BRUISED | A Star Wars Story

four

Cory wakes up in the late afternoon with a start, her chest feels tight and she sits up, breathing heavily. In the night, her two braids have come undone and her hair curls and halos around her head. She doesn't know what's woken her up, or who let her sleep so long, but she scrambles out of bed, heading for her En Suite.

As she gets ready, she can't shift the feeling of dread in her stomach, and she struggles to the meditation chamber, finding her Master.

"Master Yoda,"

"Ah! Coretta, my young padawan has awoken,"

"Apologies for the late start to the day, I-" she can't think, her stomach churning, the force was trying to tell her something.

"Coretta?" Yoda asks, sensing her discomfort, "Come, into the chamber we must go," he leads her into the dark room, and they sit opposite each other.

"I feel...off balance, like there's this fear inside me, eating away,"

"Deep breaths," Yoda instructs "Calm yourself, let the force guide you to your answer,"

Cory follows his instructions, shutting her eyes and breathing deeply, she feels the sickness more deeply now, but she embraces it, listening to Yoda as he speaks calmly.

Her mind wanders, and she feels the force pull her to another, "Anakin," she mutters, recognising his force signature, but it's far away, muted.

Then, she has flashes of his face, an open field with glistening water, a dining table in a small room, the dessert, sand, Tatooine, and screams for his mother.

Her eyes open with a jolt and she gasps.

"What is it young one?"

"I have to go," she's less panicked now, but her unease has not left "Master I request permission to leave Coruscant and go to Anakin," Yoda doesn't ask questions, he can feel her concern. After discovering that he had not known a clone army was being built, he feels he must trust his Padawan, trust her connection to the force.

Flying over Tatooine is...depressing. It was exactly as Anakin had described, bland and sandy. Cory had taken Yoda's advice to 'feel the force'...but she'd also tracked Padmé's ship.

After landing next to the Senator's ship, Cory steps down onto the hardened ground, a breeze flows through, and she lifts her hood to shield herself from the sand granules. A homestead sits in the distance, and Cory sees a Brunnete woman sitting on the steps, the woman turns at the movement.

"Coretta?"

"Padmé?" Cory walks faster, and Padmé embraces her tightly

"Oh I'm so glad you're here, Anakin - he's," she trails off, looking at the ever so slightly taller woman "How did you find us?"

"I tracked the ship," Cory admits "I-I don't know, I've had the awful feeling since yesterday and...I had to find Anakin,"

"He was having nightmares about his mother, I came with him an-" Padmé's speaking so fast Cory can barely register what's being said

"Padmé," Cory grips her shoulders "Where's Anakin?"

"He went after the Tuskens who took his mother,"

"Oh for kniffs sake," Cory mutters "Which direction?" Padmé points far off to the left "Okay...Who's house are we at?"

"Anakin's step-father's,"

"Right, well tell him I'm borrowing a speeder," with that, she's gone, using 'the force to guide' her, she feels a tug at her heart and follows it. She glides over miles of desert, and finally, in the distance she sees smoke rising.