-Chapter 14-

Sunlight glistened over the bloody ruins of Starkiller base; the station was in complete chaos as survivors trampled over the dead in search of any means off the unstable planet. The remaining personnel fled to a section of hangars that remained untouched by the devastation, boarding shuttles and fighters, escaping the conflagration that quickly devoured the stronghold.

Kiera and Mara sprinted through the empty corridors and reached one of the bays unscathed. Kiera cursed loudly when she saw a pair of officers board her Howlrunner and jettison out of the area. A few minutes too late and now she lost her prized ship.

"By the look on your face, I am guessing that was your ship," Mara said.

Kiera stomped her foot in frustration. "I've spent a lot of time reconditioning that ship and now it's gone. The only solace I can take is that those bastards won't make it far. I've rigged the ship to explode if a certain code is not punched into the dashboard shortly after it is powered on. Once they break the atmosphere, they're corpses will be floating in space soon after." She shook her head in disgust and glanced across the bay. Ships departed in droves leaving the options to a sparse few. The closet ship was a FireSpray-class patrol ship. Kiera's smirked when she recognized the owner of the ship.

It was the Kyuzo bounty hunter. The green-skinned creature fiddled around with the wires on one of the engines. The creature glanced toward the women and then rolled away from the ship when Kiera drew a blaster and fired upon him.

"That wasn't very sporting of you," Mara said.

"We don't have time to be sporting," Kiera responded and then dove behind a steel crate as the Kyuzo returned fire. Mara nearly dodged a bolt aimed for her head and slammed her back against the crate.

The hunter activated the ship's auto-cannons with a remote control device and then snickered. "You might as well give up. The moment you show your heads, my cannons will remove them."

"We are out of luck," Kiera said. "I can't deflect that kind of power with my lightsaber."

"Give me your lightsaber." Mara pursed her lips and shook her head. "I am about to teach you that can't is not in the vocabulary of a Jedi."

"It's suicidal," Kiera complained. "You will get yourself killed going against those guns." Despite her doubts, Kiera tossed her mother the weapon.

"Oh child," Mara said with a sigh. "If your father was here, he would be very disappointed. You know, he once had doubts about his own abilities when confronting what seemed impossible. Of course that was in his younger days when he was a Padawan of Master Yoda."

"Yoda?"

"Oh, forget it."

"If we get out of this, you can tell him of what a failure I am." Kiera's words were meant as sarcasm, though she felt hurt by the comment. She looked forward to meeting her father and failing to live up to his expectations would wound her pride.

"You just concentrate on taking out that hunter and let me deal with those guns." Mara switched on the weapon and took a deep breath. "Ready?"

Kiera nodded.

"Now," Mara said, springing from her location. She sprinted ahead and immediately deflected a barrage of laser fire while Kiera laid down a burst of fire toward the hunter.

Kiera was amazed by her mother's abilities. Mara rushed forward like a hungry tigress and twirled her lightsaber in a windmill pattern sending the bolts flying in a multitude of directions. When she reached the ship, a few quick slashes of her glowing blade silenced the ship's auto-cannons.

The Kyuzo concentrated his fire on this woman that moved as if possessed by a demon. Mara turned toward him and used her Force abilities to throw the hunter twenty feet away from the ship. The hunter landed behind a fueling station and his face contorted into an expression of utter horror when he realized what he landed behind.

Kiera wasted no time and sent a few shots at the flammable barrier. The fueling station exploded and engulfed the hunter. His armor might have taken the brunt of the blast. She stood silently for a moment, scrutinizing the lifeless body wondering if it were the same Kyuzo that kidnapped her as a child. Revenge was not the Jedi way; the words flowed through her head as if her father whispered them in her ear. Although neither a Jedi or Sith, Kiera knew the path her parents would want her to follow and she struggled with the notion of burying the dark side of her soul and following strictly the light.

Mara and Kiera boarded the ship. Kiera immediately took control of the flight stick and flicked on the engines. The engines powered on for a second and then died. She ran a diagnostic and found the power converter was damaged.

"Give me a second," Kiera rushed back outside and examined the area the hunter was working on. There were a few spliced wires and she hastily connected them. After completing the repair, she stepped on the boarding ramp and then felt an invisible force freeze her in place. She trembled trying to break the hold – whatever held her was strong in the Force. "Mara!" she screamed, managing to spit the words out.

A pair of shadowtroopers stalked toward her. Kiera managed a glimpse of the black-armored fiends that approached her with red lightsabers glowing. She tried resisting their abilities and failed. One of them would be no problem, but the pair offered her a challenge she could not overcome.

"Mara!" Kiera screamed again.

Mara emerged from the ship and immediately engaged the shadowtroopers. Her weapon clashed against her dual foes in a flurry of strikes and parries that seemed at times inhumanly impossible. The shadowtroopers surrounded her and used their Force abilities in attempt to bind her, but she shed their mystical chains with ease having the skills of a Master Jedi.

A tremor rocked the hangar reminding Kiera of their predicament and she shouted, "We don't have time for this. Finish them and get back on the ship."

Hearing her daughter's voice, Mara smirked knowing a battle lust had momentarily consumed her. She always craved action, excitement, and dueling a pair of worthy opponents invigorated her spirit. The hangar continued to tremble and she knew her fun needed to end. In a quick series of graceful strikes, she struck down both shadowtroopers – they really did not stand a chance.

Back on board the ship, Kiera switched on the engines and this time they remained on. She flew the ship out of the collapsing hangar and then out to space. All systems were functioning and she switch on the communications board and switched to a secure channel she knew the First Order used in broadcasting their alerts.

A message came over the monitors screens. It instructed all survivors to regroup at coordinates 74322:334:4444. It was the coordinates to a location on planet Carida. The message also explained that the elusive Luke Skywalker had been captured and would be executed in three days at this location. It would be a day to be celebrated and the beginning of a new era for the First Order.

Kiera shook her head. "What are we going to do?"

"We certainly are not going to let them execute Luke." Mara punched in a few commands and brought up a star map on one of the ship's monitors. "I think I know someone who can help us. Set a course for Jakku. If I have been frozen for over twenty years, I can only hope he is still there."