Prequel to Promises and Deals
ACT 1: The Age of Jedi [Episode I-II]
ACT 2: The Nameless Child [Episode III-IV]
ACT 3: The Age of Rebellion [Episode V-VI]
The lineage of Alora Naftiri in a way not seen before. This is the story of her life from befor...
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Wind pulls at his face as Luke falls, Vader getting farther and farther away from him. Flashes of purple catch his eye as Alora slices the metal walkway to pieces as to not get hit before she grips his waist and pulls him close. She whispers under her breath, but the pain radiates like daggers through his skin from his severed arm, the wound open to the dangers of the pit.
The air shifts, sending both of them into a vacuumed air vent instead of tumbling to the bottom of the shaft. The rough metal pulls at his clothes, Alora's gasping breath in his ear, as they tumble along, eventually coming to a stop when the vent levels out. Luke ends up on his back before he struggles to sit up. Beside him, Alora simply lies with her cheek pressed to the vent, her hands securing her lightsabers to her belt.
She pants against the ground, her breath fogging up the metal and her eyes darting around as she flips onto her side with a tight wince. "That probably could have gone better," she mutters.
"You knew?" Luke asks as her grips his wounded arm. "About Vader?"
Avoiding his gaze, she finally pushes herself up. "I..." She purses her lips and shakes her head. "He went through my head and reminded me of some...very violent memories. I heard someone call his name in my past."
The image of that cloaked man returns to the forefront of Luke's mind as he shakes his head. "He killed all those kids," he murmurs.
Alora slowly lifts her head, her eyes narrowing. "How do you know that?"
"I saw it."
"You what—"
The vent beneath them opens. Alora shouts as they fall through the exhaust pipe, tumbling out of Cloud City and into the open air. Reds and pinks fill the sky as Luke desperately reaches out for something to hold onto until Alora's hand wraps around his wrist.
He looks up to see her straining to pull him up to the weather vane she grasps, her muscles spilling from the confines of her shirt as she manages to swing Luke onto the small metal wires to hold himself in place. Pulling her legs up, Alora secures a hand around Luke's waist and makes sure they are both seated, though something seems different in her eyes.
When she meets his gaze, he can see the exhaustion as her eyelids flutter. Her breathing slows, her grip loosening as her head slumps forward against his shoulder. Panicked, he calls her name, but her response is almost too soft to hear if she were not right next to his ear. "I haven't...The Force, I haven't...I haven't used it since Dagobah."
"Alora! Stay awake."
She does not. In fact, the hand she had wrapped around him falls as her torso detaches from the vane. Luke is luckily quick enough to hug her close and steady her, but she remains like paper in the wind.
