"What do you mean Palpatine is here?" Padme sputtered. She felt herself gawking helplessly at Kit but her mouth struggled to form a semblance remotely close to any further words. It didn't make any sense! Why would he come back into the city if he had his wife and son with him again? What was there to gain? Without thinking, she reached out and grasped at the black woollen sleeve of Anakin's coat, clutching him as he remained stone by her side. "Who – but – who's with him?"
Kit leaned his palm heavily upon the armrest of the sofa and shook his head breathlessly. Sweat glistened on his temple and neck. "I don't… I don't know. There's a few cars out there – I only saw Palpatine before I ran up here. He was yelling about talking to you, Anakin."
She braved a glance in his direction and saw the rolling clench of his jaw. The tightness of his neck. "We're out of time," Anakin gritted out at last, "goddamn it!" His yell came so suddenly that both Padme and Kit flinched away from him on instinct. "We need to get people out of here right now. The working cars are still in the back, right?"
Kit nodded, his brows furrowed into a deep frown. "Yeah, we're all packed up… but they'll see what we're doing, won't they?"
"He's right," Padme nodded, "they're not just going to let us leave, Anakin."
No, if Palpatine had come all this way, then there had to a reason. There was something he wanted from them, but what? What could they possibly have to give him? If Rush had told his father about their escape plans, then he already knew she and Anakin had no intentions of taking his sordid deal, so why bother?
Shrugging Padme's touch away, Anakin stormed toward the door and ran a frantic hand through his hair. "It's all we can do right now!" He looked back at her over his shoulder, "Send people out the back and into the cars and tell them to get the hell out of here as fast as they can. If Palpatine wants to talk to me, I can keep him busy while you lead everyone away, Padme. Get as many people out of the city as you can."
She could only blink at him as he revealed this half-baked plan and shake her head. If she was busy leading everyone away, who would be there to watch his back for any underhanded move Palpatine might pull? No, she couldn't leave him. Wouldn't. Partners didn't abandon each other like that. "I know what you're doing, Anakin." The quiver in her voice was painfully obvious. "I'm not running away while you face him alone."
"Someone has to," he shrugged as this was the obvious choice, "and someone needs to get everyone into the cars. I think the candidates are obvious."
He wasn't wrong, Padme thought with a grimace, it would be all too easy for things to descend into chaos down there if everyone was left to their own devices… especially if Palpatine and his men were out there threatening to storm the building. Damn… There had to be something they could do! Her fingers rubbed harshly at her forehead as her brain began to pound inside her skull from the rising stress. They needed someone to control the weapons and the supplies and who was given what and in which amounts… they needed someone… someone like…
"Obi-wan!" The Rebel leader's name burst from her mouth louder than she intended, "he can do it! Palpatine won't be looking for him either."
Anakin gave a slow nod as he mulled over her words, considering every syllable Padme said before his hard face softened slightly. "He'll need to be fast. And quiet. You think the old man can do that?"
"I know he can," she nodded resolutely. "Besides, I think this is our only option."
By the sofa, Kit nodded, "as far as last resorts, it's not a bad one."
Nodding in agreement, the three of them rushed down the many stairs and into the madness of the lobby below. Padme's heart battered the inside of her chest. Palpatine was a cold and cruel man she'd hoped would never cross her path again. One meeting was already far too much for liking. I hope Roganda's alright, she thought to herself as she stepped off the final stair and into the lobby.
Obi-wan stood by the Empire's large window, peering outward at their unwanted visitors as he stroked slowly at his beard. As Padme approached, his apprehensive blue gaze flicked to meet her own. "Despite seeing pictures… I must admit, he's not how I imagined."
She had felt the same upon seeing Rush's father for the first time, but Padme knew all too well the poison that flowed in that man's blood. And in his son's. "Is Rush out there with him?" She asked softly, hating how the question brought a flash of hurt over her friend's face.
The Rebel leader glanced back outside for a moment, shoulders slumping in heavy disappointment before his eyes met hers once more. "He is… I don't believe… His father has twisted his mind until now… until now he's becoming the very thing he spent years running from. Satine would be heartbroken if she knew."
Rush had been like a son to Obi-wan for so long, it wasn't difficult to see how his own heart was breaking at the betrayal. "I'm so sorry," she said quietly. One hand lifted hesitantly to touch the man's shoulder, to comfort or even just support but it felt back limply by her side. After all, Padme had an agonisingly large role in Rush's downfall. Her spiral had sparked his own far darker descent.
"What are we going to do?" The Rebel leader asked, "I, unfortunately, don't see us escaping this mess unscathed."
The heavy pit of dread in her stomach agreed with him. Something terrible is going to happen, it whispered over and over again.
"We want you to lead people out through the back and into the cars there. Get them out of here as quickly as you can before it's too late." Speaking the words out loud felt surreal, even now in the height of danger, it still didn't feel real. They were getting out today. They were leaving the city once and for all. "Anakin and I are going to speak to him. We'll keep him distracted as long as we can."
"Padme," Obi-wan looked alarmed, "the moment he doesn't like what he hears or they realise what's happening in here, they'll kill you both. Going out there is exactly what he wants you to do."
She wished that it weren't true. Padme wished they could just be people and work together to make this hell somewhat more tolerable for one another. But that wasn't the world they lived in and sometimes sacrifices had to be made. "I'm not afraid to die if it means you can get everyone out of here, Obi-wan. How many people are in this hotel? What's my life compared to theirs?"
"And Anakin?" The Rebel leader asked gravely, his eyes narrowing suspiciously at the mention of her former lover. "Is he so willing to throw himself
into the bullet storm in the name of heroism?"
Padme endured his gaze even as she battled down a weary sigh. Those two might have been working together distantly to plan the survivors escape, but maybe she'd been naive to believe old wounds could perhaps heal at last. Scars sealed over but the skin was never again unblemished, she supposed. "He wanted to go out there alone, Obi-wan." She said, "He wanted me to lead everybody out while Palpatine was focussed on him." Her voice grew quiet, "he's changed."
Before the Rebel leader could respond, Anakin reappeared armed to the teeth. Guns and blades had been wedged deeply into the leather straps of his belt and holsters, taking advantage of all the space he could. Every deadly accessory was sharpened and loaded to kill. When he was close enough, the Imperial leader passed Padme four black guns which she quickly shoved down into her own holsters.
You're going to need them, a voice inside her head hissed warningly.
"You're going out there?" Obi-wan eyed Anakin sceptically, as if the delicate truce the pair had found themselves locked within meant nothing. As if the true danger was not outside wrapped in a finely tailored suit.
"Someone has to," Anakin answered with an easy shrug, "and I don't think the old man wants another family reunion." His eyes dragged up and then down every inch of Obi-wan. "No offence."
Stroking his beard again, the Rebel leader nodded his agreement. "None taken. The feeling is more than mutual, believe me." Dropping his hand away, he said, "I'll do as Padme has asked and guide everybody out the best I can… How long do you think you can hold them off?"
Padme glanced out the window as they spoke, craning her neck to steal a glimpse at the large, dark, heavily armoured cars which had surrounded the hotel. Blacked out windows shielded whoever the vehicles housed but she already had a good idea of who'd was driving for Palpatine and Rush.
How many more of them had scattered around the
city to block survivors in?
Trepidation shallowed the
young woman's breath.
"…Padme?" Obi-wan's voice pulled the Imperial leader out of her fearful thoughts with a start and she glanced at the two men scrutinising her. "Did you hear what I said?"
Her mouth felt so dry suddenly and the hammering of her heart only seemed to increase. Slow and sharp tendrils of icy terror began seeping through Padme's blood, stiffening her limbs and constricting her throat as anxiety spiked throughout her whole body. How were they going to do this? Did any of them stand a chance against Palpatine and his men out there? Her stomach tightened. This was life or death. His or theirs.
It had to be them. It had to be.
"Sorry," she shook her head, "I missed it."
"Be safe," Obi-wan eyes softened as he grasped her shoulders tightly, "I expect to see you on the other side."
Unbidden, a stinging wall of tears rose in the Imperial leader's eyes and she threw herself into her old friend's arms, clutching at him despairingly. He was her friend, her mentor, the man who'd given her the first home in the new world… Obi-wan was the reason Padme was alive and she loved him. Despite all they'd said and done to hurt each other, he was her family and that meant everything to her. "You too," she just barely managed to force the words past her lips and into her friend's shoulder. He had to live through this, for Sabe and for their baby. For the life that was waiting for them beyond this city and out there in the world… a long, safe life. He who had saved so many people had earned that peace. "Satine would be so proud of you."
They pulled apart and Padme made herself smile even as the panic of possibly never seeing him again frightened her to her very bones. If that was to be the case, then let him remember her smile and how proud she was to be his friend, not the dread of a goodbye.
She was going to be sure he got
his safe, peaceful life one way or another.
Anakin was waiting for her by the door and Padme steeled herself. She wished there was time to find every one of their friends and thank them for every moment they had been in her life. To hug Bail and thank him for reminiscing about old movies and art they'd once liked. To hold Dorme and Sabe close for nursing her in through her darkest days and returning sunshine to her life. To smile at Mon for her stability. To embrace Kit to her and tell him how he was probably the best person she'd ever met. To laugh with Rex and kiss both his cheeks for being the older brother Padme had never had.
If only there was time…
Slowly, the Imperial leader opened her eyes and fear became purpose. Regrets became determination. A steady, growing calm strengthened her resolve. All those people, the friends, the strays, the Imperials and the Rebels needed her to be the leader Padme had fought to be. Today, she earned the trust they'd placed within her.
Anakin's face was hard and sombre as she approached. Dread and concern and a thousand unspoken words stormed inside his eyes. Perhaps he had goodbyes and regrets of his own. Maybe there were declarations he yearned to express or words he wanted her to hear before they marched outside the door and confronted a horde of monsters far more deadly than any beasts.
They observed one another in a silent, searing gaze. Leader to leader, lover to lover, a soundless communication unfolded in the tense air between them. In the measure of a single moment, Padme considered a hundred things she wanted to tell him. How desperately she still loved him, how, despite needing space from him, he owned her heart utterly, how there was no other person she would ever want to face this fate with.
And then there were the smaller, insignificant little details that had burned themselves into Padme's heart so deeply that nothing could ever hope to remove them. The gentle morning snores which had been the best part of waking up in that big bed nestled in the suite. Or how he would pull Padme's body to his and bury his face in her hair as if it could be enough to keep the daylight at bay. The small bump on the bridge of his nose she liked to trace a delicate fingertip across. The sunshine beauty of his true smile, rare as it was. All the little moments and pieces that made up the complicated, infuriating beloved man that was Anakin Skywalker.
Padme wanted to voice ever fractured, adoring thought while she still had the chance but the probability of their deaths choked her throat into silence. Whatever beautifully crafted speech her mind wished she could say died within the tumble of one trembling exhale.
Anakin's eyes fell to scrap of floor between their boots then, tearing a small wince from her lips. He knew what she was thinking, that much was painstakingly obvious and, worse, he knew that Padme wasn't brave enough to say it even in what could be the final moments they ever spent alone together.
"Let's go," he said when his gaze returned to hers. In the split-second that he'd looked downward to hide the blow her weakness had dealt, his face became hard and grim. The delicate spell of their unspoken goodbye shattered with a bang as Anakin tore open the door and stormed into hell.
As she followed, Padme saw Sheev and Rush Palpatine muttering together as they stood by the front of one of the cars. The Imperial Leader's eyes were drawn to her once-friend as her mind tried to reconcile the richly dressed man before her now to the sweet, scruffy survivor she had known inside the Coruscant. Rush had shaved since the night he stormed out of the Empire and had been fitted in a well-tailored navy suit she hadn't seen the likes of on anyone but his father in years. He looked nothing like the friend she'd known.
"We've been waiting quite some time," Palpatine seethed as he turned around, glaring hatefully toward them, "and it is rather of the essence, I'm afraid."
With the ends of his coat riding the soft city breeze, Anakin's strode toward the older man even as the doors of each car were thrown open to reveal heavily armed men in black suits and dark sunglasses. They marched forward to flank Rush and Palpatine. There's so many of them, Padme felt her eyes widen as more and more poured out and aimed their bulky guns right at them.
"Why?" Anakin shot back, unaffected by the men's presence, "is there somewhere else you need to be?"
"As a matter of fact, Skywalker," Rush scowled, "there is. Somewhere far enough so we can enjoy the fireworks."
What happened to you? She wanted to ask him. Was this really because of the night they spent together or had Palpatine's poisonous influence always existed inside his son, merely waiting for its chance to thrive? Padme almost didn't want to know the truth. "Rush…" the disgust churning in her stomach gave itself away in the twist of his name on her tongue, attracting both father and son's eyes to the Imperial leader. "We – we're your friends! Obi-wan is your uncle! You're happy to turn your back on all of us?"
His cold eyes lingered on her for a long, torturous moment before dropping heavily to the unscuffed dress shoes he wore. "You all made your decision when you aligned yourself with him," Rush spat, throwing an arm toward Anakin. "But I'm a forgiving man. So is my father. I'm still willing to offer you a chance, Padme. Come away with me. I'll give you everything you could ever want – a safe life, a family, stability!"
Madness danced in the pale green of his eyes. He looked excited, as if this brute show of his father's power might finally act as the metaphorical piece of straw to collapse the camel that was her will. As if he thought that she could be frightened into going with him...
Shaking her head, Padme looked to Palpatine. "That isn't the offer you gave us." The older eyes merely narrowed as Rush's neck snapped around in surprise. "You said that you would get Anakin and me out together. You offered us a house – you offered Anakin a place at whatever political table it is you plan to build… So, were you lying to Rush or to us?"
Panting, Dorme huffed beneath the combined weight of her and Padme's bags – meagre as they were, the straps bit into her arms leaving angry reddened streaks in their wake. Her shoulders began to ache from the strain of it - cardio had never been her strength, after all! Finally reaching the bottom, she saw her sister, pale-faced in terror standing near Obi-wan as he directed people through the hotel to the back staffing entrance, handing out weapons, supplies and first aid kits as he did so.
"Here," she said as she passed Padme's things into Sabe's waiting hands. "I think this is everything. It's all I could find."
"I'm sure it's fine," Sabe mumbled quietly. Her long, pale-yellow hair had been thrown up into the messiest tangled knot atop her head Dorme had ever seen. Normally, she might have thrown a hairbrush at her sister's face or offered to brush it out until the golden locks were smooth and tangle-free, living in hell didn't mean you had to look like it after all, but there were more important things going on right now. Still, she couldn't resist eyeing the bird's nest once or twice making Sabe roll her eyes. " Stop it. I know how it looks... I'm going to take this out and make sure everything's packed up, Mon and Bail are about to take off with a car full of strays… Do you want to squeeze in with them?"
Looking over her shoulder as more and more people began racing through the hotel, arms full heavy with rations and clothing, Dorme let her dark gaze skim through the frenzy of the lobby until she recognised Kit hovering by the doorway he'd told her Anakin's beasts were locked behind. If she were a smart girl, she would have followed Sabe and climbed into the first car she found and gotten out of here before the gentlemen with the very big guns charged inside… but, whether it was beasts or bullets or bombs, if something was going to happen to her, she wanted a chance to talk to that idiot over there one more time.
Because... the big lug with his bright, beaming smile, galaxy painted out with freckles across his cheeks, and painfully hilarious ability to tell a story had almost instantly sneaked his way into being one of Dorme's favourite people. Not many people made it into those leagues. Getting to know Kit had been the one saving grace on those long, torturous days of stray searching and walking across the city shooting down beasts for hours and hours without a break. Well, that and saving people, of course... The stretch of their shifts had flown by while they chatted, sharing stories about the trouble they got into in their old lives and fiercely debating their picks of best movies ever made.
"No, not yet," Dorme shook her head and dropped her bags by her feet with a heavy thud. "I've gotta do something first… but if you want to go, don't feel like you have to wait for me. It's probably better if you head out with Obi-wan anyway." Maybe then Sabe would get around to telling the man they had a kid on the way? The way things were going, he was going to find out the day the kid came out. The image brought a small smile over the brunette's mouth. Obi-wan seemed like a fainter to her.
"I'll stay," Sabe said quietly, "I'm sure he'll want to wait for Padme anyway."
At the mention of their friend, both twins glanced through the hotel window as the snake they'd once lived with glowered furiously at his father, throwing his arms around as he yelled something Dorme didn't care to know about. I hope you know what you're doing out there, girl, she thought worriedly. It wouldn't be her standing across from Palpatine and his goons, that was for sure… but she and Padme were different people. She seemed to thrive on carrying the weight of the world on those shoulders of hers. Dorme?
Well, she just wanted to see tomorrow.
Besides, Anakin was out there too. Unhinged as he was, he would do whatever it took to keep Padme safe – whatever the hell was going on between those two now – Dorme didn't doubt that. It was just about the only thing he was good for.
Meeting Sabe's eye, she gave her sister a slight nod and began elbowing her way through the thinning crowd following Obi-wan through the hotel. There couldn't be many people left now… She only hoped there were enough working cars for everyone. Obi-wan and Kit had wanted to go out looking for more before Rush and his dad decided to crash the party.
"Kit!" Dome called out, weaving through people and their horrendously overstuffed bags. "What're you doing over here? We're leaving, remember?" Maybe they could get out together… wherever they were going was probably a horribly long drive away and she was going to need someone fun around if she was going to make it with Sabe vomiting every thirty minutes and Obi-wan brooding the whole time.
"Dorme," his eyes tore away from the window reluctantly, "I don't… I just want to make sure everything's alright out there."
"I get that," she nodded and followed his gaze as it returned to their friends outside. Palpatine sneered at Anakin as he spoke, his voice muffled and distant through the thick glass. "How do you think it's going?"
Kit shook his head slowly. "No idea. Rush doesn't look happy though…"
"Kit… How does this end? Look how many there are of them – they're not gonna just let those two walk away, are they?" Something ghastly grew her belly, telling her none of this was going to end well for them. How could it if that old man and his powerful friends wanted them dead? And for what? Surviving? Finding a way to live through this ordeal? It was so unfair. They were just people – what threat could they possibly be for someone like that?
Kit shook his head, eyes falling shut for a few seconds. "No… No, they're not." His chest heaved with a nervous breath as his hand caught her arm, stroking from Dorme's shoulder to the crook of her elbow. "Look, I uh… There's something I need to do… and I don't know if I'm brave enough."
Stepping closer to him, she felt her eyebrows knit together in confusion. "What do you mean?" She said, "What do you need to do?"
"If we somehow made it out of here alive…" His voice cracked and he offered her a nervous smile that didn't quite twinkle in his eyes as it normally did. Somehow, even with disaster at their door, her heart flipped in her chest. No one had ever made it do that before. "Say we got somewhere safe and I… and I asked you out… is that something you might… well, I mean, would you want that? And, ah, don't do me any favours on account of almost guaranteed death outside."
A small, sputtering laugh escaped from Dorme's lips and into the cramped space between them. He's so nervous, she thought with a smile, I can't believe I make him so nervous! Of all the things to happen to her in the new world, fighting monsters, joining a gang run out of an abandoned hotel and planning escapes from secretive murderous governments, how was being asked out the least likely scenario?
"Of course I would!" She inched closer to him and the world dissolved into nothing but the hopeful gleam in his eyes and the warmth of his skin on hers. "Kit, I…" What was she supposed to say? That she liked him? That he'd been in her head every day since they met? That she wished he'd been a Rebel so they could have met sooner?
"I know," he whispered, confirming everything and more with one slight nod of his head as they drank each other in, existing in a domain all of their own for this one steady moment. Slowly, his hand slid up and round her neck and as their faces moved wordlessly, meeting in a painstakingly gentle kiss which tasted of regret and hope. When he pulled back, Dorme's stomach sank to see a sheen of tears fill Kit's eyes. "Thank you," he murmured and she felt the shake of his fingers against her skin, "It's nice to know how it could have been. Y'know, in another life."
Wait, what?
"Enough of this!" Rush barked furiously. "Whatever he offered you isn't on the board anymore. I'm his son – he doesn't need whatever pathetic proxy he wanted you for, Skywalker." The venom which had seeped into his cold glare made him almost unrecognisable in Padme's eyes. The man she'd known had been soft and gentle. He had loved his friends and would never have wanted any harm to come from them.
But Palpatine's influence was alluring enough to corrupt almost anybody, it seemed, even those she'd thought would be immune.
"I have to say I'm surprised," Anakin chuckled without humour, shifting his haughty gaze between father and son as he spoke. "Rush has been back on your side for how long and he's talking for you already? How long before that snivelling coward is speaking at this big important table in your place too?"
The blow struck.
Palpatine's withered face twisted furious indignation, his bloated ego dented beneath Anakin's careful assault. His glower turned to his son who seemed to shrink beneath the raging turbulence in his father's lifeless gaze. "You insolent fools," the old man's mutter was subdued, full of quiet seething and yet it somehow still rang out loudly in the barren street around them. Behind him, his military guards exchanged a glance from behind their dark sunglasses. Despite this mask, Padme imagined they knew their boss enough to be worried about what came next. Or maybe she was projecting her own fear. "You moronic, senseless bastards! I offer a new world order – an opportunity to take your place in history and what are you doing? Snivelling and bickering over a woman of all things!" His vicious words grew into a shout as he turned to the men watching over them. "For god's sake, get her in a car. They'll learn to share if she's that damned special!"
Faster than she'd ever seen him move, Anakin withdrew a gun and directed it at the men who began to move toward them. "Come near her and you die!"
Here we go, Padme thought, ripping free her own weapon and flicked off the safety. Once, Palpatine's order would have frightened her and left her body rooted her to the spot, pliant and bendable until someone shot in her defence. Well, not anymore! Never again! She shook her head and aimed without a tremble in her hands. "You know, if this is how you treat woman, I can see why Roganda was so eager to leave you and to help us!"
The impact of her words did not land as she expected. Rush's hard gaze faltered, his face paling considerably as he looked to his father with wide eyes but Palpatine… this jab didn't fan his anger as she presumed it might. Instead, Padme's blood ran cold as the old man smiled.
"I don't tolerate discord in my house," he held up a hand to stop his men, "nor, Miss Naberrie, can I allow unpatriotic, faithless whores to spoil all I have worked for because their weak hearts abhor the blood that must be spilt. It would make me look weak. Powerless in my own marriage. No…" He shook his head slowly and the thinning, tufty white hair on his head moved in the breeze. "But don't worry, Roganda's is right here with us." Palpatine nodded at the soldier closest to him who marched back to the trunk of the car they stood nearest.
On her left, she felt Anakin's gaze but held Palpatine's instead, even as her stomach churned and her heart sank with worry. What has he done to her? The question echoed over and over in her mind. Is she hurt? Has he done something to make Roganda regret helping us? Beyond the smirking old man, she saw the man click open the car's trunk and withdraw a large, metal box.
"Where is Roganda?" She heard herself ask as the dark-haired suited man returned and held the box for Palpatine to open. "We don't care about what's in there, we just need to know if she's alright." The weakly disguised plea fell on death ears as Rush's father's thin, wrinkled fingers worked deftly to unlock the box with secretive numbers until it produced a resounding click as its locks gave way. Her former friend neglected to meet her eyes when she looked to him for answers.
"Take heed," Palpatine looked firstly at Rush and then Anakin as he reached inside the deep metal box, "this is how one deals with matters of the heart."
All at once, Padme cried out in horror and stumbled backwards, almost tripping over her own feet and tumbling to the dusty sidewalk as the decrepit man before them plucked a bloodied and bruised head from within the metal box with a handful of dark hair and tossed it carelessly to the concrete. It bounced heinously and rolled toward the young woman. Where Roganda's hair had previously been lusciously long and glowing with health, it was now cropped and sheared to almost nothing, leaving ragged chunks of matted fuzz. Dark, purple circles surrounded both eyes and coloured her pale cheek but worse of all, her slim neck was clotted in thick, brown globs of dried blood, Several jagged slices of flesh lay half severed, rotting and decaying where it lay mostly torn from its flesh.
He'd hacked her to pieces!
The Imperial Leader turned her back and hurled what little she had eaten in the past few hours onto the street before she could stop herself.
Padme had seen horrors in this life. She'd watched people scream and bleed and die. She'd seen beasts and crows picking at the remains of children.
But this? This was... it was -
She gasped for breath and vomited all over again
Roganda had only wanted to help them! She ran away from the life of excess and safety Palpatine had given her to try to save the lives of people she never knew – people who'd had no impact on her life! She was kind! There weren't many people who would have made the same choice and how had she been repaid? Dragged away in the night to be returned to a man capable of… of this!
"You sick bastard," Anakin snarled somewhere behind her, "That's what you do to your own wife?"
Bile and spittle clung to Padme's lips as she quivered and panted, leaning her hands on her thighs. Beneath the black leggings she wore, her knees quivered and threatened to crumble under her weight but with every scattered breath she pulled into her body, the panic and disgust began to fade. A gradual, steady outrage started to soar inside of her, starting low in her belly and up, up into her throat, into her lips and eyes and her teeth as they clenched. And then, it began to boil. How dare he? Her inner voice raged. How dare he do this to her?
He won't get away with it, not this time.
A sudden, vengeful cry tumbled from the young woman's mouth as she lifted the slight weight of her gun in both hands toward Sheev Palpatine and fired.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Dorme shrieked as a shower of bullets destroyed the hotel's large glass window and sent sharp fragments of glass soaring through the room followed by a woman's scream from somewhere outside. A thin, filthy man she didn't recognise cried out as a stray shot tore through his chest, splattering a spray of blood across the wall he'd been passing. Distantly, she heard Anakin shouting but the Imperial leader's words were lost beneath distressed roaring from deep behind the door she and Kit stood by. Evidently, the beasts could hear the trouble from all the way down there. Her mouth became dry at the thought of those things being so close by.
"Jesus!" Kit cried as more bullets were fired. "They need help out there!"
Help, Dorme wanted to shout at him, they need to get the hell out of there! If Padme and Anakin were smart they'd book it around the building and throw themselves into the nearest car they could find. If Palpatine's men were already shooting then things were only going to get worse from here. "Kit – Kit!" She grabbed his lean arm as he made to move, forcing his wide, frantic eyes to meet hers. The serenity and romance of moments earlier splintered and crumbled before her eyes and her heart grew heavier with its loss. It might have been nice to be normal people for just a few more moments… "You can't go out there, are you crazy? It won't help them, you'll only get yourself killed!"
Padme and Anakin would figure it out… they had to… Dorme didn't like it very much but it was what her friend would want. Besides, she had her sister and the kid to think about! Someone had to make sure they got out of here safely.
Kit shook his head and lifted a hand to cup her cheek softly. There was no romance in the small, hesitant smile that painted his lips now, only regret. "Dorme… Man, I wish we'd had more time…"
Out of nowhere, her eyes began to burn wetly. She had no idea what he was thinking but his tone was frightening her – he was beginning to sound like he was saying goodbye and that just wasn't possible! He was young and fit and they had a real chance to get of here together, he just had to come away with her. "We can have all the time in the world," she pleaded, taking his face in her palms to force him to look at her. "Just come and get in a car with me, Kit. Come on!"
"I want to," he murmured, leaning down to press his warm forehead to hers, "you have no idea how much… but I have to… Look, there's this button down there," he glanced sidelong at the door to the hotel's creature pit. "When you press it, it opens up all the cages so the beasts can get out. Anakin always said we'd need it one day..."
"Don't even finish that sentence!" She hissed, grasping at the soft material of his green shirt desperately, "how can you be so stupid?"
"Not stupid," he shook his head, "Pragmatic, I think. Look, you've seen all those guys out there – Dorme, we don't stand a chance against them, you know that as much as I do." Kit's long fingers stroked through her dark hair softly, "Letting out the beasts is our best chance at taking them out – someone's just gotta be brave enough to do it."
"That person doesn't have to be you!" She felt her heart pounding frantically. There had to be something – anything she could tell him that would change his mind! Sure, setting a group of monsters out onto those soldiers might do the trick and buy them some time but at what cost? His life? It wasn't worth it – it could never be worth it.
"Listen to me," his grasp on her became firm, "I'm just a guy who never got to finish med school… I'm not some leader or someone who can save the world and I'm okay with that. I know who I am and what I can offer and right now, all I can give you and everyone else here is hope, Dorme. Hope you can get out of here and live a long, long life. To do that, I have to do down there open the cages."
Tears welled and slipped from her eyes as she grasped at him as if her touch could be enough to change his mind and make him decide to stay. "But you'll be killed!"
He gave her a lazy, half-smile but Dorme saw the spark of fear in those bright eyes. "I got a lot longer than most people did. Now, go get into a car and get far away from here before they get out. I don't know how long this door will hold out once they run up here so I'll give it a few minutes before I hit the release."
However long it would be could never be long enough. Padme and Anakin were still out there dealing with Palpatine – they'd need time to escape and get to a car. Not to mention there were still people inside the hotel! It would take several minutes at least to herd people outside and that was if the glass in the revolving door stood a chance against ravenous beasts. "Please don't," she whimpered, "Please…"
His fingers stroked through her hair one last time. "I'll see you on the other side, Dorme."
"Kit! Kit wait!" She cried after him but he slipped through the door and into the darkness below before she could stop him.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion yet all too quickly to fully take in.
Padme's bullets shot through the air toward Palpatine with raging force as his men shouted and threw themselves in their leader's direction. The young woman could only watch with a slowly growing panic as the dark-haired man nearest Rush's father shoved the old man out of the way, knocking him to the ground with a harsh thud as the cartridges tore through his exposed throat and chest instead of their intended victim. Blood spurted from the deathly wounds and a pained, choking gasp escaped the soldier's mouth as he collapsed in a lifeless heap before her.
She blinked once, twice, and felt her eyes widen. That – she hadn't meant to hurt anyone but Palpatine! But he'd moved so quickly… He's dead, the voice inside her head gasped, you killed him!
Aphra's empty gaze and bloodied head flashed before the Imperial leader's eyes.
No, no, no… Not again!
"Father!" Rush cried, scampering to his father's side as the older man struggled to pull himself to his feet against the hood of one of the cars. The remaining soldiers formed an armoured line before the Palpatine men and took aim faster than she could draw a single frantic breath into her lungs. "Are you alright? Did she hurt you?!"
You killed him. You killed another person. What if he has a family waiting for him?
"Kill the bitch!" Palpatine roared as Rush helped him to stand straight once more, "I want her dead, do you hear me? Dead! Incapacitate Skywalker but I want him brought back alive!" One of the soldiers yanked open the closest black door to allow his boss and Rush to climb inside. "Do it now!"
"Wait, no! You can't! We have to take her alive, father you swore – " Rush cried but was forced inside the car by the soldier who slammed the door shut behind him without hesitation, muffling whatever else he had to say. Padme had no time to think about it before more guns than she cared to count swung in her direction, ready to rain bullets onto her body. Her heart leapt up into her throat.
It wasn't supposed to end this way…
"Padme!" Anakin cried, grasping the back of her shirt and throwing her body behind the dusty yellow cab someone had parked in front of the hotel as a potential escape vehicle. She fell with a cry, skinning her knees and palms upon the impact. Above her, his breath left his body in harsh, ragged pants as he stared the soldiers down. "I meant what I said," somehow, his voice remained level despite the firing squad aiming for them. "Hurt her and you die!"
"What are you doing?" She hissed, "Are you crazy?!"
He didn't listen to her, bringing his gun up and promptly sent shot after shot toward Palpatine's men. Several fell. Some merely grunted upon the impact against their likely bulletproof vests. "Get back into the hotel!" Anakin yelled, "Now!"
But it was too late. Bullets came all at once.
"Move! Hurry up!" Dorme shoved three stragglers out of the hotel's back door despite their protests and confusion. "No!" She hissed as a young man made to run back inside for something he'd forgotten. "Are you insane?" Her small hands pushed at his chest with as much fight as she could muster, making him topple backwards. "At any moment beasts are going to come flying out of that door and you want to go back inside? Get the hell out of here!"
Tears agonised her eyes but the Rebel would not let them fall… she couldn't. If they started, Dorme wasn't sure she would ever be strong enough to make them stop again. Her stomach churned to know Kit was down there with those things – that he was willingly letting them –
"Oh god," she choked, slapping her hand over her mouth as her body shuddered under the grief. Why did he have to be a hero? Why couldn't it be someone else? Thankfully, it went as quickly as it came as she steeled herself, swallowing down the rising devastation she felt. Kit didn't sacrifice himself for her to wallow around here. No. She wiped her face and made her way through the kitchen and lobby to ensure no one else was lingering around. Sabe and Obi-wan were still outside getting people into cars but they needed time, they needed to put some distance between them and the surge of monsters coming their way but that would take more time than they had!
She approached the door with her heart thundering in her breast. Any second and god knew how many of those things would be rushing up here to burst through the door and yet, Dorme felt no urgency to run or hide. Instead, her mind spun furiously. There had to be a way to buy the others some time to get away… maybe if she found a way to wedge a chair between the gaps in the door? Would that block it from turning? No… the space was too thin for any of the hotel's furniture to squeeze inside. It had been designed for a singular person to move around it at a time, after all.
Lifting a shaking first up, Dorme knocked against one of the glass panels of the door. It was thick, hardly surprising, a place that was this fancy probably had bulletproof glass in all these kinds of doors for security. That meant if the doors were blocked somehow, it would slow the beasts escape down enough to let everyone else get away…
But what? What was she supposed to use? There was no time! Deep beneath the hotel, several shrieking howls shattered the silence followed by a long, pained wail and Dorme's legs almost gave out
at the sound. Was that...? Oh please no... The scream came again, louder this time and she wanted to wail Kit's name until he answered her. Until he ran back up here and told her that this was all one big joke so she could smack him and pull him into one of the cars.
But Kit didn't come back.
Another anguished scream filled the air and her face crumpled, pressing herself wholly against the glass as a broken sob fled her lips. They were killing him and there was nothing Dorme could do to help him – no one was coming to save them. She began to fall, sliding down the length of the door as misery carried her away. Her head fell backwards as a long, mournful howl freed itself from her mouth.
"Dorme?!" Her sister's worried cry pulled the Rebel from the crushing distraction of sorrow, pulling her wet gaze over her shoulder to where her twin and Obi-wan were hurrying back into the lobby. Frantic concern painted their faces pale and it was all she could do to shake her head. It wasn't possible to put what had happened into words. No one would ever understand! "Dorme, people are saying there are beasts in the hotel? What's going on?!" Sabe began to grasp at her arm to pull her to her feet but the raven-haired sister shook herself free.
"You have to go," she gasped, her chest heaving unsteadily, "they're coming – you need to go right now!"
"We aren't going anywhere without you," Obi-wan successfully wrangled her to her feet where Sabe failed, "Now come on, we have a car waiting. We're going to race around and fetch Padme and Anakin. I have a bad feeling about what's going on out there."
The shooting outside had gone quiet, she realised distantly, when did that happen? Before or after Kit died? That terrible split tore Dorme's world into two fragmented pieces. A world with and a world without Kit. Colour and colourless.
He's dead, her inner voice wept, he's dead and nobody even knows!
"I…" Dome leaned her body back against the door, slotting her weight into the cramped space and planted her palms against the doorframe surrounding it. "Obi-wan, get her out of here." Her voice was cracked and distant, "Beasts are about to come crashing through this door and kill everyone around here… I – I need to stay." The revelation was as freeing as it was terrifying… She knew her purpose now. All her life, all she'd ever wanted to do was look after her sister. First from their bastard of a father and then the beasts and now… now it wasn't just about Sabe. She had her niece or nephew to think about too.
"Stay?" Sabe recoiled, her pale blue eyes widening in horror, "Dorme don't be ridiculous! We need to go right now – come on!" Her long, slim fingers curled around her wrist, tugging to no avail. When she did not move, her sister reared back angrily. "What's wrong with you? Dorme we have to go! Dorme!"
"I'll stay then," Obi-wan declared, "It's my place. The both of you make for the cars and I'll hold them back for as long as I can." Something grimly peaceful came over his face and Dorme didn't miss the hurt it brought to Sabe's eyes. "Perhaps it's time Satine and I were reunited…"
"No," she shook her head just as another growling roar filled the air and then the sounds of scuttling began to draw closer. "They're coming… Please, please, Obi-wan, get Sabe out of here." Her desperate eyes met her friend's and found a heartbroken acceptance inside them. "Sabe," Dorme took her sister's face in her palms tightly, even as she fought and tried to turn away.
"Dorme! Stop it! Stop this! What are you doing?" The blonde's tear-filled eyes were wide with panic and confused anger but none of that deterred Dorme from holding her twin close one last time.
"I love you," her voice wavered, "I love you, Sabe…" Her sister stopped struggling with a whimper, "and as much fun as staying around to be the fun aunt to this one," her palm laid across Sabe's flat stomach for a moment, "someone's got to give you both a chance." Tears spilled over onto both her cheeks at once as each twin's arms came tightly around one another. "Hope," she gasped into her sister's neck, "that's all I can give you now." Kit had been right, she just hadn't wanted to see it until now.
"Dorme, please," Sabe whined but the growing closeness of growling pulled her back to her post against the door.
"They're coming." Holding her face together was a battle she feared that she was losing, especially as the shocked awe that had come across the Rebel leader's face as he pieced the siblings' words together melted into melancholy. "Take Sabe and go! Now!"
He gave a small, stiff nod and reached for Sabe who fought him, trying in vain to avoid her lover's arms as they encircled her slight frame and began dragging her backwards toward the doorway they'd come running through to find her. "What are you doing? Get off me! Obi-wan get off me! Dorme! Dorme! Let me go! I'm not leaving her! Dorme – no please! Please, Dorme! Dorme, please!"
The young woman gasped and tried to steady herself while her sister's desperate cries faded as Obi-wan half-carried half-dragged her through the hotel and to the safety of their waiting car outside. Every once of willpower she possessed fought to keep her legs steady and her arms braced against the doorframe as growls and hisses grew closer and closer behind her.
I can do this… I can do this… I have to do this…
If Kit could face his death to help everyone then Dorme could certainly do it to save her sister and her child. She closed her eyes, summoning every ounce of strength she had despite crying out as the first beast threw itself against the door, battering the glass with all its strength as others began to join it. Her feet slid, giving an inch or two before pushing backwards, holding them in.
Instead of blood and death, memories carried the Rebel away to hazy, golden days of playing in the backyard with Sabe… of braiding daisies into chains and crowning one another Queens of imaginary kingdoms. The faint recollection of her mother's smile. Of Kit's lips against hers.
More and more beasts thrust themselves against the door, making her groan with the effort of pushing them back. Her arms shook with the effort. Behind her, furious shrieks and hissing growls came muffled through the glass and Dorme grit her teeth as her feet slid a few inches forward again. **I can't hold it, she thought desperately, no! No, not yet! It's not enough. I need to keep holding… buy more time…
For Sabe, for the baby and Obi-wan, for Padme and Anakin and all the others out there who Kit died to save. Dorme would make sure they got out because that would be his legacy… it would be their legacy together.
Suddenly, a long, razor-sharp talon pierced its way through the glass and into the tender flesh of her shoulder, stabbing so deeply that she watched as it burst, wet and bloody, through the other side, splattering her blood on the carpet before her. A long, agonised scream tumbled out of her throat as her muscles contracted in a deep, excruciating throb. Blood poured hot and wet down her shoulder and dripped onto her boots but she fought through the pain. Keep going, her brain begged her body, I have to keep going! Hold on… Hold on!
Gritting her teeth, she pushed back as best she could even as the beast withdrew its claw before plunging it within her again, inches lower this time. The brutal pain dulled just slightly but it still knocked her vision white for a moment. Her shoulder began to weaken and slip as the deafening screech of tires outside brought Dorme's eyes up once more. They were in the car! They were getting away!
I love you, Sabe, she thought one last time as the glass began to shatter and beasts threw themselves through its sharp remains.
"Fuck, I think we shot a load too many," one of the voices groaned from beyond the darkness surrounding her. "Did we kill them both? I don't see them moving."
A dull, burning ache burned in her right arm. They felt warm and wet but more pressing was the heavy weight crushing her into the sidewalk. She couldn't breathe! Panic began to set in as the unmovable force above her grew more oppressive by the moment, even as she tried to shift it off. The movement brought a blinding pain from the back of her head followed all too quickly by nausea she just barely held back.
Then, the weight above her groaned and Padme's eyes snapped open.
Gloomy surrounded her face and she lifted her unaffected arm to remove whatever it was that lay across her face and felt her stomach lurch to realise it was an arm. Anakin's arm. Without thinking, the Imperial leader tried to move her other arm and almost screamed as the pain bounced through every inch of her flesh from shoulder to wrist.
It was so wet… and warm…
Summoning all her strength, Padme jostled Anakin's weight from her body and gasped in a desperate breath as he tumbled off of her. She panted as her lungs enjoyed the sweet embrace of uninterrupted air but the young woman's peace was brief. Without the considerable burden of him on top of her, the once grey sidewalk around them came into her view and almost tore a guttural cry of terror out of her mouth.
They were laying in a pool of blood! Warm, fresh, blood. It flowed from two mangled wounds that shredded through her upper shoulder, the lacerations wept as though they had opened all the way to her bone. Padme cupped her shoulder with trembling fingers, hissing out a broken cry as the injuries seared in response. Blood seeped through her fingers. Her skin felt like it was scorching and pained tears filled her eyes.
She'd been shot, the realisation crept up on her suddenly. It didn't feel all too deep and judging by the hollow tunnels the bullets had left in their wake, they had thankfully only pierced her flesh and missed the bone. Releasing the wound, Padme used her uninjured arm to prop herself up slowly, lest the soldiers notice and complete their orders. Only six men remained, standing in a close, whispering huddle with their backs facing her. Good, she thought, gritting her teeth together, I have to check on Anakin.
What the hell had happened? It was a blur... Shots and screams and fire and blood roared in her memories. Anakin had thrown her behind the cab for protection... He'd been banking on Palpatine's men following their orders not to kill him to buy her time but she hadn't gone back into the hotel like he said. Using the cab as a shield, she'd helped take out soldier after soldier, blocking out any guilt to focus on surviving long enough to get out until one of them hit her.
The memories came surging back. She'd cried out, distracting Anakin for just a moment... and that's all it had taken. As he cried her name and the second shot pierced through her arm, Padme had only been able to watch as bullets tore through his wrist and forearm with brutal precision, sending his gun to the ground with a clatter.
She'd sacrificed her shield in the panic, rushing out as more bullets tore through his leg, sending Anakin's weight crashing into her with a pained shout. She must have hit her head when they went down...
They had given as good as they'd gotten or perhaps even better. Soldiers dead and dying lay in heaps of dark suits, stray sunglasses and discarded guns. In their care to not fatally strike Anakin, they had left themselves open to the relentless, desperate unloading of he and Padme's own weapons.
Somewhere behind her, Padme heard shouting, the high, panicked voice was feminine and its desperate brays pulled at her recognition but her brain was too preoccupied with the spasming, cramping pain in her arm to take true notice. She rolled over with a groan, falling heavily upon her unharmed side where she had pushed Anakin just moments ago. Her former lover lay on his back with his eyes shut and her heart constricted in a tight, clench of panic until a single, ragged breath made his chest heave though the strain of it was plain to hear.
"Ani…?" She whispered, reaching out her bloody hand to nudge at him gently but to no avail. Groaning with the intense strain of it, Padme shifted her aching body closer to his so that she could better see his ashen skin. Blood seeped heavily from his own wounds, soaking through the sleeve of his coat. "Anakin? Hey, hey!" She shook him gently, "Ani, can you open your eyes for me?" The world around them became nothing as she cupped at his cheek, leaving a violent smear of red across his paled skin.
There was so much blood around them… even if it was a harrowing blend of both of their wounds, it was far, far too much. Despite the deep cramp in her arm and the throbbing inside her skull, Padme felt fine but he looked terrible. Batting through the fierce spike of pain it caused, she reached for one of the blades still tucked neatly inside Anakin's holster and withdrew it with a sharp tug. Thankfully, the sleeve of his coat shred easily beneath the bite of the knife, coming away smoothly to reveal four circular, blood-soaked voids where his flesh had once been intact. Shattered pieces of bone and gore lined Anakin's arm where the bullets Palpatine's men fired had blasted through his skin.
Her stomach heaved from the look and smell of it and it took all of the young woman's willpower not to vomit what little remained inside of it right by his head. What have they done to you? She wanted to cry out, what have they done?
Every breath that flowed into his lungs came weaker than the last and dismay threatened to morph into hysteria. He was bleeding out! What could she do to help him? The moment she tried to get up or move enough to catch the soldier's attention, they would shoot her down and then drag Anakin to whatever hell Palpatine intended to take him. No, Padme felt her face twist into a scowl, that man wasn't going to lay a hand on Anakin. Not ever!
"You're okay…" her voice cracked as she stroked her hand through his hair, letting the blade fall with a rattle to the concrete. "You're going to be okay, I promise. You just have to stay with me, Ani. Okay? Just stay with me…" There had to be something she could do, there had to be! There was always a plan or a way out that made everything okay again. She just needed to think. Think! Gathering him closer in her arms despite the pain of it, Padme felt tears begin to fill her eyes. "Please don't leave me, Ani." She clung to him fiercely, cradling his body to her as if she could spare his dwindling life through determination alone. "I love you," the words tumbled out of her mouth as she pressed her lips to his softly. "I love you, I love you, please don't leave me…"
"Hold up! Look! She's still alive." A deep, male voice from behind her made Padme's tearful gaze snap open once more. "Fuck it, even if he's not, put him in the car. Worst comes to worst we'll say one of the experiments did it. Boss can't blame us for that."
Shuddering and seething and frightened beyond all rational thought, she shook her head, casting a vicious glare over her shoulder at the soldiers. "Don't touch him!" She cried, bearing her teeth as if she were as feral as one of the beasts. Though it trembled wildly, Padme freed her injured arm and scrambled to snatch up a gun either she or Anakin had dropped and point at the men, even as they exchanged exasperated eye-rolls at the weak effort. "I mean it! Come any closer and I'll kill you!"
"Nothing personal, sweetheart," the tallest of the men strode forward a few steps and gave a lazy shrug as if he was unbothered by her threats. "Boss wants the guy brought back so he's going back. Boss wants you dead?" Deft fingers flicked off the safety on the black Glock in his hand as he aimed at Padme once last time. "Well, we've got to follow orders. I'll make it quick, I promise."
He, this nameless, remorseless, spineless man, made to pull the trigger but she, after years of running and fighting beasts for her life, was faster. Padme fired furiously sending bullet after bullet sailing through the air and into his unprepared body in all the areas a bulletproof vest did not protect. He stumbled backwards, debilitated but that didn't stop the young woman from discharging more and more bullets as she erupted with a frenzied cry. Part of her soul died with the gutted soldier she sent to the ground gave a wet, death gargle. Another death at her hands. Another heart not beating. Another life taken.
And she would do it again.
To save Anakin's life, Padme knew she would kill every last one of them.
Just as she began to ready herself to strike again, as the men recovered from their shock that the bleeding, crying woman had so brutally taken down one of their own and prepared to snuff her out, the squeal of tires spinning furiously shot through the air, stilling them all. A moment later, a shining red truck skidded around the corner of the hotel, revving dangerously as it rushed toward the unprepared men. They shot at the vehicle but it only gained speed, giving chase until two of Palpatine's men had been crushed beneath its thick wheels. The others dodged and took cover behind their own cars to refill their ammunition. When the truck halted, a familiar voice cried her name as Obi-wan threw himself out of the car and onto the sidewalk, running toward them.
"Get in the car!" He yelled as a feminine screech filled the air from inside the hotel, followed by several growling roars. "Padme, get up and into the car now!" Panic and stress outlined every line of the Rebel leader's face, colouring him grey and sickly as he tugged harshly on her arm to drag the young woman to her feet.
"But Anakin – " she began only for Obi-wan to shake his head and push her toward the vehicle.
"I'll get him! You get in the car, Padme!"
So she ran, bleeding and nauseous and utterly terrified as bullets launched themselves through the air again, only this time, they flew beyond her and Obi-wan and to the entrance of the Empire where a mass of beasts of every size and colour climbed over one another in their scrambling impatience to burst through the shattered window and closed doorway regardless of the notched remnants of glass that pierced their scaled skin and drew yellow and green splatterings of blood. The creatures didn't care, too enthralled by their first taste of freedom and the deadly urge to hunt. As she climbed onto the spacious back of the truck and turned to help Obi-wan as he dragged Anakin's unconscious body onto the car after her, soldiers screamed and ran as monsters launched at them without mercy, ecstatically tearing and biting into their flesh and tearing it from their bones.
Their tortured screams were almost – almost – drowned out by the squealing of tires as Sabe slammed her foot down on the gas the moment Obi-wan and Anakin were securely on the truck. Beasts gave chase, running and leaping in efforts to throw themselves into the truck but as fast as they were, the car was mercifully faster and the soldiers on foot spread throughout the city were easier targets to catch. With the onslaught of escaped beasts galloping through the streets, howling and snarling their joy in their release, there were almost no soldiers able to attempt to stop them as they raced to the city's borders and beyond. What few who tried were easily gunned down by Padme as Obi-wan worked furiously with the first aid boxes packed into the truck to tend to Anakin's wounds.
As street after street vanished behind them, it was a hurricane of bullets, teeth and claws but the worst of it had already been battled down by fleeing survivors ahead of them. Padme shot down beasts and soldiers alike, each of them no longer a living being, no longer anything more than an obstacle in the way of getting out of the city before it was too late to help Anakin. Before the bombs fell. She couldn't bring herself to feel guilty about it any longer.
As buildings thinned out and more and more mismatched vehicles appeared on the horizon ahead, she realised they'd passed the city edges and that the remaining soldiers behind them were distracted by containing the beasts and unconcerned with giving chase. The Imperial leader looked back at the shrinking skyscrapers as the wind tousled her hair and caressed every inch of her skin as the realisation settled upon her.
They'd done it…
They were free.