Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars
And here is the next chapter. It's time for some serious Anakin action!
Have fun ;P
His throat felt like the sands of his home planet. Coldness seemed to seep out of his very pores. He could not make out his surroundings. Dark, blurred forms swam around his vision and there was this head-splitting beep. Shivering, he shook his head to get rid of it, but a sense of vertigo made him stop. Was he falling?
Groaning he recognized he was lying on a cold, hard floor. The cold felt good on his head. He shifted and lay on his back. Burred lights doubled his already pounding headache. He shut his eyes instinctively. Where was he anyway?
Taking a deep breath he tried to center himself in the force. Like greeting an old friend, he felt its soft tendrils caressing his aches. He had been in Palpatine's office, because… Padmé!
This thought rattled his whole being and everything was in his head was in order. Padmé had been in danger! His angel needed him and here he was lying on the floor. His eyes flew open and he got on all fours, trembling. He still could not see clearly. The sounds around him became coherent and he could make out a sinister chuckle.
"How splendid, that you have decided to join us, boy."
Ice clawed his heart. He knew that voice. "Palpatine." He rasped, stumbling slightly but finally getting to his feet.
"I had become rather accustomed to seeing your desperate face in my office, but I'm in need of your… talents, Anakin." Palpatine sneered while inspecting his fingernails.
Anakin was confused at this statement, but let it slide as he swayed on his feet. Looking for support he supressed his nausea. Urgh, the headache had come back with full force. "Never. You are the evil Sith! I will never bow to you. When the order hears about this, they will…"
Anakin was not able to finish his sentence, because of the bile rising in his throat. Vomiting in front of his enemy was definitely not on his to-do list today. Force, why was he so weak?
Palpatine laughed at his weakness. "Little Skywalker, don't you remember? You already told them. Mace Windu and his merry band of Jedi was as pathetic as you are right now. I killed them all and you are mine."
Eyes wide, Anakin remembered. He had been powerless against the Sith Lord. He hadn't been able to save Windu, he had lost himself in Palpatine's half truths and lost his focus, which lead to his defeat by the hands of Palpatine.
Growling, he pushed from the wall and grabbed as much power as the force could offer him for a force push, but the Sith was faster and had him choking against the wall. Instinctively his hands behand to claw at the invisible force. He couldn't breathe. His head was spinning like a crashing fighter.
"You may have turned down my offer of joining me at my side as Vader but I still have some use for you." Anakin's struggles were creasing. The force vanished around Anakin leaving him falling. He was powerless when the next wave of nausea had him vomiting. He was freezing even more as he lay shivering on the cold, cold floor. He felt so weak. Black dots swam in his vision. He was still coughing, he registered. He had lost. He was failed.
Palpatine turned away in disgust. "Get him ready for the tests."
If Anakin needed to describe the new room he was in, it would have been white. While his headache had subsided slightly, he was immensely uncomfortable. They had injected him with something and he was unable to focus on anything, including the force.
There was a mirror-like pane on one of the walls. He could not move much. The chair was made of metal. What had happened with the other Jedi anyway? A slight buzzing sound came from behind him. There was also the exit. He could not see it. Did they observe him? His hands were strapped to the chair.
Groaning Anakin laid his head on the table. Not comfortable either, his hands were still shackled to the chair, which was made out of metal. What did Palpatine want from him? The buzzing behind him turned into a swishing sound. Someone had come through the exit. He sat up again. He was uncomfortable. He blamed the drug. He blamed his failure. He had lost.
A man dressed in a white lab coat came from the exit and set a strange device on the table. He spoke into a recording device. "Test Sequence for Amplifying Energy Sources through the use of Midichlorians. Test Subject 37a. I will begin this experiment by reassessing the presumed midichlorian count of over 20,000 midichlorians per cell."
The man fit well into the white room, Anakin thought. When the man moved to take a blood sample from Anakin, Anakin shifted slightly. "What are you doing? They already tested that, you know?"
Anakin was thoroughly ignored. "Oi, I was talking to you, man in white. What's your name? Ow."
The man had taken the blood sample. "Sending the sample to the labatory." With that he left the room through the exit. The exit was behind Anakin. He was thirsty and uncomfortable. The chair was out of metal. He could not move. He needed to get out of here! He just needed to focus. The exit was right behind him. The force swivelled around him.
He wondered, if there was anyone behind that mirror glass. Of course there was, he could feel it through the force. "Hello, I'm thirsty. Could I get something to drink?"
No answer. What had he been doing again? It had been important. He had a headache and the chair was uncomfortable.
The exit swished again and the man came in with a datapad. How long had he been gone? He also put a red ball on the table. It was red and drew Anakin's gaze towards it. "The midichlorian count of subject 37a has been ascertained at 23,412 midichlorians per cell." He set the datapad down and looked at Anakin for the first time. "Subject 37a, move this ball with the force."
Confused, Anakin tore his gaze from the red, not white, ball. "You mean me?"
The man nodded. "Yes."
Anakin furrowed his brow. "What did you want me to do? Could you bring me some water? I am really thirsty and this chair is uncomfortable."
The man stayed professional. "Move the ball with the force."
Anakin blinked and nodded. "Easy." The ball hovered. Anakin smiled at his accomplishment. The chair was uncomfortable, though. He looked at his hands. They were shackled to the chair.
"Subject 37a has access to the force, yet, is unable to focus it for an extended period of time. The midichlorians are fully operational." The man noted. Anakin looked back. The red ball was lying on the table again. Shouldn't it be floating? He had a headache.
"Proceeding with the experiment."
The exit swished again. Two droids with a strange device came in. One connected it to the chair out of metal. The other put a something with lots of cables on Anakin's head.
"Brain activity is normal for these circumstances. Initiating power burst."
The strange device connected to the uncomfortable chair began humming. "Hey, what are you..." Anakin began, but had to stop, when he felt energy flowing through his cells. Gritting his teeth he tried to wriggle out of the chair, but no avail. He felt as if they were frying his insides. Grunting, he closed his eyes. He tried to summon the force, but that made the pain only worse. His cells were about to explode.
Then as suddenly as it had come, the energy was pulled from him leaving him winded and breathing heavily. His head was too heavy and the headache had grown. Before it had felt as if fire was flowing trough his veins, but now he was left with a cold emptiness. His ears were ringing he could barely make out, that the man was recording his findings again.
"… energy level has risen by 304%… Calculating needed power for planetary destruction... judging by brain activity subject can withstand needed energy level... was a success."
Anakin tried to fight the exhaustion that threatened to overwhelm him. The man gave some orders to the droids. He felt a slight pricking sensation, then everything began spinning.
He was dragged by men in white armour. Is that Rex?, Anakin wondered, but dismissed the thought. He would not be here. He was not in that room anymore! Was this a rescue? Anakin hoped so, the lack of urgency however told him otherwise. He felt humiliated, being dragged like this.
"Can... walk by... myself." He slurred, trying to get to his feet. But his guards ignored him and did not lighten their pace. Anakin stumbled after them but tripped over his own feet. In the end they dragged him through numerous hallways. He lost the contents of his stomach along the way once or twice, so by the time they had arrived at his cell the annoyed guards shoved him into it and left him on the cold floor. He was shivering, uncomfortable and felt truly exhausted. Sleep claimed him right there and then.
He didn't know how long he had been in this cell. However he had been able to keep track of his meagre meals and the injections with this stupid drug. 17 meals and 12 injections. He was frustrated since he had not been able to escape, although he was not shackled or deprived of the force. He simply could not focus the force.
Speaking of the force. It was growing more and more agitated. He knew this feeling. It was trying to warn him of something and he was sure that he had been having visions. Everytime he managed to sleep he would wake up thrashing around bathed in sweat. He was never able to remember his dreams. They just slipped through his brain as if it was a sieve.
They was also a familiar force presence nearby that he could not place. He was sure he had felt it at some point before this mess, but he simply could not place it. He blamed the drug, stripping him from a clear, focused mind.
At least his headache had weakened over the days. Plus he had found the stregth to walk on his own two feet.
"Positive thoughts are important when you are in a hopeless situation, Anakin." Anakin smiled as he remembered one of Obi-Wan's lectures. Were was his master anyway? Anakin tired to communicate through their bond, but it felt fragile as if they hadn't used it in a long time. He had not the needed concentration to reignite it, as felt his focus already stray to his tally chart he had carved into the far wall.
17 meals, he wondered how many days that meant. That would depend on how regularly he received his meals a day. Perhaps it has been a little over a week or 17 days. Anakin shrugged. He did not know. However, he would like to know when the next one was coming. He was hungry. As if on cue his stomach gurgled.
Sighing he began to pace the cell he was in. It had become one of his favourite activities since he had woken up in front of Palpatine. After some time he became distracted by a faded splodge on the floor. How did it get here?
He was tired and hungry. He should get some eyes shut. Perhaps he remembered his vision this time around.
He was awakened by the guards with a bucket of ice cold water. Sputtering, he drew in heavy breaths. A few slips of his dream had remained. Screams, heat, death... Nothing. Anakin was exhausted and wet and cold. He shook his head. What had happened again?
"Get up." A guard commanded roughly. Where had the guards come from? They really resembled his stormtroopers.
He felt the familiar injection prick his tender skin, where they had already injected him for... he glanced at the wall... 12 times. He needed to record his 13th injection on the wall. The guards stopped him.
"You are coming with us." They informed him. Well that was a first. They even secured his hands behind his back. Did they think he would run for it? As much as he wanted to, he probably would not have been able to do it. This drug really did its job.
At least they did not drag him this time. He was able to walk by himself. As the guards led him through the hallways, he felt that particular force presence coming towards him. As they rounded a corner, Anakin stopped dead in his tracks.
"Padmé." He breathed.
He could not believe his eyes. Only meters before him stood his Padmé, a prideful scowl graced her features. Behind her stood a fiery redhead, that pushed her in Anakin's direction.
His appearance confused her. She looked at him as if she did not recognise him.
He felt as if gravity had shifted. It pulled him towards her. Hands tried to hold him back, but he pushed the offenders away with the force.
"Padmé, you are okay." He felt his eyes sting. He couldn't believe it. She took an uncertain step back. Anakin felt cold. "What's wrong, Pad..."
Before he could register it, he was choking against the wall. Desperately he tried to use the force again, but he could not focus on anything else but her. He stretched his hands towards her. He needed to touch her. To ascertain that he was not hallucinating.
The redhead was furious. "You worthless troopers. Keep the prisoner under control."
"Yes, maam!" They saluted set their blasters to stun and shot Anakin. The last thing he felt that he was hitting the floor and seeing Padmé's scared, confused gaze on him.
When he awoke again, he found himself strapped to a metal block. He was standing with his feet shoulder wide apart. His arms were outspread. He could not move an inch since his feet and wrists were shackled to the block. Massive cable tubes were connected to the block and Anakin felt as if he had become a part of this whole energy circuit.
In fact, a small amount of energy was running through him right now, making him feel agitated. This felt way to similar to that time in that white, cold room.
He heard an automated voice announcing that the target was locked. Target? Anakin felt his panic rising and tried to remember what had happened in that room. They put energy through him and talked a lot about amplifying the energy source.
"… energy level has risen by 304%… Calculating needed power for planetary destruction... judging by brain activity subject can withstand needed energy level... was a success." That had been the words he remembered after that awful energy burst. His brow furrowed. Then his eyes grew wide as an idea whispered manifested.
It couldn't be true. Anakin thought. But it made so much sense.
He was their catalyst. They needed a huge amount of energy, they could not possibly create in a short time, so they needed a catalyst, which would rise the energy level to the desired level.
Why would they need so much energy so fast. It was dangerous and the only purpose Anakin could think of was...
"Launching in 60, 59,…"
… a weapon. Anakin was hyperventilating. No, he did not want to part of it. He did not want to be responsible for planetary destruction. He shuddered remembering the white man. He needed to get out of here. He began to summon the force in desperation and tugged on his restraints.
"51, 50, Initiating energy transfer."
All of the sudden he lost full control of his body and the force as masses of energy entered his body. He heard agonized screams. His head was pounding, it was too loud. Someone stop that screaming. But there was noone else here. He was the one screaming, he realized, when the energy stopped and was transferred somewhere else. Another burst came. His head was spinning. He saw black.
He blinked. It was gone. Had he lost conscious? The next energy burst came. And the next.
"18, 17..."
Anakin whimpered. His whole body was only upright because of the shackles. Why was the room spinning. He felt sick, cold and was shivering. Please make it stop! Another burst of energy.
When his head was clear again, he registered the smell of vomit and he tasted blood. He did not feel his body anymore.
"10, 9, 8..."
His mind was floating in the force. There was all this energy around him.
"7, 6, 5..."
He was part of that energy, he was one with this whole station.
"4, 3, 2..."
He felt Padmé's force signature kilometres above him. It was different from Coruscant. It felt more like a coiled sping than the calming lakes of Naboo. She was devastated and desperate about something. He wanted to help her and be by her side.
"1, …"
The agony was back again. His screams tore his throat apart. It felt as if there were millions of little bombs inside his cells. Another idea flashed through his mind. Midichlorians... It all made sense. That's why Palpatine needed him.
"0"
Anakin did not think it would have been possible, but the agony increased tenfold, hundretfolds no even more. He felt them. No, he was part of them. Every single one of them.
Screams
Where was his daddy? He clutched his plush bantha to his chest. Everyone around him was screaming. He cried. "Daddy!" And then there was..
Heat
"Cassie, duck." She curled to a small ball in the corner of their kitchen. The planet rumbled under her feet. It was so hot, she was melting. A shockwave followed next and then there was...
Death
They saw the green beam heading towards them. "Bail!" His wife screamed. He embraced her and then there was...
Nothing.
He was back in his cell. Unresponding, he had not even move an inch. He just sat there staring wide eyed at the wall. He had stopped recording the meals and injections. He wanted all of it to stop.
Because of him they had died. He had failed. He had made the launch possible that extinguished an entire planet. He and his impossibly high midichlorian count had costed billions of lifes.
I always wanted Vader to be the one to bring forth death and fear in the galaxis. You may have turned down my offer, but I turned you into that being anyway. Palpatine laughed in his mind.
The door to his cell opened again. With dead eyes he observed the guard. Probably here to force feed me again. I don't care.
"Get up."
Anakin froze. "No." He whispered hoarsely. He began shaking and crawled into the far coner of his cell.
"I said, get up, Jedi-scum." He strode to Anakin and lifted him up by his arms. Feebly, Anakin tried to get out of his grip. But it was no use. He should have eaten, he was so weak right now. He could not even put up a fight. "Not again. Please. Don't put me in there again."
The guard said nothing and dragged him through the hallways.
"Stop." Anakin whispered.
They did not stop.
"I don't want that, please." Anakin begged, as his panic was rising with every step. He looked around in panic, looking for a way out. But he was trapped, captured, broken.
"NO!" He screamed loudly.
"Shut your trap." The guard growled. "Or else we will stun you again."
The thought of electricity alone made Anakin stop. Flashbacks entered his mind.
There was Nash, who had been making supper, when he died. Riah had been visiting her old mother Utan. And Naiad, Sadon and Ava had been playing a game of hide and seek.
They all died sceaming, burning. More deaths flashed before his inner eye, as he grew more and more desperate. Then they arrived in the circulat room with the deathyl device.
His mind was blank, as they held him against that cursed block of metal.
A comlink was buzzing.
"It seems as if the Rebels are going to try something." Someone said.
Another one chuckled. "They are just pissing their pants because we set course for their base."
Anakin noticed another one at a control panel. He pressed a button and Anakin was shackled to the block again. Anakin was shaking, his breaths were uneven. "Please." He begged.
The guards looked at him and laughed. "Well, everything here is in order. Let's get out of here, before they activate the energy inputs."
They left him alone with the memories of so many deaths and the knowledge that there would be even more.
Anakin could not believe it was happening again. "Please, Force, whoever is out there. Stop this madness."
There was no response. The Force had forsaken its Chosen One. Anakin wanted to laugh at the irony. It was just like the last time. The automated voice, the pain, the energy bursts. This time Anakin tired to shut himself out. He did not want to experience billions of deaths again. Nothing there was nothing and he was nothing. He breathed in and out. He could do this.
Then he heard a deafening explosion. They had not lauched, yet. Why would there be an explosion? Reluctantly Anakin stretched his senses. There was someone nearby! This person had a strong force presence. Anakin did not dare to hope, but he focused everything he had for one message.
Help. Make it stop.
He felt reluctance from this person. Anakin's hope were already crashing but then he felt the presence coming nearer.
It was a young man. Dressed in an orange flight suit. He was wearing a pilot's helm. A pilot? The pilot was frozen, as he inspected Anakin's rugged form.
They did not have the time for that. Anakin thought as another jolt of energy passed through him leaving him even weaker than before. "Help."
The pilot was shaken out of his frozen state and was asking about the controls. Anakin directed him him to the control panel he saw the guard using before. There was hope for him and all these lifeforms that would be terminated in the next minutes.
The pilot was fiddling with the controls.
"It's asking for a password!"
Anakin's hope vanished. He felt cold again. Palpatine... That monster. With his twisted sense of humour it was probably something that Anakin hated with his whole being. Then an idea began to form in his mind. The Force was suggesting it showing him memories.
"Va... der... Try it. "
What else was there to loose? He did not know if he should feel surprised or relieved when he felt his body crashing on the cold floor. Thank the force. He was free. The people were save for now.
Coughing he tried to get up, but he was still too weak. Soon this room would explode. That pilot needed to get out of here.
Suddenly, he was up again. He was being dragged around again. First, he thought it was a guard and tried to struggle, but then he recognised the pilot. He navigated them through the rubble of a wall towards a X-Wing.
The young pilot used the Force to get them inside the cockpit. So he was a force-user? Anakin was losing conscience fast.
He noticed they were crammed into the tight space of the one seat cockpit. It was uncomfortable, but for the first time since he awoke on the Death Star, Anakin felt warm again and slipped into blissful unconsciousness.
Okay. That was it! The ending may be a little rushed, but I hope you forgive me. I was just too excited to post it!
Leave a review, if you liked it or hated it. :D
