Chapter Text
“50 units of water, please.”
Luke leaned back on the counter, watching the people in the marketplace stream past. It was sweltering on Hirith Five, and he would’ve been tempted to take off his dark cloak if it wasn’t helping hide his identity. He was the best at negotiating for water for the Rebellion, astronomical bounty on his head or no; they really couldn’t afford to waste their dwindling supply of credits on water that would make everyone sick.
The shopkeep’s footsteps approached.
“1,000 Imperial credits.”
Luke’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. He whirled around to face them.
“Are you kidding me? It wasn’t even that much on Tatooine! This is robbery!”
“Hey, kid, hardly anything’s goin’ in or out with the Imperial blockade, I’ll charge what I want,” the Dug sneered.
“E chu ta,” Luke said under his breath.
“What was that?” the shopkeep asked.
“How about 800 credits?”
“1,000, take it or leave it.” The Dug crossed their arms.
“900,” Luke countered. Any credit they could save was worth it.
“One. Thousand.”
He took a breath, closing his eyes for a moment, and drew the Force around him. The lifeforms filling the planet were dizzying, and the Force spiked with danger for a moment, but he pushed those distractions aside.
Opening his eyes, he said, “800 credits is plenty.”
The Dug’s eyes glossed over. “800 is…” They snapped out of it, shaking themselves and narrowing their eyes at Luke. “What are you, a Jedi?”
“I’m just looking to buy water for my crew,” he said, trying to intimidate Han’s hard look.
“A Jedi is worth more than all the water you can buy.”
Luke bit his lip. Should he try another mind trick to make the Dug forget…? No, that would just confirm it.
He sighed, frustrated. “Look, can you sell me the water or not? Otherwise I’ll find someone else to buy from.” Act natural, and maybe greed would help them forget.
Unexpectedly, the Dug laughed. “Must be new here, Jedi. There’s no one else selling.”
They reached under the counter and Luke heard three tiny clicks in quick succession.
The Force screamed danger at him and he tensed, waiting.
He felt more than heard footsteps approaching, slow and unhurried yet thrumming with anticipation as they wove through the crowd.
Another Force user.
Kriff.
Without waiting around to find out who the shopkeep just called, he ran. The crowds were thick, but that could be used to his advantage. Luke breathed out and spread his signature as thin as he could, disguising it in the press of life all around him. Like this, it was difficult to pinpoint that other, darker signature. Hopefully that wouldn’t matter.
He slowed, blending in with the crowd.
Cold washed over the marketplace. The beings around him turned their conversations to the weather, confused as to how it changed.
Kriff, kriff, kriff, kriff…
Luke scanned the alleyways, looking for one that was open enough to let him through. He had to get out of here before that other Force signature caught up.
The cold deepened, sharp enough to cut, and he turned to look behind himself almost involuntarily. His eyes caught those of a human female wearing a dark cloak similar to his. Her eyes were bright yellow, her gaze predatory. A shiver slid down his spine.
Run, little Jedi, echoed in his mind.
Shit.
He broke through the crowd, ducking into an alleyway as the hood slipped off his head. The light blurred his vision for a moment before the shadows of the building eclipsed it. His feet splashed in a puddle he did not want to know the contents of, and his lightsaber bounced on his hip.
The cold reached out, grasping his ankle and pulling him down hard enough to knock the breath from his body. Luke sucked in air, then coughed when he breathed in dust.
Those footsteps grew near, then stopped.
“Well,” the woman said, her voice rough and low, “that was easier than I expected. I wanted a chase, little Jedi; I told you to run.”
He didn’t bother responding, instead stretching out his senses for a way out as he rose to his knees. How far away was Artoo and his ship?
His probe only reached the end of the alleyway when electricity lit up his veins.
His lungs seized, unable to draw in enough air to scream. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t move.
Somehow that was the only thought he could hold onto, that he couldn’t move, as he felt first his arms then his legs be moved and something wrapped around them. His skin tingled, buzzed more than all the lifeforms on this planet he’d felt in the Force combined.
Luke blinked, and something pressed into his stomach. The world seemed strange. He couldn’t comprehend what his eyes were seeing.
As boots clanged on a ship ramp, he finally figured it out. His view was upside down. He...was upside down.
He huffed when he was thrown on the cold metal floor in a small corner. Experimentally, he tried to move his arms, but they were tied behind his back.
“You with me, Jedi?” the woman asked, a smirk in her voice.
He blinked up at her, gaping like a fish.
“Feel that metal bit on your neck?” She held up a small remote. “This is the button for it. One push, and I can electrocute you again. Don’t try anything.”
“Where are you taking me?” he croaked, surprised at the roughness of his voice.
“Inquisitorious. Welcome to the glorious Empire, Jedi.”
She pushed something on the wall just out of his sight, and a door slid shut between them, leaving him in the dark.