Karyvdys, Outer Rim, 5000 BBY
"Marillay!"
The black-haired woman tried blocking out the sound of the angry voice calling for her.
The flames surrounding the battlefield made the heated air difficult to breathe in.
Her heavy cloak was a nuisance, but also a necessity…
Her infant daughter hid under it, strapped to her chest, as she ran through the rubble and the chaos, her eyes focused on the place where her shuttle waited.
She had to get out of there!
"Marillay!"
The cruel voice that had once spoken to her with a tender tone, kept calling amidst the fire and the smoke.
He was lost to her…
Her loving companion was but a distorted version of the man he'd once been.
Navann had sided irrevocably with the invading Sith.
The red skinned Dark Siders had brought pain and slaughter to her world, and now Karyvdys was ruined…
Her once beautiful planet laid in ashes in front of her. Her people murdered or enslaved.
Marillay's father had fallen defending their household.
Her last action before turning her back on her childhood home had been to thrust her lightstaff into her father's killer's chest.
She had picked up the invasor's red lightsaber for extra protection, and now she had to reach her shuttle and run away from that place! More than anything, she had to protect her daughter!
Navann wanted the child to raise according to his new beliefs… A Dark Sider like her father.
Marillay would go to the end of the galaxy if she had to, in order to protect her daughter!
Staff in one hand and saber on the other, she rushed towards the far end of the doomed city. The small Jedi corps that had their headquarters in the capital city of Calujee had been almost completely subdued, and any help from Coruscant would arrive too late.
Her people were doomed, and it their blood was on Navaan's hands…
A near explosion almost knocked her off her feet, and she heard her daughter weeping inside her cloak. She reached her cheek to caress the small child, whispering to her.
She hadn't even named her child yet, so afraid she was that her feelings would be caught by Navaan. Her daughter would have to be hidden from her father! He would never get his hands on her!
Marillay finally reached the place where she'd hidden her shuttle, and a sigh of relief escaped her lips.
She'd made it!
"Hold it right there." An unknown voice ordered her. As she turned to face her opponent, she saw three of the red-skinned creatures.
A small obstacle…
Three red lightsabers hummed and Marillay the snap-hiss of her own lightsaber and lightstaff.
With graceful movements, she advanced to them, with a smile on her lips. She was faster than them… more powerful too!
Calling the Force to her, she emptied herself of all intruding thoughts and allowed her spirit to be filled with absolute serenity.
It was like a dance…
Three steps, block the first two with her staff. Use the lightsaber in her off-hand to block the third one. Duck and use the staff to attack the first two.
They yelled in pain as the staff's blades cut clean through their legs. Marillay rose, her expression resolute, and thrust herself towards her last standing enemy. She cut off the energy on her staff and raised the red lightsaber, coming down on the Sith's chest.
Still alive and grunting with pain, the other writhed on the floor. The Jedi way was to let them live… But if they informed Navaan she'd left on her shuttle, he might come after her.
With was a matter of keeping her daughter safe.
She inhaled slowly, clearing her thoughts as she released the air…
"I beg the forgiveness of the Masters that came before me, for what I'm about to do." She whispered.
Marillay turned her staff back on, and with a sudden movement, she thrust her weapons into their hearts.
She lowered the shuttle's ramp and went inside, allowing herself to take a last glance at her now dying world.
Karyvdys was dead.
And so was Marillay Sah'Man!
The stars stretched into lines in front of her. She had no idea where to go yet, but she knew any world she'd choose, would have to be either off the grid or so unimportant that no one would look for her there.
Her name was abandoned. she'd left it on the rubble on Karyvdys. From now on, she would simply be that small child's mother.
She rose from her chair, heading to where a makeshift cradle was. Her month-old daughter slept with the blessed ignorance of a small baby. The woman gazed on her child's face, her short, curly, black hair; her rosy pout; her peaceful features…
She needed a name for her daughter. One which didn't sound Karyvdyan.
Once, when she was very little, she'd gone travelling to the world of Sermeria. Her parents had found lodging in a charming hovercabin near a small lake. She'd found the place wonderful!
She remembered a name… a young girl, also on vacation with her parents. They'd become fast friends, and had spent those two weeks exploring the valley with a couple of other kids.
Ithylia was her name!
She liked the sound of it...Ithylia…
"Well, my love." She whispered to the sleeping child. "You have a name now! Ithylia, my lovely daughter…" The child stretched on her sleep, and she could almost swear she'd smiled.
She went back into the pilot's chair, letting her Ithylia sleep on her cradle. Consulting her maps, she began the task of choosing a system to travel to. For now she was heading for the Hydian Way, but she needed to choose a world where she could hide with Ithylia.
As she sorted out through systems and worlds, two names appeared in front of her: Taum Reese and Taanab.
She pulled out the info she had on those two planets. Both had breathable atmosphere, and presented habitable features. The files mentioned that Taum Reese had a harsher climate than Taanab, being prone to hurricanes and torrential storms. Taanab, on the other hand, seemed more hospitable. The latter planet had been discovered shortly after the Tionese War, but apparently it had left to its own devices, not having colonised yet. Reports spoke of a small presence of nearly primitive humans, that were deprived of any technology.
Laying back on her chair, she gazed on the images of Taanab. The world was one huge jungle, and it was comprised of a single continental mass and just a dozen of small islands to the south. The rest was just a vast ocean…
It would be the ideal world to raise her daughter.
She inserted the new coordinates in her navigational system, and allowed herself to rest for a while.
Taanab would be their new home.
She closed her eyes as images of a young black-haired girl, running and laughing amongst the trees and the tall bushes, filled her dreams. She could even discern a sweet and spicy smell in the air, and the sound of a near brook, it's crystal blue waters.
A smile flourished in the sleeping woman's lips, as the hope of better future for her small child seeped into her weary heart…