The instrumentation was going crazy in front of her.
"Arianna," she could hear the squadron leader over her headphones. "Punch out, now!"
Ari couldn't think about any of that at the moment. She almost had the TIE fighters in her sights. The screen in front of her lit up red, she almost had him …
"Ari, what are you doing?" She heard Affa over her headphones, his husky voice rumbled over the headphones.
Ari noticed it too. Her cockpit was on fire, the instrumentation was going crazy the alarms were blaring loudly. She's never seen it so bad. She had felt the hit to her ship but didn't register it. She was much too busy taking out TIE fighters to notice the critical hit to her small ship.
"Ari," her squadron leader squawked again. "Eject now!"
She had been so focused on the small screen that she didn't notice the top of the trees blazing past her.
She was losing altitude.
But she's almost got him.
The screen lit up green and Arianna pressed down the button to release the blasters.
The TIE fighter in front of her lit up in a blaze.
Without a second thought Arianna's hands flew to the Eject lever and she pulled with all her strength.
She catapulted to the air and out of her ship just in time. She watched the ship grow small beneath her then finally explode.
Arianna breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the parachute deployed. "That was close." She graciously glided to the trees below watching the battle go on around her. The fighters sped by, chasing the TIE fighters, their blasters whizzing around her.
They seemed to be holding their own in the sunset in a glorious blaze. How had the First Order found the base? There was little time to scramble the necessary forces, but they did.
It was only a matter of time before they called for more reinforcements.
She tumbled when her feet touched the ground with a loud "Umph!" She took off the restraints of the chute and felt for the blaster at her side. She pulled it from the holster on her leg and ran forward. She took her helmet off her head, throwing it to the side.
Which way was the base? She huffed towards the general direction of the fighting, hoping she was going to the right place.
She could hear screaming up ahead, the sounds of battle were getting louder.
Suddenly, an explosion went off next to her. She felt it deep in her core, she could do nothing as the force of the explosion flung her deeper into the forest, further into battle.
She was tossed like a rag doll, any training that she had before, of no use. She landed on the harsh ground, pain exploding through her back.
Arianna looked up at the darkening sky, feeling every cell in her body ache.
"The First Order has found the base," a Sergeant yelled to the team. "we're under attack!"
She remembered this. This was right before this fight. The groans of the old base were familiar noises to her.
Affa looked at her then, smiling the smile reaching the crinkles on the sides of his eyes. "Off to battle we go!"
Arianna rolled her eyes. "You live for this, don't you?" She hid her trembling hands by picking up her helmet. She never liked to be fighting.
Affa only laughed, wrapping the red handkerchief around his arm like he always did. "You get used to this."
The scene suddenly changed.
She chased the young boy down the field, her small stubby legs made her stumble slightly while she tried to keep up with him. "Wait," she cried. "You're running too fast!"
The boy laughed, his dark locks bounding in the sunlight. "You're too slow! You're no match for me!"
She huffed as she continued to chase him. Her small six-year-old legs were no match for his. He may be twelve but he was much taller than other boys his age.
He yelled over his shoulder. "Slowpoke!"
Arianna caught her foot on an uprooted branch, sending her spiraling to the ground. She fell forward, tumbling and landing on her back. She immediately started to cry.
"Arianna!"
She could hear the worried tones in the adult's voices.
The boy's face came into her field of vision, blocking the sun and giving him a frizzy aura. His hand reached out to her to help her up.
"Don't worry, Arianna," the boy's giddy voice said. "I'm always here for you."
"…always here for you…"
"…always here for you …"
Arianna coughed the soot out of her lungs, gasping she reached for her blaster. She hadn't thought of that memory in so many years. She had pushed it down so far within her, she was surprised it still existed somewhere in her mind.
Everything within her hurt. Why?
That's right, she thought, there was an explosion next to me.
Slowly her hearing returned, the sound of the fight was gone. Was it over already? Was she out of it for that long? And her friends …
She got up quickly and looked around her. It was night time but there was a yellow glow not too far from her.
A crash site, she presumed.
No, it was the base.
Ari ran towards the fire. No, no, no, no.
She could see the First Order's ships leaving in the dark sky. Did they beat the Resistance?
She slowed her pace as she reached the base. She could make out figures out on the base under the false light of the lamps. There were Stormtroopers with their blasters. Then she saw what she had feared would happen. Resistance fighters on their knees hands behind their heads.
Ari dropped to the floor and crawled along the forest floor, out of view, praying not to be seen. She observed the troops from behind a large fallen trunk, doing her best to keep her breath quiet.
What could she do to help her friends?
She looked to her hand. One blaster. She couldn't do anything against that many storm troopers. Her heart beat erratically. What could she do?
A figure emerged from the smoke and ash different from all the rest. His steps were heavy and the ground beneath him shook with every step. His black cloak covered every inch of him and beneath the hood, Ari noted a hint of metal.
One of the troopers approached him and exchanged words with their leader.
Ari strained to hear but could hear nothing.
After the exchange the trooper turned to the others who raised their weapons against the Resistance soldiers.
Ari watched as one by one the soldiers fell to the floor. Unfeeling, frozen, she couldn't think – feel what was happening. She couldn't believe it.
Then slowly, she felt her heat break in two when she realized what one of the fallen men was wearing. A red scarf billowed in the wind.
She gasped softly, a tear slowly rolling down her cheek.
Affa. Dear Affa. Was dead.
The dark cloaked figure turned her way and suddenly she could see what the metal was under the cloak.
A mask. A horrifying mask with silver eyes but nothing else.
And he was looking right at her.
Rage built up in her. Rage like she had never felt before in her life.
She held her blaster tighter to herself.
A hand reached out behind her and pulled her back to the ground.
She looked to the figure holding her. With his other hand he signaled her to be quiet with a finger to his lips.
She recognized him, the dark skin, the friendly eyes. Jay.
She hugged him fiercely, a Resistance fighter.
He motioned for her to stay low and follow him.
She did just that until she heard heavy footsteps behind her.
"Ari, run!"
Ari bolted as fast as her legs could carry her, her arms pumping at her sides, ducking in and out of the trees, trying her best to become a moving target.
"Keep running," Jay huffed loudly. "Don't look back!"
Ari focused on the lights in front of her, instantly recognizing it as Jay's starfighter.
She could hear Jay behind her, running as fast as he could. Behind him, she heard thunderous footsteps. Somehow, the stormtroopers had heard them in the woods and were now chasing them with full force.
A blaster hit a tree next to her.
"Ah!" She covered her head with her arms as the splintered wood rained around her.
She jumped over roots, branches and bushes, not letting anything slow her down.
She heard Jay's blaster shriek behind her towards the troopers. He shouted curses as he, too, jumped over the obstacles.
She breathed a sigh of relief, the full fighter was in view. Almost there.
Suddenly, she couldn't hear Jay's steps behind her anymore.
Quickly, she turned and found that he was no longer running but still, very still. In mid-run. Almost as if he had been frozen as he ran.
His face was frozen in fear, his blaster arm wrapped around him, almost as if he was trying to be disarmed.
"Jay!" She gasped, running to him. "What's going on?"
She saw the man again in the cloak walking ever closer. Now that she could see him better, she noticed how menacing he really was.
Unlike the troopers, he wore an actual black cloak, not white plastoid, which billowed as he walked. Not an inch of him seemed human, he oozed a menacing aura, which made Ari's skin crawl. His mask was the most menacing of all. While not silver eyes like she had previously thought, the silver lines were around the eyes. His actual eyes were as black as the night around him.
His black-gloved hand was outstretched toward Jay, as if he was the one that was stopping him mid-run.
Breathing heavily, she picked up her blaster and pointed it towards him. "Let him – "
She was pulled away from Jay by an invisible force. She had never felt such force before.
She landed a few feet away, her blaster still in her hand.
She scrambled to her feet and pointed the blaster at him again.
Just as she was going to pull the trigger, she was pulled again, this time by her stomach, backwards even further. She flew backward but was able to see a blaster barely missed her where she previously stood.
She fell on her back again and pain exploded through her. She screamed out.
She hadn't felt pain like that in so long. She felt like she was about to black out.
How easy it would be then to give in to the darkness slowly enveloping.
She pulled herself up, the pain excruciating. No. She couldn't do anything for Affa, but she definitely could for Jay.
She crawled closer to Jay, pointing her blaster.
The man was closer to Jay than before, Ari lifted her small blaster towards the hooded figure. "Hey, nerf-herder!"
Before he turned, she pulled the trigger. The red beam of light from her blaster lit up around her and she definitely saw the man fall.
Jay was released immediately and he continued running, almost like he was never frozen to begin with.
Jay scoffed as he picked her up from the forest floor.
She screamed out in pain as he lifted her into his arm. "Arianna Ellan you are one of the stupidest fighters I've ever met."
Ari groaned as she lifted herself to be able to look over his shoulder. "Shut up and run!"
She shot her blaster in the direction of the oncoming troops.
Jay ran awkwardly to the ship but they eventually made it.
He hopped into the pilot's seat and punched the dials, closing the entrance to the ship.
The blasters hit the hull of the ship creating deep echoing noise in the empty ship.
Jay laughed. "Just a walk in the park." And they were out into the atmosphere.