Disclaimer: Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, etc. belong to George Lucas. Jessica Darken and other original characters belong to the authors of this story. No money is being made off of this story.
17 Years Earlier
Lando Calrissian, Han Solo, and Princess Leia walked down the streets of Cloud City unaware of the woman following behind them. Her dark brown hair and porcelain complection was hidden by her black cloak. Her brown eyes took in every detail of the quartet in front of her. At her side was a rare antique: her lightsaber. She was the last of her kind, so to speak.
In a way, that was why she was there. Luke Skywalker, another of her "kind," would be arriving into a trap. She had to keep Skywalker from learning the truth that Darth Vader was his father. Skywalker was to most considered the last Jedi Knight, yet they were unaware of her status. But, again, her own family relations were not to be desired, either, so she remained hidden away from the world. Well, that and the fact that the Imperial bounty on her head was enough to scare anyone into suicide.
She reached out with her senses to hear what Calrissian was saying. She could feel a sudden sense of betrayal emanating from him as he spoke, "I've just made a deal that will keep the Empire out of here forever." He then opened the door in front of him.
His presence hit her before she could hear his mechanical breathing. Darth Vader! Somehow, she should have seen this, but she didn't. She took her lightsaber from her belt. Most people were running from the scene unfolding before them, but she approached it.
The quartet of Solo, Calrissian, the Wookiee, and Princess Leia vanished behind the door. Oh, she thought, you won't win that easily, Vader! She then walked up to the door, and actually smiled at stormtroopers who looked at her questioningly. My Corellian courage, she thought. And with a movement so fast that none of the troopers could detect, she drew her blaster in one hand and ignited her saber in the other. The odds weren't good, but as a Corellian, she could have cared less about the odds.
She began to fire her blaster, the force guiding each bolt to a precise target, and used her saber to one-handedly deflect the bolts coming her way. Her plan seemed so naive, but it was working. Well, working fine until a trooper set his rifle to stun. He fired at her and though she tried to block the blue arcs with her lightsaber, it didn't work. The saber shorted out, and she fell to the floor. The few remaining troopers walked over to her, the embarrassment of being defeated by a lone Jedi - a woman at that - spread over them. The trooper nearest her picked up her shorted out lightsaber. "Lord Vader," he said into his comlink, "we have a prisoner. You might be interested in her . . ."
Darth Vader stepped onto the holo projector in front of him. "My master, I contact you of a new find," he said, although he was impatient to get back to the present tortures of Captain Solo and the Princess. The image of the Emperor Palpatine appeared, filling the void of the small room. "Yes. I have foreseen this new Jedi. She must be turned and brought to me immediately."
Vader was shocked few times in his life, and this time was one of them. The Emperor knew who she was, yet he was so decided on her being turned to the Dark Side. It seemed dangerous for him to just bring her to the Emperor. And yet, did the Emperor not care about Skywalker? Was she more important than he was? More powerful even?
"Jessica Darken will be brought to me," the Emperor said again, breaking Vader's flurry of unvoiced questions. "No matter the cost."
"As you wish, my master," Vader answered back. He ended the transmission abruptly, and stalked to the holding cell where the girl was. The name kept plaguing him though. Darken, he thought, where have I heard that name before?
Jessica Darken looked around her, the dim glow of a red lightsaber catching her full attention. The mechanical breathing was present, so she assumed Vader had come to dispatch her to the Other Side like he did her parents. Yet, he said nothing as he tossed her, her lightsaber. She ignited it, her own blade casting an amethyst glow about the room. Without warning, Vader then jumped at her. She blocked his blow with enough force that it sent him stumbling back a step. She was more powerful than he had thought. He attacked again, and she blocked again. Her careful movements were those only of blocking his attacking force. At the rate they were going, Vader realized, it would take some before anyone would emerge victorious. And yet, Skywalker would be arriving soon, and he still had to put Captain Solo in carbon freeze. Well, maybe a few choice words will help, he thought. "Give yourself to the Dark Side. Anything you want, you can have. Power, beauty, everything you crave. All you have to do is give yourself to the Dark Side."
Through gasping breaths, she laughed at him. "Never!" she yelled out. "Hate to disappoint you, but I will never turn." But yet, if the tides didn't turn soon, she knew she would have to give in.
"Brave words," Vader called back. "I look forward to cramming them down your throat!" He would turn her no matter the cost, just like the Emperor ordered.
Suddenly, a slight tremble in the Force touched her. It was Skywalker! He wasn't there at Cloud City yet, but he was near. Perhaps he had just dropped out of hyperspace, but whatever it was, she knew she had little time left. Her Force grip was shattered at her distraction, and she fought to regain it. Taking advantage of her weak concentration, Vader to the moment to cripple her. He gathered the Force, digging deep into the Dark Side. He then pulled with the Force, and threw debris from the room at her. From all sides, pieces of machinery, sections of command controls hit her. A piece caught her just right and caused her vision to blur. Lightheaded, she fell to the floor, her saber falling from her hand. It was over in just that brief moment, and she knew she had lost.
Vader stood over her like an omniscient shadow. She finally stood when she regained her sense of balance, although the blur in her vision was still present. Vader stared directly into her eyes through his helmet. He could see the defeat there and knew he had won. Wordlessly, she bowed down in front of him, all the time hearing what her mother had told her, something that all Jedi knew: "Once you start down the Dark Path, forever will it dominate your destiny."
