arms around her, and she smiled, patting the rough fur.
"Well, short help is better than no help at all, Chewie," Han said again, and Anna looked to see another enthusiastically embracing the wookiee, as best as he could given Chewie's great height. "Thank you, okay."
"He says the scouts are going to show us the quickest way to the shield generator," Threpeio announced proudly.
"Good," Han said. "How far is it?"
Threepio turned to ask, but Han pulled the droid back around to face him.
"We need fresh supplies too," he said, and Threepio turned. Once again, Han pulled him back around.
"And try to get our weapons back."
For the last time, the droid turned to translate, but Han pulled him back.
"And hurry up will ya? I haven't got all day."
Anna smiled at the scene, and noticed that there was one human missing. She stood up from the Ewoks, smiling down at them as she moved out to the door of the hut.
Luke was standing in the moonlight, looking out over the dark forest. The walkway that he stood on was now deserted, but still creaky and narrow as ever.
"Is everything all right?" she asked, keeping her voice down as she approached him. He turned his head slightly to face her.
"Vader is here," he stated. It was not an invitation to argue, rather one of fact.
"What do you mean?" Anna asked.
"I can feel him," he said. "Can you?"
She shook her head. "I don't have the connection with him that you do," she said. "I'm sure that if I tried, I could feel him, but that's not my concern right now." She paused, keeping the distance between the two of them. There was still some tension in the air, and as much as she would like for it to clear, it wouldn't, not in this situation.
"I need to face him again," Luke said.
"No you don't," Anna said. "Not by yourself. I was a witness to what happened last time, and I'm not going through that again."
"You are not coming with me," he said, turning to that he was facing her.
"Well, first of all, you're not going," she said, her voice raising slightly. "Don't you realize that this is probably a trap?"
"I am not a Jedi unless I confront him again," Luke said, leaning back on the rail. "That's what Master Yoda told me before he died. You and me, we're the last Jedi left."
"Then rewrite the rules," she said. "If he called you one, then you are one. Just because you have some unsettled battle doesn't mean that it's holding you back from becoming a Jedi yourself."
She was trying to keep herself in check, but it was getting harder to do so.
"It's not just that," he said. "If I stay, I'm endangering everything." He paused. "You are too."
"I am nothing to him," she said defiantly.
"You are still someone capable of the same things I am," he said. "Maybe not as strong, but you have used your power in order to fight for what is good. You are a presence in the Force now, and he can feel you too."
"I am not going to run into his arms like you're suggesting," she said, pulling her poncho around her, staring him right in the eyes. "He's come for you because you're the most powerful of anyone."
Luke sighed. There was no way she was going to back down from her position, and it hurt him. He wanted to slip away without anyone noticing, but now, she stood between him and the group's safety.
"What do you suggest I do, then?" she asked.
"Run," he said. "As much as I don't want to say that, you know how to hide, you know how the evade the Empire."
She scoffed, shaking her head. "Look, I never told you what happened after I left home because I didn't think there would ever be a time for me to tell it," she said. "Clearly, now that you have your heart set on running into death's open arms, I'll give you a short history." She paused for a moment, as if trying to confirm with herself that she wanted to tell Luke what she had held back for so many years. "My main sources of income were the smugglers that lived in Coruscant," she began. "Many of them were Imperials, some even high-ranking. The Undercity was an enticing place where you could find all levels of crime, but the Emperor didn't seem to care too much about it, maybe because it wasn't worth his time. We would all just rebuild the Undercity somewhere else anyway. There was one high-ranking Imperial Officer that paid me well to smuggle for him. I met him in a bar after one of my trusted sources recommended that I meet him. During that encounter, he tried to convert me to become an Imperial. I refused, of course, and left him in that bar." She shook her head. "It was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I smuggled for him, but always tried to keep our meetings short and out in public. I was street-smart to a point, but he scared me. He still does. I'm always so worried that he'll find me. Anyway, I had just arrived in the Undercity, and, like the idiot I was, I made sure to meet him exactly where he had specified. Turns out that the place he wanted me to meet him at was an old hotel down in the Undercity that was just barely staying in business. It was full of all kinds of highly-illegal trade, mostly slaves. The Emperor turned a blind eye to it, as it apparently kept the nobles at bay. I found him in a back room. There was no one else in there, just him, and I knew that I was in danger. I got my pay, and was about to leave, but he had looked the door." She stopped. "I lost my virginity that night, completely against my will. He warned me, trying to get me over to his side, but I refused." She shrugged. "I've been running ever since. I've never been back there, and I'm sure that he's still an Imperial. I guess what I'm saying is, there's nowhere left for me to run. The place where I used to go is still dangerous and he's probably still there, waiting to see me out of the street again, looking for business. But you, Luke, you have a choice. Let me come with you."
"You're staying here," he said simply. "I'm not going to let you get caught up in my battles."
"They turned into mine the moment you rescued me on Dagobah," she said, not even trying to mask her anger anymore. "If you're too stubborn to see that, then you should go on your own. You should realize that you've made a mistake just moments before Vader kills you."
She turned to walk away from him, but there was something that was holding her back. She wanted to leave him, but her heart was pulling her back toward him.
"I know you mean none of that," he said, walking over to where she stood. "There is too much history between us that would make you believe anything you just said."
She dropped her gaze to the planks that made up the walkway, knowing that he was right. Anger had gotten the best of her once again, and she let out a shaky breath as he came to stop right behind her.
"Then there is no use in holding back now," she said. Spinning on the heels of her boots, she grabbed the back of his neck and pulling him down to her level, right into a passionate kiss. He was a little bit surprised at the sudden movement, but settled down, letting his hands slide down her sides, then pulled her into his chest. She shifted so that her arms were completely around his neck, and settled against him, closing her eyes.
It was in that moment when Luke broke away, cupping her face in his hands. She slowly opened her eyes, her lips pulsing from the kiss, and she dropped her arms from around his neck.
"I might not make it back," he said, fully expecting her to argue. However, she said nothing. It was almost as if the air had cleared from around them, but she made no movement. Still, he knew she was listening. He backed away from her, and she raised her eyes.
"I don't expect you to wait for me," he said. "This is not your destiny, it is mine. You can go and live your life far away from this place, for away from any reaches of the Empire. Even if you don't believe you can, I know that there is a fire inside of you that no one can extinguish. If I don't make it back, you must promise me that you will live your life according to your terms, not to the ones that I bound you to when I found you on Dagobah."
She was silent, but she had heard every word he had said. Slowly, she turned away from him, walking back to the hut. He let out a sigh once she was gone, and walked back to the railing, leaning on his forearms, just as he had been when she had first come out.
The celebration had died down but everyone else was still in the hut. Anna walked in, looking around the room with a heavy sadness in her eyes and in her heart. Leia seemed to notice the other girl's discomfort, and she stood up, walking over to her.
"What's wrong?" Leia asked.
Anna just shook her head. "It's Luke," she said. "He's out there, on the walkway."
"Is he okay?" Leia asked.
"I don't know," Anna said. "He just seems so distant."
"I'll go talk to him," Leia said, placing her hand on the other girl's shoulder. "You stay here."
Anna smiled sadly, turning her head as Leia walked out of the hut. She turned to face the fire which still emitted a warm orange glow, some of the Ewoks still standing near it. Some had gone off to their huts, but the group that had been with the chief were still around, talking amongst themselves. She sat down near Han, and one of the Ewoks waddled up to her. She could only smile sadly at him, not expecting the creature to understand. She was pleasantly surprised when it climbed up to her seat, and hugged her with its furry arms. She wrapped her arm around the small creature, trying to bring herself some comfort. A quiet growl from behind her sounded, and she looked over her shoulder to see Chewie gazing at her.
"I'll be okay, Chewie,"she said to the wookiee, who also seemed to sense that she wasn't in her element. She didn't know if she would ever find it again.