CHAPTER FOUR- TESLA COILS LIGHT UP THE DARKNESS

SIERRA

When I open my eyes, the world is pitch black. Really, the only way I can tell that I've woken up is that my head is resting in someone's arms.

"Are you awake?" A young woman asks.

I blink a few times. "I can't see."

"It's pitch black in here, kid. Nobody can see." She pushes me into a sitting position. "What's your name? And don't tell me it's Taylor Swift." Did I detect a little mirth in that last part?

I pinch the bridge of my nose. "Sierra Bonteri. And you?"

"You know Lux Bonteri?"

"That'd be my idiot brother." I reply.

The girl pushes away. "I didn't know he had a sister."

"Yeah, he doesn't talk about me a whole lot. And you are?"

She sticks her hand out, accidentally jabbing me in the side.

"Tesla."

"Like a Tesla coil?"

"Yeah," Tesla responds. "And I don't wanna hear any wisecracks. Mind telling me your full name and traumatic backstory?"

"Exactly why am I doing that? I already told you my full name, and I don't even have a traumatic backstory."

"Listen, do you really wanna get on my bad side, considering I might be your last friend?"

"If my last friend is a spy, that would honestly suck."

"Do me a favor? Humor me."

"Fine. My full name is Sierra Bonteri."

"You have a middle name. Or probably, many middle names." Tesla scoffs.

"For your information, it's Ann." I snap.

"Traumatic backstory." Tesla orders.

"My parents died, and now I live with my brother." I offer.

"Keep going," Tesla demands.

"Um…he isn't super intelligent?"

"Right," Tesla mutters under her breath. "And next you've been abused as a child, and used like a slave, and-."

You know that saying about your mother? You can complain about your own mom all you want, but Force help the person who insults her. That applies here.

"Hey! That's my family! They would never do something like that to Lux or me!" I shout. "Why would you even say something like that?"

Tesla sighs. "Listen, I just need to think right now."

"Whatever. But if I'm getting the third degree, you are too."

"If that's what it takes, then all right. My name is Tesla. My parents are dead too, but to the best of my knowledge my brother's still alive. I've been here for since right after the rebellion…how long ago was that?"

"The rebellion? That was," I do the math. "Five months, give or take a few days."

"What? I thought it was a year, at least."

"Right. And King Dendup is on the throne, though I'm pretty sure that's a bad thing, considering where we are."

"Right. How'd you get in here?"

"I broke out of jail. How are you in here?"

Tesla doesn't answer for a few minutes.

"I can't tell you," she says. "Because I don't really know."

LUX

"Okay," Saw says as we sit at one of the tables in Hero's section. "Luckily, I came up with a contingency plan, in case something like this happened. Because I work in the militia, I have access to the arrest database."

"So?"

"So, all I have to do is turn it on, and we'll have Sierra's exact location."

"Then why haven't you done it already?" I shriek.

"Lux," Hero says. "You're going psycho. Get a grip."

Saw rolls his eyes, and pulls out his cell phone. "Okay. Hero, can I have a water, please? Let me pull this up."

A few keystrokes and Hero's return later, Saw speaks up.

"There's no Sierra Bonteri in the system."

"Try Taylor Swift." Hutch suggests.

Saw types that in. "Well, that worked. Taylor Swift is being held under the palace, on…level fifteen? What did she do, try to murder the king?" He zeroes in on his phone screen. "She's got a cellmate, but she's only listed as Jane Doe."

"So it's another girl?" I ask.

"Yeah. Hutch and Hero? Plan your escapes. We'll call you when we need you. Lux, come with me. I think it's high time Sierra and Jane Doe get to see some sunlight."

SIERRA

"Sierra?" Tesla asks. "I've heard the guards talking. They say the girl who led the rebels, Steela Gerrera, died. Is it true…did the Jedi kill her?"

I blink. "Ahsoka? Kill Steela? No, no, a thousand times no! They were friends."

"Then what happened?"

"Well, I wasn't there. But my brother was, and he says that Steela and King Dendup were standing on the cliff ledge when a gunship crashed into it. It crumbled, and then there's a little disagreement over what happened next-."

"And that is?"

Will you quit interrupting me, Tesla?

"The official story is Steela pushed the King to safety. But some sources say that the King pushed himself off the cliff at Steela's expense."

"Anyway…"

"Anyway, King Dendup was on solid ground, but Steela slid down the cliff until she finally got a handhold. My brother, Lux, tried to rescue her himself but he couldn't reach her. He started to fall, but Ahsoka caught him with the force.

"Once he was safe, she picked up Steela and started to get her on solid ground, too. Little did she know, the gunship behind her was still operational. The gun aimed, and it shot her in the shoulder."

I rest my head on my knees. "Her focus was broken. She dropped Steela. End of story."

Tesla's quiet for a while, then speaks up. "So, she didn't mean to drop her?"

"It was a freak accident. Lux says she cried for hours the night after it happened." Not that Tesla can see it, but I raise an eyebrow. "Why does it matter, anyway?"

Tesla huffs. "I just need to be alone right now. I'm going to sleep. Good night, Sierra."

"Good night, Tesla."

….

Lux swims in the stolen uniform, but it's good enough for him to pass as a guard. Saw's identification doesn't hurt, either.

They duck down the emergency stairwell and run down to level 15, flashing Saw's badge at anybody who asks. The few guards who inquire further meet the business end of Lux's Taser.

"Didn't your dad work in a prison or something?" Saw demands as he tries to get the cell door to open.

"Yes," Lux puffs. "But I never went to work with him. I always went to the Senate building with Mom."

"Well," Saw says sarcastically. "I bet you're real happy you did that."

"Shut up, Saw!"

…

When I was eight, Mom forced Dad to honor Take-Your-Children-To-Work Day. She took Lux with her to the Parliament, and I went with Dad to the palace, where he worked in the cells. Due to the nature of Dad's employment, I stayed either in his office or in the break room with his coworkers. But still, I remember the general sounds of prison.

Yelling and running are not two of them.

I feel around in the dark for Tesla's shoulder, and shake it hard. "Tesla. Tesla! Wake up! I think somebody's coming."

"What?" Tesla whispers. "Why would somebody be coming for us? You said your brother didn't see you taken, and nobody knows I'm here!"

"Why don't they? Somebody misses you."

"Sierra, I haven't been totally honest with you-."

"Saw, I found it!" Lux's voice filters through the door.

"Tesla! It's Lux and Saw!" I cheer.

"Sierra! This is important!" Tesla snaps, voice completely devoid of joy. "My name isn't Tesla!"

I turn toward the general direction of her voice. "Wha-what?"

"I'm sorry I lied to you. Lux never talked about you during the rebellion so we couldn't tell the Separatists about you if we were captured. I didn't even know he had a sister. I thought Dendup was playing mind games with me again, so I didn't-."

….

"Have you almost got the lock open?" Lux snaps.

"These things take time, Bonteri!"

…..

I stand up and step away from Tesla. "Who are you?"

"I didn't know if I could trust you."

"Quit talking in circles and tell me who you are!"

…

"There! I finally got it." Saw grumbles, and pulls open the door.

….

Light floods the cell which had never seen a candle, a torch, or a lightbulb.

Unused to light after a day here with not-Tesla, I'm blinded. Through my squinting eyes, all I can make out are three figures: Lux, Saw, and a tall, thin girl next to me.

What was I expecting? Something along the lines of Hi, Sierra! We're here to rescue you. Glad to see you're not dead!

But this is what I get.

Once the boys get the door open, they jump back as if they've seen a ghost. Saw tries to scream, but all that comes out is a strangled choking sound.

"Oh, no. Oh, this is not possible." Lux repeats over and over.

"Saw?" Tesla asks tenderly.

"T-this isn't possible. It's a trick!" Saw bleats, pointing at Tesla.

I force my eyes open all the way, still tearing up from the influx of light.

Lux's jaw is on the floor, staring next to me. Saw stands next to him, shaking and looking as if he's seen a ghost.

"It's not a trick, Saw." Tesla says, and in that moment I know. I just know, even though I've never met her, without having to look at her. "As much as it might look like it, it's not. I swear."

"How?" Lux asks. "I saw you die!"

"No," she replies. "You saw me fall. I wouldn't give Dendup the pleasure of making you watch me die."

And out into the hallway, steps Steela Gerrera.

(A/N: now, before anybody hits that review button, I'm just going to put this out there: if the Star Wars universe is able to save the lives of Darth Vader, General Grievous, and Maul, then I think they could probably do something for Steela if they really wanted to. If not, well, for nothing is impossible with fanfiction.

I did plant some clues in the story, which are as follows.

"Tesla" is a quasi-anagram of Steela's name. (It's missing an E)

"Listen, I just need to be alone." Is similar to Steela's line in "The Soft War": "Listen, I need to be alone right now."

She mentions a surviving brother.

She does not know the details of what happened on the cliff, when it appears to be public knowledge in the episode.

Thank you again to starwarshobbitfics, Kasai1214, and StarwarsRulz for your reviews. And StarwarsRulz, for guessing the cellmate correctly- I honestly did not think that was going to happen- you get another cookie (::)

In the next chapter: the craziness begins, for obvious reasons.

I'll see you all later, guys!