Redemption - A Star Wars Fanfic

Chapter 5

"From Tatooine to randomly appearing on a Separatist battle cruiser above Coruscant? That doesn't sound right, Anakin."

"That's what I'm saying. One second he wasn't there and the next he was. There's no easier way to explain it. But I'm not gonna neglect him a medcenter, the least we can do is keep him alive so we can figure out more about him," Anakin insisted, already moving towards the docking bay where a row of speeders sat in waiting.

Padmé was silent for a moment as she watched her husband move away. However, when a thought came rushing back to her, she shouted after him, nervous all over again. "Anakin. Anakin, wait!" she panted, out of breath with worry. "Did he...see us?"

Anakin lost a bit of color before swallowing tightly, a weak smile on his face. "I'll discuss it with him. He doesn't even know us, he has no reason to expose us."

Padmé sighed and Anakin moved closer, noticing the worry in his wife's eyes and moving to caress her cheek with his free hand. "Darling, angel, it'll be alright. The only thing you need to concern yourself with is that child you're carrying."

Padmé crossed her arms with a glare, shifting her gaze back and forth between her husband and the ever paling stranger. "I will not be left in the dark on this Anakin. I expect a full explanation when you get home. Any problem of yours is a problem of mine, pregnancy aside I am still a dutiful senator."

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry," Anakin bit his lip and leaned down to kiss her, pulling away with an apologetic smile that almost made Padmé feel bad. Almost.

She sighed. "Take him to the healers before he gets worse. All that adrenaline from your little reckless adventure earlier probably drained out of that boy faster than a round of shots at a smuggler's bar. Poor thing looks as if he's been tortured...or..."

"Electrocuted. I recognized the burn marks back on the ship, but he didn't say anything so I thought he was fine. I guess after years with Obi-Wan and Ahsoka I should've known better than that, huh?."

Brown eyes dilated in fear, Padmé's hands beginning to grip the fabric of her sleeves in a white-knuckled grip. "Go, don't let me keep you any longer. He needs help."

"I promise I'll be back. I love you," Anakin said with another peck to his wife's cheek before darting back off to the speeders and gently depositing Luke into the back seat.

"Stay safe, my love," Padmé whispered as she watched the speeder whizz off into the afternoon traffic.

◂◂◂

Luke drifted in the never-ending oblivion of his mind, only distantly remembering passing out in the halls of the Senate building, his mother and father feet away from him. He felt blessedly numb, as if on painkillers, and found his new world of unconsciousness to be a never ending void of darkness. However, it wasn't long before a stream of dusty light appeared out of the void and he found himself on a planet he did not recognize, his vision blurred just enough to disorient him.

Groaning, he attempted to walk forward to dazedly explore his dream world only to realize that his feet were floating a good few inches off the ground. Startled, Luke snapped out of his daze and held his hands up to his face in a panic. He whipped the limbs back and forth and tried not to hyperventilate as he realized that he was completely transparent. Rationally, he knew he wasn't dead, because if he had died, he would've become one with the Force and glowed blue as a spirit like Master Obi-Wan. Not only that, but he could still feel his faint connection with the conscious world, albeit faintly. His physical body was in a speeder of some kind, laid out in the back seat as the driver weaved manically through traffic.