The screams of the creatures echoed through the air as if the beasts were announcing their intentions to the devastated world below them. They circled like raptors hunting for prey, swooping low to scan the ravaged cliffs sloping into the churning seas before soaring into the air again.
Far below them, a family reverently bowed in the scattered clumps of brush as the beasts moved overhead. To this primitive family, the creatures were gods sent from the heavens to watch over them and entertain them with their seemingly unlimited power.
A rugged-looking man dressed in crude handcrafted leather looked over at his wife and their blonde-haired son. While his gaze was upon them, his young daughter stepped out from the brush and turned her head towards the skies. She approached the edge of the cliff and stared at the flying creatures with widened eyes ablaze with childlike awe.
Her beautiful blue eyes watched in amazement as the flocks of creatures raced in the sky with their motionless wings. They danced among the parade of clouds galloping across the blue backdrop like a stampede of white horses. She had seen them dozens of times as they acrobatically twisted and turned in the skies above the steep seaside cliffs.
In every instance they appeared, she would stand captivated. They always seemed to put on a majestic airshow just for her. Today there were even more of them than had filled the skies during her previous encounters. The salt-laden sea breeze whipped through her golden hair while she focused on the creatures. She smiled when two of them suddenly descended towards the cliffs and paused in the air.
The mother looked at her husband with a furrowed brow. "Go get her, please."
"It's all right. Besides, it's wise not to make any sudden movements," the father replied. He glanced at his wife and noticed the worry etched on her face. He reached out with his hand and took hold of hers. He caressed it softly and looked into her eyes. "They are just curious."
The mother slowly nodded and turned her attention back to her daughter gazing up at the creatures hovering fifty meters above the cliffs. The creatures remained motionless while the young girl stared at them in wonder.
She watched the sun glistening on the creatures' grey-blue skin. She examined each beast's curved and motionless wings as they hung in the air. In the face of the beasts, a shadow moved within a single crystal eye. She turned her attention to the shadowy form to see it lift an arm in a friendly wave. She smiled and returned the gesture to the entity that strangely appeared at peace within the beast's eye.
A sudden series of screams filled the air. The young girl turned her eyes towards the skies to see the rest of the beasts fly rapidly into the clouds and vanish. She turned her gaze back to the pair of hovering creatures and watched the shadowed entities within them.
"Sir, the rest of the squadron have entered hyperspace and are en route to the rendezvous point," Imperial Colonel Tyaal Veriss said, glancing down at the display before him.
He relaxed in his pilot's seat, and listened to the humming of his fighter's engines filling his helmet like water gently poured into an empty glass. Several moments passed by with no response. Veriss turned his head to the right to check the status of the comm system. The lights were all glowing green.
He furrowed his brow while pondering on the uncharacteristic silence from his commanding officer and best friend, Imperial Admiral Garren Prolov. In their private moments, the two men often referred to one another by their first names. Even though they were alone now and on a private channel, Veriss mentally brushed aside calling Prolov by his given name in favor of adhering to military protocol.
"Admiral?", Veriss inquired again after waiting a few seconds for a response. He turned his hovering TIE Advanced x1 to the left. An identical hovering TIE filled his viewscreen.
"Colonel, I can run a diagnostic scan on Phantom Leader's comlink if you wish, sir," Phantom Two, Veriss's fighter's AI said.
Veriss sighed, keeping his eyes on Prolov's fighter. "Begin, diagnostic sequence-"
"Phantom Two, belay that order. I can hear you loud and clear, Tyaal," the voice of Imperial Admiral Garren Prolov said in a soft tone. "I'm just making a few observations before we leave."
Prolov turned his eyes towards the cliffs below, watching the young girl gazing up at his fighter with widened eyes. He had noticed her on his previous visits to this post-apocalyptic backwater world in the Outer Rim known as Parnassos.
She always stood out to him when he surveyed the rocky surface of the coast. While her family cringed at the sight of his fighter, she consistently ran to the cliff's edge and gazed up at him, sometimes offering a friendly wave. He always returned the gesture before blasting off into the skies with a smile, knowing he would see her again on his next visit.
However, today was different for them both. He held his fighter in a steady hover, keeping his eyes on her. The emotions on her face almost matched the ones welling within his heart as if an unseen bond connected them. He had become accustomed to seeing her on his visits to this world.
He emotionally embraced her as if she were his child during those times. This particular moment was bittersweet for him. His purpose for the periodic visits to her world had been fulfilled and with his work completed, he had no reason to ever return.
His mind suddenly drifted back to the memories of his deceased wife, Annalisa, and their unborn child, both taken from him so cruelly and unexpectedly. He thought of them often when he visited Parnassos and when he saw the excited young girl waving from the cliffs. In many ways, his memories of his lost loved ones had manifested themselves in the image of this child who intently watched him from her perch on the cliffs.
She reminded him of what would never come to be in his life. Beneath his helmet, a single tear fell from his eye. His duties with the Galactic Empire prevented him from being there to protect Annalisa and their daughter when they needed him the most. He was determined it was going to be different for this child.
The clouds parted, allowing a beam of golden sunlight to shine through. It soared over the cockpit of his fighter and flowed down upon the girl as if the theatre of the cosmos were shining a spotlight upon a talented actress. She resembled an angel of the light with the sunbeam radiating around her.
Enamored with the sight, Prolov nodded. The tear tickled his cheek and he broke into a brilliant smile. "I'm going to see she has all of the opportunities my daughter never got to enjoy. Our work here is done. We won't be coming back, but I'm not going to leave her defenseless, Tyaal. "
"I understand, sir," Colonel Veriss replied as he looked down at the young girl. "What do you have in mind, Admiral?"
"We'll bring the planetary defense system back online when we leave the atmosphere," Prolov replied, steadying his ship. "And we'll leave the rest to fate."
"Sounds like a plan, and I'm ready to head out when you are, sir," Veriss replied, turning his fighter away from the cliff.
Prolov held his position for a second and then offered a friendly wave. The girl's face lit up with a smile and she waved back. Satisfied with her response, Prolov turned his fighter towards the skies and accelerated into the clouds, with Veriss's ship taking up his left flank.
On the cliffs below, the girl watched the creatures ascend before disappearing into the clouds. She replayed the scene of the shadow's friendly wave in her mind while continuing to watch the skies. She pondered on the curious symbols adorning the creature's left-wing pylon, similar to the inscriptions on the debris that occasionally washed up on the beaches. The young girl's mother approached her and reached out to her.
"They waved at me again, mother," she said as the woman scooped the little girl up. "I think they like me."
The woman chuckled as she kissed the girl on the cheek. "Then you should be proud the gods have smiled upon you...Phasma."
As her mother carried her towards her father and brother, the young Phasma continued to gaze at the skies hoping to catch another glimpse of the "gods" her mother had mentioned. Her face stretched into a confident grin directed at the heavens.
Someday, I will join you up there; she thought, holding on tightly to her mother. And I will be as great as you...
With a roar like an exploding volcano, the landscape broke apart. She fell from her mother's arms and tumbled through the decades until she arrived at 34 ABY. Her fully grown form felt another vibration rumble through the durasteel surface, supporting her chromium armor-covered body. Suddenly, Supremacy's hangar bay deck crumbled beneath Captain Phasma, dropping her into the fiery expanse far below. The flames stretched upwards like demonic arms reaching out to take hold of her armored form before dragging her into hell. The exposed skin beneath her shattered left lens began to redden. The heat of the fires seeped into her broken chromium helmet. Instinctively, she grabbed her armor weave cape and wrapped it around her head, covering the opening as she plummeted towards the smoldering debris on the deck beneath her.
She relaxed as she fell, knowing the impact would be harsh and probably break or even shatter bones in her body. There would also be internal injuries that would require a long bath in a bacta tank. Her body suddenly slammed into the deck with such tremendous force that it felt like someone had rammed her with a rapidly moving land speeder. The jolt rattled through the armor covering her like the concussion of cluster bombs. She gasped as the air pushed itself out of her lungs. Spasms of searing pain raced along every nerve in her body. She grimaced beneath her helmet as bones snapped and ligaments popped in a morbid symphonic chorus.
She gritted her teeth and groaned as a terrible pain raced from her head to her feet. She tried to move her legs and winced as the pain burned fiercely through her thighs and calves. Her ankle turned with an excruciating throb as she felt a sensation like thousand burning needles piercing her flesh.
She tried to lift her arms but let out a muffled scream as aches shot through her muscles and nerves connected to broken bones. Her head swam as blood rushed to her brain. She fought against a rising wave of unconsciousness as her vision clouded. The excruciating pain of her injuries was compounded by heat slowly penetrating her armor. She winced while trying to pull fresh air into her lungs. Each breath brought a burning sensation that parched her lips and scorched the back of her throat.
She glared at the broken deck above with her right eye, safely concealed beneath the lens on her helmet. High-pitched screams filled the air just before a pair of TIEs soared out of the shielded opening of the hangar bay. She watched in agony as another trio of fighters screeched into the safety of space.
None of them are coming for me; she thought as a spasm of pain raced through her damaged body. They don't even care that I'm here. Those are the fruits born from apathy, and I sowed those seeds by teaching them to ignore the plight of the weak and wounded...
"I tried to teach you differently, Phasma," a gentle voice said from somewhere in the flames. "I reached out to you when no one else would. I tried to show you a better way."
Phasma closed her eyes as tears fell down her cheeks. "I remember those times. Let me go back to them. Let me see what we once had."
A calming peace came over her suddenly as if the arms of an angelic being had embraced her. Around her, the burning hulk of Supremacy wavered and disappeared into the darkness. A light suddenly broke through the black void. She reached out with her hand to take hold of it, longing for the hope it offered.
Let me see what once was; she thought just before the light absorbed her.