In the cockpit, the timer on the navicomputer pinged a warning of five minutes to reversion. Anakin touched the ship's intercom button and spoke. "Alright everyone, were almost there, buckle up!"

Luke tensed slightly at the reminder their mission was coming to a close, though he forced himself to relax, kissing Nakari one more time on the lips. "Duty calls. I better get up there," he commented, pulling away to make his way towards the cockpit.

Nakari swiftly cleaned up so there wouldn't be any chance of loose items flying about dangerously if things went sour. Then she hastened to the cockpit as well and strapped in behind Anakin, who had moved over to the co-pilot's seat while Luke took the pilot's seat.

"Reversion in ten seconds," Anakin announced, beginning the countdown.

Nakari closed her eyes and sent Luke a soft thought of love, then stopped distracting him when Anakin neared zero.

"Three...two...one...revert," Anakin finished for Luke.

Hyperspace bled to realspace, and Luke paused when he realized...there was no one shooting at them. No threats on the scanners and hardly any ships in orbit around the planet. The tension he hadn't realized had been there drained from his shoulders, and he leaned back in his seat.

"Oh...No one's gunning for us. That's a nice change. Kind of galaxy I want to live in, honestly."

"I'll take it," Nakari said wryly as she got a good look at the planet. "Uh, guys, are we sure there's land on this planet? It looks like it's one hundred percent water!"

Drusil's voice came over the comm. "I assure you there are islands and small landmasses."

Anakin nodded in agreement. "This is an ideal, neutral place for people to lie low and possibly disappear."

"I have provided the rendezvous coordinates to your outstanding droid," Drusil chipped in, and Luke couldn't help but grin at the fact that Artoo had gone from adequate to outstanding in a few day's time in Drusil's eyes.

"Thanks. Artoo, go ahead and put them in and set our course. I'll take back manual control if necessary." Once Luke heard his beep of confirmation, Luke looked over at his two companions and smiled. "Almost through with this mission."

"I know," Nakari said. "Part of me can't believe we made it."

Luke's smile faltered at her words and he tensed again. He'd learned the hard way destiny found it amusing to strike people who thought they were safe.

"What? Luke?" Nakari asked, obviously concerned.

"It's nothing," Luke said to sooth her. "I have part of me that can't believe it either. The war's made me believe that nothing is ever easy. But maybe we really did fake out the Empire with those uncharted hyperspace jumps..."

Even as he tried to reassure Nakari, he couldn't help the small, gnawing sensation in his gut that something was going to go terribly, horribly wrong.

Anakin glanced at Luke, sharing his sense of something being wrong. However, as they made their way to enter the atmosphere, Anakin's danger sense flared, and he thinned his lips.

"Luke, take manual control," he said softly. "I think we're about to have unwanted company."

Nakari tensed. "What? Who?"

Luke had already been reaching for the controls, both because of the growing feeling he had in the pit of his stomach and because of the engine trouble they were starting to have. Luke didn't look anywhere but at the controls, already feeling the tremors in the ship.

"Not good..." he murmured. "Keep an eye out for that company, I've got to try and keep us from dragging too far to starboard. I don't see any smoke yet, but...I don't think that engine is going to last us beyond our landing. It's nearly impossible to bank left, but if I pull to starboard, we're probably going to spin out of control."

Nakari grimaced. "Well, I guess the engine did serve its purpose, didn't it?" She grinned in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Look at the bright side: now I can repair all the damage done putting the stupid thing in."

Anakin smiled. "You could probably get a good engine off the junk dealers on remote systems. It worked for Qui-Gon on Tatooine when he needed parts for Padmé's ship."

Something pinged on the scanner in front of Anakin, and he read it carefully. "Heads up Luke, that company is coming over now." He grimaced. ''Those ships are coming from the rendezvous coordinates."

Luke cursed under his breath, shutting off the starboard engine to get rid of some of the shaking and dragging that was making it difficult to fly. It made the stick more responsive as well, but they still dragged slightly to starboard. He winced with how much speed they lost, but if they had to make evasive maneuvers, he couldn't afford a broken engine sending them spinning out of control. "Throw up our deflector shields," he told his father, glancing at the readouts of the approaching ships. They were all custom and much, much faster than the injured Jewel, and probably would still be faster if he turned the starboard engine back on. He didn't think sacrificing agility for speed that wouldn't even help them in the long run would be worth turning the engine back on, either. What further pained him was the fact that he only saw open water for kilometers with no land features to exploit.

"Who are these guys?" Nakari asked.

"Bounty hunters," Luke grated out. "Patient bounty hunters. The only way they could be waiting here for us is if they followed Drusil's family here."

He glanced at his father, not willing to say much more as the intercom was still on so Drusil could hear them. Just as Luke had worried when they hadn't heard from the Alliance about Major Derlin, that part of the mission had been compromised. Hopefully the Givin's family was still safe; as far as Luke was aware, there was no bounty on the family, which raised the chance that the bounty hunters had only been staking them out to wait for their real prize. At the very least, Luke hoped that the Major was all right, if he was even still on the planet.

Drusil made no comment over the comm. Since she was brilliant, Luke guessed she could see the probabilities much clearer than he could. Glancing at the rapidly approaching ships, Luke aimed his next words at Nakari, his voice pitched low and gentle as he knew the effect it might just have on her. "Nakari...No matter what I do, we're at a severe disadvantage here. We'd better prepare for an emergency water landing."

She looked pained at the thought of losing her ship, but she was professional enough not to complain. Nakari stood with a swift kiss to the top of Luke's head.

"Got it. But you need to figure out how we will get Artoo out. I doubt he's very buoyant."

"I will levitate Artoo while we're in the water," Anakin said. "Just get that water raft you showed us ready to go."

Once she was gone, Anakin turned to Luke. "Can you shallow the angle of approach some so we can land closer to land? There's an island right here." He pointed to the display to show his son where he needed to go.

"There is?" Luke asked, double checking the scanners. Sure enough, an island showed up on the edge of the screen. He grimaced; it was positive that they were going to be intercepted before Luke reached the landmass. "I can. No promises that we'll actually make it to the island, though," he said, eyeing the approaching two ships. One looked a lot like a needle, and the other looked like a bulky piece of toast, both approaching fast.

Anakin returned fire with the Desert Jewel's blue blasts when the needle-ship opened fire on them. He snorted when the flying toast pilot seemed to start berating the needle-pilot.

"I imagine they don't want the prize killed," Anakin muttered so only Luke could hear. "They would lose a sizable bounty if Drusil were killed."

He grimaced when the narrow ship fired again even as Luke began to skim the surface of the water with about thirty meters to spare.

"Hey, remember Admiral Ackbar's warning about the sea life on Omereth?" Anakin looked over at Luke, his eyes alight with a plan. "Draw the bounty hunters closer to the surface and let's see if we can't feed something in the depths below."

Luke nodded. "Got it," he said, but the words had hardly left his mouth when the needle ship fired again, landing a perfect hit that punched through their shields and demolished their port engine. Luke grimaced as the engine began trailing smoke, and he quickly turned the starboard engine back on just to balance it out at least a little. The flying toast shot down the needle at that point, but the damage had already been done. Luke grit his teeth, pulling up and angling the ship to give them more time, at least enough to put them in the lagoon, hopefully. Alarms blared to life in the cockpit, but Luke ignored them as resolutely as Han Solo in the Falcon.

"Nakari, how are those emergency preparations coming?" he shouted

"Coming!" Nakari grabbed the remainder of her gear and ushered Artoo and Drusil to the cockpit, just as Luke announced that the ship was going down.

Anakin shared a befuddled look with Luke. Why would she be coming forward when the ramp was...

"Don't touch the ramp!" Nakari ordered as she entered, a Kelen Biolabs Aquatic Emergency Kit in hand. "We're going out through the viewport."

"How is this possible?" Drusil asked.

"There are manual releases for the viewport along the outer edge," Nakari explained, handing each of the Skywalkers a rebreather. She didn't give one to the Givin, since she could handle the under-water conditions on her own. "When we go down, we will pop the viewport releases, and water will come in quite fast. Anakin, you worry about Artoo and getting topside once we're out of the Jewel. Drusil, stay close to Luke and I. But for now, crouch down next to Artoo and hang in until we start leaving the ship."

"I will." Drusil nodded once before she slung a waterproof bag filled with her slicing gear over her shoulder and got into position. "Ready."

"Luke, can you help me with releasing the viewport?" Nakari asked. "Anakin..."

"I'll stay by Artoo, since I'm his buddy." Anakin unstrapped and stood at the ready near Artoo. "I can also cushion us in the initial crash."

"I like the sound of that," Nakari remarked dryly.

Luke stayed in his seat, hands busy trying to keep the ship steady long enough to reach the lagoon. He watched the water grow steadily closer, braced for the impact and praying he didn't relapse when the water rushed into the cockpit and they were submerged. He already felt dread at the almost guaranteed coming episode, but he pushed his apprehension aside, focusing instead on making a crash landing they might actually survive.

"Brace yourselves," he called mere seconds before the ship plunged into the water of the lagoon. Luke was immediately out of his seat, forcing himself not to think as he sprang up to help Nakari unlatch the viewport.

Nakari unlatched her side with lightning reflexes, in her element now that they were on the ground. Between her and Luke, they had the panel ready to be ejected in no time. Nakari waved Luke back by Artoo and his father, waited for him to do so, and then yanked the lever, admitting ice-cold sea-water into the cockpit.

That water also caused the Desert Jewel to sink much faster, and Nakari waved everyone through. Anakin helped Artoo out and worked his way with him up to the surface, Drusil hot on his heels. Nakari held out her hand to Luke and gestured for him to come too, even as the Jewel sank to her grave in a curtain of bubbles.

As soon as the water pummeled into Luke he gasped and went completely rigid, breath catching in his throat and arms still tight around Artoo's right leg as his torture sprang violently to the forefront of his mind. Luke managed to fight it off long enough to kick out of the Jewel, his brain registering that while the bubbles from the air in the ship went up, the group went down. That was about the time that Luke succumbed to his relapse, his grip slipping free of Artoo's leg as the vision took over. He tried to keep swimming upwards, but considering the fact he was from a desert planet and had yet to learn how to swim...

He thrashed blindly in the water, overcome as he sank into the darkness of the water, his torture from the waterboarding taking him over and sending his brain into panic mode, making it impossible to try and reach for that calm center as he knew that this time as he relapsed, he was actually drowning.

Nakari spied Anakin with Artoo up ahead and Drusil's white head as she pumped for the surface. She broke from the waves just as Drusil scrambled into the raft Nakari had sent afloat the moment she exited the ship. Nakari also helped get Artoo into the raft, but she noticed Anakin stiffen and look about anxiously, and he almost dropped Artoo back into the surf.

Nakari frowned, pulling out her rebreather so she could ask him what was wrong, when Anakin turned frantic eyes on her.

"Where is Luke?" he demanded.

Nakari went colder than the water, looking around worriedly. "H-he was right behind me!"

One look at Anakin's body language told her all she needed to know. Nakari shoved the rebreather into her mouth violently and dove back beneath the water, having the presence of mind to turn on the underwater glowlamp she'd pocketed from the emergency kit.

She dove straight down, knowing that Luke, if he wasn't swimming, would be following—or more than likely being dragged down by—the Desert Jewel. Fear gripped her heart the deeper she went and she didn't see him.

LUKE! she screamed in her mind, hoping he would hear her in the Force.

Just as she was about to faint from the thought of losing Luke, her eye caught a flash of frantic movement at the edge of her light-beam, and Nakari swam towards it.

Luke felt darkness encroaching, body thrashing in slower motions as he reflexively screamed, his lungs filling with water every time. His head spun and pounded, his lungs screaming to be filled with air instead of water, but it didn't happen, his movements turning jerky and slow. Eventually, even the vision faded from his mind, the darkness starting to take over.

He faintly felt something reach his sixth sense that had somehow not quite shut off yet, but as he sank deeper into the darkness, he found he didn't have the energy to investigate, still gasping weakly but futility for air.

Nakari could see Luke by now, and she didn't like the way it was moving: as though he was on the brink of passing out. Nakari doubled her efforts yet again to get to him, but it took too long, even as she was stretching out her hand when she got within a few yards of his now still form...

The second her fingers touched the fabric of his sleeve, she took it up into a death-grip until she brought Luke's prone form even with hers.

Nakari swam to maneuver herself in front of him, and only then saw he had somehow lost his rebreather. Nakari whipped hers out and shoved it into his mouth, praying he could take in air...but nothing happened.

Nakari forced away her panic and grabbed him under the shoulders. Heaving with all her strength to get him moving up instead of down, she kicked her legs, furiously pumping them back and forth to slowly—too slowly for her taste—move towards the surface.

Nakari felt her lungs scream for air, so she stole the rebreather back from Luke for a gulp of air. Nakari's arms felt like lead weights as she strained against his greater weight, and her legs were on fire, but she pushed onward. Halfway to the surface, Nakari heard something, looked up, and saw a form swimming down to them.

Anakin took hold of the pair of them, and suddenly they were rocketing through the water—Nakari knew Anakin had to be using the Force—until they splashed out with a wave of water, Anakin gasping in air and Nakari struggling to keep Luke's head above the surface.

"He's not breathing!" Nakari fretted loudly when he didn't take in air alone, nor was his chest moving. "Anakin!"

Anakin had already climbed into the raft and reached over the edge to haul Luke out of the water, where he practically slammed him to the floor of the raft so he could start performing emergency resuscitation.

Nakari hauled herself into the raft with Drusil's help, and she promptly collapsed, panting. But she was up seconds later when Anakin's efforts were proving fruitless.

"Luke!" Anakin growled as he pumped his chest. "Come on, Luke!"

Drusil let out a strange noise and pointed towards something in the near-distance. "There's a ship coming for us!"

Anakin's head jerked up, and he turned to Nakari. "Take over!" He stood and ignited his lightsaber, ready to fight off any fire that might come from the ship.

Nakari instantly straddled Luke and began frantically pumping his chest, her movements fevered even as hot tears mixed with the saltwater drying on her cheeks.

"Luke!" Nakari pleaded, bending down to breathe air into his lungs...

...nothing.

"Luke!" Nakari hollered, pounding a fist against his chest in a moment of raw emotion. "Wake up! Don't you dare leave me!"

He still didn't move, and amid the warning words projected from the flying-toast-like ship, she began to hiccup sobs, resuming her chest compressions and breaths. Nakari faintly heard Anakin shout a warning and he was diving into the raft just as an enormous splash nearly capsized their raft.

Nakari saw something swallow the aircraft whole out of the corner of her eye, but then she refocused on Luke.

"Luke!" Nakari yelled, almost angry that he wasn't responding. Her arms trembled heavily as she compressed his chest for the final time this set, and she bent down to breath air once more...

...still nothing.

LUKE! Nakari screamed at him, pummeling both fists into the center of his chest with as much force as she could muster...

...and suddenly he coughed, water spitting up from his mouth in a sloppy fountain, and Nakari cried out with relief. She sat back and turned him onto his side so he wouldn't choke on the water he was spitting up.

She was sobbing openly still, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to throw her arms around him and lovingly threaten him within an inch of his life if he ever did this to her again.

Luke jolted back to reality after what he now realized had been too long of literal nothing, water spouting out of him at an alarming force and rate. His eyes watered as well from pain as his chest heaved to dispel the water out of his lungs, his body trembling and weak—something he knew through warnings from the Force he couldn't afford right now. He gasped in air between choking coughs, lowering his head to...rubber? The raft Nakari had deployed as they'd opened the Jewel?

Nakari.

Luke looked up as her name fell over him, followed quickly by her shaken, fearful, but relieved presence right beside him in the Force. He was still coughing too much to speak, but he did manage to reach out and grab her hand in comfort, looking around for his father as well.

Nakari bent over Luke with another hiccup, and she kissed his cheek before she started to rub his back soothingly, struggling to get a grip on her emotions.

Anakin saw Luke's hand trying to find him, and he grabbed it into a firm hold. "Everyone hold on, the wave from that sea monster is about to hit us!"

Nakari instinctively covered Luke's body with hers in an effort to protect him from more water, resting her head gently against his. And just in time, because the wave hit and they were sent rapidly away from the crash site and, according to Drusil, land.

Luke instinctively curled into Nakari, his coughing decreasing as he held tightly to the two most important people in his life, riding out the wave with them as it carried them all the way to land. By that point, Luke was breathing heavily and shaking, only a little water left in his lungs, and even that small amount was slowly being flushed out.

The moment the raft was within inches of solid ground, Anakin leapt out and hauled it ashore, then he returned to Luke, pulling out a syringe from a pouch on his belt.

"Here," he uncapped the needle and injected Luke with it before the younger man could protest.

"Adrenaline," he explained when he got odd looks from everyone. "I felt the need to grab one from the medical kit on the Jewel while Nakari was sleeping earlier," he said softly. "Now I know why."

He carefully pulled Luke into a sitting position while Nakari moved back to give the young man some space. The fighter in her kicked in and she also sensed a moment was needed between father and son, so she stepped away to check on Drusil and Artoo.

Anakin glanced Nakari's way and then looked back to Luke with tears glazing his eyes. "Luke..." he whispered fiercely. "Please, please...don't you ever do that to me again!"

He yanked Luke into a desperate hug before the young man could blink. "I thought I'd lost you, Son..."

Luke was only thrown off for a moment, eyes stinging as he clutched Anakin in an equally tight hug, burying his face in Anakin's neck and struggling to even out his breathing as he did so. "I'm sorry, I..." Luke didn't really know what to say. It was ridiculous to apologize for having a relapse...so he settled for the best he could say. "I don't mean to scare you like that. I'll try not to again...the best I can. I'm not going to let this galaxy knock me out that easily," he replied, tightening his hold.

Anakin sensed that they needed to move on, so he stood after releasing Luke and helped him up.

"The shot should be kicking in any moment now, and we need to get off this beach." He squinted toward the horizon as a low hum reached their ears, and Anakin swore. "Did I ever tell you I hate being right all the time? There are six more ships coming. Our best bet is to hide on the island and take them out as they come for us."

"Right," Luke replied, clearing his throat and casing his gaze to Nakari as they headed for the trees. Luke gently touched Anakin's arm as a silent show of gratitude before he moved to Nakari's side and took her hand in his own in a tight grip. She had her slug thrower in hand, having just checked it and given her blaster to Drusil.

"Take that to defend yourself with," Nakari was saying to the Givin as Luke took her hand. She squeezed gently back as she continued to speak. "Luke, you and Anakin take Drusil to high ground," she pointed where it was that she wanted him, "up there. I'll take Artoo on the flank and pick off whoever I can that's trying to come after you three."

Luke's gaze fixated on Nakari, worry stirring within his gut. He didn't like the sound of that at all. "What if they follow you?"

"I'm taking the droid and our tracks will make that clear. They'd never believe we'd split up and put their big-money target under the protection of an astromech, right? So they'll chase you, and I'll pick them off. You just move as fast as you can," Nakari replied.

Luke still was uneasy about letting her go, reluctant with the sense of something wrong in his gut. But she had a point...

"Right," he said with a nod, unable to come up with anything to use to say no. He let her hand go as the two groups split up to start moving, and he'd only moved a few steps in the opposite direction when he was hit with the overwhelming sense of...finality.

And it terrified him.

Pausing, Luke turned around, thinking only of Nakari. He was surprised to find that she too had turned, and they both froze. They took two simultaneous steps towards each other, waiting for the other to speak first and break the strange spell that had fallen over them. The awkwardness escalated with every second, and Luke was gripped with the sudden mortifying thought that whatever he said next would either be not enough or too much, the wrong thing, wholly inappropriate, and not what she wanted to hear. The words he wanted to say lodged in his throat, and though his heart was screaming at him to spit it out and say it, Luke's mouth didn't want to cooperate, and nor did his brain.

He wanted to say she didn't need to worry, he wanted to tell her how he felt, but it felt strange to do so, to finally tell her what had been in his heart, when everyone's eyes were on the pair.

"What is happening?" Drusil asked. "I am unfamiliar with this kind of human behavior. Have you lost the power of speech?"

Nakari didn't even look away from Luke as she answered. "No."

Seeing something akin to a struggle in Luke's gaze, Nakari decided to take action. Time was short, and while she wanted nothing more than to reassure him—he looked scared for some reason—she settled for something else.

Crossing the space between them in a trio of long steps, Nakari placed a tender, lingering kiss on his lips. Then she pulled back and placed her lips next to his ear.

"Be safe, Pilot..." she whispered to him, putting all her love into the endearing nickname.

It was a safe thing to say, though for some reason Luke felt that it wasn't enough for him to repeat. He brushed his lips across her cheek as she pulled away, heart throbbing for some unknown reason. "Please be careful," he replied in a soft voice, unable to put in words the other feelings he had. His eyes roamed over her one more time, taking her in and imprinting her image to memory.

Nakari nodded. "I will."

With that, she forced herself back to work.

The sooner you get this job going, the sooner it'll be over, she told herself as she and Artoo trudged a blatant path before finding a place to leave the trail.

*********************************************

Anakin heard Drusil ask why Luke and Nakari were acting so oddly and he touched her arm lightly. "They're just saying see you later. It's a human thing."

Drusil made the Givin equivalent of a sigh and nodded. "Very well. Shall we go?"

Anakin spied the first of the bounty hunters on the sands and gestured to Luke. "I think that's a good idea. Stay between Luke and I, Drusil."

"Alright."

Luke finally broke his gaze from Nakari, taking in the bounty hunters landing back at the beach. He turned to Artoo before the droid could get too far. "Artoo, make sure you're scanning in the infrared and other channels besides the visual, and let Nakari know if you see something she doesn't. These bounty hunters are sure to have some tricks in their arsenal." Then, in a lower tone so Nakari wouldn't hear. "And keep an eye on her for me buddy, please?"

Artoo gave a reassuring whistle, and then the group made their final parting. Luke felt slightly nauseous, though he didn't understand why.

Or was it that he didn't want to understand why?

Those dangerous thoughts were diverted as they picked a path through the trees up the southern hill, Nakari and Artoo heading southeast to another hill about a hundred meters away. Nakari was utterly silent, but they could hear Artoo even from their spot, and Luke grimaced. He had to divert his attention again the next moment to the roots that trailed above the ground like snakes, ready to trip them if they weren't paying attention. The forest around them had thin trees and broad-leaved canopies.

Glancing back, Luke saw Drusil's head jerking in constant motions like a bird, and he frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Gathering data," Drusil replied.

Before Luke could ask for specifics, a mechanical whine pierced the air, announcing the approach of a swoop bike.

Nakari spotted Luke in her scope just before she too heard the whine of an engine. She looked up and tried to see it without the scope, but had to resort to using the lens.

Gotcha!

Nakari led her shot and depressed the trigger.

Luke had just turned to the sound of the engine, blaster in hand and the word "Incoming" passing his lips before the crack sounded and the bounty hunter tumbled from the bike, the vehicle colliding with the ground in a rather disturbing sound of cracking, squelching, and crunching.

"Your mate is an exceedingly good sniper," Drusil stated. "The odds were high she would eliminate the threat before we had cause to worry."

Out of everything she'd said, one thing stood out to Luke, though when he spun it was not to face Drusil but to press on running for high ground, putting distance between themselves, the loud noise, and wreckage.

"My mate?"

"Are you not mated?" Drusil asked in what sounded like an innocent tone. Luke sputtered for a few moments, at a loss of words before he gained competent thought again.

"I don't know—whatever we are, just don't call it that, okay? I think that might be the worst possible word to describe a human relationship," Luke said, picking up pace again as if that would put distance between himself and Drusil's chosen word for him and Nakari.

"The definition has been quite clear in Basic for many years," Drusil persisted, close on Luke's heels. "Is there another word that humans use among themselves?"

"Yeah—pretty much anything else."

"My sincerest apologies," Drusil replied. "I was unaware of that word's potential to cause psychological trauma in your species."

Luke winced at the mention of psychological trauma, but pressed on. "It's fine, let's just move on. There are still five bounty hunters and we have a hill to climb."

Anakin kept right on the tail of his companions, unlit lightsaber in hand and trying not to laugh. Mates? He had heard human relationships called many things, but for them to be mated...like animals...he shuddered.

He followed Luke and Drusil as they moved along while commenting on the landscape and how there was little in the way of cover due to thin tree trunks and the occasional flowering shrub.

Anakin had to agree when Drusil pointed out that they'd be better off a little ways down from the summit than the essentially unprotected top. He kept his senses alert, detecting trouble coming from the same direction they'd just come.

"Get down while we figure out what we want to do," Anakin instructed quietly, crouching down behind a boulder to minimize his profile.

As Anakin crouched behind a boulder, Luke picked his way down about ten meters with Drusil, taking up the spot that she pointed out of a white barked tree with spots of fallen branches immediately adjacent. Drusil joined him, and as they crouched lower to the ground, Luke confirmed that they could see better from this spot. Nakari probably could as well. As they waited, the air grew still, the sound of birds and insects even disappeared. Luke found that the hush and tension of the hunt was the wrong kind of excitement when he was the one being hunted. In his mind, he knew there had to be at least one bounty hunter approaching on foot, if not more. He didn't see movement in the trees or hear anything other than the hum of ships powering down, but he felt something in the Force, and his eyes scanned the horizon. Beside him, Drusil showed she was familiar with a blaster, holding it even with the right trigger discipline with her finger outside the trigger guard.

Hardly a few seconds had passed like that when Luke picked up the sound of a low mechanical whir he thought might have been Artoo. His suspicions were confirmed the next moment when the trusty droid shot a bolt from his ion blaster directly across their vision from right to left. The electric bolt hit a metal object, revealing a Rodain that had been approaching with stealth equipment. He was quick to draw his blaster, getting off three fast shots that at least hit once, judging by Artoo's high pitched scream. He didn't get anything else, for almost immediately after Artoo's scream, Nakari sent a slug right through the Rodian's eyes.

Luke glanced worriedly in Artoo's direction, easily visible now that there was a trail of smoke rising through the trees. Considering he could hear the droid's angry chattering, he was sure that their trusty companion wasn't completely out of commission. However, he was making not only himself an easy target, but Nakari too, and that made Luke extremely uneasy.

Drusil didn't help.

"The damage to your droid reduces our tactical advantage. Seeing what happened to their colleagues and having a plain target to follow now, the remaining bounty hunters may attack our partners instead of ascending the hill. They could then attempt to flank us. At any rate, Nakari's ability to surprise is negated at this point."

Luke's anxiety rose at her words, but he forced himself to function properly despite it, that feeling he'd had in his gut since they entered the system getting worse with every passing moment. "Maybe we can surprise them," Luke said instead, pointing out the two tan skinned bipeds dressed for the desert a short way downhill. "See there? Two more of them advancing through the trees, working together as a team. Weequay."

"I have never encountered the species before."

"Tough hides. Naturally resistant to blasterfire. The Hutts like to use them as bodyguards and bounty hunters."

Drusil looked down and considered her weapon. "If they are resistant to our blasters, what can we do?"

Luke felt a spur of determination as his idea took root, set on protecting Nakari the best that he could considering their current position. "Resistant doesn't mean invulnerable. Nakari will have a better chance of knocking them down with a slug, of course, but we can probably wound them. Just firing at them will draw Nakari's attention—and theirs—and she can pick them off while we keep them busy."

"If she has the best chance of prevailing then we should let her take it. If you will permit me an observation, there are six functioning ships back at the lagoon to steal. Our odds of surviving without stealing one are quite low."

"Bounty hunters are paranoid," Luke warned her. "They'll have identity locks on their ignition sequence and maybe even traps installed so that no one else can fly their ships."

"So? You're with the galaxy's best slicer," Drusil said, and she shrugged at his reaction. "Or one of the best, if I am being modest. Let my injudicious expression of confidence reassure rather than shock you. Get us back to the beach alive, Luke Skywalker, and I will get us a ship."

"How much time would you need?"

"If they are extraordinarily equipped, I may need as much as half an hour, no more. If a certain ship looks too difficult and we are pressed for time, however, we can simply choose another. The odds that all of them will have time-consuming security to overcome are small."

"All right, we'll head back to the lagoon. But we need to take out those Weequay first. Maybe that Rodian will have some extra weapons I can use," Luke murmured, eyeing the Rodian's fallen body and taking note of what he had, just in case.

Nakari spotted the desert-clad Weequay men as well, and then smiled in amusement and pride when Luke simply started firing.

That, of course, drove the bounty hunters to flank each other and find cover.

Nakari tracked the pair of Weequay that were harassing Luke and Drusil with her slug thrower, waiting for a clear enough shot on one of them. She kept an ear out for any alerts from Artoo, but focused on keeping the man she loved safe.

Nakari spied Drusil firing alongside Luke as the pair dodged enemy fire and moved about in combat mode, Anakin sticking to using his lightsaber to provide extra protection for the two with blasters and try and deflect some of the shots back to the bounty hunters. Nakari had to admit Drusil could shoot. And though her shots were fewer, those she did take were—predictably—well-aimed.

Nakari saw the bounty hunter get off a particularly good shot and she grit her teeth, tracking him more intently through her scope. Finally she caught movement behind a tree and bush combination.

"There you are..." she growled lowly.

Nakari gave the hunter no more time to shoot at Luke. Seconds later that bounty hunter was out of the equation after a pair of shots.

Luke silently cheered for Nakari when she hit the first Weequay bounty hunter, and moments later the second was caught in Luke and Drusil's crossfire, knocking him down for a moment to be taken out of the equation by Nakari yet again.

"Four down, two to go."

"The Aqualish will be problematic," Drusil commented. Luke's feeling from earlier strengthened noticeably, and Luke frowned.

"What Aqualish? Where?"

"The one far downhill with a grenade thrower."

A grenade thrower? Wasn't that a little overkill? It took Luke a couple of moments, but he eventually spotted the Aqualish through the trees. The bounty hunter was making his way steadily to an ideal position, but not up their hill.

He was making his way up Nakari and Artoo's hill.

Luke's feeling suddenly made so much more sense, and he was very nearly sick.

"We have to bring him down," Luke said firmly, already firing desperately at the Aqualish to stop him.

He was too far away.

"At this distance and with this number of obstructions, accuracy from a handheld blaster is difficult to achieve," Drusil commented. "We should move closer, yet keep an eye out for the last bounty hunter."

Luke didn't hesitate, rising to his feet and firing even though he knew he didn't have a clear shot. The Aqualish, however, appeared to spot his. Pointing the weapon up, the first grenade launched with a huffing sound.

"No," Luke managed to ground out, his shots coming so close but not close enough as the Aqualish fired a second one the same time the first hit and rocked the island with its concussion. Neither of them were particularly close to Nakari, but that didn't mean anything: he was simply finding his range.

Nakari had been feeling quite pleased with herself, but when Artoo twittered softly in warning, Nakari did a swift head-count and realized there were still two hunters.

She had been tracking the grenade-launcher as well, intent on protecting Luke at all costs. However, when Artoo warned her that he was shifting targets, she realized that with all her sharpshooting, Nakari had made herself the target to take out.

She cursed under her breath when the tell-tale glint of metal confirmed both her and Artoo's theories.

Nakari began shooting at the threat, and while she managed to throw him off, he got two shots off. Thankfully those were far enough away to not do her harm.

*****************************************

Anakin followed Luke and Drusil, igniting his weapon and sprinting to point to deflect blasterfire should it come at them. He spied the Aqualish and attempted to use the Force to try distracting the alien.

The being grunted and lowered his launcher long enough to send a few alarmingly powerful and accurate shots the group's way. Even with his lightsaber, Anakin couldn't do much against a projected grenade, so he hollered at his companions.

"Get down!"

The blasts hit, instantly demolishing the trees they hit, but also buying the bounty hunter time to return to his grenade launcher.

Luke saw what the bounty hunter was about to do, and terror seized him. He was helpless as he hunkered down for cover beside his father, and unable to rise lest the other bounty hunter take off his head with a clean shot. Luke stretched out a hand desperately, calling on the Force and trying to budge the two grenades the bounty hunter fired off course to protect Nakari. He felt one of them start to shift and hope started to rise in his chest...

...but it wasn't enough.

***************************************

Nakari had just relaxed, confident the Aqualish was down and out after his spat with Anakin and Luke—since she couldn't see him as well now that he had changed his position—when he launched a final pair of grenades.

Nakari spied their angle...and felt her heart wrench in terror. She sucked in a horrified breath and tried scrambling out of the way.

Artoo screeched at her, and Nakari looked over her shoulder in time to see the first bomb land, the second one tailing it like a fly to dung.

Nakari's fear took over in the following wave of shock and pain from the landing explosives.

"Luke!" she shrieked in the last second before she blacked out.

*************************************

Luke had just started to stand when he was blindsided by an intense wave of agony that drove him to his knees with a sharp gasp. After that there was no air. He heard Nakari scream his name, her voice full of pain and fear, and then she was just...gone. The place in the Force, in his heart, where she'd been a spot of warmth mere seconds ago was now a cold, empty void. Luke remained where he was on the ground, gasping, trembling, and unable to hear his two companions concerned words. He shook, realizing what that void meant.

Anger—red hot fury—rushed into that void, tinting Luke's tear-blurred vision red. His chest heaved as he started to breathe again, but it was erratic, uncontrolled, and labored. his senses in the Force were suddenly sharp, and he could sense everything around him, down to the Aqualish below as he was stalked by the Trandoshan who'd deemed him the person that needed to be eliminated first.

And Luke found himself agreeing with the Trandoshan: get the Aqualish.

Luke rose to his feet again, still trembling and breathing heavily, grip tightening on his blaster...

***********************************************

What felt like seconds later she was awake again, but a horrid ringing sounded in her ears, and she was disoriented. Nakari managed to somehow get to her hands and knees.

But when she tried crawling, her body lit like a live wire. Nakari cried out again, or at least, she thought she did. She felt the sound rip from her lungs, but beyond the incessant ringing in her hearing, she couldn't tell if it made it through the air.

Nakari stumbled as she attempted to crawl despite the agony, but her vision was fading in and out. She dimly recognized the sounds of more fighting, but it sounded warbled like it was coming from deep under water.

Her hand slipped, and Nakari tumbled with an anguished cry a few feet downhill. When she landed she was panting with exertion, her mind so dizzy she vomited.

She tried valiantly to stay awake, knowing Luke still needed help.

Luke...n-needs me...must h...help...hurts...Lu...ke...s-s-sorry...

Then the darkness claimed her, and she knew no more.

************************************************

Anakin went cold when he too sensed Nakari fade away, and he felt true fear touch his heart when Luke's presence went hot with outrage.

"Luke..." Anakin started to say as he took a cautionary step toward his son.

Luke didn't hear his father: all he heard was a ringing in his ears.

But when he reached for the Force, it wasn't warm and comforting like he was used to. This...this felt like a cold, black void that if he fell into, he'd never find his way out. He felt sick, the world spinning dangerously as he staggered, overwhelmed by a mixture of agony and fury.

Then something tickled at the back of his mind, and Luke took in a sharp breath, snapping back to reality with a painful lurch that sent him to lean against a nearby tree.

She was still alive.

But just barely.

...Lu...ke...s-s-sorry...

Luke's emotions flared dangerously again as he weaved in place, feeling like he was unable to breathe again. As she started to fade away again with Luke feeling the life slipping from her, he snapped into action, going from weaving and depending on a thin tree for support to bolting in Nakari's direction.

"Luke, wait!" Anakin cried as his son abruptly fled the scene...with the Aqualish now tracking him.

"No!" Anakin hollered, leaping out after Luke to block the heavy fire that zeroed in on Luke's form.

Anakin used his blade to not just block the blasts, but to redirect them as well, sending the fiery death back toward the bounty hunter.

The man ceased firing in order to find cover, but it was a futile gesture, since the Trandoshan—the sixth and final hunter—finished him off.

Anakin felt the Trandoshan focus on Luke for half a second before the being realized that with Luke fleeing for Nakari's position and Anakin having to follow to save his son, Drusil was essentially unprotected.

"Oh no you don't," Anakin growled, sprinting back for Drusil as he barked an order to her. "Drusil get down!"

She did just that as the final bounty hunter got off a series of shots. Anakin arrived just in time to block those blasts, and he used the Force to lift a nearby fallen log and hurl it toward the Trandoshan.

He heard a hissed curse, and then Drusil placed a hand on Anakin's arm.

"I believe I know where he is," she said pointing out a thicket of shrubbery.

"I agree," Anakin said quietly. "Can you hold him in a fire-fight long enough for me to sneak over there?"

Drusil merely hefted her blaster. "Why not just shoot him from here?"

Anakin had to admit she had a valid point. And...how could he be sure he too wasn't about to act in anger? Better to stay put and let Drusil's math do the hard work.

"Okay, let's do it your way," he said, crouching down and realizing the area was quiet, save for any sound Luke made as he rushed after Nakari.

Drusil handed him the blaster Luke had dropped when he'd gone to his knees, and together they took aim.

"You shoot just right of center," Drusil said. "I'll aim slightly right of that."

Anakin nodded. They fired in tandem and were rewarded with a pained cry before Anakin felt the life-force of the Trandoshan wink out.

Anakin sighed in relief. "It's over..." Then he recalled Luke. "Come on.''

Luke bolted towards the trail of smoke that signaled where Artoo was, knowing that Nakari would be somewhere nearby. He almost tripped several times in his blind rush to get uphill, but he still moved faster than he had in all his life, feeling Nakari's short time slipping through his fingers. Tears tracked their way down his face without his knowledge as he prayed he wouldn't be too late.

Please, Force, not her too, don't take her from me as well.

Luke burst through the shrubbery, eyes falling first on the charred and smoking Artoo. The droid gave a moan that Luke would have normally acknowledged with reassurance, but his eyes were searching frantically for Nakari, instead. He spotted a disturbance in the grass and foliage...painted in blood...a few feet downhill...where Nakari lay prone on the ground.

Slipping and sliding the entire way down, Luke dropped to his knees beside her, turning her over to see if she still had a sense of consciousness. A strangled cry escaped him to see her covered in cuts, filth, and gashes, shrapnel embedded everywhere in her body.

"Nakari, please, no, you can't do this to me," he pleaded, pulling her unresponsive body close to his chest, holding her fast in his arms. His trembling fingers ran the length of her body, taking note of her many injuries. He reached into the Force, as elusive as it was when he was so off-kilter, desperate to do something to stop the life from leaking out of her body. Her blood was gradually soaking him, but he didn't care, tears falling rapidly onto her face as he fought for enough air to speak around the raging emotions clogging his throat.

"Nakari, please, you can't leave me," Luke choked. "Not you too, please not you."

He couldn't hold himself back anymore as the dire state of her condition started to hit him full force. His body became wracked with sobs, and he buried his face in her neck, most likely smearing more of her blood over his face. "Nakari, please," he begged, the words tearing out of him in a tortured cry. "I can't lose you too, I love you!"

The words passed his lips and triggered an uncontrollable tremble, feelings and emotions rising inside of him. He cursed himself with everything still inside his bleeding heart for not saying it sooner, for waiting until it was too late. He wanted to go back to the Luke at the hotel, in the Jewel, or even on the beach and scream at him until he understood.

Tell her how you feel now Luke! Now! Don't wait! If you wait it will be too late! Don't let her die not hearing you tell her what she needed to hear!

Those thoughts built up inside him: his broken heart, his agony, his anger, his loss, all of it swelling up inside of him in a tidal wave he couldn't control. He shook from the raw emotion, water pouring down from his eyes as he raised his head to the sky and let loose a scream that echoed across the galaxy, carrying with it the bottled up emotions he'd been carrying the last few months. All his emotions poured forth from his lips, all of his pain and suffering, his agony and heartbreak, the pain from his torture, his insecurity, his doubts, the sense of failure, his loss—so much loss. It all poured forth from him in a scream that echoed across the galaxy, Nakari so close to death because he failed—to protect her, to keep her safe, to tell her he loved her—being the one thing to set everything free in one violent flood. His entire frame shook from the sound that ripped out of him, bending over Nakari like a broken man when his scream finally cracked and died in him.

He brushed the hair from her face, coated in her blood as he started a desperate attempt to heal her. His hands ran over gashes, trying to stop the flow of blood as he pulled the shrapnel from her body and tried to heal the larger, more damaging wounds with what little he knew, all the while knowing that this was his fault, his failure...

"I'm so sorry," he whispered repeatedly. "Nakari, please...don't do this...don't leave me, too..." he pled over and over with her unresponsive form.

**********************************************

Halfway up the trail, Anakin both heard and felt Luke's scream, and he staggered from the proximity and utter strength of that scream. Anakin felt his heart skip a few beats from the shock, and he had to take a moment to catch his breath. Drusil stepped closer—he could sense her fear.

"What was that? What happened?"

Anakin had tears of his own streaming down his face as he answered. "Nakari's hurt...badly. Luke, he's...grieving."

"Oh," Drusil fell silent for a moment. "I am so sorry."

Anakin simply nodded in answer. Then he sensed Luke's harried attempts to heal Nakari, and Anakin sprang back into action, leaping up the hill in Force-assisted bounds. He spied Artoo, then the blood trail, and he made a controlled slide down to Luke's side. Finally, he caught sight of Nakari limp, cut, and bloodied in Luke's arms. Luke was shakily removing smaller bits of shrapnel, and Anakin felt alarm wash through him. "Luke, no..." he started to say.

Luke jerked at the sound of Anakin's voice, having not realized that he had company. Luke placed a hand over an injury in Nakari's abdomen, working to heal her through the Force. "I-I can't heal her if the shrapnel's in the wound," Luke forced out in a trembling, cracking tone. "She won't even make it off this island if I don't!"

"Luke, if you aren't careful taking out the shrapnel, she could bleed out," Anakin warned him. "Some of these are in far too deeply."

She's already bleeding out! Luke's heart and mind screamed. He couldn't lose her, he couldn't take this loss on top of everything else! And he could feel how close she was to death already; there was hardly anything left for Luke to sense. It pushed him over the edge.

"I won't bring her to her father in a body bag!" Luke snapped, unable to help the pained cry from slipping from his lips, voice cracking at the end.

Anakin's heart clenched, and not just at the raw pain in his son's voice. The comment hit him hard...and his mind flashed back to an unsuccessful rescue on Tatooine years ago. He'd brought his mother home in a make-shift body bag that day. Anakin squeezed his eyes shut against the memories.

"I know..." he choked out. "Believe me...I know, Son."

Anakin forced his mind to operate properly, and he scooted closer to Luke, placing his hand on Nakari's forehead. He delved deeply into her being and sought out her faint presence. Once found, Anakin grabbed at it, but he wasn't familiar enough with her. He opened his eyes and held out a hand to Luke. "I need your help, Luke. Take my hand and link your presence with mine."

Luke did so without question, holding Anakin's hand within his while pulling Nakari a little closer to himself with his other arm, calling up the memories of their time spent together, of becoming closer, to make their growing bond flare to life, following the alarmingly fragile thread to where her presence weakly pulsed.

"I'm going to see if we can't 'catch her' so to speak, and you will become her anchor. If we can do that, then I'll pull back, leaving you to hold her in the Force while I do what I can to help her physically."

Luke nodded, holding tightly to Nakari's presence in the Force, faint as it was.

Once Luke had Nakari's presence in his grasp, Anakin anchored her to Luke so that she was quite literally clinging to him for dear life. He also fastidiously wrapped her presence around Luke's like a vine to a tree branch for an added measure of stability. Only when he was certain his task was complete did he start to pull away, though he didn't leave, yet. "Can you hold her from here? She is dependent entirely on you right now."

Luke nodded, gazing at Nakari lovingly as he replied, the desperation still rooted within him. "Whatever it takes," Luke told Anakin, holding her in the physical realm as tight to himself as he could without impeding Anakin's oncoming healing efforts. In regard to the plane of the Force, Luke held fast to Nakari, sending his love for her to her subconscious and making sure she truly was securely attached to his presence.

Anakin nodded and mentally retreated from the pair to focus on stopping the bleeding. He grimaced at the large task before him but didn't hesitate to set to work. Anakin began with the most offensive spots and did everything within his knowledge to staunch the flow of blood. Anakin delved as deeply into the Force as he ever had, feeling the strain on his mind and body as he worked. Anakin was violently shaking by the time he pulled away. "I got all the bleeding s-stopped," Anakin said shakily, sitting back to rest for a moment.

Luke didn't pull away from Nakari in the Force, still holding fast to her presence like it was his life on the line. Luke's breathing was still heavy, and he was still terrified that he was going to lose her, holding fast to her body with all the gentle care he could muster. Tears stung at his eyes because he knew all they had managed to do was buy her a little more time. Nakari was in need of serious medical attention.

"Thank you," he told his father shakily, starting to pull his emotions towards himself; his guilt and pain and terror, everything he'd let loose he gathered back up, trying to bottle it long enough to get Nakari to safety.

Drusil looked on in fascination as the two Jedi finally completed their task. "Incredible," she murmured in awe, "that such a thing can be done." Then she shook herself back to full attention. "Come, I will get a ship from the beach ready."

Luke gathered Nakari's limp body in his arms, trying to stand and immediately falling back to his knees on the first try. His adrenaline was gone, replaced with desperation to keep Nakari alive; but that didn't give him strength to stand. He took a few deep breaths, rising to stand again, this time successfully with great help from the Force. He trembled, but his grasp on Nakari was firm, and he swore to himself she would not fall under further harm.

She has to be all right, she has to! I will not lose her too!

Anakin stood with much more ease, keeping a hand near Luke's elbow as they made their way down the hill. Part way there he remembered someone still needed to help Artoo, and swore. Still keeping one hand free to help Luke, he used the Force to pick the damaged droid up and levitate him behind their group. The progress to the beach was relatively quick all things considered, and Drusil made swift work of one of the bounty hunters' ships so they could flying to the rendezvous point.

Luke found the small medical corner on the bounty hunter ship, lying Nakari on the bunk and looking for what he needed to stabilize her a little more. It was only a short trip to the rendezvous point, but every second counted. He stayed vigilant by her side as he gave her the oxygen mask and a few stabilizing drugs, unable to do much else since most of what she needed would be found in a proper med-bay back with the Alliance. He cleaned off quite a bit of the blood on her during their brief trip, oblivious to the fact that he was still covered in her blood, which stained his white tunic all the way through and was smeared up his arms, neck, and face. He held tight to her through the Force, monitoring her anxiously as he watched her presence fluctuate violently in the Force, threatening to slip away far too many times for comfort.

Anakin, meanwhile, took care to try and hail Major Derlin so the man didn't try shooting them out of the sky.

They were hailed with much enthusiasm and welcomed to land on another island a little ways away from the one they had crash landed on. Anakin was flying, of course, so he brought the vessel down gradually where he was directed to land, unstrapping and beating Drusil to the ramp.

"Please wait here so I can verify that Derlin hasn't been compromised," he told her as he lowered the ramp. He exited the ship warily, but though Derlin looked a little worse for wear, neither he, nor anyone else tried shooting or anything like that.

"Anakin! It's great to see you at last!" Major Derlin crowed, holding out his hand for Anakin to shake.

"Thank you, Sir." Anakin accepted the hand, verified the area in the Force, and then turned back toward the ship. "It's all clear."

Drusil bounded down the ramp at about the same time a Givin male and two children burst through the small group of Alliance personnel.

The family met in a huddle of hugs, grunts, and other strange noises that made no sense to Anakin.

He got right down to business, though, since there was a life in the balance on the ship behind him. "Sir, we need to leave as soon as possible for the fleet, Miss Kelen has been grievously wounded. She needs urgent medical care."

Derlin paled at the news. "We'll get things taken care of on land, you get to the ship."

"Will do." Anakin retreated to the small medical area where Luke and Nakari were. "Luke?"

Luke looked up from where he sat at Nakari's side, one hand holding her unresponsive hand while the other rested upon her forehead. He was utterly exhausted and emotionally drained to the point he almost felt completely empty, but he knew Nakari still needed his help. "I'm here," he said quietly, getting to his feet and moving automatically to get Nakari ready to be moved.

Anakin saw Luke struggling and stepped forward. "May I carry her? Just to get her to the ship taking us home?"

Had it been anyone else, Luke would have refused. Since it was Anakin, and Luke knew the man would understand Luke's need to remain close, he didn't protest. He stepped aside so Anakin could lift Nakari into his arms, hovering close enough that Luke's gaze never broke from Nakari. It was a chore to put one foot in front of the other, and his strength was fast waning, but he drew on the Force to at least see Nakari reach a medic, even if she wouldn't be in the medical bay she needed yet. Luke had already resolutely decided that no matter what the medics said, he wasn't going to let Nakari out of his sight. He still clung to her in the Force, terrified she was going to slip away, as she'd almost done several times.

He couldn't lose Nakari. He couldn't take it.

Anakin carried Nakari with gentle but firm care, moving slowly so as to not jostle her too much. Drusil stepped forward from talking with Major Derlin about relocation and sharing her knowledge.

"I know time is short so I will be brief: thank you so much for reuniting me with my family." Drusil looked to Nakari in Anakin's arms. "I wish her the best."

Anakin nodded. "I'm glad you're all okay. And if you need somewhere to transfer your data, you can borrow Artoo."

"Very well." Drusil bowed out and Anakin proceeded to the ship Major Derlin had used in his mission—and to better medical supplies that would hopefully keep Nakari secure until they could reach the Alliance Fleet again.