I'd Rather Kiss a Wookie: Chapter 1: The Day with the full moon.
Anastasia was in a place of darkness. She felt as if she was floating in water as she could not feel any ground beneath her. The total darkness was disorientating and she was not alone. She could sense things around her in the darkness, things that frightened her. They were as aware of her as she was of them and the fact that she did not know what they were was frightening. She kept turning though the darkness was all consuming as she could not see regardless of where she looked. Something was coming towards her she could sense its approach but what she did not know. The presence descended upon her and fear gripped her as she spun around and was confronted by a set of blue eyes that glowed with an ethereal light. The owner of those eyes stood some ten feet away and watched her with a curious attitude. Anastasia's fear evaporated as she recognized the eyes to be human in nature. She moved towards the owner of those eyes only to see them narrow as if trying to make a decision. Then the darkness around them dissipated and flashed in images of places on earth. New York. The White House. Big Ben in England. Venice. Tokyo. Then the images disappeared once more into darkness along with the blue eyes the only thing that remained was the echo of the word 'interesting'.
Anastasia woke from her strange dream and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she turned her head to look out the window that her bed rested next to. A dirty street of Lower Manhattan greeted her to the new day. With a sigh she rolled out of her twin size bed and ruffling her flaxen blond hair into something that did not so much resemble bed head she looked at her alarm clock. 5:45am. Her alarm would go off in another fifteen minutes so instead of waiting for it to tell her to get up she simply turned it off an started her day early. Though she had woken early she was not well rested, she never really was. Since she was a child she had terrible dreams that often kept her from sleeping. She regularly took sleeping aids to block out the dreams and allow her to rest somewhat peacefully. The previous night she had forgotten her pill and had suffered the dreams as a result.
Coffee was her only thought to help her get ready now. She walked across her small one room apartment and pressed the on button on her coffee grinder and maker. It was a machine that her parents had given her when she moved to the city for work. It was a nice machine and from what she knew it cost nearly two hundred dollars. Though her parents had not understood her wanting to go to the city Anastasia had hopes of becoming something more than what her parents expected. She was an artist and was rather successful in Fort Collins, Colorado. She had moved to Manhattan with the goal of becoming more of a success than what Colorado could offer her. At the moment she was part of the starving artist stereotype. She worked at a small coffee shop a few blocks from her apartment building and benefited most from the always fresh food policy. Which resulted in any pastries and muffins that were not sold that day being discarded. Anastasia would bag these that did not get sold and would take them home with her instead of throwing them out. Unfortunately there was not many that were left over, perhaps one or two. She sighed as she looked into her refrigerator that held a bottle of milk that expired two weeks ago but she was pretty sure it was still ok to drink. Aside from the milk there was a half of a blueberry muffin that had served as dinner the night before. She closed the fridge and wandered over to her dresser stepping lightly between stacks of canvases and painting supplies that were piled next to the dresser as the only room left aside from the small bathroom that had a floating wall dividing it from the rest of her apartment.
Grabbing a clean set of clothing and a towel she quickly showered and dressed in black leggings and a light tan tunic dress. She poured herself a cup of coffee and walked over to her bed sitting down and looking out onto the street as she drank her breakfast. It was about six thirty in the morning and the street was already filled with people. Most of them were walking towards work and other was sitting around. Some were in gangs some were just waiting for something unknown to Anastasia. She noted that the beggar Jenkins had found some old bags in his dumpster diving that he was now trying to sell to people who walked by.
Once she reached the bottle of her mug she sighed and said to no one but herself.
"Time to get started." She left her apartment and going down the building stairs she took a travel size deodorant out of her purse and applied it to her underarms. Once on the street she walked at a leisurely pace down the street and made it to the small coffee shop called John's Coffee by seven am. When she walked in John the owner waved at her from behind the counter and handed a customer their change. The coffee shop was little and small rented space in a much larger building. The upper floors were apartments, and the coffee shop had a homey feel with the radio playing softly in the background. Once the customer had their change and was walking out John said to Anastasia.
"Good Morning Ana, Do you mind grabbing the muffins from the kitchens and bringing them up from please."
"Sure thing." Anastasia said walking back behind the counter and into the kitchens she tossed her purse into an empty locker and locked it. She tied her hair back and pulled on an apron before going to the cooling rack and grabbing the large tray of assorted muffins and carried them to the front of the shop. She balanced the tray in one hand while opening the pastry display and setting the muffins in. She looked around the shop and frowned slightly.
"It rather quiet this morning isn't it?"
"It will pick up around nine, don't say things like that." John said to her as he cleaned the counter with a damp rag.
"What do you mean?"
"Every time you say that it is quiet the day ends up being slow. It's like a premonition." Anastasia frowned at him and said.
"That's not true."
"The last time you said it was quiet Obama was elected president and everyone was too busy celebrating the first black president to come to a coffee shop. The time before that was when that hurricane hit. Every time you have said that it seemed quiet something major has happened. Now I am going to be worried all day as to what will happen."
"John, that was coincidence, nothing is going to happen. Just wait and see."
"I'll bet you that something does."
"What do you want to bet?"
"Let's say, opening Friday and Saturday." Anastasia grimaced at the idea of having to open the shop two days in a row but regardless she was confident enough that she agreed.
"Alright, but if I am right you have to open Sunday for me." John smiled and said.
"It's a deal." He held his hand out and Anastasia shook his hand. Over the years they had often made bets similar to this. Anastasia was unfortunately often the losing party of these bets. John had better luck with bets.
As the day progressed Anastasia was correct in that it would be quiet, they had hardly twenty people come through by three in the afternoon. John had at this time made himself a large coffee and was sitting and enjoying it while Anastasia sat with her sketchbook drawing new designs for paintings and new ideas. She was at the moment drawing the brilliant blue eyes that she had seen in her dream with a pen.
"What's that going to be?" John asked looking up from his paper at down at her sketchbook. Anastasia looked up and said.
"It's just this dream I had. I couldn't see anything but these glowing blue eyes." John gave her a worried look and said.
"You forgot to take your medication didn't you?" She had known John for the better part of five years and though he was old enough to be her father they had become good friends.
"It's fine, my dream wasn't as bad as some I have had."
"I supposed, but I don't think that medication is the answer to your problem. I mean who has dreams of mass genocides that haven't even happened?"
"John, I have been dealing with this since I was a child. I have seen numerous doctors about it and they all tell me it is night terrors. And the best solution that they came up with was the sleeping aids. I don't know why my medicine didn't work that night but last night was nothing in comparison to that dream."
"Just be sure that tonight you do take your medicine, I worry about you."
"It will be fine, it takes a week for the medicine to completely leave my system anyway so long as I take my medicine tonight I won't have any issues."
"We interrupt your regular program with this breaking news. A Strange moon shaped object has appeared in the sky. Reports are that it is some kind of space craft, NASA has reported that there are several smaller vessels flying around the larger craft. Local authorities request everyone to take shelter and not leave their homes. Is this first contact?" The radio cut into their conversation and both John and Anastasia went quiet. She looked outside and saw several people in the street pointing at the sky. She stood and went outside followed by John and looked up to see what looked like a large moon in the sky it was partially blocked from view by a building.
"John lets go to the roof and get a better look." Anastasia said running back to the coffee shop. Next to the restrooms was a door with a stairs sign on it and she pulled it open and raced up the stairs followed by John.
"Ana, wait up! The radio said that we should stay inside!"
"If this is first contact with aliens I am not going to spend it cowering inside. Oh and you win the bet!" She yelled as she pulled herself up the stairs faster by pulling the handrails. Thirty floors later, she came out on the roof of the building and found several other people up there looking at the giant moon like object.
"What is that?" She asked and a young man maybe fifteen held out a pair of binoculars to her and said.
"It looks like a space ship but it's really weird." Anastasia took the binoculars and looked at the object, it had several lines through it and a divot that looked like a massive crater. That was less interesting than the smaller ships that flew around it. No, Anastasia realized as she watched. Those ships were getting larger. They, whoever they were, were landing.
"They are landing." She said in a small voice, though she barely whispered the sentence the chattering of the people on the roof stopped as they all looked at her then back up to the ship. The boy that had lent her the binoculars took them back now to look up at the sky. Indeed ships were coming down. One woman who was looking at her smart phone said.
"Washington put out a mandatory evacuation of New York, and New Jersey. We are the only areas that the ships are heading towards." With that everyone started to run for the stairs. John was roughly thrown out of the way as people started cramming into the stair way trying to flee as quickly as possible.
"What is happening?" He asked her out of breath
"New York and New Jersey are under mandatory evacuation orders." Anastasia said as uproar began on the streets. She and John went to the edge of the roof and looked down. People were running everywhere cars were filling the streets and most people were taking bicycles and a backpack not bothering with anything more.
John and Anastasia looked at each other with fearful looks.
"Come on we are getting out of here."
"What do you mean? The streets will be packed; there is no way we will be able to drive out of here."
"No but when my wife divorced me she never took her bike with her. You can use it and we will get out that way." With that he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the stairs as the hum of the space ships started to filled the air and drown out the sound of people fleeing.
They raced down the stairs stopping at floor seven where John lived. As they went down the hallway they passed several people carrying suitcases. Many of those that had already abandoned their home had left the doors open.
"Here we are, wait here a moment and I'll get the bikes. There isn't any point in taking anything else." He said as he unlocked the door and went quickly inside. It was only a few moments before he returned with a bike, handing it to Anastasia he went back inside and came out with another. They headed for the stairs and had to carry the bikes down. Once on the streets they were swallowed by chaos. People were running, several screaming. Others had stopped and were praying , and some were yelling at the sky asking to be taken. Though all of these sounds were an undertone to the screaming roar of the spaceships that flew between the buildings.
"Ana! Come on we have to go!" John yelled at her and shaking her shoulder slightly getting her attention. She nodded and they both got on their bikes and started going as fast as they could through the crowds heading for the interstate which would be the fastest way out of the city. They did not make it far before someone ran in front of John's bike causing him to crash and Anastasia who was riding almost directly behind him to crash quickly after.
"Are you ok?" John asked as he helped her up. He was bleeding from a cut on his forehead and they both were covered in scrapes and sore spots where bruises would appear.
"I-" Anastasia's response was cut off with the deafening scream as the intersection they had been about to enter was engulfed in a red light. People began to scream and those who could stop from entering the red light did. When the light and sound died away people were silent as a large ship lowered itself to land in the area it had blasted clear with the red beam. Anastasia was shaking with fear as the back panel of the ship began to lower. When it opened several men, or at least they looked to be men, in white armor with guns and helmets came out and one yelled.
"Don't move!" As they formed a half circle around the open hatch to the ship another man in completely black armor with a black cape came out. His breath was in calm rasping's from the helmet he wore. At the sight of this man John edged Anastasia behind him slightly as if blocking the armored man's view of her could protect her more. Anastasia shook with fear; the man in the black armor was such a commanding figure, not out of respect but fear she realized. He seemed to be able to sense the fear of the people who were standing unsure what to do, and he relished in it. He turned his head towards where Anastasia stood with John and he pointed at her and said to the men in white armor.
"That is her, with the blond hair." His voice was deep and commanding, it offered no room for argument or disagreement.
"Yes Sir." One of the men in white armor said as they began to rush over towards Anastasia.
"Ana Run!" John yelled at her shoving her away from him as he turned and tried to punch on of the men in white armor only to be shot with the gun. It shot lasers though instead of bullets. John collapsed to the ground and said to a fear frozen Anastasia.
"Run." Though she could not run, she wanted to but fear held her in place. It was only when the armored men grabbed her arms that she began to fight back.
"No! Let me go!" She screamed her voice breaking in the process. Perhaps it had been John's death or her scream but the people of Manhattan became alive with movement as they attacked the men in white armor. Trying to protect Anastasia and themselves.
"Kill all but the girl." The man who wore the black armor said. His voice somehow extending over the crowds and the men in white began shooting. As peoples screams of anger turned into screams of pain and fear the man in black turned and walked back up the ramp to the ship. Anastasia struggled against the two men dragging her towards the ship. Getting one of her arms free she punched one of the men in the head as hard as she could. Pain shot through her hand and wrist as she made contact with one of the lenses over the eyes. The lens had cracked but so had her hand.
"Stun her!" The man who got hit said then Anastasia's whole body went numb and her world faded to black.
When Anastasia woke her whole body felt stiff as if she had fallen asleep on the couch. Only she was freezing cold and laying on something hard. She lifted her head and frowned at the room made of dark metal. She had never been anywhere like this before. She tried to push herself up and pain shot through her right hand and wrist as it could not support her weight and she collapsed to the metal floor with a cry. Gingerly she lifted her arm to look at it. Her hand and wrist were black and blue and three of her fingers would not move. She had broken several bones in her hand she realized. Then she remembered why she had broken her hand. Aliens had landed, they had killed John and several other people, and they had kidnapped her. Her stomach churned and she rolled over as her stomach clenched and she lost what little food she had eaten that day.
After dry heaving for several minutes she edged herself away from the mess on the floor and backed herself up into a corner of the small prison cell. As she sat in that little room freezing cold, with a broken hand, she began to realize how low her chances of ever seeing home again were. She cried, she cried for John, she cried for her own rotten luck, and she cried out of the sheer stress that had mounted in less than a few hours.
It was hard to tell how much time passed in that little room, Anastasia only knew that she had cried more than she had in years. She had finally stopped crying and simply waited, eventually the aliens would come for her and they would do whatever their had planned. Time passed and anxiety began to build within Anastasia, something was coming. Something she was sure she did not want to encounter.
The door to the small prison room slid open and in the door way stood the man in black armor. Anastasia curled herself into as tight of a ball as she could manage without hurting her already broken hand. When he entered the room it was as if the air had become impossibly thick, the sound of his breathing hissing in and out was the only sound for a moment as he looked down on her. He had to be nearly seven feet tall Anastasia decided as she looked at him with fearful eyes.
"Do you know why you have been brought to this battle station?" He asked, his voice was commanding, and demanded an answer. Though Anastasia could only muster a small shake of her head.
"Do you know who I am?" He asked then and received the same response from Anastasia. He seemed to accept these answers and he turned and walked out of the room, it was then that Anastasia noticed two men in white armor standing guard outside.
"Bring her." He commanded and started walking.
"Yes Lord Vader." They said in unison and they came into the small cell each grabbing one of Anastasia's arms they dragged her out into the hallway and forced her to walk between them as they followed this Vader through the halls. There were a dizzying number of turns and elevators taking them to different floors of the space ship. When they finally came to a large control room with several windows looking out onto Earth did Anastasia realize that she had been taken to the big ship that looked like a moon.
"Tell me who taught you to commune with the force." Vader commanded as he turned on Anastasia. When she did not answer a force pressed down on her and she gasped as she struggled to remain standing.
"What Jedi taught you?" He asked again his voice becoming impatient and angry.
"I don't know what you mean." Anastasia gasped her voice raw.
"Perhaps you require more persuasion. Commander, prepare to destroy this planet." Vader said to a man at a panel.
"Yes Lord Vader. Charge main cannon." He said to the other men in the dark grey uniforms and they all began working on something. A slight tremor went through the entire ship as something began to power up. Anastasia realized that he wasn't even close to joking about destroying earth.
"Please I don't know what a Jedi is or what the force is. No one has taught me anything like that. Please I don't know what you are talking about!" Vader looked down at her as if debating on something.
"Lord Vader, the cannon is ready at your command." The commander said in a cool voice.
"Fire." Vader said, before Anastasia could beg him to not destroy the Earth a bright green laser shot towards the earth and in a brilliant flash of light the planet exploded. Whether it was the scream of the laser or a collective scream from everyone on earth Anastasia could not tell but the sound made her legs buckle and she fell to her knees. Too horror struck to scream or say anything, tears simply blurred her vision
"Why?" She said almost in audibly as Vader signaled the two men to take her back to her cell.
She did not know how long she spent in that cell, only that five meals had been delivered and she had not touched one of them. She remained curled up in the corner of her cell shivering from the cold and pain of losing her home completely. What would happen to her now? Where would she go? Why did Vader destroy Earth even after she answered him? None of it made sense to her, she was not sure she wanted to understand though.
For how could any explanation be adequate enough for destroying and entire planet?
After they took the fifth meal they delivered to her cell away did someone come for her. Again it was two of the men in white armor. They dragged her from the cell and to a wide room that looked to be a training area as several men in white armor ran through drills. Again there was Vader waiting for her as the two men dragged her forward. Her vision blurred as they forced her to stand upright before Vader.
"You will be my apprentice and learn the ways of the force." Anastasia was trying to muster all the strength she had to stand steady as she looked at the man before her and in a voice that she hated for its lack of confidence she asked.
"Why?" The moment the word left her lips the same crushing force she felt when Vader last questioned her fell on her shoulders and she staggered slightly her vision blurring from exhaustion one of the men grabbed her arm to steady her.
"The force is strong with you, I will make you stronger." Anastasia glared at him now, and though she still could not see clearly she said.
"What makes you think that I would ever do what you wanted me to after you destroyed my home?"
"Let your hatred free, give yourself to the darkside-"
"Look dumb ass I don't know what you are talking about and I don't give a fuck!" Anastasia said interrupting Vader, she was about to insult him more when the pressure that had been merely pressing down on her wrapped itself around her neck and squeezed, preventing her from speaking or breathing. She clawed at her neck with her good hand as her vision blurred even more, only when she fell to her knees did it release her and she gasped for air. The two men who escorted her to Vader dragged her up off the floor and made her stand once more.
"You will obey me."
(So chapter one of this story, please leave a review letting me know what you think so far. I know it's a rather slow start but I wanted to get the story going right. I have read a lot of Vader fanfics and have to say that very few of them are well written and those that were good have been on hiatus for some time which is disappointing. Now I know that most people don't like romance fics with Vader with anyone but Padme but let's be honest here, she dies. The story is going to be varying degrees of AU depending on how I feel. This is set roughly 4-5 years after Order 66 in that black out period for Anakin/Vader that we don't know what is going on. [yea I know there is a bunch of books and what not about star wars and what happens in different times but I am going off of movies 1-6 only])