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Anakin's throat bobbed as he swallowed, and then he simply closed his eyes as if he couldn't stand to look at Astrid. Shame oozed from him through the Force. She opened her mouth to speak, but then he gave a great shudder, and Astrid realized his face was growing more wane by the second.
She quickly reached up and grabbed bandages from the upper compartment cabinets in the ship before redirecting her focus on his wound. She shifted his cloak to the side before she carefully peeled his shirt upwards to expose his wound. Astrid couldn't help her grimace at the sight of the angry-looking injury. She reached for the bottle of disinfectant and doused the bandage with it before placing it on top of his wound.
He hissed in pain at the touch of the disinfectant, and Astrid winced apologetically. "Sorry," she murmured as she dabbed at his wound to clean it. He only gave a small grunt.
When she was finished disinfecting the wound, she covered it up with several more clean bandages. She leaned back a little to regard her work when she was done, searching for any mistakes. Astrid decided that what she had done would do for now. She had managed to stop the bleeding, which was the most important part at the moment. When they got back to the rebel base, the medics could look at his wound more closely.
Her eyes flitted back to his face, and she found that he was already looking at her with sorrowful eyes full of guilt and self-hate. Astrid opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She discovered that she didn't know what to say.
"I'm sorry," he finally whispered, voice full of pain, both physically and emotionally. "I don't deserve you, and I surely don't deserve a second chance at anything. Not after what I've done."
Astrid didn't quite know what to say to that since he had done some pretty atrocious things, but she did say in a voice matching his same volume, "All that matters is that you're back and that you're not going to die from your wound here." She offered him a shaky smile.
He didn't return her smile, though. Instead, he murmured, "I deserve to die from my wound."
He was wracked with another shiver, and Astrid rose to her feet to grab a blanket from one of the storage cabinets in the ship. His eyes fluttered closed as she draped the blanket over him, and she stood there for a moment, studying him. The sound of his raspy breathing filled the room, worrying her. Surely, he was okay now. She'd patched up his wound, but what if there was something she had missed, like internal damage?
She gave him one last cursory look before she strode back to the cockpit and slumped into the pilot's seat. They had about an hour before they reached the planet neighboring Yavin IV.
Astrid pursed her lips as she surveyed her options. Her original plan had been to not go directly to the rebel base in case she was being tracked and in case Anakin was not... Anakin. But with his injury, she feared he was more horribly injured than she'd originally thought. And not only did she need him to live, but the rebels needed him to live. He had all sorts of valuable insider information.
Her hand hovered over the navicomputer for a moment before she swiftly changed course. She would take them directly to the rebel base.
The next hour passed excruciatingly slow. Several times, Astrid checked on Anakin, who had fallen asleep, but she knew his condition was worsening. His face was wane and slick with cold sweat, and he was constantly wracked with shivers. Not to mention his breathing was still raspy yet much shallower. Every breath cost him effort.
When she checked his bandages, she discovered the blood had soaked right through it. Mumbling a curse, she swiftly replaced the bandage and held pressure to the wound. Anakin stirred, but thankfully remained asleep. Astrid had the feeling that if he had been awake, her applying pressure to his injury would've been much, much more painful.
Astrid had just finished covering his wound with fresh bandages when their ship shuddered. Astrid glanced up to find that their ship had emerged from hyperspace, revealing the planet, Yavin IV, in front of them.
Anakin let out a low groan as his eyes fluttered open, and Astrid told him as she rose to her feet, "We're almost there. Hang in there," before she hurried back to the cockpit.
She slung herself into the pilot's seat and swiftly took ahold of the toggle. Astrid directed their ship down through the planet's atmosphere to the dense, green vegetation below. She decided to land the ship about a quarter of a mile from the rebel base to avoid being shot out of the sky by the rebels. After all, she was flying an Imperial starship.
Within minutes, she was lowering their ship through the thick canopy to the soft, jungle floor. After shutting off the engines, Astrid leapt to her feet and hurried over to where Anakin was struggling to sit up.
She grabbed his shoulders and helped him sit up as she told him, "We're about a quarter of a mile from the rebel base. Do you think you can make it?"
His blue eyes-- now glazed with pain-- met hers as he managed to wheeze with slight increduality, "The rebel base?"
"Well, yeah," Astrid replied as she helped him stand up from the cot. "Where else would we have gone?"
He only gave a wince of pain as he slumped heavily against the wall with a hand clutched to his injured side. Already, his bandage was red with blood from his movements. Astrid grimaced, and she quickly came to his side and slung one of his arms over her shoulders. She wrapped her other arm around his waist in an effort to provide him more support as they stumbled down the lowered ramp and out of the ship.
With Anakin's injury, it was slow moving through the dense jungle. His breath rattled with each excruciating step, and as they walked, he began to lean more and more of his weight on her.
In an effort to distract him from his obvious pain, Astrid remarked lightheartedly, "It hurts getting shot by blaster fire, am I right?"
She felt his eyes on her face, but she kept her eyes fixed forward as she searched the surrounding jungle for any familiar markers that would tell her they were nearing the rebel base. "You've been shot before?" he managed to ask, voice weak.
"Hmm thrice now," Astrid told him casually with a slight shrug. "Twice during Order Sixty-Six and the one time when we were in the hallway--" She trailed off as she sensed the surge of guilt and self-deprecation from him through the Force at her words. She cleared her throat and finished with a mumble, "Yeah, three times. But the third time was only a graze."
As they walked, his breathing turned raspy and wet sounding, and a couple of minutes after this realization, he stumbled and collapsed to the ground.
"Anakin!" Astrid cried out as she sought to catch him, but she was too slow.
She fell to her knees beside him, and the moisture in the dirt soaked into the knees of her pants. He had fallen onto his side, so Astrid gently turned him over, only to find that he had quite literally passed out. Alarm shot through her.
"Kriff," she muttered when she glanced back and noticed the trail of blood on the ground.
He was bleeding out.
"Kriff!" she cursed again in a louder voice edged with panic.
She rose to her feet and buried her hands in her hair in a flustered manner as she debated going back and flying the ship to their location or moving forward to the base and rounding up some rebels to help her carry Anakin back to the base.
No, running to the base would take too long. She would have to fly the Imperial starship directly to the base and hope they didn't shoot her out of the sky.
With one last glance at Anakin, Astrid turned on her heel and sprinted back to the ship. Within minutes, she'd flung herself into the pilot's seat and revved the engines, only to direct the starship forward only three hundred yards to where Anakin laid on the ground.
It took another five minutes for her to literally drag him into the ship, and then another minute for her to lift the starship out of the trees and into the air. She tried to keep the spaceship just above the trees in an attempt to obscure them more from sight, but she knew in about twenty seconds, their ship would be in sight of the base and its defensive artillery guns.
She spotted two missiles launching towards her, and she quickly yanked the toggle downwards. Her stomach lurched as the starship dove into the trees, and she cringed as branches thwacked violently into the metal hull of the starship. Behind her, she heard the loud booms of the two missiles hitting the ground.
Her hands tightened on the toggle as she tried her best to keep the starship steady as it tore through the trees to the ground. The view out the viewport was nothing but green leaves and branches. For a split second, the view out the windshield suddenly cleared as they broke free from the dense foliage before they slammed into the ground. Astrid's teeth jarred together at the impact, and she was thrown from her seat, having not taken the time to seatbelt herself.
Their starship skidded on the ground before slamming into a tree, forcing their ship to a stop. Astrid crashed into the wall at the change in momentum, and she let out a low groan from where she laid on the floor.
The sounds of shouting from outside jerked her to her feet, and she swiftly slammed a hand into the button on the wall that would allow her outside the ship. The metal doors slid open, and Astrid blindly flung herself out of the ship with her arms raised as she shouted, "Don't shoot! I'm a part of the Resistance!"
She blinked as she took full stock of her surroundings. Fifteen rebels surrounded her, some of them in the orange pilot's uniforms, others in ordinary green and black camouflage. They all had their blaster guns raised towards her. Beyond them roughly thirty yards away was the entrance to the rebel base.
"I--I'm a part of the Resistance," Astrid repeated. "I was sent on a mission to Coruscant by Senator Mon Mothma, and things didn't go so well." She indicated to the Imperial starship as she said, "I managed to escape on the first starship I found, and I--I have someone valuable who Senator Mon Mothma will want to speak to."
"Who?" one of the rebels demanded gruffly.
"That's none of your business," Astrid replied shortly, a sense of protectiveness over Anakin washing over her. "Only the Senator's. But you need to help me. He's injured. Severely." When none of the rebels moved, she spoke slowly, "I'm going back inside the ship now to retrieve him, so don't shoot me, please."
One of the rebels wearing a pilot's orange uniform let out a snort of annoyance before he pocketed his blaster gun and strode forward. "I'll help you," he told her gruffly.
"Thank you," Astrid breathed before she turned and headed into the ship.
She led the rebel into the back room of the ship. She expected to find Anakin on the ground, passed out, but instead she found him standing-- albeit slumped against the wall with a dazed look-- with one hand clutching his wound, while the other was reaching for his lightsaber at his hip.
Astrid came to an abrupt stop, and upon seeing the guarded, tense look in Anakin's eyes, she told him cautiously with a wave of a hand at the rebel, "He's here to help. We need the medics to look at you."
Anakin's eyes shifted from the rebel to Astrid, and he regarded her for an instant before he nodded in submission. Suddenly, Astrid sensed a spark of recognition and then of bewilderment and anger from the rebel, and Astrid whirled around in time to see the rebel pull out his blaster and point it at Anakin as he shouted, "It's Lord Vader!"
Astrid sensed the rebel's finger tightening on the blaster gun trigger through the Force, and, swift as lightning, she ignited her lightsaber and leapt in front of Anakin in time to block the ensuing blaster fire. The shot ricocheted and hit the wall just behind the rebel, who shouted in alarm.
"Don't hurt him!" Astrid shouted, eyes wide. "He's important!"
The rebel stared at her as if she'd just sprouted a tail. Then he seethed, "Are you aware that that is Lord Vader? For crying out loud his infamous helmet is on the ground! Are you aware of the risk you are putting everyone in by bringing him here to the rebel base?"
"I know," Astrid responded in a low, placating voice. "But he has valuable information. We could use him." She shook her head and waved a hand as she continued, "Besides, he's not Lord Vader anymore. He's on our side now. His real name is--"
"I don't care what his real name is, whoever he is," the rebel spat with a wave of his blaster gun in Anakin's direction. "He is not on our side. He has deceived you."
Astrid clenched her hands into fists. This man was not a Jedi, and therefore could not sense the turmoil of guilt and shame within Anakin. He couldn't sense Anakin's true heart.
"Astrid, don't--" Anakin bemoaned faintly from behind her, his voice trailing off, and she turned in time to find him swaying on his feet.
She darted forward and swiftly caught him before he could collapse, and as she struggled to keep Anakin upright, she shouted at the rebel, "Help me bring him inside! He needs help now!"
The rebel stood there in shock for a moment before he hurried forward as if not daring to go against her, not after realizing she was a Jedi with a lightsaber. But the rebel's mouth was thin with displeasure as he moved to Anakin's other side and slung Anakin's other arm over his shoulders.
Together, the two of them half-carried Anakin out of the ship, and as they emerged from the ship, the other fourteen rebels surged forward to help, unaware of Anakin's past identity as Darth Vader.
"Alert the medics," Astrid ordered three of the rebels before turning to two more rebels and ordering, "And alert Fulcrum that Astrid Katarn is back at the base and needs to inform her of recent events."
Astrid would have to talk to Senator Mon Mothma later when she arrived back from the ball on Coruscant. Most likely, she was already aware of Astrid's escapade. She might even known Darth Vader-- or Anakin-- was also missing and likely with her. Astrid wondered if Mon Mothma was stuck on Coruscant now in light of the latest events, and she could only hope Padmé wouldn't get in trouble because of her.
Astrid and the other rebel hurried forward through the throng of rebels towards the entrance of the base thirty yards away. Suddenly, Astrid heard a robotic, excited trill somewhere ahead of her, and she glanced forward in time to see Artoo zooming towards them, having come from inside the base. Artoo had his utility arms extended as if to give Anakin a hug as he slid to a stop in front of them.
The buttons on his domed head flickered on and off as he twittered a few more times, and Astrid managed to translate his robotic beeps into words in her head. Artoo was squealing, "Is that Master Anakin?! I can't believe he's back!"
The rebel on the other side of Anakin grumbled, "Someone get this astromech out of our way. Who's astromech is it anyway?"
"The astromech is Artoo Deetoo," Astrid replied sharply. "He's mine." She didn't think it would be very helpful for Artoo if she said he was Anakin's astromech. Astrid turned her gaze back to Artoo as she said, "Artoo, he's a bit injured right now. But, uh, you can visit him later."
The rebels around her cast her a quizzical look, and she knew they were all wondering why her astromech would be eager to visit a seemingly random Imperial officer. Astrid ignored their questioning glances. Artoo gave her a low, dejected beep that said something along the lines of, "Oh, okay."
Artoo moved out of the way so their group could continue forward, and within moments they were entering the base. Their boots thudded on the metal floor as they hurried down the long hallway towards the medical bay. Along the way, Astrid lost track of Artoo, and she wondered absently where he had gone. She was too intent on getting Anakin help to wonder more on Artoo's location.
When they finally arrived at the medical bay, three medics were scurrying around, preparing their supplies. Another medic appeared out of nowhere and quickly ushered them towards a clean cot in the corner of the room.
They set Anakin on the directed cot, and as Astrid drew back, Anakin grasped her hand. His eyes fluttered in his half conscious awareness as he whispered with great effort, "Don't let them--"
But then he fell into unconsciousness, and his hand dropped from hers. Astrid stared down at him with wide eyes, wondering what he had been about to say. But then the medics were shoving her away, saying, "You need to leave so we can work on him."
But then they began to ask her, "How long has he been bleeding? When was he shot? What medical attention did you give him before you got here?"
Astrid answered all of their questions, flustered and overwhelmed, until they were satisfied, and then they were truly shoving her out the door. Astrid backed out of the room and into the hallway with reluctance. She wanted to stay to watch over Anakin. But then the medical bay doors slid closed in front of her, sealing her off from Anakin.
Her shoulders slumped as she let out a long breath before turning away from the doors. Astrid was suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion, and she realized she hadn't actually slept in two days. Her limbs felt heavy as she headed in the direction of the dormitories within the base with the sole intent of finding a bed and sleeping to her heart's content.
As she walked down the narrow, metal hallways, several rebels passed her, all of them abuzz with the news that one of them-- her-- had taken an Imperial officer hostage. They all gave Astrid reproachful, respectful looks as they passed her. It appeared as if the fourteen rebels present when she'd first emerged from her starship had spread the news that she'd been the one to turn the Imperial into the rebels.
She wondered how long it would take for that one rebel to begin spreading the news that the Imperial officer she'd captured was Darth Vader.
"I say we kill him after we're through with him," she heard one of the rebels exclaim with a bloodthirst that horrified Astrid. "He's an Imperial officer. He can't be trusted."
Upon hearing this, she was overcome with the urge to run back to the medical bay to ensure the medics didn't feel the same way. Astrid shook her head at the ridiculous thought-- medics were bound to do no harm-- and forced herself to keep walking.
As Astrid turned a corner of the hallway, she found herself running directly into Ahsoka, the two of them colliding forcefully since Ahsoka appeared to have been sprinting down the hall. The two of them let out matching oomphs as they stumbled away from each other in surprise, Astrid nearly falling over before regaining her balance. But once Ahsoka recognized she'd run into Astrid, her face lit up with a mixture of excitement and eagerness.
She grabbed Astrid's shoulders as she demanded earnestly, "Did you truly save him? Is Anakin here? The entire base is abuzz with the news that we have an Imperial officer! And then Artoo came to find me to tell me the news, too."
Astrid blinked in surprise at this last part, and she glanced down at Ahsoka's feet to find Artoo waiting just behind the former Jedi. Artoo gave her a beep in greeting. A smile pulled at Astrid's lips at the sight of Artoo before she nodded in answer to Ahsoka's question.
Ahsoka's eyes widened before she exclaimed, "Well, I have to see him!" She made to brush past Astrid, but Astrid grabbed her friend's arm, pulling her short.
"Ahsoka, you can't right now," Astrid told her regretfully. "He's injured. Badly."
Ahsoka twisted towards her with a frown, concern alighting in her blue eyes. "Injured? How? What happened?"
Astrid took a breath before she told Ahsoka all that had occurred in Palpatine's throne room. When she was finished telling her story, Ahsoka was silent with shock. Ahsoka opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out.
Astrid told her in a low voice, "He's in bad shape, Ahsoka, not only physically but mentally. Emotionally. I could sense his guilt and shame in the Force. It's overwhelming."
Astrid leaned closer and lowered her voice even more as she added, "Plus, from what I've heard from the rebels around base, everyone is thirsting for his blood, and they don't even know his true identity as Darth Vader." Her voice turned urgent with a hint of panic and desperation. "Ahsoka, they're going to try and kill him, and we can't-- I can't-- I don't think I could--"
She was near hysterics with tears glistening in her eyes, but she was stopped short when Ahsoka settled a reassuring hand on Astrid's shoulder and spoke softly, "I won't let anyone hurt him, Astrid. I promise you. He's safe with me."
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Sorry this update took a while. I meant to update earlier, but then I was busy packing, and then flying, and then unpacking, and crying in-between, and yeah here we are. I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)
--Paradise_Palms