"Have the transports been prepared?"
"N—No, ma'am."
"Let's rectify that, shall we?"
"Right away, Captain."
I noticed Kylo's nod of approval as the nervous pilot commed the hangar.
The bridge of the command shuttle was surprisingly small. Kylo and I stood behind the pilots as they brought us into orbit above Malastare. Through the small viewport, the planet's curved surface shone neon blue and green, encased by the soft halo of the atmosphere.
The LZ was a small patch clearing of grass within a vast forest. Trees grew in size as we approached the surface until they towered over us like skyscrapers. The hilly terrain made visibility even more difficult. I felt blinded as we touched down.
I monitored the Stormtrooper unit exiting the transport, holding in my disgust at the muddy ground beneath my feet. My heads-up display showed high temperature and humidity, which made me grateful for the climate control within my suit. The Stormtroopers weren't so lucky.
According to our scans, the first potential site for the artifact lay ten kilometers north. The second site was not very far from the first. As we began our arduous trek through the forest, the canopy provided much-needed relief from the planet's relentless sun.
About halfway, a bright flash caused some of the men to raise their blasters. A low rumble of thunder followed, penetrating down to the bone. I squinted up at the patches of gray sky visible through the trees.
The sight of a structure caused early celebration among the Troopers. I hushed them as we approached, blasters drawn. Kylo led the way, the hilt of his lightsaber clenched in his fist. The moss-covered ruins looked ancient. A large structure stood in the middle, surrounded by smaller huts that were similar in design. We passed a crumbling fountain, now a cesspool of insects and algae.
"Set up a perimeter," Kylo ordered one of the unit leaders.
"Yes, Supreme Leader."
He barked out instructions to his men as Kylo continued toward the temple. I followed at his heels, gripping my rifle a little tighter. The entrance to the main structure was wide open and intensely dark, its wooden doors having rotted away long ago. The cobblestone steps were cracked and uneven. When I realized Kylo intended to enter alone, I balked at the threshold.
"Sir," I said in Captain Phasma's voice.
He stopped and gave me a reassuring glance. "There's no one inside."
I peered into the darkness, clicking on my blaster's flashlight. It cast a circular beam of light across the large room and illuminated dust particles drifting through the air. Kylo ignited his lightsaber, the sound echoing loudly as it filled the room with scarlet light.
"Reminds me of Luke's temple," he mused.
He moved, and the trembling beam of light moved with him.
"Do the Sith have temples like this?" I asked, advancing hesitantly.
"I wouldn't know," he replied, his voice echoing from across the room. "I think so."
Wasn't Snoke a Sith Lord? I wanted to ask. Aren't you?
We fell silent as we explored the main room. It appeared to be some kind of amphitheater—a small stage surrounded by wide circular steps. Decades or centuries of dirt and grime covered every surface. He took his time examining a row of ruined bookshelves. I noticed two hallways branching to the left and right.
"I'll clear the east wing," I said.
I glanced at him as I waited for confirmation. He was focused on an ancient book in his hands, now more leather binding than actual pages. After a full minute, I took his silence as approval.
The musky smell of the place quickly made it through my respirator. As I wound through narrow hallways, I looked into each room I passed. Each held furniture that was dilapidated beyond recognition. Books were scattered on the tables and the ground, their pages soaked and rotten. Dots of light shone through tiny fissures in the ceiling. At the end of the hall, I discovered an old washroom. This is a dormitory.
My mind conjured images of Force-sensitive younglings who were trained—or rather, indoctrinated—in these very halls.
By the time I made it back to the main room, Kylo was gone. I curiously crouched next to the book that he had been reading. The grime on the cover had been wiped away, revealing the words: Masters of the Jedi Order. Surprisingly, some words were still legible as I turned through the pages. I couldn't read the language.
An indistinct sound suddenly echoed from the west wing. I stood and squared my blaster on my shoulder. Then I heard Kylo's voice, full of anger.
"How did you track me?"
I ran. The layout was a mirror image, making navigation easy. I rounded the final corner and found Kylo aggressively facing an opponent. I followed his line of sight with my flashlight and saw—
Nothing…?
Alarm bells went off in my mind. As my adrenaline subsided, I began to decipher the words he was sneering at the wall.
"Don't bother. It'll be gone before you arrive." A long pause. "Then you're a fool!"
"Kylo…"
He turned away from the apparition, surprised by my presence.
"Who is Rey?"
Before he could answer, the communicator on my left arm began to flash. I answered it with a flick of my fingers. "Phasma."
"Command shuttle here," one of the pilots responded. "We're on the far side of the planet right now, but we detected a craft entering the atmosphere above your location. Please advise."
"Resistance?"
"Unknown, ma'am."
"Maintain orbit on the far side and standby," I ordered.
Kylo stormed out of the room. As I side-stepped out of his way, I could only imagine the look of pure rage on his face. When we got outside, rain was pouring out of the sky like I had never seen before. Though it was still midday, the light of the sun was diminished by the storm. Kylo approached the nearest unit leader.
"It's not here. Gather your men and march to the second site. The Resistance has tracked us to this planet."
The Sergeant was struck temporarily mute. "The Resistance?"
"Now!" Kylo growled.
The slight panic in his voice was likely undetectable to all ears but mine. He turned to me. Through the barrier of our helmets, through the torrential rain, my unanswered question hovered between us. But now was not the time for arguing—it was time for action.
"Stay with them," he ordered. "Move fast. Set up a perimeter and stay in contact."
I nodded. "Yes, sir."
Our leisurely walk turned into a frenzied hike through the drenched forest. I called for speed as the Troopers marched in three tight lines of ten. The wind caused the trees to sway around us, creaking dangerously and shedding branches at random. Lightning struck so close that thunder immediately followed.
The unit leaders coordinated the perimeter once we arrived. Stormtroopers broke off in groups of three, winding around the temple in centrifugal circles. I stood near the main structure, identical to the last, and used the enhanced opticals of my helmet to scan the trees. Something didn't feel quite right. I opened a com channel to Kylo.
"Perimeter established," I said.
"...cave-in…rear section…my…"
The low-quality response indicated his communicator was damaged.
"Request repeat—"
Suddenly, a blue blaster bolt shot out from the trees and bounced off my shoulder with a clang. I raised my rifle and fired a volley of return fire. The uniformed man in my sights vanished into the bushes.
"Ambush!" I yelled.
An exchange of red and blue fire began almost immediately. I crouched behind a large rock and shouldered my rifle. When a fighter popped out of cover to retreat from the Stormtroopers, I fired from long range. Shot—kill. Another. Shot—kill.
A different light flashed in my peripheral, accompanied by a strange yet familiar humming sound. I stood and advanced to closer cover to investigate. Looking through my scope, I saw a beam of blue light flashing between trees in the distance.
A lightsaber.
I opened a general com.
"All Troopers, fall back to the temple! Enemy Force user at play!"
I stood to provide covering fire as the Troopers retreated from their positions. As the lightsaber got closer, I could hear the hiss of evaporating raindrops as it sliced through the air. Once they got close enough for me to get a visual, everything became clear. It was a woman.
A woman named Rey.
She shouted wildly as she drove her lightsaber through the limbs and torsos of my men. The streams of rainwater at her feet ran red with their blood. As if sensing my gaze, she looked straight at me with death in her eyes. I lowered my scope with a gasp.
I joined the ten-or-so Stormtroopers bunkering down in the temple.
"The hallways," I said sternly, pointing right and left.
They obediently scattered out of the main room. I commed Kylo.
"Where are you?" I growled through clenched teeth.
Taking cover in the west hallway, I pressed my back into the stone and peered around the corner. I waved for the others to turn off their flashlights, and the Troopers with me followed suit. We were six and five together against one. As we waited, barely a sound was heard other than the howling storm outside.
Too soon, the vibrant hum of a lightsaber approached. My breath hitched in my throat. As the main room became flooded with blue light, I aimed my blaster. The men held until I fired the first shot, and then a hailstorm of red bolts rained down on her.
The lightsaber crackled and screeched as she twirled it around, deflecting each shot with ease. The bolts bounced once or twice before bursting into a shower of sparks that chaotically illuminated the entire room. Stormtroopers fell around me as they were struck by stray bolts.
"Retreat!" I wailed.
I watched her tear off after the Troopers in the east hallway, and then the temple was filled with the sound of fire meeting flesh. Screams of pain and fear echoed loudly, filling me with dread. I took a step forward and raised my blaster.
"Some enemies are immune to your blasters."
I reached for the riot baton on my thigh. By the time it snapped open and whirred to life, the temple was silent once more.
Severed limbs and singed armor littered the narrow hallway. She rushed the last remaining Stormtrooper and killed him with a diagonal slash that melted through his armor like it wasn't even there. Standing in the blood of the fallen Troopers, I fell into a defensive stance and raised my weapon.
"Jedi!"
She whirled around, her surprised face illuminated by the glow of her saber. "Captain Phasma…?"
I waited.
She advanced.
My training guided me as I blocked an overhead swing. Her weapon bounced off the energy field of the baton, sending her stumbling back. I remained in my position, prepared for the next strike. It came with an angry shout and double the force, knocking me back a few steps. Every muscle in my body tensed as I shuffled back into position.
Instead of another strike, I suddenly felt an invisible hand pushing into me, sending me flying off my feet. My back hit the wall, knocking the air from my lungs. I fell to my knees with my head spinning and my vision narrowing. Rey's lightsaber appeared at my neck.
"I should kill you," she sneered.
"Please," I choked out, cowering in fear.
When she raised her saber over her head, her arm became frozen. Grunting and struggling, she tried unsuccessfully to wretch her arm free. A red lightsaber ignited in the darkness behind her, and I let out the breath I had been holding.
I scrambled to my feet and fled. Behind me, the shriek of colliding lightsabers filled the hallway. I stumbled through the dark until I got the wits to draw my sidearm.
Outside, the downpour had turned into a drizzle. Bodies littered the forest floor around the temple, both Stormtrooper and Resistance alike. In case of surviving snipers, I took cover inside a ruined hut. I put out a general com and received no reply. No survivors…?
I anxiously waited for minutes that felt like hours. When I heard footsteps rustling in the grass, I charged my blaster pistol. A minute later, another set of footsteps came near. Gritting my teeth, I jumped out of cover with my weapon raised.
"Lucia…"
Kylo stood there, lightsaber hilt in hand and covered from head to toe in dust and grime. I lowered my blaster and sighed in exhaustion.
"She ran," he said.
Without a word, he reached into his robe and produced a small object. It was a bluish crystal that pulsed with a dim light. Unable to stop myself, I reached out and took it from him. As I turned the ancient crystal, watching it shimmer from every angle, a strange lightness arose in my chest. I recognized it from a book I had read.
"A kyber memory crystal," I murmured.
"Yes. Only a Force user can access the data inside."
I looked up at him. Stepping forward, I slammed it back into his hand with unnecessary force. "I hope it was worth thirty-two lives."
