On the Wings of Valkyrie

Chapter XCVIII

It was official. Luna had officially bitten off more than she could chew, and there was no way Ahsoka would arrive in time to help. If the Togruta was smart, she'd see it as a helpless cause and move on.

Luna was worried that Ahsoka wouldn't listen to the reasonable aspect, but it was likely she would considering the information that the Grey Jedi now needed to take to the Rebellion. They were friends, but if there ever was a day to put the Rebel Alliance first, today was the day. Perhaps Ahsoka would eventually return and break Luna out after the data was delivered.... Of course, that was assuming the ex-Shadow was still alive and on Corellia at that point in time. And the girl didn't even know if she was still on the planet.

Stun blasts can be so blasted hard to block. Shoot a regular laser at her any day. Luna didn't know how long she'd been out, but it felt like no more than half an hour. Not that such a sense could ever be considered reliable.

Regardless, there was only one person in the galaxy that Luna thought might stand a chance when everything about her current predicament was taken into account, but he wasn't coming either.

She was on her own.

It was a position that Luna hadn't been in for years. On her own, captured by the enemy with no way out. The last time that she could recall was when Palpatine had her all those years ago. All the other times were near capture, and Vader had always arrived before anything had actually happened.

Luna had more tools than she did back then, but a large part of her knew that it was hopeless.

That wasn't going to stop her from trying. How was a different question.

"So, you're the traitor," the male interrogator in front of her said with a glare. His red hair was cut short and his eyes were colder and crueler looking than ice on Hoth. He had her lightsaber well out of the girl's reach, resting on his belt while her Force imbued blade was resting in its sheath on a far away table. Luna didn't respond, meeting the man's eyes with a simple, emotionless, cold gaze, as if it was the man that was about to be interrogated and not the other way around. "The oh-so-mighty Eclipse."

The ex-Shadow didn't respond. She could tell that her lack of response combined with her gaze was beginning to slightly unnerve the man and the other two associates that were in Luna's line of sight, faces hidden in the dark. Both were also men and looked like weight lifters though they were in the standard imperial outfits she would have expected on a planetside based interrogation team.

If only Luna was connected to the Force....

The girl withheld a groan. The bonds she had woken up in cut her off from the Force. For all she knew, there could have been five people behind her and Ahsoka could have been on the other side of the door; however, Luna was fairly sure that it was just the four of them in the room, plus two interrogation droids, and that the Grey Jedi wasn't on the premises. Alarms would probably be sounding by now if the Togruta was.

So currently the only way Luna could fight back was by freaking out her captors so they might make a mistake and do something that would later lead to her escape. So far, all things considered, the ex-Shadow seemed to be doing pretty well. The interrogators had only been in her cell for a few minutes, and they appeared somewhat unnerved by her calmness.

"No one knows where you are, and no one is coming to save you," the man continued. It was true, they both knew it.

Luna's gaze didn't waver. She decided to start a one sided staring contest.

"I'm sure you know how this normally goes. I threaten the prisoner, promise a quicker and less painful death for their cooperation."

Luna continued to stare.

"Not so with you. You will be torchered, the extent depends upon you, but it will be far worse than anyone you have ever witnessed. And once we're finished....well, death would be too good for you."

Have you ever watched someone being gutted alive with a lightsaber? I have, it's not fun, Luna thought to herself. There was only one thing that she had deemed a worse torture than that, and it was slowly being burnt alive by lava. And then being forced to come back from that last one.

Luna mentally shivered. She still didn't know how Vader managed it.

As for the staring contest, she still hadn't blinked. The interrogator had several times.

"And after that, you are to be delivered to the Emperor, no matter how damaged you are, for his use."

The ex-Shadow blinked, and only through sheer self control did her eyes not widen. She was going to be taken to the Emperor?!

No, no, no, Luna would not become his slave, no matter what she had to go through. If she resisted long enough, maybe she would die. That was better than becoming Palpatine's slave and betraying....

But who would Luna be betraying? She was no longer Vader's apprentice. Her allegiances didn't....

But they did. Her allegiances were still with her old Master, even if she wasn't his apprentice anymore. The Rebellion. Her and Ahsoka's own mini cell.

If Luna joined with Palpatine, she would be betraying them and herself.

No! I will not submit!

The thought was like liquide duresteel, solidifying her decision and ridding her of the fear that told her she would fall. Luna would never give in, no matter what Palpatine did to her. She was stronger than she had been as a child, stronger in the Force, in her will power, in confidence. Luna could and would fight the Emperor even if it killed her.

"Nothing to say?" the interrogator asked, sneering and bringing the girl back to the present. She felt fury building in her veins.

Fabricating bravado and cruelty that the ex Shadow didn't feel what-so-ever mixed with real anger, she laughed. It wasn't completely real, but it didn't sound forced either.

It was evil sounding, exactly what the girl had been going for.

"You think you can pull information out of me?" Luna spat, breaking out of the mask she had crafted her face into since they had entered her cell and giving the interrogator a death glare. "Do your worst. Do you really think you can break me? You are not the first try nor will you be the last to fail and feel my wrath. These are the last words you'll hear from me."

The interrogator blinked, fear flashing across his face for a split second before he sneered: "We will see."

Hit me with your best shot. I will not submit.