chapter five

THE LIGHT RUMBLING OF the Millennium Falcon was the only source of sound within the silent main hold. The floorboards trembled slightly from the impact of light speed, yet it was oddly comforting.

It wasn't often that Amora got the opportunity to lounge around with nothing to do. She was a rebel commander. Lives depended on her every day. Even now, as she travelled to Alderaan, lives depended on her. Sitting around doing nothing just felt unsettling.

That's why she found herself busy making repairs on Artoo. The droid had powered off about ten minutes ago in order to be worked on, all while Threepio chattered away. And after about nine minutes of his storytelling and Amora's insistence that she didn't need to hear, he finally powered off as well. Amora sighed in relief after he did so.

That left her and Luke, who she could very obviously feel staring at her. It was funny, really. She could practically feel his excitement and wonder struggling to stay contained.

Amora bit her tongue as she began to fasten a particularly loose bolt. "Y'know I can feel you staring, farm boy?"

A beat of silence caused her to smile softly, turning around to face the flushed boy.

"Well, I mean, I didn't-" he stuttered out.

She laughed softly while walking over to join his side. "No, no, it's fine. But I know you wanna say something, so just say it."

He stared at her for a moment before responding. "It's just... you're a rebel commander! What's it like? What were you doing in a place like Tatooine?!"

His eyes twinkled with wonder and amazement as he spoke, clearly new to the world of the rebellion. He didn't know anything about it. He was just excited.

Amora couldn't help but be slightly jealous of the boy. He lived his whole life in solitude from the war, and even as he's thrust into it now, he just has so much hope. He finds the excitement in the mundane. It's like he doesn't understand the true sacrifices of war.

Yet despite his ignorance, there was something so entrancing about his optimism. He practically glowed with elation. He made Amora happier just by standing near him, even if she didn't know him. And because of that, she didn't want to rain on his parade.

"Well, we travel to many different planets," she started cautiously, as if speaking to a child. "And we fight in battle a lot."

She paused, not wanting to mention the horrors of war. He didn't need to hear that. But at the same time, he did need to. She had to let him know what he was stepping into. He stared at her in wonder. She gulped.

"But there's also a lot of death," she explained, looking down while choosing her words carefully. "Way too much. I've seen more losses than I can count. It's... a very hard life."

She looked back up with a smile, trying to change the tone by brushing her words aside.

"But to answer your question, I crash landed in an escape pod with the droids. But I wanna know what you're doing here."

She was still curious about the boy. Why would Obi-Wan bring along a random farmer to become a Jedi? And why was he so willing to give up everything and go? He looked down, seeming unsatisfied by her depressing answer.

But before he could respond, Obi-Wan emerged from the corridor, holding a round object. He walked across the room slowly to a seat by a control panel.

"That was easily the worst I've slept in years," he mumbled, not acknowledging the two.

Amora cleared her throat awkwardly, pushing herself up from her seat.

"It might be best to start your training now, Luke," Obi-Wan suggested.

She headed over to a chair next to the older man while Luke walked over to the middle of the room. He unclipped the lightsaber from his utility belt and Obi-Wan sent the training ball into the air, ready to shoot random lasers at the boy.

After a few minutes of Luke's training, Chewbacca strolled into the main hold, looking for some entertainment from their guests. He patted Amora on the shoulder, who looked up at him in curiosity.

He growled something, to which Amora responded with a polite smile.

"Uh, I can't understand you!"

The Wookiee didn't seem to mind. He guided her over to a table, Amora following blindly. He hit a button on the table, causing it to light up with many holographic images.

"Oh, you guys have a Dejarik board?" she gasped happily.

Chewbacca roared back with the same enthusiasm.

"Well, why don't we power the droids back up and play? Wanna be on my team?"

He responded with the happiest roar she'd heard from him.

She laughed as she went over to the droids to turn them on. They were pleasantly surprised when she did, and went along with the game nicely.

They played for a few minutes before Amora's focus was broken by Luke's voice.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he hurriedly approached Obi-Wan. "What's wrong?"

The man was seated by a control panel, clutching his chest in pain.

"I felt a great disturbance in the force," he started solemnly. "Like millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced."

Amora felt her body tense under these words, her breath hitching in her throat.

The Force.

She averted her gaze from Obi-Wan to the game in front of her as she placed her hands in her lap.

Millions. Dead. Probably because of the Empire.

She swallowed thickly and blinked hard.

But there's no point weeping about it. They're already gone.

"I fear something terrible has happened."

From her years of experience with the rebel alliance, Amora had seen far more death than a girl her age should. Too many people were just okay with throwing their lives away for the cause. At some point, she realized that the vulnerability that came with grieving just wasn't worth the effort. It was much easier to pretend like all these deaths were normal, like they didn't mean anything. She had to be the support for those who did choose to grieve. That's what a leader does.

She glanced up at Obi-Wan, who stared out in a daze.

"You better get on with your exercises." he told Luke as he snapped back to reality.

Luke placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before turning to walk back across the room. His gaze drifted over to Amora, who watched their interaction with neutral eyes. She seemed impartial to the situation, as if she didn't understand the gravity behind his words. But after their conversation, Luke realized that Amora understood just a little too much.

"Well, you can forget your troubles with those imperial slugs!" Han boasted as he entered the room. "I told you I'd outrun 'em!"

Luke picked up his lightsaber and ignited it, ignoring his comment.

Amora placed her attention back onto the game of Dejarik with a tick in her jaw. She probably would be appreciative towards Han's piloting skills if it wasn't for his cocky attitude.

She heard Luke dodge a few laser blasts as she pointed out a move for Chewbacca to make.

"Don't everybody thank me at once."

Chewbacca growled at Amora in appreciation. She turned in her seat to face Han with a raised eyebrow, poignantly ignoring his words.

"Anyway, we should be at Alderaan in about oh-two-hundred hours." Han spoke with a slight glare at the girl.

She feigned an innocent look and turned back to the game. Artoo beeped to Threepio as Chewbacca made his move, discussing their strategy in a tongue she couldn't understand.
Chewbacca's hologram pushed forward.

"Now, be careful Artoo!" Threepio advised the droid.

"Oh, so you're scared we might win?" Amora teased the droid with a wiggle of her finger.

"Of course not!" he defended. "Artoo is extremely intelligent."

Amora hummed in amusement at his response.

Artoo reached out a claw to tap a button on the side of the game board, sending his hologram forward into battle. It attacked Chewbacca's piece, taking it down viciously. The Wookiee roared in anger at the play.

"Hey, hey, big guy," Amora tried to calm him down with a gentle pat on the arm. "We'll get 'em next time!"

"He made a fair move," Threepio insisted. "Screaming about it can't help you."

Chewbacca didn't relax.

"Let him have it," Han cut in. "It's not wise to upset a Wookiee."

Despite his smug arrogance, Amora seemed to agree with everything he said.

"But sir! No one worries about upsetting a droid!"

"That's 'cause a droid don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose."

Threepio whirled around to face Chewbacca, the fear evident on his emotionless face. Chewbacca leaned back with his arms behind his head, relishing in the attention.

"Wookiees are known to do that."

Threepio fidgeted as he turned back to Han.

"I see your point, sir."

"Hey Artoo," Amora started as she leaned forward against the table with a smirk. "I got a new strategy for ya. Let the Wookiee win."

Chewbacca growled in agreement.

She stared at the board for a moment before spotting a move. She tapped Chewbacca on the arm, who leaned down to hear her idea. She pointed toward the piece in mind, smiling victoriously as he pressed the button to make the move.

"Remember, a Jedi can feel the force flowing through him."

Amora peered curiously over at Obi-Wan, who was watching Luke intently. She turned to do the same. He stood in the center of the room with his lightsaber, completely focused on the ball in front of him. The hum of the blade carried lightly throughout the room, blending in with the background noise so much that she barely noticed it before.

"You mean it controls your actions?" Luke asked, engrossed by the ball's movements.

"Partially. But it also obeys your commands."

It was amazing, really. The ability to utilize the Force to your whim, allowing it to protect you from physical matter. She believed in the Force, of course, but it was different to see it in action. She couldn't even imagine what Luke thought of the concept. He just seemed to be a boy with ambitions far greater than farm life. And now, here he was, training his new powers to take on the Empire as he toured through space.

Amora stood up from her seat, whispering to Chewbacca to finish the game without her, and moved to a seat near Obi-Wan. The group focused their attention on Luke as he attempted to deflect a laser, but failed terribly. It hit him in the leg, causing him to yelp in pain. Amora cringed at the mistake, but Han let out a hearty laugh. She looked over at him in disgust, wondering how he found Luke's pain to be so funny.

"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."

Amora rolled her eyes while Luke withdrew his lightsaber, annoyed at Han's pessimism.

"You don't believe in the Force, do you?" he confronted the man.

"Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other," Han explained with a skeptical shake of his head. "I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe that there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. There's no mystical energy field controlling my destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense."

Amora stared at the man for a beat after he finished his speech.

He wasn't wrong. It wasn't surprising that a smuggler like him had no experience with the Force. To be fair, Amora probably wouldn't believe in it unless her parents raised her on the faith. He had no reason to believe in it. It was saddening to her.

"I suggest you try it again, Luke." Obi-Wan spoke wisely. He stood from his seat and grabbed a helmet off of a rack, approaching him confidently.

"This time, let go of your conscious self," he advised while placing the helmet on Luke's head. "And act on instinct."

Amora furrowed her eyebrows at the action. She'd heard stories of the Jedi using the Force to aid them in battle, to control their actions, but Luke was no Jedi. It would be impossible for him to actually do it now.

He laughed skeptically, probably thinking the same thing as Amora. "With the blast shield down, I can't even see! How am I supposed to fight?"

"Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them."

Luke took a deep breath as he pressed the button on the lightsaber, the blue blade sprouting out from the hilt. Taking a defensive stance, he awaited the lasers from the floating ball. Yet only seconds later, he was hit painfully in the shoulder, jumping back with a hiss at the feeling.

Amora placed her chin on her hand with a frown. He clearly couldn't do it. She didn't understand why Obi-Wan would try so soon.

"Stretch out with your feelings."

Luke lifted the lightsaber once more and awaited the blasts. Only this time, the lasers didn't make contact. His blade glided through the air, swiftly avoiding three blasts in under a second.

Amora felt her eyes widen in shock. He shouldn't have been able to do that! She blinked as she stared at Luke blankly, in total awe of his skills. Needless to say, she was impressed.

"See? You can do it." Obi-Wan complimented.

She stayed silent, still wonderstruck by his abilities. Luke removed his helmet and glanced over to Amora for her opinion.

"I call it luck." Han scoffed from his spot at the control panel. She snapped her head over to Han in astonishment.

How could he call that luck?

"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck." Obi-Wan shot back. Amora fought back a smile at his retort.

"Look, good against remotes in one thing," Han spoke with a smirk. "Good against the living? That's something else."

Amora opened her mouth to speak her mind to Han, but was cut off by a beeping sound from the control panel.

"Looks like we're coming up on Alderaan." Han informed while heading off to the cockpit. Chewbacca followed behind him.

Luke approached Obi-Wan as Amora rose from her seat. "You know, I did feel something. I could almost see the remote."

"That's good," Obi-Wan complimented, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You've taken your first step into a larger world."

Giving one last smile, he turned around to follow the two pilots into the cockpit, leaving Luke staring at Amora with hopeful eyes. She wasn't like anyone he'd ever met, and he found himself desperately wanting to impress her. He wanted her approval.

She met his sparkling eyes and nodded in respect. "That wasn't nearly as bad as I expected, farm boy."

She headed off to the cockpit before she could see his reaction, leaving a flustered, blushing Luke in her wake.

Not nearly as bad as she expected.

That was good enough for him.

~ ☼ ~

author's note -

hello! how's it going? i wanted to add more to this chapter but it got way too long, so i'll add it in later! also, i keep getting nervous that i might be accidentally copying someone else's book. if there's similar stuff, it's not intentional at all. i've had these scene ideas for a long time now and am not trying to steal anyone else's work. please tell me if you think so. but anyways, i hope you liked this chapter! don't forget to vote and comment! until next time! :)