Flee- Kira Carsen

"Aw, come on, now, tall, blur. Have a drink!"

"I don't want anything."

"Why not? You ain't got nothin' to lose anymore, junior."

Kira heard something on the edge of her consciousness. It sounded like... talking. But... different. Transmitted. A holo?

"They were supposed to protect us, Gryph! Protect us, their students! Not murder us in cold blood!"

"Hmph. Well, maybe your masters are some of those... eh... Bith."

"Sith?"

"Whatever. The chumps who ruined all the good hyperspace routes a few years back."

Slowly, she opened her eyes, the darkness behind her lids giving way to light. Oh, Force...

She felt blankets, that she was lying on something relatively soft. She had been right about the holo idea; a screen was transmitting some program, showcasing two characters, a tall, thin human padawan and a small snoovian, in a bar, somewhere.

"No, they're not Sith," the padawan mused, putting a hand to his chin. "They hate the Sith." Then his eyes widened, mouth opening.

The snoovian, Gryph, frowned. "What?"

"They hate the Sith!"

"So?"

"They're Jedi! They're not allowed to hate."

And Kira felt a fresh wave of disappointment come over her, and she almost shrank back into the blanket.

"You're awake," a familiar voice said from her side, and she turned to see Hayram sitting on a chair beside her. He muted the holo off with a touch of the Force, and knelt beside her. "You okay?"

She took a breath to steady herself. "I... where are we? How did...-?"

"Whatever it was... it wore off once we made it away from Sadic," he explained, looking down at her sadly. "I had to get us out of there, so he got away."
She nodded, putting a finger to her temple. "Agh... Force... head hurts..." It was like a steady pounding, a throb that pulsed in tune with her heart. She fixed her ally with a steely stare. "Hayram... it didn't just fade."

He frowned, shifted. "I... tried to go in and... stop him. It. Whatever it was."

"And?"

"And... it left when I approached. Just... fled. So I brought you here." He gestured around the ship's medical bay, which Kira now recognized. "Hoping that you'd get better."

She coughed weakly, sat up and waved aside his hand. "I'm fine. It's not physical. How long?"

"About five hours."

She sighed, rubbed the back of her neck. "Hayram, I'm... sorry."

Immediately his hand was on her shoulder. "You've got nothing to apologize for."

"I should have told you. I should have stayed behind, and I almost got you killed."

"There was no way you could've known what would happen," he insisted.

She couldn't help the bitter glare that sprang forth. "Would that make you feel any better?"

After a moment, he shook his head. "I guess not."

Silence filled the bay, and he took the opportunity to sit beside her. "So we lost Sadic," she said bluntly.

"We did. At least we know he is in the Industrial Sector, I suppose."

"Yeah."

T7 rolled into the bay and gave a squeak of delight at seeing Kira up again. It approached, beeping frantically and she patted its dome. "It's okay, little guy. I'm okay," she smiled slightly.

The holo was still playing, so she nodded toward it. "What is that?"

Hayram looked up, having been lost in thought. "Oh. A comedy/drama about a Padawan a few hundred years ago. During the Mandalorian Wars." He shrugged. "It's a good story."

She nodded again, having run out of things to say.

"Kira..." he began hesitantly, and she hated that he felt the need to be so. "That thing... that was the Emperor, wasn't it?"

The name almost made her shiver, and she shuddered despite her best efforts.

"Are you... really his daughter?"

She snorted derisively. "No. As far as I know, he doesn't have real children. But I was picked at birth to undergo a... bonding. I was taken to Dromund Kaas and... chained to him..." She closed her eyes, fighting off the bitter feelings welling in her chest. "I always feel him. When I ran away, it... got better, but never quite left. I think... when I felt all that fear, he could..."

"It's okay," he said quickly, placing his hand on hers. "I'll protect you," he promised seriously, looking straight at her.

His misguided chivalry was irritating right now, instead of endearing. "You can't," she snapped. "He's the Emperor."

"I broke free of his control once," the Jedi said firmly. "I can do it again."

Kira stopped, stared at him. "You what?"

"I... he tried to take over my mind, too, so I opened myself to the galaxy. The emotion, the raw life, overwhelmed him, I think." He looked distant, relaying the event. "I think its the antithesis to him. He must be... a void. Somehow."

"Best description I've heard," she muttered. "I can't believe you got out..."

He seemed confused, too. "Yeah... I dunno... Still seems too easy... maybe he let me go, though I don't know for what reason..." He trailed off, and they were quiet again.

Until Kira spoke up. "The Emperor is interested in us," she whispered. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this," she apologized miserably.

"It's okay," he assured her. "We'll be okay."

She didn't really believe him. "Not with me, you won't."

(O)(O)(O)

"Agent Galen?" Hayram asked, and Kira instantly got a bad feeling the moment there was no response. They had moved to the cockpit, and Hayram had tried to contact their Agent. "Agent Galen, respond."

"Where is he?" she asked nervously.

"He said he was going out to scout the sector," the Jedi Knight replied tightly. "I told him to be careful, but he was... determined." He shook his head. "Galen... please. Are you there?"

Nothing. Not even static. Just a void.

Hayram's fist clenched atop the console, the glove tightening audibly as he squeezed.

"They are going to pick us off one by one," he said quietly. "They got Galen, and they almost got you..."

She slumped into her copilot's chair, drained and pathetic. He's right... Force... I don't know what we're going to do...

This was her fault. She hadn't told Hayram everything, and now Matthias was still on the loose, Sadic was still active, the Power Guards were still being produced... and rather than share her secret, she had held it in until Sadic had used it against her, and forced them to retreat.

Guilt settled on her heart and she swallowed back the choking in her throat. I've messed up bad, here...

"I'm going to go talk to Godera," Hayram muttered. "See if there's a... countermeasure or something..." He walked out of the cockpit, leaving Kira alone.

The dark hub in her mind whispered in the distance, a black tongue of misery that prodded at her thoughts. "Get out," she snapped, and it shrank away, only to return slyly a second later. What a failure you are, child... "I said get out..."

I cannot, poor girl... I'm a part of you... The only part that will keep you... Kira's eyes burned. You can't tell anyone without destroying those around you. It's what you do. You run, and when you stop, those around you suffer. It happened with the evocii, and it's happening with the Jedi and Hayram now.

The thought of Hayram falling suddenly flashed before her eyes, and panic gripped her. Kira stood and scrambled down the loading ramp, lowering it and fleeing into the docking bay. She wrapped her cloak around herself tighter, felt her lightsaber at her belt, and looked back at the ship.

I have to go... The longer I wait, the more danger he's in. The mission, the Republic... Hayram...

I'm sorry, tough guy. Guess I wasn't cut out for the Jedi, either.

Kira ran into the Nar Shaddaa streets, just as Hayram bounded down the loading ramp.

"Kira!" he shouted, unable to see her. He reached out into the Force, looking for her star. She had to be there, had to be...

But there was nothing. She had gone, vanished from sight in more ways than one, and the sinking feeling in his chest made him clutch the wall for balance. "No... Kira..."

Gone... Can't be... We're a team...

The communicator at his belt thrummed and he clicked it on. "Kira?"

"Sorry, Jedi, this is Agent Galen. I've got a lead, but you have to get down her quickly. We don't have much time."

The dark pit in his stomach deepened. "Time for what?" he scowled.

"Jedi... They're going to release the Power Guards soon. Transmitting location coordinates. Get here fast." The comm clicked off.

Hayram stared into the distance of the elevators, hoping that she would reappear in one of them...

But there was nothing. "Be safe, Kira," he whispered.