A/N: I kind of broke the norm with this flashback, by making it told in first person, and italicized. I really don't know what happened, aside from I love first-person narratives. Forgive me.

"I was born to the Sandloper tribe on planet Cana. My tribe was a medium-sized one, with three elders to lead, my parents, brother, and a dozen aunts, uncles, and cousins."

"Aside from a few tribes who kept to the trees to grow cotton and harvest wood to trade with the desert tribes, all tribes spent their lives wandering the desert-like expanse. We would only stop for sickness or the birth of a pup. Tribes were all sizes, and always changing. Caneen might leave one tribe to start their own or join others. Some tribes had only close family, others had Caneen many different families."

"Even though there were so many separate tribes and we rarely would mingle together, we were peaceful with each other. During harsh droughts, we would gather into large tribes to share watering holes and help search for water and food. War wasn't even a word to us."

"My brother, Anaka, was the youngest in our tribe. He was rather silly at times, but he could also be so serious. He could flip between the two in the blink of an eye. When he got older, he would act more mature, but he had his moments."

"Anaka and I liked to explore the desert sands by ourselves, even though we were told not to so often. Sometimes we got lost, but Anaka had a knack for finding his way home. I would have been jealous, but he was always helping me learn to navigate, even though he was younger than I."

"One day, when I was 54 and he was 40, we were exploring on our own, and saw something in the sky. It was huge and purple, and flying. Since none of the animals or bugs on our planet flew, we had no word to describe what we had seen once we raced back to the tribe. But the thing became clear to the rest of the tribe soon enough."

"It would be some time before I learned that the thing was called a cruiser. At the time, I only knew -like my tribe- that the thing in the sky was unnatural and getting closer. Some thought the world was ending… in a way, it was."

"The cruiser landed in the desert, drawing some of the tribes to investigate. The elders of my tribe, along with my father and an uncle went to investigate. I… I haven't seen any of them since."

"I was not close enough to see, but some investigating for another tribe told the others what happened next."

"The Caneen chosen to see what the cruiser was gathered around the ship. A door opened and strangers came out. The Caneen tried to speak with them, but the strangers -sentries, I now believe- silently forced them all to go inside. Then, in a blast of flame brighter and louder than any thunderstorm I had ever encountered, the cruiser lifted back into the sky and stayed there."

"The tribes started to gather together, upset about their missing members. We scoured the desert, somehow thinking they had simply wandered off or something. After a pheob of finding nothing, we tried to decide what the strangers were doing. Foolishly, we supposed they were speaking with our friends and family about joining our tribes or gaining permission for their tribes to live on Cana as well."

"When the cruiser descended once again, we all eagerly gathered to see what decisions had been made. The ship landed before a hundred tribes of gathered Caneen. We were expected our tribemates to emerge, but it was only those silent strangers, who also herded us inside."

"We were gathered into a large room, with our missing family nowhere in sight. There was a stranger on a pedestal. He said he was a general in the Galra army, and that we were now under the Galra command. We were confused, but no one was really upset until he told us that we would not be returning to our home planet."

"We were outraged and finally tried to protest. But the silent ones knocked out a few of our strongest members, so we stopped."

"There was a huge window in the front of the room, and we could see that we were being taken further from our planet. Along with the cruiser I was on, there were a dozen other ships, probably loaded with Caneen as confused as we were."

"Quietly, the elders told us to do as the general told us. They believed there was some misunderstanding or this was some sort of tradition for the Galra, and that we could convince them to take us home later. With no knowledge or thought of fighting back, we only watched as we were taken further from home. But, then the Galra took away that last hope."

"A different sort of ship appeared, flying toward the planet instead of away. It had a pair of pincer-like objects on the front. A light began to form between the pincers, then a beam shot down to our planet. For a moment, nothing happened."

"Then, the planet started to darken. The green of forests turned brown and sickly. The tan sand became darker and darker, until it finally turned black. A great crack formed across its side, then a huge portion of the planet broke off and floated away. They had taken the quintessence of our home, turning our home planet into a lifeless, broken heap."

"We didn't know what to do then. We were taken to cells and placed inside. Most were placed individually, but I was lucky enough that Anaka was with me. We waited for, I don't know how long. We were fed by the silent sentries. We hardly dared speak or move; sometimes if there was noise from a cell when the general was nearby, he would fly into a rage and we would go hungry for a time."

"Sometimes, we would see a Caneen or two led by the small window of our cell. Eventually, the day came when the door to Anaka's and my cell was opened. Two sentries led us out of the ship alone, and to an unfamiliar planet with smoky air."

"We saw no more Caneen as we were handed over to another Galra soldier. He told us to hand over any possessions we had brought from our home. I gave my birthsand pendant to him, afraid of what would happen if I disobeyed. Anaka gave him a satchel of wooden toys and stones he had had the day the Galra took us."

"We were then taken to a cell. There, Anaka showed me that he had kept his pendant hidden in his thick fur. I was scared that the soldier would find out and be mad, and make Anaka hide it again, telling him to not speak of it."

"We were the only ones in the cell. Through the barred windows, Anaka and I watched the cruiser leave, knowing that we were the only Caneen who had been left."

"That night, other aliens were led into the cell with us. I was scared, but brave Anaka saw that they were just as frightened as we were and introduced us. He asked them what the Galra wanted with us, and when we could go home."

"For a few ticks, no one answered him. Finally, an elderly alien who called himself Ush told him that we couldn't return to our home."

"Ush was the one who told us what the Galra were, how they were taking over planets, and used slaves to gather resources for them. If an entire civilization was taken from a planet, it meant there was nothing there for the Galra to steal but the quintessence. The people of the planet was then divided up onto different planets, so that they could not gather courage from their friends and family."

"On the planet we had found ourselves on, we would have to gather coal for the Galra's fires. Luckily for Anaka and I, we were strong from our times of running and digging on Cana. I was sent into the mines to haul out bags of coal, and Anaka worked with other young ones, taking out the rocks that had fallen in with the coal. When Anake turned 54, he joined me in the mines."

"The work was hard, dirty, and scary. Sometimes, tunnels would collapse without warning, or piles of coal would catch fire from a spark of a careless pick hitting stone wrong. Every moment, I feared for my life."

"Somehow, Anaka didn't let this get him down. He was always there to help me if I had a load too heavy, and to help me walk back to the cells if my paw had been hurt by stone. Slaves were whipped or given no food if we didn't work hard enough, and Anaka did his best to make sure that I -or even any others in our group- didn't suffer. Even in the stuffy mines, Anaka's fur remained fluffy enough that he could hide food to smuggle to the punished slaves."

"Not that I didn't suffer. On my first days, when I didn't know what I was doing, not a day went by without my feeling a whip on my back. Even by the time Anaka joined me, I wasn't spared. Sometimes, my only fault was that my bag wasn't full enough. On some days, I was too tired and would drop my bag. If an overseer was nearby, I would feel the sting for days afterward."

"One day, when I was forced to work despite being sick, I collapsed in the mine. I was sure that would be the end of me. But Anaka hid me in the cave, then worked twice as hard hauling so that my absence wouldn't be missed. That night, he practically dragged me to the cells and gave me all of his food. Luckily, I was well enough to work by the next day. Slaves too weak or old to work the mines were taken to other camps. While the work might have been simpler, I couldn't stand to leave my little brother."

"Anaka was a legend after six deca-pheobs in the mine. He appeared to work at the same rate as us, but he helped every other slave like he had helped me when I was sick at least once. The Galra didn't pay too close attention to who was hauling coal, as long as the daily amount was harvested and no one stumbled within their sight. Anaka could go for vargas. He was always upbeat and ready, but had the sense to act tired and scared whenever the Galra were around."

"We saw many slaves come and go, but no other Caneen. Anaka made friends with the slaves, especially with a Skronian named Travis around 24 deca-pheobs after we first arrived."

"Travis was a fire-manipulating alien. He was kind of gruff and mysterious about himself, but also really clumsy with his fire abilities. Skronians can cause fire on their skin and control other flames to a point, but sometimes they caught fire when startled. Travis started up three fires on his first movement, but Anaka helped him put them out and remain calm."

"After a bit, Travis proved himself especially useful since the Skronians could also put out flames. As long as he was around, there was no fires in our tunnels. I believe that is the only reason that Travis was allowed to stay, once the overseers learned of Travis' ability. As long as he remained calm, he wouldn't start any fires and could put out fires started by others."

"By this point, Anaka and I were veterans at the camp. When Travis joined and settled in, we became a close group. Working together, Travis could cut out large amounts of coal while Anaka and I hauled it out. We heard that we were actually increasing the daily amount of harvested coal. This pleased the overseers, and happy overseers meant less whipping and fewer skipped meals."

"Ten years after Travis joined us, we had nearly forgotten our home Cana. We glanced over new slaves, knowing the chances of Caneen coming here was basically none. We worked hard, were strong and tough, and helped new slaves to settle into their new lives. We thought nothing of escaping or finding home. The mining planet was our home, and the slaves our family."

"Then, a strange slave appeared. She would only talk of worlds beyond the mining planet, and how there was a group of aliens called the resistance who would come and get her. Anaka and I told her what we had been told our first day: that she could not return home."

"The new slave, named Nov, smiled and told us that this wasn't the first time she had been captured. She had been freed from a slave camp twice before, and helped in many other escapes."

"Anaka and I only nodded. We had heard other slaves whisper about escaping, but no one had ever succeeded. Until Nov accepted this, we decided to keep her under our wing. She thought that was funny, since we were comparatively still children at the time, and she was grown up."

"I thought that after a few days, that would be the end of Nov's dream. But it wasn't. She didn't try to escape or plan to escape, but spent most of her time outside staring at the sky. She got in trouble a lot, but that didn't stop her."

"This went on for some time. Nov continued to insist that someone was coming for her, and that rescues took time to plan. By the time a deca-pheob had passed, she still hadn't given up hope and the other slaves thought she was crazy. Anaka and I thought this as well, until one night, when we were woken by explosions."

"The door to our cell was thrown open, and an alien with a gun and keys stood us. Nov got all excited and greeted him like an old friend. Then, she turned to us and told us it was time to fight for our freedom."

"I was too scared to move, and so were many of the others. Just mild acts of resistance had angered the overseers to extreme punishments, how much would we suffer for fighting back?"

"To my shock, Anaka stepped forward first. He told us that we were strong, stronger than the Galra who forced us to work. That they thought they were driving us down, but they were only teaching us to be strong. He told us that it was time the Galra saw what we were really made of."

"Not knowing what I was doing, I joined Anaka. Travis did next, then all of our group stood beside him. The stranger, a rebel Ozar, undid our shackles. In our haste, some -like Anaka- had only one side of the shackles removed, but we didn't spare the time to fully remove them all."

"Ozar led us outside, where other rebels were fighting. Some of the slaves had joined in fighting, armed with Galra blasters that the rebels had taken from the barracks."

"Our group was told to run for a rebel ship that would take us to safety. Anaka insisted on joining in the fight, as did Travis and I. While the rest of our group found a ship, the three of us were armed and given keys to open the other cells. We opened every cell, and convinced every last slave to join us."

"We thought that we were truly free then, but the truth was much more grim."

"Alone, the rebels were outnumbered. With the slaves, the Galra were outnumbered two to one. Except, most of the slaves wouldn't fight back. They were panicked and scared, and wouldn't board the ships."

"Travis left to help get the slaves to board, then Anaka and I joined the rebel fighters. We didn't have clue how to fight, but figured out how the blasters worked fast enough by watching the rebels."

"I don't know how long we fought. Probably not long, but it was a blur to me. Anger I didn't even know I possessed filled me at the blank sentries who had ordered my life for so long. I just wanted to get away."

"The two armies started to draw away. The rebels were winning, and most of the slaves had been evacuated. Nov called out to Anaka and I that it was time to go, and that we needed to get to a ship."

"Everything happened so fast then. Anaka was running beside me toward a ship, when he suddenly gasped. Before I could see what was wrong, he shoved me to the side. There was a shot, and he collapsed. I ran back to him and tried to get him to stand, but he would only fall whenever he tried."

"Rebels were running by, and one stopped to see what was wrong. I told him that Anaka couldn't stand, and he picked him up and carried him to a ship. Travis was waiting for us. He was happy when we first boarded, but then he saw Anaka."

"The rebel carrying him -I later learned his name to be Eni- handed Anaka over to Travis and said he would get medical attention for my brother. Travis and I tried to comfort Anaka and treat his wounds, but everything we did seemed to have no affect."

"Finally, Eni came back with supplies. He took one look at Anaka laying on the floor between Travis and I, and something changed. He had been calm before when he carried Anaka to the ship, but he suddenly became panicky. He inspected Anaka himself and wrapped his middle with a scarf that he had been wearing, then yelled that he had a bad one."

"I didn't understand. Anaka was weak, but he was still smiling at me. It wasn't until Eni had panicked that I noticed his hitched breath and how tense he was. I took his paw, and he squeezed it so hard I thought he would break it."

"Our ship broke off from the others and soon landed. Eni gently pushed me aside to pick up Anaka and told me to follow as he rushed into a rebel base. Kraydah's moon."

"I stayed at Anaka's head, telling him that we were free and that he would be up and about in no time. I took his paw, and this time, he didn't even have the strength to squeeze. I told him that it was fine, he was just tired from a long day. Anaka gave me that smile that he always did at the mines when I was scared."

"Eni brought Anaka into a room with a flat pod and laid him in it. Eni told me what it was for -healing injuries- so I tried to move away so he could close it. But Anaka wouldn't let go of my paw. With his free paw, he reached up and removed his pendant. He held it out to me, still with that encouraging smile."

"I took the pendant, telling him I would hold onto it for him while he healed. He nodded to me and let go of my paw. As the pod closed, Anaka looked straight into my eyes."

"His expression was so sad and tired then. He knew. I knew. I had known the moment Eni had panicked, Anaka probably had since he had first fallen."

"The pod sealed. Eni told me that everything would be fine, and asked if I needed anything. I said no thanks, and sat beside the pod to wait. Eni left Anaka and I alone in that silent room, saying he would be back to check on us."

"The pod began to beep. Gently at first, then louder. Others started rushing into the room, saying words I couldn't understand through the fog filling my head. They became more frantic as the ticks went on, but no one could do anything. Slowly, they stilled as the beeping ended. They gathered around the pod, realizing what I had already known."

"My brother was gone."

A/N: And that, will be the end of the flashback. I would have described the following years of Olia getting the Clunker and exploring, but that felt anti-climatic.

The scene where Anake gives Olia a tired look and she realizes that he won't make it, is based on a story a friend told me about her dog. The dog had been hit by a car, and she brought it to the vet. She said that the dog gave her that sort of tired look, and she knew the dog wouldn't pull through.