The prison cell Odin's engineers have constructed lies within an existing prison on the underside of Asgard. Carved deep into living rock much like the Armory, the prison has no windows and is lit by some kind of recessed lighting network. Though bright, the prison still has a gloomy feel to it. As they walk by a row of empty cells, Anara notices that most are fronted with some kind of force field. Judging from the energy signature, the field is powerful, though it would not contain her sister. She could easily disrupt the field with Force-lightening and walk right out.
The cell built for Darth Daeva is at the end of the long hallway and is remarkably different. A transparent wall with no discernible door has replaced the force field. Visible through the clear wall are a set of posts on the floor about 4 feet apart. Thor looks to Anara as they approach, and she nods grimly to him. The engineers have listened well and appear to have been able to create the holding system she detailed for them. However, the true test is still to come.
Thor holds the back of his bracer up to a panel embedded in the rock to the right of the clear wall. The panel lights up, showing a series of runes. Thor presses two in the upper right corner of the panel and a portion of the wall slides into the rock, leaving a 6-foot doorway.
"Impressive." Anara notes as she walks into the cell.
Thor follows her in. "Only the energy signature of a Companion's armor can open the lock, and the position of the rune keys changes every time the panel is accessed," he tells her as she bends down to examine one of the posts in the floor. Seemingly simple black metallic posts, she knows they're much more than that.
"And the energy shackles?" she asks as she stands and does a slow circuit around the cell.
"Activated from the panel outside." Thor tells her.
Anara sees a long, 7-foot cut in the back of the cell wall and finds a button near one edge, about a foot above it. She presses the button, and a slab of rock slides out from the wall, forming a platform, presumably to sleep on. She pulls at the slab with the Force and finds it unmovable. Nodding to herself, she presses the button again, and the slab slides back into the wall. She finds similar buttons and slide-out accessories for a table, and a toilet and small sink. All pass her inspection as being unmovable.
Turning back to Thor, she asks, "And food? How is that delivered?"
"There's a button on the panel that will open a small door large enough only for a tray of food. I'll show you which one when we're done with the test."
Just then, a tall man with long blonde hair and a full beard comes down the hallway. "Well met, Thor!" he says as they clasp forearms.
"And you, Fulthark," Thor replies.
Fulthark, Odin's lead engineer, looks into the cell. "Greetings, my lady. I trust your trip to Midgard went well?"
"Yes, thank you, Fulthark."
"Good! I trust your initial inspection finds everything to your liking?" he asks.
"Yes, so far. Tell me, what's the clear wall constructed of? It gives off an energy signature, but looks like transparasteel."
Fulthark joins her inside while Thor remains near the access panel.
"Well, my lady, from the outside, it's as solid as a pane of glass, but to the one on the inside, it's a nasty little piece of work."
He nods to Thor who presses another rune on the panel and the "door" slides out of the wall, again forming a seamless piece. "Let me show you."
Fulthark takes a small dagger from his belt and tosses it at the wall. The dagger hits the wall and is thrown back into the cell with a loud pop and a shower of sparks. Anara looks at the dagger on the floor and sees scorch marks on the blade. She approaches the wall slowly with her hand out.
"I wouldn't do that, my lady. You're bound to get one nasty shock." Fulthark warns her.
She looks back at him, her face grim. "My sister and I are used to nasty shocks, Fulthark. I need to make sure this goes beyond nasty."
She ignores the pleading look in Thor's eyes as she gets closer to the cell wall. As her hand gets within an inch of the clear wall, she can feel the energy of the force field start to repel her. She pushes her hand closer and the energy intensifies, creating a painful buzzing in her hand. She backs off for a moment and closes her eyes. Drawing on the dark side, she creates an energy bubble around her hand. She opens her eyes and approaches the wall again, this time her hand sheathed in a glowing blue ball of energy. She pushes her hand to the point where it began to buzz the first time and feels nothing. Pushing her hand closer, she finally touches the wall. A thunder clap rocks the room, and Anara finds herself thrown across the cell to land hard against the back wall.
Fulthark rushes to her as Thor enters the room, calling out to her.
"Anara! Are you alright?"
She shakes her head to rid her ears of the ringing and holds her hand out to Fulthark who pulls her up just as Thor reaches them and takes her other hand, looking for damage.
"I'm fine," she says as she pulls her hand from Thor's grip and looks at it herself. The skin on her palm is red and a little sore, but the energy bubble protected it from the worst of the backlash. She gives a reassuring glance to Thor before addressing Fulthark.
"Well done, Fulthark. My sister will beat herself half to death before she's able to get through that. Now, let's test the restraints."
Thor takes her by the shoulders and turns her towards him, taking her chin in his hand to make her look at him.
"Anara, are you sure you're alright? You hit the wall pretty hard."
She can hear the concern in his voice and tries to reassure him. "I ate the apple, remember? I don't even feel bruised."
She holds her injured hand up to him to show him the now unblemished skin. "Look, my hand is already healed. The restraints are not meant to hurt, only to hold. I'll do myself no harm in testing them. Unless you've added some surprises I don't know about?"
Thor shakes his head no and clutches her to him, kissing her hard. Through the passion of his kiss, she can feel his relief that she's ok. She returns the kiss for a moment and then gently pushes away.
"Come, let us finish this. It's been a long few days, and I'd like to find a flagon of mead and then my bed," she says suggestively to Thor.
He smiles, and taking her hand, leads her to stand in between the metal posts on the floor. Fulthark comes to stand before her as Thor takes up his station by the outside panel.
"I need you to remove your armor, my lady, and put these on," Fulthark says somewhat apologetically as he produces a set of wrist and leg cuffs.
About 3 inches wide, the smooth, dull silver bands look seamless except for a small knob on the outside. Anara nods and removes her bracelets, setting them outside the right post. Bending down, she unbuckles her shin guards and places them on top of her bracelets.
"I'm ready."
Futhark hands her the leg cuffs, pressing the knob to open them before handing each one to her. She places one around her ankle and snaps it shut. Doing the same with the other leg cuff and both wrist cuffs, she then returns to her place between the posts.
"I am concerned about the opening mechanism. It should be easy for me to open the cuffs with the Force," she says as Fulthark takes a step back and signals to Thor, who keys another set of runes.
"Thor mentioned that, so we designed the mechanism to retreat inside the cuff when the energy field activates. Anara hears the buzz of electricity just before she feels herself being pushed off the floor and her arms pulled down by her sides, slightly in front of her body. She tries to move around, but her arms won't move toward or away from each other, nor can she reach out more than a few inches in front of her. Her legs are more firmly locked in position. She tries to bend down, reaching for her ankles, but an opposing force prevents her from doing more than nodding her head or shrugging her shoulders. Trying a different tactic, she attempts to raise her knees to her chest but encounters the same opposing force and is only able to bend her knees a mere inch.
"Well done, Master Engineer. Your tolerances are better than even the Empire's."
Thor moves to deactivate the restraints, but Anara stops him, saying, "No, Thor, I'm not done yet. I must still test the opening catch on the cuffs."
Looking down at Fulthark, she asks, "What will happen if I open the cuffs while the energy field is activated?"
Fulthark strokes his mustache for a moment, thinking. "I'm not sure, my lady. We did not anticipate that your sister would be able to do such a thing once the mechanism was inside the cuff."
"Then I would suggest you leave the cell – for your safety."
Fulthark raises an eyebrow but says nothing. He collects Anara's armor bracelets and shin guards and leaves the cell. The door closes behind him, leaving Anara sealed inside.
Closing her eyes, she uses the Force to examine the cuff on her left wrist. It takes her several minutes, but she's finally able to detect a tiny depression where the knob once protruded. She pushes at the depression, testing for any weakness in the metal. She can sense the locking mechanism underneath it, but the energy field interferes just enough with the Force to prevent her from tampering with it. She moves on to the other cuffs, finding the same depression easily now that she knows what to look for. Seeing no easy way to open the cuffs, she changes her tack, focusing on the energy field holding her a foot off the floor. Its resonance feels familiar but it takes her just a moment to figure out why. When she does, the memory hits her like a blaster bolt to the chest.
The rock walls melt away, assuming the appearance of dull grey metal. The clear wall in front of her becomes transparasteel gridded with inch diameter holes, and the screaming of her sister assaults her ears as Darth Demonus stands in front of her, laughing. Overcome by rage, Anara's mental walls crumble and she embraces the energy of the dark side, letting it pool inside her as Darth Demonus eggs her on.
"Yes, that's it. Feel the rage inside you, embrace it and feel power like you've never felt before!"
Anara continues to let the dark energy build up inside her, biding her time. She closes her eyes, trying to block out her sister's screams. Finally she can take no more, and she unleashes all of the stored energy, sending it out in an expanding ball of Force- lightning.
The cuffs shatter, and she falls to the floor, weeping. She hears an alarm sound briefly through the ringing in her ears and feels strong arms pick her up. Eyes filled with tears and her mind still seeing the Imperial cell, she fights against the arms holding her, trying to push away.
"Anara! Anara! It's me, Thor. You're alright. Anara!" Thor shakes her, still calling her name. "By Odin, woman, quit fighting me!" Thor yells at her as she continues to struggle.
Holding her wrists in one hand, he slaps her, hard. The pain snaps her out of the nightmare, and she stares at Thor, finally seeing him. He sees recognition return to her eyes and pulls her into a crushing embrace, whispering into her hair, "By my father, Anara, you gave me a fright."
Attempting to control her sobs, she clings to Thor, unable to say anything as she fights back the terror of old memories. Thor continues to hold her as she fights to regain control. It takes her some time, but she finally masters herself and after taking several deep breaths, is able to step back from Thor, her Jedi mask back in place, on the surface at least.
She takes Thor's hand to hide the shaking of her own and turns around to survey the cell. The cuffs lie shattered in smoking pieces on the floor and imbedded in the walls. The two metal posts are partially melted and the walls are traced in an elaborate pattern of scorch marks. Fulthark kneels beside one of the melted posts, examining it.
Seeing she's recovered, he asks, "How did you do that, my lady?"
"The energy frequency was wrong or maybe it was right," she replies, somewhat surprised her voice isn't quavering.
Fulthark raises an eyebrow in question.
"It was the exact frequency of the restraints the Empire used to hold my sister and me. It took us a long time, but we were able to figure out how to break free by overloading the system. If she recognizes the resonance like I did, she'll be able to disable them even faster than I did."
Fulthark stands and considers her for a moment. "Then we'll have to change the frequency. Was that the only failure in the system?"
"Yes. The energy field was enough of a barrier that I could not reach the locking mechanism. In time, even with a different frequency, Daeva will be able to break free of the restraints, but I hope by then, we will no longer need them."
Fulthark nods, handing her bracelets back to her.
"I will take my leave then. It appears I have more work to do."
Thor nods to him and waits for him to leave before taking Anara into his arms once more. "What happened to you? I watched you change, as if you'd been overcome by some underworld demon. It is a sight I hope I never see again."
Anara buries her head into his shoulder, unwilling to answer – unwilling to face her own demons. Thor strokes her hair for a moment before taking her shoulders and pushing her away so he can look into her eyes.
"Please, Anara, tell me what happened."
"Not here. Take me to the gardens where it's light and there are no walls, she says, fighting to keep the tremor out of her voice.
Thor takes her hand and leads her out of the prison. Once they are outside, he spins up Mjölnir and clutching her tightly to his chest, takes off for the palace gardens.
They land lightly in the center of one of the garden's large lawns. A quarter of a mile wide and half a mile long, the lawn is occasionally used for impromptu horse races, but today only Thor and Anara tread over the bright green grass. Tall trees line the edges, offering some privacy from the surrounding gardens while still lending a feeling of open space.
Thor leads Anara to a nearby bench and holding her hand in both of his, asks again, "What happened?"
Anara meets Thor's gaze, hoping she doesn't look as haunted as she feels.
"When I recognized the frequency of the energy field, I had a flashback to when my sister and I were prisoners of Darth Demonus." Turning to look out over the lawn, she takes a deep breath before continuing. "Zaina was in the adjacent cell, being tortured by a Nightsister – one of Demonus' acolytes who specialized in such things. She was a nasty creature who genuinely enjoyed giving pain, and she was having a good time with my sister. I was helpless in my cell, held much like I was today, as Darth Demonus tried to pull me to the dark side. My sister's torture went on for hours until I gave in to my rage, and Demonus was satisfied with my "progress"." She turns back to face Thor, knowing the shame of that memory shows in her eyes.
"The only difference between then and now is that I fully fell over to dark side in that cell you crafted for my sister. That was what you saw come over me, what gave me the power to destroy the restraints. That is but a small taste of what we could face if my sister ever makes it to this realm."
Unable to stay still, Anara gets up and starts walking across the manicured grass. Thor, unwilling to let go of her hand, follows her.
"I fear I do not like when the dark side takes you, my love. It is an ugly thing," he tells her gently.
"Yes, it is in some ways. Uncontrolled, like it was today, it can take over a person, change them into something hateful and uncaring. But it has its uses too. My family has always struggled against the lure of the dark side. Many have succumbed, but others too have found their way back, like I did."
She stops, turning to Thor, unable to hide the tears falling from her eyes as she says, "Z was so close to coming back. I never should have left on that mission. Now I fear she may forever be lost to the dark side."
She collapses against Thor, sobbing. Unable to console her, he gathers her into his arms, and spinning up Mjölnir, takes off into the sky towards the palace.
Thor lands lightly on Anara's balcony and takes her into her room. Setting her on her bed, he asks a startled Gabrielle to fetch a pitcher of mead. When she returns with it, he rouses Anara from her grief just enough to get her to drink. She downs the contents of the mug with shaking hands before burying her face in the pillows, unable to stop sobbing. Thor settles in next to her and extracting her from the pillows, cradles her in his arms until she falls asleep.
Anara spends an uneasy night in Thor's arms, troubled by nightmares. She wakes bleary eyed and exhausted late in the morning to find Thor gone and a worried Gabrielle sitting by her bedside.
Before Anara can ask where Thor is, Gabrielle tells her, "My lord was called away by the Allfather. He did not want to go and bade me to stay at your side until he returns."
Gabrielle stands and walks to the small table and pours a glass of amber juice from a sweating pitcher. She hands the glass to Anara as she sits up in bed.
"You know, my lady, you seem to be making a habit out of scaring the wits out of Thor. That is quite a feat," she says, a wry smile on her face.
"It is not my intent." Anara says after taking a sip of juice.
It tastes of apples though she doubts it's the juice of Iduna's particular variety.
"My former Master would knock me back down to the rank of padawan if she saw how badly I've comported myself since I've been here."
Gabrielle looks at her incredulously. "Do you mean that, my lady? Are Jedi not allowed to cry - to have emotions, in your world?"
Anara shakes her head no. "As Jedi we are supposed to be masters of our feelings. We are taught to put aside attachments and to cool our passions for those things can lead to the Dark Side where feelings rule and a passion for power becomes all encompassing."
Setting her now empty glass on the bedside table, Anara tosses back the bedcovers and swings her legs over the side of the bed, noticing she's still wearing the clothes she came back from Midgard in.
"However, over generations, some members of the Jedi council have found a middle ground, a way to balance both sides of the Force. That is the path I follow. And though the rules on guarding one's feelings are less stringent than in the past, episodes like last night are still frowned upon."
"Well, I think having a good cry every now and again is good for the soul, my lady, and if I ever meet your old master, I'll make sure to tell her that."
Anara laughs at what she knows would be Mistress Dina's reaction to such a thing happening, and Gabrielle joins in, happy to see her mistress finally smile.