Stars and Sabers

Felt Like Forever

"I'm ONE of them. I'm not nearly as good as Luke or Captain Solo," he starts and I cut him off,

"You don't need to be, Wedge. You're one of the top pilots. For crying out loud you helped Luke blow up the Death Star. He's still thankful to you for that, ya know."

"Oh...okay," Wedge says quietly, starting to walk away.

"Wait!" I call out so I don't have to be alone with a bunch of people who I don't know or don't like very well, "You don't have to leave. You can stay if you want." This is me pleading him to stay so that there's someone I actually know nearby. Wedge sighs and looks around for a second.

"I have some work that needs done," he says quickly before starting to walk away again, "Sorry." Just as he starts to walk away, a sudden rush of pain hits me hard. I grab onto the computer for support not because of the pain but because of how sudden it is. Wedge looks concerned and hurries over to me. "Lanike, you okay?" The rush disappears about as soon as it began but I feel a lingering sense of something unhappy.

"It's Luke," I say quickly, "Something's wrong with Luke. Or something happened that Luke is really upset about. I felt it. He's upset."

"Are you sure?" Wedge asks, "How do you know?"

"The Force, Wedge. It's the Force. Luke and I have a really strong bond which is part of why we're as close as we are," I say still using the computer to stabilize myself, "I know I don't feel everything that he feels yet but....when he goes through a dramatic situation or his emotions change really dramatically, I can feel it. I just felt something pretty hard and it wasn't a happy feeling. I don't think they're winning and something has either happened to Luke or maybe to Han and Luke's really upset about it." Wedge looks at me like I'm crazy.

"Are you sure you're doing okay?" he asks timidly, starting to back away, "Because I really need to...."

"Go ahead and do your work. I'll be fine," I say, "Thanks, Wedge." Wedge nods, walks casually until he thinks I'm not looking and then sprints off toward some other part of the base. I grip the edge of the computer counsel a little bit harder. Please be okay, Luke. Please be okay. I go back to looking at the information on the monitor. Leia approaches me.

Oh no. Not this. I felt something that wasn't good from Luke and here's one of the people I've been trying to avoid. 

"Lanike, how's the research going?" Leia asks kindly. Okay, she's trying. Good, there's a start.

"It's going. This group looks rough but nothing the crew can't handle. Have you been in contact with any of the Rebels at all recently?" I ask, trying to be just as kind as Leia was to me.

"Yes, we were just in contact with them. Why?" Leia asks, concern rising in her voice.

"I was just curious," I say, "Did they say anything about Luke?" I notice a flicker of jealousy and perhaps anger run through Leia' eyes. "Or maybe Han?" I offer. A slight look of repulsion appears on Leia's face and maybe the tiniest glint of excitement. Not the same reaction she gave for Luke but still interesting. I see where her preferences lie. And this is why we don't get along.

"I haven't heard," Leia says coolly, "Please let me know if you find anything else of interest. I have duties to attend to."

Yep, I struck a nerve. Luke's my friend too and I feel obligated to look out for him. Especially with what just happened. You don't just feel things like that especially if you're a novice Force user like me.

Besides, I think if Leia and I weren't fighting over Luke, we would get along just fine. Our personalities are very different but I think we could still get along. 3P0 comes trotting up towards me and the monitor.