On the Wings of Valkyrie

Chapter V

Luna closed her eyes, meditating as she opened herself up to the Force. It had been awhile since she had last been able to meditate to this degree, being careful around Ahsoka and just not having the time, but Luna had finally managed to do it.

And not a moment too soon.

Luna raised a hand, levitating the crystal that she had carried with herself for so long.

Luna looked around. It was the first time she had ever had the chance to go to Naboo and was beyond grateful for the fact that was where this particular mission had bought Vader and herself. Her Master didn't seem to share the sentiment, but Luna blocked out his feelings for a moment. The planet was lovely, and she had always wanted to visit it, something about the trees and lakes just made everything so peaceful.

The mission, to be honest, Luna had forgotten what it really was after so many years. She may not have been paying much attention in the first place, or perhaps Vader had sheltered her from the true reason for their visit. Luna had only been his Shadow for a handful of months, and while he had allowed her to help him hunt down spies that were on the run, he had yet to introduce her to his version of diplomacy, or lack thereof, most likely because of her tendency to ask about Why people couldn't just talk out their differences without a Civil War.

Eventually, they had left Theed for a less inhabited part of Naboo, looking for a hidden Rebel camp. They found the remnants of one long abandoned, an old Separatist base that had been used by the Rebels temporarily. Vader had gone inside leaving Luna to look above ground, something along the lines of traps that she wouldn't have been prepared for. In reality, he had probably wanted her away from him while he looked through the base, so she wouldn't pick up on his emotions considering it was the same base both Padmé and Ahsoka had nearly died at.

Luna had been waiting when she had heard what sounded like the cry of a child. It had gotten her attention immediately. A second cry had spurred her into motion.

The then Sith apprentice had run blindly into the forest, forgetting to pay attention to where she was going. The cries stopped not long after. It was only then that Luna had realized her mistake:

She was on a planet she had never been to before, lost in the woods, with no idea of how to get back to her Master.

Luna tried to stay calm, but she was panicking before she could even think to do so. She had tried to fall back onto the Force, but the pure terror of being left, abandoned, kept her from being able to reach it. Luna hadn't learned how to harness that pure of fear yet and the only one, only thing, she even trusted at this point was her Master.

She had almost convinced herself within the first few minutes that Vader would leave her and no longer want such a helpless girl as his apprentice. She had practically given up hope. In hindsight, Luna could say that it had been her subconscious fears from her past that had caused such a strong reaction. That the Force had decided she needed to get over.

Luna nearly did give up, but, like many things, it wasn't in her DNA. She forced herself to calm down and remember Vader's teachings. She reminded herself that he promised he wouldn't leave her. She remembered him telling her to trust in the Force.

And then, in that forest on Naboo, meditating on the ground as her mind cleared and she finally opened herself up fully and trusted both Vader and the Force, Luna heard the singing of her crystal. She found it at the side of a lake not three meters from her, buried just below the surface.

Tears pricked at Luna's eyes. After finding her cystial, she had managed to find her way back to Vader, who had been angry at the fact she had run off. She had thought at the time it was because she had disobeyed him or he was worried about something happening to her.