After thinking about this idea for sometime, probably since I read the first page of the comic Star Wars Legacy #1, I've finally gotten around to writing this. I intended it to be longer, but thought the current ending was a good enough one for now. The title of the story is Kyla's Escape, and feel free to leave your comments here, and the story is within the spoiler tags so that it doesn't take up so much space on the page upon entering the thread.
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The death and destruction was epic. Whole cities and populations wiped out in the matter of days by such an alien invasion that no one could’ve seen coming. The planet Emies didn’t stand a chance against such a brutal force, and there was no help in the galaxy able to come and defend the planet. Before the Emians had known what hit them, it was over.
Kyla ran through the woods outside her home town as fast as her legs could carry her. She was thin and short, and could move quickly over the uneven terrain and obstacles. Her battle suit helped protect her from branches hitting her body, but it didn’t protect her from the cries of her people being attacked, sacrificed, and enslaved behind her. See was covered in sweat, blood, and dirt but knew she had to keep running as tears continued to stream down her face.
The sounds of the city eventually faded from her ears, and she took cover behind a rock looking back the way she had come. She watched the trees sway back and forth because of her disturbing them but they quietly grew still. She could only hear her respiratory system over the stillness, but even that grew quiet as she remained still behind the rock.
With the break in fleeing, Kyla could make out her thoughts and feelings once more. Images of the horrors played out before her again and again, and the tears showed no sign of stopping. However, the more and more she physically returned to normal, the more and more those tears turned into pure rage. Her tears ceased as the rage began to be reflected physically across her face and her finger nails dug into the rock before her. The images of horror quit and were replaced with thoughts of all the evil she wished to do onto the invaders.
yes...yes...yes....
Kyla became fully alert and attentive when she heard these words. She carefully scanned her surroundings, dipping further behind the rock but she couldn’t see anything. The trees were still, and Kyla began to question if she had heard anything at all. Then she heard something speak to her again.
No, do not lose it. It is your salvation.
Confusion swept across Kyla’s thoughts as she now realized whatever was speaking to her was in her head. She stood up from behind the rock and tried to reach out with her senses and mind to try and find who was speaking to her.
Suddenly, a twig snapped, and Kyla whipped around to find two of the invaders come sprinting at her from their hiding places. The invaders were tall and muscular, and came at her with weapons in their hands. Their bodies were covered in tattoos and living body armor, and the weapons in their hands grew stiffer upon their handlers’ commands.
The Yuuzhan Vong.
Fear was the only emotion Kyla suddenly felt again, and fleeing was all she could do. Kyla took off in the original direction she had been running, and the Yuuzhan Vong followed in close pursuit. She ran with all the will power she could as the fear of what these warriors would do to her came back into her mind, and the tears started rolling down her face again.
This way.
As the voice whispered to her, Kyla suddenly turned to the right in the direction the voice had indicated. The brush quickly grew denser and Kyla lost some time maneuvering through it, but the sounds behind her grew more distant as the Yuuzhan Vong had more trouble negotiating the brush. Nevertheless, Kyla remained moving as fast as she could, especially when the brush behind her began to snap and pieces of debris flew about as the Yuuzhan Vong threw razor bugs at her. Kyla began to weave, dodging the bugs until they eventually stopped coming at her as the sounds of the Yuuzhan Vong grew distant.
Kyla continued running until she came into a clearing. The clearing was so sudden and unexpected that Kyla paused for only a second before her eyes fell upon another rock to her left that sat atop a small cliff. She quickly climbed up and ducked behind the rock much like she had previously. But it was clear the Yuuzhan Vong would still be after her.
Her surroundings grew quiet and still once more, and the fear she had remained strong.
no…No…NO!
This message startled Kyla and even caused her to let out a small cry as the last “no” shook her to her core. She looked behind her to see if anything was there but only a large tree trunk was present.
Fear has gotten you this far, but only your other feeling will save you, whispered the voice. These beasts will continue to pursue you until you strike back at them.
“B-but what am I to do?” Kyla pleaded. “These invaders are ruthless and hard to see.”
Even so, you’ll see them physically very well here shortly. They make quite the disturbance as they move through the brush.
“But I don’t hear anything.”
But you do feel it.
Kyla reached out once more with her senses and mind. Although she couldn’t perceive her pursuers very well that way, through her mind she could sense the disturbances in the brush, and the Yuuzhan Vong seemed to be getting closer.
Kyla’s fear began to grow once more but she now felt something else: disappointment. This new feeling puzzled Kyla even though she may not have been in the right circumstance to appear puzzled. She quickly realized that she wasn’t the one feeling disappointed but instead it was the voice that had been whispering words to her. Kyla began to recall the first time the voice had whispered to her and how it allowed its presence known only when she first grew angry at the Yuuzhan Vong. The voice had also told her just now what would be required to save her life. Kyla’s fear began to disappear exponentially within her as realization and rage began to fill her. The voice’s feeling of disappointment was replaced with pure, sinister joy. YES!
The Yuuzhan Vong stumbled into the clearing and paused to survey their new surroundings. Kyla remained still behind the rock as her blood began to boil, and the only feeling she had was revenge. The Yuuzhan Vong started more into the clearing and walked along opposite sides surveying the brush for any signs of recent disturbance. Kyla watched the one that headed in her direction and knew exactly what she would do.
The warrior slowly approached the small cliff and paused right beneath Kyla. With all the strength she could summon physically and that seemed to flow into her from her surroundings, Kyla pushed the rock over the edge. The rock crashed down on the Yuuzhan Vong beneath it with a sickening sound.
As the other Yuuzhan Vong warrior on the other side of the clearing turned around to see what had occurred, Kyla was in motion. She jumped down from the cliff and settled quietly next to the rock. She looked up at the other Yuuzhan Vong with hatred and rage burning behind her now yellow eyes. The other warrior saw his comrade beneath the rock and let out a warrior’s cry as he started toward her. Kyla quickly reached out next to her and grabbed the fallen warrior’s amphistaff before it could slither away. The staff became stiff as she grabbed it with both hands and charged the oncoming Yuuzhan Vong.
As Kyla charged, she couldn’t help but allow her rage to erupt out of her and unleashed a deafening cry that echoed through the clearing and forest. Kyla also felt the voice become more than just a voice as she felt something enter her body and help guide her hands on how she held the amphistaff and how she moved. At any other time, such a weird experience would frighten Kyla, but with all the rage, anger, and an oncoming Yuuzhan Vong warrior with his weapon raised high to strike, Kyla wanted nothing more than the warrior’s blood.
When the two enemies were close enough to strike, the Yuuzhan Vong brought his amphistaff down on Kyla. With the help of the added presence within her, Kyla ducked to the left and instinctively brought her weapon up into the Yuuzhan Vong’s torso. Her attack didn’t do much more than scratch the surface of his armor as she moved past him, but the warrior jumped to his left to avoid Kyla’s attack from getting him at the break in his armor under the arm.
Kyla planted her right foot into the ground and used her momentum to bring herself back around to continue facing her opponent. The Yuuzhan Vong also turned but not nearly as fast as Kyla. With her added strength, Kyla felt immensely powerful and was beginning to focus her rage into keeping her mind clear of losing complete control. It also helped to have the guidance of the voice now within her, continuing to whisper to her how pleased it was about her power and control.
Before the Yuuzhan Vong could find his balance, Kyla started at the warrior again, focused on the break in the armor. She could see the warrior hadn’t expected her to move so quickly, and his eyes grew wide as he tried to bring his weapon around. However, by trying to defend against the attack, the Yuuzhan Vong increased the area of Kyla’s target, and she couldn’t help but feel great accomplishment and pleasure as her weapon easily entered the Yuuzhan Vong’s body and released a howl from the newly fallen warrior.
Once the Yuuzhan Vong had collapsed onto the ground, Kyla listened and reached out for anything else approaching her from the surrounding brush but she couldn’t sense anything more. She dropped the amphistaff at her feet and watched as it joined the other’s amphistaff and slithered into the brush.
Kyla’s rage slowly began to diminish and she grew wide-eyed upon seeing what she had down. She backed up from the Yuuzhan Vong’s body and ran into a tree trunk, sliding down it to sit on the ground. She continued to stare at the warrior’s body for a few more moments before turning her head to see the other warrior smashed beneath the rock in the distance.
Before the shock left her, the ground began to shake and became unstable beneath her. Kyla tried to get up and away, but the ground gave way, and Kyla found herself falling beneath the surface. She couldn’t see anything as she fell, and there didn’t appear to be any light beneath her to give her any idea of where the bottom was at. Kyla suddenly came to a complete stop and covered her head as rocks and dirt slowly ceased to fall around her.
Once everything had grown quiet, Kyla uncovered her head and opened her eyes to see a faint red glow light up her surroundings. Kyla was now several meters beneath the surface in a large cavern with the only exit appearing to be directly above her. The air was stale and slowly began to circulate once more upon being opened to the surface. Against the wall in front of Kyla, a red glowing, pyramid shaped object sat upon a stone and Kyla realized that this was the source of the voice she had heard whispering to her all this time.
“Welcome to my resting place,” said the voice, and it was amplified from echoing off the cavern walls. “You have great powers that could greatly benefit you and gain you the revenge you seek upon these invaders.”
“What are you?” asked Kyla as she slowly got to her feet and started for the red object.
“I am all that’s left of a very powerful being who could not overcome the one enemy of all living things. I’ve rested here for untold millennia awaiting an heir to enter my domain and receive all my knowledge and infinite wisdom. The very power that will make you an equally powerful being of the present time.”
“What power is this?”
The voice paused as it allowed the weight of his next words to build and finally be released upon her. “The power of the Sith.”
Kyla came to stop before the red Sith holocron and picked it up. She raised it to the level of her eyes and it seemed to glow more brightly, bathing the whole cavern in its blood red light. “Teach me this power so I may get the revenge that is rightfully mine.”
_________________
"Changes are nice--but so is continuity!"
"Then you saved my life. How disgusting. How unfortunate."
"No, don't gush on so. It was nothing, really."
