Chapter Text
He was so exhausted, just so tired. His throat burned from his screams as he lay there, thinking back to the start of all of this.
The plan had been going so well. They had gotten to the moon, and even managed to get allies- no matter how short- in the ewoks. He had also told his sister, Leia, the truth of their relationship.
Now, as he was curled up here, he was doubting he would ever even get to see her again. He let out a silent sob as he realized he didn’t even know if she was still alive. Afterall, he didn’t even know how long he had been here, curled up in this abandoned shelter on this dust filled moon. He didn’t even know how long it had been since the man was here.
He felt that he should know the man’s name, felt that they had some relation in another life. But after so long alone, he could barely remember his friend’s names, let alone his own. He decided it only made sense that he couldn’t remember the name of a man he hadn’t seen in… Days? Months? Surely not years.
His stomach growled in protest as he shifted to a better position for his wounds. He hadn’t eaten or drank in so long. Longer than the man had been gone. Afterall, it was hard to get food and water on a deserted dusty moon. He was ashamed to admit that because of this fact, he had to turn to the darker parts of the force to keep him alive.
He remembered the last time the man visited, he had been delighted to see how his eyes had shifted, stating that he would finally give in and join him on the throne. He had been so angry when Luke had denied him, which is how he ended up with his current wounds.
Luke! That must be his name! But… that didn’t feel entirely right. Perhaps a nickname? If so, for what? Most likely something similar. Luke… Lucas? No, though that felt closer. Lucas… Lucas… Lukka! Lukka Ekkreth! Now he remembered! Though he was referred to as Luke Skywalker in Basic.
This revelation brought back a whole slew of memories. Tears came streaming down from his eyes at the flood of images and scenes. As his mind landed on one, he let out another sob, no. That couldn’t be true. It couldn’t. The man… his father wouldn’t do this to him, would he? Yet, why did it feel so true?
Desperately, he reached out in the force to the bond he felt with his sister, maniacally hoping for help, love, anything. All he got was a disgusted rejection, as if he was a foreign person.
With a despaired scream, he released his hold on the force, allowing a shockwave to burst from him, his last thought being a desperate plea that this would be the last of his suffering, before it all went black.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Lukka came to, he slowly opened his eyes, letting out a silent gasp at the view in front of him. Light poured into his vision as he took in the meadow surrounding him.The field of grass and flowers was soft under him as he lay there, taking it all in. He was not yet confident that he would be able to support himself if he tried to sit, not to mention standing.
His view turned upwards, the blue sky peaking through as rain clouds opened up above him, rain sprinkling his body. All he could do was silently laugh and think that he must be dead. Afterall, only the afterlife could ever truly be this amazing.
These thoughts were dismayed when he suddenly felt a presence approaching through the force, followed by the sound of marching feet. The presence was bright, so bright, and it enveloped Lukka in a warmth he had not felt in a long time. He knew that this person was not purposefully doing this, otherwise they would have felt his presence and shied away in disgust.
Because of this, he kept his own presence locked tightly, content with basking in the warmth while it was still there. He knew that it would inevitably disappear once he was found, as the person was heading straight towards him.
He closed his eyes once he heard the marching stop abruptly, hoping it would help keep the warmth for a little longer. He already knew that this presence could only be a powerful Light force user, but could not understand how this could be. He thought all but a few had died. For one to be alive, nonetheless have what sounded like an army backing them? It was unheard of.
Either way, at this point, it did not truly matter. If a Light user truly had found him, he would not be around for long enough to know what happened to this person.
He heard rustling as the army parted, presumably to let the force user through. Lukka relaxed with a smile, tears streaming down his face, tears he could not afford to lose, not that it mattered now, at the end. The end of his suffering, and hopefully the end of the Sith that plagued his family line. His father could not live forever, right?
The figure slowed to a stop, before crouching beside him. He could feel as it slowly took in his tattered, torn, rust colored rags, and decided to open his eyes. This person deserved to know what monster they were truly looking at in order to give him a deserved death, did they not?
The man visibly flinched back as his brown eyes landed on Lukka’s right eye, before shifting to his left and becoming confused. The man reached down, and Lukka froze, expecting the strike that was sure to come. But no such thing happened. Instead, he felt a hand slowly swipe away the tears on his cheek and smooth his hair from his eyes.
“Oh, child.” The man said in a deep, baritone voice. “What did they do to you?” This only elicited another silent sob from him, as the weight of what had happened came crashing down on him once more.
The man only looked down on him with a deep sadness, before he leaned down farther, scooping Lukka up as if he weighed nothing, which probably wasn’t far from the truth.
“Commander.” He spoke as he slowly stood, careful not to jostle any of his injuries.”Order all troops back to the ships, and have medbay ready. Make sure they know that we are receiving a first priority patient. I feel we are quite lucky that you were found so close to our landing point, youngling.” The last part was whispered, so only he would hear. As his eyes slowly drifted shut, he felt an insistent tapping on his cheek.
“I apologize youngling, but I am afraid that it is imperative that you stay awake, at least until we reach the ships. We are almost there, but in the meantime, perhaps enlighten me on your name, if possible?” The darker skinned man asked in an obvious attempt to keep him awake. Lukka opened his mouth, but none of the Basic pronunciations would come out. Frustrated, he realized that his mother tongue may be his only option in this situation.
“L-L… Lukka. Eh-Ehk… Ekkreth.” He gets it out, panting as he does so. He couldn’t remember how long it had been since he had last spoken. “That is a great name, Lukka. That means freedom in Amatakka, correct?” At the boy’s small nod, his eyes soften considerably. “We have another who speaks it in our ranks, so the older ones among us have picked some of it up. My name is Mace Windu.”
By this time, they had arrived at the ships, and as they approached the largest one, he saw people rushing out, a hover stretcher in between them.
“Master Windu!” One of the blurred shapes, presumably people, called out. “Get him onto here, quickly!” As he was placed onto the stretcher he smiled once more, relaxing into sleep as his eyes slowly closed.