Chapter One: Unbridled Opportunity
The “Star Wars” Universe – Many Eons Earlier
“Look, I’m tellin’ you guys – really tellin’ you – I’m innocent! No, seriously! You’ve caught the
real criminal, and she’s standing
right over there!”
Adrienne rolled her eyes in disgust from Chrissy selling
her out to the Stormtroopers. The white-armored cannon fodder of the Empire
escorted both women down the detention center corridor on board the Death Star.
Apparently, they were not considered much of a threat, with only two
Stormtroopers working as escorts. Neither of them clearly had any interest in
listening to Chrissy – evident from their lack of response.
(Narrative Note: This scene picks up where the short story "Another Part of Me" leaves off. The story was written as a prelude to World of Disney 3, continuing the story of Chrissy Ryder and her "identity crisis" that began in the other prelude mini-story "Reflection of Another Life." Both stories were written a year apart on the "May the Fourth" holiday.)
They finally stopped upon the door of one holding cell
that one of the Troopers opened from the control panel to the right of the
frame. Chrissy was shoved inside, while Adrienne remained outside with the
Troopers. Chrissy made one final attempt to plead to them, but she
was quickly shut off by the sealing of the cell door.
She could not believe the trouble she was in due to the
so-called “Guardian,” who claimed her intention to lead her to answers on her condition by a strange man named Yen Sid. Of course, in order for them to
reach him, they must be captured by the Imperials – a plan Chrissy yet to see the real purpose in, even as she stood within the confines of a
bleak, four-walled room of which she evidently did not have to herself.
Standing across from her were two
other women. One was a short, barefooted young blonde wearing a black
sleeveless top and tight leather pants. The other was a slightly taller redhead
in a green mini-skirted dress, a black leather jacket, black leggings, and
black boots.
The blonde sat lotus style on the only “bed” in the cell
– a long, thick rectangular block protruding from the wall adjacent to the
sealed door. Her eyes were shut, and she appeared to be in a meditative state.
Of course, the most striking feature about her was the bareness of her feet.
Chrissy glanced around to see if there were any signs of her footwear, only to
discover there were not any. Did the Stormtroopers confiscate them? Did she
have some sort of weapon concealed in them?
Whereas the blonde appeared disinterested in Chrissy, the
redhead carried a completely different attitude towards her. She approached
with her right fist raised up to Chrissy and a warm smile on her attractive
face. She was noticeably tall, slightly towering over her.
“What up, sistah!” Her vernacular was strange – it was certainly not of any world she ever visited in her time as a Star Tours engineer. “Welcome to
imprisonment! Name’s Penz!”
“I’m Penz.” The
blonde corrected her. “You’re Vanessa.”
(Biographical Note: "Penz" is based on/inspired by Lisa Penz, a talented artist who I met through Twitter. Impressed by her artwork, some of which recaptures the magic of many Disney animated classics of the past and present, I wanted to include Penz into the series, specifically with the hope of her character inspiring new artwork based on the World of Disney stories. Being the third "Lisa" I've featured after Lisa Marie Stevens in The Marvelous World: World of Disney 2 and Lisa Buohler in Tales of the Disneyverse, I opted to use her last name for her character, similar to how I handled "Buohler," to avoid confusion.)
The tall redhead giggled in embarrassment. “Right. My
bad. Still getting used to the name.”
Chrissy gave a quizzical look to the middle-aged woman. “Still getting used to? Is it some type
of alias? Are you hiding from the Empire?”
“We are not
hiding.” Penz retorted, not once reopening her eyes to directly address those
she spoke to. “Our names are strictly confidential.”
“O…kay?” Chrissy awkwardly acknowledged. “So how did you two get caught? Did you do it on
purpose, too?”
Vanessa was anticipated to share. “Actually we—”
“It’s confidential.” Penz snapped.
All of the energy seemed to have been sucked right out of
Vanessa from the prohibition set by her young blonde companion. She sighed in
disappointment. “What she said. Sorry. I guess she’s right. It’s a shame, too,
because I love sharing things…especially
with a fellow redhead.” She included that last part with a smile and an elbow nudge
to Chrissy.
(Character Note: Vanessa is the ninth redheaded main character featured overall in the World of Disney series and the third in the reincarnations of Sean Thomas with "Marla" and "Anne-Marie." The others include Joanie and her reincarnations "Taryn" and "Terr Essa," her daughters Kimberly and Meagan, and Chrissy and her alternate selves from Marvel Mayhem, World of Disney 3, and The Disney Access.)
Chrissy, on the other hand, was overwhelmed by Vanessa’s
recognition of her one most notable physical trait.
Seeing the surprise on Chrissy’s face, Vanessa asked with
concern, “Did I say something wrong?”
Chrissy shook her head, a smile manifesting on her face
and a tear falling from her left eye. “No, no. It’s just…you’re the second
person today to see my real face. I
think I’m starting to become my old self again.”
(Character Note: Chrissy Ryder's story in the prelude mini-stories introduced a "condition" that develops an aura around her and thus creates an alternate identity that just happens to resemble Sean Thomas, the secondary protagonist of the series. With the exception of Thomas's reincarnations, Joanie's reincarnations, and magical figures born from Fantasia, she appears as "Sean Ryder" to most of the population of the Star Wars universe and has been forced to maintain the identity her whole life, at the cost of her daughters, Sierra and Sienna.)
Although Vanessa was not quite sure what Chrissy meant by
that, it intrigued her nonetheless. “Well, who else would you be if not
yourself?”
Chrissy opened her mouth, on the verge of sharing. But
she stopped as soon as she caught sight of Penz, who – for the first time since
she was thrown into the cell – opened her eyes, exposing their glittering blue
hue, and gazed in her direction with interest. At the last second, Chrissy
changed her mind and said with a sly grin, “Sorry. It’s confidential.”
Vanessa immediately caught on and chuckled (with a snort) in amusement. “Oh, snap! She checked you, Penz!”
Penz grinned, also amused by the zing. “I can tell we’re
going to get along awesomely.”
The atmosphere in that holding cell seemed to have
livened pretty fast with the jesting among the three women, each of them
sharing in a laugh. Unfortunately, as rapidly as the mood shifted positively,
it had negatively with the sudden reopening of the cell door.
A pair of Stormtroopers, possibly the same ones that
escorted Chrissy, carried a bloodied, battered Adrienne in the corridor. Large
blood stains partially ran over the collar of her blue silk sweater, as well as
her bare, pale shoulders. The ruin looked like it was caused by someone who slit her throat, yet there were no gaping wounds on her neck. Her face,
however, displayed deep cuts and bruises over her left eye, the right corner of
her lip, and left cheek.
Her legs were immobile, allowing her feet to drag loudly
across the grated floor. Once the Troopers were at the threshold of the holding
cell, they crudely hurled her limp, nearly-broken body right inside the cell.
She hit the cold, hard floor face-first with a sickening thud at the feet of
Chrissy and Vanessa, the latter of whom gasped at the sight of her.
(Authorial Note: For the imagery of a battered Adrienne tossed into the holding cell, I was inspired by a similar case with Han Solo in Cloud City, following his own torture from the Imperials. I even considered incorporating the line "I feel terrible" into her dialogue.)
It was enough to bring out a fury in the tall redhead, verbally unleashing it on the visiting Troopers: “Damn you slimy
buttholes! You’re gonna get yours! Just wait and see!”
Neither of the Stormtroopers listened on their departure
from the cell. Soon, all that Vanessa cursed was the door, which slid shut
once again. She was only left with the task of helping Adrienne up,
an act that Adrienne herself made a weak attempt in, only with little success.
When she detected Vanessa’s helping hands coming near
her, she furiously demanded, “Don’t touch
me!” Blood oozed from her mouth and created a small puddle on the floor.
Vanessa hesitantly complied with her request, forced to watch along with
Chrissy and Penz as Adrienne slowly and pitifully peeled herself off the floor.
She favored the left side of her torso, showing signs of broken ribs. She only
managed to get up halfway before falling again, her body smacking against the
wall; she opted to let herself slump there.
Even though Chrissy felt for the battered woman, she
could not ignore the fact that she got herself in this mess. “How’s your plan
working out so far?” She did not hold back on the sarcasm.
Adrienne glared at her with the one good eye she had at
the moment. “Watch yourself, girl,” she groggily cautioned. “Don’t think I
can’t still kick your butt.” Once she had a second to catch her
breath, she continued: “The Empire’s taken some great interest in me, because
of what I know of their new discovery. They tried to kill me several times by
several methods, including beheading me.”
“Beheading?” Chrissy exclaimed, finding that one bit of
detail hard to believe. “But…your head’s still perfectly attached!”
Pointing to her head with a shaky, broken finger,
Adrienne said, “This is a new one I grew.
My old one’s somewhere on this space station, decomposing, I’ll bet.”
(Narrative Note: This story pushes the boundaries of the Guardian's immortality, which has been a case featured in previous stories such as Marvel Mayhem and The Marvelous World: World of Disney 2. It is ultimately revealed here that virtually nothing can kill the Guardian, unless it is born of the same magic that created her.)
Chrissy was alarmed and repulsed all at once by this new
information she learned of the woman. She had seen a variety of species in the
galaxy gathered together in her time at the Star
Tours spaceport, each of which possessed different traits absolute to their
race. Adrienne’s was one she just could not fathom.
“What matter of being are you to regrow limbs like a
Trandoshan?”
(Star Wars Note: Trandoshans are large, bipedal reptilian humanoids from the planet of Trandosha - or "Dosha," for short. They have sensitive eyes that can see into infrared range and the ability to regenerate limbs, albeit slowly, and were anatomically built heavier and stronger than most humanoids, including humans. One notable Trandoshan named "Bossk" can be seen in The Empire Strikes Back as one of the bounty hunters enlisted by Darth Vader to hunt down Han Solo, Chewbacca, and the Millennium Falcon.)
Adrienne weakly simpered. “My regenerative qualities
aren’t what you should be focusing on, Ryder. In case you’ve forgotten from our
first meeting at that bar, the Empire’s in possession of the second-most
dangerous thing in the galaxy.”
“What’s the first?” Vanessa queried.
Glaring up at her, Adrienne sneered, “Take a wild guess.”
Chrissy figured right away what she alluded to, and
it brought an eerie chill over her body. “What in the name of the Force does
the Empire have that could be as dangerous as their Death Star?”
Adrienne’s response was grim: “Something that’ll destroy
countless worlds outside of this one.”
-------------------
“What kind of creature can do what that one did? It is inhuman!”
Wilhuff Tarkin was visibly shaken, entering the Death
Star conference room. The unnatural scene he witnessed during the grueling
torture session they put their newest prisoner – a female Jedi that possessed
remarkable immortality – placed a sense of fear in the typically fearless
Grand Moff. All he could have done to calm his nerves was to sit at the far end
of the conference table, pour a glass of water, and take sips in between slow,
deep breaths.
(Pop Culture Note: In Star Wars: A New Hope, Moff Tarkin is portrayed by Peter Cushing, who is known for his past in horror films such as Frankenstein and Dracula. He has also played the titular character Doctor Who, a franchise that has had a major inspiration on the World of Disney series, in two feature films - Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.)
It did not help much to see Darth Vader, who joined him
in the room, appear so passive while standing near him. He watched the same
eerie scene but did not seem fazed whatsoever. Could he really have been hiding
his reaction behind that black metal mask? Or was he simply that much
undaunted?
His next words gave some insight to his real feelings on
the matter: “Her regenerative power could be result of her connection to the
Sphere.” He then briskly added, “To destroy her would mean destroying it – and
the Emperor would not be pleased to lose his new find.”
“You’re right.” Tarkin acknowledged in the Sith Lord’s
foresight. He took one last sip of water and suggested, “A thorough inspection
of that orbital machine must be
processed. We have to see where the connection between it and the Jedi is.”
“I will lead the inspection in hope of appeasing the
Emperor’s interest. If there is
something inside that sphere worth reporting, then he will surely be the first
to know.”
----------------------
Having an Imperial shuttle prepped for him and a small
inspecting team of Stormtroopers, Vader departed from the Death Star space
station moments after he and Tarkin authorized the inspection. The flight
was fairly short, with the Sphere orbiting within close proximity of the Death
Star; the tractor beam kept it from floating into the far reaches of space.
It was the first time since the Empire discovered the
mysterious geodesic machine that anyone dared to step inside of it. There
was a great deal of undiscovered information. Imperial scientists, technicians,
and engineers worked feverishly to determine its point of origin and
functionality, yet there was not much that could be found from outside. Vader was the only
one bold enough to lead in the expedition. The Stormtroopers accompanying him varied on levels of anxiety, from high to low, uncertain of what awaited
them inside the spherical machine.
(Narrative Note: This is the second time that the Sphere has been the subject of examination in the ownership of those who discovered it. Previously, in The Marvelous World: World of Disney 2, S.H.I.E.L.D. investigated the Sphere in a similar manner to the Empire with Iron Man, another armor-clad character, leading the inspection. Depending the way you look at S.H.I.E.L.D. with its Hydra sleeper agents at the time of their discovery of the Sphere, the two organizations have different means of tapping into its power.)
The shuttle docked within an opening near the top of the
Sphere’s structure that was noticed during its discovery and enlarged to
accommodate for shuttle landings – this one being the first.
(Narrative Note: This opening was made by Iron Man in The Marvelous World with the laser-cutting feature of his armor.)
Once inside of the Sphere, Vader and the Troopers passed through
multiple corridors. The journey was long and tedious, close to an hour of
winding around corners that led to nothing. Vader’s patience wore thin, while
the Stormtroopers’ tension eased, relieved to find nothing out of the ordinary.
That was until they crossed a large chrome-plated steel door that should have parted open automatically for them. Unfortunately for Vader, there
was not any power running to allow him and his team through.
Of course, he only needed one true power from himself – the Force.
Reaching out with one gloved hand towards the door and
channeling the dark side of the Force, he managed to part it completely open. They moved into an enormous area that
literally sparked with energy. It was shaped in the same manner of the geodesic
structure containing it; its walls corresponding with the exterior. In the
very center of the room was a large mechanism consisted of a glass cylinder
that held a spinning, floating mini version of the Sphere, glowing in a
mixture of gold and rainbow colors – colors that Vader had seen before…when the
corpse of the female Jedi regenerated.
It was clear to the Sith Lord that the mechanism was the
Sphere’s core generator. Somehow, it was the only portion of the structure that
continued running without power – presumably because it was the power source.
(Narrative Note: This generator room has been seen multiple times during the series, the first being during Brandy Thomas's discovery of it prior to the final confrontation between Joanie and the Evil Queen in World of Disney. It was also where the final confrontation between Sheryl and Doctor Facilier happened in The Marvelous World: World of Disney 2.)
Vader spotted a control panel across a walkway that led
straight to it. He turned to the Troopers, pointing to the control panel, and
ordered them, “Look into the computer system and find the point of origin.”
Although he refused to admit it, Vader had no idea what he just ordered his men
to do. Did this machine even have a computer? It should, he thought. What
machine does not have a computer?
The Troopers obliged to the Sith Lord’s command and moved
down the walkway while Vader remained near the entrance. Heading cautiously
closer to the generator, the anxiety levels of the Stormtroopers rose equally among them. Each one breathed heavily beneath the helmet, their eyes
darting rapidly between the control panel and the mini-sphere spinning and
floating in the large glass cylinder. It seemed to increase in its speed as the
Troopers grew closer.
When the Stormtroopers finally reached the panel, the complexity
of the control scheme became apparent to them. Quietly, they assessed their dilemma:
“Oh, no.”
“This looks impossible
to figure out.”
“Yeah. Who doesn’t put labels on a control panel?”
“What should we do?”
“Something and something real fast. Lord Vader’s waiting on us.”
“What if we pressed this button?”
“No!”
“Why not?”
“I have a bad feeling about that one.”
“Then let’s try this switch – unless you have a bad
feeling about it also.”
(Star Wars Note: This is the only moment in the entire story where variations of the well-known phrase, "I have a bad feeling about this," are uttered. The phrase is something of a running gag in the Star Wars films, stated at least once, with the exception of A New Hope and Return of the Jedi, in which it is said twice.)
“Be my guest. We certainly don’t wanna seem inept in the
eyes of Lord Vader.”
With only slight hesitation, the Stormtrooper flipped the
unlabeled switch, believing it to be what turned the questionably-existent
computer on.
A loud whirring noise emitted around the room.
Vader doubled over in pain from the deafening noise,
which managed to pierce its way through his helmet.
Then…it stopped. All that remained was his labored,
mechanical breathing.
His long-ravaged eyes looked up from beneath his helmet
and through the optical lens. The HUD display built in them notified him of a
new environment he was in, despite his awareness of the fact as he gazed all
around. No longer standing in the Sphere’s generator room, Vader found
himself inside of a dark cavern. The infrared in the lenses of his helmet
provided vision necessary to move within the cavern until he identified the
possible exit. Vader rushed for it, desiring to know what planet he somehow transported to.
(Star Wars Note: The details inside Vader's helmet were revealed in Star Wars - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The eye lens acted as optic filters, allowing for Vader to expand the limits of human vision by detecting infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths, while also blocking out excess light, due to the inability to repair his damaged retinas. The lens, likewise, came equipped with secondary eye-shields that activate within 5 milliseconds and automatically slide over the optic blisters to prevent blindness when approaching intense light.)
What he anticipated to find answers in, Vader only found
more questions. He emerged onto a black, rocky mountain region. Dark grey
clouds loomed overhead, giving off quite a brooding atmosphere; it felt familiar to him.
Mustafar.
The volcanic planet where he spent his final moments with
what was left of his body before incurably damaged at the hands of
Obi-Wan Kenobi.
(Star Wars Note: This conflict between master and apprentice - the first of which before they dueled again in A New Hope - happened in the climax to Revenge of the Sith.)
No. This was not Mustafar.
The memory of the planet was engraved in Vader’s
mind. Every detail of the lava-consumed landscape and the sky darkened by ash and
smoke.
This world was somewhat different. The sky was black, but
not by ash and smoke. No lava flowed through the rocky region. And then there
was that massive, sinister presence he felt, as if the Force warned him of
impending danger.
His feelings proved correct once he felt the ground
beneath him violently quake, knocking him off balance. He soon noticed how the
peak of the mountain moved,
manifesting into a dark, winged beast of immeasurable size with glowing yellow
eyes. Its towering form immensely dwarfed Vader’s. He studied the demonic
creature with much fascination, noting not only its wings, but its horns as
well.
(Authorial Note: This is Chernabog's only known appearance so far in the series. I last wrote him as the main antagonist in the third story of my Disney Ghostbusters series and since been cautious in writing him as one again in World of Disney. This scene with him and his home, Bald Mountain, take place on Fantasia, following the idea of all the animated segments from the Disney film inhabiting the world that it is based on.)
He then realized that the creature noticed him,
wickedly smiling in his direction. Now alarmed, Vader drew his lightsaber,
standing in defense of the colossal creature as it reached out for him, its
massive, clawed hand shadowing the Sith Lord.
Vader mightily swung his saber.
The terrified shriek of a human being erupted, alerting
Vader to the realization that he was no longer at the mercy of the giant,
winged demon. He returned to the generator room. His team of Stormtroopers
stood before him – one of them decapitated by his lightsaber.
The remaining Troopers kept their distance from the Sith
Lord, distressed from his sudden lashing out.
“What…happened?” The electronic augmentation of his voice
did not do the genuine surprise of his tone much justice.
Only one of the Stormtroopers was brave enough to
respond: “You’d disappeared, L-Lord Vader. You v-vanished right out of our
sight for a long time.”
From beneath his helmet, Vader smiled with immeasurable
satisfaction.
(UP NEXT: The Spark of Rebellion!)
