(no subject)

[coolhand]

Who: Luke Skywalker
Action: Planetside;
When: December 27th

[He's spent three days lurking on the Marsiva, acquainting himself with the network, with the chatter and the confusion, learning all he can, hiding himself away from anyone else on there. Foolish, perhaps, when the others on here are likely fellow captives-- but better to be too cautious right now than too reckless. Better to assume he has no allies than bank on the wrong people.

There's been no word on the network on Leia or Han, but it would be too much to expect a neon sign pointing towards his friends. It might be too much to expect they're here at all, but he won't give up hope til the Fleet outright leaves this system.

But so: it's long past time to end this charade. The Marsiva has given him all it can, and now it's time to begin making himself known. Luke walks openly along the streets of the planet, unassuming and barely noticeable. With all the training he's had, he has little to fear-- but still, his face is drawn. Occasionally he'll speak to this person or that, asking a few questions-- but moving, always moving, quite clearly intent on finding something.

Someone. There are Force-sensitive people here, probing gently at the edges of his mind; he doesn't know who or why, but he's intent on finding them.

Even beyond them, though, he's asking questions-- mostly of people who look like they don't belong, who might be fellow Fleeters. Questions about their world, their homes, their experiences here.]

Comments

[falconing]

[ han has been sitting to himself for a bit, just watching people go by. he honestly has no idea what to do -- the situation in the fleet is completely outside of his control and while he has a ship now, it's not his ship. it's not his. and from what han has gathered, he can't exactly up and leave.

it's in this brooding contemplation that he notices someone slip through the crowd -- not just someone, but a very specific someone, and he immediately bolts up to his feet.

luke.

it takes about two minutes for han to catch up, and he doesn't bother announcing himself as he grabs luke by the upper arm, pulling him neatly off of the path. there's no point in being polite, given luke "jedi master" skywalker and his weird ass ability to feel people or whatever -- ]

We need to have a conversation, right now.

[ it's under his breath.

has anakin found luke yet? probably not. maybe. who knows. ]

Starting with where in the hell have you been?

[coolhand]

[It's quite lucky, actually, that he has his weird-ass ability, because he'd been about two seconds from attacking when he'd felt someone grab him. That'd be just his luck, getting pick-pocketed the second he comes down.

But then it's Han-- a worried Han, unusually grim, too serious, even given their current situation, and Luke's surprised smile fades almost instantly.]

The initial ship, the Marsiva-- how long have you been here? What's wrong? Is Leia here as well?

[Ah, and there's some of that Jedi gravitas gone.]

[falconing]

You've been on the --

[ oooh there is a brief moment of contemplating punching luke skywalker, the hero of the galaxy, in the arm for being such an idiot, but he resists the urge and draws in a breath, about to ask the same question as luke did (is leia here) when -- ]

No, she's not. I haven't found her -- I've been here for a week -- it doesn't matter, shut up and listen to me for two seconds.

[ which he had been frustrated over, but given the current population, han almost is glad she hasn't crash landed on this damn hellhole yet. luke will keep a level head. luke can figure out what to do. leia, with who's here -- ]

Anakin Skywalker is here.

[coolhand]

[And suddenly, everything else stops mattering.

He's here. He's here, Anakin-- not Vader, not the twisted creature he'd become, but Anakin. Han wouldn't have said the name unless he meant the man, not the villain-- and how? How is he alive? Does this place restore a broken body? Yes, or perhaps he has his suit back-- it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, he's here, he's alive, he's here and he's alive--]

Where?

[No wonder he'd felt such a familiar presence.]

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka senses him too. A Force presence as strong as Luke's? There's no way she could have missed it. The curious part is why she doesn't recognise it.

She senses it, the moment he touches down on the planet, and walks towards his location. She won't approach him, not just yet-- she wants to see who it is, first. Furry hood pulled up over her horns and half-obscuring her face, she tries to mingle with the crowd and observe this newcomer first.

If he's a Council-type of Jedi, she might do well to steer clear of him. But if he's not...]

[coolhand]

[First: the conversation with Han. Difficult, but enlightening. Full of decisions he still mulls over, repeating them in his mind again and again. Were they wise? Foolish? Will he look back at that conversation months later and bemoan his idiocy? This is an impossible chance, a chance to steer Anakin away from Vader's lure, and yet, and yet--

He walks blindly, eyes cast down, and only notices the other presence when they're a few physical feet away from each other. Here, she's like a beacon, impossible to ignore no matter how distracted he is. Luke inhales sharply and looks directly over, meeting her gaze.

Not Anakin. The other one. Ahsoka.]

Hello.

[He offers a slight smile as he slips past the crowds, coming to meet her.]

Ahsoka, right? I think you've met my friend Han already.

[resnipstance]

[Ahsoka blinks, taken off guard-- but of course Luke is able to spot her instantly. She'd been able to spot him, hadn't she?

Only three months away from the Temple and already she's gotten lazy.

Her surprise quickly changes to recognition as the man mentions Han by name. This must be the person he was talking about, then.]

--Oh. Yes, that's me.

You must be Captain Solo's friend, then. He mentioned you. Luke, right?

action.

[steeledskin]

[ and here walks one of those people who most certainly does not belong. although she's at home in the snow and cold, her eyes are wide for all else -- on the lookout for strangers, or for bizarre sights. or, perhaps, for some at-long-last glimpse of her brother should he at-long-last join the rest of the fleet down planetside.

when luke approaches her with one of his questions -- one about her home, perhaps -- she shows an initial fear. wide blue eyes and stillness like a statue. sansa speaks: ] B-beg pardon, ser?

[ he can't actually have been asking her, can he? why would anyone want to speak with her? ]

action;

[coolhand]

[Fear-- he senses it immediately, overwhelming any other emotion. Fear of him-- but then, he's a strange man, asking strange questions.]

If you don't mind my asking.

[A gentle smile, and he doesn't step closer.]

I'd like to know more about different planets.

action;

[steeledskin]

I don't live on a planet. [ her answer is quick, and from the heart. but as it sits upon the chilly air she begins to realize how stupid it sounds.

frowning, she tries again. ] My home is part of Seven Kingdoms, ser. Westeros.

Action; mobile don't eat my titles rude

[notkittenaround]

[ Marhi could not stand out more; she is, after all, blue-grey and obviously not human. She carries herself with the ease of a battle-hardened warrior, and wears thigh-high blood-splattered armoured boots to... well, boot. She also happens to be a walking, talking, gigantic beacon of Light's blessing - a more fortunate, though inevitably just as bloody, side-effect of been a warrior blessed by Hydaelyn, the mothercrystal of light and life.

And, finally, though quite at odds with her cloth and metal armour, she's carrying a bag full of cheery tourist holiday pens, pencils and notebooks, decorated with all manner of holiday wishes and fuzzy animals. ]

Are you of the Fleet?

so rude!!

[coolhand]

[She's like a beacon all right-- loud and bright, impossible to ignore, and so different. This is no Jedi, but she's something sensitive, and Luke blinks as she speaks to him.]

I am. Recently, though-- not yet a week.

[notkittenaround]

[ She stands cool and collected, her tail expressing her mood as much as her face; a slow, casual flick back and forth, back and forth. ]

I bid you welcome, though a kidnapping is little place for pleasantries.

[sandhate]

[ Someone is Force-sensitive.

If Anakin is bright lighthouse in a dark night in the Force, Luke must feel like the Sun. Distant but familiar and warm, coming in loud bursts of it. He has never met another Jedi that felt so familiar. But most important of all, he feels...untrained and that makes Anakin's approach is cautious. He was looking for Ahsoka but this warrants a closer look, his curiosity demands it.

He sees a blond kid - roughly his age, maybe younger - from across the crowded street. He pushes through a simple message through the Force, anyone Force-sensitive enough will pick it up.

An image of a ...food cart, it sells something that smells like meat. A thought comes through: to your left. ]

[coolhand]

[He jerks, twists, looks to his left-- and there he is, expression cautious, blue eyes staring at him from across the road.

They look so alike, that's Luke's first thought. Not so much so Anakin will recognize him right off the bat, but-- he has his father's hair, his eyes. Stupid, a stupid little fact that means nothing, but that Luke had never known. I have my father's coloring, he thinks, and it's so stupid that he's getting caught up in that, but no one had ever told him. He can remember being young, desperately asking Uncle Owen for information about his parents, and getting only the vaguest answers in reply. But now . . .

Now, he thinks firmly, now nothing will happen. They will make each other's acquaintance, and he will reveal very little. His own childish desires don't matter; what matters is keeping everyone safe. Keeping their timeline on track. Remember Han, he thinks, remember Leia. Remember their anger; remember why he's keeping things quiet in the first place.

He crosses the road in four easy steps. Anakin is taller than he is-- tall and proud, just as Vader had been. Will be.]

Anakin.

[His voice doesn't break. He offers a slight smile, friendly but not warm, and does not babble all he wants to.]

My name is Luke. Luke Skywalker.

[sandhate]

[ Anakin and his radiation bleached hair exudes confidence and looks every bit the hero the legends describe him as. Anakin Skywalker, Jedi general and hero of the Republic. Anakin Skywalker, best pilot of the Open Circle fleet and one of the best Jedi of his generation, of any generation.

But when he approaches, the rakish smile falls and a grim man approaches, his mouth sternly set and his eyes sharp and focused. The light casts a shadow that covers more than his face.

Anakin knows he needs all the allies he can get here and being among the Force-sensitives, those with familiarity with the Force, should bring him some comfort. But it doesn't. In Luke he senses... elusive things. A pain just under the surface, a faint scream of the young man's name. It's a surface he dares not disturb.

Then Luke says he's a Skywalker and he freezes. ]

Skywalker?

[huaaaaagh]

[In a town where Luke happens to be wandering is a little pointy-eared fellow sipping cocoa at one of the public campfires, minding his own business. He has no Force powers to speak of, naturally, nor sensitivity or recognition for Luke himself.

What he does have, though, is what looks suspiciously like a lightsaber clipped to his waist.]

[coolhand]

[And how can he ignore that? Deprived of his own lightsaber, he's desperate for some kind of weapon. The man the lightsaber is attached to doesn't feel like a Jedi-- but here, with all that's happened so far, Luke is prepared to question all his old assumptions.

So he approaches, coming to stand beside the boy.]

Are you a Fleeter?

[As if it doesn't matter!]

[huaaaaagh]

[Kirito glances over at the voice, quirking a brow. Hmm... not a Fleeter he recognizes, but it's not like he has anything to hide.]

Yeah, I am. You too?

[dancingmd]

[Having recovered from her recent illness and feeling at least a little more emotionally centered than she did at the beginning of the month, Beverly is doing less venturing in the woods and more in town. The local music scene particularly attracts her attention as she watches both the official shows put on for tourists and finds small groups playing in out of the way places. It's at one of the street shows that she bumps into Luke, distracted as she is by the music.]

Oh, I'm sorry!

[coolhand]

I-- no, it's my fault.

[He's so distracted. Yoda would scold him if he were around; as it is, Luke thinks he's perhaps allowed a little leeway. He offers the woman an apologetic smile, though his gaze is still distracted.]

I've spent too long in forests. I forget how crowded city streets are. I'm Luke.

[dancingmd]

[There's a warm smile for him as she extends her hand.]

Beverly.

[Seeing as he is neither one of the Surrit or Nunnalis, it seems likely that he's another member of the fleet. And he looks... lost, maybe.]

Do you need some help? Are you looking for something?

[experiencepoints]

[Nightingale is probably less of a beacon of Force, and more... Well, whatever the opposite of that could possibly be. Her soul is shattered into a myriad of pieces, and half of those pieces are just plain missing. What bits she does have are incomplete, hastily reassembled, and all in all just generally being a sorry excuse for a soul. It's probably a hell of a ping for a Jedi, though.

That said, she seems perfectly content to talk normally, even carrying one of the little pet foxes around on her shoulder.]

Hm? Who are you?

action

[pain_train]

[Hey, you look like you're from the fleet, and she doesn't know you.]

Think fast, fresh meat!

[SNOWBALL TIME! She's grinning; this is no hostile attack.

(Hey, it's better than her old habit of meeting people via barroom brawl.)]

[flickerflash]

[...you might have to ask your questions of Katie again, Luke. The moment he asks, she turns to peer at him and then freezes like she's seen a ghost.

First Han, now Luke. Hwow.]

U-um.