"There is no outside threat..."
"What did you say?" Lorna stopped walking and spun around, meeting the confused eyes of several people, there to keep her safe. She sought though the comfort of a single pair of blue eyes, those of Luke Skywalker. And he stared at her, mildly confused, but polite enough not to look away.
They all stopped in the middle of a long hall with a tall ceiling, carpeted with the colors of Vonath. The walls were lit with flickering lights and buckets of flowers spread aromas into open atmosphere. Somewhere, outside, behind all the columns, the waves of the sea crashed soundly onto the shores filled with rocks.
"We didn't say anything, Your Highness," the Captain of the guards spoke in the name of all present. It was himself, four soldiers and the Jedi that has arrived on the behalf of the New Republic that stood before the Queen.
Lorna frowned, briefly looking around. She straightened her back again within a blink and nodded. "Apologies," she turned back to walking, in front of her entire escort. "It must be my headaches returning... Anyway, I would like a word with Master Skywalker, alone."
It wasn't just her head that was hurting though. A frivolous fire of pain reached into her wrists too and Lorna felt as if she wouldn't be able to use her hands soon. So she fidgeted them trying to keep them anything but still for that extra stimulus of movement.
Her hair was brushed through and her curls were tamed down to a gentle flow, lengthened to her waist. She wore a crown, but she must have taken no notice of it until she lead the Jedi to her office and she froze in front of the mirror wall.
Lorna was momentarily startled by her own appearance: she was wearing make-up and a traditional Vonathian dress, both things that seemed normal, yet utterly odd on her. She shook her head, ever so light and normality won her over.
Luke Skywalker entered the room, awkwardly closing the door behind him. Despite her sudden dizziness, the safety this man gave her was no strange feeling and she stepped forward with a smile.
Affectionately, Lorna observed Luke's well defined posture. His black robes were neat and clean and his blonde hair was burshed back, and out of his face, as much as possible. He kept his hands behind his back, but somehow, she knew he was wearing gloves.
"No one can see us here, you can drop the serious act now, Luke."
Familiarity. Lorna thought that instinct was truthful and she believed it with all her might because it brought her peace. But the panic on Luke's features did not confirm silence to her.
He looked away, not approaching from his position next to the door. He was frozen there like a statue, as emotionless as it too. "There is no act, your Highness. I am here on the behalf of the New Republic to escort you to the Senate Meeting. I suggest we leave at once..."
"Luke," she interrupted, mildly irritated. Lorna felt her headache grtting bolder, but she made another step forward. "That's enough. Stop playing..."
"Your Highness," his brows furrowed down in a distinguished worry, a formal one. "Are you feeling alright?"
It was easy to tell the difference between sincere worry and the concern that is birthed from duty alone. The latter was dry, ought to leave your heart sore, or in Lorna's case, so confused that her mind felt like it would explode altogether.
She staggered back, hands coming over her ears and she shut her eyes closed too.
"There is no outside threat. The war came from inside. Deep inside the earth. From the caverns..."
The clink of her crown as it fell down on the ground was what made Lorna open her eyes, a futile attempt to see the source of that mysterious voice bringing her pain. But what she opened her eyes to was not what she hoped: there was no clarity, just fog and a dreadful smell.
She couldn't see properly and neither feel anything but the breeze of that cold, dark place she was into. "Wha...?" A whimper escaped her lips before her eyelashes closed one over the other again.
The bad scent faded away in a matter of second and she breathed in the aroma of Coruscant soaps, of the brisk morning rain and faint fragrance, that simply stuck to the clothes over the years. It was a confusing transition, but Lorna found it comforting to breathe in Luke's scent.
Her senses returned to her too. She felt him against her, she felt their surroundings. This was much better than the foggy, dark place, nothing but an unclear nightmare in her mind now, just an unsettling thought and maybe, an unwanted distraction from her lover's lips.
Lorna felt Luke hum while he kissed her neck and nipped, so very lightly, at her freckled skin. His gloved hands were holding her waist closer to his. She was seated on a table and he was right between her legs, enjoying himself quietly.
Luke voiced before, with the ocassion of their time spent while heading for Vonath, the fact that he treasured her too much to not be gentle until that is not what she wants. And she never would have expected him to be so meticulous with kisses once he gets the taste of it. But Luke certainly learned fast how to show his love and make her moan.
Lorna was enjoying this, regaining senses and waking up to the best feelings. She soon found that while her right palm was holding her weight on the table, her left hand was tangled in Luke's hair.
She felt him, his lips, his breathing, his nose, even that mole below hid lip and his chin and the slight tickle of his bangs, soft as ever, almost as gentle as he was. Luke had a special skill of being dominant through gentleness and it made her weak.
Yet, despite everything feeling real, Lorna couldn't shake away the dread that nightmare left behind. "Luke...," she opened her eyes and called in a whisper.
"Hm?" He only stopped briefly, his hot breath pausing on her pale skin before he straightened up to properly look at each other. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked with mild concern, seeing how very troubled Lorna seemed.
"No," she shook her head. "You were doing great, dear," though she tried to smile lovingly and her gaze did fall on his lips for a second, Lorna's try to reassure him wasn't so successful.
"It's just...," she moved her hand away from his hair and let it fall on his shoulder. "Doesn't this feel weird?"
"We can take a break," Luke offered with a smile. "Maybe go out instead and..."
"No," Lorna insisted, shaking her head. She tried to look around and understand more of the situation but the constant feeling of being lost didn't leave her. "Not that, everything. It feels like I am..."
Where am I?
Feeling puzzled, lost, without a compass, somehow, it became a terrifying emotion to introduce to a mind used to reality and certainty, or even just the grounding presence of the Force. Lorna felt nothing but confusion now.
"Where am I?" She turned back to Luke and he wad gone. Everything feels so empty, she thought. It's hard to keep up. Indeed, from sitting on a table, Lorna woke up alone in a spinning room, where forms and colors changed before her eyes, reshaping everything into a new scenario.
Just when she was starting to realize what might be happening, the spinning stopped and she was back on the beach of that paradise island. A child with wild red hair, much like hers, ran by her laughing, holding the shinning silver leg of 3PO.
The child passed her, excited to have escaped and ran away, down the beach. From the cabin though, Luke got out and sighed, "Lorna... why did you let him go? How am I supposed to fix 3PO without that?"
He looked peaceful, happy and relaxed. Just like my paradise image, Lorna thought and immediately caught up to the trick. She marched through the sand and before Luke could leave after the kid, she grabbed his shirt and pushed him into the outside wall of the cabin.
"Who are you? And what did you do with Luke?"
Her headache persisted once more, but the rage was stronger in determination than any other pain. She didn't care how confused this imposter was or how innocent he looked impersonating Luke, Lorna could tell for sure now that it wasn't really him.
If it was him, than the Bridge between them would be almost a palpable energy. But now, it was as if it had disappeared. So she pressed her arm on his chest and raised her fist, ready to punch information out of him.
"Who are you?" She shouted again.
"Lorna," he groaned. "What's wrong with you? It's me..."
"You're not real-!"
Real.
That was the word that triggered her out of the hallucinations she has been trapped into. Lorna gasped out for air and the fogged vision of the dark place finally cleared out to her: it was a cavern, connected to a series of tunnels, countless of them.
There was no light down there, just the faint shapes of sharp rocks, of columns, of walls and entrances to the abyssal darkness. And there was the scent of death, all around, because the floor was covered in outlines of remnants of violence, of bloodstained bones of all sorts of creatures.
Above that ground, hanging by the chain wrapped around her wrists, was Lorna and her head was still thumping from the strain it went through to release herself from the illusion.
The illusion, she remembered. Right, the Captain of the Ganto Fleet said their war was against underground creatures they accidentally woke up through mining.
"The creatures, Sterries we call them, they cannot be fought from above. They have a great sense of vibrations and dodge or air raids. As for on foot... No one who ever faced them returned so we don't even know their numbers or ways of fighting...," Lorna remembered him say.
She sighed, quietly, Well, I found out I guess. Poisonous tongue that inflicts temporary body paralysis and telepathic fields that makes the vicitms hallucinate so they don't fight back while they wait to become food.
Her eyes started adjusting to the light and the paralysis seemed to be leaving her body too. The plan was for her and Luke to intercept the Sterries and attempt figuring out more about them, if not directly fighting off this violent non-sentient species.
Non-sentient or not, the Sterries hunt smart and in a pack. They ambushed Lorna and Luke minutes after they entered their territory, too fast for the Force even to give the Jedi a hint.
The second she started recovering from the numbness of the paralysis, Lorna realized all the pain she was fealing. She had scratches and bruises, her clothes were a bit torn too, it felt as if she has been dragged all the way here and she wouldn't put it past those beast.
And all her weight, pressuring on her wrists, caught in those chains above, it made her feel as if she could tear her hands right off if she struggled. But then again, along with the pain, she also felt the gentle constant presence of the Force and consequently, Luke.
He was right behind her, their backs lightly touching, in the same state, only he hasn't managed to break the illusion apparently. "Luke...," she called softly, barely managing to control her hoarse tone in that moment.
Lorna tried to nudge him with her hip, yet the movement caused her chains to clink in the silence. That clink echoed painfully loud through the entire cavern and the connected tunnels.
And she froze, biting back a curse.
A low growl, much like those she heard out there before getting ambushed, now came from one of the tunnels. One of the Sterries came into the prisoner cavern to pick a meal, reminded by it through the noise.
Lorna didn't get the chance to take a good look at those things and assess the enemy as she learnt she should do, and now was not the time to risk peeking. She closed her eyes and remained still, faking that she was still out cold, anything to try and fool the creature into not sending her back to the illusions.
But the Sterrie sniffed the air and walked past Luke and Lorna. There were way more prisoners than them, hanging around in the cavern, definitely locals of Ganto, that have tried to fight them and went missing.
The long scream put the hairs on the back of her neck on end and left Lorna in a cold sweat. It was audibly horrifying to hear how the person got eaten, not too far from them and then, the bones were spit on the ground.
Must be a tall creature, she thought hard on that, anything to just distract herself from the fear that crept in her heart, that made her shiver. She was as quiet as a mouse and as still as stone, all until she felt the creature pass by her again and leave through the same tunnel.
Then, Lorna opened her eyes. She decided trying to wake Luke up and have to explain everything to him without already being out of harm's way would be too dangerous, for both of them. Therefore, all her strength for focused on those chains.
Lorna did try concentrating and using the Force, however, that paralysis and the chill of fear left scars on her current patience. Fine, she renounced the very much Jedi-like idea. We do it the classic way. I didn't train for nothing, after all.
She gritted her teeth and shifted her hands to take a good grip on the chains. The moment she stopped hanging and started supporting her weight in her hands, Lorna crossed her legs and lifted them up, only as a way to help her pull herself further from the ground.
Her muscles were quick to ache from the strain, especially as her arms were fully engaged in this. And yet, she couldn't pant, nor groan. Silence was mandatory and Lorna bit down on her lip, not making a sound.
She could see the dirt on her muscles, since her shirt was not exactly in one pieces anymore. She saw the sweat beads and the bruises and she could only imagine Luke was in a bad condition too. That thought, through the filter of all they learned of their connection, it made her angry.
Oh, anger had no place in the minds of Jedi, she knew that all too well. But the rage gave her determination and she needed that motivation to break the chains from the ceiling.
Lorna raised her whole body up until she could bring her wrists to her face, then she kicked the air with her feet and yanked the chains off the ceiling from the first try. The noise sounded the alarm for any nearby Sterries, so she acted fast to take the chain and hide.
It became obvious these creatures had no sentient thinking when she realized she still carried her lightsaber on her belt. Good, she thought.
Her back hit the wall though and she stopped her breathing, because through the tunnel, one Sterrie entered the cavern. It sniffed the air and quickly approached Luke.
Sterries were tall creatures when they weren't on all fours. Slender with tentacles attached directly to their torso, where the teethed stomach was, they had no eyes. Their sensors were their punctuated nose on the round skull attached to their shoulders and at the branching cuts on their arms, picking up vibrations, like breathing.
As long as she didn't breathe, Lorna was pretty covered in her small hiding spot. But that wasn't the case, because she didn't stay there long. That thing smelt Luke too much for her not to interfere and use her skill of holding her breath to get herself behind the Sterrie.
"Hey," she called.
The creature snapped around at her and Lorna ignited her saber. The flash cut through her chains and stuck the Sterrie right in its open mouthed stomach. Without a flinch, she pulled the lightsaber up and cut the thing in two, just to be sure it's dead.
The purple light revealed the true horrific scenery of this cavern and the static noise alerted everyone else. The cavern was enourmous and she counted at least six other Gantonian soldiers alive there, though trapped in their illusions.
She couldn't help but be selfish though. I need him to get out of here, Lorna thought as she turned to Luke. She was about to cut his chains off when her senses finally tuned back in with the Force and she stopped.
I'm being watched, she realized, with wide eyes. There was no time to wake Luke up or bring him down, there was no time to save anyone in fact, not if those Sterries ate her first.
She sensed twenty entering the cavern, growling at the purple light she held, but there were about twenty others in the tunnels overall too. The Sterries moved slow, on all fours, trying to form a plan to attack all at once.
And Lorna knew that, so she decided to fight back. She didn't have much of a choice in that, turning around slowly and gripping her lightsaber's hilt better.
If I die, Luke dies. So I won't die, she reminded herself.
With the flick of her wrist, she flipped the grip on her lightsaber and pivoted a step around Luke, pushing his hanging body out of the way while a Sterrie tried to jump on them from the back.
The creature was mean instead with a lightsaber through its skull, pinning it to the ground. Lorna made sure Luke was alright for just a second before having to dodge under another attack.
She slid on the ground covered in bones and held her lightsaber out, slashing the Sterrie through. Once the sliding ended, she rose on her knees, and Force pushed away the closest creature, in order to get enough momentum to fully get up.
Those things started realizing she was not an easy prey, so they started using a more technical attack, a better approach that made use of how they sensed vibrations. Meaning, the non-sentient beings started dodging one out of two hits.
That wasn't good.
She had the stamina to fight through, of course. Lorna even had the motivation to want to live, but if they got better at dodging, then she had to put on exponentially more offense and defense. They were big and heavy to lift through the Force and she was still feeling aches in her body.
The adrenaline started kicking in the second Lorna had to dodge one poisoned tongue, extending way too much not to disgust her. She cut it off with the saber and switched her style around from a grounded and powerful Form I to a much more fluid and quick movement.
They were too many for her to fight the classic way so she gave up the Jedi controlled mannerism for practicality and speed. Lorna started spinning the lightsaber around, clockwise and anticlockwise, moving it all around her body, switching it between her hands.
And she barely moved nor cared what she cut from those angered Sterries as long as they couldn't approach her in any way.
One of them got bold and lucky, striking at her back with its tongue while the saber was spinning in the front. Lorna kept her Force sensitivity as her own personal sensor in this case, so she leant forward, therefore avoiding the poison.
She spun the lightsaber in the same manner, and when it reached behind her, she cut the tongue off, moving away from the disgusting residue it splattered everywhere.
Her breathing was all over the place and she could no longer tell how many Sterries were still out there, coming for her. Cleaning the nest on her own seemed impossible, but now, being there, in that situation, she had to think it can be made possible.
Lorna's arms grew tired at last. Since the light of her lightsaber was the only light in the whole place and she needed light to properly fight, unlike the Sterries, despite the purple flickering with each move and confusing her eyes sometimes with misplaced shadows, she needed it ignited at all times.
Even then, when she decided it was about time for her last resort: the Force.
Luke did train her and she did learn a lot, but she still couldn't find peace like him in moments when her heart was so loud she could hear it in her temples like drums. Lorna knew the second she'd start using the Force against the Sterries, she'll do it on instinct and it will be chaotic and tiring.
No time to debate, she argued back to her guilt and extended her hand towards the wall. A boulder from its integrity got separated and it flew at her command towards her, smashing the skull of one Sterrie.
Since these things had good instincts and sensors of movement, she had to be fast in order to actually land a good hit. Without thinking, Lorna threw the boulder to the side and smashed to the wall some Sterries.
One hit from the side finally got her to stumble. She lot her footing and her lightsaber slipped away from her grip, rolling away and thankfully, at least not shutting off.
But Lorna had bigger problems. There may have been only three more Sterries left, but she got put on the ground and one of them had its claws around her waist. That Sterrie lifted her from the ground like a toy, but instead of eating her, it acted on rage and smashed her to the wall in a strong throw.
Lorna fell down from the impact. Adrenaline helped her ignore most pain but her eyes teared up regardless. She didn't have the time to get up, nor call her saber, because that same Sterrie picked her up again.
I can't die, she reminded herself. That drive allowed her one last straining push. She raised her hand and gathered her will on the Force to crush the skull of the Sterrie.
It exploded under the pressure and killed it, meaning she dropped back to the ground, vulnerable to the remaining two creatures.
I can't do this anymore, Lorna felt like crying after this fall. She could barely crawl closer to the wall, she felt like the Force has gone quiet for her.
A bruise under her right eye blurred her vision just a little, but not enough to not see those two Sterries lunging at her. She closed her eyes and turned her head away, bracing for the impact.
The growls of the Sterries disappeared though and the monsters fell down with a thump.
"I am never letting you chose missions again..."
She opened her eyes with a groan, but that was only because her body hurt. What she felt about the voice she heard was happiness. Luke was a mess too, ruffled up, covered in new cuts and bruises, clothes partially torn, but he somehow managed to break the illusion just in time to get out of his chains and kill the last two Sterries.
In fact, Luke was shocked about how quick he acted too. Hearing Lorna's cry of pain was enough for him to regain his senses and ignited his saber.
"I think what we need next is the choice of a vacation," Lorna mumbled, trying to calm her own breathing pattern and get up.
Luke picked up her saber from amongst the corpses, placed on his belt then gave Lorna a hand off the ground, motioning her to wrap her arm over his shoulders. He was injured too, but not as bad as her after that Sterrie wiped the walls a little with her.
"I would really not refuse one of those spa resorts Leia kept recommending me."
"You know spa resports on Coruscant and never pointed me in their direction?" Lorna complained with a small cry. At least they were safe, alive and about to get help for all the others still alive down there. Ganto was saved.
"Ouch, wait no, walk a bit slower, Luke. I basically killed hundreds of those things, do you really think my hips can handle this much movement now?"
author's note: as promised, a strong ending for act iv. and as usual, here comes the question: what's your favorite scene/line from this act?
lemme tell you, i am nOT ready for the last act but shhhhh, we gon cope. tomorrow will be no updates though, as i announced, cause that exam is important to me 😬🙏