・。・゜★・。・☆.。.:*・
"Hey. Hey, (Y/N). (Y/N)."
At the sound of a distant voice, your eyes flutter open.
A blurry figure hovers over you. After blinking a few times, your double vision becomes clearer. Dan is staring down at you, his chocolate eyes full of concern.
"My fault," Dan says. "I should've let you buckle in downstairs."
You're currently laying on the bed in the cockpit, Dan sitting on the edge next to you.
"It's o-okay." You try to sit up, but pain courses through your head.
"Whoa," Dan says, grabbing your arm and helping you lay back down. "You hit your head pretty badly when we made the jump. You need to lay down."
You frown and close your eyes. Laying down was not part of your plan. So much for proving how strong of a Rebel you are.
Your hand reaches up and holds your satchel close to your side. At least the plans for attacking the Death Star are safe.
Suddenly you remember. The Death Star. Attack. Alderaan.
"D-Dan?" You ask shakily. Tears form at the corner of your eyes, but you squeeze your eyes shut. A strong Rebel does not cry.
"Yeah?" Dan brushes his fringe out of his eyes and looks down at you.
You swallow back your tears. "Alderaan?"
Dan frowns and looks down. He slightly shakes head. "I'm sorry," he whispers. "The Death Star..." he lowers his voice, "...completely destroyed it."
You can't help but let a sob escape your lips. You cover your face with your hands to hide the tears rolling down your cheeks.
But Dan doesn't seem to care that you're crying. He simply helps you up into a sitting position and wraps his arms around you.
"I'm so sorry," he murmurs, holding you close.
"That was my home," you cry, hysteria setting in. The thought that the Empire destroyed everything and everyone you've ever loved is too much to handle. "My house, my friends, my..." you choke on your tears. "...my family. My father is dead. M-My mother is d-d-dead. My family is dead!"
"(Y/N), love—" Dan starts, but you slam your fists down on the bed, jolting him off you.
"Don't call me that!" You scream, jumping up off the bed. "Nothing you can say is going to make this better!"
Dan shuts his mouth.
Slowly, you lower yourself back onto the bed and lean against Dan's shoulder. He hesitantly wraps one arm around your shoulder and pulls you closer. He takes your hand in his and rubs circles over your skin with his thumb.
The two of you sit in silence for a good while, listening to the humming of the ship's engine as it flies through empty space.
"Where will I go after this?" You murmur after the silence becomes too painful. "I-I don't have a place to live anymore."
Dan does not hesitate to answer. "You can stay with m—"
"Dan, we're being boarded." A robotic voice interjects.
"Yeah, yeah," Dan waves it off and returns his attention to you. "Anyway, you can—" his eyes suddenly widen, and he spins around to face Phil in the copilot's seat. "Did you say we're being boarded?!"
"That's what I said," Phil confirms.
"Dammit!" Dan rolls his eyes, annoyance filling his voice rather than worry. "Grab your blaster, (Y/N)," he instructs as he gets up and looks out the cockpit window. From where you're sitting, you can see another ship hovering way too close for comfort. Dan curses under his breath.
"What is it?" You ask, getting up and leaning over Dan's shoulder to look out the window.
Your jaw drops. A ginormous, triangle-shaped spaceship looms overhead. Multiple turrets are attached to the exterior. Turrets that could easily shoot down your ship in a matter of seconds.
An Imperial Star Destroyer.
Dan grabs his blaster from off the top of the control panel and shoves it in its holster. "You'll stay up here while I deal with these guys, but I want you to be armed just in case."
"This the Empire," you argue. "We can't just 'deal with them'. Can't you just fly away?!"
Dan shakes his head as he presses some buttons on the control panel. "We're stuck in a tractor beam. It'd be no use."
You frown and pull out your blaster. "Then let me help."
"No," Dan commands, looking you straight at you. The dominant tone in his voice and the look in his eyes makes you take a step back. "You need to stay here."
You manage to open your mouth to protest. "But why? I can—"
"The Alliance needs you," Dan explains, putting his hand on your arm to lower your blaster. "Those plans in your bag, those secrets in your head, they desperately need all of it. They don't need me."
"You need to take me to Leia!" You argue, not liking what he's suggesting: you're important, and he's not. It's not true.
Dan shakes his head. "The coordinates are already in the ship's database. You don't need me." Dan looks at you one more time before looking down and messing with his blaster. "Hide the Rebel plans. Stay quiet. Don't get killed."
You watch, mouth slightly agape, as Dan jumps down the hatch and into the cargo hold.
You angrily cross your arms and sit down on the bed. So much for helping the Rebel cause.
"Is he always like this?" You ask the PHL-29 droid.
"Cocky, arrogant, and stubborn?" The droid responds.
"Yes," you huff.
It's a moment before the droid responds. "Only when he likes the girl."
You stop fiddling with your blaster and look up. Deciding not to question it, you open your satchel. There, at the bottom of the bag, are the Rebels' plans for attacking the Death Star. The lives of everyone depends on that small computer chip.
You carefully pull out the glowing blue package and stare at it for a while. Funny how something so small and seemingly insignificant is so sought after.
You get up and hand the plans to Phil.
"Keep these safe," you instruct quietly. "Don't give them to anyone, under any circumstances, except me, Dan, or Princess Leia."
"Understood," the PHL-29 droid nods, taking the plans. He opens an access port on his chest and inserts the chip safely inside.
You frown and look down. What Phil said earlier still bothers you, about how Dan only acts that way when he likes the girl. Right as you open your mouth to ask him, a familiar sound comes from the cargo hold below. A blaster being fired.
You rush over to the ladder, practically sliding down into the cargo hold.
You swiftly aim your blaster at the first person you see, which just so happens to be Dan, so you move your aim a bit to the right.
Standing there, in the doorway, is an Imperial governor. A wall of Stormtroopers stand at attention behind him.
Dan is a few feet away from them, his blaster nowhere to be found. Probably taken by one of the Troopers. His jaw is angrily set, and his chest is rising and falling heavily.
"Ah, there's our girl," the governor says with a smile. Dan shoots him a glare.
You steady your shaking hand and poise your finger over the blaster tigger, but it's all in vain. Those Stormtroopers could take you out in a split second.
"I am not a man that likes to waste time, (Y/N) (L/N)," the governor continues, gently walking closer toward you. His shiny black boots echo on the metal floor.
Your expression remains stoic. "How do you—?!"
"Oh, I know a lot about you, (Y/N)," the governor smiles wickedly. "I know how your father used to be loyal to the Empire, but then became a Rebel scum. I know how your mother escaped Imperial prison and betrayed many, many good Imperial citizens. I know that you have the Rebel attack plans, and I know you have many more secrets just waiting to be extracted."
The governor is now only a few inches away from you. The word extracted sends a shiver down your spine, but you don't let it show. Your grip on your blaster tightens so much your knuckles turn white.
"The plans are for Princess Leia, not you!" You shout, your finger itching to pull the trigger. "If you think I'm going to give them to you, you're wrong."
"Princess Leia was taken by Lord Vader," the governor snaps, getting close to your face. Dan starts toward him, fists clenched, but a Stormtrooper stops him. "And you will be too."
Your mouth drops open slightly, and your eyes widen. Princess Leia? Taken by Darth Vader himself?
"Seize them," the governor says, simply turning on his heel and holding up his hand. "Bring them to the ship and put the in the holding cells. And—" he turns to the nearest Trooper, "—bring me the girl when ready. Lord Vader is going to want to meet her."
You and Dan exchange glances. Terror spreads across your face, while anger spreads across his.
The Stormtroopers take their cue and march forward. Two Troopers manage to grab Dan by his upper arms, no matter how much he resists. You try to run, but a Trooper wraps his armored arms around your waist. Another one takes your blaster and satchel.
"Give that back!" You scream, desperately reaching for your satchel.
The Stormtrooper holding your bag laughs. His voice sounds robotic behind his helmet.
"So cute," he says, grabbing your face with his hard armored glove. "Like a little kid."
"Get your hands off her!" Dan yells through gritted teeth, struggling against the Stormtroopers' grip.
"Dan, I can handle this!" You argue, pushing your hair out of your face. You frantically try to kick the Trooper holding on to you. "Get your hands off me!"
The Stormtroopers, of course, don't listen. They haul you off the Shiba III, heavy white boots banging on the metal grating. They take the two of you into the giant Imperial Star Destroyer attached to the cargo hatch of the Shiba III.
Your eyes widen as you look around the ship. The interior is huge, with countless corridors and blinking control panels and groups of Troopers patrolling the halls. Multiple bridges and catwalks loom overhead, connecting even more rooms and floors. The Star Destroyer is the one and only Imperial ship that's this big and intricately structured. Well, besides the Death Star.
You glance over at Dan as the Stormtroopers march you through the Star Destroyer, but he's not looking at you. He's eyeing the blasters at the Stormtrooper's waists, then the platforms above, then the governor, then the holding cells. You've seen that focused face before. He has a plan.
The governor suddenly stops, presses a few buttons on a control panel, and the wall in front of you slides open, revealing a small black room.
Wordlessly, the Stormtroopers roughly push Dan inside, but the governor holds up his hand to stop them from pushing you too.
"Follow me," the governor instructs. "We're taking her to Vader. Let's see what she has to say about those Rebels now."
You look over at Dan, terror spread across your face. A Trooper holds your hands behind your back and pushes you forward.
"Wait!" You hear Dan call. "No! Don't take her! (Y/N)!"
Then the door to the holding cell slides shut, and you're left with the Imperial governor, and an army of Stormtroopers behind you.
Now just how are you going to get out of this one...
・。・゜★・。・☆.。.:*・