Chapter 4: The Incident
She felt like she was drowning!
The fire licked at her flesh, burning her skin, any cry that escaped her mouth was lost in the roar of the flames, the cry of a dying beast, shrieking in agony, resisting death, and hungry to take anyone or anything else with it.
She staggered through the burning hall, crying out the names of her loved ones, wailing for her parents, shouting out the names of her little sisters. She tried to listen, tried to find them, tried to save them.
The fire grew hotter, her flesh began to blister, her hair began to smolder; her clothes began to smoke. Part of her wanted to just lay down, to give up, and to let the flames take her too. She thought of letting go, giving herself over, and letting it all be done.
What did it matter if she let herself be consumed, it would be better than the alternative…
…it would be better than being alone.
As she started to sink, she suddenly felt it, a realization that she was not alone.
Her eyes widened.
She was not alone!
She rose again, struggling against the heat, against the fire.
She would not be denied!
She would make it through this.
She knew they were there…somehow.
She could feel it.
Pamir, so stubborn so ready to be independent, so ready to seize life by throat and take everything she could from it.
She had been at window when the fire came, crying out for help, crying out for father. Father would come, he would keep them safe. He always did. He was…
The world flashed, the wall blew in behind her; the shockwave lifted her up. Pamir Lylos did not even have time to cry out…
She was vaporized by the blast, gone…dust on the wind.
DEAD.
Keera Lylos howled.
Talitha had been at the door, trying to slice the lock. Keera had taken her tools, but she always had random ones floating around her bedroom. She had been as scared as Pamir, but despite her youth, she had not been crippled by it.
She would get them out of here; she would open the door, set mother and the others free.
The door clicked, and hissed open. Talitha darted into the hall, calling out to mother. Trying to…
…The charge on the wall behind her detonated with a loud beep. She had not even had time to realize where the sound was coming from.
Talitha Lylos, the smarter of Andur Lylos' daughters vanished in a flash of heat and pain.
She was gone, her presence winked out.
DEAD.
Keera shrieked her name, struggling to rise.
It did not matter.
Mother and Anj.
Mother had given up shouting, the troopers had thrown her in with her youngest, little Anj was wailing, she did not understand what was going on.
Mother held the little girl, trying to sooth her, promising her that everything was going to be alright.
No charge went off outside of mother's room, perhaps it malfunctioned; perhaps in their haste the soldier that set it had made some mistake.
It did not matter.
Keera felt her mother's presence, the presence of her little sister, to bright spots on the tapestry of the universe. When the explosion brought down their home, the ceiling collapsed, Mother and Anj had not even had time to scream.
The full weight and heat of the destruction around them fell down on their heads, they lasted slightly longer than Pamir and Talitha had, and then…they too…winked out, their light crushed by the heavy rubble.
Buried.
Gone.
DEAD!
Keera was no longer a person, she wailed like a wounded animal.
Gone. Lost. DEAD!
They were all gone!
It was only then that he was there, her savior, her hero.
Andur Lylos.
Father!
He had come.
He was not in the flames, not lost as she was.
He was outside, in the open air.
He was fighting.
He was fighting for her…
And then…so was she.
She was on her knees, her hands bound behind her, she watched father get free of their captors. His hands were still bound, but they were no longer behind him.
Andur Lylos had been a soldier, a loyal son of the empire; he did not know the meaning of the word quit.
Suddenly he had a blaster in his hand; he shot down the troopers trying to restrain him. He shot down the officer trying to draw his pistol on him.
The Sith Enforcer drew his lightsaber; it awoke with a hiss like a venomous snake. It hummed like a hive of angry bees. The Sith's face was bathed in crimson light.
Father shot him…he tried to shoot him.
The Sith blocked his shots, his blade was a red blur. Father fired again and again.
The enforcer was laughing; he began to advance on father. Andur Lylos continued to fire.
A horrible realization struck Keera.
He is not afraid, she knew, the Sith was toying with him.
It was all a game to him, a distraction.
The realization shocked Keera…shocked and enraged her!
Father was a hero!
He did not deserve this!
They did not deserve it!
The world seemed to slow down, growing slower by the second. Time flowed like tree sap in the winter.
Keera watched as the Sith raised his hand, he gestured.
The blaster flew from Andur Lylos' hand, flew out and away, into the darkness. She saw the surprise on his face, the surprise that quickly morphed into determined hate.
Father charged the other man, eager to tear into him with his bare hands.
He never reached him.
The world continued to slow.
The Sith did not even try to defend himself, he held his blade out before him, its glowing red tip pointed at father's chest.
The Enforcer raised his hand again, he gestured inward, a pulling motion.
Andur Lylos was yanked into the air, yanked forward.
His chest met the red blade, it did not stop. Andur Lylos gasped, more in surprise, in disbelief than actual pain.
He looked into the eyes of the Sith, the enforcer's eyes blazed triumphantly, he was grinning brightly, savoring the moment.
Keera stared, unable to move, unable to grasp what was happening.
Father gulped, he coughed.
He glanced over at his daughter, her arms still bound, blood flowing from the wound on her forehead.
He gave her a sad smile.
The light was fading from his eyes. He was fading.
The world had stopped dead; all of reality seemed to be holding its breath.
Father spoke to her, his voice so quiet it would have been missed by anyone else, anyone but his daughter, anyone but Keera.
She heard it.
She heard him with crystal clarity.
Four words, four tiny words, but in that moment they filled the universe.
Keera heard them. She heard him. Her father. Her hero.
Four words…
I love you, Blossom.
The light faded from Andur Lylos. He winked out like a candle, a star lost in the night sky.
The Sith gestured outward, her father's body flew back, falling into the flames that had been their home.
Lost.
Gone.
DEAD!
They were all gone.
They were all dead.
Dead.
Dead.
DEAD!
Keera was frozen, the flames that had licked at her skin moments ago seemed lightyears away now. Now there was only cold, desolate, empty cold…
But the cold was not empty, something was there, hidden from sight, moving, coming, hungry.
The Sith Enforcer was advancing on her, he was talking but she could not hear his words, and even if she could, she likely would not have cared.
What did it matter?
What did anything matter?
It was gone.
Everything was gone.
The thing in the darkness finally reached her touched her. Its touch was the void of space; it crawled up her arm, filling her cold so deep that it burned her soul.
Yet, in that moment, she did not resist, she took in the darkness, welcomed it.
It was sweet in its way, cold, cleansing, and as it scoured her clean, she felt it….
Anger…no that was too small a word, rage, fury…like the fire of a thousand supernovas.
PURE WHITE HATE!
Her blue eyes found the Enforcer's he was laughing; he did not seem to realize what was going on? He could not see the darkness.
Are you going to be good, little one," he purred, "Are you going to be a good little trophy?"
Keera did not answer with words, she had none.
She answered with the cold.
Black frigid RAGE!
The night turned to day.
Time seemed to slow.
The Enforcer stepped back, his eyes widened with disbelief, with surprise, she felt him trying to gather his strength, to resist, giving himself time to raise his blade, to strike back.
She decided not to let him do that.
She reached out with the hungry darkness.
You will pay, she thought.
EVERYONE WILL PAY!
It tore his defenses away; they were nothing, as if they were but a blanket in the hands of a child.
The darkness embraced him, furious, hungry!
It consumed him, he withered like a flower during a drought; his dried corpse flew back and shattered, blasted away by the darkness, the hate.
She heard the soldiers cry out, barking orders, trying to fight.
The cold darkness did not allow that either.
It reached out for them, one by one; they winked out as well, consumed by rage.
Keera was screaming, she screamed until her throat was raw, and her voice failed her.
The darkness flowed back into her.
She tried to stop it, to push it away, but it would not be denied.
The cold embraced her, made itself part of her, part of her soul.
She slid to the ground, tears running down her cheeks.
She could not say how long she lay there, a moment, a day, a century…?
What did it matter now?
She heard the sound of feet approaching, she probably should have rose, tried to run, but she couldn't.
She was so cold, so cold and weary.
This is how I die, she thought.
This is how it happens.
She lay there as a single person stood over her, she heard a voice talking, and the glow of what might have been a holo-communicator.
The darkness wrapped around her, squeezing her in its frigid embrace.
She let go, grateful to be finally done.
At least it is over, she thought as everything fell away.
At least I'm done.
IOI
She was not sure how much time had passed, but slowly, sound came back to her. It was muffled at first, but it grew closer, drawing her back, back to place she did not really want to be.
Back…to the land of the living.
She heard the whine of machines, the click of metal. A slight whir followed by a pinching sensation in her wrists and ankles.
She tried to move and found out she couldn't, quickly she began to push against the darkness, trying to swim, up and out of its inky depths. Fear and panic rose in her breast. She felt a stabbing pain in her arm, she gasped as it withdrew.
The hungry darkness tried to return, to burn away what opposed her, but it slid away, like a dream, strange warmth washed over her, taking away.
She sighed.
Sweet, sweet release!
She giggled.
Nothing mattered; reality itself had become a joke.
It was funny.
It was then that she heard two voices, clearer than she heard before.
"Mistress," a mechanical sounding voice said, "The girl is starting to regain consciousness."
"I can see that See-Four," a human voice answered, "Has the injection taken effect, yet? Is it safe?"
"Yes, mistress, the girl will be lucid, but she will be unable to summon any strong emotional response. It is safe for you to converse with her."
"Very good," the second voice said with satisfaction.
"Keep her restrained until I tell you otherwise."
"Yes, mistress."
Keera groaned, the gentle warmth flowing from her arm, suffused her entire body, it made her feel…good, but did not stop her slow rise back to the waking world.
Finally, Keera Lylos opened her eyes.
The sight that greeted her made little sense.
She was sitting in a small gray metal room, not much bigger than her room back home. The walls were unadorned, except for a large red banner bearing the symbol of the Sith Empire.
Keera tried to rise only to find out that she couldn't. Her hands and feet were secured by large metal restraints. It took her no time at all to recognize what exactly she was sitting in. She had seen Sith Interrogation chairs while visiting her father at his office in Orid. Andur Lylos did not use them himself, but they were there if needed.
I deal with simple farmers, Blossom, he had told her.
A full interrogation is rarely necessary, not for such simple people.
She turned her head to the right, noticing a beeping sound. A large black spherical shaped droid floated there; once again she knew what it was, from her father's office.
An interrogation droid, there was one of those in Orid too, though she could not remember ever seeing it activated. She could see the droids many arms its saws, torches and shock prods, all locked down along the hemisphere of the droid's body, the only tool in use at that moment was a single arm bearing a large hypodermic needle...
Keera blinked thoughtfully.
Considering where she was, that she was in a cell, trapped in a chair, with an interrogation droid floating right next to her, she should have filled her with terror, and dread.
Yet, she felt nothing, only a strange sense of peace, and a muzzy feeling in her head.
How odd, she thought to herself.
How very odd.
The droid continued to watch her, its sensors scanning her for who knew what. Keera wondered if it would tell her what was going on. She wondered if it would answer her questions.
Strangely, even that seemed too much work; she lay there silently, drifting on the warmth, the numbness that suffused her.
She waited to see what came next.
There was a hiss behind her, the sound of a door opening, and footsteps, someone had come for her. Keera tried to turn her head, but the chair's restraints kept her from doing even that, she could barely look to the side, much less behind her.
Her visitor stood before her a matronly looked human woman, clad in the gray and red robes of the Imperial mission, her features were hard, her brown hair streaked with gray, her dark eyes, evaluating, her gaze drew the girl in, holding her in place.
For a moment she simply watched the girl, her expression, curious, though guarded. Finally the woman sighed and removed a pad from her gray robe.
She entered a command causing the chair to snap upward, becoming a flat table, Keera was now bound standing up, facing the older woman with her cold gaze. The missionary frowned, her expression suggested…disappointment?
Keera could not say for certain.
"I am Missionary Cybelle," the woman informed her, "I'm here on behalf of our glorious Emperor, and the wise Dark Council."
The missionary took a step back, regarding her prisoner.
"I shall be your Inquisitor, child. It is I who shall decide your fate, my decision will be final, and there will be no appeal, do you understand?"
Keera nodded dumbly.
It was the best response she could manage.
"Let us begin," the woman said holding up her pad.
"Name?"
Keera said it.
"Age?"
Fifteen years, she answered.
The missionary entered the information; she paced before Keera as she did so, not even looking at the girl.
"Have you ever done anything….impossible, Keera," asked, "Performed some feat that should have been beyond you? Done something that should have been impossible?"
Keera told her about her work on the collection towers, how she always seemed to know where to step, and just the right settings for each machine. She even mentioned the flip she had done from the tower that morning, how she leapt from a great height, and emerged unscathed.
The older woman nodded, entering what she was being told diligently. As she worked, the warmth that suffused Keera began to fade, her head began to clear.
She blinked, feeling fear for the first time, and with that fear, she found her voice again.
"Wh…where?" she said.
The missionary lowered her pad.
"Yes, child?" she asked.
"Where…where am…?"
Cybelle gave her a cold smile.
"Where are you?" she asked.
Keera nodded.
"You are in Danna City, child, you were brought to missionary headquarters three days ago. You have been unconscious for most of that time."
The girl's eyes widened.
Danna City, she thought.
Why…why would they bring me here; and…three days?
I've been unconscious for three days?!
What happened?
Why was I taken in the first place?
She had so many questions, far too many, but one stood out above all others, one she needed to know. She…she had had horrible nightmares, dreams of pain and loss.
She needed to know what had happened.
"Missionary Cybelle?" she asked.
"Yes?"
"Is my father here?"
The woman looked up; her expression was one of confusion.
"Droid," she said, "Analysis."
The interrogator beeped, analyzing its date.
"All of the girl's readings are normal, Mistress."
Cybelle looked at Keera.
"Don't you remember what happened child?"
Keera shook her head.
She did not know what had happened.
All she had were nightmares.
Nightmares she prayed weren't true.
"Is the girl lying," she asked the droid.
"Unlikely," it responded, "Eye dilation, body temperature, and heart rate all suggest no deception."
"Analysis," the missionary asked it.
The droid beeped to itself, and then…
"In times of duress and great shock, the human mind can retreat in on itself," it responded, "Memories are repressed. It is a coping mechanism common in humans."
The older woman sighed.
"That will not do," she said, "the girl must remember."
She entered a command on her pad.
"Finding recording of the Lylos farm incident three days ago," she said coldly, typing in new commands, "Begin playback on this terminal."
Keera's table began to rotate; it turned to face a holo-com plate.
A cold shiver ran down the girl's spine. Her eyes widened with fear.
She struggled against her restraints.
"No," she whimpered, "I…I don't want to see! Please, don't make me!"
The woman gave her a distasteful look.
"Cease your whimpering, child. This is part of your education, you must watch."
The missionary pressed a button on the holo. The moments that occurred after the explosion at the Lylos family farm began to play.
Keera did not want to see it, she tried to shut her eyes, but clamps emerged from the back of the table, digging into her forehead forcing her eyes open.
"You must watch," the Missionary repeated.
She had to sit there, and watch everything.
The explosion, her father's failed attempt at resistance, and then what happened next.
She saw her father fall, heard his words again, as if he was standing before her again.
Tears ran down her cheeks.
"Daddy," she sobbed.
If the missionary felt any sympathy for her she did not show it.
She might as well have been a droid herself.
What happened next…it seemed impossible.
Keera was not sure if she believed it herself, yet, slowly, she began to have flashes of what happened, memories so awash with pain and rage that she could not say if they were real or not.
She watched herself on recording.
She watched herself commit murder.
The Keera in the recording threw back her head and screamed, she screamed, and screamed and screamed, yet the recording remained silent.
"There is no audio, I'm afraid," The missionary informed her, "Your scream blew out every audio sensor on the transport, and that was just the beginning."
The woman smiled savagely.
"Watch what happens next."
Keera whimpered.
She could not look away, no matter how much she wanted to…
The recording continued.
The girl on the recording continued to wail, and as she did, she thrust up her hands to the sky, in that moment blasts of energy seemed to flow from her hands, blasts that sought out every trooper that surrounded her. As the energy washed over them, their bodies withered, their husks fell, their armor falling away as the bodies underneath shattered and turned to dust. Even Lord Feer's agent was not immune; the enforcer lasted a few moments longer than his soldiers, but not much longer than that.
He crumbled away as well, his desiccated body blowing away like so many dead leaves.
The recording stopped and repeated itself, again Keera saw herself committing murder, committing treason!
She had murdered soldiers of the empire.
Her life should have been forfeit, perhaps it already was.
Cybelle was at her side, so close that she could feel the woman's breath on her cheek, warm and sweet.
"Do you remember now, child," The missionary asked.
Keera let out a shuddering breath, it felt like the weight of the galaxy now sat on her shoulders. She felt empty, numb.
It was not a nightmare, she realized.
She was alone...
…Completely and utterly alone.
What am I going to do? She thought.
What am I going to do?
The interrogation chair released her head she looked at the missionary; a single tear ran down her face.
"I…I remember," she said flatly.
"I remember everything."
"Good the missionary said nodding.
"Then…we can begin."
She pressed a button on her pad, the table on which Keera was strapped turned back into a chair again.
The girl looked up at the missionary.
"Are you going to kill me?" she asked.
The older woman shook her head no.
"Killing you would be a waste, so much…potential. It would be a shame to waste it."
Keera blinked.
"But I'm a murderer," she said, "I killed Lord Feer's men."
"That you did," Cybelle agreed, "And if Lord Feer were here, he would likely ask for your death, but he is not here, is he?"
The woman gave her a sly smile.
"How good for you," she said, "Both you and the empire."
Keera blinked.
She did not understand.
"How…how can I help the Empire?" she asked.
"By serving our Emperor, of course," Cybelle answered, "Child, do you not realize what you are? What you did out there?"
Keera's head hurt, she still could not believe what she had seen...
"What am I?" she asked.
The missionary shook her head.
"I suppose I should not be surprised," she said, "Few Force sensitives have come out of this hole, I suppose that I should not be surprised that you would not recognize it, and what it meant."
Keera said nothing, her mind was awhirl.
Force sensitive, she thought.
ME?
It seemed so ridiculous, but then again, how else could someone explain what had happened
She certainly couldn't.
"The Imperial mission serves the Empire first child," the missionary informed her, "What is good for the Empire outweighs any desire of a single dark lord. Lord Feer would demand your death if he knew you were here, fortunately he does not..."
Keera's mind was finally beginning to clear, she might have been a simple farm girl, but her father had been overseer, she was not completely ignorant of the politics of the empire.
"Why would you put yourself at such a risk," she asked, "Why help me?"
"We are helping the empire, child," the missionary reminded her, "So many Sith died in the last war. So many masters, marauders, and assassins were lost. The Dark Council has charged the Imperial Mission with replenishing our ranks, by any means necessary."
Cybelle grinned.
"The fact that you are being helped is just a…happy coincidence."
Keera's eyes narrowed.
She was starting to realize what was going on here.
She was not sure what to make of it.
"I was not brought here to be punished was I?" she asked.
The missionary shook her head no.
"I've been chosen for something?"
Cybelle smirked.
"You have a quick mind. Good. No doubt you are feeling numb right now, so much loss cannot be easy to bear, but you must learn to endure it, for both your sake, and that of the empire. You must turn grief to anger. Sadness must become hate."
The woman stood straighter, she pressed a button on her pad.
The restraints holding Keera popped open.
She rose unsteadily, rubbing feeling back into her wrists.
"Your empire needs you, child," Cybelle informed her, "It needs strong blood, it needs new Sith."
She put a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder.
"You must accept this charge, for your empire, for your Emperor. You must become Sith."
Keera shuddered, the intensity in the other woman's eyes burned into her, the fervor of her belief in the empire burned like a star. It was the faith of a true believer.
Cybelle held her in her gaze.
"You must…say yes."