Chapter Six: The First True Test
Both Anna and Luke arrived on Cloud City with no idea on what was about to happen. Anna was confused for many different reasons, but she knew that she would have to go along with it. Her blaster was secured at her hip, and as they both prowled around the corridors.
On the flight, Luke had filled her in on everything. He had told her about his friends, Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa, as well as the rebellion. Anna had never been one to immerse herself in the rebellion, but she knew that she was now a part of it. There would be no way that she would be able to avoid it, as it had become inevitable. He had told her about his time on Tatooine, and how he had been the one to blow up the Death Star. When he had told her this, she had been completely amazed, knowing that she was in the presence of the one that had fired that fatal shot. She had remembered when the space station had been destroyed, and had even celebrated it. She didn't agree with anything that the Empire did, but she couldn't join the rebellion. She didn't want to be caught up in the action and the inevitable risks that came with it. Now, she didn't have much of a choice.
Anna felt the cold presence of Vader the minute that she had arrived. The emittance was a lot stronger than when she had felt on Dagobah. His essence had a ton of power, and it made her even more fearful of him than she already was. She could tell instantly that he was powerful, and she didn't want to tangle with him at all, yet she knew that Luke would want her to stay with him as a backup option. She was not skilled at fighting, and had no lightsaber, so she knew that she would be rendered useless.
They were walking slowly through the corridor when suddenly, blaster shots sounded out, along with the scream of a girl. Both of them turned to see stormtroopers carting away a wookie and a young girl, about Anna's age. Instinct kicked in, and Anna raced after them. "Go without me, I'll cover you!" she cried to Luke, as the other girl yelled out to him that it was a trap. Anna's mind kicked into overdrive as the blaster shots intensified, and she returned some of her own before she found herself suddenly cut off from Luke. Stormtroopers had surrounded her, and she hardly even felt anything as the adrenaline rush slowed down, creating a numb feeling. The stormtroopers pulled her blaster effortlessly out of her hands and cuffed them behind her back before leading her to the main group that was escorting the wookie and the girl. Anna realized suddenly that these were Luke's friends; Leia and Chewbacca. She couldn't show any sort of emotion on her face as she was almost in shock as to what had just happened. All that she could bring herself to care about was that Luke was safe from the stormtroopers.
She felt herself pushed by a blaster, right in the small of her back. She could see that Leia's eyes were full of questions for her, but Anna couldn't answer them. Not to mention that she wasn't going to talk with the stormtroopers surrounding her. There was one other in the group that didn't look like an Imperial, yet he didn't look like he was captured. The look in his eyes held sorrow for her, and Anna tired to return a respectful glance. She didn't know who the dark-skinned man was, but he didn't seem to be too bad. He didn't look like someone that she should be afraid of, even though the looks that Leia was giving him were enough to kill.
They resumed to walk along the corridors silently, the only sound was the echoing of stormtroopers' footsteps as they walked in perfect formation. The partial shock that Anna was in was starting to fade away, but she couldn't help but think that Luke was alone, and that she had no way of getting to him. Thoughts raced through her head as she thought of the inexperienced Jedi taking on the powerful Sith Lord. She could still feel the warm power that Luke emitted, and she knew that he was still alive. She would have felt it if he was dead. She wasn't thinking about where they were even going, and she didn't care at that point. She knew that she couldn't start feeling something stronger than friendship for Luke yet, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to suppress it for much longer. She couldn't thank him enough for saving her on Dagobah, but she knew that there couldn't be anything that happened between them. She couldn't let herself get caught up in those emotions, because she knew that she would just get hurt if she did. She was scarred physically from her experience, but mental scars would never fade; they would always be there.
She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't even realize that they were surrounded yet again, but the people surrounding her this time were not Imperials. They were pointing their blasters at the Imperials, and Anna tried to suppress a smile as she realized that it was the dark-skinned man that had called for these new people to come and release them. The Imperials were taken away, and Anna felt the cuffs that held her wrists fall away. She nodded her thanks as she rubbed her wrists. The wookie, however, was not in the same mood. He roared and in an instant, was gripped the man by the throat. Leia began to cry out, and the droid that Chewbaccea carried on his back was also trying to reason.
It was when the man managed to choke out something about "Han", but Anna wasn't paying attention to what the wookie and Leia were doing. She was only worried about the Imperials finding them again. She looked over when Chewbacca had dropped the man on the ground. He had one hand on his throat, and Anna quickly moved over to him.
"You're new," he said, his voice raspy. "I'm Lando. Lando Calrissian."
"Annacaza Anara," she responded, helping him up. "I need to go find Luke. He's in great danger. He was going to fight Vader."
When she saw Lando's face fall, she felt her own do the same. "Vadar wanted to freeze Luke in carbonite," Lando began, and ushered her over to the direction that Leia and Chewbacca had run in. "The Emperor wants Luke as 'his prize', whatever that means, and Vadar set this whole thing up to trap Luke here."
"I can't just leave him for Vader then," Anna said as they caught up to Leia and the wookie. The droid on his back was still talking, though everyone was ignoring him. However, she felt better when the Astromech droid that she had grown to like wheeled his way over to them.
"You're not going to be safe," Lando said. "The Imperials are everywhere, and they'll be looking for you, if they're not already."
"I don't care," Anna said. "I need to give Luke a fighting chance." She broke away from Lando and the rest of the group, who had been listening to her. "Yoda was training my ability with the Force. I know what I'm doing, and I'll do my absolute best to get Luke back safely."
There was only a slight nod from Lando, who continued running. "Good luck," he said, and then she was gone.
Never before had Anna been to Cloud City, and she had no idea where she was going. She could feel the clash of the warmth and the cold as Vader and Luke fought. She knew that Luke was starting to weaken, as she could feel the warmth slowly starting to seep away. Still, she knew that she would be able to find Luke by the cold feeling that Vader was emitting.
They clashed again, and she placed her hand over her heart. She hated the feeling of the two sides of the Force connecting with each other. Even though it wasn't powerful, it was nagging, and she could tell whenever Luke was hurt. Anna continued to force her legs to move faster, covering more ground.
She was taken aback when she found herself looking into the inside core of the city from a large walkway. She glanced around, and saw flashes of blue and red, and the bright spark they sent out as the blades crashes and hissed. She didn't stick around to watch the fight. They were suspended over a high point, and she knew that she would have to get to that catwalk to have any sort of chance. The only problem was that she didn't know how long Luke could hold out. He was still a raw Jedi, not even finished his training, and Vader was a Sith Lord, and was hardly even a man anymore. He was more of a machine, and he wouldn't tire as easily. Not to mention that Luke was still a boy, not much older than herself, and Vader's age was defied by the mechanical parts that made up most of his body.
Quickly, she began to move along the catwalk, keeping her hand steady on the thin metal railing. The wind that blew through was slightly unnerving to Anna, feeling her curled hair leaving her shoulders. She kept low to the ground, one hand on her blaster. She knew that she would be a lot more effective if she had her own lightsaber, but she had only been taught knowledge of the Force, and now she was regretting it. Still, she had only spent one week on Dagobah before Luke had received his Force vision.
Finally she was level with the same catwalk that both Luke and Vader were fighting on. She drew her blaster, feeling the adrenaline rushing through her veins, pushing her forward and keeping her from turning and running away, but there was something else keeping her moving toward the Sith Lord and the boy she had known for a mere week. She wasn't yet ready to accept the inevitable feelings that she had toward the young Jedi, but they were there, and there was no questioning that. She knew that it didn't matter if Luke was killed or not, she would still feel the obvious pain, no matter if she acknowledged her feelings or not.
She was nearly at the pair when Luke cried out for her. Vader turned, and the minute Anna laid eyes on the feared mask of emptiness, she felt as though he could see right through her. His hand when out forcefully and she slam med into the ground, her blaster firing upward and into the sky. The hissing of the lightsabers continued as their blades met once more. Luke was yelling at Vader, but Anna couldn't make out the words. Blood with rising in her ears as her invisible restrains held her down tightly. She couldn't move her blaster to fire it at Vader, but she could feel them weakening slowly as he continued to fight with Luke. Another snap and crackle sounded out from a lightsaber hitting metal and sparks flying. She began to fight against the restraints more, knowing that if Luke was able to wear him down just a little bit more, she'd be able to free herself.
The second that she freed herself was the second that she doubled over in pain as Luke screamed. Anna clutched at her chest, kneeling down on one knee while the other foot kept her form falling over. Still she wobbled, and nearly fell to her side, which could've been her death. She reached for her blaster, but the pain was too much. It was the worst heartache she had ever felt in her life, and she knew exactly what it was before she had even looked up. The sudden silence of the catwalk told her everything. She only saw a glimpse of Luke tucking his right arm against his body, his hand underneath his left arm, or at least, what would've been his hand. She couldn't hear the exchange that was happening between Vader and the young Jedi, but she could hear the sudden dark change in Vader's already-dark voice.
"I am your father."
It was the only thing that she heard, and she felt the pain in her heart turn, along with Luke's denial. She fell on her side, completely sprawled out on her back as she looked over at Luke, her eyes devoid of any emotion. She didn't know what to say to him through her facial expressions, as sorrow didn't seem to be enough. She only saw him in her field of vision before he dropped off completely. She had thought that he had fallen, and quickly stood up, the pain and feeling her heart suddenly lifted, her hands clutching onto the cold metal railings, her face hovering over the empty space. She watched as his body fell through the air, ungracefully, yet to her, beautifully, in its own way. For a second she forgot that the Sith Lord was standing only twenty feet from her.
"Don't run," he said. "It would be more effort than your life is worth." She looked over at him, forcing herself to turn to face him, even with the adrenaline in her veins telling her to run as fast as she could. Her blaster was still lying away from her, but she could be able to Force-pull it toward her quickly. "You have no use for me," she said, trying to keep her voice clear and strong, but she knew that it was probably shaking. After all, he was a Sith Lord.
"What makes you think that?" he asked, taking a step toward her, and she recounted with her own step back. "I'm not Jedi," she said. "Not like Luke."
"But you're Force-sensitive, I can feel it," he said, making Anna shiver with his deep voice.
She wanted nothing more than to flee Vader, but she knew that he would be able to stop her if he had the need. Taking a chance, she quickly called her blaster into her hand and shot at him, hoping to distract him, if only for a few seconds. She didn't even watch as he quickly moved from the impact of the blast, and she raced along the catwalk, her boots making heavy contact with the metal panels. Adrenaline kept her going, and she knew that she couldn't stop or look back. She quickly ducked into the building that she had come from, and raced along in the hallways. The sound of Vader's breathing device was getting further and further away, but she didn't want to turn and see where exactly he was.
Finally, there was no sign of anyone as she ran along the walls of the corridor that she had come down. She was looking for the docking bay where Luke's X-wing had been docked, when she suddenly remembered. Luke. He was dead, there was no doubt about it. No one could've survived that kind of a fall. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. There were people running everywhere, and she was sure that there had been a statement telling people to evacuate the City. She just about missed the group of Leia, Artoo, Lando, and Chewbacca as they ran past her. She quickly was able to get Lando's attention, and the look in his eyes expressed his unspoken sorrow for her. She had failed in swaying Vader to leave Luke alone, and now, he was dead.
They stopped at a large door, and quickly, Artoo began to work to open the door. Meanwhile, stormtroopers began to fire at them, and Anna quickly returned the blasts. Finally, the door opened, and everyone ran through, but not before Artoo had sprayed the doorway with a thick fog. She smiled as the little droid wheeled his way to the huge ship that Anna knew was the Millennium Falcon. All of them raced onto it, and finally, Anna felt that she was safe for the first time since they had left Dagobah. She followed Lando and Chewie (that's what everyone was calling him) into the cockpit and sat down in one of the chairs. Leia was also behind her, and just by the look in her eyes, Anna knew that the former Princess of Alderaan wanted answers. "I can explain everything once we get out of here," Anna said, and Leia nodded, accepting the answer, for now.