Hello there! Back for another chapter!

I'm very happy with how this one turned out and I'm looking forward to your feedback and comments. The action is rising progressively for our heroes, the stakes are getting more intense. Let's hope I can give it a satisfying payoff when it's all over ;)

Now that that's said, let us answer the last chapter's reviews:

- Tahkaullus01: I absolutely agree with you on both of those arcs! I just finished rewatching Clone Wars and holly molly are those parts brutal and so so good. Man, I can't wait to get to write those chapter :)

- stars90: glad you like the start! It's good to know I've managed to do my job at this stage ;) I hope this second chapter keeps the tension and stakes intact, perhaps even raises them. I agree that each time I see some Jedi/Clone bonding it makes me smile and cry since we all know how it's going to end.

- RKF22: Thanks! Still going strong after all these chapters. May the Force be with you.

- TheEmeraldMage: Thank you soooo much! It always makes me happy to hear you're enjoying the story so far. I'm very curious to hear your thoughts on this one, especially as it builds towards the final showdown (between who and who… I don't know ;). I really love writing Thrawn, and I may have gone a bit overboard with him in this chapter, not sure you tell me. I think there'll be like 2 or three more chapters after this one to wrap up the battle of Tattooine, I have some ideas for how it'll unfold towards the end. Stay tuned and thanks for all your support.

- MrToasterMan: I agree that the final seasons of Clone Wars had some of the strongest arcs, I absolutely want to get all of them in here. Glad you liked it and hope you enjoy where it's headed!

- Guest: I am 100% with you on that! The Mortis arc has some very interesting and intriguing elements although it does feel like it perhaps goes a step too far. And Yoda's journey at the end of season 6 is one of the best arcs in the entire Clone Wars, defiantly need to integrate it and have him refer to it at some point… ;)

- Luise: thanks a lot. It feels good to be regular with these posts, I'll try to keep it up. I would definetly recommend Clone Wars if you haven't seen it. I think it's a classic and you have a lot of quality content to look forward to. Indeed, Luke and Mara are starting to learn about their new emotions for each other and the power it holds…

- Jeda31: it really warms my heart to hear you say this! I'm glad all the emotional beats and character moments are coming through strong. Thrawn, Luke and Mara are each given time to shine here, please tell me if you feel it's effective or not. Especially with Thrawn I definitely went in a certain direction with him I'm not sure everyone will agree with. I was going to include a final part with Cody, Rex and Ezra, but decided to save it for the next chapter since I felt good about where this one ended. Thanks so much for your review and hope you like this chapter!

- Mad about the Boro: Thanks! I'm very pleased to hear you're liking it. Hope I can keep entertaining you and surprising you as the chapters continue. About Thrawn and Tarkin, perhaps you missed in chapter 16, the Emperor demoted Tarkin to Grand Admiral and appointed Thrawn as Grand Moff in his place. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this new chapter!

I believe that is all of the reviews answered, so without further ado let's get on with chapter 35!

Please favorite, follow, and review!

"Keep pushing forward! We're nearly at the gate!" Madine yelled over the deafening explosions going off around him.

Thanks to Mara, his platoon had managed to push through the heavy flack of blaster fire coming from Jabba's palace with limited casualties. However, as they drew closer and closer to the outer wall, it became harder for the entire platoon to stay close to Mara and she was struggling to deflect every single blaster bolt that came their way.

Crix Madine was posted at the back of the column, making sure that everyone stayed close together and keeping an eye out for a potential surprise attack. His wrist-communicator started blinking, signaling an incoming transmission. The hologram of commander Cody appeared in the palm of his hand, busy fighting off Imperials as he delivered his message:

"General, we're pin down between the Empire's forces and Jabba's mercenaries. One of our platoons has already been wiped out, sir. Commander Bridger is keeping us alive as best he can but we'll soon be overrun if you don't clear those snipers on the ramparts."

"Just hold on a little longer, commander. We've nearly reached the main entrance. We'll clear out those defenses."

"Copy that, sir. Commander Cody out."

The hologram disappeared and Madine refocused his attention on his advancing platoon. After much perseverance, they reached a small jumble of rocks that offered them sufficient cover from the onslaught of lasers.

They were now just fifteen meters away from the massive heavy front door to Jabba's fortress. That door would never be opened by a brute force attack. It was designed to take an artillery round without even denting. The outer walls were equally resistant, as well as extremely steep and smooth, making them virtually unclimbable. And even if they could somehow find a way to scale them, there were several ramparts and ledges along the way where Jabba's mercenaries and bounty hunters were positioned, all armed to the teeth.

Mara and Crix Madine gathered around the platoon commander, a female twi'lek named Rora Borell. She projected a small holomap of the castle on the ground in front of them. Rebel Command had finished their deep resonance scan of the palace, but Jabba must have had it specially insulated since they had barely any usable intel on the interior geography.

"Looks like we'll be going in blind," Rora muttered with displeasure. "It must be an absolute labyrinth in there, with plenty of blind spots for an ambush."

"I understand your frustration, commander, but we really don't have a choice," Madine said, taking a closer look at the holomap. "This entire operation is reliant on us being fast and efficient. Any time we spend waiting around only puts princess Leia and captain Solo at risk."

"We should split up," Mara suddenly spoke up, causing the other two to raise an eye towards her. "I can vaguely sense where the princess and Solo are. Once I find them, I'll activate my transponder and you can make your way to my location."

Madine looked at Mara thoughtfully, obviously considering her proposal, while Rora just stared at her incredulously. While she had seen how efficient the Jedi had been at deflecting blaster bolts and keeping her men alive, she was not exactly eager to place the success of the mission solely in her hands.

Despite her reservations, she tried to keep her tone respectful:

"Sir, with all due respect, there has to be a better solution than just letting a Jedi handle everything."

"Commander Borell, I'm afraid the alternative, as you've stated, is to risk getting ambushed inside the palace or waste time getting lost in a maze," Crix replied firmly. "Sometimes it only takes one person to make the difference between victory and defeat. You were present at the Battle of Yavin, after all."

Rora had no rebuttal to that. It made Mara smile how Luke's actions were now used as an authoritative argument, and for good reason. What he managed to accomplish that day would have been deemed impossible by any military strategists, and people agreed that it had more to do with his Jedi powers than with Luke's unparalleled skills in a starfighter.

Mara remembered her shock and disbelief after the Death Star's destruction was announced; and destroyed by a single maned X-Wing. When it had later emerged that he was in fact a Jedi, Imperial military academies all across the galaxy began introducing courses on how to devise specific battle strategies if a Jedi was aiding the enemy.

Even when you're not here, you still find a way to help me…

"Lieutenant Jade," the Jedi snapped out of her thoughts to look at Madine. "When you find the princess and Solo, send us your location immediately. Once we've eliminated those sentries, our platoon will go reinforce commander Bridger's troops. Hopefully, we'll have finished dealing with the Imperials by the time you locate Leia and Solo. Commander Borell, have your rocket troops assist Mara in clearing the wall and make sure the enemy is unable to use them again."

"Yes, sir."

Mara stretched her limbs carefully as she cleared her mind and sharpened her senses, readying herself for the climb. When Rora Borell had gathered her jetpack commandos, Mara shot her a mischievous look and said:

"Race you to the top?"

Before she could answer, Mara used the Force to propel herself over the rocks they were hiding behind. She rushed the wall with lightning speed, dodging all the laser fire from the sentries. When she arrived at the base of the palace she unleashed a powerful Force blast that propelled her upwards, stabbing her lightsaber into the wall to catch it. With barely a second of pause, Mara used the Force again to propel herself upwards, over and over, until she reached the large balcony above the main door where the snipers were positioned.

The mercenaries jumped back in shock when they saw Mara leap over the side of the railing. They quickly turned their guns on her, but she was just too fast. By the time they had begun firing, she had already cut down a third of them.

Her lightsaber whirled and danced like a luminous snake, lashing out at her enemies with ferocious speed and precision. The mercenaries' high-powered sniper rifles were impossible to wield accurately at such close range; Mara cut their weapons to pieces, sliced off limbs, and broke bones with such unstoppable force, that the last three mercenaries were quick to throw down their weapons and raise their arms up in surrender.

Mara glanced over to the other balconies and was happy to see that Borell's jetpack squad was dealing with them easily, weaving through the air as they picked off Jabba's goons one by one. Eventually, commander Borell joined her on the balcony and handcuffed the surrendering mercenaries.

"Well done, Jedi," Borell conceded humbly. "You have my gratitude and respect, those were some moves. My team and I will finish securing the outer defenses. Go inside and find the hostages."

"I'll contact you as soon as I do," Mara replied, respectfully acknowledging Borell's kindness. "Thanks for your help."

"May the Force be with you."

Mara gave an appreciative bow as she turned around to enter the palace. She paused for a second, a distant thought crossing her mind; she spoke solemnly:

"The Force IS with us… it always will be."

And disappeared inside the bowels of Jabba's fortress.

Thrawn was completely cut off from all the aimless and mindless buzzing happening around him. His naval officers were staring at the holomap of Tatooine's battlefield with serious and pensive looks, debating over which strategy they should pursue.

Thrawn loathed their behavior. Almost none of these men had any real aptitude to one day lead their own fleet. They just wanted Thrawn to praise them for their vapid ideas and fast track them towards a promotion. The Chiss regretted that he had been forced to leave his handpicked and loyal officers in the Unknown Regions as they continued their expansion mission without him. That had been his only condition when he agreed to return to the Core and help defeat the Rebels. If any Imperial crew, other than those he had trained and disciplined personally, were left in charge of the Unknown Regions, all the progress Thrawn had slaved over would go to waste.

Instead of his meticulous, sharp-minded, and humble crew, he was left with over-privileged, inexperienced, and weak brats whose only aspirations were to rise through the ranks without having to face the brutality and stress of war.

Although, Thrawn knew that these men were only here because the Empire was no longer brimming with capable and competent volunteers for their armies. For nearly two decades after the birth of the Galactic Empire, many ambitious and promising soldiers enlisted in the Imperial Army and Navy and were mentored by the experienced members of the now obsolete Clone Army. That period was undoubtedly a golden age for the Empire, and for its military might.

However, since the rise of the Rebel Alliance and their continued success in resisting the Empire's rule, this was no longer the case. In addition, the revelations of some of the horrors and crimes the Empire had been complicit in, meant that voluntary enlistment was on a steady decline, despite the aggressive propaganda put forth by the ministry of communication. However, after the destruction of the Death Star, these inconveniences turned into real threats to the strength of the Empire's military.

The Rebel Alliance was no longer seen as a terrorist group but as a liberating force by a growing number of systems. As enlistment for the Empire dropped, enlistment for the Rebellion continued to rise; bright minds who would have once joined the Galactic Empire now flocked to the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

Thrawn focused his attention back on the present. The current situation was what it was, no point reflecting on it now. As long as everyone beneath him followed his orders to the letter, victory would be assured.

He stepped closer to the head of the holotable, arms crossed, eyes locked on the map in front of him. Little by little, the incessant rambling of voices around him slowly faded away; if nothing else, these officers had been advised by others not to get in Thrawn's way. That was perhaps the only aspect of their characters he could respect.

"Gentlemen," he spoke with misleading softness. "Your mindless pontification is not helping our situation in the slightest. If it's within your abilities why not deliver me a detailed report on the current state of this battlefield."

Thrawn already knew the state of his battlefield, but he needed to keep his officers on edge and start to train them now. He loathed such a tiresome task, but at least it would allow him to focus on his battle plans without it sounding like a can-cell's nest was buzzing next to him.

"Sir, the space battle is still raging," one officer, no doubt the bravest of the lot, finally spoke up assertively. "At this stage, it is difficult to determine who has the upper hand. No Rebel snub-fighters pose a threat to our Star Destroyers, and conversely, none of our TIE Fighters have been able to approach the Rebel blockade."

Thrawn nodded slowly, showing neither approval nor acknowledgment in his gaze. Another bold officer decided to jump in with his own report:

"The situation on the ground is decidedly in our favor, sir. Three Rebel platoons are trapped between our forces and the Hutt's mercenaries. In my opinion, we should call back some of our TIE Fighters to provide air-support and bomb those Rebel scum out of existence."

It took every ounce of concentration in Thrawn's body to not lose his composure. He watched as the officer smiled smugly at his own idea and his colleague glared at him with disdain for stealing the spotlight.

These insolent brats are not even worth the time it would take to train them…

Thrawn lips slowly pulled apart into a seemingly genuine smile, which surprised the officers around the holotable. Their description of the Chiss was that he was calm, collected, and ruthless, not the sort to smile.

"Your opinion is an interesting one," Thrawn spoke softly drawing closer to the officer in question who smiled proudly. "The fact that you would choose to share it is something I find equally interesting. I shall take this opportunity to ask the rest of you: does anyone else have an insightful strategy they wish to share?"

Out of the eight officers present around the table, six of them raised their hands. The other two were more cautious, which proved to be very wise.

In an instant, Thrawn's kind smile and welcoming attitude turned to a bestial coldness that radiated contempt. The officers felt as if a cold wind had suddenly swept through the bridge; they could physically sense that Thrawn was no longer the same Not a single one of them looked him in the eye, nor moved, nor even breathed. They simply remained with their eyes closed and their heads hunched down in absolute fear and submission.

Thrawn's voice was like a razor pressed against their throats that threatened to kill them if they spoke or moved:

"All of those who have raised their hands, remove your uniforms, go to the detention center and lock yourselves in a cell. You will not speak to anyone, you will not ask to go to the bathroom or have something to eat; you will sit in total silence reflecting on what I am about to say: NEVER share your opinions with me. I will NEVER ask for your opinions therefor I do not EXPECT your opinions. Your only use to me is as diligent, hard-working, and loyal soldiers, which you are not. The two who did not raise their hands shall remain on this bridge, in complete and utter silence unless spoken to. And after this battle is over, THEY will be the ones to decide your fate. Now, get out of my sight."

The six men involved shuffled out of the room looking pale and sick; the entire bridge was silent as a tomb, everyone has stopped what they were doing to watch this utterly brutal humiliation.

Once the officers had left, the bridge immediately sprang back to life. Business resumed as usual, only this time everyone invested twice as much effort in their individual tasks. The two remaining officers stood at attention beside the holotable, looking straight ahead in silence as Thrawn walked up to the observation window, staring at the gigantic orange planet before him.

Only the strong are allowed to prosper… all others will be culled.

"It appears that Lord Vader is not being as effective as he so boldly predicted," Thrawn spoke so that his two remaining officers could hear him. "Perhaps if we push his hand somewhat he will be forced to bring about an end to this space fight. Order all Star Destroyers to push towards the enemy fleet; max thrusters. Let us be decisive for a change. Dismissed."

"Sir, yes sir!"

Both officers saluted and ran off to relay Thrawn's orders, while the Grand Moff reveled in the chess game unfolding before him.

"I've got two on my tail! I can't shake 'em!" Wedge Antilles cursed over the comms.

It took Luke less than a second to reach out through the Force and locate his friend's X-Wing amidst the increasingly chaotic battle.

"I'm on my way Wedge. Hold on."

Luke banked his ship to the left in a wide arc and eventually saw Wedge's starfighter, pursued by two TIE Fighters. He was managing to weave in and out of their line of fire, but it was only a matter of time before one of them got a lucky shot.

Luke aimed his X-Wing straight towards his friend, seemingly in a head-on collision.

"Alright Wedge, just stay calm, I'm headed right for you."

"I can see that, Luke. My question is are you going to crash into me and do their job for them?"

"Just keep your ship steady," Luke said reassuringly, suppressing a grin. "It's an old trick I used to practice back home."

"Yeah, in a desert speeder!"

Luke tightened his hands on the controls and reached out through the Force, sharpening his senses and slowing down everything around him. Wedge's ship crept closer and closer, and with barely a few inches of clearance between them, Luke flew right above him, granting him a clear line of sight on the pursuing TIE Fighters.

Luke pulled the trigger as he flicked the controls of his X-Wing to send it into a barrel roll. The laser bolts effortlessly connected with the two enemy snub-fighters which exploded in a shower of fire and sparks.

"Thanks for the assist, Luke," Wedge said gratefully. "Just warn me next time you pull a stunt like that."

"Now where's the fun in that."

Despite Luke's efforts, the space battle remained at a standstill. He and Vader had seldom crossed paths, somehow always missing each other.

As he weaved in and out of the fray, dodging incoming fire and destroying enemy fighters, he received an incoming transmission from the Rebel command ship.

"Luke, it's Ahsoka. The Empire's ships are closing in around our fleet. When they get within firing range we'll be boxed in from two directions. You have to find a way to neutralize the Star Destroyer that's closest to the surface."

Luke cursed under his breath when he saw what Ahsoka was talking about. The Star Destroyers were barreling towards the Rebel cruisers at full speed, seemingly not waiting for their TIE Fighters to thin out the number of X-Wings in front of them.

Such a bold strategy was not common amongst the majority of Imperial naval officers, who generally favored caution and only charged in when they had a strong guarantee of victory. He had heard a lot of things about Thrawn, the Emperor's new Grand Moff, and it now seemed like the rumors were correct. He was without question a bold and ruthless tactician.

"Copy that, Ahsoka. I think I have a plan, but it's risky." Luke replied over the comms, narrowly avoiding a laser barrage from two TIE Fighters.

"Considering the circumstances, we're going to have to take the risk. We can't hold out long against that Super Star Destroyer's cannons. "

"Rogue Squadron!" Luke called out over the comms to his fellow flight mates. "I'm going to intercept the Star Destroyer closest to the planet's surface and try to draw Vader towards me. I need you to set up a screen to keep those TIE Fighters away from me. If I can draw Vader in front of that Destroyer, they won't dare to open fire."

"Copy that, Rogue Leader," Rogue Five answered quickly. "We'll break Rogue Squadron up into two groups and form up behind you to give you some space."

"Good call, Rogue Five," Wedge spoke up. "Rogue Two, Three, and Six form up behind me. Rogue Five, Eight, Four, and Ten form up behind Rogue Five. Let's keep those TIE's far away boys."

As everyone voiced their approval over the comms and took their positions, Luke felt a burgeoning pride and happiness towards the men under his command. He did not feel he deserved such loyalty and devotion from them after the way he had left without warning and the harm he had caused the Rebellion, yet they never even brought that up to him. As soon as he returned they behaved like he had never been gone and welcomed him back as their leader with open arms.

He knew he had to remain detached to an extent since, in a war, any of those men could die at any moment. Luke had to maintain some distance between them and not let his friendship towards them cloud his judgment or disrupt his actions.

He had already lost three members of Rogue Squadron since the start of this battle, and every time he heard their desperate cries and wails over the comms as their X-Wings were vaporized into smoke, he could feel his heart breaking ever so slightly.

However, little by little, instead of taking a deep breath and releasing his grief into the Force, he held on to a piece of that pain and used it as fuel to continue the fight. As the space battle progressed he felt his senses become evens sharper and his concentration grow as he lit a fire in his gut with embers of grief. This different method for processing and channeling grief was a dangerous tightrope for him to walk, but it was paying off.

"Thanks, Rogue Squadron," Luke said over the comms, letting his gratitude and emotions reverberate through to them. "I swear we'll be victorious today."

Luke accelerated his X-Wing towards the Star Destroyer, letting Rogue Squadron any stray TIE Fighters that tried to follow him. He could now focus entirely on getting Vader's attention. Luke cleared his mind, focused on the Force, and spoke through it:

Vader… I'm here. Perhaps you thought you defeated me but I've returned. Face me now!

He focused intently on an answer, but after several seconds, none came. Luke looked anxiously towards the fast-approaching Star Destroyer towards which he was headed. If Vader did not show up then nothing would prevent that ship from firing on the Rebel fleet.

Luke needed to get Vader's attention, and he knew how… it was just an idea he was still struggling to reckon with. But he did not have any more time to hesitate; he had to accept the truth and face it head-on, not run from it…

Father… It's me.

And suddenly, Luke sensed it: a tremor in the Force. But not the Dark Side, at least not completely. It was a strange sensation; something that resembled Vader's Force presence, only… younger. It appeared for half a second before disappearing, to be replaced by the Dark Lord's menacing and overbearing presence.

Your survival is most impressive, Skywalker. However, it will not happen again.

Luke could now see his father's TIE Advanced heading towards him, similar to the one he had piloted during the battle of Yavin. Despite everything he knew about him and all the horrors he had seen him do, he had to respect Vader's talent as a pilot.

Vader's talent… or, Anakin's talent?

That realization suddenly popped into Luke's mind. He recalled when Obi-Wan said that Anakin Skywalker was the "best starpilot in the galaxy". In a sense, that part of Anakin Skywalker still remained inside of Vader. That knowledge made Luke think again about what he had sensed earlier; that younger Vader… was it Anakin?

Is he still there… could he still be…

Luke desperately restored his grasps on the present. He could not let such questions distract him in the middle of such a heated battle. Rogue Squadron had allowed him to successfully break away from the main fight without any TIE Fighters following him, which now left him face to face with… Vader, and that Star Destroyer.

Keeping an eye on the approaching TIE Advance, Luke slowed down his X-Wing so that he did not overtake Vader. However, the latter could tell what Luke was trying to do, and with amazing deftness, spun his TIE Advance to the left while slowing down which brought him directly behind Luke's X-Wing.

Well… that's a neat trick, Luke thought with irritation as he transferred power away from the main weapons and redirected it towards the rear shields and engines.

His goal was now to evade Vader for as long as possible, until either the X-Wing squadrons managed to take down enough TIE Fighters, or until the Rebel Cruisers somehow managed to destroy Thrawn's Destroyer or Vader's Star Dreadnaught.

"Better hold on tight, R2. You probably haven't seen this kind of flying in a while."

Without waiting for a response, Luke accelerated at full speed towards the Star Destroyer, using its silhouette to shield his eyes from the bright surface of Tattooine. The capital ship fired a burst of lasers in his direction but quickly stopped when they realized that Vader also had to dodge the incoming fire.

Jackpot!

Luke's plan was working so far. The Star Destroyer slowly ground to a halt as he led Vader right in front of it, narrowly dodging the Dark Lord's laser bolts. It taxed every ounce of Luke's concentration and training to avoid getting hit. He could feel the power of the Dark Side emanating from Vader as he called upon it to take Luke down.

However, the darkness felt different from when he had sensed it on Hoth, or even when he faced him on Cloud City. Luke felt as if he could understand and make out this dark presence, rather than it just being a terrifying and shapeless mass like before.

Is Anakin Skywalker still there… behind all that darkness? Is the grey path making this clearer?

"R2, I don't think I'll be able to stay unscathed for much longer," Luke called out to his astromech. "You flew with my father before, did he have a weakness as a pilot that we can exploit."

"He was the greatest pilot of his generation, Luke," R2 beeped back. "And I hate to tell you this now, but you fly a lot like he did."

"That doesn't exactly help—" Luke stopped mid-sentence, realizing what R2 had said. "Like Anakin Skywalker! That's it! Even though he knows all of my moves, he hasn't been able to hit me yet because he knows that they're Anakin Skywalker's maneuvers. And he is supposed to be Darth Vader now."

"That feels like a bit of a stretch," R2 chirped, unconvinced.

"Perhaps… But if I'm right that means there is conflict within him. Darth Vader is not all of him; Anakin Skywalker is there as well."

Luke realized he had no way of proving this theory, but his instincts told him it was true: there IS still good in him.

But that realization would not help him now, as one of Vader's shots finally connected with Luke's right wing.

"Damage minimal. Ship integrity: 95%"

"Dammit!"

Luke pulled off an evasive spin, decelerating as he moved out of Vader's flight path. However, the Dark Lord was able to match his speed, putting their starfighters side by side.

He did not know what came over him, but Luke instinctively reached through the Force and spoke:

Father… I can feel the conflict within you—

He could not finish speaking. Vader violently rammed his TIE Advanced into Luke's X-Wing, causing his right S-foils to bend at an odd angle, completely disrupting the flight balance of the ship.

"Major damage detected. Ship integrity: 65%. Flight controls failing."

"Not good…"

Luke pulled back on the controls to perform a backward loop and put as much distance between him and Vader as possible. Luke quickly realized his mistake, but by the time he did, it was too late. Now that Vader was far away from Luke, the Star Destroyer opened fire on his X-Wing with everything they had.

In hindsight, it was beyond miraculous that it had not spelled the end for Luke Skywalker. It will long be debated whether it was luck or the mysteries of the Force, but somehow, only one shot connected with Luke's W-Wing.

"Damage critical! Ship integrity: 45%. Systems failing."

Luke tried to move his X-Wing but it felt like directing a large hunk of metal, which at this point was pretty much all he was flying in.

"We're going for an emergency landing, R2. Hold on!"

"Not again…" the astromech beeped in resignation.

Luke aimed the ship towards Tattooine, whose gravitational field soon began pulling his X-Wing towards the surface. As the outside and inside of his starfighter began to heat up from the friction, he briefly glanced at Vader's TIE Advanced which was returning towards the raging space battle.

What have I done…

Despite his anguish, Luke focused his emotions back on the task at hand. He barely had any controls left, and they were accelerating dangerously fast through the upper atmosphere.

"R2, deploy all flaps!"

The astromech did as he was told. The flaps slowed the X-Wing down a bit, but they quickly snapped off of the body of the ship due to the speed at which they were traveling.

"We're entering the lower atmosphere," R2 warned.

"R2, eject now!" Luke shouted over the comms which were breaking up. "Use your boosters to get clear."

"I'm not leaving you here! I can carry you—"

"Just trust me! I've got this!"

R2 knew it was no use arguing. He delivered a final good luck beep to his master before ejecting from his cradle and activating his thruster. He used them to slow his descent as he watched the now burning wreckage of Luke's X-Wing hurtle towards the sand.

Come on, Luke… You can do it…

Seconds before the starfighter impacted the ground, R2 saw a small silhouette rocket out of the cockpit and crash into a far away dune, kicking up a plume of sand. The X-Wing combusted into a massive fireball, spitting bits of molten metal everywhere.

The little astromech quickly made his way over to Luke who was lying unconscious in a small crater, his flight helmet still on his head. When he reached his side, R2 nervously scanned his vitals and was relieved to find that nothing was broken. The worst thing he had was a mild concussion.

R2 knew it was cruel to do what he was about to do, but he also knew that their mission was not over yet. He extended one of his robotic arms and sent a sharp jolt of electricity into Luke's thigh which startled the young man into consciousness.

"What-what happened?" he asked confusedly.

"Just another happy landing" R2 replied humorously.

Thoughts? Outraged or loving it? Please tell me what you felt in a review and I'll be sure to answer it in the next chapter.

May the Force be with you!