I'd Rather Kiss A Wookie Chapter 2: To be without a home
Anastasia had been taken back to her cell shortly after her last visit with Vader. She now sat again in the cold corner of her metal cell and waited. Her stomach knotted painfully as she realized that she had to have gone at least a day or two without eating. It would also explain her light headedness and the heavy feeling in her arms and legs.
She had become almost accustomed to the ache of her broken hand and had assumed that if it healed anywhere near properly she would still be unable to hold a pencil or grip a paintbrush, not that any of that mattered now. She doubted that she would ever hold a paintbrush again.
She closed her eyes tiredly though sleep evaded her, too many things were painful for her at the moment, and the combination of these pains would not let her sleep. The metal door slide smoothly open and one of the security guards in the dark grey uniforms delivered the standard meal of a cup of water and some grey mush that Anastasia had yet to identify. He set the tray down on the floor and looked at Anastasia with something akin to pity.
"You should eat. Lord Vader will not be lenient even though you are weak like this." Anastasia looked up at the man, he was thin and his brown hair was slicked back under a dark grey cap that seemed to be standard issue for everyone aboard the ship. He stood there for a moment before sighing slightly and pushing a button for the door to slide closed again. The odd smell of the grey mush reached Anastasia and her stomach growled violently as her hunger pains increased. She couldn't even identify what the smell was, only that her body registered it as some sort of food. The man was right though, it wouldn't help her any if she died from starvation. She edged herself over towards the tray with the grey mush and gave it a distrusting look. Instead of digging right into the food she took the cup of water and drank it quickly. It was stale yet cold. While she thought that drinking the water would help ease the pain in her stomach it only increased as her body feverishly sought calories to burn that it had not received. Grudgingly she picked up the spoon and scooping up some of the grey mush she sniffed it again before trying a little bit of it. It was a bland taste, like oatmeal that had nothing added to it. Though for once she was thankful for something simple to eat, and she began to devour the mush as the pain in her stomach slowly eased away.
When she had finished with the meal she almost regretted it as the strange food was not settling as nicely as she would have hoped. Silently she prayed that she would not get sick off the alien food. Edging away from the center of the room and back to her corner she curled up again and tried to keep herself from shivering in the cold. To her surprise she had been able to drift off to sleep, though it was far less restful as she would have liked.
In her dreams she was standing in the control room of the space ship, Vader was there but everyone else had blurred into the background as she watched the green laser strike the Earth destroying the planet. Pain enveloped Anastasia as she watched this happen over and over again in her sleep. The pain of billions of people all dying at the same time echoed through her. Her own pain at losing her home, the anger she felt towards Vader for destroying her home. The hate that she could not act on tore at her. She wanted to make Vader feel all the pain that he bestowed upon her. She wanted to destroy him as he had destroyed everything she had ever known.
Anastasia woke to the suffocating pressure of Vader's presence as she opened her eyes to see him standing in the door way of her cell. He held some sort of stick in his hands that he tossed onto the ground before her.
"That is a light saber, pick it up." Anastasia reached out for the metal stick with her good hand and picked up the light saber. It weighted perhaps three pounds and had a button on the side of it. Pressing the button a red blade came from the end of the stick and hummed threateningly with the power that it contained. Anastasia slowly stood up careful not to touch her bad arm to anything as she looked back up at Vader as if wondering what he expected her to do with the sword.
"In time you will learn to use this weapon along with the force. For now you will study blocking a droids shots with the light saber." He said as he held up a small ball like thing that flashed with lights and floated out of his hands to hang midair before Anastasia. It waited for her to hold the light saber up in a defensive stance. Though Anastasia did not hold up the blade to defend herself from the droid, rather she looked back at Vader who stood there waiting. He had given her a weapon, and appeared to have no weapon on him to defend himself with.
She decided and lifting the blade took three quick steps towards Vader and made to strike him. It was a foolish attempt she realized too late as he drew his own light saber blocking hers with enough force that it flew from her hand and clattered to the floor behind her. Before she could retreat away he reached out and grabbed her injured wrist and yanked her arm up to where she was barely touching the ground. Anastasia gave a cry of pain as his grip tightened on her wrist. With her free arm she tried to pry his fingers loose but it was no use.
"Your hatred will serve you well, but you are foolish to think that you could ever defeat me." He tightened his grip further and Anastasia could hear the broken bones in her hand grating against each other as whatever healing had taken place was undone by him.
"You are just as stupid to think that I would do what you want!" Anastasia yelled at Vader half in anger and half in pain. His grip was like a metal clamp around her wrist and she was worried that if he tightened his hold on her any more he would break what few bones were not broken. Still she struggled hopelessly against him. If she could see his face she was sure that he would be smirking at how helpless she was at that moment. Anastasia noticed that out in the hallway two of the grey suited guards stood watching, looking as if they wanted to help her but unwilling to do anything against Vader. Against him, she was alone.
"You are beginning to realize that it is useless to resist. Become my apprentice; give yourself to the dark side. I can sense your inner conflict, your anger release it." Anastasia remained silent for a moment; it would be easier to simply give in, to do what he wanted. The idea had found itself at the forefront of her mind suddenly. The idea of what she could have if she only obeyed. Images flashed before her mind, legions of the men in white armor, storm troopers, at her command. A planet that was entirely covered in a city, thousands upon thousands of humans and aliens bowing down. She closed her eyes and shuttered slightly as the idea was urging her with more force to simply give in and call Vader Master.
"Because you want it, I refuse." Anastasia said her voice a shaky whisper of a sound, though the moment she spoke the image and forceful urge to submit vanished and she could sense Vader's anger and frustration. His grip on her wrist tightened suddenly and only when her wrist gave a loud crack followed by a cry of pain from Anastasia did he release her to collapse to the metal floor of her cell.
"You cannot resist forever." He turned and left the room the light saber that had fallen to the ground flew through the air to his open hand and the floating droid followed Vader into the hallway.
"Cut her meals in half." He said to the men who stood in the hallway.
"What of her injuries my lord?"
"Leave them unattended." Vader said as the man nodded and the metal door slid shut enclosing Anastasia in the small cell again. She didn't move from the spot she had fallen to. Even after Vader's suffocating presence vanished from the area she did not move. Her body was shaking with the pain of her newly broken bones. She couldn't feel anything aside from the pain in her arm, even the cold of the room was minute in comparison to the constant pain that throbbed through her arm.
As Anastasia lay on the floor of her cell in complete silence she let her mind wander away from being miserable in her pain. She tried to understand exactly what it was Vader wanted. He had been convinced when he first spoke to her that she had been taught about the force by a Jedi. She was not sure what either of those things were. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine what the force might be.
With her eyes closed she let go of the world around her and sighed slightly as she became aware of the three people standing at the end of the hall, they who were the closest to her. She opened her eyes for a moment and saw only her cell; it was not as if anyone was near her like she thought they must have been. Closing her eyes again she again tried to understand the force and her surroundings. She widened her focus and hundreds of pinpricks of life appeared in her mind's eye. It was very similar to her dream where she had seen the blue eyes only now that she was the one seeing these presences out she could give them form and light. Most all were human from what she could understand of this new world she was beginning to discover. Though as she tried again to widen her range of sight she became over whelmed with the sheer number of things she could see in that way. Her brows furrowed as she tried to make sense of all the lights and forms that shifted behind her closed eyes. She gave it another moment of trying to make sense but gave up as she began to develop a headache. She did not need to increase the areas of her body that hurt.
She opened her eyes and let the world of light she had been looking at slip away and released a breath she had not been aware she was holding. Perhaps that was the force, perhaps it was simply her imagination, and regardless of what it was she had no plans in changing her mind as to obeying Vader or becoming his apprentice. It was clear he led with fear and pain, only Anastasia did not understand why he would destroy Earth before he even tried to get her to accept what he wanted. Earth held all attachments for her. She realized that if he had threatened to destroy the Earth instead that she probably would have given in immediately. She had never been much of a strong person and until recently her attachments had been the easiest way to get her to do something. Anastasia had to admit that if Vader was intending to make it harder for people to manipulate her he had succeeded. Yet she was not sure that he had that in mind when destroying Earth.
It seemed forever had passed by before the door to her cell slid open again, standing in the doorway was the same man who had told her to eat. He held the tray of food and took a step into the cell. He set the tray down to the side and said quietly.
"You won't be getting another meal until tomorrow night, but here. It is not much but it will keep you from getting dehydrated." He said pulling a small plastic pouch from his jacket and setting it next to the tray. From the way it moved when he set it down Anastasia assumed that it was filled with water. She did not move or speak to him however, she only watched him with a wary look. He stood straight and said as he took a step back and out of the room.
"You would be better off just doing as Lord Vader says he will not simply let you die. He does not give up when he wants something. After all we came beyond the outer rim to find you." With that the door slid shut and Anastasia was once again left in the silence of her prison.
So Earth had been in the outer rim of their empire, which would probably explain why they had never bothered to come to Earth before. It was too far out of the way and too unimportant for them to be bothered with it.
Time crept by and an undetermined pace. Anastasia only knew that she had been left alone for a very long time. Out of sheer boredom and to serve as a distraction from the aching pain of her broken hand and wrist she would close her eyes and focus on the pinpricks of light that she sensed around her. She had become more comfortable with this task and she would slowly expand her gaze outward as she became comfortable with the current range of view. She often would wait until she could clearly define the lights into shapes and figures. It was a new way of seeing for her and she wondered why she never discovered it before. No she did not wonder as to why she had not discovered this inner sight before; she had not been looking for it. She had only looked for it because it was part of the reason Earth had been destroyed. She had the weight of an entire planet now on her conscious; she would find a way to avenge her lost home and all the people that died with it.
How she intended to avenge Earth she did not know. Only that at some point perhaps years in the future she would make Vader pay for destroying her home. Unfortunately even if she did get revenge for her planet there was nothing that could bring it back. She would only be able to exact revenge then in two ways. One if she intended to die along with Vader, or if she found herself a new home before destroying that man. She wondered exactly where she could go to call home. It would take far longer to discover a new home than it would be to simply kill Vader and die in the process.
Anastasia drifted off to sleep with the beginning of vendettas swimming through her thoughts. In her dreams she was once again in the command room of the space station looking out at a planet. Though where she had expected she saw a different planet. It was similar yes but the continents were different than those of Earth. She turned about looking around her but saw no one even Vader was absent from this dream. Then the scream of the green laser sounded and struck the planet destroying it as completely as it had Earth. Anastasia took several steps back covering her ears from the screams of the millions of people who perished with the planet. A familiar yet unknown presence appeared behind her and she turned to see a figure standing with a black cloak and hood covering their face in shadow. Yet there was the unmistakable smirk of pleasure across their face, whoever this was had enjoyed watching the planet die.
'You find the death of millions funny?!' Anastasia yelled at the figure though they did not notice her. She took several steps towards them and made to backhand the person when she noticed her arm was transparent. She paused and looked at herself as she was slowly vanishing. Her hands and feet were barely visible as she watched her translucency increase. The moment her feet disappeared completely the world around her collapsed and she was surrounded in darkness.
She could not see a thing and though she could feel her hands and feet she wanted visual confirmation that she had not disappeared. She took several shaking breaths trying to calm herself and focus as she had done when she was bored in her cell. She concentrated but was unable to see what was not before her.
'What are you doing?' A voice familiar yet foreign asked echoing through the black abyss around Anastasia.
'Trying to see.' She responded to the unknown voice. It did not sound angry or threatening so she did not think to fear it.
'You cannot manipulate the force into something it is not, calm yourself and open your eyes to what you feel is there not what you are wanting to be there.'
'Who are you? What do you mean the force? Show yourself!' Anastasia said turning about trying to find the owner of the voice but saw only darkness.
'The only one who blocks your vision is yourself. Your fear, and anger cloud your judgment and prevent you from seeing the light side.'
'Who are you? Are you Vader? Is this another trick?' Anastasia asked trying to control the shaking of her voice. Her arm was starting to hurt and she was not sure why.
'No I am not Darth Vader. I can only protect you as long as you refuse the dark side.' Suddenly the pain in Anastasia's arm became too great and it pulled her from her sleep as she found a white boot had come down on her arm.
Anastasia looked up at a Storm Trooper who stood over her. Once he was sure she was awake he removed his foot from her arm and said.
"Get up. Lord Vader has ordered you to be brought before him."